We managed to get out of the orc-settlement without further incident, the locals looked at us with interest, maybe because we had Apprentice Klenda walking next to us, looking visibly angry. When walking through the gates, I had been able to hear her talk to the guards, telling them that we were no longer welcome, making me decide that maybe, walking a little faster was a good idea. If there were any orcs, trying to come after us for one reason or another, distance was the best defense, alongside vigilance and caution. At the same time, if they did come after us, I wasn’t opposed to gaining some more experience-points, especially if it could be done in a manner that didn’t risk the others too much.

“Lenore, would you mind keeping an eye on things from the air?” I mentally asked, getting an exhausted sigh of acceptance in response. She must have felt that I thought it necessary, or she simply agreed that it was, pushing out of her Hallow without further words.

Watching her gain altitude, I felt a lot better about our safety, knowing that she would give ample warning, if anyone tried to sneak up on us.

“Want to tell us what that was all about?” Adra asked, one eyebrow raised and a smirk on her face. Earlier, she had looked rather serious but now that we were out of the orcish town and putting distance between us and possible danger, she seemed to be rather amused at the situation.

“Which part are you referring to?” I replied, just to make her amusement as awkward as possible for her. Not that it would really help, the whole situation had turned into a mess, especially as I wasn’t sure why it had turned out that way. Dura Firebringer and I had gotten along reasonably well, talking about our different ways to use magic had been interesting but to go from a few hours of conversation, spread out over a couple of days while travelling, to that awkward display? And where, by all the Gods of this world and any other that might be out there, had she gotten the idea to present me with flowers? Of all the things that were confusing about the whole affair, that one stood out to me.

Not that there was anything wrong with flowers but, if I was honest with myself, they didn’t do much for me. Sure, there were some that looked visually appealing, some had a pleasant scent but all in all, I could take them or leave them. If it was Sigmir, giving me a bouquet of flowers, I would be pleased that she had taken the effort, as it was a custom her people most certainly didn’t have, showing that she had tried to act in a way that was to the customs of “my people” so to speak.

It was that line of thought that almost made me miss Adra’s prodding, when I realised that it might just be that. If nothing else, Dura Firebringer had appeared to be decisive, so what would someone like that do, if faced with a topic they are uncertain of? Take the most direct route, which would either be to try courting me by orcish custom, which I had no idea what it might entail, or find out what the courting customs amongst “Travellers” were, as if there weren’t a million and two of those, depending on hundreds of factors. That might explain the gift of flowers, if a Traveller had answered an inquiry about courting-customs by telling Dura that it would be appropriate. Shaking off that line of thought as inconsequential, I focused on answering Adra’s question.

“I’m not certain what Dura had in mind in the first place. We talked for a few minutes, last night, and she told me that the experience of rumors being spread about her is not a new one. Maybe she thought travelling with us, a group of similar strength to her own, would give her a way to gain more power? What she had in mind when saying that she would court me, your guess is as good as mine.” I admitted, reaching out to give Sigmir another squeeze.

“I have all the courting I could ever want with Sigmir.” I added, with a smile on my face. Finally, there was some expression on Sigmir’s face, she had been silent since earlier, the connection between us giving me the impression that she was lost in thought. Now, she returned my smile, making my heart skip a beat.

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“She was interested in you, almost from the beginning.” Sigmir inserted, the smile still on her face, now with added amusement.

“Huh…” I muttered, not quite sure what to say to that. “I guess I missed that.” I admitted, after a moment, getting a gentle squeeze of my hand from Sigmir, who was still smiling brightly.

“And what about that cloak?” Adra continued her questioning. “The Elder looked shocked to see it and that Apprentice essentially confirmed it. Do you have an idea?”

“Where she got it, yes, I have an idea. And I think I know why it is significant.” I admitted, pulling the still folded-up cloak from my magical bag.

Still walking, I wrapped it around my shoulders, pulling the hood up and feeling its magic flow around me. The shadows cast by it deepened, easily blocking the warmth of the sun burning down on me,

As we walked down the valley, I told the others the story I had been told the evening before, about their adventure in Daiea and the later split of their party. At the same time, I realised that the cloak I had been given had to have belonged to either Kwyla or Marj. Given that Dura had kept it that whole time, having it somewhat prominently displayed, I thought it had been Marj’s, making me feel a little guilty for taking it. But at the same time, it had been a reward, not contingent on her joining us and certainly not on her taking Sigmir’s place at my side. If it had been, I wouldn’t have taken it, ever. There was nothing that could replace my Sigmir, certainly not a magical cloak, no matter how useful.

By the end of my story, Adra was just shaking her head, letting out a long, drawn-out sigh.

“What a mess.” she muttered, thankfully letting the matter drop.

I noticed that Rai, who had been silent the whole time, rather similar to Sigmir, reached out and took her hand in a rare, open display of affection. It got him a smile in return and we continued down the valley in silence, making good speed.

Maybe two hours after we had set out, I could feel Lenore close the distance between us, after circling overhead most of the time.

“The orcs don’t seem to have any interest in you.” she told me, landing on my shoulder. At the same time, she shared a brief, mental summary of what she had seen, showing me images of a few cultivated fields, with orcs working them and multiple images of the town itself, where it looked like nothing was going on. Just orcs, moving about, no excitement, no gathering of people, nothing that would make me think they were planning to go after us. Similarly, the guard-posts on the valley ridges showed no actions taken, no signals given or the like. It looked very much as if the situation had been contained by the Elder, simply by removing us from the equation. It would likely sting Dura’s pride for a while, but she would have to get over it.

“And, do we need to run?” Adra asked, some amusement back in her voice, even if there was an undertone of seriousness.

“No, it doesn’t look like it.” I told her, before continuing on, “But still, I think we should keep a good pace and not stop until we are further away from here.”

“I agree.” she nodded, “Where are we heading? Do we follow the route the Elder gave us or not?” Adra asked, giving me a conundrum. On one hand, I wanted to follow it, my curiosity shared by Lenore who was very interested in the potential to strengthen herself in that place. On the other hand, we would be travelling a predictable route, making following us trivial. It might even allow the orcs to use a different, faster, route and prepare an ambush at some point along the way. I thought that fear was a long shot, simply because there would have to have been a reason for not recommending that shorter route in the first place, but there might be such reasons. It was a possibility I should keep in mind.

“I think we should go to that place of power.” I admitted, after a moment of consideration. If the orcs didn’t look to be interested in following us now, when we were on their territory, hunting us down later would be even more difficult. Amusingly, the events with Dura made me more confident in going there, simply because her plan to accompany us made it unlikely that the place was a death-trap.

Nodding to myself, I continued further down the valley, enjoying my new cloak.