Standing side by side Rullia and I for a moment seemed to have been lost in time, what we saw was a shadow of a man in a coat, standing before a building wrapped in flames in the centre of the town we just left.
In front of the building a silhouette of a man in a coat could be seen fleeing from the scene, I made a mental note to inform the proper authorities, when they finally arrived.
I turned to check on Rullia only to find, she was no longer at my side.
I looked around and quickly found her consoling a small girl.
She must have been the one who screamed.
I slowly walked towards them and as I got closer I felt the heat of the fire.
"Rullia, who is your friend ?" I asked.
"Her name is Jenny, she told me a stump was thrown through the window and before she could react the next stump was thrown, but it was on fire, and the moment it landed it started to spread.
She ran out and screamed, she also said the man in the coat looked her dead in the eyes and smiled."
When Rullia told me that, her face showed she was worried and all her colour was gone.
After what seemed like a rather long wait the town soon responded, the people who peeked from their windows now came out.
The guards arrived and one of them approached but said nothing and went straight to Jenny.
Jenny, who struggled free of Rullia, ran to the man who embraced her as soon as she got to him.
His voice was almost hoarse but he still managed to call out "are you ok Jenny?"
Seeing what happened Rullia stood up and came to stand at my side.
She then said " It sounds like it was done on purpose and she was not lying, this is how it all starts, but why did they do it tonight of all nights, I have a feeling I'll be accused, so before that I must make sure people know about that cloaked man."
"Excuse me?" Called the Guard with Jenny.
"Did you see what happend?" He asked as we turned to face him.
Rullia was first to answer.
"No, we did not, we heard a scream, then we saw the fire, but I can confirm that there was a man in a cloak standing right in front of the house, he ran as soon as he saw us, luckily Jenny was out by then too."
"That's right I saw the same, he ran that way then down that side street, can you think of anyone with a reason to do this ?"
The guard went quiet as he pondered for a moment, then spoke.
"I can't think of anyone who would do this or anyone holding a grudge against us!"
I asked. "Perhaps the grudge is not with you alone but with town authorities and this is the first step in the plan, assuming such people harbour a grudge of that nature, the other alternative is they could be planning on causing havoc and leaving it on the step of someone unsuspecting, thus causing all manner of issues."
Rullia was the first to comment.
"It would seem we can say for certain that although their motives are unknown, we can regard their intentions as bad, it would also be wise to consider them as a danger to the lives around them."
Everyone was quiet for a while, some just nodded.
It took a while but I noticed that our small group has many sets of ears listening in.
I took the opportunity to get things straight and called out to all in attendance.
"Excuse me all, if I may I would like to explain what we saw and give a first hand account of what took place, so please pay close attention!"
After a few moments everyone around seemed to have heard what I said and were waiting for me to tell them what's what.
"Earlier Rullia and I were by the rivers edge when there was a sudden scream, we rushed towards the village after hearing it, when we arrived here the house behind us was ablaze and before the house stood a hooded figure, once the hooded one was aware of our presence it ran off towards town and down that side alley, it was after that Rullia noticed this girl and she went to check on her.
After we managed to calm her down she told us her name was Jenny.
Now Jenny told Rullia that she was sitting in the house when a stump was thrown through the window and before she could react a second stump was thrown in but it was on fire and that fire spread fast, Jenny managed to get out and when she did she saw the man in the hood."
After I stopped there I said, "and that brings us to where we are now."
The people around started to talk amongst themselves and it's at this moment I took the chance to leave. I motioned to Rullia and we departed.
We were just outside the village when Rullia spoke up.
"Thanks for speaking up, I just hope it's enough to keep suspicion off my back, since you have heard my story you know what I have been through so I appreciate it."
I could not see her face as we continued towards the house we both call home, but I didn't need to, I knew she was troubled.
What I could not get out of my mind was how in her story of her old town how a single person showed up and caused all the havoc that caused her to leave after enduring what she went through all the fear. I was beginning to suspect and worry she would do something fearing a repeat of the past.
Who was that hooded figure and what was his purpose and was he after the guard or was that just a means to an end.
Once we arrived at the house I called out to Rullia.
"What are you thinking about? You have been quiet the whole way."
"Sorry this whole incident has my mind racing, I'm afraid Felix."
Her voice was so sad she sounded like she was on the verge of tears, she went to the door and went inside before I could say anything not that I knew what to say.
That's the second time today I've felt helpless and I worried if my helplessness would lead to something worse happening.