The next few days are long. But finally, the ship reached land. Of course it was not a main dock, it was a small one built by the Black Fang for transporting without having to worry about people. Mainly, lords. Mainly, Lord Eliwood and his companions. Lately they had been the cause of all our problems.

I slink off of the ship, unseen, unheard. Of course, I did not try to. It just comes naturally. I look around, searching for any landmarks that could help me. I find one, a forest, and search my mental map. I am facing to the north. If I turn to the northwest, I will be heading in the direction of Bern.

I am starting to head off when the young girl from before stops me.

"Are you going already?" she asks, looking up at me with her big eyes. "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

I blink, surprised at her concern for me. I don't even know her and she is worried for me? But I push aside the feeling before it shows. "Yes," I say simply.

She looks at me for a moment, but finally smiles. "Okay," she says energetically. "But if you need any help, I'm going to be in Bern in a day or two. I can't wait! I get to give people their missions!"

Sonia walks up to me. She has never liked me much, and doesn't bother hiding it. "Excuse us, Jaffar," she says, grabbing her daughter by her shoulder. "But some of us have work to do. And I would like it if you left my daughter alone."

Then Sonia turns and walked off with the young girl in tow. She tries to worm her hand into her mother's, but Sonia slaps her hand away, scolding her. I frown slightly. Sonia did not seem like a mother at all to me, but then again I have never had one. At least, never one I could remember.

Without another thought, I turn and stride out of view and into the forest.

---

It takes only a little more than a day to finally reach Bern. My stride is quick and I don't tire easily. Actually, I had only slept a few hours that night, and that was only because I knew it was a bad idea to go against Eliwood and his friends without any sleep.

I was a distance away from Bern, wanting to gather my strength before I reached Bern, just in case I didn't get a chance once I got in there.

Was I going to attack them at once, or use a sneakier approach? I didn't think I stood much of a chance running into the middle of Eliwood's legion and attacking like a madman. I should probably wait until Geitz was separated from the others, if even only a few yards away. By the time they heard his cry (If there was one. I could probably kill him before he made a sound) and ran to find him, I would be long gone and he would be dead.

But how long would that take? It could be days, weeks, and by then he could tell someone about our plans, if he hadn't already. Then I would have failed and wasted important time. Mainly, time to escape Nergal's wrath.

Suddenly I am pulled from my thoughts as I hear the sound of hoof beats. I swear and look for somewhere to get out of sight. Is it Eliwood's army? If they see me, my plan is ruined.

Finally I settle for leaping into a tree. It isn't the best hiding place, but it will have to do. Settling high in its branches, I do my best to camouflage. The dark clothes were chosen especially for that reason, now all I had to do was make sure I don't move and none of my limbs are visible.

From where I am hidden I look down at the approaching cavilers. I can tell by their colors that they are Ostian knights. What are they doing here?

"Are we almost to Bern?" one of the cavilers gasps. It must be hot in that armor. But then again, they are stronger with it, too.

"Almost. It is just around the next hill," another says. He is out of my view, but by his tone he sounds like he is in charge.

Another man sighs. He rides until his horse is directly underneath my tree. "Good. Lord Uther has a bone to pick with his brother."

"We had better hurry, though. They are supposed to be leaving Bern today. And we don't want to miss him. Lord Uther was insistent that he gets this message."

The first caviler laughs. Then he makes an imitation of a deep voice, probably Lord Uther. "Hector, it's been weeks and I have not once received a message from you. Do you know how traumatizing it is to have a brother fighting the entire Black Fang with only a Pheraen Lord and his friends?"

Then other Ostian knights laugh as well. I suppress the almost overpowering urge to groan. Not only are these knights getting on my nerves and annoyingly irritating, but they are apparently going to be traveling with Lord Eliwood for a short while. This will make my job considerably harder. As if I needed more men to fight.

The group of men is still talking when I feel the branch beneath me creak underneath my weight. I wince. The noise was slight, but still audible. The talking suddenly stops. I curse myself, gritting my teeth in anger. They know I'm here. What do I do now?

I listen carefully, trying to hear what they are saying. They are speaking quietly, consulting what they are to do. I hear little bits of their conversation.

"…just a bird…"

"…Black Fang has been more active lately…"

"…Eliwood's enemies…"

Then their talking becomes to quiet for me to hear. I strain to listen, but then their conversation stops. I hear the sound of armor, as if someone was drawing back a weapon. I brace. Then a spear comes through the tree branches, almost hitting me in the side. I know they were just testing to see if there was anyone in the tree, but that was too damn close for comfort.

I twist rapidly to get out of the way of the spear, trying to keep my balance at the same time. I succeed in avoiding the spear, but don't manage to keep my steadiness. I tumble towards the ground, but my hook my legs around the branch to break my fall. When I look before me I am upside-down, staring into the astounded faces of the six Ostian cavilers.

In the same moment the knights regained their composure and I dropped to the ground, landing on my feet with weapons in hands. The caviler charge.

I am at a bit of a disadvantage. These caviler are wielding spears and lances, which easily overpower daggers. They have longer range, so even before I am within striking range of one of the horsemen I could be skewered on one of their long lances. Axes are stronger and can easily cut their lances aside, or even break them. Not my daggers. They are meant for flesh, not metal.

The caviler are advancing quickly, but I easily dodge every one. They may have longer range, but the length of the lances make them hard to control. As one of the horsemen pass I cut his throat with my blade. He falls from his horse and the confused steed slows and stops, aware of the sudden change of weight on its saddle.

Now there are only five left. If I pay attention and wait for the right moment to attack, I should be fine. The small skirmish rages on, the Ostian knights slowly decreasing in numbers.

I would have been much faster, but I am trained for assassination, not battle. I can easily kill one person, warrior or no, in one strike. I can sneak through villages and buildings without being seen, and kill someone still without being noticed. But it is much harder when there are more. It is a little harder when there is a group of men I have to attack, but still not impossible. But when it is a large group of men fighting back, it gets tougher. I am not trained on the skills of war, just stealth and murder.

By now there are only two horsemen left. I am growing tired, but not much. Battle takes more energy than walking, even if that is walking for a full day and a half. There are several small scratches on my arms and back, and one on my face.

But then one of the caviler charges me from behind. I duck, hearing him coming, but he must have been expecting that. The lance still catches me in the side. I suppress a cry of pain and clutch my wound. Crimson blood is already weeping onto the grass and myself. Another horseman rides up and tries to hit me again, but I roll to the side, still holding my grave wound.

When the knight comes back to attack again, I grab his lance before it hits me. The horse keeps riding towards me so the lance that I hold in place catches the horseman in the chest and knocks him to the ground. I stand over him and cut his throat in one swift motion. The final knight, knowing he cannot win by himself, rides off, probably to tell Lord Uther about me. Whatever he is riding off to do, I cannot risk it. I throw my dagger and it cuts through his throat and he falls off his horse, dead.

I try to walk but fall to my knees, clutching my side. Pain consumes me, and loss of blood is making me weak. I stay on my knees for a while, breathing heavily, trying to gather my strength. Then I remember the bandages from my bedchamber. I pull then out from my pack hanging on my belt and do my best to dress my wound. It is hard because the wound is so deep and bleeding so much, but I finally get it done. By the time I finish, though, my side, cloak and clothes are stained with my blood.

Rising to my feet I grab my dagger from the fallen horseman. I may be in pain, but have to reach Bern. I learned from the knights that Lord Eliwood was leaving soon, which meant that his legion would be following him. If Geitz gets away, I will fail, and Nergal will kill me.

After hiding the carcasses in some thick bushes, I make my way painfully to Bern, occasionally stumbling from pain. For the first time in my life I am thankful for Nergal's training. This is why he does not treat my wounds. If he had, I would still by lying in that field, slowly bleeding to death.

I finally make it to Bern. The trip was long and hard, growing tougher and tougher by the minute. I know that as soon as I see Geitz I will have to kill him. If I don't, I may not live long enough to. One thing Nergal has forced into me is that the Black Fang comes before your life. When I kill Geitz I will hide and try to treat my injuries. I have a hunting knife in my hand from one of the fallen knights. I will throw it at him, kill him, and run. If I am high above them, they won't get a chance to reach me before I am far away.

But there is one major flaw in my plan. Where the hell are they? I search for a good hour, my life's blood slowly flowing from my body through the crude bandages. Soon I am breathing heavily, trying to keep from collapsing. What am I going to do? If I don't find him soon….

Then I remember what the girl had said. "…If you need any help, I will be in Bern for a day or two…I get to give people their missions!"

Maybe she would know. But where is she? I remember during the long ship ride that she was in a small cottage somewhere near the outskirts of Bern. Now the only problem is finding the right one. If I arrive at the wrong house…. I shudder. In this condition, I might not last long.

For a few more minutes I search Bern, now for both Eliwood and the girl. I never find Eliwood, but the girl's temporary "hideout" is easier. Her bright hair is visible easily from the window of a small house. Now I know why Nergal's morphs and warriors all have dark hair. Nobody can hide with bright green hair like that.

When I slip through the door she is facing away from me. I hear her murmuring to herself about how she wishes she could go out and fight evildoers. She still doesn't know. That's probably for the best.

"Perfect weather for taking on evildoers! Yet here I am running errands… I wish I as more worthy for battle."

I walk up to her and she stifles a cry. Being young she is startled easily, but she tries not to show it. Sonia hates cowardice, so she tries to hide her fear. It is pitiful how much she tries to make her mom notice her.

"Wah! Don't… Don't scare me like that, Jaffar!"

"If you have information on my mission… let me hear it," I say, interrupting her.

"Oh, right. Mother told me…Huh?" the girl suddenly cries out in alarm, noticing my wound. "Oh! Wha-what happened! You're covered in blood!"

"…It's just a scratch," I say, dismissing her concern. "Pay it no heed."

"Scratches don't bleed like that!" she said, and tried to examine my injury. "Let me see."

I push her aside. "Forget it. Now where is…Eliwood…hurry…." Suddenly the world spins and I topple over. I hear the girl, trying to get me up.

"Jaffar! Come on, wake… Wake up! What should I do?" she cries, trying to help me to my feet.

But the room slowly fades, her cries disappear, and I fall into unconsciousness.