I finished packing away our belongings and we headed downstairs to the tavern. Julius took a table in the far back corner that gave us a vantage of the entire room. Amelia saw us from the bar and waved. A moment later she was bouncing over to our table with a pitcher full of water.

"Well, good morning you two! Look at that sharp looking uniform Julius! Quite fetching if I’m to be honest" She turned to me and gave me an exaggerated wink.

I had no clue what it meant.

This woman was entirely too happy after being awake all night. It made me tired to see her so wide awake.

She stood there beaming with energy and just continued on, "What can I get started for you? Jesse just brought up some fresh eggs if you wanted something breakfast-y!"

"Good morning Amy," Julius spoke up first, "I'll have whatever today's meat is, the largest portion of bacon you're allowed to bring me, some hashed potatoes, some oranges, a great big pint of cider... oh and a few of those eggs."

"You got it, love. And for you, miss Airis?"

By the Celestials, that’s a lot of food.

Julius was obviously hungry. I wasn’t in the same gluttonous spirit as he was and opted for a more simple breakfast.

"I'll take a slightly bigger portion of bacon than the hog over there," I nodded at Julius, "and a pint of cider as well."

Amelia gave us a thumbs up. But before leaving she placed a hand on Julius’ shoulder and leaned in. She whispered something in his ear that caused his eyes to widen just a small amount. Then she winked at me and trotted back to the kitchen.

"Sooo..." I started.

"Shut. up."

"What was that all about?"

"That, was her telling me that I had ‘lost my chance’ because—and I quote, ‘A lovely red haired, violet eyed beauty stole my heart away last night’." He gave me an inquisitive look, "So, maybe I should be asking you, miss Airis?"

I exploded in a giggle fit. I couldn’t help but laugh uncontrollably at the thought. That Julius, the noble looking knight-in-shining-armor, was just a little peeved that a pretty girl told him she preferred me over him. I let out a long sigh and brought myself back to reality.

My cheeks were still flush but I was able to form coherent words now, "Aaaah. She’s too cute. We just had a few drinks last night after you went to bed, that’s all."

He sat there pouting. "Uh huh. Nothing else happened?"

"Wouldn’t you like to know?"

Julius kept pouting for another minute but dropped his act when Amelia swung by with two large glasses of cider. Tartapple. Delicious! Julius and I shared a cheer and raised our glasses together.

"So, I have some good news. Turns out Commander Brooks passed through here a few days ago—With a large number of Divisionals in tow."

"Your army made manifest."

"She and I went to war-college together, ya’ know. If we can find them we’ll be in a great position."

I smiled. Well, it was more of a shit-eating grin than a smile. "The Celestials rain blessings down upon me."

"Do they now?" Julius quipped in a snarky tone. "If that was so, don't you think we'd be in Axio, having our breakfast instead of this tavern?"

"Perhaps, the Celestials just work in mysterious ways." I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. I meant it as a joke, but Julius was right. I was certain the Celestials did not rain down any blessings on me. "But how then would the bards know to sing of my greatness and valorous deeds?" I threw a snarky quip back at him and flashed a wicked grin.

"Hah! Greatness indeed. A great big head perhaps?" Julius took a sip of cider and grinned back at me.

"Oh come now, Julius. Perhaps they will sing of your greatness as well." I drummed out a simple melody with my fingers tapping against the table, and sang a short tune. The chorus of which involved a number of gruesome things that happened to ‘Sir Julius’. On the second round of the chorus I was cut off—

"By the Aether, Airis! What in the underworld was that!?" he shot daggers with his eyes, a soured look on his face. "Woman, you are not a bard"

And that is what he gets for being a dick earlier. I gave him a big smile. He relaxed after another minute and let out a chuckle.

"Where did you even come up with such terrible lyrics?"

"Well, there was this awful minstrel in Axio that followed one of the noblemen around. Robin, I believe his name was."

"Well I hope that noble fired that minstrel. That was truly terrible. Never sing that again."

I raised my hands in defense, "Like you said, I am no bard."

We were interrupted by the arrival of two large platters of food. Though one was significantly larger than the other. Julius’ eyes got wide when he was presented with his feast. My plate had a small bowl filled with red berries. I looked at Amelia questioningly and was met with a look that I could only describe as ‘motherly’.

"I know you only asked for bacon," she said pointing at the bowl, "but you really should keep your breakfast balanced with some fruit. It helps keep your head clear." She gave me a big smile and walked away before I could protest.

Julius gave me a stupid look while nodding his head. He pointed to his bowl of oranges and with his mouth already full of food he mumbled, "It's true."

Julius continued to shovel loads of food into his gaping maw. Alchemists would likely one day study the phenomena that was his ability to consume his body weight in food in a single sitting. I picked at my berries and bacon slowly, savoring each bite. It was doubtful we’d have food like this for a while.

Nyle greeted me with a scrawled out breakdown of our charges when I went to clear out tab. The charges were actually reasonable considering how far from the city we were. Totaling sixty-five silver coins in all, I gave Nyle a gold coin from my pack, "That should cover us, don’t worry about making change. Please split it with Amelia."

As we were leaving the tavern Amelia spotted us and waved goodbye. Julius and I headed to the stables. I flipped my coin, calling tails for the mare. She didn’t buck as often as the stallion. Julius swore at the sky, calling out every Celestial in a heathenish display of sacrilege.

The sun rose quickly.

Julius was riding ahead of me, leading by about two or three lengths. We passed empty clearing in the trees one after another. After an hour the boring ride took a twist on the exciting side. A fog started to roll into the forest. Julius stopped his horse and looked back at me.

"This fog doesn’t feel natural, Airis."

I could feel a jolting tingle on my skin, Aethermist. The same condensate appearing in the runic magick I used to view interfaces, Aethermist would form in large amounts when non-elemental magick was performed.

I dropped from my horse and quickly pulled my staff from the saddle.

"It’s Aethermist, Julius."

Julius dropped from his horse, but not quickly enough. A loud demonic howl pierced our ears. The howl spooked our horses and they ran off.

Julius tried to grab the reins but they slipped past his grasp.

"Dammit!"

Another howl pierced the air. This time accompanied with a heavy snarl. Two figures skulked out of the mists. Their red eyes flickered in the fog. Large wolf-like beasts came into view. Instead of the fur I expected, they covered in a thick scaled hide. Large black fangs dripped blood onto the dirt below.

Julius turned to me with a serious look, "Keep your guard up. That damned horse took off with my shield." He frowned, "I won’t be able to use any of my defensive skills without it."

"Noted, I will have to be a big girl and take care of myself. What’s new?"

We took up our party positions. Though, with just the two of us it was more of a simple line formation.

Julius raised his sword and peered into the mists.

I brought my staff up and channeled magick through it. The mists around me were absorbed by the focus crystal.

“Source of light that dwells among the veiled. Come forth and guide our way, Radiance!”

Bright golden light washed over us and my rune pulsed with a notification.

» YOU ARE AFFECTED BY AN AURA OF LIGHT

In a quick flick of my wrist, I drew a small circular sigil in the air and channeled a small amount of energy through my hand.

“Let the power hidden within my being come forth, Brilliance!”

A violet flash of light cascaded down over me and another notification flashed.

» YOU ARE AFFECTED BY ARCANE BRILLIANCE

Julius was holding his sword squarely in front of him, casting an incantation of his own, “—cleanse my blade of impurities, Imbuement!

The weapon flashed brightly, dulling quickly to a golden glow along its sharp edge.

One of the demonic wolves leapt at me. Julius caught it in the side with his sword, the blade glanced against thick scales but knocked it off course.

The wolf snarled at him; its aggression successfully secured. Julius shouted out a shattering cry and the other wolf snarled and glared at Julius.

Nice taunt!

With the wolves' aggro held by Julius, I focused my magick and brought holy energy into my fist.

“Righteous Fire!”

A simple HOLY BOLT soared towards the wolf that lunged at me. The fiery bolt punctured through its scales and exploded with force. Chunks of flesh and hide laid strung out around the wounded body of the wolf, now struggling to rise up.

I tapped my rune to bring up a display and review the damage to the creature.

» BLADE SLASH [IMBUED] GLANCES, INFLICTING MODERATE (65) DAMAGE

» HOLY BOLT HITS, INFLICTING MODERATE (134) DAMAGE

» HOLY BOLT CAUSES MAJOR WOUNDS

Moderate damage, so these things are definitely Demons.

Julius brought his blade down with a killing blow and pierced the wolf’s heart through the gaping wound. It went limp and the red glow of its eyes faded.

I’ll take that as dead.

Julius and I both turned to the remaining wolf. It was still focused on him and lunged forwards.

Julius brought his sword in to parry—and was nearly knocked over by the weight of the beast.

Its claws tried to take hold, but couldn’t find purchase. Julius squared his legs and pushed the wolf back.

"Rooarrh!" He let out a rage filled growl.

I called out to him.

"Julius, they’re Demons. Keep its attention and I’ll blow it apart with another bolt. Then you finish it off like that last one."

Julius nodded and brought his sword up in a striking stance. He leapt forward at the wolf and slashed at its snarling jowls. He struck true and the wolf yelped in pain.

No way he was losing its aggro to my spell casting now.

I brought another HOLY BOLT to bear and sent it flying at the wolf’s side. Another explosion and more visceral bits sent flying across the battlefield.

» BLADE SLASH [IMBUED] HITS, INFLICTING MODERATE (122) DAMAGE

» HOLY BOLT HITS, INFLICTING MODERATE (147) DAMAGE

» HOLY BOLT CAUSES MAJOR WOUNDS

Julius brought his blade down and finished off the demon-wolf. Its body writhed on the dirt as its muscles convulsed. A low pained growl escaped its maw before the light in its eyes dulled.

He turned to me, his breath was heavy and labored. Long gashes were etched down the center of his breastplate. The damage to his chest armor was severe, but the gouged metal along his left bracer was even worse.

"Looks like that thing almost got you good. Are you alright, do you need healing?"

Even if he was injured, his stubborn ass wouldn’t tell me. The impulse to attempt a block must have been pretty strong, though he probably felt pretty dumb for blocking with his arm.

I swiped over my rune and brought up a new display showing my party statistics.

"I’m fine." he huffed. Still catching his breath.

Barely missing any health. Yeah, he’ll live.

Performing that defensive parry really drained his stamina. It was more than common knowledge among defender-type class specializations, that using any guard skills without a shield can be devastating.

Julius leaned back on a tree and sheathed his blade. The aethermists fell back and rescinded into the forest.

With the way clear I should look for our horses. This will be an exhausting walk if we can’t find them.

I let out a sharp whistle.

And… nothing. This has turned into a nightmare of a day. Alright, well looks like we’re going to have to search around. But first those demon dogs.

I searched both corpses and collected what I could,

LOOTABLES

It was possible we could use these scales to improve his armor. If not, we could always still sell them to an armorsmith if we come across one.