36 Silence (1/2)

”What? What sorry coward sends children to the front?” said a red bearded man with braided red hair at the back. He seemed to be the leader of the group.

Leona looked at Elias, giving him a hint to take action. However, since the last encounter, he didn't have the same courage anymore.

He walked forward. ”What do you want? Why are you blocking our passage?” the young noble finally said, not too sure of himself.

The man shook his head in disappointment. ”I will be brief. Give us everything you have , and you can go back from where you came from said the man loudly to be heard by everyone. You have too few warriors in your group… and an old man and many women and even children, so don't even try to resist,” he said, looking at the rest of the merchant's caravan that stayed behind.

Eileen and Leona unsheathed the weapons.

Noticing it Elias quickly took a step back and looked at Mark and Jonatan. He nodded toward them while unsheathing his sword. Both of them did so as well.

The man smiled. ”So be it… kill them all!” shouted the man, as he took distance from them as well. The archers on his group began to prepare to fire arrows.

Noticing the imminent fight, Doris and Isabel who were behind began to chant in elven language while concentrating their mana. Eileen immediately recognized the novice fire and ice spell chants, so she quickly moved in front of them for their protection while they prepared themselves.

Leona moved near Elias, Mark and Jonatan. She stayed close to them but only to support them. She clearly intended to let them go to the front and receive the first attack.

Fear could be seen in all the Dracar hunters' eyes, as they struggled to keep themselves together when they noticed all enemy archers preparing to fire.

Herger quickly approached Elias' group as well, with shield in hands waiting for the arrows. He promptly raised his shield while commanding the 3 boys to fall behind him.

Without notice the archers released their bows and the arrows were sent flying towards the group in the front.

With extreme dexterity and speed, Eileen deflected the few arrows pointed at her and the two girls in the back. She did so in a sequence of fast sword movements.

Leona, noticing the greater number of arrows pointed at the front warriors, quickly stepped forward and in front of them. She also performed deflective actions to prevent any arrows from passing through her.

Herger widened his eyes when he looked out of his shield and noticed that not a single arrow laid on the ground unstruck by Leona heavy sword.

Riou looked at Therese. ”Ho, that was impressive, Eileen really improved a lot under your guidance,” said the boy to Therese, who kept her faint smile.

Herger, still impressed, looked up at the Lioness.

She was sitting there, unimpressed, watching the fight beside the boy. He smiled to himself. ”Unbelievable, the stories were all true after all.”

Even the bandit group seemed shocked by the display. They looked above to where Herger was looking. ”Could it be? That's the Lioness?!” one of them shouted.

After hearing such words, without thinking, more than half of the bandits began to scatter in fear. Only a few remained loyal to the red bearded man.

”Get a grip men, or will you run like cowards from someone who is not even fighting?” the man said loudly to the remaining few who shouted in response.

They went to the front and began to run towards the caravan's frontline, where Leona and the nobles' sons were.

As the bandits began their approach, they suddenly were struck by fireballs and ice shards that began to be thrown by the girls in the back.

The fireball was small and didn't had any impact power. The Ice shard didn't even penetrate the men's armor while the fire quickly vanished after touching them, no burst power and not enough heat to even graze their armor. It took a long time for the chant to take place, and still, they weren't powerful enough to really damage the enemy. Seeing such results, the two girls fell on their knees, realizing their lack of power.

Elias shouted at the attacking men and rushed to meet them followed by Mark and Jonatan. It was the Dracar Hunters' first fight after all. He remembered Herger's words and took it to heart in an attempt to inspire and lead his companions.

Noticing the young noble's courage, Herger smiled and followed after him.

Despite their lack of experience, they were not untrained. Still, they were novice swordsmen against experienced men of the North, men who took pride in their fighting capabilities.

Each of them took one enemy head on, but the strength and weapon weight were too different. They lacked the ability to properly deflect them, and they could barely withstand the blows. They were able to defend themselves, but were being greatly pushed back. Any mistake would cost them their life.

It didn't take long for Elias to lose his footing and fall on his back. He was fighting the enemy leader and his sword was clearly showing signs of breaking down after absorbing many hits from the enemy's sword.

Herger was right behind Elias watching the fight, and promptly jumped in, defending him from his attacker who was about to strike the final blow on the young noble. The other two Dracar Hunters fighting were still holding on but were being strongly pushed back as well.

Luckily, Herger knew Leona was nearby to help them in case of need.

The mercenary leader used his shield to defend against the enemy leader sword, and as soon as the blows stopped, he quickly began to push him back with the shield to give Elias and the others some room.

With the pushback, Herger followed up with a successful series of strikes. The red haired man had trouble defending himself against them and had to step even further back. Herger was clearly the better fighter. After the quick exchange of blows, it became obvious even for the bandit leader.

Herger, having more room and with the enemy moral diminished, used the opportunity to quickly assess the situation around him. Strangely enough, there were only 3 enemies still fighting, the leader and the 2 with Mark and Jonatan.

As he quickly glanced around in a larger radius, he noticed Eileen and Leona watching them fight, calmly, from the front where the enemies were supposed to be. Not even the 3 remaining bandits had realized at that moment, that they were all that was left.

Around Eileen and Leona, laid all the other remaining bandits, unconscious.

Herger smiled and lost his fighting pose, standing up straight once more. ”Damn it, and I thought I was good,” he said with a big smile.

The red haired man did not understand and kept watching for his next move, approaching slowly.

Herger turned back and kicked Elias who was still in the ground ”Stand up… you rested long enough already, it's your turn now” and he went towards the other two who were also struggling.

Elias raised himself up with some difficulty taking poise while swallowing hard. The red haired man frowned, he couldn't understand why the blond man was so relaxed and was again putting the worst fighter to fight him. With his numbers, they should have been already overrun, so remembering his men, he quickly took a look around. To his surprise, there was no one else standing.

He could not believe it. He and a group of 20 had lost to a group of children. Enraged by the shame he had suffered, the bandit leader lunged at Elias. With a powerful swing he threatened to cut the noble in half. Whether he had a sword or not, the young noble would not be able to withstand such swing with his battered weapon and poor skill.

Despite Herger noticing it, he was too far away by the time… still, he rushed towards Elias with his shield in hand.

The mercenary leader then noticed a blurred image heading towards the enemy's sword, appearing in an instant beside Elias. The almost white hair with glints of golden sudden moved with the wind, and a motion was made by Eileen, as she expertly deflected the big man's strike to the side.

Elias couldn't help but to be amazed at the sight. His heart stopped for a moment, as his eyes could not leave Eileen, captivated by her beauty. 'It's a goddess…a goddess came to save me.'

As the motion ended, Herger sighed in relief. The enemy weapon was thrown away, and the man fell down on his knees. Noticing that their leader had given up, the other two stepped back and dropped their weapons as well.

Eileen didn't say a word and began to walk back towards her horse. Leona did the same shortly after.

Herger made a long acute whistle sound. ”That was fast… are you ok boy?” he said, approaching Elias, who was still perplexed with Eileen's image in his mind.

The mercenary leader smiled. ”Well, you are fine.” He turned around to his men. ”The playtime is over, you bastards. Grab their weapons and armors… Leave them with their clothes only, and smack some sense into them in the process, so they'll think twice before attacking someone again!”

As Eileen joined Riou and Therese, she noticed that the Lioness was strangely happier than usual. However, before she could ask anything Riou quickly addressed her.

”That was fast! Didn't know you could be that fast already. You were not kidding about those hellish training methods,” he said looking at Therese.

Eileen looked at him with a smile.

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”Gilliath's body was found amongst the charred orcs,” said one of the shadows in the dark hall of the castle of the Twilight Council.

”Have we found Maximilian?” another shadow questioned, but no one answered.

”We also still need to identify the mage that helped in Allard, but it was probably him who helped in Brigantium as well.How come such a mage was and is still unknown to us?” said another shadow questioning.

”He was able to fight Gilliath on equal terms… I know a few mages in Allard that could do so, but my sources tell me that all of them were elsewhere when the battle took place,” said another Shadow.

The shadowed entity on the throne flickered, and an ethereal dark voice echoed in the room as all others were silenced.

”Tessai... speak,” said the master shadow.

The shadow flickered. ”Yes my lord… with the proper incentive, our pawn set my plan in motion. The first victims should appear in the next few days. The land will be in chaos soon enough.”

”Very well, I hope your plan bears better results than your predecessor. Our deal with Harmon of Argos depends on it,” stated the shadowy figure.

”Rest assured my Lord, I will not fail you,” replied the shadow with deference.

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As the terrain was favorable, it didn't take long for them to reach the city of Kelig. The cold was much harsher there, but not enough to start snowing.

They arrived late at night and went directly to the first inn near the gates to spend the night. Bronach needed to spend at least a day or two in such a large city to visit all his vendors and suppliers.

The city was dark and the only guards were at the gates. It resembled the last village in architecture but at a much larger proportion. The city seemed very rustic and nothing like Allard's capital, Brigantium or even the city of Gufa. Riou was curious to take a look at it during the day, to see more of its differences.

He was talking to Eileen, Leona and Therese at the inn's table when their food arrived, brought by a woman with a strong physique and ugly face. Everyone seemed to be much bigger in the North.

All mugs were filled with mead, as water was not served in the tavern. 'Well, I think it's the standard serving here… let's see if it's any good,' thought the boy.

As he grabbed one mug to taste it when suddenly he felt someone slithering behind him. A soft hand touched him on the right shoulder and continued its way through his back to his left side.

Eileen's eyes followed the person's every move with rapt attention. Riou already knew who it was by the subtle approach. He turned towards the rogue to see what she wanted.

Noticing the boy's gaze, the thief quickly spoke. ”I was just missing you… it seemed like you forgot about me these last few days,” said Viki, resting her hand on Riou's shoulder.

Riou smirked. ”As if there was anything to remember.”

Viki pouted and frowned at Riou for such cold remark.

She then looked at the three in the table. ”It's polite to share you know?” she said specially looking at Eileen who was not amused by her interaction.

Viki smiled looking at the food in the table ”Well, it seems you are busy now, so I hope we can talk a bit later on” She paused for a moment, she seemed rather sad ”This will be my last night with you” She finishes the sentence looking directly at Riou eyes.

From beside him, she quickly grabbed his mug from his hand and slowly took a small sip from it, putting it back on the table. ”Don't drink too much, I need you sober later on.” She smiled briefly and winked with one eye looking at him. She courteously bowed to everyone at the table before leaving.

Riou watched her. 'I can't figure it out… what is she planning now? Does she think she can use me me for some shady business later on? There is no way that's gonna happen,' thought the boy unsure of her angle.

Eileen mood seemed to have taken a turn to the bad side for some reason after the interaction with the thief.

With her gone the meal continued normally. It was not great as it lacked flavor, but it was too late to go cook in the kitchen.

Riou liked the mead, the honey taste was not that bad and the alcoholic grade was light.

After a while only the men remained drinking. Riou joined them before going to his room, he listened to Herger story of the fight for the tenth time by that time. Each time the mercenary leader told it, his part on the story increased by leaps.

Riou drank one more mug listening to the story, it was late and Riou soon would go to his room as well.

”And so, barehanded I told the mongrels! Throw your weapon aside if you want to live! The giant with red hair trembled in fear… falling to his knee” Said the mercenary leader unable to stand still.

Elias quickly approached Riou as the story finished ”Riou…” said the young noble shyly sitting beside the boy.

”You talk to Eileen frequently, you must know a lot about her” continued Elias, ”Do you know if she has someone she fancies?” suddenly sask Elias.

Riou smiled in surprise, ”I don't think so” replied the boy for an overjoyed Elias. ”But you know she is completely out of your league right?”

Elias nodded with a sad expression ”She is a goddess…” he said to the boy.

Riou sighed 'The fool got a crush on her after being saved…'

Feeling a bit tired and drowsy Riou thought it was time to go sleep. ”Well, good luck to you Elias, I need to rest now” The noble nodded to the boy still lost in his thoughts.

The boy finished his drink and began to move towards his room.

His steps began to feel weird, he was having difficulty to hold his eyes open. A strange sensation of lightness filled his head as he lost balance.

Before he fell, someone promptly held him. Riou looked to see Viki supporting him.

”I'm sorry…” said the rogue as his eyes began to close. 'What you…' thought the boy as his consciousness faded.

------------------------------------- Viki's perspective

Since she discovered the necklace was a gift from the great magus everything made sense to her. It was not her first time seeing a magical artifact with powerful capabilities.

She knew the price such item could fetch in the auction in Iris. It was a chance she couldn't pass, no matter what as it was the first time she had such an easy target with such a valuable item.

To her, the boy's amazing magic power, without any chant or rune, could only be explained by the elven necklace that hold such special magic. She needed to be careful while the boy had the necklace, but once she gets it… he'd be defenseless and she'd be on her way once again.

'He must be some noble's son after all, or even the king's bastard for all I care… To be given such powerful item, his family must be extremely rich… that's why he said he had no family's name, to hide from kidnappers and thieves.'

After a while trying, she knew the boy would not give away such precious artifact, and he clearly did not fall under her seductive attempts; he was far too clever for it. Once she entered his room at night it would all be over, she'd remove his necklace seductively, perhaps even tie him to the bed and make a run for it.

But that plan was no more.

To succeed, she'd had to devise a new one, as a more direct approach would be needed and she could not fail.

That necklace would mean the freedom she'd wished for. She and her sister would finally be able to live together once again far away from the cursed city.

So, for days she roamed the night, going after the right plants and herbs to carefully craft the Nightshade essence, an extract so powerful that a single drop would put a grown man to sleep in a few moments.

But differently this time, as she roamed and gathered the ingredients, the image of the boy didn't leave her head. Day after day, she continuously thought of the boy trying find the reasoning for him to be as he were.

Why he didn't fall for her tricks, how could he be so cold to her and yet have such enticing eyes. And how come she could never sneak up on him, his awareness was too far above average.

With the constant thinking, a strange sense of affection began to sprout in the rogue.

But as the time passed, so did the preparation, and as she had the essence ready. All she needed now was a way for him to ingest it.

She knew he would be wary of her every movement. Taking it into consideration she devised a way. Using another plant extract known for its oily nature she created a protective shell to hold the nightshade essence. She could attach it to the side of her index finger beforehand and safely push it against any surface to release its essence.

All that was needed now was an opportunity.

She waited for them to reach the last city before Thanes, there was a safe haven for her there. She could send the necklace immediately to Iris, for appraisal and to sell at the black market auction, while she safely remained there for a while until the dust settled.

Viki knew what to do as they reached the city inn. She waited for the boy to order and approached him.

As she dismissively talked to the group she targeted the boy's mug, tactically positioning herself in a way to be able to get to it.

She stood beside him, her heart beat strangely faster than usual. Perhaps it was because, if she succeeded, all would be over. She convinced herself as her cold nerves acted and didn't let her uneasiness show at all.

She quickly grabbed the mug, as she had the opportunity, and sipped a bit of it to dismiss any suspicion. As she brought it back to the table, her index finger which had a single drop of nightshade essence was hidden against the inner wall of the mug, she quickly compressed the oily sac against it releasing the substance into the mead.

She quickly left after requesting another talk, another attempt to dismiss any suspicion towards her current actions.

From the distance, the rogue watched the boy with care, as he drank from the mug a smile appeared on her face despite the weight on her heart. She was planning to blame the mead as the boy would quickly pass out at any moment, so she readied herself to approach the table once more as soon as it happened.

But too much time passed.

'Didn't he drink the mead? I'm sure he did... he should be out cold by now… did I mess up with the ingredients? No… I'm sure it was right…' thoughts raced through her head as time passed on.

She was about to give up on her plan when suddenly she noticed the effects appearing on the boy as he seemed a bit drowsy, and as he walked towards his room, she acted.

He was about to fall when she reached him. She held him up and carried him to his room.

She quickly brought him inside and dropped him on the bed. Her hands quickly went towards his necklace, she carefully removed it from him.

With the so awaited prize in hands she looked satisfied at it.

But inside, her heart was heavier than usual, she had stolen countless items but none seemed to affect her that much. Despite her feelings, in her mind she had no choice.

She could not let such opportunity pass. And as she looked at him, laid down on the bed. an unconscious apology left her lips towards him.

Snapping out of it and putting her game face, she still had a job to do.

”With this, all will be over,” she said to herself as she looked once again at the boy's necklace.

But still, as the thief she was, she continued to gather his belongings.

She took the twin blades from his back and was reaching for his dagger when she noticed his money pouch. It was much thinner than before, he surely had not spared any expense. Her hand stopped for a moment as she looked at him. 'Spent so much money already… clearly money is not a necessity for him' She thought as her hand diverted its path to grab it.

Without looking inside the pouch she continued towards his dagger in his back.

But he was laid down on top of it so she was having a hard time getting it from that position. She sat down once more beside him and accessed the situation.

The view of the boy completely out, unconscious on his bed struck her once again, and suddenly the thought of what he'd think of her after he woke up crossed her mind. It was not like her to have such strange thoughts. 'He'll hate me after this…' she thought, as her heart once again grew heavier.

It was a short amount of time, but the boy was so different than anything she'd seen so far. Every attempt to read him, was wrong. Every attempt she made, was quickly foreseen. So young and already this good. Not only that, her appeal was completely ineffective on him. And deep down, that's what most bothered her.

'A boy on his age should be licking the earth I step on… still, not subtle nor direct approaches worked on him… how come he didn't even flinch? Has he not fantasized about me? Not even for a moment?' she thought to herself 'No… he knew all along about my real intentions… that's why' thought the rogue realizing while looking at the boy sleeping defenseless in his bed.

Convincing herself it was nothing she could do, she leaned in towards the boy waist and slowly removed the dagger from his belt.

She stood up with everything ready and took one more look at the boy. ”Unfortunately, this is the last time I will see you… it was… interesting meeting you” She turned towards the door and then back to the boy…

---------------------------------- Riou's perspective

Riou opened his eyes to find himself being shaken by a very concerned Eileen. He was lying down as she was on top of him. A bit drowsy he smiled at the good sight he was having. When suddenly the recollection of the last events assaulted his mind.

Noticing he was awake, Eileen moved back giving him space. She was talking to him, but he couldn't understand a word.

With widened eyes his hand quickly went for his neck. 'It's gone,' he realized.

His hand continued to search as his eyes followed its path. But none of his weapons, nor his money were found with him. 'The crystal and the black stone are gone… Damn it.' He struck the bed with his fist as his anger grew. 'That rogue…'

Therese and Leona quickly barged in a hurry at the room. Eileen looked at them surprised.

Strange words came out their mouths. Eileen talked to Therese for a moment. When their attention turned towards him. Riou just sat down on the bed and pointed to his missing necklace and weapons.

”Viki,” he said plainly.

Therese nodded towards him acknowledging she had understood. The lioness began to talk to Eileen and Leona once again.

Riou looked outside of his bedroom door, he could see the sun light in the hall. 'It's already this late? I must have passed out for the whole morning,' he thought not pleased by the fact of having been drugged.

He stood up from the bed. There was no point in trying to explain anything to them as they couldn't understand him, and beside that, he knew time was of essence. He needed to act quickly.

As he went for the hall the 3 promptly went after him.

Noticing their intentions of following him, Riou shook his head and showed his palm telling them to stop. He pointed the inn ground as if telling them to stay there.

Therese stepped forward and bowed once with her head.

'Is she asking to go with me? Seems like it… well, she knows I don't have time to lose today and she knows about me already' Riou looked at her. ”Therese,” he said making her look up. 'At least names they can understand.' He nodded towards her.

Therese turned to Eileen and Leona and spoke a few words with them. The two nodded as Therese began walking to Riou's side and Leona and Eileen remained standing there.

'I will get that damn rogue…'He looked seriously towards Therese. ”Viki,” he said once again. The lioness nodded and both left the inn in a hurry while Leona and Eileen went back to Riou's room.

The first thing in his mind was to assess if she had already left the city. Luckily there were only 2 gates in the whole city, so they went to the nearest in the south. 'Therese will be a good help after all, she will be able to question the guards.'

As they arrived he looked at Therese who took the cue and promptly talked to the guards.