"There's a small problem," Lasin said. "We only have three horses."
I looked at the animals tied to what was left of the fence. One bay and two lighter ones. Four people.
Breias shrugged. "Then someone walks."
The black haired woman shot him a look that made it clear that if anyone was going to walk, it would be him.
Lasin's gaze shifted to me.
"You're riding with me," she decided, swinging herself onto the horse.
"I'm sure I could manage on foot," I said.
"That would only slow us down."
Lasin held out a hand to help me up.
"I wasn't expecting courtly treatment," I remarked as I grabbed the saddle.
"Not yet," she replied. "But you could."
The last thing I wanted was to be underestimated by some twenty year old girl. I pulled myself up into the saddle with ease.
We were on the road again not long after. The black haired woman mounted the second horse, and Breias took the third. I had no choice but to take the place in front of Lasin. She sat close behind me, calm, but near enough that I could feel she could drag me off the horse in a second if she wanted to.
The road carried us onward.
"We forgot to introduce ourselves properly," Lasin said. "You probably already heard it when I spoke to the guards, but I'm Lasin. I'm an officer with the Twelve Swords."
Breias and the black haired woman noticed we were talking and brought their horses closer.
"I'm Azi. Breias and I used to be mercenaries, but now we work for the Twelve Swords."
"I can introduce myself," Breias said with annoyance.
"Oh please. You act as if anyone is dying to hear you speak," Azi shot back.
"Never mind her. I'm Breias, the best mage far and wide."
At that, both Lasin and Azi burst out laughing.
"The best? Maybe in this forest," Azi said between laughs.
"Where are we going?" I asked as we passed the last burned out building.
The black haired woman turned slightly in the saddle. "To Theocran."
"Why there?"
Lasin adjusted the reins. "Because this isn't the first village."
I was silent for a while.
"How many were there?" I asked.
"Three," Breias replied. "And the same pattern every time."
"No survivors," Azi added. "Only the dead and ash."
I caught a slight tension in her voice. Not fear. More like anger.
We rode on in silence for a while, the horses' hooves falling softly against the earth.
Ashes were left behind us.
"And why are you taking me?" I asked at last.
Lasin leaned a little closer. "Because you were nearby."
"That's not an answer."
"It is an answer," she said calmly.
Breias gave a quiet laugh. "From what you told us, you're the only survivor so far."
I said nothing.
The forest gradually began to thin, and the path joined a wider trade road.
"We have a contact in Theocran," Lasin continued. "Pestor."
"Who is that?" I asked.
"Archivarius Primus," she replied.
"He studies old records, family lines, wars, vanished bloodlines," Azi added. "And he can work with magic. Not in combat. In other ways."
"What kind of ways?" I asked.
"He can read magical traces," Lasin said. "Magical particles. Remnants left behind by rituals. By battles."
That sounded useful.
"And you trust him?" I asked.
Lasin did not hesitate. "Yes."
Breias looked less certain. "We trust that he's looking for the truth. That's different."
"The truth tends to be inconvenient," I said.
"That's exactly why it's useful," Lasin replied.
We continued on. The wind carried the smell of smoke that should have vanished long ago. For a moment, my vision darkened.
Flames.
Screams.
Then nothing.
I blinked.
The forest was there again.
"Are you all right?" Lasin asked quietly.
"Yeah," I replied.
I wasn't lying.
I just was not entirely sure what being all right was supposed to mean.
We stopped only at dusk.
Azi was the first to dismount and stretch her back. "If we ride any faster, the horses are going to start complaining."
"You complain more than they do," Breias pointed out.
"That's because I can talk."
Lasin took off her cloak and began building a fire. "We'll be in Theocran tomorrow. Rest while you can."
I sat down nearby. The flames lit their faces.
Azi studied me for a moment. "You don't talk much, do you?"
"Not when there's nothing to say," I replied.
"That's a shame." She smiled. "Travel goes by faster when someone's talking."
"You never run out of words," Breias said.
"And you never run out of ego."
Lasin only shook her head.
The silence that followed was not uncomfortable. Just ordinary.
The next day the city came into view. It stood in the middle of the plain. Several layers of walls rose one behind the other, drawing the eye to the few important buildings that towered above them. It was a huge city. More and more people crowded the roads leading toward it, though many of them were still mercenaries. Fortunately, none of them dared try anything on such a busy road. Thesmar was a fairly wealthy country, but its location was one of its greatest weaknesses. It had little access to the sea and was surrounded by stronger nations.
In front of the city gates stood hundreds of tents. At first they looked like a market, but there were far too many for that. Armed soldiers moved among them in great numbers.
"Do they have an entire army here?" I asked.
"It looks like it," Lasin replied.
The tents stretched along the walls like a second city. Smoke from the fires rose into the sky in straight columns. Patrols moved through the camp at regular intervals, without wasting words. Mercenaries stood near barrels of water, checking their blades more often than necessary.
No one was laughing.
"This wasn't here two weeks ago," Breias muttered.
"It's no coincidence," Azi added, quieter than usual.
A line of wagons had formed in front of the gate. Merchants, families, carts piled with more belongings than anyone would need for an ordinary journey. People held their things close.
The guards were checking everyone.
One man was pulled aside. He did not protest.
"The city is preparing," Lasin said.
"For war," I added.
The gate opened slowly. The heavy wood groaned as if it were reluctant.
As soon as we passed beneath the arch, I felt a pressure. Not something physical. More like the way the air changes before a storm.
The magic here was thicker.
And something was holding it together.