"Feeling better?" Tercius asked his uncle as he melded another stone into one of the final stairs that led up to another hatch.

"Nothing to worry about, just old age," Lux replied.

"Then how about we start moving." Tercius proposed.

"A good idea," Lux said and got up from the dirt-packed floor. "Let me scout a bit around first."

His uncle went up the impromptu stairs Tercius made, opening the hatch, and letting the late evening light in.

"A nice skill you have there," said Seliana pointing at the shoddily shaped stairs.

"Yep." was all he said, intending to leave it at that.

Seliana clearly got the message, but Penelope still could not believe her eyes.

"When did you get it? It must be a high level one to be able to do this." Penelope said as she held Amber in one hand and the other caressed the smooth stone stairs.

"A long time ago. You yourself must have some high-level ones?" he tried deflecting.

"Oh, I have one that is 21, but I have been working on it for years now." the 12-year-old girl replied absentmindedly.

"Be quiet!" they heard Lux whisper, as the man himself appeared at the top of the stairs. "Tercius come here."

Piles of earth and rubble littered the surroundings around the small metal hatch, from which Tercius emerged. It appeared that the hatch was buried under a small layer of rubble. Their surroundings offered some protection from direct sight, so Tercius crouched low. The ground floor was practically a ruin with no ceiling above, and barely any wall left standing. High above them, the sky was starting to turn dark.

The place where they emerged was near the edge of the slums, where only the most desperate came to live. The further away from the walls, you got, the larger the response time from the soldiers would be if they even deigned to come out. Mostly they just opened the gates and let people in as they came running.

I guess that even something like a slum can have different levels of quality. he thought.

The walls themselves were a creation of the previous centuries, and since the time they were built the population of the city swelled. The overflow of the poor was often spilled in the surrounding area around the gates of the walls. The poor were not the only ones to live here.

At other times a surge of refugees came to the protection of the city, for this or that reason. Mostly escaping from rampaging beasts of some kind.

When the numbers within the city reached a critical level, these people were sent out, and those who preferred staying in the shadows of the wall rather than going back to their old homes, and then these two groups built the whole slum area. It was a rough place to live, with the only advantage it provided over the alternatives away from the cities was protection. And for most people that was enough.

Periodically the local authority came over and chased away most if not all of those present, destroying the dwellings in the process. As Tercius understood it, within a week people would usually start to come back. Those that survived, that is. The soldiers, the weather, predators, and on top of all of that the other slum residents, all of these factors reduced the number of returning survivors.

The basement of the house from which they emerged was probably built during one such large refugee wave, because the wall was some 200 meters in the distance, and was one of those furthest away from the wall.

"Come here." his uncle said, waving him over. Tercius crouched near the man and followed where Lux's finger pointed. Using Mana Sight, he found a group there, too tightly packed together for him to be able to discern how many there were exactly.

"Five to eight would be my best guess," he said to Lux. "But all of them have a below-average Mana signature. Well below."

"So probably not someone after us then." his uncle concluded. "But still, I will have to lure them away from there."

Tercius saw his uncle activate the enchantment for camouflage and the man slowly shimmered, fading away from sight. Tercius could still see something like a blur where the man stood, but that was only because he was already looking at him before the enchantment activated. He had an image in his mind of that place and knew that something was wrong. Once Lux started moving, it got a lot harder to spot him, even though it was possible.

Tercius heard the men shout something and then he saw them run towards the walls.

His uncle came appeared near him a moment later with a grin on his face.

"What did you do to them?" Tercius asked quite curious about his uncle's methods.

"A secret," Lux said, obviously quite satisfied with himself.

"Suit yourself."

***

"We need to move to that forested area there." his uncle said, pointing with his finger at the place in question. Tercius would guess the distance at somewhere under a kilometer, something that Tercius could run across in three minutes or less. His uncle could maybe do it in under four if he pushed himself.

But Penelope and Seliana?

One a 12-year-old girl with no skill that gave her an edge, and the other a woman who just got up from a bed after months of laying in one place. The potion helped restore her muscles, but even still it would be a lot to ask her to run a kilometer.

So they decided to go at a brisk walking speed.

Once no one was in sight, Tercius went first in line, Penelope following closely after him, then Seliana closely after her, and finally, at the end of their column was Lux.

The most difficult part was after they left the cover of the ruins around them where for a small stretch of their path they would have no cover. Some 80 meters and then the hill sloped down, and from there on they would no longer be seen from the wall.

There was no other recourse than to do it, even though it would be suspicious, the soldiers would not come to check it out without a direct order.

It was a long 40-second walk. Just he was about to go out of the view of the wall did he turn his head around and use his skill to check behind them for Mana signatures. Relishing the sight of the only light green Mana signatures, he relaxed and made a nod to his uncle.

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"So what now?" asked Seliana.

"Once we come to those woods, we move west through them, until we come to the coast, then we move north-west," Lux answered.

"And then?"

"Less talking, more walking Seliana, just look at Tercius and Penelope, let them be your role models," Lux said.

"Oh is that right," said Seliana. "I am here because you came along and made me the most wanted person in the city, and now I and my daughter have to escape at night time outside the walls."

"There should be an "also you saved my life" somewhere in there. You have never been an ungrateful person before Seliana, what happened?" Lux said.

Tercius and Penelope exchanged a look and hurried a bit ahead, neither wanting to listen to the bickering elders.

"I thought that they were supposed to be adults?" Tercius whispered to Penelope, who merely shrugged.

"Mother can be a bit childish at times. It can get pretty embarrassing at times." Penelope confided.

"I hope it's not contagious," he said and they shared a laugh.

The night was taking over the day just as they were to enter the woods. Tercius thought to make a quick check before they went in and used Mana Sight. Not surprisingly the green Mana of the plants was the most prevalent, with a few minor critters here and there. Turning back, he observed the path which they took to get here, and what he saw there did surprise him.

"Uncle, people are approaching us from behind, and fast, they are using something as a mount that I never saw before. Any chance that they are yours?" Tercius said, letting his voice get a little louder.

"No. Move! As fast as you can, move for the woods, we need cover. Tercius, are the mounts feline in shape? How many?" his uncle asked, as everyone started to run, Tercius briefly used Visualization, and like a flash of light in front of his eyes the image appeared, allowing him to run forward without looking back.

"Yes, and the riders are quite small in stature. I think four." Tercius answered. The woods were just ahead, and those mounted humans were just going down the hill, from where they last saw the wall. Some 850 meters separated them, by his rough estimation.

Glancing back he saw how far they came in the last five seconds since he spotted them, and comparing the progress they made in that time he calculated that these riders would reach them in less than a minute.

"We have roughly a minute until they catch up to us," he informed those who needed to know.

"Lux!" Seliana raised her voice as she ran. "If it comes to it, you will take Penelope and Tercius and run. They only want me."

"Who do you take me for? Let's just reach the woods and I will handle the rest." his uncle said as he ran. "Tercius. Penelope. You will each go under one arm of Seliana, and pretend to be scared. Seliana, you pretend to be exhausted, can you do that?"

"I am already exhausted," Seliana said as they reached the first trees.

"Run for ten more seconds, then stop and do as I said. I will go ahead." Lux said and disappeared into the thinly wooded area.

They ran between the foliage in the dim light and they had to make sure each step found a proper spot to stand on, the canopies above blocking most of the remaining light. It was that time of day where both a small part of the sun was visible in the west and the moons above. The dark woods seemed to take the given light and then twist it into something sinister, that made their skin crawl.

Seliana and Penelope suddenly had a thought that maybe taking a chance against the mounted riders that chased them from behind was better than being in here, at this time of day.

"Don't worry, it's just the light playing tricks. Nothing to worry about." Tercius said.

"I would not bet on that." a voice said behind them and they heard growls rumble in the wake of the cold female voice. If Tercius had any hair growth on his arms, it would be up in blanching fear from those growls. He felt as if a predator was nearby, sniffing for his next meal, and there was nothing Tercius could do to stop him from getting the piece of meat the beast wanted.

As Lux instructed them, they hugged close to Seliana, seemingly frightened, and they turned around to see their pursuers.

"Look here sisters, what a great catch." another voice said from the side of the first one.

"Where is the man?" another woman's voice piped in, this one with a playful tone.

"Probably ran away, how typical." the first one said with a disdainful snort.

As the women talked among themselves he took a moment to examine their mounts. Some panther-like beast, their size was just right for the small and lithe women to use them as mounts. These beast blended in the night so well, one could almost overlook them.

"The contract is just for the woman, what are we to do with these kids?" one asked.

"If they come along willingly, we will take them, probably get a bonus. That weasel said that his master had money in spades, so let's milk him for more, I say."

Tercius saw that all of these women had some kind of markings on their faces, which reminded him of a story he read once, in a book he borrowed from Perdinar’s store.

"Why are the Daughters attacking another woman? And a girl?" he said loudly.

The women laughed. "Are you that girl?"

While they laughed he thought of what he read. "Do you not fear what Maj’Kaala might do to your souls once you return to her?"

That left them all in silence.

Maj'Kaala was a local Divinity of one the largest islands of Isgea, where these ladies probably came from. The mounts, their small stature, and those facial markings gave them away to Tercius.

Maj'Kaala was depicted as a protector of women everywhere, one of her sacred teachings was related to avoiding physical harm to women, especially those who carry a child. Most of her followers were found on the large island itself, and outside of it, it was mostly a religion to which women were drawn to. Women who followed the religion called themselves Daughters of the Divine Mother. There were also Sons, but they rarely ventured outside the sacred isle.

"We were told that the woman is wanted, so our Divine Mothers rules do not apply to her." the woman at the front, the apparent leader of the bunch, said.

"And how can you be sure? What if she is being framed, or if these people lied to you?" he said.

"And what if you are the one who tells lies?"

"I did not lie. This woman is wanted by everyone, but not because of a crime like you say. No. She is wanted because of what she can do. She is a potion maker of great skill, you see." Tercius tried with the truth, or at least close to it.

"I can not take your word little boy. Come with us to the city and if what you say turns out to be true, then we will personally escort you back here. Through blood and steel if necessary." said the leading woman.

The panthers started growling and sniffing abruptly, snapping their head this then that way, while their riders tried to make them obey.

The women tried to make them obey, yet the panthers went wilder with each passing moment. Tercius heard a voice near him. "Hold your breath."

The beasts started sneezing and one of them rolled over, pinning a leg of the woman who rode the beast, under its side. Tercius heard a crunch, probably a bone snapping, and then the woman started screaming, the sound spreading far and wide in the night.

Not daring to inhale, he brought a hand to his mouth and nose, pinching one, and covering the other.

Turning back he saw Seliana and Penelope had already done the same, and they all slowly inched away from there.

After a moment, the beasts stopped struggling, falling like lifeless sacks of meat in the easiest position they managed.

"What have you done?" roared the leading woman, a curved sword of some kind in her hand, as she glared at them with murderous eyes, promising retribution. Yet her voice carried a palpable grief in it.

"Let's just say I equalized the field a bit." his uncle said as he appeared behind one of the women, one hand pulling the woman's hair, thereby exposing her neck and mostly the dagger held on her throat. A large smile split his face, showing all of his teeth.

The leader spun, searching for the voice. "Saara." she hissed, as her voice cracked.

"Let me tell you what is going to happen now." his uncle calmly said. "If you refuse…"

***

"So the panthers are not dead?" Penelope asked, surprised.

"I'm not an idiot. If I killed those sacred animals of theirs, for them this would have turned this from a quest for money to some kind of zealous vengeance. I have seen zealots, and rarely have I been more frightened than when I gazed in those eyes of theirs." Lux said, shivering a bit, either from the night's chill or an old memory that came to mind. "When you can, avoid them, that's my advice. When you can't… then terminate with extreme prejudice."

"And how did you know that they would lay down their arms?" Tercius asked.

"Their panthers are going to stay asleep for at least half a day. That woman I took as a hostage was so alike the leading woman, that I thought that they were either sisters, or mother and daughter. That usually does the trick. And they are mercenaries, once they see that the more likely end is death rather than money, well..." his uncle explained. "Once I told you to get away, I explained to the woman about the panthers and Seliana’s situation and released my captive, making them finally see reason. Now, that idiot who hired them is going to have a problem. I guess that that can be counted as a third solution to zealots. Pit them against someone else, an enemy preferably, and let them kill each other."

All of them lapsed in silence at those words of wisdom from his uncle. Lux had opened some doors this evening in both Tercius and Penelope. Seliana observed how the youngsters would react to all of what they heard, while Lux returned to his observation of the surroundings.

Tercius absentmindedly scratched the head of the little lioness in his arms as he thought over the events and the words he witnessed this night.

The woods slowly grew thicker, as they headed west, walking for over five hours since their encounter with the Daughters of the Divine Mother.

The woods were abruptly cut off as they saw the sea, a stone cliff of over 30 meters separating water and vegetation. Jagged teeth lined the cliff, and Tercius was sure that whoever fell on one of those had no hope of ever getting off of it.

Only if it snapped and fell into the sea. he corrected.

No one wanted to stay near the edge so they moved back between the trees, roots, and bushes, as they felt safer knowing that something other than stone and earth stood below their feet.

Just over an hour after what Tercius judged as midnight they saw a small beach, its sand white in the moonlight. They saw that near the sea a man tended to a fire, a boat quite near him.

And they knew that they made it.

At least this far.