22 Omen Tongues (1/2)

Despite his trepidation, Elhorn did not dare refute Vadis order. Meanwhile, Lumvug could not wait to spill all he knew.

”Elhorn, you can start,” Arilya said after throwing him a casual glance.

”Yes, High-One. The owner of the scarf is my adopted brother, Hariel,” Elhorn said.

Captain Vadis brows furrowed a little after Elhorn's declaration. Before, Elhorn could continue his statement, Arilya motioned for him to stop.

”Captain Vadis, is there a problem?” Arilya asked while staring at him with a probing gaze. However, Vadis had his eyes focused on Elhorn.

With a faint smile on his face, he retorted, ”Captain Arilya, I'm good. Will you give me permission to ask the questions? I don't want to interrogate your subordinates on my volition.”

Vadis still had his eyes focused on Elhorn and Lumvug. Although he had a faint smile on his face, his eyes had an undescribable gleam in it.

”Okay. You can ask them whatever you want. But you must do here it,” Arilya said.

”Of course. That's not a problem,” Vadis said as he flashed an amiable smile towards Arilya. Before turning his head towards Elhorn, ”What happened to the parents of your adopted brother? How did they die, and what was their position in your tribe?” Vadis asked.

”High-One, Hariel's parents served under the scouting unit of our Parf, and they both held the position of squad leader. Unfortunately, they died while rescuing the victims of the Harew fire which razed the Harew settlement. We never found their bodies,” Elhorn said. His hands were curled into a fist as recounted the events leading to the demise of Hariel's parents.

”You, is this accurate?” Vadis said as he stared at Lumvug.

”Yes, High-One,” Lumvug hurriedly said. Which made Vadis place his hand on his chin as if he was in deep thought.

”Okay. Why was he banished from the tribe?” Vadis asked.

At this point, Elhorn involuntarily closed his eyes while sighing like a dejected man.

”High-One, Hariel committed the crime of blasphemy against the image of our ancestor. He also tried to convince the younger Elves to abandon the teachings of the High-Ones. He targeted talented but unknown members of the Parfs. Being a squad leader himself, he could lead them to their meeting place under the guise of training. Unknown to us, he had recruited over fifty percent of the Parfs. They planned on forming a movement that would liberate other Elf settlements. He allowed anyone to join their cause, as long as they stood against the rules of the High-Ones. The night they planned on liberating a settlement, one of his followers who had seen the error of their ways confessed to Elder Lumvug. Unfortunately, we could not stop them before they left the settlement. We rallied the remaining members of the Parfs and gave chase. But since they had a five-hour head start, we lagged behind,” Elhorn paused at this point. Because, his voice became incoherent.

However, Vadis waited patiently for him to continue. Although Lumvug was eager to continue from where Elhorn paused, he refrained from doing so. Arilya's strict warning still echoed in his mind.

”Forgive me, High-One. When we caught up with them, we saw a scene we'll never forget for the rest of our lives. A few meters before the Varhir settlement, we found hundreds of corpses littered on the ground. They all died from a dagger wound. We feared the worst when we saw the corpses, but none of them belonged to our Parfs. However, it only made us more anxious. When we got to the Varhir settlement, we saw the same scene. But this time, it was the corpses of our brothers and sisters littering the ground. Words cannot describe how we felt that day. After gathering the corpses, we couldn't find Hariel's. Before we could search for him, a survivor stumbled out from the surrounding forest. He kept on muttering the same words over and over…” before Elhorn could finish his statement, Vadis interrupted him. ”Whatdid he say?” Vadis asked.

”High-One, he said, Kill him… please kill him. Hariel... betrayed us. I'm…” Elhorn said.

”So, what happened after? Did you find him? From the look on your face you did not go after him, right?” Vadis said as he motioned for Lumvug to answer.

”Yes, High-One. Elhorn, convinced us that our best course of action was to return to the settlement. We did not know if Hariel would decimate of settlement like Varhir. That same night, we expunged his name from our records, and banished him from our tribe. We also sent a report to the High-Ones in the Capital. Since that day we never saw him again, that is until he returned to the settlement three weeks ago,” Lumvug said.

”Elhorn, you are the one who reported your brother, right?” Vadis suddenly said. At that moment, Arilya's brows furrowed a little while Elhorn's body shuddered involuntarily.

”No need to answer. I already know the answer, but what I don't understand is how Hariel turned into a heretic. Elhorn, what have you not told me?” Vadis said as he stared at Elhorn with a stern expression on his usually amicable face.

Meanwhile, Arilya also stared at Elhorn. She also wanted to know what made Hariel turned Hariel into a heretic. Although she asked him the same question a few weeks ago, but she could decipher nothing from Elhorn's answer. She hoped Vadis would unravel the mystery. Just like he guessed Elhorn was the betrayer. Unlike him, she interrogated Lumvug before she got the information.

”High-One, I don't know where Hariel got his heretical views from,” Elhorn said with his head lowered. His words and reaction made Vadis's face become sterner.

”Did he hangout with any foreigners?” Vadis asked.

”No, High-One. After the death of his parents, Hariel became introverted. Spending most of his time in the house. Apart from me and my parents, he hardly spoke with anyone,” Elhorn said.

Meanwhile, Vadis turned his gaze towards Lumvug, as if asking for confirmation on Elhorn's words.

Which made Lumvug nod his head like a lizard, confirming Elhorn's statement.

At that moment, the room fell into silence, and Vadis assumed a pensive demeanor. A few minutes later, he stared at Elhorn with an undescribable gleam in his eyes as he said, ”You said Hariel's parents were scouts, right?”

Elhorn nodded his head in confirmation, ”Good. Around the time his parents died, did Hariel read a lot?” Vadis asked.