Shadowwalker - Under Review For Now

19. Absent-minded

Amber yawned, and then snapped her jaw shut, wide awake. 

"What do you mean.... dead?!"

Lodell nervously scratched the back of his neck. "Well miss," he began hesitatingly. "She's not dead, exactly- just... physically handicapped."

Amber stood up, narrowing her eyes. "Lodell..." she warned, her voice soft, but with dangerous undertones.

"Therewasanexplosioninsideherberdroomandnowshe'saghost," he blurted out rapidly.

She blinked. "Come again?" she asked.

"I said," Lodell repeated slowly, "There was an explosion inside her bedroom. Well, just outside. Rumours are that it has something to do with the Raiders, but personally I think it may have been some of the rogue Enforcers.

Supposedly, she fell asleep without blowing out her candle, and apparently she used a barrel of gunpowder as her nightstand. The moons know why. In any case, she got lucky- whilst there is nothing left of her body, she's a spiritguide now, a talking one at that. She's haunting her recipe book- wherever it goes, she goes. She gives extra tips and instructions, too. She'll probably teach her new apprentice how to code the pies with certain patterns so she can continue her extra services."

A moment of silence passed, before Amber burst out laughing, utterly shocked.

She shook her head. "You gave me a real heart attack there, Lodell. I thought something bad had happened." 

He rolled his eyes. "Naw, nothing major besides that- she be plenny bummed 'bout it tho, said she wanna do stuff ere she ghost-ified. Now she canner 'ave any more 'fun nights', whatever means."

Amber snorted. "You'll know when you're older. Anyway, when did your Talent manifest?"

Lodell's eyes lit up at the question. "Oh, miss! 'T was awesome! Last night, aye? I be mindin' me own business, 'n suddenly I can kinda sense stuffs of all sorts I dinna sense before, 'n it's kinda like I 'ave dese signposts tellin' me where people 'n thinga be 'n such."

"Your speech is getting worse 'n worse, it's even catching! But it sounds like a fun talent to have," she said, smiling at the young thing before her.

"I hope you'll tell me about your talent one day, Am. 'ny case, I should be going. I haven't been home in 2 days now- that canner be a good thing. See ya ar-"

"Hang on. How do we get out of the forest?"

"Oh, ya know. Just that way," Lodell commented. His eyes gleamed cheekily, and then he suddenly sprinted off.

"Hey, wait up!"

***

It was late in the afternoon when Amber finally reached the rocky beach. Thankfully, she was alone. She slipped off her cloak, shoes, and socks, and climbed down to the water.

She sat down, and let her feet dangle into the water as she sniffed the salty ocean breeze.

She sighed, mulling over the events of the past few days.

'Let's see... the Trio tried to catch me, the Raiders- whoever they may be- have arrived, and it's unlikely Venarius is an assassin, seeing his odd behaviour. It doesn't really match up. I wonder... could he be a spy? Is he, in fact, part of the Nobility? Or is he against them? Raven is getting restless.... nor have I used my Talent in ages. It's strange, until Lodell's Tracking Talent emerged I'd just about forgotten about the existence of Talents. Jack and Raven'll probably be proud of me.

That girl... I wonder what she'd done to get the Enforcers to kill her so brutally. Probably a pickpocket, or learning someone else a lesson- poor child. 

The Siren Sisters seems to be smuggling once more- or maybe they just broadened their horizons. I thought they were lying low, lest they be caught. Pondering on their lack of hearing won't get me anywhere- but I do wonder how & when that came to be. I'd heard the rumours- I just didn't believe them. Did they use Siren Song on each others? It's not really my business- and besides, I have other, more important matters to consider.

Would Venarius' talent be Teleportation? That could explain some things.... But no, the way I set him up should have made that impossible, the essence emvedded in the walls should still be strong enough.
I should find Nequistios, and ask him how he managed to escape. Assuming he's still in town, that is.

I wonder how Loveday's getting along... and that womanizing customer of hers. He could be a useful asset, given the right manipulation....

The water seems to be cooling down.

She looked up, and blinked several times. Spacing out wasn't always a smart idea- but this was her safe space. She had enough warnings set up around the area.

The sun had already begun to set, hence the drop in temperature, and she could see the three moons had started to rise- the Blue moon, who always rose first, was fairly high in the sky, the Green one had started to move towards the east of Moglux, and the red moon had half crawled above the horizon.

She looked at the world around her in awe for several moments, the only sound that of the seagulls and the gentle lapping of the waves, before she got up.
Amber started making her way back to her warehouse, where she knew a certain box filled with soft cloth was waiting for her. She wouldn't return to the Dirty Rag tonight.

At least, that's where she planned to go- right up to the moment when someone grabbed her arms, thrust a bag over her head, and tried to knock her out.