The journey to Midton was short. Still, Azara wished they had gone by riverboat down the Midest, which was only a few miles off. However, Valerius had explained that for the sake of keeping their quest clandestine, and so that he could get experience ‘roughing it’, that he had decided to take this first stretch of their journey by land.

It made sense, but that didn’t keep Azara anymore happy about it. This portion of Ursulam was boring. Small forests and a few hills dotted the land here and there, but it was dominated by flat fields as far as the eye could see. These fields were either covered in long grass or farmed wheat. They came across farming villages now and then, but these were as boring to Azara as the landscape most of the time. She supposed that from the air this place would look more beautiful, but even then, it would not be a place worth dwelling long.

Midton was at least a somewhat more interesting a place. Upon approaching the city Azara was struck by how large it was. There was an inner section of the city and an outer section, separated by the remnants of an old wall that must have been the city's boundary many years before. If Azara wasn't mistaken, she could see that some of the wall’s damage had been done by siege engines and magic. That meant that the wall must have at least dated back to the war decades prior and that the damage had not been repaired since. On the outskirts of the city, there were three forts, one overlooking the river and two on either side of the city after. Against attacks from the north, it was practically defenseless.

Though the city itself didn't compare to Aethera, Midton was almost the size of Aruslan or Ursus. She reckoned from the look of it that at least tens of thousands of people lived in Midton, though Valerius corrected her that the population had been over one hundred thousand at the last census. As they came closer and closer to the city they encountered more travelers, and as they reached the city there was a small back up of wagons and horses at the west entrance. There were guards stationed there, looking over the wagons. Not too far off masses of soldiers drilled outside the southern fort, marching and sounding off cadences.

The sight of the soldiers reminded Azara of how her home of Aruslan had changed in recent years. It had been especially noticeable when she had returned home form business in South Sukarram. She had been gone almost two years, and upon her return, the city had felt like a very different place. Her mother had built up military forces and created a professional army for the province. The excuse had initially been to defend against northern threats, but these days everyone knew its purpose - to defend Aruslan against the king and the Magi when Aruslan ultimately defied them and went its way. When she had been asked to go north to Ursulam on this diplomatic business, she had almost been happy to get away from the tense and martial atmosphere of the place.

She would have continued mulling over the matter a while but was interrupted in her thoughts by Valerius, who rode in the wagon’s main seat beside her.

"I want you to be quiet as we ride up to these guards, and stow away magical things of yours, they won't like that if they see it," he stated tersely.

Azara sighed and did as instructed. She still didn't know what to think of Valerius. On the one hand, he didn't complain much and tried his best in their travels so far, which was a good thing. At least he wasn't a whiny pompous prince. On the other hand, he was always trying to be a ‘leader’ in some sense, despite not knowing what needed to be done. He also wasn’t firm when giving orders, but instead always seemed to waver in his decisions, like he wasn’t sure of himself.

The worst thing about him was that he felt aloof. She had started taking the front seat of the wagon beside him so that she could talk to him more, but over the past week and a half, she had gleaned nothing substantial from their short conversations. The only person in the party that he ever seemed to have extended conversations with was Irinia, and even those were rare.

His blue eyes were always staring off to the horizon, and whenever Azara found herself looking at them, all she could see was an urgency and a hunger to move forward. This was in stark contrast to the way he had acted back at the castle - where he had been more collected and calm. Yet, he had never urged them to pick up the pace or to move faster, and the group had maintained a steady pace.

She wondered if it was just the fact that he was doing something so foreign to him that he felt out of place and worried. Hopefully, that was so, because then at least he could adjust over time. she remembered how he had been at the castle when confronting his father. Brave, angry, and even fierce.

As they waited in line to be checked by the guards, she thought of her other companions. They were much more enjoyable. Irinia was a wonderful student, and fitting to be her first apprentice. At first, truth be told, she had been worried. Since she had never had a student before, she was concerned that it would not work out. She just used what her mother had taught her though, with her own creative tweaks to tailor it for Irinia, and things had gone well. Irinia's extreme religious devotion didn't get in the way either.

Kasper was a wonderful entertainer at the campfire, cracking jokes and telling stories. Azara had contributed her own to fireside stories, but neither of them could compete with Joakim's songs. The old soldier had a wonderful voice and knew even a couple of ballads to sing, which were tales of fighting men.

Soon it was their turn to be checked, and two soldiers approached the wagon and asked everyone to get out. Irinia and Kasper got off the back where they sat, and Joakim got out of the wagon itself.

When Azara stepped down from the wagon she felt the mood was tense, and the draft horses pulling their wagon seemed to be uneasy. The soldiers themselves acted as if everything was routine, but as they checked the wagon they did so with an unusual level of scrutiny. A couple even jumped into the wagon, looking through the things. There they found Azara's staff, and their faces changed from scrutiny to concern.

"Alright," one began ", you’ll have to-"

Kasper suddenly spoke up and jumped into the wagon. "Wait."

At first, it seemed the soldiers were about to react with violence, but Kasper pulled a small piece of green cloth from one pocket. He deftly flashed it to them and then pocketed it again. The two soldiers nodded, and the one who had been speaking before address Kasper.

"Alright, never mind then. I'll give you fair warning though, we've been on high alert lately. Some say because war may be starting. There are also rumors of a dragon up north. Also, truth be told, your people's gold hasn't been flowing as much." the man explained in a hushed tone to Kasper, before he and his companion got out of the wagon. "Off with you all now."

Unnerved, they boarded the wagon and continued into the city. Once out of earshot of the guards Valerius spoke up. "Do you think they were looking for me, and that's why they've been told to be extra careful? Or maybe a traveling mage like Azara?”

Kasper nodded his head. "Very likely."

Valerius nodded. “Yes. That means we can’t spare anytime. Let's get beds to rest in for the night, and some supplies. Then we’ll meet up with your contacts here tomorrow Kasper, and get the directions to the artifact we’ll need. After that, we’ll leave this city as fast as possible.”

"Uhm, that is wonderful, but may I ask that we find a place where I can get a drink and a bath?" Azara interjected.

Valerius raised one eyebrow and stared at the woman for a moment. "What?! Why?"

"Well because that was a bit stressful, personally. I thought we were just going to be hunting a dragon, to turn you into some sort of hero so that I could get what I want. Now we are leveraging bribed guards in cities. Remember how I came with you all out of pity for you? I did not want you all getting yourselves turned into dragon food? Yeah, sneaking around the country wasn’t part of that." she retorted. "Also we’ve been on a boring road for days because of this sneaking around the country business, so I'd like a drink. Also, I want a bath because - again - we’ve been on the road for days."

"Stars above, I never thought I would see the day where a noblewoman is requesting alcohol, and to drink with peasants no less. Fitting of someone from Aruslan, you people are always fond of spirits." Valerius replied with a sigh. It was a more frustrating response than Azara expected, and she glared at him.

Azara rolled her eyes. "You've not met the right type of women in life, clearly."

"Please, don’t argue..." Irinia pleaded from the wagon. “Valerius, it certainly wouldn’t hurt."

Valerius sighed and shook his head. “Fine. We’ll find lodging with baths and a tavern. We can't have anything very nice though, I may get recognized by some of the nobility that may be staying in the same lodging, so we'll have to avoid places like that. Maybe someplace catered to wealthier merchants or something. Also, you all will have to stop calling me by that name, someone may recognize it.”

"Val then?" Irinia asked.

"No, that would be strange for everyone to be calling me. Just call me Valentine, at least until we are out of town. I will still recognize the sound I suppose, but it won't be the same."

A light giggle came from Azara. "That is a weird name, you know that right? It’ll stick out. For that matter, I’ve never asked why you don’t have an Ursulan name. Why is that?"

"What?! It is not strange. And I do, its-" he began to argue, perturbed, but he was cut off before he could finish by a sudden exclamation from Kasper.

"Look over there! Who are they?!" he asked.

The young man pointed down the main street, extending down the middle of the town. Not far off, near the town's main hall, stood a group of several knights. They wore tunics of white, with silver wings emblazoned on them. They carried swords and were gathered outside the main hall, talking.

The sight was rare for Ursulam, which had less nobility than many kingdoms, and far fewer knights that wore swords and fancy clothes. Even more so, the symbol they wore was not of any Ursulan order, but rather of one in Aericia - an order well known to some of them.

"The Silver Order?" Azara said. Her heartbeat a bit faster in her chest, and her mind started scrambling with questions and concerns. "Why would they be here?!"

"Something unusual is occurring. First what those guards said, and now Aerician knights in Ursulam?" Valerius said. Then his eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed. "Hm, well, let's go have a chat with them and see what they are up too.”

“Wait, I thought you wanted to be inconspicuous?” Azara asked, thinking of a way to get Valerius away from the idea as fast as possible. The last thing she needed was to talk with any of the knights.

“Of course, but I’ve never met any knights of the Silver Order in my lifetime. I wouldn’t think any of them could recognize me.” Valerius replied

Azara rolled her eyes. That wasn’t the reason she didn’t want to interact with the Silver Knights, but she also didn’t want to explain to Valerius why some of them might recognize her. In particular, why one of them would recognize her.

Even as she thought this - as if on queue - another knight walked up to the group of five. This one looked rather odd. His hair was silver like starlight, and his face youthful. He was tall and handsome.

Azara instantly threw the hood attached to her robes over her head in a swift motion. Then she started climbing into the back of the wagon.

"Change of plan, we aren't talking with them. We aren't even going near them. Go down a side road or something, now!" Azara commanded. Then she muttered to herself. "Oh stars, he'll probably even recognize these robes too."

"Why?" Valerius asked, confused. "What is wrong?"

"That weird looking one knows me. He knows who I am. Can't let him see me here!"

Thankfully, Valerius didn't ask any more questions, and soon they had disappeared down a different road, and the knights had not seen them. After a little distance had been made from the main street, it was Irinia who first asked the question on everyone’s mind.

"So, who was that, how do you know each other?" she asked, her tone curious. Azara caught mischief in her tone too. It was as if Irinia had sensed Azara's embarrassment around the topic.

"Do you all know of the Paladin, recently deceased? The great champion of Light in Aericia?"

All in the wagon nodded. Of course, how could they not, Azara thought. He was the only reason the stars had any following in Ursulan at all after the war with Aericia.

"Why would we not know of him?" Irinia asked.

"Of course, how could we not?" Kasper responded, nodding knowingly. "He is a legend among men! He is the only man that ever got around to bedding a goddess, an angel!"

"Kasper!" Irinia scolded. "That is the least important thing about him. He was a gift from the heavens, a blessing from the Aether. A light in this cruel world, and an example of the star's providence. A symbol of justice! The Lady Fallenstar is a messenger of light, one of its angels!"

Azara shook her head and sighed. "No. Bedding a star has everything to do with him in this case. That knight back there? That was his son, Konrad, the Starchild."