1 Prologue (Part 1)

Two months ago

5kms from Baneri Valley, near the border of Mandhaar and Adra.

Midnight

The pleasant autumn wind was supposed to be in its full bloom, but due to the high altitude where the Baneri valley was located, the air seemed to carry a harsh chill in it.

The crescent moon seemed to be grinning brightly, despite the threatening clouds surrounding it.

A knock sounded particularly loud in the corridor of a dilapidated inn.

"Who is it?" asked a deep, husky voice.

"Three and Six make it five," came the cryptic reply.

The door opened almost immediately and two people crossed the threshold swiftly.

After shutting the door behind them, the man said gruffly, "You are finally here. We've been waiting for more than two hours now. We were going to leave in the next few minutes if you hadn't come."

The two newcomers looked at the three people who were in the shabby room. Everyone's faces were hidden behind thin leather masks. Only the eyes were visible.

Out of the three people, two of them were male and were respectively, popularly referred to as Elder One, and Elder Two. Elder Five was a woman who was looking at the new entrants with keen interest.

Even though others used the term Elder before their assigned number names, these few people simply used the numbers to address each other. After all, this wasn't their first mission together.

"We were delayed at the checkpoint of Mandhaar and Adra's border. The patrol team seemed unusually vigilant tonight. After clearing the border, we had to shake off the tail and change our attire before coming here. Sorry about the delay." Even though the newcomer, who was usually referred to as Elder Three, was apologising, there was no remorse in her voice.

This was caught on by Elder One and he responded in a displeased tone. "You seem to be awfully smug, Three!"

Elder Three allowed herself a small smile but it was hidden beneath the mask and hence escaped the wrath of the annoyed man. "No! I was simply wondering that if you went ahead on this assignment without us, who would help you communicate in the native language of Adra?"

Before Elder One could react, she turned towards the other guy who had opened the door and asked him. "How is Four now?"

Elder Two, who possessed a deep husky voice, said, "He still hasn't recovered from the injuries of the previous task."

While this conversation was going on, the female who had been sitting quietly till now, suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, you! Is this your first assignment? How old are you?" Elder Five asked the person standing next to Elder Three.

"Greetings, seniors. I am Little Six. I am very excited to be a part of this team," came the polite reply from the girl.

[Author's note: One and Two are males. Three, Five and Six are females. These are just their pseudo names restricted to the Prologue.]

Even though it was a young sounding voice, Little Six sounded calm. She didn't seem to be nervous or excited despite her claim otherwise.

Elder Five laughed when she realised that the little girl hadn't answered either of her questions. The girl was definitely young but she was already at least 5'6 in height and possessed a startling pair of grey eyes.

"Is she a native of Adra?" asked Elder One impulsively, directing the question towards Elder Three.

Grey eyes were uncommon in this part of the continent except for some clans who were the natives of Adra.

Even though they had done many successful missions in the past, this was the first time that a newbie had joined the team. Had Elder Four not been injured, this person wouldn't have been allowed to come in.

But Elder Three had personally vouched for this girl and that was enough for the rest of them.

At Elder One's question, Elder Three frowned and chided him. "One!! No personal questions. Have you forgotten the most basic rule even after so many years?"

"Let's not waste our time bickering on stupid things. We should leave now," Elder Two's husky voice broke the unpleasantness which had started to brew in the room.

Climbing down the stairs, Little Six noticed the absence of other people in this inn. It seemed to be completely deserted.

Five minutes later, all of them had mounted their horses and everyone broke into a steady gallop.

All of them were wearing black fur cloaks and had matching turbans on the top of their heads, hair tucked inside. Knee high, leather boots clapped against the horses' body, urging them on.

The faces were covered with identical masks, not just to keep the biting wind at bay. This was the rule… irrespective of however many missions together, no one had seen anyone's face till now.

They rode through the rocky terrain, keeping close to each other, guided only by the stars in the sky.

Three hours later

Outskirts of Rusi, capital of Adra

The five horses and the fur cloaks were shed off at a similarly rundown inn, as before. This place was on the outskirts of Rusi city. But, it did have an attendant unlike the previous inn. He was an old man who conversed with Elder Three animatedly in native Adra language and pointed towards the person who was waiting for them near the exit.

It was the darkest hour of the night and the city seemed to be peacefully asleep. Everywhere, trees showed the signs of autumn's dominance, as they lay stripped of their leaves and flowers.

At this moment, the five people were tightly squashed in five milk barrels which had been loaded on top of an ox cart. The cart was one of the many which had lined up outside the city gates which were currently locked and would only open at the beginning of the first prahar (approximately 4am). Carriages containing daily essentials gathered from the suburban areas to come into the city every morning.

Breathing deeply through the nose, Little Six struggled to keep her head above the warm, slightly sticky liquid which had soaked through her clothes and hair.

"No milk for me for the next three months," she thought to herself.

After what seemed like an eternity, the loud clanging of the tall metal gates could be heard. The cart jostled and went past the guards smoothly after the token was shown by the cart puller.

Twenty minutes later

The drenched people stood behind the shed where the poor milk vendor had parked his cart to offload the now 'depleted milk barrels'. Even their face masks were soggy and clung to their faces awkwardly.

The milk vendor said something to Elder Five and went back to taking down the milk barrels off the cart.

Wiping his clammy hands against his wet clothes, Elder One took out the crude map which had been drawn on animal skin. Looking up at the fast fading stars in the sky, he squinted at the map, trying to determine their current location.

"We seem to be not too far from the stream. Let's try and remove the stench of the milk before we move towards the target. There are still two hours before the next shift takes over at that place," said Elder One in a low voice.