Selm
Camp for the Order of the Golden Warriors
The next morning had put Selm in a grand mood. And no, this was not sarcasm. Selm was genuinely in a wonderful mood. The reason? Soap.
Come first light, Sir Mathens(although she would comply with his wish to be called Eldrig) had come by their tent to wake them and get them started on the day. A light breakfast of porridge did something for her appetite, but it was at Eldrig's suggestion that they get themselves cleaned up that really got her happy. Slightly mortified, perhaps, at the suggestion that she was filthy enough for it to show, but that was washed away as quickly as the grime and dirt from the weeks on the road.
With the camp's structure, they were not able to have any permanent bathing facilities, but they did have some luxuries provided only by the army's wealthy backers. The wooden tub in the bathing tent was no spa filled with sweet-scented bubbles, but it was at the very least warm and kept clean. The non-combatant the Order hired for this expedition possessed magic for warming water and purifying it, useful for both cooking and cleaning. If there was something Selm could not live without… it was a nice and toasty bath.
The soap that she had borrowed from Eldrig was rough and scratched at her skin, but she was okay with that. It was still soap. And, after the events of the past week, she scrubbed herself until her skin was pink. If only her troubles could be as easily washed away as the grime of travel.
But yes, that bath had made Selm a very happy woman. She looked forward to the next one she could take. According to Eldrig, that would be in three days. With so many people in camp, they had to rotate in shifts of who got to bath when making the fifteen minutes of privacy and warm scrubbing a luxury that Selm would come to covet.
The rest of the group had similarly taken part in bathing. Inathia's scales looked a shade brighter, the mud that had clung to her no more. Runner looked slightly less grungy, if only slightly. Selm noted that the woman's hair remained a tangled mess, just damper and maybe cleaner. Did she not know how to properly clean her hair? The men simply looked relieved to be clean, Baz's skin was similarly roughly scrubbed as Selms and Yule looked happy that his robes no longer were covered in patches of mud.
Selm's opinion of Eldrig only grew when she learned that he had managed to convince Shailae(the caretaker of the bath as well as a general camp aide) to clean and dry their clothing quickly for them. With how busy she was, it spoke to just how much of a favor Eldrig pulled for them.
As the morning continued, Eldrig had brought them to the supply depot in the camp. It was a section of the camp filled with large carts stacked high with boxes and barrels. Two soldiers were in charge of the organization of supplies and dealing with supplying the others on the orders of their superiors. Selm had noted the amount of paperwork exchanged between hands, ensuring each item had a paper trail.
They were there to get equipped with some basic equipment for when they got the order to go collect bounties. Eldrig had politely implied that their equipment was lacking. Selm could not find any fault in that statement. It was shameful, but she was woefully lacking in supplies. The first thing she had asked for was a proper weapon. The supply depot was not going to equip them with military weaponry and armor, that was simply out of the question. They did, however, have reserve weaponry meant for emergency use by the non-combatants. The rapier Selm had been given was nothing fancy and had seen some use over its lifetime, but it was still sharp and balanced. A noble weapon, and one of the few she had some confidence she could use to some level of competence.
As for armor, the fact of the matter was that it was tougher to come by. Usually, it had to be custom fit for each person depending on the type of armor. The armor Eldrig and other knights like him wore was custom-made for their bodies to not hinder their movements in battle. Ill-fitting armor could cause more harm than good, after all. Not that Selm wanted any armor. She was not the fastest dwarf in the world and armor would slow her down even more. There was the addendum that casting her magic while wearing armor was fairly difficult. When she had amassed enough funds, Selm would invest in some sort of magical protection, rather than rely on hides and metal. That way, she could be protected even while wearing something pretty.
Besides the rapier and a spare set of clothes, Selm was also requisitioned a few other supplies. A bit of rope, a tinderbox, and other useful items. Enough to fill her pitifully empty backpack. Selm had felt a giddy flutter every time she had been handed an item. It felt like shopping. Selm loved shopping.
The others also had received varying supplies. Both Baz and Yule required only a few items that they were missing. Both were well-prepared for long journeys on the road. The only items of note were when Yule had requested a few odd bits and pieces to act as components for some spells. No, it was Inathia, Runner, and herself who had needed the supplies more than anyone. Runner was warned that the armor she had been lugging around was simply too big for her, and it would be better if she just exchanged it for a leather jerkin better suited for someone of her size. The human woman had been reluctant to part with the rather poor-looking armor(something about how it had an abundance of pockets) but had to give in to reason in the end.
While it was too difficult to find armor for Selm, it was doubly too difficult to find anything that would fit Inathia. Dragonborn armor had to be custom-made. Selm had known a dragonborn woman, Miss Perrinvum, back in Lordidan. From her interactions with her, she knew dragonborn had struggles finding clothing that worked well for them. Often, it required special materials to prevent snagging between scales and special designs to prevent them from catching on spines and horns. Not to mention the difficulty of a tail. Inathia would simply have to rely on the natural armor of her scales to protect her from most blows until better armor could be made for her.
A shield was a different story. Inathia was given a tall tower shield to wield. For a dwarf like Selm, it stood nearly three heads taller than her. It was a thick slab of wood held together by bands of iron wrapping around it. The thing was wholly impractical for anyone the size of an average human or smaller. For a dragonborn or a goliath? Or even a generously sized person of orcish descent? It was perfect. Not to mention, Inathia's impressive strength allowed her to wield it with ease. The girl made for an imposing sight, just so long as one did not know of her personality.
Eldrig had stated that they wouldn't be heading out today. The young leonin knight had insisted that they get accustomed to their new equipment in the camp training yard. As much as Runner had argued, the knight held fast to this belief. He did promise to get them started on their debt the next day, pressured into it by a tag-team effort by both Runner and Yule. They seemed the most interested in leaving the camp(and the debt) behind them.
Currently, Selm is practicing with Inathia. The training yard was fairly empty, most soldiers were either out doing their duties in the nearby hilly forest or resting. A few were practicing their form in one corner of the square training yard, but they left Selm's group well enough alone. A familiar face had surprised them at the training yard, however. Savaad, the dragonborn mercenary from the caravan was getting his exercise when they had shown up. He and Baz had struck up a conversation, which had revealed some interesting information that Baz had told them after the mercenary had left.
As it were, both Savaad and Anton were waiting for Melia to recover her magic to travel back to Lordidan. They had been collecting data about the strange attack for the past week and were going to go inform the adventurer's guild of the increase in activity. There may be an influx of subjugation quests in this area of the land in the coming days. The caravan had left only a couple of days after the attack when the Order had ensured the road ahead held no further present dangers. They had gone in quite a hurry, now being several days behind schedule, severely impacting their profits and promises.
Savaad had also recommended Baz to join up with the Blade n' Scroll guild, the same as Melia had to her. Perhaps they were on orders to recruit anyone they saw as promising for the guild? Selm had not interacted with adventurers and mercenaries much before now. They always had a certain… reputation—one unfitting for someone of her former stature to be mingling with. After all that they have done for her, Melia especially, Selm felt her opinion changing. Gods, I am ignorant, she thought.
Their day of training and rest was, admittedly, needed. Inathia needed time to get accustomed to the weight of her new shield and figure out how to wield it without accidentally tripping over its edge. The thing was nearly the size of a door so it was no wonder that it took some getting used to. For Inathia's sake, Selm had volunteered to help her practice. Out of all of them who use some form of melee in combat, Selm was the least skilled. The rapier she was given was a backup plan, should she need to defend herself. Ideally, Selm would not need to engage in much of the melee, either having someone step in between her and any blades coming her way or having her opponent under her spell. It did not take much skill to stab a beguiled opponent somewhere vital. But, as Runner proved a while back, it was not a surefire tactic that Selm could rely on at all times. Thus, Selm was helping Inathia get accustomed to her unwieldy shield while also shaking off the rust that had built up on her blade work. It had been nearly a decade since she had been tutored in fencing, all things considered. Back then she had thought those lessons useless and bothersome. Now, she regretted skipping out on them as much as she did.
The group had also begun to work on a battle formation. On the battlefield, they had to be adaptable, but having a standard formation that they could default to while unsure of what threats were about would benefit them in the long run. After much deliberation between Yule and Baz, they had figured out a strategy that would have to do for the time being.
It was decided that Baz and Inathia would be their vanguard. Inathia's shield to protect everyone else from frontward attacks and Baz's magic and general combat knowledge to help break any forward charge. Selm and Yule would be behind them, Yule casting his destructive magic from behind the safety of Inathia's shield and Selm providing supporting magic to Baz and Inathia while also serving as a disruptive force for their enemies. Runner did not need much convincing to be placed in the rearguard as a mobile skirmisher. When fighting broke out, Runner would either be scouting ahead anyway or would be ensuring nothing was following behind them. She would serve as a multipurpose melee combatant, distracting certain opponents and killing others where she could.
As far as Selm could tell, it was a reasonable formation. Yule was not exactly pleased with their lack of frontal might, as only Baz was actively engaging in melee combat with the intent to kill, but Baz had sided with Inathia already, placing his foot down on the promise that she would only need to shield others.
Something was between the two, Selm reckoned, but she was not so insensitive to inquire. Whatever it was required a delicate touch, one that Selm was not equipped to provide at the moment. Inathia is a grown woman(as young as she seems), she will talk about it when she is ready. When that time comes, Selm would gladly listen.
She had a soft spot for Inathia. Laughable, because of how Selm could barely take care of herself in the current moment. Laughable indeed.
At the very least, Selm was confident about her magic. Utterancy is a difficult school to master with many nuances. Her teacher had drilled into her head just how devastating it could be should she mess her spells up. Selm would be the first to admit, as she is quite prideful herself, she is a bit of a prodigy in the school. It was only in the very beginning of her education that she messed up her arcane notes. Her voice had been scratchy for days resulting, but no further consequence befell her. Had she not been so obstinate and… well… lazy, Selm could likely have been her teacher's prized student. Once again, Selm cursed her past self for being so foolish. For now, she would have to stick to the basics imparted upon her by her teacher until she gained the resources to learn further.
Charms and enchantments were her main forte. Charms to suggest others into certain actions and charms to dull the senses. Enchantments to hold enemies in place or to empower her allies. All around, Selm's magic would make or break an encounter with an enemy should she manage to entrance them well enough.
The rest of them reveal small tidbits of their own strengths, albeit they are reluctant to part with all of their capabilities. Yule was quite forthcoming in saying that his spells are destructive in nature and left it at that. Baz noted that he relied on his diety's power to heal and to protect those around him. Regrettably, his magic was more suited for recovery after a battle rather than destructiveness during it. Perhaps that is why he is so confident in being in the melee? Because he knows he can recover from it later. Selm naturally shared some general knowledge of her powers. Inathia and Runner were the two who shared the least. Inathia was stubborn in the fact that she doesn't like fighting, so getting any combat effectiveness out of her would have to be purely defensive. Runner just said "I stab stuff." Once again, Selm was impressed by the human woman. Impressed with just how frustrating she can be.
And just like that, the day passed quickly. Before long, they had once again gathered in their tent. Tomorrow would be the day they can get started on destroying that debt. They would once again be beyond the safety of the camp's walls. The activity in these wooded hills would be their responsibility to subdue, for the sake of Keldanis and her people. Selm prayed for their safety as she lay down to rest that night. That debt would be no more, soon enough.
She was sure of it.