Ronan stood idly, flicking through an old book of combat stances he kept near the sparring area. His leg was still sore, but he was glad enough to be walking again - Gort was a skilled healer, but even his magic had limits. Had Alianor decided to cut something off him, or severed an artery, he may not have made it home at all. He thought about this for a moment. He had made arrangements in case of his death, of course, but the deals were old and likely needed to be renewed. Not all the partners would be so willing as they once were. Until then, he should probably avoid making Alianor too upset with him... but then, more importantly, Ronan thought she needed to reassess herself. And, he thought, he had the perfect way to give her some perspective.

His musings were interrupted by the sound of running, and cheering. He looked up, seeing a large crowd of people beginning to gather around something. He quickly jogged over, only to find two figures locked together. The man on the bottom was a dull-witted soul named Eberon. Kessah was straddling him, as the man desperately tried to get away and shield his face as Kessah beat him. Ronan watched for a short while as the man successfully blocked a few nasty-looking strikes with his forearms. He turned casually to the person beside him, asking [b]"What did he do?"[/b]. [b]"Nicked a leg of deer from the stores. Thought Kessah wouldn't notice when she took stock."[/b] came the reply. Ronan shook his head. He watched for a moment longer, seeing a bloody tooth fly off to one side, before he shouted for Kessah to release him. She hesistated for a moment, but did so - giving him a parting blow to the stomach as she got up. Ronan sighed slightly, bending over so that he could look the man in the eye.

[b]"Gonna do that again?"[/b] he asked simply. The bloodied man shook his head. Ronan offered his hand and pulled the man to his feet. [b]"Try to find your tooth. Might be able to have it put back in if you get it to Gort quickly."[/b]

The fun over, the crowd dispersed. Kessah did not bother waiting to explain herself to Ronan, and she needn't have bothered anyway - she took her role as Quartermaster seriously, and Ronan was more than willing to dispense harsh punishments when necessary. It would be a while before another of the group decided to sneak something away, and this suited him fine.

Eventually, he managed to catch sight of Alianor again. He walked over to her, patting her shoulder in an overly-familiar fashion as she approached.

[b]"Just the noble lady I was looking for!"[/b] he exclaimed happily. [b]"See, I've been having a talk with some of the lads, and we all agree that if you're staying here for more than a couple of days you should probably undergo our initiation- make you feel more at home, y'know? It's nothing too bad, don't worry... essentially, you need to pick two people out from the camp. One of them will give you a bit of training, make you more comfortable moving around. The second person, you'll spar against - first one to put the other to the ground and hold them for five seconds, wins. Pass the test, we'll let you call yourself a member. It'll make the lads a bit more at-ease around you, and it'll mean I don't have to keep such a close eye. We tend to... self-enforce our rules, rather than leaving it up to me. So you'll be safer, that way, too."[/b]