Meren nodded when the girl asked him if he was ready to make the leap of faith into the water at the bottom of the well. It was over twenty feet, it looked like, and in all honesty Meren was a little bit afraid. The screaming in the distance and the smell of smoke and death clouded his mind and he couldn't focus on just one thought as his mind raced during the final seconds before the plunge. Taking Hymn's hand, he nearly pulled her with him as he hopped over the edge of the well.<br/><br/>The plummet was both  exciting and terrifying at the same time. Meren hadn't fell from a such a height in his life and it was amazing. He had never felt a feeling like that in his stomach before. Just when it seemed like that amazing experience had began it ended with a splash and the rush of cold water over his face. The water at the bottom of the well was deeper than he had imagined, as he had to swim upwards in the darkness for quite sometime before he resurfaced. He struggled to catch his breath, still weak from casting the powerful spell from before.<br/><br/>Meren's eyes quickly searched around the small space for Hymn, his only companion during the course of this mess. He was not familiar with the secret exits of the town and he had already forgotten where she had told him to go after diving in, if she had even told him where to go at all. He waded in the water and waited for the girl to either jump down if she hadn't been dragged along with him or resurface if she had.<br/><br/>Meanwhile...<br/><br/>Silus rode horseback nearly a mile behind the advancing armies that were heading towards the unfamiliar town of Yholmnin.  Even though he was surrounded by the trees of a forest, he could see the smoke coming from fires that originated in the bombarded city. Even from miles out he could tell that it was bad, but that wasn't his business today. He had an issue with one of the captains in that army who was slandering his name; not okay.<br/><br/>In front of him, a few soldiers who lagged behind on lame horses trotted along the path. Silus whistled loudly, causing both of the soldiers to turn and hop off of their horses that would do them no aid in battle. Silus dismounted his horse as well, stepping in front of the animal and unraveling his whip after removing it from his hip. His hood was up, covering his face from both of the men who crossed their arms and spat on the ground, clearly not threatened by his presence, which was actually okay with him.<br/><br/>"What do you need, boy?" one of the soldiers said whilst stepping forward, mimicking Silus. Silus responded by unhooking his sickle from his belt, causing both soldiers to draw their weapons as well. They both looked at each other with mildly confused looks on their face. Silus had a small frame and he was often mistaken for a teenage boy.<br/><br/>"You looking to die, kid?" the other soldier asked in a cocky tone, short-sword drawn. The other man nodded in agreement with him. Silus flicked his wrist forward, causing the whip to crack forward and wrap around the the warrior's sword. Silus yanked back and in a moment he was disarmed. He quickly flicked his wrist backwards returning the long whip back to a striking position. The warrior who still had a weapon charged forward at Silus and swung for his head. In order to avoid the move, Silus rolled forward and once he regained his balance in a kneeling stance he struck the back of the man's leg with his sickle. Silus left the weapon lodged into the man and before he could shriek in pain his other sickle was already drawn, and his throat was slit with it. The other soldier had finally finished his scramble to get his weapon back into his hands and now stood waiting for Silus to remove his weapons from the body of his comrade, and he did so. Silus got back onto his feet and put one sickle back on its hook, readying both his weapon and his second blade. As soon as the warrior lunged, Silus sidestepped, but left one foot planted. This tripped the man fighter, causing him to fall face first into the dirt path. A sharp stream of pain went through his body and a quick glance at his side revealed a medium sized gash. It was nothing serious, but it bled and it hurt, nonetheless. With the man still on the ground Silus kicked him over onto his back and pressed his boot into the throat of the man, waiting for the life to drain out of his eyes.<br/><br/>[The secret exit lets out nearby]