Yrantan adventures (Completed)

[ArcticFox]

"I always keep my word." Zach answered with feigned hurt. Then he gave her a wink that was not reassuring at all. Without further ado he undressed, leaving only his underpants on and get under the furs of the bed, waiting for Anna to follow. Of course, Anna went inside the joint bathroom first where she freshened up and changed into her warm nightgown. It was dark inside the bedroom when she returned, Zach seemed to have blown out the candles. As she shyly got into the bad she noticed that he has turned his back to her. "See, not touching you." He said a bit mockingly.

They fell asleep eventually, but Anna was awoken in the middle of the night by a hand that made its way around her stomach and a body that was now against her in a loose embrace. She was about to exclaim in anger when the man murmured in her ear. "Just let me hold you like this for a moment." His tone warm, filled with emotion. "I don't want to let you go by yourself to that city, but I think I might go insane if I ever put a foot in there again." There was regret in his words now.

- Respond.

 

[Ezri]

As Anna's grogginess left her and she could clearly feel him holding her, she was prepared to call Zach a liar right away. But he was surprisingly sincere, and while she was flustered and a little shocked she didn't have the heart to push him away. Not yet.

"I... know that. I mean, I never thought you would want to go back. I'm glad you're here, but I shouldn't have asked you to come at all..." she said, quiet and still. Thinking about his wound, she felt guilty for asking him to take her this far. Even worse was why -- Zach had become such a comforting presence for her, but remembering her reasons for being on this trip caused a pit to form in her stomach. If Zach knew what this was about, would he still be so kind...?

"Still, this is something I have to do." She added, her voice a little more firm. After coming this far, she couldn't let her confidence waver. "Even if I have to do it alone. Please understand that."

 

[ArcticFox]

"I know why you are going back to Yranta." Zach said, which made Anna freeze, not daring to take a breath. Did he really know her true reason? If so, why did he insist on following her so far? She heard Zach taking a deep breath and then continuing to speak. "Yranta is your home, it's understandable." This made Anna exhale in relief. "It's the only home you ever knew and you lead a shelter life, unaware of the vile things the Council and the nobles did. Us, common people, we felt it." His voice trembled slightly. "There is evil and corruption in that city so deep rooted that you can't even imagine. But, I'm guessing that it will be all clear to you very soon." He was silent for a couple of moments and then his breath was on her ear, lips kissing her neck. "When you do, I'll be waiting for you."

Zach did not speak anything else that night, he turned to the other side and fell asleep, or he pretended to, it was impossible to know. In the morning they were awoken by the two men and after a healthy breakfast they continued their journey, not lingering any longer than needed. First week turned to second and days passed by all the same, their carriage makings its slow way through the pale white surroundings. At the end of the second week, the snow on the sides of the road started to fade and they felt a warmer breeze through the windows. They were approaching the lands of Kullari.

- Stop in the first village.
- Continue riding and camp in nature.

 

[Ezri]

Zach's guess nearly gave her a heart attack, although it also got her thinking. She knew Yranta had its secrets, and they couldn't be good ones but the way people talked about that city... it sounded almost impossibly horrible. But figuring the truth of that out was part of this mission, too. She accepted his acts of affection silently, and tried to ignore the waves of guilt until she fell asleep herself.

Camping would certainly have its downsides, and their previous encounter with the wolves was not a good omen, but the warmth in the air was making Anna impatient. Regardless of how far away they actually were, it felt to her like they might arrive any day; one or two nights in the woods should be fine, as long as the four of them stayed together.

 

[ArcticFox]

When they stopped at the verge of a forest to camp, since it was getting too dark for the horses to see, Mr Penrose got out of the carriage and he and Zach prepared a makeshift campsite. It was odd seeing her father camp in the middle of wilderness, without the modern amenities, but he did not protest nor did he look uncomfortable. He was once a soldier, after all, he must have done something this a couple of times already. Mr Penrose chose to sleep outside in the fresh air, on the ground covered with thick blankets and next to a campfire, while the driver simply slept in his seat. There was enough room inside the carriage for both Anna and Zach, but the man decided to go for a walk around the area leaving her in the carriage by herself. He was in one of his moods again.

A knock on the doors of the carriage awoke Anna. It was still late in the night and on the weak light of the moon she could see a figure standing outside. The doors opened slowly and an unfamiliar man stood there, a spear in his hands slightly turned toward Anna. By his ears and robes she recognised him to be an elf, probably a native of these lands. A wood elf.

"If you would please follow me, miss." He spoke in a soft yet commanding tone, opening the doors for Anna to step out and moving aside. When she walked outside she saw half a dozen more elven soldiers in a circle around their extinguished campfire. Among them stood her father and the old driver, both looking rather unhappy. Before she could ask anything, the elven man beside her spoke. "You have entered our territories without a proper treaty. While we do not consider you a threat, this act is against our laws. It is our duty to bring you to our leaders to be judged. Please do not resist."

- Follow his instructions.
- Try to spot any sign of Zach.
- Resist.

 

[Ezri]

Even Zach's moodiness couldn't hamper Anna's optimism, and while it was strange to see her father in such a place it was somehow refreshing. It reminded her vaguely of those talks she and Nate used to have about grand adventures and distant lands; maybe it wasn't actually anything like that, but she settled into sleep with warmth in her chest anyway.

The wood elves, on the other hand, did a remarkable job of disrupting her dreams. Any drowsiness she might have still felt was quickly replaced by alert unease, and for a moment she just looked at the elf next to her with a furrowed brow. Anna wasn't sure what their judgement would entail, but they seemed to be taking this law very seriously. While part of her wanted to argue, they were outnumbered and making a fuss would almost certainly just delay the inevitable. They were stuck.

A realization struck her, and Anna scanned over the group of people around her again. Zach was nowhere among them, but he shouldn't have gone too far on his walk. Steeling her jaw she tried to peer further into the dark woods, searching for a glimpse of him. Or at least some indication that he knew what kind of trouble they were in.

 

[ArcticFox]

Unfortunately, no matter how hard Anna tried to spot him, Zach was nowhere to be found. The wood elves patted down all three of them and took any weapons they found. After that four of them led them through the forest, while the remaining elves stayed behind to watch over their carriage. They were not led far, in fact after some ten minutes of walking they came upon the road in the middle of the forest, all alight with luminarias in the threes and candle lamps stuck in the ground. It was quite a strange and beautiful sight.

"Our leader will see you now." The elf that was the only speak with them up until that far explained. He then took a turn to the right, beckoning for the others to follow. The trees thinned in front of them, revealing a small clearing on which were scattered oddly shaped houses. Only when you looked closer you could see that these houses were build around the trunks of huge trees and were all lit up with candlelight from the inside. They did not stop at the clearing, though, but walked straight through it. The whole place was empty, but you could see movement through the windows of the houses.

They finally stopped a little bit away from the clearing, in front of what must have been the largest tree in the whole forest. There was a house up in its branches and a spiral staircase leading up to it. The elf climbed up, behind him their three captives and lastly only one elf following. The others stayed at the bottom of the stairs. Climbing up made their heads spin, and they were thankful when they reached the top. The double doors of the tree house were opened by elven guards and they walked inside. The magical beauty of the place was breathtaking. With candles all over the walls, floor and hanging from the ceiling, the place was coated in mysteriously flickering light. Straight opposite of the walls was a small dais, with a wooden throne that looked to be made of branches. An elven man with long blonde hair and piercing green eyes sat on it, looking down at his new guests.

"Welcome to Kullari." He spoke and his voice was so melodic it rang out through the whole room. "Strangers, I have heard that you tried passing through our lands without previous agreement? Are you not aware of our laws?" He cut directly to the point, so much for the patience of elves.

- Speak.
- Let Mr Penrose speak.

 

[Ezri]

In addition to their capture Zach's absence was worrying, and yet despite their circumstances Anna was taken by the beauty of Kullari. While it was all trees and wood and candles, the elven architecture felt somehow magical, and she would have liked to explore the town if she had the opportunity.

Unfortunately, she and the elves had clearly gotten off to a rocky start. She felt goosebumps as they were addressed by the leader, both because of his elegance and his directness. While her father was the one who plotted most of their route, she had suggested that they spend the night in the woods. If anyone should take responsibility for this mess they were in, it should be her.

"We--" she spoke up, feeling that her voice must sound very unimpressive now by comparison. But she only spoke up louder, not allowing herself to be intimidated. "This was my doing, and I did not know it would cause any harm. I am truly sorry."

 

[ArcticFox]

The elven leader listened carefully to Anna's words from his dais. There was a faint smile playing on his lips when she finished. He raised one elegant hand and made a dismissive gesture as to disregard all that she had told.

"It does not matter." He spoke, voice still calm. His bright green eyes now strayed to the men behind Anna. "And you, do you also claim that you had no prior knowledge of our laws?"
"We did not." Mr Penrose spoke briefly, voice hoarse. His eyes were tired and it was apparent that he did not get enough sleep. They all just wanted this to be over with and continue on their way.
The elven leader shook his head in disapproval. "That will not do. I understand that you might not have known, but if we let anyone who broke our laws just go free, then what would be the point of having those laws in the first place?" He did not wait for them to respond, but just gestured to his men who took Mr Penrose and the driver by their arms and led them out of the room, despite their protests. "You will stay with us, until I decide on a proper punishment." The elven leader spoke again. Then his attention turned to Anna. "If you would please follow my guards, my lady, I do not wish to have to order them to haul you away."

Anna followed the men out of the room. The three of them were led down again and toward one of the cottages on the clearing. They opened the doors for them and motioned them inside. The inside of the cottage was empty, beside two pairs of cots on either side of the room and a small table in the middle, with a candelabra on it. The elves had left them inside, locking the doors behind them.

- Seek an audition with the leader in the morning.
- Rely on Zach to get them out of there.

 

[Ezri]

Anna didn't know what response she had been expecting from the elven leader, but the one she received made grind her teeth. If it didn't matter, why did he bother asking?! Even the elegant way he spoke seemed vexing now, like it was just an extension of his arrogance. Still, she did her best to keep her annoyance from showing on her face, and obediently followed the guards as instructed.

Once they were left alone, though, she found that her frustrations only grew worse. She paced in front of the door and groaned at the walls; even without their unfair treatment in mind, she could go stir-crazy in a room like this. They needed to get out of here, and sooner rather than later. Anna believed that Zach must be after them by now -- he was good at tracking and could certainly take care of himself -- but there was no way she would be able to just wait. If she could do something on her own to help, she should. Even if her only option was trying to talk to that unreasonable elf again.

 

[ArcticFox]

With the first life of dawn the elven guards entered the hut to give them a meal. It was a very healthy and tasty breakfast and the guards, while they did not speak much, were not rude nor did they treat them like humans would treat their prisoners. Anna took this as her chance to ask one of the elves for a meeting with their leader. The elf took a moment to look at her, probably thinking through the consequences of this option. Then he turned to Anna's father and the driver.

"Is she going to speak for all of you?"
Anna's father looked at her uncertainly, worry plain in his eyes. But her knew her to be stubborn. And besides, that elven man might react better in conversation with a woman. So he nodded and their driver did the same. None of them mentioned Zach not now nor through the night, fearing that the elves might hear them.
"Fine. Come with me, my lady." The elf said, turning to Anna and motioning for her to go outside. He led her up the stairs again to the tree house.

This time, though, they did not stop in the main chamber. They passed through it, turning to the right and going through a narrow hallway into a smaller room with a set table. The leader sat there on the chair at the head of the table, giving them a disinterested look through half closed eyes.

"I have told my men to pick one of you to join me today." He spoke when Anna approached. Then he waved off the guard who bowed and left. "Come, sit." He motioned at the chair on his right side. A glass of wine was set there, filled to the brim. Anna sat on the chair, while the elven leader watched her closely. "It is not in my interest to detain you, you are clearly in a hurry to leave." He spoke, tone soft yet commanding. "Though you have broken our laws and I cannot leave you to go unpunished. You can see my distress here." His smile was mirthless. His green eyes glinted with a newfound spark when he opened his mouth to speak again. "But I have thought of a solution. You will do something for me and then I will let you go."

- Agree to it.
- Don't agree and try to escape.

 

[Ezri]

Considering that they were being held prisoner, Anna found that the elves did treat them rather well. It seemed obvious in hindsight -- elves were hardly barbaric or anything of that sort -- but it did put her more at ease. With the optimism of a new day behind her, she set off to meet the elven leader wondering if she had misjudged him before, and if things might just go smoothly for them.

It only took a few moments with the leader for her to revert back to her former judgements of him. Anna couldn't help but frown a little in response to his smile -- that he might be enjoying this was not a comforting thought. There was no telling what he would ask for, or how long it would take to accomplish it... and yet as much as she wanted to refuse, she was hardly in a position to do so. The building they were staying in was quite secure, and escape would be near impossible for them as they were. As long as she had no other options, agreeing might open up new opportunities for them.

"We are certainly in a hurry, but I can understand your position. Laws are laws." She said with a nod, keeping her tone as polite as she could. "What is it that you want us to do?"

 

[ArcticFox]

"I am glad you agree." The elven leader gave a smile that did not reach his eyes. "But, first of all." And he placed a hand on his chest. "I am Altharion. You may call me by my name, I am not a lord nor a leader to your kind." His eyes shifted to her slightly, judging her reactions.
"My name is Anna." The girl answered. "Anna Penrose. A pleasure to meet you." She still avoided using his name, she did not like him that much still.
"Of course." The elf nodded and then waved his hand dismissively, which seemed to be a gesture he often used. "The task I have for you is rather delicate and very dangerous." He said, tone frank. "I am not going to try and make it pretty. There are invaders in our lands. They have been through the human villages at the borders and are now trampling through my woods. I do not like it, but I do not have enough men to challenge them without first knowing their purpose. And, truly, I do not wish to risk my men." He gave another cold smile. "Thus, I will send you. They are human after all and you seem of noble birth, they will not harm you. And if they do..." He shrugged. "My scouts will give you the maps and a horse and you will be on your way. The other two of your companions I will keep here... for their own safety." As hostages, was the hidden meaning behind those words.

Well, the leader did not beat behind the bush. His request was straight to the point and he did not sugar coat it. It was apparent that, although not barbaric, he was a pretty ruthless and manipulative leader, or at least that was how he acted toward outsiders. One could never know, if there were human invaders in his lands, it was of no surprise that he would act so careless toward another human life. After all, Anna was a stranger to him, a stranger that looked much like those who had trampled through his forest uninvited.

- Go do the task.
- Try something else.

 

[Ezri]

Anna had braced herself for bad news from the start, but Altharion's proposition was still surprisingly harsh. He wanted her to go by herself?! These trespassers could be bandits, or just thugs, or any number of dangerous groups. This task sounded far too risky... but as he said, Altharion didn't seem to care about her safety at all anyway. The thought made her clench her fists, her nails digging into her palms.

Still, as frightening as it might be, it was an opportunity. If she was going to be alone, maybe she could find Zach. Even though she had no concrete reason to believe so, Anna was certain that he must be nearby. And, if she couldn't find him, if she pulled this off she and her father could go free. Despite the growing pit of worry in her stomach, she looked at Altharion with firm determination.

"This plan is cruel, and I don't think I deserve to be treated as... as some disposable thing." she huffed, giving up on hiding her distaste. "But if this is what it will take to have myself and my companions freed, I will do it."

 

[ArcticFox]

"Of course you will." The elf only said, his cold green eyes looking through Anna. He dismissed her right after their little talk, without much idle courtesies. She was her prisoner after all, and he was not about to entertain her. That would have given her the stature of a guest and currently he wasn't keen on human guests.

--

The elven guards gave Anna a horse, a bag of supplies, and some armor, which did not reassure her at all. One of the kinder guards, the one that brought her up to the leader that morning forced her to take a shortsword, just as a precaution, he said. There was a worried look in his eyes. They did not bring her back to her father and she could only imagine the worried look on his face right now. It seemed that the elven leader was in a hurry.

Anna rode through the forest in the direction that the elves pointed out. The realm of the Kullari elves was not that big and you could ride from one end to the other in a full day. With the main settlement being close to the center, this mean that it would take Anna some half a day to reach the place where the intruders were seen.

The road she traveled through was wide and well marked and did not prove any trouble even for riding. It seemed that the elves took care of it properly. She would encounter an outpost on approximately every two hours of riding and the rangers in those outposts always knew of her purpose. So they waved her ahead and let her pass. Two times they would send an escort with her for a kilometer just to make sure she went on the right way. After the fourth outpost Anna started seeing different tracks on the ground. Not of deer or wolves, but of men in heavy armor, and of wagons. It was clear that there were men in that forest and not far from her position. If she continued on she would reach them in less than an hour, but she would come unprepared, tired and hungry. It might affect her decisions. She could also stay on that place and rest a while, risking to be noticed by the intruders' scouts. Besides, sun was starting to go down behind the tree tops.

- Continue ahead.
- Rest.

 

[Ezri]

Her nerves were not helped by that look from the elven guard, but nevertheless Anna rode toward her destination with stoic focus. In her brief interactions with them, she regarded any other elves she met with stiff silence. If she let her mind wander too much, her thoughts would inevitably drift to her worried father and friends, and that icy elven leader. The last thing she needed was to have second thoughts about her decision, and the best way to end her fears would be to get through this as quickly as possible.

With that in mind the thought of reaching the intruders as quickly as possible was tempting. Anna slowed her horse to a stop and paused in the woods, gripping her reigns in frustration as she wrestled with her own ideas. No, she couldn't -- approaching them on her own was already enough of a disadvantage. A break and some food would give her more confidence in confronting these men, and ease some of her irritation. Being hasty rarely led to any good outcome, anyway. Decided, she started a search for a spot that looked relatively safe to rest.

 

[ArcticFox]

Anna settled down on the ground underneath a large chestnut tree. She was nibbling on some bread and fruit the elves had given her, when she heard the crackling of a twig somewhere behind her. Her horse neighed and perked its ears, turning them in the direction of the sound. Before Anna could react, however, there was a figure beside her already, with a smirk on their face. Her heart leaped with surprise before realization hit her. It was Zach. Of course it was Zach, she could have expected it!

"You startled me!" She exclaimed, then quickly lowered her voice. The man chuckled at her before patting her on the head.
"I thought you would have gotten used to me appearing out of nowhere by now." His lips stretched into an amused smile. "I've been following you for a while now, but it was difficult evading those elven outposts. That's why I didn't approach you earlier." His expression turned grim. "On another hopeless task, are you?"

- Ask him to come with you.
- Ask him to follow you form a distance.
- Ask him how he escaped the Ulmo camp.

 

[Ezri]

At first Anna was afraid that the human scouts had found her, but in an instant her fears were alleviated. "I don't know how I can be expected to get used to that!" She pouted and smoothed her hair back after the patting, but even Zach's childish antics were comforting after the day she'd had. The proof that she was right about where he would be gave her a sense of warm pride. "But I knew you would be out here, somewhere."

Still, this little comfort couldn't solve all of her problems. She met Zach's expression with a frown of her own and picked at her food.

"Of course I am, but I couldn't see any other way out of this. Ugh, that elven leader is such a tyrant..." she sighed, propping her head up with the palm of her hand. Sometimes it felt like her entire life was just a series of pointless tasks. For a moment she was quiet, until a thought struck her and she looked to Zach expectantly. "You broke out of that Ulmo camp, didn't you? It wasn't unlike this -- how did you manage that?"

 

[ArcticFox]

Zach chuckled again at her question, taking a seat beside her on the ground. "I charmed a lady guard to get me out of the compound, of course!" He grinned. "My charm was always my strongest weapon!" When Anna gave him a disbelieving look, he raised his hands up in defense. "No, no, I'm not joking. An Ulmo guard did help me, though my charm did only half the job. I think she did not see eye to eye with the leaders." The look on his face grew distant. "I wonder if she survived the siege." He shrugged. "It makes no difference." Then he looked at Anna, expression serious again. "You do know that these human invaders are Yrantans, right?"
"What?" Anna was startled.
"Well, Yrantan or Ulmo soldiers, it's all the same now. Just think it through a little, Yranta is the closest big human city here, right?"
Anna nodded.
"Well, there you go. I did not see them so I have no proof, but it can't be anyone else."

Anna remembered Nerith speaking now Yranta was a ghost town now, that his scouts reported the city closing off all trading routes and emptying out. And now Zach claims that they are invading the Kullari lands. If both notions were correct, then it was difficult to say what were the Ulmo planning. They could have used Yranta as an outpost simply, sending off their troops over the sea into other lands. Or they could have burned down Yranta and just left it. It was still a mystery the kind of grudge they had against the city.

- Go to the invaders alone.
- Go with Zach.
- Have Zach stay hidden just in case.

 

[Ezri]

Anna gave Zach a pointed frown, her brows furrowed -- even if his story was true, it wasn't helpful at all! He might have the charm and shamelessness needed to flirt his way out of captivity, but she didn't think she could do that herself. And the reminder of his carefree ways was somehow vexing... regardless, she did her best to shrug off the feeling.

After considering Zach's deductions, confronting the invaders now sounded like a potentially disastrous idea. She didn't know how anyone from Ulmo would react if they knew who she was, but it could not be good. On the other hand it was somehow serendipitous, since she could possibly learn what Ulmo's plans were even without going to Yranta. Besides, she couldn't return to the elves with nothing to show for it, and without their permission she doubted they would be able to leave otherwise.

"Whether they're from Yranta or not, I still have to find out what they're up to." Anna said, the resolve in her voice at odds with her uncertain expression. "I'll go alone, but could you stay close by? We'll at least have some advantage if they don't know you're here."

 

[ArcticFox]

"I knew you wanted me close." Zach gave her a mischievous wink and then moved away into the trees. She could only climb back onto her horse and proceed on her way.

She did not get very far, though. Some quarter of the hour of slow riding, she was stopped by two soldiers in Ulmo uniforms. Pointing their halberds at her they asked her for a name and purpose of traveling so close to their camp. Just beyond them on a small clearing she could see soldiers scurrying around tents and campfires. There were two flags raised above the tents - Ulmo and Yrantan one. It was a strange sight.

"Dismount." One of the soldiers ordered. "I'll take you to our leader. He'll decide what to do with you."

Anna could only obey, she was heavily outnumbered after all, and even with Zach watching her back, there was a small army camped out here, the two of them wouldn't be able to do much. The soldier took her into one bigger tent, clearly a command one, with a huge round wooden table inside it and a cot and a two chairs in one corner. And leaning over the table was a familiar figure.

"Leave us." He said to the soldier in that all too familiar voice of his, but without any trace of kindness that was there such a long time ago. His gaze rose from the table and slowly slid over Anna, from her boots, up her body, to he eyes. His grey eyes seemed overwhelmingly cold. "What are you doing here?"

- Answer.

 

[Ezri]

For a moment Anna could only stare in awe, with his name caught uselessly in her throat. Although she knew these were Ulmo soldiers, she hadn't thought for a moment that she'd meet Levon again here. Although, with the way he regarded her it hardly felt like a reunion -- his words felt like a knife in her chest, and she gritted her teeth.

"While I was travelling to Yranta, I was taken captive by the elves of Kullari." she explained, her tone so stiff it was almost clinical. It was difficult not to simply blurt out all of the thoughts she'd kept quietly to herself for months, but the prospect of actually telling him was almost more daunting. "Their leader sent me as a scout to discover why you are in Kullari territory. If you decide to kill me, he'd rather risk my life than those of his own men."

Anna paused and looked him in the eyes, searching for something behind them. Some hint of his old self, or just anything other than cold distance. Her voice softened when she spoke again. "Are you going to kill me?"

 

[ArcticFox]

Levon's gaze didn't falter, it seemed that she would freeze under it. "Not now." He answered simply and then straightened, but still stood on a distance from her. For a moment it seemed that there was reluctance in his movements. An inner fight, like a part of him wanted to approach, but a stronger part kept him frozen where he stood. A small, rather vile smile broke his mask, though it did nothing to soften the coldness in his eyes. "Why do you always let others use you so? Your family, the Duke, all the hopeless cases you've met on the way, and now the wood elves? Truly, you are hopeless."

- Answer.

 

[Ezri]

Anna glared and her jaw clenched again, each of Levon's accusations making her angrier than the last. Part of her was more frustrated with herself, for believing that this conversation might go differently, but she directed all her ire at her former steward anyway. "Are you saying that everything you've done was your own idea? Being a spy, and going to war, and leaving me like that... you did it all for yourself and no one else?" she scoffed, obviously disbelieving.

"And I'm not hopeless. Sometimes I really did help people, good people, and I don't regret that. And there were times when I just did what people asked me to, because it was easier. Really, I was only thinking of myself then -- I'm just selfish!" Whatever self-restraint she had left was quickly eroding, but although her voice was raised she stayed still and glared firmly into his eyes. "Even going along with this stupid mission from the elves was selfish! Because otherwise I was never going to see you again!"

 

[ArcticFox]

Levon's cold expression shattered for a brief moment. There was warmth in his eyes again and more than a little sadness. If he ever felt something for Anna all of it was contained in that brief moment, before he pushed it all away, his face a mask again.

"I told you I would not spare you if we met in Yranta, and you were smart enough to stay from the city at least. I have no time to deal with you now. The elves are of no interest to us. We are in their territory for a reason of our own and if they have a problem with it, we'll be glad to meet them and explain everything." It was clear that he would provide no further insight into the subject.

- Try talking about something else.
- Go back to the elves.