Fable - Ask Fortunes On Fire [Noel]

[Samantha Black]

Yastern Monastery

When a story began with characters bearing the title of Dreadlord Knight or Blackguard, one hardly thought the setting would be something like this. Secluded in the country hillsides, hidden away within the woods surrounding the hamlet of Yastern, the Monastery had not seen the likes of Dreadlords in well over a hundred years. So said Father Pilar. He and his fellow monks and pupils had been gracious hosts of the small band of Anirian Knights under the charge of one Dreadlord Black. Fed, watered, housed, Father Pilar did all that he could to keep the Dreadlord and her Knights happy, which had been a challenge given their current reason for being there.

They had a prisoner. One who had certainly seen better days but had yet to really give up the fight of defiance, even if he had given up any hope of escape.

Two days south of them sat the elven city of Faenwol, and in that city there were elves who had very important information to share. If only they could see a reason to share it. This information was not necessarily something under Dreadlord Black's purview, but she knew someone who would like to have it, and she knew just how to help her get it while also making it worth her own while.


To Blackguard Ironclad:

An opportunity to retrieve information pertinent to your cause has presented itself. I invite you to join me at the Monestary of Yastern where I will explain more. I promise it will be worth your while.

Lt. Dreadlord Black
Dragonsbane

Noel

 

[Noel]

She received the note and initially was confused by it. The Yastern Monastery? All the way up in the hills, a stone's throw from the Falwood?

It was an odd choice for a meeting location and Dreadlord Schwarz couldn't comprehend the reason for it. What information could they possibly have come across? Had it just been from a Dreadlord she was unfamiliar with she'd assumed the thing was a trap.

But, it was from Ralene, and there was a lot you could say about members of the class she graduated with but Ralene was, if nothing else, a serious person.

If she was notifying Noel of a find it was important. It was serious.

"Not much longer now," she told her steed as it galloped faster in the direction of the monastery. At her current pace she'd arrive right at...

Sundown. Noel dismounted and tied her horse to the hitching post.

She made her way forwards, trying not to be too distracted by how quaint the old monastery looked as the fading memory of sun cast it's rays on the moss-covered bricks. She was here for a purpose and whatever it was that Ral had in store for her she knew would be important.

 

[Davi]

A shadow stalked the horse the last mile towards the monastery. It kept to the treeline out of sight and once the horse drew closer it shot ahead to warn the others of its approach.

"Noel," Davi said by way of greeting. He was sat on a stump on the fringe of the treeline before it gave way to the carefully cultivated gardens and vegetable patches of the monks. In his hands was a piece of wood and a small knife he was using to carefully whittle strips of bark away. He didn't even bother to look up until he seemed happy with the leg he had been working on. A few stubborn curls that refused to stay in its leather bindings fell across his eyes and he brushed them aside as he stood.

Since the last time he had seen Noel, Davi had grown from the lean shoot of an underfed initiate into the broad built form of a man. Confidence had come with that growth and a certain pride in who he was that had been lacking in his years as an initiate.

"Ral is this way," he set off without a glance back to make sure she followed; why would she have bothered coming otherwise?

 

[Samantha Black]

Inside the monastery it was quiet and dark save for the faint murmur of conversation in the dining hall that filtered out along with the scent of venison on the spit. A monk passed by Davi and the new face without a second glance, his brown robes gently swishing to the tune of metal chains bearing the sigils of Anirian religion hanging from his neck.

The dining hall was modest in size and likely both looked and felt smaller that it really was thanks in part to the twenty-something men and women Knights partaking in their evening meal. Among them sat Ralene, lacking in armor what she made up for in her own added bulk from the last version of her Noel had known. Curious what proper nutrition and full meals and healthcare could do for a person.

A short hush took over as Davi lead the way in, garnering curious looks from the Knights and some new whispers. Ironclad's arrival was not a surprise to the Dragonsbane Squad, for Ralene kept very little from them, and for certain some of her team had been looking forward to meeting the only Dreadlord to currently claim the title of Blackguard. But as quickly as the hush arrived it went, Ral glanced up from her plate to take in the girl she'd last seen the day after the graduation debacle, swearing her oaths of vengeance and making her plans for the next stage of her life among the Dreadlord killers.

Ralene stood from her seat and offered her hand to clasp strongly at Noel's arm should she choose to take it. Her cool blue gaze shifted over the familiar face and all the unfamiliar nuances of change, "Sharp as ever Schwarz," Ral's words sounded through a pleased half smirk, "have a seat, we'll get you fed, watered, and up to speed."

A gesture to one of her team nearest the fire, a pointing finger to Noel's seat across from her, and a plate and flagon were quickly prepared without so much as a word.

Davi's seat by Ral's immediate right was open for him, as it would always be, but first she needed - "My notes from the study hall," she looked to him, "can you bring them please? Rolan, too. He needs a break from his books."

 

[Noel]

Noel almost didn't recognize Davi. The once timid and scrawny boy had grown into a confident and strong man. It was jarring to behold, if not for his voice and facial features being largely the same she almost certainly wouldn't have placed his identity.

"Thanks," she started, anticipating further conversation with Davi but realizing as he turned and made his way into the monastery that there was none to be had.

The metal-mage followed him in, taking note of just how quiet and old the place was. Such a strange location for a squadron of Anirian knights to take up residence. Not a fortress or a keep but a temple to long ignored gods of humanity, gods that most Anirians hadn't paid reverence to in centuries.

Regardless, there was little time to make any further speculation as they entered the main dining hall and a host of eyes fixated upon her. Then, almost as soon as they paid notice, they went back to their meals or conversations and Ralene stood to greet her.

Noel took her handshake, it was firmer than she'd remembered, "I could use a hot meal, long trip." She wouldn't ask why they hell they'd chosen Yastern as their location, nor would she ask what the letter she received meant. At least, not yet, she trusted Ral enough to expect that her time wouldn't be wasted here.

"It's good to see you again," a nod paid towards the leader of the Dragonsbane, "you as well Davi," she added as the shapeshifter went to gather the notes.

 

[Davi]

Davi's lip curled slightly at the mention of the elf turned monk; the two had not got off to the best of starts and Rolan's insistence on treating Davi like fair folk had only soured their relationship further. The Dreadlord tried not to be in the same room as him now if he could help it. But Ralene had asked.

"You too," he huffed in his characteristically short manner and then turned on his heel and strode from the room. It didn't take long to hunt down both things; the notes were neatly stashed away and Rolan wore a scent of cologne that Davi would have described as decaying leaves. He could smell the elf a mile away. As he stepped into the small room Rolan had taken to using as an office the elf looked up then grimaced; it was comforting in a way to know the ill feelings went both ways.

"Ralene wants to see you," Davi folded his arms over his chest.

"I'm not some dog to-" Rolan wisely stopped himself when he saw Davi's eyes darken and snapped the book he had been reading shut. "I find myself hungry, I suppose dinner is in the usual spot?" When he got not reply the elf sighed instead. Eventually the pair returned to what the soldiers had begun calling the Mess, and Davi practically herded the reluctant monk to Ralene's table. With Davi's encouraging hand on his shoulder he took a seat glumly.

 

[Samantha Black]

Even now the mixture of emotions she held toward her former classmates was a motley of good, bad, and everything inbetween. Ralene did not count herself apart from being in either category towards the rest of them, but Noel at least was one of the few she could earnestly say that she was pleased to see again. They hadn't worked together very often, and now that Ralene had time to think back on it she figured out why.

The pair of them were at the head of their class, leaders in their own right quite capable of handling most missions on their own, or taking charge of the teams they'd been sent with. It didn't stand to put two leaders together unless you meant for one to kill the other. Had the Revolution never happened, that was very likely what might've happened before graduation. Ralene appreciated the fact that their fortunes had turned out for the better.

Pleasantries aside, she took her seat with a thin smile in return to Noel's words but said nothing in return. Instead she dug back into her dinner in silence and let Noel to her hot meal. There were very few things in the world that would take Ral away from her food, and that she'd broken from eating to greet Noel was astonishing enough for those sitting nearby to witness.

By the time Rolan arrived she'd finished and was tempering a full belly with a pint of local ale. Davi earned himself a grateful glance and a nod to join them in his seat by her side.

"Rolan this is Blackguard Lt. Schwarz. She's come a very long way to hear your story," Ral eased back on her bench into the backboard and slung her free hand over the top of it to loop around behind Davi in a languid repose, "tell her what you told us on the road to Vel Castere. And remove your hood at the table," she wrinkled her nose at him, "it's rude."

Rolan's green gaze shifted from Ralene to Davi and then to Noel in palpable discomfort. A long moment of held breath capitalized by an indignant sigh and he lifted his hand to pull back the hood that revealed his long, pale sand colored hair neatly tied back behind two tall, pointed elf ears.

"I am Rolanalion Ivindiir, once Scribe of the Durannen Hearth of the elven kingdom of Loriden. I helped our Keeper maintain the annals and histories of our people and I was a highly respected-" his gaze briefly shifted again to Ralene and Davi before he lightly folded his hands on the table and assumed a dignified poise, "member of our society. Our histories are long - far longer than any human civilization like your own - and our territory runs deep into the Falwood. Over the years your kind has impinged and infringed upon our lands, though our brethren farther to the south have taken the brunt of your savage advances and Loriden is happy to let them."

Ralene gently cleared her throat and casually took a sip while eyeing the elf.

Rolan sniffed irately and decided not to look at her anymore, "We have many outlying holdfasts beyond our immediate territory, but have over the past few decades seen cause to withdraw from many of them to safeguard our own against a more prominent threat that made itself known to the north. Those holdfasts still host valuable histories, so it is under my purview to assess them as needed. Unfortunately one of them had fallen into a newly named forbidden area which has been named thusly for reasons I had not been previously made aware. Believing the history of our people to be of greater importance than some possibility of idle threat, I pursued my path against the word of my Queen and was thusly exiled for my ... impudence, but not before learning why that portion of the wood had been sealed off to us."

 

[Noel]

By the time Davi had returned Noel had already been served her meal. She took a break from her food to study the hooded figure as he entered, judging by his walk and posture he wasn't much of a warrior but looks could be deceiving.

"A very, very, long way," she confirmed with a nod aimed at Rolan.

As he tore back his hood she held her surprise at bay, if only just barely. An elf? That was interesting. When she'd received the missive she never expected the source of this 'pertinent information' would be an elf. She didn't hold any ill-will for the race but still, it was rare for Anirians to work with them.

Though, if any of her classmates would be open to working with non-humans Ral and Davi were probably at the top of the list.

Noel listened as the scribe carried on, talking about infringed lands and elven kingdoms, practically giving his entire life's story before arriving at even a single thing the Blackguard cared about. A prominent threat towards the north? A portion of the wood sealed off?

"And why was it sealed off?" A scoop of potato found it's way into her cheek as she asked the question, exchanging a glance with her Dreadlord companions before returning her focus onto Rolan. Sizing him up, trying to gauge how honest he was being.

 

[Davi]

Having not eaten earlier Davi was grateful to find a bowl of food waiting for him as he took his seat. Now he was not alone with the elf he looked far more comfortable and he dug into the stew seeming to all but ignore the conversation that was happening around him.

It was only when Rolan gave that sour expression and tightened his lips at Noal's question that he gave any indication he was listening by giving the elf a hard kick in the shin.

 

[Samantha Black]

Rolan inhaled sharply, his lips screwing up to contain a yelp desperately trying to sound. The elf glowered at the table, refusing to also look at Davi, and shifted in his seat to move his shin's out of the line of fire.

"There was-" he began, strained, then cleared his throat with a wince of distaste before continuing, "there was a group of mages holding up in what had long since been an abandoned fort. A vestige of human pride left over from one of their historical victories. We don't often pay much mind to the filth left behind, but that fort had at one point hosted a Loriden Flear during its years of neglect - which is what I had intended to recoup."

Ralene put her drink on the table and pulled a leather-bound journal to her front while Rolan continued.

"This group of mages had been there for some time by my observation and were well rooted. An aged human man with a scared eye acted as their leader. At the time I did not think much of it, but the expulsion from my home and people gave me reason to believe there was something greater afoot. This is why I joined the Monestary at your ... Vel Draza," Rolan sniffed over a frown, "to learn more about these humans that were dangerous enough to see a Lorideni evicted so quickly from their life."

"Rolan told us this story on our way to Vel Castere," Ralene interjected during a pause, "and I had my suspicions but it wasn't until he pointed at this wanted poster and identified the man he saw at the fort that I understood what we had here."

From her journal she'd carefully flipped through pages and loose leafs of paper until she came upon one neatly folded inside. Ral placed it down on the table and smoothed it open with a hand before turning it to face Noel.

What met Noel's gaze was an inked depiction of the man who had encroached upon their graduation and spirited away a number of their classmates: ex-Archon Gilram.

 

[Noel]

Noel sat stoically, taking in every syllable that both Rolan, and eventually Ralene, spoke. She'd occasionally nod while shoveling more of the potato mixture in her mouth, or she'd simply stare while keeping her ears trained.

This elf was just dancing around the point. It took her fellow classmate to deliver the coup de grace.

"This is," the flow of food nearly fell from her mouth as she looked upon the depiction. There wasn't any mistaking it, this was the man she'd faced on that fateful day. The man who could've, perhaps even should've, killed her back then. The man she intended to hunt until one of them was dead.

"Gilram. He knows where Gilram is?"

She'd laid her fork flat. Her face had already gone red. "Where." Quite clearly a demand rather than a request, this dinner had swiftly shifted to a call-to-arms from Dreadlord Schwarz. If she knew where they were she could send a missive to Ephraim, captain of the Black Guard, and if it was close enough she could strike before dawn.

 

[Davi]

Rolan looked like he would rather chew off his own arm than answer a command from a Dreadlord but one look to Davi who had sinisterly lowered his fork in the elfs direction and he unfolded a map of the Falwood that had been amongst Ralene's notes. Once it was unfolded it only took a brief glance for him to jab his finger down on a point deep within the woods.

"Here," Rolan met Davi's eyes challengingly but the shifter merely went back to scraping his spoon along the bowl. For some reason that seemed to infuriate the elf even more. "It would be stupid to go running off there, even the strongest of elves were sworn away from here. That Dreadlords could do better-- OUCH"

This time Davi's kick made the whole table shift.

"You talk too much," he growled in warning.

 

[Samantha Black]

Sort of expected that response out of Noel. Schwarz hadn't exactly been the strategy expert in their class. It was why she worked well with the Blackguard. But that sort of behavior didn't hold with the Knights. Ralene opened her mouth to speak but was promptly cut off by Rolan and then the grumbling from Davi.

"Rolan," Ral began with a strong tone, "is correct. We cannot just go charging in. This location resides in completely unknown territory to us, giving Gilram and his associates the upper-hand. And it's not just a forest he's hiding in, it's elven territory. An attack on his location without the proper exchange with the elves might as well be an open declaration of war," her steady gaze landed on Noel, "and that is not something we can permit under the new purview of the Republic."

"So," her gaze swept casually down to the map where she pointed to another star, "we're going here instead: Faenwol, where Rolan will get us an audience with the Queen of the elven Kingdom of Loriden and help us broker an alliance, first."

Rolan, though already seething from Davi's abuse, now went about as pale as Chasmine Grey.

 

[Noel]

Noel went tense as the conversations continued.

She allowed herself to listen as Ral explained, quite well, a plan of action. Everything she said made sense. Especially the part that caused their elven dinner-mate's features to fade, she may have let his quip about Dreadlords slide but she wasn't going to forget it. But, there was still that primal, vengeful, piece in the back of her mind.

They knew where Gilram was. They could leave right now, find his camp, kill him in his sleep. They could do something.

"Alright," she spoke while setting her utensils down, "we go and request an audience with the elven Queen." Whether their actions threatened Rolan's wellbeing was of little concern to her. "But, what happens if this Queen doesn't wish to work with us?"

Ral was right that threatening a war with the elves wasn't in the cards.

 

[Davi]

"They will."

Rolan looked as though he might throw up on the table and set about making himself appear as small as elvenly possible. Davi finished up the rest of his meal and pushed the bowl away from himself with a glance in Ralene's direction. Food was still a large hurdle for the lad but he was working on it. Slowly. He returned his wolfish gaze to Noel.

"We have a bargaining chip - a prisoner - they are keen to have back in their custody," Rolan moaned as though in pain but Davi ignored him. "They'll want to at least see us and I think, when we explain who is there, they will wish to help with or without the need to play all our cards."

 

[Samantha Black]

That empty bowl was about one of the only things that could have distracted Ralene from her present focus on Noel. Her glacial gaze flickered down to it and then over to Davi, meeting his own eyes for a moment of acknowledgement. Her expression would not betray whatever errant emotion this drummed up - a moment to be had between them later, after business had been settled.

"Play the right cards well enough," Ral followed up without missing a beat as she returned her eyes to the Blackguard across from her, "and we'll all walk away with good honors to our names and a new ally for the Republic."

There came a murmur of assent from the twenty or so men and women gathered in the room, all who had been quietly listening in. All who already knew their duties to the mission.

"Have you further need of me, Lady Black?" Rolan managed to pipe up miserably.

"No, Rolan, you can go," Ralene replied.

The elf wasted no time in rising from his chair and turning to leave without bidding adieu. Taking extra care to walk in a direction that was not in Davi's orbit. Ral watched him go only so far as her peripheral view allowed before setting Davi with a look that suggested easing up on the elf.

"Now that you are here, Lieutenant Schwarz, we ride for Faenwol first light. Captain Holstag has sanctioned our plan," back to business. Much as she would have liked to spend an evening catching up with Noel, it wasn't the right time, "if you've no other questions about it, there should be an empty bunk if you want and any monk milling about for other needs."

 

[Noel]

Noel gave a nod of assent as Ral and Davi said their piece and the elven scholar went his way. She let herself have another spoonful of the supper before wiping her mouth and leaning back into her chair. "First light is perfect. I'll follow your lead."

Though it would be a lie to say that she truly trusted anyone this was Ralene's company. She may not have been under Ral or Davi's command but she wasn't going to butt heads with either of them.

If nothing else, the Dreadlords from their class who hadn't been turncoats could show a united front.

"I'll be getting some shut eye, then." Noel rose from her seat, tucking the chair back into the table, and then moved off down the hall towards the room that Knight Black had gestured towards. She found her bunk, comfortable enough for a night's rest, and drifted off easily enough.

In the morning she'd be ready. In the morning they'd make a solid strike against the force that had ruined everything.

 

[Davi]

"She's going to do something rash," Davi said long after Noel had left the room, easing back in his chair with his arms folded over his chest. He'd ignored Ralene's obvious silent request to ease up on the elf, naturally. His gaze remained focused on the door through which Noel had vanished as though he could see the steps she took down the hall towards the barracks, a trouble frown clouding his face.

"She's too emotionally connected to this."

Davi did not remember much of the sham of a graduation following his horrific injuries but one of the stark things he did remember was Noel's death promise to Gilram. Anyone that day would be hard pressed to forget it.

 

[Samantha Black]

"Mm," Ral offered a thoughtful sound in return, lifting her tankard for a drink only to find it disappointingly empty. She frowned into it and gently set it back down on the table, thinking perhaps that was for the best.

"She won't start a war with the elves," Schwarz was too smart to step on political toes, "so we should be fine until we've solidified the help of Loriden."

Then there wouldn't be much holding Noel back once those political toes were out of the way ... except for perhaps rank.

"I'll ensure we have strict orders from the top brass on how to proceed once we've got the alliance settled. I can't give her orders ... but the General can." Which meant she had some missives to send tonight before she retired. Now that Noel had arrived they could set their plans into motion so her Captain would need to be kept apprised of their movements and progress. But until she had those orders in hand, it would be good to keep a close eye and ear out on her. Her gaze shifted back to Davi pointedly at this thought ... would be good for him to have something else to focus on other than being a pissant to Rolan all day.

Two birds, one stone.

"Keep an eye on her," Ral added as she stood from her seat, "remind her we're in this together. This isn't a mission we can afford to have anyone go rogue on. I want that asshole to answer for what he did but I don't want to lose any more people to him."

Not anyone from their squadron, not Noel, and especially not Davi.

 

[Davi]

Davi had a feeling their ideas of how to remind a person of their place were very different. Noel might not take too kindly to waking up to a wolf standing over her snarling in her face in the middle of the night, though it had been quite effective at reminding Roland to keep his wise mouth shut. Still, he inclined his head and stood without another word on the matter. He trusted Ralene to know what she was doing which was still an odd sensation in itself. For better or worse though he did.

With that he slipped out of the room and a wolf entered the hallway, trotting off to find a spot where he could keep a keen eye on Noel's door for the night.

 

[Samantha Black]

Missives written into the late hours of the night, Ralene caught a few hours of sleep before rising before dawn at the gentle nudge of a Monk. The entire squadron was up with the sound of the morning bell and the hum of the hive became quite intense as all members prepared themselves for the journey ahead. When they packed out it was in the orderly fashion expected of a well oiled machine. A place for everyone and everyone in their place - Ral ran a tight crew, though it wasn't one without it's fun and humor.

These people were more like family to her than the majority of the Initiates she'd grown up with at the Academy. Warriors and soldiers, each with their own respective specializations and masteries, having grown up beyond the life of magic to train and earn a place among the special few to hold the title of Knight.

Ralene bid that Noel ride up front alongside a Knight called Sparrow and Davi. The latter two had been paired off for training during Ral's absence to better integrate Davi into the pack, so to say. Sparrow rather enjoyed having him as a pupil of sorts, given their general similarities. For Ralene it was her way of expanding Davi's trust to those he would one day perhaps lead as a Lieutenant himself. For Davi? She hoped in time he would find in them the family that she had.

It was grounding in a way that nothing at the Academy had ever been.

She took up watch toward the middle of their caravan, riding alongside a prison cart that held their one and only bargaining piece: an elf woman whose skin was marked by black symbols and eyes spoke of centuries of spite. She'd been fully secured with anti-magic trappings both on her body and fashioning her cell. Silent and, presumably, meditative, the prison had yet to cause a stir despite knowing their fate.

They rode for the full spread of the day and stopped only to make camp once the sun had nearly settled on the far western horizon to their right. A quick and efficient affair, Ralene sat around the main campfire in her usual spot tending the fire while several others in the squadron prepared the evening's meal. Rolan sat just off to her left, grinding herbs in a small mortar for his tea.

When Noel joined her, Ral motioned for the Blackguard to have the seat at her direct left in order not to offend Davi who always sat at her right.

"I was in Vel Anir proper just a few weeks ago," she said to Noel, "I heard a rumor they'd caught Edric but hadn't time to follow the vine. Know anything of it?"

 

[Noel]

Noel slept soundly through the night, never the wisher to the wolf that kept tabs upon her from outside the door. In the morning she awoke with the bells and rode alongside Sahari and Davi.

She said little during the trip, commenting on a tree once and chiming in on side conversations from time-to-time but primarily keeping her thoughts clear. Focused more on the task at hand than with building rapport. In the Blackguard there was no real community, at least not for her.

They'd spent plenty of time prior to the revolution hunting rogue mages or putting down Dreadlords. They'd welcomed Noel into their ranks but only at an arm's length for now.

The Knights under Ralene's command felt like a completely different breed. There was little difference between the two Dreadlords and the regular Anirian Knights who served. A refreshing change of pace, if not a bit odd.

At the campfire Noel found herself sitting beside Ral, at the leader of this squad's beckon. Her face shifted as the news of Edric was relayed to her. "No, I hadn't heard they'd captured him." She watched as embers cracked and their elven prisoner shifted in her cage. "He was an absolute moron to leave in the first place."

If she ever saw him again it'd be one of the only questions she'd have for him. Why in the seven hells did he think it was a good idea to defect? Even if he was only doing it for a more noble reason than the others it made no sense to her. "An absolute moron," she repeated.

 

[Samantha Black]

"Mm," Ralene replied in agreement, "I've never known him to put much thought into his choices."

Edric had always been a wild card for as long as she'd known him. He acted on instinct and for the most part that had served him well. More often than not, though, it was his powers that served him more. Ralene had to wonder on more than one occasion if Ed did not have the abilities he did, would he still be alive?

Hard to say.

"You were close with him?" a curiosity at most. Ralene hadn't known any of the other Initiates to give Edric much consideration - most of them feared him and rightly so. She thought she was one of the only ones that found any ounce of respect for him and counted herself as one of his only friends. That Noel seemed upset about his departure struck her as odd. Did she think the same of Gaage? Delaney? Any of the others that had joined Gilram? Or was it just Ed?

 

[Noel]

"He acts first, thinks second." Though that wasn't a particularly rare trait amongst Dreadlords.

Noel liked to believe her class was a bit different. Seeing the first effects of the revolution as she and her classmates were pressured to exercise their minds a bit more than previous generations. Edric, however, was far more similar to the Dreadlords of old. Violent, impulsive, and often appearing emotionless.

But a lot of that was just bravado.

"Close?" She gazed into the camp fire, listening to the crack of cinders. "Closer than most I suppose." She remembered their excursion on that one mission with the holy man. The one that Edric had killed, starting a small scale conflict, and threatening the safety of all four of the initiates who were stranded there.

He'd promised to keep them safe and get them all home though. And, even if it was a convoluted path, he'd managed to keep his word.

"I think he ran off with Gilram to keep the other defectors safe," she shook her head and let a small laugh through his lips, "like I said, absolute moron."

 

[Samantha Black]

Closer than most.

Ralene wondered what that meant. What it implied. Edric wasn't exactly choosey on his bedmates which had never bothered her - though it came as a curiosity hearing that from Noel. She didn't strike her as the type to sleep around but it brought to light just how little Ral really knew about her. Noel always seemed quite proper despite the fact that she was not even a noble. High expectations, high effort. Qualities Ralene had always respected in her.

The Lieutenant chuckled at her last words, "We're in complete agreement on that."

Whether or not Edric could actually keep the others safe though? Who knew. He'd survived long enough to get caught at the very least. So he must be doing something right.

"Fucking bonehead."

She pulled her canteen over and uncorked the stopper to take a short drink. Water, of course. She didn't drink on missions.

"You know I thought I'd be pissed with you about my armor at graduation," Ral's smirk remained fixed on her face, "but losing it was great motivation to learn some new forging tricks. So, thanks for that."