Stories from RhyDin & The Rings

I walked into the Arena, and felt a shadow following, so moving slowly toward the bar, I caught a look at Caleb following Anne into the arena. He was a dark shadow behind her, guiding her with softly spoken words that only she could hear.

I turned and poured a glass of white wine, and a glass of vodka, leaning my hip against the bar to wait and watch.

After he led the woman to the ring, he came to the bar, bypassing the glass I’d poured for him, and I couldn’t help but shake my head. No trust. Ever. “Things went badly?” I asked him. “Stories travel.”

In a very odd move, he reached up and removed the mirrored shades and slid them into his pocket. His voice was harsher than it had been before he’d begun following Ms. Xile, “especially for those who know where to listen. They didn’t go badly, but they didn’t go well either.”

I sipped the wine a moment, “well, the number of bodies found suggested things went badly. Glad you’re here to bear witness to success.”

His gaze as he studied me was lifeless. Devoid of any sort of human emotion or life as he asked me how my charge was going.

I lifted a shoulder slightly, “She maintains a regular routine, but has detoured several times into New Haven, I discovered it's her mother's home, but she never goes inside.”

He nodded, his attention focused on Anne, “she will not either.”

I gave him a bit of a surprised look, “why not?”

He turned to regard me a moment, “she won’t because, despite what her heart feels, she refuses to listen and blames her mother for things which could not be controlled.” With that, he turned and entered the ring with Vanion.

His answer sounded rather silly to me, but I’m used to looking at as many sides as I can before making a decision, but not everyone does, and that makes for poor decisions.

It was not long after that, I slipped silently from the room and returned to my watching.

I watch her. Her routine never varies. Where ever Caleb is, he can have this one back any time.

She goes about once a week to the house on Gold Dragon Way. Caleb said it is her mother's home, but that she will not enter that place. It looks like a wonderful home to grow up in, and the land feels elven. There is something else there, darker, secretive, but I've learned that my quarry's father was an off worlder, so perhaps what I feel is from him.

The Ghost I'd seen in front of the house is back. It seems to follow the woman with increasing frequency. This bears close attention.

The woman's routine varied last week for the first time since I'd been watching her for Caleb. He's been seen back in Rhydin, but I have not seen him to give him back his job.

There are things I would like to do, but as long as he remains a phantom, I am honor bound to watch the woman, but protecting her does not seem to be a problem.

Her new route takes her to the New Market district, to a building that is seeing more activity.

Caleb, where are you? And why on earth did you take this job?

With a sigh, I settled into the shadows of the tree branches as she paused once more before the white house that is empty and silent.

Caleb had returned, and yet no sign of him have I seen. He has remained silent as I wait for him to take back his watch of this elven woman. Her schedule varies little, and there have been no indications that she truly requires this watch.

Not that he would ever tell me why she warranted his care.

A smile played at the corner of my lips as I watched her walk slowly through Battlefield Park, as though she waited for someone. This was the first deviation from her routine in weeks. We shall see what this may or may not bring. Hopefully, it will bring a little interest to an otherwise boring watch.