Spending the next couple hours back underground, trying to get further ahead. Calling it early, heading back to Ink`s for a cash infusion, and getting the rest of the supplies. Counting them out, two canteens, already owned, five sets of underwear and socks, wearing one, a bedroll, my pouch with herbs, twenty leaves and two doses of that green goop, two sheathes for the knives, already owned, hip and torso, but leaving the hatchet here for space and weight considerations. Then spending a good amount of time with the needle and spider`s silk on the new set of gloves.

　　Out for two days in a row, even managing to catch a bit of sleep in the pod the first night. Back in at midnight, taking a light dinner and falling asleep. Awake at dawn. Had hit 11 during the night.

　　Name: Lucilia Macarthy

　　Profession: Runemage Level: 11

　　Sex: Female

　　Experience: 44,115 (20,096)

　　Age: 20

　　Until Next: 10,635

　　Health

　　83

　　Mana

　　69

　　Stamina

　　34

　　Spirit

　　8

　　Strength (STR)

　　56 (3)

　　Constitution (CON)

　　63 (6)

　　Dexterity (DEX)

　　68 (14)

　　Agility (AGI)

　　87 (18)

　　Discipline (DIS)

　　76 (13)

　　Aura (AUR)

　　81 (15)

　　Logic (LOG)

　　72 (16)

　　Intuition (INT)

　　75 (17)

　　Wisdom (WIS)

　　45 (-3)

　　Influence (INF)

　　76 (13)

　　Name

　　Trainings

　　Bonus

　　Armor Use

　　6

　　29

　　Physical Fitness

　　12

　　51

　　Simple Weapons

　　12

　　51

　　Arcane Symbols

　　17

　　64

　　Magic Item Use

　　12

　　51

　　Harness Power

　　12

　　51

　　Mana Control

　　12

　　51

　　Runemancy

　　12

　　51

　　Arcane Lore, Shaping

　　12

　　51

　　Arcane Lore, Transference

　　5

　　25

　　Survival

　　12

　　51

　　Perception

　　12

　　51

　　Climbing

　　12

　　51

　　Swimming

　　10

　　45

　　First Aid

　　12

　　51

　　Trading

　　12

　　51

　　Stalking and Hiding

　　12

　　51

　　Scouting out the next two Runemancy spells.

　　Twelfth rank.

　　Rune of Focus: Enhances a worn item, increasing CS by up to 20. Only one such item will apply this bonus when worn. Duration is 20 minutes per Runemancy rank.

　　Enhancement magic for spellcasters. Twelve mana, so not as spreadable as Accuracy and Deflection. Toss this on Riley and her blasts of light will really do some damage.

　　Thirteenth rank.

　　Rune of Warding: Enhances a worn item, increasing TD by up to 20. When hostile spells are successfully warded the enemy caster suffers a backlash, suffering minor mana and stamina damage. Only one such item will apply this bonus when worn. Duration is 20 minutes per Runemancy rank.

　　Phenomenal. Items that increase spell resistance are extremely valuable. Extremely valuable. Thirteen mana to cast. These are both still only temporary. At some point there`s bound to be something to make these enhancements permanent. Probably combined with a very detailed, expensive and time consuming process.

　　Putting the spells down the road aside, its finally time to test Carve. Sharpened claws. What`s going to happen? Sitting at the desk, moving everything aside, giving my hands room so as not to touch anything. No rune for this, but the target is undoubtedly my hands. Clearing my head and then focusing on the spell, pouring the mana into my hands. Slight resistance, and then filling. It worked. Didn`t it?

　　Huh, they don`t feel different. Turning my hands palm up and palm down. They look the same. Touching my thumb to my fingers. Rubbing my hands. Nothing. Rubbing them together. Nothing. They feel completely normal. But the spell took, it definitely did.

　　Taking an index finger and touching the top the table. It feels soft. Some resistance, but with a little pressure sinking in, cutting through, the formerly solid wood now soft and pliable. Holy shit, it did work. This is wild. Had seen my master casually split a table in half with this before having me mend it.

　　Feeling an itch near my nose and absentmindedly bringing my finger up to my face. Staring at it, inches away, trying to calm the surge of panic. Careful. If wood easy, flesh would be even easier. They don`t look it, but now they`re razor sharp. How sharp? Maybe stone. Standing up, holding my hands in front of me, going to the door, reaching out to touch the metal handle, but then stopping. Don`t want to scratch it all up. Maybe try to use a towel to wrap them? Going to the bathroom and pulling one off the hook. Trying to at least, my fingers not gripping, cutting right through. Can`t even pick it up. The entire hand is a razor, down to just below the wrist.

　　Of course, the shield. Oh, and of course, didn`t activate it yet. Okay, release this spell, puncture, let the mana drain out. Should be back to normal. Tentatively touching the wall, feeling, once again, solid and reassuring. Tracing. Runic Shield. Reactivate Car- Wait, should put on some underwear. And a shirt. They`re not the biggest, a nice handful, but some early birds may be walking around. No reason to give them a free show. Now reactivate Carve. Opening the door with the shield and holding my hands out in front of me as if they were covered in oil. Extremely sharp, deadly oil. Down the stairs and out the front door. Whoa, using the shield to readjust some guy walking near me. Watch yourself, you almost got perforated.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

　　If wood was that easy, how about these cobblestones. Kneeling down and testing with my finger. Feels pretty solid. Using all four fingers together, adding more force, trying to scoop. Slowly sinking in, the consistency feeling like very thick clay. Really sharp. Pressing my fingers further into the stone, making more headway. Using both hands, carving a circle, digging up a handful of cobblestone, and tossing it a few feet away. Seems very useful. But also inconvenient, expensive and a short duration. Put together, all the hallmarks of a great spell.

　　About to release the spell again, but first reactivating Runic Shield. Twelve hours on it now. Releasing Carve. Touching the stone. Back to being stone. Running out of time, need to go. Glancing back. Oh, that guy had been watching the whole time. Probably should have put on pants.

　　Quickly getting ready and packing up my entire life. Arriving at the cobbler at quarter to seven and grabbing the new boots. Definitely comfy. Heading to the clothing store and getting my new gear. Cloak and pants a dark beige. The shirt, lighter, with lined, angular designs on the cuffs and collar in black thread. Otherwise plain. Good looking, nice and understated. The pants not the sleek material, instead two thin layers of material, softer on the inside, stiffer on the outside. The bandanna an off white. The pack, tough, lightweight, darker in color, near black. What is this material? Not thick enough to be bear or yeti, and it doesn`t feel or look like snakeskin or basilisk. Maybe some kind of dog or big cat. Night Hound? Possibly. See how it holds up, probably got a deal on this.

　　Heading to the town hall and renting a locker for twenty days for two gold. Putting everything in there that`s not coming. The final stop. Filling the canteens, water and lemonade. Snacks for the road, apples and some dried fruit, and then hardtack and dried meat. Eating breakfast on the go, hurrying to the West Gate, arriving at ten to eight. Activating Rune of Accuracy on the dagger and Rune of Deflection on my armor.

　　The merchant caravan took up the entire area in front of and around the gate. Fifteen wagons pulled by horses. Most of the wagons from the two of the big merchant companies by insignia, the one with the diamond and the one that resembled a ship, but three of the wagons independent. And there, my group, bearing the Ishtar symbol on their cloaks, standing roughly near each other, speaking in twos and threes. Eight men and two women. Time to meet my new comrades.

　　Getting closer, two familiar faces in the group. Starting his fourth year, light brown hair, and sporting a new goatee. Blindside. And there, starting her third year, darker hair to her shoulders, naturally downturned lips. Magpie.

　　But they`re not running things, that`s some guy named Daniel. Which one is he? Probably him, he looks the most stressed. Walking up to his group and interrupting his conversation.

　　"Excuse me, Roy sent me over here. I`m Lucy, I`m joining up with you guys on this."

　　"You`re Lucy?" said the man that the stressed man had been talking to, looking me up and down. He doesn`t seem terribly impressed. "I`m Daniel, and I`m in charge of the expedition. This is Hugo, he`s second in command." The now slightly less stressed man giving me a nod. "I was told that you were new, so a quick rundown on my expectations. Listen up and do what you`re told. When someone gives you an order, its for your own benefit. If you have an objection at the time, keep it to yourself and do what you`re told. You can bring it up afterwards."

　　"Yes, sir." Giving a regulation salute, palm out, my other hand at the small of my back.

　　Daniel pausing for a moment, then continuing, "I was told you have enhancement magic of some sort. You`re going to be in Hugo`s group, at the rear. I`m not expecting much from you, but do your best to support them. Take the time to get yourself situated today, we`re going to be on the main road so there shouldn`t be many issues. But tomorrow the Great Western Road becomes a much smaller western path heading over the pass. We`ll be hitting the desert by late afternoon, where there isn`t anything even resembling a road. I wanted to get out of here by eight but we`re still waiting on some people from Windward." Turning to Hugo. "I`m going to head up front and see what the holdup is. You see if anyone in back has any idea." Then addressing me. "As for you," barking out two names, "Serena, Grace," the other girl and Magpie turning their heads before coming toward us. "Lucy here is new, see if she has any questions. I`ve got to start getting this all going." Daniel considering me again. "At ease." Dropping my salute.

　　"Will do," said Serena. Based on her outfit and lack of armor probably a caster of some sort. Daniel walking toward the front of the merchant train, followed by some people, Hugo heading toward the rear with two others. Serena and Magpie stuck dealing with me. Serena glancing off to one side, Magpie with her usual look of dissatisfaction. Serena taller than me, Magpie close. Oh, so close. Goddamn it, goddamn it, goddamn it.

　　Serena looking down, slightly shaking her head, and then in a bubbly, cheerful voice, "Hi, nice to meet you, I`m Serena, I really hope we can get along."

　　"Yeah, I hope we can be good friends," Magpie chiming in right after. Magpie. The girl couldn`t charm a snake into taking a bite.

　　"Yeah?" Considering them now. Serena concealing disgust, Magpie concealing hostility, but not trying very hard. "Before we go any further, let`s cut the bullshit. I know about your thing. I joined up knowing about it. You don`t need to play any stupid games with me like I just fell off the turnip truck. You`re really bad at it." Turning my attention to Magpie. "Especially you."

　　An awkward moment.

　　"Fuck, that`s a relief," said Serena, the disgust gone. "Roy said you knew what you were doing, but rules are rules." Reaching out her hand. Shaking it. Magpie following suit, her face not changing very much at all.

　　"In that case," said Serena, "good to have you. Lucy, right?" Nodding. "Man, I`ve been looking forward to this for awhile. Four days straight. And then the city. And four days back. It`s a great time. And don`t mind Daniel, he`s only a hardass when we`re doing shit like this, so you don`t need to playact like you`re on parade duty. Although I`m glad the Academy changed their salute, it looks way more professional. Back when I went it looked like this." Serena giving a quick Academy salute. "So is there anything you want to know, or are you good?"

　　"I`m good. I`ll figure it out as I go."

　　"I like you already," said Serena, "you`re way less stress than I was expecting. You`re going to have a good time on this trip. You know, some people say they have trouble telling the difference between this place and reality. But its not hard. Its easy. When you look around and everything`s shit, that`s how you know its reality. Just a big ol` pile of shit. This place, way better. Anyway, I`m gonna get to the front, you`re with her in the back. And it`s not you, she`s always like that. Only one thing puts a smile on her face and neither of us got it." Serena heading off in the direction Daniel had gone.

　　Turning to Magpie. Well?

　　"C`mon," she said.

　　Getting to the rear of the wagon train and joining up with my group.

　　Hugo Anderson, Bertrand Wallace, Thomas Greene and Grace Upton.

　　The three men giving me a look, getting an eyeful, Magpie`s look, in contrast, much more curious than theirs.

　　"Yeah, I know, my last name. I`ve heard it all. Cut me some slack."

　　Slight confusion from the men, and then understanding, followed by introductions all around.

　　"Okay," said Anderson, "Tommy, Grace and Lucy, since its your first time doing this I`ll give you the rundown. Bert, you don`t have to listen."

　　"Wasn`t planning on it," said Wallace.

　　"This is their first time?"

　　"Yep," said Anderson. "Grace joined up maybe five months back, Tommy about four. I`ve been doing this trip a couple times a year for the past couple years. A couple years back Roy had this bright idea to head over the mountains and head west. Bert managed to convince me to come along."

　　"Don`t blame me," said Wallace, "you went because of Constance."

　　"Who`s that?" Had only seen Serena and Mapgie.

　　"You don`t-" said Anderson. "Oh, that`s right, you`re completely fresh. She couldn`t come this time. Connie and Roy got roped into doing something at the last minute. `Official business.` " His fingers giving air quotes. "The last couple times we went it was just the six of us, but this time we had significantly more demand so we needed volunteers."

　　Magpie snorting.

　　"Except for Grace here. She drew the short straw and didn`t get a choice."

　　Hasn`t changed at all. Lazy Magpie.

　　"Serena seemed really excited to go M-, Grace. She said it`d be a good time."

　　"That`s because Serena`s a freak," said Magpie.

　　"Yeah she is," said Wallace, grinning at Anderson, "that`s the best thing about her."

　　"Don`t worry Grace," said Anderson, "you`re with us, and we`ll make sure you have a good time, too."

　　"You promise?" she said, smiling.

　　"Absolutely," said Anderson. "But anyway, today is a short day. We`re traveling on the main road and stopping at an imperial fort at the foot of the mountains where The Emperor`s Highway intersects. Its a popular trading point for merchants so as far as they`re concerned its not a waste. We`ll camp there tonight. Tomorrow we go over the pass, and then its across the desert. Should get to our destination by sundown on the fourth day.

　　"As far as monsters, here on rear guard it should be easier. Most of the stuff should be up front. But don`t get complacent, especially once we`re in the mountains and further beyond." Looking at me. "Lucy, they said you were our support. A Runemage. I`ll be honest, I have no idea what that does."

　　Time to shine.

　　"Let me see your weapons real quick, I`ll show you." Glove off.

　　Runes of Accuracy on Magpie`s knife, Anderson`s sword, Wallace`s bow and Tommy`s two handed sword and bow. Runes of Deflection on their armor.

　　"Oh, one thing, Grace, I need to see something." Giving her angry eyebrows to complete the look. Spending the next fifteen minutes making small talk, with each person in the group trying not to look at Magpie, failing at some point, laughing, and then causing everyone else to burst out laughing. Magpie getting angrier and angrier as time went on, making the eyebrows irrelevant, so willing them away.

　　A signal from the front and all the merchant wagons starting to roll out.

　　***

　　It had been a carefree day. Walking along the road at a slightly brisk pace, taking turns sitting on the back of the last wagon, taking in the scenery, the small towns and forests and hills and plains to the north and south of the road. Only a handful of incidents, and easily dealt with at range. Didn`t even get my hands dirty. Hadn`t even had the opportunity to take a swing. Carefree and simple and boring. A couple hours in starting to mess with Magpie. She had been trying her best to ignore me, to ignore my existence entirely, which really set me off. Starting off with innocent, and not so innocent, questions. Playing stupid. Pretending to drop things in her path. Trying to trip her. Attempting to rile her up, and, for the most part, failing. By mid afternoon, bored out of my skull, challenging her to a duel. By that point she had been more than ready, and we were starting to square up, but the whole thing had gotten quickly scuffed by Anderson.

　　Not the most productive use of a day, but better dealing with her than dealing with the three men, and the merchants glancing back, now and again, from the last wagon. Could see the hamster wheels turning behind their eyes, their not so veiled looks at me and Magpie. At our very similar heights, at our very similar builds. It was no mystery at all what they were thinking.

　　Late afternoon, the banners of the imperial fort coming into view, signaling the end to the traveling portion of an easy, carefree and disconcerting day.