Chapter Ten (Part 2)

On the morning of day twelve, however, things were different.

Ven jerked awake in the darkness to find Eujin over her, a hand over her mouth and a finger to his lips. There was something leathery in her mouth that she recognized as more of the vile dried Catseye mushrooms. Pulling his finger from his lips, Eujin made the cant sign for “eat”.

Ven did so, and as she chewed, he signed for her to listen.

Ven held her breath for a long moment, and strained her ears to hear whatever he was trying to get her to hear. Then, clear as day, she heard it. Someone or something was creeping through the woods not far from where they were camping. She couldn’t tell if it was coming closer or not, but based on the fact that Eujin woke her, that meant it probably was. Within moments, her eyes began to adapt to the darkness, and he let her sit up, signalling to be quiet as she did so.

What is it? Ven signed.

People. Two of them. About thirty paces out. He replied.

Ven looked in the direction of the faint sounds, but saw nothing. Whoever it was, they weren’t using a light source of any kind. So either they were a race that could see in the dark naturally, or they were using something to give them night vision as well.

Who are they? She asked.

Eujin, however, did not answer her question. Instead, he silently drew Scarlet Whisper from its scabbard and signalled for her to be still as he crept noiselessly a few paces further into the underbrush. Within a few moments he disappeared into the foliage, leaving her alone in the lightening darkness. Feeling her heart pound in her chest, she reached under her pack and pulled her dagger free of its sheath. Some part of her wanted to follow him, and some part of her wanted to run. Both of those parts, however, she forced herself to ignore. If she followed and it was nothing, she’d just annoy Master Eujin and get disciplined for not doing as she was told. If it was something, then she would risk giving him away by trying to help, and that would only make things worse. If she ran, well… She wasn’t going to run. Running would get her killed, or abandoned.

She continued to listen for any sign or sound, but no sooner had Master Eujin left the campsite than the sound had stopped. Or, she though ominously, she had simply stopped being able to hear it. The silence hung thick in the air, punctuated only by the pounding of her heart in her ears, and the quiet whisper of her breath, and the gentle rattling of dead leaves as a faint breeze brushed the canopy overhead.

Then, she heard a faint whistle, followed by another. Her eyes shot in the direction of the sound. When a third came, she relaxed, and got to her feet. She didn’t have nearly all of the cant signals memorized yet, but she knew the sign for “all clear” when she heard it.

Just to be safe, however, she still held her dagger as she made her way into the underbrush in the direction of the call. After a dozen paces, the dense foliage opened, and Ven found herself standing in a small clearing with three other figures. Master Eujin had sheathed his sword, and when she entered the clearing, he turned to her and gave her a nod.

The other two were men. One stood tall, the thinness of his figure obvious even under his dark cloak. He had sharp features and sharp eyes, and a well-trimmed beard shot through with white. The other one next to him was equally tall, broad shouldered and clean shaven, but bore the same sharp features and intense eyes as the other man. They looked like they could be brothers, or maybe father and son. Both appraised her inscrutably as she sidled up beside Master Eujin.

You can put away the dagger, Ven. Master Eujin signed.

She did so, albeit a bit hesitantly. Once that was done, she crossed her arms, meeting the eyes of each of the other men with what she hoped looked like calm and poise, rather than the heart-pounding fear she was currently feeling. She looked up at Master Eujin.

Who are these guys? She signed.

The older man with the beard chuckled softly.

“He’s not very trusting, is he?” He said, barely a whisper.

Ven’s attention shot to him, her eyes no doubt betraying her surprise that he understood what she’d just done. He thought she was a boy too? Why did everyone think that?

“He has very good reason not to be.” Eujin replied, pointedly choosing not to correct the man’s assumption about her.

“I thought you’d sworn off apprenticing.” The older man said.

“He’s not an apprentice. He’s a client.”

“Oh? It’s a rare child indeed who could afford the great Eujin Vast as a personal escort.” The man said, his eyes shifting to her in a way that made her incredibly uncomfortable. “And one that knows some Cant too. That’s even more interesting.”

“He couldn’t afford me.” Master Eujin said. “Renning was wiped off the map by a wraith attack. When I got there, he was the only survivor. I offered to get him to his relatives in Transel, since I was already going that way. As to the Cant, his father was a small-time Shikari. Died in the attack, it seems.”

Ven couldn’t help but find it odd that Master Eujin kept lying about her to them. If they were trustworthy enough to speak out in the open at night without weapons, why the secrecy? Noting this sent off warning bells in her head. They were not enemies, but were clearly not allies that could be trusted either. Then what are they?

“I see. Didn’t know you were the type to do charity work, Vast.” The older man said. “Must be getting more tender in your old age.”

Master Eujin crossed his arms.

“What do you want, Krin?” He asked. There was an edge to his voice that hadn’t been there previously.

The man held his hands out, palms towards them. He smiled in a way that Ven found distinctly unnerving.

“Just happened to be passing through. The boy saw your Vitae signature, and we decided to investigate. Have to say, didn’t expect to find another Shikari, much less the Black Thresher himself.”

He shot Ven another look.

“It actually just so happens that we’re on the way to Transel ourselves. If your client fancies a larger escort, we’d be happy for the company.” He said.

Master Eujin shook his head.

“You know I don’t share work, Krin. Paid or not.”

“There’s no reason to be like that, Vast. We’re all friends here. No reason to deny free help out of a need to do it all yourself.” The man named Krin said, spreading his hands out. He had a toothy grin that reminded Ven of a shopkeeper trying to make a sale. Much like the sundry store owner in Renning, this man’s smile didn’t reach his eyes either.

Master Eujin uncrossed his arms, and Ven couldn’t help but notice that one of his hands now rested on Scarlet Whisper’s pommel.

“Your offer is appreciated, Kassadin. But the answer is no. And I believe we both know why.” He said, not returning the man’s smile.

Kassadin Krin’s smile faded, and he lowered his hands. One of which went to the pommel of his own sword, Ven noted.

“Very well.” He said, his voice now hard. “If you insist.”

He turned to the younger man, who had not ceased watching Ven since she’d arrived.

“Back to road, Karrick. Let’s leave the man to his work.” He said, then added over his shoulder as the two of them turned to leave, “until next time, Vast.”

The two of them disappeared into the foliage on the other side of the clearing, this time seeming to not bother with hiding the sound of their movement. It receded into the distance until it was out of earshot, leaving the two of them alone again in the silence of the forest. Master Eujin stood stock still for several long moments after Ven couldn’t hear them anymore, before finally seeming to relax. He turned to her and gave the sign to return back to camp.

Once they were back in the thicket with their packs and other equipment, Ven couldn’t wait any longer.

Who were those guys? She signed, not really bothering with trying to hide the mixture of anxiety and frustration she felt.

Master Eujin crossed his arms and gave her a look that she couldn’t understand.

Other people who do what I do. He finally signed.

You don’t trust them. She replied.

You will learn very quickly not to trust anyone in this line of work, Ven. Even me. He said.

So, do we need to be worried about them? She asked.

Eujin said nothing in response for a long moment. Then, without warning, he stood and turned to leave.

Get some sleep, Ven. He said. After tonight,we’re not stopping again until we reach civilization. You’re going to need all the sleep you can get.

And without another word, he turned and disappeared into the forest.