The Unicorn's Forest

Jenn knew that she was the one who had proposed the idea, but she really had expected the idea to have gotten shot down and other suggestions to be given. Suggestions that would be much more reasonable than that one. Not to mention safer as well.

"So, with that in mind," Jenn said, feeling like she should do what she could to act like she knew what she was doing, "where do you suggest we find a group of bandits to make that offer?"

"Maelia would be the most likely to know about that," Laer said. "She's the one who had been training guards for the duchess Versith."

Jenn made a mental not to talk with them later on about what they were doing in the caravan in the first place. Especially since she had a feeling that Polelin hadn't been sold, as he had been the one training her with weapons in preparation for that test before she'd been auctioned off herself. Which made his presence in the caravan an anomaly that she couldn't quite explain.

Yet, she knew that now wasn't the time to deal with that issue. Largely because she hadn't quite finished with the subject they were on at the moment and she had a feeling it'd be difficult to return to this one if she jumped to a completely unrelated subject.

Jenn looked at Maelia, but wondered if she'd need to prompt the woman. At least considering how she had needed a prompt to start talking before.

Despite her worry, Maelia seemed to have been collecting her thoughts. Or at least that's what Jenn was going to assume was the cause of the delay.

"I might have an idea of where to find one or two, but they change their locations so often that it can be hard to pin them down," Maelia said. "Though they might not be open to talking if you find where their base is, and if you deliberately walk into their trap, they're not likely to take anything you have to say to heart. So, I'm not really sure what we could do about them."

"Well, if I'm not mistaken, there's not that much traffic through the Forest of the Lost, right?" Jenn asked and received a nod from Maelia, already working through an idea in her mind. Although, it felt like something Tim might have come up with himself. "So, chances of an ambush in the forest are slim to none. Meaning we'd need to find an ambush outside of the forest."

"What do you mean?" Maelia asked, sounding appalled. "We need to be trying to avoid their ambushes."

Jenn smiled as she shook her head slowly. "Not if we ambush their ambush."

Maelia blinked, and Jenn wouldn't be surprised if the others had their minds blown with her statement as well. She just wasn't paying attention to them.

"How…" Maelia trailed off, her tone making it clear that she hadn't a clue as to how to finish her question.

"Okay," Jenn said, taking that as a good sign. Though, she wondered if maybe the people among the bandits would be more willing to have a more diverse way of thinking than these people. She wasn't sure if the rigidity of their thinking had been influenced by them being slaves or if it was because of the culture that they lived in. She could only be certain that it was giving her a headache. "Let's put it this way. If we find an ambush, but then either send someone to talk to them while they're hidden, or send someone in to spring their ambush, then surround them, that's what I mean about ambushing their ambush."

Jenn could see Maelia's confusion slowly leave her face. It was clear that she hadn't quite understood what Jenn had been getting at, at first, but as Jenn's explanation sank into her, understanding reflected in her eyes.

"How would you even know where to find the bandits when they're hidden?" Polelin asked. "Their ambushes are so effective because they know how to blend in with their surroundings so well."

Jenn nodded, not really concerned with that. After all, she could always use her magic to tell where someone is even without looking into their thoughts. All she'd need would be a show of strength that would get them to acknowledge that she had the upper hand, no matter how confident that they had been about them having had the upper hand.

"Anyway, we can discuss the details later on," Jenn said. "Was that all you had?"

Laer looked hesitant for a moment, but then shook her head. Jenn wasn't sure if she should push the matter or not, since it seemed to her that there was something else, but quickly discarded the thought. If it was important, they'd eventually bring it up without her having to really pry. Especially since she doubted it would be worth the effort it'd take to pull it out of her.

"Actually, there is one thing I can think of," Maelia said suddenly, nearly making Jenn jump. It wasn't so much the suddenness of her speaking, but rather how intent her expression was when she said it. Almost like what she had in mind was something that she was either rather passionate about or meant a lot to her. Though, Jenn wasn't sure she wanted to know which one it was.

"Okay, what is it?" Jenn asked, hoping that it at least would be something she could use to help this settlement, if not get out from being the one in charge.

"Well, when the bandits attack and either steal valuables or even people to sell as slaves, they should either have someone that they can sell their loot to or someone among their ranks who can sell it as well. Otherwise, they wouldn't be able to turn things like that into currency that they could use. Even to give everyone a cut of the loot."

Jenn nodded, not sure what this had to do with their current situation. After all, it wasn't like they had anything they could sell right then themselves… or did they? Jenn couldn't help but feel like she was forgetting something. Something that she could probably use to work with that route. If only she could think what it was.

"Is something wrong, my lady?" Laer asked, concern etched on her face.

Jenn shook her head. "Not really. It just felt like there was something I should remember, but if there is, I can't seem to think of it."

"If it comes to mind, my lady, please let any of us know," Maelia said, her tone far more deep and respectful than Jenn was happy with. While she had a feeling that this was only the beginning of this, she couldn't say that it made her happy.

"Aside from that, anything else?" Jenn asked, suddenly remembering her desire to take a bath, even if it was with a bucket of water and a piece of cloth.

"When you're available, I'd like to show you some of places we'd like to expand into when we get the resources to do so," Polelin said. "These places have been under discussion, but so far we haven't been able to reach an agreement on them."

Jenn nodded, feeling like this was starting to become more like what she had expected. "Okay, once I can get a bath, I'll be happy to take a look."

"A… bath?" Polelin asked, sounding and looking confused.

Jenn sighed. She couldn't say she was surprised that these people might not know what a 'bath' was, given some of what she'd seen in this world so far. Such as a trough for the slaves to drink out of.

"I'll explain it later, but if nothing else, I'd like a bucket of water and a piece of cloth. That would be enough for me right now," Jenn said, not sure how easy it would be to explain the concept of 'bathing' to these people.

While she had shared her life experiences in the past with others, she wasn't sure if that had been a good thing for her. While it seemed fine at the time, she was starting to wonder if she'd made a mistake with it. Partly she suspected the feeling came from the memories that she knew weren't hers from when she'd helped the Lost do… whatever it was that they had her do for them, but part of it was also that as she thought back to when she'd did that before, that it almost felt like she was giving a part of who she was away and that she wouldn't be able to get that small piece of herself back, no matter what. If nothing else, she didn't like that feeling.

It was rather unsettling to even think about for her.

She wasn't sure if she should ask for some soap, since she couldn't say if they would even know what that was. They certainly didn't give her any while she was a slave that she could remember. So, she merely planned on creating some for herself to use. Although, if others asked to use it, she'd be happy to let them. Only, she had serious doubts that anyone else would do that at this time.

"I'll get that for you, mother," Cithis said as she jumped to her feet and immediately left.

Jenn stood up herself, not sure exactly what else to do right then. While there was several things she wanted to get done, she knew that she couldn't get it all done right then. If only because it just wasn't physically possible.

Besides, if she could have done that, she'd also have included getting someone who that everyone would accept to replace her. She had a feeling that she was going to need learn to accept that simple fact and learn to deal with it. Even though she desperately hoped that she was mistaken with that feeling. If only so she could keep at least a small hope that this wasn't a permanent thing for her.

"Oh, were you able to think of what you wanted to call us?" Maelia asked as she stood up with Polelin and Laer. "No one's sure if you're trying to create a nation for yourself or just something else. Many are a little anxious for you to make that clear."

Jenn sighed. That really wasn't something that she really wanted to deal with right then, but she doubted that she'd be able to get as much time as she'd really like to think of something that she really liked.

"Would you have any suggestions?" Jenn asked, wondering if this might be an easy out for her. If these people came up with a name themselves, then maybe there might be more hope for her to get someone else to take over being a leader for these people.

Maelia shook her head. "No, I was just checking. I told a friend that I'd let her know if you had come up with anything."

Jenn nodded. "I'll try to come up with something before I leave, okay?"

"Leave!?" Laer asked sharply, her eyes wide with alarm. Then, she started to talk, some of her statements Jenn was pretty sure that she was talking to herself more than anything else. "Where're you going? We need to get bodyguards for you."

"Just to see about getting one or more groups of bandits to join us," Jenn replied, feeling a little surprised that Laer hadn't picked up on her intention to do that when they were talking a minute or two ago. "Did you get that from when I suggested it?"

Laer looked like she'd been stunned. Jenn wasn't sure if she should continue on or not, but she at least didn't plan on backing down from this. If she did, then she was afraid that she'd really end up more trapped than she had been as a slave.

"Was the reason you wanted us to find 'stand-ins' for you?" Maelia asked, sounding like she was starting to understand something, though Jenn wasn't sure if that was true or not at the moment. Only that she seemed to be making connections that Jenn had planned on at least.

"Part of it," Jenn acknowledged. "Since we don't have too many people, I figured it shouldn't take too long to find people who would do well with that."

"How would we know which would be in charge while you're gone?" Polelin asked. "There could be problems if multiple ones think they're in charge when you wanted someone else."

"I'll come up with something," Jenn promised. She wasn't sure what that idea might be, but she was confident that she'd be able to pull something out of the air that would work. After all, she couldn't think about how hard it might be. Especially if she had to use her magic to create something that these people couldn't replicate with their current level of technology.

Polelin opened his mouth to say something else when there was a knock on the door. Jenn wasn't sure who it might be, given she didn't think anyone knew specifically where she currently was that wasn't in this room with her, aside from Cithis, and she had a feeling that Cithis would just enter without bothering to knock if she did get a bucket of water that fast.

"Enter," Jenn called out, not sure how else to handle the situation.

As the door opened, Zirisia entered, followed by four girls that Jenn estimated to be about her age. One of which she recognized right away. She was the girl who had sought Jenn out about when someone who had actually survived the massacre from the Lost had been captured.

Her bright green hair and eyes Jenn was pretty certain that she'd notice those almost anywhere. Though, she wasn't yet sure if those were common colors or not from this world. She also couldn't help but notice that her cheek had been bandaged, hiding where she had been cut.

"What is it?" Jenn asked curiously.

Zirisia knelt with her head bowed towards Jenn and the four young women did the same. "We searched through the entire population here and we were able to find these four young women," Zirisia said. "If you want to see everything about them you only have to say the word."

Jenn nodded, feeling like this was already going too far. She didn't need to 'see everything' about them to know if they'd work out or not. She was only concerned with if they met the basic requirements, and she could at least see that they looked to be about her age.

"What I need to know is if they can use magic," Jenn said, looking at each of them in turn.

After the one that Jenn recognized, she saw there was a young woman who had white hair and electric pink eyes and a scar that ran down the side of her face and across her throat. Another had lilac hair and electric blue eyes, but she also seemed rather painfully shy, making Jenn wonder how good of a candidate she'd ultimately be. While the last had pink hair and amber eyes with a leg that looked like it had been either twisted like a pretzel when she was a small child, or had been born that way.

The last girl seemed to move around with difficulty, but also looked like she was used to it and didn't look like she'd complain about it.

"Oh, and their names while we're at it too, ok?" Jenn said, feeling like this would be a good chance to learn names without worrying about how it might look to others. Another reason was because she would like to get this out of the way first, although she had a feeling that it might be more complicated than she'd like. Especially with how complicated the few things she'd had to deal with so far were in this world.

"Of course, my lady," Zirisia said, lifting her head so she could turn to each person as she introduced them. "This Roesadra, Oleania, Jianopra, and Saelea."

Roesadra was the girl Jenn had met before with the green hair and eyes, Oleania was the white haired girl with pink eyes, Jianopra was the one with lilac hair and blue eyes, and Saelea was the girl with pink hair and amber eyes.

Jenn waited for a minute, then sighed when nothing else was said or done. "By me wanting to know if they can use magic, I meant for them to demonstrate something with magic. I don't care what it is, just so long as they demonstrate something."

Roesadra mumbled something under her breath to create a small ice crystal of ice that almost seemed to be visibly vibrating. Jianopra seemed to manage to create a small piece of rock, although the effort looked to have caused her to start sweating profusely. Saelea confidently said quietly something in another language Jenn didn't know and an image of Jenn appeared in the air. One that had her making a heroic pose. Oleania, however barely managed to create a few drops of water before she passed out and the water hit the floor.

Jenn moved quickly and checked Oleania's vitals. She wasn't sure if the girl had just overexerted herself, if she just had that little aptitude for magic, or if something else was the problem, but she otherwise seemed to be fine. That there wasn't anything Jenn could find that would have explained why she'd collapsed, even when she used her magic to scan her.

"Let's make her comfortable while she rests," Jenn said, moving away from Oleania. "I'll want to start teaching all of you to use your magic, or at least for those of you who haven't learned yet." Jenn couldn't help but shift her gaze to Saelea. "Though, I'll want anyone new here to not know which of us is the real leader here. The only ones who are to know that it's me are those who are here now, with few exceptions."

"My lady, forgive me, but what do you mean by that?" Laer asked, looking unsettled at what Jenn just said.

"It's simple," she replied. "When I'm not here, they'll take turns being in charge, and will come up with an excuse to delay any decision that they're worried I won't like. If they're in charge and I'm here, then I'll use my magic to tell them how to respond. Any questions?"

Jianopra tentatively raised her hand, looking like she thought she might get executed for doing that much.

"What is it?" Jenn asked gently, hoping to not scare her too much.

"How often would we be changing who's in charge then?" she asked quietly. "And how would we decide who's next?"

"I'll figure that out soon enough," Jenn said. "Though, if nothing else, I can come up with an order if you'd prefer."

Jenn did her best to hide the realization that while she'd accomplished getting this done, that this might actually increase how much she has to do rather then lessen it right now. Which wasn't a pleasant thought for her. Not that she could do much about it right then.