“Friend? Bone?”

Lucinda was dragged from sleep by a familiar mental intrusion. Sitting up in bed, she wiped the sleep from her eyes, before focussing on the bond she shared with her animal companion. However, before she could form a reply to the words her unconscious mind only barely recalled, she became aware of Marrow’s position, and proximity.

“Marrow, are you on the roof?”

“Friend.”

Alongside her companion’s returned thought came a not-insignificant amount of attached emotion, that Lucinda took only a moment to realise was loneliness.

“Aww, sorry. It won’t always be like this, I promise. I’ll come out and give you that bone, just as soon as I’ve got dressed. Okay?”

“Bone!”

Smiling at the sudden change in Marrow’s mood, Lucinda returned to her side of the room where she had left her clothes and armour. She had just finished putting on her shorts and shirt, when Waflaw stirred.

“Morning,” Lucinda called out, earning herself a sleepy smile from her mentor.

“Good morning. Someone making demands of you already, are they?”

Lucinda released a short laugh. “She is. She won’t be happy until she’s had her morning bone.”

With a chuckle of his own, Waflaw rose and began dressing. Once Lucinda’s armour was fully in place, she made to exit the room to feed her needy companion, but halted as she neared the door of the room.

“Umm, Waflaw…” she began. Waflaw turned to face her with his head just poking through the chestpiece of his own armour that he was in the middle of donning. “When I mentioned those three people I met in the mountains… Ah, I kind of forgot to mention how one of them treated me.”

Pulling his chestpiece into its proper place, Waflaw’s eyes hardened. “Did they hurt you?”

“No… It was just threats, but pretty unpleasant ones…”

Waflaw shook his head slowly from side to side, with a small unhappy frown on his face. “Some folk really are scum. Had I been there… Well, I’m relieved you weren’t harmed.”

Seeing Lucinda’s continuing troubled look, Waflaw walked over and placed a hand upon her shoulder.

“I wish I could offer more than that, but it’s not really something I’ve had to deal with before. Even my previous apprentices have all been male. No woman has ever tried, or implied they want to try, forcing themselves upon me.” A faint smile crossed Waflaw’s lips. “Excluding one particular apprentice, I suppose.”

Lucinda tried to smile at Waflaw’s quip, but couldn’t quite manage it with the lingering emotions the recollection of her vulnerability had evoked.

“Sorry,” Waflaw continued with a visible wince. “Bad time for jokes. How about you speak to one of the women at this gathering we’ll be going to? I’m sure they can offer better advice than I can on the topic.”

“Ah… Yeah, okay. Thanks.”

“Friend?”

“I should go feed Marrow,” Lucinda said while trying to focus on the present once more.

“Good idea. I’ll be down eating breakfast when you’re done.”

With a nod at her mentor, Lucinda left the room. Her concerns hadn’t been put to rest as she’d hoped they might, but speaking to Waflaw had helped somewhat, and by the time she laid eyes upon her animal companion, her mood had mostly returned to normal.

“Did somebody want a bone?” Lucinda smiled up at Marrow, who was just visible on the edge of the inn’s roof.

“Bone!”

Marrow swooped down and landed softly at Lucinda’s feet. Lucinda couldn’t help but smile, as the bird’s eyes remained fixated on the bone that was just out of her reach. Moving it from side to side teasingly for a few moments, Lucinda eventually gave in and offered her companion her breakfast.

“Sorry about last night. But, it’s going to be like that sometimes.”

“Friend,” Marrow replied with a single word that conveyed unhappy understanding.

Once Marrow had swallowed down the offered bone, Lucinda spent some time petting the fluffy feathered bird. But, she couldn’t hold off the demands of her own body forever.

“I need to go have my own breakfast. I’ll be back soon, okay?”

“Friend!”

A fresh wave of guilt struck Lucinda as the pleading tone of her companion’s mental voice filled her mind. Glancing back towards the inn she was forced to consider her options.

Maybe just for breakfast, they won’t mind?

“Okay… We’ll see if you can come inside. But, you need to be on your best behaviour!”

Sending a series of mental images to help convey her meaning, Lucinda was soon met with an affirmative and happy response from her companion.

“Come on then.”

A very obviously happy Marrow, waddled along behind Lucinda as she made her way to the inn’s entrance. Inside she found Waflaw sitting at a table with two other men, one was old and almost withered in appearance, while the other was middling in years, with wiry dark hair. She made it halfway to the table before a voice stopped her.

“Where do you think you’re going with that bird?”

Lucinda turned in the direction of the counter with a sheepish smile on her lips. “Sorry, but can she sit with me for breakfast, at least?”

The innkeeper stared at her with a most unwelcoming frown for several seconds, before she released an audible sigh.

“If you must. But there better not be any noise or mess!”

“There won’t be. Thank you!”

Offering a thankful nod in the face of the reluctant kindness, Lucinda moved to Waflaw’s table, where Waflaw was waiting for her with an amused grin.

“Lucinda, glad you and your bird could join us.” With one hand he indicated the two other men that were sitting opposite him across the rectangular table he sat at. “These are the two travellers I mentioned. Meet Luigé.” The younger man nodded a greeting. “And his father, Dasorns.”

As the older man’s gaze found her, Lucinda almost took an involuntary step backwards. His eyes were bloodshot and gave a distinct impression of wildness. Sparing a glance at Waflaw, only to find her mentor seemed completely at ease, Lucinda sat down at the table despite her sudden wariness. Shifting her stool backwards slightly, she encouraged Marrow up on her lap.

“Perhaps you’d share your tale with my apprentice?”

“Can do,” the man named Luigé replied. “It’s not overly long, ta tell the truth.”

“The cursed item?" Lucinda asked, before taking a bite of the buttered bread that appeared to be her breakfast.

“Aye, the curse…” Luigé grimaced as he looked at his father. “It all started two and a half years ago. My father was a well-respected scribe, who’d gained many a friend o’er the years. That’s why he thought little of the gift that came one day to his door. A simple green box it were, patterned faintly with trees and such. ‘Course, the box itself weren’t cursed.”

Lucinda felt no small amount of relief at the man’s final sentence, and then kicked herself for immediately assuming the worst.

“What was inside?” Lucinda asked, while the man took a sip of the mug in front of him.

“A crystal. Cursed, as you’ve rightly guessed. And what a queer curse it was.” Luigé glanced at his father with a sad smile. “It was a useful thing ta have. It gave off light you see, a light that was real nice ta gander at an’ all. ‘Course, that was the problem. I went to visit him one day. Found him staring at the thing. Unmoving, unblinking. I managed ta snap him out of it, but the curse had already started.”

On top of the unnerving appearance of the older man, the fact that he had yet to speak did little to ease Lucinda’s discomfort. Fortunately, using one hand to caress the soft plumage of Marrow had a positive calming effect.

“It’d be even less long if you didn’t drag it out so much,” Waflaw said with a side on grin at Lucinda.

“It’s just how I remember it,” the man said in explanation while revealing no hint that Waflaw’s words had affected his emotional state. “As I was saying, it was already too late. The following days, he began ranting, shouting out curses that’d make a lass such as yourself blush something fierce, I’m sure. I thought he was just angry, at first. But, it kept on, and on, and soon got worse. A week later, it was all he could do. Constant cursing, and nought else.”

“But… Did you stop it?” Lucinda asked, sparing a brief glance at the withered old man.

“Oh aye, I did. Eventually. Took a while ta figure out it was a curse, but once I did, I had every Cleric and Wizard I could find and afford take a look at it. None could help, at least not in the way I'd hoped for. But, without options, I had little choice.”

The man took another long swig of his mug, leaving Lucinda mildly annoyed at the sudden pause. With his mug back down on the table, Luigé held Lucinda’s eyes.

“We cut off his tongue,” he said simply.

“Oh, how horrible…” Lucinda replied with a sudden feeling of sickness in her core.

“That is was.”

“Then… focussing on the crystal, or its light caused… that?”

“Aye, seems mad don’t it? Just being focussed on a pretty crystal causing something like that. But, sure as can be, that focussing was what drove him insane.”

Lucinda felt a pang of sadness as she considered the plight of the old man seated across the table from her.

“What happened to the crystal?”

“Back in its box it went, and then off with the Clerics at the local temple. Said their order’d keep it safe, along with other things like it. ‘Course, that was after we found destroying it weren’t happening.”

“I see. I’m sorry you had to go through that,” Lucinda offered.

“Appreciate the kind words. It’s not been easy, and still ain’t even now, but with any luck we’ll find someone that can restore him to how he was.”

“That’s why you’re travelling?”

“Aye, we’ve just been through most of Oradas. Next, we’re off west on this side of the mountains.” The man drained his mug before placing it down noisily on the table before him. “‘Bout time we were off an’ all. Nice meeting you lass.”

“Oh, umm, you too. I hope you find someone that can help.”

Luigé wasted little time in alighting from the table. Helping his father up, they departed towards the back stairs that led to the inn’s guest rooms. Washing down her finished breakfast with some water, Lucinda turned to face Waflaw.

“You’re sure it’s not cursed?” she asked with a grimace.

“Ask me again once it’s identified,” Waflaw replied with a faint smile. “I highly doubt it, but leaving it in your pack until then is probably a safe bet.”

"Yeah, okay.” With both hands finally free, Lucinda began petting Marrow in earnest. “Do we have any plans today? Other than sending that message to the Druid circle?”

“Well, we could do something practical, such as training you and your new companion. Or, we could do something a bit more interesting, say attending the gladiatorial games tomorrow that the locales have been abuzz with of late.”

“Ooo, that sounds fun. Tomorrow, though?”

“Do you see an arena around here?” Waflaw grinned.

“I was asking where it was!” Lucinda shot back.

“A few days travel along the road to the south-east, in the second largest city of Chakog’mar, or so I’m told. Which means we’ll need to travel a bit more swiftly than usual.”

“Only a bit?” Lucinda asked incredulously.

“We can make it in time. However, you do need to be sure you want to attend, as the city will be swarming with visitors.”

“It’s not just a small event then?”

“It isn’t,” Waflaw confirmed with a solemn nod.

“Mmm… I think I’d like to even so. A chance to see what other classes can do is hard to pass up. How will we get there?”

“Wollow has very kindly agreed to let you ride upon his back once again. Though, this time you’ll get to see what he’s really capable of. I meanwhile, will be following in much the same way that Marrow will be.”

“Giant eagle?” Lucinda asked with excitement and some jealousy.

“Yes. You will finally get a chance to see another of my forms in action. If you can manage to look up while you're trying to stop yourself from falling off Wollow’s back that is.”

“…How fast is he?”

Waflaw chuckled heartily. “More than fast enough,” he replied, causing Lucinda to roll her eyes in amused annoyance.

A short time later, Lucinda was standing outside the inn with Waflaw. While her mentor sent off his message, which involved a spell cast and a small bird from the surrounding area, Lucinda worried further about the potential dangers of riding on Wollow’s back. The lack of a saddle, and the unknown speed that she imagined the powerful stag might be capable of, soon pushed her towards considering a new idea, even if the dangers involved were still somewhat evident.

“Can’t I just ride on your back?” Lucinda asked.

“Mmm,” Waflaw’s face said everything Lucinda needed to know about his answer, but she let him continue regardless. “If I had a giant eagle companion, we could manage it. But, my skill at flying is only passable, and I’d rather not risk it.”

“Oh!” Lucinda exclaimed, suddenly recalling a previous idea she’d had. “Marrow can do it! We’ll just need a spare pack!”

Waflaw looked entirely unconvinced by Lucinda’s assertion. “We can try I suppose. Though, I was exaggerating a bit when I said riding Wollow would be dangerous…”

After a brief tour of the village, Lucinda was lucky enough to procure a suitable pack for her idea. It wasn’t a particularly high-quality item, and the interior had a light hint of some foul old smell, but her excited willingness to proceed remained strong despite those facts.

“Are you sure this is what you want? I don’t want to spoil your fun, but it does seem risky,” Waflaw cautioned.

“I just want to test it,” Lucinda replied, while trying to dismiss her own similar feelings.

Standing a short ways from the village proper, Lucinda placed the pack on the ground, and then shifted into her smallest cat form. Approaching the pack, she was met with a far more powerful whiff of the unpleasant smell, but managed to force herself to continue all the same.

“Let’s hope that old saying about cats and curiosity, is just an old saying.” Waflaw sighed noisily, but moved to hold up the pack for Lucinda to clamber into.

With a deft hop, Lucinda landed inside the smelly confines of the leather bag, before righting herself so she could peer over the lip.

“I’m ready, Marrow! Try lifting me up in line with Waflaw’s frowny face.”

“Fly!”

Grasping the pack’s straps in her taloned feet, Marrow spread her wings wide and leapt up into the sky. Lucinda felt a sudden lurch in her stomach as she was lifted off the ground, and clung to the bag’s interior tightly with her claws as a slight hint of her own worry assaulted her.

“How is it?” Lucinda asked her companion.

“Heavy,” Marrow replied, her word suggesting the weight was not insignificant, but still manageable.

I knew it! Although, maybe she’ll get tired before long…

Hovering in front of Waflaw’s face, Lucinda was forced to concede that while her idea seemed possible, it was unlikely to be a terribly comfortable journey. The steady beat of Marrow’s wings, led to respective changes in the pack’s elevation that were undeniably jarring. Though, that didn’t stop Lucinda from releasing a smug mew in her mentor’s direction.

“Let’s circle around the village!”

Lucinda was rapidly lifted higher into the air, as Marrow’s wings began flapping with greater frequency, and it wasn’t long before the frowning face of Waflaw was replaced by open sky. An increasing sense of concern built within Lucinda, but so did a sense of joy do likewise. It still wasn’t quite the flying experience she dreamed of, but it was close.

High up in the air, Lucinda was flown around the village just as she’d asked. The wind upon her feline face was harsh, but the sights she witnessed were far too impressive for her to worry about such things. A few minutes was all it took for Marrow to complete her task and safely lower Lucinda back to the ground next to the waiting form of Waflaw.

“Looked like you managed okay, Marrow,” Waflaw commented as Lucinda emerged from the pack that had enabled her airborne journey. “Don’t let her push you about though. Animal companions sometimes have to set their partners straight.”

“Friend?”

“That wasn’t too tiring, was it? I can still ride on Wollow if it’s too much.”

“Fly!”

“You’re a good flyer I know… Okay, well if you’re sure, we can travel like that. But, we’ll take plenty of breaks along the way. I really don’t want to push you too hard. I promised I’d look after you, and I meant it!”

“She’s fine with it,” Lucinda replied to Waflaw’s warning words, once she’d shifted back into human form. “And she’s more than happy to fly me to our destination.”

“I see there’s no stopping you,” Waflaw conceded, though his expression held a faint smile. “Very well, flying it is then.” Waflaw glanced about their surroundings, then towards the village, before turning back to Marrow. “Stay close to me when we’re in the air, but if you see anything you don’t like the look of, or you start to feel tired lugging our demanding Lucinda around, land without me.”

Marrow looked up at Waflaw, but gave no sign she’d understood, at least externally.

“She’s a quiet bird isn’t she,” Waflaw continued.

“I think all of her kind are,” Lucinda replied. “The only one I heard make any noise in my travels was young."

Waflaw acknowledged Lucinda’s words with a few nods, before stepping away from her and Marrow.

“I’ll need some room for this, giant eagles are fairly big as you might have guessed.”

With a small smile at her mentor’s words, Lucinda knelt down and reached an arm around Marrow, though mostly out of a desire to pet her companion. Waflaw began shapeshifting a moment later, his body expanding outwards at an alarming pace, while feathers sprouted all over him.

“Waflaw. Change!” Marrow sent, as she too watched the spectacle unfold.

A handful of seconds was all it took for Waflaw’s transformation to complete, leaving a bird standing in his place, whose size dwarfed Marrow in every conceivable way.

Wow… They really are giant…

A quick estimation from her kneeling position had Lucinda convinced Waflaw’s giant eagle form was easily half again as tall as she was, while his width from shoulder to shoulder was two to three times her own. He made for an imposing sight, especially with the monstrous size of his beak and taloned feet. His feathers were near black on his back and the outside of his wings, and mostly white elsewhere, except for his tail which was black with three white stripes along it, and his head which was a pale grey in colour. Like Marrow, his beak was hooked and vicious-looking, but the size and darker colour of it, combined with his similarly dark eyes lent an exceedingly vicious tone to his overall appearance.

“Hey, it’s okay. That’s still Waflaw,” Lucinda sent to Marrow, sensing her companion’s unease, though as Waflaw spread his wings, and revealed his full wingspan, Lucinda felt slightly intimidated herself.

Things were then made worse, when Waflaw emitted a piercing shriek of a frighteningly loud volume, causing Lucinda to jump and Marrow to tense in her arms.

He’s the one who’s always telling me to be quiet! Couldn’t resist showing off I guess…

“Let’s hurry, Marrow.”

It took Lucinda some effort to clamber into the empty pack on her own as a cat, but it wasn’t beyond her abilities. Once safely inside, she prompted Marrow to lift off from the ground, who did so without issue. Unfortunately, that suddenly changed when Waflaw too took to the air, as his giant wingspan was more than enough to disturb the air to such a degree that Marrow was buffeted harshly, sending Lucinda’s heart racing as her pack was jostled about vigorously.

Unlike her previous trip into the skies, a number of the villagers had quite obviously taken an interest in the sight of a giant bird taking flight nearby, and with Waflaw’s complete lack of stealth, Lucinda could hardly blame them.

“Waflaw! Fly!” was the only warning Lucinda received, before Marrow suddenly took off.

The ground below grew increasingly distant in a short span of time, as her animal companion followed after Waflaw, who seemed intent on climbing high up into the sky. Watching the large avian form of her mentor, Lucinda could only agree with his reasoning, as to say he was a somewhat conspicuous sight would be an extreme understatement.

As their journey continued, Lucinda passed the time observing the land below as best she could with her feline eyes, and conversing with her bird companion, who seemed quite pleased to be helping in such a way. With her usual cutesy form of speech, Marrow provided both observations and queries of their surroundings, that Lucinda tried her best to appropriately respond to.

Their first break occurred around two hours since departure, with Marrow expressing some fatigue from carrying Lucinda around. Descending into the considerably greener terrain, Lucinda offered pets and water for her companion, and once Marrow was feeling up to resuming travel, they continued onwards.

It was only during their brief trips to the ground, that Lucinda was able to appreciate the noticeably warmer temperature that had emerged since leaving the mountainside village, but it was still a welcome change. Passing over the familiar grass and shrub-covered countryside, whilst skirting around more civilised areas, it was late afternoon when the sight of a massive urban sprawl caught Lucinda’s eyes.

“That’s it! It’s huge!”

“Huge!” Marrow agreed.

However, while agreeing with her so readily, Marrow also sent along a mental image of what she was seeing, which was unquestionably a far more detailed look at the still somewhat distant city. The difference between her own cat eyes, and Marrow’s vulture eyes, was revealed to be absurdly large.

“Sorry, you probably spotted it ages ago…”

A sudden dip in their elevation brought Lucinda’s attention away from the city, but not before she’d spotted the immense circular structure that could only be the arena where the games would be held. Its size was difficult to judge from so far away, but it was clear that it occupied a significant portion of the city. As the ground drew nearer, Lucinda managed only a few more glances at the distant city, before Marrow touched down in a sparse forest.

Shifting back into human form, Lucinda spared only a moment to glance about their surroundings, before retrieving one of her water skins for Marrow to drink from.

“Well done, Marrow! You’re incredible!”

“Friend!” Marrow replied happily.

“You showed Waflaw too, it’s almost like he’s afraid of flying…”

“Fly?”

The intensity of Marrow’s confusion at the thought of being afraid of flying was so strong that Lucinda couldn’t help but burst into laughter, almost causing her to spill some of the water Marrow was still drinking from.

“When you’re done laughing to yourself, we should get moving,” Waflaw said as he appeared beside Lucinda. “We'll head to the city tomorrow, but I'd rather not set up camp here with how obvious my arrival was.”

“I was just saying how wonderfully Marrow did in carrying me here,” Lucinda returned with a wide smile that brought a brief chuckle from Waflaw.

Once Marrow was done drinking, and Wollow had been summoned into the area, Waflaw led them away from where they had landed. For a dozen or so minutes they travelled, with Marrow riding along on Wollow's back, and Lucinda walking beside her mentor. A suitable spot to camp soon came into view, though it was hardly much different than any other patch of the wooded surroundings.

“Do you think there'll be a Shifter taking part?” Lucinda asked as she sat down next to a large fallen tree.

“If there is, I’ll eat my hat.”

Lucinda laughed at the absurd statement of her mentor, and the similarly absurd image his words brought on.

“But, you don’t even have a hat…” she managed as her laughter receded.

“It’s a figure of speech, but I suppose you have a point. How about I dance a jig as a bear instead?”

“Oh, I’d like to see that! Are you good?”

Waflaw smiled as he raised a single eyebrow at Lucinda. “It doesn’t matter, as you’re not going to find out.”

“Aww…”

"Anyway, there's still a bit of daylight left. How about some training?"

"Sure!"

"Just don't wear yourself out, we'll need to be up early tomorrow. Now, let's see… Maybe you can even take on a brown bear at last?"

"With Marrow's help, easily! Oh, did I mention she can spit acid?"

Waflaw's gaze snapped to Marrow, and bore a look of obvious surprise. "No, you definitely did not. But, I'm looking forward to seeing that in action."