Chapter 10 #2
Despite himself, Krujha craned his head to peer toward Alwyn’s tent, wondering if the elf might still be awake.
It looked like a faint light was coming from within—he was recognizing the cool glow of the small globules of light the elves often used—so surely he was inside.
But he wouldn’t bother Alwyn if he wasn’t out in the camp.
When he lay down in his own bedroll, he found himself staring up at the top of his tent in the darkness for a long time.
He hadn’t planned to be the one to lead this mission, nor to come up with the plan the others would follow.
But without Gorza, he had ended up in that position, which meant any failure would fall on his shoulders.
And knowing how worried Alwyn was about not succeeding in this mission only increased the pressure. He didn’t want to fail for his own reasons, of course, but seeing how upset Alwyn had been by his own struggles made him even more determined to succeed. They couldn’t afford anything less.
In the morning, Alwyn took Krujha by surprise by approaching him first, quietly coming up behind him as he was taking his tent down. The elf nearly managed to sneak up on him with how distracted he was, thinking about the day to come.
“So what did you and Galred decide?” he asked, his voice low. Krujha raised an eyebrow at him.
“You wouldn’t rather ask him?”
Alwyn’s expression remained unchanged, though Krujha swore he could see his eye twitch, which made him laugh.
“I’m asking you,” Alwyn prompted.
“He’s probably briefing Fionia now,” Krujha said, taking on a more serious tone now.
“We decided that when we reach the camp, Torlag and Fionia will go in together to get the lay of the land, while the rest of us wait a safe distance away. Torlag will report back to us once he finds out if Zesh is in the camp, and where, if he is. We didn’t want to send all the elves in at once to avoid raising suspicion. Less risky that way.”
Alwyn frowned, seeming unimpressed with the plan. “But it’s more risky for Torlag and Fionia.”
“Would you rather be the one to go in there?” Krujha asked.
The elf grimaced and looked away. “Thought so. I asked Galred his opinion. He agreed with my reasoning and chose Fionia. I trust his judgment on that, at least. If things go well, she won’t be on her own for long, and we can get in and out quickly. ”
Alwyn didn’t answer, his features pinched in a pensive expression. Krujha busied himself with shaking out his blankets and folding them up, while Alwyn stood there looking worried. Finally Krujha paused, turning to face him fully with his arms folded across his chest.
“I know it’s dangerous. We all know,” he said softly, and Alwyn’s gaze darted back up to meet his eyes.
“I’ll do my best to keep everyone safe. Torlag will just be in there long enough to get some information.
I don’t intend to leave them there by themselves longer than a night.
No true harm should come to either him or Fionia, I promise. ”
At that, Alwyn finally scoffed. “You can’t promise that.”
Krujha grinned, relishing how Alwyn’s frown only deepened at the expression. “Sure I can. I’ve charmed my way out of worse situations.”
Alwyn scoffed again, fully looking away.
“What, you don’t think I’m charming?” Krujha teased, leaning down to be closer to eye level with the elf, who shot him an annoyed glare.
“I think you’re an idiot,” he muttered, starting to walk away. After a few steps, though, he hesitated. “Krujha. You really think they’ll be alright?”
Krujha took a moment to look at him, considering.
In all this time, he had never known Alwyn to care much for the other elves, and he seriously doubted that he had any special feelings toward Fionia, even if she was another Order member and roughly his age.
No, he was a mage who didn’t question orders—with no strong morals or scruples—the perfect person to task with an assassination mission, secret even from his fellow mages.
The best Krujha could figure, Alwyn was sent to eliminate Zesh if the extraction plan went south.
And if he was trying to ensure he would be near enough to the would-be warlord when the time came, he was doing a poor job of subtly probing for an answer.
But that was just as well. Alwyn’s transparency suited him fine—it would be all the simpler to make sure things ended so that everyone got what they wanted.
Some small part of him felt a pang of guilt seeing how the elf’s trust in him was solidifying, but another part of him knew nothing would stop him from completing his own mission, no matter how unexpectedly fond he’d become of the little assassin.
With any luck, at the end of all this, Alwyn would live long enough to take control of his own life.
“Perhaps I can’t promise that everything will go smoothly and we’ll be heading to Drol Kuggradh this time tomorrow,” he finally said, his voice low and earnest. “But I will do everything I can to make sure everyone involved in this mission gets to go home safely when it’s all said and done.”
He held Alwyn’s gaze. The elf had a bit of color rising in his face still, but his expression remained serious, reflecting Krujha’s tone. Finally, though, a hint of a smile played at the boy’s lips, and his eyes softened.
“You know,” he chuckled, turning to go. “Somehow, I almost believe you.”