“My sword!” he cried out, watching it disappear downstream.

Just as the roar of a waterfall grew deafening and the two spun violently towards the precipice, the water around them began to behave strangely. It slowed, then shuddered, and finally stilled completely, as if an invisible hand had pressed pause on the river itself. Leonotis and Low found themselves suspended in the motionless water, mere feet from the cascading drop. They instinctively paddled towards the nearest bank, the unnatural silence amplifying their frantic movements.

As they reached the muddy shore and collapsed, gasping for breath, they saw the source of the aquatic miracle. A young girl stood waist-deep in the stilled water, her arms outstretched, her expression one of immense concentration.

“Thank you,” Low said, her voice hoarse. “You saved us.”

“You’re welcome,” the girl replied, her voice barely a whisper, her blue eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

Low, ever practical, was about to suggest they move on, but the sheer power Jacqueline had just displayed made her pause. To stop a river, right before a waterfall… it was an astonishing feat of magic. “What are you doing out here?” Low asked, her usual suspicion tinged with awe. “In the middle of the night? What is your name?”

“My name is Jacqueline."

"What are you doing out here by yourself?" Leonotis asked.

"I… I just escaped some bandits,” Jacqueline said, her voice trembling slightly. “They… they were awful. I’m on my way North.”

“Then we can travel together,” Low said, a flicker of relief in her eyes. “There’s safety in numbers, especially if bandits already came after you. We can stay in the forests to hide more easily. With any luck, they'll think we fell off the waterfall.”

"Okay," Jacqueline said.

Leonotis suddenly felt a tickling sensation against his skin. He reached inside his damp clothes and pulled out a small, purple fish, still wriggling. “Hey, look! Dinner!” he exclaimed, a rare smile gracing his lips.

Before he could even consider cooking it, Low’s hand shot out, slapping the fish out of his grasp. It flopped onto the muddy bank. Then, she kicked it back into the water with surprising force.

“What was that for?” Leonotis asked, bewildered.

Low and Jacqueline exchanged dumbfounded glances. “River fish?” Low said, her voice incredulous. “Most of them around here are poisonous! And this river itself isn’t good to be in for too long.”

Jacqueline nodded in agreement. “It carries… things. Unpleasant things.” The memory of her escape seemed to cloud her features again.

As they began to walk along the riverbank, Leonotis found himself falling into a familiar role. He initially walked slightly ahead, his senses on alert, scanning their surroundings. I’m like Gethii now, he thought with a surge of pride. Protecting people. Then, deciding they needed someone to watch their backs, he dropped into the rear guard position. He glanced back at Low and Jacqueline, a sense of responsibility settling over him. His gaze drifted down and he noticed a strange marking on Low’s lower back, just visible above the hem of her tattered red shorts. Some kind of birthmark, he thought.

“Is that a birthmark on your back?” Leonotis asked, pointing.

Low’s head snapped around, her eyes flashing with anger. “Stop looking at my butt, you little sneak!”

Leonotis’s face flushed crimson. “Sorry! I wasn't… I didn’t mean to…” He mumbled an embarrassed apology and quickly averted his gaze.

They eventually found a small clearing to make camp. “I’ll take the first watch,” Leonotis offered, wanting to prove his worth.

Low snorted, unimpressed. “Just… don’t do anything stupid while we’re sleeping, alright?”

As he sat by the small fire, the image of his lost root-sword flickered in his mind. He doubted he’d ever find another one like it. Then, his gaze fell upon a tangled mess of roots near the edge of the clearing. On a whim, he tugged at one of the thicker strands. It came free easily. He pulled again, and to his astonishment, he unearthed another root, this one even straighter and sturdier than the last, with a natural curve that formed a perfect hilt. A surge of excitement coursed through him.

He stood up and began to practice the simple sword swings Gethii had taught him, the new root-sword feeling surprisingly balanced in his hand. He felt a prickling sensation, the feeling of being watched. He froze, his hand tightening on the hilt, and peered into the dense bushes bordering the clearing. A pair of eyes, glowing faintly in the darkness, stared back at him.

“Low! Jacqueline!” Leonotis stumbled backward, his voice cracking with alarm.

But they were already upon them. Four rough-looking men, their faces hardened and cruel, emerged from the surrounding trees. They brandished rusty swords and wicked-looking knives. “Alright, brats,” one of them sneered, his eyes glinting in the firelight. “Give it up. Anything of value.”

Leonotis knew these weren’t just hungry villagers. These were real bandits, the kind who wouldn’t hesitate to kill them even after they surrendered. His mind raced. He remembered a complex, ten-strike technique Gethii used to practice alone by the clinic, a fluid dance of parries and thrusts. He hadn’t been formally taught it, but he had watched, memorized, and practiced the movements in secret.

He gripped his new root-sword, took a deep breath, and charged. He moved faster than he thought possible, his body remembering the sequence. He knocked out the first bandit with three swift blows to the head before the man even registered his approach. The second bandit lunged with a knife, but Leonotis parried the attack with the root-sword, the impact jarring his arm. The next four strikes flowed seamlessly, a whirlwind of motion, and the second bandit crumpled to the ground with a sharp gasp, clutching his gut.

Now the other two bandits were on him, and Leonotis knew his memorized sequence only had two strikes left. Low, meanwhile, had scrambled to gather her rocks. Just as the largest bandit moved in for the kill, Low hurled a stone. It struck the bandit in the back of the head, throwing him off balance. Leonotis seized the opportunity, thrusting his root-sword towards the bandit’s chest, the hard wood connecting solidly and sending the man sprawling with a grunt of pain. He then swung down with all his might, the heavy root connecting with the man’s shoulder, further incapacitating him.

The last bandit stared at his fallen comrades, his eyes wide with disbelief. “Unbelievable,” he muttered. He drew a throwing knife and flung it at Leonotis. Leonotis dodged the knife, but a second one was already hurtling towards him. Just as it was about to strike, a rock slammed into the knife, deflecting it, but not enough. The knife struck Leonotis’s shoulder, a searing pain shooting through him. “Argh!” he cried out, but he still stood his ground, his root-sword held defensively. The last bandit, realizing he was outnumbered and outmatched, decided to cut his losses. “You haven’t seen the last of me, brats!” he snarled before disappearing into the darkness.

Jacqueline rushed to Leonotis, who had fallen to his knees, clutching his bleeding shoulder. She gently pulled the knife out. “Argh!” Leonotis yelled again, the pain sharp and immediate. After a quick examination, Jacqueline’s brow furrowed with concern, but she seemed to find some relief. She placed her hands over the wound, said a few magic words, and the water in her canteen began to glow with a soft, ethereal light. She poured the glowing water over Leonotis’s shoulder. It was strong healing magic; the bleeding immediately slowed and a small scar was all that was left.

“Thank you,” Leonotis said surprised this young girl's magic seemed stronger than Chinakah's.

Jacqueline looked at him and then at Low, her blue eyes wide with admiration. “You two… you’re amazing fighters. My friends were...” She trailed off, her voice catching.

Low, ever practical, was already stripping the fallen bandits of anything useful. She gathered a few coins, some rough blankets, and a map of the area. “We’ve got supplies for the road now,” she said, her voice matter-of-fact.

Leonotis looked at the still bodies. “Are they… dead?”

Low shook her head. “No. Just… very much out of the fight. Which is why we need to move. Now.”