SENTINEL LICHEN'S TRIAL (4)

"Err... To put it straight, yes, I ended up stealing it." Sentinel Lichen cleared her throat, chuckling guiltily. "I snuck in when I was tasked with guarding the archive. My plan was to secretly borrow the scroll and return it later... But..."

Sensing the hesitation, Marshall noted, "I recall hearing the Arbiter of Justice say something about scrolls perishing. Did something go wrong?"

"Oh, terribly wrong!" she blurted out. "As I was exiting the archives, I knocked over a vase, and it triggered a defense mechanism!"

"What happened next?" he pressed.

Sentinel Lichen flicked her fingers, creating a tiny ball of wind that she released as a demonstration, "Poof! A blast of energy was released to kill the intruder!"

She waved away the small vortex before continuing. "I managed to dodge the blast and escape before other guards showed up, but..." her shoulders slumped as her hands moved to pluck the grass, "the spiritual blast caused irreversible damage... So many scrolls perished due to the impact..."

"Did they know it was you?" Marshall questioned.

"No, I lied and said I had gone to the bathroom, so at the time I was only punished for negligence." The woman's face turned into a scowl as she grabbed her ashy hair. "But two hundred and seventeen scrolls! Grinded to dust! All because of me! Gah!" she sulked, groaning as she rocked back and forth.

The disciple chewed on his cheek, pondering. It was only natural that the tower would have been enraged by such loss. The sacred scrolls had been collected over hundreds upon hundreds of years—they were priceless. But was it worth someone's life?

Sentinel Lichen mentioned, "For four years, they didn't find out. But the guilt was eating me alive! I never knew when they would discover it was me."

"Then how did they find out it was you after all this time?" the disciple wondered.

"Uh, I have no clue, really," she murmured with a solemn look, quickly changing the topic, "Anyway, I used these years to master spiritual gale in secret. And it was the perfect match for my flow! I succeeded with such ease!"

Just as her excitement was bubbling up again, a wave of doubt abruptly dropped it back down. "Still... at what cost?"

Marshall exhaled, deep in thought. It seemed that the truth always came out sooner or later. He could only hope it was going to be the same case with Lord Chioni, preferably sooner than later.

The disciple stood up, picking up Sun Hayden, who remained comfortably asleep, "Let's keep going. We're not far anymore," he noted.

Her eyes widened at the sudden end of conversation. "Already?"

"Yes. I have to get my friend to the stronghold before the tower sends out any patrolling units to search the forests." Marshall took a step forward, then glanced back. "It's your choice whether to follow or not. We're far away from the city. You should be safe if you lie low in any small town."

"Um..." Sentinel Lichen stood up, grimacing. "Are you saying this because what I did was horrible? You don't want me around, now that you know?"

The disciple shook his head in denial. "It was a mistake, wasn't it? You didn't destroy the scrolls on purpose."

She nodded, continuing to walk behind him, fidgeting.

"Either way, I'm in no position to judge you," Marshall said, bitterly noting, "I just made a huge mistake a few moments ago. And I have no idea how I'll fix it."

Sentinel Lichen scratched her arm with a reluctant sigh. "That doesn't exactly make me feel better."

"Well, that's just how it is sometimes," the disciple remarked, sweat rolling down his forehead anew as he strained to carry Sun Hayden's weight. "All you can do now is try to make better decisions. Past can't be undone, but future can be changed."

"Better decisions..." she hummed in thought, absorbing his words. Then she skipped forward with a keen smile. "I think I can do that!"

With a flick of her hand, a supportive wind was sent to lessen Sun Hayden's weight on Marshall's back. The cool air swirled around them, lifting half of the weight.

The disciple sighed softly as the wind brushed through his hair, giving her a grateful smile, "Thanks."

He observed Sentinel Lichen merrily trailing behind, eyes squinting in glee as she played with the currents of wind. Marshall found it baffling how readily she had laid out her life story to a stranger.

Then again, privacy must have been the least of her concerns after being sentenced to death. She must have carried that secret for a long time—perhaps she needed someone to tell it to.

Marshall looked away, watching out for any roots under his feet. Such an open attitude struck a stark contrast with Wyn's secretiveness. It felt like there was barely anything he knew about the snow deity despite spending quite the amount of time together.

All he could hope for now, was that Wyn had managed to slip away unnoticed.