Ryza didn't speak much after that skirmish in the pub. Her face a bit more pale than before and she gripped her katana tightly. Her eyes darted around everywhere, like she was expecting something else to happen. She felt light on her feet and aware of everything around her, but she wasn't aware of anything about herself. She didn't realize her hands her shaking a bit, that her legs were trembling whenever she stood still. Ryza had had her first taste of combat and taken the life of someone else. She knew it was kill or be killed, and she had quickly come to terms with that. But the custom of her people and the Path of Seishin say that once you take a life with a katana, you devote yourself entirely to the art of the sword.

To Ryza, that thought scared her a bit. As an apprentice, one was always able to put down their sword and walk another path. She had life at her fingertips and was still able to be a dancer or a healer or whatever else came to mind. Now all that was history, she had committed the Seishin Pact the moment her sword cut through the first man. Ryza was a warrior now and there was no turning back. She slipped her free hand into her obi and pulled out a long white strip of cloth, running it along the blooded blade of her katana.

There was still a knot in Ryza's stomach. Her combat high was wearing off and she became more and more conscious to the talking of the other patrons. The Kusagi woman stepped up next to Alan and listened, knowing that she didn't have the experience, reputation or trust of the others to make any suggestions. But moving from the scene and hiding the obviously important children was a smart idea, so she nodded at Count Drake's offer to use his manor as a safe house.

Ryza winced suddenly, clenching her teeth as she looked toward the source of her pain. There was a shallow cut on her shoulder, it nearly missed the nerves that connected to her neck. She thought back to the duel she was having with the sword armed thug. Sloppy. Ryza had allowed the man's blade to land a hit, as small as it may be, it suggested that she still needed practice. Her kimono was sliced clean and red with a small amount of her own blood much like the silken fabric that cleaned her blade moments before. It was a stinging pain but not one she wasn't accustomed to, training with a katana often resulted in many injuries, it bettered the wielder in that they would learn from their mistakes.

Ryza looked over to Alan, curious if he had received any injuries like herself. Were things like this common in battle? Would even a shallow cut be unavoidable in future encounters? Ryza reasoned that indeed small injuries were bound to happen and that she shouldn't beat herself up over it.

Ryza focused back on the conversation, then raised her hand a bit to show she wanted to speak. "We should keep in mind the path we will take to get to Lord Drake's estate. The inquisition could be more involved in this than we think."