“Really?!” Lia asked, her eyes wide. “That would be amazing!”
“Of course!” Miles answered. “I don’t get to paint couples nearly as much as I’d like. It’d be my pleasure.” He grinned in Layne’s direction. “You can see an example of my work hanging over the mantle of Lyn and Layne’s dining room.”
“It’s true,” Lyn added. “He made it for us as a wedding gift. It’s a beautiful piece.”
“I look forward to seeing it,” I said, putting a hand on Lia’s shoulder. “However, that does mean we’ll have to start walking at some point.” I looked over the faces of our new friends and nodded. “Assuming everything goes as planned, we should see each other again soon.”
“I guess you’re right,” Lia sighed loudly. “I hope your trip goes well, everyone!”
“You too!” Lyn answered, her drawn brow betraying the worry hidden behind her cheery voice. “Primes watch over you.”
“See you soon!” Layne called out as Lia and I started across the courtyard. We both turned and waved our final goodbyes when we reached the road, then began our trip south along the main thoroughfare. Lia skipped ahead of me and pulled me along by my hand; despite the fact that she walked backwards through the crowd, she deftly wove her way between the pedestrians, staring at me the entire time with a wide grin.
“Can I...help you with something, Lia?” I asked, failing to fight off her infectious smile.
She hopped towards me and wrapped an arm around my waist as she tucked herself against my hip. “We made some new friends,” she said, still watching my face intently.
“We did,” I agreed. “Out of all of the possible encounters we could’ve had on the road, that was one I hadn’t prepared for.” My brow furrowed as I thought back over the past few days. “I still can’t figure out why they were being so nice to us. Do you think they—”
She reached up and jabbed a finger into my cheek. “No! No more suspicions.” Her finger shook my head back and forth as she emphasized her point. “They were nice to us because they’re nice people, and we’re nice people. Or, at least, I’m a nice person, which was enough.”
I gasped with mostly dramatized indignation. “Hey, I was nice! What did I do that wasn’t nice?!”
“I’m just teasing you,” she laughed, shoving me with her hip. “You were nice enough once you figured out Layne was a blacksmith.” We turned a corner onto a less-occupied street, and the rolling hills of the Midlands came into view ahead of us. “I’m not sure I’ve ever heard you talk so much.”
“There are only two things that I’m really good at: blacksmithing and fighting. I’ve been fighting nonstop since I showed up in Yoria, but I haven’t had much of a chance to do any smithing.” I stared off into the distance, picturing the space I had marked out behind our house. “Once I get my forge set up, I’ll be able to keep the smithing talk at a more manageable level. Probably.”
“I guess that’s fair,” Lia conceded. “Still, I’m sure you’re excited to visit with them once our trip is over.”
“Yeah, I am,” I said, absentmindedly spinning my thumb around the golden band that encircled the pommel of my sword. “I, uh, hope you won’t be too bored when Layne and I work in his forge.”
“Oh, no, it’s okay,” she answered quickly, looking away. “Lyn had mentioned some...things that we could do. I think she knew Layne would want to show off his forge.”
“Perfect,” I sighed in relief. As the Midlands grew closer, I scanned out with Detection to ensure our path was safe. “You know, even though we haven’t made it to Ellawynn yet, I feel like we’ve been on an adventure already. A successful one, too.”
“I know what you mean.” She nodded her head towards the hills ahead of us. “I bet there’s another adventure out there, too.”
***
13. ADVENTURE
We unloaded our belongings and rolled out our sleeping mats as the sun began to dip below the horizon. Our afternoon of travel had been far more efficient than the time spent with our friends; not only were we able to move at a magic-enhanced speed, but the lack of traffic made our progress easier as well. Foot traffic had abruptly stopped when we left the buildings of Lienna behind, switching to a steady stream of wagons that passed us in both directions.
“I think we’re good to go,” I said as my mana returned to me. “We’re clear out to a couple miles in every direction, and the hills should keep any noise from traveling that far, regardless.”
Lia rolled her neck in a slow circle and stretched her arms out behind her back. “After sparring every day for a month, it’s been weird to take a few days off.” She drew her paired longswords and admired the blades in the orange pre-dusk sunlight. “You said no enhancements?”
“Right,” I nodded, drawing my sword in turn. “We’re well past the point of being able to go all-out in training matches. I’ve never healed anything more severe than a stab wound before, and I’d rather not try to reconstruct a fully shattered arm the night before we meet a bandit crew.”
“Yeah, and I’d feel bad if I hurt you that badly, too,” she smirked, twirling her swords casually at her sides.
“Oh, that’s very sweet of you,” I scoffed. I moved a few yards away to a comfortable starting position, then pointed my blade at her. “No enhancements means no magic shifting swords, either. Pick a form now and stick with it.”
“You’re no fun,” she pouted.
“Hey, if you want to rely on tricks to win all of your fights, be my guest,” I shot back. “But you know as well as I do that we’ve both fought people recently who
