- Naryd, I'm getting
worried!
- What's the matter, Ellie?
- Come on, just look at
her! Even Thya can feel it! And everyone!
Mégane seemed a
lonely warrior, with firm, serious eyes. Since a week, her three
companions haven't seen her smile.
- Liars! – she muttered
angrily over the slain bodies of Tarran, Jaheel and Neva. Tarran was
the handsome young man who approached her before, asking her to save
his young brother from some bandits…
-
Master Aarin Gend! I've got to talk to you.
- Yes, Lady
Fireland?
- What…?
- I told you to just call me Aarin.
-
Oh, yes… sure… then you'll call me Mégane, as always…
-
Oh, finally! – whispered Elenthe to Naryd, as some sort of a faint
smile crossed Mégane's face.
- This letter – Aarin
sat beside Mégane on a bed in a room upstairs – is of great
imnportance to us!
For Mégane had given him the letter she
had looted from Neva's body.
- Though, it does not yet tell us
where the cult could have its base. I… I would ask you to keep on
searching, but… please, be careful!
- I am – she shrugged –
no need to worry.
Her stare was fixed on a rug on the pavement.
-
But Mégane, they're sending their most dangerous assassins
after you! Really, I…
He instinctively reached for her lock of
hair, but she immediately pulled back and looked up at him.
-
Never! – she hissed evilly.
Aarin looked at her slightly
shocked. He simply couldn't hide his feelings at the sight of those
once so deep and mysterious dark bluish-green eyes' hard and cold
gaze.
- I'll go now – Mégane picked up her bag and
walked out of Kendrack's barracks.
- What's wrong with
her…? – whispered Aarin to himself as she left.
Lady Aribeth
just sat on a chair, staring at the wall.
Possible
locations of the Cult…north road, orc caves… east road, troll
caves… south road, off to Charwood…
Mégane closed
her diary with a loud slam and sighed.
- Hey, you three! Where
should we begin?
- That way! – Naryd pointed North.
- No way,
that way! – Elenthe pointed South.
Thya simply turned her head
eastward.
- Thanks, Thya! – Mégane walked out Port Llast
on the East road.
- What do you want, go back to the Forest or
whaaaaaaaaaaaat? – Elenthe couldn't stop arguing since her friend
decided to follow Thya's suggestions.
Mégane rolled her
eyes and simply kept on walking.
Or well, she would have, if a
horrible grunting noise didn't disturb her.
- Attack! Now! –
she raised her sword at the gigantic troll running towards them.
-
What happened here? – she entered an archaeologists' camp, half
ruined.
- Oh, good morning, milady! – an old man approached her
– it was the trolls.
- And…? – she opened her arms – what
were you doing here?
- We are archaeologists, milady. I believe I
have found out something extraordinary!
- What, exactly?
- Some
ancient ruins under the troll caves! The trolls are afraid of going
down there and… oh, it's amazing!
- What is it? Tell me!
-
I… can't.
- Why?
- Because… most of my men got killed
down there and… oh, how impolite of me! I am Jax.
- Mégane.
A
short silence followed.
- Maybe… - Mégane said – I
could go down and take a look.
"As long as it keeps me from
thinking…"
Mégane raided through troll caves mercilessly killing anything she came across to. All the words her companions heard from her were about atatcking or staying back.
- I am seriously worried now, Naryd! – Elenthe shook the other pixie so hard that his hair went all messy.
- What is this? –
Mégane knelt down next to a corpse, clutching a thick book –
maybe an archaeologist's diary?
Synth La'neral.
-
Where have I heard this name before…? Oh…!
Mégane
looked around. The exit to the left, and deeper caves to the right.
She wondered for a moment, then put the diary away and turned to the
right.
- Oh, dear! They're like… like her!
-
Who? – asked Elenthe -…oh. I see.
- The lizard-woman!
-
The creators will rule the world again…
These were the
last words of one of the lizard sorcerers Mégane killed that
day.
- I think this has to do with the cult… - she sheathed her
sword – it reminds me of her.
To cut it short, sadly Mégane couldn't find anything useful for her search, but fighting all day long helped her in keeping her thoughts away from aynthing else. At least she found a few old tomes in the lizards' chests, to give them to Jax.
- May I take a nap in a room
upstairs? – she asked Jax, who couldn't stop thanking her and
staring in amazement at the books.
- Sure, sure!
- Good
evening, milady – a halfling greeted her – may I prepare you a
drink?
- Sure! – she said to the woman, who soon returned with a
glass full of blue fluid.
- Blueberry-tasting – she smiled –
you'll like it.
- Thanks! – Mégane lifted the glass to
her lips.
- NOOOOOOOOO!!! – Elenthe flew down and knocked it out
of her hand, along with Thya and Naryd.
- What…?
- It's
poison! I could smell it! – Elenthe screamed.
- Who are you?! –
Mégane immediately pushed her sword to the woman's throat,
holding her against the wall.
- Delilah… - she gave up.
Mégane
needed to hear no more. The Bulwark Prison. Delilah. Wyvern…
-
Clean up the mess upstairs, will you? – she left the building,
holding Delilah's ear in one hand.
- Linu! Linu! Oh… there
you are.
Linu smiled birghtly.
- Mégane, my dear friend!
Let me hug you!
- Linu… I found this. It has your second name,
so… - Mégane handed her the diary she found – Synth
La'neral? Do you know him?
- SYNTH! – suddenly Linu fell on
her knees – did you find him? Did he give this to you?
- No,
Linu… I… I found it on a corpse.
- Do… he's definitely
gone – a single tear ran down Linu's cheek.
- Who was he?
-
My… husband. We had two enchanted diaries to communicate with each
other and… oh, my love! He last wrote to me to always go on… I
could feel the pain in his words… he told me he was in danger and…
Mégane!
Mégane stared at the ceiling as Linu placed
a hand on her shoulder.
- Mégane? What's wrong?
- Love
never lasts… - she turned around.
- Mégane! – Aarin
entered the room – finally! I… what happened.
She looked at
him with empty eyes.
- Mégane! You refuse to tell me
something, but please, I see you're not alright! What is it?
-
Nothing! Everything! I… I…
- Mégane…? – Aarin
couldn't help his instincts and caressed that lock of hair.
The
next moment Mégane fell in his arms unconscious.