Free Souls- chapter 15

Chapter fifteen: Spy



In a blink of the eye, the mask was gone. But Lilith was sure she saw it, as well as the red eyes behind it. <<He was here. Fenrir was…how is it possible?>> she whispered, her heart beating like mad in her chest.

<<What’s wrong?>> asked her Brughn who was sitting near Partas outside the tent. As they suspected, the pirate fell asleep during his turn.
<<I…the dream…>> Lilith whispered, not managing to formulate a proper answer; Brughn nodded. <<Dreams can reveal the truth and the future>> he continued, making the half-elf worry even more.
<<But…but why was here?>> the girl asked, looking around in the darkness until she heard the others in the tent, starting to wake up: after turning and looking at Molfreid, she glanced at Keeo.
As the boy returned the stare, Lilith knew. <<It’s you. It’s your fault!>>
<<What?>> he asked. <<What is it? Why are you so mad?>>
Lilith stepped back near the tent, furious, examining his expression. <<Fenrir was here, and you know he was. You brought him here, I don’t know how, but…>> she looked around in the tent, and saw Keeo’s bag: huge and suspicious. <<Now you take that bag out and empty it in front of me. I want to see every single thing you may have in there>> she ordered, pointing at it.
The boy hesitated, but the girl yelled again: <<Move!>>
At that point the mercenary, worried at the weird, violent reactions of the half-drow, stepped between the two and waved his hands. Molfreid told her to calm down, that she was being unreasonable, but  the half-elf didn’t stop. She delicately moved Molfreid to one side and stretched her arm to reach the bag.
Now worried, Keeo talked again: <<Alright, I’ll open it, and we’ll look at it. Let’s do it together in this tent, shall we?>> he suggested.

Lilith brought him out of the tent using her strengths, disappointed. <<I don’t really care about your books, if you have any>> she hissed, dropping him and the bag both on the humid sand. <<Now you show me what you have there, and I will check it’s empty afterwards. If you have nothing to do with Fenrir, I will apologize to you. If >>.
She knew Fenrir had a little habit of putting endless dimensional pockets in his bags and tunics; now she was ready to see it that was the case or not.


The boy opened the bag and took out some capes, a set of clothes and underwear, some other useful things like pocket knives, parchments and ink. Lilith looked in every single paper, but saw nothing suspicious; Molfreid, now standing beside Keeo, gave her an eloquent and blaming look. He thought that was an exaggerate reaction, she knew it, but the feeling of finding some clues was too strong to be ignored now.
Then Keeo brought out several metallic pots and bowls. “I was sure it was Fenrir’s armor. Why am I always so distrustful?” she asked herself, while the latest things were settled carefully on the sand: a couple of small things such as spoons and pens, other small closed pockets, and several books.
<<There, this is all>> the boy stated. <<Feel free to look in the bag if you don’t trust me>>. And so she did: she looked in it and put her arms in, to touch around, but it did seem empty, no more hiding places or hidden folds.
With a sigh, the half-drow sat near the books and started examining them them: there were a few about survival guides, a couple of cooking recipes, and others about foreign cultures. But although that research had been disappointing so far, at each book discarded she had the feeling of something magical near her, closer and stronger.
She couldn’t tell exactly if it was a book or something else, so she asked the shaman: <<Brughn please, do you sense anything magical here? I’m feeling something, but there are too many things to look at>>. When the shaman nodded back, pointing at the remaining books first, and at the pockets afterwards, the girl got on fire.
She took all the books near her, burning from the desire to find something soon enough, until her hands stumbled on a weird book name in drowish, and right below that, a white, horned mask. The half elf kept her breath, her eyes open wide.

In front of her, Keeo got paler than the sand, and Molfreid also kept his breath, shocked.
The boy shivered, as the half drow lowered her hands, and delicately grabbed the mask, raising it from the books pile, as if wanting to look through its eye holes. <<I must’ve forgotten about it>> Keeo whispered, but he didn’t pass unheard.
Lilith stood furious waving the mask around. <<So it was really you all along! How could you do this to me, while I trusted you?! Are you a spy? Tell me immediately what you know!>> Her eyes burnt like fire, and then, the girl slowly took one of her hands to her weapons, ready to hit. <<Or maybe…knowing that Fenrir used to disguise as a child…are you…>>
<<Alright, slow down, slow down!>> the boy backed, while still sit, waving his hands. <<I will tell you the truth. I met him before meeting you, remember? He entrusted some goods to me, and told me to follow you in your journey. He left this mask, some books like the drowish one, and something that would help him check our position>>.
Lilith’s jaw dropped, and so Molfreid’s. <<So you were helping him finding me? How come? Why is that?>>
<<He wants you to hurry and find Loa>> he answered promptly, nodding at his own words. <<I believe it isn’t really his intention killing Loa, but maybe finding him, or the child, or the dragon for some reason. In either case, he wants you to hurry and find them>>.
<<But…why?>> she asked again, and the boy shrugged without answering. The girl let go her grab on the short sword and looked at the mask again. If only he had talked to her, instead of the boy, and made his intentions clear!

<<I don’t like he’s doing all these things behind my back, and I don’t intend leaving things be like they are. This mask, to begin with, will remain here>>.
Right after stating so, the girl started digging in the humid sand, and reached a depth of almost a meter, she dropped the mask in the hole. <<This brings bad luck, and won’t come with us any longer>>.
<<But I liked that mask>> the boy complained, but Lilith ignored him.
She grabbed the pocket looking for the other magical object, and soon found it: it was a small pearl, glowing of different colours. Its shape and the pearl appearance attracted her, but examining it, she confirmed it had a strong tracking spell carved on it; she had to get rid of it as sooner as possible. <<Tomorrow, this will be thrown in the river, and will arrive to the sea. He will look for it for some time>>.
In the end, she took the drowish book. <<I will read through it tomorrow, seeking for strange writings or anything else. And as for you, Keeo>> the boy, who was still looking at the hiding spot of the mask, raised his head to look at her. <<You will be observed day and night on turns. I don’t know Fenrir’s intentions, and until I won’t trust him, or you, I won’t let anything to pass unseen or unheard>>.



It continues in chapter 16