Chapter 17: On the run

“I don’t have a choice, now do I?” Jasper said, bitterness oozing from every word.

“You don’t. But you can accept it and let me and Irin go in peace, let us get our things from your home. We will leave either way, but I would prefer us not to part as enemies, brother,” Koth told him. Jasper sighed and looked defeated.

“I would prefer that too. You may retrieve what you want from my house, and my men will aid you in whatever way you need. But I can’t help you, I’m not that strong. I will stay here until dawn. I would appreciate it if you leave before then.”

“It will be so,” Koth said, turning around to head out of the warehouse. Irin walked up to Jasper.

“You are stronger than you give yourself credit for. Thank you for not breaking your brother’s heart. If you ever pass by Gahndas, stop by the temple,” she told him, and before he could say anything, she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then hurried after Koth.

“How are we going to get back to the house?” she asked as she walked beside him.

“I can cloak us with my magic. Mohind will never expect us using it since he thinks we can’t,” he told her.

“Won’t it affect your focus on the shield around the amulet?” she asked.

“No, little one, my magic doesn’t need concentration like yours. Thanks to the rune and the spell I used, the shield is self-sustaining and I don’t need to think about it,” he told her. Irin smiled; it had been a while since he had called her that, and to her surprise, she had missed it.

“I think we will be okay,” she said. Koth looked down at her.

“You think so?” he said, sounding amused.

“Yeah, I do. Can we go by the temple on our way?” she asked.

“It’s on the way, so I see no reason not to.”

“Good, we can ask the father to send a message to the high priest. He should know we can’t return straight away.”

“That’s a good idea,” Koth agreed. They tried to be as quick about it as possible. They only gave the priest a broad picture of what had happened and why they couldn’t go back to the Gahndas’ temple straight away. Then they hurried on to the family estate of Koth and Jasper. They gathered the few things they had left behind and some food, saddled their horses and left. They stopped just inside the city gates, which wouldn’t open until first light. They sat on their horses, unseen to everyone except themselves, and waited for dawn.

Luckily, dawn came about half an hour later. As the gates opened, they slowly made their way out, trying hard to make as little noise as possible. Soon they were entering the ravine again. This time Irin was even more uncomfortable. This time there was a reason why men would be lying in wait for them. But Koth kept them under the cloaking spell, and they slowly made their way through it. Irin felt odd riding alongside Koth, not talking. There were a lot of things she wanted to talk to him about, to ask him. But they needed to be quiet to avoid alerting anyone to their presence. They may have been invisible, but enemies could still hear them, or smell them for that matter. It was not until they had put the ravine behind them and travelled for almost an hour that Koth stopped and lifted the spell.

“I think we should be safe now,” he said. Irin nodded.

“What now?” she asked.

“We need to find someone who can read the old language on the amulet.”

“I don’t know anyone except my father. If we aren’t travelling to him, then I can send a message to him and ask if he knows anyone else,” Irin said.

“That’s a good idea. Then we need to go to a small town or city where we can bunker down and wait for a reply.”

“Do you know of any?” she asked. Irin had spent most of her life in her home county; after she left, she had spent her days in Gahndas. She had no idea about what was out here.

“I have some options,” he nodded.

“Well then, let’s get going,” she said. Koth nodded, and the next time the road forked, he guided her to the right. If Irin remembered things correctly, they had come from the left. She was about to set out on unknown roads, but she was with Koth, and that made her feel safe.

Two days later, they arrived in a small city, or maybe a big village. It was located near the ocean and was surrounded by green fields with grazing animals.

“This looks amazing,” Irin said, trying to take it all in. The white houses with dark wooden beams looked absolutely adorable.

“It will suit our purposes,” Koth said, holding in his horse and looking at Irin. She thought he looked uncomfortable.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Um, we need to figure out what to say to the townspeople. We could say we are brother and sister,” he offered. Irin looked him up and down and giggled. “Yeah, it doesn’t sound believable,” he agreed.

“Why not go with the classic, husband and wife?” she asked. Koth stiffened in his saddle, reminding Irin of how little he considered her a romantic interest. She tried not to be offended by it, but it hurt.

“You would be okay with that?” he asked.

“Yes, but if it would make you uncomfortable, we can think of something else.”

“No, it’s fine by me,” he told her. She nodded.

“How long do you think we need to stay for?” she asked.

“That depends on how quickly your father replies and where we need to go after that. Winter isn’t that far off. If we need to go north, we may end up needing to wait for spring,” he said. Irin nodded again. She guessed there could be worse ways to spend the winter. Even if Koth didn’t find her attractive, she at least thought he considered her as a friend, and he was always nice and respectful towards her.

“Okay, so we just ride in there and…” she said.

“We should try and find a place to rent, preferably a house to avoid snooping eyes. Then we just try to blend in and be invisible,” he said. “Irin, one more thing you need to know.”

“Yes?” she asked when he didn’t continue.

“People in places like this, they aren’t used to people like me. They may be hostile,” he said.

“They don’t like wizards?” Koth gave her a smile.

“Orcs,” he said.

“Oh, right. Well, too bad; if they can’t see past it, we will just continue to the next place,” she said with a shrug. “But if we are going to stay here for a while in our own place, we need supplies,” she added. Koth looked at her with a strange expression, then he nodded and urged his horse to start walking. Irin let her horse walk beside his, as close as she could. They needed to give off the image of a married couple, after all. They rode into the village, and Koth led the way to what looked like a town hall. The people who saw them looked at them; Irin could feel their eyes following them. She could see most people were human, and she worried about how they would act towards Koth. She had meant what she had told him. She wasn’t interested in staying in a place that couldn’t accept him. As they stopped in front of the building, Koth dismounted and turned to help Irin down. Irin was surprised; he had never done that before, but she realised it was what a husband would do. She let him help her. An older man came out of the house and walked towards them; a couple of younger men joined him. Koth walked up and stood in front of Irin, and she saw he made an effort to relax.

“Good day, stranger,” the old man said.

“Good day,” Koth answered.

“We don’t get many visitors in our city; what do we owe the honour?”

“My wife and I are travelling north. We have been on the road for a long while, and my wife is getting weary. We are looking for a place where we can rest for a couple of weeks, maybe longer, to let her regain her strength,” Koth said.

“Is that so? Why make such a journey with your wife?” the old man asked.

“I have found work at the house of a lord; it will give us a better life than the place we have come from,” Koth said. Irin was surprised how easily he came up with the story, and how genuine it sounded.

“It’s a noble thing to strive for,” the old man said. “We have an inn if you wish to stay there.”

“Thank you, we were hoping to rent something more along the lines of a small house,” Koth said. Irin could see the old man scratching his beard, then he studied Koth and then Irin. Finally, he nodded as if he had reached a decision.

“I think you should talk to old Mother Kaon. She has just moved in with her son and daughter-in-law. She is looking for someone to rent her old house. It’s just outside the city, overlooking the ocean,” he told them.

“I thank you for the recommendation; where can I find her?” Koth asked.

“My son will show you the way. And one last thing: we are a peaceful town; we don’t want any trouble.”

“That is what we are looking for; you will get no trouble from us,” Koth promised.

“Good, then I officially welcome you. I’m sorry, I didn’t get your name.”

“Koth, this is my wife, Irin,” Koth introduced them. Irin took a step to the side so Koth didn’t block her anymore.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Keir, the mayor of the city,” the old man said.

“An honour,” Koth told him with a slight bow. Irin followed suit and inclined her head.

“Good, good. I hope you will find what you are looking for here,” the mayor said. Then he dismissed them, and a younger version of him walked up to them.

“I am Karine, the mayor's son. Please follow me, and I will show you to old Mother Kaon,” he said. Both Irin and Koth nodded and followed the man. He led them to a house inside the village and knocked on the door. A man about Irin’s age opened it and looked at Karine and then at Koth. The man did a double take and looked at Koth again.