The truth.

"I am s-sorry sir. I know not for ce-certain. But I did see the li-library was sacked and many of the sisters inside had... f-fallen. Constance among them." He steps forward, challenging, threatening with his dirk.

"Did you see Eliza," he hisses. He is close enough to reach for Aegis' reins should he choose to. His black face looks up at you from beneath the hood with intensity.

"I do not th-think so," you manage with a sob. "I... I had to abandon the abbey. My sisters. I was ch-charged by the War Mother herself to... warn the Order. I did... did not stay and fight..." The last of your strength crumbles and you begin to cry, head in your hands.

You feel Aegis' lead is taken and firm hands around your waist pull you from the saddle. You look up to see the face of the second man, scarred and glowering with an unkempt beard, staring at you fiercely. His look terrifies you. The voice of the first man speaks out.

"Tully, lay her by the fire and then help me with this beast." The frightening man grunts back at him. He drags you into the cave and places you next to the fire. He looks at you for a second before chucking a roughspun blanket on top of you.

"Get out them wet clothes you little bitch, or you'll be dead by morning." Then he turns and leaves.

Tully and the other man, whose name you now know is Ramos, are indeed hunters. They are not partners, but Ramos' usual, his neighbour, is sick and he cannot afford not to hunt. Tully is another man from the village and it is clear the two do not get along easily.

Ramos has been warm and kind. He presses you constantly for news of his sister, hoping that the warming fire and the chunk of roast venison he passed to you will restore some memory, but nothing comes. You tell of the daemons but not the **** that you witnessed and suffered, only that the abbey was attacked; that many of your sisters are dead, the War Mother almost certainly among them. You explain that you are just a novice yourself, leaving out that you were about to undergo the rite that would mark you as a Paladin of the order. Ramos listens intently, while Tully sits further back and smokes, uninterested in your tale.

Your sodden clothes are hanging by the fire to dry. You are sitting naked beneath the blanket, as close as you can get without scorching your skin, with hot juices on your chin and running down your forearms as you devour the meat. The men chuckle at your lack of manners, and pass a skin between them, drinking deeply in turn. When you have finished, Ramos holds the skin out to you. You take it uncertainly, not knowing what may be inside. A small sip and your mouth is burning. You gasp, and inhale some of the fumes, coughing and hacking. The men laugh again as you hand the foul drink back to them shaking your head. The coughing does not die down for a moment and when you are once again aware of your surroundings, Tully has gone and Ramos is standing closer by undoing his bedroll. He hands it to you and drops to his haunches. His handsome face, dark even in the firelight, is adorned with a bushy black beard and strong brow; a chiselled but broken nose, and clever eyes. He is speaking with concern.

"Sabine. I have drawn the short straw and must take first watch. I will make sure no harm comes to you while I can, but later, if I am asleep and anything happens - anything at all - just shout and I will come to your aid. Do you understand?"

You nod, dumbly. Your trained senses have fled in your weakened state, so you do not fully understand what he is implying. His searching look betrays concern, but he is **** to turn away as Tully returns from outside.

Your exhausted body gives little choice but to lie down on the loaned bedroll, swaddling yourself in the scratchy blanket. It is mere seconds before you are asleep.