“A cave, you say?” Cid said, his fingers rhythmically tapping the top of the table as he and the others sat around the table.

“A big one too,” Jeanne followed.

“How deep do you think it goes?”

“Pretty deep,” she said, “probably where the rest of the bandits are hiding.”

“Hmm,” Cid hummed as he rubbed his chin. “We should probably see what we can find before we move into there.”

“You think someone mapped that place out?” Jeanne asked. “There could be a cave system going for miles in every direction.”

“There could be some effort to survey the cave system inside,” Hypatia said. “More so if there’s a mine there or something else worth noting.”

“All right, Silvius, Hypatia, I want you both to search for anything you can find. If we’re lucky, there’s something in there.”

“Anything you want us to do while they’re taking care of that?” Jeanne asked.

“I think we can take the day and rest. Maybe set up a watch to play it safe.”

“You think the bandits would try something?” Benkin asked.

Cid slowly shook his head. “I don’t think so, but after they hit the farmstead, I’d rather not take the risk.”

“Right,” Jeanne said, “Who do we put on watch first then?”

“Let’s have Ben and Maeryn set up around the barn, you and the good doctor can take the second one after a couple of hours.”

Jeanne nodded. “Got it, we’ll let you know if anything comes up,” she said before turning to the others.

When it was Jeanne turn to stand watch the night had begun to set in, slowly pushing away the receding waves of color from the sun as the star became thicker and brighter in the sky. The coldness of the air chilled her lungs as she tried to push back all the thoughts from the previous days, and the growing concern about what their next move would be.

Jeanne wasn’t used to being in a situation where more of the decisions were placed on her. She found far more comfort in being told to do something and leave the thinking to people who actually cared for the responsibility. This was – more than what she anticipated.

It wasn’t the idea of failing which unsettled her. But what would happen afterwards. Not knowing how many would be hurt or worse if she made a bad call. Even with Cid in charge of the outfit, there was still a measure of responsibility past merely carrying orders. And this truth was beginning to have more of a distressing influence on her.

Jeanne heard the doors to the inn open up and she saw Benkin coming out and spotting her. “Something on your mind?” he asked.

Jeanne shrugged. “Just pondering a thought or two.”

“Ah,” Benkin, “I know that one well. Always seemed to cause more trouble than it’s worth sometimes.”

“Yeah, that’s putting it one way.”

“But, as my father used to say, ‘One who doesn’t plan, can never build.’”

“Was your father a builder?” Jeanne asked.

Benkin hemmed and hawed for a moment. “Not entirely. He was the lord of an archipelago. Many of my people went there after we our homeland was overrun. But that time was before my great-great grandfather’s time before my own.”

“Was a lord?” Jeanne asked.

“Oh he’s alive, I think. It’s been a while since I last saw him. So who knows if he’s still alive.”

“You don’t want to go back?”

Benkin shook his head. “If that was a desire I’d have the chance to fulfill it. No, I have little of that.”

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“I’m sorry to hear that,” Jeanne said, shifting her weight against the wall.

“Nothing to be sorry about, I made my peace with all that a long time ago.”

“So what made you want to take up mercenary work?”

Benkin shrugged. “I guess when I was younger, it was to see the world, test my skills, maybe make a name for myself. I can’t quite remember anymore. Probably just wanted to get as far away from that whole mess back home.”

“That bad?”

Benkin nodded. “There was more infighting and backstabbing between kinsmen than one might imagine.”

“Fair point. Almost ironic how those from the noble class act more like animals than people you find from lower stations.”

“Almost,” Benkin replied. “Though it does help when there’s a sort of acceptance within the group that if you’re going to have any chance of success, you need to pull your weight. You can go about acting like some self-entitled, self-aggrandizing twit and expect to make it past your first year.”

“That’s more than true,” Jeanne replied. “Seen my share of fools find early retirement from being moronic beyond words.”

“Is that what you call it here?”

Jeanne nodded. “Do you have a particular version?”

“Fuckin’ dead.”

Jeanne bobbed her head from side to side. “To the point.”

“I try not to be too around about on those things. Tends to become a distraction more than anything else after a while.”

“So how did you get involved with all this?” Jeanne asked.

“You mean with Sil and Hy? I knew Maeryn a while back. Worked together with her guarding this lord. He was an odd one, thinking there was something or someone trying to kill him at any corner.”

“A paranoid man then?”

“Aye, always had us check out rooms and entire buildings just in case there was a person waiting in the shadows.”

“Not exactly the best way to live.”

“No, no it isn’t. Poor man was too busy trying not to die he forgot how to live altogether. Almost funny.”

“How so?”

“Most people think you and me, with our line of work, we’ve already accepted our end. And they think we’re the only ones who have to do such things. But you find farmers, holy men, artists, even nobles, so obsessed with something they cannot control, they refuse to embrace the moment as if it’s a matter of principle.”

“Well,” Jeanne said, “most people don’t get a chance to move beyond a few miles from their hometowns.”

“Still, even then they worry too much about things they cannot control or will never happen, they prefer to ignore whatever wonders do come their way.”

“I guess not much we can do about that,” Jeanne said.

“No, that is a lesson they should learn for themselves to appreciate it in full. But getting back to your question, the lord was so paranoid he started to question if his own guards were threats to him and so, Maer and I left him to his own devices.”

“And how did you run into Silvius and Hypatia?”

“Maeryn met Hypatia when she was going through the archives at a city we’re in when Maer and I were still working for the noble, and when she left Hy told us about the situation she and Sil were in and asked if we wanted to tag along. We were in need of coin, and they needed people to watch their backs in wondrously dangerous ruins and the rest is history.”

“I guess this was a lot more than what you were expecting,” Jeanne said with a soft chuckle.

Benkin nodded. “A little, but I can’t say it hasn’t been without some excitement.”

“That’s one way to put it.”

“Of course, that ogre was a little more than I was wanting to take on.”

“You can say that again a few times,” Jeanne said, rubbing her side with a hand.

“How are your ribs feeling?”

“They’re hurting less and less with each day. But they still hurt.”

“Maybe the doc should take a look.”

“He does that already,” she said, smiling.

“He thinks you’ll break them again?”

“Partly, though he prides himself on his work and it shows.”

“Fair enough. I’ve met a few who barely give someone a moment of their time.”

“Still, he can be a bit annoying about it, sometimes.”

Benkin chuckled. “I can imagine. Especially when you’re itching to get back out there and chop someone’s head off.”

“I know!” Jeanne said adamantly. “It’s like I’m in the wrong. No harm in showing someone what their cranium looks like after its been scrambled.”

Benkin leaned back, giving her a playful smile. “Remind me never to get on your bad side.”

“Why does everyone keep saying that?” Jeanne asked out loud.

“I think it might be your penchant for smacking things violently.”

“Oh …” Jeanne said, tapping her chin thoughtfully. “You might have a point there.

“I have my moments, sometimes.”