Close to euphoria, they screamed and cheered at the woman, who, however, cared little about it.She held the child, beaming with joy, to her chest so that it would not fall off the high horse and slowly rode on.
Rondrasil Löwenbrand viewed the situation with a fatherly smile.
Raffael was captivated by the picture for a moment, then worry again dominated his thoughts. He made his way through the crowd, pushed past enthusiastic people, got an elbow every now and then and was happy when he reached a small alcove in which there were only a few people.
Raffael breathed a sigh of relief.
“No more getting through.” He made a sad face. "Damn it!"
He was more than concerned now. God knows what happened to the boy. And if he didn't find it quickly, he wouldn't find it at all.
Raffael looked around the niche. A smile crossed his face as he spotted a ledge well above him that belonged to a balcony simms.He immediately searched the wall for a place to climb. If you couldn't see the crowd from below, then maybe from above!
The witcher spied some notches. They weren't very big and an inexperienced climber would have had a lot of trouble, but after some training in the circus it shouldn't be difficult for him. There might well be advantages in just being part of a small circus with few people. Lots of different work that had to be done by everyone. And necessity made inventive. Raffael had never had to go on the tightrope in Oruha's old Zitkus, but since no one except himself and Meshuha were available now, he had let the woman teach him. The stake hadn't really been his friend at first. The grip and kick possibilities were limited and he had dismounted several times before he could even reach the rope.
Raffael continued to feel the wall until he had found a suitable place and began to climb along the wall of the house.The sharp-edged stone cut into his palms a few times and some of the audience disturbed his concentration several times with their irritated shouts and looks. But after a while, and almost crashing, he arrived on the Balkonsimms on the second floor.
The two women who stood on it were amazed.
"I beg your forgiveness, ladies ..!" said Raffael, brushing the dust off his clothes.
"But I need an elevated view."
He did not wait for the reaction of the perplexed women and turned to the parade.
"Better" thought Raffael. He could now overlook the entire Brigloplatz and was looking for his nephew.
He only half noticed the irritated bickering of the women and the call of some. Only when a bearish male voice appeared behind him was he interrupted in his search.
"Could he perhaps explain to me what he was doing on my daughters balcony?" thundered the most dissatisfied male voice.Raffael didn't turn around and kept looking. He casually answered the man's question.
"Forgive my audacity. I did not come with bad or bad intentions. My sister lost her boy in the crowd and I can't see anything from below."
Raffael spoke quickly and frantically. He was worried and had no interest in paying the man more of his attention than was absolutely necessary. If he disapproved of his presence, he would notice it soon enough anyway.
"It is presumptuous of him to enter here." snorted his father and went to the railing next to Raffael, grabbed his shoulder and turned him around.
Raffael stared into a face that had turned deep red with anger. The man had turned his handsome beard, which was in no comparison to his hairless scalp, into two sideways protruding twists and the witcher had to resist laughing at the sight.
"I'll call the city guard if he doesn't leave my property immediately!" he said threateningly"I beg your pardon again, but as soon as I have found my nephew, you can call the city guard." replied Raffael, annoyed, and skilfully broke loose. "As the father of two" he looked at the two young women with a skeptical look, "lovely daughters you can certainly understand the worries my sister has!" And put on his brightest smile.
The two women giggled at the word "lovely". They had examined Raffael now and obviously liked what they saw. The six-foot-tall man, with his long black hair and bright green eyes, was not to be despised either.
"It's okay, father. Let him stay here!" said one enthusiastically.
"Oh yes, please. It doesn't seem dangerous." added the other quickly.
The father turned to his children in horror.
"You can't let a total stranger into our house! You called me yourself!" he snapped."Yes, but that was only the first shock! ..." they squeaked out of one mouth simultaneously.
Violent grumbling began between father and daughters.
That could only be right for Raffael. The three ignored him and he could finally keep looking for his nephew.
His gaze slid over the heads of the people, the horses and the great gate. The sun blinded him a little and Raffael raised a hand to his eyes. He blinked a few times and saw a large group of children at the gate jumping rope with a dark-skinned man in a snow-white robe with gold decorations. They took little notice of what was going on around them. They had fought for a small place and went to their children's games undisturbed. Raffael had to look twice to believe what he was seeing. The robe of Utulus with the herald's hood, at least he suspected that it was one of these forest men, belonged to a servant of Praios. On the back of the robe was a golden hawk, the sign of Ucuri.The man had rolled up his robe and was skipping around with the children. Raffael thought that even from this distance he could see the man's smile and his sparkling white teeth. A peculiar warmth spread through the picture in him. What was even more amazing than seeing a Praioti jumping rope, however, was the fact that Nathanael was with the man. The people around watched the spectacle with interest.
Raffael breathed a sigh of relief, stepped on the railing, turned with a smile to the quarreling people,
"Thank you very much, I found what I was looking for!" and jumped down the two floors. As a practiced acrobat, that was the smallest problem.
Raffael pushed past the people with some effort and headed for the gate and the small square he had discovered.
He caught more glances at the tournament participants, but ignored them.
The witcher pushed past a plump woman and stood in front of the group of children, breathing heavily."Thank the gods!" it came from his lips with a sigh. He went up to Nathanael, who was being held by the hand of a little girl with blond braids. The little runaway smiled at him from the gaps in its teeth when he heard his voice and padded excitedly towards him.
"Raffa! Raffa!" exclaimed the boy. The other children looked at the newcomer with interest.
Raffael leaned down to Nathanael and lifted him into his arms. The boy squeaked happily and played with the witcher's fingers.
"Is that your son?" asked a deep, friendly voice.
Raffael felt the warmth again that he had already noticed on the balcony.
He looked up and looked into jet black eyes in an even blacker face with black curls. The Utulu, it was definitely one, looked at Raffael kindly.
The witcher swallowed once. This little man, whom he towered over with two heads, had an overwhelming presence.
"So is that your son?" the man asked again.Raffael broke out of his stupor and started to answer.
"No..n, no sir" he stuttered. It wasn't enough for more.
The consecrated came up to him smiling.
"But you know this boy?" he asked further.
Raffael looked into those dark eyes and tried to reach their bottom, but they were so deep that he could not possibly read them. He thought he had never looked deeper into his eyes.
The witcher stared at this man for a little eternity. Then courtesy before a consecrated man prevailed in his mind and bowed deeply to the Ucuriate.
"Forgive Your Grace for staring" He straightened up again and looked down. Looking high-ranking people in the face was insulting.
"This boy is my nephew, Nathanael. My sister lost him in the dense crowd" Raffael hurried to answer the consecrated man's question as quickly as possible.
"Nathanael, do you say? A beautiful name" The small, dark-skinned man came up to her with a friendly smile and patted the child's head gently.Raffael held his breath. Though he had seen consecrated Praios many times before and had no particular respect for them, this man was different. The witcher couldn't explain why, but the presence of this little man was overwhelming.
"Your Grace. We have to go to the tournament. It's time," said a strange voice.
Raffael looked up cautiously and saw the Ucuriat's two companions. They too belonged to this Order of Praios. However, they did not seem to have been consecrated yet.
Raffael hadn't noticed her before. The man's nature had been too captivating. They were completely lost in its splendor.
"Good. I'm on my way," replied the dark-skinned man. Then he turned back to Nathanael, "I was pleased, little fellow" and gave him his index finger. The child shook him as if to say goodbye and quizzed happily. The Ucuriat smiled in his usual benevolent way.
"Take good care of the boy so he doesn't get lost again!" he said to Raphael."And please look up. For such beautiful, green eyes there are certainly better destinations in the golden city than their dirty street floor"
The witcher looked up and felt slightly embarrassed.
"Yes, Your Grace"
The man smiled at him again before stepping over to his companions, who led him through the crowd. The people made way for him in awe. The Ucuriat was admitted without the usual controls and disappeared with the participants of the tournament behind the large city gate.
Raffael stared after the strange man, realizing that he had been facing someone of great importance.