Fer remained silent as Cole made his declaration. The shield could not blame his companion for choosing to allow the king to decide the fate of the criminal. It was not easy to carry the burden of taking somebody’s life. The ex guerilla fighter knew first hand that if there was even the slightest amount of regret in your heart, then the guild would eat you alive. Instead, the young hero only made a slight bow to acknowledge that he supported his friend. Regardless of what he may think, he had promised Cole that he would support him and be by his side. He also understood Auriel’s position. The angelic warrior was used to dealing out death and punishment to monsters and other hellish beings. Passing free judgment on a human was a bit more touchy. The shield hero could understand why she felt that the decision for such matters be better left up to the two of them. After all, she had pledged her loyalty to them. There was not much more that the pair could ask of her. Still, Fer hoped that their relationship would not be too strained after this discussion. He had seen good friends quarrel for less. It dawned on Fer that there was not really much that tied the trio together other than a common acknowledgment that they now held legendary weapons and that they were to defend this world from the waves. Other than that, the trio knew very little about each other. His companions did not even know that he had killed many men before and had watched many of those that he would at least call companions die. He had seen his own little brother die and longed to return to the side of his sister. What was Maria doing now? Did time stop in his world or was she lost and alone? A heavy feeling formed in the pit of the young hero’s stomach a the prospect of his sister being defenseless. His eyes registered Cole’s exit and he followed him with his eyes. Auriel had exited the same way. Fer looked down at the near death body of Ryla Winters. His gut told him that keeping her alive might be a danger in the future. People like her neither forgave or forgot. Still, he was not such a cold blooded killer that he could just end her life like that. Perhaps Cole was indeed the most merciful and the thought made Fer smile. Such a valiant heart and purity would be needed to remain on the side of good. Though he could scarlessly call himself an emissary of righteousness. The young shield too a long deep breath weighing and taking it all in. In silence, Fer watched the Marcino perform some sort of magic ritual. Magic was still intriguing to Fer who had been raised in a remote village and where people still could be murderous towards witches. This could be considered witchcraft and the mercenary would no doubt be tried as a witch and probably stoned by the fanatics of his village. Then again, the fools would probably stand little chance against the blade and magic of the ex gladiator. In wonder, not matter how many times he had seen Auriel also use magic, he saw the wound heal. The aura that covered the body of the bandit queen was just visible in the torch light. Fer made a mental note of asking the mercenary if he would teach him some spells. As if prodded by Fer thinking of him, Marcino imparted his no holds barred wisdom. Fer listened as the gruff voice of the older man delivered the unabashed truth. The young hero was no sure if Marcino was trying to elicit any sort of response from the young man or if the ex gladiator merely was expressing his view of the relationship between he party. Whatever the case, the young hero was left alone without being able to give his response. Finally, Fer was left alone. The ground was still dark where the blood of the bandit leader had lain close to death’s door. It was true that the young hero did not bring much to the table in terms of offensive capabilities but there must be a reason for his existence. There must be a reason for the Shield’s existence. Or was there? He looked down at his green jeweled bracer that housed his shield. The gem did not glow or show any signs that it knew it was being studied. After a second or two, Fer sighed and followed his company out of the cave. ==== The company did not speak much. Fer assisted in ensuring no prisoners escaped which meant that he was not often close to Cole or Auriel. His mind mulled over what Marcino had said. He agreed that he was little more than a glorified shield bearer. There must be a way to increase his efficiency. His mind kept on returning to magic. Would he be able to or allowed to learn magic? Auriel had offered to teach him some spells. Were there offensive spells he could learn? Also, he had somehow unlocked a new feature on his shield when he had absorbed Ryla’s attack. How could he unlock more abilities? There were many questions and he needed answers. But who could he ask? It seemed that Auriel had found very little in the library. Marcino was accurate in the general population view of him. If he had the chance he would pursue looking into that country that Marcino mentioned that housed demi humans. Someway, some how he needed to become stronger. Their fight with the bandit leader had shown all of them that they were still too weak. The waves were less that a few weeks away. He needed to become stronger. The company relinquished the bandits to the authorities who treated them worse than the company of heroes. After all, they had been a thorn on their side for some time. There was much slapping behind the head and shoving. Fer sighed, Cole was truly a good man. The party was allowed to rest and refresh themselves before being summoned by the king. Unlike Cole, Fer was not give a fancy uniform to wear. Which meant his armor and clothes were a bit more worn and sported nicks and dents. They had been ushered into a fancy room and Fer sat opposite of Cole. [color=0054a6]“Fancy clothes you got there buddy. If I had known we needed to go shopping I would have looked for something more suitable.”[/color] He joked trying to liven the mood and reconnect with his companion.