The blow was fast and immediate, sending Efrain hurtling down the hill. For the second time in the past few days, he gave praise to the quality of his work. The enchantment woven into the cloth held, and he was certain that his bones would’ve been shattered without it.

A double fortune for him was that this side of the hill was thick with grass, which led to a series of painful but cushioned bounces. When he finally stopped he lay there, trying to get his bearings and figure out what exactly had hit him. Pushing himself up, he pulled the cloth back into place and looked around.

The lack of screaming from the girl above and the silence of the approach suggested it wasn’t a wild animal. His answer came towards him in the form of an angry, partially armoured figure, great sword drawn. One part of him cursed himself for not turning back sooner, another smugly repeated ‘I told you so’ in Innie’s voice, and the rest of it suggested that he should probably start running.

Innie bounded down on trails of flame, growing bigger and brighter as she turned to face the aggressor. The woman paladin, sword raised and eyes alight, bared down on them. Efrain thought of just how much effort he’d wasted to get to this point. Unlike the castle, however, he was fully armed and had a companion with him. This wasn’t going to end with a hole in his roof.

“You,” the paladin said, voice struggling to remain calm, “what did you do?”

“What was I doing, you mean,” he said and instantly regretted it, “I was attempting to-”

She said nothing more. Gripping the sword with a second hand, she shifted to a far more aggressive stance.

“Wait!” called the girl from the top of the hill, clambering down towards them as fast as she could. Before she could quite reach the paladin and convince her hopefully not to attack, she began to skid down a looser patch of earth.

The paladin drove the sword into the ground and turned to catch the girl. Within a moment, she’d snapped around, the girl behind one arm, the sword in the other. It was so fast Efrain couldn’t quite tell how she’d done it.

“He wasn't doing anything,” she said.

The paladin’s expression in response was far from convinced.

“He was helping. I think,” Aya said a little breathlessly.

“Explain,” said the paladin once.

“Well, as I was about to say before you interrupted,” Efrain began, brushing off the dirt that had accumulated on his journey downhill, “I was attempting to help her modulate the magic coming from within.”

The paladin said nothing, but the furrowing of her brows told him she needed a more specific explanation.

“The visions. I couldn't see, I could barely walk. I didn't even know where I was. He gave me- er… he gave me this,” she said opening her hands.

Instead of a set of dark gems, ashy dust dissipated into the grass.

Aya mouthed as she watched the grains vanish, “Uh, it doesn't matter. He gave me them and I felt better. I felt… in control.”

The paladin’s face twisted as she considered the testimony. While it ultimately settled in a fairly neutral expression, her eyes still glowed with diffidence. She told the girl to return to the camp, and not to speak to anyone on the way. As the girl disappeared slowly over the ridge of the hill, the paladin turned her gaze upon Efrain.

“Explain. Now,” she said, her fingers flexing around the hilt of the sword.

“Do you want the full explanation, or the expedited one? The former will probably take the better part of an hour,” he said. Innie’s own form began to become considerably less smouldering as she relaxed with him.

“I want an explanation for what you were doing and what you hoped to achieve, not trite remarks.”

More intelligent than the last one, Efrain thought - best to give her what she wants.

“Your charge has an interesting curse, as you’ve no doubt noticed. I happened to be in her home village not long ago. Her mother asked me to examine her, and so that's what I did. Besides, magic draws the curiosity of mages, no matter where it comes from.”

“A curse? She has a gift. A gift that allows her to use miracles that people like me would only dream of. Not a filthy derivative like magic. Why should I believe you didn’t mean to harm her? ”

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“Oh please,” Efrain said, already tired of this conversation, “if I’d wanted to hurt the girl, then she would have been dead long before you found her.”

The woman started, but then drew back as she recognized the logic. That discipline gave no small amount of hope that this conversation might end in a non-violent fashion.

“I do not intrude upon you, not because I don’t feel an obligation to,” she began.

“I never would’ve guessed,” Efrain said.

The woman did not rise to the insult, though her eyes narrowed.

“I do not do so, because I have no small amount of respect for the commander. He seems to consider you a useful tool.”

“He’s made that clear,” said Efrain, trying to reinforce that impression before she did something stupid.

“But that does not extend to the children. They are my responsibility, not his, and for the rest of this journey, no matter how long you stay with us, you will not go near them.”

“Fine. I'm not here for them,” he shrugged.

“Regardless, if I see you interact with them beyond simple greetings or polite conversation, I will gut you where you stand. Understood?” she said.

“Understood,” said Efrain, trying not to chuckle at the impossibility of it.

“You are not trusted, nor welcome, mage,” said the Paladin, “and keep your creature under control.”

“Oh, I'm not her master, she is very much her own. Though I’d say she understands perfectly.”

The paladin snorted in disgust, sheathed her sword, and scaled the hill with ease.

“Still want to go to Angorrah, Efrain?” Innie said, her tone as sour as the woman’s who’d just left.

“Currently reconsidering,” Efrain said as he walked forward to where the woman had stood, and paused. He ran his fingers between the stalks of grass, seeing the fine dust mix into the earth.

“My fires didn’t so much as scratch it, nor did your magic,” Innie said, as she approached to sniff.

“No, they didn’t.”

“Yet the girl destroyed it, with a touch,” she said.

“Yes, she did.”

“What is happening Efrain? Who are these children?”

And why did I see memories I shouldn’t be able to? Efrain thought, trying to wrap his head around this strange confluence of events.

Both of them shared a meaningful silence as they gazed back up the hill, Efrain watching as the dark dust fell through his fingers. Once he made his way up to the top of the hills, where’d experienced the strange visions, he found Naia waiting for him.

My, my, I’m displeasing everyone today, aren’t I? Efrain thought, noting the man’s dour expression.

“I saw paladin Lillian coming down from the hill. She seems quite angry.”

“She was… establishing boundaries, so to speak?”

“I can only guarantee you so much, Efrain,” he said, “the paladins are only held by a loose leash, and they aren’t my beasts to begin with. Best not push it.”

“I see,” Efrain said, “she seemed quite anxious to make her opinions known.”

“Then perhaps it would be advisable to stay away from her for the rest of the trip. Fortunately, she’ll be preoccupied with the carriage. Speaking of which, the majority of my troops are ready to move, when should we depart?”

“At your discretion,” he said, looking back at an ocean of green leaves behind them.

“Very well, I'll be making the last preparations momentarily. I suppose we'll be seeing you soon at the camp. You’ll ride in front, with me.”

“Excellent. Oh, and commander?” he said, “what can you tell me about those children?”

“The ones that travel with the paladins?” he said, rubbing his beard, “they’re the Bequeathed of the Church. I'm surprised someone who travels as you do hasn’t heard of them.”

“For what I hope are obvious reasons, me and mine have made our trips to Angorrah brief, if at all.”

“Even so,” said Naia, “it seems strange that you haven’t heard. They are known far beyond the lands of the church. ‘Far and wide doth the children of Angorrah call’ and some such, though the specifics of that scripture is lost on me, I’m afraid.”

‘Known far and wide’. Are they now? thought Efrain, wondering why he'd never heard of them. There had certainly been vague tales of heroes and powerful forces that the church wielded but something this specific? Efrain trawled back to his impression of the old city - the churches and boulevards, and the great rift that separated the upper city from the lower. Despite some decades he’d spent there after his death and before the purge, he could not recall any references to such beings.

He decided not to press the issue. He had bizarre occurrences enough to ponder without adding the additional complexity of a line of interrogation. They began to walk back through the track leading to the camp of the soldiers, first in silence, then Naia spoke:

“So. These beings that we’re going to see, who ‘curate’ this special road of yours,” said Naia as he strolled casually alongside, “what are they like?”

The truth was, Efrain wasn't entirely sure - he’d never experienced the graces of the forest spirits. What he did know, from other spirits like Innie, as well as his own research, was that they tended to be patient, if not necessarily forgiving.

“I suspect they'll be amiable enough,” he said, “as long as your men keep their wits about them and their swords in their sheaths.”

“I've made sure that it’s been drilled into their heads. Oh, and no fire, of course,” Naia stressed as they strolled down the hill.

“Good,” Efrain said, “in that case, I merely await your command, commander.”

“Are you interested in the children because of their magic?” he said abruptly.

Efrain stopped as he considered the smiling man.

“Magic? The paladin seemed not to grasp that point. What do you know?”

“Oh, the church loves to dress it up in ‘miracles’ and the like, but to those who have even cursory knowledge, it’s obvious.”

Efrain stood in the warm sunlight, considering the words. He remembered the ash from the crystals, the strange visions, the bizarre magic. He continued with the slightest spring in his step, thinking of how he might unravel this new mystery.

“Please, tell me more.”