Corti had been preparing to power down for the night when Thia walked into the medics' tent. Seeing her, Corti will stand and return her smile, listening as Thia updates her and grateful for the company of the artificer.

She takes the notebook when Thia offers it to her, smoothing her thumb over the cover as she held it open to the page Thia had marked. She reads Thia's notes closely, careful not to handle the pages too harshly. Before handing the notebook back to Thia she remembers the artificer's hesitancy earlier that night when speaking with Tarian and smiles at her, "Well, you're the expert, but this certainly seems like more of a start than we had this morning." Corti will commit as much of the notes that she can to memory, trying to wrack her brain for mentions of the roots, or anything that could help. "I'd be happy to help gather any ingredients you need. It would certainly be more productive than anything I could get away with around here," She finishes with a quiet chuckle and a gesture to the broader camp. "You look tired," she adds, not trying to sound unkind, "Think busting a poisoner, overrunning a foreign camp, and drafting a plan for a cure out of, well, ashes," Corti brandishes the notes she had taken from the burnt letters, "Is enough to warrant some sleep?" She speaks quietly, not trying to wake anyone, but is lighthearted and smiling at Thia all the while.

 Thia shifts a little uncomfortably when those words would leave Corti's mouth. She didn't know about expert, but stubborn definitely came to mind. Her eyes would simply watch Corti's as she went on. The artificer's expression would soften. "I appreciate all your help." She'd pause, "Everyone's help..." She'd let out a bit of a sigh because she should be saying it to everyone.

A light chuckle would escape Thia's lips when Corti would add that she looks tired and rhymed off their whole day. Her head would tilt slightly. "We all deserve some rest, huh?" She definitely could rest her eyes for a bit... "Alright." With a small smile, she'd give in.

Thinking on the different plants that Thia mentioned and checking those with the records of the flora that you've studied, Corti, both of you return to the tent and bed down for a short night of rest in Othmar's tent. Tarian is already well asleep, knowing the value of rest to stay effective, and Gyselle and Othmar had turned in too, seeing in you likeminded individuals who put care for others first, but also exhausted by the sheer implications all that you've uncovered hold for their own futures.

Bedding down, it doesn't take long for rest to find you both.

A short six hours later, you're all woken up by Othmar rising to check on his patients. Gyselle meanwhile starts to prepare some simple breakfast for you all, before Njalgas interrupts her. "Please, we know the food situation here is tight, we brought our own supplies, and are happy to share." With that, he takes her mess kits and heads over to the waggon, to wake Tarian as well. You all enjoy a little meal, before Othmar returns and looks at you all. 

"So, what are you all going to do next? Gyselle filled me in on some of the things- the tall one amongst you has ridden after the arcanist, an' the engineer has taken some supplies to see what he can do for the food situation, she said. What about you all though? What's the plan there?"

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Taking a final tour of inspections, Arc takes shelter in one of the modified waggons and falls asleep after an exhausting day and a half of being awake.

Gyselle waits listening intently to hear what the plan is, if there is in fact a plan. Her plan having not been as successful as she would have hoped.

(OOC besides the groups that picked up their food. Is there more food in the camp that hasn’t been purified?)

Thia rouses slowly and groggily. She'd yawn and stretch with some groans before rubbing some sleep out of her eyes. When she'd finally register that she was being woken up by the sound of Othmar checking on patients, the medic would scramble to her feet, leaving her jacket behind. She'd have to pause to blink away some dizziness for getting up to fast, but would manage to make it over to Leech to see what she could assist with. After some bargaining he'd manage to convince Thia to go sit down with the others for breakfast.

Perhaps Thia was just over hungry. She didn't have much of an appetite and couldn't remember when she ate last. Not to mention her constant state of worry probably didn't help either. So she'd take her time and eat slowly. Eventually, she'd break the silence to respond to Othmar's questions. "Silverbark contains Khynin, which affects the blood, thinning it. There's potential for it to work effectively with your machine for treatment." The alchemist would lean to rub her forehead as she'd continue to think out loud. "There's also mention of a root that could make the poison less potent. There's caution for handling it, but focus was to identify it first for consideration in treatment." She'd let go of her head and straighten her posture. "I presented them to Corti prior to retiring for the night." She'd make a small gesture Corti's way. Thia would pause before adding. "The Marshall agreed to have horses prepared this morning, for those willing to ride."

Tarian ate slowly, stooped over her mess kit, taking one bite at a time. “The message from Magistrate Corsyr last night,” Tarian started after a long pause between bites, “he wants us to get Arceneaux and her column to Duskrock.” She separated a small bite of sausage with the edge of her fork with no particular urgency. “But moving the sick would be ill-advised right now, wouldn’t it, Miss Thia?”

Tarian sighed. “So… a two day ride you said?” She shook her head and continued, “If we don’t tell the Marshal about the change in our orders, and tell the Magistrate that we had to deal with the poison before we could move, we might buy some time. Supplies from Duskrock should arrive here in about four days.” Tarian shrugged. “Hopefully Arc can negotiate for enough food to last until then.”

Tarian looked to Corti with a weak smile. “Sorry, Corti, but that’s the best I could come up with.” Tarian stabbed the last few bits of her meal all together on her fork, and ate everything in one large bite. She hurriedly finished and set her mess kit down. “Should I let the Marshal know that supplies are on their way?” she asked no one in particular.

Thia would glance over to Tarian when she'd address her. She'd chew some food and simply nod both times if Tarian was actually waiting for confirmation on not moving the sick and the two day ride so she could continue her thoughts. Thia would stare back to her meal and poke at it a little bit as she'd listen, only looking back over when Tarian would suddenly become in a hurry. She'd sit back when Tarian would ask her final question out loud already ready to go. It's not like she was going to stop her. Thia would reach to drink from her water, waiting for any input from Corti and Gyselle.

After finishing her own breakfast and subsequent cleanup, Gyselle approaches Thia, “If the Marshall, Othmar, and you allow it, I can go with you if you would like. I’m not overly familiar with the plants you mentioned. But I would like to help if you’ll have me.” Gyselle then looks to Othmar for approval of leaving him to tend the wounded by himself.

Corti rouses herself, saying good morning to a drowsy Thia before walking with the others to the wagons and then to eat. She quietly avoids taking a serving of food from Njalgas, and instead sits with the others and listens as the conversation gets going. She twirls a quill between her hands as Thia talks, and then chimes in after she finishes, "You know," she starts, pointing the quill towards Thia, "I was thinking about that last night. I'm thinking the root itself is the poison, but I'll bet you're right about boiling the Silverbark." 

She grins in response to Tarian's apology, "Stalling's all we can ask at this point. We'll ride fast." She looks to Thia and Gyselle, also ready to go.

Othmar gives a nod at Gyselle's pleading look. If this treatment worked, he was better served by having her gather as much of the ingredients as possible, rather than helplessly change bandages and bedsheets for the slowly worsening patients in his tent.

With that all decided, you all head to the command tent, and after a brief moment are let inside. The Marshal clearly has slept only a few hours, but she seems calmer than yesterday, back in control of things. Looking at you all, she straightens her uniform, before addressing you all: "As per ... Thia's request", you notice the pause, before she reminds herself that you don't like to be addressed as Miss, "I've readied some of our best remaining horses, and drawn up a volunteer squadron from the lancers to accompany you and look after the horses, should you not be as familiar with them as them. I wasn't certain how many of you wanted to leave on this four day-round trip, but I gathered four horses, additional to the ones that the lancers will use. I wish you the best of luck, and I don't think it's necessary for me to impart the importance of this endeavour to you all." With that, she leads you outside towards the main gate, where you see five lancers with a dozen horses waiting for you. As a point of explanation, the Marshal adds "The three remaining horses are for any gear, supplies, or as a reserve, should one of the horses under you be unable to continue."

With that, all that remains is for those of you planning to leave the camp to gather their belongings, finish their packs and saddle up for the ride east!

Gyselle quickly heads back to her tent, gathers her belongings and runs back to the assembled horses. Very excitedly packing the saddle bags of ‘her’ horse. Mounts the horse with some assistance. (She’s very short to be riding a horse) Looks over to Thia and the other members of the group, should they be present, saying “Great! Where are we going?”

Corti stops by the group's wagons to pack her supplies for the journey and makes sure that her lute is secure across her back before heading back to the horses. She stands for a moment, indecisive, before picking the largest and sturdiest available horse, knowing that her metal frame is significantly heavier than any passengers the horse would be used to. She transfers her belongings to the horse's saddlebags and then hurries over to help Gyselle mount up. Swinging herself up, she pats the neck of the horse and then waits for the others to get ready.

Thia would look to Gyselle as she’d address her, making an effort to her posture by the end of her ask. “Thank you Gyselle.” Her voice was soft and she’d have a hint of a self-deprecating smile. “I will need all the help.” Her eyes would glance back to her food.

The artificer would only look back up from her last few bites when Corti would chime in. The smile she wore would tug a bit more. “Thank you for your review Corti.” The redhead would go back to her plate, push herself to take her final bites. She’d then look to Tarian with a soft nod.

After clean up, Thia would grab her jacket and belongings before she’d follow the others to the Marshall’s tent. No matter how many times she enters the tent, she’d still get a sense of unease, like it’s a place she doesn’t really belong. She never knew how to hold herself and there was an air about it that was hard to breathe. Shifting her weight, the artificer would hold herself as tall and still as possible for Arcenaux’s briefing. She’d feel her palms start to sweat.

With a respectful nod, Thia would follow the Marshal and the others out of the tent towards the main gate. She’d purposely fall behind, observing everyone else. And when the time came for everyone to begin preparing the horses, that’s when she had the most apprehension. This was not something she was accustomed to... Inhaling a deep breath to herself, she’d timidly begin mimicking what she observed, doing her best to prepare and pack her horse.

“Border lands to Cyre...” Thia would answer Gyselle’s question as she’d contemplate her saddle job and how she’s going to mount her horse.

After securing her pack to a horse, Tarian looked to her allies. She saw the difficulty Thia was having mounting her horse and came over. “A mounting block would’ve been nice, but with so few horses, I guess the soldiers figured they wouldn’t need one. I can give you a leg up if you need one.” Tarian brushed the horse’s neck. Though she was facing away, it was clear when she spoke that she was speaking to Thia. “We’ll find what you need out there.”

Thia would look up to Tarian facing away. "Yes, please..." She'd pause before glancing away herself. "Sorry..." The artificer would keep quiet and focus on what she'd be instructed to do, needing Tarian's help.

As soon as you're all saddled, the Marshal gives a brief salute to the lieutenant of the squadron, before you all ride out, heading east.

The morning goes by quickly, and despite the somewhat slower pace than the horses would have allowed, you cover a lot of distance quickly. Riding along, you can't hep but think about things that had transpired so far. Even if her soldiers had been ill, what was the Marshal's intent of having an armed force within Breland? Even if each of your group had been allowed out of the camp to help with the Marshall's immediate troubles, you can't help but question whether the lancers sent along with you all were there as a set of helping hands, to help you in case of attack, or to keep you under watch. Several of you are also mulling over Hadrari's role in all this- what did he have to gain from poisoning the soldiers? And why did his conspirators use a similar poison against the refugees from Cyre? What was the plan behind all that?

You halt after five hours in the saddle for a brief lunch, with the lancers quickly cooking some of their rations in small mess kits and starting to eat there food, silently, sitting somewhat to the side of your ragtag group.

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Arc, it's mid- afternoon when one of the lancers returns with a letter from the Marshal.

Receiving the letter, Arc would snap his fingers to burn it, limiting the chances of information being leaked out on his end. Thanking the lancer for his hard work, he would assign him a tent before wrapping up his work at that moment on the Mill. Once he was able to hand off the management of it momentarily, Arc would head back down to the village to find and speak with Kathy, informing her that word of the rest of the soldier's regiment will be arriving to set up camp around the mill. He wanted her to pass word to her own people, and check to see if there was any immediate problems that should be resolved or things that should be considered when the rest of the soldiers are arriving and settling down.

Kathy's pained smile shows that the changes brought by the soldiers in their immediate vicinity are a lot to get used to, but she feels like she owes you still. "It's good of you ta set up the camp by the mill. That'll help keep conflicts down, as only the ones that want to will be headin' that way. Do ya know how long they're gonna be stayin' fer?"

Arc doesn't have a clear answer in his head but knows better than to plant uncertainty in the woman. Instead, he gives his noble-charming smile, and positively states, "Not for long, the city is amidst negotiations with them for a better set of conditions. Don't worry." He would add some silver lining to the situation to further ease her concerns, "Besides, whilst they're here, you and your people will be certainly safe from any wild beasts or bandits. Not to mention, the tools and supplies you've traded will certainly help you in the future, not to mention the functioning mill once they leave."

Finishing your lunch quickly and without any conversations or other momentary distractions, you get back on your horses within an hour, barely enough time to eat and stretch your sore legs and backs. The determination of every one of you is written on your faces as you drive the horses on, two of the lancers riding several hundred yards ahead to scout the path, while the remaining three keep pace with you and watch after the animals.

The terrain is rough, and the highlands soon give way to rockier passages, with the path occasionally narrowing, so that you can barely ride two horses abreast. The lancers let you know that they're planning to get up to the pass tonight, to make sure that you can cross in the morning and head on down the mountains and onwards to the borderlands. By mid-afternoon, you've made your way halfway up the mountain, when Tarian and Corti notice movement among the rocks. You're not alone.

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Kathy nods: "Thanks. We don't want ta be bad hosts, but the situation is difficult... Many 'ere still think like Betty, an' that's a problem if they're gonna be 'ere fer any length o' time."

You are about to answer, when you see one of the lancers approach: "Master Cannith, the Marshal has arrived, and is settling in. What shall I tell her, when will you be joining her?"