There was really not much that could be done.  Fer felt that the three of them were truly doing the best that they could and for a band of newly formed and low level adventurers being able to defeat the group of bandits with no more that scratches and bruises was pretty epic.  Of course, he had relied on Auriel and Cole as the offensive members of the party which made the shield hero feel a bit bitter. 

He stayed quiet during their trip to the city.  The young hero wondered what he could do to become a more productive member of the party.  He made it a point to ask Auriel if there were any suggested ways to augment his shield so that he could do more than just morph it into different shapes and sizes.  He needed something like what Cole was able to do even though he understood that his abilities would be vastly different from the offensive capabilities of the Sword. 

The trio made their way to the city.  Fer notices much like Auriel the hustle and bustle.  However, he wondered at the atmosphere.  While he did not begrudge them the lack of urgency that comes in preparation to a battle, he wondered if many knew of the upcoming waves or if the king was keeping that information secret to prevent any mass hysteria.

This brought up another question, why did bandits know of such events?  Where there signs that were being missed?  Was there a leak in the royal court? 

As if to answer his question, they encountered yet an other secretive individual claiming to work for the crown.  Fer shot Auriel a sideways glance.  Apparently he was not the only one who found the identity of the woman questionable  He was not very fond of meeting in alleys, and crowded bars.  This sort of modus operandi had a very distinctive clandestine smell and often those sort of operations resulted in suicide or highly costly missions. 

It did not surprise him that the messenger confirmed what all of them knew.  Rayla would be a costly prey.  The suggestion of enlisting the bow hero was interesting to him.  He had not met the person and only briefly did he meet the Spear hero.  What was so different between the Bow and the Spear?  Being a bow user himself, he understood the benefits of ranged combat and top cover and he figured that it would indeed be best to engage the bandit leader at a distance if at all possible. 

Still, there was a thing line between guidance and manipulation.  Unfortunately in the party’s current state, the needed help in whatever shape it came.  Even if that help irritatingly wanted to keep them in the dark.  He remained quiet and let Cole speak.  After all, his demeanor often produced more results that Fer’s own.  

He was surprised at Auriel’s request for splitting the party but he understood her point of view.  It was refreshing to him to note that the winged warrior also looked towards the whole point of them being in this world in the first place.  He nodded towards her, it was not like she needed his permission but he wanted to show her he did not mean to stop her. [color=0054a6] “Auriel, if you could.  While you are there.  Is there any way for you to research how I can better upgrade my shield?  It felt very one dimensional and I think that a legendary hero should have more than one trick up his sleeve.  Any information as to what the old users of the shields did to make it more useful would be appreciated.”[/color]

Fer gave her a smile.  He knew that neither of his companions would ever call him a burden but he also knew that they needed him to bring more to the table.  He had even entertained being the pack mule for the group.  The hero knew that somehow he had increased strength and resilience thanks to his status of shield hero.  He would willingly carry extra gear, weapons, medicine, or anything else that was required. 

However, that still left the battle aspect in poor review.  He wondered if he would be able to wield magic?  He had seen Auriel perform the ritual and also heal his minor injuries.  He made it a point to try and inquire about this.  Any way he was able to, he would improve.