Chapter 7: Midnight hunt
The moon was partially hidden behind a bank of clouds as Kaedros slipped out the window. Kaelith had sent clothes to his room earlier, and he was now dressed in a fitted black tunic and trousers.
Night in Solmere was cold and quiet, with only scattered pockets of light glowing from within homes. Laughter occasionally pierced the silence, drunken voices echoing through the dark.
Kaedros wasted no time. He swung up and climbed swiftly, soon finding himself on the roof. He paused, listening. The inn was silent.
With light, practiced steps, he sprinted across the brick rooftops, leaping from one to the next as he made his way toward the heart of town.
Walking openly through the streets would have been foolish. Not because he was afraid, just cautious. He didn’t want anything traced back to him.
"Seems I’m not the only one doing nightly roof runs," Kaedros muttered as he caught sight of a group dressed in black, running across rooftops in the distance.
Before long, he reached the town center and dropped down to the street below. Looming before him was the massive stone structure of the Celestial Order.
Kaedros twisted his mouth, his eyes flashing gold like a beast’s in the dark. "This was where I last saw that bastard."
He sniffed the air and immediately regretted it. The atmosphere was thick with the stench of chemicals, blood, and rot. He gagged slightly.
They’re not playing around in there.
He caught something else. His eyes narrowed. "Yes... that’s Vann’s scent right there."
He followed it.