Serena stretched out, arching her back against the driver’s bench; the sun soaked into her, heat radiating across her body. It was a struggle to keep her eyes open, with the day’s warmth and the rocking of the wagon almost lulling her to sleep.

She cracked an eye and peaked at Werond; her teamster sat forward on the bench, one hand loosely gripping the wagon reins, her other arm propping up her head. Her eyes were already drooping, but Serena knew she was still wide awake.

The caravan had pushed off early that morning, and insofar, the day proved to be a lazy one. All the excitement from last night had died down, with Jo heroically locating Samardag’s missing pot. Samardag had sung praises about her, though Jo looked as though she couldn’t care less. How she even found the pot was beyond Serena.

Pavel hadn’t said much either; Serena spotted him as she and Werond made it back to their wagon, talking at the wagon owner behind them, Lasfelro. A lithe looking man, Lasfelro had yet to speak a word since Serena joined the caravan. She was sure he was mute, but Werond had said otherwise. Regardless, Pavel talked up a storm at him, Lasfelro nodding politely every so often, evidently following along. Pavel seemed anxious, almost nervous about something, but Serena chalked it up to the late work hours. She was just glad that Pavel couldn’t find the time to come and tell her off. Serena didn’t need another lecture.

A different kind of heat rose in her face.

Werond had given her an ear full last night, and Serena supposed she deserved it. Despite how horrible of a slur Samardag had said, there wasn’t a reason for Serena to fling fire at him. Had any of those scorching rays hit, Samardag would have burned to death, not to mention any of the collateral damage that came with them hitting anything else. Serena was lucky that she had flung them up, instead of aiming.

She had known all this, but Werond made sure to reinforce it. With a ferocity that only her mother could match, Serena had been dressed down like a child, sending a flood of shame through her that she hadn’t felt in quite some time. It was warranted, yes; after all, Serena realized just how much she’d messed up before the fire had even reached Samardag. But she didn’t expect Werond to reprimand her like that. Or when she…

Serena’s eyes snapped open; she leaned forward in the bench, rested her elbows on her knees, and folded her hands against her mouth.

Something had happened, or she felt something when Werond grabbed her under the chin; the shame from what Serena had done made her unable to look at Werond in the eyes, but the second that Werond forced her to…

She’d never felt her heart jump like that, not even during all the other times Werond had messed with her. Bahamut’s Teeth, her knees had begun to give out.

“I’m not like that,” Serena mumbled, fingers barely moving. “she surprised me, that’s what it was. That’s all.”

Mom had warned her about men that might to do something like that, manhandle her thinking they had the right.

But with Werond?

Serena shifted uncomfortably.

The blush had lasted all night.

“Did you say something?” Werond asked.

Serena jumped, the act causing Werond to jump.

“Oh, sorry!” Werond said, hand over her heart. “Didn’t mean to scare you, lost in thought or something?”

“Y-yeah,” Serena signed, hoping her ears weren’t red. “I was trying to…figure out how close we are…to Waterdeep.”

“Doing the math, huh? Should be about…I dunno, two, three more days? Depending on how fast the caravan moves.”

“Oh, that’s good! You excited to be back home?”

Werond grimaced. “Sure, I guess. I’ve been enjoying the time on the caravan…for the most part. Lot of work I need to take care of back in the city.” She turned towards Serena, smile on her lips. “Plus, I like spending all this time with you, it’s fun. More fun than –”

“Stop!” Serena signed.

Werond’s grin grew broader. “What?! I can’t compliment –”

“I’m already hot enough with the sun!”

“Well, sure, you are hot in gen –”

“Werond!” Serena yelled, as Werond began to laugh; already she could feel her ears begin to burn.

Before Werond could continue, Jo rode up from the driver’s side of their wagon on a tired looking horse. Parts of her leather armor had been undone, spots of her tunic now visible, and as she rode up, Jo raised her arms up a bit, letting the breeze flow agaisnt her.

“Nine Hells,” she said, wiping a bit of sweat from her forehead. “I don’t know how either of you just sit in the sun like this, I feel like I’m dying. Especially you,” Jo gestured towards Serena. “how do you wear a skirt that long?”

Serena pulled her skirt tight around her legs and tapped her heels on the wagon’s footrest. “I like the heat!” she signed.

“I’ve worn heavier garments than these.” Werond said, pulling at her tunic. “Could be worse. But neither of us are wearing leather, so…”

“Always did hate the uniforms.” Jo grumbled.

Pulling the reins to the side, Jo urged her horse until she walked right alongside the driver’s side of the wagon. Reaching out, Jo grabbed the backrest of the driver’s bench, and leaned behind Werond.

“I don’t suppose,” Jo said quietly. “that either of you heard what Pavel found out last night?”

Werond pursed her lips and shook her head; Serena copied her.

“He searched Larion’s wagon first, it’s bigger on the inside. Mountains of gold and gems, and it’s the same for the rest of ‘em. It’s a lot of wealth, apparently. Pavel wants to call a meeting tonight, to discuss next steps.”

A sense of dread settled in Serena’s stomach. Werond’s eyebrows raised up, but she gave no other indication that she understood what Jo was saying.

Jo pushed off the wagon, angling her horse away.

“Anyways, got to get back to the patrol, good talking with you two.” She waved, urging her horse forward as she did.

They watched as Jo’s horse trotted up the caravan. Werond turned towards Serena, eyebrows still raised.

“What does he need that much stuff for?” She asked quietly.

“For hording.” Serena signed, still staring after Jo. She glanced at Werond, who had narrowed her eyes. “For dragons. If he’s in the Dragon Cult, he’ll need all that money for a horde. The larger the horde, the more powerful the dragon. I don’t know what the cult wants to do, but if it involves dragons, they’ll need a huge horde.”

“Wait,” Werond said. “how does that work? The horde size, I mean.”

“I don’t know exactly how it works, but Ned always said that a dragon, while naturally powerful, was also tied to its horde. The larger the horde, the stronger the dragon’s powers. Its why White Dragons are so weak, compared to the others. They act more like animals, so they don’t really horde anything. But Red Dragons are the opposite. They horde a lot of treasure, so they’re almost always the strongest dragon around. Same thing with the Metallic Dragons, but they’re not always concerned with pure power like the Chromatic are.”

Werond stared at Serena, mouth slightly open.

“Uh…I guess that sounds correct. How’d you know all that?”

“Ned taught me.” Serena said, leaning back in the bench. “He’s got firsthand experience with dragons after all.” She waved a hand. “I’ll get into it more at dinner tonight.”

“Huh.” Werond replied, leaning back as well. “Firsthand experience? I’ll be looking forward to that.”

…

As the caravan had parked for the night, Pavel had swung by their wagon during his usual once over of the caravan. He had stopped to chat with the both of them, as Werond made sure the horses were situated for the night. It was during that chat when Pavel invited Serena and Werond to a private meal for dinner, happening just to the right of the road, in front of the forest next to the Trade Way. With a not-so-subtle wink, Pavel promised the topics would be entertaining, and that they ought to attend, playing it up as though it was a fancy party.

“He could have just told us to meet over there.” Werond said, after she made sure the horses were satisfied.

“Yeah, but it’s fine. He was having fun with it.”

“Sure, enough to tip off the entire caravan.” Werond rolled her eyes. “He’s a good guard. Not a great actor.”

It didn’t take long for them to reach the spot that Pavel had mentioned, though it wasn’t difficult to find it, even without Pavel’s invite; with how flat the grass fields were, the whole caravan could see them sitting in front the trees.

They were the last ones to arrive. A small hole had dug into the ground, and the fire dancing wildly in it lit up the night, casting odd shadows against the trees. Cruck’aa squatted in front of it, feathers puffed up, absorbing the heat. Pavel stood a foot away, arms crossed, watching as they crossed the field over to them. To his left, Jo leaned against one of the trees that stood outside of the tree line, tapping her palms against the trunk, looking up at the stars.

“Glad you could make it.” Pavel said as the pair approached. “Didn’t know if I was obvious enough.”

Serena held back a laugh; he wasn’t being sarcastic. Werond blinked and cocked her head, but before she could speak, Serena waved her down.

“Yup! Sorry we’re late, just getting the horses alright.” Serena pulled Werond towards the fire. “Here, sit with me, it’s chilly tonight.”

Cruck’aa stared a beady eye at them as they sat down by the fire. Serena pretended not to notice him.

“Okay!” Pavel said, rubbing his hands together. “Onto business. I know that I’m holding you all back from dinner, but not to worry. I’m having one of the guards bring us tonight’s food. Soup again, unfortunately. Regardless, things have shifted into some…unfortunate territory. We all were aware of the theft from the other night. Fortunately, that was resolved.” Jo gave a thumbs up to Pavel. “Before that, however, I was able to search Larion’s wagon under the guise of looking for that pot. And uh…well, it confirmed our suspicions. Larion has a mountain of gold and other valuable objects in the wagons. I’m talking enough wealth to rival the entire city of Daggerford, at least.” Serena’s eyes went wide, along with Werond’s; Jo hadn’t mentioned that it was that much. From his spot, Cruck’aa grumbled and nodded. “I didn’t look in the other wagons, but Larion says that they’re all the same. So, that’s quite a bit of wealth. And while I don’t know what he plans on using it for, it is enough, for me at least, to confirm that the report was correct, and that he’s working with the Dragon Cult. I just can’t see any other reason why Larion would have that much wealth in his wagons, aside from funding the whole cult himself. Regardless of what he’s doing with it specifically, it still makes him extremely suspicious.” Pavel spread his palms out. “Thoughts?”

“You didn’t check the other wagons?” Cruck’aa asked, eyes narrowed. “That seems rather stupid of you.”

“Larion was sweating buckets. I had no reason not to believe him, he didn’t want me around. And regardless, one wagon of wealth is enough to tag him for cult activities.”

Cruck’aa grumbled something of an agreement. Jo pushed off her tree and stepped closer to the fire.

“I don’t know much about the Cult, but I have to agree with Pavel, it sounds like it’s money to fund their operations. Can’t have a huge group without money like that.” She said. “Although I’m open to other ideas.”

“Well, Serena…” Werond began, looking at her. Serena nodded.

“I think it’s for something else. They’re the Dragon Cult, they associate themselves with dragons. Dragons horde a lot of wealth, and the larger their pile of gold and stuff, the stronger they become. I think they’re taking all that to a dragon or using it to sway a dragon to their side. They’d be a pretty powerful group if they could count even one dragon as their ally. Hell, they might already have one and this is their tribute to it. Ah, it doesn’t matter, I guess what I’m trying to say is that I think all that money, however much Pavel saw, is for a dragon. Or summoning one. Honestly, if they could get all that money now, I doubt they’re strapped for coins in the first place. It’s got to be for a dragon.”

Jo and Pavel nodded along as Serena signed, their faces twisted, their minds racing. It was obvious to Serena that neither of them had thought of that angle, but she doubted they’d even known that in the first place.

Cruck’aa let out a pfft.

“That sounds like you just made it up.” He said, eyes narrowed. “Why would extra gold make a dragon more powerful? They’re innately powerful, they don’t get it from an external source.”

“It…” Serena dropped her hands, eyes flicking up towards the stars; she couldn’t remember how it was explained to her. “It’s got something to do with the belief in the money. Gold isn’t exactly valuable, we attach a value to it, we believe it’s worth something. It’s why our opinion of someone changes when they have a lot of money. So, when dragons horde a lot of money, that belief that props up that money bleeds into the powers they already have. It gives them a boost, I guess. That’s about what I remember.”

“That didn’t help whatsoever.” Cruck’aa said flatly. “In fact, that made it even more unbelievable. Who told you that hogwash?”

“Ned, my step-dad did, and he’s a damned dragon Cruck’aa! He knows what he’s talking about!”

“Really? Another lie? Your step-dad is a dragon?”

“Yes! I mean, no, gods!” Serena exasperatedly signed. “He’s a silver dragon, along with his husband, Bron! They were the ones who took me in and –” Serena glanced around the fire, picking up on the bug eyes from everyone. “Do none of you believe me?!”

“Well,” Jo said. “I was with you on the first part, but uh…your explanation seems a little far-fetched.”

“I’ve never heard of a dragon adopting someone.” Pavel followed up.

“Well, he’s a silver dragon! They like people, it’s in their nature! Why would I lie about this?!” Serena turned to Werond. “Do you believe me, at least?”

“I believe that you believe it.” Werond said, with a faint smile.

Frustration boiled in her chest, but before Serena could sign, Pavel waved a hand, and held a finger to his lips. He gestured with his head towards the road.

One of the guards, the thin woman from last night, walked off the road and towards their group. She carried a large serving tray, taking care not to spill the five-soup bowls balanced on it. Pavel stepped away from the group and met her halfway, graciously accepting the tray as everyone else, save Cruck’aa, waved thanks. The guard waved back, before turning around towards the caravan.

“Well, regardless,” Pavel began, walking around the group and delivering the still steaming bowls. “wealth like that is extremely suspicious. I agree with both Serena and Jo; whatever it is Larion is doing, it’s not good. Make sure to blow on that.” Pavel said, as each person accepted their bowls. Once everyone had their soup, he placed the tray on the ground, and stood with his own bowl. “Right now, we need to figure out how we can apprehend him before Waterdeep. Larion has a pair of guards on each wagon, so six in total, and I doubt him and Azbara will sit by and let us do something. With all of us, save Werond, no offense,” Werond waved a hand as she blew on her soup. “and the guards, it should be an even fight. But it’s not one that I’d like to take regardless.”

“Why don’t we just wait till Waterdeep, and signal our own employers for help?” Cruck’aa asked, fanning his soup.

“Risk trying to jump him until it might be too late.” Jo said. “Better to do it sooner, rather than later.”

“Will the guards on the caravan actually help?” Werond asked. “Do they even know about this?”

Pavel shook his head, spoon halfway to his mouth. “No, I haven’t told them. I suppose I can if –”

Serena’s ears pricked.

A whistling.

Cruck’aa’s head shot up.

An arrow smashed into Pavel’s soup bowl, shattering it, spraying hot liquid all over him; the arrow thudded harmlessly into the ground.

He yelled and began smacking his arms, trying to fling off the still boiling liquid.

Jo dropped her bowl and ripped out her rapier, eyes searching.

Cruck’aa shot off the ground, lightning crackling between his talons, beak twisting to form the words of a spell.

Werond tried to make herself as small as possible as Serena jumped up, throwing her soup bowl away, her hands igniting into two orbs of bright flame.

“Hey!” A shrill voice yelled from the road. “It’s okay, it’s just me!”

They all turned towards the caravan.

A halfling dressed in a pair of dark tunic and pants came sprinting towards them, bow in hand.

“Jemna!” Pavel yelled, shaking his hands, and flinging soup everywhere. “What the hell!”

At the mention of the halfling’s name, Serena doused her flames but remained standing. Serena knew that she had joined the caravan back in Daggerford, but she’d yet to meet Jemna until now. And already, she was making a terrible first impression.

Werond sat up and twisted around as Jo and Cruck’aa relaxed slightly, staring as Jemna continued to run towards them. It took her a couple of seconds to cross the clearing and when she did, Jemna doubled over and gasped for breath.

“Gods…damned these…short legs…” she huffed, sucking in air.

“Jemna!” Pavel yelled again, holding his arms out as soup dripped from them. “Again! What the hell?!”

“Would you like to explain why you just shot at Pavel?” Jo demanded.

“Which is a punishable offense, I might add.” Cruck’aa spat.

Jemna straightened up, still huffing.

“Alright!” she said in a shrill voice. “Alright! I didn’t shoot at him, I –” She pointed a gloved finger towards Pavel’s feet. “That! Didn’t want ya to eat that!” She sprang over towards Pavel and began rooting around in the grass.

Pavel looked down at her, brows furrowed, before looking at them and jerking his head towards Jemna.

Serena, Jo, and Cruck’aa stepped forward, and surrounded the halfling in a semi-circle; Werond hopped up from her spot, and at Serena’s gesture, moved to stand behind her. As she did, Serena flicked her hand, and with a sucking noise, the soup vanished from Pavel’s clothes. He nodded to her, before turning his attention back towards the halfling at his feet.

Jemna jumped up, a white rock the size of her thumb nail clutched in her fingers. She began to speak but stopped when she noticed that she was surrounded.

“Gods,” she said, brow cocked. “didn’t think y’all would get this jumpy.”

“You shot an arrow at Pavel.” Jo said flatly. Jemna let out a pfft.

“Ya mean, saved his life? Look!” She held up the rock for a better look “You swallowed this, be good as dead!”

Upon holding it up, Serena realized that Jemna wasn’t holding a rock, but a square piece of what appeared to be bone. As she stared, Jemna squeezed the piece, causing it squish in her fingers like a piece of meat. The middle began to ooze out, forming a long, slimy body. It began to writhe like a worm held too tight, causing Jemna to hold it further away.

“See?!” She said, as everyone save Jo recoiled. “Piece of shits called a boneworm! Nasty little ugly, gets inside ya and eats through ya stomach and into everything else. And Pavel was about to eat it! They slipped it into ya soup…well, all ya soups, I should say.”

Serena turned her head towards her spilled meal; sure enough, barely visible, something bone white sat among the chunks of vegetables.

“Uh…yeah, there’s one in mine.” She signed, gesturing towards her bowl. “You can kind of see it from here.”

“Werond,” Pavel said, without taking his eyes off Jemna. “please check the other soups.”

“Uh, sure.”

Werond stepped away and did a once over around the fire, scrutinizing each spill. Serena and the others remained around Jemna, staring at her.

“Yup,” Werond said. “there’s something white in all of them. Hell, even in mine.”

“See!” Jemna smiled, standing triumphantly; her smiled dropped as the group remained staring. “Uhm, well…kinda thought y’all’d be a bit happier about me saving ya lives.” She said with a grimace.

“You just expect us to believe all that?” Jo asked, eyeing Jemna coolly. “How do we know you didn’t put those things in our soup?”

“Oh, right, should explain.” Jemna dropped the worm and smashed it underfoot. “I saw Pavel here look all shocked when he popped outta Larion’s wagon last night, so I kept an eye out.” Pavel squeezed his eyes shut and grimaced. “Figured ya got into something bad, considering Mr. Keenblade’s got a reputation where I work. Sure as shit, one of Larion’s guards bribed the cooks tonight to plop these little suckers in ya soup bowls. Had to stop it. I knew I wouldn’t make it in time, so I shot off that arrow! Great shot if I say so myself!”

“If you saw that the soup was poisoned, why didn’t you stop the guard before she gave us the bowls.”

Jemna glanced up and shuffled her feet.

“I’ll be honest with ya, I was more stunned that the cook was so swayed by a bit of gold. Wasn’t that much. Rather rooted in place, by the time I snapped out of it, ya’ll already had ya bowls.” She looked back towards Pavel. “Now, well, I could tell ya who got bribed, but ya shouldn’t do much about it. Ya draw more attention if you do.” Jemna kicked dirt over the worm. “Larion and that bald cunt wanted to take ya out tonight, so pretending like nothing happened will piss them right off. But!” She stuck a finger up. “I would be willing help ya with this problem! I’m supposed to be watching him too, though what ya’ll know is what I know right now. But! This here little assassination attempt didn’t work, and they’re gonna find out real soon. Which means this’ll come up again before we hit Waterdeep. So! I’d be willing to lend my ole hand here, and help.” Jemna beamed, glancing around at everyone. “Whaddya say?”

Her proposition was met with silence. Jemna’s smile dropped once more, and she began to back away, slipping out between Serena and Cruck’aa.

“Uh, right! Seems like yall aren’t in the mood, not to worry! Well, think on my offer!”

The halfling turned and began walking back towards the caravan, a spring in her step.

Serena stared after her, utterly confused; she glanced back towards the others, and was relieved to find she wasn’t the only one.

“What in the Nine Hells was that?” Cruck’aa asked, eyes still wide. “Am I insane or did that just happen?!”

“What, it seems odd to you that the second new member of the caravan suddenly swoops in to save Pavel, and us, from a poisoning attempt allegedly committed by the person we’re after?” Jo squatted down and stared at the crushed worm. “Sounds like you’re the crazy one.”

“Does…does anyone believe her?” Serena signed, glancing at Werond. She shrugged, a blank look on her face.

Pavel put his hands on his hips, still watching Jemna walk back. “I…yeah, well, I do. To an extent.”

“You do?!”

“She didn’t seem like she was lying.” Jo shot up. “Even if she was, and she put the worm in there, what’s the point? If anything, we’re just more suspicious of her now. I doubt she did it, which means she’s right, and that it was someone from Larion’s crew.”

“Gods damnit, yeah…” Pavel muttered. “I didn’t think they’d react this fast.”

“Really?” Cruck’aa said, poking the dead worm with his foot. “After what happened in Daggerford?”

“You know what I mean.” Pavel sighed. “Right. Well, we need to be on our toes then. I doubt they’ll do anything out in the open, but we need to be prepared.”

“We can’t just be prepared, we need to do something.” Serena signed. “If they tried to take us out like this, then they’ll do it again, right?”

Pavel sighed, and scratched the back of his neck. After a moment, he nodded.

“Yeah, I know, I agree, I just…” Pavel rubbed his face and sighed deeply. “I can’t think straight now. I don’t know what to do. Anyone have any suggestions?” His question was met with silence. “Right, that’s fine. Well, we’re about two, maybe three days from Waterdeep, so we have a little bit of time. Let’s…sleep on it and met back up in the morning, bring some ideas to the table. In the meantime, keep your eyes open tonight, just in case. I’ll have the guards patrol a bit closer, but they might try something tonight, never know.”

“You’re really going to just leave it for the morning?” Jo asked.

Pavel shrugged. “Unless you’ve got some genius plan, I don’t have much else. Sorry.” He looked around apologetically. “Just…keep your eyes open.”

…

“Do you really believe her?”

“If Pavel does, I guess I do too.”

The dinner party had broken up shortly after Jemna left; her stunt with Pavel’s soup seemed to drain everyone, killing any remaining mood for conversation. By the time Serena and Werond had gotten back to the wagon, the crickets were out in force, and they both were exhausted.

“I dunno,” Werond said, as she climbed into the back of the wagon, Serena following. “just seems weird, I guess. Jemna just happens to see Pavel, happens to decide to watch him, and happens to save our lives the next night? Sounds like bullshit.”

“Stranger things have happened.”

“I suppose.”

Werond flipped open the top sheet of silk, and climbed into the pile, scooting to the side. Serena followed, laying down next to her, and pulled the top sheet over them.

“I just can’t believe they tried to poison me.” Werond said; she moved over so that their shoulders touched. “What did I do? You guys, sure. Me? I drive the wagon, that’s it!”

Serena let out a silent pfft and pulled her hands out from under the sheet.

“Oh, so it’s fine if we get poisoned?”

“You know what I mean!” Werond laughed.

“Well, if anything happens, I’ll protect you, since you can’t seem to protect yourself.”

“Huh. Well, I’ll trust you to that then.”

Serena turned slightly and put her head against Werond’s chest, just under her chin. Werond slide an arm around Serena and shifted into a comfortable position.

“Not that I mind, by the way.” Werond said. “But we can separate the silks if you want.”

Serena shook her head against Werond’s chin, causing her to softly laugh.

“Alright, just checking. Goodnight, boss.”

The crickets outside became deafening as Werond began to drift off. Try as she might, Serena couldn’t follow her.

Dread gnawed at her stomach, her chest tight. The poisoning happened so fast, none of them had a chance to process it. They could have died tonight, but no one seemed to care. She supposed that came with what they did, day in and day out. Traveling across the coast, guarding caravans, investigating cults, it was dangerous work. But even when they were confronted with something like tonight, none of them seemed to flinch. It was just part of the job.

Yet dread still gnawed at her. It wasn’t borne of her own life almost being lost tonight, but of the fact that Werond had also found one of those things in her soup. The thought of her being poisoned and what that worm could have done…

Serena shoved the thought out of her mind. She didn’t want to think about it.

She draped an arm around the now sleeping form of Werond.

Not tonight.