The Dreaming Land

Chapter 19: Preparations

The guard station was the place Orius ever wanted to find himself, even if was just to answer a few questions. It made him nervous, for good reason. Misha looked equally as uncomfortable, sitting across from him next to Imara. Quintir paced back and forth in front of them, and this did little to ease his anxiety. It had only been an hour since the explosion, but it felt like longer. He kept replaying the event over and over in his head, wondering if he had missed something, wondering if there was any ways he could have clued in faster, but found nothing.

Apparently, according to some paperwork filed with the city, the Inn had been sold the day before to an unknown business man. They were waiting to receive his end of the paperwork, but now they figured that wasn't going to happen. The inn had, according to rumour, been doing poorly as of late and the owner was looking to sell. Someone approached him seeking to purchase the building a few days before, and offered a large sum of money, and then some for the owner to just up and leave.

Sven, the friend of the man killed in the explosion, had been told not to come into work the next day by the owner and that he should look for a new job. So, he'd taken the time to sleep in, forgetting to tell his friend, who are lunch there everyday, that the inn was no longer open. Orius had seen the look on Sven's face when he got the news, and wished there was something he could have done, more than ever.

The group turned their attention to the sherif of the town as he approached them. He wasn't a very tall man, but he had an air of respect about him. Concern was written all over his stern looking face as he looked each of them up and down. He looked at Orius and gestured towards his personal office, and so he followed. Closing the door behind them, Orius took a seat at the table in the room across from the man.

"My name is Sherif Evitt." He said with a serious tone, "I understand you were present at the inn when the explosive went off?"

"Correct, sir, I was." He nodded.

"You seem nervous," Evitt eyed him, "Do you have something you want to share with me?"

"No, sir." Orius said, "I'm just not personally a fan of guard stations."

"Got a problem with authority, son?" He asked.

"No, sir. Of course not." He lied.

"Look, son," Evitt said, leaning in, "I'm going to tell it to you straight. We're not sure what to think of you and your little group of friends. Way we see it, everything's fine here until you show up. Now, I'm not saying you planted the explosive at the inn, that would just be moronic. I think it was meant for you, though."

"How'd you come to that conclusion?" Orius asked, unsure if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Call it a hunch, if you want," Evitt shrugged, "but either way, what I say here goes. Got it? You and your little group have got one night, and then you're gone from Fort Velishad. Have I made myself clear?"

"Yes, sir..." Orius sighed.

"Good." He said, waving a hand, "You can go."

Orius quickly left the office and rejoined his companions, leading them out of the building. Guards always rubbed Orius the wrong way, though maybe they felt the same way about him. He was a thief, after all. The sherif's request pissed him off, but none the less he understood. They were a danger to these people as long as Reiner was setting up more traps for them. One night was all they needed, and then they'd be on their way.

-

Orius and Imara had gone off to find another inn on their own, a city this size had to have more than one. When Quintir and Misha had first seen the smoke and heard the explosion, they had dropped what they were doing to go see what had happened, so they never got around to finding Misha her new weapons.