"It's hard getting used to not having an arm," Tyr replied in a somber tone. "But at least I still can fight."

He shook as he spoke, shrinking under Lear's piercing gaze. Weak and afraid, he felt helpless without his arm, but what he feared the most was eventually becoming dead weight and falling behind. The last thing Tyr wanted to be was useless, and that is why he struggled against his crippling breakdowns even though they left him scarred and temporarily out of commission.

Sera shot up as the knock rung from the wooden door. Her wings drooped from her shoulder blades and reached her calves. There was no way to adequately hide them outside of wearing her traveling cloak and she was afraid of what might happen if they discovered she possess more power than it first seemed.

"Please, wait a minute! I need to change!" She called out, moving about her room in a panic.

Sera threw on her robe as quickly as possible and put on the cloak over it. It barely hid the wings, but it had to do for the time being. She walked over to the door and opened it to see Eris standing there.

"What is it you need?"
___________________

Avia mounted her horse and waited for Aranida to follow suit so they could leave.

Dhejuti smiled as he heard her voice.
"I was expecting to witness this very day with my own eyes, but my touch and ears will have to do," he replied. "Godspeed on your journey. Promise to return before this old fool dies, mistress."

"Let me ask you something." Lear turned his attention back to the horizon as he watched the sun slowly rise over the land. "Do you feel that the world is about to change?" he paused for a moment, perhaps this wasn't the best way to phrase it he thought before correcting himself. "Maybe, a better way of saying this is, do you feel that you're about to be involved with something that could shake the very core of this planet?" Such a question must have seemed odd to Tyr, and perhaps, even frightening taking into account his current condition. Though Lear obviously knew this he couldn't help but ask, he believed that Tyr could summon forth an answer that was true to himself only in this state.

______


Eris gave an odd glance to the messenge before responding. "Well.. I just wanted to see if you'd be willing to take a walk and perhaps see the town before we left." Unsure of how the young girl would respond Eris gave a gentle smile, attempting to seem kind.

"You best not die before I return home" she said with a soft laugh "My entire estate is under your control in my absence. I can't have it falling in shambles because of something so trivial as death." She waved at Dhejuti whom had been as much a father to her as her own had been before he disappeared leaving her alone in the world. Both Dhejuti and Greya had served diligently as parents she never had the opportunity to have, she would miss them.

Had Aranida been alone in her room, she would have shed a tear, or allowed her eyes to water a bit, but she was a commander and as such she had to be strong for her troops. She climbed onto her chestnut steed that had been prepared for the long travel that awaited them, as well as her personal travelling carriage that she and Avia were required to sleep in as a security measure. It contained a vast supply of Aranida's trick bullets that she did not carry on the two belts along her waist. Leading her horse astride to the young boy who had said that he wanted to be Avia's protector of sorts, she leaned towards him.

"Well, this is your last chance boy." she stated in a business-like manner, she was not going to sugar coat things, "If you come with us, you will be gone from your home and your family for a very long time. It will be dangerous and it will not be as nice as sleeping in my mansion. You may even have to kill someone or watch someone be killed. It is your choice whether to leave or stay. Should you choose to stay, there is a pony with supplies that you may ride. Should you choose to leave, do so now." Even though she left the option open, because she had promised him that he could come, she honestly preferred that the boy stay in the city. It was safer, and she didn't want to have to deal with the duties that came with taking care of a child. Duties she had no knowledge of whatsoever. Leading an army, she could do. Shooting targets with accuracy and speed, she could also do. Taking care of a child, she could not do. Alas, a promise is a promise.

Leaving the boy to think she led her horse beside Avia and nodded. "Ready?"

Bahaa found the pony, after he recovered from the shock of the scary miss Lady Aranida addressing him. The customary 72 hours had yet to elapse, and despite the fact that this looked to be a long trip, Bahaa mounted up. He still had a small scrapped book, one of Qalim's failures at putting one together properly, a rarity, and hoped that he could find a writing utensil so that he may keep a log of what he did. It'll be more convincing when he got back, if he got back.

The pony was a mild little fellow and though Bahaa had never ridden before, he found it not so hard if he imitated the other big men on their bigger horses.

---

Qalim found himself with nothing to do and so arrived at the inn before the caravan set off. The rhyming couplet were conversing and he greeted them as they came within ear shot.

"It is a shame about your arm brother, but if you wish I can try and get it replaced."

If Tyr was curious, he would ask about the nature of the replacement. The Keepers had knowledge of surgery and could provide him with a prosthetic. It would not match a real arm of course, but it would be better than not having one. The procedure itself would be rather painful as they attempted to regrow the bone itself in to something useful.

Tyr inhaled deeply as he glanced out over the early morning bustle of the town.

"I feel as if I am called to be a zealot for a cause I don't understand," he replied. "Unfortunately I'm not in the position to disagree with whatever is going on, am I?"

He smirked at Lear as Qalim called out to them. Turning to face him, Tyr placed his hand on his shoulder and muttered,
"Find and take care of Sera."

He trusted Qalim more than the others, if not just for the fact that they were both remnants. He knew Qalim would do what was right for the messenger and God, as well as do it much more efficiently than he himself could.

"And for the record, I'll stay out of the regrowth business."
------
Sera gave a hollow smile back to Eris.

"Sure... I guess we could go out." she replied.

It would not be too much of an issue for her to go out, though her clothing probably looked awkward seeing that wings bulged out slightly and the tips were visible when the cloak rode up as she moved. It was probably so small that it would not matter too much to passersby anyway.
___________

Avia nodded to Aranida and tugged on the reigns of her steed. Glancing behind she noticed the boy was in the caravan as well, but was unsure why he would go out of his way to end up knee deep in violent conflict. She knew she would be fine in combat, having bareback archery experience growing up, but he must have been contemplating suicide when he decided to join.

"Sister, the boy is willing to die?" she muttered to Aranida. "What cause would be worth putting a young life on the line?"

Semi-satisfied with Tyr's answer Lear continued to stare off deeply into the distance, taking a moment to think over what was to come for the group next.


"Then let's go." Eris quickly took off leading the messenger to the bottom floor of the Inn and out the front door. Taking a moment to make a note of where the Inn was located she began to make her way to the town square where a large fountain stood, surrounded by merchants and buyers.

"You know, I never learned your name." Eris muttered softly as her leather boots patted against the cobbled road, she attempted to be unabrasive in her questioning of the messenger but to have gone so long without knowing the girl's name seemed to bothered her.

"My name isn't actually Eris." She continued, attempting to make the messenger more comfortable. "That was a 'pet name' Nadev came up with, he thought calling out for Eritissia in battle would be difficult." she laughed a little, watching the mighty fountain before them, with a seemingly solemn statue of a soldier atop it gush crystal clear waters.

Aranida sighed and looked back, hoping that what she saw wouldn't be real, unfortunately the boy had decided to come after all. "Well, looks like I'll have some baby sitting to do" she said with a sigh "I promised him that he could come, but I never thought he actually would. He's a brave one, I'll give him that, but he'll be a hindrance. Don't worry Avia, I'll keep an eye on that one for sure." She was mildly amused as she watched him ride the pony, it was clear he was not a rider. Oh well, he'd learn in time.

"Ok let's go" she said turning her attention to the front. Aranida nodded in the direction of one of her men, who relayed the orders throughout the rest of the troop to advance.

"As you wish brother. I shall look after her as long as she remains within my sight."

He turned to leave, spying the room to her door open. She couldn't have wandered far. As he exited and proceeded to the square but instead of combing by on foot, he slipped in to another shadowed alley and climbed up to find a perch.

From the top of a roof he could see her, in the company of the yellow-eyed Eris. Their lips moved, though he could not read them, it was no doubt small talk. Thankfully the buildings weren't too tall and nobody was tapping him on the shoulder and tell him to leave the premises before they arrested him, yet.

---

Bahaa himself was having a hard time riding. As they exited through the gate he brushed past Avia's steed, unknowingly to the both of them knocking something loose.

AmIgonnabearresteddidanyoneseeohgodIamgoingtobearrested

Grimwald thought, walking in a daze. Now he couldn't even begin to coherently make a thought now. He placed a cloth meant for cleaning blades to his mouth, in a attempt to steady the quickening pace of his breaths. Before, he only had to focus on getting away from the situation, now he's recalling what he just did.


Killed a man. Took his life. Snatching a pebble from the river of life. Whatever one calls it, Grimwald has just done it. Who was the man? Did he have a family? He didn't even feel like remembering the man's face. Maybe that man was about to change his life for the better, being important for some helpless individual or group. Perhaps in killing him caused a bounty over his head, oh yes, he would easy pickings for some cutthroat in a alleyway. Maybe that would've been better, after all, he has no direction to go through, never felt like asking a girl like the other boys, or working enough for other kinds of luxuries like his knives. Speaking of which...

Grimwald tripped amongst his confusion, and found something close to his right hand, with someone nearit. Grasping it with some of his fingers, he rose up with sudden speed. "Ohexcusemedidyoudropthis..." he said in a single breath.

Tyr rubbed his face and turned back to Lear who was still admiring the view from the balcony. He walked beside him as they were before and stared out as well.

"Did you feel the strong presence earlier?" he questioned, attempting to pry some information from Lear.
------
"I don't think I should say it," Sera replied hastily. "I'm not sure Tyr or Qalim would approve of it."

She was desperate to keep her identity under wraps at this moment. She was told not to fully trust this group.

"Eris, you seem very kind, but I'm not sure if I can trust you or your team right now. There are too many things that could go wrong if I give out this information. Please understand, I don't want you feeling like I show any animosity toward you."
_____________

Avia twisted her head toward the cloaked man, noticing one of her supply sacks fell from the saddle and he was holding it. After shooting a quick glare at the back of Bahaa's head, she dismounted immediately and walked toward the man.

"Thank you," she replied, reaching out for the sack.
However, as she gripped it a sharp pain struck her abdominal region. Dropping the sack she keeled over and wrapped her arms around her stomach. Her expression shifted to a state of shock as she realized her child was struck, and she began to sob.

"Yeah..." He paused for a moment as he took in a deep breath. "But I'm not the person you should be questioning. Lucien is an expert of sorts on the subject."

_______

"Let me ask you an honest question." Eris continued to walk through the square taking a seat on a bench located in the far corner. "Not to seem rude, but why do you allow yourself to be controlled so easily? I know who you truly are, we know you're the messenger, Lear has confirmed this. If I meant you any harm I could do so by just revealing that much information to anyone at anytime. What makes you believe a name changes anything?" Sitting forward she gently ran her fingers through her hazel hair, letting out a slight sigh she continued. "Though I understand you trust Tyr more than me, you shouldn't allow his emotions to control your every action..

Aranida immediately took note of what happened and rode over to Avia's side. "Avia!" she asked staying calm and not wanting to draw attention to the woman, "Are you alright? You should ride in our personal carriage, I don't think you should be riding in this condition. At least not now" She didn't care if her people would normally let their women go out on missions like these while pregnant, the woman was in pain and she needed help.

Bahaa turned around to see the familiar figure.

"It's him!" he shouted, "It's him! Gigantes' killer! It's Grimwald!"

The man had struck Avia much like how Qalim would when Bahaa watched him practice at home. He recognised the moves of a killer with masterful blade work. A true assassin that moved unnoticed and unseen. But he had just attacked the guest of the scary Miss Lady Aranida and Bahaa, despite himself, wished for the assassin to escape.

Aranida's eyes widened in shock at Bahaa's exclamation and she immediately had both her pistols drawn and aimed at the assassin. "GUARDS!" she exclaimed "You will regret the day you crossed my path" threatened Aranida icily as her troops began to zero in on the assassin. "Child, attend to Avia and do whatever she asks"

"Nevermind then," Tyr replied, shaking his head.

He sighed as he if was about to get something on his chest and stared at the glowing rays of the sun as they shed their warmth over the wooden roofs of the village.

"I said I felt called for a purpose earlier... but I'm not sure if it's the right thing for my interests. I'm being much more selfless than I should be, and it bothers me, as if I'm a puppet and I actually have no control over my own conscious decisions and someone else is forcing me to fight for this cause I don't believe in."

He turned his head to Lear.

"I trust Qalim and Sera, but they are too righteous and steadfast in their beliefs and worship, whereas I am the opposite, ignoring my obligation to pray as a 'Child of God.' I don't want to be a mindless tool, that's why I left my clan, and I fear they'll use me for their own agenda. Lear, help me."
--------
Sera hung her head as Eris spoke. She was right, she was too naive and blindly followed them. She was too enchanted by the surface dwellers and their plight and never really understood what they were truly like. They could be thieving hedonists for all she knew.

"You're right. I'm been so clueless this whole time because this place is new to me. Where I come from everyone is trustworthy and I thought it would be the same down here, that's why I defended these people. I've been too focused on the fact that I met them first and thought I could trust them completely because they were so kind, but it might have not been for the reasons I first thought."

She paused for a moment and then continued,
"Please let's start over, Eris. I'm Sera."
___________________

Avia held the blade that was lodged in her stomach with her left and and pulled herself up to her horse with the other. She was panting heavily. She tore it out and her white robe began to stain with blood rushing from the wound. Compressing it as well as she could, it slowly seeped through the gaps between her fingers.

"Sister, please help me back on my horse," she called out, trying to hide the pain. "We can't do anything more about it, my child is dead. We must leave, I will mourn later."