Adeline paced nervously. She saw the way it made Oli and her friends anxious, but she couldn’t help herself. The day before, she had finally met the other adventurers she had called to Correntry, the resources Storyteller had marshaled to combat the growing threat of the coven that had begun to spread itself through the heartlands, and now Adeline knew all too well just how dire the situation was.

  It had taken too long to get everyone together. The signs of hag activity in Valley Hearth worried her–she was aware of the rumors of plague in that key fertile region. If an outsider was behind the spreading disease, then the Apothic Order, whose members had been dispatched to the area, could be at risk, if they were even still alive–but there were other problems that needed to be solved as well. The legion hag still being hunted down by Jellis, the binding hag Allana and Tenebres had learned of in Emeston, the unknown hags that Storyteller even then hunted for in the Arboreal Wastes…

  It was nearly time to move, but she couldn’t just abandon Olivia and the others, not in the midst of the coven’s plans. It was all too likely that the four youths would end up in the middle of things anyway, just as they had with Hellesa.

  “Adeline?” Olivia finally ventured, interrupting her train of thought. “Are you okay?”

  The knight paused in her pacing, forcing herself to take a breath and smother her impatience. When that didn’t work, she settled for at least stifling her fidgeting arms and legs. “Yes Oli, I’m fine” she said, giving the girl a small smile. “Just impatient for the rest of them to get here.”

  Already, in just a week since she had taken her first dose of transition elixir, Adeleine fancied she could see changes in her squire. They were subtle of course, almost indefinable. But there was something in the lines of her face, in the way she carried herself. The changes might not even have been physical at all–but at the same time, there was no confusing the Olivia sitting in front of her with the angsty noble Adeline had assisted months before, on the first day of spring.

  “You’re telling me,” Allana muttered with a roll of her eyes. Next to her, Tenebres smiled faintly, but he at least seemed content to sit and read his book in the meantime.

  “If I learned anything from Storyteller, it’s that adventurers have a foggy sense of time at best,” Cadence observed dryly.

  Adeline chuckled a little, unable to refute the claim, and she reluctantly took a seat. She had rented one of the Grime and Glory’s small conference rooms for the day, with a table large enough to fit all of their guests. It was, in fact, the same room in which Adeline had given Oli her first mission, that ill-fated hunt for an unknown predator on the Flax Road. “They were supposed to here by-”

  There was, finally, a firm but polite knock at the door.

  “-now,” Adeline finished with a sigh. “About time. Come in!”

  The door swung open, and the four experienced adventurers quickly entered the room. All were armed and armored for combat in their own ways, ready to set out as soon as they could, and even to the lower-leveled senses of the young adventurers, Adeline knew the group would strike an impressive tableau.

  At the front was Flint, with his wife close behind. Flint was a giant of a man, taller than Oli and built of solid, thick muscle. With his dark skin and close-cropped, flame-red hair, he loomed imposingly despite the simple clothing he wore. He was armed with nothing more than a heavy smith’s hammer tucked into his belt, but Adeline knew that with the gifts of the blacksmith, metal, and arsenal, there were few gifted more dangerous in a fight than Flint.

  His wife, Juniper, was a different story. She shared the same mingled Westerlesian and northern blood as her husband, and though the powerful man dwarfed her, she was still tall for a woman, with the sort of heavy curves that implied a tendency towards weight kept at bay only by a lifetime spent on the road. She wore comfortable road leathers and a bright green cloak that complemented her long hair. Where Flint’s burning red locks made Adeline think of a well-banked forge fire, Juniper’s was shot through with enough green to instead remind her of the turning leaves. She carried a longbow and a lute crossed across her back, the only equipment needed by her gifts–the archer, wind, and the bard.

  The husband and wife were not silver knights, but they were veteran adventurers who had spent their lives wandering the Realm, Flint’s craft and Juniper’s music allowing them a level of trust that no knight, however renowned, could garner from the common populace.

  Behind them came a slender man, only a few years older and a few inches taller than Tenebres. He shared the boy’s wiry thinness despite his Initiate level, but he was made of significantly sterner stuff than Tenebres. He wore a chainmail shirt, reinforced with a few patches of rune-carved leather, and carried a slender shortsword at his side with quiet confidence. His homeland was obvious, as his ochre-tan skin and dark blonde hair marked him a goldblood of Arsilet. His name was Kenton Everbright, knight-errant of the Argent Order, a prodigy who commanded a unique gift of his own and who had cut his teeth on the dangers of the Lunar Wastes. Supposedly, he was a specialist at fighting outsiders of the Chained World, and as he and his cadre had successfully dispatched the fury hag even Adeline and Farris had balked at fighting, she had no reason to doubt his reputation.

  Last was Tobias. Of average height and average build, the older man was easy to miss compared to those he had followed behind. His hair was a dirty brown that couldn’t quite decide if it was brunette or blonde; his eyes were a shade of blue so light and dull they looked nearly gray; his skin tone was fair with a slight tan that made guessing his ancestry impossible. He was neither armed nor armored, and wore only simple, functional travel clothes. Still, Adeline knew that far too many had underestimated the Silver Mage in his long life, and even at her best, she wouldn’t want to test the Expert mage, given his gifts of the evoker, lightning, and the wanderer.

  Adeline, acting the host, quickly introduced the four adventurers by name to the four youths, then turned back to her powerful guests. “These, my friends, are young adventurers I told you about. Olivia is my squire, a former noble of Elliven, skilled with the sword and shield and gifted by the Warrior and the Primal. To her right is Allana, who survived a lifetime on the streets of Emeston and has the knife skills to go for it, blessed by the Primal and the Rogue. Tenebres, on her other side, is an accomplished mage who survived the fall of the cult that took him captive years before. And lastly–”

  “Is Cadence,” Tobias interrupted her. Even if the rest of him was unremarkable, the Silver Mage’s voice was powerful, and Cadence rocked a little in her seat from the sound of it. It was deep and almost musical, every word carefully considered. “Storyteller asked me to look in on you.”

  The other adventurers looked vaguely surprised by this–but then, Adeline couldn’t blame them. She had been just as stunned to learn that the ragged little celestial was Storyteller’s chosen successor.

  Adeline cleared her throat, addressing the youths now. “Well, as I’m sure you’ve all surmised, it’s nearly time for us to get on the move again. Tomorrow, I’ll be leaving for Valley Hearth, to investigate the signs of fetter being produced there.” Adeline turned a pointed look on Oli as she continued. “There’ve been reports of a plague of some kind sweeping through the vale, a sickness severe enough to merit the king’s attention. Members of the Apothic Order, skilled mages all, have been dispatched to Valley Hearth to staunch to spread.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Oli’s face immediately brightened, and Adeline nodded. “I expect one of those same mages may have the gifts you need for your transition, Olivia, so I’d like you to join me.”

  “Of course!” the squire eagerly agreed, not noticing the worried looks her friends were exchanging.

  “You’re only asking Oli?” Allana asked, noting Adeline’s wording.

  Adeline frowned. This was going to be the hard part. “Well, you see…”

  Juniper spoke up. “Flint and I are leaving for Emeston,” the bard explained. “The King has dispatched an Authority, an adjunct of his will, to the trade city to investigate both the binding hag and some… other worrying reports.”

  Olivia frowned. “The King is sending a representative to a trade city?” she asked. “That would be…”

  “Unprecedented, yes.” Flint’s voice was a deep, rumbling counterpoint to Juniper soft, fluting words. “That’s why we want you with us, Allana–there’s places a smith and a bard can go that no knight can, and places a streetborn can go that even we can’t.”

  Allana frowned and flashed an uncertain look at Tenebres, who seemed just as troubled as she was. Before either could argue, Kenton took his turn.

  “My cadre is bound for Elliven,” the knight-errant explained, “to look into possible hag activity in the Arboreal Wastes. I’d appreciate it if you'd consider joining us, Tenebres.”

  Worry was rapidly creeping into panic for the four young adventurers. “Why me?” Tenebres demanded.

  “Your gift,” Kenton responded simply. “Adeline has told me something of it–and it would seem it has more than a little in common with my own gift of the astral. I’d like to spend some time working with you, that we might both learn more of our unique blessings.”

  Something in the knight's words made Tenebres flush, and the boy settled back in his seat, obviously torn between anxiety and desire.

  “That leaves Cadence,” Tobias said, his voice once more hushing the room just by its sound. “Storyteller personally asked that I extend an offer for you to train with me. Like you, I have the gift of the wanderer. I can take you with me as I patrol the Realm, and offer you the chance to progress your gifts–both of them.”

  “In short,” Adeline said, “we each have need of the four of you in different places, doing different tasks. I know it’s not easy, and that you’re likely reluctant to split up, but…” Adeline looked to each of them in turn, meeting and holding their eyes for a moment before moving to the next. “This will give all of you the chance to put your gifts to work. The chance to grow in the experience, to narrow the gap towards Initiate, or even Adept.”

  The four youths traded looks, and Adeline couldn’t help a small breath. She could see the thoughts being spoken by their faces without them speaking a single word.

  The four hadn’t known each other long–it had only been a few months since they met on the road outside the ruins of Culles. But in that time, they had quickly grown close, bonded by shared adversity.

  Xythen, Hellesa, Shawe, each of the challenges the four young adventurers had faced had brought them closer together. It normally took years for a team to build the rapport necessary to communicate their thoughts and feelings through mere body language and expressions–but it was obvious that these four youths were doing just that.

  So Adeline wasn’t surprised when they finally looked back at her, and Cadence simply said, “No.”

  Next to her, Flint’s voice was hard. “What do you mean, ‘no?’”

  Allana met the massive man’s angered stare with her customary unflappable confidence. “She means we’re staying together. We’re not going to split up now.”

  Tenebres gave Kenton an apologetic shrug. “We appreciate your offers, but we’d rather keep working together.”

  “If Olivia needs to go to Valley Hearth to find a synthesist, and we have the chance to help people while we’re at it, that’s what we’re going to do. Together.” Olivia’s eyes went wide, but Cadence rested a hand on the eclipsed girl’s arm.

  Tobias’s serene voice was flat when he spoke. “You can’t be serious. Do you know the chance you’re all being offered right now?”

  Kenton was the only one of the older adventurers to stay relaxed, a broad smile spreading across his face. “I told you,” he insisted to the room in general. “Sentinels or not, they’re a cadre. They’re not just going to split up because we tell them they should.”

  “They’re children!” Flint insisted.

  Juniper sighed. “They’re also adventurers, dear. If they insist on going their own way, there’s not much we can do about it.”

  Adeline frowned at the foursome, but she wasn’t able to keep up her mask of disapproval for very long, and a small grin and a playful wink soon fought their way through. She had figured the young adventurers to be resistant to having plans made for them, even if they were phrased as an offer, but she was still proud of the newly-formed team for standing by each other.

  “Well,” Adeline said, “I guess that’s that. I’ll take the four of them to Valley Hearth and get to the bottom of what’s going on there. Then we’ll return–”

  “Not to Correntry,” Kenton interrupted her. “To Elliven. Sir Toren will want a look at them soon.”

  “Very well,” Adeline agreed. “To Valley Hearth, then Elliven. Provided the four of you agree?” Adeline added the last with a wry grin.

  There was another round of silent communication amongst the four teenagers, and once again they looked over together, resolve obvious on all of their faces. “Valley Hearth,” Olivia agreed, “then Elliven.” The girl’s face was solemn, but Adeline could see the glow in her eyes, a light kindled by the support of her new friends. She had expected the young squire to balk at the idea of returning to her family’s home, to the bastion-city she had left behind, but there was no fear on her face.

  “Foolishness,” Tobias muttered, standing and casting a look of more-or-less equal disapproval over Adeline, Kenton, and the four youths. “Adel, Ken, June, you have my waystones?”

  Adeline and the others nodded confirmation, and without a further word, the Silver Mage turned and, in a flash of pale white light, vanished, displaying the ability he was best known for. Juniper and Flint stood as well, nodding their own farewells.

  “A pleasure to meet you all,” the bard said, her dancing eyes a foil to her husband’s glower. “With luck, we’ll see you all in Elliven by next summer.”

  “When you get to Emeston,” Allana volunteered, “ask after a healer named Alleghy. He was an old friend of Geoffrey’s, and he did well by the both of us.”

  Juniper’s smile widened, and she inclined her head to the wraith slightly more graciously. “We’ll do that. Thank you.”

  Once the pair left, Kenton promptly stood as well.

  “Are you leaving today?” Adeline asked.

  The young sentinel shook his head. “Our sigil reservation isn’t until tomorrow.” He turned a brief look on Tenebres, drawing another flush from the boy. “I’d still appreciate a word with you tonight, if you wouldn’t mind?”

  Tenebres nodded, the motion a little shaky. “O-okay. Sure.”

  Kenton gave Tenebres a dazzling smile. “Pitch and Smoke then, at the sixth bell.” He turned that same expression on the others before he added, “Don’t listen to Tobias and Flint–they’re old enough to have forgotten their youths. You all chose to stand by your team. No one could ask anything more of you.”

  Adeline quirked an eyebrow at the young man, and he gave an amused shrug before he took his leave.

  Adeline turned back to the four and clapped her hands. “Alright, if you’ve made up your mind, it’s time to get moving. By noon tomorrow, I want to be on the road to Valley Hearth, so take today to gather whatever supplies you need.” The silver knight paused–then she gave them a wide smile. “And Ken’s right. I’m proud of all four of you.”

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