Fair.

“Are you still out of energy?” Timon asked.

“Well yeah, have you seen what I have to carry round?!” snapped Claire.

“I think we should stop here for the night, its a bad idea to travel in the dark.” Aella said, looking across the fields.

“oh yeah and how do you know?” jeered Claire.

“I… I have experience… besides from here we can see all around, the moonlight should let us know of anyone coming.”

“well that makes sense to me,” said Timon “we’ll take it in turns to be lookout. I don’t think there are any warriors in the area, but its best to be safe. I’ll take first shift, you two get some rest while you can.”

“don’t need to tell me twice.” Claire said relieved. Aella turned to see Claire had already pulled a sleeping bag out of his backpack and was climbing into it.

“just how much stuff do you carry around in that bag?”

“more than can fit, well… night!”.

Aella pushed down some grass to make do as a bed and Timon sat at the highest point of the hill they were on.

–

some time later, Aella walked up the hill to Timon.

“we don’t have to swap yet, there’s plenty of time before I need any sleep.” Timon smiled at Aella.

“it’s not that, I just cant sleep tonight.”

“oh,” Timon paused and looked towards the moon, “is it because of your past, or your present?”

“a little of both I guess.”

“What Claire said before, after you said we should stop here-”

“My mother… we… we were travelling at night and… she was…”

“Its ok, you don’t have to say, I can understand. When I was five my parents died in a flood. I kind of envy them in a way now I think about it.”

“you want to be dead?”

“not really, but if I’m going to die, I’d rather not be killed in a fight.”

“…”

“…”

“Timon, will we really try and kill each other someday?”

“I honestly don’t know, I’d rather not, you seem like an ok person, even if you are a little stupid.”

Timon smiled wickedly at Aella. Aella shoved him playfully,

“Heeey! You keep saying stuff like that and maybe I wont have any problems killing you.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it, I think Claire will kill us both long before anyone else will.”

the two laughed for a minute, then looked out at the moon.

–

some miles from Koob, A woman with a fringe almost has tall as her sat with some shady looking men in a shady looking bar.

“And why shouldn’t we just kill you and take your bracelet?”

The woman toyed with a flute she had holstered at her side and looked at the three men;

“Well I don’t mean to brag,” the woman grinned, “But I’m a pretty cold bitch, I would kill you in seconds. If you take them on you at least stand a chance, if you can best them, two of you can join the competition.”

“And what do you get out of it?”

“Oh? I enjoy making things interesting. Besides sooner or later I’ll have to fight whoever is wearing those bracelets, if it’s you guys or someone else I don’t care, but this way I find out how strong my opponent is.”

One of the men put his drink down on the table and looked at the woman.

“You’re a dangerous type of woman, to say so plainly we will die whatever.” the man leaned back in his chair alongside his companions, “So how do we know they will be where you say?”

The woman held up her arm and the men saw the bracelet with three glowing beads on it.

“The direction it pulls in, it’s certain they will be where I say, they are travelling to Koob so you can easily head them off, ambush them if you’d like.” the woman finished her drink. “I too am heading to Koob to see an old friend, if you defeat the others feel free to come after me too.”

she stood up and walked past the men, “but if you do, make sure you put up an entertaining fight. I hate it when my enemies die too fast, it makes for a boring dance.”

The woman left the bar and the three men were left to their thoughts and their drinks, she was truly an intimidating woman.