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  She was thinking about that as the wagons slowly began moving along the southern highway. ‘Julietta!’ an irritated voice called. She turned and saw Dorian waving at her. He was sitting next to the driver of a wagon in the middle of the train, his pack next to him. She approached, confused. ‘Asmara’s up front with Mister Alleman, Bo’s down the back, if you prefer.’

  ‘You’re just going to... sit the whole way?’ she asked in surprise.

  He shook his head. ‘No, but do you see anyway someone’s going to sneak up on us here?’

  Julietta flushed. They were right outside the walls of Manus, the road was filled with other wagons, horses and people walking. The wide, paved road ahead stretched through farmland as far as she could see.

  ‘The only place we might have trouble on this route is going through the foothills of the Belcanese mountains. The road cuts through the hills, it can get a bit narrow. It’s well maintained and well travelled though, and the Duke of Mercôt keeps it well patrolled. I’ll stay here in the middle and keep an eye on things with magic. Asmara likes to be up front. You can go where you like, but you shouldn’t be on your own your first time out.’

  ‘Y-yes, of course. Well, I’ll stay here with you then, if you don’t mind.’ she said, noticing he had left himself out of her options.

  He shrugged.

  She mumbled some apologies to the driver as she lugged her pack up on to the seat and hopped up to sit on the other side of him.

  ‘Ooh, I get two sorcerers, I must be lucky!’ he chuckled. ‘And such a pretty one too!’

  Julietta stared, taken aback.

  ‘Leave her be, she’s fresh out of college. Try not to scare her off before we’re even out of sight of the city.’

  The driver turned his attention back to the two pairs of oxen. ‘I can’t sit around all day like you two!’ and he jumped down from his seat to walk along by the beasts, ‘off we go!’ and he gave an ox a rap on the rump with a staff he held in his hand. The wagon jerked as the creatures sped up ever so slightly, slowly plodding along after the rest of the wagons.

  The day passed sedately. Occasionally, Asmara or Bo would come and speak with them, or Dorian would hop down to stretch his legs. Julietta followed his example. Physical exercise was part of the regimen at the MCW, and Julietta had dedicated more of her time to it than most, as she had been preparing to be an adventurer. Still, she was pleased she hadn’t had to spend the whole day walking, like the man in charge of the oxen (who never let her and Dorian forget it). Occasionally, Dorian gave her directions.

  ‘You see there’s no way anyone could sneak up on us here,’ he said as they rolled through fields.

  Julietta nodded and then said, ‘yes, I see that,’ as his hat was pulled down over his eyes and she would have thought him asleep if he hadn’t been speaking to her.

  ‘-unless there are any mages out there, I doubt it, but in places like this that’s what you should be looking for. When we start moving through less open territory you need to look for other people who might be laying in wait for us. Try and focus on the sides of the road, Asmara’s up the front and will take care of that. Since you’re so good at magic and it should be safe here, we can switch, you can do it for a few hours and then I’ll take over.’

  Julietta took his instructions dutifully. Carefully, she’d observed him as he watched the surrounding land with his magic. It was boring, draining work. She could do it, but she couldn’t help wondering how he’d managed it entirely on his own before now. When she asked his only response was ‘practice’.

  That night they stopped at an inn. As it was along the well-travelled route between Manus and Halle, it was busy and well-appointed. Julietta had no complaints about the quality of the food or beds. Julietta watched closely as Dorian cast some spells over the wagons to protect them while they slept. After dinner, Asmara went over the next day’s route and their plan. The next day was much the same as the first, and their journey into the province of Mercôt passed uneventfully.

  CHAPTER 3

  28 Jarna, 1352

  After they parted ways with Mister Alleman in Halle, the capital of Mercôt, Julietta received her first ever wage. ‘Here you go,’ Asmara counted the last of the silver coins into her hands. ‘Now, we’ll go to the guild office here in Halle, we’ve got some paperwork to do!’

  Julietta wasn’t listening. She stared at the pile of silver coins in her hands. ‘This much?’ she demanded.

  ‘Well, the guild rules say as a novice you get a smaller cut, once you’re a full member you’ll be entitled to an equal share-’

  ‘No,’ she interrupted, flushing, ‘no, I mean, this is a lot more than I expected- I researched you know, average earnings for guild members and unaccredited warriors. This seems a lot.’

  ‘Oh.’ Asmara smiled, her white teeth flashing. ‘I command a premium. And Mister Alleman was very happy we arrived two days early!’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Two days ahead of schedule-!’

  ‘No, I mean, what premium?’ Julietta insisted, at the same time knowing the excellent time made by the wagon train had nothing to do with her or the others, but the four weeks of perfect summer weather they’d enjoyed.

  ‘We didn’t mention it, Asmara.’ Dorian interjected.

  ‘Oh? Oh, yes, I forgot.’

  Dorian sighed as Julietta said, ‘didn’t mention what?’

  ‘Well, I’m a shadow mage.’ Asmara said. ‘So I get a premium- guaranteed success!’

  Julietta was shocked into silence.

  ‘Asmara doesn’t use her shadow magic though,’ Dorian said, ‘so we didn’t tell you, in case you actually believed this guaranteed success stuff.’

  ‘You charge people for being a shadow mage and don’t-’

  ‘It was a success.’ she shrugged, ‘and I am a shadow mage, so if I wanted to...’

  ‘But you said you’re a spell-sword.’

  ‘I am.’

  Julietta frowned. ‘That’s very unusual. Shadow mages don’t usually use other magic.’

  ‘Don’t they?’ Asmara asked, a wry smile curving up her lips.

  ‘No.’ she replied. ‘They don’t. Do you not know many other shadow mages? It is so unusual some scholars have speculated they are unable to take up other magical arts.’ It wouldn’t have been unusual, Julietta thought, for Asmara not to know any other shadow mages. Many scholars had remarked on the aversion of shadow mages to the company of their own kind.

  Asmara shrugged, ‘I guess I prove that wrong.’

  Julietta’s frown deepened. She studied Asmara’s face intently. Asmara stared right back, clearly used to this sort of thing. Now that she was looking for the signs though, Julietta saw it, shadows around Asmara’s eyes that shouldn’t have been there. They were quite minor though, and might be confused for regular shadows if you weren’t looking for them.

  ‘Hrm...’

  ‘Do I pass?’

  ‘I see you don’t use your shadow magic often.’

  ‘I try not to-’

  ‘How was it you came to learn?’ she asked, a spark of excitement lighting in her even as she felt some reluctance at having started her journey with a shadow mage. Perhaps she might research magic while making a name for herself as an adventurer, which was all the more impressive and quite fitting for a young lady of her talents.

  ‘Oh, I picked it up I suppose, I did not go to school either-’

  ‘Of course, there is no school for shadow magic-’

  ‘I-’

  ‘How did your normal magic manifest?’

  ‘I decided to take it up.’ She replied.

  ‘You decided to take it up.’ Julietta’s eyebrows rose. ‘I see.’

  Asmara just smiled.

  Julietta frowned again. She had thought Asmara to be several years older than her, but if she was a shadow mage she was almost certainly younger; they did not often make it to twenty. Indeed, twenty was generally considered the cut off date, the age no shadow mage exceeded. Except
for one, she corrected, but she’s the only exception I’ve heard about. As these thoughts occurred to her she could not help feeling incensed at Dorian’s complaints about her age. She turned her attention back to Asmara and thought against asking her her age, it was likely a sensitive topic. Looking at her again, Julietta decided it was her air of self-assurance that made her seem older.

  ‘I would be interested to see you use your normal magic.’

  ‘Perhaps you’ll get a chance, if you stay with us.’

  ‘You won’t do a demonstration?’

  ‘A demonstration? If you want to get your papers filled out before midnight we need to get over to the guild office!’

  Julietta followed reluctantly, not sure she would be staying. No sorceress, no matter how skilled or powerful, could compare to a shadow mage, even one who didn’t use her magic often. As they headed towards the guild office, which looked much the same, but smaller and shabbier than the Manus office, Julietta wondered how she could possibly prove herself while travelling with a shadow mage.

  These concerns were wiped from her mind as they arrived at the office. A dour looking clerk placed a pile of papers in front of her and handed a form to Asmara. ‘The full members who accompanied you on this job will submit a review of your behaviour. This is your membership form which you will submit, along with the death arrangements form, a bank account request form, or details of your own institution if you don’t want to open an account with us, this here’s the insurance form, and here’s the members ethical guidelines and...’

  When the clerk was finished Julietta carried her pile of papers over to a table where the others were sitting. Asmara was frowning over her form and crossing something out while Dorian was trying to give her instructions.

  ‘Just let me do it Asmara-’

  ‘I know my own membership number-’

  ‘Then why did you cross it out?’

  ‘I know it so I know when it’s wrong-’

  ‘We’ll be here all day-’

  Dorian sighed and turned to Julietta, apparently having lost the argument with Asmara.

  ‘Do you need any help with those he asked?’ he’d taken his hat off, and his red hair was sticking up in unruly tufts.

  ‘Um...’ Julietta placed the pile down on the table. ‘I didn’t do anything on that job, nothing happened.’

  He shrugged. ‘It’s standard to get a pass unless you really screw up. The guild wants your membership fee. After, you can continue with us or you can take another job as a full member. Either way, you still need to fill out those forms.’

  Julietta didn’t know whether to be relieved or not. As she gestured for Dorian to have a look at the forms she wondered whether she’d be able to find another group to travel with. Recommendation or not, she hadn’t done anything, the job had been entirely peaceful. She was interrupted from her thoughts by Dorian explaining the forms to her.

  ‘This is the standard membership form. Don’t get too hung up with them, if you can actually read and write you’re ahead of most of the guild members... This one here is just to make arrangements so the guild knows who to tell and where to send your payment if you’re killed on a job,’ he continued, ignoring the way Julietta paled, ‘this banking stuff here is mostly optional. You can open an account with the guild and they’ll take your payments and look after it, or you can arrange a different account. They make it more difficult if you do that because they want your bank fees, but you don’t need one, you can just take coin like most people. Bo has an account though, that’s what he’s dealing with now. Asmara has one too. Here’s the insurance, this is if you mess up a job and your client loses all their stuff... the guild likes you to have it so they can give guarantees to clients and give themselves an advantage over the other groups. You don’t need it either, but they’ll charge you a higher membership fee if you don’t... This thing here you only need to sign, basically it says you won’t steal your client’s merchandise...’

  When he’d finished he looked up at Julietta’s stunned expression.

  ‘This is... more complicated than I thought.’

  Dorian actually smiled, and Julietta couldn’t help blushing in response.

  ‘You could avoid it all of course and go unaccredited, but you’d have some trouble, having no reputation. The Lakashan guilds aren’t nearly so complicated, but the Walmese ones are even worse.’

  ‘Worse?’

  ‘Finished!’ Asmara suddenly declared, holding up her form and beaming brightly. Dorian made to look at it and she scowled, ‘It’s done and it’s finished. I just need you to sign it.’

  ‘Asmara-’

  ‘Look, sign here.’ and she placed it on the table, covering the top half of the form with her hands.

  ‘Perhaps I should fill out my own. I don’t know if I want to be associated with that thing.’

  Asmara just smiled and beside his printed name drew a big ‘X’. ‘Ok, no problem. You’ve signed, I’ll go get Bo’s signature.’

  ‘Asmara!’

  ‘That-’ Julietta stuttered, ‘that’s not even-’

  Dorian sighed. ‘As I said, a lot of members can’t read so... X’s are pretty common.’ he scowled. ‘But I can and I have a signature on file, if they decide to be picky.’

  Julietta, her face pale, watched Asmara thrust the form at Bo. That was her recommendation form Asmara was compromising.

  ‘Here, you better get started on your own forms.’ Dorian said.

  As she began filling them out she asked Dorian about his travels.

  ‘I escorted a caravan to Walmon a few years ago, before I joined Bo and Asmara. After, I tried to get a job with a caravan coming back to MJ.’ he sighed, ‘I had to apply to be a temporary guard just for that, I couldn’t go unaccredited... they have about as many forms as the guild does here, but they’re really picky about how you fill them out in Walmon. They don’t take ‘X’s’ over there.’

  Julietta frowned at her form as she placed it to one side. It was handwritten, but copied. The lines and little boxes for her to check or not weren’t all quite square. ‘I would think all this paperwork takes a lot of organizing.’

  ‘Mm. They have sorcerers making the copies and doing most of the filing.’

  Julietta looked up, aghast.

  Dorian’s lips quirked up in a smile, and Julietta ducked her head quickly to hide her reddening face.

  After she’d finished and handed in her forms Asmara and Bo joined her and Dorian.

  ‘I’m all sorted.’ Bo said. ‘Did you have any trouble with your forms?’ he asked Julietta.

  ‘Um, no, I’m just waiting.’

  ‘Ah, your membership card. Don’t worry, if you forget your number you can just make it up, Asmara does it all the time.’ and he started laughing.

  Asmara, who pretended she hadn’t heard, said, ‘I’m going to see if I can find a caravan heading to Sontmor. Julietta, are you going to come with us?’

  Julietta hesitated for just a moment. Then she nodded. ‘If you don’t mind.’

  ‘Are you alright going to Sontmor?’ Dorian asked her, all grim and serious again. ‘It won’t be like this.’

  Julietta bit back an angry frown, annoyed to have him doubting her yet again and said, ‘I would like to go to Sontmor.’ She wasn’t lying. Sontmor, the province at the tip of Mance-Jolune that ended in the raging Sea of Storms, was the last untamed land left. If she was going to go on any real adventures in Mance-Jolune, it would be in Sontmor.

  He sighed. ‘Alright, do you have any warm clothes? We won’t be able to have many fires.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘You’ll see when we get there.’

  Julietta spent the rest of the day sorting through her clothes and shopping with Bo and Dorian, which was an interesting experience to say the least. When they returned to the inn Julietta quickly escaped her two companions to tend to the far more relaxing task of re-sorting and packing her bags. She penned a quick note to her family to inform them she was still ali
ve and committed to her new profession and sent it on its way. The little folded bird flew out her window and off into the night. She watched it go, pleased with the cleanness of its form and the even rhythm of its flapping. No mere storm or bird of prey would be able to stop it, and she did not doubt it would reach its destination. Later that evening she joined her companions for dinner.

  She took a seat next to Bo at a round table just big enough for four, ‘did Asmara find a job? If you’re the leader, Bo, why don’t you find one? I noticed she does most of the routes too.’

  ‘Asmara doesn’t like staying still.’ Bo chuckled. ‘And she’d check the routes anyway if I organized them, better to just let her handle it. Less work for me.’

  ‘She hasn’t found anything yet.’ Dorian added. ‘Bo and I will help her look tomorrow. You can do what you like, just don’t get into any trouble.’

  ‘Perhaps I can go too and see how she does it.’ Julietta replied, incensed at what she felt was an entirely unwarranted instruction.

  ‘Perhaps not just yet.’ Bo replied. ‘You’re a little young,’ and at Julietta’s deepening frown he went on, ‘and whether it’s fair or not, clients might have some reservations about hiring you until you look more...’

  ‘More like you haven’t just strolled out of a fancy girl’s college.’ Dorian interjected.

  Julietta, mightily offended, crossed her arms over her chest and refused to respond to such outrageous accusations. Still, at the back of her mind she made a note to inspect herself more closely in the mirror once she went back to her room. She thought she had dressed quite appropriately for her new career. Glancing at Dorian and Bo she thought perhaps her clothes were fresher and brighter, but surely all adventurers had to buy new clothes sometime? She looked around for Asmara and spotted her sitting at another table talking to a man. Asmara dressed like a man. Julietta’s dress was a walking dress, it was entirely appropriate for walking and riding in! She turned back to Dorian and Bo, about to explain the difference when the server came over and placed a bowl of fish soup in front of her. Julietta looked at it with interest, her expectations high; Halle was a major fishing port and was famous for seafood. Then Asmara joined them and the moment to explain the difference between regular dresses and walking dresses was lost. Julietta watched and did not participate much as the other three chatted animatedly. Asmara teased Dorian mercilessly, and the red-haired sorcerer responded heatedly every time, much to the amusement of the other two. Bo, gesturing with his spoon, told wild stories that made very little sense to Julietta. Asmara often laughed, while Dorian just shook his head, apparently not finding his stories that funny either. Occasionally though, Bo would draw a chuckle from Dorian that grew into a laugh and he would beam, satisfied. Once the plates were cleared away Asmara stood, ‘these tables are too small. Dorian, follow me.’