HT: Chapter 9

With the morning's sun rose the group of assassins that had come from the fire and flames of Carius just the night before. Heavyhearted, Farah rose first to wake the rest of her comrades out of their deep slumber. Without much discussion, they gathered their supplies from the market and were on the road again within only a few hours.

They continued west, traveling straight through small villages until those villages became towns and the bare grassland became full of trees and wildlife again. This sight was much appreciated, as they had almost forgotten that they would be returning to such a beautiful sight; hills rollings in the distance, flourishing greenery, a cobblestone path on which they passed other travelers who greeted them with big smiles.

However pleasant and relieving the scenery was, though, neither Aneurin nor Farah could shake Sadia from their minds. Not only was Sadia a great assassin, as had been said the previous night, but she was also their friend and someone with whom they had established many memories during their early days as an official team with Gideon by their side. They had built a school, which had been burned down beyond recognition. They had built homes for the homeless, which became nothing more than piles of ash. And all this in a blink of an eye. Farah knew it was going to fall onto her to tell her brother of Sadia's passing. Surely he would be angry at her for not taking her body back with her, but she would try and reason with him that her body had been burned almost beyond recognition, and besides it would have been dangerous to try and pry her away from the rubble and carry her whilst fighting past Ray'as. Farah would surely try in a few days to retrieve her body. Gideon would understand.

By night, the group had found themselves in the town of Thuur yet again. They stayed in the same family owned inn, and by morning they were gone without a whisper. By nighttime, they came upon a familiar site; the walls of Armastus.

“Thank goodness.” Farah sighed, as if releasing a great stress. It did not matter that she was tired of being on a horse. What mattered was that she could finally rest her uneasy head.

“Don't be thankful just yet.” Aneurin chimed in, coming over a hill behind her. “We still have to talk to Father Arin. And after that, we have to tell Gideon.”

“I know...” Farah frowned, the stress back again. “I was trying not to think about it.”

“Well unfortunately you can't forget about it just yet.” Aneurin and Farah approached the stable, and they dismounted side by side. Rune and Tempest came in behind them, silent now after arguing all morning in Sulvikian. They dismounted quietly. Aneurin, who had been the one to put them in their places, cast them an angry glare.

“Let's just get this over with.” Farah, her feet now planted on the ground, removed her bags and flung them over her shoulder. The rest of the group followed behind, through the city's gates.

“Why do I feel as though I am still heavily burdened?” Tempest gazed at the city's buildings as he walked the streets. “Aneurin and Farah feel as though they are at home, but even though we've returned I am still not home.”

“Well this is your home now,”  Rune growled. “So you better get used to it.”

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"Was your journey successful?" Father Arin starred the group down with his hard eyes. He had brought the group into his personal office adjacent to the hall of Father's Keep. He sat behind his desk, wearing the long purple robes that marked him as not just the leader of the Assassin's League but of also all of Armastus. The powerful man straightened himself and folded his hands in front of his face, resting his elbows on the maple surface of his desk.

"Father," Aneurin offered a slight bow of his head, "we have no other way to explain this but I'm just going to come right out and say it. The intel Sadia had gathered was wrong." Father Arin's eyes widened in fear. "By the time we got there, the Ray'as had set the entire village on fire."

"No! And what of Sadia?" Father Arin stood, slamming his hands on his desk.

"In Eternity." Farah closed her eyes and lowered her head. Aneurin followed suit.

"By the Gods." Father Arin closed his eyes and bowed. This gesture was a sign of respect for a fallen comrade, and it was mandatory that they all, including one such as powerful as Father Arin, honor Sadia thus. Even Rune, who knew it to be standard procedure, followed suit. Tempest observed their behavior and thought it strange; he did not understand, and figured Rune would have to explain to him later.

The moment passed, Father Arin slammed a fist on the desk. This grabbed the groups attention, and they raised their heads.

"What did you see?" Father Arin sat back down and crossed his arms across his chest.

"We all ran into Ray'as there. They had greatswords that could cut through marble,” Farah sighed, recounting what Rune had told her of his and Tempest’s encounter, “and a paralyzing scream.”

“What do you mean by that?” Father Arin stared her down, bothered by this. Aneurin took over at this point, having been the one to experience it for himself. He described the events in the best detail he possibly could. Father Arin waited patiently for Aneurin to finish his explanation. When Aneurin had finished speaking, Father Arin said nothing.

At this point, the group was quiet for quite some time. Aneurin and Farah didn’t know what to say, Rune and Tempest both felt as though they were just in the background, and Father Arin was taking in all this information. But then, Farah realized that Father Arin was missing a vital piece of information.

“Father...” Farah’s voice was quiet, “Rune said that he and Tempest had overheard two Ray’as having a conversation. And they had said some pretty disturbing things.”

“What did they say?” There was a fire in Father Arin’s voice. He had already begun to think of the possible reasons for the Ray’as starting their assault on the small village early on.How Sadia, one of his best agents, could have gotten the wrong information. It was like the Ray’as  knew she was there and wanted her to have the wrong information, so the Ray’as could one-up the Assassin’s League. But what was their purpose in burning the whole village down to the ground, killing Sadia in the process?

Rune recognized his cue to talk. “They were speaking a dialect of Sulvikian that Tempest and I were both just lucky to have recognized. The Ray’as mentioned the fact that Sadia was dead, meaning they knew she was there all along. And then they mentioned ‘a black-haired boy and the woman who follows’ and how they had dragged them out.” At this, Father Arin stood again.

“Everyone except for Tempest leave.” Father Arin’s voice was grave. Everyone hesitated. “Now!” He demanded, and they left with a quickness.

With Aneurin, Farah, and Rune gone Father Arin stared Tempest down.

“What else did they say.” Father Arin demanded, not asked.

“It’s not doubt that they were talking about Aneurin and Farah. They said that now they know how easily drawn out Farah and Aneurin are.” Tempest sighed. “I would like to point out that I believe that the whole purpose of destroying the village and killing the girl Sadia was to draw Aneurin and Farah out. And these new weapons and powers of theirs proves to me that this entire time they were silent that they’ve been building and probably plotting as well.”

“It is just as I feared.” Father Arin closed his eyes. “I don’t expect the Ray'as to be quiet for much longer. They are surely plotting something much bigger. And after these recent events, it seems it's Aneurin and Farah's time." Father Arin closed his eyes. "I can't keep them safe for long."

There was a pause then. Tempest did not know what to say, and Father Arin was surely too wrapped up in his own thoughts. From outside, Tempest could hear birds singing in the crisp, clean air and he could hear the peaceful rustle of leaves as trees swayed gently in the breeze. He found himself enjoying this noise. In the desert, there was only wind, sand, and sun. Although Tempest had live in a rather fruitful city that was situated at the hub of two rivers meeting, his home city of Cur was not nearly as alive as this city. The air here smelled clean, and the sun was refreshing rather than harmful. The sounds of Euphasia's nature was like an orcestra of sights and sounds. Although Tempest loved his home and missed the sand, this new experience was starting to be a pleasant one. Euphasia, it seemed, was growing on him.

"What would you have me do?" Tempest broke the silence,

"For one, I need you to learn Euphasian." Father Arin, who had regained composure, folded his hands on top of the desk.

"What? Why must I learn Euphasian?" Tempest was angered by the suggestion. "Why can't they learn Sulvikian?"

"Do not question me!" Father Arin yelled, catching Tempest off guard. Tempest realized then, because of this random outburst of anger, that Father Arin hadn't regained composure at all but rather had lost control. Father Ramnill's words rang in Tempest's head. 'Show him the same respect you would show me....'

"...Fine." Tempest, feeling defeated, looked away.

"Be in the library tomorrow at noon. I will have a scholar ready to teach already there. All you have to do is show up." Father Arin was not looking at him, Tempest noticed his eyes were closed, and his voice stung like venom.

"I don't see what this has to do with-"

"Do as you're told!" Father Arin snapped his head up and met eyes with the desert nobleman. Tempest could feel Father Arin's grey orbs penetrating his skull as if he were reading his thoughts. Father Arin's eyes were so intense that Tempest understood, at that moment as they starred each other down, that the current situation was driving Father Arin mad. He obviously did not expect the Ray'as to attack so suddenly, nor had he anticipated them being so many steps ahead.

"Now leave." Father Arin demanded. Tempest said nothing and exited the room, slamming the doors behind him.