{-Llewel-}
It was already bad enough that it felt like something would happen; that they were only a moment’s notice away from something terrible. It grew the closer they got to Anseshara, though he wasn’t sure if that was part of the reason or if it was just the lack of anyone else acknowledging it.
Casrane’s actions certainly didn’t help the fact. She didn’t really say anything about what was on her mind or what her deeper plans were, but it was clear what the consequences of them were going to be. She was nervous. And as much as Llewel, Myr, and Tinath tried—both together and individually—she revealed no more.
Maybe it was because of this nervousness that she was often gone as soon as they stopped to rest for the night. She always said she wouldn’t go far and, given how frequently he still saw her before he went to sleep, he’d believe she just circled the camp. He didn’t know when she slept, actually. She was always out when he and Myr would relax at the campsite and was still gone every time he woke up. He knew she needed it just as much as the twins did.
It was one such morning. Llewel woke up to see Casrane through the trees, walking around and perhaps muttering something to herself. Myr was still asleep beside him and he made sure to be careful not to wake her. None of the players were there yet, so he bided his time by checking the party inventory to see where they stood in supplies.
“Do you think we should find one of those traveling merchants, or will it last until we actually reach the city?”
Llewel was partially surprised to hear it, but looked up at Reynneak and shook his head. “I think it’ll be alright for now. We haven’t really used a lot of it. We’ve been avoiding any situation that might make us need it…”
“That’s good.” Reynneak sat down on the other side of the campfire. “We shouldn’t need any detours on our way to do what Zetai wants today.”
“Yeah.” Llewel thought of another question to change the conversation. “Aren’t you here earlier than usual..? Most of the time Tinath or Zetai are the first ones here. I don’t think you’ve ever been here first, actually…”
“I’ve got a break in my classes and my family’s spending a lot of time helping at an event at our church. I had the free time so I thought I’d come and keep you three company. I… actually wondered if it might make you a little more comfortable to have an actual adult with you.”
“So where are the others, then? Aren’t at least one of them usually here by now?”
”Tinath had to bring her sister somewhere—she said it shouldn’t take any more than another couple of minutes. Zetai might be a little longer, she has a couple of personal things to work out before she’s ready to come.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Casrane slowly wandered over to where they were. “Should we be ready to go as soon as they get here, then? I think Zetai mentioned wanting to do some of the quests around here. It seems like she likes to be on top of those.”
”Are we getting ready to leave already..?” Myr mumbled, yawning and slowly sitting up. “Oh. We’re not even all here yet…”
”But they’ll be here soon,” Reynneak assured her. “Did you sleep well? I was kind of expecting you to be up and bouncing around by the time I got here.”
Llewel asked the more specific question of, “You had a nightmare, didn’t you?”
“Yeah.” Myr was quiet for another moment, giving a glance at Casrane before returning her attention to the campfire. “It was kind of like what we did the last time we were in Anseshara.”
“You won’t ever have to worry about something like that happening again,” Casrane said quickly. “Trust me, I’m not going to let it. As far as I have a say in it, we’re not even going to get close to the possibility.”
“You know, what happened was more than just what was going on at the end…” Myr said quietly. “There was everything leading up to it, too. Like the secrets…”
Casrane shook her head. “I’ve got everything under control so that you don’t have to worry about it.”
Reynneak more cautiously remarked, “And from my experience, saying stuff like that usually doesn’t make things any better. When there’s big changes, it helps everyone to be open about the situation. That’s how you keep too many assumptions—good or bad—to be made.”
But Casrane stayed stubbornly opposed, or perhaps refused to properly acknowledge, what he was suggesting. She simply repeated, “It’s nothing you have to worry about. Trust me on that.”
“I think if we trusted you, you wouldn’t need to say that.” Tinath walked up to them. “Can’t you just tell us what this is all about? It would save us all the trouble—and the time of us having these conversations.”
“You’ll all know soon enough,” was Casrane’s near-whispered response. She shook her head and changed the subject. “Do you want to start figuring out what we’re going to do, then? Do we at least know what Zetai wanted to get done today?”
Tinath shrugged, staying close to the others without actually sitting down. “I think she mentioned that scholar? The one that needs help with that set of ruins.”
“It’s been a while since I’ve done a lot of actual quests,” Casrane began. “Do they usually show the location of the ruins..?”
Reynneak nodded. “Pretty much all of them give some kind of idea of where to go. Do you think there’s going to be trouble in some of them?”
“It’s more out of a precaution,” she explained. “Anseshara is known for being the center of all of this—where a lot of runes are. But I should be able to pick out the places we need to avoid, whether that be because of the runes themselves or because the Rune Reactivation Project tends to lurk around there.”
He walked over to her to show her the map, and they started a quiet conversation about where each of the quests started, where it would take them, and if they should be avoided. Aside from more general planning, nothing else was really said until Zetai got there—there wasn’t a lot they could do without all six of them.