A meagre light pushed back against the dark as Silas lit a match, the small flame blossomed as Silas used the match to light a candle, which he then placed in the middle of the table.
"It's not a luminous Soul Arm, but you can never go wrong with a candle."
The candlelight danced across the tent as Leander tilted his head, he asked:
"Slip across? Your plan for us to infiltrate the Goddess Kingdom is to just walk across?"
Silas tilted his head – the act almost in imitation of Leander.
"Yes, that was my lady's plan. You'll pass through the no-man's-land under the cover of darkness and continue into the kingdom, where you will meet up with a member of the Undead Council who will relay your next steps, and with a little bit of luck, you will be able to do this without the Goddess noticing."
Looking down at Narina – whose head Leander was still holding at arm's reach to keep her away from him – Leander sadly sighed.
"Sneaking… Sure, we can do that."
"That's good to hear, but before you get moving. Narina was it? A couple of days ago, Ravenmother left these here. I was confused at first as to why she gave me these, but now I understand. Leander's armour will be fine; he can pass himself off as a Hunter, but the furs you wear are a little too suspicious."
Opening a box behind him, Silas pulled out a bundle of clothes and placed them on the table.
Giving up on trying to grab Leander, Narina eyed the bundle of clothes. Crouching in front of the table, she poked the bundle a few times as if she was waiting for it to suddenly move. Pointing at the clothes, Narina turned to Leander.
"What is it?"
"Clothes, Narina. Your furs will stand out too much when we're with humans, so you need to put these clothes on."
Narina gasped at Leander's words as if he had just sworn at her. Hugging herself, she stepped away from the table.
"Why! I love my furs, they were a gift from my uncle!"
Shaking his head, Leander picked the clothes off the table, holding them out to Narina. Unlike how Leander usually acted towards Narina, his tone was calm, peaceful, almost soft.
"I get it, Narina, but you still need to change. Your furs – they are a Soul Arm, right? You can dismiss them and summon them again. It is not like you will lose them. Can you just wear these clothes until we're away from the humans?"
Pouting, Narina took the bundle of clothes from Leander and looked away.
"Fine, but I'm not changing in here with you both watching. Both of you get out!"
Without argument, Leander and Silas exited the tent. Standing with their backs to the entrance, Leander took in the tents around them.
Lanterns suspended from wooden posts pushed the darkness farther back to the edges of the camp. Undead mingled with each other, some sat around boxes playing with a deck of crumpled cards, others chatted by campfires, and some stood facing the no-man's-land, their backs to the light. These undead looked like statues. Motionlessly gazing across the no-man's-land at the Goddess' Kingdom. Where the Undead Kingdom's camps were lit by candlelight, despite the distance, Leander could see orbs of light floating above the tents, casting light down on the white figures.
The sight caused Leander some concern.
'How are we supposed to sneak under the night when it still looks like it is day over there?'
As Leander's hand brushed past his satchel, he remembered the letter Ilia had given him. Opening his satchel, Leander pulled out the letter and offered it to Silas.
"Ilia gave me this to give to you."
Hearing this, Silas' vacant skeletal face showed no emotion. The only emotion showing was that his jaw silently widened slightly. Silas' hand shot forward, swiping the letter out of Leander's hand. Turning his back to Leander, Silas opened the letter.
Leander watched with a face that was closest to awe as Silas' serious demeanour seemingly crumbled at the mention of Ilia's letter.
After a minute, Silas gently folded the letter back, turning to Leander – he cleared his throat.
"Ah, thank you, Leander. I- I appreciate you bringing this letter, it is very important to me."
Tilting his head, Leander would ask:
"Important? Are there some special plans that Ilia wanted to relay to you? I still don't understand why Ravenmother couldn't deliver the letter when she dropped off the clothes for Narina."
Delicately holding the letter between his fingers as if it was about to shatter – Silas cleared his throat a few more times before responding. The action confused Leander even more.
"The letter, it isn't exactly important tactically. It's more a personal favour you've done for us."
"Is that so?"
Looking away, Leander watched the undead around them. A few undead looked their way, whenever Leander's eyes fell on them, the undead quickly averted their gaze. Their whispers were not quite loud enough to reach Leander's ears.
Noticing this, Silas said:
"Don't mind them, they just can't believe their eyes. If I am honest, I didn't believe the news either. Ravenmother had to repeat it a dozen times before it settled in my mind that she had actually succeeded."
Eyeing Silas, Leander asked:
"She succeeded?"
"Of course, when Melaine succeeded in resurrecting you. I still remember when Melaine first brought me back, the Undead Kingdom was in its infancy. Melaine only had three loyal followers at the time."
Leander's gaze narrowed as Silas mentioned Melaine and the Undead Kingdom's past – the two were very much intertwined, as without Melaine, there was no Undead Kingdom.
Leander was especially interested in a certain piece of information.
"Three followers? I imagine Ravenmother is counted amongst her first few followers."
Silas shook his head.
"No, actually, Ravenmother didn't join the Undead Kingdom until much later. Her first two followers were a pair of Paladins originally belonging to the Goddess Kingdom, who were struck down. Merritt was the third, and I was the fourth to join the Undead Council."
Raising an eyebrow, Leander would ask:
"I know Merritt, but two Paladins? I have not met them yet. Where are they located?"
His fingers gently rubbed against the letter in his hand as Silas looked up into the night sky.
"The Paladins became Melaine's personal guard. Wherever she travels, they are always with her, never a step behind and always ready to protect their queen."
Leander's head tilted slightly to the side.
"Is that so. How come I've never seen them? Are they hiding in the shadows or something?"
A dry chuckle escaped Silas' bony lips.
"Something like that."
Leander and Silas' attention was taken away from their surroundings as the tent behind them rustled. Stepping out of the tent, Narina pulled at the neck of her new outfit.
Narina, her dark skin complemented by her long, wild purple hair, wore a simple, form-fitting pink top and dark brown pants. A wide leather belt with a large a large, square brass buckle sat loosely wrapped around her waist – it seemed Narina didn't know how to properly wear a belt as it sat over the top of her pants, missing every single belt loop. An excess strap hung loosely to one side.
Both of Narina's arms were wrapped in sleek leather gloves that ended at her elbows, the material snug against her toned skin. The dark fabric contrasted with her complexion, a compliment to the subtle strength Narina's small body hid. One hand resting firmly on her hip, meanwhile, her other hand tugged at her collar in irritation.
"Ugh, I don't like how restricting this is."
Pulling on the high neckline of the pink top one more time, Narina sighed. Spinning around, she ruffled her wild purple hair.
"So! How do I look!"
Leander stared at Silas, who didn't return his gaze.
"This is subtle?"
Feeling Leander's gaze on him, Silas continued to watch Narina.
"Ravenmother said Melaine picked this out especially for Narina."
Rubbing his face, Leander groaned.
"Of course she did."