The way back to the carriage turned out to be quite a long one where Luna had to lay one arm above my shoulders out of shock, but also tiredness. She was struggling with each step she took and as we entered the carriage at around five, she collapsed immediately on the ground. The mage inside was more than unhappy to be woken up at this hour, but didn’t complain, at least vocally. Her eyes pierced daggers into me as if she wanted me to die badly though. On the other hand, they flickered with a tone of blue I never saw before and as such, I couldn't find out what she thought.

After placing a few blankets on the ground and rolling Luna onto them, I went outside again and looked in a tent that stood exactly in front of the carriage. Tom was snoring inside and wasn’t entirely happy as I woke him up.

“Can you ride a horse?” I asked him in the dark if he could do anything related to fighting.

“I can.”

“I want you to ride with the supply corps tomorrow. Ask Markus for permission first, it shouldn’t be a problem.” I explained and hoped to leave him after that. My orders should be clear enough, and yet he looked at me as if he understood nothing.

“Why?”

“You are asking too many questions.” I answered, slightly annoyed by him.

“Do I have to remind you that you recruited me for this” He pointed towards his head. “and not for this?” He asked while pointing to my sword at the end. I realized that he did indeed have a point, although I hated to admit it.

“There have been murder cases recently, extremely weird ones at that. Nobody wants to know anything, nobody has seen anything. They were all perfect murders, so many in a row that it is impossible. And yet, no murders happened within the supply corps. Yesterday, I met someone from this corps. He killed himself before I could catch him, possibly because he was one of them and didn’t want to get caught or give us information. He also knew my name, which should be impossible, so there may be a traitor amongst the higher-ups. I want you to keep an eye on them while they march. I doubt you will find anything though.”

“So you are suspecting a large talented group of people who will sacrifice themselves to murder a few simple soldiers? Alright, I will look into it.” I knew that our shared assumption of a group of murderers seemed dumb, especially because they had nothing to gain from murdering these people. And yet, it was the only explanation we could come up with.

“One last thing. If someone tries to approach you, run away.”

“Your concern honours me.”

I sneered as I left the tent and headed towards the carriage again. A sudden gust of wind sent shivers down my spine and a large vulture flew in front of the moon, just to dive down nearby. I had a very bad feeling as I entered the carriage and snugged close to Luna under a blanket. We were dealing with a group of fanatics who were obviously stronger and craftier than the normal soldier. I was in dire need of more help, but I didn’t know yet where to find it. I had just a bit of hope as I turned around and looked at the woman who laid on the bench, now completely awake.

“Will you tell me your name now?” I asked, expecting her to refuse right away.

“No … wait, it is better if you know it. My name is Reruoved.  I was born in the highlands, so please excuse my name.” She said while smiling for the first time. I frowned as it didn’t seem genuine, or as if she didn’t smile in a long time.

“I have heard worse names.” I said while trying to remember Kat´s real name. Katachykata? Whatever … I also tried to figure out her emotions once more. Her eyes glimmered with a shade yellow I never saw before. I really couldn’t understand this woman, especially after what she said next.

“And now sleep, it isn’t good when such a young girl stays up this late.”

Was she trying to be nice? Friendly? Or did this conversation got so much on her nerves that she wanted me to shut up? I shrugged as I turned around once more, wrapped an arm around Luna and closed my eyes. For hours, I tried to remember everything that was seemed even remotely connected to these murder cases and couldn’t help but wonder about the unfortunate timing of these murders. They happened directly after I burnt down the tent and probably gave these people the perfect opportunity to start. And was I connected to these murders in any way? They at least knew my name and while this wasn’t a definite proof for anything, I still had a bad feeling about it.

I drifted into sleep after quite some time, not because I felt the need to or because I wanted to, but rather because Reruoved got up and opened the door as she was probably quite hungry for breakfast. The sun shone directly into the carriage and as I warily had my eyes open because of the mage, I fell asleep quickly.