“That was amazing”, Ye Shin praised the blonde once the two of them calmed down a bit, “You managed to face against two Nehringi and lived to tell the tale. Not many are able to do that.”

“It’s all because of the Thrae. It makes me faster and stronger while possessing my body”, Aldryn explained.

‘Thank you for that by the way’ the blonde sighed.

‘You’re welcome’ the fox grumbled back with a yawn.

“Do you need a break?” the girl then asked, noticing the faint fatigue that seemed to be radiating from the blonde.

“No”, he shook his head, “Let’s go and meet the others first.”

With a nod, the two of them were off. They travelled quickly, despite a slight limp that Aldryn now had. The wolf apparently managed to gaze his leg with one of its fangs. The one that actually was now held in his pocket. But the heat of the fight caused the blonde to not even notice the injury. Luckily, Ye Shin had some bandaged upon her person and quickly tied up his leg so that they won’t leave a trail of blood.

All the way, Ye Shin dutifully made some more markings on the trees, indicating to Rose where she should go to find them.

The two of them soon reached the river, where the others were waiting. Upon seeing them, Ylvis felt relieved. He could not help but worry about them. He never fought the Nehringis, but from what he heard from the assassins, they were not easy targets. He even regretted leaving Aldryn behind, always pondering if he should go back after them. His strength was, after all, higher than Aldryn’s.

“Are the two of you all right?” one of the assassins asked and approached the duo.

“Aldryn injured his leg during the fight” Ye Shin told them, explaining how the blonde managed to injure one of the wolves, causing the second one to forget all about her and go after the other apostle.

“It seems that the rumours about you are nothing in comparison to the real thing”, another man said and approached the pair, taking out some medicine and new bandages out of the bag strapped to his thigh.

'I wouldn't advise you to take anything from assassins that we don't even know' the Thrae told him in his mind, not trusting the men.

“I’m all right” Aldryn simply shook his head when he saw the items, “I heal fast”, he said with a smile.

'Sorry... but if I ignore that fox it will nag me for hours' he decided not to voice his true reasons and fully ignored said fox that started scolding him.

While those words caused the man to frown, at his kind offer being rejected, he didn’t comment. The items were placed back inside the bag.

After deciding then that it would be best to wait for Rose by the river, they all sat down on any dry place available. The assassins were leaning against some trees sharpening their weapons. Ye Shin was looking for some plants around the river, while Aldryn and Ylvis were sitting on a rock.

“Are you really all right?” Ylvis asked with a worried look.

“The Thrae was the one that fought the wolves not me. We even got lucky that the Nehringis retreated, because the time was almost up for the fox” the blonde said with a tired sigh.

“I really need to increase my magical power”, Aldryn then added as an afterthought.

“What’s that about magical power?” Ye Shin asked as she approached the two apostles.

“Aldryn wants to increase it, since his magical skills aren’t very good” Ylvis explained to her.

“You should speak with Rose then” the girls then said.

“Did I just hear my name being called by my dear Ye Shin” a voice then suddenly resonated in the small clearing.

It caused everyone to look into that direction, noticing the woman coming out from behind a tree.

“Rose” the men assassins suddenly said and went down on one knee in greeting.

“Good to know that you didn’t become wolf lunch” Ye Shin said jokingly, while her eyes showed how relieved she truly felt.

“As if”, Rose then said with a snort, “So what is it that little Aldryn wishes to speak with me?” she then asked with a sly smile.

“You know…I’m pretty sure that I am older then you”, the blonde said with a smile, but his words were dismissed by Rose with a flick of her hand.

“There are many things that come to my mind when it comes to you Aldryn”, the woman than said, “Which makes me wonder what exactly is it that you wish to speak with me about.”

“Many things, just as you said” the blonde replied with a shrug, “Shall we go? The temple is not that far from here” he than said looking at his companions.

At the mention of the temple that might soon be attacked by the Scavengers, the good mood was gone and everyone grew serious again. With a nod of her head, Rose announced that they are departing and her men stood back up to follow her. Ye Shin packed the few plants she managed to find in her bag and was ready to go. Ylvis also stood up and nodded his head, indicating that he was ready to depart.

The company then started walking away from the river. Aldryn and Rose walked in the front, followed by Ye Shin and Ylvis and then the men.

“I heard many things about you Aldryn, even the fact that you once sought us out” Rose then suddenly told him.

“That was a long time ago”, the blonde said with a sad smile, “The past is the past.”

“Do you really think that?” she then looked at him doubtingly.

“It’s been 60 years... What good it is too keep clinging to the past” he said with a shrug.

“Indeed” Rose nodded, “The old master told me about you. He also mentioned what happened with your family”, she said the last part as a whisper.

“Oh?” Aldryn asked, trying to sound disinterested, “Did he know by chance who it was?”

“I thought you said that clinging to the past is useless”, she said calmly looking ahead of them.

'Touchy' the blonde scoffed.

“It is”, he agreed, “The people who killed my family are most likely dead themselves by now” he said with a bitter laugh.

“Do you want the truth?” Rose then asked, “Why my master never came in touch with you... Despite how desperate you searched for us.”

Those words caused the blonde to frown. While from behind, Ye Shin and Yvlis didn’t even try to pretend that they were not listening to the conversation happening ahead of them.

'There was... a reason?' this made him confused, having no idea what it could have been.

“Truth is”, Rose continued, not even waiting for a reply from Aldryn, “My master looked into it, but he never managed to find anything. How embarrassing would it have been for us... To accept your request and come back empty handed. Our reputation would have been in tatters” the woman then laughed.

This caused Aldryn to stop from walking for a second. Then, he quickly recovered and caught up to Rose.

“What are the chances that it was the Scavengers who did it?”, the blonde then asked, noticing the quick breath that Ylvis took.

“Your father was friends with Imre was he not?” the female assassin then asked, “Do you think that your family became a trap for him?”

“I’m not sure”, Aldryn then whispered.

“It doesn’t make any sense”, Ylvis suddenly spoke up, “If they wanted to kill Imre, why not ambush him? Why go all the way and kill a group of Nomads?”

“Who knows”, Rose said with a shrug, “As I said, we weren’t able to find out much.”

The rest of the way was silent. Ye Shin felt awkward. She wasn’t sure what she could say to make things better. Her parent’s had a natural death, so she could not even imagine what Aldryn went through. Despite the blond claiming that many years passed, she didn’t believe him one bit. Just like for him, years have passed for her as well since her parents died, and the pain never went away.

When the group finally reached the temple, Yvlis could not take his eyes off it. Everyone in the group could also feel dread crawling down their spines. The once beautiful mansion was burning. The vines that used to grow along its walls were now barely clinging to the stone. The smell of blood and burnt flesh permeated the air.