Safety

Katya ran behind the man that had saved her life, followed by the three remaining caravan guards that survived that bloodbath. She heard the barrier that she had created shatter behind them, but by that time, they had put a fair bit of distance between themselves and their attackers. Katya heard the hiss of arrows flying through the air, but a quick look behind her confirmed that they were not being pursued. The bandits were probably satisfied with holding the ground and being able to loot the caravans. She also suspected that they weren't terribly eager to face her savior either. Instead, the bandits shot arrows at the survivors, likely just to scare them off, and Katya was happy to oblige.

Once they were a safe distance away and the bandits were nowhere to be seen, the group slowed their pace. The armored figure led Katya and the remaining three men to where his horses were parked, and finally they came to a stop.

After Katya caught her breath, she turned to their mysterious savior and said, "On behalf of all of us, I would like to thank you for saving our skins. I don't think any amount of words can express how happy I am to be free and alive right now, a state that none of us would be in without your intervention. So thank you."

The other survivors then expressed their appreciation while Katya slowed her breathing and thought about their next steps. After a moment, she reached into her pouch and pulled out her Seeker Badge. Seeing that the survivors were leaderless, Katya decided to take control of the situation. Holding the badge out for all to see, she stated, "This badge signifies that I am a Seeker of the Inquisition, which is why I am authorized to create barrier's like you saw back there. I am on a mission that requires me to go to Dalen, but someone needs to report this attack to Verden. The people need to know that this road is not safe, and that Dalen is not keeping her roads secure. You three, go back to Hartford and report this incident to the captain of the guard."

The three guardsmen did not look terribly eager to do this, which was understandable given that Hartford was at least a two days walk, and they didn't have any food or tents. The journey would suck without a doubt, but Katya didn't want the burden of dragging these guys around with her, nor did she want anyone else to fall prey to those brigands.

Once the men began to head back up the path, Katya turned back to the man that had saved them. Extending a hand, she said, "Thank you again for saving my life. I am Seeker Katya Redfort. What brought you to this dreadful scene?"