"Blood is the price, blood is the demand. For those willing to pay it, the world is in their hands." - The Prophecies of Light

Wonwoo obeyed the Mage as soon as he uttered those words, mainly because he couldn't agree more. He didn't exactly want to be around when more guards came out to relieve the ones he and Mingyu had disposed of! He hurried into the stable and toward his horse's stall, intent on saddling his grey as quickly as possible. He gave a start when he saw the horse next to his, though: it looked like a near copy of Seungcheol's wicked red!

"A Sadovian. Likely it's Siwon's," Hyesung said with a bitter twist to his mouth. At the thief's questioning look, he shook his head and motioned with his hand. "Never mind. Later." The Mage brushed by, a slight limp to his step a reminder that he was still not fully healed.

Wonwoo shook off the uncanny resemblance of the horse and hurried to his own. He had just finished tying the bundle of supplies to the saddle when he heard a shout from the stableyard. "Oh hells," he moaned, looking over to see Mingyu helping Hyesung up onto a tall, leggy black horse. The mercenary's face was stricken as he glanced back over his shoulder toward the stable door. It was obvious that despite Hyesung's good humor, he was not in any condition for a fight. Mingyu turned toward the door, his left hand reaching for his sword, but Hyesung's voice stopped him.

"We cannot be drawn into a fight. Not here, not now. And not with them. Get on your horse and we will make a run for it."

"But I can buy you time," Mingyu began, but the sharp look from the Mage stopped him.

"Horse. Now."

Once again, Wonwoo agreed wholeheartedly with the older man. Despite Mingyu's sword skills, he couldn't see a battle in the stableyard playing out well for the three of them. And certainly not for Mingyu alone. The mercenary paused for a moment longer before he shook his head and dropped the grip on his sword, and swung up into his horse's saddle with ease.

Wonwoo followed suit, though not nearly as graceful as the taller man. As soon as he was settled, Hyesung nudged his horse forward to the doorway. "Stay right behind me," he ordered, his voice firm, and raised his hand in front of him. Wonwoo heard the barest of mumbles and then sparks burst from the torches that lit the stableyard. They burned bright for a moment before they went out completely, and Hyesung gave his horse a kick.

The big black burst into a run, and at the same moment, the wagon that Hyesung had been transported in went up in a ball of flame. Wonwoo's mouth dropped open at the sight, but luckily his horse wanted to stay with the others and followed along without the thief's urging. 

Shouted curses rose up from the soldiers who had been nearest the wagon, their swords dropped in favor of covering their faces from the impromptu bonfire. As the three raced past, Wonwoo recognized the face of their leader, scowling at them as he shouted some unheard command to his men.

And then they were out into the street of the town, with nothing ahead of them but open road. To Wonwoo's surprise, Hyesung turned his horse back to the East, away from the Reaches where they had been headed. He followed the Mage anyway, knowing that there had to be a reason behind his choice, and though Mingyu cursed out loud, he did so as well.

The sun was beginning to peek up over the horizon by the time the Mage drew his horse into a walk in a treed section of road, the black snorting and lathered in sweat. Mingyu gave him a weary look, one that Wonwoo could guess was in frustration over going the wrong way, but Hyesung only responded with a grin. "Don't worry so much," he told the mercenary, drawing a scowl from him, and laughed in return. 

"Ah. I owe you both thanks," he said, in a much more somber tone. "If it were not for your timely intervention, I would never have been able to escape in time to warn Redien. As it is, I can only hope that there is time enough!"

"Warn them? About the war?" Mingyu asked, crossing his arms on the pommel of his saddle and leaning forward. 

"Yes. I can do that from the City of Light, though, so we do not need to travel all the way back to Redien." Surely he saw the glance that the two young men exchanged, because Hyesung's face grew weary and he asked, "what?"

Mingyu grimaced and shook his head. "We tried to go to the City of Light, looking for healing and help with understanding. They turned us away. Said that no mortals were welcome."

Hyesung's lips thinned, pressed together in a tight line as he considered the words. "'The long-lived continue without change, their eyes closed while the world collapses around them.' Well then," he added, pushing a smile back onto his face. Wonwoo thought that this one had an edge of the exhaustion he had seen the man show earlier. "We shall do this the hard way!"

"We're going back to Redien?" Wonwoo asked, unsure how he should feel about that. Home, yes, but... He glanced at Mingyu from the corner of his eye, once again unwilling to simply abandon the other man. Which, he supposed, meant that he would probably b