The awkward clattering of cutlery on tin travel plates sounded around the circle of people around the evening fire. The fireflies had just started to make an occasional appearance in the underbrush, and there was no sign of Filif yet, though both Spidena and Ben were doubtful he’d stay away for long. The little sprite seemed to find them entertaining, and aside from the time he had petrified Daffy—almost literally—he had been quite helpful himself.

  “So, Paulav…” Celestra’s voice was a little too high pitched and loud. “Now that Conquestorov is asleep in the caravan, mind telling us what the heavens you think you’re doing?”

  The merchant winced. “He’s not so bad! Conquestorov is a lovely duck! He—”

  “Paualv, I understand you want to help everyone and are the kindest man alive, but there is being friendly and there is being foolish!” Celestra persisted.

  “I hate to say it, Paulav, but… my wife’s right,” Galev contributed gravely. “You need to leave the duck. I’m shocked Earhav isn’t already here.”

  Paulav looked imploringly at Spidena and Ben who were perfectly quiet from their spots on the opposite side of the fire.

  “Do I have to make a prediction for you to believe me?” Celestra snapped, drawing Paulav’s attention back to her.

  Ben sat up straighter. “Prediction? You're a divination witch?”

  Both Spidena and Celestra turned to look at him, but it was Spidena who arched an eyebrow warily.

  Nodding, Celestra confirmed Ben’s guess. “Yes, I am.”

  “I’m… I’m trying to find my friend. She used to help the military. Would you be able to find her?” Ben leaned forward eagerly. “Last I saw her was in the king’s palace.”

  Celestra winced. “If I try to scry anyone in the castle it might alert the protections that the imprisoned witches and warlocks cast over the castle.”

  Ben’s eyes darkened as though the brief light of hope had been extinguished a bit too readily, but he didn’t press the matter any more.

  Spidena frowned. An edge in Ben’s face she had never seen before had appeared as his mind seemed to drift over to this friend of his…

  Celestra fixed a firm stare back on the merchant. “Now, you tell me exactly what is happening with that duck.”

  Paulav pressed his lips together before clearing his throat. “Well I… You see… The duck was going to tell Earhav something that would’ve gotten people killed, and a also really good business shut down, so I—we—we changed who Conquestorov thinks is his master.”

  “Paulav,” Celestra gasped while rising to her feet. “Why didn’t you just leave the duck and run away?”

  “That wouldn’t be–”

  “Paulav! You’re a seeb! And Earhav is perfectly capable of turning you inside out and chopping you up to be that duck’s next dinner!” Celestra then swung around and bore down on Spidena, her eyes flashing. “If you’re powerful enough to cast a spell like that, you should have tied that stupid duck to yourself or someone else who could stand a chance against that warlock!”

  A long span of silence stretched between everyone present.

  “Listen, everything is fine, hey? Let’s not go crying before it even hails,” Paulav tried to ease Celestra’s fury a little, though it didn’t seem to do much. “Spidena here changed the master to me because they were going to have to kill Conquestorov otherwise, and I didn’t want that, and they didn’t want the duck attached to them.”

  “Oh, Paulav.” Celestra’s hands and shoulders dropped as she turned away for a moment and peered at the sky.

  When she didn’t say anything for another minute, Paulav decided to try and turn the discussion to something more pleasant. “Say, Galev, why don’t you tell Ben here about your line of work! He’s a dodder himself you see, so I’m sure he’ll find it interesting.”

  “Really?” Galev perked up with renewed interest. “A dodder? At your age? Your parents must have hid you incredibly well to avoid the arm…y…”

  Both Ben and Spidena watched as Ben’s earlier comment about a friend of his being a part of the military swam back up into their minds.

  “You… You were in the military, weren’t you?” Galev asked gravely.

  Ben’s gaze dropped to the fire, but eventually he nodded.

  Celestra looked back around at Ben; complex emotions wove themselves through her eyes. Anger, judgment, then… much as Spidena had come to feel, she seemed to register his age, and pained sympathy cracked through the original feelings.

  “That must have been hard,” Galev said quietly. “I know I found it hard when they took my father to be an artificer for the king.”

  “An artificer?” Ben’s curious tone sounded… tense.

  “Yes. It’s what I do. I’m able to make magical weapons or tools. It’s one of those few jobs that neither a witch or seeb could do.”

  “Why is that?” Paulav jumped in, evidently unaware of this detail of his friend’s work.

  “Witches can’t properly gauge how strong or weak an item is and what materials or weapons can hold a magic. While seebs would think a rock is magical and have no idea what they’re doing.”

  “We gauge magic items fine! We just don’t always understand the strength of the kickback for non-witches,” Celestra fired off indignantly.

  Her husband raised his eyebrows at his wife with a wry smile.

  This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

  “What kind of magical things do you build?” Ben wondered. He was sitting oddly still…

  “Mostly I’ve been building gateway detectors to the fey realm for seeb villages so that they know where to avoid. It helps for the villages that happen to be in an area close to a number of natural fey gates. Keeps the children and locals away so that there are less people who go missing.”

  Ben smiled, every inch of his body visibly relaxing. “That sounds useful.”

  “It is. Though I know some dodders in the urban planning division of the government that don’t like the idea that their jobs might be in danger because of my invention.”

  “Dodders working in urban planning?” Ben tilted his head, openly amazed.

  Galev nodded with a smile. “Oh, yes. The ones that scout an area where a new lord or village council wishes to build and ensures there isn’t any magical creature or gateway that could be disrupted if they built there.”

  Ben’s eyes shone. “I…I had no idea specific jobs existed for dodders.”

  “It’s a newer development in the kingdom,” Celestra contributed while gesturing upward with her palm. “Just like there are dodder surgeons who are able to help remove magical items, or help find magically corrupt injuries. The world is slowly adapting to having magic be a part of its everyday life.” She sighed then looked back at Paulav. “You shouldn’t take the duck to the wedding. That’d be like leading a fox to a hen house.”

  “Oh but he’s so excited to attend!” Paulav lamented heartfully.

  “Paulav,” Celestra’s tone once again turned sharp.

  The merchant fell quiet, his head hanging.

  Spidena could tell Celestra struggled making the big softie feel bad just as much as they did when they had to convince Paulav to kill the duck.

  “Paulav, I’m surprised you’re not more excited about your date with Obbie,” Spidena said loudly, a small smile venturing up her face.

  Both Galev and Celestra’s jaws dropped. Once she overcame the shock, she slapped the merchant’s shoulder playfully. “Paulav! A date? Truly? Is this your first since Joshel?”

  Paulav’s face turned the color of steamed beets as he busied himself setting his plate down and taking a gulp of wine.

  Spidena couldn’t help but grin at the sight. He was like a pubescent youth excited for his first date but was being interrogated by his mother.

  “It will be my first date since Joshel, yes. And I… I am looking forward to spending more time getting to know Obbie, though I know he’s only doing it because Ben pressed him to.”

  Celestra rounded on Ben, her hands on her hips, her eyes narrowed. “I’m starting to like you a little bit more.”

  Ben gave a soft snort at that. “You won’t once you meet Obbie. He’s a bit…”

  “He’s a fairy,” Spidena explained bluntly. “And most likely a noble one given that he’s human sized.”

  Celestra had to sit back down. “Did all of these… developments… only happen… when those two started traveling with you?” she asked faintly.

  Spidena and Ben shifted a little uncomfortably.

  Paulav sighed and set his emptied goblet down. “Yes. That is how things have been since we all crossed paths, but… It’s been a marvelous adventure. And I haven’t had this much fun in years. Truly, Celestra, Galev, I’m sorry to be so worrisome, but… Ben and Spidena are my friends. You know how sometimes you just meet people and it’s like you just know you’re going to be in each other’s lives for years to come? That’s what it’s like with them.”

  Celestra opened and closed her mouth twice, then let out a heavy sigh as the fire crackled and the sweet smell of burning pine sap permeated the air.

  Having reached some sort of decision, she waved Ben and Spidena over to her. “Come a bit closer. Both of you. I need to read your futures if I’m just letting you galavant around, dragging Paulav here with you and your big magic smell—yes I know now it’s all wafting off of the two of you.”

  “Oh, that’s alright,” Spidena began hurriedly. “You really don’t need to do a reading for us.”

  Celestra’s eyes flashed. “Kneel in front of the fire. This is only going to take a minute.”

  Galev gave the two of them an apologetic look. “No one wins against her when she sets her mind like this. Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t apologize for me like I’m doing something wrong,” Celestra snapped at her husband.

  Galev smiled and shrugged charmingly.

  Spidena shared another look with Ben, and seeing the shine of curiosity in his eyes, she couldn’t help but acquiesce, though she worried that the woman would learn about Pesch Goldbry during this process as well…

  However, the intense nature of the divination witch left little room to argue.

  Which was an odd nature for someone of her kind… Most divination witches Spidena had met had all been quite airheaded and aloof.

  “Alright. I’m going to start trying to see around that cloud of magic surrounding the two of you to see if you’re going to bring chaos to our friend’s wedding. Then, if I like you after what I see, I’ll look into your individual futures—count yourselves lucky, by the way. I don’t usually do this without a hefty payment. I’m only doing it to make sure the wedding goes smoothly tomorrow and also that Paulav is going to stay safe.”

  Spidena and Ben, unable to refuse, both lowered themselves onto their knees before the fire, and Celestra stood.

  Holding her hands out over the flames, she didn’t speak, but her gaze became unfocused, and her eyes shifted back and forth over Ben and Spiden before occasionally moving to the flames.

  Her eyebrows would twitch, and her mouth would purse, but she didn’t say why as the minutes ticked by.

  Then she rounded the fire, crouched down, and started to reach for Ben’s hands, when out from the brush and shadows, with a squealing laugh, leapt Filif.

  Galev was on his feet in an instant, and Celestra rolled back onto the ground like a turtle would fall onto its shell with a yelp.

  Filif cackled, supposedly at having successfully made a surprise entrance, then meandered over to Ben’s lap and seated himself down while letting out a crooning purr with his mushrooms bobbing.

  The scene was then completed when Wolf fluttered down like a feathery shadow from the trees above, and sat himself atop Spidena’s hair.

  Once the presence of the new arrivals had been processed, Galev cleared his throat and gently helped his wife back up to a seated position before saying, “I’m beginning to think you two have an innate talent for summoning chaos.”

  Ben tilted his head, looking both weary and defeated when he replied with, “I’ve no clue what you’re talking about.”