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[USEC_OFFICER]

Camira wasn't the only one without a horse, as she would be shortly joined by Andre. He had helped the rest of the guards and took care of his equipment and was just as ready to move on as everyone else.

"Good work out there! You must be very skilled indeed to finish it with a single blow!" The large mercenary strokes his mustache and grumbles, "Such a bout was rather reckless. The money is good enough to excuse such tomfoolery, but someone could have been seriously hurt! There will be enough aches and pains in the days ahead, I am sure."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

"Like I told Sefton, I was trained by one of the best the Borderlands had to offer. Any lingering pain the rest of the guard acquired during the spar should go away by dawn tomorrow" Camira replied, doing her best to ignore her own lingering pain. She got cocky at the start of that brawl, and in any real combat scenario, she would've died because of that misstep. She'd have to ensure that it didn't happen again.

[USEC_OFFICER]

"Of course, of course." Andre was no stranger to aches or pains after all. "But what if someone broke an arm or a leg? I don't doubt your skills, but accidents happen. You yourself were brought low at the start! Imagine what would have happened if one of the guards was too enthusiastic?"

[DragonRage]

Lydia's pencil and notebook practically teleport themselves into her hands as she turns towards Hortensia expressionlessly.

"The good lady needs lessons?  I shall begin constructing a lesson plan right away.  Those who wish to expand their knowledge and skills must not be allowed to wither on the vine."  She scribbles briskly in her notebook for a few moments, before her pencil starts to slow down.  "Wait.  What are we teaching her?  I don't recall the good Lady expressing interest in any particular subject matter."

[Lucus Casius]

"Perhaps we might begin with music theory, Lydia.  She seemed quite stirred by the gleeman's performance, earlier, and it is as fine a place to begin a noblewoman's tutelage as any.  Why, if she does well enough, perhaps he'd even deign to take her on as an apprentice!  With a voice as strong as hers, I'm sure they'd sing a fine duet."

"Or a loud one, which is more than good enough."

Still beaming, Alvienne turned to their fellow sister.  The Blue sister pressed a closed hand lightly against the open palm of the other and offered a slight--if appreciative--bow.

"We'll be sure she's appropriately seen to, Eirin.  You need not worry in that regard."

"Why, I'm sure I'd have done it anyway.  Even within the Tower, it's rare to have the chance to speak with noblewoman of such precise levels of eloquence, control, and social grace."

"I'm sure it will be a very interesting challenge."

Alvienne clasped her hands behind her back, closing her eyes and humming a soft tune.

"Really, though, all these guards you've helped us find seem quite the characters.  And ones with enough potential to handle a battle against warders, no less!  Once again, you have my thanks."

[Chevaleresse]

Eirin snorted at Lydia's response. She had been about to clarify when Alvienne rescued her from doing so, prompting a grateful nod instead.


"Well, I wouldn't get too confident. I've seen those three fighting at full strength, and that wasn't it. Still, they were much more competent than I would have expected out of such a motley bunch. Hopefully they're enough to keep the rifraff away."

She glanced back at Hortensia for a long moment, making it clear that she was talking about the noblewoman - but still keeping her voice down when she spoke.


"And please, don't let this girl do something stupid. She could be incredibly valuable to the Tower, and she already seems to have some raw strength - it would be a crime to let her lay facedown in a ditch with a Whitecloak's - or a dissatisfied guard's - knife in her back."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

"... Please, no need to remind me. I'm fully aware of the mistakes I made"


"It doesn't really matter in the end though, does it? What matters is that the results of what happened, not what could have happened. No one has any significant injuries, and we're back on the road with our worth made clear."

[Lucus Casius]

"Well, you've spoken to the girl.  I'm sure she wouldn't do or say anything that might set someone off.  Or at least..."

Alvienne glanced over at Hortensia.

"As I said.  An interesting challenge."

[SOLDIER First]

"She's right."

Baronel stood outside the wagon, having caught Andre's words and Camira's reply (he talks loud, that one).

"We did well enough and it all worked out," he says in a placating tone, climbing in himself, "and as long as our employers are satisfied, "could have" doesn't matter. It can be hard to put in everything you have when it's not life or death." He idly tugs at the leather on his forearms.

"...But all the same, you were impressive right at the end," he says, nodding to the Borderlander. "Never seen anyone move like that in my entire life. You said you were trained by the best your homeland had to offer, yeah?"

[USEC_OFFICER]

With an apologetic shrug, Andre drops the conversation. He was not one to cause trouble with his comrades-in-arms.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

"Indeed. My mentor was one of the finest blademasters in Arafel. He took me as his pupil when I was young and passed down his knowledge with a sword to me" Cami answered, returning Baronel's nod with her own. She didn't say it, but she did at least have a bit of respect to her fellow companions as of now. They proved their worth in the spar, even when she slipped up early on. She could at least trust them enough to watch her back, if it came down to it.

[SOLDIER First]

"Some knowledge he must have had, then. You were taught damn well." Baronel searches around for something else to say, unwilling to let things end there.

"...Me, I... I learned to fight on the streets," he begins, a little awkwardly. "Beating up other kids, getting beat up back. I was pretty good at it. Kept getting better when I grew up." He chuckles at some distant memory. "The most teaching I had was learning where to punch to make someone fall over and not get back up - after I'd get punched plenty in those places myself."

He cracks his knuckles. No idea what to do with his hands. Can't let them sit there. "I'm not quite used to punching people tryin' to hit me with swords yet. But I'll get better at that too, I think."

[Chevaleresse]

"Alright, my ladies, I believe we are fully prepared. I bid you safe travels, Lady Eirin Sedai." Isidro gave as polite of a bow as he could manage from his seat after calling out to the trio of channelers. _{"And I hope I can stay out of the webs of the other two."}

Eirin gave the merchant a farewell wave, raising her hand high above her head as her Warders gathered about. They turned toward the north, following another well-traveled road, while the merchant's caravan lurched into motion. Whitebridge was their next destination, and Isidro planned to push there as quickly as possible. There were rumors of banditry along the roads, and the Children of the Light seemed to be stirring, making a party such as theirs much less secure than usual. Still, the journey wasn't too far, and Andor was a safe country. All the while, the wind continued to lazily chase them, pushing them further forward. . .

~Some time later~
"Hayate, have you been so clumsy lately? It do be the first time I have seen someone manage to get a hole burnt in a color-shifting cloak."

The borderlander glanced back in confusion. "What are you talking about, Ercole? I think I would have noticed if someone had set me on fire recently. This isn't one of your pranks, is it?" The man tugged at the garment in question, trying to search for the hole.


"No, I can see the damage." Sefton gestured at a spot near Hayate's arm, where a telltale scorch mark marred the otherwise ever-shifting surface. He'd fallen back as he heard the discussion. "We haven't done anything recently that would have exposed it to fire." His brow furrowed.

Eirin, traveling at the center of the group, had raised her eyebrows as the topic of conversation.

"A mysterious fire, you say?" Her voice was airy, more speaking to herself than the warders as they continued to discuss the possibilities. "Interesting. Very interesting indeed. . ."

Chapter 1: A Glimpse of Thunder
~Two weeks later~

"I've been told this is a good place to camp. Let's rest here for the night, lest we kill my poor horses." Even in the dim lighting of the setting sun, it was easy to see that the beasts were exhausted. Isidro, despite his calm demeanor, had apparently heard the rumors about the dangers on the road, and had been pressing on at a breakneck pace. If they could maintain it, they could reach Whitebridge in a week, assuming nothing happened to slow them down. "Apologies, Lady Calderon de Mendez, but there are few major towns to stop at between Four Kings and Whitebridge."

Baronel, Dola, Andre, and Camira were largely left to their own devices. It was too early to put up sentries around the camp, and they weren't expected to do much of the heavy lifting when it came to embarking and disembarking most of the time. Still, the rest of the merchant's hirelings appreciated the effort - and similarly tended to not appreciate people lazing about. Thane, meanwhile, was expecting a gaggle of people already half-drunk to show up and beg him for songs; it had been a recurring event for the past few days. The only thing that seemed to slow them down was the frequent presence of Lydia and Alvienne, who both tended to deter men from being too boisterous - or noticeable in general - when they were around.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Within their designated wagon, Cami found herself... Rather bored, to be honest. The occasional chat with her fellow mercenaries was a fine enough distraction, but the trip itself, even with the merchant moving them along as much as possible, was nothing but trees and plains. Not that she could complain, the calmness was nice. Regardless, with the caravan finally stopped once again, Camira pushed herself up from her spot, grabbing her own equipment, mainly her sword and camping tools, before hopping out of the wagon. She wasn't one to go out of her way to assist the rest of the hirelings with unpacking and camp making, but at the same time, she also refused to allow anyone but herself to set up her resting spot. She could handle herself after all, and her job was to protect Isidro and Hortensia, not babysit them.

Either way, marking her spot in the shade of a tree near, but not at, the edge of their camp, Camira decided to start an early patrol of the grounds. It was too early for sentry duty, yes, but a quick search of the area was still something that needed to be done.

[RedMageCole]

Hortensia had been completely unprepared for this journey to be this long and this inconvenient. She had expected to at least stop in a (relatively, for her tastes) nice inn every stop along the way, and actually have some pleasant company. However, she was very much beginning to reach her breaking point. She had grown exceptionally sick of avoiding the Aes Sedai— knowing that communication with them would either cause her to snap and lose her temper, or worse. The rest of the rabble was tolerable, if not still sickening— with the exception of Thane, who was completely and utterly obnoxious. At least the rest of the commoners accompanying them knew their place and didn't constantly try to bother her.

All in all, Hortensia was not a happy noblewoman.


"Very well." It was clear Hortensia was trying not to talk too much— even those two words contained a spray of venom in them. "I will await the setting of my... tent." She very nearly called her tent something nasty— possibly something like 'pigsty' or 'hole' or 'dirty set of rags that a noblewoman shouldn't be caught dead sleeping inside of'. Yet despite her temper reaching her limits, she still held it together. Her expression did, however, dare anyone to speak to her. She sat in the wagon, patiently waiting either to go straight to her tent or excuse herself in the case of anyone looking like they wanted to speak without being spoken to.