FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (97 page)

     “Joy, you’re beginning to sound like Stack
!
” accused Dawn.

     “No, I’m not. I just wondered that if things were different, what sort of life we would be living, that’s all
!
No running
!
No training
!
No getting yelled at by Clanmaster Collart
!
Play all day long
!
Wouldn’t it be wonderful
!?
” fantasised Joy.

     “You’ll still have to go to school
!
You’ll still have to study
!
You’ll still not be allowed play all day long
!
” said Dawn.

     Joy woke up from her dreamy stare. Her smile had turned into a frown.

     “You’re a real killjoy, Dawn Breven
!
Listen, I don’t want to live in a cold dark cave for the rest of my life. I’m just wondering how life is in Fallsene City,” she said.

     “I hope you’re not talking about running away. You’re really beginning to sound like Stack
!
” accused Dawn.

     “Dawn
!
” said Joy.

     “Joy
!
” said Dawn.

     Stack, Dart and Grain got out of the pool and joined Dawn and Joy. Grain sneezed a few times as he wiped his body dry with a towel.

     “It’s all your fault, Stack
!
” accused Dawn.

     “What did I do
?
” asked Stack.

     “You’re brainwashing all of us with your ridiculous beliefs. Joy is thinking of running away to Fallsene City
!
It’s because of you
!
” said Dawn.

     “Well done, Joy. When are you leaving
?
Let’s go together
!
” said Stack.

     “Hey you guys
!
Take me with you,” added Grain.

     Dawn was speechless. Why were all her friends talking about leaving the clan
?
She turned to look at Dart. He just gave her a blank stare and shrugged his shoulders.

     “Nobody is thinking of running away, Dawn. I’m just wondering if there was a better life for us and how it would look like. You don’t have to over-react, Dawn,” said Joy.

     “Not true
!
I’m thinking of running away
!
” corrected Stack.

     “I’m thinking of running away, t… ah choo
!
” said Grain as he sneezed.

     “No one is allowed to run away. The clan will hunt you down and kill you. That’s the law
!
” warned Dawn.

     “What
?
You mean the clan will kill us if we run away
?
” asked Dart.

     “Yes, Dart
!
That’s the law
!
” said Dawn.

     “But how can they do that
?
We’re their children. We’re their friends and relatives. Would they really kill us
?
” questioned Dart.

     “We’re assassins, you nitwit
!
Of course, they’ll kill us
!
But that’s not going to happen because we’re not running away. We’re just going for a visit, of sorts,” answered Joy.

     “Joy
!”
exclaimed Dawn.

     “Dawn
!
” exclaimed everyone else except for Dart.

     Stack walked off and returned moments later with two picnic baskets. He took out some food and drink and passed them around. Grain sneezed again.

     “All right, change of subject
!
Who’s your ‘Prince Charming’, Dawn
?
” asked Joy.

     “Joy
!
We’re assassins
!
We don’t get to have a Prince Charming. We’ll end up killing him
!
” stressed Dawn.

     “Oh
!
This is getting interesting
!
Who do you fancy, Dawn
?
Is it Hay Collart
?
” asked Dart.

     “Oh
!
This is getting disgusting. I’m leaving. See you guys at the pool
!”
said Stack as he turned around and walked away.

     “Why is everyone interested in Hay Collart
?
Isn’t there anyone else who is good looking
?
” complained Grain.

     “What is the big fuss about staying or leaving
?
I don’t get it
!
And what’s with Hay Collart
?
Aren’t I good looking as well
?
” said Dart, before a pie landed in his face.

     Joy was laughing out loud. It was she who threw the pie at Dart’s face. And she laughed and laughed until a pie landed on her face as well, courtesy of Grain Sillox.

     “Aren’t I as good looking as Hay Collart as well
!?
” said Grain, as he flexed the muscles of his skinny body.

     Grain got a pie in his face for his effort, courtesy of Dawn. Joy laughed her heart out.

     “You’ve got to be kidding me
!
You’re nowhere near as handsome as Hay Collart
!
” said Dawn.

     “Hah
!
Caught you
!
So you
do
fancy Hay
!
” said Dart.

     “No, I don’t
!
” denied Dawn.

     “Yes, you do
!
” accused the others.

     “No
!
I don’t
!
” insisted Dawn.

     “Yes, you do
!
”, “No, I don’t
!”,
“Yes, you do
!
”…

     And a pie landed at the back of Dawn’s head.

     “Food fight
!
Long live the clan
!
” shouted Stack as he came charging towards the group, throwing all types of food as he approached.

     “Food fight
!
  Down with these dreamy girls
!
” shouted Grain Sillox as he threw a pie at Dawn.

     “Aaargh
!
You boys are dead
!
” shouted Dawn as she went on the offensive, sending pies, bananas and all sorts of things at Grain, Dart and Stack.

     “This is for ruining my face
!
Take that
!
” added Joy as she joined forces with Dawn and threw a pie at Grain’s already messed up face.

     Rake heard a commotion coming from the camp site. He wondered what it was all about. He planted his fishing rod into the ground and went off to investigate. To his surprise, he found five food-stained children looking at him with puppy eyes.

     “Children
!
” said Rake as he shook his head and went back to his fishing.

     And the food fight continued
!

     Two weeks later, the trainees received pleasant news. Venom told them that they would be travelling to Fallsene City. The plan was for Venom to take on the guise of a Receiver and the trainees would pretend that they were orphans under his care. The purpose of such a trip was to familiarise the trainees with the living environments and lifestyles of ordinary Fallsians. This was important for them because they would need to know how to blend in and disappear amongst the crowd when they would travel for their missions later on, and also when they needed to do reconnaissance and gather intelligence on their missions. The entire excursion was to take a month.

     At dawn the next day, a little caravan of three carts started their journey from The Lair. Venom drove the lead cart with Dawn, Joy, Dart and a few other trainees in it. Hay drove the middle cart with Flutter, Stack, Grain and a few others in it. Eclipse drove the last cart with the rest of the trainees in it. All the three adults were dressed as Receivers of Light. The trainees were dressed in worn out clothes to look like orphans. To the common passersby, they would have looked like three Receivers caring for a group of orphans.

     In the beginning, the journey was slow. The caravan had to move in a zigzag manner to clear all manner of obstacles just to get unto the forest road. When they had reached the road, their progress became faster. The cart-ride became very pleasant. The trainees started to enjoy themselves. They were taking in the warmth of the morning sun, the soft touch of the gentle breeze that was blowing and the beautiful scenery of streams, rivers and waterfalls that most of them had never seen before, since none of them had ever truly left The Lair.

     Joy started to giggle all of a sudden. Dawn wondered what had gotten into her best friend.

    “What’s wrong with you
?
Why are you giggling for no reason
?
” whispered Dawn.

     “Look at Flutter,” replied Joy.

     Dawn looked at the second cart and started giggling as well. It seemed that Flutter had climbed over to the front of the cart and sat herself next to Hay. She was trying to engage him in a conversation, and he was trying his best to ignore her.

     “Why are you two giggling
?
” asked Dart.

     “Look at Flutter,” answered Dawn.

     “She’s sooo desperate,” commented Dart as he tried to contain his laughter.

     “Yes
!
She is,” agreed both Dawn and Joy.

     At about noon, the caravan made a stop at the side of the road. To save time, the group ate only bread and biscuits, and drank only plain water or fruit juice. The horses were given food and drink, and a short time to rest.

     “Remember, trainees
!
When you’re travelling on a mission or on the run, you’ll not have time to cook a decent meal
!
You can’t afford to start a fire, especially at night
!
A fire will bring attention, and that’s not what you want
!
Therefore pre-cooked food such as bread or biscuits would be the most practical for you to pack,” said Venom.

     “Understood, clanmaster
!
” replied the trainees.

     “Later in the afternoon, we’ll be stopping by a farming village for the night. I want all of you to walk around and take a good look at the villagers. I want you to observe the type of clothes they wear, the condition of their clothes, the complexion of their skin, their facial expression, their manner of walking and talking, and any other mannerisms that you can observe. Later on, we’ll compare them with what you can observe from the townsfolk. This knowledge will help you in the art of disguise which you’ll need on your missions later on,” added Venom.

     “Understood, clanmaster
!
” replied the trainees again.

     Venom looked around at his students. He was making sure that they were still focused on him and what he was saying.

     “Any questions
?
” he asked.

     “What about a concealed fire
?
Can we use that for cooking, especially at night
?
” asked Dawn.

     “Very good, Dawn
!
I’m sure your uncle had taught you about that. A concealed fire can be used for warmth and for cooking at night while avoiding enemy detection, but it’s not exactly foolproof so it needs to be done carefully. But it would be useless if you’re on the run, because to set it up would be time consuming. It’s more suitable for a situation whereby you’re stationed at a fixed position to observe or guard a place, and you’re required to do so without being detected. You’ll learn how to make a concealed fire much later, as it’s an advanced technique,” explained Venom.

     “Understood, clanmaster
!
” replied the trainees again.

     The trainees spread out to look around the campsite, more out of curiosity rather than necessity. The outdoors held a great attraction to them since they had hardly ever set foot far away from The Lair.