Leoric sighed, he really wasn’t in the habit of asking for help. After all he was a man, and a stubborn one at that, he liked to do everything himself. However, what they were saying did make sense.

“I don’t really need a bodyguard, I can take care of myself in that regard. But if you know your way through Underwood and can get me to where I am going faster it would save me time and money.” Leoric looked at the ground, a little ashamed of himself for agreeing to help. “Kylie, we will head to Ruby’s first thing in the morning, you can play with Eric all day, and Ruby will keep you safe till i get back.”

“Really?! They are so much fun to be around!” Kylie exclaimed, finally showing her age.

“Yep! And I will give Miss Ruby some extra coin so you can go enjoy yourselves in town as well.” Leoric smiled warmly as he walked over and ruffled her hair. “Now finish dinner and go get ready for bed kay? I will take care of cleaning up.”

It didn’t take long for Kylie to finish up her soup and dried meat before she quickly hugged Leoric and ran off into the disheveled stone hut. Before she quickly looked back and half whispered. “You may want to go for a bath as well, you stink a little”

Leoric raised an arm and took a sniff before nodding his head in agreement as she giggled and went inside. Leoric grabbed the bowls and pot used for the soup and carried it over to woods where he emptied any leftovers into a pile and wiped the bowls down before walking to the pond to rinse them.

“So if you are to be my guide for a few days, we should get to know each other so we aren't expecting a dagger in our backs. I am Leoric Blackwell, Former member of the Crimson Hand. I was one of their enforcers, their muscle, I got the job done no matter what. It wasn’t till i got list in the frozen wastes of Salvar, i only survived cause i found a cave with a naturally occurring hot spring inside. Animals tended to frequent it for safety from the elements so I harvested them to survive. After years of isolation I learned what I wanted to do….” He stopped rinsing the pot and looked back at his companion for a second before continuing. “Or I should say, what I want my legacy to be.”

After a few moments of silence he emptied the pot and bowls and started bringing them back towards the fire. “My life up to this point I detest, I consider myself a failure of a human being. So I decided to do everything I can to change, to make the last few decades of my life something worth sharing with others. Shortly after i decided this i met some fantastic people who i have to keep pushing for, Kylie is only one of the people i have to succeed for. She has had no one be there for her since her mother passed away. And I know that feeling, my whole life I have had no one there for me. And I won't let her life end up like mine.”

He turned to face his new guide and hopeful new friend. He sat down on the log next to the fire a little distance away from her as he finally let his muscles relax and took a deep breath, finally trying to let his guard down for once. “What about yourself? Obviously only share what you are comfortable with.”