Fin dashed ahead through stone tunnels carrying the torch. He had to slow down, stop, and sometimes backtrack to avoid losing Brando. He held the light low, illuminating Brando's cautious footsteps. The terrain periodically shifted from flat to treacherous without notice. No matter how he held the torch, Brando had difficulty seeing his footsteps while carrying the unconscious princess.

They passed recognizable features like unique stone formations, mining tools, and a pile of dead bandits. They also found themselves looking at places they did not recognize. Still, they continued forward, lungs burning from exertion.

Finally, Brando called for a halt, "I need to rest for a minute. Do you think you can take this thing for a while?"

"It's not a thing; she's a she," Fin mimicked the princess. He immediately felt a tinge of guilt threaten to rise in his chest. He shoved it down with the rest of his troubles and followed through with the joke, "She's a special princess."

"She's a special pain in the ass, is what she is," Brando said with a smile hidden behind exhaustion and shadows.

"Give her here. I'll try to take her for as long as I can." Fin set the torch down and scooped his arms under her. She was lighter than he expected. He wasn't used to how strong he had grown over the last few days. He was still tired and hungry but felt he could carry her the rest of the way out if needed.

With Brando in the lead, Fin fell into a rhythm of steps and breathing. His heart pounded at a steady pace, somewhere between elevated and erratic. The drooping weight in his hands bore down on him. Still, he persisted in the mindless march through the endless tunnels. The crunching of rocks and echoes of heavy breathing occupied his thoughts.

"I think we're close," Brando said with an uncertain whisper. The spoken words directed their minds back to the present.

"Okay, here's the plan," Fin's words betrayed his drowsiness. "As soon as we reach the mouth of the cave, I'm going to kill all the grass I can and try to revive her. I don't know if I have much energy left, but try my best."

"Let me take her then," Brando hoisted the girl out of Fin's arms. "Take the torch."

Fin thought he had stepped into another large cavern when the wind blew on his skin. The pitch-black night offered rustling trees, distant voices, and other evidence of their freedom from the mine. But he had more pressing issues before he could bask in the open air.

Violent Healing came to life with a colorless haze of light. Fin placed his filthy hand on Dezi's equally dirty face and pushed life into her from the surrounding foliage. The flow of healing started weakly and slowly degraded into a tiny trickle. Still, he held fast to the ability until it was gone entirely.

"That's all I have," Fin said drowsily. "You'll have to take her from here. I'm completely spent."

Brando picked the princess off the brittle grass and started for their inn. He didn't need to turn around to know Fin was following him. The disheveled sound of feet dragging behind him was enough.

"Halt in the name of the King!" Brando heard from behind him mere steps from the inn. "What's going on here? What's going on with that young lady?"

Brando knew he should have circumnavigated the street lantern's light, but he got greedy for his bed. He stopped and turned towards the authoritative voice as two stern faces came into the light. One of them sized them up under bushy eyebrows, and the other glared at them over a pointed nose.

"We just got out of the mine. No one told us how rough it would be," Brando said as nonchalantly as he knew how.

"You're mercenaries then?" eyebrows asked, approaching closer. The other stood back and watched silently. "What happened to the girl?"

"She just got a little bruised up in there," Brando responded. "All she needs is a good night's rest."

"She looks like she needs a physician," The guard responded. "Where are you going?"

"The Hornblower," Brando said, pointing ahead.

"To bring her to your room?" Pointy Nose accused.

"She has her own room," Fin explained, caught off guard by the brash implication. "We are not thugs. Follow us if you want, but we've all had a long day, and no one has the energy for your bottomless pit of questions."

"You would be wise to mind your attitude, boy," Nose warned. "We'll escort you to the Hornblower, but if your story doesn't check out, we'll lock you up until her story does."

Eyebrows opened the door to the Hornblower and gestured Fin and Brando inside. The common room was empty, except for a boy sleeping in a cot behind the bar.

The guard cleared his throat and dropped a heavy fist on the counter, startling the boy awake.

"I was just closing my eyes, sir." The boy rushed to stand before the guard. "How can I help you?"

"Does this young lady have a room here?" The guard asked.

"I don't know, sir. I've never seen her before," The boy replied honestly.

The guard furrowed his eyebrows at Brando, waiting for an excuse. "I thought you said she had a room here?"

"She spoke to the innkeeper." Brando held back any further remarks.

"Shall I wake him?" The boy asked, eager to resolve whatever conflict there was.

"I don't know," The guard said, eyes trained on Brando. "Should he get him?"

"Yes, just get him," Fin jumped in. "The sooner you get the innkeeper, the sooner we can all go to bed."

When the innkeeper came out, he didn't look happy. But he smiled regardless. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?"

"Does she have a room here?" the guard pointed at the unconscious girl.

The innkeeper wiped the fog from his eyes and looked closely at the young woman. "Aye, she paid for her room in advance. What happened to her?"

Deli's face looked beaten and bruised. A light scratchmark drew a red line across her left cheek to the top of her upper lip. Three deeper gashes paralleled the line to the bridge of her nose. Dirt and dry blood crackled around her face from chin to temple.

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"She was struck in the face by a cave troll," Brando replied. He faced the guard, "Are we good here?"

"She's going to need someone to look at those wounds," the guard said, giving the oddly familiar-looking girl an appraising look. "If you leave her like that, those wounds will fester."

"Just take her to her room. I'll have Martha come up and see to her face. It will probably leave a scar, but that's not bad for a mercenary, ey? The more scars, the more money, is how I understand it," The innkeeper tried lightening the mood. He turned to his son and gestured for him to wake his mother. "Can I offer you, gentlemen, anything else? Ale?"

"None for us, thanks," The guard said sadly. He clapped his hands together and made for the exit. "The night is still young."

"Water, please," Fin croaked, watching the guards leave.

"Water for me, too," Brando said, walking toward the stairs with the princess in his arms. "I'll be right back."

The following day, Fin woke up with a square patch of sunlight in his eyes. He tried looking at the dirty clothes he was still wearing, but his neck wouldn't allow it. His body was sore, and his mobility was restricted to only slight movements. He slid his feet out of bed, dropping kernels of dirt and rock on the wood plank floor. He needed a bath, but he settled for the cloth and washbasin sitting in the corner of his room.

When he was clean, or at least less filthy, he donned his red outfit. He wandered out of his room to check on Brando.

"How are you feeling?" Fin asked, looking down at the bedraggled man.

"My muscles are sore, and my body hurts. I want to stay in bed," Brando complained. "Is the princess dead?"

"I haven't checked." Fin unstowed Brando's second set of clothes and placed them on the bed. "If she is, we'll need to get out of town before anyone finds out."

Brando sat up in bed with more grunting and groaning than was probably necessary. "Order me breakfast; I'll be down in a minute."

Brando finally appeared on the staircase, taking one step at a time and firmly gripping the handrail. He approached Fin's table and sat down slowly in a chair. "I feel like I've been beaten with a bag of rocks."

"As soon as we get out of town, I'll heal you up, but if we don't leave soon, we might not be leaving at all," Fin cautioned.

The innkeeper brought two plates of food just as a guard stepped through the door. The guard stepped up to the bar and stood, scanning the common room.

"I'll be with you in a moment," The tired innkeeper said, setting two plates on their table.

"It seems the princess has gone missing," The guard stated, not waiting for the innkeeper's attention. "Has anybody seen her? She's about nineteen years of age, blonde hair, and about this high." The guard held his hand up to his shoulder level.

Fin and Brando shared a look. Both held their breath.

"There is a girl upstairs that roughly matches that description, but I don't believe she's the princess. She's with these two." The innkeeper nodded toward Fin and Brando. "You're mercenaries, am I right?"

Fin cleared his throat. "Yes, we're mercenaries."

The guard shook his head. "We're checking all shops, inns, and alleys. I'm sure she'll show up somewhere. I'll just take a look."

"She was attacked by a cave troll last night in the mine," Fin quickly said. He only needed to buy some time to settle the bill and leave. "She needs the rest. Can you come back later?"

The innkeeper nodded. "Martha was up until all hours seeing to her wounds. She's got some pretty nasty thrashings."

The guard hesitated and said, "Alright, I suppose I can come back."

As the guard turned to leave, the innkeeper, in all his ignorance, said, "Wait, here she comes now. See for yourself."

Fin's heart stopped as he saw the dainty princess walk down the stairs. She wore a black gown that looked nothing like something she would own. It was probably lent to her by the innkeeper's wife. She wore a yellow scarf that veiled the left side of her clean face. When she saw the guards, she stopped and turned her face away. She then began going back to the direction she came from.

"Stop!" the guard demanded, but the princess ignored him and fled to her room.

The guard opened the front door, leaned out, and summoned two others inside.

"Something is going on. Make sure nobody leaves." He waited for the guards to acknowledge, and then ran up the stairs.

Fin shoveled eggs, potatoes, and sausage into his mouth. Whatever he was up against, he didn't want to do it on an empty stomach. He could hear the guard bang on the door and demand it be opened. Finally, he heard the click of a latch and the creak of a door swinging open.

"What's the meaning of this?" The guard's voice boomed from the second floor. "Princess? Is that you? What happened to your face?"

Shock and horror overcame the faces in the common room. The innkeeper's expression shifted from concern to surprise and then back to concern.

"She never said she was the princess!" Brando said with false confusion. It was a pitiful attempt at self-preservation. He looked at the stern-faced guards and sighed. Their lives rested on the balance of Dezi's caprice, which wasn't a good place to be.