Garnier said little during the journey through the forest. It was taking longer than he'd remembered to get to the Gilded Serpents. Something was wrong. The Silence of the forest told him that not only were the animals aware they were there, but the Serpents knew as well. The eeriness of the situation was increased when, after several hours, the sun began to fall and he had not found the fortress entrance. After The shadows began dancing their way across the ground and the light was so small they could not continue, Garnier slowed his horse down to a stop. It was obvious that the Serpents had closed off the original entrance and camouflaged it well. This complicated things.<br/><br/>Jumping down off of his horse he signaled to Joan to stop as well. It was unlikely the Serpents intended to harm them, as they were still alive after hours of wandering their territory. But it was also unlikely that Him and Joan were safe to camp. They would need to keep watches. The Serpents chose their name well. They liked to hide in cover and use surprise attacks. And Garnier knew them better than Joan. After surveying the forest and picking out one of the look outs with in range he turned and spoke to Joan.<br/><br/>"They will most likely surround us in the middle of the night. Keep your sword at your side and sleep with one eye open. I will take the first watch. There is a look out about 30 yards to the north and they have a direct line of site to us. As long as we don't make any sudden movements we should be fine. When they announce their arrival let me do the talking. If the money doesn't work then we will both have to fight. But i would rather us each fight one of them in the Calhoun technique than try to take on the entire band by ourselves. You have to win if we use the Calhoun technique. A tie results in a battle to the death by one pair of fighters. And I don't want to think about what would happen if you were chosen for the fight to the death. Don't underestimate them. They have survived the Royal armies for a reason. But for now, get some sleep. Trust me. you'll need it."<br/><br/>Garnier didn't tell her that because he thought she couldn't handle her own, because she could. He was merely showing concern. "Wait..." he thought to himself. He was showing concern? Why should he be concerned, Joan had bested him in many Practice matches before. She was more than capable of beating any Gilded serpent that showed his or her face to challenge her. And he was concerned? There wer times when Garnier hated ever getting to know Joan. Not because he disliked her, But because he liked her so much. he caught himself again. He couldn't let his feelings for Joan get into his personality around her. She was his commanding officer. She would find it insulting. And she was his friend. He kept telling himself over and over that he couldn't jeopardize his friendship. But if there could be more than friendship wasn't that worth the risk.<br/><br/>He caught himself staring at her again. He quickly averted his eyes and began setting up the camp. It was simple enough, just a couple of blankets for each of them, one for the ground and one to cover up with. There was a tarp to string between some trees in case of rain. And there was a tinderbox to help start a fire. Garnier gathered a few stick and logs from the surrounding area and in no time a small sprung to life and made shadows play across the trees and ground. As he sat before the fire preparing a little of the meat they had brought with them, he noticed, just as he had in the sun and after the stream, just how beautiful Joan looked.