A.N: I forgot to update again, sorry!

For the most part, Prince Benj and his only remaining companion were alright. Each of them had their fair share of injuries, the Prince especially, whose left arm was a mess of burns and cuts. He was the worst of them and even with one arm out of commission, he was still able to fight, still wanted to fight.

Even though none of them got along, Orvo was going to stay with them on their slow journey towards Ziya. They needed a doctor with them and Orvo couldn't exactly go back to the camp without something bad happening to him. Neither party was happy about it, but it was the only thing they could do if they wanted to survive. It didn't matter if Orvo was Ishini, he was happy enough to help them. It was his job as a doctor.

"Are you going to be alright to get to Liman on your own?" Benj asked him, frowning at Emrick's empty hands. He had no supplies, all of it left behind in the camp.

"Probably not," he said with a shrug. "But there isn't much I can do about it."

The Prince rolled his eyes and grabbed one of the burlap sacks that sat on the floor. "This has a little food in it, but it's not much," he said.

Emrick pushed it away. "Keep it, there's more of you," he said.

Instead of accepting it, Benj forced the bag into his hands. "You won't make it without food. Liman is days away. Don't be an idiot," he replied, raising an eyebrow at him. Before Emrick could do anything, he dropped his hands, forcing him to keep the sack. It seemed that what had happened at Maeve had changed him, made him kinder. If only it had been something better than slaughter.

"Thank you, Your Highness," he said.

"Of course. I shall see you and Rina in Ziya, I presume?" Benj asked, a twitch to his lips. Neither of them knew if Rina and Isiah were alright, but all they could do was hope.

He nodded anyway, it was the only thing he could do. "When you do, all of this will be over," he said, hoping that it was the truth. They needed to win, him and Isiah and Rina, or Vishera was lost. Ishin was free and destroying everything that stood in his path. He needed to be stopped if they wanted to live.

The archer, whose name Emrick hadn't learned over the last few hours, nodded to him in thanks. If it hadn't been for him, all three of them would be dead at the hands of brutal Ishini who had no sense of respect. Benj's companion wasn't a part of the army, just someone who had gotten caught up in the mess the monarchies had created. They deserved what had happened to them.

It was the same with Orvo, who had only wanted to help people. One conversation with him had changed a lot of what he thought about the people in the army. Those like Daan, who lay dead in the snow outside, deserved what they had been given. Orvo didn't, not from what he had seen. He hadn't tried to hurt anyone and had instead aided injured enemies without a thought.

When Emrick walked up to him, he let out a tired sigh. "I have no idea what is going on with you, kid," he said, leaning against the wall of the hut. "None of this makes sense. Your abilities... I've never seen anything like it. You're planning something, aren't you? Something to do with the King?"

There was no point in hiding anything from him anymore. "I'm going to help someone end this war," he answered.

Orvo let out an incredulous laugh. "Somehow, I don't even doubt you," he replied and ran a hand through his hair. "Good luck, kid. Hopefully, I will never see you again."

"Hopefully," Emrick agreed. He'd only known the doctor for a night and he'd basically ruined his life as a result. It wasn't fair on him, but there hadn't been much choice, there hadn't been a reason to kill him. Emrick was bad luck, but it wasn't a surprise to him.

With the sack over his shoulder, he strode towards the door, only to stop when Benj called out to him again. "Keep my sister safe," he ordered with pursed lips.

"I think she can keep herself safe at this point," he replied with a short laugh. Rina was far stronger than her family thought, stronger than her brother at least. Of course, she needed more training, but she was one of the most passionate fighters he had seen, even if he didn't agree with all of her reasons.

Benj nodded, but there was a sadness in his eyes. "She wasn't the one who was supposed to be a Warrior," he told him, more vulnerable than Emrick had expected him to be. They weren't friends, merely allies, but things had changed for them both. "But I'm glad she's able to be. It's what she's wanted for a long time."

His reply came at once, without him properly thinking about it. "When all of this is over, vouch for her. Let her become what she's supposed to be. She can be a Warrior and a Queen. Things are changing now," he said. For a moment, both Askari looked offended by the suggestion, but slowly, their faces morphed into calm expressions of acceptance.

"Of course," Benj replied and there was something in his voice that Emrick couldn't decipher, something serene, like he'd had a life-changing revelation.

Without another word, Emrick left them. They would be leaving during the night when it was safer for them to walk, but he needed to go as soon as possible. He'd wasted enough time in the camp as it was and Liman was still days away. Isiah and Rina were waiting for him and his stone, he couldn't let them down. Letting them down meant dooming the entire realm to life under the rule of Harudan.

Outside, the world was calm. It had only been a few hours since he'd found Benj in the hut. The bodies of those who had been killed were hidden under tarps behind it, stripped of their armour and weapons. Emrick still wore his in an attempt to keep himself warm while he walked. Without Isiah, he was at the mercy of the winter and needed as many layers as he could get if he wanted to stay warm.

If he was lucky, the other search parties were still looking for the rogue group of Askari, but he doubted it. It had been so long that the Captain would have called them back and when Emrick's party didn't return, there would be an even bigger search in the southern part of town, which meant that both he and Benj's group had to move quickly and carefully.

He'd ordered them to stay as hidden as possible. There was no way he was letting them die so soon after saving them or else everything he'd done would be pointless. At least when he finally made it back to Rina and Isiah, he could tell her that he'd tried to save her brother.

At that moment, he was safe enough to leave without being caught. There was no one around to see him sneak off into the trees beyond the hut. A path led into them, but it was best to walk to the side of it so that he was better hidden should anyone try to follow him. He doubted they would, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He didn't want to arrive in Liman covered in injuries, even if one of them could heal him.

Most of the trees in the tranquil forest were evergreens, perfect for keeping him hidden. When Benj and the others left that night, it would be the perfect cover for them, if they were able to stay quiet until nightfall. After what had happened that morning, surely they would be able to. They weren't complete idiots, even if all of them were new to having to be sneaky and quiet, something that had made up the majority of Emrick's childhood.

Lost in his thoughts, he drifted into the trees. He had no compass and the sun was at its highest point in the sky, which made travelling east difficult, but if he kept in a straight line, he should be alright. He was so far behind. Even a night in the camp had put him further from Isiah than he thought possible. His detour around the crystal river had wasted far too much time and he was still stuck behind enemy lines. He had to move as fast as he could if he wanted to reach Liman, Isiah and the next Sanctum before Ziya fell, but he wasn't sure if he could do it.

There was still so much that needed to be done before Isiah could become the Beast that was Promised completely. Emrick had one of his stones and there was no chance for him to master it. As far as he was aware, Isiah hadn't mastered any of the stones but was slowly getting better at them. He'd used both the flame stone and the strength stone at the same time back at Belganine's Sanctum, which was a sign that he was getting better. But that wouldn't be enough. He needed all five stones if he wanted to defeat Harudan and Ishin and there wasn't enough time before they reached Ziya for him to master them all.

There wasn't anything Emrick could do except get back to him and try to help him. They had to do something, even if it wasn't much, that could stop the God and the King that commanded him. He couldn't think of anything in the middle of the silent forest, but that didn't mean there wasn't a solution. Isiah would have thought of something, he was smarter than anyone gave him credit for, but he would have no idea until he finally reached him.

Sighing loudly, he stomped through the thick snow, pushing branches out of his way. The road wasn't far, there to guide him as he stumbled and tripped over buried roots. There were no animals except for the occasional caw of a bird or cry of a drake and it made the forest feel all the more eerie. With his hand on the hilt of his blade and his mind on the stone in his pocket, he readied himself for anything. He would not have another repeat of Huton, never again.

But there was nothing else in the forest, just him. He was being paranoid, but not pointlessly, he had almost died far too many times to not be. Until the war was done and he could settle somewhere quiet, he would always be looking over his shoulder. Even then, he would still be wary of threats. Living in a quiet cottage where he could study and enjoy life, he would still always be on the lookout for anything that might hurt him.

And that was why the sound of a branch snapping nearby made him freeze. The sound was far too loud for it to be a bird landing on a twig and it definitely wasn't any of the animals that usually lived between the trees, they were hibernating. There was only one thing it could be: a person.

He steeled himself and slowly drew his sword from its sheath. Even in the midday light, the forest was dark, filled with dull shades of grey. Somewhere around him were people, hiding behind trees and waiting for him to make a mistake. But he wouldn't. Whoever was following him had no idea what they were up against. If they thought they wouldn't have to worry about his powers because he was a halfling, then they were dead wrong.

The first of them jumped from the trees with a war cry and it was all he could do to stop himself from laughing at the silly display. He parried the attack and with a sharp kick to his opponent's stomach, sent the soldier stumbling back into a tree. After that, it wasn't much of a chore to plunge the blade between the plates of his attacker's armour, staring into the corn yellow eyes that met his.

They were far too much like Isiah's but filled with more malice, he had to walk away. The soldier fell with a thump in the snow as he turned, waiting for the others to show themselves. Of course, there were others. There was no way one guard would walk hours through the forest to attack him, it had to be organised, there had to be others hidden in the trees.

It didn't take them long to come out from the safe confines of the thick forest, each ready with their swords drawn. With an exasperated sigh, Emrick readied himself, the fear stone's power flowing around him. It wouldn't take long, but there were so many. If he wanted to take out more than three at one, he would have to hold the stone in his hands. It was either the stone or his sword, he couldn't do both to their full extent.

There were almost fifteen of them, one in the Captain's armour he had seen that morning. The rest of the search party had come for him. He winced but tried not to let it faze him. He had to concentrate if he wanted to get out of the fight alive. Three ran for him at once and he ducked and weaved between the swinging blades. He was faster than them, but not by much. It was enough for him to spin around behind one of the soldiers and plunge his blade into their back without any of them moving to stop him.

With a body between them, the other two soldiers looked nervous. If only there weren't ten other people waiting to have their turn with him, then the battle would have been a simple one, but the others quickly joined the fray. He was outnumbered and outmatched, and there was only one thing he could do. The four nearest to him screamed as the stone whispered to him. Forgetting, dying painfully, falling, the loneliness he had seen time and time again. They died the same as those in Fovatia, while he battled the others with his blade.

He couldn't concentrate on both at once and his movements became sloppy. His feet were too far apart, his block too weak and he soon found himself on his back in the snow. The sword flew from his hands to land somewhere beyond his field of vision and the blade of a soldier pointed between his eyes. He'd only killed five of them, it wasn't enough. He needed to get up, get his sword and win before they killed him.

The stone was still in his pocket and pulling it out was barely an effort. The soldier before him died in an instant, clutching at her chest and screaming terror and indistinguishable orders flew about the forest. Emrick climbed to his feet and turned to find his sword, but hands flew towards him, gripping his shoulders and arms and forcing him onto his knees.

"Let go of me!" he growled and struggled against the people holding him. The stone was still in his hand, he could use it.

A hand on his wrist twisted sharply and he cried out. "Get it!" one of the soldiers yelled. In less than a second, the stone was ripped from his hands. It fell in the snow with a thud but even at the distance, he could still feel it's power in the air.

The Captain crouched before him and ripped the helmet off his head. "You're not one of us, are you?" they asked, their red eyes narrowed into a glare. "One of the citizens saw you, gave you and your friends in the hut away. They should all be dead by now, you will be too soon."

After all that effort, Benj and Orvo and the other two were dead. But he could still live, he needed to live. The stone was right there, behind the Captain, he could feel it, however weak it was, but it was enough just to kill one of them. He didn't say anything to the Captain, didn't pay any attention to what they said, just concentrated on the stone.

The Captain walked away from him, still talking, but he wasn't listening. He stopped squirming against the soldiers restraining him and put all of his efforts into morphing the power Askarune had given him to his will. If he could get rid of one person then he could move, grab a sword or the stone and destroy them all. Then he would run and run and run until he made it back to Isiah.

He should have been paying attention. If he had been, then he would have realised what the Captain was doing before they did and he would have let go of the stone's power. The large rock they'd found, three times the size of his stone, made quick work of it and Emrick, still holding onto the power, screamed so loudly that he felt his throat rip. Askarune's stone lay shattered in the snow and all he could do was scream.

The power was still in the air, stronger than he had ever felt it. The second he noticed it, all sound cut off and the world turned dark. He felt nothing, heard nothing, saw nothing, as the power from the stone rushed towards him, smothering him like a blanket. It flowed into his mouth, his nose, his eyes until he was nothing but power, burning and aching. His mouth opened wide in a scream but nothing came out. Then it was gone like a candle being blown out and in the overwhelming rage that his mind had become, his consciousness faded and he fell with a grunt into the cold snow.