"That was a good comeback, though. Queen Sandy Snatch," she snorted with a muffled impersonation as her face was buried in his chest. "You weren't so bad yourself. You don't use your teeth when eating honey," he mimicked before allowing himself a chuckle. "I thought you'd be offended by that," she said, pulling back as she regarded him curiously in the dark, making him move his mouth wordlessly.
"Ah, well, just because I'm not the first doesn't mean it's the end of the world," he said through a nervous smile and shrug. "Besides, you were married once before, and I'm not trying to end up like that," he continued, raising his hands placatingly. "Don't worry, you're much better than that pig could ever hope to be," she said, giving him a knowing smile in the dark.
"Oooookay," Marte said awkwardly, dusting her legs off as she stood up. "So, what do we do now? We can't just sit here and wait for us to be tortured one by one," she said with her arms out to either side. "You're right about that, but we have to trust that Gwili will do his job before then," Leona began. "How long do you think we have, then?" Neko asked briefly.
"Zari will likely want to make an example out of us, so she'll spout a bunch of nonsense to make her actions seem justified. I'd give it about a month before she really takes action, but until then, we'll have to trust in the elf," she explained with a sigh. "Wait, so your plan really was to get captured? I thought that was just a backup plan," Bernar asked with a sudden drop in his stomach.
"Not exactly," she began, shaking her head. "Our plan was to create enough commotion with our entrance that would allow Gwili to search for information, but things got a little bit out of hand," she admitted. "Having a knife to your throat isn't a little bit out of hand, you know?" Bernar asked with a raised eyebrow. "It's not the first time, and it certainly won't be the last," she said, letting the conversation hang for a few moments as he digested her words.
"So, how did you come into contact with him anyway?" he asked bluntly. "He came to us with a warning that there might have been hashishin on their way to the castle," Thorsen replied for Leona. "I didn't trust him fully at first, but after he helped train us to become better protectors of Her Majesty, I began to trust him a lot more once I saw there was no hidden intent behind his actions," he continued.
"He trained you?" Bernar asked, raising both eyebrows. "Go on, then. Show him some of what you've learned," the giant said to Neko and Marte, who were obviously very proud to do so. Bernar immediately felt the mana surging through the air as a small Pyrus and Isen spell formed in Neko and Marte's hands respectfully.
"How did…? Oh, that's right. You still have some of the Gwynnleaf left there in Coltend," he said, answering his own question with a nod. "Never show your full hand to the enemy on the first encounter," he muttered, recalling his mother's lessons from when he was younger. "Well, I'm glad you have these two in addition to the large one over here," he said, jutting his thumb over to Thorsen.
"It is a great honor to be able to serve Her Majesty," Thorsen said with a respectful bow. "Although, I'm sure both Gwili and I would appreciate the help in training up the others once we return to Coltend," he said plainly. "Others?" Bernar asked, raising an eyebrow. "Her Majesty has created a new faction of the Warrior's Guild specifically for that purpose. However, we don't have a proper instructor unless, of course, you would like that position," Thorsen said with a respectful bow.
Gwili, we're going to have a long talk when we get out of here, Bernar thought, shaking his head.
"It would be great to have you as our instructor, Bernar," Neko and Marte said in unison, getting a nervous smile out of him. "I'll have to think about it. Besides, we've got company," he said, hearing a pair of guardsmen coming down the long hall.
"Get in there, you old bastard!" one of them shouted, forcefully pushing their prisoner into the cell beside that shared a wall with theirs. "No more spouting the will of your god here, as only Yarathea protects us," the other spat, getting no response from the prisoner.
What the fuck are they talking about? Who's Yarathea? Bernar thought momentarily.