“Phew~” Jacque removed the canteen from his lips with a relieved sigh as he looked back at the mountain the four of them had hustled to cross over. Already partially obscured by the forest they’d entered a while ago, he supposed that the four of them were making good progress. Each step was marked by a crunch underfoot, be it a fallen branch or fresh grass, and there was the soft pitter patter of drizzle. The ambient noises did little to muffle yet another of Ambroise’s sighs though, and it was already a familiar sound to his ears in just a single day. 

Though Jacque’s pace did not slow, he tilted his head to consider Ambroise’s question until Notia spoke up and broke the silence that had refallen over the four. “Such faith,” he remarked after a bit of soft laughter, “but relax. Such ominousness is unneeded, no?” As the others might have come to expect, he spoke with a relaxed tone, clearly unworried for the moment. 

Admittedly, he did not know a lot about the serial killer the four had been tasked to hunt down beyond what they had been told. Virtuoso had been active for some time now, was responsible for deaths in all three nations, left a calling card with each victim, and seemed to use a wide variety of methods on the victims. “It would be best not to underestimate them. Just because we are four does not mean we hold the advantage,” he said as he broke a low hanging branch so it wasn’t in the way.

“With that said, there could be many reasons all four of us were sent. From what I know, all three of you are capable individuals. I have not worked with any of you before though, so perhaps this is meant to familiarize us with one another. It could be a way of showing that Astopol takes this threat to their citizens lives seriously enough to send four of us. From what I understand, you also work best in a group Ambroise, so that’s likely another reason.”  Rolling his shoulders, he looked over his shoulder towards the others.

“I think the ruins we saw while up on the mountains is just another hour or so. Shall we stop there lunch, or rely on our rations?” About to look back ahead, he paused as if remembering something. “Oh, and Ambroise? Sighing isn’t a language.” Saying that with a smile, he looked ahead to make sure the path was fairly clear before he spun about and walked backwards so he could face the three others.