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Refenial sat in the camp with Talot. Despite them only being there only a single night, Elagabalus had managed to make it feel homely with the seemingly endless number of mundane items that he could produce from whatever space he kept his equipment in.

Camping equipment, medical supplies to see the Refenial and Talot's cuts and bruises, pots, pans, fresh food of seemingly endless variety, chairs. He'd even brought out a full, finely carved dining table complete with tablecloth and floral centrepiece to eat his fried egg sandwich at with knife and fork.

It wasn't just mundane items. Elagabalus had produced a small pre-charged runic device that looked like a tiny hexagonal box that apparently warded off low-level monsters, lights on the side indicating how much charge remained. The device now sat slightly to the side of the camp on its own fine wood table.

They'd discussed how they'd go about contacting Nia, and he'd asked Refenial to provide a letter for Nia. If he did find her in Stonehaven, he could give her the letter, and she'd know that he was to be trusted. Elagabalus, as a titled could speak her language, so that would also make things easier.

When Refenial had agreed, Elagabalus had produced a whole writing table and writing set, including parchment, ink, and a rather fluffy quill.

As Refenial sat at the desk writing the letter, he knew he had to ask. "Elagabalus, all this stuff. Do you use your title to store it somewhere?"

Elagabalus nodded with a smile as he sat in his chair. "Yes, it's one of the powers a lot of titled get. The rank they get it varies, though, I got it at rank 21, but I've heard of people getting it as late as rank 50."

"So there are powers that a lot of titled get?" Refenial asked, curious.

"Did the person who got you your title not explain any of this?"

"No." Refenial thought back to Hildegard's decision to tell him more about the system and how the attack on the village had stopped that from happening. "Honestly, I didn't get much explained to me. I've mostly been trying to work it out as I go."

"That's... unfortunate. To answer your question, though, the system gives out a lot of powers that are rare or unique to certain titles. However, there are a lot of powers that seem rather more common, and most titled seem to be able to earn at least a few of them. There is storage space, the power I use to store stuff. Flight is a common one, though I lack that one. Short-range teleportation is another common power. The ability to read other titled's status or the ability to determine particular traits of items are also common. You often see a few abilities that turn up again and again with slight differences, such as ranged magical attacks and dash abilities."

"Any other common powers?"

"Hmm, those are the most regularly occurring common powers. There are also some that seem very common among certain title types. Most religious titles get some kind of healing power, for example. A lot of tradesman-type titles give the ability to manipulate the materials they work with directly. Most common powers are the sort you would probably expect for a title."

Refenial finished writing the letter and carefully put down the quill. He began to fold the letter as he spoke nervously. "Do you really think you'll be able to find Nia?"

Elagabalus smiled confidently. "I guarantee it."

Refenial felt his body sag a little in relief at Elagabalus's confidence.

He handed the letter to Elagabalus, who quickly left towards Stonehaven.

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Refenial sat at the campfire with Talot, waiting for Elagabalus to return. It was mid-afternoon before he caught sight of him.

In the distance, he spotted the bright whites of Elagabalus's clothes. As the man in white and gold approached, Nia a barely visible blob beside him.

As soon as they started getting near, Refenial gave up waiting and started sprinting towards them. He saw Nia doing the same, and they met halfway between Elagabalus and the camp.

Her eyes looked haunted, whatever she'd seen during the attack troubling her.

Nia grabbed Refenial into a hug so tight he was worried she might break something.

"I thought you'd died!" She said he could feel the tall girl's tears on his forehead as she squeezed him.

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"Urk!" was the closest Refenial could get to an answer, crushed as he was.

Seeming to realize his discomfort, she let go of him. "Is Nox here?" she asked hopefully.

Refenial said nothing, but she instantly picked up on his expression, "Oh..."

"The Traveller, he killed Matrill and Helus, then Nox... I only found his arm." Every word he spoke felt torturously painful, but he did so with determination. Nia deserved the truth.

"I saw Helus..." Nia whispered, a troubled look on her face as she stared off to the side.

Before they could speak further, Elagabalus had reached them. "What a touching reunion." The big man said.

He stepped between them and gently placed an arm around both of their shoulders. "Let's go back to the camp. I'm sure you two have much to catch up on."

They walked back to the camp. Talot smiled and stood as they approached. He seemed genuinely pleased to see Nia well despite them never directly interacting.

Elagabalus smiled at Talot, "You have done young Refenial a great service, Talot. I'm sure you are a busy man, but I can take care of him from here. It would be my honour to escort you back to the city."

Talot looked between Refenial and Elagabalus a little uncertainly. "Ok, as long as Refenial is alright now?"

Refenial nodded. "I think so. Thank you for saving me, Talot."

Talot stood with a grunt, "I never thought I'd see the day I'd be escorted anywhere by the Morning Sun." He chuckled. "No one's going to believe this."

Talot walked to Refenial taking his hand in a strong grip. "Take care of yourself, and remember what I said, build, don't burn."

Refenial nodded again, unsure how to express his gratitude to the man for saving him.

Talot And Elagabalus began to walk away from the camp as he still pondered his response. He yelled out to them, "Talot!"

The plumber turned.

"Thanks." He called to the man.

Talot gave a small smile of acknowledgement before turning and carrying on away with Elagabalus.

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Refenial returned to sitting down on one of the chairs Elagabalus had summoned, and Nia sat in Elagabalus's golden chair. They sat in a silence that wavered in the liminal space between comfortable and uncomfortable.

He was relieved beyond words that she was safe and well, but he knew there were a lot of difficult things they needed to talk about.

He opened his mouth to speak, but to his relief, Nia beat him to it.

"There was a monster in the city. He offered me a deal." She said, pulling out a small purple crystal.

He listened as she told him of her strange encounter with Puss and the deal she'd made.

"Why'd you agree? It sounds like he couldn't be trusted."

Nia looked at the crystal for a long moment before she spoke, "I came here to be someone, not to be in someone else's shadow. If that means taking risks, then so be it."

"Was the crystal really worth the risk?"

Nis shrugged. "Maybe. There's nothing that means I have to have anything to do with Puss in the future, though. It's not like I swore loyalty to him."

Refenial had put off telling her about the attack as long as he could. As much as he hated the thought of talking about it, he knew it had to be now.

He told her about the Traveller and the death of Nox, Matrill, and Helus. About being framed and Talot rescuing him.

Nia listened as he spoke, waiting til he'd finished his sad tale to speak. "Can we really trust Elagabalus to just make the accusation go away? You were publically accused of a massacre."

Refenial thought about it for a moment. "Elagabalus was the one who gave me the music book back in Waterhill. Talot seemed to have heard of him and trusted him too. He seems to be famous, and he's powerful enough to fight the Traveller."

Nia chuckled. "He does seem rather, er, eager to talk about himself. The entire walk here, he was telling me about all his exploits."

Refenial smiled slightly. "Yeah, he's a little odd, but he seems to be a good person."

"Oh," Nia said, pulling out a crumpled note. "I got a message from Griselda telling me you were alive yesterday evening."

She handed Refenial the note, and he read it over.

"I wonder why she sent this?" He asked out loud.

"I'm glad she did. I'd been searching all day and not found you or Nox. I thought I might never know..."

Refenial handed back the note, "Do you know anything else about the Ravenous mother from your story?"

Nia shook her head, "No, it happened so long ago. I've heard lots of stories about why she did it, why she killed all those people, but they all contradict each other. They usually involve a prince of some kind."

She paused thoughtfully before speaking again. "Some say she was going to marry a young prince, but he spurned her and married someone else. Others say the prince was her son, and the king had him executed. Some even say she was the real power behind the throne, but when a prince became the new king, he tried to cut ties with her."

"In all of those, she sounds vengeful. Do you think Griselda is the Ravenous mother?"

Nia shrugged. "Maybe, if she is, we need to be much stronger to face her."

The conversation moved on, and the pair talked for several hours before Elagabalus finally returned.

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Elagabalus frowned slightly at the sight of Nia in his chair but said nothing and remained standing. "Talot is now safely back in Stonehaven. We still have a few hours of daylight left. I think we should break camp and start making a move." He spoke in Nia's language, making the conversation easy.

"You're coming with us?" Nia asked, surprised.

Elagabalus smiled. "Why, yes. I'm concerned the Traveller might make a move against Refenial again, so I have decided to escort him to the academy itself."

Elagabalus paused thoughtfully. "I actually meant to suggest something. There is a town just a couple of days from here, Hamlin. They have a traditional spring fair there that I have always wanted to visit. It is only a slight detour from going directly to the capital, and after what you two both went through, I think it would do you both some good to see some happiness."

"Ok, let's go there on the way," Refenial said with false cheer. He didn't really want to go, but Elagabalus was helping them, and maybe it would do Nia good.

Nia smiled and nodded in agreement, then glanced at Refenial, but the smile looked a little forced.

They broke camp and were soon on the road, following it through the winding hills to new places.

Refenial kept looking back at Stonehaven as it sunk further and further into the distance, the memory of the Traveller's attack playing over and over in his mind.

The moment of Nox's death was the most vivid part. He'd been too weak to save his friend, but he couldn't let the same happen to Nia or Obit. Perhaps he was too weak today, but soon, soon, he would be strong enough to protect those he cared about against people like the Traveller.

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