- Whispers and Wonders: The Storm Calls

"Lia!"

The storm was drawing near, closer and closer, like a barreling ram heading staring towards a locked door. The air chilled, the world was silent, not even nature dared to scream over its own voice , the roaring thunder and winds made for a starcking reminder for the group to hurry up.

Currently, Rian was standing on the edge of the ledge he and his party had once crossed to reach the caves, the same cave system Lia was last seen at.

Lukali, who stood some distance away from him, was yelling her name as well, just in a different direction than him. Behind him stood nearly a dozen or so security guards all with spears or lances, looking over and searching for footprints.

Saul and Winslow, who had joined them in their search for Lia, were discussing something inaudible by the caves entrance.

"Lia!"

Rian called out again. It had been nearly three hours since he had left Lia. An hour trip each way, as well as an hour to explain and ready the guards needed for this excursion and search party.

When the Dorrows heard of a man living in the caves and woods, they were worried, asking Winslow and Saul to personally go and search for Lia, in the case that the man showed himself.

'Where are you girls? You couldn't have gotten far.'

Panning his eyes over the forest canopy, Rian tried to see any signs of life, any signs of movement or footprints.

But there were none.

Turning back to the search party, he rushed past dozens of guards still searching and rummaging through the cave, looking for any signs of someone having doubled back, or any clues that could help tell them where Lia went, any signs at all would be useful.

Reaching Saul and Winslow, whose conversation was nearing its end, Rian made a motion to gather their attention.

"I think we should search the forest."

He called over the roaring wind pounding against the rocks and mountain face.

Saul made a face, looking over the canopy of trees and forest, all waving violently in the wind. A great storm was coming, and he worried if they stayed out any longer they would be in the midst of it all.

"We can't! The storm's getting too close!"

He was forced to yell over the wind, which he found hard to stand in place because of its force.

"Are you sure she didn't head back to the manor? She has a map."

Rian shot his head, pointing to the forest.

"She wouldn't leave, even if she found him. Lia's like that."

"Well, Lia might just get himself killed if she isn't careful. What does she have, a death wish?

"She might. Gods know she's determined, and sometimes to a fearsome amount."

"Well, there may be nothing we can do then. There's miles of forest out there, and even if we sectioned it off to just their area, we'd be combing through hundreds of yards of brush, trees, and rocks. There's no time before the storm comes."

Rian shook his head again, frustrated with the current timing of everything.

"I can't leave her. She's out there, maybe in trouble, and the storm is coming closer."

"All the more reason to go back! If the storms come closer, then she's dead either way. These mountains get flash floods and landslides often. We climbed over one on our way here! We stay any longer, we're going to be in the midst of it all."

"We can't just leave her for dead!"

Winslow looked to Saul, eyes neutral but begging. Saul however, was determined not to send his men into a death trap.

"Absolutely not!"

He said seeing Winslow's look.

"If my men die because of one girl, I can't handle that. I can't go back to their families and tell them what happened. 'Oh, we were searching for some lost girl and they all died in a landslide!' I'm not sending that back home with their bodies!"

"Then send the men back."

Winslow said, shocking both Rian and Saul, who looked to him for reasoning.

"We don't need two dozen men combing the forest. If it's just us, we might find her faster. True it will be more difficult, but at least there's no risk in collateral damage. We will find her."

Saul looked over the bodies of his men, all still searching the ledge for footprints, discussing with one another, with looks of an imposing fear in their eyes. They too were afraid of the storm drawing closer.

"Send them home Saul. We will stay looking for her."

Catching Winslow's eyes, Saul was pushed back to a far and distant memory of when he was just a normal guard, serving the current master's father in the Dorrow Manor. He had gotten lost in the woods searching for the young master's dog at the time, and had slipped, bumping his head against a hard rock.

He would have died in the woods that day, if one of the grounds keepers had not gone searching for him when no one else would. He called that man a friend that day, but it was the lesson he taught Saul that was still ever present in his soul.

Sighing deeply, Saul, holding his torch in hand, walked past Rian and Winslow, facing his men.

"Gather up!"

The guards dropped what they were doing and came shuffling to Saul's side, all with worried looks on their faces.

"I know most of you are worried about being sent into the forest, fully knowing that this area is prone to landslides, and with one hell of a storm on the way. All of you have families, I've met them all. I don't want to have to send on a note, strapped to a body bag explaining what happened. All of you, go back to the Dorrow Manor, and await further orders."

One of the men spoke up, raising his hand to garner Saul's attention.

"What about you sir?"

Saul scoffed, finding it ironic that even now his loyal friends were still looking out for him, even at his old age of 57.

"I've worked this job enough to know we don't leave a man behind. Lia is a Hunter hired by the Dorrows, now does that make her any different?"

He let the question sink in before answering it himself.

"No, it does not. She's one of us so long as she is here. And as that, it is my responsibility to bring her home."

"Then it should be ours too, sir."

One of the men called back to him, raising his spear, as many others mumbled in agreement.

"That's not your job. Your job is to go home. I won't hear anything else about it."

"But-"

"None of it! Go back, all of you. Now."

The men hesitated , but hearing the sternness in Saul's voice, they ultimately decided that going back was the best they could do, so they agreed.

As the men made their way over the edge of the ledge, helping one another down the steep rocks, Saul turned back to Rian and Winslow, who was smiling at his friend.

"What? I did what you asked, now can we please start looking for this girl. I'd like to go home and sleep in my comfy bed."

Winlsow nodded his head, gesturing to the forest before them.

"Where should we start?"

He barely had to say anything else before Lukali came rushing over, his breath coming out in labored pants. Clearly he was in shock over something, and was in a rush to make out what it was.

"The woods…there was someone….in the woods."

Rian gripped Lukali by the shoulders, forcing the man to calm down, before speaking clearly.

"Where?"

"A ways due into the woods. Down some old deer trial. I'll show you."

He began shifting away from the three, gesturing to the woods behind him in some urgency.

The three didn't have to share any words between each other, before they all made their way to the edge of the cliff. Thunder and lightning began to show in the sky as they made their way over, feet moving in a flurry to beat the oncoming storm.

"There."

Lukali pointed to the faint outline of a worn down path, dry dirt and patches of grass leading the way deeper into the forest. But even as they raised their eyes, trailing the deer path deeper into the woods, all four of them caught sight of something deeper in the distance, catching their breath as they laid eyes on it.

Lightning struck the sky, sending rain and a flash of light across the woods, illuminating even the darkest parts of the forest. And there, hiding, they could see the outline of a person half standing out from behind a tree, eyes a disturbing deep and shadowed look from the light.

"Lia!"

Rian called out, but the flash ended, as didn't the image of the mysterious figure in the distance.

"Hush! It could be the man you warned us about."

Saul drew a short sword from his belt, hopping down to a lower rock that protrudes from the ledge.

"Come one then! Let's chase after them. If it's your friend they won't run. If it isn't, they'll lead us straight to where we need to go."

The other followed him, Winslow being a little slower than the rest as he was older, but also not used to anything adventurous or rough. As such, this entire thing was a little bit out of his comfort zone.

They gave chase, faster and faster down through the forest, each one chasing the others wheels, Saul leading the charge with his short sword drawn.

"There they are!"

Lightning flashed again, as the rain poured into the forest, causing the ground beneath them to become muddy, as the striking image of the figure from before appeared in a similar stance, halfway hiding brined a tree.

From this distance they couldn't see their face , nor what they were wearing. All they could see was a black figure outlined by the white of the lighting's flash. It was haunting in several ways, but Saul, being the deranged and un-fearing man he was, charged forward full spring toward the haunting figure.

"Come on!"

Rian and Lukali began springing after him, Winlsow jogging from being , his breath labored as he began to slow down, hoping this run wouldn't last long. The ground beneath them was muddy and filled with puddles, each one splashing up water as they sprinted full force through the forest, trees and bushes passing by them in a blur.

They didn't grow tired, they didn't have the worms of distressed or hopeless fill their hearts. The occasional flash of lightning, outlining the figure hiding, half hiding behind another three with glowing white eyes filled them with rage and purpose.

Before they had realized, they had nearly run the entire distance of the woods, from one end to the other, without once growing tired.

Finally, as if fate was mocking them once again, a flash of light from the pounding thunder and lightning outlined the figure closer this time, nearly at arms length as Saul dove forward in an attempt to grab them.

It was then that Rian, as Saul was flying through the air in an attempt to grapple with the figure, that he realized the shadowy figure was female, her long hair flowing behind her in the wind.

'Who…?'

He didn't have a chance to finish the thought, as Saul's open arms only found air and he fell to the ground , splashing around mud and water all over him.

"Sh*t!"

He yelled in frustration, cleaning the mud from his face. Rian and Lukali, followed soon by Winlsow slowed down to help the man up, the latter of the three leaving against a tree, his breathing labored and thick.

However, before either Lukali or Rian could help Sual up, another flash of lightning passed overhead, illuminating the dark area around them, and outlining once again the shadowy figure. But, what made them catch their breath in fear, was the fact that the figure was now standing over Saul, with the same shadowy and white outline indistinguishable from when they saw her before.

Saul reached for his short sword in a quick and flowing motion, but just as his hand gripped around the hilt and handle of his blade, the flash ended, and the figure was gone.

"Damn it! Where in ten hells did they go?"

He stood up, mud and water dripping from his body as he furiously looked around, his sword in hand.

"I swear to the gods! Come out you f*cker!"

"As you wish."

The voice was calm and steady, but an eerie sound nonetheless as it caught all of them by surprise. Saul especially, who turned around swiftly, his blade pointing at the neck of the figure he had heard.

Rian and Lukali, who were both in a battle stance, wary of the mysterious figure's approach, snapped towards the sound of the voice, one with their bow drawn, an arrow knocked, while the other raised his fists ready for a brawl.

Saul of course, was the most angry of them all, as his blade never left the position it was in, pointing out into the darkness that he couldn't see, sure as hells that the person he was looking for was right in front of him.

It was then that lightning flashes and thunder cracked against the sky, illuminating them one final time, as the image and facial features of Lia appeared before them, making Sual jump.

"Ten hells girl. Give this old heart of mine a break. I nearly killed you!"

He dropped his blade as Rian and Lukali rushed past him, embracing Lia in a tight and firm bear hug.

Rian gripped Lia's shoulders, looking her sternly in the eyes.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"I'll explain later. Right now I have more…"

She looked past them to Winslow and Saul, who was putting away his weapon, supporting his tired friend.

"...pressing matters to attend to."

Leaving Rian and Lukali behind to share a glance of worry between each other, Lia approached the two, Saul and Winslow, with a blank face.

Winlwo, who was still a bit tired, stood up firmly to welcome Lia back in their arms, his voice calm and kind, unlike anything of what had been described of him before when she was alone with Voln.

"Lia. Welcome back. I trust that you are alright, and if not, we have healers at the manor if…"

He drifted off as he saw Lia's blank face, unchanging even to his words and voice. Sharing a look with Sual, he frowned.

"...is something wrong? Did you find something? Or rather, someone?"

He was referring to the mysterious figure that Rian and Lukali had told them about, the one that Lia had chased into the forest, deep into the woods out of sight.

Lia said nothing, her face unchanging as she looked between Saul and Winlsow, causing the both of them to become worried in more than one way.

"Lia…?"

She tossed a small object at Winlow, who instinctively caught it in his hand, looking between her and the item, before his eyes widened at the sight of the object.

Lia's voice was calm and steady, but firm in every way.

She left nothing to the imagination as they both laid their eyes on the item.

His face turned to stone as the item flashing through his mind one after another, all the places he had seen it before still vivid in his head.

Inside a small wrapped present. On a small bedside table.

On the wrist of a small boy he knew all too well.

A wooden bracelet with small encrusted runes.

"I need to speak with Mr. Dorrow now."

Winslow looked between her and the bracelet once more, before clutching it in his fist.

"As you wish."