Ron wanted the earth to burst open and engulf him whole as his mother focused on him.
"What are you doing here?" asked Isanna to her son with a stern chilled voice. Ron knew perfectly well when his mother was furious and when to keep his mouth shut.
Derek hadn't expected to see Ron out here, he hadn't thought Ron to be one to break rules, he had always expressed that Ron was a quiet boy who had the misfortune of having to grow under her mother's shadow. Then he saw the other two girls on the other horse and had a bigger surprise, he knew both of them, the one in the back, the half-breed he recognized immediately the one he had sent to deliver the letter, Donald had recommended her. But the other girl, he also found familiar but it took him some time to place her, he had seen her from quite afar after all she looked a bit different now but she also had the same weirdly still eyes as her brother. This was Ash's sister, what was she doing here?
"Will somebody explain to me what's happening?" he asked.
Isanna went first, she explained the Urk attack in the valley, how it had killed Fiona's parents, and how she wound up with them. Derek knew about the attack from the old man's letter, he had hoped that the attacked village was not Ash's. It was a big tragedy, he had taken responsibility for Ash's well-being in front of his parents and had dreaded what would happen if he died on the job and how he would tell them the news, it was one of the reasons he liked working alone, but now the aspect of telling him this news felt even more difficult.
"I am sorry to hear about your parents, Ash should be fine, I had asked some of my friends to look after him, he should be fine," he said to Fiona.
"What are we doing with them now?" Isanna asked Derek.
"We need someplace to be, we can't deal with them..." Derek stopped talking as he heard a very quiet whistle in the air, an arrow? he grabbed Ron and pulled him down behind their horses at the same time, Isanna pulled Fiona behind her taking out her sword and Rin jumped and hid in the trees up high, her tail stiff. The arrow landed in a tree but it would have pierced both Derek and Ron if they hadn't dodged in time. The archer was nowhere near here, but the speed and accuracy of the arrow were alarming.
"Run!" Derek shouted and got back on his horse and when Ron got up too, they sped away.
"Keep your head down," he shouted again. He and Isanna were acting as shields for Ron and Fiona from where the arrow had come.
"What about RIn?" Fiona asked.
"She is following us in the trees, what's the plan Derek and where are we going? I think there are more than one, and they are seriously skilled," said Isanna.
"There's a small port town here, I have a contact there waiting for me with a ship, we need to get on it , we are not prepared to face them now, we have too many liabilities," he shouted back. They heard hooves.
"I hear three horses, they are coming in fast," said Isanna.
"Turn left from here," he shouted. The human kingdom didn't have a lot of places that touched the sea, the port town they were going to was an island but they had built a large bridge between the island and the mainland, it was a political and financial tactic, to be able to dip their hands in the sea trade, the people of the island used to be independent of the nation, a small tribe and even after being a part of the kingdom for decades now, they still didn't like the mainland people very much.
The riders were getting closer and closer still, they had only one very good and ruthless archer, his next arrow was also aimed at Derek's head, Isanna used her sword to block it, and she then felt the power behind it, when it rang through her arm. If the others were equally skilled as him then it would be a problem if they got caught.
Ron was clutching his horse tight and keeping his head down as low as possible was focused on riding as fast as he could. His heart was beating out of his chest, he was scared as hell even more than when he had faced the urks. Why the hell did he come here? He was now just another thing holding Isanna and Derek back, and because of him, they might all be killed.
The forest ended and the land suddenly dipped going downhill and the sea appeared in front of them out of nowhere, at the edge where the land and sea met there was a small island, the bridge that connected the island to the land, was so big, it had been expanded so many times to make sure there is no delay in carrying goods from land to island, that it was difficult to tell whether the island had ever been apart from the mainland. There were a lot carts and boxes, big house-sized carts carrying large boxes full off all kinds of expensive trade materials, and so there were a lot of guards at the bridge too. Ron and the others expected their assailants to slow down now, and once they crossed the bridge they should be fine for a while, but as the next arrow sailed by Derek's head nicking his ear, it landed in between a guard's eyes and his head almost exploded by the impact. Shouts rang out everywhere, swords unsheathed at once, horns sounding at the watch towers.
Derek pulled out his sigil and quickly made sure they weren't confused for the assailants, the guards let them through, and Fiona looked back wondering where Rin was as the cover of the trees ended, a dark shape jumped from the trees, and landed beside her horse, running on four legs, it was a black cat a bit larger than usual.
They looked back and finally saw the faces of their assailants come out of the trees. There were four of them, three on horses and one on his own who had somehow kept up with the horses.
"Is that?" Isanna spoke looking at the front man.
"Nefar," said Derek.
"Who is that?" asked Ron.
"Nefar, was in the academy with us, he has a long rivalry with Derek, in the annual tournament that happens at the capital, we were all participating, and he lost to Derek in the final match, and that's Ester beside him, she was there too, crazy archer, no doubt know why I felt that familiar chill when the arrows were flying by us, I had been wondering where they vanished after the academy, at first I thought they were just too ashamed to show their faces," said Isanna.
"They are working for the Black hand now, I remember those tattoos, they only care about money, and Nefar would anyway be happy to kill all of us even without any reason," said Derek.
"Black hand? I had been telling the old man for a long time, that we should do something about them, they operate right under our noses and we have no idea what sort of problems they have orchestrated in the continent so far," she said.
"We need to get on that ship soon, they'll find a way in soon, they always have a plan," said Derek, and they turned towards the city.