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Tryston had seen enough. After spying some of the brotherhood in a midnight meeting with the leaflings the swordsman had wandered after them. At first he had been nearly caught, but fate and fortune had once again saved him. Running to the borders of Zena to prevent any connections from forming with Constynce the man had stayed there for a few days before circling back. There he had been found by Serana, his childhood friend, who had told him of her own situation and of the sanctuary she had found in the mountains of Zena.

It was that sanctuary he desired right now. But first he had to go and find someone, someone dear to him who could be in dire trouble at the moment. Just thinking such a thought had him walking for days with little rest. There was no time for leisure when Constynce could be in danger after all! Even if he had wanted to rest the man would find no solace in sleep as his thoughts would continually persist with worry. At times he believed he could even hear her calling out to him to save her.....even now her voice echoed in his ears.

Unless....that was truly her? Tryston's gaze sharpened as he stopped walking. Beneath the shelter of the trees of Tale everything was eerily quiet. Quiet save for screaming - "Constynce." The word left his lips as his gaze lit up with realization. That was no phantom! Reaching for his sword the man bolted forward through the trees like a silent shadow before raising his sword to slice through the man's arm as he grabbed for Constynce. As the man howled in pain Tryston reached a hand out to the woman who was on the ground, "Hurry." He whispered urgency in his voice. If this man was here then surely there would be others. No one would simply leave one man to kill an enemy, surely there were others in the forest in case this one didn't pull through.

Tryston's gaze softened as the woman jumped at him, "I'm so sorry." He whispered as she held onto him. If only he had told her to leave earlier! She shouldn't have had to stay in this place and that man....he had touched her. A glint of ice appeared in the swordsman's eyes. He would maim that man for this one day - just as he had the other one who was still wallowing in the background while clutching at his arm. Or rather...what remained.

Without hesitation Tryston pushed Constynce away from him. But it wasn't an aggressive act, just one of need. "Forgive me, but this is quickest." At least until she could get control of herself. Scooping the woman up in his arms the swordsman began to move through the trees. He had come from a more secluded way and hadn't seen anyone there while running to Constynce...perhaps it was safe? A route away from the village.....he could already imagine footsteps approaching them shortly. At least the one was finally silent due to passing out from blood loss. Strange how Tryston felt no mercy about that. For someone to be so vile....his jaw clenched as he continued moving forward.

"Breathe and it will be okay, I'm here now." He whispered as he finally placed her down in the shelter of some trees. They were not in the clear yet, but at least they were far enough away that he wasn't worried about being jumped immediately, "We can't rest for long, a few moments at the most before we begin moving again." His gaze was thoughtful as he wiped his blade along the grass, "I'm assuming you saw something you weren't supposed to see..."

Tryston turned away from Constynce to give her some privacy while she situated herself. His gaze did narrow as she lost the contents of her stomach - not that he was upset at her, but rather by the fact that this whole situation was happening to the innocent woman. As he surveyed the trees she finally began to speak and the swordsman shifted closer so that he could support her, "Ah." His gaze was thoughtful before he finally shook his head, "I don't know if he was the one who directly ordered it, but he is connected then. I knew something was wrong whenever I ran into some of the brotherhood....some of them I recognized from the mountain attack...."

His gaze darkened in frustration, "When I saw them I had to lead them on a chase away from your village, but it seems it was in vain. I'm so sorry Constynce...I nearly got you killed by requesting your help." Guilt knotted his gut. As much as he was enraged at those who had tried to harm Constynce he too was to blame for this. That what was truly making him sick at the core, the fact that he hadn't protected her properly as promised.

Tryston's gaze narrowed at the accusation, "He will pay for his actions. Justice will always come in the end." He replied quietly. It was a saying in the brotherhood that emphasized the importance of honor and taking up righteous tasks rather than any job for pay. Assassins could exist for dirty work, but they were supposed to be a band of brothers that sought to help protect Zena and its citizens...and now with the more open world their protection had spread to help others in nearby countries that called for aid.

And the woman before him was one such soul, "We leave Tale. We take what evidence we have gathered and head towards Zena." He paused thoughtfully, "A friend has found sanctuary at a home in the upper mountains by the borders - I can take you there so you can be protected and then I'll move with my comrades to make things right again."

His body stilled as noises caught his attention, "It seems our talking time is limited so we should begin moving." His fingers laced with hers for comfort, "Are you ready?"

"Then I will be ready flor the both of us." Tryston offered her a small smile, "Just rely on me and I'll pull us through this. I promised to protect you after all, Constynce." He squeezed her hand in turn before helping her to navigate through the tall trees. Shadows and voices seemed to haunt the air around them and Tryston would twist and turn them from the path at random in order to put the echos even farther behind them. After seeing Constynce's state the last thing the man wanted to do was put her through another battle.

No, it would be best to simply fade into the darkness of the forests....he already knew the best way to go as well thanks to the guidance of a strange wild man after all.

As they ran Tryston continued to keep an ear out. It was hard though to see exactly where the path would take them due to the approach of dusk. He just prayed to the gods that they could slip away quickly when the night did approach. However at the thought he noticed that the forest had suddenly grown still. No creature seemed to move and even the wind was stilled. Cursing quietly below his breath the swordsman stopped moving and held Constynce still in his arms, "They're near."

The words barely left his lips before a sudden loud rustling caught his attention. There! To the left behind them was a group! His silver gaze surveyed the area before noting an incline. There! The forest would rise and the cliffs would be pressed tightly against it. The paths there were not widely used due to how dangerous they were, but it was their best option. Tugging Constynce after him the swordsman lifted her up to the higher ground before climbing up himself.

As they touched the higher ground he found a big rock and raising it high above his head tossed it so that it sailed back into the forest in the opposite direction of their climb. It made a noise in the grasses that caused exclamations from below and in an instant Tryston had his arms wrapped around Constynce again and they were falling backwards. He had pulled her with him into a crevice barely seen in the cliffs and there they stayed for a few breaths pressed tightly against each other, "I..apologize, but we need to stay like this for a bit." He whispered as he pushed her in further and he kept himself towards the outside so that in the darkness of dusk it appeared as if nothing was there at all save for the cliffs.

Even if those hunting them hadn't fallen for the trick of noise at least this would protect them from being noticed in the evening light. He just hoped that they would tire quickly so that he could move on with Constynce. The last thing he wanted was to begin a fight here.

Tryston couldn't help the rage that exploded in his chest at the sound of Quintli's voice. But because of the precious woman in his arms the man stayed still. One false move here and they would both be in even more trouble than before. It was best to keep still and stay within the shadows. It was obvious by the man's taunting words that no one could see them and just one slip here could mean a fight - something Tryston was not fully prepared for at this time.

It was frustrating but all he could do was become the solid support for Constynce as she leaned against him. As the words echoed through the forest Tryston clenched his jaw. It would be so simple to slip out of the shadows now and slice the man's throat for threatening Constynce's home like that. How arrogant. But such blood lust was not the way of the brotherhood nor would killing this man at the moment serve any benefit to his quest. Answers were still needed and to silence Quintli now would set off an alarm to those in Zena. If they were to hide now then all of these years of gathering information and figuring out the pieces would be lost. The last thing Tryston wanted to do was wait even longer to resolve things.

"Then come with me." Tryston found himself glancing at Constynce as she stayed there tightly pressed up against him, "My friends have found a sanctuary in Zena and you can stay there while we prepare to fight. Once we win the battle in Zena I can assure you that Quintli will have little power over your village here." He was getting his power from the brotherhood after all. Even if he had money that was the least of Tryston's worries - no, he was far more worried about the blades hiding in the dark around the arrogant leafling. And beyond him was the biggest concern - the one ordering those blades to do these things. Whoever had control of them was the one taking over the brotherhood that had raised him all those years ago. And he had to be stopped, no matter what.