The next day's travel was relatively leisurely. Even Eli, ever vigilant, began to relax somewhat. Though no one was bold enough to speak it out loud, they all felt a sense of relief and hope that their string of harrowing encounters seemed to be broken for now. By now, the party was settling into the idea of Iris carrying most of their gear in her bottomless bag, and only Autumn bothered to wear her backpack at all. This was mostly so she could fill it to the brim with ingredients and cool rocks -- which Iris was delighted to find Autumn shared an interest in. They talked as they walked, and at one point the others began recounting for Iris how they had all met and formed a team.

"Me and Titus were both hanging out in this little town called Tinton looking for a crew. We didn't know each other yet though."

"Tinton is a border settlement on the coast, just at the southwestern edge of the Giantrock desert," Eli added, "it's where most adventurers around our level launch from when they set off into Giantrock."

"Eli and I had sailed there together from Everveil, looking to put together an expedition party," Victoria said, "we were lucky to find these two before they got snatched up by another group."

"We found that one working as an unpaid intern in a seafood restaurant," Eli pointed at Autumn.

"They had so many exotic fish to work with! Best three days of my life, honestly."

"And they found me about to get my ass kicked," Titus said.

Eli laughed, "yeah, what was it again? You insulted their powers or something?"

"I insulted the way they use their powers," Titus corrected, "nothing wrong with the powers themselves."

Iris blipped up beside Titus and gave him a curious look.

"It was this group of clerics in a tavern," he explained, "they spat on my boots for being a battle healer, so I pointed out that at least my patients aren't corpses by the time I treat them."

"Wait, aren't you a cleric? Shouldn't you guys get along?"

Titus's face fell slightly, "I'm no cleric. That's a story for another day. The part that matters is that they believe a healer's place is off the battlefield, trying to salvage life from casualties after they've suffered and bled out long enough to be evacuated -- if they even are."

"You disagree?" Iris asked.

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"Absolutely. I want to be in there where action is, saving lives when it matters most."

"Isn't that the same line that got you backed into a corner with a lightning bolt in your hand, surrounded by five guys in holy gear?" Eli asked, "it wasn't the best look."

"But you recruited him anyway?" Iris asked.

"I'll take a guy who can kick ass and cure my wounds over a guy who just does the last part, any day."

"So, how did it go?" Iris asked both of them eagerly, "how did you beat the clerics?"

"It was just a scuffle," Titus said sheepishly.

"He put someone's head through a table," Victoria said.

"I took out another guy's legs from behind and Titus broke a barstool on his chest," Eli said.

"They're exaggerating," Titus insisted, "let's talk about Autumn."

"Oh! Gladly!" Autumn piped up, "so there I was, pan-searing a fillet of the elusive white-tailed lantern eel, every second counts as I carefully maintain temperature at just the right level to neutralize the fatal toxins in the flesh,"

Autumn continued on for quite some time, describing the harrowing once-in-a-lifetime experience of cooking a rare fish while filling in for a chef who was out sick following a bad trip on pufferfish gas. Finally, she got to the point where the others arrived.

"and boom!" she spread her hands wide in emphasis, the smoke erupts, that's how you know it's ready. That's when Eli barged in," she gave him a side eye.

"I thought there had been an accident in the kitchen," he explained innocently.

"It was too late after that," Autumn said solemnly, "after the puff of smoke you have two, maybe three seconds to get it out of the pan. Any longer and the charred flesh turns to ash. I looked up at Eli, then down at the pan, and it was ruined."

Iris felt genuinely bad for Autumn, realizing how upsetting that had been and still was for her. She still had to fight back a smile creeping up on her face at how ridiculous the whole scenario was.

"So, that's the story of how Eli got me fired. I told him he owed me a job, so he offered me one. Now we're here."

"I still don't think you can call it being fired if you weren't even getting paid," Eli defended. It was clear to Iris that the ensuing argument was a continuation of one that had come up many times before, but it was all in good spirit and full of laughter.

The party continued on, traveling through miles of forest that all looked much the same. Soon the extra-large nature of the plants and animals started to become almost normal. Temperatures remained relatively stable, they were cool and crisp in the morning but quickly warmed to a comfortable mild heat and then slowly cooled as it grew darker. For Iris, it started to feel more like an extended hiking and camping trip with friends than a grand adventure, and after the week she'd had so far, she was more than happy with that for now.

Autumn decided it would be a good night for a slow-roasted stew, and Eli decided they would set up camp somewhere ideal for concealing a fire. They made camp in the first good place they found, a ring of trees that was particularly overgrown with brush -- which was itself as dense and tall as a small patch of regular forest. Inside the outer ring of brush, however, was a clearing large enough for a somewhat spacious campsite.

Eli approached Iris as she lay out her bedroll, "I'll be taking first watch again tonight, you're up second."

"Okay," she said cheerily, then paused for a moment, "by myself?"

"Can you handle it?"

"Yeah," she nodded with determination.

"Then I'll wake you up when it's your turn."