The woman's physical condition was pitiful. It wasn't better when the people around her reproached her for her treachery. Among rotten fruits and vegetables, they also came to hide stones that the guard somewhat disregarded.

"Idda!" shouted Fynn as he tried to approach the wagon where he was being carried.

Quickly, an arm went around him and pulled him back into the crowd that was shouting and scorning the criminals. Like that, Ronan dragged Fynn and Yue out of the group of people.

"Have you lost your mind?" growled Ronan. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

Fynn was elated, shaking with nerves, "We have to help her, we have to help her!"

"Calm down, boy!" he shook the marked boy's arms slightly, trying to talk some sense into him, "Who should we help?"

"Idda! we must help her!"

"Who is Idda?" asked the man.

"She was the wife of one of the woodcutters," explained Yue, much calmer than his companion.

"She helped me, gave me food, and told me I should go to Sunhold. She helped me, please!"

"Shh!" Ronan quickly covered Fin's mouth and commanded him to shut up.

Quickly, the scarred man turned his gaze, looking for someone who had overheard them to then drag the pair of kids into an alley even further away from the crowd.

"Clearly, I shouldn't have taken you for the reasonable one."

"Please, we have to do something," Fynn pleaded.

"We'll do something," Ronan said as he nodded. "Of course, we'll do something: buy our supplies and get out of here as soon as possible."

"You've got to be kidding!" exclaimed Fynn in disbelief.

"Of course, it's not a joke. My plans are far from a joke." The man peered down the alley. The crowd now followed the carriages to the local militia barracks, where the prison sat.

When the crowd was far away, Ronan regained his composure. If no one looked intent on looking for them, no one had seen them.

"Well, we can move on now," Ronan indicated.

"I'll go look for her," Fynn sentenced firmly. Ronan turned his look to Fynn, and the boy was looking at him firmly. "I'll go get her out of there. Yue, are you with me?"

The akajsi girl had been silent, trying to stay out of the matter. However, she knew the case would get to her. However, she stood idly by, silent.

"Yue?" tried Fynn to get her attention.

"It's too risky, Fynn."

"'Risky'?"

The akajsi girl clicked her tongue and looked at her companion, "they might catch us."

"We almost got caught by the thieves, and we got out of there," Fynn argued.

"No thanks to your skills, kid," Ronan replied, turning his back to the boy. When he turned, he noticed the boy glaring at him steadily.

"It's different now."

"Different?" exclaimed Ronan with a sneer. "Oh, how is it different from a couple of days ago? Not much if you ask me, just that you two have new clothes."

"How can you let someone who helped someone like us die?" asked Fynn, fury growing at Ronan's indifference and Yue's passivity.

Ronan swallowed saliva, trying to keep his composure. The boy was young, just entering this world.

"Fynn, people die every day. Friends, enemies, people we don't care about. There were at least two other people in that wagon. Are you planning to rescue them too?"

At that moment, Fynn had just realized that Idda was not the only one in the wagon.

"Yes, I'll rescue them too," the boy said with hesitation.

"And how will you do that? Will you kill someone?" asked Ronan. "Do you plan to kill the fort guards? Or will you go there, knock on the door and ask for their release?"

"You're a hypocrite," Fynn spat, "I thought you would help us."

"I said I was going to help you get to Lastrel and from there to Adhaz, not that I would help you storm a prison. Besides, do you think we're in a place to do something like that? There are members of The White Flame here."

Fynn turned to his friend, pleading for her help.

"Yue, please..."

Yue pursed her lips and averted her gaze, "Let's just go..."

Fynn tried to articulate words at what Yue said. Finally, he could do no more, so he frowned, holding back the tears trying to come out of him.

Then, Fynn approached her friend, who raised her eye coldly.

"She saved your life, don't you remember?" the boy said to his friend. "If it wasn't for her, her husband would have shot you with his crossbow. You didn't want to go back to help her because you didn't trust her, but then we got to Samson's farm, and they helped us even though you doubted them. So you owe it to her."

"Enough, let's go," Ronan ordered, fed up with it.

Ronan ordered the pair of marked children to go with him. Fynn stood his ground, steadfast.

"I'll go help her, with or without you guys."

"As you wish," Ronan expressed, "Let's go, Yue."

Ronan prepared to leave that alley, but he didn't feel Yue following him. It was so he turned to her.

"Yue?"

The akajsi girl gritted her teeth and walked toward her friend against her wishes for survival.

"Are you serious?" asked Ronan.

The girl said nothing, just watched him. Fynn then smiled at his friend.

"Thank you."

"Shut your mouth," said Yue, annoyed.

"You two are going to die in there. Even worse, they'll turn you over to The White Flame."

"Then come and help us," Fynn pleaded, "You're a marked expert, aren't you?"

"Oh, don't try to manipulate me now. You'll be on your own..." those were Ronan's last words before he turned around and walked out of that alley.

Now, it seemed that Fynn and Yue had been left alone. Still, Fynn wasn't planning to stand idly by just because that man wasn't planning to help them.

After they had had their discussion, the marked children went to where the prisoners had been taken, following the shouts and jeers of the community from a distance. Once there, they decided to set up a watch behind some run-down houses while devised some plans.

The fortress of the Eastfront guard was enormous, only they had not noticed it because it was on the other side of the city, and the castle of the place hid it. At all hours, it seemed to be guarded by dozens of men who, from their towers, watched everything that happened in the surroundings.

The closer they got to the place, the more depressing and destroyed the state of the city looked, the streets were a mess, and the mud or stone buildings seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. It contrasted greatly with the castle from where the area council ruled control and even more so with the markets and districts where money flowed.

Hours passed, and Fynn watched the fortress and its surroundings closely while Yue tried not to follow her instincts and get out of there.

"What are we still doing here?" asked Yue, sitting on some barrels, wishing she didn't step into the muddy alley.

The boy seemed to be paying no attention to her, his eyes darting back and forth over the walls, carts entering the place, and the men coming in and out.

The girl sighed and soon looked at her friend, "What if that old man is right and it's dangerous to go in? What if The White Flame is there?" argued Yue, perhaps trying to convince her friend not to do that. "Fynn, do you have anything?"

The boy soon stood up as he heard a horse whinnying down one of the streets and ran into the alley that led to this one. Yue and Ronan looked at each other, then turned to the boy.

"Your plan is no good if you don't..."

"Well, here's the plan," Fynn interrupted.

True enough, bad luck would go against the poor militia member carrying that last hay delivery for the horses. The man in his padded armor and worn metal helmet was making his way up the city's dusty streets toward the fortress, hoping to reach it so he could take his last well-deserved rest of the day.

Unfortunately, his night was about to change abruptly when a boy crossed the path of his wagon.

"Stop!" the boy shouted.

The man, who was riding distracted, stopped abruptly, causing his horse to whinny in astonishment. Annoyed and distrustful, the man eventually unsheathed his sword, "What's the matter with you? Are you planning to rob me?"

"Not really, sir," the boy expressed hesitantly, raising both hands.

"I do plan to rob you," a voice to the man's side was heard. Then, quickly, Ronan mounted the carriage and knocked him out with an accurate blow to that city guard's face.

"What are you doing here?" asked Fynn, incredulous at how that man had opted to help them.

"Keeping you from doing something foolish," Ronan explained before letting out a heavy sigh. "Were you planning to steal his wagon?"

"Something like that..." the boy said sincerely.

Ronan slid his hand in front of his face and took on the illusory form of the man. "Fynn, you're the worst thief in all of Artia."

"It's about time you showed up," Yue said as she climbed into the back of the carriage, ready to hide in the hay.

"Sorry, but this 'old man' had to mull over whether it was a good idea to help you or not," Ronan expressed, kicking the city guard out of the carriage.