Lucinda was awoken before dawn by Waflaw shaking her shoulder. At her mentor’s suggestion she hadn’t over-exerted herself the night before, but as well as showing off Marrow’s capabilities, she had demonstrated the versatility of her new summoning spell, and even ranked up Lynx form to rank 2.

After eating a quick breakfast and dealing with the other morning necessities, Lucinda spent several minutes explaining the situation to Marrow of how she needed to remain with Wollow outside of the city for the day. It wasn’t easy convincing her, but with the help of a bone or two, an understanding was eventually reached.

A short trip through the forest brought Lucinda and Waflaw within sight of the road just as the first few rays of sunlight made themselves known. The road was quiet for a time, but before long they were joined by other travellers who were predominantly heading in the same direction towards the city.

Despite her aerial viewing of the gigantic footprint of civilisation that was the location for the upcoming gladiatorial games, Lucinda’s sense of wonder remained strong as they approached their destination. The pale stone walls that surrounded it, were without question, the largest she had ever laid eyes upon. Little was visible beyond them from the road, except for the large stone keep that could be seen in the western part of the city interior.

Signs of just how busy the city was were evident even outside the walls, as on both sides of the road, several collections of tents, carriages, and wagons had congregated upon the flat grassy land, while the large gated entranceway to the city had a queue of visitors waiting to enter. For Lucinda, it was an unpleasant foreshadowing of what was to come, yet it only minutely diminished her determined enthusiasm.

Once past the excessively shiny armoured guards, Lucinda walked closely in step with her mentor as they forged a path through the bustling streets towards the arena itself. The mostly circular building was indisputably gigantic – at least in terms of the space it occupied – but it did not extend much above the surrounding buildings in terms of height.

“How did they build something so huge?” Lucinda asked as she marvelled at the sight of the impressive building. “It must be almost half as big as Kloip.”

“I’m not sure it’s quite that,” Waflaw replied with a dismissive chuckle, as he too examined the arena. “But, as to how they built it: A combination of time, gold, and skill, you’ll be unsurprised to hear.”

Another glance over the thick stone pillars that supported each of the arches along the building’s exterior was all it took for Lucinda to agree with Waflaw’s assessment, and dismiss the faint idea that a construction of such size should be expected to collapse.

“Come on, let’s head inside.”

The main entrance was immediately obvious, and a short walk was all it took for Lucinda and Waflaw to enter the arena’s guest welcoming area. A series of desks lined the walls within, each of which came with an accompanying clerk, while a small number of other individuals filled up the intervening space.

“Hello!” a blonde-haired female clerk greeted as Waflaw and Lucinda approached. “You’ll be sad to hear we don’t start for another two hours. Unless there’s something else you require?”

“It’s been some time since my last attendance to an event like this,” Waflaw offered in reply. “Do we need tickets?”

“For the better seats, yes. However, tickets are all sold out I’m afraid. But, the two outermost rings of seats are open for all comers. Just make sure you’re here when the gates open!”

“Right, thanks, we’ll do that.”

Back outside, Waflaw led the way through the streets into other parts of the city. Lucinda’s desire to more closely observe the various street performers she had spotted as they’d travelled through the city was hard to ignore, but she had no real excuse to put off visiting a magic shop first. They found such a store without difficulty, and like everything else in the city of Sporga, it was undeniably grander in every sense of the word compared to previous shops Lucinda had seen.

Unfortunately, Waflaw’s assurances that the other city occupants would be far too busy elsewhere proved to be false, and a wait of almost a dozen minutes was required before Lucinda made it to the desk with Nassach’s gift in hand. Placing the requisite five silver coins upon the counter, the reasonably young, but visibly stressed Wizard cast the identifying spell without preamble, before proclaiming the results.

“Preserves food. Next!”

Lucinda was almost immediately barged aside by another patron, precluding any further question asking she might have had, but the news was still welcome.

“I was worrying for nothing,” Waflaw offered once they were back outside.

“Now that I know about cursed items, I don’t think so at all!” Lucinda replied hastily. “I am glad though. It’s quite useful.”

To accentuate her words, Lucinda flipped open the lid of the box and helped herself to a few of the preserved berries within. As she munched upon the sweet treat, Lucinda was given free rein to direct their city wandering towards any destination she preferred, and she wasted little time in doing just that.

The first destination was home to a group of people who were wowing onlookers with impressive feats of manual dexterity and eye coordination that took the form of juggling. Lucinda’s own experience of observing the skill was minimal, making the spectacle something that easily held her attention. Of course, there was far from only a single group of that particular kind of entertainer, and Lucinda soon dragged Waflaw onwards towards any and all variety of jugglers that managed to catch her eye. However, one clear winner did emerge before long, which was a group of four individuals who stood in a square formation and seemingly at random threw their own items to one of the three others.

Waflaw eventually managed to convince Lucinda to move on some timer later, though not before a strong desire to attempt juggling in the future had taken root deep within her being. Past crowds, both small and large, they walked, while a chorus of laughter and music filled the city air. Several musicians with instruments Lucinda did not recognise were well worth an investigatory minute or two, but it was the sweet smells from a certain stall that really grabbed Lucinda’s interest. For just a few coins, she was provided with an apple on a stick, that was coated in a delectable mixture that smelt predominantly of honey, and a single bite was all it took for Lucinda to happily declare she had found a new favourite food.

As the time to return to the arena edged closer, a particularly large crowd of people drew Lucinda and her mentor to a new form of entertainment. A lone man stood before the throng, and with a few flourishes of his hands, he revealed himself to be a Wizard capable of changing his shape. However, unlike the almost entirely male crowd, Lucinda was less than pleased to see the result of the spell cast, which transformed the man into a creature with the lower body of a snake, and the upper body of a naked woman.

On the way back to the arena, Lucinda caught sight of a few more interesting acts, including several people that were in the habit of eating fire, and even one woman that had taken things a few steps further by setting her entire body on fire. But, with the main event of the day soon to start, there was little time to tarry, leaving Lucinda somewhat regretting their late arrival within the city, even as her excitement for the games grew ever larger.

“Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, welcome to another spectacular showing here at the largest arena in Chakog’mar and the surrounding kingdoms!”

Seated next to Waflaw and fairly tightly packed in with a number of other people, Lucinda had a clear line of sight to the sandy arena floor, though the distance was almost a problem. The owner of the voice announcing the beginning of the event was nowhere to be seen, but with the magical amplification carrying it to her ears, it mattered little.

“We have the most exciting line up in store for you today! Featuring some of the most talented men and women you’ll likely ever lay eyes upon!”

Though Lucinda was as excited by the announcer’s continuing words as much as anyone else present, she still let her eyes roam away from the arena centre. The interior of the building was as large as she had expected, but fairly simple in construction. The central sandy area was surrounded by a high wall on each side that looked to be about the height of two to three men at least, while above on the step-like incline, the spectators sat in neatly descending rows.

Lucinda had been completely uncaring about the matter of tickets, at least until she’d spent a few minutes sitting down inside the arena. Her and Waflaw’s seats were, in fact, nothing more than the stone that was the arena itself, which was a far cry from what the luckier individuals nearer the centre rested upon.

It was as the announcer seemed to be getting to the actual start of the events, that Lucinda finally gave in to the ever-present discomfort she felt from the stone beneath her. Removing her travelling cloak from her pack, she folded it neatly before sitting upon it.

“Without further ado, let us begin!” the announcer’s excited voice boomed out, bringing several cheers from the myriad spectators, which Lucinda quietly joined in with. “Today, for your viewing pleasure, three groups of brave souls will face off to determine which of them gets to challenge the Sporga Gauntlet! And believe me when I tell you we have the most incredible line up chosen for this event! Ah, here are the teams now!”

It was a few moments more before the teams became visible from Lucinda’s viewpoint, but that only served to increase the anticipation she felt.

“Out first: the Stone-Shrouded Sisters!”

The first group was comprised of three women that looked identical. They each wore a set of full plate armour; carried matching swords, which were long and straight; matching shields, that had a flat top and sides that eventually curved downwards into a point; and had their dark hair cut short. Lucinda was too far away to make out any facial details of the three, but she soon realised that wouldn’t have mattered anyway, as the ‘stone-shrouded’ part of the group’s name turned out to be a literal description of the grey masks covering each of their faces.

“Don’t let the masks fool you, they are as beautiful as they are deadly! And here comes our second group: the Wood-Wearing Wanderers!”

Lucinda’s attention was inevitably drawn to the faces of the second group as they appeared, easily confirming her suspicion.

Of course, I should have expected they’d wear masks!

“A formidable trio of well-trained fighting fellows let me assure you! But, there’s still one more group to come.”

The noise from the arena spectators had hardly diminished since the announcement of commencement, and Lucinda found herself smiling in continued anticipation even as she inspected the second group more thoroughly. Unlike the first, they were far more varied in terms of appearance, with the members respectively wearing plate, leather, and cloth for armour. Their wooden masks hid most of their faces, but Lucinda was reasonably sure the group was entirely male.

“And last but not least: The Metal-Masked Marauders!” the announcer bellowed, bringing the cheers of the crowd to new heights that closely matched Lucinda’s own jubilation.

The final group consisted of one plate-clad and two cloth-adorned men. With the crowd cheering, and the participants slowly circling the arena for their benefit, Lucinda more carefully investigated the armaments of the groups.

The men in robes are obviously Wizards… Unless they have other armour hidden underneath? Leather wearers could be a number of things… But, there’s no animal companions I can see, and no ranged weapon, so maybe just a Rogue? That just leaves all of the plate wearers…

While the robes worn by the magic-wielding gladiators were varied in design, from Lucinda’s seat the plate armour sets of the five thusly adorned participants were largely identical. However, the same was not exactly true for their weaponry, as the second group’s heavily armoured member sported a large two-handed club, while the similarly attired member of the third group was wielding a weapon that took Lucinda a few short moments to identify as a halberd.

After the groups had walked a lap of the arena floor, they departed back out through the exit Lucinda could only imagine existed. The crowds cheering diminished slightly, but the announcer’s voice took over almost immediately.

“I know you are all just as excited as I am to witness the upcoming matches, and believe me we’ll be getting to that just as soon as the teams are ready! In the meantime: The rules! The teams will face-off against each other in a head-to-head style, meaning we’ll be witnessing not just one, but three intense battles, the likes of which you’ve never seen before!”

A new surge in the crowd’s overall volume met the magically amplified claims of the announcer.

“Fights will be judged not only on who beats who, but also their entertainment value. Something I’m sure you can all appreciate! Am I right?”

“Yeaaaaaaah!” a chorus of voices responded, which Lucinda added her own quiet cry to.

“Finally, in the interest of keeping things fair for our gladiators, and providing the very best experience for all of you wonderful spectators, the following are banned: External interference of any kind, direct attacks above the shoulders, use of any potions, and most importantly, killing.”

Oh… I didn’t even think about that… That’s a relief…

A quiet sigh of relief escaped her lips, before sudden movement from her right brought her eyes to Waflaw, who was smiling at her with one eyebrow raised in a way that left her feeling faintly embarrassed.

Of course he wouldn’t have brought us here otherwise… Or he would have warned me first!

“…And here they are for the first match! Give it up for the Stone-Shrouded Sisters, and the Wood-Wearing Wanderers!”

Lucinda fought an urge to bring her hands over her ears as the crowd erupted into raucous shouting. The two selected groups of gladiators made their way across the sandy arena as the encouraging cries suffused the air, before stopping on two sides of the exact centre, roughly half-way between it and the walls.

As the three plate-wearing women stood at the ready, opposite the mixed group of men they opposed, the atmosphere slowly changed and the noise gradually diminished. Lucinda’s excitement only grew as she waited with bated breath for the battle to start, and she was sure everyone else within the arena felt the same way.

“Who you rooting for?” Waflaw asked quietly.

Copying her mentor’s method, Lucinda cupped her hands over her mouth and directed her voice into Waflaw’s closest ear.

“The sisters!”

Waflaw’s immediate laughter upon hearing her words was loud, but fortunately, no one seemed to mind. Lucinda herself smiled briefly at him, before turning her attention back to the arena. A few further moments stretched by before the announcement everyone was waiting for sounded out.

“It’s time folks! On my signal we’ll kick this first match off! Three… Two… One… Fight!”

A loud burst of voices filled the air once more as the combat started, but Lucinda was far too distracted considering all the possible ways the two groups might commence their engagement. Still unsure of what exact classes might be present, never mind what they might specialise in, it was almost certainly a fruitless endeavour, though she tried all the same.

However, none of her ideas were even close, as the Wood-Wearing group’s initial strategy turned out to involve vanishing from sight in a brief flash of magical energy. Lucinda’s racing thoughts ground to a halt at the spectacle, and she gasped alongside many of the other watchers.

Waflaw never mentioned Wizards can turn invisible! How are you supposed to deal with that!?

The Stone-Shrouded sisters showed little in the way of concern, though with the masks they wore and the distance involved, Lucinda could only guess by the way the stood their ground with weapons at the ready.

It was only a brief moment after the mixed group had so impressively altered the playing field, that the Sisters revealed one of their number to be a Cleric. The woman in question stood behind her two compatriots, and as the crowd’s surprise turned to be excited murmuring, she began casting a series of spells at a pace Lucinda could scarcely believe.

What level are these people?

The completion of each spell was accompanied by obvious flashes of magic that spread through the three women as they stood at the ready. The colours, patterns, and shapes varied, but Lucinda managed to recognise one of the spells as increasing Endurance, having received its bonus herself on more than one occasion.

After several such spell casts, the trio of women were practically glowing, as was the surrounding ground and air around them.

What’s the other group doing? Can they cast spells while…

Lucinda’s internal musings ceased, as a huge blast of icy magic materialised from nowhere, and along with it an accompanying explosion of noise that easily reached her distant seat. Though, while Lucinda had been caught completely off-guard, the closest plate-clad woman had brought her shield to bear in defence against the magical attack, and she and her sisters seemed largely unharmed as a result.

She stopped it with her shield!?

A brief second was all the time Lucinda had to consider the impressive feat, before the two remaining members of the second group came back into view with devastating results. The large club-wielding man caught the second non-Cleric sister in the side with his weapon, sending her stumbling several paces sideways under the blow; while the Cleric was suddenly assaulted by a pair of daggers wielded by the leather-wearing third member.

With the return of the second group to the realm of visibility, the combat began in earnest, and Lucinda quickly found herself struggling to keep track of everything that was playing out below, even as spectators began shouting out new cries of joy and encouragement. A short close-combat scuffle led to a rearrangement by the sisters, pairing the two non-Clerics – who Lucinda was increasingly sure were Fighters – against the opposing team’s melee focussed members, leaving the Cleric and Wizard to duke it out with spells. Or so Lucinda had assumed.

Curious about the impressive arsenal of magical attacks she was sure both casters possessed, Lucinda turned her attention from the ongoing melee and the frequent clangs of metal-on-metal being produced there. However, the Cleric cast only a single spell, whose effects remained unknown, before dashing forwards with sword held ready.

Lucinda tensed as she feared for the well-being of the robe-wearing man, especially with the rules saying nothing about grievous sword wounds being prohibited, but her fears turned out to be unfounded, as a quick spell cast once more rendered the spell caster invisible. The Cleric’s charge ended abruptly at the change, but she transitioned into casting a spell of her own without delay.

With a temporary lull in the action she had been watching, Lucinda shifted her gaze towards the melee combatants. The four gladiators were still fighting in pairs, with the mace-wielding man pounding against his opponent’s shield with blows that were frighteningly intense; while the dagger-wielding man ducked and weaved about, avoiding sword swings with unmatched grace as he lashed out in turn. To Lucinda’s eye, the fighting seemed even.

Maybe that will change when they start to tire? If high-level people even run out of stamina…

Lucinda spared a brief glance at Waflaw as she considered asking a question of him, but another loud magic fuelled explosion quickly snapped her eyes back to the battlefield. The remnants of a massive chunk of ice were visible in numerous discarded pieces around the Cleric, though she was still standing strong even after the impressive-looking magical attack.

As the Cleric began a retaliatory spell of her own, the Wizard’s visage blurred and then his form separated into several identical-looking copies. Lucinda was happily stunned by the incredible display, and began frantically scanning each of them as best she could for signs of differences. There were none.

However, in just a few moments a series of events took place that dramatically altered the tide of battle. It began with one of the other two sisters, who disengaged from the Rogue she was fighting, to fling her shield underarm towards the Wizard. It was hard to miss, with the shield glowing brightly as it hurtled through the air, but the robe-wearing man was fully focussed on his Cleric foe. Though Lucinda had been unable to determine which Wizard was the real Wizard, the shield-throwing woman had no such difficulty, allowing the strange projectile to violently crash into the unarmoured man with a blow that reverberated through the arena, and sent its target sprawling to the floor, even as his doppelgängers popped out of existence around him.

Lucinda winced audibly along with many of the other spectators, but had little time to dwell upon the injury the man might have suffered, as the Cleric unleashed a spell of her own towards him, and then dashed after it immediately. As the spell hit, and the Cleric pounced upon the still prone man, a sudden magically amplified shout filled the air.

“What’s this? An almost simultaneous defeat of one gladiator from each group!? What an exciting turn of events!” the announcer voiced, causing a fresh wave of cheers to emerge from the arena stands.

The thought that the Cleric had sacrificed herself to end the opposing magical threat appeared in Lucinda’s mind, at least until the Cleric stood up. Glancing back towards the other gladiators, Lucinda soon realised what had actually happened. Separated from his target, the Rogue had instead helped his mace-wielding friend best the other plate equipped woman, who was now hobbling towards the arena’s edge unsteadily in obvious defeat. The Wizard meanwhile, was being carted off on a stretcher, and even across the distance between them, Lucinda could see the blood covering the front of his robe.

With the defeated gladiators leaving the arena, the remaining members of both teams regrouped before resuming their battle. With the Wizard out of the picture, and the Cleric having proven herself to be a melee focussed type, the ensuing fighting was less spectacular in Lucinda’s opinion. Still, the ringing bells of metal objects colliding seemed to keep the crowd entertained, at least for a dozen or so minutes before the mood began to sour.

“Stop bloody healing!” one man shouted out from nearby.

“Don’t be daft. She’s a Cleric, what do ya expect her to do!?” came another voice.

The first man’s complaint was joined by several agreeing voices until the second individual’s voice was drowned out entirely. Lucinda wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about the issue, but the fact that the two remaining Stone-Shrouded Sisters seemed to be slowly wearing their opponents down, rather than flashily finishing things was evident. However, the crowd around her reached a decision quickly, and began booing noisily as the engagement continued.

By the time the first battle finished some timer later, the booing had spread through most of the arena, but it made no difference to the outcome. As many had expected, and Lucinda included, the Wooden-Wearing Wanderers were ultimately forced to capitulate through the steady accumulation of minor wounds. Unfortunately, their victory was met with a less than cheery response, leaving Lucinda feeling quite sorry for them.

Being a gladiator is a tough job…

“There we have it folks, a clear win for the Stone-Shrouded Sisters! We’ll take a short break before the next bout, but don’t go anywhere!”

“Well, what do you think?” Waflaw managed to ask over the burst of murmuring that had begun after the announcers words.

“Fun!” Lucinda replied with a happy smile on her lips. “But, I was hoping for more magic…”

Waflaw laughed in response, as did one or two nearby spectators who’d obviously overheard her. “Still rooting for the Sisters?”

“Ah, I think so…” she admitted quietly, while glancing around almost fearfully.

After procuring some roasted and salted nuts from a passing seller, Lucinda focussed her mind on Marrow as she nibbled on her snack. A quick back and forth was all it took to ensure her bird companion was safe and mostly content, which eased a worry she’d been trying her best to ignore. Of course, the image Marrow sent of her beak wrapped around part of Wollow’s antlers brought on a new worry, at least until she realised it for the joke it was.

The second match began after another announcement a short time later. The teams chosen were the Wood-Wearing Wanderers and Metal-Masked Marauders, coincidentally matching Lucinda’s desire for further magical demonstrations, and she realised likely decreasing the crowd’s lingering ire.

Facing off against the two Wizards and the halberd-wielding man, the Wanderers opted to begin with their illusory tactic once more, though it turned out to be far less effective the second time around. One of the two Wizards from the Marauders unleashed an expanding ring of fire, that shot outwards from just past his two compatriots all the way to the walls of the arena, forcefully removing the opposing Wizard and mace-wielding man's invisibility as it travelled, but somehow missing the Rogue entirely.

With the surprise assault mostly stopped, all-out battle commenced. The strategy of the Marauders turned out to involve the halberd-wielding man doing his best to keep the opponents at bay, while the two Wizards brought their full mental might to bear unhindered. However, although Lucinda did get to witness a variety of highly impressive spells, including roaring walls of fire, monstrously sized fireballs, and large bursts of crackling lightning, it was the Wanderers that ultimately secured victory.

“I didn’t think anyone could get past that halberd!” Lucinda excitedly told her mentor as the two groups departed the arena floor. “Especially with how fast he was swinging it!”

“Brute Strength isn’t everything,” Waflaw replied. “I thought you were more interested in magic, anyway? Or are you planning on taking up the use of polearms in bear form?”

“Ooo, do you think I could hold one in my teeth and swing it about like he did?”

Waflaw laughed loudly at Lucinda’s comment and Lucinda followed closely behind with her own vocalised amusement. After another short break, the third round commenced, pitting the Stone-Shrouded Sisters against the Metal-Masked Marauders.

The battle started off with the Sisters utilising their buffing strategy, but as the first barrage of powerful spells began peppering their defences they were forced to change their plan.

It was around the time that one of the Sisters took a large ball of lightning head on that Lucinda’s attention was drawn away from the fight by a sudden mental message.

“Friend! Bird!”

The image that followed Marrow’s words revealed that the vulture was riding around on Wollow’s back still, but also that a much smaller bird had flown down to rest upon the stag’s antlers. As always, Marrow’s mental images were incredibly detailed thanks to her superior eyes, which helped Lucinda spot the strip of parchment attached to the smaller bird’s leg.

“See if you can get her to remove it without damaging it or the carrier,” Waflaw’s sudden voice said directly into Lucinda’s ear.

“You see the note on its leg, Marrow?” Lucinda sent in reply to her companion. “Can you take it off carefully? It should slide out of the binding.”

“Marrow!”

Lucinda smiled at the abundant confidence Marrow’s mental voice bore, but was startled from her silent communication by a loud roar from the arena spectators. Focussing back on the arena floor, she was just in time to catch sight of one of the Marauders’ Wizards being dragged off the field.

“Friend!” Marrow’s mental communique was joined by the image of the curled strip of parchment resting upon Wollow’s back, that looked only slightly crumpled.

“Good job, Marrow! I knew you could do it! That’s not something Wollow could do either, he’s far too clumsy.”

Lucinda’s kind encouragement was met with rampant enthusiasm and pride from Marrow, further increasing her own mood. Telling her bird companion to hold onto the note for later, Lucinda let her eyes take in the persisting combat once more. Though there was little left to see.

The loss of the single Wizard had naturally shifted the balance of power heavily in favour of the Sisters, and the results were hardly surprising. The Cleric used her own martial skills to keep the halberd-wielding man busy, allowing her allies free reign to assault the remaining opposing Wizard. He did not last long.

Several attempts at fending them off with lightning ultimately failed, and his defensive spells only delayed the inevitable. Finally, the unmistakable sound of bones breaking under a fierce strike of one of the Fighter’s shields spelt the end for the second Wizard, and from there the remaining member was swiftly dealt with.

“And there you have it! A resounding victory for the Stone-Shrouded Sisters!” The announcer’s voice was met with a sea of ecstatic cheering. “Stay right where you are folks, and we’ll have the final results for you in just a moment!”

True to their word, the announcer re-introduced the three teams soon enough, interrupting Lucinda’s imaginings involving the impressive range of spells she’d witnessed, and hoped to one day match or even surpass.

“In third place: The Metal-Masked Marauders!” the announcer shouted, bringing a small cheer from the audience. “In second place: The Stone-Shrouded Sisters!”

“Aww, what?” Lucinda’s disappointed complaint was completely drowned out by another raucous eruption from the spectators, but she did receive an apologetic smile from Waflaw at least.

“Which means our winners today are none other than Wood-Wearing Wanderers!”

Lucinda was forced to cover her ears for real at the intense volume of the crowd’s final cheer, which seemed to continue onwards unendingly.

“Join us here tomorrow. Same time. Same place. Where our new champions will face off against the Sporga Gauntlet! It’s going to be the most exciting thing you’ve seen all year! Count on it!”

Filing out of the arena with the rest of the spectators, Waflaw led them to a tavern that was en route to the city gate they’d entered from. The interior was packed, much as Lucinda and her mentor had both expected, but that didn’t stop them from procuring some stew using two bowls from Waflaw’s pack.

A reasonably short trip back through the surrounding land reunited Lucinda with Marrow, and Waflaw with Wollow. Lucinda’s animal companion was thrilled to see her again – which was obviously mutual – whereas Wollow seemed completely indifferent.

Sitting back against a tree, with her bowl of re-heated stew in hand and Marrow on her lap, Lucinda watched Waflaw as he read the note they had received.

“It’s from the Druids?” Lucinda asked.

“Naturally,” Waflaw returned as he continued to read, compelling Lucinda to try a mouthful of her food.

“Oh…!” Lucinda gasped as she swallowed down the spoonful of the interesting dish. “What did she say this was?”

“Spicy bean stew, I think it was. Not to your liking?”

“No… It’s just quite spicy!”

“Hah, can’t handle your spice?” Waflaw returned with a smug grin. “Let’s see…”

Waflaw took a large spoonful of his stew and shovelled it into his mouth in a clearly uncaring manner. However, Lucinda was pleased to see her mentor’s eyes shoot wide in alarm after just a few workings of his jaw, and by the time he swallowed it down with visibly heated cheeks, Lucinda was giggling quietly at his expense.

“Hah… It is a bit spicy,” Waflaw agreed as he helped himself to a swig of water. “Want me to go get something else?”

“Mmm, that’s okay. I kind of like it.”

“…Are you sure?”

Lucinda laughed more loudly. “Are you sure?” she countered, causing Waflaw to chuckle briefly.

“Anyway, this letter,” Waflaw said. “Looks like everything is set, or will be shortly. After tomorrow’s games, we’ll have just under a week to make our way east.”

“I can’t wait!” Lucinda replied excitedly. “For tomorrow, and the Druid gathering too!”

“Glad to hear it. Now, how about some training once we’re done eating?”

“Sure! Though, can we explore the forest a bit too? Marrow sent me some nice images, maybe Wollow saw them too? Like that small stream with the mini waterfall?”

“If only Wollow could appreciate scenery.” Waflaw shook his head in obviously feigned sadness. “But, I see no reason not to. There’s still plenty of daylight left for some wandering.”

“Yay, thanks!”

“Let me just finish my stew…”

Waflaw’s tone brought a smile to Lucinda’s lips, and with her bowl far emptier than his, she couldn’t resist retorting.

“Can’t handle your spice?” she asked with a playful grin.

Waflaw eyes narrowed as he made to respond. “You know, that Cleric demonstrated a very effective use of the Hold spell, but maybe you’d like to see my take on it?”

“Ah… No, that’s okay…”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes… Because, then I’d have to have Marrow spit acid at you!”

Waflaw barked out a short laugh. “I suppose there is that. Not that I’m overly worried, but I wouldn’t want to damage my robe… Perhaps some other time then.” Waflaw’s concession was joined by an amused wink. “Come on, I’ll finish mine while we walk, and you can give me your evaluation of each battle from earlier, including how you think each gladiator did.”

“Okay!”

Lucinda encouraged Marrow to climb back up on Wollow’s back, before falling in step beside her mentor as they set off deeper into the wilderness.