It was time, time for her to begin her journey. It only made sense for her to leave Hargeon upon receiving the letter that one of her brother's mercenaries had found a hidden stash of treasure belonging to Gregory, and that among its contents had been a letter that was specifically aimed at her. How could the young mercenary had not been excited at the idea of discovering its contents, and it was for that reason Lycoris had just finished her final preparations for the journey. She had purchased enough materials to last her for the trip, and in the worst case scenario she could even go and hunt in the wilderness for a meal.

Still, traveling by herself while oddly peaceful also gave her time to think, and often those moments brought her back to the memories of the days her brother was still alive. Often the young lady found herself longing for a reunion, even if she knew that she would never be able to see her brother again, at least not in this realm. She was confident that if she should die someday, then he would be waiting for her.

Of course that didn't mean she was planning to kick the bucket anytime soon! After all she was a proud mercenary, and her brother would never forgive her if she actually did something stupid like getting herself killed. No, she first had to do glorious things that would make him proud, like becoming a famous mercenary who was unmatched when it came to the art of the blade!

At least she could hope that much. Most of the trip to Baska had been uneventful, occasionally she met other travelers on the road, sometimes she even stopped at a town or tavern to spend the night there, but one could say that the few days she spend on the journey were all rather insignificant. It was only when she started to enter West Fiore that things started to change, and the change could quite easily be considered eventful and exciting. It was during the last night of her trip to Baska, after having made camp that things would change. She had started a small campfire, roasting some wildlife, a hare she had caught earlier when the rustling of leaves drawn her attention and three men, brandishing their weapons entered the clearing she had camped at.

"You three don't seem interested in sharing my fire~" The girl exclaimed with a little grin, yet the thug in the middle seemed less amused, raising his knife and pointing it threateningly at her, answering her in a commanding tone. "Give us your money and we might be nice enough to spare your life." A hand swiftly swept toward her blade, her nimble motion unsheathing it and tossing the sheath to the side as she replied with a smug grin. "How about you three turn around and run before you'll regret this?"

It appeared she was about to fight the three thugs! But only time would tell the outcome of this battle!

WC: 509/1100

Three against one would usually put her at a disadvantage, but having had her fair share of skirmishes among the Gardenias crew made Lycoris quite confident that those thugs lacked in both equipment and training. The daggers they wielded were chipped, and the one who had a sword seemed to have a weapon that was forged rather poorly. Perhaps that was the reason Lycoris was so quick to take on their challenge? Of course not, the Gardenias genuinely loved to fight when it came to martial combat, and those thugs would find that out the hard way.

A sudden rush was made toward the leader of the thugs, an unexpected charge that made the man step backwards in shock as he raised his weapon with the intention to slash down at her. "With a dagger you thrust!" Lycoris shouted in a scoldish manner, her sword slicing upwards into the man's chest, not deep enough to kill him, but more than enough to leave a scar! The man cried in pain, seemingly not used to people putting up a fight because he scurried backwards in a panic.

The thug with the other dagger swept forwards, intending to follow her advice for he thrust the weapon forwards, but Lycoris rapidly side-stepped, appearing behind the man while slamming the hilt of her sword against the back of his head. The man collapsed on the ground with a loud thud while the remaining thug approached her more warily!

Of course, by now Lycoris was swept up by the adrenaline of the fight, enclosing the distance between herself and the remaining thug quite quickly, her sword swinging through the air.

Ka-tching! Metal clashed against metal as Lycoris felt her sword slash parried by the man. "Oh~" A excited sound came from the young lady, yet her opponent quickly pulled back, his sword slashing toward her head!

A swift shift of her body caused the blade's tip to narrowly sink against her cheek, a mere flesh wound but it was enough to coax Lycoris to take this serious, her sword rapidly thursting forwards as she impaled the man's chest. A scream came from the man as he collapsed backward onto the ground, a flourish of her blade wiping away the blood from her blade. "Be glad that I didn't pierce your heart..."

The girl stated calmly while she scooped up her bag and after shooting the three thugs a final glimpse scooped up the roasted meat from the fire. "It was fun playing with you three stooges, but I got a journey to make~"

Lycoris stated with a grin as she started to walk away from the clearing, calmly chewing upon the meat she had roasted. The hills surrounding Baska came into view shortly afterward, her travels seemingly having nearly brought her to her destination. A fingertip raised to her cheek, wiping away bits of the blood as she hummed softly. "That last guy wasn't that bad, he parried that strike quite well, even if it was a fluke~"

A grin lingered upon her lips as she continued walking, all the way till at long last the town of Baska came into view. According to the letter from the mercenary of her brother's crew her contact person would be waiting at a rather famous spot within the town where a martial arts tournament was frequently held. Of course she was considering to first enjoy watching the sights around town, but Lycoris had to admit she was also getting a bit impatient... she needed to discover what sort of secrets her brother had left behind... What in the world was so important he could not even tell her about it?

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Post 1 WC: 509/1100
Post 2 WC: 613/1100
Total WC: 1122/1100