We left the town soon afterwards, it's still cold as hell around here for whatever reason, but at least I feel warm inside. I'm not sure how long I was in the town hall, but it was long enough for Gerome and Vector to get their asses in gear and ready to go, Vector being his normal silent self with Gerome being needlessly loud, it's interesting to wonder how they're so friendly with each other, maybe they know each other from ages ago? I'd ask them, but it's not quite my place. Forest trees on either side of us all as Edward and I escorting the two of them to their next destination, I think it's that coastal town? Maybe I should consult the map when I get the time, it sounds important enough to maybe be labelled on the thing. It's no different from the last time we've marched between towns, but the smell of the woods and the sound of the wildlife is welcoming.
"Oy young Zeke, have a good time in town?" I hear Gerome call out to me from above, looking upwards to the man, he still has that grin on his face. I wonder, does he ever let it slip? I know he has to some times, but I doubt a man can keep such a smile on for so long without it at least starting to hurt.
"The town? I didn't have too bad of a time there, Father Levi is a surprisingly welcoming person, and it was nice to be somewhere different for once, gotta start filling in the gaps with something after all." I reply to the man, masking my gritting teeth with a grin towards him, I'm not gonna tell him bout the thing with Edward, or that noble, that's a no go. Geromes smile only widens as he looks back towards the road, his hands tightening on the reins.
"Father Levi is quite the man, da, been alive a very long time, helped Gerome plenty when was younger!" I'm not sure how, but I'd have managed to forget that Gerome has such a strong accent, I guess a lots been on my mind, and it's not like I know anyone else from the north. I hear Vector grunt and whip his reins, the horses kicking up and keeping pace with Geromes wagon, I'm not surprised that he wants to talk. Edward remains silent and continues to chug along with the march, he's likely trying to keep a keep ear out for whatever's around to risk the merchants. Hm, maybe I should follow his example, I do have better ears after all, and I recall saying that I'd try to pay more attention.
I breath in and focus my mind, focus on the sound Zeke, focus on the sound around us, keep your legs moving and close your eyes, try not to run into anything. I hear the birds chirping, their twittering is a predominant sound throughout the trees and the woods. I can hear the horses legs pound against the dirt, carrying the squeaking wagons as their contents grind against each other. It's strange to pay so much attention to just listening, it's not quite zen, but I can feel myself being pulled into it, maybe I should do this more often..
There's a rustling in the trees, a small hitch of a subdued breath, it's not quite close to us, but I can definitely hear it. My eyes flicker open, are we being watched? I hang back as the wagon passes in front of me, quickly catching up and chasing after Edward, moving next to him, wrapping an arm around his neck and pulling his ear close to me. He lets out a confused yelp as I do so, I can see the frown on his face as I show off a faux smile.
"We're being watched, one in the trees, don't know if there's any one else, pretend I told you a joke so they don't realise we're aware." I whisper hastily to him, I don't think keidran can read lips, but I try to keep them apart to mask what I'm saying. His frown turns to a determined and understanding line, laughing awkwardly. I snicker myself, god that's awful, but I don't think whoever's watching us would know the difference. I quickly move myself back to my original post, keeping a closer ear on the trees as we walk. If its a keidran, I hope it ends up well, who else could it be though? I don't think there'd be other guards after us, and god forbid there's a Templar troupe in the trees for whatever reason, that just seems unreasonable.
I squint my eyes and look into the canopy, I can't focus myself enough to hear the breaths again, but I know I heard it, and I know they're out there. The marching has a tense feeling in the air, at least to myself, and I feel like Edward would be feeling the same. The merchants wouldn't have an idea themselves, neither of us have told them just yet. I haven't felt anything else that's unnerving, even when focusing as much, maybe it was just a one off, but it's best to be prepared for the worst after all.
It's difficult to tell how long we've been walking, the canopy of the tree leaves above us cover the sky from our angle, but we can still see the seeping of the sun through whatever opening's present, but given how the light is shining almost straight down at a very acute angle, I'd judge it to be either just before or just after midday. The road itself hasn't been void of travellers though, from the more rugged individuals to the skittish type, so it hasn't been too dull. Granted they stayed out of our way, it was nice to see other life on these roads, not that the three around isn't acceptable company.
..Except maybe Vector, dude always looks like he wants to be anywhere but here and is about as sociable as a brick wall. I wonder, do they use brick much here? I've seen dirt and wood houses, but not too much brick, even the barracks were made of wood. I rub my face, pinching between my nose, I have seen brick before actually, in that one memory, the gate was made of brick and metal, and the town hall was made of brick! I guess it's a very small detail, and it's not used much, but I guess I know what to look for if I ever try to find out about past Zeke. Would that be a smart idea, though? Levi seemed so scared about the emerald eye lady, does she have her hooks in that many things?
The wagons stop suddenly, the horses neighing as they rear upwards, their hooves stomping up thick dust clouds in front of us. I shake my head out of my thoughts, I really need to stop losing my attention on random things, my hand already to my sword hilt as I step forward, looking upwards to Gerome. He seems tense, his grin is unusually clenched as well as his hands. The hell's going on?
In front of us stands a singular man upon a large brown horse, approaching us slowly. The man has a tall and broad build, short blonde hair and same coloured goatee hangs from his chin. His brown eyes looks over the lot of us before he hops off of his horse, black and red clothing rippling over his frame as he does so. On those clothes seems to be metal plates on his shoulders, as well gauntlets covering from his forearms to his hands. The clothes seem to be a mix of robe and plated armour, as if sown together himself, or with the help of an extremely talented tailor. He has a very small, although distinct black tattoo upon the right side of his cheek, from his side burn to just below his eye, are they meant to be flower roots or something?
My hand only tightens its hold on my hilt as he continues to approach us, unspeaking, but with his darting eyes looking over us, his face set in stone. I hear more footsteps, and looking over, I can see Edward walking forwards himself to meet the man. I raise an eyebrow and feel my ears twitch. Does Edward know this man? Suddenly, the man grins wide, wrapping his arms around Edwards body and lifting him in the air almost effortlessly, even despite his plate armour. His sudden tone shift doesn't really match how he looks, nor how he was acting before hand. I do hear Edwards surprised 'urk' from over here though, barely suppressing a small snicker.
"Edward! I haven't heard from you in ages, how you been little buddy? Still following in your fathers footsteps?" His tone is jovial, and it sounds as if he's reconnecting with an old friend. He sets Edward down and ruffles at his hair, I approach closer to the two and smile politely, a friend of Edwards is a friend of mine. This time, I fail to cover my snicker as I see the proud man pouting, ignoring the glare he sends my way.
"I've been quite fine myself, and it's a pleasure to see you again too Roderick. I've risen higher if that's what you really want to know, and I'd like to think he's proud of me. Uncles been helping me too." Edwards replies to him, rubbing at his ribs through his armour and wincing. I guess he squeezed a bit too hard. "It's a surprise to see you here, on another mission from the Templars?"
"Feh, they're killing me little Ed, I've been all over like a lapdog doing odd jobs for them, trying to find someone. It's a pain that's for sure." He grimaces slightly at the mention of his mission, and I can see a paper roll sticking out from his belt, I guess that's a message he received from them. Speaking of them, the word Templar blares alarms in my skull, my arms turning cold at the mention of them. Oh dear god, does he know who I am? I don't want anything dropped on me, please don't recognise me.
"So, who's your friend here? Don't think I've seen you on a job with anyone in a long time." The man, Roderick, follows up. I flick my sight towards the man, gulping quietly as he looks over me with a close eye, an eyebrow raised. "A Basitin too, huh? Can't say I've seen many of you before, aren't you meant to be tiny?"
Again with the 'oh you're bigger than normal' thing, are Basitins really that small? I roll my eyes at the man, relaxing my posture slightly and looking back at him.
"I ate my greens when I was a kid, what can I say. And I'm Edwards new best friend, we've simply loved each others company." I give the mentioned man a smirk as I wrap my arm around him, bringing him into a hug while I give Roderick a thumbs up. I'd be sorry for dragging him under the bus to save my skin, but feeling his glare into my head makes my smirk a bit of a more genuine smile, a half-suppressed laugh escaping my mouth. Roderick seems to accept the answer, laughing aloud and reaching over, giving my head a needless ruffling this time around. I stick out my tongue to him and let Edward go, choosing instead to push my hair back in place, even as their laughter surrounds me.
"Hah! You're a bit of a mouthy one too, better than the sombre and serious folks I've seen." His voice is one of approval, so I guess I scored response wise. Roderick seems like a nice individual though, apparently friends of Edwards father due to his standing as a Templar. I wonder if they've worked together on missions before. The merchants are oddly silent, though, I expect it from Vector, but not Gerome, so what's going on there?
"So, you're all off to Wreathwood huh? Tell my lil bro I said hello in my steed, I think you remember Eric, right Ed? Anyways, I best be off, Templars would have my head if I took too long after all." He finishes, I give him a small wave as I turn to move back to my post. I guess that's it then? I expected a meeting with a Templar to go so much worse, but I guess this is preferred. I'm stopped mid stride by a grip on my shoulder, twisting my head to face Roderick. His look is a stony one, and out of the side of my eye I can see Edwards confused face.
"You're Zeke, right? Have we met before, by any chance?" His voice is low, his grip tightening after he asks the question, his face a stoney flatness. I feel the heat flee from my body as I'm filled with a sudden freeze, mind going blank for a second. Oh my god, does he recognise me? Shit, Zeke you weren't the nicest Templar, you probably stabbed one of his friends for a personal gain, think you dumb ass.
"Only in your dreams, if that's what you're asking~" I give the man duel finger guns as well as a wink, trying my best to suppress the encroaching anxiousness in my chest. I hear Gerome burst out with laughter, and I can see out Edward drive his hand into his face, repeatedly. Roderick only looks, extremely confused at my choice of words, but he shrugs and lets go of me, his face dropping to a more casual one.
"Er, my bad. You just look similar to another Basitin I met, same height and everything too, you just look that little different, sorry to bother ya." And with that, he waves me off and turns away, moving towards his horse. I stand there, the gears in my head turning, can I try to get some info outta him?
"Hey, I might've met him before, what's he look like?" I question to the man, he seems surprised as he turns around, a finger wrapping around his goatee.
"A lot like you, actually, not that many of you look too different to begin with, you're a little bit bulkier than him, different eye colours too, but that's about it. I really gotta go though, Templars are a pain in the ass." He makes his way to his horse and hoists himself on top of it, and with a whip of the reins, he darts off down a dirt path. I hum to myself, scratching at my cheek in thought. Maybe he didn't know me, then? I guess he might've seen a similar Basitin instead, it's a low chance and extremely coincidental, but still possible.
"Zeke? Everything okay? You ready to go?" Edwards voice jolts me from my thoughts, turning to him and giving him a nod.
"Yeah, sorry about that. Lets get going."
The next while is spent in silence, marching to an invisible beat towards Wreathwood, the sun setting further and further, and soon enough the shadows surrounded us, I really should spend some time paying attention to our surroundings, but my mind's too preoccupied with our little run in with Roderick. It was.. certainly an experience meeting him, he definitely seemed strong enough to be a powerful Templar, at least physically, and he would have some magical aptitude, but he came off as surprisingly lax given how he first came off. He mentioned a brother, too, Eric I think? I wonder how it'd be to be a relative of a Templar, would you get benefits by affiliation with them? So many questions, so little answers, and most of those questions are small time questions too.
"We'll stop here for the night, same shift as before, if you're fine with it Zeke. I'll still be awake for a while, but you two should get some sleep as soon as possible." Edward has his little commander voice turned on, gesturing towards the merchants towards the end. Neither really say anything in response, only stopping at the side of the road, at least where a good amount of free space is. Vectors immediately onto feeding and tending to the horses, while Gerome does.. whatever he does, he hasn't really spoken or reacted much since the meeting with Roderick. I give Edward a small nod as my own reply to him, already throwing my bag down and rummaging through the thing. My hand brushes over that journal for a second before grapping at a ration, pulling it out and tearing into it. Beef jerky tastes awful, but at least it's something.
"Sho, what're we doing for the night Eddy?" I ask him, looking up and munching down the dry meat stick. He looks around the woods, his eyes squinting and peering at the upper treeline specifically.
"Have you heard anything else?" He asks in a low whisper, I can barely hear it even with my ears,. I guess he wants to keep it a secret from Gerome and Vector, maybe to not worry them? I shrug and gulp down the final remains of the stick, standing up and dusting my leather gloves off.
"Nupe, not that I've heard of, might've just been the lone one looking over us. Or a scout, either way, we should be rather careful tonight just in case. Should we set up a campfire or something to stay warm? It's been rather chilly the past few nights." I offer the idea as I turn towards the wagons, jogging up and tossing my bag into the back of one, I think it's Geromes? Not sure, I also probably should've done that ages ago, but if Edward can lug around himself in plate armour then I can do the same with a tiny bag.
"If you think it reasonable to, though it might bring more attention to us. If you want to go around and grab the wood anyways, ask someone for an axe so you don't dull your own blade for it." I hear him walk past, giving me a pat on the back for comfort before waltzing off, following a mentally planned path of.. patrolling I think? He throws his helmet atop his head as he does so, though I can imagine his eyes darting up towards the canopy. I shrug and walk off myself, I'll get some sticks and stones to start a fire I suppose.
I hum to myself, sitting cross legged in front of the small stone pit, the sticks laying on top of each other in a criss crossed fashion. It took a while, but I got the sticks, and the stones, but I've kind of stumped myself. How, how do I actually light this on fire?
"I feel like you've missed a vital part of actually starting up a fire." I hear Edward snicker behind me, I can imagine the bastards smug grin. I don't give the man the privilege of seeing my pouting mug, though he does roar of laughter as I flip him off. I huff and lean into my spare hand, gazing into the not-on-fire pit. I snap my fingers at the thing, again and again.
"Bam, crack, sizzle, go on fire, combust you damned bundle of sticks." I grumble, none of my attempts to magically light the thing on fire manages to do anything.
"What are you trying to do?" He asks from behind me, I can hear him walking, and I can feel him plant his ass next to me.
"I'm trying to magic it on fire, obviously, my magical capabilities are somewhat lacking, defeated by the law of nature, and Basitin law too I guess." I huff dramatically, laying my hands in my lap. Edward laughs lightly next to me, he leans over towards the bundle of sticks, fiddling with something between his hands. I tilt my head, I can't exactly see anything from this angle, but I can hear clacking, what's he doing? Suddenly, the swell of warmth fills the area, fighting against the oncoming cold of the night, a bright blaze appearing in front of us. I look towards Edward as he sits back down, a smug grin on his face as he turns to look at me in return, the silence is almost awkward as I continue to glare at the man.
"..How long were you able to do that?"
"I always keep some flint and steel on myself when I'm on guard duty, don't you?"
"God I hate you, I hope you get burnt next time." His snickering turns into full blown laughs, sticking out my tongue to him, but I do return my attention to and enjoy the warmth of the fire. The light and the sounds of Edward and the fire doesn't mask the noise behind us, turning around to see Gerome approaching us, his grin seems to have returned to his face, and Vector follows closely behind the man,
"Oy, that is some good warmth! Am used to cold from north, but some fire does no harm, da?" He even sounds like he's returned to normal, too, a cheery expression and tone coming from the man as he and his partner sits opposite to us. Vector doesn't add anything to the conversation, but he does raise his hand towards the fire, and a small smile does appear on his face, it's about as much as I expected from the man. Idle chit chat fills the next while to pass the time, in between the silence and general enjoyment of the warmth of course, granted the fire will die off soon enough, I'm not throwing any more wood inside of it after all, but it's a good comfort for now. It's jarring to see Gerome so loud again, though, maybe he was equally worried about the Templar prying and finding out his dirty secrets, at least he knows his. Given that he ah, dabbles in less than legal things, I guess that's understandable. Wait, didn't he steal something from the Templars in one case? Some blue glowing rock? Yeah, that'd probably be it, he's a rather easy distinguishable man after all, so that wouldn't help.
The fire dies down, the smouldering of the sticks in the pit can't really sustain it for much longer, Gerome and Vector left to rest a while ago, Edward and I has just been sitting around and wasting time, not speaking of anything specific, but just enjoying each others company. It's odd being around the man, for someone that hates non-humans he's awfully accepting of myself. Not that I'm complaining, he's pleasant to be around when he's not a pain in the ass.
"Hey Zeke, do you wanna sleep first? I can always take first watch." Edward offers, speak of the devil and he shall appear. I hum to myself, thinking it over. Why would he even be offering it? Maybe he prefers first watch?
"If you want to, no stress to me either way. Why the offer though Eddy boy?" I counter reply to the man, giving him a sly grin as I rest my head on a hand.
"An offers an offer, Fuzz, there's nothing wrong with that is there?" He rolls his eyes and stands up, I can't imagine it's comfortable to sit in plate armour, and I can hear his spine cracking as he stretches. I shrug and stand up myself.
"I suppose not, just seems odd is all. But hey, I'll take it. I'll see you in the morning then Edward." I reach out with a hand, shaking it in front of him slightly as I raise an eyebrow. He raises his hand and places it in mine, jokes on him though, I yank him closer to myself and wrap my other arm around him, a brotherly friendly kind of hug as I pat at his back with some friendly force behind it. He seems merely accepting of his face, rolling his eyes again as I pull away from him. I start to turn, but my ears twitch, and I look towards the woods behind Edward. A sense of deep seated wrongness sits in my chest, I squint my eyes as I look deeper into the darkened woods, such a night is a natural masking after all, and I can't deny the feeling in my chest.
"Edward, I think there's someone arou-" I cut my sentence short as my pulse rises towards the end of it, a small 'thwip' rackets through my ears and skull as I twist around sharply, an arm raised in reaction. I see a thin brown blur fly through the air towards me, I feel the blood in my veins race faster and faster, everything seems so slow. I feel the tip of it glide across the side of my gloves, but I snatch at its shaft, stopping the thing dead in its tracks. My breathe is heavy as I hold the thing in front of me, raising it upwards to my eye. It's a thin but sturdy looking stick, and at the end of it is an iron tip in the shape of a spearhead, of which is dripping with some sort of thick oozing liquid. This is an arrow, and arrow that was shot at me. I drop the thing to the floor, looking behind myself as I draw my sword, Edwards already responded to the potential threat, his sword raised in front of him and pushing me behind, using his body as a shield. I face myself towards the woods as well, sword drawn and held in front of myself, I'll use the blade as a shield this time around, I stopped it once and I'll stop it again. I hear another 'thwip' through the air, as well as the sound of a metal dink, another arrow fired, only to bounce off of Edwards chest piece.
A low growl fills the air, and the blur of a figure dropping in front of us puts me on edge, I hold my sword tighter and closer to my chest. He stands to his full height, a wolf keidran with a feral snarl on his face, his deep brown fur is short and course, wearing little other than a loincloth, his eyes are filled with a cruel and fierce rage. He opens his maw, barking out something that I can't really understand, but his tone seems to be frustrated and enraged, fits the rest of his look truthfully, a finger pointed towards us in an accusative manner. The quiver on his back has little arrows left, and he doesn't seem to wish to nock another arrow onto his bow.
"Listen here you mutt, if you back off, I'll make sure I won't tear you apart." Edward growls back to the wolf, he doesn't seem to hold back the seething hatred in his voice, and the sword tip pointed towards the mans chest really drives the point home, even if the keidran can't' understand him. The wolf continues to bark aggressively at us both, his hands clenching in frustration and anger.
"Hey! We don't mean trouble, we'll be on our way in the morning, do you understand us? We don't mean any harm, I promise!" I call out to the man, I try to keep a level and cool voice, attempting to sound like a mediator of sorts. Although my pulse is still racing at the attack, I try to calm and soothe myself down to relax a light bit. As I say my bit, there's little other motions, the heaving and ragged breathing of Edward being the loudest noise, and the trembling in the tip of his sword is noticeable, but the wolf makes no other movements or sounds either, he continues to glare at the both of us. The air is tense and stagnant, the wolf doesn't want to back down, and Edward sure as hell isn't.
"Edward, let's not do anything too hasty, we don't know everything, and we should try to do no harm to him." I whisper to him, and the sudden twist of his head surprises me, I didn't expect him to be able to hear me to be frank, I did expect the confused and shocked expression though.
"Do no ha- Zeke he shot you, what do you mean do no harm?" He borderline screams back at me, before returning his attention towards the Keidran. The wolfs glare has at least lowered in intensity, though he still seems furious. I have an idea, a crazy stupid idea, but an idea nonetheless. I sheathe my sword and nudge my way past Edward, raising a finger to my lips to shush his inevitable scorn, and continue to make my way towards the wolf. I keep my hands raised as I approach him, and while he does take a step backwards, he doesn't move any further. I continue to walk slowly towards him, stopping a few feet away with my hands still raised to my chest, he still doesn't pull out another arrow, and his glare turns from detest to distrust, but it's an improvement. I give the man a reassuring smile, and a small bow, surely they'd understand that right? Given by his more relaxed posture, I'd say it was at least a small success. I smile wider and turn to face Edward, giving him a thumbs up, he seems beyond bewildered, which only makes me chuckle that tiny bit.
"See? You should trust me with this a bit more, I'm a great people person, and I get that you aren't but come on Eddy boy!" I rag at the man with a further increasing grin, and while he does still seem overly concerned, he does lower the tip of his blade. He doesn't sheathe it, but its progress! I turn to face the wolf, giving a polite smile to him.
"Now, to say it again, I am sorry about all that, we'll be on our way soon, we're just resting for the night. Surely you understand that right, mister..?" I trail myself off on a question, though the wolf continues to look at me with emotionless eyes. I deflate slightly, I guess he doesn't really understand human, but at least he gets what I'm saying in a non verbal way, right?
"Right, I guess you really don't speak human, but we truly mean no harm here! My friend's just a little jittery is all." He's still silent even as I prattle on to him, he doesn't even say anything in his natural tongue. It's quite awkward in all honesty, and I feel my cheeks flare up slightly, am I making a fool of myself?
"Zeke, just get back here, I don't like you near it." Edward scolds from afar, turning my head to wave him off. I see his continued annoyed frown, and I give a smirk to the man. I open my mouth to tease the man again, but I feel myself freeze once more. Another 'thwip' flies through the air, and I feel a firey pain flare up from my leg. I hold back a muffled grunt of pain as I fall to a knee, it came from the sides, and I can see there's an arrow identical to the one I pulled out of the air lodged into my leg. I grunt and grit my teeth, god that's fucking painful, I don't think I should yank it out. I hear Edward let out a distraught yell, and I look up to the keidran in front of me.
A notched arrow is the only face I can see, I feel my eyesight zone in on the tip of the thing, the same liquid oozing and slowly dripping off of the tip and onto the dirt beneath us, the visage of the man behind it is blurred. My hearts pounding in my chest and skull.
Oh dear god, please don't let me meet Death again so soon
Authors note: I'm surprised I've managed to push this chapter out so soon after the last, I've been feeling oddly energetic about this story for whatever reason, and I won't waste it. I do apologise if there's a small decrease in quality though, haste could leave some mistakes left after all.
The Emerald Lady
Gender: Female
Age: ?
Class: ?
Species: Human
Language: Human
Personality: An odd figure from Zekes past, they seemed to be close, but those who know of her are wary of her reach. Her beauty is only matched by her ruthlessness, especially to those who harm her favourites.
21/04/2020 EDIT: On a side note thats only just came to mind, while writing chapter 15, Ive noticed that Ive changed the way how I write a fair bit, does anyone have an issue with that? Sudden shifts in how someone writes can be jarring to some is all