<div class="floatright">(http://41.media.tumblr.com/a2f9ee9f69862b4347b81042d23f8c7c/tumblr_nmi4a72NCd1qgd7rdo1_1280.png)</div>This was why she attended breakfast in full uniform. Why her early morning ritual prepared her muscles for the fight of her life before the sun had even risen. The arrival of these strangers had nearly doubled the number of guardians watching over Melford just overnight. It had been a long time Lieutenant Yucca had protected Melford against those odds, with only just enough men to finish an inn breakfast. "These are the heroes who slew a band of marauding goblins just last night," she answered Rehn's daughter. "Stay with Captain Marika. Goblins won't bother you while she's around. She scares them all away."<br/><br/>The shield hung on her back like a turtle's shell, over the travel pack she hadn't yet taken home. And, that was it- she was out the door. Her shoulders were ready to bear the weight of her armor. Her legs were ready to sprint. And her arms, when the time came, would hold the steel of her blade against worg jaws. "Ready now, Bran. You were right- we should have left at daybreak. This is escalating too quickly for breathing room."<br/><br/>Dza was not running when she left the inn. Even as fit as she was, she would not be able to sustain a run for the eight hours it would take to reach Rehn's farm. "Northwest," she called to Ran Fletcher. "Half a day. Bran and I know the routes well. If you want to help, we should stick together."