Wen knew it was morning when she woke up in the darkness. She was in a small cavern assigned to her by Remuel where she slept with the other women outlaws. She sat up and saw the silhouette of the other women who had risen to get ready for their work on that day. The movements around her and the scuffles of feet had roused Wen from her sleep.
As the lamps were lit inside the cavern, it became clearer to Wen that some of the beds were already empty. Some of the women had risen earlier, probably to start with their own chores. It was always busy in the tunnels. There was always a flurry of activity which only slowed gradually as it became night and people settled in their beds.
The previous night, Wen instructed Mira on how to clean Enzir’s wounds. Mira knew well how to do it, having done it many times before, but the nature of Enzir’s wounds were different. Wen had to make sure that the thousands of small cuts that Enzir had endured from the scourge were pro
Eldion did not get to sleep well that night. The events of the previous day were very much in his mind and he was quite troubled with everything that he had experienced. Earlier in the day, they were taken to the outlaw’s den in blindfolds and the tortuous way that their captors led them through had made him nauseous. Then, he found himself inside a dark cavern, captured by someone who turned out to be Casser’s friend. The tunnels and caverns were likewise dizzying with its twists and turns and the lack of daylight made it even more confusing.Afterwards, he experienced something that he believed to be a true memory from his forgotten past when he drank that green ant tea from Remuel. He remembered the four circular points of light above his head and the white figure that detached itself from the haze. He tried to reach out and touch the figure, but it seemed as if he was touching smoke. Eldion wanted to cry out to the figure, to call its name, but the haze
Casser stopped snoring and opened an eye, looking around the sleeping cavern for anyone who might have stayed behind. Finding no one, he rose from his bed and stretched his arms, all the while on the lookout if he missed anyone who could still be there in the room with him. Satisfied that he was alone, Casser reached under his shirt and brought out a small bunch of brown feathers. He picked one and returned the others from where he got them. He smoothened the brown feather and even blew at it.“Is it possible?” Casser asked no one. Then, he approached a torch at the wall while gently brushing his chest with the feather. Upon reaching the torch, he raised the feather and placed it near the flame. He waited a while and then saw a change in the brown feather.“I never could have guessed!” said Casser as he looked at the feather in his hand. Heated by the flame, the feather started to have a fluorescent quality that was even more pronounced at the t
Eldion saw the two outlaws race from where Wen was standing and towards the direction of the mess hall. In a moment, the outlaws disappeared as they made a turn in the tunnel not far from where Eldion was hiding. When he returned his gaze to Wen, he saw that Wen was waving to him and he immediately left his hiding to place to join her by the door.“Those two were like racehorses trying to see who can get away first. How did you manage to do that?” Eldion asked Wen, admiring his companion’s skills of persuasion.“I don’t want to talk about it,” said Wen dismissively as she listened to her sister laughing. Then, she went close to the door and looked inside the cell through the opening. In the dim light, she saw Lankko sitting on the floor near the fireplace. There was purplish light that seemed to come from the pot that was hanging above the fire.“Pssst… Lankko!” Wen called to the Keeper.Lankko jerked
Casser walked from the sleeping cavern noiselessly. He slipped through the darkness and avoided colliding with the few outlaws that were still walking in the tunnels. Soon, Casser saw his destination and saw the guard standing in front of the locked door. It was the small cavern where Remuel stored his loot of magical artifacts. As Casser got near, he tiptoed until he was standing directly in front of the guard. Then, Casser raised his hand and waved it in front of the guard’s face. The guard seemed not to see Casser waving his hand and just ignored him, merely turning to one side. Casser spun around like a dancer and was standing at the guard’s left side in a moment. Then, Casser knelt and looked at the guard’s belt where there hung a set of keys.Casser got hold of the key ring and was about to unhook it from the guard’s belt when a group of outlaws appeared and called the guard’s attention. The guard moved suddenly and Casser had to let
“How did you get that soot on you?” Remuel asked Casser. Then, Remuel raised an eyebrow and looked at the tunnel behind Casser. “Did you just come from the coal storage?” he asked.Casser wiped his face and looked at the soot on his hands. He looked at the tunnels behind him as well. “Yes,” Casser said after a short pause. “I haven’t had the chance to wash.”“I don’t see why Sela would put you to this kind of work,” Remuel said and came close to Casser to pat some of the soot off the merchant’s shoulder. “Come with me, my friend. Let me get you to the mess hall where you can wash a bit before we get some breakfast.”The two men walked together towards the mess hall, leaving the guard standing in front of the storeroom. He looked at the retreating figure of Casser suspiciously before taking a step forward where she saw Casser suddenly materialize before his eyes.Remu
Wen and Eldion watched Enzir drain the magic elixir from the vial. Then, Wen took the vial away while Eldion lay Enzir’s head gently back on the mat. After a moment, they saw Enzir touch his arm and drew his knees upward as if he felt cold. He made a sudden jerking movement before convulsing on the mat before Wen and Eldion.Eldion stared at the twitching body of Enzir while Wen felt nervous at the possible deleterious effect of the elixir on Enzir. She remembered Lankko collapsing to the floor after drinking the elixir but eventually getting up on his feet. Wen hoped that she had done the right thing and that Enzir would be better. However, the involuntary movements of Enzir’s body had made Wen feel uneasy as to the correctness of her actions.As Enzir’s movements became more and more violent, Wen touched Enzir’s arm in an effort to steady him and prevent any more possible injuries. She had to remove her hands abruptly when she felt Enzir&rsquo
The outlaw standing guard at the entrance to the cavern turned towards Eldion and Wen and started craning his neck. He seemed to be starting to get suspicious at what Wen and Eldion were doing.“I think you’ll have to lie down,” said Wen. “The guard is getting suspicious.”“Sorry,” Enzir said as he lay flat on his back. “What I meant to say earlier is thank you for saving my life and your secret will be safe with me as with Lankko.”Wen nodded and stole another glance at the guard who seemed to have lost interest in what they were doing.“He’ll have to cover up. They’ll see that his wounds have healed,” Mira said suddenly, and Wen thought that it made sense.“I’ll have to cover you with a blanket,” Wen told Enzir and pulled a blanket over Enzir. “They might discover that your wounds have healed,” she explained.Enzir let Wen cover him
Eldion was filled with hope with what he had just heard although he also felt dread. As much as he wanted to know who he was, he also dreaded finding out the truth about himself. Without knowledge of his past, he did not really know if it was something that he really wanted. Perhaps it was really a good thing not to know the past and have his slate clean. A fresh start.“I will tell Lankko to create an elixir for you,” said Enzir, looking at Eldion.Wen also looked at Eldion and noticed that he did not seem too excited with what he had just heard. “You don’t seem too keen about the idea, Eldion,” said Wen. “What is it? What is bothering you?”“I know I should be excited to have my memories restored. I wanted to know who I am, but now