Evelynne
We arrived at the bustling camp a few minutes ago. Soldiers rushed in and out of tents and a kitchen-like area filled the air with a luscious mixture of sweet and savory scents, strong enough to turn anyone hungry. There were soldiers mingling the afternoon away; letting out a mix of laughter, cheer, and chatter. At the back of the camp was a jail of sorts; rebel soldiers were there, bandaged and muddy, being given their lunch by quite a… jolly fellow. As the Commander led us around, we were greeted with innocent, warm smiles; Did they know who we were? Surely not. Assassins weren’t treated like this, and our identities were secret. Yet, the comfort of their friendliness and smiles pushed those doubts away – they probably just thought we were reinforcements and were happy for the assistance.
Eve. Nod your head if you can hear this.
The sound of Kane’s telepathy sounded through my mind. I nodded in response.
This place, it’s not right, there’s something wrong. Can’t you feel it? That.. lingering unease in the air?
An unease… I changed how I looked at the camp and focused my attention towards the finer detail. There. The unease Kane was describing.
It was all wrong, it all felt wrong.
Kane
I ended my telepathy with everyone. I’d only just started tapping into Dark Renvin, so my experience in it was… lacking, hence I could only use it for half a minute or so before I was drained.
I hoped the Captain and the others had sensed the unease as well. I looked over to see him staring at the sky, then he whistled four soft, high-pitched notes, an order to stay sharp, to be on guard. I wondered what had set my senses on edge, normally Angela was the perceptive one. I mean… It looked like a regular camp…
“You three’ll stay here, and Captain Vediir can stay in this one.” The commander said, pointing to three small tents and a larger one. I raised my hand, half saluting, half shielding my eyes from the blazing sun overhead, and headed into my tent. I had done enough walking for one day.
Angela
“This… how..?” I spluttered out.
“Go on! Tonight you feast, tomorrow you fight!” The… surprisingly skinny… chef bellowed out from across the hall. The table between us was laden with food, sauce, and drink. It wasn’t exquisite food; no roast boar, no delicacies; it was slabs of thickly cut meat slathered with some thick, heavy, dark brown gravy. A soldier’s meal, but about 40 of them. The music of harmonious wind flowed out of the Captain’s mouth and filled my ears. Those four notes again, ‘be on guard’.
“Something wrong, Captain Vediir?” The commander inquired upon hearing the whistling again.
“Nothing. Just in awe at the amount of food~” The captain changed the tone of his voice completely, acting innocent. We all took our seats and waited for the commander to start eating before we did, a sign of respect.
“Commander, May we have a servant try each of our foods?” The captain suddenly asked.
“Sure, but for what reason Captain?”
“Just want to make sure the food isn’t poisoned, we do this at all the camps. Not everyone likes a unit directly under the Emperor’s control” He ended with a chuckle.
“Excellent point Captain, we’ll get one right away!”
He beckoned over to the cook, and they brought out a lively slave, a man who looked like he was in his fifties.
“Taste everyone’s food here”, the commander ordered. The slave went around and tasted random parts of the food, and probably ate enough to equal a small meal for himself before being dismissed.
“We’ll wait an hour. See how the slave fairs, and have some of your men who can use Red Renvin keep the food warm.” The captain stated before exiting the room.
–~~~~~–
I missed this, the chatter filling my ears and – although not fancy – good food to indulge in, with the people I care for most. We had split too much after Jordan, so I was glad we could spend time together like this. I looked down to the warm, gravy covered slab of dark meat skewered on the end of my fork, and my stomach rumbled in anticipation. The Captain gave us confirmation it should be safe to eat, the slave was fine. So we all happily took to the food, even the captain himself. We had been following this routine for ages… it was exhausting.
Lewis
“Ahhhh… this breeze is wonderful…” Evelynne muttered to herself. The moon was high above, and the landscape was as if it was made of mercury. Trees dripping with the evening rain shone silver rays of light at each other, as if the rays were dancing across the leaves. The streams that flowed around looked like they were of molten silver. It was almost enough to make me forget I was in a war camp, going out to slaughter rebels.
Cough, “As much as I don’t want to ruin this beautiful evening, I’m feeling drowsy, and we’ve got cattle to kill tomorrow. Shall we head off?”
“Agreed. We’ll leave now, but remember to be awake at dawn. Just because we’ve got a ‘day off’ doesn’t mean you can slack the next day. Dismissed.”
I walked back to my tent slowly, taking in the peace of the landscape. For an assassin, I’m quite a philocalist.
I must’ve really tired myself out on the journey.. although I don’t recall being this tired during the day…
–~~~~–
I was tired, but sleep wouldn’t come.
Clink… clink clink… clink.. Footsteps? Wearing light armor.. Out in the field… getting closer..
What was happening?!
My mind was slow, too slow.
It was dark, too dark.
I moved my arm to try and open the tent cover.
Was I even moving at all?
An armored head peered in.. or was it three?
I don’t remember the moon being this bright.
The world swirled, and voices faded in and out.
Then, nothing.
And it all made sense.
Poison.
