Once over the bridge, both the explorers silently dashed into the cover of a vacant supply stand.

The boxes cluttered around them made for good shelter. Unfortunately, Vin couldn't read Elven, and they couldn't afford to make unnecessary noise, so everything around him had to be characterized as "unknown goods."

'Hopefully, it's food,' he thought, his empty stomach growling in agreement. Gideon heard his hunger, sighed, and then pried his hands over the nearest case. Before he got far, Vin shouted into their spiritual chatroom, "Stop! Are you trying to get us killed?"

"No," the guard blandly replied. He was considerate of his human associate's hunger, which was commendable, but now wasn't the time to be daring. Actually, he'd been far too remiss for Vin's liking. The winged man was anxious but wasn't as terrified as he should have been.

"Listen," Vin voiced, piercing the guard with a dark gaze. "You aren't as gullible as the other Ravenours who believe in that crap about of the Eternal's second coming."

"My ability is finite," he said, stabbing his index into Gideon's chest, "Especially right now, if you die I won't be able to bring you back."

Jazzy's stare expanded, startled. He, of course, had questions, but they were met with a dreary statement, "We are not gods. We're just people who got lucky."

Vin closed his eyes to search for nearby souls, adding, "Don't ever live like this life isn't your last."

There was an irony in him, of all people saying that. Vin had made a lot of nonsensical decisions that led to his death. The guard must have thought the same because he was not content with Vin's excuse; regardless of the poor reason, Gideon accepted it as fact, growing more anxious and hopefully calculating.

Vin sensed over two dozen mortals further into the shopping plaza, even more than he initially inferred. One of the many didn't respond like the rest; it was active, moving across the Sun Market as if enemies weren't nearby.

He opened his eyes and tilted his head in bewilderment, alerting Gideon, "Theres someone coming toward us."

"An enemy?" the winged guard responded, holding the kitchen knife out.

"I can't sense shades well. It has to be a Ravenour," he clarified, inching from their hiding spot and sneaking toward the next closest kiosk. It may have been a coincidence that this stranger was moving in their direction, but that didn't explain how they moved so quickly around the Elven patrols. It may have been magic? Not likely; very few Ravenours knew spells.

The tall young man with dark dragon scales along his face followed Vin, wondering, "A shade?"

"These elves don't have mortal souls; they're like gray shades compared to ours," Vin explained, creeping behind a stationary transport cart. The mystical, glowing halo in the sky radiated gentle, warm rays that softened the shadows they hid in. Even that mundane wooden carriage seemed extraordinary beneath the magic golden ring, like it was coated with a thin layer of blonde light. Moving unnoticed would be difficult, especially since this part of the city was active.

He had to guess that all the Elves fled the market the day Ravenours spawned in that city. That would be the only way so many Ravenours could creep into a place so vibrant and animated with trade.

Vin and the guard stayed idle as unsuspecting dealers passed, and once clear, they snuck to the subsequent concealing site. As they grew closer, a potent scent of spice and cooked meat wafted to their noses. Vin's stomach growled frequently, but he trusted such a tiny sound among chitchat, and business wasn't enough to expose them.

They waited momentarily for a band of what appeared to be Elven housewives to finish shopping at a flower booth beside them, then moved behind it. The duo felt relieved to see that the following trade strip mainly consisted of large buildings so they could better hide in the nooks behind or between them.

Once the coast appeared clear, Vin crept from behind the flower stand. Less than a quarter of his body was exposed when the foot of a man walking down the main street entered his view. Vin sneered, then quickly withdrew behind cover. He didn't see that person, so they couldn't have seen him, but the steps of that individual had halted. Stopped in the middle of the avenue, likely questioning if their eyes had betrayed them.

Gideon tightly gripped his weapon, and Vin dropped his longboard and channeled his essence, ready to act if they were discovered. This could have been the end of their stealthy journey, for if things got loud, an entire platoon of patrols would bombard them.

A single step was taken toward their hiding spot, followed by another. Then, a sudden, delighted, feminine voice snatched the elven man's attention.

Vin peeked out to see a long-eared woman approach the man with a wide grin, holding a fluffy, palm-sized, cake-like dessert in her hand. She happily raised it to the mouth of the male to feed him, and he smiled and took a bite. One would think all other worries flushed from his mind as he moaned in delight and nodded wholeheartedly, endorsing the taste of the freshly baked good.

The two beautiful Elves, with long hair and perfect, doll-like skin, laughed and shared another bite together. They looked perfect underneath the mystical golden light of the sun halo, enjoying themselves despite the occasional glances of ongoers. Contrasting, the two unbathed, rough-looking intruders were hiding in the shadows of a booth with intense scowls that would make monsters check underneath their beds at night.

Once the couple finished the dessert, the Elven woman grabbed the man's hand to continue their expedition of the shops. They hadn't moved the entire time, so Vin and Gideon were stuck in the same spot, waiting to advance.

The woman's pull was resisted.

The man was relaxed as he exchanged words with her and then pointed behind the flower booth. This Elven male spoke to the shop owner, who must have given an unsatisfactory answer because the curious Elf nonchalantly walked down the side of the kiosk.

A chill coursed through Vin's body as he cast his eyes down, burdened by his misfortune. His expression numbed, lifeless, as he pressed himself against the booth wall, poised to act when the moment came.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

The unarmed, unsuspecting Elven man turned the corner with an unworried profile, not expecting to encounter the infamous invaders of Watervein City. To his wretched surprise, a pair of callous, violet eyes met him for less than a second before he was pulled behind the shop, out of sight of the person who was likely his lover.

Vin immediately covered the long-eared man's mouth to stop them from calling for help. They flailed around. The guard fancied using his knife to stab the stranger in the chest, but that would cause a mess of blood that could fan across the concrete and alert others.

Vin used the privacy of their mind and told Gideon to grasp both of their arms and hold them still. He had another way to settle it cleanly without making them suffer.

While Vin covered their mouth with one hand, he raised the other over their pointed ear and quickly channeled a flame into their head. This fire, capable of melting metal in seconds, promptly turned their brain into mush, charring the blood. Their body limped, and Gideon quietly led them to the ground and laid them out.

Vin stared at the corpse dejectedly... Soon, his eyes rested on a lustrous silver band around the man's ring finger.

Even those people shared the binding human tradition of matrimony. For some reason, this alikeness of culture made something inside him darken.

Unphased, Gideon shouted in Vin's mind for him to come to his senses. The wife had been calling her husband's name, so it was only a matter of time before she approached.

The woman didn't appear immediately but anxiously spoke with the shop owner. Vin heard them stumble out of the booth and join her in exploring where the dessert-loving man had gone.

A deep, despicable breath was exiled from Vin's mouth as he reassumed a position for an ambush. The shopkeeper and the wife turned the corner simultaneously, and Vin and Gideon grabbed who was closer to them.

Within a tragic instant, the Ravenour's palm was wrapped around the mouth of the wife, and Vin's flame-coated hand had grasped the throat of the seller. The flower child was a gray-haired, slim elder, the oldest he'd seen thus far. Vin almost wished they were young and resistant like the husband because it was all the more deplorable how easy it was to burn through their vocal cords, stopping them from screaming.

The flower vendor lost the ability to breathe and quietly began to pass in Vin's arms.

Meanwhile, Gideon had his hands full with the Elven woman who'd just found out her husband was dead because she accidentally stepped on his corpse. Jazzy was behind her with his palm over her mouth, but her wrath opposed his hold, and slips of her screams wormed from between his fingers. The brute tried to strangle the wife, but she thrashed about, eventually breaking free.

With just a little leeway, her head bucked far forward and then slammed backward into Gideon's nose, breaking it with a harsh crack. The Ravenour had to have been in pain but didn't fully release his grip. He knew the longer their bout continued, the higher the odds of being heard. Desperation seeped into the brute's eyes, and he did something even he wasn't proud of. He stretched his jaw wide, revealing ferocious fangs, then crunched down on the woman's neck with terrible force. There was a spray of blood when he bit, and even more sprouted when he animalistically ripped away a giant chunk of flesh.

Gideon guided the body to the ground as it bled out. Once the life was sapped from the woman's body, he tore a piece of cloth from her outer layer of clothing and wrapped the wound so more of the red mess didn't spill. The slick-haired brute wiped the crimson liquid from his dark scales and cursed.

Knowing it was only a matter of time before someone else found the bodies, Gideon peered at Vin and barked into his mind, "We have to go!"

The grotesque mixture of rust and the sweet scents of nearby flowers made Vin nauseous. He didn't know what happened to his body, but he had frozen. The fire was out, but his hand was still squeezed around the neck of the long-dead shopkeeper.

It was easy to slaughter something evil or someone who attempted to kill him. But extinguishing an innocent light was more challenging than he expected.

Gideon shook Vin to his senses, telling him bluntly, "They're not real! Everything here is just a test made by the deity that sent us here."

"I Know," Vin flatly replied. Yet, the weight of the Elven elder's frame was heavy, their flesh was still warm, and the tears that rolled from their stuck-open eyes onto his hand were cold.

Vin gazed at the giant golden halo above the market and breathed slowly. Despite what he'd done, his heart was idle. He didn't feel sad or regret what he had done; no, the emotion was more akin to apathy- a hollow stillness within a void.

He merely had the notion that no version of Gavin Dance Jr could be a son or brother deserving of love. While he wilted, a commanding voice boomed at the head of the market. Vin, Gideon, and all the Elven folks stopped in their tracks and looked up.

An Elven man shouted something in their foreign language. It sounded near, yet, at the same time, far. No doubt, some kind of magic was employed to reach the masses. At the end of the announcement, all the citizens began withdrawing from the area, leaving only patrols and off-duty knights.

Vin pushed the Elven body aside and rose sluggishly, his movements heavy and lifeless, as though dragged by the weight of his own depravity, 'Did they find out we were here? How?'

As the Elves fled, the moving soul arrived, close enough that Vin could see a figure hunched far over while dashing between stalls, moving with such precision and awareness of surroundings that it looked like choreography. The stranger was only a few paces away, but their current path would steer them past the unlikely pair hiding behind a flower shop.

Vin dully pointed this person out to Gideon, who had difficulty spotting them as they constantly jumped between dark slots. But when he did, he became wide-eyed. Evidently, Jazzy knew this person. He told his human associate they had to get their attention somehow, to which Vin agreed and flicked a small violet flame from his hand.

That fire was fueled by his soul and compliant with his will. He melded the small blaze, contorting it into a small butterfly he commanded to fly over the heads of the fleeing Elves. When the Ravenour saw the insect-shaped flame, they pulled a small knife from their waist and hustled away.

There was a momentary stare-down between that person and the fluttering fire. They eventually poised, knowing a flame that color could only equate to one thing. Once it fluttered away, they followed, eventually arriving where Vin and Gideon waited.

"Casty," Jazzy whispered. The female Ravenour dipped down next to them, and her eyes widened when she saw the litter of bodies. She was rushed, so she didn't ask questions and told the pair: "They know you're here. It won't be long before this entire area is sealed off."

Soon, Vin recalled where he'd heard that name. That person was one of Maeve's retainers; she was the informant who tailed them on the royal's behalf the day they visited the insurgent stronghold.

Vin asked how they'd been discovered. Casty disclosed that quarantined areas were blocked off from the Elven-populated regions with a network of vines. She was scouting the night before when she saw the mage cast the spell. Inquisitive, she tossed a heavy rock at it from a safe distance, and shortly after, two dozen knights bombarded the Sun Market.

After Casty learned of the trap, she took it upon herself to stake out the Elven barracks at the front of the market. When the knights there received a signal that someone had crossed the snare, she ran ahead to find who they would soon hunt.

At this point, Gideon glared at Vin, expecting a lecture for making a mistake, but the human was silent.

Vin found it strange that the Elves sowed a motion detector on the bridge instead of building barriers or fortified walls to keep intruders out. They certainly had the capability, so why did they create a situation that generated more work for themselves?

"Follow me," Casty said, quickly taking off while maintaining a low presence. It was shocking how silent she was without the aid of magic. "I know this area well. I'll take you to where other Ravenours and I are hiding."

Vin followed, his usual contemplative nature dulled by his foul mood, causing him to overlook a critical detail he'd previously noted.