Saith never once spoke with Lacrimae. Even at lunch he decided against conversing with her to the point of not joining Kev and Mae for lunch. He wasn't being rude; he simply needed time. He needed to sort out what was going on and, quite frankly, he was worried that he was sick. He found nothing else plausible to explain his sudden outburst and fit of jealousy. It wasn't in his nature to care so much about someone, let alone a woman.

As the forest surrounded him, he find himself enjoying the tranquil outdoors. It was nice to be in the trees and have the earth below his toes. His boots were as he left them to cross the bridge and his toes thoroughly enjoyed it. It almost brought a grin to his face when he splashed around in the stream. Of course, that was short lived as he saw Mae's eyes look his way. Again, he was trying to avoid her so he hopped out and found himself back in the safety of the leaves.

It was probably a good thing that Kev was keeping the priestess company from time to time. He at least ate with her and even helped with the berry collection. His herbal knowledge was impressive, too, as he spied some eucalypts honey as he combed the bushes alongside the stream for waterfowl eggs. Although he failed to find eggs, the sugary treat was a pleasant surprise for the crew. Even Saith dabbled in tasting the tree's precious sap, but he did so on another tree about seven down from where Kev and Mae were.

Saith had also happened upon some nice flora that would prove useful. He stumbled upon lemon myrtle, which served nicely as an inspect repellent. He also saved enough so they could use it to cook later as it would add a nice flavor to the food. In addition to that, the drow found some mountain peppers. He would also present these at the evening meal with the hopes of maybe making up for his standoffish behavior for the day.

When night started to set in, the drow tightened his gap between he and the noble pair. Soon enough, the trio were hunkered down around a fire and Mae was busy doing one of her silly prayers. He almost told her to stop but realized that would just piss her the hell off. Saith had done enough damage for one day so she let her go at it. Perhaps another day he would ask for a quieter prayer as he wasn't too fond of telling they world they were there. Then again, he was just overly cautious in the night.

Finding a perch above the tree the Sun Priestess slept at, the blue-eyed drow watched as Kev seemed to toy with someone. Finally, the brunette knight caved and it all became clear. His horse, he discovered it was named Ruine, was set to rest beside the priestess to keep her warm. Kev, finding a tree across from the fire, did his best to stay away, but found the darkness of the night to be too much for him. Being a creature of the night, Saith should have had no issues staying awake but even he found that yawning was happening too frequently. A lot had happened and it was only natural that he be petered out. Perhaps he would close his eyes for just a bit?

Blue orbs flicked open the second he heard something shift in the woods. His body stayed still as froze and became one with the tree. Whatever approached would go after Kev or Mae, never knowing that Saith rested above the sleeping woman. It actually made him wonder if she even knew he was there. He crept into her tree not too long after her eyes started to give into the weight of the sand on them. Kev was oblivious to his location, so Saith had the slip on that guy. Too bad he was a so-called ally.

He had probably been asleep for two hours, which meant it was nearing midnight. His body had slowly lost its heat and he could almost feel a chill blow down his back. The forest was rather eerie in this dim moonlight and Saith still had no idea who lurked in the shadows. It would have been foolish to use his True Sight for it would give away his location. For now, he would let his wide eyes try to see the unseen that lingered around him. Sure enough, these shadow stalkers were going to attack the woman.

His eyes flicked to Kev. It sounded like two more were approaching the knight from behind. Kev looked asleep, but Saith could tell from his eye movement that the warrior was no longer in REM sleep. He was faking it now. Turning his eyes to Mae, he watched as she carefully inched her fingers toward her weapon. Saith followed suit and gingerly guided his arm over his back to begin lacing up arrows. He had the upper ground and could easily take out three; well, maybe not kill, but at least injure them.

The second the action started, the first creature was already heading for the bushes. Saith lined up his arrow and let it dig into the cowering figure's calf. Instantly, he dropped. Apparently, based on the commotion below, the thieves of the night thought Miss Mae had let lose that arrow that tripped their comrade. This pleased Saith for he was still in their blind spot.

It was at that time that Kev kicked himself back into the tree and did a somersault off it. The knight's movements were rather impressive. As his body whirled back around, his feet spread out below him as his hand gripped at the grass to slow his momentum. A whistled followed and his horse came rearing up behind him. Hooves flying, the mighty beast gave one of the attacks a good kick. As Ruine bucked around, Kev made his dash for his spear. Within seconds, he was twirling it around and lashing out toward the enemy.

Two were down, but seven were visible. Saith knew better than to guess their numbers were so low. Who would readily attack a knight donning armor with just nine men. No one. More lurked in the forest.

A rustle came from behind and Saith hugged the base of the tree. With caution on the forefront of his mind, he peered around to see what he never thought he would see. His own reflection. There, in the tree, sat a drow. This drow had flowing white hair and deep red eyes. His ears were long and sleek, as was his figure and form. This drow had no idea Saith was behind him, but he didn't seem to care. His arrow was trained not on Saith, but on Mae.

"MAE! RUN!" His voice started the drow to his back, but it cost him his balance as the drow crashed out of the tree. Saith, springing into attack, leaped from the tree and landed in an attack position beside the fire. Eyes glowing red, he looked over his back at the sun priestess. "I said run." His voice was authoritative and commanding, indicating that he knew more than the other two did.

From above came two more drow, these ones caused the trees to bend, which allowed the moonlight to spill onto the wooden stalkers. There, in that very patch of light, both Mae and Kev could see what was before them. A horde of drow hellbent on killing these trespassers.

Kev lunged onto his horse and offered Mae a hand. There was no way they could win this fight. Saith was right to call out a retreat. But a part of Kev didn't trust the man. Who was to say he wouldn't lead these drow after them? Who was to say this all hadn't been a ploy? A plot by Saith to kidnap the priestess and rob Kev of his armor, spear, and majestic horse?

"Priestess, we must go. We can't win. They have the upper hand," he pleaded to the woman. If she chose to stay, he would too. But he was really hoping she would ride with him. They would gallop long and hard into the night and not stop until they reached the end of the forest. Saith was skilled enough to buy them some time. Not to mention, he could probably work out a deal with his own kin, assuming he wasn't already plotting along with them.

An exchange between Kev and Saith followed. Both glared angrily at one another. It was their unspoken truce. If Saith wanted to prove his loyalty to the priestess, he would stay behind to give Mae and Kev a chance to find safety. And to Saith, this oath meant that Kev would never betray the golden princess and he would help her carry out her duties until the day she died.

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