Anna scurried over to her master grunting all the while.  She gratefully accepted his affections and even sat like a well trained dog.<br/><br/>Jakov let out a heavy sigh relieved he seemed to have found allies.  He knew the Count had spies everywhere, but these outcasts seemed a most unlikely place to find one.  There were only three of them, hardly enough to raise the Counts suspicions.  From the look of them, they were likely witches.<br/><br/>Jakov shook his head at Grigori's question.  "I had no idea you were even here.  I do not know if anyone else knows you are out here.  To be honest, I was not looking for anyone.  I was trying to get as far away from anyone as I could.  I was not able to gather enough resources for passage aboard a vessel.  I was afraid making inquiries would alert the Count to my location."<br/><br/>Jakov was telling the truth as best as he knew it.  He did not believe he had any reason to deceive his new found friends.  If they were hostile to him, surely they would have acted by now.  Three on one were not good odds for him.