Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Aemun continued his walk across the plains in hopes of finding some trace of his friends. He dared not hope to catch up to Sillac, but he did hope to not fall so far behind. After all, even Sillac couldn't travel on like this forever. As the hot sun beat down on his face, he stopped, took a drink from his water skin, and continued. He wasn't exactly sure of the distance that he had covered in the past couple weeks, but he knew that he had never been so tired of anything in his life, excluding Kara's kleptomania. As he sat down on a tree at the side of the road, he wondered what had become of his friends. Sometimes he wished to have some control over his Sight, so that he could look for his friends. Even as the thought came to his head, he suddenly saw a bright flash of light, and then darkness. Out of the black, a soft red glow appeared, and he saw that he was inside a large structure, clearly thousands of years old. He saw a cloaked figure of a man in the distance, next to a gargantuan, empty archway. At the man's side was a woman, dressed in ornate robes and holding a tome of magic. The figures appeared to be speaking, although Aemun could not hear what they said. Then, as his Sight drew nearer, he began to hear.

"This will not do, Limestella, my puppet. I need more. I need a better way than this. This is taking all together too much time."

"Yes, my lord. What do you plan to do?"

"This will take some time. I must think. Do not interrupt me."

"Yes, my Lord Ner….."

Then, Aemun's Eyes became blurry, he ceased to hear, and once again everything turned to black. Aemun felt his eyes and body become one again, and he slowly tried to rise, only to return immediately to the ground. The visions were incredibly stressful on his body, and he needed time to recuperate. He waited until he had some energy, moved slightly off into the woods, made camp, and slept.

Chapter 11

As Sillac talked with Merek and Otis, as he had by now learned their names, he began to piece some information together. Apparently the infamous Talvalier bandits that Sillac had heard so much about were behind the attack on the village. Most of the man Merek's description was meaningless, but Sillac's ears perked when he began to talk about the consistently mysterious Lyn.

"Well," he said, "All I know is, if that Lyn an' her knight friends hadn't shown up, we'd all be dead by now. That's for sure."

"Did anyone actually talk to her? I need to talk to her about a friend of mine," said Sillac.

"Well, not really, 'cause she left kinda quickly, but I can tell you that she headed west, toward border of Bern and Lycia. There's a nice little inn up the way where most of the travelers go. You might try to find her there."

"Thanks for the tip," replied Sillac. "I'll be leaving first thing in the morning."

"I guess we should get you a room now, huh?" said Otis.

"I'm surprised those bandits ain't been back yet, Otis. Maybe something happened to that girl they had captured."

"They capture women?" exclaimed a shocked Sillac. "Are they monsters?"

"Damn close. Sad thing is, she's not gonna have much chance finding somewhere nice to be, from what I hear. Apparently she was a beauty. Bright red hair, brown eyes. Not very tall either, the rumor was. A younger girl, my guess. They just kept goin' on about her…"

Sillac's heart skipped about ten beats, and he asked, "Did they say a name?"

"Yeah, I think I heard it once while we were watchin' 'em. Catra, no, umm, Kana, no, uhh,…"

"Kara!" Sillac exclaimed. "Why would they be in such a fuss about it?"

"Well, girls like that fetch pretty good coin in certain places. They'd be in a huge fuss if she escaped."

Sillac did not respond, now feeling suddenly tired and slightly nauseous, and excused himself a moment later. He spent a better part of the night awake and restless in his bed.

Chapter 12

"Done," said Kara calmly, ten seconds later. She had picked the lock easily. This old man was easier to steal from than Sillac and Aemun, no doubt about it. Her hand was steady and well practiced. The men behind her had watched her with obvious amazement, mixed with envy. After they had picked the lock on the strongbox, they quietly removed the jewels, including several rubies, a pair of sapphires, and even a diamond. They placed the gems in a bag, and Kara followed shortly behind the men at their signal. They snuck past the now sleeping camp of travelers, and made their way into the woods on a hidden route known only to the two men. Their journey took the better part of two hours in the wilderness, during which little more than necessary was said. However, as they rounded a bend in the path that had recently unfolded in front of them, the man who had tried to pick the lock told every to stop.

"All right, kid. It's time to learn what you are about to become a part of. By picking the lock, you have shown that you are worthy to be a member of the noble organization known as the Black Fang. The Fang deals justice to those who abuse their power, and to those who consider themselves above the law. We operate independently of anyone except our commander, Brendan Reed. The Fang has laws. You must never betray the Fang. Salvage the weak to save the strong. Do not be afraid to kill when you must. Finally, never harm civilians. They are those whom the Fang protects. If you will abide by these rules, then you may become a member of the Fang."

The man's words hung in the, echoing as the last words escaped his lips. Kara listened. She looked around. Here she was, alone in a dark forest, with two armed, capable warriors in front of her. The moon cast long shadows on the ground. A small wind blew through the forest, but nothing more. It was as though the man's speech had silenced the trees and wildlife. She began to think, to measure the decisions before her. When she looked back on this moment many years later, she still could not understand the feeling she had that night, almost as though someone was speaking into her ear and telling her which way her destiny lied. Because of this, without being at all sure why, she said,

"I accept."

"Well then," said the man with the lock pick, "welcome to the Fang. My name is Ital. His is Han. We were sent to return the jewels that the merchant had stolen, with orders to kill him if necessary. We report to the Legault, also known as the Hurricane. He is a master thief, and very skilled with a blade. He has been with the Fang longer than most. As of now, you are truly a member of the Fang. We will welcome you into our halls, and feed you as you requested. Come with us."

As she came farther around the bend, she saw a small fortress in serious disrepair. Almost instantly beginning to regret her decision, she followed the men up to the gates. Her opinion rapidly changed when she entered the fort and saw the warm, blazing hearth, and the well kept beds. The men gave her a short tour through the base, and then showed her to what they called her temporary room. As she lied in her bed, she tried to ponder her decision, and the events of the night, but sleep soon overcame her, and she stayed in bed for a long while.