Chapter 46 The Chase
Kort and Revik chased after the man who had pretended to be the inn keeper. The man who had followed them from the library must be the same person they were now chasing, Kort surmised. He must have found his way to the inn at Kestalon and was able to overhear their plan to travel to Selagim. Kort then thought about the wine. The assassin may have laced it with a slow acting poison and once all of them drank it, they would die sometime after.
Kort was almost certain that it was the same assassin that had killed Master Omed and Master Ladris. The assassin was swift as he weaved in and out of the complex and often confusing streets of Selagim. It seemed to Kort that the assassin knew these streets very well. But as they ran after him, Revik seemed unable to keep up. Perhaps Revik had not yet fully recovered from their encounter in the Forest of Narul, Kort thought. Revik’s exhaustion was clear to him. Kort looked at Revik who appeared to understand. Revik then motioned Kort to continue chasing the assassin. Kort had to leave Revik behind in a small street where many vendors hawked their wares.
Kort could still see the assassin ahead. He ran even faster. His hand felt the hilt of his short sword. He would finally avenge Master Omed, he said to himself.
He remembered how helpless he had felt in Hedak and how he had blamed himself for not scouting the area first before entering the home of Master Ladris. He had been complacent back then. And he had learned a painful lesson.
This time however, he was able to foil the assassin’s attempt to kill them. Kort did not expect that they would encounter him again after all that had happened since Hedak. But after what they had learned from the manuscript they found in Kestalon, only they knew how to stop this plague and prevent the return of Qorath and the coming of another war.
Misara and Beret had to succeed, he told himself. The manuscript was clear about the location of the Stone of Affliction, which was hidden beneath the Temple of Kirion. His suspicions about these new temples that had arisen in recent years now grew. They were perhaps the conduits through which the plague was spreading. And the ensuing despair was the key to the return of Qorath.
His thoughts raced as he turned into a corner street. All of a sudden, the assassin was nowhere to be found. But looking around he realized that he was standing beside a temple. It was the Temple of Kirion. This is where Misara and Beret were headed, he thought. As he started to follow the road beside the temple, he noticed a small wooden door that was left ajar. Instinctively he entered the door. A stairway led down into what seemed to be the temple basement. He drew his short sword and descended cautiously.