Chapter 41 - Dead?

 Bjorn was walking around town with his nine aspirants. Asking questions here and there for the population.

 "I think we should investigate outside the wall my lord," Miguel commented with respect in his voice.

 Bjorn, unlike Pan, took the trouble to meet with his nine and ask them for their name and capabilities.

 "I think Miguel is right, asking isn't getting us anywhere, everyone says they know where the nest is and they swear they've seen a Siak at least once these days", said Sara with dismay.

 They had been walking all morning, the star was now at the highest point in the sky and they were unable to discover anything.

 "A man, where is a man," stammered a gentleman who passed with a lamp in his hand.

 "Hey you, wait a minute," Bjorn ordered firmly.

 Bjorn took his instincts very seriously. It was the second time he'd seen the man, and just like the first, he felt something, an instinctive, ambiguous feeling. 

 "Do you know where there is a man?" the old man asked, stopping and bringing the lamp close to Bjorn's face.

 "Why are you using that lamp? Can't you see it's daytime?" Bjorn replied angrily, pushing the lamp away from his face.

 "All light and little to find a man", said the gentleman with conviction.

 "What do you mean Man, there are men right here," Jack commented, pointing to himself, Claudio, Bjorn and Miguel.

 "There aren't, they aren't men", replied the old man before turning around and returning to "search".

 "You dare insult an honorable apprentice? A member of the Order?" snapped Jack at the old man. 

 "Among wild animals, the informer is the most dangerous to bite; among domestic animals, the flatterer", replied the man, still with his back turned, and continued to walk and babble through the streets.

 "Now if-" 

 "Stop Jack, Leave him," Bjorn ordered and Jack fell silent.

 'Strange.' Bjorn thought as he watched the man turn a corner.

 "Let's look outside the wall," he finally ordered.

 The ten searched the perimeter outside the walls until the star left and night came and then some. But they couldn't find anything, so they went back.

 Thorin was waiting for them with the Regent in the great reception hall, nine groups had already returned and they were the last ones.

 Bjorn noticed something was missing from the groups' arrangement. It was Pan.

 "As everyone has arrived I will break the news. Apprentice Pan and his party found the nest and the fallen," declared Thorin good news, but his voice was sad.

 'Did he get hurt?' Bjorn thought, remembering that Thorin enjoyed Pan's company during the trip, if he was sad then he must have been hurt.

 "The nest is in the sewers, but contrary to what we thought, there are not just a few Siaks, but dozens, maybe hundreds," declared Thorin. "A letter has already been sent to the Order, this situation is more than we can handle," he stressed.

 The news took everyone by surprise, except for the seven who witnessed everything and the eighth who was resting.

 'This is bad?' The Regent thought about the bittersweet news, not sure if it was bad for having an infestation of Fallen, or good for getting more support from the Order, which would in turn bring more connections.

 "We had two casualties, the first being the mere aspirant, may her spirit rest in the veil," Thorin prayed for her, and they all said little prayers. "As for the second casualty… It was the Pan, leader who bravely sacrificed himself to save his group… May his spirit rest in the veil" spoke Thorin. His voice filled with regret and remorse.

 'I should have followed him.' He thought. 

  Thorin knew he was the leader and he couldn't favor anyone, but now he regretted having been fair, the most in the Order was favoritism, who could judge him for helping a friend? So everyone did the same. The aspirants said that Pan was extremely powerful and that it wouldn't make much difference if he was there. But from Thorin's perspective, to mundanes, anything was too powerful.

 'Roots the size of logs? How much talk.' Thorin thought about the amazing story the seven had told. He understood that they wanted to make him great for having saved them. But they exaggerate the story too much.

 'Hundreds? Wait, Dead?' Thought Bjorn.

 Not once had his senses lied to him in his nineteen years of life. But lately it seemed like everything that came to him was wrong.