Chapter 2 (part 2)

In truth, Ean had only had about one glass of beer, but he was really good at pretending otherwise. He had been talking to off-duty guards and soldiers all night. Periodically, he would give an inconspicuous look over his shoulder at Cecealye to ensure she was okay. Not a moment later, one of the drunk guards' voices would always bring his attention back. It wasn't long, however, before one of them completely passed out, and half the bar laughed hard about it.

'Man, these guys are plastered,' Ean thought. Taking another look over at Cecealye, he knew it was time to go. He'd seen that look on her face before and knew she was done here. That made no matter; he'd already found out all he needed to know.

He stood up, faking a stagger. "Well, boys- I mean you fine gentlemen- I must be leavin' you."

"Oh, come on now, you can't leave yet. We haven't even got to the fun part."

"Fun part?"

"Yeah." A slurring guard stood up. "We haven't got to see Murry do his table dance."

"Table dance? I think I'll pass."

They began to protest again.

"No, no, you all have had too much to drink and I'm leaving before you get me in trouble."

"Who's going to say anything? After all, we're the law enforcers."

"None-the-less, I am leaving. And you all stay out of trouble." He staggered away to the door and out he went. It wasn't but a moment later that Cecealye joined him outside the pub.

"That was some show you put on there."

He smiled a little boys smile. "It comes with the position."

She smiled back. "Well if you say so mister actor."

He put out his arm with a goofy look on his face. "I do say, ma'am. Would you like an escort?"

"How kind of you. I should think I would like that," she said, grabbing his arm as they walked back to Brundin's house.

Supreany found herself not too far behind. She left the pub with a smile but upon walking out onto the street, it diminished. The city was gloomy and shadows were scattered everywhere. 'This place is nothing like Ellizea. It's so creepy.' She caught herself constantly looking over her shoulder and glaring into the unseen parts of the street.

She crossed her arms as her pace quickened. Suddenly, she froze upon seeing the movement of a shadow and shrank away into the darkness out of sight. Hiding behind some barrels, her eyes locked onto it. Someone was over there, yet if she hadn't been so paranoid she wouldn't have even noticed. They stood motionless, and she could feel their eyes boring holes into her.

'They've already seen me. What could they possibly be watching me for? I mean, it's not like I'm anyone of great …' She paused as a different thought occurred to her. 'CC. What if … I can't lead them to her.'

She slipped from behind the barrels and began to walk down a different street. Still clinging to the shadows, she kept a watchful eye on the dark figure that followed. 'Man, whoever this is, is really good.'

Carefully watching them, it came as a surprise to her that she had even seen them at all. Before she knew it, she had doubled back to Bardo's Pub and taken the liberty of surrounding herself with a bunch of people. Upon entering, it occurred to her that Orckle was still in the corner. Without hesitation, she quickly went over to him.

"Orckle, someone's been following me."

"I see. The tall dark form?" He nodded over at the door. Looking over, she just barely saw them slip in with some other people.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Well, two can play this game, and I intend on doing nothing else." He stood to his feet. "Supreany, give me your hand."

"Why?"

"I'm going to show you an old trick of mine."

She put out her right hand and he took hold of it.

"Now, whatever you do, do not let go."

Before she could say another word, she felt a force coming out of Orckle as he disappeared before her eyes. Feeling a tingling sensation climbing up her arm, she looked down to see her arm vanishing.

"Orckle!" An instant later, she felt her whole body tingling. Looking over, she could see Orckle and herself. However, everything else had a grey tint to it.

"Come. Let us go." They rushed over to the door, and upon its opening, hurried out into the street. Within moments, they ran up to Brundin's house and through his front door. Once inside, Orckle released her hand and the world around her saturated to its normal coloration.

"What did you do?" Supreany asked.

"I made us disappear."

"But how?"

"That, my dear, is for me to know and you to wonder about. Now, it's late; you need to get some sleep."

"But what about that person?" Supreany began to protest.

"I don't think they know where we went. Otherwise they wouldn't have been following you," Orckle stated.

"But you don't know that for a fact."

"No, I don't. However, if you don't get any rest you won't be fit for travel tomorrow. And that, I'm afraid, is a fact."

"All right. If you insist, I'll go back and grab me a bed, and maybe I'll get some sleep."

She walked on back to the reserve room and crawled into a bed. To her surprise, she fell asleep quite fast. However, there would be no sleep for Orckle that night. He spent it looking over the streets outside the house for their new friend but he would not see them.

-

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Ellizea: in the midst of rubble

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Smoke still rose from the coals of the half destroyed city as a high-ranking captain cautiously approached a tall, massive, cloaked figure. Staring off to the horizon, the creature could barely see beyond the haze. Taking a deep breath, the captain uneasily stood behind it.

"My lord."

"Have you found her yet?" Its voice was deep and heavy, almost like a growl.

The captain could feel sweat beads forming on his brow. "No, my lord, she is nowhere to be found."

The creature turned to face the soldier. His height was at least eight feet. Pulling back the hood of his cloak, his massive round head which was crowned with six three-inch ivory horns, came into sight. His eyes were a rich orange and seemed to pierce through those on whom he looked. His thick scarred skin was dark grey with a tint of green. His nose was flat and his lips made a somewhat thin line across his face.

"We believe she escaped to the south. The General of her army was posted down there."

The creature's eyes narrowed, his face reflecting the aggravation building up inside of him. "Then why don't you send some soldiers after her?"               

"I have sent out a group of thirty men dressed in civilian clothes to find the General." The captain tried to swallow his fear.

The moment of silence that followed seemed to last forever until finally, the creature took a less menacing stance. "Good. You're dismissed."

The captain quickly bowed out, leaving the creature's presence as it swiftly turned back to look upon the sunset.