* Metal shavings… Rose thorns… A fly trap plant… This should work…*

These were the main elements of his concoction, hopefully not being another dud of a combination. Many times had he managed to bring ingredients together and try to bind everything together with magic to receive nothing at the end. Yes, it was part of the risk of his ‘’trade’’, but it was always annoying as hell when nothing worked, as it wasted his ingredients and his precious time. This specific mixture would come and modify and already existing item, which made the task a little harder. The magic of both things might collide and explode in his face, which meant more pain. Again. It was the risk, once more.

The ingredients slowly being crushed together in a mixing bowl, he could already feel the reaction happening, which meant he had probably made a good mix. The binding would happen later, to not awake suspicion or his hidden talent. He was actually quite happy to feel the reaction of the substances. It wasn`t going to be a waste of his time. A smile creped on his lips as he pulled out an empty glass container, preparing to transfer it for transport. Before he could do so, he was interrupted…

He turned himself around, facing one of the travelers that he was journeying with. Oddly, it was the musician. What did he want? He couldn’t tell right away, but he already felt that this wasn`t going to be a pleasant conversation. He put the bowl and the container down as he spoke, listened to his words with care… He had almost just turned around and went back to his things within the first two sentences he spoke. A soldier? Really? What gave him the impression he was a soldier? He was far from one really. Although, he could admit that separating himself from the group was a little foolish, but he couldn’t understand the pain of his people. None of them really could.

He looked at the bowl of food for a moment, and then raised his head to see the man walk back… What was he doing? He hadn’t really noticed it yet, but the man seemed to be trying to find his way back with the scabbard. What was he doing? He was slightly curious, especially as the arrow flew and the man reacted instinctively. Odd… He decided to look over it for the moment. He returned to his own thing, finally pouring the pasty substance into the glass container and putting everything he had just used away into his traveling bag. He would have the chance to do something with his mixtures when they would reach the next village.

With that done, he took his things and left the bowl of food behind without touching it, retreating to a tree not too far from the camp fire to sit down and rest his back on its trunk. There was no way he would join that circle to have those eyes judge him for his actions. For now, he would just stay at his own thing. Het set everything do, pulling up the wrapped up weapon of his and finally rolled out the leather to reveal the weapon of his invention. The 6-bolt Crossbow. He took it in his hands, pulling the stock up against his shoulder. It was time for a little inspection.

__________________________________________________

Vordan had reacted very poorly to the offer, and already, Elrithos felt the struggle that was going to be set within the group. The hatred of the people of Ellahur would never die down for what the Syndarean had done to them… They didn’t know the true history they had. Once great allies, broken by this war with the Dark Emperor. Allies for many years, yet they seemed to have forgotten their history together, the war they had won TOGETHER hundreds of years ago. Elrithos had been taught about most of the Kingdoms and their histories, as being a messenger, he had to know a lot. It was a shame really. Maybe he should make them remember their history… A story for another night. The atmosphere was already tight enough that he didn`t want to spawn more worries.

He sighed as he accepted the bowl of the dwarven man, nodding and bowing down as he was served. He ate his food slowly, actually enjoying it. He wasn`t quite used to making tasty food. When you lived in the desert, you didn`t argue on how things tasted. He has kept his smile, looking up at the group. He wanted people to understand that even if he was a warrior of the sands, he was not a heartless man. Yes, he had seen war. Gruesome war. But he had been over it now. It was a new time. Time for the people of this continent to bond back together.

Elrithos had barely noticed Caelis getting up and going to see Vordan. Bad idea. The man was probably already very sensitive with this whole subject, starting to add up on it would just make things so much worst. People were going to bash down on the tall man for sure, but he still didn`t deserve to be look down lie that. They had to sort out their differences, that was all.

Finishing his bowl, he went and thanked the young woman for her appetizing meal. It was a meal he enjoyed greatly actually and he expressed it to her kindly. He stepped back towards his things, a little bit outside the circle around the fire. He pulled out some clothes that he gradually wrapped around itself, creating a small ball of wool. Knowing that Faith and Caelis would be singing, he opted for a more quite way to do his own thing while still being within the circle. He stayed up on his feet as he smiled lightly, letting the ball of tissue fall, catching it before it hit the ground with the top of his boot… And then, he started juggling with the ball, using only his feet, legs and knees t make the ball go in the air and catch. It was oen of his few passive hobbies to do this. It was a great way to grow coordination and have some fun while settling to rest!

“Feed someone else with that. I don’t want it.”

Serna didn’t know what she had been expecting. She knew he probably wouldn’t take it, but she was still left disappointed as Vordan removed himself from the circle entirely, retreating to a cart. Serna was left standing there, her eyes filling with the disappointment she felt. She jolted though, as a large hand gently took the bowl of stew from her, and she looked up to see Tirian. He gave her a smile and Serna flushed brightly as he said, “Don’t worry. Vordan is just jealous you have all your fingers intact. I’ll finish his bowl.”

She watched as he gulped it all down in a single swoop, with her twin brother holding in a laugh in the background, and handed her the empty bowl. The girl fumbled the bowl for a second with surprise, before holding it close to her chest. She bowed her head slightly toward Tirian with a shy smile before quickly skirting away to her brother.
Setna was just glad that it hadn’t ended up physical as he relaxed and heartily thanked his sister as she handed him a bowl. The fingers joke made him laugh though, and he held back a smirk as he glanced back at Vordan.

“Maybe he should look up his own arse for the rest of those fingers…” Setna mumbled to himself as he took a sip of stew and held in a laugh at his own joke.

Serna served herself and gave her brother a disapproving frown as they sat together, quietly eating their first actual meal of the day.

They hadn’t been expecting the rather quiet man in Caelis to suddenly stand and move toward Vordan. Both twins sat ram rod straight as the older man scolded the mercenary for refusing food. It felt like their father was there with them, the same authoritative voice giving out a lesson. The twins shuddered, both of their backs aching from past floggings due to that same tone of voice. They ate their food at a much faster pace as Caelis gave Vordan an option to sit with the rest of the group and then returned to Faith.

They watched and waited for a rebuttal from the Ellahur man with wide eyes, and Serna found herself looking for the red headed warrior, but he had already left the campsite for the woods. It didn’t matter though, as Caelis began tuning his instrument and Faith warmed her voice.

It wasn’t long before the camp was filled with beautiful music. It was calm, yet somber, and as Rudolf finished his meal, he took out his wooden pipe and relaxed. He puffed a few smoke rings before settling back and listening to the duo. Faith’s voice was angelic and the old dwarf found himself reminiscing of the past.

Once the twins finished, Serna made herself busy by collecting empty bowls. She wiped them down with a wet rag and cleaned them to the best of her ability. The young girl was surprised however as the desert elf approached her, handing her his bowl. He thanked her and told her how much he appreciated it and the teenager turned red at the compliments. She shyly thanked him, taking the bowl with shaking hands. Her face had lit up with happiness though, glad that everyone seemed to enjoy her cooking. Serna was just happy that she could do something for the group.

Finally she returned to her brother’s side who had folded her cloak into a makeshift pillow. Setna had done the same with his own cloak and the siblings laid down side by side and listened to the peaceful music. Serna looked up at the sky above them and nearly gasped at the number of stars that lit up the darkness. She nudged her brother and pointed upwards. Setna smiled as he looked up, inching closer to his sister as she mumbled about constellations and traced them all with a delicate finger.

They had never seen the stars before. They had read about them, learned how to navigate with them, but never seen them. The King’s barrier had always left a faint iridescent purple glow across the night sky. It was light enough to see the blue during the day, but strong enough to block out the stars at night.

Serna nudged her brother again, pointing up to a constellation. “Sword and shield.” She whispered excitedly, tracing the points so he could see.

Setna however turned to stare at his sister, whose face glowed from the light of the fire and whose smile was so wide he could even see the dimples in her cheeks. He hadn’t seen that same smile for years, she looked more alive now than she ever had. A part of him knew that what he did was stupid. Stealing her away, breaking laws, leaving their home, it had been his fault and all his idea. But as he watched his sister smile and point out stars, he couldn’t help but wonder if it was all worth it. He would make sure she would stay safe, be able to live like any other normal person. She’d be able to get married to whoever she wants to, and have her own kids, and he’d get to help teach his nephews and nieces all about the world and fighting. He’d be able to go to his sister for advice about his own wife, and they’d still have family dinners and all of that stupid shit. Everything would be ok.

She would live and it would all be worth it. No one would take her life from her. He had made the right choice. He was sure of it.

---

Aaerynn was fed up with just about everyone as she leaned against her tree and had to listen to the griping going on down below. What did they all expect? The man with the great sword, hated the navy haired brats. That was obvious. So really what did that little girl think she was going to get by offering food? Better off just letting people get what they want anyway. Leave everyone alone.

Aaerynn swirled her stew a bit in her bowl. She couldn’t really say no to the smell, and Rudolf had given it to her. So she ate it, dipping her bread into it to fill herself up a bit more. Occasionally she would reach into her pack and hang her arm down, letting Baineth eat some grain a handful at a time.

Cold blue eyes observed the red haired kid retreat into the woods, and then the other guy got up, using his sword to poke around before again scolding the guy with the bigger sword. Couldn’t they just leave him alone? Wasn’t like he was about to kill the girl. Besides, if he wanted to starve to death that was his stupid decision. He’d just die and they’d leave him for the crows to pick at. Easy.

The elf rolled her eyes and tossed her now empty bowl onto the ground for someone else to pick up. She was already sick of all this. How the hell was she supposed to put up with all of these idiots for practically a year, maybe more? Perhaps she’d die first, and maybe she’d welcome it this time.

It was then that her ears twitched and she heard the rustle of the bushes and the soft crackle of paws on leaves. She could just barely hear it over the tuning of instruments and the filthy half elf’s obnoxious voice. Carefully, she ambled off the branch she was sitting on and landed quietly on her feet. Baineth stomped her feet and Aaerynn calmed her down, petting her mane. “Mauya nin avánië. (I must leave) I will be back.” She whispered quietly to the mare.

Baineth gave her a disapproving look and Aaerynn pressed her forehead against the mare’s muzzle. “Stay.” She whispered before pulling back and staring straight at Baineth. The horse shook her head but stayed where she was.

Aaerynn picked up her bow, and caught the attention of Rudolf who simply nodded his head. Shifting her quiver across her hips, she quietly left camp.

She entered the darkness of the woods, her eyes quickly adjusting as she caught the glimpse of a white tail. She followed it, her light steps barely making a sound as she walked across the leaves and branches strewn across the forest floor. She stepped over roots, not too far behind the white tail she was following. It had been awhile since she had walked through this forest, and the trees didn’t adjust to her hand as she placed them on the bark. She was a stranger here.

Yet as she jumped over the familiar ledge to the wolf den, the wolves scattered to make room for her. She heard the hushed whispers and growls of her name and she stood, eyes ready and fingers still above the feather of an arrow.

“Adulteress. You live off your greed.”

Aaerynn turned to the gruff feminine voice. There stood the pure white wolf, her three tails swaying slightly as she lay down, her giant paws the size of the largest wolf children that surrounded her.

“Daedhrogeth…” Aaerynn murmured as she stood straight. “Do my sins amuse you?”

The giant wolf god bared her teeth in a grisly smile. “Of course. Your elvish devotion wasted on a man who did not even chose you. Now you are bound to grief for all eternity. All for a human who’s carcass has long been rotted.”

The wolf stood and came closer, her giant head as large as Aaerynn was tall. “Shaming your family. How does it feel? The loneliness that aches your soul, the weariness that rots you from the inside out. I wonder how long you’ll last before it consumes you. How long will your greed keep you alive?”

Aaerynn didn’t even bat an eyelash as the wolf pressed into her and laughed. Aaerynn frowned as she said, “Is that why you summoned me? To laugh?”

“Of course not.” The god moved forward, her tails curling around Aaerynn’s body so she could feel their warmth before they swished away. “You’ve come too close. I should have bitten off your heads. You’ve brought man beasts, and that disgusting dwarf. If it weren’t for that awful racket I would have eaten you all.”

The wolf turned back and snapped her jaws. Aaerynn’s face remained calm, although in the back of her mind she made a note to give Rudolf more credit for that ridiculous chant. “We are only passing through. If we hit upon the North Elves territory it is only briefly. Since when have they owned this path?”

The wolf god growled. “There is darkness settling in these woods. Perhaps your relatives cannot withstand the newcomers.”

Aaerynn pursed her lips at the new information, and she watched the wolf cautiously. “We are leaving for the next continent. By tomorrow we will have reached the South Elves, the North Elves do not have to worry about my presence. As you already know, don’t you Daedhrogeth? Although I suppose I should be thanking you for checking up on me.”

The wolf sat and turned with another dangerous smile, having been found out by the pestering elf child. “Your mother weeps. It outrages me. She will be glad for information. Do be wary Aaerynn of the Lightwelds, I will gladly snap your head from your body if you come too close. It is your connection, your life and a debt that keeps me away from you tonight.”

Aaerynn relaxed a bit, her muscles loosening. Daedhrogeth had been a guardian of the wood elves for centuries, on her own terms. Aaerynn had not been too sure whether she still received protection or not. It seemed like she and the rest would be walking a thin line.

The wolf god turned her head, glancing at a young wolf who had been unable to sit still. It twitched, stood, walked around a bit and then sat again. “Go.” Daedhrogeth growled. “Stop being an annoyance.”

The young wolf yipped and ran forward, crashing into the female elf. Aaerynn crouched and smiled, wrapping her arms around the eager young wolf. “Kai…” Aaerynn whispered and hugged the wolf to her as his tail wagged excitedly like a dog. “You’ve grown strong.”

The god waited a moment before growling. “Enough.”

Kai whined but slowly backed away from the female elf, running up the ledge. The wolf god stared down at Aaerynn with her piercing yellow eyes. “It was you that saved his life. So I will save yours, for the time being. Call us, and we will come.”

Aaerynn bowed down in respect, her eyes tilted down as the wolves began to leave her. She didn’t lift her head until she was sure that she was alone. Then she stood and began to head back to camp. She followed the same path back, but turned at the end, hearing the sound of arrows hitting solid wood.

She entered the clearing where Tirian was practicing. She watched as he readied an arrow, took his time, mumbled something and then shot. It wasn’t practical, to her at least. He was accurate, but too slow. If anything else irked her, it would be humans attempting to perform archery like elves. At this point he had noticed her, blue eyes staring at blue eyes. Aaerynn didn’t say a word as she suddenly turned and kicked the log, making it swing rapidly.

“Hit it.” She said. “Faster.”

Tirian held a smirk of his own; the rush of competition and challenges excited him. The red-haired soldier wasted no time nocking an arrow into the bow and striking the log as fast as his body would allow. The arrow did not hit dead center however, but would still be something of an injuring blow.

Aaerynn’s cold eyes stared at it for a moment, before she began walking forward. “Not good enough.” She made her judgment as she walked towards camp. Another disappointment.

“Hey.” Tirian called out to the coldblooded elf with a calm and collected demeanor. “You don’t challenge someone and issue words without proving you can do better.” Tirian knew deep down Aaerynn would outclass his own archery skills but hell, maybe he could bring out some happiness from that distanced elf if nothing else.

Aaerynn didn’t even look at him as she moved in one motion. She nocked an arrow back and steadied herself faster than Tirian could ever dream. Every motion was fluid as she let the arrow fly and it hit exactly dead center, even as the log continued to swing back and forth. She took a moment to stare at Tirian as she placed her bow across her back.

Tirian watched the arrow strike with precision comparable to that of a true wood elf. The young soldier cocked a one-sided smirk watching the elf turn to walk away but not without another word or two from his own lips. “What can I say, you’re clearly better than me. I’ll make sure to take lessons one day.”

Tirian swung the bow over his shoulder and began to cut down the log and retrieve the arrows, ensuring no tracker would be able to follow the tracks left behind. Tirian caught up to the elf again offering one last bit of advice.

“I don’t know you nor your past. It’s none of my business so I won’t ask. I can say that I am glad to have you watching our backs even if for your own sake. Thanks.”

The female wood elf stared at the red head, for the first time taking in his clear blue eyes. Something was off, he wasn’t ordinary. But she didn’t dwell on it as she turned her head and continued walking to camp, leaving him behind.

As the woman made it back to the fire, she rested her head against Baineth’s neck, who was eager to see her. Then she made her way back up the tree, making herself comfortable on her branch, and thought over what had happened in the woods. Rudolf came a bit closer, sitting beneath the tree she had taken.

“Chased off the wolves, have you?” He asked her as Aaerynn looked around the rest of the camp. The twins had fallen asleep where they lay, the desert elf was performing some kind of juggling act and the two musicians seemed to be ending a song. Lastly her eyes landed on Vordan who had taken a tree of his own, still distanced from the group.

“You could say that.” Aaerynn mumbled to the dwarf, as she reached down to pet Baineth’s mane. “Now move lecher, I can see you trying to catch a glimpse of something.”

The old pervert laughed but returned to his previous seat. “Now then, we’ll wait for Tirian to return before deciding who should be the watch for tonight.”

“Don’t bother.” Aaerynn answered bitterly. “I don’t trust any of you to be able to sound an alarm fast enough. I’ll be watch for tonight.”

Tirian watched as the elf moved ahead without a word, utter and complete silence. Eyes blue as the sky watched as the memories of a certain someone began to surface. Aaerynn reminded Tirian of someone near and dear; someone still out there possibly looking for his live body at this very moment. The Durandal Prince shook his head quickly to refocus on the task at hand. Rudolf mentioned night watch just as the red-haired warrior entered camp and quickly did the elf snap a bitter remark. Tirian drew in a silent sigh with the level of distrust hanging heavy in the atmosphere. The prince scratched the back of his head before answering the call himself.

“Having no trust can be dangerous. Allow me to prove to you tonight that all of us are more than capable of night watch. I don’t sleep well anyway.”

Tirian waved off Rudolf with a half-hearted smile, knowing full well the wood elf would be holding a disgusted look right about now. Tirian took one final look around the camp to make his final judgment on the journey. Would this unit of assembled individuals have the capability to make it the finish line? Trust certainly did not exist within the group, which was something that could be built. Souls with a conscious were not meant to get along. This was simply nature at its finest; Tirian knew it would take time. His eyes closed and the soldier entered his thought process on the matter.

There was Vordan, the man was a complete mystery and displayed childish emotions, yet Tirian had faith in his abilities. There were the two elves Elrithos and Aareynn. One colder than ice while the other had been genuine and warm to everyone, yet Tirian did not doubt either of them for a second. Blue eyes fell upon slumbering twins. Serna had no combat skills and her brother was young and rather inexperienced. Experience can be gained but killing required natural talent and a certain lack of regard for life. Then there had been the two musicians. Certainly Faith would hold no weight in combat; however Caelis seemed just as mysterious as Vordan in that regard.

We’ll make it.”

Tirian climbed the tree to a branch opposite of the hateful Aaerynn, his eyes looking out over the distance. The night would surely drag on for eternity, they always did for Tirian. For someone with a mind that never rested, the descending sun and inevitable nightfall had always been a reminder he was alone. Memories seemed to crawl back with an everlasting assault to constantly pointing out every tiny flaw and fault Tirian had. No soldier, no matter the strength he or she possessed could ever beat life. Life hit harder than any warrior, relentless with a never ending onslaught aiming to always test your will. Tirian learned early that the best way was to face life head on, taking every challenge with excitement and prove you could live yet another day.

Throughout the entire duration of what seemed to be a never-ending night, Tirian remained silent as a mouse never speaking a word to his guarding partner. Tirian felt warmth on his face as his eyes opened to meet the sun rising. A smile crept to the red-haired man’s lips as he slipped off the tree to awake a loudly snoring Rudolf. Tirian towered over the smiling dwarf with growing smirk. The soldier leaned down and began whispering into Rudolf’s ear.

“Rudolf… Quickly the girls are naked…”

Never before did an old man jump faster to his feet with eyes wider than the red sea.

“Where!?”

The noise would wake even the heaviest sleeper.

"Ready?" Caelis asked with his small stringed instrument in his hands, which looked like a harp, and a small drum near him as well.

"Uh huh." Faith replied as straightened her back, readying herself.

Caelis said "Ready when you are."

Faith took a slow, deep breath and then finally opened her mouth. She began to sing.

As Faith began to sing, Caelis found himself nostalgically thinking back. Caelis had taught Faith that song a few years ago, and although she did not understand what she was singing, but Caelis knew. After all, this was a traditional song of Attolia that often served as a dirge and prayer during funerals. It was created as a tribute to honor Lady Mary, wife of the first Attolian King Alexandr, during the Unification War, the war that established the Kingdom of Attolia . According to texts, she was a master of what is called "Holy" magic today, and had considerable skill in creating light. Thus, during the Night of Reaping, a battle where the Necromancer Magnar had formed a pact with a demon released a dark fog that sucked life out of anything it touched in a manner of seconds, Lady Mary had walked straight into the fog while radiating brighter than the sun. As the fog consumed her, the fog began to dissipate, and several minutes later it had vanished with Lady Mary. Thus, as a martyr, Lady Mary had a song created by the first Royal Musician of Attolia.

Despite not knowing the history or anything about the song, Faith had come to love this song. This seemed strange to Caelis at first, but after hearing her preform it... there was no one else in the world that could give the song justice. After all, this song was supposed to give hope and battle fear much like how light repels the encroaching darkness, and whenever Caelis hears Faith sing this song... his heart becomes lighter.

Here I shall prove your name.
Look, that is the light that will become life.

Oh, music of Paul that weaves time,
eternally tell the story.

Little ones that shine down in the darkness
again, follow him, and me as well

Extol the light of life with prayers until the day to come,
Let it be with you
Let it be with you.

---

Caelis woke with a jump as he heard Rudolf yell. He instinctively already had his hand on his sword as he quickly rose up from the makeshift bed that he created the night before. He left his eyes closed and listened for the sound of trouble. It took several seconds of listening before Caelis came to realize that it was a false alarm. His hand left his sword and he took a deep breath to calm his nerves. He hated being woken up suddenly and felt a bit irritated, not the best way to start the day. Caelis then walked over to Faith who slept next to him in her own makeshift bed made up of blankets. However, he met a familiar sight. There was a large bulge in the blanket, but no sight of Faith. It appeared that she had thrown her blanket over herself to shelter her from the noise that temporarily woke her up. Caelis lifted the blanket. Faith immediately covered her eyes with her hand and resumed to remain still.

Caelis said to her "You know its rude to keep the others waiting." Faith groaned as she slowly rose from her slumber. With her eyes still groggy with sleepiness, she could barely see, and so she began to rub her eyes. When she finished she looked up and saw the morning sun slowly rising behind Caelis and envelope him in light. For a second, she just stared, and then she smiled while speaking like a chime "Good morning."

Most would think that the tall mercenary would be ignoring everything around him, simply paying attention to what was going on in his hands. They would be dead wrong. He was actually still paying attention to everything happening around him, as he did want to know what people were up to and inform himself on people’s activities. He did want to know who he was traveling with, who could be trusted and especially, who couldn’t. He could already give a break to three of the people here. The first obvious one was the dwarf, as he was the client. This was a given. The second one was the elf from the desert. Yes, this man had maybe not been on his side for his hatred, but he also wasn’t someone to put it up in his face and be rude about it. HE could also easily see he wasn’t someone who would really turn against anyone. Aavikanians were loyal and dedicated people, or so it was said. The last one; The girl. Innocent as can be and simple. She wasn’t any kind of trouble and plus, she was a singer. How could you hate the little one?

The others… Well, the trust wasn’t there at all. His first concern, however, was the wood elf. Her attitude, her presence, her seclusion. She gave off nothing that told him to trust her. And he wouldn’t either. The next was the delusional red-head man. The man seemed to simply be crazy… And you don’t trust crazy. The twins… Well, it wasn’t that he didn’t trust them, but he simply did not like their people. And so, did not trust them for that simple fact. The last man was a mystery, as he didn’t know what to think about him. He seemed to be a simple… Traveler. Something was off about him, but he just couldn’t but his finger on it yet. The one thing he had finally deduced was that the man probably had really bad eyesight, having put the previous information together now. Plus, he spoke about being a soldier, which came to be odd with his reactions. Definitely someone to keep his eyes on.

With that said, he simply went back to checking his weapon, inspecting it from stock to barrel, although still with his eyes wondering the camp. And of course, what did he see? Aaerynn getting off her branch as if noticing something. He stayed discretely fixed on her, watching her movements and actions. No warning of her actions, and it was as if no one had noticed other than him and the dwarf. Why didn’t she warn anyone? It would be courtesy to at least do that. He waited, seeing things unfold and she left. Well, wasn’t that just trustworthy.

Shaking his head, he finally turned his attention to the musicians, a light smile on his face as he heard the sing start. Beautiful really. He wrapped his weapon back up and attached it on is bag as he laid back and closed his eyes to listen. What a great song, oddly enough, sounded familiar, like he had heard it before by bards, especially in Attolia. What was the story behind it? He couldn’t remember, but he does remember hearing about it. What mattered was that it brought a smile on his face… The desert elf was doing something; he could hear it a little, but nothing that would bring the attention of the mercenary.

Vordan enjoyed the music while he could, and when he was done with it, he reached into his bag, pulling out three small glass containers, filled with very odd liquids and pastes, along with a sharpening stone. For the moment being, he would sharpen the blades of his weapons, waiting for the return of the elf… And even upon her return, there was NO CLUE whatsoever of what she had done. She said nothing really, only an exchange with the dwarf that was very short. Really? That picked a nerve in Vordan’s mind now.

Everyone came back to the camp and there was a talk of doing the first watch. Oh how this would be interesting. Immediately, the wood elf said she trusted no one and would take watch. Bullshit. That wasn’t going to happen. Just her? It wasn’t going to happen. He wouldn’t express it, but he would stay awake. Plus, he thought he might have something to compensate for his lack of sleep… If the mix worked. And so, Vordan stayed awake while most of the people were preparing to go to sleep. Elrithos had just used his makeshift ball as a pillow as he lay down and peacefully went to sleep. Perfect.

Somewhere in the middle of the night, Vordan stood up from his spot, having only been writing in his book for the past few hours. He was definitely tired, but it was about to change. He took with him the three glass containers and walked on by the camp… But suddenly stopped. His eyes turned towards the twins, a curious look upon him. They had something… They had a magical item upon them. He would feel it and he approached as silently as possible, kneeling down. What was it? His eyes wondered around, finally landing on the sword of the young man. A magic blade? How interesting… He walked off, noting this in his mind what he had just felt.

He knew Aaerynn would see in walk off into the woods without any reason. And really, if she questioned, then he would just turn the question right back around. He walked a little ways, not minding the darkness for now, and then stopped. He was far enough so that no one would annoy him or distract him. And so, he ordered the chains to come out from his gauntlet, the links slowly slipping out of his wrist and then removed the gauntlet. He stretched it out in a straight line and pulled out the mixture he had made earlier, running the paste along the steel links… And then, he spoke the ancient speech of the Makers, the magical words to bind and create magic items.

“Ferrum Spina Nectunt…”

A small flash of light emanated from the links, staying for a few seconds, and then disappearing. Did it work? Vordan wouldn’t know for now. He’d have to test it out the next night, as rushing to try new magic was dangerous. He had a reaction and he now had to research a little on the reaction. All to be safe. He grabbed the gauntlet once more, the chains dissipating and then, the next two vials. One, well, he decided to actually wait one more night… But he saw the blue flames burning inside. Well, one more thing to research on. Now, the last one… He had this mix for a long time. He never really needed to use it for its purpose, but he would try it this night. With a loud sigh, he uncorked it and drank it down. He coughed, the taste being absolutely gut wrenching. But, he would live through it.

All this being done, he came back to camp, back to writing in his book. Yes, he would be doing this for the rest of the night.

____________________________________

The sudden scream had awakened Elrithos, his eyes slowly coming to open. He felt great. It was a great night of rest, even without being accommodated with proper facilities. Not that he minded it anyway. The food had probably heled in this case, and Elrithos rose to his feet as if he had been awake for hours now. He noticed that the scream had come from the excited dwarf. What was he screaming about? A good question, but he didn’t seem in any distress. Good, it would mean that he wouldn’t need to precipitate himself. The Aavikanian went and put on his armor and weapons, stepping back a little from the camp to warm himself up for the day with the practice of his blades.

Those watching would notice the near perfect movements of his blades slicing across the air, but that he didn’t seem to be taking an offensive stance quite often. No, to an experienced fighter’s eyes, he was actually practicing the deflection of blades and almost arrows coming his way, keeping the enemies’ weapons away from him and only striking after a longer period of time of defending himself. The second most noticeable thing was that his hands and feet were constantly in movement, noting that he was a static fighter and moved around a lot AND that he had incredible hand-eye coordination and a very stable footing. Clearly, he could be seen as a true warrior now.

Vordan him was still writing and looking around at his things… He hadn’t stopped the whole night. Yet, he seemed perfectly awake and rested.

Of course the stupid red head would volunteer himself. He seemed to enjoy sticking his nose in other people’s business and affairs. A person claiming to be a prince of some far off country, if she remembered right. The she elf snorted. With the time it took him to fire an arrow she couldn’t wait to see him in actual combat, to see if his actions could make up for his big mouth. Aaerynn grimaced as he climbed up her tree, although she was glad he chose a branch on the opposite side of the trunk. She shifted even further away, not wanting to be anywhere even remotely close to the warrior.

Once settled, the elvish woman returned to her thoughts on the wolf god’s words. Darkness settling in the woods, and newcomers. Aaerynn’s eyebrows furrowed in thought as her ears twitched, ready to hear any form of intrusion from outside the campsite. If the North Elves were bothered by something growing in this wood, then they had to be careful. She’d have to tell Rudolf once she got her thoughts in order.

As the moon grew higher in the sky, eventually everyone else began to settle down, besides her and the red head. Yet as her cold gaze looked over the camp, she was interested to see that the man with the large sword was still up, scribbling away. An eyebrow quirked in slight curiosity. What did he say he was again? Aaerynn hadn’t paid attention at all to the introductions. Perhaps he was a writer. The she elf snorted, a writer/mercenary, interesting. She watched him momentarily before shifting her focus to the wood itself. She could hear the groaning of the trees as they swayed and the sound of animals scurrying across branches and the forest floor. Nothing was threatening, at least not yet. Her blue eyes searched the darkness. On occasion she could feel the presence of a wolf. It would pop up, and then disappear again. A scout making sure they hadn’t gotten into anything they weren’t supposed to.

Her legs shifted until her knee propped up so she could rest her chin on it. It was boring taking watch, but it was better this way. She had to make sure the perimeter was safe, herself. She doubted everyone else’s abilities to do so. So she would wait for something exciting. A noise finally caught her attention, but it came from inside the camp and Aaerynn’s eyes glanced over to the scribbling man to see that he had stood up. She watched as he began to walk forward and suddenly shifted direction towards the twins. Cold blue eyes narrowed as he got closer to them. Had she given the man too much credit? Did he desire to actually kill the brats in their sleep?

Her hand slipped into her quiver, gripping the end of an arrow and her eyes watched his back, cautiously waiting as her other hand began to grip her bow. But in a few seconds it was over, the scribbler moved on and headed out to the woods. Aaerynn relaxed slightly, her hand moving away from her quiver. It was strange, what exactly had he been looking for? She stared down at the sleeping twins and then back to the woods where the man had disappeared. She frowned with curiosity. Perhaps she had been overly cautious. For all she knew he was probably taking a piss or emptying his bowels, something that she did not want to hear or know.

Aaerynn turned her head in disgust, looking out over the woods. She didn’t turn around again until she heard the scribbler return, her ice blue eyes glanced back, watching as he returned to his book and continued writing.

What a strange man.

The rest of the night continued with no interruptions. The only sound filling the camp was the crackle of the fire, the scribbling of a pen and the slight creak of trees in the wood. It didn’t take long for the moon to set and the sun to begin to rise over the horizon, filling the woods with a warm light. The she elf jumped down from her branch before stretching her back and arms. Baineth nudged her and the she elf buried her face in the mare’s mane. “’Quel amrun.” She whispered good morning in elvish.

The sudden shriek from Rudolf made her jolt, and Aaerynn returned to sneering in annoyance.

---

Rudolf’s shrieking shocked Setna awake. He immediately jumped to his feet, breathing heavily, and eyes wide. He looked around with a panicked expression trying to find the danger as drool dried on his chin. He wiped it away as he realized the screaming was for nothing. He slumped a bit, wiping his lips and stretching out his stiff body. He wished he had been smart enough to grab a pack, or something to use for a bed, before leaving home. Setna groaned a bit, as he cracked his stiff neck.

The rest of the camp seemed to be waking up and the teenager turned his attention to his still sleeping sister. He crouched down, giving the girl a vicious shake as he muttered. “C’mon Serie, get up…Serie get up…Serie, Serie, Serna…”

The girl’s eyebrows furrowed, her lips forming a slight frown before her eyes finally blinked open. Setna gave a grin. “Rise and shine.”

Serna slowly sat up, obviously still exhausted as she rubbed her eyes. Her eyes slowly focused and she grimaced as the sunlight hit her face. She held a hand to her head, rubbing her temple slightly. She looked at her brother, who was still grinning at her. “Good morning.” She mumbled as she stood up and stretched, looking around at the others.

Setna’s grin faded into a soft smile, although his eyes had seen the way Serna had rubbed her head.

“Mornin.” He replied, his eyes cautiously watching his sister’s face.

Serna only smiled, her hand dropping from her forehead as she looked over to Rudolf. The dwarf had been left disappointed, with Tirian making his escape Rudolf returned to his cart, pouting. It didn’t take him long to come back, his arm full of bread and fruit. Serna motioned to her brother. “I’ll go help.”

“Right.” Setna watched his sister walk over to Rudolf, his hands tightened into fists, concern welling in his eyes. But he shook it off, focusing on what he needed to get done. He shook out his and Serna’s cloaks, before pulling his on. He then strapped his shield to his back, shifting it a bit with his shoulders. The sword came last, sheathed at his hip. Finally he sat down, ready to go.

The others however, were taking their time, and it wasn’t long before Setna’s attention became fixed on the Aavikkanian man, who was displaying his perfect skills in a warm up. Serna approached him with a slice of bread and some fruit as a small breakfast but the boy waved it off for the moment.

The young boy had never seen anything quite like it. The blades almost seemed to sing in the air as the elven man continued to move, never stopping as he switched stances. All of his body seemed to be in constant motion. But what the teenager couldn't quite understand was that he rarely took an offensive stance, from what Setna could tell Elrithos was only dodging and defending against invisible enemies. He took his time to strike and it made Setna tilt his head. Why bother? Wasn't it better to hone your attacking skills? To be faster than your enemy?

Setna couldn't help it; he jumped to his feet, coming a bit closer to the Desert elf. Just by watching the elf, it made his blood pump, and his face held his absolute fascination and interest. "Do you always warm up like that? With defense, I mean." The question was blurted out, but the boy held innocent eagerness. His fingers were twitching, and he couldn't hold still.

-The elven man had only noticed the young Syndarean man as he was there to ask his question… Elrithos turned on his foot, slowing down his movements and eventually coming down to a halt. The question, although particular, was on he has asked so often as a young elf in training. He smiled lightly, as he then slowly started spinning his blade around.

“I value taking it a hit and avoiding them being a much greater asset in battle than how strong of a hit I can give or how many times. My people have survival set as their main goal, and so, planned these techniques to let us live longer and battle longer.”

He then proceeded to stopping his blade once more, coming closer to the young man. “There are many others reasons why I fight like this. But the most important reason is easy. The longer enemies stay on me, the more time and energy I give to my comrades to fight back or get out.” He tapped his shoulder and then backed up a little bit, going more slowly in his movements.

Setna continued to watch him, his eyes wide and focused on the man's movements. He still didn't quite get it though. He had been built on being able to strike efficiently and quickly. The purpose of a soldier was to down as many enemies as possible. To protect his comrades by making sure the enemy wasn't able to rise. That's what Setna's training had taught him. "Isn't it better to down enemies though?" He asked quizzically. "If there aren't any enemies left, your comrades won't have to fight. Or there will at least be fewer enemies to fight your comrades."

He tried figuring it out on his own, tilting his head. "I guess it would tire your enemies out by doing that...But doesn't it also open you up to attack? If you're not fighting back, what if you slip up and they get through?"

-Elrithos was glad that the young man was asking questions like this, as fighting was an art you needed to learn every day. Setna had bought up a very considerable point, one he was used to hearing. It was quite true that a downed opponent was the best way to protect themselves and others, but how easy was this? Surely, frontline soldiers weren`t the most challenging of warriors and for good reason. The elf continued in his swings, happily continuing the conversation.

‘’You are right to say a downed opponent is the best way to protect someone. But how easy is it to down someone quickly when he knows you are there? And if you attack too quickly, you have a greater chance to make a mistake… While if I continue to defend and read my opponent, I can strike once and kill, proceeding to the next opponent with the same state of mind… You must remember one thing: Once you die, you are of use to no one. I would say eliminating unskilled warriors is quick and easy, but when you go up against experienced warriors, they will read you like a book and MAKE you do a mistake.’’

"Right..." Setna turned quiet as he contemplated what Elrithos said. Once you die, you are of use to no one. It repeated in his head as he sat down and thought it over. You have to read your opponent. Working on defense gives you the time to act on your opponent's moves. He pursed his lips in thought before he looked up at the warrior with a last question.

"Can I ask you something?" At this point he looked down, his hands mindlessly picking at the grass. He didn't wait for Elrithos to answer as he asked, "What is it like? You know...actually fighting and killing someone. I mean, I'm just assuming you have...since you were a part of the war...and everything."

The teenager turned quiet, his lips settling into a frown. That question had been burning in his mind since he had started his training, since his dad had given him a wooden sword to practice with. What did it feel like? What was it like to have your blade slit through another person's flesh? It had frustrated and worried him. Now that he was here, now that he had a person to protect at all costs...what exactly would he have to do in order to save his and his sister's life? The question was probably unfair of him to ask a stranger, but Elrithos had seemed to be the most welcoming member of the group, with the most experience. The Ellahur man hated him, the red headed Tirian was welcoming but was rather strange too, and the rest...well. Setna frowned as he looked back up at the Aavikanian.

-The young man`s reaction was one he had seen before, where one would now think of what a fight represent, what it means to shed blood. It was a necessary for every warrior to understand this. Setna at least seemed to be considerate about the whole thing. Elrithos did a couple of spins on himself, still remaining defensive in his positioning… Then came a question in which he would simply nod to… But then, he asked something that was… Hard to really answer correctly. He had stopped, his eyes looking down upon the human, with a hesitant, almost lost expression. Would he really give him his answer?

He looked down upon his weapon and set it to lean on a tree and he came right in front of the young man and sat down… Elrithos took a deep breath. ‘’ Killing… Is never something I have enjoyed, never have been excited about. To say the least, I almost hate it… Taking someone`s life isn’t something to be proud of. But… What is important is to keep yourself and those around for who you care about alive. I avoid fights as I can, but life isn`t that way. Now, I have to say that I do not mind killing, but it needs to have purpose behind it. I couldn`t live with myself if I killed because I wanted to… Killing isn’t enjoyable, but it is a necessity for survival.’’

Setna took in the elf's heavy words with a frown, and his dark eyes began brewing with concern and worry. "My people...they say that men who enjoy killing others had their souls taken by demons and they themselves are lost forever. I think it's bullshit but...I worry." The boy looked away, feeling embarrassed as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

His voice became a whisper, as he looked back to the other members of the party before looking back at Elrithos and confessing. "I worry that I will like it. That I will enjoy it and will lose myself like the demon men. But, then on the other hand... I worry that I won't be able to do it when it matters most. That I will falter, and everything I fight for will be lost."

The young man looked down and shook his head. "I'm sorry, it's stupid of me to unload this onto a stranger. You just...remind me of someone I used to ask advice from. I'm being childish." He rubbed his head again, nervously and obviously embarrassed. To blurt out concerns and fears like that to another warrior, Setna felt his ears turn red in shame.

-“My people also have a saying… That those who enjoy the death of others are no longer who they are. They become monsters, and a monster shouldn`t be able to walk among us.’’ It had happened, where one of his comrades had fallen in love with the battlefield and became insane with desire to kill, even to the point of turning on his own people to satisfy his thirst. No man should be brought up with this desire to take a life for their own enjoyment and self-gratification.

The elf keep a neutral look on his face, but you could see it in his eyes, he was saddened by the words he spoke. Not disappointed, as really, he did the right thing. He simply hoped that he wouldn’t become a monster... He followed his eyes one moment, looking at the people around. He had something that could help him, and he came and put a firm hand on his shoulder.

“You did the right thing, my friend. A true warrior voices his concerns before they become a problem… I do believe you will never become a monster as long as she is by your side. Keep her alive.” He didn’t need to say it this person was, it was quite obvious. And with that, he stood back up to his feet, giving him a hand if he wished to get up too.

“I can teach you to make the difference between enjoying and necessity. I would be happy to help you train too, if you so desire.”

Setna took the hand that was offered to him, allowing the elf to help him to his feet. The embarrassment he had felt slowly faded as Elrithos answered his question. The young boy’s face lit up at the mention of training, and his eyes filled with the fire of his eagerness. “Of course! I will take anything you are willing to teach.”

The young man grinned, and that was when he heard the start of the carts and Rudolf’s whooping. “We better go!” He told the elf before hurrying back.

He reconnected with his sister who was holding the reins of Deetri in one hand, and his breakfast in the other. Serna held the food out to him. “Eat Set, you need it.”
Setna smiled and took it. “Thanks.”

He mounted Deetri as the caravan began to set out, munching quietly on bread. Serna walked beside the horse and looked at the Desert elf then back to her brother. “What did you talk about?”

Setna choked a bit on his bread, and wiped his lips before giving his twin a smile. “Nothing. Just fighting styles and tips. I want to learn as much as I can.”

Serna watched his face before nodding slightly and looking ahead.

---

The caravan had been moving along at a steady pace for a few hours. Everyone was in their own worlds; the only sound amongst the group was the stomping of hooves and the rolling of the carts’ wheels on dirt.

Serna had drifted a bit from her brother, walking along the edge of the path, humming quietly to herself. Occasionally she would pause to pick a wildflower, and she had a generous bouquet going as the hours passed.

As the sun reached its highest point in the sky however, three men were seen sitting on the edge of the road. As the caravan grew closer, the men stood, forming a blockade and Rudolf was forced to stop as they came closer.

The man in the middle had shaggy blonde hair and dark eyes. His lips pulled back to reveal a toothy smile. “We’ve been waiting for you old man. You know, it’s not too smart leaving these things everywhere.”

He tossed up old parchment paper with Rudolf’s advertisements written on them, letting them fall to the ground.

The dwarf tightened his grip on the reigns of his lead oxen. “How can I help you boys? Do you wish to join us?” His voice was jolly, yet held an edge that revealed his caution.

“Join you?” The blonde man burst out laughing, and his cronies on either side of him cracked smiles. “’Fraid not, you fat dwarf. We’re here to enforce our toll.”

“Toll?” Rudolf was flabbergasted. “Since when has there been a toll on this road.”

The blonde man shrugged his grin malicious. “Since now.”

That’s when they appeared like ghosts. Men of all sizes began to come out of the shadows of the forest, encircling the group. The blonde man stepped forward, grinning still. “Don’t worry, we’ll give you some options.”

Rudolf frowned, his knuckles turning white with rage.

The man continued. “Either you pay us the toll, 20,000 galleons…” His finger pointed to a cart. “Or you let us have a little peep at what’s in those carts. Orrrrrrrr, if you don’t like those options…..”

His dark eyes landed on Faith. “You give us them girls. We’ve been pretty lonely all to ourselves out here.” He stepped even closer, his gaze locked on Faith as he crouched down. “C’mon little girly, why don’t you give us a show, huh? We’ll treat you nice.”

“That’s enough!” Rudolf shouted, and the blonde stood up, the cheeky smile never leaving his lips. “What’s the matter old man? Don’t like our generous options? We wouldn’t mind letting our blades speak for us.”

At this point, Aaerynn on Baineth moved closer to Rudolf. “There are six archers in the trees. Three on the right, three on the left.” She said it loud enough for everyone to ready themselves as well. She had already prepared her bow, a hand on an arrow as her cold eyes gazed down on the men with disgust.

Rudolf frowned, trying to think of his options as his shoulders shook with rage.

That was when a scream bellowed out, and the dwarf turned to see a huge giant of a man grip Serna by the arm. He lifted her practically off her feet as the bandit looked towards the leader. “I like this one boss. Forget the midget elf!”

“Let her go.”

Setna’s voice had changed as he dismounted. His eyes were burning with hatred, his hand unlatching his shield. The bandit grinned as he stared down at the boy. His grip tightened on Serna forcing her to cry out in pain. “What are you gonna do little boy? The fight hasn’t started yet. I’m just having a little fun.”

“Enough.” Setna growled, his eyes lit up with viciousness but his hand never went to his sword, instead he readied his shield.

The bandit laughed and shook the girl gripped in his hand. “What are you gonna do with a shield, boy?”

Setna didn’t answer as he rushed forward, and in one motion he slammed the sharpened point of his steel shield into the man’s feet. The bandit howled and dropped Serna, who quickly scrambled to her feet and ran back to Deetri. Setna didn’t lose any time as he quickly brought the shield up and slammed it into the underside of the man’s jaw. He was fast, not allowing the bandit to think before applying his next move.

The boy breathed heavily, his eyes wide. The bandit was forced to step back on his injured foot, just as planned. Setna took this as his opportunity to push forward. Unsettle his weight. Bring him down with his own momentum. All Setna had to do was one more push into his core and he would fall back.

What Setna wasn’t anticipating however, was the man catching his shield instead.

His eyes widened as his face was suddenly met with the large man’s giant fist. The power of the blow sent Setna tumbling back across the ground. His feet dug into the dirt though, and the boy pushed himself up quickly. Blood was pouring down his clearly broken nose, but the Syndarean merely wiped it away as the two men stared each other down.

“That’s enough.” This time the voice of the bandit’s blonde leader intervened. He looked towards Rudolf with a sinister smile. “Well dwarf? What say you? Or would you rather continue letting a little boy defend you?”

Rudolf had been seizing with rage, and finally he stood. “I say that I will take you all down! You have threatened me, and my companions! You let a filthy man hurt a young girl! I will show you the rage of the dwarves!” He suddenly picked up a giant axe that must have been lying by his feet.

“I will not ask my companions to fight!” He shouted back towards the others. “I merely ask that you protect the carts! This will be over fast!”

He paused though, as a hand landed on the old man’s shoulder. Rudolf looked up to see Tirian, and slowly the dwarf lowered his axe.

“You never change old friend.”

Tirian stretched his limbs out after turning away from the dwarf, blue eyes taking in the camp and its’ occupants. His eyes fell unto Elrithos who had been warming up in a much more practical way than most did. The Aavikkanian cut through the air with a level of mastery only earned by those who had dedicated their lives to a particular set of weapons and techniques. His consistent movements while constantly shifting between left and right handed dominant stances. Elrithos displayed perfectly what an out fighter, or defensive fighter should strive to be. Then, Tirian also took in the Syndarean male jumping up with clear excitement as he walked Elrithos. Setna seemed to be unable to contain himself, fiddling with his hands almost uncontrollably. Their conversation lasted only until Rudolf called out for the caravans to move out, finally the soldier could get some rest.

Tirian positioned himself unto the rear-most cart and began to rest his eyes. The rhythmic clopping of oxen and steeds set the mood for the exhausted red-head as he soon fell to a light slumber. As his body began to rest, his mind attacked. The very same reoccurring nightmare struck with full force. The screams were all too real. Every feeling of emotion, every agonizing wound both physical and mental raged through-out its duration. Tirian stood motionless in a field completely engulfed in a blazing white flame. Men of all races and sizes stumbled and staggered forward with faces holding no emotion. The horde seemed endless, each and every one of them bloody and emotionless. Sweat dribbled from every pore of the man’s face as one of his enemies finally lurched to his position. The man standing before a paralyzed red-headed warrior open his mouth and let out a scream comparable to that of a demon. The man’s jaw unhinged completely and finally Tirian snapped his eyes open.

The caravan had come to an uneasy stop, and Tirian quickly assessed the situation. Three bandits restricted any further movement, and soon the entire caravan was encircled loosely. The cold Aaerynn finished what Tirian could not. Six archers divided equally between the two sides. A shriek filled the air as one bandit snatched Serna off of the ground, Tirian simply watched the scene unfold. Setna lept to action with words, then a series of quick and precise shield moves. The squabble lasted all but of twenty seconds before Setna hit the ground bleeding profusely from his nose. Tirian finally decided to make his move, hopping off of the cart and landing with a small cloud of dust. His entire posture changed, his eyes narrowed and the emotions from his face drastically changed. It was like Tirian flipped some sort of mental switch as he stepped forward and stopped Rudolf from acting too hastily.

"Not this time old friend.”

His tone was incredibly cold, somewhat distanced while narrowed and calculating eyes took in the scene in front of him. What was three became seven as a fight become inevitable. Tirian stared deep into the opposing eyes of what seemed to be the leader of these bandits.

“I’m a fair man. You've one chance to leave. Refuse and you’ll be left nothing more than bits feeding the wild life.”

"Bits?"

The man laughed, unsheathing his blade and resting the unsharpened edge on his shoulder.

"Look around you. I believe you should be the one to reconsider, Red."

“Wrong choice.”

Tirian drew his blade in one swift motion spinning and slicing the bandit leader clean in half, directly at the torso. Tirian slammed his right foot into the ground and whipped around the opposite way and quickly cut the two parts into four with a vertical slice. His blade sung as it whirled through the air, whipping off the blood of his fallen foe. Tirian slipped to the left and quickly decapitated a shocked henchman, then spun around cutting the man’s torso down like a hot knife through butter. Tirian’s movements were fluid, effortless and never wasted. Each and every move led to another which led to another. The soldier kicked off the ground and quickly slammed his blade deep into the chest of the third bandit. Tirian retracted the blade and quickly sliced the third foe three times with furious speed and flashy spins. Just as the four parts of the bandit leader hit the ground Tirian had easily killed the two bandits on the leader’s sides.

Tirian stood in front of the caravan, making it nefariously obvious no one would be proceeding past him. The warrior slung the blade from one side to the other to clean the blade of drenched blood. Tirian would have to place trust in the others to defend the sides, without magic aiding him he could only do so much. The four remaining frontal bandits rushed forward, clumsy and self-trained in their movements. Tirian saw through them with ease, parrying and deflecting the flurry of steel. Tirian ducked and quickly began his own assault. Tirian spun to right, slicing one bandit down into two parts, turning quickly and catching another bandit’s arm to flip him to the ground. Tirian slammed his foot down onto the bandit and snapped his neck with a fierce gaze in his eyes.

The rush was great, the excitement of battle and the blood rushing at extreme levels. This was the monster Durandal created, the monster Imladris tamed. Tirian stepped forward, thrusting his blade forward to pierce the heart of an unfortunate bandit. The soldier wasted no motions as he pulled the blade out and spun to the left with a ferocious vertical slash that severed the head of his final opponent. Seven bodies severed and desecrated cluttered around the ground, blood dripping from the soldier’s face and torso. It hadn't been his own, no. This was the blood of his enemies, the blood he had been taught to spill since his very creation. The front was protected, now to leave the rest to his companions. Could they do it?

Caelis' blood was boiling the second that the blond bandit looked at Faith. He already had his hand on his sword, hidden in his robe, and there was very little patience in letting his blade sing. However, the best way to win a battle was to avoid it in the first place, especially against an enemy that had them out numbered and in the middle of an ambush. So, he refrained himself. Then, the brash twin took action when one of the bandits grabbed his sister, although Caelis didn't blame him. There were moments in the past where Caelis did the exact same when Faith was in danger, but the difference was that Caelis took decisive action during that time with his sword. Thus, Caelis approved of Setna's devotion to his sister, but he couldn't say the same of the... "fight" that he started with his shield.

Caelis turned to old dwarf who had picked up what Caelis believed to be his large weapon. "The anger of a dwarf is not to be trifled with." Caelis thought as he remembered some of the master dwarven warriors that he had seen spar when he was younger. One particular dwarf had taken on a group of ten men by himself. It wasn't a fluid fight, but the dwarf had simply fought with sheer, consistent force that no man could handle. Thus, Caelis somewhat believed that the old dwarf could deal with the seven in front. That was until the self proclaimed prince cut the speaker in half.

It was a bit of a shock to most of the people present, but that was exactly what Caelis needed. Caelis yelled "Get inside the wagon, take cover!" as he drew his sword and turned the smooth action of his draw into a cut while Faith listened and headed towards the nearby wagon. A large gash formed on the torso of the nearest bandit who was distracted. That was when the fight actually began as everyone came to their senses. The bandit next to the heavily wounded bandit took a wide, horizontal swing at Caelis with something that looked like a small ax. Caelis calmly took a step back to dodge the ax and at the same time brought down his sword. Caelis simply let his curved blade sing. It sliced through the air and down the overextended arm of the bandit, taking it cleanly off. The bandit was obviously stunned and not sure of what had just happened as he simply looked at his arm that fell on to the ground with a thud. Caelis felt vitalized by the sound of his sword cutting through the air. It had been too long since his sword had sung.

Caelis had, in effect, dispatched two bandits with two, quick swings of his sword. However, he wasn't out of danger yet. Caelis walked towards the now one-armed man with his eyes closed. He clicked his tongue once, and to his relief there was no one else that close to him. Caelis grabbed the bandit, but then he heard the sound of a bow string being released. He ducked slightly and pulled the bandit closer to him, using the bandit as cover. A second later the bandit convulsed as an arrow entered his back. Caelis muttered "I guess they don't care if they kill each other." as he dropped the slowly dying bandit onto the ground. Caelis was confident that everyone could handle themselves, except for the twins especially when the girl was being held captive. So, Caelis began to quickly run with his sword and began charging at the giant man. Caelis prayed that he would be able to sneak up on the man or at least be able to buy time and distract him enough for Setna to finish the deal. However, as Caelis ran, one of the arrows found its mark. An arrow hit Caelis on the area on top of the right side of his hip. Regardless, it wasn't enough to stop him as he continued to run despite the pain. Caelis continued his charge towards the giant man that the twins had to deal with.

---

Faith hid in the wagon like Caelis told her, but once again. She found herself wanting to help Caelis. All she was doing was hiding in the wagon while listening to the sounds of steel clashing and the guttural screams of agony. There was so much discord that Faith couldn't find anything comforting about the sounds that surrounded her. However, she wasn't that scared. Rather, she was worried about Caelis, who had always took upon the burden of the world by himself. She wanted to help. Faith, began to peek out of the wagon when a loud thud came from the side of the wagon as an arrow burrowed itself in the wood. Faith was startled as she flinched. The reality began to settle on her. Even if she did go out... what could she do? She would only be another burden to Caelis. Thus, with her heart and brain in conflict with each other, Faith's vision began to become blurry as her eyes became moist. Faith closed her eyes, clenched her hands together, and began to pray.

*Incredible… it worked.*

Vordan had gotten back up, inspecting himself. He took deep breaths, rubbed the skin of his neck. Nothing seemed to have changed. It was great news, as he felt great and rested even being awake all night. His mixture and magic had worked! This was great news, meaning that head probably created something that could replace those dry rations that he was used to when he traveled. It would probably become a quality sell in stands and by merchants… Of course, he wouldn’t call it a total success yet. He needed to go through the whole day first and see if there would be any side effects.

This now behind him for now, he closed the book in his hand and stored it back in his backpack. Was this day going to be different? He so dearly hoped so. The Aavikanian seemed to be warming up for the day. Not a bad idea, but Vordan had already done his inspection of his weapons and they were all ready for battle… If they would see any kind of battle anyway. These woods didn’t seem particularly dangerous, although he still wondered what the wood elf had done the night before. She was clearly hiding something, that was for sure. What exactly? He wished he knew, as it was certainly something that would concern the lot of them. Maybe she would be honest enough to admit it? Probably not.

With that done, he set himself up for their departure. Elrithos him was glad to hear that the young man would want to learn his teachings. It was truly a rare thing that a human would be taught anything from one of them, especially since the war. It would be a good beginning for him. The sword and the shield, that’s the style he practiced. Very common for humans to use this specific style as it was the most efficient and well-rounded style for combat out there without needing years of training. Hopefully, he would be able to teach him that killing is a necessity and should never be enjoyed… Which brought him to think of Tirian. It was sad to say, but already, he could tell he was a man who knew death all too well. Hopefully, he wasn’t one of those monsters.

With Rudolf’s announcement, Elrtihos got his horse ready and Vordan went to the back of one of the carts, this time simply relaxing.

---

Elrithos had decided to stay on one side of the carts, whistling lightly as he admired the woods. Being of the desert, he wasn’t exactly accustomed to the woods. Yes, he has seen it MANY times; being a messenger, but it was such a great difference from the barren wastelands of sand. It was filled with life and color, a much more pleasant sight. He couldn’t help it every time. He stayed alert but still, he had a little bit of wondering eye effect on him. He had this simple smile on his face. Vordan, oddly enough seemed to be quite happy two, laying in the back of one of the carts and simply looking at the sky.

Everything seemed to be going fine really… And so, it came to the three men. Elrithos had spotted them from afar, wondering what three men were doing in the middle of nowhere, sitting near the road. He had a pretty good guess of what they wanted, yet was skeptical that it was actually true. Nonetheless, he had hopped off of his horse and began a casual stroll beside him. He would be ready for the worst, but really, this could probably be taken care of pretty easily.

They had approached and immediately, the way was blocked by the three men. This was going to be a bad situation, Elrithos could feel it. The desert elf approached his horse closer to the carts and whistled oddly to him, basically telling him to stay put. He then proceeded to make his way towards the front, but would not intervene.

Vordan had found it odd that they had stopped and sat up to see what was happening. Of course, he jumped out of the cart, making his way to the front and scratched his head… Three people had started talking about the parchments for the job. Ok, big deal. They wanted in? Like the old dwarf said, just join in… Although he doubted that was likely to happen. These, easily enough, were bandits. What did they want? Their heads probably. And their things. Great, so much for a peaceful day. Vordan had rushed back to the back of the cart, equipping himself as needed and pulling out a mix he wanted to test… The one with the blue flame inside. He slipped it into his belt and then pulled out his six shot crossbow, waiting to see things unfold… Well, inspecting things more than paying attention to the main event.

They were clearly not alone and Vordan could tell even before the call they made that they were surrounded. How? Bandits never worked in so little numbers, especially for something like this. They would be at least a dozen for this kind of ambush. And what did you know, he was right. He looked around as the bandits came out of the woods… They were MUCH MORE than twelve. This was a lot worse than he had anticipated and it means better management of his resources. And Aaerynn didn’t need to speak out for the archers… He was way in front of that. They would be his first concern. A quick disposal would be easy, as being in trees; they were easy, immobile targets.

Vordan raised the stock of his weapon up on his shoulder, ready to shoot… He didn’t want to start the fight, but it felt like this would be their only option. Elrithos could already see it happening and pulled out his double bladed weapon, readying himself for the worst case scenario… What came next would almost sickening for the Aavikanian. Tirian had gotten involved, giving a chance… Then proceeded to do what seemed to be completely monstrous. Cut up like a piece of meat… This had startled the warrior, as it seemed so… Barbaric. Maybe it was only his view of things, but it was a very unpleasant sight.

---

The fight now engaged, Elrithos dashed to the bandits on his side of the cart… Six of them, and archers in the trees. Not too bad. The bandits had come forth with their weapons at the ready, but the first action taken of the elf was something most would think otherwise of him… He jumped off the ground, deflecting the blade that had come for his mid-section and just knocking the first man down. This put Elrithos in what seemed a bad position: Right in the middle of the group who surrounded him. They seemed to be quite happy with the result as they tried to come down on the solitary man. Poor mistake from their part, as Elrithos deflected the first blade to the ground, and in the same motion, had deflected two other blades that were heading in his back.

What followed was probably impossible by human eyes, as no one could have such precision in his movements and the way the blade cut through the air. The blade of his weapon sliced in a single vertical motion, cutting the mid sections of two bandits, then had turned to evade another blade that was going to pierce his ribcage… The curved blade came right back up towards the attacker’s jaw, slicing through like butter. The others backed off a little, now hesitant to continue… Even the man on the ground didn’t seem to want to continue.

---

Vordan, as soon as he heard the threat had his plan in action. He awaited the clear opportunity, waiting for the archers to turn towards what was happening to the leader. When it came to… The trigger was pressed. A noisy push of air came from the stock of the crossbow, releasing a bolt that ripped through the air in an unimaginable speed for a crossbow without a string. The first target hit, right in the neck as he fell from the tree… Then, a mere second later, a second shot was taken, tearing through the chest of another archer… The last shot, to the stomach of the archer on that side. His sights turned quickly to the man that had been holding Serna beforehand, shooting a single shot towards his knee… He kept turning, shooting one of the bandits attacking Elrithos, downing him and then, his last bolt, for the bandit trying to head for the little girl. Straight in the eye.

Moving forward quickly, he went towards the young elf, dropping his weapon and some bolts near her as he then drew his sword for the upcoming attack.

“Faith, I need you to put the bolts in the holes. Do it quickly.”

An arrow came ripping through the air, nailing Vordan in his chest… Yet Vordan showed no sign of pain, but certainly discomfort. He clenched his jaw as he saw that some bandits were coming for them.

“I’ll keep you safe for now.”

Aaerynn watched with widening eyes as the red head sliced the lead bandits into bits. His moves were precise, fast and unmerciful. It was the only indication that she needed to start. She nocked an arrow back, letting it sail and hitting an archer in the side of the temple.

She continued, her hands in constant motion, readying arrow after arrow. The last archer eluded her as the bandits all began to attack. The female elf jumped down off her horse and pulled back her bow string, letting an arrow zing as a man opened his mouth wide in a yell. The arrow impaled through his mouth to the back of his head.

She used her bow as a weapon, whipping the bow’s limbs across the face of the bandits, forcing them back as she let an arrow fly quickly, one after the other. They were moving in fast on her, and her elbow smashed into the face of a man as she readied another arrow. She finally caught sight of the last archer, and it was her arrow that struck the back of his neck and forced his fall.

The rest of the archers, she was surprised to see, were taken down already. As she unsheathed her dagger and stuck a man in his abdomen, she finally saw the scribbler. He was standing in front of a cart with his sword; an arrow embedded in his chest and behind him was the filthy half elf with what must have been the scribbler’s crossbow. He seemed to be protecting her while she fumbled with the weapon.

Aaerynn frowned before whipping her dagger across a bandit’s throat, blood spurting across her ivory face. Quickly she moved, disemboweling a man that was in her way before she climbed up on top of the carts. She sheathed her dagger and went back to her bow, providing cover for the rest as the last wave of the bandits hit.

---

Setna had watched like the rest as Tirian showed his prowess. He killed as if it didn’t matter to him, as if he had done it many times in the past. The young boy felt himself tremble at the display, in awe at complete an utter power that had been unleashed in a matter of seconds.

Tirian’s attack sparked the battle as suddenly all the bandits converged into an attack on the party. Setna’s dark eyes met the lighter ones of the largest bandit. Smoothly, Setna wiped away the remaining blood trickling down his busted nose and readied himself.
He was surprised however as other bandits rushed him, but the result was the same. As the first bandit charged, the boy locked his feet into the ground, his shield raised. As the bandit’s body hit his shield, Setna moved with the momentum, twisting his body and throwing the bandit over his shoulder. The next he twisted his hips, his shield coming into full contact with the man’s body, knocking him back with force.

Setna had been scared. Scared to pull out his sword. Scared to use it because there was no going back now. But as the bandits continued, he finally unsheathed it.
It was do or die, and once you die you are of use to no one.

He shielded himself from a sword, and finally spun his body, his blade slicing across the stomach of a bandit who fell to his knees. Setna’s dark blue eyes took in the blood that rushed from the injury, the cut that he had made and forced through another human body. His breath caught in his throat, his heart beat pounding in his ears.

He continued. Next after next, he shielded, spun, and attacked. His blade sliced cleanly through flesh, with the blood of his enemies splattered across him. His eyes had gone dark.

That is, until the large man finally moved in. He had unsheathed an even larger blade and Setna found himself pushed back as the blade slammed and clanged against his shield. He was able to dodge a few swings but as the blade came down, the boy was forced to his knees.

It was an arrow, though, that had suddenly lodged itself in the giant man’s knee which gave Setna an opportunity. He opened up and his blade sliced through the thigh of the other leg, he propped up fast and stabbed his blade clean through the giant’s shoulder.

The giant man merely grunted, and the boy watched with wide eyes as the bandit grabbed the blade with his bare hand and pulled it out. The bandit twisted it, and it was torn out of Setna’s hand, thrown to the side, useless.

The boy lifted his shield, but the bandit merely grabbed a hold of it, and threw it across the field, Setna along with it. The force of his body hitting the ground, made Setna lose his breath and let go of the shield. The teenager gasped for air as the bandit approached slowly and raised his blade.

As it swung down it was met by steel, Caelis’ blade fended it off, and the man was able to push the bandit back. Setna quickly turned over, scrambling to his feet as he grabbed his shield and quickly ran for his sword. As he picked it up, he was able to see Caelis thrown off and Setna held his breath as the monster of a man turned back on him.

The man began rushing forward, able to still sprint on legs that had been diced by the weapons of his enemies. Setna readied his shield but it was no match for the monster, it was forced away and Setna gagged as a fist was sent into his stomach, just below the ribcage. Another landed across his face, making the boy stumble. The monster readied for his final attack, and it was Setna’s only shot. As the man came down to crush the boy’s skull with his bare hands, Setna pushed forward, blade in hand as it then pierced through the man’s chest.

Setna watched the man’s face as blood dribbled out of his mouth and down his chin. The boy watched as the man gargled and gasped, then Setna pulled the blade out, watching as blood oozed out of a hole in the bandit’s chest. Setna’s eyes unfocused, his breathing heavy and harsh through his nostrils.

Setna stared, his face cold and neutral as the man before him gave his last breath. He watched as his eyes clouded, and the giant stopped its twitching, the body turning still. Slowly the teenager stepped forward, raised his blade and stabbed the body again.

He pulled the blade out, his breathing turning ragged before he raised it and struck again. His eyes had clouded, and for a third time he raised his blade to strike again.

But a body pressing against his back, and two slender arms holding him, stopped him.

“Stop it!” Serna cried, holding her brother tightly and attempting to pull him back from the dead body. “That’s enough!!”

Something in Setna came back; his eyes slowly began to display life as he heard his sister’s voice begging him to stop. The sword fell from his hand as his limbs began to tremor. His eyes widened in horror as he looked down at the body in front of him.

“I…S-s…” He couldn’t find words as he slowly fell to his knees, lurched over, and vomited everything up from his stomach.

---

In the end, it was the dwarf who ended up not fighting at all. Instead, he slowly walked up to Tirian and gave the red head a few solid pats on the back. “Thank you dear friend.” The dwarf mumbled, as he turned to watch the battling play out.

As the large man was forced down, the rest of the surviving bandits retreated into the wood, leaving their weapons behind. They were soon shot down by Aaerynn’s arrows and the caravan grew quiet. Everyone was bloodied in some way or another, and Rudolf searched for injuries. A few arrows stuck out of flesh, and Setna’s face had received a decent beating.

“Thank you everyone, for the courage and skill you have shown today. Come, let’s move ahead to a spring I know of and we shall rest. It’s not too far from here.” Rudolf addressed the crowd and led the oxen forward.

Serna tossed her brother’s arm over her shoulders, and the small girl began to help her brother walk, holding onto him and dragging his shield and blade behind her. Setna’s body trembled and as the teenage girl looked at her brother’s face, she could see that his mind was not in the present. The girl’s hands shook, but she bit her bottom lip and continued to help her brother as the group traveled only a little ways into the wood until they found a clearing with a nice spring bubbling through.
There were remnants of a leftover camp, and it was easy to see who had been here before them.

Serna found a space for her brother to sit, and he slumped forward, faraway eyes staring at his bloodied hands. Serna frowned, and she held in tears as she rubbed his back and tried to get a response from him.

Rudolf approached Aaerynn, who had already walked toward the stream, using her hands to wash out the dried blood in her hair. “Will you look at their wounds? I’ll pay you of course.”

Aaerynn’s blue eyes glanced at the dwarf, but she remained silent as she looked back at the water. She cupped her hands and used them to wash her face of the grime and blood that had been splattered there. Finally she stood, and turned, heading towards the twins.

She approached Setna and lifted his head. Serna’s eyes widened as she asked. “What are you—?”

She was interrupted by a crack. Aaerynn had grabbed the boy’s nose, cracked it and reset it. Setna didn’t even cry out in pain, his eyes clouded over. The female elf frowned and glanced at his sister. “Lift his shirt.”

Serna understood what was going on and helped lift her brother’s tunic so the elf could expect any wounds. There was bruising forming across his stomach, and Aaerynn held practiced fingers against his ribs. “No fractures. Just bruising. Place something cold on it and clean him up.”

“Is there anything else?” Serna asked quietly, her large eyes boring into the elf’s. Aaerynn frowned further as she looked at the boy’s face.

“Just give him time.” She finally answered.

The she elf then moved to Caelis, and asked if he wanted any wounds looked at. She continued this for the others.

---

Serna returned her attention to her brother, he remained unresponsive, lost in his own world and thought. The girl bit her lip, before ripping off a long piece of her white dress. She stood and hurried to the spring, dipping the cloth into the cold water. She then returned to her brother, and began dabbing away at the blood across his face. There was so much she wasn’t exactly sure which was his and which was the men he killed.

Eventually she got his face cleaned off, and she helped him lay down, folding her cloak for his pillow. She didn’t know what to say or do, finally left standing there with a bloody rag in her hand. She looked down, feeling useless, her small hands tightening into little fists.

She walked back to the spring and dipped the dirty rag in the cold water, attempting to clean it off. It was futile, the white cloth was left to be a dirty brown and red color. The girl's eyes filled with tears but she fought them off, her hands shaking as she stood. She turned, going to walk back to her brother but that was when she nearly ran into Tirian. He had been so quiet she had not even noticed him approach.

She looked up at the warrior’s face, and saw the same distance in his eyes that was plaguing her brother’s. Serna had seen what Tirian had done. She saw the way he cut men into pieces without even a second thought. It had frightened her. It had scared her to the very core that one man was capable of tearing down others in a single swing. Yet as she continued to stare up at the warrior’s face, that fear didn’t matter.

This person was facing the same demons her brother had unleashed today. The girl slowly reached out, her fingertips gently brushing against the taller man’s forearm. “Sir Tirian, are you alright?” She asked him quietly, her genuine concern filling her large eyes.

The brunt of the bandits had sieged the side of the carts, Tirian quietly watched the set of travelers dispatch their foes with relative ease. Even the boy, Setna, brought down a mighty titan of a bandit on his own. With their leader in pieces and the giant lifeless, the remaining bandits took this as a signal of defeat. Aaerynn quickly made sure there had been no survivors as she struck them down with deadly and precise arrows. Tirian stood in the center of seven bandits cleaved into parts, their innards covering the ground in a grotesque fashion. Bandit blood pooled together around his ankles before seeping into the loosened dirt, seven more added to that nightmarish list of men stripped of life. Tirian felt the strong hand of Rudolf, snapping him out of that catatonic state for just long enough to clean his weapon then sheath it.

The caravan gradually began to pick up speed, heading towards a spring Rudolf claimed to be nearby. Tirian fell far behind the group with his staggering walk, distanced eyes starring off into a world much too far away to be real. He’d simply put himself into auto pilot as he walked, forcing his mind to cease thought. However, the distance had not been too far as the caravan arrived within the hour. The warrior paralyzed by battle stopped in his tracks simply starring off as the group quickly settled in. Tirian finally moved forward heading to the sound of bubbles coming from what would be assumed to be the spring Rudolf spoke of.

“Sir Tirian, are you alright?”

Petite fingers grazed the tense forearm of the soldier, snapping his conscious back to earth. Blue eyes wide with confusion took in his surroundings as if he’d been lost. Finally Tirian cocked his head to look down to Serna, he could see the fear in her eyes. It had been a look Tirian saw all too often, fear of the monster he was. And yet, here she was asking Tirian if he was okay. Tirian felt his body loosen and his posture slouched to a more casual level as his reply came with a warmer tone.

“You could say that.”

Tirian moved past Serna with a deep breath of relief. The soldier perched on top a boulder that had been perfectly positioned at the spring’s edge, close enough for one or possibly two to dip their feet into the water. Tirian stripped his boots off, then his cape and finally the blood splattered over shirt. Blue eyes looked over the Syndarean twin with somewhat of a smile.

“The water’s nice. Care to join me for a while?”

-The Syndarean watched as the man in front of her seemed to return to the world, and looked at her with bright blue eyes. She watched him as he moved passed her, and turned, asking her a question. The younger girl blinked in confusion. "Join you?"-

“Yeah. Come enjoy the water, I’d say everyone has earned some relaxation, besides I could use someone to talk to right now.”

-Serna blinked again, and this time she turned to look at her brother. Setna had turned away from everyone else, and the girl wrung the rag still in her hands. Perhaps it was best to give her brother time. Cautiously the girl approached the red head, and she sat down beside him, making sure however that there was an appropriate space between them.-

Tirian noticed her worried gaze cast out to her twin brother. His eyes turned back to Serna who shyly and cautiously sat upon the boulder, practically half off of the damned rock. Tirian turned his head forward with a frown, Two days in and he’d barbarically slaughtered humans in front of two teenaged twins and a child half-elf. Everyone in this caravan knew what he was now, what he was capable off to some extent. Fortunately his heritage and magical prowess remained a secret to all but himself.

“I’m sorry you had to witness that.”

-Serna had been looking down at the water, watching it bubble beneath her feet. But as the warrior spoke, Serna looked over to him. She could see the pain in his face, and the way his body hunched forward in a deep sadness. "You do not have to apologize for keeping us safe." Serna whispered softly. "In my country, a soldier being able to kill like that, is an honor." She had tried to make the words sound comforting, but they still held pain as she looked down to the bloody cloth in her hand.-

Tirian quickly shook his head, killing was not an honor. Being able to effortlessly take a life, to take a life without mental hesitation was never something to be proud of. Tirian dipped his hands into the water for a brief moment to cleanse them of the dried blood before speaking again.

“Killing is never an honor. Taking the life of another being isn’t something to be proud of.”

Tirian stopped for a moment to look out over the spring, taking in the calm surroundings. A beautiful sight after the disgusting battle in the recent hours. There had been a beautiful waterfall on the far side of the spring that offered the calming sound of crashing water.

“I killed my first person when I was five. Forced. My home city took boys at five and tossed them into a gladiators ring with one simple goal. Survive.”

-Serna's eyes widened as she heard that. "F-Forced?"-

“It was either that or death. Every boy is required to join the army. No exceptions.”

Tirian nodded solemnly, the sad truth about Durandal revealed, not all of the horrid truth however. Tirian would not speak of the trials he faced after those days. His blues eyes met her own with some happiness finally returning to them. Talking about the past even if it held a nightmarish emotion always helped heal the wounds.

“What’s Syndarea like. I have to be honest I’ve only read so much.”

-Serna grew pained as she heard the past of Tirian. She couldn't even imagine such a young boy, forced to kill others. Her shoulders shook as her hands tightened on the cloth. Why did anyone have to kill? Why were countries and people so focused on killing others, hurting others?

The question about Syndarea brought the girl out of her thoughts. She looked at the red head for a moment, before her gaze turned to the water. "I suppose we are not like where you come from. But...our boys too, are forced to join the army. Solid and healthy boys go into training quite young. Others unable to fit the physical demand become doctors or strategists or other jobs."-

Tirian took in Serna’s words and noticed the shaking in her shoulders. Such sadness shouldn't be felt simply due to ones situation of the past. Something seemed odd however, Serna specifically mentioned boys. This sparked the man’s interest as he pursued further questioning of the girl’s homeland.

“What do the women of Syndarea do? In Durandal they are household leaders and leading smiths. Everyone is equal so to speak."

-Serna paused, her eyes drifting to look out over the water. "We run the household, and most take care of their own farms or gardens."-

Tirian raised an eyebrow to the words coming to his ears. Such simple lives while the men were training and pushed into a life of military and defending their country. Tirian pondered to himself for a moment, cracking a smile at the differences between the two of them. The red-haired man grew serious as the next sentence came out in more of a whisper.

“This question might be too personal, so ignore it if you want. Which one of you has the magic?”

-Serna's eyes turned wide. "I'm sorry?" Her hands fidgeted though, nervously clinging onto the bloody rag.-

Tirian noticed the sudden shift in nervousness. He’d struck the chord most people wished to never be hit. Tirian looked over to the camp for a moment then back to Serna. No one was paying attention yet, fortunately. If the conversation came to revealing secrets the last thing Tirian needed was the group finding out what he had been keeping secret.

“Syndarea was known for barrier magic. I’m just curious if either of you inherited that.”

-Serna looked down at her lap. Her small hands turned into tight fists. "N-Neither of us d-did."

Her body shook though and she didn't look up at him. As nice as he seemed, she had promised Setna she would tell no one. No one could know. It would endanger them both, and the young girl had seen enough blood shed and watched her brother almost get killed only a few hours before.

All because of her and what she inherited. The power brewing inside her nearly got her brother killed, and more than likely this violence would continue. Serna felt her eyes fill with tears and she couldn't fight them anymore as they slipped down her cheeks.-

The reaction spoke louder than any words. Tirian understood and took the whole thing in at once. This sort of reaction meant something, and it was obvious no matter how hard he dug the shy twin wouldn’t budge. Tirian quickly gathered his clothes and boots, putting them on in orderly fashion. Tirian hopped off of the boulder and began to move past Serna, stopping to whisper on last thing that only she could hear.

“Make sure you take care of yourself.”

Tirian nodded to Serna once and left the Syndarean to her owns thoughts. Blue eyes took in the camp of travelers. Each and everyone one of them battled with courage. Somehow, the travelers banded together as a team to protect the common goal. Tirian trudged over to Rudolf and sat down with the old pervert with a sullen expression.

“An afternoon like this calls for some mead my good friend.”

Faith looked at the device that Vordan left in front of her. Although she wasn't very familiar with the device, it seemed fairly simple. Just put the bolts into the holes. Faith slowly grabbed a bolt with one hand, and then reached for the device. The second she touched the device, a tiny blinding light was emitted from the place where Faith touched the device, and then her hand was forcefully blown back by a sudden burst of energy. Faith was completely dumbfounded by what just happened, and didn't really understand what had just happened. She stuttered "I c-can't do it." to Vordan as she looked up. To her horror, an arrow had hit him. She then simply went deeper into the wagon, and hid under the relative safety of the covered wagon. Faith somewhat understood why Caelis told her to hide in here. The walls would protect her from the stray arrows, but the tarp that covered the wagon also helped hide her... In this chaos, not a lot of people would notice the small girl sneaking off into the wagon. But, once again, she found herself disappointed that she couldn't help.

---

Caelis looked around at the remains of this fight. The soil was damp with blood and it gave off a dirty, muddy hue. The lumps of formerly living people were immobile and painted with the red of their life essence. The eerie silence of survivors was deafening. Such was the aftermath of a conflict. Caelis was used to it, but at the same time. No one could really get used to it. All that one could do was move on. Thus, Caelis tore his eyes from the scene and began to walk back to Faith. However, as his adrenaline went away, he was given an unpleasant reminder as he was seized by pain from the arrow. Caelis reach around his back to feel the wound. It was in pretty deep, but Caelis didn't think that it had hit anything important. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to walk right now. The problem was that Caelis didn't want Faith to see him hurt, and having an arrow sticking out of him wasn't the best way to convince her. So, despite the fact that it would be smart to leave the arrow in for now so that it would allow the wound to clot, Caelis grabbed the shaft of the arrow and with one hand and pulled.

Blood came gushing out from the wound, and Caelis quickly discarded the arrow. He reached over to one of the dead bandits and ripped off a long portion of his shirt. Caelis tightly tied the cloth around his wound in an attempt to put pressure on his wound so that he wouldn't be bleeding as much. Then he covered the makeshift compress with his clothes. Now it wasn't as obvious that he was hurt. Caelis did his best to clean himself up to remove the blood that stained him. Then he went back to Faith. Caelis peeped into the wagon and could feel how she was distraught. Caelis said "What's wrong? You know that I won't be leaving you any time soon." In response, Caelis was met with the most heart wrenching silence. Caelis climbed into the wagon and held Faith, who began to cry.

---

The short trip to the spring was relatively silent and Caelis and Faith just sat next to each other without saying a word. When they arrived, Caelis started a small fire by the water, and they just sat next to each other without a word. It was silent until Aaerynn arrived and asked if anyone needed medical attention. Caelis replied "No, everyone is fine. I only ripped my clothes a little. He then took a quick look in his bag by reaching in there. He then turned to Faith and said "Faith, could you go around and see if you can find some spider webs? Don't go too far, but if you could find some, then I could stitch the rips together." Faith nodded and simply got up to search around the area for anything that could be used as a replacement for thread. Caelis then turned back to Aaerynn and said "Don't tell her." as he took off his shirt.

The makeshift compress was soaked in blood. He should have treated it immediately, but he didn't want to worry Faith any more. So, he let the wound go on untreated. He already felt a bit light-headed from the bloodloss, but he had to do something about the wound. He first reached into his backpack and pulled out a small pot and another small bag. He filled the pot with some of the spring water and put it on the fire. He then opened the small bag and in it was some salt, which he poured a good portion of into the pot. Caelis then untied the cloth and felt around the injury. It was still bleeding a little, but it did clot partially. He took his water canteen and poured some of the water on the wound to clean it. Then once the pot was adequately heated. Caelis took the pot off the fire. He then looked at Aaerynn and said "Would you mind pouring some of this on my wound? It isn't exactly a healer's most ideal method, but with what I've got on hand. I suppose some warm salt water will have to do."

The second attempt towards the little girl was coming and Vordan stepped forward to come intercept the assailant. The man swung hard and Vordan parried with his greatsword, pushing it away after finding his balance. Anyone who would see Vordan fight would see he wasn’t exactly the precise, experienced swordsman, although he could handle the large blade quite well. The bandit swung once more, this time, Vordan pulled himself back, taken a hard hit to the chest, but the steel plate bounced the blade off… He then came back with a full swing to the mid-section of the bandit, nearly cutting the man in half.

It was then he turned, just in time to feel that magical energy react to Faith… Vordan was surprised and shocked, as it simply blew out of her hands. Why? It had captivated him, taking his attention away from the last bandit who tried to smash him with a club… Nearly missed his head, but Vordan went to the floor by a strong impact to his shoulder blade area. Vordan didn’t agonize about it, but he was certainly uneasy with the whole thing. Luckily enough the bandit didn’t want to go for a second hit as he fled, just like most others… Good.

Elrithos, for his past, had already created doubt within his enemies and with everything else that had happened, those who stood before him ran… Oddly enough, only three of the people he had directly attacked were on the ground, dead or dying. Elrithos approached those who were still breathing and sliced their necks open to make their death quicker. He then immediately went to moving the bodies out of the way of the road. Other travelers did not have to deal with all of this, as it was created by the attention they had brought to themselves, or more to Rudolf. Anywho, he did his possible to move even the pieces that Tirian had created… He wished he hadn’t seen what the red haired warrior had done, but it couldn’t be undone.

Vordan, as everything was settling down, took back his invention, doing a quick inspection of it. The magic was still present, nothing was broken… His eyes then moved towards the little girl who was now in the arms of the nearly blind man. What had she done? It was like the magic had responded abruptly to her touch. Odd… Something else he would probably look into. As his adrenaline shot down, he finally noticed the pain of the arrow in his chest. His hand wrapped around the shaft, pulling out the arrow quickly. Again, he wasn’t in that much pain, maybe a hiss of discomfort, not much blood. Good thing for bones and steel plates... He would have to patch that up a little later. For now, he grabbed his things and, like any good mercenary, looted the coins off of the bandits. He didn’t care for the morals of looting from the dead. Besides, the coins were useless to them now.

---

The team had walked off not too far and made camp once more, settling down after this tricky encounter with thieves of the road. Elrithos had put his horse to the side a little, letting him eat the fresh grass. The injuries people had suffered had been minor really, except maybe Vordan and Caelis. The extents of Setna’s injuries were not that bad, nothing major anyway. Caelis had a bloody wound, yet nothing life threatening. Vordan… was a special case. The sand elf had seen the arrow sticking out of him, yet the tall man seemed to be fine. With a quiet sigh, he brought his attention to the young man and his sister. Elrithos had also managed to see the final actions of the young warrior. He had done nothing wrong, as maybe others would have thought. It was a thing of the moment. Most people lived that kind of stage in their early years as a warrior.

When Aaerynn had come around for the inujuries, he simply nodded his head. The elf had nothing at all. With that, he went towards Setna, leaving his weapons behind him… and oddly enough, he came with a light smile. He approached and knelt down, grabbing his shoulder and shaking him a little to take him out of his thoughts. He had a look he recognized to well. He spoke softly and calmly, still with that light smile of his face.

“Do not worry yourself with your actions, Setna. You did nothing wrong. It was simply the fire of the moment. It happens to younger warriors; it is a part of going through your steps as a fighter. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

He continued with a friendly tap on his shoulder and stood back up, going towards the water to freshen up a little bit.

…………………..

Vordan had been pretty quiet on the way to the camp, but who wasn’t? It was a well needed silence really. Vordan appreciated it as it left him time to think about everything he had seen and also prepare small bands of his special bandages. He didn’t have much left and CERTAINLY wasn’t going to bring this to the people in the group. Why? No that he wouldn’t share, but he wasn’t about to explain himself how it all worked. Not now anyway. With that in mind, he left most of his gear at the cart he voyaged on, even removing the bracers, steel breastplate and brown gambeson, leaving only his thin beige shirt. It was now you could see the extent of his chest injury. It had bleed a little more than expected, but again, nothing major.

Not wanting to attract attention or have Aaerynn check his wounds, he walked off a little further with a piece of bandage and a small piece of wood and try to hide behind tree for the time being. He took a seat and then looked down on the piece of tissue he brought… He could already feel the pain this was going to cause him. Taking in a deep breath, he then put the piece of wood in his mouth and grabbed a root with his free hand. He then slowly brought up the bandage and pressed it against his wound, readying himself.

It took a couple of seconds, but the magic finally flourished, a soft green light coming from the tissue… Vordan bit down hard and strangled his scream. His gripped tightened fiercely upon the root, the pain absolutely unbearable… Even with his great tolerance to pain, this was almost torture. Eventually, the pain went away and he spat out the wood, taking his time to relax. The shirt was still bloody, but where the wound was supposed to be was nothing more than a scar, completed healed but very visible. He had an explanation for that at least.

“Make sure you take care of yourself.”

Serna’s eyes widened at the whisper and she looked back at the red headed man while he walked away, tears still slipping down her face. Her face scrunched up as she held in a sob. She sniffed loudly and quickly wiped away the tears with the back of her hand.

Now was not the time for crying. It wasn’t the time to blame herself. It wasn’t the time to be weak and pathetic. She thrust the rag into the spring, letting the cold water numb her hand before pulling it out. With one final rub of her eyes, she stood and walked back to her brother.

---

Setna was lost in his own world. Over and over he repeated his actions. How it felt to slice his blade through a human body, the rush of fighting for your own survival, the blood that splattered out of open wounds. His fingers twitched, trembling as if holding a blade.

It had felt great.

He had done things wrong, sure. But he would learn. His enemies would die. He would spill their blood. He would make sure that no one would survive.

His shaking hand gripped his dark hair. No, no, no. This was wrong. He had killed people. He had taken their existence away from him. What had their goals been? They were selfish people, but they had their own lives, their own beings. He had taken them. They had families, a mother and a father, probably siblings too. He had disrespected the bodies. They wouldn’t be buried properly. They wouldn’t be given their burial rites. Where would their souls go? Plus…

Serna had seen him.

His sister had seen him kill people. She saw the way he kept going. She had to stop him.

His little sister had to stop him.

Setna’s body was shaking, his thoughts moving a mile a minute. It paused though as he felt a presence in front of him.

“Do not worry yourself with your actions, Setna. You did nothing wrong. It was simply the fire of the moment. It happens to younger warriors; it is a part of going through your steps as a fighter. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

His head tilted up slightly as recognition to the words, but his eyes couldn’t see. Even as a hand was tapped on his shoulder, he remained sightless, cold and distanced. The presence left and his body continued to shake.

Kill. Kill. Kill. Live. Live. Live.

---

Serna returned to her brother, she bowed slightly as the Desert Elf moved past her. She had heard his kind words and she hoped her brother had listened as well. She crouched down and took Setna’s hands into her smaller ones. She began wiping off the blood that had dried and cracked on his palms and calloused fingers.

She frowned as she looked up and continued to see his dark clouded eyes. But she continued moving, not allowing herself to think about it. She cleaned off his hands, and any skin covered with blood. Then she undid his cloak and took it to the river. She scrubbed at the blood stains until they at least faded into a light brown. Serna pulled it out of the spring, wringing the water out before she laid it across a large rock where the sun would be able to reach it. She then returned to her brother once more and undid her own cloak, wrapping it around his shoulders, and clipping it in place so he would stay warm.

Next she unsheathed his blade and brought it over to the river’s edge. Her stomach twisted at the sight of it. The leftover blood had caked on and this time she knew for sure that it wasn’t her brother’s. She dipped her rag in and began cleaning off the sword, scratching the blood off as best she could. But as her bare skin touched the cold metal, something happened and she felt her heart thump in her chest. Pain burst between her eyes and Serna hunched over. Sweat pooled across her forehead and a hand immediately went to her temple to support her head. She clenched her eyes shut as the painful ache continued to burst in her head.

Her eyes started to blur and her blurry vision caught sight of the elven letters lighting up on the blade. She immediately thrust the blade under the water so no one else could see. The pain was becoming unbearable and she coughed, feeling her throat beginning to close up in reaction to the headache. Her limbs were becoming weak and she finally pulled out the sword. With shaking hands she dried it off on her dress and immediately sheathed it. The headache didn’t fade.

Serna wiped her lips and quietly staggered a bit over to her brother. She sat down at his side, handing the sword over, glad to be away from it. Gently she leaned her head against her brother’s shoulder and closed her eyes, willing the ache to go away.

To an onlooker it just seemed like she was taking a rest.

---

As Aaerynn had approached Caelis, her eyes only focused on the man. Even as he called to the half elf, and ordered her away, her gaze never budged. Over the few days of their travels at first the female elf had been fixated on the Halfling, but now it was quite obvious that she was doing whatever she could to completely avoid looking at her. Aaerynn swallowed the bile beginning to burn at the back of her throat. The cold feeling of grief was seeping into her chest just by being near the filthy thing. She was glad when it finally escaped to the forest.

Her eyes instead focused on the wound that the nearly blind man finally revealed. He had obviously dislodged the arrow too early. The blood had already spread out and Aaerynn was mildly surprised that the man was even still conscious. She quirked an eyebrow though as he started a fire and soon handed her a hot pot filled with water and salt. He asked her to pour it on the wound, and the she elf just stared at him incredulously. How stupid was he?

She had an easier way to clean the wound but she did as he asked, silently relishing the tightness of the man’s face as he dealt with the pain. That never got old for her. Once that was over, her icy eyes looked into the man’s face. “Done being a fool?”

She whistled for Baineth who trotted over quite happily. Aaerynn stood and searched through her pack, which had been tied to the horse’s saddle, until she revealed a small clay jar. She crouched down next to the man and inspected the wound. Her fingers pressed into his hip and were surprisingly gentle, seeing as her mood was giving off waves of disgust and annoyance.

“It’s not broken.” She mumbled, and then began pressing smooth fingers along his stomach. “Nothing important seems to have been hit.”

She then opened the pot and dipped her fingers into it. Her fingers came out covered in a green and brown paste that she then lathered over the wound. It immediately began to harden and stick to the man’s skin. “This will clot it and allow your skin to repair itself without being interrupted. Don’t wash it. Don’t run with it. Don’t scratch it. If it comes off, the wound will reopen and I will not help you even if you pay me.”

Aaerynn quietly touched her fingertips to the man’s back making sure it actually hadn’t pierced through. It hadn’t, and the wound didn’t appear to be too deep. He was lucky. “If your lower stomach begins to swell, let me know. That means something got pierced that I missed.”

She stood, wiping off the rest of the paste onto her trouser pants. She closed the jar and returned it to her pack. She paused for a moment, her usual frown on her full lips. “Not that it matters, and I don’t give a shit. But if you keep treating that filthy Halfling like a child, someone, that isn’t you, will rip out her innocence and take it as their own.”

Aaerynn didn’t stay to hear his answer if he gave her one. She really shouldn’t have said anything because she honestly didn’t care. But she couldn’t just sit back and deal with the bullshit he was playing on the child. This wasn’t fantasy. More than likely the blind fool would be killed right in front of her. Then what would he do?

Just stupid bullshit.

She continued her rounds. The Desert Elf gave her a nod that he was ok, and it was obvious Red was fine. That left the scribbler. He had disappeared on them, but her ears pricked at the sound of muffled agony. She had seen him with that arrow through his chest, and had been looking forward to pulling it out on her own. She walked towards the tree she had heard the sound, but her eyes widened slightly as she turned and saw the scribbler sitting there, perfectly fine. He had taken off his armor and was left in a bloody shirt. But he was fine.

A delicate eyebrow rose and light blue eyes searched for any type of wound. There was nothing but a scar and leftover blood. “What?” She mumbled, her eyes narrowing slightly as she took in his face. “Do you have any wounds?” She asked him waiting for his answer.

---

Rudolf had set up the campfire on his own as Tirian came over and sat down. The old dwarf nodded at the suggestion. “Yes, I think it’s best to set up camp for today. Everyone could use it.”

He grunted as he stood and disappeared into one of his carts. He finally returned with a barrel over his shoulder and wooden mugs in his free hand. He propped the barrel down and opened the spout, filling two mugs with mead. “I always come prepared my dear boy! For things such as this!”

He handed the warrior a mug and sat beside him. “To life my dear boy!” He raised his mug.

Rudolf brought back something that Tirian knew the dwarf had. An entire barrel of the finest ale a single being could find in all the land! Leave it to the well-traveled dwarf to come up with yet another surprise to try and ease the pains of the last day. The soldier haunted by years of war took that mug almost too quickly and clanked it with Rudolf’s momentarily before chugging the glass dry as a bone. Tirian gingerly placed empty glass on the hardened dirt before returning to a standing position, allowing the harsh words from Aaerynn to fall upon his ears. Her harshness knew no prejudice, aiming for anyone and everyone to disperse ice-cold words upon. Tirian simply shook his head at the sight and turned to Elrithos now giving Setna some warm words of consolation. The desert elf seemed to be the most social, and definitely the nicest of the group second only to the beautiful Serna.

Tirian found his eyes falling upon Serna once again, resting her head upon Setna with somewhat of a discomforted face. Perhaps she was realizing what the world was like outside of that barrier. Or it was something else, something Tirian tried to bring to light earlier. Aaerynn had now disappeared off into the woods once again, leaving only the twins, Elrithos, Rudolf and himself. Tirian turned towards the carts and quickly began scheming something for the group to do as a whole. The red-head returned to the middle of the camp with a rubber sheet and two small metallic poles. The rubber sheet hit the ground and Tirian walked twenty paces to one side and slammed the pole into the ground, he also did the same thing for the opposite side. He then stood next to one pole and began to toss horseshoes at the pole opposite of him.

“Anyone interested in playing Horshoes feel free to join me!

Vordan took deep, calm breaths, feeling a little sore on his chest. The pain of the wound would still persist for a few minutes, but it was nothing Vordan could not deal with. The mercenary was sure glad he discovered the means to making those bandages. How many times did it save his life? More than once, that’s for sure. It would probably be one of his best inventions too, even with its severe drawback of pain. Suffer a couple of minute to almost instantly heal a wound? He knew of no one who would refuse that kind of offer. He smiled lightly, taking a deep breath again… Then he heard the steps.

He head turned to the side, waiting to see who would be coming to see him. He could already tell with the steps that it was probably one of the elves… Hopefully, it would be the man of the desert and not that wood elf. The presence manifested itself, and what did you know; Aaerynn. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for the question she was going to ask. He didn’t really want to answer it, but he would have to, especially to her. Her first reaction seemed of disbelief, almost scanning him. What did she want? She then asked the question and finally shook his head.

“A little bruising on my shoulder and chest, but that’s it. I am-…”

His head turned away. Magic had sprung; Vordan could feel it in the air. What had happened? A good question… It wasn’t like the young girl. It wasn’t as abrupt but still was sudden. He seemed to concentrate a moment, trying to figure out the source. He would have to go back towards the camp, it came from there… Maybe a little ways away. He turned his attention back to Aaerynn as he stood to his feet, dusting off his clothes.

“I am fine. Nothing I can’t handle on my own.”

He gave a small smile, walking off back to the camp. Well, the mix he had taken the other day worked pretty well, as he still felt in good shape and not too hungry. It was a nice compensation for a day without food or sleep. A wonderful art, what a shame their kingdom destroyed it. Then, he came back right in time to hear the request to play the horse shoe game… Not his style, although he could probably win.

The mercenary went back to his bag and equipment, taking off the rest of his armor, and then laid down in the grass. A little bit of peace and time to think of what happened to the little girl… He wondered if she was alright. And he also had the time to think about what he had just felt.

---

Elrithos had reached the spring and decided to sit down near the water, letting his feet rest within the water. One of the many reasons he enjoyed these lands was this. These pools of water you could simply use to swim around, refresh himself and many other things. It was nothing like the desert and it was better that way. Survival in those lands was harder, but nothing the Aavikanian couldn’t handle. They could survive anywhere now; they had stood the test of time and would live on to survive anywhere they need to. He kept a gentle smile as he simply gazed into the water a moment, only hearing Tirian and his offer to play a game.

Horseshoe? Oddly enough, he had never heard of such a game. He turned his head, curious about all of this. He would like to play, but it wasn’t anything he knew… It was probably better if he saw someone else play first, then could he jump in. With that, he came back to his feet, going towards his two swords. What best to do for now? Well, practice with his swords instead of the bladed staff, needing the little reminder. He stayed near the group, although made sure he had enough space to not harm anyone.

As with his other weapon, he demonstrated a reserved, defensive stance, although this one was a little different. The bladed staff had Elrithos extend outwards and reaching into his enemy. This time, he was in a tighter stance, seemingly facing invisible enemies attacking much closer. He also added a lot more kicks and emphasized of his smaller posture to evade quickly and strike with precision. There held several similarities though, as he was still more defensive than offensive, still deflected and parried and still made sure he struck with precision.

“Not that it matters, and I don’t give a shit. But if you keep treating that filthy Halfling like a child, someone, that isn’t you, will rip out her innocence and take it as their own.”

The words that Aaerynn cut deeper than the arrow. Caelis always knew though. In the back of his mind, Caelis was always thinking about it. It was likely a fruitless endeavor like rolling a boulder up a mountain. A Sisyphus-esque situation where no matter how hard he tried he would ultimately never succeed. However, what else was he supposed to do? Faith had saved his life. She didn't save him from bodily harm. No, she healed a fatal wound in his mind. It was from that day on that Caelis decided that he would live on to see Faith grow up and to make up for all that time that she lived in that orphanage. So, it might be a hopeless attempt. But, giving up would be giving up his purpose in life again. He refused to feel such a draining emptiness again. Maybe it was selfish of him, but did a person really deserve to suffer like that?

He looked back at the elf as she walked away. She had been an emotional miasma that practically emitted disgust, annoyance, but under it all was a hint of sadness. She claimed that she did not care at all, but then why would she expend any energy talking to him about it then? Rather, Caelis believed that she was lost much like how he was years ago, living almost a hollow existence. Something traumatic likely plagued her mind every waking moment and perhaps even her dreams as well. Thus, she raised an intricately built facade of a haughty elf... or at least she emphasized that aspect of her. Caelis felt some empathy towards her. No one deserved to live an empty, scornful existence.

Caelis put on his shirt again, and hid his wound. He now had to address something else important. Caelis drew his sword and looked at the spots of blood that was left. It had already died on the blade. Caelis lowered the blade into the spring and scraped off the blood. After cleaning it, Caelis wiped the water off, and reached into his bag once again. He pulled out a small clear bottle with some sort of clear liquid in it. He tipped the bottle over and the liquid slowly dripped onto the blade. It was oil to help prevent the blade from rusting. Caelis' sword was quite old, so he had to take meticulous care of it. He evenly applied the oil until it lightly coated the cold steel. Satisfied, Caelis then put everything back into the bag. It had been a while, but Faith had not come back yet. So, Caelis thought that it might be time to search for her, and was starting to get a bit worried. After all, everyone else was preoccupied, and Caelis never developed a taste for alcohol. He preferred to keep his mind clear since that was what kept him alive through all these years.

Caelis got up with his sheathed sword in hand, and began to walk while using his scabbard as a walking stick.

---

Extol the light of life with prayers until the day to come,
Let it be with you
Let it be with you.

Faith quietly sang to herself as she looked around the trees. She knew that Caelis just wanted her to leave. Probably because of the injury that he received during the fight. She noticed the hole in the back of his shirt. Caelis never ignored things like that, so Faith knew that he had gotten hurt. But, what could she do? She couldn't fight. She didn't know how to treat injuries. She didn't know how to help Caelis. Rather, she just felt as if she was a burden to Caelis. She couldn't help but think that things might be better if she just left. As she brushed a bush side, she saw something flash right in front of her. She yelped and fell backwards.

Before her, a snake slithered out of the cover of the bush, and came closer to her. Faith looked at the snake and was locked in her position, frozen. The snake was an exotic, exuberant red with its hourglass figure and slit eyes. All the signs pointed at it being poisonous. It slowly continued to come closer to Faith and then it began to slowly rise from the ground, getting ready to strike. Faith was too scared to run, and tried to crawl away. The snake finished rising and bolted with its fangs bared. Faith closed her eyes.

A flutter of wings came furiously and whizzed by in front of Faith. She opened her eyes and saw an eagle in a vicious struggle with the snake. But, it soon ended with the eagle clamping its sharp beaks on the snake's head and ripping it right off. Faith continued to look. Still trying to process what had just happened. The eagle tossed away the head, and then stared back at Faith. The two simply just started at each other until the eagle cocked its head in an inquisitive manner. Faith started to chukle and found it funny for some reason that she couldn't explain. It was then that the sound of loud rustling of glass and bushes came from her right as something was coming her way.

Caelis came bumbling out of a bush and the eagle took flight the moment that he did. Caelis looked panic as he came into view. He looked at Faith and urgently asked "Faith! Are you okay? What happened?" Faith said "Ther' was a snake, but... an eagle came and saved me." Caelis' anxiety visibly dropped as he no longer was tense and he quickly walked towards Faith. Faith expected Caelis to begin scolding her for being careless, but instead she was almost smothered in a bear hug. Caelis began to cry softly and said "I thought you were taken from me. Please, don't ever leave me." Faith found herself surprised again and dumbfounded. This was the first time that Caelis had shown himself crying and so vulnerable. To be honest, she didn't really know how to act or what to say. So, all she did was hug him back and said "Okay." as she bore some of Caelis' weight.

Aaerynn watched the broad back of the scribbler as he moved past her. Fine? A little bruising? Her eyes narrowed as he continued forward and began taking off his equipment. She had seen him. She had seen that arrow in his chest. He may have had a chest plate, but it still would have reached flesh. It still would have cut him. In fact, as she continued to observe him with cold eyes, things began to not make sense. The blood on his shirt was red, fresh still, yet no cut was on his skin. Nothing but an opened shirt and a scar. There were other things she had noticed, yet kept somewhere in the back of her mind.

For instance, he had stayed up all night with the watch. As an elf not sleeping for a night didn’t hinder her as badly as a human. Red had slept most of the morning in a cart before the ambush, providing more support to her thoughts. Yet she knew the scribbler hadn’t even taken a break. He kept at it all day and he didn’t even seem tired. Even as he began to rest on the grass, she knew it wasn’t from fatigue.

Her lips pursed in thought and her eyebrows furrowed. There was something strange going on.

Eventually her gaze left the scribbler and she walked back to where Rudolf was presiding. It was bothering her, and it made her curious but she didn’t care enough to pursue it. As long as the scribbler minded his own business, and as long as it didn’t endanger Rudolf, she didn’t care. She paused though, giving him one last glance before walking over to where Red and Rudolf were playing some sort of game.

---

Where Tirian had stopped after one mug, Rudolf continued. A few glasses had been chugged down and as Aaerynn approached, he turned to her, revealing a red face and glinting eyes. A feeling of dread began to fill the very core of the wood elf. Her frown couldn’t be any deeper as she walked closer and groaned. “Don’t tell me you’re drunk.”

“Aaaaaah, Lil’ Ryn…come round, come… Let me see you, you beautiful thing you.” The dwarf gave a cheesy grin and Aaerynn’s fists clenched in annoyance. Her frigid eyes glared down the red head, knowing it must have been his fault. Yet she came closer, every muscle tensed with pure irritation. There was no dealing with a drunken Rudolf.

“Everyone is healed up. I just want my payment Rudolf.” She said it plainly, hoping he would just comply with her wishes. But it was never that easy, not with a drunk dwarf.

“Aaaaaaaaaaah….I see. I see. That’s good. That’s pretty gooood. Yeah.” The dwarf continued nodding and the wood elf was about to pop a blood vessel.

Rudolf opened his eyes and looked over to Tirian who was still throwing horse shoes. “I gots an idea.”

Aaerynn shook with annoyance. “No. No ideas Rudolf. Just pay me. Like. You. Said.”

The drunken dwarf grinned wide. “Pshhh, I will Rynie Ryn Ryynn. But, but! Let’s uh…Let’s make a little…a little deal. Y’see, I was uh…I was playing horseshoes…so uh…how about…I pay you double…if you play!”

Aaerynn’s eyes shifted from the dwarf to the stick shoved into the earth that the red head was trying to hit with a horse shoe. Finally her gaze came back to the dwarf. “No. Give me the money dwarf. I’m not playing some silly human game.”

“Oh but Ryn! I can’t just pay you. You see, all the money is in the game… You play you get double, no play and I will be sad…Real sad, so no money!” Rudolf gave her that same idiotic smile and it took all the willpower in the elf to not hit it straight off his face.

Aaerynn tensed up, grinding her teeth a bit at the situation. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Rudolf waggled his big hairy eyebrows. “Or you know, I wouldn’t mind…a sneak peek.”

He pursed his lips in a kissy face and made a rude gesture to her bust. Aaerynn immediately grabbed the horseshoe that Rudolf had been holding, shoving him slightly to the side. “I’ll do it.”

She stomped over to where the sheet was, making Red get out of her way. “I just have to hit the stupid stick, right?”

Rudolf grinned wide and nodded enthusiastically. Aaerynn grimaced, as she looked back at the stick. This was humiliating. And stupid. Definitely really fucking stupid. But she wanted that money and if this got the fat dwarf to shut up and hand her double…she’d do it.

Aaerynn winded her arm back, and threw the horse shoe over hand. It immediately over shot the stick, bouncing a few times across the dirt. Aaerynn just stood there, slightly dumbfounded as Rudolf burst open with laughter.

Her eyes shifted to Tirian and she grabbed the horse shoe from his hand. Then she tried again, another over shot and the wood elf made an audible groan.

“This is stupid!” she exclaimed, yet ran over to get the horse shoes and try again.

---

Serna had picked her head up at the exclamation of a game. The headache had become slightly more bearable. She watched as Tirian struck a stick into the earth and began tossing horseshoes. The girl forced a smile on her face through the pain and looked to her brother, seeing the same distanced expression. “Look Set, horseshoes. Remember when we would play with Father on summer nights? He would always beat us. But when we worked together, we beat him every time. Sometimes I think he let us win on purpose though.” She whispered to her brother happily, hoping that something would spark his interest.

She watched as Aaerynn took a horseshoe and tried, failing horribly. Serna put a hand to her lips to muffle a giggle. “Poor Miss Aaerynn…she isn’t very good. Someone should tell her to toss underhand…”

Serna looked in her brother’s face, but there was no change. His eyes were still clouded, and Serna did her best to keep her smile on her face. She stood up, wanting to do something so she wouldn’t focus on the ache in her head or her brother’s distance. The smile remained on her lips. Her mother had always told her that women would experience all kinds of pain in their lifetime. But if they were able to keep a smile on their lips, they would have the strength to endure it.

Serna would endure it.

As she walked along the spring’s edge, her eyes caught sight of wild flowers blooming. An idea of its own blossomed in her head. The bouquet she had been making was lost during the bandit fight, and she had nearly forgotten why she had been making it. Her smile turned brighter as she ran over and began picking flowers. Wild irises and purple gerardia were thriving on the edge of the water and she picked a few carefully. Iris roots were poisonous, so she was sure to leave them be as she used the dagger her brother had given her to cut some stems free.

Carrying a bundle of flowers with her, she began to search through the edge of the forest. Sure enough, she found lily of the valley and she plucked a few before returning to her brother. Then she began to set to work on the purple gerardia, weaving it together in braids that showed off the flowers.

After a while of work, Serna’s eyes looked around the camp. A few hours had passed since the bandits, and everyone seemed to be relaxing in their own way. Perhaps it was a good time to make an early dinner. She stood and approached Rudolf with all of her courage, who was eager to see her and even more eager to hear the news of food. He pointed to the food stock cart and Serna ventured alone to it. She opened the canvas and was surprised to see it filled with all kinds of ingredients.

Serna took a deep breath and pulled back her long hair as she grabbed a hold of a heavy bag of rice. She dragged it out toward the camp fire and filled a pot with it and spring water. She added herbs and chicken stock as well as a few vegetables and soon the rice porridge was cooking. It would be good to fill everyone up, and the herbs would help those healing injuries.

The young girl was constantly at work, she didn’t waste any time preparing this or that. It was obvious that she was far from lazy as she poured the porridge herself into bowls. Then she began her quest, she picked up a flower with each bowl and began handing them out.

She approached the Desert elf first, setting the bowl down with the flower as to not interrupt his practice. She bowed slightly in respect. “Th-thank you for helping my brother!”

Serna didn’t stay as she continued to Caelis and Faith who had returned to the forest. With Caelis’ bowl was a purple iris. She bowed again. “Th-Thank you for h-helping my brother d-during his fight.”

She set the bowls down and scurried away. With Vordan’s bowl, she approached cautiously. She stayed a good feet away as she placed the bowl down with a lily of the valley. She lowered her head and was only able to murmur a “Th-thank you.”

She didn’t want to bother him so she left quickly, not wanting to see him probably reject it. Next was Aaerynn who was still attempting to strike the stick with a horseshoe. At the smell of food though, the wood elf turned to see the girl standing there with a bowl and a lily. Aaerynn took the bowl but looked at the flower with disinterest.

Serna bowed her head, holding the flower out. “Th-thank you for helping with my b-brother’s injuries! Please accept this as thanks.”

Aaerynn loosened up but continued to stare at it. “I don’t want it.”

The girl flinched but continued holding it out. “Please…”

Aaerynn’s eyes took in the sight of the girl. The little girl’s face was pained and probably close to tears. She wasn’t quite sure what made her do it, but Aaerynn finally took the flower. Serna looked up with bright eyes, and smiled. Aaerynn grimaced and watched the girl run off. She looked at the flower, before tucking it behind her ear. Why waste it?

Serna finally went to Rudolf and Tirian, giving them bowls. But then the girl held out a stem of gerardia flowers to the red head. She merely smiled as she gave it to him. “I hope the pain eases o-over time.” She said softly to him, before bowing her head in respect.

With that, she returned to her brother, setting a bowl in front of him. The girl frowned though as Setna remained unchanged. Slowly she sat down with her own bowl, but didn’t touch it. Instead she took the braiding of gerardia she had made and tied it to her wrist. With the matching braid she tied it around her brother’s wrist. She sat in front of her brother and took his hands in her’s. “Happy day of birth Setna.” She whispered quietly. “I wanted to make these earlier…but we got interrupted. I’m glad I got them done with dinner.”

Her dark eyes gazed into her brother’s. “Um let’s see…we should say the prayer right?”

Gently the girl placed her forehead against her brother’s and closed her eyes. “Thank you God of Creation for this year of life. Thank you God of Destruction for ignoring my soul’s cry. Forgive me fate for the days I’ve wasted, and allow us the sun’s.”

Serna opened her eyes and noticed only a slight change in her brother, so she smiled. “Now if Father was here, he would tell us that story again, right? The day of our birth. Remember the story? Mother was in labor for hours on end. And they both swear that it was the hottest day of the summer to ever have existed. But although Mother was in such pain, the midwife was busy in another home for another birth and Father…” Serna smiled although her eyes filled with tears. “Father was so angry, he swears this on his life, that it was his threat that made the other woman’s baby come out and the midwife had to sprint over…what was it—.”

“To ignore the wife of a General! If the midwife doesn’t come here, I will slaughter her, and I will make sure future babies will be born in fear by having them be born into my arms instead!”

Serna’s eyes widened at the matching voice to her words, and she looked up to see her brother responsive, the light returned to his eyes. A bright smile lit up her face as Setna’s arms wrapped around her, holding her tightly. Setna buried his face into his sister’s hair. “I’m sorry…I’m sorry…I’m so sorry.”

Serna shook her head, holding her brother close. “Don’t worry…don’t worry…don’t worry…” She replied to each of his apologies.

Setna pulled back, wiping his eyes, a smile on his lips. “Once we were born Father challenged all of Syndarea to see who ever else’s wife could give her husband a boy and a girl on the same day.”

Serna giggled. “I’m just glad you were born first.”

Setna just grinned, a laugh in his voice. “You were only a few minutes behind.”

The twins both laughed happily and Setna picked up his bowl, eating ravenously. He even ate his sister’s before he stood. “Right! No time to sit and mope anymore. I want to play horseshoes and I challenge you all to see who’s better!”

Serna smiled wide in relief, glad to see her brother full of life again and she eagerly followed him to the horse shoe set, wanting to play as well.

Tirian watched the cold elf try her best to strike the pole, and to no avail she continued to fail in the most humorous fashion. Tirian picked up a horseshoe and quickly threw the hunk of metal perfectly into the pole. The horseshoe twisted around the pole until falling down to the ground, an easy three points according to the rules. Tirian then turned a smug look over to Aaerynn, his look said nothing more than mockery in the very same fashion as she had done during their first encounter. All that coldness and all that hatred, it somewhat disgusted Tirian. Those emotions were all too similar to his father, Tirian turned away from Aaerynn almost unable to bare the sight of her angered face.

“Aren’t Wood Elves supposed to be keen on this sort of thing? You can strike a log moving with ease. Yet you can’t hit a stationary pole. Try throwing it under hand instead.”

Tirian walked away from the elf and effectively cut off any sort conversation between them. Tirian walked over towards the supremely drunken Rudolf and simply watched the rest of the group. His eyes fell to a certain Syndarean working her heart out over a pot. She had no combat experience but the girl sure could cook a meal that would fill you for an entire day. After sometime Serna began to dispense the bowls among the group, one by one giving each of them a flower. Finally she stood before Tirian and Rudolf handing them each a bowl and a flower. The red-haired man took in the flower and quickly noticed it was not the same anyone else had gotten. Tirian smiled warmly at the words, so genuine and sincere in tone.

“Thank you Serna. May your worries fade and may your brother grow into a powerful warrior.”

Tirian turned to Rudolf who devoured the bowl in a giant gulp. The warrior of Durandal simply shook his head. Something had to be done about this publicly drunken dwarf!

“Time for bed Rudolf, you’ve had too much to drink!”

The dwarf quickly turned to Tirian with eyes of shock and disbelief.

“No, no my boy! Things are just getting interesting!”

Tirian shook his head quickly and picked Rudolf up and stowed him underneath his right arm. The dwarf immediately began to fight back struggling with all his drunken might to break the grip, but Tirian held strong and carried the dwarf like a child over to the carts where Rudolf always slept.

“Unhand me you red-haired beast! I’ll have your head! Put me down this instant! Wait! You forgot me mead! Fetch me mead or you shall pay!”

Tirian smiled at the threats knowing Rudolf all too well. By the time he’d reach the carts the dwarf had fallen into a drunken slumber accompanied by loud snores and mumbled threats. Tirian covered the dwarf quickly, before turning back towards the camp. Setna had finally come out of that comatose state and had joined Serna in the game of horseshoes. Tirian took a place next to the twins and gently patted the boy's back with a forced smile of sorts.

"It gets better over time."

Not too far from one of the carts, simply relaxing in the smooth, grassy ground, Vordan had his eyes up towards the sky. His lips displayed a rather simple smile, seemingly deep into his own thoughts. This was typical of him, especially after curing wounds with the bandages. He needed some time for the soreness to leave completely and didn’t want to be too active during that time. And so, with a light hearted sigh, he had his mind wrapped up on a few things he had noticed from his comrades.

The first thing was the massive strength of the red-haired young warrior. He had cut down those mean like nothing and killed with ease. This was no easy feat, even for a skilled warrior. Either his blade had some magical properties or he was hiding some surprising supernatural strength. Even with his own greatsword, he couldn’t manage brutal and precise cutting to cut through someone entirely so quickly. And so, it would be something interesting to investigate, as when he seemingly shocked his hand. It was him, it was pretty clear, but how?

The second was the little girl, Faith. What he had seen in the cart was very intriguing and something uncalled for. It was like magic bounced right out of her hands, reacting almost violently to her touch… Could she resistant to magic? A possibility. Could she control it? Probably not. Vordan couldn’t put a theory on it yet, but he wanted to know more.

The other people had their own quirks and mysteries, but it wasn’t as appealing as the other two things he had thought about. Aaerynn secrets were intriguing, as the twin’s sword and the nearly blind man’s way of seeing, but again, nothing to be bothered with. Elrithos and Rudolf… Well, they were what they were. The content of the carts were still not revealed, but it seemed quite important. Maybe sneak a peek sometime another night. With that in mind, he stayed with his eyes to the sky, until he heard the laughing. The dwarf was being quite loud and so, Vordan sat up, wondering what the heel the now drunken man was laughing about.

Aaerynn was attempting to play the game of horseshoe… And what a failure it was. Really? Throwing it overhand? It was very amusing to see, his smile widening as he held back his laugh. Incredible how a nimble elf like her couldn’t toss a piece of steel gently. It was quite bad actually, as she had tried again in the same result. Vordan laughed a little bit, just in time for Serna to arrive, not coming too close. He simply glanced at her as she deposited the bowl and the flower on the ground. A thank you… For what? It came as a surprise to the mercenary. Why thank him? He had not done much for her, or even his brother. He looked at the flower. A Lily of the Valley. Interesting…

With that, he actually got up and scavenged through his back pack, pulling out a small jar. He simply took the flower and stored it away, back in his backpack. He then grabbed the bowl, looking at it for a moment… He was starting to get hungry. It was maybe served by a Syndarean, but damn it smelt good! So, no refusing it this time, he starting eating it as he then watched the scene with the Red and Aaerynn unfold. That escalated quickly. Red seemed not too fond of the wood elf, like many others probably, and it showed. Vordan couldn’t blame him with the way she was acting.

The tall man quickly finished his bowl as he saw Tirian pick up the dwarf… Again, his strength was amazing and HAD to be supernatural. He was hiding something for sure, probably like everyone else here, but that strength was an oddity. Was he the only one who had noticed? Probably not… Hopefully not. Then, the young Syndarean man showed up to play the game. Vordan, as the person he was, would simply watch. It seemed even the Desert Elf was approaching to give it a go too. Would he be any good? Vordan wanted to see if he was going to be as horrible as Aaerynn.

---

Elrithos had continued with his combat maneuvers, eventually switching weapons between each ‘’end of a fight’’. He would do this mainly when he was alone and not with traveling groups, but this one needed him to be ready for battle at any time, so these kinds of exercises were the best way to keep fresh constantly. It didn’t seem to bother anyone else, so he would make sure he would do this any time he could. He would eventually slow down, taking his time with other non-combat related exercises.

When Serna had approached with the bowl and the flower, Elrithos had noticed, but stayed in his maneuvers until the end. He had the opportunity to hear her thanks, which made the Aavikanian smile. He came to a stop shortly after her presence and put down his weapons, coming to sit down where the bowl was and enjoy the tasty meal. He also picked up the flower and placed it behind his ear. He seemed so much less of a warrior now, but Elrithos loved flowers. A beautiful plant so rarely seen in the desert.

He watched where all the horseshoe throwing was happening, and really, he wished he could have smiled… but the situation was so tense once more. Sure, they started out great with the drunken dwarf and the simple play times, but it quickly turned sour. Tirian had so rudely attacked Aaerynn with that comment. What was wrong with everyone? Sure, they did not get along, but there was no need to put insults in. With a sigh and once his food was done, he came towards Aaeryn and Setna who had gathered for the game. Elrithos grabbed one of the horse shoes. He tried throwing the thing like the others, but of course, he over shot it even underhand… And Elrithos laughed.

‘’This really is harder than it looks.’’