It took quite sometime for Nero to speak again, he was lost in though over Lucia's words. Her way of speaking was so fair, and her ability to speak her mind...

"A long time ago I knew a person who spoke in a very similar way to you... What was in his heart was always on his mind and what was on his mind always poured forth from his mouth. He was able to say such wonderful things about people and life." pulling his hand from the water Nero allowed the remaining water to race across the grooves of his fingers then down and off the tips. "I thank you for bidding me such amiable words and giving me the opportunity to freely speak my mind." Rising from his seated position near the spring Nero turned and gently bowed his head in a show of gratitude.
"If you're willing to be so open with me I believe it is only fair that I hold the same standard with you, that way I can at least begin to repay you." It genuinely felt odd for Nero to be indebting himself to anyone at a time like this, especially after he spent much of his life independent from others and society as a whole but Lucia's kindness truly put him into a higher mood. Reminding himself that he did have a bit of a question for Lucia Nero quickly snapped away from his earlier thoughts.

"If you don't mind, I do have small question to ask. You have experience in magic, right? What's it like to be able to weave and work with the elements of nature? I've always wondered what it was like to be so attuned with nature that it would willingly share its very being with you and allow you to manipulate it and create wondrous works of art. I've heard stories about the act but I've never seen it for myself, let alone talked to someone capable of something so amazing."

_____

As Erratus was beginning to get comfy in his tree the sounds of voices began to echo about the woods near him. The voices continued to grow louder and louder until they were clearly audible and their sources were within physical sight just beneath Erratus' tree.

"You read through the logs right?"
"Yeah, it had all those prisoners names on it and what they were brought in for for along with their infection status."
Two men dressed in light leather armour with swords stopped to rest just beneath Erratus' tree, they were obviously Gonye's raiders.
"The group that was inspected weren't infected, there's no recorded data on the other two though. Shouldn't be much of a problem Gonye said he's gonna try and hurry 'em off east, 'cross the river into the Gennenberg province and all that."
"Across the river? That's a no man's land, we don't even try and operate over there anymore. Just what the hell does Gonye want with those buggers goin' over there?"
"I overheard Pitt talkin' 'bout Ostarius, but why would Gonye want 'em talkin' to that bag of bones?"
The voices paused momentarily as one of the bandits slouched against a tree and removed his helmet.

"Iunno, whatever the reason is I see no reason for us to be even spendin' time with any of these people unless it's gonna benefit us!"

Erratus was less than pleased at having his thinking interrupted. A few of Gonye's more inconsiderate men were having a little chat directly below him. The traveler noted for no particular reason that they bore swords and cloth armor. He was considering covering ears for some peace and quiet when his curiosity was suddenly piqued. A bit of eavesdropping was clearly in order.
Upon learning what Gonye had planned for the five of them, the nomad remained precisely where he was. He couldn't show his hand early by tipping anyone off that he knew things he shouldn't. He wouldn't budge from his perch in the tree until nightfall. Then, depending on his mood, he would either confront Gonye or inform the others. Probably the latter. The only thing he was certain of was that he wasn't leaving without knowing what anyone would have to gain from sending someone to the East.
For the time being, though, he sat comfortably in his tree with a self-satisfied smirk. Knowing that one held all the cards was one of the greatest feelings in the world.

For some time the men beneath Erratus remained silent. One of the bandits seemed busy digging through a bag of items taken from the fort and the other was flipping the pages of a charter or log.

"You think maybe this has something to do with the titan?" Finally the man who had been paging through the book broke the silence that had been persisting for some time.

"I mean, I heard Pitt and Gonye talk 'bout it before Gonye was well, y'know captured."

"I haven't the slightest clue what you're on about Kaz..." the other bandit seemed completely disinterested in the conversation, so much so that he didn't even look up from his bag. "Like I said before, if it ain't going to help us why should we care? And besides, with all the eaves dropping ya' do I'm surprised the captain hasn't already lobbed off your head!" picking up his bag of goods the bandit started off towards the camp site. "It's gettin' darker by the second and by now everyone is probably done back at the prison, I'm headin' back to camp. Are you comin' or not?"

The bandit with the book remained where he was seated for a few moments before waving his hand. "I'll follow after in a bit, I have yet to fully catch my breath from all the smoke and fighting."

Shrugging off his companions explanation the sack toting bandit made quick for the campsite, leaving the other bandit alone to rest.

The recent developments had the nomad's mind jogging. The bandit who had stayed behind was carrying some rather alluring reading material. The kind of information that could potentially be extremely useful. Once the other bandit had been gone for a minute, Erratus began to make his way slowly down the tree.

He was roughly five meters from the ground when his cloak snagged on a branch, catching him off-balance and sending him plummeting the rest of the way to the ground. While he landed firmly on the bandit, his cloak remained hooked onto the branch, pouring its contents onto the ground below.

"Terribly sorry, my friend." He said, jumping quickly to his feet. Acting on instinct, he withdrew his cane and gave the man a good whack on the back of the head, knocking him out cold. Now the nomad had an unconscious body on his hands, and the other bandit would be expecting his friend to be along soon.

With no better ideas, Erratus quickly collected his gear, then bound and gagged the bandit as best he could under the circumstances. He made sure to grab the book the man was carrying as well. It was beginning to get very dark, and sneaking his new prisoner to the tent shouldn't be a problem.

However, they wouldn't be able to keep him there for long. With any luck, Nero would be able to think of a sensible course of action before any suspicions arose. With little choice in the matter, the nomad began to make his way to their shared tent. He took a roundabout path to avoid as many people as possible, hoping that Nero would be there when he arrived.

Lucia smiled pleased to have found a friend in Nero. It seemed that once again she was no longer alone in the world, at least for the time being. He then asked her about the workings of her magic, to which she smiled.

"Honestly, I'm still very unsure about how my magic works, the ability developed after my parents passed away, and magic in my village sort of had a stigmatic view so I had to teach myself the workings of what works and what does not." She crouched beside the spring and put her hand in the water spinning it between her pointing finger and her thumb as she pulled up a blue string rose from the water.

"I guess you could say that I'm attuned to nature, I spin it into a cloth holding the properties of the object spun, and I can dispel the string to release it to its original form." She released her fingers from the string and it became water falling back into the spring. "Even my cloak here is made out of fire, and keeps me warm no matter the temperature outside....It's helped for some of the colder nights outside of shelter. Conventional magic though...I don't have any knowledge besides following trails of energy...though even that could just be my ability to magically weave things."

"Ah, your life seemed very peaceful, which is something we both share." Talaitha replied. Her voice was softer than earlier, as if she reverted to a wondering child before her elder.
"If you don't mind if I ask, what is the covenant like? Is it like a family more than a close-knit group."

Family, a word she never truly knew. It was true that she had a mother, but her mother never treated her as if she was her child. All Talaitha was to her mother was the same as she was to the rest of the community, the precious protege. All she wanted was someone she could call family, and she was even beginning to see Nadya as a big sister figure.

Though he took a very indirect path back to the camp Erratus was forced to stop numerous times to avoid the swarm of returning bandits. After all was said and done Erratus was able to get the body to their tents, though Nero was no where insight.

_____

Nero stared deeply in amazement of Lucia's skills. He earnestly wanted to see more of her art but realized before he spoke that it would be rude to bother her further.

"Well, I suppose you probably want to get back to the camp, right? I know I'm finally ready." Nero attempted to seem lighthearted, though he feared he was acting far too trite or cheesy. Nero made quick to abandon this irrational thought though. After speaking with Lucia he felt he needed to get over himself and deal with his shortcomings as fast as possible. Removing himself from the spring and moving back towards the trail Nero gave another deep bow.

"I have to thank you once more for showing me that, it was spectacular!"

______


"Well.... It really depends. Most members who you work with on a constant basis treat you like family and even the higher ranking members act this way. But when you start to deal with members from afar and the council members it's a completely different story." Nadya was searching for the words to describe her personal interaction with the members who essentially ran the group, but was unable to find the right words for some time. "Extremely formal, that's the best way to describe speaking to the council and the covenant head."

Erratus was ready to collapse by the time he returned to the campsite. Heavy lifting had never been his strong suit, and on top of that he was hungry and exhausted. He counted it a miracle that he had even made it back with the prisoner in tow. Much to his chagrin, Nero was nowhere to be found when he arrived. With nightfall rapidly approaching, the nomad hoped his traveling companion would be along soon. If he wasn't back within ten minutes, Erratus would probably have to dump the bandit back in the woods to cover up his involvement. Aside from the unseemly lump on the bandit's head, the notion that he had simply passed out in the forest from exhaustion was perfectly believable. Killing him was out of the question, though. If bandits started mysteriously dying, the newcomers would immediately be suspected.
In any case, he didn't want to lose this opportunity. If the bandit really eavesdropped as much as his friend had implied, he could hold a wealth of useful information. While the nomad waited for Nero to arrive, he made use of his time by retying the man's restraints as well as binding his feet. There was no telling how long it would be until he awoke.

Talaitha was about to ask Nadya if she could travel with her after this affair ended, but she stopped mid thought when she heard a few strange sounds outside their tent. Peeking out, she witnessed the old man with another man tied up before him, just sitting there. Backing away from the mouth of the tent, she turned back to Nadya.

"The old man seems to have finally lost it." She told Nadya, motioning toward the mouth of the tent. "I was expecting it to happen to him eventually, but not so soon."

((This is problematic. I suppose we should just pretend that Talaitha peeked into the men's tent, or saw Erratus on his way there, because that's where he took the bandit. I'll be more clear on that next time.))

Just assume it was on the way then because thats when I thought she'd hear the sounds

Lucia smiled "It's always fun sharing" she said with a slight dip of a curtsy. "I'm glad I was able to bring your mind to a bit of ease. I assume that tomorrow will be quite eventful, so yes, I will be heading to the tent" And with that said she headed towards the tent where the gypsy women had been. She was unsure of how they would treat her, she had never been alone with the two of them. They were both older than her and they were kinsmen as well. She mentally shrugged away her worries and simply continued without further worrying herself.

Nero followed after Lucia as she left, he was beginning to feel tired so he was glad that they were able to wrap up their conversation quickly. Upon returning to the tent Nero was quite ready to just throw himself into the tent and sleep, even if Erratus had finally decided to come back to their lodging Nero felt nothing could delay his rest. "Have you gone mad!?" Poking his head through the tent Nero immediately took noticed of the bound and gagged. Stepping through the flaps of the tent he made quick to lower his voice and confront Erratus more directly.

"What were you thinking? How did this even happen?"


_______


"Has he done something daft?" Nadya questioned as she shifted her neck in an attempt to see, but not move from her current position. "I should rephrase that, has he done something worst than what he usually does?" Nadya sighed at her own humor as she spotted Lucia and Nero returning to the camp from her now strained position. "Wonder what they were up to..." she added in an uninterested tone.

"That's quite a few questions." Erratus said plainly. "I'll try to answer as best I can."
"No, I do not suppose that I have gone mad quite yet. I was thinking that my newest acquaintances might like to know what Gonye and his little crew have in store for them. As for how this happened, that is a long and intriguing tale that I will share with you another time. For now, you need to hear what this man has to say. But not here. Do you know of a place where we can interrogate him without interference?"

Nero seemed annoyed by how Erratus responded to his questions, surely he could have at least attempted to make some sense of the situation for him. But for now Nero allowed his behaviour to slip by "The only place around here that I have gone to is the springs. They're the only place I can assume is safe." turning away from Erratus Nero poked his head out from the tent to inspect the camp which was slowly beginning to fill with raiders.

"We should at least tell the others before we do anything... If push comes to shove your actions could put them in harms -"

"HMMPH!" the sound of a cry for help against a gagging cloth, it sent shivers of anger towards Erratus down Nero's spine.

"And now he's woken up!"