Fire Emblem: Curse of the Goddess [IC/PG-16/Not Accepting]

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"How you're able to get off your high horse and still act almighty is beyond me, truly. Bravo. Oh and by the way you apparent tactical genius, I was in the tree next to the one you set fire to. So thanks for that, really. As for you all,"

 

"Can't you just back away then before you get burned?"

 

Turning around after healing Azar to give her annoyed reply to Alois, Ciela in the end decided to not reply to the archer from their savior's group on top of that. It was mostly since she herself wanted to listen to what the leader had to say...but in the end, there was nothing. The others seemed to be in the favor to move out and find a place to rest though, and the group of savior ended up agreeing to help them on that accord. Good, Ciela herself was slowly realizing that she's really not in a position to think right now.

Before she could decide what she should do next, Gunther had approached her, seemingly trying to reprimand her.

 

"Ciela, I think you should sit this out for now. You shouldn't exert yourself."

 

"I'll do that once my job here is done."

 

Before that, Ciela decided to check out the rest of the group, and noticed that Edrick was tending to Link now. Right, he was the other one that was mentioned to be in need of her care. Ciela approached him, and overheard what the soldier said.

 

“I’ve had worse. Don’t slow down on account of me, I can travel as far as need be."

 

"No you can't, and we're not slowing down just for your sake. Now stand still if you want to be healed."

 

What was wrong with everyone today anyway? Ciela grumbled again before she uttered some prayers to heal the wound on Link's face. By the goddess, it looked really bad. Why didn't he just tell her from the start that he needed assistance about- Oh right, it's Link. Ciela sighed, she didn't even know whether she handled it fast enough before any permanent damage could set in. Pulling a washcloth from her bag and dousing it with some water from her flask, she then tossed it at Link and told him to clean the blood from his face if he still wish to have proper sight, before getting herself ready to move out with the others.

 

The trip to the patrol's place was mostly uneventful. The serenity at least allowed Ciela to clear her mind somewhat, helped with the fact that she ended up managing to get that arrow out of her shoulders and ended up using the vulneraries Gunther offered her to treat the wound. She was still pretty stuck in her turmulous state from earlier, but at least right now she could keep herself quiet rather than just yelling at everyone else. Her mind wandered off a bit while she listened to the conversation the others had out of boredom, and a thought passed her mind.

 

"How the hell did they manage to ambush us here in the first place anyway? We only decided to go to this region after our talk with the Councilmen, and we didn't even waste that much time. I mean I'm not surprised these guys found us since they said they're told to by Olivette, but you just can't set up that much bandits in one place with a specific target in mind in just two or so days unless you prepared it in advance."

 

Ciela sighed, before leaning herself to embrace Remy as she attempted to calm herself down and rest tended with his warmth. This was some nonsense. Can they really trust anyone at this point?

 

"...I haven't been here long and I'm already sick at looking at these trees."

 

---

[Hakima]

---

"You should get that seen to," Catriona ordered stoically, expression and voice unreadable, even with Link’s trained eyes. That wasn’t surprising to him—she had never been the most expressive person, and Anaïs had always been better when it came to interpreting the elder princess’ muted social cues, especially after he joined the Night Wolves and interactions between them became scarce—yet there was a certain sting that came with being scolded on such a basic concept. Link knew the most basic rule of the military—”you are only as strong as your weakest link, so take care of each other”—but, at least he had thought, relocating took priority over personal health.

 

Link nodded and stepped back, away from the princesses. “Yes ma’am,” he said quietly, and turned to seek out Ciela for a check-up.

 

It wasn’t hard. "No you can't, and we're not slowing down just for your sake. Now stand still if you want to be healed,” he heard from behind him, and found Ciela was at his side. Link felt a hot flush of shame wash over him with her statement, because even Ciela had identified him as a burden to the group. He balled his hands into fists, looking away long enough to school his face back to careful impassiveness, and then raised his chin up so Ciela could inspect the wound.

 

It was ugly, the skin around the cut swollen and puffy. Dried blood was caked to the edges of his face, and his bangs were sticky and stuck to his forehead. It was mostly superficial; it started at his left temple and curved down to the lower right of his raw, but it wasn’t deep. The worst of it was where the axe had cut across his left eye, into the soft flesh close to his pale blue iris. It was violently bloodshot, and the inside corner of his eye, the white area, was slowly filling up with blood.

 

Ciela reached out with the staff and muttered a prayer to Inera. Link balled his fists even tighter, jaw clenched tightly. The idea of being healed by the supposed Goddess magic was absolutely insane to him—that wasn’t something a soldier who fought for Galtea did. It was something the enemy did, a magic they attributed to their Goddess that made anything but a lethal wound nearly pointless. Warmth blossomed across his face, and Link felt the wound moving, knitting itself together, and his headache lessening. His vision in his left eye slowly cleared, and he blinked a few times to clear the fog, but it was still blurrier than he remembered. He worked with it a second longer, but nothing changed, and he doubted it would ever be as good as it used to be.

 

Link cautiously reached up to feel where the wound had been. The skin was warm to the touch, and smooth save for one ridge of scarring where the deepest portion of the cut had been—just above his temple to just past his eye. He could feel the wound even through his gloves, so he could only imagine how it looked to other people. He thought he probably looked a lot like Darius did, but he didn’t have the eyes to pull the look off nearly as well. “Thank you,”  Link said, so quietly that he was sure Ciela missed it. He couldn’t find it in him to try again, because his voice was shot. The smoke and the screaming had done a number on his throat.

 

After that, it seemed they were moving out to a nearby camp the Pelinna patrol used. Link wiped his face clean of blood, and took a moment to drink most of the water in his waterskin and inspect the damage to his shield. It wasn’t comforting. The shield had been with him through a lot, but there was no way he could salvage it this time. The break was right down the center, meaning that from then on, it would just break easier. The most he could do was take the brandings of Balfon and the Garou regiment and have those reattached to a new shield, but he wasn’t skilled enough to do that himself. That would require him to find a blacksmith who knew more than just how to bang out a dent, but how to do the finer side of it all, and those sort of folk were generally employed by nobility.

 

He knew because Rusl had been able to do it, and Rusl had never been short on work when he had lived in Augustus with his family during the war.

 

Wistfully, feeling foolish because he was mourning an inanimate object, Link attached the shield to his back and followed behind the group. He kept pace with the knive-wielding boy that he had been impressed with before, Princess Catriona in front of him, carrying the unconscious Sienna. Was that… he was relatively sure that was unbecoming of a princess, but it spoke miles to her quality as a soldier.

 

Link closed the distance between them to tap her on the shoulder, and motioned toward Ciela’s horse. He didn’t voice it, but the implication was clear: the horse can easily carry Sienna and Ciela.

 

Ciela spoke as he did, and he started to tune her out but stopped himself when he heard what she was saying. "How the hell did they manage to ambush us here in the first place anyway? We only decided to go to this region after our talk with the Councilmen, and we didn't even waste that much time. I mean I'm not surprised these guys found us since they said they're told to by Olivette, but you just can't set up that much bandits in one place with a specific target in mind in just two or so days unless you prepared it in advance." She hugged her horse and returned to complaining again after that, but she was onto something.

 

Link pulled a blanket out from his backpack and offered it to her, then took a long pull from his waterskin before he spoke himself. “She’s not wrong,”he said. “They shouldn’t have known we were going to be here. We didn’t know we were going to be here until a few days ago.”

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

 

While Penelope was unhappy with Urvan's assessment, how in the world could he say what would or wouldn't be an effective group for facing a foe no one has faced, she didn't speak up. He had agreed to help them through the rest of the forest and that's all that she had wanted.

 

The trip was...well, pleasant all things considered. As they moved along Penelope felt herself becoming more and more comfortable. And of course, as she got comfortable, she began tp spout information.

"Did you know, Squirrels communicate with each other through various vocalizations and scent marking. They also use their tails as a signalling device, twitching it when uneasy to alert other squirrels of potential danger. I tried to learn this language before. It has proven not too easy of a task."
A brief pause.

"Some cultures think of the squirrel as a symbol of trust and thriftiness. This is due to how they will horde nuts and even take them from someone's hand. Though, not many of them will do that." She directed the last at Gunther.

 

The Knight had been in a contemplative mood as they walked. But he felt more at ease in nature than he did in the city. This ease must have been noticeable to the wildlife; as a three squirrels had decided to climb onto his shoulders. "Oh, hello there." He said. "I hope I'm not going too fast for your liking."
When he realized he was talking to the animals in earshot of several people Gunther clammed up and fought, unsuccessfully, to keep the blush off of his face.

 

Ciela's vocal musings about the attack made him worried. However he decided to leave that to the princesses to worry about for now. He couldn't think of anything to help such a discussion.

 

Penelope, however, was preoccupied and unable to respond.

"You were very impressive back there,"

She didn't know how to take his words. They seemed genuine, but it didn't much make sense. "I didn't really do much, actually." She said. "Putting out fires is a fairly simple task. All you need is the proper angle and knowledge." She paused and a slight smile graced her face as she realized she could use this opportunity for a different kind of fact. "There are mages who can stop fires merely by scolding it, did you know that? They have mastered the art so much that even natural fire is theirs to command, literally."

 

Gunther had moved closer to the new addition to their group. Everyone seemed to have been quite calm about the sudden addition but not many of them actually talked to the woman. Gunther wasn't entirely comfortable but he felt he should at least greet her. "Hello, ma'am." He started. "I suppose you will be traveling with us for now. Er, may I inquire as to your name? I am Gunther, of Galtea."

[Alaina]

 

While the group had seemed to try and explain their position, the leader of the patrol seemed to be displeased with them. While Alois might've normally said something about it, he couldn't help but feel a very present sense of inadequacy in the presence of this Urvan person. As such, he simply kept his mouth shut and started to follow after the group, though not before he looked around at everyone else and could only let out a sigh. "Eddy, what the hell man." He saw the Pontic boy...shirtless...again. This kid needed to do something about this problem of his. Regardless, the boy started to march after everyone else, and see what was going on. Link, Cat and Ciela seemed to be talking about something...or whatever it was you called it when Link and Cat were with each other, and Gunther seemed to be becoming the friend of the forest. However, the littler princess seemed to be doing her own brand of socializing. 

 

Stepping in on the conversation, after the girl had given a fact that Alois could only imagine was blatantly false, he followed up on it. "Oh, is that so?" As if genuinely curious about it. Switching to a more casual, yet matter of fact, tone the boy then said, "I had heard about mages that could scold objects into moving, and so far as to repairing themselves, but never did I learn they could also do this with fire." Nodding to himself, as if actually amazed, he said, "man, the world of magic really is something else." 

 

Meanwhile, the rather eccentric girl was moving alongside the group as well. Being quite pleased with herself, as Urvan had thought that she did in adequate job at explaining how the bandits managed to slip past them, the girl took to instead observing the rest of the group. Of them she had noticed a few that were quite notable. The first was, of course, the fluffy tailed protean girl that Tsetseg couldn't help but want to pet. However, she was currently both unconcious and being carried by someone else, so petting her would be rather difficult. Then there was the girl who was carrying the protean. Their hair seemed to be the same color as the fox girl's, making the archer wonder if the sword girl's air was equally as fluffy and pettable. However, the main thing that had caught her attention was the skill with a blade she had displayed during the fight. While it was not of the same style nor swiftness, the deftness of it had reminded her of the sword wielders from back home. 

 

The next one that captured her immediate attention was the much darker skinned girl. Now, Tsetseg wasn't the brightest ink quill in the tool shed, but that girl seemed to match up with some of the stories she had heard about the Isaurian people. She wasn't quite sure what they were doing here, but certainly felt a bit put off by them. Furthermore, near her, was the tall man with a bunch of fluffy squirrels over his armor, and seeming to have a conversation with them. As such, the girl prowled behind them crawling across the ground on all fours, before springing up and reaching out with her hands to grab one. Not quite fast enough, and with the squirrels obviously terrified, they had gone away, causing the girl's hands to hit nothing more than thin air, and her body draping across the man's armor. With a slight, "oof," the girl slid off the man before springing back up and starting to walk alongside the group, as if nothing odd had happened at all. She looked to the man and the scary Isaurian lady and with a wave said, "hello, hello, hello there." The girl then had her eyes flit between the two, letting out a slight giggle at the sheer difference in size between the two. With that done, the girl merely pranced a bit ahead of the duo, merely looking at the trees, her eyes darting around to look for anything. Be it person or fluffy. 

[Wind Rider]

Everything was dark and quiet, was this it? Did she sustained to many injuries and bleed out? Was she dead? Sienna couldn't make heads or tails of the situation, until a warm feeling took hold of her body. It didn't feel like fire, no it felt lighter, almost soothing. Her pain melted away and she felt relaxed, was she really dead? No... She remembered speaking with the people who saved her group and then... Darkness. Did she just pass out? Either way, it didn't feel like she was dead, so that was a relief.

 

It felt like she was moving, or being carried, was everyone ok? Were the strangers really going to help them? The muffled sounds of an argument or discussion could be heard, Sienna's ears twitched and she started to open her eyes. Everything was blurry at first but seconds later it all started to clear up, she was being carried, by Catriona. Either Cat was strong or Sienna was scrawnier than she thought, she really needed to bulk up a bit.

 

"C-Catriona?" Even though her body seemed healed, she still felt sore from the fight earlier. "W-what... What's going on?"

[Yui]

---

"Looks like you lot have a ways to go, still. You're going to need a lot more grit if you ever hope to stop Her."

 

Actually, I'm just trying to find a missing person, Azar thought to herself. I don't know who these people are trying to stop, but she must be a big deal.

 

"We'll head to one of our camps. It's not too far from here, a couple hours, and we can all get to know one another there, chip in for dinner." Well, at least there was a clear destination in mind now. The Pelinna Patrol marched onward, and as these strangers who were apparently out to stop some big-shot followed, so too did Azar. She didn't really want to get caught up in whatever nonsense these people were after, but that was an issue that could wait. Azar had more immediate matters on her mind. LIke food. And asking the horse girl about healing magic. As she followed everyone through the woods, they seemed to get even thicker. More than once, Azar's cloak got caught on a branch, and she had to get it free. The walk itself, on the other hand...

 

It was a good chance to relax after the fight just now. The people from the patrol seemed content enough to mostly chat amongst themselves. Which was fine with Azar. She was more interested in the group with the girl that apparently had a hit on her head for some reason. Azar wanted to know more about them. And sure enough, somebody from that very group had come and addressed Azar. It was only a matter of time, she'd figured. It was the armored man. The one that...he did...what did he do in the recent fight?

 

"Hello, ma'am. I suppose you will be traveling with us for now. Er, may I inquire as to your name? I am Gunther, of Galtea."

 

"Az--"

 

"Oof." Azar looked behind the armored man. That girl with the bow. She was a good shot, though it seemed her ability to get a squirrel with her hands wasn't as good as getting bandits with arrows. "Hello, hello, hello there." Her eyes flitted between the two, and she giggled softly about something, before going on ahead of the pair.

 

With that little distraction done and over with, Azar picked up where she left off with the armored man. "Azar, of Isauria," she answered. Nodding her head in the direction of the sword girl, she asked "Mind telling me about her, Gunther? Not just anyone has nobles paying for their death, unless the nobles in Galtea are just mindlessly bloodthirsty." Not that Azar would know about Galtean nobles. She'd never even left Isauria until just a few months ago. Even so, the girl must have been a big deal.

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

 

The girl that Gunther had spoken to didn't get a chance to respond before something hit Gunther.

 

The Knight wouldn't have noticed anything was amiss, his armor having practically nullified any feeling from the tap that was the light girl running into him. He only realized anything happened due to the squirrels running and the small sound the girl made.

 

"hello, hello, hello there.

 

Gunther stared, mouth slightly agape, at the very random girl who had, upon ramming him and greeting them both, turned away from the pair. Who was this person? They were certainly...no, there was no other word but "strange" to describe that encounter.

"Hi?" He managed, though he wasn't sure the girl really was paying attention.

 

"Azar, of Isauria, Mind telling me about her, Gunther? Not just anyone has nobles paying for their death, unless the nobles in Galtea are just mindlessly bloodthirsty."

 

The other girl had answered, after a pause likely caused by their unusual interruption. So this was what Isaurians looked like then? Gunther had not seen one before this. Was tree punching a standard practice where she's from or was that her own oddity?

Gunther, tearing his gaze from the archer, looked back at Azar. She wanted to know about Catriona? Gunther frowned. Given what they had just experienced it might not be so good to just tell anyone Catriona was a princess. Then again this girl already knew someone wanted her dead so was there really any harm?

"I believe...you should ask that of her directly, miss Azar. Catriona may look intimidating but I can assure you she's more approachable than that." Though Gunther had some troubles approaching her before, himself.

 

It was only then that Gunther realized the two people he was interacting with were complete strangers. Should he talk to the others? No, this was fine. They were likely annoyed at him for his inaction during that battle. It would be easier if he just kept these two company instead.

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Well, from the looks on everyone's faces the meeting Edrick had just walked up onto the end of had been some form of tense. Maybe not for this Urvan character, but for the others to be sure. Penelope in particular looked about as close to miserable with the situation as she ever did for any one, but he figured she would talk about it if she wanted to. She wasn't exactly the sort to keep her counsel. Still, things were arranged and apparently they would be stopping at one of the Pelinna Patrol's outposts deeper into the forest. That was good. It would certainly be safer than camping outside of an even nominally fortified position. Now that he'd taken the time to think on it, this situation didn't exactly seem normal.

 

"Eddy, what the hell man." Alois's exasperated voice snapped him out of his thoughts for a moment, and he was about to protest that he had done anything wrong when he remembered. Right, their axeman seemed to take issue with him removing his shirt. Not that that made much, if any, sense to Edrick. He just gave the other young man a confused look.

 

"Had to check if there were any wounds I didn't notice with it on. Like my pa said, you don't always feel every one after a fight." At least he thought that was how what his father said went in Galtean, which he really needed to ask about when they had downtime. In any case, since they were getting on the move he had to see to his armor and discarded shirt. He left that which was on his legs on for the time being, no sense in getting completely undressed if he didn't think that injury to his knee needed closer attention than Ciela's healing, but he didn't put his shirt or arm and torso armor back on. Instead, with a liberal application of rope, he tied the lot of it off to the back of his pack and hoisted the whole thing up on his back. As big as he looked in that armor, he certainly was out of it. Then again, well-fed farmers were. There were also more scars upon his body than just what could be accounted for in the three fights he'd been in since he'd joined the group. Most didn't look like they came from weapons, in fact there were a pair of suspiciously horseshoe-shaped scars near the middle of his chest, but there were a few odd ones here or there that looked like they hadn't been caused on a farm. In particular was an especially ugly, and almost perfectly straight, one across his back that, while old enough to have healed, did not look like it had been tended to with magic. Where had he gotten that?

 

As they walked along, Edrick paid little attention to the comments he received or the words the others had to say. He found himself caught between a pair of thoughts. The first concerned the bandits they had thought, or perhaps mercenaries was a better way to put it since one of them had mentioned being paid and they had been so ready for the group to pass through them. It certainly shook his idea of what the Galteans were, if there was someone within their country conspiring to see Catriona dead. Not that there was much to conclude from that, apart from Galtea being more fractured than Pontus and their enemies perhaps being something more professional than mean bandits. The more interesting thought was Urvan himself, who he thought looked old enough to have fought in the last war. He knew from what his father had told him that the Histians' involvement was instrumental in turning the tides, and almost uniting his homeland in the process. Well, that brought thoughts to his mind. Thoughts which had him stepping forward to where the leadership of the two of their groups was marching.

"She's not wrong." He heard Link said as he approached. "They shouldn't have known we were going to be here. We didn't know we were going to be here until a few days ago." Well, it seemed his insights to the situation were more important than he'd thought they would.

 

"I don't think they were just bandits, Catriona." He said aloud, stopping for longer than just to catch his breath as he noticed Link had taken his bandages off. He might have had something to say about it, if he didn't notice that the wound was healed. Oh. Ciela must have seen to him already. "They seemed too organized just to be the sort that attack merchants and unwary travelers. I'd guess they were mercenari," maybe they would recognize the Pontic word and maybe they would not, "or...uhhh...recruții...people forced to fight whether they want to or not. Deserters, maybe. And if they are, then maybe you running into Bazba's group wasn't a coincidence either." He shrugged his shoulders, unconcerned at the prospect of potentially being hunted by professional soldiers. Now, that he had said his piece on that subject, he turned and looked at Urvan once again. Yes, he certainly did look old enough. "Did you fight in the Last Siege of Pharaon?" He asked with only curiosity in his voice, not a hint of the hostility one might expect from a Pontic questioning someone about their involvement in a war against their nation. "And if you did, did you see my Uncle?" He certainly hoped he wasn't going to have to explain again. He looked enough like Eragon, after all.

[Sethera]

Catriona nodded at Link's gestures toward the horse, but kept carrying Sienna anyway. This was the least she could do to make up for that last battle.

 

"How the hell did they manage to ambush us here in the first place anyway? We only decided to go to this region after our talk with the Councilmen, and we didn't even waste that much time. I mean I'm not surprised these guys found us since they said they're told to by Olivette, but you just can't set up that much bandits in one place with a specific target in mind in just two or so days unless you prepared it in advance."

 

"She’s not wrong. They shouldn’t have known we were going to be here. We didn’t know we were going to be here until a few days ago."

 

In the back, Sienna woke up in the princess' arms. "C-Catriona?" Even though her body seemed healed, she still felt sore from the fight earlier. "W-what... What's going on?"

 

Catriona stared at her without expression, taking a while before she answered. "We are...walking," she replied. "The Pelinna Patrol is taking us to one of their camps to recuperate." It was at that moment that she realized that Edrick had taken his shirt off...again. "Why does he do that?" she wondered, guilt put aside to ponder the strange behavior of her Pontic companion.

 

"I don't think they were just bandits, Catriona," the subject of her recent thoughts said aloud, stopping for a while. "They seemed too organized just to be the sort that attack merchants and unwary travelers. I'd guess they were mercenari or...uhhh...recruții...people forced to fight whether they want to or not. Deserters, maybe. And if they are, then maybe you running into Bazba's group wasn't a coincidence either."

 

"They seemed like bandits to me," one of the nearby patrolmen said. He didn't seem to recognize Edrick's words. "I know that it's been a while since we've patrolled this area. The bandits probably slipped through the cracks." He scowled. "This forest has a history of banditry. Even the great Robin Pelinna was a bandit, though he and his Merry Men usually targeted those who could afford to lose their money. Nowadays, bandits don't give a damn. They'll go after anybody with coin, doesn't matter whether it's their last or not."

 

"That's right," another agreed. "Actually, that's one of the bigger reasons we patrol this area. Not just to protect travelers from wild beasts like bears or wolves, but to protect them from human beasts as well. Still, it was strange that they knew who you were and where you were going. You don't have a spy do you?"

 

"Shhh, don't say things like that, Autolycus," the first man shushed. "Sorry, he's read too many mystery novels."

 

Catriona stayed silent, unnerved at the thought of there being a spy. Or of the bandits being more than they seemed. "Whatever the case may be," she said finally, "They are dead now."

 

Nearby, Penelope was rambling. "Did you know, Squirrels communicate with each other through various vocalizations and scent marking. They also use their tails as a signalling device, twitching it when uneasy to alert other squirrels of potential danger. I tried to learn this language before. It has proven not too easy of a task. Some cultures think of the squirrel as a symbol of trust and thriftiness. This is due to how they will horde nuts and even take them from someone's hand. Though, not many of them will do that."

 

She had a dedicated audience in the nearby patrolmen, who seemed interested in what she had to say. Especially the wind mage, who proceeded to compliment her, hoping to learn a little more about this talented girl.

 

"I didn't really do much, actually." The princess replied to the wind mage. "Putting out fires is a fairly simple task. All you need is the proper angle and knowledge." She paused and a slight smile graced her face as she realized she could use this opportunity for a different kind of fact. "There are mages who can stop fires merely by scolding it, did you know that? They have mastered the art so much that even natural fire is theirs to command, literally."

 

"Oh, is that so?" Alois asked. Switching to a more casual, yet matter of fact, tone the boy then said, "I had heard about mages that could scold objects into moving, and so far as to repairing themselves, but never did I learn they could also do this with fire." Nodding to himself, as if actually amazed, he said, "man, the world of magic really is something else." 

 

"Oh, I think I might have heard about that!" the wind mage brightened. "I've also heard that it takes years and years of study to reach that level, however." He paused, then grinned bashfully at the two in front of him, "Sorry, I never did introduce myself, did I? Shaoran, at your service," he bobbed his head slightly. "What's yours? Unless you're not supposed to tell me," he smiled.

 

Up ahead, Edrick had caught up with Urvan. "Did you fight in the Last Siege of Pharaon?" He asked with curiosity. "And if you did, did you see my Uncle?"

 

The warrior paused, turning to look back at the lancer, giving him a slow once-over. "I did," he replied finally. "To both questions," his voice was calm, bare of hostility. Indeed, the only emotion he seemed to express at that moment was exhaustion. "You are...a lot like him," he said, "Even your reckless way of fighting is the same, though I daresay I'm the pot calling the kettle black there," he chuckled, relaxing somewhat.

 

Meanwhile, the cavalier beside him stared at Edrick curiously. "Leader, what is he talking about...?"

 

"Nothing," Urvan shook his head. "Just talk of...old times, is all." He glanced at the Pontic once more. "There's a woman you might be interested in meeting," he said. "She's scouting the northern reaches at the moment, but she's supposed to meet back up with us in a couple days."

 

As the group walked, a sound came from the patch of woods behind them. However, only two people were far enough back and alert enough to their surroundings to hear it. The narrow-eyed thief, who paused before continuing, with a muttered, "troublesome," and Link. It sounded...strangely familiar to the former ranch hand.

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

"Whatever the case may be. They are dead now."

 

"But whoever backing them isn't dead yet, so why are you so relaxed about it? It's your life that is in danger here!"

 

Ciela's mood soured a bit again, although it was tempered somewhat by her noticing Sienna waking up and seemingly looking pretty decent after her healing. She remembered Link's earlier gesture that told her that Sienna should be carried by Remy too, and while it'd unnerve her still, if she's in her human form it wouldn't be that much of an issue...perhaps. Everyone was busy talking with someone else now, and Ciela only had Remy and the blanket Link gave earlier. Perhaps talking to Sienna wouldn't be half bad. Ah, Remy was so warm, yet now he felt pretty distant even if Ciela was clutching him tightly. He hadn't aid anything to her so far - Ciela wondered what was on his mind now. Was he mad about her earlier spiel about burning the forest?
 

"Rather than a spy from us, it's far more likely that whoever this conspirator is has ties to one of the Councilmen. They had a connection to another seemingly unrelated group of bandits this group had fought somewhere else in Histia, and somehow the news of that AND our travel reaches here before we can reach this place. It must have been planned way in advance.

 

Hell, I bet it's one of the Councilmen itself that sets this up. Tch...those slimy..."

[Yui]

---

"I believe...you should ask that of her directly, miss Azar. Catriona may look intimidating but I can assure you she's more approachable than that."

 

So her name's Catriona. It's a start. Not much of a start, but it beat having nothing to go off. Azar eyed over the rest of the group that she recognized as not being part of this Pelinna Patrol. There was the magic girl, the girl on her horse with the healing magic, some girl with a fox tail, and a handful of other boys. Not much in the way of spellcasters among the men, was there? In fact, not anything in that way if the glimpses she caught of them were anything to go by. The one next to her was definitely not a spellcaster with that big shield he was toting around, and the others all seemed to be the types that would have both of their hands occupied by weapons in a fight.

 

"How about the rest of them?" Azar inquired. "Sure, I could go ask each individual person about themselves, but it's far more efficient to just get the short versions all from one person. Wouldn't you agree?"

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

 

Penelope couldn't grin at Alois, though she wanted to, it would break the spell they were weaving. So was he trying to make up for his previous failures in this dual stance attack? Well fine by her.

 

"Oh, I think I might have heard about that! I've also heard that it takes years and years of study to reach that level, however. Sorry, I never did introduce myself, did I? Shaoran, at your service. What's yours? Unless you're not supposed to tell me,"

 

Hook line and sinker. That was almost too easy. "I am Penelope. This is Alois, our...second best man." Penelope figured she could throw him a bone on this one. He did help out a lot lately after all. "You seem a bit different from some of the others here, I wonder, what's your story?"

 

The others were having their own separate conversations, some which seemed potentially important, but Penelope was focused in on this now. She could branch out and get in those talks but...well she'd see what happens here before deciding anything else.

---

 

"How about the rest of them?" Azar inquired. "Sure, I could go ask each individual person about themselves, but it's far more efficient to just get the short versions all from one person. Wouldn't you agree?"

 

Oh no. She was asking Gunther to describe their group? That could be problematic...what if he said something wrong and it affected how she viewed the others? Maybe to counter that he'd be as vague as possible...it was the only way.

 

He began listing them off, pointing out each while he talked.

"You've already met Catriona of course. Over there is Penelope. She's...our strategist, and my friend." Was that alright? He didn't want to imply anything. The resemblance between Catriona and Penelope was fairly obvious but it might be bad to automatically connect them as sisters.

"That's Alois, a Fighter. He's...huh. He's the only one of our original group besides me and the two girls I mentioned left. Erm...don't get offended by what he says, he's a good person."

"Edrick..." Gunther paused. This was going to be a hard one. "A Pontic farmer who, ah, is a natural with the lance."

"That one near the back is Link. He's...quite a remarkable soldier. Much better than me...ah, nevermind that." Gunther chuckled and awkwardly ran his hand through his hair. He had to get back on track.

"Ciela there is our healer, whom I think you met already. Um, don't expect her to move without her horse much." A brief, uncomfortable, look flashed across his face. It was certainly not pleasant to speak of....

"Lastly is Sienna, our newest member. She...well I think you have already seen. She's a Protean. A bit jumpy...but she's been through a lot already."

Gunther took a deep breath. That was more awkward than he expected but hopefully it was enough for the curious girl.

[Alaina]

 

Alois internally snickered as the man seemed to be amazed by both the "facts" that he and the littler princess were saying. Given that the boy then seemed to be genuinely intrigued by what they were saying, he wasn't quite sure where he was learning the rest of his magic from, but his facial expression had remained the same. As he asked them who they were, the princess went forward with the introductions, to which Alois raised his hand when she said his name. The "second best" thing he wasn't sure how to take, though, given who was saying it he was pretty sure it was her form of a compliment. As she tried to learn more about him, Alois then followed up with, "yeah. The rest of the patrol don't seem really much like the magic spellcasting type." 

[Asriel Dreemurr]

Edrick had to suppress a chuckle at the idea of there being a spy in their midst. They had kept a close enough idea on each other that there was little chance of anyone turning against the group, though it wasn't entirely impossible if he was being honest. Not that he had any idea of who it could be. No one in their party seemed to have much of a grudge against the princesses, though he was certain the idea of there being a spy would have some of them pointing fingers at him. Though soon enough Urvan answered the questions he had asked, and gave him a bit to think about.

 

"You are...a lot like him." Well, at the very least he could confirm that his father wasn't just projecting Eragon onto him. What one's enemies said of them was often more telling than what their friends did. Still, it gave him no small amount of pride that he was growing into a man like his uncle. "Even your reckless way of fighting is the same, though I daresay I'm the pot calling the kettle black there." The leader of the patrol began laughing, even as Edrick's thoughts turned to the way he was fighting. In Pontus it would have been called heroic, admirable even, to throw oneself at the enemy without fear of death or concern for injuries. With both himself and his uncle, the man he had heard lauded as a hero more times than he could count, being called reckless in their manner of fighting... well, what else could it be called by those without faith in Inera? It made sense that those who did not believe that they had more than their single life could not see the heroism inherent in such an approach to combat. Yes, that was it. So consumed was he by his thoughts that he almost missed what the large, axe-wielding man had to say next. "There's a woman you might be interested in meeting. She's scouting the northern reaches at the moment, but she's supposed to meet back up with us in a couple of days." Now that certainly caught his attention.

 

"Who is this woman?" He asked, that same curiosity in his voice and on his face as ever. There were many possibilities, everything from her being a former member of the Galtean King's Guard to a deserter from the Dragon's Fangs. Not that he much cared where she came from, he was mostly interested in knowing how she would know about his uncle. Given who it was that was telling him about her, he could reasonably assume that it was someone who had contended with Eragon personally. Though, a thought did occur to him now. If anyone were to have some idea of where Elba had been taken, perhaps these who specialized in hunting thieves might just know. "Now, I know this is going to sound odd, but have you or any of your soldiers seen a horse pass through here? A red roan mare with a splotch of cream on her left flank and a mane and tail the color of dry straw. Possibly ridden by someone a bit smaller than me wearing dark robes, I'm not sure of the exact color." Asking Urvan was a better idea than he had had in quite some time, at least in terms of figuring out where she might have ended up.

[Hakima]

---

The last dredges of adrenaline from the fight fading, Link was feeling the consequences of his previous all-night and the wounds he had taken. His wounds were bandaged, but it was still uncomfortable to move his arm, and he was fighting a slight limp in his walk. He stuck toward the back, with the knife-fighter from the patrol - Levi, if his memory served him - marching at a relaxed pace that didn’t strain him and sucking on the roots of a vulnerary to ease his discomfort.

 

It tasted earthy, with a bitter tang. It tasted familiar. Link shifted his bag, looking up toward the canopy of the forest. The vulneraries, the faint scent of blood, even the “happy to be alive” small talk; it brought him back to the aftermath of any battle he had fought in at the border. Once the initial wave of relief passed, he knew that they would have to sit down to lick their wounds and face the reality of the situation - the fact that someone had very obviously hired the bandits to kill them, someone that had known where they were going - but for now, he was content to let everyone relax and not think about it for a little bit.

 

Most of the group was young, younger than he had been when he joined the Night Wolves. Link got the feeling that their innocence would wilt away soon enough, but he wasn’t eager to see it happen. Still, the princesses had been raised in an environment he assumed could be very cutthroat, so maybe they were more experienced in this sort of politicking than he gave them credit for.

 

Link spit the chewed up vulnerary into the dirt, wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist. It was bad business, and left a sour taste in his mouth.

 

The former soldier was pulled from his ideations by a familiar sound, coming from just off in beaten path. Link stopped in his tracks, glancing over at Levi, who seemed to have heard it but spared it no thought. That noise… it brought him back a long time, to afternoons spent sitting in the field with Epona, sword at his side, watching the outskirts of another forest to make sure no more of their livestock was stolen away.

 

Link’s hand ghosted over his sword. Wolves… The noise was weaker than he had ever heard it, more akin to whining, but it was unmistakable. Link quietly allowed himself to fall behind the rest of the group, making certain that no one save maybe Levi saw him slip away, and headed for the source of the noise.

 

It lead him into the thick of the forest, out of sight of the rest of the group. He crouched down, parting a particularly heavy thornbush to peek through it. Immediately, he was met with a high-pitched keen. In front of him was a wolf cub, but it was desperately underfed; the skin around its ribs was tight and shriveled up, clinging to its body. 

 

Behind it, throat torn open with blood crusted around her fur, was what Link assumed was the carcass of the cub’s mother. It snarled again, standing in front of the body protectively.

 

Link’s heart broke for the little animal. It was an inch away from death’s domain, and probably terrified, but still it defended its mother from him. He reached slowly reached back into his bag, and pulled a strip of dried jerky out. It wasn’t much, but it was the best he had.

 

He held it out the cub, slowly, making a soft clicking sound in the back of his throat. It had soothed Epona, so maybe it would do the same for the canine.

---

[Sethera]

"But whoever backing them isn't dead yet, so why are you so relaxed about it? It's your life that is in danger here!"

 

Catriona felt a little surprised at the vehemence of Ciela's reaction, and a little confused as well. After all, it was as she said. It wasn't her life that was in danger, so why be upset? "There is no reason to worry unduly over things one cannot control," she responded. Besides, she thought. I have a feeling I know who they are anyway...well, one of them, at least. She still remembered the "concerned" face of the person who had watched her pass out.

 

The girl seemed to calm down a little, moving on to another subject. "Rather than a spy from us, it's far more likely that whoever this conspirator is has ties to one of the Councilmen. They had a connection to another seemingly unrelated group of bandits this group had fought somewhere else in Histia, and somehow the news of that AND our travel reaches here before we can reach this place. It must have been planned way in advance. Hell, I bet it's one of the Councilmen itself that sets this up. Tch...those slimy..."

 

"Perhaps," Catriona said. "If so, there is an obvious contender, but I wonder..." if the spy were actually smart, they'd try to do their best to hide their actual allegiances, not flaunt them. Still, it was something to worry about for another day, perhaps if they met them again.

 

Sienna was quiet in her arms. Perhaps she was trying to make sense of their whole situation.

 

"I am Penelope. This is Alois, our...second best man." Penelope introduced herself. "You seem a bit different from some of the others here, I wonder, what's your story?"

 

"Yeah. The rest of the patrol don't seem really much like the magic spellcasting type."

 

"Hehe," the man grinned bashfully. "You're right. I'm from a long line of mages, but I decided to go traveling, and ended up here. Urvan saved me from a giant bear, so I decided to help out," he shrugged. "I'm free to leave at any time, but it's been so much fun I just haven't had the heart. What about you two?" his eyes alit with interest. "I'm sure either one of you has a whopper of a story to tell," it wasn't obvious whether he had used that word choice on purpose or not.

 

Up ahead, Edrick was still talking with Urvan. "Who is this woman?" He asked. "Now, I know this is going to sound odd, but have you or any of your soldiers seen a horse pass through here? A red roan mare with a splotch of cream on her left flank and a mane and tail the color of dry straw. Possibly ridden by someone a bit smaller than me wearing dark robes, I'm not sure of the exact color."

 

"Hmm...a red roan mare...nope, can't say I have," Urvan shook his head. "Sorry, little dragon, but the only horses I've seen have been wild ones, and none of them match your description. As to your other question, well you'll find out," he said simply, eyes glinting mischievously.

 

In the forest, the wolf cub let out a growl as the hand approached, ears flattened against its head. They swiveled up at the strange noise emitting from the owner, and it tilted its head to the side curiously. A small black nose approached the hand and the jerky it held warily, taking deep sniffs before a tongue came out to lick its lips.

 

Quickly, the cub yanked the meat from Link's grasp, backing away a little bit, next to its mother's body. There, it nudged the strip of jerky at its mother's mouth, letting out a whine every so often when she didn't respond. Eventually, it started to tear at the meat, tugging at it with small, developing teeth. Seeming to give up, it looked up at Link, one ear back and the other perked forward.

 

Bringing the meat strip up to Link, the cub looked up with big eyes, ears flattened, before sniffing Link's boots. Slowly, the ears rose, but it still looked up at the mercenary, almost as if waiting for something.

[Alaina]

 

Alois listened to the boy speak to the both of them, talking about his lineage as a mage. Alois was a bit curious about the boy's travels, but also only made more curious about the story behind Urvan killing a bear. However, his thoughts were then derailed as the boy asked about them and any "whoppers" of stories they had. Raising his eyebrow at the boy's odd choice of words, Alois then went to thinking about any interesting things he could think of. Unfortunately the two most pressing stories on his mind were the time they almost got convicted for murder and the time Sienna almost got convicted for murder. Neither were really great, "hey nice to meet you stories," and while Alois didn't mind making people feel uncomfortable, that wasn't exactly the type of discomfort he was going for. Instead, the boy seemed to ponder it for a bit before saying, "well, let's see. Ah, well. Back in my home see, there was this time, I read. Also there was this time I chopped wood. I did these things a lot. That's about it, a real doozy I know." Seeming content with his answer, he looked at the princess and said, "how about you s-" the boy stopped himself from calling the girl 'short stuff.' After all, it would do no well to provoke her after they had came this far along in the conversation, and instead, "how about you Pen? Got any rousing stories for us?" 

[Wind Rider]

Sienna continued to walk silently with the group, she couldn't stop thinking about the long lecture her father would give her for burning down a part of the forest, her own home for that matter. Come to think of it, her whole tribe would be giving her the stink eye. Some in the tribe always said that magic was gonna get her into a terrible situation, not saying that magic had anything to do with her getting severely injured but still, magic for the most part left a bad taste in the mouths of some of her tribe.

 

She took the moment to look at what everyone was doing and it wasn't much, just chatting amongst themselves with the ones who pretty much saved the group. She sighed to herself and walked a bit ahead to try and catch up with Ciela, if there was any better time to talk it was now, though right now probably wasn't the best as Ciela was currently in a chat with the others. So she just went back to keeping to herself, she wasn't in a talking mood anyway, too many thoughts were racing through her head.

[Yui]

---

Azar listened as Gunther went on to explain each member of the group. They seemed to be an interesting lot. Or at least, as interesting as a group that nearly got Azar killed as collateral damage could get. Soldiers, spellcasters, and a protean. Of particular note to Azar were Edrick - the Pontic - and Ciela, who was the group healer, as Azar learned first-hand. A girl who knew what was effectively the enemy of dark magic, and a man who likely worshipped its source. Azar had a theory. One of these two could probably know some secret to counteract the negative effects of casting magic directly through one's body. Whether they knew of it or not. With any luck, the Pontic also had an inkling as to where Rashido had wound up, assuming Azar's blind guess about his kidnappers being Pontic were on the money.

 

"I see. Thank you for being so open with this information." With that, Azar picked up her pace a bit, aiming to catch up to Edrick and Urvan. They were discussing horses or something. Azar didn't quite make out the conversation word for word, nor did she care to. She had bigger fish to fry than mere horses. There were magical breakthroughs to discover, and even more importantly, missing friends to save. In the best case scenario, this guy would have answers to bring both of those pursuits to a quick end. Then again, in the best case scenario, his friends wouldn't have gotten Azar nearly killed just for existing near her.

 

"Excuse me," she started, once near the two, eyes fixated on Edrick. "My name is Azar Soravati. I need a moment of your time to ask you a few questions."

---

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

 

"Hehe," the man grinned bashfully. "You're right. I'm from a long line of mages, but I decided to go traveling, and ended up here. Urvan saved me from a giant bear, so I decided to help out," he shrugged. "I'm free to leave at any time, but it's been so much fun I just haven't had the heart. What about you two?" his eyes alit with interest. "I'm sure either one of you has a whopper of a story to tell,"

 

This bear thing tickled Penelope's interest. But what really got her curious was Alois's answer.

"Did you really not have any stories?" She asked him. "Even though you weren't stuck at home all the time?" It was weird to her. She had experienced plenty of thing thanks to sneaking out of the palace but...had she not needed to slip away to get out she knew she'd have gone many other places. There would be so many stories to hear!

Well, it was turned back to her, so she had to step up.

 

And thus she began a tale of intrigue and danger. "One time when I left home I had a feeling I was being watched..."

five minutes later

"And that's how I learned that wild dogs are afraid of milk."

-----

 

And just like that Azar left. She got the information she needed. Gunther couldn't help but feel a bit bad about that. He glanced around, seeing that most people were in their own conversations or lost in thought, and he didn't know what to do.

He wasn't really needed anywhere and so he was just sort of...there.

The only one, besides Azar, who had seemed to take note of him was..."Er, excuse me, miss." He said to the rather unusual archer girl. "I was wondering, ah, what do you think of your group here?"

[Alaina]

 

As the girl had continued to move along the path, simply scanning the woods as best she could, it was then that she heard a voice call out for a "Miss." The voice was also coming from right behind her. Briefly scouting about, she noted that there wasn't another "Miss," in the immediate area of the voice, and thus while still walking forward the girl bent backward to see who was behind her. Seeing that the voice belong to the, now upside down, face of the squirrel man from before, she pointed to herself asking, "me?" When this was confirmed, she stood back upright before pivoting 180 degrees. Now walking backwards, she looked at the man, observing him from head to toe back to head before saying, "my group? Well." Her expression seemed to go from curious to enthused as she said, "they're like the best. Yep, the best. We're all really super friendly with each other and all work super super hard to keep peace here."

 

She nodded to herself, content, before face lit up again. "Oh, and they're all super nice. Yep. Even Irwin and Levi. Even if they can look," she then faked an angry expression and made a low "grrr" sound before, saying, "they're all really nice people who're just looking out for each other. And then there's Urvan, also really nice. Well, he's one of the everyone. So of course he'd be nice! But he's also like super strong and calm and cool and stuff. Oh, and sometimes he pats me on the head for a job well done." The girl seemed oddly proud of this last thing. Outside of the blue-headed meanie and the Isaurian, she figured that the rest of his group was probably also nice, and thus didn't feel the need to ask the armored man. It was at that point she realized something, "oh, right, right, right. It's always important to check each other's condition after each battle. Make sure we're all at our best best, you know? And I haven't seen you talk to any of your nice people so, I shall be the nice person you check with instead. So," the girl cleared her throat a bit as she was about to begin her questioning, only to then look a bit in confusion, unsure of how to go about this. "Uh. Hm. Ah! Are you feeling alright? Yes, that's the question. Or was it, 'how're you feeling?' Hmm. Oh well, it doesn't matter. No wait," the girl cleared her throat again before making it sound a bit deeper, asking, "what's your status?" Her voice shifted back to normal as she said, "yes, that's the one!" 

[Maeriberii Haan]

---

 

The group continued on their way, and soon Ciela started to feel better and better. When they weren't being chased by bandits, the forest seemed to have a calming effect for those that walked through it. While the others were busy talking to each other, Ciela ended up pulling a book from her bag and started reading. It was none other than the supposed Lady Nashandra's logbook, which she had been trying to decipher and rewrite for a while. A mess addled with lazy sentence structure, unreadable script, and worse of all, written in a dialect and language style of current-day Pontic that had been dead for centuries. It pretty much was a personal notebook more or less, only ever intended to be read by the author herself rather than some nosy brat.

 

The current pages she were reading seemed to consist of prayers. Wait, no, it was actually a hymn. The content didn't seem to have anything to do with healing magic however, so she decided to skip it for now. As much as it could be interesting, transcribing hymns while maintaining its structure and the ability to vocalize it well would be something she's not capable of now, and it'd be too much unnecessary effort just for fulfilling a simple curios. Though, perhaps she could ask Edrick about it later? Who knows, maybe the hymn survived to this day and regularly got performed in his area.

 

The next pages were...somehow even more unreadable than the previous. It's a complete pain to see in the faint darkness of the forest, and while Ciela could perhaps try lighting her staff by channeling a bit of power into it, that might blow to her face and the book. Not wanting to ruin her eyes further for the time being, Ciela stuffed the book back to her back while grumbling a bit, before noticing that the hooded stranger was with Edrick and the ranger leader. Right, she was going to ask things to her. Tightening the hold to Remy and instructing him where he should go next, the two of them approached Azar, notifying their arrival by a tap from Remy.

 

"Ah, am I interrupting something? You know, I'm still quite curious about your magic. I have studied Anima and healing magic considerably, but I am quite lacking in knowledge regarding elder magic. Not to mention, your usage of it was hella odd.

 

Yeah yeah, I already did squee on you earlier during the fight though I guess you ignoring me back then makes sense. Now that we're relatively safe, can we talk about it more?"

 

Well, perhaps Ciela was just starting to feel lonely again and needed someone to talk, but that was a good excuse for her to start a conversation with someone after her earlier explosion.

 

---

[Sethera]

Shaoran listened to the fighter speak with some curiosity. He had been expecting, well, something. Something more than what he got anyway, a vague answer about reading and chopping wood. How somebody with such mundane hobbies had fallen in with this lot was a mystery. The pretty girl next to him looked intrigued, commenting on the man's lack of excitement, before going into a tale that sounded as if it were going to head into something life-threatening, but was instead about wild dogs...and milk. These two were certainly a pair of oddballs.

 

In the forest, Link would no longer be able to hear the voices of his companions. This would be the impetus for him to leave, but he would find his feet would pause at a whine from behind, causing him to turn around.

 

The cub stood there, ears flattened, staring up at Link with big, round eyes. Its fur was a mixture of dark grayish-green, tan, and cream. It had a birthmark of a sort on its forehead, and a bushy mane behind its head, but was otherwise unremarkable. Over the centuries, wolf coats had adapted to match their surroundings, and the forest wolves of Pelinna were commonly seen in greens, grays, and browns. The mountain wolves were usually shades of gray or white. However, that would mean little to Link, who could see nothing but the big, dark eyes of a pleading puppy in front of him.

 

Whatever his decision, the mercenary would soon find himself back among the company. His absence had not been noted. Catriona was too lost in her own thoughts. Perhaps...she should write to her father. In her determination to stop the goddess, she had not thought to warn him of the den of vipers in his own country. Since it was King Reginald, however, it was likely he already suspected, or knew of them. Regardless, it would not hurt, unless... She paused. Unless the message were to be intercepted.

 

No, there was too much risk involved. And even if the nobles succeeded in their mission to see her dead, it would not change anything. Her life was limited as it were, and her existence was of little import to the fate of the world. She alone would not be able to stop the goddess, and it would be hubris to think her own death would make much of a difference.

 

Nearby, the mule that Ciela had bought in Ithome let out a startled bray before suddenly vanishing on the spot, the few items it had been carrying dropping to the ground, but Catriona paid it no mind, stooping down to grab them automatically before continuing her walk. Wrapped up in her thoughts as it were, she did not even realize what had just occurred.

 

After two more hours, the group finally arrived at the campsite. Surrounded by a sharpened picket fence, it was obvious, from looking at it, that it was used quite frequently. The ground was churned up from various footprints and wheel tracks. Tents were set up, and even a couple covered wagons. A few people sat around fires in thick cloaks, their eyes mild but alert. One of them, a teenager with thick glasses, rose at seeing the patrol. Or more specifically, Urvan.

 

"Oh look it's Urvan!" they squealed and hugged him, ignoring the exasperated sighs of some of the patrol. Then they turned to Tsetseg. "Heyo, Tsetseg!" they said, giving her a thumbs up. "How's my favorite person in the whole wide world doing?"

 

"You mean your fellow messmaker," muttered Levi. "The both of you combined could turn the camp upside-down if we let you."

 

"Is that why you wouldn't let me go with?" they humphed at Urvan.

 

The warrior chuckled. "You know why you had to stay, Hange. Now, let me get these people settled in, and then we can discuss that."

 

The person turned serious right away. "Ah, yes, that. Sure thing," they waved at the group before heading back to the fire.

 

"Well, this is the camp," Urvan said, turning around to face the group. "You could say it's our main one, since it's closest to Ithome, where we stock up on supplies. We've got plenty at the moment, though, so we should be good for another month or so." He glanced over the group. "Feel free to relax. We'll start preparing the food soon. Suppose we'll get to try that stew of yours soon," he nodded at Edrick. With that, the leader left for one of the tents, the cavalier from earlier a blond shadow.

 

"Tch," the narrow-eyed thief slipped away as well. The rest of the patrolmen went their own ways, some for the healing tents, and others for the campfires. Hange had disappeared, but Shaoran decided to show the group around the camp. "We've also got a couple merchants of sorts," he pointed at a few tents and wagons. "Suppose you could say we like to trade amongst ourselves. There are others looking for what we sell too," he grinned mysteriously. "We get them mainly from bandits, but some we harvest ourselves from the forest." The man glanced at a tent with a large green leaf symbol on it. "We have a healer too, not a magic-user though. Has a good supply of vulneraries and concoctions though." He glanced at Sienna. "Oh, and I'd keep away from Hange," he warned her. "They're very curious about Proteans, and can get a bit...carried away when it comes to learning about them."

 

After the tour, one of the patrolmen approached Edrick to see if he would like to help cook, while the aforementioned healer asked Ciela if she would like to help with the wounded.

 

An hour would pass quickly, and dinner would be a simple but hearty affair of bread, pottage, cheese, and possibly Edrick's stew if he decided to make it. Some people even had bread bowls, which they ate the food out of. There was ale, cider, and water to drink.

 

Various conversations would arise but eventually, after dinner, Urvan would summon the group to a clearing near the campsite for a private conversation, after receiving Catriona's go-ahead, that she considered them all trustworthy. Honestly, she did not know about Azar, but it was doubtful she was a spy, considering her heritage.

 

"I sent some people back to clean up the fight," he said. "After all, that was a bit bigger than your ordinary bandit attack. I recognized the one leading them. He was Bone, right-hand man of Bazba, leader of Bazba's Bandits. They've terrorized the area around Ithome for a while now, and were getting bolder and bolder. Seems I have you to thank for Bazba's death," he nodded. "However, what Bone said back there is a cause for concern. Do we have to worry about some Galtean noble sending more people after you?"

 

"I..." Catriona paused. "I'm not sure. I do know, though," she took in a breath. "That they are probably affiliated with Lord Sebastian."

 

"Sorry, but I don't know much about Galtea's nobility," Urvan shrugged. "You'll have to give me more than that."

 

"Lord Sebastian is the head of House Salika," the lord explained. "One of the three pillars of Galtea," she glanced at Ciela. "There are other, subordinate houses, nobles in their own right, but they serve one of the three." She paused. "You may not know this, but I was kidnapped," in fact, she wasn't sure that very many of the group knew that. Penelope knew obviously, as did Gunther, Alois as well, but the rest...she might have accidentally left that part out when explaining their goal. "The Pontics used my blood in a ritual to revive the goddess Inera. It was partially successful, but not entirely. However, before being knocked unconscious, I saw Lord Sebastian's face," her own face grew cold. "I have no choice but to believe that he is the one behind my kidnapping. What his reasons for this are, I do not know, but I do know that he has...a great deal of influence." Almost the entirety of southern Galtea, in fact.

 

Urvan's brow wrinkled, his expression darkening. "A foe before you and a foe behind you. I do not envy your path," he muttered. "But there are dangers here as well," he glanced at Sienna. "You must know of the existence of the Proteans. Three tribes make their home in the Pelinna region. The hedgehog tribe, the fox tribe, and the frog tribe. They're normally peaceful, but have been a bit...aggressive lately. Hange's been trying to get in contact with them and find out what's going on. That's probably why we didn't notice the bandits, actually," he frowned. "I would be careful if I were you. The fox tribe isn't far from here, and we'll have to pass by the frog tribe eventually. We shouldn't have to worry about the hedgehog tribe, since it's closer to the Galtean border, but the other two will be trouble. Unless you want to be drawn into whatever's going on, I'd ask you to keep your hood up," he told Sienna.

 

Soon after, the warrior bid them goodnight. Shaoran and Tsetseg were waiting at the edge of the clearing for them, their expressions making it evident that they had heard everything. The two led the group to where they would be sleeping, passing by Erwin, Levi, and Hange in front of a fire, who waved gaily at Tsetseg. The patrol had set up four of their spare tents earlier that evening on the edge of the campsite. They were large, easily fitting four people each. Shaoran excused himself afterward, explaining that he was on watch duty soon, though it was still early enough for the group to talk or visit amongst the patrolmen if they wanted to.

 

[spoiler=OOC]

Okay, plot time! And now downtime. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. There is an apothecary of sorts, a few merchants selling weapons, items, and various knickknacks. There are also people you can talk to if you wish, and of course you can talk among yourselves as well. Everybody now knows the full circumstances of what happened (barring the curse), including Tsetseg, who happened to overhear it. So yeah, post and stuff.

 

 

[Wind Rider]

After a long hike through the forest, the group finally made it to the patrol's campsite. A rather excited person greeted Urvan's return and after a bit of a tour around the camp everyone split up to relax and chat a bit before dinner. Sienna... Really wasn't much of a drinker, so at dinner she only got herself some water to wash her meal down. It was good, best she's ever eaten in a few days.

 

After dinner, Urvan called the group in for a private conversation concerning the bandits that attacked earlier. Sienna understood the whole deal about the bandit leader and everything but the mention of a Galtean noble confused her. She never really understood human politics, hence why she was so skittish during the whole murder trial incident, but Urvan did say something that caught Sienna's attention.

 

"But there are dangers here as well," he glanced at Sienna. "You must know of the existence of the Proteans. Three tribes make their home in the Pelinna region. The hedgehog tribe, the fox tribe, and the frog tribe. They're normally peaceful, but have been a bit...aggressive lately. Hange's been trying to get in contact with them and find out what's going on. That's probably why we didn't notice the bandits, actually," he frowned. "I would be careful if I were you." He frowned. "The fox tribe isn't far from here, and we'll have to pass by the frog tribe eventually. We shouldn't have to worry about the hedgehog tribe, since it's closer to the Galtean border, but the other two will be trouble. Unless you want to be drawn into whatever's going on, I'd ask you to keep your hood up," he told Sienna.

 

There was tension between the tribes? As Urvan said they were peaceful and Sienna could approve of that statement, the tribes were friendly towards eachother hence why they lived close to eachother, but this sudden aggressiveness that Urvan talked about didn't sit well with her.

 

After the meeting, the group was free to do what they wanted until they had to turn in for the night. Even though she was told to stay away from Hange, Sienna knew she was probably her best bet at learning what exactly was going on between her tribe and the others. She split off from the group and walked over to the fire that Hange was sitting at. "E-excuse me... Urvan said you've been trying to get a response from the tribes in the forest, I was wondering if you could uh... Tell me what exactly is going on, I'm really worried about my tribe..."

[LordCowCowCowCowCowCowCowCow]

"So the spell does work...though, the accuracy is a bit...off. A mule isn't exactly an exciting catch. What to do with this..."

---

Gunther stared for a moment at Tsetseg, unsure how to respond to the sudden influx of information. Even talking with Penelope didn't brace him for such a thing. However, he did notice his lips curving into a smile, completely at their own behest. There was something soothing about this girl, in an odd way. Perhaps it was her innocence, which, he thought, was similar to the squirrels before.

 

It took him a few moments to realize that she had actually asked him something. "Oh." He didn't know how to respond. His status was not such a simple thing. He was physically fine but...there were many issues at hand. With the group and himself personally. However he couldn't very well trouble the girl about that. "I am doing fine, thank you." He responded. Then he turned the conversation another direction, as he was curious about the typical behavior of the animals in this forest. And so the rest of the trip passed uneventfully.

---

Penelope knew just what she had to do. The camp was a simple one without much of note. However there were merchants. And merchants often had a wide variety of things. Perhaps some of them would have new books for her.

 

Though her usual helper was busy it seemed. Penelope was unsure how she felt about him talking with that girl. They were a stranger after all. On the other hand being friendly with this group would be for the best...and it would be good for Gunther to get more comfortable talking with others.

 

It did leave her with a dilemma. If she did find more books how would she carry them all? Her eyes moved to Alois, giving him a meaningful look. Whether he understood and followed was up to him but in any case Penelope would scour the camp for books she could procure.

 

Gunther didn't know what to do with himself. He still was uncomfortable approaching anyone else, especially with all these unknowns around, and Penelope looked to be in good hands.

He would leave it to the girl he had spoken to before. If she was to leave he would wait around. If she brought him somewhere he'd follow. Gunther realized it was silly to just follow some person they just met but it was easier than going off on his own.

Especially as he was still sure that the others were annoyed with him.

----

During dinner, Gunther tried to be polite to everyone, making sure each person could reach what they wanted, and never ran out of their preferred drink. He didn't make a show of it, merely offering to assist any who seemed to want it. Through most of it he was silent, watching everyone. They all seemed...close. Much closer than his own group. "How did they get so close?" He wondered, speaking out loud without thinking.

 

Penelope on the other hand was telling everyone who would listen all about the things she had learned about encampments and forests. Half of which involved statistics of people becoming lost, murdered, or otherwise come to harm, all the way from losing one's pants to one's head, in a setting such as the one they were experiencing.

----

The conversation with Urvan later was a solemn affair for both Penelope and Gunther. They shared the same sentiment, as evidence by the look they gave each other, about this situation. Betrayal was something not taken lightly by the Princess's father. And that was something that he had, in different ways, installed in both Penelope and Gunther over the years.

 

"Lord Sebastian will pay for this...if he is the culprit. I wish we had more to go on than your testimony, Catriona. You were in a distressed state. Even were you to name him to father he could not do anything about it that could not be dismissed." Penelope bit her lower lip, mulling it over. "Gunther, come, I wish to go to a tent. I need to think of all I know of Lord Sebastian, and the recent attacks. I wish for you to help me remember all the details. Perhaps there's something I can use against him if it comes to that..."

 

Gunther nodded and went along with Penelope. He cast Catriona a look of concern, which doubled as an invitation to come with if she desired, before they went. The pair wouldn't refuse to speak with those who came to them, but they would be on their own for the time being. Any who wished to talk to either of them would need to come find them to do so.