CHAPTER 15 : THE WATCHTOWER OF THE OATHBOUND
344 Words
Despite the increasing danger, Lysander reluctantly agreed they must meet Kaelen to coordinate. Their appointed time was one day early, a contingency Lysander insisted upon.
They reached the Watchtower—a squat, crumbling stone structure perched on a rise overlooking the first sprawl of Veridia City. It was ancient and forgotten, a relic of a time when oaths were stronger than gold.
Lysander climbed the broken steps first, scouting the ruins. He signaled Elara to follow.
The interior was dusty and hollow. The air smelled of damp stone and disuse.
"He's not here," Elara observed, disappointment sinking her heart.
"He's close," Lysander said, pointing to a recent disturbance: a thin line of fresh, black ash traced across a stone floor—the ancient cipher for 'Watcher.'
Suddenly, a hidden door beneath a collapsed hearth slid open, and a figure emerged. It wasn't Kaelen, but the bounty hunter Elara had seen on the road—the man with the shadowed hat.
"The Shadow Touch," the hunter said, his voice flat and cruel, pulling two silver-tipped darts from his cloak. "Five hundred gold for the blight that stains life."
He was fast. He threw the darts before Elara could even raise her gloved hands. Lysander shoved Elara hard to the side, taking the brunt of the collision, but the movement was enough. The first dart struck the stone where Elara had stood. The second grazed Lysander's shoulder, ripping through his patched cloak and drawing blood.
As Elara scrambled back, Lysander cried out, not in pain, but in warning: "His darts! They're tipped with Witherbane—it paralyzes life force! Don't let him touch you!"
Elara had no weapon, only her curse. The bounty hunter advanced, calculating his move. Elara looked at the darts, realizing Witherbane was precisely the kind of compound Torius would use to subdue her for extraction. The hunter was working for the College, not just the Crown. She was cornered, and her only weapon was also the greatest danger to her own soul.
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