The caravan that had departed from the capital of the Kingdom of Alyssum been on the road for over a month now and would soon be arriving at their destination the coast of Neria, despite the rainy weather and muddy roads, the caravan had made a good time. In one of the carriages sit four hooded figures in silence. Suddenly the tallest of the figures turned to the side while the shortest hooded figures turned towards the window.

“What’s wrong?” Asked a stern, pointed female voice.

“Bandits,” murmured the petite figure.

The taller hooded figure removes the hood to reveal the familiar face of Lena. Taking a cue from Lena, Holly, Dolly, and Delilah remove their hoods as well. Lean frowns, “It’s rather uncommon for bandits to be near these parts. Normally they stick to the coast-,” Lena said as her voice cut off in deep thought.

Dolly narrows her eyes catching Lena’s drift. “Not unless they’ve been flushed out of their typically hunting area by someone else,” Dolly drily replied.

“Yes,” Lena murmured back still in deep thought.

Delilah nervously clenches her skirt, while Holly says, “Then what will you have us do mil-.” Holly barely catches herself, before painfully continuing, “Lena?”

“The merchant guards should be able to take care of the raffle and the security in place should suffice,” Lena matter-of-factly stated as she narrows her eyes into space. “No, I’m more worried about the bandit’s sudden change in raiding,” Lena muttered to herself while tapping her fingers against the cushion in impatient thought.

Holly sniffs primly in reply and pulls out her small knitting bag to continue to knit a warm scarf. Delilah relaxes against the seat and closes her eyes to take a nap, while Dolly’s ears twitch at every sound from the ongoing battle. With a loud cry, the guards chase away the fleeing bandits and let out a roar of victory.

Soon enough, the caravan steadily moves on at a more rapid pace lest the caravan be attacked once more. And where there is one bandit group, there is sure to be another nearby. The caravan steeds are pushed to their very limits and therefore instead of arriving on the morrow in the city port of Tasia, the caravan arrived at dusk just before the city walls were to be closed.

Some travelers swiftly dispersed to their already ready commendations and others swiftly went in search of others. However, a group of four hooded travelers swiftly heads to the already dark port docks. The nearer the group approached the rowdier the streets were filled with loud sailors and other unsavory folks that solely kept to the darkness of the night.

A few pickpockets try to approach the group to swiftly be dissuaded by a firm kick or blow. The rest of the thieving crew swiftly understood the situation and steered away from the newcomers and turned their sights on drunken party members. And soon enough there would be a wailing of anger upon the drunken fellow discovering he had been most thoroughly robbed.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

Lena suddenly pauses at a street intersection for a few seconds as if in thought, before turning down a street. Lena softly murmurs under her breath, “Don’t react, but we’ve been followed since we departed from the caravan.”

"Thieves?” Holly softly asked.

“No,” Dolly replied as she wrinkled her nose at the dirty, stank of the street.

“Then have we been discovered?” Delilah quietly asked.

Lena doesn’t reply as she suddenly pulls the three into a hidden alleyway. Hurrying down the alley, Lena doesn’t hesitate to toss Dolly over the dead-end wall, before jumping over the wall with Holly and Delilah in hand. Holly and Delilah know better to make a sound as Lena motions for the three of them to press themselves against the wall.

Footsteps can suddenly be heard running down the hallway to stop. A soft curse can be heard on a man’s breath when suddenly a loud footstep can be heard as the man jumps onto the dead-end wall and glances into the distance. Merely a few scant inches above them, neither of the girls dare breathe nor move. The man stands there for a second, before angrily jumping back the way he came and rushing down the alley in search of his target.

After some time, Lena finally pushes herself away from the gritty wall and silently gestures with her hand for the three of them to silently follow. The four of them silently set off down the street until they arrive at a small dimly lit inn at the end of the street. Lena pauses and glances both ways before swiftly crossing the street towards the inn.

Lena carefully knocks four times and then three times per the code. A scrape can be heard as the inn bar for the door is slowly being moved. A tired, grumpy old man peers at them through a crack, before fully removing the bar and allowing them to enter. The four of them swiftly enter as the wrinkled innkeeper swiftly locks the door the moment they pass through the door. Further down the street, a silent figure roams down the street searching for his targets. The man angrily runs past the dimly lit inn to only disappear around the corner of the street.

Lena glances at the grimy inn floor, while Holly let’s out a cold snort of horror and distaste at the utter filthy state of the place. Dolly keeps her eyes on the floor lest a rat approach them from their corner of the floor. Delilah merely shivers and curls her hand protectively around the small dagger at her waist.

The cranky innkeeper grunts, “How many rooms?”

“One with two beds,” Lena crisply replied.

“5 silver coins,” the innkeeper retorted.

Holly’s eyes glitter indignantly at the ridiculous price for a single room in such a filthy hoven. However, Lena says, “Fine, show us to our rooms,” and tossed five silver coins at the innkeeper.

The elderly innkeeper nimbly catches the coins for one his age and bites into the coin to make sure of its value. Satisfied, the innkeeper grabs an old rusty key and tosses it at Lena. “Two doors to the right,” the innkeeper grunted.

Lena catches the key and heads across the inn floor towards the rooms. Lena fumbles for a second with the lock as the old key creaks ominously before unlocking the door. The four of them swiftly enter the room, before Lena deadbolts the door for security purposes.

Holly frowns as she studies the dusty room, while Dolly lets out a sneeze at all the dust, and Delilah merely removes her hood and lets out a sigh of relief. Lena walks over to a wooden chair and takes a seat. “Rest now, we will depart on the morning tide,” Lena firmly stated.

Delilah and Dolly quickly curl up together on one of the beds and soon falls fast asleep. Holly frowns but does not dare ask about the elephant in the room. With a swish of her skirt, Holly wraps herself in her cloak and curls next to the sleeping figures of Delilah and Dolly.

Lena narrows her eyes as she stares into the distance and pulls out a small broch from her pocket. Staring at the brooch, Lena’s eyes become frigid before she puts the brooch away. Frowning to herself, Lena leans back against the seat to keep watch for the night and wait for the morning tide.