When Ruli began explaining to the healers what the herbs and the stones were for, Kire and Daryll translated to make sure everything was clear to all of them. Though there wasn’t a lot in the herb pouch, it was enough for at least the patients within the tent to have a leaf each. As for the stones, the healers gave one to the boy who found the statuette and the other to another patient. “We could give it an hour and see if there are any effects from the herbs, Your Grace,” one of the healers said to Kire.
“What about the stones?” Daryll asked, while Narda frowned, not particularly enthusiastic to be around any kind of magic that afflicted people with mysterious fevers.
The woman who had been given one of the stones, who looked exhausted, seemed relieved; in heavily accented Taakalon, she told them that the whispers seemed to have lessened and she could hear her own thoughts now. But the boy…

“Come on now, lad,” his father coaxed, holding the stone in his hand. The boy looked wary, even shaking his head a little, hugging his knees. “It will help you feel better, and maybe you can sleep throughout the night again. How does that sound?”
After some more convincing, the boy finally took the stone. “The forest doesn’t want me to,” he said in a small voice. Kire glanced at Ruli upon hearing it, a concerned frown on her face.

They waited, though not so close as to crowd the boy and make him feel fearful. Nothing. The father spoke to his boy in Taakalon and it seemed that the stone worked in the same way as in the other patient. “May I take notes?” Daryll asked the father. After being given permission, he sat near them to observe the lad, scribble information about the stone, then gently questioning father and son about the voices.
“Works like a charm,” Kire said to Ruli, then grinning cheekily at her remark. Gavin rolled his eyes. “Oh, lad, you would’ve made the same joke.”
“Yeah, but I’d be funnier,” Gavin said, grinning back. It was Kire’s turn to roll her eyes, before turning back to Ruli.

“I’ll stay here for the hour to monitor them. After that, if there’s improvement, could you bring it some more of those herbs?” she asked. “If we don’t encounter any more surprises after the hour is up, Daryll can get to his investigation, while Envy and Narda can have their date,” she added teasingly. “Things look quiet now, so while we’re here, we can relax a bit—” She paused, her face turning slightly in the direction of the boy, inhaling. Silently, she stepped closer to the others, beckoning for them to step farther from the beds, then spoke in a low voice. “Pine needles burning. Nobody else smells that, I assume?” she said. First Etta, now this boy?

He waited as his words were translated, then stepped back to let the healers take over and decide who would receive what. He stepped back beside Envy, Ysaryn the only one of the three of them still making her rounds. As the woman expressed her relief when given the stone, Ruli turned toward Envy, who must have sensed his attention. The Kartaian nodded, frowning slightly.
That the effects of the fevers and voices were dimmed by the presence of their charms was good for the ill, but not great news overall. Whatever Solaralai was using to reach into Amria, divine or not, was also strong magic.

"We can work on a few more." Envy offered, while Ruli quietly watched. "Cater them to the effects."
"Could you not make ward around tree?" Ysaryn asked, pausing next to one of the women in the back. She breathed deeply a few times, studying the woman. "This one has an infection. Unrelated, I believe. Pleasure area." She wiggled her fingers over her own groin before she moved on.
Ruli glanced toward Kire, eyebrows raised. "I'll let you translate that however you want." He cleared his throat.
"She may just be pregnant." Ysaryn added, circling the next cot. "Humans smell so foul all the time, its hard to tell the difference between good or bad, at times."
"Ed is such a lucky guy." Ruli snorted, and she offered him a dark look.

Kire's joke made Ruli smirk at her, before he chuckled at Gavin's response to it. He studied Kire for a moment, admiring the way she faced this uncertainty with her head high, her mouth set in determination as she fought to understand what was happening to her people. She didn't send people to do it for her. She was here, among the stricken.
Ysaryn's softly cleared throat tore his eyes off the empress, and he glanced at the elf to see her smirking at him. He gave a quick shake of the head, hoping she wouldn't tease him for whatever she saw in his face.

Just then, Kire looked around at him, and Ruli wiped his expression into neutrality. "Yeah, we'll bring more. Might take me a bit to travel around and gather them." He offered, watching as she inhaled in a similar way as Ysaryn and turned toward the boy. He and Envy both tilted their heads at once. "Burning pine?"
Envy inhaled deeply, remaining where he was. "No." He admitted. He shifted his weight, clearly desiring to get closer, to inspect, but also far too aware of his appearance to approach an nervous child.
"Only sweat." Ysaryn answered, circling back to the boy to inhale the air as she passed, to avoid surrounding the child. Another shake of her head. "I want this skill of Kirai's. To smell magic."
"You could smell Etta." Ruli pointed out.
The elf clicked her tongue. "No. I could smell her blood. Strong blood, in that one. Just as I can smell whatever your blood is."
Ruli frowned at her, then looked back toward Kire.
"Gavin and I can work on a few more charms, and discuss the possibility of circling the forest." Envy said, changing the topic. "But I'm hesitant without knowing more about it. If it is growing, if it will change its temperament when it senses what we're doing." If she changes her temperament, he meant. "It might be wiser to ward the camp."
"The locals may not welcome more magic." Ruli offered. "Especially if the forest is telling them not to let ours near."

Kire listened as Envy, Ruli, and Ysaryn made their own observations, though when the latter commented about how she could smell Etta’s blood as well as Ruli’s, she paused, observing Ruli’s reaction. She knew he didn’t want Ysaryn having any inkling at all to who his bloodkin were, so if the elf’s senses were keen enough, that might pose a problem for him. But she didn’t pursue the matter further, and Ruli had turned his attention back to her. She listened to Envy this time, weighing the option of warding the forest or the camp.
“Yeah, warding the camp seems like the wiser choice at the moment,” she replied to them. “Alright. Myka and I will meet with the leaders of the town and the lady of the province to let them know what options we have at the moment so none of them get tempted to do anything rash, then come back here before the hour is up. Narda, if anything comes up here before the meeting is over, come get me.”

As Kire and Myka stepped out of the camp, the pirate captain turned to Kire, curiosity in her features. “You’re taking all of this rather well—or, well, better than I thought you would. All this magic stuff.”
Kire shrugged. “The ‘magic stuff’ is going to happen whether I allow it or not. I’m frustrated, sure, but better also to accept that things are going to get much weirder over time than keep my head buried in the sand.”
Myka smirked. “Definitely sounds like a different Kire. ‘Frustration’ for you usually means you gotta punch a tree or two. Or a face or two.”
“You know I’ve learned I can’t rule that way.” Kire smirked. “Besides, who told you I wasn’t doing any of those things when nobody’s looking?”
“Mm.” The captain’s expression turned somber. “Other people have been noticing the change in you, too. They’re wondering if this has anything to do with your new friends, or if you’re becoming more of a Gemini, yourself.”
Kire frowned at that. “They’re going to love the fact that I had wards put up around the Palace then.” She wondered, though, if she should be worried about what Myka had just said. But people always feel fear around the new and the unknown, and she was no stranger to people talking about her behind her back. Until it presented itself as a problem, Kire resolved not to put too much stock into these rumors. She had larger problems to face.

While Kire and Myka were off to the meeting, Narda oversaw the camp, letting Gavin, Ruli, and Envy work on what was needed and coordinating for if any of them require additional supplies. Given the temperature, water and other drink was supplied to them frequently. Daryll, too, made observations, asked the sorcerers about the enchantment process, comparing it with the notes he had made when Ruli and Gavin had first made the wards for the Palace. Nothing much yet had happened to the patients themselves, and from the look of things, the leaves and stone were effective.

The hour passed without much incident yet, and Kire and Myka returned looking satisfied at how the meeting had gone. “Nothing like a little sweet-talking,” Kire said. Myka rolled her eyes.
“It’s rather hard to say ‘no’ to the Empress, you know,” she put in, to which Kire smirked.
“Fair point. Alright. What’s our status here?”

Before anyone could answer, however, the boy let out a cry as flames leapt up from his bed.

The Kartaian nodded, while Ruli glanced around the camp, already mentally tallying what they'd need, and how to best approach the matter. As they decided to split up, they loitered briefly while Gavin and Envy both took their own estimations, before Ruli brought them to the gate, and then through to Úvano.

Once there, Ruli took off for the desert, circling the edge for a while as he gathered the leaves he needed. He had to hunt the trees down, jogging across the sand often to dwindle the time it would take. He knew where a line of them stood, but he didn't dare travel too close to Ziad, fearing the Kartaians. It wasn't like he couldn't avoid them, -or fight, with the sword Kire had given him strapped to his hip- but he feared that they'd somehow track him to the seaside cliffs.

He was longer than intended in gathering supplies, returning to Úvano to find the other two waiting for him. He gathered them, and brought them back to Amria, and to the camp, just in time to see the bed catch fire.
"What the-" He shouted.
Envy, feeling the flames, hearing the scream, tensed and retreated.
"Put it out!" Ysaryn shouted, bending to gather a blanket from another cot, ripping it from another patient before she began to swat at the flames with it to suffocate them. "Get the boy!"

Daryll had been closest at that moment. While the healers pulled back the father, helped Ysaryn, or made sure the other patients were safe, Daryll had grabbed the boy, pulling him with clumsy arms off the bed. With several hands working to put out the fire, they made short work of it. Kire and Daryll bent over the boy, looking him over. His clothes looked signed, but he seemed unharmed. He was shaking.
“What happened?” Narda barked in Taakalon.
“Kire, there wasn’t a fire anywhere inside the tent,” Daryll said. “Lad, are you alright?”
The boy kept staring at his hands. “I dunno,” he said, his eyes wide, “I didn’t mean to! I dunno—
Kire smelled it again before she saw it. Pine needles burning. She almost missed the sight of it, but caught it in a blink—the boy’s hands sparking, even as Daryll held them. “Daryll, let go!” she yelled, just as the sparks blossomed into flame. She grabbed them both, disappeared in a blue flash, and in another blink returned. All three of them were soaking wet, though Daryll and Kire both sported singed sleeves. “Fetch a towel please,” she said, bending down to gently hold the boy’s hands. The boy looked about ready to faint from the shock of the portal, the flames, and suddenly finding himself in cold water.

“I’m sorry, that must have been very frightening,” she apologized. She had portalled all three of them in the first shallow body of water she could think of, a river not too far from their current location. She explained as much to the father and the healers as she turned over the boy to them. “Daryll, you okay?”
“Yeah. No burns except on my clothes.”
“And the other patients?”
For now, it seemed it only happened to the boy. Kire crossed her arms around herself until someone gave her and Daryll a blanket each to wrap around themselves.
“Holy fuck,” Myka muttered; everything happened before she could move from her spot. Narda was speechless; certainly, this didn’t help her attitude towards magic. “Holy fuck,” Myka repeated, though she lowered her voice even more. “That—is that going to happen to all the townsfolk?”

Kire rubbed her face with her hand. “I don’t know. But that explains the signature I got from him earlier.” She looked up suddenly, eyes wide in fear. “Etta!” The blanket fell to the ground as Kire disappeared again before anyone could react. She was gone longer this time, several minutes, before she appeared again in a flash. “She’s alright. Thank the gods. Whatever Etta has is probably different from what’s going on here.” Kire pulled wet strands of hair away from her face.

Ysaryn kept swatting the flames, the blanket smoking and singed by the time she stopped, the flames snuffed out. She looked up, wide-eyed, at the boy, Kire, Ruli. "What fuck!?" She shouted.
"Ysaryn!" Ruli snapped back at her, his eyes on the boy, who stared fearfully at his hands.

In a blink, Kire, Daryll, and the boy were gone. Ysaryn hissed, looking frustrated. Ruli turned toward Envy, whose back had hit the canvas wall. "Envy, relax." Ruli urged. "The fire is ou-"

And they were back, the smell of water filling the tent. Ysaryn froze, leering at them, blanket raised in her arms as if waiting for the fire to reappear.
Ruli wasn't sure what to focus on. The soaked trio, the pale boy, the nervous Kartaian. As Kire spoke to the boy, apologizing and handing him to the healers for tending, Ruli turned to Envy. "Breath. The flames are gone."
Envy took in an uneasy breath, nodding. "We'll make a charm to - for him." He said, still pressed against the tent wall. Ruli knew he'd have left the tent if the sunlight didn't make him just as uncomfortable. That, and he knew Envy's instinct to help and solve problems was holding him here.

Kire vanished, and Ruli breathed steadily, calmingly, for a moment before he swallowed his worry for the young Wyvern. "It shouldn't happen," Ruli voiced, trying to think. "Kire can suddenly smell Etta's magic. Her signature. Now the boy ..."
"It is waking up." Ysaryn breathed, lowering the blanket, but her eyes were still on the boy; waiting.
"Is that even possible?" Ruli asked, turning to Envy. But the Kartaian wasn't collected yet, his milky eyes still wide, his brow sweating. "Envy, can magic just manifest in people?" Ruli pressed, hoping to distract him.
"Uh." Envy reached up to scratch at his face, along one of the wrinkled scars that marred him.

Kire's return was another distraction, and Ruli turned toward her, sighing in relief when she said Etta was fine. "Kire," Ruli began. "Etta suddenly developing magic, enough for you to sense, its understandable. Being a Wyvern and all. But the boy," Ruli gestured, watching the child shiver beneath the towel as the healers inspected him. "It can't be a coincidence."

Feeling next to useless, Narda was still uneasy, even if the situation seemed under control for the moment. What if the other patients suddenly burst into flame, or manifested some other supernatural phenomenon? Frowning in frustration and wariness, the giantess ran a hand through her hair, looking around the room at the others, then spotted Envy. He looked afraid, as ill at ease as she was. No, more, given the way he touched the scars on his face. Even Ruli trying to engage him back to their task didn’t bring him back from his fearful daze. Narda stepped closer to him. "Envy?" She said as she touched his shoulder gently. “You’re alright,” she murmured. She had seen this kind of fear in soldiers and warriors, and in ordinary Amrians after the Black Storm. More than just words, she knew when such fears gripped a person they needed to be reminded that there were others around them to help and that the ground was solid beneath their feet.

Kire exhaled, nodding when Ruli said it wasn’t a coincidence. “Magic is coming back to Amria, huh,” she muttered, frowning.
“I better go to the other tents and let ‘em now we might expect our patients to combust,” Myka said, needing to be doing something, anything, really, while her mind tried to catch up.
“What age does magic usually manifest in elves?” Daryll wondered aloud. He turned to the boy. “Did you hear or feel anything right before it happened?” he asked in what he hoped was a gentle voice.
The boy shook his head, taking the charm out of his pocket. “I dunno.” He turned to his father, speaking in halting Taakalon.
“He says, it is like his fever had left the rest of his body and moved to his hands. Something like that,” the father said.

Gavin rubbed his nape. "We got our work cut out for us, huh," he muttered. "Maybe we should ward the camp like we did in the siege? Nullify magic till they got a handle on it? Or if more of 'em get it?"

In an involuntary action, Envy flinched when Narda first touched him, though no more than snapping he arm before his torso. He exhaled, nodding, though he still seemed distracted, his brow still dotted in sweat. He shifted his arms again, as if his skin were crawling beneath the fabric of his tunic. "I know." He said, though his voice was soft.

Ruli nodded, his thoughts returning to her admission over breakfast, where she had said the Seer warned her to be prepared. This had to be it. He studied her, sure she thought the same. The panic of her people; afraid of their neighbors and of themselves. Their own family members. Fear would spread faster than the plague.
Ysaryn shrugged upon hearing Daryll's question. "I did not know what I could do until only recently, but there -"
"Its detectable at birth." Ruli said, then he froze and glanced up when Ysaryn gave him a funny look.
Envy, blinking back into the present at that convenient moment, cleared his throat. "Its common in my clan to display the instinct of it immediately." Ruli glanced at the Kartaian, then down at the ground, his mind wandering. "Often, those who fail to display talents are used as grunts."
Ysaryn's gaze shifted from Envy, to Ruli for a moment, noting the lost expression on Ruli's face.

"We'll make wards quickly." Envy said, sensing Ruli's distress and answering. "We brought supplies, as well as more of the medicinal leaves." The large elf inhaled, sweat still lingering on his face and along his spine. Mentioning it seemed to make Ruli remember, and he straightened and held up the canvas pouch he'd filled with leaves, as well as a few clippings of the trees themselves. "Gavin?" Envy said, turning toward the young man to request he begin. "Ruli? You, too. Time is the essence, here."

Ysaryn still circled, trying to see if she could find any tell. "Will suppressing be good?" She wondered suddenly. Ruli, on the way out of the tent with Gavin, turned.
"Why would it not be?"
The elf furrowed her brow, then gestured and switched tongues. "Fire burns. If it does not get out, it will still burn."
Ruli hissed, turning to look at Envy for his thoughts. The idea of burning flames still seemed to make the elf uncomfortable. "Can we be sure they'll all manifest fire? Kire," He switched tongues again, looking to the empress. "Etta had a fever? But you're sure she won't be pyrokinetic?"

Gavin looked from Envy to Ruli as they talked about magic manifesting in elves. Though Narda kept to his side, Envy clearly was still bothered by the fire, while the question about the elves had somehow struck Ruli, his thoughts far away. What’s the matter with him? But when Envy called his name, Gavin nodded at Ruli. “Here. Yeah. Ready,” he said as he rolled up his sleeves to begin, about to follow Ruli out of the tent.

Kire, meanwhile, watched Ysaryn circle like a bird of prey, wary for any more signs of trouble. She listened as the shadow-elf wondered aloud if negating the blossoming magic using the wards would backfire and make things worse. She turned to Ruli when he addressed her. “I don’t have much to go on,” she admitted, as Gavin spoke to the healers again, distributing the leaves while the others talked it over. “The signature is different. More her, I think. If that makes sense. When there’s a greater power influencing the bearer of the magic, I would detect that signature alongside the individual. Like how Ikegai’s blood-magic was in Akuma, and, for a time, in you, Gavin,” she added, looking at the lad. “The more you had control over the kind of magic you worked, the more you I can sense you’re your signature.” Gavin nodded, wanting to look unbothered, but the mere memory of Ikegai and Akuma in his head still sent a slight shiver down his spine. “I’d only really know for sure if I can sense the same kind of fire magic if another one manifests.” The Paladin sighed. “Looks like I’ll be staying around here for a while, maybe overnight, though I’ll probably need to go back and forth between here and home just to make sure Etta’s okay. How long will the wards take this time?”

“Couple of hours? Maybe shorter, if all goes well. Camp’s smaller than the Palace,” Gavin answered. “But we better start now.”

While he followed Ruli as they began their work, Kire turned to Ysaryn, Narda, and Daryll. “This might be a long night, especially since I don’t really know what else might go wrong, when, or if anything else might happen. But if any of you choose to stay here, I would appreciate the extra set of eyes. I know you have your own mission at Narda’s, too,” she added, turning to Daryll.
“I can stay longer, see if anything else develops, though I might go back with Narda when she decides to go home,” the scholar answered. “The woman in the vision, what if her distress has something to do with what’s happening here? Maybe she’s gaining fire powers, too. Tracking her down might offer some insight, or warn us if this will become more widespread.”
The giantess grunted. “I am likewise concerned about if this incident is isolated here or if the Wild Meadows will start seeing pockets of magic sprouting up like this. Depending on how long the warding will take, I may stay until evening, then go back home.”
Kire nodded at them, then turned to Ysaryn. “How about you? A lot of waiting, not a lot of fighting, I know.”

When there’s a greater power influencing the bearer of the magic, I would detect that signature alongside the individual. Ysaryn tilted her head. "So it is like cooking meat?" She asked, and Ruli shot her a glare for the comparison. She raised her hand, continuing. "Meat is their magic. But the season and the marinade, it is the influence. Is the burning pine the boy or the influence?" She asked.
"My guess is the pine is the boy." Ruli muttered, glancing the child's way again. "It is unfortunate that you're the only once who can smell the signatures. We'd be much more helpful." He added to Kire.

As he followed Gavin out to get to work, Envy ducked out and joined them, desiring to avoid the flammable patients as well as put his hands to use. Ysaryn continued to circle. As Kire asked if she'd stay, she shrugged. "I have good nose. Maybe I can pick something else up, if not like you." She said, deciding to linger and help. "It may not be combat, but it is still a fight."

Kire nodded. She could understand Narda's unease. Though her ipunin on magic has improved after meeting Envy, Ruli, and the others, as Countess who was also responsible for her land and people, this was worrying. When Ysaryn assented to staying, Kire smiled. Ruli may have made the remark about being more useful had they had Kire's senses for magic, but she was glad that they were here, offering their help within their own abilities.

Myka returned to report that the other tents haven't had any incidents yet, but the healers had separated them depending on who had been hearing the voices along with getting the fevers. There were leaves left over from the new supply Ruli had brought, so these were distributed to the other tents as Kire explained that the whole camp would be warded to negate magic. Arrangements were then made with the town to provide lodging for the Empress and her guests.

After having just warded the Palace, plus with his experience with the negation wards, Gavin was able to work quickly with the other two. And though he knew the situation was dire, he couldn't help the thrill that came with the time pressure of the task. Still, he mulled over the concern Ysaryn had raised. What if they made it worse by suppressing it? A couple of times he would pause to look over the horizon, where the forest-town was just visible; he had asked a healer where it was and had been pointed to that direction. It gave him the same queer feeling the dream had.

Once the wards were done, Gavin stepped back, hands on his waist as he looked to the other two.
"It's done, isn't it?" Kire remarked, having felt the closing of the circuit.
"As best we could, yeah," Gavin answered.
"I trust that. Now it's just waiting and observing," Kire murmured.
"Envy, are you staying?" Gavinasked his mentor.
"There's an inn provided for us not far from the town gates," Kire said. "Could accommodate all of us for tonight, though Narda, you're still going back to your place with Daryll, yes?"
The giantess nodded. "After dinner, roundabouts."

Ruli was quiet while they worked, throwing his focus on the task at hand, and finishing before any more incidences arose. He wouldn't allow himself to dwell on his little slip; how he was angry at himself for it. Never mind that it was in the shadow of people being harmed and afraid. He feared that opening up the wound enough to let Kire in, to tell her a little bit about his past, had rendered the wound open. He would have to leave it alone for it to heal again, to let it become another scar.
Envy, seeming to understand his mood, made idle talk; asking about the view, the people, the forest itself. Gavin answered almost all of the questions, giving Ruli the silence to bury everything he hated about himself once more as his hands flew over their runes.

When they had finished, and the ward was placed along the outside of the camp, Ruli and Envy stood uncomfortably inside. While they'd made gaps in the wards just to allow the Kartaian's sun-blocking charm to continue working, he could still feel the effects of the wards. The ants on their skin, the cold sweat on their spines.
The moment he was asked if he would stay, Envy shook his great head. "No." He said far too quickly. He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry. Just. The wards."
Ruli nodded. While he seconded the Kartaian's dislike for being within them, he would tolerate them for now. "We allowed for your portals in case of emergencies, like the fires. But Ysaryn and I will have to leave in order to travel."
The fuchsia haired elf grunted unhappily. "This explains why I feel much heavier."

The promise of the inn, outside of the city gates and their wards, was inviting. Envy still looked town, then turned toward Narda. "I would hate to presume anything of you, but I would hazard a guess your furniture is, perhaps, slightly more accommodating? Is your couch long enough? Or, er, strong enough?"
"We can always press two beds together." Ruli offered. "Or take you home for the night." But Ruli grinned at Narda. Not going to make me drag him home, are you?

Kire listened as Ruli explained the wards’ functions and exceptions for her portals, noting the discomfort in him, Envy, and even Ysaryn. The Empress wrinkled her nose. “Really made you work for that gold, huh?” she joked, before sighing. “Thank you for the work today.
Narda snorted at Envy’s question. “A couch for my guest? No such thing, good man. There will be a perfectly strong bed for you there, and a good-sized room.”
Kire grinned. “You’ll enjoy the place. Besides, you know, for the company.”
“Now I kinda wanna see what the place looks like,” Gavin admitted. Kire shook her head, though she was amused at the lad’s curiosity.
“Alright, better feed you before you leave, then.”
They were given a simple meal, breaded chicken and mash, and some drink to wash it down. “Unless you’re staying at Narda’s too, I’ll show you to the inn when you come back,” Kire said to Ruli, before turning to Narda and winking at her with a grin. “Be gentle,” she said in Taakalon, to which Narda snorted again.
“That’s rich coming from you, Wyvernling.”


As expected, Narda’s manor was large, built for a woman her size. Her family crest was unusual—a silver star over a mountaintop and a green field. The banners were hung around the great hall, where they had emerged. Gavin whistled. “I know castles and manors are already huge, but looks like all the doors and hallways are, too,” he remarked. “Envy could go around here no problem.”
Narda had immediately called for attendants to prepare guest rooms. They took a few moments to process Envy, though they did also immediately understand his needs and went off to carry out the task.
“Where are your archives?” Daryll asked immediately. “Do you have old maps of the Wild Meadows?”
“Of course.” Narda nearly looked insulted by the question, which Daryll ignored. “Down that hall, near the libraries. Someone will take you.”
“Thanks.” Daryll went off as soon as he could find someone to lead him to it.
“Well. That one’s eager,” Gavin muttered. “Alright, I wanna see Envy’s room before we go back.”

He had been furnished, as promised, a sizable guest room. There were large windows, but at Narda’s request heavy curtains had been drawn. Charm or not, he was clearly not comfortable with sunlight. The bed, too, was large enough for a Kartaian-sized guest to move around in. “You could fit three of you in there,” Gavin mused with a grin, before stretching his arms with a yawn. The sight of the bed, and of their rooms at the inn waiting for them, made him want to lay down and sleep, despite the early evening; though he had been able to nap before lunch earlier today, the lack of proper sleep was getting to him, especially after all the excitement they had seen so far.

Ruli smirked at Kire when she mentioned the gold, nodding silently at her in response.
"How much am I to get?" Ysaryn demanded.
"You?" Ruli arched an eyebrow. "What have you even done? Beside smack a poor child with a blanket?"
"He was on fire!" She gestured, annoyed.
It was Envy's laugh that made her lower her arm and leer at Ruli. "We'll be back." Ruli said to her, leading the way to Narda's manor, dragging the four of them along.

He straightened when they arrived, finding it rather impressive. "I'm not sure why I expected some sailors shanty on the foamy shore." He muttered, glancing sidelong at Envy. The Kartaian, in another completely unfamiliar surrounding, was standing stiffly, his hands splayed slightly, as if afraid to move lest he bump into something.
"You know, Narda." Ruli said quietly. "You take his hand, and give him permission, he can see what you're seeing."
"That's enough." Envy cut in. "Magic makes many uncomfortable."
Ruli only shrugged, about to grab Gavin and leave, only to see him tailing the others toward Envy's room. With a sigh, he followed, watching Envy cautiously step and shuffle along the halls.

Standing in the doorway, Ruli tilted his head. "Do you have many guests who are as tall as you are?" He wondered. "Or, having to put up with regular sized beds when you travel, you decided to grace people with appropriate sized mattresses?"
"Regardless," Envy said, moving to stand near-ish to the bed. "I think we'll be building a bed this size for when you come to stay with us."
Gavin yawned, and Ruli glanced his way for a moment before looking to Envy. "Are you alright? Do you need anything?"
Envy snorted. "I think I am perfectly fine. A soft bed my size? I won't complain."
Not what Ruli meant, exactly, but he only nodded to Narda. "I'm taking the apprentice back with me, then. I'll return in the morning."

They arrived in the in, appearing at the doorway and giving a small bird a start. As it fluttered off, Ruli turned toward the warded city behind them. "No wandering out tonight." He instructed to Gavin. "We don't go in there without a second. If anything happens, we'll need help. Got it?" He demanded gently before he opened the door to the inn and stepped inside.

Narda chuckled at Ruli's question. "You can say that. You never know when you find someone as tall as I am. They laughed at me for that, but looks like I have foresight." She grinned at Envy's comment about making her a bed back at Uvano. She let them talk, then watched Ruli and Gavin take their leave.

She turned to Envy, holding his arm gently so they could sit on the bed. "Now. Are you alright? I know I promised a sunset, but if you would rather stay here to settle you are welcome to it."

--

Gavin listened to Ruli's warnings with a neutral face, though a part of him had considered exploring, especially since he was the only one who hasn't seen the forest up close. But given what had happened today, it was probably better to not take too many risks. "I promise. Staying put."

Kire was having a pint when they returned. She had asked Ysaryn to relieve her for a moment. "I'm probably going to need more than one of these when this is all over," she muttered. "I'll show you up, then if you want a drink you can wander back down here to ask for it."

The inn wasn't too big, but it was cozy enough. The innkeeper looked rather flustered at the idea of hosting the Empress and her friends, but Kire kindly put her at ease, reassuring her the place was more than enough. Upstairs, Gavin and Ruli had rooms on the same floor, with a decent bed each, a small table, and chairs. Gavin thanked Kire and climbed right into bed the moment he was alone.

"Mine's right above yours," Kire said, reaching Ruli's door. "How are you doing?" she asked.

Envy grinned. "A moment to collect my bearings, perhaps, and I would be happy to sit beneath a sunset with you." He answered her, moving to sit upon the bed. Immediately, he was delighted with how soft it was. He wiggled momentarily, deciding he was be very unwilling to wake up in the morning. "Uh." He said after a pause. "I should perhaps inform you that I am not the best at being woken up. Perhaps inform your personnel to avoid entering in the morning." Envy grinned crookedly. "I hear Kire has the same sort of reluctance. Imagine the empress with a bestial growl and fangs."

---

Relieved at Gavin's promise, Ruli let him in, spotting Kire at once, then noticing the pint she held. He made no comment on the drink, glancing at the woman behind the counters who would serve them, silently wondering if she spoke the commmon tongue. Not that that mattered. It was easy enough to order drinks when languages weren't shared.

He followed her upstairs, watching in amusement as Gavin all but collapsed onto his bed. It'd been a long day, and working so diligently on wards and runes exhausted the mind.
As they paused in front of his own door, and she asked how he was doing, Ruli glanced toward Gavin's door again. "Not quite as tired as he is, but well." He answered. "And you? Your days here typically end in pints?"

Narda laughed. "I don't have to imagine it. I hear her growl often enough, especially since I am an early riser, myself. Unless something convinces me to stay in bed longer," she added with a chuckle. She watched him get comfortable on the bed and smiled softly, glad he seemed to be calmer now.
"What Ruli said earlier," she said after a silence. "I wouldn't mind giving that a try when we watch the sunset. Seems harmless enough."

--

Kire nodded at his answer, then smirked at the question of drinking. "Doesn't have to be pints. But I do drink a glass, mug, tankard, depending on how hard the day had been." She sighed, leaning against the doorframe, silent for a few moments, arms crossed. She was tired, but her frustration at what was happening was likely going to keep her up. "Can I stay with you later?" she asked. "I'll probably just toss and turn and stew in my own thoughts by myself."

Envy turned his head her way as she mentioned what Ruli mentioned; for a fleeting moment, he worried she would ask about the conversation in the tent camp. But when she mentioned her willingness to try to show him what he could see, he grinned. "It is harmless. Especially since I don't think I have the ability to be malicious in any way. Especially not to you." He reassured. "I have a few times seen views through Ruli or Zeke's eyes. It is how they showed me Úvano. How perfect it was. But I have never actually seen a real sunset. Not from start to stop. Only when the sky is already violet." He inhaled and rose, taking careful, measured steps towards her, mentally counting in his head so he would be able to get around later.
"If you're really willing, I'd love to see it with you. More than to just sit beneath."

---

Ruli chuckled. "Empress of Amria and non sequiturs, I see." He teased. "Of course. But I want a pint of my own. I want to taste more Amrian drink." Ruli informed her, starting back down the hall toward the common room. "This is where you get the real taste of the country. The rural inns on the sides of the roads. The crooked hostels and the shacks that reek of piss. This place is far nicer than that, but something still tells me it'll have more genuine drink than whats in your royal stores."

As they reached the common area, Ruli turned toward Kire as he waved for two more drinks. Easily understood, even without words. "So. Speak your thoughts. What will be keeping you up alone in your room?"

Narda smiled and took his hand. "You shall have your sunset then," she said, leading him back out. She told him stories about the castle, about her family crest. "They say the first of us was a titan who walked among the first of the great beings of Amria. The dragons that would later sire the Wyverns, the element spirits who would make pacts with the first of mages, that sort of thing. Or perhaps we are just freaks of nature, given how the wards don't find magic in me. Which I find I like." She shrugged.

She walked with him outside, towards the gardens, where a pavillion stood, overlooking the meadows while providing shade. She described the sight to him until they reached the pavilion. Once they were comfortable on the seats, she held his hand in both of hers. "I haven't brought such pleasant company here in a while. Not that my good friends aren't wonderful company, but they are a rather excitable bunch, as you have seen." She chuckled.
"Now, how does the magic work? Will I feel it?"

--

Kire laughed at his remark about the royal stores. "If I knew you liked that better I should have probably paid in silver," she teased back. She sat at a table while they waited for their drink, pondering his question.

She shrugged. "All of it. The forest. The fire. Etta. And how long this will all play out." She frowned, crossimg her arms over the table, then slumping over it, resting her chin in her arms. "If I don't figure it out and get things in order in less than a decade, I'd just feel like a selfish shithead for choosing to abdicate then. And I already feel like a selfish shithead for even thinking about that while my people are suffering in uncertainty." She huffed. "Alternatively, I can abdicate sooner, leave Jan with the administration stuff while I focus all my energy on this."

"Just because the wards don't detect anything now doesn't mean the legends about your heritage aren't true." Envy stated. "Magic comes in many forms, afterall."

His steps were careful, still, his free hand tense and splayed. He tried to count his steps in his hear, making a mental map of the manor and the gardens.
Which smelled lovely. Envy relayed his thoughts, complimenting what was undeniably a flourishing garden. The aroma of the plants as they closed their petals for the night was pleasing to his nose.

"No, you will not." Envy answered. "Those with magic would sense a pressure. A tension. You would, too, if you were to resist. Nothing more than, say, when you're laying on your arm strangely and your muscles ache. If I sense that, I won'RMT press, so don't worry." He explained, letting her have as many details as he felt would comfort her.
"To let it work, all you do is look. And relax. I connect our minds. If you prefer, I can give you some tell that let's you know I am sharing your conscious. A scent, or a warmth. But it's simple. Safe." He gave her a reassuring smile. "You know you're not obligated, right? Hearing you describe it it just as lovely."

[Hr]

Ruli pressed his lips together as she spoke, listing her worries. It always marveled him how women had the ability to worry about so many different things at once, simply because they were minutely connected.
He would have lopped this all in a single box in his mind. 'Today'.

"Maybe you could approach Janes about it. Work on a solution together. She seems the rational sort. She might have some insight from the perspective from the non-magical side. You know, assuming she still is one." He added. "It would smooth over the transition, as well. If you're not ready to make it obvious, give Ed a task. Daryll is already working with you. Make it look like a family effort."