Morgan and Issa sat on one of the new stone benches encircling the hilltop where the Colony Stone rose out of the ground. Actually, it was a Town Stone now. Arthur had explained that the colony had reached a milestone with buildings that had allowed him to expend some System credits to upgrade the stone. Morgan wasn’t sure of all the benefits such an upgrade entailed, but he was glad that the settlement was making progress. There were two taverns in town now, and several aspiring merchants had purchased shop deeds from the council. The “downtown” area around the hill was starting to flesh out.

“Well, what do you think?” Issa prodded.

“Hmm? Oh yeah, I think a bit of traveling would be nice. The town seems to be coming along nicely, and there don’t seem to be any imminent threats. Especially now that that Norton guy figured out a way to make rifled barrels; the militia will be able to hold the walls even easier.”

“Those weapons certainly seem deadly.”

“Yeah. So, did you have any particular destination in mind?”

“Well, I want to adventure. I’ve always wanted to, but I don’t know exactly how to go about it. I’ve heard stories about dungeons, far-off cities, and mysterious creatures - ever since I was a little girl, I wanted to get out into the world. That’s part of the reason I went into the Crucible. I just don’t know where to start.” She huffed out a sigh and scuffed her feet back and forth on the cobbles.

“Well, my mysterious mentor gave me a clue about where I might find a swordmaster to learn from. He even thought I might find more information about my Fighting Crane Style. We could try to search out that place.”

“Perfect! Some traveling, some new sights, a chance to learn new skills - what more could we want?” Issa smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder.

“Hmm, yeah. It’ll be nice to get out on the road with our roladii and not feel like there was a deadline to worry about.”

“Are you going to try another guardian before we go?”

“No, even with my new skills, Tiladia puts my chances at fifty-fifty. I think I want to learn some more before going up there.”

“Good! No need to take unnecessary risks!” Issa said, squeezing his arm, and Morgan nodded. They sat for a while, enjoying the spring morning, then set off to find Arthur Ballard. Morgan wanted to let him know about their plans and ensure he didn’t need anything before they left. He and Issa had already said goodbye to Bronwyn, who was out helping her Urghat followers to deal with some of the fallout resulting from the Urghat horde breaking up.

They found Arthur in the new town civic building that functioned as a meeting hall and council office. He was looking at a large map laid out on a table with Rene Bisset, who had taken Reggie’s place on the council. “Arthur, may I have a word with you?”

“Of course. Just a moment, Rene.” Arthur walked around the table to shake Morgan’s hand. Morgan was pleased when he also shook Issa’s hand. Relations between the two peoples had been good, but he always appreciated it when people went out of their way to demonstrate good will.

“Issa and I are going to do a bit of traveling. I have a lead I want to run down that might help me advance one of my skills, and we just want to see more of the world. I figure we can help to flesh out our maps of the surrounding areas and, if we’re lucky, make contact with more of the inhabitants.”

“Hmm. Yes, we need to get scouts out and start trading more information with our friends in Tarn’s Crossing. I suppose it wouldn’t hurt for you to make your own efforts, though it will leave us down three council members. Olivia is gone, and we don’t know for how long. Bronwyn should be back soon, I’d think, though. Hmm, yes, I don’t have any objections. Thank you for checking in with me, Morgan.”

“Yeah, no worries.” Morgan almost said that he hadn’t come to ask permission but rather as a courtesy, but he didn’t see any point in creating needless friction. He and Issa made their way over to his tower and spent a few minutes with their mounts. The roladii appreciated a good scratch and a fresh bucket of water. Then the two of them went into the tower to make arrangements for their departure. Morgan made sure Ykleedra had plenty of food, and he gave her the important “mission” of helping Tiladia with her translations. Tiladia assured him that Ykleedra had been a lot of help and that she should have some results for him when he returned.

Morgan was going through his belongings, making sure he had everything he wanted to bring for the journey, when he came upon the rapier that he’d taken from the smoldering guardian he’d fought on the third floor. “Hey, Issa. I completely forgot about this rapier, but I’ve been holding it a long time, intending to give it to you. Do you think it’s better than the one you’ve been using?” He handed the thin, shining sword to Issa. She took it in her hand and gave it a few swings and practice feints.

“It’s a beautiful weapon, Morgan. This steel has an orange glow to it - I think it has a lot of Amber ore in the mix. Let me try bonding with it.” She concentrated for a moment, and then a huge smile lit up her face. “Morgan, it has lots of enchantments! It is hardened, has a self-sharpening ability, and has a small chance to inflict burning damage to an enemy when I hit them!”

“Wow, well, happy birthday.”

“Birthday?”

“Oh, yeah, my people customarily celebrate the day of their birth each year. You don’t do that?”

“We have something similar. We celebrate something called a name day - it’s the day you are given a name.”

“You don’t get a name at birth?”

“Some people do. Though most people think it’s dangerous to tempt fate and wait until the infant is older and stronger before giving them their name.” She smiled and reached a hand up to Morgan’s arm, squeezing gently. “Thank you, Morgan, for the gift!”

“Of course!” Morgan leaned down and kissed her. “Let’s get packed and get going. No sense waiting; it’s not even noon.”

They were mounted and riding out the western gate twenty minutes later. Morgan marveled at the freedom he felt - no job, no government thumb on his neck, and no relations to worry about other than Issa, who was with him. Sure, in the back of his mind, he had a little itching worry about Ykleedra and Bronwyn and about the colony as a whole. He’d also grown quite close to Olivia over the last few weeks, and he hoped she was doing well. Of all those, though, the only one he really felt responsible for was Ykleedra, and she should be fine with Tiladia in the tower.

Munch and Issa’s roladii, Gopp, made an easy pace through the game trails in the woods. They stopped in the mid-afternoon for a late lunch of dense rye bread smeared with creamy butter, sliced apples, and cubes of cured ham. “Do you miss home yet, Issa? Do you think about your friends? What do you think they are all thinking about you now, after that duel and you leaving town?” Issa’s face went from relaxed to pensive, and she gave Morgan a frown.

“Really know how to dampen the mood, don’t you?” She smiled to lighten the tone of her words, but Morgan could see it took her some effort. “I do miss home, but I’ve always wanted to get out. I’ve told you that. I’m sure we’ll visit again soon. As for friends, yes, I had some good ones, but you didn’t see them out on that field to support us, did you? Oh, I guess you wouldn’t have known if any of those spectators were my friends, but I’ll tell you: no, they weren’t.”

“Why is that, do you think?”

“Well, I think some of them took it personally when I risked my life to go into the Crucible. My best friend, Hanni, tried desperately to talk me out of it. Then, when I came back with an advanced class and a wild story of adventure, I think some of them felt I was putting on airs, and they slowly started to spend less time with me. When you showed up, I think it was the final straw. Anyway, who needs jealous friends?” She looked down with a frown, scuffing her foot in the dirt.

“Hey, sorry to bring it up, but I know you; you definitely aren’t acting better than them! If they really are avoiding you out of jealousy, I’m sure they’ll come around.” Morgan reached out and held her hand, and they sat for a while, enjoying the slight spring breeze as it whispered through the tree canopy. A bird was singing a bright, trilling song, and Morgan closed his eyes, once more soaking in the unrestrained feeling of freedom.

They continued riding to the west for the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening. As the shadows lengthened and the warm spring air turned to chilly twilight, they were starting to notice that the slope of the forest floor was gradually increasing. As they came into a clearing created by a massive tree that had fallen, Morgan suggested they stop for the night. Issa, ever agreeable, nodded, and they tied their roladii to some broken branches sticking out of the felled giant. They made a small fire outside their tent, which they set up in the lee of the trunk. While they ate a supper similar to their lunch, Morgan asked, “Issa, how close are you to twenty? You’ll get a class refinement at twenty, right?”

“Yes, our advancement seems similar to humans. I’m level fourteen, so I have a ways to go.” Issa bit a large chunk out of the drumstick she was holding. It looked very much like a turkey drumstick, but Issa said it was from a bird called a pultii. When she had described it, Morgan couldn’t help picturing a turkey with yellow feathers.

“Do you have any idea what sort of refinement you’ll be offered? Are you hoping for anything?”

“I don’t! No one from Tarn’s has had the Battle Witch class, so I don’t know what will come. I’m excited, though!”

“Yeah, Bronwyn said your chant was extremely helpful in the Urghat fight.”

“Yes! My chant will strengthen us and weaken our enemies. I’ve also improved my Haste spell, and I’m hoping I’ll get another unique skill soon, before level twenty.” Morgan nodded, and they continued to talk a while about skills, but the conversation soon turned to food and favorite things to eat. Then Morgan asked about music, and Issa said there were ways to get music samples from around the world and perhaps other worlds through the Town Stones. Morgan had never looked that deeply through the miscellaneous categories of items for sale. Issa pulled a small marble-shaped crystal out of her bag and touched it briefly. A haunting melody played on string instruments began to emanate from the marble, and Morgan and Issa lay together in their tent, listening to it for a long time.

The next day around noon, they broke free from the dense woods and found themselves in low foothills sparsely covered in thorny thickets. “The Azure Paladin told me that the citadel was in some place called the Orangerock Hills west of the woods we just left.”

“I’ve not heard of them, but maybe the name is a clue? Perhaps we should be looking for rocky hills with an orange tint?”

“That’s what I was thinking. Let’s follow these hills in a northwesterly direction and see if we get lucky. If we don’t find something in a few days, we can wander back in a southerly direction.” Issa nodded, and they started on their way. They had covered several miles and were getting ready to stop for some food when Morgan noticed some dust in the distance. He spurred Munch up the next hill to try for a better vantage. As he and Issa crowned the hilltop, clanging sounds and muffled shouts came to their ears. Over the next hill, where the cloud of dust hung, Morgan caught sight of a mounted roladii as it ran up the slope and then back down out of sight. “Was that an Ardeni riding that roladii?”

“I think not - the roladii looked too small under him. Should we lay low or investigate?”

“Well, it sounds like a fight, and someone might need help. Let’s check it out.” Morgan didn’t have to try to convince Issa; she was quick to spur Gopp forward, and he hurried to catch up. When they climbed the next hill, the sounds of shouting grew louder. As they crested the top, an interesting tableau revealed itself. Down the hillside, a small, dusty valley spread out for a mile or so. In the center of the valley, several wagons circled a flock of yellow, sheep-like creatures. Standing around and on the wagons were a dozen or so Cadwalli brandishing spears and short bows, and, riding around them, kicking up dust and whooping, were about twenty bright-red skinned men and women on roladii. Issa loudly hissed when she saw them.

“Shadeni!”

“Shadeni?” Morgan looked at her with an eyebrow arched.

“Yes, distant cousins of us Ardeni, but they are nomads and often turn to banditry.”

“Huh,” Morgan muttered, looking at the satyr-like Cadwalli trying to defend their herd. “So, they’re the aggressors here? You think they’ll listen to reason?”

“I don’t know. Shadeni follow an honor code, not unlike the Ardeni, but if they have turned fully brigand, they might just add us to their list of targets.”

“Well, let’s go see if they’ll talk.” Morgan didn’t wait for a response as he walked Munch down the hillside.