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V.Lumen Lunis Speculatores
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As the hours passed and their horses carried them farther from Knoxorn, Quintin’s mind drifted, unwillingly at first, back to his father. Empathetic reciprocity.
Johanus had taught him about it when he was young. It was a fundamental principle in a few of the revenant ways. Every revenant had their specialty, and though psychological warfare was not his father’s strength, he had still taught Quintin the basics.
It was a powerful tool. Used properly, it could sway political views, extract confessions, and turn allies against each other with nothing more than a well-placed story. At the height of the revenant regime under Ghaldre’s orders, it had been used to hunt the noble bloodlines, forcing people to betray their own for the chance of survival.
A tragic tale or a fabricated hardship. It didn’t even have to be true. Just convincing enough. Play the part of the wounded, the forsaken, and watch as others spilled their own secrets in return. Quintin had learned about it, understood it. But he had never used it. Only white lies here and there, when situations forced him to speak.
Now, riding beside Selena, hearing her real suffering, he realized something for the first time. She wasn’t a mark. And neither was he to her. He wanted to tell her the truth. Everything. But when he opened his mouth, only one simple thing came out, “My mother died when I was eight.”
Selena turned her head slightly, listening. Quintin kept his eyes on the road ahead.
“A sickness that no doctor seemed to be able to explain,” he continued, “My father was a man of few words before then. He opened up more after she died. I always thought… maybe he didn’t want me to end up like him.”
Selena stayed silent, waiting.
“For some reason, he was always looking over his shoulder,” Quintin went on. “Paranoid. But I never understood why. He was… infallible to me. The strongest person I knew. Will ever know.”
His throat tightened, “That’s why I couldn’t believe…” He stopped himself, realizing that the thought had never fully surfaced before. That he had been stifling his own emotions in the same way Johanus did.
Quintin took a breath. His voice was quieter now, “I watched him die fighting. He wasn’t as strong as I thought. Or rather, he was just a man after all.”
Selena absorbed his words, then tilted her head, “Is that why you fight so well?” Quintin glanced at her. She smirked slightly, “Was your father a soldier?”
Quintin hesitated. It wasn’t the full answer, but it was close enough, “Yes.”
Selena didn’t pry further. Instead, she cast a glance at the sky, “Sun’s setting. We should make camp.”
Quintin nodded in agreement as they soon found a quiet spot off the road. A small dirt clearing surrounded by thick trees that was clearly used as a camp for other travelers over and over again. It was sheltered enough from the wind, and the ground was soft, which always made for a better sleep.
Selena dismounted first, stretching as she unbuckled her saddlebags, “Not the worst place I’ve set up camp,” she mused.
Quintin dropped down and remained still for a moment, then finally spoke, “Before we go on, I need to tell you some things.”
Selena paused, glancing over at him. His voice was firm as he talked at her while securing his horse. The man before her had been serious most of the trip, but somehow, Quintin seemed even more serious. So, she gave a slight nod as an “all ears” that he caught out of the corner of his eye.
Quintin exhaled, “If you can’t get past this first thing, I imagine the rest won’t be any better.”
Selena straightened, as if bracing herself, “Alright,” she said, waving her hand in a spilling motion, “Go on then.”
Quintin loosened his grip on his horse’s reins now secured and turned to face her fully, “I lied about why I’m going to the mountain,” he admitted.
Selena raised a knowing eyebrow. She wasn't shocked in the slightest. Despite her prying, any answer Quintin had given, seemed too silly or in avoidance altogether anyways.
“I’m not… chasing anything,” he clarified, “My father had been many places in his time, but he never saw Mount Scion up close and in person with his own eyes. I wanted to do that for him. To tell him about it someday. To share whatever adventures I may have had out in the world.”
Selena’s expression softened. Of all the things he could have confessed, she hadn’t expected this. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips, “That’s it?” she teased, “That’s what you thought I’d have trouble with?”
Quintin looked at her, unamused.
Selena grinned, “Quintin, that just… makes me like you more, you idiot.”
She gave him a playful shove on the shoulder before stepping past him to unpack her things, “Honestly, it doesn’t matter why you’re going. You still paid me to guide you there.”
Quintin smirked faintly, “Right.”
Selena turned back to him after dropping her things, hands on her hips, “I thought it was gonna be a serial murderer confession or something. But I figured that unlikely,” she joked as she came back closer to him,” So? What else?”
Quintin glanced up at the dimming sky, “You said three days, right?”
She nodded, “Give or take.”
“Then every night, I will tell you more of my story. If you stay.” He met her gaze, “But right now, you could walk away. Payment and all.”
For the first time since they’d met, Selena was genuinely speechless. She wasn’t sure whether to be insulted, impressed, or something else entirely. Quintin liked her and her company, but he fears the danger he's in will just spread to Selena. The only real fear he's felt since his father.
Selena’s eyes shimmered against the sunset as she slowly approached with a coy smile, “I’m trying to go legit, remember?” she said, stepping up to his face, “I can’t back out on my first client.”
Quintin gave a small nod, his expression unreadable, even though he gazed longingly into her eyes. Then, after a moment, he seemed to remember himself and stepped away from her with his things.
“I’ll take first watch,” he said throwing out his bedroll and setting out some wood to start a fire.
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The night was still, the sky cloaked in thick clouds that smothered the moon's light. The dying embers of their campfire barely gave off any heat, and the woods around them were unnervingly silent.
Then came a hand over Selena's mouth. She woke with a start, only to find Quintin crouched beside her, his finger pressed firmly against his lips in a silent command. She immediately understood. The fire had been smothered and the tension in his eyes was enough to set her pulse racing. There was something wrong.
He gestured for her to follow, and she did, slipping silently from her bedroll and keeping low as they moved away from their small camp. They crept toward the tree line, moving toward a small rise overlooking the road they had been traveling. Quintin motioned for her to stop, then peered through the dense brush.
There, in the distance came three figures. Their metal clanking with each step. Polished armor glinting off and on as the moon peaked from the clouds, revealing the unmistakable skull emblems on their chest plates. Ravangers.
Selena swallowed a curse, leaning close to whisper, "Seeing them once in a day is rare. Twice? Something's happening."
Quintin nodded slightly, but remained focused on the men. They seemed to be a scouting party, moving in formation, slow and deliberate. Their heads turned as they scanned the trees, their hands resting on the hilts of their swords, while the other held a torch to light their path. They weren't just patrolling. They were hunting.
Selena tried to stay absolutely still, heart pounding as the soldiers began to pass their position. Another few seconds and they'd be gone. But then came a snap. Selena froze, eyes wide with fear. The broken branch beneath her boot was deafening in the quiet night.
Their heads snapped toward the noise, hands gripping their swords now as they approached the tree line. Quintin leaned in, his voice barely audible, "Stay quiet. If they see you, don't let them see your face."
Selena nodded slowly, then questionably, "Wait?! What are you going to do?" she whispered, her tone laced with warning, “Quintin, you can't fight them. You may be a good bounty hunter, but they're trained killers."
Quintin's lips curled slightly, an amused smirk to Selena’s surprise, as he stepped away. He pushed through the brush and staggered onto the road. The three demis spun towards him, drawing their longswords instantly.
Quintin stumbled slightly, rubbing his eyes as if he'd just woken from a deep sleep. His stance shifted dramatically, his usually disciplined posture now loose and swaying.
"Ohhh, shit," he muttered, slurring his words, "That was a hell of a piss. Where am I? Oh hey, you fellas know what road this is?"
The soldiers hesitated, clearly not expecting this. The one in the center, the apparent leader, narrowed his eyes with a commanding shout, “Stay where you are!”
Quintin blinked, swaying slightly, “Uh... right,” he said squinting at them, as he waved his hands, pointing around them, "You guys look um, real important. Fancy armor and everything."
The leader didn't lower his sword, "This is your final warning. Stop moving. State your business. Why are you out here in the middle of nowhere?"
Quintin raised his hands to the sky dramatically, every movement exaggerated, "Whoa, whoa, easy there. Just a traveler! I… I just got turned around,” he said pointing vaguely over his shoulder, “Knoxorn. That's the closest town, yeah?"
The second ravanger exchanged a look with the first, grip tightening on his sword. Quintin ignored their tension entirely, stepping forward slightly, slurring his words even more, “Youse, you fellas lookin’ fer someone? Maybe I, I can actually help!"
The third ravanger, clearly the youngest, muttered, "We should just kill him and move on."
"Wait," the leader said, eyeing Quintin closely now. He turned to his men, "Doesn't he fit the description?"
The second soldier frowned, looking Quintin up and down. The youngest one narrowed his eyes, "You think this drunk fool is our target? I suppose his age is a little hard to tell with the cover of night."
The leader scoffed dismissively thinking maybe the other soldier was right. He turned back to Quintin with the intention of lighting his face with the torch to better see him, but that's when Quintin moved.
One moment, he was a staggering drunk and the next, he was a blur of movement. His footwork was swift, a revenant's trained balance and momentum shifting seamlessly into action. Before the first ravanger could react, Quintin was already inside his guard, one hand grabbing his wrist while the other clamped down on his sword hand. A sharp twist and he was disarmed as he let loose his blade into the air. Quintin used the sword's momentum as it flew, turning in the same motion, grabbing it, and slamming the pommel into the second ravanger's helmet, sending him reeling backward with a dent.
The third soldier barely had time to lift his blade before Quintin ducked low, hooked a leg behind his knee, and drove him into the dirt. In seconds, all three were on the ground, with two unconscious, and one dazed and weaponless.
Quintin adjusted his grip on the stolen sword and casually looked down at them, "Probably should've just listened when I asked for directions. Help your fellow man and all that,” he said swifty punching the last one in the face to be unconscious with the others.
Selena stepped out of the brush slowly, her eyes wide with shock and awe. She had seen skilled fighters before. Dangerous men. Deadly warriors. But not like that. Some drunk men at a tavern was one thing, and even some wolves another, but ravangers?
Quintin had taken them down with effortless precision, no wasted movement, no hesitation. It was clean, efficient, and terrifying.
“You…” she started, but her voice trailed off as she struggled to find words.
Quintin didn’t wait for her to finish. He rushed toward her, grabbing her arm and pulled her along, “We need to go,” he said firmly as Selena snapped back to reality, nodding quickly as she followed.
They sprinted back to their camp, moving as quietly as they could while still keeping up the pace of urgency. Quintin grabbed his pack and bedroll, fastening them onto his saddle and undoing the knot keeping his horse in place. Selena did the same, still trying to process what had just happened. The two exited the clearing, guiding their horses to the road.
“They were hunting someone,” she spewed out, glancing at Quintin.
“I know,” he said shortly, throwing himself onto the saddle, “But we can’t stay to find out who.”
Selena took one last look at the unconscious ravangers on the ground before mounting her horse. They rode past them, back out into the night. Their figures disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind the fallen soldiers.
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End Part 5
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