The journey to Alvulstein was fairly uneventful, with the only entertaining occurrence was when Carac tripped over a log and fell into a small stream. Thea had teased Carac so much to the point where he tackled her to the ground in a fit of rage. The journey was over a week long and both teenagers were very tired. Thea decided to check and see where Ryia was. Reading the note, it said she was still in the inn. "Great," muttered Thea. "She's in the inn." Carac gave Thea a reassuring smile, knowing his friend was nervous. "Want me to go in and get her?" offered Carac. "No. I better do this alone. If that description about her is true then I don't want you watching me getting my ass kicked," she joked.
"Fine, fine. But I'm coming in if I hear any commotion," sighed Carac in defeat as he really wanted to see this reunion. "Tell me if she kickes your ass," he joked. Thea gave Carac a sarcastic smile before walking into the inn.
Alvulstein inn was the most unhygienic place Thea had ever seen. The stone walls were covered in a layer of grime, the air smelled like an old mans beard and the innkeeper looked like he bathed in a sewer. Thea walked up to the innkeeper behind the counter. She looked at him with a smirk. "He's all muscle. No brain," she thought to herself. "This ain't a place for a little girl. Get lost," growled the innkeeper. "How about you shut up and tell me where I can find Ryia," she growled back. "Never heard that name before. Now get lost." No sooner had the innkeeper said these words, Carac had stormed into the inn, looking slightly angry, and marched over to Thea. "We have a problem. There's a fight down the road. I was wondering if you wanted to to break it up?" Carac said with a sly grin. "There is only one person around here who loves to start fights," muttered Thea. "Lets go."
Outside the inn, an elderly man was watching the commotion from a distance. Carac asked the man what was happening. The man said that a man was beating a child publicly when a young woman stepped out from the croud and pulled him off the child and started to fight the man, yelling something about him being a murderer and a thief. Thea ran to the crowd, managing to hear a familiar voice screaming in the mans face "You killed her," over and over again. Thea tried to see who the young woman was. The girls back was facing her but her blood red hair gave away exactly who it was. Thea emerged from the crowd, attempting to pull Ryia off the man. Carac had notices Thea run into the crowd and followed her. He ran to aid the child, who was lying still on the roadside. Ryia tried to free herself from the grasps of the person trying to pull her off of her, not realising that it was Thea pulling her away. Carac had picked up the child and carried her into a nearby house to get her out of the sun and tend to her injuries. Thea tried to calm Ryia down, only to recieve a punch to the face as Ryia freed herself from her grip and launched at the man who was beating the child. "Not so fun now is it huh?" She screamed in the mans face as she repeatedly punched him. Thea was unsure what to do, but she knew she had to get Ryia off of the woman. She took her bow off her back, and hit Ryia over the head with it. She knocked the girl out cold. The man who recieved the vicious beating was covered in blood, making him unidentifiable. Thea ordered a middle aged man from the crowd to help the man into a different house from the child, as she dragged Ryia into the building Carac was in.
"Did you really have to knock her out?" laughed Carac. "She's going to be pissed when she wakes up." Thea gave Carac her best 'That wasn't funny and your dead later' face. She turned her attention to her unconscious friend. "You are going to be so pissed at me arent you?" She laughed to herself. "Im going to get some food. Want anything?"asked Carac. "Not hungry," mumbled Thea. "I'll get you some soup," he joked. "You know I hate soup idiot," she laughed. "Whatever. I'll be back in a few minutes." Carac stood up and left the room, leaving Thea alone with an unconscious Ryia. "Nice to see your hair hasn't changed. It still suits you," she said to Ryia, unsure if she could hear her. "I was an asshole. Im sorry I had to knock you out but you were going to kill that man." When she was about stand and leave the room, Ryia opened her eyes. She looked around the room she was in before her gaze met Thea, who stared back at her
