They couldn't help but think that this guy was a total Jerk. He didn't care about their safety at all, just didn't want to put in the extra work. Still, it was a good thing they were only a couple hours late and didn't fall behind any more than they had. It would've been embarrassing to have a search party look for them only to find that they were okay. Plus, if they contacted his master's he'd never hear the end of it.

It'll be dark soon and Jax was certainly hoping this meeting with their Chief wouldn't take too long. He was super tired after all the walking, little sleep, and fighting they've been doing. Once they were there the Knight held Leo back saying it was best he sit out of their meeting. He had to agree, Leo shouldn't even be here, plus he's not sure what will be brought up in their conversation.

The Knight introduced them to their Chief and then left. They both bowed respectfully and the Chieftain waved them off saying they didn't have to be so formal and that they could have a seat.

"You both have some very interesting and very troubled backgrounds. It really amazes me that you both have survived such tragic pasts and still want to go forward with being knights and fighting. Your Teachers have sent me letters to warn me you were coming and filled me in on the details.

A survivor of the tragic incident in Lough actually existing and what actually took place that night. And a survivor of the incident involving a brutal attack on a merchant convoy by bandits. The two of you definitely haven't had it easy, so my question is why are you aiming to be Knights?" he said. It made him a little nervous that he brought up Lough. There went that Old Man blabbing again, but he hoped he had a good reason for it. As for Soran he was surprised he had a similar background. Soran was equally surprised even though he had suspected it the moment that the older couple asked about it. They shared a quick glance at each other.

"To put a stop to outlaws thinking they can just do whatever they want. There are far too many criminals out there just attacking innocent people. So I want to be a Knight that can protect the people and put an end to the raids on merchant and civilian attacks," Soran said, answering the man's question first.

"Well, I guess my answer is similar to Soran's, but I want to be the kind of knight that holds all criminals accountable for their actions, that means Knights and Guards too. I want to find the ones responsible for Lough and I want to know why they did what they did. I'm not really looking for revenge, but depending on their answer I will fight like hell to get them properly held accountable for what they did to everyone I cared about," Jax said. Everything he said was true, but he's not sure what he'll actually do when he finds out, there really isn't anything that they could even say that'll justify their actions to him.

"Wait a second, are you really saying that -" Soran started to ask, but the Chief cut him off.

"Both of your answers were truthful and good enough for me to accept the request to help you out on your journey. Now we have a room prepared for the three of you, make sure you get plenty of rest, but don't forget to write to your families back home. Once you're officially Knights in training you probably won't have much time later to write them. I've already instructed my men to have that boy write apology letters both back home and to his sister in the capital. I got a pretty angry letter saying that the boy probably followed you out here," The Chief said and explained how he already knew about Leo.

"I should probably write two letters too. Man, I honestly should've noticed he was there, way before I did. That boy has some amazing stealth skills, he'll definitely make a good Knight someday," Jax mumbled.

"Really, because I pretty much noticed him right away," Soran replied, making him feel inadequate. Still he did notice something was off, but because of all his fights he figured he was just being paranoid at first. He tried to explain that to Soran. "Yeah sure, whatever makes you feel better, Dude," Soran added.

When they left The Chief's office they were escorted by another guard. He figured that Knight must've had enough of the babysitting and extra work. They were led to an Inn where they were shown to the room they'd be in. It had two beds and a cot laid out on the floor, which meant one of them would be on the floor tonight.

The Guard told them once they were settled in they could go downstairs and get some dinner. I guess the town wanted to thank them for their help. When he set his bag down next to the cot Soran tried to convince him that he should have Leo sleep there. He tried to remind him that Leo wasn't supposed to be there and that if he babies him he won't learn that his actions have a consequence.

"That's true, however I'm kind of used to sleeping on the ground by now and he did keep us from getting into trouble earlier. Besides he's been trying to keep up with us this whole time and he'll definitely get punished by his sister when we finally get to Saris so I'm sure he has and will get plenty of punishment. I'm going to let him have this one for tonight. He is just a kid after all," he said to Soran.

"Okay, if you're sure. I wanted to ask you, I know it's not really my business and if you don't want to talk about it I'll understand, but what you were saying earlier. It sounded like you were saying that it wasn't actually Bandits that attacked Lough, but a bunch of Guards and Knights were actually responsible. That can't actually be true right?" he asked.

"Yes, that's exactly what I was saying. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, I honestly wanted to, but I couldn't figure out the right time to. Besides, the more people who know, the harder it'll be to hide it and the harder it'll be to find them. That's why I denied it back at that couple's cabin," he said.

"I understand, I suppose you survived because of your abilities. I won't ask again, but if you do want to talk about it I'll listen," Soran said and he nodded in thanks. They finally headed down to eat.