The next morning River rose early, checking in briefly at the bar, he grabbed a quick breakfast of bread and bacon which he brought with him to the stables. A quick look over saw the horses had already been fed by the Inn staff, they were also a little unhappy about River getting them tacked and ready for an early ride. He was a little surprised to find Balthazaar, Cassandra and Celine waiting for him outside. Celine studiously not meeting his eye, Cassandra gring at him with open hostility as if to dare him to say something and Balthazaar seemingly none the wiser and quite chipper.

  “Ahh an early riser too my boy, good to see. Had to drag these two from their room but I believe we are ready to be off. Thank you for seeing to the horses.”

  River waited for another stable boy remark from Cassandra, but none came, she just continued to gre at him; Balthazaar seemed a little surprised as well, he had even paused to allow it but when no comment was forthcoming, he proceeded; “Well, the bill is taken care of so no need to tarry, let us be off.”

  They stuck to the main road; River would occasionally ride a little further ahead and times drop further back to check for pursuit of ambush. Balthazaar assured River that he had set magical detections that would warn them of anyone approaching yet River knew such protections could be circumvented and he was not one to shirk his duty. He kept himself on high alert for the rest of the day, only allowing the smallest of moments to dwell on the night before, each time bringing a smile to his face. They made good time, meeting few people on the road; the odd adventurer, merchants and a family of farmers; each time Balthazaar was aware of their approach before River spotted them. Eventually, even the summer evening began to darken, and they settled by a stream just off from the road to make camp for the night. River allowed Balthazaar the first watch, hitting the ground and experience allowed him to fall into a restful but light sleep almost immediately. Balthazaar had not reached River to take wake him before River rose up. Balthazaar let out a soft chuckle and id down to catch up on some sleep. River tried to keep a perimeter as best he could, avoiding looking directly at the fire to preserve his night vision; his gaze swung rapidly at the snapping of a twig behind him, weapon already halfway drawn when he recognised Celine walking toward him.

  “Couldn’t sleep?” River asked softly

  “Something like that” she replied with a smile.

  They moved slowly around the camp site together in a companionable silence for a while, River staying alert though gncing occasionally at the beautiful features that peered out through the darkness, illuminated just enough by the fire behind them.

  “So…” Celine began, breaking the silence. “How was Cassandra?”

  River nearly tripped over, in surprise, gncing at the impish smirk on Celine’s face. He recovered enough to retort.

  “I’ll tell you if you tell me how the Innkeeper was.”

  Celine’s smile only grew, looking positively satisfied.

  “Oh, he was fantastic! Very eager to please! I sadly don’t have much for way of comparison but for what its worth, he is the best lover I have had. I could barely walk straight at the end of the night.” Her smile remained and her tone was good natured, yet her eyes held a question? A test?

  “Well damn! I didn’t expect you to be so forthright! I’m gd you had a good night though… well, if you want to hear about your sister so badly… she becomes strangely docile in bed and is especially sensitive around her-“

  “STOP, STOP, STOP! You win!” Celine cast a panicked look over her shoulder, realising her volume had increased. Her smile seemed more genuine now but still she hesitated a moment before speaking.

  “So, you don’t judge me then?”

  “Judge you for what?” River asked.

  Celine became uncharacteristically bashful, gncing at the floor and it was difficult to tell in the low light, but she was almost certainly blushing.

  “You know… sleeping around... sleeping with an older, less… conventional man?”

  They had stopped moving and River stopped himself before making a flippant remark; this was clearly something important to her and it was clear the young woman was a bit isoted, with few friends to confide in. He took his time to give a more measured response:

  “I’m not your father Celine; we have not known one another long enough to be friends but I could certainly see us as such. One of the reasons I was drawn to the Adventurers Guild was their otto ‘Life is for Living’ we never know what tomorrow holds and so, provided you are not hurting others, do what makes you happy. Follow the path you want, sleep with those you desire and whilst you should pn for the future, don’t be a prisoner to it. No, I don’t judge you at all, I respect that you had the courage to follow what you wanted.

  Tears blossomed at the corners of her eyes, but River could see they were happy tears but never one to be too serious for too long he couldn’t resist spoiling the moment a little.

  “Besides, by using me as a distraction, I had a wonderful night with your sister!”

  Celine ughed and mock punched him in the arm.

  “YOU BEAST!” she ughed.

  The started moving again, River had never lost sight of the surroundings, much as he enjoyed the company and made sure to keep a correct perimeter. Celine matched his pace, clearly enjoying the evening and the chance for company that was not magic based.

  “I should say thank you though. Believe me, it wasn’t entirely selfish when I set her at you. She works hard to support father and puts a lot of pressure on herself, and I think she really needs a bit of companionship, you know?”

  “Yeah, I can see that, look I don’t think she is a bad person, and it was a privilege to see a softer side of her though in truth I don’t see that we will ever be on the same page.”

  The conversation cut off there and for the first time, things seemed a little awkward for them; Celine groped for a new topic of conversation.

  “You seem very passionate about the Guild. Fanatical even- you don’t pray to the Living Saint, do you?”

  River had to ugh.

  “No, from everything I have heard about the man, he would hate that! I do revere him though…”

  “If you don’t mind me asking, why? What has he done to earn that?”

  River looked at her somewhat incredulously

  “You’re joking right? Surely you know what he has- erm, ok I see what you mean about fanatical. Seriously though, you must know his story?”

  “I sort of do, remember I was raised by Mages, I would say their telling of his deeds would be very different to your own. So, tell me about him.” Celine had moved closer and linked her arm through River’s though River made sure to keep his bde unencumbered if he needed to draw quickly.

  “I suppose I will have to start at the beginning. Generations ago, long before there was any established Guild’s and when kingdoms were still being formed, a society of mages decided they wanted greater power for themselves; that they should be the ones to control the direction the world would grow into. They made dark pacts with demons, summoned creatures of nightmare, and wrought the earth with pgues.” The words came easily to River, he reyed the story as his father had countless times reyed it at bedtime to a nervous but excited young boy at bedtime.

  “Little could stand against them; the few mages who rallied against them were overmatched and not willing to sink to the depravities this dark society. It seemed certain that the entire continent would fall before them when one man rose up and challenged them, with a group of trusted companions he first fought a guerril war against them, striking in the night, hitting them in their homes. The next part is shrouded in myth, but it was specuted that the gods recognised in the man a boundless virtue and blessed him as a Saint. He was given gifts of strength and speed but most crucially, magic could not be cast within a mile of his presence. With his companions beside him, the fight back began and the mages, though powerful, were small in number, even the demons and creatures they had formed their unholy pacts with were limited and the tide began to turn. In desperation they called broke with all rationale and summoned forth a greater demon, a monarch amongst its damned kind; they armed it with the Bck Bde, Tyrfing. Luckily its forging was lost to history, but it was said the weapon contained the hatred of a million cursed souls and a single strike might be sufficient to kill even the Saint. The summoning was a mistake as it turned on those that sought to control it, killing them with the very weapon they had bestowed up it. It rallied what demons remained on our pne and set forth again for civilisation only to be met by the Living Saint. It is said that their duel sted for five days and five nights but by the end the demon monarch y dead, Tyrfing smashed into pieces, many of which remain lost. Those companions that had followed the Saint would become the first Adventurers, gifted with amulets made the Saint himself and passed on to this day. The Saint himself remains still, a constant guardian and ward; forever vigint to the machinations of mages.”

  As he finished his story, River cursed himself as he had become to enraptured by his own tale, losing focus on his surroundings; furiously he cast his gaze and senses around but luckily, he did not detect any threat. Celine gaped at him open mouthed.

  “Wow, I’ve never heard it like that. Then again living with and raised by mages that probably makes sense. Must be hard being the Saint, I think I had always just assumed they repced him quietly as a sort of figure head.”

  River, now a little happier that he had his bearings shook his head with a smile.

  “Nope, same man. I never thought about how difficult it would be, outliving those you care about, existing simply to keep the peace. It will be up to him to negotiate this test round of war mongering. Given that he is an adventurer at heart, the constant politicking must take a toll. Anyway, enough of this, you should probably get some sleep.” Celine made to object, but River forestalled her. “I’m used to these kinds of things but just in case something should happen tomorrow, I will need you alert and ready to run or duck.” Celine grumbled under her breath but made her way back to her bedroll but not before rising on her tiptoes and pcing a small kiss on River’s cheek.