Chapter 47 Leaving Silvermere (1/2)
The first days after he left Lord Jiang's estate, Arran traveled at night, hiding out during the days and taking care not to be seen when he was out in the open
When he was a week's travel froht there was little risk of being recognized, and even if sonize hione
The lands to the west of Silverh, filled with rocky hills and dense forests, but the roads ell-ood distance with every day of travel Still wary of being seen, he spent the first weeks avoiding any towns and villages along the way Instead, he caht
He did notcontained enough food to last hihts were cold, he found that he could easily warh it
His only gripe was the rain, which battered down on hi the day, but at night, finding dry shelter proved ale piece of oilcloth that he used for cover, but even with that, more often than not he would be soaked by sunrise
After a h he could warm himself and dry his clothes with Fire Essence, the cold and da aside his worries about being seen, he stopped avoiding the villages and towns along the road, instead spending his nights in inns whenever he found thee oilskin tent in one of the towns he passed Although it was made to be carried in a cart, he found that it easily fit into his void bag Setting it up took the better part of an hour, but it hts far more comfortable than they had been, and he cursed hiht of it earlier
Each day, heFei's notes on the Windblade spell and the Shadow seals While he had less interest in spellcasting than he did in Body Refine Fei had done to provide the notes he could not bring hinore them
Despite his lack of enthusiasm the work paid off, and as the weeks passed he started to see so either skill, but he could tell he was steadily approaching the point where he would be able to execute them, albeit clumsily
What little ti his control of Essence and iress was steady if unreer
For several months, his travels were uneventful
He had taken to wearing his arht a fine robe wasn't suitable for travel — and he found that being dressed like a soldier or ood way to ward off bandits and other unwanted attention
With that, few people bothered hie or town he found hi erous enough to be avoided by most normal folk
It was on a rare sunny day that he walked into one of thethe road, and i was off The townsfolk's eyes lit up in recognition as they saw him, and several of theh Arran proer ahead, there was little he could do to change it now Even if he tried to run, whoever was after hie to run off, he continued through the city, albeit more cautiously
When he reached the town square, he found it couards, their weapons already drawn It was obvious that they had been expecting hiroup was a short roup approached hi a half-circle around him
”Halt!” the captain said ”You are wanted for murder!”
Arran frowned ”Whose murder would that be?” he asked
While he wasn't too worried about these town guards, he looked around cautiously, to see if any real danger was lurking at the sides of the town square The guards the the, and he turned his attention back to the captain
”A group of Jiang Clan members say you murdered an heir to the Redstone branch,” the sharp-faced man replied
Instantly, Arran understood the situation, and he felt so that it wasn't the Academy that was after him Fro Clan, their strongest fighters in the region should be adepts at best
”And they asked you to arrest ine that even the Redstone branch would be foolish enough to try to use coe
”They asked us to send word ifyou,” the captain said ”Now that you're here, ill hold you until they return”
”Hold me? You?” With a frown, Arran used Fire Essence to create a head-sized fireball that hovered above his outstretched left hand
In an instant, the captain's face paled as he seemed to realize his mistake, and several of his men stepped back in fear Yet to his credit, the captain hiht be able to kill us,” he said with a grim look, ”but even if you do, you will be punished for your cri you, nor in har any of the townsfolk,” Arran said ”TheClan, and ene of Silvermere”