Finally they came to the city of Huath. As they crested a hill, Nara stared out in wonder. A giant stone wall encircled the whole city, yet she could see the roofs of some of the buildings over it. Those were some tall houses. The city was gigantic. As they came to the city gate, the guards posted there called out to Gaijan, asking him who his 'little friend' was. The way one of them was looking at her made Nara decidedly uncomfortable.

"A guest of mine, on her way to meet with Mage Unda," Gaijan said importantly. The guards immediately waved them through. 

If the city looked big from the outside, that was nothing compared to what she now saw. Buildings taller that anything she had ever seen before towering over them. The bottom floor was taken up with some kind of shop or other place of business, while she could see from the windows of upper levels women putting out laundry to dry on clothes lines strung between buildings, beating the dirt out of rugs, and watering flower boxes. Below people crowded along the sidewalks, while wagons and horses flooded the cobblestone streets, shouting at one another to get out of each other's way. It was very loud and noisy, and she wondered how anyone could even think with all that racket. 

Nara clutched the reins of her horse tightly, but then Gaijan took the reins from her and led them down the streets of the city.

~~~

Huath was just how Gaijan remembered it. Crowded, loud, and chaotic. Home of the Magician's Guild, and the Archives. It was technically his home as well. Shortly after he had finished his apprenticeship, he realized that it was quite inconvenient to travel back and forth from his native city, Goban, and Huath to record his findings from his many journeys in the Archives. So, he decided to move to Huath. To Gaijan's delight, Eyish had come with him. 

Gaijan wondered if it would become his permanent home now that his promise had been fulfilled. He had never felt entirely comfortable here, especially knowing that every moment he spent in idleness was a moment he could be using to figure out how to free the girl from the crystal. Years ago he had wanted to enlist other magicians in his search, but he soon realized that no one thought as he did, that the girl hadn't been responsible for any of it, and that they should be finding a way to help her. They all just thought that the great catastrophe had been avoided, and that was that. Gaijan hadn't even told Eyish the real reason for all his traveling. He was on his own. 

But he had finally succeeded. He just hoped that Eyish and Mage Unda would understand, and be able to help Nara further.

She seemed to be enjoying herself at that moment. She stared up at everything, eyes wide with amazement. Gaijan remembered the first time he had been to Huath. His mentor Eyish visited often during Gaijan's apprenticeship, and he let his pupil tag along. Gaijan imagined that he had looked exactly like Nara did right now. As they zigzagged down the many streets of the city, people called out to him, and he waved back. He was surprised that he didn't have an entourage yet, but then realized why. Whenever he returned before he would go straight to his place of residence, which was in the south-west quadrant of the city. The Magician's Guild was in the center of town, a completely different route than the one he usually took. Gaijan locked this information away for future use. If he wanted to avoid forming a big crowd, he just had to take a different route every time. He reminded himself that he didn't plan on traveling anymore, so maybe that wouldn't work. Still, it was a nice trick.

They went to the very center of town, where the building that housed the Magician's Guild stood. It was the tallest structure in the whole of Huath. It looked like it should be a castle. It had tall stone spires with large paned glass windows arching up. Wrought iron gates stood firmly closed at the entrance. Gaijan dismounted and walked up to the gate. A guard stood just on the other side, wearing the deep purple uniform of the magician's guild.

"Who goes there?" the guard called.

"Gaijan of Goban, 1st class magician, here to seek an audience with the Great Mage Unda."

"And your companion?"

"Nara, a guest of mine." The guard looked them over, but seemed to decide they were alright, because a moment later the iron gate swung open. Gaijan, still holding the reins of both the horses, led them inside to an inner courtyard. He helped Nara down off her horse, and a stable boy came and took the horses away. Gaijan led them up to the large wooden doors, which swung open as they approached. Another uniformed guard stood just on the other side, and gestured for them to follow him. Their steps echoed on the stone floor, and Nara kept falling behind to stare at large tapestries hung on the walls. The guard led them up a few flights of stone stairs, then down a long hallway. They stopped just outside a large wooden door. The guard knocked smartly on the door, then just left them both standing there as he walked back down the hallway.

I guess we just go in. Gaijan put his hand on the doorknob, then paused. He would need to explain everything to Mage Unda, and he was still sure that Nara would be better off remembering on her own. "I would like to speak with Mage Unda first. Alone. I will get you when we are ready for you." Nara nodded and sat down on a wooden chair beside the door. Gaijan turned the nob, opened the door, and went inside.