The forest trail once again stretched before Helbram, but as opposed to the solitary journey he was expecting he now found himself within the company of others. The wagon in Silverglen was only part of a larger caravan composed of the traditional wheeled sort and others the amalgamated platforms that he’d rode upon earlier that day. Most of the gathered men and women marched towards the front of the caravan, but Helbram elected to take a seat on the bed of the back wagon, which had the dual benefit of its more modern magitek make and the addition of a roof over its bed. He watched Silverglen fade from his sight in the distance, swallowed once again by the sea of trees that surrounded him. The soft hum of the magitek engine drowned out the forest ambience and Helbram closed his eyes, allowing himself to slip into a light trance as the caravan trudged forward. For a brief moment, he felt at peace.

“Hello there, whatcha doing alone?”

He opened his eyes and was greeted by the sight of a wide face bordered by blonde hair. Her purple eyes were too large, pointed ears too big to belong to a halfling, placing the small woman as a gnome. Her skin was soft and pale, and the lightness of the Freemark’s accent in her voice suggested she was cityfolk. She grinned at him with a mix of mischief and curiosity, though that quickly faded to a frown as Helbram rewarded her with muted regard.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he said through his helmet, “I imagine all the excitement would be towards the front of the caravan.”

She shrugged and sat down next to him with a sigh, “There’s only so much entertainment such an inexperienced crowd can give, I’m afraid,” she started to rock her feet as they hung off the edge of the wagon, “you hear the ambitions of one young adventurer you’ve heard them all. Glory, riches, women, men, and whatnot,” she made a flippant gesture and sighed, “This, however,” she knocked on his armor, “has history.”

The gnome beamed up at him, “Care to share?”

Helbram snorted, “I’m afraid there isn’t much to tell. Man seeks adventure, man goes to find it.”

“Ah but you see it is the details that matter,” she said, “what drives said man to seek adventure? Or more importantly, keeps him seeking it? Were you with the fresh faced crowd at the front, mail free of rust and finely polished, then my interest would not be so piqued. But here you are, solitary at the back, armor weathered, secrets veiled under a helmet that hides your eyes from the world. How could I not be intrigued by such promise?”

Helbram laughed, “Promise? You are one of few to suggest such a thing about one such as I. Does our interested party have a name?”

She grinned once again and stood up, her height only reaching up to his head in his seated position. Her short ponytail bobbed as she righted herself up and adjusted her black robes.

“Jahora Starweaver,” she announced with a bow. With a flourish of her hand she produced a small tongue of flame at its palm, “Thaumaturge.”

The armored man nodded at her, “Helbam, a pleasure. Though if you must know we are hardly alone,” he waved towards the inside of the wagon, “Our silent friend has been privy to your questions.”

Confusion flashed across Jahora’s face, soon replaced by surprise as she peered into the wagon. The gnome quickly regained composure and waved.

“Hello there, forgive my rudeness for not seeing you earlier.”

“I hardly think they mind,” Helbram said, “they’ve said nary a word to me since our journey began.”

He called out to the person nestled within the wagon’s depths, “Does our mysterious figure have a name?”

A slight shift of the figure’s hood revealed the barest amount of olive skin, “Leaf.” Their voice was deep, placing them as a man.

“Leaf? Quite a name, I’m sure there is a story to that,” Jahora said, eyes alight with curiosity.

Leaf snorted, “My father has a shite naming sense, there’s your story.” his accent was thick and harsh, not quite native to the mainlands of the Freemarks. “Now if you don’t mind I’m trying to sleep off this blasted headache. All Father’s balls I’m never drinking again…”

“Ah, we’d best leave the man alone then,” Helbram said, “but since we’re in the mood of exchanging stories, what brings one such as yourself to the outskirts of society? You are certainly no native to these parts.”

Jahora smiled meekly, “Am I that obvious?”

“Very much so.”

She laughed and once again took her place at Helbram’s side, “I’m afraid I too don’t have much to say,” she said coyly, “But since neither of you two will reveal anything I suppose I should be the one to break the ice.”

She flicked her hands across her robes, producing a pattern of stars that trailed across the dark cloth, evoking the night sky for a moment before fading back to their ordinary make, “I hail from Helios. My family tries their hand at a small bit of Artificery, but before I took up the trade full time I thought it wise to travel the land a bit, see if there was anything out there I could learn, to produce better products of course.”

“Or to shirk responsibility for sometime,” Helbram said in a light tone, “You’re not going to find much magical items out here aside from magitech and self heating kettles.”

A sheepish smile tugged at her lips, “What? Of course not, don’t be silly. Reliable and responsible, that’s what they call me.”

“You didn’t tell your family.”

“I’ve sent letters.”

Helbram chuckled, “I’ve no right to judge. I’m quite a bit aways from home myself.”

“Are you now? Where does our knight hail from, pray tell?”

“Please, I am no knight,” he went silent for a moment, “Caershire.”

“Caershire? I cannot say I’ve ever heard of such a place.”

“No one has, and that is how they prefer it,” He adjusted himself and stared at the sky “Just imagine the smallest most quaint village possible. Then cut that in half. That is Caershire.”

“The nostalgia is clear in your voice… do you miss it?”

“Sometimes,” he directed his attention to the forest, “but I know if I stayed in such a place my heart would grow restless. I would wonder at what lay beyond the forests they had nestled themselves so deeply within, questioning what I was truly capable of in such an unknown world.”

“And? Did you find out the answer?”

“...yes, yes I did.”