We set off the next morning in high spirits. I thought I would have a terrible hangover, but it wasn’t very bad. I mentioned it to Serah, and she laughed and explained it was the healing amulet. It helped me heal much faster, including getting over hangovers.

I hadn’t expected that, but it certainly boosted my confidence in those amulets. I had been skeptical, even though I’d tried to go with the flow - when in Lumaria, do as the Lumarians do and rely on magic. I still had a lingering suspicion they were tricking me, but this was at least some kind of proof.

The others were happy too, and most of all Tiriel. She skipped along the street, singing an elvish song and smiling to everyone we met. I didn’t know if she was carrying that gown and tiara in her backpack - she was back in her old dark green tunic and trousers - but I kept glancing at her and being surprised she wasn’t wearing them. I’d known she was a princess before, but I’d never really seen it. Now I couldn’t unsee it.

We made good time once we passed the northern city gate and got out on the main road. People were coming back into the city and there was heavy traffic in the other direction. There were also a lot of soldiers about. Apparently the Kamarian army hadn’t gone back across the border, but was staying put half a day’s march into Dimran territory and tensions were building. That also drove people back to the city, rather than risk being caught in the middle of a war out in the countryside.

The main road north was large, wide enough for three wagons, and led past the towns and larger villages that surrounded Ambor. They grew gradually smaller, until they faded into scattered farms. Serah told me the richest farmland was south of the capital and we were now moving toward the northern forests and mountains. It would become less populated and wilder soon, especially tomorrow.

I didn’t mind. It felt good to be back on the road, and the others seemed to agree. Everyone was more talkative than before, and even Caveria acted friendly. She seemed on the verge of bringing something up, several times, but then changed her mind. I was happy to see it, and decided to give her time.

We fell back into our old rhythms - we stopped for coffee in the morning just like before and we had lunch among large rocks on a slope beside the road.

We didn’t sleep outside though - Tiriel decided we needed all the rest we could get before the mountains. She led us to a village inn several kilometers down a side road to the main one, saying we should stay out of sight if we could.

The inn was good anyway, with very good, solid food, and good beer. Before dinner Arndrir and I went out into a small wood outside the village. He’d remembered my request for more training and decided to continue as before, but in a higher tempo. This first night we simply repeated what we’d done before, with basic stances and movements and some stick-fighting. It felt good, even though it brought back memories of the men I’d killed.

Well, better them than me, I thought savagely as I parried a thrust, and then almost stumbled. Was I becoming a Lumarian that quickly? Maybe it was just survival instinct kicking in. It had to be there, hidden beneath, even though I’d lived my whole life in a world where everyday survival just wasn’t a struggle. I resolved to talk to Serah about it - I didn’t want to become callous or blaśe about killing.

Arndrir didn’t let me get blasé about fighting, at least. I hurt all over as we walked back to the inn in the deepening twilight. Above us the stars were coming out.

“How are you feeling?” he asked. “You seem to have handled the battle and the rest rather well.”

“I suppose so,” I said. “I didn’t expect that, at all, and it feels almost unreal now that I think about it. But everything else feels more... real, if that’s the right word.”

We walked along a small lane surrounded by low hedges, leading in between wooden houses.

“I do not fully understand what you have told us, but I do accept that Tiriel was right.” He glanced at me with a grin. “I trust her, but she does challenge that trust at times. She seems to have been right about you. You're not what I expected, but you are a good addition to our party.”

“I - thank you,” I said. I didn’t know what to say. It made me happy to hear it. I thought Arndrir had been disappointed in me, when he’d expected a fellow swordsman and gotten a complete neophyte, but he hadn’t let it show and had instead offered to train me. I’d grown to like his calm, solid competence, and hearing that he actually approved of having me here was very reassuring. Even if I still had nagging doubts - wouldn’t it be better to have someone more... useful?

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Arndrir seemed to have decided it was better to help me become useful, and so had Caveria. Early next morning, when the morning mist was still thick on the fields, she woke me and led me out to a different spot, slightly further from the village. I realized why when she first wanted to check out my amulet, and so all she wanted me to do was stand still while she hurled fire at me. It was extremely unnerving, to say the least. She started out with little wisps of fire, curling out and around me, and stared curiously as they uncurled and drifted away.

“Interesting,” she said, as I yawned. She didn’t seem sleepy. Neither did I, once the fireballs started. Granted, there were a few steps in between, but she did work her way up to sending fireballs right above and beside me. I felt the heat as they sizzled past, but they never touched me. At one point, she had me stand in a patch of grass and rolled a fireball along the ground. The grass around me burned and died, except for a small circle just around my feet. I felt the heat from it, but my clothes weren’t even singed.

Finally, to top it all off, she conjured up a cloud of fire and dropped it right over me. It was terrifying, and my whole body shook. The fire swirled around me, blazing hot, and I didn’t dare move at all, for fear of being burnt to a cinder, but it never actually touched me. Outside the cloud, Caveria shook her head and clapped her hands until I called out and asked her to please remove the cloud, right now, thank you very much.

It vanished, and I jumped right at her and shoved her to the ground.

“Are you crazy?” I shouted “You could have killed me!” She just laughed and got up.

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“But I didn’t,” she said. “Your amulet protects you well. Let’s see if you can protect yourself as well!” She launched a jumping kick that I blocked with my arm, and managed to send her spinning to the side. She took the spin and converted it into a wheeling motion that I just barely dodged.

“I’ll get you!” I shouted and rushed at her with fists raised. I was furious at her - I'd have been dead in an instant if the amulet failed! She laughed and dived on the ground, kicking up towards my belly. I dived too, above her feet and landed with a roll on the ground. She was already on her feet, laughing.

I jumped up and ran towards her, waving my fists and screaming. It worked - she dropped into a defensive crouch and when I jumped aside at the last moment and threw my weight at her she couldn't parry and went down. I followed her down, pushed her onto her belly and locked her arms behind her back.

She struggled briefly and then went still. "Good," she panted. "You win."

It was the first time I'd really won one of our fights. Of course, she hadn't been fighting all-out by any means, but it still felt good. I released her and got back up. My fury had dissipated slightly but I was still angry at her. I wasn't some damn specimen she could experiment with.

When she rose, we circled each other warily. She attacked first, three quick steps across the circle, with a feint I almost fell for but managed to block just in time. My arm trembled as we stared at each other with our faces a decimeter apart. She actually looked strained. Good. I snarled at her, and kicked her leg, as hard as I could.

We fought like this for some time. It wasn't a very good fight and I would have lost if she'd really tried to win - she was far more ruthless than I dared - but I won several more rounds quite fairly.

It didn't take that long for us both to get a little winded and for our initial adrenaline rush to fade, and we agreed to end the fight. We sat down on the ground beside each other, both breathing heavily.

“Thank you,” she said. “That wasn't completely crappy for once and I needed a less serious fight.”

I snorted and glared at her. We both had some bruises and she'd have a black eye unless she asked Serah to remove it. But she was right. It hadn't been very serious.

“You’re welcome I guess,” I said. “But don't ever do that thing with the cloud again!”

She laughed at me. “Maybe I won’t,” she said. “Maybe I will. You don’t have to worry, with your amulet.” She got up and looked down at me seriously. "Maybe I should. You're still not a good fighter, but you fight better when you're angry. You need to want to win."

“I know,” I muttered, taking her outstretched hand and letting me pull her up. She was strong. I’d felt that during the fight. She was stronger than me, much stronger.

"I know," I sighed. "I need to get better at this. But I don't enjoy it. Like you seem to do."

“I don't enjoy the fighting itself, or the pain," she said. "I enjoy the feeling of - power, maybe. Or just life. I feel alive when I fight." She looked at me and grinned. “I'll see if I can help you feel that too. Let’s go back for breakfast.”

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We continued north the rest of that day, rejoining the main road which steadily shrunk and became emptier. The land was growing hilly again and the farms sparser. The sky had clouded over with what looked like rain clouds. When we approached a small village, Tiriel stopped us.

“Arndrir, what path do you recommend?” she said.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “This is Dovreby ahead. The main road turns left and goes around the forest, but there’s a road - or trail, rather - that goes through. It’s shorter but slower and generally more dangerous. Especially now, I would guess.”

“Something’s odd,” Caveria interjected in a low voice. She was looking out to the right, at a small copse. “There’s something there.”

I couldn’t see anything but I guessed she was sensing magic. Serah glanced at her and held out her hands.

“Yes, something, but I’m not sure what.”

Suddenly two fireballs shot out from under the trees, aimed straight at Caveria. She jerked up her hands and blocked one of them, making it vanish in a bright flash. The other one veered aside and headed straight at my head.

I ducked, but there was no chance to evade it. The lower part of it hit me in the face - and went right past. The heat burned and I yelped and threw myself backwards on the ground, but when I fearfully touched my face and hair, everything seemed okay. The amulet had done its job, it seemed. I got back up and drew my sword, nodding at Serah to show her I was alright. Caveria’s hands were glowing bright again, and I just barely had time to see Tiriel disappear among the treetops with her bow out.

Before the fight could start a man appeared. He just materialized from nowhere. Since he wore similar robes as Caveria and Lecander, but in gray with red details, I assumed he was a battle mage. That, and the fireballs.

“Hold your fire!” he called and walked towards us with an arrogant smile. “I have a message from Lecander.”

Tiriel shot an arrow towards him, but it curved in and began circling him about two meters away. It whizzed around him silently in a tight circle. His smile faltered and he looked annoyed instead.

“Hold your fire too,” Tiriel called from above. “I have many more arrows.”

The man waved irritably and stopped some distance away. He focused on Caveria.

“Lecander orders you to stay out of his affairs in the future. Next time you interfere, madam Cosala dies. Unpleasantly.”

Caveria growled at him. “Tell your master that the next time I see him - he dies. Horribly. He knows, as do you, that I won our last match, and I will win the next. I spared his life this time. I will not do so again.” She launched a fireball at him, which he blocked. “Now run!”

She launched a whole volley of fireballs, small ones, bouncing along the ground. There must have been at least forty, and they bounced around and over him.

He swore, but it was obviously difficult for him to deal with so many at once and he retreated, half-running past us and up on the road. Tiriel’s arrow kept circling him, until it dived in and cut a hole through his robes, near his feet. Caveria kept up the fireballs until he disappeared behind a hill.

Tiriel dropped down from a tree and ran over to retrieve her arrow.

“That was evil news,” she said and looked at Caveria with a frown. Caveria spat and shook her hands.

“I’m not surprised,” she said. “I’m more surprised Lecander hasn’t tried this before. This wasn’t the first time I beat him.” She watched the empty road behind us with narrowed eyes. “But next time will be the last.”

"Do you want to go after him now?" Tiriel asked.

Caveria closed her eyes and was quiet for a while. "No," she said finally, but her voice was strained. "If we turn around, or abandon the search, he wins. Let's continue."

We decided to stay the night at Dovreby. There was an inn there too, of course, although all their adventurers' room were taken. We got one large room, for all of us, above the stables.

Arndrir and I went out for swords practice as usual. I was a bit unfocused, since I was thinking about Caveria. I’d wanted to ask, but she’d looked so angry that I didn’t dare right then. I asked Arndrir instead, when we were on our way back.

“I didn’t understand the battle mage’s threat,” I said. “Who is this woman he mentioned?”

Arndrir sighed deeply. “Caveria’s foster mother,” he said. “Madam Cosala raised her, after her parents died.”

“Oh. That’s... why does Lecander want to hurt Caveria? It seems like he wants to kill her.”

“If he could, he probably would,” Arndrir replied. “It goes back...” He gave me a troubled look. “It is not fully my story to tell, but you probably need to know some of it, at least.” He paused. “Caveria’s parents died in one of those cursed caves. They were part of an expedition, a large one, trying to cleanse the cave. But they were betrayed by an ambitious and power-hungry battle mage who saw a chance to get rid of a lot of competitors at once. So he set off a diversion far too early, which alerted the cave and roused the monsters.”

“That battle mage,” I said. “Was that Lecander?”

“Yes. It wasn’t personal, but he killed her parents. She took it personally, and they have been deadly enemies since.”

“Ouch,” I said. “Poor Caveria. How old was she then?” I asked. This explained some things about Caveria, I thought. She was so tough, but sometimes she seemed almost brittle.

“Six,” he replied. “A word of warning, though. Never call her that. Poor Caveria. She hates that.”