Chapter 132: Rune

The Next day Severus got up early as he prepared himself for his mission. Noworry saw him getting all ready but did not ask anything. He just sulked in the corner as he glared at him.

Severus felt like two holes digging on his back. Noworry was literally glaring daggers at him. Severus just turned around and picked him up while dragging him out. 

[...]

Noworry flapped his wings in resistance but Severus' hold was strong and did not allow him to slip away. In the end he just poked his beak on Severus hands but Severus continued walking as if he did not feel any pain. In the end he just gave up and cooperated.

Rascal!

Severus knocked on Desella's door but even after waiting for some time there was no response from her. He deduced that she might be sleeping so he just slipped a note under her door and left for his journey. Since it was early morning there was not much traffic on the road. Air was fresh and the crowd was near to zero. The sun had still not shown up so the streets which were empty gave a lonely feel but for Severus this was the calm that he wanted.

"Maybe I was missing the fresh air, nothing else" He tightened his robes around him as he adjusted his hat and went ahead. As he came to the intersection of the city, he saw a suspicion scene in front of him. He rubbed his eyes to see whether what he was witnessing was reality or a dream. In front of him was Maverick standing beside his rail. He was holding a map as he was deeply concentrated in it. He had no horse and guards with himself and even his disguise was top-notch. If not for spending several years with him Severus would not be able to recognize him but luckily even, he Maverick hides under hundreds of disguises he could never fool Severus. 

Severus quickly hid behind the bushes and eyed his activity. He noticed that Maverick was looking frustrated over something. It was rather rare to see him angry and frustrated so early in the morning. 

[Why are we here?]

Noworry was becoming restless with each passing second. First, Severus dragged him out with himself so early morning and now he had to cramp here in his pockets. He shushed the birds while pointing his fingers in the direction where Maverick was standing.

A frail and tingly dressed in warm clothes were standing under a lamppost in full concentration reading a rusty page. [The hell! What is he doing here so early in the morning?]

"How would I know?"

Noworry glanced at him blankly as he commented. [Do you ever know what is happening around you?]

"..."

What an insult and that too early in the morning. Well, I guess this is how my good day is going to start.

Severus ignored Nory's glare and decided to follow Maverick. Following him was better than doing investigation all by himself. At least you would know where to start instead going around in circles. Stealthily he followed him around. Well, it took him a lot of effort to remain hidden and follow Maverick's trail. Maverick was a smart guy and his paranoia made it even harder. He was slick and swift. He was hiding his trail with every passing second. Severus was curious about his behavior, but he just brushed it off. Maybe he was just overthinking.

[Or maybe he knows what potential threat he might face if he is discovered]

Noworry said out of the blue.

"What do you mean?"

[What could I possibly mean. It is just a gut feeling and all we must do is to trail that lad so follow him up. I am going to fly high for extra security and so we do not lose him. You be on the ground I will be up there] With this said he flew away.

"Aye Aye bird" 

Severus s followed him the entire time but the places he visited were all strange. It was like they were running in circles. He went from a spooky graveyard to a common woman bathing center.

Whoa~~~

Is he an idiot?

Severus felt so shameful when he was standing outside the common women's bath. His whole consciousness cursed him to death, and he felt extremely guilty of an act that he did not even commit.

For a second Severus was convinced that maybe Maverick was a perverted freak.

;-;

Later he noticed that Maverick just glanced at the building and in the next instance he pulled his eyes back to the map and went in diff direction. They both visited every weirdest palace they could.

A horse stables.

A rundown barber shop.

A daycare center.

East wing of the main palace which was forbidden.

Severus gravestone.

;-;

This may sound pitiful, but Severus didn't even flinch. He knew that Maverick was confused with all these directions. Frustration was becoming more and more evident on his face as he just crouched on the floor and made some drawing on the sand using twigs. As he drew it, he stared at it for a long time but then, he failed at it. Now he was angry, and he just kicked his feet in frustration. His kick smudged his drawing. In a fit of anger, he left the place and went back to the way of the castle. For double security Severus remained hidden for another half an hour. He only came out after Noworry perched on his shoulder. 

"Where did he go?"

[back to castle]

"It's a relief then," Severus said as he stood up and went to the palace where Maverick drew the figure but now it was nothing but a mess. From the look of it you cannot recognize anything. 

"We are screwed. I can't even tell what the original shape forgets about reading it. Was it a circle but it does have some rough edges"?

"No maybe it was square but then again the parallel lines are all of deaf length. A rhombus? Maybe trapezium or what if it's kite? Neh. Hell!" Severus cursed in vexation. 

[...]

[Brats take a chill]

"This was the only clue we could get some hints and now there is no hope. Maverick is a tough guy, and it was just fluke we managed to track him Odeon today. Do you think we can do it every day? Oh please! Don't kid me"

[ Shut up Severus] Noori bickered.

After being yelled on, Severus stopped his nuisance blabbering. He saw Noworry perching on top of his head. All though he was not okay with it, but he didn't complain and let him do what he wanted to. Nonwords iris gleamed with blue light and soon Severus Iris turned purple too. Images started forming in his consciousness.

"What is this? Is it ghosts eyes?"

[Hmmm]

"But I thought you could only see life from it. Oh no! I totally forgot about it. We could have used it earlier and I would have peaked at that map so we would not have to go through so much trouble. Welp!"

[...]

[And what do you think I was doing all along…]

"..."

[..]

"How would I know?" Severus asked innocently.

Norway was overwhelmed with regret and anger immediately but since he was performing magic right now, he needed to conserve his energy and thus he didn't bother to reply. 

Soon Severus saw things.

Things like.

Women in casinos…

Women in bars…

Seminude women.

"Whoa"

"What is this?" Severus was speechless about this pervert bird. Before he could continue scolding him further, he saw a dusty ground. First it was hazy and then it zoomed, and he could see everything clearly. He saw Maverick drawing a circular rune on the ground. The circle contained so many triangular stops. It looked like it was a different location but since they were all triangles you could not identify it. Severus drew a similar circle as Maverick drew previously using the same twig. 

"It would be definitely hard for Severus to read that map if not for Noworry. He saw the original map with colorful stickers. Since Maverick never participated in strategies, he was unaware about these secret symbols, but Severus was different. He was a person who was born to be a good strategist. He never took strategy as lightly since he was aware that his one misjudgment could cost Maverick's life. 

He smirked in amazement. "I never thought I would live to witness such a day. It seems as if you were seriously confused about direction" He stood up as he too smeared the ground and the earlier drawing vanished.

At this time Severus iris turned back to its original midnight black color whereas Noworry' siris stopped gleaming.

[Did you find out anything?]

"I might have found more than we could have"

[What do you mean?]

Severus stretched his arms and yawned while putting his hand in front of his mouth. "I know where we should head too but I am afraid it won't do us any good if we go there"

[huh?]

"I mean to say that before heading out for that place we need to meet someone and that someone is only free in the evening. We might get nothing even if we go there now so why should we water our energy. Let us head back and sleep for a bit"

[...]

[ I surely did not come here so early in the morning to waste our time like this way]

Severus was flabbergasted by Noworry's complains.

"Aren't you a bird? You should be the one who loves to wake up early"