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The ride back to Kalla from the camp was relatively quiet. Small conversations here and there were made between various people, but the loss of their chief was heavy on their minds. As Kallen thought about the strange puppet that was faced, he may start to remember hearing stories of people Calibris disliked vanishing. Sometimes it wasn’t even anyone he particularly didn’t care for, as whenever he had a curious streak and started locking himself away in his study to not be disturbed, someone always seemed to go missing as well. There was actually a surprising number of people in his service that wore masks under well covering clothes, and maybe this was just a glimpse at what was happening behind closed doors.

	As for Allanon, Irene simply thanked him, telling him she would have an idea of what to do when they reached Kalla, but she seemed too worn out to continue. Meanwhile, if he looked to Bidzil, he seemed to have a distant look in his eyes. While the sight was normal for people who had seen their first real battle, Bidzil’s saving grace seemed to be that he was at least able to fight in the face of something new to him. What may have been odd, however, was the air of irritation around him instead of the cold acceptance of the realities of battle.

	Hilde laid comfortably as she could in the stretcher, admittedly basking in the attention Chihiro was giving her. She chuckled despite the bit of pain it caused, [color=D2691E]“Beefcake? My, my, Chihiro, are you complimenting me or my father?”[/color] she asked with a smile, teasing her right back. When she spoke of the fight, the girl thought back. [color=D2691E]“I sensed something was not right while fighting it, and I didn’t expect it to launch an attack so close even to itself,”[/color] she started. The fact that the girl got away with a few broken ribs was a testament to the Varuk blood within her, even if she was only half blooded. [color=D2691E]“I could hear it crying when I got close to it… Something wasn’t quite right. You called it a puppet?”[/color] she asked a bit confused, [color=D2691E]“which may mean that it was being controlled, but what kind of person would do such a thing?”[/color]

	Nix was wary the whole time of all the different people, though she didn’t outright run from any of them, she just kept her distance. Ever so slowly she would be closer to Kistal, taking a particular interest in him since he freed her and his scent reminded her of a place close to home. She didn’t say much, and she surprisingly didn’t prod for more food, but she did start to follow closely, even sniffing at the chains that he ground into the sands. Eventually, once they were on the skiffs, she didn’t leave his side, opting to be closer to him than any of the other strangers, even to the point to when when she finally passed out, she was curled up in a ball next to him, her back pressed up against his leg where he sat.



	The hours would pass and the sun would just start to begin its descent into the afternoon when one of the Kallan warriors spotted the town. “We’re home,” he announced before taking out a signal horn. He took a deep breath before sounding off on it, calling out to the other skiff which in turn took out its own horn and repeated the call. The other horn was set to a different tone to make sure which skiff was which, though when moving in only a pair, identification by tone was less necessary. “Light the torch, let them know we have lost some of our own, give them a moment to prepare themselves,” one of the men said as the other nodded. Upon seeing one skiff light a torch at the front, the other followed suit. From the town, they could hear another horn sounding, responding to them and acknowledging their arrival.