Fulgora’s caravan outside the city was a lot nicer than Ratface would have thought it was. The caravans themselves were wide and looked more like moving houses than any wagon Ratface had seen. The houses weren’t too fancy, they looked like something from a village more than anything, and a communal table had been set out in front of them.

  Fulgora was sitting at the table with Albert and Tiffany. She’d put a grilled fish out in front of them. The thing was huge and Ratface said as much as they got closer.

  “As you can imagine, catching fish is fairly easy for us,” said Fulgora. She gestured at the fish. “Please dig in. I’ve already filled your two friends with food, so they’ll need some help.”

  Ratface shrugged and joined in to Alber and Tiffany’s obvious relief. She dug into it with all the enthusiasm of someone who had starved before. It was difficult to do so without Fulgora getting to see under her helmet. She had to keep turning away. Abigail didn’t dig in with quite as much gusto, but she took enough to be polite. Halmir crawled out joined Ratface in her war against the fish.

  “I imagine that you didn’t come just to help your friends with the fish?” asked Fulgora.

  Ratface paused in her munching to fix the other trial taker with a stare.

  “I need a favour from you. Someone mentioned your lightning might be good for movement?”

  Fulgora frowned, then barked something out in a language Ratface didn’t recognise. A door opened from one of the caravans and heat washed out of the room. Ratface covered her face but still look through. The room looked like a combination of a blacksmith and alchemist and it had a sharp smell to it.

  A girl rushed out of it. She was in a thick gown with no metal on it and big puffy parts to it. The moment the door closed behind her the heat stopped. That was quite the door.

  The girl pulled down the hood of her robe and they were all treated to what was obviously Fulgora’s younger sister. The girls hair wasn’t cut so short and it had a red tint that she hadn’t noticed in the older girls face. They both had that faint pride to them though.

  “This is one of our lightning smiths, Faber,” said Fulgora. Faber gave them a deep bow and Ratface frowned. That level of deference was odd at a sister’s greeting.

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  “Faber, this squire has need of our lightning for their own armour. Can you help them?”

  The younger girl frowned.

  “I won’t make you any boots,” she declared. Ratface let her eyes flicker down to Fulgora’s legs. Ah her greaves had been replaced with a different set. Theses ones covered her all the way to the knee. A quick glance at the mana around them told her they crackled with mana. The lightning girl must be leaning into her abilities for the armour. It was a call that made sense to Ratface. She’d do the same if she could.

  Instead, she got to deal with a witch that took shady deals with Kryssa. She hoped the glamour didn’t get pulled into anything too dangerous.

  She shook her head. She’d just have to trust in Kryssa and do her part.

  “I just need the lightning,” said Ratface.

  “Oh, is that all?” said Faber with a roll of her eyes. Fulgora gave her a look and the younger girl sighed and reached into her bulky cloak. She pulled out a glass bottle and raised it to the sky.

  “If you would Anax Fulgora,” she asked.

  The other girl pushed herself away from the table and stood up. She stretched a bit before looking up at the sky.

  “You may want to look away for this,” she warned.

  The clouds twisted in the sky and darkened the area above them. Fulgora reached up towards them and then yanked down.

  A pure bolt of lightning shot down at them. It was about to hit them when it curved into the glass bottle and coiled around it. Faber stuck a plug in it. She handed it to Fulgora who watched the thrashing lightning impassively.

  “I can’t imagine what use there is for this,” she said. She eyed Ratface with consideration and the goblin braced herself. Here came the price. She wondered if it’d be information or a favour?

  Fulgora handed her the bottle.

  “Here you go,” she said with a smile.

  Ratface stared at the bottle, then the girl in confusion.

  “You’re just giving this to me?” she asked. Fulgora shrugged and sat back down at the table. She gestured for Faber to come join her and the girl quickly rushed over and sat next to her to eat. Once her younger sister was eating, she turned back to Ratface.

  “I only passed the water trial from your help,” she said. Ratface tried to protest but the girl cut her off. She’d switched how she was acting and sat a little straighter now. She seemed more regal somehow.

  “If I hadn’t passed, my trail would be done, and with it, any chance of my people not having to travel between cities.” She looked over Ratface’s group in consideration. “The Lady’s favour is a boon my people need, but there’s nothing that says that we can’t all have it. So I will help those who helped me, because I have to live with my decisions once the trial is over.” Her speech done, she relaxed, and the noble bearing faded. She smiled slyly at them.

  “Now come help me eat this fish, before my glutton of a sister eats it all.”

  Ratface came and joined her. She was embarrassed how surprised she was to just be helped. Her deals with the goblin glamour must have been bothering her more than she thought.

  It hurt more than she’d admit that a human would help her so easily, but someone with a goblins face wouldn’t.