Spirits of the Earth

All in all, things were going alright for Thrivaok Ledriol. He'd gotten out of his homeland without his parents sending anybody after him (which admittedly worried him about whether or not they even cared if he left), he'd had good luck keeping himself fed, and he could already feel his sword skills improving. At present, the young man was dressed in full chainmail, sword and shield in hand and an unlucky tree before him. The loyal black charger he'd taken with him in his flight, Spire, stood at the other end of the small camp, giving him an almost exasperated look.

Clunk came the sound of blade on wood as Thriv struck again. Quickly he shifted his footing and pulled back the longsword for another blow, raising his shield to ward off the imaginary counter-attack. Now would be the time to finish it, he thought, shoving his shield to push away the mental blade of his leafy opponent and making one, two, three quick cuts across its bark. To any observers, the young man's form would have actually been rather impressive- albeit his strikes were somewhat clumsy and off the mark, they still would have served against an average bandit.

"Alright," he muttered to himself. "Time to try it with the other thing." This time the young man didn't imagine the living suit of armor he had before. This time he held the picture of a real man in his mind's eye. He envisioned the man coming at him, sword raised to come crashing down on his head. Thriv lifted his shield and pushed the attack aside and stepped forward and to the side to counter-attack with a slice that would cleave the opponent in half. Once again, Thriv felt it coming before it happened. His breath caught in his throat, he saw the man's face drained of all color, all life, he imagined a sobbing wife and children at home- all cursing his name. Thriv froze mid-step, the blade slipped from its intended arc, and the man felt himself lose his footing, crashing to the ground and staring up at the sky. The longsword ended up embedded in the tree a good foot and a half above where any human head would have been.

Groaning and climbing to his feet, the would-be knight dusted himself off and pulled the sword free, sheathing it at his belt. "That's enough practice for today, I think. Good thing it was just in my head, huh Spire? I'd be dead otherwise." With that the young man gave a cheery grin, patted the charger on the nose, and sat down to tend to his stew. Most people- especially most people raised in wealth- would get tired of beans and slightly charred bits of chicken after a while, but any hot meal was good enough for Thriv. He was just about to take his first bite when he lifted his head and looked around. "Odd, I thought I heard something... Ah well. Mmm."

Elizabeth's day had been horrible. First, she had to leave her town to head for her aunt and uncle's place. Nobody was even escorting her, seeing as everybody she knew had apparently assisted in her dad's hoax. So she left with five overstuffed bags and her pure white horse, Snow, who had the bags slung over her, tied together with a few pieces of rope. To add to that weight, Elizabeth was also sitting on the horse princess style—both legs off of one side.

Snow was just about the only horse Elizabeth would tolerate, seeing as she raised her from when she was a fawn. Even still, she hated when her horse got a rebellious streak and went off the path (but really, who could blame the horse?). This was one of those times. So instead of going on the nice, paved route around the hill that Elizabeth had planned on, Snow decided to go straight up it. Normally, she might be able to just pull on the horse's reign and the horse would listen again. But this apparently wasn't normal.

So Elizabeth was stuck going up a hill full of bumps, trees, and, to her disgust, bugs. Just as she was in the middle of ducking under and around various branches, Elizabeth felt something under her dress on her calves. And... it felt like it was moving. With a mouse-like squeal, she leaned forwards to lift the hem of her dress and see what it was. But the leaning through her off balance, causing her instead to fall face first into the dirt with a thunk.

Moaning, Elizabeth sat up, helplessly watching as her horse (which had now sped up) ran up the hill with her luggage. She was wiping some of the dirt off of her supposedly perfect face when she felt the same thing she had felt earlier... but now on her thigh. Eyes wide, Elizabeth pulled up her dress only to reveal a centipede. A two inch long centipede. Screaming as loud as she would have been if she was getting attacked (perhaps even louder), Elizabeth sat there staring at it. Then, after it started to crawl even higher, she quickly grabbed a stick from beside her and flung the bug off of her. She scrambled back, pulled her dress back down, and kept her eyes glued on the surrounding ground, flinging all bugs in her reach away with her stick.

Yes, Elizabeth was having a horrible day.

Thriv was already halfway done with his stew when he heard it again. Hoofbeats, and coming his way pretty quickly by the sound of it. He peered behind him just in time to see a strange white horse burst into view and run around his small camp. Spire whineyed and stamped at the ground, looking between the newcomer and Thriv impatiently. The knight just grinned and asked, "Lady friend of yours, Spire? Hmmm... saddle... looks like she belongs to somebody, Wonder where they are-" That was when the other sound reached his ears. Thriv winced and dropped the bowl of stew in his hand as he heard the unmistakable screams of a young woman.

Jumping to his feet, he tossed himself up on Spire- surprisingly well, given his clumsy nature- and gently kicked the charger's flanks. In no time at all they were leaving the campsite behind at a rapid pace, flying downhill at the speed only a warhorse built for speed could manage. Neither the slope nor the foliage seemed to give Spire any trouble as they got closer to the source of the screams, and the horse gave one easy leap over a fallen tree-trunk as Elizabeth came into view.

Thriv quickly took in the scene before him- there was the woman, as expected, but...  where were the bandits? The hungry predators? The monsters? As far as the young man could see, the young woman was perfectly fine- a little bit dirty, sure, but perfectly fine. As Spire came to a halt, Thriv kept one hand on his sword and one eye alert for any danger. Concern over danger didn't stop him from extending the woman a hand and a friendly smile, however. "Hello there, miss. Are you alright? I heard you screaming from up the hill. Something the matter?"

Elizabeth heard horse hooves coming her way and immediately stood up, expecting it to be Snow. After all, no matter how many times Snow ran, she would always come back. But when she saw a black horse instead, she scoffed.

The man riding the horse was definitely not good looking nor rich enough for Elizabeth to normally accept conversing with, but she was desperate. Plus, it looked like he was a knight. Maybe he would be noble enough to bring her to her aunt and uncle's place.

But as he spoke, she reconsidered that thought. Raising her chin in the air, Elizabeth tensionally shouted, "Of course I'm not okay! I'm on a journey alone, my horse ran away, and now I'm stuck in these stupid woods full of-" she scrunched her nose "-bugs!" Sighing, Elizabeth wished that she had been born in an actual rich family, not just one that got money off of drugs.

If that was the case, she could be in her room, having the troubles of figuring out which dress to wear. Instead, she had to deal with dumb strangers and the wilderness. Why couldn't she just have a cup of tea and have no worries?

Thriv let the hand on his sword fall to his side- okay, clearly the lady wasn't under attack by anything. Paying no mind to her snobbish attitude, he just kept up with his stupid grin. "Ah. Well miss, I think I found your horse. She's probably messing up my camp now, as a matter of fact." The young man climbed down from his horse, gave a short bow, and once again held out a hand. "Thrivaok Moriandon Ledriol, or just Thriv if you'd prefer. Spire here can give you a lift- not quite as many bugs that way."

The horse, meanwhile, looked incredulous at the idea. Spire shot an annoyed look at Thriv and then just glared at Elizabeth, scraping his hoof across the ground. Thriv sighed and patted the horse on the neck. "Come on Spire, just give the lady a hand for a minute or two, would you? It's not gonna kill you." The horse stopped scraping at the ground, but he kept his glare firmly fixed on the woman.

"That's a yes, miss. Sorry about Spire, he doesn't really trust strangers. He's a good horse and a good friend though. Probably saved my life more than once. So, I can help you find your horse, and you're welcome to some of my dinner if the horse hasn't knocked it all over the ground." The young man stood there expectantly, that stupid grin still on he face. He bent down to help the woman onto Spire, should she agree to come along.

Elizabeth glared at Thrivaok as he talked about her horse. Obviously Snow wouldn't do a thing to disrupt the camp, she was a polite and obedient horse—well, usually. But she definitely wouldn't mess up a camp unless there was some dire need of it.

Elizabeth looked at his hand as if it was covered in horse dung and decided, yet again, to ignore it. Looking at the fool's foolish horse, Elizabeth had a hard decision to make. In any other circumstance, she would never dare to ride such a hideous black horse that belonged to a stranger. But seeing as her only other option was to wait for Snow to return, perhaps she should ride Spire anyway.

With an overdone sigh, Elizabeth accepted Thrivaok's help to get on the horse. While she could get on it herself, if she so pleased, why put in the effort if somebody else would help? She sat as she had been on Snow—princess style—which was definitely not the right way to ride a horse through the woods. Nonetheless, it was the only way Elizabeth was willing to do it.

Looking down at Thrivaok, she annoyingly said, "My name is Elizabeth Largentine, heir of one of the wealthiest Serendipity families." Technically, there was a lot less money for her to inherit now that her dad's money was useless. Nonetheless, seeing as her aunt and uncle didn't have any kids, she would most likely still get all of their money.

Once Elizabeth was on the horse, Thriv started up the hill, Spire obediently following a step behind- though the horse did shoot the young knight a look that almost said, 'you owe me one.' Thriv, meanwhile, focused on the way ahead, happily humming to himself- even if the lady were a little on the snobbish side, it was good to have a bit of company. He'd not quite realized how lonely one could grow while traveling; Spire was a good friend and all, but the warhorse didn't exactly carry a conversation well. It never even occurred to the young man to mention his own lineage (which, considering he was actually minor nobility was probably more impressive)- he was on the road to prove his own worth, after all.

"So miss Elizabeth," he started, pushing a tree branch aside. "What brings you out to the middle of nowhere? Especially by yourself. The roads are dangerous these days you know. It's not safe to travel without some sort of bodyguard or other." That was actually a good point, Thriv thought. What was she doing alone? Surely a wealthy family could afford a little bit of protection for their daughter, right? Maybe she was a runaway? In any case, he couldn't in good conscience leave her to keep going unprotected. "Speaking of which, I don't mean to be presumptuous, but I could help you get to wherever you're going-" The young man was interrupted by a snort from Spire, and the horse nudged his shoulder in warning. "Oof- easy there, buddy. Anyway, I'm not traveling anywhere in particular, so it would be little trouble for me to escort you."

The horse didn't ride as well as the one she had—it was bulkier and not as smooth of a walker—but Elizabeth managed to stay on it without trouble. Thrivaok was humming, something that seemed rude and annoying to Elizabeth, but she did her best to ignore it.

But then he started talking. Doesn't he know how to enjoy silence? Elizabeth thought. While small talk might be polite at parties, she preferred not to converse with fools. Sadly, ignoring him would be rude.

"I'm visiting family," Elizabeth responded, including as little detail as possible. "In Essyrn." She had been there once before, when she was little, and remembered how beautiful the city was. Golden City was the perfect name for it. But while it was a great place to visit, she was still unsure whether or not it would be a great place to live. And it took so long to travel to. "I doubt that's within your plans of traveling, even if you have no destination."

Thriv scratched his head, giving a thoughtful "hrrmmm." The young man shrugged and said, "I've always kind of wanted to see Essyrn, personally. And when I said I've got nowhere in particular in mind, I meant it." Perhaps the man wasn't getting the hint, or perhaps he was simply stubborn. Either way, he kept trying to persuade her as they reached the small campsite. "There's bandits, slavers, and all sort of trouble out there. That's a long way for somebody like yourself to travel unprotected. I'd be failing in my duties as a knight if I didn't at least assist you long enough for you to find a bodyguard."

The young man offered her a hand down and looked about the campsite, happy to note that the horse hadn't really disturbed much. His food was still there, his equipment hadn't been disturbed, and the horse was grazing a short distance away. The young man shot her another of his stupid looking grins. "Whew, was worried I'd have to make another dinner for myself. Hungry miss? I've got plenty of chicken and beans to spare, if you like."

While Elizabeth was debating whether or not to accept Thrivaok's offer, they reached his campsite. Upon seeing Snow, she immediately slid off of Spire, somehow landing perfectly despite wearing heels. The horse was just happily grazing and Elizabeth sent her a glare. The horse, upon noticing the malicious look, walked over to Elizabeth and bent its head down, as if it was apologizing. Which, in Elizabeth's mind, it better be.

Looking at Thrivaok with a face full of pure horror, she responded, "Chicken and beans!? Yeah right!" Those were peasant foods. She didn't eat peasant foods.

Squinting her eyes intently, Elizabeth finally said, "I suppose you can have the honor of bringing me to Essyrn, but there will have to be rules. First off, don't touch me or my horse. Secondly, you will cook all the food—but good food, not chicken and beans. You can eat those, but I will eat other things. If it helps, I brought all of my food." Though she didn't bring nearly enough for the trip. "And, lastly, you have to protect me from all thieves, bugs, and anything else with bad intentions out there." Once again, Elizabeth raised her nose into the air, as if she was better than him.

"Well, as long as your supply holds out, I can try to cook, but I'm afraid my only experience cooking comes from hunting trips, so I'm not much good with fancy stuff." At that the man sat down to quickly polish off his remaining stew. Thriv wasn't exactly a neat eater, either, as it appeared his main concern was scarfing down as much of the stew as quickly as possible. At least he was polite enough to swallow before he continued. "As for the thieves, that's why I offered to come along. You might have to learn to deal with the bugs though, miss. Not much good a sword can do against them."

The young man still didn't seem to have much problem with the young lady's demands. After all, his upbringing had put in him the company of plenty of other women who thought they were one step down from being queen of the world. This Elizabeth wasn't even the worst he'd met- though he did get the feeling she'd get grating after a while. Still, somebody had to make sure she didn't get herself hurt.

Filling up another bowl of stew, he raised an eyebrow and asked, "So why is it you're traveling alone? Essyrn's a long way from here. Surely your parents wouldn't let you go the whole way by yourself?"

Good thing I can cook, Elizabeth thought when Thrivaok responded to her cooking part. She backed up a little and averted her eyes when he ate. It was so disgusting... did that man not have any manners? And he couldn't even deal with bugs. Elizabeth sighed in disappointment. But it was still worth having him along to ward off the thieves.

If only he would stop asking questions. "I don't have parents. I have a parent. My mom died in childbirth," Elizabeth started, matter-of-factly. It was an old story that caused her no pain. "Don't feel bad. I was going to have some escorts, but my dad got held up in some business stuff and wasn't able to get them in time." It wasn't a full lie and it was much better than telling the truth.

Most people would have questioned that story- anybody who could afford bodyguards for their daughter could afford to hold off on sending her on a trip for a few days, or find an alternative. Fortunately for Elizabeth, Thriv was perfectly happy to take the story at face value and didn't press her on it. Downing this bowl as quickly as he had before, he put the bowl in the pot and stashed it all away- he'd not come across a stream in a while, so there wasn't really any place to wash them out right then.

Stretching and clearing the fire for Elizabeth to use as she wished, Thriv went back to the tree he'd been practicing on earlier. Sure, he'd said he'd call it quits, but... well, he hadn't been planning on protecting somebody else when he had. Most bandits would leave a lone armored man be- too much risk for not enough reward. If he had the young lady and all her bags with him, however, that scale might tip against him. And if he were being perfectly honest with himself, he wasn't entirely sure he could actually do any good at present. Best work on that while he could. "Just let me know if you need me for anything," he cheerily called before drawing his sword and resuming his training. "Raah!"

Elizabeth averted her eyes yet again as Thrivaok basically drank his meal, but made quite a repelled face when he put his dirty dishes in his bag. She would rather throw away dishes than put them in her bag. But if he wanted his bag to grow mold, she wasn't going to stop him.

She saw the fire cleared, but stayed where she was nonetheless. After all, there weren't any chairs for her to sit on. Watching Thrivaok practice with his sword, she started to wonder if maybe he would be able to protect her. While Elizabeth may not have any sword knowledge whatsoever, she hadn't actually expected the fool to be able to wield a sword. But, impressed or not, she was not happy.

"Shouldn't we be heading to Essyrn?" Elizabeth asked irritably. "I don't want to waste time!"

Thriv paused his practice at her question, looking back and tilting his head. "We could, I suppose, but it wouldn't be a good idea unless you plan on traveling through the night. We couldn't cover much ground and still have time to set up camp before nightfall though." With a shrug, he started back for the fire and began collecting his packs and tossing them onto Spire. "Your call though." The horse gave Thriv another one of those impatient looks, as if to say 'You're letting her lead us around?'

As Thriv tossed himself up on the horse after his bags, he thought- clearly the girl didn't know much about traveling, especially traveling alone over land. You couldn't rush trips like this- traveling anywhere took time, and rushing it more often than not caused more problems than it was worth. Ah well, ignorant and irritable as she was, the trip couldn't be that bad, right?

Elizabeth scoffed as Thrivaok questioned her, but was glad that he didn't disobey her anyway. While she may not have noticed the horse's attitude still, Snow definitely had. So when Spire gave Thrivaok that look, Snow whinnied as a warning. She wasn't planning on trotting with a rude horse. (Elizabeth's horse had the same arrogant attitude as her).

She got up on her horse, not helping Thrivaok with his bags at all. Luckily for him, her bags were still on her horse. Otherwise, she would have told him to pick them up for her. Though Elizabeth didn't actually know where she was heading, she assumed Thrivaok (as foolish as he was) would lead her the correct way. Snow would just follow Spire wherever he went... as long as it wasn't too dirty or dangerous.

Thriv gave a brief stretch and then dug up his mental map. Essyrn was far to the south, he knew that much off the top of his head, but what would be the best route? Due south would force them to travel through some of the sparser areas of Serendipity and less effective roads, as well as forcing them through most of the Draconi forest once they hit the Adelan border. On the other hand, looping around might take longer then it was worth... "Hrm... we'll follow the road as due south as we can, adjusting for any bad news as it comes. That sound good to you, Elizabeth?"

At that Thriv gave a flick of the reins, and Spire started off. The pair set a pretty brisk pace, as Thriv knew Spire had the endurance for it and the warhorse wanted this trip to be over as soon as possible. "We shouldn't run into too much trouble for now- maybe one or two groups of bandits, but nothing you wouldn't risk running into anywhere else for most of Serendipity and Adela. Once we reach the Thunderblacks though, the trip gets a bit more dangerous. I don't know how much good I can do against a dragon, or the hordes of nomads once we reach the other side. Good news is, once we get through that bit we're most of the way there."

There were other options, of course- they could head to the coastline and try to book passage on a ship for most of the way, but Thriv figured if the lady had the money for that she'd have done so earlier.

Elizabeth and Snow were both startled when Spire started moving so quickly. The horse quickly adapted and sped up to match him, not wanting to be outdone. But while Spire might be a warhorse, Snow was much closer to a show horse. She was best at walking and trotting and could do a marvelous smooth jump.

One way or another, Elizabeth managed to stay on her horse, even though she wasn't sitting the proper way. She was stubborn and not planning on falling any time soon... unless there was another centipede on her, of course.

Focusing on staying on her horse, it took her a few seconds to process what Thrivaok had said. But when she did, her eyes widened and she shouted, "A dragon?!" Dragons were dangerous creatures, according to what Elizabeth had read about them. "Surely we wouldn't be bothered by any dragons," Elizabeth added, as if it were an obvious fact. But although her words may have been confident, her voice was trembling in fear. Dragons were not anything she had ever planned on seeing, unless they were a trophy head, part of her clothes, or her food.

The young knight looked back and flashed a short grin. "We just might. The Thunderblacks got the name because of the roars of dragons. Technically speaking, they're called the Southern Terrins. We'll probably won't end up getting attacked by any, but you never know." Turning back to the road ahead, Thriv started to hum again, as if he he'd totally forgotten that they'd just been talking about the possibility of being eaten by dragons.

Honestly, he was kind of happy about this whole situation. Sure, the young lady was a brat- not even Thriv was thick enough not to see that- but this would be a good chance to prove himself. It was a noble enough cause, wouldn't interfere with his training, and would let him see Essyrn himself. All in all, not too bad a deal. Thriv looked back and noticed that the girl was riding improperly, and spoke back up.

"You know, typically your legs are supposed to be over the saddle, miss. Anyway, just let me know if you need anything back there." With that, he resumed his rather poorly tuned humming. "Hmmm-hrmm-hmm-hmhm-huhuhhuhuhum."

Elizabeth looked at Thrivaok as if he was utterly insane. How could he talk about dragons in such a casual manner? Not even the brave knights she had met dared to take on a dragon without large forces. And, based on his looks, she doubted he was stronger than them.

Her attitude was not improved when Thrivaok criticized her riding and then went back to his horrible, off key humming. Keeping her legs where they were, Elizabeth snottily replied, "You know, typically humming is supposed to be on key, mister. Or, even better, silent." Even if she had wanted to sit on her horse normally, which she hadn't, it wouldn't have been nearly impossibly in the poofy dress she was wearing.

Thriv heard the woman's complaints, but instead of stopping he just switched to a tune he knew somewhat better. He also made a mental note to suggest she buy some riding pants. Not only would they help if they ever had to... he didn't know, escape from something, but they'd also make her look less a rich girl traveling with a solitary bodyguard, and much less of a target. Hrm... on second thought, she'd probably pitch a fit at the idea, best stick with the chance of robbers.

Spire, meanwhile, seemed disturbed by something. The horse's footsteps slowed slightly, becoming more cautious. His ears twitched, and his eyes flicked rapidly between either side of the road. Unlike one might expect from most spooked horses, however, the charger didn't look panicked. In fact, he pawed at the ground and bit harder on his bridle, as if he were itching for a fight.

None of this went unnoticed by Thriv, who put one hand on the hilt of his sword and guided the warhorse closer to Snow and Elizabeth. "Something's spooked the big guy, stay close and keep an eye out. I've never known him to be paranoid."

Elizabeth glared at Thrivaok as he merely changed the song he was humming. While it may have sounded a tidbit better, it was just as annoying and rude to her as the previous song had been. In fact, she was just about to comment on this, when the man stopped humming.

She was completely oblivious of the horse's cautiousness and didn't sense the urgency in Thrivaok's voice.  But she wasn't going to take any risks with dragons, so she stayed silent anyway. Of course, dragons didn't live in these regions, but Elizabeth didn't know that.

But when a squirrel came jumping out of a bush on the left, Elizabeth burst out laughing. All he was scared of was a squirrel? As long as it didn't touch her, she didn't mind the tree rodents too much. The squirrel scurried away quickly.

Elizabeth's laughter grew silent, however, when she heard a giant roar of some kind come from the same direction the squirrel had come from. It was definitely not the roar of some kind, gentle beast. While her mind told her it was a dragon, Elizabeth was smarter than that. While this unknown beast may not be as scary as a dragon, it sure wasn't something she'd ever want to see. Snow immediately went to the right of Spire, hoping that the beast would take Thrivaok and his horse as its meal instead of herself and Elizabeth.

The young knight ignored the squirrel- he knew Spire well enough not to dismiss it as a false alarm so easily. He kept a hand on his hilt and did his best to ignore the lady's laughter. When the roar came, Thriv tightened his grip on the reins and barked, "Start running!" He was no coward, but even he knew that it was better to avoid a fight like this. The knight gave Spire's flanks a kick, leaned forward, and the two darted off down the road, careful not to get too far ahead of Snow and Elizabeth.

Another roar came, much closer this time, and it was soon followed by the sound of something big crashing through the foliage near the road. Thriv looked to see how well Elizabeth was holding on with her incorrect riding, looked back towards their pursuer, and offered a silent prayer to Angsar. Whatever was out there, it was fast... maybe faster than a horse. If that were the case, he wouldn't have much choice to fight, and he highly doubted he could handle anything big enough to make that sound.

Snow immediately sped up as Spire did, not waiting for Elizabeth to tell her to do anything. Nothing ever got done if she waited for Elizabeth to tell her to do it.

Elizabeth, barely managing to stay on her horse with its faster pace, hugged herself tight when another roar came. She could hear it moving, and it did not sound pleasant. Turning her head towards Thrivaok, Elizabeth shouted, "Why don't you do something about that?! Isn't that your job?" He said he would protect her, and so far he was doing an awful job.

The beast roared again, the sound being much closer than the previous time, and Elizabeth screamed. She couldn't even see it yet but she bet it was much more horrifying than the centipede that had been on her earlier. Now imagining a giant centipede, her eyes got wide and she screamed again.

"I'm still between you and it, aren't I? A good bodyguard should live long enough to actually do some guarding!" Thriv looked back at a third roar and realized they weren't going to outrun whatever was after them. With a growl and yet another prayer, he wheeled Spire about and drew his sword. "That thing's faster than us, I'll see if I can hold it off. Keep moving!" The young man didn't really have any illusions that she wouldn't, but it seemed like the appropriate thing to say at the time.

Sword in hand, horse rearing up to kick whatever came at them, and releasing the reins to grab his shield, Thriv might have made a pretty heroic sight... if he hadn't looked absolutely terrified. The young man was shaking from his boots to his shoulder-guards, and he might very well have dropped his sword if he hadn't had a death-grip on it. "C-come and get me, monster!" He half shouted, half stammered. At that, Spire lunged forward, charging back down the road the way they'd come.

Elizabeth didn't even look back as Thrivaok turned around and headed towards the beast. She did, however, think about his safety. But that wasn't because she cared about him, it was because she'd have no bodyguard if he died. Snow kept running fast and Elizabeth barely heard the man speak to the monster. With a sigh, she knew she was right when she had first assumed he was weak. The stammering implied that much.

But there wasn't anything she could do to help him. So she decided she better make his sacrifice worth it and looked down at Snow while demanding, "Run faster!" She'd have to get a new bodyguard at the next town they hit. Perhaps somebody who could actually defeat dragons.

Thriv heard a crashing off the road, and another roar- closer to him than to Elizabeth. It looked like the plan was working. Now he just had to keep moving and hope Spire could keep up the pace, and just maybe they could get out of this alive. There was a thud in the road behind him, and he looked back to see some sort of massive feline, larger than the average horse (though perhaps about the same size as Spire), charging after him. Thriv was able to make out razor sharp claws, cruel yellow eyes, black fur, and teeth the size of daggers before looking back ahead and reaffirming his earlier plan of running as far and fast as Spire could carry him. Whatever that was, it was too big and too mean looking to be any sort of normal cat. Besides, normally felines weren't built to be able to maintain speeds like this for that long. Perhaps it was some sort of wizard's experiment gone wrong? Whatever it was, it looked far too hungry for Thriv's liking.

Unfortunately for the young knight, his assessment of the creature being faster than a horse was correct. Soon it was within range to lunge and took full advantage of the chance. Thriv twisted in the saddle, swinging his blade to force the creature's claws away from Spire. Steel dug into flesh, and the cat let out a howl of pain, but it struck with enough force that the contact ripped Thriv from the saddle and hurled him from Spire's back.

The breath flew from Thriv's chest as he crashed into the ground, barely managing to keep his grip on his blade. The knight scrambled to his feet and raised his shield in preparation as the beast spun about for another lunge. Gulping, Thriv offered a prayer to Angsar and figured he'd had a relatively nice life.

Snow kept running forward, and Elizabeth kept letting her. She may have been too far to see the giant feline when it came out, but she wasn't too far to hear it howl in pain. Maybe Thrivaok did have some talent, after all.

The feline glared at its victim with its yellow eyes. The man might not be the biggest, fatty meal, but he would do. And he didn't seem as if he'd be too hard to kill, unlike the last people she had eaten. She lunged for the man. Unfortunately, she didn't calculate the limp in her right paw when she jumped. This caused her to fly a little bit lopsided, more to the right than in the middle. Nonetheless, she stretched out her left paw, preparing to claw his arm and make him drop that shield.

Thriv knew he couldn't beat the creature in a contest of strength, the only way to beat it would be to get in one good hit while he had the chance and hope it fled or that he could ward it off long enough for it to weaken. Stepping forward and to the right (the cat's left), he managed to ward off the animal's swiping claw- which was still, however, strong enough that Thriv had to release the shield or be pulled right into reach of the creature's powerful jaws. That gave him his chance. While the cat was off balance and recovering for another attack, Thriv drove his longsword into its flank. "Raah! Take that!"

As the cat spun 'round again, Thriv stumbled backwards, bloody sword in hand. The young man barely managed to keep his footing, but he was certainly off balance- not exactly a good position for dodging. Spire, meanwhile, had doubled back and was rapidly charging the distracted cat from behind. If Thriv could just hold out for a few more seconds, the horse might have the chance to get in a good kick to the head...

The cat, now infuriated, crouched down on its legs, prepared to lunge faster and more powerfully than before. And with the prey running towards her... it would be surely be a battle won.

Just as she was ready to release the tension and shoot towards the man, she was kicked in the head. And it wasn't a gentle kick. While it might not be enough to knock her unconscious, it was enough to make her decide the scrawny man and muscular horse wasn't worth her attention.

She growled at the man, then at his horse, showing off her fangs. Then, quickly turning around, she ran off towards an easier prey: the girl and her horse.

Thriv was ready- when the cat lunged, he'd thrust his sword up into its chest and use the leverage to keep it from doing too much damage. Oh- Spire was early? And the cat was running away? The knight gave a sigh of relief before he realized that the creature wasn't just running away from him... it was headed down the road after Elizabeth. Hurriedly picking up his shield and hopping on Spire, Thriv gave the horse's sides a kick and barked, "Come on, we can't let that cat keep preying on people!" He didn't think the creature would be able to catch the girl, with the lead she had and the cat's wound, but if she'd slowed or stopped for some reason...

The warhorse flew down the road, only now showing the first signs of fatigue. Thriv's family knew how to raise horses well- endurance was more important than pure speed or strength on a battlefield; if your horse was slow, you just had to be careful. If your horse tired before the battle ended, you'd be better off as infantry. Thanks Dad, I owe you one, Thriv thought, and quickly added, "And you too, Spire. Good work back there."

Elizabeth had made it a far distance away from her worthless body guard and whatever creature had been attacking them. Seeing the sun through the trees and thinking she should be safe at her distance, she decided it was about time to get Snow, who was quickly slowing down anyway, a break. And it was tea time.

Finding an area that wasn't infested with trees (and therefore hopefully had less bugs), Elizabeth told Snow to stop. She got off her horse, grabbed one of the bags that was slung over her, and started rummaging through it. She found her teapot and porcelain glasses (which miraculously hadn't broken) and grabbed a green tea teabag. It was at this time that she realized she would need some heat. But, being the spoiled brat she was, Elizabeth had no experience starting fires. And she didn't want to touch bug covered wood. So she just stood there, teapot in one hand and teacup with a teabag in it in her other, next to Snow, waiting for somebody to come along and help her with her horrible predicament.

Thriv and Spire continued to thunder down the road, the cat still in sight. He was beginning to hope the girl had made it to a village or some other sort of safety when he spotted her ahead. In the middle of the road. Off. Her. Horse. Did she not understand the concept of buying time? Had he seriously risked his neck for nothing? "Run!" he shouted, pushing Spire as hard as the charger would go. There would be time to tell her about how to deal with man-eating, horse-sized cats later. For now, he just needed to make sure she didn't get eaten.

The pair was gaining on the cat, and quick... but perhaps not quickly enough. No, the cat would get there before they caught up. "Terrible idea. Terrible, terrible idea... but I've not got much choice." Thriv hefted the longsword overhead, wound up, and threw the blade once he deemed them close enough. Let it be known that throwing a sword, especially a longsword, is a terrible idea, and Thriv would never have done so under normal circumstances. To hit anything, let alone something moving at the speed of a charging horse, would require either immense talent or immense luck. Fortunately for both Thriv and Elizabeth, it seemed that the young man had plenty of the latter today, as the blade sliced into the cat's back leg.

That ought to slow it down... though Thriv now had to deal with the other aspect of throwing one's weapon- not having that weapon anymore. Which was unfortunate, as he'd just done something that would likely irritate a very large cat-monster. He gulped.

Elizabeth screamed when she saw the gigantic cat creature. Then, seeing Thrivaok, she silently cursed him. Wasn't he supposed to protect her? Risk his own life for her? But the cat was going towards her, and he was still alive. Elizabeth, of course, didn't care about the fact that the cat was injured in a couple of places.

She started carefully putting her teapot and teacup away—no way she was letting those break—and then climbed onto the antsy Snow. When Thivaok's longsword embedded itself into the cat's leg, Elizabeth's eyes widened and Snow immediately started running. He almost got blood on her pure white horse.

She was on the run yet again, but Snow's endurance was quickly wearing out.

It seemed all parties were beginning to tire by now, but with all the cat's wounds, Spire was able to rapidly close the distance. Thriv didn't have any other weapons to strike at the cat with, so he jumped from Spire's back and wrapped his arms around the creature's throat. The man and the cat tumbled to the ground, the cat furiously trying to bite Thriv's face off and Thriv hanging onto its back for dear life.

Thriv grunted and gripped tighter, figuring he just had to hold on long enough for the monster to bleed out. What he hadn't counted on was the creature rolling over him and crushing his chest with its immense weight. Thriv lost both his breath and his grip, and in a flash the cat had spun around and was digging its fangs into the young man's shoulder. Thriv howled, desperately trying to keep in from closing down any further.

Spire, luckily, was there to save Thriv's hide. Rearing up on hind legs, the horse gave the cat one, two, three kicks to the head. Reeling in pain and completely disoriented, the cat released Thriv and staggered backwards.

This time Elizabeth wasn't too far to see what was happening. The second Thrivaok shouted, her head instinctively turned around and she saw the cat biting him. And she saw the blood gushing out of the wound.

While she might be able to ignore screams of pain and imagine people dying, seeing somebody get hurt was a whole other deal. She couldn't just pretend she didn't know better. There wasn't anything she herself could do (except attack it with a bag or something in one of her bags), so Elizabeth actually stopped and dismounted the horse. Then she told Snow turn around and start heading back towards Thrivaok. She looked towards him just in time to see Spire to kick the cat.

As the cat staggered backwards, Snow was prepared. She kicked the cat with her hind legs. She might not be as strong as the warhorse, but she was stronger than any average horse. After all, she was trained meticulously to do shows. The cat, now having a very thorough head beating, growled loudly before starting to head off to the woods. It couldn't walk straight and therefore couldn't move very fast, but Snow and Elizabeth just watched it move away.

Clutching his shoulder, retrieving his longsword (which had been dislodged in the struggle), and gingerly making his way back to Spire, Thriv began rummaging in his saddlebags. He shot a quick back at Elizabeth and asked, "Are you alright?" ...Which might have been a stupid question, given the bleeding fang-wound in his own shoulder, but it didn't hurt to make sure. Seeing that she wasn't seriously hurt, Thriv pulled off his chainmail shirt and the undershirt beneath it to get a closer look at his shoulder.

All things considered, it could have been a lot worse. The wound was bleeding heavily, but a quick look revealed the cat's fangs hadn't gotten too deep, nor punctured anything important. Taking a rag and a flask of ale from his pack, Thriv grit his teeth, soaked the rag in ale, and began rubbing the surface of the wound clean. "Argh- looks like I'll live, and it shouldn't impair my ability to fight much or for long. That's a brave horse you've got, miss. By the way, why did you stop earlier?"

Elizabeth walked to Snow, purposefully leaving a constant two foot distance between herself and Thrivaok. No way she wanted to get any of his blood on her nice dress. Looking down at the dress, she realized, with horror, that it was covered in dirt. With a exasperated sigh, Elizabeth responded, "I'm not alright, but it looks like you have it worse." After all, even Elizabeth knew having blood on your clothes was worse than dirt. And bleeding was painful, anyway.

Now by Snow, Elizabeth reached into the same bag she had been using earlier. First, she pulled out a flask full of purple liquid. Holding it out for Thrivaok to come and get, she explained, "My dad sold potions. This one should help heal your wound... then you'll have a better chance of protecting me against the bandits. And of course Snow is brave, she's my horse."

Looking back at her bag for a second before returning her gaze to her bodyguard, she finished, "And I was going to make tea. Which, seeing as I was interrupted before, I should do now. Make a fire for me." As an afterthought, she added, "Please."

Make tea? She'd just run away from a monstrous cat and her priority was getting some tea? Thriv sighed and shook his head. Quickly he finished wrapping up his wound, waving her off when she offered the potion. "Save it, we might need it for something worse later on. As for the fire, we might as well make camp for the night if we're going to stop now. Now, I'll see what firewood I can find."  Thriv left Elizabeth, Snow, and Spire standing by the road and trudged off into the foliage to the side of the road- the opposite side from the way the creature had fled.

His shoulder felt like- well, it felt like something big had taken a bite out of it. Thriv tried not to focus on the pain... largely unsuccessfully. The young man was plenty used to bruises and a fractured bone or two from his training, but he'd never had anything actually pierce his armor before. He winced and made a mental note not to let it happen again. "Urgh... ah, here's some kindling. Not a bad spot to set up camp, either." The man gathered up the bunch of dead branches he'd stumbled across and called out, "Oye! Elizabeth! Come here!"

The spot he'd found was, indeed, not a bad spot to set up camp. It was screened from the road, but open enough in any direction that nothing could really sneak up on them. Plus it was dry- a fact that, while the young man doubted Elizabeth would appreciated, she couldn't complain about.

Thriv began snapping the branches in half and arranging them into the base for a fire. He'd need more fuel later, but this could get them started, at the very least. When Spire came through the bushes after him, he grabbed flint and tinder from his saddlebags and soon had a small blaze going.

Elizabeth glared at Thrivaok when he rejected her help. Why couldn't he just be appreciative? He was so ungrateful. Well, at least that meant she could use it for herself if he failed at his job and let her get hurt. She watched as he walked away to go get firewood.

At first she was happy he was being silent, not humming, and doing as she asked. But then she realized that if he wasn't by her, maybe the cat would come back again. Or somebody might rob her. Or kidnap her. She was just about to demand he come back when he told her to go to him. Elizabeth wasn't keen on walking through the forest, but decided against arguing.

She walked (and Snow followed her) to Thrivaok. Looking around, it didn't seem like a bad spot to camp. Of course, she would have preferred an inn, but even Elizabeth knew she wouldn't be finding one in the middle of the woods. So the fact that the surrounding area wasn't just trees and bugs made her satisfied. Elizabeth watched as he started the fire, but didn't help at all. Once he got it going, she merely handed him her teapot before asking, "Will you make me tea?"

Thriv stepped back from the fire, satisfied that it'd keep burning for a bit. "There we go." The young man turned back to Elizabeth and nodded. "Sure I can, just give me a quick minute. Have you got the tea-leaves? And the water?" Thriv pulled off his gauntlets and removed Spire's saddle and his saddle-bags. "There ya go, big guy. Bet that feels better." He hefted his bedroll, gave it a good shake to get most of the dirt and rocks out, and spread it out next to the fire. Then he scooped up one of the smaller bags and started off back into the foliage, shooting Elizabeth another one of his stupid smiles. "Just a minute or two. I need to set a few snares real quick."

The young man was still barely visible through the trees when he stopped and began setting up the traps. He'd have to remember to rise early the next morning, to check them- he didn't really want to bother the girl with the sight of skinning rabbits. Fortunately, she didn't seem like the sort who'd be up at the crack of dawn. "Oh, by the way miss," he called back towards them. "I just remembered I've got a shortsword in my saddlebags. I hardly use it, but it should be light enough for you to carry around as a precaution if you want. I could even teach you the basics of how to use it." Thriv didn't think she'd take him up on the offer, but it didn't hurt to ask. Besides, the young man personally thought any traveler should be armed in one way or another, bodyguard or no.

Elizabeth started searching through her bags when Thrivaok asked her about about the tea-leaves and water. She grabbed the teacup, which still had a teabag resting in it, and found one of her gourds of water after a few more seconds of looking around. Then she grabbed a black blanket and laid it on the ground before putting the other items in her hand down on it.

Looking up, she realized that Thrivaok was no longer near her. She was just about to call for him when she noticed him in the trees. Setting up snares, she realized. He had just said that beforehand.

Sitting down on the blanket, Elizabeth scoffed, "You? Teach me sword fighting? If I had any interest in learning it in the first place—which I don't—I surely wouldn't have you teach me." She stuck her nose up in the air. Then, after a few seconds of pondering, she hesitantly added, "But... if you can find a way to keep it on Snow, I don't suppose it'll hurt me to keep it with me." After all, she didn't quite believe in her bodyguards strength and ability to fend off danger.

Tying off the last of the snares and grinning broadly, the knight started back. "Alright then miss. Now let's see here..." From the pile of saddlebags at Spire's feet, he grabbed a small bundle of cloth. Carefully unwrapping it revealed a rather ornate sheathe, black with silver patterns weaving around the image of a horse. The blade itself, when Thriv drew it, proved well made as well- if in a sturdier, deadlier sort of way. The whole thing was in stark contrast to the longsword Thriv wore at his belt- which was held in a simple brown sheathe and didn't seem to have any decoration whatsoever. "If you don't want me to teach you, then just stick to rule number one- pointy bit towards the enemy." Thriv smiled and sheathed the weapon, handing it hilt-first to Elizabeth along with a small strap. "Just tie it onto any of your other bags."

That business done- and Thriv feeling a little bit safer about the lady- the knight sat down and began tending to the tea. It was simple enough; bag in, then water, then just hold it over the fire until it was hot. "Go ahead and make yourself comfortable, miss." He started to hum, but then remembered the young woman hadn't really appreciated it earlier, so instead he thought of what he'd tell his family about the encounter when he returned home. He was immensely proud of his ability to fend off the cat- even if Spire had saved his neck twice, he'd still held his own against a creature twice his size. He wouldn't even have been hurt if Elizabeth hadn't stopped. The knight looked at his shoulder and winced again- he didn't really blame her, but it certainly didn't help him feel better that the pain was almost entirely needless and avoidable.

Elizabeth accepted the weapon and pulled it out of its sheathe. It looked so... sharp. And dangerous. Just holding it gave her an odd sense of thrill. Sheathing it again, she admired the casing as well. While she would have preferred it to be pure white, like Snow, it was much prettier than she had been expecting. Especially based on what Thivaok's looked like.

She set the sword down next to her, deciding that she would tie it to her bags later. She was just about to tell Thrivaok to stop humming when, miraculously, he did. Elizabeth laid down, her poofy dress spreading around her. She wasn't paying enough attention to notice her bodyguards pain, not that she would have cared much. And he already rejected her help, so if he got in trouble because of that wound, it wasn't her fault.

Gazing at the sky, Elizabeth impatiently asked, "Is the tea almost ready?"

"Patience," Thriv stated calmly. "I'm Connlaothian, you expect me to wave my fingers at it and be done?" The young man sat in silence for a short while before checking the pot and nodding. "There. -Now- it's done. Here you go miss, I trust you can pour for yourself." Thriv sat the pot down on the blanket and stretched, lying back on his bedroll. "Ah, now that was an eventful start to the journey. At this rate we might very well see a dragon before we even reach Adela." Chuckling, the young knight folded his hands behind his head and wondered what he'd do if that happened. Probably hope it was friendly or run, if he were being honest with himself.

"You think that cat will live to cause any more trouble around here? It was hurt pretty badly, but I don't think any of those wounds would be enough to kill it." Thriv sighed, imagining some poor other traveler being ripped to pieces by the thing. "Maybe I should go hunt it down, make sure it can't." Though now they were both injured, and Thriv figured the cat had a far better chance of sneaking up on him than he did of sneaking up on it. "...No, it's probably hidden away in some den somewhere. I doubt I'd be able to find it. Besides, I should probably focus on the job at hand."

Elizabeth had a frown pasted across her face as Thrivaok told her to be patient. People weren't supposed to tell her what to do... unless she asked or it was an emergency. Nonetheless, she gladly poured the tea for herself. And, if it even mattered, she did so with grace and elegance. Tea was something she was quite good at serving.

In fact, she even managed to not spill when Thrivaok made his comment about the dragon. She put the teapot back down and sipped her tea, trying to calm down herself. If a dragon came for her, she'd let it eat Thrivaok while she rode Snow. The thought successfully calmed her down.

Elizabeth was just about to rebut his idea about chasing the cat when he denied it himself. There was no way she was going to have her only bodyguard go off on a wild goose hunt just to possibly kill a cat. She could get robbed or kidnapped or even killed in the time that he was gone. She took another sip of her tea.

Thriv just continued to lie there contentedly until Spire walked up and nudged him. "Alright, alright, I'll do it. Angsar, leave it to Father to get me a horse that'll pester me to keep practicing." Grunting, the young man climbed to his feet and grabbed his shield-which, if the girl cared to notice, also had a silver horse painted on it- before moving a short distance away from Elizabeth before he took a stance.

Drawing his sword, he began swinging at imaginary enemies. One, two, three. Duck. Raise your shield. Parry, riposte. Push forward with the shield, force the opponent off balance. Watch the footwork, be sure to keep your own. One, two, three. One, two, watch the feint. Block, counter, sidestep. Use their momentum against them. Shield bash and thrust. When the sequence completed, Thriv started again, paying no mind to the pain in his shoulder or his weariness. It actually wasn't a bad bit of fighting- a little clumsy, and not the fastest swordsmanship around, but the form came naturally and without effort, as if it were something Thriv had been doing for a long time.

Elizabeth noticed that Thrivaok got up, but didn't really bother to watch him. She made sure he wasn't going off into the woods and leaving her all alone, then drank more of her tea. After she finished drinking three cups of tea while he practiced, Elizabeth dumped the rest out and grabbed the gourd of water. She rinsed out the teacup and teapot, dried them with the blanket, and returned them to their bag.

Then she took all of her bags off the horse. That way Snow could sleep and be fully rested for fast traveling in the morning. Elizabeth grabbed another black blanket (while she didn't love the color black, it was better than getting her white blankets dirty on the floor) and laid it next to her other one. Then she laid down on it, closed her eyes, and, within a matter of minutes, was deep asleep.

While the others all nodded off, Thriv continued his practice for another twenty sets or so. Wiping his brow, the knight sat down and took up a silent vigil. Once in a while he'd stand and stretch to keep himself from nodding off, or he'd move about the clearing a bit, or add a few bits of wood to the fire. After a few hours with no sign of the cat's return or any other trouble, Thriv was about to deem it safe for him to get some rest himself.

Thriv slowly worked his way free of his chainmail suit, set aside his shield and sword, and slipped inside his bedroll. The young man had just drifted off when he heard an ear splitting wail from off in the distance. Shooting awake and immediately grabbing his sword, he peered frantically around for the source of the sound- and came up with nothing. Whatever it was seemed to be a ways off.

"Elizabeth," he hissed, taking the chance to quickly get his armor back on. "Wake up. I heard something-" the young man's warning was interrupted by a crashing in the trees between them in the road.

"Why'd anyone hurt Ripfang, Mug?" a loud, guttural (but somehow also whining) voice shouted- or said, but whatever said it was loud enough for it to sound like a human shouting. Thriv tightened his grip on his blade and nudged Elizabeth with his boot, needing her to get up now but not wanting to alert whatever it was.

"Because she tries to et em', Crug. I tol' you to keep 'er tied up, but did ya list'n? No!" The second voice was firmer, irritable, and perhaps most worryingly... getting closer. "Oye, is that a fire I see o'er there? And I smell 'orses." This was followed by two very large (each about twice Thriv's size), and very ugly ogres crashing into the clearing. They had no weapons, but given they both looked strong enough to splatter a man's head with a careless flick, that wouldn't exactly be comforting...

Thriv took a stance in front of Elizabeth, shield raised. No chance of not being spotted now, might as well try to negotiate. "Stop right there," he shouted. "Stay back! What do you want?"

((OOC: Feel free to take over for them at any time))

The two ogres, upon seeing the boy, stopped walking. Not out of fear, but to observe the situation.

After eyeing him up and down, Crug asked, "Think he's da one who hur' Ripfang, Mug?" His loud voice was serious but sad. It echoed through the woods.

Mug, looking at Crug, replied, "I dou' it, Crug. He dun look tha' strong." Then he laughed and patted Crug on the back. The pat made a resounding noise and it was clear that it would've whacked any normal person out of the way.

Elizabeth, on the other hand, was slowly starting to wake up. The loud sounds hadn't helped her beauty sleep, nor had Thrivaok kicking her. But what really got her to sit up straight was that god awful smell. Turning around, she saw her bodyguard in a protective position. Peeking her head out from behind him, she spotted the two giant, ugly, smelly ogres and did what Elizabeth did best: screamed. This scream was somehow louder than the one she had let out when discovering the centipede on her. After all, not only were ogres disgusting and smelly and possibly the grossest humanoid creatures out there, they also could squash her as if it were nothing. And then eat her—raw. Or so she had heard, at least.

So the high pitched scream also echoed through the forest and Elizabeth hugged herself. Then, remembering that there was a sword beside her, she quickly leaned over and grabbed it, now hugging the sword. She didn't stand up, in hopes that the ogres wouldn't notice her. How that logically made sense ofter that scream of hers is unknown, but Elizabeth's mind is a bit strange. She looked up at Thrivaok's back, and hoped that he was strong enough to defend against those horrible beings in front of them. Even with that injury of his.

Normally, she might have gone for Snow and took off. Unluckily for her, the horse was between Thrivaok and the ogres. And while she might be awake, Snow was as frozen as a statue. Partially because she was scared out of her horse mind, and partially because she was hoping (like Elizabeth) that the ogres wouldn't notice her if she stayed still.

Ripfang... that must have been the cat from earlier. Thriv took a step closer to the pair and grit his teeth. "I said stay back. What do you want? Food? I've got some spare beans and chicken. You can have that, but you're spooking the horses-" well, horse would have been more accurate, as Spire looked completely calm about the situation. If anything Elizabeth's screaming bothered him more than the ogres. "-so we can't let you share the camp."

The ogres, meanwhile, growled, covered their ears, and howled at the scream. "Arggh! It hurts Mug. Make 'er stop!" Crug cried.

Mug glared at Thriv and Elizabeth, stomping forward menacingly. "Get ou' of the way, tiny-man. Tiny-girl shut up! Or Mug'll crush you!"

Thriv didn't budge from his spot, though he didn't know how much good he could do here. "Elizabeth," he whispered. "Try not to do that again." He didn't mind fighting if need be, but this was far worse than the cat had been. Best not to tick them off if they could avoid it.

Crug, while his larger, uglier friend worried about the screaming girl, was looking at the ground. More specifically, at the trail of blood Thriv had left on the way. The knight could almost see the wheels in the monster's head turning. Slowly, slowly, this wasn't good, and... "He's da one! Look Mug! Blood! He's da one who 'urted Ripfang! Should we smash 'im?"

Elizabeth trembled as the ogres spoke. She had made them mad at her, which freaked her out. But at the same time, she was somewhat proud that she had managed to hurt the ogre, as strange of a method it was. Perhaps it was better to stay quiet after all, Elizabeth decided. Though as scared as she was, she doubted she'd even be able to talk.

Mug turned to Crug and replied, "I dunno, Crug. It cou' jus' be blood from somethin' else." After a moment of pausing, he added, "But I we cou' smash 'im jus' to be safe." A smile spread across his face as he and Crug started walking towards Thrivaok.

Snow was still frozen and Elizabeth was still trembling. Maybe it was all just a bad dream, she decided. All of it. She would wake up in her bed, same as normal. Her dad would be selling potions from his completely legitimate business—the only one he had, of course. And she would get ready for the day, eat some scones, and this would be forgotten by noon. Because dreams are forgotten, and this was just a bad dream. But no matter how much she thought this, Elizabeth knew it wasn't true.

Thriv gulped and hoped his luck from earlier would hold up. If there was only one of them he might have considered fighting, but that was out of the picture with the both of them there. He couldn't run and leave Elizabeth- who looked frozen to the spot, as did her horse... If he could get to Spire he might have a chance at keeping them busy, but he needed to find a way to buy time. They seemed stupid, maybe he could trick them? But how... Thriv looked at the horses, then at the ogres, then... at Elizabeth.

"Stay back! I mean it!" This time he brandished his sword, though his tone was more cautionary than frightened. "This woman is a demon! A banshee! She'll curse you! If she screams again the sound will burrow in your ears, and you'll hear it for the rest of your days! I've seen it drive man and beast alike mad!" It wasn't exactly a great act, but there was just enough panic in the man's voice to make it convincing... plus ogres weren't known for being bright.

That reputation seemed at least partially earned, as the ogres stopped their stomping march towards the pair and gave each other a worried look. "Is dat da truth, Mug? Can she do dat?" Crug shivered. "I dun wanna 'ear her f'rever!"

"Dunno Crug. Dink da little man's lyin', but not sure I wanna chance it..." Mug scratched his head and growled. "Oye! Little man! I dun think she's really a demon! Why're you with 'er?"

...That, was a good point. Thriv grasped at straws, trying to find an explanation for that. Demon, demon... why would a knight be traveling with a demon... oh wait, he was a Mordecai. That worked. "Because I'm immune to her powers! She can't be killed, so it's my job to keep her in line- which you two are interfering with!"

It took all of Elizabeth's will to not defy Thrivaok. A banshee? Her? She was perfect, not a stupid demon banshee. But if she said he was wrong, then they would definitely both die. However, the fact that the ogres seemed to at least somewhat believe him was not very pleasing.

Seeing as she couldn't run and couldn't fight, Elizabeth finally chose to act. While she was still scared out of her mind, the thought of the ogres eating her from dinner was enough to get her to help Thrivaok. So she would go along with his horrible lie of her being a banshee.

Elizabeth undid her bun and leaned her head down so that her hair fell over her face. Then she slowly got up while quietly muttering, "He oh kian wa yi pol twenui kwa..." Her voice was strong but crazy sounding, as if she was actually speaking some kind of spell. She repeated it over and over again, getting fiercer every time but never louder. Elizabeth raised her head (though her hair stayed over her face) and looked Crug in the eyes, still muttering the words. Then she changed her gaze to Mug, a wild smile on her face while she chanted even more. She kept looking between the two of them, repeating the phrase, and planned to continue doing this until Thrivaok told her to stop.

Crug just stared at the crazy banshee lady, terrified out of his small mind. "I dun wanna stay here,  Mug! I dun wanna hear that anymore!" The ogre turned and ran. uprooting a couple of small trees in the process. Mug gave one last look at the pair, growled, and followed suit- perhaps with a bit less terror and a bit more anger. After a few moments, the loud stomping of their footfalls faded into the distance.

"Whew, that could've gone a lot worse. Nice acting, miss Elizabeth. Almost had me convinced." Thriv shot the girl a grin and then looked up at the sky. "Hrm... still dark. You could go back to sleep, or we could get out of here before they change their minds. Your call miss- personally I'd feel a little more comfortable on the road again." Thriv slung his shield over his back and sheathed his sword. He wondered if trouble like this was going to be a regular occurrence. On the plus side, at least his shoulder didn't hurt so much anymore.

Spire trudged over to the pair of them and nudged his saddle, making his vote rather clear. "Think the big guy is with me on this one."

Elizabeth was glad when the ogres left. She felt as if she was going to collapse, but stayed up straight to keep up her 'strong' persona. She silently listened as Thrivaok talked, debating what would be best. While she loved her beauty sleep, she wasn't exactly tired anymore.

"Let's go," Elizabeth stated before folding up her blanket and sticking it in the bag. Then she tied the sword to the horse, like he had recommended. "You owe me for saving your life, though." Technically, he had saved her life, too. And he had saved it before, with the cat. But Elizabeth didn't focus on those parts. That was his job. She did this out of the good of her own heart. If she had just wanted to save herself, she could have convinced the ogres to kill him with that amazing act of hers.

Elizabeth stood by Snow and fixed her hair, putting it back into the nice bun. Then she mounted the horse, ready to move. "I want to sleep at an inn next time," she muttered, mostly to herself.

"They might have one in the next village. We'll see. And if not, the next town probably won't have ogres at the very least." Thriv carefully strapped on Spire's saddle and tossed up his bedroll. The man himself followed a moment later, stretching and smiling. "Well, it's a long way to Essyrn. Let's get moving!" Spire snorted, rolled his eyes, and trotted off, quickly kicking some dirt in the fire to put it out. The knight stopped when they hit the foliage just long enough to pick up his snares- which hadn't caught anything, and then decided they'd best make it a point to keep moving until they were well away from this bit of the country.

Hopefully the rest of the trip would be less eventful- if they kept running into things like giant cats and ogres, eventually something was going to get the better of them. Good practice though, and it'd make quite the story when he went home.

"So, miss Elizabeth, mind telling me a little bit about yourself? You'll probably be stuck with me for company for a good while, after all. Might as well be friendly about it." If the woman didn't want him humming, he had to try and find some way to pass the time. Besides, he was genuinely a little curious.

Might have an inn at the next village? though Elizabeth. What kind of villages will we be traveling through, impoverished ones? Well, anything would be better than staying in the woods. Especially woods infested with ogres. Snow obediently followed Spire. She wouldn't be making an escape like earlier any time soon—now she knew the dangers of the woods and would rather have sacrifices kept with her.

Elizabeth glared at Thrivaok once again when he started speaking to her. "Didn't I say no talking?!" she snapped. She hated talking and had to do enough of it at all of those social gatherings her dad used to have. Pretending to be the perfect little girl was a pain in the butt. Thinking about it now, she wondered with horror of the people she had talked to had also been drug dealers.

With a sigh, she decided to respond anyway. Silence would be unnerving in these woods. "My dad is a potion trader, as I said. My mom died of childbirth, so my dad raised me. Well, he raised me alongside my nurses. I am an only child and am from Serendipity. What else would you like to know?" She never understood why people wanted to know about others. Everybody's life was so boring. She had heard too many of the exact same stories to even care anymore.

Thriv scratched his chin, wondering if she was always this irritable or just in a foul mood at the moment. "Well, what do you think about this whole thing? The trip I mean. Did you want to go? Do you like it in Serendipity? Got any friends back home?" The knight shrugged and turned his head, looking at the faint first hints of light in the distance. Good, they'd not be riding in darkness for too much longer. He yawned- Angsar, he'd just realized he'd not gotten any sleep the night before.

As the sky began to brighten, Thriv noted a small side at the sign of the road. "Medrist, Two days from here. That's probably on foot, so we should get there before we need to stop for the night. Looks like you might have your wish of sleeping in an inn after all!" Thriv grinned and gave Spire a little nudge, telling the horse to put a little more spring in his step.

Thriv was glad of the news himself- he'd been on the road for a good while, and it'd be nice to get a chance to relax and not need to keep an ear out for trouble for just one night. He'd be happy even if it was just a pile of hay some farmer let him sleep on.

Elizabeth kept glaring at Thrivaok as she replied, "Of course I have friends!" This wasn't really true, but she wasn't going to let him know that. "But I don't mind staying with my family. They're... nice." Interesting would be a better description. She sighed. Why did all of this have to happen to her?

At least the light was coming out. She hated riding through the dark woods... it was scary, especially with everything that had already happened. Maybe her bodyguard just attracted bad luck. If she thought he was any smarter, she would have been convinced he was hiring people to attack them just so she had to pay him extra.

The information of an inn did succeed in putting a smile on Elizabeth's face, however. Snow sped up, hoping that there would be a nice stable with high quality apples for her. That being said, neither Elizabeth nor Snow would probably manage to stay awake all day. Not after the almost restless night beforehand.

Thriv caught Elizabeth's glare and just smiled back. It was a good thing she was okay with the trip; he'd have felt terribly guilty if she'd been forced into something she hated. After that he fell silent, once in a while having to resist the urge to hum a tune or pester the lady with idle chatter. This was awkward, travelling in silence with somebody else. If he hadn't been used to travelling alone it would have driven him half-mad.

For now, things seemed they were going to go smoothly. There were no signs of bandits, slavers, giant cats, ogres, or what-have-you. Thriv alternated between alertly scanning the road ahead for currently non-existing signs of threats and thinking on the strategy training his dad had insisted he had; running through games of chess and real life battle scenarios in his head. Though all that would have been visible to Elizabeth was that the young man was thinking really hard on something or other.

Eventually, with a mild grunt of frustration- he'd screwed up badly on that last scenario- the knight looked back to see how Elizabeth was doing. "You alright? You look a little tired back there. Snow too, at that. Oh, here, I've got an idea." Thriv got down off of Spire and offered Elizabeth a hand down. "You get on Spire, get some rest, and then that'll make things easier on Snow. I'll just walk for now."

Elizabeth sat peacefully on Snow as they continued moving. She was quite glad that Thrivaok had decided to be quiet, though the silence was a little creepy in the woods. At least the birds were happily singing. She just did her best to ignore her bad thoughts and focus on her good ones... like buying new dresses when she reached her aunt and uncle's place.

When Thrivaok finally did speak, her mood had gotten slightly better. Of course, for Elizabeth, that barely meant a thing. She glanced at Spire and planned on vetoing his offer. He was a black horse. She liked her horses pure and white, like Snow. But she was tired, and a black horse was still better than a brown one or a splotched colored one. So she accepted his hand (though barely touched it, not wanting to dirty her hands even more) and got off of Snow. Then she carefully got on to Spire, sitting as she normally did on her horse. If this would work on a warhorse would soon be discovered.

Spire was really, really tempted to jump and launch the young woman off his back. It was one thing to give her a short lift back to camp, but to let her ride him for an extended amount of time? Ridiculous! The girl wasn't even riding properly! The charger was just about to jump when he caught a warning lift from Thriv, and the charger snorted and shook his head. Spire never would understand how the young knight put up with people like that. Fine, he wouldn't jump. He would've made it a point to make it a bumpy ride, but then the horse realized that'd just make it harder for Elizabeth to sleep, and he'd have to put up with her longer. Though the charger probably would have been a little bit rougher than Elizabeth was used to; he was trained for battle, not convenience.

Thriv didn't seem to mind the situation much, himself. He had to walk pretty briskly to keep up with the horses, but all that meant was he didn't need to keep his thoughts busy. Besides, it was good exercise. He patted Spire on the neck and grinned. "There you go, big guy. That's not so bad, is it?" Then he patted Snow and said, "And a little easier on you, isn't it?" That imbecilic grin still plastered on his face, Thriv fell silent and just focused on keeping up.

He didn't have to worry about that for long though. Soon enough Thriv gave a cheer and pointed. "Look, smoke! We must be close to the town! Time to find that inn." Thriv quickened his step as the smoke was soon followed with the sight of wooden buildings down the road. Though something about the buildings didn't quite sit right...

Elizabeth couldn't ride too comfortable on the horse, but she decided it would be best to try to get some rest, anyway. Even she knew she couldn't fall asleep sitting how she was, though. She she lifted up her dress, flung her left over the horse, and put her dress back down. Then she laid sideways, propping up her head on her arm that was resting on her leg. It wasn't the best position, but she didn't know any other way to try to sleep.

Just as she was about to close her eyes, she saw the town. And heard Thrivaok sound horribly excited about it. But that was simply illogical. Closing her eyes, Elizabeth stated, "That's stupid. Was the sign that we saw earlier off? There was no way we could have travelled what was supposed to be a two day walking time this quickly—even if we were riding horses."

It was probably just a small town that didn't deserve signs, she decided. And if it didn't deserve a sign it hardly deserved attention. Probably didn't even had an inn.

Thriv scratched his chin. Maybe she was right... but a town was a town, and it was worth having a look. Still, something definitely bothered him about the town, though he couldn't put his finger on it...

As the pair (or quartet, if one decided to count the horses) neared the town- or village, as that might have been the more appropriate term for the relatively small gathering of houses before them- the problem became abundantly clear. "They're huge," Thriv said, staring at the houses which were all twice the size of a human home at minimum. It was almost as if they'd been built for giants... or ogres. Thriv gulped at the thought.

Perhaps it was fortunate for them that none of the village's inhabitants were anywhere in sight. The road down to the village was completely clear, and the knight couldn't make out any signs of movement within no matter how hard he squinted. "I... don't think those are human houses, but..." Thriv looked to either side of the road and noted that it rose to a sharp incline on either side. No going around. Hrm... a suspicious village positioned at the perfect place to discourage finding a different route... something told the young man this was a trap. "...We don't have many other choices."

He was about to suggest turning back and trying to find another way when a booming voice rang out from the hill above them. "Travelers! Guests! Welcome strangers! Not many new faces around here!" The speech was somewhat slow and rough, as if the speaker had to slow to think about what he was saying, but it was certainly a decent example of the common trader's tongue. More importantly, looking up revealed the speaker to be a decent example of an ogre... and an even larger one than the pair they'd confronted before.

The large creature gave a hop, and half slid, half jumped down the slope behind them. The ogre gave a broad grin and a laugh. He was better clothed than the others had been, at least. Where Mug and Crug had simply been covered by crude loincloths, this ogre wore a (very large) set of simple pants... though he still went bare-chested. "What brings ya here? Come, come. You're tired, of course. I can get you food, a bed, rest!" The ogre didn't seem to want to take no for an answer, as he caught all of them up with his massive arms and pushed them along with him.

Perhaps one would have expected Thriv and Spire to fight, or flee, or something, but both of them seemed perfectly okay with the situation. Oh, sure, Thriv was a little nervous, but he'd heard rumors of monstrous races who'd settled down and built peaceful lives, and this ogre seemed to fit the bill. Besides, what was he going to do if he wasn't? The ogre could crush him like a bug before he even drew his sword. Spire, whatever his reasons, wouldn't have run if Elizabeth had told him to- though he did walk slightly ahead of the pushing arm for comfort's sake.

Elizabeth, opening her eyes, gave up on sleeping on the horse. She would just find a nice, comfy bed in this... village? Looking up, she realized just how big the houses were. Her companion seemed to like to state the obvious, seeing as he said just that.

It wasn't until she saw the ogre that she put it all together. While he might look and sound more dignified than the ogres they had met in the woods, she did not think of him much better. She hated ogres. So even though he offered food and a bed, Elizabeth was quite suspicious. He probably wanted to feed them to make them fatter and then eat then while they slept. She shuddered at the thought.

And then he tried to touch her with his arms. She immediately leaned forwards, so that she would be out of his reach. Luckily, it seemed like that Spire had enough sense to walk faster as well. Elizabeth turned towards Thrivaok, her eyes wide. He seemed to be accepting the situation just fine. She mouthed, "Shouldn't we run?" Elizabeth was not going to risk saying that out loud, in case the ogre noticed and decided to eat her then.

Thriv caught the question and glanced at the tree-trunk of an arm pushing him forward, then back at Elizabeth and shook his head. Even if they did get out of his reach, he could probably call for help and cut off their escape. No, either they were friendly or they were feigning it for now... best play along and wait for a better chance.

The pair were led down into the village- right into the middle of it, as a matter of fact. Once in a while there was a glimpse of another ogre in a doorway or off to the side, but they all seemed to be too busy with their tasks to pay any mind to the newcomers. "Most of us are out dealing with a bit of a bandit problem. They'll be back soon," the ogre said with a somewhat unnerving grin on his face.

Thriv scratched his head and gave a puzzled frown. "What bandits would be dumb enough to steal from ogres? It doesn't even look like you've got much here to steal..." The young knight had a point- a quick look across the village would clearly show the houses were somewhat crude, and there certainly didn't appear to be any sort of real wealth.

"It's not us they steal from- they tend to attack the few traders and peddlers who pass this way. They get killed and we don't have access to... what's the word for it? Goods? Supplies? Supplies, that was it." The ogre stopped the bunch in front of a building slightly larger than the rest right in the center of the village. He gave a half-bow and gestured towards the door. "Here we are. This is my home- we've got a spare room, can put you up for the night. I've got a bit of goat meat left, and there's a grassy bit nearby for your horses."

Elizabeth glared at Thrivaok when he shook his head. She could tell what he was thinking, but it didn't matter to her. Surely he could distract the ogre while she ran, if nothing else? But she knew that Spire wouldn't listen to her. With a sigh, she wondered why she let Thrivaok convince her to go on his horse.

Elizabeth, unlike Thrivaok, didn't question the whole bandit problem thing. She just assumed the ogre was talking about bandit ogres. Which they all were, in her mind. But as her companion kept speaking, she started to doubt the ogre's story. And when the ogre paused after saying 'access to', she couldn't help but think he was going to end with food. Because the killed traders couldn't be eaten anymore.

So she threw another worried glance over at Thrivaok. Entering the house, she wondered if the ogre actually expected them to sleep. Elizabeth believed that the second her eyes were closed, he'd snap her neck in half and then boil her. Or maybe he'd boil her alive. She shuddered at the thought. While the ogre could easily do both of those things with her being awake, she didn't question it.

Thriv stopped at the doorway and shot a look back at the ogre. "We'd be glad for the hospitality, but we really should keep moving." He tried to step back around the ogre, but the large creature continued to block the way back onto the road. Thriv peered up at the ugly, tusked face and raised an eyebrow. "Well? We don't really have the option of staying, sir."

The ogre gave Thrivaok a good natured pat on the back- which once again almost knocked him over. "Ah! In a hurry? Sure, sure, I understand. Of course, you have time for a good meal, right? Or at the very least let us give you a few supplies for your trip." The beaming ogre didn't look sinister, but the simple thought of a generous ogre would put anyone at unease.

Shooting Elizabeth an apologetic look, he shrugged and relented. "Alright. A quick meal and supplies, but then we really should get moving." At that, the knight and the ogre both stepped into the oversized building, the former taking in the curious interior. Most of it looked not too different from a typical human dwelling, sparse and without much furnishing, but there were a few animal hides scattered about the place. There was a large wooden table with a few bowls of stew set out on it. Perhaps most notably, the house didn't smell. In fact, it almost seemed to stink less than the average farmhouse.

"Help yourself to what's out, I'll put a pack together for you." The ogre grinned and lumbered off into another room, his heavy footfalls audible all the while. Thriv shrugged and hopped up onto the ogre sized chair, looking somewhat childish with his legs swinging in the air in the process. The knight tentatively took a spoonful of the soup, grinned, and dug in. "This is pretty good, actually. Nothing like back home, but definitely good."

Elizabeth's eyes widened in horror as Thrivaok took a sip from the soup. Her voice frantic but quiet, she leaned forward on Spire towards him and said, "That's probably human!" Then she scrunched up her face at the thought that he just ate that. "Cannibal."

While she was glad the ogre left the room, she was pretty sure he was just getting everything ready for his meal: them. So she had absolutely no intention of getting off of Spire. While she might not like the horse much, even Elizabeth doubted that he'd stay still while being cooked alive. And she knew that the horse was fast.

Snow, the less fast horse, was still nervously waiting to leave by the door. She would've run if she believed she had any chance of getting away. But without this belief, she just stayed where she was, looking at Thrivaok with eyes full of anxiety, just like Elizabeth was.

Thriv rolled his eyes and quickly polished off the bowl. "It's not human, it's beef. Unless people taste like cows- and I don't think we do- I doubt I'm in danger of cannibalism, miss." Seeing as she didn't seem to want to eat, the knight pushed aside his own bowl and reached of the one across the table- which he started on with as much gusto as he always seemed to eat with.

As soon as Thriv finished with that one- an impressive feat given the size of the bowl- the ogre's thudding footsteps came closer once more. "Hah! You've got the stomach of an ogre!" The large creature stepped up to Spire- the warhorse seeming largely unconcerned- and tied a large sack to his saddle. "There, that ought to keep the both of you for a while. If you really have to keep moving, just do us a favor and spread a good word for us along the road, eh? It wouldn't hurt to see one or two more traders pass this way."

Thriv nodded and led Spire- and Elizabeth with him- out the door. "Well that was nice of him, huh? Didn't ever expect to see a nice ogre in my lifetime." Thriv grinned and started back along the road, figuring they'd stick to the earlier plan of letting Elizabeth and Snow get a little rest. Oddly enough, he felt pretty invigorated after eating- and it was a little more than he'd have expected from simply having a full stomach...

Elizabeth gladly let Thriv eat her meal. Even if he was right—which she doubted—and it was just cow, she had no interest eating a meal cooked by an ogre. But maybe she'd have to rethink her plans of traveling with a cannibal.

She squeezed her legs tightly around Spire when she heard the ogre returning. The horse didn't move, to her disappointment, and stayed still even when the ogre set a sack next to her. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was leaning as far away from the ogre as she could while retaining her grip on the horse.

She was quite glad, of course, when they were allowed to leave. She didn't respond to the annoying fool's words. Nice ogre? He was probably still following them, with plans to make her live in fear before being killed slowly. Elizabeth glanced at her own horse, who seemed just as scared as she. Smart horse, she thought. Smarter than that clueless idiot who's supposed to be protecting me.

Thriv, naturally enough, didn't seem to share any of Elizabeth's fears. In fact, he started humming again, and there seemed even more spring in his step than there'd been before. Soon enough though, he stopped his humming and scratched his chin. "Hrm... something's still bothering me about that stew though, tasted like something Father had made for long training days- there was an herb they'd put in the food that kept us on our feet for longer. There was something else about it though... what was it? A reason they didn't use it all the time... Ah well, I'm sure it's safe enough."

As sure as he sounded- and felt- he couldn't quite shake the feeling that the forgotten tidbit was somewhat important. He didn't think the ogre would intentionally cause them trouble, but if he was thoughtless or gave them ogre-sized portions of something... Ah well, he knew it wasn't poisonous, at least, so they'd deal with whatever might come when it came.

"So, if that wasn't the town the sign mentioned, do you want to see if we can reach it tonight? Or would you rather be sure we can make camp before nightfall?" He didn't mind either way, as it wouldn't make a great deal of difference in the long run regardless... though the chance for a night's rest at an inn where he didn't have to keep watch was a nice prospect.

Elizabeth was just about ready to throw a shoe at Thrivaok. Of course, her shoes were much to precious for that and she wouldn't want to dirty them. But his humming was killing her. And when he finally stopped humming, he replaced it with annoying words instead.

Except she realized that maybe the words were important.

There was probably poison in that stew. Nasty ogre poison. And yet the fool ignored this possibility and moved on talking as if nothing was wrong. And Elizabeth was not going to ignore that.

"You idiot, there's probably some kind of poison in there!" Her eyes wide, she continued, "I bet it will make you get super fat until you can't move and then he'll boil you and eat all your meat. You'll have a ton of it since you're fat. And disgusting." She didn't bother responding to his question, seeing as the current problem was much worse.

"I told you, my father had the same thing fed to us, and I'm still here, aren't I? No, there was something else about it that made it inconvenient for extended use. Besides, why would he give us something like that and then let us leave? Our horses are probably faster, so now that he's not right there, we could outrun him if we wanted too." The knight just shook his head at Elizabeth's fears. If there was anything sinister about those ogres, it was more complicated than just bashing travelers' brains in and eating them... Besides, Thriv didn't think there was any reason to suspect them- they'd given him free food and offered a place to stay.

Well, if Elizabeth didn't want to chime in on the other issue, they'd just keep walking for now. If there were any signs of the town, Thriv figured they could keep moving; if not, they could just make camp before it got too dark. Simple enough. But really, what had the reason been? Surely it was significant if it were enough to limit the use of such a useful herb? Thriv wracked his memories, but for the life of him he couldn't quite recall...

"I don't know, maybe your father was an idiot like you!" Elizabeth responded arrogantly. She ignored his first argument of still being alive since she hadn't come up with anything to counter it. "Can I get on my own horse now? Spire is making me feel sick." He didn't walk as smoothly as Snow. Plus, it hurt to sit how she was: normally.

Not knowing what else to think about, her mind remained on the herb from the stew. While she didn't necessarily care about Thrivaok's wellbeing, she certainly would prefer her bodyguard to stay alive at least until she could find a better one. But being a potion maker's daughter, perhaps she would know the herb he was talking about.

"That herb," she started, speaking a little more gently. "What did it look like?"

At the comment about his father, something in Thriv's head snapped. He didn't care if she were a whiny brat, he didn't care that her comment was more ignorance than anything else, he didn't care that he was technically supposed to be protecting the girl; that was over the line. The knight wheeled mid-step, glaring at Elizabeth with the same sort of ferocity that had let his father scare off entire groups of bandits without a fight. Even Spire flinched almost imperceptibly away from the young man.

"Let's get one thing clear, miss- I don't care if you insult me, I don't care if you make demands that would make a princess sound humble and hard-working, and I don't care if I'm traveling across most of the world just so you don't get yourself killed." Thriv took a step closer, putting him right next to the saddle. "But my father was and is a hero. He risked his life time and time again to protect complete strangers, he slept out in the cold when the local taverns didn't have enough room for his men, just so one more could have a bed; he's faced monsters that made that cat look like a newborn kitten for the sake of small, out of the way hamlets. I may not deserve to be his son, but while I carry the sword he gave me there's not a chance in Angsar's name I'll let you insult him." Thriv leaned in closer and clenched his fists. "Are we clear?"

Elizabeth visibly jumped on Spire when Thrivaok glared at her. It was as if he was burrowing daggers into her skin, piercing her veins. And when he started talking, she leaned slightly backwards, as if trying to avoid his words. What he said meant little to her, but how he said it frightened her. But more than fear, she felt irritation.

Now moving back forwards so that she was sort of leaning over him, Elizabeth replied, "You can NOT tell me what to do. You are my client, and nothing more. And sure, brag about your father and all. But have you felt the pain that I have? What would you do if your father actually did it all out of greed and lust—not to help people?" Her voice was slowly raising. "What if he was just using all of his men, trying to win their confidence with lies and petty deeds? And then you found this out, after everything you believed? Would you waste your time worrying about other people?!" At this point she was shouting. Then, getting almost as quiet as a whisper, she said, "Maybe you would. But you can't expect me to."

Elizabeth sat up straight, her sad eyes lingering on Thrivaok's before looking at the sky. She took a couple of deep breaths, moved around a little in her saddle, and put on a smile. The only sign that she was still agitated (ignoring the fact that Elizabeth doesn't normally smile) was how hard she was clenching the reins.

Thriv kept his glare leveled at the girl, wanting to yell at her that firstly, 'client' implied she was paying him, and secondly, even if she had paid him, hired bodyguard wasn't the same as a servant. What she said next gave him pause, however, and he remained silent until she'd finished. For a moment a look of pity crossed his face- he may not have understood exactly how she felt, as her problem was the opposite of his own, but the young knight figured he could guess well enough.

Taking a deep breath, he let go of the saddle and stepped away, starting off down the road again- with Spire following a moment later. The man's eyes were practically glued to the ground as he mulled things over in his head. His father wouldn't leave Elizabeth to get herself killed or kidnapped by bandits, he knew, but after that outburst she might very well not want him around any longer. "Hrm..."

Well, no sense in dodging the issue. Thriv tapped Spire's flank, and the horse drew to a stop. "Alright," the man started, doing his best to keep a calm voice. "You need a bodyguard, and I need a quest, so if you're still willing to have me along, I'll do what I can to keep you safe- but you aren't paying me, so I'm not working for you. I'm doing it as a friend, or, if that's not how you want to think of me, as a knight-in-training." He held out a hand and grinned. "Sorry I upset you, Elizabeth. I'd never hurt a lady on purpose. I'll forget what you said about my father if you don't hold my own words against me.... The trip will be long enough as it is, we don't need to make it seem longer by being at each others' throats."

Elizabeth's fake smile did little to cheer her up. It reminded her of all those annoying parties she had to go to, the same smile plastered on to her lips. But now, now she would give anything to go to those parties. She would have kept dwelling on this thought, though there was nothing she could do to change it, but Thrivaok interrupted her inner sulking.

Spire suddenly stopped, which almost made her lose her balance. She listened quietly as he spoke, his words seeming sincere. Normally when people apologized to her it was words full of lies, or fear. But not his.

"Hmph," Elizabeth started, not wanting to show that he actually got to her a little. "I guess it's fine—but just this once. However, I do think you're mistaking something: I was going to pay you. It's only the noble thing to do."

Thriv shrugged. "I never asked for payment, but I suppose that can be settled once we get there. Now, you wanted back on your own horse?" The knight held up a hand to help her down and glanced about the side of the road. Now that that mess was defused- or at least seemed to be- his instincts were telling him something else was going to go wrong. Whatever it was though, he couldn't see any clues about it. Not only that, but he still couldn't remember what the herb did- oh right, hadn't Elizabeth asked about it before the incident?

"The herb was dark green, tends to grow in high places, and had small prickly bits near the base. Tastes pretty good if it's cooked right. Other than that, I can't tell you much about it." Maybe it mucked about with one's bowels? No, no, that wasn't it. Thriv could feel the answer darting just out of his mind's reach and grimaced. "Does that ring any bells? If not, I suppose we'll just have to find out the hard way."

Elizabeth hesitantly took the knight's hand. It wasn't the cleanest thing, but she wasn't confident of her ability to get off a horse when her legs were straddling it. She didn't mention any more about paying, but still planned on compensating him somehow. It wasn't good moral to not pay people for their effort.

After getting down, she released her grip of Thrivaok's hand and listened to his description of the herb. "That could be a ton of things. But my guess is that it's only dangerous if it isn't cooked right, otherwise it's perfectly fine. There are a lot of herbs like that. You can cook the poison out of the poison out of them, but it's a gamble in case you don't cook it long enough." And if the ogre didn't cook it long enough... well, that would be a problem. She would be without a bodyguard.

"Oh, well, the stew didn't taste like there was anything wrong with it, and I don't feel ill." Thriv shook his head and slung himself up onto Spire. "Hopefully it will be perfectly fine... I hope. No sense in worrying about it now though, seeing as there's nothing we can do." Giving the charger's flanks a kick, Thriv and the horse got going once again.

Thriv did a little bit of mental math, and reasoned that they should actually be reasonably close to the next town- enough to get there before nightfall- assuming the earlier signpost had been accurate. While he personally felt like he could sprint through the night, himself (though he knew well enough the boost from the herb would wear off soon enough), he expected Elizabeth would appreciate it a lot more than a bed made of dirt.

"So, anything I should know as a bodyguard that's not come up yet? Any phobias? Besides bugs, I noticed that one. Anything you're liable to get yourself in trouble over?"

Elizabeth felt uncertain that it was smart to trust Thrivaok's lack of caring, but figured he would say something with that annoying voice of his if he started to feel sick. Then she might be able to diagnose him and give him a potion or something. Until then, he wasn't her responsibility. But she was still his.

She climbed on to Snow with no problems and sat like she normally did. Now that they weren't running, she wasn't worried about stability. Looking down at her dress, Elizabeth scoffed at herself in disgust. The dress was covered in dirt and needed a good washing.

Thrivaok's voice caught her a little off guard, even though it seemed like he was always talking. "Hm? Oh, I have tons of phobias. But they all are reasonable, of course," she snottily replied. Reasonable was very subjective in this situation.

Reasonable phobias, right. "Well, could you tell me some of the more common ones? If we get into trouble somewhere, it wouldn't be great for a plan to fall apart because you saw something and panicked. Besides, if I know about them, I can deal with them." By now Thriv had just about given up trying to figure out what the possible side effects were, as it was entirely possible he'd not had enough for it to matter anyway.

As the pair topped a hill, Thriv grinned and pointed down ahead. It was far off, barely visible really, but the outline of a town could just be made out in the distance. There were quite a few hills, and the road winded quite a bit, so it would probably take a while to reach it, but it was visible. "Hah! I'll bet you that one can't be full of ogres. Not a bad sized one either, by the looks of it. Probably big enough to have an inn."

Thriv peered ahead and thought for a moment, then nodded. "I'd bet we can make it there just after nightfall, if we move quick enough."

Elizabeth searched through her mind, trying to find all the phobias she had. Some were bigger, some were smaller. Some she didn't realize she had until she came to face them. For instance, she learned that she was afraid of rain while she was bathing. Because if there was rain, there could be lightening. And if there was lightening, things could get ugly quickly.

She was just about to list some of these phobias off when she saw the town in the horizon. It seemed so far away, but she was determined to make it there that night. Sleeping outside of an inn again was not her preference. At all.

"Well let's get moving, then!" stated Elizabeth as Snow moved to do the exact same thing. "And I'm scared of bugs, ghosts, spirits, fae folk—especially fairies, with their disgusting wings, being underground, tight spaces, lightening, dark forests, and much more. Any specifics you'd like to know about?"

Hrm... that was quite the list, Thriv thought. The ghost bit was understandable- he wasn't sure exactly what he'd do if he had to fight a ghost himself. Would a sword pass right through them? Or would it hurt them? But how would that work, if a ghost didn't have a body- Thriv shook his head, he was getting away from the point. Alright, those phobias he could probably handle without too much trouble. There was one thing that didn't quite seem right though...

"Why fairies?" he asked. "I mean, I don't really trust magic, but I don't see any reason to be afraid of them. It's not like they could really hurt you- well, I guess most bugs can't really hurt you either, but still..." Thriv scratched his head. It just didn't make much sense to him.

Thriv's armor clanked a bit as he shifted in the saddle and looked around. Something wasn't quite sitting right with him. He had a gut feeling that despite the sun setting out ahead of them- which, he noted, wasn't a bad view- the day was far from over. And once again he had no idea of the why or what of it.

"Why fairies?!" asked Elizabeth, clearly outraged. "Have you seen them?! They have their disgusting wings and they're mischievous little twits that want nothing more than to harm you. I refuse to be in the same building as one of those things. Everybody from Serendipity knows better than to trust them—but I'm one of the few that know how dangerous those things actually can be."

Elizabeth stuck her chin into the air, not willing to accept an opinion other than her own. She was right, and that was that. Unlike Thrivaok, she didn't even notice the pretty sunset. Or, to be more accurate, it wasn't anything special. A sunset was a sunset and they were supposed to be pretty. It was merely as it was supposed to be.

Thriv just shook his head and decided not to comment. He'd always thought the Serenian prejudice against the fae was odd. Even the Connlaothians, with all their hate of magic (which he didn't entirely understand either) didn't dislike the fae that much, so long as they refrained from actively using their magic. Ah well, it was unusual, but based on what he'd heard of the world, so were a lot of things. Besides, they probably wouldn't run into any fae, so it wasn't worth worrying about.

"Well, enough about the phobias. How about something else we'll have to deal with eventually- money. Should we just worry about our own provisions, or what? I've got a little bit of money from when I left home still, and a few bits I picked up along the way. How well stocked are you?" Thriv didn't think Elizabeth would want too pool resources, but it was worth knowing how long what they each had would hold out anyway.

Elizabeth merely ignored Thrivaok's head shaking. Obviously he didn't understand the dangers of fairies. So if he got killed by one, it wasn't her fault. She warned him.

But then he brought up money. Honestly, she had planned on paying him with the money her aunt and uncle had. Her dad promised her that he had at least snuck some of his money over to them for her use only. The money that was actually inside her pockets and bags, however, was very limited.

Not wanting to let this fact be known, Elizabeth covered, "Why, do you want me to pay for all of your meals? Too bad for you, but I don't donate to the poor. We can buy our own stuff." But she wondered how much she'd actually be able to buy. Good food was expensive, nice dresses were expensive, lodging was expensive. Or so she was told. Everything had always been bought for her before.

"I wasn't asking you to pay for my food; I was trying to make sure you wouldn't run out and I'd have to take care of both of us." He'd told the woman he'd wanted no payment, why would she think he was asking for a handout? Thriv decided to write it off to the woman's normal attitude and not to worry about it. In the worst case scenario, they'd just rely on his snares and whatever they might catch for food, and just not sleep in any inns.

The knight stretched and felt at the straps of his armor. Normally he had no problems going all day in the chainmail, but it had been an eventful two days, and he'd be happy to get a chance to rest. Tugging at the leather keeping his shoulder plates in place, he pulled off the heavy sheets of metal and dropped them in one of his empty saddlebags- presumably where he'd normally store the entire set. "Ah, that's much better."

Elizabeth just huffed at Thrivaok's words and went back to daydreaming. She was attentive to what was happening, but didn't really care. She questioned her bodyguards decision to take off some of his armor. What if somebody shot an arrow at his shoulder? Oh well. She shrugged the idea off, deciding that it wasn't anything important enough to bother her.

She thought back to the days in which she used to watch the peasant kids fight over food. Occasionally she would bring them an apple or a loaf of bread and pass her time by observing how they split it. On rare occasions, they would actually split it. But more often than not, they'd fight amongst themselves. Humans were greedy creatures, after all.

Elizabeth was snapped out of her thoughts when she thought she heard a branch snap. Her head snapped to the right but all she could see was open grass and some rocks. The hills from where she was to the village weren't covered in trees, thank goodness, so she had a clear view. Not seeing anybody, Elizabeth decided it was probably just the wind and she returned her gaze forward again. But then she heard another stick snap.

Thriv had let himself get relaxed in the saddle. There was no danger of anything ambushing them there, and he was tired. So it took him a moment to register the sound of a snapping twig. When he did, however, it woke him in an instant. The young knight spun in the saddle, looking about frantically for whatever the threat was. "What? Who? Where?" After about ten seconds of seeing absolutely nothing, he looked to Elizabeth and asked, "You heard that too, right?"

Then there was another twig snapping, and he spun back to once again face down... a whole lot of grass. What was that? He heard another noise behind him, from another direction, but before he could turn to look a loud thud reverberated through his skull, followed by another as the rock hit the ground.

Slowly the man slumped in his saddle, sliding out of the stirrups and gradually, gradually getting closer to- whump- there he went. On the one hand, the young knight was lying out cold- and possibly worse- on the ground... on the other hand, his armor did clank rather amusingly as he went down. As soon as the man went down, a figure rose from the grass on the other side of the road and let out a whoop...

Elizabeth was glad that she wasn't the only one who heard the noise. It meant she wasn't going insane. Actually, once she thought about it, this was probably worse. If they both heard the noise, that meant there was something there. A shiver went up her back as she realized this.

Her searching around was as frantic—if not more frantic—as Thrivaok's. However, she saw just as little as he did. She heard a thud and looked his way, but there was nothing to be seen except him sliding off his horse and onto the ground. But then she heard a cry and turned towards the person making that sound.

Or rather, the dwarf making that sound.

She couldn't help but chuckle. Her bodyguard had just been taken out by a man that was barely growing a beard and couldn't have been taller than three feet. Well, maybe that explained why he could hide so easily. Or, as Elizabeth soon discovered, they could hide so easily.

Another dozen dwarves started coming up out of nowhere around her. Snow instinctively walked closer to Spire as the dwarves started getting closer and closer to them. Their presence was intimidating, even with their height being so small. Elizabeth was wondering why they hadn't taken her out, as well, until she realized that maybe her previous assumption had been wrong.

These weren't male dwarves.

They were female dwarves with beards.