After they had entered Aldreck’s home the old man quickly closed the door behind them not before taking a quick peek outside to make sure nobody had seen them. Laban gestured to Reza to lay Gwyn down on the dining table. Dil-Shad immediately opened her bag taking out bandages, ointments and other things needed to patch Gwyn up. Gwyn looked bad to her with obvious wounds from being beaten a lot and some cuts that seemed to come from a sharp instrument, possibly a knife. More parts of his body seemed to be swollen but weren’t bleeding. After looking at him Dil-Shad started to feel his bones to see if something was broken.

Gwyn started talking despite the pain: "I wish you had arrived a week earlier..."

Brendan, who had received from the worried looking uncle a small cushion to push it between Gwyn’s head and the table, said: "We would have been on time, but the girl in our group has such stumpy little legs that it did take us so..."

"SHUT UP, BRENDAN!", yelled literally everybody with one voice aside Gwyn and Aldreck. Even Reza, who had said not more than three sentences since they had run away from the chariot-warriors, barked at him with his dark, growling voice.

Gwyn smiled for a second before his face contorted again into a painful expression. "Even if she was really at fault, I would forgive her. She is such a young and lovely lady." Dil-Shad had a facial expression that wasn’t hard to read. She didn’t believe in herself being a wonderful "lady". "However, I have already a lady. And I am very worried about her. Where is my wife?"

Laban hesitated for a moment: "She is still at your place. We didn’t know whom to trust and where to send her. But if you want, I will send out Reza and Brendan at once to get her here. They would rather burn the whole city than let anyone come close to her." Laban sighed, looked at Gwyn and thought: “You would do the same for me, my old friend. I owe you and you know that.”

Gwyn didn’t catch Laban’s look and said: "Yes, please do so! I am terribly worried about her. If they out that I am gone and that someone had slain so many of their warriors, they might go for her and I know how kind those seamen are to the local women. They are nasty folk."

Without saying anything, Reza and Brendan left the house. Reza knew the way and Laban could tell from their faces that they wouldn’t think twice to slaughter their way through the city if they had to. But he wasn’t worried that they would do something stupid. They would do what they had to do, not more, but not less, too. Uncle Aldreck closed the door behind them and barred it tightly.

"What are our options now?", asked Mabon still looking somewhat exhausted. Laban said: "Maybe if there are enough men with fighting spirit in the city..."

"No!", Gwyn interjected. "Many men that were willing to fight were captured and sent over the ocean by the sea-people. Some were killed, some went into hiding and some left the city. And we need to leave, too. The resistance is stronger among the land-folk. I overheard several conversations while I was captured, and it seems the sea-people only move out in groups when they go to villages or other places nearby because they have been ambushed in the past and don't control the surroundings properly. Awww!", screamed Gwyn and an ugly sound of creaking bones was heard.

"Sorry", said Dil-Shad, “but I thought it would be best to reset your dislocated shoulder while you were talking and busy otherwise.”

It seemed that Gwyn was still writhing in agony, so Laban spoke up: "Alright. As soon as the boys are back, we will try to leave the city. But I wonder through which gate to leave. I am sure they will double the guards after we had slaughtered those bastards in the castle."

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Aldreck started talking for the first time. He knew the city where he had been living his whole life like the back of his hand. "There is a part of the wall which is slightly damaged from an earthquake some years ago, where a small crevice had occurred. It is enough for a man to get through but beyond the crevice it’s still maybe two meters to the ground. So, you will have to jump down and be cautious not to get hurt. The additional question is: Is he able to do it?" Aldreck nodded into Gwyn’s direction.

"We will somehow push him through the crevice and someone on the other side will do what he can to catch him." said Laban.

Aldreck started to pack some things together like some rations and other useful items, while Laban was sharpening his sword. Mabon assisted Dil-Shad tending Gwyns wounds. A few minutes later it knocked on the door. Laban made eye contact with Mabon. Mabon pulled a long knife and put one of his hands in his bag, clinging onto something that Laban couldn't see. Then Laban opened the door just an inch before quickly opening it completely. Reza entered with Gwyn’s wife and closed the door behind him.

Rosey immediately jumped forward. "Gwyn, my dear. What did they do to you?"

Gwyn put on a painful smile and said: "You know how I used to complain that you didn't massage me strongly enough to ease my shoulder pains. Well, I got some intense massages from our friendly new sea-people neighbors." Then he laughed and she also had to chuckle. She bowed forward with a mellow expression on her face: "That's why I love you. Even when things are bad you still make me laugh." And then she caressed the least swollen part of Gwyn’s face with her delicate hands.

At the same time Laban gave Reza a stern look: "Where is he?"

"There was a huge patrol of sea-people coming down a road and we couldn’t get fast enough away with the women in tow, so I hid with her and Brendan threw a knife at them killing one soldier and yelled all the Khem-Urian swear words he had learned from you in the past years at them and then ran off the opposite direction. They pursued him with six or seven guys. I don’t know what happened to him. We got here as fast as we could.” They could see how uncomfortable he was feeling because Brendan had put himself into mortal danger to save him and the woman. He was on the brink to leave to go to Brendan’s help.

"Brendan’s loudmouth is his worst part, but his balls of steel are his best part", mused Laban. "Uncle Aldreck?"

"Yes?", the old man asked?

"Would you, when Brendan will have come back, tell him about the crevice in the wall and send him off?"

"Will do so."

"We leave without him?", Reza asked furrowing his black-haired eyebrows in dislike. Although he had often wished to cut Brendan’s tongue off, he couldn’t understand Laban’s decision. He hadn’t known his cousin as a leader who would leave one of his man alone in the field.

Laban saw Reza’s grim look: "That guy can take care for himself. We should use the time he bought us to get out here NOW with all the baggage that will slow us down." While saying so, he looked at Gwyn and his wife Rosey.

"Ok, you are the boss", said Reza reluctantly. It was the first time he doubted Laban’s decision and was for a short time thinking of disobeying his commands. But he gave in.

"Everybody gets his shit together and let’s go!", said Laban.

They took the stuff Uncle Aldreck had assembled in a bag made out of linen. Laban didn't ask what exactly was in there. He assumed some food and clothes for Gwyn and signaled Mabon to carry the bag. The sorcerer took it up and went for the door.

Laban and Reza helped Gwyn up who was moaning in pain when he was put up in a standing position. Laban didn’t feel any point in asking if Gwyn could walk. He grabbed his friend by his shoulder and squeezed it lightly which was painful for Gwyn but made him lock eyes with Laban immediately. "Stop whining and walk with us to the wall. I know you can do it!", Laban ordered in a calm yet commanding tone.

Then he and Reza grabbed Gwyn from both sides walked through the door which Mabon had opened already. They moved slowly in the beginning but soon they recognized a certain upheaval in the city. They heard men shouting all over the place, the rattling of chariot wheels and sound of horse hooves on paved main roads. The sea-people had started to move and Laban didn´t want them to catch up with them. They picked up pace and ignored Gwyn’s occasional moaning and cursing. In absence of Brendan Mabon walked ahead, followed by Gwyn’s wife. Dil-Shad was their rear-guard with her sling in her hand.

After a few minutes they arrived at the end of a short road which had let to the wall. Reacting to a hand sign of Laban Reza squeezed himself through the crevice and they could hear him jump down on the other side. No guards were in sight until now. Gwyn’s wife was next. She easily squeezed her small figure through the crevice of the wall and the jumped down most certainly caught kindly by Reza with his big strong manly hands.

The moment Laban and Mabon started to squeeze Gwyn through the crevice they heard a call behind them from the top of the street less then 30 meters away. It was not in any language Laban could understand which most probably meant it were the sea-people. They gave in haste the final push to Gwyn and hoped that Reza was ready on the other side and then Mabon and Laban turned around.

At that moment a stone hit Laban’s head. Despite wearing a solid Boar Tusk helmet, he was knocked out cold and fell to the ground unconscious leaving Dil-Shad and Mabon to fight for themselves.