[b][i]Lowburg[/i][/b]

A faint smell had enveloped the room. There was a stench of some unknown, but horrifying liquid. Eliana sat with her back against the bed. Her dried, red and teary eyes stared blankly at the man on the floor. She had gently placed a pillow under his face, and closed his eyes. Her gaze hopelessly wandered to the shattered cup next to him. A single piece had stayed somewhat together, leaving a small portion of the so-called tea. But she didn’t do anything. She was numb, from top to toe. A certain feeling had overtaken her, a mixture of panic, disarray and fear. Fear of what would happen now, for one. But she was fearful, not only of the future, but also of the present. Someone had poisoned Jonius. And that someone was most likely still in the tavern. She clutched a satchel against her chest. It had belonged to him, containing letters, books, vials, maps, a set of small knives and the likes. It was valuable, and could potentially reveal the identities of a large amount of Spiritwalkers, and their last known destination. Eliana had made sure to remove all evidence, and stuff it into her own bag. She looked back down at the shattered cup. An opened notebook lay in her lap, with a finger marked on a certain name. Even though Eliana had struggled with reading it, she had managed to make out a few words. 

The young woman put the book and satchel aside, opening her own and finding an empty vial. She leaned down to the cracked teacup, and carefully lifted the one shard containing a small pool of the tea. She delicately poured it into the vial, and stuffed a small cork into it. The moment she had put the filled vial back into her satchel, her hands rushed to support her head, which simply fell straight into her palms. Eliana did her best to contain herself, taking a few heavy and shaking breaths. An ache in her stomach had hit since he fell, and she was left to herself. She had to leave him behind. She couldn’t drag a dead man through the tavern, and out throughout the city, but she had to make sure they didn’t know who he was, if they didn’t already. She hated herself for having to think so practically, but that was at least a thing he had managed to teach her. 

She carried her teacher unto the bed, laying him carefully there. The ruthless storm was still brewing outside in the dark. Suddenly, she froze. Not because of the flash outside the window, but from the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. She looked to the door, a complete panic striking into her. She grabbed her satchel, tossed it over her shoulder and tightened it. With a rushing pace she grabbed both of the staves, unsure of how she’d handle it. Though she hastily attempted to tie them to the satchel, she wasn’t used to carrying two. A harsh breeze and the sound of rain hit her, as she tore up the window. It was only a few empty lamps that lit up the streets. Eliana tossed her leg outside the window, sitting in the windowsill. She carefully placed her foot on a somewhat sturdy surface, whilst hearing the footsteps get closer. There were more now. With both her legs out, she carefully attempted the daring descend. But she froze again. Only keeping her hands in the windowsill, she peaked her head up, as the rain poured down outside. The door was slowly opened, with a creaking noise of old woodwork. A single thin metal blade entered the room first, but glowing orange with heat. She narrowed her eyes, only having seen that sight by a blacksmith, who was in the middle of forging a sword. She quickly started moving down, almost slipping on the first step. As she crawled down, she could hear the door being opened up further. The wood had gotten wet, and she struggled with keeping her hands and feet steady as she climbed. There wasn’t too long to the ground, maybe a person or two, she decided. The darkness had covered her, and the rain drowned her noise. A silhouette leaned out of the window, looking around. Eliana stopped, leaning against the tavern. The few seconds felt like an eternity. She did not hear the rain, only her pounding heart. A fearful shaking overcame her, and she struggled even more to hold on. 

The window closed, and Eliana sighed heavily. And just within a seconds notice, she slipped. She had no idea how far the fall would be, and she barely managed to even think of it, before she slammed into the ground. A shrieking pain came through her, but even then, a force caused her to struggle back to her feet. She was wet, muddy, freezing, fearful and alone. The lone girl simply started walking, with a quick pace. She was going to get away, but she didn’t know where. Unaware whether or not it was the paranoia hitting her, but she thought she saw shadows and heard footsteps everywhere. Shelter. She needed shelter. She turned away from the main street, and into a smaller one, filled with houses. Most had a single light in the window, but she managed to find one that was completely dark. She took her chance, and tried shoving open the door. It easily went up, and she carefully snuck inside, closing the door behind her.

The room was dark, but she managed to take a look around. It seemed simple enough, a makeshift home for a wealthy person, or an average home for a poor one. She quickly forgot about it, and kept her eyes to the window. She kneeled down, peaking out. When she had sat there for a few minutes, trying to keep everything in her head, she thought she spotted a single shadow moving by. She crouched down, listening to her own quickened breathing. She took a deep breath, slowly rising up. Eliana took a last glance out the window, before turning around to see a single light in front of her. A piercing chock went through her, almost causing her heart to skip a beat.  

“Who are you?” something whispered from the dark.