Marcus and Max had both gone pale.

When he saw what they did to the man on the altar Marcus almost wet himself. Soon it would be the girls’ turn.

‘Max we have to help them!’

Max had looked at him in silence.

But how? There are people outside and this is deep into the silver forest. Who could help them at this hour?

Then he recalled how close it was to the Aedirnian border.

Soldiers patrol the Elyrian border. Fredrick said that he was supposed to serve in one of the border garrison, next year as he would turn fifteen. Maybe the Aedirnians have guards like that too.

A plan came into his head. He then backtracked through the cave. The tunnels had were interconnected with one leading right outside to the river while others led to more nearby destinations.

Taking one of these routes he appeared just behind the cave. With haste he gathered some dry leaves, wood and took two stones. On their hunting trips he had seen Fredrick and Wilhelm rub stones to set dry wood and leaves on fire. He did the same, but on first try instead of creating fire he managed to scrape some skin on his thumb.

He struck gold however in the third attempt and a fire rose.

Let’s hope someone seems the smoke

Then he returned the hole.

No one has seen it then, Marcus thought dismayed. It had been some time since he had lit it.

Are there no soldiers nearby? Or was the fire too small for anyone to see? He thought.

He now saw that they were dragging the lanky girl to the altar.

Oh no!

He felt helpless, just like he had felt in the forest. Alone and without power, cursed to see the river of fate flow before him with no strength to turn it.

What can I do?

But then his father’s face voice boomed in his head.

‘A true man doesn’t cower in the face adversity, he overcomes it.’

No, I won’t let this happen!, He clenched his fist.

The butchers had now pinned the girl to the altar.

Marcus picked up a rock beside him and aimed for the butcher’s head.

Even if it’s just a little I will buy them time, at least until dawn. The bad things always vanish with the light of the day…Or so he heard.

But even as he readied his aim the idea seemed terrible to him.

But what will this accomplish other than alerting them to my presence?

Then a scream broke. A man came rushing in down the stairs. He screamed for them to stop.

He was pointing at the entrance and saying something. The bullish man said something in turn albeit in a panicked tone. The one with the Leshen skull quickly jumped off his throne, his maids also straightened up.

And then he saw them.

He couldn’t quite tell how many, perhaps five or six of them in mail and brigandine. They came upon the mouth of the stairs and looked at the fiasco beneath them. They stood in stunned silence for a while as if too shocked too speak. Then they screamed and descended down the stairs with swords unsheathed. At the head was a tall bony man with a longsword.

‘YES! It worked Max! It worked! ‘

His joy however soon morphed into curiosity.

Hey that banner on their chest, it’s a bull’s face, Marcus knew for sure that Aedirn’s flag was a golden eagle arising from a red flame and leaping into a dark night.

Those aren’t the king’s soldiers?

He couldn’t ponder any longer, a fight broke out between the men and the cultists. The cultists were many times in number but they were armed with clubs and wood axes, the butchers chimed with their cleavers. The soldiers had chainmail, swords, axes and halberds.

A vicious bloodbath erupted. The one with the halberd slammed the axe head on man’s head so hard that his skull cracked open, leading to bits of brain and bone scattering outwards. Another soldier with an axe cut a cultist’s head clean of his neck just before receiving a mace to the ribs.

This is going to be bloody, he thought as the male cultists and some female ones rushed towards the troops with animalistic fury. They barely fought as humans, more like beasts drunk on blood.

Amidst the chaos he saw that the skull man, bull man and the priestess running away with most of the women through the back door.

Looking at the altar he saw the girl back on her feet and free of restraints via a dagger.

Marcus now looked back to the battle and panicked. Though there were nearly ten dead cultists on the floor, there were still over a dozen left. While on the other hand two soldiers were on the ground. One had his face smashed into his skull.

They are going to lose, they can’t hold up so many

He turned to the girl who was now stumbling towards her friend.

They can only escape through the roots Max and I found

Marcus made a run for it