[IC] Chevalier: A New Initiative

[DizzyRenegade]

Henry and Lady MacArthur talked about those strange weapons. Gwen could only make polite noises to show that she was interested, but had nothing to contribute to the conversation at hand. Instead she tried her best from feeling and looking awkward around Henry. The looks he gave her made her feel…. guilty. She had seen him at his weakest and he probably was ashamed of himself for it. And given the recent information she got from the Queen herself, Gwen felt more guilty. It was something Henry should’ve shared when he was ready. But she also understood why the Queen told her. She needed Gwen’s help in keeping an eye out for the reckless soldier.

The group continued to talk over food with the topic changing to future plans. What would they do when they reached the capital? And personally, though Gwen didn’t mention it, she was deeply worried about her family. But she’ll decide when the time comes. Finally their dinner was coming to an end and Gwen got up.

“Well I think its time for us to get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow. Good night, Lady MacArthur, Henry” She gave each a nod and made her way to the camp site where many were sleeping. But before she left the circle of the fire, she stopped by Henry for a quick word.

“You should get some rest too.” Her voice was low so only he could hear and her fingers brushed his cheek. “Don’t push yourself when you don’t need to, Henry.” She gave him a small smile before leaving. It didn’t occur to her how intimate the gesture was until she she drifted off to sleep a while later.

[Jinxer]

Henry nodded, listening intently to the matriarch MacArthur's words; he needed to know everything about their weapons if they were going to fight them.

"They used barrels filled with something to blow open the gate and the wall... I suspect now that it had the same material in. It smelt like rotten eggs afterwards, I remember now. If I remember rightly sulphur can often produce a similar aroma." It was clear that Gwen felt left out of the conversation and before long she got up to leave, clearly tired from the recent events. Before she left she spoke to him briefly, brushing his cheek. Henry didn't move in response, his mind racing, and mumbled a good night to her.

Look at what you've got yourself into now, Henry. And she knows. Maybe it's just pity?

Before he let himself fall into a downward spiral of depression he resurrected the conversation with Elizabeth to keep his mind off his frailty.

"Is that wise though? From what I saw, anyone could use the weapon and it requires little in the way of training or expertise... it would certainly empower the user. What if the masses gained access to the weapon and attempted to overthrow we magic users? Judging by the way Elianst and Anstarn faired from their attacks I suspect that we might lost that sort of confrontation. I think for now it best we keep our discoveries secret and let only the Queen and trusted commanders know. That is, if there are any left when we return." His mind drifted to his father but he blocked out the thought; he had known for months what would happen and had steeled himself against the event well in advance.

"I feel it's time for me to return to bed. We'll all need a good night's sleep, tomorrow we need to keep up our lead and we can't do that if we're all exhausted. Good night, Lady MacArthur." He bowed slightly and then turned away, heading back to the carriage but instead taking a bedroll from the supplies and spreading it out on the ground near a campfire, staring into the flames until they mesmerized him into a deep sleep; an old trick he had learned many years ago.

[DizzyRenegade]

Gwen frowned before schooling her expression to neutrality. The day had not started off well. When the next day came, getting everyone ready to leave took more time than anyone expected. Many of the nobles who were use to the life of luxury could not sleep well on the hard ground and dragged their feet when making preparations. Those who were use to this lifestyle had to take up the extra work. Overall this took too much time. Gwen had been generous in her estimation of when they'll start moving, but even she was taken aback by how unwilling some nobles were to cooperate. As such she had to humor and gently coax the slower nobles into action.

The group finally left in the morning, two hours after dawn. Gwen decided to walk with Fenrir by her side at the back of the column. It was mostly because she gave the horse she was riding to another noble because of his 'injured leg'. Gwen only smiled and handed him the reigns even though he walked perfectly fine. She looked around for any familiar faces in the crowd as they continued their march.

[Jinxer]

Henry road with Elaeria ahead of even the vanguard of their column, both having woken up long before anyone but the servants had begun to stir and well before the Sun's first light touched the still smoking ruins of Unity Town. His arm was no longer in a sling but he rested it on the pommel of his saddle to give it the rest it needed; being well and fit would raise the morale of those few who still had the courage to fight if required but in practice he knew it would be some weeks before he could wield a sword or shield properly with the arm. Inside his head a constant dull ache made itself known, throbbing just behind his forehead.

"There's a river there, we can water the horses and stock up on water." Elaeria drew him out of his reverie, pointing to one of the wide and deep rivers that ran through Elianst's landscape. Henry nodded his head, pointing to a cleft between two hills through which the road they followed ran.

"There's another river just beyond those hills and another every two or three leagues; from here there's no need to stock up on water supplies except perhaps for the horses and a small supply for the wounded. We'll reach the border city just after noon. I imagine we'll shed the wounded and the less willing there; if we press on quickly we could get the Queen back to Eleshir just about when the sun sets. We need to be cautious but there's no sense staying on the road longer than required." Henry grunted as a stab of pain shot up his side but he quashed the pain, shifting in the saddle to take some weight off it. Mercifully, Elaeria pointedly pretended not to notice.

"A good plan. I will make one alteration though." She called over one of her nearby men, Henry noticed that two dozen men, fit and armed, rode with the Princess and all had the toughened, wind burnt skin of a Frithsian; clearly some form of honour guard had accompanied her to the Academy. Briefly Henry wondered whether she had expected trouble and then remembered who Elaeria was: she would always be prepared for trouble whether she was expecting it or not.

"Go back along the column and tell Sir Glen Major he is to take over command and keep the column moving. Have the Queen and her guard join us here with whoever is prepared to move quickly straight towards Eleshir. Is there a more direct route to the capital if we stray from the roads?" Here she turned back to Henry who nodded, pointing again to the river before them.

"There's a less well known path on this side of the bridge that will lead us more or less directly to the capital, I know the roads well enough from the war. If we look armed then bandits are less likely to bother us but I do wonder whether it's not best to wait until we're properly within inner-Elianst." Elaeria shrugged, showing she had thought the same but had stuck with her original plan and nodded to her man.

"Oh, and here. The carriage with medical supplies had something I thought you might need, seeing as I won't be getting rid of you if Louise is with me." She held out a small leather pouch which, when Henry opened it, let out an aroma he was acutely aware of. He sealed the bag and nodded to her, showing his understanding. Such herbs were rare to find but had the ability to mute one's pain and operate their body as per normal while under its effects as long as the taking of the herbs was not prolonged; what made them so rare was the fact they had little to no side or after effects.

"We'll wait by the bridge for anyone to join us. We depart in two hours."