[color=a0410d][h1]Jerod Staudinger[/h1][/color]

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Jerod had been keeping the touch of nerves about returning home under very tight wraps, focusing on the small group's surroundings and keeping general watch in case trouble was following them from the Battle of Dragonreach Pass. Whatever gods willing though, it seemed things were going to be quiet on the way back to Elibe. The spearwoman had also joined them, to focus his thoughts elsewhere, apparently owing her life to the Crown Prince of Elibe. Not the worst person to owe their life to, even if that sort of arrangement rarely ended well as far as the sellsword was concerned. His thoughts were snapped out of his mind when the Crown Prince mentioned them not having introduced each other at all, not really, and he read the hidden meaning into that. Who were the two of them, who were they really that is, and the sellsword knew full well that he couldn't keep avoiding a formal introduction at this point.

Jerod knew full well who the Crown Prince was, though he couldn't recall how much interaction his elder siblings, Ansgar and Lashiel, had with the royal family directly. That was mostly due to his own focus on swordplay instead of statesmanship, though the latter he knew enough about to get by as needs must. The retainers of the Crown Prince, he did not know by who they were alone, and the introductions were useful. A Sage, Keerin, icy and professional it seemed, and that suited Jerod just fine. He could work with a cold professional, assuming that wasn't just a face put up towards newcomers and unknowns around the Crown Prince. The second, a Hero named  Merilia, louder and more blunt about not trying anything funny around the Prince. Loud and upfront, paired with cool and reserved, the Prince covered the spectrum rather well as long as he straddled the two extremes well enough. With Merilia's eyes more focused on the spearwoman than him, he could tell who she was aiming that at, though considering their appearances, one could hardly blame her for such things.

A subtle slump of the shoulders was paired with the realization that, since the spearwoman had not introduced herself yet, Jerod would have to do so first. Returning his posture back to its usual as they walked, he wasted no time with the introduction that was necessary. [color=a0410d]"Seems I indeed forgot to introduce myself in all that excitement. Jerod Staudinger, at your service. And to get the chain of potential questions out of the way, yes, the same as the House Staudinger back in Elibe. You might have had the misfortune of meeting my elder two siblings, circumstances depending."[/color] His tone somewhat implied a joke, though it was deadpan enough that there was reasonable room for doubt to be cast on the intent of joking or not. Notably he seemed to not know of their exact status at the moment, thanks to him avoiding news from Elibe whenever possible, which was not too hard given his employment usually carried him well and far from home. Until now, but considering the war brewing, his siblings bleeding or dying for his families running desire to secure the throne was Gods damned stupid. So if he could prevent that, they would owe him for keeping them off the field of battle, even if the glory seeking was cut short.