Chapter Six

Torri thought of this as the perfect opportunity for her to explore the island of Brynnlaw more thoroughly. At first, the cautious moon elf kept to those streets of the town that she had already visited on previous occasions. A smirk came to her lips when she passed by the Temple of Umberlee, and recalled certain occurrences that had just recently taken place inside. But soon, she abated from that course, and ascended to the less populated area nearer to the rocks upon which the asylum was built. She still couldn't picture exactly what Spellhold was, but the mere sight of its darkened looming form was troubling enough.

Strangely, the night wasn't black in Brynnlaw, but rather... violet, turning the landscape into somewhat of a misty dreamworld. The few clouds present had all bulked to one side, leaving the rest of the sky filed with twinkling stars, small spots of light stamping an empty background. The moon, which Torri's people cherished so, seemed veiled in mists at that particular moment, still halfway through towards the highest point it could reach. Its silvery light fell through the curtain of purples and illuminated the tops of the simple stone houses, crushed against each other in tight formations.

Whose steps was she following? Torri found the question in her mind without having consciously formulated it. Indeed, what had urged her to come out and walk, and why this way?

It was common for the moon elves to rely upon certain feelings, to be able to almost predict a small part of the future, since they were always so concerned with it. Torri wasn't exactly skilled in that aspect, with her having chosen to be a fightress, rather than a mage or cleric, but sometimes her unclear premonitions proved to have some base. Right now, she felt something weighing heavily somewhere above her, above them.

The road they were on had been recently traveled by another group... one of its members was especially significant, but Torri was unable to tell more than that from the simple residues of their presence. All she knew was that this course drew her, like light draws the moths, but even that was halfway explainable, while the pulling of her heart was not.

They were following someone. They were MEANT to follow someone.

Torri believed in destiny with every fiber of her being and she was simply unable to let go of the thought. It kept coming back to her, differently formulated each time, true, but still the same idea.

She pondered going back, to tell Nirra and Knave about it – surely together they would be able to figure something out. But no, she realized how unlikely it was for her two companions to make anything else of this than, perhaps, that she needed rest, and urgently. Torri sighed, and kept walking, not really noticing that every step took her closer to Spellhold.

--

The arrival of morning filtered the world yet again, and found an exhausted, but slightly less worried Torri walking along the docks, behind Knave and Nirra. The moon elf's steps were almost mechanical, fueled by willpower alone. She had returned to the Vulgar Monkey too late – or early – to get any sleep, and it showed. Her two companions apparently knew better than to bother her for anything – the moon elf wasn't too cheerful on a regular basis, anyway, and given her current state, any attempt at communication or interaction would have only incurred her wrath.

They reached the spot of the other day's conversation with Captain Belvert in short order, and found that the man was there all the same, occupying his crate and staring out at the horizon, whose line was beginning to glow in anticipation of the sun's imminent appearance. "Good mornin'," he greeted the three with the beginning of a smile. "I'm afraid you're early... ship ain't leavin' for the next hour or so, 'till they give us permission."

Knave was the one to respond, with a formal nod, before the members of their small group regarded each other questioningly. "What?" Torri was quick to snap as soon as eyes fell upon her. She shook her head with frustration. Then, stepping by Nirra and Knave, she neared the captain herself. "Can we board the ship and wait there?" she asked.

"Aye, suit yerselves," the sailor replied, shrugging.

"That's where I'll be," the moon elf thought it would be required of her to announce that to her companions. "At least I'll be able to get some sleep there."

"Uhh..." Nirra babbled for a short moment, for obvious reasons. "I... think I'll wait the two hours on shore."

That mention seemed to cheer Torri up a bit – the next shake of her head was much rather amused than anything else. "See you there, then," she managed a smile.

"Oh, poor me!" Knave, in his usual good mood, lamented theatrically. "Here I am, having to choose between two equally beautiful ladies..." - he took his small break in order to chuckle, eyeing Torri, before he could add, "...one of which looks especially irritated right now."

"Just go with Nirra," the moon elf dismissed him, begrudgingly rolling her eyes. "Trust me, you'd be doing both me and you a favor."

"So cruel of you, my lady!" Knave took his amused exaggeration to even higher a peak, hardly able to contain laughter anymore. "Fine, then," he even sniffed, "I will keep company to those who appreciate it."

"Tolerate, maybe," Torri smirked wryly. "Appreciate would probably mean that nice priestess back at the Temple."

With that, she performed a most courteous reverence, and spun on her feet, heading for the ship before the mage could reply to her.

"Ah," he muttered, trying to seem affected in a highly childish manner. "She got me on that one. But next time, I'll show her." With that, he cleared his throat, recovering the full extent of his seriousness, and turned to Nirra. "So, where to?"

"I don't know," the gold elf ended her lively fit of laughter. "We can just walk aimlessly, I suppose."

"True. We could, however, see if we can find out some more about the events that concern you so." The mage was dead serious this time, almost somber. Nirra blinked for a moment, taken by surprise, but he began to walk off and she followed.