They hiked the distance between them and the wall, there were dozens of men working on restoring the brickwork and there was a small mountain of bricks sitting nearby. As they approached, a guard walked up to them.

“State your business.” The guard said.

“We’re… uh, we’re here-” Eli said, he was cut off by Andromeda stepping forward.

“We were told that there was a draft, we’re here because we were told to be.” She said. The worst way to waste your time was wasting the time of the military, so she cut in before Eli put a foot in his mouth.

“Right, this way then, watch your heads.” The guard said. He led them through the gateway to the city proper. The gateway arch of the wall was crumbling above them. There was scaffolding together with a dozen or more men trying to patch everything before it all came tumbling down.

“Hey, what happened to the wall?” Eli asked. She was curious about what might have happened to destroy a wall that was over 10 feet tall over such a wide area, but she wasn't willing to bother about it. Eli apparently lacked her unwillingness.

“None of your concern. Get on with your business then get lost, we’re already overstuffed as is.” The guard said. While they pondered the meaning of the guard’s statement they entered through the gates to the town to see his point.

It was a modest place. Plenty of homes, businesses, a few attractions, the normal kinds of things you would expect from a border town. What was uncommon were the number of people floating around. The streets were packed, and a warm day like today turned everything into a humid mess. The guard advised they not take the main street and instead take the left main.

“It’s packed today.” Eli said.

“Yeah, that’s what happens when you take every young adult within a hundred miles and stuff them into one place.” Andromeda said.

They continued down the streets.

There were a truly unsustainable number of people here. This town looked fit to support maybe a few thousand, but they had already seen more than that within 20 yards anywhere they went.

All the restaurants were packed, all the inns were filled, every spare seat and place to breathe was full to capacity. She had no idea whose idea it was to make this the meeting spot, but whoever they were they did a terrible job.

Eventually the pair found a spot nearby some trees in a park that was suitably empty and sat down for a rest. There were still people within arms reach around them but it was better than being shoulder to shoulder.

“Have you ever seen it this bad?” Andromeda asked.

“Never, I didn’t even know there were this many people in King’s Grove.” Eli said.

This was no organized draft like she was expecting. This was a slapdash round up. Even if their plan was to disrupt things, this was just a terrible decision. She considered if maybe she was being too paranoid and the government really was just misinformed.

“Long shot, but do you have any idea where we’re supposed to be going?” Andromeda said.

“Nope, I was just told to go to Salsi.” Eli said.

Andromeda looked around at the people around her. There was an even mix of everyone she would expect. Children at 16 along with their families, probably worried sick about what they were being forced to do. A healthy mix of 20 somethings who were all either confused, lost, bored, angry, or all the above. The gender split seemed pretty even too, trending male as far as she could see. Though there was plenty of everyone.

What she wasn’t seeing was a distressing lack of anyone besides herself wearing anything that might suggest they were a mage. Maybe nobody besides her was foolish enough to display that information proudly?

The more she thought about that though, the more it made sense. She got the impression that magical bloodlines didn’t tend to make their homes in rural farming communities. She fought the urge to take the cloak off before it caught her any unwanted attention. If everyone reacted the same way as Eli did, then there was going to-

“Hey look, a mage!” Someone yelled.

Andromeda swore to whatever god that was listening that she would have her revenge. A small crowd gathered around her in an instant and started barraging her with questions.

“Where’d you come from?”

“Why are your fingers white?”

“Are you that Mending Mage?”

All sorts of questions all in short order. Also what was this “Mending Mage” name? Is that what people have been calling her? Things only got more complicated when everyone noticed Eli standing nearby.

“Is he your boyfriend?”

“Isn’t that the Boreus boy?”

“Does his ma know he got a girlfriend?”

Eli was taking it increasingly worse until he eventually vanished into the crowd. He too would know her vengeance if she ever found him after this was over.

“Out of the way!” A voice yelled over the crowd. Then a crack of thunder ran through the area. The crowd fell into a dead silence and they parted as a woman in full robes passed by them. She stood in front of Andromeda and looked her up and down.

“Are you the mage? The Mending Mage?” The woman said. She had a nickname. Wonderful. All she did was mend things, this was an unfair amount of attention.

“I might be, why do you ask?” She said.

“Answer the question. I won’t waste my time speaking to the mundane.” The man said.

She had an intense look. It looked like if she wanted she could stare a hole through Andromeda’s forehead, and if that crack of thunder a moment ago was from her than she just be able to do that.

“I am…” Andromeda said.

“Prove it.” She said.

The woman handed Andromeda a pocket watch. It was making a clear and defined ticking noise, but the hands weren’t moving.

Andromeda held it in her hand for a moment, everyone around her waited for something to happen. After a moment the watch was engulfed with white light. It stayed like that for a few seconds, then the light sheared off and sunk inside it. Then a loud click sounded from the watch and the white light vanished. Andromeda held the watch by the side and twisted the little knob to turn the spring inside. She handed it back to the woman who looked to see. All three of the clock hands were moving exactly as they should. It even seemed to be polished.

“Good, follow me.” The woman said, just as promptly she turned around. Andromeda looked around for anyone, especially Eli, to help her out. But the crowd was suddenly interested in literally anything besides her.

“I don’t hear you walking.” The woman said.

Andromeda, lacking better options, followed this person. Best case scenario, she’d at least have some direction out here instead of wandering around for hours. The worst case scenario could be any number of things, and pretty much all of them weren’t great.

They walked through the streets of Salsi for a bit before they came up to a large building, one of the larger ones in town. The woman signaled something to the man standing outside the door and let them inside.

The front room had a reception desk and a few people sitting in seats on either side. The woman sitting behind the desk saw them enter and pulled out some papers from her desk.

“Is this the one?” She asked.

“It would seem so.” The woman leading Andromeda said.

“Sign here.” The woman at the desk said. Then she slid a paper forward and the other woman signed it. The woman at the desk slid the paper into a pile nearby and directed them to walk through to the building proper.

They passed through a set of double doors and entered an equally simple looking room full of desk, men and women in each scratching away at countless documents, the occasional runner passing between tests to pass papers along to another. None of them stopped to look up at them.

They didn’t stop and instead passed through this room to another door. The woman leading Andromeda prompted her to enter. She did so, being greeted with an office that was just as lightly decorated as the rest of the building, but with the key difference of there being a single man and a single desk sitting inside.

Andromeda was prompted to sit down in the chair in front of her, then the woman who led her in here entered and closed the door behind her.

“Oh, there’s no need for you to be here for this, I intend this to be a friendly conversation.” The man said. The woman scowled at him with such a poisonous hate that Andromeda felt unsafe just being in the room. But then she turned and left without a word.

“Sorry about her, she is a bit more friendly than she appears. It’s just a stressful situation right now.” The man said.

“I somehow doubt that.” Andromeda said. The man laughed.

“Ah, then you’d be an observant one.” He said.

“Oh, sorry, I haven’t properly introduced myself. I am High Magister Ferdinand Delerous. I am in charge of all Mage affairs in the King’s Grove region. May I have your name?” He asked.

“I don’t know you, and I don’t know what you want with me. Why would I answer your questions?” Andromeda said. The man nodded and clasped his hands.

“Understandable. Instead, may I make a few guesses?” Ferdinand said.

Andromeda didn’t answer him, which he took as an invitation.

“Judging from the fact that you didn’t react when I said High Magister, instead of just Magister, I surmise that you are not from this country. However, from your lack of an accent, that means you were either very sheltered, or have recently come back to this land and are not aware of current events.” Ferdinand said.

She didn’t react.

He was mostly correct, perhaps making an assumption or two, but the accuracy of his guess was disturbing.

“I know that you can use magic to a specific degree, Magister Feyris wouldn’t have brought you to me otherwise, but the fact that you came peacefully means your skill isn’t that great, or that you are not confident in your ability. The Magi tend to be a proud sort and wouldn’t go quietly as you did.” He said.

Either she was as open as a book, or this man had seen enough like her to make guesses like this without fail. Either way it disturbed her.

“You wear a hood that is of an old style that isn’t produced anymore. My textile history isn’t perfect, but if I had to surmise, it was produced roughly 40 years ago. The faded fabric turning nearly white suggests that I am right. Beyond that, it is older than you appear to be. Which means you came into it from someone connected with the Magi at that time.” He continued.

She didn’t regret making that promise to Argo, but from the moment she put it on it hasn’t helped for anything besides keeping the sun off her back.

“I have served as High Magister in this region for 50 years. Not a single mage family has settled here in all these years, and in all my time I have only known of three mystical individuals to be born by chance to mundane parents here.” He said.

This was starting to become frightening close to home.

“The first is a man I know quite well. A man by the name of Nico Lander. He works as an arcanist in the capital. The second happened to be the late daughter of that same man’s brother, a girl named Reine. The third is a young boy who was born only a year ago.” He said.

Andromeda felt her stomach drop.

“If I had to guess, judging by this hood’s age, and from other clues, that you acquired it from the brother of Nico Lander, Argo Lander. If that is true, and it is also indeed the case that you are the local ‘Mending Mage’, then that means you are the same person who was sighted in Argo’s home two weeks ago.” Ferdinand said. Then his look changed, it became more serious and deadly. Not angry or upset, but just to suggest that she choose her words wisely.

“Now, forgive my tone. But I was present at Young Reine’s Funeral, I personally witnessed her being returned to the earth as her family looked on, how they wept and mourned her loss, just as the rest of the community did. So I know that you are not her. So tell me why you have the hood her uncle intended to pass to her.” He said with finality.

Andromeda was broken. If she didn’t say anything then this would escalate. But telling the full truth wasn’t going to end well for her either. This man ID’d her from a look and street smarts. So she needed to be careful.

“I was found in King’s Grove Proper after the attack there. I was suffering from Mana Poisoning and Argo took me to his home. In the time I spent with them I learned I was able to use magic and found a book to instruct me to use mending. I learned quickly and spent weeks practicing it in the area. Not long after that, a man came to our door and informed us about the draft and the tithe. I didn’t want to risk them being punished for running away, so I came here. Argo personally asked me to take this hood with me as a favor. He thought that if I took it with me then his daughter might be able to experience the world in a small way.” Andromeda said.

Ferdinand sat quietly in his seat behind the desk. His gaze never left Andromeda, but it was clear he was thinking deeply. Then his brow furrowed.

“On the night of Young Reine’s Funeral I sat in confidence with Mr. Lander. He carried that hood with him for the entire night, he nearly assaulted a master artificer when they touched it by mistake. How do you expect me to believe he would have given it to you?” Ferdinand said.

The reason was because she saved Milo. But she couldn’t say how. But anything she might say otherwise could backfire.

“I saved his son.” She said.

“Saved? How?” Ferdinand pried. How much should she share? Too much and everything escalates, not enough and he won’t be convinced. Then she had an idea that would either help, or make things drastically worse. The situation was already tense so she took a leap of faith.

“Do you see my fingers?” Andromeda said, She lifted her hands from her lap and placed them on the desk in front of her. Ferdinand leaned forward and examined her white tipped digits in confusion.

“They appear to be, well, white. Unnaturally so. What about them?” Ferdinand said.

“Is it true that mages can’t heal? It’s just not something they can do?” She asked.

“That is the case.” Ferdinand said. He wasn’t sure where she was going with this.

“Then I need you to tell me how I mended Milo’s leg.” She said.