Northern LightsAssassin's Creed Rogue

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As promised, we set out for Erstürnach the next morning. I hadn't very much to pack, so I had gotten into the carriage without a fuss. Besides, whatever I wanted, surely I could conjure. All I truly needed was my flute. And my wits.

Or what little remained of it.

It was a surprisingly small entourage. One carriage, three Magi, five horses, and seven regular sorcerers. It was a smaller travelling party than the one Lord Himmel had taken on the cleansing ritual. At that time, we weren't even looking for trouble, yet trouble came to us in the form of Olsterhein, that now-forgotten village.

However, this time, we were headed to a fallen city. Its Fountain was dry; surely monsters were overrunning the area.

I hoped that I hadn't made the wrong choice after all.

But then again, we had two experienced Magi among our midst. If anyone could fend off monsters, it was them.

I pondered upon the matter as we set up camp for the night. Three of the sorcerers—barrier experts, I heard from Heidi, who had come along—had just finished drawing the wards around the campsite. The rest were busy erecting tents, kindling fires and the like. Meanwhile, Lady Anya and Lady Gertrude stood at the far end of the circle, silhouettes shadowed in the depth of the night, deep in conversation.

I sighed on the log Heidi had used as my makeshift seat. I'd offered to help the party in whatever way I could, but all of them had effectively discarded me to the side. I couldn't tell if it was because I was a lady in their eyes, to not be loaded with any work; or if it was because they thought manual labour of any sort would be far too taxing for a cripple.

Most likely the latter. Even as a Magus, I didn't come off as competent.

I pushed my frustrations and worries of the uncertain future ahead away. Instead, I lifted my face to the sky. Silvery stars speckled my vision, so far and distant and high above that I felt small and insignificant by comparison. No moon was in sight. I inhaled deeply, letting the cool night air fill my lungs. A faint heat prickled my skin, and as I fixated my eyes on the view, the chatter of the sorcerers were carried upon the wind and into my ears.

I felt safer than I'd ever been in a long while.

I closed my eyes, allowing the serene atmosphere to sink into my bones. Funny how I felt safer here, in the middle of nowhere with only chalk-scribbled words on the ground for protection, rather than in Starkfurt, nestled in between mountains and offering a proper barrier on its borders.

Still, I'd take Starkfurt over Heidelberg and Hamelin any day.

I slowly opened my eyes to the world. The stars continued to dance in the sky. They were achingly beautiful.

I suddenly wondered if Papa Gunter was watching the very same stars. I missed him so badly. I missed his terrible jokes, his deft fingers, scarred over the years of woodwork, his quick smiles and rumbling laughter, his tales of what life was before the plague.

A pang shot up my chest. A lump formed in my throat. Saints above, I missed him so much. His messy brown hair, his kind brown eyes and sturdy jaw. Everything.

No, this is not a time for crying, I scolded myself, hastily wiping away my unformed tears.

So I thought about other things. Like Anton's memory. Maria was my mother. But she looked so much like Elise. And my actual name was Elise?

"Elise," I rolled the name in my tongue. All I could think of was the woman with raven-black hair and violet eyes. The name was impossible for me to connect with myself. No, it didn't fit.

But perhaps I was named after a twin of Maria's? I made a mental note to inquire more information about my parents from Lady Anya. And if she didn't want to tell me...well, I could threaten to give up on the plan.

That was a last resort, of course.

Anton and Maria. My parents. The idea was as alien to me as being a Magus was a few months ago. I would come to accept it in time, but now, it was a strange truth that hadn't quite sunk into my mind just yet.

It then occurred to me that I had chosen to go to Erstürnach not just for the sake of finding any clues regarding the Pied Piper, but for my own benefit as well. This was a chance for me to learn about my father. I would take it, no matter what.

I had to. It was my obligation towards Anton as a daughter. If he had left anything behind in the fallen city, it was my duty to find out what it was.

"Klaudia, how are you doing?" Lady Anya's voice jerked me out of my thoughts.

I recollected myself and focused on the figure before me. No, not figure—figures. Both Lady Anya and Lady Gertrude had approached me without my realisation.

I pulled myself up onto my feet, shuffling lightly on the uneven ground. "Your Ladyships," I said as I dipped into a curtsy.

"Please. No need for such formalities. We're already out of Starkfurt," said Lady Anya. Her expression was relaxed. It was the best replacement of a smile I could get from her.

My eyes flicked towards Lady Gertrude. She was nodding at me encouragingly.

"I'm as well as I can be, I suppose," I said in answer to the question.

"Good. We just came up to check on you. If you need anything, you only need to ask."

Why the sudden concern? And what had the two ladies been talking about anyway? Still, I bowed my head and replied, "Yes, milady."

"Lady Anya and I were discussing our approach to Erstürnach," said Lady Gertrude, as though she had just read my thoughts. "Make no mistake, it will be dangerous to enter a city without a running Fountain. We need to be as prepared as possible."

"Ah." Was she striving to keep on my good side? By sharing everything she could with me? But even Lady Anya was bobbing her head in agreement.

"Anyhow, make sure you rest well, Klaudia. We have quite the task ahead of us." With that, Lady Anya wheeled around on her heel and stalked away. Lady Gertrude hovered uncertainly before doing the same.

"Wait!" I yelled.

The women craned their necks to look at me. I hurried towards them. "There's something you need to know," I said, squaring my shoulders and drawing myself up to my full height, which wasn't much, by all accounts.

"We're listening." Lady Anya quirked a curious brow.

I told them about the similarities of Maria and Elise, describing their features in absolute detail. They already knew that Elise was my trainer, since I'd reported that to them earlier.

What they didn't know was that Elise was a Magus too.

When I was done, their faces were blanched visibly, even under the cover of the shadows. Behind them, the campfire flickered eerily, silhouetting their figures with an unearthly red glow. "Another Magus we never heard of? Impossible!" squawked Lady Gertrude.

"Elise isn't registered under the Council?" I asked, genuinely surprised.

"I certainly never heard of a Magus named 'Elise' before," said Lady Anya, fighting to keep her tone under control, "and believe me, I would have."

"But...how?"

"Unless—" Lady Anya straightened herself abruptly, facial muscles turning into steel. She didn't continue her cut off sentence.

"Unless what?" I said.

"Miladies! Dinner is ready!" announced Heidi, appearing by our sides.

For the first time since I'd met her, I was irritated by her. The irritancy slowly built into rage, boiling, churning like a monster inside me. I bit on the insides of my cheek to stop myself from screaming out loud. My ears rang with vengeance.

"Thank you, Heidi," resumed Lady Anya smoothly. "Come along."

She and Lady Gertrude swept off without another word. I must not have been hiding my anger very well, for Heidi said, "Did I do something?"

My fingers grazed my palms, resisting a full clench. It wasn't her fault. She didn't know anything. Slowly, calmness descended upon me. "I'll tell you later."

"All right." She shot me a worried glance, but walked away soon enough.

I was the last to sit at the circle and have a bowl of stew thrust into my hands. In between mouthfuls of gamey cubes and watery vegetables, I watched Lady Anya and Lady Gertrude in my peripheral vision. They were carrying on as though the previous conversation had never taken place.

I frowned to myself. Who exactly was Elise?

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