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"Wake up, everybody. Come on, get up!"

These were the words that woke Kiri from the sleep he'd been enjoying for a long while. Kar'na was up and had already donned his robes. Jarris's body was nowhere to be found.

"I said up!" Kar'na commanded, as the slaves awakened groggily. "We need to get moving! The night won't last forever."

It didn't take much longer for the slaves to be up and ready to go. The sun had set, but the stars were out in force, more clear than Kiri had ever seen before.

Taking the place of the sun was the brilliant silver disk of the moon, casting everything down below into the realm of the ethereal and the surreal.

"Remind me," Myra said to the assassin. "Why are we travelling at night?"

"Many reasons Sanvar'a," Kar'na smiled, ticking the points off his fingers. "Night offers us concealment. People can't attack what they can't see. Night is also the element of the assassin. We work in the dark our entire lives, always for the good of all people. That's our creed. Another reason for night travel is that..." He pointed up at the moon and continued. "A wolf has a natural affinity for the moon. As such, I'd prefer to travel by its light than the light of the sun. I'm sure Kiri would agree, right Kiri?"

"Yeah," Kiri answered, ignoring the glare that Myra was shooting him. "I've always felt closer to the moon than the sun."

"But the rest of us aren't wolves," Aryn objected. "We don't love the moon. And it's really cold at night."

Everyone stared at him in confusion, except for Myra, who could relate.

"Cold?" Kar'na laughed. "Friend, in Arlea this is the day temperature on a hot day. It's no tropical paradise up there."

Aryn's mouth curled into a frown of disgust. Like all Falskin, he hated the cold. To be told that how cold he was feeling right now was actually hot in Arlea gave him the chills.

"Well, how cold does it get up there?" Myra asked, not sure if she wanted the answer.

"Well, you know how water can be boiled into steam and how whole lakes disappear in the heat? Well, in Arlea, the opposite happens. Water gets so cold it turns solid, to ice. Whole lakes freeze solid so that you can walk across them."

The looks on the faces of everyone in the clearing confirmed their doubt. Being able to walk across a lake?

"Don't believe me?" Kar'na asked with a laugh. "Tes'ali can tell you. Right, Tes'ali?"

"Of course," a hooded figure laughed, coming out of the shadows behind Kar'na, making everyone flinch. His voice was almost indistinguishable to the slaves due to his thick accent. "Happens every year. It won't be happening for a couple months though, what with it being summer and all."

"Who are you?" Wraith asked as the hooded figure removed his hood to reveal another canine, though it was impossible for all assembled to tell what it was.

"He's Tes'ali," Kar'na explained as Tes'ali gave a small bow. "My half-brother and fellow assassin. My mom and unborn sibling were kidnapped in a raid about...seventeen years ago? A week before the Festival of the Serpent was to take place, down here in Parai. My dad searched and searched but never found them and eventually married my stepmom, a fox named Syph'ari. Their first child was Tes'ali."

"I'm sixteen," Tes'ali commented. "And I'm on my first assignment. Er...I guess that this is still a training exercise for me. Kar'na graciously allowed me to accompany him."

"Which I've got to break now," Kar'na stated, resting a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Tes'ali, I need you to go back to the Guild Hall and inform Grandmaster Khej that I'm returning with former slaves in tow. This'll be difficult, but I need that-"

"You can count on me, brother!" Tes'ali said excitedly, cutting Kar'na off. "I'll deliver the info."

"Good," Kar'na smiled, quirking an eyebrow. "Also, let him know Jarris is dead, the contract fulfilled."

"Yes sir!" Tes'ali bowed, before running off into the dark. Within seconds, his light footfalls had completely disappeared.

"That'll buy me some time," Kar'na said, turning to the slaves. "Likely a week. But the guild needs me back. So, shall we?"

The slaves nodded and Kar'na walked down to the road and turned east, the slaves following him. The bright, silver light of the moon guided their steps as they wandered down the road.

It seemed to be smiling at them.

"We'll rest here," Kar'na stated as the slaves wandered in to the clearing and collapsed with exhausted sighs and grunts. They'd travelled all night, with Kar'na rarely calling breaks or slowing down for them. They were all exhausted, but Kar'na didn't even seem tired.

"Where exactly is here?" Ari asked wearily.

Kiri shrugged, collapsing to the ground. Kar'na had run them at a hard pace all night, giving them an hour at about midnight for a break. Only his definition of break and their differed greatly, for he had them training the whole hour, improving their combat skills. Then they ate and took off.

"You know what I'd like?" Myra asked rhetorically. "A kind wizard to fill our lungs with air again. Allow us to live."

"You'll live," Kar'na promised, apparently not picking up the sarcasm. The wolf didn't seem to get sarcasm too well.

His smile suddenly disappeared and his nose tilted to the air. The rest of the group had learned over time from Kiri that a wolf had superior senses to any one of them. Kar'na had superior senses for a wolf.

"What is it?" Aryn asked, looking up at the wolf.

"Probably nothing," Kar'na admitted, taking another deep sniff. "But the cloud cover tonight prevented me from finding out exactly where we are. We might be closer to the city than I thought." He surveyed the fallen slaves with his eyes and sighed. He knew just how exhausted they were. Once upon a time, he'd been just like them. And he always looked forwards to his nice bed afterwards.

These slaves had never had the luxury of a bed, so Kar'na figured that with the excellent pace they'd made, he could spend a few talons for a room in one of the city's inns.

"Come on," he said, making everyone collectively groan, getting to tired feet. "Don't worry, we'll walk. It's not far."

He set off down the road, not even checking if the slaves were following. He knew they would be anyways. And they weren't exactly quiet, especially to a wolf.

They followed him and soon, the walls of the city came into view. It was an ugly thing, the walls stunted and grey, with tall towers tipped by jagged tops, reaching to the sky like the hands of the dead.

Undoubtedly this was the city of Simil, the ugliest city in Parai. Also known to the guild of assassins as the "Den of Depravity".

Despite the city's threatening appearance and unattractive nickname, Kar'na knew that the city was a decent enough place for one to spend the night. And the inns served a lot more northern styled food, which he vastly appreciated.

"Come, come," he said, noticing the group's apprehension by the pause they made. "Everyone, hoods up."

The group nodded and flung the hoods up, moving them so their faces would be cast into shadow and hopefully concealed from the occupants of the town. Kar'na took this one step further by drawing a mask over his mouth, hopefully completely concealing him.

They made it to the city and through the gate without incident. There weren't too many people out and about at this time and they were the only ones who'd come through the gate, to the amusement of the guards.

"Wow, talk about latecomers," one of them laughed. "First time in Simil?"

"For these ones, yes," Kar'na said, stepping forwards. His voice, the group noted, had taken on its reptilian accent and he was now over all much easier to understand. "But not me. We're bounty hunters and we have reason to believe that the Sanvar'a twins might be coming this way."

"The Sanvar'a?" the guard laughed. "This far north? Please, they'd be hopeless out there! The only way they'd make it this far would be with some kind of guide!"

Myra stepped forward, as if to make some heated remark, but Kar'na cut her off with a loud reptilian-styled laugh.

"I know, right?" he asked, flinging an arm over the guard's shoulder. "They'd be dead in the first week and a half!"

"Spoiled brats probably," the guard agreed, a large smile on his face. "They've probably never had to do a decent day's work in their lives."

The two of them laughed hard, before Kar'na stood up and reached into his hood, as if wiping away a tear.

"Any recommendations for inns in this city?"

"Sure," the guard replied jovially. "The inn down the street, on the right. It's called the Iirskayt Inn. My family runs it. Good food, good beds. I'd highly recommend it."

"Well," Kar'na said. "We'll most certainly take a look. Thanks for your time."

"Anytime," the guard smiled as the group began walking away. "Have a good night and enjoy your stay in Simil!"

"We will," Kar'na promised. When they were a ways down the street, Myra kicked Kar'na in the shin. Hard.

The wolf assassin wore armour like the rest of them, but prided maneuverability over defense and as such, he wore no shin guards.

Which was why Myra's kick hurt so much.

"Adjul Kail!" Kar'na shouted, leaping into the air and rubbing his throbbing shin. "What was that for?!"

"You know very well, dogboy," Myra hissed at him. "You and that guard kept mocking us! What, you think we wouldn't be able to handle ourselves alone out here? While you and your fourteen year old brother are able to survive?"

"Hold on a minute," Kar'na began angrily.

"No, you hold on!" Aryn snapped, kicking the wolf in the other shin. "We have a right to say what we want to say!"

"Yeah," Myra agreed, carrying on from where she'd left off. "The two of you laughed incessantly at my brother and me. We could survive out there. We're smart enough to do that much. We'd survive without the help of a dog!"

"Want to repeat that last part?" Kar'na growled menacingly.

"Yeah," Aryn forged on, his anger making him careless. Myra's face had frozen when she'd realized her careless statement, but Aryn didn't seem to realize the danger. "She said that we'd survive without the help of a dog!"

"Words hurt you know," another voice muttered quietly. Myra and Aryn glanced over to see Kiri gazing down at the ground.

"No, Kiri," Myra said gently. "We didn't mean you-"

"We're the same species you know," Kar'na cut in. "Calling one of us a dog is the same as calling the other the same. And it always hurts. Let's go."

He and Kiri walked off down the road in the direction of the tavern, Kar'na still limping from Myra's kick. She didn't seem to realize just how much damage an iron-shod boot could do.

The rest of the group followed behind slowly, with Kytra casting a dirty look at the reptilian siblings. The two Sanvar'a siblings looked at each other and followed behind last.

The walk was walked in silence until they were in front of a medium-sized, two story building with a cheerful glow from within the windows. In front of the door swung a small sign, with a picture of an overflowing tankard of ale and the words "Iirskayt Inn" emblazoned on it.

"We're here," Kar'na announced, which would've been unnecessary if more than four people in the party could read. "Everyone good?"

He checked all their hoods to make sure their identities would still be kept secure. It wouldn't do for one of them to be discovered in the middle of a city as big as Simil.

"Then let's go!" he said again, with his Falskin accent in place. He entered into the room to find it surprisingly quiet. A lot of inns and taverns that he'd been to before had been filled with raucous laughter and loud chatter, but this one was nice and quiet, with the smells of fresh food cooking.

Kar'na could've just stood there all day smelling the food, but he had an obligation to his charges and his stomach. He walked over to the bar and sat down on one of the stools, the rest of the group doing the same after a bit of hesitation.

The tavern owner, a cheerful looking Falskin with a large smile and dark blue scales, came bustling over.

"Can I help you sir?"

"Yes please," Kar'na nodded, his hood up and voice slightly muffled due to his mask. "What's cooking today?"

"Today we have Marsh Salad with vinegar," she started off. "Kymr steaks and Iirskayt stew, our tavern's signature dish."

"I'll have seven bowls of the Iirskayt stew," Kar'na said, glancing to either side at the group who was arranged on either side. "And a Kymr steak please."

"Sure thing," she nodded, as Kar'na put a couple talons down on the counter, which she took. "Just a moment."

She disappeared into the back and came back a moment later with a couple bowls of stew, which she arranged before them. She went back and came back with the rest of them, followed by the steak.

"Anything to drink?" she asked, smiling at Kar'na, who had dropped his mask, but made sure his face was still in shadow.

"An ale for me," Kar'na said, his head not turning a bit. "And water for my companions."

"Sure," she laughed, leaving and returning a moment later with their drinks. She set them on the counter and turned to leave when Kar'na stopped her with a raised and gloved hand.

"And could we get rooms please?" he asked politely. "Three of them. Two beds per room and another room with a third bed."

"Of course," she smiled. "I'll show you to them after you're done."

With that, she went to the back room and the group set about eating their food.

"You know she didn't mean it like that."

"I know," Kar'na sighed, glancing up at Kiri. "We both lost our tempers. And I didn't need to be so insulting of her and her brother." Kiri and Kar'na were sharing one of the three rooms bought. Myra and Aryn were in the second and the twins and Wraith were in the third. Kar'na had given them all instructions to meet with him in a bit, to decide what should be done from here.

"Maybe not," Kiri agreed, dropping his hood. "But it did get us through with minimal suspicion. And we were pointed out to this lovely inn. Thank you for this, by the way."

"It's nothing," Kar'na protested, looking away. "We were close and we might as well sleep in comfort a night, eh?"

"Yeah, sure," Kiri agreed.

A knock occurred on the door and Kar'na called out, "Come in!"

The door swung open on well-oiled hinges and revealed the innkeeper standing there, staring in shock at Kiri and Kar'na's unhooded heads. They'd taken their hoods off and not considered that the innkeeper would be the next one knocking on the door.

She shrieked and fainted, Kar'na's assassin reflexes allowing him to get over and catch her before she hit the ground. He picked her up quickly and gestured for Kiri to close the door as he set her on one of the beds.

"Well, this is an unexpected complication," Kar'na muttered, as he looked down at the unconscious reptilian.

Another knock occurred at the door and Kiri and Kar'na went to answer it, drawing their hoods up to prevent their identity from being discovered a second time.

The door opened to reveal the rest of their group assembled outside, worried looks on their faces. Well, on Myra and Aryn's faces. The rest were hidden below their hoods.

"Come in, quick," Kar'na ushered, herding them in. "We just had a small incident with the Tavern Keeper. She'll be alright."

"What happened?" Wraith asked, glancing over to the sleeping Falskin as Kar'na shut the door. "Why'd she scream?"

"She, ah, might've seen us without our hoods," Kiri admitted sheepishly. "We thought it'd be you guys knocking."

"Good thing she fainted," Myra said. "Otherwise she might've run back downstairs and let everyone else know."

"Either way, they'll know," Kar'na stated. "When she doesn't come back down, someone's going to come looking. But right now, we need to discuss next steps."

"One minute," Myra said, looking sheepish. "Kar'na, about earlier, I just wanted to say-"

She was cut off by Kar'na who raised a hand and said, "I'm willing to forget about it if you are. We both made mistakes."

"Done," Myra agreed, Aryn nodding as well. "Now, next steps. I was thinking that we'd all just spend the night here, then continue in the morning. But this changes things."

"We wouldn't be able to go in the morning," Kar'na stated. "The guards would be most alert then. It'd have to be mid-afternoon."

"They won't let anyone out of the city now anyways," Kiri said, gesturing to the sleeping Falskin who shifted slightly.

"No," Kar'na agreed. "Luck is never with us."

"Then what do we do?"

"I have an idea," Aryn said. "How about Myra and I be alone with the tavern keeper in this room when she comes to, hoods off and everything? We can talk to her, convince her that she just fainted and let her loose?"

"That may actually work," Kar'na commented thoughtfully. "Put it into effect. Hurry, we don't know how long she'll be out."

The Ch'kiliil hurried out of the room and Myra and Aryn bent over the woman on the floor.

"Hey," Aryn said urgently, as if the woman had just fainted. "Are you alright? Wake up!"

Myra splashed water over the other's face and she sat up in a hurry, spluttering and hissing. Her eyes darted around the room.

"Woah, hey," Aryn said raising his hands. "Calm down, calm down. Are you alright?"

"W...what happened?" she asked, breathing slower, eyes darting between the siblings in confusion. "Weren't you just...?"

"Just what?" Aryn asked, impressing his sister with his acting. "You literally just walked in on us and collapsed. Are you feeling alright?"

"But I...you were...I..."

She took a deep breath and breathed it out through her mouth.

"I'm fine," she said looking between both of their concerned faces. "I'm fine. I just...I could've sworn you two looked like some kind of fairytale monsters when I came in. Sharp teeth, yellow eyes, shaggy appearance...monsters."

Myra glanced at Aryn but he deigned not to notice. "That sounds awful. Do these occur often?"

"No," the Falskin said, getting to her feet. "No, this is actually the first time. I'm sorry to disturb you."

With a final shake of her head, she hustled out of the room. The two Falskin breathed sighs of relief, before Kar'na came through the open door, closing it behind him.

"Since she now knows that two Falskin occupy this room, it's probably best that you two to sleep here," he said. "Goodnight and see you in the morning."

Myra and Aryn nodded as Kar'na turned and went to their old room with Kiri.

Myra was awakened a couple hours later, when the sun was already a good ways in the sky, by a furious banging from the stairwell. The sound of armoured feet.

The thudding came to a stop outside her door, which flew open at about the same time revealing eight armoured figures. Members of the city guard, if their crests and colourations were to be believed.

"What is-" Aryn started to ask, sitting up in his bed.

"City guard," the one in the middle growled, "And you two are under arrest. Your companions are being arrested as I speak."

The other guards poured into the room and grabbed the siblings, keeping them restrained. Myra couldn't see how she and her brother could get out of this one. She pulled, trying to get away from her captors, but they were too strong.

A white streak crashed into the guard who was waiting outside, sending him reeling backwards and rattling down the stairs.

"Kar'na!" Aryn cried.

The snowy wolf rushed the guard near the door, who turned to grab Kar'na. The assassin in turn ducked and threw the guard over his shoulder to the floor. Another guard swung at him, but Kar'na ducked, caught the arm in a hold and leaned on it. The unfortunate guard's limb snapped and he screamed as Kar'na twisted, removed the guard's dagger from its sheath and threw it so it struck another guard handle first.

The guard who'd been hit with dagger reeled back and Kar'na kneed the broken armed guard in the stomach and jabbed a pressure point, collapsing his reptilian foe. Two down, six to go.

The Ch'kiliil assassin lashed out with his foot, connecting to a guard's jaw and sending him crashing into the guard restraining Myra's right harm. The Sanvar'a lashed out with her newly freed fist and smashed the guard holding her other arm, sending him staggering backwards.

Kar'na jabbed one in the face, before pivoting on a foot and smashing the other foot across another guard's jaw. As he steadied himself, one of the guards swung his shortsword at Kar'na, catching him with a spatter of red and a cry of pain.

"NO!" Myra screamed, rushing the guard who turned only to be bowled over by the enraged Falskin. Myra was so preoccupied with trashing the guard that she didn't even notice that Kiri and the other Ch'kiliil had rushed in. They set to work with a vengeance and soon, all the guards in the room were passed out or curled on the floor groaning.

"Kar'na!" Kiri cried rushing over to the white wolf. "Are you alright?"

"Mmph," Kar'na grunted. "I'm fine. More embarrassed than anything."

He chuckled weakly, which turned into a brief cough. Kiri ignored his friend's sentiment and pulled Kar'na's shirt off. The white fur underneath had a clear red patch that was slowly spreading.

"Crap," Kar'na muttered. "That's going to make it a pain to put armor on."

Kiri ignored him and began to bandage the wound. He obviously had little idea what he was doing, but Kar'na patiently directed the younger wolf through the procedure, grimacing in pain every little bit.

As Kiri was finishing up, Myra walked over and knelt beside Kar'na. The golden-eyed wolf looked over at her and she cleared her throat.

"Thanks for saving us," the Falskin said quietly.

Kar'na shrugged. "Wouldn't be much of a protector if I didn't. Anyways, you two did good. Handled yourselves well. Good job."

He laid his head back and closed his eyes as Kiri finished up.

"So," Kytra said, wandering over. "What are our next steps?"

"Get Kar'na to a healer," Aryn said. "That should be our first goal. After that we continue for the border?"

"What healer would help Kar'na?" Ari asked. "If you haven't noticed, most Falskin aren't too kind to us Ch'kiliil."

"Most," Kar'na stated.

Everyone looked down at him and Kar'na continued. "Near every city in Falskin-owned lands, we have an established guild healer. They'll heal me. But it's on the far side of Simil and the marshes are not easily transversed. We'd have to go directly through the city."

"Can you walk?" Kiri asked.

"I'll be fine," Kar'na said, getting to his feet. The binding around his chest was already soaked in red, but Kar'na just slung his robe about himself and hoisted his armour-laden knapsack over one shoulder, wincing a little as he did so.

"Let me take that," Aryn said, reaching out for the knapsack.

Kar'na hesitated for a second before his practicality won over his pride. He handed the knapsack over and shifted position, obviously uncomfortable.

"I may need a little help getting to the healer's," Kar'na admitted. "I can barely walk."

"I'll help," Kiri said, going over to help his brother wolf. Kar'na slung an arm over Kiri's shoulders and pulled his hood and mask up.

"Thanks Kiri," Kar'na said, nodding to the younger wolf. "I'm going to act drunk so it's not so obvious that I'm hurt."

The others nodded and they all filed down the stairs and through the tavern into the street. It was plain that the blue-scaled tavern-keeper was working hard not to stare at them.

Aryn walked over to her, his hood up. When she looked at him, he asked, "did you send those guards after all of us?"

"Y-y-yes," she stammered. "I...you two are the Sanvar'a siblings!"

"What?" Aryn asked, acting completely confused. "The Sanvar'a? Us? No, we're the Kafr'a family."

"Oh," the tavern-keeper said looking embarrassed. "I'm sorry for the disturbance then. Wait, where are the guards?"

"They're helping the one who fell down the stairs. They should all be back down soon."

She nodded and waved as Aryn turned away. The Sanvar'a breathed a sigh of relief. The last thing they needed was the tavern keeper flagging down more guards on them.

Aryn rushed out to join his friends in the street and Kytra squeezed his shoulder. Now they just had to make it through the city.