{-Rennyn-}

He explained what he thought was happening to the head of the guard, leaving out the nuances that hardly mattered in this situation. When they finished, Kaylin pulled him aside to talk about how he was treating the others—that creating distance between them would do nothing at the end. She should’ve known his reasoning, so he never tried to tell her. Not like it would’ve made a difference given the fact that they were having this conversation at all.

All they could do after talking to the head of the guard was wait; Seldir and Lyrei were brought inside for a few moments but, other than that, it was just sitting in silence. Rennyn, perhaps, would’ve started a casual conversation to pretend like he was taking Kaylin’s advice…

But not only was his mind focused solely on when they were going to leave, it was also replaying Kaylin’s words, and a mix of faces he didn’t want to see.

His time as a hero may not have been over yet, but could it at least be the end for Songbird?

“Huh, kinda surprised you’re all still here,” Xarena remarked as she walked up to them. “It’s been a while and you haven’t found anything more interesting to do?”

“We’re here to figure out who did it,” Rennyn pointed out. “Trust me, if it didn’t cause more problems than it was worth, I would’ve already tried doing it on my own…”

“I know Lord Aymer apparently said you were reliable, but I’m not too willing to believe that just yet. Luckily for you, though, the moment you’ve been waiting for is here.” She gestured towards a smaller group of soldiers. “We’ve gotten a bit of information and received the order to head out. We don’t know who we’re looking for exactly, but with powers like that, we need to get out there as soon as possible.”

Rennyn stood up. “There’s no reason to keep standing around here, then. The sooner we can solve this, the better it is for everyone.”

Xarena nodded and introduced them to some of the other guards that would be with them. He didn’t really pay attention to their names; he assumed that, after this, he’d have no reason to. They seemed to understand pretty quickly, though, that he wasn’t going to mess around—he was just as serious as the rest of them.

With introductions out of the way, the leader explained their vague plans. Apparently they had no idea where they were supposed to be going, just sending a bunch of random guards in random directions and hoping they found something. Even after the reassurances that there were still plenty of guards remaining in Zaitha, he still thought it was a bad idea.

They might’ve said something when they entered the forest—a warning, or something to fill the silence—but he didn’t listen. He just had to wonder if he was the only one who saw it.

~~~

Now, it seemed to be one of Dhymos’s more-beloved methods of having “fun.” Rennyn could never decide if anything good really came out of them; Dhymos must have known how obvious they became, after a while, yet it was never certain if it was going to lead somewhere good or bad. And what that thing was?

Writing on the walls, of course.

Or, rather, trees, as Rennyn found himself surrounded in forest much more often.

In another life, even spotting the etching might’ve been difficult. But by now, he knew that they were more than just markings.

They were warnings, taunts, and hints… things he just barely noticed, given the frantic state he was in. He ignored them because, if he dwelled on it, he heard them. Dhymos’s sneer, his cynical laughter, the reassurances of failure.

On one of the few, undeserved breaks Rennyn took, he stopped to look at what was etched into the tree.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

You have already lost, Songbird.

~~~

“Well, it’s definitely a forest,” Xarena remarked. “But if he’s marked his path by blazing through everything, then our guy didn’t go here.”

“He was definitely here,” Rennyn mumbled. He was staring right at them—the line of trees and the etching on them that spelled out You have already lost.

Even Kaylin didn’t seem to recognize it. “What makes you say that so confidently? As far as I can tell, there’s nothing to suggest someone’s been here…”

“The trees,” he tried. “Some of them have writing on them. If we follow their path, we get to the person we’re looking for.”

There was a long silence, as everyone but him exchanged glances. Did they not believe him? He couldn’t be making this up—he looked between them, then back at the trees, and the writing was still there. He didn’t think it was that hidden… though even if it was, it took a lot of staring for any of them to admit they saw it too.

Finally, Lyrei seemed to notice something. “Oh, I think I get it! Some of these trees have little markings on them. It looks like they go further into the forest. That’s what you’re talking about, right?”

“I don’t think that really means anything…” Seldir mumbled. “Isn’t that too… obvious? If it really is intentional, then the guy must really want to get captured… or wants to end up cornering us.”

“Trust me,” Rennyn said. “It’ll lead us to something.”

“I’m siding with Seldir here, it sounds like it’s going to lead us to a trap,” Xarena mumbled. The other guards gave mumbles that showed their agreement.

“I guess Dhymos is the kind of person to play this game…” Kaylin muttered. “He’s done this before—given us just enough information to make us think that we’re ahead of him. Maybe he isn’t seeing us as a threat—he’s seeing us as part of a game.”

Noa shuffled. “Should I count that as a good or bad thing, though? I have a feeling not seeing us as a threat isn’t the same as ignoring us completely…”

“Probably bad,” Rennyn admitted. “But it’s worth a shot to try. It’s the only clue we have at the moment.”

And, though his instinct told him to go follow the path, a part of his subconscious made him take the lead—quick enough that he didn’t quite pay attention to if the others were following. This was undoubtedly going to cause trouble, but instead of walking away… he felt drawn to it, whatever it was.

He prepared himself for the possibility of everything, drilling himself on scenarios from past lives. Which… made it all the odder, to reach the cabin that the trees had undoubtedly led to, but being greeted with nothing but an open door and plenty of scattered papers.

Xarena peered inside, then glanced at Rennyn. “Well, you apparently know what you’re talking about. What do you think the chances are that there’s a trap in there?”

If that was meant to be a word of caution, he didn’t listen to it. He was already stepping inside; still cautious, but already resolved to see what he would find. “I think it’s safe. It’s not big enough for all of us, though. Could a couple of the guards stay outside? Keep an eye out for anyone.”

“When did you become the boss here?” she mumbled, yet went to relay the message anyway. Then she, Kaylin, and Seldir stepped inside with him.

Kaylin stepped a little closer to a collection of papers on the floor. “It looks like bandits were here. All of the papers over here are about what they planned on doing.” It also wasn’t anything good, if the face she made when she skimmed through them was any indication.

“So was the guy a bandit?” Xarena asked without expecting an answer. “I guess if he knew his way around the city’s back alleys, he might’ve been able to avoid us long enough to get out.”

Seldir shook his head. “He couldn’t have been. Regular bandits don’t have the kind of power he did—someone would have heard about it by now.”

“Dhymos wouldn’t put trust in bandits,” Rennyn mumbled. He flipped through a couple of papers, but he didn’t really read them. “They’d be too unstable. All they’d care about is money, or maybe power—the moment they realize that Dhymos isn’t going to give it to them, they’re not going to stick around. He’d chosen someone desperate, someone who couldn’t refuse his offer. He’d promise to fulfill the desires the world can’t, then use that to keep that person around…”

Something drew him out of it, though, and he trailed off near the end. He realized something as he flipped through these papers.

There was more writing in them, runes of past worlds that only he would know the meaning to.

And it was nothing good.

“We need to get out of here,” he said, louder, quicker.

Xarena all-too-casually glanced out the window. “Why, did one of the others see someone coming?”

“No. Look, I can explain later, but that’s not the most important part right now. We need to get out. Now.”