{-Noa-}

His mother would go on little trips, every now and again—coming back with stories of what she did. Aymer always walked away after greeting her, because he hated to hear those stories; how close she was to a giant snake in the forest, or how she fought off a bear in the mountains. Thinking about it now, they were probably mostly exaggerations. But… Noa had always looked up to her. He wanted to do those kinds of things, too, when he was a little older. She’d promised to show him how to wield a spear, and even said she’d give him hers when he was ready for it. Of course Noa never brought it up again after she died—he knew Aymer would shoot down any suggestion before it was even mentioned.

It was almost amusing, how Noa almost forgot that. Until he was here, in the forest, fully aware he had nothing to offer the group aside from Aymer’s money and one more person to protect.

But it seemed that Rennyn was just as against the idea as Aymer would’ve been. So, like with Aymer, Noa kept himself from trying harder.

“I think this should be the last one,” Lyrei remarked. She looked over the list, which over the past hours had more and more things crossed out. “Yeah, it is. Queen Vaeri was right—even with the small distraction, we can get back to Zaitha before nightfall.”

Rennyn gave a small nod. “Then let’s get this and start heading back. Queen Vaeri has the answers we need, we shouldn’t keep her waiting.”

Noa noticed something else, though, as Lyrei pointed to the right plant and Kaylin walked up to pick it. For a moment, he debated if he wanted to say anything at all. He knew what would happen if he did, but… he didn’t want to know what happened when he didn’t, either. So, cautiously, he announced, “I think I saw Ether.”

“One of Dhymos’s minions are here?” Rennyn, having just started relaxing from the wolf encounter, was now back on guard. He looked around through the trees, and what he didn’t see seemed to bring no more comfort than what he did. “Are you sure?”

“I-it was just in passing, but I think so…” Noa mumbled, forcing a nod to appear more confident. “Someone like that doesn’t exactly blend in with the surroundings…”

“What direction was she heading in?”

Noa gave a wide gesture towards where he saw her.

Rennyn glanced back at the others and announced, “We have a slight change of plans. We have to see what she’s doing here.”

“Do we really need to?” Seldir asked, though not without a hint of caution. “We have everything we came out for—we’ll get to Zaitha before sundown only if we don’t take any more detours. And we’re not exactly prepared for a night in the forest.”

Rennyn shook his head. “We need to know if they’re planning anything. It could be like the summoning ritual before—and that’s something we shouldn’t leave alone for long.”

Kaylin, perhaps acknowledging both arguments and trying to stay neutral, attempted, “Are there other towns closer to here than Zaitha? Somewhere we could, theoretically, stop at once we finish seeing why Ether’s out here?”

“I guess, depending on how far you go,” Seldir answered after a moment’s consideration. “But it’s still not going to be anywhere ideal…”

“Well, I say we should try to follow Ether,” Lyrei decided confidently.

Seldir half-jokingly questioned, “So you can see whether or not she’ll tell you how she has those powers? Or hope they monologue about how the summoning ritual works?”

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“Of course not. I’m just interested in making sure they’re not going to start any trouble.” Lyrei’s indifferent tone was betrayed by the somewhat embarrassed look on her face.

“There’s no point in wasting time here,” Rennyn urged. He gestured for them all to follow him. “Come on, let’s get going.”

They followed him in silence, aside from an occasional mumble when someone else spotted Ether wandering somewhere else. Eventually, he made them stop near a group of trees, and gestured for them all to stay out of sight. Noa didn’t dare peek too much—he figured, if he could see them, they would also be able to see him—but he was able to tell that all three of Dhymos’s minions were there.

“Why do we have to do this again?” Ether asked with a tired sigh. “Couldn’t we at least have been given the materials this time? My dress is getting all muddy…”

“Patience, child,” Viragi said calmly. “Dhymos does not do things without reason. There is a plan and purpose behind every action.”

“I don’t think you can blame her for questioning it,” Kharis remarked. “We’re here first and foremost because Dhymos said he has what we want. And it’s not like we’ve really made any progress.”

“If you’re implying what I think you are, I’d tread carefully. Dhymos does not take well to duality—consider standing against him, and you will be without anything. He will provide for us—fulfill our desires… you need only be patient. When I was your age, I called tasks like these ‘building character.’ A life without trial must be one you earn, not handed down to you.”

“Trust me, I’m not stupid enough to try to stand against you or Dhymos. We’ve seen what you can do. And… we still have an agreement. He took us up from nothing, so the debt has to be repaid somehow.”

“That’s a good child.”

Rennyn took a cautious step closer, and slowly placed his hand on his sword’s hilt, as Viragi started walking in their direction. The others realized, though, that it wasn’t just in case they were found—he was waiting for a different kind of moment, an opening. Kaylin—the closest of them—put a hand on his shoulder just as Viragi was walking past them.

Their locked eyes seemed to be the means of a silent conversation, until Rennyn relented, and took his hand off the hilt. He stepped back and gestured for the others to follow him somewhere else.

He led them somewhere close, but far enough away that the conversation held by Dhymos’s minions was nothing more than whispers. Rennyn still kept quiet as he pointed out, “I think they’re trying to start another ritual. We need to stop it.”

“But we can’t do anything while they’re still there,” Kaylin whispered more calmly.

Seldir nodded. “We’re outnumbered. Even one-on-one is still pretty one-sided when you’re up against someone who has a spirit’s power—especially if that power happens to be fire. It’s not worth the risk to try to do anything now.”

“But we can’t do nothing,” Rennyn stressed.

Lyrei, cautiously, shrugged. “No one said we were going to. But Kaylin and Seldir have a point, rushing in there now probably isn’t the best idea…”

Noa shuffled and mumbled, “And neither is trying to provoke them into a fight. I thought you were the one that said that doing that was only going to make things worse.”

“Provoking Dhymos is a line we don’t want to cross.” If Rennyn acknowledged the point Noa was trying to make, didn’t admit it. He barely even implied he did. “But if we find ways to hinder his plan, that’s all the better. If things are allowed to stay like that, then more people are only going to get hurt. If you don’t believe anything else I tell you, at least believe that—I’ve done enough in those lives to know it’s true.”

Then, apparently, it was time to change the conversation completely. “Seldir, do you know where the next nearest village is?”

Though not without a bit of hesitance, Seldir nodded. “It’s just up north from here. I think this trail would lead right to it.”

“Go ahead and take Lyrei and Noa there, Kaylin and I will meet you in probably about half an hour.”

“To do what, exactly?”

Rennyn sighed. “We’re going to keep an eye on Dhymos’s minions and make sure they don’t do anything. Once they leave, or if they go for a little bit, we’ll make sure to ruin their progress so far, too.”

No one really seemed to believe his word alone, until Kaylin offered, “I’ll make sure he stays to that. You don’t have to worry.”

Seldir, Lyrei, and Noa glanced at each other, but they seemed to come to a mutual agreement. They nodded, mumbled about seeing them later, and Seldir led the way to the village.