Gaios was surprised when no heretics came across the bridge. It was...a trade caravan? How...strange. There was no way this wasn't related to their quest, and both he and General Onyx seemed to be convinced of that. His suspicions were confirmed when Onyx ordered him to inspect the caravan's last cart again. Onyx had smelled them on the wind. That meant that they were there. But now he couldn't smell them, and suddenly this trade caravan with only a few passengers appeared? Impossible. Reports had pegged Sophos Ailred as a powerful mage of Space and Time magic. It was certainly possible that some illusion was at work here. Onyx likely knew this, and knowing Gaios's...knowledge of Sophos, sent him to search for any signs of his magic at work. So search he would. He calmly walked to the final cart, peering inside at it's inhabitants, looking each one over slowly. ---- Sophos was only more impressed when Demoko explained the rings to him in further detail. "That's amazing, Demoko...simply amazing!" As they crossed the bridge, Sophos was confident that this plan would work. He couldn't think of a better plan. The thought that Gaios...the son of his late wife...was among their pursuers hurt him, but he would have to give up on making peace with him. There was simply too much at stake to reveal himself, and thus the others, to make up with a man who had no actual relation to him. As the first soldier inspected the group, Sophos smiled warmly and bowed gently to him, silently praying for the Templars to just let them pass. Once the cart started to move again, he breathed a sigh of relief, only to gasp when they stopped once more, and none other than the figure he'd seen in the Mask Salesman's torments looked into the cart. ----- Gaios carefully looked over each man, woman and child in the cart, inspecting them for anything that could identify them as one of the heretics. He could see nothing on any of them, until he turned to the last man, who appeared to be middle-aged. His face was wrinkled, and his hair was dark, but had patches of small white bits, as if somebody had glued salt to his hair. When he met the man's eyes, his own widened in shock, then his brow furrowed and he sighed. Drawing his sword, he called to Onyx, resignation in his voice. "Sir...I think I've found something. I...I can't be sure." ------- No. No, this wasn't happening. Gaios was turning them in. He'd seen through the disguise somehow. What sort of power did he have to detect him, even through Demoko's paradox ring? It must have been something bestowed upon him by Father Thallus. That made the most sense. As Gaios called to Onyx, Sophos clambered forward, whispering to the Templar nervously. "Please, sir, your compatriot already checked on us...we're only a group of travelers looking to make our way through Hyrule to Labyranna." ---- That voice. What was it about that voice that seemed familiar to him? A scene flashed through his mind- a bar. It wasn't long before, in Castle Town, when this chase had started. It was him. One of the heretics who had escaped from a bar in Castle Town through a portal. He'd heard some of their voices when they escaped, but only one stayed with him. He'd found Sophos. Found him finally. Leaning his head in as Onyx approached, Gaios shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry, Sophos...but General Onyx is nearly here. Your fate...your fate is sealed...I just wanted to help the people, so why did you become my enemy?!" ----- Sophos reeled back in shock when Gaios identified him, then sighed as the Templar accused him. "Then our goal is the same. Your Father Thallus seeks to plunge the world into ruin! I don't know all the details, my mind is so far gone sometimes, but you cannot trust him! Please, your mother...your mother wouldn't want this. She wouldn't want us to fight and kill each other. She was never devout to the Goddesses, but she shared my faith in them. Gaios...please, give this up. You don't have to help us, but just get Onyx away from here." ---- Gaios stopped when Sophos brought up his mother. Right, she was his wife once...he could barely breathe. "I...he's already almost here....he...I can't. I can't do this." Turning to Onyx, Gaios's voice started to falter. "G-G-G-General...t-there's nobody...nobody of suspicion. I....I was wrong" Bowing deeply at the waist and falling to his knee, Gaios had to stop himself from crying in frustration. "The other soldier was right. These are simple travelers. We need not bother them any more." He could only hope the General would accept his betrayal. If not, this would be the fight of his life.