While Verissa took in the view, her dogs' ears caught the sound of a woman singing. They turned and looked at the square where the woman was singing to several children. They slipped down into an unnatural state of relaxation, not on alert like normal. Verissa noticed this, and followed their eye lines. Their heads bobbed and weaved with the music that woman was playing. She'd seen them act this way before, back when they were pups. Back when she'd met Lyriia in Green Fall.

She remembered that mute girl with fondness and a hint of annoyance. Having to read notes instead of conversing was a pain, but that was a unique quirk of that bard. Lyriia helped out with the attack on the Knight's Tournament. That was shortly before Verissa was captured and joined the Kvaren. It seemed so long ago, so much longer than it was. 

But more importantly she remembered that Lyriia's music was magical. She suspected this woman's was the same, but it didn't seem that she was doing anything harmful. Just to be safe, she rubbed her hands together, exuding the dull lavender glow of her magic between them. Pulling her hands apart, the magic stuck to them like taffy. She hopped off her horse and bent down to her pups, rubbing the magic over their ears, letting the magic fade out of sight as it set in. She applied it to her own ears as well. She had set the shields to block magic, and she assumed they were strong enough as her dogs seemed to return to their normal behavior. 

[color=a187be][i][b]"How about we go take a listen? We could use a good time."[/b][/i][/color]

She led her horse over and tied it to a post, her dogs staying at her side. She sat down behind one of the children, her pups laying down, heads in her lap. Several children moved close to them and began petting them, which the pups allowed happily. Verissa watched the woman, wondering where she was from. She was foreign, that much was evident. She came from somewhere with a lot more sun it seemed. 

When Verissa saw the woman's infant child, her heart fell, her hand dropped to her stomach scar. She could feel the hardened flesh there, the constant reminder of her loss. She still had days where she wished that Shenzi were a lesser skilled healer and had let her die. She forced herself to smile though, as always when she thought of this, so that she didn't break down in tears. She was the wife of a Thunderfang Swordmaster and she herself was the first Shield Maiden in the history of her people. But everyone had their burdens and stories she supposed. 

Her dogs ears perked up, and they stood up, looking over her shoulders. She leaned back and looked out over the land. She couldn't see anything. But she was concerned, her dogs were worried. Then the horn sounded across the village, blasted from one of the watchtowers. What followed made her stomach drop. A man yelled, [color=ed1c24][i][b]"[url=http://vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/ebonfort/images/8/89/Skeeter.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20161229035332]Skeeters[/url]! Two chimes away!"[/b][/i][/color]

She jumped to her feet, and rushed to her horse, grabbing her bo staff. Mercenaries and guards started coming out of the woodwork, and children began running and hiding. In the distance, a dark cloud was coming closer, and coming fast. As it closed in, the dog sized demon insects could be seen, the slicing of their metal wings heard loud. Anyone familiar with them knew that they ate metal and drank blood. And a swarm could take down a caravan. Or small village.