Tyra stood up. She remembered what happened vividly at first, but her memories turned vague the more she was in that state. Everything looked like a blur, but she seemed fine afterwards. Then, there was the man Tyra saved. She remembered saving Syren and one other. She had assumed that Syren was the one fighting, but honestly, she wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.

The akkedi who laid on the muddy road unconscious slowly awoke thinking that he was already dead.

Tyra and Syren checked up on him. Tyra remembered saving him, but didn't really know who she saved. It soon became clear, though. They didn't recognize him at first considering the two of them couldn't tell many lizards apart. It was Amare - still alive, but with a heavy headache.

Amare slowly stood up as Syren tried to help him. He didn't exactly know what was going on, but since he knew that he was alive, he thought it was all a dream. He hoped that it was. Unfortunately for him, that was far from the truth. He looked around and saw the swampland. The alligators swam around nearby, but didn't approach. Mosquitoes began taking their meal off of Amare's tail, but he didn't notice. He was pretty far from Lacernus Town, but he could see the smoke rising. That's when he realized that it was all real.

He knelt down trying to hold on to his own sanity. Everything that he tried so hard to prevent had just happened. His people were dead. His town was on fire. And he could do nothing to stop it.

"Hey, Amare. Are you alright?" Syren asked worrisome, but Amare was silent. He was still processing what had happened. Everything just went so wrong so fast. And it had gotten so much worse.

Amare began to slowly walk towards the town. Syren and Tyra stopped him in his tracks. Even as he tried to resist, he was too weak and tired to do anything about it. He wanted to go back and find others, but there was no one left for him to save in that city. If the golden-robed figures didn't kill them, the fire and smoke would have.

"You did this. You brought those monsters here. You're the reason they brought such creatures," Amare said meekly. He said that, but he didn't really put the blame on them. It was something that was much bigger than the actions of just two sympathizers, he thought.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Syren and Tyra were silent. They could have denied it, but neither of them felt like it would have mattered. Syren even did think that he had some blame as he did try to fight those knights. He wondered whether he really was responsible, but in the end, the only ones he blamed were Bellbraun and his band.

However, Tyra didn't blame Bellbraun. She knew what the life of a mercenary was. She blamed those who hired him.

Amare fell pathetically face first into the mud. There was nothing he could do. Syren tried to comfort him, but the words fell on deaf ears. To Amare, all he saw was Syren's mouth moving, but no sound. There was only a ringing noise that bounced around in his ears.

His hope and strength faltered. He just wanted to die right then and there, but then he saw something in the corner of his eyes. There were some akkedis fleeing the city. They were survivors, and he sprung up reinvigorated.

He pushed Syren away and rushed towards those running from the city. They were off the beaten path trying to avoid the main road in fear of being attacked by any other knights. They were only able to escape because Syren and Tyr distracted the golden-robed figures and Bellbraun. Otherwise, they would have been hunted down.

Amare called out to them. At first, the survivors were wary and afraid that a knight had found them, but as soon as they saw his face, their faces lit up with the sight of one of their own - and more importantly, they knew Amare and were glad of his escape.

Syren was happy that there were some who were able to flee. Tyra continued to cover herself with an old cloak, but didn't really care if an akkedi saw her like that.

The survivors welcomed Amare, but not so much Syren or Tyra. The akkedis helped Amare on his feet and continued to run away from the burning city without so much saying a word to either one of the humans. But Syren nor Tyra really cared for any kind of rewards. They were both glad that at least some of them were safe. And Tyra was joyful that she could at least save one of them.

Amare had left Syren and Tyra without saying another word. He didn't know how he got out of the city, but all he cared about was getting his people to safety. He didn't know where he would go, but all he cared about was getting his people to safety. He didn't know what he would do, but in the end, he just wanted his people to be safe. And so, Amare moved forward with the rest of his kind towards a direction where they may find some place of respite.