Anders was not surprised that Galneak knew of his father. The name spread like butter on hot toast. It was a staple in many fighters guilds and stories were shared with food by a warm hearth in a tavern. The part that did surprise him though, was that Galneak managed to watch his father fight. In all the years Anders was alive, his father had only wielded a blade for the first five. Sickness, and years of fighting left him rather weak and bound to the castle of their namesake. "I wish I could have been in that audience as well, I hear he was a truly valiant fighter." Truth be told he was more than that.<br/><br/>Rumors of his skill were the reason the family name grew to its height. The flash of the wicked blade, the blur of steel. Every story he heard remarked at the speed his dad was known for with a variety of weapons. The reminiscent memory bubble popped though as Galneak mentioned a level of curiosity in how he managed to survive. It was not a story he was against telling, but often didn't share with the company that he wanted to tell it too.<br/><br/>"We need to take a step back in time for that. Five years ago, the castle watch was given orders from an inside agent to leave a wall unguarded. This wall was sieged by Demonkin, who once inside, opened the main gate allowing for the attack. Hundreds of men, women and children were killed mercilessly." His words told the story that his mind recollected.<br/><br/>"Every single one of my siblings. Ren, Yulanna, Mikhu, Lorinne... all of them are dead... At least I think they are." he said, letting out a deep sigh. "I managed to live because I, along with one handmaiden tasked with caring for my father, fell from the castle during an explosion. The crumbling stone on the exterior left us falling into the Esmer River. I broke my leg, the handmaiden survived with a bit of damage to her shoulder." he looked between Alianor and Galneak as he told the story.<br/><br/>"The both of us floated down the river for what felt like days, clinging to pieces of driftwood to float. Once we were forced onto land, we walked. Well limped more like it... The rest was history. Story of the noble house Swordborn was spread like a plague. Everyone believed it to be no more. With no 'living heir' the remainder of the land was taken by the crown. The handmaiden I survived with, never had a name. She was rescued as a slave around the time I was born and given refuge by my mother. She was like a sister to me. We always called her 'Quendira', elvish for 'lucky'. Once we made it to a port city though, she agreed to go by Esmer." he said and let his eyes linger on Alianor for a moment.<br/><br/>"That's enough about me though. I lived. Esmer lives, and is doing well for herself." he said. His ears perked up when Alianor spoke, and the ensuing argument left Anders feeling a bit awkward. Not just awkward, but almost aggressively so. The room carried a bit of hostility to it the longer they talked. A secret was obviously being tiptoed around, but not being paid yet meant he needed to be careful if he wanted to see the bulk of that coin.<br/><br/>The most surprising thing for Anders in that moment was when both of them turned, and opened their clothing to reveal their tattoos. Each ornate and intricate in design. 'Monastery in the shrieking mountains'. The words were both unexpected and dangerous. The secrecy he displayed earlier, and hesitation he held for Alianor when she did things made sense. The monasteries were independent entities that had free say to what they wanted in most kingdoms. For them to both be working on retrieving information meant something big was happening.<br/><br/>Anders let his eyes linger on the tattoo on Alianor and he almost felt his body tense as he looked at it. This was not the first time he had seen that image before.<br/><br/>Memories took Anders back to several nights before his mother had died. The both of them were taking a walk along the parapet. It was shortly after midnight and she was speaking to him about plans for the future. She wanted him to finally break free from his sense of duty to them and go out to live his own life. Anders, in obvious defiance, disagreed. "Mother, I will leave when I am no longer needed, the world can do with one less Swordborn, but you and dad cannot." his words punctuated by a soft smile as he looked at his mother. She looked at him with guilt in her eyes. "You need to be free of this place, you may be the youngest but you are too wise for this place." she said before leaning up against the wall overlooking the river that flowed behind the castle. The moonlight that shone upon them and gave an almost bright white glow for miles in all directions around the bog. "Anders let me do something real quickly." she said, taking his hand into her own. Anders relented with a smile on his face. "Not this nonsense again mother, you always try to glean information from my future and nothing ever comes of it." he said before letting out a groan. She didn't speak then and opened her eyes as she looked at him. "What do you see ?" she asked. Anders looked into her eyes, and just as he had nearly thirty times prior, he saw a blossoming flower, surrounded by clouds.<br/><br/>Anders could feel his heart rate increase as he looked between the both of them in a slight bit of panic. "Oh....Y-your from the monastery. My apologies for not b-being more formal" he managed to stammer out before kneeling in front of them. His heart was pumping harder than he ever thought possible, each thundering pulse sent him deeper and deeper into this momentary panic attack. It took a single deep breath to offset the descending madness. Looking up to the two, he stood slowly after a bow. "I will still take the coin for my services rendered, but I would like to offer my aid in any way possible.<br/><br/>Anders looked to Galneak from Alianor. "I know you have an ally that is ill, I think if we did take him along we could attempt to heal in one of the coming towns, I do not know if they have a diviner there, but I believe there is a very skilled alchemist. I met him about a year back on a mission." he said with a hopeful tone. His eyes moved over to Alianor and he felt his lip curl into a soft smile. He was not sure who she was, but somehow, whatever magic his mother believed in knew this woman would enter his life. Now it was up to him to figure out why.