He still had no idea how anyone could wake up so early. If it wasn’t for the light rain gently tapping against the walls outside waking him up, he probably wouldn’t’ve at all. He hastily got dressed, strapping on his armor and sheathing his axe as he walked downstairs.

Everyone was already waiting for him. Everyone except Nalia, at least.

“Looks like everyone’s ready,” Talion yawned, rubbing his eyes.

“Your girlfriend is outside with the horses,” Dyra said.

“Horses…? Wait - no, we’re just… We’re just friends. Did - did you say horses?”

Dyra squinted, obviously not believing a word he was saying. “Yeah. There’s a few horses outside. Enough for all of us, actually. They just appeared in the stables this morning.”

“Where did they come from…?” Talion asked.

Dyra shrugged. “I’m guessing from our mutual friend. May need it for the job. Shipment delivery and all.”

They are turned to walk outside.

“So how many are there?”

“One of all of us, actually. And a hog for Aigor.”

A hog?

Dyra was right. There was a hog. What she didn’t tell him, however, was how massive it was. The animal was big enough and fat enough to ram a fully grown man onto his back if it wanted to. It was out in the open, roaming freely as if it was just some farm animal. It would’ve been more intimidating too if its nose hadn't been glued to the ground, searching for the next worm or ant to gobble up. The hog stopped abruptly when he heard them approach. His head snapped up, ears twitching as he sniffed at the air. He stood tall, tail swishing behind him.

Talion was so focused on the beast of an animal in front of him, that he almost completely ignored the other three horses in their own separate stalls. There was a gray one with a white mane that was spotted with black dots all across its body. Next to it was a slightly bigger horse with a solid black coat and mane. Lastly, there was a horse with a reddish-brown coat and a back mane and a size similar to the black one.

All the horses, including the hog, were already saddled up. The only thing Talion had to do now was choose a horse. But before he could really decide, Dyra and Reiha already went forward to their own respective horses. Reiha walked to the gray one, and Dyra went to the reddish-brown one. The only one left was the black one.

“Okay big guy…” Talion said to the horse, walking up to the stall.

“That’s a mare,” Reiha stated matter-of-factly, already lifting herself up to mount her horse.

“Okay, big girl…” Talion corrected.

He placed one foot up on the stirrup, quickly lifting himself up and his other leg over. His hands gripped onto the horn of the saddle, desperate to not let go. He grabbed a hold of the reins.

It was right then when Talion asked, “So how do I make the horse move…?”

“You gotta grip the horse with your legs.” The voice came from Nalia. She came up through the front gate, on top of a white horse.

¨Seems like you already got the hang of it,” Talion said.

Like Dyra with her glaive, Nalia had her spear supported against her shoulder.

Talion squeezed. The horse suddenly moved forward.

“Woah-” Talion gasped, hanging on for dear life.

“Everyone ready to go?” Nalia asked.

Talion rode slowly out of the front gates. Nalia, who seemed to be the most confident in horse riding, was leading up front. It didn’t take too long to get into town. Much faster than waking at least.

When they arrived at the edge of town, Talion instantly noticed the severe lack of… Well, anyone. Probably because it was still early in the morning. Maybe because the rain started picking up. Either way, the lack of noise compared to yesterday unsettled him.

“The cobbler’s just over here,” Nalia called out to the others.

Talion thought getting on was hard enough. But he had yet to consider the fact that he was going to have to get off. As they came to the entrance of the cobber’s, Talion shifted in his saddle. He lifted up his leg and around. But as he did so, he slipped, almost falling on the ground. Just in time, he managed to catch himself and land on his two feet.

“I’ll watch the horses,” Reiha said. “...And the hog.”

The remaining four walked up the steps to the door. Nalia and Dyra left their weapons leaning against the wall.

“I’m telling you, I saw Him,” was the first thing Talion heard when he opened the door.

“It could just be a dream,” said a reassuring voice. “Have you tried talking to Murdock? He used to be a keeper. He could help.”

Talion looked to see where the voices were coming from. There was a man, who from his sloped demeanor and baggy eyes showed that he hadn’t slept all night. In front of him was a woman about the same age as the man, who was leaning against the counter.

“All I’m saying is that we don’t know -”

The man looked up when he realized the four walked in.

“There they are!” he almost yelled, though Talion didn’t think he could from how tired he looked. “There they-” his sentence came to an abrupt end as his line of sight met Talion. “You look… Exactly like Him.”

“I’m sorry about him,” the woman jumped in. “He didn't have much sleep last night. I’m Rivene. This is my husband, Burton.”

“Is he going to be alright?” Dyra whispered.

Rivene nodded. “He had a dream,” she told them in a hushed tone. “He saw… Something. Someone. I’m still trying to dig more information out of him. Long story short, we know you’re here to help.”

“What do you need us to do?” Aigor asked.

“We’ve been having some troubles,” she answered. “Days ago, we ordered a shipment from the tanner at Frent - a ways west of here. A bunch of leather for shoes. But the thing is, everyone there is too afraid to actually deliver it for some mysterious reason.”

“You’d like us to go and bring the shipment here?” Nalia asked.

“Yes. If you can.”

“We’ll do it,” Talion said.

“Thank you. Thank you so very much. Here, take this,” she reached into her pocket, taking out a folded up note. “Hendri owns the tanner at the edge of town. Give this to her. She’ll know it’s from us.”

Talion took the note.

“Head directly west. There’ll be a path leading there. If you see a massive boulder with two trees next to it, you’ll know you’re heading the right way.”

“I hope your husband feels better,” Nalia said.

“Thank you. I hope so too.”

Reiha was busy swatting away the hog, who was desperately trying to sniff her leg.

“You all are back.” She sounded relieved, again stepping back from the hog. “What’d I miss?”

As everyone climbed back onto the mount, Talion explained everything.

“...And who exactly did he see?” Reiha questioned.

“Maybe Chaos, maybe Morpheus,” Talion responded. “God of dreams and such. I don’t know. Either way, you should’ve seen the poor guy.”

“Well, he did say whoever he saw looked exactly like you,” Aigor stated.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Talion asked.

“Excuse me,” Nalia said, “Have you seen yourself?”

“Yeah, I’ve been in front of a mirror.”

“And have you seen Chaos?”

“I don’t think I follow.”

“You look like a somewhat younger, scrawnier copy of Him,” Dyra told Talion.

“No, I don’t,” Talion scoffed. "Wait, what do you mean by 'scrawnier'?"

“You are like a spitting image of Him,” she responded.

“She’s not lying,” Aigor added. “Have you not noticed that?”

“I haven’t, because I don’t look like Him.”

“And that is what we call ‘denial’” Nalia said.