Chapter 85: A fine Establishment (1/2)

“Come on, we have to continue.” Roland quietly said to Lily, waking her from her slumber with a gentle brush to her cheek. Most of the others were already up, preparing their packs and checking the surroundings for any danger. They had left Salia behind nearly a week ago. Ilea and the Hand had given them a chance at survival and Roland wouldn’t throw that away.

“Already? But I’m so tired dad...” the girl told him in a sleepy voice. For many of the lower leveled people it had been a very difficult week. They had lived inside the city, protected by its walls and guards for all their life. The didn’t have any skills that let them forgo sleep or let them walk for hours on end without tiring.

If he had to be honest, Roland would’ve likely left them behind to make his own way with Lily a while ago already but Valery held them together. She was the reason he had stayed and with her they might even survive an elven attack, should worst come to worst.

“I’m sorry alright, I’ll carry you for the first hour or so, ok?” he said to Lily and lifted her up on his shoulder. The weight was nothing to him and he joined the group of waiting people, only to hear their bickering again.

“We have to leave them behind if we want to survive, don’t you see that?” a man said to Valerie who seemed rather full of him. Some people in the group seemed to agree while others looked at the man with tired and hateful eyes. The waiting group consisted mostly of adventurers, or guards who had a certain amount of strength to them. Nothing compared to a member of the hand or even Roland or Valery but enough to maybe survive in the wild.

“We’ve come this far, we won’t stop now. As soon as we reach a safe city you can go wherever you want to.” Valery said in a tired voice, shutting the man down. Roland didn’t know exactly where she planned to go, though east seemed to be the way for now. They had heard from the Hand that many of the independent cities had been destroyed similarly to their own so it wouldn’t be a quick journey, especially lacking any horses and wagons.

They had enough gold to live like nobles wherever they got to, they only had to survive getting there and keeping the gold when they arrived. Some places had already been ruled out because of that and their journey would take at least another two or three weeks at this speed to reach any reasonable city in Kroll or Nipha, the westernmost human countries.

‘They won’t leave...’ Roland thought, looking at the man grinding his teeth. They were too afraid of any dangers in the night. Even Nazarks would be their doom if it weren’t for some select members of their group. An elf might be the end of them all but by staying, they might at least have a chance. Roland just didn’t know if that chance would be at fighting or at flight.

He looked up towards the shrouded suns, hidden behind cloud formations and sighed. The breath turning into white mist. “Papa, you’re h..hurting me...” Lily said. His eyes focused again as he loosened his grip on her legs.

“I’m sorry.” he said and looked back to the preparing group of survivors. ‘I’ll find a way to avenge them...’ he thought, but his chest felt hollow and the fire that had burned his house and their corpses was nowhere to be found within him.

‘She forgot to give me the bow...’ Lorcan was standing on the wall of Dawntree, looking up to see the elves hovering in the distance. Around him were members of the guard, the adventurer guild, the noble houses of Dawntree and even a squad of the Shadow’s Hand. The city’s defenses had held true and though some of the elves had broken through one way or the other, Dawntree stood strong.

With four more people at level 200 they now were nearly equal to the number of elves he could see on the horizon, let alone the amount of defensive weapons and mages they had. It annoyed him. The waiting annoyed him. He wanted to go out and meet them and not wait here for them to taunt the humans. Days passed and all he could do was wait and watch their game of magic while the city fired at them from a distance.

The elves must know that the city wouldn’t starve or thirst. Certainly crime and the respective violent guard response rose heavily through the attack but what were they planning to achieve? Lorcan shook his head and sat down again on the edge of the wall, ignoring the flashes of magic and conversations around him.

‘She left the city I think...’ he looked around and again noticed someone looking at him a little too intently. It wasn’t a secret anymore that one of the Forkspear daughers had disappeared and with her the healer that had been seen with her. At least in the circles Lorcan resided it was known and he couldn’t help but be happy about it. Smiling below his helmet, he pictured the reaction of whoever was hunting her when the level 100 healer they were expecting turns out to be not quite so defenseless.

‘Why even care about something like this while the city is under attack...’ he looked down at his hands. Lorcan Agor had never been one for politics, though right now the elves were doing more for the nobles in the city than for themselves. At least for the winning side of the nobles.

“Are you annoyed at their taunting?” someone said behind him, his annoyance rising a little more at being talked to.

“May I sit?” Lorcan turned to see a masked member of the Hand standing a meter away from him. Lorcan simply nodded lightly and looked back out towards the white landscape below.

The man sat down and sighed. “If only we could lure one of them.” he said and Lorcan found himself agreeing.

“Why are they here?” he found himself asking the man next to him, looking at the wisps of shadow moving away from the armor. The mask turned towards him at the question and then back towards the elves.

“I do not know. They have attacked many of the independent cities, decimating the population in many of them. This might be the last one standing.” the man said.

“I heard of that, so you were the ones bringing those news?” Lorcan said and chuckled “The leaders of the city will never move out to attack with that, so thanks.”

The man didn’t say anything for a while before answering. “It is the wise choice. Though you thirst for battle it would likely bring death.” he paused and watched Lorcan’s reaction. “The elves will bore soon, I have rarely seen them stay so long in one place. Either that or they will attack. You will be free again to follow or you will be fighting.” he finished.

Lorcan just nodded once and touched the bracelet on his arm thoughtfully. “If I may ask, as soon as this is over. Would you join me on my way to Ravenhall? And perhaps join the Shadow’s Hand?” the man asked him which brought a laugh out of Lorcan.

“No. Apologies Elder but you will found me cast out already.” Lorcan said after he had stopped laughing. He prepared to fight but it seemed the man only sighed again.

“A shame then. I am no Elder of the Hand and I hold no grudges against cast out members. I do hope you will find your way, do not give up.” the man said and got up, leaving Lorcan to his thoughts.

Flying towards the city again, Ilea felt a little melancholic, nostalgic even. The vacation home her family had owned near the sea was something very close to her, for many different reasons. Choosing the place for her blink ability felt right to her and she wouldn’t leave the barren ledge as it was. There was enough space to make something, build something. A place to rest and to recover, should that time ever come again.

Ilea reached Ravenhall half an hour later, flying up and through the mountain chain at her top speed. The suns had nearly set already when she reached the entrance to the Shadow’s Hand.

‘Now let’s see how useful the skill really is...’ she thought as she concentrated on Hunter’s Sight. Immediately Ilea focused on a specific smell. She was sure it was his and quickly she followed its trail. It seemed obvious to her where the smell had been lingering longer. The trail led her out to Ravenhall and even out of it towards the forest she had walked through on her first arrival.

Deeper and deeper she went until she finally found him. Kyrian was standing in the middle of a pulsing circle of magic. Trees had been cut down and the snow below his feet was disturbed, intricate patterns were drawn into it and magic pulsed from it in a sickly green light. Sweat covered his brow and she watched as the light got brighter and brighter before with a flash, it vanished.

Kyrian was thrown back a little and wobbled on his legs before he held his head. “Nice show, need a healer?” Ilea commented from the side, startling him immediately.

“I thought you were a beast deciding on attacking.” he said after he registered the voice.

“Best moment to blow your magic and cripple yourself then smartass.” she said as she walked closer. Stepping into the circle, she stopped and walked back again, the smile on her face vanishing.

“I know...though the effects should linger for a while.” he said, looking at her for the first time. “Are you ok?” he asked, the effects of the curse vanished instantly after he quickly closed his eyes.

“I don’t n… need healing.” he said and walked closer to her, leaving the circle behind. “We wanted to get food right?”

Ilea looked at him and nodded. ‘I can’t space out like that whenever I get cursed...’ she thought and answered his question.

“Yea, let’s look for Eve. I have a feeling she’s somewhere in Ravenhall and not Viscera.” she said, turning around. Her buffs came active and she blinked away, her heart beat first accelerating and then slowing down because of her buffs.

“What the hell, you dipshit!!” Ilea shouted as the reason for her sudden teleport started giggling and then outright laughing.