By the time I got to the imbuer’s hall, I’d never been so glad to see a bench in my life. Or shade. It was all fine and dandy to say, Oh, Trellin, you’re going to sail off to a distant, foreign land tonight, you’d best pack. But the actual implications of that were way, way different.

No one in Talmarn was a hunter, so none of them had aura. That meant none of them could work on my armor—so I needed to get my gear into the shop for repairs and fixing up, fast. The leatherworker who’d been working the counter gave me a look like I was a smear of mud on the bottom of his boot, but took my armor from me. I earned a second, more scornful look when he saw my boots didn’t have bottoms at all. I’d gotten used to that look, at least.

I did smile a bit at the look in his eye when he saw the matriarch’s scales layered across the cuirass’s top. His handiwork, of course. They were an upgrade unlike any I’d ever seen before, and if even he was impressed by them, well…I owed even more to Avira for taking me along on the challenge.

After the leatherworker it was the alchemist, to replace the potions I’d poured down Myles’ throat, and then the artificer. I needed a fresh kit for my aerial unit, if I was going to be spending any length of time abroad. I’d gotten pretty good at repairing the thing myself, but…there were limits.

And then, only then, did I finally trudge into the imbuer’s hall, worn and exhausted. I’d left Nella with Myles, at least. If I’d carried her around the whole day, I’d no doubt be even worse.

A pale hand raised into the air, gesturing for me. “Ah, there you are, lad. Come, come. They’ve got an opening.”

I forced a smile at the sight of Avira beckoning for me. There went my few minutes of downtime to get off my feet. Well, I’d be sitting while the imbuer worked, at least.

Trudging forward, I waved. “Coming.”

Turning on her heel, Avira led me straight through the doors into the back wings, following after a blue-clad guild clerk. I expected her to turn into one of the smaller rooms—but the one we were ushered into was larger, with a pair of chairs side by side.

“If you will,” the clerk murmured, gesturing toward the chairs before darting out again.

Didn’t have to ask me twice. I sat, glancing to Avira. “So…How’s the preparations going? We still on schedule?”

“Aye,” Avira said, sinking back against the chair. I got the feeling she’d been on her feet most of the morning too. “The ship’s docked and loading right now. The delegation will meet us at the wharf.” She eyed me sidelong, a tiny smile on her lips. “I dare say the minister was a mite surprised. I don’t believe he expected us to have a solution to offer that didn’t involve accepting their help.”

“Well…We’ll do our best,” I said, smiling back at her. That smile faded, though, my mood turning darker. “But…Avira, you know that if things continue getting worse, we might not be able to hold out on our own. I mean, not us, but…the guild. If the direction we’re heading stays true, we may not have a choice about all this. We might have to accept their offer, eventually.”

Avira nodded begrudgingly, looking down. “That’s…aye, lad. I’ve had the same thought.” Slowly, she brushed her hair back behind her ear, stealing a yellow-eyed glance back up at me. “Worry not. The Hunter’s Guild exists to protect the people of Aradhen. If we cannot do that, then we’re worth naught at all.” Her chest rose as she took a breath, her hands balling up. “If the worst comes to pass…I will do whatever is necessary to keep our people safe. We’ll sort out any problems that creates with the crown…later.”

I nodded, mollified. “Yeah.” It wasn’t that I doubted Avira, or her commitment to the guild. But she could get a bit single-minded, and…as much as I loved her, I needed to hear it from her lips. That she understood the real stakes here, and wouldn’t let her own history get in the way of making good choices as the guildmaster.

Reaching out to squeeze her knee, I smiled. “We’ll get it taken care of, Avira.”

Her reply was cut short by the sound of footsteps approaching. A pair of figures swept through the doorway. One, I recognized—Bylas, the treant imbuer I’d worked with before. He gave me a warm nod, his frond-like hair tumbling unbound past his shoulders. “Trellin.” Despite myself, I found my chest warming a little. He remembered me.

The other was a young woman I’d never seen before, with platinum hair worked back into a long, intricate braid falling almost to her waist. She grinned nervously as she entered, dropping into a curtsy. “A-Ah. Good morning, guildmaster. Shadow Trellin. My name is Nivarre.”

“It’s just Avira,” Avira said, waving her off. I pressed a hand to my face to hide a grin. She’d been saying that a lot since she took the gold-tag. It hadn’t stuck yet, and I wasn’t entirely convinced it ever would, but that didn’t seem to stop her from trying.

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The woman bobbed her head, straightening, but still wouldn’t quite meet Avira’s eyes. She looked to me instead, and I flinched. Her eyes were as yellow as Avira’s—and that was the final cog I needed to place who she was, and why she’d have shown up at our imbuing session.

“Now, what is it that we can help you with today?” Bylas said, smoothly sliding in as the greeting ended in silence. “The clerks said something about a new bonding band?”

“Not precisely,” Avira said, while I looked askance at her. A new bonding band? What on earth was she considering? She sat up straighter, gesturing toward me. “The boy’s about to depart on an expedition for the guild. I’ve got no way to keep in contact with him, and I need to.”

Bylas and Nivarre looked between each other. His face was unreadable, but I could see her licking her lips. “Well,” Bylas said, looking back to us. “That’s…There are some limitations that we don’t have a convenient way to overcome. I’m afraid-”

“I’ve heard of something being done before,” Avira said, her expression turning shifty. “There is a farseeing mark, is there not? I believe its name is-”

“Lens of the Lost,” Nivarre said. “Yes. I’ve heard of it before.” She wound her hands together, shifting from foot to foot. “I suppose…You could use it to communicate, perhaps, but it requires a target destination. So long as you know where your shadow will be, you could place the sight window over a parchment and-”

“Hold, now,” Avira said, a wry smile tugging at her lips. “Aye, that’s the mark I’ve heard of. It’s a neutral mark, yes? No class obligation?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nivarre said, quieting. “Ten point anchoring fee. You would both be eligible.”

Ten points, eh? I ran my fingers across my tag. Last I checked, I had 193, so I’d have plenty even after getting the new mark. Even still, the thought of spending my precious aura points on something that would be totally useless in a fight hurt. I tried to tell myself that it wasn’t useless. Sure, I couldn’t use it to cut down a monster or keep an ally alive, but being able to communicate with Avira even while I was in the field would be worth it.

“Yes, yes,” Avira said, nodding along. “Well, see, I had some additional ideas about that.” To my horror, I saw her pulling a notebook from her pocket. Both of the imbuers shrank back almost-imperceptibly, and I cringed. Something told me they loved it when hunters tried to tell them how to do their jobs.

None the wiser, Avira flipped through, opening to a sheet she held out to them. “Mender Silvos was kind enough to hear me out, and sketch a few options,” she said, letting Nivarre take the notebook from her. “He’s no imbuer, but he knows the basics. What I’m looking for is this.”

She laid her hands flat in her lap, tapping her fingertips against each other. “I would like to link Lens of the Lost through our bonding bands,” she said, unblinking. “We’re already connected, he and I, so it should be feasible to use that bonding band as a grounding element together with the usual mark for the ability. That would-”

“That would lock in the ability to have a single destination,” Nivarre said, pulling the notebook closer even as Bylas’s expression turned doubtful. “I’ve…heard of it before. It’s not a common augmentation, but it is known in the registry.”

She started playing absentmindedly with her braid, pursing her lips. “We would use the runes on the finger as the trigger for the effect,” she said. “And then it would be as simple as routing the location through to the band. An adjoining mark between the two, perhaps.”

“It’s doable,” Bylas said. He didn’t sound pleased about it, though. “But a mark like that is highly-specific. It’s not an aura spend we would usually recommend, particularly for a sapling like your shadow. It’s-.”

“That’s fine,” Avira said. She cast a sidelong look my way, a touch regretful. “Sorry, lad. I know it’s not the best long-term investment. But-”

“Being able to communicate with you across a distance is important too,” I said. “I’m willing to try it. I’ve got plenty of points to spare, and, ah…” I chuckled, shaking my head. “If this nightmare situation continues, I get the feeling I’m going to be gaining a whole lot more in a hurry. I don’t mind the ten points.”

Bylas arched an eyebrow, but shrugged. “Very well, then. Take a seat, and we’ll…” He glanced to Nivarre. “We’ll see what we can do.”

At his gesture, I crossed to the one of the chairs, Avira taking the other. At the imbuer’s murmur, we crossed arms, our hands clasped loosely. Just like getting the bonding band in the first place, I supposed.

As the pair stepped forward, though, Avira shifted. “Ah…there was one other thing, sir. Perhaps something we can see to while you’re working on this.”

Already reaching for a needle, Bylas stopped, looking back to her. “Pardon?”

Avira’s eyes flicked over to me. “You’ll be gone for a time, lad,” she said. “There aren’t any imbuers to be found there, it’s a sure thing, and…you’ve progressed a great deal over the last few months.” She chuckled, her fingers pressing gently against mine. “You’re ready for a conversation about the next step. It’s one that I should’ve had weeks ago. It’s my responsibility as your guide, and all.” She made a face. “But, well, things have been so busy and all…but now the time’s run out, and-”

“Avira,” I interrupted. “What are you talking about?” I might not have specifics, but I was excited. Whatever this was, it sounded like moving forward.

I was ready for that.

She nodded, quieting, and locked gazes with me. “You’re a chitin 4, lad. You’re not a novice any longer, and as your guide, I think it’s time your marks reflected that.”

The corners of her lips twitched, and she looked back to the still-watching Bylas.

“I’d like to qualify him for a class augmentation.”