Guild Wars_ Ghosts of Ascalon - Matt Forbeck [76]
“Bah,” said Gullik, swatting at a small cloud of flies that had adopted his offal-stained braids. “You would think we were grawl, for all that these flies love us!”
“More importantly, we need to find cover for the rest of the day,” said Ember. “This area is riddled with box canyons like the one the sewer let out of. On occasion one of our warbands would investigate them as an excuse to get out of the sun.”
“This way,” suggested Killeen, pointing to a particularly nondescript cleft in the stone.
“Your Dream?” said Riona.
“Something like that,” said the sylvari, but she sounded distracted.
The haze of the morning had thickened as they moved, and now a thick layer of grim clouds covered the steel-gray sky. Ember led them up a gully cut by a shallow creek and discovered a pool at the far end. They waded into the water fully clothed and rinsed out the worst of the foulness, then changed and laid out the wet clothes to dry. They nestled there under the shelter of the gully’s winding walls, checking and drying their weapons and armor, and gnawing on cold rations.
Ember bit off a short curse. “Bathing in that sewer destroyed half my powder. I don’t know if I can trust the rest.” She swept the damp cartridges off the rock she was using as a worktable and carefully repacked the remaining shot and powder.
“I use a paper soaked in beeswax,” suggested Kranxx, snapping the wetness out of his muck-spattered hat. “Didn’t lose a thing.”
“I know that we’re all exhausted, but we should only rest for a few hours before pressing on,” said Riona.
Dougal shook his head. “The charr patrols are most active during the day, and that’s when they can see the farthest. You saw those hills in the distance, when we came out? A charr lookout atop one of those can see for miles in any direction, and once they spot us, we’re in trouble.”
“Absolutely right,” said Ember. “We should stay here until dusk. We have a long path ahead of us, and the rest will do us good.”
Dougal looked at Riona and said, “About the chains, you …”
Riona held up a hand. “Don’t say it.” She shook her head. “What is done is done. If we break down into might-have-beens and recriminations, we’ll be worse off than we are now.”
Dougal nodded. “Still, they might still be alive.”
“They were doing their duty,” said Ember, “and foolish enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The same as the Blade warband. There was no camp back there at the sewer entrance. They were on patrol. Their bad luck, and their bad judgment. ”
“It’s not like they were part of your warband,” said Riona, “or even your legion. Am I right?”
Ember hesitated. “No,” she said at last. “They were not.”
Dougal narrowed his eyes at Ember. “Charr seem to value their ranks and their legions highly. Bladebreaker identified his legion from the start. You didn’t.”
“So?” grunted Ember.
“So, which of the legions is yours?” asked Dougal.
“It—it does not matter,” said Ember. “I work for the Vigil now.”
Dougal pressed harder. “Is there a reason you won’t say?”
Ember remained silent. She slid Bladebreaker’s sword, now cleaned and oiled, back in her scabbard. It fit well enough.
“Are you sure you people weren’t looking at my little surprise when it went off?” Kranxx said with a nasty chuckle. “Because you all seem blind. Look at her armor. Look at her mannerisms. She’s from the Ash Legion, or I’m a skritt.”
“Are you sure?” Riona asked. “I thought they were all assassins and spies.”
Ember shot Riona a withering look, but Dougal stared at Ember. Now that he thought about it, she did look like an Ash legionnaire. Her dark clothing, her wiry build, her style of killing—it all added up.
“Not all of them are spies and assassins,” Dougal said. “Just the more successful ones. Iron Legion tends to attract warbands with a flair for explosives and weapons.