Iseldis laughed genuinely at his question, the sound echoing a little through the relative quiet of the forest. "That would be quite the revelation to me."

She supposed she looked a little like one, dressed as she was. Lunaia's servants were meant to be looked to, a new concept for Iseldis to come to terms with, but one she'd tried to embrace, and several elements of her outfit were purely decorative. There were silver ribbons fastened around her upper arms, securing her arm sleeves, a shimmering sash belt tied around her hips underneath the thinner black leather one, and she'd even woven another silver ribbon into her braided hair. Between those and the slitted sections of her long skirt, there was no small amount of cloth fluttering in the air behind her when she walked, especially when the wind picked up, as was the case now.

But she wore no crown of any kind, and most definitely was no princess. "I was one of the many orphans around the streets of Dal'Mahra, and the temple raised me. Not the easiest experience, but I wouldn't be trying to become a priestess if I'd hated it."

She hadn't known about his Order's state, and saw no reason to bring it up again. Roland didn't seem inclined to linger on it or want to discuss it, and she was more than willing to respect that. Plenty of things weren't easy to discuss with new acquaintances, as they still were.

They made good time on their journey, and though it was difficult to locate the sun through the trees and the overcast sky, Iseldis suspected it was around midday when she first started to feel... something. Something in the way the wind brushed the leaves and branches all around them, something about the shadows in the darker corners. It felt enough like being watched that Iseldis spun in a slow circle as she walked, peering cautiously into the woods all around her.

"Does it feel to you like we're being-"

Her words were cut off by a young man's cry, some mix of surprise, urgency, and relief. "Over here!" he shouted, and Iseldis spotted him running towards them from a trail splitting off from the main road. He couldn't have been more than twenty, dressed in peasant's garb with sandy blonde hair. He skidded to a halt before the two of them.

"What's wrong?" Iseldis asked, concerned at his state.

"We were told someone would be coming out this way today," he explained, breathless, "to deal with the monsters. It's good you're here. Draugr wandered into our village in the night."

Draugr. Undead warriors risen by dark magic. Sometimes it occurred naturally, other times not. Either way, they were a real danger. "How many?" she asked.

"Just two, but we have no soldiers, no one trained enough to defeat them. We managed to trap them in a house and barred the doors, but..." It didn't need saying. They had no one skilled in fighting to finish them, at least not without great risk. "If you could defeat them, I'm sure we can pay you something."

"There's no need for that," Iseldis answered quickly, waving him off. She glanced to Roland. "We can handle a few draugr, right?" She'd never fought one before, but if her studies and training had been worth anything, she'd be able to manage it.