“Greetings, Elder Brightsun.” I replied, carefully keeping any show of emotion, whether fear or awe, due to her power out of my voice. Drawing a little on the power of Ice within my body helped a little, the cool sensation helping me keep my voice perfectly level, as if I was merely talking to the woman I had ordered breakfast from, just half an hour earlier.

“And Good Morning to you, Shaman Firebringer.” I greeted the other woman, who gave me a wide smile, somehow managing to send a different kind of shiver down my spine, one of apprehension. I wasn’t sure why the smile unnerved me, but it did so, worse than the sheer amount of power held by the Elder.

“Good Morning, Morgana.” she returned the greeting, her voice pleasant. “You gave me a lot to think about last night. But before we get to that business, I would like to square things up between us, to pay what you are owed.” she continued, making me frown at the mention of last night. I had briefly told Sigmir that I had met the woman, but no details, partially because it simply wasn’t my story to tell, partially because I had simply enjoyed basking in that silent comfort only Sigmir could give me.

“Certainly. You promised information and a useful magical item.” I replied, banishing the frown from my face, keeping things strictly business. At the same time, I decided then and there that our stay in the orc-village would be a short one, even if there were interesting things to explore, like their connection to the Spirits and their magical tricks to make glass.

“Let’s start with the more complicated one. Teacher, could you give them the explanation?” she asked the Elder next to her, her voice filled with respect.

“Yes, Dura, I’ll do as you asked.” the Elder nodded, before gesturing to us, “Please, come here. Do you know how to read a map?” she asked, reaching into her desk and pulling out a large parchment.

Adra and I stepped over, Adra because she was mostly responsible for navigation and I, because I thought I had seen the most topographic maps out of our group. Looking at the map, I was lost for a moment, trying to comprehend it. The map looked relatively crude, a drawing with little detail, let alone the useful delineations of latitude and longitude, or any reference-points I would be able to use, to place it. The only thing I could understand at first, was a compass-rose, telling me where north, other than that, I had to guess. There were light-blue lines, which I thought meant rivers or waterways, but also grey lines that looked quite similar but too straight, making me think that those might be roads, especially as there was one rather solid-looking line that cut through the map laterally, likely the ancient road we had used before.

“Now, this is the Bright Hollow.” the Elder next to us began, pointing out a small star-symbol, near marks that I now realised stood for mountains. Again, the lack of a proper scale was problematic, making it difficult to guess just how large the mountain-range to the west was, but maybe that was something we would learn now.

The Elder continued her explanation, explaining which landmarks we had to pay attention to and how to make our way, into the mountains and further west. The route we had to take was relatively simple, the landmarks sounded like they would be easy to recognize, especially with Lenore and her ability to give us an aerial view, similar to the map we were using. All in all, the place of power, which seemed to be deep within the mountains, in a particular valley, sounded like a place that I wanted to visit, a feeling echoed by Lenore when the Shaman described that there were powerful avians living in the area. Maybe it would allow us to further Lenore’s power, in a way similar to the one we had used when boosting Ylva, with the divine Blood of those wolves. I could feel an eager hunger from her, pushing hard for the journey.

Finally, after some fifteen minutes of explanation and description, both Adra and I were quite sure that we would be able to follow it and find the described place. At the end, there was a warning for us, that there was danger within the valley but despite it, I wanted to head there, as soon as possible.

“Thank you, Elder Brightsun and you, too, Shaman Firebringer.” I nodded to the both of them, a polite smile on my face. The sheer excitement I could feel from Lenore, along my own raging curiosity, was enough for me to consider the information we had just received a worthy reward for slaughtering a bunch of centaurs. But it wasn’t the only reward promised and I’d be a fool if I were to forego a reward already earned.

There was a moment of hesitation I didn’t quite understand, before Dura FIrebringer reached into the magic bag I had noticed on her waist the day before, pulling a gleaming white piece of fabric out.

“And for the other reward, I want you to have this.” she began, shaking the piece of fabric out, revealing that it was a long, white cape, hooded and easily long enough to reach my ankles. There was a definite look of surprise on the Elder’s face, her eyes almost comically wide.

“Isn’t that the Cloak of Shade you brought back from your journey? The one that belonged to…” The Elder asked, her voice matching the look on her face, only to be cut off by Dura, an act of disrespect completely at odds with the reverent behaviour she had shown towards the older orc before.

“Yes, it is that Cloak of Shade. I think it will serve Morgana well, if I understand what I’ve been seeing correctly.” Dura explained, her voice still polite even if her actions hadn’t been. With those words, she turned back to me, holding the cloak out for me to take. As she did, I noticed that the shadows moved strangely beneath the cloak, appearing to be deeper and definitely influenced by magic.

“I noticed that you constantly use magic, trying to keep cool. This cloak is something we, my old party and I, bought when we were travelling across Daiea. It is enchanted to deepen the shadows beneath, warding off the sun to keep the wearer cool and comfortable, even in the heat of the Great Desert.” she explained and I felt myself reach for the cloak. We had earned the reward and she was right, it was something that would be useful for me, quite a bit. The last weeks had been hell and there was little indication that it would get better, especially as we travelled further south. Sure, winter was getting closer but it was still months away.

“Thank you. It is a most thoughtful reward.” I admitted, taking the cloak, feeling the smooth, flowing fabric, even as I borrowed Lenore’s sight, curious how it worked. What I saw impressed me, the magic tightly woven into the cloth, making me think that those who had made it, had created the original fabric with just that purpose, that design in mind. Maybe longer, maybe shorter, but certainly to create a cloak to ward off the sun. Lenore agreed with me, fascinated by the way some of the individual fibers seemed to be a little different, woven in an intricate pattern, but before the two of us could lose ourselves in the study of this fascinating object, I folded it back up, put it into my own magic bag and focused on the present.

“There is one more thing.” Dura admitted, surprising me. The promised reward had been money, which we had been given, the information, which we had received, and finally, the magic item I held in my hand.

“What might that be?” I asked, my face scrunched into a frown.

“Are you certain about that?” Elder Brightsun asked, before Dura Firebringer could answer my question.

“Yes, Elder, I am. Your useless student will have to disappoint you, once again.” Dura Firebringer responded to her, a smile that could only be described as self-preciating on her face, before she took a deep breath and turned to me, reaching into her magic bag once again, her smile turning self-assured and cocky, causing my frown to deepen even more.

“I will come with you. And I will be winning your hand while travelling with you.” Dura announced, pulling a bouquet of red flowers out, pushing it into my hands before I could fully comprehend just what she was saying.