"All our kin are. We do nae eat people, never did." Not seeming to mind as he tied his shield and spear onto her back. She'd carried more before.

"I can catch fish if I need to eat. I'd not want to take your rations." Soon she would keep pace with the man, walking slowly. Nostrils scenting the air and ice blue eyes alert. "Let me know if you start to tire."

A confident smirk appeared on Silanus' face, he could now go to the Steppes with friendly company, if the mercenaries tried to fight with him, they'd be condemed to fight Icer too. 

Silanus did not see Icer as a tool, but as an ally; Silanus is someone you prefer as an ally rather than an enemy. He looked back at Icer and said: "Let's head to the Steppes, then. Your idea of following the river hopefully helps. You can leave me there as soon as we cross the border, I'll be safer there."  

Around half an hour passed, the man and the dragon walked a long distance, it seemed they were going North. Unfortunately, it seemed as they were discovered by the mercenaries; they were surrounded! 21 light armored mercs, 2 of them elves and 1 of them an orc appeared!

Most of them were men, only 4 were female. Not everyone had a shield and they were armed with basic iron and steel weapons. The only good equipped merc was the leader, he had a full steel armor, with a helmet that only showed his eyes.

The leader of the merc dis-mounted his horse, he had a greatsword as his weapon. The merc said: "Wooh, it looks like our prey has a friend, a big one! Al right boys, they paid well for Tacitus Silanus' head, so let's get it!" The 21 mercs got closer and closer, must of them were going to attack Icer, only 6 headed towards Silanus. 

Silanus un-sheated his sword, he had no time to reach for his shield or spear, since they were tied at Icer's back.

They had been making good time, until the mercenaries surrounded them! Jaws soon snapped as the men drew nearer, tail snapping out. sending a few of the men sprawling. She'd let them live, for now.

Another snap at a spear shoved her way, before taking in a breath, nostrils flaring. Releasing her breath weapon, soon the ground beneath them started to become coated with ice.

Silanus noted how Icer had thrown away a couple of enemies with her tail. 2 of the mercs approached Silanus, one of them with a mace and the other one with a 2 handed axe. He stabbed one of them with a swift movent, when the other one tried to slash him with the greataxe, Silanus dodged the attack, cut his arm and them pierced his chest with the sword.

Icer froze the land beneath them, why? It would be harder for Silanus to fight now… One merc with two swords tried to stab Silanus, but he blocked his move and counted attacked stabbing his leg, then slashing his chest deeply; enough to kill him. 

Tacitus Silanus was doing well, but they were outnumbered… One enemy orc hit Silanus with a blunt mace, luckily for him, his steel armor protected him from most damage, however he was still staggered… The orc hit him again, this time in the head, Silanus fell to the ground hurted badly…

Silanus' helmet could not absorb all the damage, even if it protected him from a mortal wound, the hit was strong enough to throw him to the ground! When the orc was about to do kill him, Silanus used a spell on him… A spell to make the mercenary weaker and weaker… So weak he could not even lift his own mace…! Silanus cut off his leg and then stabbed his stomach, it was a bloody scene…

Two mercs remained, they stepped back in fear seeing how only one man killed 4 of them; Silanus didn't attack, instead he gathered magic to cast a streght spell to endure the pain. He rushed against the two enemies, cut one's head off and stabbed the other one's chest… He then shouted: "Finish them, Icer… SHOW NO MERCY!" 8 mercs charged against Icer now!

Jaws had parted once more as the mercenaries came at her. Nostrils flaring as she loosed her ice fire ,aiming to freeze the men solid. "You sure you don't want a lift? Wings unfurled to stretch, then dipped in offering.

"O-of course!" Said Silanus. He jumped on the dragon's back as soon as possible. The mercenaries were falling back as they were about to escape.

Wings unfurled once Silanus was on her back, muscles within her hind legs twitching as she reared to push off the ground. The Wind from her beating wings starting to buffet the mercenaries as they climbed higher.

"Keep going, keep going!" Yelled Silanus. He saw his spear tied in Icer´s back, so he took it and aimed to kill the leader of the mercenaries… However, an agile enemy elf jumped on Icer´s leg and grabbed it. Silanus had no choice other than throw the spear at him. The long weapon pierced his skull as the elf fell from the leg… They were going to escape!

"Hang on!" Wings pumped as the blue rose higher, lifting them above the clouds. They had an aerial view of the fields and forests. "Maybe we should follow the river?"

Tacitus Silanus watched as they left behind the mercenaries. He was glad to have escaped from them at last. The warrior smiled as he listened to the dragon's offer, but he had to refuse.

"Don't follow the river." Answered Silanus. The place was too far away for them to go in a couplebof hours, so he explained his next idea. "See that mountain over there? Go that way. There is a cave named Lost Blade Cavern over there. We could start a fire and rest there, whad'ya say?"