The Master of Names

Chapter 12- Heated argument

  Keldon was eager to return to the prison cart cabin to write down everything he had just learned, but he hadn't forgotten his manners. After he had finished dinner, he offered to help Pudge wash dishes at a stream nearby. He moved quickly, cleaning the dishes with a soap scrapped together from leftover mutton fat and natural soda. It wasn't the sort of gentle soap he had grown accustomed to over the last few years, but it served its purpose. Finishing the task, he returned to the cabin. Finally, he could write down the contents of his dream.

  Or was it is a dream? He hadn't been asleep during this vision so perhaps there wasn't a need for him to be asleep in the first place. Hopefully, whoever was sending him these visions wouldn't send them at a time that would lead to him ending up dead. Seemed counterintuitive towards the purpose of sending them in the first place, plus being dead would be super inconvenient.

  He pulled out a pen and a small notebook he'd brung along with him for the trip, scrawling down what he could remember about the vision. After a few minutes of writing, Salem came into the cart cabin taking a swig of brandy that he had in his hands. He wrinkled his nose as he passed by Keldon, taking out an embroidered cloth and plugging his nose.

  "Do I smell that bad?" Keldon thought, giving his armpits a sniff. He turned his body away from Salem, trying to block him from reading what he had wrote down since they weren't exactly on the best terms.

  Salem plopped down on the bench, closing his eyes for a snooze as low rumbling sounds soon filled the cabin interior. As well, the Prison Crew Boys were currently sitting around the campfire, shooting the shit as they exchanged insults and drinks.

  "This might be my best chance for some magic practice." Keldon thought, looking around. He had toyed with the idea of waiting until he had reached the capital, but there was no guarantee he'd be able to find an isolated space to practice then either, so he needed to take opportunities as they showed themselves.
  

  He creaked open the door, slipping out quietly, masked by the chatter of the Prison Crew Boys. Keldon crept off into the night, remembering seeing a small cave about 20 minutes or so behind them.
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  A few minutes after Keldon had left the cabin, Salem peeked up from underneath the cloth covering his face.

  Finally, he was gone. That Keldon boy reeked of some of the strangest smelling magic he had experienced in a long time. He even smelt it before he had even entered into the cabin for the first time and squashed his lunch. It was the stench of an incredibly archaic magic.

  "I'm not getting involved this time," Salem thought to himself, taking another swig from the bottle. "He's practically asking to be killed for using magic so blatantly." Salem had had enough of getting involved with these lunatics. It didn't matter which side he was on, it never went well for him.

 He rolled over onto his side, settling down for a real sleep now that Keldon had snuck off.

  However, as he began to drift off, the familiar scent of a bitter-smelling magic wafted by his nose. He sat up, catching the last glimpse of a dark cloak, moving in the same direction as Keldon.

  "Nope. Nope nope nope. " said Salem, laying back down and shaking his head to himself. However, guilt pulled him back upright as he looked out the window. The cloaked person was gone, leaving behind only a trail of bitter scent in their passing. It shouldn't matter to Salem if Keldon got caught, it was his own fault after all. He hadn't been careful enough about who might be watching, and if he was going to dabble in that nonsense, he should at least have decency to be cautious about it. But then, he thought of Emily, and how she had him to guide her, yet still...