Jonas thought for a moment, then lit up like a bulb...whatever that was supposed to be. “Why don’t we call handso—err...Keda’s nephew, whatever his name is. He should know the area, right? You know, being the commander of a cavalry and what not.”

Ash shrugged. She steered her horse towards the back of his long column of personal soldiers and towards the cavalry trailing behind them. It took her quiet a few moments of yelling and threats to cow handsome Keda into coming over without a fuss. What he was making a problem out of was beyond Jonas.

These people seem to never take a break of being angry of upset at something or another.

By the time they got here, Jonas could see Ash’s darkened face. He subconsciously gulped at her expression. All it could mean was trouble and not only for him. Everyone apart of her staff and even the innocent soldiers who catches her eyes would be subjected to her scrutiny and unrelenting drive to get work done.

All the while, following behind her with a leisurely pace on his own horse--though a bit larger than anyone elses--was the inciting idiot of the day. The stupid man had a smug grin all over his face as his horse sauntered over almost matching his own expression.

Jonas’s image of the blonde had just plummeted down a mile below his greatest expectations. He would believe it if he was told, in a few days, the guy fell and skewered himself with his own sword.

“I brought Tedder,” Ash growled.

A few soldiers whimpered in the background. Probably her workers and scribes. He felt sorry for them because he would suddenly find himself busy when Ash began to let off steam.

“Sir Tedder Hawk to you, servant. You should learn your place as an errand filler. The bottom of the lowest caste, the worst of the wors-”

“Hey!” Jonas interrupted. “Who the hell do you think you are speaking too? You dare to insult my personal Gravious in front of me?”

Tedder—what a weird name, guess he can’t have everything perfect—looked frozen for a moment. He looked around with wide eyes in an attempt to find a way out of the sudden predicament he was in. But no one stood up for him or even considered helping him out.

Instead, all he saw were looks of scorn and disgust. It took him a while to fully understand how much trouble he had just made for himself.

“I-I-” he babbled

Jonas made sure to snarl extra for effect. “You what?”

He had the man quaking in his boots.

Ash, on the other hand, absolutely loved how miserable the high noble looked before her. Unlike years past, where her skills and judgements were called into question because of her lineage, this time, it was her ability that made her rise in front of Jonas.

Tedder turned towards Ash and with a bitter face lowered his upper body onto his horse in a half bow. “Please forgive me, Gravious. I know not what overcame my senses to say such words.”

Ash gave a sinister chuckle. The thing had goosebumps running down Jonas’s back just hearing it.

“G-good,” Jonas’s voice cracked. He cleared his throat to hide it. “Now we can begin discussing more important matters. Right?”

Both answered with a nominal ‘yes, sir!’. Tedder going as far as saluting, though he had to look up just to see Jonas on the behemoth he was riding.

Why they had him on such a monster was far beyond him. But he couldn’t deny how imposing and utterly awesome it felt to ride the two ton mass of muscle like a...moving metal box? Car?

“It is clear that bandits have been allowed to thrive in these places. It would do us well to eliminate them before they infest every part of my lands. We will destroy them wherever they may be! For the emperor!”

The soldiers nearby cheered. It was quickly picked up by everyone else until the entire column had joined in, even though they had absolutely no idea what it was they were cheering about. They just didn’t want to feel separate from the pack.

Jonas, on the other hand, was beyond smug. He didn’t even have a Path to rely on and still he could get his soldiers hyped up, no need for heavenly powers to amplify his already amazing voice.

Though, Ash’s knowing smile did distract from his own. Did she know something he didn’t?

Jonas surveyed the still cheering mass of soldiers with his smile constantly growing. But it eventually died out, once it did, he looked back at the other two. “First let’s find an area to make camp, we can then devise a plan. It will take much discussion before we can decide on the best course available.”

Tedder lit up like a light bulb. “I would suggest continuing to a nearby village titled BadgersHill. If it’s still there, we can rest and recuperate from the exhausting trek. I would love to bathe in warm water !”

Two things caught Jonas off guard, one more than the other.

First and foremost, the man before him didn’t take a bath every day. Jonas washed every morning since the beginning of their travels. All they had to do was heat up some clean water and put it in a tub. Not rocket science by any means...whatever rocket science was, though it sounded difficult.

Unbeknownst to him, bathing was really, only a thing he could partake in on the road. No one could actually afford moving such a mass quantity of clean water only for a bath, not to mention what it would cost to heat it up as fast as he desired it and the rare soaps he used too. He just thought it was common because it was the only thing he had ever experienced.

Not even high nobility could take such luxuries with them on the road. They wouldn’t have enough gold stored to waste it on such things.

Second, and probably as important, was how unsure Tedder sounded on whether the village still existed. Does that mean it would disappear in a single day, week, or even a month? If they knew that was a possibility, why weren’t they moving to protect them from whatever it was that preyed on the villagers. It was only common sense to do so.

Can’t have abandoned villages laying around infested with rats and animals. The land was too spacious and fertile to leave unattended and used. He’d have to devise a way to make sure that never happens under his rule.