Traveling with an injured ankle was no fun, even if she had a mount to make the trip easier, Enya was very sure she would never be able to make it to the lodge and catch Soren and Claudia on time. And considering that they had tracking dogs, the last thing she wanted was to have those catch wind of Zira and alert the two humans of her presence.
So far she managed to stay well behind them as they finally reached a large wood lodge structure, but stayed deep within the edge of the woods where she could watch them. From her hiding spot, she watched as they set the dogs off, only for them to stop at a large river and not even proceed to go any further. Perhaps these children and the Moonshadow elf managed to go somewhere via river?
They probably had to stop somewhere on land, and maybe travel somewhere on foot. The assassin thought as she watched the siblings dismount their horses. If they did, maybe I can track down these kids myself and ask that assassin to help me out in taking these two down and figure out a more detailed plan to kill Viren. Problem solved. But first, I need to get ahold of that shirt Soren was using.
She had seen the teen tuck it into his belt, but he had to put it back in his saddlebags at some point, right? If her foot wasn't hurt, she would have snuck up on Soren and snatched the shirt from his belt without him or his sister noticing and booked it back to Zira. Sadly she had to wait, and that was going to take forever!
"You don't mind taking a nap with me, do you?" Enya ask Zira, who was chewing on a nearby fallen branch. The Moonstrider stopped her chewing to give a whine and went back to her task. Enya huffs before grabbing her pack and laying her head on it to act as a pillow. A nap wouldn't hurt, she was tired anyways. "Wake me up if they do anything interesting."
---
Enya wasn't sure how much time had passed, but when Zira woke her up trying to chew on her hair, the sun was already higher in the sky and both horses were gone. She cursed herself for not being more alert and wondered if the two went back to Katolis. No, there was no way they would go back empty handed so early, they had to have moved on. The assassin had her mount sniff out her targets trail, which soon led her to an area where the horses were grazing. Soren and Claudia were nowhere in sight, so Enya took the chance to approach the pale white steed she had only seen once and check the saddles.
Thankfully, the shirt was tucked away in there and by the ancients did it stink to high heavens. Did Callum ever wash this thing? Disgusted, Enya and Zira went back to the lodge to follow the river. If the trail stopped at the river, it was only logical that the princes and assassin may have taken a boat to keep their scent off the ground. Seemed logical enough.
The two continued to follow the river trail until it came to a stop at a large waterfall that dropped into a vast lake, but the smell was quite unbearable. Floating in the water were numerous fish and one very large water serpent that was rotting and had drifted to the shore. Enya was very sure she wasn't going to be able to smell for a month after getting the whiff of a rotting animal that size from her nose.
Ancients help me, that smells worse than the shirt. The assassin gags as Zira runs past the carcass. Oh moon gods spare me...finding those boys on this path better be worth it.
It didn't take long for Zira to finally get the scent of the older prince and follow it to a large snow covered town. Enya of course had to put her necklace on to disguise herself immediately, and lucky for her she had a necklace for Zira too that gave her the appearance of a medium sized black and white dog with long fur. Of course she had to tie a rope to her neck to keep the Moonstrider from trying to sniff everything and jump on everyone while she asked questions. Some villagers did tell her they spotted two boys with a funny looking frog animal, and they were traveling with a young girl who was draped in a cloak and acted off. Others told her the girl was a pale haired elf that had run off with the two boys and made a run for the Cursed Caldera, never to be seen again. Sounded like a Moonshadow elf alight, but who was it?
"I advise against going there now, it's quite dangerous with the monsters running about at night." An older man told Enya as he was giving Zira a piece of dried bacon. "Those poor boys, they're probably monster food by now. I don't get why they were running around with an elf, the villagers probably wouldn't have even touched them if they stayed."
"How old was this elf anyways?" Enya asks, her curiosity now piqued.
"About...as old as the taller boy, a teenager if I am right. Or a short adult, those exist, but she sounded too young to be an adult so I'm going with her being a teen."
A teen female assassin, there weren't that many in the village who would be skilled enough for Runaan to have sent off on such a high ranking mission. Rayla was a pretty good fighter, but she was too young to be sent out on this sort of mission and very inexperienced in killing. Maybe it was Fleur or someone else? Well whoever it was, she would need their help once she caught up to them and the princes - assuming they were all still alive by the time she found them.
After thanking the man for his help and the snack, Enya and Zira made their way towards the "haunted" Caldera. They managed to cross a good amount of the land until it had gotten dark, but so far no monsters had popped out anywhere. It seemed odd that the humans thought this place was haunted, perhaps because of the noise the wind made blowing through the trees and the way the shadows looked eerie.
"Hey if any monsters come around, are you gonna run or will you try biting it?" Enya asks Zira as they walk, the Moonstrider taking care to not lose her footing as they were navigating their way through the trees. Zira makes a chuffing sound that sounded like a scoff before stopping and lets out a low growl. "O-oi what's gotten into you girl?"
She had never seen her mount get like this before, save for that time they came across a Moonstrider with a bad case of rabies that was running around loose in the forest. Were they in danger? Now alert, Enya quietly pulled her knife from its sheath and gripped it tightly before nuding Zira to keep walking, her free hand gripping the reins tightly. Gods help her if there was something dangerous on the mountain -
Zira gave a loud bay as something large and glowing dropped down from the trees and let out an ear-splitting screech. Enya nearly fell out of the saddle as Zira reared up, barking and snarling at the creature as it screeched and roared back. It took her a moment to realize it was some sort of giant spider with a creepy glowing face on its rear, nothing that she had ever seen before in Xadia. Did the human territories have creepy giant spiders? Maybe these were the beasts and monsters the villagers feared, and if so, perhaps there was a reason it was here.
"Easy girl, easy!" Enya yells as she gripped the reins tightly as Zira growled and snarled, but dared not to get close to the spider. "Heel Zira!"
The Moonstrider snorts as she stops her thrashing, but kept letting out low growls as she eyed the creature warily. Enya carefully hops off and slowly walks up to the spider, which didn't even do anything. Curious, she lifted her hand up to touch it, only for her hand to go right through it. It was a fake!
"Well, it seems I found the illusionist dad told me about." She says to herself when she pulls her hand back from the spider. "Guess I found another good ally here in Xadia, and I suppose a visit is due."
It took her a while to pull Zira away from the illusion, that kept turning to watch them before it was out of view, and she finally calmed down enough for Enya to climb back on and keep riding. It wasn't until the barren trees started to start looking more healthy, grass was seen poking out of the ground and a small statue of an elf covered in moss was spotted that Enya thought they were within range of where the illusionist was living. And once further up the mountain she spotted what looked like small living quarters and various arches that she was sure she was in the right place.
Huh, who would've thought there was so much elf architecture in this area of the human kingdoms alone, and a lot of it looks like it's been here for more than a century. The assassin thinks as she dismounts and grabs the reins to lead her mount down a worn path. If that illusion is still running around the mountains, that means the one who cast it is still here, So where is the -
"Can I help you?" Enya yelped in alarm and spun around to see an older woman, a Moonshadow elf to be exact, standing behind her, giving her a curious look. "Are you lost?"
"Uh...no, I'm looking for some kids, specifically two human boys and an elf? Someone saw them run up towards this mountain." The assassin responds. "You...you wouldn't happen to be the illusionist who made that creepy spider in the woods, would you?"
The older elf beams in pride. "Oh yes! So how was it? Realistic enough until you touched it?"
"Umm....yeah. So, about those kids I asked about?"
"Oh you mean the two human boys and their elf friend? Yes they are here, along with a little human girl, her pet wolf, a glow toad and a baby dragon. Such a sweet group they are, but they have been making a mess of this sacred site, but it's nice to have company - especially 6he company of elves. What village are you from?"
"Silvergrove?"
"Oh! That's where the young elf is from too, Rayla that's her name!" Enya felt like her heart leapt into her throat. Rayla, the elf who was like her baby sister, was here? She was the assassin seen getting away with the princes?! The older elf must have seen the panicked look on her face and gave her an assuring smile. "Oh don't worry, she's fine! The silver assassin ribbon she was wearing was removed so she's fine, as for the princes they are fine as well. Do you want to see them?"
"M-maybe in the morning, it's late and they need their sleep." Enya said quickly. "If there's a place for me to stay."
"Of course! You can stay in that one near the kids, I'm sure Rayla would be happy to see you."
"Yeah, I sure hope so."