Beren nodded and commented on various contributions, reminding Alice of a lord giving court. It was odd to her that it was the foreign monk who seemed to be in control of the situation, and not the knight who was imploring them to assist in a scouting party. In fact, the venerable knight seemed to appear more and more shaken as moments went by. She couldn't imagine what Nicademus' guard would think if they saw him like this. Would they support him still, or scorn him for bowing to these outsiders?

Nor was he the only one who seemed to be affected by the discussions. Aeryn herself seemed to become wroth as words were shared. Alice could understand the elf's viewpoint; The Dark Elves were master ambushers, and if they caught the scouting party unawares there would be little to no chance of escape. [i]Perhaps it should be priority to maximise the chances of an escape?'[/i] she thought before quickly justifying herself to Ragnarok, [i]To die later, not to some Dorcha's favour now.[/i] 

She spoke up, [color=royalblue]"In event of combat our priority should be to return to the village. I suggest we find ourselves some horses?"[/color] she looked around to various peasants and village-folk to see if any of them would be forthcoming before continuing. [color=royalblue]"I also suggest that we stay aware of the best route back at all times. Calanon, you may be our best chance for this."[/color]

She was aware of the bond that somehow lay between Aeryn and Calanon. She had noticed the look shared between them and how the ranger was torn between duty and want. Alice had no idea how such a bond had been formed between two mortal enemies but she was not insensitive to the fact she was interposing herself into it. Aeryn seemed to have personal stake, Alice would try and win him over with reason. [color=royalblue]"Calanon, you've proved yourself to be a fine ranger, you would be invaluable in our scouting expeditions. I plead you come along."[/color] It seemed mad that they would head out to a scouting mission without their chief scout

[hr]

Alice was impressed at the intricacy of Settionne's ritual site. She was beginning to become convinced that he actually was a powerful cleric. She took a moment herself to reach into her bag and clutch her own holy symbol, asking a small boon of Ragnarok to aid in the ritual and to ensure her and her own got the mighty fates they deserve. She was in no way capable of commanding her god's power or attention like Settionne or Geradin, nor was Ragnarok known to be the most charitable of gods, but asking never hurt

As she restored her attention to the discussions at hand she noticed Aeryn slinking off. Notably before 'handlers' could be assigned. Alice thought against mentioning it to anyone; Alice hardly wished to make that woman an enemy, especially now.

[color=royalblue]"Ser knight, will you return our weapons to us for this sortie?"[/color] she asked more out of convenience for the rest of the party than for herself 

[@POOHEAD189][@Gardevoiran][@Fetzen][@BCTheEntity][@Stormflyx][@Mortarion]