Laelia was grateful for the routine exchange of pleasantries with the beautiful herbalist though truth be told she didn't feel much like talking about her troubles.  At least not yet and with someone she had just met.  Thankfully the girl proceeded to sing a gentle tune that soothed her nerves.  "We're in the belly of the beast alright."  She said under her breath as she saw Holger storm out from around the corner where he had just assaulted her.  She doubted very much this was the last she would hear about it or that she was in any way safe at least not until they returned to the law of the empire and not this beast of a man who thought he owned her.  The song had at least steadied her enough that she could begin to meet the other members of her company.  Or so she thought until their leader mounted his horse and gave his short speech.  It wasn't exactly inspirational but he certainly didn't sugar coat anything.  As he said his name she felt a slight shame that despite how intimately they had known each other last night, this was the first she had even learned his name, it hadn't exactly been important to their business together.  He may have known hers from a manifest or something, but he certainly hadn't asked, but clearly he wasn't a stickler for pleasantries anyway.  She was already learning to despise the man but there was little she could do about that now.  She could only hope that having more of an audience would stay his hand a bit, she would need to make friends fast.<br/><br/>She had a feeling of dread as she realized Holger was ready to go NOW!  "Oh shit."  she said out loud and looked at the meager storage space available for personal items, not to mention the instruments she would need to successfully navigate and map the new lands beyond the Grass Sea.  She went to her crates, at least they were organized enough for her to grab the bare minimums.  She had a bag she always had ready in case the ship went down, survival type stuff mostly.  The she gathered the essentials for her job, the smallest, lightest time piece she had, her best sextant, a change of clothes, and as much parchment, ink, and pencils as would fit in the saddle bags.  She looked pleadingly to the teamster that drove her here.  "Please just take the rest to the guild, they will store it all for me."<br/><br/>She could ride but she was no expert.  She accepted a boost from the cute young stable hand who was more than happy to give her a hand, several actually.  As soon as she sat she groaned from the reminder of last night's marathon.  She doubted Holger had any such reminders of last night, which made her hate him all the more.  She kept her legs straight in the stirrups, taking as much weight off her tender behind as possible.  It was going to be a long journey.  She took out the time piece and marked the precise time they started and jotted it down on a scrap of parchment from her vest pocket then tucked both away.  Good records made good maps, she thought to herself as she tried to compartmentalize her worries and focus on the task at hand.<br/><br/>She had to spur her mount to catch up with the red headed girl she hadn't met yet.  It was tough with the narrow trail but the horses seemed friendly enough to tuck in close.  "Sorry we didn't get to meet proper but I'm Laelia, my friends call me Lia."  She called loud enough for the redhead to hear her but her soft voice would likely be swallowed up by the vast mass of grass on either side of them before anyone else would hear her.  "I'm the map maker."  She said, deciding to start off with the basics especially when they weren't really able to be personal, talking from horse to horse like this.