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The year is 1463. War has ravaged all of Doman since 1291. Ever since the last true emperor had been assassinated, no one has known true peace. The continent of Doman has somewhat conglomerated into smaller kingdoms and ducal sized lands. Since there is no great empire to enforce peace, other kings have been trying to make their own empire. None have succeeded since Emperor Vasan was alive in 1291. At the moment, there are no great wars, with Doman being somewhat docile for the time being. Sadly all it would take to spark a war is a small incident. Who will start a new war? Or perhaps a long lasting peace time? Who knows, all it would take is a single ambitious man to start turning the gears for a new era. We shall see what happens in the near future as we follow along the journey of our brave warriors and adventurers.

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A bright lit sun slowly climbs onto the horizon, casting out its splendid rays. A man raises his hand to cover his eyes,

“I guess its about time to get on with today.” He groans, picking up his pack full of gear. He starts to walk near a forest, full of vivid green trees, fauna, and birds chirping. Snapping a branch out of his face as he walks into a clearing. Taking another step, he saw a wolf out of the corner of his eye, the wolf not noticing him. Attempting to sneak up on him drawing his sword, but accidentally breaking a branch. The wolf turns his head and growls, preparing to attack. Luca draws his sword readying himself. After waiting for a second, Luca charges at the wolf taking a swing at him. As he swung he felt a kind of flow with his weapon, striking into the wolf’s neck, slicing right through it. Blood gushes out, the wolf’s head flying off. Luca grinned feeling pleased with himself.

“This will make a fine meal for myself.” He sets his bag down, taking out a steel woodcutting axe as well as Flint & Steel. After an hour or so of cutting wood and building his fire he finishes cooking the wolf. Eating some of it and storing some for later, he rubs his belly, satisfied. He looks up into the sky, then back at his fire. Rubbing his eyes and scanning the area one more time before setting off.

As the morning sun keeps rising, he looks around and gets up packing up his things, getting ready for the rest of the day. Stomping out the fire, and loading up his bedroll, he sets off south-west deeper into the woods. After a few hours of searching for more game he begins to doubt finding anymore animals, shaking his head slightly and shrugging, he begins to head back home.

After a couple hours of heading back home, he starts to feel like he has eyes on him. After searching for a few minutes he finally found what he was looking for, a distant woman, watching him. He gives her a brief wave. She seemed startled at this action and runs away from view. Luca rose an eye brow in curiosity, shrugging it off and headed home. She looked small, young and vulnerable. If she were to encounter anything then she'd most likely end up dead. This is just judging from appearance of course. Luca had no idea what she was truly capable of, or anything of that matter. As he inches closer to the town he resides in, the woman appears again, carefully hidden. "Why is she following me?" He thought, watching her from the corner of his eye, "Do I have something she wants? Is she stalking me to kill me?" Thoughts continued through his head as he tried to figure out his situation. As time passed as he continued walking the woman finally stopped hiding in the trees and carefully approached him.

She gave a brief wave and smile as she trotted towards Luca, "Hi, I've been in the woods for a while. I've been traveling south, just having passed a mountain line. I believe you southerners call the forest I was in, Sardogan Forest." She said turning her head and pointing north past the mountains. Luca believed she was truly innocent. She was obviously young too, maybe 17 or 20. Her turning her head away from a stranger, and allowing him to make a move on her seemed somewhat foolish. That or maybe decades of experience made him... cautious of others perhaps? It definitely wasn't paranoia. He's been alive long enough to understand what people could be capable of, and that he didn't harbor any kind of mental illnesses.

Bringing himself out of his thoughts he replied, "Ah, yes, I know where that is. What brings you out here?" He didn't really have an interest in talking with her at the moment. He was just minding his own business as he likes to do. Luca didn't really live in the city limits of Mosca. He lived further north on the base of the mountains. He was somewhat of a loner and preferred it that way, drama was distasteful and a waste of time.

"I'm on my own path to find out what I can accomplish with myself. The small forest town I had lived in didn't offer me anything that I had wanted. I want a life of adventure and experience, both of which I have had very little. I've been following you for a little while now. You seem like an interesting man. I was wondering if I could stick with you for a little while. It seems that you are preparing yourself for an adventure of your own. Maybe I could tag along?" She opened her arms and rose an eyebrow as she asked her question. She didn't seem very annoying, yet. There didn't seem to be any underlying reasons why she shouldn't join. She was also right about Luca gearing up to leave. He was ready to start something new.

Yet, the question still crept at him. Finally after a moment he asked, "Why are you so willing to join a complete stranger in what he's doing? Do you have any idea of what I'm capable of doing, even doing to you?" He tried to give her a sense of hostility and uneasiness. She truly did seem foolish, but maybe it was too early of judgement to understand what was truly going on. She rolled her eyes,

"Well I can definitely handle my own, even against the likes of someone like you. You seem pretty large and muscle headed, a meat head if you will." She chuckled at her own joke continuing on, "I'm very capable person. My family told me that Doman has been at war for a few generations, I want to see what all there is, why people hate each other. What motivates them? I want to learn, as well as fight." She grinned looking like she was ready to do some battle.

"Well, I don't really have anything to say to dissuade you from joining me." Luca paused for a moment, looking around then back at her, "I have a few things planned for myself. You joining me doesn't really hinder what I have in mind. If this is what you really want, then I'll introduce myself. I'm Luca. I don't have a family name, so don't ask about it. What's your name little one?" He smiled seeing if she'd get irritated by calling out her small size.

She made a 'psh' sound as he called her a little one, "I'm Tasha Sykes, I may be small, but I'll be the tiniest worst nightmare you ever come across." She half smiled, sticking out her hand for a handshake. As they shook hands Luca said, "I'm heading back home, so let's get stuff ready at my place and we'll start heading out." Tasha nodded in compliance as they started making way back to Mosca. She smiled faintly, seeming that she felt accomplished in getting Luca to comply with her and accept her offer of an adventure.

---

Being in the woods is one of the better feelings for Luca. Not having to deal with people, culture, other man-made creations or ideas. Just him and the wild life... most of the time. Other than the whole continent being at war for the past couple hundred years, he somehow felt at peace, for the time being. Luca thought anything was possible as long you let your mind just fall back and relax. Doman is currently undergoing constant changes as there is no empire to keep things in place. Hundreds of nobles ranking from king to count are always plotting their next move to become a possible conqueror or just a king to reign out his years in peace.

Since the emperors assassination there was no one to claim the throne besides a legitimized bastard. That didn't bode well, and the emperors bloodline had died out in 50 years or so.

Luca constantly thought about ruling, having land of his own, but he didn't really like managing people and dealing with all of their own ambitions, issues, and personalities. He's a pretty calm man. He doesn't see the need or reason to get worked up a lot of the time, especially about smaller things, like on how people act or why they do whatever they do. 9 times out of 10 making a rash decision will make things go downhill rather quickly. Being angry, or firm in just one belief closes your mind, basically giving you tunnel vision. Luca believed in being a observer of the world, taking a step out of his 'body' to understand other things or perspectives. He enjoyed living that way. Tending not to think or feel, but rather experience things. What is life other than the nature of observation, experience, and memory? That's why Luca cherished life, most of the time. In this day and age being a pacifist will get you killed without having the ability to defend yourself. Adaptability is key to human nature, or had been in his lifetime.

Luca and Tasha had just arrived at his house. They proceeded inside, "So apparently there is a bounty for something in the next town over, I don't know exactly what for, but it'll help with getting us started." He paused for a moment, "I don't have a lot of money, so getting everything at once will be a problem." He knew what he was going to do, but she didn't know what he had in store for himself. Thinking about what his next steps were, he decided on letting her in on his plans and goals. "I plan on being some kind of ruler, eventually. It'll take a while to realize this dream, but that's not a problem for me." As he was talking he had gathered up all his belongings he needed putting them in his pack.

"I don't have an issue with that. I don't have any money either." Tasha said, trailing off slightly embarrassed. She had just basically fled her home with nothing other than some food, a bow, and a short sword. "I guess we'll just have to start from nothing. There's isn't anything wrong with that." She had paused a moment, looking around his little hut as he gathered up his stuff. "Being a king of some kind? That's pretty fancy Luca." She said twirling her hair, feeling impressed with his goals. Luca shrugged.

"Alright, I'm ready to head out, is there anything you'd want to bring along from my place?" He asked.

"Nothing I can think of." She gave another look around but couldn't think of anything notable to bring along. "Okay, let's head out then. We're going east to the town of Vinebal." Tasha nodded as they proceeded through the doorway. Luca had been preparing to leave his little home for a while. As they inched away from his hut he began to feel a sadness for leaving his home. He had been there for quite a while. It had felt like a true home for him. The memories of the past 10 years flooded his mind as he continued walking east with Tasha. He had known real peace. It was quite remarkable to him. He always thought peace would be impossible in Doman until a new emperor emerged to bring an end to the calamity in Doman. His hut began to dissipate from his vision the further he had gotten. Luca had felt it was time to cast aside his sadness for his home, continuing onward to a new path that had awaited him. Tasha had been watching him as they traveled further away from his home.

"It's always hard leaving home." Tasha said pausing for a moment, "I cried when I left. It was hard for me, my parents cried too. That didn't help at all. It was what I wanted, and by the looks of it, it's what you want too." She gave a weak smile trying to perk Luca up a little bit. "I'm sure we're both ready for this..." She trailed off as they continued walking towards Vinebal.

The road they were following was well traveled for the small amount of people that went from Mosca to Vinebal. There wasn't too much trade dealing between the two small towns. Mosca had acquired most of it's resources including food from the forests around. Vinebal was the same way, but they had a lake to fish from. That gave them a little more trade than the people of Mosca, not to mention a reliable source of water.

Luca looked up at the sky, it was a few hours past noon. He looked around the land for a minute. It was mostly flat with forests surrounding the road. Looking back at Tasha he says, "We should find camp soon. I plan on going slightly into the forest to set up camp. Do you have any problems with that?" Tasha shook her head no. Luca nodded his head and made way towards the forest. Tasha thought it was quite fascinating watching Luca. It felt like he had done this a thousand times. Confident when to set up camp, how far to go away from the road, and seemingly knowing like he knew where he was at all times.

---

A few hundred meters from the edge of the forest Luca eventually stopped. He began to start gathering wood for a fire, Tasha joined in the task as well. It was around 2 hours till sun down. There was plenty of time to get ready for the night. As the small stockpile of wood gathered up, Luca turned to Tasha, "I'm gonna go find something to eat. Stay here and watch our gear." Tasha nodded her head, she wanted to speak but Luca quickly left sight. "What would I have said anyway?" She thought sitting down by the unlit fire. She rummaged through her belongings eventually finding her flint and steel, beginning to light the fire. As Luca passed through the brush and flora of the forest, he looked for any signs of animals. Whether it be tracks or broken branches. He had been alive long enough to know how to track pretty well, but never had dedicated time to be an expert at it. "I don't really know how I feel about barking orders at Tasha." He thought, walking further out. "She probably doesn't even mind. I'll have to ask her when I get back." Luca had never really been in charge of anybody or a group of people. He always stood on the side to watch and see what leaders do. He had the capability, but never the reason or inspiration to do so. Letting people do what they do was always so intriguing to him, or it just made him dumbfounded. It depended on the person at hand.

"What should I ask him when he gets back?" Tasha thought as she fondled the fire with a small stick. She hadn't really been with another man before, as in meeting with one or socializing with one. She hadn't actually been with man in bed either. This was a huge step for her. Her family really had sheltered her. Tasha's father would go get food from his farm or from livestock, occasionally he'd hunt and bring back something. Her mother would wash the clothes and take care of their house. She'd also tend to the baby livestock and make sure all the meals were ready when her father was ready to eat. Tasha really didn't know how other men acted but she thought Luca seemed to have an 'old soul', or something of that sort. He didn't didn't seem very fidgety to her, nor did he seem inexperienced. She'd have to keep going on with this adventure to see what develops. Tasha wanted to believe that Luca was a good man, but it felt like there was something he was hiding. Was it something he was or an action he had committed? Or both?

Eventually coming upon some tracks, Luca got excited. He began to follow the tracks, they seemed that of a deer. It had been an hour or so since he had left a strange girl with all his gear. He had been thinking that it wasn't the most smart idea. He half expected to come back to the fire with nothing left, though he had been in worse situations. It still was a situation that he'd rather not be in. Continuing to wonder and follow the tracks of the deer. He eventually found the deer. It was just a doe, not a buck. Something that still would put food in his belly. It was eating some grass, probably it's last meal of the day. Luca drew his bow carefully, stepping around for a clear opening. He watched where he placed his feet, it wouldn't be like the wolf, the deer would run away. Finally approaching the doe about 50 meters away, he drew his bow. Aiming for a couple of long seconds, he released his arrow. It flew with great precision, exactly where he wanted it. The arrow pierced it's heart. The doe stumbled around a little bit, releasing a cry before falling to the ground. He's been hunting things for years, if he had missed this animal he'd have been ashamed for missing the creature. Luca quickly ran up to the doe, picking it up and trotting back to the campfire Tasha had hopefully made. "Could she make a fire?" He thought and chuckled jogging back.

Waiting for Luca to come back, Tasha was cooking some stew and had some ale prepared for his return. She was well experienced in preparing meals. Having figured that Luca was tired of making meals for himself everyday, she thought it would be nice to have one waiting for him. He had been gone quite a while. The sun started to set, most likely around 30 minutes or so of daylight left. She began to wander if he got killed, or lost his way. She kept continuing in stirring the stew and staring into the fire. After a few more minutes Luca appeared in the distance avoiding tree limbs and brush. A deer was on his back and he looked exhausted. She yelped quietly with excitement. Her father was never a good enough hunter to catch a deer or elk. He always brought back rabbits, boars, wolves, and other creatures. Tasha sat quietly and eager, awaiting Luca's approach. A small smile spread across her face.

"Well you seem very excited about some deer." He chuckled, setting the doe down on the ground. Taking out a knife he began to skin it. Every so often he would glance up at Tasha to see what she was doing. She had prepared a bowl of stew for him, as well as setting a cup of ale beside him. Finishing up the skinning, he took a sip of his ale. He began to cut into the deer, getting the first two pieces of meat on the fire to cook. Looking at Tasha another time as he cut the doe he asked, "I was kind of surprised you were still here when I got back." He gave a weak smile and chuckle as he confessed. Tasha laughed slightly, but she felt a little offended. That's the last thing she'd do to somebody. Perhaps it's happened to him before, who knows. "I wouldn't do that to you!" She exclaimed. Luca could see the uneasiness in his joke, "Well, you never know. Hopefully you don't ever have to go through anything to make you think that way." He shrugged it off, she was truly innocent he thought. "Is she useless in combat?" He thought to himself as he finished up cutting up the doe. He sat the carcass a couple hundred meters away, returning back to the fire. He sat across the fire from where she was at. Grabbing his stew and ale that she had set beside him earlier. He began to eat, as did she. After a few bites he rotated the deer meat. Continuing to glance at Tasha every so often he didn't really know what to say or think of his new companion.

After finishing up both their meals and storing the cooked meat for tomorrow they packed up their things for tomorrow. Luca's eyes felt heavy. Rubbing them, then looking at Tasha he said, "I'm headed for bed. Do you have everything you need? Do you need anything?" As he was asking those questions he got up and headed towards his pack, getting out his bedroll. He had a tent but it didn't seem like it was going to rain tonight. He'd rather have the heat of the fire hit his face. Tasha shook her head no, "I don't need anything, I'll let you know if something comes up." She gave a weak smile, "Goodnight Luca." She gave a large smile hopping up, frolicking over to her bed that she had prepared while he was gone. Cracking a small smile at her energetic atmosphere he said, "Goodnight Tasha, sleep good." Curling up in his blanket and bedroll he closed his eyes, falling asleep shortly after. Tasha stayed up a few minutes watching Luca and looking around at the trees and bushes. Slight wind making the fauna move. She was a little unsettled but it was nothing she hadn't seen before. It was just a unknown land where she had never been, with an unknown man. Yet she still had a feeling of peace, like there was nothing to fear while she was around Luca. Was that just hopeful thinking?

---

The morning sun rose. The morning rays flew past the trees and its leaves. The rays smashed into Luca's and Tasha's eyelids. Both companions starting to wake. Luca stretched out and yawned, blinking his eye lids as his eyes had adjusted to the brightness. Tasha slowly getting out of bed as well, scratching her head and standing up to stretch. "Good morning." She said unenthusiastically. "Morning." Luca said as he looked around at the campsite for any kind of disturbances that might have happened overnight. It didn't seem like there was anything wrong. A moment later he went to his gear, putting his sword on his waist and gathering up his things. He rolled up his bedroll and strapped it to his pack. Tasha was getting her things ready at the same time he was. After he had finished, he began to walk towards the road that they had separated from. "Are you ready? We should arrive at the town today." He said rubbing his eyes trying to become more alert and ready for whatever the day would bring. "Yes. I'm excited to get there!" Tasha gave a quick smile, seeming like she already had fully awakened. "Me as well." Luca said motioning for Tasha to follow him. She trotted over to him as they walked through the forest. Shortly after, they had made it into the clearing once again. Seeing the road, they started following it. After a couple hours they had spotted a small group of people traveling to Mosca, most likely. Luca was slightly surprised since there wasn't much of a established economy between the village and town.

After a few more hours of traveling on the road the city began to appear in their sight. The faint sound of the bustling small town began to grow louder. As they entered the town Luca had noticed that the people seemed rather 'cheery'. A lot of the places he had been, people were more depressed, as they were ravaged by war or bandits, or some other unlucky event. As Luca and Tasha grew closer to the center of the town, Luca was slightly curious as to what the bounty was all about. He didn't have much detail, but enough to know where to go. Most of the time it seemed like bounty's were for someone that had been kidnapped or a stolen item of some sort. The party started to look for the mayor's mansion. Passing a small market square Tasha spoke up, "Hey, I'm hungry do you want to grab something to eat?" she rose an eyebrow and slightly shrugged her shoulders. Luca looked around, then back at her. "I don't have money, we'll have to pass this time around, unless you have some money to spare." He gave a sympathetic face as Tasha's shoulders and attitude sunk a little. She was slightly disappointed, but the thought had crossed her mind. Luca understanding what she was feeling added, "Sorry. I'm pretty sure we're close to the mayor's house, once we're done there we can find something to eat in the woods." Tasha nodded her head and they both continued to walk forward, looking for the mayor's house. Eventually finding a small mansion they approached the door. It was definitely the right place. Luca stretched out his arm and hand, knocking firmly 3 times with his knuckles. After a few seconds a person who appeared to look like a servant opened the door. "Yes? How may I help you?"

"Good morning sir." Luca replied with a slight bow, continuing to say, "I heard there was some sort of bounty reward that we could earn. I was wondering what the bounty was for." Luca finished, giving a quick smile. The servant was startled slightly, or so it had seemed. Giving a quick look around, almost looking as if he should answer the question or not he replied, "Let me inform my lordship someone is here about the bounty." He stated, bowing his slightly and his body even more so. Then he promptly shut the door. After a minute or of waiting the servant came backing opening the door gesturing them to come inside the small mansion. "My lord would like to see you now." As he inched out of the way pointing to the stairs with an open palm, he said, "If you would sir." Luca nodded and proceeded to enter the house, Tasha following. It was a pretty nice mansion for a small town mayor. Luca was thinking that if he was the mayor he'd not have much to complain about. As they made way through the mansion they passed his little family that he had. They all seemed pretty happy. Luca thought that the mayor couldn't have been a very bad man by the way the family was acting. A few moments later they had approached an office door. The servant raised his hand and knocked twice and cracked the door open a little. "My lord, the guests have arrived." A moment of silence, then the servant nodded quickly opening the door for them to enter. Luca gave a slight small courtesy nod to the servant as they entered the room. The servant had closed the door behind them.

The mayor had his chair turned away from the door looking out the window. "Welcome strangers, to my little town that I've built ground up." Turning his chair towards Luca and Tasha, allowing them to see what he looked like. Luca had nodded his head showing respect, "Thank you lord. It's quite the small town you have here." He gave a quick smile then added, "The reason I came here was for some sort of bounty, though, I don't know how accurate that rumor was." To Tasha it had seemed that it was a true rumor. The mayor didn't seem surprised at all by this. It looked as if the mayor was being hesitant, as if he should tell them or not. He looked down at his papers on the desk, then around the room. "Some precious ores were stolen from me." He said sounding angry, tightening his fist. "They were rare blacksmithing metals. It was an element called Adamant. A very heavy durable metal, almost indestructible. Steel wouldn't ever be able to harm this metal, an ultimate fighting metal, or even a protective metal for armor." He paused for a moment, letting his words sink into Tasha and Luca. "I'll give you a reward for the return of these ores, and even enough to make yourself a weapon or a piece of armor." As Luca was about to answer his question the mayor added, "There's rumors that it can cut and kill ghosts and other supernatural creatures, like silver metal can kill them. Though I haven't seen anything to confirm those rumors." Luca nodded and said, "I'll take this job. Do you have any idea where they would've taken the ores? Or how many people are with them?" The mayor thought for a moment in his dark brown leather chair. "I'm pretty sure they have a base set up in a cave in the nearby woods, towards Mosca." He paused for a moment, "I can only imagine there are 2 or 3 people that guard these metals. Not many people knew about what I had possessed." Luca shook his head in acknowledgment and said, "Okay, I'll see what I can do. Give me a few days but I'll get your precious metals." Luca didn't really do this bounty because he wanted to be a good person. He had heard about the metal Adamant before and he wanted to get his hands on it.

"Thank you stranger, I'll be here if you need anything or have some questions for me." The mayor said as he got up from his chair, walking to the door and opening it. He motioned for the servant to come to him. "Escort these fine people to the door." The servant nodded and motioned for Luca and Tasha to follow him. Tasha seemed excited at this new quest that she had come across. She had no idea that anything like this would've happened. She felt like if she kept tagging along with Luca things could get pretty interesting.

---

Stepping outside into the town's street Luca looked around. It was an hour or so before noon. A lot of time to make headway to that hideout the mayor was talking about. He looked over to Tasha, "Are you ready to do battle? I'm sure we won't be able to retrieve that metal without a fight." He was a little hesitant in asking the question. She probably hadn't seen much battle, or if any.

"Yes. Can we try to keep it peaceful for as long as possible?" She asked looking down, fidgeting with the dirt with her shoe. Luca nodded in agreement. She had never killed anybody and the thought of it made her uneasy. She realized that the whole continent had been at war. Battle was just another thing to most people. Families accepted that fact and moved on when someone in their family had died. 'It was just the Will of the Gods' most people thought.

"Okay, we don't have much business in this town right now. Let's go back to the woods." Luca said motioning for Tasha followed. Tasha nodded her head and hopped over to the left side of Luca as they walked out of the town. As they exited the town, they realized that there was forest everywhere. The mayor had said it was in a cave. Luca thought that it'd be best to head eastward towards the more mountainous area. Figuring it'd be a better shot than finding a cave in a more plains type environment. He didn't want to be selfish by being the only one to decide where to go. He turned his head to Tasha, "So where do you want to start? I figured it'd be better to head towards the east, it'd be easier to find caves, I'd assume."

Tasha put her hand on her chin. She thought for a second, looking around, making a 'hmm' sound. "I don't see why not. Sounds like it'd be the best option to me." His logic was well placed. She hadn't seen any caves on the way here. It was also pretty flat, but caves weren't always in the mountains. If they had setup a base inside a cave it'd have to be rather big, so maybe the mountains weren't such a bad idea.

"Okay." Luca started walking towards the east, Tasha followed. After an hour or so the mountains began to get bigger. They were far into the forest now. After another hour or so they stopped, taking a break. Tasha was really hungry by now, so Luca had pulled out his food that he had made yesterday. There was still some more left over for a couple more meals. After about an hour of rest and a meal they resumed their journey towards the mountains. They had passed some animals and Tasha seemingly innocent, always seemed to enjoy the comfort of other animals. Enjoying their company and trying to interact with them. Luca could careless about such creatures. They were walking steaks.

Stopping for a break, they had decided it was a good spot to make a home-base camp. They were on the base of the mountains. Hills and cliffs every which way. Tasha looked over to Luca who had been putting his stuff down, setting things up and getting ready to explore the area. She still didn't know how she felt about this man. He didn't say much and kept to himself. He seemed friendly, like he cared for her well being. Yet he was such a hard man to read. She didn't really know how to get a conversation going. He looked to be around the age of 23-25. Appearances could always be deceiving though. If he were to have taken advantage of her in some way, he'd probably had have already done it by now. Men like that always seemed to be impatient with their urges, or so she thought. She didn't have any kind of personal experience with the matter. Thankfully.

She sat her stuff on the ground, getting out her bed roll and some pots. "Hey Luca, I'm gonna go find some wood to gather." He nodded as he was on the ground sharpening his blade. 'Did he think that we were going to battle sometime soon? He had mentioned it earlier, I guess he was serious.' She thought heading out into the woods. Earlier he had agreed to try to avoid conflict. He was definitely more experienced in this department than Tasha was. 'I guess preparation is never a bad thing. Keeping your blade sharp and un-rusted should be a priority.' She thought as she gathered up some logs and sticks. A few more minutes of gathering kindle for the fire she came across something that looked like a trail. She hadn't ever tracked animals before, but she lived on the land long enough to see a disturbance in the flora. She didn't know which way it had led, but there was something that had definitely been here before. 'I'd better return to Luca.' She thought, trotting back towards the camp they began to make.

When she returned to the camp she saw that Luca had started a small fire. He was cooking some venison stew it seemed. He was stirring the stew as Tasha approached. He looked up to her for a second and gave a brief smile, "It's almost done, I hoped it'd be done before you had returned back." He said looking a little disappointed. He'd almost never show emotion till he talked. That's probably why it was so hard for Tasha to read him. Maybe she just had to learn and grow with him more before she could understand him.

"That's okay, thanks for cooking regardless!" She was enthusiastic and ready to eat. She sat down the wood she had gathered and moved towards Luca sitting beside him. "I'm ready to rest for the remainder of the day. I'm tired as hell." She said exhaling with relief and closing her eyes for a second. Luca rose an eyebrow and continued to stir the stew. After a few more minutes it had finished. He gave a portion to Tasha who eagerly awaited the food. He gave himself another portion, then put the rest in a container. Luca believed in having accessible rations to eat. He normally had more stockpiled but he wasn't used to having another mouth to feed. Luca was alright with it, he actually enjoyed the company. Being alone was always easier for him to survive, but not emotionally. Even having another man journey with him made it easier. Words and thoughts to share with someone was better than nothing. Sadly, if you grew to that person it was also hard losing them, it was a catch 22.

Luca continued to think and eat as he looked into the fire, and occasionally around into the woods. Tasha would occasionally watch him. He always seemed to be in deep thought about something. She would wonder what he'd think about. He was in his own little world most of the time, until she'd talk to him or if he was just in the mood to talk. Or so it had seemed. She finished up her bowl of stew, Luca following shortly after. "I'm going to bed!" She gave a quick smile and wandered off into her bedroll.

"Me too." He nodded and crawled into his bedroll as well. "Goodnight Tasha. Don't be afraid to wake me for any reason." He said as he laid his head down and looking at Tasha from across the fire.

"I won't and same to you!" She said and paused for a moment remembering something, "Hey Luca, I think I found a trail or something while I was gathering wood. We should go look at it tomorrow morning, if you're okay with that." She was pretty sure it was a trail, but she didn't have enough experience to track yet. Her father wasn't very good at tracking so she didn't have someone to teach her.

"That sounds fine to me." Luca gave a smile and closed his eyes. Tasha following his actions, adding in a yawn.