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Their retreat to the Inn had been hasty and more than a little stressful. Markus couldn't stop getting distracted and stumbling a little as a result. His eyes were constantly looking around, fear ever present at the possibility of there being other potential attackers. Pirro seemed to have no fear meanwhile, trilling loudly and excitedly from between Naruk's antlers, wings outstretched, as if her were imagining he was flying.

As the stag pulled Markus in the front door of the Inn, Lord Augustus watched them and appeared ready to go out. “In response to his dragons roar more than likely." Markus thought and he didn't miss the look on face as they passed him: disappointment, concern and a considerable amounts of anger consumed his features and filled his eyes. The Puma didn't want to meet his gaze, worried that it was all targeted at him and so decided to retreat to the relative security of his room.

Retrieving Pirro from his roost on Naruk's horns wasn't the easiest task to perform, the little whelp had taken a liking to that location and fought before finally being dislodged. Pirro seemed a little off put at having been removed from his roost but quietened down once they were in the room and he Markus gave him a small, meaty bone to gnaw on.

“Well finally I found a way to cheer you up; then again they say food is the fastest way to a beasts heart." he remarked watching Pirro curl up in a sunny spot and chomp away at his treat, enthusiastically pulling off what meat he could.

Markus sighed out a breath that felt like he had been holding in since they had started running. Turning his attention to the supplies he had aquired, he began to sort through it all. He made sure everything was carefully packed so he couldn't confuse medical herbs with any of his culinary ones. He had done that once before, and ruined a perfectly good meal in the process.

After half an hour there was a knock at the door distracting him from his focus. Pirro looked up and gave a soft trill and chirp of query but otherwise didn't move from his nibbles. Grumbling to himself, the Puma extracted himself from his cluster of possessions and stepped over to the door to demand who it was as there was another insistent knock.

“Yes, yes what do you..." he started however he had to reign in his irritation when he found Lord Augustus on the other side of the door. “S...Sorry lord, I didn't..."

“It's alright," the Stallion interrupted him raising a hand to placate him “I came to inform you of a decision I have reached."

“I..I am sorry for what happened in the streets. I knew it would be dangerous to go out but I chose to anyway." Markus started and was cut from his babbling by a strong hand on his shoulder.

“Markus stop, I am not upset with you," he told him genuinely “You are not a prisoner and you have a mind of your own and a life to live. That is why I have decided to send you home."

“But Lord, why?" Markus asked confused, his mind boggling as to just to what he was being told.

“It has been proven now that it is not safe for you here and I can not, in good conscious, endanger your life by asking you to remain in this town." the stallion said simply with a hint of sadness in his voice “To do so will be telling you to remain cooped up in here until the trial and then our return home. I also cannot keep watch over you while I go about my business here, Sofia will need to accompany myself around the town and my guards are not baby sitters. Therefore I am forced to take the only measure I have available to me. I am sending you home with guards Naruk and Darnel as your escorts."

“Lord what of the cart? Pirro is way too little to pull it and our horses do not have the tack to be able to pull a cart." Zamiel interjected from behind the Stallion drawing their attention “Didn't you say it was a gift for him? With no means to pull it, it will need to remain here."

“That would normally be true, however the local blacksmith has some goods that need to be transported to Tirais, and his own cart recently broke and is being repaired." he informed them with almost a gleeful expression at the misfortune of others which confused the Wolf and Puma “He has a horse which is currently going unused and he has gracefully offered the use of it in exchange for one way usage of the cart."

Markus gave a sigh and nodded, mulling things over in his head. He didn't want to just turn tail and run, however he was starting to realise that it was, indeed, not only in his own best interests. Lord Augustus had to think of his own safety, his men's, Markus's and even little Pirro's wellbeing. He also had to think of what was best for the town and despite how it seemed to pain him to send him home, it was the best option he had available to him to achieve all of those goals.

“I understand," Markus finally announced looking up to the Stallion and meeting the gaze from those bright, sky blue eyes when they turned in his direction “When have you arranged the departure?"

“Thank you Markus, you will be returning tomorrow after breakfast." came the grateful reply and a smile spread on that broad equine muzzle. After closing the door, Markus packed a little faster than he had thought he would. Everything collected and bundled, ready for the trip within ten minutes, as a result, he spent the rest of the night playing with Pirro.

Come morning, he had a simple breakfast and then quickly gathered his things before handing the room key to the Inn keeper. With his whelp on his shoulder and his baggage in his hands, he stepped out the front doors finding the cart ready and awaiting him.

It was hitched to a healthy looking Clydesdale who seemed more interested in the grass than what was going on around it. Sitting on the cart holding the reins was the Blacksmith who was talking with Darnel who sat astride a chestnut coloured steed on the far side of the cart from Markus.

Lord Augustus stood conversing with Naruk on the side closest to him. Naruk was sitting on a paint patterned horse and seemed to be trying his best to not seem superior to Lord Augustus. Lastly Sofia sat next to her albino master, she looked very proud of herself, a wide smug smile on her face, tail wagging as she watched Markus and Pirro walk over towards them.

“Good morning Lord Augustus, I am ready." Markus announced himself drawing the attention of Augustus and Naruk.

“Excellent," the Stallion replied with a smile watching as Sofia leaned forward to nuzzle and trill at Pirro. Markus gave a light chuckle as Pirro returned the attention and he reached up to scratch under her chin “If you would climb aboard please, we can get you underway."

Giving a nod markus took a step forward and gave the amber drake a hug, surprising her by the act. “Thank you Sofia, for yesterday." he praised her and her tail picked up in its wag. She lifted a fore-paw to return the hug, embracing him soundly to her chest.

“You take care of yourself and little Pirro and I will see you both once this is over." she replied with a rumbling churr before letting him go and watched him heave himself into the back of the cart. The blacksmith gave a crack of the reins accompanied with a 'hyup' once they were situated, getting them underway.

“It is rare that Sofia hugs anyone," Naruk said as they passed through the large front gates and onto the road towards Tirais “She must like you, and not just for Pirro's sake."

“I'm good with animals I guess." Markus offered in retort gesturing to Pirro causing them both to laugh. Once the laughter died down, Markus looked out the back of the cart to the town slowly starting to shrink in the distance “Tell me, Naruk... will the town be ok? Will Lord Augustus be ok?"

“After everything that town put you through you surprise me with your question pertaining to its well being," The Blacksmith spoke up for the first time, his voice unexpectedly soft and almost feminine “The town will be fine, like a wound, it will heal better once the festering infection has been removed from its core."

“And Lord Augustus is the cure to that infection. He will be fine, he has Sofia with him after all," the Stag reminded him confidently “To get to him they will need to get through her first... and she is terrifying when angered. You haven't seen the half of what she can and will do when she is trying to protect her master." Nodding, Markus mulled that info over in his mind and looked down to Pirro. He wondered if the cute, squirmy pile of scales would be just as terrifying once he grew to the same age.

The ride was quiet from then on aside from Pirro trilling and chirping occasionally as he watched the world go by. Markus was lost in his thoughts for much of it, aside from the occasional need to grab Pirro to stop him leaping from the cart when he spotted something interesting, or Naruk got too close.

The sun was starting to wane as they turned down the path to the house. Markus was confused when he saw that the path had been cleared, with the bushes and trees cut and neatened up to make passage easier and allow more light through.

When finally they stopped at the front of the house he almost didn't recognise it. In only two days they had repaired some of the damaged building, neatened the gardens and even made a sign announcing that it was his home and property.

Linnet stepped out of the front door with a broom in her hand and smile on her face seeing them arrive. It baffled Markus's mind at how she and her husband had done so much work so quickly. The path he could explain away, even maybe the gardens, but not that much.

“Welcome home." She greeted with a cheerful smile “Please, come inside, I just put on a pot of tea." Markus nodded and disembarked the cart dumbfoundedly. The blacksmith announced that he would return the cart in the morning once he was on his way home. His words were almost lost to Markus who bobbled his head and made his way inside, his possessions in his hands and Pirro running around his feet.

The inside had undergone a similar makeover although it seemed to be the epicentre of the work: new floorboards to replace the damaged or worn ones, the walls repaired and repainted, new furniture and bedding, even a wicker basket for Pirro which sat pride of place next to the fireplace within which had new cooking stands, his small cauldron already bubbling away with something that smelled delicious, hanging from a new pot hook.

The surprise was unexpected, but it wasn't unpleasant, if anything it was breathtaking and almost like a dream come true. Markus was in awe of just what they had managed to pull off and he was starting to grow suspicious of just how it had been accomplished.

“H..How?" he finally stuttered as she pored a cup of tea for him and he didn't miss that the porcelain was also newer than he had previously owned. She gave a chuckle, mearly smiling at him before gesturing to a seat at the table and waited for him to sit.

“Lord Augustus has many workers on his estate," she started to explain factually as she took her turn to sit, gracefully depositing herself in her chair once she had served both cups of tea “Many of us, from day to day, have little work to do. Sure the estate is large and there is much to do, but with so many of us it is usually done quickly. As a result many find ourselves looking for something to do."

“So you pulled in all of Lord Augustus's other workers to come work on this place?" he asked surprised and watched as she gracefully took a long sip of her tea.

“Ahh that's good," she mused looking at the cup then back to him “Oh don't be so alarmed, everyone who worked volunteered their time and effort. Everything we used was either donated as it wasn't being used or taken from the junk piles of the estate and cleaned up to be given life once more." Markus groaned softly rubbing at his temples a little. It was way over the top, why did they do it all for him? It was too much for him to accept and he couldn't exactly refuse it. He didn't believe it was simple charity either, no one did that much work without expecting some form of repayment.

“But why?" he asked after a few moments of silence and she giggled softly at his question but also the facial expression he pulled.

“Why not?" she retorted and he felt his mouth open and close as he tried to formulate a retort “We were bored and looking for something to do with our time. To us this wasn't some chore or task to perform, this was something to do to entertain ourselves. Life as a worker at a big estate gets boring after you perform the same task over and over again. Day in and day out the same old chores, what is life without some variety thrown in?"

“Gods I am going to owe Augustus big time for all of this..." he muttered placing his face into his hands, Pirro chirped curiously at his feet watching him.

“No, no, you will owe him nothing." she placated him with a dismissive wave of her hand “As I said, everything here was going unused. Some of it did need repairing, the bed and couch especially, but nothing here will be missed. Even the wood fitted was off cuts that couldn't be used for anything else." Markus just nodded dumbly as he tried to process it all. They sat in silence for a few minutes while drinking their tea, Markus taking everything in as he looked around the room and watched Pirro take up residence in his new basket.

“Come, let me show you what we have changed." she finally said once she had finished her tea and started to rise from her chair. Slowly standing and shuffling his seat back Markus followed her as she showed off the changes made to the house.

The bedroom had been restored and was now used for its original purpose, a small hearth sat to one side, meaning he could warm the space with a small fire at night in the colder months. The bed was made large enough for a couple and was constructed of solid wood. It even had a fresh mattress with sheets that smelled clean and ready to be used meaning he wouldn't be sleeping on straw anymore. She explained that the bed was from one of the maids who had replaced her own, the blankets were damaged ones that had been replaced in Lord Augustus's estate, and the mattress was an old, unused one from the same location.

Off the kitchen, the larder had been given new shelves and the walls repaired. The buck skin hung from a hook in one corner curing, with preserves and other supplies adorning the shelves. Four barrels of decreasing size sat in the corner opposite the hide, ready to be put to use.

Next to that, the laundry had been cleaned up with a hand pump installed over a brand new copper boiler. The copper had been an old one taken out of Lord Augustus's estate once new engineering had been installed. They cleaned it up, cut a drainage hole in the bottom and installed a tap. When opened it would drain into a bathtub to the side of the boiler, also taken from Lord Augustus's junk pile and given a new life.

The backyard had been neatened up with the garden beds redefined and logs laid out as garden edging. The well had been re bricked and a little roof built over it to keep it clear of falling leaves and debris. The garden walls had been uncovered from under vines that had overgrown them with a new gate installed permitting access into the woods with ease.

“Now, seeing as you are home, I will return to my own, my husband will certainly be surprised to see me." she announced with a smile making her way towards the front door “We were going to take it in turns watching the house but now we don't need to, thankfully he knows how to cook. Anyway, there is a venison stew cooking in the pot, I'm sorry but I used some of your supplies for it. We will replace what we used when we have a chance if you wish. It should be ready soon, please enjoy it."

“Thank you... and please extend my gratitude to everyone at the estate," Markus said as he opened the door for her “Please have a safe journey home." she smiled sweetly while nodding and gave a wave as she walked off into the ebbing twilight.