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The Finding of Lokan, At the Tavern Kall Rayth
He began to put the items back in the sack, reluctantly. The most precious one of them all, the scarf, first, followed by the boat and the pincushion.
He left Lokan's crystal ball for last; he wasn't sure why. It seemed to be begging to stay out in the room a little longer, and he left it there.
Now he picked it up.
It was glowing so warmly he hesitated. Did it mean Lokan was still alive? What did it do?
*Oh, Lokan,* he thought desperately, *if only you told me what you knew!*
He clutched the sphere, savoring the last moments with it, perhaps for a long time.
And then the world seemed to swirl around him.
The colours of the room darkened and lightened accordingly, changing to two main colours; a swirling mass of royal and sky blue. He found himself being catapulted toward the whirlpool of hues, and was about to cry out in surprise when the faint roaring in the background faded away to nothingness and the swirling stopped abruptly.
He blinked.
Kall was now standing in a dingy alleyway. Where was he, anyway? He was about to walk away before anyone could notice him when he detected a sudden movement in the darkness. There was a small crashing noise, a cursing of voices, the strike of flint and steel, and a sudden brightness.
The light of a candle stub illuminated three figures; one well-dressed man and two hunched-back men covered in weathered, tattered cloaks. One of the hunched-backed men lay sprawled out on the dirty alley ground, with a large box on his torso and his head dripping from scum-water.
"You fool," the well-dressed man said in amusement. "You know, I don't LIKE to be entertained when things are supposed to be kept secret."
The man scrambled to his feet, bowing clumsily and tripping on his large, battered old shoes. "Sorry, yer master sir, I didn't mean—"
"You never mean to," his master interrupted, "yet you always do it and always say that." He turned to the other man. "You, Doogle. What've you to say?"
The one called Doogle bowed, a little better than the first man. "No luck, sir."
The leader cursed. "Fool! Gonry?"
"Yes, sir?" Gonry did not attempt to bow this time. "I—I have hath nothing to report." In his hurry, Gonry babbled out terribly improper English. "I beg your highest and lowest pardon, yer master, if yer a-pleasing…"
"I see." The man shook his head, frowning. "Don't you see, boys, I'm not supposed to be seen here? I don't WANT to visit this place often, yet that's what I'm doing!"
Doogle bowed again. "We apologize—"
"You DON'T APOLOGIZE!" The man shouted, his sudden, loud tone shattering the air. "You WILL DO as I tell you. And you WON'T fail this time. Do you understand me?"
"Yes, sir." Gonry and Doogle both bowed.
"Good. Find Lokan for me, and find him quickly," the man snarled, and stormed off.
Kall's hands clenched the crystal ball. Why him—what did it all mean? He was so intent in wondering, he did not notice that the other two men had left, and that now darkness had settled in, and a roaring sound was developing in the background. Once more, a swirling of colours, this time emerald and very light green, took over his view. When he blinked, Kall had returned to his room.
He stared at the crystal ball, still glowing faintly. What was this crystal's power? To show the future—to tell him what was going on somewhere else?
One thing was for certain, though. A Graylon's magic would never lie.
And that meant that Lokan would soon be in danger.
Lyala
Lyala watched as Terr and Hithla came out of restaurant, now accompanied by two others. A girl and a boy. The girl was obviously a noble, with her fancy dress and diamond necklace, but the boy, he was of a much lower class. A slave perhaps? It wouldn't surprise her. She had seen many nobles walking the street with their slave behind them, carrying all the things they had bought. It disgusted her.
She followed them, keeping some distance between her and the group, so she wouldn't be spotted again by Terr. They went to a large manor, that was surrounded by a huge stonewall. Once she was sure they were inside she climbed the wall and jumped to the ground. The first thing she noticed was a woman. She was sleeping on the ground, tears glistening on her face. Lyala backed away, so she would not disturb the girl. She saw a very large tree with large branches, a perfect place to watch without being noticed. She grabbed the nearest branch and pulled herself up.
* * *
Lyala was awoken by the sound of the woman getting up. The woman picked up a few pins from the ground, placed them in her dress and started walking. Lyala followed her, careful to keep hidden in the bushes. They walked for a long time, and the sun was hot. The woman stopped only when she came to a small shack. There the woman practically collapsed on the door.
"Rune," she whispered. And the door was opened by a man. Lyala couldn't see his face, she could only hear his voice. The woman went inside. Unfortunately there were no windows. So Lyala had to lean against the shack to hear their conversation. Which was nothing much to hear. She let her mind wander.
Do these people know about Lokan? Are they a part of that little group? Because she was not paying attention to those inside, she didn't realize that they were coming outside until it was too late. She grabbed a hold of the little shack’s roof and pulled herself up just as the door opened and the woman stepped out. She looked up and saw Lyala on top of the roof, then gasped.
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" she asked.
Lyala sighed and jumped off the roof.
Rune ur Atum
After having done what I could to make the shack more comfortable for me, I left to search out another job in Este.
I took my time in searching, making sure I wouldn’t lose myself in the city. I looked many shops over, but found without asking that my chances of being hired in such shops would be slight. So I turned my search to less desirable places.
Soon I found a tavern called The Black Griffon, it suited me well, and apparently I suited the owner well. I entered to find the business of the tavern in full swing; all the tables were full and the talk loud. I approached an old, grungy looking man and asked if I could speak with him.
“Less’n you want a drink or food, I ain’t givin’ you my time of day ‘til things settle down in here. So bugger off til later!”
I ignored the man and sidled into a spot at the bar where a lewd looking girl hurried about serving up drinks.
“Now then lovey, what can I get for you?” the girl asked, waving her bosom around. I slid two kelmars towards her.
“Two things,” I replied. She raised her eyebrow coquettishly.
“Oh, and what could I give you now?”
Ignoring the double meaning to her words, I replied that the cheapest drink and a job in the tavern were all I asked. Her mouth dropped a little at the last comment. She seemed to think that I had taken her for the manager of the tavern, and was rather flattered by it.
“Ah deary,” she said after she’d finished serving me and the two men next to me, “I ain’t the one to give you a job… but I’ll put in a good word for you.” She winked and hurried off to find the man I had talked to earlier. I watched as the two talked about me and glanced in my direction. Finally they approached.
“So you’re the whelp who were troublin’ me earlier, eh? Want a job, do you?”
I nodded impassively and he regarded me grimly while the girl busied about serving the customers.
“Right then, you can start today,” he replied and turned to leave. I grabbed his arm before he was out of reach.
“Wait! What about my pay?”
“Greedy aren’t we?”
I smiled coldly and shrugged. The smile he returned was pleased.
“Good! Good! You’ll make a fine tavern worker. Ain’t nobody gonna intimidate you. Good! I like that!”
I ignored his diversion with an impatient shake of my head. “My wages?” I persisted.
“Six quel a week?”
“Fine,” I replied. As I came around to the back of the counter, the man introduced himself as Beeti Lambaert and told me the girl was Roxy Portt. He then proceeded to show me which barrels had which drinks and the rest of the things I would need to know.
“If you forget anything, ask me or Roxy. And watch it boy! I’ll keep my eye on you and I warn you, I can smell a thief a mile away,” he said threateningly. I nodded, having little desire to cross him in the first place.
I spent several hours working in the noisy, dark tavern, catching on as quickly as I could. Finally I decided it was time I went back to my hovel. Beeti agreed to let me go and gave me thirty kelmars for the days work. I thanked him and left, heading back to my home.
It didn’t take me long to spot the owl perched in the rafters. I watched it, surprised that he had built his nest in a place that smelled of humans. Finally I noticed his ruffled feathers; he was trying to scare me off.
“You are a big frightening thing, aren’t you?” I asked him absently. Rubbing my eyes from the sting of all the beer that had sprayed into them, I sank into bed and thought I had fallen into a dream when I heard the owl speaking to me. I couldn’t believe it. But I quickly saw that the owl was talking. Freaky-odd. But interesting. After awhile we were talking, it felt odd, but I forced myself to accept it. As it turned out, the he-owl was actually a she.
The next morning Lyea came to me, looking far too overheated. She watched while I cooked my food and then told me I needed more money. I ignored her and didn’t bother to tell her that I had another job. It seemed she was becoming concerned for me.
Soon the little owl made itself known to Lyea. She made some comment about only a blind fool not being able to see the magic around it. I guess that meant I was blind.
“Now, if you will, about the market,” Lyea persisted, pulling out a jeweled pin from her sash. I took it and examined it, then tossed it back to her.
“First of all, I think you know I don’t want your pity. Second, who are you to offer what’s not yours?”
She shrugged and said, “I think you deserve more from Kall, so, I’m paying you for him.”
I grunted and ate my rabbit. Lyea watched while I ate and fidgeted in her dress. Standing up and licking off the bones, I rummaged in my rucksack and pulled out an extra shirt and pants. I tossed them at Lyea.
“They don’t smell the nicest, but you might be more comfortable in them for now. Then you can sell your dress and buy yourself the clothes you want. Maybe Rayth will get the drift then.”
I turned my back to her and put out the fire while she changed quickly. When she had finished, I emptied my sack and put her dress in it, then we went to the market, the owl perched on Lyea’s shoulder.
But it seemed we had an eavesdropper. Literally. She was on top of the roof when we came out and she jumped off it when Lyea demanded to know who she was. Her name was Lyala.
Terr Sye
Terr watched Kall with interest. Freya, Tiger-Lilly, Heath, himself and Kall were sitting at a table on one of the many porches in Freya's household. They were eating lunch, though some of the group was out. Terr had not yet met Rune, he was ushered to his room before he could talk to him.
Tiger was less wary with Terr and Kall there, but stiffly ate, glancing at Heath, expecting him to start attacking her wildly. But he did no such thing, just smiled awkwardly at Kall. The table was silent. Servants came and went with silver platters, and soon the desserts were served. Every one seemed to be thinking their own thoughts, but finally, trying to get everyone talking, Freya spoke up.
"Umm… what should we do now?" she asked. Terr stood up.
"I don't know about you, but I shall be going to my room" He left with out saying another word, and went towards his room.
When Terr reached his room, he flopped down on the feather-stuffed bed. His mind filled with thoughts of the massacre. On his father. On Lokan. Lokan had popped into Terr's life because of his father. Their parents were close friends, and so were the two of them.
Terr would have become a Graylon too. Or a half-Graylon in any case, if his father hadn't started late. All he knew was a few simple healing spells, while Lokan knew the history of Arya, and had many attack spells as well as numerous healing spells. Lokan…
That day, the day when the whole of Arya feel into disarray. The day when his father was killed, and almost every other Graylon.
* * *Flash-Back* * *
"Hurry!" yelled a man standing tall in the doorway. "You must hide! Now!" Terr and an older-looking boy were ushered out by the man, into a small shaft cut out of the wall. The paneling was shoved back into place roughly.
It was pitch black, all that could be seen was a sliver of light in the door. Both boys held their breath.
"Give it up sir! You know where the boy is—give him over!!" came a rough voice through the crack.
"You can't hide forever!" cried another voice.
"I don't know what you—" There was a thump, as if some one had been slammed against the wall. There was silence. Then there were footsteps, and a door slamming.
Terr carefully pushed the door open, just about to see the horrible sight that awaited him…
* * *
Terr wasn't sure when he had dozed off, but he had awoken to a darkened sky.
Lyea
Then the girl was gone, disappearing into the thick crowd of people. I shrugged. I would tell Kall of this, of course, but there was little we could do right now.
At the market I traded one square length of my dress for three lion skins, and the lace around the collars for a deer hide and wolf skin. I had great power in my hands, even if it was only cloth. The merchants gaped when they saw the dress, and immediately put up some of their best wares for a scrap of it. For some woolen blankets I traded a few of the silk ruffles, and for six rolls of different colored cloth I traded one of my jeweled pins. These people were ridiculously stupid, but they deserved it.
Rune eyed the blankets suspiciously. "And who would those be for?"
"Don't start that with me." I snapped, trying to balance my armload of parcels comfortably.
"I told you, I do not want your charity."
"This is not charity! You damn city folk are so filled with your own pride you can't see that what I'm trying to do is not out of pity but because I care!"
Rune wheeled around to face me, his strong hands clamping down on my shoulders, his dark eyes blazing. "What did you say?"
"I am not giving you these things out of charity, but because I care," I said evenly.
His eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"Great Lord of Horses I will never understand you people!" I cried, nearly dropping all my parcels in my exasperation. "Because, Rune, I am you friend. And I know that if I was in trouble, you would do the same for me!"
Rune shrugged and started walking again, helping me with a few parcels. "First of all I am not in trouble, I would have thought you knew me better than that. Also, what makes you think I'd do the same for you?"
"Because Rune, when you finally learn to care about something," I said, laughing as he rolled his eyes, "you will learn to love it, and cherish it. After what you've been through, you will not so easily take things for granted, like Kall. And when you get attached to something, I know you will love it for always. And when you have learned to care for one thing, you will care for all things."
Rune watched me for a while after that, his dark features blank of any emotions, but I knew he wondered about what I said. But he said no more, so neither did I, and we returned back to the manor in silence.
* * *
Kall worked himself into a kind of frenzy when he saw me dressed in boy's clothes, and worn, tattered clothes at that. His eyes flashed angrily, and his hands were balled up into fists. He looked ready to give me a thrashing, but he kept his distance, keeping a tight rein on his temper. "Take those off," he said.
"No," I said, and stalked away down the hall.
"Lyea, you will not wear such filth. You are a woman! And moreover you will not disgrace Freya and my family's honor by traipsing about like a stable hand!" he yelled, his eyes blazing.
I turned sharply on my heel, angry now, too. "Well why not? You treat me like that, don't you?" I snapped.
He slammed his fist into the wall, sending a few rattling pictures to the ground. They broke with a loud crash, but the servants wouldn't come near us to scold Kall, or pick up the shattered pieces. "Listen Lyea. I would gladly give you some men’s clothes to wear if it would shut up you, but they are made to fit different body parts!" he hissed.
"Fine then, I will wear the clothes of my people!" I said angrily.
"Your people don't wear clothes, at least not when I was there!"
I smiled darkly. "I know."
Kall yelled, but I pulled off Rune's ripped tunic and revealed the traditional top that my people wore in high summer. It had been too cold for it this morning, which had been surprising in Arya.
Kall gaped at my shirt, his eyes angry. "I have seen undergarments less revealing than that!"
"I will take your word for that," I said, folding Rune's shirt neatly, "and I am sure you have seen a lot of those."
"Take it off!" Kall raged.
Personally I didn't see what was wrong with it. It was a deerskin, a pale white color. It barely fit over my chest, but in high summer that was all one needed. It laced at the front, and several fringes of hide adorned with beads hung an inch or two below my chest. It was comfortable, and practical, so I couldn't see what Kall's problem was with it.
"No, Kall," I said firmly "I am of the Horse God, here in your city representing them, and I will not abort their ways for yours on demand!" I cried, and stalked away towards the kitchen.
Kall Rayth
Kall was appalled. He could not believe that woman – so unlike Hithla, who was submissive, so unlike Freya – she represented her people, but in THIS way?!
Perhaps Kall would not be so worried if he hadn't seen the strange vision. He was jittery about everything, and Lyea's change of clothing had been the spark that ignited his temper.
He stomped off angrily, willing himself not to call several servants to make Lyea wear the proper garments of a noble again.
There had to be something to vent his anger with. His mind hit it suddenly: Rune.
That stupid slave boy. Where was he?
Kall circled Rune's cottage, as if he were a lion, hunting down his prey. A very, very angry lion.
But Rune was not there.
A frown deepened Kall's brows. Where was the boy? And what could he be up to?
As if in answer to his questions, he spotted a lone figure coming through the gates, carrying a small bundle. He strode forward to meet him.
"Where were you?" he demanded. "I've been looking for you this whole time!"
Rune said nothing, only pausing to glance at Kall before continuing.
"Stop," Kall growled, anger welling up in him like blood from an open wound. "Stop -- if you value your place on Freya's estate."
Rune stopped and turned to Kall. "If I value it or not, that wouldn't be anything in your charge. Perhaps if Freya or his Lord and Lady were asking, it'd be different."
"You little..." Kall raged. Before he could say the next word, Rune shifted his bundles a little, and Kall's attention fell on them at once. "What are in those?"
"A bit of this and that," Rune replied calmly, turning to go.
Kall raised a disgusted eyebrow and walked after Rune. "Perhaps you don't realize, boy, that I have an influence on Freya's parents, me being the son of a wealthy lord and not a grimy little runaway slave boy like -- "
Rune wheeled around suddenly and struck Kall with a blow that sent the young man flying into the long grass.
There was a long silence as Rune walked off and Kall scrabbled up all the pride left in him. He wouldn't have fallen had the blow not been a surprise one. He got up and walked calmly towards Rune. Perhaps Rune had heard his footsteps and chose to ignore them; perhaps the grass had muffled Kall's footsteps and the cries of birds overhead had muffled the slight sound of his breathing. At any rate, he reached Rune and struck him with all the anger he had ever put forth to another man -- struck him with all the pain, anger, and frustration, which added up to an enormous quantity. So it was no surprise that Rune fell.
Kall stared at him for a long, hard moment. Thoughts churned through him faster than water goes down a waterfall. He saw Rune slightly wince, then look up at him with the same calm, steady expression. Another man might've cowered, but the slave boy didn't.
Kall turned on his heel and walked off. A new thought suddenly surged forth, and he turned back to call: "If you need any extra quel, the cooks always ask for an errand-runner."
It was not a taunt, but the first words Kall had ever spoken towards Rune in good will.
And it was the beginning of a friendship.
Rune ur Atum
Lyea and I went to the market once the strange girl, Lyala ran off. I felt I had seen this Lyala before, but couldn’t place where.
Soon Lyea had sold much of the gown and jewelry, buying various items that she deemed important. There were blankets. For me. I questioned her about them and she rambled on about caring for people and helping them when they were in trouble. I tried to ignore it all. But she had said she cared about me; did this mean love or friendship?
Once Lyea had finished her bartering and said she was headed back to the manor, I informed her that I had something I needed to do and that I’d be back a little later. She raised an eyebrow suspiciously but left me to my task, handing me the blankets she had bought for me.
I watched her as she walked away, and then turned towards the clogged street that led to the Black Griffon. Roxy greeted me with a cheer and Beeti with a grunt. I grunted back and approached the two.
“Well then whelp,” Beeti said, waving a hand around, “You needn’t bother to work t’day. Nobody’s here just now. Come back later.”
The tavern was indeed sparsely populated just now. There were a group of shady looking characters over in one corner talking loudly and shoving each other roughly. Their tongue was foreign to me but I knew several of the words they spoke. One was the name Lokan.
A dirty faced man within the rowdy group was flinging his arm around angrily, clutching a crinkled paper tightly. My attention was caught, I had to see what this was about.
Turning to Roxy and Beeti, I shrugged at them and sat at the bar, ordering a drink and shifting round to discreetly observe the ruffians.
“Yes, they caught my interest too,” Beeti said, following my gaze. “Don’t worry about being inconspic’us lad, I’ve been starin’ at them a good ten minutes now and not a one of them’s noticed. They don’t even understand any of the Three Tongues!”
“Where are they from?”
“Agh! Some filthy village that worships demons up away north. Can’t say those types is very welcome here in the Griffon, but nobody with a head t’keep on their shoulders would throw them out.”
“But they *are* fine paying customers,” Roxy interjected in a whisper. “I heard them mention something about Luroc demons earlier, seems they have a few connections with the nasty things. *And* it seems they’re out to kill some rich lords.”
My interest was acute at this point. Managing to hide it, I asked Roxy which lords.
“Why, I think I heard that Freya Qyr’s name mentioned. And what’s her name? Hilltha Tann? Ah I don’t know, I can never get those high and mighty names right. Don’t matter though. All I know is there’s a feud goin’ on.”
The hubbub at the table broke into pandemonium. It seemed the strangers had taken to insulting each other and were now fighting something out among themselves. I noticed the letter that the dirty-faced man had been holding was now lying haphazardly on the floor. I watched as the scuffling feet kicked it under the table where it wasn’t easily seen.
Suddenly five of them turned on a large blonde and began pounding him ferociously. I glanced at Roxy and Beeti who just stood and watched with their mouths open, and then quickly turned away as if they hadn’t noticed the brawl. The way the men moved their arms to strike reminded me of the big monkeys I had seen in Sanys. It wasn’t elegant.
Finally one of the men drew his sword and pounded its hilt against the blonde man’s skull. There was an audible crack and the big man fell violently. Then the five remaining men left, throwing some money on the table and ignoring their dead fellow villager.
The moment they were gone, Beeti closed and locked the tavern door, rubbing anxiously at his brow.
“Can’t have nobody seeing a dead body in here. That t’wouldn’t do for business at all. No, no. Rune me whelp, come and give me a hand hauling him out to the alleyway.”
I slid off my stool and hurried to help him. We ended up needing Roxy’s help as well before the blonde man could be laboriously lifted and painstakingly hauled out to the back alley. When we had disposed of the body and were back in the tavern, I turned to Beeti.
“Do the police ever care about such happenings?” I asked, jerking my head towards the back alley. Beeti shook his head.
“No. Neither do the people really, long as they don’t have to be involved with it or know anything about it. No, it’s just the way things is done in the poorer parts of Este.” Leaning closer to me, Beeti gave an evil grin and whispered, “No doubt it’s the way things is done in the richer parts of Este as well.”
I shrugged and took my leave from the tavern, telling Beeti I would be back tomorrow perhaps. He tossed me two kelmars and told me to buy a new shirt. I glanced down at my own shirt and noticed it had some blood on it. So I bought a new shirt for the haggled price of four kelmars.
* * *
When I got back to my shack, I found Rayth looking for me. He was extremely angry at something. I assumed he had only come to use me as his venting post, the look on his face was familiar to me.
“… a grimy little runaway slave boy like you,” he started to say. I didn’t feel like enduring the title ‘slave boy’ today. I turned and punched him, feeling oddly awkward because I had had little practice in hitting any of my masters.
Rayth struck me back. Hard. I fell to the ground, feeling the shock and pain run through my bones. The air rushed out of my lungs and I struggled not to breath so the pain would be less, while preparing myself for the next blow. It disappointed me slightly that even though I was free, I could still not avoid being beaten.
But the next blow never came.
“If you need an extra quel, the cooks always ask for an errand runner,” Rayth said, walking off. What was this? Did he too, like Lyea, care for me? He had a nasty way of showing it. But nevertheless, the tone in his voice had been unmistakable. Kall Rayth had just swallowed his pride and offered me the closest thing to an apology that he could give. I felt stunned. This Rayth had defied my stereotype of rich lords as well as his own stereotype of how I should be treated, all in one sentence.
My hand felt in my pocket for the letter I had carefully taken from under the table while we had struggled to move the dead man.
This letter involved Lokan. Rayth was searching for him.
Jumping up suddenly I ran towards Rayth, grabbed his arm, and swung him around. He recoiled slightly and tensed in a defensive move. I took his hand roughly and placed the letter in it.
“I think you should read this. It has to do with Lokan.”
Rayth looked down at the letter and slowly opened and read it. Expressionlessly, he said we would have to call a meeting to inform the others of this letter and I was invited. He wanted me to share the details of how I had obtained the letter.
As it turned out, Hithla decided to call a meeting as well, something dangerous had happened to her.
And so all of us gathered in a garden.
Hithla
After accepting the courtesy of Keenan's household, I decided that I must get back to the manor and reveal what had occurred during my morning. I got up from the table and made a short bow in the fashion of Gyan civilities.
"Thank you for your hospitality, but they'll be wondering where I am and I must return." I looked at Ajay and Adrienne both and held a serious look on my face. "I owe you both a debt—a life debt that is. I will never forget what you have done for me, until I save your lives one day."
Getting up from the table and almost upsetting her drink from it's spot, Adrienne said, "There's no need for that Hithla. Just forget about it, please."
"I'm afraid I cannot do that," I said with a wry smile. "It is the custom of my people, and even if it wasn't, I would feel wrong if I somehow did not repay you." Ajay just nodded at the table; he'd probably been in this position before. "I will return in a few days to see how Keenan is doing. Thank you, again." With that, I stepped out of the apothecary shop, and started back toward the manor.
I was ashamed that someone had had to save me in the first place, yet thankful that they had been there to do it. From now on, I would never go anywhere without my bow and arrows. It's not that I was unused to battle, but for some reason those demons had awoken some fear inside me that had made me immobile and unable to think in the heat of the moment. I had to get back to the others and warn them to be on their guard. Someone was watching our actions closely, and if we weren't careful, someone might end up dead.
On the way to my room once in the manor, I ran into Freya. She gasped, as she saw my dirty face and ripped clothes with blood adorning them.
"Hithla! What happened to you? Are you alright?" the dark haired girl asked.
I responded, "Yes, I'm fine. Gather the others in the gardens. I must speak to everyone." Not understanding but willing to comply, Freya ran off to find everyone.
With a sigh, I decided to wait until afterwards to wash and change my clothes. I walked to the gardens and waited for the others. One by one they filed in and sat down.
Eyeing my long hair that had fallen out of it's usual restraints and was currently swirling around my small body, Kall said calmly, "What's this all about, Hithla?"
Terr raised his eyebrows at my appearance, but remained silent, waiting for my response.
"I went back to the apothecary's shop to investigate." Kall looked angry and started to say something but I continued. "I know I shouldn't have Kall, it wasn't safe. I should have brought someone else. But I was ambushed, before I even made it inside. The vision, the mind message that I received and thought was from Lokan… it wasn't. I don't know who it was from, but it's from someone who wants us to stop searching. He sent demons to give this message, and I have no doubt that if two others hadn't saved me… I would now be dead."
Terr stood up, frowning, and said, "Why didn't you save yourself? Where was your bow?" The blush on my face was enough answer; I hadn't brought it with me. Terr proceeded, "Hithla! How could you do that? You're not the only one who's involved here. You put us all in danger by going by yourself. What if they had taken you with them and had forced you to give something away? Where would we be then?"
"I would never tell them anything Terr, I can't believe you'd suggest such a thing."
"He didn't mean that you'd intentionally give them information Hithla," Kall said. "But under… certain conditions, I'm sure it wouldn't be hard to get anything from you, or anyone."
I looked to Freya, who sighed and shook her head. Lyea spoke up, "Don't reprimand her. She only tried her best, just as we are all doing. We all want to find Lokan, and now it appears as though someone else wants to find him as well, and wants to keep us from pursuing our goal."
"Thank you Lyea." I glared at Terr and Kall. "But I'm not a child, and refuse to be treated as one. How dare you chide me, as though I were an infant!"
"Maybe if you didn't act like one, we wouldn't treat you as one!" Kall shouted back. Squinting, I noticed for the first time that it looked as though his eye was bruised. I wondered what sort of scuffle he had been involved in.
"All I want to do is find Lokan," I growled. "You all want to find him for the benefit of the people because of the skills he has. I'm sorry if my motives aren't as noble, but I want him back for the person that he was. You may have lost in him the friend that you once had. I lost my love, and I would do anything to have him back, despite any sacrifice I have to make. Don't tell me I'm acting like a child, when all I want to do is recover the man I love."
I stalked away, before another word could be spoken. I took my anger out on the archery range, as I shot at targets. Lokan… if only you were here…
A tear blocked my vision, and the next arrow I shot didn't even make it to the target.
Freya Qyr
I watched Hithla storm away with tears in her eyes, and felt anger rise inside of me.
"Kall, if you don't hold your tongue next time, I'll cut it out for you!" I lashed out. "Leader of the expedition or not, wealthy young gentleman or not, you are being a combination jerk and idiot. You hire a servant boy for me, and then proceed to treat him with the utmost contempt. You seem to think you are the only worthwhile member of this group, but so far you have proved yourself to be the least helpful."
I knew the last statement was not entirely true, but I didn't care. Lyea gave a small smile, and Terr merely shrugged. With a sigh of exasperation, I stood up and walked away. I needed to find and my new Gyan interpreter. The duties of the mistress of the manor called first, but afterwards I intended to look for Hithla.
Terr
I stayed at the table, finding no other reason not to. Soon Kall stormed off, and then every one else left as well. He had been acting oddly all week. It was like he was worried and angry at the same time. I pondered this. It was a nice day, and every one was most likely taking advantage of that.
A half hour later, Kall returned, and so did all of the group. They all sat back down.
"I see you've returned. Why so soon?" I chuckled.
"I was going to bring it up earlier, but then everybody got huffy and ran away. I had to gather you all back up again. It’s something very important." Kall’s voice was dead serious. I placed my feet off the table, and scooted closer to the table. There was silence.
"So what is this important thing?" asked Freya. Kall removed a piece of paper from his pocket, opening it and reading silently.
"It seems that," he said, voice a bit shaky. "We are in grave danger." The words echoed in my head.
"We?" Hithla said, her voice shakier than Kall's. He nodded slowly.
"May I read it?" I asked, though it was more like a command, something he had to do. He passed the paper to me and I began to read. Tossing the letter back to him, I asked, "Where'd you get this?"
"Rune gave it to me." Was all that he said. |
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