"My popularity grows by the day it seems," Eranae sighed, "Yes, I am her."
"Child of Tonitrius," Maerin muttered, "The higher ups were beginning to believe you were dead. They were deciding upon sending a search party to retrieve your remains, but that was before the Elaians began making noise about you."
"Are there any in the city?" Eranae asked.
"It's hard to separate merchants from the undercover Elaian spies," Maerin told, "But it's safer to assume that there are a few. I don't have any information on the matter for the time being. Is there any other way I can be of service?"
"I need transportation to reach Haleranth," Eranae said, "Horses would be preferred but I wouldn't mind mules, can you arrange for them?"
"I can," Maerin answered, "But why do you need multiple mounts?"
"I have a companion with me," Eranae told her, "He's an invaluable asset and a potential candidate to join our ranks. I vouch for him."
"Very well," She nodded, "I will have a pair of saddled steeds prepared for you. Go to the stables near the Northern toll gate by evening, my contact there will provide them to you."
"That would be appreciated," Eranae thanked, "Can you also inform Haleranth about my arrival?"
"I will send a message via bird," Maerin assured, "On horseback, the journey will take little more than a week's time, so they should be expecting you by then."
"Thank you." Eranae said with a slight bow.
"I am only doing my duty, songmaster." Maerin responded, "May Rishith's Vigil guide you."
"May Rishith's Vigil guide you." Eranae replied, bidding the artisan farewell.
It was afternoon already when Eranae left the Temple Square. The crowd in the streets had grown significantly due to the midday rush, where most workers and shop-owners took a break by either going home or going to cook shops to eat lunch. Either way, this meant that traversing through the city would be a bit slower since the people moved from shops to streets.
Eranae and Pearl had decided upon meeting at the fountain which was located at a crossroad between the jewelry markets and the handicrafts markets. Eranae had sent Pearl to exchange her remaining amethyst earring for silver at a jeweler's store in the jewelry market, because after paying Javius for the trip to Kanark, they realised that they had begun running short on tradable currency.
They were to meet at the fountain by noon, but it seemed that Pearl wasn't there yet or he would have asked Rel to contact Eranae. That made her curious.
"Rel," Eranae called out in her mind, "Are you awake?"
There was no response. Eranae waited for a moment, continuing to walk through the street.
"Rel!" She called out again, "Useless Spirit!"
"I AM NOT USELESS." Rel asserted back, "I and Pearl are a bit preoccupied for the moment, so whatever you have to say can surely wait."
"Hold on," Eranae thought, "What happened? Rel, what happened?"
No response this time either. Eranae sighed and continued going down the street, deciding to check the situation for herself. However, there was a crowd gathered ahead of her, and strangely, it's flow was stagnant. Upon asking an onlooker standing closer to the centre of the crowd, she learned that a cart carrying sacks of grain had collapsed in the middle of the street and the grain was spread all over the place. A group of workers were now clearing the grain out of the way but it would take a while before it was cleared out.
Upon asking for an alternate route, someone pointed Eranae towards a lane that branched out of the street and led to another main road. Eranae thanked the bypasser and took the path. As she began walking down the lane, she realised that it would take her through a portion of the slums before reaching the main road. After thinking about it for a moment, she decided that it was only a minor inconvenience.
That was, until she noticed how deserted the lane was. True there were open doors and windows on the houses on the side with sounds of people talking or doing their chores but the lane, the outside, was eerily empty. Channeling the Lifesong to her eyes and ears, she tuned her senses to get a better perception of her surroundings.
The first observation to get her attention were the small shadows from the rooftops that suspiciously resembled the shape of heads or entire upper bodies. The second thing she perceived was a muffled conversation.
"It's her," said a man's voice from the rooftop behind her, "I'm sure of it."
"Oh, then why isn't her hair tied in a Cerhin warrior's honor knot?" the second voice asked, this was reedy and probably belonged to a younger man.
"Because it totally wouldn't reveal her identity, smart-ass." the first voice said in a sarcastic tone.
"Ugh" grunted another voice, a woman's voice, "Stop arguing and get this over with."
Then Eranae perceived the third observation, the sound of strings being pulled. After hearing this, she couldn't just continue walking pretending to be ignorant. Her instincts drove her body into action and she turned, to see several archers on the rooftops with notched arrows aimed at her.
"Curses!" She yelled in her mind, "Curses, Curses, Curses."