It was midday when Lianne and Amra rode towards a town looming on the horizon. They had been traveling for hours already, through the fog-filled forest to the plains that held nothing alive and the road that lead to the living. They had left early, but the sun was already starting to set when they saw the walls of the town ahead.

Lianne felt her back aching. She had slept restlessly. Her dreams had been more vivid last night than ever before. Her mind had been filled with images of the life she used to live, the brother she had lost, and the people she had killed. Lianne was afraid that it was just another sign of her condition slowly getting worse. Even though Amra said that it was probably normal, Lianne knew her own body, and she knew that her state was slowly taking its toll.

As Lianne adjusted herself in the saddle, her horse, Luna, neighed in protest. "There, there," she said, patting Luna a couple of times, the horse's dark brown mane flowing in the wind as she galloped forwards. When Lianne and Amra had left their village, Amra's parents had given the horses, Luna and Sol, to them as parting gifts. The horses were named such since they were almost polar opposites in their coloring.

"Not much further," Amra said while glancing at Lianne, seeing how tired she looked.

"Do you think this is the place?" Lianne asked, looking at the town from afar.

Amra shrugged. "I don't know. It's hard to say from here. We need to see it from the inside," she said with a nonchalant tone.

The place they were looking for, Clandmere, was hard to pinpoint on the map. Everyone had heard of it, but when asked, nobody could answer where it was. People tried to remember, but it was as if their minds were filled with a haze that blocked them from seeing it clearly. It was as if Clandmere made people get lost in that haze, rerouting their thoughts and making them forget.

Lianne and Amra couldn't allow themselves to get lost. They had to find Clandmere. They needed to find someone, maybe a man, maybe a monster. Whatever it was, they needed to get a part of Lianne back before the darkness would swallow her entirely.

When Lianne and Amra got closer to the outskirts of the town, they saw a lot of people flocked near the town walls, covering the plains on both sides of the road. Lianne and Amra had to slow down to a walk since the people were crowding the road, coming and going into the town. There were humans, elves, dwarves, and even some goblins. Many of them were carrying something when entering the town and leaving without anything. Most of them stayed outside the walls, doing their shopping for different kinds of goods. Merchants pushed carts and carried boxes. People were bustling to get what they needed.

"Come on! Trinkets and traps!" A merchant yelled, trying to get his voice to carry over the noisy crowd.

"Here, here! Something you've never seen! Treasures from the shrines!" Another merchant yelled with a coaxing voice.

Lianne immediately glanced at Amra. "It's black market goods."

Amra nodded. "Definitely. This is not the place. Clandmere would accept everyone like this inside," she said while looking around. The black market was clearly thriving outside the town walls.

"It's a normal town," Lianne said disappointed, before smiling at Amra. "Well, I hope it's at least good for a decent meal."

One of the merchants shoved himself close to Lianne's horse, trying to hand out a single leaf, smiling a toothless grin. He had a piercing gaze in his wide eyes, looking intently at her. "Hey, here you go. First is free," the merchant said, trying to push the leaf to Lianne, who recognized it immediately. It was a cardon leaf, which was supposed to be chewed for narcotic effects. The tip of the deep green leaf was always purple, making it easy to recognize. It was surprisingly popular in the north, even though it was still labeled as a black market good.

Lianne shook her head, but the merchant was persistent, trying to force the leaf to her hand. "I said no," Lianne said while pushing the merchant's hand away.

The merchant wasn't giving up, so Amra intervened. "Hey, you, get off her! She doesn't want it!" she said firmly, glaring at the merchant intently, not giving him any room to disagree. The merchant finally withdrew his hand, scowling at Lianne and Amra as if they insane not to want the cardon leaf.

"Yes, definitely not Clandmere when they have to push that stuff to people," Lianne said to Amra jokingly.

Amra smiled. "Hey, the first one was free ̶ " she started saying before something caught her eye. "Hey, wait."

Lianne quickly stopped her horse. Amra was already leaning down, closer to a merchant on the side of the road. She had found something interesting.

"What is it?" Lianne asked, but Amra didn't answer. She was too focused on the goods, just waving her hand to signal Lianne to wait a moment.

Lianne let out a sigh as she adjusted her posture on the saddle again. She really wanted to get up from the horse's back and walk around a little, to stretch her legs. Instead, she waited for Amra to finish whatever had caught her attention.

As Lianne waited for Amra to finish shopping, she looked around the people gathered outside the walls. It seemed that the black market attracted all sorts of travelers. People who lurked around the market with hoods over their heads and their eyes darting back and forth, and people who looked at everything with curiosity. The black markets weren't exactly illegal but simply frowned upon inside the towns. Outside, nobody cared. Sometimes the towns even secretly favored them since some money always flowed inside.

Lianne's eyes met an elf, who glanced in her way and then disappeared into the crowd. Lianne furrowed her brow. The elf looked like one of the elves of the forests. They were peaceful and not unusual to meet while traveling, but rarely seen in or near towns. He wore a hood, but Lianne saw a tattoo on his chin before he disappeared. The markings were a winding branch, one which was common for his particular species of elf. In the south, they usually stayed with their own, but perhaps things were different in the north.

Lianne knew this because she had always been interested in everything outside her village. She had traveled and learned about others as much as she could, even though she had never been this far north. When Lianne was young, she had been an adventurer, always getting lost in the local woods. It always gave her parents a fright. She was an explorer by heart.

Someone was playing flute near the merchants, and the melody carried over to Lianne's ears. She quickly recognized the tune. Amra had played it before. It was the song of the spring. People usually played and sang it when spring arrived, as the trees and plants awakened again. It was a song of celebration.

In spite of the place being overcrowded and people being pushy, the melody and everyone's cheerfulness made the atmosphere outside the town merry and relaxed. It was clear that the merchants were used to the guards of the town not bothering them. Usually, the guards had too much to do inside the towns to even bother to venture outside.

"Okay, ready to go," Amra said, immediately commanding her horse to move ahead.

Lianne quickly moved along, riding next to Amra. "Did you buy something?" she asked interested.

Amra opened her hand. She had a small brooch, shaped like a beetle, its shiny carapace and legs the colour of crimson. It was some kind of curiosity that had caught Amra's attention.

"What is it?" Lianne asked puzzled.

Amra just shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, but it looked interesting," she answered, her smile wide. She was clearly happy about the purchase.

Lianne laughed. She knew that Amra had always been weak for special curiosities. When Lianne was small, she amused herself by imagining how Amra would turn into a magpie every night and fly off to steal all kinds of shiny objects.

"You know what I think about you," Lianne said with laughter.

Amra again just shrugged. "If I could turn into an animal, I'd much rather be an eagle," she said and grinned at Lianne.

When they were able to get away from the crowd outside the town, they finally entered inside the walls. It was just an ordinary town with dirt roads and buildings close to each other, trying to fill every possible space. The houses were a mismatch, constructed in any shape that fitted between previously built ones. The buildings of residence were mingling among the shops and taverns, the ground beneath the feet partially turned to mud. The town was definitely the largest they had encountered while traveling north, and it was clearly growing by the year. Soon it would be a bustling city. There were a lot of people inside, coming and going, living their busy lives. Everyone was minding their own business. Nobody even looked at Lianne and Amra riding into town.

"Should we stay the night? I want to sleep on a bed for a change," Lianne asked. They had been on the road for some time now and rarely slept in towns or roadside inns.

Amra nodded and called out to a passerby, a man who was carrying a big block of hay. "Hey, what's this town called?"

"Windermore," the man answered without looking at them.

"Where's the inn?" Amra asked and the man pointed behind him in the direction of a large building. Amra thanked him and they headed towards the inn.

Lianne and Amra left the horses in the stables and entered the inn. It resembled the rest of the town, dirty, overcrowded, and noisy, but still merry. The benches and tables had seen better days, but the people didn't care. They were eating and drinking. A good-spirited chatter and laughter echoed through the place, filling Lianne and Amra with a sense of warmth.

They walked straight to the barkeep and ordered two beers and some stew. It had been a while since they had eaten a meal someone else had prepared, and both of them were looking forward to it.

"Do you have any rooms left for the night?" Lianne asked the barkeep.

The barkeep nodded. "You're lucky, just one left. It's our best room," he said with a grin.

Amra paid for the meals and the room, got the key, and then glanced at Lianne, who nodded at her. Then Amra left the counter and went to sit at a table in the corner of the inn.

Lianne leaned on the counter. "We're looking for something. Maybe you can help us?" she asked, lowering her voice as she put her right hand on the counter. She turned her hand around, showing a couple of coins in her palm.

The barkeep first looked at Lianne's hand a bit warily, then at her. "I'll see if I can help," he said while taking the coin from Lianne.

"Have you heard of a place called Clandmere?" Lianne straight up asked.

The barkeep stopped what he was doing and started thinking, a crease on his forehead deepening like the waves of a sea. Then he hummed in a pondering tone. "I think I have."

"Do you know where it is?" Lianne asked, looking straight at the barkeep, trying to see even the smallest hints of whether he was telling the truth or not.

"No, I don't think so," The barkeep answered, his voice a bit slurred. Again with the same response. Nobody seemed to be sure when it came to Clandmere.

Lianne frowned. "Are you sure? Everyone says they've heard of it, but nobody seems to know where it is. So, I'm asking you once more. Do you know where it is?" Lianne asked again, taking out a couple more coins from her pocket.

The barkeep looked at the coins again, then at Lianne. "You can pay me all you want, but I don't know where it is," he said, this time more firm.

"Where have you heard about it then?" Lianne still insisted on questioning the barkeep, trying to dig even the smallest bits of information out of him.

That seemed to make the barkeep anxious. "Look, I don't have to explain anything to you. I've heard about it, alright, but I don't know from where. I can't remember," the man said while leaning towards Lianne, speaking in a tone that told her the conversation was over. She should stop questioning if she wanted to avoid a kick out of the inn.

Lianne raised her hands as a sign of surrender. "Alright, I believe you," she said while slightly backing away and putting the coin back into her pocket. She turned around and headed to the table where Amra was sitting.

"Anything?" Amra asked when Lianne sat opposite her.

Lianne shook her head and took a long gulp of her beer. "It's the same as always. People have heard of the place, but nobody knows from where," she said while pondering and once more glancing at the barkeep. "It's like something makes them forget."

"I guess we just have to continue on going north. That's the only good lead we have so far," Amra said while drinking her beer. "It's frustrating, but we have nothing more."

Lianne leaned towards Amra, gesturing for her to come closer. "Do you think this has something to do with the place itself?" Lianne asked when Amra leaned closer to her.

Amra thought for a moment, then shrugged. "Maybe ̶ "

Just then a young girl with a basket full of flowers walked to their table, interrupting Amra.

"Miss, could I tempt you to buy a flower?" she asked with a faint voice, her reddish hair hanging loose and her slightly dirty dress indicating that she was selling the flowers for a living. Usually, people would feel sorry for the girl, but Lianne knew that in most towns these girls were just pawns of someone else, later bringing all the money to their masters who used it in the black market.

Lianne waved her hand, wanting the girl to leave. They had things to talk about.

"Please, miss," the girl insisted, not moving away.

"No, thank you," Lianne tried saying, but the girl stayed and took one of the flowers from her basket.

"This is for you. From the Shadows," the girl said while handing the flower to Lianne.

Lianne frowned and looked at the girl for a moment. Then she looked around the inn, to see if anyone was paying attention to what was happening. If someone from there had sent the girl to her. "From who?" she asked a bit dumbfounded.

"From the Shadows," the girl repeated. "They said they'll come for you," she still added and smiled. She bowed her head to Lianne and Amra, and walked away, to sell flowers to other people. She had a joyful bounce to her step as if she had just made a week's worth of wages.

Lianne looked at the flower in her hand. It was a dark red lily, full bloom, its petals perfect.

"What was that all about?" Lianne asked Amra while staring at the flower, almost transfixed.

Amra seemed to be deep in thought, but when Lianne spoke, her expression wavered. "Forget about it," she said in a surprisingly nonchalant tone as she saw the waiter approaching them. "Here's the food."

The waiter arrived with two full plates of delicious smelling stew. Even though just a second ago their minds had been elsewhere, suddenly every other thought was gone when hunger took over their entire bodies. They had last eaten in the morning, so they were both incredibly hungry. The stew looked amazing, carrots, potatoes, and turnips boiled with spices and some meat. Lianne and Amra both started eating with a good appetite, forgetting about the girl, the barkeep, last night, the ride to the town, everything. They just ate.

But before they could get too far on emptying their plates, they realized that the waiter was still standing next to the table.

"Yes?" Lianne asked while lifting her eyes from the plate, her mouth full of food.

"Can't we get a single moment of peace here?" Amra asked with a frustrated sigh.

The waiter, a surprisingly young-looking dwarf with a red beard and an apron full of food stains scooted closer to them and smirked. "I heard you asking about the place."

Lianne and Amra both stopped eating immediately. "You know something?" Amra asked.

"No, but I know someone who might know something," the waiter said while holding out his hand, clearly wanting some coin.

Lianne let out an irritated sigh. Of course he wanted money. Nobody ever did anything for the good of it. "Fine," she said while taking out the coins she had offered to the barkeep before.

The waiter's grin immediately widened. He took the money and leaned closer. "Go to the plaza and find a tent that's the shade of every colour. You will find them there," he said and leaned back.

"That's all?" Amra asked, and the waiter nodded. Then he left, flinging his hard-earned coin to his pocket with a satisfied whistle.

Lianne turned to Amra. "Do you think we should go? What if it's the person who sent the flower?"

"Why would someone do both? Doesn't seem rational," Amra wondered aloud. "We should grab every straw we get."