Joth Windbane? Here? As Isa gaped, both men glanced in her direction, no doubt drawn by the movement of the canvas. In the second before the canvas flapped shut, Isa and Joth locked eyes. Isa saw shock and perhaps fear on Joth’s face.

She hurried along the side of the building to the entrance. No more than five seconds had passed, but when she entered the shop, Isa saw the blacksmith standing much as she’d seen him in the brief glance through the window. “Where is the wizard?” she said. “Joth Windbane. Where is he?”

The man put his hands on the table in front of him but didn’t reply.

“Look,” Isa said. “This is important. We’re old friends.”

“Don’t know the name.” The words ground out of the man’s mouth as if each syllable caused him pain.

“Of course, sure. Maybe he’s using a different name, but the wizard – the man you were talking to just, like a minute ago. That guy. Where’d he go? Did he say why he’s here?” Vernal Fedru’s face flashed in Isa’s mind. “Are there other wizards here? A man with a symbol?” Isa touched her forehead.

Perhaps it was her imagination, but something seemed to flash in the man’s eyes as Isa touched her forehead. “I’m not here to bring trouble,” she said. “Joth really is my friend.” I think.

The man pulled a grimy cloth from his pocket and picked up a metal ring from the table and began to polish it. “I can’t help you.”

“Can you at least tell me where the healer lives? The one with the cat.”

“Only one healer on Mefal. That’s Mimay Surefoot.” He jabbed one grimy finger past Isa’s shoulder. “That way.”

With that, the man turned his back on Isa and began to sort through a bundle of short metal rods. “OK,” said Isa. “Great. Thank you.”

As she walked out of the building, Isa repeated how the blacksmith had said the healer’s name. “Muh-may. Muh-may Sur-fit.” Was it even possible that a healer could restore her age? No one had mentioned that possibility, not even Mery, who knew everything about Varana. But then, the spell that Lund had mentioned to Dulrak – regeneration – maybe that would work for Isa, too. Or restoration. Isa knew there was a spell called restoration. Her friend Felix had used it in their game to cure some swamp disease that Della’s mage had gotten.

Felix and Della, and Michelle, their DM: they were still safe in Portland, presumably. Isa would have to ask Marissa on that point.

About 20 yards from the blacksmith’s stood a building that stretched out easily 300 feet. It had three doorways that all stood open. As Isa got closer, she could see that the doorways were more akin to breezeways, as she could see through to the distant mountains on the other side of the building. The openings on both sides must help facilitate people moving about as they shopped. That was assuming that there were ever enough people to even fill the space to begin with.

Wind blew Isa’s hair across her face as she studied the building. From here it appeared deserted, but then so did the whole town. She’d seen one man on the street when they’d first arrived, but now it was getting near mid-day and where was everyone? Was the town covered in an invisibility spell?

Fuck. Invisibility. Isa turned back to look at the blacksmith shop. Joth had probably cast invisibility on himself before Isa walked in. Wizards can do that spell, probably. And— Isa fumbled for her notebook. “There’s a dispel magic spell. I know there is. Can I cast it though?” Isa flipped to her spells. Nothing on her list resembled a “dispel” spell, but she could get more spells, right? She could take another level of— “Eldritch Knight?” Isa read the words she saw writing themselves across the page.

She gently brushed the words with her thumb so that the notebook would display information about them. She read, “An Eldritch Knight is a magical fighter. Fighters with access to the magical energies of the planes may choose, when the time is right, to follow the Eldritch path. A knight will focus on the mysteries of the wizard schools of abjuration and evocation, learning to create magical barriers, dispel a foe’s magic spells, and evoke the elements to enhance weapons or harm those who would move against them.”

Dispel a foe’s magic spells. That is exactly what Isa wanted to do. “I’m in,” she said aloud. “I want to be an Eldritch Knight.” She’d half expected a thunder clap to follow her pronouncement, but nothing happened, and after a moment, Isa closed her notebook with a snap and put it away. She’d talk with Alice tonight about what wizard spells to study.

Now, to see about getting her ten years back.