“So, it’s west then,” Kre muttered. He glared at his companion for a moment, wanting desperately to accuse her of orchestrating this exact sequence of events, but also knowing that there was no possible way she could ensure all of the pieces to fall into place so perfectly. Then again… there was something about her manner in accepting all of this as natural that made him suspicious that there was more to it than he knew.
“West is… not ideal.”
That surprised him a bit. He was certain that she was going to have them go west, towards her homeland. “Southwest then?” he asked, hoping that he might still be right about her.
“No,” she said after a moment of thought. “Northwest, I think. I will take you back home though I would advise against you staying there for more than a night. I am certain that there are Rangers there as well. Get your friends to help you start a new life under a new name in a neighboring town. Marry your sweetheart even and raise little Kre-lings and never speak of these events to another living soul lest the Rangers track you down.”
She said it as casually as if she were advising him to change his clothes. It was a bit unnerving actually. ‘Who thinks like that?’ he thought to himself.
“Let me scout the area real fast,” Kitalia whispered to him. She didn’t wait for a response before she melted through the bushes.
It was about two minutes before she slid back into their little hiding place. “There are a pair of Rangers just over there.” She pointed in the general direction of blackness and Kre simply nodded in response.
“Follow me closely and we will circle around them and head back to your village. Then we can part ways and you shall be rid of me.”
She started to scramble back out the way she had come in, slower this time so as to give Kre a chance to follow her as directed without losing sight of her.
About thirty seconds later, she scooted back in and gave him a stern look. “Why are you not following me?”
“I can’t,” Kre responded.
“As in, you are unable to move?” A slight look of concern crossed her face but was soon replaced with annoyance.
“As in,” Kre replied, “I can’t go back.”
She pursed her lips and a low growl rumbled in her throat. “This is not the time to discuss this. Just follow me and we can discuss this somewhere that is not here.”
“I can’t do anything that takes me away from the Citadel,” Kre said with a low sigh. “I made a promise.”
Kitalia was quiet for a bit and Kre could hear her audibly taking in some deep, calming breaths.
“You… promised? Of all the dumb…” she trailed off, still shaking her head and muttering obscenities under her breath.