22 Omen Tongues

Despite his trepidation, Elhorn did not dare refute Vadis order. Meanwhile, Lumvug could not wait to spill all he knew.

"Elhorn, you can start," Arilya said after throwing him a casual glance.

"Yes, High-One. The owner of the scarf is my adopted brother, Hariel," Elhorn said.

Captain Vadis brows furrowed a little after Elhorn's declaration. Before, Elhorn could continue his statement, Arilya motioned for him to stop.

"Captain Vadis, is there a problem?" Arilya asked while staring at him with a probing gaze. However, Vadis had his eyes focused on Elhorn.

With a faint smile on his face, he retorted, "Captain Arilya, I'm good. Will you give me permission to ask the questions? I don't want to interrogate your subordinates on my volition."

Vadis still had his eyes focused on Elhorn and Lumvug. Although he had a faint smile on his face, his eyes had an undescribable gleam in it.

"Okay. You can ask them whatever you want. But you must do here it," Arilya said.

"Of course. That's not a problem," Vadis said as he flashed an amiable smile towards Arilya. Before turning his head towards Elhorn, "What happened to the parents of your adopted brother? How did they die, and what was their position in your tribe?" Vadis asked.

"High-One, Hariel's parents served under the scouting unit of our Parf, and they both held the position of squad leader. Unfortunately, they died while rescuing the victims of the Harew fire which razed the Harew settlement. We never found their bodies," Elhorn said. His hands were curled into a fist as recounted the events leading to the demise of Hariel's parents.

"You, is this accurate?" Vadis said as he stared at Lumvug.

"Yes, High-One," Lumvug hurriedly said. Which made Vadis place his hand on his chin as if he was in deep thought.

"Okay. Why was he banished from the tribe?" Vadis asked.

At this point, Elhorn involuntarily closed his eyes while sighing like a dejected man.

"High-One, Hariel committed the crime of blasphemy against the image of our ancestor. He also tried to convince the younger Elves to abandon the teachings of the High-Ones. He targeted talented but unknown members of the Parfs. Being a squad leader himself, he could lead them to their meeting place under the guise of training. Unknown to us, he had recruited over fifty percent of the Parfs. They planned on forming a movement that would liberate other Elf settlements. He allowed anyone to join their cause, as long as they stood against the rules of the High-Ones. The night they planned on liberating a settlement, one of his followers who had seen the error of their ways confessed to Elder Lumvug. Unfortunately, we could not stop them before they left the settlement. We rallied the remaining members of the Parfs and gave chase. But since they had a five-hour head start, we lagged behind," Elhorn paused at this point. Because, his voice became incoherent.

However, Vadis waited patiently for him to continue. Although Lumvug was eager to continue from where Elhorn paused, he refrained from doing so. Arilya's strict warning still echoed in his mind.

"Forgive me, High-One. When we caught up with them, we saw a scene we'll never forget for the rest of our lives. A few meters before the Varhir settlement, we found hundreds of corpses littered on the ground. They all died from a dagger wound. We feared the worst when we saw the corpses, but none of them belonged to our Parfs. However, it only made us more anxious. When we got to the Varhir settlement, we saw the same scene. But this time, it was the corpses of our brothers and sisters littering the ground. Words cannot describe how we felt that day. After gathering the corpses, we couldn't find Hariel's. Before we could search for him, a survivor stumbled out from the surrounding forest. He kept on muttering the same words over and over…" before Elhorn could finish his statement, Vadis interrupted him. "Whatdid he say?" Vadis asked.

"High-One, he said, Kill him… please kill him. Hariel... betrayed us. I'm…" Elhorn said.

"So, what happened after? Did you find him? From the look on your face you did not go after him, right?" Vadis said as he motioned for Lumvug to answer.

"Yes, High-One. Elhorn, convinced us that our best course of action was to return to the settlement. We did not know if Hariel would decimate of settlement like Varhir. That same night, we expunged his name from our records, and banished him from our tribe. We also sent a report to the High-Ones in the Capital. Since that day we never saw him again, that is until he returned to the settlement three weeks ago," Lumvug said.

"Elhorn, you are the one who reported your brother, right?" Vadis suddenly said. At that moment, Arilya's brows furrowed a little while Elhorn's body shuddered involuntarily.

"No need to answer. I already know the answer, but what I don't understand is how Hariel turned into a heretic. Elhorn, what have you not told me?" Vadis said as he stared at Elhorn with a stern expression on his usually amicable face.

Meanwhile, Arilya also stared at Elhorn. She also wanted to know what made Hariel turned Hariel into a heretic. Although she asked him the same question a few weeks ago, but she could decipher nothing from Elhorn's answer. She hoped Vadis would unravel the mystery. Just like he guessed Elhorn was the betrayer. Unlike him, she interrogated Lumvug before she got the information.

"High-One, I don't know where Hariel got his heretical views from," Elhorn said with his head lowered. His words and reaction made Vadis's face become sterner.

"Did he hangout with any foreigners?" Vadis asked.

"No, High-One. After the death of his parents, Hariel became introverted. Spending most of his time in the house. Apart from me and my parents, he hardly spoke with anyone," Elhorn said.

Meanwhile, Vadis turned his gaze towards Lumvug, as if asking for confirmation on Elhorn's words.

Which made Lumvug nod his head like a lizard, confirming Elhorn's statement.

At that moment, the room fell into silence, and Vadis assumed a pensive demeanor. A few minutes later, he stared at Elhorn with an undescribable gleam in his eyes as he said, "You said Hariel's parents were scouts, right?"

Elhorn nodded his head in confirmation, "Good. Around the time his parents died, did Hariel read a lot?" Vadis asked.

"Yes, High-One. Read the murals, scrolls, books available in our tribe. At least those accessible to him," Elhorn said with a puzzled look on his face. He wondered why Vadis asked that question. Arilya had the same thought in mind, but she had an idea where Vadis was going with his line of question.

"No… no, that's not what I'm asking. Did he read books left behind by his parents? Most scouts are fond of leaving behind journals of their travels. Did you ever see him reading his parents journals in private?" Vadis asked.

At this point, they all knew what meant.

"High-One, Hariel read the journals of his parents, but so did all the Elders and other members of the Parf. They did not keep private journals, too. When they died, we handed all their possessions over to Hariel, and it did not include a personal Journal. I can still remember that day," Lumvug said.

However, Vadis focused his attention on Elhorn who looked as if he remembered something.

"Elhorn, what about you? Did you see him with a personal Journal?" Vadis asked.

With an uncertain expression on his face, Elhorn retorted while shaking his head, "High-One, I did not see him with a personal Journal. But, Hariel had his own Journal."

Vadis's face lit up as he heard Elhorn's words, "What was written in it? Hurry, tell me," Vadis said.

"High-One, I honestly don't know. In fact, I bought the journal for him. But, he always took it with him whenever he read his parents journals. After reading, he would jot down gibberish in his journals. He did this until he read all his parents journals. However, he did not start his heretical ways until thirty years later. I don't think there was anything in those journals, because I read them, too," Elhorn said with a puzzled look on his face as he stared at Vadis who smiled at him.

Just like Elhorn, Lumvug and Arilya did not know the reason for Vadis's smile.

"All right. Captain Arilya, that's the end of my questioning," Vadis said with a smile on his face.

However, Arilya had a frown on her face. Because, she felt as if Vadis had gotten something she missed from Elhorn's words.

"Two wait outside," Arilya as she pointed to Lumvug and Elhorn. Saying nothing in response, the duo exited the room after bowing to Vadis and Arilya.

Meanwhile, Vadis reclined on his seat while staring at Arilya who frowned at him.

"Captain Vadis, what did you get from Elhorn's words? What made Hariel descend to the heretical path?" Arilya asked. She could not hide her curiosity. However, Vadis remained silent. He only continued to stare at her with a smile on his face. Growing irritated, Arilya was about to speak for the second time, but Vadis's voice drifted into her ears.

"His parents led him to the heretical path through their journals," Vadis said.

"How? Others read the same journals, but they did not become heretics until Hariel convinced them. So, how is that possible?" Arilya asked with her brows furrowed. While staring at Vadis like an expectant child.

"If not for Elhorn's words, I would have missed it, too. Captain Arilya, have you heard of the Omen tongues from the Black Lands," Vadis said with a stern expression on his face which made Arilya to gasp in surprise.

'Elves learning the Omen tongues… this is bad. This means they have infiltrated our territory,' Arilya mused with her head lowered.

"It seems you have heard of it. So, I won't bother to digress. Hariel's parents were spies from the Black Lands, and it's possible they taught Hariel the Omen tongues. We must retrieve those journals. We might understand why Hariel murdered the people from his tribe, and his mission in our territory. But if my guess is right, it means someone has compromised our territory. Remember, this happened several decades ago," Vadis said with a stern expression on his face as he stood up.

Just as he wanted to leave the cabin, Arilya's voice drifted into his ears, "Captain Vadis, I think there might be a bigger problem."

Surprised, Vadis stared at Arilya who looked lost in her thoughts.

"What do you mean? What could be bigger than an invasion?" Vadis asked with his brows furrowed. Although he did not know Arilya personally, he believed she was not the type to raise fall alarm. He made this judgement after interacting with her and watching her reactions over the last couple of minutes.

Meanwhile, Arilya said nothing. She only used her index finger to touch the center of her forehead. Her actions made Vadis confused.

"Captain Arilya, if…" before Vadis could finish his statement, Arilya interrupted him. "I still doubt the authenticity of what I saw. But, after the revelation about Hariel's parents, I have to tell someone. Captain Vadis, I saw the Blessing of Parf on Hariel's forehead," Arilya said as she stared at Vadis who opened his mouth in disbelief. Coupled with his pupils shirking, and his body trembling.

"How… are… how is that possible? Are you sure?" Vadis muttered in disbelief.

"Captain Vadis, like I said, I'm still in doubt if what I saw was real," Arilya retorted.

The moment she finished her statement, Vadis sat on the wooden chair for the second time. But he had yet to recover from the shock of Arilya's words. With neither of them saying anything, silence enveloped the room.

"We have to report this to the Capital. If what you saw is real, we have underestimated those heretics. If they have the Blessings of the Parf, then war may erupt at anytime," Vadis muttered. But Arilya said nothing in response.