Chapter 4: Finding the Thief

Arkus listens to the advice of Alena, and tries to find the thief.

Chapter 4: Finding the Thief

        Weeks passed, and Arkus saw and heard nothing concerning the mysterious Ayella. Jenker and Casslyn’s parents had vehemently thanked Arkus for rescuing their children from the forest, Jenker’s parents even giving him stores of grain for the rescue. Still, Arkus wasn’t happy. The bow was worth far more than any amount of grain Jenker’s parents could’ve given him, and Arkus still had no idea what Alena had meant when she told him ‘she will be exactly where you expect her to be.’ He wanted to meet Alena again, and several times he had ventured to the Black Lake itself to see if she would return.

        Arkus had little else to do at this time. The grain he had was enough to last him the rest of winter, and Skye had been bringing him plenty of rabbits for meat. What he didn’t have he could certainly barter for at the market with the grain. It was at these times when Arkus was particularly vulnerable to his own thoughts. He couldn’t focus on anything except Ayella, who she was, what he was, and when he could see Alena again. She hadn’t reappeared or spoken to his mind since that day in Black Lake. He also hadn’t told anyone about the dead beast inside.

        Arkus had revisited the place where the beast was slain, and there was nothing. No skeleton, no flesh. There was nothing but the eye that Skye had plucked from his socket, which remained as it was from the moment it was plucked: black and stringy. Arkus kept it in a leather pouch in the trunk at his bedside, unsure of what was to be done with it.

        This continued for several weeks, nothing changing nor improving for the situation at hand. Arkus got so bored one day that he visited the forests near his home to see if he could find a nice elk to slay. He had made himself a new bow from scratch, but it was still nowhere near the quality of the Redoak bow that he possessed. As he was leaving his house, he was stopped by a familiar flabby face.

        “Arkus, you mind if I go with ya in the forests?” asked Billus, standing just outside of Arkus house in the fresh snow. He was clad from head to foot in animal skins, wielding a nice javelin for impaling unsuspecting deer.

“I don’t usually like company in there,” said Arkus, thinking of Skye, “but it would be nice to have some company this time around.”

Billus accepted this and started to follow Arkus into the forest. It wasn’t nearly as cold out, but the sky was overcast and the snow was fresh. It would be easy to track game in this powder.

They walked into the forest and started their hunt. Arkus immediately picked up on a trail and they began to follow it. This particular forest was safe compared to the Black Lake, and it had nothing supernatural about it.

“What happened to the Redoak?” asked Billus, noticing the bow Arkus was using.

“Someone snatched it,” he said quietly, remembering Ayella once again. “She was a young girl, with braids in her hair and green eyes. Her skin was…. like mine.” He didn’t see a reason to keep such a thing a secret to Billus. He was practically the only person in town he enjoyed talking to, especially since the town was so simple. There was Verola, his favorite shopkeeper, but other than these two, he didn’t really have friends. Anybody his own age simply annoyed him into his seclusion in the woods.

“Like yours, huh?” said Billus, surprised at such a thing happening. “Well, you do have a weakness then, it seems! The brave Arkus, cheated by a girl! HA HA!”

“Can it, Billus!” said Arkus, his cheeks starting to glow a red color. “It wasn’t like that, I swear!” Arkus was chuckling now for the first time in weeks.

“Oh now,” said Billus continuing to follow the fresh trail of deer prints, “Arkus we’ve all been wondering when you’d find yourself a nice girl. It’s not fitting for a man such as yourself to be alone, especially with all that you have.”

“A one-roomed hovel full of pelts and a cremlic blade,” said Arkus, listing the majority of his possessions.

“Not that rubbish! Your abilities, your talents! Don’ you remember June? That fine lass, she was always trailing you around, yet you never budged. What was your reason for that one?”

“I’ve told you,” said Arkus, keeping his voice low as he could feel that their prey was close by, “She wasn’t funny enough. All I want is a girl who can make me laugh, and she never did. Always talking about feelings and other random subjects. Billus, I never could care for pots, now could I?”

“Ya’ve got that right. Girl was always on about her pots. Still, there were others, now weren’t there?”

Arkus began to think about that dream he’d had when in the forest. It felt so much like a memory, so much that he wanted to count ‘Kara’ as such a girl he’d had a past with. “You remember when I first came into town, don’t you?”

“Of course I do. I was just starting my trade when you had arrived at the edge of town.”

“Did you ever hear me say anything about anyone named Kara?” Arkus was barely whispering now. The deer was in his sight.

“Hold on, lad,” said Billus quietly, circling around to the other side of the deer. “I’ll block his path on this side, should you miss.”

Arkus strung his arrow and fired at the animal, but the arrow sank into the tree behind it. The deer was startled and began to flee, but was struck down by Billus’s javelin. “HA HA! Got her right in the lungs! Boy, we’ll be eatin’ well tonight!”

They both approached the corpse with their daggers drawn and began to skin it.

“Kara?” asked Billus in response to Arkus’s inquiry. “Nah, I can’t say I’ve heard that name around here before, ‘specially not from you.”

“What about Alena?” asked Arkus, starting to work his dagger to bleed the animal.

Billus paused where he was squatting. He looked at Arkus with his shaggy face in a bit of disbelief. “Where’d you hear that name, lad?”

Arkus didn’t know whether or not to tell Billus of the story in the forest, about the monster, Ayella, and Alena. “Just a name I can remember from when I was young.”

“Heh, you never were good at lying,” said Billus. “Doesn’t matter, I suppose. Yeah, Alena. Long time ago before you were here there was a girl by that name. Wasn’t born here or nothin’, but she and her parents came around once in a while.”

“What’d she look like?” asked Arkus, his interest now peaked.

“Brown hair, brown eyes. She was adorable, but no one saw her much. She didn’t look much like her parents either. They was both blonde, and had other sons with ‘em with their same blonde hair. No one’s seen ‘em in over ten years, though. One day they just stopped coming by, no one ever really knew why.”

Arkus continued to cut into the animal in silence, taking in what had just been told to him. No, it can’t be the same Alena, he thought. That would be too weird. Not something I want to think about right now. Besides, that spirit had the blondest hair I’ve ever seen, not a hint of brown in it.

“There we are,” said Billus, now cleaning the blood off of his blade. “Arkus, pick him up, and let’s get out of here.”

Arkus lifted a cut of the deer over his shoulder and began to carry it back. It was heavy, but he had done this many times before from much longer distances. Billus also took his own portion.

“You should join in me in the tavern tonight, Arkus,” said Billus walking next to him. “Hear there’s going to be a lot of outsiders tonight, maybe you’ll find a girl to your liking, eh?”

Perhaps that would be a good idea. He’d been looking for Ayella and Alena for so long that he could certainly use a night to relax. He knew he needed to have a good night too, and he decided to enjoy himself. He really liked watching people get drunk, especially Billus. Maybe he’d also hear from one of these outsiders about the fictitious Glemdoor that Ayella claimed to be from. It was a start.

“Billus, I’m gonna have to take you up on that offer,” said Arkus, trudging along with the deer portion on his shoulder. “But first let’s prepare some venison.”

 

Arkus was in his house, getting ready to leave for the night at the pub. He didn’t care much about what he looked like, but he did decide to wear his favorite tunic and boots for the occasion. He slipped his dagger into his boot, in case anything got out of hand. The citizens of Whilmphor typically got rowdy after a long day of work.

KNOCK KNOCK. Arkus went to the door, expecting to see Billus standing outside. When he opened it, he didn’t see Billus, however. It was June at the door, and she looked stunning. She had her red hair down to her shoulders, and had on a simple blouse and skirt, one fit for the tavern. Billus, thought Arkus, I should’ve expected you’d pull something like this. Even after I told you I didn’t like her, nonetheless.

“June,” said Arkus, his voice shaking slightly, “It’s been a while!” He didn’t know what else to say. As long as she didn’t talk about pots.

“Yeah, it has!” she said back, looking a bit too happy. “Billus told me you wanted to take me to the pub tonight!” A tavern isn’t exactly the kind of place Arkus would ever have wanted to take a girl. Maybe a nice eatery or a place next to the forests; but a tavern? No.

He felt a bit awkward now. “So let’s go, shall we?” he said, walking down the steps, closing the door behind him.

“Let’s!” she simply agreed. Arkus began to walk beside her, his mind filling with ideas for what he could say to her, but disregarding them, said nothing.

June suddenly grabbed his arm and said, “So, what have you been up to?”

Of course. That was always a fine question. “Hunting mostly. Actually, not much of that, I don’t really do much. Ever since Jenker’s parents gave me all that grain, I’ve really had nothing to do.”

“Hehe, yeah I heard about that,” she said casually. “We’re still all impressed at that!”

This continued on for a few minutes as they walked towards the pub, Arkus was now beginning to feel bored. She had been talking about her pottery shop for a few minutes without taking a breath.

They arrived at the tavern called The Mule’s Burrow, and Arkus opened the door for June. She stepped inside and Arkus followed after her to the smell of ale and pork. There was a minstrel playing a violin somewhere, filling the place with his music. It was lit by lanterns at every shabby table, and the barman was as jolly as he had always been, but ever more so at the sight of Arkus. The place was packed full of people, many of whom Arkus hadn’t seen before.

“ARKUS!!” shouted Durge the barman. “Come over here and get yourself a drink! It’s on me this time!”

Arkus and June shuffled through all of the people and walked to the bar. Durge looked at the girl and offered her a small bit of water at her request. Arkus could tell that she didn’t want him to see her drunk.

“Here it is,” said Durge, slapping a jug of whiskey in front of Arkus, “my finest whiskey! Not even you can drink this whole jug without getting tipsy, mind you!”

“Durge, you know I hate this,” said Arkus, pushing the drink back to Durge. “Pour me a glass of delia juice, just for this one time.”

“You know as well as I do how addictive delia juice can be,” said Durge as he opened up a bottle and poured it into a separate glass. “Stuff tastes amazing to everyone, but it makes other drinks pretty unsatisfying if ya ask me.”

“It’s been a while though,” said Arkus as he took the glass and started drinking.

Arkus quickly realized that it wasn’t the delia juice that he’d been promised. It was oaky, creamy, and it burned all the way down to his stomach. He drank the whole jug clean and slapped it on the counter, showing Durge that he had failed to intoxicate him once again. “When will you learn, Durge? You’ll never get me.”

“Oy, give it a few minutes, then,” said Durge, a bit exasperated at his defeat. Arkus didn’t know why he had such resilience to alcohol. He didn’t drink out of choice, and he despised the taste.

“Same excuse as always, I see,” said Arkus, winking at Durge. “Now how about that delia juice?”

“Aye, I’ll get ya one of these days, then.”

“Hopefully one day soon,” said Arkus now peering around the room. June simply sat on the stool at the bar, drinking her water.

“So,” she began, but Arkus wasn’t listening. Not because he didn’t want to, but because his mind was just on finding Billus.

He spotted him at a table with a girl who had brown hair that reached a little past her shoulders, but Arkus couldn’t see her face. She was clearly out of Billus’s league, in youth and in looks, but he seemed to be enjoying himself just the same.

“….and that’s how much they cost,” said June. Arkus didn’t even know what she was talking about, but assumed that it had something to do with pottery.

“Hey, I’ll be right back!” said Arkus to her. He placed an order with Durge for a pork steak for him and a bowl of soup for June. Then he left her to go and speak to Billus. He took the freshly filled glass of delia juice with him.

Arkus walked towards him, and saw Billus wave him down to meet him. He was clearly drunk, but that was normal at The Mule’s Burrow. Arkus reached his table and sat down next to the girl and started to speak to Billus.

“Mate, you should’ve told me!” shouted Arkus at Billus, whose cheeks were rosy with ale. “This has been a disaster!”

“Boy, you ne’er go out with the ladies anymore! I was doing you a favor!” Billus took another swig from the jug in his hand and turned his attention back to the girl. “Aye, this boy is not a bad sight for the eyes, is he?”

“Can’t say he is!” said the girl, in a voice so familiar that he turned to see her.

“Ayella?!” said Arkus, shocked to see her here with Billus, after all of this time of looking for her. Her cheeks were also as red as Billus’s, which explained why she’d be so comfortable with him there. She still had the same two braids in her hair.

“Do I know you?” she asked him loudly. “You look like someone I know!”

“Black Lake ring any bells?” said Arkus, sober as he could be.

“Never heard of it!” she shouted. What was once the composed and excited thief he’d met in the woods was now a shell of her former self behind this mask of alcohol.

Billus decided to chime in. “Arkus, you know this girl?”

“We’ve met,” he said, taking a look to see if June was still at the bar. There was a man Arkus recognized as the local blacksmith’s apprentice sitting next to her and her soup was in front of her. Good. She was preoccupied. “So, are you here with others from Glemdoor?”

“Something like that!” she shouted and turned back to Billus to continue speaking to him. Billus had passed out, however, and was now snoring in his chair. “Oh, that was quick,” she said bluntly. “Hey!” she turned back to Arkus, “Let’s dance!”

She grabbed him by the arm and led him on to the floor and began to swing him around. Arkus had little experience with dancing, but decided to go along with whatever moves she was trying to make him follow. She had all sorts of crazy and interesting looks on her face as they moved, and Arkus began to enjoy himself. He forgot that he’d even come there with someone.

As they were dancing, Arkus saw her already greenish face turn to a sickly green, and her eyes began to droop. Not good! he thought. He took her by the arms and led her outside. He passed by June and the apprentice on his way out, seeing that they were engaged in a conversation about pots and swords, and decided to let them alone. Durge almost protested his leaving, as the pork steak was still being prepared, but kept his mouth shut at the sight of Ayella. They reached the outside cold, and Arkus led her to a nearby bench that she could lean on.

“Oh, I definitely had too much,” she said laying on the bench.

“Can you walk?” he asked her, knowing the answer already.

“Well, you can.”

“Nice observation,” he said, taking a seat next to her.

He looked down at her and she had fallen asleep. She looked peaceful in the moonlight which shown through the clouds in the night. I can’t leave her here, he thought. He sat for a moment, thinking about what he should do with Ayella. He still didn’t believe that was even her real name, but tonight he saw she was more than just a thief. What, however, he was still trying to decide.

Arkus placed his arms beneath her and started to carry her back to his home. He felt weird doing this, because he barely knew her, but he didn’t know of anywhere else to take her. He would put her on the bed and stay outside until she woke up. Carrying her in his arms, he looked at her again and saw a faint smile. He felt good about that.

They reached his house and he opened the door. He didn’t bother lighting the lantern as he’d be out soon enough. He placed her on his bed and started to walk out. He turned and saw her sleeping on his bed, then he looked at the trunk at the end. He unlocked it and took the eye of the monster and his cremlic blade out. Though she looked harmless, she had stolen from him before, and he wasn’t about to let that happen a second time.

He was closing the trunk when suddenly the lantern flicked on. He turned around and saw Ayella standing next the lantern with the flint in her hands, looking completely sober.

“Fell for it again,” she said, completely in her right mind, “didn’t you?”

“I guess I did,” he said drawing his blade from its sheath and pointing it at her. “But this time I’m prepared for that.”

“Doubt it,” she said, walking towards him. “Put that away before you poke out someone’s eye.”

Arkus was shocked at the remark. Did she know about the eye?

“Why’d you come back here?” he asked her. “Anything else you want to take?”

“No,” she said, holding up the pouch that had the eye in it. “I wouldn’t be able to get away this time, there’s nothing to distract you.”

“How did you�"“

“Years of practice,” she said, throwing the pouch back at him. He caught it, but was still shocked by her skill.

“So, if you’re not here to steal it,” he said, putting the sword back in its sheath, “what are you here for?”

“I don’t steal everything!” she said, indignantly. “Only some things! Like your bow and your dignity.”

He was angered, but he let a smile seep across his face. “So, where is it? Glemdoor?”

“No, that was fake, as I’m sure you know,” she said taking a seat on one of the wooden chairs in the room. She placed her feet on the table in a not caring attitude. “But hey, it works, right? Tell anyone that, they believe it because it sounds real!”

Arkus let out a sigh and sat on the chair next to her.

“Besides, what were you planning on doing with me here?” she taunted him.

“I was just going to sleep outside,” he said honestly.

“Right,” she said sarcastically, taking her feet off of the table. “Okay, I’ll buy it this time. You are a good guy, aren’t you?”

“I try,” he said, loosening up a bit. “But still, what are you doing back here?”

“You and I are in some pretty big trouble now,” she said, in the most serious tone he’d heard her speak in. “We’re basically dead where we stand.”

“What are you talking about? I killed that beast there, what else could we worry about?”

“Have you ever heard of Marek the Dragon?” she asked him, with an astounding curiosity on her face.

“Not in this place,” Arkus responded, feeling a bit ashamed of himself for not knowing more of the world outside of Whilmphor.

“Most people haven’t, because most people who have are dead.”

“What does that have to do with us? Nobody knew we were in there, did they?” Arkus was growing worried now. He never wanted any trouble.

“Unfortunately they did,” she said. “Exciting as the prospect is, they caught you.”

“That’s not possible, nobody saw me in there.”

“Except for the monster you killed. He saw you. Then you kept his eye. Didn’t you wonder why it never decomposed?”

The realization swept over Arkus like a cascading waterfall. It was watching him the whole time. “Oh.”

“Yep, and that’s why I came here,” she said. She stood up and started walking around the room. “You’re coming with me back to the Bear’s Claw! I need a good cover as to why I’ve been gone so long this time. Donvero’s not gonna be too trusting of my witness alone this time. Especially with everything that could be happening because of it.”

“Why in Calavania would I come with you?” asked Arkus, standing to his feet as well.

“Because, Whilmphor is boring,” she said. “What do you want, to stay in a place like this forever? They don’t even have a Monster Hunter guild here, and the most magical thing about this place is the delia juice.”

Arkus was dumbfounded at her boldness. He didn’t want to go anywhere. And yet, inside himself, the idea of actually leaving Whilmphor, a place where he knew everyone and everywhere, to go somewhere unknown was exciting. “Let’s say that I do go with you. Who’s to say that this Marek person won’t just kill us on the way?”

“All the more reason to leave here,” she said. “Like I said, he’s probably on his way to kill us now.”

Arkus didn’t really believe her about the mercenary. He had heard plenty of stories of the affairs of Calavania while he grew up. Still, even if she had been lying about all of that, he could follow her in order to find out where his bow was. That was at least worth leaving Whilmphor.

Arkus then remembered something that Alena had told him about Ayella. ‘She has the answers you seek.’ He wondered about how he could even manage to get a straight answer from this girl, when he didn’t even know her real name.

“Grovens,” he said. Her eyes widened at his declaration.

“Grovens?” she asked, sitting back down. “So you do know something about what we are.”

“You know what that means?”

“Not really,” she said. “Just something about tree people and a dead race. The only thing I really know is that they were all killed centuries ago. You and I aren’t supposed to exist, yet we do. I’ve been trying to find out for my entire life, but there’s only so much that I’ve been able to uncover.”

Arkus was starting to trust this girl. At the same time, he was so utterly confused about what was happening that he didn’t know what to say. Alena had told him that she held the answers. He realized that he had to go with her. He didn’t have anything in Whilmphor anyways. “Would you like to take another trip with me to the Black Lake?” he asked. An assassin, grovens, and a magical eyeball. Today wasn’t exactly planned, he thought. He might as well check for Alena at the Black Lake one last time. He didn’t think that Ayella was going to say much more, and he wanted to check one last time to make sure he wasn’t making a huge mistake.

“I’d love to,” she said, standing up all ready to go.

“By the way,” he started, “what’s your real name, anyways? I figure I might as well know if we’re leaving here together.” Despite his reservations about leaving, he knew that there was really nothing for him here in Whilmphor. He was actually excited to finally get out. He knew that he couldn’t fully trust Ayella, but he didn’t have much of a choice. Nor did he have anything else worth stealing, but he could at least get his redoak bow back.

“Oh yeah,” she said, going to his trunk and opening it. “My name’s Kara.”

Author's Note

I somewhat feel that the last few paragraphs were a bit rushed, but I feellike it is necessary for Kara's development as a character. If not, feel free to offer more insights!
I made some major changes in the dialogue, to prep for a follow-up chapter. It's much better this way.