The kid's face was dirty. It was pale, with blackness clinging to his skin from the fire. There were also clear tear tracks running down his cheeks, covered by cuts and crusted blood.
"Hello", Aldryn said with a kind smile, looking at the boy, "Are you all right? Is anyone injured?"
The blonde could not help but look at this boy. He could somewhat understand him.
'Did I looked that scared that night?' the oracle could not help but wonder, remembering his own tears and terror from when the Scavengers attacked his camp.
The boy glanced at the newcomers, trying to understand if they were dangerous. After coming to a decision, he closed the door and then noises were heard from inside the room. People have come together to remove all the furniture and items that they used to block it. The group waited patiently, all except Aldryn. The blonde was nervous, he begun pondering over the words that Shyra said. The Scavengers have attacked many temples without care. It made him wonder just how safe it was for Zevram. Even his spell to protect the forest, while similar to the one of the mines, was still weaker, since it was new.
Finally, when the door opened and they were let inside, the group could not help but notice the state of the room. The drapes were thorn from their places and used as bandages on the injured. The stench of blood permeated the air. There were women inside shielding away their children, some were even gently shushing their infants.
"Wish my magic was better", Aldryn sighed looking around.
"I could say the same", Ye Shin spoke gently, approaching the women and taking out from her bag the medicine that she carried and found on the way.
The assassins in their turn, also approached the apostle and offered her their own bags packed with medicine to be passed on further.
"Where is...?" Ylvis begun to ask, but quickly noticed a presence in the room that was different from the others.
It was a woman. She was laying on a bed, with a bloodied face. Her hair was the reason why Ylvis managed to recognize her. Even with blood, it still had its unique characteristics. While the apostle's hair was red, what made it special was that in shadows, the colour seemed close to brown, while in light, it appeared almost pink. When he approached her, the woman's brows twitched and her eyes opened.
She looked at the newcomers and seemed to recognize them. Then, she glanced around the room and saw the medicine being passed to the people.
"Thank you" she said in a weak voice.
While Rose would usually reply to such words with something ridiculous, she kept quiet in that moment.
The group begun to look around. Despite seeing the horrible state of this mansion, there were still a few things that they needed to confirm. Rose approached some of the women and begun questioning them. The weather in those parts was harsh. The female assassin needed to know what provisions were lacking and what the storages still contained.
Her men followed swiftly, taking note of the information.
"To think that assassins would ever help people", Ylvis muttered quietly.
"That goes against their job description doesn't it?", Ye Shin jokingly said.
The three apostles sat near the mistress of the mansion. She weakly told them what happened. How one of the walls that surrounded the gardens was blasted away. How the people who were managing the flowers there have all died by the impact. Then, the strange looking men came inside and started slaughtering everyone.
"I tried to help them", she said mustering all her strength.
"It's all right", Ylvis said with a gently voice and urged her to lay back down.
Most of the blood that covered her face was by now dried and pulled at her skin. Aldryn was the one who rose up and got a cloth with some warm water. Ye Shin was the one to take the items from the blonde and wiped the woman's face. Slowly, the blood disappeared. After giving her some water to drink as well, the Apostle of that Temple introduced herself as Bai.
Deciding to let her rest, Ye Shin stood up and approached the women tending to the injured. She was surprised after hearing the story. So surprised in fact, that she called over Aldryn and Ylvis to listen as well.
According to the woman, the attack begun at the Western wall. A fact that they have already hear from Bai. After that, men, whom Aldryn now knew were the Scavengers, invade the gardens and tried to make their way to the mansion. There were not many fighters in the mansion to begin with, most of the people there who knew magic only learned supporting spells.
The battle was mostly one-sided. The people who both lived there or were simply visiting the temple were slaughtered. Their defensive spells didn't last long. Apparently, the attackers had something that could counted spell, nullify them. It was something that nobody knew before. Even the men from the Shadow Legion found it interesting. But that was not all. According to the woman, just when they got desperate and prayed for someone to come save them, hope came. A fight broke out among the Scavengers, causing chaos among the group.
This surprised the group. The news that someone started a fight seemed absurd. Even more absurd was who started it. It seemed that when all their invaders finally entered the mansion's lands, the last to come in were two women. They were both elegantly dressed, making everyone's looks on them last a few seconds. One of them wielded a black spear with golden elements. It perfectly matched her dress, only that she never drew out her weapon. It was the second woman, her companion, who did. As if instructed by the first, the second woman took out her sword, which was as big as her, and attacked the nearest Scavenger. She moved swiftly and even caused a confusion to raise among them.
At those words, Ylvis and Aldryn look at each other.
"Do you think…?" the apostle of Earth begun to speak.
"That Shyra was actually defended those people?" the blonde asked and looked around himself, "Seems like it…. But it doesn't make sense", he said and even the Thrae kept quiet.
"You should go" it was Rose who spoke first after hearing the story from the woman, "Isn't your friend in danger?" she asked when Aldryn wanted to protest.
"Shyra did imply that the Scavengers were after Klyran", the Thrae finally spoke, after maintaining quiet for a few good hours.
"Ylvis", the blond quietly begun to speak, "What are the chances of the Scavengers breaching the forest?", he asked, fearing the answer.
"They should be safe", he replied, speaking of both Klyran and the people who lived in the village.
"Even with this magic cancelling skill or item or whatever that was?" he asked again.
But this time, even Ylvis wasn't sure what to say.
"Rose is right. We got this", Ye Shin said and approached the duo.
"More of my people are coming this way. We will keep this place safe until the wall is not raised back up again", Rose then said with a sly smile.
Hearing this, the blonde nervously nodded. Ylvis and him then went and bid Bai good bye. Seeing the two of them leave, the weakened woman only smiled and expressed her gratitude to the two of them for coming.
"It's not like we were of much help", the blonde said and looked around himself, seeing the destruction.
"No. But you came to help us, despite not even knowing anyone here. It means more to us than you could ever imagine", she said in nearly a whisper.
"If there is anything that you might ever need…I won't remain in your debt", Bai then continued.
After saying their farewells, the two apostles went back to Rose and Ye Shin.
"It has been nice to meet the two of you" the apostle of Harym said.
"I hope to meet you again", Rose then told Aldryn with a wink. "And make sure to pass my love to my little Falcon if you meet him on your way."
The two of them even said goodbye to the men that followed Rose, despite not talking much with them.
Then, they departed. Despite it being a long way, the two begun to run straight away. They needed a few breaks over the journey, but the urgency forced them to travel both day and night. When the two rested, they would eat and drink, but otherwise, the rest of the time was spent on foot.