I awoke to Ferrik and Reddan bickering about schools and classifications of magic, and the look of pure, unadulterated annoyance on Vic's face, which I assumed must match my own. As I stirred and sat upright, he smirked at me and nodded in their direction.

"They've been arguing for the last twenty minutes," he says while rolling his eyes in their direction, "and I'm not even wholly aware of what they're blabbering about."

"I can't say I'm surprised," I reply, "my magic and Sarah's come from Nature. Even then, it's still not entirely similar."

I look in her direction, to the empty shotgun seat next to her. She must be either ignoring us entirely or very bored.

"I think I'm going to keep her some company," I tell Vic, "and maybe get a fresh vantage point while we make our way back."

He nods in acceptance as I make my way forward, climbing over the backrest and into the side seat. Taking care not to nudge her or jostle the seat too much, I nimbly take a place next to her in the late-day sun.

"How are you here with the animals?" I ask.

"I thought I stowed all the animals in the back with the gear," the elf says with a sly grin.

"Point taken," I respond, "how are the horses? Are they getting tired yet, or can we make camp at nightfall?"

"I think Dakota and Argenta should be just fine at this pace," she replies, "so we can push on to nightfall. ... Was that everything?"

"The only question I premeditated, yes," I say slightly taken aback, "but not the only piece of conversation I was hoping for."

"Oh, what's on your mind?" she asks.

"Well, for one," I try to broach the subject lightly, "I was curious where you're from. We didn't get a lot of time to really talk before the mission, and the only person I know much about is Vic, since he and I were bunkmates at the academy."

"And you think that I'll share my secrets as easily?" she asks with some attitude.

"Not nearly as easily," I reply, knowing to step lightly, "but I'm hoping we can start small and build some trust. I know as a human I'm not the first person your people have reason to trust, but I was hoping that we could start by simply talking with each other and see what we can build from there."

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"You speak well for a human, and a Ranger at that," she replies with a small smile, "perhaps more so than our Bard."

"You give me more credit than I'm due," I say back, "but to my credit, I do have three sisters. I've learned to speak with a delicate tongue when ladies like yourself are involved."

She laughs and we pass a few moments in silence. Along the horizon, I see a few birds scatter against the late afternoon sky. I point it out to her and we notice by the honking that it must be geese headed for greener pastures or away from some nuisance given their orderly departure. After their cries die down with distance, I hear the bellowing elk to our northeast, more or less on the path we're headed. As I attune to the sounds of the forest we're heading into, I pick up the sounds of the crickets, squirrels, and other critters. I'm getting used to it when a thought occurs to me and I turn back to Sarah.

"Have you been attuning to the environment during your alone time up here," I ask, "is that you've been drowning out those two fools in the wagon while I was asleep?"

"Actually, yes," she replied stoically, "it's been quite calming to just get into the rhythm of the horses and the animals surrounding us, even in the grasslands we just came from. Is that what you've been doing for the last thirty minutes?"

"Thirty?!" I say, surprised, "How did you let me drift off for that long?"

"You seemed meditative," she responded, somewhat confused, "almost at peace. I didn't think it would be right to rouse you from such a tranquil state."

"Well, that makes sense," I say as I shrug my shoulders, "thanks for the understanding, I guess."

"Of course," she says with a wink and a soft smile, "I'd expect the same from you if I'm ever in a trance. That's how we build trust, right?"

Laughing and nodding, I go back to getting used to this forest in particular. There's something about the sounds of nature that bring a serene state of mind in the right context. Unfortunately, that state of mind is broken by a poke in the left shoulder by a large, meaty finger.

"Can I help you with something, Ferrik?" I say as I turn to see the Half-Orc Warlock staring at me.

"What did you two grab from the Magistrate's office?" he questions, like a bored child, "Viclamir won't tell me and I was late to the briefing."

"Yes, I recall, troubles with your Patron or something of the like." I respond more curtly than I intend to, "It was a necklace intended for the Duchess of Kaland that her husband the Duke had already paid for. It seems someone with deeper pockets purchased it before it could be sent, despite the Duke's rightful earlier bill of sale. The Magistrate had it for safekeeping as the merchant's primary business was in Allosin. Our mission was to, what did the Commandant say, 'tactically liberate' the item and deliver it for the party in two days' time."

"And how long until we get back to Kaland?" he asked.

"If we keep on schedule," I form an educated guess, "likely by early afternoon tomorrow. If that's all, I'd like to continue assessing the area, in case anything's changed since coming through this morning."

He nods to me and sits back in his seat. Slumping back into the seat and doing my own meditation, I take in the sounds and the atmosphere around us. An hour later, I have a good sense of the surroundings and the best idea of where to set up camp, based on my memory of coming through the night prior. I navigate for Sarah, and we find a quiet spot on the side of a large pond just outside of the borders of Ris and into Inesenor, roughly a half-day ride to Kaland. I take the time to help Sarah unbridle the horses so they can sleep as well, while Vic and the others gather firewood and food for the night.