Adriana watches the four as they move amongst the wagons on their horses. She couldn't help but to wonder if they were pushed towards them so much on purpose. Their families were all npcs, so she couldn't help but think that this was their story start. She recalls the mundane conversation of pay and such the evening before. They also showed some of their skills, but Adriana was sure Heith would be a better teacher. That being said, she'll need to remember to consult him about that.
"There's a landslide ahead, Mistress Adriana, Would you prefer we stay on course or take a detour?" Heith questions her, him being in charge of their navigation. He deferred to her still, but was vastly the one in charge of their route.
"Do you feel we may be able to pass the route? If not, please chart us the best course to take instead." Adriana replies as she looks up from writing a new song to consult him. She had watched Jaden ride up and speak with him a moment before, so she assumed he alerted him to the mudslide then. She was happy to have the four as scouts, two would scout ahead and around for them while the other two would continuously ride up and down the row of wagons, making sure all was well. And staying vigilant.
Heith is silent for a while before he switches places with Remy, then rides to investigate the slide with Jaden and Layla. When they return, he tells her "We may be able to pass later tonight if we take the time to move some of the blockage, but we'd also be something of sitting ducks while doing so for hours. Since our speed isn't as important as safety, I feel we should detour towards the Cervitaur settlement of Uradera. It'll be a longer journey, but safer in many terms as fighting is prohibited in the Cervitaur lands, where they have eyes and knowledge of everything within. Cutting through there, we can reach Eclipse Haven without having to leave their territory but for a brief moment."
Adriana feels her heart race, not considering that they could do that before as none of their visions showed that. "I shall consult with the others, so let's take a break. Perhaps you can teach the guards a few things? They appear young and eager, and are rather helpful."
"If that's your wish, I will ask if they'd like to do some spars." Heith replies as he leads them to a turn around point so they can go back, then change course after their break here.
Adriana finds herself idly watching the four spar and soon enough train with Heith, who is a knight that has removed himself from his order and has settled down with Marigold. His skills still shone though and thus, he wasn't a bad teacher for them. Evelynn usually let Rolan take charge of decisions and such, but she was the one that put her foot down about bringing the quartet with them, no room for arguments. This time though, she is similarly to Adriana, simply listening to the discussion as she mulled it over herself. Both of her parents did this, but Rolan tended to already have an idea formed while they didn't. In the end, it was a bit of a stalemate amongst the bickering members.
"We can't stay here, so we need to agree on where to go." Evelynn breaks the silence. "Let's take a vote." This captures their attention as their parents only implemented this in rare occasions. As it was, both arguments were strong. While traveling through the Cervitaur's lands would in theory be safer, they hadn't received any visions about it. Meanwhile, the route they were heading would bring them to Quinn Milbourne, a suspicious character of undetermined intentions with a whole convoy of troops. Neither situation seemed great at this point, and waiting for the four with them to gain their own being was another worry.
"Good idea honey." Rolan says, then looks at the adults, his children. "All in favor of staying the route, raise your hand." Evelynn slowly raises hers after Tamar, Ulysses, and Quinton does. "Those in favor of the new route, raise your hands." Rolan raises his along with Illiana, Helena and Jerald. They all glance at Adriana with frowns as she hasn't raised her hand.
"It seems we're tied, so let's take the vote again." Evelynn states. "Those in favor of staying the route, show your hands." The same members that voted last time raise theirs, then lowers them. "Those in favor or the new route, show your hands." The same ones that voted for this one last time does again.
Adriana sighs, her stomach churning as she slowly raises her hand to vote for the change, knowing this would be a significant decision. This decision would not only affect her, but her family's fates and that was a tough pill to swallow. She only wishes to return them all back to their home, safe and mundane as their previous lives were.
"It's settled then, let's talk to Heith about it." Rolan says, then walks off with Evelynn under his arm. The siblings silently watch them as the kids continue playing and watching the training. Each was lost in their own thoughts and worries, each hoping so desperately that they were making the right choice.
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"We'll need to take this road west to the Espire Crossroads, then head south to Haerndean. I suggest we spend the night there to restock on supplies. We'll go south-east to Uradera from there. As long as everything continues smoothly, we'll continue east, then head north at the Sparrow Roads, and go for a straight run to Eclipse Haven." Heith details to their group as he shows them the path on his map, which they all had their own. "Any questions?"
"Have you been to the Cervitaur territory before?" Illiana asks with a touch of anxiousness.
Heith gives a crooked smile to her. "I have before, yes. They're rather accommodating, so long as you follow proper etiquette. Do not harm the animals, do not harm each other and respect the nature of their territory." He looks as though he's thinking about something. "Also, treat the shaman with due respect."
"How much longer do you think our trek will be with this?" Rolan questions next.
"I think it'll add a week to it if we do constant travel and experience no complications. If we decide to spend any amount of nights at any settlements, then of course it'll take longer." Heith replies.
"Well, will we be heading off after lunch then?" Jerald asks as he finishes copying the route onto his map, handing the pencil back to Luther after he was done. 'Thanks for letting me use your pencil." He ruffles his son's hair with a smile.
"You're welcome daddy!" Luther replies with a toothy grin.
"Yeah, if everyone's fine with that." Heith answers with a smile as he watches their interaction. Everyone agrees to this, so he nods as he folds his map back up.
"Heith, I'll accompany you back to Marigold then." Adriana tells him, walking with him towards their wagon. "How are they at fighting?"
"They're better than I thought they would be, it's obvious that they've had decent training." He pauses and looks at the four that were still alert. "I'll tell them the plan after dinner. Jaden is more of a bow user, so I've been training him up with some dagger use which he's catching onto fairly well. Savannah has a unique style using polearms and hand claws, so she's a fun one to train. Remy is the sword and shield user, he just needs to work on focusing on one opponent while monitoring the field. Layla uses a whip and handaxes, so she's nimble but needs better endurance. All in all though, they're young and easy to train. I think they mentioned the guards being from a big city that trained them before, so that may be making things easier."
"That's good to hear, I know several of us had our doubts. I wish to thank you for all of the training you've been running us through." Adriana tells him.
"It's my pleasure. Honestly, I didn't think I'd be training anyone again, so it's rather a refreshing thing to get back into. I didn't realize how much I've missed it until now with all of this." Heith replies with a hearty chuckle.
Adriana can't help but to smile as they reach Marigold and Rosaline. "I know what you mean, sometimes things go like that and it's easy to not notice some of the smaller things."
Marigold looks between the two, then sighs. "What's the plan now?" She asks, obviously exhausted from little Rosaline having stomach issues that affected their sleeping. They take the time to go over the discussion with her, soon catching her up on everything. She frowns at Heith before saying accusingly "I thought you weren't going to return to the Cervitaur lands! What if Azolla finds you and demands you two marry?"
"I'll have to politely decline and ask for her tribe's forgiveness." Heith replies easily, though slightly worried eyes betrayed his feelings.
Adriana looks between then before groaning out, "Are we really going to be alright?"