Admittedly, Hakon was only vaguely surprised by this revelation, so she made sure the girl knew it," That's alright, I actually fell in love with a demon." She blinks, she said that so naturally. She fell in love with a demon? She felt as if that was true but she couldn't remember… But it was true. God- what was all this? What were these fragments of a life she could not remember? Why did she have to be tortured like this?

she pressed her hand to her forehead, wincing and taking a shuddering breath. This earth as she knew it wasn't her original birth palce. She knew this. That much she was certain of. So where had she come from? She shook her head before looking toward the girl, forcing a smile," Or… Something like that-" she reached out, awkwardly patting the girl's head,"- But don't worry, I see nothing wrong with you as an individual, if that is why you look so worried,"

Synthesis was momentarily stunned. Had Hakon really just said that? Her small mind wressled with the idea, all the while joy and gratitude bloomed from deep in her breast. Hakon accepted her. She grinned from ear to ear like an idiot. But it didn't last long. She noticed that the two of them had slowed walking considerably and Hakon was wincing and breathing a little heavily. Quite frankly, she looked  under the weather. On closer inspection, Synthesis scolded herself for not noticing. The taller had tried to hide it, Synthesis supposed, and the woman had such an air of confidence that she carried off the normal signs of sickness like it were nothing.
Synthesis stopped and dared to grab her friend's arm to get her to do the same.
"Hakon! Are you okay? I… I've got water in my bag somehwere… or, or… I can try to heal you. I'm not very good but it might help a little. Or herbs: I've collected some that I thought might be useful. I don't know the first thing about herbology though…"
She trailed off. Talking loudly might not help, neither would making a fuss: Harkon still looked grand enough. But she was her new friend who'd been so nice - and the first living soul she'd seen in two days - so it was natural to feel concerned.

Hakon opened her mouth to protest, insist she was alright, that she was fine… But something caught the woman's attention- down the path, three men stood. An archer, and two men wielding two crude clubs, all wearing the same rather twisted smiles. Before them they saw two woman, one who thought herself a knight and a little girl… Who thought herself perhaps a gardener, how cute.

Hakon stopped short, instinctively placing hserlf between Synthesis and the men. She counted under her breath. 20 yards. If the archer was skilled, he could loose anywhere between 5-15 arrows in that time, if he was bad, maybe 2 or 4. This heart-stopping moment, alas, was when her mind began to work at the fullest of its capacity. She wasn't donning any armor so she would have to be quick about her movement, not to mention the little Druid at her side.

Pursing her lips, she brought herself to her full height, staring down the men in silence as she swung the shield about her back, slamming the sharp bottom of the point into the soft earth of the path. Making a statement that she would not move backward from that spot. This deterred one of the men but- not enough to make them retreat. Only when her hand gripped the leather bound hilt of the broadsword did further uncertainty bloom. Every movement the blonde woman made was of a practiced predator.

" State your business," Her voice turned instantly gruff, a bark of a commanding officer, hazel-grey eyes sharp as a hawk's.

The men hesitated before the archer hums," Simply gatherin' some tribute, lass. Ye wouldn't 'appen to have any spare coin on ye fer us, would ye?" He extends a hand as he leans upon the bow with an upturned grimace of a grin.

Harkon was already drawing her sword by the time Synthesis noticed the three men ahead on them. They looked nasty. She immediately rearranged her staff in her hand, remembering how the man she had bought it from had insisted that it was a "Bo Staff" intended for combat. She's only wanted a walking stick then and she only wanted a walking stick now. The thought of fighting off these brutes was terrifying.
Thankfully, Hakon was dealing with them like a professional, demanding what they wanted as though she had the strength of an army to their measely three.
The archer was the most worrying, for even if she ran she wouldn't be able to avoid a flying arrow. Even up a tree she wouldn't be safe.
The men, although perturbed by Harkon, managed to smile as the archer replied. Said archer even took a step forward, his lackeys following suit.
Harkon looked fine now but to alleviate her own worries, Synthesis reached out her healing ability to try and sooth the others head. The effort was so pitiful, however, and her concentration so disturbed that she doubted Harkon would even feel any benefit at all.
She felt a coward, hiding behind her companion, but what else could she do?

The vaguest warming sensation seemed to surround her head, offering the 'soldier' some relief. She focused more harshly upon the men, speaking firmly," None to be spared for the likes of you, I am afraid." It was clear there was not the slightest hint of fear in her voice, as if to accent her words, she drew her sword just enough from its sheathe to allow the blade to ring through the air eerily. She did not blink, nor move, it was akin to looking upon a living statue.

" Tha's a shame, truly 't is," The archer croons, straightening as he notched an arrow into his bow, keeping the arrowhead facing downward even as he drew the string back, causing the wood to screech slightly in protest," suppose we just find tha' out fer ourselves, darlin'? Just a quick search, nothin' more, nothin' less. Ye wouldn't want anythin' te happen to tha' thar lil' girl, would ye?" 

The threat to her young companion instantly seemed to trigger something within the depths of her mind, a sleeping memory. The same thread had been made long ago. Hostility suddenly seemed to roll off of the Paladin in waves, she carefully tugged the shield from the ground and murmurs to Synthesis,"… I do not want you to see this." Her voice low, gravely… Deadly. Briefly, her sharp hazel-grey eyes flicker to the halfling at her side," Do not look, no matter what you hear. Is this understood, dearest one?" Her words held command, offering no argument, already it seemed a spell was forming on her lips, a small circle appearing beneath Synthesis' feet- clearly a minor teleportation spell…

Synthesis nodded, quite unable to speak. She snatched a last glance at the men before closing her eyes. She assumed that was what Hakon wanted so she had to trust that she would be safe if she did as she was told.
She sensed some sort of magic building in the air and her stomach rolled strangely. What was this sensation? There was a sound, something a little like speech but it seemed to shrink away from her ears. She kept her eyes closed. More sounds, as if they were coming from a distance away, and even as she listened they became more and more alarming. What was going on?
Harkon had sounded so scary just then but because the hostility wasn't directed at her, she had felt safe. Now she worried, and she couldn't decide who she worried for…

As she finished the spell, she remembered a location several meters down the path, a tree where there seemed to be a hollow large enough to hide a person for a time. Synthesis would open her eyes and find herself there, tucked away safely. Perhaps she would even hear the sounds of battle from that little hollow? Hakon did not have time to worry about such things when the first arrow whistled toward her, thudding neatly into her shield.

20 Meters.

Keeping her head low beneath the kite shield, the Paladin finished drawing the sword fully from its sheath, listening as she began a slow jog forward, her eyes half-closed in concentration. Her muscles worked instinctively, as if she had done this a thousand times before in much worse conditions… In fact, she knew she had.
Gritting her teeth, she heard the first of the heavy footsteps, daring to peek around her shield as an arrow whipped past her face, thankfully he seemed a mediocre shot. But his companion-
The first club slammed into the shield, jarring her shoulder painfully. With a grunt, the young woman shoved back against it, bracing the flat of her blade against the rim of her shield, quickly striking the heavy blade forward until she heard a squelch and a cry. She grit her teeth in a grim smile. Quickly shoving her entire body weight into the blade until the cries stopped and gurgling replaced it, she didn't need to look to know she hit her mark squarely with the stench of blood. Alas, she had forgotten- her mind not yet fully compiling her old knowledge as she looks up just in time to see the second club-bearer raising the massive branch above his head. Hazel-grey eyes widen a fraction as she sees the great wood descend upon her head, quickly ripping her sword free, Hakon slips upon her heel as she pivots her full weight around.Her broadsword skittering on the ground as she lands heavily on her back, the shield upon her chest. Instant the air knocked from her lungs as the club connects with the shield squarely, causing her to groan instinctively… She should have saved up for armor dammit!

Somewhere within the wood there were a pair of eyes watching the woman grapple with the highwaymen. "Three against one? That's no fun. Time to make this a little more interesting." A small figure hidden within the branches twirled her wand and the next moment a ball of light exploded against the trunk of a tree nearby one of the bandits. In the forest's silence, the sound of the voice of a child giggling drifted through the air as the voice echoed in an unsettling manner.  

"Hee hee hee… Won't you play with me? Come and play…come and play or I'll curse you~"

Myouga teleported herself away from her current location to one closer, but still hidden from the archer's sight. A ball of mud then splattered against the tree narrowly missing him as she giggled before changing her location again. It wasn't funny to hurt people, but it was funny to see grown men soil themselves silly. Her small stature made it easy to hide and conduct her acts of mischief from a distance, and should the men ignore her 'warning', she would up the ante. A few more blasts of light should get them shaking in their boots.

As Synthesis moved from foot to food, she felt something against her hand. She couldn't contain her alarm and curiosity any longer and she opened her eyes to find herself gazing at a wall of bark. Shifting around, she spotted a hole and realised she was inside the hollow of a tree. A little clostraphobic, She wriggled to test her situation.
A bit of twisting and scraping and she was free, looking to see quite a commotion in the distance. She began walking in that direction, aware that she was shaking with adrenaline. The immediate danger was over, she told herself. A minute later, things were much quieter and Synthesis was close enough to see what was going on. She leaned against a tree to steady herself waited to check everything was completely safe for her to approach.
The surrounding trees did look a bit damaged. Then she glimpsed a second person, not one of the men, not Hakon. Who was this?

The man with the club had raised it again with a grunt, she braced her aching body against the shield, trying to sit up would merely land her upon her back again. Alas, the ball of mud seemingly from nowhere distracted the man, looking up with a confused sound in his throat. Hakon took this opportunity- with a low roar, she swung her broadsword upward, sinking the blade deep into the meat of the man's side, sending him roaring to the ground in agony as she scrambled to her feet, quickly wrenching the sword free- she releases the shield, her arm aching as she grasps the broadsword with both hands. Holding the blade in a hammer grip, she stepped forward and sunk the blade's pointed end into the man's gut, ignoring his cries of agony, eyes  focused solely upon her prey as he fell to his knees scrabbling at the blade with trembling fingers and blood bubbling from his mouth.

So focused was she upon her immediate attacker that it took a moment for the sudden pain of an arrow latching into her arm to register. The Paladin quickly reeled back, snapping the shaft in half as she released the broadsword- looking around warily. The archer had disappeared off the path and she was very much in pain and exposed. Dammit…