Chorong's right hand came up, forming a fist as she was spun around forcefully, and she punched the man's face as hard as she could. It hurt and she cried out with the pain in her hand, but he let her go and stumbled back, clutching a hand to his jaw as he glared at her. "Wha the hell!" he shouted, shaking off the pain as his gaze darkened.

Her eyes widened and she took a step back, afraid of the consequences of her actions. He was a short and stocky man who sneered with murder in his eyes, and reached down to draw a short, ugly sword off his hip. Chorong gave a squeak of fright at the weapon and turned to run.

And ran flat into someone's bare chest. She looked up to see Daehyun's face twisted in anger as he looked over her shoulder at the man threatening her. He reached down to take the magical stick from her hands as she stared up at him in shock. "Get behind me," he said lowly, and she obeyed immediately, her jaw slack with amazement that he was alive. She glanced at his hand as she passed but to her shock, she saw no Ring. She couldn't dwell on that, though, because Daehyun raised the thin stick and muttered a word.

A terrible boom sounded through the air, but the man's eyes had gone wide as he saw Daehyun lift the weapon and he had made a dive to the side. A streak of bright energy left the tip of the stick and crashed right where the man had been standing, shaking the earth and making Chorong's ears ring.

Before she could think to move away from the battle, Daehyun turned and handed her the stick, then bent to gather his sword from the litter. She still could hardly believe that he had lain there, wounded and dying, mere moments before! Now he turned to his opponent with sword in hand and not a wound on his body.

The man was just picking himself up off the ground when Daehyun pounced, swinging that big sword with both hands in a downward arc. Chorong thought it might all be over in that moment, but the man's ugly sword held in a parry over his head, though it was forced down far enough that he had to duck to avoid being cut. Daehyun pulled back and swung again, and again, and each time Chorong could tell that the man was barely keeping himself safe.

And not for long. The Obari's sword chopped down in an overhead movement, and the short man raised his sword to parry. At the last moment, Daehyun stopped his downward swing, and threw the weapon to the side to slice in and across. The big sword cut through flesh and Chorong turned her face away, hearing the gasp from the other man as air left his lungs.

Daehyun stepped between her and the body, something she was grateful for, and reached down to clean his sword on the man's clothing. Chorong found Daehyun's bloodied shirt on the litter where she had lain it to dry, and mutely held it out to him when he turned to her.

"Thank you," he said, eyes questioning even as he drew the garment over his head. "How... did you..."

"I gave you the Ring," she said softly, reaching out to touch the middle finger of his right hand. She still couldn't see or feel the Ring, but when Daehyun looked down his eyes widened and he raised his hand as if to inspect the jewelry. "I can't see it," she began, then realized someone was walking toward them. She nudged Daehyun's shoulder and motioned with her chin.

Himchan was halfway to them when Daehyun turned, the dark-eyed man's sword back on his hip and bearing no wounds that Chorong could see. She had left him to fight three men, how had he beaten them and come out unscathed? Obviously he was good. She glanced at Daehyun, wondering if he could beat the other man, and the tight look on his face said he was thinking along the same lines.

"My runaway companions," Himchan sneered, stopping a good distance from them as he seemed to take them in from head to toe. He motioned at Daehyun's blood-stained shirt. "You've been through rough times since you left me." His words sounded fine, but the growl in his voice as he finished the sentence gave truth to the anger there.

"It's not my blood," Daehyun countered. Chorong kept her face smooth at his lie; after all, he had no wound to speak of if Himchan demanded to see it.

Himchan's brow rose in questioning, but he let the matter drop. "I don't want a fight with either of you, you know you can't win against me anyway." He turned to Chorong and held out one hand. "Give me the Ring, I saw you on top of the Cairn, I know you have it."

Her heart began to pount in her chest, but she tried her best to stay calm and raised her head high as she shook it in denial. "There was no Ring there," she told him steadily.

His dark eyes narrowed and he glanced at Daehyun before looking at her once again. "I don't believe