The second group of assassins waited until Tharic was less than half a day from his family's stronghold.
Rod's party had escorted him for a week.
The contract began in Highforge after the city watch finished taking statements about the first ambush. Investigators identified the false maintenance wagon, several rented horses, and two places where the assassins had purchased ordinary supplies. None led to the person who paid them. The dead attackers carried no family marks, written orders, or accounts.
Tharic received a message from his uncle on the second day.
Helmar Ruskell urged him to come to the ancestral stronghold, where family records might reveal why anyone wanted the ring. The stronghold maintained its own guards and stood beyond roads used by ordinary freight. Helmar claimed it would be safer than any public inn while the Highforge investigation continued.
Tharic hired Rod, Lana, Dirk, Dain, and Nessa for the journey.
