“Come on everyone! Let’s get a move on! We don’t want to waste time!” the commander shouted at one of his soldiers.

The commander, along with 100 of his men, had arrived late last night and had woken up before sunrise. It had been a tiring journey since the rain had fallen without mercy the last few nights.

“Tch, was it so hard to give us a month at least to prepare for this?” he mumbled under his breath.

All the commander remembered was being ordered to put together 100 of his men and set out in 3 days. He had at least been informed what his special mission was: to retrieve the “vessel” from her hideout and bring her back to the capital as quickly and stealthily as possible.

He barely had time to ask the most obvious questions: Why did the retrieve have to be done 3 months in advance? Why the short notice? Only 100 men? What if they encountered monsters on the way? etc, etc. He had many more questions going through his head as he walked through the dense forests, open valleys, and rocky mountains. Two questions in particular stood out to him though:

Where exactly was the “vessel?”

“And why did only that man know the location?” his eyes followed a tall figure as he thought this.

The man was just over 6 feet tall, and although he had the physique of someone who had fought many battles, he seemed to be quite young. What stood out the most though, was his mask. The mask was made out of metal. The mask had feathers of what the commander guessed were from some type of falcon. Most of the man’s face was covered, except for the area around his eyes.

“Can he even breathe with that thing on?”

The commander observed as the man effortlessly carried two full sacks on each of his shoulders. He was strong, that was much was evident, but it was still strange how he was the guide given to him to reach the “vessel.” It was a known fact that only those in the royal family plus other few knew where the “vessel” was located. When the commander was given the order by the crown prince’s right-hand man, Arthur, to retrieve the “vessel,” he remembered expressing what little he could when it came to his concerns regarding the mission.

“Wait! But I still do not even know where she is! When will I be given a map? I at least have to know where I’m going!

“Don’t worry commander,” Arthur looked back at him as he smiled, “We have the perfect guide for you.”

When the commander was told he would be given a guide, this person was not what he imagined. He had imaged a wizard, an astronomer even, or anything along the lines. The man was a quiet person, not that the commander expected him to talk much with that mask on. He was surprised when he heard him say a few words. Of course, he had not talked directly to the commander but to his “interpreter” who voiced in human language what the man said in whispers.

“Arcane!” the commander heard someone call out the man’s name.

“Speak of the devil,” the commander thought as the “interpreter” approached the man.

This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.

The young man approached with sacks of supplies and walked alongside, who the commander had figured out a while ago, the mysterious man whose name was Arcane. Unlike Acane, the young man did not have his face covered and was more…approachable.

“Quite the strange pair, those two…” the commander thought as he took a bite of an apple he had found in one of the baskets.

The young man felt a strong gaze on his back.

“Hmmm, I see the commander is quite interested in you huh?” the young man said as he smiled and looked at Arcane.

“Let him be Myer, anyone would be vigilant with someone like me in their group,” Arcane responded as he placed the sacks on one of the carts.

“He could make it less obvious though. Good thing you’re not a foe. If you were…you would know exactly who to look out for,” Myer pointed out as he also put his sacks down.

Arcane turned his face and looked at the commander directly. When the commander saw those intimidating, hazel-colored eyes fall upon him, he looked away and walked somewhere else.

“Seems like you scared him off,” Myer said as he looked at the commander’s back.

“You know that wasn’t my intention,” Arcane grabbed a piece of cloth that was in his pocket and dried the sweat off his neck.

Arcane then walked over to a tree to use its shade as protection from the sun’s warmth. even though it was early, the heat was already taking over.

“And you know you would even make a monster cry with that mask on. Seriously, at least try not to glare at people. This is why no one approached you during the whole trip ” Myer said as he followed him and began his usual lecture.

Arcane took a deep breath as he knew what was coming. Myer was his closest friend, which meant that, unlike the general population, he had no strings on his tongue to give Arcane a piece of his mind.

“I didn’t do anything though,” Arcane replied as he sat down and placed his head against the tree trunk.

“Arcane, you glare at people like you want to slit their throats,” Myer said bluntly as he sat beside Arcane.

“Then why did you approach me back then?”

“I trust my skill of course. If you had tried to truly kill me, I would have avoided your attack and run away.”

Myer closed his eyes as he felt a small cool breeze.

“Seriously Arcane, because of you people are referring to me as an interpreter of some unknown language. Why in the world won’t you say things louder for once?”

“You know I can’t with this mask. It’s easier for me to whisper. Plus, you have proven to be rather useful when it comes to being my voice. I might as well use my resources.

Myers lifted his head and looked at Arcane. He opened his mouth to say something but just chuckled and accommodated himself again.

“You are unbelievable,” he said as he playfully punched Arcane on the side.

Arcane smiled under his mask. He didn’t think people needed to hear his voice. Unless it was someone he felt close to or valued, he didn’t bother trying to let his voice be known.

“Plus, the voice of a shadow is not meant to be brought to the light.”

“Come on everyone! Let’s get a move on! We don’t want to waste time!”

Arcane looked over at the commander as he was, once again, shouting orders to his men.

“Jeez, I get the urgency but he would at least make his voice sound more pleasant,” Myer expressed in annoyance.

Arcane got up and was about to walk over to continue helping with the preparations when he caught a glimpse of a figure approaching the window at the top of one of the towers. As the figure got close to the window and stopped, Arcane realized it was a young woman. She was observing the movement taking place below her. It was only for a few seconds though, since she quickly turned around and disappeared once again.

“What’s the matter? Is something up there?” Myer asked as he followed Arcane’s gaze towards the window.

“A woman…” Arcane said softly.

“A woman? Do you think it was her?” Myer asked as he also tried to see her but she was no longer there.

“Who knows…”

Arcane looked behind him at the top of the tree. He nodded, and Myer saw as a few leaves fell from the tree they had just been sitting under.

“Well, it doesn’t matter whether that was her or not. Our mission doesn’t change.” Myer started to walk towards the carts as he said this.

“Of course.”

Arcane looked up at the window one more time. He wondered if that girl was the “vessel,” or just a regular servant. He didn’t know why he would importance on knowing what the “vessel” looked like at this point or even in the future. He was here for one reason and one reason only…

To fulfill his mission.