Bereth, though large, was not quite the size of a city that warranted many important people. There were no dragonkin, there were few royal troops, and there certainly weren't any members of the Eyes of Ethral. So, when one came riding into town on the back of a battle-ready stallion, steel armor glinting in the morning sun, the city guards took notice right away. The Eyes' needs were taken care of, a supply list procured, and the most important thing was being given directions to the local Returner's guild office. It wasn't in the guard's job description to question the needs of an Eyes, only to follow their directions to the letter.

Everyone he passed watched with awe and not a small part of fear. The Eyes of Ethral weren't dispatched lightly, and to see one so far from the capital was rare. Even the children of Bereth stopped and watched, their games coming to a halt at the sight of the spiked steel. It was like a thundercloud rolled by overhead, causing everyone to stop and stare at it, wondering if it was about to rain on top of them, and even once it passed there was always the threat it could return. As the weather was unpredictable, so too were the Eyes. They went wherever they were needed and they never left without what they came to town for. Not a single person in Avant was so clean as to not flinch when faced with them, and every person they ignored sighed with deep relief.

The Eyes opened the door and stepped into the office of the guild, the heavy door swinging closed behind him. That alone would be the talk of the town for the next week. He slowly looked about before locking on Cath and stepping forward. Cath felt a chill down her spine, the same chill that any other person in Avant felt when being faced with an Eyes of Ethral, but she tried to remain calm. Rather than crack, she fell into her job as the receptionist of the Guild.

“May I help you?” she asked with her usual upbeat tone. The one reserved for employers rather than employees.

The Eyes stopped and spoke at last. “Yes. I'm looking for a man called Merdon.” He was on a mission.

Cath frowned. “He certainly works with us,” she said carefully. “H's not in Bereth at the moment, however. He left a while back to do some jobs.”

“Where?” the Eyes asked simply. His voice sounded cold and metallic under that heavy helm.

Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“Let me find the requests,” she said honestly, turning to a stack of papers and digging through them. She found the ones Merdon had taken and a few others. They were special cases, ones she had signed, not Merdon. Cath set them on the counter and explained, “He wanted jobs that didn't require stopping back in here. So for those situations, we sign the paperwork and he takes the other copies with him as proof.”

The Eyes carefully leafed through the pages provided and hummed. It was a droning noise that set Cath on edge. “These don't make sense,” he said after a time, pulling a couple of pages out. “The others form a line on the map from one end to the other, but these are away from those.”

He demonstrated his side by pointing to a map on the wall behind Cath. His finger trailed up, but then suddenly went to the sides to follow the other two contracts he'd pulled out. Cath had added four.

“He left from the South gate,” she lied smoothly, tracing another line on the map with her finger, one that trailed upwards to one of those two. It implied Merdon crossed the nation horizontally first, then came back vertically. The Eyes frowned under his helmet and looked again at the pages in his hands.

“That is possible,” he said quietly. “But to what end? Why?”

Cath decided to speak up. “He was traveling with some kobolds. I think they were heading to the border.” Escorting slaves is what it sounded like.

The Eyes looked at her and pulled a poster from a bag on his side. It was Merdon, with a hefty sum, dead or alive. Cath paled at the image while the Eyes explained, “Merdon killed two dozen men holding legal kobold slaves. He's wanted on those counts of murder as well as theft.”

“I'm shocked,” she said, again very honestly. “Then yes, perhaps he is going to the orcish border.” They would certainly welcome a killer of humans, even if they were a human themselves.

“And how long until he reaches that?”

Cath nodded at the paperwork. “You can see the dates on there where he's expected to arrive.” By those numbers, the Eyes could get ahead of him, if he pushed his horse and went in a straight line towards the border. Merdon was taking a roundabout path through smaller villages.

“You will be remembered,” the Eyes said, stuffing the papers into his bag. “And know, the Eyes of Ethral see all things, miss Catherine Cradish.”

Cath bit her lip and flinched, just a flicker of annoyance. “If you're in Ardmach, lord Eyes, do bid my father hello,” she managed to reply.

“Of course. The king appreciates the support of his wealthy subjects,” the Eyes said back, a smile under his helmet. He turned and left the guild, leaving Cath alone.

“What the hell are you doing?” she muttered to herself, sitting down and exhaling deeply, trying to push all the stress out of her body. She had lied to an Eyes of Ethral. There was always a punishment for that.