While Saga was working on their magic, Sasha was falling back on old and tried methods as she began working through a series of forms with her axes, moving them in tight, controlled swings. To her, control came naturally, the axes moving where she wanted them with efficiency and precisions. She stepped in and swept around on her heel as the axes followed her pivot. Again and again, she repeated the motion. To her, this was akin to meditation, and she found it helped center her.

Saga had been a pleasant surprise, but the berserker was also akin to a storm. Her aunt often spoke about how people tended to fall into a few different behaviors when it came to how they tried to fit in the world. Sasha was someone who moved with fate, accepting it in large part for what it was and tried to always do her best to improve her and others' fortune. Not Saga, however. They had been ripped from their world, and it was clear the Berserker felt adrift despite Sasha's best efforts to anchor their fiery

They seemed mostly unaware of the fact other than when facing saga just ran through things with their mix of enthusiasm and inability to curb their impulse was dangerous. It was typical for a berserker to have a reckless streak. But it was pretty clear to Sasha that Saga was driven by a need to prove themselves to their new friends and allies. It was the little things, the way each time Olaf and the others gifted them something or helped them out, those blue eyes of Sagas would shift away, as if in shame. Sasha could understand that desire. It was one of the many things she found endearing and desirable in the berserker.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a familiar feeling. She was being watched. She stopped the mid-swing and turned, ax at the ready. But there was nobody there that she could spot.

“I know you're watching me you creep. Show yourself.” Sasha snarled, her grip on the axes tightening. But nothing answered. Nothing moved. Instead, she felt the unnerving sensation of being watched slowly retreat, vanishing into nothingness, leaving her alone with her thoughts once again.

"What is going on." Unsettled, she was about to go find Olaf when she saw Saga approach. Putting it aside, for now, they smiled brightly as their hotheaded partner arrived, already gesticulating as they wound themselves up to talk about their day. Sasha cocked an eyebrow at their redheaded companion as Saga grabbed her shoulders.

"I have good and bad news." Saga said as they affixed a serious, deadpan expression. Sasha tried her best to not crack up at the way Saga furrowed their brows and tried to look crestfallen.

"I know I will regret this, but... What is the bad news?" Sasha asked, that eyebrow threatening to make a break for it due to the sheer amount of incredulity it showcased. Saga looked Sasha dead in the eyes with a burning intensity as they suffered the fateful, terrible truth that was gnawing on them.

"I have to do homework." Saga blurted out and Saga blinked. Then both eyebrows rose in a showcase of terrified unity. The aspect of saga trying to learn something with their patience and their desire for quick and fast answers was not a combination that Sasha would wish on anyone.

"Rework?" She guessed, as she had noticed that while Saga seemed to speak their language, albeit, in a somewhat stilted and broken manner, they did not appear to know how to read their runes. Which posed something of a problem if they were to get any better at magic here in the north.

"Yes," Saga sighed, staring at the ground with a look on their face that suggested someone had asked them to charge into a pike wall headfirst.

"I see... And the good news?" Sasha said before she could stop herself, knowing full well what the answer would be.

"You have been chosen to aid me in said homework." Saga said, grinning wide. Sasha simply smiled at the hotheaded berserker.

"We need to define what counts as good news." Sasha chuckled. She was quite smitten with Saga. But the idea of getting Saga to dedicate their time to fine, precise rework did not fill her with much hope. Hopefully, they would just memorize the patterns and not delve into the finer aspects of the craft just yet.

"First of all. Ow, I am hurt. Second of all; How hard can it be?." Saga said, but they both knew the answer to that question.

***

The two found themselves sitting in the corner of a sleepy taverna. Sasha had ut the three runes down in front of Saga and the two had been reading and learning each rune in turn before memorizing some of the lesser ones. All the while Sasha was trying to explain the significance of the Major rune's role in magic and how to best use each rune. Saga could understand a little of it. It seemed that rune magic worked in a way similar to that of a battery in that it was the best form of magic to bind very specific amounts of magic energy. The big drawback appeared to be that the runes themselves were generally very specific to their task, meaning rune magic wasn't always that flexible. Sasha showcased this by holding up a pebble that'd been carved with a rune Saha didn't yet know.

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"This is a Kav rune. When it's filled with magic, it explodes outwards into whatever elemental mana it's been loaded with."

"Similar to my shield then." In a way, yes. The shield is far more complicated. The smaller runes that run across the edge there, are minor. They help specify tasks and make the mayor runes more useful."

"I don't think I get it just yet... But back home, I did a little write a few reports on experiments in school." Saga scratched the back of their head. "And It sounds like the lesser runes are parameters for the larger runes." They had managed to memorize the three runes and a dozen less important ones, a feat they had feared themselves incapable of. Sasha grinned at them, satisfied with the answer. It had taken them a little while to get there, but Saga had at least grasped some knowledge of how magic worked up here in the North. Sasha wasn't exactly the teacher that Indrada was, but she could teach saga some of the basics at the very least. Rubbing their templates, Saga remembered something Indrada had said that caught him entirely off guard.

"She called me dense." Saga blurted out after another hour of the constant.

"Who did?" Sasha asked, blinking in confusion at the sudden outburst, but had to suppress a smile. She had an inkling as to the answer to her question.

"Indrada."

"Truth hurts, huh?"

"It sure does. The mana headache I got from that new exercise is killing me. Want to order a drink so I can hasten my demise."

"Let's not. "

"Aw, I thought you were my girlfriend, not my mother."

"I am just trying to preserve what little remains intact inside your pretty head."

"Wow. Now I feel like I'm some kind of a ditz."

"What's a ditz?"

"Airhead?" Saga tried, but Sasha remained just as confused.

"Like an elemental?" She asked and Saga tried not to groan.

"..."

"Not like an elemental then."

"No. No, not like an elemental. Let us just table all that for now, yes?"

"Sounds good to me."

***

As the two warriors continued to talk, three figures watched them. They were dressed in similar, dark, rough garbs. They were all peering out from a dark alley, having observed the two as they made their way to the tavern. The apparent leader of the bunch was a tall, lanky elf with a series of scars that made his face look like it had been in a fight with a blender and lost.

“What was that reaction earlier. She should not have sensed us.” Another of the three said. She was a heavy sat, tanned woman with short-cropped, black hair and cold, hard eyes.

“It wasn’t us she reacted to.” The leader said with a shake of his head.

“It wasn’t?” The woman raised an eyebrow. She hadn't sensed anyone else. But she was the group's main muscle, so her senses were nowhere as sharp as the elves. "How do you know Arvel?"

“No. It seems another player is involved.” The elf named Arvel said, eyes never leaving the two targets.

“Should we tell the boss?” The third one spoke. They were a hobgoblin dressed in reinforced cloth armor and fur. They fidgeted with a small talisman while their eyes kept darting between the elf and the human. Out of the three of them, they were the newest recruit and Arvel was still a bit unsure about the hob's talent.

“No need. He likely knows already. If we are lucky, whoever it has it in for the two as well.” Arvel said with a shrug.

The woman scoffed. “Still can’t believe we are killing someone for Jasper. That little shit is not worth the effort.” Her name was Kalina. She was from the eternal continent originally, she had seen some action at the undead border. Arvel trusted her to get a job done, regardless of what little tricks the newcomer had up their sleeve.

“He isn’t worth it now. But if his old Pa dies, then he owns some of the biggest meat farms around Hemgård.”

“Then why aren’t we killing his Pa?” The woman asked.

“Because first, we need to make sure the little shit is with us to the end.” The leader frowned. None of them trusted Jasper. None of them liked Jasper. But rich kids wanting to play hard was not uncommon, and they were often reliable sources of silver between jobs. But for one of them to be made an official member was not a development either of the three was on board with. But the leader of the three could at least understand the Boss's reason.

"Right, and that means killing the two lovebirds."

"We're professionals after all." The leader smiled at his squad.