Two men were walking at a brisk pace to the main stairs. The littering of armour along the marble floor, the blobs of shadow against the creamy white background of square tiles.
His demanding thoughts were racking around his brain, like a moth trapped behind a window. Those thoughts were now audible, loud enough to be reverberated back into his own ears, the echo cracking at the end from the slap of the chamber of the huge room.
Alvin: Yurn! YURN! Will you stop and just talk? If you keep this up, you will keel over (breathing in, then a quick snort). YURN! Are you even listening to me? (Annoyed, reaching for the body in front, only grasping at nothingness.)
Bit by bit, inching forward, he approached the answers he sought. Gradually gaining ground, no longer walking; an almost energetic trot.
A voice replied, not directly to the questions but to the end goal on his mind, still barreling forward, unaware of the shadow slowly closing the gap.
Yurn: I can't. I need to know! (catching his breath.) Amelia must know what those markings mean or where they are. I am speaking to her, with or without your help! (He could feel something grace the edge of his loose brassard.)
The arm from behind reached again, finding a crack in the window of opportunity. The moth was finally in reach.
Instead of pawing for an empty space, this time Alvin felt something on the tip of his fingers—a hand wrapping around something dry; it was the leather underlay; it was warm, not like a flame, the dead feeling alive.
Lunging at the opportunity, not letting it slip away, Alvin broke the gap between them and reeled back the fleeing Yurn.
Using the weight of his body, he pulled on the brakes of his feet and firmly stood still, clenching his legs, only jerking once, hoping it wouldn't turn into a tug of war followed by the swinging of fists.
Alvin: Gotcha! (cocky.) There are two ways this can go (demanding, glancing at Yurn's clenching palm), and I am not letting go until I get some answers! (pausing.) What's all this about? Why are those scratchings so important? (concerned.) Please speak to me, Yurn. (worried.)
All attempts at resisting the grip of Alvin came to an abrupt stop; no brawls, no aggression—only the weight of momentum was the only force in play for opposition.
Yurn unfurled his hand.
Alvin: Answers it is (still looking at the open hand). I'm tired of this back and forth; I will have enough of that when I get home. (smiling.) So... (locking eyes) What the hell is going on? (Smile fading to a calm questioning look and tone.)
Yurn heard the words of his friend, but no happiness or smirk responded in kind.
A voice now grasped Alvin's attention, just like he did with the arm.
Yurn: That thing in the forest! (grabbing for his black hair with his free hand.) It won't get out of my head. It keeps saying the same thing over and over, even now. (Closing his eyes, then reopening them.) Find him, find him, find him! It won't leave me alone! (worried.) That marking. I need answers! I want it out of my head! (Concerned, his fingers closing, now gripping his hair.) Every time I close my eyes, it's there, just looking at me. I can see the faces—the ones from the cave. I freed them from their torments; why are they watching me? (frantic.)
Baffled eyes were staring at Yurn, listening to the answers roll off.
Alvin: (His right open hand was in front of him in a calming fashion, while his left hand held on tight to the arm of the unsettled Yurn.) Okay okay. Just calm down; I'm not saying I don't believe you. (His mind frazzled from it all.) What faces?
Wide eyes fell on Alvin.
Yurn: Last year. (pausing.) The ones from Louvell, the old fishing village to the north. I can see them all—the men, the women, the... (eyes looking afar.) I did what I had to; we couldn't save them, the cara... I can still hear their pleas to be freed. (cold and distant gaze) I did the right thing, didn't I?
Alvin: (Looking away, then back to Yurn.) Do you know who is talking to you and showing you these faces? (worried.) Is it a seer?
The distant look was now moving to something closer; it was focused back on Alvin.
Yurn: Weren't you listening? (pausing.) Not who; it's that thing—the one from the forest, the one Carl had seen before he... (stopping in thought of Carl's demise.) The one we all saw before and after the flames! (frantic.) Carl saw it, and I saw it too. Just after the attack, when I was knocked out, it was in my head. It was talking to me; it was in my head, and it still is, even now. It showed me the moss-covered wall and the markings. (His hand dropping to his side, strands of black caught in-between his fingers.) It wants me to find the marking, so I can find him!
The worry on Alvin's face grew.
Alvin: (His open hand lowered, mirroring Yurn.) Other than the marking, was there anything else it showed you or wanted? What if Amelia doesn't know what the scribbling even means? (serious expression with a calm voice.) Also, who are you even meant to find?
Yurn: When I closed my eyes in the barracks (breathing in, recollecting the memory), I saw something or someone; they were standing in front of the entity. It wasn't big or small; it was medium in size. Then that thing spoke; it was saying, "Remember your word, Yurn Lovvet. Find him; free him from his pain!" (He was almost shuddering at the faces he had recognised when the words ended.) I'm so close. Please let me go; I want them out of my head!
Alvin's puzzling look pulled him away from reality, thinking about the answer Yurn gave him. Knowing what he meant by the faces in the cave, the whole reason behind Yurn's and Alvin's affliction of ringing in their ears
As one delved into the past, the other delved into the present. The man he was holding in place returned to his forward motion, forcing himself away from the now loose grip.
The yank from his hand and the empty space that was Yurn's arm jerked him from the distant memory. The walk of the man in front turned into a sprint, leaping up the stairs two steps at a time.
Alvin followed, and the body of Yurn was nearly out of sight, heading up and beyond the landing. He was no longer in a jog; he had to catch up to the blur that was in front.
Atop the stairs, where Yurn was a moment ago.
Standing in the doorway to Amelia's room was the blur. As he approached, he could see it looking ahead. Tracing his eyes to where Yurn was staring into, they were both now watching the Lord as Amelia spoke to him, their voices filling the room and the hallway.
Capturing their interest, both men watched and listened. Yurn wanted to move ahead, but the arm that grabbed him was holding him back.
Alvin: (whispered.) Wait... Just for a moment, something doesn't feel right.
Yurn was now listening to the man, and a part of him wanted answers. Trapped, he held back as the words in the air were even making him wonder.
A huge form, almost blocking the light that only trickled into the room, a tall man was leaning onto the window frame, a hand on either side, not looking down but looking through the glass.
Vayreban: Please, Amelia, tell me the truth! (His strong voice rattling the window pane.) Why did he take you to the forest? (firm demand.)