Yeah I lost track of time on this one. It's not my best but it's not my worse. Enjoy!
Chapter 19
Fate didn't deal me a good hand but I found that as long as I was with my brother I would be fine. I was the older one by three minutes so it was my job to take care of my younger brother. If he was to ever start slacking in his work I would lend a helping hand so our slave master wouldn't beat him, not that I had to very often. The other slaves didn't call him Ghost for nothing. He was a hard worker but somehow people easily over looked him. Oh how he use to hate his name!
The others called me Sky. I guess it was because anytime people spotted me I was always caught staring at the sky. "My head belonged in the clouds," they say. Anytime birds flew overhead I longed to join them and escape these chains of mine. But the fear of my slave master's wraith if he caught me kept my feet on the ground. I was a dreamer though. I longed for a life that was full of freedom and choices.
Even when I fell ill I still hung on to that dream of becoming my own self. I felt horrible that Ghost had to care for me during that time. He would look so worried that I would fade away so I would have often tell him that I wasn't going to die a slave nor would we ever be separated. Slavery wasn't kind to herons especially mixed-breeds like us so the thought of suffering through it alone sent chills down both of our spines.
Then I spotted the signs of Ghost falling ill like I had. I wasn't much of the religious type (though sometimes I was tempted to become one) however I still prayed to whatever god would hear me that Ghost and I would past together.
I closed my eyes and the next time I opened them I woke up with Ghost sitting next to me. He had more color on his face which made me think we were dead since the last time I saw him he looked like death. But then he said, "Thank goodness you're alright. I was so worried."
My body still felt heavy so I couldn't sit up in the bed I was in. I looked all around the small white room and the only other person with Ghost and I was an older man in black robes. There was a very strange presence about this man. "Where are we?" I asked in a horse tone.
"Fear not young one, the two of you are safe in Lynn," the older man answered. He placed a hand on Ghost's shoulder. "I shall leave the two of you alone now." He left then leaving us alone.
I kept staring at my brother still not sure what was going on especially since Ghost was wearing the biggest smile I have ever seen him wear in all my life. "Sky…" he said, "we're free." Hearing those two words actually brought tears to my eyes. Even Ghost started crying. The two of us held each other and cried together for no telling how long. We never thought we'd hear those two beautiful words when we were awake.
However I wasn't able to enjoy my new freedom for the few years because they were spent recovering. Just a lot of medicine and healers.
When I started improving Ghost decided he wanted to become an assassin. I wasn't sure what I thought about it. We were herons; there was no way we were able to do any of that. But I could see in Ghost's eyes that this is what he wanted, so I didn't argue.
As soon as his training started I began thinking it was a terrible idea. When the day ended he would return home looking worse than when our slave master beat us. Black eyes, broken bones, not to mention all the bruises. But there was a certain joy he emitted when he came home, something he never had before.
One day when Ghost came home he was holding his shoulder. The first thing he said to me was, "Look, I didn't break it today." All he did was pop the joint out of place. He sounded so proud when he announced it.
I helped him pop it back into place and as I did I wondered why he seemed so happy about all this. Why was he so proud about getting hurt all the time? It didn't take too long for me to realize why; because he was getting stronger.
It took about two years but Ghost started coming home without injuries. The way he spoke and the way he walked had changed dramatically from the timid slave he once was. He was confident, strong even, and more importantly happy. And I was jealous. I still hadn't found my place in this new free world.
That was when I decided I wanted to be like Ghost. I wanted to be an assassin. I went to the grandmaster asking to begin training to be an informant like my brother. He was hesitant but he finally agreed, probably because of how well Ghost was doing in his training.
Ghost on the other hand didn't take the news to well.
"What are you saying Sky? You can't be an assassin!"
"Why not?" I asked him simply.
"Be-because…you…you just recovered. There's no need for you to strain yourself."
"Ghost…I recovered years ago! I don't think you need to worry about me relapsing,"
He was about to say something but he closed his mouth and didn't say anything. Nowadays he always spoke his mind so why was he stopping now. "What's wrong?" I asked.
For a moment I didn't think he would say anything. Finally, "It'll hurt a lot."
I wanted so say something along the lines of 'Well duh,' but instead I said, "Don't tell me it'll be painful. I treated your wounds over the years. I know."
"I just don't want to see you hurt again, alright!" He said angrily. "Seeing you slowly pass before my eyes took my peace of mind away. Sometimes I come home and I wonder if you're still alive." Showing emotion like that was rare for him even in front of me but then again so was I at times.
"How do you think I feel," I said deciding to tell him my honest feelings as well. "When you're away on training I fear someone will inform me you have been killed in some accident or something."
We were silent for a while and kept looking at the floor. I guess we were just embarrassed by our outburst that we didn't want to say anymore. Finally, very fidgety, Ghost finally said, "So…we're worried about the same thing."
In the exact same timid way I said, "Yeah…wouldn't really be fair for only one of use to worry…So just get over it, I'm going be an assassin so just get over it, alright?"
He wasn't happy with it and he never will be. "Fine! Whatever! Be safe!" He yelled.
"Fine, I will! You be careful too!"
"Fine!"
"Fine!"
/~/~/
Sky slowly began to open her eyes from her dream. She was in the infirmary and was lying on her side to accommodate her wings. As her weariness began to leave her the pain in her face became noticeable. With a groan she recalled what happened to her before she blacked out. She had just finished up her training regimen and was heading elsewhere. The heron had been tired and wasn't paying attention to the group of people she was passing. One of them was using big gestures to tell a story or something and so when he pulled his arm back really fast to imitate a punch his elbow struck her square in the face. Everything else was black.
Gods, this is so embarrassing! She felt her cheeks burning as she reached up to touch her nose. The moment she touched it she realized that it was broken when she felt the bone out of place. No doubt she'll be hearing an earful about this from her teacher and of course her fellow trainees were going to mock about her carelessness.
She could hear them now, 'My, could Sky truly be Master Ghost's sister! She's so clumsy and his foot is never off track.' They may even call her the younger sibling! The bastards…
Sky loved doing what she's doing and couldn't wait until she could go out into the field for actual missions but some days it was pretty hard living in her younger brother's shadow. That's not to say she hadn't been filled with pride when Ghost achieved the rank of master, she was. Oh well, regardless of what the others will say she was still top of her class.
But now thinking about him and waking up from a dream about her brother cause her worry to return. The feeling that something was going terribly wrong was bothering her still. Her worry has never been this strong before. What was happening out there? Was Dishar really being honest with her and that everything really was going alright…or was he lying. It bothered her that she couldn't read what that branded freak was thinking and it caused her paranoia to increase whenever she was near him. All her teachers and even Ghost have always told her to trust her gut and her gut was telling her to do something. But what?
Ghost, whatever is going on, please be alright and come home soon.
/~/~/
A thin layer of smoke hung above Ike's head as he ran toward its source. By now Rhona should have Elinica out of the castle. He just hoped that it wasn't a mistake to leave the sole ruler of Crimea alone with an assassin. Ike put that out of his mind when he could actually smell smoke. There were a couple of people running past him in the opposite direction. He stopped one of them to ask what was going on and they said that there had been a fire before running off to get more help. They didn't bother telling him where the fire was. At least there was a trail for him to follow.
He kept following the smoke until he rounded a corner and realized where he was heading. There was really only one room in the left wing on the second floor that held any sort of importance; the royal library. If it was on fire there was no way it could have just been an accident, not with the way their luck was going. Then his thoughts went to the people who might have been in there. Ike knew for a fact that Soren was going to be there and Bastian might be as well. Surely everyone was okay. He'd have to believe that until he saw otherwise.
As he drew closer the halls didn't seem to have any new damage or burn marks. If the fire was in the library then it looks like it was contained to just that room. He soon saw knights and servants alike with buckets of water running in and out of the library. There was still a lingering haze inside the room from the fire and a strong stench of smoke. For the most part the fire seemed to be taken care of.
Ike slipped in to examine the damage but was slightly fearful at what he'd find. What if Soren or someone was hurt or worse? Goddess, he didn't want to think about the latter. But he'd rather know now than later.
Knights were scattered all over the room smothering remaining fires and pouring water on smoldering wood. The whole library was in shambles; in fact it no longer looked like a library. The floor and walls were scorched black and there were hardly any shelves left standing. There were many piles of ash all around. So far nothing looked remotely like a body although he did think a burnt up chair was one at first glance.
Soon he came upon a few knights digging through some broken shelves. There was a beam on the ground beside them which caused him to look up to see how burnt the ceiling was. The fire had been that bad? He shuttered to think that someone was in here.
It was then that one of the knights pushed another beam away to reveal what Ike feared to see; a burnt corpse. The knight who discovered it was startled and fell backwards. Ike quickly hurried over to get a better look and noticed that the corpse was the size of an adult which meant it wasn't Mist, Rolf, or Soren. But who was this?
"Hey! If you're not going to help then get the hell out of here!" A knight who had been giving orders yelled at him.
That brought Ike out of his thoughts and made him realize that while he was staring at the body he probably was in the way. He walked over to the knight. "Excuse me, but do you know who this is?" Ike asked as he pointed to the corpse.
The knight just shrugged, "We don't know for certain but that kid seemed sure that it's the scholar Riabuj. If we can't find him I guess we'll just have to pronounce him dead than."
"Kid? What kid?" Ike inquired not hearing the rest after the knight said kid.
"There were two kids with tattoos on their head who survived the fire in here. The boy kept mumbling nonsense especially about Riabuj starting the fire and the girl had to be carried out."
Kids with tattoos on their heads…he had to be talking about Soren and…Leila! What in all of Tellius was Leila doing in the library? But that questioned was quickly replaced with worry. The way the knight talked neither of them were alright. "Where are they?" Ike nearly jumped at knight.
He was taken aback but Ike's rashness but answered, "They were taken out to the courtyard for some flesh air."
Ike didn't waste another moment, not even to thank him, and took off running toward the courtyard. He nearly ran into two people on his way out and said a hurried apology to them without stopping. The stairs were just around the corner and he took about three at a time going down. One wrong move and he could be sent toppling down and possibly break something.
There was probably no need for the rush. After all, if Soren and Leila had been seriously hurt they would have been taken to the infirmary instead of the courtyard, right? There was no point in breaking his neck running down the stairs if neither of them were hurt. Ike forced himself to slow down and kept telling himself that they'll still be there. He'll learn soon enough what happened.
When he was back on the ground floor he didn't break out into a run but he walked fast toward the exit. It didn't take long but to Ike it felt like he was traveling down a never ending hallway. Of course that could just be because he was sleep deprived. If nothing else happens he may just have to force himself to sleep tonight. Ike just hoped with all his might that nothing else would happen. They were still recovering! They didn't need any more incidents or people dying (good or bad).
But then he wondered if the mastermind behind all this was watching them. Whoever was behind this sure did know how to throw a sucker punch. It was like they were having a duel with a blindfold on. All Ike and the others seemed to be doing was just swinging their sword in the dark hoping to land a hit.
Finally he reached the courtyard and found nearly all his mercenaries there and so were Soren and Leila. The two of them were sitting under the shade of a tree with everyone surrounding them which kind of defeated the purpose of them getting fresh air. He walked closer to them and saw that both of them had soot all over their faces as well as their hair and parts of their clothes were burnt too.
Soren had a worn out look on his face probably because everyone was crowding him. Titania, Mist, Mia, the brothers, and Rhys were all around the two of them. If the mage had any strength left he would have probably yell at them to back off. His right sleeve was rolled as Rhys was using a staff to heal a small burn on his forearm that would be better in no time.
Leila wasn't handling this as well as Soren. She did look like she was ready to pass out since underneath all the ash she looked paler than normal but she was also trying really hard not to cry. His sister Mist was mending her leg and when he saw what injury she suffered he gasped. The legging on her right leg was burned off and even the edge of her skirt but the skin below her knee looked like it had been melted off. Her shin was an unnatural pink color with some areas that looked like metal was melted on her.
"Leila…are you…okay?" Ike asked trying to sound as calm as he could. The last thing he needed to do was scare her any more than she already was. But why was she in the library in the first place? He hated to think that something like this happened when he should have been watching her. She had practically become another sister to him during the short time they've had. So seeing her like this was like seeing Mist hurt.
She didn't give him a verbal answer but gave a short nod.
He glanced at Mist to see her full attention was to her staff. Hopefully she would be able to heal Leila's leg but even Ike could tell that it would leave a scar. Another mark to remind Leila of her close encounter with death.
Ike left the two of them and turned to Soren. "How are you holding up Soren?"
Soren was actually startled by him. He must not have realized that he was here. "Oh, Ike…I'm fine. But I have something important to tell you," Soren said hurriedly. He quickly got to his feet causing Rhys to break his concentration.
Before he could take a step Titania grabbed his shoulder. "Whatever it is I'm sure it can wait until Rhys is done healing you," she instructed and forced him to sit back on the ground. He must have been too tried to fight back but he did look a little peeved.
It had to be something about the conspiracy if Soren was going to ignore healing treatment. But this was probably something everyone needed to hear so it could wait until he was fully healed. "I'd love to hear it but tell me what happened to you and Leila in the library first," Ike told him. It should keep Soren busy till Rhys was done.
"Leila came to bother me while I was cleaning up all the papers," Soren started with a sigh. "That's when I found something that caused Riabuj to start attacking us. He used a fire tome and that caused the fire…Honestly I wasn't sure how we were going to get out of there."
"See, I told you not to go to the library by yourself unarmed," Mia interrupted.
Soren just glared at the myrmidon either because she interrupted him or because she brought up their squabble from this morning, Ike couldn't tell. But he continued, "Anyway…he was taken care of and the fire seems to be taken care of so will you go get Queen Elincia and probably Bastian as well so I can share what I found out!"
Of all times for Soren to give the short version, Ike couldn't help but think. Sometimes he could be longwinded in his explanations. That just showed him how important Soren thought this was. "Okay, okay. I'll go get Elincia. Titania will you go tell Bastian and Lucia to meet us in the war room?"
"Of course Ike," she said and head back in the castle.
Ike looked to the brothers. "Oscar, Boyd, take Leila to the infirmary so she can rest." He wanted to add "and don't take your eyes off of her" but decided not to say that in front of her. She was already concerned about being a bother to them and if he had said that it would have only made her feel worse.
"Actually Ike, I'll need her to help explain what I found," Soren said before either brother could reply.
It looked like Mist was almost done healing but Leila still needed ointment to be applied not to mention she didn't look like she could explain what happened. "Whatever it is I'm sure you can tell us. Leila probably needs-"
"I-I'm okay Ike," Leila clarified even though she still sounded shaken up. "R-really I am."
"Are you sure Leila?" Ike asked her. "You don't have to."
Leila wiped the remaining tears on her cheeks and smearing the ash on her face. Then she gave a weak smile, "Yep. Anna told me when I get hurt I needed to walk it off."
"I don't think that applies to this," Ike mumbled but Leila didn't catch or at least pretended that she didn't if she did. "If you think you can then who am I to stop you," he finally conceded.
"Don't worry Ike, I'll make sure Leila stays safe," Mist chimed in.
He was starting to understand why Leila's father ordered an assassin to be her bodyguard. Keeping her safe was a full time job and he wasn't sure how Anna was able to do that every day. "Very well," he nodded and began to head to where he thought Elincia could be as everyone else carried out his orders.
But as he walked out of the courtyard he noticed a black hood behind one of the columns surrounding the enclosed yard. Ike walked closer and saw that it was Ralik sitting on the ground out of view. What's he doing here? Ike wondered. He walked closer to him but the wolf laguz remained like a statue. One of his knees was propped up and his left arm rested on top. His gaze was vacant almost like he was in a trance. Ike had seen that same expression on people after their first battle during the war. Now he was sure Ralik wasn't dwelling on killing someone, or maybe he was but that seem unlikely. It was probably rude to think this but the laguz didn't strike Ike as the kind to mourn for the lives he took.
Ike moved in front of Ralik, still not breaking his gaze and said, "Your wound from yesterday isn't acting up is it?" He was pretty sure that wasn't the case nor did it look like he was hurt.
Ralik eyed him just now realizing that he wasn't alone anymore. "No, that scrawny beorc girl patched me up pretty good," he muttered as his other hand moved to where his wound was. His voice was full of uncharacteristic worry for something. Ike just couldn't figure out what it was until he asked, "How is Leila holding up?"
So that's what was bothering him. Leila did have a strange ability to create a soft spot even in cold hearted assassins. "Leila's tough, she'll be alright," Ike reassured the laguz which caused something to be lifted from his shoulder.
There was a brief moment before a great big sigh came out of Ralik's mouth. "I was supposed to watch her," he said.
"None of us knew there was going to be a fire," Ike told him. "Besides, my group and I were also reasonable for her safety. If you're going to blame yourself then you better blame us too."
Ralik said nothing and just before Ike was about to go find Elincia he finally stood up. "I'm going with Leila to make sure she stays out of trouble," he announced and walked away toward Leila. There really were more to these assassins than meets the eyes.
/~/~/
There was still a few of hours of sunlight left by the time Anna and Ranulf were nearing the clearing to Kifar's. The two of them hadn't talked any since Anna passed out but that was just fine with her. They remained shiftless due to her health but they soon began to run which Anna was perfectly fine doing. As they drew closer Anna and Ranulf slow down to a walk.
As they were about to past the last row of trees when Ranulf abruptly stopped and put his arm in front of her for her to as well. "What is it?" She asked eyeing him. Anna didn't trust this Gallian warrior but at least she knew he wasn't the type to stab her in the back. Something was up.
"I smell blood ahead. Not just a small amount, I mean a whole lot," he announced with narrow eyes. Now that Anna had stopped she could smell it too. She had been too lost in thought to notice. How she couldn't she wasn't sure since the stench was strong.
But soon she worried whose blood they smelled. "We best see what it is," Anna said as took off toward the shack leaving Ranulf to call after her. He soon followed her even though he thought it unwise.
The two quickly crossed the open filled field which maybe wasn't the smartest plan, after all there was a pretty good chance there was a sniper. But she didn't smell anyone else and that bothered her more than a whole army. Where was Kifar? Where was Ghost? And whose blood did she smell? Those questions quickened her steps.
Anna pressed her back flat against the building since the door was opened halfway. She edged closer taking in whatever scents she could and listening to whatever could be going on. Ranulf tried to mimic her moves but he was being way too loud that Anna wanted to smack him for it but decided against it. Still there didn't seem to be anyone inside so Anna walked in like any normal person would with the cat right on her heels.
Just as they smelled outside the floor in the hall was stained red by dried blood and…there were even feathers scattered around. The enclosed space as well as the heat has made the smell unbearable for the beast laguz. Anna's nose burned but she didn't cover it like Ranulf did with his hand. She began walking to the other room no longer expecting to find someone, rather a body.
She didn't have to look far.
In the center of the main room was a body she was looking for. Though the stench of the corpse was horrible and flies were starting to settle into it this man couldn't have been dead for more than a day. The room was trashed; tables were turned and books tossed across the room. Obviously someone was looking for something. Anna then forced herself to look at the body to figure out who it was and it caused a hitch in her breathing.
Behind her Ranulf let out a muffled gasp. "Is…is that a friend of yours?" He asked. His voice was full of worry and concern and even a bit of disgust. Anna held a bit of the latter as well. The corpse had been brutally mutilated and Anna shuttered to think all of it happened before death. Ribs were sticking out, fingers were gone, and skin had been peeled off. Not even the most savage beast could do this. It sickened her beyond belief that one of her own had their body disrespected like this.
"That…is Kifar," she answered him. True, she did not know Kifar on a personal level like her other fellow assassins but he was one of them and in a sense she respected him. But seeing what happened to Kifar she now wondered what had befallen her dear friend Ghost. "Ghost…where are you?" She wondered out loud. He had to have stumbled on Kifar like this.
"I'm not sure about you other friend but this doesn't look like blood splatter,"Ranulf suddenly stated. Anna looked back to see him pointing at something in the hallway.
The she wolf looked at what he was talking about and by the threshold was an incomplete symbol written in blood. Anna's eyes widen when she saw what it said. "This is the ancient language," she blurted out.
"What does it say?" Ranulf asked.
Anna shook her head. "The symbol isn't finished. Roughly translated it could be "Mad"," she explained. It actually looked like how Ghost writes. His handwriting was sloppy like this but it could just be that it was written in blood
Ranulf looked back at Kifar's body and muttered, "Whoever did that had to be mad to do that to someone. It doesn't really take a genius to figure that out."
He may have only been trying to lighten the mood and meant nothing by it but Anna grew irritated at his words. She growled slightly and that caused the cat to back away from the wolf. If this was indeed Ghost message then it had to hold much more meaning. The she wolf crouched down and picked up a black feather. It was stuck in the blood so most of it broke off. She brought it to her nose and while she mostly smelled death she was also able to detect a little bit of heron as well. "This is Ghost's," she declared showing Ranulf. She had to find out what happened to him so she would first have to walk thought what happened. "Ghost most likely walked in on Kifar's murder. He also must have been scared of his opponent if he decided to leave a message in case something happened."
"Or maybe Ghost was the one who killed that guy," Ranulf offered as he picked up a white feather that was now red.
"He doesn't have the strength nor the stomach to do something like this!" She snapped at him. She calmed herself down knowing that Ranulf did not know Ghost and most certainly didn't know that he was a heron. Anna looked at the message Ghost left and gently traced the lines and then pictures what happened next. "But something causes him to stop what he's writing. Perhaps…their attacker discovered him."
"There are a lot of feathers on the ground…he was probably thrown down," Ranulf said slowly probably out of fear that if he said something else she would most certainly bite him.
To his relief she nodded. "But there's not enough blood in the hall so the attacker couldn't have killed him here. Ghost must have evaded the attack. So where did you go?"
There was a brief pause as the two figured out the next step. She didn't notice the cat walking away from her. "Anna, the window!" Ranulf called out at the end of the straight hall. The window stated at Ranulf's waist and reached all the way to his forehead. It was broken and blood was on the edge of the glass.
Ghost most definitely went though it but it seemed doubtful that he jumped through. More likely he was thrown. Carefully she climbed up jumped out and the cat did the same. More blood was on the grass after closer inspection. There was trail of it leading to the barn. "You friend runs on foot. If he's a bird why doesn't he fly off?" It was Ranulf's turn to wonder.
Then Anna realizes something. "Because he can't, something happened to his wings." They continued to walk to the barn and found cuts made from a sword in the wood as well as flattened grass from where a struggle had taken place. There was a bit more blood in that area but still there was no body. The trail ended there.
The two of them even checked inside the barn but there was no indication that anyone had been in there. So where was Ghost or worse his body? Knowing his stubborn nature he probably forced himself to fly or…he could have been captured. But since she could no longer smell his scent that idiot must have flown away. So far there were no signs that he as dead so she wasn't going to believe he was until she had proof. "Ghost is probably out there somewhere but he's got a day ahead of use and without a scent to follow we can't track him."
"Are you just going to leave him out there if he's hurt?" Ranulf questioned.
She found it hard to look at him. She wanted to search the whole forest for him but Ghost knew how to take care of himself so she just had to have faith in him. "Of course I want to find him," she said hoping the Gallian warrior would understand. "But I have a mission that must come first. If Ghost went to the trouble of leaving the message he would want us to deliver it and not risk our lives on his behalf."
Ranulf sighed, "Whatever, he's your friend so you must know him better. But what could be so important about the word "mad"?"
"I'm not sure," she admitted and began to walk back to the shack so she could send the message to the grandmaster. "He didn't finish it so it could mean a number of…things," she actually paused when she thought about it.
Mad…ness? What else could he be meaning? That had to be what he was trying to say! "Madness. That's what the message was meant to say," she said out loud.
"Okay, but that still leaves us in the same place."
"Maybe not…Have you ever heard of Lehran Madness?"
"…Yeah, Ike told me that he fought a laguz with something like that."
Natsu…Anna still didn't want to believe what the beorc boy said about him. That he had betrayed them and that he was dead. But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. "I think that's what Ghost was warning us about. That the person who killed Kifar and attacked him was someone with Lehran Madness."
"That does not sound good at all. How many people are like that?"
"There are four-I mean…there are three now in Lynn," Anna explained filling slight grief that Natsu didn't count anymore. At least she wouldn't have to think he did such a horrible thing.
A smile crossed Ranulf's face. "Well that's a bit of good luck, only three suspects."
"Yes I suppose it is," Anna comment. "I'm going to send the message. You go in the barn and get one of the carrier pigeon so we can send word back to the capital when we get word from the grandmaster."
He looked a little unsure about the orders but he nodded and began to walk back to the barn. But there was something else that needed to be done and she could do it on her own. "Ranulf," he stopped when he called his name, "…could I ask a favor of you?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"After the message is sent, will you…help me burn Kifar's body?"
She was surprised that he didn't ask why they didn't just bury him since fire was deadly to the likes of them. Instead he just said, "Of course," and just walked on. He was a warrior after all. He understood the importance of handling a comrade's remains so he wouldn't question their burial style.
Anna quickly made it back to the shack. The smell still bothered her greatly but there was nothing she could do about it. Maybe they should burn this place too since the smell would never be gone. Back in the main room there was only one table in there was had been left untouched. She had to walk past Kifar to get there. On the table was a scroll rolled out over a spell written out in ink.
It was a transfer spell that would send whatever was written on the scroll to whoever had the exact same spell symbol. Anna had only used one of these a few times and hopefully she could remember what her name sigh was. So she picked up the quill from its ink jar and proceeded to write the message. She had to make sure there was enough ink in each word otherwise the words wouldn't be sent all the way.
She kept the message simple since she wasn't sure if there was any more ink besides what was on the table. In the ancient language she wrote: Kifar is dead. Anna put her symbol at the end so he would know who was sending it. The ink was absorbed into the parchment and she waited patiently for a reply.
Several minutes passed until finally words appeared. What of the targets? The grandmaster's mark was at the end. So he has received nothing about their mission. Looks like she might need more ink.
/~/~/
"All of this goes back to the eclipse…" Ike mumbled to himself. Soren had just finished explaining about Riabuj's treachery to all of them. It was no wonder why Soren was in such a hurry to tell them. Leila had even recited to poem he found and neither Elincia nor Bastian had even heard of it before.
"And none of you had any idea that Riabuj was behind this, did you?" Geoffrey questioned Nyoka. Ike had found Elincia with all the assassins, minus the youngest one, and Geoffrey. If the knight hadn't been injured he probably would have started a fight with them. Thankfully Ike got there in time to avoid something like that happening.
Nyoka stayed calm despite Geoffrey's growing frustration. "I assure you, our order had no idea. We never thought about looking into you're scholars."
"You all seem to be missing the big picture here," Soren said bringing everyone's attention back on him. "There's no doubt in my mind that Riabuj is part of the conspiracy but his interest in the eclipse has me wondering if they are working with the traitor of Lynn."
Then that could also mean that the same people after Elincia's head was also after Leila, Ike thought. He looked over at her in the corner next to Ralik and again his eyes drifted to her leg. If that was true then why did Riabuj try and burn her alive? Either way they needed to keep a sharp eye out not just for her but for everyone. But what was so important about this eclipse? They had less than two weeks to find out.
"That would certainly explain how we can't find the remaining conspirators. They've been misdirecting the information," Kyle offered.
"I believe that was Riabuj sole role other than destroy any evidence we had on them," Soren added. "Maybe with him gone we can find the real connection."
"Unless our new friends want to share what they know," Bastian narrowed his eyes at the assassins.
The assassins looked at one another. Kyle looked ready to share what they knew but Ike had a feeling that there was no way Nyoka would let him. Before any of them could say anything the door to the war room busted open with such force that Ike though the door would come off its hinges.
There over the threshold was Tibarn looked angrier than Ike's ever seen a laguz. "Where the hell is Reyson!" He bellowed sounding more like a lion rather than a hawk.
"King Tibarn, has something happened to Prince Reyson?" Elincia asked.
"You tell me! I found Janaff unconscious in the halls with an arrow in his back!" The hawk king responded sounding just as mad as his last sentence. All of them were shocked to hear about what happened to Janaff and of course they wondered about Reyson. Was he captured or was he just simply lost? He wasn't the type to get lost like this so as much as Ike hated to think it but it would seem that the heron prince has been taken.
"Has Janaff said anything?" Ike asked.
Tibarn shook his head. "He hasn't woken up yet," he told him sounding a little less outraged. "But we need to find him now!"
"Just keep calm King Tibarn," Elincia instructed. "We'll search for him. Lucia, go ask the Gallian warriors for their help so they can track his scent."
Lucia quickly left as did everyone else. Ike asked all of his mercenaries with him to help in the search. He just hopped that Reyson wasn't too far. There would be no rest for the weary.
/~/~/
Soren:...
Ralik: Hey you're the mage that saved Leila, right?
Soren: Yes, sadly I am, now what do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?
Ralik:...I just wanted to thank you for keeping Leila safe from Riabuj. Anna's not here so her safety falls on me. If anything were to happen to her on my watch I'd suffer greatly for it.
Soren: You've said your peace. Now leave me be.
Ralik: I suppose I should understand your animosity toward me. Most laguz are uneasy around people like you.
Soren looking rather surprised: I suppose you would know what I am if you're around Leila all the time.
Ralik: Relax mage; I'm not the sort of person who goes blabbin'.
Soren: Maybe you should teach Leila that since she doesn't know how to keep quite or even still for that matter. She's nearly blown our cover on more than one occasion.
Ralik: Even if I thought it was something she needed she wouldn't listen to me. I'm willing to bet you two aren't all that different.
Soren: We are not the same. The very thought is repulsive! *He leaves*
Ralik: On the outside those two seem to be on the polar opposite of each other. But on the inside they're not all that different. I wonder if all branded are meant to feel they have no place in the world.
/~/~/
"I can't believe how many have infiltrated our ranks. I'm ashamed that I couldn't see their treachery sooner."
"I just remembered something that Mailliw said when he was with Reinrag. He said something along the lines of the people who sought their influence have betrayed them."
"What am I doing? I can't do this," the man said as he slid his dagger back in his boot.