A Friendly Conversation

Saga found herself in a small empty courtyard created by a ring of tents, all of which were facing away to give anyone in the courtyard some privacy. She did a full turn to see if anyone was nearby, but when she faced Gemma again she froze.

"Where did you get that mark?"

The other woman's voice was suddenly cold, such a stark contrast to her previously warm tone that it took Saga a moment to register the point of the knife pressed against her throat. She remained still instinctively, her eyes locked on Gemma's. She tried to speak, but the motion of opening her mouth was enough to make the point of the dagger prick her skin and she winced. When the other woman relented and pulled the knife back an inch, Saga swallowed and tried again. "My bard's mark? I got it from the Academy, like any other bard."

Saga glared at the copper, lifting her head slightly and trying to appear stoic and confident. She'd trained with the Guards on diplomacy and disguise, and while she wasn't so good that she could become a completely different person like some of them, she could adopt a persona as well as the next woman. That said, this was her first time trying it under pressure, and she wasn't sure she could pull it off.

The other woman's eyes crackled visibly with electricity, and a spark leapt from the tip of her blade to Saga's skin. It wasn't enough to cause harm, but the unexpected pain - obviously a warning - made her flinch. "You're lying, I know this mark's owner." Gemma reached out and snatched the mark from Saga's chest pocket, studying it closely with her free hand. Her eyes crackled again, and Saga could the hairs on her arms beginning to stand. The other woman's glare had turned from cold and steady to fiery. "What did you do to the man you took this from?"

I'll tell you what I'll do when I see him again, Saga thought. This mark is more trouble than it's worth. Out loud, she narrowed her eyes at Gemma and remained silent. Her Master had ordered her not to tell anyone she'd gotten this mark from him and she wasn't going to give up so easily, if for no other reason than she didn't want to deal with him lecturing her if she did.

Gemma studied her a moment longer, then froze. Her gaze shifted from the Saga to the mark, then back, then down slightly, then back to Saga. She blinked once, as if stunned, and before Saga could react, the copper had lowered the knife and was clutching her belly and laughing.

Saga didn't know what had gotten into the woman, but clearly Gemma found something hilarious, and Saga had a distinct impression that it was her. Despite being afraid for her life only seconds before, she found herself growing embarrassed now. "That's quite enough," she said, giving her voice as much authority as she could muster.

Gemma stopped laughing just long enough to look at Saga's face before falling to the ground, laughing even harder.

"Oh, come on!" Saga stamped her foot in indignation, and even to her own ears she sounded more like a petulant child than a dignified adventurer.

Gemma must have taken pity on her because, with that display of childishness, she finally got her laughter under control - mostly - and sat up. Her eyes were twinkling with humor now, and her voice sounded like she could break into giggles at any moment. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I just...I thought you might have hurt Dorrin."

"You know Master Dorrin?" Saga's eyes widened.

"Pretty sure I made that clear, yeah." Gemma giggled as she climbed back to her feet. "The question is, how do you? I don't think you killed him for it anymore, but you'd better not have stolen it, either. An apprentice bard using a mark to perform is a serious offense, you know." The woman's words were stern, but her tone seemed more amused than anything.

"What makes you think I didn't kill him?" Saga puffed up her chest, trying to look tough, but this just made Gemma start laughing again. This, in turn, just made Saga even angrier. "What? For all you know I could have!" It wasn't that she wanted the woman to think she'd harmed Master Dorrin, but the implication that she couldn't possibly have done so was frankly insulting.

Gemma raised an eyebrow and gestured at Saga's hands, smirking. "With what, your bowl?"

Saga looked down and immediately blushed. She was still holding the bowl of vegetables, half full from her second helping. She'd held on to it the entire encounter, not once considering dropping it. She'd been so caught off guard that she hadn't even considered reaching for her weapon or gathering her Will. She opened her mouth, trying to think of how to respond, then closed it.

"Sorry for that, Saga." Gemma's smile was a little more genuine now, though she was still clearly holding in a laugh. "I think I see what's going on now. Your traveling companion you mentioned to Tuck and Nell, that's Dorrin, isn't it?"

Saga didn't see much point in trying to conceal the truth now. The cat was well and truly out of the bag. With a sigh, she nodded. "Yes. I'm on my trial, but Master Dorrin has business in the same direction so he's accompanying me." She explained to Gemma the reason for her unusual trial, but she left out the nature of her companion's own mission. She got the feeling he wouldn't be happy if she did, and she already dreaded him finding out she was telling Gemma anything. That said, despite being held at knifepoint only minutes before, and then being ridiculed, she got the feeling she could trust Gemma.

When she was done explaining the situation, the other woman nodded thoughtfully. "So, he gave you his mark so you could gather information without drawing suspicion. He had to know we'd meet, though. I mean, you said you were standing right next to our band when you two were discussing..." Her eyes widened, then closed, and she groaned loudly before putting her face in her hands. "That man...he was standing at most a few yards from me and I couldn't tell." She rubbed at her face before lowering her hands. "When I see him, I'm going to-"

"Going to what, Gem?"

Both women whirled at the sound of a third voice, only to find a man seemingly melting out of the shadows across the courtyard. Master Dorrin's face was the stoic mask Saga had grown accustomed to over the years, but his eyebrow was raised as he eyed Gemma. "Please, continue."

Gemma scowled at the old man for a moment, and Saga wondered if she was going to speak at all. When she finally did, Saga could barely hear her mutter.

"Stubborn old fox."

"Foolish little kit."

Master Dorrin grinned and easily dodged the rock Gemma threw - Saga hadn’t even seen her stoop to grab it - and walked closer, forming a triangle between the three of them. “I felt it best to make an appearance before Gem tore down the camp looking for me.”

“I wouldn’t have to if you’d bother to say hello sometimes,” Gemma said, still glaring at him, though Saga didn’t see any heat in her eyes. This had the feel of someone grumbling and complaining out of habit than someone genuinely upset.

In that instant, everything clicked in Saga’s mind. “You two were master and apprentice!” she blurted.

Gemma grunted, but finally smiled at her old master. “Yeah, he was my mentor when I was at the Academy. Worked me like a dog and then threw me to the wolves.”

Master Dorrin winced. “I wouldn’t put it quite like that. You were a good student. I still wish you’d taken up blade dancing as your Passion instead of singing, you could’ve been great.”

“He gave me disciplinary training almost every day,” Gemma said to Saga, ignoring the older man. “I used to think he had something against me.”

“You, too?” Saga grinned and leaned in to stage whisper conspiratorially. “He does the same thing to me, him and a few other teachers. Every day it’s extra sparring or writing an essay or practicing a new spell. I never get a moment’s rest.”

Gemma raised an eyebrow, returning the smile. “Oh, you’re a mage?”

“I’m a drake, actually, a second gold. I don’t like to show it off, though, hence the hat. You’re a second copper, right?”

“A third, actually, but I’m at the same level of strength as a second so you’d never know.” The pair looked at Master Dorrin, who stood there watching them in silent amusement. “I’m starting to think you have a type, old man. Are young women with horns your thing?”

“Now hold on now…” He raised his hands in protest. “You two are far from the only students I’m mentored, you just happen to be two of my best.”

“Really?” Saga was genuinely surprised. She was beginning to understand that there was more to her mentor than she’d previously assumed, but she’d still assumed he hadn’t thought very highly of her.

Master Dorrin sighed. “I probably shouldn’t have said that while you’re still on your trial, but it can’t be helped.”

“Don’t let him fool you, Saga,” Gemma chimed in. “He doesn’t let anything slip if he doesn’t want to. He may seem like a bitter old man who resents the youthful…”

“Hey!”

“…but he genuinely cares about his students.” Gemma gave the man a sweet smile, and Saga almost whistled in admiration. She made Saga’s best smile look like a drunkard’s gap-toothed grin.

Master Dorrin glared at Gemma, and Saga was briefly struck by how youthful he seemed on this journey. It was almost as if his usual persona, the “bitter old man” Gemma had described, was just that, a persona, and she was only now, after the better part of a decade, getting to know the real him. She made a mental note to confront him about this later.

For now, she made herself return her focus to the reason they were at the Crossroads in the first place. “Master?”

“Hm?” He looked at her patiently, his banter with Gemma over with.

“I’m sure you two have some catching up to do, but I got some information about Dove’s Landing from one of the other bards here. Do you want to hear it now, or should we wait until morning?”

“Ah, yes. Gemma, do you have a place where we can sit and talk in private?”

“Sure thing, you can use the tent. It’s made of Whisperwing hide, so it’ll keep any noise from getting out.” She led the other two back to the front of the tent and through the flap.

“Why would you need that?” Saga asked.

The other woman looked over her shoulder at her and seemed to consider her answer. “It’s so that we can practice our music without disturbing the neighbors.”

That makes sense, Saga thought as the three settled around a small Redlight lantern. It was an advanced model, with enchanted frosted glass that removed a lot of the red from the light itself. The result was a warm light that was only slightly red in tone that filled the room. As an added benefit, Saga couldn’t directly see the Redlight, for which she was grateful.

The room itself was wider than it appeared on the outside. Outside of a communal seating area around the Redlight lantern in the center of the room, the walls were ringed with boxes and sleeping cots, with some empty spaces here and there that Saga assumed were for guests or travelers.

They didn’t immediately get to business. Saga took the opportunity to finish her bowl of food while Gemma and Master Dorrin chatted idly, catching up on events since they’d last seen each other. Saga gathered it had been quite some time, which was odd considering how relatively close the Crossroads was to the city. She learned that Gemma lived at the Crossroads full-time, making a good living as a singer and not having any particular desire to travel further. Apparently she’d been one of the most vocal proponents of building a real inn at the camp, though she couldn’t afford to its construction all on her own. Saga imagined the band she’d played with having a roof over their heads and an audience to play for every night and couldn’t help but wonder why other traders weren’t immediately leaping on the idea.

As the conversation drew to a close, Saga finished the last of her vegetables and put the bowl aside. At Master Dorrin’s encouraging look, she reported to him what she’d learned from Tuck about the presence and odd behavior of the bandits on the road to Dove’s Landing.

“That’s not as strange as you’d think,” he said when she was done. “There’s a faction of bandits to the east that’s…better organized than most. Their leader keeps them on a tight leash, and they tend to only go after targets that can afford to lose some of their valuables. We haven’t been able to find their camp, either; we think they’re moving periodically to hide their presence.” He furrowed his brow. “In fact, they usually operate in the same areas that I’m heading to investigate.” He looked from Saga to Gemma, then clarified for the latter. “Some villages have been disappearing out that way. Entire populations gone, with minimal structural damage. I’m heading that way to investigate.”

Saga raised an eyebrow. “Master, are you sure it’s alright to tell her about your mission?”

He grunted. “She can be trusted, like you. It’s good for someone to know where we’ve gone in case something happens to us. If I vanish, they can find my last point of contact and investigate from there.”

He says that like he expects something to happen to him, Saga thought with a frown. Sure, he’s investigating something big, but surely he can avoid trouble if he needs to, right?

Gemma was nodding in agreement with the man. “I understand. Do you think the bandits blocking Dove’s Landing are related to the disappearances?”

“I doubt it,” he said with a shake of his head. “If this is the group I think it is, that isn’t their style. The entire point of avoiding taking too much from their victims is to stay off the radar of the local guards. They wouldn’t jump to kidnapping or killing entire villages for no reason.”

“Then why would they block off the village?” Saga asked. “If Tuck’s right, they’re not robbing people enough to make that the reason they’re there. For the most part, they’re just turning people away.”

The smile Master Dorrin gave them made Saga uneasy. “I’m not sure. Let’s go ask nicely.”

“You’re going, then?” Gemma asked, looking at him. “You should at least spend the night here. Even you can’t take on a bandit clan after a full day and night of travel, and you’ll be walking the rest of the way.”

He seemed to consider the question, and Saga gave him a hopeful look. Finally, he shook his head in resignation. “You’re right. I don’t suppose we could trouble your troupe for a place to put down our bedrolls for the night?”

Saga quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and Gemma beamed. “No worries, we keep a few spaces empty for cases like this.” She turned to Saga then. “Are you heading right to bed, or are you staying up? We can break out the apple wine and swap stories about the old fox.” She hooked a thumb at the man in question, who responded with a “Hey!” and a shake of his head.

“As long as we go easy,” Saga said, standing. “I have a long day tomorrow, apparently.”

“It’ll be fine, we’ll have a grand time!” Gemma said with a laugh, standing a placing a hand on Saga’s shoulder.

Dapper, who had spent the last hour or so dozing in Saga’s chest pocket, chose that exact moment to wake up. He stretched, crawled out of the pocket and onto Gemma’s hand, then waved a greeting to the new friend.

Gemma screamed.