Juna had finally arrived alongside her companions, arriving at the bank of a river. She had turned her back on a great danger. Whatever the danger was, however, was unknown to her. It some kind of kind of giant spider or some kind of nightmarish insectoid, and Juna had no knowledge beyond that vague idea. Well, she had had quite enough of that, and fortunately she was now away from all of that. It seemed she was once again somewhere safe again, although Juna suspected that this was quite far from being over.

Now amidst her companions once again, Juna heart had jumped. It was quite unlike her to be one to be overcome with emotion, so she would not. Nonetheless, she was quite glad to see them alive and in good shape. Well, at least alive. Annara certainly did not seem to be in good shape, which was certainly a disappointment. She saw her wounds, covered by makeshift bandages courtesy of Aust. Juna certainly would have to thank him later. Juna was glad that Annara was alive and would live, and she felt disappointment in herself for not being there in her companion’s hour of need. She had jumped into combat far too quickly, instead of tending to the aid of her friends.

Aust mentioned that some of their friends still lived, which brought Juna some comfort. Richer lived, and led three others to safety, along with Anuwelyn and the twins. Yet still the words brought on anger and grief. If this was all that lived, then it was truly a calamity. Had it been even a single death that would have been a tragedy. With this many dead, Juna truly had no words with which she could express her thoughts, either to herself or to her remaining friends.

Lothren requested to be set down, and Juna had figured that her leader had been carried long enough. He was tough, and blessed with all the other qualities she needed in a leader. She was sure he would shoulder on, even if his had taken a temporary toll. She helped him get to a comfortable spot, giving him a smile.

“Foolish, maybe,” Juna said. “But it sure as all hell worked. And it sure makes me awesome for doing it. I’m joking of course. Remember, Lothren, I pledged my life to you, and I’d not easily turn my back on my word.

Juna listened to the rest of the talk. She wondered a bit what Lothren would do, although in reality there was only one path they could really be expected to take. Indeed, they did take that path. Soon they set out, and it was on foot. Juna had grown a bit lazy, as she had grown quite used to the idea of having a steed. Kevala was gone, and Juna would prefer to think that she was not dead, although she probably was. 

As Juna meandered through the greenery along the river, Juna noticed that the journey was long. She felt a little guilty that the most thing she was worried about was finishing their trek and finding some place to have a moment of rest. Then she remembered that she never felt guilty, and that did the trick. All of these thoughts reminded Juna what had been lost. As she wondered through the endless monotony of the green foliage and uncomfortable melancholic silence of her friends, she recalled the faces of those who would not return.

Juna had spent a lot of time with less than pure intentions. She had led some of the men on when she was feeling flirtatious and chaste through chosen expressions, playful mannerism, and pretty words. On rarer occasions she was feeling a bit more open and adventurous, she would take a lover. Juna had not seen Reginald’s body, but she knew all the same that his death was certain. She already missed him, and her soul was filled with regret. Last night she had the chance to be with him for a final night, but she had passed up on it, and her soul bitterly wept because of that. They had seperatedly long ago, and the chance of them getting together for another night had been nearly zero for quite a while. Still, Juna wished for it, because as it was now she had never gotten to say goodbye, and it pained her.

“You know,” Juna began. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can’t stop thinking about what happened back there. Untold numbers of people died in Vicenna, if the entire country really did go under. It’s the world’s greatest atrocity. And so many of our companions, our friends, they were killed. I guess what I’m really trying to say is that there’s a few spiders that I’d like to crack open.”

Juna was rarely so serious, and so open about it. It seemed to her, however, that seriousness was the correct state of mind. Right now, Juna wasn’t smiling. Even the charade wasn’t something worth keeping up. She kept on walking. Juna had enough time to calm herself down. In spite of whatever vengeance her heart demanded, she would be able to remain calm. A town surrounded by a stone wall appeared in front of her. as the group approached, the guard demanded who they were.

"Just a humble group of travelers," Juna said, giving a tired smile.