"Rose... Rose... Rose" Aldryn mumbled, "A female assassin named Rose", the blonde kept repeating.
"Have we met before?" the blonde then asked, giving up on trying to remember.
'I'm sure that I heard it before' he frowned.
"Not that I know of", she said and sat down at one of the empty tables, "But I sure did hear a lot about you", Rose then added with a gentle smile.
"From rumours? Or a common acquaintance perhaps?" he then asked and sat down near the woman, ignoring her men that now surrounded the two of them.
"Oh my", she said with a sly smile, "I do hope that my little Falcon is more then a mere acquaintance."
"Falcon?"Aldryn then wondered, "Could it be the same ranger that I am thinking of?" he then asked her.
'No way! Deryam?!!'
"There is no other that I can think of" the woman said and put a finger to her lips, "But let's not speak his name here" she then added.
"I'm not sure if I should be amazed or worried", Ylvis then sighed and sat down at the same table, "To think that you know such dangerous people", the older man said looking at Rose.
"It's the first time that the two of us met", Aldryn said unsure of himself.
"Oh? You sound disappointed?" Rose asked with a foxy smile, "After all the time that you have been searching for us?" she said and gestured to the men around her.
"I gave up on that a long time ago", Aldryn said with a sad smile, causing Ylvsi to look at him strange.
"What?" the Oracle of Earth begun to ask, but never got to finish his question.
"I'm ready" Ye Shin announced as she approached the table.
The company had one more drink to warm up before heading outside. There, where snow previously stood undisturbed, a powerful wind now swept it away. Most shops closed, or retreated back inside the buildings. While the smoke rising from the chimneys grew more dark and dense, as more wood was burnt to keep the walls warm.
Not being sure when he would get another chance to visit this place. On the way out, Aldryn quickly entered all the available shops and browsed through all the plants or items that were put up for sale.
The most impressive one belonged to Aether, the most renown Mercenary Guild. It was so big, in fact, that it was one of the very few to have branches spread in every corner of the world.
There, Aldryn bought a few more plants that would help him and Klyran grow stronger. He also managed to find five bracelets on sale that increased the user's resistance to cold. The blonde quickly bought two, for Klyran and himself. Yvlis bought another one, glad to decrease the feeling of being cold for even a bit and interested in the runes written delicately on the silver. While Rose bought the remaining two, one for herself and one for her beloved Falcon, happily claiming that the two of them can finally have at least one matching garment.
'Somehow I doubt that he will wear it' the blonde decided, but still smiled at the woman's happiness.
Despite the small detour, Aldryn assured his companions that it was a needed one.
"I agree" Rose and Ylvis both said at the same time.
Ye Shin could not help but sigh, if she knew that those three would have decided to go shopping before leaving, she would have sent them ahead.
While they walked, the four of them made small chat, trying to get more comfortable with each other. Rose's men followed from behind, staying far enough to not overhear their conversation, but close enough to be able to jump and help in case of danger.
"Who is this falcon that the two of you keeping talking about?" Ylvis wondered, looking between Aldryn and Rose.
"Oh... that Guy" Ye Shin spoke with a mocking voice, "Rose thinks that he is the love of her life", she laughed.
"Why are you laughing?" Rose then yelled, "See me invite you to our wedding then", she huffed in the end.
"Wedding?" Aldryn asked confused, "I am sure he is excited", the blonde said with glee.
'Can't wait for our next meeting' he grinned.
"I know right" the fox huffed amused.
Taking pity on poor Ylvis, Ye Shin jumped a step back to walk near him.
"They are talking about Deryam. He is a Tenarym who left the mountain. Apparently he took a fancy to human weapons years ago and decided to become a ranger" she explained, "Rose met him 8 years ago and apparently the two of them fell in love" she continued, mocking the word love.
"A Tenarym…" Ylvis quietly said, amazed that Aldryn knew one.
Tenaryms were a species who lived in the mountains. Unlike Monias, whom Ylvis lived with, the Tenaryms didn't like being underground and lived somewhere high. They especially loved the mountains with little to no access by foot. The nickname Falcon also now made sense. That species was known to have a human shape, only with great wings spurting from their backs. Rumour also said that there were many types of wings that the Tenaryms had, depending on their family lines, all resembling different bird species.
"It seemed though that the affection is one-sided?" Ylvis then asked unsure Ye Shin.
"Yeah", the other apostle snorted, "Just give Rose a few more years. Though her only chance to marry him would be if that poor guy develops Stockholm Syndrome", she then laughed, fully ignoring he friend who was throwing her a glare, having herd the conversation.
"Oh, Stop that" Ye Shin yelled at Rose, "You know you are just coming with us because you heard which God's temple we are heading to", she then snorted at the end.
"Now that is not true", Rose huffed and crossed her arms.
'What temple we are going to... Oh...' the blonde then looked at the sky, her presence now finally making sense.
Then, Rose suddenly stopped and made a quick hand motion. In less than a few seconds her men approached the group.
At those sudden actions, Ye Shin also stopped and quietly listened. Followed by Aldryn and Ylvis who tried to understand what is happening.
"Something is coming this way", Ye Shin quietly said, almost in a whisper.
At those words, both male apostles sharpened their senses. They listened for any noise. At first, Aldryn was unable to hear anything and even wondered what Rose and Ye Shin noticed.
"This must be the difference between them and me", the blonde thought with a sigh.
"There is something to your left", the fox then suddenly said alarmed, snapping the apostle out of his thoughts.
Aldryn's head suddenly tuned in that direction, a second after Ye Shin and Rose. Followed after that by Ylvis, who noticed where the others were looking.
"Are we surrounded?" Rose then asked, her eyes glancing to her friend.
"Almost", Ye Shin confirmed, her hand going to grip her bow, while another one the arrows.
At the same time, Rose took out her two kukris, while her men took out their own weapons.
"Am I the only one who doesn't sense anything?" Ylvis asked in a whisper as he approached Aldryn.
"Nehringis", the blonde whispered back, causing the other man to tense.
Nehringis were a species of canids. People often mistook them for the common wolves that could be found further North. They were pack creatures and never hunted alone.
Like many other creatures from this far South, those animals adapted and became more dangerous. Their fur and skin was thick, to protect them against the harsh weather. While their fangs were harder and sharper, to be able to tear into their prey without much difficulty. Those aspects made them hard to be hunted by humans. But at the same time, in the rare occasion that one was slain, their fur would be used to create the warmest clothes one could find in the world. While their teeth and bones created the best and most durable weapons and armours.
"How many of them are here?" Rose then quietly asked Ye Shin, who used her hunter stigma to analyse her surrounding.
"Five", she replied after a moment of glancing around.
"What is the plan?" Aldryn then asked, extremely glad that Ylvis and him didn't encounter any wild animals on their way to the village.
"It's best to avoid combat", Rose explained, "I will distract them, while you escape."
"We can't leave you alone", Ylvis insisted.
"Aren't you a gentleman?" the woman then laughed, "But don't worry, if I was caught that easily I would never be in the position that I am."
"Which is?" Ylvis then asked annoyed.
"She is the leader of the Shadow Legion", Aldryn answered with a wince, startling the other oracle.
At those words, the men that were near Rose tensed even more, looking unsure among themselves. Were it any other person, they would have been killed in that instance, for knowing Rose's true identity.
"So my little Falcon spoke often about me?" She only teased, waving her hand and calming down the men.
"A few times", the blonde nodded, his head turning often from left to right, trying to understand what the pack was doing, borrowing the powers of the fox.
"All good I hope", Rose then said with a wink and suddenly jumped up.
"I will give you 5 minutes before returning", the female assassin then said, "Get as far away from here as you can", she said sharply looking at her men with narrowed eyes, daring them to disobey her orders.
"I will leave some traces for you on the trees" Ye Shin nodded.
Then, the company split. Rose ran left, while the others ran right.