Even for Ciylia it came as a shock to see a body like that. She had been in and out of thieves' guilds and even had a small brand on her left forearm to prove it. It was one of the many reasons she enjoyed long sleeved outfits. The elf had seen many bloody punishments for betrayal or failure but none had truly given a statement like this one did.

All Ciylia could do is stare wordlessly as Aylia ran to the man and attempted to cure him but what was the point? It was very obvious the man was already dead. He looked like he was the same type of elf as Ciylia and none of them ever got as pale as he was. It was probably from the loss of blood.

A glow came from the necklace around the gnome's neck. Her arms started to glow from under her bandages before the light travelled to her fingertips. She then placed both of her hands on the man's legs, since it was all she could reach, and waited for a moment. The light pulsed out from her fingers and then it moved like a snake through the assassin's veins. This energy twisted around his body and anytime it found and open wound it worked on closing it up. After what seemed like minutes the man gasped for air.

He was blinking and looked very confused. "Let's pull him down Fern," said Gene. Both men positioned themselves either side of the man. "Kira, I need you to pull the spike from his feet while we pull the ones out from his hands. Ciylia I need you to push him against the wall so he doesn't fall forward." These instructions help pull the thief from her daze. "Aylia, keep pouring healing magic into him as we rip these out. Meowlynn, you don't have to get your hands dirty, just count down from three so we can pull these out at the same time.”

Everyone did as they were told and got into position. "Three… Two… One." Once Meowlynn had finished her count down everyone pried the spike out with all their might and the elven man feel into Ciylia. She was struggling to hold his weight and felt like she would drop him. The two male teammates grabbed him from her and placed him on the table. Gene poured some water from his water skin into the man's mouth and then everyone just waited for the assassin to recover a bit. Aylia bandages his palms and feet as he rested.

The thief got bored waiting for the man to wake up and decided to check some the rooms in the house. She walk into the first room and was puzzled by what she saw. This room was baby blue and pink with a well carved bed in it. The bed had an incredibly soft looking pillow but the blanket was thrown on the floor with a doll missing it's arm next to it. Painting stuff was in the corner with a lantern next to it. Everything in this room screamed it was a young girl's except for a stack of books on a shelf that were about plants, medicine, and holy magics. The elf walked out of the room and saw the missing doll arm and threw it into the room next to it's body.

“There’s a little girl’s room over here,” Ciylia stated. Upon hear those words, the man on the table shot up and screamed in pain.

“Where is my daughter? Where’s Sora?!”

Aylia took the man by the hand, “She’s not here. Do you know where she could have gone?”

The assassin looked around the group and locked eyes with Gene. He got down from the table and attacked Gene. “You did this to me! You opened your fucking mouth!” The man was still too weak to do any real damage as he punched the monk in the face. He then fell to the floor as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Gene crouched down next to him, “I’m sorry this happened but it was the only way we could have saved ourselves. Now, I will help you get your daughter since this is my fault. Do you know where she could be?”

“Shield, he took her. He has been kidnapping children lately for some reason. I think he is using them to trade into slavery or for some sort of ritual.” He stopped to catch his breath before continuing, “That is one of the reason I had to work for him. He threatened to take Sora which now he has.”

The monk put a hand on the assassin’s shoulder, “We are on our way to wipe out Shield’s base. We actually came here because we wanted your help to do that.”

“If it gets my daughter back then I’ll do it.” A look of determination appeared in his eyes. “Do any of you have a plan? It’s well guarded and we can’t just walk in there asking for her back. We’d be dead before we got under the bridge.”

The monk pulled out some quill and parchment, “Would you be able to help draw us a map? I only know what I saw. I’ll do my part first and you can fill in the blanks for us.”

Gene drew the bridge and the path that went along side that went under the bridge. He marked every tent he saw and about how many people he thought there were. Once he was done, he handed the quill to the assassin. The man drew a cluster of tent on the other side of the bridge that was protected by foliage making it hard to spot. He also marked a hidden tent in the tree line that was meant to warn the camp of intruders.

With the map drawn Gene sat down and started the think of many things that he scratched onto another piece of paper. Such things didn’t really interest Ciylia, she was too busy thinking about the money those thieves must have that she could claim for herself. She was very similar to an assassin herself. She had done the odd job in her past which was to kill some random that owed the guild money but could never pay it back. The elf wondered to herself if she could have ended up like the man they just saved.

“Hey buddy,” called out Gene to the assassin. “What is your name? What should we call you?”

“Buddy is as good a name as any,” he replied.

“Is that really what you want us to call you? Don’t you have your own name.” Gene was very confused by the man’s answer.

“Look, I gave up my name when I chose to take the lives of others as a way to feed my child. I am just a shadow and my daughter is the light. She is destined for great things.” A conflicted expression went across he face. He looked both proud and disgusted at the same time, Ciylia never knew such a face was even possible to achieve.

“Alright, Buddy it is. I have my plan ready if everyone would like to gather around and listen,” the leader of the group announced to everyone.

They all gathered around the table to listen to the plan. “This plan is going to take place tonight. First we are going to have Fern sneak in as a mouse to gather information on how many people there are and where are they located. Once we have this information Buddy, Fern and I will come in through the actual path. We will go wide to make sure we target that lookout camp.”

“I can take care of that camp myself. You two can wait until I rejoin you to move forward from that side.” Buddy was extremely confident in his abilities.

“Alright, we can do that.” Gene continued his plan, “On the far side of the bridge, I want Kira, Ciylia and Meowlynn to take care of this small camp that is hidden. Meowlynn will try to put the lookout to sleep and the archers will handle the rest. That way we can get the jump on them and cut them off from both sides.”

“What about me,” interrupted Aylia.

“You will be waiting for the rangers to eliminate that camp and you can be lowered in and anyone else who wants to go in. Then you and Meowlynn will start setting tents in the middle on fire to smoke out other people.” She nodded with every word.

“As the enemy flees everyone will pick them off, one by one.” Buddy seemed very pleased with Gene’s idea so far. “Finally everyone will come under the bridge to the large purple tent and ambush Shield himself.”

“What about the girl,” asked Kira. “What is stopping him from killing her as we attack him?”

“You don’t need to worry about that,” said the assassin. “The moment you set the tents on fire, I will use that opening to get my daughter back. This is a good plan, thank you.”

“Does everyone understand the plan?” Gene had to make sure everyone was on the same page. The elven ranger was fine with her role, shoot people with arrows to silence them. She wasn’t a fan of covering her hands with blood and enjoyed that she could still be stealthy as did her job.

“Let’s get something to eat,” suggested Fern. “We don’t need to do this ambush on an empty stomach.”

The Jellybeans and Buddy left the house after Buddy grabbed a few things he wanted. They all went to the Home Inn to enjoy a drink and meal since they still had a few hours before nightfall.

Ciylia was slightly jealous for some reason. This guys was a worse criminal they she was but everyone seemed to be trying to get along with him. Even Kira who the elf knew would be upset working with him still was kind to the assassin. It’s all because of the stupid child. Did they all forget that he is the reason they almost died? Part of this feeling also came from the fact that he had a similar role as her. She felt like she might be replaced after this and force to find a new place to belong. Subconsciously, she scratched at the brand on her forearm. Hopefully they won’t betray her.

When darkness took the town of Tormund, the Jellybeans left the Home Inn. They moved quickly through the streets towards the Northern Bridge. Once they got onto the path they moved a bit closer to the place of their attack. Fern turned himself into a mouse a scurried his way under the bridge while the rest of them waited for his return.

After what seemed like forever to Ciylia, the druid shaped mouse finally return. He turned back into his half elven form and began explaining the details. “There are six men hiding in the camp by the foliage. Seven men are awake under the bridge and five are alert on the pathway to the bridge. Four men are on lookout at the hidden tent in the forest as well. Shield and the girl are not in plain sight.”

That was all of it? The ranger thought she could have done better or at least killed one of them to thin their numbers but the young half blood didn’t have her past or skills so she couldn’t expect much from him.

“Watch for us,” instructed Gene. “After you have finished taking care of your side, wait for us to get under the bridge before you start lighting everything on fire. It will give us the best chance of getting the girl.”

The girls all nodded then moved towards their position while the guys went to handle their half. Ciylia and Kira scout out ahead and locate the camp that was marked on the map. The two of them motioned to the others and quietly moved toward the optimal sniping positions. They nocked their arrows as the the wizard walked up to a ledge above the camp. She pulled out rose petals and sand then began her swirling motion. After she finished her incantation the petals slowly drift down as the sand went into the eyes of four of the men at the camp forcing them shut. As the petals touched those guys on the shoulders, two arrows flew from the rangers at the ones who were not forced into a nap. The arrow from Ciylia didn’t hit her mark true and shot him in the shoulder instead of the neck. How could she fuck up the plan this bad? If this man alerts the camp then she will truly be abandoned.

Kira’s arrow went through the man’s throat silencing him. The elven ranger fumble with her next arrow before getting it ready. She pulled the bow string back preparing to fire then she saw the man was already killed. A second arrow was shot through his head causing him to fall next to the man that the halfling already killed. Ciylia couldn’t believe her eyes, how did he die in the moment she looked away to get her next attack ready. She moved along the ledge to Kira’s location, “Did you see who killed that man?”

“It was me,” whispered the halfling proudly. “I am very good at shooting targets that are next to each other. I can do it without having to aim again, it’s like my body already knows where the arrow has to go.”

Ciylia stared at her amazed, ashamed, and confused. The plan was still intact. They eliminated the sleeping targets before using rope to lower down the team’s cleric. Kira wanted to be with her best friend so she went down with her.

This action divided their team into Ayila and Kira on the ground with Ciylia and Meowlynn providing cover above. It was agreed that once Meowlynn set the first tent on fire it would be time for action. The wizard wouldn’t start the plan until Ciylia told her that the men were ready. With the next part of the plan weighing heavily on herself, Ciylia took a few deep breaths before straining her ability to see in the dark to it’s utmost limits. From where she was laying, she could she the other side of the bridge. She could only see two tents that were almost under it though because bridge blocked part of her vision.

In the distance, she could barely make out Gene choking a man from behind while Buddy slit another man’s throat. Fern transformed into a bear behind the tent after the thugs hit the ground. The men then crouched down and waited for the signal.

Ciylia tapped Meowlynn on the shoulder, letting her know it was time. The wizard stood tall and threw a bolt of fire across the sky, slamming into a tent. It immediately was set ablaze. Ayila grabbed her holy symbol and a small yellow and white flame appear in the palm of her hand. He threw it at another tent which slowly started to burn.

Men scrambled out of the tents, grabbing buckets to fill with water from the river near by. Those poor men where shot down by both Ciylia and Kira. Ciylia was able to help Kira as a way of returning the favour she did earlier. Ciylia knew a way to make existing wounds bigger and allow the pain and bleeding move at a quicker pace. This was one of the elf’s special techniques, something she devised after being in the guild for so long. Those people knew how to enhance pain so she made a way she could do the same from a distance. She even learn a bit of medicine to help her learn about poisons and vital areas that could inflict the most pain as possible if her target was well armoured.

Eventually, the battle died down and Ciylia had lot track of some of her team. She walked to the big purple tent and walked inside. There was Buddy looking defeated clenching a pendant in his hand with Ayila trying to comfort him. Gene and Fern were staring at the floor which has a giant circle drawn on it. It had arcane symbols all over it, things that the elf knew nothing about.

Soon, the high elf waltzed into the tent and Gene motioned to her. “Do you have any idea what this circle means?”

The wizard looked at Kira, “Where is my bag?”

“On the ledge where we were told to wait.”

“Be a dear and go grab it please, you did promise you’d carry my bag.” The halfling left the tent and came back shortly. Meowlynn then searched through her bag and found an old burgundy book. She thumbed through a few pages before stopping to read something. “This is a circle used for teleporting people.”

“Can you tell where it goes,” asked Gene.

“I can not, there is no way of knowing,” she replied.

Ciylia walked back outside to see if any of the men were still alive, she remember watching their leader choke a man out, surely he must still be living. She dashed to the tent where it happened and the man was still laying there. His eyes were flicking like he couldn’t decide if he wanted to be awake or asleep. The ranger yelled to the others, “One of them is still alive, you can ask him where Shield went.”

Kira, Gene, and Buddy came running out of the tent. Ciylia sat on the surviving man and pinned him down with a dagger to his throat. “Where did Shield go?!” she yelled into his face. The man returned this aggression by starring blankly at the elf. The ranger took her knife off the man’s throat and plunged it into the guy’s hand. The man screamed in pain as Ciylia put her hands around the man’s neck.

“For fuck sakes I’ll tell you. Please don’t kill me! I have a family!”

“He did too and your boss stole her from him! If you ever hope to see yours again then start talking!” Kira remarked to him.

“Alright! He told the men to start moving supplies to Erend. If you want to find him that is your best bet!” Tears were running down the thug’s face. “Please let me go.”

"That explains why there are less people here then I remember and why it wasn't as hard to seize the camp," the monk remarked.

Ciylia stood up and pulled her dagger out of the man’s hand. “Very well, you have twenty seconds before I change my mind.” The poor sap stood up and ran like hell.

“Thanks for you help,” said Buddy. “What do we do know?” he asked Gene.

“I suggest we rest for the night and in the morning head to Erend. No one was hurt which is excellent. We’ll leave as early as we can tomorrow and I’ll study a map of the area so I can find us the quickest route there. Do you know how many days it will take on the man road?”

“Days? It’s only about eight or nine hours on foot. Six if we use horses. Some people cut through the forest to save time but some do end up as animal feed.”

“Okay everyone let’s head back to the Home Inn. No drinks tonight as we have to leave early. Try to enjoy your sleep as we don’t know the next time we’ll be here and thank Ken in the morning.” With that everyone walked back to the Home Inn. Ciylia felt proud that she was able to get the information out of the man. At least for now, she knows that the team still needs her.