She only remembered little about Shavormount, a border city, the west entry point of Crest Shield kingdom; many times she went back and forth from Crest Shield to West Shield capitals with her mother.
And even though she was young back then, she could still recognize a few places. The Golden Place Inn in the center of the city, the Mirraz lake along the west border and the dominating Crest Entry Gate. All three looked exactly the same, though a bit smaller than in her memory. Rest..was a mess. She saw more people on the street than back in the capital. Fallen buildings and debris that no one bothered to clean. Even street dogs were in abnormal numbers.
"That was impressive" Tom, one of the riders, applauded, as he passed the bear. "You three were moving like a single body". His amazement did not reach Daria's heart. Only they knew how many sleepless nights, starving bellies and cuts over a small body, they had to endure, to fall in that rhythm. And it was not by choice.
"It's just little practice" even Pam couldn't smile, just a polite reply will do.
"Now we know why lord brought you along," Leu added as he took the seat, Daria's gaze flickered over Lord Kan sitting on the bar counter alone.
"We should be the grateful one, you're letting us stay in such a pretty place" Ruby smoothly changed the topic. But it was true, they were staying in the Golden palace inn. She didn't have any idea how much the cost was, but she remembered staying here with her mother. Even if she was just a mistress, to the outside world they were royalty.
Her head turned to Kan again, for no reason, but to Leu, she looked curious, "He is our commander" that surprised Daria.
"And what's a commander doing here with us useless jerks?" Daria asked carefully.
"Not up to us to ask, maybe General's order, or crown prince's" Now she understood the arrogance he carries. He is just below general, definitely one of the most powerful people in the kingdom, that realization made her feel smaller.
"The General likes him and the crown prince hates him, both have good reasons to keep him away from the palace" Tom almost whispered.
"You think he is that free to juggle around, let's not make useless assumptions" Leu demanded and that stopped their conversation.
But Daria was not about to waste her time, she needed to gather information.
"So Rick.." the prisoner on her left turned his head in reflex. Daria smirked inwardly. So he is Rick.
"Why did the Lord bring you two?" she asked casually.
"Because we belong here, crest shield is our home, we know the place better than anyone" What? Another surprise. Of course, she knew very well why high ranking officials choose the lowly thugs, they are easy to discard.
"What did you do?" Ruby asked
"Not sure, stabbing some people, or maybe stealing a couple hundred coins, or maybe sneaking up p…" Davis pocked his elbow hard at Rick's chest, stopping him from saying more. Daria couldn't believe her luck, they are definitely a company to keep.
She looked around to find who could provide more details, the bartender, porter or lobbyboy. If only she could sneak out.
"What's going on in your head?" Pam whispered.
"Information" she whispered back,
"Leave it to me" Pam smirked.
***********
They were on their way just after a few hours of sleep as it's going to be the most dangerous patch as per Tom. It was completely dark before they hit the road. And the windy terrain started before the sun could reach above their heads.
Dark clouds started covering the day light, she hoped riders knew the path well. No one uttered a word, everyone was on high alert. She didn't even dare to put her sword down, in such narrow terrain, not only fighting would be difficult but the trench was mercilessly deep to cause irreversible damage.
But after a few hours of tireless tension, as they descended, a small town emerged in her view.
"That must be the base" Pam informed
"Did you see the black smoke over there?" Ruby pointed. Daria turned in direction and saw black smoke like stuff in one place and as they moved the numbers grew, not in alarming quantities but still enough.
"Nine or ten" Pam counted
"What could they be?" Daria asked
"Not sure" Ruby replied
**************
She had no idea of time, is it already night or still afternoon? It was neither completely dark nor bright enough to call day. Lord Kan was already waiting for them when they came out.
"Penny will show you your rooms, go change and will meet for dinner" He turned and left without clarifying who's penny, or giving any other instruction. Riders followed him without bothering to look back, prisoners were left standing without guard or chain, well; where would they go?
A stern looking middle aged woman asked them to follow her. They went through a dark corridor lit only using a few lamps. They were given separate rooms, which was first, but then looking at the corridor, they had more doors than people.
"Where are people from other kingdoms?" she questioned no one in particular.
"This is Trovens base, others have their own building, you can use the common bathroom on this floor, at the end, Mess is in the front on other side, dinner will be ready in an hour" Penny kept it short.