World Walk

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lostfaith

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((This is a re-do/continuation of a previous RP, so the beginning is slightly abrupt.))

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Laurelle looked around the room at the unconscious guards. One of them was slumped against the wall, both legs bent at odd angles. Another lay facedown where he landed after being thrown into the air. With Skye's help, she and Demi had downed a total of four. They stood in the grand hallway preceding the "throne room" of this keep. She had been traveling with Demi, whom she had known for a few months now since she had run into her while on a heist in Estillia. The pair were making their way across the Fragments to reach Magus' Tower, but they had come to a mountain pass blocked by this fortress. With no other way around, they had broken through the gates and decided to go through it. What they found had been a girl in silver armor blasting her way through the foyer of guards with wind magic. Opting to help, they had learned that she was an Estillian knight who had been betrayed and then captured by this warlord, Keyer. She had introduced herself as Skye. The group had made their way to the back of the keep but found the gate locked and magically warded. Interrogating a guard had revealed that it was Keyer himself who had cast the spell, so he had become their target. Now he was just beyond the double doors that lay before them.

"Let's not keep Keyer waiting." Skye said, jogging toward the doors. She tried to push one open, but it wouldn't budge. "They barred it." She observed. "Not a problem." She stepped back and spoke a slightly longer incantation. The doors in front of her practically exploded inward with a crack of magic and a rush of wind. Splinters flew and scattered about the room, all that remained of the ornate double doorway.

The throne room was practically a wide hallway, strewn with black carpets and with a myriad of weapons hanging on the bare gray stone walls. Across the way was a harshly plain oversized gray chair. In it sat a man wearing an old suit of chainmail that looked far worse for wear. He wore a full helmet that covered his face. Leaning on either side of the throne were a hand-axe and a shield, neither very notable. Two last guards stood in front of the warlord, wearing heavier armor than their counterparts earlier and carrying greatswords. They stepped aside as Keyer stood, taking up his arms.

"You're more trouble than your worth." The warlord said. "I should never have accepted that fool knight's deal." His tone was angry, although Laurelle could not see his face through his helmet. "But if you surrender now, I'll still let you live--if you survive until my ransom arrives." He laughed.

"Fuck off." Skye said bluntly. It wasn't a phrase usually uttered by Estillian knights. She spoke a single word and the entire enemy party went flying in various directions, the carpets of the room being thrown into the air with them. Keyer yelled a spell that righted himself and his lackeys, allowing them to gently fall to the ground. Laughing again, he ordered his henchmen forward. Both of them cast spells as they charged, surrounding themselves with a flickering oval of pale light; likely a protective spell.
 
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Geez, what an underwhelming throne room, Demi thought to herself as Keyer and Skye had their brief exchange. This guy's treasure stash better not be this disappointing. The bandits of the Fragments were known to relieve whomever entered their territory of their possessions, so Demi remained hopeful despite the lair of Keyer being so overly drab. "Alright, Mr. Guy!" she called out after the two were done, holding her staff outward. It was a simple wooden rod with a metallic mineral of some sort embedded in the tip, made for simple spells, but it suited Demi's needs well enough. "I'm hoping for your sake you'll be a good warlord and show us to your collection after we smack you around a little!" She expected to be more scared, raiding a real live bandit fortress for the first time, but the adrenaline running through her now was thanks to excitement, not fear.

Demi murmured an incantation as she swept her staff through the air in front of her before tapping it on the ground. The staff's stone became charged with electricity as a dark cloud formed around her, tossing her hair in a miniature storm of wind and rain. It was one of her more energy-expending spells, but it would be effective in amplifying the magic of her choice— lightning magic— for quite some time before it dissipated. Casting an experimental bolt at the nearest henchman of Keyer, she was satisfied as it traveled haphazardly in a bright purple arc.
 
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The guard Demi had struck took the bolt in stride, his shield flickering and absorbing it. However, the glow around him weakened, shedding less light as the powerful attack had drained most of its magic. The man went straight for Demi, thrusting experimentally with his blade, seemingly to test her defenses. However, Skye stepped in front of him, her sword colliding with his as she smacked it downward, stopping the attack. She cast a short wind spell, creating a gust that pounded against his shield. It broke with an audible sound like ceramic hitting the floor, and the wind knocked him off his feet. Even that weak spell created a magical "sound" that seemed to thunder in the air around the girl. Gasping, her opponent uttered a spell that sent a barely visible whirling blade of force towards his assailant. Skye stepped to the side, but it nicked her cheek as it spun past, hitting a wall and dissipating. She winced, a steady stream of blood now flowing down the left side of her face.

Laurelle ran past the skirmish Skye and Demi were engaged in towards the other guard. She uttered a spell as she dashed, cloaking herself and her allies in a ward designed to defend against light attacks; it was hard to focus light spells and it wouldn't do for one of them to be blinded. She raised her hand as she almost reached the guard, forming a point in the air between them of concentrated radiance, bursting outward in rainbow colors. It was too intense to look at unprotected. Laurelle knew that concentration was the key to maintaining a defensive spell, and she intended to break her foe's.
 
Visibly stunned at the attack attempt which Skye had so gracefully saved her from, Demi mentally chided herself for not being faster as she winced from the titanic noise of Skye's wind spell. While the storm cloud had a good chance of zapping the armor of whatever enemy drew near, the electricity couldn't stop a blade that was already in motion. Snapping back into focus, she flung another spell at her adversary— an orb of ball lightning this time— as she circled around, meaning to surround him. Demi couldn't speak for Laurelle, but she intended on concentrating on one enemy at a time. Noticing the tell-tale shimmer of a ward around her, she resolved to assist both her comrades no matter the strategy they ended up executing.
 
The man started to utter a spell to defend against Demi's lightning, but Skye threw another gust of wind into his face, and his head snapped back against the floor, cutting off his spell. The lightning struck him square in the chest, engulfing his writhing form in electricity. He screamed and thrashed, but after several seconds lay limp, his armor smoking slightly. Skye grimaced at the telltale smell of burnt flesh. She turned to the other guard just in time to see Laurelle duck under a horizontal swing and come up in front of the man, her hand glowing indigo. She punched him in the face, and he stumbled back, shaking his head. His eyes looked around him frantically, watching something unseen. He yelled, his skin going pallid. Then he dashed out of the room, stumbling over the remains of the door.

Keyer stepped forward, now encased by a glowing red oval. The shield was bright and full, obviously a strong ward. He advanced slowly on Demi and Skye, fire beginning to flicker in the around him. While his face wasn't visible, Laurelle had the mental image of a bearded man grinning wickedly. He seemed like the type.
 
"Heeyy, buddy!" Demi called to Keyer. "Ready to surrender yet?" The self-proclaimed warlord obviously only getting started, Demi's cloud began to rain more heavily as she cast a broad shield of water around her, which stretched toward her comrades a bit. Her staff still imbued with sparks, she sent a small, electrified bolt of concentrated water in Keyer's direction, meaning to test the strength of his shield. And it looked strong, to say the least.
 
Keyer spoke a word as Demi launched her attack, and the fire igniting the air around him coalesced into a wall. The bolt of water evaporating instantly as it got close to it, the electricity dissipating into the air. The fire spread out around him again. The warlord stalked toward her, the flame he was manipulating snaking through the air toward Laurelle and Skye, meant to block their path. Their opponent knew he couldn't fight all three at once, and doubted they would risk jumping through the flames to aid Demi. Skye, however, thrust the fire aside with a blast of wind almost contempously, sprinting toward him. She took an experimental swing at him as she dived in front of Demi. He deflected the swipe with his shield, but it was followed up by a blast of wind that made Laurelle wince, her head ringing from the noise. Keyer slid across the floor about twenty feet, but managed to stay upright courtesy of his ward.

"Cover me." Skye said. She raised her Focus, speaking a slow and careful incantation that caused bits and pieces of Demi's stormcloud to gather around her hand. Laurelle wasn't sure what she was doing, but her attack had broken Keyer's concentration just enough to dissolve the fire blocking her path. She made a pattern like a circle in the air in front of her, her hand glowing in prismatic colors. Demi and Skye were promptly encircled by a ring of light that could have nasty effects to any foe who passed through it. Her allies, of course, were protected by the ward Laurelle had placed on them. Keyer began chanting; a dispel magic spell. It was a lengthy charm, but it would discharge her barrier. Hopefully it would give Skye enough time to finish whatever she was casting. With Keyer focused on his spell, Laurelle took a deep breath, already winded from the spells she had cast. The subtlety and quietness of her magic came with a price. She ran a finger over the tattoo on the back of her other hand, focusing intently. The spell she was casting had no verbal components, so she hoped that the warlord wouldn't realize what she was doing and attempt to interfere.
 
"Man of few words, huh?" Demi continued her attempt at goading Keyer as she noticed another layer of protection placed around her by Laurelle. She had already made up her mind to be the bait. In lieu of other things to cast, she began muttering the incantation for the same storm-cloud spell once again to reïnforce the cloud around Skye.
 
Just as Keyer finished his chant and the barrier around Demi and Skye dissipated, Skye spoke the final word of her own spell. The sound was like thunder at point blank range. Laurelle almost lost her concentration, but she was expecting it, so she held fast. Keyer, on the other hand, was not. He staggered, obviously in pain. Then the spell itself struck him.
The stormcloud Skye had gathered sprung from her outstretched sword to surround him, blasting him backwards with incredible force. He smashed into the opposite wall with a mighty clatter, his shield shattering entirely. The storm continued to hover over him, repeatedly scorching him with bolts of lightning. He stumbled to his feet with a grunt, at least mostly intact, his shield having taken the brunt of the force. Then Laurelle finished her own spell. Keyer let out a blood curdling scream, dropping his axe and shield to the floor. He raised his gauntleted hands to clutch at his helmet, ripping it off and tossing it aside. His features were gruff but fair--he looked more like a noble than a bandit, and he was definitely of Estillian heritage. However, his face was contorted in a horrifying mask of pain, and he clawed at his cheecks with his hands, tearing the skin apart and ruining his visage. After but a moment, he fell to the floor, unconscious and covered in blood.

Skye's stomach churned as she looked at the terrible mess that used to be a face, but she hardened her heart. Determined, she stepped toward him, stumbling slightly, obviously tired from her powerful spell. Regardless, she raised her sword over him.
"S-Skye..." Laurelle wheezed. "What are you doing? He isn't a threat to us...anymore. And when we're done he won't have the resources to continue his plunder."

"An insult to a knight will not go unanswered." Skye replied, her face set. Before her companion could issue a response, the wind mage plunged her sword into Keyer's neck, releasing a spurt of blood that drenched the end of the blade and the floor around the body. She withdrew the sword with a sickening splash, and then turned away, her stomach twisting. Her heart was pounding, and she suddenly felt like throwing up.

Laurelle, on the other hand, was unfazed by the gruesome display. Blood was no great thing to her. She was troubled by Skye's lack of hesitation in ending a life, however. She knew she should have done something more, but she was totally and utterly exhausted. The spell that had ended the fight had cost her a great deal. Wheezing, she leaned against a wall and slid to the floor. Then, her body protesting her extreme exertion, she fell over and passed out.
 
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Demi could only watch the carnage, stunned at just what Skye could do with barely a second thought.
And then Skye turned back as if to ignore the gruesome scene that she had brought into existence.

The nerve.

"... Do you have no restraint at all?!" Demi asked Skye after a moment of dead silence. "How about you take a good look at what you've done?" She made her way to Skye and laid a hand on her shoulder, meaning to turn her around to face the corpse of Keyer. Demi doubted that her hand would remain without being shrugged off, however, so she continued to voice her grievances... although unlike Laurelle's, Demi's issues were mostly economical. "How much could that warlord have been hiding in faraway places? What if he had something powerful he was hiding away for himself?!" Such a waste. Waste, waste, waste.

It happened so fast. Demi imagined that the protests of both Laurelle and herself were nothing more than annoyances to Skye, to boot. The lady knight obviously had her own agenda, and maybe revenge-killing Keyer was justified. But Demi was still perturbed as she left Skye's side to pry a key from Keyer's belt: she had had her eye on it during the battle, but wasn't about to admit it.

"Laurelle?" Demi's friend seemed unconscious as she knelt by her, shaking her a bit. Her hood, shaken loose, betrayed a mess of blond hair falling every which way. She looked so tired and tranquil that Demi was reminded of how tired she was herself. Taking a breath, she got up again, meaning to aid Laurelle but not having the energy to carry her along with the pack on her back already. Instead, she scanned the room quickly to make sure that there were no hostiles left before making her way to the door at the back. She meant to gather enough spoils for herself and Laurelle before warping to Vada with her friend, whom she intended on keeping in top condition.

The key fit the door which presumably led to Keyer's treasure room with no problems. Turning it, she looked to Skye once more. "I'm helping myself to whatever's in here, and then Laurelle and I are warping out. You're welcome to come with us if you want." She spoke as to sound welcoming, though she didn't know if it came across that way. The door swung open with a push, and Demi entered the room wondering if she would find anything worthwhile.
 
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Skye allowed Demi to turn her around, but her eyes were scrunched shut. She turned away and knelt as the lightning mage berated her. "A time like this and you're just worried about possessions?" She murmured in response, barely audible. It was unlikely Demi heard her. Her sword slipped out of her hand to clatter onto the floor, staining a crumpled carpet red. As the other girl stalked off to satisfy her greed, the knight reflected on what had happened, trying to justify the death to herself. Brandt, a high ranking Knight of the Blue Sword, had betrayed her and sold her to Keyer to be ransomed. In the black and white world Skye had been taught, that marked them both as villains, fit only to die. But Laurelle's words still echoed in her head. Was there really a reason to kill him? They only needed to disrupt his operations to end his banditry, and her recent friends only needed a way through the mountain pass, not a dead warlord. The knight tried to put the thought out of her mind. Now that she had escaped, Skye was free to go back to Estillia. Or was she? Brandt clearly held a grudge for some reason, and she couldn't be sure he hadn't slandered her. He had much more influence than she did. She risked being charged with some crime if she returned, the veteran knight's superior political pull outweighing her objections. But where else was there to go? She had the supplies to stay in Zephyrhome for a while, but she couldn't just live there forever.
Skye made up her mind. She stood, picked up her sword, and went to sit by Laurelle while Demi investigated the treasury.

The treasury consisted of two medium size chests filled with Estillian silver and gold coins; a sizable amount, but no fortune. A few low value jewels, like garnets, were scattered amongst the coins. Laying on the floor around the chests were several ornate weapons of Estillian make; a halberd with an axehead shaped like a bird's beak, a bastard sword with a poem etched into the blade, and a dirk with an elaborately carved and silvered handguard. The halberd was clearly decorational, but the other two weapons were sharp enough.
 
Demi stepped about every which way in the treasury like a child in a toy shop. She momentarily sifted through the coins in the chests, taking a few of the gold ones but leaving the majority. If she took every single thing she found, after all, she would be completely weighed down in no time. Thumbing through the gems, she took an amulet that caught her fancy, seemingly designed in the likeness of the same bird that the halberd was based on. As for the weapons, Demi took the dirk, stowing it in a holstered pouch. It would likely come in good use as an actual weapon.

Even the mightiest mountain... She originally intended on leaving the bastard sword alone, but Demi already found herself running a finger along the poem etched on it. ... I'll read it later. Taking her pack off momentarily, she stowed her staff in its slot and produced her rain cloak, which she used as a makeshift cover for the sword as she hoisted it after putting the pack back on. The last thing she needed was to get hurt by the spoils themselves.

"Made up your mind?" Demi asked as she knelt by Laurelle and Skye. She didn't wait for an answer as she concentrated on her Focus and put a hand on each of her comrades, warping them all away to her plane of existence in a moment.

The group appeared in Vada in the entryway of one of Demi's home bases, a small cave which was only one of many pockmarking a nearly-sheer clif. A lizard scurried away from near where they had just appeared, seemingly chuckling to itself as it quickly disappeared into the thick mist that covered the milky landscape like a heavy blanket. Demi put down the large sword temporarily as she picked up Laurelle (easier to do in the lower gravity) and brought her into the abode, placing her on a few blankets laid on the floor. She whispered an incantation to light the few candles in the place with a weak fire spell after depositing her pack. She could go through it later to deposit some of the things that she had found which weren't essential for traveling.

Demi sat on another blanket with the large sword in her lap as she examined it. All around the cavern there were small piles of various trinkets, some strung together as if they were talismans hanging on a shrine. "Oh, Skye," she said, looking up as if something had just occurred to her. "I should probably thank you for saving me from getting sliced to bits earlier. I'm kind of a careless fighter sometimes..." She wasn't quite sure what else to say. Perhaps the opportunity to thank Skye for batting away their opponent's sword earlier had already passed.
"... Want some wine?" And sure enough, she'd produced a bottle from the pile closest to her.
 
Skye looked around at the wealth so blatantly scattered about the otherwise unremarkable cave. It wasn't unfamiliar to her; she had grown up around excessive displays of wealth. She had never seen it so brazenly piled around, though. She refused the wine with a slight shake of her head. She drank from time to time, but she felt like she'd rather have her wits about her at the moment. Instead addressing Demi's previous comment, she said. "Do you see combat often? ...I've only been in a few skirmishes." All she knew about the other girl's past was that she was journeying with Laurelle towards Magus' tower to answer his summons. That had been tempting for Skye too, but she couldn't just give up her role as a Blue Knight. It was looking like a more attractive option every day, though.

Skye suddenly realized she was sweating. Vada was perhaps hotter than she was used to--Estilia was a cold country. She began peeling off her armor, pulling off her gauntlets first and then proceeding to undo various straps around the rest of the suit. Normally it would be extremely time consuming for one to take off full plate alone, but she aided her efforts with a cantrip here and there. Soon she had neatly stacked every piece (except her Focus, which she set in her lap) beside her. Beneath the chainmail shirt and silvered breastplate she was wearing a simple outfit: White shorts and a short sleeved top. The chain was already crafted over padding to protect chafing, so the best outfit under it was something simple that wouldn't stifle the wearer.
 
Acknowledging Skye's shake of the head with a nod of the head, Demi put the bottle back after pouring some wine for herself in a mug which was obviously meant for tea. One cup can't hurt anyone, right? "... Yeah, this isn't the most comfortable place to be wearing armor in," Demi observed as Skye relieved herself of her armor before sitting. Someone in armor would probably be dripping wet from head to toe if they stood outside in the mist for just a moment. "As for combat?" Demi paused for a gulp of wine. "Honestly, that was the biggest bit of field experience I've ever got. I've had a lot of magic practice at my academy, but it's something else to actually put it into practice... So did I do pretty good out ther—" She stifled a giggle as she looked over at Laurelle, who was no exception to Vada's bizarre phenomenon of causing one's hair to perk up in a shape vaguely resembling downy ears, most of the hair escaping the confines of the young woman's hood. "Bad hair days come with the territory here, for whatever reason," Demi observed, shrugging as Skye's and her own hair began to act similarly.

"Hey, Skye? I need to ask you a selfish question," Demi said after sipping wine for a moment. "I've got a friend who joined the Estilian knights recently, and, well..." She looked away momentarily. "You said you were betrayed, and I couldn't help but wonder if he was a member of that same party that betrayed you. Red hair, heavy armor, fights with a curvy sword..." She began listing off characteristics before stopping herself with more wine. "... Actually, probably not," she resumed, sounding unsure. "But he did say he was being sent to the Fragments to subdue some bandits, so I just thought..."

... Shall one day be rent asunder / As the blade of time spares no flesh nor stone... Somehow, Demi felt as though the syllables etched on the great sword were taunting her.
 
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"...Yes, I've seen him." Skye answered. "Taras, right? He was one of the Knights under...Brandt's command, I think." Skye viewed fellow soldiers as more friends than soldiers, so she had attempted to at least introduce herself to all of the other knights in her company. Brandt was a difficult word for her to say, though. Skye had never really hated anyone personally; disliked them, perhaps, but not hated them. Until Brandt. The thought of a knight betraying another filled her with revulsion. Even more so the fact she knew that he'd get away with it, as people would believe anything he said.

"If you're wondering where he was, I don't know." Skye continued. "The last I saw of him was when I was captured."
 
"I see," Demi replied. "I was asking because he probably isn't the type of person to let something like what Brandt did go unnoticed." She hefted the sword off of her lap, getting up again to search for something amongst the piles of stuff laying around. "Might as well renew my wards anyway," she muttered, clearing a space to lay out a piece of rice paper, runes already written on it, as well as an ashen powder which she sprinkled out of a small pouch. Frowning, she cursed under her breath as she realised that there wasn't enough powder left to sprinkle it generously, so she worked on spreading it as economically as possible. Oh well. It'll have to do for now until I can get more, she thought grimly. "I'm gonna do a small ritual real quick," she explained to Skye. "Just to make sure my tracks are covered after all the magic I've used today." After that, she placed a bluish rock on the paper and began murmuring a ritual incantation. After several minutes, the ritual reägents would disappear, a tear ripping itself into the middle of the paper talisman as a light but noticeable wave of pressure radiated upward from it before dissipating.
 
Skye sat back as Demi performed the warding ritual. She hadn't performed a ritual herself besides the one necessary to become a mage in the first place. She knew that she could cast them in a reasonable amount of time compared to others, though; Zephyrome's Essence was very strong. Magic had always come so easily to her she wondered what it was like for people like Laurelle who had a harder time of it. She wasn't sure about the magnitude of the pain spell the tattooed girl had cast on Keyer, but it was obviously very powerful. It had ended the battle easily, but knocked her out. Skye's Connection came with a drawback, however-- every time she cast a spell everyone around her knew. The noise even startled her when she had only just become a mage. Even so close to her, the knight could barely hear it when Laurelle cast. The same could not be said of Demi, however. While not as loud as Skye, she was up there. Normally her Ritual would make so much noise it would burst her magical eardrums, but it was masked in her own dimension, where there was always a buzz in the background.

About the time Demi finished, Laurelle shook from her sleep. She sat up, looking around. She had only been to Vada briefly before, but she recognized it. Skye's presence, however, surprised her. She chose not to comment on it. She shed her cloak, already knowing how hot Vada could be. She was wearing her usual combat suit below it instead of her usual traveling dress--she had changed when she was sure she would see battle. She had gotten into her fair share of skirmishes before. "...So, find anything good in his treasury?" She asked Demi, seeking to break the silence that had started to become awkward.
 
"Welcome back," Demi said to the stirring Laurelle, herself in her blue shirt and brown shorts now as well, her robe placed aside for the moment. Welcome back to Vada or the realm of consciousness: it was left up to interpretation. "This was the most notable thing there," she said, gesturing at the sword sitting in the middle of the loose circle the three in the room made. "Then there was this," she withdrew the embelleshed dirk and showed it off, "and a fair bit of this." She dumped the money and amulet she'd picked up on the floor as well. "I would've taken more, but, well, when you've seen a hundred amulets, you've seen 'em all." The gold coins weren't great in number, maybe twenty, but it was still enough money if for some reason they needed money on their journey... and Demi had no clue what was accepted as currency in the Fragments anyway. "Any of it pique your interest?"
 
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Laurelle looked closely at the dirk, but ultimately shook her head. While daggers were her choice of weapon in combat (if she couldn't use magic for whatever reason), her's were carefully crafted, custom made. They were serrated but not incredibly sharp. They were meant to cause pain, not kill. The fight was usually over when she stuck one in an enemy's belly, but with proper care taking it out and binding the wound it wasn't lethal. "...Thanks." She wanted to thank Demi for carrying her out of the keep, even if it was just the warp to Vada, but she wasn't quite sure how to say it, so just that would have to do.

"Y-you're going to Magus' tower, right?" Skye spoke up. Laurelle nodded in confirmation.
"I'd...like to travel with you." The knight continued. "I can't really go back to Estillia right now, and the summons...piques my interest. I couldn't answer it before because of my role in Estillia, but I guess I'm a free agent now. You wouldn't mind my company, would you?"
Laurelle was slightly wary, but at the same time, she could only make the wind mage care about life if she was nearby. While she was no crusader, Laurelle considered it her duty to educate people like her, especially soldiers, about the value of life, any life. And the journey was a dangerous one; they could use Skye's combat skills.
"I'm fine with it if you are, Demi."
 
"Sure," Demi said to the proposition cheerfully. It was reässuring knowing that she and Laurelle had come out of the fortress with a new comrade, and while she was no thief, Demi considered it her duty to educate people like her, especially fellow Estillians, about the value of things, anything that was rare, magical, or tasted good. "I guess that means we're ready to get going again soon, huh?" Demi didn't mind resting more, but as long as the group had the momentum and morale to keep on traveling, it was best to do so. The other two girls probably knew this themselves without having to mention it.
 
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