The sun had only just begun to creep over the horizon by the time Nyx and Argo met at the village gate. Nyx was wearing a thick fur coat, a hood covering her head protected her face and ears from the harsh winter wind. She stood next to her horse, one whose coat was as dark as her hair. She had a two strap belt, one wrapped down along her left shoulder to her right hip, although the coat mostly obscured it. The other went from hip to hip. She undoubtedly had weapons hidden along the chest strap, though Argo couldn’t see it if she did. She did however carry a simple side sword hilted to her hip.

“So, where do we begin the search?” Her cold voice was thrashed around in the rampaging winds. Dark clouds cloaked the sky, hiding all but the strongest of the sun's light from reaching them The air was smothered with the smell of distant rain, it wouldn’t be long now, Argo could tell a storm would not be too far off.

“We are heading eastwards. It’s about a week's journey from where I last saw him, we will need to find a Knower along the way. Galli didn’t want to come with.” She grunted an acknowledgement. 

“You have the money right? Time to pay the upfront.” He nodded as he reached into one of the many pockets sewn within the inside of his dark green cloak. He fingered the small opening in his pouch like purse and grabbed two crowns. 

“Catch.” He flipped the two golden coins through the air. Nyx caught them with a swift, practised motion. She raised the coins to her lips before biting into them with her canines. A well trained mercenary would be able to tell the legitimacy of the metal from its firmness. There was more than enough counterfeit money that one could be paid in it by accident, on purpose if their employer was malicious. She realised the coin he had paid was legitimate and pocketed the two crowns. 

“Well then, seems like these are real.” A waver in the tone of her flat voice echoed the sentiment of someone who had experienced far too many people trying to scam her. It happened often enough that everyone in the guild would have experienced it, though Argo knew from Ginny that women were targeted with those scams far more often. Nyx kicked her foot into her horse's left stirrup and used it to leverage herself onto its back. He did the same. “Let’s get going.”

The two lightly kicked their horse's sides and they began to trot, and then gallop. The grass passed underfoot rapidly as they passed along the roads near the fields which surrounded the town that the guild called home. Her horse ran slightly ahead of his own, he still had to get around to naming him at some point. The road was narrow, forcing him to remain behind her, he would have preferred for the two of them to get to know each other whilst travelling. You always worked better with those who you understood.

Hours passed under horsefoot. For some, riding for such a prolonged length would begin to work away at their legs, chaffing the skin till it was red and raw. Thankfully Argo had long since worked past this issue, his master had made sure of it. At least that is what he had hoped would have happened. Nearly eight years he had spent riding a horse and still each time he was forced to do so for over an hour at a time his legs came out a red mess. He hadn’t even recovered from his journey to the guild yet, and here he was again riding across the countryside, the destination days away, and his legs aching with pain. Still, the long travel had given time for them to move onto wider roads allowing him to move up towards Nyx’s side. The winds had warmed some and she had taken off her coat, stashing it within her horse's various packs and satchels. She wore a tight fitting ash grey singlet, no armour coated her body, though perhaps she had some pieces of leather, chain and plate tucked within the various stores her horse carried for her. Connected to the belt strapped along her chest, Argo could now make out a set of knives, several were carved for throwing, though two seemed to be more equipped for close combat.

“How long had you been Ginny’s apprentice?” Argo asked, trying to strike up a conversation. It couldn’t have been a long time. Typically apprenticeships lasted anywhere from two months to a year, his own had taken three. Yet he had never heard of her till he returned, sure it may have been possible for him to not hear of her on one of his returns. But he would have expected her to have come up sometime within the past six months.

“Eight weeks.” She replied curtly as she turned to look at him. The edge of her lips were slightly tense, had it been the mention of the initiation that had evoked that response? Her eyes were a pale blue, it surprised him as they had been covered in darkness both the day before within the tavern and when they had met earlier in the morning. Still, despite the light of the mid morning, dark shadows cast by the waves of clouds overhead submerged them in a more mild darkness. He knew he would never escape it.

“That’s quite fast. I don’t think I’ve heard of someone initiating that fast since Verin, though he hardly counts.” Argo spoke of his rival, if he could even call him that. The man child had simply declared them such as they had both passed their initiations around the same time, though he was a good six years older than Argo himself. Yet he had found himself reluctant to refuse the small rivalry over points that they had developed. Even in such a grim business finding some element of joy, no matter how dark, was always useful. Always something to hold onto.

“Ginny said the same.” She shot back, her voice was cold, though not aggressive. She clearly didn’t want to speak with him. Perhaps this was her method of refraining from forming bonds, a path which made sense, even if Argo disagreed with her methods about maintaining her solitude. However, not wanting to cross her boundaries any further he simply stayed quiet as they continued into the distance.

* * *

The rain was angry. They hadn’t managed to find a cave to make camp within in time and continued on horseback through the arrow like rainfall. They rode through the forest, the same one which bordered the town the guild was housed within. It continued deep into the Eastern province. Despite being the same forest they had begun their journey within, the terrain had changed, growing more hilly and bumpy, he had hoped it would lead to them finding a cave, however so far they had proven unlucky. 

“Seen anything?” He shouted towards Nyx over the furious winds which tried to wash away his voice. Whilst waiting for her to respond he raised his arm to protect his face, unfortunately, he could do nothing to protect their horses who experienced the wind like the brutal whips of a slave master. 

“None!” She replied, her curt attitude not changing even within their search for shelter. They continued to ride through the forest, the road underfoot, if it could even be called that, was littered with weeds and stones. It was uneven, their horses fought to remain upright and fast, meanwhile, both Argo and Nyx scoured for the sight of a cave opening, a reprieve from the constant fall of rain. The winds howled out, almost crying as it passed them by. “Oh wait!” Her voice pulled on Argo’s thoughts, he turned his head to her. “Seven O’clock. There is cover.” He nodded back, pulling the reins of his horse, who he still was yet to name, towards Nyx’s. The two galloped quickly towards the cover.

“Good eye you got their Nyx,” Argo shouted as they approached the mouth of the cave, it was too small for him to go in on horseback, he quickly dismounted, his horse following shortly behind. Nyx was short enough that she wasn’t forced to do so, as her horse walked through the cave entrance she threw herself over his back and down to the ground. She began to rummage through her horse’s bags.

“Thanks.” She shot back as she rummaged through the steed's cargo, Argo took the opportunity to do the same. They wouldn’t be able to find any dry firewood with the weather as wet as it was, he thanked himself for lifting a day's worth from Lady Erina, he knew it would come in handy. As he grabbed the sack from one of his horse's many bags, he overheard Nyx petting her horse's snout. “Sorry for that Winny.”

“Is that his name?” Argo found himself asking. He was laying out a stack of tinder and firewood, this would be enough for the night, but he would need to find new wood in the morning. Hopefully, some had dried enough to be of use by then. After placing the wood he glanced back to Nyx, only to find her approaching with a chunk of flint and some steel. 

“Yeah, well it's Winston. But I call him Winny.” He pulled back from the firepit as she struck her flint a few times. The distance hid the slight smirk which came across his face, ten words, the most she had said to him since they began their travels. Sparks flew from the flint, catching with the tinder and quickly igniting the fire. Argo went to go gather their equipment and stack it near the fire to dry as she stoked the flames, eventually placing in the larger chunks of wood that would keep the flame burning through the night.

He returned with an armful of clothes, fabrics and his sleeping mat. He took the former two with him everywhere, one could never know when they would need a spare change of clothes or something to patch torn clothing. Nyx seemed to eye him as he set it up along the fire to let them dry faster. He too sat by its side, taking off his cloak and shirt, letting the water within them melt away under the fresh heat of the flame. As he sat down he was flooded with relief, although the ground was hard, stiff, and somewhat dirty it provided his legs with the rest that they needed all too well. “So, tell me what you know about this man we’re tracking. You said it was a personal matter and that you hadn’t seen or heard of him in nearly eight years. But surely you have more information than that.”

He felt a sombre smile cross his face. That was definitely a record long sentence from her, though it was a shame it had been about that man. His mind was drawn to the day where he had come home to find him standing over their corpses, what had they done to deserve that, why had he let him survive? “He killed my parents, both were trained fighters, though my village was in the mountains to the east so how strong they are can always be questioned.” He paused, taking in a slow breath. He had to kill his emotions, the more they controlled him the harder it would be to find this man. His master had tried to drive these thoughts and fears from his mind long ago, though he had only been somewhat successful. Emotions were a fuel one could draw strength from, that was something everyone knew, yet the stronger they were the less control one had over their actions. Control was always vital. “He had hair as red as this fire.” The flames danced in front of them both. They cast his black hair in an orange light, yet they still failed to penetrate his dark green eyes. Nyx looked at him, her shirt lay by the fire and her body was wrapped in the fur coat she had been wearing when they set out from the guild. It was lucky that the coat had remained, at least to an extent, dry. “His nose was crooked, and he had a scar like a crescent moon beneath his right eye. He was old, his skin aged like parchment. And yet he moved with the subtly and precision of someone who was still in the prime of their youth. I had asked him his name, but…” He fell quiet, the man had told him something that night, he had responded to him. Yet the memory seemed distant, hidden, even from his own mind. “But whatever he told me I seem to have forgotten. It’s on the edge of my mind, but just out of my reach. I’ll give it thought and tell you should I remember.”

“Okay, I’ll be sure to remember all of that.” As Argo listened to her speak he couldn’t help but remember. Remember how when he saw that man, he had reached for a blade first thing, how a simple glare from the man had stilled him. He shook as his thoughts took him back to how he, a boy barely ten faced down his parent's killers and asked him why, and how that man had simply left him standing there. He shook his head, the sound of a cracking log bringing his attention back to the present.

“What led you to join the guild?” He asked, both in an attempt to know Nyx better and to change the conversation from the beginning of the end of his life to a more simple topic. He stretched his legs out so that the heat from the flames could warm them up. He had been on the verge of outright shivering, and even within the cave the howling wind’s cold permeated. 

“Is this something you need to know for the job?” She looked towards the dancing flames of the fire as she asked with a flat tone.

“No, not really. I just thought it would be best if we knew each other more.”

Nyx turned to face him, seemingly considering for a moment before shaking her head. “Then I’m afraid I must refrain.” He nodded, turning his attention to his drying shirt. He touched it lightly and found it only slightly damp, and quite warm. Needing the warmth it would provide he grabbed it and slipped it on. Nyx did the same with her own, the singlet likely having dried to a better extent than Argo’s. She turned to Argo, her face softened slightly in the light. “I don’t mean disrespect. But you should know as well as I that distance helps us all in the long run. This job isn’t cut out for making friends.” Argo nodded and then sunk back into a peaceful silence.

The two remained in that quiet for the rest of the evening, and thanks to the cover of the rain neither had to stay awake and keep watch. They both took their sleeping mats, despite them still being slightly damp and laid down. Argo slipped into sleep, kept warm by the fleeting flames of the nearby fire. Soon both fell into as comfortable a sleep as they could. The last sound Argo heard was that of the howling wind.