<div class="floatright">(https://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/b/b9/4d2d1e8c4eac65fc29dedecec733004c.jpg)<br/>Quarion Silverbough</div>Quarion stood to attention as Captain Rowan laid out his instructions - or, at least, he stood up straight with his hands by his sides, in the way that he imagined standing to attention looked. "Got it, sir," he said, nodding along with the orders. "Uh... no cooking? O...kay, yes, sir," he mumbled, sounding uncertain but not making any argument. Once the briefing was done, he bowed to Rowan and Erin and ran outside to begin the trek back to the vineyard.<br/><br/>At home, he checked through his tools and armaments. He had been given his light crossbow at a young age, to help defend the goat flocks against predators. It had been of sturdy, simple construction, but it was the first tool that Quarion had started to modify when he came home from the Academy. Attached to the stock of the crossbow was a thin copper pipe, that lead from a reservoir at the butt of the weapon to an opening at its tip, just underneath where the head of a bolt would sit. He had only ever tested this modification against bales of straw, never against a live target, and this might be the chance he needed to try it in real battle.<br/><br/>His knives were of elven make, one passed down to him by each of his parents. He used them far more for everyday tasks than for battle, but they held a keen edge and would serve well in combat. He strapped the knives to his belt and started loading up his backpack with a week's worth of rations and fresh food, and some tools. He hesitated before putting his cooking gear into his pack alongside his brewing apparatus, but included them both anyway, although his principal cooking pot would stay in the kitchen at home. Finally, he donned his elven scale mail, a gift from his uncle upon his graduation.<br/><br/>Quarion felt trepidation in his heart at the prospect of going on his first true adventure, into serious danger, with the possibility of life-or-death battle ahead of him. But he had trained for this, and he couldn't ask for a better chance to try his skills. Steeling his resolve, he ran to tell his parents of his new mission, before returning to the village and the barracks.