The sun hung over the center of the sky, and the cool autumn winds had given the air a slight chill. There was an aura of activity throughout the island, the local monastery having recieved an augury and sent out it's monks to convey the message to the nearby peoples. The island was situated off the coast of a main island, a narrow sea away from a large swathe of wilderness, with the sea being the only barrier of safety, yet it was safe enough to house a monastery and small farming community on.

Just north of the monastery was a small wood of maple and ash trees, branches fluttering in the winds that had begun to pick up.

As tan and orange leaves fell from their trees with each gust of wind, a monk, huddled in their light brown robes, trekked forth through the woods, aiming for the village just ahead. They were tasked by their monastery to alert the surrounding villages and help everyone make preparations.

Winds blow forcefully through the trees, but the monk steadied their pace and reached the edge of the woods, seeing the small farming village just up ahead. Usually the autumn weather was nice, but the weather always acted nasty when some disturbance is coming up.

A few minutes later, the monk was at the door of the first house, and ignoring the people bustling around him, gave a light knock on the wooden door.

Several moments pass, with no response, before a village girl nearby notices him, and runs up to him:

"Thank you mister priest, but someone already came here to warn us. That house already packed up and left."

"Who was it? I was the only one from the monastery headed in this direction."

"Ha, no, they weren't a priest like you. They were a knight! They had a big sword and a spear, and a fancy painted shield. They weren't wearing their armor, though. Just a brown shirt and pants."

A knight?

Those were already rare enough on the major islands, much less some rural farming community, even if the islands were outposts to the nearby wilderness.

The little girl points into the town, and you pat her shoulders before sending her off to where she came, before heading down to where she was pointed.

You could see the person the girl was talking about standing squarely in the center of the market. They were clearly a warrior, dressed in a long brown gambeson, a large traveller's pack strapped to their back, and had a light brown hood on, billowing in the wind, as they talked to a small handful of villagers.

Before you could approach them, they noticed and started towards you. Once they got closer, you realized they were had a bit shorter stature than you, which wasn't all that uncommon, especially if they were from further south of here.

But once you were face to face, you realized it was a woman inside the gambeson, one with a stern looking face and soft but serious eyes. She speaks, in a husky but friendly voice:

"You're a monk from the island monastery?

You're slightly caught off guard by her directness, but say to her, villagers now onlooking:

"Y-yes, I'm from the monastery. Was sent here to warn and help the nearby villages prepare, though it seems I've been beaten to it. Who are you?"

The knight takes another step closer, and extends her arm to you, you grabbing and shaking it, before she pulls you in to a pseudo hug, doing the signature greeting of the peoples of the east. She almost strikes you on the back with her other arm before freezing up, realizing she's trying to do a foreign greeting to someone who wouldn't know it. Before she retracts, you recepricate and hit her back as well to complete the act, to both her relief and curiosity of you knowing such a foreign greeting.

"Name's Lera, I'm a soldier, from lands east of here. I'm surprised you knew that greeting though, are you from Ruthland as well?"

"My name is Ellis, and not from it, but I travelled to the east on monastery tasks."

"Ah. I was passing through when I heard of the warning, and wanted to help the locals."

You remember your curiosity from earlier, asking her:

"So you're a knight? What business would a noble chevalier like you have on a small monastery island?"

Lera pauses at looks at you for a second before letting out a short chuckle:

"A knight? I'm flattered you think so noble of me. I may be able to kill a wolf or two, but I'm no paragon. I'm just a soldier, wandering nearby."

She isn't a knight? Well, I guess to a child, any nice soldier with fancy equipment would be a knight to them. Even soldiers situated in the outposts for the nearby wilderness weren't all that different from her.

"Ha, sorry, guess that's my retribution for only asking a child for information before coming to talk to you."

Looking closer at her, she does seem to have a more gruff look and attitude than a knight would. She has faint scarring on the right side of her face, her hair tied back behind her head, laying on her shoulders. Her gambeson looks like it's seen better days, with some patchwork and small tears in it, with her hood and cloak having a few notches in it.

It's been a few seconds since you've said anything, and quickly scrambling to say something so she doesn't think you were ogling her, you blurt out:

"Your clothes look like they've been through some wear, have you had a long journey coming here?"

"Yeah, it's been a good week or two since I've last been in a town."

Two weeks? You've been out exploring before , but that's a pretty long time to be in the woods foraging and eating rations. A thought crosses into your mind:

"Why that's terrible, after all you've done for these villagers! You should stay and rest for a few days. They'd probably even give you free lodging for a few nights."

You were so excited at the prospect of helping her, you forgot you were rounding the villagers up to evacuate to a bastion, the villagers wouldn't even be sleeping in the village tonight.

Quickly recovering, you add:

"Well, maybe not the villages, given the whole raid-evacuation snag... But I'm sure we'd be able to find somewhere for you!"

After a short pause of her thinking, she grins and shakes you by the shoulder, snarking:

"Ha, you charmer, Ellis, you. I guess it beats sleeping in the woods again though. But back to the aforementioned villagers, we gotta alert the rest of them first."

Right, the villages. Thinking about the layout of the island, if you came from the monastery to the south, and she reached here from the mainland, the only area nearby not yet covered is a small fishing hamlet just north on a peninsula.

"Right, just north of here should be a peninsula with a small fishing hamlet. With luck, noone will be out to sea right now, or we can at least alert someone to tell them once they return."

As if on cue, the wind picks back up, causing both of you to reflexively brace down.

"Well then! Guess we share a common destination then, huh?", she says as she circles around to your side, not-so-subtly pushing you to travel with her.

After alerting the rest of the village, the two of you set off towards the hamlet.

The northernmost part of the island was a sandy beach with a small stretch of grass and arable land behind it, a small hamlet of less than a dozen houses scattered about, their white daub walls and yellow-brown roofs standing contrast to the blue seas behind them.

Walking with her, you notice she walks with a more poignant march compared to your serene stroll. She really is a stange person, even though you've seen your share of guards and mercenaries, she has a strage background, a soldier without a party, far away from her homeland, with a brash and energetic personality to match. Even with your encounters with guards and soldiers in raid bastions and nearby frontier outposts, she seems different than them, more lively and aggressive.

Maybe it's just been too long since you left the monastery.

The final hamlet is only a quarter hours trek from the village, but along the way, she prods you for more information, which you in turn use to learn more about her:

"What's it like living on this island? They're doesn't seem to be much forest over here."

Remembering the autumning woods near your monastery, you reply:

"Maybe not on most of the island, but there are still spots of forest, like a really pretty forest you can see from my monastery. Really, these islands are mostly surrounded by the sea, but this area is actually a frontier of the wilderness past those waters."

Her voice turns a little sympathetic.

"Ah, that's pretty rough. My home town was on a frontier too, where I learned to fight! Lots of monsters may seem scary, but can be defeatd with proper training. Or just a bow from a tower, heh, monsters hate fortifications."

As if remembering something, she follows up with:

"Oh, what's the local bastion? I heard it was some place called Castle Braun?"

You have a brief moment of realization:

"You don't know the place you've been herding off villagers to?"

"Well, I know the name, and... that it's a castle... Okay, you got me. I just heard it from some villager along the way, but didn't think to ask what it was."

You can't stop a goofy smirk from appearing on your face, and shortly after the two of you begin laughing, her aware of how comical her heroically rallying and leading villagers to a place she doesn't even know the location of is.

After the quick session of laughter is over, you add in:

"Castle Braun is the local castle for the island, home to a minor lord of Ardia. Although, I guess they must really be a minor lord if . Who knows, maybe they're more the hermetic type?"

"Can't imagine holding the islands' populations in your castle every few weeks as very hermetic... Hah..."

Goofily laughing again, the two of you head onward, the edge of the hamlet nearing up ahead.

Along the walk, your companion's camaraderie drowns out the unruly weather, although you got used to pre-raid weather years ago once you joined the monastery. She asks you more questions about your life there, like she's never seen a monk before:

"Do you shave your heads all the time?"

"Some of us do, it's not required anymore though."

"Don't you guys write and paint books?"

"Yes, and it's a job called scribing."

"Is it true you only have guys in there? And you can never be with or marry a woman? And you've never seen a nude woman before, not even to paint and write into your books?"

She narrows her eyes and you can see a sly grin on her face as she asks the last one, but it still catches you off guard:

"W-what?"

She erupts into laughter, and you feel your cheeks starting to blush a warm red, you still try to respond through it:

"We do have only men in our monastery... although there aren't any rules against marriage..."

You can't bring yourself to answer the last part in front of her, and her grin widens, having successfully baited you into becoming flustered.

"Ha ha, sorry, it's just we'd always try to mess with each other and get a rise out of each other, back at my town guard. The temple-raised medics were always particularly easy, although it wasn't the same as doing it to a monk in the wild.

"They seem like wonderful people." you reply flatly, grumpy at having been roused so easily.

"Sorry, won't do it again..."

You have a feeling this won't be the last time she'll try to pull one over on you, but at least for now you're safe. She adds, trying to re-steer the conversation:

"So... you are a painter, huh? And you write books? Do you also know medicine and plants? What about cooking?"

Thinking about your monastery life, you answer her:

"Yes, I paint and write books. I also copy books, mainly holy books and books of importance, but those take forever to transcribe, with how much my hands are cramped around a quill and writing, you'd think they'd look like some blacksmith's hands."

You remember the monastery's orphanage, which recently had to be relocated due to safety issues, which you would often help out at.

"I did know some herbalism, and helped cook for my monastery, or more particularly, the orphanage that was built out of it. I didn't spend much time with the kids, but did help cook behind the scenes."

She looks back at you, seeming to have sensed the hint of sadness in your voice, and asks in a more soft voice:

"What happened to it? It's still around, right?"

You respond in an equally soft voice, her leaning a bit closer to hear you through the winds:

"Yeah, but not in my monastery. The island was becoming more dangerous, and they relocated it further inland."

This wasn't the only bad change related to the frontier, but Lera leaves it at that and comforts you.

"Well, at least they're still doing well. Say, we're almost at the hamlet and we've got a lot of villagers to help. How 'bout we split up and hurry up rounding the hamlet, then go to your monastery?"

You agree to her plan, and have a small walk the last few seconds before splitting paths. She bids you farewell, before sprinting off her path:

"See you soon, Ellis."

Just barely hearing her while she's ahead, you hear her mutter:

"Heh, 'chevalier'. I like it..."

Once in town square, you gather the attention of the hamlet and say your message:

"Everyone! We've brought news from the monastery, there will be a demon raid in the next few days! Gather your belongings and head to your local raid bastion for safety. Food will be provided, and enough storage to hold one cart per family, take with you what you can't afford to lose, or can't secure down!"

--------------------

A half hour later, the two of you combined have alerted every villager in the northern part of the island, including the ones coming in from the sea.

Looking to find your new partner, you head back to the entrance of the hamlet where you came, and see her standing in her dark brown clothes, among the recently harvested fields behind her. The two of you reunite, and head to the monastery, the sun now beginning to set in the skies as you trail the path through the autumning forest, completing the hues of brown, orange, and gold you've taken in today.

Thinking about it, the monastery itself will probably evacuate to the castle as well, meaning she'd still have to stay in the bastion, separate from the housings for the general population, but still not the most hospitable place to sleep. Nonetheless, you arrive at the monastery.

"And here, is my monastery, my home I live, study, and pray in."

Great wood and brick walls tower above you, several storeys in height, with several other buildings nearby, a large pair of wooden doors standing between you and the main building. The monastery is notably vacant, only a few of the monks having returned, Father Abban sitting at the table in the center of the hall, pondering something with just one other monk in the room.

"Where are the rest of the brothers, Father Abban?", you ask.

In his characteristically wise but soft voice, he answers:

"They've not yet returned from their missions. They should be back within the hour, though, so do not fret about them."

You feel a small tinge of guilt at having gotten out with only doing a small amount of the work, thanks to Lera, and on cue, he walks up to Lera and greets her:

"And who might you be, young one?"

"I'm Lera, a soldier girl who was nearby."

"She was helping alert the villagers, having traveled in from the mainland, so I brought her here.", you add.

Father Abban looks at her for a few seconds before smiling, and stepping to the side, welcoming both of you inside.

After talking to Father Abban, you head to show Lera around the monastery, including the spot overlooking the forest you promised her.

Actually getting to the spot, the magic of it is ruined by the dark skies since the sun set, barely even being able to make out the individual trees.

"Well, it's a wonderful spot to look outwards... in the day at least."

Letting out a small chuckle, she adds:

"I bet it is. The forest we went through was real pretty looking, so I can imagine this place looking nice during the day."

Showing her some of the works you've written and painted before, you try to embellish your presentation to make them seem nicer, although you have a hard time telling if it works or not. Nonetheless, she is impressed, and you then go to have dinner with the rest of the monastery.

Once you enter the dining hall, you notice three large bowls of soup all at the end of the table, Father Abban just sitting down.

"All for you, I presume, Father?", you jokingly ask him.

He lets out a snort followed by a chuckle, before inviting you to seat with him:

"Fish and onion bruet, just for the 3 of us. The rest of the monks have left for the bastion, or already went there."

Lera moves before you do, rushing and sitting at the right side of Father Abban, and quickly begins to wolf down her food. If she was this hungry before, she certainly was good at hiding it.

While she eats, you ask him:

"Why did you stay here and not leave for the bastion?"

"Well, I figured you two would want something to eat. Aha, and it looks like I was right. But there was something else I wanted to ask you in particular."

Lera looks up from her food, already over halfway done her bowl, while the two of you barely reached a quarter's down.

Father Abban continues:

"As you know, we routinely send a messenger around this time of year to Belgrad, contacting the head of our order, in regards to general status updates and information regarding the future. But, our messenger was injured a few weeks ago, and hasn't been able to recover, and we need someone else to deliver the reports."

Lera interrupts to add:

"Belgrad, that's in northwestern Ruthland. Quite a ways away from here."

You had travelled as far east as Bergmark on previous journeys, which shares a few customs with Ruthland, but never been as far as Ruthland yourself. Father Abban replies, turning to you:

"Yes, and that is the issue. I remember you've enjoyed being sent as a missionary to lands such as Bergmark, but I am unsure on if you would want to make this journey. We'd have to find someone else if you didn't want to."

Travelling to foreign areas and learning their cultures was something you loved, and would normally have jumped at the opportunity to do. But you didn't speak Ruthian, and usually never travelled alone, with it being a long journey from here.

"I could possibly deliver the reports. But Ruthland is a far whiles away, along with having large swathes of forest and wilderness. I also don't speak their language, and don't have anyone to guide or guard me."

Lera almost bursts out laughing, barely containing herself enough to explain:

"Wait a second, you two. I'm a soldier, a guard even. I was born in Ruthland, and speak their language. I mean, I've even gone the route from Ruthland to here, haven't I?"

Father Abban cracks a smile, and responds:

"Yes, I figured that out after hearing your name, it's a distinctively Ruthian one. You being a wandering soldier was also another part, and I can see from your eyes that you have a noble heart. Besides, I believe you would have something to gain for joining and helping the monastery... wouldn't you?"

You're not quite sure what he meant by that, but remembering her not having a place to stay and having rough looking clothes, you piece together she was probably looking for a place to stay for a few nights in exchange for her help.

Given monasteries across the world house wanderers for free, and that she would definitely know that, having travelled so far, you judge her as a nice person anyways, given she did still try to help the villagers when she could have just knocked on the monastery door.

Her hunger suddenly made more sense, and made you feel another beat of sympathy for her. She chuckles nervously, saying back in a weaker voice:

"Heh, y-yeah. I don't have a guardsman organization anymore, and have been wandering from place to place, helping people."

He responds in a surprisingly comforting voice:

"Relax, it's okay. You have a kind soul, along with a new employer in the Monastic Order. That is, if you choose to accept and guard Ellis on his journey to Belgrad."

You don't object to this arrangement, but feel suspicious about them discussing it through without you.

"Hey! I still haven't even agreed to this yet!"

"That is true, ultimately it is up to Ellis, if he declines you can find another job for us."

"Well... I don't really have any reason to decline now. Are you really trusting an important delivery to a monk and a random soldier?"

"The delivery is important in meaning alone. In reality, it's just a roll of papers and notes, along with a letter to him. Wouldn't even be worth a silver pence sold, certainly not to your future payments."

Glancing at Lera, who's also looking at you with intent, seemingly begging to go on this mission...

You let out a laugh and sit up.

"I'll do it. Belgrad is a holy city I am interested in visiting, so I will go with Lera, travel to Ruthland, and deliver the letter to the Order's head priest!"

Father Abban lets out a smile as Lera leans back into her chair, smiling.

"Well then, it is decided. You two will leave tomorrow, first heading to the mainland and then to a port, to leave by ship. Between then and Ruthland, I do not know what route you will take. The eastern sea heads far inland to Bergmark, but there are still large swathes of wilderness between there and Ruthland."

"Some of the rivers in the eastern sea are in dangerous territory, however. We'd need to find safe roads, as just one soldier can't defend against monsters forever", Lera adds.

After much discussion into the night, a route is plotted, and you prepare yourselves for the journey to the port town tomorrow.

A moment of silence falls over the table, before Father Abban adds:

"The raid will begin early the day after tomorrow, so you can stay at the monastery for the night. I'll be staying here, and departing for the bastion tomorrow, which is when you will leave for the port town."

Lera pipes up:

"That's right! Where will I sleep here tonight?"

Father Abban glances at her, before looking at you for several seconds, studying you like he did with Lera when he first met her.

"You can sleep in the bedroom with Ellis, where all of the monks sleep. There are many empty beds to sleep in, with everyone being away, aside from me of course."

Lera gets a slight blush on her face, before Father Abban smiles, the matter concluded.

The three of you finish your dinner, and then afterwards pack for the next day, before heading to the bed chamber. Lera picks the bed next to you, while Father Abban lays in the one in the corner of the room.

Father Abban is already asleep, you tell Lera good night, already starting to fall asleep yourself.

"Goodnight, Ellis."

The winds from before having been blocked by the walls, now only providing a faint ambience in the background, you drift asleep, the aura of comfort of heavy winter blankets and dark ambience guiding you.

--------------------

You wake up the next morning to branches rattling the monastery walls from outside, being blown about by the winds, which are back to their characteristic wildness.

Looking around the room, Father Abban has already gotten up and left, and Lera is still asleep.

That is, until another leafy branch rustles against the walls, causing her to snap to attention, and she starts to rise.

"Good morning, Lera."

Her hair is messy from having slept and woken up, and despite her attentiveness, she lets out a long groan as she stretches her body, shifting her legs off the bed.

"G'dmornin' 'llis", she mumbles out to the best of her ability.

You walk to her bedside and extend your arm to her, and help pull her onto her feet and out of bed.

Standing face to face again, in casual clothing without any armor or uneven terrain, you get another good look at her. She's got long hair, currently all let down and clumped together, in need of brushing. Her build is tall and stocky, athletic and strong due to being a fighter, but not slender.

She's tall for a woman, standing only an inch or two below you, being able to look flatly into your eyes. You are slightly taller than her, but far lankier, having a slender body and long, slightly wavy hair.

You both stare at each other for several seconds, half asleep, before you hear another rustle of the leaves, and looking outside, see dark clouds swarming on the horizon, a thunderstorm brewing.

"Let's go eat breakfast. Afterwards we should probably bathe before heading out to the port town, since it may be our last time in a good base like here for a while."

"Right.", she mutters, now back to her normal self.

The two of you head to eat breakfast, fruit, bread, and fish, left behind by Father Abban, the darkening skies and wind creating a gloomy ambience. Afterwards, you gather your belongings, including the sealed wooden box with the written papers in it, and head to bathe in the small lake near the monastery, before heading out.

The two of you make for the bridge to the mainland. Hanging in the skies are a grim reminder that you shouldn't have spent another night in the monastery, great black and dark grey clouds swirling in a maelstrom. The winds have gotten rapid to the point of drowning out conversation, both Lera and you wearing your hoods over your heads, trying to keep warm, not talking.

After some travelling, you stop, and turn around to look at your home, this being the last time you will see it in a long time. It's bittersweet leaving it, especially with the uncertainty that it will stay operating and not be vacated if the island becomes developed into a proper outpost to fight back against monsters.

"This's the last time you're gonna see that monastery for a while, isn't it?", Lera says after

"Yeah... It's where I grew up and lived for all of my life. I've left it before to go on journeys, but, something feels different this time. Maybe it's the raid weather."

Lera clamps her hand on your shoulder.

"This monastery's pretty nice... but I promise, there will be all sorts of amazing temples and shrines for you to see in Belgrad."

Feeling better, and a bit more curious, you ask:

"Oh, that's right. Have you ever been there?"

"Not personally. But I've been to other big cities, and Belgrad's said to have unrivaled arts and be the height of Ruthian culture."

You were a big fan of myths and stories, maybe even wanting to chronicle your life and journey later on. You feel a bit better, and continue your walk with Lera, walking away from your monastery as it fades into the horizon.

Shortly after, you reach and cross the bridge, now on the main island of Ardia. The weather's cut off any talk between you and Lera, but you've stayed close during the storm.

There is a large crash of thunder, and soon it begins to rain. The skies are dark and chaotic, like nature itself was retching and revolted by the world. You press on, the town just ahead.