The man lets out a curse as he retraces his steps but is unable to find his intended target. Frustrated by his employer’s demands, the man takes out a glowing pendant from inside his pocket. The magical stone has been given to him by his employer to find a woman. The stone had allowed him to track his target’s path, but it was only a minor consolation as it only allowed him to know proximately where his target was. The only good news about the situation was that the woman was still in the city and had not left. Putting the stone away, the man once more rushes out into the streets to hopefully find a trace of his target. However, he had a feeling that things wouldn’t be quite that simple.

*

Just before dawn the next morning, Lena quietly rouses the three girls, before stepping out into the still dark streets. With swift haste, Lena led the way to the already paid ship ready to sail at first daylight. The first mate had begun to call out the final call when four missing passengers suddenly appeared at the last minute. The first mate quickly ushered them onto the ship, before having the sailors pull up the walk-up ramp as the first touch of light began to creep over the horizon. The sailors swiftly moved and finished casting off the line to catch the morning tide. Within minutes, the ship began to move and slowly sped out of the harbor and out to open sea.

However, if anyone had looked they would have seen the angry figure of a man standing the edge of the harbor swearing. The man stares angrily at the ship, before determinedly turning back towards another nearby ship in the harbor. There was a ship he had to catch, and his employer had given him enough money to catch the intended target.

*

Down in the ships quarters, Dolly looks rather pale, while Lena lets out a small sigh of relief. Delilah quietly says, “Is it because of me? Is that who was following us last night and why we left at the very last minute from the inn?”

Holly furrows her brows, while Lena lets out a quiet sigh. “The number of individuals who know that I am alive is limited to you three, my parents, and Gauthier. That is a total of six people and who of which I doubt have betrayed my confidence. Holly is a simple maid and no offense has no real enemies that we know of. And as for Dolly, well, Dolly might be targeted by slavers to be sold, but that man was no slaver, but a professional. In which case, the only plausible explanation is that it has something to do with you, Delilah,” Lena matter-of-factly stated.

Delilah clenches her hands, but firmly says, “Does it have to do with my dreams?”

“More than likely,” Lena quietly replied, knowing full well that was the case.

Holly eyes Lena and says, “So, who is it this time?”

“Excellent, question, I am not certain though I have my suspicions. But which now have been dashed and which makes me question myself at this current point in time,” Lena blatantly replied.

“Right, so who are you, suspects?” Holly asked undeterred.

Lena unhappily replies, “I can’t say, but sufficient to say, they aren’t among the human kingdoms. However, that man was clearly human and is a member of the Klan Mercenary group. Those guys only take orders from human’s.”

“How do you know he is from the Klan Mercenary Group?” Holly pointedly asked.

Dolly weakly raises her hand and says, “I had mice follow him and told the gen-, I mean Lena.” Dolly makes a gurgling sound and says, “I don’t feel so good,” before throwing up on to the floor.

Lena winces, while Delilah and Holly hurry over to help Dolly. While the three of them are busy with that, Lena taps her fingers in deep thought. Delilah was clearly the target and if so by who as there was no shortage of human candidates? But something about that train of thought unsettled Lena. It was as though she was missing blatantly obvious fact that was right before her eyes, but even so, she still couldn’t see the entire picture.

Still frowning, Lena says, “Stop worrying about it for now. If worst comes to worst, I’ll kill the tracker to gain us time. For now, let us just concentrate on the next part of our voyage.” Delilah bites her lip, but nods her head in reply, while Holly merely sniffs as she pats Dolly on the back.

Lena leans back against in her seat as she closes her eyes in thought. The only sound that can be heard is the sound of the sailors, the ocean waves, and Dolly’s retching. Needless to say, it was going to be a long trip.