Extra 11: Negotiations of the Betrayed

Shreshka breathed in the early morning air of the valley, noting its difference from the smells they knew so intimately from their home.

About an hour ago, Retlafeh had woken up and proclaimed that they had a plan, and that they knew someone who owed them a favour.

She had asked a few times who exactly this person was and where they could be found, but the older man had insisted that he would only tell her once they were already travelling there or else “she would never agree to it”.

It had done very little to help her confidence in the plan.

The two of them had hoisted an awake but weak Hureheh to his feet and put one arm on each of their shoulders, although it felt less like they were helping him walk and more like they were carrying him wholesale.

“Hah, look at the size of that one!” Hureheh shouted, receiving a shushing from Retlafeh in turn.

The newly appointed oracle had taken to playing a game utilising his new powers where he would find the biggest “knolls” of magic he could and point out its position.

Considering no one but him could see these, it wasn't a particularly interesting game, but it was helping him get a handle on his new powers and seemed to be staving off thoughts on the desperateness of their situation, so Shreshka let it be.

Besides, at least one of them had to be in a good mood.

With every step the trio took, Retlafeh's frown seemed to be growing deeper and deeper, for a single moment he had taken his eyes off the track ahead and looked at Shreshka and the glower was nearly enough to kill her on the spot.

That terrible mood was the only reason she had refrained from nagging him till she learned of their destination, she would hate to see all that ire reflected upon her.

At that moment, the travellers entered something of a clearing in the landscape, the lack of trees finally giving real view of the world around them.

To their left was the massive evergreen that dominated the area, its toxic mists blocking all entry to its base.

To their right was a tall mountain, identical to every other mountain that crowned the ancient pine’s valley, it was blanketed with greenery even up to its snowy peak, as would be expected of fertile lands of the Earliag.

And finally, in front of them like a shining beacon in the untamed wilderness, a city built on the side of a mountain rested, signalling civilization to Shreshka’s chilled bones.

It featured hundreds of little curved buildings of blue and white, with the occasional mansion or tower aiding the lacking variety and despite its peaceful place on the mountain side, a pit of dread rose into the woman’s throat at the very thought of going there.

It would be suicide by any measure in their current situation.

“Hey, why have we stopped, what are we looking at?” Hureheh whispered to Shreshka, prompting her to relay what she saw.

“Aren't we lucky we aren't going there, huh.”

Shreshka stole a glance at Retlafeh, checking to see if the oracle's joke had gotten a rise out of him, yet instead she found his frown deeper than ever.

“We are going there.” He said.

The whole world stopped for a moment as the two younger slaves processed what he had said.

“Are you crazy!” “You're kidding right?” Shreshka and Hureheh yelled in tandem, disbelieving of what Retlafeh had said.

Stolen story; please report.

But he did not take back his words, instead continuing on, forcing Shreshka to follow.

“Why are we going to the city filled with people who want to kill us, Retlafeh, I think I've had enough near death scenarios for a while.” Shreshka exclaimed, getting to the question moments before the oracle could.

He took a long, deep breath, and began to reply.

“This is not the first time I have had a chance to escape, almost fifteen years ago now every slave in an entire trading caravan rebelled and killed their masters, and I was one of them.”

“We were all immature and scared, nobody knew what they were doing in the Earliag wilderness, it was only a matter of time before the Girtriag found us.”

“And so one of us, my closest friend, snuck out in the night and gave themselves up to our former-captors, gave us all up for their own freedom.”

Shreshka stayed silent, unsure of how to react to the whole situation, Hureheh, however, was not.

“So this guy you are taking us to see, the guy who owes you a favour is the same guy who betrayed you?”

“Yes,” Retlafeh confirmed.

“I hate to say the obvious here, but if the guy betrayed you then surely it would not be wise to trust him again?”.

Another deep breath, and an explanation.

“I know him, I knew him better than anyone else I've ever met, I knew he would betray us too but I didn't listen to my own doubts.”

“He will help us, I know he feels guilty about what he did, he has to.”

Hureheh shook his head, third eye staring directly at Retlafeh.

“And if he doesn't help us, if you're wrong? What are you gonna do then?”

Shreshka detected a hint of a shudder in Retlafeh’s reply.

“If he doesn't help us, then we were doomed from the start.”

The whole group went silent, listening to nothing but the wind rustling the trees and the stomp of their feet on the dew-laden ground.

They continued for half of an hour in that state, all mulling on their thoughts, until Shreshka finally worked up the courage to say something.

“So, if this man lives in the city how exactly do you expect us to get to him, no doubt they have our descriptions told to every Keeper in the empire.”

Retlafeh nodded at the question, replying with a simple answer.

“We will wait till nightfall then I will go alone into the city and recruit his help, you will stay with Hureheh, hidden until I get back.”

The man in mention butted in, “I don't like this plan, we should just run to the edges of the empire and leave the Keepers behind, not put our faith in some traitor.”

“If we run, we will be found, we only managed to escape the other day because our pursuers were amateurs, we won't get so lucky again.” Retlafeh replied with hostility.

“As it is, we need someone with connections, who can hide us away with people sympathetic to our cause. My contact has that.”

Hureheh scoffed, “We have star-silver, we are probably richer than half the people in that city, when you're rich everyone is a connection.”

Retlafeh’s irritation was building, his regular calm, stoic voice giving way to gradually raising anger.

“And how do you intend to use this money? Do you think every bakery and tailor we need to go to is going to have change for a coin of pure andromio, should we just rock up to the bank and hope that they would serve three runaway slaves!”

Hureheh raised his voice, any evidence of his previous weakness gone, and prepared to let loose a scathing argument.

“How hard can it possibly be, maybe if you weren't such a korhr-”

The anger of the two men was very suddenly put to a stop as they were both whacked over the back of the head by Shreshka, who confronted them with an angry whisper.

“May I remind you we are being hunted, we are likely enough to be caught as is without you two screaming out our location.”

Retlafeh seemed to realise his mistake and hung his head low, the same, however, could not be said of Hureheh.

“What do you want me to do when he's trying to get us killed?” he enforced, voice only a fraction lower than before.

“I want you to listen to him. Ultimately, he has a plan, if a risky one, and you have nothing, if Retlafeh thinks he can get his friend to help him then we have to at least give it a try.”

Hureheh stewed in angry silence for a long moment, before finally letting out a huff and turning his one open eye away from the people carrying him, placing all his focus in moving forward toward the city.

The truth was, Shreshka had no idea if she sided with the correct plan, she had no idea of the true dangers that awaited them or how likely it was she would get away.

While Hurheheh’s plan had certainly seemed simpler and perhaps more logical, it had gone toe to toe with Retlafeh’s hopes, and in truth, Shreshka trusted the older man more.

Then again, Retlafeh obviously had some history with his acquaintance, she just had to hope that he wasn't being irrational just to meet again with some long-forgotten lover.

Shaking her head free of those thoughts, the former slave hardened her convictions and straightened her back, moving forward toward the shining city in the distance.