Terra stared up... and up... and up.... at the twins. She didn't know half-elves got that big... or humans, for that matter. They might actually be taller than her grandfather. They were wearing identical chainmail shirts, grey hooded cloaks, identical longbows, both had a pair of shortswords at their hips... the only difference in appearance, aside from a scar across one face, was that one was wearing a belt around her torso much like Terra's own; practically screaming that this person had some spells that needed components at the ready.

When the one with the scar stepped forward and bowed, she gave a low "I am Ranger Serra, milady." while the other gave precisely the same bow, before "And I am Ranger Marie. We were previously sworn to Lord Rockson, and are now sworn to your service. While the intent was for us to assist in training future rangers in the Xius lands, we will go where ordered."

"..Well. It will be weeks of walking to your new homes. Be ready. We leave in the morning. I, for one, need my rest... I only recently recovered from some serious injuries, and wish to be ready for whatever comes on the morrow. We will meet here, in the courtyard. My friends have a cart, and a butler, who will be waiting for us to leave, along with plenty of supplies." She had no idea how to speak to subordinates. Everyone loved or feared her mother, and to a lesser extent herself, but... well."

They both nodded. "Of course, milady. We will have your horse waiting for you at dawn."

She watched the two depart... and shook her head. Her grandmother had apparently been offered some noble title, and rejected it; only for her, and then her daughter to become the de-facto protector of the region anyway. How was mom going to react to finding out she was officially a noble now? What did that make her siblings? Her father? Ahh, well. They'd figure it out when they got home. Her leg finally felt proper once more,

She needed to sleep. She hadn't been awake that long, but it already felt like she could sleep for days. She knew she was close to being able to use third-circle spells; so Derek and Kylie were likely right at the same precipice from what she'd felt before. Hopefully, this whole thing would be over soon, and she could relax at home for a while.

***

When Kylie stepped out into the courtyard to meet the others before heading out the next morning, she found Parkins sitting outside... atop an entirely unfamiliar contraption which looked like a carriage with an extended back; the sort of thing a wealthy merchant might ride in, rather than an adventurer.

The priestess studied the carriage for a moment, and glanced at Parkins; who gave a brief smile from his elevated seat. "What's this, exactly? What happened to our old cart? It was perfect for carrying everything we needed, letting us look out for threats as we rode, letting Derek read... this one will probably seat more comfortably, but we won't see anything coming."

Parkins smiled, and patted the seat. "Well, mistress Kylie... We have a set of horses gifted by the locals; their former owners all deceased at this point; and a pair of rangers who will be accompanying us. Frankly, you don't need to keep a lookout anymore... and if you truly wish to keep an eye out, you can join me up here. This is a much better perch for me with that crossbow anyway."

Kylie sighed. It would be nice to have a cushioned seat to ride on, but... it felt wrong. Adventurers either walked, or rode on horseback themselves. She just... wasn't that good at riding horses. "Hmph. It will do for now. We won't be keeping the rangers forever, I believe Terra plans to leave them in.. Xius." She chuckled. The devil's family had a town. named after them now. The locals might find that confusing.

"Alright. Have you looked at the maps? I've checked over the bounties, and we've got a fairly good list. We should only need to complete one or two of them before we need to get the devil and his granddaughter back home, and we already said we'd do them on the way if possible."

The butler nodded. "Of course, mistress. There's two towns... Karksdale and Riverton... with listed bounties, waiting for someone to claim... on a loose route towards 'Xius'. Something to do with an ogre that took over someone's farm and is refusing to leave, and a possible Elf sighting in the woods. Both fairly recent, actually; the ogre was only reported while you were recovering."

"Hmm. Seems fine. Thank you, Parkins." She approached the carriage, and opened the door before the butler could open it for her; and looked inside. A fairly comfortable, bench-like seat, facing a similar one facing backwards. A tiny, uncomfortable-looking door leading to the spot for carrying cargo behind it; one would need to crouch to get through, or even crawl for someone larger. "...I think we should walk, first. Once we start getting tired, we'll ride. Maybe I'll try getting into practice riding a horse, again."

She wanted to do this seriously. She would be spending years on the road. Nothing wrong with being comfortable where possible, but the devil was right; she needed to toughen herself up. That walk into town without the cart had been... a struggle. She resigned herself to spending at least a few hours walking today, and nodded at Derek as he emerged... she smiled. Nothing saying she couldn't sleep in the carriage. A bit of privacy on the road would be a welcome change.

***

Terra was aching by the end of the first hour on the saddle. She'd ridden horses before, briefly; but this was the longest she'd ever done it in one sitting. The two rangers off to the sides seemed so at ease, so comfortable; a couple of mighty amazons who could handle anything; that it made her hesitate to even mention her own experiences... until she finally slid free of the saddle and just started walking... though even that was a struggle, at first.

The robes made an embarrassing struggle for dismounting as well as mounting, and she could immediately see why the battle clergy and mages of the Empire wore a sort of loose-fitting pants instead. The whole thing was dusty and uncomfortable... the one she kept mentally referring to as 'Scar-face' loping on ahead for the moment, while 'No-scar' hung back, watching the forest beside the cart... and Praxius stepped closer as she walked, leading the horse.

Stolen story; please report.

"Trouble riding, I take it."

"Oof. Not sure its for me, grampa."

Her grandfather checked the saddle as they walked. The horse was pulling on the lead, trying to get further away from him. "Ehh. I can outrun most horses, and have more stamina, so I never had much use for them. Here's the thing. Humans can walk longer than horses. In a long enough race, you win. Back in the day, when we chased down a mercenary company over a pursuit over a few weeks, the horses fell to exhaustion and we caught and killed them, then the elves, then the orcs, and then finally the humans. You're mostly human.. I think, is your father human? I never met him."

Terra chuckled. "Half-elf. Though Dad's really more three-quarters human, one-quarter elf."

"Ugh. Why do they call them all half elves, even if its mostly elf, or only a tiny bit of the blood... doesn't matter. You're part Kyton, and part human. If it came right down to it, you could march after this horse for days. It'd be miserable. You'd be exhausted, and hate yourself, and your legs. But somewhere down the line, the horse would either have let you catch it, or died of exhaustion."

"...But horses are faster in the short haul? Is that why armies use them?"

He pointed at the ranger behind the cart. "A horse can sprint faster than a human, and is a big, heavy animal. So... a skilled archer can hit someone while moving faster than they can run, and then their mount can just run right over the enemy if they're fleeing... which most humans will, in the face of a cavalry charge. And of course, horses can comfortably carry more than a human by a longshot. Magical items to let you carry more goods are expensive. Most groups of your level of skill wouldn't have one."

She patted the horse on the shoulder. "Well. I'll get used to it eventually. It might take a few weeks, but someday I'll be able to ride one... and hopefully cast spells from its back."

"Ahh, yes. The only thing better than a mounted archer; a mounted spellcaster. Moving while casting spells is always a good way to mess with an enemy. Have at it. I can see if I can get you a better mount later. I believe I have about nineteen birthdays I missed to make up for."

Terra glanced askance at her grandfather. "They have birthdays in hell?"

"Not exactly. But I've spent long enough here to know about such nonsense. Hmm. Should I bring gifts for your siblings? I gave your mother a new summoning charm so she could call me more easily, next time, but I didn't bring anything for them "

She smiled. It was odd to hear the man who so casually advised on torturing your enemies talking about getting presents for children. "Toys are traditional, or things to help them learn and grow."

A slow nod. "Looking forward to spending some more time there. Ahh... I think I already told you that. Apologies... haven't been able to be around family for a while. Sometimes forget just how to behave."

***

Derek had walked for hours, before finally settling into the carriage; he'd actually given up before Kylie had, and of course she made light of his endurance... but still settled in beside him in the carriage well before sunset. They wouldn't be in Karksdale til tomorrow at the soonest; towns were further and further apart as they headed west; and he intended to go ahead and try the elixir tonight. Not while riding down the road; he'd wait til they were good and settled.

He inhaled deeply as he watched the sun set, and looked at the potion.. then up at Kylie. "The test subject basically just went limp for a few hours... and then woke up with some draconic traits and some recent injuries healed. The... accidental secondary test subjects who received the dosage without me intending to do so were the same, minus the injuries."

Kylie blinked. "...Did you... heal one of the critically injured people who was waiting with this?"

"No... I wasn't a hundred percent that it was safe. I asked a local who had an injured animal for permission."

"Ahhh." She nodded. "So. Just to be completely clear on this. Its a modified version of what the stranger used in Hillsdale. Only instead of orc traits, or elf, you're trying for dragon. And... you tested it to make sure it was safe on... a dog? Cow?"

"Not getting specific there, you'll find out why later. It was a mammal, I'll say that much; four legs, warm blood. Anyway... now that I've seen that its safe, and has worked on a few test subjects... I want you to be ready when I try it on myself. In case its a bit harder on humans, and you need to heal me, or something. I already put a bit of dragon in me with my earlier test, but this is much more expansive, and if not for the earlier test... well. If I could have only made one dose, I wouldn't have tried it on myself, I'll put it that way.."

She chuckled as Derek focused on the vial. "So. You're reasonably confident it would work, but tested it anyway. And now even more confident, but want a capable healer on hand just in case."

He nodded. "Exactly. And you'll probably want it, too... it'll make you stronger, and should make any lightning magic you get stronger... you get some, right?"

"A little, yes. And more once I can use third-circle spells. So you used an animal as a test subject before taking it, and are using yourself as a test subject before having me take it?"

"Exactly. I'll offer some to Terra if she wants, but, well. She's part devil, no idea how that will work out mixing magical races."

A slow nod. "Well then. Once we've stopped, made camp, got a fire going... you can take your dose. We'll see how it goes, and I'll be ready to heal you or make you throw up if I have to."

***

The fire was built, and roaring out into the night, with Terra settling in to sleep beside it; Parkins was already fast asleep, as well as no-scar. Ehrm. Marie? Was Marie the one with the scar, or Serra? Regardless, while one ranger had already dropped to sleep like a fallen log, the other was out moving, keeping watch... which, while nice, wasn't nearly as comforting as her grandfather leaning against a tree, watching the darkness, a long loop of chain circling the fire and themselves.

He suddenly turned to face the carriage where, undoubtedly, the two lovebirds were enjoying their privacy not a hundred feet away. Terra frowned... what had startled him? She glanced that way and saw nothing... except... she could feel the magic from the two. Were they... she heard a shout. She could sense a healing spell being used.

Another. Her grandfather rose to her feet, and the solid thunk of a heavy flail-head smacking to the dirt sounded as he started to approach the carriage. Moments later, as Terra had started to rise, the door slammed open; the ranger jerking awake, Parkins grumbling and rolling over.. as Kylie looked out at them... and then focused on Terra.

"Terra, please. Could you take a look at Derek? He tried an elixir based on what we picked up at Hillsdale... he tested it out on an animal before trying it himself and it worked... but now something's going wrong." She hurried over to the carriage, and looked in at the boy... as her grandfather, clearly curious, stepped alongside... and stopped.

He gave a slow nod. "Well then. So that's why he almost feels like a dragon. Well." As Terra and Kylie both turned to focus on the devil, he gave a quick nod.

"If you have anything you'd like to say to the boy, now would be a good time. I give him... four or five hours, tops. I'll go ahead and dig a grave for him if you'd like. Here's as good a place as any."