Eddie
The young Taemarian girl had her ears perked and her attention was given fully to the peasant girl that tended to the flock up in the hills of Northwind. As time passed, the reign of the sun ended slowly with the bright star turning a mellow red and descending towards the west, where it would greet the other side of the world as the faraway stars wriggled into existence. The moon was seen full and bathing much of the eastern sides of the hills with the silvery thar pushed shade away. Josephine leaned her head above the pot while Amaryllis questioned her about the right course of action. She sniffed the stew three uick times before taking a deep breath and smiling broadly. It was a marvelous scent. She was proud of the meal she helped Amaryllis make.

"Oh! Of course, you're right! I'll call them!"

The noble teenager walked at ane ager pace and opened the door to the outside. Her toothy and happy grin was betrayed by the scene unfolding before her. Some shouts of encouragement were thrown into the air while Tagus and another knight just began fighting. He had enough when the knight called him a shitblood. When he demanded an apology for not only himself, but the people the knight stepped on, the other man insulted his mother. The young boy had no other answer but a wad of spit that he spat at the other's face. A moment later, they were both grappling and striking each other as they rolled on the ground, their fists taking the turn of their mouths.

"Tagus!! Stop!!" Josephine said in a harsh and high pitched tone that rolled down the hill and to the surrounding landscape. Everyone was jolted to attention, including the boy, but the knight on top of him still went for a haymaker at the face of the grounded boy. Tagus pushed him off and released a flurry of punches that demanded the intervention of Roderick. The knight commander laced his arms under and around the boy's shoulders and pulled him, muttering orders in his ears.

"Don't lose your cool, boy...! You've been ordered by the Lady to stop...! Remember your charge...!"

Tagus had a red mark on the left side of his face, where the other knight punched him. The man he was struggling with, however, had a bloodied nose and his cheeks were red with bruises and rage. "Fucking Shitblood! I'll kill you one of these days!" The knight growled.

"That's enough, you two! Ryllis prepared a marvelous stew for us and this is how you repay her?! Acting like... Like children?!"

Roderick released Tagus and wiped his dirt coated fur. "Our sincerest apologies, my Lady." The knight commander spoke. "We let our differences get the best of us. It won't happen again." The young knight nodded and looked down at the ground in embarrassment.

"Now please behave and come inside! I'm so sorry, Ryllis!" She spoke to the knights and then to Amaryllis. 

The knights collected their bowls and spoons, forming a line that would end up at the door of the cabin. They entered one at a time and walked around the cabin to create a circle. The circle had one man next to the boiling stew with his bowl cupped by his two hands. He waited for the peasant girl to serve him some of the meal into his bowl.
Frankie
Amaryllis heard the commotion from outside and the sharp, piercing cry from Josie as she ordered them to stop. It drew her attention and she peered out, leaving her post by the stew as she tried to figure out what was going on. She saw the fight, and she heard those sharp words: "Fucking Shitblood." She grimaced slightly at them and retreated back into the cabin, occupying herself with tidying things up and just trying to make herself look busy in general.

The term shitblood wasn't anything new to her. She knew what she was and what she always would be. Any peasant in Marin knew their place, and if they ever had any interaction with the upper class, they were reminded frequently of their low-born status. Still, that term made her a bit angry, and even more so when she was feeding them! They were going to take her food and look down on her the entire time, though that's what all the upperclass did, she realized. They trampled over the "Shitbloods" On their way to the top. Yet, despite her anger, Amaryllis knew that it would never change. Unlike others in Northwind, she had no idealized notions of a changing class structure or any sort of liberties. She was a shitblood, and she always would be.

As the knights came inside, Amaryllis kept her gaze down and wouldn't look at any of them as she ladled warm stew into each of their bowls, one by one. The stew was piping hot and steam rose from each bowl, warming the hands of its owner. After everyone else had food to eat, Amaryllis finally poured some for herself and ate, sitting off by herself and out of everyone's way.
Eddie
Josephine was visibly annoyed by the way her own guardians acted in the land of their host. They were ill mannered and rude to someone because of their social status and, from all the knowledge she gathered in the libraries and the wisdom her father passed on from the noble city of Raunkastel, the one bit she hated to know about the most was the discrimination of rank and how the elite abused and tortured the commoners to fulfill their whims and desires. She was quick to join Amaryllis and shun her own people with a glare of green that glistened with a golden streak of emotion. She made a mental note to speak frankly with Knight Commander Roderick about it.

Some of the knights weren't thankful, even when Josephine and Amaryllis worked hard to cook them a wonderful meal. Such disdain bred from status was what was wrong with society, Josephine thought. She didn't speak out of respect for Amaryllis. The last thing she wanted was to make the uncomfortable atmosphere even worse. She had her bowl served and waited for Amaryllis to sit before joining her. The noble girl went as far as whisking Tagus away from the spiteful knights to her side, so he'd sit to her right and Amaryllis to her left.

Tagus couldn't keep to himself about the incident. He spoke out, low and without creating waves, to humbly apologize his host about fighting in her land. "I'm sorry you had to see us acting like that, Miss Amaryllis. I promise you this isn't the way every knight acts." He stated, trying to defend the honor of the title he and the others were given. He didn't have the pretentious attitude the highborn possessed.
Frankie
Amaryllis glanced up at Tagus as he spoke, the surprise evident on her face. She hadn't expected an apology, though granted, he seemed to have, at least at one point, been a peasant such as herself. He wasn't noble born, so perhaps that was what made him behave in this humble way. 

"It's alright," She replied, trying to brush the incident away. "It doesn't matter much to me how knights act." With that, she turned her attention back to her meal and continued eating. She was pretty quiet for the remainder of the meal, and she was seriously doubting joining Josie on her journey now. If the knights had so much disdain for a shitblood among their own ranks, how much more would they have for her? 

She finished eating quickly, then glanced at Josie and gave her a little smile. She didn't want her to feel bad about the incident! Amaryllis knew that Josie was different from the others, and she appreciated that. "I need to go wash up," She said. "Help yourself to whatever you need."

With that, she rose and ducked out of the cabin, making her way across the clearing and through a stand of trees to the nearby creek. It was time for a much-needed bath, and it would give her some time to clear her mind.
Eddie
Tagus wanted to contest the shepherdess' words. He wanted to tell her that it should matter how a knight acts and she should openly criticize the actions that condemned a man of not being chivalrous. He saw how many knights acted in his few years as a squire and he abhorred the image they gave to the title, which was supposed to translate into a protector of the people, twisted into a figure that lived off its title and stepped on the lower classes and their merit. Josephine knew Tagus all too well to know what was on his mind. She placed her right hand on his left thigh and squeezed, a sign he knew all too well. The young knight kept a reserved, but still thoughtful expression. He wanted to change the way the title he had was seen by changing the title itself. Return it to its former and correct definition.

When Amaryllis left, Josephine had the chance to speak to her guardians. She did so by addressing Lord Roderick himself, the stoic head of the group of knights. The young noble took a deep breath before doing so, a breath Roderick also knew from his time protecting the lady. He saw her grow up within the boundaries of the castle walls and tutored her in combat when Clovis was busy elsewhere.

"Knight Commander." She called. "I cannot allow this pretentious conduct to continue among the guardians. It was a *Shitblood* That welcomed us to her house and prepared a hearty meal for us to sate our hunger. She even gave us a roof over our heads!" It was clear that some of the knights disapproved of their lady defending the peasant, but Lord Roderick nodded. He placed the bowl of food on the floor in front of his stool and stood up, bringing his right hand in front of the plate, over the region of his heart.

"The guardians are ashamed of their actions, my Lady. We will vie to uphold the code of valor our noble house is known for."

"Hmph!"

The one man that grunted was the same that had a bloody nose covered in cloth to stop its river of red. Tagus rose from his seat, but he found the same right hand of the fair lady on his left shoulder. "Should I dismiss any of the men here for a lonely journey back to Raunkastel? Would my father like to know one of the knights he appointed had to be let go for misconduct?"

"Of course not, my Lady! Hausel, you're tonight's watch!"

Hausel, the pretentious knight, sneered and slumped his head and shoulders. No one liked the night watch. They felt it was beneath them.

"This journey won't be a coming of age just for me, but for all of you." The noble spoke to everyone in the room. "I won't tolerate discrimination. Be cautious, but do not insult anyone, especially not Amaryllis. She is my *Friend*."

Out of the eight knights, perhaps three of them acknowledged the young girl's words more than the rest. The Knighthoods were leaning more and more to a political end and being figureheads than upholding the tenets a knight was envisioned with. But she'd find the most loyal of men in those three, Tagus excluded from the number of eight. His was an unparalleled faith towards Josephine.

After finishing their meals, the knights went to their camp. By then, it was possible that Amaryllis was returning from her bath. If that was so, then she'd be approached by those three knights that wanted to do good by Josephine, thanking her for the stew. They were Rolf, Maverick and Howitzer. Rolf was a middle aged man with a vast knowledge of weaponry and tactics. He was bald and dark skinned, an oddity among the northern and middlelands. His House was near insignificant in the grand scheme of things, but the Merovingian saw it good enough to fit under their wing. Maverick was younger, perhaps the youngest second to Tagus. He was in his early twenties and was Roderick's son. Howitzer was a tower of a man, easily the tallest of all the knights, and had a powerful body full of muscle.
Frankie
Amaryllis took her time bathing in the creek, despite the fact that the mountain stream was quite chilly. With the knights busy eating, she didn't have to fear that anyone would stumble across her. She slipped from her dress and waded into the water, shivering a bit as the cold water enveloped her, though she found that she welcomed it. It was a shock to her system, but it also distracted her from the decision she would need to make. 

Her pale skin glowed softly in the moonlight as she bathed, washing away a week's worth of dirty and grime. It made her feel fresh and renewed, and the moonlight provided her with more than enough light to go about her business.After finishing with her bath, she exited the creek and began to slip into her dress once more. She had just pulled it around her and began tying the bow in the back when she heard a rustle nearby and the soft snap of a twig. Instantly, she was on high alert, her eyes searching the shadows for whatever had made the noise. 

But it could just be a knight... Right? "Hello?" She said, peering into the darkness.. A knight could have just come down to the creek for a drink, or to perhaps bathe himself. There was no response, and she waited a few moments, listening intently to the stillness around her. No response came, but no more rustling or twig snapping occurred either. All was still... Almost too still.

She waited a few more moments, then ducked into the shadows herself, turning her back and starting to make her way back to the cabin. She had made it only a few feet when something, or someone, slammed into her from behind, knocking her to the ground and knocking the air from her lungs. She tried to scream and cry out, but instead, she was left desperately attempting to suck some air into her lungs as she flailed and thrashed, striking at her attacker with as much force as she could manage.
Eddie
The group of knights was accounted for and all but one were present at camp. Hausel, the one in charge of the night watch, wasn't about to slack off just because he disliked the way the others indulged the young and immature lady's whims. He was of a serious mind that wanted to keep to the trails and the wilderness, depending on none but the group. The naivety of Josephine would be the group's undoing as far as he knew.

But a strange sound of thrashing piqued his curiosity and made the man, who had just started his round in going down to the creek, bulge his eyes. He saw a shadow on top of another in the distance, the sight of a struggle as one tried to overpower the other. As the man hurried to investigate, he managed to identify Amaryllis. His sense of duty was above any emotion he had, ill or no, for the girl. He drew his sword, which made an echo of blade rasping the scabbard, and shouted.

"Take your hands off of her!"

The yell echoed back to camp, where the men were getting warm. Tagus bolted out of the house, followed by Josephine. He gestured for her to wait with the others, which she was forced to comply to follow protocol. What would Tagus arrive to remained to be seen.
Frankie
She grappled with her attacker, clawing and scratching, lashing out with every ounce of force she could muster. She was a petite woman, but years of hard labor had made her quite strong, and it's likely the only reason that she hadn't been completely overpowered yet. She had a disadvantage in her size and lack of experience, but she made up for it in sheer willpower! 

She couldn't get a good look at her attacker, but that didn't stop her. She slammed her elbow into his nose, causing the man to grunt in pain and loosen his grip for a moment, which allowed her to roll over and drive her thumbs into his eyes. A moment later though, he regained himself and grabbed her hands and pinned them to the earth as he struck her face repeatedly. 

Dazed and disoriented, Amaryllis didn't no who it was that shouted, but her attacker responded to it all the same and released her. His grip on her loosened and the blows stopped raining down on her, and a moment later, the man was racing off into the dark, disappearing into the shadows from whence he came. 

Amaryllis slowly managed to push herself up, wavering and breathing hard. The right side of her face throbbed and her nose was bleeding, but she was on her feet!
Dale
"Delusional?!" Darin responded, in perhaps more than approperiate outrage, delivering a fierce kick to a seemingly random tuft of grass. "Bah.. I'll command all that falls before me, just you wait.." Darin responded with a rather bitter grumble, before starting to make his way towards this shadowy figure in the mist. At worst, he'd just have to fight it. At best, it could point him in the right direction to get out of this moist hellhole. Still, Darin wasn't quite attentive enough to pick up on the sarcasm, instead smiling and relaxing a bit. "Ah, so finally, the respect I deserve.. Well, in that case, you can have your little bog! I, really just want to get away from here. Preferably southwards. You know the lay of the land, don't you, mister, eh.." Darin snapped his fingers a few times and waved his hand, trying to fish for some kind of name. Obviously calling the person before him "Horrible bog-beast" Wasn't too flattering, so he managed to restrain himself from doing so.

Darin squinted a bit at the hands in front of him, which he first assumed was a gesture of surrender- But upon noticing their odd shape, he became all the more weary again. "Oh no.. Nooooo.." Darin quietly mumbled to himself, secretely growing incresingly nervous about the swamp monstrosity, who's terrible name was.. ".. Albert? Just, Albert? Not as in, Albert the flesh-ripper, or, Albert-who-devours-lost-children?" Darin quizzed for a moment. He couldn't help but to feel that the name ALBERT was a little plain for some sort of horrible wetlands monster. ".. Well, I am surprised that you do not already know me." Darin remarked, with a slight smirk helping hide his worries. Pulling off the helmet he had worn so far to disguise himself, he let his quite long, white hair flow freely for a moment. "Darin Zacharov, Duke Conqueror of the Grey Hills, and rightful heir to the throne of Northwind! Holder of many titles, and all in all, probably the most important person who has even passed through this swamp." Darin didn't consider it narcisissm, he just saw it as being able to enknowledge just how great he actually was!
Eddie
Hausel saw the ongoing struggle during his run toward the source, plate banging on his jog as the armor was bearing a toll on his mobility. His body was strong, which allowed him to make long strides with his legs, stopping short in his shout. When the attacker raised his shape into the gleam of moonlight, Hausel dropped his sword and grabbed the hilt of a knife on the right side of his waist. It was a reverse grip that pushed the blade from its sheathe and over the loosening fingers. He caught up with it in front of his shoulder with his thumb, index and middle fingers and whipped his forearm back. His brown eyes glowed birghtest in their light complexion, reflecting the moon above the pupils that centered on the figure running back through the creek. He slung his forearm forward and jerked his wrist on release, sending the knife flying through the air to hit the side of the left leg of the unknown agressor. He wanted to know who it was, why they were there, thinking of the perimeter and how it was easy to breach it. If it was a wildman, there could be a band of barbarians around. But then it could be someone targeting the group. It could be paranoia, but Hausel wanted that shadow lying on its face and unable to properly run.

The dark blade flicked a spark in its gliding path and disappeared in the low dim of darkness light. The moon saw overhead as the knife was shot, making only a fast sizzling sound be warning shot to the strike. Then Tagus arrived. Had the man be hit fair, the knight blood would have the boy do the running. "Go and get that man! We have to interrogate him, so mind your manners Tagus!" His was always a rattling tone of scowling discordance for having a Shitblood among his peers. Knightblood was superior.

The young knight didn't falter in following the order. He was the youngest of the group, and although his obligation to Josephine could have him a warm seat right next to her at that moment, he had these drives that the girl could not restrain. He wasn't running very fast, but that was his first real run with that suit of armor. He cherished the moments he ran around on his own during younger times. If the made up plan came together, Hausel had something to gloat about, in all of his fairness.

Tagus really wanted to find out what this attacker was doing. It couldn't be something like a thief, this far out. He also hoped he didn't make the stupid mistake of running all the way there if it was a ruse for something worse.
Dale
Darin stood there for a moment, dumbfounded with a combination of disbelief and shock, with just a smidgeon of relief mixed in. He had heard tales about the bog creatures. They were large, had many gnashing teeth, horrible tentacle limbs, glowing eyes, and kidnapped children who missbehaved and didn't respect their parents. They were NOT some kind of lost orphan who was half frog and dressed like a bum. It made Darin question those childhood tales for a moment, before reaching the conclusion that just perhaps, this wasn't the kind of bog-beast he was thinking about. Still seeming rather cautious, and slightly repulsed by the muddy hand, he slowly grasped it and gave it a slight shake. "Rrrrright.. You, uh, too? And, you too?" He responded, turning towards the toad on the second greeting. He stood there for a moment in a strange and awkward silence as he tried to process the thing before him- but the penny in his mind quickly dropped, and he got back onto his original topic. ".. Right, yes, this swamp. If you're the Lord of it, which I'll let you remain for now, you ought to know where it's located, *Riiiight?*" Perhaps this was just the jackpot Darin needed. Directions, right back to the Grey Hills! Or at least the nearest settlement..
Frankie
The man grunted as the knife sliced through his left side, though it didn't embed itself into his flesh. Rather, it nicked him, slicing through the sinews of flesh and making him bleed quite a bit. It slowed him down and caused him to leave a clear blood trail as he hobbled off through the darkness, running as fast as he could with his wound while clutching it. Each step tore the wound further open and only made it worse, but he couldn't stop running now! If he did, Tagus, who was hot on his heels, would catch him, and then it would be game over. 

The moonlight wasn't doing him any favors either. With the bright moon lighting up the landscape, he lacked the cover of shadows and darkness. There were still certainly shadows and trees that made it somewhat easier to hide, but the moon... He cursed it as he ran, where when he was watching Amaryllis and moving to attack her, he had been glad for it. 

Darting from tree to tree and shadow to shadow, he made his way through the woods, eventually ducking towards the creek and travelling up it for a time, just to make his pursuer lose his blood trail. The water made it impossible to run, but it was worth it just to lose the blood trail. He crawled out on the other side and ducked behind a tree, leaning up against it and breathing hard as he stopped to listen for his pursuer.