Cillian Vance and Maeve Sterling rode with the girl across the open plains, keeping her far from the farmhouse. She was in her early teens, but acted quiet and docile- clear sign of a sheltered, ruined childhood. Every time Cillian and Maeve thought about what she had suffered, their stomachs turned and their fists tightened.
Yet the girl was purely happy. It was her first time out of the house, her first breath of clean air, her first time feeling speed. She laughed and cried with excitement until exhaustion pulled her under, and she fell fast asleep in the saddle.
Cillian and Maeve turned back toward the farmhouse as the sun started to drop. They needed to decide whether to sleep inside or push on to find a town.
When they got back, the old man, the half-orcs, and Jax were gone. Only Rena stood by the barricade, staring off into the distance. She blinked out of her thoughts as they approached and offered a dry smile. The girl woke up soon after, and Maeve told her to go play with the direwolves. The child and the beasts had already bonded, and she ran off toward the pack.
Once she was out of earshot, Maeve asked Rena where everyone else was.
Rena explained that Jax was searching the house for hidden dangers or anything useful. The half-orcs had taken the old man a short distance away. He had cracked under pressure and spilled everything he knew, but Rena had already decided to make him pay for every innocent life he ruined. His heart finally gave out under the strain, and the half-orcs had gone to bury the body.
"I know I shouldn't question you, since you're our leader, but…." Maeve hesitated, as if searching for the right words.
Rena gave her a polite bow, "Asking why I slandered you two back there? Forgive me for the lie. It was crude, I know. But under the circumstances, I had to put the bastard at ease."
Cillian and Maeve blinked in surprise, "N-no, you're our leader. You do what the mission needs. You don't have to apologize. I just... I wondered why."
"When the bastard cut her off, I knew something was wrong," Rena said, "You want a criminal to talk, you make him think you're one of them. You play along. You make him feel safe. He drops his guard and hands you everything."
She glanced back toward the tree line, "I wasn't going to drag the truth out of him in front of the kid. She's brainwashed enough. If we tore into him right there, we'd look just like the monsters he warned her about. So I played the pervert. And it worked. He gave up his whole pathetic life story without us breaking a finger."
Cillian's eyes gleamed with pride, though he stayed quiet, reading the room.
Maeve smiled softly and sighed, "Growing up in Valoria with all those rules, I have often felt trapped. I wanted out. I heard tavern stories about the Lawless Land- a place with no laws, no rules, where everyone's equal and free. It sounded like paradise to a kid. Later, I joined the Paladin Order thinking more power meant more freedom. But the Lawless Land stayed my dream. I was so excited to come here. But then..."
"Before we left, Lord Thorne whispered something to me," Rena smiled back, "At the time, I thought it was completely bizarre. Just another one of those cryptic things he likes to say. I almost brushed it off."
She let out a dry breath, "Now? I see the wisdom in it."
Jax stepped out of the house, having overheard, "What'd the boss say? Would you tell us please?"
Rena nodded slowly, her face catching a strange mix of pride and sadness, "He told me men are just beasts with a sick talent for doing evil for fun. Civilization is just a cage. The rules, the courts, the fear of the state or gods- that's all that keeps the leash tight."
She looked down at her gloved hands, "He said if you strip away the law and divine punishment, men will do things that make demons look tame. Today, I saw it firsthand. I saw what crawls out of a man's heart when nobody's watching."
Cillian nodded, "Deep, yes. But isn't that too dark? Humans can be good, not just out of fear, but because they actually want to be."
Jax grinned, "Had the same talk with the Master once. Asked him the same thing. Took me days to get it."
"What did he say?" the others asked.
"He told me humans are good because they have to be to survive. They aren't tigers; they need a pack, like wolves or hyenas. Their brains made up empathy and fairness so they wouldn't kill each other off. If the pack breaks, it dies. So they act good to their own, but tear everyone else apart. They can do both."
Jax rubbed the back of his neck, "Problem is, lots of humans like evil better. Being good takes work and holding back, and the reward comes later. Evil lets you break every rule right now. Crossing the line makes weak men feel like gods. He said something like that. Still don't get all of it."
Silence fell over the group as they tried to puzzle it out, wondering what kind of man the Lord of Veridia really was.
"Miss Rena," Cillian asked quietly, "You're closest to him. What kind of man is he, really?"
Rena smiled, "Technically, it's Sir Jax Nightclaw. He still calls the Lord 'Master,' but anyone with eyes knows the Lord treats him like family."
Jax grunted, scratching his neck, "That's just how the Master is. I'm biased, so don't ask me. Lady Rena can tell you."
The half-orcs arrived and silently sat in the dirt around the fire to listen.
Rena paused, tapping her chin, "If I look back now, I've known him since he was a kid. Everyone called him the Idiot Prince. He acted as dumb as a post. Then, out of nowhere, a switch flipped. Like his brain woke up from a ten-year nap and started running full speed."
Her eyes sharpened, "He doesn't think like normal people. Not just smart,- though he is; he looks at things from angles nobody else sees. Half the time he sounds insane. But we've got used to this. We've learned his craziest ramblings hold the deepest truth."
She took a steady breath, "Lucien told me once that his words only sound strange because we lack the vision. Follow him long enough, and we'll catch up. Today proved it."
Rena looked around the dark camp, her voice turning firm, "Above all, he is a Lord with great heart. He doesn't care about society's garbage. Lineage, race, sex- none of it matters to him. Only loyalty and utility. He's the kind of lord any soldier would die for. The kind of ruler every subject deserves."
Maeve and Cillian listened, deeply touched by the picture she painted of the prince.
Rena felt a bit odd and to change the topic he asked Jax about his search. Jax spat into the dirt, staring back at the dark farmhouse with a scowl, "Inside's clear enough to sleep. But the place stinks of evil so bad I can barely breathe. Feels like years of that pervert's games tore a hole straight to Hell, and the rot is still leaking out. I'm sleeping outside. I ain't stepping in that hole."
Zot'r grunted, "House is foul. I stay out."
"So we stay by the fire," Cillian said, "The direwolves are always awake anyway. We'll be fine."
"And the girl?" Rena asked.
"I want to take her with us," Maeve said. "I can't leave her here alone. She's too innocent for this place."
Rena nodded, staying quiet before a dry smile returned, "Alright. The night's still young. Let's drop the heavy talk and rest."
She leaned back against a log, her eyes shining in the firelight, "From what we saw today, and what that creep spilled; we are going to march into the hellhole tomorrow. This might be our last quiet night for a while. Don't waste it brooding."
She lifted a flask toward the group, "Drink up. Get off your feet. To the mission- and to keeping each other alive."
They all cheered softly and pulled out their flasks. Lorian's habit of drinking before a hard day had clearly rubbed off on his people.