Over the next two days, Verdan identified six different sigils from the two artificed items he studied. Exactly what those sigils meant, he had yet to discover, but it was a start.

He already knew a few from the other globe he had studied, but seeing which ones were common between both items was interesting.

Most of his evenings were still taken up teaching the basics of gathering spirals to the Chosen and low imperial to Dirk and Sinead. However, he managed a small amount of study of the Automaton in his free time.

The first problem he faced was that the Automaton was designed for combat, so few of its sigils were in positions where they could be easily identified.

The second problem was that the battle damage the construct had taken had mainly hit the areas that Verdan had access to, so many of the sigils were incomplete or otherwise damaged.

Verdan was doing his best to piece together what the complete ones looked like, but it was going to take quite a while, as the sigils were particularly intricate.

He’d spent quite a bit of time on it the night before, so for today’s journey, Verdan decided to do some work on his gathering spiral. He’d done a little bit over the last few days, but a break from trying to comprehend these sigils would be welcome.

An hour or two into the day’s travel Verdan looked up to see Pathfinder Galstar draw level with the wagon and raise a hand in greeting.

Nodding in response, Verdan swapped places with Barb to be a bit closer. “Anything the matter, Pathfinder?”

“We’re drawing near to a crossroads,” Elspeth said, her soft voice just audible over the sound of the horses. “We can either continue directly south, or we can divert to the west and head into Clan Mhorgain’s old territory.”

“Where in their territory would that take us?” Verdan asked, considering the benefit of turning off here or making better time back to Hobson’s Point.

“We’d be in the northern section of what belonged to them, and a few days from Blackpeak, the Enclave that was the Clan’s capital.”

“Interesting. Would that path take us to this Enclave?”

“I believe so, but I haven’t travelled this area much. My knowledge of the different routes if from maps we have in Glarn.”

“I see. Check in with Benlen and the other Mhorgain, if you would. See if they have an idea of where this crossroads would take us.”

“Yes, Wizard,” Elspeth nodded before turning her horse and riding further back along the caravan.

“You’re considering going through Mhorgain territory?” Barb asked as Verdan turned back to the interior.

Verdan’s closest allies were shifting between the front few wagons, changing who was where each day. Currently, it was just him and Barb in the front wagon, which suited him fine for his meditation.

Looking over to Barb, Verdan gave her question some thought before giving a slight shrug. “Potentially, yes, but I want to know more before I commit. We were going to go close by as it was, but this would be something a bit more.”

“Do you think Benlen or some of the others will know their way around?”

“I hope so. If not, then we won’t risk it. There isn’t much we can gain for this, and it might take quite some time. I have a lot I want to do before we get back, but I don’t want us stuck out here for too long.”

Barb nodded, and they both fell silent for a few minutes until Elspeth returned.

“Blade Benlen has given me a rundown of several landmarks in the area. Based on that, I believe these crossroads would take us along the northern border of the old territory. It would be the next set that we would turn off at to reach Blackpeak.”

“Understood. Let’s keep moving for now, then,” Verdan said, deciding to discuss matters further with the others later.

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Visiting Blackpeak would be useful to get an idea of how damaged it was, and the difficulty of reclaiming it, but it wasn’t essential.

-**-

Verdan discussed the situation with both Dirk and Benlen later that evening, and the three of them agreed on adjusting the route slightly. They would take the caravan near to the Enclave and a small group would ride out to make a visual inspection.

It would be better if they could spend some time and truly get an understanding of the state of the Enclave, but this was all for the future, so it wasn’t that urgent.

Still, it would be good to know what they were up against.

Verdan paused mid-lesson with Dirk and Sinead, realising that he was automatically including himself in Dirk’s endeavour to retake his Clan’s homeland.

He supposed it was only natural that he would, but that would also drag in his own allies.

No doubt the idea of southerners helping retake lands for a Clan would make many Kranjir laugh, but that day was coming.

Verdan’s efforts were bringing people together, and it was rewarding, but it paled in comparison to the news that Dirk had given him when they stopped for the day.

With this extra time to meditate, Dirk had finished his sixth spiral and was compressing it, ready to begin his seventh.

Six full spirals was the mark of a fully trained Wizard, and though Dirk was short on Words of Power thanks to their situation, he deserved that title.

Dirk had insisted that he was still Verdan’s apprentice, and would remain as such until he had learned everything he could, but that didn’t stop the pride swelling in Verdan’s heart.

“Master?” Dirk spoke up, prompting Verdan to continue the lesson.

-**-

They reached the next crossroads two days later and diverted deeper into the old Mhorgain lands.

The move came with some concern among from the Pathfinder and her people; the Mhorgain lands were abandoned and had no recognised settlements remaining.

That meant that there could be anything hidden within those borders, and Verdan remembered that the first Gormagyr encounter had been in this area.

The village that had been destroyed was outside of the Mhorgain borders, but it wasn’t a good precedent.

Magnus was riding with Verdan in the front wagon today, but Verdan was holding off on meditating, preferring to keep watch as best he could as they took the alternative path.

Unsurprisingly, there wasn’t really any visible difference. The road was poorly maintained, and the land was abundant in deep forests for as far as Verdan could see.

Magnus was shifting about uncomfortably, though, and Verdan eventually turned to face him. “What’s bothering you, Magnus?”

The Kranjir froze, the scars on his face emphasised by the growing flush on his cheeks. “Nothing, Verdan. I’m sorry if I disturbed you.”

“I can tell something is wrong. Come, we will be here for quite some time. Tell me what’s on your mind. Is it about this place?”

“No, it isn’t that,” Magnus said, trailing off before he grimaced and shook his head. “I was hoping to ask you for a favour, but I’ve done nothing to warrant you granting me one.”

“That’s hardly true,” Verdan said with a frown. “You’ve been a steadfast ally, even when you pressured me into letting you take part. I might not grant you this favour, but I will certainly listen.”

Magnus flushed again, but he seemed to come to a decision and sat up straight. “I’d like to learn this gathering spiral that you’re teaching to the Chosen. I talked to the others and I know the Chosen are becoming better at using their ancestral weapons. If I can do the same, I could make myself more useful.”

“You’ve been useful as it is…”

“No. Not really, not on the same scale. You helped me break out of the rut I was in and realise that I had to put the work in getting better on my own terms. All I want to do is extend that to this as well.”

Verdan took in Magnus’s determined expression and considered the request properly, rather than just thinking of how to let him down gently.

Another person learning the basic techniques wasn’t really a problem. Four was no worse than three, after all.

Verdan liked Magnus as well. He was brave, didn’t hesitate to put his life on the line for others, and had strong morals. If he had some talent, he would make a decent Wizard.

Nodding as he made his decision, Verdan caught Magnus’s gaze and held it, making sure the other man knew how serious he was about this. “I’m willing to give you a chance with this. There are two paths for you. The first is the one the Chosen are walking, and the second is the one Dirk follows. I can test you now for how suitable you are, but I will expect absolute secrecy, understood?”

“Yes, Wizard.”

“Good.” Verdan nodded again before motioning to Magnus’s weapon. “Now, pick up your weapon, rest it in your lap and put both hands on it. Good, now focus on what you can feel and then extend your sense of touch outside of your skin, and feel the ebb and flow of magic throughout it.”

Magnus’s brow furrowed with effort as he followed Verdan’s instructions.

Verdan hadn’t gone through this step with the Chosen. He knew they had a basic grip of Aether manipulation, after all, so it would have been pointless.

If Verdan was right about the testing process for Chosen, though, it was based entirely on the size of a person’s Aether reserve, not their innate talent.

“I can feel something, but it is static and unmoving.” Magnus’s eyes flew open and he looked at Verdan with a shocked expression. “Is this the enchantment you put on it?”

“Yes. Now, see if you can find the areas with the highest concentration,” Verdan said, smiling slightly at the Kranjir’s awed expression.

It would have been even worse if he told Magnus that being able to simply detect the Aether like that meant that he could become a Chosen.

Magnus had already passed that threshold. Now it was time to see if he could become a true Wizard.