Marcius and Belndia shuffled into the cave, their torches in one hand and swords in the other. The cave wasn't deep, but was big enough for their party to spend the night. The other plus was that it didn't look to be the current home to any critters. The two warriors looked at each other and nodded.
"This should do fine," Marcius said. "Last thing I wanted to do was fight something else defending its home."
Belndia nodded. "I feel like I could sleep for a week."
Marcius grinned. "So does that mean you want first or last watch tonight?"
She groaned as she turned and left the cave. "I guess for now I'll settle for getting out of this armor."
"I can second that," Marcius said. "I feel like I've been in this chain for days."
They stepped out of the cave and found their three companions setting up camp. Marcius hadn't been sure about traveling with them, but after their battle today with the band of gnolls, he no longer worried. Each of them more than held their own, even when things had threatened to spin out of control. Each, including himself, was untested outside of controlled settings, but that was no longer the case. Denka, their mage, had shown not only a deft touch with her spells, but her knowledge of the gnolls, as well as anything else they needed to know, was uncanny. Their priest, Willim, showed true grace under pressure as he used his god-granted powers to heal both Marcius and Belndia on numerous occasions. Grig, their sneakiest member, the one Marcius still kept a close eye on around the treasure, proved himself more than worthy on the battlefield. Grig's training allowed him to blend into the shadows and sneak up on enemies. Marcius wasn't sure they would have won today if Grig hadn't thrust his dagger into the back of the unsuspecting gnoll chief. The rest of the clan fell into disorganized chaos after that, and the group had cleared them out rather easily.
Then there was Belndia. Marcius had been reluctant to share the front line duties with a woman, even if she was as big and strong as him. She even chose to fight without a shield, instead opting for two broadswords. He viewed his role as that of protector, and that would be virtually impossible without a shield. After watching Belndia with her two swords, though, he no longer worried. It was true; a good offense could equal good defense.
"There's a stream about a hundred yards south," Willim said. "You two might want to head down there and clean off your armor. If you bring back some firewood for tonight, we'll excuse you from camp preparation duties."
"Thank you," Marcius and Belndia said at the same time. They grinned at each other about that and headed off.
"A nice, cold mountain stream will be nice," Belndia said as they were about halfway there. "But I wish I could bathe in a royal palace. That is luxury."
"A royal palace?" Marcius said. "You've bathed in a royal palace?"
She gave him a shy grin. "Only once. I may be a warrior from the north, but I do occasionally like to feel like a woman."
Marcius looked at her, practically for the first time as a woman and not a warrior. Underneath the chainmail and blood stains, she really was quite attractive. War gave her muscles most women did not have, though she was far from bulky, as many male warriors were apt to get. Her body had a sleek quality that gave her feminine curves an extra something. Her breasts were hard to see beneath her armor, but he imagined they'd need to be on the smallish side or they'd get in the way of her expert swordsmanship. Moving up her body, her face had a peculiar quality he could not quite describe, other than to say she looked like a Woman of the North. He could best say it had a look that was sweet, yet the warrior in her brought out a bit of sour, which both interested and attracted him.
"I think I'd like to see that womanly side," he said with a sly grin.
She winked at him. "Play your cards right and I may let you."
He smiled and their talk turned to the day's battle. His mind was only half in the conversation as he wondered if he could seduce her down at the stream, which, when they arrived, turned out to be larger than expected. Instead of just dabbling their feet and scooping the water to their bodies, they'd be able to step in and wash away the grime of battle and travel. Maybe seduction would be easier than expected.
Both warriors sat on the hard-packed dirt bank and removed their boots. This section of the stream moved slowly, so it was practically a pond, yet it had enough movement to keep unwanted critters from finding a permanent home. Marcius slid his chainmail shirt off and checked for damage. It looked fine, not a weak link anywhere. He knew it was thanks to his shield, which needed a trip to a blacksmith to repair all the dents in it. An earlier inspection, though, proved it would make it until they returned to town in a few days.
He glanced over at Belndia and saw her having trouble with her own armor. Unlike his which slipped relatively easy over his head, hers was fitted with clasps in the back. She couldn't get them unhinged.
