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Cadie picked up her ragged skirt a little bit so that she could run instead of having to walk. She quickly made it to the herbalists house and got a good sized bunch of thyme. She thanked the herbalist and hurried out the door, this time walking quickly instead of running so she wouldn't drop any of the thyme. She decided to take a shortcut through the village square and silently hurried through the allies she'd come to know so well. She found a large gathering in the square and stopped for a minute, standing on the tips of her toes to get a better look. What she saw shocked her, but from her expression one would think that seeing people in cages in the village square was an everyday occurance. She saw the dragon slayer sergeant and decided that she'd stayed long enough.

She silently slipped away and ran the rest of the way back to the inn. She knew there was nothing she could do to stop whatever vile thing the dragon slayer intended to do. Seething inwardly, she kept her calm expression and quickly gave the thyme to Jira as soon as she was back at the inn. "Took your time, girl." Jira remarked in a tone that made it sound like she'd been waiting for hours, even though it had really only been twenty minutes or so. Jira took a few coins out of a pouch hanging from her sash and gave them to Cadie, "There's your pay, if I need you to help again I'll have some one find you." she said shortly, turning back to her work as if Cadie was already gone, "But ma'am, the day's not ov-" Jira cut her off, "I don't need your help no more. You've been paid, I said I'd send for you if I needed you again." the inkeeper's wife said as if that cleared up everything and went back to her work of plucking the hen. Cadie bobbed a quick curtsy and went out the back door.

She sighed and brushed the dust from her skirt, she would have made herself a new one long ago but she didn't have money to be spending on fabric for new clothes. Sighing, she started to walk slowly, heading towards the village square without realizing it. "Now what am I to do? I guess I'll take the rest of the day off." she said to herself quietly. She creeped into an ally that lead to the village square. Staying in the shadows where she wouldn't be seen and could leave if the need arose, she watched and waited for what would happen next.

"I'm here." Chrono said calmly. "Rosette's already fallen asleep in the other room. She was more tire than I realized." Is there anything I can do for you? Are you hungry? Thristy? Tired?"

Blaise shook her head and gave a small smile.

“No, I don’t need anything, but thank you. I just wanted to know if you and Rosette were alright. She’s taking this harder than I thought she would, and I feel like it’s my fault this happened. I don’t know, I just could have been more careful.”

Cadie watched the village square from the shadows. She could see the men in the cages, she even knew a couple of them, but there was nothing she could do. She heard screams of villagers being slaughtered, that was her signal that she'd stayed too long. Slipping silently through the allies, she knew that she couldn't stay any longer. When she was sure that she wasn't being followed, she went into the forest, to the simple shelter she'd been living since she was young. She wrapped her cloak around herself, it was old and tattered but it was dark and would provide some shelter. Grabbing her pack, she stuffed everything she owned, which was very little, inside. She picked up the pack and grabbed her healers bag. The healers bag hung from her belt, it had all the healings supplies that she might need. Cadie had learned the healing properties of almost all the herbs and plants found in the forest, a skill needed when she was injured or sick and couldn't possibly afford a trip to the village apothecary. The last thing she grabbed before leaving the meager home was her dagger and bow. The dagger was short, the hilt was inlaid with emeralds and the sheath was studded with saphires. Few knew how she'd come to own such a dagger as this, she told those who saw it that it had been a gift, though she had really stolen it from one of the richer families she'd worked for because they'd refused to pay her. The bow was, however, not stolen. It had been her father's bow, before he was taken away. It was her most precious posession, the only thing left of her parents. She left the small home and started running, not really in a particular direction, as long as she was running away from the village. For a moment, the thought crossed her mind that she might come across the foresters, but she'd stopped believing that they existed long ago, so she brushed that thought aside and concentrated on running.

Even at his considerable size, Galdin seemed to easily move through the trees while hardly making a sound. This wasn't too uncommon among the Forester Superiors, but after all the time Galdin had spent in the woods, it almost felt like a part of him, and since the villager had moved in a hurry, it wasn't too difficult to follow his trail through the trees.

As soon as he could see that the trees were thinning out, Galdin stopped walking towards the village and began look around. He knew that if he risked leaving the cover of the trees, he would be most likely spotted, and the enemy would quickly learn that the Foresters had knowledge of their holding of the village.

Not knowing when or if reinforcements would arrive in time, Galdin began to circle the village looking for a slightly more dense area of trees so he could move closer in order to get a better view. It was at that point that he heard what sounded like footfalls coming from somewhere near his position. Galdin's first assumption was that the soldiers had noticed him; "Damn... they must have seen me...." with this he placed one hand on his great axe, and the other on his hatchet.

Stepping out from behind the tree, Galdin swung his arm forward and almost released the hatchet, when he saw that the figure was nothing but a young girl, he cursed then tightly gripped the weapon. At this point it must have been impossible for Cadie to have not noticed the large somewhat bear like man gripping one of the large weapons in each hand. Realizing this Galdin quickly tried to explain, because if she was to scream, then his position would be revealed.

“Please, don’t shout, don’t scream, I’m not going to hurt you.” With this, Galdin took a few steps toward Cadie, but as he did he slung his great axe across his back, and slid his hatchet into his belt. Once this was done he raised his arms to show he was unarmed.

"Where should I begin?" Chrono asked mildly. Rosette's story was a long one to tell, but these people were like family, he new he coudl trust them. Well, he new he could trust the tight knit circle of Blaise and the few other people he and Rosette had meet.

Chrono took a deep breath, and began.

"Only one person has know Rosette longer than I have, and that is her brother, Joshua. For as long as Im aware the two of them were orphans, abandoned or they lost their parents at a young age, but not young enough for them to forget. It made Rosette slightly bitter towards many adults, especially when they tried to seperate her from her brther. She wouldn't have it. Whenever she got wind of someone comng to seee him and apossibly take them away, she would take her brother and flee into the woods before their arrival."

Chrono paused and chuckled oddly.

"Joshua wasn't always the healtiest person in the land. His health was very fragile, and he had to take special medicine once a day to help with his coughong fits. I believe he disliked that even more beacuse his sister, normally loud, brusque, and almost overbearing, would treat him like he was made of glass, and he hated that. He hated being a burden to his sister and everyone he knew. Mrs. Jean, the woman who ran the orphanage, and the other whom he lived with all pitie him for his condition. Yet he was always sought after because he was not a normal child. He was like you, Blaise, he knew some kind of magic that could help people, he could heal them! But Rosette thought they'd only want him to abuse his power, so she'd never let any adult but Mrs. Jean see him. That leads to how I met them..."

He paused yet again, his eyes darting about the floor, and the uneasiness obvious in his voice.

"I had been... trapped for some time. For what reason and why is not know well to me. I simply remember a dark room, so dark it hurt my eyes, and the loud groaning squeal of a masive door opening. I was lying on the ground, and I could hear voices, a boy and a girl. They must not have noticed me at first, for I could hear them taking their time and walking around whatever room I was in. Rosette was te first to notice and paniced. She thought I was a corpse, I believe, and an odd looking one at that. The moment she lifted my head from the ground and woke me fully, I knew I was in the presence of someone filled with emotions I felt empty to. Love, concern, just her pure affection to whatever it was that afflicted me. At first was rude and angry, I yelled to get them to leave me alone, and Rosette... She shoved a piece of sweet bread in my mouth! I still laugh when I think of it. She must have been terrified! Here she was with her brother lost in some dar scary plae and finding a strange, frightful looking boy whose yelling at and threatening them to leave, and she finds it upon herself to feed him. She must have sensed it somehow. That piece of old, stale, burnt sweet bread tasted like heaven to my weak body. It was like a tiny piece of heaven..."

This time, when Chrono paused, it was much longer than they first two times.

"Would you... like for me to continue?"

Chrono took another deep breath.

"I continued to live in the caves near where I was found, despite Rosette and Joshua's urging for me to come to the orphanage. At first I believed I was justa young boy, but...I felt different from them somehow. I can't explain it, but I know I didn't belong there. I was midly content in my quiet, peaceful solitude of the forest. I got by with the meager survival skills I had retained in my memory, and the two even visited me. Practicaly everyday. We went fishing in the river that flowed near their house, we picked apples from the orchard near their home, and we would often have pinics there as well under the shade and tell stories. I seemed to have known quite a bit of mythology, perhaps my father or mother was some kind of storyteller or scholar, but none the less, around them was the first time I could remember smiling. Like that warm feeling you get after being so cold, and then sitting before a warm fire. The feeling slowly creeps over your skin before sinking right into. That's how the two of them got through to my heart. They were like family, no... they WERE my family. Yet... when the time came and they really depended on me... there was barely a hting I could do...

Chrono turned away from Blaise, momentarily forgetting that she could not see the pained expresion on his face. He bit his lip to keep himself from speaking for some time-

"But it wasn't long after we all had met that they were discovered. A house filled with children and rooms with books piled high to the ceiling. Everything that had been good for people, but deemed illegal, was in that house... and it was immediae set aflame... with all of them, Mrs. Jean and all the children including Rosette and Joshua, were inside that house..."

Chrono couldn't stop himself now, he'd alreday begun the tragic tale, and the words flowed more freely from his mouth than he could control.

"I could smell the smoke from my cave, and hear the sceam as well. I ha no weapons, barely any real knowledge of how to fight, I did hat I did purely on instinct... but, I'm ashamed of myself for what happened...

"I got to the house as quickly as I could. The fires were set at the bottom, and everyone was on the second floor and could not get out. Anything of value that wasn't tied down was either in a cart to be taken, or used to feed the flames. I went for the nearest man, and out of pure anger and hatred- I killed him. I remember it so vividly, even thought my emotions clouded my mind in that moment. I crushed his wind pipe with one hand. Just this one litle hand I took a life so ubruptly. I stole the dead man's sword and killed several more. Many were to horrified by my sudden appearance to really do anything, I never eally knew because after killing three or four of them, I went straight through the front door and up the stairs. I could hear the children yelling and crying from the blocked rooms, but I couldn't make out the voice of Rosette or Joshua through all of them. So I went to each room at a time and getting to whomever was there. I'd take them and leap through the window, somehow landing on the grass unscathed from the fall or the fire, and run back into the house for another one. I must have cleared thirty children out of that house along with Mrs. Jean, but I'd yet to find my friends. They were in the last room, and the hardest to get to. Knowing how Rosette is, she probably put of the most fight, and therefore angered their attackers the most, they wanted to be sure she suffered before she died. Several large objects were burning in front of the last door, and somehow I hacked right through them. I'd considered them like my family, but I could barely do anything to help before that. I'd let them end up like taht. If only I'd stayed there with them instead of being by myself in the woods, I could have protected them..."