Twenty- five pagobsli approached the group, cautiously and stealthily. Unbeknownst to them, Felix had already spotted the group of twenty-five, using several hand signals to inform the five other adults. With nods and more hand signals as confirmation, the adults made their move, quickly.

Amelia and Felix gathered the children, who weren't allowed to go more than five meters away from the wagons since they split from the convoy. They then had them crowd onto Amelia and Felix's wagons, so they could make a quick escape if things went south.

Darniss, Archie and Oliver mounted their fironares and Jack mounted his ostrick. The four then charged at the pagobsli, with Darniss lagging behind as he started to mutter quietly.

The pagobsli, realising that their ambush had failed, split into two groups. One group, having twelve of the pagobsli, charged forwards at the oncoming fironares and singular ostrick. The remaining group of thirteen started going around Darniss and the others, aiming for the wagons.

The gems on the Archie’s and Oliver's fironares glowed red slightly as they charged at the pagobsli. With their riders command, the two fironares then leaped over the pint sized group, kicking backwards when they landed. The hooves on the fironares glowed in the same way their gems did, when they collided with the heads of two pagobsli, fire burst forth, blasting the two pagobsli backwards.

The ostrick on the other hand, lunged directly at them. Its beak glowed white as it pecked at a pagobsli, hitting the dark gold plate on its forehead. Jack pulled a crossbow out from under his cloak, shooting a pagobslus in the neck. Following up, the ostrick moved its leg, kicking another with both speed and strength.

The pagobsli responded in kind, clawing at the three.

"Fireball!" Shouted Darniss, pointing his left hand towards the clustered pagobsli. A ball of flame flew from his hand, flying directly at the group. The ball collided with one, bursting into flames and sending them flying. The flames hitting another four of them.

Although it seemed like they were overwhelming the pagobsli, only three of the twelve had died in that exchange.

Oliver and Archie then drew their weapons from under their cloaks. Oliver held a thin rapier and stabbed at one of the pagobslus, grazing their cheek. Archie pulled out a long sword, swinging it at another pagobslus, decapitating it in one clean swing, only for the sword to then be dropped. Jack and the ostrick continued their attacks, hitting and sniping the pagobsli.

Cuts and gashes started to accumulate on the fironares and the ostrick. Gaining momentum, the pagobsli began to push harder, trying to end this faster and get their rewards.

"Double! Flame enchant!" Darniss shouted once more, slumping down afterwards. This time he pointed towards Oliver and Archie. The two and their fironares glowed slightly, with the glow slowly focusing on the fironares' hooves. They then reared themselves on their back legs, prompting the pagobsli to move forward. They then slammed their hooves down, causing an explosion of flames to explode on the pagobsli they landed on and push back the others.

With the sudden deaths of several more pagobsli, the rest attempted to escape. Fleeing in different directions, Archie, Oliver and Jack chased after them, leaving none alive.

The group that went to attack the wagons was quickly routed when they were fifteen meters from the wagons. Arrows flew, hitting the pagobsli in the neck. Felix's ostrick attacked them from behind, kicking them with its powerful legs. Amelia's fironare burned them with its flaming hooves, charging through the group.

With all twenty-five pagobsli killed, Oliver, Jack, Archie and Felix collected the bodies so they could be dismantled. All the children had left the two crowded wagons as soon as it was confirmed safe for them. Darniss returned to the wagon, collapsing into his seat as he dozed off. Seeing Darniss collapse like that, Delia, Rein, Louise, Wendy and Flora ran over to him.

"Mister Darniss, are you alright?" Wendy and Louise asked simultaneously.

"He's fine," said Amelia, having chased after the girls as they ran. "He just used too much magic, so we should let him rest for a bit and he'll be fine."

"Why did he do that?" Delia asked, slightly shaken. She had opened up to Darniss and the four girls during this trip, so seeing Darniss collapse with little energy had scared her.

"Because if I didn't, we might have to stay here longer." Darniss spoke wearily.

"You should rest, we can handle everything fine,” Amelia sternly said.

"How can I rest with all the noise around?" Darniss grunted back, "I was elected leader anyway, so I should sort things out before I rest and recover."

Hearing this, Amelia could only sigh and shake her head. She may have only known Darniss for a few days, but he had shown himself to be a good leader, despite the fact that he had few times he could show it in the convoy.

"I want to set off as soon as we are able. I chose to use magic to lessen the damage and to prevent any from escaping." Darniss started, "the packs shouldn't be this big this far away from the main pack, unless it’s larger than they thought. Amelia, I want you to teach either Rein or Delia to be a coachman."

"Eh?" Delia and Flora blurted out, puzzled. Amelia simply nodded and waited for Darniss to continue.

"I might still be sleeping when we set off. If that happens, don't disturb me, I need to be at full strength the next time we are attacked," Darniss said, trying to keep focused. "You two are the closest to Fleur, if you both want to, have... Archie teach as well."

Seeing Darniss still had something to say, Amelia waited patiently for his next words.

"Finally... children... help... disman-..." Darniss tried to say, before falling into a deep slumber.

"*sigh* Okay." Amelia sighed, slapping her cheeks to encourage herself. "Delia, Rein, which of you would like to learn to steer the wagon."

Hearing this, both Delia and Rein said yes. Amelia then went over to Archie, Oliver, Jack and Felix. When she relayed what Darniss said, the four of them frowned slightly.

Oliver then grabbed Fred and had him help treat the two fironares and the ostrick. While he was doing that, Felix and Jack had the rest of the children help with the pagobsli. Those that had a bit of experience helped with dismantling, slightly speeding up the work now that they had lost two sets of hands. The rest of the children carried and loaded the parts that had been dismantled, bringing jars, bottles and other containers that they were asked to bring, too

Amelia then started to teach Delia on her wagon, while Archie taught Rein on his wagon, after Oliver treated his fironare. Some of the children complained about Delia, Rein and Fred getting special treatment, not having to help out with the pagobsli corpses. They were quickly scolded by whoever was closest, mentioning that Delia and Rein would be the ones steering the wagon if Darniss didn't wake up and that Fred was treating the injuries from the fight with Oliver so that they could leave quicker. This didn't convince some of them though, they thought those were only excuses the adults came up with to give reason for their favouritism.

An hour later, they set off. With Darniss still asleep, both Delia and Rein sat at the front of the wagon. With the two of them having only just learned how to steer the wagon, they ended up being in the middle of the group while they travelled. Darniss woke up five hours later, taking the reins much to Rein and Delia's relief.

While travelling, Felix kept a close eye on any tracks left behind by groups of pagobsli. Whenever they approached an area where a group of pagobsli had passed recently, Felix pointed it out, causing them to take slight detours.

Luckily, they didn't encounter any other groups, pagobsli or human. Unfortunately though, they couldn't find a good place to rest, as there seemed to be pagobsli tracks every ten minutes. With only short, five minute breaks, they travelled through the night. When the morning sun began to rise, they had finally reached Ebonhearth city.