Spending a minute rifling through the bags, Talaitha found her jambiya still in its sheath. Pulling it out to inspect the blade, she was content to find that it was still in the condition it was earlier. Returning it to her hip she stared at the rest of the group, muttered, "What are we going to do now?" and ran off in the bushes after the men as directed. She'd believe him for now, if not only because he just helped them. Once they were out of harm's way she could finally talk to Nadya in peace, which was all she really wanted in the first place.

Erratus shrugged and tossed the sword away. It was clear he wouldn't be needing it. He kept the knife concealed withing his cloak, however. It would make a fine addition to his collection. As the group made their way through the courtyard, it became clear to the nomad that he had been mistaken. The fire was a bit much, but otherwise, this plan was perfectly sound and practical. Honestly, he wasn't one to complain about overkill anyway. He didn't regret is skepticism, however. Trust was a luxury that could be afforded only by those with a death wish.
Considering that the fort was sitting directly on top of a horde of undead creatures, anything of importance that had been destroyed during their escape should be swiftly replaced.
Once he had cleared the walls, Erratus immediately began rifling through the bags in order to find his possessions. He quickly picked out his cane and knives. He saw a very nice bow and decided to grab that as well.

Lucia could almost see the waves of energy being emitted from the fire seeping through the ground as heat, though the fire was much too far for her to spin it into any sort of thread. Then again, it wasn't exactly the best time or place to consider any spinning prospects, their lives were in danger. Eventually Gonye returned and it seems that she had been right to not bother with the sword for they had to run.

She looked back as she ran and saw the billowing smoke and the consuming fire, and then she looked away and concentrated on following the group as best she could. Lucia couldn't help but hope that not too many lives were lost in the fire, even though some of the guards' conduct had been distasteful while she was being examined. She climbed down the rope as fast as she could, even though she feared that her arms would give out and she would fall to her death, and once on the ground she found that a pile of their supplies had been gathered. Immediately she spotted her staff and she lunged for it longingly. It was the sole physical item she had to remind her of her parents and she was extremely protective of it. She then looked for her handbag which had all her silks, most importantly her magically cultivated silks that had taken much effort if not risk to her own life to spin. She ruffled through it quickly finding the fabrics she had woven for sale that day and deeper in her bag a pale grey silk that looked almost see-through which she had weaved on a particularly foggy day and a golden fabric that shimmered various shades of golds, yellows, and white, this she had weaved from lightning. This one had been the one that was risky as she was unsure of whether it would work in the first place. It had been weaved on an emotionally dark day.

It was then that she looked for her bow and quiver. Lucia looked and saw it in one pile and put it on, though when she went to go grab her bow which she saw from the corner of her eye, the man Khast picked it up. "Um...while I know time is of the essence, I believe that is my bow" she said softly "It's really the only weapon I have to defend myself" she said while scuffing her boots on the ground shyly. She had never been a fond of confrontation.

Erratus couldn't help but let out a laugh. With a demeanor like that, it was difficult to believe the girl had so much as strung a bow before.
"So, you believe that this is your weapon? I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit more sure than that. Quite frankly, I see absolutely no reason to hand this over right now. I certainly hope you're not relying on my sense of decency to get it back."
All the same, the nomad tossed the instrument to Lucia. He doubted that the others would be pleased should he try to keep it, and he didn't know how to use it properly anyway.
"You can't count on anyone but yourself, me least of all." The man continued. "You would do well to keep that in mind." With that, he gave a wry smile and turned to follow the others. A healthy dose of cynicism would do her some good.

Lucia caught the bow surprised that he had given it to her so easily, though she took his words to heart. She needed to look out for herself, she had trusted that man and then she ended up in prison, the gypsies only seemed to trust themselves, Nero was a clam, and kept to himself as well while Khast seemed to be dancing on a fine line of madness, he was quick to act and dangerous. Perhaps it was best that as soon as she had the opportunity to flee for herself that she would do so. It seemed that everyone always seemed to be taken from her in the end anyways.

Having come to that mental conclusion, she slung her bow over her shoulder and ran after the others, her cloak flying behind her leaving the burning buildings behind. She hoped that the destruction of the fortress would not lead to the setting free of the infected below.

As the group journeyed after Gonye, Nero in particular made a mission of catching up to the man to speak with him. It wasn't as difficult a task as Nero had thought though, he had left the group first and only after a few minutes of running on the trail did he discover Gonye meandering along. With absolute alacrity, Nero bolted beside Gonye who had been paying very little attention to the world about him.

"It's interesting, just look at er' burn." Gonye spoke softly before coming to a complete turn and watching the horrific fort continue to fall away. "They'll burn it until there's not but ash... Then they'll burn it again. Those men are in a feverish pitch."

Following Gonye's eyes Nero watched the fire burn against the indigo, twilight, sky that was gradually guiding the night. "An ideal is always born of fire, whether it be an ideal of destruction or creation, an inferno is a beacon for those with the eyes of idealism."

"Sounds like you're a bit of an idealist yourself boy, you don't appear to be much of a scholar but I can see it by just the way ya speak." Returning to his previous stance away from the fire the old bandit took off again down the path. "Hurry along, your friends are catchin' up!" Nero remained behind for some time though as he simply watched the fire burn, it was a enchanting. But before long Nero caught sight of Talaitha and Nadya approaching from the brush and so he continued up the road, looking over his shoulder every now and then to watch the fire burn. It wasn't long though before Nero had once again caught up to Gonye, though this time around Gonye wasn't just strolling about, he had reached his destination. It appeared as though Gonye had guided the group to an encampment that more than likely belonged to the raiders and bandits who had attacked the fort. Gonye waited for the whole group to arrive, and when they finally did he began his speech.

"For now I'll be havin' ya stay here at my camp, you can't go wanderin' bout the night in these parts of the world, especially with all that commotion going about at the fort. I've got two tents prepared for your group against the back end of the camp, the larger one for the lasses and the smaller tent for the lads. There should be food, water, and bedding prepared inside each tent and if yer feeling filthy after bein' in that jail there's a hot spring situated up the road from yer tent. I would suggest strongly that the lasses, if ya' do go to the spring, avoid the initial spring and journey up to the next one 60 or 70 metres passed. I'll be taken my leave for now, I'll call for yins in the morning to try and better explain your situation." With that Gonye headed for the encampment himself which at this point was an empty army of tents.

Following the man's guide Nadya headed directly for the back of the camp, it didn't take long before she found the set of tents that were completely divided from the rest. Making little time the gypsy entered the larger of the two tents which she would be sharing with Talaitha and Lucia and began to unpack her things. Nero followed shortly after Nadya had departed the group, though he was in no rush to enter in his tent. He wanted to enjoy the night air for some time, so he sat down in front of the smaller tent and let his eyes wander into the stars.

Eventually they reached their temporary location, and were accommodated greatly with various supplies for their stay. Lucia was thankful for the reprieve, no matter how brief, however she still did not feel safe. Ever since she had left the city, whisked away in that steel cabin, she had felt wary of all things in her environment, as if nothing could be trusted. Khast's words continued to echo in her head, serving as a reminder that she truly was not yet out of the woods, in both a literal and figurative sense.

Leaving her bow, quiver and staff in the tent that had been assigned for the women, Lucia departed for a hot spring to soak away the sudden sweep of bad luck that had blown her way. Taking Gonye's advice, she did not stop at the first hot spring she saw, or the second, or the third. She really wanted privacy, and after being forced to go bare in front of strangers earlier that day, she did not want to have to go through the same experience again. Eventually she came upon another hot spring, she looked around to see if there was anyone nearby and then she quickly slipped off her garments, laying them beside the stream and placed her fabric bag within arm's reach as she sunk into the warm waters. Lucia lowered herself til only her eyes were above the water her dark hair floating around her head and her silvery bangs glistening along the surface of the water.

Seeing that most of the group scattered, Talaitha decided now was the best time to speak to Nadya. Following her into the tent, she watched as her elder unpacked her belongings. She didn't know what to ask, even after finally finding one of her own she couldn't figure out what she wanted to say.

"Nayda, I was born into a community where I was sheltered and bred into what I am today, and I think because of that I don't understand our people that well. All I really want out of this is to understand the gypsy's relationship with the Covenant and the world."

Nadya was beginning to remove her wrappings to inspect her burn wounds as Talaitha spoke, the girl's questions seemed quite silly to the elder but I suppose if she was as sheltered as she claimed she had to give her the benefit of the doubt.

"The covenant was formed long, long ago as a way to defend our ideals and beliefs, it was almost like a religious system. It didn't start as some monster hunting group, we were just naturally inclined warriors was all. But as civilization began anew and people began to settle about the continent and form permanent homes the original members of the covenant decided to settle permanently as well, and so a region in the south west was founded for our people called Trissim. A loosely bound, code-honored government was formed by our ancestors in this settlement and for sometime the area prospered. But after Trissim's initial foundation had been set the beasts who had hidden themselves away in the time of war began to arise and drive our people from the south towards the north. Many of our ancestors were killed off over a fifty year period of battle until finally a victory for our people had been attained. By this time though our numbers had dwindled greatly and our people had scattered about in all directions. With no way to re-establish another settlement the survivors founded a wandering covenant that would specialize in protecting the new settlements that began popping up all over the place." Standing up from her squatted unpacking position Nadya began to stretch her arms. "Eventually the covenant would establish itself more formally and it began to deal in more affairs than just hunting, the group started to deal in trade, politics, even war. Before long the covenant had members in settlements all over the continent including Aestaria. Aestaria even formally recognized us as a guild without even having to apply for the position which is what eventually let our group to set up their permanent foundation in Aestaria, which also lead to our eventually invitation as a permanent court holder in Harengoth." Yawning Nadya sat back down and crossed her legs. "That's at least a short bit of the group's history, as far as our people's position in the world... Can't say much, we're so scattered and torn apart over trivial tribal problems that we barely hold any importance at all."

______

Sitting up Nero had decided it was within his best interest to take a walk around the camp and the initial forested area. He was far to anxious to just sit and relax, though he wasn't quite sure why. He felt tired, terribly tired, just barely dodging death did that kind of thing to you. But for some unknown reason he was unable to truly find any enjoyment in surviving the ordeal, he just felt like he NEEDED to walk. Heading out into the wilds Nero made certain to stay on the path, he wasn't mad enough to go against Gonye's advise to be wary of dangers lurking in the night. After a short walk Nero discovered the springs that Gonye had spoken of earlier, there seemed to be multiple springs that ran some way back into the forest and even one or two he had passed by accident. Remembering that Lucia had gone off on her own Nero figured he would go no further then where he was now to avoid causing any altercations with the girl, she had been through more than enough already. Heading to the closest spring he dipped his hands into the water and began to wash his face. "So, just who are you Gonye... You appear to be a uneducated bandit, yet when alone you speak as an educated man. Who are you really?" Sitting back Nero watched the steam of the hot spring rise off the waters beneath his feet. Just sitting there was tempting, he wanted to jump in and relax but his mind would not settle. He feared for what was happening, was it irrational fear? "By this time, all the guards are more than likely dead." pausing for a brief moment he reached into the water again and splashed his face. "They'll hunt us if we go west... And when news reaches the settlements that the fort has burned down, they'll hunt us here. What of Gonye? Why was I so quick to act on his behalf? What if he deceived us? What if we were just going to be sent home after our inspection, and after being set home we'd be able to continue living... without any of this..." Hypothetical situations based around what if continued to buzz through Nero's conscious, The whole situation was taking its toll on his mind. He no longer wanted to return to the camp, not until he was able to calm himself.

Though Erratus was no longer anxious, he was still extremely suspicious. He still refused to trust Gonye. At least, he distrusted him more than he distrusted anyone else at the moment. After a quick excursion to the hotspring, he made his way to a secluded part of the forest, not too far from the campsite. He decided against sleeping in the tent. As much as he just loved confined spaces, he was more accustomed to sleeping under the stars. Moreover, he didn't want to be caught with his trousers down should any hostiles happen upon the campsite.
Once he was sure that nobody was around, the nomad began climbing one of the trees, taking care to select one that was thick with branches. Once he was a fair ways up, he perched himself on a nice, sturdy branch and leaned against the trunk. Once he had made himself comfortable, he began to think. He thought about what would have happened had he not encountered Nero back at the plaza. He wondered what had become of Gaston, whether he was alive, dead, or somewhere in between. Most of all, he thought about the fortress. After the raid Gonye had orchestrated, the place was hardly fit to contain possibly thousands of infected individuals. The prospect of them escaping was not a pleasant one.

Lucia took time to stretch her toes and fingers as she soaked in the spring allowing the water to wash away all her accumulated troubles away. She found a natural outcrop under the water that had been eroded smooth by the water and perhaps use and she sat down with the water steaming around up to her neck. Leading her fingers through the water, she began to weave the bubbling water into a blue and white cloth, though this was just for fun, she pulled on one piece of the magical cloth that she had created and it dissipated returning to its previous form of water. She sighed heavily, feeling some semblance of peace and finished washing herself off, sinking below the water a few times to properly wash her hair. She climbed out of the spring and sat by the water for a few minutes for her hair and skin to dry off before putting her clothes back on.

Feeling in much brighter spirits, Lucia walked back the way she had come, her hair tied in a braid, and her silver bangs neatly framing her face. It was then that she came across Nero who seemed greatly troubled. She could see it on his face, and though she still felt wary of making friends with any of them, as Khast had warned earlier, she couldn't help but at least speak to him in hopes of relieving him of whatever was on his mind.

"Hello" she said "I don't know if I'm someone you want to talk to right now...for you seem to have something on the mind, but if I can help...I'm all ears" she said softly.

"I don't know if I'm someone you want to talk to right now...for you seem to have something on the mind, but if I can help...I'm all ears" Lucia's soft voice had completely taken Nero off guard, he had been so lost in thought that he hadn't even taken notice of her passing. Recovering quickly from his startled state Nero began to run his hand through the spring water.

"Nothing feels right, about any of this. Everybody here has things to hide, it seems like I'm caught up in a storm of secrets. Khast is a quite clearly hovering between madness and sanity constantly, the gypsies keep to themselves and one another and now Gonye..." Turning about from his seated position near the water Nero instinctively searched for a face in the darkness of night, something, anything he could physically communicate with. Nero had caught himself off guard though once more. He had never taken a very close look at Lucia nor did he ever have the chance to, but her bangs temporarily amazed Nero. Never before in his life had he seen such contrasting colours, the pure black of her hair and the shining gleam of silver that ran from her bangs. He felt as if he needed to take a moment to stare and wonder if the beautiful silver was a naturally occurring miracle but realizing he had been staring for some time he hastily turned back towards the water to avoid embarrassing himself further and causing Lucia any embarrassment.

"Do you believe you made the right decision?" His voice had dropped to a low mumble now, he obviously was doubting his own decision making. "I mean... So far, up until this very point, do you believe that as a whole you made all the right choices in who you placed your trust?" Once more his hand had found its way into the water, just toiling about against the soft current he had created.

"Ah, so out people are as scattered as I feared," Talaitha replied, sitting down in the tent with her arms wrapped around her bent legs. She was tired, but happy she finally could speak to one of her own after so long. "When I grew up my community did not care for anyone else, all they were obsessed with was passing on their combined knowledge onto me, having sent away all other children who were inadequate when it came to enchantment. So I grew up alone and forced to act like an adult when I was only a child. And once I had come of age and was able to set up my trade, my community disbanded and scattered, done with their work. Any relationships I made with people in my community were lost and I was alone again, this time with no one. I had longed for the day I'd finally meet another of my kind, and it didn't make it any easier dealing with people who despised gyspies and losing my business."

Talaitha smiled to Nadya as she spoke.
"It feels so good to finally have met you, Nadya, maybe my luck will change soon enough. But, I don't want you to pity me, I just wanted you to know what my life was like so you could understand why I'm like this. If anything I want to know about your life, what your childhood was like compared to mine as we probably grew up in very different atmospheres."

"My childhood?" At first Nadya seemed surprised by Talaitha's inquiring of her early life.

"Well... I suppose it is only natural that you'd want to know more about me seeing as how I am connected to your interest in our people's culture." placing a hand upon her forehead Nadya began to recount the early years of her life.

"I was born to the south of the Aestarian border in a village known as Velsair. Velsair was a well established community and its population was mainly made up of our people, though there were multiple ethnic groups living in the area including a group from the far far east known as the Hellabash which made up the largest minority group. I lived in Velsair until I was about seven, it was around that time that refugees from the east started heading west to avoid war and soon Velsair had been grossly over populated. My parents moved north over the Aestarian border with me and eventually I learned the trade of building charms and wards from covenant members in Annsbruck. I was actually accepted into the covenant when I was twelve because I had been building such sturdy charms without knowing a single thing about hunting." Nadya gave a slight chuckle at her childhood naivety before trying to recall any interesting details about her life. Sadly she was unable to find anything really interesting to tell Talaitha. As far as her people went, Nadya lived a fairly simple life. She was born too late to know much of actual monster hunting and the most amazing thing to ever happen to her was quite possibly just a case of mistaken identity. "Pretty boring right? I really don't have many amazing stories to tell about my life. The only interesting thing I could really tell you about was when I met a woman who claimed to be Lady Janis when I crossed the border, at the time I really believed she was the Lord of Starlight. Can you believe it? For Janis to be alive back then she would have been well over 300 years old! It was absurd! Though I was just a foolish child then."

Lucia thought momentarily on what Nero had said, it seemed that living a life of mistrust and doubt took a greater toll than she had originally imagined. What he said was true though, what were the motives of Gonye? Why did he care about keeping them safe? Lucia liked to think that perhaps it was done out of the goodness of his heart, but really she did not know whether a bandit could be trusted. The others whom she had been captured with were another story, Khast frightened her, and the gypsies were mysterious, though they all had endured a terrible ordeal together. Perhaps they had been brought together for a reason; a purpose of astronomical proportions. Surely over time they would get to know each other, or so she hoped.

"I understand what you mean" finally spoke Lucia, oblivious to Nero's earlier staring, "One one hand, by trusting a stranger I wound up in the guildhall leading to that mess, on the other hand, by trusting another stranger we escaped that prison." she looked up at the darkening sky, and briefly observed as the stars began to shine above, as if seeking an answer from the heavens "I know that I have made some bad decisions and good decisions in those that I have put my trust. The very people you have lived with your whole life can just suddenly turn on you, but living a life without trusting another soul is a very sad and lonely way to live, so I still choose to put my trust in others. It may blow up in my face, or work to my benefit, but no matter the consequence I choose to live with the it rather than dwell on them and learn from my mistakes." She paused momentarily taking in what she had said. It seemed that it would be best to take her own advice. While what Khast said was true, not being able to trust another person was maddening, and a sad, if not paranoid, way to live.

"While I still have yet to truly trust Gonye, and I do not understand his motives, I will accept his hospitality for the time being." she smiled at him "One thing you can be sure of though, is that I am an open book, so if you ever want to know anything, feel free to ask" With that, she decided that she would lay her trust in someone else besides herself. If Nero was so disturbed at the thought of being betrayed, then he must have goodness in his heart, and that was the type of person that Lucia wanted to befriend.