"Bathing in the font of knowledge only exposes oneself to the reality that there is so much more unknown than known. To shield thyself requires naught but ignorance."

- Varick Werner, Carradorian Philosopher, "Segment Of Poem: How To Shield A Soul"

Death stalked the edges of the plain of Carrador. Yet it was not death meant for them but their foes. Greenskin riders cleaved in two lay scattered on the roadsides. The few that had not intercepted the supply wagon had instead found themselves facing the full might of the templars and the icy fury of a war weary minotaur. Numbering even less than their rearward kin, these had clearly fallen far quicker, most of their corpses piled around a segment of the road. One warg was split in half with its rider's respective pieces still sat atop it, the skill and ferocious strength of a minotaur on clear display.

Sigrid mournfully trilled. If only they had the same number of warriors then they would not have suffered a casualty.

"Got a stomach for the gross things in life, eh?" Elaria teased, the bard following her gaze.

Sigrid stared at the girl, confused at the question.

"It'd probably make for a fine ballad. A tale of strength and skill. Not like ours though, a desperate, dogged fight for survival. Though granted, I had utmost confidence in all of us." Elaria grimly chortled, "Still, at least it seems like the others managed to get away."

Sigrid huffed. Under almost any calculation the others would have had a far better chance. If the outlanders fought like the ones back in her cave and from the stories of ages past, in conjunction with soldiers and Sophie's contingent. They were more than a force to be reckoned with. She didn't know what the bard was trying to get at, but she wasn't in the mood to question it regardless. She sighed and let out a mild grunt of acknowledgement.

"Pah. In any case, you're not the squeamish type then?"

Sigrid just cocked her head, now genuinely confused at the line of questioning.

"You know, blood, bodies and all." Elaria tried to sound indifferent.

Sigrid shrugged. She had no idea what Elaria was after, but she didn't have a problem with death and the preceding factors that led to it. Her time in isolation had her fend off stray creatures every once in a while. Life and death were simply factors of existence, and unless something bordered on cruelty, she saw no reason to care for the method in which death was dispensed.

"Fair enough." Elaria clicked her tongue.

Sigrid made a soft noise. A gentle urging for the bard to get to her point. Sigrid knew she wasn't the best at perceiving human interactions. From one as strange as the bard even more so. She would prefer to just know what the girl was thinking directly.

Elaria shot her a coy smile before letting out a deliberate and heavy sigh. "Fine, fine. You got me. I'm just curious. I heard Sophie raving about your skills.Then I saw you from the wagon. You didn't even hesitate for a moment, huh. Like Raylani."

Sigrid just replied with an annoyed frown. The orcs were looking to kill, logic therefore dictated that she would kill them in turn. Just as it was at sea as it was to be on land. Survival was the instinctive goal in a fight, one that she was almost certain even Sophie would agree with.

Elaria stared at her, studying her for a few more moments before finally relenting. Only when Elaria leaned back into her seat did Sigrid finally get a chance to relax a little. Something about Elaria's questioning and comments bothered her, though she couldn't quite put a scale on it.

Thankfully, before the bard had any other chance to push forth strange queries, shouts and cries came from in front of the wagon. Equal parts curious and still battle ready, she clambered towards where Raylani drove with a small incantation poised to be launched.

A small cadre of templars led by the towering figure of Sir Taurox had set up a small defensive position alongside what appeared to be a squad of other soldiers. Behind them, the carriages and wagons formed a small semi-circle as Sophie and the outlanders stood in some strange battle formation.

Taking any chance to establish her presence, Elaria clambered past Sigrid and tapped the dark elf on the shoulder. Raylani obediently shifted in her seat, giving some room for the bard to pontificate or whatever else she might do. Elaria had one leg raised atop the wagon's edge like some heroic statue's pose, her arms on her lips like an explorer gazing out over an adoring crowd.

Sigrid let out a soft chirp of concern at the girl so openly presenting herself as a target but kept it at that. Instead, she turned her attention towards the two remaining riders in the party. Grorok the orc was bloodied but unbroken, the hulking warrior having bandaged his own wounds. The remaining templar had the solemn task of carrying his fallen comrade with him while the now riderless horse cantered alongside them.

"Hoh there!" Elaria's commanding voice bellowed with calm across the distance, "We've made it. Though doubtless we could've used your help." She added just as curtly.

A few barks and shouts came from the opposite side as riders and templars rode out to meet them. Where the templars were clad in dull silver, the others that met them wore thick colored leathers, Sigrid reasoning them to be some form of local heraldry in the same vein as the flags of people of Arteria.

There was surprisingly little fanfare in their reunion, the soldiers and templars quickly fanning out to scout for any more traces of hostels that could have trailed them. One of the senior silver clad warriors taking up the unenviable task of relieving the surviving templar of his deceased comrade. Another soul consigned to the depths in the heat of combat.

For the wagon's crew, they were at least met with a slightly more relieved reaction from their compatriots. Sophie and Hanabi quickly ran over to examine them with the outlanders and Evaline keeping a close watch over their flanks. They had almost fully transitioned into the plains of Carrador, the vast open stretches of fields surrounded by thick splotches of forests and the towering mountains of the Highwall. Yet, it was that same openness that lent itself to a strange sense of security. They had numbers, and they would be better able to see any approaching foe better than the windy roads connecting the mountain pass through the forests.

"Don't worry." Elaria tsked, "We're all fine here." The girl announced as she hopped off the side of the wagon to clasp Sophie on the shoulder.

"Stars. Everything happened so fast." Sophie mumbled, "Glad you're all alright though." She looked worriedly up towards Raylani and Sigrid.

The dark elf nodded stoically, as befitting her. Sigrid just responded with a gentle trill to acknowledge the concern.

"It happened so fast. Someone yelled something and then it was just off we went, right behind the carriages. Took us a few moments to even realize that you guys didn't follow." Sophie explained.

"The others did put a few of them down though." Hanabi motioned down the road behind them, "Only reason we didn't get a chance to push back was because a hoity toity man with a hat didn't want to risk the saints by breaking formation. As if my classmates would ever even need our help." The girl hissed under her breath.

"And we lost one of our escorts too." Elaria added, drawing the two's attention to the handover of the body.

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They lingered for a moment, the trio trading a few glances before turning their gaze back towards the wagon. Something unspoken passed between them but Sigrid could hazard a guess. A quiet sense of relief that they were all alive and well on both sides.

"Tch, I'd have happily joined the action." Hanabi grunted after the moment of silence, "If only Mila was more senior."

"She tried her best, but the other inquisitor was insistent that we stay at least as a backup for the saints. And he basically leashed Taurox's squadron to the edge of visual range but not far enough to push to you guys." Sophie quickly added.

"Explains why you guys were so close to the bodies down the round." Elaria mused.

"Mhmm." Sophie nodded.

As the three continued their little chat, Sigrid moved her attention towards the other wagon where the others gathered around. Evaline and the outlanders were now chattering with the wheel bound Aryana and decidedly nervous looking Carradorian noble girl beside her. The red haired girl occasionally snuck a few glances over and even once smiled at presumably her. Therefore Sigrid tried her best to return the smile.

Sophie's twin Sophia meanwhile, was acting very much like Raylani. The two relatively subdued individuals just quietly kept an eye on proceedings. Though unlike the hawk-like sentinel the dark elf was. Sophia seemed almost sullen. Her attention focused more like a strategist trying to assess things rather than keeping vigilant. In fact, Sigrid could see some similarities in the way the girl tried to get a bead on everything and Elaria, though the latter was always far more bombastic in doing so.

A shrill whistle echoed from the front of the convoy as Inquisitor Mila rode down the line with her mount. The girl barked a few commands to the others and also began corralling the remaining soldiery back towards the convoy. Even the local knights began rallying around their own captain and Sigrid could tell they were about to be on the road once more.

"Everything good?" Mila rode up to them.

"We're fine, at least." Elaria answered for the supply crew.

"Good." Mila let out a little sigh, the inquisitor's brow knit tight with frustration.

Sigrid let out a comforting little trill, bringing the faint traces of a smile to the girl's face. She then scrambled up next to Raylani and let out a series of melodic, almost imperceptible chirps. There were a few moments of nothingness as the chattering around her drowned out any other noise. But then she heard the small song carried in the wind. A language that those more humanoid of creatives would not understand. The words of the fae speaking to the earth. And hearing that, Sigrid smiled. Yana was alive and well too.

Satisfied, she clambered back into the back of the wagon, content to just lounge around a little more until they reached their destination. With adrenaline fading and a strange sense of calm returning over the convoy, Sigrid let out a yawn and laid on her little stack of cloth. This journey was proving to be far more chaotic than she had envisioned based on what the others had described. A small sense of dread rattled her once more as her eyes started to close. The pointed worry that something dark knew of their approach and was starting to react. She couldn't do anything about it, but she could think. And if her time in the cave had taught her anything, it was that she had many thoughts.

Fortress Ebenswachten was a formidable structure of thick stonewalls and towered over the nearby towns. An everpresent reminder of Grand Duke Platts and his watchful eye over the greater Carradorian Plains. The defender of the western sphere and marshal of the south. One of the families that had dozens of lesser lords at his beck and call. Or so Evaline had informed them.

The town of Ebensfeld was like a completely different entity. Vast fields of grains and crops started to stretch as far as the eye can see the closer they got. A gentle town that marked the well protected breadbasket of Carrador. Far less menacing walls surrounded the city and with the fortress guarding it alongside a large contingent of the duke's own professional retinue on duty, the people here clearly had little danger to truly worry about.

Unlike Arteria though, Ebensfeld still carried with it a quiet, almost soothing quality despite being a hub of commercial activity. Even more different than the Arterian peoples were the manner of dress. In contrast to the plethora of materials, vibrant colors, and outfits of all shapes and sizes, here, they wore rough wool and linen tunics with muted colors, occasionally brighter reds and greens for those with a bit more wealth. Yet there was a quaint sense of charm to them, the same as those of the village that what she now knew was called Oakbeach. A sort of more simple but practical sense of dress.

But attention would be something that couldn't be easily shaken here either. After all, an armored convoy like theirs was rare enough that those who saw it would always take a few extra glances at their passing. Still, with the templars splitting off with the outlanders to first pay a visit to the local cathedral, the Lily Knights and additional personnel had the chance to secure their own lodgings for the night at the local inns.

Sigrid was the one who chose their accommodation for them, much to Sophie's dismay. They had been wandering down the city streets when her nose honed in on a pleasant, lovely scent that immediately caught her attention. Following it with the precision of a trained hunter, she led them to the doors of one Der Goldene Ernte, an inn with a bakery attached to it. Aryana was her most ardent supporter in this endeavor, the girl simply stared at Sophie with a knowing look and the elf wilted almost immediately, much to everyone's amusement.

Elaria was busy negotiating with the innkeep as the others stretched and relaxed in the dining room. Sigrid found herself sitting between the two more out of place members of their party. The two noble girls who played a more passive role for the group.

Having caught her staring, Lucinia frowned and met her gaze.

"Something wrong?" The girl queried.

"Eh?" The more diminutive of the two squeaked in surprise, startled by the sudden voice.

"Not you, Lady Aleta, Sigrid." Lucinia reassured her.

"Oh." Aleta let out a soft sigh of relief.

Sigrid let out a questioning chirp, taking the chance to ask about how she was doing.

Lucinia furrowed her brows and seemed to almost ponder something before she took in a breath and just stared blankly at the mermaid. Curious, Sigrid blinked and stared back, unsure of if she had miscommunicated. Lucinia pursed her lips before letting out the breath.

"Right. I forgot that you can't speak." Lucinia mumbled.

"Lady Lucinia?" Aleta worriedly queried.

Sigrid let out a disappointed trill. Both at herself and Lucinia for forgetting.

"I mean Sigrid can't. Don't you remember Lady Elaria telling you before we left?" Lucinia explained.

"Ah, of course. Sorry." The other girl dipped her head, "But… isn't she the mage? How can you cast a spell without the incantation?" The girl turned wide questioning eyes towards her.

Amused, Sigrid hummed softly before chuckling and just smiled at the girl.

"I…" Aleta opened and closed her mouth before looking ashamed, "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

Sigrid shook her head to assure the girl that it was fine. This journey had been the first time they met, after all. Instead, she glanced over towards Lucinia, beckoning for the imperial to explain in her stead. Lucinia made an exaggerated sigh but grinned nonetheless, likely eager to show off her own knowledge when given the chance.

"Sigrid's what we might call… an apostate or wild mage of sorts. She's mute but it's like… instinct? Second nature?" Lucinia's voice tapered off.

Sigrid nodded. It was close enough. Not that she expected Lucinia to have any understanding of Mer or Fae magicks.

"So it's a different way of doing things."

"Woah. But isn't that like, much, much better than having to memorize spells or… or verbal incantations and such?" Aleta mumbled, the girl now sneaking a few more glances at Sigrid as if she had just discovered some strange creature.

Sigrid clicked her tongue in amusement. She then looked towards Lucinia and stretched her arms wide to imitate something long. The Traxian paused at first, her face scrunching up as she tried to process the message. Understanding only arrived after Sigrid then pointed to herself.

"Maybe, Lady Gossliger. But Sigrid here is… well, it'd be rude to speculate, but I daresay she's probably had more practice with her own… let's say skills than most mages we'd probably know. Including those in court." Lucinia spoke up.

Sigrid imitated the others and held up a thumbs up to demonstrate her approval of the explanation. The simple gesture elicited a small but quickly suppressed chuckle from the Traxian.

"What? More practice? How?"

"Well… she looks young, hmm? But I'd say she's probably quite a ways beyond us?"

Sigrid giggled and nodded.

Aleta looked positively aghast, like this explanation had simply failed to process in her mind. The girl then threw caution to the wind and unabashedly studied Sigrid, her meekness traded away for an endearing sense of incredulity. Sigrid let it happen and just smiled. For she was glad that people like Aleta would likely never have to experience the trials that the party will face in the coming weeks. She supposed that she might be beginning to understand why Sophie might have chosen such a difficult path in the first place. The one to bear the burdens so that others would not need to. Though she still thought that running so readily into danger was a fool's errand. But alas, she was fond of her new compatriots, and she would stick around for now. I

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