Someone had just killed the goblin chief with a punch. She had to think about that one for a moment, but since it was about as strange as the rest of what had happened that day, she decided to just take it in stride.

“Anything else?” She asked.

“It was the last goblin standing, that I could see.” Fen answered, not tearing his eyes away from whatever was happening.

“Our guards too?” He just gave her a shrug in response, so she pressed. “Well, where’d they go?” He shrugged at that too, so she let it go. If he had something useful to say, he would have, and any more on her part would result in something useless and sarcastic coming out of his mouth.

“I’ll see if I cannae attract some attention,” Mister Mougein said into the brief silence that followed. “Be a shame tae get left behind after all o’ this.”

“Hey! Are there people in there?” A youthful and exuberant voice said before their dwarven friend could do more than suck in a breath. They looked at each other in the dimness of the cage, all a little caught off guard. “Hello!” The voice called again when they didn’t respond immediately.

“Hello to ye out there,” Mister Mougein responded, having apparently decided to take charge. She didn’t mind, she had never been very sociable with strangers. “Got three o’ us in here, caught by those gobs. Can ye help us out?”

“Oooh. Nope!” That wasn’t what she’d expected to hear, and she could feel her heart sink straight into the pit of her stomach at the thought that they weren’t going to receive any help. “Mia can’t do that, but sister can!” The voice receded quickly, calling something, and leaving the three of them lost for what to do next in the deepening night. She had no idea what to say, and hadn’t even begun stitching any thoughts together before the cheerful young voice came back.

“Over here, over here! In this ice thing. Can you get them out?”

“There are two of ye, then?” The merchant butted in for a moment, clearly not feeling as nervous as she was. Maybe he was clinging to the strange hope that it wasn’t just a single person and that maybe there really was a much larger group involved, and that he wouldn’t quite need to rewrite his entire understanding of the world. Or so she surmised since it was a feeling she could sympathize with right then.

“Yeah!”

“Hm. Miss Byulla did say there were a few adventurers caught by the goblins recently. That would be you three, then,” said a new voice that sent shivers down her spine.

“Oh, you know Byulla do ya? Aye, that’s us alright. Bit ashamed o’ it, but, well, here we are.” Mister Mougein laughed. She admired the merchant for being so sociable. She had no idea how to speak so casually with strangers. Especially strangers that had saved their lives by wiping out an entire goblin camp.

“Mm.” The cold voiced stranger didn’t seem interested in chatting. “Hey Mia, sweep around the camp and make sure there aren’t any more goblins, then go collect some wood for a fire. Please.”

“Not going back tonight?” The cheerful voice, apparently Mia, whined.

“Sorry, Mia. I don’t think we can with these three in tow. It’s too dark now.” The cheerful voice receded while singing about camp bread, whatever that was. She was more concerned with spending a night with two strangers in the middle of a goblin camp. Strangers who evidently saw them as a hinderance rather than fellow adventurers. She wanted to protest, wanted to say they could make it back to town, but she was too tired and too anxious to say so with any confidence. With their gear damaged, weapons taken, their provisions exhausted, and their bodies in anything but top shape it wasn’t a wrong assessment, either. It just stung her pride. Fen’s too, she was sure, even if he’d never admit it.

“You three, move to one side. Please.” They complied immediately, off balance and unsure what was about to happen. Something hit the far side of the cage so hard the ice cracked. It was a terrifying amount of force to do so much damage to magical ice that thick. Another blow sent more cracks spiderwebbing through the wall. Then a third.

“Why is this cage made of metal?” The voice said in a disgusted tone.

“D-do you want me to remove the ice?” She offered as the only thing she could think of that might help, but it wasn’t without a slight quaver in her voice. She’d gotten used to Mister Mougein well enough, but there was something frightening about talking to this unseen stranger. She always left that sort of thing to Fenell.

“Nah. I’ll try thermal shock next.” She wasn’t sure what that was. It didn’t have the sound of a Spell, but that’s all she could say. A hand reached up into the space between the top of the ice and the cage to touch one of the bars, which immediately made a strange pinging noise. Perhaps some talent she was unfamiliar with?

“Not cold enough,” the voice said with a click of the tongue. “Where’s the door, I’ll just break the lock.”

“On this side,” Mister Mougein said, walking over and tapping on the ice. It would be difficult for either side to locate exactly where the lock was, or even the door itself, with all the ice in the way. She focused for a moment to feel the place where the Spell anchored into her mana, and let it go.

“Ah, I was studying that!” The voice said with a tone of irritated disappointment.

“I’m sorry?” She was caught off guard, wondering what had happened.

“That was the most complex Spell I’ve ever come across, I wanted to try and see if I couldn’t copy it. Well, whatever. Not really the time or place for that anyway.” The voice trailed off into mumbles, but she was a bit confused. Seeing a Spell to copy it? That was like asking to watch someone’s insides move so they could learn how to swing a weapon, it just didn’t make much sense. There was a sound like hissing steam for a moment, then it stopped.

“You’re too close, stand back.” She took an immediate step back, startled. “That’s good, thanks.” It was like the stranger could see her despite the cloudy ice, which was bewildering but maybe that much was normal for someone who could take on a goblin camp. There was another hiss, more violent this time, before it faded again and the ice on the inside began to sweat and then run in rivulets. She backed further away as it quickly flooded the grimy floor, but eventually there was no place to run and it began seeping into her shoes.

“You’re a [Mage] too?” She asked, connecting the dots while ignoring her discomfort. She was almost entirely self-taught using the books that the guild kept in its library, and felt excited at the prospect of talking shop with a fellow practitioner.

“Mm,” was all the answer she received. After a little reflection she figured that was to be expected, really. There was no way someone capable of magic without the voice commands would feel kinship with a mage on her level. As if to prove that, the rapidly melting ice formed a pool that began filling the cage before a hole opened up and it all drained out. She was disgusted about the way her shoes squished with every motion, but she consoled herself that at least the water wasn’t freezing cold. Another tongue click from outside drew her attention to the fact that they’d missed, and only part of the door stood revealed.

She was mortified that they’d made such a stupid mistake, but was also relieved that it was too dark for her to see the stranger. Or more importantly, for the stranger to see her. It was a stupid thing to care about in their situation, and even though she knew she wasn’t much to look at in even the best circumstances, she still took a certain pride in being neat and tidy. Neither of which she was nor could make herself given the circumstances. A week in that cage would bedraggle anyone and she’d taken it somewhat harder than the other two with how badly the goblin’s food affected her.

While she was wallowing in such thoughts the stranger had been busy, as another section of the ice had begun to sweat and run. Apparently not content to just wait on that, she felt an eddy of mana curl into the shadow of a hand. Without the voice command she couldn’t tell what kind of Spell it was but when the stranger began tapping against the frame of the cage door with the distinctive clang of stone on metal, she assumed it had to have been from the earth element. They watched, and listened, in confusion as the noisy work continued, until it stopped as suddenly as it had started leaving the three of them none the wiser.

“What are ye doin, lass?” Mister Mougein broke the expectant silence that had fallen over them with the question that had been foremost on her own mind, but was ignored for his troubles. Instead the stranger gripped the bars and pulled. She didn’t doubt the strength that had emptied a goblin camp and felled their chief, but she just didn’t see the metal cage giving way so easily. Then the mostly melted ice crumbled and the entire door was ripped free and set aside with a clang.

Before she could give that any thought, a shadowy head poked in and looked around. The most immediate impression was of height, as the stranger completely filled the space and even had to lean down to look inside. In spite of having arguably the best night vision between the three of them belong, she couldn’t see much of anything because the stranger was obscured by unreasonably long hair that made all the shadows worse. Even so, she could feel the stranger’s gaze as it swept over her fellow cellmates to land squarely on her, pinning her in place and stealing her breath. The gaze lingered for a long, anxiety-provoking moment.

“Cramped,” was the only thing the stranger said before withdrawing. Considering that the woman had to hunch over to fit into a cell the rest of them found somewhat roomy, cramped was an understatement.

“Come on,” said the brusque voice with a vague hand motion in the dark that might have signaled them to follow. They collected what of their things they still had and trailed behind, heading towards the arena where there were dozens of goblin bodies were laid out. Each of them had been cleanly beheaded, excepting the enormous carcass of the goblin chief, which didn’t need to be since there were only a vague few pieces of its head remaining. Fen had certainly not been making jokes, that much was obvious.

She looked around, trying to take stock of their situation. They were free now, but their belongings were all sopping wet, and they weren’t equipped to camp out for the night. Even though it wasn’t the most important thing in the world, to her the most distressing bit was the state of her shoes. They were full of filthy water still, had begun to rapidly chill in the forest night, and there wasn’t a single thing she could do about any of that but put up with it. It was so pointlessly miserable that she almost wanted to cry. Not that she did or would, not while there were strangers around. In particular, the stranger who had wasted no time in returning to the task of harvesting the goblin’s horns and magic stones without sparing them anything further.

“Do you truly plan to make us stay here all night?” Fen said. There was a pause, as though the world had stopped. Her fool of a friend, she couldn’t believe he had really just said that.

“Feel free to leave,” the stranger said in a tone so nakedly hostile her empty stomach involuntarily and painfully clenched.

“Lad, leave well enough alone,” Mister Mougein said to Fen in a low tone, and she followed that up with a soggy kick. He took the hint and thankfully didn’t say anything else.

Each of them began tending to his or her own affairs after that, because she, at least, had no idea what else to do. Setting aside the ever-present sour goblin odor and the thick stench of death, the forest air was surprisingly good and reminded her that she was filthy. There was no chance she wanted to return to town in her current state, and she really didn’t want to inflict herself on a potentially temperamental stranger either. So, since she was free and had regained some of her mana, she settled down to try and clean up a little.

The clothes were a loss, no question of that. She couldn’t imagine ever getting whatever those stains were out of the previously white robes. The smallclothes were soiled beyond saving too, though that was more personal disgust with the situation than real impossibility. She just didn’t want to ever see them again after marinating in them for a week. The boots were the real tragedy, however, as they’d followed her since the early days of her adventuring.

She’d tended to them every night as part of routine maintenance, believing in the advice handed down to her from a veteran that footwear was the lifeline of any adventurer. But leather didn’t tend to hold up after being soaked for a long time, particularly with the disgusting brine that the cage had generated, and she had no way to dry them out. The only thing she could really do was wipe off the accumulated grime from her arms and face with a little water she had managed to summon.

She was so focused that she didn’t notice the tall shadow standing next to her.

“Might I take a moment of your time?” With small cry of surprise and a thump she fell into the dust. Looking up, and then further up, she found the stranger staring back at her. Without a word the figure sat down next to her, and even at such close range remained cloaked in shadow.

“I noticed you were using a water Spell. Would you be willing to fill this for me?” She looked where the stranger was pointing and found a rapidly forming empty basin sinking into the stone of the arena next to them. She nodded hesitantly and collected herself to sit properly.

“[Water],” she said, calling on her low reserves to drag the Spell together. It welled up from her palm and slowly trickled into the basin. Given its size, and the rate it was being filled, it would take a long time before she was done. But it was, so far, the only thing any of them had really been asked to do in repayment for being rescued, so she didn’t think much of it. Not until she happened to glance over and saw a creature of shadow with unblinking burning red eyes that were locked onto her. She froze, completely. Unable to run or fight or even scream for help. The only evidence of her terror was the way her hand began to shake, sending droplets everywhere.

“You alright?” Came the stranger’s cold voice from the shadowy creature. “Ah. The eyes.” The red vanished but the shadows remained. From them came the sort of inarticulate grumbling she often heard from her childhood friend and adventuring partner, Fen. Something about that similarity broke the chill hand holding her hostage.

“I’m alright,” she said, voice quavering only slightly. She cleared her throat before continuing. “You don’t need to worry about me. This will take some time and I’m sure you’re busy, so don’t let me stop you.” Since she hadn’t ended the Spell in spite of being so terrified, water continued to dribble from her hand into the basin.

The stranger used a word she wasn’t familiar with, but rather than leaving to continue with the goblins, instead of that, the burning glow reappeared. With the basin slowly filling she kept a side-eye on the stranger, not sure what else to do. She wasn’t overcome with fear like the first time, but it was still deeply unsettling. So much so she missed it when another stream of water joined her own. She only became aware of it when the glow finally vanished and her attention shifted back to the basin, which was far more full than she it should have been.

“You can stop if you like,” the stranger said, “I’ve got it now.” She compared their output with a quick glance and found the reason for that confidence in the fountain-like flow coming from that shadowy hand.

“Are you making fun of me?” She demanded, cutting off her Spell and whirling on the tall dark figure. Her fear couldn’t hold up against her pride as a mage, not when it was so blatant she was being looked down on.

“No?” The voice sounded less cold now, just confused. Not that she could be asked to care at that moment.

“Yes! If you could do that, why did you make me do it first?”

“Uh, because I couldn’t until you showed me,” she couldn’t detect even a trace of a sneer or derision or mockery. It also lined up with the comment from before, and even if it didn’t make any sense, neither did anything else that had happened.

“You’re telling me you can see Spells and, what, copy them?”

“Yes,” the shadows shifted around the stranger, as though restless. The more she looked at them, the more she started to think they were the result of a Spell or an Art that she wasn’t familiar with. It seemed the sort of talent that would be useful in close combat, causing enemies to mistake distance or angle. Though if that was the reason for it, she didn’t know why it hadn’t been dispelled yet. Unless it was to shroud the stranger’s identity for some reason.

“Thank you,” the person said, catching her out on her wandering mind.

“For what?” She asked, baffled.

“Your Spell was really good. Made it easy for me.” The halting tone made it seem like the stranger was anxious or nervous, and softened her impression a little. Maybe the shadows were still there due to shyness? “The last time was awful. Took me hours to figure out.”

“I understand,” she said. She didn’t. In no way did she understand at all. Copying Spells by sight was absurd, but she wasn’t willing to be belligerent. Not since the fit of anger had subsided, and a more common-sense alarm bell began ringing in her mind that provoking someone like that was a bad idea.

“Good. If you’d be willing, I want to learn more.” The stranger sounded excited about that idea, but she was taken aback. She was far too amateur to play teacher to someone like that. “I’ll pay!” The voice gained a slightly desperate edge when she didn’t respond immediately.

“No no. No need for that. I’m just not really teaching material, is all.” Which was true, but she also had no desire to go through the rather intimate process of teaching magic with someone like that. “I can just show you my Spells, I guess?”

“Yeah!” The stranger said, dancing in place slightly and spraying water everywhere, before cutting off the Spell with a jolt. “Oh. Sorry,” the stranger said. Since they had both miraculously avoided getting splashed, she wasn’t too put out about it. The clumsiness juxtaposed strangely with everything else and gave her an unexpectedly fond impression of the bizarre person in front of her.

“My mana’s a bit low now, mind if we wait?”

“Ah? No. Have to be later anyway. Busy now,” the shadowy stranger unfolded upwards and took a step before freezing in place and turning back to her. “Mia will be back soon.” She heard a deep breath and a long sigh. “Only fair to warn you, Mia will think you’re cute.” Cute wasn’t something people said or that she thought herself, and the idea caught her off guard, as did the amused chuckle that followed.

“Yeah. Really cute for sure, just like Brin. Forgive her, she’ll want to be affectionate. If you don’t like it, then make your boundaries clear. Mia will respect them.” She took her time getting over being called cute, and by the time she realized there’d been several other important things said, the stranger had already left.

“Wait, Brin?” She asked in surprise. That was a culai name and could only mean that Brin Kanna. The sister-in-law to Lleuli Kanna who was her absolute idol and role model as a mage. She forgot all about cleaning herself up and ran over to Fen and Mister Mougein, spilling everything in a breath.

“Brin Kanna?” They both asked at the same time.

“The best scout in the kingdom?” Fen pressed.

“The Champion’s sister?” Mister Mougein wondered.

“Who else?” There were so few culai that she’d never heard of two of her race having the same name. “Explains a lot, doesn’t it,” she said with a grin, to which Fen nodded in silence. His story was much like hers, as tales about Brin had been his inspiration when choosing a class. Given his reaction and mention of the king’s Champion, Mister Mougein’s experience likely mirrored their own. The Kanna trio had inspired many adventurers, after all.

“That it does, lass. Seems I wasn’t so far wrong,” the dwarf laughed in good humor. His cheer had really bolstered the two of them, and she was increasingly glad they’d met, despite the circumstances. Riding on the high of freedom, camaraderie, and nothing else to do, they started swapping stories about how they began their adventures. Fen had just begun to tell his story when they were interrupted by a clatter of wood and a girlish squeal. They all looked over to see someone with the same incredible proportions as the shadowy stranger bounding over to them.

“Brin, you’re here!” their other savior bounced to a stop in front of the three of them, head cocked at an angle and looking puzzled. “Oh! You’re not Brin. But you look like her! You’re so cute, can Mia hug you?”

“So you’re Mia, then?” Mister Mougein asked. It was the week of the bluemoon, and as it came cresting the horizon the newcomer was plainly visible in its light. Immediately she felt inferior and couldn’t help but compare herself to what she saw. The woman was a lovely dark hue instead of sickly and pale, incredibly tall instead of scrawny and small, with proportions any woman would envy and a face that was certain to capture any man’s heart. The only flaw was the woman’s vibrantly golden hair, but with those looks, and talent enough to take on a goblin camp, there wasn’t any chance that the hair proved much obstacle.

“Yes, Though maybe the personality was a bit odd. Mia stood there nearly vibrating in place. “What’s your name?”

“Ah, right ye are, I’m—”

“This is Fenell,” she interrupted, not sure why she had felt the need to do the introductions, but she felt a burning of embarrassment and pride at having overcome her usual shyness and rode that high. “This is Mister Mougein, and I am Anise Elysia.” She didn’t really think of herself by name very often, and hardly anyone ever used it anyway, so it always ended up sounding a bit odd to her ear.

“Ooh, you have a pretty name! Can Mia hug you?” She laughed out loud at that, but was interrupted before she could answer.

“Don’t bother them too much Mia. Did you get the firewood?” The stranger appeared without a sound, startling all of them but Mia herself.

“Mia thought Brin was here, so Mia dropped everything. But you’re still all shadowy!” From that comment, and just from looking at the two of them side by side, it was clear there had to be some kind of Spell going on to manipulate the shadows. She’d never heard of that type of magic before, but was interested to know if it could be taught. She loved learning new magic.

“Oh, right. I forgot. Take it off, please.”

“Yes!” It came as a surprise that they both seemed to be mages, but she was immediately distracted because with nothing more than that word the moonlight seemed to break through to reveal a second person, almost identical to the first. Size, skin tone, clothing, even those enviable proportions were the same. The one whose name she didn’t know had obscenely long silver hair that reflected the moonlight to a distracting degree. It reminded her of the noble-ladies’ vanity she saw once at a shop in the capital while on assignment there. That shining hair mostly hid the woman’s face but where she could see it, she was just as painfully perfect and beautiful as Mia. Identically so, in fact, which made the two likely twins.

“Thanks,” the woman said, that icy tone breaking the daze she’d been in. “Grab the firewood please, I need to start dinner.”

“Bread?” Mia asked hopefully. The silver one laughed.

“Sure, I can make you more bread.”

That wasn’t the first time she’d heard mention of dinner and bread, she had overheard them talking about it once before, but hadn’t thought much of it at the time. She had to wonder if they really were planning on having something other than trail fare, since it was the first she’d heard of adventurers cooking while on the hunt. It just wasn’t safe or practical to carry cooking gear or raw foods out into the wilds. The former was too heavy, and the smell of the latter could draw all kinds of nasty beasts.

The two of them completely overturned that adventuring truth without even seeming to notice as they busied themselves in setting up a camp. She watched in mild awe as the golden one pulled out fresh fruits and vegetables one after another, and was surprised to find a pot hung overtop a merrily crackling firepit when she turned to see if the silver one needed any help. She checked on her companions to find that Fen had followed Mister Mougein to talk with Mia about the produce, leaving just her alone in the deepening night.

“Need something to do?” Called that voice that seemed to always have an undercurrent of iron and menace to it. Catching each other’s eyes, the silver one beckoned her over. “Pot needs water, fire needs tending, stew will need stirring, and someone has to mind the bread. Can you do that?” She was only familiar with the first two tasks and said as much.

“That’s fine. Fill the pot to here,” she indicated how much water she wanted, “and I’ll teach you the rest later. I have things to do, so call me when the water is simmering.” Without another word she wandered into the dark. She heard various strange noises, most of which she couldn’t identify. From what she’d seen before, the woman was probably just collecting the contract goods from the goblins and, as there were a lot of those, the task would likely take a long time. Various tugs of mana indicated that there was more going on than just that, but since she’d become blinded to the dark by the fire, she couldn’t tell what.

While she was stirring up the fire the golden twin came over and began chopping up the vegetables. She was surprisingly bad at it; so much so Mister Mougein decided to help. Fen just followed along, munching on a fruit she’d never seen before and offered her one of the same. It was sour and sweet at the same time and was surprisingly addictive, particularly since she hadn’t eaten anything since the day before. It was so good she ended up practically choking on it in her haste to get it all in her mouth. Ignoring Fen’s laughter, she went back to find that the pot had started to bubble. She wanted to call out to the silver one, but it occurred to her that she didn’t know the woman’s name.

“What’s the other girl’s name?” She asked of the girl that was clumsily threatening a bundle of greens with a knife. That golden head cocked to one side in a cutely simplistic manner, looking deeply puzzled.

“The other girl you came with, she’s your sister, isn’t she?”

“Oh! Yes, sister!” She brightened up with a huge smile and took off giggling into the dark, only to come back moments later dragging the other one by the hand. “See? Anise said we’re sisters!”

“Isn’t that nice?” The silver one said in a tone of voice that seemed to say that it was not at all nice, while ruffling Mia’s hair. “I see the water is ready, thank you,” the woman said, turning to give her a threatening smile.

“You may call me Mea, since you asked,” the woman said while seeming to survey the campsite, though with a face almost completely obscured by hair it was difficult to tell just what Mea was looking at. Somehow that made the woman even more sinister, enough so that the shadows would have been better.

“Mia, I see that! Don’t just leave knives laying around and work half finished.” The girl responded in a cheerful, carefree sort of way and went back to her task. It was strangely difficult to parse their relationship, but it wasn’t her business. Well, even if it wasn’t, she was very much the nosy sort, so she’d absolutely ask. She couldn’t seem to catch the timing, though, as Mea seemed to come and go like a storm. Dropping by one moment to give instructions on the food, or telling them where she had apparently dug a latrine, and vanishing into the darkness on some errand or another the next.

She ended up deciding to ask sometime later, when the moment was right. She thought she’d be able to catch that moment during dinner, but all Mea did was taste test the vegetable stew and the bread before leaving again. The bread hadn’t been a lie or an exaggeration, either. It wasn’t like anything she’d had before, but it tasted just as good, and between the rough treatment the last week and being half-starved, all in all it was the best meal she’d ever eaten. She could only hope it wouldn’t make her feel miserable. It was probably a long shot, but she really wanted to hold out for that possibility. As always, though, it was something she’d have to find out in the morning.

She drifted off warm and full and safe, on bedding that was sinfully comfortable.