Narcissa too belonged to the vanguard, trotting up on her endearingly named and trusted steed, Maple. She kept on the other side of Forina, just behind the Knight Captain. It was partly her own personality and a desire for glory in battle that she kept to the front as much as possible. She had a neutral, if not slightly bored expression on her face, but noticing her red haired cousin move alongside their new captain, she took up the pace and took the other side of Forina. Unlike her, Narcissa was unsurprised by the resurgence of banditry in certain regions; despite peace now being so prevalent, she knew full well that regions that had been depressed by war or sacked by forces on either side did not recover quickly. It was not entirely unlikely that inhabitants of such regions could be compelled into banditry. 

Still, she was of like mind of many of the knights, surprised, if not mildly irritated by such a mundane use of the Order. Little glory could be had by crushing small-time bandits, and she was more of the opinion that the Kingdom’s regular troops must have been poorly commanded indeed if they fell to bandits. 

And that brought Narcissa quickly to her chief concern on this sortie—the captain herself. She was green—barely still a child—and riding out to lead an entire veteran army of knights, many with commendable battle honors under their belt themselves. The Order had noble beginnings and traditions, she could admit as much, but she still privately questioned the expediency of appointing a knight with so little experience to lead. Narcissa could see her cousin shared the same reservations, although she felt that her chief concerns were over cautious. 

In the meantime, the sole artificer in their group spoke up, offering an alternate solution. If Forina’s tactic felt overcautious, Elodie’s felt too chaotic and haphazard. Still, she didn't want to fall here, or risk botching a mundane thing, either. 

[b]“Lady Forina, Knight-Captain Fanilly, if I might interject. We have little in the ways of intelligence, so I would offer a suggestion to split off a small reconnaissance party rather than risk an immediate assault.”[/b]  She glanced back over at Elodie, giving her a frown at her suggestion before turning back to Forina. [b]“This will afford us some time to prepare, and see the lay of the situation. There may be potential hostages or civilians in the camp, so I would not advise a magical bombardment lest any innocents are caught in the crossfire.” [/b]