Chapter Twenty-Eight
The Unmarked, Book One
Table of Contents:
[Prologue] [Ch.1] [Ch.2] [Ch.3] [Ch.4] [Ch.5] [Ch.6] [Ch.7] [Ch.8] [Ch.9] [Ch.10] [Ch.11] [Ch.12] [Ch.13] [Ch.14] [Ch.15] [Ch.16] [Ch.17] [Ch.18] [Ch.19] [Ch.20] [Ch. 21] [Ch.22] [Ch.23] [Ch.24] [Ch.25] [Ch.26] [Ch.27]
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River.
The crossing over the border into Torrem had gone smoothly. Their fabricated story had rolled off their tongues like a truth they were well acquainted with. The Guardians had suspected nothing. They had even suggested the name of a renowned Medic that resided in the city.
It was now evening, and River and Dawn sat at a table in an inn of small town called Crystalshore, which was only a few miles away from the border. Dawn and River had gotten a room for Scarlet and had left her there. They had managed to get her to eat some dried fruit, which was a small victory. Now she slept as Dawn and River waited for their own meals to arrive.
The inn was empty except for a group of men sitting together a few tables down, hovering over mugs of ale. This time, Dawn and River had decided to keep their ranking as Guardians a secret. Of course, in a small town like this, they were easily identifiable as strangers. But to the unworthy, they were nothing but travellers.
River watched Dawn as she sat silently, looking everywhere but at him. She did that a lot lately. River didnât know what to say. He didnât address the fact that he had heard her call out for Wolfe the other night by the creek, and he also didnât address the fact that she would stare at the poster of him when she thought River wasnât looking. He knew she had a poster of Wolfe Bloodwood because he had gone into her bag and looked at what it was: A Wanted sign. River sighed. What was Dawnâs strange obsession with him? Was she expecting to meet him again? He hadnât pressed the matter as to why she had willingly travelled with him in the first place, for fear of upsetting her and driving her away. But despite his precautions, it seemed like he was losing her anyways. He tried to be patient with her. They had only been reunited for four days, and it had only been six and a half weeks since Dawn had been betrayed by her mentor and the Governor, and then left her home behind. And not to mention the severe stress she had to undergo because of her sisterâs illness. River had to remind himself that she needed time. She needed her space.
But that didnât seem to make the sickening jealousy in the pit of his stomach go away.
What if he had been the one to rescue her from the prison? He should have been. When she hadnât shown up for practice the night after the Festival, he should have looked harder for her. And he should have known that his father had something to do with it. River had always known that the Governor hated Dawn, and River had been naĂŻve to think that his father wouldnât one day find the opportunity to rid himself of her. He should have knownâŚ
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The clatter of dishes on the table snapped River out of his mental wanderings. The serving girl set down two mugs of ale and two bowls of stew in front of them, and a basket of bread loaves. Riverâs stomach growled. He was famished. For a moment he was so consumed with his food that he paid no attention to Dawn. Compared to back home, the food was nothing spectacular, but after nibbling on dried fruit and nuts for the past five days, the meal he was currently eating tasted excellent. Once he was remotely satisfied, he looked up to Dawn and noticed that she had not even touched her food. He was about to ask what was wrong, but instead he followed her intent gaze to the group of four men who sat by the fireplace. He let his attention wander to their conversation.
âEnough of your old wivesâ tales, Sprout!â A big scruffy man exclaimed, waving his hand dismissively, âyouâre going to get us into troubleâ he grumbled.
The man next to him shoved him in the shoulder. This one was skinny to the bone and had a long, grey beard that touched the table. âShut yaâ yapper, Rocko!â he exclaimed, âdo ya see any Guardians? We ainât gonna git into any trouble. Let the man tell his story!â His tone dropped. âAâm curious to hear âbout the immortalâŚâ
Rocko grabbed his mug of ale. âListen, all Iâm saying is that this is heresyâ he took a swig and slammed it on the table, âno oneâs immortal but Tariah. We should just mourn Farmer Cliffâs kid and move on, not make up stories about it.â
âBah!â grunted a fourth man and turned to Sprout, âWhatâd ya see, Sprouty?â They all leaned in together as if sharing a secret, but Sprout made no effort to lower his voice. He wanted everyone to hear what he had to say.
Clearing his throat, he began: âIt was late last night, almost midnight. I was sittinâ right here, by the fire. There was practically no one in the inn. Just myself, Pine, Flint, Farmer Cliff and his teenage kid. Poor kidâŚâ his voice trailed off for a moment and he shook his head. âAnywaysâ he said, regaining his excitement, âin comes this traveler. Heâs wearinâ a long, black cloak; hood coverinâ his face. Mysterious fellah.â
Sprout turned around and pointed to an empty table in a dark corner of the dining hall. âSo, he goes to sit right over there, in the shadows you know? Pine goes to get his order. She tries talkinâ him up, but heâs not up for it. I call her over to ask who the stranger is. Heâd told her heâs a traveler from Torrem on some personal business. But thatâs it. No name, nothinâ. So, half hour passes and the guyâs just sittinâ there, keeping to himself. At some point I see him carvinâ somethinâ into the table. Iâm really intrigued at this point. Iâm ready to go talk to this boy; find out little somethinâ about him. So, I get up, and as Iâm walkinâ past Farmer Cliffâs table, his kid grabs me by the shirt and pulls me down to the empty chair. âThatâs himâ he whispers into my ear. âThatâs the one theyâre lookinâ forâ. âHowâd you know?â I ask. âDid you see his face?â. But the kidâs just starinâ at the stranger, a hungry look in his eyes. âThereâs a hefty reward for whoever brings him inâ he whispers. âThis could be my chance to get us out of this dumpâŚto do somethinâ worthyâ. Now his dad starts to scold him about his wishful thinkinâ, but the kid ignores him. âIâm just gonna go talk to himâ he says, then starts gettingâ up. But as heâs walkinâ over, I see the kidâs pullinâ out a damn knife! Iâm about to call out for him, when the dumb ass lunges for the stranger and plunges the dagger right in the manâs gut! We all freeze. The stranger is staring at the boy but doesnât react. He stands up, and the kid just flops to the floor. Then the stranger pulls the knife out of himself, sets it on the table, and just walks out of the inn like nothinâ happened! Now, we all rush over to the kid, and heâs layinâ on the floor, grippinâ at his stomach, blood spewing everywhere. âDid he stab you!â weâre asking him, but the kid is wide eyed, shakinâ his head. Then, just like that, the last of his life leaks outta him, and heâs goneâ Sprout leaned back in his chair and stared into nothingness. âGone just like thatâ.
In response to his story, Rocko grunted. âYou have some balls desecrating the dead like that, Sprout! Honor the kidsâ life, donât go on lyinâ about it for attention. Youâre a real dick, you know that?â
âItâs all trueâ Sprout replied calmly, âask Pine, or Flint or even Farmer Cliff himself!â
âYouâd all better leave Cliff alone.â Rocko replied, crossing his arms in front of his chest.
âI believe it!â Long-beard exclaimed. âStrange things been happenin latelyâŚâ
âStrange things indeed. The other day,â the fourth man started, âI heard some travellinâ Guardians talkinâ about how the Woods are spreadinâ and â â
âEnough!â Rocko roared, âyou all keep talkinâ like this and itâll be your faces plastered on Wanted posters for being blasphemers and spewing heresies! I might be unworthy in this life, but it doesnât mean I want to be damned in the next!â. The big man tilted his head back to drink the remainder of his beer and then stood up. âIâm goinâ homeâ he said and walked away.
The rest of the men ignored Rockoâs outburst. âSo, what did the stranger carve into the table?â Long-beard asked.
âYou know what?â Sprout said, tilting his head to the side, âwith everythinâ that happened, I hadnât even bothered to checkâ.
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I pity River at this point. He threw away his career, basically his life for this girl and she is dreaming of another. Is it a spell of sorts that was placed on Dawn in that strange interaction with the sensual enchantress? Or are we girls just so easily swayed from one man to another? Given, Wolfe is a fascinating character. A really fun character to read about. He did save her life and rescued her many times.