Ashia walks over to Jay and picks him up. She slings Jay over her shoulder and starts walking, "Give Jay a bit of a break Hazel I've seen this before. Heck Justin and I have had this before. It's where you're totally exhausted and cramping so badly that you can't move. With the pace we've been pushing today I'm not surprised this happened."


Orin keeps Brandon in sight as he tries to stay out of sight. He wonders how Brandon is coping with being separated from the group. He doesn't worry about Justin much since Orin knows Justin can handle a sword well.


Justin looks over at the Greencloak that helped him, "Thank you. By any chance have you seen the person I was traveling with?" Justin describes Brandon. "Also, if you don't mind my asking did you come from the ship I saw?" Justin tries to be careful with what he says so as not to attract more attention especially not attention from the Conquerors. Ashia and Justin had fought against the Conquerors in the past, so they most likely knew about the Keepers.

Jay thanks Ashia multiple times over for her help and patience. He doesn't enjoy being a burden to someone else, but he can't exactly will himself to start moving again. Hazel nods, reluctantly acknowledging that painful cramps like that did occur. She didn't trust Jay not to exaggerate what he's going through though.

Brandon is avoiding people he doesn't know and constantly on the look out for someone he does. Matamba appears again and brushes against him. He smiles at the panther before he frowns and quickly observes the others reactions around him. His hand stays protectively on Matamba as he attempts to get away from any questioning gazes.

"I don't think I've seen your young travelling companion, but Deirdre might have." The Greencloak nods slightly towards her spirit animal, a 'pest' that wouldn't be thought of as out of place in a town. "I might have come from the ship you saw. There's quite a few ships docked here at the current moment and I did arrive by boat."

Ashia nods once to acknowledge Jay before she keeps walking. It wasn't easy for Ashia to keep going under Jay's weight. She also knew that if it came down to a fighting situation, she wouldn't have a chance to go for her bow. Jay was blocking Ashia's access to her bow. Ashia also understood that Hazel thought Jay was faking it but chose not to say anything. After another mile Ashia gently puts Jay down and signals for silence.


Justin nods once, "Did you happen to see a peregrine falcon? Orin is very useful when spotting allies or enemies. One of the ships in the port belongs to an ally. I certainly hope you're one of them." Justin was still being cautious, but he knew he didn't have time to beat around the bush anymore.


Orin flies down to Brandon again. This time though Orin grabs at Brandon's shirt and tries to direct him towards where Justin is. He hoped Brandon understood what he was trying to tell him. There were too many enemies nearby to try that again.

Jay is obediently quiet as he cautiously gets to his feet. He puts his hands over his mouth as though that would quiet his breathing as he gasps in pain as he accidentally pulls a muscle here or there. He grits his teeth and stays standing even if someone demands he sit back down again. He doesn't want to be caught seemingly helpless by an enemy.
Hazel has to admit that if he's acting, he seems to be able to pull off this charade fairly well. Her hands falls to her short swords, prepared to draw them if the silence Ashia needed was a harbinger of danger.

"Yes. A falcon, probably Orin, is over that way." The Greencloak points to where she had last seen Orin. "I am an ally along with some others, though they've followed the others' trail, and have come to help you and your group."

Brandon takes Orin's cue and follows the tug goes back towards where he last left Justin. He starts off walking and then picks up the pace until he is sprinting back to Justin. He uses shortcuts using not so densely populated areas. Matamba keeps pace beside him.

Justin smiles at the Greencloak, *Thank you. Follow me I know where the others are going. And for the record my partner asked you for help because we were worried about Conquerers nothing else. Brandon we need to go. Thank you Orin.* Justin sets off a quick pace towards the maze. Carefully he goes towards the maze after asking Orin to back into passive state. The falcon complies and becomes a tattoo on Justins shoulder. Even without Orin*s extra boost Justin could sense that Ashia was in danger.

Ashia reaches for her bow unsure if who she was sensing were Greencloaks or Conquerors. Closing her eyes Ashia tries to focus on her senses to determine which she was dealing with. Even though Ashia had contacted the Greencloaks she refused to believe they wouldnt deceive her. Conquerors on the other hand would try to kill them or extract the information that she knew. Ashia had purposely never told anyone except Justin where the Bamboo panda of Jhi was hidden. Both were a bad option in her eyes.

The Greencloak shrugs at the minor miscommunication about her reason for being here but accepts that Justin's partner had asked for their aid. She doesn't seem to be put off by the fact that she had only been on this mission to protect against Conquerors. She didn't like Conquerors and wasn't too bummed if she had an excuse to hurt them.
Brandon arrives a bit out of breath and he stares at the Greencloak for a long time, wondering whether or not he really wanted to trust the Greencloak enough to accompany her. Since Justin, Orin, and Matamba seem to be pretty chill with the Greencloak and the Greencloak pretty easy going with the rest of the group, Brandon decides that accompanying the Greencloak couldn't be that bad and he didn't have to trust her even if they did travel together. He tries to be friendly as he signs the equivalent of "What's your name", directing it towards the Greencloak. The Greencloak, whose name was Mae, stares at Brandon blankly and gives him a questioning look when he doesn't put his spirit animal in dormant state like Justin and herself. Brandon then averts his gaze at the reproachful look Mae gave him and silently follows Justin, keeping the latter's pace even as guilt and disappointment in himself depleted his energy.

***

Mahesh was the leader of the bunch sweeping behind the main group to get rid of any competition that trailed after the main group of Conquerors. Mahesh had warned his group to be quiet, knowing that whoever was following the path would be on high alert just as his group should be. Akemi, his red panda spirit animal, warns him of upcoming danger and he again signals his group to be quiet and proceed with caution. However, the youngest of the small group were not as experienced as the rest and try as they might, they simply couldn't be as quiet as the rest when they surrounded the hostile group following the main set of Conquerors. Mahesh observes the group his fellows had surrounded, noting that the man was the weakest and would be fairly easy to take out since he did not see any weapon on him, the one with the bow seemed the most experienced, alert, and she was probably the real threat, and he puzzled over the second woman who apparently swords native to his homeland, Zhong, but does not look like she comes from Zhong. After satisfying himself that he could possibly guess the hostiles actions well enough, Mahesh steps forward with Akemi in passive state - if there was any sign of trouble, Akemi would be back out and fighting like the devil.
"Hello." His tone was neutral as he did not consider Ashia, Hazel, and Jay enemies or allies until he knew what they came for. He held himself with confidence and grace and it looks like he knew how to wield the swords at his sides and strapped to his back. Though he is ready to draw a weapon mainly used for defense, he does not seem intent on using it to attack and seems more focused on defending himself from the weapons already drawn. "What is your business in this part of Zhong?"
His fellows were ready to advance if Ashia, Hazel, or Jay showed any further signs of being hostile. Ahmir, who is one of Maheshs closest friends, is especially on high alert and is ready to protect him at all costs.

Jayden keeps quiet and lets Ashia or Hazel do the talking. He's just now realizing that he doesn't have any weapon other than his sharp tongue that lands him in more trouble then it gets him out of. He eyes Mahesh before scanning the surrounding forest and spotting the Conquerors that weren't as well hidden as he inches to grab a branch of bamboo to use if anyone came too close. He counts what he can and suspects that they're facing a group of around fifteen.

Hazel recognizes one of the Conquerors weapons to be similar to her own and she can't help but smile slightly. It was rare for her to find anyone who had proficiency in the swords she uses. She looks to Ashia to explain, not trusting herself to give away too much or potentially turning the group surrounding them hostile.

Justin looks over at Mae harshly, *Hes new to the group. And a new summoner Id wager so go easy on him. After all not everyone can put their spirit animals in dormant state easily.* Justin runs at a grueling pace while following Ashia*s trail. Slight marks that looked like animal scratches guided Justin*s path. It took only a few minutes for him to sense something very wrong in the maze. Using hand signals he motions for the group to move quietly forward. Carefully Justin brings Orin out of dormant state. Justin writes in the dirt *Conquerers dead ahead. The others are surrounded. I have a plan but we have to wait for Ashia*s signal. She knows we are here.* Calmly he gets out his sword and trying to avoid catching the light rubs dirt in the shiny parts of the blade. After making sure the blade wont give him away Justin readies himself for battle. What Ashia says though almost makes him drop his blade even though he knows Ashia is using her best skill, deception.



Ashia knew Justin was behind the Conquerors. She just hoped the others didnt know since she only just sensed it. Ashia was grateful that the others were letting her do the talking. Smirking she looks at Mahesh, *Arent you the clever one? Pinning down allies who know where the Bamboo Panda of Jhi is? Yes my group are new recruits and Ive been dealing with a little issue with Greencloaks lately so thats why I dont have my armor on. After all infiltration is my specialty. What about you Mahesh? Do you know how to navigate the maze or about the guards defending the talisman? Or what about the Greencloak in your mists? The one thats been giving Olvan our every move. Im sure the Devourer would be most displeased if he found out you knew about the traitor but didnt do anything.* Ashia doesnt bother hoping that the others wouldnt give her away since she knew Jay could be a decent actor and shed already seen Hazels acting skills. As if further convincing the Conquerors Ashia puts her bow in a no threatening position. One that she could shoot from if she had to. Though she would wait to give Justin the signal.

Brandon is very grateful for Justin's support and he dutifully keeps the pace he set. He doesn't slow down or stop once the pace is set and proven to be one he can maintain. He is more determined now than ever before to make up for his shortcomings by not complaining and doing his part best he can. Matamba runs beside Brandon but gets worn down after a while and turns into her passive state. Brandon misses the comfort of having his spirit animal tangibly beside him, but he lets Matamba rest and recover. Brandon doesn't bother giving Mae a second thought once the Greencloak proves to be annoyed at the fact that Brandon could not control his animal as well as others can.
Brandon slows down when Justin calls for it and, once he notices the others releasing their spirit animals, attempts to do so himself. There's a few minutes that he begins to believe is filled with ridicule as he tries to bring Matamba to his side. Being around Hazel didn't make him feel judged like he did when under Mae's gaze. He is focusing on summoning Matamba more than the words Ashia had spoken but if he had heard them, he probably wouldn't hesitate to dash to his sister's side and get her away from Ashia and the Conquerors because he couldn't risk Ashia speaking the truth and his sister being in trouble.

Mae tries not to be exasperated once she notices that, now that they're out of the town and away from curious people, the panther is in dormant state. She keeps any doubts and grumbles to herself as she follows the two. She was just here to make sure they don't die at the hands of Conquerors, not criticize their way of solving their own problems. Mae reads what Justin writes in the dirt and, drawing in the dirt, responds *What is the plan?* At Ashia's statement, she adds, *Either your partner is a good liar or I am going to end up running both of you through with my daggers.* She looks about ready to attack anyways and in her mind she is planning who she would take out first.

***

Mahesh seems unaffected by the praise Ashia shot at him but accepted the non threatening position of her bow and he lowered his guard some.
Jay listens to Ashia's bold statements and could barely keep his shock hidden. So that's the plan they're going with, being Conquerors. Ok, he could work with that. He still freezes under Mahesh's searching gaze and he appears more confident than how he's feeling. He's about ready to turn himself in as an imposter after a few more moments of silence. Thankfully, before Jay could say anything opposing Ashia's statement, Mahesh turns his gaze back to the other two.
"Amateur." Mahesh murmurs at the fact that Jay had somehow lost whatever weapon he had had.
"My name is Jay." Jay piped up after hearing being called an amateur. Mahesh nods and politely corrects himself and refers to Jay by name from this point on, though his attitude about it was of one doing some trivial thing to appease an upset child.
Mahesh focuses on Ashia, "Knowing what is guarding the talisman is not my business to know and is for others to worry about. Tell me, infiltrator, if you know so much, which one in my group is the fraud?" He seems to be amused at her claims than wary of the possibility that she is right and one of his men and women would betray him. He had been keeping a close eye on them and was pretty sure that none of his gang were spies. He could not be 100 percent positive, but he was confident in his group's loyalty to him.

Justin looks at Mae before writing, "Trust us." Justin certainly hopes Ashia knows what she's doing since they had never discussed this plan. Trusting anyone during these hard and volatile times was dangerous Justin knew especially for a Greencloak or a Keeper. Even though he knew Ashia would never betray them Justin couldn't help but feel uneasy. They were heavily outnumbered, and Ashia's group was surrounded. If this came down to a fight Justin was positive there would be causalities for the Keepers and Greencloaks. He wonders what Ashia's signal will be knowing that the normal signal in this case would be a worse case scenario.



"I don't know. I just got here Mahesh all I know about the traitor is a name that the Greencloaks used: 'Wisekeeper'. She has a fox spirit animal. But I think we can convince this Wisekeeper to join us since she nearly killed Olvan with an arrow while he was in his office. That or let them think they have a traitor and destroy themselves. I think that would be more beneficial having two enemies fight each other instead of us. The Greencloaks are already on edge it wouldn't take much to push them over it. What do you think Mahesh," Ashia asks in a mocking voice. Her tone indicated she would not tolerate anyone doubting her or making a move to attack.

Matamba appears by Brandon's side. Brandon gets out his weapon of choice and keeps his focus on Justin and Hazel. Brandon didn't count up the odds, only knowing that if things turned to the worst he would be by his sisters size. Matamba glares at the Conquerors.
Mae doesn't look too happy about trusting Justin and Ashia now, but she reluctantly nods her head. She hoped whatever Ashia and Justin had in mind would work out. She didn't have previous experiences to bond with Ashia and Justin and help with her trust level with the duo.
***
Mahesh would think over what Ashia was saying. "None of the females in my group have bonded with a fox spirit animal." He would reason. "It might be another leader that has the treacherous Greencloak to deal with. I like your plan about turning this 'Wisekeeper' against the Greencloaks but we would need the Wisekeeper to do that. And wed most likely have to pass this idea by someone with more authority than I do."