After Lianne and Amra had drank and ate, they left the inn, all their belongings still with them. They couldn't afford to miss out on a lead this promising, so they decided to act on the information the waiter had given.
Luckily, they didn't have to look for the place for long. As soon as they entered the plaza, they saw a brightly coloured tent, almost at the center of it. Just as the waiter had told them. It was immediately clear that the tent belonged to a seer. There was a mark of an eye on the opening.
For a moment they both looked at the tent and its surroundings, to see if it seemed suspicious. There were a lot of people, even if it was already evening. The town was clearly a lively one. People had gathered together, talking and laughing. It was either a really bad or a really good place to ambush someone.
Among the people, Lianne thought she saw the same elf that she had seen before, outside the town. But before Lianne could really observe him well, the elf was already gone, disappearing into the crowd. Normally, Lianne wouldn't pay attention to a random person, but his markings were quite unusual among all the people.
Lianne and Amra entered the welcoming and warm tent that was filled with pillows and fabrics of all kinds. Incenses spreading the scent of patchouli filled the whole tent, covering the smell of the town coming from outside. The seer, an elderly man with a crooked smile and deep wrinkles on his forehead, took them in immediately. As every seer Lianne had met, this old man was also blind.
Ever since Lianne was little, she had heard a story that the gods had stolen the eyes of the seers but also given another kind of sight in return. According to the story, the seers were some kind of holy servants, but the seers Lianne had met in her life never really fit the image the story portrayed.
"Why did you come to meet me?" the seer asked straight away, not wasting any time on pleasantries as he reached out his hand, his palm upwards, asking for money.
Nobody ever entered the seer's tent accidentally. Visiting them was never anyone's first option unless they didn't have any other choice. Even though the seers worked in plain sight, most people felt uncomfortable around them. Not Lianne or Amra though, they had met other seers before this one.
"We're looking for a place called Clandmere," Amra said as she handed the seer a shiny silver coin.
The seer took the coin greedily and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he closed his eyes, even though he didn't have to. It was just a thing the seers did, to give people the impression that they were looking inwards, or to a place the others couldn't see.
"Yes," the seer just said as he opened his eyes and turned them towards Lianne and Amra, not saying anything more.
"Do you know where it is?" Amra asked, and the seer again closed his eyes.
"Yes, and no," the seer said plainly. Lianne and Amra quickly glanced at each other with a hopeful look. Finally, someone who would know at least something.
"There is haze in my mind. It won't let me see clearly, but I can tell you something. I can tell you to continue going north. There are mountains further ahead, and close to one of them, a valley where the fog meets the ground and the dead meet the living. You will find it there," the seer said as he opened his eyes again.
"You can't tell us any specifics?" Lianne asked impatiently, but the seer shook his head.
"There is a haze that I can't see through. I am sorry," the seer said, bowing his head as an apology.
"Anything more?" Amra still asked.
"Walk in the light and stay away from shadows. That way you will find it," the seer said and turned his back on them. "If that is what you came to ask of me, then I have nothing more."
Lianne let out a deep sigh. It was better than nothing, but it didn't help them locate it on the map. It was always the haze. People never seemed to get through it.
Lianne and Amra thanked the seer and left the tent. There was nothing more he could tell them, so they might as well get back to the inn and get some rest. Lianne was disappointed. She had optimistically hoped that the seer here would have something more.
Before heading back to the inn, Lianne and Amra filled their supplies from the local market on their way back. They bought some apples, fresh bread, and dried meat. Then they headed back to the inn. They greeted the barkeep and immediately went up the stairs where their room awaited.
If the room was the best of the inn, as the barkeep had said, they didn't want to know what the rest of the rooms were like. It was a small and shabby room with just two beds, a window, and pretty much nothing else.
Amra leaned her lute against the wall and tossed her backpack on the floor. She lay on the bed, her boots still on, but didn't seem to be bothered about it. "Oh yeah, this is the good stuff," she sighed delightedly as she sunk into the bed.
Lianne tossed her backpack on the bed and took some of the just-bought bread. The freshly baked bread tasted too good to leave until tomorrow. She had to have a bite, and the way the bread almost melted in her mouth, made her suddenly miss their home village. It was such a familiar taste, taking her back to the local bakery and the lovely woman who had brought them bread every morning.
"To be honest, I wasn't expecting to get anything from the seer," Amra said as she took out the brooch she had bought from the black market and inspected it curiously.
"Still, it's a shame," Lianne replied as she munched down the bread with a good appetite, even though they had just eaten decent portions of the stew a while back. "At least we know to look for the mountains. That's something."
"Yeah, lucky that there aren't usually that many mountains in the north," Amra said as she turned to Lianne and grinned widely.
"Probably just hundreds of them, but who knows, maybe the one we're looking for is the only one we'll encounter. What luck!" Lianne said as she started to laugh.
"Maybe there is only that one mountain. Only one! What are the chances!" Amra joined Lianne's joke while laughing.
When they were ready for bed, both of them stripped to their underwear and slipped under the covers. Even though the beds were nothing fancy, Lianne felt almost euphoric. She could just sink into the mattress.
Amra also let out a satisfied sigh, as if she had never felt anything as good as that. "Could you learn some time magic and stop it now?" she asked while pulling the covers almost to her ears. "Nothing bad would happen and we could just stay for a week or two."
Lianne laughed. "Time magic is one of the hardest to master since it's shaping the universe. I am nowhere near there and might never be." Lianne explained, even though she knew that Amra was joking.
Lianne conjured a small ball of energy to her hand and looked at it in thought. If she could use time magic, she would have changed the past ages ago. She wouldn't have tried dark magic, and they could still be living in their village, in peace.
Lianne let the ball of energy die out, and Amra sighed in admiration. Amra had always admired her skills since she never had any natural tendencies towards magic. When Amra was younger, she used to tell her how jealous she was. Later, when Amra found her own passion, she didn't say that anymore but was more than happy for Lianne's gift.
"You know what Lianne? I kind of miss my family," Amra whispered.
Lianne looked at Amra, who was staring at the ceiling. She knew that Amra missed her family. Lianne's family was already gone, but Amra's family had been like hers too. "After we're done here, we'll go back. I promise," Lianne said to Amra, who turned to look at her with a sad smile.
"Thanks," Amra said as she put the lamp out. "I'm going to stay awake for a moment, just in case."
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"You don't have to, we're not in the woods," Lianne said, but Amra still insisted.
"I will. You get some sleep."
Lianne leaned her head against the pillow and closed her eyes. Her body felt so heavy. They had been sleeping on the ground for so long now, that the feeling of the matters made Lianne feel like she could sink into oblivion.
Lianne knew that after she would close her eyes, Amra would still keep hers open. Ever since they had begun their journey, Amra would always stay up and watch over Lianne while she slept. Lianne would always feel safe and protected, but it also made her feel guilty since Amra would often get little sleep.
After the moon disappeared behind the clouds and the clock hit midnight, the window to their room creaked silently. Amra's eyes instantly shot open from the small sound. She didn't move but turned her half-opened eyes toward the window.
A hand reached inside the room and carefully opened the whole window easily. Without a sound, a figure dressed in black nimbly stepped inside the room. The figure froze and listened, making sure that neither of them stirred from their slumber.
Amra breathed slowly, trying not to give away that she was awake. She carefully observed as the intruder started to creep closer to the beds, moving cautiously.
Not even the floorboards creaked as the intruder walked closer to Lianne, settling next to her bed. As the clouds parted and the moonlight shone from the window, the shape of the figure revealed that the intruder was a woman.
Amra saw as the woman silently slid her hand on the dagger on her belt. The light shimmered from the blade as the woman tightened the hold on it, lifting the dagger, ready to strike.
"Lianne, wake up!" Amra yelled, quickly jumping off her bed. She took out her knife and pointed it at the woman, surprising and stopping her from attacking.
Lianne immediately woke up to Amra's yell. When she realized that the woman was looming over her, she instantly conjured a ball of energy into her hands. Lianne flung it straight at the woman, who staggered back by the force, giving Lianne some room.
Amra ran to the woman, her knife ready. She slashed the knife in a wide arc, trying to scare her off, but the woman had already regained control. She blocked Amra's hit quickly and kicked her backward. Amra fell to the floor. She was usually quite fast and efficient, but the woman was clearly trained.
The woman turned to Lianne again and threw the dagger straight at her. Lianne was just barely able to evade the flying dagger, tumbling out of the bed in a rush, ending up on the floor. Amra got up just as the woman took out a new dagger, getting ready for another hit while moving closer to Lianne.
Lianne quickly conjured her magic, creating a gust of harsh wind. She pointed it at the woman, making her movements stop. For a moment the woman fought the strong gust, her clothes billowing in the harsh wind that hit the walls and the window. A thunderous storm of wind roared inside the place, making the entire room seem as it would tear apart.
Suddenly someone knocked hard on the door. "What's going on in there?!" a man shouted worried. He had woken up to the ruckus.
Amra ran to the woman, not minding the man outside the door. She slashed her knife again, trying to hit the woman now that she was kept still by Lianne's magic. But even the wind couldn't stop the woman from evading Amra's strikes.
"Amra, now!" Lianne yelled and stopped the wind, making the woman instinctively stagger forward, creating a moment for Amra to finally land a hit. She slashed her knife straight at the woman, and this time Amra heard as the fabric tore under the blade, its tip sinking into flesh. The woman stopped for just a second but then instantly slashed her dagger back at Amra, disregarding the bloody wound.
As the woman's attention was on Amra, Lianne quickly conjured a ball of energy, flinging it at the woman. It slammed straight into her chest, sending her flying backward. She crashed against the wall, the wind knocked out of her, and her dagger falling out of her hand.
Amra quickly ran to the woman and wrestled her to the ground just as Lianne conjured a long string of energy that slid around her hands and legs, binding her tightly.
"Don't move!" Amra yelled at the figure who still tried to fight back, thrashing around in anger, hoping to loosen the bonds.
Amra ripped the woman's hood down, revealing a woman in her 30s. A long scar on her cheek and black circles under her eyes made her look ragged and worn. The woman was looking at Lianne with an enraged gaze and a frown on her face, making her whole demeanor intimidating.
"Who are you? Why did you attack us?" Lianne shouted.
The woman didn't answer, but instead glared at Lianne fiercely, still trying to wrestle out of her bonds.
"Answer her!" Amra slammed her bare foot into the woman's rib, encouraging her to speak.
The woman coughed violently, bending forward with ragged breaths. "I saw you kill my father," she sneered, almost spitting the words at Lianne.
Lianne froze in place, looking at the woman, suddenly lost for words. Amra and Lianne both knew that there had to be people that held a grudge against Lianne for what she had done. They always made sure to leave the scene as soon as possible, in case someone saw what happened, but this was the first time someone actually came after Lianne.
"I saw what you did to him," the woman spoke, seeing the confusion in Lianne's eyes. "I saw the blood leaving their bodies. I saw how you killed them all. You're a monster!" the woman yelled, and then she spit at Lianne.
"But I didn't..." Lianne tried saying when the woman interrupted her.
"I saw you. I never forget a face. I'm going to kill you!"
"I can't control what I do...it's..." Lianne said until she stopped herself.
"How can you live with yourself? I saw you kill them all! I saw their blood!" the woman still yelled, the hatred making her voice break.
Lianne looked at the woman as pale as a ghost. "I can't..." she whispered mostly to herself.
Someone started banging their fist on the door again. "Hey! What's going on in there? Do I need to get the guards?" the voice of the barkeep was now heard from the other side of the door.
Amra took control of the situation as Lianne was clearly upset. "What do you want to do with her?" she asked while touching Lianne, waking her up from her thoughts.
Lianne hesitated, but then once more looked at the woman, who glared back at her. "We can't kill her," she said and took a handkerchief from her pocket. She stuffed it inside the woman's mouth, even though she tried resisting.
"We have to go," Lianne said and Amra nodded. The commotion behind the door grew as more people woke up to the ruckus. Someone must have already called the guards. This wasn't a situation they wanted to be in right now. They couldn't risk everything by getting caught.
They quickly gathered their belongings and got dressed. Amra tossed the lute on her shoulder and picked up the backpacks.
They left the tied-up woman in the room and snuck through the window. That was the only way out at the moment. They jumped to a lower roof and quietly climbed down to the ground. Running to the stables, they quickly tied up their belongings to the horses. As soon as they were ready, Amra and Lianne rode off, leaving the inn behind.
Lianne and Amra rode out of Windermore without saying a word. The atmosphere outside the town had calmed down now, but there were still a lot of people gathered together at campfires, drinking and talking. Some had taken shelter at the darkest corners with a partner, and some were laying on the ground after chewing too many cardon leaves.
After getting out of the town without any trouble, they started riding north. Neither of them spoke. Lianne couldn't get the woman's words out of her mind. She knew she needed to take responsibility for what she had done. She had always known that something like this would happen one day, but now when the day had come, she hadn't been ready. How many were there who wanted Lianne gone? Maybe more than she thought.
"Lianne, slow down. Nobody's coming," Amra said after they had ridden in silence for some time, the town already behind them on the horizon.
Lianne nodded and slowed down, first to a walk and then stopping the horse entirely. She looked back to where they had come from but didn't see anyone after them. Nobody was in sight, not even birds in the sky.
Amra looked at Lianne, inspecting her expression. "Should we keep on going or find a place to rest?" she asked. "There are hills ahead which could provide a place to stay for tonight."
Lianne looked towards the hills, then once more at the town. "I think we should keep on going. I probably won't even get any sleep after that."
Amra nodded. "Alright, we'll do that."
They started riding on ahead, again without a precise destination. They just headed north, to find the place that nobody seemed to remember. If Clandmere wanted to keep itself hidden so well, how could they ever find it?
"How are you?" Amra asked when the silence dragged on.
"I'm glad that nothing worse happened," Lianne spoke while still on alert, looking at the surroundings carefully.
"No, that's not what I meant. How are you?" Amra asked again, looking intently at Lianne's nervous demeanor.
Lianne went silent. She hadn't really had time to properly sort out her thoughts yet, but what had just happened, made her want to get to their destination more than ever. They needed to get to Clandmere.
Lianne desperately wished that she had made better choices in the past. If she had, she wouldn't have to be on the run now. She wouldn't have to search for Clandmere. She wouldn't have to put Amra in danger.
"I deserved it. I probably should have let her kill me," Lianne answered to Amra as they rode against the cooling night. The wind was sweeping through their capes, and the wolves were howling in the distance. As the clouds again moved in front of the moon and the darkness deepened, the restlessness in Lianne's heart grew.