5 days later

“You have my pay?” shouted Obo as Lleu ran past.

“Yeah” he replied tossing a small pouch of coins at the lamplighter without so much as a pause. The last few days had passed in a blur as they had been filled with Lleu trying his best to repay any debts he owed and fill any promises he still needed to keep. He had not wanted to leave things incomplete and had even managed to complete a large part of this goal.

Sliding down the last building Lleu dropped down onto the plaza in which all of the stalls had been dismantled and moved away. The tent was gone as well and where canvas had stood the day before now were a collection of pack animals, guards, and members of countless societies. The entire area swarmed in organized chaos while a lively crowd watched from the sidelines yelling well wishes for success and good luck.

After briefly showing his token to enter, Lleu made his way into the tumult; destination a group of red-robed people close to the center. The red robe had thankfully been easy to see from far off through the crowd and one of them had been waving at him. It took only a moment for him to spot and recognize Lania as he dodged his way past a few carts piled high with miscellaneous sacks.

“Well on time, did you try out the replicas I gave you? Did they do anything?” she questioned as he reached her.

“I did” he replied. “And if falling apart is considered doing something… then yes, they did do something”

“I can't say I’m very surprised about them breaking considering what happened to the Reveles, that's the device I used in your testing if you don't know the name. But about the replicas, did any of them do anything other than breaking?”

“The black stone did, maybe the feather as well but I'm not too sure about that one. The stone made a whole bunch of black fog when I touched it and the feather sort of exploded in a dust cloud when it broke.”

“Good, that backs up my findings. I took a bit of time but I was able to confirm that you have a very high affinity for both darkness and wind, a lightning one is there as well but it is a little overshadowed by the other two. The stone and feather doing what they did is just extra proof. Now as we are short on time, the expedition is leaving soon, let me introduce you to an acquaintance of mine. Aelan, this is the one!”

The last phrase was said in a shout and caused a nearby man to glance up and move over. Instead of wearing the red robes of the Boomers he was wearing the grey and white leathers of the pathfinders, the society who focused their efforts on moving unseen far ahead of the main force of the expedition. They were the scouts who searched for the large conquests the main force would assault and identify possible dangers before they needed to be dealt with.

“Glad to meet you, my name is Aelan Decian, I’m one of the Pathfinders”

“Lleu”

A quick handshake sealed the introduction and Aelan continued,

“Lania told me of what happened and I have to say I am very curious. Usually, when something goes wrong with one of the Reveles the worst that happens is a bad headache. This is the first time I heard of someone making the thing blow up, I’m half surprised Lania didn't just up and claim you then and there for her society. They are quite fond of explosions as you might know.”

“We prefer our explosions to be farther away.” Replied Lania with a frosty tone as she continued.

“I asked Aelan to train you since he is one of the best shadow users I have ever known. His abilities in wind are fairly good as well so he is a good fit. Just try not to lose yourself in the traditional pathfinder weirdness.”

“That rude, everyone else considers us perfectly normal.” said the hurt Aelan although a grin on his face slightly undermined his words.

Turning back to Lleu he began in a more serious voice, “Anyway, I agreed to be your mentor for this expedition and that means a few things. First I will be training you to use magic for which I will be supplying the totems you will be using, try not to lose them. Next, you will be accompanying me on missions which means that we will be scouting ahead of the main force so prepare to learn quickly. Finally, I am not expecting you to do everything I say all of the time like some mentors would...”

The last was said with a glance at Lania.

“...however, when we are scouting ahead I need you to agree to do whatever I say. If I say hide, you hide. Run, you run. Understood.”

Lleu nodded, noting how serious the expression of the Pathfinder had become and replied “I swear it”

“Good” grinned Aelan, “I have your enquian and supplies next to mine, they are a bit closer to the gate, ever been outside before?”

“Never”

As he had never known before whether or not he had any magical affinities braving the deadly mists was not something Lleu had ever considered doing. The effects of the curse of the mists were something every child who lived in the city knew well as every few years some fool, unable to afford the choosing, would plunge themselves into it to prove that they had some power. Because of this, it was common knowledge that anybody without magical talent would fall screaming to the ground and be dead within moments at the smallest touch. As the land was perpetually covered, day or night, it truly was a curse to the normal citizens of the city.

A bell rang.

“Looks like it's time to get ready to move out, let’s go” announce Aelan to Lleu in response to the sound.

The two quickly moved through the various groups until they reached a collection of white and grey clad people, all already mounted or in the process of doing so. Aelan lead them to two enquian which were currently being held by a guard wearing a black tabard decorated with the image of a white pawprint. He pointed at the smaller of the two enquian.

“That one is yours, change into the leathers that are in the largest pouch.”

“Thanks” replied Lleu as he dug into the largest bag tied to the saddle. Inside was a set of leather armour and cloak almost identical to the one Aelan wore, the only difference being its size and a thick band of very fine fur lining the hood of the cloak.

He quickly changed into the gear, it fit like a second skin but did not impede Lleu’s movements in any way. Mobility seemed to have been prioritized over powerful protection by whoever had designed the leathers.

“It fits well” observed Aelan “It used to belong to my sister but she grew out of it when she finally began to look like a woman,” he said with a grin. “Lania said you were the same height as she was back then. Actually, just so you know, a short and slim stature is an incredible advantage for pathfinders since we usually want to move unnoticed whenever possible.”

Shrugging aside Aelan’s slight teasing Lleu climbed onto the enquian. He had never ridden before but wasn't too worried. The expedition always started out the gate slowly anyway, how hard could it be?

Lleu’s optimism faltered as he watched another youth, an obvious recruit from the lower district just as he was, only a few paces from himself try to make his enquian move. Instead of doing as its rider wished the animal simply reared up causing the unfortunate rider to fall out backward.

“They train their mounts to buck you know, it's a joke they play on new recruits,” said Aelan noting Lleu’s observation of the tumbling boy. “Don't worry about Fiella, that's your enquian by the way, she is actually quite tame.”

The bell rang again and shouts rang across the plaza. The expedition was beginning.