Miles away from the hidden Garrison Creek, a weathered carriage rolled along the main road toward Hanompetra, its wheels creaking rhythmically against the worn, uneven road.
Inside, three figures sat in comfortable conversation, their voices mixing with the steady clip-clop of the horses' hooves and the gentle sway of the vehicle's springs.
Jaenor had changed considerably since his supposed death years ago; Baren could tell that much. He hadn't seen him since that day in the forest. He had changed a lot; everything about him did, and so did they.
No longer the uncertain boy who had vanished during that fateful night in the forest, he had grown into a young man whose dark hair now fell past his shoulders and whose eyes held depths of experience that spoke of hardships endured and overcome. His clothes were simple but well-made, the garb of a traveling merchant rather than a farm boy.
Odessa had given him the clothes after his fight with the troll.
Beside him sat Odessa, a woman whose presence commanded attention without effort. Her black hair was braided, which only enhanced her striking features, while her figure spoke of feminine maturity in its full bloom.
She wore the practical clothing of a seasoned traveler, but even rough fabric couldn't diminish the natural grace that marked her every movement.
Across from them, Baren shifted restlessly on the carriage's cushioned seat. His relief at finding his friend alive was evident in every glance, every smile that crossed his weathered features.
The months had been kind to him as well—his frame had filled out with muscle earned through countless hours of training.
"Tell me again how you ended up in Harbor City," Baren said, leaning forward with the eager attention of someone hearing an impossible tale.
"Morgana said that you were killed in some dark lands; I don't know where that is, but I'm sure that was not near the sea."
Jaenor's expression darkened slightly, shadows of old pain flickering across his features. "I have no clue about what happened. I lost my consciousness in some dark chamber; people dressed in robes were all over me.
He glanced at Odessa, who was watching the countryside roll past through the carriage's small window. "I would have died there if not for certain... interventions. Let's just say that when I recovered enough to think clearly, returning immediately wasn't an option."
He didn't mention the part about his training with Odessa and only said that she saved him and took care of him for all these months.
Odessa turned from the window, her smile carrying secrets and shared memories. "The boy was more dead than alive when I found him," she said, her voice carrying the warm tones of someone who had learned to find humor in life's darker moments.
"Barely any life left in him."
"But you helped him anyway," Baren observed.
"I couldn't just leave him there," Odessa replied, her hand briefly touching Jaenor's arm in a gesture that spoke of intimacy earned through days and nights in their room.
"Besides, there was something about him... that made me not leave him, a sense of familiarity that I can't exactly explain."
The relationship that had developed between them over the months of his recovery had been... complex. She had been his healer, his teacher, and his guide into understanding powers that went beyond the conventional Origin-working he had known.
But she had also been his companion in ways that the younger version of himself could never have imagined.
"The training you mentioned," Jaenor then said, steering the conversation toward safer ground. "You said all three of you completed it?"
Baren nodded enthusiastically.
"Rena's progressed incredibly—you wouldn't recognize her power levels now. And Taeryn's learned to project his aura in ways that would make veteran knights jealous."
"And you?" Jaenor asked with a grin.
"Still the one trying to keep everyone else from getting killed?"
"Someone has to," Baren laughed.
"Though I've learned about myself, my inheritance of the dragon blood."
The carriage lurched slightly as they hit a particularly deep rut in the road, and the old man driving called back through the small window that connected the driver's seat to the passenger compartment.
"Begging your pardon, young masters, but there's something here you might want to see."
His weathered face appeared at the window, eyes bright with curiosity as he held up a small scroll tied with red ribbon.
"A bird came down just now and landed right on my shoulder, bold as you please. Seems to know you," he said, nodding toward Baren.
Baren's eyes widened as he recognized the sleek black raven perched on the driver's outstretched arm.
"Bayewing!" He reached through the window to stroke the bird's glossy feathers.
"That's my message bird. I've been using him to keep in contact with Morgana and the others."
The raven cawed softly and extended one leg, where the scroll was securely fastened.
Baren carefully untied the message, his expression growing serious as he broke the wax seal and unrolled the parchment.
"It's from Morgana," he said, his voice tense as he scanned the carefully written lines.
"They're... they've been given a mission. Something about a place called Berdhshire Fortress."
Jaenor and Odessa exchanged glances, Odessa recognizing the name and the implications it carried.
"Berdhshire," Odessa murmured, her voice dropping to barely above a whisper.
"I had hoped that place would remain sealed for another generation at least."
"You know of it?" Baren asked, noting the sudden change in her demeanor.
"Know of it?" Odessa's laugh held no humor whatsoever. "Not a single soul exists in the empire that doesn't know about that fortress."
Jaenor leaned forward, his own expression growing grave. "What does the message say exactly?"
Baren cleared his throat and read aloud: "Dear Baren, circumstances have accelerated beyond our control. Rena, Taeryn, and I have been assigned a task that will test everything you've learned. The Mother Supreme herself has given us a mission to investigate disturbances at Berdhshire Fortress. We depart within two days. And if you get this letter, don't come to Hanompetra anymore. Just come to the fortress; we will be waiting there."