[h2]Marxello Catchanale[/h2]
Rebinding the cannibal's hands and feet with rock rather than ice was simple enough. Far harder was convincing his two allies to let him escort the merchant and the prisoner to Ambran alone. He'd pointed out, of course, that if any members of the Order saw him with them, he'd wind up being considered a traitor at best. Apparently, that hadn't dissuaded them one bit. He had explained to the merchant (however little response he gave) that first of all, he wasn't a traitor to the Order, and secondly, he had his ways of ensuring these two monsters remained as docile as possible, even if they were maneaters, which they weren't, but it was still best that he didn't say anything about his being with the monsters to the authorities, as they wouldn't understand the circumstances he was in. That, however, would be meaningless if he couldn't get Syszi and Tue to go back to the guildhouse before they reached Ambran.

But of course, that would also be meaningless if these dwarves killed them all. He was certainly powerful, and he knew for a fact that Syszi was too, but a small army was a bit beyond what he knew they could handle, especially considering they were crossbow-armed, giving them great range compared to anyone else there. Not to mention Tue, who might be anywhere from incredible to utterly useless in a fight. It was a shame that the dwarves felt the need to fight the Order, when their kind were so few nowadays... at least, the unmonsterised tribes.

'Well, this is a bit of an issue. I imagine it'd be best to stay put until the dwarves pass for now,' he suggested to the rest of the group, 'but if they happen to be headed to Ambran as an invasion force, I suppose we'll want to follow on after and ensure the city isn't overrun. Non-fighters excepted, of course,' he added, more for the merchant's benefit than anyone else's.