Titeramus Bursa

Footsteps. Bare footsteps. A person with a rather unusual stride came out of this bush and went ahead. No claw marks so, perhaps human? Not a child, not a woman. Those tracks were big enough for a male. Not a hunter. Hunters and warriors often thread on their toes in a quiet and precise gait, leaving little if any tracks behind. A peasant? No. They tend to travel in groups and at much grater pace. This man walked slow and his heavy soles sunk deep into the sandy track. A noble? The stride would fit but the placement… No noble would survive that forest without an armed cohort, fancy shoes and an army of servants. Not a noble. No. Just one more mystery.

First the disappearing traders. Then the beasts appearing, coincidentally, blocking all the routes to Everooth. And now this. It did not sum up.

The man didn’t walk far. From where he emerged to where his footprints disappear, give or take ten to fifteen stones… The cart stopped here as well. So, they took him on the cart? Why? From what the guard said they were not the friendliest bunch. A lowly merchant and his bodyguard. Why would they risk going through a closed road where a beast might shred them to pieces and stop to pick up a stranger. Unless they knew each other. Unless it all was part of some grander scheme?

“You done your dirt staring? Can we move already?”

“Go if you want, I have no order to go with you.”

“Always the good doggie a? No bark in that shiny head of yours?”

Bitch of the empire. I had long ago forsaken the quest to uncover the truth behind her abilities. Had her value extended beyond her body? That was no concern of mine. If master deemed her worthy, then be it. Although, her company I would do without.

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“Whanna fuck?”

“What?”

“You've been ignoring me for the better part of the day baldy, I just…”

“Work before pleasure, mind before distraction.”

I urged the kabu to run faster. At the current pace we may not reach the rock before the nightfall.

“Hey!”

Fenella did the same and her steed matched the pace of mine. We rode arm in arm.

“Quiet, isn’t it?”

Except for the wind, nothing broke the silent susur of the swaying grass. No birds singing. No chirruping of the evening bugs. No beasts howling in the distance. Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

To notice that, perhaps she was more than a pretty face in a dress and fancy trinkets.

“It is.”

I confirmed her observation and pushed on.

“What did your orders say?”

The silence did not last very long but this time her voice sounded different, so unlike her I had to look for a reason behind it.

“Inspect that town, find the local contact.”

That much I could tell her, but… All the joy left her face, replace by wrinkles of a thoughtful look.

“Nothing about any beasts or spirts?”

“No. Why?”

I pulled the reins and faced her.

“Because there’s nothing out here. No animals, no bugs, no people. As far as I can tell, there’s no town ahead of us.”

Just a column of grey smoke in the distance.

“What exactly did you track in that lake?”

“A dragon or something rivaling its power if not stronger. Or so I thought. Then it turned into a spirit and then it walked off towards that town of yours.”

So, a mage? They picked up a mage and drove towards the biggest burial ground in the empire. Ancient one. Gods know what people buried there.

“You have those fancy gemstones? Request support while you still can. I’d rather explain why we found nothing instead of reporting why we failed”

“Did that at the lake. If the weather holds, the imperial army should be here day after tomorrow.”

The quiet of the place annoyed me. As if the nature held its breath, hiding from something.

“That may not be fast enough.”