The Lashival Trilogy - Book 2- The Enigma

[riki]

You'll see in the epilogue

[goldb]

You'll see in the epilogue

I have to wait that long?

[riki]

Do you want to venture a guess on why?

[goldb]

Do you want to venture a guess on why?

Something to do with it not attacking humans? I can't think!

[riki]

That's a good theory ^^

[goldb]

That's a good theory ^^

Okay, I want to also guess that the Lashival is a member or a follower of the cult that Armita's sister is with, going south iirc.

[riki]

Interesting, interesting

[goldb]

Interesting, interesting

[riki]

And where do you think Alethea's whereabouts is and is she safe? ^^

[goldb]

And where do you think Alethea's whereabouts is and is she safe? ^^

Ahhh I see. So the secret mission she's gone on, is a plan from Shintra to get her alone?

[riki]

Nope. It's a mission from Kejuta though Shintra would be interested in finding her, I think.

---------- Post added February 18, 2013 at 09:22 PM ---------- Previous post was February 13, 2013 at 06:22 PM ----------

Ceza 5, 2583

Armita and Owain stood outside the stables as they waited patiently for Talic. They had finished loading their supplies on top of their horses. It was still dark outside and it seemed like they were the only ones awake at this ungodly hour. She had to smile when she noticed that her younger colleague tried his best to stifle a yawn but failed miserably. “Couldn’t sleep?” she inquired.

He nodded sheepishly. “Not really. I guess I’m not a morning person,” he joked. “And you?”

“I had a little trouble,” she admitted as she patted her horse, Herisa, on the head. ”I was too anxious to start our mission so I couldn’t really fall asleep.”

“Is it about Ithani?” She nodded. “I’m sure that we will find her and knock some sense into her.”

“I hope so too,” she sighed. “She was a very stubborn girl when she was young and she still is.”

“I see. That might make things more difficult, huh?” Owain paused before finally asking, “By the way, when you do find your sister, what are you going to do next? You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want, but I was a little curious.”

She looked at him dumbfounded. Her plans afterward? To be honest, she hadn’t thought much about that. Maybe she could go back home and rejoin the Isharan military. Her father would then surely forgive her for her transgression. But then she had made numerous friends in the Bartheomos organization and would miss them terribly especially her team. Owain was like a younger brother who was eager to learn, and Cuzo knew how to cheer her up whenever she was feeling down by asking her to play with him. As for Talic... well, she was quite fond of him. He always had her back just she had his. Before she could tell him his answer, she noticed someone approaching them.

“Sorry that I’m late, but I was getting some last minute supplies,” Talic apologized as he joined them. As usual, Cuzo was right next to his master and looked at the two with what seemed to be a smile on his face. Seeing his wagging tail, Armita mused that the dog seemed to be excited about their new adventure. She wished that she had that much enthusiasm; all she felt at the moment was nerves.

Owain gave him a curious look. “What supplies?”

Talic held up two bags. One was as big as a coin purse while another was twice as big. “Momma Aiema heard that we were leaving today so she packed up some meals for our travel,” he explained. “As for the small bundle, it’s from our client. When I woke up this morning, I found it lying on my nightstand. She also left a note, saying that we would need it for our journey.”

“Do you know what’s in it?” an interested Armita asked, but Talic shook his head.

“She said that we should open it after we leave, and since we’re working for the All-Mother herself, I thought it’s best that we obey her command.”

She and Owain nodded though it was still weird to imagine that the goddess herself had requested their help. Why on earth did the All-Mother pick them of all people? What made them so special that she felt that they were the best choice for this mission? Speaking of which, that reminded her of the question that bothered her. “Did she provide more information about our target?” she questioned.

“Unfortunately she didn’t. Anyway, we should get going. Why don’t we head out and we could see what she gave us during our trip?” he suggested as he put the bags away; he has placed the food bag on top of his horse and placed the All-Mother’s gift in his satchel. They agreed and they got on their horses except for Talic, who just grabbed the reins of his pack horse and led it.

“Which way are we headed?” Owain asked as they exited the headquarters.

Talic looked at him thoughtfully. “Lyceaum. I think we can find more information about who we are dealing with at the university.” If she remembered correctly, that was Owain’s hometown.

“That makes sense. I’m sure that someone over there should have knowledge about him. Maybe I can ask Adalynn if she knows anything,” he said hopefully.

“Sounds like a good plan to me. Now let’s see what inside the bag…”

Ceza 19, 2583

As soon as they passed through the city gate, Owain felt nostalgic. After almost two years, he was finally back home. Everything still looked the same. Vendors lined the streets with their goods and shouted at passing potential consumers to promote their wares. The only difference was that more foreigners were now living in Lyceaum. Ever since the nations signed the peace treaty over five centuries ago, many people had emigrated from their homelands and settled down in another country. Now in almost every nations, one could find a Sendoan, an Isharan, an Ankan, or another nationality as easily as one could find water.

He liked to believe that Bartheomos was one of the key factors for this. If the founders of the international police force saw what the future had brought, they were surely smiling with pride. When the civilians noticed that all of the members were working together in spite of their different races and languages, they realized that everyone was not quite as different as they have imagined and became more open-minded. Of course there were still some extreme nationalists, but they hadn’t had much influence in the past few years.

Currently he was supposed to buy lunch for his team because he told them he knew the best place to grab a bite to eat. Turning a corner, he could already smell the delicious meals coming from the LuRosia’s Deli and Bakery. The corner restaurant was famous for their innovated recipes as well as their home-style foods. While majority dined in the warm family-friendly restaurant, a few ordered their meal at the take-out window and hurried on their way. Since the others were waiting for him back at the local headquarters, he had to go to the latter. A long line had already formed around the corner, which meant that it would take at least thirty minutes for his turn to come.

While he was waiting, he tried his best not to look at the scrumptious foods displayed at the large window but to no avail. A variety of pies, cakes, meats, breads, and other assortments were arranged so that anyone who was window shopping would suddenly feel an urge to buy a tasty treat. One thing that was certain, Mrs. LuRosia knew how to get customers. “Who’s next please!” he heard a woman shout in a slight Xavian accent. Speak of the devil, it was her.

Walking to the counter, he gave her the most mischievous grin and said, “Hello, Mrs. LuRosia. I would like to order four meat pasties please.” The plump fifty-two years old woman stared at him for a moment until recognition appeared in her eyes.

“Owain Tolbert, what a pleasant surprise!” she beamed as she examined him up and down. “It has been ages since I last saw you. Look at you! You’ve grown more handsome and taller since the last time I saw you. You’re just a fitting image of your late father, bless his soul.”

“Thank you,” he said politely. “How is Natalia by the way?” She was Mrs. LuRosia’s daughter and was in the same grade with him.

She gave him a sly look. “Instead of asking me, why don’t you ask her?” Before he could tell her that it wasn’t necessary, she shouted, “Natalia, come over here! Guess who finally decided to come home for a visit?” Thanks the gods the line behind him had significantly decreased and that there were other workers helping out at the counter. Otherwise he was positive that the other customers would be staring daggers at him.

A young woman with a questioningly look came up to the window, and Owain gave her a nervous smile. Natalia LuRosia still looked the same though she has matured gracefully as a woman. She has tied up her long, sandy blonde hair in a ponytail and had a maroon kerchief wrapped on her head. Her clothes and arms were covered with flour. As soon as she saw him, she squealed with delight and rushed over to the counter. “Owain, I can’t believe this!” she cried. “I would have hugged you right now, but I don’t want to ruin your fine clothes. How are you?”

He looked at her, relieved. During the last year in high school, they had started dating and many thought they would get married since they were always happy together. That changed when he announced that he was planning to join Bartheomos. She was supportive of him and gave him encouragement during his time at boot camp while he sent her his love. However, they struggled to keep a long-distance relationship and realized that it wasn’t meant to be. After a long discussion, they agreed to an amicable breakup. To be frank, he was glad that they were still friends. Otherwise it would be very awkward especially whenever he visited her restaurant.

“I’m doing well,” he replied. “And you? Anything exciting happened at home?”

“Well… remember Danth Bebins?” He nodded. Danth was his best friend, who played with him during one of his wild adventures when they were young. He even joined Owain at the Bartheomos boot camp though he didn’t last that long. After two weeks, he announced that he wasn’t meant to be a Bartheomos member and was quitting. However, he still encouraged Owain to continue and promised that he was going to support his best friend in another way. The last thing he’d heard from Danth, he started to date Natalia after asking Owain if it was all right with him.

“Yeah, what’s about him?”

“Well, he talked to some higher-ups in your organization and convinced them to allow us to cater for you, which meant that you will be able to enjoy our delicious meals whenever you visit here!”

“That’s great to hear! I bet your mother is pleased with that news,” Owain noted happily. He mentally thanked Danth for keeping his promise.

Natalia agreed. “She is. She has always wanted to show her appreciation for all of the hard work all of you do so Danth suggested that to her. Father was so impressed by his persuasive skills that he’s making him in charge of marketing.”

“That’s great news! Anything else?” She blushed embarrassingly and showed him her left hand, where he noticed an engagement ring. “You and Danth are getting married? Congratulations!” he exclaimed, and he meant it. There was a slight feeling of sadness though since Natalia would always be his first love. However he knew that he wouldn’t have made her happy with his nomadic lifestyle. “Let me know when the wedding is.”

“Of course, Danth and I would love for you to come. Oh, I saw your mother and uncle recently while I was shopping for supplies,” she began and paused as she studied his expression. He stiffened but he didn’t say anything. She knew that they criticized him for enlisting and wasn’t supportive of him.

When he was young, Uncle Thanthus didn’t mind his acting out his favorite stories despite his mother’s disapproval or allowing him to participate in outdoors recreations. “It’s just a phase,” he had reassured her. “Little Owain will get out of it and become more serious in his studies.” How gravely mistaken he was. After Owain announced that he was planning to try out to be a Bartheomos member, they had a fit. They informed him that life was too dangerous and unfit for someone of his lifestyle; besides he needed to focus on running the family’s business.

However, he insisted that he wasn’t interesting in the trade market and stubbornly refused to give up. Why didn’t they complain about Adalynn when she decided to go to college to study anthropology? Why did he have to run the family business, not her? They dismissed his reasons, saying that they wanted him to be in charge. Finally, after several days of arguments and threats, his uncle offered a compromise. He and his mother would allow him to join the Bartheomos boot camp on one condition – if he couldn’t handle it, he had to go back home and trained under his uncle. If he was successful, they would accept his decision. Knowing that they only did it since they thought he didn’t have a chance, Owain readily agreed and immediately vowed to prove them wrong.

At first, the rigorous training overwhelmed him and he would always come back to camp, sore and exhausted. While others in his camp received encouraging letters from their family, all he got were letters implying that they knew that he couldn’t handle it and that he should come home at once especially after Danth quitted. Clenching his jaws, he would politely tell them that he was enjoying the experience and that he intended to complete the boot camp no matter what. Now more determined, he worked harder and improved significantly enough to gain attention from his trainer. His family noticed as well after he informed them that he had passed the tryouts with flying colors and that he was being assigned to a group after graduation. He sent them invitation to the graduation ceremony and hoped they would come.

Instead of congratulating him, they lectured him of his foolishness and accused him of being selfish, which surprised him. Weren’t they being selfish for trying to force him to do something that he had no desire to do? The worst part was that they didn’t attend his graduation ceremony; only his older sister came. She tried to make excuses on why they didn’t come to make him feel better, but he knew the truth. However, he still kept writing to them with hopes that they finally accepted his decision though he felt resentment toward them. Why did they support Adalynn but not him?

At the same time, they still continued to belittle his decisions and urged him to quit. Finally, they had enough. In their last letter, they had ordered him to “stop this nonsense and come home to run the business”. Angry, he informed them that he had already make up his mind about joining Bartheomos and that he was not coming back home, where she could micromanage his life, to put it mildly. Ever since then, they hadn’t written to each other. If they did correspond with each other, they would use Adalynn as intermediary. He felt terrible about involving her in their disagreement, but his pride refused to let him reach out to his mother and uncle. It was probably the same for them too.

“How are they?” he asked quietly even though he wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.

“They seem to be doing well. Though your mother seems to be frailer and there was a hint of sadness in her voice,” she told him. “As for your uncle, he appeared to be fine though somewhat tired. I did ask them about Ada and you. They told me that your sister is going to graduate soon and just got accepted to a prestigious graduate program. The only thing they said about you was that you were doing well. Not to sound nosy, but I think they miss you.”

He didn’t say anything at first. His mother and uncle miss him? Ridiculous! They would have mentioned it in their letters if they did. “Thanks for your concern, but I think I can handle it,” he said finally. “Anyway, is Ada still around? I need to see her about something.”

She nodded. “I believe so. Luckily for you, you must have good timing because she’s about to leave for a research expedition soon.”

“Thanks, Natalia,” he replied. It couldn’t be coincidence; did the All-Mother use her influence to ensure that he didn’t miss his sister? Before he could question his friend more about his sister, Mrs. LuRosia arrived back with his order.

“Here you go, Owain,” she declared as she handed him the bag. “I also packed your favorites, and don’t worry about paying – it’s on the house.” He tried to protest but she vehemently shook her head. “I insist! Now you better head back before the meat pies get soggy!”

Knowing that she wouldn’t accept his money, Owain said farewell and went on his way. While he was walking down the street, he felt his stomach rumbling due to the delicious smell of the food so he stopped to grab one for the road. He smiled when he saw that Mrs. LuRosia had packed him a small bag of lemon drops. She still remembered that it was his favorite candy. Popping one in his mouth, he tucked the rest in his pocket and continued walking. He was enjoying the familiar scenery when he stopped abruptly. Dammit, he was unknowingly walking the same route he used when he used to come home from school. He could see the townhouse which he used to call home in the distance. There was no way he’s going back there. With a sharp turn on his heel, he quickly used another route and headed back to unite with the others.

“Sorry I’m late. I bumped into some old friends and they wanted to talk to me,” Owain apologized as soon as he entered the lobby. Talic and Armita sat on one of the red sofas while Cuzo lay down at the former’s feet. While their young companion was gone, they were going over notes on their new target and trying to figure out the next move.

“It’s all right,” Talic reassured him. “It must be nice to see them after having gone for such a long time.” Now that he thought about it, he hadn’t seen his parents and siblings for a while either. Hopefully they were doing well.

“Anyway, here’s our lunch,” he said as he handed them each a meat pasty and placed one in front of Cuzo’s nose, which began to twitch. The dog opened his eyes and immediately sat up to gobble his meal. “Better eat them now while they’re still hot.”

They didn’t need him to tell them that. When they smelled the savory aroma, they took a bite at once. Talic was impressed; it was as delicious as Owain had claimed. Whoever made it put in bite-size chicken pieces and fresh vegetables. “This is very good,” he complimented and Armita nodded with agreement as she wiped some crumbs off her lips.

“Glad you like it. Mrs. LuRosia would be thrilled when I tell her,” the Lycian said, pleased. After everyone was finished, he continued, “So what’s next in our agenda?”

“First, to pass out the All-Mother’s gifts before we forget,” Talic suggested and opened the small bag. When they first saw the contents, they were confused on why she left them each a crystal pendant necklace. Why would they need to wear them on their journey? The All-Mother must have her reason, but they wished she clearly stated why instead of being so vague about it.

After everyone placed the necklaces on and tucked them underneath their shirt, the Eireneridan continued, “Next, I want you and Armita to head to the university to try to find out more information about this so-called threat against our world. While you two are doing that, I’ll get the horses ready so as soon as you are finished with your business, we can head out.”

“Wait a minute, we’re not staying here for tonight?” Owain asked confusedly. He and Armita shook their heads.

“Since the All-Mother wanted us to find him as quickly as possible, we thought it would be best if we leave after we’re done our research,” Armita explained. Owain nodded understandably though Talic sensed that he was disappointed. He didn’t blame him for his reaction because he felt the same way, but they shouldn’t waste any time. Besides they would always have another time to sleep on a soft, comfortable bed.

He stood up and everyone else immediately followed suit. “Well then, let’s get a move on,” he declared. “Cuzo and I will be waiting at the south city gate.” Armita and Owain nodded and they set off on their separate ways.

As usual, the National University of Lycia was crowded with students, professors, and families as they strolled around the campus. Most of the families were spending their time at The Trees of Wilmarina sculpture, which was made over a century ago to celebrate the late queen’s 50th Jubilee. The trees were carved out of a special rock called weatherstone, which could be found in Ishara. The central tree had a medium-sized knothole where visitors could place an elemental stone, which transformed the trees to represent the different seasons. If one placed a fire elemental stone in the hole, the trees would grow leaves while an air elemental stone would cause the trees to bloom flowers. Placing an earth elemental stone would cause an image of leaves falling to the ground and inserting a water elemental stone would show an image of the bare trees covered with snow.

Watching the scene, Owain reminisced going over to the sculpture with his family when he was little. His dad would pick him up so he could place an elemental stone in the knothole while his mother and sister laughed at him because he was wiggling in his father’s arms. Those were happier times.

“Owain, are you coming with me?” He turned around to see Armita looking at him patiently. She was waiting near the library door.

Blushing embarrassingly, he mumbled, “Yeah, I’m coming.” He glanced back one last time before he hurried to catch up to her and they entered the library together. Unlike the noisy outdoors, the library was quiet, and the only sound was footsteps walking on the marble floor.

“Let split up,” the Isharan suggested. “I’ll ask one of the librarians if she have any information about our ‘friend’ while you go look for your sister. Let’s meet up here after a half an hour.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Owain agreed. “Good luck, Armita!”

She nodded and went to the front desk. He could hear her asking, “Excuse me, but I need to find some information about…” Well, he better do his part too. He went straight up the stairs and arrived at the second floor. Walking past the rows of books, he ignored the other patrons sitting at the tables and headed to the left corner. If he remembered correctly, that was Adalynn’s favorite spot to study. Sure enough, there she was.

It seemed like she was too focused on the book she was reading and her back was toward him, which meant that he could easily sneak up on her. Smiling mischievously, he crept up behind her and whispered in her ear, “I’m sorry, but this spot has been reserved for someone else so you need to leave.”

Startled, she looked back and nearly fell out of her chair. “Owain, what are you doing here!?” she exclaimed as she stood up to hug him… a little too tightly to his comfort.

“Visiting you, of course,” he said with a smile as he examined her. While many said that he was the splitting image of their father except for his hair and eye colors, they would say that Adalynn looked similar to their mother. Both have short, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The only difference was their fashion sense; his mother wore the latest woman fashion, but his sister preferred to wear pants since it was easier to move around. Not to mention the fact that she didn’t have to worry about anyone looking up her dress whenever she had to look for a reference book on the top shelf.

She must have been doing the same thing because she commented, “You have gotten taller from the last time I saw you. Have you seen mother and Uncle Thanthus? They would be thrilled to see you, you know.”

“No, I haven’t and why should I?” he asked darkly. She just shook her head and sighed.

“Honestly, I wish all of you would stop acting like children and talk to each other. It’s irritating that I’m stuck in the middle just because everyone refuses to see their mistakes,” she grumbled mostly to herself though Owain could still hear it. Before he could defend himself, she quickly composed herself. “Anyway, I see you’re still wearing your Bartheomos pin so where is the rest of your team? I think I see Armita talking to Ms. Luthaus, but I don’t see Talic.”

“He’s getting the horses ready. As soon as we finished here, we’re heading out,” he explained. In his opinion, Talic didn’t want to come here because he felt rather uncomfortable since everyone would gawk at him due to his dark skin. Even though there were a lot of foreigners living in the city, not a lot of Eireneridans moved far north, which was why he seemed to stick out like a sore thumb. But then he should be grateful that he wasn’t from Enkrum. Majority of the population looked at them suspiciously due to the fact that many people from that continent were perceived to be assassins even if it wasn’t true. In fact, many Ankans in Bartheomos faced discrimination due to the preconceived notions.

She nodded. “I see. Then you’re here on official business, I assume?”

Straight to business as usual, he thought. “Err… I need to do some research and I thought that maybe you could help since the information I’m looking for is probably under your expertise.”

“Oh? Well then, I’ll try my best. What are you looking for then?”

He cleared his throat as he tried to decide how to begin. “Do you know about any story about a man who could destroy the world?”

Adalynn arched her eyebrow curiously. “Not that I know of,” she admitted. “We didn’t have discussion about anything on that topic in any of my classes. In my anthropology of religion course, we did discuss about the ancient gods our ancestors worshipped but it didn’t mention anything about a dangerous person like that. The only one I could think of was Merzak, who requested human sacrifices as for her offering, but she didn’t seem to be powerful enough to destroy the world. Not to mention the fact that she’s not a man. I’m sorry that I wasn’t much help.”

“It’s okay, Ada. At least you tried,” Owain reassured her, but he was disheartened. If his genius sister didn’t have any knowledge about their target, how could they track him down?

Seeing his discouraged expression, she tried to cheer him up. “I may not have the answer, but I may know someone who does.”

He perked up. “Who might that be?”

“Well…” she bit the bottom of her lips hesitantly. “There is this old man who would visit the library periodically and pick up random book to read. Then he would ramble angrily about how the authors got the history wrong and that they should get their doctorate revoked. At first, we were alarmed by his behavior and thought of kicking him out. However Mrs. Luthaus had a talk with him and decided that he was a pretty harmless though a bit loony so she allowed him to stay. The only thing she asked him to do was not to scare the patrons, which he agreed. Anyway, he would still complain about some ‘inaccuracies’ but we have gotten used to it so we just tuned him out.”

Great, just great. The only person who could help him might be some senile, old man! “Is he here today?” His sister nodded. “Where is he then?”

“Mrs. Luthaus gave him his own room in the backroom so he wouldn’t cause too much distraction,” she explained. “Follow me. I’ll lead you to him. I talked to him a couple of times and he seems nice.”

Owain followed her reluctantly down the stairs. Hopefully he won’t waste any of his time and get useful answers from that old man. Otherwise, this trip was going to be pointless.

[goldb]

I wonder what this old man knows and how he can help them with their search.

I take it you'll be exploring Owain's relationship with his mother and uncle at later chapters, no?

[riki]

You'll see...

Umm... in a way. Let's just say that someone is going to let him have it in the later chapters.

Anyway, here's Chapter 4. Sorry for the delay, but my old laptop acted up so I couldn't really write in the format that I wanted so yeah.

---

Chapter 4: The Crazy Old Man

When they reached the backroom, Adalynn immediately went straight to farthest door in the room and knocked on the door. “Mister Dom!” she called out. “It’s me, Adalynn. I brought someone who wishes to speak with you.” Owain thought he heard someone mumbling something and his sister smiled as she opened the door and beckoned him to follow her before closing the door again.

An old man sat hunched in the middle of the floor surrounded by stacks of books, which seemed to reach the ceiling. He had a blue shawl tossed over his shoulders, and he was absentmindedly skimming through a book, which was titled The Great Manipulator: How General Passeck Valentus Tricked the World to Rise to Power. “Wrong, wrong, wrong,” he mumbled. “General Passeck Valentus wasn’t involved in Governor Izaac Tashuni’s death, and he didn’t kill Oraji in some godforsaken land. My goodness, when she hears about this, she’s going to be furious. This Gregous Ackus must be a reincarnate of either Baccus or King Gedimus since both of them had a reason to despise him.”

Owain and Adalynn glanced at each other. Gregous Ackus was a renowned scholar, who was famous for his vast knowledge of history that he would give lectures all over the world, and his words were always perceived as facts. To hear this old kook bashing a popular historian was astonishing to say the least. “I told you he’s odd,” she mouthed and he had to agree. Clearing her throat to get his attention, she continued as the old man looked up at her, “Mister Dom, I would like you to meet my brother, Owain. Remember that I told you about him?”

“Ah yes! He’s in Bartheomos!” he exclaimed, smiling warmly. His eyes seemed to twinkle as he examined Owain up and down. “I’m sure he would be interested in learning the true history about his organization’s founder. I can assure you that this book…” He slapped the book angrily. “… is rubbish! I know FOR A FACT that General Passeck was a great friend of Lady Oraji and that he saved her from being stuck in a loveless marriage. In fact, he helped expose the Valenki system, which helped bring into law the abolishment of children soldiers. Likewise he wasn’t one of the conspirators who plotted Kahlin Hessin’s assassination. Did you know how he received his scar? He got it when he saved Kahlin Hessin’s father from being killed in battle and…”

“My brother isn’t here for a history lesson,” his sister interrupted. “He wants to ask you a question about…”

The door opened and Armita came in with the librarian. “Oh, Adalynn!” Mrs. Luthaus said when she noticed the Tolbert siblings in the room. “I see that you had the same idea that I did. Since this is official Bartheomos business, why don’t we take our leave?”

Adalynn nodded. “Of course, Mrs. Lanthaus. I’ll see you later then, Owain.” She smiled at Armita, who returned her warm gesture. They had met each other after Owain’s graduation ceremony when he found out his team and had taken a great liking to each other. Then she took her leave with the librarian and shut the door.

“Bartheomos members, eh?” Mister Dom looked at them with great interest. “Well then, what do you wish to talk about?”

“We have been tasked with finding a young man who can supposedly destroy the world,” Armita began. “Unfortunately, we don’t have much information about him except that he always looks the same and that he’s in the south. We thought it was best to research more information about him, but we haven’t had any luck so far.”

Mister Dom rubbed his long gray beard thoughtfully. “So you’re hoping that I can help you?” They nodded. “Well, I have good news for you because I can.”

The two moved closer to him as he continued; “Now I don’t have all of the facts, but I do have a description of him. He has tan skin, light brown hair, and amber eyes. Since he is a young man, I assume he will be around 1.65 meters to 1.68 meters tall. I hope that helps.”

“It does,” she replied, thanking him, and turned to Owain. “So it seemed like our person of interest is an Ankan then.”

He agreed though he noticed a problem. “The only issue is this doesn’t really help us. The Ankan has a large population so it would take forever to look through every one of them,” he pointed out.

“Not true,” Mister Dom piped up and they focused their attention on him again. “Your target is supposedly in the south, correct? Well, since not a lot of Ankans lived to Ongera due to the strict emigration regulations passed by their government, it should make things easier, right?”

Armita and Owain stared at him with amazement. He just smiled sweetly right back at them. For a man who was supposedly crazy, he seemed to be lucid right now. Owain began to wonder if it was all an act. Armita must have thought so too because she asked suspiciously, “By the way, how did you know so much about the man we’re looking for?”

Instead of answering, the old man just grabbed another book from the pile right next to him and started reading again. “Another quack!” he grumbled. “By the gods, who allowed them to teach history?”

Owain just shrugged sheepishly at an irate Armita. It seemed like Mister Dom didn’t wish to tell them where he got his information. “We better get going,” he announced, tugging the Isharan to follow him. “Thank you for all your help, Mister Dom!” The old man just nodded his head and waved them off while he continued to read and criticize the author. The young Bartheomos member glimpsed back one last time, but Mister Dom was still looking down at his book.

After they exited the room, they went back to the front, where Adalynn was waiting for them. “Well, how did it go?” she asked curiously.

“I guess it went well,” he began slowly and Armita nodded. “We managed to gather some more information though it may not be reliable.”

“It’s better than nothing, right?” his sister noted; she always tried to look on the bright side.

“I suppose.” He turned to his teammate. “I guess we should be heading out then, huh?”

Armita nodded. “Talic is waiting for us and he would be pleased that we got a new lead. Well then, take care, Adalynn. Hopefully we’ll meet again.” Turning to Owain, she added, “I’ll wait for you outside.” She smiled at Adalynn again and walked toward the exit.

“Bye, Armita,” she said and turned to her brother. “Leaving so soon?”

Nodding, Owain replied, “Yeah, we wanted to get this job over quickly so we’re not going to take a break. Sorry. I know you wanted to spend more time with me.”

“It’s all right,” she reassured him. “Maybe we’ll bump into each other during our journey.”

“Oh, that’s right! Natalia mentioned that you were going on a research expedition. Where are you heading off?”

“Wellsborough,” she explained; her eyes were full of nervous anticipation. “A group of us are heading down there to study how mining affect a person’s way of life. We’re supposed to be there for a year so I’m somewhat nervous about it.”

He looked at her curiously. “How come?”

“Well…” She paused to get her thoughts together. “I never been this far away from home before, and I worried that I may become homesick. Then I won’t be able to do my job correctly and messed up, which would mess up, which would ruin the research.”

Placing his hands on her shoulders, Owain reassured her, “You’ll be fine. I know you, Ada, and you can do it. If it makes you feel better, I can try to convince the others to stop by the place to say hello. Does that sound fine to you?”

Smiling, his sister muttered amusingly, “Owain Tolbert, I wouldn’t have anyone else as my baby brother. Of course, you can stop by. Maybe you’ll find your target there.”

“That would be nice indeed,” he agreed. “Anyway, I better get going. I hope you’ll have a safe trip, Ada!”

“You too! I’ll tell Mother and Uncle Thanthaus that you’re fine.” Owain nodded and with one last wave, he left the library.

It was nearly closing time when Mister Dom decided to leave the library. Work today was very productive, to say the least. Standing just outside the library door, he stretched and debated with himself on what to do next. His stomach’s grumbling helped make that decision. Heading to LuRosia’s, he wondered what tasty morsel he should have today. Hmm… maybe a cup of coffee and maple scones?

“Good evening, Menica,” he greeted as he entered the restaurant. The owner of the place looked up from the counter and beamed at him.

“Good evening to you too,” she replied, wiping her hands on her apron. “How is your ‘research’ coming along?”

“Quite well, thank you. By the way, congratulations on your daughter’s engagement! Her fiancé is a lucky man.”

“Indeed, he is,” Mrs. LuRosia agreed. “Now what can I get you?”

After placing his order, he sat down to read the newspaper. Hmm… it looked like the Velscendus cult was causing trouble in Bisaha and heading south to Sabin. He shook his head. That cult was so troublesome due to their destructive and chaotic nature. Something needed to be done with them, but what?

“Is this seat taken?” He looked up and quickly recognized the young woman standing in front of him in spite of her disguise.

“No, go right ahead,” he offered so she sat down. Just then, Mrs. LuRosia came to give him his order and was surprised to see a woman sitting with him. No doubt she didn’t expect him to have someone – a lovely one at that – to keep him company.

After overcoming her shock, she turned to his guest and offered, “Would you like to order anything, miss?”

“Tea would be fine. Thank you.” As soon as Mrs. LuRosia left to get her order, the woman turned her focus on him. “So how was it?”

Instead of answering her question, he asked worriedly, “Are you sure it's safe for you to be here? After all, there have been twelve assassination attempts on you so far.”

“Nonsense,” she replied, waving her hand as if brushing his concern aside. “Besides, Master Dom, they wouldn't expect me to be here since I spend all of my times in Kreesia. Now you haven't answered my question.”

“I think it went quite well though I had to stop myself from revealing too much. Hopefully I provided enough information to help Talic and them on their mission,” he admitted.

She gave him a reassuring smile. “Of course you did. Because of your help, they are on their way. If you're so worried about them, you know you can always check on them.” Just then Mrs. LuRosia returned with her cup of tea so his guest thanked her before continuing, “Now then, why don't we just relax until it's time to head back?”

“I suppose so,” he began as he sipped his cup of coffee thoughtfully, “but first, I need to make some corrections in the books I read so far. You won't believe all of the outlandish assertions I read...”

[goldb]

I'll read the chapter later. But I just remembered, Kej gives the group some necklaces right. What's up with that?

[riki]

You'll find out in CH. 6 & 7 ^^

---------- Post added March 09, 2013 at 07:34 PM ---------- Previous post was March 03, 2013 at 05:50 PM ----------

Chapter 05: Heading South

Talic waited near the city gates and was deep in thoughts. Hopefully the others made some progress during their search because otherwise, they would be stuck. It would prove difficult finding someone with only a vague description. Now that he thought about it, he wasn’t so sure why he accepted the task. Why would he agree to a mission where the client wishes to kill someone? It was the spur of a moment, he decided. The Eireneridan knew how badly Armita wanted to find her sister and since Kejuta claimed to know her location, he wanted his colleague to at least have a lead on Ithani’s whereabouts. Which reminded him of another troubling question: why did the All-Mother (or someone who claimed to be the goddess herself) pick them of all people? What did she see in them?

Cuzo’s barking alerted him of his comrades’ arrival. They wore serious but thoughtful expressions, which must be a good thing. "How did it go?" he asked when they were in hearing range.

“Pretty well, I must say,” Armita replied. “It wasn’t much, but at least it was something. I’ll let Owain explain it to you since our source was very... aggravating.”
Turning his attention to their young colleague, he listened carefully as the Lycian told him about the strange old man and the information that he provided. “So our person is an Ankan?” Talic concluded, and they nodded. Interesting. He wondered if it was a coincidence that their target, who supposedly could destroy the world, was from a place notorious for raising assassins. “I guess it’s better than nothing so we better head off now. Let’s go!”

He grabbed the reins of the pack horse and whistled for his dog to follow alongside him. Cuzo immediately ran over and looked up at his master with an eager look on his face, which told him that he was ready to go. Smiling, he petted the Kallian wolf; Cuzo always seemed ready for an adventure. While he was walking down the trail, Armita suddenly rode up next to him. “Talic, I want to ask you something privately,” she murmured that he could barely hear her. He looked at her questioningly. “It’s all right. Owain is guarding the rear.”

“What do you wish to talk about?” he wondered.

She hesitated. “Did you agree to take this mission because of me?” she asked. “Because if you did, I don’t want to feel like you only did it because of my obligation to find Ithani. I know that this isn’t a type of mission you would be interested in so I want to know why you accepted this.”

Talic felt a lump in his throat but swallowed. Looking at her, he reassured her, “It’s not because of that reason, Armita. It’s because...” “I love you,” he wanted to say but couldn’t. He didn’t want to impose on her and worried that she would feel obliged to say that she felt the same way even if she doesn’t. Besides, the group dynamics had been great so far and any awkwardness between them would most likely ruin it. “... if what the All-Mother said is true, then we need to stop him before hell breaks loose. Don’t forget that we’re just going to capture him, not kill him.”

The Isharan looked relieved. “I see,” she said with a smile. “I better go back to check on Owain then. You know how he sometimes let his imagination get the better of him.” They chuckled, remembering how on his first mission, Owain thought he heard someone following them and it turned out it was just a curious raccoon. Patting his arm, she whispered, “Don’t overstrain yourself.”

Watching her head back, Talic wondered if he would ever have the courage to finally confess his feeling toward her and shook his head. Now wasn’t the perfect timing, but when was it? His dog must have sensed something was up because he nuzzled his arm. The Eireneridan looked down at his dog’s eyes, which seemed to be saying that he was rooting for him. “You always know how to perk me up,” he laughed, ruffling Cuzo’s fur. Cuzo just spun around in circles before running off ahead of them. “You want to be the leader now, eh? Well then, go ahead! Lead the way!”

After a few hours, Talic stopped at a clearing and announced, “We’ll make camp here.” Everyone wearily agreed especially since their legs were starting to ache after riding for so long. While everyone was setting up camp, Cuzo sauntered around the perimeter and sniffed around. Sometimes he would bark at them as if he was giving out orders.

“Cuzo, you can be so bossy sometimes,” Owain muttered, shaking his head, after the dog admonished him for doing his job halfheartedly. Cuzo growled at him so he said exasperatedly, “Okay, okay! I’ll clear away more sticks. Are you happy now?” Talic’s dog woofed with approval and immediately sat down next to a log. Armita and Talic just looked at each other and smiled. Those two could be entertaining to watch. When everything was finished and a fire was started, they relaxed.

“Man, I’m starving!" Owain said as he sat down next to Armita. Talic and Cuzo had left to do something. “Whose turn is it to go hunting today?”

She arched her eyebrows. “Isn’t it yours?” He looked at her confusedly until it dawned on him that maybe she was right. After all, she did have a pretty good memory.

“Shi-, I mean shot! Thanks for reminding me.” Standing up abruptly, he hurried over to his horse to grab his weapon before heading off to the forest.

“No problem. I’ll get everything else ready. Good luck, Owain!” she called out as she watched him disappeared. She continued to sit there for a few minutes, debating whether or not she should relax a few minutes more. It would take Owain a little while to find foods and she could set up the pots and dishes in less than ten minutes. It shouldn’t hurt to rest for a couple minutes more, right? Besides, she was feeling exhausted that she could hardly think.

“I’m back!” Startled, Armita jumped up with a start as Talic sat next to her. Meanwhile, Cuzo continued to sniff the air as if he sensed an interesting smell. “Where’s Owain anyway?”

“By the gods, Talic, you startled me,” she said, clasping her hand over her heart. The Eireneridan gave her an apologetic look. “As for Owain, he’s hunting right now.”

Talic looked at her confusedly. “He’s hunting?” She nodded. “But isn’t it my turn to hunt?”

Now it was her turn to be confused. “Wait, I thought it was his turn today.”

“Nope, I’m pretty sure it’s mine. That’s why Cuzo and I left; we were setting up snares. Wait a minute, did you tell him that it was his turn?”

She nodded but suddenly burst out laughing. “Oh gods, Owain is going to kill me if he finds out about this. I’ll definitely have to owe him now.”

“The key word is ‘if’,” he reminded her with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. “Let’s pretend this conversation didn’t happen. Besides, he was feeling somewhat antsy so a little exercise shouldn’t hurt him.”

“I guess you’re right,” she agreed and sighed. She stretched and leaned back. “Still I would feel guilty if something bad was to happen to him.”

“Don’t worry, Armita. He should be fine. I mean, there’s no one else around here besides us and the animals. What could possibly go wrong?”

Owain crept through the woods as quiet as could be. He didn’t have any luck so far in finding any animals; it was as if they knew that something was amiss and hid. Not that he minded though. It was nice to stretch his tired legs and explore his new environment. He also enjoyed the peace and silence, which was rare living in the city. Heh, he was born in the wrong family, he thought ruefully. That thought happened a lot.

Looking around, he noted a gnarly tree with its twisted branches and memorized it just in case he got lost. Owain could still remember what happened the first time that happened. On his first mission, he and the others were pursuing a fugitive, who ran into a dense forest to elude them. Talic determined that it was too risky to go after him, but Owain did anyway since he wanted to make a good impression. Unfortunately, not only did he lose the fugitive, he got lost. Panicking, he tried to backtrack but got further lost in the woody labyrinth.

When he was about to lose hope, he heard barking and was so relieved to see Cuzo approaching him. He followed the Kallian wolf back to the others, who were relieved to see him. However, they immediately lectured him for his recklessness and reminded him that he needed to follow the leader’s orders. While Armita did yell at him, Talic just talked to him quietly. The Eireneridan reminded him of a teacher – gentle but firm. He apologized and after that incident, he had listened to Talic’s direction ever since.

Speaking of which, he wondered what the others were doing right now. Most likely they already set up the kitchen and table up and were waiting for him to come back. He highly doubted that they were flirting with each other. Talic was too shy to confess while Armita was probably oblivious. Shaking his head, the young man wondered if those two would finally communicate their feelings. But now that he thought more about it, if they do become a couple, he would become a third wheel and that would definitely be awkward.

Something rustling in the bushes close by caught his attention so he slowly lifted his bow and aimed at that spot. He held his breath while he waited for the creature to come out. Sure enough, a rabbit popped out. Studying it, Owain decided that it was just the right size and started to let his arrow go when something flew past by his head. Alarmed, he misaimed and missed the rabbit, which scurried away. Wondering what happened, he looked around to find out what almost hit him and found it on the tree right in front of him. It was a bolt.

“Hey, kid, what are you doing in my forest?” a voice called out.

Spinning around, he saw two shadowy figures on a sturdy branch and looking down on him. He could discern that they were a boy and girl and that they seemed younger than he. While the girl was sitting, the other was standing and holding a crossbow. Since he didn’t want any trouble, Owain tried to be diplomatic about it.

“I’m sorry, but I thought this was a public area. I didn’t know that you own this forest. I’ll tell my comrades and we’ll leave this place,” he apologized.

Instead of accepting his apology, they just laughed. “He was just pulling your leg, mister,” the girl chortled. Owain inwardly frowned; first he was a kid, now he was mister? “This isn’t our forest.”

“Then why…?” He was bewildered by their behaviors and slowly pulled out another arrow. Something odd and dangerous was going on here and his instincts told him that he needed to get away from them.

“For the fun of it,” she replied and stood up. Her eyes had a dangerous gleam in them as she stared at him eagerly. “You know, my brother and I hadn’t have much fun lately so do you want to play with us?”

The young Bartheomos member shook his head. His gut instinct told him that their meaning of “fun” was different from his. “Uh… no thanks, I’m busy and I’m sure that my colleagues are worried about me…” he stammered shakily as he backed away.

“Aww… that’s too bad because we like you,” the girl replied, disappointed. “On the other hand, we don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”

Before he could blink, the girl disappeared. Huh? Where did she go? Owain frantically looked around but wasn’t able to locate her. Something in his guts told him to move to his left so he did. It was good thing too because he just barely dodged getting stabbed.

“You have pretty good reflexes, mister,” the impressed girl complimented him. Dammit, how was she able to sneak up on him without his hearing her? The strange thing was that it seemed like the shadows were covering her entire body so he couldn’t identify her. Without hesitation, he quickly shot his arrow at her, but she disappeared into the shadows. His arrow hit nothing but air. Now he was confused. He was sure that he would have at least nipped her.

He was about to grab another arrow when another bolt flew over his hand. “Hey, Tory, you can’t have all the fun, you know,” his other assailant shouted to his comrade before turning his attention to Owain. “See? That’s why I prefer a crossbow over a bow and arrows. It’s more accurate than your puny weapon. In fact, I bet I can hit you in the chest before you get a chance to reload. Let’s see if I’m right.”

Crap! Owain quickly rolled away as another bolt hit the spot where he was standing. Unfortunately more bolts rained down upon so he had to keep moving without any chance of grabbing another arrow. Hiding behind a tree, he stopped to catch his breath as he wondered how he was going to get out of this mess. He debated whether or not he should call the others for help but decided against it. He might lead them to a trap and put them in harm’s way.

Taking a quick glimpse, he noticed that the arbalest’s back was facing him and realized that this was his chance. Cautiously he grabbed an arrow and placed it on his bow. Then he aimed the arrow at the boy and pulled the string before launching the projectile in the air. It barely left his bow when someone cut the arrow in half. “I found him, Weiss!” Tory announced in a singsong manner. “He was trying to shoot you with his measly arrow.”

Owain cussed as he ran before he could get hit. He had forgotten about the girl. Now he had to worry about two opponents. This battle was not to his advantage so he needed to flee. The worst part was that it was nearly dark so he was having difficulty seeing where he was going. Not to mention the fact that those two were blocking his way from reaching Talic and Armita. It was like they were leading him away from the others… Wait a minute; was that their plan all along? They were trying to lead him away so they could kill him easily. They probably determined that he was the “weakest link” and decided to get rid of him first. Then they would do the same with the others, picking them off one by one.

He felt sick to his stomach. There was no way he’s going to die like that – a coward running away. If he were to die, he’s going to put a stand. He abruptly halted and turned to face his adversaries, who seemed to be surprised by his change of behavior. For some reason, they stayed back in the darkness of the woods. “What’s all this all of a sudden?” the boy asked suspiciously. “Have you decided that you’re ready to accept your fate?” The girl looked at him warily as though she was wondering if he had some surprises waiting for them, which he did.

He shook his head. “I’m not ready to die just yet,” he declared while slowly digging his hand in his pocket. Come on, he knew that he always carried some with him. Now where could they be?

The two looked at him and laughed. “We don’t want to kill you… not yet anyway,” the girl informed him. “We just want to have fun with you.”

“Really? Well, you guys have a weird sense of what ‘fun’ is.” That was when he found what he was looking for. He started to smile but quickly stopped himself; he didn’t want them to suspect something.

“Well then, are you done? Because all of this talking is getting boring and I really want to fight you,” she whined.

He nodded. “I’m ready when you guys are.”

“Oh good, then let the fun begins!” she said gleefully as she charged at him.

“Yes, let’s,” he agreed and pulled out his red elemental stone, blasting her with fire. It wasn’t much, but it did enough damage to blind her and force her to drop her swords.

Rubbing her eyes, she stopped and screamed, “Ow, that hurts, you little bastard! When I get you, I’ll make sure you suffer!”

Ignoring her threats, he quickly grabbed her and used her as a shield. “Drop your weapon or else your friend will get hurt,” he ordered as he tightened his grip on his hostage. Dammit, he didn’t want to do it, but he didn’t have any choice. He thought he heard her partner cursed but felt relieved when he saw the crossbow and the quiver of bolts thrown to the ground. So far, so good. “Now walk toward me and get rid of that magic hiding your form; I want to have a clear look at you. You too, girl.”

Imagine his surprise to find himself facing an Ankan boy who was barely younger than he. Likewise he was amazed to see the shadow hiding the girl sliding off her like it was water. They looked similar to each other; were they related? “Now who are you and what do you want?” he demanded.

The girl glared at him through her puffy eyes but unexpectedly smiled at him, which caused him to tighten his grip on her. “Not bad, mister,” she praised him. “I can see why Kejuta selected you to be her ‘hounds’. However, don’t be so cocky because we’re not finished yet.”

Kejuta? Wait, how did she know about the All-Mother and his team’s mission? Before he could ask her, she merged with the shadows, which caused her to become slippery that he lost his hold on her, and “melted” into the shadows. “What the-?” All of a sudden, something forced him to his knees and arms. Owain tried to stand up, but something heavy was preventing him. Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of what was on top of him and was amazed to see it was nothing but shadows.

The next thing he knew, a pair of black and red boots standing right in front of his face. He looked up to find the girl gloating down at him. “Enjoying the view?” she teased, but he turned his head away from her. In turn, she used one of her cutlasses, which was sheathed, and placed it under his chin, forcing him to look up at her. He could only watch helplessly while she toyed with him. “You know, we were just trying to scare you off, but you really pissed me off with what you did so I change my mind. I think you need to be taught a lesson.”

She then unsheathed her weapon and placed the blade next to his face. Owain could see the sweats dripping from the side of his face from his reflection and swallowed as he tried to hide his fear. Lifting her sword, the girl announced, “Before I kill you, I want you to know this – he is our target. No one else especially you mortals are allowed to hunt him down.”

Upon seeing her sword swinging down on him, he immediately shut his eyes. This was it; he was going to die. However, he didn’t expect what happened next to occur. Instead of being cut up, he thought he heard a dog’s growl and then the girl screaming, “Get off me, you dumb mutt!”

Opening his eyes, he found a bewildering sight. Cuzo was on top of his would-be killer, who was wrestling with him. Her swords lay scattered close by on the ground. “Hang on, Tory!” her partner shouted, putting a bolt into his crossbow. “I’ll get rid of him!”

Before he could even pull the trigger, Talic appeared out of nowhere and hit his arm with his quarterstaff, causing the bolt to hit the ground near the arbalest’s feet. “Don’t you dare hurt my dog,” the Eireneridan snarled as he quickly swung his weapon again. His opponent cursed as he jumped out of the way. Owain could only watch with amazement. How did his comrades find him?

“Are you all right?” He looked up to see Armita’s concerned face though there was a hint of guilt in there as well. Why was that? Surprisingly, she was able to pull him up to his feet and subsequently he realized that whatever was on top of him was gone.

“Y-yeah, I think so. How did you…?”

“Now it’s not the time. We need to capture those two and question them,” she replied firmly as she withdrew her butterfly knives and headed into battle. It was just in the nick of time too because the female attacker managed to kick Cuzo out of the way and was about to strike him with her swords. But then Armita get between them and used her weapons to block the impending attack. Then she used her daggers to lock the swords so that her opponent couldn’t break free.

Struggling to free her cutlasses, the girl snapped, “Let’s go of my swords, you bitch!” Nevertheless, the Isharan refused to budge. While the girl was distracted, Cuzo crept to the side of her and lunged, causing her to lose balance. Since it looked like that fight was taken care of, Owain focused his attention on Talic’s.

The Eireneridan seemed to be holding well on his own. He would quickly lunge at the Ankan and attack so that his opponent had to focus more on running away instead of firing his bolt. That was when Owain noticed an opportunity; the boy’s back was toward him. Quickly grabbing an arrow, he aimed his bow and fired. Imagine the boy’s surprise to find an arrow piercing through his right hand. He spurned around to see a smiling Owain aiming another arrow at him.

“Let’s see how you fare with your injured hand,” the Lycian mocked. “Oh, as for me, I prefer a bow and arrows over a crossbow. Though it may not be accurate, I have more time to reload, which mean that I have a better chance of hitting you.”

“Dammit, we underestimated them,” the boy shouted at his partner. “I guess it’s time we show them our full strength.” Then he merged with the shadows and disappeared.

She nodded and did the same as well before Armita could stop her. In a blink of an eye, they appeared on the ledge above the Bartheomos members. Talic, Armita, Owain, and Cuzo observed the two warily as they anticipated their next move. Before the assassins could do anything, a burst of light unexpectedly appeared in the sky above, which blinded everyone.

After blinking several times, Owain finally was able to see that their opponents were looking at the night sky with a displeased look on their face. “It seemed like we got caught, Tory,” the boy sighed.

The girl seemed disappointed. “It looked that way. Man, Kejuta is going to kill us! Do you think she would believe us if we tell her that we were just playing with them?”

“I doubt it. Anyway, we best head back or else our punishment would be much worse.”

The girl agreed, “I guess we have no choice, do we? Hopefully we won’t get a lecture from that old fart. Hearing him talk makes me want to fall asleep.” Owain and the others could only watch with bewilderment. What on earth was going on? But then it seemed like those two had forgotten about them, which was a good thing because they were feeling exhausted. However, they were mistaken because the girl turned to face them. “It was nice fighting you, but don’t think you’re in the clear just yet. Just because you think you bested us doesn’t mean anything. We will come back one day and show you why ‘that man’ is our target alone.”

And with that, they walked down the ledge and disappeared from their sight. The Bartheomos members just stood there in stunned silence before a bewildered Armita turned to her comrades and asked, “Just who are we dealing with?”

“I don’t know,” Talic said, shaking his head, “but I do know that we were lucky. Anyway, we better head back to camp. I think Owain could do with some rest after what he went through.”

“How are you feeling?” Armita asked as she handed Owain a cup of water. She felt guilty for what happened and wanted to make it up to him by making sure that he was all right. Meanwhile, Talic and Cuzo were doing a quick search of the vicinity to ensure that those attackers didn’t follow them.

He took a sip before he answered, “I’m all right though still a little shaken.” He looked at her curiously. “By the way, how did you know that I was in trouble?”

“It was Cuzo,” she confessed. “He started acting funny and wanted us to follow him. We noticed that he wanted to go the same direction that you went and we realized that something must be amiss so we rushed over to you. It was a good thing too because it looked like you were about to get killed.”

Before she could say any more, the others came back. “It looks like the coast is clear,” Talic announced as he joined them. “Whoever the two are, they’re long gone.” Armita and Owain let out a big sigh of relief. “Can you tell us what happened before we arrived? Maybe we can figure out your attackers’ identities.”

Armita could only listen with amazement as her young comrade described the incident and his attackers’ strange powers. After he finished telling his story, they took a few minutes to digest what they learned. “Are you sure they mentioned the All-Mother’s name?” Talic finally inquired and Owain nodded. “Hmm… I wonder…”

“You have an idea who attacked me?” the Lycian asked, but Talic shrugged.

“If I remember my mother’s bedtime story correctly, she would tell my siblings and me that we better behaved or else the twin Gods of Retribution would punish us. Since they look alike and seem to know the All-Mother, I’m sure that it’s them.”

“But why would they want to hurt us?” Owain looked at his leader confusedly. “I thought the gods work together.”

“It’s because of our target,” Armita determined. “They mentioned that they were the only ones who should hunt him down, right? That must be it. They probably weren’t too happy that the All-Mother asked us to do that task and wanted us to know their displeasure. Maybe they were hoping to scare us and make us change our minds. As for the part of working together, it seemed like our assumption about that part of the gods is wrong. I guess they don’t agree with everything.”

Her young friend sighed, “I guess so. However, what are we going to do now? They did threaten to come back to finish the job if we did.”

Instead of answering, Talic just looked at him. “What do you think, Owain?”

“Me?” He blinked, clearly taken aback. “But why do you want my opinion?”

“Well, because you were the one under sieged so you knew their modus operandi better than us. Not to mention you were almost killed by them.”

“Oh.” Owain looked down as he pondered what to do. Armita glanced at Talic curiously; she knew why he asked the young man. It was because he didn’t want to force Owain to come along if he was still frightened by what happened. If he decided that he didn’t want them to finish their mission, it would be understandable since their opponents were gods themselves.

“I think we should finish our mission,” Owain announced. “I mean, Bartheomos aren’t supposed to quit no matter how difficult and challenging a task is, right? Besides, it seemed like those two are scared facing the All-Mother’s wrath so I’m sure that they won’t bother us again.”

Talic nodded with approval. “I agree with your assessment. Well then, I’m starving so let’s see what we will have today for dinner.”

That was when Owain stood up abruptly. “Wait a minute!” he exclaimed. “I didn’t have a chance to hunt! Dinner will be late tonight.”

“It’s all right,” Armita explained without thinking. “Talic was able to catch a rabbit in one of his snares so we should have dinner ready soon. Now just sit back and relax while we prepare the meal.”

“All right, but…” He looked at them confusedly. “Why did Talic have his snares out? I know that it takes him awhile to set them up and I was only gone for half an hour.”

Armita and Talic glanced at each other. Oops, it looked like their secret was out. “Well…” she coughed. “You see, Owain, it’s somewhat funny but…”