Chương 39: The Eagle & The Green Jay
The cold wind was storming.
They were all sitting in a nearby forest, which was called the Darkwoods by the townsmen.
The smell of dried blood and dirt collided with the cool breeze, and the flickering shots of light from the fireflies illuminated the place. It was nighttime, but it was darker than ever as the tall, dark-oaked trees covered the partial moonlight.
"No point in lighting up this fuckin campfire! The wind's eating it up anyway!" Neilus yelled, irritated.
"It's getiin' freezy! Keep trying, please." Vegas requested as she rubbed her arms for warmth.
They were all sat close to each other in a circle. Brody and Mathen backed up against a tree, and Vegas crouched like a frog, her foot devoured in the mud. Lars covered himself in a cape, which Colt had in his bag, and Erik was hugging onto a tree.
However, Yin was shirtless, unmoved by the storm.
"Interesting." He whispered to himself as he carefully studied the impacts on his body from the battle. "How did he make me bleed? It's definitely got something to do with the smoking. It should, right?" His brain was burning down, puzzled.
"Yin."
He turned back to where the voice came from, and it was Colt who was standing behind him.
"It has gotten late, and Tara still hasn't returned." Colt reminded Yin.
"Oh yeah! Can you go in search of her?" Yin asked softly.
Colt nodded abruptly and started walking towards the forest's exit and into the town.
"Be careful, Colt!" Lars yelled.
…
Colt couldn't be slowed down by the raging wind. He walked carefully, scanning the ground for spots that didn't have any vegetation or flowers. The steps he placed were so gentle that even his metallic shoes couldn't imprint the muddy ground. He had left his knight helm back at the camp spot, and now his straight brown hair was being furiously blown back by the cold wind.
His eyes were barely open, but that was enough to see the path ahead of him.
He passed a lonely tree, and his pointed nose took in all the scent of the town.
The quiet was gone, and he heard the crowded murmurs of the people; some were crying and others were in agony, but most of them were just talking to each other. The elders and kids were being fed by the women. Stew, bread, raw meat, mead—anything they could find in their destroyed home.
He saw Arega's knights scattered here and there, carrying the dead bodies away from the town, wheezing and laughing. But there was no sight of Arega. And there was no sight of Tara, either.
"Oi! Ya one of King Kong's bitches, ain't ya? A wannabe knight, huh?" A knight from somewhere taunted Colt.
Colt did not bother to turn around, nor did he give ears to it.
He simply walked past, his invisible anger going over him like a bird.
He was at the town's central point, and upon seeing the last hut towards the right, he turned, and it led to a narrow line of even more huts.
He followed the path, searching and scanning along the way; his eyes worked like those of an eagle.
There was a giant smoke coming up from somewhere in the front, hidden by several huts.
Colt walked faster towards the hidden smoke, and he caught sight of a girl standing against a hut's wall, staring at the sky.
Colt knew who it was as he went closer.
"Eline. How are you feeling now?" Colt asked.
Eline was the old man's daughter, the girl who Tara was assigned to take care of. She was bathed and clothed in a beautiful floral top and skirt. Her lips were bruised, and her face and arms still had the strong impression of redness from the torture, but her eyes were soft enough to distract everything.
"I'm feeling alright now, Lord. Thanks to your leader." She replied politely with a bow.
"Great to hear that, Eline. But I'm no lord. Call me Colt."
She nodded immediately.
"And have you seen her? Tara? Everyone's wondering why she hasn't come back." Colt inquired.
"Yes, I do. She was with me the whole time. Then she went over there." Eline pointed to the hut in front of them, exactly where the smoke was coming from.
"Thanks much, Eline. I'll see you in the morning." Colt ended and began walking towards the burning mystery.
As he kept approaching it, he could feel the cold slowly withering away and the heat of the smoke gradually entering his pores and through the armor.
He walked past the last hut that was hiding the mystery.
He saw her.
It was just another hut. It was burning down, the logs melting and falling apart. And he could see Tara's silhouette from behind. She was staring at the burning hut, wearing a firm stance.
Colt ambled closer to her.
"What are you doing?" Colt asked as his eagle eyes joined in with hers to watch the hut burn down.
"What does it look like?" Tara immediately fired back and silenced Colt.
"Why're you here? What? Ya'll started missing the green-haired bitch? Is that it?"
Colt still remained silent.
He looked at every piece of debris falling to the ground, either melted or burned.
And then the eagle's eyes caught a perplexing sight.
"Tara? There are people there! What are you doing?" Colt burst out as he saw two burnt corpses in the ground, suffocated by the fallen debris.
Now she was quiet.
"Answer me."
He received no answers.
But there was no point in panicking.
They were already burned to ashes.
And Colt was suddenly calmed down by Tara's silence. They were both staring at the burning corpses for a solid minute, and Colt finally heard Tara's voice again.
"They are my parents. They were already long dead when I found them."
Colt's eyes opened wide in disbelief, and he turned to look at Tara.
Her green hair and her green eyes were magically illuminated by the burning.
"Are you okay?" Colt's voice sounded weakened.
"They're my foster parents. I never knew my real ones." Tara informed.
"I see. We're not that different, funnily." Colt blurted right after.
The crisp, crackling sound of the burning air slid into their ears.
"What do you mean?" Tara asked, confused.
"I never knew my parents either. My earliest memory is being sold off as a slave to a market in the North."
Tara was left speechless.
"I guess so then." She finally admitted it.
The hut was down to its last pieces, barely holding together. Then, after a few blinks, it completely crashed down, the entire hut now devoured by fire and ashes. It was done. The bright fire had hints of green lines buried around its edges.
"We should get going. They'll be waiting for us." Colt reminded her.
They found another path that led to the Darkwoods, and they marched together, side by side.
…
The storming wind in the forest had finally calmed, and Neilus had the campfire going. They were all warm and cozy now, feasting on roasted marshmallows, meat, bread, and fine ale from the town.
Vegas devoured her chicken and marshmallows along with Lars and Erik. Brody and Mathen stuffed themselves with bread and ale, a classic knight's meal. And Yin didn't have anything as usual.
"You don't ever feel hungry?" Neilus's voice sounded unclear and blocked from the roasted chicken he had buried in every corner of his mouth.
"Nah." Yin said it softly as he shook his head, staring at the moon.
"What're you thinking about?" Vegas asked.
Yin pointed at his body, the spots that had bled and left an open wound. They had a dark black ring around the injured spots.
"He made you bleed." They all exhaled as they got reminded.
"It was not Arega. It was Arega's weapon. Warbreaker. It has something. It has something that can affect me. If it can make me bleed, it can kill me too. There's no doubt about it." Yin laid out his ideas.
"You're not wrong." Lars and Erik added.
"But what is that something?" Brody asked.
"Maybe it's a special kind of weapon?" Mathen added to the table of theories.
"Could be. Could be. Maybe I should ask Xil." Yin sighed.
"You should." Vegas affirmed.
…
"ANYTHING LEFT FOR US?" It was Tara's voice that broke the intense silence. Colt was right beside her.
Tara looked at everyone, enjoying their food.
"Wow! They really are desperately waiting for us, like you said." Tara sarcastically taunted Colt.
"Haha! Of course, of course! There's chicken, ale, bread, and even roasted marshmallows! Help yourself!" Neilus exclaimed.
Both of them slid into the circle around the campfire.
Tara grabbed everything she wanted to have.
She took a piece of roasted chicken and bread while Colt was jumping his mind from one thing to another, unsure of what to eat.
"Here. Grab ya self some ale and bread. That's what knights have all across the Realm." Mathen handed him a jug of fine ale and a piece of freshly roasted bread.
"Thanks." Colt took it politely, using both his hands, and began feasting along with the others.
"Feels good." He whispered to himself as the smooth, fizzy ale washed his dried throat.
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