"Nimer," Ray whispered to herself and could feel the rage building in her mind. Nimer had lied to her, about his own lover, too. She tapped her mug with her fingers, running a slender finger along the rim. She couldn't help but glance out the window toward Katalena. "Why would he lie about her?"
She shook her head tossing her hair about her shoulders. Shrugging, she ordered food and ate her breakfast in peace. She would need to wake up both Jex and Nimer to get started on their journey back toward the woods, and more so, confront their guide about his lie.
Heading upstairs, relieved of hunger, she knocked on the door to their inn room. Receiving no answer, she opened it peering inside to see Jex and Nimer still sleeping soundly. She rolled her eyes and walked up to the bed and grabbed the blanket, ripping it from under Jex, sending him tumbling off the bed.
He hit the other side with a heavy thud and a loud, "Ouch!"
Jex groaned a little and placed a hand on the bed sitting up with a pout on his face. "Well good morning to you too," he grumbled.
"Time to get up, sleepy head," she said with a smile then walked closer to Nimer who appeared to still be sleeping. She grabbed hold of the chair and kicked the chair out from under him with a massive swing of her leg.
Nimer fell to the floor, flat on his back and groaned as well, a scowl crossing his face as he sat up and rubbed his lower lumbar. "What the hell was that for?"
"It's morning and both of you have slept too long. We have things to do," she answered him simply. But watching Nimer pick himself up off the floor, her glance was less than friendly. "Nimer?"
"What?" he growled in response, pulling on his coat.
"I met someone this morning or rather saw someone," she continued. "A very tall woman and a dwarf were downstairs while I ate breakfast."
"Fantastic," Nimer said, showing no interest while shoving his feet into his boots.
"The woman's name was Katalena. Does that ring a bell?" Ray asked.
Nimer paused in the middle of pulling on his boot and sighed grumpily. "I know the name, yes, why?"
Ray crossed her arms and drummed her fingers against her arm becoming rather inspectant. "Do you think it's someone you know?"
"No," Nimer answered flatly. "The only person I know of that name has since passed this plane and is gone. I'd prefer not being reminded of her name."
"Is that so? Are you sure something else didn't happen to her?" Ray pried.
"It's not important. End of discussion," Nimer spat bitterly. "We have things to do and places to be at the moment."
"I'm not worried about that right now," Ray bantered.
"Do you wish to get into another fight? Here and now?" Nimer scorned.
"Ray, we should focus on the journey. If he doesn't wish to tell us, he doesn't have to. Can we please go and find our horses?" Jex pleaded.
Ray scoffed, then pointed a finger at Nimer. "Don't think that you're off the hook, do you understand?" With that, she left the room, stomping on the way out.
"I'm sorry for her," Jex apologized.
Nimer waved a hand. "She'll learn and with time I will tell, I promise."
The two men filed out of the room with their belongings and descended the stairs, the weight of their bodies causing the worn wood of the stairs to creak as they went. Pulling on their coats and winter wear, they weaved through the tables to the door. Walking outside into the chilly air of the morning, they wandered through the city, merging with the crowd. It remained more or less busy than the day before. Buggies full of goods or new comers traveled at fast paces around them as they made strides back toward the woods where they had been captured.
While trudging through the snow, the cold seeped through their shoes. By the time they had reached the edge of the wood, their feet felt like frozen bricks. Nonetheless, Ray and Jex used their tracking skills to read signs of where their horses could have gone. During their search, they found any signs of hoof prints left had been swallowed by hundreds of tiny four toed prints made by the small green men. The outcome of them finding their lost horses seemed bleak. Nimer whistled off and on loudly, trying to gain the attention of his own steed with feeble luck. The whistling left his lips dry and cracked. With their supplies with their horses, he had no water to taint his lips.
"This is more than concerning," he spoke after several tries.
"Can't we buy new horses?" Ray asked.
"We could if we had the money, but that is with our supplies as well," Nimer said. He assumed the goblins had gone through their belongings and taken what wasn't rightfully theirs and left them with the scraps. They would need to find another job to replenish their funds.
The sound of a twig breaking sent all three of their heads swiveling about and the three surveyed the woods around them. All three of them bolted and ducked behind an evergreen tree for cover. Nimer slightly poked his head out from behind it and looked around. Nothing stood out in the gray surroundings and he pondered to himself with a light hum.
"You see anything?" Jex asked quietly.
"No," Nimer said, simply turning back to them both. "But stay alert. I'm not sure we're alone."
Jex turned to Ray immediately when he felt her pinch the wool fabric of his coat and tug on it.
"Over there," Ray exclaimed in a loud whisper.
Both Jex and Nimer scrambled on top of each other, looking in the direction that Ray's finger pointed. Several yards out, three figures in purple cloaks with hoods hiding their seemingly pale faces stalked through the forest. Two of them held halberds against their shoulders while the other carried a candle lit, rod iron lantern. The tree watched them silently from their hiding spot, leaning further into the cover from the tree.
"Do you think they are with the cult of Ravathor?" Ray asked Nimer quietly.
"I don't doubt they are. Their cloaks look too familiar," he admitted.
"Why would he have a lit lantern in the middle of the day?" Jex wondered.
A few ideas filled the guide's head at the rhetorical question. He watched the man with the lantern stop and motion to the other two men with him, waving about with his free hand toward the forest. The words from his mouth were inaudible to the tree hiding behind the tree, the three men being too far away to hear them.
"You think he might set the forest on fire?" Jex asked, his eyes widening in fear as he glanced at Nimer and Ray.
"It would be a tragedy if they did," Nimer answered, rubbing his chin. "I say we sneak out of here and head back to the city. We don't have the high ground without our horses."
"I agree," Ray said, agreeing with their guide. "We aren't in any position to fight Ravathor's cult right now," She arched her brow, turning to Nimer and continued in a scolding manner. "But if they already know we're here from your loud whistling, we'll be in trouble."
Nimer frowned, more mad at himself for his carelessness than being scolded by his companion. "I didn't think the cult would have followed us this far out by now. They must have been after the shard that dragon had," he said. "Stay low. We should start making our way out of the woods."
The moment Nimer turned around, he was met face to face with the muzzle of his own black steed. His horse swung its head up and down, nudging his owner's shoulder with slight force.
"Well, it's about time you showed up," Nimer commented gruffly, using his palm to pat the horse's nose. Hearing the light commotion, Jex and Ray turned around, surprised to see the animal standing there.
"Can all three of us fit on him?" Ray asked.
"No, but both of you can. I much rather both of you two be able to escape quickly. I can hold my ground longer," Nimer said while unstrapping his worn, black saddle off the back of his horse and tossing it into the bushes. He took off one of the saddle bags and emptied what he could do without onto the forest floor. He then rummaged through the others that still had belongings still left in them. Nimer took out what mattered to him and shoved it in his pockets and the single bag.
"We aren't leaving you behind. You are weak and using your powers only progresses the necrosis. You said so yourself," Ray said angrily.
"A change of respect and heart does nothing for our current situation," Nimer commented, tying off the loose strands of the bag and handing it off to Jex.
Ray went red in the face. "Don't scold me for my past behavior, Nimer. You deserved that for lying to us. If you die, I won't forgive you," Ray scorned.
Nimer remained silent and walked around to the other side of his two traveling companions and pushed them both toward his horse. "I mean it. You two need to get out of here. We can discuss it when this is over. I don't plan on dying," Nimer said and cupped his hands to help lift Jex and Ray onto his horse's back.
Once mounted, Jex took hold of the reins. Ray wrapped her arms around Jex's waist, holding on as tight as she could. Jex smiled down at Nimer, placing a hand above his brow. "We'll see you on the other side."
Nimer smiled back smugly and gave the horse a hard pat on the rump, watching it take off into the woods. He drew his swords and turned toward where the men stood idle several yards out, still discussing their plans.
"There's only three of them. This shouldn't be too hard," he thought to himself and leaned into the tree for more cover. He took some steps backward, keeping an eye on his footing.
Suddenly, a twig snapping under his boot brought his attention to his feet and the three men turned, looking in his direction. Nimer anticipated an oncoming fight and grasped the leather around the handles of his cutlassed tighter. He danced around the tree to the otherside. He listened for the approaching footsteps of the three men.
"We can smell you," came one of the men, his accent heavy and his voice hoarse and rough.
"Yes but you can't see me," Nimer mumbled, peeking out around the side of the tree just enough to see them before taking off toward the next tree, a flash of shadow with his coat flaring behind him. He leaned out from his hiding spot just enough to keep an eye on the tree men. The closer the men got to him he could see their thin, boney, pale faces with wide, wild eyes vivid and purple.
"Most definitely cultists," Nimer confirmed.
He scanned the area with intensity, looking for his next route or another tree to hide behind. Rising to his toes, Nimer darted off toward a third tree then a forth. His goal remained to lead them astray down an anonymous path that had little to no direction. Going after the firth tree, however, his boot snagged on a low root. He collided face first into the next tree, its low branches moving wildly under his weight.
Like predators spotting their prey, all three men were immediately drawn toward the source of sound. "Halt!" the man with the lantern roared.
All three of them ran in Nimer's direction. Nimer's blue eyes widened and he cursed under his breath. He had no time to lose and took off running through the woods, the three men chasing him down.