As time went on, Frayusha’s nerves seemed to calm down. She knew Shardoe was a bad man, and her father finally seemed to get it. A little too late, she thought. The ride was peaceful, and she tried to come up with a plan to get control again. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and the caravan was on its side. She thought she had been found out and quickly tried to run away, but as soon as she got out of the caravan, she saw many people, Piskalians. She instinctively tried to run, but got caught by Linth.
“Hold up there, young one, we’re not going to hurt you,” Linth said. Frayusha turned towards him, and that’s when he noticed who it was.
“Frayusha, what are you doing here…hiding nonetheless,” Linth said. Frayusha was having a hard time recalling who he was.
“I’m sorry, but do I know you?” She asked.
“I am head of the warriors. We met some years ago,” Linth said. Frayusha nodded, thinking.
“I need to speak to your king,” she said. Everyone stopped what they were doing. Frayusha looked around, confused. Linth realized something was amiss.
“What happened?” Linth said. Frayusha didn’t know where to begin.
“Is your king back yet? My father is with him. I need to speak to them,” Frayusha said. Not willing to give information.
“No he’s not. What happened, m’ lady?” Linth said. Frayusha started to panic; she didn’t think about whether he wasn’t there.
“Then I need to speak with your Lord,” Frayusha said. This made everyone come closer towards her; she saw this and got into a defensive position. Linth was the one to put his hands up to keep people back.
“I’m sorry, but we cannot let you do that,” Linth said. Frayusha wasn’t thinking, because if she had, she would have known there would be no way for this rebellion to let her talk about who they were to the Lord. She had seen their faces; she was a threat.
“Please! I need to find my father!” Frayusha pleaded. Linth wasn’t unsympathetic to her; he could tell something dire had just happened.
“When they return, we shall let you see them, but for now you have to come with us…in secret,” Linth said. Frayusha didn’t know how to take this information; she wasn’t sure if he could be trusted.
“How can I trust that?” Frayusha said. Linth looked at her and smiled.
“You really don’t have a choice, but I wouldn’t lie to you dear,” Linth said, while holding out his hand. Frayusha nodded, and then they heard the sounds of hounds.
“They found us!” Tanla said. A few yards away were the Rhudons led by Brurock. He showed his teeth and yelled for them to take them. They let the hounds go, and they rushed towards them. Linth desperately tried to rally everyone together to get ready for a fight. Luckily, there were some of his warriors with him, and maybe they stood a fighting chance. It was Tanla who spoke reason.
“We have to run! We are not fighters; there are too many of them,” she said. Linth looked, and the Piskals that were there were scared half to death. By that time, the hounds got to them. The warriors were having trouble fighting them off. Linth came up sword in hand and slashed at one hound, but it grabbed the sword in its mouth and growled while blood ran down the sword. Linth then pushed with all his might, resulting in the hound's face being cut into two. The Rhudons were closing in, and Linth knew this was going to be a slaughter.
“Run!” Linth said. They all ran, and the ones that lagged behind weren’t being killed, they were being taken. Which confused Linth. Tanla was trying to help the slower ones and got herself taken. She called for Linth’s help, and he ran back trying to get her to safety. He fought the Rhudon that had a hold of her and cut him down. Tanla was running ahead of him, and Linth noticed Frayusha was fighting and also keeping close to Tanla.
“To the sacred tree!” Linth said, and they all seemed to run towards it. The first ones to get to the hidden opening said the word and were waiting for the rest to join. Linth was in the back, and that’s when he saw Hashmire, who was being taken away from the rest, and Tanla ran after him. Linth was going to go get them, but his warriors stopped him.
“There are too many! We have to get in before it’s too late!” One of the warriors said. Linth was protesting, but was being dragged into the doorway, and once he was in, it closed behind them. They could hear the sounds of the Rhudons cheering in the distance. They all ran to the sacred tree. Once there, they took a count, nine Piskalians were missing, including Tanla and Hashmire. Everyone wondered what to do next. Linth didn’t know what to do, and how was he going to explain this to Verdom?