Dusk had broke by the time Elise and Dylen came to Bestolon. They managed to have the train that their suspect was on stopped before it left, awaiting their arrival later that evening. Elise was looking at the train records with one of the workers in the station office. Dylen had gone to the local authorities to see if they knew anything. Analyzing the data, Elise had no choice but to conclude that the elf, though she had gotten on the train, and stepped off in Bestolon, did not check back in, leaving Elise and Dylen on a trail going cold.
“You’re certain?” Elise asked the worker, probing on the records of the train charts.
He shrugged, having nothing else to say but repeat himself, “Those are the records, ma’am. Your suspect was on the train, but we don’t have her coming back. As far as I can tell, she’s still here. You may have to check with the local authorities.”
“I already am.” Elise said, seeing Dylen come through the train station doorway, and quickly she walked out to meet him, hoping for good news. She was so anxious to get something, she didn’t even wait until they were standing face to face before she spoke, “Did you find anything?”
Dylen had his hands in his pockets, and sighed before speaking, “Police weren’t looking for this person, but they did say that some locals say they saw someone matching her description near Main Street. The most significant testimony we have is that our suspect had interactions with a man at one of the shops going north, just before the market square.”
“With who? Do we have his name?”
“His name was Istvan. Local authorities are already going to his house as we speak.”
“Good.”
A silence followed, and Elise was satisfied with what she heard thus far. It was a lucky break, given they almost lost the elf on the train. Elise began to think as the two of them walked together outside of the train station. “Did she really have a contact here in Bestolon?” she asked. Her question struck Dylen as peculiar. “She must’ve hoped to get to the train to this point,” she continued, “and use a contact of some sort, maybe this Istvan character, and try to lose any tail she had through him.”
“I’m not so sure that’s conclusive.” Dylen replied.
“What else could explain this? What are the chances that after she disrupts SIU operations, is able to reduce an entire street gang to a bunch of fools single-handedly, and then when we’re in pursuit, she ditches the obvious trail that would lead us right to her?”
Dylen considered Elise’s point, but he still wasn’t certain. “That is definitely unusual,” he said, “but it’s not the only reason. I mean, if she is as cunning as we may have to accept, why would she pick a contact in a small town where everyone knows each other? We’ve got numerous witness accounts, which have to be at least ten percent of the population itself. Almost everyone knows each other here, and apparently Istvan is a very well-known and respected person. He’s a poor choice for a contact if she’s trying to disappear.”
Elise was silent for a moment. Dylen made a good point that she had to consider. It could be that their suspect did by chance run into Istvan. But he was the last person to meaningfully interact with her, and thus, he would know more than anyone where to find her. Still more, there was something even more pressing on Elise’s mind; one so pressing, that she spoke to Dylen more quietly, so as not to arouse anyone else around them, “Has anyone asked about our suspect? Anything more than what they should?”
Dylen was put off by the question, and he couldn’t tell if it was because of the question itself, or who was asking it. “Why do you ask?” he replied.
“Because I’m not so sure that our suspect is some average elf wandering about.”
“I think that’s pretty clear.”
“Between you and I, yes–we know what she did. No one else around here does… We need to keep that crucial information to ourselves for now, until we know more. Alright?”
“Sure thing.” he replied. They needed to know just what kind of master they were dealing with. Could they be dealing with a zealot? Both Dylen and Elise knew that this was on each other’s mind, and if it was true, they had to address it carefully.
“Ma’am.” said an officer approaching them, “We’ve found Istvan. He just returned to his home a short while ago. He says he would like to talk to you.”
Both Elise and Dylen were surprised by the invitation. He wanted to speak to them? “Let’s not keep him waiting, then.” Elise replied.
The two of them were led further into the town and to a group of homes on the borders of the forest to the west, just before Carzat Lake. It was a walking distance of about ten minutes, with electric lamps to illuminate the roads for them in the night. They came upon one home that was located about fifty feet up a hill, into the yard, surrounded by trees. The stone-made trail had three lamps that lit it, and it went in an S formation up to the front door of the two-story home. At the top, on the front porch, was Istvan with a smoking pipe, who was seen in the dark only by the faint glow of the burning pipe.
The officer led Elise and Dylen up through the well-kept yard, and up the stone steps to meet Istvan. Elise found herself struggling to maintain eye-contact with him, and Dylen as well. There was something about his quiet stare that weighed upon them. It was as though he was an ancient watchman, or a cold, stoned statue that simply stared down at those passing by. He stood patiently on the porch and once they were within casual speaking distance, he spoke, “Welcome.” He didn’t appear to have any mischief in his voice, and he smiled, “I hear you two are SIU, from Levaan.”
“We are.” Elise answered, “My name is detective Elise Bellerd, this is detective Dylen Oretes of the Special Investigations Unit. I assume you heard that we were looking for you?”
“Ah, yes. I heard that as well.” Istvan joked.
“And do you know what we came to talk to you about?”
“Of course. A very interesting character has come through these parts. Would you like to come inside and speak? It’s awfully cold out tonight.”
Elise agreed, and Dylen followed after, led by Istvan into his home. The home itself was lit with yellow lighting, and a warm fireplace in the living area. Also in the living area were two impressive book shelves containing what looked like old books, and large tomes. He had books stacked on a desk in what looked like a work room just past the living area. The whole house was tight with space, but not messy; dark and yet inviting. Dylen was impressed with it. Istvan went into the kitchen, offering to get them tea, but Elise declined. She followed him into the kitchen, not wanting to lose sight of the man, despite him appearing friendly.
He had a wooden table, and a set of six chairs, one on the two ends, and two on the sides. A chandelier hung above it, lit with horn-made candles. “Please, have a seat.” Istvan insisted.
Elise sat in the chair on the farthest end from the kitchen itself, while Dylen sat in the chair to her immediate right. “You sure you don’t want any tea?” Istvan asked again, “It’ll help with the cold.”
“We don’t really have time, unfortunately.” Elise replied.
“Of course.” Istvan said, resting his cup of tea on the table and the seat opposite to Elise, “You have someone to find. And she most assuredly moves quickly, I can attest to that.”
Elise found Istvan’s behavior somewhat strange. She looked at Dylen, wondering what he was thinking through what his face would show. He also was somewhat perplexed. Istvan seemed unaware that he may be a potential suspect to helping this elf. Elise looked back at Istvan to speak, but before she could, he spoke, “You two seem somewhat… tense, if I may speak.”
Elise was struck with irony, and stuttered a response, “Well… It’s been a long day, and we haven’t had a situation like this in… well some time.”
“I see. It’s not very often a character such as she would wander through here.”
“No, it isn’t… I’m assuming you know who it is we’re looking for, and why it is we’re coming to you.”
“I do. You no doubt have heard that a peculiar young elvish girl came through here earlier today, with an even younger companion, and that I happen to have been the one to help them.”
“Yes… And you understand what this means for you, do you?”
Istvan chuckled, “I suppose that makes me the poor old man who was in the wrong place at the right time. As for your perspective, I imagine myself helping her makes me look somewhat antagonistic towards you.”
“It might…”
“And you seem rather accepting of that reality.” Dylen noted.
Istvan took a sip of tea before he replied, “If I knew she was in such trouble before I helped her, I might be somewhat nervous. I did not, of course, which means I may have unwittingly aided a criminal.”
“You didn’t know anything about her before she came to you?” Elise asked.
“Not at all. She bumped into me earlier today, causing me to knock over all the water I was carrying. My good friend Georgine at the watermill can confirm this for me.”
Elise and Dylen paused again, looking at each other. They were not so certain how to take his story, but didn’t see anything wrong with it. Witnesses did say that he and she did bump into each other. Maybe Dylen was right, it was a complete accident that they ran into each other. Elise focused on Istvan again. “Well,” she said, “if you can tell us where she went, we would be very grateful.”
“Certainly, although I think where she went is quite obvious. She is in Whitehold right now, staying there the evening. Where, I’m afraid I don’t know; I only led her to the edge of the city. I had to be back home by nightfall.”
“Why did she leave the train and use you instead to get to Whitehold?” Dylen asked. He didn’t think the elf’s meeting with Istvan was intentional, but he had to make sure he closed that theory for good, and for Elise to be able to put it to rest.
“She missed the train, to be honest.” Istvan replied, “After we bumped into one another, she offered to help me, in payment for the incident. So I led her back to Georgine, where we waited for our water to be refilled.”
“And this took all the time it took for the train to leave an hour later?”
“It was not a short walk to Georgine, and the water purification system she has there can sometimes take time… But in any case, we lost track of time, the train was gone, and so I offered to give them both a ride across Carzat Lake, and use some horses from a friend on the other side to get to Whitehold.”
“Except the train didn’t leave.”
Istvan smiled before taking a sip of his tea. “Of course.” he said, licking excess tea from his lips, “How ‘bout that?” He chuckled at the humor. At least, he saw it humorous. Elise and Dylen maintained their stoic looks.
Again, Elise took a moment to think, and piece together the story. It all seemed to work fine, and Istvan was cooperating entirely. “Did she mention anything interesting to you?” Elise asked.
Istvan looked away, as if to think for a moment and answered, “Only her name. Erene, it was.”
“Did she say anything about the little girl? Why she took her?”
“Not really. She said she helped the girl, and the girl wanted to come with her. Apparently, the little girl was the victim of a very unkind person in Levaan. She is likely an orphan, with no parents; used by the criminal underbelly of the city for their own dirty dealings. I couldn’t blame the little girl for wanting to go with Erene. She had nothing left there.”
“And this Erene… You’re sure she didn’t tell you anything else?”
“Quite sure. Nothing important, other than speaking about the area around Bestolon. She was quite a polite young girl. We could use more like her around here, if I may be frank.”
“Mr. Istvan,” Dylen replied, “you have to understand, the individual we are seeking… She’s potentially dangerous. I know she seemed kind, but the reality is that she kidnapped that little girl, and she was engaged in acts of violence back in Levaan.”
“Violence against the very persons who harmed the little girl she kidnapped, I presume?”
Istvan’s quick rebuttal and correction towards Dylen silenced him and Elise. Up till now, Istvan had been cooperative, but here was his first moment of resistance towards them, and it caught them entirely by surprise. Elise tried to think quickly on what to say to it. “I guess that’s what she told you.” she said.
“She did.” Istvan answered.
“She probably told you much, but it was not true.”
“Is it? I may not have witnessed what happened in Levaan, but I know a good girl when I see one, and she was it. The little girl with her was by no means in any danger. She was free to roam about, and followed Erene willingly.”
“Well in any case,” Elise said, changing the subject, “we have to find her. The reality is that she has upset some important business in Levaan regarding special investigations. But if she’s told you nothing else, then I think we’ve gotten everything we need.” Elise stood up, followed by Dylen. “Thank you, Mr. Istvan.” she said back to him, “You’ve been very helpful.”
“Does this mean I am no longer a suspect in aiding what is potentially an international criminal?” Istvan said, taking the two by surprise. They both stood still in body and in mind.
“Why would you think that?” Dylen asked.
Istvan chuckled slightly. “Come now, Mr. Oretes,” he replied, “an elvish girl comes through Oenkev, beats up a bunch of people on her own, and manages to evade the SIU. You haven’t sent search parties after her–just you two. My guess is you fear this might be more than a simple wanderer coming through, but far more, and the implications of it being so will be far too costly for Enussia.”
His words continued to flatten Elise’s ability to speak. She and Dylen had to think of some way to respond to that extremely accurate deduction without giving it away.
Istvan only continued, “You seem to have it all under control now… But have you ever asked yourself what in Eldreon are you going to do if and when you actually catch her?” He didn’t need to follow up that question with more inquiry. The implications were already felt by the two of them. If they did catch Erene, as she was called, then she would have to face some punishment. Elise’s boss would not allow anything less. But if that happened, and Erene was part of the zealots, it would mean war anyway. Elise nevertheless refused to let herself think that far ahead.
“Have a good evening, Mr. Istvan.” she said.
“You as well.” he said with a kind smile back. Even though he was perceptive, he showed no sign of ill intention, and there was nothing substantial Elise could pin on him. The two walked out, still sensing the weightiness of his gaze upon their backs as they left.
Annastaria and Bastillina had finally made it into Whitehold, a journey that was even more taxing than getting to Levaan. Even Bastillina was exhausted by now as they made their way through downtown. Annastaria was careful to avoid people, keeping Bastillina close. The later the evening got, the more sketchy the pedestrians seemed to be, at least in Annastaria’s eyes, and the sounds of dance music playing from the clubs and bars around the downtown area filled the air as well. Bastillina didn’t pay much attention to any of it.
After almost an hour of searching, they found a hotel for the night, and after room service showed her around the place, Annastaria was left alone with Bastillina. They had a moment to breathe, it seemed, which for Annastaria, was a form of exhaustion she never before experienced, even in her training and even in the harsh environments of the Sarke mountains. It wasn’t so much the physical strain but the mental and spiritual. At least there, she was home, struggling in places she was familiar with. Even when she faced the paragott only days earlier, it was an exhilarating kind of exhaustion to come home from a day of hunting. Not this one. It was as if there was a lifeforce in the Sarke lands that Annastaria thrived on, and fed upon. There was none here.
But she had to press on. This mission was the most significant mission in Annastaria’s lifetime, even if she played a tiny role in it; the thought still made her grumble inside. What Istvan told her was intriguing, however; she had the book he gave her on her mind. It was a cryptic thing to think about, and it disturbed her. Who or what was the Black Priest? If there was any clear thought in her mind the last few hours, it was that question. But it gave her no clear answer and hence continued to spin in her mind. Perhaps he came from the ancient wizards of old? It was too soon to speculate such a theory.
In any case, a more pressing matter was at hand. Bastillina had dropped on one of the beds of their room, and was only minutes from falling asleep. “Do not go to sleep, Bella.” Annastaria ordered. Bastillina moaned in protest. “You must bathe first. And clean your mouth. Do you not know the kinds of sickness you collect into your mouth in just one day?”
“No, and I was fine with not knowing until you just said that.” replied Bastillina.
“Come. Go into the bathroom and clean up. We will then clean your teeth and you can go to sleep.”
Bastillina wanted to sleep then and there. Her eyes were heavy, but a relentless Annastaria would not allow her to crash here. “Can’t I just bathe in the morning?” she argued back.
Annastaria stared the girl down, letting her firm body language give Bastillina her answer, who rolled her eyes, letting out an over-dramatic sigh and stormed to the bathroom, closing the door behind herself. Annastaria watched her, and then went to Bastillina’s backpack to grab the clothes she had bought for the girl. “Bella,” Annastaria said, carrying the clothes to the bathroom. Bastillina opened it, with an irritated face. “You forgot your clothing.” Annastaria said, handing her the clothes. Bastillina almost snatched them from Annastaria and closed the door.
Annastaria stood in front of it for a moment, and sighed before she walked back into the hotel room, and sat on one of the two beds. She was tired enough as it was; now she was going to have to deal with this? She tried to channel Uramuun’s leadership. He would have smacked that girl by now, just for looking at him the way she did. Annastaria remembered as she got older how she wanted to raise her own children like he did the young ones, such as herself. It seemed harder to be stern than she had thought.
With a chance to finally catch her breath and take a moment to think at a steady pace, rather than simply reacting to everything, Annastaria suddenly began to realize she was very thirsty, and hungry. She hadn’t had cold water in some time, and the local store was just across the street. Curious, she stood back out of her bed, walked to the window overlooking the street below, and looked at the small food store. She had water already, but was tempted to get more fresh and cold water. But there was of course Bastillina to think about. She couldn’t just leave her here. Or perhaps she could. Annastaria went to the bathroom door and gave it a knock. “What?” Bastillina replied impatiently.
“Ensure that you are bathing for at least twenty minutes.”
“Seriously?”
“It will greater assure you are clean.”
“Agh! Fine!” the girl complained.
Annastaria wanted to say something, but she just gave herself a window of time to step away and wasn’t about to waste it arguing with a kid. She stepped away, put her coat on, and taking her book bag, she left her room, locking the door behind her. She considered leaving her bag there, but knew that Bastillina was a thief. She couldn’t afford to leave it out of sight. When she arrived on the first floor, she exited the building and walked across the street, being sure to look both ways before she crossed.
Once inside, she began to browse the shelves. The store clerk was at the main counter, reading a magazine, and apart from him, there were just two men she counted in the store. She walked to the back, where she came across interesting metal crates that were open from the top and radiating cold air. Inside these freezing metal chests were not golden treasure but what appeared to be many kinds of bottles and cans. Annastaria read some of the labels, which were ‘poppy’ and flashy. Were these drinks? She recalled seeing things like this before in her journey through Mennadesh and Oenkev, and people were drinking from them.
Annastaria reached in and took one, which was made of clear glass and revealed that the water inside was red, like cherries. When she read the label it said that it was of a cherry flavor. Cherry-flavored water? How could this be? Of course, when she began to think more on it, it wasn’t entirely unusual; her own people were accustomed to making fruit juices, and even wine. But this claimed to be some kind of “soda pop” as she read. This she never heard of before. She was curious, oddly enough. But she looked at the price label: $3.29. A little pricey for her, more so than the other drinks, and especially water.
She turned it over, taking in all the information she could on it. “Ingredients” she read on the back, and curiously, she read it. Though her own people made fruit juices, they made them from pure fruit. On this list of apparent ingredients was an entire paragraph full of them, and while she recognized some ingredients, most of it she struggled even to read. Why put so much in a simple drink? And of all of this, there seemed to be little cherries anywhere in it.
She remembered being told by her elders the greed of the aenmen Industrial and corporate “corruption” had created not a variety of good drinks, but a variety of polluted and chemically imbalanced poison.
“You should get the strawberry.” said a voice that came from behind her right shoulder. Annastaria turned, almost startled, to see a young man–aenman–with short, blonde hair, a leather jacket, denim jeans and his own book bag over his left shoulder. He was looking at her with a smirk, as if he knew her. She felt like she could almost stumble backwards away from him invading her personal space. She spotted him already in the store, but she must’ve lost track of him while she was looking at these drinks.
“What?” she replied.
“I mean, you should try one. You look like you’re interested.”
“Why would I be interested in this?”
The man shrugged, “Well… you’re just sitting there with it in your hand, and reading the back, which normally means this is your first time coming across something like this. And that accent is very interesting. A traveler, maybe? You don’t look like you’re from around here.”
“Are you making assumptions about me?”
The young man shrugged again, noting her slight accent, “Just curious, really… How close was I?” He grinned; a grin that quickly reduced Annastaria’s threat detector, but spiked her annoyance meter. It was obvious he was trying to charm her. The good news was that this meant he was likely some clueless guy who spotted a cute elvish-aenman girl, so she could relax. The bad news was that he was some clueless guy spotting a cute elvish-aenman girl who happened to be herself.
“You are incorrect.” she denied.
The young man hummed aloud at Annastaria’s rejection, as if skeptical. “Well that’s a shame.” he said, “You should get it though.” Annastaria did not like his seemingly patronizing attitude one bit. Her people warned constantly about guys like this. “I prefer the banana” he continued, “and meleko flavors. But I’m willing to bet you’ll like the strawberry.”
That was enough to confirm Annastaria’s frustration with him. He was making the decisions here even more complicated, on top of the fact that she was not even originally contemplating one. Still, she did take to his charm, which she was not about to admit to him, nor the fact that she lied about his uncomfortably accurate analysis of her. He was right: she was a traveller and had never seen anything like this before, which Annastaria figured meant she stuck out significantly. But now that she thought about it, she did like strawberry, and red was one of her favorite colors. She loved red flowers, the red dress from Bestolon, and of course strawberries.
“You know what,” he said as he reached in and grabbed two, one a strawberry, “I’m going to go ahead and get a couple.”
He started towards the counter, with Annastaria watching him the whole time. One of them was the flavor he wanted, and the one he supposed that she wanted. She was curious, but she didn’t want to continue to play into his little game. She wasn’t sure what to do, and stood, trying not to look at him directly, instead peripherally so as not to give away any indication that she was tempted to take his offer to buy her a drink. It was a free drink, and one she began to realize she was inquisitive of.
When he finished purchasing the drinks, he looked back one last time to catch Annastaria looking at him. He smiled shamelessly, like any shameless aenman self-indulging in their cunningness. With a wink, he walked out of the store, holding the bag of the drinks up with him. Annastaria rolled her eyes. She remembered promising her father she wouldn’t get involved with men like this. She prepared herself uniquely for such men. It was simply a matter of saying ‘no’ and leaving. She had been very successful in the past, but this time was different. He just bought her a drink, using his own money. “That doesn’t matter!” she thought. It wasn’t her fault he spent his own money.
But the curiosity of this free sample of a strawberry drink ate at her. Why? She sighed, shaking her head, and started walking out of the corner store. She continued to recall the prophecy of Kyeshmuur, and allowed that to comfort her mind that this guy certainly did not match the description of the one for her. Of course, recalling that brought to mind another uncomfortable thought, which was that Earnos met that description most. But that was a matter she would worry about later, assuming she would even survive Oenkev.
Sure enough, the young man was waiting for her, sitting at one of the tables with the two drinks on the right side of the entrance to the store. He saw her as she came out and as if to be happily surprised, gave a shout out to her, “Hey! Come on! Sit down!”. Annastaria glared at him as he continued with his smile, “Want a drink? I have one to spare.” Annastaria shook her head and walked over to sit down. Instead of sitting down, however, she stood, crossing her arms and looking around. It was nearly midnight and this guy wanted to just casually sit on a table outside as if it were mid-day?
“Do you not see how dark it is?” she said.
He scoffed at it. “We’ll be fine.” he replied, “We’ve got enough light here. Come on, sit.”
Annastaria hesitated. Resisted, rather, but conceded. She felt as though sitting down was an act of surrender and shame. But that strawberry drink looked incredibly good, and it was free. “It’s just a free drink” she thought, “It is not as though I am giving in to his pathetic attempt at charm.” He took the strawberry flavor and slid it to her, on the other side of the circular table between them. Annastaria stared at it untouched for a moment. Her curiosity over this drink only increased now that it had been bought, and sat in front of her. It was a gift to her from a stranger; a stranger who she could tell had some intentions she didn’t want to venture thinking about. He took a drink from his, but Annastaria still didn’t touch hers, battling with a discerning thought that she might be indulging temptations her elders would not approve of.
“That’s not going to stay cold for too long out here,” the young man said, “and uh… they tend to taste better cold.”
Annastaria’s glare returned upon him, not finding his little joke funny. But she relented as she looked back at the drink. She gripped the metal cap and twisted it to the left until it snapped open, following the young man’s example to open his. A hissing-like sound sprang from the bottle as she loosened the cap, and the smell of the flavored water quickly rushed through her nose. It was disturbing, but yet refreshing. This smelt like an amazing beverage, surely it must taste even better.
She brought it to her lips and finally took a drink. As she lowered the bottle from a sizable sample, she nearly coughed at the sensation it gave her. It berated her tongue and the inner roof of her mouth with a fizzy feeling she never felt before, like the flavored water was moving in her mouth, and then the taste of the strawberry came after, quickly quenching her thirst and taste buds. Annastaria winced for a second. She hadn’t had anything like this before. But she quickly adapted to it once the fizzing “fizzed” out. This was possibly the best-tasting drink she ever had.
“Well?” the young man asked.
“It is… strange.” Annastaria replied, being careful not to give away any more indication of enjoying this moment. “Why does it… move?” she asked. She struggled to find the right words to describe it.
The man giggled a little at her strange question. “Just a little extra pizzazz they added to it.” he replied, “It’s a new thing they make these days. People sometimes call it soda pop.”
Annastaria took another drink from it. She was loving this beverage, but she didn’t want to make it known, for fear of showing this guy that his little attempt to win her affection was working. An awkward silence followed, and the young man quietly observed this cute girl, seeming so innocent and curious of modern society. It was clear to him that she was some kind of wood elf, which likely meant she had little to no real experience in the big cities. It made him all the more curious as to why a wood elf, especially one as cute as her, would find herself wandering this far away from the wilderness. Perhaps she was from the outside communities who migrated into Oenkev but remained mostly isolated from the major cities. Her accent seemed to indicate as much. She bore no magical engravings on her face, or arms that he could see. That at least meant that she wasn’t a zealot.
“So,” he said, “what brings you out here?”
Annastaria looked at him, thinking about the question. He was obviously trying to get closer to her. But she took particular interest in what he was assuming in the question. “Why do you speak as if I am not from here?” she asked.
The young man giggled again, “I think it’s obvious. Your accent and your behavior. Most people here know what soda pop is.” Once again, his patronizing attitude drew a glare from Annastaria. He saw it in her eyes, and put his hands up as if to surrender, “I’m not insulting you or anything–I think it’s cool. But most of the elves in these parts don’t talk like… well, like elves. They talk like any aenman westerner, or here, Oenian. So you gotta be from either the southeast, or maybe Ensosten.”
“I am only passing through.”
“I knew it!” he said with a satisfied smile, “See? I’m pretty good at this stuff.”
Annastaria leaned back in her chair, folding her arms and maintaining her glare at him. She was about to make a snarky comment when saw his eyes look over her left shoulder, across the intersection they were at and his smile faded as his face almost went pale in the night.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Well,” he said, trying to force a smile as he made haste to put his unfinished drink on the table and then stand up to leave, “this may seem all of a sudden, and unusual, but I’m afraid it’s time for me to leave.”
Annastaria looked closely at his face, where he was looking when his face turned to horror and then turned to see what he saw. Not that she enjoyed his company of course, but his sudden desire to take leave was far too unusual and uncomfortable. Annastaria didn’t look very long until she noticed a group of men approaching, who didn’t look very different from the ones she beat up back in Levaan.
The men were not approaching as if casually crossing the street. They seemed to be in a hurry, and were making a direct B-line towards them both. Annastaria felt like she needed to put her defense up significantly, and prepare for a fight, but at the same time, she recalled her training, and knew this could make her tough day even more complicated. There was no reason for them to suspect she was anything more than an elvish wanderer, just as this strange young man did.
The young man scurried away, drawing Annastaria’s eyes to him again. “Wait!” she whispered loudly, “Where are you going?”
“It was fun talking with you, friend,” he said back to her, “and you’re welcome for the drink. Maybe we’ll meet up again some time, huh?”
Before Annastaria knew it, he was disappearing into a crowd of people on the sidewalk a few yards away.
Annastaria didn’t know what to do or think. Should she go after him? Or make her own exit? Before she could decide, three of the men gathered around all at once. Annastaria looked at each of them, counting them in her mind, calculating their positions, and keeping her internal alertness to herself. As they stopped around her, four more continued to follow the young man. Annastaria had to assess the situation, and make her move at the right time. This wasn’t it.
One of the three who stopped in front of Annastaria sat down in the seat the young man was just in, looking at her with a grin. Despite knowing these guys were likely bad, Annastaria wasn’t about to let him have the satisfaction of controlling the situation with his casual posture–she stared back at him.
“Is there something I can help you with?” she asked.
“I believe you can.” he said, “That younger fella you were just talking to… did he say anything to you?”
Annastaria analyzed everything she could about this man. He was going bald, wore an old blazer, which meant he could be hiding a gun under it. The others wore gray jackets, and one an old leather one. Each of them were bigger than she was, but their jackets were thick for the cold, and would limit their quickness.
“He did not.” Annastaria answered, “All he tried to do was to charm me.”
The man grinned and said, “Sounds like him… Oden always likes the non-aenman.”
Annastaria noted the name, taking in all the information she could. Oden? Was that the young man’s name who was just here? “What do you want?” she asked.
“I want to know the truth about what your friend over there told you.”
“I told to you the truth.”
“I don’t believe you.” the man said, humored.
Annastaria paused, but only for a moment. “That then is your problem.”
The man leaned back in his chair, keeping his cynical smile, “You’re a real gutsy girl, I’ll give you that. But trust me, that kind of attitude won’t end well for you. It never does. Do yourself a favor and tell me what Oden told you.”
“There is nothing to tell.” she replied, raising her voice, “And you are now wasting my time.”
The man’s smile began to disappear. “Well then,” he said, “I guess you want to do this the hard way.”
Annastaria took a drink from her strawberry-flavored water before replying, “Are you going to attack me? Out here like this?”
“Oh, trust me, it won’t be public. Why don’t we… take a walk?”
She hadn’t been in aenman lands for long, but Annastaria knew what that meant. He didn’t seem to give a single consideration to her abilities. It was to her own advantage that he didn’t. “I would not try that if I were you.” she said, “You will greatly regret it.”
The man chuckled, “Wow! you really are something else… You know, I hear a lot of things about you wood elves. But those are usually coming from the comics and movies. You guys are supposed to be these badass assassins and all. Maybe you were, back in the old days. Nowadays, we got guns, not bows and arrows. You guys are a little behind the times, and that’s why you’re nothing but a pestering shadow, hugging those trees of yours out in the wilderness.”
Annastaria was tempted to strike him there, given his insulting of her own people, but she pushed it down. She could not show herself connected to them in any way. He was just trying to get under her skin.
One of the other two men closed in on her and very covertly drew a gun next to her face. Annastaria saw it peripherally, and realized these guys were not taking to her threat. For a moment, a shiver went down her spine at the presence of the gun. She didn’t think she could endure any more gunshot sounds. But if she was quick, she could do this without the guns going off.
So be it; she would have to do this the hard way. At least their naivety allowed her to do this entirely isolated, so as to avoid civilian witnesses, and in the dark, they were making it too easy. Her only concern at this point was that she had left Bastillina alone, and this was going to take longer than twenty minutes. She would have to make this quick, and depending on how far they were going, she may have to make a difficult decision to pick these guys off sooner than was convenient.
Annastaria was led away from the public view, towards an old, abandoned warehouse. It took at least ten minutes to reach, but she was tracking from where they came from, to retrace her steps. They crossed the railroad tracks to get to the warehouse, and were now well secluded from public view, through the front gate and inside the darkness of the warehouse. Every step taken away from the public made Annastaria’s job easier. The only thing she needed to keep from doing was getting caught in the open. But that mattered little in this situation, as it was dark. These guys apparently were unaware that wood elves have heightened vision at night. Black areas were visible enough for her to see.
The inside of the warehouse had shelves and trash scattered all over it. It was dark and cold, and the only light that was given was from a lamp that was set up towards the center of the warehouse, and already, she had plotted countless ways to take them down.
“Now, little lady,” the leader said, “we’re gonna have a little one-on-one here, and we’ll see how defiant you are. You should have just spilled the guts, because that’s what’s about to happen to you right now.”
As if that was her cue, Annastaria reached out, and struck the man on her right with a stiff arm to the gut, crippling him before they even knew what was happening. She turned her eyes on the man to the left, caught off guard, and tried to prepare for a fight, but Annastaria was too fast. She flung a kick from the air, which he barely managed to evade, but Annastaria was ready with a second kick that hit him across the face, causing him to crumble before her first kick even came down to the ground. The leader went into a panic as he watched all of this happen in just seconds. Now his two guards were out cold, and it was just he and Annastaria.
Though only a small dim lamp provided him light, it was as though the hunter’s stare of Annastaria was clearly seen to him. He stumbled backwards. Annastaria wasn’t even breathing heavy from all that movement. He whipped his gun out. But Annastaria was faster, as she threw her right hand out, and the tattoos on her arm began to glow through her coat. Whatever this sorcery was, it froze him in uncertainty, and a stare-down ensued.
“You’ve screwed up now, girl.” he said, in a feeble attempt to intimidate her. It didn’t seem to work–Annastaria showed no sign of wavering. She remained silent, waiting for him to make a move.
But her stare broke from beaming into his own eyes, and she looked away, as if she heard something. He heard nothing and wasn’t sure what to say or do. Annastaria heard multiple footsteps approaching from the other side of the warehouse, first outside, but now she heard footsteps echo off steel walls. Whoever they were, they were inside now, and that was her cue to leave. She stared back at the leader of this small group and then clenched her fist, which caused the gun in his hand to grow heavy, as if someone was pulling it down. The weight was instant and too great for him and he dropped it. The pistol fell and slammed to the ground. His panic showed even more, eyes and mouth wide open.
He charged her with a fist, and she ducked and strafed to his right as it went past her. Then his left fist, but she dodged it as well, and grabbed the left fist into a powerful lock and brought him to the ground. The thud to the ground pushed the air out of his lungs in a grunt and a sharp pain through his twisted arm. She was about to deliver a knock-out blow when she heard a voice in the distance call out, echoing through the warehouse, “Oey! Freeze!”
Annastaria halted her strike, and looked to her right to see the other four moving in, and they had the young man from earlier with a gun to his head. “Hey there, friend,” Oden said to her, “How’s it going? You wouldn’t happen to know a little about dealing with some thugs, would you?”
Annastaria looked at all four of them, frozen and concealing her own panic as best she could. Now she had more thugs to take out, and one she wasn’t certain of. She had no reason to help Oden; she didn’t know him, nor did she really care. He was aenman scum, who tried to hit on her. For Annastaria, all that really mattered was getting back to Bastillina safely. They didn’t need to hold Oden hostage, as they already had weapons drawn on her. Her only temptation to let this man go was to save herself.
She was too much in the open to try and flee from their gunfire. Seeing no other option, Annastaria let him go. He gasped as his stressed arm was relieved, and he stood up, facing her and stretching the arm. He and Annastaria stared each other down once more. Though she was outnumbered and quite literally outgunned, she didn’t give up her glare. He was enraged inside at this elvish feind, but he scoffed. “Well, now that we’ve settled that,” he said as he went to pick up his gun, catching his breath,“I think we can get down to business.”
Just as he reached down to grab it, Annastaria threw her left hand towards him, in an air-manipulation thrust, launching him fifteen feet away. The others tensed and trembled to Annastaria’s blink-fast burst of combat. With her back to the others from the airburst move, she leaped and spun in a butterfly spin with her feet pointed towards the gangsters, blasting them with yet another airburst, including Oden.
But while the impact was intense and winded him, it saved his life. He stood up to see Annastaria signalling him to follow her. He didn’t think twice and the two dashed to the exit. At least, Oden figured they were. He had no idea where they were going, but he had only to trust this young elvish-aenman girl that she knew what she was doing. She was fast, like a dart slicing through the air. It was so dark and she was so fast, he was afraid to even blink for fear of losing sight of her.
The thugs stumbled to pick themselves up as fast as they could. The leader recovered his revolver, aimed and opened fire on the two. The others followed after. Annastaria and Oden could hear bullets whizz past their bodies and strike the walls as they fled the scene. Loud clanging of metal echoed off the hallow, metal walls, and sparks burst out with small flashes of light to berate their dark-sensitive eyes. Fortunately, or at least, as far as the adrenaline rush was telling them, they hadn’t been shot, and they flew through the exit swiftly as two rounds struck and sparked the door frame.
As they approached the gate, Oden was in the lead; Annastaria was behind him to help make sure she could cover him while he got away. All that was needed was to get through this door frame and they would be well on their way to a successful escape. They passed through the first door frame of the exit before Annastaria saw over Oden’s shoulder, dark, human-like figures approaching from several yards outside the door. It was more thugs with weapons. At least, that’s what she assumed, and there was no time to ask; Oden was so hyper-focused on escaping, he apparently didn’t see them.
“Get down!” Annastaria blurted out. Without a second thought, Oden dropped to the ground, and Annastaria threw out her right arm as she stepped in front of him. Shots rang out and struck the aura shield emitting from her hand. With every shot that struck the shield, the impact area lit up in blue. When the thugs ran out of ammo, Annastaria seized the opportunity for a counter-attack and fired airbursts at them, taking them out one by one, and used the same technique she used earlier, ripping the guns from their hands. Oden looked up and saw Annastaria fight with speed and agility he had never seen before.
But she wasn’t fast enough to take these men out before the others caught up, coming from inside the warehouse. Annastaria turned around just in time to see one ready to swing a melee weapon of some kind at Oden, who was unaware of the ambush. She shouted once more at Oden to duck. He once again dropped down on all four. As he did, Annastaria rolled over his back in a counterclockwise manner. She was like air going over his back, nearly weightless. Her twist over Oden leading to an open-air kick using her left foot, resulted in a quick airburst that blunted the thug’s swing in time for Annastaria to plant the same foot on the ground, and pivot, bringing her right leg around counterclockwise, delivering a clean hook from her heel straight across the thug’s left cheek, knocking him out cold as it pummeled his head into the door frame, creating a loud ding sound.
A few more came next to fight Annastaria. As Oden once again picked himself up, he turned to see her battle them–her agile form, and her quickness was terrifying and amazing to watch. It was hard to tell what was happening because it was so fast, but he could tell that she was winning the fight, able to make herself an impossible target to hit, and at the same time know when to deliver a powerful blow that eventually, one-by-one, dispatched each of the thugs, making them look like amateurs, outmatched in speed and reaction time, not to mention in magical advantage.
They were sloppy, caught by surprise, and could hardly see, coming in peace-meals through the narrow doorway. Once she finished the short altercation, Annastaria stood up and looked at Oden. As fast as the chaos erupted, it was quiet again, save Annastaria’s heavy breathing, and Oden’s from the adrenaline rush.
They ran outside and then across a grass field before they came to the chain-linked fence, before they heard more gunshots echo through the air and the sound of rounds striking the ground and metal around them. Annastaria pried open and held the battered fence for Oden who quickly took the opportunity, practically diving through the hole. But when he passed through, Annastaria let go of the fence. Oden stopped and turned.
“What ‘re you doing?” he panicked.
“Stay back!” she ordered. He hesitated, but did as she ordered. Then he saw her do something peculiar. She focused on the mob of gangsters closing in on her, and set her legs apart, strong and firm on the ground, closed her eyes and reached into a small pouch she had on her belt. She pulled out some kind of dust into her hand and closed it within both hands, and began to speak in some unrecognizable language to Oden. Was it elvish? And was she casting some kind of spell? She then gave out a loud finishing phrase and tossed the dust outward like a sheet into the grass. The grass lit up in an inferno, blazing in a vengeful inferno through the night sky, illuminating the surrounding buildings in a flickering, yellow tint.
Oden had to cover his dark-adjusted eyes for a moment at the ferocity. The inferno consumed the entire grass in a matter of seconds, creating a wall of fire between them and the gangsters. Seeing the raging fire and smoke clouding their view, the men were forced to stop their pursuit. They quickly made haste to run around the fire, but by the time they had done so, Annastaria and Oden were gone.
Both of them made their way through the streets, turning corners left and right in order to confuse the thugs. After about five minutes of running, they finally stopped and rested in an alley. They were tired and breathing heavily, but no one was chasing them anymore. They could hear sirens in the distance, likely responding to the gunfire, which meant it was time to clear the area completely.
“Whoa,” Oden said, “That was too close.” He looked around outside the alley, but saw nothing unusual. “I think we’re in the clear.” he said, unsure of the words. He turned to thank the elf, and was startled to see she was already walking away. He nearly tripped over his words, and his own footing as he went to catch up to her. “Wait up!” he said. The near-death experience only seemed to make him more excited as he slowed down behind Annastaria. “Man!” he exclaimed in exhilarated laughter, “Did you see yourself back there? That was incredible! You went crazy on those dudes! I mean… holy lord! That magic you did! And then those moves… Whew! That… that was unlike anything I’ve ever seen!”
Annastaria gave no attention to his flattery. She had far more pressing things on her mind. “Go away.” she replied. This was a disaster for her. It was not supposed to be so destructive, he was not supposed to be there, and now Bastillina was left alone in her hotel room, which she had to get to five minutes ago. The thoughts boiled over, and she cursed in elvish, “Ma ‘an raka felde en comere!”
Oden was startled. “Uhm, what?” he asked.
“I had the whole thing in control. I was to take those three down quickly and quietly. But then you come and destroy everything.”
“Me?” Oden said as he followed her, “I was kinda taken hostage, remember? It’s not like I wanted to be there. And besides, if you were just trying to get away from those three, why didn’t you just take them out then and leave? You stayed and helped me, and for that, I am eternally grateful to you.”
She stopped and turned to him, halting him in his tracks. “I only did that because I did not have a choice.” she said, “I was not saving you. They had those guns on me. Everything I did was to get me out of there–not you.” she darted him with a finger to the chest before turning back around and continuing on her way. Oden was left standing paralyzed for a moment, rubbing the small, yet violent poke from her finger.
“Wait, come on,” he pleaded, following after her again “let’s talk about this.”
“Talk of what?” Annastaria replied as she continued to hastily walk down the alley, “About the truth that you are being hunted by a gang of criminals? Shall I even ask why?”
Oden hesitated and said, “Uh… it’s probably best not to.”
“Then I do not think you and I have any reason to keep talking then.” she concluded. She shut him out, and he needed to come up with something to get her to listen. He wasn’t sure why he was so drawn to a girl who had not a single positive feeling towards himself, but he was. She stopped again, whipped around at him.
“Why are you still following me?” she blasted.
“Well, uh…” he said, startled by her hostility, “I just think we make a good team.”
“That is the most foolish thing I have heard.” she said, turning around once more.
“Wait! Can’t you at least just hear me out?” he pleaded, continuing foolishly to follow. To her astonishment, Annastaria stopped again, turned around less violently and waited for him to begin. Why on Eldreon did she turn around? She may never know the answer to that question.
Oden didn’t think she would turn around, and was caught in surprise by it, that he had to stop and think for a moment.
“Okay,” he started, taking a deep breath, “here’s the truth…” he paused again, and began contemplating in his head how to say what he needed to say. His lips moved to the motion of every word he was about to try and utter before he changed his mind. He began to speak, then stopped himself as if to try and re-word it into something else, and then again, and one more time until he finally blurted out, “I’m in a huge pile of crap right now.”
An eyebrow perked up from Annastaria’s face. “That was it?” she said, “Was that intended to be your great revelation?”
“No… I mean, yes, but… look I’m desperate right now. I got a mob after me, and I need some help.”
“And why should I care?”
“Dude, did you see yourself back there?” he began with excitement again, “You took those guys down with such strength and speed! I could use your help.”
“Absolutely not. I do not do dealings with criminals, and I am no mercenary.” Annastaria said, and turned around once more to continue walking.
Oden went after her, “Criminal? Whoa, let’s step back for a moment. The real criminals were the guys you were flashing that mastery at and kicking in the face back there–those are the real criminals.”
Somehow, yet again, Annastaria stopped and looked at him. “You still have not told me why they are after you.” she said.
“I’d be happy to explain, but right now, we should get somewhere safe. Those sirens are still uncomfortably close, and a police airship is no doubt on the way. Maybe if you got a place–”
“No.” she said, refusing to even consider letting him stay with her, and she turned and walked away.
“Why not? Come on, you’re not even giving me a chance.” he said, going after her.
“I said, no.”
She wouldn’t even let him finish his sentence. It made him wonder what was causing this. He sighed, ready to give up, and somehow, the sigh seemed to strike Annastaria, and yet again, she stopped, turning half-way to see him. It sparked empathy in her somehow.
“Look,” he said, “I know you got no reason to trust me, and… and I’ve made your day horrible. You look like you’ve had a bad day.” Annastaria wasn’t accustomed to aenman nor western manners by men, but even she was still insulted by what he just said. Still, she kept it to herself as he continued, “But I got nothing right now, and no, I can’t exactly tell you what’s going on. But I promise you, I promise that it’s got nothing to do with messing your life up. I just… I need somewhere to crash for the night. If you got a place, please help me.”
Annastaria paused, shaking her head as she contemplated the unthinkable. Finally she blurted out, “Why me? Do you not know of anyone else in this city?”
“Believe it or not, I don’t.”
“What in the nine were you doing in that store earlier, then?”
Oden smiled, “Honestly? I was just going in there to grab a bite before I was going to figure out what the hell I was going to do for the evening… Then you showed up.” Annastaria looked at him with darting eyes as he uttered that last statement softly. He could tell it roused unkind thoughts in her towards him. He was beginning to realize that trying to swoon this girl was the quickest way on her bad side. “I mean,” he quickly clarified, “you showed up, you looked lost and then we ended up escaping the mob together and you can kick ass. That’s just what I need.”
Annastaria went silent, but Oden could tell she was battling in her mind whether to allow him to stay with her. She had broken so many rules already, she honestly wasn’t sure what was up from down at this point. “Look,” he added, “just let me stay wherever you’re at, and if I do something bad, you can break my neck, because you’re clearly able to. I saw what you did back there, why in the world would I try anything crazy?”
Another pause in Annastaria, and another eyebrow raised. It was easy to say no, yet so difficult. She sighed, looking at him, “Just for this once. That is it.”
“Yes!” he nearly shouted in joy, “Oh man! Thank you so much!”
“Do not thank me.” she said, familiarly as with Bastillina, “It will change my mind back.”
“You got it.” he said, trying to contain his joy. Awkwardness followed for a moment. “Alright.” an enthused Oden said with a grin, “Lead the way!”
Masters of Eldreon 