As Horatia sat in the empty building, her mind was filled with turmoil.

Is the spellbook that Mabel gave me super important? What’s going to happen if someone sees the mark on my shoulder?

Feeling the dull throbbing pain of the wound, Horatia’s hand hovered over it before turning her head to get a closer look. 

The marking on her shoulder‌ looked like an arrow. However, the little curvy lines on the side made it much more intricate.

Slowly standing up, she looked down at the journal the mage had given her. It was nothing special. Just an old leather journal. But when she opened it, her eyes widened in surprise. 

“This is-!” 

Inside the journal, strange writing filled the pages, and it was clearly an unknown language. Brow furrowing in frustration, Horatia flipped through the pages, increasing her speed as she tried to find some parts that she could understand.

“Why!? Why would she leave me this if I can’t read any of it!?” 

Towards the end of the journal, Horatia was just about to throw it away, believing it to be useless, when something caught her eye.

Drawings of several runes filled the final pages, accompanied by their translations in the common tongue of the Truscan Empire.  

Her heart beating with excitement, Horatia looked through all the drawings until her eyes landed on one of a rune the same as the one on her shoulder.

“Deinceps…onward? Or is that supposed to say forward?” Looking at the ambiguous translation, Horatia remembered what the mage had told her. 

“So Deinceps is the language of the Attero. The rune represents the word Deinceps. Was she implying that it can make whatever you want to move forward?”

Even though that mean lady gave such a vague explanation, it might work.

Scanning the empty building, Horatia looked at one of the old wooden chairs and held her arm out.

“Deinceps!”

After several seconds, nothing happened. Confused, Horatia glanced back at the journal to check whether she was saying it right before trying again. 

“Deinceps!”

Again, nothing.

“Why is it not working! Was the mage lying to me!?” Throwing the book down, Horatia raised her arm again and focused only on the chair.

“Deinceps! Deinceps! Deinceps!” 

Even after saying the translation several times, she failed once again, causing her to let out a heavy sigh and pull down her sleeve to cover her shoulder.

“What was I thinking? There’s no way I could actually do magic.” Looking wistfully at the chair, Horatia walked over to the building door entrance before glancing back at the journal she threw on the floor.

Unable to help herself, she quickly grabbed the journal before adjusting her winter coat and leaving.

It was only moments after the door closed behind her that the chair moved forward.

…

Despite Horatia initially being worried that Mabel would be furious at her running away, she found a small group of other children and convinced them to lie and say that she had run over to play with them.

So when Mabel finally found her among the children, her reaction to the sight was a relief.

“Honestly, Horatia! If you just wanted to play, you could've asked me!” Now being pulled along, Mabel kept a firm grip on her wrist as they walked through the town. “I may know the people here, but there’s always a chance something bad could occur!” 

Letting out a slightly strained laugh, Horatia felt a twinge of guilt. However, the tense, almost exhilarating encounter with the mage quickly overshadowed it. 

“Sorry…Miss Mabel. I’m just a bit excited.” 

But that’s besides the point. Can she not walk so fast? She’s pulling my arm?! It hurts!

Despite the wound not being as deep as Horatia thought, she couldn’t help but grimace as Mabel pulled her along, causing a twinge of pain in her still sore shoulder. 

Glancing at the various festival stalls, a small stall selling trinkets managed to catch her eye. 

As if sensing that her charge's attention was being diverted, Mabel followed Horatia’s gaze and let out a sigh, noticing the stall Horatia was looking at.

“Do you want to look at that stall?”

Surprised, Horatia looked up at Mabel and slowly nodded. “The trinkets look so pretty! Father gave me some pocket money so I can buy whatever I want!” Patting her coat, Horatia could feel the weight of the coins in the inner pocket.

As if sensing potential customers, the stall owner, an old, wizened woman, beckoned both of them over. “Don’t be shy! I’m sure that I have some goods that’ll catch the eye of such well-dressed ladies as yourselves!

Letting out a sigh, Mabel motioned Horatia to follow. “Alright. I suppose it would be odd if we came back empty-handed. Make sure you buy something for your father as a thank-you gift.”

Nodding eagerly, Horatia went over to the stall, and her eyes lit up in delight at all the jewelry laid out. “How pretty!”

Clearly pleased, the old woman grinned. “I see that you have a keen eye. Since I’ve been blessed with seeing the only daughter of House Briedis, I’ll let you have an additional one of my items for free.”

Mabel’s eyes snapped up, and she quickly pulled Horatia behind her back as she warily looked at the woman. “How do you know her? This is the first time the young lady has even set foot out of the estate.” 

Confused, Horatia looked up at Mabel in confusion and couldn’t help feeling nervous as well.

Miss Mabel seems angry. Was the old woman not supposed to know who I was?

Cackling, the old woman waved her hand as she tried to calm Mabel down. “Settle down now. I may be well into my years, especially for our kind, but I know that we wendigo from this region don’t have such striking amber eyes. The only one who does is the Marchioness.” 

Pressing her hand to her chest, Mabel felt a bit embarrassed at her overreaction. “I see…I apologize. I cannot help but be on edge whenever my lady’s safety might be at stake.”

Sensing the tension melt away, Horatia stepped closer to the stall and browsed the jewelry, still a bit confused about what all the tension was about, but deciding not to intervene.

The old woman was now chuckling as she shook her head. “There’s no need to apologize, my dear. I can see now why no guards follow your every move. You’re very good at your job.”

As the two continued to converse, Horatia carefully picked out presents for her family. A pocket watch for her father, earrings for her mother, and a brooch inlaid with a deep blue for her brother. 

The gemstone looks just like his eyes! I bet he’ll be amazed when he sees it!

Feeling proud of her selection, Horatia handed her pouch of coins to Mabel so she could pay when something caught her eye. 

“This is…!”

Noticing Horatia’s surprise, the old woman smiled.

“I see that you have a great eye for valuables. Would you like to try it on?”

Nodding, Horatia watched as the gnarled fingers picked up the bracelet she was eyeing and put it on around her wrist. “As I mentioned, this one’s on the house.” 

The bracelet wasn’t flashy. It had intricate beading and was made of simple leather. However, it was the engraved and polished stone that caught her eye.

Specifically, what the engraving said. 

Horatia remembered that on the list in the journal, a rune similar to the engraving on the rock. 

Saltu. To leap or jump.