Teft glowered at the boy. Barely even arrived at the frontier, and already looking down on people. He'd be telling Teft how to hold his sword too, soon enough.<br/><br/>"Oh? And I suppose you know all about what's out there, do you? Bandits don't scare me. Bugs don't scare me. I know them, I can deal with them. But out there, it's another story. Nobody fucking knows what's out there, though we get plenty of stories. Maybe you think the tales are bullshit, just made up by superstitious locals? Spread by bandits, perhaps, to scare them off? Maybe that's true. But the folks round here don't spook easy, so if they say there's shit out there, I reckon I'll take their word over some armchair explorer any day. Ain't no harm in being prepared. That's scouts 101, that is."<br/><br/>He looked somber for a moment. The late return of the scouts was somewhat concerning.<br/><br/>"And if the scouts ain't made it back, what makes you think we're gonna fare any better? They're likely far more used to this shit than any of us, self included. Asides, they probably just been held up by the weather. Happens in these parts."