“YOUR NAME?” SHE ASKED.

The man still lay on the ground. But he opens his eyes as if waking from a dream.

Then, he looks at her.

Most humans will be afraid when they look Aia straight in the eyes. But this knight looked at her as if he could not believe she was there.

“What on earth does a woman like you doing here?”

“A woman like me?”

“Yes, my lady, a woman like you,” he said as he tried to stand up. “Do you realize where you are?”

“The Kingdom of Knaves,” she said. But then she remembered she needed to sound unsure to appear more human.

But she was never good at lying. Even while she appears as an old lady, it was a struggle for Aia to stop herself from telling the truth. So she covered her eyes and let everyone think she was blind. Aia prevented herself from searching for the truth, so she isolated herself from anyone. And she tried her best not to answer direct questions.

I should have covered my eyes again. But Raven will asked why. It does not matter. I’ll just try to avoid looking further at anyone’s eyes. I should only inquire so I would know how to drag the god of lie to the otherworld. I will not let myself be involved further than this.

“Yes, my lady. You are indeed in the land of thieves, murderers, cheaters, manipulators, and impostors. Not to mention—”

“Which one are you then?” she asked as she stared at his green eyes that seemed blue at first.

“Well, I am all, my lady,” he responded truthfully. He was smiling and bowing slightly at her while thinking she would not believe his words.

He stood straight afterward. It was inevitable to notice that the knight was not as tall as Raven. And the knight could not help but find it odd that she only had one man with her.

“So, who is your companion? And if I may ask, I would like to know your name, my lady.”

He is charming her to avoid giving his name. In his eyes, he sees her as a young maiden lost in the woods with her driver. He was guessing their carriage is stuck somewhere that they walk a mile or two to get help.

This knight, though not dangerous at the moment, could be a murderer. But it was expected since most people who end up at the Kingdom of Knaves only kill to survive. It was known by everyone.

“My lady?” he asked while wondering why she kept staring at him and not responding to his questions.

“I asked first, my lord. Was it too much to ask for your name?”

“Oh… I did not hear what you said earlier. My name is William James Miller. And you, my lady?”

He is lying.

“Aia. And this is Raven.”

He seemed confused that she only gave him their first name. They do not have a second name or a family name. So, if he asked for an explanation, she would be bound to tell him all he wanted to know.

She will not let that happen.

“Okay then, Lady Aia. What brings you to our land?”

Aia was relieved that he did not inquire about their origin.

“I wanted to know what had happened here.”

Did the god of lie do this?

“As you can see, we were traveling to conquer another land. But while resting near this river, some of our men ran amok and caused this madness.”

“A group of traitors attacked everyone?”

“No, we are attacked by some of my men, my lady. I trained with them, so I was familiar with how they fight, yet their attack came randomly. It was like they were having a nightmare. And then, another one follows, and another, and another.”

“Did this happen before?”

“Not that I know of.”

“So it only happened here on this river,” she said while looking around.

Then Aia knelt to touch the clear water that kept on flowing.

The knight and her pet followed and observed her.

It was faint. But Aia felt the added liquid that flowed in the river. It was similar to poison. But the effect is to make someone kill everyone on their path before killing themselves.

It was doing a great job at wiping the humans.

“Many drank from this river,” she commented.

“Yes. We were all dying from thirst and hunger.”

“Yet you live,” she said

Aia stared at his damaged armor. She still sensed he had no injury. However, when Aia tried to touch him to confirm her theory, he moved away from her.

“Now this… is an old armor. It is an antique, my lady. So the damages are already here even before I wear it. But it brings me luck so I wear it.”

Was that the truth?

Aia tried to stare into his eyes. But he looked up and noticed the fading light.

It was a familiar gesture.

Even the deities who knew Aia would look at her feet or in the opposite direction. Liars will not look into the eyes of anyone when asked about their truth.

“We should both go to the Kingdom of Knaves. I must tell this to our king. And besides, this forest is not a safe place. Especially at night.”

“Soon, no place will be safe. They already attacked the village I was from,” Aia said instead.

“How can they attack so fast?”

“You have not heard of their machines?” asked Aia.

“I heard of it. But I have not seen it yet.”

“Yet you and your comrades chose to attack using your old tools and weaponry.”

“It is all we have. Besides, we would rather die than become slaves.”

He had spoken the truth. Then, as if remembering he was talking to a lady, he smiled and offered his hand to her. “We must leave this place at once, my lady.”

Aia does not trust the knight. But she believed he was sincere in his concern about a possible danger.

“As you wish,” she said before taking his hand and holding on to Raven.