The pair followed the boy and trudged out of the canyon with grime of their faces and blood on their clothes. Merlin walked behind them with a slower pace, obviously struggling with his wounded leg. Joe kept glancing behind to keep a steady eye on him as she clasped his reins and went ahead.

Pierre skipped on the road and jumped over the boulders, whistling a strange tune all the way. He seemed to know his way around the place, which both reassured and worried Joe at the same time. The canyon was hardly a place for kids to fool around, and even more so in the all-consuming darkness of the night.

If she were left in this place all alone, Joe was pretty sure that she would have shat in her pants.

“Wait!” Nero called after him, struggling to keep up his pace. “Watch out where you’re going! There might be a devil’s dew somewhere around here!”

Joe blanched. She’d completely forgotten about those things. And there weren’t any bubblebirds in the vicinity. Pierre ran ahead of them with his lithe frame, dancing and twirling and waltzing in the darkness like he owned the place. Children had a frightening amount of fearlessness. Or naiveté. Or maybe both. Joe didn’t know whether to be envious or impressed.

“Do not worry.” Came the boy’s voice, as uncannily melodious as ever. “This one knows where he is going. This one needs no bubblebirds to find the way. Besides, we have arrived at the village already.”

He spat the word ‘bubblebird’ like he was speaking of a rabid dog.

Joe would have skipped over and hugged the boy, for finally having found a kindred spirit who shared her dislike for the pink abomination, if she could see the boy at all. She stared ahead in the direction of the voice and saw nothing but darkness. Nero tried calling his name once, then twice and thrice, the urgency in his voice increasing each time, but there was no response.

The little boy had vanished as mysteriously as he had come.

Joe and Nero took turns to scan their surroundings for any signs, as they kept walking northward.

Sure enough, a hamlet loomed into view once the cliffs gradually ended in a long, gentle slope, giving way to a stony path that led into the small settlement. Small patches of grass covered the ground as they left the barren Grimm canyon behind, and Joe could even make out a row of wildflowers swaying in the night breeze. She kept one eye at the village road, and the other firmly at the wobbling figure of Nero.

The last thing she wanted was to see him passed out in the middle of the road.

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“I told you before, I’m sorry miss, but I cannot let that man inside my house.” It was the fifth house along the dirt road of the Mirlock village. The middle-aged lady living there had squinted at them suspiciously with her sharp eyes, and slammed the door in their faces. Joe resisted the urge to kick at the hinges, but kicking up a fuss in an unfamiliar village wasn’t the wisest of ideas right now.

She dragged her feet to the next door with a heavier heart, but each turn seemed just as hopeless as the previous. Forget treating Nero and Merlin, the villagers weren’t even willing to let them step inside their homes. It was hardly surprising. If two blood-soaked strangers turned up at your doorstep in the late hours of the night, you’d be a colossal idiot to carelessly let them inside.

Joe sighed. Why did she think this was a good idea again?

Oh right. The mysterious little boy with glowing eyes. The girl grimaced at the thought. Was he just fooling around with them? What the hell did he mean by ‘know where to look’? Joe didn’t know dammit! She just wanted to slump down in a cozy bed and forget about the whole night.

But that wasn’t possible. It was her who insisted that they journey all the way to the witch of the west, and it was her who caused the most trouble for Nero. Nero, who was now injured and exhausted and barely able to stand on his feet.

Joe marched forward with a grim determination. She wouldn’t rest until she’d checked all the houses and knocked all the doors, circumstances be damned. Hopefully, one of them might be willing to hear them out properly. One of them might have a doctor who could treat Nero.

Optimism and Joe never really got along, but this time it was better than scrambling away at nothing

The next house didn’t work either. The couple living there had one fleeting look at their clothes and slammed the door shut before Joe could even get a single word in. There was a brief, muffled argument behind the doors, and she could hear snatches of conversations that sounded like ‘shady people’ and ‘robbers’ and ‘girl with weapons’. She sighed and turned away.

For a wild moment she considered banging their door and yelling, just to retaliate, and maybe scare the wits out of them. But then Joe felt Nero’s hand on her shoulders.

“It’s alright, my lady.” The man whispered. “You needn’t blame yourself for what happened. It was Nero who decided to use that, and it should be Nero’s own responsibility.”

“You can barely stand straight.” Joe pointed out bluntly. “It might have been your decision, but coming all the way here was my decision. Don’t give me that crap.”

Nero shook his head, a smile playing on his lips. “That’s not what it is, my lady. And I should be fine if I rest for a few minutes.”

The girl scowled, thoroughly unconvinced. She had opened her mouth to argue back when something rustled behind her. There was sound of steady footsteps, paired with a clinking noise.

Joe wheeled around like a frightened deer when she saw the flicker of warm light in her peripheral vision. The ambush of the bandits had left her paranoid, much as she tried not to think about it. But this time, it was a lanky young man holding a lantern and staring at her with a frown on his face.

“Are you the travellers coming from Grimm Canyon?” he finally asked.

“That would be correct.” Joe answered automatically, and almost slapped herself. ‘Bloody hell, don’t just carelessly give yourselves away, dammit!’ Her thoughts spilled over like poisonous fumes. ‘There shouldn’t be any way for him to know that! What if this guy is working with the remaining bandits?!’

It was no secret that Joe was more gullible, and maybe twice as cowardly as the average person.

The man was eyeing their bloodied clothes with an unreadable expression. “Did you get ambushed by the bandits?”

His words brought back the memories of steel and smoke and bloodshed of the night, and Joe had to resist the wave of nausea that washed over her. Should she deny it? What was the use anyway? The clothes and their injuries were more than enough to guess that. “Yes, we did. Somehow we managed to get out alive.”

She didn’t like how her throat threatened to close up at the mere mention of the battle.

“Did you get any of them?” The man was intently eyeing the sword strapped on her back.

Joe didn’t know what to say. Was the man one of the bandits? Would her abandon all pretenses and pounce on them if she dared to say yes?

“We did.” Nero answered for her, staring back at the man. “Several of them, in fact. Got them real good, y’know?”

What was he saying?! Don’t brag about useless things in front of strangers, Nero!

There was a hint of a smile on the stranger’s face. He whirled around, motioning them to follow after him. Joe exchanged a wary glance with her older companion. She should have asked the man about a doctor in the hamlet. Where was this guy taking them anyway?

Should they follow? What if the guy was in cahoots with the bandits anyway? But this was the chance to get Nero some treatment! What if the guy was actually a normal civilian?! Joe didn’t want to let the chance slip because she was too busy being paranoid! What was she supposed to do?!

Joe was certain that she was slowly but certainly going batshit crazy.

Nero followed after the man without a word, and Joe had no choice but to follow as well. Merlin trotted after her, huffing and snorting and rubbing his nose against her clothes, Joe would have been delighted if she wasn’t busy mentally going over every small detail in her surroundings. Better memorize the directions in case they needed to escape!

“The name’s Ted, by the way.” The stranger said. His voice had a warm tinge to it. “Ted Hawkins. I heard from Pierre that some travelers were attacked by the bandits near the Grimm canyon. Pierre is the village scamp, by the way. He’s a weird kid, that one. But he means no harm. I didn’t know whether to believe him or not, but the brat ran away before I could do anything about it.”

Ted was suddenly being very chatty with them, and Joe didn’t know quite what to make of it, Was the man trying to let their guards down? Were they making a mistake by following him? She reached back and nervously touched the longsword strapped to her back.

“Milady, Milady.” Nero fell in step beside her. His whispers were strained with effort, and Joe paused her paranoid thoughts to listen to him. Her heart kept thundering in her chest in trepidation.

“Calm down, milady. You’re being too nervous.” Nero lightly touched her arm in reassurance. “This man is harmless. We might even say that we’ve stumbled upon some good luck.”

“Eh?!” Joe couldn’t help the surprised gasp that left her mouth. Ted walked three steps ahead of them, giving no indication that he’d heard her voice.

“Nero, you know him?”

“I do not know him personally, per se.” Her companion said. “But I know of a certain medic that lives around these parts with the same surname as the captain of royal knights of Triciella.”

Joe gave him an unimpressed glare.

“I know his brother, milady. Sir Rylbert the Gallant.” Nero whispered slowly, out of Ted’s earshot. “They have the same facial structure, especially around the eyes. He is a civilian, but rest assured that he is what we need now.”

Too much information at once! “Why didn’t you tell him that you knew his brother?” The girl whispered back. “Why didn’t you tell him who you are?”

“Milady, you’ve slipped out of your, ahem, house without permission. Remember? You sure you want me spill the beans?”

Joe clamped her mouth shut.

They trudged along the dirt road all the way to the last house of the village, quite a few meters away from the rest. A narrow path through the bushes revealed a small stable in a surprisingly good condition. Inside, Joe could see a lone gray horse from the light of the lantern.

They left Merlin in the stable and made their way to the cozy little cottage behind it. Before Joe could have anymore misgivings, she lifted her skirts and stumbled along the stony path to follow after the man in the receding darkness.

“Well? Come on in.” Ted held the door open for them. Nero gave a nod of gratitude and hobbled in. Joe cast a wary glance outside and followed.

The doorway was small and narrow, but the house smelt of homemade soup and herbs. There was a sweet, minty smell that reminded her of the medicine stores of her old world, and she felt a pang of nostalgia from the memory.

“Pardon our intrusion at this hour of the night.” Nero told the man. “We haven’t introduced ourselves, have we? My name is Oren.” He swept a hand towards Joe and went on before she could open her mouth. “And this girl over here is my niece, Joey.”

Ah, of course. Nothing good will come out of declaring herself as Joanna Winsten of the famous Winsten nobility. Joe was damn lucky that Nero had enough brains for the two of them. She could play Joey better than she played Joanna Winsten, at any rate.

Ted didn’t look like he suspected a thing, because he grunted in acknowledgement and ushered them inside what seemed to be a dingy little study. Numerous sketches of human anatomy were stuck on the stone wall. Joe suddenly felt like she’d stepped inside a professional clinic, although the room was anything but. The lantern was placed on a rickety old table with an audible thump and two chairs were pushed towards them in a hurry.

“Sit down and wait for me.” He said somberly. “I’ll go take a look at your horse first. And no funny business while I’m away.”

Ted Hawkins picked up another lantern and walked out of the study with the same heavy footsteps, clicking the door shut behind him.

‘If I had any energy left for funny business, I wouldn’t be here in the first place.’ Joe wanted to tell him exactly that.

Something shifted in the shadows of the corner of the room.

Joe had heard the sound before she could see the source. It was a distinct rustling sound of heavy clothes, the kind that definitely meant that somebody else was there. She whirled around towards the corner in a fit of uncontrolled panic.

A pair of clear, electric blue eyes greeted her from the shadows. Joe had to stifle a scream at the sight. She would remember those eyes anywhere! Sitting away from the flickering lantern light, shrouded in murky darkness was the mysterious cloaked figure that she had seen back in Riseindell.