Chapter 23 - The Parting

“We’re leaving,” Gwen suddenly exclaimed, taking everyone by surprise.

Every eye at the table immediately turned towards her.

“What do you mean?” Goldrick asked incredulously, his gaze darting repeatedly between the young woman and Liris in an impatient search for an explanation.

While the latter merely returned his look with a blank expression, Gwen leaned back against her chair. For a moment, the indistinct murmur of the Golden Ear’s common room receded into the background, becoming little more than meaningless noise.

Then, once she seemed to have found the right words, Gwen spoke.

“My sister and I have decided to leave Ravast. We’ll depart for Sethern tomorrow morning,” she confirmed, her face serious and her eyes resolute.

Goldrick, once again the quickest to react, stared at her in growing astonishment, his expression questioning.

“What?! How can you—?” he burst out, but Lucien abruptly interrupted him.

“Because they no longer have any reason to stay here, am I right?” he said with a bitter smile, studying the woman as he rested both elbows on the table and clasped his hands in front of his mouth.

He had already understood the twins’ reasons, but he wanted to hear them spoken aloud, in their own words.

“Yes, exactly. There’s nothing more we can do here.” Gwen briefly met Lucien’s gaze with her deep black eyes before turning to address everyone seated at the table. “In any case, we owe you an explanation. It is true that Lord Ravast and Anastasia’s disappearance concerns us directly. And it is also true that we accepted Lord Simon’s request to search for them. But regardless of the reasons behind their departure, there is nothing more we can do for them.”

“What?! So you’re just abandoning them?” the middle-aged man pressed, his patience wearing thin. “How have you reached that conclusion? Based on Karak’s theory?”

“You were there in the woods too, Goldrick. Karak made it quite clear that the two of them had most likely been caught in a struggle,” Liris interrupted this time, her voice low and blunt. “They were carried away, and considering that we have no other trail to follow, that we’re already hours behind them, and that we don’t know these lands well enough, there’s no longer any hope of finding them alive. Isn’t that right, Karak?”

Everyone’s gaze now shifted to the figure seated beside them, almost impossible to recognize beneath his cloak and hood. The dim light that filled the inn did little to reveal his features, and he went to considerable lengths to keep them concealed.

“Yes. I’ll say it again,” he began impassively, lending weight to the young woman’s words. “Their fate is already sealed.”

“How can you be so certain?” Goldrick challenged him, leaning forward in his seat, increasingly agitated and unwilling to accept the thought. “You yourself pointed out that there was no blood other than that of the horses. They could have—”

“I rule that out,” the hooded man replied, with an almost infuriating composure, not even waiting for him to finish.

“And what about Lord Lucas’s luggage? Or rather, the luggage, since one of Anastasia’s bags also seems to be missing from her room. They weren’t beside the horses. Where could they have gone? Are you suggesting that whoever took the betrothed couple went to the trouble of taking their luggage as well?” Tiresio observed, equally calm as he took a sip of beer from his tankard.

“That wouldn’t be so unusual,” Karak countered. “Not necessarily to cover up what happened. If that had been the intention, the abductor would have had to make the horses disappear as well. But if this was a kidnapping, or a robbery that ended in the worst possible way, the luggage might have contained evidence that needed to be disposed of—or valuables worth stealing. Perhaps the bandits we dealt with when we rescued Lucas had accomplices who decided to carry out their original plans and take revenge.”

The hooded man was lying. That much was clear. Or, at the very least, he was deliberately withholding some of the details he had uncovered and some of what he truly believed.

Over time, Lucien had learned to discern the real intentions of those he spoke with, and Karak was no exception, though he was considerably harder to read than most. Partly because he kept his face—and, naturally, his expressions—hidden at all times; partly because there was something peculiar about his manner, something chaotic and utterly unpredictable.

But now the half-elf was certain.

Just as he was certain of Gwen and Liris’s sincerity, even if he disagreed with their decision.

He had remained silent until then, watching his companions and weighing their positions. Now he had all the information he wanted. Yet he knew he was in no position to force anyone to do anything against their will, though he could at least try to persuade them.

And that was precisely what he intended to do.

Staying together was what would be best for everyone.

But above all, it was what would be best for him.

That was why he had decided to join forces with the others in the first place.

“Are you certain?” he asked the sisters, fixing them with an intent gaze. “Hope dies last, and the promised reward is substantial. Besides, I assume you’re curious to find out what really happened to the couple yourselves.”

Gwen exchanged a brief glance with Liris. Then, as the latter picked up the tankard in front of her and took a silent sip, Gwen addressed the half-elf in clear, firm words that left no room for argument. It was her way of making it understood that they would not reconsider their decision.

“Although we are indeed curious to learn the circumstances of what happened and how this affair will unfold,” she began, a faint but confident smile on her lips, “it is also true that we have obligations to fulfil. Regardless of Simon’s reward, or of the undoubtedly positive and advantageous implications of helping a Lord in his time of need. We already have work to do, and a prior agreement that we cannot simply walk away from. Commitments and deadlines to honor.

“We told you about our client, and about the reason we were at the abandoned mansion. It was also the reason you accepted our invitation to accompany us and join forces. We were under the impression that we had reached an understanding. But we certainly have no intention of forcing you to keep your word…”

“You are undoubtedly right,” Lucien interrupted politely, resting his wrists elegantly on the edge of the table, much like a man of noble bearing. “And none of us is backing out of anything. I believe I can speak for everyone when I say that our intentions remain unchanged. We are merely asking for a few more days than we originally agreed upon to try to untangle this most convoluted affair. We would all stand to gain a great deal from it, in every respect. Just a couple of days. Then, if we truly find no trace of Lord Ravast and his betrothed, we can withdraw from Simon’s request and leave.”

“You are not bound by any agreement, but we are,” Gwen replied, never losing her natural, refined composure. “We have deadlines to meet, and although, as you know, the hours we have spent here in Ravast were not essential, we cannot afford to waste any more. We must return to Sethern and report on what we accomplished at the mansion. Besides, what I’m about to say may strike you as exceedingly cynical, but…”

She paused for a moment, glancing at Goldrick as though anticipating a strong reaction to what she was about to say.

Suddenly, the fire in the hearth beside their table crackled loudly, scattering amber sparks in every direction as a large, blazing log rolled away from the others, trailing embers as it came to rest apart from the flames.

“…we are not heroines, nor do we go looking for missing people. We investigate the supernatural, the inexplicable. That is why we are hired. That is our work. And this affair seems to have everything to do with anything but our particular expertise,” she concluded firmly.

At those words, Goldrick stiffened in his chair. His gaze remained fixed on the young woman, his jaw clenched. Then he seemed on the verge of exploding.

Lucien was about to intervene, but somehow the middle-aged man managed to master himself, forcing his emotions back down.

Tiresio, seated beside him, showed similar restraint. He was clearly irritated by the woman’s words as well, but more adept than his companion at concealing his thoughts.

That restraint gave Lucien the opportunity to speak again.

“You have been quite clear about this from the very beginning. And just as you cannot force us, we cannot force you,” the half-elf declared, now aware that there was no other way to keep the group together. He was determined to avoid creating tensions among them and preserve a relationship he hoped to nurture further in the future. “Our views may differ at the moment, but, as I said, our intentions remain unchanged. We will join you in Sethern in a couple of days, no later. You have my word. And from there, we will continue together.”

“Of course,” Gwen replied with a relaxed, gentle smile, satisfied with the way the matter had been resolved. “In the meantime, we will use these two days to speak with Pavlic about your wish to join us. We will tell him about you, but once you arrive in Sethern, you will need to meet him first. That way, you can make his acquaintance, get to know him, and discuss the other details. Until then, we wish you the best of luck in resolving this affair. May you find Lord Ravast and Anastasia, for everyone’s sake.”

“And good luck dealing with Iuliu!” Liris interjected, her face betraying irritation and displeasure. “Simon has authorized you to investigate, but the captain of the guards certainly hasn’t taken it well. You must have noticed. He’ll conduct his own investigation and, I’m sure, put obstacles in your way if he gets the chance. He certainly doesn’t want a bunch of strangers taking the credit for solving this affair in his place. Especially strangers he’s been deeply suspicious of ever since they arrived in the village. Another reason for us to leave. That man gets on my nerves…”

She was right. Lucien knew it.

Iuliu could prove to be yet another obstacle in carrying out their task. What was more, he was probably having his men keep them under constant surveillance. For the time being, however, Lord Simon had managed to keep him on a tight leash. The captain was unlikely to go so far as to interfere with them openly.

There was something else behind Liris’s attitude, though. Something deeper, something left unsaid.

Like Goldrick, she seemed troubled by recent events. She appeared to sense that something was wrong, that there were irregularities in what had happened. Anomalies that disturbed and unsettled her. Feelings, intuition rather than any tangible reason.

Lucien had recognized it, even if he did not share their unease.

He preferred to rely on reason, on things he could touch and verify. He had long since put his emotions aside.

“I’m leaving too,” Karak suddenly declared, pulling the half-elf’s attention back to what was happening around the table.

Silence fell over them.

This time, even the voices of the few patrons in the inn seemed to dissolve into nothingness.

For several moments, no one reacted.

Then, as if to drag them abruptly back to reality, a gust of wind struck the grimy window behind the hooded man, making the glass shudder violently, like an unmistakable warning.

Their travelling companion truly was unpredictable.

Only then did Lucien understand what Karak was getting at. Why he had taken such a firm stance on what they had discovered in the woods. Why he had lied and withheld information.

Karak wanted to leave, and he had deliberately constructed a pretext to do so.

“I’ll spare you the trouble of trying to convince me to stay,” he continued, his tone resolute as he shifted slightly into a more comfortable position in his chair. “I’ve already made up my mind, and I’ve already discussed it with Gwen and Liris. I’ll go with them. Continuing to search for Lucas and Anastasia is a waste of time. We’ll be waiting for you in Sethern.”

Lucien smiled bitterly, lowering both hands to his lap and letting his shoulders sag, as though in defeat.

His attempts to keep the group together for as long as possible had failed miserably.

There was no hesitation in the hooded man’s words, not the slightest crack in that wall of determination through which Lucien might have found a way to make him change his mind.

Karak had clearly planned his departure with meticulous care. He probably had something to attend to in Sethern, something he could no longer afford to put off. Something that could not wait even as long as Lucien himself was prepared to wait.

If he wanted to preserve their bonds, Lucien thought, he would have to accept this decision too and make the best of an unfortunate situation.

He raised his gaze to Goldrick and Tiresio, who found themselves in much the same position. Though disappointed and reluctant, they too seemed inclined not to oppose Gwen, Liris, and Karak’s departure from the group.

Under the circumstances, it was the best choice.

The three of them would have to shed light on the affair without the others’ support.

Alone.

With all the difficulties and implications that entailed.

Suddenly, his intention to discuss with the others everything they had discovered so far—the clues, the tracks in the woods, and how utterly devastated Lord Simon had appeared when they had told him what they had found—was swallowed by the murmur of the common room.

They had already had precious little to go on in their search for the betrothed couple. Now they would have even less. Fewer companions to rely on, fewer skills at their disposal.

And morale that was bound to suffer.

At that moment, even planning their next steps seemed almost pointless.

Just then, before anyone else could speak, Fiora arrived at the table carrying the dishes they had ordered earlier.

The young woman smiled sweetly as she served them one by one, setting each plate down in front of its owner. Then, with the same gentle courtesy, she wished them a pleasant dinner and left.

Lucien found himself staring silently at his plate.

The roasted game meat looked and smelled utterly irresistible. Under ordinary circumstances, he would not have hesitated to savor one of Emma’s delicacies.

Yet, smiling bitterly once more, he realized in that very instant that he had lost his appetite entirely.