The trail was still warm enough for them to track and together they followed it. The Shikoba left almost no sign whatsoever. That they did at all was a measure of the swiftness of their flight. If they had not been in such a rush Katashi had no doubt they would have lost their trail long ago. Both groups, the chased and the chasers were in flight.
They stopped for a brief lunch Katashi, probing the knowledge of his traveling companion, asked as casually as he could, “You see the direction they’re headed?”
Jaala smiled and nodded, “Oh yes.”
Katashi thought this display of humor out of place even as the reply revealed nothing. Still, he was not one to be angered over the reactions of another. No, more this was another revelation that the man who was not what he seemed was hiding much more than he revealed about himself. “They seem headed towards the territories,” Katashi continued. “Doesn’t that seem odd to you? What is out their that they could possibly be interested in? The only thing of interest there, other than the occasional wild Roc, are a few obscure references from ancient prophecies.”
Katashi was studying the jovial one as he spoke. All his senses were focused on Jaala, his heightened awareness looking for anything, any clue he could discern. It was almost unnoticeable, but when Katashi had mentioned the prophecies there seemed to be the barest flicker of recognition. Katashi decided to press on the point a bit to see if he could learn anything more from Jaala instead of he learning everything about him. “You are no doubt familiar with the prophecies,” Katashi asked questioningly?
Jaala laughed fully and loud. “You’ll have to do better than that my young friend,” he said easily. “We all have been taught from that ancient tome of scripture have we not.” It was spoken not as a question, but as a statement. Before there was any time to continue on the topic Jaala continued, “Come now, let’s focus our attention towards finding these Highlanders who are being pursued, and not on trying to probe each other.”
Katashi laughed, completely unaffected at having been rebuked. “Indeed you are right Jaala, let us continue our pursuit.”
Continue they did. It wasn’t until the end of the second day as they were getting near the borders that they came upon them. It was another scene of carnage. There had been a fierce battle and all they could see were bodies of Highlanders, a half dozen or so. This was not to be understood that no Shikoba had not died. They always took away members that had fallen in battle. What was clear here was who were the victors and who had been defeated.
“This one has been tortured,” Katashi noted.
“As has this one,” Jaala replied. “It is not uncommon for the Shikoba to do so to those unfortunate enough to be left alive at the end of a battle.”
Katashi bent down to study the poor Highlander he was standing over. Clutched in the mans hand was something. Katashi worked on the mans hand to dislodge the object and thought he would have to break the mans fingers. Eventually it came free though and Katashi held it up to study it. It seemed fairly nondescript, even if it looked ancient. He turned to Jaala to show him and was starting to speak when he noticed Jaala was staring not at him, but the object which he held. The look on his face, at last, betrayed the emotions that lay beneath. The look was one of surprise and what else? Not curiosity, but more fascination and understanding, like he knew what he was looking at.
