There was no desert nearby. The daylight offered them a new view of their surroundings, as Kali led them to a mixture of rocky places with nature. It resembled the territories around Galya or the Sea of Grass, the same that they walked along with the pack until they reached Alder. His map, on which they traced various routes, was of little help to him as long as they continued in the middle of nowhere.

“We need a landmark,” Rune muttered.

“And not a mountain. Who knows if we’d be looking at a known place or not,” Leith said, rolling her eyes.

They slept the best they could, staying close to each other to keep warm. Both Nero and Leith were vital in this, staying close to their sleeping bags. Even Blanche, despite their fight, knew that separating would do nothing but harm them if they came under attack. Breakfast was copious, seeking to regain strength without cooking or wasting any more time. The silence was too uncomfortable to maintain, although the same was true in the reverse case.

“Since no one wants to take the first step, I will take the liberty of doing so,” Aer said, managing to capture the attention of those present. “What happened last night cannot be repeated.”

“We were lucky,” Rune nodded.

“And we doubt we’ll ever be that lucky again,” Leith said.

They were not only referring to their fight against the bandit, the teleportation and their discussion.

“You may not be friends. No one would blame you,” Nero said, as calm as ever. “However, you must learn to work together.”

“I see the logic of it. That’s why I want to know where you’re headed,” Blanche said.

Calm, one might even say professional, the Signer had changed her attitude overnight. Perhaps they both needed sleep almost as much as food, but as Ead told them, the new day would allow them to see the situation differently.

“Why?” Finnian said, cocking his head to one side.

“I have the right to know where we’re going, don’t I?” Blanche replied. “You don’t like to go in blind, and neither do I.”

“But it’s the information we won’t share with anyone else who isn’t part of this group,” Rune interjected.

He was referring to Kali, even if no one present needed to name her to know. The fairy was too far from being part of his unit when she came and went as she pleased. Perhaps she was a fellow frionach, but Ead and Kali had little in common that it was odd to compare them. Blanche shook her head, as aware as they were that it would come up in conversation something like this.

“But it’s part of mine, although if you need to hear it, she won’t share it with anyone else.”

“That’s fine with me,” Finnian said, shrugging his shoulders.

“Do we have a deal, then?” Blanche said.

“Don’t go so fast. You’re not the only one who needs something to trust you,” Finnian said.

“Great. What do you want?”

She folded his arms, just as they expected. While she made it clear that Kali was her buddy, someone Blanche trusted but cared little if they shared that sentiment. However, there was one detail she could not bargain with if she intended to continue with them.

“We want to get to know Ark more, let him participate more if necessary, and you too,” Aer said.

“He is your partner, after all. Let him communicate with us more,” Leith said.

“If we have to fight side by side, we need to be able to trust him to have our back,” Rune said.

Blanche looked at her partner, neither added anything for a few seconds, using the bond they shared to communicate without hearing them. That was a boundary they didn’t intend to cross, but trust had to be earned, and if they got to that point, it was better not to leave anything behind that they might regret. Besides, their fellow eltheans also had a say in the whole thing. As much as they were both Signs, they were not mere unfeeling tools that only served their mission.

Ark then took a few steps forward, approaching the rest of the elthean, before adding in a slightly high-pitched yet serious voice:

“Don’t expect me to join your circus, but I will speak if I think it is required.”

A comment that made them let out a sigh. Even when they agreed to their terms, they always found a way to be insolent. Even the elthean wanted to answer him, but it would have only aggravated a situation where the tension looked like fireworks.

“We’re heading for the Silver Orchid.”

“But that’s too far east... What did you miss there?” Blanche said, coming closer to take a look at the map.

“You just wanted to know where we were going, not the reasons,” Finnian said, raising an eyebrow.

Since she was so demanding, he wouldn’t let her take advantage of his goodwill either.

“Anyway, we’re sure we should go there,” Finnian replied before she could reply.” I had a vision of that place. For all we know, something happened there that connects it to all this.”

“That’s why visions don’t excite me. They’re never as clear as they should be. Good thing I’ve had my fair share,” Blanche snorted.

“Really? How many have you had?”

“Just one, when I showed up here.”

A simple answer that gave away more than it seemed. Even Finnian didn’t keep track of how many he’d had, especially since such a thing was as vague as she made it out to be.

“Perhaps their difference has to do with how open you each are,” Ead said.

“The subconscious can affect one’s abilities, both magical and not,” Nero said.

Wolves, for example, were empowered individually but also by the pack. The more numerous they were, the more power they would get, although leading such a group was a complicated task. That Braunah managed to do it said a lot about the wolf’s strength. Nero was an exception to the rule. He could have been part of it, but in leaving it, he did not lose a shred of the power he already possessed, partly because of the training he had received but also because of the connection they kept.

In any case, that couldn’t have been more secondary. The fact that they didn’t know where they were didn’t help either, although now their options were not so limited. The morning light offered them alternatives, such as Nero advancing on the ground while Leith did the same through the air. Before they could move, however, they encountered what they would have least expected: travellers!

They were a small but bulky group. They had a wagon pulled by two large golden-feathered birds, while the rest of the elthean could not have been more varied. Of varying heights and aspects, one of those present approached them cautiously, sketching a slight smile as Finnian waved at them. With hair with all manner of accessories, the at first human face demonstrated a pair of orange eyes so uncommon that for him, they were quick to smile at him. Idelya was her name, and that was her merchant caravan.

“You can rest assured,” Idelya said, speaking to the rest of her companions, “I doubt very much that these Signers or their partners are going to harm us.”

“Was it that easy to recognize us?” Aer said.

“Your group is so varied that only humans like them could put it together,” Idelya replied, her smile widening.

“If it’s not too much to ask, could you tell us where we are?” Rune interjected.

Questions like that didn’t come around every day, and although explaining that a spell had taken them farther than expected, it didn’t take them long to find their way. To the north, away from the Ikeleia, the Glacial Flower Road would take them to the city Kiyeira before reaching the Issey region.

“That takes us a long way off course,” Nero admitted.

“We’ve gone so far east, and now it’s as if we’ve gone back,” Leith said.

They couldn’t do much about that. They were far away, they would not try to use such risky teleportation again, and walking would be the only alternative they had left. Besides, as much as they wanted to move faster, their encounters with Blanche and the wolves had slowed them down quite a bit.

However, Idelya suggested accompanying them to Kiyeira. The city was not far, and from there, they could find an alternate route to continue their adventure.

“As much as we like to live on the road, it’s getting more and more dangerous these days,” the elthean admitted.

No one replied to her, as they had no idea where they had come from and were not sure where they were going. Galya was one thing, but going all the way to a big city, with all the good and bad, was something they didn’t even contemplate. Unfortunately, their alternatives were not many, and for lack of a better one, they decided to agree.

“Wonderful! Perhaps we can swap stories. You never get the chance to meet Signers,” Idelya said, bowing her head quickly.

“We’d love to make this trip more enjoyable, however short it may be,” Finnian said, mimicking her gesture.

“But we recommend that you do not share that we have travelled together for the time being,” Ead interjected.

“It could put you in danger, and that is something we would not forgive ourselves for,” Aer said.

“We understand it,” Idelya said, comprehending the gravity of the situation they were in, “and we accept the risks. Anything to get to know you at least a little.”

Instead of focusing on the negative, something could benefit them from this experience. A group of merchants would have information that would be useful to them, and knowing where the problems were happening would be as vital for them to move forward as it would be for them not to find themselves between a rock and a hard place again. And as timely as that encounter had been, it never hurt to be careful. Ariel showed them that they never knew where trouble might appear, so they had to prepare for the storm that was already upon them.