No escape

They continued their path in complete silence, the only sound echoing around them was the soft crunch of their footsteps against the forest floor as they exited the small woodland. They were headed toward the location where they were supposed to meet the man.

Each of them was lost in their own thoughts.

Naturally, Rorlan's mind was racing with the chaos she was in, thinking about her brother, how to hide all of this from him without raising suspicion, how she would participate in the tournament without anyone noticing her absence, and more importantly, how to convince the man to let her work with him, once he saw her skills in collecting the stones. This was the opportunity of a lifetime, and she had no intention of letting it slip away.

As for Arther, Rorlan had noticed his silence, his distracted expression ever since she'd spoken to him. He was, in truth, a cautious person, someone who preferred to stay away from trouble. But now he felt as if everyone thought he was only interested in the money they earned from gathering the stones, which wasn't true. Yes, he was poor, and the money helped him support his father and himself, but that had never been the real reason he joined Rorlan on this journey.

What truly kept him beside her, despite the many dangers and brushes with death, was his admiration for her courage and her desire for change. He cared for them, deeply, and genuinely enjoyed their time together.

What pulled them out of their deep thoughts was Mira's voice saying, 

"Looks like this is the place."

They looked ahead and saw an abandoned area completely lifeless. No birds, no beasts, just emptiness. It was one of those places that used to be crossed by bandits until the trade caravans and merchants caught on and changed routes. Now, the path lay forgotten and deserted. Around them were crumbling ruins of old houses, lifeless and silent.

Rorlan exhaled slowly, a long breath meant to ease the tension building up in her chest and to chase away the swirling negative thoughts. She tried to mentally organize the words she planned to say, every key phrase she had prepared to help her succeed, and every strategic point she intended to use to sway things in her favor.

At that moment, a thought struck her. One thing.

Her deep respect for Arther.

She admired how he never tried to hide his fear, never faked bravery or pretended to be something he wasn't. She respected his decisions—how, when he knew something was beyond him, he simply took a step back and raised his hands in honest surrender. Unlike herself, who constantly felt like a fraud pretending to be strong, pretending to be fearless and in control. Deep down, she envied him. Envied his ability to live truthfully, just as he was.

She looked at the two of them and raised her index finger toward the sky before speaking. 

"Remember the first rule? Hide your face. Change your voice. Forget your names and your identities."

Both of them nodded in understanding, and the three of them moved together toward the largest house in sight. From a distance, it was clearly the biggest among the ruins, and at the same time, the most destroyed and decayed. Its tall windows and large doors were broken and worn, and its walls were stained, telling the story of how long it had been abandoned. Whoever once lived there had clearly left it behind long ago, leaving traces of laughter, joy, sorrow, family gatherings of both good news and bad.

Just one look, and Rorlan could tell this was the kind of home that once held warm memories and strong family bonds.

They moved toward it slowly, their steps heavy, as if none of them were fully ready to face what might be waiting inside.

Before they could reach the door, a hand grabbed Rorlan's wrist, it was Mira's. Rorlan turned toward her to speak, but saw Mira's face first. Despite her strong expression and determined look, Rorlan could clearly see the tension hiding underneath.

"Rorlan… are you sure this is what you really want?"

Rorlan smiled at her without answering.

She placed her hand over her belt where she'd hidden the stone, and at that moment, her expression completely changed. She felt a wave of heat rush through her, even though her face turned pale and her eyes opened wide. It felt like her heart shot up into her throat and refused to go back down.

Both Arther and Mira noticed the sudden change in her eyes, the color drained from them.

They looked at each other, confused, not understanding what was happening. Rorlan had frozen in place, her face shifting completely.

Arther spoke, his voice uncertain: 

"Rorlan… are you okay? What's wrong?"

They followed her gaze to where she had placed her hand. Before either of them could ask again, she closed her eyes tightly and forced out the words through clenched teeth: 

"The stone... I dropped it."

They both stared at her in disbelief, their minds screaming the same thing: "Please let this be a joke." 

But it wasn't. She really had dropped it.

Mira burst out: 

"How?! How could you drop it?!"

Her eyes were wide in shock, her hands clenched so tightly her knuckles turned white. This couldn't be happening especially not now, just as they were steps away from the house where the man was waiting for them.

"It must've fallen in the room back when my brother almost caught me… maybe on the bed," Rorlan said, eyes still closed, regret washing over her. "I need to go back soon and find it, before a maid sees it and ends up touching it. If that happens, they'll start asking questions. Why would a dotted stone be in my room?"

Arther muttered, "Forget that for now. Just tell us what we're supposed to do with him, he's already waiting for us." 

He covered his face with both hands and crouched down, gripping his head. 

"Today's the day we die… they're gonna make an example of us."

For once, Mira didn't try to joke about Arther's fear, or tell him to shut up. Because this time, he wasn't exaggerating.

Both of them were waiting to hear what Rorlan would say whether they should go in or just turn back and spare themselves the trouble. The second option was clearly the wise one, and anyone with half a brain would've picked it. But both of them knew Rorlan too well, knew her nature. She'd rather die than miss the opportunity she'd been eyeing for two years. And just like that, she made her decision: 

"We're going in to talk to them."

They had no choice but to go along and pray that this meeting wouldn't end badly.

"And the stone, what are we gonna do with it?" Arther asked, still sitting in the same spot, only now with his hands off his head, looking up at her.

"Don't worry, leave it to me. I'll fix what I messed up," she said, looking composed and in control. But only on the outside. Inside, only God knew what was going on. Her heart was pounding from fear, and her mind was being hammered by a hundred thoughts. She still didn't know what she'd say. The winning card she was counting on might now be anywhere but in her hands. That cursed stone had felt unlucky from the moment she touched it.

She shook off those thoughts and stepped forward, with the other two following, both of them nearly paralyzed by fear—one hiding it well, and the other looking like he was about to break into a panic dance.