The trails turned into monotony. Lizzy stayed hidden underneath a blanket, continuing to be upset for whatever reason, mumbling about stupid innkeepers and filler. When Eli tried to engage Lizzy, the moody girl only grunted like a hog.

Eli learned to leave her be until she decided to come out of her shell.

They were on their way out of the Glenwin Duchy, the land becoming wetter as they traveled further towards the quagmire. Eli made sure to cast a Water Walk spell on the Carriage to keep it from sinking into the thicker mud. The trees became shorter, more clustered. Bundled together in strange shapes, they were a far cry from the normal scenery in Oriel.

When Eliza Oirel was a child, she learned that the normal flora feeds mainly on air essence, reaching higher and higher to hoard the precious resource. In contrast, flora that is oversaturated in water essence tends to grow downward, attempting to reach deeper reserves underground. Any limb that peeked above ground was only the tip of the iceberg. No one wanted to use a water-saturated tree as a home. Dealing with the massive root system was too tedious.

Eli examined the spindly trees as they passed; thinner than an Elden's waist. The branches of this subspecies should be overflowing with translucent water leaves. In their place was a thick, goopy substance that dripped grey ink.

"Is this the first sign?"

There was a whinny from the beast of burden. One of its long legs got caught in a mud pit,

"Easy..."

Eli calmed the beast with soothing sounds. She heard the canvas cover pull back.

"What happened?"

Lizzy's mood was still sour as a prepubescent who accidentally clipped her bangs too short, but she managed to phrase her words as a question and not a demand.

"This area is more saturated than it should be. The Lorga is already up to its knees in muck, and the trees appear to be withering. Corrupted, almost... I fear we won't get much further if this continues."

A hand touched her shoulder. Lizzy pointed up, directing Eli's vision. The dark canopy gave way to a darker, rumbling sky. The small amount of blue was overtaken by a wave of rioting clouds.

"Exactly whose head did you shave?"

=

The downpour was torrential.

The Lorga was freaking out at each clap of thunder, heavily protesting the pinching rain. The overcharged air was a Qorxau to cast in. The cart's Water Walk spell was on the fritz as Lizzy scrambled to keep the tarp down. She was yelling to be heard.

"The knots keep coming undone! We'll be blown away in the next gust."

Eli called back, doing what she could to calm the Lorga and guide it through the thick blanket of weather. She enhanced her vision to the max, going as far as to dismiss her shield and allow the biting droplets of water to sting. The intense magic surrounding her eyes made them glow like pink spotlights.

"I think I see a stable!"

The outline was fuzzy, distorted. The rain was making it all wobbly, like looking through a funky kaleidoscope.

"That's not possible."

The wind snatched Lizzy's words. She trusted Eli wholeheartedly, but they were too remote for there to be a stable out here. Their destination should be over two dozen kilometers away. The only explanation was that it was a waystation.

Two more knots broke, and the tarp whipped Lizzy's face. Grunting soundlessly, she wiped her cheek, feeling the thin gash that wasn't there before. Drenched and in the worst of moods, she could care less for logic at this point. Gathering her mana, she thrust her hands out. Raw magic thrummed outward in a dome, rebounding twice as it encountered resistance before Lizzy tapped more reserves. The canvas blew completely off, getting lost in the storm.

Seeing Lizzy's efforts, Eli decided it wasn't the time to limit herself. With a quick mental adjustment, she added her own power, causing the forcefield to triple in size. The waste of mana was egregious, but they managed to create a buffer zone large enough for the Lorga.

"Go. Go!"

Feeling their reserves rapidly draining, Eli spurred the reins. The Lorga galloped. Fast.

Two minutes.

Three.

Lizzy felt her reserves reach half-empty.

"How long?"

"It's there!"

At the words, a silhouette appeared. It was not a tree-borne. Cut into planks and built together with pieces of iron, the sturdy structure shrugged off the storm as well as any tree-borne.

Lizzy and Eli exchanged a worried glance.

The ajar entrance was large enough for a manic Lorga to squeeze into. It had no qualms as it burst through the archway, escaping the onslaught. The buffer zone they set up snapped out of existence, the cart smashing into the ground as the Lorga broke free, fleeing deeper into the interior to cower. Lizzy caught Eli as they both tumbled off.

They crash-landed just outside where the rain reached through the doors. Panting slightly, they looked at each other, the damaged wagon and the shivering Lorga. They collapsed onto their backs, limbs still entangled. The laughter came unbidden. Free and true.

"That was kind of fun."

"Exciting."

"I'd say we should do it again if my cheek weren't still burning."

Eli sat up, examining Lizzy's wound. It was superficial. It might sting for the next few days.

"We have some medical supplies in the... um..."

Lizzy grinned, holding Eli's hand.

"...in the cart? Forget it. I'm fine."

Eli snorted uncharacteristically. Speaking dramatically.

"Aren't you brave and strong."

"The bravest and the strongest!"

"A mighty hero."

"Second only to one."

They laughed some more, cuddling for warmth. Then there was a cough.

In synch, their heads turned to see they had company.

A gaggle of Elden children was peeking over one of the pen walls. Two were barely holding onto the ledge while fighting each other for a view. The one who coughed, a small child on the far left, was clearly struggling to peer over the tall wall as he was Gibbs' slapped by the eldest. The middle one, a girl with shaggy brown hair, intoned with an accented voice.

"They're so pretty."

=

Her name was Agatha. She was the most forward of the group. The others only ran out to try to drag her back. The oldest was Sean, who was 11. The youngest, the one who coughed, was 7. The entire group had dark brown hair, typical for their ages. Sean seemed wary of them, but Agatha was all over them, jumping up and down asking questions. Where did they come from? How were they so pretty? Could she play with their hair?

Lizzy was forced to be the mean one and tell her no; their already frazzled disguises would be ousted if their hair was touched. She began reweaving the illusions discretely while Eli retook attention.

"It's nice to meet you, Agatha. My name is Eli."

"Oooh! Just like the Queen."

The name was common enough. Many kids were named after royalty.

"I bet you're prettier than her. I've never seen someone so pretty."

"Your very pretty yourself, Agatha. I bet these boys here tell you all the time."

"Eww. Gross."

That got the boys talking. All the kids showed their displeasure, some more comically than the others. As children, though, their displeasure was soon forgotten as they began asking their own questions.

"How did you get past the rain?"

"Where did you come from?"

"Did you bring any food?"

"Food..."

They were pretty obvious things to address. Sean was too young to hide his suspicion about how they made it past the roiling weather.

Smiling, Eli bent down to address them. Her voice rising and falling as she told a story.

"See that Lorga? Our cart was nearly drowning in the water. We thought we were goners, but he didn't give up. He pulled our cart faster and faster, dodging the raindrops, batting aside tree branches. He found safety and ran straight inside. He's a hero."

The younger kids marveled. Sean crossed his arms.

"How could he see this place? It's secret."

Eli tilted her head innocently.

"I don't know. I don't think he knew this place was supposed to be secret."

"It's our secret base!"

"We play. Duels, too. Away from mean adults."

"Fun."

Eli curled her lips, smiling as Sean seemed to kick himself.

Lizzy finished solidifying the illusions and rejoined the conversation, trying to win back some points.

"We had some salted Puck Boar meat in one of those crates. We'll share it with whoever finds which crate it's in."

The kids sped off. They didn't need more motivation than a challenge and a promised reward. Sean eyed them a moment longer, but his stomach rumbled, and he marched off to join the others.

"They're adorable."

"They must have been trapped here when the storm hit."

Eli nodded, taking in the surroundings more accurately. It took careful perusal to notice the details behind overgrowth, mold, and weed-like vines. The walls were thicker than they appeared, the boards neatly fitted. The wood holding together one of the pens had collapsed a long time ago. The rest seemed to be okay, rising high enough to support the vaulted ceiling. The Lorga's head twisted among the rafters.

The age of the structure was clear. What was unexpected was how it not only blocked out the weather but the magical discharge as well. The air inside was stale, unaffected by the plethora of water essence just outside its boundary. Usually, only tree-borne structures had the ability to filter magic. Iron was a major issue.

"I see why the kids play here. It's far from town, run-down enough that no one will want to venture inside, and strong enough to block out any noise from duels that go on. I wish I had a place like this as a kid."

Lizzy trailed off wistfully. Her childhood had been full of bullies. Having a safe place to return to that no one knew about would have been better for her health. But then, she would have never faced those bullies.

"I found it!"

One of the boys called over. The other ran over to confirm. The scruffy boy was raising the huge chunk of pork over his head like a trophy. Eli kept her smile on her face while she whispered ruefully.

"You don't even know how much that cost. You were asleep when I bought it."

"So? We're rich. It bought me points with the kids."

"We are so having a talk about this later."

Lizzy chuckled. Then her adam's apple bobbed as she glanced at Eli's twinkling eyes.