Blood dripped from the bottom of a jute sack dangling from Yara's saddle. It contained the severed head of a cockatrice they'd stumbled on earlier. Judging by its size it'd snacked on convoys and traders travelling the roads, something which would usually rack up a significant bounty. Males weren't typically this aggressive, but this one had been. She'd managed to avoid its large, sharp spurs this time around, meaning that she wouldn't be saddled with yet another big, ugly scar.

  Yara zoned herself out somewhat as Githeon focused on looking around somewhere he'd never been before. Prior to his departure from Talamh Fiaigh he hadn't travelled away from home at all. Everything around him was different. The snow, the wind, the trees, even the grass grew differently than at home. In his observation he saw a poster hanging from a sign along the road. On it was a sketch of a woman's face, with underneath it a short but concise description of more of her appearance. The sketch madde her look incredibly disheveled and exhausted. It wasn't exactly a flattering portrait. Githeon stopped to look at it and Yara took note. She got out of her saddle and walked up to the signpost.

  'Eleyna... wanted for the crime of necrom...' Githeon's voice turned from mumbling to silence as he came closer to the end of the sentence. He looked at Yara, whose face had turned pale as a ghost.

  'Something wrong?'

  'N- no,' she stuttered as she attempted to retain her composure. Githeon's eyes shot back and forth between the wanted poster and Yara's face. He saw what he thought to be some similarities between the two.

  'Do you recognise her?'

  'I do,' she said whilst she tried her hardest to sound calm, 'we've met.'

  The judge's eyes widened a little.

  'You've met... her?' he jerked his head at the image on the poster, 'the necromancer and fugitive?'

  'Yes, it was a while ago though,' said Yara. Githeon took her word for it.

  'We should keep going,' he said, 'before my fingers freeze off.'

  When Yara had seen the poster thoughts had begun racing through her mind. Eleyna was still around, maybe even in the area. Her aunt. The real reason her face had gone so pale when she laid eyes on the pamphlet wasn't because Eleyna was a criminal, but because she was family. Yara's last "living" family. Her mother was long gone and now her guardian was dead and buried, which meant that Eleyna was the last person she could turn to. She shook her head to wake herself up from her deep thoughts and looked around. Githeon noticed how suddenly she'd moved.

  'Everything alright?' he raised an eyebrow as he asked her.

  'Hmm? Yeah,' said Yara hastily, 'yeah I'm fine.'

* * *

  They approached a small abandoned village. Each of the houses was partially buried under a circular wall of dirt which surrounded the town. All of them had access to the square in the middle of the town. Yara began to look for its inhabitants, but as she explored the village one thing stood out most of all: every door was bolted shut, and all the windows were boarded up. She knew the people were still there, as she could see tufts of smoke rise from the chimneys, but there wasn't a soul outside. Yara and Githeon looked at each other, then around themselves. It was only when they got a little further into the town that they heard something huff and grunt loudly, followed by a rumble. From out between the houses walked a large mammalian creature. It was shaped similarly to an ox, yet twice the size of any ox bull either Yara or Githeon had ever seen. From the top of its low-hanging horse-like head protruded a single horn that exceeded even Githeon's towering figure in length. The animal was covered in a shaggy, brown coat of fur. It huffed once more and used its thick neck to turn its head as much as it realistically could. It looked at the two new arrivals with one of its large, dark brown eyes. Both Yara and Githeon sat frozen in their tracks atop their horses.

  'What the...' Yara said as she squinted. Githeon rubbed his eyes to check whether or not what he was looking at was real. The large creature bobbed its head before it kicked at the dirt and huffed twice, after which it lowered its head. Its ears were folded back much like those of a distressed or irritated horse.

  'We should-.'

  'Yeah we should run,' Yara immediately turned her horse around and made her dart in the opposite direction while Githeon followed suit. They could hear the animal's hooves trample the dirt and snow under it before it rammed full-force into the front of one of the houses. Yara looked back and grabbed her helmet. She put it on and climbed down.

  'What are you doing!?!' asked Githeon, bewildered by her sudden action, 'have you gone insane?!'

  'I've thought about it, and I've never known a monster to just leave,' said Yara as she grabbed both Dawn and Skycleave, 'it's a danger to the people here, whatever it is, so it's my job to get rid of it,' she stuck Skycleave in the ground blade first before she shooed her horse away and took on a ready stance.

  The large creature saw Yara's challenge and squared up to her. It repeated every motion it did before: The head bob and dirt kicking, followed by huffing loudly. Each and every one of these was a warning sign, intended to scare off anyone trying to fight it. When Yara didn't step aside it charged, horn-first. Yara's heart was in her mouth as the animal approached. She could see it come closer through her visor. A hulking mass of pure primordial strength with a horn to make any dragon envious came charging at her at full speed. She narrowed her eyes and parted her feet further to stand more steadily. Then she jumped aside as it rushed nearer. The animal was too focused on charging ahead and didn't notice her move. She immediately followed up her dodge with a jab of her sword. The black steel dug into the creature's shoulder and it let out a deep yelp, more from fright than anything else. It began to walk a little less steadily as soon as it realised it was wounded. Yara was panted audibly. She could hardly believe she managed to pull such a dodge off without a hitch. She turned around to face it and took another ready stance as the large animal had pivoted towards her again.

  'Come on...' she mumbled to herself. This time the creature didn't put on any threat displays. Its opponent had attacked back, and in turn this meant backing off had been taken off the table entirely. Once again it charged, and this time the huntress has made a different choice. She waited until it was close, then as she stepped aside just slightly she drove Dawn as far into its torso as she could. She let go immediately as the creature stumbled further. Now one of her swords was stuck in her opponent, which showed no signs of giving up despite its injuries. As it turned and charged a third time Yara took her chance. She thrust Skycleave toward the creature's head and sliced through its eye before embedding the blade in its other shoulder. It seemed however that the beast had anticipated this, and as a last attempt to hurt its attacker it shook its head in such a way that its horn knocked hard against her back. The sudden blow made her yelp in surprise and it knocked her into its shoulder. Yara landed on the ground with a loud smack and a clatter, while the animal collapsed with a muffled thud after it took its final steps. Githeon rushed over to help Yara, who was already trying to get up on her own. She clearly had trouble standing up when she got to her feet.

  'I'm okay...' she said with a pained grimace on her face, 'is it dead?'

  Githeon looked at the animal's motionless body, 'I'd be surprised if it wasn't,' he replied.

  Yara inhaled through her teeth as she took a step.

  'You need help,' said Githeon as he offered to support her.

  'I'm fine,' her voice cracked as she felt a jolt of pain go through her.

  'You're limping.'

  'It could've been w-worse,' she stuttered, trying to hold back a pained groan.

  'I'm getting you help,' said Githeon as he looked around. The people of the small village had likely caught the commotion outside.

  'Can you help me take my helmet off?' asked Yara before snorting, 'I think I might have a nosebleed.'

  She reached up with her own hand to undo one of the bands whilst Githeon did the other to take it off completely. Sure enough, there was blood streaming from her nose and down her lip. Githeon found it disgusting yet admirable that this didn't seem to bother her in the slightest.

  'Oh, uh do you...?'

  'I have a rag in my saddlebags,' said Yara calmly, her voice cracking yet again, 'please hurry, if you can,' she snorted again while she cupped one of her hands under her chin. Before Githeon began looking, a villager came up to him and offered a cloth, something he greatly appreciated.

  'I've told my son to go tell the witch you'll be visiting her.'

  '"The witch?"' asked Githeon after he gave Yara the cloth, 'you have a local witch?'

  'She's good people, if a little off-putting.'

  'Githeon I'm not...' said Yara faintly after she'd sat down on the ground, 'I feel like I'm gonna be sick.'

  He looked at Yara and crouched down to get on eye level. She coughed before she covered her mouth with her hand. Githeon stood up straight and attempted to help Yara get up again, and when she got to her feet he helped her stand.

  'I can't-,' she whimpered as she struggled to walk even with Githeon's support. Yara then dry-heaved before she actually vomited. Githeon took a step back but still tried to keep her standing and could feel her shake as she shuddered from head to toe after stopping. He offered her the rag he'd gotten before, which she used to wipe her mouth.

  'Think you can sit on your horse?' he asked with a careful tone. Yara nodded.

  'H-Helena,' she called her horse and beckoned to her instead of whistling. The animal calmly walked up to them. Yara attempted to get in the saddle alone but shouted in pain. She looked at Githeon, who knew what she wanted. He gently picked her up and placed her on her saddle, where she slumped forward over Helena's neck. Then Githeon turned to the villager he'd spoken to before.

  'Where does this witch live?

  'Just outside town, a small hut much like the others here.'

  He thanked him and set off to find the person that could help Yara.

* * *

  The walk to the witch's house was, in truth, not that long at all. The town Githeon had just left was less than an hour away. The roof was covered in old moss and grasses had grown tall around the door. Githeon hitched Helena to the small fence around the front of the house and stepped towards the door. He knocked twice, a voice came from inside before he could knock a third time.

  'What is it?'

  'I have someone that needs your help,' he looked at Yara, she'd passed out when they'd travelled to the small hut, 'She's injured, I don't know how badly though,' Githeon heard some muffled words from inside. Yara looked like she'd started to wake up again. The sound of a muffled of a door bolt being unbolted preceded the door swinging open. A pale, gaunt woman with messy grey-blonde hair wearing tattered purple robes stormed out and ran towards Yara. Immediately she began to inspect her new patient. Yara's face appeared to be of particular interest to the witch. As she held her by the jaw to really get a good look.

  'Oh no...' she whispered, 'Oh no you poor, poor girl,' the woman then looked at Githeon, 'I need you to carry her inside,' she said sternly.

  'You haven't even told me who you are.'

  'Her. Inside. Now,' her pale green eyes stared into Githeon's. They burned with fierce determination. Githeon, realising that was his only real course of action, shrugged before he carefully took Yara out of her saddle and carried her in his arms.

  'Laras...?' she said softly, the single word was followed by a pained groan, 'why-... you... shouldn't be... here.'

  'Lay her down on the table, on her side please,' said the witch as she emptied the table she was pointing at. She immediately covered it in a pristine sheet. As Yara was laid on the flat surface she groaned again.

  'What about her armour?'

  'Let me handle that, take a seat please.'

  Githeon obliged and found himself a chair to sit on while he waited.

  'Turn away please? Leave her some dignity,' the witch said, 'I don't think she'd want some random man to see her undressed,' Githeon nodded and followed her request. He could hear the clatter and scratching of metal as the witch carefully removed each layer of armour.

  'Who are you?' asked Githeon in an attempt to learn a little more about his host.

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  'You don't need to know.'

  'Hmm, Aunt El...?' Yara groaned. The witch shushed her and cast a spell to get her to sleep.

  'What was she doing?' she asked.

  'We rode into town and saw nobody was there.'

  'Get to the point.'

  'She fought some big ox thing with one very big horn, it was mucking around in the town.'

  'You just let her fight an Ullenthorn? on her own?' the witch asked, 'you didn't even TRY to stop her?'

  'She didn't exactly give me the chance to, one moment we were fleeing and the next she was on the ground.'

  'Every bit as stubborn as Arran...' she whispered, 'I need you to step outside for a while, what I'm about to do isn't pretty.'

  Githeon then heard a fire being lit in the fireplace.

  'I can't see it anyway.'

  'Outside. If only for your own safety.'

  Reluctantly Githeon got up and walked out where he tended to Helena as the witch did her work. He stayed outside in the cold for what felt like hours to him before the witch opened the door again.

  'Is she okay?' the first question on Githeon's mind.

  'She's asleep right now, but you can get out of this freezing weather, if you'd like.'

  He gladly followed her inside. There he saw Yara sleeping on a cot in the corner.

  'I gave her my bed, seemed only right,' said the witch as she cleaned up the table, 'please, have a seat.'

  Githeon picked up the chair he'd sat on before and put it next to the table. The witch herself took a seat on the tabletop. She'd taken off her gloves, something that'd revealed her pale, bony hands.

  'Thank you for helping her,' said Githeon. He wasn't sure how to express his genuine gratitude in any other way.

  'I don't need your thanks,' she looked at Yara, who appeared to almost be sleeping peacefully on the cot, 'I owe her as much.'

  'Why?'

  'It shouldn't really matter to you,' the witch said, she then whispered to herself, 'why is she even here, alone of all things?'

  'Alone? I'm here too,' Githeon had heard her.

  'I'm not talking about you,' she snapped at him. Githeon realised he'd trespassed into something personal and chose to back off. He stopped to think for a second, remembering the name she'd said when he'd carried her in, 'she mentioned someone named Laras?'

  The witch scoffed.

  'Of course she would...'

  'Is he someone important to her?'

  'He is,' the witch said definitively. Githeon looked at Yara, who shifted around on her cot. Her back covered by large bandages, notably also ones that would function as binding or a chest covering on the other side.  

  'What did you actually do?' Githeon asked, he'd had no idea just how badly she'd been injured when he brought her in.

  'She had a few minor fractures, her entire back was bruised, and a small number of scrapes here and there, all I did was mend those,' answered the witch, 'unless you have any other concerns I should know about.'

  'She threw up back at the village.'

  'From the pain, most likely, she tends to act like she's all fine when she's not,' the witch said, perhaps a little sadly, 'I've always hated that about her and her guardian.'

  'When do you think she'll be able to leave again?' asked Githeon 'I can't set off without her, I'm paying her to protect me.'

  'If she had her way she'd march out of here right now, bruises and all, but I need to keep a close eye on her for at least a couple of days.'

  'I don't imagine you have anywhere I could stay for that time.'

  The witch shook her head, 'the girl is using up my only bed, I'm afraid you'll have to go back to the village and find an inn or something there,' the witch apologised, 'as for payment, bring me that ullenthorn's horn, I have some use for it here.'

  'What kind of use?'

  'Powdered keratin is a powerful alchemical ingredient, I could use your fingernails if you'd prefer.'

  'I'll get you the horn,' said Githeon as he stood up, not keen on getting his fingernails pulled out, 'thank you again, I'll be back tomorrow to see how she's doing.'

  With that he walked out the door and took Helena with him.

* * *

  'Wake up, dear,' a female voice said as Yara slowly opened her eyes. They adjusted to the low light and she took in her surroundings. She found herself in a room only lit by a fire in the partially obscured fireplace. A woman with pale, nearly grey blonde hair sat in front of her. Yara groaned as she sat up.

  '...mum?' she asked apprehensively. She realised her question was a stupid one when she saw Eleyna's green eyes. For a split second she thought about what to do next. She wasn't sure whether to check her pulse, or to cry, but the only thing she could do is wrap her arms around her aunt.

  'I'm not-.'

  'No, you're not,' said Eleyna, giving Yara a smile she couldn't see, 'Arran would kill me if I tried.'

  Yara's stomach felt like a bottomless pit when she heard her guardian's name. Eleyna realised her niece was awfully quiet after Arran's name was dropped, 'did something happen?' she asked. They let go of one another.

  'Where am I?' asked Yara as she looked around. Anything that happened after she passed out on Helena's back was a blur to her. Yara immediately began to avoid the topic entirely. Eleyna assumed the worst, but she didn't want to pry any further.

  'Your new friend brought you here.'

  'Oh, that's nice of him,' Yara said, thinking about the time Githeon had stood up for her. He seemed determined to help her.

  'It was, especially after you did something so monumentally stupid!' said Eleyna, 'You could've been killed!'

  'That wouldn't have been so bad...' muttered Yara, her aunt caught it despite her best effort to hide it.

  'Don't you dare say something like that, especially not to me,' Eleyna replied, 'I can name at least one person who would disagree. In fact you did, just yesterday.'

  'Did I?'

  'I know what Laras means to you, who he is to you'

  'Once, maybe...' Yara scoffed quietly, 'he didn't want that, anyway.'

  'It's genuinely perplexing to me that you'd throw your life away. Fighting an Ullenthorn, I thought my sister's daughter would be smarter than that!'

  'I couldn't just let it roam around, it was scaring the villagers.'

  'There's that stupid heroism Arran drilled into you again. I thought he'd given you at least some self-preservation instinct as well,' Eleyna shouted, 'it would've gone away on its own if you'd just waited it out like everyone else.'

  'I- I just- I wanted to help!' Yara shouted, realising that talking about this any further would just lead to a fight, and she didn't want that, especially not now. Instead she switched topic, back to her injury, 'was I hurt bad?'

  'And how, I played it down for your friend. He looks the worried sort,' said Eleyna as she got up, 'come, you should try standing up.'

  Yara moved to the edge of the bed, put her feet on the floor, and attempted to stand. It still hurt quite a lot, and it was only now that she noticed how heavily bandaged her torso was. She could feel three new marks on her back that reached from her right shoulder to her left hip. Another set of scars she couldn't see, another three to panic and worry about.

  'I'm sorry about the scars, I hope you don't mind them,' said Eleyna as she moved to support her niece.

  'It's okay,' Yara lied with a pained grimace plastered on her face. She took a few steps forward, every bit of movement caused her a world of hurt.

  'Sit,' said Eleyna. She'd already pulled the chair back for Yara, 'you definitely can't leave when you're like this.'

  'I think I agree with you...' said Yara quietly as she looked around. She spotted a bucket with a messily rolled up sheet sticking out of it. The fabric, once pristine and white, had been drenched in blood. Her blood, probably. Some of it had leaked through onto the table. Eleyna shoved a plate with some bread on it toward Yara.

  'Eat, you need it,' she said, 'it's fresh. Githeon brought it in earlier when you were asleep.'

  'How long was I out for?' asked Yara before she dug into her bread.

  'A day.'

  'A day!?' she spat out what she was chewing on.

  'Would've been more had I not just woken you up,' said Eleyna, 'Healing magic takes something out of both parties involved, healer and patient, it's good you got as much rest as you did.'

Yara looked on as her aunt stood up and walked towards a cabinet filled to the brim with flasks, bottles, and jars.

  'Are you going to give me a frog's leg to chew on?' she joked before continuing to eat her breakfast.

  'Don't be ridiculous, those are for the cold,' Eleyna scoffed. She grabbed one jar and held it with her elbow before she picked up a flask from one of the lower shelves. Eleyna walked over to a table with a small potion mixing setup. Here she ground something up in a mortar and pestle, but what exactly it was Yara couldn't see. The ingredients were mixed into a single opaque bottle.

  'What are you doing?'

  'You'll see,' said Eleyna as she placed the bottle in the fire. She sat down on the table like she'd done when Githeon was there.

  'Why are you heading north?' she asked, it'd puzzled her that her niece would be this far from home, 'and why are you alone?'

  'Arran's dead,' said Yara bluntly. Eleyna's eyes widened, knowing that Yara would never even dream of joking about that.

  'Oh saints...' death hardly shocked her, being what she was, but being dead herself didn't prevent her from feeling empathy. She could see the effect it had on her niece, 'but why did you go alone?'

  'Laras wouldn't want to come anyway,' she said, 'he'd say that I was too far above him to travel together, that he's just some upjumped farmer's son sullying my "honour" or something. Besides... I didn't want to feel even more heartbreak...'

  'But you do miss him, don't you?' asked Eleyna 'Maybe if you'd brought him along you wouldn't've been so alone.'

  Yara shifted in her chair. She knew her aunt was right, but at the same time she didn't want to admit it. She hated how she felt about Laras. She loved him to bits, but hated that he felt obliged to keep away from her now. Eleyna got up and walked back to the fire, where she picked up the bottle with an old set of tongs. She prodded at it. Presumably it wasn't hot, as she didn't burn her finger the instant she touched it.

  'Everwinter glass,' said Eleyna as she emptied the flask's contents into a glass, 'before you ask me what it's made of.'

  'Am I supposed to...'

  'Drink this? Yes.'

  Eleyna put the glass in front of Yara, who looked at the greenish-grey liquid. It smelled as awful as it looked.

  'You might want to let it cool a bit,' said Eleyna, 'oh, and you should get back into bed for it too, it'll put you right to sleep again.'

  'What is it?' asked Yara as she got up and took her first few steps on her own.

  'A mix of cheap Yilgran brandy, assorted herbs, and Ullenthorn, it'll help you heal.'

  Yara sat down at the edge of the bed and was handed the cup. She pinched her nose and drank it in one go, then she lay down on the cot, falling asleep as soon as she closed her eyes.

* * *

  The next time Yara woke up she felt rejuvenated. The ache in her back was gone and she tried to stand up immediately. Though her stance was a little wobbly she managed to find her footing completely not long after. Eleyna had been sitting at the table watching her wake up. Yara looked at her.

  'Another day?' she asked. Eleyna assumed Yara meant how long she'd been sleeping for, and so she nodded.

  'You should be fine to leave today,' Eleyna said.

  'Are you sure?' asked Yara apprehensively, 'I'd be okay with staying longer, if you think that's better.'

  Eleyna was pleasantly surprised to hear that from her, but she shook her head, 'no, you've been here for long enough,' she said, 'You might also find yourself a little more resistant, provided I dosed the horn powder properly.'

  '"A little more resistant"?'

  'Next time you do something stupid you're less likely to break something,' said Eleyna as she got up from her seat. She stepped closer to Yara and held her by the jaw.

  'You're the last of what remains of my sister,' she said whilst she looked Yara in the eyes, 'Don't throw it away. If not for yourself, for the people that love you, and I know you know they exist.'

Yara pulled her head away but was soon met with a hug from her aunt.

  'I'm serious,' said Eleyna, 'It's not what Arran would've wanted either,' she felt Yara put her arms around her as well.

  'I'll have to try,' she said before they both let go of each other.

  'Let me help you get into that armour.'

* * *

  Yara stepped out the door and into the cold air of a northern Anglan midday Githeon was waiting outside with both his own horse and Yara's. She walked towards Helena and climbed into the saddle.

  'I'm glad to see you're better,' said Githeon as he looked at her.

  'that makes one...' she said quietly to herself, 'come on, we've got a front line to reach.'