Emily leaned down in Cupcake’s saddle as she patted the she-wolf's neck.

“That a girl, you ready to get back out there?” Emily said as she consoled the restless beast.

The morning light had just crested the horizon, and the Wandering Fangs had already packed up camp, ready to head out. As they were preparing, Selia moved from person to person, finally stopping in front of Emily with a sheet of paper and a large coin purse.

“Hey Emily, Sorry it’s late but the roster is large, Kael did have me add a little extra because you’re a magic user. For helping complete the extermination mission you will be rewarded with nine tri. Your contribution has already been taken into account, do you want to contest this amount or will you accept it?”

Emily continued to rustle Cupcake’s fur but shrugged her shoulders.

“How does contesting it work?”

Selia looked up from the page absentmindedly.

“If you don’t feel like the amount of compensation is enough to warrant the danger you were in during the mission you can take it up with me and we can see what we can do. If I can’t help you then you’ll have to take it up with Kael.”

Emily nodded her head.

“Sure, I’ll keep that in mind, but nah I won’t be contesting it. I accept the compensation.”

The moment Emily uttered the words she felt a charge from her Mercanry title tingle down her spine and the outstanding mission closed.

It reminded her of having a nagging sensation in the back of her mind finally being put to rest. Along with that sensation, came a euphoric head rush as the contract had been successful accomplished.

A smile appeared on Emily's face and Selia caught it.

“First time completing a mission?”

Emily just nodded, unable to put away the grin as the remnants of a job well done echoed down her limbs.

“A lot of mercs chase that high. The harder the mission the bigger the hit. It doesn’t hurt that you get paid at the same time”

Emily took the coin Selia held out to her and pocketed them, nodding her thanks to the woman.

“Oh definitely, will I get a feeling like that when we get to Lorthil?”

Selia shook her head as she began to leave.

“Nah, your mission went out long before you joined the ranks, you won’t be able to cash in that one.”

Emily pouted as the woman turned and headed to the next person on her list. Just as Emily was doing final checks she felt someone arriving next to Cupcake again. At first, she thought Selia was back but when she turned her head she saw Tehila standing there with a casual smile on her face

“Good morning Emily. Mind if I ride with you today?”

A smirk appeared on Emily’s face and as she lowered herself lazily in the saddle.

“Ah, so you remember my name now. Do you know how hurt I was on our parting morning?”

Tehila squinted at Emily.

“Nice try. But can’t you blame me I had a drink with just about every man, woman, and child in that place. At least I got it in the end.”

“I guess, but how are you going to make it up to me?” Emily said as she cocked her head.

Tehila seemed to think on it for a while and then tapped the harp case that was slung over her shoulder.

“How about I write you a song? Not to mention if you travel with me nearby, that’ll be a blessing in and of itself.”

Emily snorted at the woman's self-confidence but sat up in the saddle.

“Well I heard you the other day so I know you’re a decent musician… Okay, you know what, having my own song sounds nice. Hop on.” Emily said as she reached down to hold out an arm.

“Sheesh, talk about making a girl work for it. You know anybody else would love me to ride with them”

Emily finished helping Tehila settle into the saddle and smiled at the woman.

“I never said I wouldn’t ‘love’ it, I just asked you what I was going to get in exchange.”

Tehila hummed in a dry tone.

Emily watched as the remainder of the wandering fangs mounted up and Kael set them off towards the gap.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

This departure was different from the last. Far fewer people were present to see them off, and those who did were watching in silent disgust and fear. Emily had heard that it was customary for any team or group to offer their aid if a settlement's wall was breached, at least until an Enchanter could come to repair the wards. Kael mentioned that he had made the offer, but the Elder had refused.

In Emily's view, turning down help in a time of crisis was a mistake—even if there was friction between them. But ultimately, she just couldn't bring herself to care, what happened to this place was not her concern right now.

Plus from the looks of things, Alex was rearing to go. The sooner they got out of here the better he would feel. Even now he hid most of his figure with his cloak as they passed the little delegation from the village.

Amongst them was the Elder and Jerhia, who stood next to one another as they spoke quietly.

Emily had only engaged with the man once and she found she was glad they were leaving. He was a snake in the grass and Emily didn’t like dealing with his type. He just so happened to have the strength to back up his horrid personality.

He still had the nerve to smile at Kael every chance he got, as though mocking the guy.

Luckily it didn’t matter as they passed with a simple farewell to the Elder and on they went.

Kael seemed to hold no actual interest in the man and that seemed to bother Jerhia more than anything.

As they passed one thing that did stand out to Emily, was when their sub-leaders went past, Marth looked over to Jerhia with a hollow stare, and in return, he got a casual wink.

It was so fast that Emily was certain she had mistook it for something else but as she stared at Marth’s back she got the feeling something had happened between the two.

Emily didn’t dwell on it though as they passed through the gap and back out into the wilds.

Their formation took on a traveling spear and Emily glanced back at Frosthaven as it grew more distant. The gap in the side was made obvious from this distance.

Emily remained facing the road as she brought Cupcake up to the front, but she lowered her voice at Tehila.

“Hey, did you hear anything about how long they are going to need to wait for a repair to be done on these posts?”

"You mean the fence? Hmm, I think I heard Maez mention it'll take at least a week for a crafter to come down and inspect the damage," Tehila said. "Not sure how long it’ll take to build a completely new one, though."

Emily had asked Alex about the gap, and to her surprise, it wasn’t as big a deal as she’d expected. For now, they were using a simple protective ward to fill the gap in the fence. The downside was that maintaining this temporary ward was costly, and despite its presence day and night, determined beasts could still break through.

The settlement of Frosthaven did have one advantage—it was a well-traveled location with established trade routes, giving them a decent amount of resources. Still, despite these advantages, the situation looked grim.

Emily was lost in thought when she suddenly heard Tehila fumbling behind her. Moments later, the soft notes of a harp echoed gently across the column of travelers.

She could feel a brief flush of excitement for the journey ahead and realized that Tehila was its origin as it faded just as fast. People perked up all around them as the same sensation spread throughout the crowd.

“Won’t that kind of noise attract the attention of beasties around here?” Emily asked, genuinely curious.

From the look of things, having a Bard on board could be just the motivator they needed—or it might make them an even bigger target out here.

"Oh, definitely! That is, if I were using the same song wherever I went. But I pride myself on having a song for every occasion. That's why you need to tell me what you see. If you think it's time to hide, I’ll play a melody of lethargy, and the beasts will have no choice but to leave us alone."

Emily’s brows rose and she glanced back surprised.

Tehila shot her a wry look.

“What? Did you think I was just here for a free ride? I can help make your journey far more pleasant, just keep in mind that right now I can only use those songs so many times a day.”

Tehila got a chance to prove herself only a couple of hours later.

They had been moving through the fields and Emily had been marking by watching the shift surroundings. The trees and vegetation in this area were fewer and spaced out, but what plant life managed to push through was vibrant and robust.

The same could be said for the fauna around here as smaller animals fled from the roaming pack of Rime wolves moving through the area. Emily was excited to see them, as it meant Fox would have plenty to work with for dinner tonight.

Interestingly, the local elves were far more aggressive because of the lack of foliage to launch their ambushes from.

On one such attack, they had to slow to a standstill because of the high number of elves.

“Fall into a tight defensive circle! Defend our auxiliary.” Kael yelled from the frontline as more than fifty elves came from their left.

As they watched the vile creatures approaching Emily turned to Tehila.

“Now would be a good time for that song.”

“I have just the one.” Tehila grinned at the oncoming hoard.

When she started playing though it was completely different from what Emily expected, the first note tore through the air with zeal and continued at a high pace, as her voice came out as one powerful chorus.

Instead of turning the elves away, Emily felt a thirst for battle rising in her heart. This caused Emily to laugh as she began charging her scepter with her source and let the thing fly.

The ball arced over their frontline and crashed into the area where a heavy concentration of elves had gathered. When it detonated, bodies, plant matter, and slurry went flying in all directions.

Emily had just charged a second one when the little horde crashed into their defenders. Team two took the brunt of it but Marth looked comfortable and unhurried as he and his men killed their way through the little raid. Their moments were charged with the unknown energy that came from Tehila. Emily could feel it like a battle drum, thumping through her and quickening her pacing and reaction speeds. Her second grey orb of source detonated at the back of the elven group reaping more lives.

The devastation was great but Emily found herself a little sad that it wasn’t a fireball or something more deadly. A good many elves that were near the outer edges of the blast still managed to stand and fight. It was due to the grey source's inherent properties, but Emily still hadn’t figured out exactly what those were.

Luckily, as a team, they made short work of the party of elves. Emily had switched to launching a couple of them straight up into the air and when they crashed back down to the ground the fall usually killed them, or if it didn’t, it broke a lot of their bones.

When they were on their way again Emily looked back at Tehila as the song ended.

By the looks of things, she could both buff her allies and debuff the enemy, Emily was not surprised Kael had been so quick to let her join the team.

Blood points: 158