Rynn rode in silence, the road to Rosebriar stretching out before her. She left the others to talk amongst themselves if they wished, but she doubted they had any desire to speak with her. It seemed they weren't all too fond of her or her presence. Then again, she hadn't been the most accommodating. It mattered little. There were two reasons for her coming on this journey: To find the Dark Dagger and to save Callin from whatever fire he'd gotten himself into.

The sun had long since reached its highest point and was now starting its decline. Rynn had hoped they would reach the village before nightfall, but that was becoming more and more unlikely. Shielding her eyes with a gloved hand, she looked forward to see something blocking the road. "Hold," she called to the others, coming to a stop. "Is that a cart?"

She spurred her horse onward, just enough to get a look at what sat in the path. A cart, laden with goods. She looked around as if to find the merchant or owner, but there was no one around. "Perhaps they decided it was too heavy?" she said.

It was at that moment that a bone-chilling holler rang out over the rolling fields. The horses whinnied, kicking and bucking as if they'd seen Ahnera herself, the Lady of Destruction and Chaos. Over the crest of a nearby hill, three shapes emerged. Their lumbering, broken forms heaved down the hill. The tattered remnants of what once might have been clothing fell from their bodies as they raised broken, rusted shields.

Rynn's horse bucked hard, throwing her from the saddle. She hit the ground with enough force to knock the air from her lungs, rolling out of the way only seconds before she was trampled beneath the horse's hooves. Another cry rang out, even more terrifying than the last, and Rynn scrambled to her feet.

"Dhiasis save us," she whispered, watching as they drew shattered swords. "That's not right."