Forever Green

~ 31 ~ Histories Exchanged

Theiden stepped around the barrels and looked down the street.  The men chasing Lenesa had come to a stop at the next intersection, looking lost.

"Hey!" he called out, and they turned to face him. "What's going on?"

"Who're you?" one of the men shouted back. Theiden jogged over to them, away from Lenesa, to continue the conversation.

"I'm Theiden Guster," he said once he got within talking range. "And you are...?"

The first man snorted and spat a yellowish glob off the curb. "Callan Hreth. We're part-a Decliteur's team."

That they were witch hunters didn't surprise Theiden—he'd guessed as much when Lenesa had mentioned the head witch hunter. Still, he decided to feign ignorance and ask, "I saw you were running. What was that about?"

"Chasing," Callan corrected, and his two cronies nodded. "Decliteur spotted a 'spicious lady outside the Ferryman's Rest. Ran when 'e tried confrontin' 'er, so 'e sent us to follow. Pro'ly a witch. But she just gave us the slip a moment ago."

Theiden gave a skeptical grin, hoping to dissuade the men. "A witch, inside the city? That's a bit far-fetched, don't you think?"

Callan shrugged. "Decliteur's a smart man. 'Is instink's pretty spot-on." He paused for a moment, rubbing his nose in thought. "Wha' d'you know 'bout witches, anyway?"

"Well..." Theiden shrugged innocently. "I was held hostage by one for the past several months."

Callan's eyes widened at the admission, and the mouths of the men behind him parted in surprise.

"Oh, you're that fellow!" Callan exclaimed. "Decliteur'll be wantin' ta pick your brains 'bout that. Why don' you follow us? 'E'll be waitin' back at the Ferryman's Rest." He took a step forward, then paused, turning back to one of the other men in the group. "Oh, Tareth, since we lost 'er, you'd better let the guards at the gate know 'bout that mysteeryus lady. In case she's a witch, we don' want 'er gettin' back out, so we can catch 'er more easily."

The younger man named Tareth nodded in agreement. "Right you are, Callan," he said. "I'll send word down to the guards and meet you back at the inn."

As soon as Tareth had taken off, Callan turned back to Theiden. "C'mon, follow us," he said, giving a nod to the remaining man with him.

"It's very interesting, the work you do," Theiden began as they headed back up the street. "Everyone in town really respects what you do to keep us safe." He was painfully aware of the alleyway next to the milliner's shop as they passed, but didn't dare to do more than glance at it out of the corner of his eye. If Lenesa was still hiding behind the barrels, he didn't want to draw any attention to the spot.

Luckily, his flattery worked, and Callan and the other man were too caught up in the praise than to want to search for any potential hiding places.

"It's a rig'rous trainin', t'be sure," Callan said. "Them witches are nasty, c'nnivin' creatures. Slayed a couple-a them myself." He grinned proudly at the fact.

They passed the bakery, and Theiden paused. He'd given his word to tell Valas about his time in the mountains first, but there was no helping the situation now. If he wanted to draw the witch hunters away from Lenesa, he would have to follow through with going back to the Ferryman's Rest and meeting with the whole team.

"Theiden!"

It was as though Valas had heard his thoughts. The baker came hurrying out of his shop, and Callan and the other man came to a stop next to Theiden.