ella sighed then decided to cooperate, the last thing she wanted was to be handed over to the king knowing what he is capable of
she walked over to a corner of the cage and sat down pulling her knees to her chest she rested her head on her knees and closed her eyes
"if i would have reacted faster i wouldnt be in this situation"
she sighed again shaking her head

Zenith looked at the cabin in front of them. She trusted Mathuriel, but she still had doubt in her mind. Nowadays, EVERYONE did. Still, she took Serena's hand and walked to the door.
*Knocks* "Anyone there?"

There was no response from the cabin. The woods were cold and unforgiving, the darkness nearly suffocating. Out away from the cabin, a figure stuck to the shadows, their eyes never leaving the people that stood outside the cabin.

Zenith waited for a minute and called again.
"Umm... we're coming in." Zenith turned the handle and stepped inside. She kept Serena to her back, and kept watch for any movement. Zenith brought out a tome and cast a flare not long enough to burn anything, but able to light up the cabin.

Mathuriel very stealthily (in his mind at least) made his way through various chokepoints in the building, trying to get to the jail cells.
"Come on... come on..."
Soon he had his info - from a cooperative guard who despite his training did NOT want to be eaten by carnivorous radishes from another dimension - and was creeping towards the cell room, so close, so close...

The figure moved closer to the cabin, whilst remaining out of sight. It would be an easy kill. Confined space, one exit, numerous gapes in the walls. It would have taken the entertainment out of the hunt, if he derived any from it.

Zenith breathed a sigh of relief. She put out the flame and told Serena to sit in the light, unsure of if she held any fear of the dark. Zenith went back outside to gather firewood, since she didn't know how long they'd be there. As she stepped on some leaves she jumped. Then, she took a moment to listen. Sure enough, it was far too quiet to be natural. Zenith drew her sword and crouched down, preparing to dodge the opening blow to a fight. Her eyes were flitting, but she stayed level-headed. She began to head back to the cabin to retrieve Serena. Zenith needed to make sure she was protected.

ella got up, slowly and cautiously walked over to the door of the cage
"im assuming you have this place guarded then considering your gonna let me roam around here freely?"
she stepped out of the cage
"would i be allowed to step outside and get some air?"
she looked over at the door which he came in from
"just for a moment"


allora, decided she wanted to take a closer look at the mansion. she cautiously made her way closer, studying the footprints on the ground she noticed hoof prints. heading in the opposite direction from the mansion
"from the look of it this place was surrounded, but the ones inside might have gotten away by horse"
she continued following the hoof prints on the ground, through the woods. spirit followed behind her, sky stillperched on her shoulder
"let see if we can track down where they went...if they were able to get away"

In the space of a couple of seconds, the figure had learnt two things: First, was that the person at the cabin was a woman. Second was that she was spooked, which made this hunt that much harder. He knew she'd be on her guard, meaning he'd have to take her down quickly and quietly.

Slowly, cautiously, he made his way to a perch with the best view of the cabin's interior, and notched a makeshift arrow into an equally makeshift bow, holding fire until the most opportune moment presented itself.

Mathuriel paused outside the door, hearing Jericho's voice.

Oh, damn, damn, double damn and Van Damme it! I can't take that guy one on one, he's some sort of elite. I'm going to have to create a distraction...
Hmmm...

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside, a stick fell and cracked off the ground as something moved in the tree tops just outside the building...

Zenith edged back to the cabin and motioned for Serena to follow silently.
"Watch my back." Zenith whispered. There had to be somewhere the hunter was hiding. It was getting dark, but Zenith couldn't risk the moment of paralysis a spell would cause. There had to be a better clearing somewhere. Zenith kept looking up occasionally as they passed under the branches.

ella stepped outside, walked over to the edge of the porch and sat down. she looked up at the stars, it was beautiful.
"so why me out of everyone, why was i the one to be taken captive?"
she looked over at jericho. she then heard a noise from the woods which caught her attention she turned and looked in the direction of the noise
"what was that?"

The hum of magic filtered through the night.
An acrid, fiery smell subtly began to creep along the air, though no source was visible.

------------------------------------------------

Mathuriel edged along the ground, round the edge of the camp.

If he takes his eyes off Ella for one moment, I can swipe her and dimension walk out. But he is annoyingly, hard, to, distract...

ella looked down
"the king took everything i ever loved away from me, he killed the only family i ever know, they didnt deserve to die, but he had them killed anyways."
she looked up at jericho
"i watch the kings army come into a village not far from where you attacked us, and completely wipe them out, taking no prisoners"
she looked back out the to forest
"every many, woman, and even children, they were all slaughtered. all because the king had ordered it. they went from town to town wiping everyone out"
she stopped for a moment
"the guards came in looking for soldiers to join his army, those that refused were killed along with their entire family, those that went, their families were taken captive as leverage to make sure they did what they were to do"
she sighed
"i knew everyone in the village, they were like family to me and he took them all, then had my fiance and his family murdered on my the day that was supposed to be my wedding day"
she looked back up at him
"does that answer your question?"

Mathuriel didn't even hesitate.
He stepped from the darkness, into full view of the pair. He also deactivated the portals to a lava world he had opened as a distraction. He played fair - now he had to hope Jericho would do the same.
"If that's your deal, Jericho, I accept."
Before Jericho could react, he leveled his glowing foci at the man.
"I would strongly advise caution, my friend - one wrong move and I WILL blast you. Should you somehow survive that, we will be long gone. However, seeing as you offer so sweet a bargain..."

His eyes narrowed. "Now, enough games. What's the catch?"

ella stood up upon seeing mathuriel and smiled but she stood where she was. she wasnt sure what would happen if she were to run to him, knowing the guards were still around. when mathuriel asked what the catch was she looked over at Jericho waiting for his reply

Mathuriel's eyes narrowed.
"Just, a handshake."
He beckoned.
"Let her go. Then you have my word of honor I will shake your hand."

The figure pulled the arrow back, and took am at the woman in front. Then something happened.

He hesitated.

Yes, these people had trespassed somewhere that they should not have, yet... Yet, they hadn't done anything hostile at all.
He caught movement out of the corner of his eye. Six large grey wolves were moving in on the girls. He knew these wolves. Then he had an idea. They would serve as a test, to see what kind of people they truly were.

Zenith saw the wolves heading towards her and Serena. She hid Serena behind her, but sheathed her sword and backed away. She wished not to harm the wolves. She dared not speak, for she could still tell she was being hunted.