One afternoon on break from scrolls Red approaches Alexis. Red is peering out across the plains scanning all around with his spy glass as if looking for something.
“Alexis…. I am worried a bit. I know you and Rask wanted horses. But…. I am concerned. The how we got those horses… the death.. the stealing.
Let me back up… The Westlands is known for two things. Slaves being stolen. And Horses.
The horses we have just seem like horses to me. But I am guessing that Westlanders would see them differently. I bet that when we get to Ghanil someone will recognize these horses… at least where they are from.
Worst would be if word of the killing had reached Ghanil. Then the stealing and the murder
it could be messy”
During all of this Red continues to scan the horizon looking for something
“True.”
Alexis pauses, possibly for emphasis.
“And what do you advice we do about this?”
“Well… the easiest thing to do would be nothing and invite the chaos.
My suggestion would be to return back a bit, maybe off the path, and return the horse to the wild. Hoping the have the sense to make their way back home. Then we cover our tracks back here and continue on our way.
There are other options, but none I like.”
Red continues to scan the horizon… thinking internally that Alexis seems distracted, seems off, seems to not be the leader Red remembers.
“Alexis…. is everything ok? We… seem… lost. Drifting a bit. Lost are the days where we had a solid goal. Since finally retrieving the sword we have just been bouncing around. Bandisign is our ‘goal’, but like the Sword we are circling around this goal but not directly moving on it.
The horse are just a tiny aspect of this. You are a the one who knows history, knows culture, know more about the Westlands… but you seem unconcerned with stealing horse… and worse killing humans.
Something… has changed.
I do not like it.”
Red pauses spying behind us… as if he notices something.
Alexis gazes out at the horizon for a long while before speaking, making sure no one else is close enough to overhear.
“Things did feel simpler back at the Citadel, didn’t they? Clear goal, clear path, the three of us pulling together. It was hard—but it was straightforward. We knew what had to be done, and we did it. Came away with silver enough to bow our backs and a tale that still clings to our names in Sutheron.” He lets the smile linger, as if sharing an old joke with Red.
The humor fades. “Since then, every step’s been harder to hold together. Telosh—he was a mirror of my own worst instincts, the urge to cut corners and grab at shortcuts. Fighting beside him was like fighting that part of myself, and I’m not proud of how often it still stirs.”
“Gus…” Alexis shakes his head with sadness. “Once, he was a companion I trusted without question. Now it’s different. He’ll follow an order, or refuse it outright—no middle ground. His loyalty to Raiden is commendable. Only with me, it’s not the god’s shield for others—it’s a wall he’s thrown up around himself. And when a man closes himself off like that, it’s hard to reach him.”
His tone steadies. “And then there’s Rask and Ca’armine. Fierce as they come, both of them. They followed command for years, but each broke from it in blood. That kind of scar never fades, and they’ve kept their stubbornness ever since. They’ll march with me, but only to a line of their own making. Strong allies, but not easy ones.”
Alexis draws a slow breath. “And through it all, I keep hearing the same call: ‘Straight for Bandesingh. Straight for Bandesingh.’ As though someone could point to his lair on a map. Ca’armine swears Fjællsby, but it’s no more than a hunch. We had real leads in Sutheron, at the First Gate—even with the Sword Chaotic, there was a path, if we’d dared it. But each time, the road was turned aside. So we circle him, never closing in.”
He pauses, then adds with quiet conviction: “That’s the weight of it, Red—leadership’s grown harder because every companion pulls in their own direction.”
He exhales, softer now. “But you, Red—you’ve been steady through all of it. The others hold to their own ground, but you’ve kept yours beside me. On our shared path. That steadiness, it anchors more than I can truly express.”
Alexis shifts, aligning his gaze with the exact same point Ethelred has been watching on the horizon. He doesn’t press, only waits—leaving space for Red to speak when the time feels right.
Ethelred lets the words sink is as he continues to peer through the spy glass into the distance. He slowly puts the spy glass down and turn to face Alexis.
“Alexis this journey has been a true wonder. From the first steps out of Aigier into the wild, The Citadel, Sutheron, and so much more.
Let’s no get bogged down in any mis-steps of the past. The path before us is there, we just have to follow it. Let world rage around us, we have a mission, a goal.
Bandesign is just a person. The operation is what we seek to truly undermine. Our conversation with Shyeanne really has haunted me. She is not like many of Bandesign’s employ. She is a true believer. Her steadfastness to the vision Bandesign had shared with her is admirable, misguided though the vision may itself be.
There is a web around Bandesign that we must break. We set out to break one stand at the West Gate, his supply of weapons. But the path there got murky. I sense you took that loss to heat. Now we are wandering around the Westland hoping to stumble upon something of power?
Find the purpose again and let it drive us forward. Ahead is Ghanil. That is where we got set upon the folly of the journey west. The person that sent us west might yet still be in Ghanil. What information could we gain about a thread in the spiderweb of Bandesign? We know so little at the moment, any glimmer of true information would seem better than a random artifact laying around in the grasslands.”
Red pauses for a moment. Raises the spy glass and peers off towards where he imagine the road ahead stretches to Ghanil.
“But… the wild horses we stole should not be with us when we do approach Ghanil, else it will be more difficult for us there and it ought be… and I fear it will be difficult…”
Alexis holds Ethelred’s gaze a fraction too long, something unspoken in the weight of it, before he looks back out at the horizon. His voice is even, matter-of-fact.
“Horses won’t follow us into Ghanil. We’ll let them go before the gates.”