"Wait!" Vera shouted.
August turned and saw her run out the front of her tower. He and Fei stood outside. Their horses sat in front of them, waiting to be mounted.
Vera carried a staff tipped with a chunk of obsidian. It looked expensive.
"Wait," she repeated, then doubled over to catch her breath.
"We’re waiting," August drawled.
Vera shot him a glare, then winced and tried to look less angry. After a few monts, she cald herself enough to speak.
"I’ll co with you," she said.
"I gathered," he replied, nodding at her staff. "Do you have a mount?"
Vera opened her mouth, but then saw the automaton horses. She gulped and looked away, a grimace crossing her face.
"Not one that will keep up with yours," she muttered. "My summons are more like golems. Slow, sturdy bulwarks that can punch a hole through steel plate. Not tireless steel draft horses."
"You can borrow one then," August said. "I’d create another, but the expense this far from the binding stone is too great, and we’re going to battle today."
He waved Fei over to him. The beastkin’s bushy tail wagged back and forth once, before freezing as she understood what she was being asked to do.
"Eh? But that’s my horse," Fei protested. She whined for a few seconds while creeping over to August’s side.
He scratched behind her ears and enjoyed the sight of her face lting in pleasure.
’
The sight of Fei being petted bothered Vera, but she suppressed her annoyance and mounted a horse.
August lifted Fei up and got up behind her, her tail tickling his chin as she unconsciously begged for more attention.
"It’ll be a rough ride, so hold on to the reins," August warned.
Then they were off.
The gates opened when they started moving, and they bolted through them without pausing. The ground beca a blur as the horses galloped without rest or making noise.
Clouds, dark and brooding, had ford while they had been inside.
August doubted they could escape the rain much longer. He called the group to a halt before entering the pass.
They found a rest stop that sobody had constructed years ago. The stonework was overgrown with ivy, and the wood decayed to a severity that he doubted it could keep out the rain.
"Let’s eat now," August said. "If it rains on the way through the pass, I’d rather try for the cairn."
"Eh? Shouldn’t we go into the keep?" Fei tilted her head in confusion. She pulled out the pack full of food from the saddlebags.
"The bandit spellblade used fire heavily. That’s likely her primary affinity," August said. "We shouldn’t waste the opportunity to catch her with her pants down."
A strange smile crossed Fei’s face at August’s comnt, even though she still looked confused.
Vera huffed. "You haven’t explained anything about sorcery to her, have you?"
"She’s a Champion who uses a sword, not a sorcerer," August said with a shrug.
"All the more reason she should know. How can she defend you if she doesn’t know her opponent’s weaknesses or how to defend you properly?" Vera pressed. "Also, that’s far too much food."
Fei gave Vera an odd look and kept pulling food from the saddlebags. Dried fruit, jerky, slices of salted at, and cured cheese covered almost an entire table.
In normal circumstances, August would have agreed with Vera, but almost all this food was for Fei. As it was, Fei would probably complain about the portion Vera ate of her lunch.
"Why don’t you explain it then?" August suggested. "And maybe ntion the reason behind your change of heart while you’re at it."
Vera scowled. "It’s not a change of heart. I said that I didn’t know how severe the consequences of the leyline disruption was.
If I’d known, I would have intervened earlier. I can’t believe you’ve wasted the past two weeks."
"Wasted?" Fei growled.
"It’s fine, Fei," August said.
The beastkin grumbled and gobbled down a hunk of cheese. Vera’s eyes widened as she saw Fei’s absurd appetite firsthand.
"And I’ll happily explain sorcery," Vera said. "Put simply, all sorcerers have affinities with the natural elents of the world.
The primary elents are water, wind, earth, and fire. The secondary elents are derivatives of these, such as sand and tal from earth. there are other elents, but don’t worry about those."
"Why not?" Fei asked.
Vera frowned, and August saw in her eyes what would co next. A long-winded explanation that Fei wouldn’t understand.
"Because extrely few sorcerers can use anything other than the natural elents," August explained instead. "They’re mostly discussed with regard to Bastions and ssengers."
Vera and Fei blinked.
"ssengers?" they both asked.
"Demonic generals. Don’t worry about them for now," August said, waving them off. He should not have said that.
Vera gave him an odd look, although Fei seed satisfied.
Sighing, Vera picked up so dried fruit and nibbled away. Fei demolished most of the food while listening.
"Sorcerers usually have one or two primary affinities. They can also have none, but that’s rare," Vera explained.
"However, the natural elents have their weaknesses, and those weaknesses suppress a sorcerer’s magic.
If the spellblade we’re going to fight only has a fire affinity, then rain will weaken her fire magic imnsely.
The opposite can also happen. I have a fire affinity, and my flas beco stronger during a heatwave."
August grimaced at the news. "Do you have another affinity?"
Vera chuckled. "I have a wind affinity. And a secondary light affinity."
The three of them finished their lunch. They’d only packed two canteens, so August shared one with Fei. He could refill it with magic in any case.
The clouds continued to darken and swept in from the west. Light flashed within them. A storm was coming.
"Um, are you sure we can’t stop at the keep?" Fei asked as they relaxed for a minute longer.
"Did you forget sothing?" August asked.
She appeared to have everything.
Her armor and scimitar were present. Unless she wasn’t wearing sothing underneath them. Given the way she squird, that was possible.
"No, no, no. I just..." Fei looked down. "I wanted to change my enhancent. That’s all."
August stared.
"I didn’t do very well against that spellblade last ti. I was faster, but she was so much stronger.
And her flas went fwooosh and nearly ate up. The enhancent protected , but if I was stronger, then I could beat her.
Maybe speed isn’t everything," Fei mumbled, her voice trailing off as August continued to stare at her.
August felt lost. Fei had always used a speed enhancent in his tiline. Why did she want to change it?
"Can... Can I not?" Fei asked, eyes wide as she looked up at him.
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