Althea was cold, hungry, and covered from head to toe in dirt. It had taken two days before they tracked down an occupied camp. Luckily, she and Arévis had found a stream to drink from, but little else. Althea picked some herbs from the forest that were edible, and tried to catch some fish with makeshift equipment (unsuccessfully). They heard the bored drone of voices drift over from a small clearing.

  Althea all too eagerly jumped up from the stream to investigate.

  “Be careful,” Arévis warned, catching her sleeve. “We don’t know who they are and what they want.”

  “Nothing could be worse than starving to death in this wretched forest, could it?” Althea said, and continued marching towards the clearing.

  It was a modest camp with large tents. It seemed to house only about twenty people or so. Some milled about in the daylight, preparing for lunch and stoking the fire. Two guards were slumped against a couple of trees, idly chatting.

  The guards stiffened when they were spotted. How must they have looked? Two young girls, half-starved and dirty like a couple of urchins.

  Arévis stepped in front of Althea, who was still stunned from their discovery.

  “Excuse me,” Arévis rasped, “Do you have any food?”

  The guards exchanged looks.

  “You want free food? Go hunt for it. There’s a whole forest of wild animals,” one of them said.

  The other looked more sympathetic, but still wary.

  “We had a couple of bandits rob us last night. One of them was a young girl like you,” the other said. “You can understand why my fellow thinks two young girls are suspicious.”

  Althea’s temper shot up to the sun.

  “Which way did they go?” Althea demanded, fuming.

  The unsympathetic guard looked stunned.

  “Is that what happened to you two?” The nicer one asked.

  The other one snapped, “Don’t. It could be a trick.”

  Althea growled in frustration.

  “Just tell me where they went! We won’t step foot in your camp.”

  Arévis took a deep breath and stood impeccably straight, her hands behind her back.

  “We really will starve if we don’t eat. Our tools were stolen from us two nights ago. If you could give us supplies for hunting, we’d be happy to catch our own food. Obviously your camp needs to eat as well.”

  The guards were silent at that, contemplating her words. Althea didn’t care to hear what they would say unless it was how to get those damned bandits.

  Finally, the cautious one spoke.

  “We don’t know where the bandits went. But if you truly need supplies, we’ll sell some to you. We don’t have much to spare.”

  Arévis blinked several times and did her best not to look annoyed. Althea was too angry to notice if she pulled it off.

  “I’m happy that your camp is still intact, but they took everything of ours. Our money, our supplies, and our food. We don’t have any money. Isn’t there something we could do to gain your trust?”

  The friendly guard almost looked like he was about to crack.

  “Where are you headed? Besides to find those bandits,” he asked.

  “We’re trying to find members of the Artificer’s Guild,” Arévis said right away. Althea may have even detected a small smile when she said it.

  Why would Arévis come out with this, knowing how dangerous and secret they were? How was this in their best interest?

  But Althea soon found out, because the guards looked pale.

  “…Who are you?” The suspicious one asked.

  “That’s not important,” Arévis said, “We need food and supplies to find them. And if we happen to encounter the bandits—well, I’m sure we can return what they stole from you as well.”

  “I can’t tell you where The Artificers are. In truth, we’re here to defend the camp from them. They want to steal our research—”

  “Quiet!” The other one reprimanded.

  “Maybe you could help us—” He continued hopefully.

  “We would be more than happy to.” Arévis replied.

  They all stood in silence for a moment, Althea fidgeting with her fingers, still wound up.

  “You must know the Artificers have… special kinds of weapons. Is that what you’re here researching?” Arévis pressed on. “We don’t want to interfere with your research. But we can certainly help you with it. I studied at Isold’s academy for years.”

  Arévis held out her hand and froze a tiny tree branch near the guard’s head.

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  “My friend is also a powerful mage. We could hunt anyone here down for you. In fact, if you give us proper supplies, we could bring the Artificers here when we’re done questioning them. Do you want them dead or alive?”

  The two looked at each other, grim lines carved into their faces. The suspicious one spoke.

  “We will let you speak with the head of our expedition.”

  Arévis stepped into the camp, shooting Althea a smile as she followed.

  The head of the expedition was a stout man with a gruff demeanor. He introduced himself as Deryn and invited them into his tent abruptly, clearing off his table with a large map sprawled on it. There were empty beer horns and ink and paper strewn about.

  “I’m hoping Irwin and Leo didn’t bring me a couple of Artificer spies. If that’s so, I’ll find out soon enough, won’t I?” He grumped, gesturing for someone to pour him some more beer.

  “To my knowledge, Edajian Artificers don’t use ice magic,” Arévis said.

  “That is true!” One of the guards defended. “I saw her use ice magic.”

  “You two are dismissed,” Deryn said. The two left the tent without a word.

  “We’ll give you food and supplies as a gesture of good will. If you return with our agreement fulfilled, we’ll give you a hefty reward in gold.”

  He took a swig of his beer and approached his map, gesturing for them to follow.

  “The welfare of this expedition can’t be compromised. The ones most likely to do that aren’t a couple of bandits looking to steal some gold or food—it’s the ones who are looking to sabotage our research.

  “Now, I don’t know who you are. You very well could be spies or bandits with a good amount of knowledge about The Artificers. That’s suspicious enough. But if you’re one of Isold’s, there’s a chance you might help us… Just know that if you betray us, our mages will wipe you out. I don’t care how gifted you are. You’re outnumbered,” he seemed to say more to himself.

  Althea could feel his desperation. If he had mages at his command, why not send them after the Artificers? But then a chilling thought gripped her: perhaps he had sent his mages and they had already failed. To him, she and Arévis were expendable—whether or not he believed they could succeed.

  “Are you here on behalf of king Garak?” Arévis ventured softly.

  Deryn turned to her, surprised.

  “You ask too many questions, mage.” He ran his fingers through his greasy hair and took another swig of beer. Even watching him with a drink that could hardly count as sustenance made Althea’s stomach lurch.

  “Bring us the weapons of the Artificers. We don’t care what you do with them after that. If you happen to collect any other… artifacts… I will reward you for those as well.”

  Arévis nodded.

  Althea thought to refuse, or ask more questions at least. But then, what choice did they have? They were just as desperate.

  “Remember my warning, mage. If you betray me, you will not escape,” he repeated.

  “My name is Arévis,” she offered, holding her hand out. Deryn shook it and led her to the map. Althea followed.

  “Althea,” she begrudgingly introduced herself. Deryn took her measure carefully before shaking her hand.

  “This is where we think they are…”

  “Is this really a good idea, Arévis?” Althea asked, lying comfortably on her bedroll, contented with a belly full of the most succulent venison she had ever tasted. Her father always said that hunger was the best seasoning.

  They lay side by side in a small tent Deryn had lent them, on their way to an “area of interest” on the map of this small section of Edajian forest. As labyrinthine as it was, no one had accurately mapped all of it.

  “We’ll find out,” Arévis said, making no attempt to assuage her fears. She looked much less stressed than she had before they had found the expedition’s camp. An expedition for what exactly, they still didn’t know. The fear of acting as mercenaries had numbed any curiosity she might have had for their research.

  “Why did you reveal your connection to the Artificers?” Althea asked.

  “To frighten him,” Arévis said.

  “What if others come after you now? What if word spreads?”

  “That’s part of the point. The easiest way to find someone is to lure them,” She said, shrugging.

  “So the Artificers trained you to be, what? Some kind of spy?” Althea asked.

  “I was a researcher,” Arévis corrected, annoyed. “Everything else I learned informally.”

  “So you were around spies.”

  “Lots of them,” Arévis huffed.

  There was an uncomfortable pause. Althea had pushed her too far yet again.

  “I’m sorry,” Althea sighed. “When you came to visit with them after you had been recruited, you told me how much you loved it there with Gabriel and your new friends. I thought for the first time, you had somewhere you could fit in—where you could flourish. I know Isold sent you off to another guild, but you seemed… content there.”

  “I was content,” Arévis reminisced, “For a while, I thought it was my dream. But it was never meant to last. Isold didn’t give a damn about my well-being after I had been shipped off like an unwanted package.”

  Althea frowned. Yes, Arévis’ future had been handled like a dismissal, or so Arévis thought. But Isold had said it was what she thought was best for Arévis—what Arévis would be happier with. She wasn’t sure which version was true.

  “But even so… you were content. Those violent thieves stole your future, not Isold. They stole Gabriel’s future,” Althea said. Now she knew a fraction of what Arévis had gone through after that teenage bandit had held a knife to her throat and her brother brandished a bow and arrow.

  Arévis remained quiet.

  “She accommodated for you as best she could when you returned. She gave you a cottage by the river, and the resources to research for her at the academy… Wasn’t that what you wanted?” Althea was genuinely curious.

  “It was too late by then,” Arévis said. “And I’m done talking about it.”

  She rolled over, her back facing Althea.

  Althea was still madly curious about what The Artificer’s Guild was like. As far as she could tell, they made enchanted weapons for Valeria. It seemed like a normal guild to her.

  By the time Arévis had drifted off, Althea was still in a state of lethargy after the hearty meal. They were well-supplied, but it would take days to reach their destination, perhaps weeks. After a false start, they were on their way to settling this dispute once and for all. Then she and Arévis could go on vacation.

  She dreamt of the decadent palaces in Aridia, of the hot sun, blinding in its glory. Sand shimmered and flew in a gentle breeze, the backdrop of a huge city in its wake. The markets there must be even livelier than the ones in Lantris, full of Aridian citizens chattering loudly and excitedly. She pictured the sovereign’s personal palace chambers, littered with feast leftovers and fine linens. Of course, she and Arévis weren’t the daughters of politicians, priests, or the royal family. Only nobility could languish in the luxury of the palace walls.

  But they did have merit as mages. They’d probably stay in some kind of inn in the outskirts of the royal city. They’d clamor to get invites to royal festivals. Maybe they could work for the royal guard, Althea as a healer, and Arévis as a soldier. If they couldn’t do that, the city parties were something to explore. No one sang and danced like Aridians. Even the taverns must be amazing.

  Thoughts of a bright future let Althea drift off peacefully. She would cling to these thoughts dearly in the weeks to come, when there would only be forest for days in each direction.