“Why the hesitation?” Kre asked Talimar when he managed to guide his horse next to the company’s leader. “Haven’t I proven myself?” He hoped he sounded as confident as he intended instead of the petulant child that he imagined he seemed at that moment.
“You have indeed,” the Ylveryan replied, his voice soft and his lips barely parting, “but this is a different matter entirely. Fooling the foul denizens of Yahaestra is far different from playacting a bit to trick some goblins.
“Tell me,” Talimar said, turning in his saddle to stare intently at Kre, “are you most concerned that I half considered not placing you on this mission or are you secretly wishing that I had placed you in the reserve cadre?”
Kre opened his mouth and immediately closed it again. He couldn’t lie and say that he was scared to be selected for a job like this and would have preferred to be with the dweorvkin. At the same time though, he was excited that he would have an opportunity to see a place like Yahaestra firsthand, even if it were as dangerous and disturbing as the others seemed to indicate.
“A little of both,” he finally admitted. “I believe I’m ready, but I’m really not certain. I don’t want to let any of you down, especially Ortho and Gnore.”
Talimar nodded, seemingly satisfied with the answer. “That is the sort of response that shows that you are indeed ready for this assignment.” He waved a hand back towards Dain. “As an arcanist, Dain’s presence in Yahaestra will not be suspicious. He will fill you in on your specific role.”
Clearly dismissed, Kre tugged on his reins slightly to fall back and wait for Dain. “Talimar told me to report to you.” Again, he hoped he sounded confident and as disciplined as any soldier in the Tehynish military would be in a similar situation. Not that he could envision any soldier being in a similar situation, especially with how boring his father said army life was.
As his mind wandered to stories that his father told him about military service, a bright flash of light erupted in front of his face, and he nearly fell out of the saddle as he scrambled to avoid whatever this new danger was.
“Back with us then?” Dain muttered. “Good, now pay attention this time. Failure not only risks your own life, but all of our lives and I rather like my life.”
Kre snapped his attention back to Dain. “Sorry sir,” he stammered, still a bit shaken by the small explosion that had snapped him out of his daydream. “What was that?”
“Just a minor flare,” Dain responded offhandedly. “Easy stuff but still useful at times. Now, back to what I was saying… I’ll be me. Beleg will be Beleg and you’ll be you.”
After a few seconds, Kre realized that Dain had finished speaking and figured it was worth the risk to ask for a bit more clarification. “I’m not sure I understand. Talimar seemed to indicate that there would be more to it.”
Dain nodded, “Well, of course there is, but that’s the basics. Why complicate matters unnecessarily by using fake names and personas that we might not fully remember in the heat of things. Overcomplications are what cause the kinds of mistakes that get you killed. An important lesson in for the arcane arts as well as for life in general.”