Eventide Scriptures I - The Shattering of an Era

Chapter 18.1 - Through the Veil of Night (Part I)

Varne followed Ryse into the forest covering the cliff's peak. They stopped upon discovering a small river to catch their breath. The canopy of intertwined branches obstructed the moonlight, and the remnants were scarcely sufficient for even a Prana vision.

Ryse leaned against an evergreen tree wider than his shoulders, while Varne sat on a rock, supporting himself with his hands behind him. The crickets and cicadas fell silent in the autumn forest, a stark contrast to the sounds of summer; instead, owls hooted from the darkness.

"Bastards!" Varne exclaimed. "What were they thinking? They intended to kill me!"

Ryse smiled, adopting an 'it's no big deal' expression.

"Varn, first, please lower your voice. I worry about enemy trackers. They are Decimae and won't carry torches to reveal their position to us."

He disliked it when Ryse began with that expression because it meant they were in serious trouble. Like the time on the ship when Ryse said 'there will be a little wind,' but it turned out to be a great storm. Several sea monsters were thrown onto the deck, nearly wrecking the ship.

"...after that, one event led to another, and I was accused of murdering King Ordofel. Since you happened to be around me, they assumed–"

Varne stood up, glaring. "Happened to be? You drag me into this mess, and 'happened to be' is your explanation?" He finished his words with Ryse's jacket collar already in his grasp. Even living in a remote village far from the king's influence, he understood how serious the accusation was.

"Please, keep it down. And kindly let go of my favorite jacket. Thank you."

"Bastard! This is all because you're too meddlesome!"

"I've to head east as soon as possible too. If Ordofel's dead, I bet the whole city will be shut down for a while. Not just Renfru but the entire regions. You'll be in trouble too. And..., if chaos happens, it's the regular folks who are going to suffer–"

"What's your plan?"

"Marfas. He can testify for me."

"You don't know where that intruder took him. They might have already killed him."

Ryse raised his hand, signaling Varne to be quiet. He looked around before replying, "If that's what she wanted, she'd have offed him right from the start. Lugging someone important around just begs for trouble; she wouldn't stay in this area. And the only way out of here is through the Thief Guild."

"Thief Guild? What's that?"

"The Thief Guild is an unofficial guild. It's tucked away right under Renfru city, and its entrance is also in the city."

"We're going back to the city? We better escape as far as possible. To hell with all this."

"We can't. They've already sealed off the borders a while back. And now, messenger birds have made every border even tighter. But if we want to head back to the city, our best bet is to head south through the hills. The problem with those hills–"

Ryse cut himself off. His instincts were right. The flickering flames of the pursuers' torches twinkled in the distance. They moved in a sweeping formation. Ryse signaled Varne to stay silent and follow him.

Ryse's steps were like those of a seasoned hunter. His feet treaded without a sound, like dew landing on leaves, always stepping on rocks or roots to avoid leaving tracks. He avoided dry leaves, acorns and was careful not to break any tree branches.