Vengance of the Keys

✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧Chapter 1: Reylyn✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧

 Reylyn plundered her sharpened dagger, no longer her lanky gladius, into a tree. This new place had plenty of trees for her to practice her weaponry on. Sweat dripped down her forehead. Her braid swung over her shoulder at the movement. She had improved her aim since the quest.

"Need any help there, Flames?" Reylyn looked up at the next tree she was going to destroy. The form of Harkin Swivel rested his legs across the tree. His dark hair messily rested across his face. She had met him about a week into discovering this new land. Discovering wasn't the right word to describe it.. Displace was. Reylyn was displaced.

"Nope." she twisted her body to aim her dagger just below Harkin's foot. He caught onto her plan before she could even do it. Harkin bounced it up with his foot. He had telepathy, which Reylyn was sure she was the only reason he wasn't dead yet.

"You need to hide your thoughts from me," Harkin chuckled. It was one of his dark chuckles that reminded her too much of King Basil's laugh. She could never get it out of her ears ever since she got to this continent. Reylyn had no idea what happened to Scarvern, Rheton and Cazzlyn. She just hoped they weren't dead already.

"You shouldn't invade my thoughts, now should you?" she narrowed her eyes at his smug look.

His hazel gaze was full of amusement at her defiance. "Can't help myself, your an interesting person, if I say so myself,"

"That's just your ego talking there, not your brain."

He huffed. "You think about Scarvern a lot. He must have some significance to you if he's constantly invading your head,"

Reylyn gritted her teeth, a new habit she had developed to keep herself from snapping at Harkin over the months. "Yeah. We had to be paired for this key quest thing a few months ago. I haven't heard from him since then," She climbed up the tree next to Harkin's to reach for the dagger. She managed to get it with a prick to the palm.

"You think he's passed on?" Harkin played with his own dagger. His own was gold instead of silver.

Reylyn forced herself to darken her thoughts for just a few seconds to avoid him entering her head. "Nope. If he was determined as much as he was on the quest, I'm sure he's fine. More than anything, he's having the time of his life back home." More blood trickled down her palm.

Harkin yawned. "Sappy, sappy. Whatever," he snorted at her glare. "Your mood needs to lighten up. Lighten up like the weather!"

Reylyn looked up. The sky was bright blue with clouds scattered across it. "Nope. Like my mood as it is, thanks for the offer though." She cursed as she realized the prick was more severe.

Harkin laughed at the blood pooling around her palm. "I should've gotten into your head when you did that,"

Reylyn laughed sarcastically. "Yeah. Very nice of you, Harkin. Any new reports from the town square?" If she had to be completely honest, she didn't understand why they had a town square. They only used it for reporting things and traveling across the two countries, but it was still interesting to hear the news from it.

"Yes. Just about the trade market around the castle and the three cities around it," The three cities he was referring to consisted of the gold collectors, heirs in line of the throne and people the king thought had an impact on his living quarters and land. Bena, Ereanl and Endana. "They may turn Bandana into three states soon,"

"To lower income states? Or just into smaller high income states? We already have enough high income states," She covered her knife with the scabbard resting in her jeans.

"Hopefully lower," Harkin agreed. Bituin and Fean are getting crowded, quickly.''

Bituin was the city of forests according to the people of Eraswyn, which meant it had the lowest income due to having trees so close to them. Reylyn was grateful her key had decided to place her here. She had just been to the end of Fean around the border between the two cities. "That's one thing we agree on." She mumbled.

He made sure his dagger was secure before climbing off of his tree. "You're thinking about exploring Feswan and the rest of Ersawyn." Harkin looked up to see her relaxed face. "Specifically Demalen, Endana and Cenlwen,"

Reylyn clenched her fists, her fingernails pressing moon crescents into her palms. "You need to learn to block out my thoughts."

"Well sorry your thoughts are so interesting!" He gave her a wide eyed smile. He was lucky they were assigned to the same sect.

She gave him the same wide eyed smile back with a tinge of creepiness.

Harkin snorted. "Come on, you big brute! Don't you want to have some other fun before curfew?"

Reylyn had to take him up on offer. Despite curfew still being a few hours away, it went by fast. They only had six hours of freetime, which seemed like a lot, but it really wasn't. Three hours of that freetime was dark.

"Yes, what's your idea, mind invader?"

He shot her a wary glare, but she knew he didn't mean it. Half of Harkin's glares were just for fun. He closed his hand into a fist and put one finger up for each of the options. "One, we can travel to town square, which according to my mouth will last one hour of daylight time, and get information from the Feswan reporters about the state splits. Two, Sparring and improving our aim with our weapons in the training arena. Three, piss off the new recruits of our camp. Four, tend to the animals, Five, help servants take care of newborn babies in the camp and prepare meals," Harkin's fist was now into a wide stretched hand.

"As much as I love pissing off the new recruits, I would like to spare today. And travel to Feswan if we can get away with it," She reached for the bandages always stored in the pocket of her jeans and wrapped it around her palm. Reylyn tended to wait out her wounds.

"Deal," he smirked at her as she climbed down her tree, almost as gracefully as he did. Reylyn was still getting used to climbing trees, she didn't bother learning how to. Maleni's trees grew in selective places, and they were usually dead and couldn't bear anyone's weight. She was grateful for learning to climb trees, though.