The blonde woman sat passively and adjusted the strap on her leather glove. The leatherwork was rather neat. The glove was of dark leather, tightened and slightly reinforced by the knuckles. Nothing fancy, just a little toughened on the front. She nodded to herself, leaning back in the chair, scanning the inn for the Elder Walker. Three knightly looking men had entered the inn. All without their helmet on, but rather strapped to their waist. The first one stood tall, with short brown hair, ending just above his two ebony eyes. He rested his right hand lightly on the hilt of his longsword. Eliana kept her eyes locked on the man. She eyed him from top to toe, looking for a sigil. However, the knight interrupted her almost rude stare. He raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a rather neutral look. Eliana calmly turned her head to the guests. They stopped the dancing, turning around to the knights. A steady silence filled the room. The knights took heavy steps into the gathering, their eyes darting around the crowd. Jonius stood by the counter, looking over his shoulder, getting a good view at the knights. 

Eliana crossed her legs, laying a hand in the other, and resting them in her lap. Despite her former nervous behaviour, she managed to stay rather calm. She simply observed the tincans, having a faint feeling of the reason of the sudden appearance. The large innkeeper shuffled out form the counter, wiping his hands and walking towards the three men. They exchanged a few words. As the smalltalk went on, the innkeeper’s face turned more and more pale. He nodded a single time, looking towards a man and a young boy in the crowd. The first knight jerked his head towards them. The two other knights swiftly went towards the man and his son, grabbing them by their arms and dragging them along. A panic spread in the inn. Eliana froze in her place, blinking at the event, as an unknown number of women started screaming. Several men tried to stop the men, shouting that it was a misunderstanding and cruel. The walking bulwarks shoved them away, roaring the peasants away. Eliana got up, walking in a swift pace towards Jonius. The sea of people flocked outside the inn. Rain poured down ruthlessly. Eliana stormed outside, squeezing through the gathering. The man and his boy had been forced to their knees. 

The two knights had drawn a shortsword each. The tower of a man turned towards the crowd and scoffed. He shook his head and turned towards his companions. 

“Bring them outside the gates, with the rest of the bodies. Get a bonfire going when the rain has settled.” He waved them away.

A girl stepped forward, her eyes red and her face covered in uncontrollable tears. She cried out at the knight, shouting incomprehensible swears and cursing, leaping towards the man and slamming away at his breastplate. She had already been covered in mud, her clothes being splashed and torn. The knight simply threw his backhand at her, easily hurling the small girl to the ground. He looked back at the crowd.

“Lerman Smith and his son had been found guilty of performing demonic arts in the very heart of our nation. In the name of the King Leofric and the Realm, they will be sentenced to the sword. That is a mild punishment for what they’d do with our own!” the knight shouted, keeping his voice at a calm level however. He gracefully cut a small rope by his waist, letting a small pouch drop to the mud with a metallic sound releasing from inside the leathery container. 
A pathetic soul limped forward, picking up the coins and stuffing it in his pouch. With a nonchalant turn, the knight took his leave. 
As soon as they had gathered, the crowd disbanded. 
The cold air rushed through Eliana, leaving a cold sensation throughout her entire system. She took in a deep breath, stuffing her arms around herself.  The price for being accused of magic was harsh, in the entire Realm. Not just the Northlands. She grabbed her wooden staff, planting it in the ground, before setting off, Jonius steadily walking behind her. Her staff was engraved with markings and symbols, whilst having a dark and brown colour to it. It was crafted from Elderwood, an incredibly sturdy and tough wood, found outside the Realm. Crafted by a weaponsmith within the Spiritwalkers, it was imbued with an ancient figure, placed in the wood itself. 
Eliana sped up. She ran along the houses and buildings, keeping the two knights in sight. She looked over her shoulder for her teacher. However he was nowhere to be seen, whether or not this was intended, remained a mystery to her. She crossed the muddy ground in a light jog, stopping by a large wall on the other side. Quirking her head around a corner, she saw the four individuals heading into a court covered in the nightly shadow. 

She took light steps along the wall, kneeling down before the opening of the courtyard. Once again forced to the ground, the father had now gone silent. The knights still had their swords out.  The cold blade calmly connected with the lower chin of the father, lifting his chin slightly up. With a swift and cold thrust, the knight danced the blade through the throat of the man. Eliana quickly covered her mouth with her hand, her eyes widening up. A faint cloud of thin blood squirted out of the back of the man’s neck. The boy cried out, collapsing unto the ground. Though dragged up by one of the knights, his cries became desperate screams. The knight pulled out his sword, giving it a hard jerk, to wip some of the blood off of it. The boy was locked down.
Eliana rose to her full height, about to charge forward. But a hard force knocked her down, keeping her down and covering her mouth. Jonius, stared into her eyes, shaking his head.

She turned her head to the scene again, just in time to see the blade darting forward again, and releasing the familiar scarlet cloud.