The group left the capital and headed off. Their were two knights with them, who entertained conversation but not much else; Iztris didn’t necessarily mind, but they also didn’t think the extra people could really help the process. The trip took a bit longer and, as such, Elsyn’s group was a few days ahead of them at least.

At this point, Elsyn’s group was about a month away from the capital—Iztris wanted to go to a town that was a few days past that, but considering the time it took for them to get there they had to keep pushing the town back. In the meantime, they were warning any towns they passed by to stay alert—but they never passed through a town that Elsyn had already gone through, and they were too far away to ever be in a town where Elsyn was currently attacking.

Eventually, Jacob started musing while they were traveling. “It does feel a bit weird just…passing by all these people,” he said. Alyson murmured some kind of agreement, while the knights stayed silent.

“If we directly follow them, it could just go against us,” Iztris reminded him. “Fortunately, I’d imagine Elsyn’s group is larger than ours, so we should catch up eventually. It shouldn’t be too longer by now—it’s been a few weeks since we left the capital.”

“Do you think we can end this before winter?” Alyson asked.

“I can’t say,” Iztris said. “It depends on Elsyn, I suppose. Our goal for now is to ascertain where they are and where they’ll be going next—and, preferably, getting rid of some of their group.” They paused for a moment before glancing at Alyson and Jacob. “Are you two able to kill if you need to?”

“Sort of,” Alyson replied. “I’ve been in battles before, so while I can’t say for the mental impact, I’m physically capable. Jacob can incapacitate, but I’d rather deal the final blow than let him.”

“That’s part of the reason we’re here,” one of the knights said. Looking at Alyson and Jacob, he continued, “All you two really have to do is slow them down; we can do the rest.”

The heirs both nodded and another, brighter conversation followed.

They were about four weeks out from the capital—in another two weeks, they managed to get to a place where Iztris assumed Elsyn’s group would attack soon.

The days before said attack were spent in preparation for when Elsyn’s group did come; the people living in the town were told to leave, and for the most part they did. The only ones that stayed were also knights, or the ones who could fight and didn’t think that it would mean much if they died. The heirs still tried to get them to leave, but the stubborn few refused—Iztris knew better to complain, however, considering that they’d likely be outnumbered anyway.

Their stay didn’t seem too unnatural, really—the heirs and knights still paid the innkeeper by way of putting the money in the master bedroom, and the townspeople that stayed went about their daily tasks as if nothing was wrong. Little less than a week after they arrived, however, one of the townspeople noticed a group coming towards them—maybe only a dozen or so people, but still enough.

Iztris took advantage of the buildings and hid inside of one after making sure they could leave if they needed to. They allowed the gods to see the battle—and knew that they were because of the feeling that they were being watched—just in case something went wrong. At least this way they wouldn’t be accidentally killed.

They couldn’t see Elsyn in the group, but four of the five people that they fought in Relan were there—that was enough for them to know that it wasn’t just a random group. Iztris simply kept track of the battle through the windows in the house.

The group attacked the knights and heirs without much warning—fortunately, they had all been prepared for a fight. Jacob moved a bit farther away and to the side, trying not to hit any of the allies; one knight stayed close by him and cut down anyone that came close. Similarly, a knight stayed near Alyson, while all of the townspeople did what they could to help (albeit inefficiently in some cases).

There was no clear leader in either group, so it was a simple fight—although it did start to go wrong for the heirs’ group fairly quickly. Elsyn’s group—even if Elsyn wasn’t there—was still larger than the eleven they were fighting, and they seemed more experienced. The metal clashed together, sometimes meeting armor and sometimes cutting through it—it only took a few minutes before someone was bleeding, another five before one of the townspeople fell.

From what Iztris saw, at least, all of them ended up harmed in some way or another—one townsperson fled, but the rest fell not too long after the fight began. One of the knights fell; the other, still protecting Jacob, made a push against the remaining seven people of the attacking group.

One of the people in Elsyn’s group took another stab towards the knight who eventually fell as well—another lunged towards Alyson, who stumbled back, already injured. When the group left, satisfied with the amount of people they left behind, Iztris emerged from the building and Jacob went to his sister. Neither of them were unharmed—Jacob had a few scratches, but Alyson had greater cuts due to being more involved in the battle.

“You’ll both be fine,” Iztris told them quietly. “The gods have ensured that you both will live at least.”

Alyson looked around her for a moment. “Dammit,” she muttered. “They’re all dead, then?”

“Or close to it,” Jacob replied quietly. He helped her up the best he could, saying, “Let’s just…get everything cleaned up.”

Iztris nodded. “I can clean and bandage your wounds—we can afford to rest for the remainder of the day.”

Neither of them protested, completely silent. Iztris couldn’t blame them.