'Abandoned? How can it be abandoned when there are so many sleeping within the shadows?'
That was all the confirmation Hao Xuan needed. He picked up Tasgall and using every iota of Qi at his disposal, bolted towards the camp at full speed cutting across entire sections of the city.
The ten-minute return trip was cut down to just over 3 minutes by the time Hao Xuan landed in front of Burak. He forcefully activated Baracus and asked his help with the translation, giving Burak an oversimplified version of the events that took place in the last few hours.
"We are not…alone…here!"
The words Hao Xuan thought would shock Burak merely verified what he already suspected.
Burak looked towards the nearby buildings with a hint of nervousness, "I could feel somebody watching us last night. There was no proof but I knew there was someone there."
Hao Xuan nodded, understanding where he was coming from. It was a warrior's survival instincts and Burak's were extremely strong.
"One more night…that's…all we need….to survive…Tomorrow we can…go back," Hao Xuan told him that he should be able to open the portal by morning to give him some hope.
Burak saw the anxiousness in Hao Xuan's eyes and came forward to pat him on the shoulder.
"We are all in this together. Don't worry," he said assuringly with a smile wide enough and genuine enough that Hao Xuan believed him wholeheartedly.
The sun finally set and the rest of the barbarians all returned in one piece. Seeing Tasgall's condition they were curious as to what happened but Burak and Isak's strict orders gave them little time to talk amongst themselves.
Just like the night before, mere minutes after the sun went down the temperate fell to below zero. The wind picked up, bringing with it a defeaning gale of snow and ice that covered everything in sight.
Every single barbarian that was able to stand on his two feet was on guard throughout the night. The crackling and popping noises coming from the dried wood were the only music they could afford.
The first few hours were rather uneventful and went by quickly but, halfway through the night, as soon as they had started to relax a little, pale figures revealed themselves from within the snowy winds.
Jarek was the first one to notice and alerted the others.
Burak, Isak, and Hao Xuan gathered by the window to examine the surroundings, finally seeing them.
Tall, emaciated figures with elongated limbs and hairless bodies covered the roofs of all neighboring buildings. Their eye sockets were hollow and many of their mouths were sewn shut with what looked like red worms that burrowed into their skins.
They stood in the windows, the roofs, the balconies, unbothered by freezing cold weather that battered their bodies without end. Hundreds of them, all chanting something under their breaths.
Hao Xuan and company waited with bated breaths, waiting for them to make a move. They were outnumbered 1 to 10, and the enemy's strength was unknown so the natural thing to do was wait for them to make a move first but…that never came.
They came with the snowstorm and left with it, without making a single move. All they did was watch them from a distance, menacingly.
The sun rose, the ice and snow melted and flowed down the streets. And it was only then that they relaxed.
A few hours later Baracus contacted Hao Xuan.
'I have….finished compiling the first rune sequence.'
'Great!' Hao Xuan jumped into action.
He went up to a clean wall within the apartment that was away from prying eyes and engraved the rune sequence with a dagger.
Then according to Baracus's instructions, he inserted a small amount of Qi into each one of them. When it was all done he called Burak and Isak over.
"I will go…first," he said handing them a piece of rope and tying the other side around his waist.
"Hold this….do not…let go!"
Without waiting for a response Hao Xuan quickly swiped his hand from left to right to connect the last two runes and entered the newly created gateway.
But the moment the gate manifested, the runes glowed for an instant before melting away into shards of yellow light that created its outline.
Burak and Isak had no idea what was going on. All they COULD do was listen to Hao Xuan, pushing down any questions that arose while anxiously waiting for them.
Even if they were best friends it would be the most normal thing to doubt the other person's intentions right about now. What if Hao Xuan didn't come back? They needed him a lot more than he needed them.
A seed of doubt slowly took root in their minds as second by second, like the grains of sand in an hourglass, time trickled by. It was almost 15 minutes later when the rope went taut again and Hao Xuan walked out.
One look at his face was enough to answer any questions the barbarian's still had.
They would be stuck here, for just a little while longer.
