Chapter 5

The body was still.

The Seer was not breathing. Her golden eyes were devoid of luster. She was lying down on the floor, her body was positioned as if she was knocked out. Who did this to her? Did Milareth kill her or did someone else do it?

It was a possibility. He could not discount that Milareth or someone else killed her. Allendis tried to look for something as he knelt down beside her lifeless corpse, gently moving her neck, chest, abdomen, anything that could tell him how she died. There were no bruises around her neck. No entry marks or exit wounds from a blade. No blood or struggle to be had. Not even a unique smell from perhaps a poison. The only thing he could tell was that she did not struggle.

She died instantly.

How she died, it still eludes him.

This is unnatural. Allendis thought. If it wasn't physical, then perhaps it was a mental attack? Was Chaos capable of such a thing? If it was a mental attack of some sort, then he really needs to have a word with Milareth.

The Seer, when they were viewing his vision, was suddenly interrupted. Could that be the moment she actually died? It was plausible. Evidence points to Milareth and not some outside force.

Speaking of an outside force. The feeling was gone. Allendis looked around the dark tent and everything was quiet, there was no lurking presence. It was similar to the one he felt a few nights ago.

Clank clank…clank clank!

The footsteps were getting louder. Closer. They were heavy. Like metal moving in an erratic yet uniform manner. Allendis tried to stand up but his legs were still weak from getting out of a dream world.

Dammit! Allendis tried to push himself up but it was no use. If someone were to find him with a dead body, then he would cause too much trouble for Halbin and the others. Either he gets executed or be put to Trial by Torment. With the Golden Cloth nearby, the latter was more likely, especially if she was part of the Zenithia's Guild of Commerce.

Allendis had to leave. He carefully wrapped his arms around the dead body of the Seer, trying to lift her up on his shoulders. He almost tripped because of his weak legs. He took a deep breath before finally getting her up in his arms. Allendis walked slowly towards the table and the chair that he sat on moments ago. He eased her into the chair, angling her away from the flaps, and began arranging her limbs. Lifeless as she was, her body moved like water—loose, uncooperative. She held no weight, yet every limb felt like it resisted him. Allendis tucked her legs in and her arms placed on the table, outstretched towards the center.

He looked around the tent and saw the black notebook that she used to perform her divination on him on the armless couch. Allendis went over as quickly as he could and grabbed it. He flipped through the pages as he moved back towards the body.

Land of the drowned Lord, keeper of the faring oath.

Heavenly hearts rage forth, for the loss of the sky's humble abode.

Do not let the Eyes wander through your fields, the Gold light will sing you an ode.

What was he reading? Some sort of riddle? Allendis flipped through more pages, words that sounded like omens were starting to look like a possibility. As he flipped through it quickly, Allendis found a passage that gained his interest.

Let the land burn under the Flames, O' Mad Lord of Light.

Lord of Light…Allendis did not know who that was but her words, the Seer's words, were sounding a bit like ramblings from a lunatic. Perhaps these were recordings of her visions. Visions she had done for someone in court. Allendis flipped again but to an empty page and he placed it beneath her stiff fingers, just enough to give her the illusion that she was writing something—still as she could be.

She looked alive now. Almost. It disgusted him of how easy it was to stage someone's corpse.

Allendis looked towards the flaps of the tent, a small light peeking through the tent. All that was left was to leave undetected.

Clank clank! Clank clank!

The footsteps were getting much closer, shuffling around. Did someone tip someone off? This was not good. Now he runs the risk of being exposed.

Think! Come on, think! Allendis thought as he took one last glance around the tent. His eyes landed on her bed. Her mess of a bed gave him an idea to use. Allendis moved closer as fast as his legs could. As he walked, he removed his black cloak and rolled it into a small wrinkled ball. When he got close enough, he reached out towards the bed and grabbed the messy white blanket and he tried to wrap it around his body. It was long enough to cover his ankles but not his feet. Allendis bent down and removed his boots and rolled up his trousers. Any clue that he was a mercenary and he would be done for.

Allendis used his black cloak that he had rolled to cover his boots. Making it look like he was carrying something important. He did not have a mirror but from what he could tell, it was good enough to be not recognized by anyone, his hair, body and face were covered. He just needed to make things more convincing. He reached out to his bag filled with vials and a small notebook he has used to record his journey. And placed it on top of his boot-wrapped cloth. He brought out four vials. Two green, one blue and one purple. He opened the purple and drank one on the spot and placed the empty vial back on his bag.

The moment he drank all in one go, his throat started burning up. He couldn't cough because someone might hear him so he silently bore the uncomfortable feeling he had in his throat. What he drank was similar to a rafford potion but the intensity was amplified to close up outside wounds, lacking in its usual silvery color. It burned through his throat but he Altered chaos to his favor by making the air he inhaled a bit cooler, allowing him to breathe easier. He wasn't good at Alteration, but he managed one trick—cooling the air he inhaled just enough to soothe the burn.

Clank, clank! Clank clank!

He heard the footsteps getting dangerously close as there was a shadow that peeked through the flaps. It was now or never.

Allendis step forward, head down his arms clutching the boot-wrapped cloth that resembled some hidden artifact and a few vials that to another eye, would look like it would be used for a ritual.

He went outside barefooted and from what he could see, white and gold cloaks with shining armor that almost blinded him under the falling sun.

It was the Golden Cloth.

A man stepped forward trying to stop him.

"Halt!" The armored man's voice boomed. Some of the mercenaries behind them stopped, even some of the merchants were curious, leaning in to see what was happening.

"Yes?" Allendis replied with a low yet raspy voice. He did not have any talent for Alteration of such precision, so using a potion helped with hiding his real voice.

The man looked older and he was a fair bit taller than he was. Lines of wrinkles around his eyes that showed his tiredness and age. His brown hair slicked back but he could see some graying hair on the side. His most distinguishing feature was the scar on the right side of his lip that goes up to the nose and goes across it, like two scars converging.

"Where are you going, young man?" His voice was commanding. Allendis looked behind him and the Golden Cloth were on standby. It seems like he was their commander.

"I'm just getting a few things for m'lady, why?"

There was a small silence between them. Thank the goddess that he had this white blanket on him.

"We received…reports. A disturbance in this tent."

"Is that so?" Allendis pretended to be surprised but his mind was racing through how they responded so quickly. Did the Seer have any plans in case she were to die?

The man nodded. "Yes. Would you mind letting us into the tent?"

"I'm afraid I cannot let you do that." Allendis responded politely. If he were to get out of this situation, he needed to act fast.

Allendis pulled the flaps open, letting the light shine on the Seer's body, her face completely obscured from the Golden Cloth. The armoured man's eyes darted at the Seer.

"As you can see, m'lady is in the middle of a divination. A process that, you should know, is a very delicate ritual."

Allendis made sure he added a small bow, holding the flaps just long enough for them to see that the Seer was busy doing her 'divination'.

He has to sell his performance and make sure that he acted like nothing was out of the ordinary before closing the flaps and facing the man before him, his head still low, showing respect to the figure.

"Strange time to be running errands, don't you think? Don't worry kid, we'll be quiet." The man said.

Allendis fought off the urge to click his tongue. "With respect, you've no cause to enter. And I don't even know your name."

He needed his name—something that'll be etched into his mind the moment things went sideways. If the man before him became a problem, if he managed to unravel everything…Allendis might have to kill him. He needed to kill him quietly, to prevent the man from linking him to Halbin and the others.

"Young man, I am Commander Slen of the Golden Cloth. Messengers of the Watchful Goddess. You'd do well to remember our sigil." Slen pointed to a crest that was embedded on his armour. An austere design of a woman who had her arms spread, cradling the world like a child.

Allendis gasped loudly and lowered his head further to give the impression of shock.

"My apologies sir commander but I would still advise against going in."

He knew what this man was going to say. All he had to do was play his cards right.

"Oh? Why is that?" Slen asked. His voice of inquiry hid an edge that would make any man squirm.

Allendis smiled underneath the white blanket. He could just reiterate again that the divination could spell doom. He could just mock the man in the slightest that he lacked the knowledge of a Seer's ritual. But he had a performance to sell. So he'll give him a line that he could remember.

"Because…" Allendis started but paused.

"Land of the drowned Lord, keeper of the faring oath." Allendis said slowly.

"Heavenly hearts rage forth, for the loss of the sky's humble abode." His head shifted upwards, not enough to meet Slen's gaze.

"Do not let the Eyes wander through your fields, the Gold light will sing you an ode." He ended his words with an increased tone and Allendis' one eye met one of his. He could not help himself smile underneath his cover as he looked upon the slight dread in the commander's eyes, stern as they can be.

"Any reason you're telling me about this boy?" Slen was now on edge. Good. The more tense he was, the more he could convince him of his next words.

"Divinations are not to be taken lightly. A single disturbance of the outside has caused calamity to the drowned Lord and the heaven's kingdom." He lowered his head again.

"Fate is such a fickle thing, don't you agree? A Seer of no name could cause such a calamity or the untold visions could not be heeded? Who knows…"

He paused–but barely. "Ah, you speak of…Lord Jean Vosdy's Ode, correct?" Slen murmured, his eyes narrowing, yet it wasn't angry. "I do not appreciate threats of any kind, boy."

Checkmate. Allendis smiled under the white veil.

"You will pay one yourself sir commander if you disturb m'lady in any way during her divination. None of us would wish what happened to Lord Jean Vosdy to anyone, right?"

"Yes. Drowned with his people's hands. No one deserves such fate." Slen said so smoothly. Not a hint of fear on his voice.

Allendis dropped his smile and he was thankful once again that the blanket covered his face. Something felt off.

"What do you know about Lord Jean Vosdy's Ode?" Slen asked.

Damn him! Allendis thought. He didn't know anything about an ode. If he answers too slowly, Slen will be suspicious. He needed something vague.

"Just that a tragedy occured to the Lord. I do not speak of such a topic with, m'lady, unfortunately." Allendis said as he lifted his head slightly.

And then he saw it. It was brief. Barely even a second but he saw it.

Slen was smiling.

"Apologies for causing you and your m'lady some trouble, young man." Slen said as he bowed down, with one of his arms on his chest. Allendis' heart raised slowly. "For now we will secure the perimeter, just to make sure everything stays the way it is."

Slen turned around and slowly paced to one of his soldiers.

"Ah yes!" Slen exclaimed and he turned his head towards Allendis. "Do not worry young man, we will wait until the Seer is done with her divinations. I'm sure she'll have to come out sooner or later."

At this point, if Allendis disagreed with the commander, then he'd just be announcing that he was involved somehow. It was better for him to get himself out of here. The one thing he had over Slen was that he did not know anything about him.

Allendis bowed once more to show some courtesy. "Then I will be off then. Please do remember to not disturb m'lady during her divination. It is imperative you do so."

"I didn't quite catch your name, boy."

Allendis lifted his head, this time meeting his gaze fully. "My name is Milareth."