Odyssey of Shadows

VII - It Wasn't a Dream

The group of five had traveled in silence most of the day, each pondering their own dark thoughts. Lorthrendel had been trying to make sense of that strange, overpowering feeling that he had felt back in Iksyn that had told him to go with Isendir, Ragnus, Aerysdren and Varenyl. The fae had never experienced anything like that in his life, and it unnerved him quite a lot. Lorthrendel wasn't one to be made nervous either. He wasn't lying when he told Varenyl that he had once dabbled in necromancy. He had seen quite a few dark and grotesque things in his life, sometimes even putting his soul on the line, but he had never once been nervous. Suffice to say, the mage wasn't quite trusting of whatever was going on. He was determined to get to the bottom of it, too.

The day had been beautiful. Clear blue sky, gentle early spring wind, peaceful and uneventful walk. The tranquility of it masked the tragedy that had occurred just that morning. It was all very misleading, and made Varenyl, who was beginning to feel less like himself with each passing hour, keep his gaze fixated on the sky nearly the entire time.

When they had stopped to rest for a few minutes, Ragnus had pulled Isendir out of earshot of the others. Though the rest of the party couldn't hear what they were saying, it was obvious they had been having a heated argument. That fact had made a small smile touch Lorthrendel's lips. Aerysdren had taken that time to try and clean some of his wounds out with water from a nearby creek, but as Varenyl had pointed out, many of them were going to need ointment and further medicinal care. As a Sylvari soldier, Varenyl knew how to care for a wide range of injuries, but he hadn't brought any supplies with him to do such things. He had left too abruptly, and he was certain that the refugees he had left behind did not have any with them either.

The party now sat around a magically lit fire, a few ways off from the road. Shadows of the night lurked between the trees, playing tricks on their eyes. In the distance, the hooting of an owl could be heard.

Rosepoint was only a day's walk from Iksyn, but due to a late start, they had been forced to make camp for the night. All but one seemed to be enjoying the heat of the fire. Varenyl kept his back turned to the flames, but none of the others knew why. He kept his gaze on the darkness of the trees that surrounded them.

Lorthrendel's brows furrowed as he struggled to visualize and remember the difficult and intricate runes that his spellbook showed him. He was beginning to get frustrated. Very frustrated.

One of the limitations that Thynryx cursed his mages with was that once a spell was cast, the knowledge of how to cast it was gone from the caster's memory. The mage had to relearn the spell's corresponding rune each and every time that spell was cast. And Lorthrendel was getting tired of having to do that.

Finally having enough, the fae closed his book with a snap and put it away. He groaned. It was too dark to try and read anyway, and he didn't want to waste a light spell for that moment. He had already been forced to use his magic to create a fire, since it was against Aerysdren's cultural beliefs to cut trees and burn their wood for fuel. No twigs or branches could be found on the forest floor either. 

Lorthrendel looked over at the Sylvanaar. Aerysdren sat on a rock close to the fire, almost absently flipping a knife into the air and deftly catching it by its hilt each time. Eventually he stopped and laid his blade down beside him. He ran his hand through his short black hair, trying his best to make it look decent.

"You have the fingers of one who knows how to use them quite well, Aerysdren," Lorthrendel commented with a sly smile. "You wouldn't by chance happen to be an illusionist?"

Aerysdren jumped at the sound of his name. He looked over at Lorthrendel before glancing back down at his hands. His slender fingers were scarred from many years of working and living in the forest. "I um...might know a few tricks or so," he murmured. He looked back up, his eyes wide. "Why?"