The horses grazed on the bundles of hay in the Keep’s stable. For a day like this, the stablekeeper gathered as much hay as he could. There wasn’t much in the way of high quality hay here in the city, but what he had managed to gather was hopefully enough for the horses to travel from Draconis to Acies, through to Aurum.

But... his little girl seemed to continually try and sabotage his efforts, no matter what he did.

“Oi! Letty will you stop feeding sweeties to the horses! They’ve gotta be up and going soon!”

“But daddy! Wook at its pwetty face! My wittle ‘orses wove sweeties!”

“Sweetheart... get back inside or you ain’t eatin’ dinner tonight!”

“Wuh... WAAH WAAAAAAH! MUUMMMYYYYY!!”

The little girl dropped her sweets on the ground and ran back inside, crying her eyes out.

The stablekeep let out a long sigh, then went to clean up the dropped sweets.

Today was important. He couldn’t have the horses in any condition other than their best. With the Aspect and his right and left hands travelling to Aurum, their personal horses had to be in their best condition.

They were to be arriving within the next 10 or 20 minutes, according to the message the stable received early in the morn.

For once in his life, which was quite an achievement considering how much these three used these horses and that they were all actually travelling together, they’d arrived early. The stablekeep heard their voices from around the corner.

“Look, we can’t think about that right now Gulmory. We just have to survive this Summit, and then we can worry about the reinvestment plans you’ve worked out.” Elira said.

“Very well, Sage. Very well.” Gulmory replied.

“Great. Now that we’re here, shall we be off?” Zivot mentioned.

The stablekeep didn’t notice before now, but it seemed like the Warden was sat somewhere around the corner waiting for the other two to show up. If he knew anything about these three from the years he’d been serving them... then the Warden was definitely overcompensating for something by arriving ‘early’.

After a few seconds, they all turned the corner.

Elira looked over at the stablekeep once they’d done so.

She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

“How’s Tempest?” Elira asked.

“As fast as he was the last time you asked, Elly.”

Elira gently brushed the hairs on the side of Tempest, her grey horse.

“Family alright?” She asked.

“They’re doin’ well... thank you for those seeds you left us. Marg’s been lovin’ those little berry plants.”

“Not at all. You’ve taken care of Tempest for how many years now? I... haven’t done nearly enough to pay you back.”

“Think nowt of it Elly... for you and your sister, I’ll always have horses.”

Elira smiled warmly at the greying old man.

“Thank you. Alright, we must be off, lest we arrive late. The Summit is in a couple weeks, and our place in the city has yet to be decided. Hopefully... I’ll get us a place.”

“I wish you luck Elly. Do write, if you get the chance.”

“Ahaha. I’ll be back before you know it old man. Take care, and give little Letty my love will you?”

“I look forward to it Elly, and I will. Safe travels!”

The horses were primed and ready to go, so the three of them saddled up and began on their journey.

As they were travelling down the main roads in Highborn Keep, Gulmory broke the silence.

“I knew that you were civil with the commoners, Sage, but I never knew that you were so friendly with them.”

Zivot stretched his arms out, but kept silent. The Warden wasn’t one to engage in trifling squabbles between his right and left hand. At least, that was the image he was trying to put across.

Elira sighed.

“You should try it sometime Gulmory. Maybe you’ll find something more... fulfilling than Highborn culture.”

“Well now! Would you look at that disdain she holds for the Highborns, Zivot! Showing your true colours now are we, Sage?”

“I’ve always been vocal about how snobbish the nobles are, but you never seemed to have noticed. I wonder why...”

“Hmph!”

Gulmory stared directly into Zivot’s eyes. She pleaded silently with him.

Zivot sighed.

“Elira is right. There’s more to life than sucking up to the rich and powerful. Oftentimes, I feel that commoners live a much more fulfilling lifestyle than the nobles, even considering how lacking they are in the resources needed to do so.”

Gulmory’s eyes widened. She looked... frustrated.

Elira internally cackled. She wanted so badly to laugh in Gulmory’s face, since she’d won this bout. But that wouldn’t be very adult-like of her. Instead, Elira took the win in stride. Zivot may have been a ditz of a Warden, but his heart seemed to be in the right place.

On their way out of Highborn Keep, Elira noticed a small gathering of very wealthy and affluent looking individuals lining the roads.

“Dear Warden, we shall miss you so dearly! Please, travel safe, and be sure to look forward to your return! A great feast shall await!” One of the central figures yelled out.

“Thank you! Of course, I cannot wait for the event! Take care of each other, will you?” Zivot called out.

As they clopped down the road on their horses, the Highborns in the area clamoured to sent Zivot off with their well-wishes.

Elira didn’t much like the suck-up nature that most nobles seemed to be ingrained with. But oftentimes it meant for a better experience in situations like this. Otherwise, they’d have a lot more trouble to deal with. As long as the nobles kept to their own, then Elira had few problems with them. Unfortunately, that wasn’t always the case.

For now, however, Elira didn’t think about that. They arrived at the guard outpost just between the Keep and the rest of Draconis, on the outside of the Keep’s surrounding wall. The guards happily let the Warden and his envoy through, while wishing them all the best. Many of the guards in the city knew of the problems facing the clan as a whole, since Elira had used most of them to do something to help the clan stay afloat. It wasn’t always a lot that she’d ask for, but almost all of the soldiers knew her because of that.

In their eyes, she was already the saviour of the clan.

As they trod through the main roads down to the edge of Draconis, more and more people began crowding the pathways. These people were not like the nobles in Highborn Keep though. Most of them wore shoddy clothes, rags, and robes. They stayed warm by wearing old fur coats that were often passed down through their families.

More than that, Elira noticed something of a trend...

Word was travelling around. The Warden was leaving Udra for Aurum.

Elira preferred to work in secret, behind the scenes. But having to face the people like this was part of her job. This was just another day for someone like her, whether she liked it or not.

One thing that Elira was grateful for was her childhood. If she hadn’t befriended a lot of the community in not only Draconis, but all around Udra, then her job right now would’ve brought her a lot of heartache. Some people hated those who worked around the Warden, as they were mostly part of the highborn circles and got their jobs through pure nepotism. But Elira had earned her position, and her reputation from her youth meant that at least some of Udra didn’t hate her. It helped that most of her efforts while on the job were to improve the living standards of Udra’s average citizen, unlike many of the other nobles in similar positions.

From her and Reiki’s father, the guard captain, to Bort in Townsend. Elira was lucky to have so many people who’d helped her grow. Not that her father cared at all for Reiki... in the end, that was the reason that Elira cut him out of her life.

She didn’t hate her father but... what Elira felt was something close enough to hate that she needn’t bother distinguishing it.

As they neared Draconis’s exit, there was a group of people blocking the road.

The horses reared, then gained their balance again. There was nowhere to go, so they remained where they stood.

Zivot looked out over the crowd.

“Please disperse! I know not what this little display is for, but it stands in our way. Please return to your homes!” He shouted.

Elira internally groaned. That’s not at all how you’re supposed to handle this, Zivot! The fuck are you doing?

Some of the people in the crowd looked at each other. They clearly weren’t happy.

This was made exceptionally clear when a man with one eye stood atop a box in the middle of the group and addressed Zivot directly.

“Aye, ‘at’s the problem, ain’t it? YOU are OUR Aspect! And you ain’t seein’ the pain your people’re goin’ through!” He shouted.

The crowd calmed down for a moment, to hear him out.

“Why must we ‘ave to live in the cold?! Why must our children ‘ave to live in these conditions?! Eatin’ scraps outta a fuckin’ box! Why ain’t you done nothin’ about it, when all you rich folk’re eatin’ all well ‘n good? Ey?”

The crowd were riled up. The man’s speech, though short, was enough to ignite most of their latent feelings. They may not have wielded pitchforks exactly, but this was a display of rebellion in its own right.

Elira could probably have calmed these people down, since she recognised a few of the faces in the crowd and knew of the problems they all faced as a community... but she wanted to see how Zivot would handle this, especially after his disastrous opening earlier. It wasn’t for her to solve all of the Warden’s problems, after all.

Gulmory leaned over towards Zivot.

“Shall I eradi-”

Zivot shook his head, interrupting Gulmory’s whispers.

“I hear you! I hear you all...” He shouted.

The crowd quietened down to hear him speak.

“Our clan of Life has seen better days, hasn’t it?” Zivot said with a calculated light chuckle. “Part of the reason we’re attending this Summit is to better our clan’s stature as a whole in Zenith. I won’t lie to you all... we’re not doing great. Many of us, even in the Keep, are struggling with food and heat, just like you!” he lied, “But we persevere! You will see when we return with good tidings and great news. But for now, please let us pass peacefully. I promise you good fortunes on our return.”

Elira couldn’t quite believe her ears. The crowd reluctantly split apart after discussing things amongst themselves, allowing them through, but Zivot straight up lied to the people. Upon looking at Gulmory, Elira figured out the reason for him doing so. Her influence upon him was palpable, and it had clearly taken a turn for the worse. But there was nothing that Elira could do about it, since Zivot had chosen Gulmory to be his right hand.

Without the authority, Elira was powerless here. Even her position as Zivot’s friend probably wouldn’t help.

But now that they were leaving the capital, Elira had to focus on the task at hand. It would do no good to cause tensions between them right off the bat.

As they left Draconis, Elira noted how long it would take to get to Rupes. According to her calculations, it would take them a few hours to get to the mountain-wide city, a half-day to travel all the way through Rupes if all of the lifts were working, and then a day’s travel to get to Acies from there.

From now, Sunday morning, if they travelled without rest... then they’d arrive at Acies by Monday’s eve.

Rupes was the city that spanned the entire mountain. It was used to travel between the different areas throughout the whole Udra mountain region. Once they were at the bottom of the mountain, it would be smooth sailing from there.

Elira smiled to herself as she remembered the last time she was in Rupes. She couldn’t wait to see the city again.