"It is never a comfortable transition, and less so when you have the weight of other's expectations on your shoulders. You have my condolences as well as my congratulations. As for advice... find people you can trust. To confide in without fear of stories spreading about you, and to delegate to without needing to monitor closely. Even Nerat needs some of those, even if he must hollow out his servants to make them."

"For problems you might solve, well, I want my daughter back from Sentinel Stand. Amelia has been there for almost a year and a half. I expect Kohl will manage it, but any help you give I will appreciate. My son Brennix has been missing since early in the Vendrien's Well campaign, and I am sure, though I cannot prove it to Tunon, that Nerat ate him; vengeance or evidence would be welcome. And, on a front you know better and have already, I heard, contemplated: Help Barik. He is a good man; he would be lost without his shield-brothers even if he walked free, but I think he would begin to heal if he could rejoin the legion in another line, in a role he knows and understands. The shield that protects also isolates."

"The forge-bound are natural allies there. Their own agenda and desires, but- Similar enough that we work well together. Finding anyone else may be- Mmh. If I go about with my plan to help in small villages, perhaps someone will show promise there."

She feels like she is going to be terrible at politics. But it's something she has to try anyway, because didn't she swear to herself about that just a few days ago? Throw herself away to Archonhood, to Kyros, and do as much as she can?

"...Barik's aid, and any others trapped that way if there are any, may well be achievable soon. I'm cutting through the Blade Grave on Kohl's orders, as I mentioned, and the tool for that ought to be able to open his armor without wounding too much. Much as some have been skeptical, and I think you can tell but I'll say it outright anyway, I am an optimist, an altruist. Or at least I strive to be. The kind of person who wishes to tear at injustice and evil, or what I see as unjust and evil. But what does that accomplish, eh? Lashing out like a child at something 'unfair'. You might feel good about yourself for a moment, but if you do it wrong you just create more problems. Mob justice, I've seen a man beaten black and blue in an alley for a theft I know he did not commit and everyone thought they'd delivered street justice, that it was fair and right and good. I'm- Selfless, in a way, but I must recognize that others are not, right, people do things for reasons and you need to attack those reasons- I'm too young to be rambling like this."

"You are sensible. And a good young woman. I hope you remain so, as the world reacts to you. Ancestors mine know I've tried, and I'm not sure whether I succeeded. I will give you a warning, though it would not have dissuaded me in your place: those you help will look to you for more help, and for leadership, and they will come to look at you with expectations. That can be more painful and inescapable a prison than the worst tyrant ever born could construct."

"I'd gladly walk to the executioner's block if-" She pauses and purses her lips. "I'm cutting off another long ramble before it gets started. Thank you for the warning. It doesn't dissuade me. My course is set: Try to make my legend a constructive one."

"I expected nothing else," he says, with a faint smile. "If there is nothing else, I will not keep you; I am sure Barik and the others are ready whenever you wish to set out."

"I'll finish eating quick. Hunger weakens limbs, and all. I think I'd like to talk more when neither of us are pressed for time, if that cosmic die roll ever comes up sixes."

Nom at the bread.

"By all means. I believe I will visit the corridor you are cutting through the wreckage by the Spire once it is done, if nothing else."

He doesn't really need to eat, but takes some bread and cheese anyway; it's still satisfying and it makes him a better host at the moment.

Nom nom nom nom. Try not to wonder about the sanitary standards of the kitchens around here. Nom. Cheese is tasty. (Ugh, she needs to make a charcoal filter or something. Is that sufficient? Maybe not.) Beer too, the weakest mug she can find.

...She goes and finds Barik, once she's done.

Ashe will nod and wish her well, then withdraw to do General things - he has a ceasefire here, and hopefully soon a peace, but he still has other enemies to fight.

There are five men in ordinary skull-faced armor with tall purple horsehair crests, spiky jaw guards which also extend up past the ears, and generally more ornate armor. They've assembled near her Tallboy.

Also Barik. "Engineer Waltana! Good to see you. I must say, your machine makes 'Iron Walker' sound a bit of a silly title. We've been amusing ourselves suggesting replacement names that don't make it sound like we've commissioned them for the whole corps."

"For my- Oh, I did call it a walker, didn't I? Because it's not an automaton if I'm piloting it, I can't make it move and work by itself. Yet. And no, Tallboy is probably going to be one of a kind. A passion project that I never stop tweaking, you know?"

"Oh good, Iron-Breaker was the best we had, and I don't think any of us actually liked it. Well, we're ready when you are, ma'am. And we can probably keep up better than your last escort - we're all practiced in forced march, despite the weight, and we recover from it by the morning."

"What can I expect in the storm? It's beyond that big cliff gate, I assume? Tallboy is sturdy, but still it might actually slow me down more than you."

"The clouds never leave, but the winds are intermittent. We've all gotten fairly good at smelling a change in the winds coming. If you can drop your center of mass quickly on our shout, we'll be fine until we get in close. And the Steadfast Insignia will do something for that - I don't know what, but Kohl was confident."

"More magic I don't understand, bah. Not that the sparkier parts of this are much better! And yes I can swing down low in a hurry. Right. Sooner started, sooner finished. How far is it? So I know whether to push the speed or save my energy."

She will begin her strapping-in procedure.

"Two days if the winds are kind, three if they're the most unfavorable I've seen them since the start."

"Three and a half, sir, it's been worse a few times since you moved to Vendrien's Well."

"Three and a half, then. So expect we'll camp twice."

"...Definitely saving energy then, I only really have enough juice in this to go fast for about one fight, and then it's tedious muscle power to recharge. And it's good to get away from my workshop sometimes even if it's walking into a storm."

Leg straps, leg straps, adjust that one so it's sitting comfortably... She WON'T mention the waterjet to Barik quite yet, actually, that seems like it should be slightly private at least...

"Set the pace, then, and we'll match it."

Control glove on, "Systems check, stand back." There's a click and a buzz, and then something felt more than heard as the legs tense slightly. The shields pop up from their rest position and take formation around her. Another buzz, then another. And then a little bell sounds once with a cheerful ding! 

She nods, picks up her spear and shield from their rest positions, and flexes her hand to make the Tallboy stand. It makes her grin again. "And here we go! Point the way?"

"Down the slope and then southwest, that way." He gestures. Once he's pointed it out, actually you can tell the storm's thicker that way, though you could miss it if you weren't looking for it.

Well, she gets to marching then.

Tallboy's long stride is actually somewhat balanced by its weight when Waltana is pacing herself. But still faster than a usual walk or march, covering ten feet with each step counts for a lot even if they're slow lumbering thumpy steps.

She swings down just fine when the wind kicks up, though she quickly learns to put the shields into storage mode too and mutters about windmills a little bit. The storm is intense. And kind of precludes conversation and wandering minds.

What will shelter look like when it gets dark?

There's a lot of leaning rocks, bent like alpine trees, with a curve that allows nestling underneath.The Iron Walkers brought their largest type of shield, with spikes on the bottom, and slam these down to create a wall around it. (Several brought second shields, to make more covered space to nest Tallboy in.) When sudden gusts came, they'd do much the same, circling the shields to protect the little phalanx.

It's not a very comfortable shelter, but they're all sleeping in their armor.

"It's not terribly restful regardless, but you might consider sleeping in the harness. Little gusts blowing you around make for rough sleep, or so I've heard from our Crescent Runners. They weight themselves down with the biggest shield they can borrow, resting on their body. You're welcome to mine, of course."

"It's not so cold that your eyeballs freeze so technically I've been through worse."

No privacy here, unless distance and background noise counts. She thinks it does.

"I have a tool that can cut through metal now, if you're careful enough, if you'd like to consider the disassembly of your armor."

"I heard the passage was coming along well. I... would very much like to try it. Even if it can't remove everything - even if I'm stuck with the helm forever - I would appreciate it a great deal."

She nods firmly. 

Saving the distinctive armor and making it fully detachable might be good for his legend. Though she doesn't know what legend Barik wants... Not something to bring up now anyway.

"As soon as practical, then. Slow and careful will be the way."