As they were about to cross a shallow river that was quite wide and rocky, Vir, Carl and three other men saw three strangers who seemed to be waiting for them on the other side of the river.
"Hey, Carl!" Vir said, trying to act normal. "Do you know the three guys on the other side?"
Carl and his three friends frowned.
"No," replied one of Carl's friends. "We don't recognize them."
"Their clothes are so different from ours," said another. "Black-on-black. Hey, are they assassins?"
"This is bad, Vir," Carl said. "I don't think they're good guys."
"Yeah, me neither!" replied Vir.
"What do we do now?" the last man asked.
"It looks like they waited for us there on purpose," said Vir. "Tell you what. Act like we're nobodies. But watch your weapons. We don't know what they want."
The three men dressed in all black across the river were the three assassins who were Avarius' men.
