Punol slumped back against the rock, exhaustion lining his face.

“Feck” he swore softly to himself. “And I almost thought we’d done it for a second.”

He looked at his leg, with the arrow sticking out of it. He’d broken off the shaft, sometime during the mad dash to escape the horde of Bigs that had chased them, but he couldn’t pull it out. He wasn’t sure if it was barbed, or caught on something, but he knew that he was screwed either way. He was starting to contemplate cutting it out, when he heard a sound in the darkness surrounding him. He drew his dagger while hissing “Who’s there?”

He heard Hinta reply softly “It’s just me, Boss.”

He slumped over again, before saying “alright, get over here.”

Hinta walked into the small cluster of boulders that he was hiding in. The moon glowed brightly in a clear sky, giving off enough light for him to see that she looked as exhausted as he felt. But then again, two days and nights of riding, followed by a day of running from the Bigs would do that. She collapsed down on the ground next to him and lay there, breathing heavily for a few seconds.

“Do you know what happened to the others, Boss?”

“The guards went down first, in that first attack, as far as I know, at least two did. I think I saw that short guard with us after that, but in the whole rush, I couldn’t guarantee it.”

“Yeah, he made it that long. He was riding next to me. I didn’t see him fall either, but after the second attack I never saw him again.”

Punol sighed, then spat.

“I still don’t know how that attack happened. How did they get ahead of us like that? Did you see what happened to Yarnis? That big bang he made during that attack is what gave us the time to get away, but I never saw him after that. I hoped that he might have gotten away with some of the others, but I don’t know.”

“I heard him shouting that we should go ahead, so I’m guessing he knew he was done for. His pony had taken an arrow by then, so I guess he figured he’d sacrifice himself for us.”

“Damn it. For all that he was a feckless mage, he was a good man in the end. He knew his magic, that’s for sure.”

Hinta looked nervous about something and hesitated, before finally asking “How about Liaz? I saw him as we ran from that second attack, but then he disappeared.

Punol looked into the distance for a moment before answering.

“Yeah, I saw him. He was with me, and Ginara when we got separated that first time. I thought you and Traymon were done for after that. I don’t suppose that Traymon made it, did he?” he asked without any hope in his voice.

“Sorry, Boss. After we got separated from you guys, he reckoned that if we could make it to the river, we could drop a scent bomb and escape. We made it that far, but then he said we should separate in the river, so that there was more chance of one of us making it. I never saw him after that, but I heard a big bunch of noise in the direction he’d gone, so I don’t reckon he made it.”

She looked compassionately at him for a moment, before saying “I know he was your only real friend these days. How about Liaz? Where is he?”

He looked at her sadly, before replying “I sent him and Ginara ahead, while I stayed behind to muddle the track. I thought they would’ve been here long before I made it here, but since they ain’t, I reckon that they must’ve been get. Sorry bout that.”

She sighed sadly, but didn’t seem surprised.

“Not your fault, Boss. I figured once we got separated that we were all gonners, so I pretty much already decided he was done for.”

They both lay there for some time, before finally she spoke up again.

“So, what now, Boss? We make a break for it?”

He looked down at his leg again and said “I don’t reckon I’m gonna go nowhere. Not unless you’ve got a pony hidden somewhere” as he waved his hand at his leg. Hinta followed his gaze then swore.

“Ohh feck! That must hurt, Boss! Why didn’t you pull it out? Barbed?”

“Or caught on the bone, I’m not sure. Either way, I’m not walking any further with it in there. I’ve been waiting til it’s a bit lighter so that I can get a fire going before I start cutting, but I may not bother.”

“Oh come on, Boss! You can’t just give up!”

“Without a pony, I ain’t gonna get far enough to matter, so I been thinking that I might just make a big old fire, to draw them all in here. That way you’d be able to escape.”

“What? I ain’t leaving you, Boss! We can go together!”

“Come on, Hinta. We both know that I ain’t gonna make it, and someone has to get out and warn Elderfalls.”

Hinta looked puzzled as she replied “what do you mean?”

“Someone has to tell them about what happened here. You saw that second attack. That group was way too far out to have been more than one group, but it was too big. If groups that big are that far out in the Highs, it only means one thing, especially since we tried to take the Little.”

“They’re gonna start raiding again, aren’t they? But I thought you said that we had time!”

“I was wrong, lass. It happens.”

She swore then asked “what happened to the Little, anyway? I know we still had it before the second attack.”

“That fecking mage wouldn’t leave it, even though I told her that it was her only chance. She had it with her when her and Liaz went off, so who knows what happened to it. My guess is that it’s back with the monsters now.”

“Do you think that means they’ll stop chasing us then?” she asked hopefully.

“Not a chance. If anything, we’ve just made everything worse. If they weren’t about to raid before, then they definitely will now.”

He swore again then said “I told them this was a suicide mission. I just never thought it would be this bad.”

“So, what’s the plan then, Boss?”

“I reckon that you rest here tonight, while I keep watch. Then at first light, you head off. Keep down low as much as you can, and you should be alright to get out.”

“And you?”

“I’ll stay here and wait for you to get away. Once it’s been an hour or so, I’ll light a big ol’ fire here and draw them all in. If I throw in the rest of my scent pieces, then it’ll make enough of a bang to attract everything in the area and block off any scents. I might even take out one or two of them Bigs if I time it right.”

“Boss…”

“No, don’t worry about me. I’m not getting out of here, short of a miracle, and someone needs to warn them. You take any of the supplies we’ve got left and go for it.”

She seemed reluctant to do it, but finally she agreed.

“Alright, then, Boss. You can count on me!”

“I know I can, lass, I know. Now, you best get some rest. I’ll wake you in a few hours and you can head off.”

“Ok, Boss. As you say.”

She lay back and closed her eyes, exhaustion quickly winning the battle with emotion. While she did, he looked up at the stars and swore to himself gently.

“Fecking Traymon. You always did have a way of getting me into trouble.”

He sat for a while before speaking again “but I hope you made it out somehow. I’d like to have one last drink now, although a good punch to your face would be good.”

He rested his head against the rock behind him as he looked up and sat that way until the first light broke.

“Alright, lass” he said, shaking Hinta gently. “Time to wake up.”

She jerked awake, sitting up quickly before remembering where she was.

“Ahh, feck.”

“Up you get lass. Take this bag” he said, passing her one of his saddle bags that he had brought with him. “That’s all I’ve got.”

She took the bag from him, then quickly moved over to him and hugged him fiercely. He hugged her back with one arm, patting her back gently. A soft sob escaped her.

“Now, none of that, Lass. This is the life we chose for ourselves. We all know how it goes.”

She moved back, wiping her face.

“Alright, Boss. I’ll remember you to the town and make sure they don’t forget you.” She wiped her face again before asking “do you need me to do anything for you? Take care of anything you ain’t done?”

“Yeah, I reckon there’s a few things. Go to my place, you know how to get in. If you look under the bed, there’s a loose floorboard. There’s some coins under that, that you should take. Use it to pay up the rent to old miss Henson-Walden and see what she wants to do with the place. I dunno what will happen with the Company, but you could take care of it if you want. Although I dunno how well it could go. You make the best of it that you can though, if that’s what you wanna do.”

“Sure thing, Boss. I’ll make sure that the Company doesn’t die off! I’ll do it!”

“As you say, Hinta. Apart from that, you better go round to the other Companies and make sure you tell them what we saw. Tell them Punol said they better listen, or I’ll come back for them!”

He sighed then said “You better talk to the Council and ask them to send a message back to the Mages Academy and make sure they know what happened. They won’t want any trouble with them either.”

They sat for a few more moments then said “that’s it, lass. I ain’t got nothing more.”

She swallowed before standing up and saying “I’m off then, Boss. I’ll do it for you. I’ll make you all proud!”

“I know you will, lass. Now get going!”

She quickly moved off, jogging between boulders and trees, staying in the shadows. Within moments, he could no longer see her in the dim light. He sat and looked out, then started moving, building up the pile of wood in front of him, and going through the different items in his pouches, pouring some onto the wood, while others he made a bundle with.

“Alright, that should do it. If she hasn’t gotten away by now, then she won’t.”

With that, he made a spark with his flint, gently blowing on it to make the flame bigger. It quickly expanded over the dry wood, which was soon all alight. As the flames reached the different items he had poured onto it, different coloured smokes or flames would appear. Looking up, he saw a column of smoke reaching up into the sky, a clear sign that could be seen for miles around, in the growing light of day.

“That’s it then. That’s all I can do for you, lass. It’s your story now.”

He leant back against the rocks, bumping the bundle with his hip as he did. He listened to the various items inside it clink and clang before smiling.

“Well, it ain’t quite the last thing. At least I’ll go out having done some good.”

He sat then, thinking back over the journey that had led him to that spot, that time.

“It wasn’t all bad, which I reckon is the best we can ask for out of life. And who knows? If some of those religious types are correct, then we’ll get another go at it.”

Just then, he heard footsteps on the group behind him. Soon, footsteps and soft grunts were coming from all around. He sat there, hands on the ground next to him, as a solitary Big moved into the circle of rocks, on the opposite side of the fire. It slowly moved around the fire, stopping several yards away and crouching down as it looked at him. He stared back at it, trying to understand it, but found nothing. It was odd, the face looking at him didn’t seem angry or hateful, but also didn’t seem compassionate. If he hard to choose a word, it would’ve been ‘hard’.

“I always reckoned that it would be one of you that got me. Guess it had to happen, didn’t it?”

The Big just say looking at him further, then slowly stood up. Punol tightened his grip on the bundle that he had hid between his leg and the rock, watching the big approach. The Big pulled a long jagged dagger of it’s belt as it slowly approached.

“Guess there’s no chance of a bit of mercy, is there?” Punol said jokingly.

“No, there is not. No mercy for the betrayers.”

Punol jerked in shock at the harsh, guttural voice, then, as the Big got into arm’s reach and slowly pulled back it’s dagger, he threw his arm forwards, launching the bundle into the fire. The explosion it caused in the fire echoed across the sky, changing the fire into myriad bright colours and making the Big stumble and slamming Punol back against the rock, cracking his head on it. The last thing he saw before he passed out, was the Big reaching down towards him. His last thought was ‘I guess the fecking things can speak’. And with those last sensations, all went black.