He blended seamlessly into the shadows, his eyes sharp as they searched the surrounding areas and he made his way stealthily to the building. The candle light in the upper room wasn't much, but from where he was standing, and against the darkness of the night it was like a beacon calling him forward.

He was tired of all of this, but energized now as well- he knew he was actually getting somewhere. The Crows were scrambling, using any means necessary to catch him. Too bad for them, he had no intention of being caught.

Standing at the east wall, he carefully removed his leather gloves, and tucked them into his belt. Using his hands, he felt along the wall, looking for just the right place to start climbing.

Finding the uneven stones he was looking for, he stepped back and gave himself a little jumping start, his hands easily finding purchase, and the sharp points on the toes of his greaves helping to steady himself. Moving his feet first, in a methodical and unhurried manner, he moved slowly and steadily up the wall, stopping to the side of the lit window, where he waited.

Hearing the angry voices, as the men he had followed moved into the room, he heard them cursing his name as they readied themselves for bed. His lips parted and he smiled cagily. Little did they know the object of their anger was so near.

Zevran adjusted himself slightly, getting comfortable in his perch, and releasing the wall with one hand in order to adjust his crow shaped cowl. He could hear them well enough, but he didn't want to miss a single word. These minions were going to lead him to the man he had been searching for for over a year, and he felt his anticipation grow as he realized just how close he was.

"He didn't make it, obviously," a voice snapped, and Zevran tuned back in to the conversation. "Or he'd be here by now."

"If he couldn't succeed, then we don't stand a chance in hell," another voice stated. "It's not like kidnapping is our forte, you know."

"This is the only way to get him to come to us, and you know it," the first snapped again. "If you have a better idea, you can bring it up with the Master himself."

The silence indicated that no one had any better ideas, and Zevran smirked to himself, almost wanting to show them they had already succeeded in luring him in.

"The Master wants the girl, so we get the girl."

His smirk was gone, quick as a blink, and he leaned in closer to the window, confusion at the forefront of his emotions.

"Why does he want some Marcher whore anyway?" another asked. "And how will that help catch Arainai?"

"I don't know," the first replied angrily. "All I know is that the Master spent most of his fortune to discover her, and he won't stop until he has her. That means, we either succeed, or die trying. And the master's given the job to any of the guilds, so we don't have much time."

"No point going back now then," the second voice said, determined. "He'd kill us anyway for coming back empty handed."

Zevran stopped listening to their words, though he kept himself aware of what they were doing. His mind whirling, his guts churning… The disappointment of not being led to the man was thought and then let go as he focused on what they had said. Turning his head, he snuck closer to the window, peeking around the edge to look inside.

Only three of them? he asked himself. Very well. He moved very slowly, getting into position to take them by surprise. Listening again, he paused, hoping they would share more specifics, but even if they didn't he knew what he was fearing was the truth. Either way, none of them would make it to the Free Marches. None of them were going to make it out of this building, he vowed to himself.

Fenris tugging on her hand, and keeping her from moving forward, was the first indication to Cat that something was wrong. A split second later, the others in the group had their weapons out and ready for a fight. Cat looked around herself in dismay, as her daggers were in one of the bags, and she didn't know who was carrying it.

Cat shielded her eyes from the bright light of Fenris' lyrium tattoos as they flared to life, and turned away so that she could see. The battle calls and yells coming at them let her know that they were indeed being attacked, but she had no idea who would attack them just before they entered the city. Everyone knew who Hawke was, and attacking when all of them were with him was simply foolish.

And it was such a perfect, relaxing day, she thought. Cat kept her back to Fenris, but stuck close, since he didn't have his sword. It didn't make him less deadly, but she was worried how he would fare once the adrenaline of the fight was gone.

Hawke glanced over his shoulder in concern, seeing Fenris moving toward the man he was facing, seeing Cat keeping pace with him as she defended his back. He put his hands up and shot an arcane bolt at the man in front of him, and turned to shout. "Cat! Get back here!"

She glanced up as she continued to dodge the short swords that were slicing through the air at her. She noted with surprise the distance there was between where they fought and the rest of the crew. She suddenly understood the broad swings of the man in front of her, and her gaze narrowed.

He's missing on purpose, she thought, impressed. Since she hadn't noticed, she knew now she was dealing with a very talented warrior… and she didn't have a weapon. She had thought she was on top of her game, but it turned out as she watched the man from this new perspective, he was giving tells of his upcoming swings.

That means, he's not trying to kill me, the thought appeared unwillingly, and stuck in her craw. Feeling reckless, and annoyed, she stopped dodging to see what he would do. She heard the yell from Isabela, as she stood in front of him, and felt the shock as he adjusted mid swing.

He wasn't able to stop it completely, and one sword cut into her arm, leaving her with a large gash, that immediately started bleeding down her arm. The man sneered at her, jabbing the swords toward her, in an attempt to have her step back again, but keeping her feet planted, Cat took the small pokes, and smirked at him.

"Who are you?" she demanded, and the man sneered again, as his only answer.

"I think we both know now that you don't want to kill me," she growled out. "So what do you want?"

With a side step, he avoided the knife Isabela was about to plant in his back, and brought his short swords up again to face off with her, as she continued to go after him. "Kitty, get out of the way!" Isabela yelled, pushing the man back and away from her friend.

Cat watched the man again, noting that he was no longer pulling his attacks. He was trying to kill Isabela, where he had only been playing with her. Feeling a hand grab her arm, she winced at the pain she felt, and turned her head to see another unfamiliar face looking at her with contempt.

"You come now, and we won't kill them," he said quietly, but forcefully. Cat jumped as a spectral hand came through his chest swiftly, and disappeared again. The man released her as he struggled and writhed in pain.

"Who sent you?!" Fenris seethed from behind them. The man whose heart he gripped took halting breaths, but didn't respond. He looked back at Cat and smirked. She could see that he was in an immense amount of pain, from the way he could hardly get a breath, but Fenris didn't let up.

The man said nothing, and Fenris crushed his heart with fury. The man fell to the ground in front of them, and he and Cat looked out to see the others in the crew were surrounding Isabela and the man with the twin swords.

Aveline and Donnic came over to see if the two of them were all right, as the mages and the archers aimed their weapons. Anders struck first, freezing the man where he stood with ice around his legs.

The attacker nearly fell over, but the ice held him up. He continued to swing his swords, but Isabela stepped back out of his range, sheathing her daggers over her shoulders. Cat watched dispassionately as both Varric and Sebastian fired arrows into the man's shoulders, giving him incentive to speak, but he remained silent to all their questions.

Anders raised his staff again, and the man looked around. Finding Cat he gave her a wicked smirk and blew her a kiss. "We're not done," he said to her, not looking away as Anders' spell hit him, and then a moment later he was blown apart by Hawke's stone throw spell.

To say they were all shaken would be a bit of an understatement, and they were quiet as they gathered together away from the road, removing the bodies, and reassuring themselves that they were all alive and well. Anders moved over to Isabela, helping her sit and calling his magic forth to help with her wounds.

Cat was turned, to find Hawke had her arm cradled in his hands while he searched her for other trauma. She smiled at him, and shook her head. Trusting her, he moved his hands over to her wound even as they started radiating light.

Looking down at the lovely aqua colored glow emanating from Hawke's hands, Cat couldn't helped but feel awed at seeing the magic knit her open skin back together, no matter how many times she witnessed it. It was familiar, but she noted a change as well.

"It's more green," she said quietly, and Hawke glanced at her before focusing back on his tasks. Finishing quickly, he used his finger to wipe away the blood and check to ensure she was completely healed.

"What is?" he asked as he finally finished and gave her his attention, even as his hand moved over her stomach, closing the small pricks immediately.

"Your magic," she answered. "The last time, it was blue, like Anders. Now its more of an aqua color."

He raised an eyebrow in question before holding up his hand. The magic made his palm glow in a bright blue color.

"Hmm, that's weird," she said, looking confused.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Anders said as he finished up with Isabela. "Magic can appear differently depending on the moods of the mage, if they are feeling something strongly enough."

Cat looked back to Hawke, and he shrugged, so she responded in kind. It wasn't as if it was a problem after all. "It was pretty," she replied.

"Not to rain on your picnic, but does anyone know who these people were? And why they were willing to die instead of speak?"

Everyone was silent again, and Isabela stood awkwardly, helped up by Anders. "It's obvious," she said as she stalked over to Cat.

Cat reached out to help her, as Isabela looked unsteady on her feet. She must have been more wounded than she first appeared, Cat thought unhappily.

"Obvious?" Hawke asked, watching as Isabela avoided Cat's hands and reaching out, slapped her across the face… hard. Cat's head flew back from the impact, and shock was the only thing that let Isabela raise her hand to stop him before he moved.

He waited, impatiently, as Cat shook her head, her hand raised to her own cheek which was now bright red. He noted with surprise that she didn't look angry… in fact she looked guilty.

"I'm sorry Issy," she said, rubbing her cheek with care to get rid of the stinging.

"Sorry doesn't cut it," Isabela snapped back. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Uh… someone want to fill us in?" Varric asked, and the others all looked to him in bewilderment, before looking back to the two ladies who were squared off.

"Sure," Isabela mocked as she gestured to Cat. "Perhaps you'd better explain before Hawke decides to avenge you."

Cat glanced over to Hawke, seeing he was indeed furious with Isabela. "I… deserved it," she said to the others, who looked at her in surprise. "When Hawke yelled out about how Fenris and I were moving away from the group, I realized that the man with the twin swords wasn't actually trying to hit me. He was striking out in a way to get me to move in the direction he wanted."

She saw that while Hawke and Isabela were still focused on her, the others turned to look at each other in question.

"I didn't understand why, so I stopped moving, to see what he would do."

"You mean, you moved another direction?" Hawke asked shrewdly.

"No," Isabela replied for her. "She stopped moving altogether, to see if he would actually hit her or not."

"What?!"

Cat couldn't tell who exactly was in on that shout, most likely everyone. "He was using all his skill to ensure that I felt like he was trying to kill me, but without actually landing a hit. I don't need to explain how talented he was in order to do that."

"No, you do not," Fenris said as he moved up along side her. "But that was foolish, and you know it."

"That first hit told me everything I needed to know. I wasn't going to stand there and let him kill me," she replied with a roll of her eyes.

She looked over, hearing Isabela snort in derision. "Okay, yes, it was reckless, and I deserved your hit," she told her friend. "But thanks for getting his attention." She turned to Fenris. "And thanks for taking care of the other one."

"This is more concerning than we originally thought," Fenris said to Hawke, after nodding to Cat. "These men were no mere mercenaries. They were trained fighters, and adept in withstanding torture. We would have gotten nothing from them, even had we persisted in our interrogation."

"Ringing any bells Kitty?" Isabela asked, her face still a hard mask, but Cat could see the worry in her eyes. "Trained killers who would rather be tortured and die than speak?"

Cat's face was now showing the worry that Isabela kept back. "It can't be…" she said quietly as her hand came up to her mouth. "Why would they be here?"

"I don't know," Isabela said wearily.

"Ladies?" Varric asked, pushing forward to them. "Mind sharing?"

"Crows," Isabela said quietly.

Hawke glanced over at Isabela, the unbelief on his face. "Who would have the resources and clout to have the assassins from Antiva coming after me?"

"That's just it Hawke," Isabela said gravely as she glanced at him. She turned back to Cat. "I don't think they're after you at all."

Cat looked down at her feet, knowing all her friend's eyes were on her. She didn't know how to explain, since she didn't know herself what was happening. The crows weren't known for abducting, they were assassins. None of this was making sense.

She looked up at Hawke as he pulled her to him, his arms around her. He looked down, into her eyes. "They can't have you," he said softly. "You belong with us, and we'll make sure it stays that way."

Cat rolled her eyes at Isabela's sympathetic look.

"All I'm saying, is that if I were you, I'd probably have imploded by now."

"Lack of sex does not make one implode," Cat replied dryly.

"Well, you'd be the expert there," Isabela said with a wicked smirk, and Cat glared at her over her mug, taking a long drink.

"It's not like I haven't tried," Cat said, between mouthfuls of ale. "He's just so hell bent on keeping me safe, as well as finding out where the Crows are. I don't think he sleeps at all, just goes until he's too exhausted to move, and then wakes up to start all again."

"And you don't ever think of making that decision for him?" Isabela asked, her eyebrows wiggling at her friend.

"Believe me, I've tried," Cat pouted. Then her smile turned warm. "He just wants to hold me. Says it's the only way he can sleep, knowing I'm safe beside him."

"That's just too lovey-dovey Kitty, I think I'm going to be sick," Isabela said with a grimace, and Cat gave her a grin.

"You do look sort of green," she teased.

Isabela shook her head, finishing off her own drink and motioning Corff for another, swiveling on her bar stool to face Cat.

"Not that I mind the extra time we spend together, but this has been the longest weeks of my life," she complained.

Cat gave a disgusted look, turning as well. "You? Try being the one who can't have a single moment to myself. I made the mistake of getting up the other night to pee. Hawke was yelling and running through the house like there was a blood mage wreaking havoc."

Isabela smirked again, putting her elbow on the bar and her chin in her hand. "And then?" she asked.

Cat flushed a little, wondering why she had brought this up. Because Issy's your best friend, and you miss talking to her… she told herself. "Then I was calling for him, trying to get him to shut up, because everyone was sleeping," Cat continued.

Giving a big sigh, she covered her eyes with her hand. "He barely heard me, and only after he had woken everyone up. Then he came bursting in, breaking down the door in the process."

Isabela started laughing, covering her mouth to save Cat the embarrassment, but wasn't very successful.

"Yeah, laugh it up," Cat mourned. "The best part, was how he got into the room, then just stared at me sitting there for like a full minute. Once his brain engaged, he apologized, and left… but the door's hinges were broken, and I could see him standing right outside it, like he was a guard or something. We didn't speak at all for quite awhile after that."

Now Isabela was laughing loudly, not able to keep it in. "Ah, that poor man," she said, wiping a tear from escaping her eye.

"Poor man?!" Cat groused. "What about poor me?"

"Yeah, poor you, having to deal with a man being so completely in love with you he can't stand the idea that something could happen to you."

The pair of them turned to stare at Corff in bafflement.

"Uh, no offense Corff, but…" Cat started, only to have the bartender wave her off.

"Didn't mean anything by it, Cat," he said, as he dropped off their drink refills, and walked to the other end of the bar.

"Obviously, we've spent far too long in here complaining," Cat said quietly to Isabela.

"I guess, though between you and everyone trying to find out anything they can about the Crows for the past couple of weeks, its no wonder Corff's heard as much as he has," she replied.

"Can we get out of here?" Cat asked, looking at her drink, wondering if she actually wanted it.

"And go where?" Isabela asked, glancing at her. "There's only so many places that have been approved by Hawke."

"Ugh," Cat muttered. "This is driving me crazy!" She turned to Isabela, pleading. "C'mon Issy, I need a break! If you come with me, I'll be fine!"

"Kitty, they attacked us on the road with all of us there," Isabela stated, though Cat could see she was considering it.

"Look, how about I go see Cullen?" she offered. "Nothing can happen to me on the ferry, and then I'll be surrounded by templars. You can drop me off, and come back to get me! How's a free afternoon sound?"

Isabela looked at her, her eyebrow lifting as she analyzed Cat's demeanor. She hadn't seen Cat look that happy or excited in the two weeks since the last attack by the crows.

"Okay," she agreed, downing her drink, and reaching for Cat's. "But we keep it quiet, and I stick with you until you're in Cullen's hands…. so to speak."

Cat rolled her eyes, but jumped out of her seat, all smiles. Once Isabela finished and stood, Cat threw her arms around her and squeezed. "Thank you Issy."

Isabela smiled genuinely, patting her back. "Yeah, yeah, now you owe me. You'd better pay the man, so we can go."

Cat didn't hesitate, digging out coins and tossing them on the bar, then dragging her friend out the door.

"Cat, my friend! It's been too long!"

"Cullen!" Cat answered, throwing herself at him in a hug, and the almost desperate way she did so, had Cullen's cheeks reddening. He glanced up, looking questioningly at the woman that had accompanied her.

"It's been a rough couple of weeks," Isabela said by way of explanation. "Some men are trying to get to Kitty in order to hurt a friend. Or so we think."

Cullen looked surprised at this, and put his armored hand lightly on Cat's head, as if he could protect her from the world. "I knew there were some that didn't like the Champion, but that seems excessive," he said, troubled.

"It's not Hawke," Cat mumbled against him, and when the other two were silent, she pulled herself away from Cullen. "It's someone else, from back in Ferelden," she said quietly.

Cullen, though concerned, nodded. "I am truly sorry then, I will do what I can to ensure they are not successful." He paused a moment, as it all sunk in, then he gave her a narrowed look. "Then what are you doing here? You should be somewhere safe!"

Cat smiled back at him. "Are you saying I'm not safe here, with all the templars?" she asked, causing him to splutter.

"N-no of course you are, but only the two of you coming here, what were you thinking?" he asked.

"I'm thinking it's been two weeks of being followed everywhere I go, I am getting tired of it," she replied. "I don't want to do anything foolish and put myself in danger, but I needed some new scenery besides the Hawke estate and the Hanged Man."

"Uh, oh…" he replied.

"I don't want to trouble you, Cullen, but I thought I could just… you know be here. You can go about your work, and I can have a peaceful afternoon. Issy will come pick me up later."

Cullen looked from Cat, to her friend and back again. "Very well," he relented, knowing he wasn't ever able to deny her something that was within his power to give. He looked back up to Isabela. "However, I can take her home, with a contingent of templars. It would give me peace of mind to know I saw her back safely."

"That, I can understand," Isabela said with a smirk. "Getting here with just the two of us was nerve-wracking enough."

Cat looked at her in surprise. "Issy, if you were worried, you should of said something," she said reproachfully.

"Never underestimate the Crows, Kitty," she replied, and stepped closer. "Thanks Knight Captain," she smiled, going up on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. "Let me know if there's ever something I can do for you."

"Uh… that isn't necessary, miss…" Cullen stammered in embarrassment.

"Go on, Issy," Cat said with a chuckle. "Leave poor Cullen alone."

Isabela turned and headed out of the gate, waving over her shoulder as she did.

Cat turned back to Cullen, chuckling again at seeing the gobsmacked look on his face. "She's something, isn't she?" she asked him.

"A little too… much… for me. I think," he replied haltingly.

"I don't know about that," she said with a smile. "But I will warn you that she's more into the temporary. Being in love scares her, as she feels she loses her control over her life."

He looked down at her, smiling. "And what about you?" he asked quietly, as he led her over to bench.

"What about me what?" she asked, smiling back. "Where are we going?"

"I've got drills starting in about an hour," he said. "I thought you would enjoy sitting here and observing."

"Can I sit on the stairs?" she asked, pointing to them. He contemplated, and shrugged, changing directions.

"So, are you going to continue to ignore my question?" he teased.

"No," she answered, sitting on the fourth stair up, and tugging on his arm to get him to sit as well.

"Love doesn't scare me as it does Issy," she said, looking out at the courtyard. "But I wouldn't say I'm exactly comfortable with it either."

"Oh?" he asked. "Why not?"

"It's new, I guess. I thought I loved someone before, and of course, I love my friends and all, but this… is different. It doesn't take my control like Issy fears, but everything in my life is now impacted. I think about Hawke all the time, think of him when making decisions, taking his feelings into account, that sort of thing. It can be scary, especially when I'm not sure how he feels about me, or where this will lead."

She looked back to him with a smile. "And of course, it's odd feeling this happy all the time, knowing I'm probably making my friends roll their eyes at us."

Cullen rolled his as if on cue, and they laughed. Once they were quiet, he said, "I think it is nice, though I can see it isn't nearly as scary for you as you say, since you admit it easily." He met her eyes again. "Or you are much braver than you think."

"Brave?" she asked, with a snort. "No, I'm scared, I promise. I just… figured it out myself not long ago, and blurted it out in front of everyone."

"Really?" he asked, eyes wide. "What happened?"

"Nothing," she replied, as she put her head in her hands, her elbows on her knees. "Nobody has said anything, and I haven't brought it up either… because I'm scared to know."

He put his hand on her back near her shoulder, in a sign of support. "You're one of the bravest people I know," he told her with a smile. "I'm sure you'll hear what you want to hear soon enough. Anyone who doesn't love you is a fool, and though I'm not a fan of the Champion, I know he is not a fool."

She smiled brightly at him, and he felt as if he had done something heroic. "Thank you Cullen," she said, and he gave her a nod.

"Now, I believe you said something about sparring the last time we spoke?" he said, needing to change the subject before he let his own feelings make a fool of himself. Her look changed to one of utter delight and she stood quickly, tugging on his arm.

"Yes! Can we? How about now?!" she said excitedly, and he grinned.

Cat sat on the bench in the deep shade of the outcropped roof of the courtyard, watching Cullen stalking up and down the rows of recruits as they drilled. He would shout out things that needed to change, whether someone's form, or their attire, or the placing of their feet.

She rolled her shoulder again, knowing she had not done well in her spar with Cullen, but glad that he hadn't gone easy on her. He was determined to make her a better warrior, and she appreciated it.

She couldn't blame Zev and Duran for going easy on her at first, she had had absolutely zero experience in fighting. But Cullen knew her as a fighter, and she could only be grateful for all those that had helped her reach this point.

Hawke is going to wonder about these bruises, she thought, before snorting to herself. Yeah, maybe if he tried to take my shirt off, but as things are now, he won't even know. She was surprised at herself, not taking his lack of interest personally as she might have before, but she knew that wasn't the problem.

She frowned as she thought of him, worry marring her features. The man was keeping all of this too close, and it was eating away at him. Several times he had fallen asleep while at his desk, and once at dinner. He was mentally and physically exhausting himself for her benefit, and she couldn't seem to want to add another demand of his time.

Looking over as someone sat next to her, she saw a templar she didn't recognize, and immediately scooted away from her.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you," she said cheerfully. "I've heard so much about the Knight Captain's friend, I wanted to meet you personally."

"Um, well met," Cat stated, turning to glance at her. "I'm Cat."

"Recruit Florence," she responded with a nod. "I hope this isn't too… uh, presumptuous, but are you and the Captain…"

Cat shook her head, and rolled her eyes. Why did everyone assume that? "No, we're just friends."

"I guess I don't really understand how that's possible," she said with a crooked grin. "He's just really handsome, you know."

"Yes, he is," Cat replied, feeling uncomfortable.

"If you're not interested, maybe you could stop leading him on then?" she asked, and Cat turned to gape at her.

"I'm not doing anything of the kind," she said firmly.

"You might not think so," she said, and Cat could see the delight in her eyes. "But I think we both know he's more than a little hung up on you." She leaned in slightly, lowering her voice. "Isn't he? And you use that, don't you… Cat."

Cat could hear the pithy way she said her name, and it made her angry. She knew she wasn't doing what the recruit was saying, but she didn't want to explain it to her. It wasn't any of her business. No doubt she was just upset that Cullen hadn't noticed her at all.

Seeing that she wasn't leaving, in fact she seemed to be settling into the bench, Cat stood up, suddenly restless. She didn't give the recruit another glance, wanting to forget about her completely, and decided she would go over to the shops, and look around while she waited for Cullen to finish.

Cullen glanced up, seeing Cat speaking to a woman he didn't recognize. She was wearing the uniform, but he could have sworn she wasn't one of his templars. He let it go with a shrug, assuming she was part of the transfers they had received from Ostwick last week.

Turning to walk down the next aisle of recruits, he barked out a change in drill, focusing back on his charges. It didn't take long until his eyes were up again, searching for Cat. To say he was worried would be an understatement.

She had confided in him about the Crows that were after her in order to kill her friend, and as she told him about the elf, he had recalled him. He hadn't told her that, as he had been embarrassed. He only remembered him because he thought they were a couple, and had dwelt on it for some time afterward.

He didn't know much of the Crows, but he knew their reputation, and if it was even close to being true, then Cat was definitely in danger, even here. His eyes locked onto her, going wide as he saw her moving. Why was she moving?! They agreed she would wait for him at the bench!

He could see that she wasn't leaving, she had left her things near the bench. But moving around their group… his mind clicked onto her reasoning. She's going for the shops, he thought in relief.

Hearing the quiet around him, he realized the drill had finished, and the recruits were waiting for the next order. Flustered, he gave one, then looked over to watch Cat's progress. His stomach lurched as he couldn't find her.

Scanning left and right, and already pushing through the lines of recruits, he made a beeline for the gate that she had just passed.

"Move! MOVE!" he shouted, the recruits jumping out if his way in panic. He looked to his right again, then headed straight out the gate, his entire class of recruits behind him, wondering where this drill had come from.

Stopping momentarily at the gate and looking round, he saw the men carting her away over his shoulder.

"CAT!" he yelled, taking off in a sprint.

"For the Captain!" he heard behind him, and glancing back, was shocked to see the group of recruits running behind him toward his quarry. Taking it in stride, he pulled out his sword, brandishing it high.

"Save the girl!" he called, and was answered with a roar. He gave a wicked looking grin as the three men they were chasing paled. "You won't get away," he said under his breath.