Weaver's Curse

Chapter 21- The Shrine of Grendaal

Sedine had just finished her meeting with Cadence, in which she'd been told that Darren had arrived back in Zircon a day and a half ago, and that Salazar and the other two had been stopping and searching caravans, when her friends dashed into the little clearing where she'd been sleeping.

"Fayen. Here." Indeara panted.

Sedine's hands went cold.

"He recognized me." Indeara continued. "I deflected as best I could, but..."

"Were you followed?" Sedine asked quietly.

"We don't think so." Vassa said.

"Are both of you alright to keep walking?" Sedine asked.

They both nodded vigorously.

"Alright." Sedine said. "We'll stick to our original course for now. When I feel comfortable enough to make a light without being seen, we'll look at the map and plot a different course."

Shit. The last thing I need is those bastards following us into the peaks...

They nodded again, and Sedine hefted her pack onto her shoulders.

"We'll keep off the roads. Just in case." Sedine decided.

"Wasn't that what we were already doing?" Pinky asked.

"Yes. We're going to do it with twice as much effort now." Sedine said.

They walked in silence for hours, until the moon was high in the sky.

Sedine had finally calmed enough to speak.

"I showed my friend the drawing." Sedine said. "She didn't recognize it off the top of her head, but she's looking for similar ones."

"Thanks." Indeara said.

"She did say that the architecture didn't look like anything used in Zircon in the time-periods she'd studied." Sedine said.

"So it must not be in Zircon?" Vassa asked.

"Selah." Indeara said. "Probably. You said the letter ko originated from there, so the tower likely does too."

Sedine made a small noise of agreement.

"What if the tower doesn't exist anymore?" Vassa said, voice small.

"Then that will be inconvenient." Indeara said.

Sedine couldn't quite focus on the conversation, due to her worries about the four men.

They tried to murder me once. Will they do it again?

That's irrational. They need you to cure the duke. They can't kill you.

Unless Darren decides that he'd rather take the position early.

That was unlikely. Darren wasn't as ambitious as Salazar, and to his credit, he did know that he wasn't ready to run the duchy.

But still. What would happen to Sedine after she'd cured her father?

The most obvious answer she could think of was that Salazar would find a way to dispose of her. She knew his secret, and stupidly, she'd revealed that fact to both him and the duke. Hell, her own father might even condone Salazar's actions.

She couldn't be caught.

Her hand went to her pocket to check that the amulet Cadence had gifted her was still there.

In a pinch, it could completely change her appearance; height, skin tone, hair color, everything. The only catch was that it needed time to recharge after each use.