Shards of Felwyn

Decay

"That's not a very nice way of saying it." The girl put her hands on her hips, genuinely offended. "You know, not all shifters are criminals."

"They do not have the best public opinion where I come from." Elias said, a warning spoken in his tone. Readying his sword, his hands gripped the sturdy hilt with caution.

"The last time we encountered any of you, we wound up in a Trovvish prison, forced to face the trials." Cosmo spoke bitterly, gripping Dragon's Focus and summoning the transparent gauntlet. "We neared death itself in that arena."

"Not to mention you were disguised as the Prince himself." Lysander grimaced. "It doesn't paint a good image." Molniya, for once, remained silent. Cosmo had told her of the events that had taken place in Trovvs and she seemed to be letting the boys fight their own battle.

"I'm aware that you Trovvish folk don't have the best opinion of us." She flicked her hair to the left, the color shifting dramatically to a light blonde. Her eyes had changed in an instant to a cool azure, mimicking the appearance of a Trovvish woman. "But it was not I that caused your incarceration. I fled Trovvs years ago when I had a... run-in with the authorities concerning a certain piece of jewelry." She rubbed the gemstones on her necklace, giving away the luxurious piece's origin. "However, if what you say is true and you are victors of the trials, then you must be warriors of incredible strength! Not a soul has emerged victorious in many years."

"In that assumption, you are correct." Cosmo allowed his arrogance to show, stepping forward with an irritated look on his face. "Which is why you will tell us as to why you disguised yourself as Varren."

"Lay off the serious adventurer act." She replied nonchalantly. Cosmo felt embarrassed and his confidence faded. "I wore Varren's face simply because he made the mistake of showing it to me. Think about that: the Prince of Felwyn himself lent me his face. And all it cost me was a boat and a lantern."

"One second." Molniya interrupted, a serious look in her eye. "You saw Varren?"

"Well of course I saw Varren." She rolled her eyes. "Do you think I can just shift into anybody I like? If I could, I would have taken Lord Galdernad's form and kicked the geezer from his throne long ago." The girl laughed, a mischievous look in her eye.

"Where is he now?" Elias asked. He impatiently gripped one end of the boat, clearly wanting to leave.

"Where does anyone go in the Hinterland Wastes?" She asked rhetorically as she propped a hand up on the counter, sighing. Her hair slowly returned to the dark shade of amber it had been previously. "He sailed to Cors. Looked pretty injured, but ask me if I care about that." She made a loathing expression. "I'd assume, if the waters are clearer than usual, he's made it by now." The girl paused and looked at the four of them with a confused expression as though she was just now taking in their appearances. "You don't plan to hunt Varren himself, do you?"

"That's... almost the plan." Lysander spoke unsurely.

"He's leading us to something we have great interest in." Elias added, to which Lysander nodded.

"And you intend to find one man in the center of Cors, with no previous knowledge of the city?" She scoffed. "You'll need someone to help you."

"And why, exactly, is that?" Cosmo raised an eyebrow. If he was being honest with himself, he didn't believe much of what the shifter was saying and desired greatly to leave for Cors as soon as possible. However, the girl was right. All four of them knew next to nothing about where they intended to track Varren. Doing so successfully could prove difficult if they lacked the proper knowledge.

"One wrong move in Cors, and-" She cut herself off, dragging a thumb across her throat and mimicking the sound of someone choking on blood. "You could wind up dead. There are some powerful people in that city. Not to mention that magic can barely be cast there."