"Rynu?" Tam opened the door to the room cautiously, looking around with wide eyes at the blood covering the walls and the floor. He saw Rynu sitting in the corner against the wall, his legs tucked up against his front. "Rynu- are you okay?"
Rynu looked up at his name being called, his green eyes wide as he stared at Tam. "What did he do?"
"You've been cursed like the rest of us." Tam walked into the room, keeping the door open only a crack behind him. He walked over to Rynu, kneeling down next to him in concern. "I want you to run- run home, as fast as you can and never come back to this place. Try to convince your father to move away- far away. Get away from Demetre as quickly as you can." Tam said softly, putting his hands on Rynu's shoulders to get attention.
Rynu looked up at Tam in confusion, remaining silent. "He'll try to find me." He said at last.
"I know. He'll try to find you, and maybe he will. But you need to try and run. This man isn't like magi- he's… insane." Tam looked over his shoulder, making sure no one was listening. "I've made it so that you can sneak out of the castle without anyone noticing you. As long as Carlile doesn't see you, you should be fine."
"What about you?" Rynu looked up at his friend, who smiled painfully.
"I'll probably never get away from this man. I've been cursed for too long. You have a chance though- just get home, and stay home. You're too young for all this shit." He spat, looking around the room in disgust.
"What did he do to her?" Rynu looked at the spot the woman had been sitting in.
Tam looked over to where he was staring, suddenly looking uncomfortable as he stared at the strangely jelly-like blood covering the ground. "He… killed her."
Rynu's face contorted with horror as he looked at the blood covering his body. He stood quickly, body shaking as he looked up at Tam. "You're right- I need to get out of here."
"I'm glad you see it my way- now be careful, and if things go wrong, use your dagger to get out." Tam led Rynu over to the door, opening it and looking out to see if the hallway was clear before guiding Rynu into the shadows at the side of the doorway.
"Good luck, kid. I hope you get away." Tam smiled down to Rynu before he pushed him away toward the door of the castle.
Rynu ran along the edge of the street of Synara, leaving bloody footprints in the dirt behind him. He ignored people's stares as he sprinted as fast as he could toward Conintor's cabin, running around it and splashing into the stream in the back. He waded up to his knees, frantically scrubbing the blood out of his clothes, looking down as it streamed down into the water.
"Rynu?" Conintor looked out the back door of the cabin and ran over in panic when he saw the blood in the water. He waded in after Rynu, standing in front of him. "What the hell happened? Are you okay?" He asked, turning Rynu around to get a good look at him.
Rynu shook as he looked up at Conintor, his eyes wide. He didn't say anything, just stood dripping with water in front of the man.
"Answer me, Rynu- are you okay? Do I need to get the healing herbs?" Conintor put his hands on Rynu's shoulders in concern at his silence. Usually at least the boy answered sarcastically. It worried Conintor that he didn't answer at all.
Rynu bit his lip, his green eyes widening. He leaned against Conintor, crying into the man's shirt in deep sobs, gripping fistfuls of his shirt.
Conintor looked down at Rynu in worry, hugging him tightly in reassurance. "I don't know what happened Rynu, but you'll be okay. You're home, and you're safe." He said softly, noticing a black mark on the skin of his shoulder through his ripped shirt. He reached a hand down and moved the sleeve up to see a black serpent tattoo against his skin and looked down at Rynu in shock. What had he been getting into this whole time?
Rynu sat in the living room in clean clothes and washed hair, shaking in shock as Conintor talked with Novilo in the other room. He looked up as they started talking harsher for a minute, Novilo looking over at him in concern from the doorway. The air magi walked over to him, his purple robes ruffling as he kneeled next to Rynu.
"Would you mind raising your sleeve for me, bud?" He said in concern. "I'd like to see that tattoo of yours."
Rynu looked at him uneasily, before glancing up at Conintor, who stood in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning against the frame and watching in concern. "Is he angry with me?"
"Who, Con? No- he's worried about you. We both are." Novilo smiled reassuringly.
Rynu looked over to Conintor, who nodded in reassurance. He sighed and raised the sleeve of the shirt Conintor had given him, revealing the tattoo that marred his skin, the area around it red with irritation at the new marking.
"You were right Con, it's the Brotherhood serpent." Novilo sighed in dismay. "Rynu- have you been hanging around the Brotherhood lately?"
"What's the brotherhood?" Rynu said in confusion- is what where Demetre was?
Novilo sighed again. "The Brotherhood is a group of people who tend to do more… nefarious deeds in the world. They're not good people, and it would be best if you stayed away from them."
Rynu groaned in pain, covering his face with his hands. "I didn't know- they were the only people who would teach me magic- I just want to be a magi like you guys- I'm tired of being treated like I'm stupid or tainted."
Novilo looked at Rynu sadly, ruffling his curly black hair. "I'm sorry the Keep wouldn't take you kiddo, but asking the Brotherhood to teach you probably wasn't a good idea. You could have asked Con to teach you." Novilo looked back at the other man, who shook his head.
"Rynu has a different type of earth magic than I do. He uses plants- I use stone. They're two entirely different studies."
Novilo looked back at Rynu sadly. "Either way, you should rely on the people you know. We're here to help you."
Rynu nodded, looking sheepishly up to Novilo. "Thanks."
"No problem, kid." Novilo smiled in relief. "Uncle Novi is here for you if you need me. So is Con."
"Whatever they got you into, I'll try and find a way out of it. I'm not angry with you, just angry at them for messing with such a young boy. You couldn't have known better." Conintor said, glaring in the direction of the castle with hard green eyes.
"See? Con is going to go kick their ass. You're going to be fine." Novilo chuckled.
Rynu nodded, not sure if they knew who they were talking about- Demetre seemed stronger than anyone he had ever met. He wasn't sure if Conintor could beat him or not, but he didn't want him to try.