Zi'da 10, Arc 716
The northern farms, she said. That was four trials ago when he got that information and since then he has been searching for his mentor without any success. They searched where they could with the intel they had but it was almost as if Telar has vanished into thin air. Frankly, it was starting to get daunting, frightening even. It was getting harder and harder for Finn to remain positive. Tendrils of dark expectation began to snake their way into his thoughts.
When they searched around the northern farms later on the sixth trial of Zi'da, they found nothing. They went from door to door, barn to barn. They asked and were asked in returned. Finn gave out a few nels to have them either rejected or taken for information that was half truth or of no use at all. It wasn't until the next trial, seventh of Zi'da, that they happened upon an older couple that has met Telar. In fact, it was the same man who chased the cow across the path when Finn arrived trials before. Telar stayed with them for a few nights. Yes, he left a few trials back, headed east as if towards the Anari river to follow it towards Millstone. Finn felt his blood drain on that day. He knew the geography of the area enough to understand the horrifying significance of that news. If Telar indeed headed that way, the route would take him through the Willow Woods rather close to the Catacombs. There was danger all over the place at the moment.
Ever since then, the search became frantic. Not only were Willow Woods full of predators, who knew what was hiding in the Catacombs! A half blind man might be seeking shelter from the biting cold night weather in places from which he might not emerge ever again. Each night he'd return to Tei'serin's farm to lodge there, he would lay with a heavy heart, having troubles falling asleep and the moment he would close his eyes, horrors would unfold on the black canvas of his eyelids. Oftentimes, he'd spend majority awake, only passing out from exhaustion as that would grant him the safe haven of dreamless nights. He suffered silently, not wanting to worry his hostess who seemed to have been battling her own demons.
Now a few trials after they have learnt what Telar might have been up to, Ti and Finn have ventured further into the Willow Woods. Then sun tried to pierce through the crown of the forest but its weakening rays have left behind the biting cold in the shadows. In this setting, Finn was next to useless. Just a noise that followed his Sev'ryn friend around, failing to keep quite and offer peace to the master at work. All he did was carrying a sack of food supplies, medicine and a dagger on his belt he bought in case of an emergency. He figured that since that one bounty did not quite work out back then, he knew little of the creatures that hid within the woods. And he felt somewhat safer with it at his side.
So he only observed. He watched Ti, trying to understand what he was doing, what he was looking at, or looking for. He kept listening to the sounds of the forest. Sometimes, it could be unsettling. He has been hearing the cracking of twigs here and there. Once on the left, other times on the right. It was irregular and each time, he would swear that something was lurking around. But then again, he was no hunter. He had no idea if they were being preyed upon. Hence, why his hand was almost glued to the hilt of his dagger. He believed that until they'd find a solid trace of a man having walked through here, calling for his mentor might attract some unwanted attention of the forest's predators. He was not a coward. He was a priest just as helpless if alone as his own mentor stranded somewhere in this vast expanse.
When they searched around the northern farms later on the sixth trial of Zi'da, they found nothing. They went from door to door, barn to barn. They asked and were asked in returned. Finn gave out a few nels to have them either rejected or taken for information that was half truth or of no use at all. It wasn't until the next trial, seventh of Zi'da, that they happened upon an older couple that has met Telar. In fact, it was the same man who chased the cow across the path when Finn arrived trials before. Telar stayed with them for a few nights. Yes, he left a few trials back, headed east as if towards the Anari river to follow it towards Millstone. Finn felt his blood drain on that day. He knew the geography of the area enough to understand the horrifying significance of that news. If Telar indeed headed that way, the route would take him through the Willow Woods rather close to the Catacombs. There was danger all over the place at the moment.
Ever since then, the search became frantic. Not only were Willow Woods full of predators, who knew what was hiding in the Catacombs! A half blind man might be seeking shelter from the biting cold night weather in places from which he might not emerge ever again. Each night he'd return to Tei'serin's farm to lodge there, he would lay with a heavy heart, having troubles falling asleep and the moment he would close his eyes, horrors would unfold on the black canvas of his eyelids. Oftentimes, he'd spend majority awake, only passing out from exhaustion as that would grant him the safe haven of dreamless nights. He suffered silently, not wanting to worry his hostess who seemed to have been battling her own demons.
Now a few trials after they have learnt what Telar might have been up to, Ti and Finn have ventured further into the Willow Woods. Then sun tried to pierce through the crown of the forest but its weakening rays have left behind the biting cold in the shadows. In this setting, Finn was next to useless. Just a noise that followed his Sev'ryn friend around, failing to keep quite and offer peace to the master at work. All he did was carrying a sack of food supplies, medicine and a dagger on his belt he bought in case of an emergency. He figured that since that one bounty did not quite work out back then, he knew little of the creatures that hid within the woods. And he felt somewhat safer with it at his side.
So he only observed. He watched Ti, trying to understand what he was doing, what he was looking at, or looking for. He kept listening to the sounds of the forest. Sometimes, it could be unsettling. He has been hearing the cracking of twigs here and there. Once on the left, other times on the right. It was irregular and each time, he would swear that something was lurking around. But then again, he was no hunter. He had no idea if they were being preyed upon. Hence, why his hand was almost glued to the hilt of his dagger. He believed that until they'd find a solid trace of a man having walked through here, calling for his mentor might attract some unwanted attention of the forest's predators. He was not a coward. He was a priest just as helpless if alone as his own mentor stranded somewhere in this vast expanse.
