Author's Note: Fair warning, this and the next chapter are not sexy. At all.
Shattered
--
The sun was already setting over the Imperial city, the tall stone towers and encircling walls causing the darkness to set in earlier than outside. Sigismund and Silvia were continuing their search through the city, but as of yet finding nothing of importance.
They had been led on several wild goose chases today; with so many citizens residing in the vast metropolis, a few were guaranteed to be sorceresses. Silvia had led them to one practicing her transmutation skills, hopelessly attempting to reconfigure iron bars into gold. After several apologies from Sigismund, they were later led in the direction of an Illusionist performing street theatre for a couple dozen laughing children. Sigismund found the ghostly, dancing apparations that the Illusionist cast to be quite the distraction, but obviously not what they sought today. And so they continued onwards.
"Silvia, I'm going to be perfectly honest here. I met Rayya several weeks ago and I find it very hard to believe that she is behind all of this," Sigismund explained morosely, eyes dancing over the crowd ahead. Silvia didn't respond for a moment, diligently scanning their surroundings. She reopened her eyes two moments later.
"So you don't believe him, then?" Silvia asked softly.
"I believe that he believes it. But Talos usually forms his opinions on gut instinct, and in my experience relying on that alone is dangerous."
"Hmm," Silvia replied wordlessly, reading the clock tower in the distance to ensure they had enough time to reach the western gate for sundown. "I, on the other hand, think gut feelings are correct more often than not. I've saved more than a dozen people who were suffering ailments I didn't have evidence of. Sometimes the back of your mind is just cognizant of things that you aren't."
Silvia returned Sigismund's smile before continuing. "Besides, when has Talos been wrong anyway?"
Sigismund raised a finger, opening his mouth before realizing he didn't have a rebuttal on hand. Silvia whistled a tune he didn't recognize for a couple seconds until he responded.
"He gets involved with sorceresses too often," he shrugged.
"
I'm
a sorceress, Sigismund. Try again."
"Well, one time in Santaria he-" Sigismund's train of thought halted abruptly as he recognized two garishly-dressed women in the small square before them. Sigismund grabbed Silvia's shoulder and hopped around the corner.
"What?!" Silvia whispered nervously.
He poked his head around the stone pillar, Silvia following suit. "That's her! And she's with... Alanna, I think was her name. Another enchantress."
"That's... not ideal," Silvia replied.
"No, it's fine. Alanna's a nice girl."
"Then why are we
hiding
?" Silvia whispered apprehensively.
Sigismund didn't respond immediately. The girls he spied on didn't appear to be making a scene, besides attracting the attention of every man in the square with their provocative clothing.
"Let's just follow them," Sigismund nodded in their direction. He left the safety of the pillar, trying to act as nonchalant as he could as he and Silvia stalked them, tailing the sorceresses into an alleyway with stall vendors on either side.
Everything was as normal as could be. Rayya and Alanna appeared to just be strolling down the street, Alanna even checking out the wares of the shopkeepers they passed. Sigismund's heart had stopped racing and was yet again drawn into a sense of security. Just when he decided he should greet the pair, Silvia tugged on his sleeve.
"They're casting something. Big," Silvia warned ominously.
-
Rayya had noticed her shadow.
The man she had met back in Oak's Crossing was now following her, accompanied by another Rayya didn't recognize. She needed to read them, but found she couldn't through the din of the many people nearby. They were just out of range.
Rayya came up with another idea. She didn't need to read them to get away; she merely needed a distraction. She shut her eyes as she reached out to the crowd.
"Rayya, what's up?" Alanna asked nervously, sensing her enchantment. She didn't respond. Alanna swept their perimeter, trying to locate Rayya's target, but found nothing. A dozen or two people were now turning around and walking past them, in the direction that the sorceresses had just come from.
Rayya opened her eyes. "We have to go," she muttered under her breath.
"What's going on?" Alanna asked again, briskly tailing the now-jogging sorceress.
"We're being followed. Not sure by who."
-
Sigismund found himself shoving through a suddenly-present crowd, men and women seemingly unaware of the troubles they were causing him and Silvia. He held onto Silvia's hand as he unsuccessfully tried to make his way through the mass of bodies.
"Get out of the way!" he roared, receiving not a glance in response. A burly man in a long coat jabbed an elbow into Sigismund's ribs, causing him to wince reflexively.
"They're enchanted, Sigi!" Silvia exclaimed, finding more and more souls converging on them.
Enchanted?
Sigismund thought quickly, pushing one woman to the ground who had been reaching towards him with both hands. If this crowd were enchanted, then Rayya or Alanna were absolutely aware of his presence.
Which meant that there was no sense in holding onto his secret weapon.
"Ears!" Sigismund shouted, reaching into his pocket for the bead Vex had offered at the tavern. He punched a portly man wearing merchant clothing in the jaw before he could do the same to Sigismund, causing the man to collapse to the floor. Sigismund didn't have a spare cycle of awareness to notice the steel footsteps closing on him from behind.
He covered an ear and threw the bead at the street, hearing a quick snap when gem met stone. Then he heard nothing.
-
Alanna pressed her hands against her ears instinctively, a loud ringing emanating through her to the core. Rayya was shouting at her, pointing angrily in front of them.
