A Hand-Woven Universe 168 167. A Sudden Farewell

However, there was no twang of bowstrings or whoosh of air. Instead it was just the heavy steps of a lone figure.

Everyone was tense as they waited for the person to turn the corner, so they could see if it was friend or foe. The men holding their shields all looked at each other – sharing their question with a glance. Sarah watched from behind the first row of shields, quietly hoping that Noone and Tobias would turn the corner any second now and relieve her of her worries.

"Tobias is a level 10 paladin… he won't go down that easy… and neither would Noone." She reminded herself, biting her lip.

Suddenly a limping figure appeared around the corner, blood draining from a badly wounded arm. A worried frown appeared on Sarah's mouth.

"Johny!" A soldier called out, rushing from the front line to support the stumbling form of his comrade.

Sarah was quick to hide it, but a flash of disappointment crossed her expression.

The soldiers immediately rushed to bring their brother to the backlines for medical attention – the tense atmosphere that had built on the front line quickly eased. The murmur of soldiers started to build again. They continued to wait for their officers to give orders.

Sarah turned her back to the city, a resonant sigh releasing from her chest. "Tobias... Noone..." She thought.

"Stop! Identify yourself!" Suddenly, a rogue shout from the front lines caught everyone's attention.

Sarah's shoulders immediately perked up and she spun on her heel to look out into the alley. The same alley the wounded soldier had come down moments before.

A large hulking hardly-human figure had appeared at the end of the alley, cast in silhouette which made him difficult to see.

It looked like a person – but huge, with oddly large shoulders. The sound of a something being dragged on the stone floor behind him rang in the ears of all soldiers present. No one knew what to make of it.

As the being walked forward, his steps were soft despite his large mass. Slowly his body became completely illuminated as he stepped from the alley.

In this moment the entire front-line in view of the scene fell silent except for a few gasps which escaped the mouths of the younger soldiers. Eyes went wide and no one knew what to say. Even Sarah, who immediately recognized the figure, couldn't help but have all the words in her chest become caught in her throat. Her eyes were as wide as saucers, almost as though trying to absorb the whole image in front of her.

Walking slowly towards them was a dark being which stood like a statue with stone flesh. On his shoulders: an equally large human could be seen, white armor and hair stained red in blood, large gashes having been torn from his body.

When he moved everyone saw the large corpse of a beheaded drider was being dragged in one hand by its hind leg, a deep trail of blood pooled behind it like a river. No one was sure whose blood made the majority of the trail.

No one present was able to refrain from blanching a bit at the sight. Those who had seen driders before felt their blood rush to their heads, and those who had only heard of these creatures looked on eyes wide in disbelief.

"Tobias!" Suddenly, everyone froze in place as Sarah rushed out from the mass of soldiers. She had finally managed to speak, but her brain had become fogged and confused. The image of Noone carrying Tobias's bleeding form roared through her mind.

When Noone saw Sarah, he couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief. He could trust Sarah to get Tobias's body back home.

Noone knelt down in front of the mass of soldiers and laid Tobias's body gently onto the stone in front of them. Sarah quickly fell to her knees next to Noone - not even waiting for Noone to talk - she immediately cast the strongest healing miracle she knew only to watch it fizzle out over his body. She tried another. And then another. Her breathing and eyes becoming frantic.

Noone didn't try to stop her.

Sarah, in a moment of panic, called out for a healer to be brought to the front lines. Her eyes searching through the soldiers erratically, hoping for anyone who might be able to help. Eventually her eyes came to rest on Noone, who was still kneeling next to the body with her. However, when she looked into Noone's eye, a shiver ran through her.

Not unlike the Noone she was used to, his eyes were steady and calm. But as she looked into them, they felt incredibly cool in that moment.

For a moment, Sarah felt like she had been caught unprepared in a blizzard. Her skin crawled.

Despite this, she glanced down at Tobias and back to Noone.

"Is there anything…?" Tears began to form in Sarah's ocean-blue eyes. She had travelled with Tobias for years now. Learned from him. Fought next to him. While not a father to her like Jakobson back in her home temple, there was several years of bonding they had. And… he had never shunned her when she became a vengeance paladin.

Noone looked at Sarah calmly, he could understand what she was feeling, and yet he didn't know what to say. He knew he would be leaving soon, and that Sarah and the rest of the party would be left to deal with Tobias's body. He felt bad, truly. But all he could do was shake his head.
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"What happened Noone? How did he die? How did you end up like this?" Sarah asked, straining to keep her voice even.

"We fell down one of the traps. Tobias was badly injured. After that we ended up having to fight… that." He pointed towards the massive drider corpse which laid behind him. Its headless body almost being completely ignored by Sarah who was only concerned with Tobias.

Suddenly, the familiar voice of Alaviv appeared in Noone's mind again. This time there was a sense of urgency in his voice. "Alright, Noone. I know you are having a moment, but you need to get here. Quickly."

Noone nodded his head, standing over the kneeling Sarah and the corpse of the man who had protected him.

As if realizing what Noone was thinking, Sarah stared up at him, her eyes turning hard as she watched Noone prepare to leave. She wanted to say something, anything. But her words failed her. She could only kneel there and watch Noone leave.

"Are you going to leave the drider? That's good material." Alaviv's voice said. "And grab Tobias's axe too. Don't worry don't worry… you can return it later. But with your injuries you're going to need it."

Noone paused for a moment, his eyebrows scrunching up slightly. Was he really going to take Tobias's axe with him? After considering it for a moment, he decided to just trust Al on this. And without thinking more of it, Noone picked up Tobias's axe in one hand, and the drider's leg in the other – pulling it behind him as he left down the same alley he came from.

Sarah remained kneeling over Tobias, watching Noone's tall form leaving like a desolate statue. Noone turned around at the last moment to give one last look at Sarah. He didn't know if he would ever see her again.

The last look in Noone's eyes struck Sarah, although she wasn't able to explain why.

Chapter end