Over the Void

Chapter 10: In Plain Sight

Morning arrived sooner than Royal wanted. Esther had rolled off of him overnight, so he was able to sit up and look around. No Eldrie watching him sleep. It was thus, a decent morning. He gently shook Esther awake.

"It's time to go, Esther. Wake up." He said softly. Esther soon began to stir.

"Where?" She yawned, blearily blinking her eyes open.

"We need to find a town. Remember?" Royal reminded her. Esther's face lit up in recollection. She nodded.

Royal nodded back, and the pair began swiftly gathering their few belongings. But they were met with an issue. They had a lot of extra food that they didn't have space for. As they debated this conundrum, Eldrie came to the rescue with some kind of equestrian animal.

"Put your stuff on its back. Come on now." She said impatiently. Esther noted that the animal already had a sizable amount of heavy things on it. She decided to just put the food.

"Thank you, but um... How did...?" Royal started to ask.

"Don't ask. That's for later. We must be off soon." Eldrie countered quickly. In reality, she knew a spell to mind control animals. It was simple, yet effective.

"Ok then... Alright, let's go." Royal said. His voice fell on deaf ears. Esther and Eldrie were already going. Royal scrambled to catch up. Luckily for him, they hadn't gone too far yet.

Esther really tried to start conversation with Eldrie as they walked. Royal, meanwhile, was focusing on keeping an eye out, even though Eldrie was doing the same thing from a raised vantage point. Eldrie shot down or ignored Esther's questions until she stopped trying to talk and walked quietly.

As they walked, Esther remembered her cloak. She put it on. It fit her well. Kept the sun from her eyes too. She liked it a lot. But it was a bit warm. She went to take it back off, but Royal stopped her.

"We gotta wear them. Remember? Gotta stay undercover." He said.

This got Eldrie's attention. "Do you know something I don't? What's with the cloaks?" She asked suspiciously.

"We got attacked in the first town we visited. These cloaks keep people from attacking, by making us look less suspicious. At least, I think they do..." Royal said.

"Hiding your identity. You look even more suspicious, but I assume race is the issue, so you conceal yourselves. Well, I see no reason to do the same, but I am not here to stop you." Eldrie grumbled.

"But why...?" Esther tried to ask. Eldrie held up a hand and stopped her before she started.

Royal rolled his eyes. Truth be told he was grateful for Eldrie's assistance, but he certainly didn't appreciate her moodiness. Especially towards Esther, who was just trying to make new friends. His expression was slightly sour for a while as they travelled in silence.

It took several hours of irate, awkward silence before the trio reached a settlement. As soon as they got there, Royal took Esther and went to look around.

"Where are you going?" Eldrie raised an eyebrow.

"We're going to take a look around. Is that an issue?" Royal asked, a hint of smugness in his voice. Before Eldrie could answer, they were gone.

Eldrie pursed her lips and hovered over the 'steed', keeping an eye on their stuff. She was very keen on keeping the belongings where they were. Especially since her prized catalysts and extracts were all there.

Meanwhile, Esther had discovered covered carriages. She stood gawking in wonder at a passing one, imagining what it would be like to have one.

"Royal, look at this!" She said, more excited than she intended to sound. She decided to take a look inside while Royal was busy turning to see. Inside the carriage, however, she found something that she found highly unsettling. A very burly and equally mean looking man was squatting on a basket with a knife in hand and several more around him.