There were barely a thousand people in Eveldor, yet somehow they managed to seem louder than the crowds back in Norrath. Maybe it was the complete lack of routine. People did whatever they pleased, whenever they pleased. Children were screaming at the top of their lungs from the moment they woke, scaling trees, chasing lizards through dirt.
Things the Archon would've called barbaric.
And yet these people, citizens of this small village, called it play.
Or perhaps it was that they laughed more. People laughed in norrath. Low guarded chuckles, polite noises meant to acknowledge a joke. They were only ever loud when the Archon passed judgement.
Nothing like Eveldorians. They laughed just as loud as they screamed. At times, Cassian could barely tell the difference.
As much as it caused his skin itch, he had no routine either so he spent his days staring out the windows of Garrett's hut tracking the faces of all the people of Eveldor. Watching the village move without him.
"Chief Azeil wants to see you again,"
Cassian hated that Garrett, despite his bulky boots, had quiet feet. He'd barely heard the door creak. Now the hunter was standing in the doorway, his broad frame blocking the light.
"Any particular reason?" He asked
"Said he had some questions"
Questions that he didn't ask when they first met? How reassuring.
Walking into the chief's hall was like walking back into a northern keep. The familiar angles and the thick timber no longer shocked him, but the resemblance still made his skin go cold.
Like he was drenched in water.
Like Bojack's blade hovering over his neck
There were more guards in the building now, at least double the amount from his last visit.
The chief was in the same position as before, on his throne, the same uncaring look in his eyes.
He probably never moved.
Garrett bowed, and Cassian copied.
"Rise" Chief Aziel spoke.
"I apologise for the disturbance," He didn't look sorry
"but I have questions, ones that only you can answer"
As if he'd summoned a foreign Northerner to talk about the weather. Cassian kept his expression deadpan.
"Ask away sire"
"You say you came from the North, a cargo you said."
He paused
"But you see, I sent an emissary to the North. He returned today, and he claimed that no Cargo had left Norrath recently"
The air snapped out of his lungs
No
The symmetrical white walls suddenly felt suffocating, narrowing around him slowly, like a snare before it finally snaps. His heart hammered violently in his chest forcing blood through his veins.
Calm down. Think
If he twitched, blinked too fast. Aziel would see it. He was sure.
"The emissary may have made a mistake."
There was a chance he didn't know. The department that controlled the Cargo's had nothing to do with the Archon. And how long would it take him to run out the door. There were guards outside, at least three, could he even slip past them?
"We are a small company sire," keep talking
"not too many people. It is possible that our exit was overlooked."
"They keep logs of every convoy that leaves" Chief Aziel responded
"Every convoy? I can't imagine they bother themselves with civilian convoys. Sire."
"But you claimed to be a cargo on business did you not?
"I said we travelled with goods, I never said why"
The chief paused
"That is true"
Safe
"But, you see, I had the emissary talk to someone high up, someone aware of all affairs in Norrath. And he was told that even the small, meaningless trips are still registered"
"Every family. Every horse. All registered and accounted for. Something about safety he said."
Cassian wanted to be optimistic, but men of logic rarely believe in hope.
Aziel had already come to a conclusion. He didn't call him here to answer questions, only to confirm his doubts. To watch him squirm.
The only problem now was how much he knew, and whether or not Cassian would be leaving this hall in chains.
He couldn't tell him the truth, so he'd just have to try his hand at a better lie.
"Cassian let out a low, bitter breath, letting his shoulders sink just enough to look defeated
"Okay," Cassian said, his voice dropping to a quiet rasp
"I lied, but not about where I'm from"
He kept his eyes locked on Aziel, forcing his face to make the most shameful expressions he had. The key to any believable lie was always pity. Give the man on the throne a performance he can't help but believe.
"I am from the north, but we are not merchants. We are fugitives.We left Norrath because we were in debt
"We needed money to pay back what we owed, and we tried to pay it back, we really did."
He forced a brittle tremor into his voice, letting it break on the word did.
Was it working? He looked at Garrett. He had a look of pity on his face, it had to be working.
"But time was running out, so we smuggled ourselves out. Stole a horse in the dead of night and fled Norrath."
"I didn't know if I could trust you when I first got here, sire. That was why I lied"
"But you believe you can trust me now, yes?"
I believe you already know the truth, you cynic.
"Yes"
"So why do you still lie?"
What.
How did he know? Maybe it was his mark?
He forgot about his downed mark.
He had the mark of a seer. He couldn't lie to a seer.
No one could.
But he already tried to, thrice.
Chief Aziel's features softened, and he let out a small sound, then he started laughing. It was the same as all the other people of Eveldor—jarring, and not too far from a scream.
"I was joking," he said mid laughter
"I'm not too pleased that you lied to me before, but I believe your story. I would've lied too had I been in your position "
He was still laughing, and Garrett started laughing too. He nudged Cassian on the shoulder as he laughed.
As if to say, laugh with me. Cassian joined in, laughing.
"You may leave, boy. Who knows, maybe later, we can talk about Norrath architecture and the Archon."
Cassian flashed his most innocent smile and bowed one last time before walking out with Garrett
"Why did you lie about being a traveller before? You could've just told the truth." Garrett said to him as they walked out.
"To men I couldn't trust?"
"I brought you to my home"
"After which you threatened to kill me"
Garrett raised his hand in mock defeat.
"That makes sense. I'm just glad you trust us enough to tell the truth now"
Cassian felt the guards glaring when he walked past them.
"Well since you can't return to Norrath, maybe you can stay here. Maybe hunt with me. Until you have enough money to pay back your debt at least"
Cassian smiled.
"I'll think about it"
The walk back was quiet after that, until Cassian heard Materdea's voice cut through the quiet in his head.
"You have to leave this place, Now"
"You sure took your time, didn't you." He responded
Chief Aziel was lying to him. It was on his face, in the way his eyes twitched ever so slightly when he said he believed Cassian, in the way he laughed about it.
And then he mentioned the Archon. How did he know about the Archon if no one in Eveldor believed in Korvus. It was always there, right in front of him, but he just couldn't see it.
The architecture, his northern accent. He said he sent an emissary to someone high up.
He knew who Cassian was. Maybe that was why he let him walk out. He didn't want to spill blood on his marble white castle. He wanted Cassian captured outside.
Aziel was a cynic, and a coward, and he was in league with the Archon.