They rode their horses for nearly five hours straight. It was a miracle that Allendis didn't feel bored out of his mind. He glanced back. The carriage still trailed behind them, while his comrades rode at ease, unhurried. Behind all of them, there was no sign of Rathlin at all. It disappeared into the skies that set the plains alight.
Allendis let the breeze pass his face. He let out a small smile. The fresh air was something he actually missed after being cooped up in camp outside of Rathlin's walls. They already passed by the forest that acted as a sign that the city was close and into the wide plains.
"Breathing in the fresh air?" Halbin asked with a smirk on his face. "You look like an adorable kid, I don't think I have seen you smile before!"
Allendis snapped his neck to glare at Halbin, his smile disappeared. "Quiet you. I don't need everyone to know everything about me. I prefer to have my privacy."
Halbin laughed loudly. That obnoxious laugh could turn heads. For the second time in a day, Allendis wanted to hit someone.
"You shouldn't keep that frown on you all the time. The ladies wouldn't want a downer, you know?"
Allendis raised his eyebrow. "And why would I care about that?"
Halbin grinned. That turd-eating grin that he would just punch out. "No reason. I noticed you and Chel seem to be getting along."
Allendis clicked his tongue. Halbin was an idiot but he was a perceptive one, at least, some of the time. "Think nothing of it. She was just out of it. I think she's scared of the mission."
Halbin's smile was gone, replaced with a melancholic look that was reminiscent of Chelsea's own features.
"I really didn't want to put her through this again, but we're a team."
Allendis was now curious. "What happened to her?"
There was a moment of silence between them. A quiet, solemn sensation that Allendis couldn't put his finger on. Halbin wasn't always melancholic. His squad leader turned his head to see if someone was paying attention before he turned his attention to Allendis.
"Two years ago, in the Galencia Republic. A cult there worshipped Dialos, a demon from the southern Isle of Pyra…The Last Dogs, at that time, were based in the Lidia Citadel, the heart of Galencia so we immediately caught wind of the cult. I was assigned by Captain Maindurg to work with the Ais Citadel to locate them. Turns out, they were kidnapping young women and draining their blood to feed it off some artificial Hallow Ground. They used the women's fear and despair to create a center of Chaos in the middle of the citadel."
Allendis was silent, but in his mind, he was already piecing it together.
Halbin continued quietly. "They killed twelve women for that sick ritual. We were lucky. Chelsea came up with a plan to use herself as bait to get the cult to target her. But…"
"She was nearly sacrificed by this cult?" Allendis continued. Whether it was the right hunch or not, what Chelsea might've gone through was probably much worse than he imagined.
Halbin nodded. "Yeah…it's probably the reason she started wearing that cloak all the time." He laughed but it was a weak one. Something that Allendis knew was only to give some levity.
"So you and the Ais Citadel cracked the case and saved Chelsea from impending doom?" Allendis asked. It would be much better if he ended it there.
"Pretty much. Chelsea was always too headstrong, even when we were kids." A smile formed on the squad leader's face, but only briefly before he had his wide grin again on full display.
"How about you, Allendis? Got any childhood memories? Maybe childhood friends?"
Allendis was silent. He actually gave the question some thought. Do the women in the whorehouse count? Probably not. His master was the only one he could remember clearly besides his mother and…
"Yuna…" Allendis whispered softly.
"Yuna, you say?" Halbin repeated. Allendis snapped back again. Did he really say that out loud?
"What was she like?" Halbin asked. Allendis expected him to joke around with it but he seemed genuinely interested.
"She was…every kid's dream at the time. I think everyone liked her, especially the boys." Allendis tried to jog his memory a bit. "They would always ask her to play with them. Boys are always show offs, especially if it's for a cute girl."
"Oh? So are you part of the whole 'marry me, my lady' camp?" Halbin smirked at him, but Allendis didn't care.
He shook his head. "No. I was too busy burying my nose in books my mother taught to other children in the village. But Yuna did often ask me to teach her about the Common Tongue. From what I remember, her parents weren't from Eddan."
"I didn't take you for a teacher. With your grumpy face, I'm surprised anyone would be willing to spend a second with you." Halbin laughed at his own joke.
Allendis smirked. "I guess I'm just more popular than you thought."
"So where is she now?"
"Probably dead." Allendis said casually. There was a beat. No words were uttered for that moment.
"I didn't know. I'm sorry." Halbin said.
Allendis shrugged. "It's fine. My village didn't survive Thalos' attack. For all I know she could be somewhere in the continent alive and well."
"If you do find her, make a toast for me will you?" Halbin said as he came closer with his horse and patted Allendis' back.
"Sure." If they make it out alive and actually manage to find her, then he would certainly do that.
Now might be as good a time as any. Halbin was already talking, he might as well listen.
A few questions shouldn't hurt, right?
"I didn't know you had dealings with the Golden Cloth. I thought you'd avoid those sorts of people." Allendis started. Any information would be good to use later on.
Scratching his head sheepishly, Halbin awkwardly laughed. "I usually don't but it looks like Tuvo already has them on his payroll just like the Last Dogs, so I didn't really have a choice on the matter."
So Tuvo was already in contact with the Golden Cloth. That would mean that their employer needed something from them, but what could it be?
"What do you think of that Slen guy?" Allendis asked carefully.
That question soured Halbin's mood. He looked like he was pouting like a kid.
"A prick, that's what he is."
Allendis almost laughed. Almost. But he didn't blame him. He was seconds away from staying far away from him.
If he didn't need to get close to Slen or the Golden Cloth, he might've actually done it—
In an instant, he felt his heart weigh him down to the ground. The beating of heart rapidly increased with each breath he took. His skin crawled. Every hair stood on end, like his body wanted to leap away before his mind could catch up.
Allendis did not notice it but the road in front of him was gone. A void that stretched through the fields, like a shadow that was embedded to the skin of the land itself, erratic and jagged in all corners as if it were alive. The grass at the edge of the void withered to ash. It curled towards the deep shadow, blending with it, as if it was always like this from the very beginning.
"We're here…" Halbin said with a terrified look on his face. Sweat dripped down his temple.
"It's the Hallow Ground."