It’s because I know that it’s the Void speaking to me, that I trust it, and I will continue to trust it until it proves me wrong to do so.
I am also aware that I’m still calling this place the Void, even though I know that’s not strictly true. I’m sure that I will get used to calling it by its proper name, Siorraidh, which honestly feels right and like it fits better. However, for the whole of my life I have known it as the Void, so it’s going to be a hard habit to break.
“The leaders have sent us to make sure you were heading in the right direction,” Ricollio replies.
“We aren’t going back to the compound. There is a time constraint,” Rast replies vaguely.
“They are aware of that,” one of the others replies.
I feel my eyebrows rise.
Why would they want to make sure that we’re heading in the right direction if they weren’t trying to make sure that we were going back to the compound, which was the original plan, and how do they know that we aren’t going back to the compound and that there is a time constraint?
It’s incredibly suspicious.
“It’s a good job we showed up when we did,” one of the others smiles. He seems to be a lot friendlier than Ricollio, but I’m not buying it. “You seem to have veered off course. You need to head east. You’re currently going northeast. So you’re only slightly off track, butif we hadn’t caught you in time, then you would have ended up in completely the wrong direction.”
“Are you certain?” Rast questions.
Ricollio nods, “Unfortunately, as much as I would like to send you in the complete opposite direction, for my own amusement and in the hopes that you would get eaten by something. The fate of the realm relies on you going in the right direction. The seer saw you heading in the wrong one, hence why we were sent to help you.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a compass, handing it to Rast, who reluctantly takes it. “It has been spelled to send you in the right direction. Just follow east exactly.”
Rast doesn’t look happy, but he nods. “Okay.”
“We’ve been still for too long,” one of the others says quietly. “We need to head back.”
With that, they all simply turn around and then fade into the darkness. We all stay silent, not wanting to be overheard in case they remain within hearing distance to see what we’ll say or do, and follow Rast as he looks down at the compass and heads in the direction that it’s telling him to go.
We just keep walking, and it gives my mind a chance to wander while I make sure that I’m still paying attention to our surroundings. I really didn’t trust them, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they took this opportunity to ambush us.
Although they could have done that before they spoke to us, it would have been more of a surprise.
Admittedly, it’s probably unlikely that they’re going to ambush us. It wouldn’t be a good strategic move, but I don’t trust that they aren’t up to something.
Something just doesn’t seem right.
I mean, they almost completely ignored us, they definitely ignored all of the guys, and only the dick that did most of the talking looked at me for a bit longer than necessary.
Surely, he would have been more interested in us all though?
As far as he should be concerned, we’re responsible for saving the realm. I would be incredibly curious if the roles were reversed. I would be asking questions, introducing myself, trying to find out what kind of people they are and what qualified them to save a realm.
I mean, I’m kind of glad that he didn’t ask that last question, because I’m not sure what qualifies us to save the realm. I actually think that we’re wildly underqualified for the job, but it’s not like we could have just left it and hoped someone else would do it.
Admittedly, the thought hadn’t even occurred to me.
I have to admit that I was hoping that he would say or do something, just so I could see his face when he realised that Reaper was behind me. It would have given me great joy.
Reaper would have liked it to.
That’s something else that I’ve noticed that doesn’t really have anything to do with the current situation but is concerning me nonetheless. Reaper is still at the forefront, Ryu isn’t. He’s there, I can feel him, and he’s muttered a couple of things to me, but Reaper is still very much in control, and I can’t decide if that’s a good thing or not.
On the one hand, it means that Reaper has more control in his dragon form, on the other hand, does it mean that there is something wrong with Ryu?
I really hope that’s not the case and that they’re just working together better and that Ryu knows that Reaper is more likely to keep his cool in this situation.
I’ll ask him about it when I get the chance, but for the time being we have something more important to discuss. We’ve been walking for at least an hour now, in silence, and I would be surprised if the compound guards are still anywhere near us.
“They have gone,” Laikynn says as he trots out of the darkness and starts to walk beside us. “They stuck around for longer than they needed to and then they veered off and headed back toward the compound.”
