The Festival of the Azure Moon

Chapter 10 - Desertion

A cool breeze from the ocean graced Sophia's forehead and was welcomed with open arms. She had departed for Port Lood far earlier than her former traveling companion, and the ocean breeze confirmed that she was getting close. She looked back to see if the insufferable Holy Knight was following her but saw no trace of him.

Sophia had been sipping on grog all morning. She did not only wish to dull her heightened senses, but she also wanted to quell her unmatched frustration with Talix.

"Who does that overly pious sucker of God-cock think he is?" Sophia slurred out loud to her horse. "Of course, the one time I allow someone to hunt by my side, they turn out to be the living embodiment of all the worst qualities of the church."

Vareen just continued along the path as she usually would, but in Sophia's mind, the mare was acting as her conscience personified.

"I don't feel bad for leaving him behind at all. I left him the map and enough food to get him back to the nearest settlement. If he can't navigate his way home, then he deserves to starve to death." Sophia took another sip of her grog.

Vareen snorted.

"Don't give me that tone! I've made up my mind. From now on, I hunt alone. I've never needed anyone before, and I certainly don't need anyone now. This hunt will end much sooner without him getting in my way."

She tried to stir Vareen into a faster pace, but the old mare was being particularly stubborn.

"What in the blazing Hells is the matter with you? I know we rode through the night, but there will be plenty of time to rest later."

Vareen snorted and picked up her speed for a brief moment before slowing to a stop.

"Don't tell me you are trying to let the lightweight catch up. I am trying to leave the rat bastard behind! I never wanted him along in the first place!"

It should have taken only a few hours to reach Port Lood that day, but because of Vareen's stubborn dragging, it took the better part of a day for Sophia to finally return to the Golden Road. According to her navigation, the outlaws would not be arriving in Port Lood for another day or two despite the delay. In the distance, she could see the port city sitting on a small island connected to the mainland with a bridge.

"There's a good chance the Librarian is in that city already, Vareen. I'm not going to let that feeble bastard humiliate me again. He will pay for what he did in Rorfeld."

The smooth road made for a quick final stretch of her journey. Though dusk would soon be upon them, Sophia was still able to make it to the city before nightfall. Even that late in the day, the town felt busy. Merchants were leaving with carts full of raw materials to sell at village markets. Dock laborers were heading to their apartments after a long day of hauling cargo. Sailors were looking for a tavern to spend their earnings while they were docked.

Sophia rode through the streets of the city in search of a tavern that hosted dockworkers. She knew if Don Traveler was planning to make it to Galatea before the Azure Moon came, he would need to hire a ship first. After a brief trip to the docks, Sophia noticed most dockworkers and sailors migrated to a muggy putrid tavern called the Salty Rum Barrel. She purchased a room there for the night and refilled her canteen with grog. Finding herself a secluded corner, Sophia began to construct her plan for capturing the outlaws.

Trying to search for the shapeshifter would be a waste of time. The only lead I have to go on is the Pallumian.

Sophia scanned the entire tavern as she waded through the crowds of smelly sailors and sweaty dock laborers. Pallumian humans were easier to distinguish from Solemnites and Travens. Their hair tended to be black or brown, and their eyes were brown to match. Their accents were distinctly different even when speaking Traven, and they tended to dress in formfitting clothes. She spotted only three people who looked like they could be Pallumian, but one was a girl, one was missing an arm, and the other may not have been Pallumian at all.

She also intended to keep an eye out for the Librarian himself. He would be the easiest of the three to pick out of a crowd. The Librarian wore glasses to see clearly. Since they were a relatively new technology invented in the central empire, the Librarian was usually the only man for miles who wore them. Sophia also knew his face quite well, for she saw it in her nightmares.

Even if they ran their horses ragged from Riverhill to here, the outlaws could not have beat me here. If I wait long enough, I'll find them. I'll patrol the docks by day and wait for them here by night.

The spirits and beer would need to wait. Sophia would need the full power of her heightened senses to perform her task. The voice of the Librarian was familiar to her, so if he spoke a word within a city block from her, she would hear it if she was concentrating. Sophia sat cross-legged in her room with her eyes closed and ears open.

Her eyes opened with her Arcane Sense activated. The world grew blurry like an oil painting. The light from the lantern illuminating her room had a green tint attached to it. Her eyes shined with a light blue hue, ready to detect the faintest hint of magical illumination.

Her Arcane Sense ritual allowed her to see magic within a particular area around her. When a magician casts a ritual on a person or object, they must provide a constant feed of essence to their target to keep the spell functioning. This magical feed manifests as an incorporeal tether between the caster and the recipient. The Arcane Sense allowed Sophia to see these tethers as well as the presence of any other magical phenomena. There was no guarantee the outlaws would have any active magical effects on them, but being magicians, it was likely they had at least one. A single active spell or ritual would make them stand out in a crowd like candles in the dead of night.

The Arcane Sense extended only about twenty yards from her, so she would still need to be reasonably close to a magician to identify them. With her Arcane Sense active, the outlaws would be easy to spot.

Sophia knew that if she asked the town guard for help, they would not hesitate to participate in a literal witch hunt. However, the last time she chose to divert from her solitary hunting strategy, nearly twelve men were killed and twelve more severely injured by the Librarian. She had no intention of letting that happen again. Regular people would just get in her way. Alone was always better.

Though she hoped to have her chance against the Librarian, Sophia knew an encounter with the other two outlaws was far more likely. Knowing that Don Traveler could teleport worried her. If she could not close in on him fast enough, he would be able to teleport nearly a mile away in any direction. Depending on how talented he was, this could take anywhere from five to thirty seconds. If she could bind him with the bolas, then she could end the battle before it began.

Sophia stayed in her room, trying to ponder her future encounter with the traveling wizard. However, her mind would continually wander back to Talix. She wondered if he was capable of navigating his way home or at least to the Golden Road. She wondered if he tried searching for her in the woods and got lost. She then wondered why in the Seven Hells she was even thinking about the misogynistic bastard at all when she had a job to do. At this point, the trap had been set. All she could do now was lie in wait for her prey to cross her path.