**Chapter 12: "Kael's Secret"**

Another tree branch cracked under my boot. It was just a small noise but it felt like a thunderclap in the heavy silence that had settled between Lyra and me. We’d been stumbling through the forest for what felt like hours, the clue Gareth had left behind a heavy weight in my cloak pocket, and Gareth’s sacrifice even heavier on my soul.

"So," Lyra finally said, her voice tight. "Now what, hero? Another temple run? Another dead friend?"

I winced. I deserved that. "We follow the clue," I said, perhaps too firmly.

"Follow blindly?" she shot back, stopping in her tracks. Her eyes, usually bright with curiosity, were shadowed and hard. "That's how Gareth ended up dead. He followed *our* lead. For you."

My hand tightened on the hilt of my dagger. "He knew the risks."

"Did he?" Lyra scoffed. "Or did his 'honor' blind him? He trusted us, Elias. And now he's another name on the list. Kael...and so many others."

She was right. Gods, she was right. The guilt was a physical thing, a knot in my stomach that threatened to choke me. Maybe she was right, too, about calling me "hero". If this was what being a hero looked like, I wanted no part of it. More like bringing doom to everyone who dares come close. "Then what do *you* suggest?" I asked, trying to keep the bitterness from my voice.

"I..." She hesitated, her shoulders slumping. "I don't know. But running headfirst into another trap isn't it. We need to think. Plan."

The mention of the word snapped me out of my guilt tirade. How can I plan, again, when the day of my demise is closer to each passing moment?

Lyra was right, I knew it in my bones. But the thought of slowing down, of *thinking*, felt agonizing. Time was a luxury I couldn't afford, with my demonic death day nearing. Every minute spent planning was a minute closer to Azazel's grasp.

"Fine," I said, trying to sound reasonable. "We find a safer place to talk. Somewhere dry, at least." The forest was damp and close, the air thick with the scent of pine and decay. It wasn't helping my mood.

"There's a small cave a few miles east," Lyra said, pulling a map from her bag. She pointed to a spot marked with a charcoal sketch of a bat. "Old smuggler's hideout. Should be relatively secure."

"Lead the way," I said, and she did, her steps were purposeful, her expression were resolute. And for a moment, a flicker of hope sparked within me. Maybe, just maybe, this wasn't a lost cause. Maybe, with Lyra by my side, we could actually salvage something from this mess. Or maybe, if I am to trust her, I still would bring death. Only time would tell.

The smuggler's cave turned out to be exactly as described: damp, dimly lit, and smelling faintly of mildew and desperation. Still, it was dry, and a hell of a lot better than being exposed out in the forest. Lyra cast a quick warding spell at the entrance – a habit, she explained, from her years spent uncovering shady dealing – while I started a small fire, its flickering light chasing away some of the shadows.

"Right," I said, settling down near the flames. "Let's see what Gareth left us."

I pulled the scrap of parchment from my pocket. It was folded several times, and the edges were frayed and stained with dirt and blood. Gods, Gareth... my stomach twisted at the thought of him, felled due to my own self-pity.

I smoothed the parchment out on a flat rock. It was covered in a series of seemingly random numbers and letters scrawled in Gareth's distinctive, precise handwriting. "Any idea what this means?" I asked Lyra.

She leaned closer, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Looks like a code of sorts. Probably something he used back in his guard days."

I ran a hand through my hair, frustrated. "Great. Another puzzle. Just what I needed." My gaze drifted to the fire, the dancing flames painting grotesque shapes on the cave walls.

"Hey," Lyra said softly. "Don't do that. Don't shut down on me now."

I glanced at her, surprised by the concern in her voice. "It's just..." I trailed off, unable to articulate the swirling mess of emotions inside me. Guilt, grief, fear… and a growing sense of hopelessness. It was as if Kael's betrayal, Azazel's countdown, and everything else that had happened in the past few weeks had finally coalesced into an overwhelming wave of despair.

Suddenly, the images of Kael laughing, being silly, and more flashed on my eyes, taking me out of consciousness. I winced at the thought. I saw Kael's face, contorted in a mask of pain and betrayal, just before his eyes closed by the spell I had commanded Azazel.

I shoved the image away, but it lingered, a persistent reminder of my own culpability. Was any of this worth it? Was avenging Kael's betrayal worth the price I was paying? Worth the lives of everyone caught in the crossfire? So much death, for what, self-pity and a desperate end?

"Elias?" Lyra's voice cut through my thoughts. "You okay?"

I shook my head, trying to clear the fog in my mind. "I… I need some air," I mumbled, pushing myself to my feet. "Just… give me a minute."

I stumbled towards the cave entrance, gasping for breath. The cool night air filled my lungs, momentarily clearing my head. I closed my eyes, focusing on the sounds of the forest: the rustling of leaves, the hooting of an owl, the distant howl of a wolf. Gods... wolf also meant a mark, and a mark means I'm closer to death each time.

When I felt somewhat calmer, I turned back to Lyra. "Sorry," I said, my voice hoarse. "I… I can't focus right now. Maybe you should take a look at the code. You're better at this stuff anyway." It was honest. She was, and I didn't think that it could be done by myself on my own. No, I had to rely on everyone else to succeed.

Lyra took the parchment, her expression thoughtful. She studied it for a long moment, her lips moving silently as she worked. I watched her, fidgeting nervously, trying to quell the rising tide of anxiety within me. Time keeps ticking while I am here...

"I think I've got something," she said finally, her voice excited. "It's a transposition cipher. Gareth used his old route maps as a key. I think I can do this, but it will take a while"

Hours passed which felt like ages, and the cave was really unconfortable. Lyra, was actually the only one who was bothered to maintain the fire going, while I was almost sleeping around trying to figure out the mess in my head. Every time, I had more questions than answers. More doubts than reassurances.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Lyra let out a gasp. "Got it!" she exclaimed, holding up the parchment. "It's not just numbers. It's a meeting point and a password. And a Letter."

"A meeting point? Where?" I asked, my heart pounding.

"A small cottage, near the old ruins of Windwatch Tower," she said. "And the password is... 'The raven knows.'"

"Windwatch Tower..." I repeated, racking my brain. "It's in not so far away from where we are. Pretty normal spot out of this mess that we are in."

"There's something else," Lyra said, her voice low. "A letter. It's too faded, and probably old, so it can't be read easily. But it's there."

We packed up quickly, extinguishing the fire and leaving the smuggler's cave behind. The moon was high in the sky, casting long, eerie shadows across the forest floor as we made our way towards Windwatch Tower.

The cottage turned out to be a dilapidated, overgrown mess, barely visible beneath a tangle of ivy and weeds. It looked deserted, abandoned years ago.

"This is it?" I asked, my voice skeptical. It seemed unlikely that Gareth would lead us to such a desolate place.

"The map doesn't lie," Lyra said, pushing open the creaking wooden door. "Password?"

I hesitated, then took a deep breath. "'The raven knows'," I said.

The door swung inward, revealing a dark, musty interior. The air was thick with the scent of decay and forgotten memories. We stepped inside cautiously, our hands on our weapons.

The cottage was small, consisting of a single room filled with dusty furniture and cobweb-draped objects. A rickety table stood in the center of the room, and a scattering of papers lay scattered across its surface.

We searched the cottage thoroughly, but found nothing of immediate interest. There was no sign of Kael, no hidden messages, no clues to the secret society's plans. Deception once again.

"This is a dead end," I said, my voice laced with frustration. "Gareth led us on a wild goose chase."

"Not so fast," Lyra said, her eyes scanning the room. "There's something odd about this place. The energy feels… wrong."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Like it's been tampered with," she said. "Magically altered. I think there's more here than meets the eye."

She ran her hand along the wall, her fingers tracing the patterns in the wallpaper. Suddenly, she stopped, her eyes widening. "Here," she said, pointing to a seemingly blank section of the wall. "There's a faint impression here. Like something was once attached to it."

She pressed her hand against the wall, muttering a few words under her breath, and the wallpaper shimmered, revealing a hidden recess. Inside, nestled on a bed of faded velvet, was a small, wooden box.

Lyra opened the box carefully, revealing a single, folded piece of parchment. "The letter," she said, her voice hushed.

She opened the parchment and read it. After so many years, it was almost impossible to read normally.

Suddenly, she understands. She looks at me, with a confused expression.

"Elias... this isn't any normal letter. It's one of my clan's ways of comunication. I was always more keen of the magic itself, but this..."

Lyra looked around the room and gave another expression.

She started walking around the room, mumbling her words once again. "There is a letter of sorts on almost all the furniture. Gareth knew he was dying... but he entrusted us everything."

I just stood there, flabbergasted.

Lyra spent the next hour meticulously examining Furniture. Tracing patterns in the wood, feeling for hidden indentations, murmuring incantations under her breath. I, on the other hand, just watched in awe. She truly had an understanding of magic like never before, and everything she stated made sense. I just wanted to not think even more and allow her to finish.

I barely heard that her voice increased "Found! It seems that all of it matters. Wow, wow. He really knew what to do." She walked to me, with more excitement in her tone. The one that I feel everytime too close to death.

"There are hidden sentences scattered throughout those pages," Lyra said, her eyes gleaming with excitement. "When pieced together in the correct order, they reveal a message."

"A message from Kael?" I asked, my heart pounding faster.

"From Kael," yes she confirmed. "But it's not just a message. It's… a confession."

She took a deep breath, then began to read. Her voice was low and steady, but I could hear the tremor of emotion beneath the surface.

"'Elias,' the letter began, 'if you are reading this, then I am likely dead. By your hand, perhaps, or by the hand of others. But know this: my betrayal was not born of malice, but of desperation.'"

Lyra paused, her voice catching in her throat. "He goes on to explain that… that the secret society kidnapped his sister, Keala."

I felt as if all the blood in the bodies was draining from me. "Keala? I thought she was dead?"

"Apparently not," Lyra said. "They threatened to kill her if he didn't cooperate with them," she continued. "They told him to get closer with you, and find out more details of what exactly you did. Even though, by the time he was asked to betray you, his sister was already dead."

"Gods," I murmured, sinking down into the chair. "All this time…"

Lyra continued reading "They forced him to spy on you, to steal information about Soul Weaving, and to ultimately betray you to the authorities. He hated every moment of it, but he did it to save his sister."

"And it didn't even matter?" I asked, my voice hollow.

"He didn't know that. He thought he was saving her," Lyra said gently. "That's why he did it"

I stared up at the ceiling, my mind reeling. Everything I thought I knew, everything I believed, was turning the other way around on its head. All of my preconceived thoughts and the path that I was following... a whole damn nothing. A whole excuse. Kael hadn't betrayed me out of spite or greed. He had been forced. He had acted out of love for his sister. All of the people that died for my cause, went for nothing.

"There's more," Lyra said, her voice breaking through my despair. "He knew he was walking a dangerous path. He knew he might not survive. So he left this message, hoping that you would find it, hoping that you would understand."

She took another deep breath, then read the final lines of the letter. "'Elias, I do not ask for your forgiveness. I only ask that you find Keala. Protect her. She is innocent in all of this. And if you can, uncover the truth about the secret society. Expose their crimes. Bring them to justice. Do it for me. Do it for Keala. Do it for yourself.'"

Lyra finished reading, and the cottage was silent. I sat there, numb, trying to process the revelation. Kael hadn't been my enemy. He had been a victim, just like me. And now, it was my responsibility to honor his memory, to save his sister, and to bring the secret society to justice of the Gods.

A new wave of determination washed through me, pushing back the despair and guilt. This wasn't just about avenging Kael anymore. It was about protecting the innocent. It was about uncovering the truth. It was about doing what was right.

Lyra placed a hand on my shoulder. "What do we do now?" she asked softly.

I straightened my body where I was sitting stood up and looked at her, my eyes blazing with newfound purpose. "We find Keala," I said. "And we make those bastards pay."

"Okay," Lyra said, her voice businesslike. "First things first, we need to find Keala. Do we have any idea where she might be?"

She was right. I nodded and said, "I can't just keep all of this as simple as to where she is."

"If we cross our paths with Solas, great, but we should continue until this point forward.

"Kael might have left a clue somewhere," I offered, racking my brain. "He was always good at hiding things."

We spent the next hour searching the cottage again, this time with a renewed sense of purpose. It was like night and day to compare to seeing her again. We checked every nook and cranny, every drawer and cubbyhole, every loose floorboard and crumbling wall.

Finally, Lyra found something. "Here," she said, pointing to a small, almost invisible scratch on the underside of the table. "It's a symbol. A bird... a falcon."

I recognized the symbol immediately. "It's the mark of the Falconers," I said. "A smuggling gang that operates in the Blackwood Forest. Kael used to deal with them sometimes, gathering information."

"Then that's our lead," Lyra said. "We need to find the Falconers. They might know where Keala is being held."

"It's risky," I said. "The Falconers are a dangerous bunch. They're not afraid to get their hands dirty."

"We don't have a choice," Lyra said firmly. "Keala's life is on the line. And if what Kael said is true, then the kingdom's at risk, too."

She was right. I knew it in my bones. We couldn't afford to hesitate. We had to act, and we had to act now.

"Alright," I said, steeling myself. "We go to the Blackwood Forest. We find the Falconers. And we find Keala."

Lyra nodded, her expression resolute. "But we do it my way and with a new plan" There was fire in her eyes that was going to erupt any moment. "This isn't your revenge story anymore, it's about saving Keala, and I'm not going to let your obsession with a self-inflicted 'revenge' distract you any further!" she added.

I saw a reflection of myself when I ordered the death of Kael, and immediately felt a wave of dizziness again. It really had to stop, maybe she was seeing the bad in what I had said that way.

For a moment, I felt a surge of anger. She was right, but that didn't make it any easier to hear it. And I hated when people were right these days. "You think," I almost raised my voice without knowing, but it didn't continue. "But..." After some seconds, i was able to continue. "You're right"

She scoffed. "You're welcome, now, let's move foward."

"But what about this mark?," I enquired.

"We put it on a shelf for the time being, we cannot go there with nothing. It will be a burden."

I closed my eyes, and thought. And I thought again. "You think that your revenge cannot come on the way of things. How about I give it back at you?," I said, almost whispering.

Lyra, was taken aback. "We save the girl, we make the Falconners side with us and get money to get geared up. It will be the best of both worlds, and we set our differences to the trash. But, on one thing you WILL have to agree to me: we leave our grudges aside, and help the Falconners with whatever is needed"

"They are thieves and smugglers, that is the best that we can be dealing with!", she bursted. "What else do you suggest then, genius?"

Lyra was with her thoughs now. She understood that I had a plan, and this plan could save the day. Even if there can be other choices to decide from, this will get the job done. She also understood what I meant. She closed and opened her eyes.

"Alright, so you're proposing we take and help a smuggling group. Sounds very much like someone who sold his soul to a demon," she sarcastically added. "And you seem to be the hero, that gets killed in the end"

"Fine! It will be my fault for the end result!. I still do not like this, but this is our job. So no, more arguments about that, deal?," I said.

Lyra looks with anger but accepts the deal. Then she smirks. This will be interesting.

Lyra added: "Ok, if we die because of you. I'm killing you first. And then dealing with Azazel. This is my condition."

"Deal," I replied. And I started laughing. "This, will be interesting"

We turned toward the path to the forest, to continue our travel. And there, with no more time to lose, started another step in that hell which felt more and more like my reality. It was just starting.