Merse and Pia settled into a comfortable silence, staying off roads and foraging as they traveled, just as they had years ago. Drin probably would have been more talkative - and more annoying - were he not still pondering the ramifications of Pia's vocation. However, stunned as he was by Merse's revelation, he had not gotten far enough in his thoughts to wonder about Merse's connection to an assassin, much to Merse's relief.
By the first night, Merse could nearly forget the insanity that had dogged her, although she kept an uneasy mental eye on the souls skittering around her consciousness. Thankfully, none had seen fit to contest her control over her body, not even Kayl. The hydra and krake were still locked in an endless battle, one which Merse was unsure either side could win, being simply souls and not physical entities. The spider was wandering around the dark corners of her mind, but didn't seem to want to press its luck, probably waiting for a moment of weakness. Kayl, on the other hand, had been relatively nonresponsive since Merse had returned to Dregsbale. He sat, unmoving, but from time to time Merse could feel his gaze locked on her.
"So what's the details on this job?" Merse asked as she built up the fire.
"Run-o'-the-mill cleanup operation," Pia grunted as she shook out her ground blanket. "Seems a group of bandits took up residence out in that frozen hell, though why bandits always pick the most miserable places to go to the trouble of being robbers in, beats me."
"You always say that," Merse smirked. "The ones not smart enough to know how to rob legally think godforsaken locations will deter would-be heroes. Of course, they don't realize it just raises their bounty, making disposing of them all the more lucrative for moneygrubbers like us."
"Yeah, but it's still a pain," Pia pouted. Drin looked back and forth between the two, taking in the conversation but feeling a bit left out.
"So we have to drive out a group of bandits?" he finally asked. "Isn't that a bit much for just us?" Merse and Pia looked at each other knowingly and chuckled. "What?" Drin frowned.
"We ain't gotta drive 'em out, kiddo," Pia grinned viciously, her violet irises ominously glinting in the firelight. "We just gotta clean up the place. We ain't soldiers or knights, we're mercs at the moment. All we need is proof of death. How we do it is our own business."
Merse looked on as Drin gulped nervously. After all, Drin's first on-the-job kill had been the archmage, and while it wasn't his first kill ever, it had been coupled with a terrifying aftermath. Whether Drin would be able to hold his own when faced with a similar bloodbath was anyone's guess. Merse and Pia's eyes met, and Pia gave her a knowing glance before settling down for the night. Merse sat back against a tree to take first watch. Reluctantly, she also used the time to contemplate her own situation, and what she would do were she forced to kill more monsters.
Not like I want or need any more nuisances rattling around in here, she growled to herself, but as the fire died down, she began to realize that she might be faced with a situation where she would not have a choice. She would have to come up with some sort of contingency plan should an unexpedted monster soul invade her head.
Drin took a while to settle down, and as neither Merse nor Pia had any confidence in his mental stability at the moment, they did not elect to have him stand watch at all. Every so often, he would twitch, wildly looking around the dark woods for the glint of eight eyes or the onslaught of eight limbs. However, as the night drew on, the exhaustion of travel, especially due to his shorter limbs and Merse and Pia's quick pace, finally caused him to drift off.
In a smiliar manner, six days on the road passed, and the trio reached the foothills of the Hoarspire Range. Drin had gradually shown more interest in Pia, as Merse had little patience for him. Moreover, Pia's skills as a herbalist and apothecary seemed to fascinate Drin, who began to lose some of his fear and question her eagerly about plants they picked up along the way. As the elevation rose, the three passed into the freezing mountain range that lay on the northwest border of the realm.
"There's the site!" Pia called back as Merse trudged up in the snow behind her. Drin, puffing heavily, struggled to catch up. Pointing at a city that looked more like an abandoned mine camp, Pia stated assuredly, "That's Glasser Ridge."
**********
The scruffy young man sat calmly, eyes closed, seemingly at peace with the world and blissfully unaware of the cold golden eyes which examined him from a bush. Suddenly, a black streak shot towards the human.
Surprisingly, the expected shower of blood and gore did not come. Rather, Fens skidded to a halt a few paces away, eyes narrowed at the prospect that a mere human could dodge his charge. However, the young man did not seem at all perturbed, but simply stood comfortably with his walking stick at the spot to which he had smoothly moved, a small smile on his face. Fens had attacked upon seeing the human, not wanting to wait to find out if it were a slaver or the Soul-stealer, but after approaching so close, he could tell that the scent was nothing like the one he had been tracking. However, the skilled movement of the human had put him on edge.
"Well, you saved me a trip!" The young heretic priest grinned happily. "Say, would you be willing to answer a few questions for me? Of course, I'd be happy to offer a prayer or blessing in return!"