Chapter 7: The betrayal
After the strange talking cat joined him, Nicolas basically tiptoed through the nightly woods, trying to move as quietly as possible when looking for the camp where he had left Edgar, the cat clinging on his shoulders. He didn't want to wake up the older man. While navigating in the forest, the young wizard noticed that the strange feeling he had been having was almost gone, leaving only small bit of it behind. He wondered why was that.
He decided to ask about it from his new companion since he seemed to be knowledgeable about things.
“You know…” Nicolas tried to keep his voice low. “I had this odd feeling when I got here. It sort of guided me to deeper into the forest where the unicorn was. I wonder what was that, because I don't really sense it anymore.”
“I felt it as well”, the cat responded. “It's because some magical beings emit their magical energy. Kind of. I don't understand it much myself. The unicorn has taken distance, and so, the sensation has weakened. Common people usually won't notice things like this at all. It's the mages like you and me who have the gift to sense it.”
“You're a mage too?” Nicolas sounded a little surprised.
“Of course, you idiot”, the cat answered with amusement in his voice. “Talking cats don't exist.”
This caused Nicolas to feel embarrassment. He should have known. He felt heat on his cheeks due to blushing and was happy that there was too dark to see clearly how red his face was. This tiny awkward moment silenced him and he kept walking in quietness. He hadn't wandered that far off to begin with, so it didn't take him that much time to reach the camp. Everything seemed to be fine. Edgar was still fast asleep and in the little campfire they had crafted smoke was still rising from it. The young wizard sought the depression his body had previously formed on the soft moss and laid down. He wrapped his cloak around him like a blanket, yawned a little and fell asleep in a short moment. The black cat had hopped to the ground and curled up near the campfire, closing his eyes. All three of them had a peaceful night.
When the new day had dawned, Edgar, as usual, was the first one to wake from his sleep. He was surprised by the fact that their group had got a new member and shook Nicolas awake a bit more roughly than typically.
“Look, here's a cat!” Edgar almost shouted enthusiastically before the young wizard was even completely conscious.
“What?” This was the only answer Nicolas managed to give as he groggily rose from his moss bed, trying to come to his senses.
“Here's a cat! Look! Where do you think it came from?”
There was some excitement in the older man's voice, he really resembled a kid who was thrilled to see unfamiliar animal this close. As Nicolas looked at the direction where Edgar was pointing, he noticed that the black cat was awake as well, sitting next to the remains of a campfire. The cat was staring at Edgar with his deep blue eyes, but there was no way to tell what he was thinking.
Nicolas scratched his head a little.
“I… I, uh…“ The young wizard was slowly waking up. “I met him in the forest. Or no, actually I met him at the village, but now met him again… Is that a problem?”
“No, not at all!” Edgar claimed. “Do you think it will company us? That would be like a blessing, having a furry friend around!”
“'He', not 'it'”, the cat grunted, swinging his tail a little.
This really surprised the older man. He just stared at the cat his mouth open, not really being able to form words. Apparently, he has not met talking cats on his journey either, Nicolas noticed. Good to know.
“Edgar, this is… uh…” Nicolas glanced at the cat, struggling with words. “What was your name again?”
“I have no name”, the cat responded bluntly.
Edgar scratched his beard, looking thoughtful.
“How come you don't have a name?” he asked.
“It's none of your business, thief”, the cat replied with irritation in his voice.
Edgar looked like that the cat had just spitted those words at his face. The man's mouth was closing and opening like a fish does and he looked a little pale.
When it seemed that he had managed to get a little bit of hold of himself, he still managed to utter only few words: “How did you…?”
Nicolas followed this scene unfolding with worry. His gaze jumped between the cat and the older man as those two eyed each other intensively. Edgar's good mood was now gone. He really looked like someone who had got caught with a big lie. If he had been innocent, he wouldn't have reacted like this. It seemed like that what the cat had revealed earlier to Nicolas was true. Edgar was a thief. The young wizard felt a horrible churn in his stomach. It was this situation that made him feel bad. He had known Edgar for a while now, but the older man apparently had kept his true background hidden from him. What else had he lied about? Nicolas felt helpless. He didn't know what to do or say.
Perhaps the appearing of the cat was a bad thing. At least he had managed to shatter the peace of the men's journey. Who knows what trouble he would bring.
At last, Edgar was the one who put an end to this tense situation. He shook his head as if that would help him to shake off the accusation the cat had made. Then he began to stomp at the remains of their campfire and soon after that he picked up his bag from the ground and threw it onto his back.
“We should start to get going”, the older man simply stated and immediately began to continue their journey, even before the young wizard was ready.
Nicolas finally got himself up from the moss bed and snatched his bag as well, hurrying after Edgar. The black cat followed, walking side by side with Nicolas. The young wizard glanced at him, not really sure what to think about this new addition to their group.
They hadn't got far yet when Nicolas had to open his mouth. The question was burning on his tongue.
“So… Are you really a thief?” he asked, obviously targeting this interrogation at the older man.
The man remained silent for a little while, clearly pondering something.
“Yes, yes I am”, Edgar answered quietly.
“Oh… Why didn't you tell that?” Nicolas inquired.
The cat let out a loud chuckle.
“That's not something people will tell you when you meet them”, he said, amused.
The young wizard felt stupid again. That talking cat was good at making Nicolas feel embarrassed. The young wizard blushed, once again silenced by the awkward feeling.
They walked silently, the only sound almost being their steps taking them forward. So far, the mood of the group had been rather gloomy, but that certainly wasn't the case with the weather. It was sunny day; the world was bright and the temperature was still raising to pleasantly warm. The whole nature seemed to be in a good mood, too. Birds were singing and even a couple of rabbits crossed the group's way. Eventually the beauty and the tenderness of the environment made Nicolas feel better. But that was no surprise; the nature had always had calming effect on him.
With pleasant feeling, Nicolas could ponder things more peacefully. And of course, it was the criminal background of his older companion that was on his mind. He wasn't exactly sure what to think about it. Sure, it was wrong and against the laws, but things aren't so black and white. Like, the theft could be justified if one was stealing food for their family. Maybe Edgar was that kind of guy, since he didn't seem bad. In Rose Path village, thievery wasn't common at all. The folks in young wizard's hometown were an honest bunch, so not a lot of crimes happened in there overall. Even if someone did steal, they probably were allowed to keep their hands. To Nicolas it seemed that chopping off someone's hand was a bit extreme punishment. What had Edgar stolen that it had cost him his hand? Nicolas didn't dare to ask. In fact, he didn't even dare to talk about this whole thief matter.
And it seemed like that neither did Edgar or the cat. As the time and landscape passed by, Edgar started to feel more relaxed, and thus, the mood of their little group got lifted. He seemed to get back to his old cheerful self, while the cat remained rather silent. No one brought up the topic about Edgar being a thief. It was a thing that had got swept under the rug. The young wizard didn't mind that. He wasn't good at handling conflicts. And so, their group of three continued their journey like nothing had happened.
Eventually the woods got swiped away, revealing enormous grasslands. Nicolas was in awe for seeing such vast space. He could barely see to the other end of the area! In the cat's opinion his reaction was amusing, and he sneered a little, but the young wizard pretty much ignored him. The group began to cross the grasslands. After some time, a gentle wind started to blow, caressing the travelers and the grass and the branches of some lonely trees that dotted the place here and there. It wished for the trio a pleasant journey and accompanied them until the nightfall, when it was sun's turn to retire from the sky. The group set up a camp and spent a peaceful night under the stars.
In the morning they woke up early and continued their travel to Skygold Town. However, they weren't the only ones wandering in the grasslands. They encountered a couple of hunters from a tribe of people that inhabited in this area. These strangers were riding on their horses, which were the most valuable animal for them. The tribesmen were quite friendly folk and even offered small chunks of dried meat for the group. After this nice meeting their ways separated and the group continued on their path to cross the grasslands. It took them another day to reach the end of the area, and just when the darkness would envelope the world again, the group had arrived at the tree line of another forest, successfully concluding their journey through the grasslands. They would have probably had a peaceful night, but then the cat planted a seed of worry.
He pointed out that it was odd that they hadn't encountered other people during their travel. It was especially strange because they were heading to a large town, so there should have been other travelers as well coming in and out of the place. Such thoughts hadn't even visited the mind of the young wizard, for he was completely possessed by excitement. The cat's observation did make him think, though. However, Edgar just brushed it off, his reasoning being that they were coming from a direction that wasn't the busy one, therefore, it wasn't that odd. The group didn't discuss the matter any further, and just went to sleep.
They were getting closer to their destination. When the new day had dawned, the group woke up early to begin their last part of the journey to the great town. They had to just pass through a patch of woods and they would get to the outskirts of Skygold Town. It seemed like that the weather was in favor for them once again and the day turned out to be pleasant. The gentle sunshine caused Nicolas and Edgar to be in a good mood, but the cat stayed reserved. He didn't speak much at all while the young wizard and the older man kept a light conversation going as they walked forward.
Finally, when the golden sun started to begin its descend from the sky, the group made it to their staging post: Skygold Town.
The sight of huge structure was marvelous in Nicolas' eyes. He had never seen anything like it, he only had dreamed of places like this. The enormous walls surrounded the grand town, and a narrow stream was surrounding the place. From the direction where the group was coming, the road to the town transformed into a bridge that had to be crossed if you wanted get into the settlement. The beginning of the bridge was guarded by two huge statues that portrayed some mythical beasts which Nicolas couldn't identify. Skygold Town was mostly concealed by its great walls, making it tempting for travelers to enter the gate and see what kind of life lies within. Of course, this made the young wizard very excited and eager to experience the town by himself. He didn't even realize that his pace accelerated as he kept going forward, Edgar and the cat following him with more level-headedly.
As their path took them to the long stone bridge and they began to cross it, Nicolas noticed something extraordinary waiting at the end of the structure. There was a dozen of figures around the gate to the town. It looked like they were guarding something. As the trio got closer and closer, Nicolas was finally able to distinguish what they were.
Nightfolks. That's what Edgar had called them? Beings that were like a crossover of a human and a boar. They were bipedal creatures and clearly taller than average humans – even taller than Nicolas, even though he was pretty tall. They were also very muscular and no wonder; most of them wielded a large axe or a broad sword and were equipped with an armor that was partly thick leather and partly metal. They were covered in dark blue fur, which granted them their name. Nightfolks were obviously designed for battlefield and it was best to not provoke them. No one wanted to have one of these as their opponent.
“Something is wrong”, the cat muttered silently as they walked closer to these beings.
However, the two men didn't pay much attention to him.
Nicolas felt different kind of excitement as their group walked closer the pack of Nightfolks. It was almost like he was meeting someone important. All the Nightfolks on the bridge had their eyes on the trio, but it wasn't possible to guess what thoughts they hid in their boar heads. Nicolas tried not to stare too much, but couldn't help it that these things fascinated him. None of the Nightfolks spoke anything as the group passed by, so their meeting remained short. They kept stationary as the trio entered Skygold Town.
But it was a trap.
The group had barely managed to walk into the town when they had got surrounded by a pack of Nightfolks. A circle of weapons, thirsting for blood, pointed at them and Nicolas had a feeling that if they did even a tiniest bit of mistake, it would be their blood that the weapons would taste. In a matter of seconds his excitement had turned into horror. The words got stuck in his throat and he couldn't say anything. Suddenly, his fate was in the hands of Nightfolks. The young wizard couldn't say anything even when the cat dashed away deeper into the town, his small figure easily passing through the circle of beastmen, abandoning Nicolas and Edgar. Nightfolks didn't seem to care about the cat at all, possibly thinking that he was just an animal, so they did nothing to stop him. Their attention was fully in the two men.
While Nicolas was trembling from fear, Edgar stepped forward, smiling, looking way too calm.
“Greetings, my friends!” he spoke. “I have brought to you what Paleface wanted!”
Confusion found its way into the young wizard's mind. Did Edgar know these people? And who was Paleface? What was going on?
Right at that moment, yet another Nightfolk appeared. But this one was slightly bigger than the rest and he had some odd ornament made of feathers decorating his head. Perhaps he was greater rank than the others?
“You kept your word. Good.” His voice was deep and thick. “Take them to the jail.”
This was when Edgar's face changed from smile to disbelief.
“'Them'? But I did what was told! We had a deal!” he cried as some of Nightfolks began to lead him away along with Nicolas.
The young wizard didn't know what to think about this situation. Too many thoughts were wrestling in his head as Nightfolks were taking them somewhere, occasionally poking them with their weapons as a reminder that there was no way out of this situation.
But even in this uncertain state, one thing was for sure.
Edgar had betrayed him.
