Ten years. Ten long years of searching. A road Alicia could only travel alone. She had hoped to find others, other surviving Royal Guards, any information about their whereabouts. For all she knew, she was the last one. She had no hopes for her family either - their mansion was in the heart of Veiron. Well, actually it was more like a castle, but that made it even worse. The Royal Guard had safe houses accessible only to them, in case they needed to travel. The King did not want his elite resting in various guard posts and inns, and it also served the purpose of surprise inspections. After all, it would be rather big news to find out that a Royal Guard is traveling somewhere - someone was about to be in trouble, and they would have time to cover it up. Yes, that was the most exciting thing Royal Guard did. That, and helping the local guard to rout particularly troublesome bandits.
Not many things make Alicia laugh these days, but the fact that she was constantly BORED ten years ago was almost her sole source of entertainment. Having a scroll with a huge list of safe houses all across Valeria she had hoped to find pretty much everything. The boy Charles and her had went different ways long ago. It was a lonely road indeed, and one without any results yet. However, there were still quite a few safe houses she had not checked. Even the sign that someone WAS there would mean she's not alone out here. Of course, some locations were out of the question - particularly the ones near or in Veiron. While many times she considered to simply abandon her futile search and take down as many demons with her as possible, she knew she is too weak for that. And the the weight of being the last of her bloodline. Letting her family die out just like that terrified her, even though she was a Cassaris in name only. Her family is long dead, and the heirlooms passed from generation to generation most likely stolen by demons. And even if Lockdown was activated in her home, it was doubtful it could contain demons. And even if it did, the location itself would be unreachable. And with the Lockdown in effect, it would require a lot of strong people to bypass it.
Then there was the matter of Stormbringers. The final King's order before he told his Royal Guard to evacuate. It was given to many officers, not only to Royal Guard, though the Royal Guard did receive a rather high authority rank in this new regimen. The first few years after the fall Alicia actively looked for capable recruits, mostly guards, soldiers and mercenaries. Eventually, the lack of discipline and dedication that she was used to in Royal Guard, she just stopped caring. While she did cross paths with many different Stormbringers during the years, none of them were up to her standards. "Common rabble without a cause they believe little in." was her opinion about them. Even though she did have to work with them, only if to get money for her travels. Not many of those Stormbringers even understood the concept of working together, formations, chain of command, etc. They questioned orders, they even questioned Alicia's authority.
Too much bother to train. Though if her search would turn up nothing, that's the only route Alicia has left for her. While she wasn't in any way old, she was no longer young either. Her speed suffered, and her armor and weapons felt just a little bit heavier, and her stamina was waning bit by bit. In her prime she was even called "The Thunderbolt" by her fellow Royal Guard. Although to most people she would be still considered fast, they never saw her 10 years ago. The Alicia 10 years ago, one with boundless energy and the skill to use it. And with no experience of reality whatsoever. The younger Alicia would lose decisively against the current, far more experienced one. But her increased experience in battle will not offset her waning strength sooner or later. And that's what she'll be, a trainer of people who want take her or their cause seriously and will ultimately learn nothing, and then just die. That's why the option of a suicide attack on Veiron was pretty attractive.
Alicia followed the road to her next destination. A town was nearby, called Vi'Zur. The tavern there was her destination. It would be the final stop before another safe house. After all, she did need supplies, and some rest. And of course, a stiff drink. Inside was a tavern like any other. In the center of attention was a bunch of guys in Stormbringer attire harassing a young peasant girl. It was a rather shameful display. "Is that what The Stormbringers are doing these days? Harassing the peasants?" she said to them sternly as she firmly grabbed the warrior's hand holding the coin. "The King did not order for a formation of honor-less thugs with his last command. I would know, I was there." She spoke to the rather astonished Stormbringer as she increased her grip on his wrist. "This is not a brothel. Then again, peasants have no sense of honor or pride. Nor are they taught the art of combat." Alicia emphasized her point by tightening her grip with all of her rather considerable strength. "But I can fix the last part. I can make men out you boys, men that can fight and act like men. The initial cost for that would be this coin." she said as took the gold coin from his hand, releasing him.
There was no expectation for this not to get violent. It was not the first time Alicia done something like this. The peasant girl didn't matter much. It simply was a matter of entertainment, pissing off overconfident "Stormbringers". They most likely will not even acknowledge her authority, let alone work and train under her command. Most likely they will start a fight, and either get kicked out by the establishment or give Alicia an excuse to bash some skulls in, to put the wannabe demon slayers in their place. In her eyes, they were not worthy of bearing that title. And worthless pretenders have no business pretend to be heroes. Mongrels, most of them. And unruly mongrels need to be disciplined. And if by some miracle they do agree to her terms, she might actually beat some skill and discipline into them, and get some coin on the side.
