The village gates were always closed. Ever since the shriekers started to develop a taste for human the village guard didn't take their chances. The brute mahogany gate met all that came in and out of the village . Surrounding the village were tall spikes of thick and sharpened to pierce all who dared take the jump. All of these came from the clearing they were just returning from.
Dym lead the return his face expressionless as ever. To him the wait was taking forever and he would have preferred to have handled the mission alone. Even so he was weighted with two of the newest guild members and each had their own dark past and for some reason he was chosen to watch them.
Well he did know the reason . But the reason itself wasn't a teacher's or nurturer's aspect.
Even so the guild master ,Trojn, trusted him with a task to most would be both of the utmost importance and nearly impossible to achieve.
He sighed and urged the three following him to walk faster.
With the momentarily glances he took he realized something about Sen. The closer they got to village the more he changed. His bright vibrant and jubilant nature faded every step they took closer to the village. It was as if, slowly and subtly, a hollow and pretentious smile gradually masked his face devouring his natural one. Its creep was so subtle that no one usually noticed when it took over.
With every step Sen took closer to the village, only affirmed what Elder Lin had told him. The small shivers and twitching were clear as day to Dym.
" I guess I'll have to find out own my own. " he thought as he walked towards the gates.
…
The crackling of the gates as they opened startled Sen. His mind had been elsewhere. He was currently walking alone in the back pocketing as he slouched forward. His gaze didn't leave the ground. He could feel the breeze on where his clothes had teared. Some distance away he could hear Ery taking, a banter that was endless to Liora who, even so, was easily being led by Ery here and there.
The present didn't matter to him right now. It felt as though everything around him took him back. The way the ground munched under his step, the laughing of the children that were running across the village street and the strict warning their parents were issuing as they watched them, worried for pain that wasn't theirs, all this led him back to the village that was once his to talk home. They all led him to Salur.
Unknowingly tears had started to drip of his face. His heart ached. His temperature rose yet everything around him felt cold. Suddenly everything began to smell like smoke and blood.
As his mind dazed off to the scene he wished not to remember, he felt a hand settle on his shoulder. It was gentle and light and was slightly warm.
His head turned slowly towards it.
—
It had been two day since they arrived in New Salur. Since then he and the figure behind him had played this play enough to spite Sen. The smoky silhouette resting its hand on Sen's shoulder had stayed with Sen longer than he would have liked it to have. Every time Its fiendish smile and never resting form had haunted him when he was at his weakest and now seemed to be one of them.
And for some reason he never learned. Every single time he wished for it to be someone else and with a flicker of hope turned to face them only to be greeted by the silhouette, Corpas.
" Leave me alone, Corpas. " he murmured under his breath in a harsh tone.
The silhouette was quiet. Instead a part of it body shifted forming an arm. The arm turned and finally settled into one direction.
" Let me be. " Sen said shrugging Corpas's hand of his shoulder.
" Hey Sen , you coming inside ? " he heard a voice call.
Quickly he tried to wipe the tears that had pooled on his eyes. A his hands met his face he realized something. The tears had gone. His eyes wear bone dry of any tears and seemed like they never existed in the first place.
As he walked forward into the wooden house door he looked back. Corpas had faded into the breeze .
…
The evening shiver was creeping in. The ruckus of the day was nearing its end and people were returning back to their homes. In a few hours the streets were clear with likely everyone inside their candle lit houses. The nocturnes sang their praises in the night as they came out to occupy the silent left by those who preferred the day.
Close to the village spike walls a cottage was dimly lit by a wavering candle. Every now and then it would flicker though ready to go out. The cottage windows were closed and covered with curtains hiding everything that happened inside. But they also revealed all that happened inside as well.
Like a shadow puppet show the curtains rendered a shadow deeply engrossed in writing. The shadow was seated as it scribbled along on its table. The shadow had been at this for almost thirty minutes now and was likely nearing the end.
A few steps to the left of the window was a door. Approaching the door was a man a bow on his back. He seemed tired as he lazily turned the knob and entered the room.
" You done with your patrol, Will? " The seated figure asked.
Will groaned as he set his bows and arrows to the side and launched himself onto the couch close to the table.
" Yes . " he said as he sunk deeper into the couch.
" By the way I haven't seen your sister anywhere today." he added.
" Ery left the village in the morning with the elder. " the other figure said as he placed the final period on the paper he was writing on.
" Training ? "
" No , she went to meet those guild people. " Elren answered.
" The elder said she had something to talk about with them and so Ery more than willingly accepted to take her to them. "
" Tch. " Will clicked.
" I know . She getting too close to those people. "Elren said as he placed the now folded paper into an envelope.
He sealed the envelope with some wax and stamped the wax with a rune sigil. Suddenly the envelope folded and turned into a raven shaped paper origami. Elren opened the window and with a flap the paper origami took the air getting lost in the moonlight.
" Have you found out why we didn't find them before the Elder did. " Will asked gazing to the ceiling. Anger was evident on his face.
The wind blew the curtains making them sway in furious flurries. Elren stood next to the window not deterred by their raging movements.
" No not yet. "
" But don't worry. It's been long since the shriekers had some guild game. " Elren said in a vile tone.
" Two days from now those children will be nowhere to be seen. "