He went for the boy first, his aim a single strike through the chest. Quick and clean. He’d hardly feel a thing.

Unfortunately the young man was faster than he looked, escaping with just a small gash on his left side. In a moment he had his dagger out and had turned it on Kylar. The worn iron looked pitiful against his sabre. He genuinely felt for the child. It took courage to go as far as he already did. Still, orders were orders. He didn’t have to like them, but his life was worth more than his preferences.

He thrust forward again, not wanting to draw this out any further. It had been taxing enough to track the both of them and he’d hardly brought the food for such a trip. Not to mention the state his sister would be in when he returned. Body or no body.

Once more the boy proved more skilled than Kylar had given him credit. He managed to completely avoid the blade. Even set himself up for a retaliatory slash at his arm.

Skilled, but inexperienced. A waste of talent in his opinion.

It was a simple matter to bring his sword back to block the dagger. Even simpler to shove it out of the way, throwing the child off balance and wide open. Kylar brought his saber back.

A quick stab and it was all over.

Or it would have been if something hadn’t jumped on his back.

He stumbled forward, his blade hitting rock and ripping itself from his hands. Before he could react further, a mouthful of needle like teeth clamped down on his neck. He cried out in pain and reached up to grasp his assailant. He yanked it off of him and prayed to whatever gods that were listening that an artery hadn’t been cut.

He looked at the thing in his hands and was shocked to see the little girl he’d been sent to kill hissing at him with blood on her teeth.

“Huh…I had expected you to just sit there paralyzed with fear, but it seems you have a bit more fire than I thought.” She made to bite his wrists. He scowled and moved one hand to her throat. “Just hold still! This is hard enough as it is!”

“LET GO OF HER YOU BASTARD!”

The boy rammed into his side, causing him to release the girl. He landed painfully on his back, sliding a foot or two until he hit a rock. He was immediately punched in the face repeatedly.

Kylar was definitely not at his best today.

“I WILL NOT BE BEATEN BY CHILDREN!” Snarling in rage, he let loose with a punch of his own. It caught the young man right in the jaw, sending him backwards. Kylar left to his feet and with a roar he began to shift.

It was a simple transformation, meant more for intimidation than any increase in combat ability. Still, it was quite a sight to see his teeth and claws grow while his fur stood on end. Mass was reassigned to his upper body, causing his shoulders to become hunched. He glared at his targets, letting loose a growl that would be more appropriate on a wolf than a rat.

The horned girl squeaked and backed behind her brother, staring at him with wide eyes. For his part, the boy showed his fear, but didn’t act upon it, choosing instead to pull his dagger from the dust.

“That weapon won’t save you. We all know how this will end.” Speech was more difficult as he was and the worlds came out slurred with the barest hint of a snarl behind each syllable. Still, the message was conveyed as he stepped forward. “Just lie down and neither or you will feel a thing. I can promise you that much at least.”

“GO TO HELL!” The dagger was held point first towards Kylar. He could see it shaking subtly.

“Ha!” It might not have been appropriate given the circumstances, but he couldn’t resist a small smirk. Though he supposed it would be more of a grimace with these teeth. “That is not a difficult task. Travel in any direction you like and you might as well call it hell.”

“…What do you mean?” The shaking stopped. Curious.

“Do you honestly think I choose to be out in this wilderness murdering children?” He wouldn’t come out here for any reason whatsoever, though that was hardly the point. “I don’t have any more options in all this than you do.”

“Then you at least have two.”

Kylar stopped dead in his tracks.

“Go on…”

“Way I see it, me and Skeir here, we’ve got two options.” He took a step back and pushed Skeir behind him. Neither of them so much as blinked. “We can either stay where we are and wait to die or we can try to run.” He glanced down at her. “She’s a little young for all this so I guess I’ve got to decide for her…and I think running’s the best option.”

“Very astute, but what’s it have to do with me?”

“Well, you’re in the same boat aren’t you?” The dagger was lowered just a touch. “You’re dressed like a noble. Third child? First sibling’s in the Clergy, second’s heading the family?”

“You’re a very smart kid.” Annoyance crept into his voice. Being reminded of his position wasn’t something he particularly enjoyed.

“I know I am. And I see you have two options same as us.” Was that a smirk on his lips? Kylar was becoming more and more wary of this boy. And the girl looked ready to finish tearing his throat out. More than meets the eye those two…

“Well, let’s hear them then.” He sighed. Someone half his age was in the process of outwitting him. Not a good feeling. “Neither of us has all day.”

“Well you can either lie down and die, by which I mean kill us so you stay useful for just a bit longer until they eventually send you to a nothing position in the middle of nowhere or marry you off to pay a debt or secure an alliance, or…”

“Or?”

“You can run with us.”

For just a moment, both Kylar and Skeir had the exact same expression on their faces.

“Are you serious?”

“Raden…” Skeir tugged on her brother’s arm. She looked frightened, though he couldn’t decide if the blood in her mouth added to the effect or made it something else. “He’s bad! Mom said the people who came from the city were bad!”

“I know that.” Raden glared at Kylar. There was malice there and he expected it. For all the boy knew he was looking at the man who killed his parents. But there was something else there…some grim promise that neither his nor his sister’s death would come easily.

The little horned girl copied his glare and snarled. A six year old who looked ready to kill.

Somewhere, down in the parts of his mind he denied existed, Kylar felt fear of these children.

“So you would run with a bad man then?”

“Not if I can help it, but you would be the lesser of two evils here.” He took a deep breath and the glare vanished. It might have been a sort of peace offering. Not much, but it was probably the best he would give. “Neither of us has ever been out here before and we can’t exactly fight off the creatures that lurk in the wilds.” He raised an eyebrow. “I assume you know the basics of using that sword.”

“Of course.” He glanced at the blade. It wouldn’t take long to reach it. Maybe three seconds. “I was trained by a Spector.”

“And yet you were floored by a teenager.”

“…And old, possibly demented Spector.” He ground his teeth slightly at how pathetic it all sounded. “Besides, you had backup.”

“Yeah, a six year old.” That six year old snickered at him. He’d worry about bringing shame to his family if they gave a damn what happened to him.

“It was still two against one so can we please move on?!” He should have just ended those two then and there. But the boy had a point. Several points. Good ones. It wasn’t like he hadn’t thought about running before… “You want me to abandon my city and my superiors to guide you and your sister through the wilderness. Correct?”

“Yes.”

It was suicide. They had never been outside ‘safe’ lands before and he had journeyed only once. They had no adequate supplies, no gear for travel, no idea of the lands beyond, and it was impossible to forget the blood hungry zealot and her minions that would be chasing them all the while.

If he was lucky she hadn’t left yet.

If she was smarter than he gave her credit for she had.

He would put their odds of making it through this alive at one percent. The whole thing could be written off as a form of suicide! Pragmatism screamed that he should kill them, return to Cali with their heads, and then plan his own escape at a later date. When he would actually have supplies and a plan. That was the smart thing to do. It was the safe thing to do! It was what anyone else in his position would do…

“…I only have one question.”

“Yes?” Raden’s eyes shifted to the sword. They both knew the chances of him reaching it first were zero. The lives of him and his sister were dependent on Kylar’s choice.

“…Where exactly am I guiding you to?”

No one could say they didn’t have SOME luck.

“Well…I had one idea…” He had expected the boy to relax once it was clear that he wasn’t going to die just yet. He hadn’t. This could easily be taken as a bad sign.

The theory was proven when Raden slowly moved his arm and pointed upwards.

It could get incredibly quiet beneath the earth at times. There were moments where nothing moved and you could hear the drip of water from miles away.

This was one of those times.

“…Right…well we better get a move on then.” The children looked at him. Raden had some amount of relief on his face while Skeir retained the visage of a wild animal ready to kill. “I know of a few ways to get there, but none of them are close and my sister is sworn to follow us to the ends of the earth.”

“How long until she comes for us?” Their things were already being gathered. Raden picked up his satchel from the rock while Kylar retrieved and sheathed his sword.

“Not long. She has never been known for her patience.” He turned towards the path. There were a few routes they could take that continued in this direction. A couple of them even had a chance of survival. Assuming nothing caught them…

It was a game of hide and seek with all the world being the seeker.

For reasons even he didn’t know, Kylar smiled.

“That’s it, we’re drilling.”

She had given her brother another day to return, but she was out of patience and out of practice. That damn Spector had bested her seventeen times at Scrap…and that was after the Bearer had won twenty. She would admit that they had her respect for actually playing instead of just sitting there idly pushing stones, but enough was enough!

“Bearer!” The robed woman looked up from her meditation, appearing only slightly annoyed. “Start widening the hole. We need it big enough to fit a Harbinger through and we need it fast.” With a grunt and a nod she was up and moving towards the cave. “You!” Cali pointed at one a nearby soldier, she really should learn their ranks at some point, who immediately stood at attention. “Go round up your troop. We’ll be leaving as soon as possible and I don’t want to waste time while you get organized.” He saluted and hurried off without a word. If only that witch had as much respect. “And Spector.” Though if anyone needed to be taught how to address a superior, it was the napping woman who merely raised an arm to show she was listening. “Find the corpse. I don’t care if you have to drag him back here by his tongue…”

“I’m happy to report that it won’t be necessary.” That voice…

All eyes turned to the newcomer. It was easy as he made a point of being hard to miss. He stood at just a hair under six feet, dressed in full plate as dark as the cave around them. Minus a helmet. It matched his coal colored fur perfectly. It threw the gold chain around his neck into immediate focus and Cali was sure he specifically enjoyed that aspect of the armor more than any other. Not that she would say so to his face. The deep gray bastard sword on his back made sure of that.

“I suppose you found my missing scourge then?” She considered it a grand feat of political maneuvering that she was able to keep most of the displeasure out of her voice. Most of it…

“Indeed I have.” He whistled and the Rotter crept into the alcove. He looked frightened and sheepish, as he should be. If she weren’t so repulsed at the thought of touching him, she’d… “Lucky that I was wandering by or he might have filled an entire tunnel with a flesh eating spore.”

“And why were you ‘wandering by’ Quel?” She would deal with her Plague Priest having access to flesh eating anything later.

“Oh believe me, I’d love nothing more than to avoid this little backwater, but I’m afraid I’ve been assigned to track down a little nuisance.” He took a few steps forward, a smug grin plastered all over his face. “By the way, you are no longer in command of the hunt.”

“What!” It took every ounce of restraint to keep her hands away from her staff. “You can’t possibly be telling me that they put you in charge!”

“You’re right, I’m not.”

…That…that calmed her anger somewhat.

“You’re not?”

“No. As much as I would just love to give you orders,” the smile he gave her was worthy of a thousand different tortures, “I was only sent here because our new leader wanted the Templars represented in equal part to the Priestesses.”

“Our new leader?” A Templar and a Priestess, both of the second rank, in the same party…to call it unusual would make calling it an understatement an understatement in itself. It couldn’t be one of her superiors, nor could it be one of Quel’s. They’d never agree to a joint operation, glory hounds that they were. But there was no one outside their sects who was of a high enough rank for this. “May I ask who the good master is?

“Hmm…just a second.” He leaned, almost lazily, to his side so he could look past her. “Do you want me to introduce you? Shout titles and the like?”

“No, I’m not really one for formalities.” Again all eyes turned to a voice. Cali’s widened in surprise. There he was, leaning beside the mouth of the cave. Even the Bearer looked startled and she was standing right next to him. “Besides, the least I could do is offer my own name.”

The first thing one would note about him was his size. He was broad shouldered and lean, but not thin enough to be called wiry. Even while slouched he reached half a foot above Quel, and she could tell that from a glance. Unlike Quel and herself, he wore no chain, nor the uniform of either station. Instead he had donned a simple breast plate, dark as the Templar’s. Armor of black leather covered his arms, but left both hands untouched, their pale brown standing out against the few bits of fur, same color as her own, showing on his wrists. A plain robe under the chest piece was colored to go with the motif and stretched almost to his ankles. What could be seen of his legs showed leggings similar to what was covering his arms, implying that he was wearing a full set.

She noted all of this is passing, for she barely wasted a second on his body. It was his head that interested her. The parts she could see anyway, since most of his face was covered by a helmet to go with the breastplate. It left the lower half of his jaw and the eyes visible. The latter were blood red and appeared to glow slightly from behind the dark metal. He seemed to be looking at nothing, yet directly at her simultaneously. It made her wonder if she should be insulted.

And of course there was the matter of the long, black, sloped horns that stretched back from the top of his head.

“Pleased to meet you. You may call me Isaac, but we both know you’ll be referring to me as Master for the foreseeable future.” He stepped forward with an easy stride. All eyes were following him. Including the soldiers who had just finished assembling. The Harbinger let out a low growl, but he didn’t seem to notice.

He did notice the Spector who was currently having a slight meltdown over her perimeter being breached without her knowledge. They could be so prideful about some things.

“What…but…no…you couldn’t have…how did you…” Isaac’s hand on her shoulder cut her off.

“Please calm down my dear. Confusion doesn’t really suit you.” With his piece said, he continued with his advance until he stood not five feet from the Priestess. “Now then, I am going to assume you are Cali. I understand your brother was also assigned to this mission?”

“Yes...he has certain skills that allowed him to use the escape tunnel that we found in the cave. I sent him ahead.” There was no point in refusing. Not to a horned one.

“Good, we have a scout then. He might already be coming back with the bodies. Then we could be on our way back to your temple for wine and sweets.” He sighed. “That would be so disappointing.”

She did not miss how he said ‘your’ temple. He was definitely not of her sect, he couldn’t be. But neither was he a Templar. Though that was to be expected. His kind were always special cases.

“Right, this escape tunnel. What are we doing about it?” He looked back at the Bearer. She seemed to stand a little straighter when his gaze was on her. “You’re one of those sorcerers that do all that strange magic right?”

“I am…”

“Can you clear the path?”

“I can…”

His head flipped back to Cali.

“Have you ordered her to clear the path?”

“Yes, just now.”

“You should have ordered it five days ago. Now we’ll be behind.” He turned back to the Bearer. “Get on it and inform me the second it is finished.” She did a short bow and rushed inside. “Well nothing to do, but wait until she finishes so I guess we all have some time off. Just stay in this alcove until then. I want all of us ready to move at a moment’s notice.”

“As you wish Master,” both Cali and Quell rattled off automatically. She did not agree with her command being removed. In fact it was enough to cause a desire to tear her own fur out in frustration. But the protocol was clear. The only ones who could even think of commanding a horned one were the High Priestess and the Grand Templar. And that was only if it felt like being commanded.

As long as they weren’t the spawn of outcasts of course.

“Would you care to explain the rules of this game?” Isaac had approached the Spector again. She still looked a bit uneasy. “I heard it mentioned several times in the city and I’m curious. It must be popular for a reason right?”

“…As you wish.” The two of them approached the scrap board as the rest of the group took his orders to heart.

Except for Cali and Quell of course.

“An interesting man, don’t you agree?” the Templar asked. She didn’t have to look to know there was a smirk on his face.

“Where did he come from?” Her fists clenched, half in anger, half to deal with the shock of what just happened. “An adult horned one with a dark coat in the city? The news should have been everywhere within minutes.”

“I can’t really say. But I believe our superiors have been keeping secrets from us.” Quel leaned in and whispered in her ear. “Now why would they hide such a gift to our city?”

“A gift?” she spat. While smacking his mouth and stepping away of course. “I’ll decide whether he deserves such praise after I’ve seen him perform.”

“Ah yes, the mantra of women everywhere.” He ducked her next swipe and began walking away, headed for the cluster of idling soldiers. “Either way, I’m sure the next few weeks will be interesting.”

She watched him leave with a glare so caustic that it could strip the flesh from a man’s bones in mere seconds.

Even though she couldn’t help but agree…