Whispers of the Furtive

The group rested in the ruins for another day before setting back on their way to Trinixo. Unlike their first encounter when Corin had spent a majority of the time asking questions to Nanaua and Zhi, now it had been their turn to ask questions.

“So when you are hungry, you have to go and kill food and then prepare it yourself?” Zhi asked Corin.

“That is the common way of doing things. Sometimes we are lucky and are able to bring down a large animal that can feed a large amount of people. Sometimes we fish from the shore or the rivers and eat whatever we catch.” Corin replied.

“That sounds so exhausting.” Zhi replied with zero enthusiasm.

“Who is your strongest warrior on your island?” Nanaua asked.

Corin thought about it for a while.

“Probably Axtelos.” He answered.

“I shall challenge him to a duel to test how strong your warriors are. It will be a glorious challenge.” Nanaua stated.

“I don't think that is a good idea.” Livia interjected quickly.

“He is that strong?” Nanaua asked incredulously.

“Hahaha, no that is not the problem Nanaua. Having faced you in combat just once you would probably defeat him even disarmed. You see the problem is that while he is a capable fighter, he does not handle losing well.” Corin replied.

“Corin and he have sparred many times before. The outcome was almost always the same. Corin would end up disarmed. But one time Corin disarmed him. We all teased him about it, but he did not take it well. He refused to do anything until Corin faced him once again. He refused to eat, sleep or drink until Corin would face him again.” Livia said.

“To this day he refuses to acknowledge that he has ever lost. He pretends as if that never happened.” Corin added laughing.

“Hmm, I was hoping to face a worthy challenge on the surface.” Nanaua added quite disappointed.

“Have you ever encountered titans?” Zhi asked them.

Corin and Livia eyed each other.

“We have.” Livia replied.

“What was your encounter like?” Nanaua asked eagerly.

“We survived. Others did not.” Corin replied while looking down.

Zhi recognized the sensitivity of the topic and asked about the weather of Trinixo. Throughout the night they continued their line of inquiry anxious to know everything they could about the surface world. By the time they had settled into sleep it was only a handful of hours until the sun creeped through cracks in the wall and woke them up.

“So how do we return?” Zhi asked.

Corin and Livia took point and led the two to the entrance of the ruins they took. It took them a while to trace their path back but eventually they found it.

“Ah there it is.” Corin said as he eyed the crack he and Livia came in through.

He and Livia went outside. It looked the same as when they had come in. But it felt like an entirely different world now.

Zhi joined them, walking awkwardly around the pair as if she was afraid that something was about to trip her. She looked at Corin and Livia.

“I'll get used to it.” She smiled weakly at them.

She looked back.

“Is there something wrong my dear?” Zhi asked Nanaua.

“The ground. I have never laid foot on it.” She said as she observed the world outside the ruins. She looked petrified of stepping foot on the ground. Livia walked up to her.

“Hold my hand.” Livia motioned as she stretched out her hand. Nanaua took it, closed her eyes and followed her cautiously.

They took several steps until Livia brought her to a halt.

“Open your eyes.” Livia said.

Nanaua did so slowly. She stared all around her. She looked at the dirt underneath her feet, at the trees around the structure, at the various animals that flew around, at the ones that were chirping, at the great blue sea that stretched out in front of them and to the large island that lay across it. Zhi stood next to her.

“What do you think?” Livia asked them both.

“This world is full of wonders.” Nanaua replied.

“Is that Trinixo?” Zhi asked. She was pointing to the large island across the sea.

“That is our home.” Livia replied.

“Incredible.” Nanaua muttered.

“Come, we need to secure passage back.” Livia said.

“Is there a ship here? I have heard of those.” Zhi asked.

“Something like that.” Corin mentioned as he led them all to the shore.

Nanaua and Zhi were very curious to see the strange ritual that Corin was undertaking. Submerging himself in water, shortly followed by the two sirens coming out. Their interaction. The siren’s curiosity about the two newcomers.

Corin decided that the best way to explain them was to say that they had been in the temple when it fell and that during the fall they had injured themselves and could not remember much.

Whether Gavlin or Nishandra believed it was of no concern. The only thing they wanted to know was whether they were dangerous. They believed Corin when he told them no.

The voyage back to Trinixo was not pleasant for Corin once again. He held onto the craft with all his might and kept his eyes closed. The others did not seem to mind. Livia, Zhi and Nanaua were able to hold a conversation throughout the trip, but Corin was too preoccupied with surviving that he did not worry himself with the details.

Upon reaching the group bade their farewells to the sirens.

“If anyone asks, could you please not mention seeing these two?” Corin mentioned to Gavlin.

Gavin eyed Nanaua and Zhi suspiciously.

“I see no reason why I would share those details.” He replied before going back into the sea.

The group began their long trek to Corin and Livia’s home in Ankur. It did not take long for Nanaua and Zhi to discover the realities of crossing wild terrain.

“Why do I feel as if I am moving through such thick warm air?” Nanaua asked after walking for a significant amount of time.

“That is what we call humidity. This is a result of us living so close to the sea. There is a lot of water vapor that stays in the air and it acts as sort of a blanket of warmth.” Livia explained to her.

“Well I don't care for it.” Nanaua replied.

There were other questions along the way as to the nature of what they were seeing.

“What is making that noise?” Zhi asked.

“That is a wild boar.” Corin replied.

Several minutes later.

“What about that chittering coming from the trees?” Nanaua asked.

“Those are cicadas. They're small bugs.” Livia replied.

“Interesting.” Nanaua replied.

A while later.

“What are these things that are flying around us and why do they keep pestering us?” Zhi asked.

“Flies.” Livia replied.

“Do they ever stop?” Zhi asked her.

“Nope.” Livia said.

“Ugh, this is worse than I could have imagined.” Zhi said.

After more time crossing the terrain it was clear that Nanaua and Zhi were not accustomed to the rigors that came with it. At first they began to lag behind Corin and Livia. Then they began requesting short breaks. Those breaks started becoming longer.

It was one of those breaks that the group found themselves in now.

“Just how much longer are we going to be walking before arriving at this village of yours?” Zhi asked Corin near the end of the first day.

“Well it took Corin and I five days to make it to the shore.” Livia replied.

“Five whole days? Of just walking?” Zhi asked in a bewildered tone.

“Well yes, but we also went at a faster pace.” Livia replied.

“This is horrible! I should have stayed in the temple! I would rather have died than have to bear all this walking! I don't think I have ever walked this much ever in my life. It is so boring! I have seen the same looking tree about a thousand times already. And those stupid cikidees-”

“Cicadas.” Livia corrected her.

“Yes, those cursed bugs are driving me crazy. I hear you chirping enough! And the flies just don't leave you alone. I would rather be sacrificed than endure another second of this!” Zhi added.

“My dear surely you don't mean that?” Nanaua asked.

Zhi took a breath. She looked at Nanaua with warm eyes. She let out a heavy sigh.

“Nanaua sometimes I just have to speak out on my frustrations.” Zhi replied. “If not I'll go crazy.”

Corin returned with two round objects in his hand.

He split both of them, he kept one half, while allotting the rest to Livia, Zhi and Nanaua.

“Thank you dear.” Livia smiled at her husband as he gave her a kiss on the forehead.

Zhi and Nanaua looked at the strange fruit in their hands.

“It's called an orange, enjoy!” Corin smiled as he sat down and started taking out the inside of the fruit and eating it.

Zhi and Nanaua both stared at Corin and Livia in abject confusion and proceeded to repeat their hosts behavior.

“What a curious item. It is very delicious! It must be very hard to find this delicacy!” Nanaua said gleefully as she bit into the fruit.

“Not really. They are very common around here. They grow on a lot of trees around here.” Livia said.

“Look.” Livia got up, walked a short distance to a tree, pointed out an orange hanging from a branch and picked it out.

“By all that is sacred.” Nanaua’s eyes grew in excitement.

Nanaua ate the rest of the orange in two more bites and got up. She started going from tree to tree picking out as many oranges as she could.

“We will come across more of those in our journey.” Corin shouted.

Nanaua either did not hear him or just ignored him. She was too busy grabbing as many oranges as possible.

“They’re ok.” Zhi replied while finishing the orange.

“Well one more push today and we can rest for the day.” Livia added as she tried to get the group back on track.

Livia and Corin had already determined that with Nanaua and Zhi it would take longer than five days to make it back to Ankur.

“Ugh. Fine.” Zhi mentioned as she got up and started following them.

Nanaua was too busy eating one orange after the next and did not bother commenting.

They eventually reached their destination for the night. Lighting a fire now required no effort from Corin or Livia as Zhi was able to start a fire with a simple incantation and a quick hand gesture.

“I think I might be more suited to this camp thing than I originally assumed.” Zhi said as she smiled at the fire she helped start.

Corin and Livia eyed each other and laughed.

Corin broke from the camp to hunt for food. Nanaua was eager to join him in his attempts to find food. But her heavy steps alerted animals to their presence and sent them running before they had a chance to strike. Corin asked her to watch from a distance as he was able to finally bring down a deer.

Upon bringing back the animal Nanaua took a keen interest in Corin's ability to quickly gut the animal and strip it of its pelt. She studied every single one of his cuts intently, while Zhi did her best to ignore the gory display that was occurring right next to her.

Once the animal was prepared and cooked all ate in rapt silence. It was the most they had eaten since they left the temple and they were all extremely hungry. Shortly after finishing their food the group quickly fell asleep, exhausted from their long trek throughout the day and less eager than they had been the previous day to start this journey.

As the group progressed through their trek back to Ankur they began to find a rhythm. Livia and Corin decided that they ought to take a different route than the one they took in. They wanted to avoid as many towns as possible, due to the companions they had now.

During their travels back Nanaua insisted on bringing down an animal herself for their food. Her first efforts at downing it with a bow incurred damage only upon Nanaua. Upon trying to string the bow she pulled with such strength that the wood split in two, lodging one or two splinters in Nanaua's eyes. Irate and undeterred, Nanaua grabbed her pike and heaved it at her prey.

The only positive from Nanaua's methods was the relatively quick death the deer suffered. That was what Corin told himself as he cleaned the creature that was almost cleaved in half. Nanaua overlooked the brutal nature of her methods as she boasted to the camp of her hunt. The one most disturbed by her retelling was Zhi, who gently asked Nanaua to just let Corin handle the hunting in the future.

***

Nearing the end of their fourth day on the trail the group noticed something that caught their attention. A tall cloud of black smoke could be seen billowing up in the distance.

“That should be Grial.” Livia mentioned to Corin.

“It must be.” He replied concerned.

They stared in silence unsure of what to do.

“What do you reckon it is?” Livia asked him.

“Well it is no titan attack. We would have heard a dragon coming by, and Grial is too far inland for a leviathan attack.” Corin replied.

“It’s Zifors.” Zhi chimed in. She stared at the black smoke in the distance.

“Zifors?” Livia asked.

“Yes,” Zhi started. “Tonatiuh’s cadre of trackers and hunters. They are trained to track down any escaped slaves. One of their squads must be on this island. They must be searching for us.”

“So they just burn villages to the ground?” Corin asked with anger rising in his voice.

“They don’t care about casualties. All they care about is results. They’ll go village to village on this whole island, burning them to the ground until they find us.” Zhi replied.

Zhi hesitated as she stared at the black cloud.

“This is because of me.” She said with anguish.

“What will you do about it?” Corin asked her.

“I won't let this destruction stand by. Let's go.” Zhi urged them.

The group headed towards the smoke. As they neared the village the cloud of smoke only grew. Close enough they saw the various houses themselves set aflame. They were at the village’s edge.

The first house they came upon was still not ablaze but they could see two figures clad in armor approach the structure with lit torches.

Corin and Nanaua ran up to the figures.

“Sulla, the dragoor! It must be them!” cried one of the men as he saw Corin and Nanaua run up to them.

The man named Sulla reached for his waist. He was going to grab a horn.

Corin swung at him with his blade. The man dropped the horn and reached for a sword.

“You idiot!” Sulla gloated at Corin. “You made our job so much easier. When we bring back the Onsiel we’ll be handsomely rewarded!”

“Sulla help!” The first man cried out.

Sulla and Corin looked towards him. The next thing Corin saw was a large pike ramming through his breastplate, the sharp end punching through his back.

“Cowards!” Nanaua shouted at the impaled man. She put her foot into the man’s chest and pulled out the pike.

The man fell dead on the ground.

“Marius!” Sulla shouted at his dead companion.

Corin swung at Sulla. He saw Corin’s strike coming too late. Corin struck him in his elbow where his armor did not cover him. Sulla yelled as he fell to the ground and dropped his weapon.

As he fell to the ground his helmet came off. Corin saw a man’s face staring back at him.

“You are a man? And you aid the dragon’s pursuit of furtives? You subject this town to the torch?” Corin shouted at the man.

The man’s face was contorted in pure hatred.

“You are nothing!” Sulla yelled as he grabbed a knife from his boot.

Corin ran him through with his blade before he was able to get up.

Nanaua looked at the dead men.

“These are Dok’s men.” She said.

“Who is that?” Corin asked.

“He is a Yoren. A leader of one of the Zifor squads. He is especially known for his ruthlessness.” Nanaua said.

“We must hurry!” Livia urged them as the blazes around them roared and intensified.

They began making their way to the town square. As they made their way there they ran past rows of burning homes. Outside these they could see charred corpses, mangled bodies, and the various victims of the Zifors.

“We're too late. Those heartless bastards.” Livia bemoaned.

“We might not be able to save all of them, but we'll make sure to avenge them.” Corin shouted.

“Over there! Some stragglers” A voice shouted towards the group.

Corin saw them quickly. Four warriors clad in metal. The one who shouted was a head taller than the rest of the attackers.

“Leave the large one to me!” Nanaua shouted.

Nanaua ran up to the large one while the other three went towards Corin.

The one coming toward him from the left was hit with a bolt of lightning. He dropped dead instantly. The one in the center paused upon seeing what happened. BANG! The shot connected with him and he crumpled to the ground.

“It’s them!” Shouted the remaining assailant “Alert Yoren Dok! Hurry!”

He shouted at the one facing Nanaua. Corin closed the distance on the remaining one and thrust.

The attacker parried his thrust with a blade. He attempted to retreat but a wall of flame emerged from behind him. The moment of surprise gave Corin an opening. He thrust once again. This time he ran the attacker through. Corin then kicked the man back who fell into the flames. The man started screaming.

“How does it feel now you damned coward!” Corin yelled at him in anger.

“Gestor I see they found a use for you!” Nanaua shouted as she pounced at the last surviving member of the group.

“Damn you Nanaua! You always thought you were better than everyone!” Nanaua’s foe had his helmet removed now. Corin could see now that her foe was another dragoor. He held a longsword which he barely swung in time to avoid Nanaua's furious onslaught.

“I think that!” Nanaua shouted as she swiped his sword to the side with her pike. She turned the pike around and hit him in the face with the butt of her weapon. He fell to the ground.

“Because I am the better than you!” She shouted as she brought down her pike. Her foe was slain.

“Are there more?” Corin shouted.

“Each one of the Zifor squads is made up of twelve. We have yet to see their captain and his guard.” Nanaua replied.

“Let's hurry!” Zhi urged the group.

They hurried to the town square. There they found what remained of the populace.

They were huddled, kneeling, in the center of the square with the six remaining Zifors surrounding them. Corin could count around thirty townspeople. The majority of them women and children. The other Zifors had yet to notice Corin and the rest of them.

“Can you take them out Zhi?” Corin whispered.

“I don't think so, I might hit the others in the center.” She replied.

“Damn it what do we do?” Corin asked.

“I'll distract them.” Zhi replied and she stepped forward.

“My love-” Nanaua started but Zhi held her hand up.

“Please just follow my lead.” Zhi said to her and Nanaua stopped.

Zhi walked to the center of the town.

“Are you looking for me?” Zhi shouted as she approached the group.

All the men that surrounded the townspeople turned to look at Zhi. As soon as they realized who it was they walked in between the townspeople.

“You cowards!” Zhi shouted at them.

“What’s wrong? You could easily burn us all to the ground!” Shouted one of the men gleefully at Zhi.

“I presume you are the Yoren?” Zhi hissed at the man who spoke.

The man who spoke moved forward, but still in between the villagers. His attire was different from the rest. His helmet did not cover his face and had a long braid coming from the end. His breastplate had yellow adornments with a bird emblazoned on it. His face was crisscrossed with scars and he sported a hideous smile.

“Let's find a different vantage point.” Livia whispered to Corin and Nanaua. They began moving.

“Yoren Dok at your service, Olsien.” The man with the scarred replied to Zhi.

Nanaua, Livia and Corin moved opposite Zhi. All the Zifors had their backs turned to them.

“Now I was told was that you escaped with all the help of a dragoor. Where might your friend be?” Dok asked Zhi.

Nanaua gnashed her teeth at Dok’s questioning.

“She did not survive the fall.” Zhi said while looking away from the Zifor.

“She did not? Gaius, kill one of the villagers.” Dok shouted while staring at Zhi.

One of the men took out a sword. He dragged a woman in front of Zhi. He was about to strike her down.

“Wait!” Zhi's voice broke.

Dok raised his hand.

Gaius stopped.

“Nanaua come, we have been discovered.” Zhi yelled.

“Leave that slime Dok for me. I will take care of him myself. When I raise my hands, strike.” Nanaua whispered to Corin and Livia.

She went around the buildings and came out from where Zhi had made her entrance. Dok saw Nanaua and his hideous smile grew.

“Much better Onsiel. You have already caused so much misery on this island with your ill conceived escape.” Dok grinned with the same hideous smile.

“You dragoor, throw us your weapon.” Dok ordered Nanaua.

Nanaua did as ordered and threw the pike. It landed right at Dok's feet.

“I won't need it to deal with you.” Nanaua muttered under her breath.

“Let them go. You have us!” Zhi shouted at Dok.

“Hah! Great suggestion. I’ll let the townspeople go and you don't incinerate us the second they leave? Is that what will happen?” Dok giddily replied.

“I think we'll keep them here, to make sure you behave.” Dok said.

The townspeople trembled as they observed what occured around them. They could not understand why these strangers were using them as pawns. They were used to the cruelty of the titans, but other furtives treating them like such was something they did not expect.

Corin readied his pistol. He had two shots. There were five men, counting Dok, amidst the townspeople. Livia had to reload her rifle in between shots. They would have to be quick and accurate.

“I'll take the fourth one after my two shots are up.” Corin told Livia.

She needed no further explanation, she knew what Corin was thinking.

“Gaius, prepare the warning fire, alert the others. We found the Onsiel and her protectorate.” Dok barked his order.

Nanaua raised her hands.

Livia did not hesitate, and neither did Corin.

BANG! The first to fall was Gaius. Livia shot him dead on and he crumpled. BANG! Corin shot the man closest to him and Livia. He hit him dead center. BANG! Corin's second shot flew wide of his target.

“Damn!” Corin yelled as he sprang into action.

The remaining Zifors realized that something was afoot.

“Start killing the townspeople!” Dok shouted, panic rising in his voice.

Corin ran straight at his target, the one he missed. As the man raised his blade to strike one of the townspeople Corin was able to get him and surprise him.

Corin ran his blade through the man’s back. He gasped in surprise. Corin pulled out his blade and let the man fall dead.

“Hurry get out of here!” Corin shouted at the townspeople.

He heard Nanaua shout. She had already closed the distance between herself and Dok.

Before the two other Zifors could act, Zhi conjured up a huge gust of wind. It knocked back the two remaining Zifors to the ground. The townspeople did not hesitate.

They swarmed the two men who had been threatening their lives mere moments ago. The angry mob enacted their revenge quickly. Their cries of pain did not last long.

As Nanaua approached Dok, he frantically swung his blade. His cool demeanor evaporated and now he was panicking. Nanaua easily avoided the swing, grabbing his hand and breaking his arm.

“AARGH!” Dok shouted.

Nanaua punched him in the face, dropping him to the ground. As he fell on his back Nanaua quickly got on top of him pummeling his face with her fists.

It did not take long before Nanaua’s fists were hitting the wet dirt where she had splattered his head.

Nanaua stood up and stared at the townspeople around her. Their gaze wandered from Nanaua, to Zhi, to Livia and to Corin.

“You all need to leave. More of them might come!” Livia shouted.

“More?” The murmurs quickly began. It rippled through the crowd. Despite their distrust of their would be saviors they did not want to wait and see if others would indeed come. The townspeople began to scatter and eventually Corin and the rest where the only ones left.

“Will there be more?” Corin asked Nanaua.

“Not for a while.” Nanaua replied, “All Zifor squads act independently. They normally do not communicate unless their mission is complete. It will take some time, perhaps a week, but eventually Tonatiuh's court will realize something is amiss.”

“What then?” Livia asked.

“By then we will want to have as much distance between us and them as possible.” Nanaua replied.