Even after having changed clothing, even after having covertly changed forms briefly to burn all traces off his skin, Ilyien could still smell the stuff on him. It hung as a miasma in the air around him - and the other warriors who marched with him up the mountain pass. They were not, as he had learned, Prince Ithacles' men. After having heard the tale, Ilyien selfishly found himself grateful for being turned away from a city rife with such dishonor. Still, the soldiers of this Lord Ilúvatar Voronwé had proven themselves valorous and capable. They lost but one of the refugees at the beginning of the skirmish; the thirty-three others were still shaken, but unharmed.
Ilyien was not certain he could have claimed the same, had he been without the assistance of the Thunderbolts. And then there had been the fighting skills of Prince Ithacles and his guard. Vedette had been a terror with her short bow; and the blows that Ithacles withstood were shattering to say the least. Once, he had found himself fighting back-to-back with the prince - and he could not deny the enjoyment of such a thing. The strength of fighting with a comrade in arms as a single team - brothers. Brothers, for a span of time: united not by blood in their veins but by the blood on their blades. There was nothing else quite like it.
The firebird walked steadily now within the circle that the riders of the Thunderbolts created. In this configuration, Ilyien was well aware that he was included in their protection - and not a protector himself. Walking in step with Shine to his left and Sabev to his right, and all three of them leading horses that carried the most weary of the refugees, Ilyien could not be offended. Rather, he was grateful.
A shout came from ahead. The guard dispatched earlier to ride ahead had now returned, and Ilyien found himself listening to the news delivered to the Prince's guard. It seems that the dust they'd seen ahead on the mountain pass was indeed a caravan of wagons - also refugees, and also freshly attacked by orcs. Odd that orcs would be in this region... But the important facts Ilyien heard was that the caravan ahead was far better outfitted than their band -- and they were far less well defended. In short, the caravan had what they needed -- and the Thunderbolts could offer protection for the lot of them. It seemed an equitable arrangement.
Of course, it was not Ilyien's decision; he did not control the Thunderbolts.