Crying howl pierced through the air. It was the sound of a wolf in distress. Something was after him.
 
The wolf knew the town was near, and even though he had learnt it was best to avoid the places full of humans,  he didn't have much choice. The beast, twice as big as the wolf in trouble, was getting closer, hammering the grounds beneath them as they ran. No creature could out-run them, not when their burning eyes were firmly set on their target. The wolf was almost there. Another three leaps and he was gone, vanishing into thin air. The flaming Hound-beast looked baffled. It could still sense the wolf, it could still smell his fear. But there was nothing before them. Just the road, which seemed to continue into distance.

The wolf turned around, and stared at his chaser. They seemed not to see him, even though they were barely few meters apart. It was as if one-way mirror was set between them, allowing only those inside the town to see the evil that was lurking in front of the gates. Then, the wolf gave ear to the voices comming from the nearby street. There were some humans, three or four, one of them having quite familiar sound. Fearless, the wolf silently walked towards them, eyeing them with warying inspection. He only recognized the woman, who spent the last few days in the company of his human mistress, the sorceress. When Alexis spotted his stare, the wolf slightly bowed his head, as if he was confirming something. Before the other could get the chance to get startled by him, the wolf dashed ahead down the street in the search for his human companion.

Shi'larra who was still standing by the window spotted the wolf waiting by the doors. She stepped to open them, so the wolf could enter in. The smell of sulphur reeking from where wolf's fur got in contact with beast's blazing body soon reached her nostrils. Shi'larra frowned disguisted by the stench, and kneed in order to lower herself to her four-legged friend. She quickly examined him for some possible wounds, but found nothing too serious apart from some parts of his fur being burnt.

[color=7bcdc8]''I hope you didn't do anything stupid, Ansel,'' [/color]she scolded him like a child, even though she knew he couldn't quite understand her. Or did he? She wasn't intirely sure, since the wolf proved to be much smarter than majority of humans she encountered in her life. [color=7bcdc8]''We must go now. The knights should be here already. But if not...''[/color] she paused, afraid to continue her own flow of thought. She knew it was a long shot expecting everyone to be there on time, but she hoped. After all, the hope was all there was truly left for them.

Shi'larra grabbed her leather bag, where she stored various supplies she usually needed to perform her spells and rituals. Since it was the Traveller's den, it wasn't as hard to get hands on some magical herbs and objects  as it was in other parts of Obrethon. Therefore, she made sure, she got everything she needed for the road at Kirin Taq. Shi'larra looked around the house already feeling an unease of leaving the place that offered so much protection. Although she was used to living in constant fear of being discovered, hiding from her own kind was much harder than hiding from common people, who could not her own magic against her. After she made sure, she took all of her belongings, she stepped onto the street closing the door behind her. She continued around the corner where her black stallion named Lomion, which meant [i]moonlight prince[/i] in the language of the Travellers. Although he was still a bit wild, Shi'larra valued him for his great stamina. 

The horse was saddled and ready as if she knew beforehand their stay won't be as long as she had planned for. She mounted him with ease, and guided him to slowly walk in the direction where she last witnessed Alexis disappearing into the shadows. They didn't stride long before Shi'larra caught sight of four human figures waiting on the side of the street. The stamp of horse's hooves draw attention to her presence as she slowly approached them. She greeted the Prince with a silent nod, then gazed at Alexis with a pinch of a worry in her emerald eyes. Beside these two familiar faces, there were two other knights she never had a chance to meet before. [color=7bcdc8]''Knights,''[/color] she greeted them. [color=7bcdc8]''I'm afraid we can't stay here much longer. Where are the others?'' [/color] she demanded to know without caring for her apparent lack of interested in properly introducing herself. After all, there was a long road awaiting them, and plenty of time to chat about the things she never liked to chat about. 

Meanwhile, Ansel the wolf strode a few houses further, and peeped around the corner to see if the Hellhound creature was still lingering before the magical barrier. His fur instantly bristled. The Hound was waiting for them.