"Asher, get out of here, now. Go to Eira and run, I'm right behind you."

The boy, running on fear and instinct, listened to Connor and fled as fast as he could toward the relative safety of the forest. He had waited just inside the trees like last time, waiting for any signal from his human. But no signal came. Instead, Asher witnessed two of those rotten thieves binding Connor up along with a figure he recognized. That black cat had followed them after all! Seeing as there was nothing he along could do to help Connor, Asher fled deeper into the forest in the direction he had seen other members of the party run toward. That was some minutes ago and now Asher was running blind down a deer trail, unable to see more than a couple yards ahead and not knowing if anyone was behind him. He hoped that Connor figured out how to get away from the attackers, especially that dragon-lady that threatened them both, but for the moment he was alone. Alone and scared.

Stopping to catch his breath, a hand quickly wrapped around Asher's mouth and pulled him quickly into the undergrowth. Panicking, Asher began to thrash before a familiar voice entered his ears.

"Asher! It's me, Eira."

"Eira!" Asher exclaimed; his mouth still muffled by the woman's hand. As soon as he stopped struggling to get free, Eira let go and spun the boy around by his shoulders. Their faces were level with each other, Eira kneeling in front of the young basitin. She was about to speak when Asher explained what happened in the best human language he could muster.

"Connor! Fire lady, fight!"

"Connor? Is he alive?"

Asher shook his head and a sense of relief came over Eira. The two had been teaching each other their respective languages, so Eira tried speaking in broken basitin.

"Are they holding him?"

Asher nodded while mumbling, "yes."

"We can't help him here, let's find my dad." Holding out a hand, Asher readily grabbed hold and Eira quietly led the pair through the brush until running into the rest of her family and some others who managed to flee.

Robert and Helen, worried for their daughter after they got separated in the trees, were quick to embrace Eira when she entered the small clearing.

"Oh, Eira, we were so worried! Thank the masks you're okay. Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine mom, but Connor was captured. He stayed long enough for little Asher to get away."

The family now looked down at the young boy, now alone amongst strangers.

"Without Connor, Asher here is alone. He needs us."

Robert knew where this conversation was going and was quick to interject. "Now Eira, he's not ours and we can barely afford to keep ourselves fed through the winter. There's no way we can afford another hungry mou-."

"But Dad, we can't just leave him here, or even with others in the group. No one here even speaks his language."

"I didn't say we were going to abandon the poor child, dear. He can come with us until we can find suitable caretakers for Asher."

"And what about Connor? He saved us! We have to go rescue him."

"With what, Eira? Your sword!" Robert didn't mean to yell, but the situation was stressful."

After taking a moment to collect himself infront of his shocked daughter and worried onlookers that thought his shouting might attract the attention of the bandits, the man continued. "If there was anything we could do for Connor, we would. But we have nothing to fight these people with. All we have is what we carried. Eventually, we can go back to the wagons and maybe, just maybe, we'll have enough supplies to get over the mountains and find help. All we can do is be grateful that Connor and a few others bought us enough time to flee."

Eira knew her father was right, at least partially. Right here, right now, all they could do was wait until the bandits had retreated to their hideout. Still, every instinct told her to find out where they were taking Connor and then go rescue him. For now though, her priority was young Asher. She knew Connor would want her to keep track of him until he could be rescued.

Connor stumbled through the forest, Shadow annoyingly tugging at their shared rope while one of the guards kept pressing them both forward with his kite shield. He knew the general direction they were headed, but without being able to see the horizon the teen had no landmarks for reference. His best guess is that they were headed for the border between the felines and humans. A stomach grumble interrupted his thoughts though, and unfortunately attracted the attention of his unwanted fellow captive.

"Hungry huh? Bet you wished you kept your 'peace offering' of that disgusting stuff you humans call meat. Only an idiot gives their enemy food."

"Oh yeah, I'm the idiot! Says the kitty who gets herself caught alongside her target! Tell me, are you just that incompetent or is that black fur really bad luck?"

That last remark cut into Shadow, stirring something in her she tries her best to suppress. The leopard surprised Connor with a swift slap of her tail. Often the thing had a mind of it's own, but Shadow's tail was almost as long as her and when angered she could use it with great precision.

Now it was Connor's turn to be angry. He tried to charge at her, but Shadow merely stepped out of the way and tripped the teen. This halted the line of bandits, loaded down with plunder. The guards charged with keeping the pair in line were not amused.

"That's enough you two save it for the fighting pit!" One of the guards growled. Literally, this one was a tall, slender wolf. Shadow thought the guard was familiar, but couldn't be too sure. Before she could get a good look at him, another guard shoved her from behind, forcing the cat to move on. The wolf picked Connor up from the ground with one arm, roughly setting the teen on his feet.

"As for you, boy, I suggest you just keep walking. Don't worry, we don't mix humans and keidran up in the cells. It got messy the last time that happened."

Connor merely sighed and nodded in understanding. He had no plans to be in those fighting pits, a farm kid with no experience wouldn't last a day. He had to find a way to break free and get back toward the wagon train. No, at least not directly back there. These thieves and bandits would follow him. He'd most likely have to take a long route through the forest, then the hills, and maybe even the mountains before he could shake a tracker. He was counting on not being important enough for these people to care, but that dragon-lady certainly noticed him. That was a mistake, but not one he would allow himself to regret if it meant he kept his promise to Asher's mother.

Shadow and Connor were force-marched for most of the day before coming into a clearing within the trees. This clearing was not natural, instead it was clearly created by those who built the looming structure in the center of the opening. A wood and stone stockade with guard towers enclosing what could only be described as a village. This one though was full of the worst kinds of people. Many more thieves, murderers, highwaymen, and other criminals surrounded the outside in a tent village that felt temporary, but purposeful. They all seemed to be in this location for a reason. That's not what bothered him though. All these extra eyes would make escape very difficult for Connor. It was starting to dawn on him just how far over his head the teen was.

Shadow, for her part, was equally amazed. She had heard stories within the guild of a whole community full of criminals, but she never actually thought they were real. Her home village in the feline territory wasn't too far away, but now Shadow understood why the matriarchs forbid children from getting too close. If they were willing to take both keidran and human as slaves, clearly, they didn't care where their targets came from.

The large wooden doors slowly opened with a deep groan as the dragon-lady approached the stockade walls. Behind her was a line of her goons, each carrying as much loot as they could. Right in the middle was Connor and Shadow, who both walked through the threshold to find that there was indeed a village behind the walls. Smiths, carpenters, saddle-makers, all the trades were present. The full force of the human military could certainly take this place out, but in the region the teen doubted there was any force that could match the strength of this fortress.

Near the back of the stockade was a secondary, smaller door that Shadow and Connor were pushed through by their guards. Down the hill near a stream was the fighting pit. "Welcome to your new home." The guard said with a smile. "I think you'll find the accommodations adequate… for a prisoner that is."

Shadow and Connor were led into adjacent cells. Everything was primarily made of wood, but the timbers were certainly tough enough to prevent escape. The fighters were, after all, entertainment and not worth any sort of ransom. Looking back to his guards as they closed the heavy oak door, one of the guards paused long enough to give his two new 'guests' some explanation. "You two will get dinner with the rest, and tomorrow your training will start so try and rest. Tired fighters make for a boring match."

With that, the pair were left alone, surrounded by fellow captives who no doubt were eager to eliminate their new competition and stay alive.

Cautiously, the party of travelers made their way back to their wagons. Robert, Helen, Eira, and Asher emerged after a few surviving scouts gave the all-clear. Robert was happy to see that Daisy and Clover had found their way back to camp after all the excitement of the morning. He had quickly detached them from the wagon and sent them off just as the attack was starting. At least with his two mares it would be possible to salvage the remainder of their supplies.

Helen was dismayed to find their belongings scattered across the grass. Almost everything that was worth something had been taken, but thankfully most of their clothes had been left alone and food. Eira was picking up her scattered books and whatever else she could find when Asher approached the teen. Looking up, she saw that Asher had found her sword!

"Oh, Asher! You found it!" She quickly plucked the piece of polished steel from the boy's hands. He was about to walk away when Asher was once again grabbed by Eira unexpectedly and pulled into a grateful hug. Asher was initially tense, but returned the embrace after remembering that Connor would do the same thing.

A short time later Mr. Hastings came up the trail having found some of his mules. After securing them, the man immediately took charge of the situation. "Okay, can anybody tell me who is still unaccounted for?"

One of the surviving scouts piped up, "We're still missing about a dozen people sir, including Sam."

"Shit, okay, we'll give them an hour before moving on. Lance, you're in charge of security now until we can find Sam, take a few of the boys and go look in the surrounding woods, they may still be hiding."

Hastings then saw Robert approach. "Robert! Glad you made it through this mess, is your family alright?"

"My wife and daughter are accounted for, Hastings, even that basitin child. Connor however…"

Hastings looked down in disappointment. He remembered how Connor was one of the last standing, giving as much time as possible for everyone else to escape the encirclement.

"The boy is dead I take it?"

"Actually, no. The basitin says he saw Conner get taken."

"That's even worse. I don't even want to know what those bastards will do to him."

"Should we mount a rescue? A lot of our security still has their weapons we could-."

"Out of the question, Robert. Even if we had the men to take on a group of thieves that large, we're in their territory. The moment we leave the trail they'll be waiting for us."

"So then, what's our plan?"

"The plan is we get into the mountains and out of this damn forest as soon as possible. We'll send messages for help when we get to the trading post and maybe the king will send enough soldiers to wipe out this problem for good."

Robert had hoped to hear a better plan but given the circumstances he had no choice except to agree. Like Eira, Robert wanted to find Connor. That boy had done a lot for them in the last few days, but if Hastings didn't think they had the ability to hunt those thieves down then it only reinforced what Robert had told Eira earlier that day.

It was late afternoon by the time the caravan started moving. Most of the people had escaped harm thanks to the quick actions of their scouts and able fighters. A grave had been dug for the dead and they all were promptly buried after being stripped of useful gear. Everyone, even the women and older children, were now to be always armed. A handful were still missing, including Connor and Sam.

Sitting in the back of the wagon, Asher realized that they were leaving Connor. He was about to argue in whatever little human words he had learned, but Eira was quick to calm him. "We will get help. Just stay with me, okay?" The boy looked up at the young woman and, upon realizing what she was saying, broke down. It had happened again to the young boy, torn away from yet another family. Was this going to be his life now? He couldn't help but feel guilty for not being able to defend his brother when Connor was down and unable to get up. Surely a basitin should have been able to fight off such a foe! Heck, it would have been honorable for him to stand there and die, yet Connor told him to run. His brother, even when completely outmatched, still wanted Asher to get away. Maybe that was the human way of protecting others?

Either way, he was alone again. Or, maybe not. As Asher stared out at the road behind them, looking at the wagons and animals trudge along the path in the golden sunlight, he felt Eira pull him close to her again. No, he wasn't alone and for that he was thankful, but Asher was back to square one and this time he's have to learn the human language.

After making camp a few miles down the road, just as the last light was fading, Eira tucked Asher into one of the surviving quilts in the back of the wagon. With Eira at his side and her parents near the front of the wagon, the boy at least felt some semblance of safety. After so many nights of having someone holding him though, Asher had a tough time falling asleep that night.

Connor was having an equally tough time falling asleep, but for different reasons. There was a simple wooden bunk for a bed, not even a blanket or pillow. Laying in the dark looking up at the ceiling, a sniffle in the next cell over caught Connor's attention. Turning his head to Shadow's cell, he could see her curled up on her bunk, head face down in her knees.

"Shadow?"

The black cat remained motionless for a moment, but eventually she picked up her head and cast her fierce eyes toward her human target.

"What?" She spat, clearly annoyed at Connor's intrusion.

"You're crying, aren't you?"

"N-no! Why would you think that?"

"Well, aside from all the sniffling you're making and the fact that you're curled up against the wall, you've clearly got tear stains on your fur, and-"

"And what business is it of yours', human?"

"None, but I was wondering if you might have a plan."

"You really think I have a plan for this? This isn't exactly like that guard hut."

"No, I guess it isn't. But I figure since one of your targets is currently on a wagon train out in the forest and your other two are here, you might be willing to help out this time."

"Face it human, we aren't getting out."

"She's right, you know." a voice came from the other cell bordering Connor.

"Oh really? Care to explain how a bunch of wood walls and thieves is tougher than a templar prison, or a slave ship for that matter?"

"Because fresh meat like you are the first to be sacrificed."

"Wait, what do you mean?"

"That dragon-lady is an Adrakist. She and her sisters run this operation and they are part of a dragon-worshipping cult. Those who lose in the fighting pits are used as a blood sacrifice."

Both Connor and Shadow looked at each other, legitimately worried about their fate.

"So let me guess," Shadow asked, "we either have to fight to prove our worth or we'll be executed?"

"Sort of," the stranger explained, "but if you prove yourself to be a top warrior and you pledge yourself to their cult, you can eventually earn your freedom back, albeit as a servant to those freaks."

"And how we accomplish that?"

"You'll need training. Luckily, I'm the best fighter in this place."

Stepping into the moonlight, the pale illumination coming through the oak door revealed that the stranger was a basitin. However, this one had pure white fur.

"Do as I say in training, and at a minimum you'll survive."

"And what do you want in return?" Connor asked, knowing there was always a cost.

"When you do figure out a plan, I want in. I've been here for three years, and I'd like to see home again. It's a long road to the North, but the first step is finally busting out."

Connor smiled. The more help he could get, the better. "Sounds like a deal to me mister. What do you say, Shadow?"

Shadow wasn't impressed. "We'll see how far you get tomorrow human; I'm not making any promises yet. Last time I trusted you, you left me tied to a tree."

"Well," Connor thought, "at least it's a start."