Chapter 5 .Through Fog and Grit

Fog clung to the ridges along the mountain pass, cold draught mildly drifted through.

In a distance lay an encampment of some sort; crates sat half buried in the earth, grease slick pans, broken arrow shafts.

Groups of individuals were seen moving about-handling crates,adjusting straps and tending to their weapons.

They had seen better days- worn out armour almost in tatters weapons clung close to their figures.

Some were around a makeshift bonfire, billowing smoke seamlessly blending together with the fog.

The men were engaged in banter, some enjoying heat from the fire while sharpenning and oiling their weapons- at a distance was two figures traded blows, nobody batting an eye- clearly a routine sight.

With a keen eye one would notice that an area, close to ridge wall was avoided like plague.

It immediate sorroundings deserted and filled with eerie silence.

In a tent- close to the ridge wall- a man was seen tied to a crate- his legs and arms bound together by a thick rope.

Bloody teeth and nose hinted at what had come before- three figures stood over him.

The largest:Rajju the Raveger- a towering brute with a double axe strapped on his back- leaned in close, muttering low threats to his ear.

On his either side of him were two others: another broad-shouldered man, not quite as massive, and a third- lean, wiry, with a slight hunch in his posture, a deranged smile plastered his face.

He looked positively delighted with the scene.

"You will tell me what I need to know."

The giant of a man with an axe on his back stated with a grunt,and proceeded to ask a barrage of questions.

"There is word of your employer taking a trade convoy to Risenberg. When will that happen? How tight is the security? How many guards are there?"

The tied man was impassive, little to no response; apart from an occasional quivering breaths.

"You not going to answer me huh?" the man said, with a chuckle

"Larp do you thing."

The tied man flinched at the mention of the name.

Larp, the gaunt and hunched figure rubbed his bony hands in glee, happy with how things had turned out, he would have a little more 'fun' .

Two figures walked out, screams of pain and maniacal cackles reverberating in the tent behind them.

Nobody in the camp batted an eye to the screams and pleas of mercy; though some made distance from the tent.

You couldn't know when Larp would snap; nobody was willing to be his next victim. Thoughts of Larp elicited goose bumps and shudders.

*****

Meanwhile,at the caravan:

The constant rocking of the carriage had once bothered Rain, now hours after departure he had gotten used to it, syncing to its rhythm.

Vanmo was walking at the side of the second carriage, Marra hounding him with banters, delighted with his reactions.

Old Gens was still tinkering with his weird contraptions.

Thom sharpening his swords in silence at a distance, taking in the view outside, the rolling plains, towering mountains in the horizon.

Shan, the merchant and owner of the caravan had come and sat next to Rain a while back- hounding him with questions, impassive replies and grunts was enough to make him back off- changing topics ; making comments on the view outside, complaining about exobitant taxes from the empire.

The sky reddened, the sun sinking at the horizon, there was still a couple of hours before they made camp.

The world tilted as Rain forced himself upright, his bottoms sore from sitting that extended for hours.

Jumped down from the carriage and walked beside it, stretching while doing so.

Thom gave a snicker.

Rain had now fully recovered from the torment he put his body through.

His lithe figure had a bouncy feel to him, like a spring.

Under the cloak fingers- clenched and unclenched testing their strength- wrapping around his knives.

His muscles were full of energy, ready to be unleashed at a moments notice.

He was tempted to do a bit of shadow boxing to scope out his new strength, a reforged body but decided aganist it- that would shatter his cold impassive image he had cultivated and invite prying eyes- he would have to find a place to do it, out of everyone's sight.

It had been almost an hour of walking, Rain stopped, held to the carriage rail and sprung inside, sitting in silence.

He gave his arcane essence a tug, summoning a screen of runes.

>>><<<<

Name: Rain

Rank: Awakened- novice

Attributes: nil

Aspect: Shadow weave

Aspect Ability: Shadow control

Ability description: The shadows listen to your call, embrace you as kin.

>>><<<

For the first time he actually paid attention to what the screen displayed, analyzing everything.

A novice, the beginning of the journey to greatness,he knew of the progressing stages after novice: it was adept, Expert then Master; where things started to hold weight.

To advance to adept stage he would have to gather arcana,saturate his body with essence and refine his core.

Talking of cores, he closed his eyes, probing inside himself but opened in the next moment,

Got back to his 'probing' - inside his chest was a black marble-like core barely a centimetre in diameter swirling silently.

He gave it a nudge, no response.

Gave a few tries , all in vain.

He tried his essence next.

It was hesitant not completely following his will, swirling a little bit before spurting and dispersing- He would have to practice, familiarize with it until it became as natural as breathing, that would take time.

He paid no heed to attributes- those he would earn as he grows in power, they were unique to each individual, but some individuals may or may not share similar attributes.

To his aspect, Shadow Weave- that was his blood and lifeline, it defined his path.

His arcane orientation leaned towards subtlety, subterfuge and silent presence- it defined him perfectly.

He read his ability, Shadow Control and its description.

Glanced at his stretched shadow at his feet, willed it to move, nothing.

Tried some more- he had limited success, a muted flicker of his shadow, miniscule and subtle- it had moved nevertheless, that was all the confirmation he needed- with time, he would grow.

That was all, he would get more abilities as he evolved and advanced his rank.

A small smile tugged at his lips. So many paths lay ahead- the potential and flexibility of his aspect.

A fuzzy feeling in his chest further widened his smile.

>>Druuk- druuuuk<<<

The sudden rocking of the carriage shook him, interrupting his thoughts.

The sun had now almost fully set, they would soon make camp.