Dinner that night was an awkward affair; Rebecca, Henry, and Arthur ate in silence around the dim campfire, while Praetorus simply disappeared into the woods. Though supper was a sumptuous course of magically prepared pork chops, greens, and potatoes, they tasted like ash in Henry's mouth as he did his best to avoid looking at Arthur whilst he ate. The only sound around the campfire was the faint crackling of the flames and muted chewing noises.

  Shortly after they finished dinner, Praetorus returned.

  "Mage," he said, "I require your aid with something."

  Rebecca nodded and quickly left with him, an action Henry suspected she was only too happy to do to escape the tense situation between him and Arthur.

  The two now sat in silence at the small campfire, the faint orange glow flickering off of their faces. In the distance, the faint rattling of a woodpecker's work upon a tree punctuated the otherwise still air.

  "So." Arthur didn't move from where he lounged on the ground.

  Henry waited, but Arthur didn't go on.

  "Right." Henry cleared his throat. "Look... Arthur. I'm sorry about-"

  "Don't." Arthur held up a finger to the air. "You've nothing to grovel for. The fault is mine."

  The fire snapped loudly.

  Henry cocked his head. "Pardon?"

  "I said, it's my fault." Arthur sighed. "Truth be told, I'm sure I've had it coming for some time, anyhow."

  The moment felt... surreal. Henry pinched himself, ensuring that the moment was indeed real and not a dream.

  "Look, I know I've been a twat since we've first met," Arthur continued. "And I know I haven't exactly been a mentor on our trip so far, anyhow. I just wanted to say..." He paused, as if struggling to say the next few words.

  Henry nodded. "I understand. Thank you."

  Arthur breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank the Lady. I think those words would have killed me."

  With the tension now lanced and dissipated, the two allowed themselves a moment of quiet, before Henry spoke.

  "So... that's three-to-two now, right?"

  "Oh, you sod!" Arthur playfully tossed a stone at the squire.

  Henry smiled momentarily, before changing his expression back to seriousness. "You were right, as well. I did almost get us killed."

  "Can't say I blame you entirely." Arthur stretched out, his arms above his head. "You mentioned fighting monsters and beasts before. I take it you haven't fought people as much."

  "No," Henry admitted. "The only human opponents I've had were in tournaments and exams. We abided by rules, conditions. I've never fought someone in a situation where those didn't apply."

  "Well, now you know." Arthur looked at him, his blue eyes flashing from behind his bandaged face. "Real fights are messy and lawless. The only rule that matters here is who wins, and who loses. How you get there is irrelevant."

  "Are you imparting some wisdom on me?" Henry smiled.

  "Don't get used to it, old boy." Arthur laughed. "All I'm saying is, you need to start looking past the Codex. Out here, on the field, those rules will only hold you back. And holding back gets you killed."

  "I'll... keep that in mind."

  "See that you do. The next time we fight, I need to know you're watching my back, not the Codex's."

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  "And Rebecca's, too."

  "Yes! Yes, of course." Arthur chuckled nervously. "I was going to say her, too."

  "What about Praetorus?"

  "Him, I'm not so sure about just yet." The knight apprentice glanced over to where Praetorus and Rebecca were sitting not too far away from them, as Rebecca appeared to be enchanting some items for the archer. "Do you trust him?"

  "So far. He did save us, and he's guiding us out of the forest."

  "I say it's too convenient." Arthur frowned. "He's hiding something. Nobody out here just helps people without wanting something. Even old Nezwick saddled us with that 'favor' of his."

  "What are you suggesting?" Henry's brow creased as well.

  "We keep an eye on him. Something about him really rubs me the wrong way."

  The next morning, Arthur appeared to be in a much better condition than the day before, with his face well enough to remove the bandages. Henry was shocked to see that the knight-apprentice's face was nearly back to normal, after its severe swelling the previous day; the only traces of his injuries were his slightly baggy eye and faintly swollen cheeks. Apart from that, he was nearly fully healed, physically and otherwise.

  "Admit it, you missed my good looks." Arthur winked at Rebecca as he mounted his horse.

  Rebecca rolled her eyes. "Like I miss the pox."

  "Don't worry, I'm sure we'll have plenty of opportunities for you to fix me up again." Henry couldn't help but smile; after a day or two of deadly seriousness, he did indeed miss Arthur's lightheartedness.

  The mage scornfully scoffed as she quickly conjured up and mounted her steed, with Henry climbing up on his own horse as well. Praetorus remained on foot, his expression passive and unchanging.

  "Would you like a ride, Praetorus?" Henry offered a hand.

  "...no. I will walk." The archer turned to lead.

  "Are you sure? I can conjure another horse for you as well," Rebecca offered.

  "I will be fine. I work best on my feet."

  With that, the archer stalked off ahead. Rebecca gave Henry and Arthur a quizzical look, and Arthur shrugged.

  "Hey, if the man wants to walk, who are we to deny him?" The knight-apprentice grandly gestured for Rebecca. "Ladies first."

  As Rebecca rode forth, Arthur exchanged a look with Henry, conveying his thoughts without a single word.

  Keep an eye on him.

  The forest was noticeably thinning out with each hour of their ride, the trees slowly giving way to a more rocky, barren landscape. Stony hills and small gray canyons became more prevalent, as even the air seemed to change with each step.

  Henry exhaled, watching his breath come out in a voluminous cloud. The forest air had been brisk at worst during the night, but now the air was chilly in the daytime; they were nearing the mountains, and the Mines.

  Near though they may be, they were still several days' ride away from the Mines. The trees of spruce and oak had slowly ceded to alpine stock, the invigorating scent of pine now filling Henry's lungs. As the party proceeded, Henry rode up alongside Rebecca, who was engrossed in her book again.

  "Hey." Henry gave her a little wave. "You alright so far?"

  "As fine as I can be." Rebecca didn't look up from her reading. "It's getting colder, though. We should be seeing snow by tomorrow."

  "What are you reading, anyhow?" Henry asked, curious. "You've been reading that same book since we left Nezwick's."

  "It's a tome on fire-based spells," she replied. "I'm working on the element of fire in my magic. I can only conjure up a good amount of heat, but no open flame, yet."

  "Fire? That'd be useful in the mountains."

  "Certainly. But it'd be even more useful in combat, should we encounter trouble again." She shuddered. Henry made to pull a coat from his saddlebag, but she stopped him. "I'm not cold."

  "Speaking of trouble," Henry said, lowering his voice, "does anything strike you as odd with Praetorus?"

  Rebecca frowned. "What do you mean?"

  "For one, we're long past the edge of the forest, and yet he's still leading us on to the mountains. He still hasn't asked for any pay or reward, and he's kept to himself all this time."

  "He's suspicious, I'll admit. But he hasn't outright attacked us yet, either." She looked ahead at the archer, who was still striding forward purposefully. "Though his request last night was strange as well."

  "What did he ask for help with?"

  "His arrows. He asked me to cast an enchantment of guiding on them, for deer."

  "You can do that?" Henry looked at her in surprise.

  "To an extent. I need something from the target for the arrows to home in on, and he gave me a vial of deer blood to work with." She scrunched her nose. "I wasn't aware deer's blood stank."

  "'Stank?' What did it smell like?"

  "Like sulfur. Praetorus said it was from a sick deer or something."

  "Sick deer don't have smelly blood. Are you sure it was deer's blood?"

  A dull roar interrupted them, causing the party to halt. It echoed and bounced off of the rock walls around them, reverberating long after the initial noise had stopped.

  "What was that?" Arthur asked, nervously eyeing their surroundings as he rode up. He and Henry drew their swords as Rebecca closed her book and put it away.

  "A mountain lion?" Henry ventured, scanning the rocks around them.

  Rebecca shook her head. "No, it sounded bigger, and from the sound of it, not too far off." She conjured up a spell on her hand. "I can cast a protective sphere on all of us, but my magic will be exhausted until the morning. Shall I?"

  "Wait, let's get everyone in here first," Henry said. He looked ahead for Praetorus, but the path ahead was empty. "Hang on. Where's Praetorus?"