CATCHING UP WITH WALTERand Constance is a good call on top of being a good time. The three of us slowly drain Walter’s jug of beer over the course of the afternoon as they fill me in on all the gossip I’ve missed in Airedale. Who’s gotten hitched, who’s had a kid, scandals big and small. I had all but forgotten that talk travels just as fast in a small town as it does in the Crux.
“Roads were busy as hell on my way up,” I say casually as I gather up the loose cards. I taught them both how to play Ahn Nas, though we’re only betting for crispy dried peas. “Busy season?”
“Oh, it’s been busy, alright,” Walter says gruffly as he tops off my cup from the jug. “All sorts of folks have been passing through on the way to Frostcliff.”
“What sorts?” I ask as I start to shuffle.
Constance waves a hand, her full cheeks adorably pink after her third cup. “Sword-carrying sorts. Free soldiers, even a few mercenary groups. We’ve been getting a trickle of them for the past month.”
“Any idea what the trouble is?” I ask as I deal the next hand of cards.
“New bandit crew in the area,” Walter says as he takes his. Over the past two years, his tells sure haven’t gotten any better, and he smugly places his bet of five peas.
I fold on my dud of a hand with a scowl as Constance says, “Unless the godsdamned Wolves have come back, this is far too many swords for bandits.” She sorts through her hand before she calls her husband’s bluff. “I think something bigger’s brewing.”
My heart sinks when I realize she’s right. I haven’t heard from Olbric in weeks, and there’s no telling what’s gone on at the talks. They could have already fallen through and I would have no way of knowing.
I think of Jessic and his crew heading towards Frostcliff. The city isn’t bolstering their numbers for no reason. No, they’re preparing for a fight, but unless the Immen King’s a full idiot, he won’t dare start a conflict at the onset of winter.
“I... think it might be,” I say, and aside from the fire crackling in the hearth, the kitchen goes very quiet. I give a faint smile as I meet their concerned looks. “Listen, I ain’t trying to scare you, but trouble’s been brewing with Immenbach. There’s no guarantee of war yet, but... by spring it might be.”
The two of them share a look. Immenbach is just over the mountain, which means that if something happens, the mountain towns will take the brunt if it breaks into a conflict.
Walter discards again, clearing his throat. “Well, if something happens, we’ll be ready,” he says with a faint smile. “Thanks, Wizard Dominai.”
“It’s Master Dominai,” I say without thought, and wonder when that became the knee-jerk answer.
“Ooh,Master,” Constance says before she shows her hand. It beats Walter’s easily, and he groans as she gathers the pile of peas before popping one into her mouth. “Can you show us some?”
“What - magic?” I ask through a laugh.
“What else?” Constance says. “I’ve never seen any done before.”
“Yeah! Show us something. Just a small magic,” Walter says as he snatches a pea from his wife’s palm.
I’m just on the other side of tipsy, but my magic hasn’t gone sideways in a while now. I’ve got a low level spell I could spare for a small bit of wonder.
I hold up a finger before I reach into my pack on the back of the chair. Olbric would give me an earful about not wearing my spells, but as I pull the strands free of my pack, Constance’s face lights up.
“Oh, they’rebeautiful,” she says, reaching for one as I set them on the table. They’ve all been thoroughly cleaned, but maybe it’s because most of those have been in intimate places that I have to fight the urge to pull back. I resist, barely, as Constance lifts a ring.
“Gods, Constance, d’you always go around grabbing glowing shit?” Walter frets, hands itching like he wants to grab hers off of my spells.
I chuckle as I take the necklace from her before feeling through it, picking out a low level evocation I cast with Olbric last winter. For as much as he complains about the cold, he sure enjoyed me writing on him with an icicle.
“It’s alright. Unless you’re hiding magic in your blood, it won’t work for you,” I say before I release the spell in a pop of snowflakes. Constance lets out a yelp of surprise as the icy magic twirls into a small cyclone over the table.
Their eyes light up, and Constance grabs Walter’s arm, delighted. Seeing that makes me remember what it felt like when I first started studying magic. The sheer wonder of witnessing an impossibility.
It’s like a tiny blizzard contained in the air over my hand. Bits of ice catch the flickering light in a mesmerizing dance, yet as I blink, the warm glow shifts. I shiver, my breath misting in front of me as I’m suddenly surrounded by a cold, pale light.
A shout makes me whirl, and my stomach drops at the sight of Lucien standing in front of the crossed magiline pillars. And a shackled Reneta struggles in his grip.
“Getoffof me!” she snarls. Lucien is taller than the small woman, but his grip falters as her foot connects with his shin.
Ren tries to run, but Lucien snatches her by her long braid. She cries out in pain as she’s pulled to an abrupt stop before Lucien wrestles her back towards the pillars.
“Lukas -Lucien.You don’t have to do this,” Ren says, voice pleading.
