Lissa addressed Turnstone once more.<strong>“I suppose you’re likely wondering about my qualifications. I’ve spent a number of years training at a Shining Hand monastery—technically I was there for over a century, but I’m sure we don’t want to count the part where I was a toddler,”</strong>she joked. Then feeling a little self-conscious she continued on.<strong>“Regardless I’ve moved beyond novice status, though I can’t claim any extraordinary mastery at this time. All I can promise is I’m a lot tougher than I look—that’s a quality that’s helped me to misdirect opponents in the past.<br/><br/>“I’ll just add that, as soon as you feel you’ve hired enough people, I’ll be ready to proceed at once.”</strong><br/><br/>The elf was as usual concerned—she was not one to trust people easily, but her line of work meant she often had to ally herself with complete strangers and hope they could pull their own weight. And there was no one she did not feel awkward around. Even other elves were often able to tell that Elven was not her first language, and sometimes they took her to be a half-elf due to her quarter human ancestry. But all that aside, she did anticipate combat on this mission and the chance to further refine her technique—that was what she valued most.