We made the rest of the journey to Eldermarch in relative silence.
Elara was quiet, but that much was usual; for once, I had nothing to say. Usually, I would comment on the scenery, or whine, "How far away are we now?" or pester her with questions.
But there was none of that this time. I just sat atop Acorn, riding down the beaten path, unease and uncertainty gnawing at my gut.
I was scared of Elara. I realised that now. She hadn't killed those dwarves, sure, but… I didn't trust her. What if I hadn't been there?
But I was too afraid to leave her either. I was roped in with her, in an unfamiliar world, heading towards a hostile place I'd never been, trying to get to a place I wasn't sure existed. Elara had only heard of the Elven sanctuary through rumors afterall… or maybe that was a lie too.
I glanced at Elara occasionally, trying to gauge what she was thinking. But I never could.
"Keira."
…
"Keira."
Keira jumped in her saddle slightly, her head whipping around to face me, some untamed hair covering her face. "Yes?"
"You're daydreaming again. Look"
"At what?"
"Ahead."
She looked back, properly looking into the distance from the hill on which we now stood. Her eyes widened. "Oh… Wow."
"Most you've said all trip," I muttered. Not that I was complaining. However, I was a little worried about what might have gotten into her.
Eldermarch rose in the distance, a golden pillar in the green landscape. Tall, gleaming spires reached for the sky, surrounded by tall walls teeming with battlements. Even from here, we could see the traffic of people pouring into the kingdom from the main roads. Smoke rose from buildings and town squares.
Maybe it would be beautiful if it hadn't been built on elven blood.
Keira was still gobsmacked, gaping at the sight. On either side of Eldermarch sat the Highward and Crownspire mountain ranges, stretching as far as the eye can see in either direction.
"It's… beautiful." Keira finally formed some words.
"Uh-huh," I muttered. "It's also a pain in the ass to sneak through."
"Oh…" Keira snapped out of her awed state. "How are we going to get in? Just walk in with the crowds?"
"No. We'll be caught by guards checking papers. I know another entrance."
Keira nodded, falling silent again.
"No further comment?"
"Uh… no."
"Hm."
Keira absorbed me warily. Once she gotten over the initial awe of the view, she slipped back into being quiet. "Ok. We'll keep going."
We moved off again, moving down the hill and back under the tree canopy, Eldermarch disappearing from view.
A flash of pain flared through my gut, the same place that Celeste had injected me with bloodburn. I grimaced, hiding it from Keira.
…
A Few Hours Later
The trail came to an end in a clearing, a small stream running through the middle. From here, I could hear the noise coming from Eldermarch. It sounded overwhelming. Too many people. Even for me.
I shifted on top of Acorn slightly, waiting for Elara to say something.
"We follow this stream upstream. It connects to a larger river, which runs through a cave system and connects to the city's sewer system. We swim in. From there, we just don't catch."
I nodded wordlessly, following her as she started moving along the stream.
"Wait. Elara."
She turned. "Hm?"
"What about Acorn?"
"What about him?"
"He can't swim…"
She shrugged. "Just leave him here."
"What?"
"Leave him here?"
"Elara."
"Yes?"
"We are not. Leaving. Him. Here."
I hadn't felt like this since… the village. The thought of leaving Acorn, my horse, here in this clearing, never to see him again…
I wanted to kill Elara for even suggesting it.
"Then what are we going to do with him?"
"I don't know. Take him with us?"
"He can't swim or fit through the sewer grate. And it's a little hard to be stealthy with a horse following us around-"
"Shut up."
"Sorry?"
"Shut. Up."
"Keira, we can't-"
A beam of light shot from my hand, slamming directly into Elara's chest, scorching flesh and sending her tumbling to the ground.
Elara got to her feet,
I dismounted Acorn, hands still glowing. "We are not. Leaving. Him here."
"Ok, Keira," Elara said gently. "So what do you suggest we do?"
I knew she was right. And I hated her for it.
I turned and hugged Acorn, burying my face in his mane.
I wanted to go home. To go back to the village, and to pretend that the only thing wrong in the world was the humans. I wanted to go back to my friends. Family.
But I couldn't. I'd burned that bridge. Brought this upon myself.
Did I really want to throw away the only true friend I had for a new life that might not even exist?
My arms tightened around Acorn's neck. "I'm sorry."
I pulled off my rucksack, pulling out an apple and feeding it to him. He bunted me affectionately.
Miss you.
"I'll miss you too," I muttered, trying not to cry.
I hugged him one last time before releasing him and pulling away.
"Home Acorn," I murmured thickly. "Go home."
With one last affectionate bunt, Acorn turned away and galloped back the way we'd come, to a place that I was no longer welcome.
I turned to Elara, who was watching with an unreadable expression. "You sure he'll-"
Black lightning crackled, dancing along Elara's face and torso. She flew back, charred flesh smoking.
She lay emotionless on the ground.
"Elara…" I called, suddenly scared. "Are you…"
Her shoulder shook, face hidden.
"Elara," I said cautiously. "Are you…"
She was laughing.
Elara Darkthorne was laughing.
I had just lost my best friend, and she was laughing.
Elara got to her feet, grinning. Her face was a mess, charred flesh being replaced with new skin.
"Sorry, Keira, I… Sorry. Didn't think you had it in you."
"Although uh…" She glanced down at her burnt clothes. "Could you fix my clothes for me? Please? I like this jacket."
Wordlessly, I held out a hand, carving a sigil in the air. Elara's clothes knitted themselves back together. She picked up her hat, the one she'd taken from that vampire hunter, and placed it back on her head, now sporting a scorch mark.
"Lead on," I said coldly.
Elara's smile died. "Right."
She turned away, continuing down the stream. I followed, now on foot.
Only later did it occur to me that that was the first time I'd ever seen Elara genuinely smile.
…
I could feel Keira's gaze boring into the back of my skull.
I probably shouldn't have laughed at her. And been a little more sensitive to her horse leaving.
But… It's just a horse. She could get another.
We walked for nearly two hours under the dense canopy of the forest surrounding Eldermarch. The stream widened and connected to the main river, snaking into the hills. We entered the cave, Keira taking care not slip on the wet rock and fall into the river. She summoned a ball of fire. I had no issues seeing in the dark.
The cave sloped down, narrowing, the roof falling until it was brushing the top of my head. The stone banks of the river disappeared, and I had to dig my talons into the rock, awkwardly climbing sideways across the cave. Keira walked on the air above the river.
The cave came to an end. Only a small gap at the bottom remained, the water rushing through a metal grate.
"Right…" I muttered, digging my talons firmly into the stone and reaching for the steel.
Before I could touch it, the steel bars gave way with a screech, the rusted metal running down the fast-flowing water.
I looked back at Keira. "Uh… thanks."
She shrugged.
"So," she walked closer, eyeing the water rushing through the small gap. "We swim? Through that?"
"Uh huh." I glanced at her, only just considering something. "How long can you hold your breath?"
"Uh… I don't know."
Great.
"Know any spells to help with that?"
"Only potions. Of which I don't have any on me."
Brilliant.
"Right. Keep a hold of me, got it?"
"Ok."
I reached out to grab her, but she hesitated. "Wait… you said this was… part of the sewer?"
"Uh huh. So keep your mouth closed."
She hesitated again before walking over to me. "So do I…"
"Arms around my neck. Hold tight."
Keira jumped on my back, wrapping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist. I tried not squirm at the physical touch.
She took a breath, and I dived in.
The water was frigid, the current strong. I had no problem with the cold, but Keira flinched and tightened her hands around my neck.
I clawed my way along the stone edge of the channel, digging my talons into the rock and trying to dodge any chunks of shit that flew through the murk.
Keira's grip around my neck tightened. I crawled faster.
My head broke the surface, and I dragged myself up onto the sewer floor, Keira sucking in great lungfuls of air.
She immediately coughed and retched, trying not to throw up.
Yeah, I imagine that sewer air didn't taste great.
I helped her up. She was shivering.
She coughed again. "Do you not smell that?"
"I'm not breathing."
"Oh… right."
"C'mon. The sooner we start moving, the sooner we're out of here. I know the way out from here."
Keira followed behind me. "You've been down here before?"
"Yeah… don't ask."
We walked in silence, the only sounds being that of running water and droplets falling from the ceiling. Keira held a ball of fire to see where she was going.
After a few turns, backtracks, and missed exits, we finally found the way out. We walked up a tunnel leading to an iron gate door, which I kicked open, entering the outskirts of the inner city under a bridge.
"Can't we just follow the sewers through under the whole city?"
"Unfortunately, not." I pulled Celeste's hat out of my jacket, pulling the soaked brim low on my face. "The sewers are split into multiple parts that don't connect. Some idiot designed them."
"And put your hood up. We don't want anyone seeing that you're an elf."
Keira's hood covered most of her face, the soaked material sticking to her skin. She wrinkled her nose and muttered a spell under her breath.
Keira's clothes dried, the sewer water dissipating into the air, the smell along with it. I felt mine do the same.
"Neat trick." I looked up, listening to the sound of heavy foot traffic above us.
"Come on. Let's go."
…
The city was bustling with people.
We walked through what felt like a maze for hours, a maze in which I was constantly bumped and shoved, given dirty looks by anyone I came in contact with.
Tall, wooden buildings stretched on either side of me, blocking out the setting sun and casting everything in shadow. The smell of sweat, piss, and burning flesh only grew stronger.
I stuck close to Elara, terrified of losing her in the hostile crowd.
She stopped suddenly, and I slammed into her.
Elara grabbed me by the collar and dragged me towards a nearby alleyway. I stumbled after her, barely keeping up. "Ow, hey! Lemme go!"
She stopped at the corner, just outside the crowd. She nodded towards the arched gate we were heading to. "See there?"
"The gate?"
"No. The guards."
I glared up at her from my grand height of five feet and one inch. "No."
Elara sighed, picking me up to see over the crowd.
"Hey!"
"Look." She pointed towards the gate. "See the guards?"
Four guards stood on duty. Two were human, standing in front, glad in golden royal armour. Two stood behind them. Motionless.. They wore full black armour. The only exposed part of them I could see from here was their cold, obsidian eyes, surrounded by a sliver of lifeless flesh through the visor.
"Yes," I muttered. "What… what are they?"
"Bloodless." Elara put me down. "We're taking a detour. I don't want to take bets on whether they can sniff out a vampire."
"Yeah… let's do that."
I followed her through the narrow alley.
…
The city square was a massive, open area, filled with markets, the sounds of clanging metal, and dried fish. Blacksmiths forged weapons, merchants haggled with passers, and four great bonfires stood in the middle, surrounded by a crowd. Tied up on stakes at the top of the smouldering bonfires were four smouldering corpses.
"Elara…"
"Elves." She muttered. "And a vampire. Just don't look, Keira. Keep walking."
I turned back, trying not be sick.
The main castle was still rising in the distance, making me acutely aware of how much ground we still had to cover in the city.
We kept walking through more squares, markets, and houses. Eldermarch truly was massive.
Someone slammed into me.
"Sorry," I murmured.
I caught a glimpse of a scarred face glaring at me before they turned away.
A pool of dread slowly filled my stomach. I shifted closer to Elara.
"We're being followed," she muttered.
"By who?"
"Two men. One human and… a witcher."
"A witcher?"
"Monster hunters." She muttered. "Someone probably put a contract on me."
"So what now?"
"Keep an eye on them. I'll try and find someone discreet to take care of it."
"Take care of it?"
"... Maybe you should wait somewhere else."
"No! You can't just… kill people!"
"Witchers aren't people."
"What?"
"They… nevermind. Fine. I won't kill them."
"Good."
We kept walking, Elara's shoulders tense.
"This way." She grabbed my shoulder and led me between two food stalls into a quiet alleyway, save for a homeless man begging for change. Elara yanked me along before I could give him anything.
"They've stopped following."
"Are you sure they were following us?"
"Yes." She stopped, cocking her head, as if listening. "In here."
She turned and kicked open the door to the house to our right and walked inside. I followed her in, closing the unlocked door behind us. Elara was dramatic sometimes.
Elara removed her hat and ran her fingers through her hair. "Fuuuuuck."
She looked at me. "This isn't exactly ideal."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that we didn't want anyone following us. We need to not draw attention."
"What happens if we do?"
She glared at me like I was an idiot. "We get the whole city guard on us. Unless they've suddenly decided I'm not wanted anymore."
"Right…"
She sat in an armchair in the corner of the room, clenching and unclenching her fists. It was the first time I'd seen her so stressed.
"So what now?"
She looked at me. "Don't suppose you can teleport."
"Only to places I've been. Can you?"
"Only myself. And not long distances."
I nodded. "So we just keep walking."
"Unless you have a better idea?"
"Not really."
She stood up, walking back out the door and placing her hat back on her head, me in tow.
We walked back into the markets. The darkness was slowly creeping over the streets, thinning the crowds as more and more people left to go home. I kept glancing over my shoulder as we walked, trying to spot the stalkers that Elara had pointed out.
"Don't bother," she muttered, "they've disappeared."
Someone bumped into me, and I lost Elara in the crowd for a moment.
"Sor-" I muttered before they locked a bracelet around my wrist and thrust a bag over my head.
My apology turned into a muffled cry as I was cut off from my magic. My feet scrambled on the ground as I was dragged away, a strong arm around my throat cutting off my oxygen, and a hand restraining my wrists.
"Elara…" I choked out.
"Ssssshhhhh," came a voice. "We wouldn't want to cause any trouble now, would we?"
Whatever light that may have been seeping through the bag slowly faded as my blood pounded through my skull, before fading out as darkness took over.
…
"Keira?"
I spun around, searching the crowd. "Keira?"
Not paying attention to where I was going, I slammed into someone, and they dissolved into shadow.
Fuck.