We walk through the same side streets and alleyways and finally arrive where the shop is supposed to be. To our luck, it isn't there.
I've had enough, annoyed I pull the reins to leave.
"Let's go boy, we shan't waste time."
As we are passing by the hunter association guild on our way to the gate, a newspaper flies and hits my face, blinding me.
"Ugh," I pick off the newspaper.
Just as I'm about to throw it away, I see my face on the paper. I quickly open the newspaper in a panic.
"Missing Daughter: Bounty Ten Thousand Gold"
Funny, they used daughter and bounty in the same sentence.
Thankfully the description they wrote of me is nothing like the me of now. I laugh, and throw it away. We head up the gate to leave the village.
"Your identification card?" a guard sighs at the repetitive question he asks everyone.
I hand my card over, he stares at it longer than he had with others. I didn't get nervous, I didn't let his hesitation get to my mind. I keep a calm and collected face.
"How much longer?!" someone shouts from the back of the line.
"Ugh," the guard groans and hands my card back to me.
Weird…
Just as we step out of the town, the guard gets a message,
"Quickly! The Duke's advisor is here! He is requesting all the guards to the front."
What sort of cursed timing is this?
"Let's go boy," I lean forward and whisper to Orphnaeus.
We take off on our path to the next town over without looking back. As we head off, the sound of loud metal creaking is behind us.
They are closing the gate huh…
A commotion arises to re-open the gate behind me. Freedom, now I have a taste of what it's like to be them. Cruel, arrogant, selfish, liar, and most importantly self-preservation. I don't want to let go of this feeling.
The next town is about two days worth of travel, and the weather doesn't look too bright. It's glum, cloudy, and a grey sky. I tilt my head upward slightly and smell the scent of rain being carried by the cool breeze. We must find a cover soon.
"Ha!", I whip the reins, signaling Orphnaeus to run faster.
I'm not sure where or how we can escape the cold drops of rain but we must find cover before a storm appears. Around midday, we slow down and pick a spot off the side of the road to rest. I give Orphnaeus the berries I picked from few days ago. I eat some as well. I let Orphnaeus rest for some time to gain some stamina.
"Are we ready to leave, boy?" I ask him, petting his side.
He nods his head and gets up. I climb his back and click my heals,
"Let's go."
The further we follow the road, the more the scenery begins to change. The foliage is bringing to become denser.
I'm not even sure which way we are going anymore. West? North? South?
I pull on Orphnaeus' reins to stop and write in my map,
"Shadow Grove."
The next town should be on the way toward Shadow Grove. I must get there before the bastards catch up. The orb leads us deep into a forest. The air grows heavy with tension as the sky darkens and sounds of thunder begin to sound.
Droplets of rain fall, one by one. I place my palm out to feel the warm rain. A feeling of nostalgia, when mother and I used to play together in the rain. I grip the reins tighter,
"Ha!"
It is beginning to pour harder, vision blurry from the water hitting my face. I pull the reins and we come to a halt.
"Let's head right, under that large tree," I tell Orphnaeus.
Heading closer to the tree, something is covered in branches. The tree is not just a tree. It's infused itself to the wall of a small cliff. I dismount, and take a step closer to examine what the branches are covering. Ripping away the old, beaches and roots,
"It's a stone door…" I whisper.
Intricate designs of the sun, fire, and moon, I trace it with my fingers. Something cut my finger,
"Ow," I quickly retract my hand.
At a closer look,
A gemstone…Ruby?
The door begins to vibrate ever so slightly. Dust falling off, the tiny stone glows for a moment. A low rumble, pebbles fall off the archway. In an echoing creak the door opens and a gust of stale air rushes out, knocking over my hood. I take a step back, surprised by the sudden events.
Coughing, I wave my hand in the air, swatting away the dust.
"Catacomb," I say in awe.