The Destiny of Nepe-2nd chapter
2nd chapter of my novel. enjoy!
The Journey Begins...
There was silence in the forest. Too much silence. It was almost as if something was about to happen...something big. The moon didn't help at all with easing the tension in the air. It was a full moon tonight so the forest was lite up brightly. Something Lily hadn’t really expected at all. Sighing, she turned her back towards the thick trunk of a tree that she had leaned up a few moments ago and gazed out in front of her. Nothing but trees blocked her view. She narrowed her eyes slightly. Something was wrong. She didn't know it quite yet but she could feel it in her bones that something had gone awry. She had to get out of here now. Shifting her pack further up on her back, she turned around and swiftly began to walk. She didn't dare run...not unless she was prompted to do so.
After walking for the better part of an hour, she stopped and stained her ears to listen to any sound that might echo through the forest. Nothing. That was strange. Usually there would be a owl hooting or some sort of nocturnal animal wandering around. There was still that silence. It was almost as if the forest was taunting her for being here this evening. She winced slightly as a loud crack interrupted the silence. Her body went as stiff as a board and her eyes darted around her. Was someone, or something, coming after her? Had the army finally caught up to her? No, that couldn’t be. She had left no trail for the army to follow...unless they had brought their bloodhounds with them. She cursed to herself under her breath. They must have followed her after all. Very carefully, she silently began to flit through the forest again, this time at a faster pace. She mustn’t get caught here in the forest. Not here and not tonight. this was not the best place for her to get caught nor the best time. She wasn't in a good mood and bad things usually happened when she was in a foul mood.
She didn't know how long she had walked nor how far but after what seemed like ages, Lily got to the edges of the forest she looked around the meadow that she had wandered into and spotted a village not too far away from her current location. She looked behind her really quickly to see if anyone had followed her before slowly approaching the village. She knew that there was a handful of people that would be awake at this hour. She dared a quick peak at the mountain to see that the sun was starting to rise above it. She had been traveling all night and she hadn't realized it until that moment. She was in the clear...at least for now. Hopefully this village didn't have any soldiers from the army visiting there on their vacation time. That was the last thing that she needed right now was to get caught in that small village without an escape route or plan.
The sun had risen barely over the mountains by the time that Lily had gotten into the village. The guards at the main gate that looked out over the forest had accepted her false traveling visa and had allowed her inside of the village. She had to move fast through the village. She didn't want to get caught here...at least not until she had thoroughly been through it and deemed it safe enough for her to stay for at least an overnight visit.
After roaming around for a few minutes, Lily booked a room at the local inn and went in search for some food. In a tiny village like this there was bound to be at least three taverns that were known for their reputation amongst the locals. She chatted with a few locals to see which one was the best one to go to. It turned out a tavern by the name of The Screaming Jackal's Bar was the best one for travelers to visit. After confirming that with a few more locals, she made her way towards the tavern, hoping that the locals didn't lead her astray. That wouldn't be the best thing for this village at the moment. Her temper was short and she was prone for violence when she was like this.
Upon entering the tavern she knew that the locals were right in their advice. A few moments after walking into the tavern she had to step to one side to avoid a body from being flung into her own body as it sailed out of the tavern and into the streets. “And stay out!” rang a voice from inside of the tavern. Lily looked around the tavern and saw a large man with both hands on his hips staring out of the open door at the drunk that he had just evicted from his building. His eyes darted from the door and onto Lily. She paled slightly and quickly closed the door, earning a quick nod from the tavern owner before he walked behind the bar. Lily looked around the area to find that it was empty. Of course it would be this early in the day. She would have found it strange if it was full this early in the day.
She slowly walked over to the bar and sat down in a stool. The bartender/owner walked over to her and placed his hands on the bar-top, giving her a slightly stern look. “So, I take it you aren't here for the alcohol, am I right?” he asked her, holding his tone of voice down so that only she could hear. Lily gave him a quizzical look until a waitress came out of the back room with a tray full of a bowl of soup, a plate of bread, and an empty tankard The waitress set the items on the bar-top in front of Lily and left a few moments later. Lily looked up at the bartender and he shrugged his shoulders “She begged me for the job. Felt it was best if I gave her that one. My last waitress bailed out on me when she left the village to get married in the Capital.”
After a few moments of tension, the bartender let out a low chuckle deep in his throat. “Let me guess...you are on the run from the Empire, am I correct?” Lily look at him with a confused look on her face. “What makes you think that I would do such a thing?” she asked bluntly. Another chuckle came from the bartender's throat. “Because you came here first thing in the morning after a full night's romp though the forest. And no, you may not know how I know of this. Trust me, I have connections in this tiny village,” he said hastily after seeing the look on his customer's face. “Don't worry. This tiny village has never been a fan of what the Mæster has done to this country. In fact, the last few Mæsters has done to this country ruling-wise. The massacre of that poor hawk clan almost twenty years ago made me wonder what the heck was going on with our government. Such a shame, too. Every last person, down to the women and the babies.” He shook his head slightly as he picked up the empty tankard in front of Lily, filled it up with his best ale, and placed it back in front of her. She reached for her money pouch and noticed that the bartender was shaking his head. “This is on the house...at least for some information. Tell me what has got you running from the Empire and why you are all the way down here?”
Timidly, she nodded her head. The bartender looked around the empty tavern and leaned closely to the woman. “You might as well stay here for a little bit...just in case, ya know? Trust me on this. You never know what you'll find in a tiny village like this.” He gave her a wink before turning his back towards her and moving to the sink to clean some dirty dishes. Lily looked around the tavern, pondering her decision on whether or not to stay. Slowly, she pulled three gold hawk bits out of her pouch and set them on the bar-top. “So, barkeep, where is the best place for me to buy a place to stay in this place?” The barkeeper turned around with a big grin on his face, absentmindedly slipping the hawk bits into a pouch on his apron. “Name's Lor...and you can stay in the top room at my place. Rent's three silver hawk bits per month. Trust me, it is worth it.” With that, he turned back around again and continued to clean while she dug into the lukewarm soup that had gone unnoticed until that moment.
The Journey Begins...
There was silence in the forest. Too much silence. It was almost as if something was about to happen...something big. The moon didn't help at all with easing the tension in the air. It was a full moon tonight so the forest was lite up brightly. Something Lily hadn’t really expected at all. Sighing, she turned her back towards the thick trunk of a tree that she had leaned up a few moments ago and gazed out in front of her. Nothing but trees blocked her view. She narrowed her eyes slightly. Something was wrong. She didn't know it quite yet but she could feel it in her bones that something had gone awry. She had to get out of here now. Shifting her pack further up on her back, she turned around and swiftly began to walk. She didn't dare run...not unless she was prompted to do so.
After walking for the better part of an hour, she stopped and stained her ears to listen to any sound that might echo through the forest. Nothing. That was strange. Usually there would be a owl hooting or some sort of nocturnal animal wandering around. There was still that silence. It was almost as if the forest was taunting her for being here this evening. She winced slightly as a loud crack interrupted the silence. Her body went as stiff as a board and her eyes darted around her. Was someone, or something, coming after her? Had the army finally caught up to her? No, that couldn’t be. She had left no trail for the army to follow...unless they had brought their bloodhounds with them. She cursed to herself under her breath. They must have followed her after all. Very carefully, she silently began to flit through the forest again, this time at a faster pace. She mustn’t get caught here in the forest. Not here and not tonight. this was not the best place for her to get caught nor the best time. She wasn't in a good mood and bad things usually happened when she was in a foul mood.
She didn't know how long she had walked nor how far but after what seemed like ages, Lily got to the edges of the forest she looked around the meadow that she had wandered into and spotted a village not too far away from her current location. She looked behind her really quickly to see if anyone had followed her before slowly approaching the village. She knew that there was a handful of people that would be awake at this hour. She dared a quick peak at the mountain to see that the sun was starting to rise above it. She had been traveling all night and she hadn't realized it until that moment. She was in the clear...at least for now. Hopefully this village didn't have any soldiers from the army visiting there on their vacation time. That was the last thing that she needed right now was to get caught in that small village without an escape route or plan.
The sun had risen barely over the mountains by the time that Lily had gotten into the village. The guards at the main gate that looked out over the forest had accepted her false traveling visa and had allowed her inside of the village. She had to move fast through the village. She didn't want to get caught here...at least not until she had thoroughly been through it and deemed it safe enough for her to stay for at least an overnight visit.
After roaming around for a few minutes, Lily booked a room at the local inn and went in search for some food. In a tiny village like this there was bound to be at least three taverns that were known for their reputation amongst the locals. She chatted with a few locals to see which one was the best one to go to. It turned out a tavern by the name of The Screaming Jackal's Bar was the best one for travelers to visit. After confirming that with a few more locals, she made her way towards the tavern, hoping that the locals didn't lead her astray. That wouldn't be the best thing for this village at the moment. Her temper was short and she was prone for violence when she was like this.
Upon entering the tavern she knew that the locals were right in their advice. A few moments after walking into the tavern she had to step to one side to avoid a body from being flung into her own body as it sailed out of the tavern and into the streets. “And stay out!” rang a voice from inside of the tavern. Lily looked around the tavern and saw a large man with both hands on his hips staring out of the open door at the drunk that he had just evicted from his building. His eyes darted from the door and onto Lily. She paled slightly and quickly closed the door, earning a quick nod from the tavern owner before he walked behind the bar. Lily looked around the area to find that it was empty. Of course it would be this early in the day. She would have found it strange if it was full this early in the day.
She slowly walked over to the bar and sat down in a stool. The bartender/owner walked over to her and placed his hands on the bar-top, giving her a slightly stern look. “So, I take it you aren't here for the alcohol, am I right?” he asked her, holding his tone of voice down so that only she could hear. Lily gave him a quizzical look until a waitress came out of the back room with a tray full of a bowl of soup, a plate of bread, and an empty tankard The waitress set the items on the bar-top in front of Lily and left a few moments later. Lily looked up at the bartender and he shrugged his shoulders “She begged me for the job. Felt it was best if I gave her that one. My last waitress bailed out on me when she left the village to get married in the Capital.”
After a few moments of tension, the bartender let out a low chuckle deep in his throat. “Let me guess...you are on the run from the Empire, am I correct?” Lily look at him with a confused look on her face. “What makes you think that I would do such a thing?” she asked bluntly. Another chuckle came from the bartender's throat. “Because you came here first thing in the morning after a full night's romp though the forest. And no, you may not know how I know of this. Trust me, I have connections in this tiny village,” he said hastily after seeing the look on his customer's face. “Don't worry. This tiny village has never been a fan of what the Mæster has done to this country. In fact, the last few Mæsters has done to this country ruling-wise. The massacre of that poor hawk clan almost twenty years ago made me wonder what the heck was going on with our government. Such a shame, too. Every last person, down to the women and the babies.” He shook his head slightly as he picked up the empty tankard in front of Lily, filled it up with his best ale, and placed it back in front of her. She reached for her money pouch and noticed that the bartender was shaking his head. “This is on the house...at least for some information. Tell me what has got you running from the Empire and why you are all the way down here?”
Timidly, she nodded her head. The bartender looked around the empty tavern and leaned closely to the woman. “You might as well stay here for a little bit...just in case, ya know? Trust me on this. You never know what you'll find in a tiny village like this.” He gave her a wink before turning his back towards her and moving to the sink to clean some dirty dishes. Lily looked around the tavern, pondering her decision on whether or not to stay. Slowly, she pulled three gold hawk bits out of her pouch and set them on the bar-top. “So, barkeep, where is the best place for me to buy a place to stay in this place?” The barkeeper turned around with a big grin on his face, absentmindedly slipping the hawk bits into a pouch on his apron. “Name's Lor...and you can stay in the top room at my place. Rent's three silver hawk bits per month. Trust me, it is worth it.” With that, he turned back around again and continued to clean while she dug into the lukewarm soup that had gone unnoticed until that moment.