Rather than berate Peiter for his apprehension, Gallus treated the duel with Ri'vashi as a learning experience. They went through techniques where Peiter was lacking, reassured him of the correct course of action with a superior opponent, and made sure that they caught up with the time lost to travel and Gallus' duties. Gallus even included Sabine in the training, though her involvement was restricted to less complex areas of swordplay.

[hr]
The week went by peacefully for most. Though there were some tense flare-ups between the clans snugly sharing the same spaces, the camaraderie between the two groups eventually prevailed and only became stronger as living conditions improved. The Senchal clan was more or less pulling their own weight now. The amount of people seeking work of their own volition guaranteed that much.

The relative downtime was helpful to Tzirret. It meant plenty of time for catching up with his own training, practising his still wonky magic, and, of course, being with Ma'tanza. As usual, Ma'tanza was with her family more often than not, but there were a couple of occasions where they could be alone. It was only during these times that Tzirret really felt comfortable kissing Ma'tanza, but it was becoming clear in public that the two at least seemed more physically close. The limited time they had before orders would or would not be given to march out with the warband meant that Tzirret savoured what he could.

Meanwhile, Fendros could be seen surreptitiously asking around about seemingly strange subjects. Mostly about Mara and the ceremonies of the eight divines. Whenever Ahnasha found him doing such a thing, he either became hushed so she wouldn't hear, or change the subject entirely. Some quick investigation would reveal that he was also trying to source a particular set of jewellery.

As the tortures and questioning went on, Gallus was never enthusiastic to continue. Watching the continued suffering seemed to take the energy out of him, despite smiling and brushing off the impact if broached about it. His beatings of the Imperial Hiritus were progressively getting worse for a while, but Gallus had to credit the man on his resilience. No matter how hard he was beaten or broken, he would always have fresh taunts to throw. Thankfully, it also appeared that he was falling for Gallus' acting.

"Let's see," Gallus answered Meesei plainly with crossed arms, "I've made it abundantly clear through my planned reactions that I am not happy being your inferior. I've even fed him some hints that I wouldn't mind seeing you put down a notch...or several...into the ground." Gallus closed his mouth and took a deep breath through his nose. "I think all that's left is to wait until he offers a bargain. I'll show caution, but I'll be receptive. I might even make a deal to help him escape, and then he'll be alone with me out there in the desert, in a position of relative trust. If I can't get more information then, I don't know how else it would be possible."

After a moment looking at the floor, Gallus raised his brow and eyes to Meesei. "Dar-tzesa seems to be giving up morsels of answers for relief of her pain, but it's not much. How have the other prisoners been?"