For the first couple of minutes that they rode, no one said a thing. This was probably due to Mortis's scolding of Relam right before they left. Though gradually the Hands of Morta started talking amongst themselves and Morta and Mortis started talking too, but Umbren couldn't hear them. The disciples guided the group, while the Hands guarded the rear. Umbren, however, was stuck in between the two groups with Relam. Relam still remained quiet, not yet over getting his task of leading a group of tenebrage taken away from him. If he did talk, he would just be complaining about it, and he couldn't afford to do that with Mortis nearby.

Umbren looked around at the scenery surrounding them, green for as far as the eye could see. It still amazed him just how different this land was from his home, where they even had trouble getting the most meager of crops to grow in their soil.

They currently rode through a clearing where every now and then you spot some elk nibbling on shrubs. The party rode for the town of Sangai. In order to intercept the luxcian caravan that rode there. Though to get there, Lord Mortis decided to cut through the forest of Euma.

The forest of Euma was the same forest in which Yorburn's forces camped before the attack. If Umbren remembered correctly, their forces exited the south side of the forest. Further east of where the luxcian camp was, the forest starts to curve southward. This forces the luxcian caravan to travel to a break in the forest after the curve to go north to Sangai. The Black Crescent, however, decided to cut through the forest in order to catch up with them. This was only possible due to the party's small size.

As Umbren thought about this someone came up next to him.

"You must be the one that Lord Mortis brought along." Said Alsarie

She rode up next to Umbren, and in the daylight he was able to get a better look at her than he did the previous night.

She wore the same dark green cloak, but Umbren noticed some new things. Her eyes were naturally sharp like daggers, but she seemed to try to imbue them with warmth. She held herself with gracefulness and respect. Her hair hung loosely over her shoulders, which was different from most of the other women fighters. Her crescent pupils were also green in color.

"Mistress Alsarie." Umbren bowed his head.

"Oh, so you know my name. How is that I wonder." she asked with a curious expression.

Umbren remembered Faldrid's warning regarding Alsarie the previous night and chose his words carefully.

"Please forgive me, but I overheard you being scolded by Mistress Sadine for mistreating a junior."

"How embarrassing," Alsarie covered her mouth and laughed. Though it seemed ingenuine and had a hint of something cold and harsh lurked beneath it.

“Did you see this so-called mistreatment?" She asked

"No," he lied

"Well I was just lecturing Thestra on consequences. I'm sure you know her. She was another survivor of that massacre after all."

The last part lacked the weight it deserved, in Umbren's opinion.

"Forgive me for asking mistress, but what do you mean by consequences?"

"She failed, didn't she? If one Hand fails in her duty then it impacts the image of the whole group, they’re a part of. Something like that deserves punishment."

Umbren bit his lip in anger. He couldn't allow someone else to be blamed for his mistake.

"I can assure you mistress that it was more of my fault than hers for what transpired that day."

"You can't possibly expect me to believe that when our Lord has brought you along and given you that cloak. To be truthful I at first didn't understand why he took interest in you, but I came to the conclusion that I would just have to trust in his judgment. Besides Lady Morta is too compassionate, and sometimes she will overlook certain things that shouldn't be overlooked, like Thestra's failure, but Lord Mortis is harsher when it comes to such judgment." She paused as if admiring something in the distance, "However, I am sorry for causing such a commotion." She added

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Umbren shook his head, "You don't have to apologize, but I should thank you. You watched over me while I slept right?

"Yes, I did upon our Lord's request. Though he is the one you should thank for that."

One of the Hand of Morta called out to Alsarie.

"Well, hopefully you keep that cloak by the time all of this is over."

With that Alsarie rode to the back of the group.

Umbren looked at his cloak wondering what her last words meant.

The group rode for some time until they came to a stream and got off their attokas to rest.

When Umbren dismounted, his attoka looked at him with an annoyed expression, as if he wanted to keep going…

Umbren walked over to the stream and splashed its cold water onto his face. He was still drowsy from his lack of sleep the night before, and the water helped a little.

While doing this Umbren heard grumbling from the person next to him. Turning his head, he found Relam looking into the water, talking to himself.

When Relam noticed Umbren's gaze his eyes widened in surprise that someone heard him.

"Sorry to bother you Umbren." He took a sip from a flask in his hand, "You want some?" He gestured the flask towards Umbren.

"No, I'm good. Thanks for offering though."

Relam looked around to make sure no one else was close enough to hear them.

"Say, Umbren, do you think what the lord did was justified."

"What do you mean?"

"He gives me a group to command, then takes that away because I was late delivering orders. I don't know if it's just me, but it seems that he was looking for the smallest excuse to take away that privilege." Relam said in an exasperated tone.

"I don't really know what goes on in Lord Mortis's head. Personally, I don't even know why he brought me along in his group. Though he probably has his reasons, and I doubt that he took away your privilege just because you were late delivering orders."

"Maybe, but how long will it take him to trust me with responsibility?" Relam took another sip from his flask.

Umbren shrugged. He didn't know if Relam should be in charge of anything, but if Lord Mortis thought he shouldn't then that was probably best.

"Can I ask you a question Relam?" Umbren asked.

"Hmm, what about?"

"It's just that on our way here I had a brief conversation with Mistress Alsarie, she mentioned something about hoping I wouldn't lose this cloak. What did she mean?"

"What? you mean Faldrid didn't mention it to you at all?" Relam said in a confused tone.

Umbren shook his head. "He just said that it isn't common for our lord to invite someone with little experience into his party, and to be careful."

Relam gestured towards Umbren's cloak with his flask, "Well, that's one way to put it. Have you noticed that the cloak you have on there is similar to the ones the Hands wear, well except for Mistress Alsarie."

"I noticed. I'm still surprised that it was given to me."

"Cloaks like that have been given to other tenebrage, too. Ones that Lord Mortis wants to test. You get what I'm saying?"

Umbren put his hand to his mouth, "So you're saying he's testing me? Has anyone passed his test?"

"I personally haven't seen him give the test that many times. Probably once or twice, but he's probably given it more than that. But I can't remember if they died or just disappeared."

That didn't really quell Umbren's worries. What did Lord Mortis want with him? He hadn't really done anything impressive. Quite the opposite actually. He should be more careful from now on.

Relam got up and stretched, letting out a yawn. He then turned to Umbren and put his free hand on his shoulder.

"Just be careful when you talk to Alsarie. She is very.... committed, yes that's the right word." Relam said with a encouraging smile.

Umbren was surprised by that last comment, "Oh, okay thank you for the advice."

"No problem," Relam waved as he left to go back to his Attoka.

"Hey, Relam, what's that in your hand." Someone said in an inquisitive tone.

"It's nothing my lady, I assure you." Relam desperately tried to hide the flask behind his back.

As Umbren observed the scene, the white eyes of his attoka caught his eye. He seemed to grow ever more impatient to get back on the road every second.

Umbren sighed and went to mount him again.

The party embarked again a few moments later. Nothing notable happened in the second stretch of the ride. As the sun went down, the group began to look for the ideal place to camp for the night. Luckily, they were able to find a massive rock whose top jutted out in all directions, giving ample covering for the disciples.

The group stopped here for the night, and built two fires. One for Mortis and Morta, and whoever was guarding them. Then another for the rest of the party.

As Umbren was setting up his bedroll. Relam mentioned something about how it was a little uncomfortable to be surrounded by women, since everyone besides Relam, Umbren, and Lord Mortis, were Hands of Morta.

However, Umbren didn't pay attention to that much, for he could feel the gaze of his lord upon him. With that Umbren thought about why he was here, and what was in store for in the future.