Busy days

It had been a busy two days for Alexis, running all over Ostiarium to secure the provisions and equipment they needed to get through more than week’s worth of wilderness travel.

She had taken into account the additional time that bringing fledgling riders and a cart brought into the equation and weighed that up against the luxury of having both a talented huntress, and a talented forager, if need be.
Calculating with some wiggle room, she put emphasis on durable food, so if they were particularly lucky with the on travel hunting and foraging, they could still use them on the subsequent exploration of the Fang.

With both Boyce and Nicolaus having their sights set on the ruins rumoured to be found there, she kept that in mind when she acquired the necessary equipment.
The exploring was something she was looking forward to as well. She had been drawn to mystical and mysterious places ever since she was a child. Alexis wondered what they might learn along the way, of this lands and the people that inhabited them.

Remembering her last trip to the Fang, she also made a trip to the harbour. If Nicolaus and Boyce wanted to swoon the mountain tribes, then bringing gifts would help. A lot.
And those guys really seemed to love pearls. So she made sure she got some of those.

Finally, on day two, when the deliveries had all been accounted for and packed, she finally had time for a personal affair.

The mercenary made one last trip to the grove and stone.
She checked here regularly, sometimes accompanying Boyce, but more often on her own, looking for signs of activity and passage. It might be the one regret she had leaving. She felt unreasonable responsible for this place.
As per usual, there was nothing to find.
So far so good. In the uncanny calm of the grove Alexis finally acknowledged it might be high time to take a breather after the hustle and bustle of preparation. So she did.

Letting her mind wander she thought about how this journey was going to go.
She was expected to lead this expedition, at the very least the travelling part, but she was pretty sure that most of her companions were used to strike out on their own, rather than in a team.
Maybe some briefing was in order.
And she supposed she might have to give them a fair warning of her own ‘quirks’, as some of the more charitable members of her old band had put it.
Though she had the good hunch that those might be less of a problem with her current group than it had been with what had been left of the Wulvers.

Other than that, she would gladly leave all the talking with the Odonine to Boyce and Nicolaus. She really hoped she would not have to duel herself through several clans for the right to carry weapons as a woman.
And speaking of women carrying weapons… she would have to warn Islana about their less than favourable stance on that matter. Also, they would be close to the war zone. Their self defense lessons were fine and good, but… she wondered if she could interest the young woman in adding a melee weapon with some reach and good defensive properties to her arsenal.

Following that train of thought, she also came to the conclusion that she needed to inquire with Boyce and Gonyaul about their own martial capabilities.
Islana’s and Nicolaus’, she had seen both in action. Boyce, as a renowned explorer was sure to be able to hold himself, and even peaceful Gonyaul had been capable to fend off an attacker with murderous intent. But she needed to get a better picture.
They would not be looking for trouble, but trouble might very well find them, and the mercenary needed to know what she was working with in case of emergency.

With some more bullet points added to her task list, Alexis took her leave from the grove, taking some extra time to find a sturdy tree sapling about Islana’s height on the way back.
For herself it would be to short for its intended use, but it would still serve just fine as a thrown weapon, should her piuthar bheag really not be interested.