Green hair was fairly distinctive. A glowing sword was also fairly distinctive - in Connlaoth, it was probably more noticeable than the hair. So why was it that no one seemed to have seen the one man who happened to have both? He'd been asking around for hours now, and no one had told him anything helpful.
He couldn't have simply disappeared off the face of the earth. He couldn't have. Even a mage would have trouble with that...and Cestus was beginning to suspect that, weirdly glowing scimitar aside, Ano wasn't really a mage at all. A mage probably wouldn't carry a weapon, and even if they did, they wouldn't have the skill to do what Ano had done to Declan, especially not with three dogs defending against him.
Cestus shook his head. He had to stay awake, he had to stay focussed. Ano was probably still running. If he stopped to sleep, he would lose him again. He couldn't allow that to happen. He'd promised that it wouldn't happen...and if he broke his promise, Diona would probably kill him and do something unpleasant with his remains. Ano was not getting away with it now.
The stupid pony had been difficult all afternoon. All afternoon, it had done nothing but fidget, lay its ears back, snap irritably at passers-by and occasionally flick its tail to get rid of the midges. He hadn't been tossed yet, but if this went on for much longer the idiot beast would probably throw him off purely for the pleasure of stamping on his face. He patted its neck gently.
"That's a girl...stupid...stubborn thing." If he spoke soothingly enough, the horse need never know how much he was insulting it. Mind you, where this one was concerned, anything was possible. "Come on...stupid bitch of a horse..."
There was a man - a farmer by the look of him, short and rather round (as sometimes happened with men bred for a hard life who ended up living a softer one) - standing by a fruiterer's cart loaded high with apples and pears. He was rubbing absently at his throat.
"'Scuse me, but have you seen a man?" Cestus leant over the pony's neck, and it snorted in annoyance. The farmer seemed as good a person to ask as any. "Black cloak, green hair, with a sword?" He couldn't think of any other distinctive features to add to the list, but Ano was distinctive enough already.
The farmer coughed, still rubbing at his throat. Now that he looked closer, Cestus could see small purple marks across the man's neck - the sort of bruising you might expect if a hand had grabbed him by the throat and squeezed very hard. "He choked me!" the farmer spluttered. "He stole my fruit, and then he choked me!"
"Which way did he go?" Cestus wasn't sure what Ano was trying to accomplish here, but whatever it was, he was leaving an impressive trail of destruction in his wake.
The farmer pointed south. "He went that way. If you catch him, get my money off him. He owes me for two apples and a plum."
Cestus nodded and went on his way. What in heaven's name was Ano trying to achieve? Unless he had a burning desire to get himself hanged, it didn't look as though he was going to succeed at any of it.
Hang on...
Cestus glanced backwards, unable to believe it. He'd just ridden right past him.
There was a black-cloaked figure curled up beneath that tree...and from beneath the shadow of his hood, there was a bare glimpse of shaggy green hair. His sword was propped against the trunk of the tree. Still within arm's reach, of course - no one would leave a weapon unattended without being able to reach it in a hurry, even if they were mad - but for once, it wasn't in his hand.
Cestus couldn't believe his luck. He slid from the pony's back as softly as he could, praying that the animal had the wits to stay silent for once. Softly...quietly...gently now...he crouched beside Ano's sleeping form, one hand hovering over his throat. Careful...if he touched him too soon, Ano would wake up.
He glanced behind him, just in case that strange sword had moved of its own accord - he didn't know what it was capable of any more. He honestly had no idea...but it was still behind his back, being blocked by his right shoulder. Ano wouldn't be able to reach it there.
He moved his left arm back very carefully, still holding his right hand a fraction of an inch away from Ano's skin. Careful, careful, further back...and then he lashed out, sinking his fist (brass studs, leather strapping and all) directly into Ano's stomach.