The sun had long set. By the time dawn was to arrive, the group of intoxicated guards stood up, unaware of the small tail that ended up following them.
Laris squatted nearby the temporary accommodations set for this guarding pack. Everyday, he'd act like passed out drunkard or a drifting homeless person as he tailed them one by one. He silently memorized the faces of the guards changing shift, counted their numbers, and took note of their rotation frequency. During the few times he almost got caught, he made use of the few routes he knew well. Even when he had to sleep outdoors to scout in dimly lit and dirty spaces, he never minded. He had been sleeping out in the forest for numerous days. How can small alleyways compare? At least here, there were street lights at night.
By the fifth day of the Sorcerer-kind's one-week festivities, Laris' reconnaissance finally bore fruit.
Vihan Ashraf was the son of Queen Luna, Drisana Fortier, to the Alpha King, Vaughn Ashraf. Vihan's mother was an arranged mate that came from the Clearwater City Lord's household; the city of the second strongest pack in Lycan Kingdom with ancestral lineage. Vihan's high and royal background meant he had to have his own Beta and loyal Zetas that circulated him and catered to his daily needs. It's not that Laris felt superior over this fool, but he knew that Vihan was too green to fully maximize the use of such an entourage. His inexperience in management and pack fights led him to immaturely keep these once sharp people around him, not knowing that constantly relaxing with over the years had made their claws dull and useless.
Laris didn't know what Vaughn was trying to do or why he had sent Vihan to Evidna, of all places, but it seemed that they were looking for someone. Of they were indeed looking for someone, then it would greatly explain why they came to Evidna City instead of Salciorne—to survey the travelers crossing the border fort.
"Should we head over to the head Alpha?"
"Can you be any louder? Taceo (Be quiet)! His Beta specifically told us to keep the lid sealed about the news of his coming."
"Why would they even do that? Didn't they previously use his name in the other towns to pressure them into moving? Weren't we going with that plan?"
"Quomodo scio (How would I know)?" Displeased muffled voices travelled over to Laris' ears despite the noisy market place.
Laris nonchalantly picked up an apple and charmed the old lady to give it to him for free in exchange for a promise of good publicity and recommendations to other passerbys. He smiled sincerely and tried to deny two times before accepting at the third insistence. Medium amounts of polite declination were also part of etiquette and good manners.
He munched on the apple as he turned by a street stall. People had only began to come out after a hard bout of rainfall; the cobbled streets forming small puddles here and there because of the unevenly road that hadn't been maintained for years. This included the two Lycan guards Laris followed while staying upwind to avoid them catching his scent. They may not be familiar with it, but a scent that kept following them will be suspicious enough.
In an unfamiliar, deserted back street, Laris found them meeting up with two more companions—one of which was surprisingly, Vihan himself. If he hadn't followed these two guards, he wouldn't have found out about the pathway inside a vacant courtyard that led to this back street.
"We're you followed?"
"How can that be?" One of the guards that led Laris to them curtly answered. Ironically, it was as if they were raising their own flag.
"Have you found those rebels yet?"
Laris shrank down to hide beside a broken barrel used as a garbage dump, straining his ears.
"Not yet, but in any case, they're already at large in Salciorne. They don't have much room to run to. We've been chasing them from Garath Forest. The border's are already strictly guarded, the travel bans have been placed, and we have two hunting packs roaming in Port City and Salciorne. We'll find them soon."
"Futue te ipsi. You say that every time and yet they still manage to escape! Even after burning half of Jurell, you couldn't catch them!"
"At least we're near their tails every time. What about you—what has an incompetent fool like you contributed to my plans?" There was a look of unmasked disdain from this person's eyes.
"Planning, planning—that's all you're ever good for, Beta! Come have a round with me, let's see who'll be a whimpering mess—"
"Tace (Shut up/Be quiet)! They have that rumored Djinn. It's only natural they keep slipping from our fingers", Vihan finally spoke, and the two sides backed off, scowling at each other and yet giving face to Vihan's authority. "What else did you expect from a rat? Slipping away is their only talent." Vihan sneered. He leaned back marginally and crossed his leg, sitting arrogantly on the low stone fence as if it was his own throne.
"They'll likely make their move soon. It's almost the end of the festival. They must be anxious that they can't leave Evidna. They'll make use of the crowd to sneak out."
"How are you even sure they're in Evidna?"
Vihan snorted, "I sent half of the pack guards to keep an eye on the border fortress ahead of time when we were searching for that White Witch. They think they'd fool me with their tricks?"
Laris' eyes widened, knowing that was Tukare's nickname. Ever since Savella had lend her arm to Tukare, the latter had trained in the art of sword fighting. Despite the lack of technique, her speed and control over, not just one sword but multiple swords through her telekinetic ability was superb. Never mind her recent temperament, Tukare was always volunteered to join the scouting team in search of Videre. Laris was aware that besides desperation, Tukare was angry and bloodthirsty. It could be said that the wolves that met their end upon her blade were never a whole corpse. Her white hair stood out even when dyed red by the blood of those she slaughtered, so it left a deep impression upon many hunting and scouting packs over the years.
Knowing that she was the person that Vihan's group was cornering, Laris grew worried.
"They went all the way from Port City to Salciorne just to slip up and fake their traces back at a town neat Port City? Did they think they could outsmart me—think I wouldn't know they were crawling here at Evidna instead?" Vihan scoffed. "They can't even hide their tracks—"
The wind in the maze-like alleyways whistled softly as it bended over the edges of buildings.
Vihan jumped down from the low wall. "They're useless, those bunch!" He derided once more after a short pause. His tone was just as arrogant and careless, however, his face was solemn. Just as one of his men opened their mouths to ask, he lifted his index to silence them; eyes signaling for them to continue talking as Vihan shifted into a large black wolf.
"Still, I think they're being helped by some people. Why else could they have escaped us so many times?"
"Wasn't it because they had a Djinn-kind with them?"
"D'you really think just one Djinn can help them abscond?"
Noiselessly, the pads of the wolf's paws treaded the wet ground, its head lowered as if stalking its prey. Vihan's men vigilantly stared at the corner where Vihan would've been growling at, if he weren't suppressing his presence.
Laris felt something inexplicably wrong. But what was it?
"Have you sent message by fire bird? After capturing those wastrels, we'll stay at Salciorne and wait until we get back up and a talented mage before we head to the ruins that everybody's talking about." Vihan's Beta opened the topic, luring the eavesdropping fool to stay and listen to him in exchange for his life. He glanced at two people, who shifted into wolves and ran in a different direction. They intended to corner this rat their master had found.
Ruins? What ruins? The image of the strange mountain flashed in his brain.
"Oh, you mean that big city-like thing that grew at Samatla Mountain?"
Vihan crouched, about to jump over the barrel to bite the other's neck in half. But then, the wind changed direction—Laris' spine chilled as he dived to his other side, and scampered to run. In the next second, the barrel was smashed and the wall where Laris' neck used to pressed to, had deep claw marks that went as deep as two inches.
The echoes of hollow rotten wood hitting off the walls and ground in an explosive manner were no match against the growling sounds of large wolves that shifted on the spot, and chased the prey that their Alpha had marked.