The camp’s fire roared into life as Iskra and the rest of the group settled in for the night after a long and dull day near the river where the young girl’s caravan had previously come under attack. For the young girl it was a strange feeling, returning to that fateful scene of bloody carnage. Iskra’s eyes stared deeply into the fire as it danced into life, the orange and yellow flames licked at the freshly picked branches and leaves that served as the blazes food. The wood cracked and snapped under the biting flames while thick, grey smoke rose into the sky above. Iskra looked towards the horizon and watched as the sun slowly dipped below the ever present mountains that continuously bellowed out their own plumes of blackened smoke.

Iskra counted at least three different pillars of smoke off in the distant horizon, yet she knew that there were countless more plumes of thick smoke somewhere just out of sight. She wondered what it would be like to visit one of those mountains, even if it was only for a brief moment. According to Velicion and Argonok, the smoke spewing mountains were called ‘Volcanoes’ and the two tried their best to describe what they were. In their own separate ways of course. The sorceress was academic and precise in her explanation while the dwarf had given his lesson in a manner that could only be described as brutish. The young girl had quickly grown bored of their teachings about the world around the various machinations that make it work and brushed them away after she had claimed that she didn’t need such knowledge as the girl felt that it was useless to learn of something that she saw as having no immediate impact in her life. The sorceress had scuffed at the girl’s lack of appetite for learning while the dwarf merely laughed at her words while proclaiming her to be an excellent product of noble society.

Iskra’s face was visibly irritated by the dwarf's slander towards upper society, but she stayed quiet as she did her best in brushing off the dwarf’s crude joke. It was evident to Iskra that Argonok wanted some reaction or other out of the young girl, but she hoped to have proved fruitless in that endeavor.

Iskra thoughts returned to earlier in the day. It was by no fluke or strange coincidence that their little band of misfits had come across the fateful river, but instead a calculated decision by the young girl. During their journey into the wider world of the mysterious duchy of Voldigrov, Iskra had concluded that it was at this spot that the bridge needed to be built.

It was better safe than sorry to have some evidence that the group had indeed accomplished what it had initially set out to do. Even if the proclamation she had once spouted was in fact false in both reality and intent.

Their current location was in a prime location, nestled in between the settlements of Ruined Home and Zharatan’s Domain. There also happened to be the added bonus that their current location was on the edge of the forest that hugged tightly against both sides of the river.

A crew assigned to the task of building the structure would find no issue in getting the needed amount of lumber while also being able to call for help in a timely manner. Though Iskra wondered just how long the untrained peasantry would last against another band of goblins or even orcs. Even the soldiers who swore allegiance to Duke Vesely seemed to fare quite poorly against the goblins as well. A sinister smile crept onto her face as she was quite pleased in the idea that such a fact would cause quite the heartache for the Duke of Orul.

Iskra wondered just how well the Duke's army, let alone the combined might of the kingdoms own, would fare against a real threat to the land and not the usual rabblerousing group of bandits.

Moving away from her thoughts, Iskra looked around the campsite. Curious as to what the others were currently doing while she had stared blankly into the ever hungry flames. The twins and Velicion were sitting fairly close to the fire, not far from where the girl sat. Whereas the goblin was far off in the distance, left to its own whims within the growing darkness. The elven boys were huddled together as they moved their hands and arms in strange gestures that she had never seen before. From the looks of things, the twins appeared to be playing some sort of game that Iskra had no clue as to what it was and how to play it. Velicion, meanwhile, was lying on her side with her back turned towards the fire. Earlier, the sorceress had made mention of looking over her old notes. The young girl had asked what they were for, but the elven woman had told her to not worry about it. As for the goblin, it was far off in the distance. Nowhere near close to the fire, or anyone else for that matter. Thanks to the dimming light, Iskra couldn’t quite make out what sort of face the creature had but she knew that it had stared blankly into the ground. As if it was deep in thought or mesmerized by some unseen force.

Since having picked up the miserable looking creature, Iskra had grown increasingly wearily of the goblin as time continued to move ever forward. To Velicion, she even went so far as to mention her growing regret towards helping the creature. The sorceress had managed to sedate those thoughts and even went so far as to claim that the creature would become one of her most valuable assets if the young girl were to continue to push forward and see her original plan come to fruition. With reluctance, Iskra decided to push aside her worries about the goblin, but now found herself growing concerned over how Captain Boris might react upon their return, she knew that the man wasn’t all too thrilled about her willingness to accept both the elves and the dwarves. She was absolutely positive Captain Boris was going to do something about the creature, but Iskra couldn’t bring herself to come up with any reliable scenarios. She just hoped that there wouldn’t be any blood involved.

The short haired girl continued her search around the campsite. Her eyes roamed across the camp's perimeter as she grew curious about the whereabouts of Prince Aurelius, who was currently on night watch. She had spotted him wandering throughout the camp on earlier occasions, but she had lost sight of him some time ago. It didn’t take long to find Taloris however. The black haired elf was near the river’s edge, carelessly twirling his weapon in the air as he roamed up and down the embankment. The boy had a carefree demeanor and seemed to take everything in stride. Nothing appeared to bother the young elf, and his laid-back attitude had been a frequent target for Velicions continuous chastising of the groups younger members. Iskra had received her fair share of scoldings from the sorceress as well, but that was only because she was apparently far too curious for her own good. The lithe elven woman had violently pulled the young girl's hands from a pretty looking flower on multiple occasions.

The flowers in question were of a poisonous nature, and Iskra had been reprimanded for trying to bring harm to her own body.

On one night she had overheard Velicion confiding in the dwarf that the sorceress felt more like a hawkish parent on a road trip with her children and not a master of the sorcerous arts. Argonok had, as always, laughed at her words while telling her not to worry about the teenagers. “Let them get injured,” he had said while patting the blade of his weapon. “That’s the only way for children to learn anything.” The sorceress had scuffed at the dwarfs parenting skills and said something that Iskra couldn’t quite make out. The two continued on with their conversation that night, this time arguing to one another about the proper way to raise a child.

Needless to say, Iskra had avoided speaking to the both of them for quite some time afterwards.

Eventually, her eyes had managed to find the unmistakable form of Argonok. The dwarf was close to the forest's edge and stood directly in front of Prince Aurelius. The two figures looked to be locked in conversation with one another as the dwarf made several wild gestures towards the blonde elf while the teenager leaned against a nearby tree. Iskra thought that the whole thing was ridiculous as she was currently unaware that the dwarf was able to converse in the elvish tongue and vice versa. She wondered if they were playing some kind of game, similar to what the twins were currently playing. Though that was unlikely as she heard the unmistakable laughter of the dwarf as his eerily distant voice echoed throughout the area. She couldn’t quite make out what the prince was doing, but the blonde elf appeared to find humor in whatever it was that the dwarf was doing.

Aside from the goblin, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The twins were getting to the point in their supposed game that Iskra feared they were getting far too invested in their strange gestures. One of the twins seemed to be sweating profusely as he stared daggers into his brother’s face. The second twin fared no better as his body looked to be tense and ready to throw a few punches towards his opponent. The girl was curious enough to think on the idea of asking Velicion as to what they were doing, but she didn’t wish to learn something if there was even the slimmest chance that she would be punched in the face if the raven haired girl were to play it.

Whether by chance or because she was able to read the atmosphere, Velicion looked over towards the twins and called out to them. The two boys immediately stopped and looked back at the sorceress as she spoke sharply in their tongue. Iskra looked on as the mood around the teenaged twins grew softer and more docile. Eventually, they gave a short reply and separated. One brother moved over to where the sorceress lay while the other sat on the opposite side. The two of them continued to stare daggers into one another, but the threat of violence was no longer present. Satisfied that the twins had done what they were told, Velicion looked back at her notebook and turned the page.

It was at that moment that Iskra thought that there might be some truth in what Velicion had said to the dwarf.

Eventually, the waning day turned into night, and the twins replaced those on watch. Now those that sat around the campfire consisted of Argonok, Prince Aurelius, Velicion, Taloris, herself, and the goblin. The boys were gathered around one another, sitting in a circle as they did whatever it was that boys did while the dwarf tried his best to explain some sort of game that his people played. Despite the lack of understanding between the three, Iskra could tell that they looked to be enjoying themselves and laughed amongst one another when either of the teenagers made mistakes as they continued to play the mysterious game.

As time went on, Iskra had grown curious as to why the sorceress wasn’t translating for them. She wondered if Velicion had no interest in being their interpreter or if one of the boys had, unbeknownst to her, been able to converse with either herself or the heavily armored dwarf. On instinct Iskra moved towards Velicion, crawling on her hands and knees as she made her way towards the supposedly oblivious sorceress as the elven woman remained motionless on her side while continuing to peer into the mysterious notebook.

“How’s come you aren’t translating for Argonok?” The young girl asked as she peered over Velicions shoulders, looking down at the woman's handwritten notes.

The hand sized notebook appeared to filled to the brim with handwritten notes and drawings that the raven haired girl couldn't even begin to comprehend. It's contents were strange in origin as the writing appeared to be from not of this world while the drawings were little more than a madman's insanity induced creations.

"Because," Velicion said as she waved away her question without even bothering to look up from her little book. “The dwarf is teaching them a crude game that I want no part of and neither should you.”

“What’s it about?” The girl cocked her head as her curiosity grew even larger at what the sorceress had implied.

“Trust me,” Velicion said as she continued to stare at her notes, never bothering to look up at the girl as she flipped to the next page. “You don’t want to know. You’d most likely think it’s downright vulgar and want no part in it.”

The sorceress’s words only served to increase the girls’ curiosity, and she opened her mouth to ask more on the matter but stopped just short of uttering a single word as her attention returned towards the goblin that sat far off in the distance. Its darkened form huddled in the black night as it remained as it always had, alone and seemingly insignificant in both size and mannerisms.

For the last few hours the creature had refused to move from its spot as it, as always, appeared to be lost in thought. The goblin would only move to accept the food handed to it from an approaching Velicion. Since rescuing the creature from its untimely death, it never once made an effort to join the others in their meal. Iskra thought the goblin was being rude to its savors but deep within the back of her mind she wondered if this was a custom of its people that she was unaware of or it was afraid of fire, not that she particularly cared in all honesty. To her, the hideous monster was being rude to those that saved it and that was all that mattered.

“Why is that creature always alone?” Iskra had heard herself ask as she unwittingly motioned towards the goblin with her head.

“What? Oh,” Velicion lifted her head from the palm of her hand and looked back at where the human had gestured towards. “Goblins tend to fear elves as a whole, and this one appears to continue that legacy. Plus Argonok is like the stuff of nightmares for the thing, so it doesn’t want to get anywhere near where we are.”

“But,” Iskra looked down at the sorceress; her face full of confusion as she wondered why anyone would fear a race as beautiful as the elves. “Won’t it get cold out there?” Asking that question had produced a strange feeling within the girl. It was something that she couldn’t even begin to describe as to how she felt at the moment, but she thought that it needed to be asked regardless of one's feelings towards the hideous creature.

Velicion shrugged her shoulders as she looked up into the young girls emerald green eyes, the light of the nearby fire danced brilliantly into the abyssal void of the sorceress’s coal black eyes.

“Do you want me to make it come over to warm up?” The elf asked as she closed her notebook, a finger was pressed between the two pages she had just started to read.

“Uh,” Iskra let out as she drew a blank as to what she should say next. Her eyes darted back and forth between the hideous creature and the gorgeous elf while indecision wracked the young girl’s brain. She didn’t want the goblin to be close enough to the point where it could reach out and touch her, but at the same time she feared that it would freeze to death. It was strange, having such odd conflictions towards the goblin and her feelings towards it, but since she had gone through the effort of saving the creature then it would be disheartening to have it die while it slept out in the cold night. “Promise me that it won’t try to touch me, okay?”

Velicion cracked a smile as she stifled a laugh; the elf had managed to find humor in what the young girl had said. Humor that Iskra was utterly unaware of.

“Of course,” The woman said as she rose from the ground. “I wouldn’t worry about it trying to touch you anyway. You are what it fears the most.”

Confusion poured onto Iskra’s face, awestruck at the idea that the sorceress had put forth the apparent reason as to why the goblin refused to sit with them. The girl watched in silence as the sorceress casually walked towards the goblin. Its head rose upwards towards the approaching elf as Velicion raised a hand in greetings. The feeling of dread shook Iskra to her core as she watched in paralyzed silence as the goblin followed the sorceress back towards the campfire.

In truth, Iskra thought that goblins unnatural ugliness was something that would eventually spread to her if she were to linger in their presence for a lengthy period of time. Fear kept her in check as the two finally made their way back to the fire.

“Lady Iskra, meet Dasher.” Velicion said as she motioned for the goblin to sit close to the fire. Right next to where the young girl now sat.

Iskra nodded in greetings as she looked worryingly at the goblin. She hoped to all of the gods and goddesses who presided over the domain of their creations physical beauty that the foul beast wouldn’t dare to try and touch her.

Dasher returned the gesture as the sorceress spoke in the creature’s language. The ugly sounding speech pierced the girl’s ears, Iskra felt that having daggers shoved into her ears was to regarded as being more pleasurable than having to listen to the words that were now spoken between the two. The young girl desperately wanted to cover her ears but feared that Velicion would pull them off, so she gritted her teeth and bore the brunt of the elven woman’s conversation with the creature.

At first, their return to Ruined Home was met with little fanfare. The guards that stood on duty had, at first, called out the return of Iskra and her group. Their voices were jovial in tone and volume as they called out to the elves and dwarf, making a few jokes here and there that flew over the young girls head. However, the reality of the group’s newest member quickly soured the once friendly atmosphere. The good natured tone of the guards spiraled into discontent and a hideous side that forcibly brought back Iskra to the time she had been dragged through the city of Porosk as she was drug into the dungeons before standing trial. The young girl looked down at the ground, watching in agony as her feet shook in terror as she hesitantly took the next step forward.

The atmosphere around the group had turned quiet and was slowly becoming overbearing to the point that the young girl felt as if nature itself was ready to wring their necks and squeeze their souls of the very life essence’s that the gods had graced their mortal forms with. As more and more men began to surround Iskra’s group, the raven haired girl could feel her body being treated as no more than an overused pincushion as the men stared daggers into the band of misfits. A chill ran down the frightened girl’s back as the hushed whispers filled the air that surrounded them, creating an unbearable smog of choking silence as Iskra could only bring herself to cling onto the back of Velicions dirtied shirt as she looked about. She failed to meet their eyes as the ever increasing number of men crowded around the group.

The whispers from the guards were so quiet that Iskra wasn’t even sure that they had begun to converse amongst themselves, but she watched many of their mouths move as their wordless anger flowed in the windless sky. While she couldn’t make out what was being said, she understood exactly what they were thinking.

“Welcome back, young lady.” The voice of Captain Boris called out slowly to Iskra and those around her, his serious voice filled the air. His footsteps were louder than usual, unnaturally so. “Now that you’re back from your ‘task’ I think it’s time we discuss your findings in the command tent.”

The grizzled man, visibly upset over what the girl had done, turned and took the first step towards the camp's center. The man didn’t need to say anything as the crowd of humans moved along with him, forcing Iskra and the rest of her merry little band to follow in their wake.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their destination. The blue and gold banners of House Vesely fluttered delicately in the blowing breeze as the grey haired veteran barged straight inside without so much as a word. Iskra would have followed immediately after him but was stopped when she felt Velicion tug onto her shoulder; the sorceress motioned for the boys to take the goblin and return to their tents.

Argonok, who was relatively close to both women, stood carelessly as he watched the teenaged elves make their way back towards the tent. For a royal guard, the man seemed to be without worry about the whole ordeal. Iskra wasn’t sure whether that was because of pure confidence or because of the dwarf’s thoughts towards Captain Boris. The dwarf always seemed to present himself in a bored expression whenever there signs of distress.

With a gentle nudge, the elf pushed Iskra inside.

“I believe you have a report to make about your endeavors.” Captain Boris said in a neutral tone as he made his way towards the crates and barrels that served as his makeshift desk and chair.

The man stared quietly at the young girl as he made to sit down. His coldhearted eyes said everything about his current mood.

Not a word was said for a very long time. With each wordless moment, the air grew thicker with frustration as Iskra failed to think of something to say. Finding the right words that would help soothe the aged man’s worsening mood was something that the young girl was incapable of, being under pressure to produce a coherent argument had always been a detriment to Iskra's character.

“Well,” Captain Boris said after a while as his souring mood was started to affect the girl’s thoughts. In frustration she rustled her short hair, unable to say anything. “Should I tell the men that you made me a liar of the worst kind when I covered for your stupidity? Should I tell them that instead of going out into the wilderness to help connect us with the dwarves you instead conversed with creatures that killed their brothers in arms and brought back an emissary of the worst sort?”

Iskra managed to mumble something under breath, but it was so soft and so quiet that even she found it difficult to understand what she had just said.

“What?” The man said as he leaned forward and cupped his hand over his right ear, bringing it closer to the girl so that he could better understand her mumblings.

“We did manage to survey for a bridge.” It took what little courage she had at the moment to speak those words in a way that the man could hear.

“And yet, it looks like you somehow managed to come across some goblins.” Captain Boris leaned back into his chair as he planted his hands firmly over the hastily put together desk. “I have sincere doubts you went out there for this absurd notion of yours about building a bridge. What was it that you intended to do exactly?”

“I wanted to survey for a bridge to connect us with Zharatan and his dwarves.” Iskra’s voice was barely audible as she gave her reply.

“Speak up!” The Captain's hands slammed hard against the makeshift desk; anger was growing in his voice as various stacks of paper tumbled to the ground while the nearby inkpot spilled over his gauntleted fingers. The grey haired man looked down in contempt at the mess he had created as he scraped away at the still wet ink that covered his hands.

“I said,” Her voice grew irritated as she clenched her fists into tiny balls of flesh as she watched the man begin to clean up the mess. “I wanted to connect us with Zharatan.”

“I don’t believe you.”

“It’s true though!”

“Yet here we are,” The man said as he returned his gaze towards the girl after becoming satisfied that the mess had been dealt with for the time being. “You do realize that the creature you brought back needs to be removed from this camp don’t you?”

“Why should it? You didn’t say anything about the elves staying at the camp and I was the one that brought them back.”

“That’s because of the debt we owe to them for saving you and the men at the river. Whereas this,” Captain Boris gestured with his right hand towards the tent's entrance. To him, he thought the current situation was something woefully different when compared to the elves, or even the dwarves. “Is a monster that nearly killed you while its brethren slaughtered the men who were assigned to protect you because you wanted to go outside of the camp.”

“But I saved it!” Iskra poked at her impressive chest as she yelled out those words.

“You saved nothing,” The man pointed accusingly at the young girl before quickly moving his hand towards Velicion who stood just behind and off to the left side of Iskra. The sorceress had remained quiet throughout this whole ordeal, perfectly contempt to let the two humans argue amongst each other. “I’m sure this idea you’ve ‘had’ was planted by this puppy dog witch that follows you around everywhere you go.”

“You saved nothing,” The man pointed accusingly at the young girl before quickly moving his hand towards Velicion who stood just behind and off to the left side of Iskra. The sorceress had remained quiet throughout this whole ordeal, perfectly contempt to let the two humans argue amongst each other. “I’m sure this idea you’ve ‘had’ was planted by this puppy dog witch that follows you around everywhere you go.”

“It was my idea!” Iskra once again poked at her chest as she tried in vain to convince the man that she spoke the truth.

“You’re lying, and you know it!” Captain Boris kept his accusative gaze upon the elven woman for a split second before turning his attention back towards the former daughter of Duke Vesely.

“It’s the tru-“

“Enough!” The man tossed their current conversation to the side, unsatisfied that it was going nowhere. “You are to remove that thing from this camps perimeter. Willingly.”

“And if I don’t?” Iskra folded her arms under chest as she spoke in defiance of the man's orders.

“Then I have the men kill it and toss its body in the moat outside the walls. I would even go so far as to have you watch the consequences of your actions.”

“You can’t-“ The girl grew pale as she listened to what the man had to say. Her already fair skin was turned white as snow as her imagination ran wild with the idea of a bleeding corpse bobbing against the flooded spikes that dotted the trench outside the palisades.

“I can and I will. I’m growing tired of seeing you grow more defiant with every passing day. I can see now that I should’ve nipped this in the bud when we first came across the dwarves, but that is neither here nor there. You need to learn about the consequences your actions can cause without having your lineage coming in to save you at the last minute.”

Iskra gasped in shock at the man’s words. She wanted to yell at the captain but found her body failing her in the exact moment she so desperately wanted it to work.

Captain Boris made to away from his desk, satisfied that their conversation was over and done with. He didn’t get very far as the man was stopped when Velicion gently stuck out her hand, gracefully pushing the man to a halt as she looked between the two humans.

“Perhaps I can settle this matter in a way that would prove satisfactory to both sides?” The elf's voice was not only soft and gentle but calm and collected. The sorceress offered up a soothing smile towards the grizzled veteran as the human stared defiantly into her eyes.

Captain Boris quietly watched alongside Velicion as Iskra walked out of the tent, disappearing from their shared vision with a stifled huff as the young girl slapped at the tent’s leather flap.

The two sat in front of each other in complete silence for what felt like an eternity, the only thing that reached their ears were the sounds of the reality of the outside world as life continued to pass by their confined quarters.

Eventually, it was the sorceress who broke the awkward yet tense atmosphere.

“She’s quite the spoiled child, isn’t she?” It was rhetorical in nature, but Velicion wouldn’t be all that surprised if she were to receive an answer towards.

“Strangely enough,” Captain Boris said as his eyes locked dead center on the elven sorceress’s face. “She seems to be the only child of the Vesely household that has that kind of attitude.”

Velicion hummed in reply as she nodded her head in a sarcastic manner that could only be construed as ‘Is that so?’

The two returned to their silence, perfectly contempt with the idea that the conversation would eventually take place when it needed to.

After what felt like another eternity, it was the captain’s turn to break the silence. His face gave off the impression that the man was calm, but his voice made it clear that frustration was present in his mind. “I’m not planning on changing my mind about that…thing that the girl brought back. It must leave this camp one way or another.”

Captain Boris intertwined his fingers and placed them under his chin as he leaned forward, curious as to how the elf would reply.

“I agree, and I’m not here to change your mind about your line of thinking either.” The sorceress moved her legs, her left leg crossing over the right as she shifted herself in the carved out stump that served as a chair. The woman was uncomfortable in the crudely made furniture, but she made due with what had been offered to her.

The commanding officer shook his head to clear away his confusion as he looked on in shock at the elf’s words. “Then why are we having this conversation?”

It was a question anyone would ask given what the man had just heard. If the woman before him was in the belief that Captain Boris’s decision was the correct one, then what in the known world was she trying to convince him of?

Captain Boris knew that he would be getting his answer the moment he saw a smile creep onto the sorceress’s face.

“Because Captain,” Velicion said as she gestured towards the front of the tent. The sorceress was clear in the implication that her argument had more to do with the young Iskra than anything else. “I wish for you to change your timetable regarding the matter. Nothing else.”

“Why?” The expedition’s leader shifted in his seat, pushing himself closer towards his desk as he straightened out his back. He was readying himself for an answer that he knew that he wasn’t going to like.

“Because I can help ensure that our pretty young lady stays within the encampment for the remainder of your little expedition. A young girl who is most likely fuming mad at the moment I reckon.”

“Upon our return to the camp, I happened to notice a certain garish looking carriage was missing from its usual spot. Let’s say I was less than shocked to see a few familiar looking boards stacked haphazardly next to one of the burn pits. Though I’m positive that Iskra hadn’t even noticed that the thing was even missing,” Velicion shifted her body again, planting her left leg onto the ground and as she made to move the right leg over its former master. The elf nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders as she relaxed her posture. “Her sights were…elsewhere, to say the least.”

Captain Boris let out a neutral grunt as Velicions final comment gave way to the man's suspicions that the young girl had ulterior motives outside of the ones that she had initially professed to him.

“Under some spell I’d imagine,” It was an absurd notion he realized once the words had left his mouth, but it was something that he had to suggest. If not for himself but for the eventual letter he was to write to the Duke and Duchess of Orul. He wondered what the sorceress would say next as he watched the woman roll her eyes. “That or she’s being strung along by some rich playboy with too much time on his hands.”

Velicion chuckled at the man’s words. The idea that Prince Aurelius was some sort of ladies’ man sounded amusing to her. “You couldn’t be any further from the truth,” If she were any other person who cared for what others had said about the prince than she would be offended, but Velicion understood precisely who and what the boy was. “The boy is an idiot who’s been babied by his mother far too much. Considering how his older siblings have turned out, I’m not at all surprised in all honesty but that’s beside the point. The prince takes after his father somewhat, but he’s hardly the sought after stallion who wantonly lays and slays the ladies in the bedroom. Or just about anywhere else you can possibly imagine. He can hardly talk to servant girls near his age without fumbling over his words and going red in the face from embarrassment.”

Captain Boris had to take the woman for her word. The man had zero interaction with the elven prince and his only means of knowing more about the elves as a whole was through Sylvia, and she knew next to nothing about their guests.

“So then why is the girl so interested in your prince? It can’t just be because she just so happened to be saved by him.”

“That’s exactly the reason Captain,” Velicions voice sounded sterner, as if she was an instructor to a noble’s young child. “Have you heard of the ‘Tower Maiden’ theory?”

The man raised a curious eyebrow at her words. It was something that he had never heard of but he had a feeling that he knew exactly what it was. “Can’t say that I have.”

“Interesting.” To him, it wasn’t but now that he had heard the short yet precise explanation of the theory he decided to give the sorceress some credit.

“Not really,” Velicion said bluntly as she breathed out a bored sigh. “When you have daughter after daughter who wants to be that kind of maiden you grow numb to anything having to do with those fairy tales.”

The quiet atmosphere returned once more as the two allowed their current conversation to die. Both of them had realized that they had gotten off topic and wished to put a pin in whatever had caused them to derail from their initial conversation.

“Going back to the matter at hand,” Velicion said after even more time had passed than the previous pause of their conversation. “I can help you in getting Iskra to stay confined within Ruined Home without having her feel constricted.”

“And am I correct in the idea that you plan on using Prince Aurelius as the main reasoning?” Captain Boris said as he looked towards the front of the tent, curious if the elven prince was waiting outside.

The sorceress nodded as she began to explain her plan. “Here’s how I foresee it happening,” Velicion shifted in her seat as she put up a single finger. Suggesting that there were multiple points to her little plot. “First, we tell the girl that I suggested you have the carriage destroyed. She probably won’t like it, but I think you would rather have her angry with me instead of you.”

Captain Boris grunted in the affirmative as he listened.

“Next we tell her that we have reached a compromise and that until more of your people arrive, then she is banned from venturing out into the wilderness. That way we can trick her into believing that there is a time limit to her permanent house arrest. Finally,” Velicion clapped her hands together before placing them over the makeshift desk. “You have agreed to give the goblin a stay of execution by three days. After that time is up, it is to be escorted out of the encampment by yours truly where I will see it off and set it about on its way.”

Captain Boris leaned back into his chair as he mulled over the elf's words. He liked some of what the woman suggested, and the chance to shift the girl’s anger towards the sorceress was something that he would consider as an agreeable turn of events. Who knows, maybe it would even change how the young girl felt about the elves.

He grunted as he dismissed that idea entirely.

“What’s with the goblin?” The man said, skeptical over the idea that the plan would work out in the end. “What’s it to the girl whether or not that the creature dies, and what do I tell those who reside amongst us if I were to agree to your plan?”

“Consider it as an unwanted stray picked up by a little child,” Velicion chuckled at her own words. “You don’t want the nasty thing in your home, but you can’t bring yourself to say no to your child. So what do you do? Wait for a few days and dump it far away from where you live and tell the child that it ran away. As for what you tell your people, I don’t care. That’s your problem, not mine. I plan on keeping the creature in Aurelius’ tent for those three days. Out of sight and out of mind essentially.”

Captain Boris let out a long, drawn out sigh as he eventually gave way to the elf's idea. If worse comes to worst, then he’ll place the blame on the sorceress and force the elves out of the encampment. Though he understood that there was a number of men under his care who were grateful for what the elves had done and wished for them to remain as long as they liked. Kicking the saviors of his men was going to be an unpopular decision and one that needed reasoning beyond a sliver of doubt that the pale, lithe wanderers were terrifying monsters in their own right.

“Very well; have it your way.” Captain Boris reached for a disorganized stack of papers that miraculously survived the tumble and remained defiantly on top of his desk. He shuffled them into an orderly pile as he looked at his conversational partner. “I do have some lingering doubts about the young prince, however. If you would be so kind as to-“

“It’s getting quite late Captain Boris.” Velicion said, cutting off the man as she looked down at the ground. The light of the waning sun that peaked through the sides of the tent was very noticeable compared to what it was before they had started their ‘negotiations.’ They had been talking for far longer than any of them realized. “We can continue this conversation some other time if you wish. I have my own list of questions that I would like to ask about Iskra if you don’t mind. But as I said,” The sorceress rose from the chair, stretching out her arms and legs as she moved to stand behind the wooden furniture. “It’s getting far too late for any of us to linger here any longer. Have a good rest of your evening.”

With that, she turned to leave. Captain Boris watched in silence as the woman disappeared from his sight.

“Well,” Iskra said in a half expectant-half nervous voice as she planted her hands over her hips. “How did it go?” The girl’s foot tapped the ground repeatedly in a bored manner as she waited impatiently for Velicions reply.

‘Where was this defiant tone when you needed it?’ The sorceress thought to herself as she looked towards the girl with irritation present on her face. She hadn’t expected the girl to wait outside the tent for all this time, but it quickly dawned on her that the girl had changed out her clothes and looked to be refreshed in a way that only a bath could provide. Velicion noticed that the ever present Argonok was, as always, glued to the girl’s side. The heavily armored dwarf leaned his body against the massive great weapon that had been planted deep within the ground as its shaft bulged outwards, all thanks to the man’s massive weight.

“The goblin can stay for three days. After that, it has to leave the camp.” Velicion took a deep breath, calming herself as she reminded herself that the girl meant no harm in how she spoke.

“No, not that.” Iskra said with frustration in her voice. She had meant something else, obviously. “What did he say about me?”

Velicion let out a deep sigh, a hand coming up to her head and massaged her eyes before it brushed away at the loose strands of hair that covered her face.

‘What a selfish girl.’ The woman thought to herself as she wondered if this was how the young girl usually acted towards someone, such as her mother.

“Not much I’m afraid,” Velicion said as she looked around the immediate area. Curious as to why the older woman named Sylvia wasn’t around. “In order to convince him to allow the goblin to live, I’ve offered your little carriage as a sacrifice. I’ve also put forth the idea that you are to remain in the camp until sometime in the future.”

“What? How am I supposed to get around then?” The girl sounded as if her favorite toy had been taken away. She didn’t seem all that phased at the prospect of being stuck within Ruined Home at all, the luxury of having a vehicle to use as transport seemed far more important to her.

“By horse or using your own two feet if necessary,” The sorceress replied. “Though as I have already said. You won’t be needing to do any of that since you’re stuck here for a while.”

“But what about the Duke and Duchess? I don’t think they’d be happy about this.”

“I’m sure Captain Boris would be able to handle them, especially if he were to reveal the reasons as to why it came to be destroyed.” Velicion rolled her eyes at the girl as the topic of her parents had been brought up.

It would be a different matter if one of them were here as well, but seeing as they weren’t then the sorceress understood that any semblance of anger coming from the girl’s parentage would be moot.

Iskra frowned at the elf's answer. It was clear she didn’t like what the sorceress had to say, but the girl understood that there was nothing that she could do. She stared quietly at Velicion as she wondered if there was some way that would change her fate of having to travel around like peasant.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the elven woman began to move towards the direction of where the elves had placed their tents.

“As for the goblin,” Velicion said as she stretched out her arms, being able to walk out the stiffness in her muscles after such a long period of time felt good to the older woman. “It’ll be living with Prince Aurelius for the time being. It needs to remain out of sight before it is allowed to leave, so having those two room together is probably for the best.”

“Why him?” Iskra tilted her head in confusion as she made to follow the sorceress’s footsteps. The girl was curious as to why there wasn’t anyone else who could’ve fulfilled the same task.

Velicion shrugged her shoulders. She hadn’t considered anyone but the prince to house the creature and she didn’t think that the teenaged boy would care all that much. There was also the fact that Prince Aurelius was the sole reason why she was in this mess to begin with, so the sorceress thought that this would be as fine a punishment as any other.

“That’s not important right now,” She replied as she looked upwards towards the waning sun. It was getting late, and she hadn’t eaten since before their return. “Meet me at my tent tomorrow, and we can plan out those lessons you so desire.”

The sorceress quickened her pace, leaving the young girl in her wake as she ignored the girl calling out to her.

Iskra yelled out as she asked for more information from the sorceress who continued to ignore her cries and walked off towards the direction of the mess tent. She hoped in vain that there would be at least one or two things still available to eat.