The moons take turns peeking through the clouds as they begin to fade under the coming dawn. The knight is uncertain if he did truly see large wings swoop by above. There is the sudden movement – a fleeting sweep or a flap – yet when he looks up there is nothing but dimming stars and playful moons.
“That is a most forceful method to impose upon another for a subtle favour if I’ve ever seen one. Do you perchance know that guard?” Greufard asks in observation once they are out of earshot, the trading post now a mere speck in the distance they have created. The forest stretches onwards on both sides, deep shadows crawling out from its midst in the form of tendril-like ferns as much as they are retreating with the gradual brightening of the sky, and among them dance the shapes of galloping horses, the biggest of which is the grey stallion’s.
Iacy huffs and tilts her head, locks of gold falling over her face. “I guess you can say that. I’m actually surprised he still works there; I wonder why.” She turns briefly to the knight with a smirk to receive a knowing nod. “But yes, it is a relief that he understood. The Lady Luck watches over us. And Lady Ulsnadir, is it? We’re actually tracking down this killer everyone is riled up about. You mentioned your son, and you seem to have made some connection between them, if I may be straight to the point? Perhaps we may find some answers together, but it would be your decision to make, whether or not to follow us.”
The orc seems calmer now, her expression now more of worry rather than of irritation. The riggirun’s paces rock the greatsword hanging on her back and jingle the metal rings on her armourvest and belt. “Please, ‘Nadi’ would do, ah…I have lost all trains of thoughts in that argument; I was so preoccupied with getting back on this road that I didn’t yet think of what to do after. I could identify their scent – my husband’s and my son’s – but…” Tears form in her eyes and she faces down to hide it; her breathing becomes ragged, her finger trembles as she tightens her grip on the reins and she begins tensing up. “No, I don’t understand. Ranar might already be dead, and so are the others that were with him, but all we found were their weapons and clothes. Ranar’s clothes, blood at his chest area, my love. Lots of blood. But his wasn’t with the others; the clothes. And then my son…”
Nadi says no more, swallowing the air rushing into her mouth in gulps as the continued rocking of her mount pushes the tears to drop from her chin. The knight looks apprehensively at Iacy, but she is busy pondering on a notion perhaps related to his thoughts. Greufard is quiet at the front, knowing not to turn around as Nadi is following right behind him; he is transfixed on a black pebble of sorts in his hand, staring grimly at it as if willing it to crack open with his mind.
“I will not hide this from you; I had a vision where I witness the orcs losing their lives to a scythe-wielding figure.” Iacy finally reveals. “We believe this is a Shade’s doing. Your husband must have tried to escape with the child, but he did not succeed. If there are no signs of your son, there is a good chance the boy got away. Your husband perhaps stayed behind to delay his foe.” She pauses to observe Nadi, who is looking back at her with a wild mix of futile disbelief, rekindled hope and compounded anxiety on her face. “It’s sorry information, and not much at that. But if you don’t have a trail of your own to follow, it’d be wise to keep with us.”
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A silence falls like a sky turned gold. Streaking sunrays begin piercing through the clouds as they meet and collide, each sun announcing its arrival. A glare bursts forth onto the world as another joins in, materialising in the sky with a radiant twinkle, the third sun of the day – Asturath – expectedly later than its companions in presenting itself. The knight senses the shield on his back resonating with the warmth and light that is falling upon their shoulders, almost reaching a sensation as if he had sprouted wings.
Nadi opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out. She squints back her tears to try again. “I will follow. You might be thinking that I should’ve let my brother accompany me, that person with me before. But with Ranar dead, and with Rogs missing…I don’t mean to return if I find out I’ve lost both of them. And he knows. If they are gone, I wish to die the same way they did, and I will struggle doing so. I will go with you, my Lady, and claim what is mine.” Her eyes burn with fury and dread.
The goddess nods. “‘Nadi’ would do, yes? and so, ‘Aiva’ for me. Your pain is wholly yours to endure, yes, but I wish to share it with you until you can bear it fully on your own, if you may pardon my involvement. I only hope to relieve the suffering in your soul for a short moment.” She extends a hand out to Nadi who grasps it gratefully with a shivering hand that recomposes itself at the touch of the Lady Luck. After a sighing moment, they resume riding in silence.
“I knew it. Company ahead; soldiers.” Greufard speaks up after some twenty leagues, pointing to several plumes of smoke down the road. “It’s why the road was locked. No, not from Evaeba. The Melacunid Kingdom sent forces to investigate the recent case which a merchant prince was involved in; same as before, his body missing and only his bloodied possessions remained. It resulted in some diplomatic tension, something about the Desert Kingdoms and the Southern Isles and also the-” he stops himself in reminder of the added presence. “Anyway, therefore they even risked halting trade. Hm? But there’s no need for that.” He pulls his reins and the stallion stops and then so does the rest of the party. He tightens his grip on the pebble before pocketing it. “We’re close. Here we’ll enter the forest, then we’ll leave our mounts somewhere out of sight and continue on foot. Perhaps among the trees. We-” he spins around with a held breath, but turns back to the forest as quickly, “We’re close. Come on now. Finally.”
Whether or not the pebble might have any kind of significance to this final task of his will soon come to light, so the knight decides to keep his thoughts to himself. In any case, the goddess seems to have noticed as well, for although their present-while acquaintance is short, the knight has realised that less than nothing escapes her consciousness. Then, into the forest they go.