Triver and Ser'deni waited patiently for the siblings to return. The prince finally looked around the small town from under the hat that had been jammed on top of his head. He sighed and looked at the blind woman.

"Things are going to get a lot harder, aren't they?" 

Ser'deni nodded. "Yes. We have orders and we must carry them out, even if it means killing a part of our hearts. It shall be okay though, I am still here for you." Their hands remained clasped together until Daryn and Daelyn came back. 

"What would we do about bandits?" Triver asked as he pulled his horse alongside Daryn's.

"Kill them." The mage said from the back of the line. Ser'deni was more confident in her abilities to summon if she wasn't in the middle of things. The woman held tightly to the reigns of her horse. She wasn't accustomed to land dwelling beasts; her heart was in the sky and often her birds were how she traveled to the war zones in the northern part of Danycia and its surrounding kingdoms. 

Triver didn't like the easy way in which Ser'deni spoke but he assumed that it came with the baggage of being a solider for the Danycian King. A soft sigh left his lips as he turned to face forward. His mind drifted to the tales he once read in a book back in  the castle library. It had been an old dusty thing bound in thick leather and decorated with gold colored writing. They were nothing more than children's tales but Triver found himself believing them; tales of mermaids luring people, particularly men, to their deaths in the water and tales of mischievous fae who take a liking to human children. Triver's mother was not of Danycia, she was from a neighboring kingdom down in the far south of the lands, so he had grown up hearing her tales from home. 

As it grew later out Triver's heart had begun to beat a little faster. He was unsure about this journey. What if it went horribly wrong and things weren't as they seemed. What if he or any of his companions were killed? He didn't think he could live with himself if any of the siblings or his half-sister were to be killed while trying to protect him.  

"Three people are ahead on the path." Ser'deni said as she untied the black strip of cloth from her eyes. It had begun to slip down so she decided to use it to tie her hair back. "Four more wait in the trees just before them." 

The Prince didn't know if she had other bird summons as he couldn't see the three crows any longer. The low hoot of an owl made the prince jump. He had never bothered to ask just how many different bird summons the woman had, for all he knew the owl hoot could have been a coincidence. To him, the unnatural vultures and red-eyed crows always were frightening. "Shall we confront them or go around them? He cannot fight well and I fear that we may be out numbered. Mages fight at our best in long range attacks." The made asked as she looked towards the dusky sky. It wasn't quite dark out yet but the path was beginning to darken slowly and steadily as they traveled further. 

"Can't your birds help?" 

The woman sighed, "Yes and no; depending on our situation and if we get to them before they decide to move closer to us." 

The Prince was feeling terribly out of place; had no battle experience. Sure he could swing a sword (badly) but he preferred books and studying to swords and daggers, and had paid much more attention in his history courses rather than during his sword training. His stomach knotted nervously as he waited to see what would happen.