Arriving in Mender’s Crossing was a somewhat chaotic affair. There precious little time to appreciate the hustle and bustle of so many supplies needing to be identified and assigned to individuals volunteering to carry them where they needed to go.

Soleil was able to squeeze in a little [Analyze] and [Herblore] skill training during the whole affair. Details about each curative was important when the ingredients involved came from an ecosystem unfamiliar to most of the volunteers present. Not long after the first wave of volunteers, her mother caught onto her exhaustion and pulled her aside.

Veilura hugged her tight before pressing four small wooden tokens into her hands. Each token identified the recipient of the Goodwill on them. These were addressed to both Veilura and Soleil. Upon closer examination, each one contained a description of what the goodwill token had been earned for. The details were not specific enough to keep track of the quantities of goods transported. But anyone she handed the token to would probably be familiar with the person in the village that she had helped. Even if they didn’t, she imagined most would be quite pleased to hear that the local alchemists, healers, and official Houses of Healing had been resupplied with her help.

“How do I know how much I can get with these?” Soleil asked her mother.

She received a smile and pat on the head in answer. “Why don’t you take a stroll through the village and find out?”

Soleil attempted to make a frustrated noise, but it came out as a frustrated yawn. “Is it really too much to get an idea of what to expect?”

“If I came with you, the token would increase in value from my presence alone. There is a difference between cooperating with me once to fulfill a request and being seen as my daughter. One I think you would find frustrating.”

Putting in the effort to look appreciative was hard when she was exhausted, but her mother was worth it. “You’re probably right. There are so many people here. I can’t even begin to think about the balance of needs at play. I don’t think I would want to be spoiled. Not under these circumstances.”

Maeve finished pulling one more box off the cart before wiping her brow. “I don’t think I could lift another one of these. Do you perhaps mind if I… tag along?” Soleil turned to see Maeve jingle a little pouch that caused the little wooden tokens inside it to clack against each other. “I’ve got my own Goodwill saved up from the last time I was here in the valley.”

Soleil shook her head. “Not at all. Is that Goodwill still valid? It doesn’t fade with memory or anything?”

Maeve grinned. “I should hope not. I saved the ones I received from fixing a couple leaking ceilings. I like to think the value of these grows with each passing rain storm.”

Something about that seemed off to her. But how was Soleil supposed to know?

“Where are we headed first?” Maeve asked, letting Soleil take the lead. “Before you ask, about half this village was not standing last time I was here. My job was to ward off some Drakes that wandered into the area. But that was before the bridge was done. So everything on that side of the river is new to me.”

“Well. I’d like to get something that can give me a layout or list of what is here. Before I go shopping, I want to take a peek at the Request Board.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

“If we can get that done, we can discuss our plans over food or while moving our things to wherever we plan on staying.”

“The last one is easy.” Maeve said. “The Houses of Healing double as inns. They keep a lot of bedding on hand for isolating patients. But that becomes a temporary living space during times like these.”

All around Soleil, structures clad in massive petals or bark grew from the ground. Mender's Crossing itself was not so much being built as it was grown and tended by those living there. She could only wonder what it would look like under [Analyze’s] gaze.

The vibrant colors did not end with the buildings.

Clear colors seemed to help members of each faction find and call to their own in a crowd. Sure enough, almost everyone wearing blue or yellow without covering their ears had ones like Maeve’s, so small and cute. Demons were in short supply, but the shapes and colors they came in as individuals made them all memorable.

Soleil’s attention lingered the longest on those adorning themselves in greens and all manner of floral accessories. Just about every other member identifying as acting on behalf of the Grove had one or more visible features reminiscent of some flora or fauna.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Soleil turned to Maeve. Every inch of padding that supported her fitted suit of metal armor was dyed blue.

"Something on your mind, Soleil?" Her knight asked after catching her staring.

“Should I be wary about divides in the factions?”

Maeve had to weigh that question for a few moments. “In general? No. We really do rely on each other for everything. You produce more Magitech than anyone else. Even if it is the North that asks for the most of it. In exchange we are pretty happy to work alongside you, even if most of us find mana terrifying. If anything, the factions outright disagree most often in matters of how to survive in the long term.”

Soleil watched as tokens of Goodwill were freely exchanged for small items. If she watched long enough, she could sometimes see the same token either used in the same place, or passed from one exchange only to become currency in another. On both occasions, time was taken to update the token’s description.

“Why do they call it Mender’s Crossing?”

“This actually stems from Verda’s long term plan. She works very hard to intervene when disagreements arise. Most of these disagreements are settled here, using the Forest or Valley as neutral territory. Last I heard, there was a plan to open up a school here specifically for those who wanted to cross train in skills or with teachers from other factions. As a result, you will probably find more healers and Houses of Healing in this village. It is the primary suite of Classes and Skills the Grove offers.”

"What about [Transformation] skills? I know I’m supposed to be writing Nadir, but are they rare?"

"Uh. Yeah. Your mom was the first I heard of them. Although I imagine the Knight Commander has one. Now that I think about it."

"Now that you think about it? These skills aren’t blindingly obvious?"

"Well. She sorta summons armor and wings onto herself. The skill could technically be a number of things. She’s high enough level that very few want to chance using a perception skill on her. But a [Transformation] would make sense. Alchemists also tend to fight like this, but it is a lot more involved than what the Knight Commander does."

"What else do you know about it?"

"It was a gift from the Everqueen. The Knight Commander claims it was a covenant reward, but no one as far as I can tell has confirmed this to be the case."

"In that case I will have to write Irellia too. Or ask her to pass word along in the message I send my mother Nadir."

Maeve seemed to withdraw into herself at that.

“Sorry if I am pestering you with questions.”

Her knight shook her head. “You’re fine. I’m happy to answer them, really. It’s not that.”

"Oh. Is something wrong?"

"Do you uh, think you could mention me? In your letter to the Knight C-, to Irellia."

The two stared at each other for a moment.

"Actually. Can I request that you forget I even asked?” Maeve fretted with her hands as she spoke, trying to back out of the suggestion.

"You gave me a perfect idea though.” Soleil countered, much to Maeve’s skeptical frown. “I picked up [Sword Proficiency] in part because she was an inspiration. But now I want to tell her all about this brave and cute knight who is helping me raise my proficiency ranks."

Maeve’s cheeks reddened. "I'm not that good. I only raised it to rank 2 yesterday. And who knows what my Knight training counts for? I might have already peaked.”

“Nonsense! You were able to fight what felt like nonstop without relying on mana.” Soleil's eyes widened. "And now you're mana channeling! Soon you’ll be unstoppable!"

Embarrassment caused Maeve to look away. It was not until Soleil followed her gaze that she realized her exclamation had turned heads.

A small group of people in finely tailored blue garments with strange tubes dangling from straps at their sides seemed to be eyeing them from across the street. Before Soleil could ask if she had said something insensitive, the whole group of four began to march in their direction.

Maeve turned to Soleil, her voice falling to a whisper. "Let me handle this. Please?" There had been recognition in her eyes.

Not that the distance meant anything at all. The approaching knights wanted everyone to hear what they had to say. Their leader, a square jawed youth with short brown curls spoke with the most pompous voice Soleil had ever heard. “Well, if it isn’t the peasant who thinks herself a hero. I see you’ve already given up being an Outrider and found yourself an equally lowly Demon to take you in.”

Maeve’s hands tightened into fists. “That’s low, even for you Caesar.”

“Not low enough, evidently. Was your Outrider Unit not due to arrive this morning? Or did this Demon’s cart carry what little scrap that remained?”

Oh. Soleil disliked this knight already.

Caesar turned to eye Soleil with disdain. Maeve turned to look too, but only long enough for Soleil to catch Maeve’s eyes beginning to glow.

A second later, Caesar was on the ground.

Soleil could practically feel the tension in the air as people and mana alike took notice of the exchange. Curious, Soleil fed [Analyze] a point of Focus. The mana gathered around Maeve was acting funny.

Maeve gained knowledge of the skill [Smash.]