Tales of Cadence/Chapter IV

Raven traveled through the plains with the party of elven hunters for the rest of the day, taking care of the monsters that had been invading the territory.

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Skylar said as the group began the long walk back to the small community.

“What is?” Raven asked, sounding more curious than hostile. He was in an unusually good mood after taking out his stress on the monsters they had found.

“While I was in Estershore, a lot of the humans were saying that they have had almost no monsters lately. But there are so many on our half of Austror.”

“Oh, yeah,” Raven remembered encountering almost no trouble during his short journey from Adair to Birchmoor, then onward to Estershore. “But there are more black magic cracks out here, right?”

“Yes, out in the mountains,” Skylar replied, looking southward towards the mountain range. “I suppose there aren’t too many on the human’s half.”

Raven fell silent; although the elves and humans held a somewhat strong alliance, there was still a faint bitterness on the elves’ behalf.

“So!” Skylar turned back to the road, smiling. “Why is Elsynne traveling with you? She doesn’t look like a girl from around here, and she obviously isn’t an elf.”

“I don’t think she’s human, either.”

“Oh?” The elf looked curious.

Raven sighed, quickly explaining his misgivings. “She doesn’t look human, and she can use light magic. Humans haven’t been able to use that type of magic in years.”

“Yes, but it may as well be a fluke.”

“It’s...plausible, I guess,” Raven said skeptically before continuing. “She won’t tell me a thing about herself besides her name. I don’t know why she decided to follow me, of all people.”

“Hmm...” Skylar crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, apparently deep in thought. “I’m interested in getting to know her better myself...”

“Good luck,” Raven muttered under his breath.

Elsynne was almost exactly where they left her, seated in a small clearing surrounded by the waving grass. She looked half-asleep and completely exhausted.

“Hey, Elsynne,” Raven said, nudging her shoulder. She blinked a few times and looked up, smiling sheepishly.

“I’m sorry.” She stood up and brushing dirt from her clothing. “I must have dozed off while you were gone.”

“It’s quite all right,” Skylar said cordially. “Rest as long as you need to. It’s too late for the two of you to leave, anyway. I’m sure you’ll be welcome to stay here the night.”

Elsynne looked at Raven imploringly, as if she already knew he would probably refuse.

“I don’t mind,” he said, much to her relief. “Just for tonight, though. Then I’ll have to collect my pay and return to the city for my next assignment.”

Skylar nodded. “Very well. The other elves in our hunting group showed you were you can stay the night, right? You can go to bed at any time you want, but for now,” he turned to Elsynne, suddenly serious. “Tell me what you know about the Scale.”

She instantly fell silent, her mouth becoming a tight line as she looked away. Raven tilted his head to the side. “Where did that come from?” he asked.

“You obviously know something, or else you wouldn’t be so quiet,” Skylar said, still focusing on Elsynne. She carefully avoided his gaze, keeping her eyes locked on the ground beneath their feet.

“Don’t push her, Skylar,” Raven interrupted, trying to keep his voice even and casual. “She isn’t going to tell you anything, no matter what you say.”

The elf didn’t look away from Elsynne as he spoke. “I’m curious now...you said you were going to Estershore tomorrow?”

Raven nodded. “I have to give Joseph some of the pay for this job. He gave me the assignment.”

“Yes, I’m aware of who Joseph is,” Skylar was still serious; his brow was furrowed with concentration. “Would it be all right if I traveled with the two of you for a while? Things around here have been fairly boring. And besides, the elders of the clan have been dying to get me out of here for ages. Perhaps traveling around Austror will keep them off my back for a while.”

“What?” Raven groaned, putting a hand to his head. “I’m a mercenary; I travel alone! I don’t need a whole party of people following me around!”

Skylar suddenly smiled, returning to his former self. “Then why not form a band of mercenaries?”

“Because I work alone,” Raven replied, carefully emphasizing each word. “Elsynne’s only with me because Joseph said he wanted me to keep an eye on her for a while because she wouldn’t leave me alone!”

“Careful, now,” Skylar said gently. He turned to Elsynne, who was still keeping away from them. “I’m sorry if I startled you earlier. Do you mind if I come with you?”

She looked up and cautiously nodded. “Y-Yes, I don’t mind.”

“What the hell?” Raven demanded, clenching his fists. “This isn’t... Argh! Fine, forget it. I don’t care anymore. But don’t follow me out of Estershore, okay? We split up there!”

Elsynne frowned. “But Raven-“

“No, I mean it this time. You’ve followed me for long enough, and I don’t need some guy who talks to monsters – or dragons, whatever – coming along either!”

Skylar grinned, ignoring Raven’s fit. “Tomorrow morning, I’ll be ready to go, okay? I’ll be seeing you then!”

Raven bit back a vehement curse and turned to Elsynne. “Calm down,” she said quietly, instinctively putting a hand on his arm. “He doesn’t mean any harm. He’s just curious, I think.”

Raven nodded absentmindedly, not noticing the burning sensation that was slowly beginning to flare on the skin of his arm. He suddenly jerked away from Elsynne as the burn intensified.

“What’s wrong?” she asked nervously.

“It’s nothing,” he replied, gently placing his fingers on the skin on his arm. It felt warm to the touch, as if he had been standing next to a fire.

“You recoil every time I touch you like that,” she continued. “Did I hurt you?”

“I said it’s nothing,” Raven replied testily. “Let’s go.”

Elsynne nodded reluctantly and followed him to one of the tents where they had been designated to sleep for the night.

Skylar hovered at the edge of the camp, listening to their exchange in silence. A frown crossed his face and he closed his eyes, deep in thought.

“Are you leaving already?” a quiet female voice asked. Skylar turned, letting out a low sigh as he saw the elven girl behind him.

“I have to. I don’t have any other choice,” he replied, careful to keep his voice low.

“But it wasn’t your fault...”

“I know. But what happened had to be done. I made my choice.”

“B-” She paused for a moment before amending her words, “Skylar...”

He forced a smile. “I’ll be fine. I probably won’t be gone long if everything goes well, okay?”

She didn’t look comforted by his smile. “Please, be careful. O-”

“It doesn’t matter. It’s just a short trip, and I’ll be back before you know it.”

The girl looked comforted by that. “I see... All right. Make sure you come back soon, Skylar.”

He grinned again. “I know, I will. I’m just traveling with them to Estershore tomorrow, but I don’t know where they’ll plan to go after that...we’ll more than likely stay within the continent for now.”

“All right. And...keep an eye on him for me,” she said simply, trying to smile.

Skylar waited until the girl had gone again.

*‘It’s about time...’*

 Elsynne seemed far more cheerful the next morning and had apparently recovered from her brief exhaustion the day before. She and Skylar talked animatedly while Raven sulked, keeping a good distance from the two.

It wasn’t until late in the morning when they were almost to Estershore when Skylar finally spoke to him.

“So, Raven,” he began, smirking. “Elsynne said your surname is Sendemere?”

Raven cringed inwardly. “So what?”

“Ah, related to the Sendemere family of Itona, I presume?”

Raven turned on him. “What’s your point?”

“Nothing, nothing. Just curious,” Skylar said casually, waving a hand. “I heard that the king had two sons, but I wasn’t expecting you to be one of them.”

Raven said nothing.

“That’s not your real name, is it?”

“What?”

“”Raven’. It doesn’t sound very noble.”

Elsynne tilted her head to the side, thoughtful. “I was wondering that myself. Is that your real name, or did you give it to yourself?”

“Of course it’s not my real name,” Raven mumbled. “I hate my name, so I made up a new one.”

Skylar laughed. “Ah, ‘Raven’...such a cliche name for a wanderer. You aren’t very creative, I see...”

“Oh, and this is coming from the guy who names his dragon Glacier!”

“What of it?” Skylar’s tone was more teasing than angry.

Raven clenched his fist. *‘What did I do to deserve being stuck with them?’* he asked himself.

“So what’s your real name, then?” Elsynne asked curiously.

Raven was quiet for a long time; she wondered if he had heard her question.

“Raven?”

“Why do you care?” he demanded, suddenly hasty. “It doesn’t matter. Besides, we’re almost to Estershore. I have to meet Joseph when we get there, and then I’m off on my next assignment.”

Skylar’s expression was carefully neutral as he spoke. “May I hazard a guess?”

Again, silence.

“I’ll take that as a yes, then,” The elf replied, shrugging halfheartedly. “Let’s see... What were the king’s son’s names again? Hmm... I know one started with an ‘L’...but was it the younger or the older?”

“Raven mentioned having an older brother,” Elsynne offered.

“Ah! That’s right!” Skylar said excitedly, “The older brother’s name started with an ‘L’. But what was the younger’s...?”

Raven quietly mumbled something incoherent.

“What was that?”

“...Edward.” Skylar said slyly.

Elsynne smiled. “Oh, so that’s your name?”

Raven’s voice was grim. “Yes.”

Skylar struck his palm with his fist. “I remember now! Edward Sendemere, that was the younger brother’s name. I knew I’d get it eventually if I had some kind of trigger.”

“Edward. That’s a nice name,” Elsynne said kindly.

“Don’t ever call me by that name,” Raven warned, his voice edged with embarrassment and hate. “Unless you want me to kill you.”

“Oh, ‘kill’ is such a strong word...” Skylar said. “Besides, it isn’t that bad of a name. Besides, if you hate it so much, then why did you keep your surname?”

“It doesn’t matter!”

“I think it does.”

“Who cares what you think?!” Raven demanded, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails cut into the skin of his palm. Without waiting for a reply he turned on his heel and stomped ahead.

“Well, it looks like there’s still quite a bit about young Edward we’ll never know,” Skylar said in a mockingly sorrowful tone.

“I heard that!”

“...He has good hearing for a human, too. Interesting.”

Elsynne sighed quietly. Although it was apparent that Raven and Skylar’s strikingly different personalities clashed, she hoped that somehow they would form some sort of truce and get along...eventually.

The rest of the walk to Estershore was quiet and uneventful. Raven refused to speak to either Skylar or Elsynne, avoiding each of their questions and blatantly ignoring every statement directed at him. Skylar didn’t seem to mind his attitude and continued to talk; his amicable personality was difficult to hate.

Or, at least, Elsynne thought so.

Raven didn’t seem to stop sulking until they finally reached the city. The farmer’s market had already opened earlier that morning and was brimming with activity by the time the small party reached the central plaza.

“So, where are we supposed to meet Joseph?” Skylar questioned.

“I’m going to meet Joseph in the restaurant,” Raven replied, his dark blue eyes narrowing. He turned to Elsynne. “It’s the same place we talked to him in last time.”

She smiled. “All right. Is it okay if we come with you?”

He looked at Elsynne, then Skylar, and sighed deeply. “Even if I say no, you’ll still follow me, won’t you?”

Skylar nodded passively. “Of course. I don’t know why you’re so against having two people travel with you, Raven. It’s not like a death sentence or anything.”

Raven rolled his eyes again and pushed through the throngs of people as he walked towards the open restaurant. Skylar exchanged a quick glance with Elsynne and shrugged.

“Is he always this arrogant?”

She smiled ruefully. “He usually is, but...he’ll eventually open up. He’s not so bad when he finally gets used to the person he’s talking to.”

“Ah, I see,” Skylar said thoughtfully. “Well, there’s not much I can do about it now. I sort of surprised him by asking to join the group.”

“Why did you decide to come with us?” Elsynne asked as they followed Raven inside. He had already seated himself at a small table only made for two people; Skylar and Elsynne pulled chairs over to the table, much to his dismay.

“I was often very naive when I was younger. I only just started maturing,” Skylar replied as they sat down. Raven lowered his head on the table, muttering curses under his breath.

“You were...naive?” she repeated, trying to ignore Raven’s grumbling.

Skylar pointed to the long, white scar on his cheek. “See this? I got it one afternoon a year or so ago when I brought Glacier out on one of her first training sessions. Even though she was young and volatile, I thought I was mature enough to handle her by myself and ended up almost losing my eye.”

Elsynne winced. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

Raven mumbled again, this time something to the effect of “I’m not.”

“Raven! I almost didn’t notice you all the way back here,” Joseph’s voice rose over the din of the other patrons in the restaurant. Raven finally pushed himself up, brushing his tousled hair from his eyes as Joseph pushed through the crowd and seated himself.

“It’s about time,” Raven muttered as he pulled a few gald coins from his pocket. He placed them on the table and shoved them towards Joseph. “That’s your share of the pay from the elves.”

Joseph, however, was looking back and forth amongst those in the group. “I see there’s another addition to your group?”

“What do you mean, ‘my group’?”

“I’m already familiar with Elsynne,” Joseph began, gesturing towards the girl. He turned to Skylar. “But you’re new?”

“Skylar Marridor. I’m one of the elves from the Evala group.”

“Ah! Yes, I remember you... You were the one who specifically sent the inquiry to me a few days ago, didn’t you?”

“That’s correct,” Skylar replied, although he suddenly seemed guarded.

“You mean you were the one who sent the job to us?” Raven asked, turning to Skylar. “I thought the entire community asked Joseph to send one of his hunters.”

“Ah, I sent it on behalf of the clan, you see,” Skylar replied smoothly. “It’s almost forbidden for us to act as one individual within the community... If I were to send that notice without the elders’ consent, I’d be exiled, or worse...”

“Unless you held enough influence within the community,” Raven pointed out.

“Now, that’s enough. Skylar gave you his answer,” Joseph said, giving Raven a reproachful glare. “You should be lucky you’ve been so popular lately.”

Raven folded his arms and glared in response. Joseph only laughed as he pulled a new packet of papers from his suitcase and set them on the table, pushing them gently towards Raven.

“I’m afraid the only job I have for you right now is the one in Itona. They could really use a hand, to be honest. It wouldn’t hurt you to go for a while.”

“I already said I wasn’t going,” Raven replied, slamming his fist against the table. “So why do you keep asking me?!”

“Because it’s about time you matured and got over the whole...ordeal that took place there,” Joseph replied, carefully folding his hands as he propped his elbows on the table. “I know how much it affected you then, but that was over three years ago. You were fifteen.”

“I know, but...”

“It’ll be fine. Besides, what’s the worse that could happen? I’m sure most of the royal guard that they’ll have positioned out there will be new recruits. You’ll be lucky if you see hide or hair of your family.”

Raven seemed to have forgotten that Elsynne and Skylar were there, or he was carefully avoiding their confused, questioning glances. “Still, Joseph...”

“You’re eighteen now and almost of age. Austor is the biggest continent, but there aren’t many places you can hide unless you decide to leave it all together. You can’t keep running away. It’ll eventually catch up with you.”

Raven sat quietly for a moment, collecting his thoughts. Joseph waited for his response patiently, his hands still folded beneath his chin.

“All right,” Raven replied after a tense silence. “I’ll...go. I’ll take the job.”

Joseph nodded approvingly as he took the packet of papers. “Excellent. Take a look at the papers when you have time – they contain all the job information you’ll need. It takes quite a few days to get to Itona, so make sure you rest up today and gather all the supplies you’ll need.”

“Where should I meet up with you when I’m finished?”

“Perhaps Adair again. Full circle.”

Raven stood up and folded the papers, placing them in his pack. “All right. I’ll meet you there as soon as I can.”

“Don’t rush and overwork yourself,” Joseph replied. He then turned to Elsynne and Skylar. “Keep an eye on him, all right?”

Elsynne started; she had allowed herself to daydream and was completely gone from the conversation. Skylar, on the other hand, had been paying careful attention to the long exchange and nodded.

“Edward won’t get away with anything foolish while Elsynne and I are watching him.”

Joseph laughed and Raven ducked his head as he silently cursed Skylar to the deepest pits of hell.

“So, they found you out?” Joseph asked, turning to Raven. “It took me weeks to finally get his full name out of him. I already knew it, of course, but I thought it would be a better sign of trust if he willingly gave it to me.”

Skylar shrugged. “I had heard of the king’s sons before, so I only had to put two and two together.”

“Would you two stop talking about me like I’m not even here?” Raven said angrily. Joseph shook his head, laughing as he turned to leave the crowded restaurant.

Elsynne looked at Raven questioningly, hoping to change the subject before his temper raged out of control. “Itona is a long ways away, isn’t it? What do you want to do before we go?”

“Our supplies aren’t too bad, and we still have you for basic healing,” he replied. “We can head out now and get halfway to Birchmoor and stock up there if we have to. After that, we can either use Adair as a resting point or skip it entirely and take a shortcut to the kingdom.”

“You know a lot about the roads around here,” Skylar observed. “Admirable for a human your age, considering you’ve only been on your own for about three years or so.”

Raven nodded curtly. “I travel a lot. I’m a mercenary, remember? I’ve had a lot of jobs all over Austror.”

“I thought you didn’t want either of us to go with you?”

“...I’ll worry about that when we get to Itona.”

Elsynne quietly traced her finger along the knots in the wood of the table. “Raven...” she started, her voice low again. “Did something else happen in Itona that you didn’t tell me about yet? Is there another reason why you don’t want to go home?”

Both she and Skylar looked at Raven expectantly. His gaze was suddenly distant and far-off, as if he was deep in thought. He suddenly snapped out of reverie and stood up.

“Let’s get going. I want to be at least halfway to Birchmoor before we’re forced to stop because of sunset,” he said. His voice sounded strained and tired.

Skylar quickly agreed and stood up. Elsynne followed slowly, trying to make sense of what Joseph had said during the conversation.

Something more than adolescent rebellion had driven Raven from his home...but what was it?

Raven could feel the subtle change in the air; it was cooler than the days before, and a light mist hung over the plains in the morning. He sighed, relieved that autumn was finally coming, but dreading the coming winter. The light layers of frost that were sure to come always brought a new onslaught of jobs, usually escort missions because the farmers didn’t like to travel in the cold alone. Monsters seemed much more plentiful in the cold months when the black magic was thicker.

He shifted his gaze and saw Elsynne glancing at him warily from the corner of her eye.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Oh...” She stopped and turned away. “I was just wondering how much farther it is to the town...”

“Not much farther.”

Skylar was unusually quiet. He seemed tense and on edge, his gaze shifting from one side to the other.

“What’s wrong with you?” Raven demanded. The elf’s frequent mood swings were unpredictable; one minute, Skylar was cheerful and animated, and the next he was silent and brooding.

“Dragonlings...” he muttered, putting his hand to his chin as he lowered his eyes.

Raven raised an eyebrow. “What about them?”

Skylar looked at him, then Elsynne. He shook his head and replied, “Nothing, I’m just thinking out loud.”

Elsynne bit her lip and turned away. She seemed to have understood what he was implying, but said nothing. Raven narrowed his eyes, suddenly frustrated with both of his secretive companions.

“Would you two tell me what’s going on?” he asked through gritted teeth. “You’re starting to piss me off.”

Skylar tilted his head to the side, his tone completely innocent. “What do you mean?”

“It’s like you’re both in on some big secret and I’m the only one who doesn’t know a thing about it! Elsynne’s apparently not human and won’t say a thing about herself besides her name, and you’re going on about dragonlings...” Raven suddenly stopped himself, realizing how foolish he sounded.

Elsynne didn’t reply, but Skylar threw back his head and laughed. “You’re getting paranoid about all of this, Raven. Elsynne’s statement was an obvious misunderstanding, and I was just expressing my concern about dragonlings attacking during the journey.”

“Then why did you look at me weird when you said something about them?”

The elf shook his head nonchalantly. “I was just looking in your direction, that’s all. You need to take a break once in a while because you always seem so stressed...or you’re just in a horrible mood all of the time.”

Raven was silent for a moment before turning to Skylar. “Then what was this ‘Scale’ you were asking Elsynne about?”

He saw Elsynne tense beside him as the words left his mouth. Skylar raised an eyebrow, but said nothing right away.

“You haven’t heard of the Scale before?” he finally asked.

Raven shook his head. “No, I haven’t. But come to think of it... Elsynne, those dragonlings we ran into on the way to Estershore.... They wouldn’t have attacked us if they didn’t have a reason.”

“M-Maybe they wanted to steal food from the farmer’s cart?” she offered weakly.

“No, dragonlings aren’t that petty and they’d probably resort to stealing because it takes a lot less effort on their part,” he said. “What if they-“

“Are you implying that they were after me?” Elsynne asked, eyes widening.

“It’s just a suggestion!” Raven said quickly. “But I guess you’re right...they don’t really have a motive to go after you, do they? But what about this Scale?”

Elsynne bit her lip and looked away. “If I find the Scale, I’ll be able to save my life.” She murmured softly.

“’Save your life’?”

“It’s...a very long story.”

“We have time.”

She shook her head. “We’re almost to Birchmoor, Raven. I don’t want to get into a huge discussion now.”

Skylar was quiet and thoughtful again. Raven silently digested the information; Elsynne was after some ‘Scale’ that would apparently save her life. But what was she trying to save herself from? The dragonlings, perhaps?

And there was the entire matter of her being from another continent.

It felt as if a brick had settled in the pit of his stomach. *‘What have I pulled myself into this time?’* he thought, sighing. *‘I’ve gotten myself into enough trouble in the past...’*

The group had lapsed into an awkward silence after Elsynne spoke. There was almost a tangible sense of relief in the air when they finally reached Birchmoor and entered the small town. For once, Raven was happy to be in the safe confines of the town instead of out in the open; Elsynne’s words and his running imagination had left him wondering if his theory about the dragonlings targeting her was correct.

But as soon as he had taken a better look around Birchmoor, he felt as if he would be safer out in the plains.

“There’s been a recent influx in dragonling activity in the area,” a guard was telling one of the nearby citizens of the small town. “There’s no need to worry. The king sent a good-sized group of us down here to keep an eye on things.”

They were surprised to see groups of royal soldiers milling around the town, talking to citizens and checking up on the local militiamen. Raven had tensed up almost instantly, on the lookout for familiar faces amongst the soldiers.

“The dragonling activity has gotten worse, hasn’t it?” Elsynne asked, looking around the now-crowded town.

“I knew we should have bypassed it all together!” Raven hissed, jumping every time a soldier came close to their group. “There’s another road that passes away from Birchmoor, but it takes a lot longer...”

“It couldn’t be helped, so there’s no use worrying about it,” Skylar said, shrugging nonchalantly.

“We didn’t have to stop too much on the way here,” Elsynne said, sounding thankful. They had encountered few monsters on the journey and no dragonlings at all.

“That’s true...but it would still be wise to stock up on supplies,” Skylar said. “Who knows what we’ll run into between here and Itona?”

“If those crazy dragonlings come back, we’ll need plenty of gels,” Raven added, attempting to calm his nerves by focusing on the long walk to the kingdom. “And if Elsynne gets tired again...”

“I’ll be fine,” she interrupted quickly. “I must have used up too much energy using healing artes.”

He looked at her doubtfully. “I’d still feel better if we had a full pack of medicine, just in case. Trust me, you have to be ready for anything out here...”

“Especially if the guards are right about this so-called influx,” Skylar said, nodding in agreement.

Raven stopped at a small apothecary to buy medical supplies while Elsynne and Skylar waited outside. A few soldiers passed by, although all of them seemed focused on their various tasks. Elsynne tried to busy herself by thinking over what they would do once they reached Itona; on the way to Birchmoor, Raven had threatened to split up with them again, this time in the city.

“Have you noticed anything...different about Raven?” Skylar suddenly asked, interrupting her thoughts.

“Different?” Elsynne repeated, suddenly cautious. She wondered if he was planning on interrogating her again as he had in the elven community.

“You know...not normal.”

“No, he seems fairly normal to me,” she said, carefully skipping over the times she had hurt him by merely touching or brushing against his arm. It was beginning to happen more frequently as they spent time in close proximity of each other. Skylar had no doubt noticed the way Raven flinched away whenever Elsynne got too close and touched his arm with her hand or elbow.

“I see...” he murmured, furrowing his brow. “It’s nothing, then.”

She tensed, waiting for him to ask more. But Skylar fell silent, his demeanor suddenly quiet again. Elsynne pivoted and noticed Raven standing beside her, stuffing a few more gummies into his pack.

“We’re resting here tonight, right?” he asked, motioning in the direction of the inn. “I’m getting tired.”

“But it’s still noon,” Skylar pointed out, questioningly raising an eyebrow.

Raven shrugged. “It’s been a long couple of days. I usually only get one or two jobs every few weeks, and lately I’ve had one right after the other. I don’t travel so strenuously often.”

“But you were so eager to leave earlier...” Elsynne said.

“That’s because I didn’t realize...how close the city really was.”

“Itona’s pretty far away,” Skylar pointed out, “so it’s not close to here at all.”

Raven shook his head, his voice even. “I just said that I’m tired and ready for sleep. You don’t have to jump at me all at once.”

“No, no, I don’t mind turning in early for the day. We can always just hang around the town, if you’d like,” Elsynne offered.

Raven paused for a moment, then shook his head. “I just want to get to the inn to rest...”

“Are you not feeling well?”

“No, I’m fine.”

His reply was unusually calm and collected; Elsynne had expected him to lash out at her like he usually did. However, despite his cool demeanor, she could hear a sense of urgency lingering in his tone.

Skylar seemed surprised as well, although for different reasons. “All right, if you’re so eager to rest, we can go to the inn. But I’m going to hang around Birchmoor for a while. I’ve never been here before and I’d like to see more of the town.”

“There isn’t much to see,” Raven said dryly.

Skylar shrugged. “Either way, I’m still going to hang around. I’m not even close to being tired.”

Raven turned to face Elsynne. “What about you?” he asked.

“I don’t know yet... I guess I’ll go back to the inn when it starts getting late.” She replied. “But Skylar’s right. It’s still fairly early in the day-“

When she looked up, he was already down the street.

The next morning, Elsynne woke up and found that Raven’s bed was empty. His supplies, including his pack, belt, and sword were gone as well.

‘That’s strange,’ she thought, placing a hand on the pillow; it was cool. She had seen him already asleep when she got back to the inn when it was finally dark. Raven seldom got up earlier than she or Skylar did, and Elsynne had been expecting to see him still half-asleep when she woke up.

“Did Raven go out into the town already?” she asked Skylar, who was already awake and staring out the nearby window. “Is he going to meet us?”

The elf shook his head. When he finally spoke, his tone was grave. “Raven left without us. He’s already gone.”