Stories

“I AM PERFECTLY CALM! I… I… am sorry..." At that moment the drinks arrived. “I am listening” said the little halfling.

“I don’t think you understood what I’ve just said. You will help your sister, and wait until I say it is safe. Otherwise I will see you hanging tonight. Are we clear?”, “Sir, we might have a problem. The halfling might have been conscious the whole time, what if he heard anything sensitive? Should we … dispose of him?”

Jacques was riding with Ziel, they held a steady pace and in two days, the outskirts of Old Oberron was visible on the horizon. Near the town, a young couple was enjoying the fresh breeze and the bright sunny day. The boy with the small man on his back opened the door to the infirmary. The sheriff nodded. “Do what you must.”

No matter how much Scarlett tried and struggled, she could not move, even worse, she felt her consciousness slipping into the abyss bit by bit. She heard familiar voices somewhere in the distance, calling her with an inviting tone.

Scarlett tried to warn her brother in time, but one of the cloaked men managed to stab him with a short sword. Although Dylan did not make a sound, he had to stagger back. As the sword was pulled back from Dylan’s stomach, blood started gushing out. If anything, this has made him only madder. ‘I need to get to him before he loses too much blood.’ Scarlett tried to subdue her foe, but he was extremely agile and did not leave any opening for her to use. Dylan on the other hand did not look for any openings; he simply used sheer force to make one.

Scarlett was looking for an alley or a dark corner she could lead her stalkers to, although she had no luck. However, she did find the shrine, many shrines in one place actually. Because this town had no real temples, the townsfolk only built shrines to worship their deities. ‘This will be a short prayer. Pelor, forgive me.’ Scarlett was thinking while pulling out a small candle from her bag, lighting it and placing it next to the other candles. She then proceeded to lower her head in order to say her prayers. For a while, there was silence broken by the sound of birds chirping. ‘… and please look over Dylan as well…’ Suddenly, Scarlett heard a loud whooshing sound from her right; she immediately pulled out a small shield which she was carrying on her back, hidden under her cloak. She managed to block the speeding arrow, but had to move quickly as another one was on its deadly way. Scarlett moved quickly, in a zigzag pattern to avoid any other arrows, but before she knew it, she was jumped by a man wearing a black cloak.

Dylan was still searching the market, not looking for anything in particular, and only browsing. Suddenly, he had a sudden rush down his spine. Something was wrong, ‘I should better find Scarlet.’ He never liked to be separated from his sister, although he was the younger sibling, he always took care of Scarlett. Dylan picked up the pace and tried to shake the two stalkers. However, no matter how hard he tried, they were always there. ‘Darn it. I should lose them fast and find Scarlett.’ He thought that maybe if he lured them to the edge of the town, he could dispose of them quickly, and without witnesses. At the end of the market he took a left turn and hoped that he will reach some kind of a secluded area, hopefully a place where his stalkers could scream without anyone hearing them.