Thirteen nights before meeting the General
I expected to have met my end the morning before my capture. It happened during a common trip to the market on the lowertown square. It was not even in an unsavory place, although the high-born might disagree with that assessment.
I knew I had to keep my distance from imperial soldiers.
Although my disguise had always been enough to avoid suspicion, it was wise to avoid them altogether.
During my trip, I averted my gaze and made myself small when soldiers appeared next to me at the oyster stall.
I became nothing but background noise. I made sure that at first glance, there was nothing magical about me.
“Why is the navy stuck here in Auriyonne, while our brothers are out fighting rebels up north,” I heard a tall soldier complain. As if fighting would bring him anything but death.
“They will call on us soon enough,” came the voice of a man that was too old to be a soldier, wearing armour far too valuable. “When the wolves play in the forest, the armada moves north.”
I moved away from the imperialists. A perk of being small and poor was that important men paid me no mind.
There was a traveller's stall that stood out to me.
A rich emerald fabric cloaked the stall and gave it a mysterious aura.
The wares on display were foreign. I could scarcely recognise anything as nothing was akin to objects I had seen before.
Behind the counter stood an old lady so ordinary that I half expected her to turn into someone different.
Perhaps that was a sign of what was yet to come.
In the back of the store was a crystal bottle that caught my attention. It was a clear crystal, indicating a craftsmanship that was not found in Auriyonne. I wanted to use it to distil oils. The bottles I used were prone to explode if the flames got too hot.
“Is that bottle heat resistant?” I asked the shopkeeper. She turned to me then. I felt a chill run down my spine. Something was off with this woman. But I could not prove it, and I could not identify what it was that bothered me so.
“Sure is,” she said. Her brown eyes were focused on a point somewhere behind me as she addressed me. I turned to see what she was looking at, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. “Do you have enough gold?”
I rummaged through my pockets and found several gold pieces, but not enough to pay for anything as exquisite as crystal.
“When will you close shop?” I asked. The woman was still not meeting my gaze.
I caught a whiff of sulphur and something rancid.
There was an unnatural shine to her dark skin.
A faint green glow on her cheeks. I felt a tingle of magic run from somewhere around her towards me.
A magical exchange that led her to finally meet my eyes.
Other than the shocked expression on her face, she appeared the same as before.
Not a magic I could see then, but a magic I could feel.
Not magic similar to mine, but another type of magical being, using some sort of glamour.
An amulet, perhaps? A creature that does not look humans in the eye. A lamia, or a crone?
I would never know, for that was the moment she ran from the store.
I thought for a moment that it was me that she was afraid of.
It was not. Right next to me stood an extremely tall figure with dark skin and braided hair.
Magnificent in her stature and stance. A werewolf.
Werewolves were not found in these parts.
Magical beings were hidden, disguised, like myself.
Glamours hiding our true faces. Magics could hide, but werewolves were unable to do so.
The empire would find them far too easily.
She was the last creature I saw before being cloaked and sedated. The road before me was long and treacherous. Who knew that, after all of this was over, I would recognise her as a blessing in disguise?