'Enough!" Carmen barked."Senor, attacking a lady is unacceptable! You are outnumbered! Tell your men to stand down!"

"Tell your wenches then to stand down! I knew it! You all are foreign spies! Alert! Aler-"

The chains clinked and swirled, and nearby, The Sergeant's eyes widened when he realized that the chaos had unfolded just by a mere second.

He was only given a moment to recover from the prior stagger, and with attention divided between two fronts, his reactionary was poor when Rezello slugged him on the back of his calf. Apparently, he was strong enough to withstand a full blow from the mercenary's bec de corbin albeit bending down to both feel and scream upon the sudden pain.

But his endurance would be short-lived.

He did not realize there was a mechanical contraption, made of clear ice, closing in and pouncing at him. Now pinned to the ground, the spider-like drone had already gripped his chest with its sturdy legs, and from its front mandibles, emerged an icy broadhead of a bolt.
Still trying to wrestle with that thing, the Sergeant's iron gauntlet grabbed the ice bolt while his other, similarly armored hand repeatedly pummeled the spider's anterior, breaking the bolt, and sprinkling him with shards of ice.

Then he heard a loud gunfire, a click, and a warning, immediately discerning that it wasn't from their muskets, but from the enemy's, and the next shot would be at him.

“Don’t even try it.”

The sergeant let go of his hands from the icy monstrosity, thick-headed as he may, he knew it when his options had run out.

_______

The hangman was barely flinched when Ludvig threw the musket ball at him, but at least his attention was now on him. Already recovered from the result of his wayward attack, the soldier was on guard, and looking at the sizes of their weapons, those who had the upper hand should be obvious.

But this was not a one-versus-one brawl. All was fair in war.

At the same time, Carnathia was rushing behind the Soldier's back. Her rapier punctured him at the back of his knee right above his greaves and she finished by driving her sword sideways. The toughest Tretagorian might be able to withstand pain, but damage to tendons was unmistakenly devastating.

Being brought down to his knees, it was Ludvig's turn now to charge forth and kicked the soldier's hand with a roundhouse spin, disarming him in the process. As Carnathia retreated to an at-the-ready stance, The circus man then lunged forth, rushing to the soldier's rear to chokehold him. One of Ludvig' palms started glowing, and it was the only moment they would hear that particular soldier grunting.

_______

Suddenly a thin spore engulfs the rear lines, and those with immense zeal will find their resolve doubled.

Mireille's bright light was searing them, but their heathen jaws were locked from screaming the word magic. For it was not the work of a mage craft, but rather, the blessing from the divine, and those godless rouge would witness the power of faith with their own eyes.

Or maybe not. They were staggering, cursing, and closing their eyes with their arms, a blatant sign of Deniers denying the Creator's gift. One of the musketeers drew his short sword, but a bullet had shredded half of his palm, disarming him, courtesy of Osric's precision aim.

The second musketeer blindly moved forward, screeching in pain as he gripped his musket by the barrel and swung it forward like a club. At the same time, Amaris shot her chain and had it coiled on the musket, yanking it off from the soldier's grip and with its spiky links, shredding the weapon to pieces as the chains returned to its owner.

Being this close to Mirielle, the musketeer knelt and turned unresponsive, either of exhaustion, or mind-broken.

Meanwhile, the last musketeer stumbled backward, and by chance, looked away from the burning light. Sensing that their defense was lost, he started to make a quick, mad run toward the village.

"Enemy attack! We are under attack!" he cried.

_____

Seeing that all soldiers seemed to have been apprehended, Carmen swished his sabre in frustration before unsheathing it. In the distance, he saw the fleeing musketeer and he ordered:

"Someone, stop that runner!"

Only Amanita responded by walking toward the sergeant and innocently asked.

"The Spider is cute. What's it's name?"

Ludvig turned around, yanking the hangman along with him while maintaining the chokehold he had on him. He raised his thumb with his left hand, while his right hand continued to burn the hangman's mana and inflict immense pain¹. Underneath his gambeson, the hangman's veins should start to be more visible and blackening. Consequently, the wounds Carnatia inflicted will have also healed to a point as if it never happened.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
He glanced for a moment towards the sergeant, right as he said 'wenches', and made a mental note to heal him extra thoroughly later.
Carmen was in the same direction, yelling at Mirielle's direction. He swiveled his head again. One of the musketeers, still with the mental fortitude to escape.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
He let go of the hangman, switched his right hand's grip from above the ear to the back of his head, and as he began thrusting the hangman's head forward, both Ludvig and the hangman vanished³...

... reappearing right in front of the running musketeer, and if he aimed correctly, both soldiers' heads should impact each other in the middle.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
_{¹『 Heavenly Dragon's Inverse Healing Palm 』
² Carnatia
³『 Jumpscare 』}

---

Linceleste went slowly with her horse to the sergeant's location. It seemed that the enemy sergeant finally gave up from the struggle, which made her relieved. She let the spider pin the sergeant down, waiting for the Skipper’s approach. Instead, Amanita went closer and innocently asked,

"The Spider is cute. What's it's name?"

That made her attention to the shroom maiden along with her noticeable glowing hair and eyes. She remembered that has no permanent name since it meant to be replaced once it got destroyed by summoning the same ice contraption again. Back then, the first concept was a mechanical duck but it was quite unsuccessful despite being able to fire a fireball, self tasering for its surroundings and having a siren to silence the magical practitioner just like a duel during her academic life. She made a different drone again basing the spider. Mk I was for walking test only, Mk II was for attacking function, Mk III was for the pouncing function and Mk IV was the finalized variant, it can move fast, it can pounce into the enemy and can shoot an ice bolt.

Salticidae Mk IV was its finalized model name. But for the sake of a shroom maiden’s slowness. She thought of a universal name for her spider drone.

“Hopper.” Linceleste answered followed by a gentle smile to the shroom maiden.

(This is only a filler post.)

---

Well now, everyone was making quick work with the soldiers. Despite the varying degrees of harm inflicted upon those uniformed me, they were being dealt with minimal risk of fatality. At least, up until one of the men turned tail and ran. It wasn’t hard to spot, the soldier was wailing as he fled, calling out to those who were probably still in the town. Osric frowned. They already knew that there was some occupation taking place. Otherwise, the punishment for the crime the peasant was accused of committing would have been unnecessarily petty. Still though, while the group outnumbered the current lot, there was no telling how many others there would be. As it is, the gun shots alone might have alerted them and would be on their way regardless. Still, it would be better to stop the man. Just in case.

Osric quickly rose his rife, his cheek resting near the stock of his weapon. His eye focused down the sights with a clear line of sight. His finger slowly pressed upon the trigger then suddenly Ludwig appeared within view. That same trick again, this time the charismatic man carried with him not Rezello, but one of those dressed in red. In spectacular fashion, the fleeing man ran head first into the head of his comrade. The crack of their skulls colliding even audible from Osric’s position. He lowered his rifle and chucked.

“Well, I suppose that is one way to do it. Quite effectively at that.” Osric said smiling. He glanced down at the sergeant, ready to raise his gun again should the man have taken that opportunity to struggle again. Even if the material was weaker than traditional materials, at that size, Lynx’s drones would have weighed enough to keep the man subdued. A task Lynx kept it at.

“Well, that was exciting.” said Osric. “Perhaps we can stop this farce, and figure out where we go from here? Hmm… Judging by your expression, that’s probably not going to happen.”

The last musketeer's attempt to escape was abruptly foiled when Ludvig suddenly teleported ahead of him. with his executioner friend no less. The impact made some nasty thud that you can hear if you were standing close but seemed like a comical, laugh-inducing smash-up when viewed from the distance.

The soldiers lost consciousness almost immediately, at least they would only suffer heavy concussions and not certain death, right?

In the aftermath of that messy but exhilarating chaos, Carmen went to the peasant and removed the sack from his head.

"Can you stand? Can you walk? Look at me! Breath, amigos! You are safe now. Focus!" The peasant only nodded, but to make sure, Carmen slapped his temple to make him gather his wit faster, even so, it would take some time for him to catch his breath and regain his sense.

__

“Well, that was exciting.” said Osric. “Perhaps we can stop this farce, and figure out where we go from here? Hmm… Judging by your expression, that’s probably not going to happen.”

The sergeant looked up, completely subdued, now the only thing he could do was to entertain those bastards. He smiled bitterly. Let them think they had the upper hand, the reinforcement would come soon anyway.

"You are a funny guy, let me tell you where we go from here." He spat before shouting like he was in delirium. "You will be dead, BLYATS! Don't you know who we are?! Oh, I think you do! Who sent you, hah? Those damn traitors? Or could be That witch in the mountain? Crone got some new lackeys I see."

"We don't know who they are, good sir." Said Carmen, after helping the peasant stand up. "But we would like to know who they are, and my question earlier about people we seek. Seems you were not telling the whole truth."

"Poshol na khuy, Spies! I have no authority or obligation to answer to you! I see that you are rescuing that scumbag! Kha-ha! Ty smotri, criminals are quick to recognize each other."

^{『 Ludvig 』}
Can't discern the status of the captain from this distance.
Never mind, Ludvig can barely hear their captain yelling. Can't quite make out the words.

Carefully stepping over the unconscious soldiers' bodies, he walked towards Mirielle, arms spread out as if leaning into a hug and/or a beso, but backing out at the last moment when he realized the blood still on his hand and clothes.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
Palming¹ his left shoulder to heal the wound away while his clean right fist is gently raised, awaiting to be bumped.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
He winked. It's a cheesy line and he knew it too.
Looks like Mirielle isn't injured. One of the musketeers was kneeling peacefully, bless him.

^{『 Mirielle 』}

"Uh, did I burned you? It shouldn't happen. My bad?"

^{『 Ludvig 』}
The other musketeer had a visible gaping hole in his hand.
Ludvig knelt beside the injured musketeer and held his arm. For this much missing flesh, the commensurate pain will have to be on the level of...
With his other hand, he pets the soldier's head.

^{『 Ludvig 』
in case of refusal to bite,}
Passes a rolled-up clean handkerchief from out of nowhere² and puts it horizontally in the injured musketeer's mouth.
Ludvig's hands then glow¹, both grasping the soldier's gored hand.

_{¹『 Heavenly Dragon's Inverse Healing Palm 』
² part of『 Groom 』}

---

"You are a funny guy, let me tell you where we go from here." He spat before shouting like he was in delirium. "You will be dead, BLYATS! Don't you know who we are?! Oh, I think you do! Who sent you, hah? Those damn traitors? Or could be That witch in the mountain? Crone got some new lackeys I see."

To be fair, Carnatia did think that their side had started the escalation. She would have preferred the diplomatic route from the start, but in retrospect given the temperament of certain people in their group, Carnatia supposed it was to be expected.

Still...it would do them no favour to overtly concede that point. Perhaps if the soldiers were calmer instead of this erratic behaviour they exhibited. Considering their tone of voice and behaviour despite having been soundly beaten, Carnatia doubted they would respond well enough to concession, probably seeing it as a sign of weakness.

Carnatia addressed the sergeant, "While it was one of ours who initiated the conflict, when I attempted to deescalate, your response was to attack me, surely you cannot blame us for fighting back at that point. Now...you can continue your blathering, but I doubt it would do you any favour here, not with me and especially not with the..."

Carnatia gestured to Mirielle and Amaris, "'bolder' members of our entourage, shall we say."

She then continued "To clarify, the primary source of our disagreement—debates of what constitutes proportional retributive justice notwithstanding—was that the man you sought to execute claimed to have some information regarding our person of interest. It was not, as you have implied, specifically targeted at your group. We do not even know who you are, we have seen nary a soul since we arrived in this region. We also know not of who these traitors are nor this witch you were talking about. Now then, why don't you start by telling us exactly what you are speaking of? Who is the Ealdorman of this region you serve? And who are these traitors and witches you spoke of?"

Mirielle had gritted her teeth and set off after the runner, only for Ludvig to appear before the fleeing soldier and cracked the man's head with another soldier's head with a resounding thump that made her wince. Slowing into a jog, she eventually halted next to the trio with a bit of concern over their well-being. Head injuries were no joke, while Ludvig... somehow still running around just fine with a bullet wound.

"Are you... alright?" Eyes flickering around, taking in the abrupt silence that ensued. Save for the officer still screaming profanities some distance away, but looked like the suppression was over. Her grim countenance eased to a more neutral profile, disliking how the entire debacle happened at all but acknowledgin the necessity of it. Reining her aura in, the ex-inquisitor gingerly returned the fist bump though again it looked like the injury wasn't even worth mentioning. Hardy man, this one. Unexpected from his look.

"It is no spell, it's the power of faith." Came the answer, completely serious. "Uh, did I burned you? It shouldn't happen. My bad?"

Hard to tell with how resistant to pain he was. Ludvig moved his hand and... she blinked slowly. The wound's gone. Huh, potent healing too. Good to have him around.

The two naturally drifted off, one to tend to the wounded musketeer while the other checked the other downed two. Looked like the soldiers' hard head saved them, not even a fracture. Probably concussed somewhat bad though, shouldn't move them yet.

"All in all, that went pretty well." Yellow eyes flickered to the lone sarkaz standing nearby, so carefree. Mirielle offered a nod. "I had it covered, but... ,good job. Watch over these two please."

With that, she start trundling back to where what must be the noisiest man in the region laid on the ground, spewing nonsense without the slightest hint of intelligence in his behavior. Her scowl returned yet again.

This could've went so much better.

---

“Hopper.” Linceleste answered followed by a gentle smile to the shroom maiden.

"Ah.Because it hops on people. That's a clever name" She nodded to herself. That made sense.

Looking at it more closely, the resemblence to actual spider was minimal, beside sharing the same bodyplan. She went to pet it, hesitating just a second as the coldness of Hopper hit her, but powering throught regardless. The hard exterior was smooth, her fingers easily sliding on it's surface, with the creeping cold slowly making it's way up her fingers. A new sensation, much different than petting a wolf or a human.

Her curiousity satisfied for the moment, she looked at the man that Hopper was diligently holding down.

"Poshol na khuy, Spies! I have no authority or obligation to answer to you! I see that you are rescuing that scumbag! Kha-ha! Ty smotri, criminals are quick to recognize each other."

The Human was starting to look awfully red.All this screaming couldn't possibly be good for him.
Rubbing her cap again, she gathered her spores once again, focusing on muscle and mind relaxants. Not enough to send him unconscious, but just right so that he will be able to surpass this anxiety attack.

That done, she tilted her head, the man words finally registering in her head

"Oh...we helped a bad guy? what did he do to be a criminal?" Humans laws where always hard to understand. Some where simple, like no killing randomly, other instead were far more complicated. Why did she need a "Selling permit" to give her Beer away? She still didn't understand that one.

As Ludvig grabbed the musketeer's bloody hands and channeled his magic to heal him, a terrible shrill could be heard, even with a handkerchief in the mouth, it sounded like someone was being tortured by dipping their hands on a molten bronze.

The sergeant scowled at Carnathia in a mix of anger and resolution. He could not look at what had been done to his men, but he could hear, and he could picture what his assailants were up to. The icy contraption still bound him to the ground, and at that moment he looked like he was ready to accept his fate.

"Wench got nothing else to ask but to repeat your questions?" He glared at Carmen and Carnathia, before spatting. "Go to hell, suka! Ptoy! You will not get anything from me. Do your worst! Come on!"

He howled, as loud as he could. And then he laughed when Amanita walked closer and started to expose him with her spores.

"What? Putting a hex on me now?! Hahahaha! Why are you playing dumb?" he jolted himself and struggled harder, this time he looked terrified for real before finally, the spores did their things. The man snorted and finally stopped howling like a wounded animal. But he spoke no word, only his gaze looked deep into his opponent's eyes as if mentally remembering every shape and contour of their faces.

"There is no salvation in this land," he muttered calmly, but definitely in delirium. "Let them steal and more will come and do the same. Give them small punishment and they will spit on your face. Vodka, I need vodka. Miss vodka! Been months since our last supply... know nothing about your fancy god-lover."

----

When the Sergeant bantered with the rest of the team, the peasant approached Carmen with trembling legs.
"Thousands of pardons, sire. This poor fellow will forever be grateful of your rescue, but methinks we should leave this place. I know where your folks are..." he looked at the road ahead, and with a shivering voice, continued. "We's close to the red stripes camp, and 'fraid them soldiers will come anytime to check on their friends."

Nodding, Carmen asked. "How many are they in their camps?"

"Aint no sure, sire, but no less than a hundred red stripes. Could be wrong, for I isn't from here."

Carmen reassuringly tapped the peasant's shoulder and clapped his hands to quickly gather everyone's attention.

"We need to move now," he announced. "Quickly, before this place turns into another Vesnaggrad. Amaris, Mirielle, Ludvig, por favor! let us leave this place and leave those soldiers be! Peasant, you will ride with me, show us the way."

---

"Aint no sure, sire, but no less than a hundred red stripes. Could be wrong, for I isn't from here."

Carmen reassuringly tapped the peasant's shoulder and clapped his hands to quickly gather everyone's attention.

"We need to move now," he announced. "Quickly, before this place turns into another Vesnaggrad. Amaris, Mirielle, Ludvig, por favor! let us leave this place and leave those soldiers be! Peasant, you will ride with me, show us the way."

Carnatia did not like this, she did not like this at all.

There was no guarantee that the information this man claimed to have was valid. In fact, there was no reason to not think he actually did belong to a criminal element and he would actually be leading them to an ambush instead of a lead to Paladin Thomas.

She was not one to think ill merely because one was a peasant, but the reality was, in this war-torn land of a failed state, their group would make an attractive target for their supplies and the potential gold their equipment could be sold. Especially considering the man was accused of being a theft, he must be in dire circumstances. If he were part of a brigand or something, him leading them to an ambush wasn't unthinkable.

Then there was the matter of the soldiers that had seen their faces. She didn't feel right outright killing them, as they were doing their duty all things considered, however, were their group to be on the wanted list of this region's ruler, it would undoubtedly make their job harder. Ideally, they would at least discuss what to do with the soldiers, but...

That was a contentious topic and she could just see the group devolving into a debate and wasting time. Something that they cannot afford if this prisoner's statement of a nearby garrison was to be believed.

Before Carnatia could come to a decision, Carmen ordered them to flee, leaving the soldiers behind. As she had not yet come to a decision on her own, Carnatia acquiesced to Carmen, who was the designated leader by the Church.

She ran over to her horse, climbed up to the saddle, and took up the reins. She then urged the horse to ride close to where Linceleste was.

"Follow me, there is something I need you to confirm!"

Hoping that the girl heeded her, Carnatia then rode to catch up to Carmen and the peasant. Addressing the peasant, she asked, "You there, you say you know where the group we are looking for went? From what you said, it seemed that you saw them yourself. What about the paladin leading them? What can you tell us of him?"

She then glanced back, hoping to see Linceleste there. If the peasant was simply making things up, hopefully, Paladin Thomas' niece would notice.

@Soldat Elf@Mas Bagus

Well, there's the call for departure. Mirielle paused long enough for the penitent to catch up, lightly jogging back to where their horses remained cool as cucumber despite the gunshots. Eyebrows creased at the suggestion, of course a witch wouldn't bat an eye at wanton killing. It had to be dissuaded, to prevent further issues down the line.

"The righteous path is seldom an easy one." She proclaimed, gravel crunching under her confident gait. "Misguided and blind as they may be, they had their order as we had ours. We could either constantly butt heads at every turn or let the matter rest, the latter being much easier when they're alive."

Reaching the rest of the group, Mirielle would stop to briskly help whoever left on foot up their horse before mounting herself. She spared one last glance at the pathetic gaggle of soldiers in red stripes, all soundly beaten and wouldn't get up anytime soon. With one last shake of the head, the ex-inquisitor urged her horse forward to depart from the scene of scuffle. With some luck, this would be the end of it.

But if they insist on being a hindrance... Mirielle wouldn't take pleasure in it, but obstacles in the way of their holy purpose will be removed. One way or another.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
Must be a startle for everyone around, Ludvig suddenly being there on his horse, laying down on his back and using the horse's neck as a headrest. Without any necessary input on his part, his horse matches its pace with the rest of the horses.
He chuckled audibly, heading gradually into a laugh.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
The unnervingly jovial Ludvig glanced at Amaris and then Mirielle, only one of his eyes open, then crossed his arms and relaxed his head to look straight up, both eyes closed.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
Suddenly, his eyes opened and his smile dropped. He glanced at anyone nearby.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
He gritted his teeth onto his right thumbnail, and muttered a 'tsk'.

^{『 Ludvig 』}

"They know who we are now. If they report us to their superiors, whoever they might be, or their forces, it would make it quite hard for us to move around and investigate the paladin's whereabouts, wouldn't it?"

"The righteous path is seldom an easy one." "Misguided and blind as they may be, they had their order as we had ours. We could either constantly butt heads at every turn or let the matter rest, the latter being much easier when they're alive."

"True, I would prefer something more diplomatic," Carmen said, glancing at Mirielle and Ludvig. "Even if they refuse to talk, we can always take another route; God willing, the path will reveal itself." pausing, he pursed his lips. "But that would mean we forsake our fellow men, and that didn't sit right with me. Besides all said and done, I believe this is all a fated counter, and all we can do is to make the most of it."

"Hmm, no.
As far as matters resting, killing them might be the best thing to do right now."

"But I too believe it would be better if you don't jump on someone ever so often, Master Ludvig. As for your question, such a drastic measure is unjustified for now. If the concern is us being fugitives, I say the ramifications would be a lot worse if we outright slaughter them. Now let us put this behind us. The gunshots could be heard from miles away, and would be no surprise if some of their friends were already on the move."

Carmen had started to trot away from the scene, followed by Ludvig who now lay down on the beast's back like it was a couch. Been almost 40 days on the road with him, and nothing surprises Carmen anymore, but sometimes he couldn't help but grin when seeing his antics.

The peasant guided them toward the crossroad they passed earlier and they would take the one leading southward.

"You there, you say you know where the group we are looking for went? From what you said, it seemed that you saw them yourself. What about the paladin leading them? What can you tell us of him?"

The peasant managed. "I only saw the Paladin once, milady. In Katwiz. But twas months ago, I lived in Olbey and had things to tend to. Looked like honorable man, strong but he ain't flaunting it, he helped the sick in fact. He had a lady following him, similarly decorated, looks only slightly younger than him. She heals peasantries too if me mind serves me right. Never saw both again since."

He shook his head gloomily. "Sad to hear what happened to them. Folks said a lot of things, none of em pretty. But sorry, sire, milady, but what I will show you ain't gonna be something cheery."

---

The ran over to her horse, climbed up to the saddle, and took up the reins. She then urged the horse to ride close to where Linceleste was.

"Follow me, there is something I need you to confirm!"

Hoping that the girl heeded her, Carnatia then rode to catch up to Carmen and the peasant. Addressing the peasant, she asked, "You there, you say you know where the group we are looking for went? From what you said, it seemed that you saw them yourself. What about the paladin leading them? What can you tell us of him?"

She then glanced back, hoping to see Linceleste there. If the peasant was simply making things up, hopefully, Paladin Thomas' niece would notice.

Carnatia, a red-haired baroness, approached her quickly as she rode her horse into Linceleste's place. The red-haired baroness then instructed Lincelese to follow her lead. Linceleste nodded and turned her horse to face the red-haired baroness. As they fled. Lincelete's spider drone began to self-destruct as the energy burst; its structure broke apart and melted away. Her hair and eyes reverted to normal, and they no longer glowed.

The peasant guided them toward the crossroad they passed earlier and they would take the one leading southward.

"You there, you say you know where the group we are looking for went? From what you said, it seemed that you saw them yourself. What about the paladin leading them? What can you tell us of him?"

The peasant managed. "I only saw the Paladin once, milady. In Katwiz. But twas months ago, I lived in Olbey and had things to tend to. Looked like honorable man, strong but he ain't flaunting it, he helped the sick in fact. He had a lady following him, similarly decorated, looks only slightly younger than him. She heals peasantries too if me mind serves me right. Never saw both again since."

They reassembled and heard from Carmen, who was riding her horse with the peasant. She learned about the identifying information stated by the peasant.

"There is no doubt that's my uncle. He had been like that since I was a younger age. As for the female healer you had mentioned, that must be my auntie. They have been together even treating me as their daughter when I was in the whole week with them at their home." Linceleste stepped forward to address the party members and the peasant.

He shook his head gloomily. "Sad to hear what happened to them. Folks said a lot of things, none of em pretty. But sorry, sire, milady, but what I will show you ain't gonna be something cheery."

A shock caused her heart to race. It seems that the ice princess had become gloomy...

---

Judging from Linceleste's response, Carnatia surmised that at the very least the prisoner did see Paladin Thomas' group. Still, that did not guarantee that he had further information of where they went after he saw them last, in fact...

Addressing the peasant, Carnatia asked again, "You said you only saw them once and did not see them again after. But earlier, you also said that you know where, in your words, 'our folks' are."

Then, after briefly glancing at Linceleste, she continued, "What exactly did people say happened to them and what is this 'not-so-cheery-thing' you plan to show us?"

Carnatia felt a twinge of guilt for pushing on these particular points when Linceleste was looking dejected enough, but unfortunately, this was more important.

They needed to ascertain that this peasant wasn't trying to lead them to a wild-goose chase, or even worse, into an ambush in a plan to seize their supplies and equipment.

This man might very well have seen Paladin Thomas and his entourage, but as to whether he has further lead?

As a noble, she was no stranger to lies strung together in a tapestry of political schemes. And as any player knows, the best lies...are lies that contain a sliver of truth in them.

"You said you only saw them once and did not see them again after. But earlier, you also said that you know where, in your words, 'our folks' are."

The peasant glanced at her and then to the road behind and answered nervously. "I said I knew where they went, milady, and 'twas Katwiz they were headed, also the last time I see them."

"What exactly did people say happened to them and what is this 'not-so-cheery-thing' you plan to show us?"

"Many things. Words from next-door wenches said they went to the crone in the forest and never came back. Some said the General's men captured them. Others said they tried to go back but wolves got them all. Many things, milady, but I know certainly what happened to a few of Clerics man. Terrible things, but fraid I shant speak about it here. Not as long as mebody's with you. You will see for yourself, that won't be too far."

Lying down on his moving horse, head resting on arms on the horse's nape. Pink polo shirt still bloodied from the current non-existent gunshot wound, seems he's refraining from magically cleaning himself up for the moment.
Ludvig sat up at the peasant's strange refusal to speak further about the fates of the clerics.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
Just immediately straight to the point with his question as usual, and of course only to gauge the peasant's subtle facial reactions.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
He reaches from his galloping horse to give the peasant a handshake, moving horses be damned.
He's not an aspiring musician (anymore), and the peasant's favourite colour has nothing to do with anything. He might still be gauging the peasant's facial expression, or he just wanted to confuse him. Maybe both.
He shrugs and lays back down on the horse, eyes shut. No forewarning.

^{『 Ludvig 』}
There is no way to tell if Ludvig is lying or being contrarian to what he concluded, if he concluded anything at all. He seems to operate solely on whether the possible result qualifies as fun.

The peasant gazed at the circus man in disbelief before looking down, refusing to shake his hands. His general mien was still nervous, but his voice sounded like that of an offended man.

Even after Ludvig exclaimed that he believed him.

"Pardon sir. Me name's Dromele. I'snt me intention to be suspicious with words, but I wish no harm, sir, nor the harm for meself. Guiding you and yous to a trap's never crossed me mind. Please hit me not for that, I just want to repay your kindness. Cuff me hands if you like, or put me down, and tell me to begone, and I shant trouble you no more."