Chapter 2 * Mission and Bait*

  

Chapter 2 * Mission and Bait*

          As Sais and Sean made their way up north during the night, “We should stop and rest for a few hours, then head off before sunrise” Sean pulled alongside Sais. “Can’t ride all night!” he tried to convince Sais to agree, but she continued a little while further before she finally agreed.

          “Alright, let’s rest awhile.” She sighed and gently pulled on the reins to slow her horse.

          Both agreed where to camp for the night, and quickly built a small fire and gathered woods. Sais didn’t ask for any help from Sean, nor did he ask her. Sean eyed her as she pulled her rucksack from her horse and pulled out a couple of thin blankets and laid them near the fire. “What?” she didn’t even look up from what she was doing to know that Sean was looking at her.

          “Uhm nothing,” Sean pulled his own blankets and lay them on the opposite side of the fire. He sat near a log and pulled out a small loaf of bread, “Care for some?” he waved it at her.

          Sais looked up from her what she was doing to notice that he had a loaf of bread. “No I have my own.” She reached into her rucksack and retrieved her loaf, she broke a piece off and wrapped the rest of it and placed it back into rucksack. “Thanks for offering” she smiled.

          “You don’t seem like the type to ask for anything or help” Sean stated before popping a small piece of his bread into his mouth, after chewing “Why did you ask me to help you with this mission?” He lean further back on the log still was keeping a steady eye on Sais.

          Sais took a few bites out of her chunk of bread before she looked him in his face. “It’s up in the north and I don’t know that valley well. If you don’t want to be here you can always leave. I can do this by myself.” Sais put down her chunk of bread and waited for Sean to answer back.    

          “Oh I don’t mean to offend you, but I’ve heard stories of you. Master Ronan speaks very highly of your skills among the rest of your fellow friends from the academy. Some said that you were to be his second in command, but you choose to return home. Is it true? I only ask because I’m Master Ronan’s second in command.” Sean eyes never left Sais face.

          “My skills, yea I’m good fighter, caster” she paused “Master Ronan did asked me to be his second in command. I turned him down; Master Ronan didn’t want me to return home when I did. I offered to do mission for him, as an exchange for returning home.” she chuckled. “So here we are” she tossed up her hands. “I’m ready to lay down, now. We are only resting for a few hours, before head back out.” She slid between her blankets and rolled over having her back to him. Sean followed behind her lead and slipped under his own. “Don’t worry; I’m not here to take your position as second. From what I can see, you are doing a better job than I could have done” Sais closed her eyes and drifted off. Sean smiled and rolled over and dozed off.

     

          Sais slowly opened her eyes; she could barely see the fire had died down quite a bit. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the darkness. She rolled over to face the fire and to reach another log to throw on the fire. As she tossed the log onto the pit she noticed that Sean was still resting. “Sean, Sean” she called over to him. He made a slight moan before rolling over to face her.

          “Yea, I know.” He sat up slowly glancing at Sais.

          Sais took only a few minutes to roll up her blankets and return them to her rucksack, not before pulling out chunk of cheese and bread from it. She quickly ate and drank and started to saddles up her horse. Sean wasn’t far behind her. They barely spoke while they eat and started pack up the rest. “Alright we should be near the village of Bathos in just a few hours, plenty of time before Quinn and Demeric should get there.”

          Sean nodded and saddled up on his horse and took off ahead of her. Sais quickly followed. As they continued to the village of Bathos, they notice the further north they went the attacks from the Fire raiser were more damaging on the villages and farmer. “What the hell?” Sean pulled his reins hard to stop his horse. “Sais, Sais. You need to see this” he called her.

          Sais turned her horse to face Sean and notice piles of burning ruble and buildings that once made up a small farming village. “They burnt it to the ground. I don’t’ see anyone.” Both Sais and Sean watched the smoldering village become nothing but ash before their eyes. “Come we need to see if anyone is left?” Sean opened his mouth, but quickly shut it. “Hello is anyone here?” Sais jump down from her horse and grabbed her reins and pulled her horse behind her calling out to anyone. No one answered. Sean pushed his horse thru the village seeing nothing but black ash everywhere.

          “There is no one here. They must pack up and headed for Bathos, before the fire raiser attacked. These people are not warrior, they are only farmers.” Sean turned his head back to the road. “We should leave. I don’t think the fire raisers left. They might be near.” He shot her a glance before making his way back to the road.

          “Fine,” She climbed up on her horse and gallop off to the road. Sean headed off ahead of her, not looking back at the burnt village. Sais took one final look before riding off towards Bathos. Upon entering the village, several families pulled their cart with their belongings. “Are you from the village that was burnt to the ground?” she asked a young boy.

          The simply nodded and continued own his way. “We need to get set up and start asking around about this caster.” He whispered to her as he climbed off his horse. “Did it mention his name?” he stood alongside her horse as she climbed off and stood beside Sean. She nodded but didn’t speak it. “Let’s get a room,” Sean walked into huge stonewall building. Sais stayed with the horses and left her hood up and tired them along a wooden post, keeping her eyes on all the villagers who looked at her with caution.

 After several minutes Sean returned back outside with Sais. “We have a room in the far back on the second floor.” He gazed around all the villagers who were up and running around on this slightly cool morning. “Should we head back to the room, or mingle with these simple farmers?” he nodded his head to the Inn.

“Mingle sounds goods” Sais headed for the Inn. She opened the door and walked in, and scanned the Inn with one sweep of her eyes as she made it to the counter where the barkeep had his back to her.

The husky baled headed barkeep spun around “what can I get you darling’?’ he smiled.

Sean followed up behind her and stood next to her. “We both will have some fresh brew ale.” Sean gave her a sideward look. Just follow my lead, he thought to himself.

          “Ale would be fine” she waved her hand to the husky barkeep. She turned around and leaned against the counter and whispered to Sean. “Our caster is not in here. But we can mingle while we drink” she pick up her mug and took a gulp and raised her mug to him. “I can hold my ale just fine, the last couple of years and I can drink Master Ronan under the table.” She took another gulp, and head for a table.

Sean smiled big and took the chair across from her. “Wow I’m surprise that Master Ronan let you drink at the academy.”

“Well Master Ronan didn’t really let me drink. I drank with my father sometimes.” She turned her head slightly away from Sean. “He would tell me stories of his youth when he was under King Ethos when he served in the army. Hey over there in the far corner!” she whispered and then nodded her head to the lone man drinking his ale.

Sean turned his head and checked the man out. “He is not a caster” he took another drink.

“I know, but he looks like a man that likes to talk. Come” she stood up and walked over to the man, “How about I buy the next round?” She took the empty seat across him, not waiting for him to answer. Sean slid into the next chair. “My name is Belle this is my friend Eric.”

Sean followed up with a “Hello” as he raised his mug.

The lone man took another drink “My name is Traven. What brings you to these parts? Not many southern come up this far in the summer.” He sat up mug down looked at them with suspicion.

Sean replied, “Just looking for someone.” He looked at Sais who was waving the barkeep for another round. “We thought maybe you could help?”

“Help? Uhn” Traven scoffed. “It’s more like I need help. All this damn casters are getting out of control around here lately. I’m not just taking about Fire raiser only, Energy casters as well. The past few weeks this damns energy caster, Calais has been hitting this village up for supplies. We do it, because we don’t want our fields to be destroyed.” He took another gulp from his fresh mug.

“Traven, you can’t be saying stuff like that in the open” the husky barkeep whispered to them at the table. “We don’t know what Calais looks like. He always wears a mask.” the husky barkeep looked around his Inn. “I think he has blond hair, medium build. This one time another caster stood up to him, shot him in the chest, and Calais didn’t go down. His mask turn sideway from the blasted and that’s when I saw his hair and it looked blond or light brown. Calais killed the caster; it was unfortunate because he was a good friend of my wife.” The barkeep rushed back to the counter for some new customer.

“Yeah, that Calais is dangerous. If I were you I’d find your friend and leave just as fast as you got here.” Traven finished his mug and stood up and walked away from the table.

 

     

 

Both Sais and Sean entered their room while having a small disagreement, “You didn’t tell me that it only came with ONE bed?” She threw her rucksack on, the one bed in the room. “I assume that you would have got one with two beds or better yet two rooms with one bed in each!” she walked over to the window pushed the wooden cover to reveal that the window over looked the back road into the village.

“Sais, don’t worry I’ll sleep on the floor” Sean tossed his rucksack in the far corner.

Sais turned walked over to one of her bags and pulled out the scroll that Master Ronan sent her the day before. “In Master Ronan’s orders, He said that Calais was the name of the caster, no description on what he looks like. Some Intel on the company he seems to take with him when he raids villages. He thought I would stand a better a chance on catching Calais, he has a certain taste in women. I’m guessing it’s my hazel eyes. All the women that he has asked for in the village have had hazel eyes.” She pulled down her hood and unhooked her cloak.

“You are bait.” Sean chuckled “And a dangerous one at that. Your plan is to be spotted in the village and get Calais to come here and he takes you with him.”

“Bait, is not a bad spot to be in, well for me, all the other women that he has taken were untrained. I’m not.” She smiled “He wants a delicate farmer maiden, but he will get a fierce warrior instead.”

Author's Note

Yet again excuse all the grammar error. Does this chapter flow well? What do I need to work on? I need more input !