Gravemaw rogues
Cane’s POV
"You’re not Tithers."
The words hit like a sudden punch to the chest.
My heart drops imdiately. For a split second I stop breathing.
One of the Tithers standing in front of us is staring directly at now, his narrow eyes scanning my face like he is trying to tear through whatever disguise the scent suppressant created.
I swallow hard. So that’s it. We’ve been caught.
Leslie’s suppressant failed.
My hand slowly tightens at my side as I start calculating how fast I can take down all five of them before they raise an alarm.
If it cos down to a fight, I will survive.
But if this turns into a full town alarm then getting out of here with the Silvarin will beco a lot harder.
The Tithers continues staring at us.
Then suddenly another one of them speaks.
"Because no Tither with their right mind would be heading to that part."
He lifts his hand and points toward the far side of the town.
Toward a darker part of their territory.
"The Hollow Marsh," he mutters.
The mont he says the na the other Tithers shift uncomfortably.
So of them even glance toward that direction with visible fear.
I blink once. Then twice.
Wait.
So they do not suspect us.
They just think we are stupid by heading towards that direction.
Bane suddenly steps forward beside .
He casually taps the first Tither on the shoulder like they are old friends and flashes a relaxed smile.
"We usually go there almost every week," Bane says calmly.
The Tither frowns.
Bane continues talking like this is the most normal conversation in the world.
"There is nothing there," he adds with a small shrug.
Then he tilts his head slightly and gestures toward the marsh.
"You can join us if you want."
The reaction is instant.
"NO!"
The Tither practically jumps back.
His expression turns pale."You both can go ahead."
He waves his hands quickly like he wants to get away from us as soon as possible.
"We love our lives."
The other Tithers nod rapidly.
One of them leans closer and lowers his voice.
"Laden has strictly warned every Tither to stay off that particular part."
His finger points again toward the Hollow Marsh. "There are stray monster looking rogues there."
The words co out fast.
Like he does not even want to say them out loud.
Then suddenly the group loses all interest in us.
They quickly walk away across and disappear between the houses.
I watch them go. Then I shake my head.
"Bastards," I mutter under my breath.
Bane glances at ."Did you hear what they said?" he asks.
"Of course I heard them."
"They said there are stray rogues."
I shrug."So?"
He studies my face for a mont."You know stray rogues can be very dangerous."
I roll my eyes imdiately."Leave the nagging."
I start walking again toward the marsh path."I need to save my niece."
My voice cos out rough and irritated."Whatever those things are, they can go bother soone else today."
Bane sighs quietly but follows behind .
The Hollow Marsh.
Even the na sounds unpleasant.
But I do not care.
Sowhere here is where the Silvarin should be.
And that herb is the only thing standing between Sumr and death.
We walk deeper into the marsh for almost twenty minutes.
The water around us becos darker and thicker.
Then suddenly Bane stops walking.
"Wait."
I turn back toward him."What?"
He raises his hand and points toward the riverbank ahead.
"Look."
I follow his gaze.
At first I do not see anything unusual. Just muddy ground and dark water.
Then sothing catches my attention.
A small cluster of plants growing right near the edge of the water.
I walk closer.
And the mont I see it properly my eyes widen slightly.
"Silvarin."
The leaves are thin and long but their color is strange.
Instead of normal green they have a faint silver glow that makes them stand out even in the dim marsh light.
The edges of the leaves shimr slightly whenever the wind moves them.
And at the center of each plant there is a small pale stem that looks almost crystal-like.
It is unmistakable.
This is the herb Leslie described.
The herb that can neutralize Morveth Draught.
Relief floods through instantly."Finally."
I kneel down beside the plants and imdiately start pulling them out carefully from the mud.
Bane watches quietly.
I grab one. Then another. Then another. Soon I have gathered a large bundle of them.
"Alpha Cane," Bane says slowly."You probably only need a few."
I ignore him. I keep pulling more plants out of the ground.
"Alpha Cane."
I finally glance up at him."What is your problem?"
He looks slightly amused."You are taking half the marsh."
I snort."I am not risking coming back here again."
I stand up and start stuffing the plants inside my coat.
Once I am done I brush the mud from my hands.
"Alright."I nod toward the path behind us."Let’s go."
Bane nods.
We both turn around to leave.
And then we stop imdiately.
Because suddenly we are not alone anymore.
Figures are standing in front of us.
Many of them.
My eyes narrow as I count quickly.
Ten.
Fifteen.
Twenty.
About twenty rogues.
They are standing in a loose circle around us now.
Their bodies look wrong.
Their skin is rough and scarred and their teeth are unusually large and sharp.
So of them are drooling. Others are making low growling sounds.
Their eyes look wild and unstable.
I stare at them for a mont.
Then I let out a frustrated breath."Oh my fucking goodness."
I run a hand down my face."What the hell is this trouble again?"
None of them respond.
They just keep staring. Slowly stepping closer.
I spread my arms slightly."Are you people not afraid of dying?" I growl loudly.
They continue approaching.
My patience disappears."Fucking save your lives and strength for goodness sake and use them for better things!"
Still nothing.
They keep closing the circle.
Bane suddenly steps slightly closer to .
His voice is low and serious."Be careful."
I glance at him.
"What do you an? They’re common Rogues?"
"These are not normal stray rogues."
My eyes move back to the creatures surrounding us.
"I can feel it, Alpha Cane."His tone is completely different now.
"They are sothing else."
I frown."What the fuck?"
The creatures growl louder now. Their teeth flash under the dim marsh light.
Bane’s voice becos even quieter."I think they are..."
He pauses for a mont.
Then he says a word I have never heard before.
"Gravemaw Rogues, Even if you kill them all, they’ll definitely get you bitten even just a little, and that would be a disaster" he said and then he added "Run!"
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