Minos PoV [https://i.imgur.com/rcCZIpu.jpg]

The village Minos returned to was a far cry from the village he left from the previous night. Nobody was screaming or shouting for help. Nobody was running back and forth to fetch and bring pails of water. For a moment, Minos imagined that the horrific things that happened the night before were all just part of a feeble dream, a haunting nightmare. Something that he made up in his head.

Minos had a dull life growing up, but he was obsessed with telling fantastic stories. Not really being in a position to experience those kind of stories, he would sometimes make one up or exaggerate other kid's tales and claim them as his own, planting himself in the center of the narrative. Rest assured, he would oftentimes be contented with simply reading every book he could find, and retelling them for others to hear.

He was going to try to pinch himself to see if this was all real, but glancing behind him, what he beheld was enough to convince him. A disfigured female drow was tied to the saddle of his horse, squirming in pain and discomfort. Following them was Cassana, with the draped body of Otheric loaded on top of one of the horses they took from the stables. At the tail end of their procession was Rei, hunched on his palfrey, weak and exhausted.

As they approached the village plaza, Minos saw Robb jump down from a fence. He called out to Cassana before running towards the group, offering help and assistance. Several villagers heard them and they started peering through their windows. Some of them eventually stepped out to express their concern and ask their questions to the redhead.

"Let's hurry back to the inn, I wanna see that wound up close," Cassana whispered to Rei behind her.

Rei nodded.

Cassana was going to say something, but they were about to reach their destination and what she found left her mouth agape. On the spot where The Hidden Scabbard once stood laid a pile of blackened planks of wood, charred concrete, and heaps of ashes.

"What happened?"

"I'm sorry..." said Robb, "I was hiding in the kitchen, when I heard them trying to grab you, and... you passed out, and then..."

Cassana let go of the horse and started walking towards the ruined inn. The young boy followed her behind, hesitantly reaching for her arm to try and comfort her.

"I knew I couldn't take them on, so I grabbed your staff and followed them, thinking that I should at least know where they were taking you, so I can ask for help. I'm sorry, I should have stayed and stopped them from burning your inn."

"You have nothing to apologize for. None of this is your fault," said Cassana, almost dismissively. "Go home Robb, you shouldn't be here..." she stepped in through what used to be the inn's main door and kept still. She clenched her fist and bit her lips, expecting herself to burst down to tears, but her eyes were already exhausted from crying. Robb reached out for her hand, trying his best to offer comfort and sympathy, but she pulled her arm back as soon as he touched her.

"Ashvell and Bonnie?" she asked Robb without looking at him. She stepped into one of the remaining pillars that was still standing and hid her face underneath its shade.

"Bonnie's okay, she's back home. Ashvell is at Trev's house. Uncle Bogs already went up to the woods to tell his pops. He should be on the way here now."

"Can you go to Trev, ask him about his herbs, I need something..."

"Sure. What are you looking for?"

"Ask him first if he has a spare room I can use..."

"I'm on it," said Robb, before running off.

Cassana stepped out and walked back towards the horses. She saw Otheric's foot sticking out of his wrappings and she felt a knife dig deep in her chest. It took everything she had to ignore and walk past it. She approached Rei to touch his wrist.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him as she took his pulse.

The foreigner only nodded.

"Still not gonna talk to me?"

Rei averted his eyes from Cassana and gently pulled his arm away.

"Follow me," Cassana said. She tugged the horse carrying Otheric's body and walked away from the inn.

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Trev was the man who volunteered to take care of Ashvell last night. Minos immediately recognized him as soon as he entered his house; a small thatched-roofed hovel at the edge of the village.

"How's our boy?" Minos asked him as he welcomed them.

"He's in the other room. Hello Cassana," greeted Trev. He escorted the redhead into one small room on the corner. Minos stood from outside and from there he could see Ashvell lying on a straw mattress, with bandages wrapped around his wounds. The young driver got up as soon as his friend stepped in.

"Cassana! Are you alright?" Ashvell asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine, keep still." Cassana reached for him and started studying his bandages. "What did you put on his wounds?" She asked Trev, who was standing beside Minos.

"Leek and garlic mixed in vinegar. He's lucky the arrows didn't hit any vital organ, it also missed major veins and you know... And they were shallow, so it didn't tear through his flesh that bad."

Minos gave the herbalist a light tap on his shoulder to complement his decent work. Trev looked way older than Cassana, but she stood more confident, more assured. She glanced at him like a teacher glancing at a good-enough student. Not too proud nor too impressed, but not underwhelmed either.

"How are you feeling?" Cassana asked Ashvell, as she tried to move around his arms and legs.

"I'm feeling fine already actually. The vinegar stings, but... nothing I can't handle," answered Ashvell.

"Ashvell... I'm really sorry that I dragged you into this. Please don't get mad at me."

"What? Why would I get mad at you? You don't have to be sorry about any of this. Come on, it's nothing." He tried his best to smile despite the bruises on his face.

Cassana clenched her fist and lightly punched her friend on his shoulder.

"How about you? You don't look fine."

"Can I... can I use the bed? Is it okay? Can you stand up?"

Before she even finished, the young man was already stepping down from the mattress. "Yes, of course go ahead, lie down, get some rest."

"Rei, come here." Cassana turned around and beckoned the foreigner. He was standing face drooping down outside the room, behind Minos. The two travelling companions looked at each other, before the young noble motioned for him to oblige.

Rei stepped into the bedroom and Cassana led her to the bed. Together with Ashvell, they laid him down gently "How are you feeling?" She asked.

Rei only nodded.

His whole body was riddled with wounds and bruises, and there were probably a lot more hidden underneath his garment which was still miraculously intact. But what Cassana focused on was the wound on the side of his abdomen. After a careful study, she shook her head and ran her hand across her face in frustration.

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"All my stuff was in the inn." She sighed.

"Why? What caused it? Maybe Trev has something..." said Ashvell.

"Yeah, tell me what you need." Trev seconded.

"I'll need more of those garlic and vinegar," said Cassana.

"On it," said Trev. He stepped into his kitchen to arrange what she asked for.

"Also... do you have hartshorn?"

"No, I'm sorry."

"Can you ask around who has hartshorn in the village, Ashvell?"

"Sure... " the young driver answered, "or I can hunt for one. I heard there's a herd of red deer grazing by the river south..."

"Don't go hunting in that condition..."

"Pfssh, I can handle it."

"Ashvell!" Like a mother reprimanding a child, Cassana raised her voice, despite the dryness in her throat. "I need water."

Ashvell quickly stepped out of the room towards Trev's kitchen.

Minos stepped closer to the room and poked his head in, "I'll do it. What do you want?"

"Hartshorn," answered Cassana.

"Alright, I'll get it. Where will I find stags around here?" Minos asked no one in particular.

"Head out west, you should reach the river, then follow it south until you reach the woods, and you should see a deer or two out there." Trev explained, while bringing the bottle of vinegar and bowl of crushed garlic into the room.

"Cool." Minos said. "I'll be back by noon." Minos said.

He stepped out of the Trev's house to find a small group of children playing around the disfigured drow, throwing and tossing pebbles at her. Robb was standing along with them, sharing their laughter. Minos tied her to a tree beside Trev's house before they stepped in, and as the rest of villagers were starting to step out of their houses, they started to wonder and gossip about the spectacle on the street.

Minos didn't even attempt to keep the rowdy kids in check. He stood in front of the drow and raised his face towards him. "I knew some people of your kind, cool fae-folk, all bad-asses. But the likes of you are the reason drows have a bad rep."

"I'd rather be feared than belittled," the drow growled back.

"Like how they're afraid of you right now?" Minos said, sarcastically, as he pointed at the kids gathered around her calling her names and insults.

The drow sneered.

"Later today," Minos leaned closer to whisper, his every word filled with contempt, "some of Duke Owen's men will come down here to drag you to The Capital, where you will spend the rest of your miserable life in a cold, damp cell, with nothing to accompany you but rats. I have my pull in the Royal Court so I can make sure that you'll skip trial, and you'll just rot away for two human generations, until your bones start to crumble, and you yourself will forget why you were there in the first place.

"Or, I can give you a quick death right now, dive a dagger to your chest while no one's looking, hopefully you got a heart in there I can fatally wound. You can then join your friends in the fae afterlife, or wherever it is that your souls go when you die. But for that you will need to answer my questions.

"Where you found that bow, were there artifacts in there? Any other ancient weapons of any kind? I'm looking for something in particular, a short sword about yay long..." As Minos spread his arms to motion the length of the sword, the drow lurched her head forward snarling at him, surprising both him and the kids gathered behind him.

"Whoah!" The young noble pulled back and motioned for the children to step back as well. "See that, kids? Come on, step away, don't come in close or she'll bite you, then you'll turn into little werewolves." Minos faced the children and placed his fingers over his head to imitate wolf ears, he bared his teeth and playfully chased them away. Some of the little children ran off laughing, others, including Robb, stayed holding on to their bellies.

"They took it from me," the drow rasped, "The wizards from that ugly tower. They dragged me into one of their dinky laboratories and took away my gift. Then they had the audacity to call me cured."

"You're talking about your lycanthropy?" Minos stepped back in front of her.

"After that, they tossed me back out into the streets like garbage. Useless, weak, and filthy. I went back to the Order and they welcomed me again with open arms. I had to study magic so I could serve them better. To fight monsters, I had to be a monster myself."

"In this case, you think the wizards are the monsters, right?" said Minos, needlessly and condescendingly clarifying her words.

"She's one of them."

"Cassana? Technically, she's not a wizard yet, she has to pass the Ranking Exam before she can formally start calling herself a wizard."

"How well do you know that friend of yours?"

"She's not really my friend, she's more like an acquaintance."

"Ask her about her father's secrets."

Minos had a joke in mind but held his tongue, "now you have my attention."

"His little notes and maps and secret writings. You might find what you're looking for."

"Where did you find the bow? What else was there? Or maybe you have other artifacts with you? Back in your camp?"

"I doubt she'll tell you anything though," the drow gave Minos a mocking smile, "she's a tough bitch, that one. You'll have to squeeze her neck real tight to make her tell you something. When you do, can you please remind her of me? I want to be the last person in her mind before you shut her eyes forever."

Minos would love to squeeze the life out of the drow mage right then and there, but he reminded himself of the kids watching, so he grunted in frustration and simply took a step back. The drow laughed, the most maniacal laugh she could muster in her horrid condition, and it was effective in frightening anybody who could hear.

The young noble approached Robb and led him away from the drow. "Come on kid, show me where you hid the stuff I gave you."

Minos let go of the boy as he scuttled along the street. He followed him towards another house's backyard, to an old maple tree. Up on its branches sat a treehouse made out of old wooden planks.

"Ashvell helped us build it last summer," Robb explained, climbing up the rope ladder dangling on one of its branches. "Come on, over here."

"I don't think that thing is sturdy enough to hold me." Minos said.

"It can. Come on, try it."

Minos hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow Robb. He climbed up the rope ladder into the tree-house and hunched down to fit inside its narrow interior, carefully bending his wounded leg. Robb brought the two boxes out of their hiding place.

The young noble glanced at the box filled with papers, but reached out to the painted box instead. He opened and Robb poked his head to the side to take a look. "What's that? A bow?" he asked.

"Looks like it." Minos answered. He pulled it out of its container and studied it one more time. "I'm gonna go hunting but my bow broke fighting that werewolf."

"That looks so cool."

"You know how to get to the river?" He asked the young boy.

"Yeah."

"Alright, lead the way."

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Heading to the river was easy, looking for game was the hard part. Minos and Robb had been wandering around the woods for almost an hour but still couldn't find one.

"This sucks, I just wanna shoot something," he complained, while sitting on a log with his legs spread out like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Minos kept still and listened to the soft whistling of the birds above the canopies and the rushing water from the stream. If he had stopped for another minute longer, he would have probably fallen asleep on that log already. He had a long night, and the rush he had from earlier that day would only last for a few minutes more.

Nevertheless, Robb proved to be a much better company than Rei. Minos had been talking nonstop since they left the village and the boy had been listening intently all throughout, which helped in keeping himself awake and alert.

"So, if you're not a wizard, how come you know so much?" Asked Robb, continuing the conversation.

"Because I read a lot," answered Minos.

"Do you know more things than Cassana?"

"Huh, interesting question. What do you think?"

Robb flashed a mischievous grin before answering, "I think you know more."

"Don't let her hear you say that!" Minos clapped back.

"But, only because you lived in the city."

"Cassana lived in the city too, did she not?"

"Only for a short time. But you were born in the Capital."

"But the city she lived in, Ad-Nilem, that's the center of knowledge. The Capital is just the center for... I don't know, drunk, middle-aged pedestrians? Huh..." Minos rubbed his chin as his eyes glued to a tall shrub nearby, "I don't actually know what our city is famous for..."

"Okay, but--"

Minos motioned for Robb to quiet down. He carefully loaded the bow with an arrow and quietly pulled it back, aiming at the shrub. Several intense heartbeats later, a small hare hopped out, oblivious to what was about to happen. Minos released the arrow and hit the creature dead straight on its neck.

The young nobleman studied the bow again and smiled approvingly. "Not bad." Robb ran towards the dead hare and picked it up by the ear.

"Well it's not a stag but, it's good enough for lunch," he proclaimed.

"Sure, let's roast it later. You know how to prepare that?"

"Yeah," answered the boy, "Ashvell taught me."

"Ashvell did teach you a lot of things. But how come Cassana didn't teach you magic?"

"She said that she's not allowed to teach magic until she passes her wizard exam," Robb answered while glancing towards the tall grasses across from a distance.

"Ranking Exam," Minos corrected him, almost screaming the words. "Hey, don't wander far off..." He stood up to walk a few paces deeper into the woods. His eyes moved up to the canopy of the forest, then circled around where they stood. Pulling out another arrow from his quiver.

"Do you hear something?" he asked the boy, but he disappeared from his sight. Minos' eyes jumped from one tree to another, taking note of how its leaves ruffle and sway with the wind. His gaze affixed on one, and the string of his bow sang another ineffable hum as he pulled on it, pointing the arrow on a spot above the branch obscured by thick leaves.

"Come out now or I can't promise where this arrow will hit," he yelled, with a voice that echoed through the woods.

"Good job!" A voice rang out from where Minos was aiming. Behind the thick trunks, ten feet or so above ground, a silhouette appeared. It moved and leaned up on a branch, before dropping down on the moist ground below, its cloak billowing in the wind. As the silhouette stood back up and raised its head and arms, a voice sounded again, "you got me."

Minos' eyes widened and his eyebrows slackened, as the intense caution in his face quickly faded into that of an elated surprise.