Sarinah woke whilst it was still dark. She looked over at the man, who had stayed all night in about the same spot, unlike herself. Somehow she'd managed to get tangled in her blanket and was rolled up quite close to Wraith. The fire was just a few burning embers, and she quietly unravelled herself and moved away from the bander.

She stirred the embers, throwing a small branch on to give some better light. Rummaging through her pack, she pulled out some bacon rolls she had bought the day before. Sitting down to eat, she watched the sky. Her nerves were in a state, part of her wanted to throw up. Dorhaven was a meare stroll down the road, and she was frightened of what she might find. If her tribe had been killed...she couldn't think like that yet. Angrily she took another bite of the roll, poking the fire with a stick.

Sarinah watched the bander wolf greet her and go through his routine, completly unaware the Rovin was awake.



She turned with a little start, then smiled at him. He was handsome even after just waking up, in a messy groggy kind of way.

"Morning love, care for a bite?" She said in her best innkeeper voice, holding out a bacon roll to him, smiling all the while. The sky had begun to turn from dark blue to more of a purple.

"You know, your one heavy sleeper. Every little noise woke me up last night, but you just lay there practically snoring." She giggled.

Her stomach rolled, and she paused for a moment. Taking a big breath she sighed.

"No. But, I have to go." She reached over and placed a hand on his knee, looking at him.

"I'm going to apologize now if my behavior gets erratic later. And, thank you for staying with me Rovin." There was the rolling again. She swallowed hard, not sure whether it was breakfast coming up or just butterflies, but fortunately she didn't throw up.

Sarinah smiled and leaned into the man, gaining strength from his embrace. She closed her eyes, taking a moment to just be. The dancer was glad for Rovin's presence, he made her feel centred, like an anchor for a drifting boat. Sighing, she opened her eyes and sat up.

"Okay, I'm ready now. We should pack up and head out." Smiling at him, she stood up and began rolling up her bedding. Once it was done, she tied it and walked over to the horse, tying the roll to her saddle. Stopping, she regarded the bay mare, then turned to Rovin.

"What are we going to do? Do you want to ride in front or behind?" She gestured at the horse, implying they ride double. It would be too slow to lead the mare and she didn't want to just leave her in the forest for the wolves to kill. And she wasn't sure if Rovin could keep pace with a horse.

Watching him slip into the saddle, Sarinah couldn't help but cock and eyebrow. She had expected him to take front seat, but he was right, she was her horse. Placing a foot in the stirrup, gripping the hold she hopped up and slid her leg over, turning and settling herself into the saddle. She smiled, Rovin was pressed very close against her as she flicked the reins, pushing the horse into a trot. She wasn't sure if a gallop or even a canter would be a good idea with the two of them on her. Rocking with the movement of the horse, Sarinah couldn't help but be very aware of the man's warmth against her back, his legs against hers.

Sarinah watched as Dorhaven came into view. It had expanded since she'd been there, but not enough that she didn't regognise it. What she didn't regognise was the destruction. A thick pillar of black smoke poured out of the city, where the Long Board Tenement House had been. The dancer was shocked.



Sarinah nodded to him, glad he had come with her, but understanding the need to explore on his own. Pushing the bay mare forward, she looked around the place in a slight daze, heading into the city, looking for anyone she could ask about Yellow Eye. Suddenly a thought occured to her and she kicked the mare into a canter, heading towards a building she knew might still exist.

She pulled the horse up outside the blacksmith's forge and slid off, beating on the door.

"Kristof Mirko?! Are you in there? Smith?" The banging echoed in the dark building, and everything was locked tight. She looked around, but the place was deserted, everything was a ghost town. Finally, she turned back to her horse, jumped up and galloped her straight to the smoke.

The Tenement House was no more. All that remained was debris, a shell of a building, with smoke still coming from the rubble. People had left offerings of rememberance and messages in charcoal on the only large remaining wall. The dancer couldn't breathe. She half dismounted, half fell off the horse and stumbled to the wall, looking up at the destruction. Her vision was blurring and she had tears streaming down her face. The smell was overpowering and finally the rolling she'd experianced that morning turned itself out onto the ground.

Taking a deep breath and spitting out the taste in her mouth, Sarinah made her way to the wall and put a hand on it, reading the inscriptions. Looking down she found a piece of black charcoal and picked it up, writing in an empty space.

"May their souls find piece with Alioe."

Staring for a moment, she dropped the piece and turned. Her brain suddenly registered something out of the corner of her vision. A person. Like a mad woman she ran to them waving her arms.

"Ho! Wait, wait! Please!" She came up and grabbed the citizens arm.

"Please? Do you know Kristof the Smith? Is he alive? What about the Yellow Eye? Are they ok, are they here?" Her voice was slightly desperate.

"Whoa, whoa there," said the man, patting the witch's hand. His pleasant voice had a slight Hessean accent. "Calm down. I know Kristof, and he's most certainly alive. Saw him after the explosion. Last I heard of, he cleared off."

His expression darkened. "The Yellow Eye have left for greener pastures as well. Personally, I don't blame them. I'm thinking about leaving myself. The galdori presence here is becoming out of control. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened, with the way they carry on."

Sarinah sighed and nodded slightly. At least she had something to tell the smith. It wasn't a definite answer of where is father was, but at least he hadn't been killed in the explosion.



The brunette stopped. Had she heard him correctly. The Yellow Eye had left? That floored her. Since she was a child they had always been in Dorhaven. And the galdori were getting out of hand? It was definitely different from the sweet tourist escape she had left four years ago.

"I...uh..thank you. Do you know where they might have gone?"

The man grimaced.

"From what I hear, they moved to Vienda," he said through gritted teeth - clearly he did not have a good opinion of the city. "I had a good friend among them. He said that, long-term, they wanted to recover the city of...well, you know. Anhau." He shuddered as he said it. "That was always the plan, from what I gather. I just don't understand it. Between Vienda and Anhau, they're liable to be killed off before the year's out."

He looked curiously at her. "You're not with them, are you?"

Sarinah shook her head. So, she'd come all the way here, and missed them! And Anhau, they were more likely to turn into kensers than do that. Then again, the idea of having the wick city alive again sent thrills through her. She wanted to find Lordes.



The dancer looked at him, having lost herself in the idea of Anhau. She thought about it for a moment.

"Sort of. I am a Yellow Eye, but I'm a drifter, sort of. Its, complicated." She smiled.

"Thankyou for your help, sir. I would have been running around for hours without you."

"Go well," said the man, waving at her solemnly as he walked away.

Sarinah nodded to the man and turned, jogging to her mare and leaping onto it in one fluid movement. She grabbed the reins and turned the bay horse, then kicked it into a gallop, trying to get back to Vienda as fast as she could.