We walked along the river Vytenis. To our back were Carphe and the mountains range where we had the encounters yesterday. Dhan led the way he had forged a partnership with Gregori; the guardsman charged overseeing the party put forward by Mr Worbal. He dressed more like a knight than a standard footman; he had a full suit of armour with red cloth embellishment. He used a bastard sword with a leather grip and a gold crossguard. Behind them were the rest of the guardsmen; bringing up the rear was miss Daria, Jasper, Art and myself.
'So what brings a Dobroneigan mage like yourself into the service of a lesser Algirdas nobleman.' asked Art.
She glanced towards the right, observing the flow of the water.
'Circumstances and decisions, I've made choices, and they've had consequences.'
'stay away from this one,' Jasper nudged me as he pointed towards Daria, 'cryptic and beautiful, a woman like that will cause nought but trouble.'
'There's a difference between being cryptic and not wanting to spill your guts to someone you first met.' I said back, giving a slight whack into his chest, seemingly knocking the wind out of his sail; this caused a wry smile from Daria.
She glanced me up and down.
'That's quite a weapon you have there; where did you get it from.'
'The smithy in town, Wayland's.' I answered.
'Wayland's,' she gave another wry smile. 'He can do good quality work, but that hammer was made by the dwarves in Sapieha, curious how an adventure could afford such a piece.'
'He was still drunk and spent his life savings on it.' Jasper interrupted.
The light began to falter since noon; we had made headway and decided to stop in an old, dilapidated barn for the night. The door had deteriorated by dampness and rot. The area had been deserted. Slates were missing from the barn roof, and a large hole had been made in its side.
'We'll make camp here tonight,' Gregori stood in the centre; amber woven light had streamed in from the setting sun. The village with the most missing children isn't far from here at a good pace. We will be there shortly after midday tomorrow.'
'Everyone get some rest well be leaving early'. Dhan added.
The guardsmen quickly set up a camp and cooked us up a meal. I found myself in the same group again.
'I heard the small brown man was meant to be joyful and well, not so much like Gregori point two.'
'Once a job starts, he puts that to the side,' I said. 'No drinking and no partying till the jobs done. He even only eats the rations he's prepared beforehand.
'A man of principals then.' Daria added.
'And being opposed to someone like you is among them.' Jasper said.
'Like me?' Daria feigned offence. 'A Dobroneigan or a beautiful woman.
'A mage.' Dhan walked over. 'Many an adventure had died because a sorcerer over promises power, inflated egos, self-serving spells. Close enough to the action to get paid further enough away to stay safe.'
Daria choked down a scowl. You hate mages, but your companion carries a Dawven Warhammer that's empowered by it.' she stared me in the eye. 'And is there something else?'
Feeling uneasy, I rose up to my feet. 'I'll keep the watch outside.'
Time passed that night; the air was cold. Icy winds brought a cold kiss to my cheeks, keeping me from snoozing off. My eyelids opened and closed. I saw a misty figure on the edge of the river. I walked over the grass; it crunched and snapped under my feet. As I drew closer, I couldn't see the figure anymore; maybe it was a falling branch. I'm tired, my eyes need a rest.
I turned to walk back to the barn when an opaque arm came from the river and pulled me under. Water should have rushed over my head, I held my breath, but there was no need. My clothes never became wet.
The water didn't rush over my head; the only difference was silence. Silence rushed over my head. Silence poured into my lunges, perforating my eardrums, deafening me. It was a complete corruption of the natural order.
Breath. Breath, what can you see. I'm not sure if time slowed, does time existed in complete silence.
Breathe. No. Breathe. No. Bre...athe I can't breathe why can't I breathe. A cold hand grabbed my neck. 'NO.' The misty shape reformed into a creature. Its shabby cloaked robe entwined itself with the creature's flesh.
A sharp pain hit me on the back of my head.
'Wake up.' Dhan had hit me. 'Well done on staying awake.'
Comments (0)
See all