Asher nodded slowly, his face lightening considerably as she spoke. "Yes," he muttered, "yes, that might actually work!" He could have cheered as a rush of inspiration flowed through him. "You're proving yourself already, miss Valor...Valiver...Johanna." There would be time for him to learn her actual name later. Why couldn't nobles have something simple, like Thyne? Thyne was a good, strong, easy to remember surname.

But instead, the rich and wealthy decided to ingrain titles and family names and hypens into their ancestry. It was such lunacy, though he couldn't blame Johanna for her family's decisions. He straightened from his bent position, a new fire kindled in his eyes. "Of course, it means we'll be diving headfirst into a civil war, but I've dealt with worse. We'll probably want to leave as soon as we're able, before the refugees start to move again."

He glanced at her then. "I assume you know the way to go?" He sure didn't, and he didn't want to lead them in the wrong direction so early on the trip. Or ever, he hoped.