"Oh my Gord, we can't be this lucky."

  "Don't jinx it, Taurtis. Help me!"

  Isabella and Taurtis started to carry (more like drag) Grian's unconscious body to the house in the distance. It had been maybe an hour or so since the assassin had left them, and all they had done was try to find a place to tend to Grian. Now, here one was.

  It was a small cottage made out of the same wood as what surrounded them. There were lights on inside, and they could see shapes moving through the windows. A small garden, big enough to feed maybe one family, sat in front of the house.

  The two rogues made their way to the front door. Isabella knocked thrice, and almost immediately, the door opened.

  The man who had answered looked at them with suspicion. "Who're you?" he asked.

  "Please, you have to help us," Taurtis replied. "Our friend, he's sick. His wounds are infected. We need help."

  "Well, all righ' then. Bring 'em in."

  The two carried the wizard into the house and, on the man's instruction, placed him facedown on the table, which was covered in a white cloth.

  The house consisted of three rooms: the main room, the bedroom, and a storage room. There were three other people living in the house: a wife and two children. The woman ran to help her husband, gathering supplies from the storage room on his instruction. The children, a boy and a girl, immediately turned to Taurtis and Isabella. They started asking questions upon questions upon questions that the two decided to just stop answering. Luckily, the man came to their rescue.

  "Alrigh' dears, give 'em their space," said he, and the children sat in silence.

  The man offered a seat to Taurtis and Isabella, but they refused. They stood beside the man as he worked, using different herbs and other plants to tend to Grian's back.

  "Yer righ'," he said as he worked. "The wound is infected. If ye had come ter us any later, he could've died."

  "But he will live, right?" asked Taurtis. "Emma would kill us if he died."

  "Yeah, yeah, he'll live. Me name's Hering, by tha way. Tha's my wife Hannah, and me two kids Elisa and Horwik." He gestured to the rest of his family, standing a few feet away.

  Hering continued to work, Taurtis and Isabella continuing to look over his shoulder. Finally, he finished dressing the wound and stepped back.

  "There," he said. "All done. He should wake up soon."

  "How long will it take him to heal?" Isabella asked. "We're on a tight schedule."

  Hering glanced over at Grian. "He'll be awake in a few minutes, by the looks of it, but healin'? He'll need a few days, at the least."

  "How long until he can walk in his own?" Taurtis questioned.

  "An hour or so."

  "Then you won't mind if we stay another hour?" Both Taurtis and Isabella gave the family innocent, pleading smiles. Hering looked to his wife.

  "Sure," said Hannah. "We'd be glad to house you. We've already had dinner, but I can make something for the three of you."

  As if on cue, their stomachs growled loudly. "Sorry," Isabella apologized. "We haven't eaten a proper meal in days."

  "In fact," Taurtis added, "we haven't eaten at all today. I think the last time we had something was when we were in the woods before rescuing Grian." Realization dawned on his face. "Which means Grian probably hasn't eaten since before the dungeon."

  Isabella seemed to realize this as well, because she shot her head up at Hannah. "Make him something big. No wonder he passed out. He's spent days without any food or water."

  Hannah nodded, rushing off to the far side of the room. While she did that, Taurtis pulled out his water skin and walked over to Grian with Isabella at his heels. Without them even needing to communicate, Isabella tilted Grian's head forward, opened his mouth, and plugged his nose. Taurtis poured the water down his throat, and the wizard's eyes fluttered open.

  "Before you say anything," Isabella started, "swallow that water."

  He complied, letting out a sigh of relief. "I never knew water could taste so good."

  "And he's back," said Taurtis, closing up the skin. He walked away, back to where Hering was standing.

  "You two really care 'bout yer friend," he said to the ninja.

  Taurtis chuckled. "Like I said, Emma would kill us if he died."

  "An' who's this 'Emma'?"

  "Grian's sister and someone not to be trifled with."

  "Where is she now?"

  The ninja hesitated, any trace of a smile disappearing from his face. "We have no idea."

  The two stood in silence until Hannah called them to sit at the table. Taurtis followed Isabella and Grian, the last one to sit down. As he did, Hannah placed a piece of steamy creamed bread. She gave two more to the others and sat a small plate of strawberries in front of Grian, as well as a small portion of some kind of cooked meat. At his questioning look, she gave a knowing smile and gestured to Isabella and Taurtis.

  "When was the last time you ate?" Isabella answered his unspoken question. "I highly doubt that th—" She stopped suddenly, shooting a glance at the family. "That they fed you," she said in a much quieter tone.

  Grian shook his head. "They didn't," he answered. Then he shot them both a smile. "But, thanks, guys. Seriously."

  Taurtis leaned back in his chair, trying to look impassive. "Emma would skin us if we let anything happen to you," he said simply, leaning back even farther. "No matter how much she claims to hate you." Suddenly, the chair tipped backwards, and both it and Taurtis crashed onto the floor. The wizard and the rogue laughed as Taurtis stood up hastily, throwing them a glare.

  After they had finished eating, Hering walked over to them, placing a hand on each of the boys' shoulders. "Yer friend here still has some time before he'll be able ta walk," he said, patting Grian's shoulder lightly. "Why don' you three stay the night?" His smile was genuine, but the look in his eyes was not. He wife must've forced him to do this.

  The three exchanged glances, a silent conversation between them. Then Isabella spoke. "Sure," she answered, also smiling. "It's been a while since we've had a proper roof over our heads."

  "But we'll have to leave in the morning," Grian added. "A couple friends are in more trouble than they're worth."

€£¥

  Before the sun had risen the next day, the three companions set off. They headed back for the Viking camp, hoping to catch Sam and Emma before they reentered the camp or, more urgently, before the assassin reached them.

  By the time they reached the edge of the woods, the sun was up and brought a bit of warmth to the cool morning. They made their way — just past the tree line — around the border of the camp. They could see the patrols, one-off vikings walking the fine line between their safety and the rest of the world. Isabella noted quietly to the others that there were more in fewer distances than their were the other night.

  "The assassin left us to go kill Olga, right?" Taurtis whispered in response. "Maybe she succeeded. Now they've increased security."

  The three of them continued, reaching where Grian said Emma and Sam left the camp. "I don't know what direction they went in after that," he admitted, "but if they're on a retrieval errand, it's more than likely they'll come back this way." He turned to the others. "So, what's the plan?"

  Taurtis shrugged while Isabella explained, "We have to intercept them before they set too close to the camp. They need to see us before the Vikings see them."

  "Easy solution," said Taurtis. "We signal them from here." He looked at the other two, scanning them, searching for something. Then his eyes stopped on Grian. "Give me your necklace, wizard."

  Grian looked at him weird, clutching the silver pendant that hung on a chord around his neck. "Excuse me?" he said, staring at Taurtis. "I'm not giving you this."

  The ninja rolled his eyes. "I get it, it's the last thing you have from your father, but we need it. I'll give it back, I promise." He held out his hand, and Grian reluctantly — and with a sigh — placed the pendant in his palm.

  Then the wizard shot Taurtis a death glare. "If you lose it," he warned, "I will turn you inside out without hesitation."

  Taurtis seemed to ignore this. Instead of responding, he turned back to Isabella and told her to take Grian and go further away from the camp.

  "If you spot them, signal me," he said. "Just like when we were kids."

  The rogue nodded once before gripping Grian's arm and taking off into the trees. She didn't stop even after they could no longer see Taurtis through the trees. It was only after ten minutes of silently treading through the undergrowth that she finally stopped, dropping Grian's arm. Isabella then proceeded to climb the nearest tree. The wizard stared up at her.

  "What are you doing?" he said.

  "You can see more from higher ground," she responded simply. "Plus sound stretches farther up here than it does down there."

  "Sound? What sound?"

  "I've got to signal Taurtis, remember?" She took her place on a limb, crouching with one hand on the trunk. Her eyes scanned the empty plains that lay just beyond the trees, seeing the shadowy figures of a bridge and some kind of structure in the distance. "Also," she added the Grian, "don't try to climb up. I don't want Emma killing me because you fell off a tree."

  Grian glared up at her, but Isabella wasn't looking at him. He then turned his gaze to where she was staring, also taking in the scenery. The grass was less green than it was tan, looking more like a wheat field than a plain. There were hills, but they weren't as large as some of the ones he'd come across before. He could see the bridge clearer than Isabella could down here; he noticed it was made of cracked and crumbling stone. Many pieces of it were missing, pieces that had fallen into the river below.

  What Grian couldn't see, however, was the figures of two people steadily making their way across the bridge, avoiding the holes. Isabella was high enough to see this, though, and her eyes narrowed. As the figures finally crossed the bridge, she could see a recognizable green cloak swishing around one of them, and two white rabbit ears sprouting from the head of the other. She gasped.

  "It's them!" she said aloud. Then, without waiting for Grian's response, the rogue turned in the direction she knew Taurtis to be and hooted thrice like an owl. After a few seconds, she heard Taurtis' response call: thrice like a blue jay.

  When Isabella jumped down from the tree, she finally saw Grian's expression. It was a mix between astonishment, disgust, bewilderment, and absolute puzzlement. "What?" she asked him.

  "That was just about the weirdest thing I've ever seen," he replied, his expression not changing.

  "'Just about'?"

  "I've seen weirder."

  She grinned. "I believe you. Now let's get back to Taurtis. He must be lonely."

  When they reached the ninja, he was up in a tree, like Isabella had been. He held the pendant up to the sun, the light reflecting off of it and shining in the direction the bridge. Taurtis kept slightly turning the pendant is different ways, not acknowledging the presence of the others. Finally, he grinned and cried "Aha!" He held the position for a few moments — nearly an entire minute — before jumping out of the tree. He dropped the pendant back into Grian's hand, the grin still plastered onto his face.

  "I got a hold of them," he announced. "They're veering towards the trees now. They should be here in about, let's see: five, four, three, two—"

  Sam and Emma, who apparently had been running, materialized beside the three of them, both of their faces lighting up.

  "—one," Taurtis finished.

  Immediately, Emma threw her arms around Grian, squeezing her brother until the wizard's face turned from a relieved smile to a pained one.

  "Emma," he choked. "Can't...breathe..." He gasped as she released him, stepping back.

  "Sorry," she said with a smile. "It's just that I had Sam nearly die on me just hours ago, and I was terrified the Vikings had already killed you..." She paused, looking at Taurtis and Isabella. Suddenly, her face broke out into a mischievous grin. "Guess you two are good for something, after all."

  The two both gasped in mock offense. Sam was smiling as well. "It was always Taurtis who was the helpless one among us," the hybrid added, playing along, "but now he's finally proven himself worthy."

  "Oh, I wouldn't get cocky just yet, Gladiator," the ninja retorted. "I have plenty of stories where you ran away screaming from a fight."

  The five of them burst out into laughter. They all stood there, relieved and relaxed in each other's company, comforted by the fact that all of them were safe. Here, in the shadow of the trees on this morning, there were no assassins sent by angry kings. Here, there were no Vikings who threatened to kill some of them to get the others to do their bidding. Here, it was just the five of them: just five outcasts who were somehow still alive and somehow still together.

  Until a whizzing sounded from the distance, only heard in the ears of the well-trained mage. Emma pushed the others out of the way just in time for a knife to zip through the air where Grian had been standing. The blade found a home in the nearest tree.

  "What...in Valor...was that?" Taurtis voiced as they all straightened themselves.

  Isabella peered through the trees in the direction the blade had come from. She saw a shape move in the distance and a flash of red follow it. Her eyes widened. "It's the assassin!" she said in realization.

  Sam gave her a look. "Assassin? You never said anything about an assassin!"

  "Well, there is one, and she's after us. Run!"

  The five took off, but unlike when Ralph was after them, they didn't split up. They stayed together, tearing through the trees farther and farther away from the Viking camp and (hopefully) the assassin. Isabella had one hand buried in Taurtis' shirt, dragging him along, while Emma had a hold of both Sam and Grian and did the same. The girls led the way, continuously glancing over at each other to make sure the other was still there.

  "You turn left up here," Isabella told the mage. "Take Taurtis, I'll take Sam."

  Emma instantly understood. "Make sure you bring him back in one piece," she replied, grinning.

  "You as well."

  Then, as they reached the place the rogue had pointed out, the two parties split up. Emma let go of Sam and instead gripped Taurtis, veering sharply to the left and suspending through the trees. Isabella quickly grabbed the stunned rabbit boy and hauled him in the other direction, despite his protests. When the assassin reached where they had split, she looked in both directions and turned right, jumping through the trees.

  Sam and Isabella reached a clearing in the woods clearing, halting suddenly. Isabella let go of the bunny boy, pulling Sacrifice out of its sheath. She had only used the dagger once, back at the Viking camp. It was time to see how it worked as a weapon.

  At the same time, Sam brandished his spear, eyes narrowed. Not much was going through his head; he didn't work that way. All his attention was focused on the moment and what was happening now. Now, they were going to face the murderer that was after them.

  She dropped from the trees, her flaming orange hair instantly recognizable. A dagger twirled in her left hand, a small javelin in the other. Her lower face was still covered with the mask, but underneath it was obvious she was smiling. Her eyes, swirling teal jewels in their sockets, hinted cruel laughter behind their glossy surfaces. The light of the morning sun peaking through the trees glittering across the blade of her dagger. Seeing the two with their weapons in hand, she chuckled softly. The sound, however quiet, seemed the ring through the area, spreading across the grass and swishing the blades like wind.

  "People can be so amusing sometimes," she said in her dripping-sap voice. "Do you really think I'll let you and your little friends walk away this time? You can't honestly expect to best me in combat."

  It happened in an instant. The assassin threw the javelin with her non-dominant hand. It flew and latched onto the sleeve of Isabella's free hand, pulling her down to the ground as it sank into the dirt. The rogue tried to pull it up, but the force that the assassin had used when throwing it combined with the angle she threw it at, it was impossible.

  The assassin turned to Sam, who appeared to be shocked into silence. That changed when she threw her dagger at him, which he dodged just in time. The blade rooted itself in the ground behind him. Sam turned around, yanking the dagger free. Whirling around again, he brandished the knife along his spear, glaring daggers at the assassin in front of him. She looked impressed.

  "I wouldn't have expect a scared little bunny like you to put up this much of a fight," she said, venom mixing in with the sweet sap of her voice. "It's very surprising."

  In rage, Sam hurled the dagger towards her, clearly not aiming. The assassin quickly turned to the side, but she had been caught off guard by the throw. The knife made contact with her mask, ripping it off her face and leaving a cut across her face before zooming past. Sam, seizing the opportunity, hurled himself towards the assassin, throwing her to the ground. He aimed his spear too against her throat, wild brown eyes boring into hers.

  "Not such a scared little bunny now, huh?" he said, a grin spreading across his face. The grin quickly faded as he took in the features of her face. His eyes widened with astonishment and hers with realization that he had finally recognized her.

  A name formed on the top of Sam's tongue, but he couldn't say it out loud. Instead, he whispered it, low enough that Isabella couldn't hear.

  "Alora?"