Lorn regained consciousness in the same spot he logged out. As his senses came back, he could feel the hard bed poking at his back and he opened his eyes with a groan.
The familiar wooden ceiling greeted him… except, he found writings etched onto it.
[HUSH 3 PLNK BEDR]
'What the fuck…' Lorn thought as he stared at the words for a few seconds.
They were etched in a hurry, and Lorn could tell that the cuts were all made with a sharp, tilted angle. Lorn thought for a bit and realized that due to the tilted angle, they wouldn't be seen from a certain side – the entrance to the room. In fact, the message would be hard for anyone not facing upward to see.
'Hush… means I need to be silent?'
Lorn could easily guess the meaning of the first word. But he felt a bit stumped when it came to the others.
'3 plnk bedr… Plnk could only mean a plank, right?'
Lorn silently got up from his bed check under the wooden planks of his bed. Nothing.
'No, if it was the bed, then they would've just typed bed. There's no need for the 'r' at the end. And Bedr could only be a bedroom.'
Lorn went to inspect the 3rd plank on the floor from the left, but they didn't budge at all. He went to the right side, but the same thing occurred. Lorn considered prying the plank up, but he didn't want to make that much noise.
He decided to check Sybil's bedroom. He put his ears to the door, heard nothing and slowly opened it. Peeking both sides, he saw no one. Lorn entered Sybil's bedroom and saw that someone combed through it. Some of the items were missing as well.
'Something fucked is happening…' he thought to himself and went to check the 3rd two planks from both sides. Oddly, none of them budged.
He stood there wondering if it's in the planks on the wall, but those were covered with clay.
"Oh," he muttered and looked up.
He put up a chair and reached up to the 3rd plank from the left on the ceiling. It easily tilted off and a piece of paper slid out from above it.
Lorn silently put the plank back where it was and read the paper.
[Jabber's trying to kidnap you. I can't stay in the town for long. Meet me in the forest to the east. There should be a lone birch tree when you approach the forest. Follow the path on its right and search for a broken boulder. Go right from there and you'll eventually stumble across a cabin. I'll be waiting there.]
'Motherfucker…'
[Don't meet anyone from the inner town. Seeking out the mayor is too risky. She will not become enemies with you, but most likely doesn't realize that something is amiss. I tried to reach out to her, but an assassin-type rogue was near the church.]
[Slip out to the outer city and order the Soulless to help you. Your authority as Undying should precede ours. Give precise orders. Don't give orders that take too much time.]
Lorn sighed.
He put the paper back in its place, grabbed one of Sybil's cloaks, and crouched to the window. It was a shitty position for the window to be in, with only the walls of the house making up the scenery, but Lorn was thankful for it.
He saw no one outside, so he quickly jumped through. The bustle of the inner town could be heard all around. That was good. He didn't need to be too conscious of the noise he made.
Using his mirror, he peeked outside the gap between the two houses and saw some kids playing in the mud. A lean man sat idly near them, occasionally glancing at Sybil's house. Lorn remembered him from when he was talking with Jabber.
Lorn went to the other side of the gap but saw no one standing guard. He looked eastward and saw the taller trees of the forest above the houses. The fence that separated the two sides of the town could be seen. It wasn't near, but it wasn't too far, either. Now was the risky part.
There were no gaps that he could hide in, so he needed to make a run for it. He also couldn't use any skills yet, since he knew the Hunter would be able to sense it. He didn't know how far the man's sense reached, but he expected the range to be big. Jabber was someone who taught the rogues, so they would definitely have skills leaned towards tracking and sensing.
'But since they're rogues... their agility should be high too, right?' Lorn realized. 'If I make a run for it, it's unlikely I'll make it all the way to the forest. '
His agility was a measly 2. Even after using Strengthening, it could only reach 3. Compared to that, who knew how fast his pursuers could move?
He definitely couldn't make a mad dash.
'I need a different plan.'
Lorn walked back inside Sybil's house. In her room, he searched for items that looked non-descript but large. He noticed the rug on the floor and started rolling it. He slowly and carefully pushed it out the window. Lorn then spent some time dirtying his clothes and face. It took some time to cover the gem on his forehead, but Lorn managed a convincing enough disguise.
He then put the rug over his shoulder and walked towards the eastern gate. Lorn walked slowly and with his back hunched. He soon reached a part of the street where he would be spotted by the guard outside. He didn't stop, as the rug should've covered his face; and it shouldn't be too unbelievable for some soulless to be slaving away under the orders of a soulblessed.
As Lorn expected, he wasn't stopped during his walk. Thankfully, he didn't come close to any of the Soulblessed when he reached the fence. Since the mayor mentioned them being able to instinctively tell he was an Undying, he was stumped on how he was supposed to explain himself out of such a meeting.
'The hardest part's over,' he sighed.
He put down the rug and looked at where the gate between the two parts was. A young guard was standing idly, but he didn't notice Lorn. He wasn't even looking around periodically, just standing there, half-awake. The first time Lorn came to the inner town, there weren't guards attached, so he guessed it was one of Jabber's men.
Taking the chance, Lorn quickly climbed over the fence and landed on the other side. He didn't bother to check whether he was noticed or not and immediately walked into one of the outer town houses.
He encountered two Soulless. They were preparing food. Their eyebrows didn't even rise as they looked at Lorn. Only a look of mild curiosity. They really were a creepy bunch.
"I will give you orders," he declared immediately. "Speak to no one about me coming here. And tell me, who has a job of walking to the forest?"
The Soulless thought for a bit. "Arnold at the edge of the town goes to check on the hunting traps."
"Lead me to him. Take the least crowded path."
They got out of the shabby house and walked towards the edge, going through the tight spaces between houses. Whenever they encountered a Soulless, Lorn ordered them to stay silent. Eventually, they found their way to Arnold's house. He told the accompanying Soulless to stay on guard and see if people come out of the inner town and entered the hunter's house.
There wasn't anything different between Arnold and the other Soulless. Lorn gave the order of silence again and relayed that he would be heading to the forest today.
Lorn switched clothes with Arnold, took the equipment needed for the maintenance of traps and headed out. Before he left, he took his time to learn where the traps were. Since there was no sign of people chasing him, he had enough time.
At the edge of the town, he met the two guards and ordered them to silence. He also instructed them to look towards the inner town and sound a horn if they saw rogue Hunters. Finally, he ordered the guards to stab the Hunters' legs with their spears when they came close. There was no need to be complacent.
'Since the enemies had the Rejuvenation skill, a stab to the leg wasn't enough to kill them.' Lorn repeatedly told that to himself as he gave the order. 'I'm not breaking any taboos.'
Outside the town gates, he could see the lone birch tree. He wanted to run there, but he knew he should be slow and unenthusiastic like the Soulless.
Shouldering the equipment, he trudged towards the forest.
The walk was tense. Lorn was itching to look back, but he knew that wasn't how the Soulless acted. He needed to trust the guards he left behind. If they see something off, they would let him know.
The tense walk finally ended as Lorn reached the birch tree. He also saw the path. It was a clear trail of dirt on an otherwise green forest ground. There was no way he was going to lose sight of it.
He dropped his equipment and started jogging. From behind him, he heard a loud hum.
"Shit!"
Lorn immediately used the Strengthening and as fast as he could.