Zarius pulled a worn, creased map of Thranduil from an inner pocket of his coat. He spread it over the rough wooden table and ran his finger across its surface.
His finger started at Valdar, tracing a path from the east of the kingdom to Mimirvale in the west. His finger then curved south, following a winding river until it rested on the name Skaldvin.
His gaze remained fixed on the map, his voice devoid of emotion.
"We're heading to Skaldvin."
A coarse, sarcastic voice shot from the opposite side of the table. Hyran was leaning back in his chair, his hands clasped behind his fur-covered head.
"Great," Hyran drawled. "Hear that, Yulia? Zarius and I are heading to Skaldvin—leaving you here to rot peacefully in Moriana's arms."
Yulia stared into The empty wooden cup before her gaze shifting to Zarius.
"I don't mind dying in my homeland…"
She ran her tongue over her dry lips and set the cup down with a soft click.
"...but let's put jokes aside. Why Skaldvin? And for what?"
Zarius finally raised his head, exhaustion heavy in his mismatched eyes.
"The Vaismen there... could do something."
Hyran spun his chair to face them, planting his elbows on the table. His golden eyes shone with cold anger.
"Get lost, freak… The only place I'm going with you is hell."
"I said we're going, Hyran," Zarius stated, his tone sharp. "All of us."
Yulia chafed her arms as goosebumps prickled her skin.
"I'm certain Skaldvin has nothing to do with us...
but I don't mind traveling with you all, like we used to in the old days."
Hyran turned his face toward the wall, his jaw tightening in stubborn silence. The silence was broken only by the soft tapping of Zarius's fingers on the map.
"But Zarius," Yulia finally said, "how are we supposed to get to Skaldvin like this? Moriana and me?"
Zarius replied without looking up from the map.
"We'll have to wait for Moriana to recover before we can leave."
"You mean we wait for Yulia to d—" Hyran began, but Yulia cut him off, her voice cutting, loud and clear.
"There's no other choice... Hyran."
The beast leaned forward, placing his massive forearms on the table, his size seeming to fill the space.
"Don't test me, Yulia… I could sling you and Moriana over my shoulders and walk the whole damn road."
Yulia's expression remained placid.
"Of course you can," she said calmly. "But if we were attacked, Moriana and I would only be a burden. Besides, having Moriana back at her full strength will make us all stronger."
Zarius seized on her logic. "Exactly... That's what I was going to say."
Yulia looked between them, then slowly shook her head.
"Alright then, it's decided," she said, meeting Hyran's glare, "unless you have a better idea."
Hyran let out a deep sigh, heavy with frustration and helplessness.
"Time's running out, and we don't even know when Moriana will recover."
Yulia turned to Zarius, her gaze piercing.
"Do you have another, faster plan?"
Zarius finally snapped.
"Damn it... You both talk as if I'm some magic genie that grants wishes!
There is no other solution!"
He slammed his fist on the table, making the wooden cup jump.
"I've thought about it until my mind is raw. There are no other doors."
He leaned forward, lowering his voice to a bitter whisper that was no less violent than a scream.
"I have no other solution up my sleeve, Hyran... except to eliminate the source of the danger."
He met the beast's shocked gaze, a wild glint in his own eyes.
"If you care so much, go kill Moriana. Then the problem will be solved. Or maybe it won't be, and Yulia will die anyway.
What do you think huh?… Does that satisfy you?!"
The words hung in the air, sharp and cold as ice. Hyran didn't move. Yulia's eyes widened in shock. The only sound was Zarius's own ragged gasp, as if the poison he'd just spat had shocked even him.
Then the spell broke.
Hyran shot up violently, sending his chair crashing to the floor with a loud bang. He shot Zarius a look of pure disgust, then turned and stomped away, spitting a single word over his shoulder.
"Burn in hell, you bastard."
Yulia's hand twitched, an involuntary motion to stop him, but she immediately pulled it back. Zarius collapsed back onto his bench, the wildness draining from his eyes to be replaced by a hollow, aching horror. He stared at his trembling hands as if they belonged to a stranger.
Yulia watched him, her expression unreadable. She said nothing. She turned to Zarius. He was staring at his hands on the table as if they didn't belong to him.
"Zarius..." she said, her voice calm.
"I'll handle Moriana's recovery. We'll head to Skaldvin as soon as we can."
She moved closer and placed her cold hand on his head, patting it slowly.
"Leave it to me for now... and get some rest."
Zarius met her eyes for a brief moment, then stood, forcing her to drop her hand. Without a word, he walked in the complete opposite direction Hyran had taken, leaving Yulia standing alone by the table and the overturned chair.
Yulia stood alone beside the table, the wreckage of their argument still on the floor. She moved slowly away from the overturned chair and watched the harsh flow of life in Valdar.
Streams of pale faces and weary bodies passed by her. The sick coughed into their torn sleeves. The injured limped on dirty bandages, their eyes dull and vacant.
Across the alley, the sound of a body hitting a wall caught her attention. Two men were beating a third, who was curled up on the ground, while a desperate woman tried to pull them away.
The stream of people simply flowed around the scene, their eyes fixed forward.Yulia stared, feeling no shock, only a bitter resonance—the petty violence in the alley a perfect echo of the one that had just shattered her table.
"Damn it… how did it get this bad?"
Moriana's tired voice came from behind her. Yulia turned, putting on a mask of calm indifference that took every last bit of her strength.
"Yuli... what happened? Did those morons get into a fight or what?"
"Hyran refused to pay Zarius his bet," Yulia said, her voice steady.
"It ended like any brawl between two drunks."
Moriana appeared around the corner, leaning heavily on Gord and Vida. Her breathing was shallow and heavy, and beads of sweat shone on her forehead despite the cold weather.
"They got what they deserved, then."
Yulia's eyes widened slightly when she saw Vida.
"Vida? You too?"
Vida answered in her quiet voice, a little smile on her face.
"I had nothing else to do, so I decided to help."
Yulia sized Moriana up with a cold, analytical gaze.
"Two weeks, and you can barely take two steps.
She scratched her scalp for a moment and said,"Still… progress, I guess."
Gord finally spoke, his deep voice carrying a hint of pride.
"She was holding her own by the end."
"Wonderful," Yulia said, her tone dry.
Then, her nose wrinkled and she took a step back, covering her nose and mouth.
"But... you all smell of piss… so allow me to keep some distance."
"Damn that Zarius," Moriana groaned. "He wasn't joking about the dog."
Gord just shook his head slowly with one of his rare smiles, as if surrendering to the situation. A faint smile touched Yulia's lips as she followed them towards the inn, keeping a step or two behind.
"You're such a burden, Mori," Yulia said coldly, brushing a stray lock of hair from her forehead. "Can't you push your ass a little? We can't afford losing another year."
Moriana let out a tired moan and replied in a strained voice,
"Shut up, bookworm."
Vida intervened with a quiet laugh.
"How cruel, Yul! Can't you see she's doing her best?!"
Yulia shifted her sarcastic gaze to Gord, who walked with a steady, strong stride as if he were carrying nothing at all.
"And you, Gord," she continued,
"are you enjoying your role as a personal porter for your stinking princess? I bet your shoulder will turn to stone by the end of this road."
Gord didn't answer, but the corner of his mouth lifted into a smile as he adjusted Moriana's position on his shoulder without any sign of effort.
"It already has!" Moriana mumbled in pain.
"It's like leaning on a rock. At least Vida's shoulder had some give to it."
Their tired, broken chitchats laughter echoed in the twilight alley, a brief moment of warmth against the encroaching dark.
******
Evandriel Inn - Valdar - Kingdom of Thranduil - Year 985
By midnight, all sounds in Evandriel Inn had died, leaving only the deep, heavy breathing of the sleepers. The darkness was thick, broken only by a faint, silver line of moonlight from a slightly ajar window down the hall.
Zarius stood before Moriana's room door, feeling nothing but the violent drumming of his own heart.
He turned the handle with infinite slowness, each click of the lock sounding like a deafening scream in his ears. He pushed the door, opening a crack just wide enough for his head to pass through.
The room was drowned in darkness, Moonlight fell across Moriana's sleeping face, revealing a fragile beauty that was peaceful and utterly vulnerable.
The only sound was her steady, deep breathing, her mouth slightly agape.
He crept inside, closing the door behind him without latching it. He looked at his hands in the dim light. They were trembling.
Can these hands truly do such a thing?
I've never been the one to get my hands dirty.
Now I can feel the weight of every pawn I've ever used.
"This world's got no mercy left."
He took a step. Then another. Each step was heavier than the last, his breath shaking even more than his body, until he stood beside her bed, his long shadow stretching to cover the door behind him.
He slowly raised his shaky hands and gulped.
Just calm down—
All I have to do...
…is bury my hands in her neck…
…then press my thumbs into her throat.
…press my thumbs into her throat —
With that—I'll save everyone.
No—no
I'll save—
the world...
Zarius's trembling hands moved closer, just millimeters from Moriana's neck…