[ They hardly need to track their way back: the dead men have done Iorveth's job for him by drawing jagged lines in treebark. He follows the trail over animal trails and scuffed dirt, contemplating the implications behind then what? ]

You'd have my head if I suggested that you go to Waterdeep for the next few tendays.

[ Which is what he would've suggested if Astarion hadn't been so infuriatingly sweet with his offer of protection and the use of the word "together". This is his open and honest admission that he'd considered it, and considered it fairly deeply. ]

So, since I've had to rule that option out― [ A glance over his shoulder, brow raised. ] ―You'll have to come with me to Flotsam.

[ Back to basics. An echo of the first time Iorveth had ever confided in Astarion, a return to "I want you to help me kill a man". A downgrade from regicide, but killing a Commandant will still cause small-scale chaos.

He pauses for a second, as if considering whether or not he wants to say something else, a question that sits right on the tip of his tongue before he swallows it; instead, he breaks eye contact and sets his sights back ahead of him, towards the direction of the pinprick campfire that he can spot in the distance. ]