Aldryn and the Kenman have been walking for a while now. It has been a few days since the forest of Morien was invaded. The blonde didn’t speak up once and only talked a few times with the fox in his mind.

'What if we are too late?' the blonde would ask the Thrae every few hours, to which the poor fox could only gently reassure him and pray for the best when its host was occupied.

The Kenman also never said a word and simply walked. Whenever he stopped, so did Aldryn. Whenever he tilted his head, the blonde followed the motion wondering if the older man could hear something that he couldn’t.

“Do you even know where we are going?” Aldryn then asked one day, wondering if his actions weren’t pointless.

“Vaguely” the man said.

Before the apostle had the chance to make any comments or to ask for more information, the Kenman continued.

“I know a few hideouts that the Scavengers use. If they didn’t take little Klyran there, then at least there will be a few of them to tell us where he was taken”, he then said emotionlessly.

“I doubt that they will simply tell us where he is though”, Aldryn then finally said.

“Oh believe me” the Kenamn said with a chuckle, “I have my ways to bring out the truth in people.”

The single emotion that this man displayed made a shiver run down the blonde’s spine. He could even feel the fox cower a bit at the back of his mind.

"I'm starting to wonder if it really was a good idea to ask for his help" the Thrae told Aldryn, while warily looking at the Kenman.

'Yeah' he sighed, 'He's scary' the blonde slightly shivered.

“Note to self… Or better yet note to you” the Thrae then whispered, “Don’t annoy him”

“Would you ever use one of those methods on me… If I were to say… Annoy you too much?” Aldryn then asked and then winced when the fox begun throwing insults at him for the stupid question.

At those words, the Kenman finally stopped and turned around. He looked at the blonde. Noticing the man staring at him caused Aldryn to nearly jump out of his skin. The grey eyes were piercing him, as if trying to read something.

“Don’t worry” he said with a small smile, which made the blonde fear for his life, “I don’t pick on little kids” he said and patted the oracle on the head.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

In that moment, the priest praised himself in his head for not flinching when the older man touched him.

“I thought I was going to have a heart attack”, the fox then said in his mind.

“Technically… You don’t have one” the blonde then said and followed after the Kenman who was on the move again.

“Yeah well… Sure felt like I did for a moment there” the Thrae simply commented.

“Hey”, Aldryn then said and ran up to the Kenman, feeling more confident.

“So…” he begun but didn’t know exactly what to say, “What do I call you?” he asked the man and looked at his face.

“Do you remember what I told you in Gilton?” he simply asked back.

“Yeah and you had what…ten, eleven years to think of a name? What do the Monias even call you?” the blonde then resorted.

The Kenman didn’t say anything, he pretended like Aldryn wasn’t even there. Despite the silence, the apostle didn’t let it upset him. He started counting out loud all the names that he knew, or ever heard of.

“How about…Sam? Or Mirel? Or Arlen?” the blonde started asking, despite never waiting for a reaction and simply continuing on to the next name.

Despite the blonde nuisance, the Kenman simply walked on, as if nothing was bothering him. Then, suddenly, he stopped. Not noticing this, being too busy with his task, Aldryn bumped into him.

“What’s wrong?” the apostle asked, only to be shushed.

The Kenman was looking around them and even held his arm a bit raised, mentioning to the blonde to stay behind him. This action quickly made the oracle take note of their surroundings. The fox also stirred, both concentrating on the sounds around them. After that, the older man proceeded forward, only at a slower pace. He moved silently, as a predator who caught the smell of a prey. Suddenly, the Kenman crouched down, causing Aldryn to also drop to the ground and look around them. Then, the blonde slowly crawled toward the man.

“What’s wrong?” he whispered, not expecting an answer.

To his surprise, while the older man didn’t say anything, he pointed to a cave that stood not far from them. A man stood guard there, looking rather relaxed. He had on the clothes of a merchant, making it seem like he was one taking a break. Confused, Aldryn looked at the man and then at the Kenman.

“That’s a Scavenger” the brunette whispered back.

At those words, the blonde looked again more carefully. Indeed, the clothes, while were similar to those of merchants, also had some combat elements. The shoes the man wore were not those of a traveller, but of someone who expected a fight. Aldryn could also see some weapons being concealed under the clothes, their shape barely visible were it not for the apostle’s superior eyesight.

“You stay here” the Kenman then instructed.

“But I also want to go” the oracle whined back, “How come only you get to do the stealth mission?” he asked and was ignored.

Even the Thrae gave a sad sigh at the back of his mind. With one last glare as a warning, the Kenman moved. If Aldryn didn’t follow him with his eyes, he doubted that he could have heard or felt this man’s presence. At some point, he even lost sight of him. After a few minutes of trying and failing to find his companion, the blonde only sighed and looked back at their target. Then, suddenly, said man collapsed. The action surprised the apostle, who nearly jumped but quickly regained his composure.

The Kenman stood behind the fallen man and even lightly grabbed him before he hit the ground. He wanted to make sure that if there was anyone in that cave, they would still be unaware of his presence. He gestured Aldryn to approach him and after he did, told him to keep an eye on the man. To make sure that he didn’t escape. Then, after making sure that the blonde would do as he said, he venture into the cave. Unfortunately, it was empty. There were only a few resources such as food and a few miscellaneous items. The Kenman quickly scanned the items and grabbed a few of the books and scrolls that stood on a barrel. He also found and took some letters that he saw in the cave and then set everything on fire.

When he came back, he proudly noted that Aldryn tied the man. He grabbed him and hoisted the enemy over his shoulder and then took off. The apostle followed him silently. After half an hour, thinking that they made enough distance for now, he threw their prisoner on the ground.

“Wake him up and ask him if he knows where little Klyran is” he said and then started looking over the letters that he found, looking for any mentioning of the Ryan.

With another sigh, the blonde did as he was told. At first, he shook the man, trying to wake him up. Then, he slapped him face. When that didn’t work as well, he turned back to the Kenman and asked him what he should do next, since their prisoner wasn’t waking up.

With a cold look, the Kenman approached him and took out his sword. The action made Aldryn worry for a moment, not being sure what the other planned. Suddenly, the brown-haired man drove the blade through their enemy’s forearm. It caused the Scavenger to wake up with a shout, but was quickly silenced by the Kenman, who hit him again.

“For someone who lives to torture others as a hobby, your pain tolerance sure is miserable” the Kenman commented off-hand.