“The more I hear about your foster father, the more I am impressed. A remarkable individual, that,” Narda sad, grinning. “He trained you well. And Captain, eh? You and Edward would’ve been two peas,” she said, chuckling. Considering Zeke’s earlier suggestion, she picked one of the dead wolves whose features she hadn’t completely bashed in yet, tied its limbs with some vine she had pulled free, and dragged it along. It would’ve been easy enough to lift the thing over her shoulders, and Narda wasn’t normally squeamish. But she didn’t really like the idea of having the monster’s flesh so close to her own. 

Behind him, a few stragglers still stalked them, but Narda picked up a large branch and tossed it at them. They scattered, and fewer came back to trail them, the distance much greater now. They were nearing the edge of the forest, for which Narda was immensely relieved; she could make out the spot they had entered earlier. “That thing you’re doing,” she said, wondering aloud after noticing Zeke’s movements, “your neck hurts? Is that new or old? Kire knows one of the best healers. Ed’s sister. And she’s trained other healers as well. Don’t mean to pry, but if you’re interested in taking up the offer, I’m sure Kire wouldn’t mind letting you see her.”
--

Ed looked at Ysaryn and noticed the unease apparent in her features, in the way she moved, the cautious gaze in her eyes. He wanted to ask if she would like to borrow his weapon, but from what he had seen of her attitude so far, that might be taken as an insult. He nodded when she indicated the limits of her ability. “[i]That should be far enough,[/i]” he said, taking her hand. When they emerged at the bottom of the ridge, he hovered over her, letting her get her bearings back while watching for any danger approaching them. “[i]Best not then. Save it for if things go dire.[/i]” 

[i]No sign of trouble so far.[/i] He wondered which direction Kire would take to search for them, if she was anywhere around here. He looked back at her when she made her statement and nodded, knowing full well the implications of it. “[i]Understood. I’m afraid there’s no way of guaranteeing they wouldn’t be wary of you,[/i]” Ed said, as he thought through their options. “[i]Staying by my side would be the better bet, and if there is trouble just in case, at least we’re not too far from one another.[/i]” He paused, thinking something over. “[i]I know you don’t wish to be addressed as ‘Lady’, but I may give you a title they would understand when I introduce you.[/i]”  

They approached the farmland, where he noticed that there were only a few people around, the head of households left behind to watch the land and animals. [i]Hm.[/i] There might have been recent conflict, with most of the citizens had been asked to hole up behind the walls, and these were the first people allowed back out to tend to their property. None of them stopped the two, so he kept going down the road towards the gates. By then, Ed knew whoever was manning the town’s walls would have spotted them by now, and his suspicions were answered by the blast of a horn. Ed stopped his advance. “Here they come,” he said, watching as the gates of the town opened. Soldiers clad in armor, carrying two banners—one for the ruling family of this province and the other the Wyvern banner—rode towards them. Ed counted fifteen. [i]A tad excessive. Unless they were expecting attacks.[/i]

He raised his hands to show them he wasn’t going to fight. The soldiers approached, some carrying spears trained at the two, until their leader called for a halt. “State your business, sir, lady,” he said, eyeing Ed with suspicion. Before Ed could speak, however, something else dawned on the man’s face as he held up a hand while looking at Ed, then at Ysaryn. He called one of his soldiers forward, gesturing at him; the soldier handed him a slip of parchment, which he unrolled and read quickly. “If I may ask,” he said, his tone slightly less harsh than it was a moment ago, “What are your names, and how did you arrive here?” 
“Edward. Wyvern House. My companion here is Ysaryn, a friend of the Empress, ambassador of her people. We were transported here by accident, and we got separated from the Empress and our other companions.” 
[i]They were sent a message about us.[/i] “[i]Lucky[/i],” he whispered to Ysaryn in Elvish, winking at her. 
“I see.” The man’s gaze fell from their faces to Ed’s weapon. “One more thing; do you have a token on your person, a pin?” 
Ed fished the small brooch Aera had given him and held it up; one of the men approached and showed it to their leader. The other soldiers were looking at him with what seemed to be a mix of awe and fear. The soldier handed Ed back the pin and stepped back, while the leader dismounted to approach him and knelt. “Forgive the questions, my lord. You never know with the Gemini, and there had been reports of spies some time ago. My lady Ysaryn,” he said, turning to Ysaryn as he turned to Ysaryn. Ed gestured for the man to rise. “May we escort the both of you inside? We’ll send a bird back to the camp to let them know you’re here while you wait. Or if you’d prefer, we can give you horses and an escort to bring you to the army.” 

--
The calls sounded from their crewmates; the man had been captured. “[]What was that, Myka? How did he do that?[/i]” one asked, as they slowed their pace. They knew the others would have surrounded him by now. 
“[i]Mm. Beats me. Maybe Kire knows. I have a couple of questions for him myself.[/i]” Myka wasn’t tall, was shorter than Kire by perhaps a few inches. She was much leaner too, but packed with muscle. She had short black hair that would fall to her chin if it wasn’t currently tied back securely. She had a shortsword as well as two knives hanging from her belt. When she reached the pit, most of the women were already gathered around the lip of it, weapons drawn. 

At his remark, some of the women growled in annoyance, while the others laughed. “This one’s got lip on him. Can’t place his accent, though,” said one of the women who weren’t amused. “Maybe he’d be better off without that tongue.”
Myka chuckled as she crouched over the pit. “He makes such a convincing case though, eh girls? Too pretty to be a Gemini spy, this one.” Another ripple of laughter. 
“You’re going soft, Captain. Can we keep him, then?” 
“Or wrap a bow around him and give him to Kire.”
Myka stuck her tongue out at the idea. “Don’t know if he’s her type. Not worth the effort. Hey, you,” she said, finally pointing down at their prisoner. “Firstly, how does someone who says he can’t understand Taakalon wind up right where Gemini spies have slipped through, and being able to use magic, too? And secondly,” here her grin disappeared, “how did you end up with a sword made by a master smith at the Empress’s employ?”