Fynn's wounds were healing quickly, enough to allow the boy to eat once more. Ronan finally made an exception by letting him eat so soon; Since the next day of the attack, he had noticed Idda and Yue feeding him when he turned his gaze to attend to other matters.

"A hot plate of food never killed anyone, Mr. Ronan," Idda exclaimed as she loaded the cooking utensils into the cart.

"If his wounds don't heal inside, girl, I'll hold you responsible," Ronan replied after taking a deep puff on his pipe.

"I feel fine, Ronan. Look," the boy exclaimed, smiling over the cart, arranging things for the trip. The boy lifts up his shirt to show how his wound was almost sealed. "Fantastic, don't you think?” Look how much it healed in just one night. No one will be blamed for anything that happens to me."

Ronan smiled at that, "Just don't push yourself too hard, or it might open up again, and you'll have all your organs popping out of there."

The dark-skinned boy made a face of fear.

"Mr. Ronan!" exclaimed Idda with a scolding at that. Ronan was unable to contain his laughter.

Soon, amidst the laughter, the sound of a bird's chirping squawk interrupted the moment. The bird swooped down between Fynn and Idda, causing them both to be alarmed by it.

Ronan saw the bird fly toward him, and when it was close, he caught it with one hand. The red-haired girl and the marked boy watched that event, and after this, they saw the bird turn into a piece of paper.

"Is it a letter?" asked Fynn incredulously.

"Indeed," replied Ronan while opening the letter. "It's a reply to one of the letters I sent yesterday."

"Is it from someone who will help me?" asked Idda.

Ronan nodded and soon read the letter aloud.

"Dear Mr. Ronan of Vilna. Thank you very much for considering us and that you are willing to cash in one of your favors with us. We are currently on the outskirts of the city Saligmone. When the border guard is asleep, we will take advantage of the night to cross the border between the Kingdom of Soramel and the Union of Mizuna. If all goes well, by the time this letter arrives, we will possibly be halfway to a city called Cansif. So come see us, say hello to your old friend Yak and tell us about some of your new adventures. Three-Eyed Yak."

"Are they contrabandists?" asked Idda, alarmed at traveling with criminals.

"Oh no, they're much worse: a caravan of traders and weirdos." Ronan exclaimed with a smile. "They travel many places, and sometimes they are joined by people who need to disappear or want to restart their lives."

"Where do you know them from?" asked Fynn.

"Sometimes I travel with them if they are near my location; I pay them with money or jewelry I get around there and some good story for their shows."

"Wait, Mr. Ronan, are you a thief?"

"Yes, we told you that the other day. He's an archaeologist," replied Fynn.

"Archaeologist and thief are two different things, I told you that!". Ronan rose annoyed from his spot, huffing in annoyance but soon regained composure. "Besides, I only financed me with the money of nobles or ostentatious merchants; all people who won't miss an ingot or jewels they can't get back in a short time."

"Stealing is stealing, Mr. Ronan." sentenced Idda.

Ronan rolled his eyes and returned to the cart, where he opened one of the maps of the area.

"I hope Yue will be back soon with some way to travel. If we go to Cansif, we'll need a road to take us there soon."

"Mister Ronan, I've b-been thinking..." the girl approached with her words sheepishly. "Is there a way I can travel with them to the city of the marked ones?"

"That would be great!" soon reacted Fynn, looking at her mentor. "She could join us! She could live with us in a safe place!"

Fynn had a broad smile, but Ronan, on the other hand, kept a serious face. That way, Idda already knew his negative answer.

The marked man soon cleaned his pipe and let out a sigh.

"In another time, I would have had no problems. The city would have welcomed you and her without hesitation. But now..."

Ronan shook his head at the thoughts and memories he had.

"Wouldn't they accept me there?" she asked.

"Certainly not. The triumvirate were clear about that. I'm sorry, girl, but those old geezers aren't making good decisions lately, and I want to do my best to find you a safe place to be."

"Why wouldn't they accept her?" asked Fynn, "She's not bad. She helped us."

Idda smiled at the boy's words, and Ronan did the same.

"After these days, I realize you a good person Idda. However, the city bosses were clear: only marked ones will inhabit the city until further notice," Ronan sighed in annoyance. "What a piece of shi..."

"Then Cansif it is!" exclaimed Idda, giving the man a smile. "If you consider they'll help me and be safe, that's good enough for me."

Ronan then smiled, "you will see many parts of the world with them, and much more..."

A gallop was heard, and with the neigh of his horse, Yue returned from his expedition into the woods.

"You're back," exclaimed Ronan teasingly, "what a surprise."

Yue watched him with a daggered look, annoyed at his words, before alighting from his steed, "I think I found a path. not too far from here."

"Just one?"

"Just one where the wagon can pass, but there are people there. I saw a campfire down that way."

"Maybe they're lumberjacks," suggested Idda. "Lumberjacks always have roads for their wagons in the middle of the forest, and Cansif is a logging town."

"Very well, we'll use that road." said Ronan with the decision made, "If they ask, you'll be the forest-loving akajsi who showed us a shorter way to get to that town."

With the decision made and the camp dismantled, Yue led on her horse the group through the forest. Then, with Fynn and Idda taking the reins of the vehicle, Ronan proceeded in the back to take a well-deserved nap to get what sleep he couldn't last night.

For Fynn, Idda, and Yue, crossing paths with the loggers was a bad experience, not because of their fear but the memories. Nevertheless, the lumberjacks gave them directions to get to Cansif faster despite a distrustful attitude.

Idda kept fidgeting and rubbing her hands together nervously once they got away from the woodcutters; in a short time, she had changed her life so much that she no longer felt like herself.

"I'm sorry for everything that's happened," the boy exclaimed, chagrined.

Idda watched him and soon sighed. "It's not your fault. Neither yours nor hers," Idda pointed out to Yue. "Maybe Lithal had this one made for me. Maybe you guys were what I needed to get out of there."

"Didn't you like living with your husband?" asked Fynn.

The girl soon had a flashback of her life.

"If you asked me a few years ago, my answer would maybe be a resounding yes when I married him. But I guess life with him wasn't so good; he was always working, and I was very lonely."

"When the fairy tale ends, the monotony comes," exclaimed Ronan, leaning back in the cart, half-asleep. "If there's no excitement involved after that comes constant boredom."

"You seem to know what I'm talking about, Mr. Ronan!" exclaimed Idda.

"Oh, girl, do I."

Fynn tied up the ends.

"Were you married?" the boy asked.

"Once upon a time, but I don't want to talk about it now, or I'll have nightmares," said the marked man with a sleepy smile.

Fynn and Idda laughed at that.

"Do you have nerves?" asked Fynn to the red-haired girl.

"Of course I have nerves!" the girl loudly confirmed, "I don't know who will have my back yet. Still, I'm really excited about this."

The girl stirred in her place excitedly, and Fynn smiled, glad that she felt that way.

"Promise me you'll take care of yourselves," Idda pleaded, smiling.

"Don't worry, we will," Fynn exclaimed, watching her friend.

Yue pulled her horse close to the side where Fynn was.

"How are you feeling?" the girl asked calmly.

"Ronan says if I move around too much, maybe my organs will pop out."

"Oh, don't believe those things!" said Idda.

With an orange sunset, the village of Cansif was passing a small treeless wasteland in the middle of the forest. Perhaps expected, the town was populated by dozens of wooden houses and buildings, as a wooden bridge spanning a watercourse was the last thing separating the group from the place.

People were again watching them and both children were trying to look as if they weren't nervous.

"Where are we supposed to find these people?" asked Yue.

"Ronan said they were on the outskirts of town," Fynn pointed out.

"Maybe they're at the other end..." Idda added.

"I know very well where Yak must be." interrupted Ronan.

Ronan knew Three-Eyed Yak very well and knew exactly where to find the caravan leader.

"Ma'am, which is the biggest tavern in town?" asked Ronan to a local woman.

Just like that, the group made their way to The Woody Bear.

Leaving the horses to rest, they left the wagon at the tavern's doors; the place had an atmosphere of festivity where tired people come for a last drink before rest.

All tavern was crowded with people drinking, eating, and singing; the group stayed close by, for they could feel the commotion as they entered. In the center of the tavern, with chairs and tables set far apart, a couple of girls entertained the people. One of them livened up the atmosphere with a stringed instrument in hand with fast and rhythmic music. Her partner, a dancer, incredibly followed her friend's rhythm, much better than the brave ones who tried to dance with her. As the notes grew louder, the girl danced with greater intensity.

"Incredible," Idda exclaimed.

"Fynn, the girl," Yue pointed out to the bard; the young woman with long curly hair and exotic clothes had a skin tone similar to the boy's, something atypical for those parts. Her companion, a really pale girl barefoot and with her belly and cleavage visible, was a dancer who really attracted the eyes of those in the place.

"Come here, beautiful!" exclaimed one of the men in the place, calling her to his table. The girl came over, dancing for him and his companions for a while, but soon returned to the center of the place, where she could be better seen. "Hey, where are you going?"

The man tried to grab hold of one arm. But soon, someone held him down. Vigilantly, a man with long reddish hair watched the show, alert for any attempt to assault his colleagues.

"The show is for everyone." the man, dressed in unusual leather armor, said calmly.

Ronan motioned the children and Idda to approach him, just the person he was looking for.

"Robin!" shouted Ronan, catching the man's attention.

"Haha! You made it, Ronan," exclaimed the man with a serene smile, shaking the marked man's hand.

"Good to see you again too, kid," he soon pointed to the marked boys and the red-haired girl. "As you'll see, I have people with me, so..."

"I see. Yak is upstairs, drinking with Mrs. Tellmore," the watchman pointed out bluntly.

At the top of the stairs, in a space from which the spectacle could be seen, an elderly man with a round nose and a patch on his right eye watched the spectacle. He was also accompanied by an elderly woman with pointed ears, surrounded by books and papyrs.

Soon, the man turned toward the stairs.

"Wow, the letter turned out to be true!"

"It's not my turn to die yet, you old dog," exclaimed Ronan, reaching over to the table where that pair sat to shake the man's hand, then that woman's. "Mrs. Tellmore, as radiant as ever."

"As flattering as ever," said the woman, who soon spotted the group accompanying Ronan, "I thought you said that you were traveling with only one girl in your letter."

"Linara, my beloved, Ronan always tells half stories," replied Yak at her side. "You should know that by now, but that has never been a problem. Now, sit down, have a bite to eat, and enjoy the show."