[h2]Allure's Mist Debriefing[/h2]

Upon returning to the outpost, the crystals were almost immediately taken from them by what appeared to be a Dwarven craftsman. With barely a word to the recruits, he took their items and began processing them into whatever he was working on. Varkasan never did understand the way the Dwarves worked when it came to their machines, potions, or even simple crafting. Though it did interest him, and he considered studying it in more detail whenever his duties did not keep him busy.

After having a filling meal (in which Zalfn commented on how Dys could probably consume a week's worth of field rations in one day), they were led back to their sleeping quarters, which Varkasan was pleased to see was now a large tent. Bunk beds were already set up inside for them, as well as other pieces of furniture, and a corner for keeping their belongings in. [i][color=f7976a]"It seems like they're pampering us a bit too much. This is quite a lot of convenience for being a frontier outpost. But then again, after everything that's happened, I guess we could all use something to smile about. No telling when our next hardship will come upon us..."[/color][/i] Varkasan thought to himself.

After stripping off his armor and weaponry, and depositing them on the storage area, he made his way to the bunks wearing a white sleeveless shirt and shorts. He was sharing a bunk with a recruit he had seen in training, but wasn't really acquainted with. He was an older-looking fellow with balding hair who didn't seem to say much, but had the decency to vacate from Varkasan's bottom bunk and climb up to the upper one. Varkasan tried to make conversation with the recruit, but only managed to get the name "Hyner" out of him. Any other questions were answered only with silence. Varkasan took this to mean that Hyner didn't wish to speak about himself much. Nor did he show any interest to Varkasan's stories.

A bit later, the heat seemed to start getting to the recruits, and Alicia even stripped down to her underwear, much to the surprise of a number of recruits. Though they were just as fascinated with her sudden undressing as they were with the odd tattoo she had on her stomach. Varkasan had caught a glimpse of it once during training. He remembered accidentally tearing her clothes at the belly during weapon sparring. After apologizing and asking about the mark she had on it (as he first thought it was a scar), she revealed it was a family tradition among them. Varkasan thought it was a strange one, but had the politeness to keep his opinion to himself.

Eventually, he himself could barely stand the heat either and removed his shirt as he wiped the sweat off his body before trying to get some sleep. It helped somewhat, but if the temperature kept up until tomorrow, they would be baking inside their armor. He shut his eyes, and heard someone pass by his bunk, muttering [b]"...can't believe someone took all the damn wine... Supposed to be ours... Never should've trusted Ulrich to watch it... Blooming idiot..."[/b] It said. Paying it little mind, Varkasan went back to sleeping. He knew he would need his energy for whatever awaited tomorrow.

[h2]Aegis' First Assignment[/h2]

The next day, they were given their breakfast, and a new name for their unit: Team Aegis. It felt special to be given an official name recognized by Overlord Levran himself, but Varkasan knew they would need to live up to it as even their new captain, Aela, trusted them to grow into respectable warriors.

They had a new assignment as well: they were to locate and raid a nearby cavern being protected by swords-for-hire, and confirm whether or not any illegal activity was taking place there. It sounded simple enough. [color=f7976a][i]"But then again, our bandit ambush mission sounded simple too... And it became anything but simple...[/i][/color] Varkasan thought. As easy as this sounded, they needed to be ready for anything. One tragic defeat was painful enough.

After the briefing had finished, they had went to retrieve their gear and arm themselves. Varkasan put on his Guardian armor, latched his shield on his back, and sheathed his sword. Thankfully, the heat had somewhat subsided and being inside the armor wasn't so punishing. He also packed some water and dried meat for the journey. Some troops were making idle chatter while waiting until their team was fully armed and ready to move out.

[color=ec008c][b]"Ready to burn down some more brands, Team Aegis?"[/b][/color] Alicia asked them in a joking manner. Though not a lot responded well to this attempt at humor, it was surprising to see the stone-cold Alicia trying to make merry. Dys supported her statement and clapped her strong hand on the girl.

[color=008080][b]"I like the sound of that, Alicia [i]von[/i] Eternus. Team Aegis, I know we've been through a lot, but we can get better for it. We [i]are[/i] better for it. The horrors we saw... that's the reason we're fighting against the tyranny of Magic, right? They cannot be allowed to use lives, even the lives of bandits, as nothing more than playthings. [i]Mages![/i]... Mages, or bandits, or mercs, we'll teach them all what it means to be a Luminous Knight. We live to protect, and we live to serve. We'll be smarter, craftier, and more aware of the dangers of next time. We'll make our fallen proud, and our living prouder!"[/b][/color] The Dwarf woman said with an energetic Dwarven salute.

Varkasan saw Freiya sitting on one of the supply crates, grinning at what was happening. Though he couldn't tell if it was happiness or amusement. Either way, he added his own voice to raise their morale. [color=f7976a][b]"Indeed we shall! Together we will bring honor to the name: 'Aegis' and we will traverse even the entirety Altea to bring all who oppose her to justice!"[/b][/color] He said with force as he raised his fist into the air.

It was almost as if they were getting ready to charge into a bloody war, even though they were just going for a half-day trek and raiding a mercenary camp. But nonetheless, Varkasan thought it best to treat even the simplest of duties seriously so that they do not forget the importance of their role as Luminous Knights. Besides, half a day of walking was long, and keeping the morale up would be important to make sure no one got tired or lagged behind too quickly.