“Hell is other people.”~Unknown

It took almost a full day before Bernin felt the disturbance. She had been distracted by trying to engage the other woman in small talk, and it turns out that Valia enjoyed small talk about as much as Bernin did. The silences quickly turned awkward as Bernin tried and failed to start up any form of conversation with her travel partner. It distracted her sufficiently that she had been ignoring the subconscious pings.

It was one of those pauses that finally had her check what her long range senses had picked up. Her magical senses focussed forward. It was a knot. That was the closest approximation she had. Magic twisted and turned upon itself. She almost tried to pull or push on the treads, but thought better of it. This must be the valley. She was getting closer to her goal and it was time to prepare.

“Valia, I’ll need to grab something from my bag. I’ll be in the back for a while.”

“Oh, we are relatively close. I assumed we would reach ‘Between Rock and a Hard Place’ tomorrow morning.”

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“If it’s alright with you, I would ask that we push and reach it today.”

“We can, but that would likely require some more active participation from you. The nights are not fully safe here.”

“That’s fine, I’ll even compensate you for any damage done to the wagon.”

“Alright then.”

Bernin had moved to the back during the conversation. The ride was relatively smooth during the trip, but as Valia sped up it grew a bit more bumpy. She threw down three feathers that stuck into the wood. The magic stabilised her about a foot above the wagon's surface. She would have to remember to repair the wood..

For now, she quickly threw off her travelling robes and started to wear her business suit. She had to look the part after all. She checked the various hidden pockets one by one with practised efficiency. From small knockout charms, elemental shield sigils and even a small wooden doll. She hadn’t needed to replace many after the attack on the mage that had taken Kirrin, her basic ward had taken the initial blow and survived mostly intact.

Now dressed in her work clothes she removed the feathers and performed a small touch up on the wood. She joined Valia back in the front and pulled her senses closer. She needed the detail now. It wouldn’t do to get her uniform dirty with blood. She had to make a good impression.