They left the camp through the trees, instead of taking the road, and made their way up to the gorge. The sun was still setting, exaggerating the shadows and setting a chill in the air. Night would fall beneath the trees long before it did in the sky.

There was just enough light to be sure no one was following them, but not enough light to let anyone see them from a distance.

Abi wasn’t too bad at walking among the trees in the near dark, but she still made too much noise. Even the slightest of sounds travelled when it got dark, and while there was no way to move completely silently, there were ways to sound more like the animals.

“Watch me.” Lyssa whispered.

She placed her hands on the trunks of trees for balance, and made sure her feet found solid ground before committing her weight to the step.

Abi did exactly as she was told. She placed her feet where Lyssa had stepped, and moved when she moved. Her usual chaotic energy focused into learning from the warrior. Gradually the noise she made became indistinguishable from the noises of other nocturnal animals.

They found the gorge and climbed the hill. This was more dangerous than simply walking through a forest in the dark. It was hard to tell if the ground you were placing your foot on would give way when pressure was applied. It was a long way to fall if you made a misstep.

Abi only made one mistake, when she got tired of taking it slow, and tried to climb using just the ground. Lyssa made sure she was there to grab her arm and stop her descent when the inevitable happened.

“Use the trees, they won’t give way under you, and take your time.” Lyssa said.

They reached the top of the gorge where the trees thinned out into a plateau of solid rock. The sun had already set and the horizon only held one thin red line to show it’s passing. The rest of the sky ranged from dark blue to black.

Abi looked back the way they had come. “The camp is really obvious.” She said.

Lyssa looked back at the glowing patch of light about a mile from the gorge. She scanned the rest of the horizon but could see no evidence of other camps. “There’s no way to hide a group that big, if we tried we would be telling the enemy we were weak, and that’s all your enemy needs to attack. Besides they already know we’re here, we might be able to capture one of them.”

“So it’s a trap.”

“Yes.”

“But if they attack us then they attack, where’s the trap part?”

“They won’t attack in mass, not until we try to get the wagon through the gorge.” Lyssa said, as she approached the edge. “I just want to see if they have anyone scouting like we are. They might even try to sabotage us, and then we’ll have a prisoner to interrogate. That won’t happen until most of the camp is asleep though, so we have plenty of time to scout this area.”

The warrior peered down into the darkness, unable to see the bottom, so she kicked a loose stone and listened for the impact.

“What are we scouting for?” Abi asked, from where she had stayed at the tree line, not even trying to come close to the edge.

It was the most cautious thing she’d ever seen Abi do.

“The enemy camp mostly.” Lyssa said. “If they always set an ambush in this gorge then they must be set up nearby. Also traps. If I was going to ambush someone following the path this would be the perfect place to set traps. We’re at a height where even the smaller rocks you throw will cause damage. So imagine if an avalanche was set up. It could kill everyone, or trap them down there while you have archers pick them off, or warriors attack from behind.”

“That’s a lot of options.” Abi sank down to sit at the foot of a tree.

“Are you okay?”

“Sure, just wondering what’s going to happen tomorrow.”

“Just because the worst could happen, doesn’t mean it will. Be prepared. These bandits may kill when they attack, but their aim is to steal. They want what’s in the wagon, it’s all about survival to them. Kill enough of them and they’ll retreat.”

“Is that the plan? To kill just enough of them to stop the attack?”

“It’s going to be part of it. No plan survives first contact with the enemy, so I only go to battle with half formed plans and as many options as I can think of.”

Abi had gone very still where she sat. “How many options do we have?”

“Not as many as I would like.” Lyssa left her perch at the edge of the gorge and sat next to the girl. “You can go home if you want. I’ll send a mercenary with you. This life is not for everyone.”

“No, I want to help, and I know I can. You’ll need me to tend to the wounded. It’s just a lot more daunting when you lay everything out like that.”

“Much easier to rush an enemy in the heat of the moment, with no backup, to save a boy you barely know, than to stop and think about if they’re going to sacrifice you too.”

“Hey,” Abi nudged Lyssa’s side with her elbow, “I’ve only done that once and I did realise how stupid it was, when they tied me up. I guess I’m not that brave.”

“There are different kinds of bravery. You can’t be brave if you’re not scared. Even if you get scared after you do the stupid thing.”

They sat in silence watching the red line on the horizon disappear to black, as the stars became more prominent in the sky. Eventually she spotted a flicker of light at least five miles from the gorge. It wasn’t a big enough fire to be the bandit camp, but it might lead her to it. She took note of where it was in relation to the gorge and the road.

They descended the side of the gorge, back the way they came, making sure to take the same route and disturb as little as possible. Abi’s concentration slipped several times on the way down as her exhaustion began to show.

At the base of the hill Lyssa stopped. There was a quiet to the forest that disturbed the warrior. There should have been a lot more animal noises.

“What…” Abi started to speak, but Lyssa covered her mouth with her hand.

She placed one finger over her own lips and then tugged on her ear. Abi froze in place.

There was something moving beneath the trees.

They waited for what must have felt like a very long time to Abi, who couldn’t keep still, and tugged at the belt around her waist. Lyssa didn’t try to stop her because she was making no noise, and the only reason the warrior knew Abi was fiddling with it was because they were pressed together.

Eventually, Lyssa decided that the other person was far enough ahead that they wouldn’t notice they were being followed. She was pretty sure it was a person by the height, and the deliberate way they moved.

As they made their way back through the trees, Lyssa only caught the barest hint that they were still following the right shadow. The snap of a branch, or the clinking of loose stones against each other.

They would be making all the same noises, but she was counting on the person worrying more about what was in front of them than behind. They wouldn’t want to stumble upon the camp, or any sentries posted.

Abi had completely lost the focus she had had on the way to the gorge, and made a lot more mistakes on the way back. Although it could also be she was eager to see who they were following.

When they were close enough to the camp to see the glow of the fire through the trees, she made Abi wait, and ventured on alone.

Now she could see as well as hear the spy. They were keeping low and moving slowly, but the light clearly outlined them everytime they moved.

Most of the camp was asleep. There were only a few mercenaries still awake and taking their turns in the trees as lookouts.

She waited for the stranger to make their move. She wanted to see what specifically they were after, and what they had been ordered to do.

The fire was burning lower and lower, as the last person gave up their task in the face of the declining light, and tucked themselves into their bedroll.

Lyssa could hear the noise of Abi making her way through the dark, but the spy in front of her was thankfully too focused on the camp to notice. Or was too close to their goal to care.

They stood up and entered the camp, looking down at the sleeping people, searching for someone.

Light glinted off metal, as they pulled a small thin blade from their sleeve.

Lyssa pulled a dagger. With a flick of her arm it flew through the air.

It sliced the spy’s hand.

The blade they carried dropped to the ground with a thud.

The target stirred as their sleep was disturbed. Silver hair glinted in the firelight.

Lyssa was halfway across the camp when the spy drew their sword.

Rithrin was still half asleep on the ground, with no idea of the assassin above her.

Lyssa kicked a burning log from the fire.

It hit the assassin in the chest, while ash and burning sparks covered his face.

His free hand wiped at his eyes, smearing blood across his face as he attempted a retreat.

Vat woke and roared for the rest of the camp to wake.

Bodies sprang up from where they laid and blocked the assassin’s exit. None of them spotted the threat in their midst. They all looked to the forest for the danger.

Lyssa jumped the fire.

She drew her sword in mid air and landed in time to parry a blow meant for the trader.

The angle of her blade put her at a disadvantage to parry the next strike as cleanly. Blood sprayed from her arm.

The pain didn’t slow her down, but she was wrong footed as he pressed his advantage.

He attacked with quick ferocity while all she could do was defend.

One of the villagers charged the assassin with his sword raised. The blow never landed as the man danced out of the way.

The assassin returned the favor with a strike to the villagers head.

The attack would have killed him if Lyssa hadn’t tripped the villager and then deflected the next swing.

The assassin froze, his body becoming rigid where he stood.

The entire camp was awake and the assassin surrounded. Shira stood at his back, with the tip of his sword digging into the assassin’s spine.

“Surrender.” He demanded.

The assassin placed his blade at his feet and put his hands in the air.

Lyssa stepped forward resting the tip of her sword at the base of his neck.

Shira lowered his blade, but didn’t sheathe it. He helped Rithrin to her feet and guided her away from the assassin.

Vat was busy bringing the camp back into order and making sure there were no other enemies waiting in the forest.

“Don’t you want to see how that fight was going to end?” The Assassin smiled at her. “I was having fun, weren’t you?” His hands were slowly making their way to his back.

She stepped closer and pressed her blade to his throat. “Don’t move.”

“You won’t kill me, or you'd have already done it.”

She glared at him. Her blade pricked his throat and produced a bead of blood.

He gritted his teeth but his hands didn’t stop their reach for his hidden weapon.

The sound of metal on bone startled her out of the standoff. The assassin slumped sideways to collapse on the ground. Shira stood behind where the assassin had been standing. A sword held in one hand.

“Now is not the time.” He reprimanded her.

She grunted her assent, feeling shame curl in her stomach at what she had almost let happen. The assassin wasn’t the best swordsman she had ever met, but he was quick on his feet, and provided a challenge that she rarely got.

Abi appeared at her shoulder, poking the wound on Lyssa’s arm with no warning and making more blood flow down her arm. The girl led her to the other side of the fire, away from the unconscious assassin and tried to make her sit down.

Bouda was stamping her hooves and making a commotion where she had been hitched, and just generally causing problems for anyone who came near.

“I need to go calm Bouda down.”

Abi looked over at the horse. “She can wait.”

“Can she?” Lyssa asked, amused at Abi taking charge.

She made the warrior sit down on a log and got out her medical kit. “I think this needs to be stitched.” She was squinting in the dark and almost had her nose pressed to Lyssa’s arm.

The warrior stopped a passing mercenary and told him to build the fire back up.

She hissed as Abi cleaned the wound with rubbing alcohol and then set about stitching the skin back together.

Lyssa watched as rope was found, and the assassin tied up. His hands and feet bound together, so tight he would be lucky if he didn’t lose the feeling in them. He’d be even luckier to escape with no permanent injuries.

She would be watching him very closely, and if there was even the smallest sign he was going to get free she’d cripple him. She wanted to see how cocky he still was when his dominant hand was chopped off, instead of just maimed.

He was right that she had been enjoying the fight, enjoying the possibility that she could lose. The camp, Rithrin, and everything else beyond the present moment had faded away, and all there had been was the desperation of surviving the next blow, keeping her feet and gripping her sword tight.