***
Walter looked back at a stoic Commander Gallion and his soldiers and sighed. These five had come out of the Emperor's shed quite dark. He himself had walked that road, even farther than they had, yet they seemed darker than him. Their stern faces gave off a dark aura to those who gave way as they rode past. It did not help that they were dressed like death gods, covered from nose down in all black either. Seeing them change so much made him wonder if he changed at all. He still felt like himself. The occasional nightmares were normal; still, he did not feel he was much different. This made him wonder what that meant. Was he dark in mind all along? D'huile was his usual self. He followed behind Walter barely saying a word.
"Are you not curious where we are going?" he asked him.
"I know where," D'huile answered.
"I instead, am the one without a clear understanding," Walter commented.
"The crossroads. When we get to the crossroads, you will be the one to tell us where to go," D'huile answered.
"Well, that's half true," Walter said. He immediately thought of the spirit which had not spoken to him since it spoke to Lady Wickshire and sighed. He wanted to ask where they would be going but did not know how to communicate with it.
"What about you, Gallion? Are you not curious?" he asked a question he already knew the answer to.
"Yes, I am," Gallion answered.
"You always are. It is in your nature," Walter commented.
"What kind of job will we be doing, my lord?" Gallion asked.
"Curious about what the profit will be like?" Walter slightly teased.
"No,"
"Of course not; you and the boys wish to be amongst the important, not just some guards in a boring city. You wish to be in the know and thick of action. How does it feel?" Walter asked, but Gallion did not respond. He was not sure how to. Lord Steinhouse was right. When they were on standby in the capital, they would see those guarding great figures and wonder about the kind of adventure they had by their master's side.
Once, he saw the leader of the Jade hand when he passed by him. He never felt so low before. They were those who were privy to the secrets of the world, he was not. He had long found out Lord Steinhouse understood this need inside him and his men. That was why they stepped into the Emperor's shed. In truth, they never really came out. When they closed their eyes to sleep, they returned to the shed for some reason. They had not had the time to ask the lord about this.
They felt they had chosen right. After all, others were at home, probably back on standby while they were here in another realm.
"Don't worry; it will be much more fun than the Emperor's shed," Walter said and they swallowed.