Cruck’aa’s wagon rounded the corner and disappeared behind the trees. Werond stretched up in her seat, craning her neck to catch a glimpse of the road ahead. She shifted about impatiently until their wagon finally rounded the corner.

Werond groaned.

The forest the caravan had traveled through opened to another vast stretch of grassland. And against her hopes, the Trade Way extended straight ahead, with no turns or bumps that she could see. Emerald grass lay for miles, with no hint of civilization among the soft hills that rolled across the plains.

For the next hundred miles, Werond had no need to keep her hands on the reins; so long as the lead wagon kept moving, and no one else broke down, all the wagons would continue forward, stopping only to rest each night. Which meant that Werond had nothing to do for much longer than she anticipated.

She sank down in the wooden bench, leaned her head back, and cursed at the cloudless sky. While she enjoyed doing nothing while she worked, it made the hours come to a halt. What was she to do until…something happened? Werond couldn’t even leave the wagon, though she had no desire to do so. She had nothing to keep her attention, save staring out across those green fields that she loved dearly – if she had not done that the day before, and the day before that, and the day before that…

“I think I miss the politics back home.” She grumbled to herself. At least her boss had something to do, even if it was mindlessly sorting through fabric.

Werond shifted upright, fixing her posture. Her new boss – if the relationship was still new – was the oddest person Werond had worked under. Only a week had past, and the two had become friendly with one another, something that never happened with Werond’s previous superiors. Werond preferred to keep that superior-subordinate relationship, if only loosely, but Serena had insistently expressed that they were friends, not coworkers, and should refer to each other as such. Despite that, Werond still called her “boss” whenever she could, if only to laugh at the annoyed face Serena made.

And during that week of sharing a wagon, Werond had concluded that Serena, while grown, was still childish at heart. She held a basic view of the world around her, still seeing everything in shades of black and white, and not the greys that Werond was accustomed too. This coupled with the bottomless well of energy Serena possessed, as she constantly hopped from one place to the next. She never sat still at dinner, always running off to talk to – or at – the other wagon owners, should they happen to walk by. Most did not mind and were more than happy to exchange greetings with her; those that did were quick to make their reservations known, and Serena never bothered them again.

Serena’s chattiness – if it could be called that – helped her win over many people, and her presence was welcomed by many campfires at night. However, it wasn’t just her outgoing nature that won people over; perhaps the most innocent aspect of her boss, Serena made it her mission, every day, to help at least one person. As soon as the caravan began to move, Serena would hop off their wagon and roam about, asking every teamster and wagon owner if there was any work they needed assistance with. Somedays, Serena came back with a frown, but other days, Werond wouldn’t see her again until after dinner, sweaty and tired, but with a bright smile etched across her face.

Werond was shocked when she found out Serena did it all for free. Serena had simply shrugged and told her, “It’s the right thing to do, why would I charge people?” It all seemed asinine to her, but Werond couldn’t get that across to her boss.

She scratched her neck and glanced at the covered part of the wagon.

In a way, Werond respected Serena for everything she did. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d met anyone with that much empathy, especially in her line of work. It was a welcome change of pace, compared to her previous superior.

The cloth curtain flung open behind Werond; Serena stepped over the bench and plopped down next to her. Her tunic, normally clean, was untucked from her skirt, and dotted with sweat.

“Hot back there?” Werond asked. Serena nodded, and flicked her hand; the sweat on her forehead disappeared.

“I put some of the silk in the back and cut off the air flow. Almost overheated.”

“You don’t have any magic to cool yourself down?”

Serena glanced at Werond sheepishly. “Well I would but…my teacher used a lot of magic surrounding ice and uh…I didn’t want to copy him.”

“So, you have no idea how to cool things down?”

“Nope! But I can make some amazing fires!” Werond laughed.

“Just what we need today, with the sun out.”

Serena grinned. She raised her arms into the air and leaned her head back, smiling as the cool air washed over her.

The wind blew Serena’s tunic against her frame, pulling the fabric taut; Werond stared for a moment, only to snap her attention back to the road.

“What all did you learn from your teacher?” she asked, leaning over the side of the wagon as though she were inspecting the wheels. She glanced back at Serena, who had slumped back in her seat, a single eye cocked.

“Why? Trying to learn my secrets?”

“Nope, I was just curious is all. If that’s privileged information –”

“It’s not. I’m just curious why you were curious.”

“I’m bored boss. And I want to know.”

“I imagine.” Serena shot a look at Werond as she grinned.

After a moment, Serena gestured to the stretch of open road. “Don’t know how you do this all day. I’d go insane and ram Cruck’aa’s wagon by now.”

“And that’s why you aren’t allowed on the reins boss.”

Serena laughed, that familiar silver melody flooding Werond’s mind.

“Fair enough.” Serena signed. “Well, my teacher was a man named Bron. He was a really accomplished wizard and helped me understand what all I had going on…even if I had to beg him for a couple of years.”

“How come?”

“Oh, he and Ned were convinced –”

“Ned?”

“Bron’s husband. I lived with their family for nine years, and we all became close. But Bron and Ned were convinced that I’d end up hurting myself with the magic.” Serena looked up and squinted. “I’m a sorcerer, so all the power and stuff is inside me, ‘churning and whirling like an endless maelstrom’…his words, not mine. Bron had no idea how to begin teaching me though. He’s a wizard, so he had to learn how to control the magic around him. I was able to do some of the stuff it took him years to figure out, but I was unable to control it. They had to teach me a lot of restraint.”

“Did you ever hurt yourself?”

Serena let out a pfft. “All the time! I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I burned myself. I once didn’t have eyebrows for a month!” Serena shot Werond a horrified look. “Do you know how bad you look without eyebrows?!”

“I uh…” Werond stifled a laugh. “no, but I image it’s pretty bad.”

“It’s horrible!”

“Uh-huh. So, you were adopted then?”

“Kind of. That’s how Bron and Ned saw it, became a daughter to them. But my actual Mom and Dad didn’t...”

“Didn’t want to give you up?”

Serena’s face twisted, and she looked back towards the road. Werond’s chest tightened.

“Sorry Serena, if it’s a sore topic –”

“No, it’s fine.” Serena signed, not looking at Werond; it took Werond sometime to realize that even seeing Serena’s signs from the corner of her eyes allowed her to hear her boss. “It’s complicated. I was ‘adopted’ by Ned and Bron, but only because Mom and Dad didn’t have a choice. They were being pursued by some…bad people. They were trying to take Dad away and…well, kill me and Mom. Ned – he was a family friend of ours – offered to take me in, and my parents…agreed to it.” Serena sat upright, as her lips twisted into a frown. “It wasn’t easy but…it was the only thing they could do.”

“How long ago was that?

“Nine years. Haven’t seen them since.”

“Oh,” Werond sucked in a breath, “I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. Life happens, I guess. It’s gotten easier to live with over the years.”

“What’s stopping you from going back home? Aside from being stuck on the caravan.”

“That’s actually what I’m doing. Walking back home. Dad promised they’d still be in Mirabar if I ever showed up again. I’m sure he’ll keep his word.”

Werond frowned. “Working on a caravan seems like an odd way to get home though.” She said. “Especially since this one stops in Waterdeep. Doing it for some side money?”

“No, we got hired to investigate –” Serena flinched, her eyes suddenly wide. “Err, yes, I mean, yeah – we got hired as guards. I needed – we all needed the money!” She turned towards Werond; a massive grin plastered across her face.

“If that isn’t true about everyone, I don’t know what is.” Werond said. Serena nodded, and turned back towards the road. While most of the sweat had dried from her, Werond noticed new droplets forming on Serena’s head.

Werond shrugged. Her boss was hiding something, but it wasn’t her business to figure out what. She had her own problems anyways.

“I’m uh,” Serena signed and stood up. “gonna go finish doing…sorting the silk. Let me know if you need anything.”

Werond let out an exaggerated sigh. “What, you’re just going to leave me to the open road?”

“Oh, you don’t want to listen to me talk, I’d just be blabbering like always.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Werond said; she turned towards Serena and smiled warmly. “I always enjoy talking with you, even if it’s about nothing.”

Serena stared at Werond. The wagon wobbled and she grabbed the back of the chair for support.

Werond frowned.

“What? Did I say something wrong?”

“No – no – one,” Serena straightened up. “No one has ever said that to me before. You…surprised me a little.”

“Oh. Well, I stand by it.” Werond smiled again.

Serena stood in place, swaying with the wagon as it road over the tiny bumps in the road.

Slowly, Serena’s cheeks brightened, until her whole face was as red as a beat. She nodded once, before ungracefully scrambling back over the seat and into the wagon.

Werond’s smile remained as she focused her attention back towards the road.