The day passed by slowly as the caravan rolled on, eventually arriving without incident to what looked like the shell of an old military outpost.

The interior had been mostly cleared out, giving enough space for the caravan to pull inside while keeping an area sectioned off for the horses.

The Kranjir sprang into action as soon as the caravan came to a stop, setting up camp with smooth and practiced actions.

Verdan and his group found a spot of their own and followed suit, setting up some tents that Tobias had supplied with the wagon.

“Master!” Verdan looked up as Dirk came running over, waving to catch his attention. Verdan’s young apprentice was bubbling with energy and had a broad grin on his face, which was a relief.

Verdan hadn’t been sure how Dirk would react to a trip that would end with leaving his mother behind.

“How was travelling with the Keeper?” Verdan asked as Dirk bounded over to them.

“It was great!” Dirk enthused, his eyes sparkling as he pointed out at the thick forests that surrounded the old fort. “He was telling me stories of the forests and the creatures out there, so I told him about fighting the shadeweavers. He was really interested in my magic as well.”

“I’m sure he was,” Verdan muttered to himself before continuing in a questioning tone. “Did you explain it to him?”

“Well, I was going to, but then I remembered how you don’t explain too much to Dirk said, sighing a little before pausing and looking up at Verdan. “Was that wrong? Should I not have explained?”

“In the future, I would be careful about who you give information to, but the Keeper seems an honourable man.”

“Is that why you were so reluctant to teach me?” Dirk asked, his words catching Verdan by surprise.

“A little,” Verdan admitted, his brow furrowing as he realised there was a key part of Dirk’s apprenticeship that Verdan was neglecting. “Come with me.”

Verdan turned and walked a short distance away from the rest of the group while staying within the bounds of the fort. Motioning for Dirk to step closer, Verdan conjured a bubble of wind around them.

It was only a minor spell, but it would be enough to stop anyone overhearing them.

“Master?” Dirk looked at Verdan with a somewhat confused expression.

“There’s much I haven’t told you, and I will likely keep it that way until you are a Wizard in your own right, but you deserve to know more about the history of what you wield.”

Verdan could see the questions in Dirk’s eyes, but his apprentice managed to restrain himself enough for Verdan to continue.

“Where I’m from, there were as many Wizards as there are Sorcerers here, and they were in charge of everything. Wizards were taught in large groups, learning everything at a voracious pace, but too many of us didn’t learn the right things.”

“What happened?” Dirk asked breathlessly.

“War came, destroying my homeland and killing those I loved,” Verdan said, exerting every ounce of his will to keep his voice steady as old memories flickered through his mind.

Taking a deep breath, Verdan began to tell Dirk about the history of Wizards, starting with the war and working his way back to some of the ancient tales he still remembered.

Once he got going, Verdan found that he remembered a surprising amount of the things he’d learned as an apprentice.

-**-

Stolen novel; please report.

Kai eventually came to fetch the two of them, interrupting Verdan to tell them that food was being served at the Kranjir camp.

“Will you tell me more of these stories?” Dirk asked as they both followed Kai over to where the main camp had been set up.

“Of course, I want you to know more about what being a Wizard means,” Verdan said, smothering a smile at how eager Dirk seemed.

Verdan had given his approach to Dirk’s apprenticeship a lot of thought since Dirk had begun to make progress with his spells.

Only giving Dirk a partial education was an insult to not only Dirk but to Verdan’s old Master. While Verdan had learnt at the Imperial Academy, he’d been taken on as an apprentice when he graduated, and those years were some of the happiest he remembered.

Verdan would keep his origins a secret, for now at least, but there was no reason why Dirk couldn’t learn more than just the Words of Power.

“Wizard Blacke,” Sebastian’s voice cut through Verdan’s thoughts as the older Kranjir came over to them as they entered the camp.

“Keeper Macstan,” Verdan gave the other man a respectful nod, matching the formality of his address.

“How have you found your first day of travel?” Sebastian asked, motioning for Verdan to lead the way as they moved over to where a communal stew was being served.

“Informative, I’ve learned much already about the lands north of the Grey Peaks.”

“Good, good, too few of you Southerners take any notice of the North. Perhaps this caravan will change that, though, and lead to us working together more.” Sebastian gave Verdan a contemplative look.

“A good goal to work to,” Verdan said, not quite sure what Sebastian was looking for.

“Indeed,” Sebastian took the bowl of stew offered to him by the camp cook and passed it to Verdan. “Regardless, eat up. We have a long day tomorrow.”

Verdan wordlessly accepted the food and thanked Sebastian as the Keeper turned to leave.

“Interesting,” Kai murmured as he accepted a bowl of his own, and they made their way to where some logs had been set out as seating. “Quite a different tone to what Ciaran said.”

“Agreed, which makes me wonder if Ciaran was overstating the potential issues or if Sebastian knows something he doesn’t.”

Dirk had left to go find his mother, but the rest of Verdan’s group joined them over the next few minutes. Barb and Hedda both got a few curious looks from the rest of the caravan as they joined them, but a lot of that was directed to Barb’s prosthetic.

A wooden prosthetic wasn’t exactly uncommon, but the enchantment that Verdan had layered onto it allowed for limited motion and utility. While it wasn’t as durable or long-lasting as a similar piece made by an Enchanter, Verdan was quite proud of the Aether constructs he’d layered onto it.

Once they’d eaten, Verdan took Dirk off to one side and worked with him on their daily training. For all that there was a lot happening, Verdan still wanted to make sure that Dirk was keeping up with his progress.

-**-

The next morning saw the caravan slowly trundling back out of the old fort and heading north once more.

Verdan was taking a turn inside the wagon today, with Gwen riding upfront with Kai.

Barb and Hedda were having a quiet conversation in Kranj, so Verdan was left to think of Ciaran’s words the day before.

Originally, Verdan hadn’t been too concerned about their protection during the trip, anticipating that the issues they’d seen in the past were unusual in nature.

With Ciaran’s description of this wide expanse of neutral land between the mountains where the Clans had control, Verdan now had the impression that things like a Darjee hunting party were far more common than he’d like.

With the threat of such an attack hanging over them, Verdan was considering what measures to take to ensure their safety.

The Kranjir seemed to have things in hand with their outriders and cavalry, but the caravan was long, and those warriors were spread out.

If they were attacked, one of the biggest problems, outside of injury and death, would be damage to their wagon. Verdan wasn’t confident that they would be able to travel on with the Kranjir, especially not now that they were fully loaded with gear.

Short of expending a terrifying amount of Aether on wards, there was little Verdan could do about attacks on his companions.

The same was not true for the wagon.

“I’m going to be doing some deep meditation. Let me know if anything happens,” Verdan said, getting a brief acknowledgement from Barb and Hedda.

Sinking into a meditative trance, Verdan whispered a spell and attached it to the wagon they were riding in. Aether swept out over the wagon, infusing it with the concept of durability and strength.

A secondary ward covered resistance to flames, as they were always a popular form of attack.

Verdan would have wanted to continue with more layers of protection, but there was only so much Aether than mundane wood could handle.

The wood for Barb’s prosthetic was from an inherently magical tree, which was why it could take as much as it did, but even so, Verdan was pushing it.

When he did finally come to make her a finished version, he would make sure that it was of a high enough quality to handle all the spells attached to it.

Turning his attention back to the wagon, Verdan made sure to infuse it with as much Aether as he could without making the whole thing break down.

Casting two wards and dumping so much Aether into them in such a short space of time left Verdan with a burgeoning headache, but it was worth it.

Any non-magical attack on the wagon would now be blunted by the spells he’d cast, which could ultimately be the difference between life and death.