The need to keep tabs on Pike was readily explained away by the hostile atmosphere that Elion's friends had continued to perpetuate. "If they don't start something, Pike will," Rel told Min, "If you don't want to see him beaten to a pulp, don't let him out of your sight." While Min might not be the strongest of the three, he was nothing if not committed when it came to ensuring the safety of the others.

Stuck like a limpet, Pike couldn't even take a piss without him following.

"You can wait with Rel, you know. It's not like they'd jump me with The Protector's men hanging around. The officers are keeping a tighter rein so they'll have no cause for complaint."

"Better safe than sorry," stated Min, "And now that your duties with the witch have come to an end, you've no reason to go running off without us."

"Min..."

"Hofingrad isn't so bad you know. I had this strange feeling, that Rel would keep you for a time in Velmund, but then return without you. That this would be the last I saw of you."

Pike straightened his clothes, the carriage out of sight, and no other soul close enough to hear him. "Min, there is nothing for me back home."

"That's not true! You have lived there all your life, your friends, your home; how could you think of leaving that behind? The world is cruel, Pike, have you not seen it for yourself? These big cities and brutish soldiers are not worth your efforts. Isn't it better to live with those that love you, in peace, seclusion? With nothing to prove..?"

"I want that," Pike confessed, "But not in Hofingrad. Min, I don't want to stay in Velmund, there is another place for me. Far from here... but far better, I'm sure. And I wouldn't be alone."

"You would take Rel?"

Pike took a breath. "No, not Rel."

He couldn't bring himself to tell him of his feelings for the witch, it would only serve to fuel Min's disapproval. The concern etched across his friend's face already betrayed his sense of exclusion. Min was happiest at home, with nothing changing, and his friends content to stay beside him; even his sweethearts, he had known from childhood. Without the sudden need to bolster his finances, Min might never have seen so much of the Cimbran Isle in his lifetime.

"Well, it's of no matter. Let's get home and think it over again. Maybe in another hundred years or so you'll find you've changed your mind entirely."

Having cheerfully asserted his own agenda, Min ushered Pike to go and find Rel. He wasn't in the spot they'd set aside to lay their heads, and scanning the number of resting troops, it was clear he was not the only one missing.

Elion and his wounded pride were sitting alone by the fire when the pair approached.

"Look," he said, as though expecting them, "Whatever's happened, I've had no part in it. I told them to let it go."

Panic struck Pike while Min was still making sense of what he'd said. They needed to find Rel. Quickly.

"Where have they taken him?" asked Pike.

The night's camp was close to a disused sawmill, long since abandoned when the stream dried up. The wooden remnants of its buildings were littered across the landscape, and offering pockets of cover for those in need of privacy. While two officers were taking advantage of a discreet location in which to enjoy one another's company, in the opposite direction, Rel had found himself in an even tighter spot. 

Thinking Pike was the only one among them likely to be in any danger from the disgruntled troops, he'd failed to take into account how low they'd stoop. In finding the weaker Rel without his friends to back him, he'd either serve as bait to lure in Pike, or make a decent punching bag to vent their frustrations.

Behind the former water wheel, three of Elion's friends had requested a word to discuss compensation. When Rel asked why it needed to be so far from the camp, excuses of Elion's pride and not wanting to disturb the officers had been enough to convince him. That and the way they'd surrounded him with no means to refuse.

"If all you want is money," said Rel, "Then fine! When we finish this job you can take it. Once the Maddening Witch is delivered to Velmund we'll get our share. It's not like I can't survive without it back in Hofingrad. No need to trouble Pike; I will pay you."

"Can you buy honor..?" asked one of the soldiers, "If it was just a matter of price, then we'd have every right to all three of your wages. But I'm afraid that's not enough to cover it."

"Then... what do you want?" asked Rel.

"For that friend of yours to properly learn his place."

"He knows well enough; we all do. It was just a moment of anger, is it really worth this much trouble? Regardless of where we come from or how we got here, aren't we working together now?"

The Cimbran soldiers didn't like to be reminded that their years of training and hardship were being rewarded at virtually the same rate as a trio of useless yokels. They were there to be made fun of; to dig the latrines and fall for their scams, not to presume themselves on equal footing.

A fist flew out at Rel before he had time to dodge it.

"Fuck! Seriously? Look, I don't mind finding a way to work things out between us, but this is a bit-"

The second punch didn't land too easily.

"Right!" shouted Rel, testing his jaw as he sniffed and readied himself; "Let's not fuck around then!"

Had it been Min that Elion's friends had cornered, things might have played out differently. While Pike remained the best fighter in Hofingrad, his loyal compatriot Rel had secured the second spot. He didn't enjoy dirtying his hands, and would rather solve issues that arose with cash rather than blood; but since the former hadn't worked, he was forced to resort to the latter.

Although not entirely out of his depth, three trained soldiers proved harder opposition than the usual drunken louts he'd dealt with in Forinstad. It was fortunate that Rel's resounding voice had led Pike and Min to come to his rescue. A brief scuffle dominated by Pike's right hook, had things quickly in order; and meant that Min hadn't needed to lift a finger himself in order to subdue them.

"Are you okay?" Pike asked his friend.

"I'll be alright in a moment," Min confessed, "But it was certainly a shock wasn't it?"

"I'm fine," said Rel, rolling his eyes before directing them at the soldiers on the ground, "I'm not sure they'll let this one go, though."

Pike crouched down before them.

"Were you looking for me?" he asked, "Because as far as my friend Rel is concerned; he'd rather buy an asshole a drink than lay hands on them by choice. If you wanted a fight, you need only have come to me directly."

"We only wanted a word with him," the soldier spat back, "He's the one that took things too far."

Pike looked to Rel to clarify his version of events. 

"They landed the first," he explained, "But I took it kind of personal."

"Could you blame him?" asked Pike.

"If you hit a dog it should stay down!" was the soldier's misguided reply.

He didn't deserve the dignity of a strike from Pike's knuckles. A swift backhand got his point across just fine. It wasn't that Pike wanted to provoke them, or even that he felt he needed to fight Rel's battles for him; but he genuinely seemed like the kind of bastard that would think nothing of hitting a dog.

"Tomorrow we go our separate ways," said Pike, "You'll never see any of us again. Whatever affront you feel has been made, consider it a lesson learned and think no more about it. We have no quarrel so much as a need to defend ourselves; say what you will of Hofingrad and its people, we'll none of us be in Velmund past payday."

Whether the soldier would have acquiesced or spat in his face, Pike never found out; the errant officers had followed the sound of their voices after cleaning themselves up, and were quick to send the scattered forces back to the camp where they belonged.

"If we weren't under the thumb of the Protectorate's men, your return would be marked with a public flogging," they were told, "Back to your beds before they notice you're missing and we'll say no more about it."

While Rel was satisfied that Pike had been distracted from his thoughts of the witch, he failed to notice his eyes, trained on the carriage and full of intent. There was no body of water nearby with which they could make their escape; but he'd heard tales of the river that ran through Velmund. Just because he'd lost an opportunity tonight, it didn't mean he was ready to admit defeat.

Tomorrow, he told the witch in his heart, just wait until tomorrow...

As promised to Rel, Min had laid his pillow next to Pike, though felt uneasy about the exposure to his right. The angered troops had settled down some distance away, but Elion's bed remained not far from the fire. In the flickering orange hue, Min watched him; his bruised eye and bloodied lip gave all the appearance of a victim. No pity was owed. Of that, Min needed to remind himself. He narrowed his eyes and glowered in the near darkness.

"I told you," whispered Elion, his eyes locking with Min's, "It had nothing to do with me. As witnessed by my solitude, they were never such great friends of mine in the first place. Less so, now they've seen someone beat me."

"But great enough to seek revenge!" scoffed Min.

"Is that what you think?" asked Elion, "Or was it just an excuse they were looking for..?"

Rel raised his head from where he lay on the far side of Pike.

"Min, shut up and get some sleep. Don't fall for his lies."

Elion hadn't the energy to argue. He turned away and puffed up his meagre pillow, determined to sleep through all the bad opinions held of him. Whether the surprisingly capable men from Hofingrad, or the friends who'd deemed his faults too irredeemable to overlook, none of it would matter once he was home. Just one more night to endure.

One more night, and Pike would need to do something drastic. In the early hours, he sensed some movement by the carriage. Steeling himself to run to the witch's side, Rel took a firm unyielding hold of his wrist.

"If I cry out it wouldn't matter anyway," said Rel, "You could punch me and get over there, but they'd know to be on their guard. Stay put, it's better that way for both of you."

The Protectorate were known for two things; their unquestionable authority and their formiddable fighting ability. The daggers at their waists were not merely for decoration. A run in with three of their elites would not be so easily won as a brawl with a handful of soldiers; Pike would be killed before he got within striking distance. The carriage door was opened, and two of the men slipped in before it was bolted behind them. 

"Did you see?" asked Pike, "If they had food or water with them?"

"The witch will survive regardless," said Rel, "They won't have gone to all this trouble to return with a corpse."

Pike held his breath as he waited for their business to conclude. Whatever they wanted to discuss, it was clear that the officers had not been notified; they would not have continued to sleep so soundly knowing that their superiors were awake before them. After an eternity, the sky began to lighten, and the bolt withdrawn. As the men stepped coolly out onto the dew-covered sod, Pike thought he heard sobbing before the carriage door was forcefully shut.

His body tensed beneath Rel's cautious grip.

"You've seen all there was to see," said Rel, "Now lie down and try to rest... whatever idiotic thing you're thinking, it can wait until the sun comes up."