XVI

The rest of the night and the next day proved to be rather uneventful. There was a lot of riding, interspersed with walking so they wouldn’t overtire their mounts.

And there was a lot of complaining as well. Most of it was from Lev, as usual, but Dell and Sorika had spatted multiple times.

Fortunately they hadn’t dragged anyone into their arguments. At least, not at first. But they seemed to be getting worse. Yoreno felt… what did he feel?

Embarrassed.

He was a bad leader. He knew how to give orders, how to scout monster dens and bandit camps. He knew how to assess a dangerous situation and to give orders to each member for the best outcome for the group.

But this?

He had no idea what to do.

Dell was his friend. And Sorika was also his friend. They both wanted something. Dell wanted to do what he always did—to be an adventurer, and recently, a knight. He had duties to the kingdom of Aevalin.

Sorika was much the same, except she was not a knight. In fact, she was a rather reckless adventurer. A rogue, she often tracked dangerous pray, got up close and delivered critical blows, often felling beasts that Yoreno and Dell—or even the others, couldn’t fell so easily.

Her position was not one of safety.

But by using himself as bait, and trusting the rest of the Emblazoned Party to be there for him, both implicitly and explicitly, she had taken issue with that.

At least, that’s what Yoreno understood from what Dell had told him. Their quarrels had been mostly hushed whispers and occasional exasperated outbursts through clenched teeth.

Yoreno rode up next to Mai. “What in the hells am I supposed to do about those two?” he asked and jerked his head subtly in Dell and Sorika’s direction.

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She looked at him. “Yor, you have to let them sort it out on their own.”

“What if they endanger the group?”

“Then you can do something about it.”

“Are you telling me I should wait until after a problem arises?”

“Yes.”

“What if that problem gets somebody killed?”

She clearly took pause at that.

“Have you not given that thought?” he asked.

Her eyes widened somewhat and her look seemed to be one of mild shock. “I guess I haven’t thought of it like that,” she said. “Yor, now I feel dumb.”

He shrugged as if to say he was agreeing with her.

“Hey!”

“Sorry,” he said, realizing she had misunderstood his mannerism. “Listen, we should do something.”

“We?” she asked, glancing back toward Dell and Sorika. “You’re the leader of the Emblazoned Party. And the leader of the Roaming Lions, I might remind you.”

“Let me handle it,” Lev said, breaking into their quiet discussion.

“Absolutely not,” Mai said with a shake of her head. “You’d probably make them start attacking each other with their weapons drawn.”

“Well,” he said, “if they kill each other that might solve our problem.”

“This is no matter for jests,” Yoreno said.

“Yeah,” Mai added. “What’s wrong with you?”

“What?” Lev asked with a shrug. “I’m a commoner. I have a commoner’s rough edges.”

Mai frowned. “Still jesting, I see.”

“I can’t help it,” Lev said. “I’ll leave you two to it.” Then he booted his horse and put some distance between them and himself.

Yoreno sighed heavily. “I’m about to go over there and give them both a talking to.”

“Wait,” Mai said. “Wait until next time we make camp.”

He waited a moment, then he decided that would be best. “All right.”

“We’re almost at the dungeon, right? This just isn’t the time for all of… all of this.”

“You’re right,” Yoreno agreed. Then he turned to the group. “We’re getting close to the dungeon!”

Dorrin jerked awake.

Lev laughed. “Hells yeah!”

Dell and Sorika broke apart and glanced up at Yoreno and Mai riding abreast of each other. Then they kicked their mounts and came up side by side.

“So,” Dell said. “We find that Yarsha adventurer and—“

”And torture him until he tells us where Lady Dantera is!” Lev said loudly.

Yoreno would have laughed, but he was the leader of the group. He had to maintain a higher state of dignity than that.

“Short of torture, we find out if he knows anything concerning Dantera’s location,” Yoreno said.

“Awe,” Lev said. “That’s no fun.”

“Gods,” Sorika breathed. “I do hope we find her.”

At first Yoreno wondered if she spoke like that because she wanted this close-knit travelling with Dell to end, but her demeanor didn’t speak to such. She was genuinely concerned for Dantera.

Good.

“We’re going to find her!” Yoreno called. Then he booted his mount a little faster.