Northbound Pilgrimage

Chapter CXXVII - What Have We Wrought

Author's Note:

So, this chapter must be my record or something. Not for length or depth or anything impressive like that. It's probably a record on how many times I wrote the F-word in one chapter :D :D :D

Don't blame me, I am at the mercy of the characters.

Enjoy <3

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The panic set in instantly.

Bishop recognized that dark-haired woman. He had seen her before a few times. At Lost Knife.

One of Thorn's.

What the fuck was she doing here? Bishop knew most of the runners, he had made sure to know them. He didn't remember her being one, but it has been years since he left. Maybe she was new but... then he wouldn't really remember her, would he? She was no runner. She was a bandit, a raider, a highwaywoman.

What the fuck did she want from him?

"Come here!" she scowled at him and, instead of approaching him directly, she rushed through the hallway where the rooms were towards the very end of it. When she reached the last door there, she dropped to her knees to fiddle with its locks. Bishop looked back into the common room instinctively, but nobody seemed to be looking in their direction.

Fuck, he just barely managed to relax and stop thinking about Thorn and Mercer. He did not want to deal with this shit again. But what else was he supposed to do? He needed to find out what she wanted.

He followed the woman with a fierce scowl on his face, waiting for her to finish picking the lock.

For fuck's sake, he could have been done with that lock ten times already! What was taking her so fucking long?!

Alright... maybe he was overreacting a bit. But this was making him so fucking nervous. Why would she even approach him? The runners wouldn't care about him! They wouldn't even know him, most likely. The only reason why Neeshka had approached him was because of their history... and because of how insane and vengeful she was. But this woman wasn't even a runner! Not from what he remembered.

He could not do a repeat of the last time with Neeshka. How even? Was this woman taking him to some stranger's room? He couldn't just leave a corpse in someone's room! There would be a shitstorm coming his way after that. He could never get away with that. He could never keep this from Aeyrin. There would be a commotion and she'd probably even offer to help investigate.

Stop! None of this has happened, ice-brain! Stop getting ahead of yourself!

Finally the woman was done with the lock and she slipped inside the room, waiting for Bishop expectantly. He followed her readily and closed the door behind him, before he gave her another fierce scowl. Why couldn't Thorn just leave him the fuck alone already?! Like he hasn't done enough to him!

"What the fuck do you want from me?! Tell Thorn to leave me the fuck alone!" he snapped at the woman instantly. He was tired and in no mood to go through hiding his relationship with Aeyrin again. Not to mention the questions that it would inevitably raise. And who's to say that this woman hadn't already seen them together? He should just kill her right away...

Snap out of it, for fuck's sake!

"What? Thorn? You don't recognize me, you dumb fuck?" the woman sneered at him hatefully, shaking her head with palpable disgust at the insinuation. What was she talking about? He remembered her from Lost Knife! He was sure of it!