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MHO Chapter 36. Kind of a short one this time, I guess to balance out the previous lengthy ones. Hope you enjoy, and as always, make sure to leave a comment with your thoughts if you read it!

-Llox

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After the violent events of the previous day, the caravan crew slept in late, even Bhaltair. The only ones to rise at a more normal time were Lykou and Kuna, due to having gone to bed earlir, and they weren't in any hurry to do much. Indeed, hearing the quiet in the main area of the lodge, they decided to linger in the storage room and cuddle until they heard the lepne stirring. By the time they finally came out, Ealar and Effie were sitting at one of the tables and Clara had just finished bringing them some food. The others were either still asleep or just starting to get out of bed. Gavin, in particular, was snoring away softly. Everyone was more or less healed up from the ordeal, but he'd had the most to recover from, so he was getting all the sleep he could, and the others were content to keep their voices low for him.

Eventually, once everyone was finally awake and fed, Bhaltair checked around with everyone, to see if they were ready to set out again. He assured them all they could stay one more day if necessary, but everyone was eager to resume traveling- especially now that the bandits were thoroughly dealt with.

"As much as I like Kerney, Kuna and I do need to get back to our own journey, too. So we're ready to go pretty much whenever you are," Lykou said.

"Aye, ah kin imagine ye must be mighty eager tae git back hame," Gavin replied. "Dinnae worry lad, we'll mak' guid time when we git oan th' road, now tha' we ken its much safer."

"Well there's no need to rush, either," the konuul reassured the lepne. "We enjoy you guys' company, too. And after yesterday, taking it easy traveling the hills sounds nice."

"True. 'n' the road tae Whitlan is bonny nice this time o' year," Ealar agreed.

"It's settled then. Wi'll pack up 'n' heid oot efter everyin's doon wi' breakfast," Bhaltair said.

Just then, the door opened, and Raghnaid stepped in and greeted everyone. "Friends, members of the Dunnyhill trade gang, ye've a' bin summoned tae a ceremony en th' village circle. Kin ye be there in an hour?"

After some brief conversing among those present, Bhaltair spoke up, "Ah think we kin be ready in half that, in fact. Tell Grey wi'll be right over, soon's we finish packin'."

Ragh nodded and smiled. "See ye there, then," she said, then turned and left. The crew quickly finished their breakfasts and packed up what little wasn't already stowed away. Lykou and Kuna fetched their things again as well, and soon everyone left the lodge, with Clara following along with them. Kuna anxiously clung close to Lykou, noticing that seemingly every lepne in the village had set aside their daily routine to come to whatever ceremony the chief had planned.

They were eventually led to a large, circular opening between buildings, with a wooden platform in the middle. The caravaneers, along with Lykou and Kuna, were led up onto the stage, where they met up with Grey, Faergus, and Moyra. The crowd gradually built up, filling in the space around the stage. With some shuffling around, the group on stage was arranged in a neat line. Kuna didn't like that he stood out so much more without the lepne to at least partially hide behind, but at least he was able to stay close to Lykou.

Finally, the chief stepped forward and raised his hands up, bringing a hush to the previously noisy crowd. "Ah'm sure many o' ye are confused tae see the Dunnyhill gang 'n' our outsider friends up here, when we only jest bid them farewell yesterdae morn'. Some o' ye ken what happened, bit fer the rest o' ye, ah'll explain," he began, then took a deep breath, slowly pacing back and forth across the stage as he continued. "Bandits use tae be a much bigger problem back afore folk formed th' caravans, like thase fine folk. Since then, wi' th' extra protection, they bin getting' shyer fra attackin'."

He paused to sigh, his expression falling to a frown. "Or sae we thought. Y'see, it turns oot, they wis jest plannin' somethin' much bigger and mair despicable a' alang. A leader o' theirs- a rogue druna, na less, wis plannin' tae start an ol-fashioned clan war between the villages o' thae hills by attackin' these folk and pinnin' it oan oor friends in Tannil!" The crowd erupted into gasps and chatter for a minute before he held up his hands to continue. "Tha's right, a rogue druna by th' name o' Kerr were workin' on this big plan, 'n' tragically... even some o' our oon wis involved in th' plot."

The crowd grew even noisier this time, and it took a few minutes to calm them down. Moyra eventually took a small step forward and cleared her throat- which caused everyone to near-instantly fall silent. She stepped back again and allowed the chief to continue. "Fortunately, th' plot wis foiled. Moyra 'n' Faergus here," he said, gesturing to the two. Faergus grinned and waved to the crowd, while Moyra simply nodded with the subtlest of smiles. "Began tae suspect th' bandits were up tae somethin' and began investigatin' a few days ago. 'n' then, jest recently, these fine lads fra a far away land," he continued, turning to gesture to Lykou and Kuna. "Lykou and Kuna, volunteered tae risk their lives ta help them investigate further. 'n' once the plot wis uncovered, rather than simpleh rattin' oot the traitors 'n' riskin' losin' th' rest, they took it upon themselves to hatch a counter-plan, ultimately with th' help o' the very caravan the bandits planned oon attackin'." He gestured broadly to the rest of the caravan crew.

"Yesterday, they turned th' ambush oan its heid, usin' it as a trap tae mak' sure e'ery last bandit wis thoroughly dealt wi', while Moyra and Faergus stayed behind tae mak' sure the traitors here wis all sussed out and caught before we sent reinforcements ta the caravan. Needless ta say, everyin' fought bravely, 'n' thae hills are doon a coupla dozen bandits," he announced, to raucous cheering. "AND, when their craven leader slipped away at th' end o' the battle, Lykou, Kuna, and Faergus ran efter 'im, caught 'im at their oon camp, 'n' gave 'im a laldy thrashin' that will go doon in legend!" he added, chuckling a bit as everyone applauded and cheered some more.

Finally, he gestured to Raghnaid, who walked up onto the stage carrying a stack of some kind of colorful fabric garments. "'n' that es how todae, it is mah honor, as chief o' Kerney, tae present these brave fellows wi' these sashes o' distinction and declare them honorary members o' clan Greenrun, 'n' heroes o' th' rollin' hills o' Clovaria!" he said, as Raghnaid and Moyra began to hang the beautiful sashes over each individual while the crowd continued to applaud. Faergus, Lykou, and Kuna were given ornate pins on top of their sashes, which Raghnaid helped them fasten on. Kuna was intensely uncomfortable from all the attention, but Lykou wrapped an arm around him to comfort him, beaming out at the crowd.

Once the sashes were distributed, Grey again held up his hands for quiet. "In addition ta recognizing these heroes, ah hav' another wee surprise fer everyin'. Ah may be the chieftan, bit we all ken th' druna has final word in thaes hills. 'n' all o' this wouldnae be possible without oor own Moyra's cunnin' 'n' wisdom. Ah ken she willnae accept the same kind o' decorations as we gie' th' others up here, bit ah'v one she might," he said, shooting a brief look over at the somewhat surprised druna. "But tis nae my place ta present."

The last comment sent a murmur of confusion around the crowd, and even Moyra seemed perplexed.

"Now ye see, ah ken whit ye all kin- oor druna es lik' most druna oan th' ootside- aloof, wise, mysterious, 'n' a wee bit intimidatin'. Okay... mibbie moar than a wee bit, sometimes," he added with a chuckle, earning a murmur of laughter from the crowd as he smiled over at Moyra. For her part, the druna just stared at him with uncertainty and mild amusement. She was trying to maintain her air of control and restraint, but she allowed herself to smirk at the comments. "Bit we all ken she 'as a big heart unner it a'. 'n' as it turns oot, 'n' some sleekit bastard went 'n' snuck in tha' heart, jest like he's always sneakin' aroond thae hills at night. So withoot further delay, ah'd lik' ta let 'im speak fer himself."

Moyra already saw where this was going, but couldn't believe it. Her aloof facade was rapidly failing as her face flushed and she watched Faergus step forward and turn to her. "Ah'v bin doin' th' night patrollin' fer a lang while noo. 'n' ah enjoyed it. Bit efter the violence yesterdae 'n' kennin' tha' the bandits ken better than mess wi' Kerney or her friends fer a good lang time, ah think it's time fer a change. Ah ken es na exactly typical en thaes hills, bit ye wis ne'er truly a typical druna, either, aye?" he said, also a bit flushed, but grinning big as he pulled a decorative bracelet out of his bag. "Moyra, wid ye do me th' honor o' bein' mah heart-bound mate?"

Moyra glanced back and forth in flustered disbelief between Faergus, the chief, and the crowd for a moment. Then, suddenly, a grin spread across her face and she grabbed him up into a big kiss, tears of happiness peeking out of the corner of her eyes. The crowd roared with cheers. "Aye, dammit," she declared after finally pulling back. Faergus helped slide the bracelet onto her wrist after catching his breath, beaming with happiness.

"A ceremony will be held at th' end o' th' week!" Grey announced quickly before the crowd could drown out his voice.

After a few moments, Moyra's smile transitioned to a smirk and she turned towards the crowd with narrows eyes and she pointed at them, silencing them for a moment. "Bit efter th' ceremony, ah'm still intimidatin' as far as yer all concerned, ye ken?" she chastised them all playfully.

"We ken!" the crowd retorted more or less in unison before returning to their previous noisy celebration.

"Guid," she said, then turned back to embrace and kiss Faergus again.

On the other side of the stage, Lykou grinned and leaned over to Kuna. "This is without a doubt the best place we've been to so far," he commented.

"Yeah... I'm inclined to agree," Kuna replied, similarly amused and delighted by the turn of events.

*****

After the award ceremony broke up and people went back to their daily routines, the caravan- including Lykou and Kuna- again began their farewells to Kerney and its residents. Moyra and Faergus were practically inseparable, and the former was uncharacteristically a bit giddy with delight. Still, she bid everyone a fond farewell and wished the boys luck, again thanking them for all their help. She reminded Kuna to seek an audience with the High Druna in Whitlan. She did warn him that the rest of the druna council would likely want to see him as well.

"Th-the whole council?" Kuna nervously asked, clearly anxious at the idea.

"Aye, bit dinnae worry, Kuna. Yer more than deserving o' tha' audience," she said, gently rubbing his arm. "An' fer all their mighty, aloof airs, they're still guid people."

"'N' none o' 'em e'er took doon a rogue druna-"

"Magic abuser," Moyra corrected.

"Aye, that. None o' 'em 'av doon anythin' like tha', bit ye two 'av. So ye kin always brag aboot tha' if ye feel a wee bit intimidated," Faergus pointed out with a wink, playfully nudging Kuna.

Kuna's anxious look briefly gave way to a slightly bemused one. "Have we met? In case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the 'braggy' type."

"We'll work on that," Lykou said with a grin, wrapping his arm around the sereva. "Got a few days to practice on the way to Whitlan, from what Gavin said."

"Exactly!" Faergus said with a chuckle.

"Ye'll enjoy th' garden as weel, Kuna, trust me," Moyra assured him. "Ah went as a lass, t'was a breathtakin' place."

Kuna perked up a bit at that. "Well, I guess that does sound pretty nice. Maybe I'll see some interesting plants I can learn to copy."

"Possibly!" Moyra agreed.

"Shame ye cannae stick aroond fer our ceremony, bit ah kin imagine ye must be getting' a mighty itch tae git back oan yer journey."

"Yeah," Lykou said, taking a deep breath and rubbing his neck. "Much as I'd like to stick around, every day that passes reminds me there's a bunch of friends and family out there maybe thinking I'm dead, or else wondering where I vanished to. So I'd really like to get back on the path home as soon as possible."

Kuna smiled and hugged him tightly. "And we're going to get you there before you know it."

"Ye best listen tae yer druna now," Moyra playfully said to the konuul.

Lykou grinned and squeezed Kuna. "Always. Come on, Kuna, lets see if they need any help with the carts."

"Okay," Kuna replied, then turned back to Moyra and Faergus. After a moment's hesitation, he quickly moved in to hug them both. "Congrats you two, and thanks. It was great meeting you both and I hope we see each other again some day."

"Aye, likewise lad," Faergus replied, patting the sereva on the back.

Moyra lifted his flower crown briefly to tussle his hair playfully before replacing it. "Ah dinnae doubt fer a moment we will. Take care, Kuna."

*****

As the caravan crew prepared to depart for a second time, a much darker atmosphere hung over the dimly-lit space of Kerney's crude jail. None of the bandits were particularly talkative. The ones that'd been in the fight sulked in their respective spaces, nursing their various painful injuries. The two guard conspirators were the only ones showing any sign of life.

"Sae much fer rulin' th' hills," Caelan muttered, breaking the silence that'd lingered since the others were first brought in.

"Aye, guess th' mighty 'Dark Druna o' the Hills' wasnae as unstoppable as we thought," Barabel replied, glaring at the silent former leader laying on the floor, facing the wall.

"'least he didnae fold th' minute things looked tough," the former remarked. "Bet Jock es o'er there on 'is hands 'n' knees beggin' lik' a wee bairn."

Caelan spat and grumbled. "Most likely. 'least thaes eejits put up a fight," he said, then turned to one of the others curled up on the floor. several feet away. "Oy. You. Whit wis yer name agin'? Di' ye at least kill one er two o' 'em?"

The lepne in question in question didn't respond, so he stretched his leg over and kicked their side roughly. "Ach, ah'm talkin' ta ye. Ye slept enoof. Wake up."

Still, the lepne didn't respond. Several of the others looked up, curious to see what would happen. Any sympathy they might have had for their fellow was overshadowed by self-preservation. They'd had plenty of violence already and were just relieved they weren't about to be the target of it.

Caelan got up and trudged over, then kicked the unresponsive lepne again, a little harder. "Ah said, git up. Did ye at least spill some blood?"

Still, the figure didn't stir. Calean scowled. "Oy! Wake up afore yer th' one losin' more blood!" After a moment, he hauled back and kicked the bandit as hard as he could. The impact rolled the figure over and everyone let out a gasp. Caelan suddenly looked pale as he stumbled over backwards, scrabbling away from the sight. The lepne in question was very clearly dead- with a large, noticeable chunk of their neck missing. Oddly, there was no sign of any blood spilled anywhere.

"TAE FUCK ES THIS?!" Caelan blurted out.

"Did thaes sick bastards stick us wi' one o' oor dead fra the ambush?!" one of the others blurted out.

"Ah... dinnae remember anyin' takin' a hit lik' tha'..." another chimed in, pressing herself back into the corner as far away from the corpse as possible.

"Ach, ye cannae see everythin' in battle. Ah widnae put it past th' bone-chewer," another grumbled. "Still fookt fer them ta leave it in here wi' us, tho!"

"Oy, ye shet yer damn weesht in there!" a guard shouted in from the small barred window at the door, thumping on the door itself to emphasize the point.

Barabel got up and charged over, giving the door a swift kick. "Yer th' ones tha' left a damn corpse in 'ere wi' us! Yer hilarious, ye ken tha?!"

"Ah said shut-" the guard started to reply, but then paused as he conversed with another guard. "...whit dae ye mean, 'corpse'?" he asked suspiciously. "One o' ye kill yer own a'ready?"

"Dinnae play stupid, ye brought one o' the dead fra the field 'n' left 'em here, prolly jest to spook us!" Barabel said, kicking the door again.

There was another conversation at the door, then the other guard spoke up, "Step away fra the door. We're comin' in. Any o' ye so much as flinches withoot permission, yer fertilizin' the fields, ye ken?"

Barabel grumbled and reluctantly stepped back. "Whatever. Fine." She and Caelan sat back down well away from the door, glaring daggers at the guards as it opened up and they stepped through, weapons raised. Having been former guards themselves, they knew very well it was no bluff. It was only on Moyra's good graces they hadn't already been executed in a very bloody manner.

One guard kept watch on the prisoners while the other inspected the body. Her eyes shot wide open at the site and she looked around suspiciously. "Right, which one o' ye did thaes?"

"Very funny. We ken ye brought 'em fra th' battle jest tae fuck wi' us," Caelan accused.

The first guard took a step towards Caelan and shoved the tip of a long, sharp halberd under his chin. "Watch yer tongue or ye'll be joinin' 'em. Did ye do this?"

"...nae. Ah didnae do it. Ah'm na covered in blood, am ah?"

"None o' us a'. Tak' a look aroond," Barabel invited, gesturing to the cell. "Thir's nae splatter. Most o' these sorry shites arenae in any condition ta dae such a thing anyway. We jest foond 'im lik' tha'. How are ye playin' thaes games wi' us?"

The guards looked around, then exchanged a look. The one that'd been inspecting the corpse sighed and reluctantly lifted the body to begin carrying it out. "All o' ye best watch yersel'," the other warned, then slowly followed the other guard out, sealing the door behind them.

"...ah dinnae think they ken anythin' aboot it," one of the bandits commented after a minute. "'n' tha' didnae look lik' any blade-cut."

"Oh shut it, ye tadger," Barabel snapped. "They're jest fuckin wi' us. Dinnae play alang wi' it."

"...aye," Caelan agreed after a moment, though there wasn't as much conviction behind his voice as he looked around at his various injured, miserable looking fellow prisoners. "Jest fuckin' aroond..."

*****

The guards hurriedly stuffed the body into a small storage shed and blocked it off for the time being. One of them waved over another passing guard returning from the award ceremony. "Goan tell Grey we 'av a situation. Shouldnae be too serious, probably the prisoners jest tryin' some shite wi' each other, bit somethin' seems off 'n' he should see fer himself."

The other guard nodded, then rushed off to fetch the chieftan. A short time later, Grey showed up, looking decidedly nonplussed. "Whit's this aboot? Ah hope tis a guid reason ta ruin' mah mood sae early."

"Sorry sir, bit... well, 'av a look," the guards said, showing him to the body in the shed. "We jest foond I'm in the cell like tha', bit there wasnae enny blood anywhere."

"Aye, 'n' they wis accusin' us o' stickin' a body fra th' battlefield in wi' 'em."

Grey narrowed his eyes and shot a suspicious glare at the holding cell, thinking for a minute. "...keep a claise eye oon 'em. Listen fer anythin' suspicious, 'n' check in every hour or sae. Ah'll send ye some backup, jest in case'."

"Should we ask Moyra aboot it? She'll be able ta see if thir's somethin' streenge afoot," one guard asked.

"Nae, na todae. Let 'er enjoy herself wi' Faergus. Ah'll mention it tae her later if anythin' else comes up. But fer noo, jest stay alert."

"Sir?" the guard asked, quirking a brow. "Faergus?"

Grey smirked and patted them both on the shoulders. "Ye'll hear aboot it later, dinnae worry. Somethin' ta look forward ta efter yer watch."

"Aye, sir," the guards both said in unison, sharing a grin as the chief walked away again.

Meanwhile, back in the cell, Kerr, who'd remained silent and still the entire time, continued subtly drawing strange symbols in the dirt on the floor with his remaining hand. His half-blind, cloudy eyes stared blankly at the wall. An otherwise parched tongue briefly licked some lingering blood off his now very jagged, half-broken teeth as his mind churned in silence.

*****

The caravan set out around noon. They knew they'd end up camping out in wilderness before long, but luckily the Dunnyhill gang were experienced enough travelers that they knew of many good spots to do so along the road. The mood briefly turned somber as they passed the site of the ambush, but quickly bounced back a short time later as Lykou insisted on taking over for Finlay so that he could play them some music. By the time they did finally make camp on that first night, they'd made good time despite taking a fairly casual pace.

While the caravan had a couple tents, they were mostly used to sleeping under the stars, since the small tents tended to get rather cramped with all of them sharing the space. They mostly had them in case it looked like rain was approaching. As the group sat around a good sized campfire at dusk, Kuna pointed out he could always use his magic to add an extra shelter or two, albeit smallish crude ones, if necessary.

"Tis mighty decent o' ye, lad, bit we're fine fer noo," Bhaltair said.

"Besides, tis a beautiful night," Ealar commented, looking up at the stars. "Almost a full moon, looks lik'."

"Aye, almoost. Aboot three mair days, ah believe," Effie chimed in.

"Alwis love these nights oot on th' road," Finlay commented as he idly picked at his pridlin. "Oot in th' open air, stars creepin' overheid, sittin' by a warm campfire..."

Kuna smiled and enjoyed the music, then perked up and turned to Lykou after a moment. "Oh, speaking of stars... we need to re-cast that spell again, Kou."

"Oh, yeah, good point," Lykou said, taking the sereva's hand with a smile. He then turned to the others. "You guys wanna see some fancy magic?"

Kuna folded his ears down bashfully. "S'not that impressive... just some silly lights..."

"Oh come on, you know it is. You certainly thought it was impressive when you first did it, too, y'know," the konuul reminded him.

"Ye gonnae grow somethin' interestin' lad?" Gavin asked curiously.

"...not that kind of magic," Kuna said, looking away with a small grin. "...it's star magic."

"Star magic, ye say?" Finlay asked, pausing from his music.

"Whit's that?" Effie chimed in curiously.

"Well now you've certainly gotten their attention," Lykou pointed out with a grin, squeezing his friend's hand gently. "Go on."

Kuna sighed and rolled his eyes up for a moment. He didn't want to admit it, but a small part of him was excited to show it off, especially with the stars out and clearly visible. "Alright... here goes," he said, then straightened up and sketched the symbols in the dirt before manifesting the blue glow around his hands. Even that was enough to warrant a couple gasps from the lepne. But when he ignited the drawings and caused the light to appear and leap up to the stars, then dance around from one to another off into the distance, they all gawked at him and Ealar dropped the radish he'd been eating.

Once the spell was complete, Kuna followed through with holding his hand up to the sky until the star path was duplicated on the back of his hand. With that out of the way, he brought his hand back down and grinned somewhat bashfully. "...ta-da?"

The lepne stared at him in wide-eyed silence for a somewhat uncomfortable minute. Finally, Effie broke it as she broke into a big grin. "Pure dead brilliant, that."

"Ah'll say," Bhaltair agreed. "Yer headin' ta see the council when ye get ta Whitlan, aye?"

Kuna shyly nodded. "Y-yeah, Moyra said I should."

"Damn right ye should," Gavin agreed. "Even Moyra cannae dae tha'."

"Wellll... actually, now she can," Kuna replied, looking away with a coy expression.

"...aye?"

"She and I uh. Taught each other a couple things," the sereva informed them with a grin.

"Fuck yeah you did," Lykou said, rubbing his head softly. "I told you it was impressive."

"Ah bin ta th' druna council's garden afore, ah'll be glad ta take ye pers'nally if ye lik'," Ealar volunteered with a big grin. "Tis a big toun, 'n' ah ken ye dinnae lik' th' crowds, sae ah kin show ye th' quietest way."

"S-sounds good, thanks Ealar," Kuna replied. "But uh... h-how big is Whitlan, exactly? What's a... 'toun'?"

"Ach, right, yer na used tae bigger villages," Bhaltair said. "Weel... ye'll see when ye get there."

"Tis quite a sight, too," Finlay pointed out. "Biggest trees in all thaes hills growin' right in the middle."

"Tis th' council's sanctum," Effie explained. "Think Moyra's place, bit... bigger."

"Tha's an understatement," Ealar said, whistling. "Nae disrespect ta her, bit the council's sanctum mak' her hame look lik' a wee flowerpot."

"Aye, bit honestly thas whit ah lik' aboot her," Finlay chimed in. "Even unner tha' guise o' hers, she wis alwis one o' the mair humble drunas."

"True. She's a class lady, her," Bhaltair agreed. "Ah'm happy she's breakin' wi' stupid rules ta be wi' Faergus. They baith deserve it."

"Cheers to that," Lykou suggested, remembering how he'd heard the word used before as he raised his waterskin, then took a sip. The lepne all agreed and did similar with their various water jugs or cups.

The group sat around and continued chatting for a while, but finally everyone started to get sleepy and agreed it was time for bed. As everyone else was dozing off for the night, Ealar, Finlay, and Effie worked together to make sure the carts were secure for the night, before turning to get in bed themselves. The three grinned and shared a look after catching a glance at the sereva and konuul cuddled up together under their shared blanket.

"Thaes two sure look-" Ealar whispered to them, but then Effie shushed him.

"We all ken, bit let's na jump tae conclusions," she reminded him.

"Aye, if tis somethin mair there, let 'em figure it oot on thir oon," Finlay added. "'n' if na, tis a very special friendship, 'n' tha's bonny enoof."

*****

Back in Kerney, as the village slumbered, Kerr stirred. The other prisoners were asleep again, having had their meager evening meal and been given an extra day before Grey felt like dealing with them. The former bandit lord slowly rose from his spot on the ground and manifested his magic. Again, he set to slowly healing himself. His face and torso were almost completely restored, though his vision remained cloudy and he'd yet to address his missing arm. The time for that was coming, but first, he needed... energy. And the scraps they'd been begrudgingly fed were hardly enough to sufficiently restore his reserves.

He looked over the mostly-battered lepne sharing the cell with him and sized them up one at a time, mostly using his magical senses. After a few minutes, he made his choice and quietly approached one of the slumbering, bruised bandits, then knelt down beside him.

A few hours later, there was another fresh corpse laying in the room, turned in such a way as to hide a gaping wound, as well as a missing arm. And Kerr was laying back in his usual spot, facing the wall, licking blood from his lips as he prepared to doze off again. But before he did, he suddenly sat up again and looked around as a faint voice whispered to him, seemingly from all directions at once.

"...aye. Sae ye do exist, ah see," he quietly replied. More whispers came to him as a pair of ambiguous crimson figures faintly shimmered in and out of sight on either side of him. "Aye... aye," he answered to secret questions. Slowly a crooked grin spread across his face. "Aye. Ah'll do it then. Ah kin wait tha' lang."

Eventually, the entities faded from sight and he took a deep breath, listening for any signs that any of the others had awoken. When he was sure they hadn't, he laid back down himself and dozed off with a new plot churning in his mind.