Return of the Emblem Chapter Fourteen: Fight

[-Cynthia-]

"I agree with Glen- were it up to me we would have only combatants in our group. I will do what I can, but I cannot promise that I will be able to keep you all safe during a battle. I can scout if we decide that is the best course of action," Liam interjected.

Nadya squinted at the wyverns meeting in the sky. What in the heck is goin' on up there? she wondered.

[Phoenix]

Sky

Malik felt himself glowering. Thankfully he hadn't been looking directly at Jamilla in that moment. "Obelisk is a vasilus, a really old and really powerful one. We don't know what's happening with the rest of the country but I really doubt it's as bad as Sanctuary. That's all we know, honestly ..."

"We might be able to find out more," Haythem noted, "if we got Amon back near the emblem, but he's still recovering from the first time. Maybe we can try again once we're in Urquium," he offered, resisting a shrug.

Road

"No not stupid," Greta sighed at Rolo, "just outta your element. Kinda like some of us, actually." Greta was thinking of herself and Glen, primarily.

Liam's offer to scout ahead wasn't a bad one. No one was looking for him and avians flying between settlements was about as suspicious to most people as soldiers with weapons. On the flip side, he and Joanna looked similar enough at a distance ... "Maybe at night, Liam," Greta let slip a nervous chuckle, "when you won't be mistaken for Jo by some random wrathite."

[-Cynthia-]

Liam raised an eyebrow at Greta. "I am not sure of how humans perceive things, but I do not think Joanna and I look all that similar," he said, looking over towards Joanna briefly. Humans are strange sometimes.

[Phoenix]

Road

"Let's say she cut her hair to about the length of yours," Greta squinted at Liam, "and then she put on thicker clothes to try and pass for a man ..." she trailed off.

Glen looked at Liam next. "I can see what she's getting at," he admitted. "I mean right now you don't look much alike, but I'm sure our resident makeup artist could change that in an hour or two.

"Let's not bring it up," Greta winced, "I bet the last thing Jo is gonna want is to cut her hair. Must have spent a decade growin' it out that long."

[Toogee]

Sky

Malik felt himself glowering. Thankfully he hadn't been looking directly at Jamilla in that moment. "Obelisk is a vasilus, a really old and really powerful one. We don't know what's happening with the rest of the country but I really doubt it's as bad as Sanctuary. That's all we know, honestly ..."

"We might be able to find out more," Haythem noted, "if we got Amon back near the emblem, but he's still recovering from the first time. Maybe we can try again once we're in Urquium," he offered, resisting a shrug.

"The emblem..." Jam had just finished talking to Eva about how the emblem only brings them trouble. Here they were again: the emblem knocks Amon out to deliver news from the other side of the world. Now that she knew where this information was coming from, Jam wasn't quite as worried about her homeland. Either that, or she was in denial.

"Come on, Eva," Jam said before turning to the others. "Let me know if you hear anything about the rest of the country, please."

[CobyTheGoober]

" And if you wear a dress, you'll totally look like her!" Rolo then proceeded to cover his mouth to stop the laughter from pouring out.

[-Cynthia-]

Liam clenched his jaw slightly. "If there comes a time when it will be useful for someone to pass as Joanna, I will keep this in mind. I do not plan to wear makeup or dresses otherwise," he clarified. Is this a jest or a legitimate concern?

[Nanami Touko]

"S...Sanctuary is gone?" Eva was sure she'd heard something wrong. The entire place, gone? That seemed incredibly suspect, how could-- "Another one? Wonderful." Another vasilus; seemed they were always at the heart of their problems, that or the emblem. And that was what had knocked out Amon, great... Eva sighed, nodding to Jam. The others would tell them if they had any further news, but this was already enough to process. She rubbed her forehead for a second before turning Sasha to go back down and land, continuing his plodding walk after the wagon. "Well... That's... Certainly something."

[Toogee]

After hearing the news about the Sanctuary, Jam was growing more resentful of the emblem. All it brought was trouble in her opinion (and now, bad news). She still didn't believe Sanctuary would just be destroyed. She'd have to see it with her own eyes to believe it.

"Eva," Jam asked, choosing to stay on the wyvern. "The emblem can do many things, right? Do you think it can...lie?"

[Nanami Touko]

"Lie? Oh, you... Mean like, can the emblem lie to someone about something... Maybe. I don't know what good it would get lying to Amon, unless it was something sentient, and for some reason, wanted to cause him misfortune. I guess it isn't entirely impossible; something like Sanctuary just being gone sounds really farfetched..." Eva hoped the item had suddenly developed the urge to lie and had done so.

[Toogee]

"I don't know..." Jam said to Eva. "Maybe it doesn't want us to get the other piece from the bird guy? Maybe it's trying to get us to go somewhere else so we can't save the world. I don't know, but I want more proof than 'a piece of gold said so'."

After a moment of silence, Jam spoke up again.

"If Amon and the others split to go to the Sanctuary, I'm going with them. I need to check on my own home."

Edited May 11, 2016 by Toogee

[As Fate Would Have It]

Azazel looked over the port town of urquium. There was so much hustle and bustle going on he could barely take it all in. (Geez my dad talked about it but I wouldn't have ever imagined it would be like this) he thought as he walked his horse along the busy streets. Everyone looked tentatively and moved out if the way as he passed by with a small group of soldiers behind him. (I don't understand why I exactly need to patrol here though, sure its busy but it seems peaceful all we are really doing is stirring things up). He came to larger square and drank in all the sights that greeted his eyes. (Oh well, might as well try and have a good time). "Men take this opportunity to do some sightseeing and shopping, I'll be right here report to me if you see anything suspicious ". "Um sir... Are you sure we should? I mean we're supposed to be on patrol?" One of the soldiers hesitantly questioned."consider it an order, this isn't a break there is no point in just marching around all day sis there." Azazel replied. "Now go run along" Some of the men quickly dispersed while others were more puzzled at the idea of having fun while on patrol.

[Phoenix]

Part 1 (This is a long journey; pack accordingly)

[spoiler=OoC]Timeline wise, Azazel's patrol will be happening on day 67. No reason for him to be skipping a day after the intro post lol

1/4

[spoiler=Outbound Pegasi]

There wasn't much talking going on, and not just because Martha was worried about lurking enemies. Cameron was looking awfully distant, probably thinking about Doran and the others, and Darcey was half asleep, the only thing keeping her awake being her need to keep her balance behind Norbert. The other pegasus knights murmured to each other occasionally, keeping Martha's warning in mind, but the volume started to pick up quite noticeably once the trees just south of them began to clear out. They were either coming to a clearing, or the long hoped for road that would lead them straight back to Ursaea.

"Please let this be it," Martha winced. She leaned forward as her pegasus made its way along, trying to get a better look, but she couldn't make out the clearing ahead just yet. Maybe if it were a little closer to noon, but it was just about sunset, now; visibility was becoming more and more of an issue. They were still on schedule, more or less, so they wouldn't be flying in total darkness if they hurried.

Despite his and his sister's earlier defiance, Norbert, Darcey, and Cameron had wound up traveling quietly along with the others. Though, for Norbert, the predominant reason was because he wasn't sure what to say. It was good to be on good terms with one of his sisters, and he enjoyed Cameron's company, but he was still fairly new to socializing as much as he had been.

Furthermore, he was still tired. He wasn't teetering on the brink of absolute exhaustion anymore, but one hour's nap wasn't nearly enough. Of course, right now, he couldn't very well doze off. Maybe if he was alone with Rizen -- not having any passengers to worry about, nor a group to keep up with, nor bandits and Imperials potentially nearby and on the hunt -- he could sleep in the saddle and let Riz steer herself, or even stop entirely. But that was so far from the current situation that it was pointless to think about. Of course, the thought still slipped through Bert's drowsy mind as he semi-listlessly continued on, reins slack but in hand.

Belatedly, Norbert realized that he probably could have pulled off faking his death if Joanna didn't have her new ability. He could've traveled with these Ursaeans a ways before splitting off, wishing them well, and going back to a solitary life -- besides Rizen -- in the mountainous Ursian wilds. The debt of a dead man didn't matter if he didn't have any next of kin for debtors to dump the load onto, and though he probably wouldn't eat as well as he had since joining up with more people, he wouldn't have to worry about throwing himself and his pegasus into danger with no guarantee his "allies" would assist them if they needed help.

Of course, that idea was filled with more holes than a sponge and held as much water as a lump of rock. Not only would people -- Weyland especially -- find out the truth in a meaningless amount of time, but the world's troubles weren't going to leave him alone just because he wasn't around emblem pieces anymore. He had to do something to protect his family, friends, and home from Wrath and -- if not him -- the Fallen; he had to. It wasn't in him not to oppose these threats.

That didn't make the thought of a peaceful life less tempting, though, especially to a sleepy mind. He figured that he could've lived happily in this part of Ursium under different circumstances. Many of the people he'd come to enjoy the company of lived in Ursaea, including Valter, Cameron, and Darcey. The region was also mountainous, and had plenty of untraveled, forested areas to wander. Bandits were abundant, so he could try his hand at being a full-time bounty hunter here, too. Rizen would enjoy making herself familiar with the area, too. He'd noticed that she seemed more comfortable since they entered the area's wilderness, if not a bit curious about this landmark or that. And who knows? Maybe old friends like Ranyin and Raquel would come to visit every so often. That sort of life wouldn't be so bad.

Such were the thoughts that drifted through Norbert's mind for a time as they traveled. It was very dark, now, what with the sun setting sooner in the mountains and with the thick, bushy branches of the trees all around. His blinks were getting heavier and slower. The steady sound of hooves against the mossy ground and the gentle motion of riding a walking pegasus wasn't doing anything to help him keep awake and alert.

Vaguely, he thought he noticed the trees getting thinner. It didn't mean much to him. Clearings opened up every now and then in places like this, and he didn't know the area well enough to identify exactly where they were, especially with this little light.

It was still enough light for him to notice the look on Cameron's face, though, when his eyes slipped over to her. He frowned. She'd been concerned since they set out from the fort, and had told them that she was concerned for the soldiers they'd left behind. It was understandable -- sweet, even -- but almost just like with the topic of Abigail, he just wasn't sure what to say about it. He couldn't guarantee the safety of any of them honestly. At least he could somewhat vouch for Fizza, but even then...

His brow furrowed. There had to be something he could do for the pair to help them. Both were down and understandably so, even if Darcey had refocused her attention for now. They were running low on time, and the most he'd done was feel sorry for them. The solid, dedicated thought to try to do something to cheer them up hadn't even crossed his mind until now, and that was annoyingly pathetic. I'm really no good with situations like these... he thought a bit irritably as he wracked his brain for ideas. Urgh, what did the women in the groups I've been in do in times like this? Rrr... Veronika drank, I think. That's no good here... I...guess they talked? Really, he hadn't paid much attention.

He did remember when he and a bunch of the others went shopping. They seemed to have liked that, not that that was a viable option, either. Gytha liked singing, but she wasn't exactly typical, and her sorts of songs would just be stupid right now. Besides that, he wasn't confident in his singing.

In the end, despite his efforts, he came up with nothing. It was an almost embarrassing failure -- as bad as if he'd lost control of his footing while swinging an axe and so knocked himself over while getting said weapon stuck in a tree ten feet away. Of course, he wasn't exactly practiced at this, either, so he wasn't too upset with himself for it. He'd just offer what he could for whatever it was worth.

"Hey, Cameron," Norbert spoke up, a bit more quietly than his casual speaking voice. It was still loud enough for her to hear, he hoped, and he'd brought Rizen closer to Joy for good measure. He was looking at her with a look of gentle, somber sympathy. "I hope they made it out of there, too."

He wished he could go back and bring the Ursaean guards and Abi back safely to Ursaea. He wished that the mission had been a complete success, and the bandits were rooted out of the area. In his mind, though, he knew that it just wasn't smart to head back in his condition, especially with no one else but Rizen. Not that any of the pegasus knights would let him anyway. He also didn't like seeing these two friends of his so sad. "I wish I could help more."

Though Cameron definitely heard him, Darcey was the one to speak up first, while Cameron only managed a weak smile. "You're helping a lot, already," Darcey said, obviously half asleep, "... it's not like anyone's paying you. You're just doing your sister and her fellow knights a big favor ..."

Cameron frowned. There was a lot of heroism that was probably going to go unrewarded, today, she knew. The best anyone could hope for now was simply to make it out of this alive. They were the only ones who had made it out for certain, so to make the best of this awful situation, survival was key. Her frown faded into something resolute as she glanced back at Norbert and Darcey. "Let's just make sure we survive long enough to recover. At least that way, if we can convince the commander, we'll be able to come back out here better prepared."

"And with more troops," one of the other pegasus knights noted, "not just a bunch of skirmishers like us, but the heavy hitters."

"The ground is starting to slope here more than usual," Martha called back, trying to keep her voice low so it wouldn't travel far beyond the group, "this might be it." More bad terrain, but at least if the road was at the end of it, they would be flying the rest of the way.

A corner of Norbert's mouth raised a little in response to Darcey's reply. He was glad to hear that his efforts were helping them, and, furthermore, that it was appreciated. Just knowing those two things made him feel good, but only a bit better about the situation on the whole. If he was helping, then that meant that he'd successfully kept the situation from being as bad as it could have been.

Glancing back over, his own frown returned as he saw Cameron's brief -- albeit weak -- smile had shifted again. He was about to ask if she was alright when her expression changed from sad to determined, and she immediately made it clear why. His brow furrowed and a slight smile pulled at his mouth again. He liked Cameron's response; she was in the right spirit. Another of the pegasus knights chimed in, too. Briefly, he wondered how many of them had listened in on the trio's scattered conversations.

To this other pegasus knight, he answered with a nod, "That's the plan." Then, he frowned as he added to Cameron, "But I'm probably not going to be able to help you next time. I wish I could, but my group has to get moving again, and I'm not going to be fighting fit for a couple days."

He had only just realized this, himself. He didn't want to go back. He wanted to stay and help get these imperials and bandits out of the area before moving on.There was that gate the Fallen were putting up to worry about, though, not to mention the Wrathites that were hunting them down. If he was caught in Ursaea, he'd be putting everyone in danger, even if he didn't tell them where his group was going. If nothing else, he'd act as a milestone.

Martha called back. There was a slope ahead. We'll be back in Ursaea soon, then. Rizen could handle slopes, so he wasn't concerned about the terrain. Despite the threat of the Wrathites, Norbert was looking forward to at least spending the night in Ursaea. They'd probably let him stay in the garrison, which suited him fine. A proper dinner, a hot bath, and a long sleep sounded great. He'd pick up Greta's voucher or wagon or whatever and say his goodbyes in the morning. I need to write to Nigel, too. Guess I'll do that before bed, if they let me. It was the road for him, otherwise, and he'd have to just stop on the side of the road or something to sleep. Either way, he doubted he'd be rejoining the group tonight.

It was indeed the road coming up, Martha realized feeling herself smile, almost involuntarily. "This is it, everyone. Just a bit farther now. Once we've got a full sky over our heads, we'll give our pegasi one last checkup and then take off. From there it's straight to Ursaea, no stops."

Cameron frowned, again. Yeah, she didn't think Bert would be helping them out a second time, but she was only sad to see him leaving so soon. She honestly didn't want him fighting to begin with, at least not without recovering, first. Martha's words reached her belatedly as Joy began to carefully but easily make her way down the slope. The trees had thinned out enough for the road to be visible, though it was more or less sunset now, and everything was taking on a vague blue hue that made it difficult to make out fine detail.

Well, that was some good news, though not unexpected. He gave Rizen a brief appraisal. The pegasus didn't seem to mind how things were going much, but knowing her, she'd welcome the next chance to rest. She'd been run just as hard as the rest of them, after all.

Hoping and wondering were all well and good, and he was hesitant to ask for charity, but Bert returned his attention to his fellow rider. He figured now was as good a time to ask if she thought the garrison would house him for the night as any. As he did, though, he noticed that look on Cameron's face again. Was it because of Doran and the others again? Frowning in concern, he instead asked, "You alright, Cameron?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," she assured him, though she found her own tone wanting. It was probably best to simply explain herself. "I was just thinking, that's all ... and I realized you were probably going to be leaving sooner rather than later. In your condition, that's not the best idea, though."

"What's the rush?" Darcey cocked an eyebrow. Now that they were coming to the slope that would supposedly lead them to the main road, she had reason to wake up, fully. "You could catch up with the others easily by air." That was assuming he knew where they were going, of course. Darcey seemed to almost belatedly realize that. "A-as long as you know which way they're headed."

Suddenly, things got more complicated than he thought it would. He knew exactly what his rush was, but he couldn't very well just say that Wrathites were hunting them down and they had a giant Fallen warp-gate to destroy in Kigen before said featherfolk could use it for one of three crushing blows to the humans in a massive invasion. And how they knew all this? They were working with a rogue Fallen prince who wants an everlasting war between Fallen and humans, who was being housed by the famous Professor Weyland at his home. No, he wasn't about to go into all that detail.

"It's not like I'm planning on leaving right away," he answered the two women, "Not unless I don't have a place to stay the night, anyway. Actually, I was hoping I could just lodge at your garrison. I don't really have the money on me for a night at an inn. To be honest, I was hoping for a meal, a bath, some paper and a pen, too. I'm not a soldier, so I know I'm not entitled to any of this, but I figured it wouldn't be an unreasonable request."

"That sounds reasonable," Cameron said, looking a little surprised. She wouldn't have blamed him if he'd asked for more compensation, given how badly things had gone for him. That would have been quite the mercenary approach. "I'll ask the commander when we get back."

"After helping us escape," Darcey's eyes narrowed, "he'd better let us put you up for the night."

"I don't see him saying no," Martha shrugged, "... at least," she glanced back at the group as she passed the last of the trees, "as long as he stays in the men's quarters."

Darcey's cheeks reddened. "Well yeah! Of course ..." Her gaze shot to Cameron as the woman chuckled. Maybe her reaction had been a bit much, she realized. Looking back ahead to Martha, the woman seemed distracted all of a sudden. She was looking straight west, down the road they couldn't fully see yet, and Darcey wasn't sure she could get the woman's attention again through anything short of throwing a small rock at her.

Norbert's own reaction to Martha's joke wasn't entirely dissimilar to his sister's -- though it was a bit more annoyed and less embarrassed -- and, in fact, his verbal reaction spilled out and mingled with hers: "Of course I would!" He did manage to keep the rest in his head. What do you think I am? Some sort of pervert? Just because I grew up with a bunch of sisters doesn't mean I prefer the women's quarters! Sheesh! You'd think all that talk about girlfriends earlier would've tipper her off!

Of course, he knew she was joking once common sense caught up. But really, the thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He'd been imagining his own room, really, since he wasn't sure how this particular garrison was organized, but even if they only had four walls and a roof, he'd find some way to section himself off from the women, if only to respect their and his respective privacy. If all the female soldiers in the garrison were sisters of his, and not just Darcey, then it wouldn't have been as bad, maybe. ... No, they'd cause some mischief, he was sure. It would be safer not to room with most of them anyway. So no, he couldn't really think of a scenario where he wouldn't try to find some means of segregation.

Anyway, he'd paid that subject enough mind. Especially as they exited the trees and headed out onto the road.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Cameron asked, noticing that Martha had stopped and was looking at something.

Darcey saw it before her, and her jaw dropped. She could feel herself trembling as an impossible hope welled up inside her. "It's a pegasus!"

"Yeah ..." Martha nodded absently. It was indeed a pegasus, roughly one hundred feet ahead of them, just standing in the road, completely unattended. It wasn't a wild one, or at least it wasn't at the moment, if the tack and saddle were any indication. "What's it doing here?"

"And what happened to the rider?" Cameron winced.

"You're acting like you've never seen one before," Norbert commented to the pegasus knights. It was obvious to him what should be done. "How likely is it that it belongs to someone hostile? Let's get closer and see who it belongs to."

He was already taking his own advice, advancing Rizen towards the stray pegasus at a brisk trot. He figured that the presence of so many other cooperative pegasi would help this one understand that there was no danger, even if it did remain wary. He also trusted that, considering everyone here was a pegasus handler, they would all know how to approach a pegasus without spooking it. They were all soldiers, too, so investigating things like this shouldn't have been strange. Maybe they were all just too surprised at the sight to have moved on to action at the time.

"It's one of ours," Martha put in as Norbert began to approach it. That seemed to be what Martha was focusing so intently for a moment ago, confirming her suspicion. Not wanting to risk all being caught in the same spot, some of the knights stayed back just at the edge of the road, while Martha and Cameron moved closer to the pegasus.

"Look at the equipment," she said, nudging her head toward the idle pegasus, "it's not just similar to our standard gear, it's identical. She also doesn't seem to be reacting to us at all, though that may be more of an argument against it being one of ours than for it."

"No it's not," Darcey said, practically choking out the words as her grip on Norbert's waist tightened. Please, she thought, please don't let this be a dream. Maybe if she called out to the absentminded pegasus, she'd have her answer ...

Well, the question had been less to ask and more to make a point, but as they drew nearer, Martha's own point was taken. The details began to come into focus: indeed, this pegasus wore the same equipment as the other pegasi, barring Rizen. Darcey herself began to hint towards one of Bert's own suspicions.

It was interesting. All this time, Darcey had kept herself well-composed, but now her emotion was showing itself plainly. Indeed, no one really understood the bond a pegasus and its rider shared unless he or she had experienced it for him- or herself.

"Will she spook if we run at her?" Bert asked his sister. Though he was smiling lightly at the beginnings of the touching scene, he didn't turn his head when he asked the question. He suspected the answer would be "no," and so was already prepared to quickly reunite the two.

Darcey almost didn't even register the question. "I-it should be just fine," she nodded quickly, "let's go."

Martha sighed as the two siblings went off ahead. "If that's Darcey's pegasus then what happened to that Fizza woman?" She glanced around, looking for any figures that might be lurking in the shadows, but it was getting too dark for easy spotting. If there was anyone around, all they had to do is not move around and Martha would be hard pressed to actually pick them out of the background.

Norbert didn't waste any more time. He got Rizen to break out into a full run and rapidly closed the distance between Darcey and the pegasus. He pulled Rizen to a stop next to Abi so that Darcey would have an easier time dismounting and immediately tending to her own pegasus.

Darcey was careful dismounting, but once she was on her feet, she rushed up to Abigail and hugged the equine around the neck. That seemed to snap the pegasus out of her self induced trance. It was definitely her pegasus, alright.

"I was so worried about you," Darcey smiled, barely fighting back tears. Suddenly a thought occurred. "How did you even get here? Did you fly off ahead of us?" She looked back to Norbert as she took the reins, "what do you think happened to Fizza?"

The thought had been buzzing in the back of Norbert's mind since the possibility of this pegasus being Abigail came up, but he'd mostly ignored it in favor of paying attention to the reunion of equine and rider. It'd been a sweet sight, and he was glad, both that Darcey had her friend back, and that Fizza hadn't made him a liar. The trouble was that Abi was the only sign of Fizza around.

"Maybe she got the job done and delivered Abigail back like she promised," he answered with a shrug. He figured that if something went wrong with Fizza, Jo would've told him. Still, he was a bit concerned, knowing so little. He didn't want to let that show, though. He really didn't know Fizza or her capabilities that well. "I guess the better question is what Abi would do. Would she have made her way here on her own if something happened to Fizza?"

"Not a chance," Darcey shook her head. She met eyes briefly with Abigail and sighed. "She's just not very curious about anything for some reason."

"Why 'deliver'," Martha interjected, "someone's pegasus to the middle of the road? If she knew where we were going to be, why not stay and meet us here?" No matter how hard she tried to consider things from Fizza's point of view, she just couldn't think of a reason for her to not hand off Abigail in person. Leaving her alone as a potential surprise for them to find along the way came with a slew of problems they'd probably avoided by sheer luck. "This is so strange ..."

"Well at least it's not a trap," Cameron offered as she came up alongside Martha.

Martha winced. "We don't know that, yet," she said, keeping her voice low. Cameron barely caught the remark. "Darcey, is there anything missing from your things? Or maybe something new there that wasn't before?" Without saying a word, Darcey began to look around the saddle and saddlebags for signs of tampering.

"You think the Neviskotians did this?" Norbert asked, new suspicion coming into him. He sincerely hoped that Fizza was okay. Jo's powers were pretty new, as far as he could tell... Maybe she wouldn't be able to tell if something happened to Fizza yet. And Abi was pretty compliant... Knowing what little he did of Fizza, it could go either way.

"Not really," Martha frowned at Norbert, "more likely the bandits, but this seems strange coming from them, too."

Darcey gasped. "Found something." She pulled a black envelope out of the left saddlebag and held it up for the others. "I've never seen a black letter before."

"Me neither," Martha raised an eyebrow.

Norbert's jaw clenched. A black envelope was probably not a good sign. With the Wrathites on their trail, they couldn't afford to dawdle, and several of their group were still recovering from the fight they'd just had. If Fizza was caught, though, they'd have to do something... He didn't see the reason for leaving a note saying that the rider had been killed, and why return the pegasus if the bandits did this? Unless they were asking for a trade...

"Well, open it!" He was a bit surprised that particular step hadn't been done yet. "It was found on your pegasus, so unless it's addressed to someone, I'd say you have the most right to it."

Darcey glared at Norbert for a second, then looked back at the envelope in her hands. "I hope it's nothing bad ..."

Cameron and Martha mentally braced themselves as Darcey opened the envelope and pulled out a letter. The two of them watched as Darcey's eyes darted back and forth, slowly making their way toward the bottom of the message. Martha waited a few more seconds, and then ... "What's it say?"

"It's from Fizza," Darcey answered, sounding a little confused. "She said she ran into some 'fortuitous circumstances' and could get Abigail back to me early. No explanation for how, though ..." As Martha began to sigh, Darcey said, "there's a bit more, but it's actually for you, Bert. She wants you to tell the rest of your group that some old rivals have people looking for you at Sergio and Urquium, and to not do anything ... stupid. I have no idea what that's about, but I guess you do?"

While he was relieved to hear that Fizza sounded okay, Norbert had half a mind to give the woman an earfull for worrying them so much. Seriously, why not just use normal paper to write up this letter? And where was she, anyway? And how did she get done with the wyvern knights so quickly that she had time to pass the fleeing Ursaeans up, write a note, and somehow find out about Sergio and Urquium? Just what sort of "fortuitous circumstances" could have cropped up to allow for that?

As mysterious as the woman was, given his recent history, a vasilus' involvement or some sort of ancient relic -- possibly even a piece of the emblem -- could have been the culprit, and was, in fact, a more viable explanation, as strange as that might've sounded. He understood why she was discreet in her letter -- who knew who'd wind up reading the thing? -- so he'd just have to ask her about it later, if the reasons didn't become evident on their own.

In addition, it wasn't too surprising that the letter was addressed to him, at least in part. He was the only one present who was a part of the Kigen-bound group, not counting Rizen. The tricky parts were that he was to deliver the message to the others -- meaning that Fizza was going off on her own somewhere -- and the bit about "old rivals." The part about "not doing anything stupid" was easy enough to figure out. Come on. I'm not a blabbermouth like Shadrak; I know better than to start guessing out loud about what you mean, here.

But who did she mean? The Wrathites? That organization who had it out for Raquel? They were more threats than rivals, but the word choice there may have been intended to help support their cover story for the Ursaeans. If that was the case, then it was probably the Wrathites. As far as he knew, the organization wasn't really a secret so much as a problem no one seemed to want to deal with. Understandable, given the pressure from the Imperials from the east, and the recent Fallen attack, not to mention the ever-present threat from local bandits. The Ursian military really did already have their hands full.

So, we can expect a fight once we get there... A pain, but expected. He wound up nodding to Darcey's half-question. "I think so." Then, he extended a hand. "I should probably show it to the others, though. I know it was found on Abi, but could I have it?"

There was more, too: some potential good news hidden in her explanation regarding her returning Abi so soon. He'd have to take a sweep over the letter for himself to be sure, but if the tide turned that well, then Doran and the others may have made it out okay, too. And who knew? It seemed that warping came standard with these sorts of things -- they could already be in Ursaea.

"Sure," Darcey said, noting the look on Norbert's face. She handed him the letter and the envelope, wondering if there was anything else inside the saddlebags she might have missed. She doubted it, but best to check. She knew what people said about assumptions ...

"That letter," Martha sighed again, "didn't explain much of anything, but I guess that wasn't the point. Are we ready to go? We might still be able to make it back before it's too dark to see anything."

Norbert nodded, already looking the note over for himself, while there was still enough light to read it by. When he heard the pegasi get moving again, he'd just nudge Rizen into following, and she'd take care of the rest. What was more important to him right now was making sure his sister didn't miss anything, seeing as Fizza may have left more hints Darcey wouldn't know to look for.

"Just a second," Darcey said, going back into Abigail's saddlebags. Once again, she was surprised by just how little the bandits had tampered with after capturing them. She didn't find anything in the end and so she decided to mount up. That was Martha's cue to prepare to take off. Once they were airborne, they should see be able to see the lights of Ursaea in the distance. No matter how dark it got, they could use those lights to guide them home. It was just a matter of whether or not they would have to approach the city on foot during the last leg of the journey to avoid spooking the archers and ballisticians manning the towers and walls.

Once Darcey took up the reins, she felt they were a bit heavier than usual, at least in one area. The reason why was made clear at a glance. There was a small metal object tied to the reins she hadn't seen before. That part must have been sitting just out of view. "Oh hey, there is something else." She had a go at trying to untie it from the reins, quickly grew frustrated in the fading light, and tore it free, severing the thread binding it, and holding it out for the others to see. "It reminds me of a cross." It was definitely X shaped but the arms looked vaguely like wings.

"An item of Fizza's?" Martha asked, looking at Norbert.

To Norbert and his lady friends,

I ran into some fortuitous circumstances during my part of the plan and managed to get out alive. Since I can, I'll be returning Abigail early. Don't worry about me, I'm fine, fine but busy, and the 'skotians are probably still scratching their heads. Sorry if I'm leaving you doing the same, but I need to keep this brief.

Norbert, you should tell the others that some old rivals of ours are looking for us at the ports: Sergio and Urquium specifically. They've got some help, too. Best to tell them before that turns into a nasty little surprise. Don't do anything stupid.

Sincerely, Fizza

When he read the first bit, he couldn't help but squint at it. Just what was she implying, using that wording? Well, it wasn't worth complaining about, especially not since Fizza wasn't around, so he just moved on to the rest. His frown shifted from annoyed to a bit disappointed. Given how she put it, and that there was no mention of the other Ursaeans, it wasn't entirely likely that they had escaped. It sounded like Fizza, herself, only just barely managed it, actually. At least she got Abi out of there unharmed, like she promised. But what was all this about the Imperials "scratching their heads?" Something unusual definitely happened.

The last, few sentences were more ominous than he'd first thought, too. They have help? He hated to consider it, but the first explanation that came to mind was that the organization was actually working with the Wrathites to get at their group. That could, indeed, turn into a "nasty, little surprise," as she put it... Or maybe it's the organization working with bandits or Imperials? Urgh... There's too much that can go wrong to narrow it down much...

That was about when Martha asked him about something. He hadn't been paying much attention, but from looking around, he gathered more or less what had happened. The item his sister was holding wasn't really familiar... There were just too many questions and not enough answers.

As he put the letter back into the envelope and slipped it into Rizen's saddlebags, Norbert replied, "I don't know. Probably, if you don't know what it is." Straightening up again, he explained, "Fizza's foreign, so maybe it has something to do with that." Then, he extended his hand. "I'll ask around and see if anyone in our group knows what it is." Could just be some fancy accessory she left behind...but I kind of doubt it...

Darcey handed the small cross to Norbert, figuring he was more likely to learn something about it than them. She might honestly forget to ask about it once they got back.

"We'll leave that to you then," Martha nodded. "It should be obvious where we're going from here, but stay close enough for communication just the same." She got nods and other acknowledgements from the other pegasus knights before she got her own pegasus into the air.

"I can't wait to get some real sleep," Darcey said, preparing to take off after Martha.

"Me, too," Norbert replied in response to Darcey's comment, having only briefly looked the object over before slipping it into the saddlebag, next to the letter. He was looking forward to more than just sleep, too, and so, as he took off with the others, his mind returned to looking forward to a meal, a bath, and a good night's sleep. He'd worry about what to write to Nigel when he had a pen in hand and a blank sheet of paper in front of him.

The sun had abandoned them completely before they made it back, all the better Martha thought. She didn't want to see the full extent of the damage, anyway, not when it would only cast a shadow over their return. That seemed inevitable now, though. The general mood around the complex as they returned was melancholy. Some of the guards seemed to cheer up at the sight of them, but their smiles looked forced. The city was stripped of its aerial defenses ... naked, and a dozen pegasus knights wouldn't make up the difference. An imperial attack seemed imminent.

"Welcome back," a stable hand greeted them as they entered the stables. He was smiling like some of the guards had been, but he clearly had other things on his mind. "You all must be exhausted. Go ahead and leave the pegasi here and we'll take care of them for you. The commander wants to see you, anyway."

"I'll go see him," Martha spoke up, first, "but ..." she glanced at Rizen, "you should let some of us handle our own pegasi. We were separated from them for most of the time we were captured." The man shrugged, amenable to just about anything.

It was nothing short of frustrating, the condition Ursaea was in. It hadn't been totally destroyed, but it certainly had been torn up. Had all this really occurred in the time that they were gone? It made the rescue look almost like a decoy... Ursaea needed reinforcements, plentiful and soon. He hoped someone was on that already... That, and maybe relocating the commonfolk. This place was going to become a battlefield...

He hoped Valter was okay. Last he heard, the man had gone back into the city. And he could only imagine what Cameron was going through... First Doran and his people, and now this. Ursaea was her home. Bert doubted she wouldn't be fighting in whatever came next, considering her connection to the place, but he hoped that she survived it. The others were more uncertain... Maybe they would be reassigned or moved until they'd more fully recovered from their time in captivity. He hoped so, anyway, Cameron included.

Distracted by these thoughts and being as tired as he was, Norbert just about got Rizen stabled then and there. He caught himself, though; first, he had to see if the commander would let him -- and by extension, Rizen -- stay the night. He, unfortunately, hadn't been paying attention to Martha's conversation with the stablehand, though, so he just decided he'd go ask about it after taking care of something a bit more pressing, in his mind.

"Hey. How're you handling all this?" Norbert asked Cameron in soft sympathy.

"I'll be fine," Cameron said. "It could be a lot worse, actually." She was telling the truth, but sounded as melancholy as most of the guards had looked on their way in.

"Maybe," Darcey chimed in as she led Abigail into her old stall, "but right now the only thing between the city and the 'skotians is a bunch of foot soldiers, some chargers, and us. Maybe if we can get some more bows or mages or somethingwe can even the odds a little."

Martha stabled her pegasus quickly and headed back outside, likely to go see the commander.

Bert had to agree with his sister. Ursaea needed reinforcements. Considering how things seemed to always go, he was almost tempted to volunteer the group heading out to Kigen. He knew better than to wait around for trouble, though. At this point, the sooner they reached the southerly country, the safer they'd be from Ursian threats. We don't always get what we want in life. He knew that better than most, but he still wished he could make sure the city was safe before they headed out again.

"I hope they evacuate the civilians. It's obvious this place is going to be hit by the Neviskotians soon," he added as he dismounted Rizen, "With all the trouble that's been going on, I don't know how soon they'll send reinforcements, too... Especially after that Fallen attack."

Then, he told them, "I'm going to see if I can find the guy in charge of this place. If I can't stay, I'll probably just get the voucher and head out again. Cameron," he redirected his attention to her, specifically. "you should probably check in on your parents sometime, soon; -- tomorrow or something -- make sure they're alright. If you do, could you see if a nobleman named Valter's around? He lives here in Ursaea, and last I knew, he was visiting his family. I'd like to know he's okay, and if he's coming with us again or not."

"I will if I get the chance," Cameron nodded faintly. "Does Valter have a family name? It's easier to find nobles with family names." Obviously.

Darcey frowned. "Ursian cities aren't really the best at evacuating in emergencies," she said, mostly musing to herself. "The best we can hope for is reinforcements." There was another way to shore up their numbers, since personnel were the problem and not material, but Darcey didn't think it would be in good taste, nor all that effective. Volunteer divisions would fold at the first sign of trouble, and the 'skotians had at least one dragon.

Norbert frowned a bit uncomfortably. "I uh...never actually learned what his family name was," he admitted. It hadn't really ever come up, but he certainly wished he knew it now. "His horse's name is Phyllis, if that helps." This is just embarrassing...It only then occurred to him to describe the guy, so he set off on that. "He's tall and has long, red hair. He wears glasses and his eyes are different colors. He's good with a bow and can use a sword. Er... That last part probably wasn't very helpful... Anyway, that's Valter."

Norbert didn't respond to Darcey, partially because she wasn't directly addressing him, whereas Cameron was. Still, what she had to say wasn't any sort of good news. Even if they weren't good at it, he hoped Ursaea was evacuated. Their defenses were left in tatters -- it was obvious the noncombatants here were casualties waiting to happen. Local bandits -- let alone the Neviskotians -- were a serious threat, now... And like heck any hostiles weren't going to take advantage of their shoddy defenses.

"I'm ..." Cameron hesitated briefly, "not really sure if that will be enough, but I'll try," she offered.

"Now don't wander off," Darcey instructed her pegasus as she locked up the stall, "Don't make me worry like that again. I'll be back in a few minutes." With that, she made her way toward the discussion. "Let's follow after Martha," she suggested, "he's more likely to say yes if he sees how much of a beating you took trying to help us."

"Thanks," Norbert responded to Cameron with a nod, "Even if you don't find anything out, I appreciate it."

When Darcey came back and gave her suggestion, Norbert had to stifle a short laugh. Her idea was a good one, at least in his opinion. It was probably the phrasing that had struck him as funny. It was just so...blunt? Blatant? Eh, it wasn't worth trying to identify the humor's prompt.

"Alright; I was about to start looking for him, myself, but it'll go faster if I'm not just asking around. Thanks," he replied to his sister. He hadn't really been paying attention to Martha, but he thought he saw which way she went, so he began following that guess, leading Rizen by the reins. If Darcey wanted to come -- like it sounded -- he wouldn't stop her, but he wouldn't blame her if she wanted to get Abi settled in a bit better or even just head inside, herself. The same went for Cameron, but she hadn't said anything about coming along.

"Aren't you going to pick out a stall, first?" Cameron asked, glancing at Rizen. She doubted Norbert would make it all the way to the commander's office with a pegasus in tow, for various reasons.

"It's no problem," the stable hand said, "I can take care of her for you. You should go get those wounds looked at," he smiled. Cameron winced. Again with the offer to deal with Rizen. Maybe they should just tell him she was a wild pegasus and get it over with ...

Norbert gave the stablehand a grimace. He guessed he should've known the commander wouldn't be outside. He flicked his attention back to Cameron and told her, "I didn't want to get her settled before I knew we could stay."

Then, he looked back to the stablehand and decided aloud, "Nah, I'll just let her wait outside. Don't want her goring anyone she doesn't trust."

The man looked slightly confused but didn't make a fuss about it. "I'll let the others know not to bother her," he said.

"Then it's time to play catch up," Darcey said, glancing at Cameron. "Are you coming too, or ...?"

Cameron shook her head. "I'm going to go find some things he can use to write with," she said. "After that, I think a check up with the healer is in order ... for all of us, then probably dinner, and sleep." Darcey couldn't argue with that, though she personally wanted to just go straight to bed after this. The pegasus knights didn't have any injuries that hadn't healed after their initial capture, but the bandits weren't exactly treating them like royalty, either, and their recent diet reflected that. Better to learn if they were in any condition to fight before they got sent out, again.

Norbert nodded at the stablehand's decision. It was the best course of action, really; this way, if anyone got hurt by Riz, it'd be their own fault for not listening to the warning.

Darcey spoke up immediately afterwards, drawing Bert's attention to her. Well, it was confirmed that she was coming along, now. That'd speed things up. The last time he was here, after all, he was sheltered by the Ursaean garrison in a decidedly more unfriendly manner and hadn't really gotten the chance to look around.

Hearing Cameron's answer, Norbert smiled at the woman, touched. She didn't have to run the errand for him, and normally, he'd offer to get it himself. But he really was exhausted, and he was beginning to learn to accept charity when he needed it.She's so considerate. Really, she'd even circumvented anything he would've said about making sure to take care of herself, too. Impressive and gently shrewd, that one. "Thank you, Cameron."

Though he did privately note that a bath was among his priorities, he decided he'd take care of that one himself, if the healer didn't require it. He really didn't need any infections right now. Either way, he decided he'd just follow Darcey when she headed out.

[Phoenix]

2/4

[spoiler=Outbound Pegasus Part 1]

Martha had gotten far ahead of them; she wasn't anywhere in sight, now, which meant she'd likely gone into the main building, just beside the forward barracks, where the city guard stayed. Darcey went up to the main building's door, left it open just long enough for Norbert to go in, and then shut it behind them.

"I hope the commander doesn't get the wrong idea when he sees me in this," Darcey plucked at her dress as she lead the way. It had been clean just prior to the escape, but an hour napping in the forest had certainly changed that. She had it better than some of the other pegasus knights, though, she reminded herself. She also had it better than Norbert, who could have been fighting bears for all anyone knew.

Indeed, Norbert had left Rizen outside when they came to the door to the main building, leaving her with a few, reassuring and soothing words in the hopes that she wouldn't feel so threatened by any stray passers-by.

Now, they were inside, and Norbert only briefly pondered what his sister meant as he walked beside her. "You mean you think he'll think you dressed up for him? I wouldn't worry about it; Martha's probably already explained why you're all dressed like you are."

Darcey frowned. "I meant I hope he doesn't think we were getting comfortable as prisoners ..." she clarified, not mad, but put off by the implication as Norbert himself had been before. "Usually hostages don't get halfway fancy dresses like these. Still, we weren't being treated like actual people back there."

There was the door to the commander's office, Darcey noted. She began moving toward it, causing her to veer toward the right side of the hallway. She gestured up ahead at it as she closed in, hoping there wasn't anymore bad news awaiting them.

Oh. He wasn't sure how he was supposed to know that that was what she'd meant, but it didn't bear pointing out. The thought never occurred to him, anyway. To him, at least, it was obvious that they weren't happy with what their situation had been.

Well, it looked like they were coming up on their destination. Though Bert kept beside Darcey, he made sure not to get in her way.

As she prepared to open the door, Darcey caught the sound of voices inside the commander's office, faint, but they were definitely there. Curious, she paused briefly and leaned her head as close to the door as she could without disturbing it. It only took her a few seconds to realize that the commander was too far from the door for her to get anything. No more delays, then.

Martha turned to face them as Darcey opened the door and stepped inside with Norbert. "I noticed there weren't any guards at the door ..." Darcey said, the thought only now occurring to her.

The commander sat down in his chair and prefaced his reply with a heavy sigh. "It's been a long day," he said. His attention went back to Martha. "That him?"

"Yes, sir," Martha nodded.

Bert cocked an eyebrow at Darcey's behavior at the door. What was she listening for? Couldn't they just go in? As it turned out, they could, as she didn't wait long to enter the room. As before, he followed along, taking in the place as he entered.

Regarding the brief exchange about the lack of guards at the door, Norbert wasn't surprised. They probably needed every remaining soldier to help defend Ursaea. A grim thought, but he couldn't disagree with the decision. Again, he found himself hoping that the pegasus knights who just returned wouldn't be fielded before they were recovered.

And evidently, he'd already been discussed, if Martha and the commander's words were anything to go by. For a moment, he wasn't sure if he should speak up or not since he really had no idea where in the conversation he'd jumped into. But then he decided he might as well speak up now, since he had their attention. Walking towards the commander, and stopping near Martha, he told him, "My name's Norbert. I'm with the mercenaries you hired to scout out the bandit outpost in the mountains. I'm here to pick up my employer's payment and ask if my pegasus and I can stay here, in your garrison, for the night, and get a meal. I know you probably don't have many supplies to spare at the moment, but I don't think my request is unreasonable."

"Commander Hampton," the older man greeted. "As for your request, by all means. You don't need to worry about our supplies; all the 'skotians hit were our towers and heavy weapons. That said, every archer and mage we've got is pulling double shifts now. The 'skotians'll be back with more than just their pet dragon next time."

Norbert nodded his agreement. The Neviskotians weren't going to rip down Ursaea's defenses without coming back later. They probably wouldn't wait long before striking, either... The less time the Ursaeans had to rebuild and to gather reinforcements, the better for the invading force.

Part of him wanted to warn Commander Hampton about what he knew from his time out among the bandits and Sonya, but he figured the pegasus knights would be filling out their own reports on the issue. Besides that, he was kind of eager to accept the commander's hospitality, being so tired. Speaking of which, his concern regarding the supplies was more directed towards assisting the commonfolk, or at least any which might have been injured in the attack, not to mention whatever soldiers were wounded and could no longer pull their weight.

"Thank you. Let me know if there's anything I can do to help before I leave tomorrow," he replied. Maybe he had some information the pegasus knights didn't, like what the journey to the hideout was like. It wasn't like anyone from his group was going to report in on that, and he wasn't sure how honest Doran's people would be when and if they got back.

Then, figuring he could just ask Darcey regarding the layout of the place, he asked the commander, "Where should I go to pick up the payment?"

"Payment?" Hampton's eyebrow tilted slightly. He knew what Norbert was talking about, but it took him a moment to realize that he'd most likely been out of contact with the woman, their little group's spokesperson. "Wait," Hampton held up a hand, letting the room know he already had his answer.

"Your friend Greta was here earlier today. She wanted to make sure you people got your wagon and horses, so I gave her a requisition form. She should still have it. Do you have any way of contacting her?"

Well, that question had a semi-complicated answer. Joanna was probably asleep right now, so... "Nothing quick and reliable," he answered, "I could write a letter or ride out, myself, but that doesn't seem worth it."

It was also annoying how he couldn't very well say that a message came to him from Greta while he was out in the field by way of an Avian who could talk to you through your own mind saying to pick up the form, himself. Jo had already revealed her abilities enough. He doubted that Greta would've returned that same day to pick up the form if she'd asked him to do it. Not unless she didn't think he would. For now, he'd see why the commander asked him this. Depending on how this began to resolve itself, he'd just ask for another copy of the form with a note saying to disregard it if they turned another one in already.

"Well," the commander paused a moment, probably working some things out in his head, "... you've got a few options as far as the payment goes. Your friend wanted her pick of the wagons, which I agreed to, but since she's not here, it's going to be up to you. Otherwise we'll just have to wait for her to come back and decide, herself. Lastly, you could take the third option, a monetary reward. I'm sure she wouldn't complain much if she can get something custom built in a few days. It's not like she can use the requisition form I gave her anywhere else, so if she's really in a hurry to get back to her business, at least gold has purchasing power beyond Ursaea," Hampton said, making a gesture that was as good as a shrug.

"You guys really went through all of that for a wagon?" Darcey looked at her brother, both surprised and amused.

"At least we have plenty to spare," Martha noted quietly to herself.

"She's a merchant without a wagon," Norbert answered his sister, though his mind was more on how to accept the payment, "And we were just supposed to scout. We thought you were all dead until Sonya told us the bandits had captives."

The monetary reward was sounding like the best option, however heavy it would be. He'd never learned how to drive a wagon, really. Never needed to before. And it turned out that the form could only be used in Ursaea... If they got the money, then they could wait to spend it until they were in Kigen, too, and avoid having to buy extra food and water for the horses, let alone the fees that would come with bringing them and the wagon onto a ship. The one they had on loan would be fine for the time being, and would make their transition out of Ursium easier, what with foes lying in wait at the ports and two wagons being easier to spot and trap than one.

"I'll go ahead and just bring her the money," he decided, "Thanks."

"Alright then," Hampton nodded. "They can show you around. Go see one of our staffers and get yourself cleaned up. I'll have the money ready for you in the morning. Until then, make yourself at home. You've more than earned it for the extra work."

"Thanks," Norbert responded with a nod before turning and heading out of the office. He agreed that the first stop should be to see a healer and get cleaned up. After that, a meal. But, of course, he'd need Darcey's help if he was going to get anywhere without wandering and asking around. At least he knew where the stables were, which reminded him that he really couldn't look after himself just yet. Rizen needed to get settled in, and that meant finding her a clean stall in the stables, untacking her, and giving her a good brushing. After today's events, she'd earned it.

Darcey followed Norbert out, stopping just long enough to make sure Martha wasn't coming, and then shut the door behind them. "Okay," she sighed, "so I guess we should finish getting your wounds looked at. Next stop, the infirmary ..."

Honestly, the more time passed, the more Darcey wanted to get back into a uniform. They actually were reasonably comfortable without the bits of armor desperately clinging to them. "While you're there I'm going to go get a spare uniform to wear, but I'll be back before they're done."

"You can go ahead and get a spare uniform now, if you want," he replied, already heading back the way they'd come. "I need to get Rizen settled in before I start getting comfortable, myself. She needs to be fed, watered, and brushed, so I'll be in the stables for a while. Go ahead and take care of yourself; you'll know where to find me."

"Are you sure?" Darcey frowned. Her eyes wandered around Norbert's arms and chest. He'd had some vulneraries, but she still wondered what he was letting fester by not seeing a healer. "Maybe I should bring the healer to you, instead." Arguing to have him go see the healer first and leave his pegasus on her own the whole time wasn't something she or any of the other pegasus knights were about to do, so the obvious solution was to get the healer over to him, instead.

"I'm going to be working for most of the time, so I might as well wait to see him until I'm done. Thanks for the offer, though," he replied, "And don't worry; I will see a healer. Just come find me after you're done with some of your own errands."

In the end, Norbert wound up doing exactly as he said he'd do. He exited the main building, led Rizen back to the stables, chose a nice stall for her, untacked her, then, after giving her some food and water -- which he'd been directed to by one of the stablehands -- began brushing her down. These particular stalls were a bit bigger than usual -- probably with pegasi in mind -- so he was able to make sure none of her feathers were bent oddly or anything, either. Needless to say, Rizen, herself, was in total bliss the whole time. Since they were usually having to keep their guard up, she didn't normally get this kind of thorough treatment. Bert even cleaned her hooves some, and combed her mane and tail. Of course, towards the end of it, most of the motion was just rote. He actually almost dozed off while giving her back and sides an extra brushing.

When he was done, Rizen's white coat and feathers were practically aglow, her horn and hooves shone, and she was entirely oblivious to Norbert's own exhaustion. She stood in her stall, happy as could be, while her rider lumbered out, closed the door, and latched it shut. Hopefully, being as pleased as she was, he wouldn't have to worry about any of her escape attempts tonight.

No one had better be daft enough to bring a wyvern in here. Norbert mentally grunted as he leaned back against one of the stall beams, nearly dead on his feet.

Darcey looked as good as new when she came back to the stables. Her new uniform clung neatly to her as she approached Norbert. She ran her hand through her damp hair one last time, wondering how much longer til it would be fully dry. Norbert was going to have to freshen up at some point too, but he looked like he'd rather sleep in his own dry blood than deal with all of that right now.

Too bad ...

"Hey," Darcey greeted him, "ready to go see a healer now? After that you're definitely going to need to wash up, too."

He'd been halfway in reality and halfway in a dream when Darcey came back. It was about halfway through her first sentence that he managed to fully reawaken. "Hm? Uh, yeah. Right."

He pushed himself off of the beam and gave a mighty, upwards, stretch, then a brief shake of his head. Yeah, now he was a bit more alert, though he had only belatedly realized that the stretch aggravated some of his injuries. As he walked over to his sister, Norbert responded, "Yeah, let's see that healer now. And don't worry; I plan on it. Don't want anything to get infected. My strength's sapped enough."

Darcey frowned, figuring that if there was going to be an infection, Norbert was already in the earliest stages. All the more reason to get to a healer, she decided. "Okay, follow me," she said, starting for the exit.

They took the same path all the way up until they reached Commander Hampton's office, and then they kept going all the way to the end of the hallway, past what looked like it might be a small mess hall for senior officers, and made a left, which led to a bit more hallway and finally to the infirmary entrance. It wasn't this place's only infirmary, of course. There were a couple more, one down below where the prisoners were kept, in case of accidents or in case of Doran, and another in the main barracks where the majority of the soldiers stayed.

Darcey didn't expect to find anyone inside but a healer or two when she opened the door. Oh how wrong she was. "Whoa," she gasped. Eleven badly injured soldiers, and only eight beds to go around. The healers Darcey had expected were there, one of them giving a soldier what looked like pain killers and the other halfway through her flask. She was the first to look at the new arrivals, and gave a small wave without taking the flask from her lips.

Norbert frowned around his sister at the sight. "I'm not hurt that bad. Maybe I'll just wait until tomorrow or something," he suggested to Darcey, unaware of the other infirmaries at the soldiers' disposal.

"Hold on," Darcey said, glaring at Norbert. She was still worried about him getting an infection if nothing else. "Um, how are things, here?" she asked the healer with the flask.

The woman stopped drinking for a moment. "Pretty good," the she smiled, "no casualties so far." She emptied the last of the flask's contents into her stomach and then stood up and approached the two siblings. "So, what happened to you?" she asked Norbert.

Well, this was a bit awkward. Norbert wasn't sure how much he trusted this healer. What'd she just been drinking? Besides that, there were already a lot of patients in here. They should probably be prioritized, especially since he'd already gotten a patch job.

"An arrow, a cut and a stab, but I've already been treated, so it's nothing that can't wait until tomorrow," he replied, trying to at least be polite. Casting Darcey a glance, he added, "My sister's just worried."

"About infection," Darcey clarified pointedly.

"Ah," the healer seemed to understand, "Well go ahead and take off that vest and anything else hanging over the wounds and have a seat. I'll give you a simple infusion and that should do you. Of course, I'll need you to check back in the morning to make sure your condition is normal. How much blood loss?"

"Probably a quarter of it," Darcey murmured a wild guess.

Looked like he wasn't getting out of this one. He wasn't entirely sure about the infusion -- he didn't like dependency options. Maybe this one would be light enough -- no pun intended -- that his body would retain its hardiness.

"How should I know?" he answered a tad irritably as he walked over to the nearest open spot and sat down, unbuckling the straps on his gloves as he did, "More than normal."

As soon as the first glove was off, he set that one down and began working on the next.

The healer blinked, her expression completely blank for a moment. "Feeling a little sick? Light headed? Extremely tired? Anything like that in the last few hours?"

"He was half asleep when I picked him up," Darcey answered first, "just assume it's a lot. That's not going to make a big difference is it? I mean as far as nipping any infection goes ..."

The healer smiled. "Well I don't want to overdo it. Infusions are wonderful and they make us feel wonderful but our bodies can get hooked quickly."

Norbert frowned at the woman. He'd already removed his second glove and was now resting his forehead guard next to it. "You'd better not get my body reliant on light infusions. I'd rather you not do one at all if you think it's a risk."

"It's only a risk if you've been getting these a lot lately," the healer explained, "It starts off subtle," she said, reaching for a staff that was propped up beside a few other similar looking ones in front of a desk. Once she had it, she said, "you'll feel a bit sluggish after a really big infusion or a few minor ones. That lasts about a week or so. If you get another one before that feeling wears off, you'll feel amazing for a few days. After that the sluggishness is even worse. Go through the cycle a few times, the windows get smaller, and then you're in trouble."

"So he should be fine this time ..." Darcey concluded, glancing at Norbert and wondering if he'd had any other infusions recently. Two, including this one, probably wouldn't do any harm whatsoever, but beyond that, even she had to wonder. Still, a big of fatigue was better than an infection.

"I'm not in the safest line of work," he grunted as Norbert slipped off his body armor. His wounds were more visible now, as they were indicated by the holes in his shirt and the dried blood encircled and trailed down from said holes. "If there's an alternate treatment, I'd rather have that, and save the light infusions for when I really need them."

By the time he'd finished speaking, Bert had tugged his tunic free from his belt, slipped it off, and set it aside. Now the grime from dust, his blood, and his sweat was a lot more visible, though he still wore the bandages Darcey had wrapped around his middle. They weren't clean anymore, but they'd helped to support his stab wound and keep it from bleeding out as much whenever it reopened from the long stretches of riding.

"See what I mean?" Darcey muttered, glancing at Norbert's torso.

The woman chuckled. "I'm afraid infusions are the only option until there's some other way to treat infections. Now then, let's get those bandages off. Looks like I might have to finish up after whoever took a shot at this last time ..." She squinted at Norbert's wounds.

"Alright," he conceded. If there was no medicine or anything that could help -- which he wondered about, as he was fairly certain Oscar had had some -- treat infections, then he'd just have to take the light infusion and hopefully not need another one for quite some time. What with how much he relied on his hardiness and durability, he couldn't afford to diminish either of those.

Bert reached back to untie the bandages, but came to a stop partway around, wincing. Then, untwisting, he informed, "I can't reach the knot." It made sense, as Darcey had been the one to bandage him up, and she'd been riding behind him at the time.

Darcey immediately moved to undo her handiwork. "I know you probably don't want to hear this," she warned, "but you'd never need infusions if you got to a healer faster." She didn't take it beyond that, thankfully. "There," she said, having loosened the bandage. She was starting to gently take it off when the healer woman leaned in closer, trying to get a closer look at the injury.

"There weren't any available at the time," he replied in what was practically a mutter as he helped Darcey undo the bandages. Soon, he was free of them.

Norbert's older scars were nothing but white lines, now. The recent stab wound had opened up again, though, likely no thanks to all the bending, twisting, stretching, and everything else he'd recently been doing. As for the arrow wound, it was only partially healed, as it hadn't had priority before due to its size and how little it encumbered Norbert's ability to fight. This was in spite of its position, which was just above a collarbone. It certainly was -- initially, at least -- a deeper wound, though. The shoulder wound had been mostly healed, but it was cracking and oozing, too, now, albeit a negligible amount. As the healer who had treated him had said, he would definitely scar. This shoulder wound was shaping up to be one of the more dramatic ones, though Bert, himself, was just glad that his body still functioned.

"I'll definitely have to clean up after the last healer first," the woman said, "The infusion can wait a minute." She leaned back toward the desk and swapped the staff she was holding for another one, this one slightly longer though there was nothing else about it that stood out at a glance. "You seem to have your fair share of scars, so I won't brief you on that," the healer said, holding the staff close to Norbert's shoulder. The gem at its center began to give off a faint yellow white light. The most obvious wound was suddenly starting to become less and less pronounced.

Darcey gave Norbert a look, the same one she'd given him the last time a personal healer came up.

There aren't that many... Of course, that could just be my opinion. Norbert figured, thinking back to when he'd last looked at them. He'd avoided scars for a long time, somehow. They'd only really begun to pile up after the Fallen attack. I wonder how many I'll have in ten years...if we make it to ten years, anyway.

"The last healer had to work quickly; we couldn't wait much longer before moving out or we probably wouldn't have made it out of there," he told the one working on him now. He was grateful to the man for doing what he did. Of course, a healer in the field like that had to be good at triage, so he guessed it wasn't that surprising how well he handled balancing speed and thoroughness.

"Sounds about right," the healer nodded. The light from the staff began to dim slightly as she began to take focus off the now fully healed shoulder wound. It was still highly visible due to the scarring, but it wouldn't open up again without some thorough convincing from a blade. She moved on to the next area, hunching and shifting as she moved around to Norbert's side. "In big battles, the side that gets hammered into a retreat is not only going to have the most casualties, but also the most scars."

"It's almost impossible to heal on the run," Darcey frowned.

"It's generally better to sit down and do it right the first time," the woman nodded in partial agreement.

"I'm just glad I'm not missing anything. If I can come out of a fight and everything still works after the healing, that's good enough for me. At least as far as my own healing goes," he put in. There were other aspects that determined whether a mission went well or not, for him, but he didn't want to think about how upset he was about being completely left to fend for himself. What was possibly even more bothersome was how the other mercenaries abandoned the pegasus knights. The job hadn't been to beat up some bandits, destroy their stuff, and try to get away without getting killed, to the point of abandoning your comrades if it got too dangerous. It'd been to work together to save the pegasus knights, and completely root out the bandits. Wasn't that the point of organizing the group?

No, no, enough of that. Instead, Norbert focused on his healing side. It'd been pretty deep -- may have punctured a kidney or his liver. The healer did a good job of stabilizing it, even if he hadn't been able to fully heal it. Norbert had known full well that he would receive the wound when he exposed his side in order to block one of the bandits from reaching the pegasi. Of course, back then, he thought reinforcements were coming...

Who cares if I die, anyway? He thought, brow furrowing in anger. They would've just been happy to have gotten out of there with as much done as they did. His expression softened a little. Not like the people here... Doran's right. These people can rely on each other. Even now, they're helping me, and I'm not even one of them. Fizza helped before, yeah, but...it was like she was doing that on her own. I miss Raquel's group... And Valter wasn't there, but if he had been, I know he would've warned us that they were leaving... Urgh, I don't want to think about all that right now.

Darcey didn't say anything. She wished Norbert would set his priorities a bit higher than he did, but he was stubborn, and probably set on his current approach, despite how outdated it seemed.

"There we go," the healer smiled, "still a little dirty, but it looks much better now." That just left the arrow wound, which she started on immediately. It didn't take long to finish, and all that remained of Norbert's injuries were fresh scars and mostly dry blood. "Ready for the infusion? I've got a good idea what strength I'll need to make sure you make a full recovery."

Norbert grimaced a little. He still wished there was something less risky, but in the end, he shrugged and replied, "Sure. Just let me know how long I should go without another one." Seriously; if I need one in the field and not enough time's gone by, I'm going to regret this...

The healer shrugged. "Ideally once every two weeks. If that's too much then no more than once a week. You might have some bad days after a while," she warned, "but you won't become dependent on it, physically or psychologically." The healer swapped her healing staff for the one she'd picked up earlier and held it close to Norbert's chest. It began to give off a faint glow almost immediately.

"I doubt he'll get psychologically dependent on anything like that," Darcey chuckled.

Well, that was some good news. Just have to try to avoid infections for a couple weeks...but it's not like I plan when I get hurt, so there's not really a way to make sure of that.

Norbert cracked a smile and loosed a laugh at Darcey's assessment. He sure hoped she was right, but as baseless as it was, it seemed to be the trend. Maybe it was that, and maybe it was the infusion, but he felt better, now. His energy was beginning to come back -- probably the infusion, actually; there was no way humor was that powerful. Satisfied at the progress, and at how his thinking was beginning to become easier and not practically solely focused on sleeping, the tasks ahead -- simple as they were -- were beginning to look more feasible. I wonder what that letter would've looked like if I didn't get this infusion. He chuckled at the thought.

"There you go," the healer's smile deepened as the staff's light faded. She placed it back with the others and let out a relieved sigh. "You're good to go. Be sure to check back in the morning if you're still around, or if you're not feeling well in general," she gave a faint shrug.

"Cameron's probably got your writing stuff ready by now," Darcey noted, "once you get cleaned up we should find her. Better yet, I could track her down while you take care of that," she pointed at Norbert's torso. There were no actually injuries left, only scars, dried blood and a battle's worth of grime.

"Thank you; I will," Norbert replied to the healer with a nod.

As he stood back up and began collecting his armor and tunic, Norbert listened to Darcey's suggested course of action and found himself nodding to it. "Yeah, that sounds best. Where do I go to wash up? And do I wash my clothes in the same place, or somewhere else?"

As for the gaping holes in his blood-crusted tunic, Norbert figured he'd just have to deal with those -- or rather, ask Hoshi or someone to deal with them -- when he rejoined the group. There were only a couple bad ones, anyway: where he'd been stabbed and slashed. As for his armor, it was easier to clean by virtue of being a harder material. He could just wipe it down the same as he did Rizen's. Not that he'd done that yet... He'd figured he should leave that task to the morning.

"Follow me," Darcey beckoned as she turned toward the infirmary door, "you can wash them yourself but we usually pay workers to do it. Today's not laundry day, though, sooo ..."

Norbert nodded as he followed his sister. "Right. Don't worry; I can clean it up myself. Have anything I can wear while my clothes dry? If not, that's fine, but wherever I sleep's going to be damp otherwise."

The bloodflow had extended to his pants, after all, though it wasn't too noticeable, given the color. It had actually been part of the reason he chose the colors he had: reusability. Bloodstains were harder to see on red and black.

Darcey nearly stopped in her tracks at the question. At first, she was just trying to figure out if they had anything he could borrow, then she nearly burst out laughing at the thought of Norbert wearing the same uniform as her. It wasn't the pantless version that showed up a lot during the summer months, but he still looked silly to her in it. "I'm sure there's some spare pants you can borrow ... definitely plenty of shirts," she said, trying and failing utterly to quash her amusement, "Do you want to get them now or do you want me to bring them to drop them off for you after I find Cameron?"

Well, that was good news. He cocked an eyebrow at his sister's humor, though. What was so funny?

Well, there was a more important question to answer. "I'd rather have them with me, so let's go pick them up now."

"Okay," Darcey nodded, picking up her pace slightly. They passed Commander Hampton's office on the way back and wound up leaving the main building altogether. From there it was a relatively short walk from there to the barracks. It was the best place to find spare anythings. They got some stares along the way, both from soldiers patrolling the grounds and those just standing guard.

They didn't quite reach their destination before an unlikely face--or so Darcey had believed--showed up. "Wait, Cameron?" Darcey felt her eyes moving down to the unfamiliar shape in her fellow pegasus knight's arms. At a glance they looked like folded up pillow cases, but she knew better. "You got him the spare clothes?"

She nodded an affirmative and looked at Norbert. "I knew you'd need them sooner and not later so once I picked up the pen and parchment I decided to go find you some spare clothes. I wasn't sure if you were going to be washing in the main building or in the barracks, though ..."

Cameron's thoughtfulness was surprising. She really did think ahead...and she was very considerate. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate the gesture, either, but there was something a bit embarrassing about it. His sister helping him with getting some spare clothes was one thing, but... Was that it? It didn't make much sense in the first place, so he didn't try to parse it out.

Instead, he gave Cameron a nod and a smile. "Thanks." then, he looked to Darcey, "That makes things go faster. We can just go ahead to the baths, now."

Addressing both of the women, he added, "Thank you both for helping me out so much."

"Thanks for helping us," Cameron replied with a smile. She reached out to offer Norbert the clothes she'd gotten. She wasn't sure what his size was, but there was a belt included. The size of the pants were the only potential problem. Fortunately she'd found a pair that 'looked' like they would fit reasonably well, belt or no.

"It's the least we can do," Darcey gently waved away the thanks, "especially in my case since we grew up together." Mostly. It was more like growing up in the same 'tiny village' than 'together', but the meaning seemed clear enough to her. "Anyway ... the washroom. It should be in the same place ours is. I'm pretty sure both buildings have the same layout ..."

"Yeah," Cameron nodded as Darcey started off toward the barracks. She fell into step beside her as they walked. "By the way, Bert, you'll be staying in the barracks too, so I put the pen and paper in there for you. There's a desk that I don't think anyone's going to be using tonight. There's also a few empty cots nearby." Those cots likely belonged to some of the soldiers in the infirmary, or possibly even some of the guardsmen off in the woods. "Once you're done cleaning up you can get straight to writing and then hopefully to sleeping."

Norbert took the proffered clothes from Cameron with with a grateful nod. It was kind of strange to both feel and be given such gratitude. Darcey's addition was especially surprising, given how she, evidently, felt about her siblings. Norbert had the familial instinct to protect his sisters, yes, but for the most part, his memories of growing up were far from warm and fuzzy. They didn't owe each other much, if anything... Maybe her experience had been different. They never really interacted much as kids.

"Thanks," he replied to Cameron as they walked, "I'll do that."

He really felt like a guest here, and, oddly enough, his guard was much further down than it had been when he was a guest in grander places, such as in Weyland's home, or in Sanctuary's palace. Thinking about it, it was kind of humorous. He doubted either Cameron or Darcey -- or any of his sisters, for that matter -- would believe him if he told them about all the places he'd been and the people he'd met. Not that it'd be safe to, anyway. Maybe some other time. Whenever that would be, he looked forward to it.

Darcey felt a little awkward going all the way to the entrance to the men's washing area, even though it was deserted at the moment. Usually the pegasus knights didn't even come into the men's barracks. Stricter segregation of the soldiers was a bit pointless, since it would cause more problems than it solved. The women could enter and vice versa, they just couldn't loiter; official business only. This more or less qualified, Darcey decided. She wondered if Cameron felt awkward being over here or if she was just focused on helping out their rough around the edges rescuer, Bert the Crusher.

Cameron gestured at the writing desk as they passed it and sure enough, there was a pen, a few sheets of paper, and even an envelope nearby. There wasn't a whole lot of light, just a single candle that sat just high enough for one to write comfortably. Just about everything was done on the cheap, here, using as little magic as feasible. Darcey didn't really like that, but the army in general had a budgeting nightmare to wrestle with and so despite the advances in lighting, plumbing, and water storage, the barracks was still set up the way it might have been several hundred years ago.

The washroom was probably the least impressive thing possible in this place. There were long benches lining both sides of an elongated room that stretched out from them at the entrance. There were a few used and half dried wash clothes lying unattended in seemingly random places, an endless supply of wooden buckets. The far wall had five stacks of them of varying heights. Darcey was a bit miffed when she saw it.

"The heck?" she glowered, "why are these just sitting here," she pointed at the empty buckets and wash clothes strewn about. The women's washroom looked identical but without the relative disorder. "Do they think the workers are just supposed to do everything? I can guarantee you we don't leave things just lying around on our side," she assured Norbert, though she wasn't entirely sure why she thought he'd care.

"Maybe it was because of the attack," Cameron pointed out, giving the soldiers the benefit of the doubt.

Darcey hadn't considered that. Suddenly she went from feeling a little angry to guilty. "Yeah, maybe," she said, her voice straining.

Norbert shrugged, partially in an attempt to make Darcey feel better, and partially because it was his own guess, he replied, "Could be either. A lot of people only want to do as much work as they're required to, and I don't think anyone was expecting the attack earlier. I guess the best way to figure that out without just asking one of the men is to check the woman's washroom and see if it looks like this, if you care that much. It doesn't bother me either way; this is a lot better than my last stay here." Well, that was an attempt at a joke, but it probably failed.

"Anyway, I'll be sure to clean up after myself," Norbert finished as he walked over to one of the benches and set his load down, separating the clean clothes from his armor and tunic.

Cameron frowned. "I bet," she replied, remembering her struggle to get to Norbert during his 'interview.'

Darcey thought back to just a little while ago. She had gone to wash up while Norbert cleaned his pegasus and she hadn't seen anything out of order in the washroom. Of course, there was an obvious explanation for that. Many of the women were pegasus knights. The overwhelming majority of those that remained were mages and archers with the odd heavy soldier here and there, which meant even in the current crisis, most of them would have been out on duty or missing in action. "It was tidy as usual when I was there," Darcey said, looking none too pleased to have figured out why that was the case.

"Well," Cameron chimed in, "I'm sure they'll get around to it soon. I'll go get some water for you since there's no one else around. The slight mess won't hurt you any."

"Don't tempt fate," Darcey said pointedly.

[Phoenix]

3/4

[spoiler=Outbound Pegasus Part 2]

The women left after Cameron returned with the water for the bath. The rest of the bathing materials were easily gathered, and, as Cameron said, the messy room didn't hurt any. That is, there was no slipping or tripping. Once his body was clean, he'd gone ahead and washed his clothes, and armor, though the latter wasn't cleaned as thoroughly. And, as he said he would, Norbert put things away as tidily as he could once he was finished.

It felt good to be clean again, and in a fresh set of clothes. Of course, now that his injuries and hygiene were taken care of, his hunger was punctuated. As he set his damp clothes -- which had been thoroughly wrung out -- on the empty cot he selected for himself (which was near the writing desk Cameron had pointed out and set up for him) to dry, Norbert found himself wondering where the mess hall was, and if there was anything to eat there. Then, he looked to the desk, wondering if he shouldn't just skip the meal and get to writing before he got full and even sleepier.

This time it was Darcey who'd thought ahead. She'd thought about going to bed after helping Norbert settle in, but once she started feeling peckish, she realized her brother was probably a lot worse off, having actually fought earlier that day. He hadn't eaten since then as far as she knew ...

"How's the letter coming?" Darcey asked as she entered the barracks. From what she could tell there were only two other people in the area aside from Norbert, and both of them were asleep on their cots, or at least looked like they were asleep. They could have been dead for all she knew with how poorly lit everything was at night. As she came closer to the desk, the candlelight revealed a bowl, carefully balanced in her left hand, as well as a cup in the other. "I was getting hungry so I figured you were probably half starved. Do you like beef stew? I hope you do because it's all the cooks made today."

The smell reached him at about the same time Darcey's words did. He wasn't one to generally have his entire attention garnered by the smell of food, but this time it certainly got most of it, at least at the start.

"Oh, Darcey," he responded in mild surprise, though he, himself was a bit taking off-guard at how relaxed, and even good-natured he sounded. Rather than bother about it, he gave her a nod as he walked over. "Yeah, you're right; thanks. Really, it sounds like just what I need right now."

Taking the food and drink offered him, Norbert indicated the desk with a light jerk of his head. "I haven't gotten started on the writing, yet, but I'll get to it after I eat. Where should I put the dishes when I'm done with them?"

"I was going to hang out for a bit anyway," Darcey said with a shrug, "I can get those back to the kitchen for you before I go to bed." If he wasn't making progress with the letter just yet, and was going to focus on eating first, anyway ...

Norbert nodded. "Thanks."

Then, he sat down in the chair by the desk and set the cup down before gesturing to the cot he'd picked out for himself, indicating that she could sit if she wanted to. As for him, he took a brief drink from the water she'd provided and then went into eating the stew. Really, beef stew was among his favorite foods, and probably the best thing cooks ever came up with. It was simple, but filling and hearty, and it had meat and vegetables in it for sustenance. Plus, if it was cold out, it warmed you right up. Of course, it was also a simple enough recipe that it also varied largely from cook to cook. He hadn't found one he didn't like, though.

"So ..." Darcey let the first word hang in the air for a moment, "I was asking around and it turns out the washroom was pretty much abandoned as soon as the attack started." She almost laughed at the thought of half a dozen men rushing out of the washroom both soaked and completely naked, scrambling for their gear. It was just a shame that it was a real emergency and not something simpler ... that was why she didn't laugh.

"Hm," was Norbert's only response at first, as his mouth was full of his dinner. Once he'd swallowed, though, he responded, "That makes sense. Washing's not going to do you any good if the ceiling's falling and just making you dirty again anyway." He grinned in humor after that. "Lousy time to be in the bath, though."

"I can't think of timing worse than that," Darcey agreed with a grimace. The nearest chair was just far enough away, and looked just enough like it belonged next to the cot across the way, that Darcey decided to sit on the nearest cot for the moment. Thankfully there was no one around to rat her out for loitering ...

"So," Bert continued as he took up another spoonful of the stew, though he only put it into his mouth after he asked the question. "How's your career coming?"

"Could be better," Darcey admitted, "You don't get recommendations for getting captured, just sympathy."

He began nodding, then paused, a look of puzzlement coming to his face. After swallowing, he asked, "This happened before?"

"Not to me," Darcey shook her head as recent memories crept up, "I just wish we'd been better prepared. They shouldn't have been able to take us like that." Plenty of them had died along with their pegasi when the ballisticians scored some unintended yet critical hits, but the ones that were captured simply made the mistake of trying to hide from their attackers in the trees rather than fight them head on. That had been the whole idea; shoot at each new rider, convince them they were dead if they stayed in the air, and then send a large group to take them wherever they landed. Darcey's hands turned to fists as she recalled her own capture. "Bastards ..."

Well, it seemed Darcey hadn't really understood his question, but that was fine. It was pretty easy to clear up. Normally, he'd be inclined to let her seethe -- it wasn't as though her targets didn't deserve it -- but if they were going to enjoy this limited time, someone had to break the growing silence.

"I haven't seen you for years," he amended, stirring his stew in preparation to take another bite. "Three, since I left home a year early. You stayed until you were eighteen, though, right?" Then he took that bite he'd been preparing.

Darcey frowned again. "I think so," she said, thinking back to her final days at the orphanage. "I'm not the best at keeping track of time, you know ..." Her face reddened slightly. "I don't even know exactly how many days Carlos and his men had me there. I guess that's why people scratch up the walls down in the dungeon after a while."

Norbert nodded; it was understandable. He'd also already swallowed. "Sounds like things were busy after you left."

"Kind of," Darcey shrugged. "Right after I left I was trying to join the navy but they don't like mixing women in with the men on the ships so the requirements are ridiculous. There are some newer squadrons that take anyone qualified and apparently they have the sexes split between the decks or something like that. But ..." she paused, loosing a pent up breath, "I knew absolutely nothing about 'maritime' stuff when I was applying and didn't make the cut. It's probably for the best since I don't actually like ships. I just like the idea of flying over the ocean. It'd be great if that was 'technically' my job, heheh."

Norbert couldn't help but laugh and some of the irony, there. Still, there were sleeping soldiers in the room, so he kept his volume in check. So his sister wouldn't be too confused, he explained, "For a while, there was a mariner who traveled with us." He shook his head, still a bit incredulous, but now in humor rather than in exasperation. "She must've grown up on the sea -- she hardly knew anything about 'land customs.' I didn't talk to her much, so I don't know much about her personally, but she was loud and boisterous. It's too bad she's not around; maybe she could've given you some tips."

After this, he took another bite of stew, and once that was swallowed, he set to work on downing more of his water. All the salt was making him thirsty. All this talk of the sea reminded him of his own time on the ships, too. He'd enjoyed it, actually. Even his time in the infirmary wasn't that bad.

"Where are all the knowledgeable people when you need them?" Darcey said, wondering how things might have gone if she'd been lucky enough to find a tutor. That was when a thought occurred. "You know, I wasn't the only one who tried to join the navy." She was probably the only one who tried that didn't get in, she assumed bitterly. "There was one other girl I knew back at the orphanage, Edith. If she was serious about it I'm sure she made it in."

"Really?" That was surprising news. Not that one of his sisters probably got into the navy -- there were so many of them that the odds weren't that slim -- but rather that he was hearing news about another of his sisters like this. Darcey had said that she hadn't run into any of them since leaving. Maybe Edith had just slipped her mind, or they'd talked about it before they left. Besides that, he and the others were going to head to one of the ports... Maybe they'd meet up with her, slim as that chance may have been. There were many sailors in the navy, after all. Of course, even if they did, he doubted things would go as cordially as they had with Darcey. According to Fizza, they had enemies waiting for them, after all, and the military -- navy included -- wasn't necessarily on their side.

"Well, good for her, if she got in," he replied before eating a bit more of his stew. There wasn't much left. It then occurred to him how dangerous being in the navy could be for Edith, though. He couldn't see a reason why the Neviskotians wouldn't press their naval advantage. For all he knew, she could've gotten in and then died... "...Hope she never runs into any dragons out there."

"She left way before us so we didn't apply together," Darcey noted, "but I'm sure she got in. She seemed like the type who gets her way a lot. Not sure if that's a good thing or not." Darcey thought to ask Norbert about his 'career' but she wasn't sure if that was a sore spot for him or not. There was something in particular she was curious about though, especially after their visit to the infirmary. She decided he seemed to be in a good enough mood not to mind too much.

"If you don't mind me asking," she began, minding her wording as she tested the waters, "how did you get by after you left? I mean, I know about the crusher thing, but I mean specifically ..." And yet somehow she knew she wasn't being specific enough, herself.

Ah, so Edith was an older-- wait. His brow furrowed in a glare. He was pretty sure now who she meant. She'd gone on and asked another question, though. No reason to complain about Edith right now, so he took a deep breath and released it as he focused on the matter at hand...which was actually a little puzzling.

"I thought I already told you that back in that bandit camp," he responded, a little perplexed.

"Yeah I know," Darcey curled up slightly. She'd expected that response. "I mean ... oh I'll just come out and say it," she huffed, "Carlos and company kicked our butts and we're trained pegasus knights. How'd you deal with their kind all by yourself for so long? I mean techniques and ... things like that."

"Oh," was his only response at first. There wasn't much left of the stew, so he scraped out the rest and ate it as he considered his answer before replying. "Well...first, I wasn't by myself. Rizen helped a lot. Wild pegasi are actually very dangerous, but you know that. And it's not like I disbanded them. I was living in the woods south of home, so I knew the area, for one. But there are things I needed that I couldn't get myself, like food, and maintenance for my weapons. Bandits lived in the woods, too, so I stole from them to pay for what I needed in the towns nearby. That's the truth of it: it was just how I survived out there."

That out of the way, he went on. "As for actually attacking their bases, normally I'd try to find out when most of them went on raids, and attacked their bases when there weren't as many around. Separating one of them from the others and beating the information out of him worked when it was a new band. If there were lots of bandits, I didn't bring Rizen with me, but she would always be nearby in case I needed to get out of there quickly, or if she decided to attack, too. Like I said before, she's saved my life more than once. Anyway... Knowing where how many of the bandits will be when, knowing the environment, and knowing how to move in the environment are the most important things, I think. Like, if you know the smells and sounds of the woods or wherever you are, you'll know when something's off."

Norbert grimaced uncertainly. "Am I explaining this alright?"

"Y-yeah," Darcey nodded with a little too much force. Her imagination had been showing her vivid images of Norbert's struggle to survive. He was a bit under dressed for the woods, but didn't have a scratch on him. Having been snapped out of the fantastic retelling of Bert the Crusher by the man's question, she was beginning to see why he was surprised by his scars. If they were recent then either his luck had run out, or his circumstances had changed, probably for the worse ...

"I was just trying to picture that. It was kind of funny, you running around without a shirt on and covered in dirt ... sneaking up on some unsuspecting ruffian."

Bert cocked an eyebrow at Darcey's mental image, or at least what she described. For a moment, he was silent. Then, he asked, "How in Truth's name did you come up with that? It wasn't like I was somewhere warm or anything. And I still washed..." He waved it off. "You know what? Never mind."

"I'm sorry," a laugh escaped her, "I guess it was mid-summer in my head?" She honestly didn't know one way or the other. "Anyway, I can't help but wonder how you did so well on your own when we, the so called pride of the Ursian Army, got captured or killed one by one until the Commander realized he was nearly out of pegasus knights. Sometimes our leaders make some pretty big mistakes, or a bunch of small ones that add up fast ..."

Norbert nodded as he swished around the remaining water in his cup, watching it a bit absently. "I think everyone's leaders do that." Then, he drank the rest of it down.

Then, Norbert added, somewhere between confessing and reminiscing with a mild bitterness, "I worked alone for a long time because I didn't trust anyone but Rizen and myself. I refused to live in a community or join the military because I didn't want anyone telling me what to do or how to be, but I guess even that was because of trust."

Darcey's brother shifted his contemplative gaze to her. "You know that growing up, I got into a lot of fights, right? I know that everyone thinks I was always looking for trouble, but that's because that's what Cecelia and the others told everyone. No one believed me when I said they attacked me, so that's what everyone kept saying about me, which meant no one believed me when I defended myself later. Everyone always assumed I was a troublemaker and a liar, and Cecelia and the others were the victims. So of course no one defended me or listened to me. Even Nigel would just talk to them... They'd say they'd try to get along with me every time, but they never changed. So I learned that the only person defend would defend me was me. No one would believe me and I had no rights. I couldn't rely on others and I certainly couldn't rely on leaders... So I escaped being around people."

Norbert's gaze shifted away again as he bitterly added, "And this isn't even including how hard I fought to prove them wrong: that I am worth something." He looked back to Darcey. "And you know what? I've been getting better. A friend I made made me promise to stop insulting myself. Other friends even risked themselves for me in the past. And I used all that as evidence when I told Cecelia that I wasn't going to let Cecelia call me trash anymore after she got me jailed for attacking her after she goaded me."

Darcey couldn't help but feel a bit of pride well up in her as Norbert explained part of his growing process. Of course there was just one odd detail that cast a shadow over all of that, at least for her. It was right at the end. "You got arrested?" she asked, wincing back at him. It was no surprise he'd been arrested for attacking someone in the military. He was actually lucky in that sense. Attacking a officer, or whatever Cecelia might have been at the time, was an unwritten waiver on one's life so long as the deed was done quickly.

She supposed if he was goaded, it was a clever trap he really shouldn't have fallen for ... and also a serious albeit common abuse of power. Darcey was starting to feel a bad about their shared past. Those old feuds that she'd mostly only ever heard about second or third hand seemed more real and hopelessly one sided than they had at the time. She realized that it may have been the point, a troublemaker against girls that would stick together and take him down a peg, and not a lone kid against a group of bullies ...

Norbert nodded in response. Though it was hard to really tell if she believed him or not, he'd figured he should speak up since there was that chance: one of his many sisters finally knowing the truth about what had happened to him growing up. Now, though... Now things were getting into murkier territory.

He wanted to tell Darcey about the imprisonment, but that could easily lead into his recruitment and set him at a place and at a time that would incriminate him further because of Jo's rescue. Being completely open with Darcey was out of the question; it was just too dangerous. That didn't mean he couldn't expound a little, though.

"Arrested for attacking an officer -- who I never managed to hit, by the way -- suspected of carrying stolen funds -- which was disproved -- and bringing a pegasus into battle uncertified -- which no one had ever told me about before then. Sheknew I didn't learn to ride with the rest of you," he replied, the memory rekindling his contempt for the woman. "And she used my parents to goad me into attacking her."

She used a fellow orphan's parents to goad them? "Cecelia ..." Darcey winced. That was low, lower than just arresting Norbert on sight and fabricating a story. She didn't need anymore convincing. Norbert couldn't have done anything, even during his childhood at the orphanage, to warrant that. "I'm sorry that happened to you. I would have done something about it if I'd been there."

Norbert just nodded, at first, then it dawned on him just what that meant. Then, bitterness evaporating, he gave his sister a little smile. "You know, I believe you. Thank you, Darcey. You're the first of our family who's ever believed me about this."

"To be honest," Darcey began, "I wasn't sure what to think at first. Bert the Crusher, the one in my head, didn't match up with the real one, but at the same time, 'Bert the Crusher' actually makes sense to me now." She smiled faintly. "That maletroublemaker back at the orphanage doesn't match up with you, either ... and now that makes sense, too."

So, now Darcey understood how and why he became the Crusher, huh? And she believed him about their childhood... He really didn't know what to say to that. He'd never expected to be understood like this, especially not by one of his sisters. Emotionally, he was somewhere between baffled, grateful, and surreal. This wasn't a dream, right? How was this possible?

After a span of silence from not knowing what to say, trying and failing to figure something out (rather obviously, gesturing like he was about to speak before giving up on it), he eventually found his voice. "I...never expected this." It'll take some getting used to before I can really believe it. This really happened, right? He really was trying. "Thank you."

"You said that already," Darcey teased, "and don't worry about it. You spent the whole day showing me what you're really like. It'd be stupid to fall back on what I'd heard."

Norbert just smiled at Darcey gratefully for a moment. Then, he picked up his empty dishes. "Well, I should get to this letter. I'm done with these. Have a good night, Darcey."

"You too, Bert," she said, standing up and taking the bowl and cup. "I'll see you in the morning."

Well, Darcey was gone, now, and though he was tired, Norbert knew he had one more thing to do before he went to sleep. So, he turned to face the writing materials Cameron had brought for him, took and deep breath, and let it out as he began to think about what to write.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The rider only had so much paper, and he didn't know how much he wanted to say, so Norbert had been careful about how to say things before actually writing it down. It wasn't easy. He hadn't spoken to the man in a long time, and his opinion of Father Nigel was caught somewhere between bitter, annoyed, and grateful. He'd finally come to the conclusion that Nigel was a good man, but a terrible leader. He was simply too anti-confrontation for the job -- too gentle to protect any of the kids from each other. Perhaps, if Nigel had been stronger, Norbert wouldn't have suffered at the hands of his sisters as he had.

Anyway, he hoped to avoid criticizing the old man in this letter. After all, this would be the first time he'd contacted him in a long time, and it wasn't good to open up with that. Besides, who knew how he was doing nowadays, having already raised multiple generations of orphans?

Though he thought he'd done well enough in writing his letter, Norbert gave the freshly-completed document a read-through before confirming the task as complete.

Father Nigel,

Hello. It's been around three years since I last spoke with you. I shouldn't have waited so long before sending you a letter, especially after leaving home so suddenly. I'm sorry to make you worry. I left because I couldn't stand living at home any longer and wanted to escape. I lived in the woods below the mountain, fighting bandits to take their plunder for things like food and repairs. I became known as Bert the Crusher, because I use maces when I fight, though I started with my old woodcutting axe. I use another axe now, one a friend got for me. It's a poleaxe.

Rizen, my pegasus, has helped me, and continues to help me, more than most people would guess. She's still a wild pegasus, but she protects me, and is my oldest friend. Maybe you didn't know, but I learned to work with her in private, since I wasn't allowed to learn to fight or ride with the others. I think I'm doing okay at both now, despite that, but I'm always working to get stronger.

I'm sorry if this letter is making you worry more than my silence has, or if it's bothering you. I know you're peaceful, so all this violence I'm talking about might upset you. I'm a mercenary now, though, so my life has a lot of violence in it. I'm okay, though, and so is Rizen.

I've been making friends. It took a long time for me to realize it, and even longer to get used to it. People have risked themselves for me, believe it or not. And one of my friends even told me to think more positively about myself. This is still strange to me, but I'm doing my best. I promised I would get better at not thinking negatively about myself, so I'm trying. I think I'm improving, too. I think I'm also getting better at controlling my temper. I still get mad, though.

I finally made a friend out of one of my sisters, too. Darcey. She was in a tough situation, and the mercenary group I'm with came to help. She's fine, now, and we talked to each other and our friend, Cameron, a lot on the way back to Ursaea. Darcey's pegasus, Abigail, is doing well, too, and so is Joy, Cameron's pegasus. Cameron's very thoughtful, and has a weird, gentle way of confronting people. You remember Darcey. I like them. I guess that goes without saying, though, since I already called them my friends. They helped me a lot, both during and after the mission. I'm only writing to you because of their help.

Anyway, I'm sorry for being so ungrateful. I don't think I ever thanked you for saving my life when I was a baby. I guess I never thought to. So, thank you. I hope everything's going well back home.

Because I travel so much, it's not likely you'll be able to send me a reply. That's okay. I just needed to send you one, I think. I don't know if you'll care about getting this letter or not, but it's better to send it and you not care than to be rude to you when you're worrying about what happened to me.

Anyway, may Mother Mercy bless you as you have faithfully served her.

Norbert

"I think I covered everything..." he mumbled to himself. Was the ending too formal? Probably not. Nigel was a devout Mercite. Loosing a little sigh, he muttered, "That's it, then."

The ink was probably dry by now, so he folded the letter up and slid it into the provided envelope. Once it was sealed, he wrote what qualified as Nigel's address -- "Pegasus Orphanage for Girls in the northern mountains" -- on the back, along with "Father Nigel." Then, he sealed it and, not knowing what to do with the excess materials, left them and the letter on the desk. The last thing he did before climbing into the cot he'd been loaned for the night, was to simply blow out the candle that was on the desk. He was asleep almost instantly.

...

"Hey, rise and shine, you." Doran had to resist the urge to level a familiar label on the sleeping rider. After everything that had happened, he decided it wasn't worth it. The nonstop trek on foot along with random encounters with remnants of Carlos' men had taken most of the fight out of him. "The commander wants to see you ... probably about your reward."

Norbert had only stirred to more or less full awareness towards the beginning of Doran's second sentence. It was partially due to how far down his guard was before going to sleep, and partially because he was still recovering from bloodloss. Thanks to the infusion, the exercise, and the sleep, though, he was well on his way to a quick recovery from that particular ailment.

Initially, the rider hadn't identified the one conveying the message as Doran. When he did, though, Norbert gave him a smile and a nod. "Looks like you made it back. Good; we were worried about what happened to you guys." Standing and stretching, he added, "Thanks for the message. I'll go see him soon."

"Make sure you do. As for me, I'm going to bed ..." he turned to head across the room. From to his own cot. From the looks of things, it was definitely morning, and the barracks had a lot more people in it. Most of them were awake, but about seven of them were out cold in their cots. Pieces of dirt and blood covered armor were scattered around them. Clearly they had decided to put off the maintenance until they were rested. None of the waking guardsmen seemed too put off by it. Maybe they were just happy the group even made it back, at all.

Though he wondered what happened since they parted ways -- what happened in the base, if everyone made it back alive, how the trip back to Ursaea went -- Norbert wasn't about to ask any of the survivors. They'd been out all day and all night with little food and needed their rest. Of course, he, himself, would be leaving soon, so he'd probably never know the full story. That was fine. He didn't really need to know, and those particular details probably wouldn't be necessary down the line, anyway, since they were heading out of the country.

Once Norbert had changed back into his usual clothes and armor, folded the loaned outfit up, and picked up the letter he'd written, the rider headed out and towards Commander Hampton's office. If he saw Darcey or Cameron on the way, he'd deal with his load then, but for now, he figured the first person he should seek out was the one who'd asked to see him.

The atmosphere outside the barracks was nothing like the worn out downtrodden one Norbert had just left. Outside, there were at least two dozen soldiers in a loose formation, getting a rather lively briefing from what looked like a senior officer. They were all guardsmen, like Doran and the others, armed with mostly swords, guns, barely hidden knives, and every third soldier seemed to have a lance or bow and quiver.

The way to the main building was clear, with only two guards minding the entrance. They didn't pay the wandering civilian much mind since they had already been briefed about him.

Well, it was good that it looked like the Ursaean guard was recovering. Norbert guessed it had something to do with a combination of getting some sleep and seeing so many of their allies back. Several hadn't been expected to ever return, as far as he could tell. Unaccosted, Norbert continued on into the main building, tracing his steps back to the commander's office.

Once again, there were no guards outside Commander Hampton's office. There were a few workers in the main hallway, though save for one who was inspecting a random looking part of the wall, they looked like they had places to be.

The wall-inspector wasn't really Norbert's problem, though he did find it a bit odd. Well, if something was wrong, he was sure that the soldiers in the garrison would find out and handle it themselves. It wasn't his business. No, his business was on the other side of the door he now stood in front of and knocked on.

"A moment," came a dignified sounding voice from the other side of the door. It opened and a tall armored man stood there, already sizing up Norbert with relative disinterest. His appearance might have been more imposing if not for the fact that his sword arm was in a sling and he had a painful looking bruise on the side of his face. "Is this one of the mercenaries helping you with your bandit problem, Commander?" he half turned toward Hampton's desk.

"Yes," came an impatient reply from the commander, "now let him in, Charles. I did send for him."

"Mm, very well," Charles stepped back to give Norbert room to enter. "I suppose the sooner you give this boy his payment, the sooner we can discuss our people's findings. It's very important that we not waste too much time with this, Hampton."

When Norbert saw the one who greeted him at the door, his first thought was about how big this guy was. The second was wondering what had happened to him, but it was quickly dismissed as Bert figured the guy must've been caught in the fighting the previous night. It was also revealed that this man's name was Charles.

As Charles stood aside, Norbert entered. He figured he might as well, especially since the commander sounded a bit rushed. Charles mentioned he wanted to get this distraction overwith, too. It seemed that all three of them were in agreement on that. There was something else, though. He'd dismissed it at first, but this second time that Charles spoke up, he really sounded like he was the commander's equal, and visiting from somewhere else. If Norbert and the others weren't actively being chased down by Wrathites, he probably would've ignored it. There was something else, too, in what he said... Oh, come on. I don't really look that young, do I? Maybe it's just because I'm shorter than him. 'Course, most people are.

Once Norbert was at a comfortable talking distance from Hampton, he asked, "Doran said you wanted to see me. Did I interrupt something?"

"Like I said," Hampton began, "I sent for you, so I wouldn't call this an interruption." He considered Charles' unexpected visit an interruption, but he wouldn't tell the nobleman that to his face. He gestured toward some new items toward the right, forward most edge of his desk. There were four bags of gold, almost mixed in with some thick logbooks and writing utensils. "There's five hundred there, more than enough to get a custom wagon built along with the horses to pull it, plus a little extra for you. Consider that my personal thanks for escorting our riders back here."

"Five hundred," Charles' eyes narrowed, "that's an absurd amount for just one job, no matter how dangerous."

"This isn't a concern of the Order of Wrath," Hampton gave Charles a chastising look.

Hampton's last statement was a bit ironic, but at least it confirmed that this guy was from the Order of Wrath. It was definitely too dangerous to stay in Ursaea for much longer. I hope Valter got out okay...

He was also a little surprised at the extra payment. He supposed he'd earned it, really, being the only one besides Fizza to stick with the job until it was done... Maybe he'd share a bit of it with her. She'd brought Abi back safe and sound, after all, even if she was a little odd about it. Not to mention being bait for those wyvern knights. Of course, this wasn't the time nor the place to be bringing up extra thanks or details like those. It was probably a bad idea to specify any of the pegasus knights in front of this Wrathite, too. It was too bad he couldn't commend Cameron, Darcey, or even Martha for the extra effort they put in. Sooner or later, he'd be identified, after all, and he didn't want them to get into trouble because of him.

"Thank you, Commander Hampton," was the reply he'd decided on as he walked over and added the sacks of coin to his load, "I hope they and their pegasi are in top form again, soon."

That said, Norbert began to head out again. He was walking slow enough to be stopped if there was anything else that needed to be addressed, but quick enough to be polite to the waiting Wrathite. Bert hoped he could get his preparations finished up before Hampton's meeting with Charles was over. That'd give him the best chance at getting out of there before the Wrathites caught on. Looks like I'm skipping breakfast again...

"I take it you'll be heading out soon," Hampton said as Norbert neared the door, "if so ... then safe travels."

Norbert paused as he was addressed, turning his head to look at Hampton in such a way as to face away from the Wrathite. When he finished, Bert gave him a nod. Then, he continued on his way out and began heading for the stables. If he was going to give Rizen's tack and armor any sort of cleaning, it had to be done immediately. Then, he'd prepare her for travel. Hopefully, Cameron or Darcey knew to look for him there. He still wanted to know if Cameron had found out about Valter, and he still needed his letter delivered. Plus, he had some borrowed clothes to return.

Norbert reached the stables uninhibited, and, once Rizen was fed and watered, set right to work on cleaning her gear. It took quite a while, despite the rushed job he was doing on it -- he didn't have time to give it a thorough clean and then wait for it to dry. After that, it was just a matter of suiting the pegasus up again. He was glad the the payment had been given to him in several, smaller bags, rather than all in 1, big bag. This way, he could fasten it to Rizen's gear in such a way that the weight was much more evenly distributed. Once that was finished, Norbert led Riz out of her stall. If he couldn't find Darcey or Cameron soon, he'd just have to leave the spare set of clothes with one of the stablehands with his farewells, set out, and just give the letter to a carrier in the next town, himself.

"We're practically running around in circles, now," Darcey murmured as she and Martha entered the stables, "first the barracks, then the commander's office, and now here. If he's not here either I don't know what to do ..."

"If his pegasus is still here," Martha noted, "then we can just wait. I doubt he plans to travel on foot and leave us with a wild pegasus."

"Good point," Darcey admitted. They were on their way toward Rizen's stall, and that's when Darcey finally found who she was looking for. "Bert," she called out, picking up her pace to meet him. "I've been looking for you."

Norbert turned to face his sister at the sound of her voice. He was glad to see her, and not just because he'd been intending to seek her and Cameron out. It was just nice to see Darcey because they were family and on good terms.

"Hey, Darcey," he greeted before turning his attention to Martha and giving her a polite nod. It was a little strange... Martha and he were neutral towards each other, as far has he could tell; not really friends. Maybe Darcey had asked Martha to help her find him. "Martha."

"Hey, do you still have that cross thing from before?" Darcey asked. She quickly produced an old looking piece of parchment with a somewhat crude drawing on it, a drawing the closely matched the small metal object she'd found with the message the yesterday evening.

"She's been asking around," Martha explained, "and apparently someone recognized it."

"Exactly," Darcey stopped just out of reach of Rizen's horn; she'd have time to react if the pegasus decided she was a problem. "It's not the guy himself, but his old commander in Europa. He had one of these, too."

"It's some messenger's insignia," Martha added.

"Huh," Bert responded with a tilt of his head, mildly interested. "Guess you were curious about it."

A messenger, huh? Norbert thought back to his time in Rex-Avaz, trying to remember if he saw anything like the symbol there. Nothing was coming to mind...and he didn't remember anything about any messengers, per se. His mind drifted to the letter they'd found with Abi. It had been a bit strange. The words sounded like Fizza's, but... But if this messenger, or whoever he or she works for, did something with Fizza, why would they leave Abigail behind? And why warn us about the ports? The more he tried to puzzle it out, the more confusing it got. I should just talk to the others about this when I get to them.

"I'll ask the others about it when I catch up to them," he responded with a half-shrug, "I don't know anything about this."

"Be sure to write me here and let me know what you find out," Darcey insisted, "It's really been bothering me, especially with how Fizza knew right where to leave Abigail so we'd run into her."

"That was strange," Martha agreed.

Well, this was a bit of an awkward position... He didn't want to lie to Darcey, but considering the stuff the groups he'd been a part of got into, he couldn't really explain it well if it had something to do with the emblem or a vasilus or something. Some things were just better left unsaid. It got complicated otherwise... He couldn't hesitate too long, here, either. How to get around this...

"I'll try to keep in touch." Not his best dodge, but at least the statement was true. The less attention he pulled to the group right now, the better. Then, Norbert asked, "Have either of you seen Cameron?"

"Yeah, she was in the barracks when I left to look into this cross thing," Darcey said, thinking back to nearly half an hour ago. "I'm not sure if she's still there, though."

Bert grimaced at that. "That's too bad. I wanted to talk to her before I left." Then, his grimace cleared as he told Darcey, handing his remaining load off, "Well, here're the clothes I borrowed, and the letter for Nigel. Could you make sure it gets to him? I need to get going if I want to catch up with the others."

"Sure, I'll let her know," Darcey said, accepting the clothes and then the letter. "I'll make sure this gets to our humble guardian up in the north, too," she smiled mischievously.

"If you're leaving right now," Martha said, pausing to consider something briefly, "then I safe travels to you."

"Are you sure you don't want me to hunt down Cameron before you go?" Darcey's smile was replaced by a faint frown. "She's probably off somewhere getting you something for the trip."

Norbert wasn't sure he trusted that smile, though he was only able to convey that with an uncertain look before Martha spoke up, garnering his attention. He gave her a polite, grateful nod in return, and Darcey spoke up again.

To this, Norbert couldn't help but give a light chuckle and an almost wistful smile as he looked away briefly and off-handedly commented, "That does sound like her." He returned his attention to Darcey with a more normal level of focus. Norbert knew he had to leave as soon as possible. The threat of the Wrathites was too close by...but he still wanted to say goodbye to Cameron. And there was still Valter to consider... He'd asked Cameron to see if she could find out if he was still in town or not, after all. Maybe...

Norbert gained a contemplative look at the realization. "Maybe she's visiting her parents." It could take too long to look for her...but it's safer in town than it is here, right? Hmm... Maybe not... And what if Valter's still around? I want to make sure he's okay, but...maybe I need to trust him to get out on his own. He's been here for a while now...and if he's already gone, I'd be putting myself in more danger than it could be worth, not to mention everyone else. My job right now is to get back to the others... Is it worth risking a little extra time here? "Maybe if it doesn't take too long. I really do need to get going soon, especially since I'm not sure exactly where they're going next."

"I'll help her search," Martha offered. "You seem to be in a hurry. I'd stay here in the stables until we get back, that way no one will bother you."

Darcey seemed to already have a head start, as she had turned to leave almost as soon as Martha spoke up. "It should only be a few minutes," she called back as she left the stables with the spare clothes and letter.

Norbert only nodded, first to Martha, then to Darcey. Staying put was a good idea, if only so that they'd know where to find him. But he still didn't like the idea of being closed in... If he had to suddenly make a dash for it, he didn't want to be cornered. It was a good point about not being bothered, though. In the end, the rider decided to simply move to a little before the mouth of the stables. This way, he wasn't in plain view, but he had a fair view of whoever was coming. If they looked threatening, he'd exit as casually as he could. If all was well, he wouldn't have anything to worry about. If they were coming after him, though... Well, at least his hastened retreat would make some sense to bystanders, and that should delay any reinforcements they'd otherwise have. If the local guard bothered to ask questions, or even intervene, of course. In addition, from this position, he could see Darcey or Martha with Cameron before they arrived, so he could head out to meet them.

The riders might have returned sooner if Darcey hadn't decided to also go and retrieve Martha after she'd found Cameron. The latter had been in mess hall this time, gathering some of the better tasting rations for Norbert's journey, and Martha had been searching near the infirmary. "Guess what?" Darcey called out to Norbert as she spotted him and Rizen near the stable entrance, "I was right~"

"Sorry," Cameron frowned, "I haven't heard back from my friend, yet."

"We're on duty, standby to be specific," Martha clarified. "Essentially, we can't leave the garrison right now unless we get an assignment."

Norbert was glad that the next people he saw coming to the stables were Cameron, Darcey, and Martha. It certainly beat a team of angry Wrathites. He helped close the distance with Rizen in tow, and listened to the women, grateful for Martha's explanation. Despite this, he frowned at his new understanding. I guess she asked someone to find out about Valter. Blast... I could've just put him in even more trouble, especially with these Wrathites around... He was also reaffirmed in his choice not to join the military. Following such strict regimens wouldn't sit well with him.

"That's too bad," he responded, regarding the aforementioned restriction. Not that he didn't understand why it was in place, of course. An organized force like this needed structure or it'd fall apart...much like their own group...

"Thanks for finding Cameron, Darcey and Martha," Norbert transitioned. He couldn't stay long. Setting his attention on the retrieved pegasus knight, he told her, "I wanted to say goodbye before I left, and to check in to see if you found out anything. Sounds like you haven't, but I still appreciate the effort." He was also impressed that she had thought to respond to that concern immediately.

"If I do hear back about him," Cameron began, again, "is there anything you want to tell him? Also here." She came a little closer and held out a deerskin pouch, lighter than it looked, but with two days worth of rations inside. "I have a feeling you missed breakfast."

"Those aren't the field rations, are they?" Darcey winced. When Cameron shook her head, Darcey sighed in relief. "It doesn't matter how stronger your stomach is. If you're stuck with field rations, you'll be foraging instead of eating them. Maybe using them as bait to hunt, too."

"She's exaggerating," Martha quietly put in.

Norbert took the pouch, smiling a bit at Cameron's comment. He really was both amazed and impressed with just how considerate this woman was. Most people, he'd found, hardly thought of others at all, and if they did, it was because of some sort of benefit the person gave them. Cameron was a real gem among people.

Though, then a thought occurred to him. It sure looked like this was just Cameron's personality, but...was there something he wasn't seeing? Norbert paid attention to Darcey's and Martha's additions, and smiled in humor at their jokes. Field rations weren't that bad, were they? And if they were, why would they make good bait? He was pretty sure he could handle them, in either case. As long as they got the job done, he'd be grateful for them, he was sure. Still, it was nice to be cared about.

It was time to answer Cameron's question, though. Was there a message he wanted to convey to Valter? Well, yes, but how to word it without getting anyone into trouble? This would probably be a third-hand message, after all... Best to make it as short and simple as possible so that nothing got misconstrued. "Thanks. As for what to tell him... Guess you could just say that our group's heading south again. He might want to know that Wrathites are in town, too. He works with the Order of Mercy, but he knows some Wrathites from Europa."

That out of the way, Norbert's brow creased in concern as he asked, "Cameron...you don't feel like you owe me anything, do you? 'Cause you know, you don't." Then, he clarified to the small group as a whole, "None of you do."

"No, not exactly," Cameron smiled somberly. Her eyes broke off from Norbert's. "I'm just ..."

"She's just like that," Darcey offered her own version of Cameron's explanation. "I mean sure she doesn't do that for everyone but I think we all consider you a friend. And brother in my case," she smiled. Martha shrugged, but Cameron nodded, more or less confirming Darcey's assessment.

"That said, if I can, I'll pass along your message."

Norbert smiled in his relief. It was good to know they didn't feel obligated or anything, and it was good to know that Cameron would try to get the message to Valter. The affirmation from Darcey was nice, too. He gave them another nod as he replied, "Thanks."

Then, after a brief pause, he added, "I don't know if you knew or not, but Doran and the others're back, too. Though, I don't know how many made it back. They were pretty tired, so I didn't ask. Anyway, I thought you'd like to know that."

"No one told us," Martha noted, "but word has gotten around about them." So it was confirmation, at least. They would have to ask the men themselves if there had been any new casualties since the fort escape.

Well, that was good. Norbert knew that Cameron, in particular, had been worried about them before. And that took care of the rest of the business he had here. Still, Norbert felt like something was missing. Or maybe he was just hesitant to leave such good company. It was just too dangerous to stay, though. It was strange. Since his last time here, Norbert never would have guessed his opinion of Ursaea would change so drastically. The people in a place really made a difference.

"Well, I guess that's it, then. Stay safe, and don't let them field you until you and your pegasi are up for it again," Norbert responded. Then, he mounted up into Rizen's saddle and slipped the food Cameron had gathered for him into one of Rizen's saddlebags. All that was left was to actually set out. Before he did, though, Norbert added, "I'll try to keep in touch. Thanks again for all the help. You really saved me back there, and I won't forget all the generosity after the battle till now."

"They'll want to make a new unit out of what's left us and organize it, so we should have at least a few days before anything else comes up. Anyway, you're always welcome, Bert ... and take care," Cameron said, managing a full smile this time.

"Again, safe travels," Martha bid the fellow rider farewell.

"Be careful out there," Darcey added, "and don't forget to keep yourself healed up, even if that means stocking up on vulns or getting your own healer." She'd actually forgotten about making sure Norbert checked in at the infirmary this morning until that very moment, but with the hurry he seemed to be in, and the likelihood of an infusion failing to kill off an infection being quite low, she decided to let it go. By air, the next cities were a day and a half away at the most and he wouldn't be in serious trouble by then. An infusion would at the very least suppress any looming problems until its effects wore off. "And make sure you check in with your group's healers once you catch up to them and have them check you over."

If only that was true... Norbert thought a bit sadly in response to Cameron's closing statement. He'd still given her a smile and a nod, but he couldn't completely hide the regret in his eyes. 'Course, that could have been interpreted as simply regretting having to leave so soon.

At first, Darcey's warning not to forget to seek out medical attention when needed sounded humorously ridiculous. However, it was only after Darcey's words that he remembered he'd promised to check in with the infirmary. He'd had more pressing health-risks on his mind, like being recognized by those Wrathites... This sudden remembrance he didn't try to hide. "Augh, darn... Thanks, Darcey; I will. Please apologize to that healer for me. You can assure her I'll see a healer in our group when I catch up."

"Good," Darcey said, satisfied. The healer in the infirmary would understand, especially since it was common for some soldiers to skip their checkups if they weren't mandatory. "Don't you forget to write me; if you've got time for Nigel, you've got time for me~"

Norbert gave a smile and what might have barely constituted as a laugh before replying to his sister with, "You realize that was three years between contact, right? Don't worry, though. Like I said, I'll try to keep in touch."

And that was that, after a final, brief wave, Norbert got Rizen into a trot and began heading out. He'd speed up her pace once they got far enough out, but besides not wanting to look suspicious to any soldier he passed, Norbert wanted to get as far away from Ursaea as possible before the Wrathites could give chase, and that meant pacing things out.

[Phoenix]

4/4

[spoiler=Inbound Imperials]

“A blockade? Is that really going to be enough?” asked the first mate of the Ursian ship, Castor. The captain shrugged lightly at him. The orders came from above him, and he wasn’t entirely sure what they were dealing with, yet. “It could be an aerial force, sir,” the first mate continued.

“Or one really well prepared joint strike force,” the captain added in agreement. “We won’t be sure until we get more information, but we know they’re planning to hit Urquium in the next couple of days.”

“Do the men on the ground know, yet?”

“Some of them do.” The captain started toward his desk and sat down in the large chair there. “The imperials are going to know we’re preparing for them no matter how we handle this, but someone’s trying to keep our activities quiet, anyway. At least once they show up we’ll be able to handle things our own way. I just hope we’ve still got room to maneuver by then. If they just sent an aerial attack force, we’re not going to be as useful as I’d like.”

Enough was enough, Edith decided. She barged into the captain’s quarters, no longer content just listening from outside. “Not again,” the first mate muttered.

“Captain, I request clearance for a scouting mission,” she demanded, “it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Denied,” the captain waved her off easily.

“Sir,” she hissed between clenched teeth, “I’m serious! This could be the difference between victory and a total rout for us.”

The first mate winced. “We don’t even know which direction they’re coming from, yet. Which way are we going to send our scouts, huh?”

“South, you fool,” Edith impaled him with the words. “They’re sending a fleet, we just don’t know which ships and dragons are with them.”

“A fleet would have to get past every patrol from here to Sergio,” the first mate countered, “we would have heard word about something that disastrous by now.”

Edith smirked. Usually the first mate had slightly more knowledge on any given subject than her. Not today. She produced an envelope and held it up for the men. They both immediately recognized it as a battlefield report.

“Dammit, girl, did you run off and-” the captain stopped when Edith held up a finger and smiled. “No, this just got here. I didn’t read it, but I got enough from the survivor to know that we need to send a scouting party to investigate.” She handed the envelope to the first mate and crossed her arms, her smile fading into something more contemptuous as she watched him open the letter.

“You said survivor,” the captain noted, wincing as his first mate worked on opening the envelope.

“We’ve been losing ships left and right … small ones mostly,” Edith explained.

“Oh gods, this is not good” the first mate started to tremble. Edith sent him a scowl for being so vague. “Captain, the imperials are using some kind of new weapon to sink our ships. Apparently each one we lost went down with only one shot.”

“Just one shot?” the captain rose up in his chair.

His first mate nodded. “Just one shot each. It’s definitely some kind of cannon. No confirmation on whether there’s any magic involved, though.”

“Hmm,” the captain eased back in his chair, mulling over the possibilities.

“You wouldn’t have to sit there thinking if you just sent my unit out to find them. We’ll tell you exactly what their weapon is and get back well ahead of them,” Edith said.

“It’s better if we keep your unit here, actually,” the captain gently corrected her. “I know what that weapon is. We haven’t heard a lot about it since they finished the main hull, but I can’t think of a reason why they wouldn’t use it now that their momentum on the mainland is gone. If they lose their foothold in Central, too, then this war will have been a pointless exercise for them.”

“You don’t think ... “ the first mate paused, not sure he was ready to accept such an overwhelming stroke on the part of the ‘skotians, yet.

Edith gritted her teeth. “Spit it out!”

“T-the Basilisk,” he said, stammering back from Edith.

“What’s that?” She turned her eyes on the captain. “What is that?”

“The Basilisk is a prototype imperial vessel. It’s so damn large they call it a ‘battleship’ … it’s the largest military ship in history, with cannons to match. Considering the thing’s made out of metal, it’s probably impervious to any conventional weaponry we’ve got. It’s also a got a crew of at last a few dragons.”

“It’s practically invincible,” the first mate added.

“So you want us to just sit around and wait for that thing to come and sink us?” Edith ignored the first mate, keeping her eyes squarely on the captain.

“What are you going to do?” he asked her, “that thing isn’t going to be operating on its own. They’ll have fliers of their own waiting to take on any scouting parties we send.”

“I’ll kill them all,” Edith said, dismissing the threat without a second thought.

The captain didn’t doubt she could deal with other fliers, quite a few of them in fact, but he wanted her talents here, within arm’s reach. “For once, Edith, I’m going to need you to be patient. With support from Urquium, we might be able to stop them here. I’m not saying it will be easy, but the fewer people we lose before the real fight begins, the better our chances of driving them off.”

“If that’s an order, then fine,” Edith finally relented. She decided to let the problem come to her, and then introduce it to a watery grave ...

Day 67

First thing in the morning, as the wagon came to a stop less than a mile outside of Urquium, Joanna used her new power to reach all the way back to Ursaea and check in on Norbert. She didn’t try to contact him directly until he had left the barracks. The last thing they needed was for him to look silly, if not suspicious, in front of all those soldiers.

She informed him that they were just outside Ursaea. He in turn informed her about Fizza’s warning. That, Joanna realized, might explain the ridiculous amount of armed guards now present at Urquium. No wrathites stood out from where they were, but ships from the Ursian navy were arriving by the hour. She wasn’t sure if the wrathites had this kind of pull, but if they did, there wasn’t much chance of the group making it to Kigen, now.

When Greta noticed that Joanna was in contact with Norbert, she insisted the avian find out about their reward. It wasn’t a single minded obsession with her business; she convinced herself that they were stuck in Ursium, and therefore, had to use whatever resources they could to lay low. A wagon wasn’t as useful as money in that regard, but it just so happened that Norbert had opted for a monetary reward anyway. At least they had some valuable resources on the way.

Before all was said and done, Norbert asked Joanna to locate Valter, which she had ultimately failed to do. She hadn’t had any luck finding Fizza either, though that was even more unlikely, having no general direction to search in. She promised to try again later, once the group was settled somewhere less out in the open. It was around this time that Haythem reminded them all that while Isis and Sasha weren’t major problem by themselves, the Ursians might be wary of them. A group like theirs was suspicious enough, even with the two avians tucked away inside the wagon.

Glen was half asleep, so Greta nudged him out of the driver’s seat and took the reins while he sleepily climbed into the wagon. “So we’ve got to somehow find passage in the middle of all this, and not draw too much attention to the wyverns in the meantime. Ideas?” she asked. She’d get the wagon moving again once they had some kind of plan in place.

[-Cynthia-]

"Can't we just have the wyverns fly over the water? Seems easier than tryin' to carry 'em on a wagon. As for the wagon...someone's probably gonna check inside, I'm callin' that now," Nadya suggested.

Liam sat in the wagon, on edge for any possible danger. "Joanna...would you consider leaving if this group was in a battle they could not win? I know it is not in your nature to abandon those in need but..." his voice trailed off.

[Phoenix]

Outskirts

"Isis has been mistaken for a dragon before," Haythem noted, not too fond of having her fly around too close to such a large gathering of soldiers. Maybe in Kigen, where wyverns weren't a bad omen, but not here. "I could take her around to the southern end of Urquium and try to find a place to lay low there. If you manage to find a ship and set sail, you can just send up a signal to let me know which ship you're on and I can follow along until it's safe to board."

"What about Sasha?" Greta held up a finger.

Haythem felt a bit silly having brought this up the way he had, now. "Eva could do the same, but honestly, I was more worried that Isis would be the real problem. Having both wyverns together might be enough to make the guards jump to the wrong conclusion even faster."

"So you're sayin' we should keep the wyverns separate," Greta concluded.

"Sure, I guess ..."

Wagon

Joanna shook her head, likely the answer Liam had been expecting. "I wouldn't. Even if we were fighting a losing battle, I would at least try to make sure as many of the others survived as possible."

[Nanami Touko]

"I understand, Jam. If it comes to that, you're free to go with them, of course. Finding out for yourself is better than whatever the Emblem has planned for us all. Even I'm starting to doubt that gold brick now, honestly. Haven't heard any good from it since I got involved." She sighed, as they plodded along, hoping there was a good ending for them all in Kigen, whenever they got there.

-------------

"I don't mind," Eva said, chiming into their discussion. The wyvern was alongside them, Eva having gotten tired of riding him for so long. "If we need them separated for travel, we can just choose a place to meet up at, and then do so. I don't want to spook the guards before we even get halfway to Kigen."

[Toogee]

Less than a mile from a decent city, yet the group remained camped. Stories of soldiers patrolling the city had kept them from progressing to the ferry. Jam was getting cabin fever: they had been on the road for ages. She couldn't remember the last time they saw civilization, at least one that resembled Urquium. Urquium was a port city, and port cities generally had items from all over the world. This was as good an opportunity as any to grab a souvenir and snacks for the journey ahead. The dancer wasn't about to let the opportunity of exploring their last Ursian city pass her by.

That didn't mean she was going unprepared. Jam wore a brown cloak over her outfit, complete with a hood. It was typical attire seen in villages; it wasn't nearly as flashy as what the dancer would usually wear. That was the point: in the off chance the soldiers were Wrathites looking for her and the others, she preferred the disguise. Just in case, Jam had her magic and sword hidden underneath to deal with any trouble along the way.

Jam would have liked to have taken someone along. Eva was the obvious choice, but she seemed busy discussing something with the others. She always wanted to take Joanna out on such an adventure and try and get her to do something deviant. Liam watched her like a hawk though. He'd be quite the buzzkill on their escapades. There was that new kid Rolo, but Jam hardly knew anything about him.

Then again, she could probably handle herself alone...

[scorri]

Lumi appeared next to Jam, grinning down at her. "Hmm, pretty non-descript cloak you have going there. Not exactly the weather for you to be wearing something so out of the ordinary for you either. You wouldn't happen to be planning on going somewhere, would you? All on your lonesome even?"

Meanwhile Hoshi was listening to the talk about the wyverns and decided to chime in. "Well, uhm, I think that perhaps the best way to handle this would be to have a small group go and find transport for us. The wyverns, and a few passangers, can fly around land until we're away from the city and then meet us on the water? That way there's less risk of our group being recognized..."

[-Cynthia-]

"Sounds like a plan. Y'all might wanna scrounge up any loose change ya have around, greasin' some palms could make this go a lot faster and smoother if we talk to the right people," Nadya suggested.

"It's reassuring on some level to know that these experiences haven't changed your spirit. I suppose that means that we need to have faith in our allies not to start a battle that we cannot win..." Liam said to Joanna. Being cooped up in this wagon isn't my idea of good tactical positoning either.

[ArsTheurgia]

It felt so close! They were on their way to a port, and before long they would be heading south, far enough south for Al to get away from... well, most of his problems.

The thought was making him restless; he hadn't gotten any sleep at all last night. Now, he was pacing to and fro while the wagon was stopped.

[Phoenix]

Outskirts

Greta sighed. "Maybe we should wait for Bert," she grimaced. "He's got the better half of a thousand gold on him and that's a hell of a lot of persuasion power. If he doesn't take nappin' breaks he can probably catch up to us by tomorrow ..." She didn't like waiting that long to secure passage, either, but after her shopping trip, she didn't have much left to contribute to a ferry. She'd wished she'd factored that expense in beforehand.

"Passengers?" Haythem looked at Hoshi. "Does that mean whoever's getting us passage is taking the wagon into town with them and the avians are staying out here with us?" That wouldn't be a bad plan, especially if the wagon had to move onto a ship eventually, anyway. Better to hide the most recognizable fugitives elsewhere and not take any unnecessary risks. They were too close for a thoughtless screw up, now.

Wagon

"I think we're doing a good job of that, actually," Joanna forced a smile, but even if couldn't mask her somber mood. She thought back to the confrontation at the cathedral, and though it had been the worst of the battles so far, they made it out of that confrontation, and didn't stick around long enough to get pinned down by the wrathites. Same with Carlos and the Neviskotians. They had beaten Carlos, but left before the situation could fully turn against them. The situation was a little different here, but as long as they didn't allow themselves to be cornered, they should be able to weasel their way out of any fatal confrontations with the wrathites and the military.

"As long as we don't get caught," she said, trying to rid herself of some of the tension building up inside of her. It wasn't working very well.

[Toogee]

Lumi appeared next to Jam, grinning down at her. "Hmm, pretty non-descript cloak you have going there. Not exactly the weather for you to be wearing something so out of the ordinary for you either. You wouldn't happen to be planning on going somewhere, would you? All on your lonesome even?"

If Lumi wasn't smiling, Jam would have thought she was in trouble. Instead, she may have found a kindred spirit.

"Well, the city is right there, and I've been cooped up in that wagon for so long. It'd be nice to do a little shopping. And you know, I wouldn't be alone if you came with me..."

Jam gave her own smile, hoping to coax Lumi into her little getaway.