Andrew

They stood at the bottom of the steps of a great tavern door. The name Three Prongs Inn loomed over them upon a carved-out piece of wood. From where Andrew stood, it looked like the bottom side of a ship’s hull. The eight-story building loomed over them as they stood in the middle of the village centre. And even though the streets were relatively empty, Andrew could still hear the noise of people shuffling around and talking within the building. Andrew knew it was a hunter-gathering place given its size, and its importance enough to be put at the centre of the village, so it baffled him as to why it sounded so lively now of all times.

Walking thorough the double doors, Andrew was more taken aback by what he saw. There among the many scattered tables, Andrew counted at least fifty men drinking and talking among themselves. The fact that there were people drinking did not shock him. The amount of them here was not a shock either, though it baffled him. What got to him was despite the amount of people that were in there, the Three Prongs Inn was quiet and orderly. Some men looked up from their cups as he and Natalie entered. Besides the questioning glare from the odd man, everyone seemed to be about their own business. Things felt at ease, no hostility, just curious faces, but Andrew could not shake the feeling that something was off.

“Weren’t most of the villagers out celebrating or tending to the dead?” Between the ones celebrating and the assumed amount that left the village to bury the dead, how were so many men still gathered here?

“Not villagers, these are Swayers’ men,” Natalie said.

“Who?” Andrew frowned. As Natalie’s eyes scanned the crowd, Andrew noticed that some men took a secondary glance at Natalie with a kind of dismayed look. Unaware of this happening, Natalie continued.

“They are all part of the band called the Wandering Willows,” she said. Andrew widened his eyes in understanding.

“The local mercenary group.” Natalie’s eyes frowned as they stopped, scanning the room to look at him. “I’m sure Sophie relayed all this to you already.”

“She did,” Andrew said. “Everything just came to me when you mentioned the name.” Natalie, with a monetary pause, nodded to herself before she continued to look around. Not sure what to make of her strange reaction, Andrew made an effort to look around as well. He could see it now that it’s been mentioned. Most of the men sitting there wore uniformed clothing with an image of a willow tree with leaves curled within a halo-like crown of deep green imprinted on their backs.

There were about thirty men with such an outfit. The remaining twenty wore an assortment of leather browns and greys with spears and tridents that seemed the common clothing and weapon for the locals here. A few more people (locals) turned around from their tables to look at them.

No… to look at Natalie. They had looks of disbelief, intrigue, and awe in their features. And as Natalie’s eyes met their table, they’d either glanced away, pretended to have not been looking towards her at all, or gave her a slow, respectful nod. Unsure what to make of it, Andrew kept a mental note of it before pretending like he too never saw anything happen.

“Who are we looking for anyway?” Andrew asked. Before Andrew knew it, Natalie had slipped under his notice and was already by the stairs talking to a serving girl coming down.

“He’s still in the trader’s office,” the girl said as she hugged a silver tray to her chest. She looked up the spiralling staircase that encircled the inners of this eight-story tower, a conflicted twist of her lip betraying uncertainty. “It’s reserved for esteemed guests. He said that he won’t be long, but wishes to not be disturbed.”

“Tell him that I don’t have time,” Natalie said. The girl’s eyes practically fell out of their sockets at Natalie’s blunt words.

“I. Could. Never!” she hissed conspiratory. She leaned in towards Natalie, practically whispering at her forehead as she stood atop the last step. Recollecting herself, the girl flushed and backed away, hugging the silver dish to her chest.

Puzzled, he and Natalie just looked at her as she composed herself. “I’m sorry, it’s just I’m new to the job, it’s chaos in here, he’s an esteemed benefactor and I…I ‘may’ have spilled his beverage all over the table,” her face turned red at the mention of that, eyes holding a thousand-yard stare down at her feet. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Unsure what to say to that, Andrew just glanced at Natalie, who was doing the same thing right back at him.

“That sounds… rough,” his mouth just moved to fill the awkward silence. It sounded so mundane and small to Andrew that had it been on any other occasion, he might have been compelled to stifle back laughter.

As things stood now, however, was a reminder of the gulf between his life and the average person. Here was a girl around their age, or perhaps a bit older, and her biggest regret was spilling a drink atop a guest’s table. Andrew could tell that something similar ran through Natalie’s mind because she simply nodded to herself and straightened the girl’s falling hair, tucking it behind her ear and grabbing her attention.

“We’re going anyway,“ she said.

“But you can’t! He told me to-“

“-If anyone asks, tell them that we ignored you.” People gifted with power often overlooked the efforts of those who had none. Taking a short, deep breath, the girl smiled a thanks. With a nod back, Natalie went past the girl and climbed up the steps.

Reaching the second floor, she knocked on a large oak door bearing the number two on its face. Mere moments later, a young man’s face peeked its way between the door to expect them. His eyes grew suspicious when they fell on Andrew, but then beamed with welcoming intrigue when he saw Natalie standing beside him.

“Well, this is unexpected!” he said.

“I doubt it,” Natalie sniffed.

“You’re still upset that I guessed right?” the man said, his face smug. Natalie’s blank expression only made him chuckle to himself.

“Please, I have good instincts. It doesn’t mean that I’m a prophet. Cycles forbid I’d entertain such a thought.”

“The humble act doesn’t suit you, Kosumi,” Natalie said. Kosumi just gave a teasing shrug before turning back to him.

“And you must be Andrew,” Kosumi nodded to him. “You and your friend have quickly made names for yourselves, won’t be long before words of your deeds reach beyond Mt.Karaki and spread among-”

“-Is he inside?” Natalie interjected, arms folded. Kosumi gave Natalie a blank look before his face became all business. He turned to somebody in the room before opening the door all the way, allowing them in.

Andrew recalled the serving girl saying that this was a room reserved for travelling merchants. He’d expected it to be a little different from your regular tavern room with a bed and bathroom. The contrast still struck him. There were no windows for one. Instead, the room had walls made of polished wood, lathered and decorated with golden stripes that formed a pattern all around. On all four sides were framed paintings of the local landscapes, animals, and even people. On one side stood a framed picture of Mt.Karaki. Displayed in a landscape, the image was rather detailed. Another one showed a portrait image of snow-tipped trees with a pack of grey wolves walking under the watchful gaze of the Alpha king. To its opposite side was a painted picture of a river with three intersections forming a large lake. To the right and left of it lay two smaller pictures of two different fish. Trout and carp?

In the centre was a large table with a map separated over it. A tall man stood at the end of the room to one side of a desk, back straight, with arms behind them. Sitting behind the desk was a man of mixed descent, wearing a sharp lapel coat he to bore the symbol of the Wandering Willows.

“The dark angel returns,” he said. Though he sounded amused, his face betrayed none of it. “Here, without your tutor?”

Tutor? Does he mean Sophie? Andrew’s list of questions was growing bigger and bigger by the second.

“I thought you’d be making strides to Aqua Falls by now,” he continued.

“Sophie and Flynn are still back at the Farm,” Natalie said, arms folded.

“Good, the chief plan. Check up on the survivors as soon as they-”

“-Gracie is dead,” Natalie said. Her voice was too levelled-too distant. Sawyer blinked at the news. Kosumi and the other man behind Sawyer turned to their leader on the chair, their faces barely hiding their concerns. Feeling sympathetic and wanting to fill in the void, Andrew went into more detail about what happened.

He told them about the attack from the assassin Seven, the death of Lawrence and Cruz, as well as the injury Harley suffered at his hand. He even told them about the strange apparition that floated before Gracie despite how hard it was to recollect. Andrew, however, kept out the detail about who Seven worked for and the Nova out. It was not so much because he did not trust these people, but it was more for Natalie’s sake. He knew he needed to tell her this stuff soon, but it did not have to be here in front of these people.

“She had a great distrust of outsiders.” Emmitt, the tall man standing behind Swayer, said.

“Ain’t that the truth!” Kosumi chuckled as if recalling a memory. “She had it in for our boss when we first got here. I think she thought that he was going to steal her sister or something. Another gifted prodigy under threat of being spirited away by the Willows. They didn’t see eye to eye even after we became regulars. She was a bit stiff. I’m going to miss her.” Kosumi said, shaking his head to himself. After some ruminating, Sawyer let out a soft sigh.

“I guess that you did not come back here so soon to merely act as messengers,” Sawyer said. “What is the real reason you sought me out?” It seemed like he’d like to move on.

“You’ve known Sophie before meeting her here, didn’t you?” Natalie asked. The atmosphere in the room seemed to have dimmed at her mention of that. Suddenly, the relaxed-looking Kosumi steered at them with a cold, unreadable glare. Although he could not see it, Andrew’s instincts told him that the man behind Swayer, who already had an unreadable face with his guard up, had shifted his posture just enough to gain quicker access to his weapon. Worst still was Sawyer himself. Unlike his men, he did not try to hide the ultimatum he was weighing behind his eyes.

Eyes widened and hairs standing up at attention, Andrew readied himself to draw his weapon only for Sawyer to raise a hand, putting his men at ease. In that moment of relief, Andrew dared a glance at Natalie. Thankfully, he saw that she, too, was as shocked as he was. Good, it meant that she had not intentionally brought him to a situation without explaining, only to play with his life. Although that did not get him any closer to understanding what was going on, he at least knew that much.

“When did she tell you?” Sawyer said. Looking uncertain, Natalie turned to Andrew for a moment. Andrew just shrugged.

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“They haven’t told us anything,” Andrew said slowly.

“And that’s why we came here,” Natalie followed up. “I need to know what Sophie’s deal is, if we are to travel together-”

“-Do you trust her?” Swayer asked.

“Even if I did, I still need answers,” Natalie said.

“And this is how you get to know her, by asking others behind her back?”

“You’re free to tell her what I asked, but from what little time I spent with Sophie, I think if the roles were reversed, she’d do the same. Not because she’s being nosey or holding ill will. She’d do it simply because to remain ignorant is to remain childish and powerless.” Sawyer smiled in approval at that.

“Agreed, ” he said. Getting off his chair, he walked over to the table at the centre to observe the map. “She’s not one to step into anything completely blind.” That made a lot of sense. The whole picture of what Natalie was doing here was coming to focus as well. Still…

“I think you’d struggle to find many people who’d choose to take any job blind,” Andrew said. “Especially when people are involved,” Swayer, still looking at the maps on the table, nodded.

“Yes, but even by hunters’ standards, she is a bit… excessive.” Picking up a wooden piece with a spear on its top, his eyes softened as he lost himself momentarily in thoughts. Coming to, he gave his full attention to them. “The secret that she holds now is not one of her own,”

“She’s holding a secret of your own,” Andrew said, more to himself. If that was true, then Natalie was not only asking for secrets but from a who practically was a complete stranger.

“If it is your business, then forget we said anything,” Natalie said. Swayer, however, shook his head.

“Considering your journey, it might be in your business to know. Telling you ain’t the issue, it’s weather I can trust you to keep my business,” he said. His gaze seemed to wander off onto the map on the table. “There are a small few I can keep close these days.”

“If it’s just your business, then forget it!” Natalie said, her arms folded once again.

“Very well, but if you change your mind, then just ask them,” Swayer said, his smile earnest.

“You mean Sophie and Flynn?” Andrew asked. He was sure he was getting it, but just to be certain, the conversation did not go off in some other direction.

“My issue is trust. To be frank, I don’t know you, and yet I trust them. If they trust you as much as I trust them, then they’ll see the benefit of telling you my secret.” Andrew’s eyes widened.

“What do you mean by that?” Natalie asked.

“It seems you two have made a fearsome enemy.” Sawyer looked directly at him now, weighing something he saw on his face before Andrew could think to mask it. So he knows who spearheaded the attack here.

Sophie must have told him. Flynn was there to face both the Nova and assassin with him firsthand. That made sense to him because he was there and understood what he meant by these words. Natalie however…

“So she’d gone and told you my business without any consent?” she said. He sounded near to boiling. Sawyer understandably looked confused. He’d avoided telling her this too soon for this very reason.

“Hard for her not to tell me when…” Sawyer began, but slowed the moment he saw the faint shaking of Andrew’s head. Seemingly getting the message, Sawyer closed his eyes, allowing a sigh to escape his lips. “I understand the situation…” he mumbled.

He dose!?

“You know nothing about my situation!” Natalie said. Soon, there was a smug grin on his face once she said that, making Andrew all but certain that he knew and understood.

“Keep telling yourself that and soon there will truly be nobody who’d care to understand your plight,” he said.

“So what? You think it’s ok for her to go around telling others my business!?”

“You forget that ‘your business’ involves fighting an organisation that thrives on harming others behind the shadows. Who do you think benefits from keeping their vile acts in the dark?”

Natalie faltered for a moment before looking back at him. Knowing what Swayer was really up to put Andrew in a rough spot. Opting to play ignorant for now, he begrudgingly shrugged.

“You’ve said as much yourself. It’s the people who turn a blind eye to this who are to blame for all the stuff that keeps happening. I may not know why Sophie thought it worth telling this guy what we are up to, but at least he listened,” he said. Natalie just cut her eyes to him.

“Whose side are you on?” she spat under her breath. Andrew wanted to shout. Instead, he pretended that he had never heard it.

“But enough about sides and who said what. There’s a reason why you came here asking these questions,” Sawyer said.

There was? Andrew turned to Natalie questioningly.

“Sophie said something recently that’s been bothering you even since, right?”

She did? He looked at Natalie and lo-and-behold, her head was downcast, her face conflicted. Andrew groaned inwardly, just when he thought he got to grips with the current situation.

“To continue travelling with her, she forbade me to get intel from Zac,” she said.

“The info broker?” Emmitt said. Andrew nodded.

“We’ve heard of him. He’s up his own ass about how good his information is, but even I have to admit that his sources are legit.” Kosumi said before looking at his boss. Sawyer leaned against them, his face dark with trouble.

“I’d side with Sophie on this one,” he said.

“Of course you would,” Natalie sniffed.

“You misunderstand the boss’s relationship with Sophie, he-” Emmitt began, only to be halted by Sawyer.

“He is well connected, but he also got a lot of skeletons in his closet. Some of those skeletons are still chasing him to this day. He’s in conflict with some very powerful people. Any who contact him put themselves at risk of being caught in the crosshairs of some very unsavoury types. With your growing reputation, that just means you’ll become a bigger target, harder to miss… easier to hide behind.”

“Meaning he’s not above throwing us under the cart if need be,” Andrew huffed.

“So long as he can keep moving forward, he won’t lose a wink of sleep over a few lives lost. You play with him. You will be nothing more than a sacrificial pawn in his twisted game,” he said.

“All you grown-ups are the same,” Natalie whispered. That drew the attention from all in the room.

“Posturing for an advantage, withholding information, talking in circles, playing stupid games. You’re all the same.” Natalie said, was she… sulking?

“Ain’t that the truth!” Sawyer chuckled, his smile perhaps the brightest he’s seen it. “We all play the ‘game’ as you say it. Some just play it better, others just play plain nasty,”

“It’s stupid,” Natalie pouted.

“You speak as if you’re upset because you and do not partake. But in truth you do play, you’re only upset because you are not yet good at it,” Sawyer said.

“When did to figure it out?” Natalie asked.

“The way you dropped the news was shocking, but once I compartmentalised the gut punch it became obvious what it was that you were doing, gut punches are great in a preemptive strike, but in the battle of tongs it’s too heavy-handed.” Natalie just groaned, to which Kosumi got a good chuckle out of. And although Sawyer did not laugh, the smile on his face still remained. “Don’t be mad. You are still young. I come from a background where having a sharp tongue and mind paid great dividence. If you keep travelling with Sophie, you will soon learn the nuance of the game,”

“It’s Sophie’s ‘games’ that worry me,” Natalie huffed out a breath, but her heart did not seem all that into it. Instead, she folded her arms and turned to an image of the fish.

“If Sophie is anything like her master, she won’t take her teasing too far. She can mess around at times, but she will take care of you.”

“And what about Isabella? You intent on taking care of her?” Natalie asked. Sawyer looked up at Natalie now. A look of genuine surprise on his face.

“I cannot,” he said.

“Because of what Gracie said?” Natalie asked. Again he looked surprised, but the expression merely reached his eyes.

“Even if Isabella asked, I cannot go against her sister’s wishes.”

“New game, new rules.“ she said. Swayer turned to her, confused.

“What do you mean by that?“

“She’s not tethered to her sister or the village anymore. If you don’t take her, then she will leave the village by herself, so I’m asking if it comes to that. Will you take care of her?”

“The people here regard her as a gifted treasure, with powers not ever seen since their founder. If I were to take her without the blessing of parent or relative, I’ll-”

“-answer the question…” Natalie looked straight at Sawyer, now making him fold his arms.

“If she does choose to come with us, then I’ll treat her as well as I do any of my men,” he said, eyes resolute. Natalie, whose weighed him with her gaze took a slow breath as her resolve faltered into one of clear confusion.

“What he means to say is that she will be treated well,” Kosumi said, “Unless… you saying that I’m being treated unfairly.” An amused smile slid its way on his face. Nodding slowly to herself, Natalie just turned to him, her face a fractured mask of emotions. After a short while, she broke eye contact with him to make her way towards the door.

“So long as you protect Isabella,” she said as her hand grabbed the doorknob. Just as she opened it, Andrew saw a hand just move to knock on the door, only to strike air. Isabella stood face to face with Natalie, both of them poleaxed into place with shock.

Shocked himself, and realising that Sawyer and the others perhaps could not see Isabella behind Natalie from their position, Andrew snapped out of his daze, cleared his throat, and sprang into action.

“Hey Isabella,” he said, walking over as Gracie’s sister finally turned to look at him.

Announcing her like that should get rid of any other surprises. Andrew did not understand fully what was going on, but he gathered enough to understand that what Sawyer and Natalie were just talking about was perhaps best they knew who was at the door.

“I thought you left already,” Isabella said. Looking between him and Natalie.

“W-we’re just leaving now! Right Andrew?” Natalie said. She turned to him. He could practically feel the anxiety pulsing off of her reddening features and beaming off her widening eyes. Andrew wanted to groan. Instead, he nodded to Swayer, gave an apologetic smile to Isabella and a nod to Natalie, to which she partially darted out of the room when he did so. No sooner had Andrew passed Isabella by the door did she call for him.

Stopping, Andrew watched Natalie continued her walk downstairs. Not only had she already made her way halfway down the steps leading to the ground floor, but she only now had turned around to notice that he’d hardly started. Andrew noted the pensive look on her face as he turned back to Isabella. Her eyes were still planted when she last saw Natalie, a tempest of emotions on her face.

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what’s got into her,” as if he’d ever known what goes on in that skull of hers. Isabella shook her head.

“I wanted to be angry at her for leaving like that, but… I see now that she’s just looking out for me in her own way.” There was a bittersweet smile on Isabella’s face, which made Andrew narrow his eyes.

“How long were you listening?” he asked. Now it was Isabella’s turn to go red. “Long enough to hear her mention my name,” she said slowly.

“So you heard that, huh?” he said, a little amused.

“I wasn’t trying to listen in-honest! I was about to knock and…well.” Seeing the amused smile on his face, Isabella deflated and looked away from him once more.

“I’m the one who should be apologising,” she said, eyes glued to her feet. Andrew frowned.

“What for?”

“For how I acted back at Iris’s house,” she said. “You were there for my sister in her last moments. And for that I’m grateful.” The pain of what had happened pulled him right back to that moment. His mind was awash with thoughts of how things would have gone if he’d done things differently. It made him feel weak, powerless. Like the day the demons came and Natalie went missing. Forcing on a smile, Andrew nodded meekly.

“It was the least I could do,” he said. His throat felt like it was burning.

Why didn’t you move sooner?!

“I’d already plan to ‘go for it’ anyway,” she said.

“Does your guardian know of this?” Sawyer asked. Solemnly, Isabella nodded.

“I’ve talked to Shepherd just before coming here,” she mumbled.

“I grew up to understand that she was only trying to look out for me, but…” she paused. Over a thousand untold thoughts too big for mere words to explain past her features, Isabella sighed. “In the end, I’m just glad that I’d got her blessing.” There was a distant look in her eye, as if living old memories. Memories that he will never see or know. Memories he failed to preserve.

Too late… the burning sensation in his throat threatened to choke him.

“So then, a traveller of the Wandering Willows!” Andrew said, clapping his hands together as he plastered on a smile. “You got the big wide world at your fingertips.” he sounded interested, but in all honestly he just wanted to change the subject. He did a bad job hiding the swallow he did to clear his throat but fortunately, Isabella was not looking at him. Instead, her face seemed to darken then. Her eyes glaring holes through the floor that she gazed upon with its acid.

“That’s what I wanted to talk to Sawyer about, my one condition for joining them,” she said. Her words held a pressure to them that made Andrew hold his breath.

“Name it,” Swayer said. Andrew could just make Sawyer out over Isabella’s shoulder. He was sitting back behind the desk, elbows on its surface, hands inter-woven to mask his mouth, only giving Andrew his keen eyes as a window to his thoughts. He looked all business now.

“Until I find and kill all the people who attacked my village, I’ll stick with you guys,” Andrew’s chest went cold hearing this. He knew that if Natalie heard about this, she would be paralysed with regret. He was about to say something to convince her against it somehow until Swayer spoke up.

“If that’s your only request, then you will be with us for the long foreseeable future.” his eyes were on Andrew, as Swayer approached the door to stand beside Isabella. Confused, she turned to him.

“Once we set off tomorrow, our first order of business is discovering who did this,” he said.

“So you’re planning to get revenge too!?” Isabella asked. Andrew simply did all that he could to hide his disbelief. So not only did Swayer know about the stars of Halo, but he also planned on hunting them.

“Revenge, justice, or just an opportunity to bolster my name. It’s hard for me to say right now. What I can say is that I have unanswered questions.”

“What unanswered questions?” Isabella asked.

“The absence of the sentinel, the wolf’s unrest, the mass demon attack, Seven the assassin. Hard to believe that all this was orchestrated by just a ‘few men’.”

“So it was someone who did all of this!” Isabella said.

“I wish to work out the inner machinations of their heinous spider’s web, find out who’s financially backing these individuals, and dismantle their web of connections one thread at a time. Mark me: When next we Willows face them in battle, it will be they who will have the rug pulled out from under them.”