A.N: Sorry it's late again, I've had a busy week.

Rina's Warrior friend, whoever he was, led them into an inn and down into a basement hidden behind the bar and under a rug. There weren't many people hidden under there and they all looked up when Isiah followed Rina down the steep stairs, watching him with wary eyes. He was sure he even saw one or two go for their swords.

He was quick to make himself the smallest thing in the room, hiding by Emrick, who stood tall and powerful. He too was out of place, not as much as Isiah, but he wore it better. Emrick would be more used to it than he was, something he hated thinking, but it was the truth.

The small number of men and women swarmed towards the Warrior, asking questions in demanding voices. After silencing them, the Warrior explained what had happened by the well and who Rina was. While he spoke, Isiah tapped on Rina's shoulder and raised an eyebrow at her.

"Who is that?" he asked and gestured to the stoic Warrior.

She gave them both a bright smile. "My little brother, Benj," she said. There was relief and happiness in her voice as if everything had already been fixed. But that was what she'd wanted since they left Ishmar, to get back to her family, so of course, she would be happy.

"He's a Warrior of Ziya?" Emrick asked, sounding almost bemused by the whole thing.

"Yes, but he shouldn't be. He still has a few more years of training to go through," she replied.

Emrick sniffed. "Aye, that's for sure."

Behind Rina, the small group of people were staring at them with mixed expressions of awe and wariness. When she turned, they dropped to their knees, heads bowed towards the ground. The only person who didn't was Benj- Prince Benj - who gave his sister a broad smile. He said something in his language that Isiah didn't understand and spread his arms wide.

Rina said something back and hugged him. Isiah looked to Emrick, who had his arms crossed over his chest. There was no one else he could ask, even though they weren't speaking. That was his fault though. "What are they saying?" he asked, his voice a whisper.

"Oh," Emrick said as if he'd forgotten that Isiah only knew his own language. "They're welcoming her home. Rina wants to know what's going on down here."

"What do you think it is?" he asked.

Emrick shrugged. "Some kind of resistance, I suppose. I doubt the Askari would let their country be taken over without a fight," he answered and pointed around the room. "They've got maps everywhere and this place is hidden under the floor. I have no doubt that they're planning something."

Isiah nodded along with him, frowning in worry. The group of people stood and watched him again and he wanted nothing more than to run away. Prince Benj said something to Rina and Emrick quickly translated. He wanted to know who they were and why she was travelling with them. Most likely with him specifically.

"This is Isiah, he's a follower of the Old Gods from Brenmar, he saved my life in Ishmar," she said. Isiah was sure Emrick was only half translating, but as long as he got the basics of what was being said, he didn't mind. "And Emrick is a scientist, also from Brenmar. He's been helping us on our journey."

She didn't say a word about Nerin, which didn't surprise him. How could she possibly explain to her brother that she was travelling with the Prince of the enemy country? It didn't matter if Nerin was a kind child, he was the enemy and from what Isiah could tell, Prince Benj didn't seem like the kind of person to be alright with it.

Emrick was still translating, but there was an irritated tone to his voice when he told him what Benj was saying. "Did you teach the halfling how to fight?" the Prince asked, staring at the both of them with contempt.

"No, Emrick taught himself to fight."

"Only noble-born should learn the ways of the Warriors of Ziya, he should know that," Benj hissed, Emrick whispering the words in his ear. "No one lower than that has the right to learn, especially not a halfling."

Before he could stop himself, Isiah was stepping forward, his fists clenched at his sides. "If it weren't for him, you'd be dead!" he growled and ripped his arm away when Emrick grabbed it.

Benj sneered down at him and it took Isiah a moment to realise that he actually understood everything he said. Emrick pulled him back as the rude Prince turned away. "I appreciate you standing up for me," he whispered in his ear. "But leave it. This is normal. I'm used to it."

"You shouldn't be," Isiah replied and frowned at him. Emrick stared down at him and there was something in his eyes that he couldn't read. His earlier conversation with Rina came back to him and he pushed it away. Standing in the middle of a room full of people who hated him was not the time to be contemplating his relationship with Emrick.

Even so, the other man knocked his shoulder. "Thank you," he muttered.

"Of course," Isiah replied and brought his attention back to the matter at hand. Benj was talking to Rina, his hands flying about and rage on his face. "What's he going on about?"

"He's yelling at Rina about her hair. She's not supposed to have it short. Only the Warriors are," he answered and gestured at Benj, who's hair was as short as Isiah's had once been, shaved close to the skin. It was completely different from all the other Askari in the room, whose hair fell down to the middle of their backs.

He scoffed and shook his head. "She is a Warrior."

"Not in their eyes," Emrick replied.

"That's not fair."

"They don't care."

Prince Benj ran a hand down his face and glared at the pair of them. "Why are you even travelling with them? What use could they possibly be? They're the enemy, Rina!" he roared. There was more to it, but from the wince Emrick gave, it wasn't anything good.

Rina sighed and gave him a bored look. In the blink of an eye, Prince Benj was against the wall, his arm twisted behind his back and Rina standing on her toes to whisper in his ear. Isiah had no idea what she was saying but when she pulled back, Benj's eyes were on the ground and his cheeks were dark. The people around them whispered and averted their eyes.

"I am a better fighter than you, Benj, and you know it," she said as she walked back towards Isiah and Emrick. "So how about you sit down, shut up, and let me explain what's going on because it's far more important than you think it is."

Grumbling under his breath, Prince Benj led them over to a long table filled with papers. A few of the others, one of whom was introduced as Skyt, Benj's second in command, followed after them and sat in silence. Rina gave him and Emrick a smile as someone pulled out a chair for her and mouthed an apology at them. Emrick waved it away, but inside, Isiah was seething at the blatant disrespect the Prince showed. Although, he was quite similar to his sister.

As soon as everyone was seated, Rina began. According to Emrick's rushed translations in his ear, she was explaining what had happened to her since she arrived in Ishmar almost two months ago. Sometimes, he was able to catch a few words, names more than anything else, and bristled at the sneer Prince Benj gave with his sister mentioned Nerin.

Then came everything with the Sanctum of Ishin and the Beast that was Promised. According to Emrick, Rina had to stop and explain how his religion worked so that everyone at the table understood what Isiah's existence meant. For the most part, she was getting it right and didn't need to ask him for any help explaining.

Questions erupted the instant she revealed that he was the Beast that was Promised, but Rina waved them away, saying that she hadn't explained everything yet. There was so much more to the story. She hadn't even reached Askrune yet, let alone the fact that Emrick could also use one of the stones. Then there was Huton and King Harudan and everything that happened there.

In silence, Prince Benj and the others listened. Occasionally, the Prince would look to him and Isiah had to hold back a glare every time their eyes met. He was disrespectful, for a Prince, but Isiah wasn't sure what else he had expected. He was in Minisia and while he may be the Beast, he still looked like the enemy.

Finally, Rina finished, explaining that Emrick had saved them from being killed in Huton and took them to Minisia. And explained that Nerin was back with his brother, something Benj seemed far too relieved by. If he had known Nerin, he wouldn't have been.

"So, you want me to put my hopes on an Ishini and a halfling?" Benj asked when she was done, sneering at the three of them. "This is Minisia, I put my hopes on my people, not my enemy. You were like that too once, Rina. Brenmar changed you."

"Changed me for the better, I think," Rina replied. "I trust them, you should too."

Benj scoffed and shook his head. "I have no proof of their powers. All I have is your word. You've been gone a long time, I don't know how much your word is worth now, seeing as you were travelling with the brother of our enemy."

"King Harudan tried to kill me, Benj, he is my enemy too."

"Is he?"

With a snarl, Rina reached across the table and slapped her younger brother, leaving an imprint of her hand on his cheek. "What is wrong with you? How dare you say things like that to me! I am your elder sister, I have nearly been killed more times than you can count and I saved your life earlier. Show me some respect!" she yelled and ran a hand through her hair.

"You're not a Warrior, Rina."

"What does it matter?" she replied and slammed her fist down on the table. "I'm more of a Warrior than you at the moment. And I have a way to save our country. That's more than you can say, isn't it?"

Prince Benj said nothing, just glared at the three of them as if they were his prisoners, not people who had just helped him. "I have no proof," he muttered.

"You do," Rina said and crossed her arms over her chest. "Did you not see the wall of flame in the courtyard earlier? Do you not feel how warm you are right now? That's Ishin's stone."

Isiah didn't need to be told what he had to do. With a tired sigh, he held out his hand. He didn't need to hold it to use it anymore, as long as it was near him and he could feel the power. It was still stronger when he held it, but he didn't need to show off his strength, just the power he held.

The flames danced in his palm and the people on the other side of the table gasped loudly. With only a thought, the flames weaved between his fingers. It was strange to think that at one point, he hadn't had much control over them, had killed people and burnt down a building because he hadn't been able to control them.

He looked to Emrick, who nodded and pulled out the glowing blue stone. If he had practised since... Since he'd used it on him, he didn't know. He'd known it was an accident as it was happening, he'd lost control himself, but it had still been awful to experience. After Askarune's trial, he hadn't said a word about what he'd seen, but Emrick had discovered it for himself and after that, there was no point in hiding it from Rina.

As a spider conjured by Emrick crawled across the table, Isiah lost himself in his thoughts. His flames went out and he leaned back in the chair. His friends dying was something he was terrified of, ever since he heard about what happened to the Mother and the Sanctum. Too many times, he had seen them nearly die and stupidly, he had thought that it was better to not get too attached.

His earlier conversation with Rina battered his mind. They hadn't gotten a chance to finish it, but she had said enough. He didn't know what to think about it all. The conversation in the barn had been awful for him, for them both, but it wasn't like he could take it all back, even though a part of him had wanted to as soon as he'd said it. That wasn't fair on Emrick.

"Isiah," Emrick said, pulling him back to reality. "Do you think you can show off the strength stone?"

He nodded and grabbed the yellow stone. "Can you ask them all to move away from the table and pick up anything fragile?"

Under Emrick's confusing command, Prince Benj and the others stood and grabbed the piles of papers between them. When the table was clear, Isiah stood and gripped the edge of the table with one hand as tightly as possible. With the stone in his other hand, it didn't take much effort to lift the table from the ground. The people around him gasped and one cried out as if they were scared he would drop it, but he wouldn't. It felt far lighter than it should have, but it was big and he could easily lose balance.

He placed it back on the floor, but none of them sat back down. Those he didn't know the name of shared looks with each other, while Prince Benj stared directly at him and Emrick. Someone whispered in the Prince's ear and Isiah winced, feeling somewhat naked under the Prince's heavy stare.

"Rina," the Prince said and let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry, but you know I have every right to be sceptical. We are at war."

"I know," she replied, but she still sounded irritated.

"After the army attacked, I got stuck here. I can't get back to Ziya because the enemy camp is in the way," he explained and Isiah winced. "They've got soldiers patrolling all around the town, making sure no one escapes. If I want to keep these people safe, the camp needs to go. That's what we're doing down here, trying to come up with a plan to do it."

Rina let out a quiet laugh. "You want our help, don't you, Benj?" she asked and shook her head. "You don't need to ask."

Actually, he did, but Isiah couldn't say anything against it. Emrick agreed instantly and looked down at him expectantly. He couldn't exactly decline, even he knew that the people in Maeve were innocent and the army needed to be stopped. He was the Beast, it was his duty. "I won't hurt or kill," he said.

Across the table, Prince Benj rolled his eyes. "Right, pacifists," he muttered, giving Emrick a droll look when he translated it. Reluctantly, he held out a hand for the two of them to shake. "We can work around it. Can you go into the details of your powers so we can fit it into our plans?"

And so, they all sat back at the table and Isiah told them what he knew of the three stones, Emrick and Rina translating for him. Anxiety felt like a rock in his stomach and he couldn't ignore it. Wiping out a whole camp, while it needed to be done, he couldn't help but feel like it was going to go wrong.