Getting out of bed early was the right call as Priscilla soaked in her private hot spring, lazily watching the sun climb over the horizon and breathing in the crisp morning air. Priscilla sighed happily as she carefully stretched her shoulders under Asha’s watchful gaze, relishing in finally being able to move freely. Nothing pulled painfully as she moved and the muscles felt relaxed and loose from the warm water. Hopefully Kavil would give her the all clear when she woke up the boys and she’d be free of that stupid sling once and for all.

  Yesterday had been a great day (discounting the dipshit innkeeper) and Grazda had been a fun city to explore but Priscilla was more than ready to leave it behind her and get back on the road to Illnyea. Her sleep had been fitful despite the soft pillows and warm bed spread, images of Illnyea suffering and the strange language bleeding into one another to create unsettling dreams, which was why Priscilla had woken up early in the first place.

  Priscilla put her hair into a high ponytail after combing through it even if the act might make the boys tut disapprovingly at her, but she was a grown woman, goddamnit, and she could do what she wanted. Her uneven hair meant that longer strands now framed her face since they couldn’t be pulled back into a ponytail, reaching a few inches lower near her chin. Priscilla eyed it, turning her head side to side but decided it could stay for now. It was slightly distracting, but she was sure she’d get used to it in no time. If she couldn’t, Priscilla would find the nearest pair of scissors and go to town.

  She was getting a little tired of wearing the same type of outfit everyday of plain pants and long-sleeved shirts, but Priscilla pushed those complaints to the back of her mind because there were much more important things to worry about.

  “Master is now the time?” Asha asked with muted excitement.

  “Yes, Asha,” Priscilla laughed, pulling out the pair of gloves she had purchased yesterday. The fingerless gloves were made of a supple, dark brown leather made from a buffalo supposedly and were supremely comfortable, though the gloves did lack the reinforced knuckles Asha requested. But Asha didn’t seem to mind as it turned into a matching pair oohing and ahhing as Priscilla showed off its new form.

  Priscilla made sure her souvenirs were packed away (a new book on flying monsters for herself and two cute octopus statues for Mr. Ordan and Illnyea) before regarding her true prize.

  In a world full of magic, it was only natural that some objects accumulated mana within themselves as time went on, and often were used as materials when making magical weapons. Anything from trees to dirt to water could accumulate mana if it had enough exposure to magic, but once the magic within the item had been used, the objects themselves had little value to most people because replenishing that supply of magic was tedious and required far more magic expended than could be actually held.

  Which was why the bookseller from yesterday sold the glittering pieces of quartz for a five copper per bag filled, as all the magic had been squeezed out of the gems. Asha had noticed the stones first, pointing them out to Priscilla as she looked over the knick knacks for souvenirs. The quartz pieces themselves had no value other than being a pretty bobble, but to Priscilla, they were potentially a lifeline to help Illnyea deal with her magical overload.

  There was no guarantee that the excess magic in Illnyea’s body would even flow towards the gem, but even the slim possibility of it happening meant that Priscilla would keep the bag on her person once they neared Meadowyar.

  Priscilla gave the opulent room one final sweep to make sure she had everything before leaving to make sure the boys were up and moving.

  Sulaiman was the one who opened up the door after Priscilla persistent knocking, taking up most of the doorway as he leaned against it. He had a surprisingly bad case of bedhead, with half his hair sticking straight up and the other flattened against his head. He looked well-rested and his skin had a healthy glow to it, his beige nightgown contrasting nicely with his bronze skin – if you ignored the hair, Sulaiman could be on the cover of a magazine for casual men’s wear in her old world.

  “Good morning sunshine,” Priscilla said, smirking at him as she walked past him. “You might want to take a look in the mirror before you let anyone else see you.”

  Sulaiman surprisingly didn’t roll his eyes, just humming in acknowledgement as he closed the door behind her. Priscilla placed her pack on the ground since it seemed the boys weren’t at all ready for the day and needed some help in getting a move on.

  Kavil hadn’t even woken up yet, still huddled under the blankets and clutching a pillow, somehow looking even more adorable than usual. Priscilla hated to disturb his peace but they did need to get on the road and the receptionist had told Priscilla the best breakfast food often disappeared the fastest.

  “Kavil,” Priscilla drawled, stretching out his name as she perched on the side of the bed, “it’s time to wake up. You need to give me a clean bill of health and free me from my prison.”

  Kavil stirred, eyes fluttering but not fully opening, mumbling something unintelligible. Priscilla resisted the urge to rip the blanket off and glanced at Sulaiman. But Sulaiman had taken her advice and was now glaring into the mirror as he combed through his hair, so he’d be no help.

  “Kavil,” Priscilla purred as she leaned over him so her hair tickled his face, “if you don’t get up right now, I’m going to drag you out of bed. I’m sure it’ll be a pleasant workout that won’t strain my shoulder at all.”

  That seemed to do the trick, as Kavil fully opened his eyes, though they were still coated in a haze of sleepiness as he murmured, “That’s a bad idea, don’t do that.”

  Priscilla tilted her head as she gave him a big smile, saying, “Took you long enough, sleeping beauty.”

  Kavil blinked a few times, just staring at her, so Priscilla just patted his face and leaned back, satisfied at a job well-done. Kavil scrambled to sit up, pulling the blanket up to his chin as he rubbed his eyes.

  From there, it didn’t take too long to get everyone ready as the boys hadn’t unpacked much last night. Kavil examined her shoulder and told Priscilla she didn’t have to wear the sling today, but to not do anything too strenuous or else it might restrain the joint, so Priscilla was ecstatic as they gathered up breakfast and started down to the stables with their horses.

  Funnily enough, as Priscilla idly defamed the Golden Goblet because she could, Kavil joined in.

  “Yeah, the roaches at the Golden Goblet were as long as my finger!” Kavil said, just a touch too loud to be plausible but full of enthusiasm.

  Priscilla paused, glancing at Sulaiman, who just shook his head with a fond expression but didn’t tell Kavil to stop.

  Huh.

  Priscilla hadn’t expected Sulaiman to actually tell Kavil what happened yesterday, not when Sulaiman was usually allergic to sharing his emotions or asking for help, but as Priscilla thought about it, she decided it was a good thing.

  If Sulaiman was willing to open up to Kavil this early on, then it was a very important step in the right direction to prevent some very nasty problems in the future that stemmed from Sulaiman not wanting to be a burden on others. Of course, just because he shared this minor harassment doesn’t mean he’d tell them when he was being blackmailed, but they could work up to that level of communication so Sulaiman would never have his face branded and burned.

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  For now, Priscilla would be happy with even this small step and gleefully redoubled her efforts at insulting the Golden Goblet with Kavil, spinning the story so it bordered on the edge of plausibility and insanity.

  They managed to leave Grazda with no further incidents and were back on the road shortly, headed straight towards Barrowton as the sight of the Emerald Forest peeked over the horizon. Conversation meandered between topics but it wasn’t until they stopped for lunch that Sulaiman ambushed Priscilla with one topic she had studiously not been thinking about.

  “Now that you’re healed up,” Sulaiman said, “we should plan out a training regiment to get you familiar with the short sword.”

  Priscilla sighed, shoulders slumping. She had kept the sword tucked away in her pack in hopes that the age old saying out of sight, out of mind would do the trick.

  “Fine,” Priscilla said, drawing out the word, “but you have to work some time into that schedule to do unarmed sparring on the regular. I don’t want my skills to get rusty because you insist I waive about a pointy metal stick.”

  She knew she was being overly whiny when Sulaiman was just trying to help her, but even if she had enough self-reflection to recognize that, it didn’t mean it magically made her feelings go away. Priscilla couldn’t even really articulate why she had such a strong aversion to using a sword over her fists, though it probably had something to do with the fact that Asha couldn’t help Priscilla during combat if Priscilla wielded a weapon.

  “If you insist,” Sulaiman said, briefly frowning as he thought it over. “We’ll begin by going through basic sword movements and footing to get you used to the weapon’s length. The most important thing is to establish a solid foundation and build upon the basics until they become reflexive. We’ll need to work on your endurance and base strength too – a short sword is lighter than other weapons, but even the lightest of weights grow heavy if you’re in the heat of battle.”

  Priscilla couldn’t even hold onto her annoyance as Sulaiman talked about something he was clearly knowledgeable and passionate about. Priscilla had planned on doing her own endurance training once things had settled down and though it’d suck, she’d suffer through it gladly to put more power behind her fist. But there was one member of their party whose physical attributes could be, well, very much improved was the politest way Priscilla could phrase it.

  “Let’s make Kavil join too,” Priscilla said, just a touch of deviousness entering her tone, and Kavil choked on his sandwich.

  “What?” Kavil said, sending her a betrayed look. “I’m–”

  “Going to hide while we fight?” Priscilla offered cheerfully.

  “No,” Kavil said, his rejection of the notion immediate and sharp.

  “You should join us,” Sulaiman said, crossing his arms and Kavil turned his betrayed expression to him. It had little effect on Sulaiman, who seemed to be giving the idea further consideration and liking it more and more. “If you’re ever targeted because you’re a healer, it would be better if you knew how to defend yourself, and, should we fall, being able to outrun your enemies will ensure your survival.”

  Kavil stared at his sandwich unhappily, apparently unable to come up with a good rebuttal. Priscilla tried not to feel like this was payback for the way Kavil teamed up with Sulaiman for ‘her own health’ and managed to keep her smirk off her face. Even if they only encountered the obstacles that were in the original story, there were plenty of foes that were intelligent enough to target the weakest members in the party. With training, Kavil would be a little stronger and wouldn’t be as tempting as a target.

  A stray thought passed through Priscilla and she managed to catch it before it left her lips unthinkingly. There was no need to ask Kavil to practice reversing his healing magic to harm others, not now when there were no clear enemies she’d be able to use to justify him learning it. The theoretical application would go against everything Kavil stood for and would just push Kavil away and Sulaiman would totally judge Priscilla for even suggesting it.

  Instead, Priscilla said, “Until you’re strong enough, we do have a fancy crossbow that’ll keep you out of the line of fire and give you a way to help out during fights.”

  Kavil looked confused before it melted into a flat look in her direction.

  “You want me to use the crossbow of the bandit captain that wanted to destroy my village?” Kavil asked, his tone conveying just how little he liked the idea.

  “It’s like the biggest fuck you you could do,” Priscilla said, really liking the idea now that she’d thought about it, “using the crossbow to help save people instead of kill.”

  “You do remember the crossbow bolts inflict someone with a curse of pain, right?” Kavil was eyeing Priscilla as if he thought she could somehow forget the agony she went through.

  “I do,” Priscilla conceded, “but if you ever do have to use it, it’s probably going to be in a life and death situation.”

  “If you do hit someone,” Sulaiman cut in, “then I’ll ensure their suffering doesn’t last long.”

  A poetic way to say he’d kill them for Kavil, but Priscilla kept that thought inside as she looked at Kavil. He visibly wavered, looking between Sulaiman and Priscilla as if they’d perhaps change their stances if he looked adorable enough (Okay, maybe that was Priscilla’s bias coming through, but she stayed strong) before his shoulders slumped in defeat.

  “I don’t even know how to shoot a crossbow,” Kavil muttered.

  “I said the same thing when Sulaiman told me I have to use a sword,” Priscilla said, patting his shoulder commiseratingly. “We can do some target practice once we’re in the forest – hitting a tree isn’t too hard. We can work up to moving targets eventually.”

  Kavil sighed deeply and returned to eating his sandwich with far less enthusiasm.

  They neared Barrowton a little before sunset, the Emerald Forest a dark wall in the distance. Priscilla immediately noticed that Barrowton had a very different atmosphere than they had left it. Last time they had been there, it had been bustling and full of merchants and travelers going in and out and people calling out to each other with laughter in their voices, even in the evening.

  But now, the first thing Priscilla saw were the three camps set up on the edge of town that were filled with well-armored occupants. The people in the camps eyed them as they approached but ultimately dismissed them, turning back to their campfires to speak in low voices.

  Priscilla didn’t see any obvious signs of what may have caused this mood shift or drawn this many mercenaries to Barrowton as she led the way to the inn they stayed in last time, but she stayed on guard. The stable was far emptier than it had been last time and Priscilla exchanged a look with Sulaiman as they dismounted but held her tongue as she didn’t have all the facts yet.

  The innkeeper seemed surprised when they entered, straightening up with a jolt as he said, “Welcome to Barrowton’s finest inn. How may I help you today?”

  “Well, my companions and I were in need of some lodging,” Priscilla said, leaning against the counter. “Do you happen to have any rooms available that’ll fit the three of us?”

  The innkeeper flipped through a book behind the counter and confirmed that yes, they did have such a room, and it even had a bed for each of them. Priscilla hummed as she paid.

  “Ah,” Priscilla said just before the interaction was done like she had just thought of something, “we were here a week or so ago and things were much livelier then. Has some sort of tragedy befallen poor Barrowton since we left?”

  The innkeeper swallowed as he tucked the money away.

  “Now in Barrowton, per se,” the innkeeper said, glancing nervously towards the dining room and lowering his voice. “There’s been a huge uptick in monster attacks in the Emerald Forest, even for those traveling the kingdom’s road.”

  Priscilla could feel Sulaiman’s attention sharpen behind her and Kavil stopped admiring the decorations to look forward too.

  “Do these monsters happen to be toad-like and huge?” Priscilla asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach.

  The innkeeper’s eyebrows raised as he said, “Yes, in fact, those and a pack of Dappled Hyenas are the worst of it from what I’ve heard from travelers lucky enough to survive. But the whole forest seems agitated and even herbivores are more aggressive.”

  “So who called for the mercenaries out there?” Priscilla asked, tapping her fingers along the counter. She hadn’t actually gotten around to cutting her nails yet and they clacked loudly against the wood.

  “Ah, that would be the mayor,” the innkeeper said. “She wanted to have some protection for the town before the king’s squadron arrived in case the monsters left the forest.” The innkeeper paused, licking his lips. “You aren’t planning on traveling through the forest, are you?”

  Priscilla hesitated for a moment before saying, “We have to — our destination is Meadowyar and going around takes too long.” It would take a week and a half to go around the edge of the forest rather than the three days to cut straight through.

  “You really should wait for the squadron to arrive,” the innkeeper said worriedly. “It’ll only take a week before they arrive and sort this all out.”

  Priscilla tapped her fingers one last time before grabbing the room key and pushing off the counter.

  “Appreciate the advice,” Priscilla said over her shoulder, “but we’re on a tight schedule, so waiting isn’t an option.”