Getting to know each other
For example, there was the village chief's wife, in her fifties, with sparkling eyes and a kind smile.
Her name was Mira and she was an incredibly gentle healer, known for her remedies made from simple plants and medicinal herbs she gathered herself in the surrounding forests.
That evening, she circulated among the mercenaries and apprentices, checking their wounds and chatting with them as if they were old friends.
She told Izo how she had once healed a soldier who had been bitten by a wolf, while joking that animals are easier to heal than men, as the latter were generally too proud to admit they were in pain.
To everyone's surprise, Izo grinned slightly at this story and started talking to her.
This mercenary, usually so discreet, revealed himself for the first time to be a little sociable.