The Carnelian Legacy Read Online Free

dropped.
    The village of Andresis was surrounded by a wooden structure fifteen feet high. The gate was guarded by gigantic men dressed in black armor with long spears and shields. The man who Marisa guessed must be the captain of the guard motioned for them to dismount, but when he noticed the crest on Darian’s breastplate, he bowed and quickly waved them through.
    Although the village might have been plucked out of some scene from The Late Middle Ages, something about it appeared almost futuristic to Marisa. The suits of armor worn by the men weren’t like the crude tin cans and cumbersome chain mail displayed in heritage museums and old British mansions. Rather, they were elegant, unrestrictive, and tailored to fit each owner. Each man carried some sort of weapon, whether it was a sword, dagger, or bow. The women were clothed in understated yet elegant dresses with hems that lightly brushed the ground and flattered the female form.
    Marisa followed closely behind Darian and Arrie and tried not to gawk. As the townsfolk nodded and bowed to them as they passed, she noticed them staring at her casual attire. It was then that she realized none of the women were wearing pants. The whole scene made her feel like she’d stumbled onto some elaborate movie set in Hollywood.
    The quaint, black-bricked houses and shops had green, glazed roofs and appeared old yet cozy. A shepherd guided a herd of livestock down the main road, but she couldn’t determine what sort of animal they were. They appeared to be some sort of goat/deer hybrid, and she watched in amazement as the black-horned beasts meandered past them.
    Marisa closed her eyes and paused for a moment, forcing herself to consider the possibilities. It could be some sort of weird, vivid dream. It felt too real to be a dream, though. Perhaps she had somehow ingested poisonous mushrooms in the woods and it was all just a hallucination. But she was too aware of her surroundings. She felt too alert to be hallucinating. And she would have remembered eating mushrooms.
    Am I dead?
    Darian stopped in front of a building with a curved metal lantern above the door and a weathered wooden sign with strange writing on it. She dismounted and tied Siena’s reins around a pole as Darian opened the door and motioned for her to enter.
    Inside the dimly lit reception hall, glass bottles of every shape, size, and color filled the shelves lining the walls. A small fire glowed in the fireplace and the air smelled of smoked hickory and old wine. Several male travelers rested in sturdy wooden furniture with their drinks and pipes—all of them staring at Marisa’s strange attire.
    They hadn’t been inside for more than a minute when an old woman wearing a long skirt, dark apron, and white cap approached them. Darian bowed politely and gestured toward Marisa as he handed the woman two copper coins.
    She grabbed two spiral-shaped keys from a row of hooks behind the counter and handed them to Darian before disappearing into the back. A moment later, she returned and handed Marisa a neat stack of clothes.
    “Thank you—”
    “Aur smyden,” Arrie interrupted, bowing deeply.
    The old woman eyed Marisa with a startled expression as each grungy traveler in the darkened room watched the scene with interest. The old woman waved them off and returned to her post behind the desk.
    “Perhaps it would be wise to let me speak on your behalf from now on,” Arrie whispered. He motioned toward the back. “Are you thirsty? Let’s have something to drink and discuss this calmly, shall we?”
    “Yeah, okay, sure. A drink. Why not?”
    Darian led them into a large room beyond the lobby with wooden tables and chairs and an ancient-looking bar.
    Noticing they were the only ones in the room, Marisa quickly turned to Arrie. “Okay, maybe you can explain now what the heck in going on. I thought you said back there that I was no longer on Earth. You’re kidding, right?”
    “No, I’m afraid not. You are in