A/N: Thanks to our wonderful betas, Oleander's One and Bloodsong 13T, for so carefully and thoroughly reading through the chapter. And for being awesome.

PTSD trigger warning - to avoid spoilers, we've put the reason(s) for the warning at the bottom of the chapter. If you want to know what the warning is for, please scroll to the bottom first.

The ship's hull screamed in protest as waves crashed over it again and again. The wind howled as it ripped the storm sails apart in its fury. It had been hours, and the storm seemed to just be worsening to Korlys as he huddled miserably in the tiny, dark cabin with the few other passengers on board. They held on to each other without shame as Katerina's Dream rolled over on her side once more. Every time it happened, the Antivan was sure the ship wouldn't right herself. So far, though, the vessel had been able to pop back up like a cork each time.

Suddenly, it all just... stopped. The only sound that could be heard was the sound of that damned Orlesian woman, weeping hysterically. Korlys got up and felt his way to the door, with Angelo close behind him. They made their way up to the deck, and the sudden brightness almost blinded him. The dark-haired elf looked up in bewilderment and saw a large circular patch of bright blue sky overhead. Beyond the blue patch, the sky was covered in nightmarish-green storm clouds that appeared to reach down to the water in all directions. What the...? That cannot be right. I must be seeing things. He had taken a few good blows to the head as the storm had tossed them around like rag-dolls; maybe that was the problem.

At that point, the captain emerged from the bridge. "Get back belowdecks, fools. The storm's not over!" he bellowed.

Those passengers who had followed them returned to the tiny cabin, but left the door opened to get some fresh air while they had the opportunity. Korlys waited with his fellow Crow at the top of the stairs, ready to close the hatch when the storm returned. The air was unnaturally still and heavy, warmer now than it had been before the storm, and eerily quiet. It made the lapping of the waves against the hull sound loud in comparison; the sense of tension grated on Korlys' already frayed nerves.

The wind roared back with shocking suddenness, this time from the opposite direction. Angelo and Korlys just barely managed to bar the hatch before a massive wave slammed the ship. They stumbled their way back down the stairwell and into the cabin, shutting the door behind them.

The ship's groans grew worse, and there was a sudden crack, loud even over the howling wind. Korlys didn't know what it could be, but it surely wasn't good.

Surprisingly, the vessel managed to hold together for most of the storm. The wind and waves had been dying down for a while when Katerina's Dream finally gave up and started breaking apart. Passengers yelled and struggled to get out as the ship listed badly and chilly water started flooding the cabin, but Korlys managed to fight his way through them and out onto the deck.

So that is what that loud cracking sound was - the main mast snapped. A tangle of rigging was the only thing still holding it to the ship. Korlys found a spot away from the snarl of lines and dove in. He was a strong swimmer, but as the waves buffeted him, he soon lost his bearings. Droplets of rain hitting the surface of the water kicked up a misty haze that made it difficult to see, and the waves breaking over him relentlessly had him fighting to keep his head above water.

An endless amount of time passed; exhaustion was dragging his body down, and the cold water was making him sluggish. He could swear he heard his name being called. Get it together, Korlys. You are losing it. Sudden pain bloomed in the back of his head, and the world went black.

When he awoke, he was floating, the upper half of his body lying on a piece of debris. He tried to raise his head and was almost blinded by pain.

"You okay?"

Korlys turned his head. Angelo had managed to get most of his body out of the water but looked like a half-drowned rat. "What happened?"

"The ship sank. Everyone drowned but us, I think. I snagged this when the ship went down; I was hanging on when a wave pushed me into you."

"And you managed to grab me?"

Angelo snorted. "You got lucky. I was right beside you when you got hit."

"Grazie, Angelo. How long was I out?"

"Not long. The storm blew itself out pretty quickly after that. If the ship had not held through most of the storm, we never would have made it."

Korlys laid his head down on the rough planking again and closed his eyes for a moment. His head was pounding, and the salt water stung his eyes and lungs, but the Crow's relief was overwhelming. To have come all this way, to have freedom within reach, only to die in an unexpected storm after all he'd been through... although... now that it had happened, it might work out even better than his original plan. This is your chance, a voice in his head whispered, as hope bloomed inside of him. Maybe they will not search as diligently, or as long, if they think we died with the rest of them.

The storm was over, but the current still seemed to be moving swiftly, at least as far as Korlys could tell when he picked his head up again. The sun had come back out, and he squinted against the sparks of light that played on the surface of the water. A vague line appeared that looked closer than the horizon. Is that the coastline?

"Do you see that, Angelo, or am I hallucinating?"

Angelo followed Korlys' gaze. "That looks like land to me." He turned back to Korlys with a grin. "I think we will make it, my friend."

One of us will, anyway. Angelo wouldn't run away with him, and he damn well wouldn't keep quiet. Korlys had always planned to eliminate him, but now he had a chance to make it appear accidental if he could just make Angelo's death look like a drowning….

The elf waited patiently, resting up and watching the shoreline approach. He had to time the attack carefully. Too far out, and he would become too exhausted to make it to the shore. Too close, and he risked someone seeing him.

But as land approached, he discovered it was a wooded area. I could not have set this up better if I had planned it.

They abandoned their makeshift raft when they felt sandy ground beneath their feet. Hoping to keep the element of surprise, he let Angelo get slightly ahead of him. His companion was short for a human, but still almost a head taller than himself. When the water was below the elf's knees, he launched himself from the balls of his feet, reaching up and wrapping his arms around Angelo's neck tightly while he wrapped his legs around the other man's waist. Korlys squeezed with all his strength as Angelo flailed. But the man was already exhausted, and the weight of the elf on his back was quickly draining what energy he had left. Angelo clawed at his arms, trying to find some small space between Korlys and his throat; as desperate as his compatriot was, though, he couldn't pry the assassin's arms from his neck.

Once his struggles weakened, Korlys held the man's face under water and finished it. He dragged the body to the shore, stripped it of valuables, and pushed the corpse back out into the ocean.

Trees grew almost to the edge of the bank, and the shore curved in slightly here, making a small cove; it looked like he'd be able to rest awhile without worrying about being discovered. The assassin sat down, trying to catch his breath. The struggle with Angelo had depleted his remaining strength. Korlys pulled his boots off and turned them upside down, letting the water drain out as he considered his new circumstances.

Fortunately, Katerina's Dream had foundered off the coast, and no one had spotted him washing ashore. It was possible everyone would assume the ship had sunk with all hands aboard, although if his body wasn't found, his master would still send hunters after him. And that screwed up all his carefully made plans. Korlys had meant to leave Denerim at the earliest opportunity, but their bags had gone down with the ship, along with most of the money and supplies they had brought with them.

It will take Master Nico at least six weeks to find out about the shipwreck, and another six for the hunters to arrive. That should be enough time to earn some coin and get resupplied, then make himself scarce. For now, though, he needed to rest and dry out.

Thanking the Maker it wasn't winter, the elf unbuckled his armour and slipped it off, then peeled his soaking clothes from his body, leaving only his smalls on. He squeezed as much water as possible from his hair before sitting down, then pulled his knees into his chest and wrapped his arms around his legs, trying to conserve as much body heat as possible. I would kill for some dry clothes, or a tinderbox to make a fire. Goose pimples covered his dark skin, and he shivered as he watched the light fade from the sky. Korlys laid down on his side, still curled into a ball, as exhaustion overwhelmed him. Sleep pulled the assassin down into darkness the moment his head touched the ground.

oOo

Korlys left the general goods store, his backpack full. He'd been in Denerim for a few weeks and was slowly earning enough coin to replace the supplies he had lost during the shipwreck. A blonde elven woman caught his eye as he walked down the street. Her distinctive heart-shaped face and the way she moved when she walked seemed so familiar.

Where have I seen her before? His brain tried imagining her in a dozen different places, past and present. Suddenly, his stomach tightened in fear as he remembered. Sal, a member of his team, had a brief fling with her. She was a Crow, but from a different cell. Angelique? No, that is not quite right... brasca. Well, whatever her name was, he needed to give her the slip. Now.

The street they were on wasn't crowded enough, so he made his way to Denerim's central market and weaved through the townspeople browsing the merchant's goods. He slipped past a dwarf peddling his wares - armour, from the sound of it. The annoyingly loud sound of it. Taking a sharp right, the assassin ducked into a small alleyway, wrapping himself in shadows as he sneaked to the end. There were narrow walkways between some of the buildings - too narrow to even be called alleys. Korlys found one of those and passed noiselessly between the buildings and out onto another side street. Confident that he'd lost her, the elf made his way back to the place where he was staying and packed quickly. Time to find a new inn; he couldn't risk staying in this one any longer.

oOo

From the moment he opened his eyes that day, Mario's mind was filled with a single thought: after tonight, he'd be the best. The one who got into the Arl's estate. He'd spent days in preparation, spying on the guards until he knew their schedule and routes; he knew all the servants by name, and he'd fed the meat pies he stole that week to the three mabaris that guarded the house. He even bought a small healing potion, now carefully wrapped in cloth and stored in the pocket of his pants. Not that he planned to get anywhere near the Arl's fucking beasts or get injured in any way, but better to be ready.

He spent the whole day going over the plan again and again or daydreaming what he'd do with the money tomorrow. For this job, the client said they only needed some papers from the Arl's study, and everything else he'd take would be his. Even minus the share for the boss, he expected to get at least a whole sovereign, maybe even two. He could buy a good solid pair of boots, maybe even trousers, and still put a few coins away.

When Jasper called for him, he suspected nothing; he thought the boss wanted to check that everything was ready for the night. And then the fucker told him that the plans had changed. The Arl's estate would be done by Tony because Mario got another job. A very important job, that couldn't be given to anyone else, because the client asked for Mario by name, only for him and no one else. No matter how he protested and yelled, Jasper didn't change his mind; he even went so far as to say that if Mario didn't obey, he'd be out of the guild and on his own.

So he obeyed, even though he knew something was wrong. Even if he was famous enough to be asked for by name, a client would normally come to the hideout, to not attract attention to themselves. But he didn't say anything; the boss was already pissed off. They hurried through the alienage and human slums until they reached Little Compton Street at the border of the Market District. Although, the street wouldn't have looked out of place in an alienage, by how dirty it was, and the house didn't look much better. Jasper knocked three times, and when the door opened, ushered Mario inside, following closely behind.

The room they entered was dimly lit, the only source of light a few candles on a crate; there wasn't much other furniture, from what Mario could see. Three men were standing near the entrance, chatting among themselves; when they noticed Jasper and him enter, they stopped.

"You're fifteen minutes late," one of them said and moved closer.

Jasper shrugged. "Took some time to convince him. But what are fifteen minutes? You still have the whole night… if you have the money, of course."

"And we'll use every minute of it," the man said. "Here. Fifty silver, as we agreed. For one knife-ear, that's robbery."

Mario's eyes widened in shock. He knew this fucker! The Templar with a kink for elven boys had been stalking him for months now, wouldn't take no for an answer. But, Jasper would never do something like that - he always said Mario was like his own-

"You want a thief, you get robbed." Jasper cackled as if he'd said something funny. But if they thought he'd just let them, they were fucked in their heads.

Mario bolted towards the door, but the traitorous bastard expected it and grabbed his arm. He pushed Mario back, right into the Templars' arms. He tried to fight back, to wriggle out of their grasp, but he never had a chance.

And Jasper just stood there, his face unreadable, and watched them beat him and strip down his clothes.

"Well, I'm needed elsewhere," he said after a moment. "Have fun." He turned away and left, deaf to Mario's pleas and threats.

oOo

There were moments when he thought he wouldn't survive the night. There were moments he didn't want to survive. But when they'd kicked him out on the street, throwing his things after him, Mario already knew who was going to die.

His fingers were shaking as he got dressed and took the healing potion; his body was still one big bruise, but it was easier to move. Not stopping to think about this – lest he change his mind – he wrapped himself in shadows and crawled to Jasper's hideout. It took him forever, but he was in no hurry – he knew the boss probably wouldn't go to sleep before sunrise, and wouldn't be up before lunchtime. The hideout was guarded, of course, but compared to the Arl's estate, it was child's play. Two guards at the front door and a few wired traps on the roof. For the boss of the second biggest guild in Denerim, the level of security was pathetic.

Mario opened the window and slipped into the room. Jasper was snoring in his bed, as expected. The room reeked of cheap brandy, smelly perfume, and stale sweat. Annie, Jasper's current girl, was sprawled on the bed, passed out stone-cold. He shot a disgusted look at her plump body and piggish face and clenched his teeth in rage. This was how Jasper was spending time after he left him with those beasts? Ignoring the whore, he climbed on Jasper's side of the bed and grabbed a pillow, ready to finish it, but then changed his mind. It was risky, but he wanted the man to know who had killed him, and why.

He sat on the man's chest and leaned to whisper in his ear. "Hey, boss. Wake up, boss."

The man stirred, and his eyes opened. Confused, he stared into Mario's eyes.

"I came to thank you for tonight," Mario whispered.

A flash of recognition and panic appeared in Jasper's eyes. He bucked up, desperately trying to free himself. Normally he would succeed, but as drunk as he was now, he had no chance. Mario pressed the pillow hard onto the man's face, leaning on it with all his might.

It didn't take long until Jasper stopped thrashing under him, but he kept clutching the pillow and pressing it into the man's face. Finally, he shook himself, forcing himself to let it go. After checking that Annie was still passed out, he sneaked back to the window and climbed back onto the roof. Exhausted beyond bearing, he crawled to the other end to take a little break, but he barely sat down when he heard a voice from the neighbouring roof.

"Who's there?"

He froze, too scared to think or react. A moment later, a small figure appeared next to him. Ricky, one of Jasper's new findings. Ricky was an eleven-year-old carrot top with a lot of freckles, quick fingers, and an almost endless admiration for Mario.

"Oh, it's you. What are you doing here? What happened to your face?"

"Nothing, never mind that. I just came to visit the boss."

"Silly. He just went to sleep an hour ago. He'll be out cold for hours."

"Yeah, I know." For more than a few hours, this time. "There's something I needed to tell him… but now I changed my mind. It can wait till he gets up."

The kid smiled, satisfied with that answer. "Yeah, he's a real dick if waked up early. You wanna go get breakfast?"

"No, but thanks." Forcing himself to smile, he ruffled Ricky's hair and got up. "I still have some work to do. See you later, okay?"

The thief walked away, knowing he would regret this. Soon, someone would find Jasper, staring with his bulging dead eyes at the ceiling; then Ricky would mention Mario had been there, and the rest would be easy. But what could he do? Kill Ricky? It wouldn't be difficult to make it look like he slipped from the roof. But when he imagined Ricky's crumpled body on the ground... No, he could never do that. He'd be worse than Jasper if he did. The only solution was to run away.

And so here he was, wondering what he should do next. No matter how he looked at it, he was in deep shit. He could leave town, yeah. But then what? He wouldn't be able to get into a guild in another town – they would be warned, of course. And even if he managed somehow to fool them and remain unrecognised, he'd have to start from the beginning; it would take months, years, until he had made a name again. And there was no saying all this shit couldn't happen again...

He was so absorbed in these grim thoughts that he didn't hear the men arriving; only the clanging of weapons finally roused him. He crawled to the edge of the roof and peeked down.

oOo

Early the next morning, before the sun had a chance to do more than peek over the horizon, Korlys packed up and left; it was just too dangerous to stay in the city any longer. He'd have to make do with the supplies he had. But, less than a block away, Korlys spotted the other Crow again - along with two men. The arrogant way they carried themselves told him these two weren't local goons.

It did not take her long to find me, did it? A chill ran through him at the thought. She must have found out I have been looking for work. If so, she'd assume he was a runaway. Crows didn't freelance. Their master would pay a lot of coin to have him back - especially if they captured him alive.

No matter how many turns he took, he could not shake them. The sky was just lightening in the East as he slipped through the shadows. Korlys needed to put more distance between them, or he wouldn't have a chance. They were getting close to the docks, and there were too few people up and about at this hour.

Taking a sharp right, he started running down a deserted side street, no longer worried about stealth. He would not make it to the end before they turned the corner, however. Luckily, he had picked a road with back alleys between each of the buildings, and he took another sharp right down a random alley, pressing himself against the first darkened doorway he came to. Korlys fought to keep his breathing quiet, his daggers in his hand in an instant.

He could hear the sounds of running feet over the pounding of his heart. The moment the three had passed, he slipped out of the alley, catching up to the trailing assassin and slashing his throat open before the others had a chance to react.

"Korlys," the elven woman said in Antivan as she faced off with him, "come with us quietly and we will not kill you." The attempt to sound confident was wasted; he could sense her fear, as surely as any predator would. It was unlikely that anyone but another Crow could have detected it, though. Korlys knew his reputation among other Crows, and she was smart to be afraid. Too bad she hadn't considered the danger earlier when she still had a chance to walk away.

"You should have left it alone, bella," he said, a dangerous edge to his tone. He watched them both as the dark-haired man tried to flank to his left, while the woman moved to his right. Korlys could tell she was the more dangerous of the two by her stance and the way she advanced without a single wasted movement.

The male assassin darted in suddenly from Korlys' left. He heard the woman curse as she was forced to attack from the right before she was ready. Korlys swung both his blades in a wide arc. He slashed the man's right arm; the woman darted away, hitting his side as she moved, but her blade failed to find a gap in his leather armour.

He grinned as he heard the man start cursing. The poison Korlys always kept his blades coated with was going to finish him off, but until he was down, the human was still a threat.

oOo

Mario watched the fight with bated breath. He had no idea what was going on, why those three were after the elf, but he couldn't help admiring him. Maker's cock, that guy was good. Three on one, and he didn't even break a sweat.

I wish I could fight like that. Then he could get those Templar fuckers. He pressed his lips together. Their time would come, he promised himself. No matter how long it took – he would never forget their faces, the sound of their voices, the smell of their sweat. He had to wait four years until he got the old bastard; he would get those three even if he had to wait ten times longer.

But for that, he had to get out of town first. And the sooner the better. He was still sore and stiff, though not as much as before. He could make a few miles today. Okay, time to go. The elf fought like a demon and it was interesting to watch, but he couldn't waste time now. He must – what was that?

More people were creeping up from another alley. There had to be at least ten of them, and from the way they listened to the fight, it was obvious they planned to interfere. When they were almost to the corner, one of them covered himself in shadows and sneaked ahead; only the fast flickering of shadows as he ran through the small patches of sunlight giving away his presence.

Mario frowned. The elf was good, but against this many even he would have a problem, especially as it seemed they wanted to entrap him. None of my business. What do I know? Maybe he's a traitorous bastard and they're the good guys. But... the same could be said about him. He had betrayed his guild, and soon every Lizard would be after his head. Yet he didn't feel like a bad guy and didn't regret it at all. Jasper deserved what he got... And this elf was hunted as well.

That decided it. He picked up a little stone and flung it at the man's head. It hit! In truth, he didn't really think it would – he was never good at aiming. When the man glanced up, he pressed his finger to his lips, and pointed to the corner, then showed him ten fingers.

Before he could react, the woman rushed at him again. Her injured comrade was writhing in agony, but the bitch didn't even look at him. She lunged at the elf and tried to stab him in the chest. Mario's breath hitched; he was sure she got the man, but he danced away, at the same time pulling something from his pocket and throwing it at the woman. It started putting out a lot of smoke. Interesting thing, that; he could find a use for it. For a moment he had no idea what was going on until the guy appeared next to him on the roof. Wrapped in shadows, nonetheless. Clever guy. Mario did the same, then bolted in the opposite direction from the coming group.

The others were near and it wouldn't take them long to follow. But the roofs were his home. After several turns and jumps across streets and alleys, he dared to slow down. It didn't seem they were being followed. They were now on the roof of a warehouse in the docks. Normally, he'd climb down here and find his guild to laugh at the stupid guards that tried to catch him… But he wasn't one of them anymore. He led the way further from the scene of the fight, occasionally listening to see if someone was after them, but all was quiet.

There was a place, almost near the outer walls of the town, where he used to go when he wanted to be alone. It was a little cove, hidden from view by trees. The city wall here had never been fixed after the Blight. He had arranged the stones that fell off to mask it further and was pretty sure nobody besides him knew about it.

He still checked that no one was near before he stepped out of the shadows, just to be sure. "We should be safe here," he said with a grin.

"Grazie," the elf said, his demeanor cautious. He held his daggers down inconspicuously, but he didn't sheath them. "Why did you help me? Not that I am not grateful, of course."

"You looked like you needed it." He shrugged, trying to look nonchalant about it, though the daggers made him nervous. "Twelve on one is hardly fair. And I'm being hunted myself, so I can sympathize... Look, you can put those things away. I don't even have a weapon on me."

Korlys studied the elf in front of him. He looked to be about eighteen, shorter than Korlys, and skinny, but sleekly muscled. His dark-brown hair was tousled, and if his cocksure, brazen attitude hadn't marked him as a street kid, the grubby, worn look of his clothes would have. It was obvious he'd been hurt recently; he had bruises on his face, and he'd moved a bit stiffly as they ran across the roofs. Korlys sheathed his blades.

"Grazie," he repeated. "Thank you, I mean. My name is Korlys."

Mario grinned, more relaxed now that the man - Korlys - put his daggers away. For a moment, he was almost worried he had helped some psycho who'd stab him the moment he didn't need him.

"Mario," he introduced himself. He walked to the sea and splashed water over his face and hands. It stung like shit, but at least the wounds wouldn't fester. He wanted nothing more than to strip himself and bathe, but he didn't trust the guy wouldn't do anything funny.

"So who are those guys that want you dead and how clever are they? How much time you think we have before they find us here?"

Korlys rummaged through his pack. "Here, I have some health potions. Take one." He held out a potion to Mario. "As for those guys, they are Crows. They are very clever, and we do not have more than fifteen minutes, maybe twenty, at the most. We need to leave, and leave quickly, if we want to live."

"Twenty minutes at the most? Maker's cock, I thought you'd say at least a few hours…" Mario's voice trembled with panic. Fuck, I got myself into deep shit this time, didn't I? Even if they didn't see his face there, if they were that clever, it wouldn't take them long to meet his guild. How long would it take them to realize they were after the same person? Not long, he suspected.

"Thanks for the potion," he said, thinking about the possibilities. He had wanted to leave from the north side of the city - and stop to at least say goodbye to Cory and aunt Dinah - then go to Amaranthine, board some ship as a deckhand and leave Ferelden for good. But it would be madness to attempt going through the whole town now.

"Well, there's an exit out of town right here," he said, pointing to the crumbling wall. "Thing is, there's only a village - slum, really - full of beggars out there. And a forest full of dirt, bugs, and beasts. It would take a few hours to get back to the main road, and by that time, it's bound to be watched by your Crows, my Lizards, and probably city guards."

"Lizards?"

"Thieves' guild," Mario explained. "They're not after me yet, but soon every rat in the town will want me dead."

"Oh." Thieves' guild - not a threat to me, and none of my business. "Well, we do not have a few hours; they will find us long before we even get to the main road. And it would be suicide to be seen by anyone, even beggars. The Crows will not leave any village, no matter how small, unsearched. That leaves the forest."

Korlys went down to the water as he talked, taking his blades out and rinsing the blood off of them, then drying them with a piece of cloth before resheathing them. "Merda, I do not know anything about the forest." He turned back to Mario. "But the Crows do not, either. I think that is our best chance to survive."

The kid was obviously scared and with good reason. And he didn't deserve what would happen to him if the Crows got their hands on him. But, would he slow Korlys down? The assassin quickly thought through his options. Killing the kid would probably be the safest thing to do. But, it just didn't sit well with him. He could at least help Mario get well away from here; he owed him that much. After that, if Mario slowed him down, he could deal with him then. But at least he'd given the thief a chance at survival.

"I am taking my chances with the forest. Do you want to come with me?"

Mario tilted his head and gave Korlys an appraising look. Dark; an inch or two taller than Mario, but more muscular. Black straight hair reaching to his shoulders. An air of arrogance, most unusual for an elf; no trace of humility in those black eyes. Plus, he could keep pace with Mario on the roof, and there weren't many that could say that… although, he was slower than usual today... And he could fight.

"Why not," he said. "Give me a moment." There was a hole in one of the trees; inside, carefully wrapped in a cloth, were all his worldly possessions - a knife he'd stolen from a foreign noble, a tinderbox, sixty-four silver coins, and a small willow whistle. He had wanted to give it to Cory tonight - he had promised they'd celebrate his successful mission, go to the market, have some sugar candy… And now he wouldn't see Cory for Maker knew how long. Fuck you, Jasper. He carefully wrapped the whistle and the coins and tucked them in the hole again.

"Okay, let's go. The wall's not safe here, so follow my steps if you don't want to break your neck. And you better hide again - the houses start less than a hundred feet away." Following his own advice, he wrapped himself in shadows and headed towards the crumbling wall.

He couldn't suppress a grin at Mario's look. Didn't he realize Korlys was a Crow? With a tiny shake of his head, Korlys slipped into the shadows and followed the other elf past the wall. It didn't take long before the rickety lean-tos and muddy paths that characterized every slum the Antivan had ever seen came into view. Korlys didn't like the idea of stealing from people this poor - he knew what it was like - but they were about to enter a forest, and he'd only ever hunted people. He doubted Mario had even had that much experience. They had to do whatever it took to survive.

"We need to get some food before we go into the forest," the assassin murmured.

"Leave that to me," the young thief whispered with a confident grin. "Head to the forest. I'll catch up with you in a minute."

The market - if it could be called that - was not far. He didn't like the idea of stealing from these poor fuckers, but they didn't have much choice. Hunting squirrels and rabbits with Crows at their heels didn't seem like a good idea.

A few moments later, he caught up with Korlys, carrying a wicker basket loaded with a few smoked mackerels, two loaves of bread, a wedge of sheep cheese, a few apples, and two bottles of cheap wine. It should last them for two days, three if they ate less. "Let's hurry to the forest," he said anxiously. Their head start was almost gone, and it would only take a moment to figure out which way they went.

Korlys was relieved when the thief appeared. He'd kept track of the time in the back of his mind, and time was very short now. The assassin scanned the horizon; he didn't see anyone following, but that did not mean they weren't there. Crows were masters at hiding in the shadows. They turned and hurried into the forest, casting nervous glances over their shoulders as they left.

PTSD trigger - implied rape, violence

grazie - thanks

bella - beautiful

merda - shit