“That’s a sensitivity adjustment,” I said. “We can recalibrate the detection threshold to ignore passive magic. It’s an easy fix on the road.”

  “Good. Otherwise, the enchantment is exactly what I wanted.” He turned to Tom and grabbed his shoulder. “Metalwork’s holding up beautifully, little brother.”

  Tom pulled him into a quick embrace. “You look thinner. They not feeding you out there?”

  “I look lean and dangerous. There’s a difference.”

  “You look like you need a proper meal. Mom would be horrified.”

  “Yeah…” Kyle frowned. “Don’t tell Mom.”

  Tom grinned. “No promises.” He stepped back. “So how much abuse has my work taken?”

  “Three dungeon clears and a bar fight.” Kyle’s hand rested on his chestplate with obvious pride. “Best equipment I’ve ever owned.”

  Felix raised an eyebrow. “A bar fight?”

  “It’s a long story, but the short version is I won.” Kyle grinned at Felix. “Remind me to tell you later. There was a bard involved.” He glanced back at where his team was speaking with the carriage driver. “I arranged for us to arrive together. Figured it would be easier to coordinate if we all left at once.”

  The rest of his team dismounted. Elara stretched her back and muttered something about saddle sores. Garrett checked his bow with the automatic attention of long habit. Brother Francis offered a blessing to the carriage horses. I turned and found Shade standing beside Tom, though I had not seen him move.

  Tom startled slightly, then recovered. He produced a leather roll from his satchel. “Shade, these are yours.” He unfolded it to reveal six throwing knives arranged in a neat row. The blades caught the light with a faint shimmer that marked them as more than ordinary steel.

  “Three have a lightning inscription. Two have ice. One has fire.” Tom handed the roll to Shade. “Marcus and Felix did the ward work. I did the metalwork.”

  Shade lifted one of the lightning knives. He tested the balance with a flip that sent it spinning through his fingers but the motion was too fast to follow.

  “These will do nicely,” he said.

  From Shade, that was high praise.

  “The ice ones are experimental,” Felix added. “The freezing effect should spread from the impact point. Let us know if the coverage radius needs adjustment.”

  Shade nodded once and made the knives disappear into his cloak.

  Kyle had moved to examine our supplies. “Is all of this coming with us?”

  “The essentials. Reference materials, ink supplies, and documentation journals.” I gestured to the stack of cases. “We don’t know exactly what we’ll need until we see the problems firsthand.”

  Kyle nodded. “Better to have too much than too little.”

  Tom grabbed Kyle by the shoulder and pulled him into a hug.

  “Watch yourself up there,” Tom said quietly. “The wastes are no joke.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you? Because you have this tendency to take stupid risks when you think no one’s looking.” Tom stepped back but kept a hand on Kyle’s arm. “Cora would kill me if I let something happen to you. And then Mom would kill whatever was left.”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  “You’d better be.” Tom released him.

  Elara caught my eye and smiled slightly. “They do this every time,” she said quietly. “Tom worries. Kyle pretends he doesn’t need it. It’s been the same routine since I joined the company.”

  “Sounds about right,” I said.

  Tom must have heard us. He turned and pointed at me. “Take care of these two while you’re at it. They’re terrible at watching their own backs.”

  “We are not,” Felix protested.

  “You once walked into a wall because you had your nose in a theory text,” Tom said. “While walking. Through a doorway that you’d used every day for months.”

  “That was one time.”

  “It was three times. I counted.”

  Kyle laughed. “Don’t worry, little brother. We’ll all come back in one piece.” He looked at his team. “Final checks. We leave in twenty minutes.”

  The square filled with organized chaos. Supplies were transferred to the carriage; horses were watered and inspected; final adjustments were made to saddles and harnesses. The Silver Compass Company moved through their preparations with the efficiency of long practice.

  Tom pulled me aside while Felix supervised the loading.

  “I mean it,” Tom said. His voice had lost its teasing edge. “Watch yourself up there. It’s a whole different kingdom with a different set of rules and dangers.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you? Because you have this tendency to focus on the problem in front of you and forget about everything else.” He put a hand on my shoulder. “The ward failures are the job. But whoever caused them might not want you fixing things.”

  “Whitmore said something similar.”

  “Then listen to both of us.” Tom squeezed my shoulder and stepped back. “Try not to redesign an entire kingdom’s infrastructure without me.”

  “No promises.”

  He laughed, but his eyes stayed serious.

  Sarah approached as the final preparations concluded.

  She had closed the bakery early. Flour still dusted her apron and her hair had escaped its braid in several places. She looked beautiful in the afternoon light.

  “All packed?” she asked.

  “Everything we could think of.” I took her hands in mine. “We should be gone a few weeks. Maybe longer depending on what we find.”

  “I know.” She squeezed my fingers. “I’ll miss you.”

  “I’ll write. We’re extending the ward network as we travel. Once we have enough anchors in place, I can send messages through the resonance chamber.”

  “Letters are good.” She smiled. “But come back in person, eventually.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  She rose on her toes and kissed me. The kiss was brief and warm and full of promise. When she pulled back, her eyes held something I could not quite name.

  “Go show the Northern Kingdoms some Millbrook ingenuity,” she said.

  “I will.”

  “And don’t let Felix forget about Katherine’s list. He’s been stressing about napkin folding styles for three days.”

  “I’ll remind him that napkins are just cloth.”

  She gasped. “Don’t you dare. Katherine will never forgive you.” Sarah released my hands but didn’t step back. Her fingers found the edge of my collar and straightened it unnecessarily. “Come back to me.”

  The carriage driver called for passengers. Neither of us moved.

  “Always,” I said.

  “Go.” Her voice caught. “Before I embarrass us both.”

  She quick kissed me again, then pushed me toward the carriage before I could see if her eyes were wet.

  The carriage interior was more comfortable than I expected, with padded seats, curtained windows, and room enough for four passengers without crowding. Felix had already claimed a corner and spread his documentation across the seat beside him.

  “Hey, did you bring Katherine’s list?”

  Felix’s expression shifted to something between resignation and terror. “She added two more items this morning. Something about processional music and ceremonial candle placement.”

  “At least she’s thorough.”

  “Thorough is one word for it.” He tucked the list into his notebook and frowned. “Whitmore’s warnings keep running through my head. Different Guild structures. Territorial practitioners. Trade interests protecting their monopolies.”

  “He said to trust our instincts.”

  “My instincts say this is going to be more complicated than a simple infrastructure contract.”

  I looked out the window as the carriage began to move. Kyle’s team formed around us in escort formation and the horses’ hooves found a steady rhythm on the cobblestones.

  Millbrook rolled past the window as the mill wheel turned. Merchants called to customers and children ran through the streets playing games whose rules only they understood. It was the ordinary rhythm of home.

  Sarah stood where I had left her. She raised a hand as the carriage passed. I raised mine in return.

  Then the road curved and she disappeared from view.

  “Marcus?” Felix watched me.

  “I’m fine.”

  We’ll be back,” he assured me.

  “I know. I was just thinking about what we’re leaving behind.” I turned from the window. “And what we’re heading toward.”

  The carriage picked up speed as we cleared the town limits. The road stretched north toward the capital and beyond that to Keldrath and all its failing wards and unknown complications.

  Chapter 6

  Travel Companions

  We had been on the road for three hours and I could still feel my legs. The padded seats helped. So did the smooth paving stones of the main highway leading to the capital. Felix had spread his documentation across the seat beside him and made notes about supply requirements.

  Outside the windows, Kyle’s team rode in loose formation. Elara took point with Garrett. Brother Francis and Shade flanked the carriage on either side. Kyle himself rode behind where he could see everything at once.

  “They’re very professional,” Felix observed without looking up from his notes.

  “They’ve had a lot of practice.” I watched Shade adjust his position to account for a curve in the road. The movement was subtle and automatic. “Years of it.”

  The carriage slowed as we approached a waystation. Kyle appeared at the window before we had fully stopped.

  “Lunch break. The horses need water and the inn here serves decent food.” He grinned. “Also, Garrett spotted a merchant caravan ahead. We should let them pass before we continue.”

  The waystation was a welcome sight. Stone walls, stable yard, the garden that someone clearly took pride in. The building had become familiar over our trips to the capital. The smell of roasted meat drifted from the kitchen and I’d stopped here enough times to know the food was worth the price.

  Kyle’s team had already claimed a table by the time Felix and I entered. Elara waved us over with a tankard in her hand.

  “Sit. Eat. We have two hours before the caravan clears the road.”

  I took a seat between Elara and Brother Francis. Felix settled across from me next to Garrett. Kyle remained standing until the innkeeper brought food, then folded himself into a chair that creaked under his weight.

  “So,” I said once the plates arrived. “What has the Silver Compass Company been doing since we last saw you?”

  “The usual.” Elara tore into a bread roll. “Monster contracts. Escort work. One very unpleasant incident with a nest of giant spiders that I refuse to discuss while eating.”

  “We spent three weeks in the eastern provinces,” Garrett added. “Cleaning up after that dungeon situation you helped resolve.”

  “Residual corruption,” Brother Francis explained. His voice was soft as always. “Pockets of contamination that the main cleansing missed. Nothing dangerous, but unpleasant for the locals.”

  “And after this escort?” Felix asked. “Kyle mentioned you have another contract.”

  Kyle and Elara exchanged glances.

  “Border patrol work,” Kyle said. “The Northern Kingdoms have been having trouble with something coming out of the eastern wastes. Nothing confirmed yet, but enough reports to warrant investigation.”

  “The eastern wastes?” I had heard stories. “The dead land from the old summoning?”

  “The very same. Something’s stirring out there. Probably nothing, but Prince Duncan asked for experienced teams to check the border outposts.” Kyle shrugged. “We’ll escort you to the Keldrath border, then head east to the outposts. Prince Adrian’s guards will take you the rest of the way to Valdmere.”

  “How long will that take?”

  “Depends on what we find. Could be a week. Could be a month.” He took a long drink from his tankard. “Could be nothing at all and we’ll be back before you finish your first ward installation.”

  Shade had been silent throughout the meal. Now he spoke without looking up from his plate.

  “The wastes have been quiet for fifteen years. Something changed.”

  “You’ve been there before?” I asked.

  “Once. Long time ago.” He didn’t elaborate.

  The silence stretched until Elara broke it with forced cheer.

  “Enough grim talk. Tell us about this contract of yours. Failing ward infrastructure across three towns?”

  “Valdmere, Dunmarch, and Veldros,” Felix recited. “The capital and two outlying settlements. Traditional wards require imported materials that have become prohibitively expensive.”

  “How expensive?” Garrett asked.

  “Four times normal rates according to Prince Adrian’s briefing.”

  Kyle whistled. “That’s not market fluctuation. That’s someone squeezing the supply chain.”

  “My thoughts exactly.” I had spent the past week considering the implications. “Someone benefits from Keldrath’s infrastructure failing. We just don’t know who yet.”

  “Be careful with that kind of thinking,” Elara warned. “Economic conspiracies attract dangerous attention. Especially in foreign territory.”

  “We’re not planning to investigate. We’re planning to solve the problem with local materials instead of imported ones.” I spread my hands. “If that happens to disrupt someone’s profitable arrangement, that’s incidental.”

  “Incidental.” Kyle laughed. “I like that. Very diplomatic.”

  We returned to the road after the caravan passed. The afternoon sun warmed the carriage interior and made Felix drowsy over his notes. I watched the countryside roll past and thought about what Kyle had said.

  Someone was squeezing the supply chain. Someone with enough reach to inflate prices across an entire kingdom. The trade routes from Ironpeak and Thornwall fed most of the Northern Kingdoms’ magical supply needs. Not to mention other trades as well. Control those routes and you controlled everything.

  My father would have recognized the pattern instantly. He had spent his career navigating exactly these kinds of market manipulations. The difference was that he worked within the system and found ways to profit alongside the manipulators rather than against them.

  I had chosen a different path. Build something useful and help the people who need it. Let the profits follow the work rather than the other way around.

  The carriage hit a bump and Felix’s notes scattered across the seat. He woke with a snort and scrambled to gather them.

  “I wasn’t sleeping.”

  I grinned. “Of course not.”

  “I just closed my eyes to think about ward configurations.”

  “Very productive thinking.”

  He glared at me and then noticed one of the papers in his hand. His expression shifted from annoyance to something closer to despair.

  “Katherine’s list.”

  “The wedding homework?”

  “She apparently added three more items before we left. I didn’t notice until now.” He frowned. “Centerpiece options. Reception music. Something called a unity candle ceremony that requires choosing between fourteen different candle styles.”

  “Fourteen?”

  “Each with its own symbolic meaning.” Felix dropped the paper like it had bitten him. “I’m supposed to decide this while redesigning an entire kingdom’s ward infrastructure.”

  The carriage slowed again. Kyle appeared at the window.

  “Evening camp ahead. Good spot by a stream.” He noticed Felix’s expression. “You look like someone told you the dungeon has three bosses instead of one.”

  “Wedding planning,” I explained.

  Kyle’s face shifted through several emotions. “Ah. Yes. I’ve heard stories.” He glanced at the paper Felix had dropped. “How many decisions?”

  “Seventeen items. Three added this morning.”

  “I’ve fought monsters easier than wedding planning.” Kyle said it with complete sincerity. “At least monsters have the decency to try killing you quickly.”

  Evening camp was everything Kyle promised. A clearing by a stream with good sightlines and natural windbreaks. The Silver Compass Company had done this a thousand times. Tents went up without discussion. A fire pit took shape near the stream’s edge. Everyone knew their role. Garrett vanished into the trees and returned twenty minutes later with two rabbits for the pot.

  “Skills like that must be useful,” I said as he cleaned his catch.

  “Keeps us fed when inns are scarce.” Garrett worked quickly and without waste. “The Northern Kingdoms have long stretches between settlements. Good hunting, though. The game hasn’t learned to fear travelers yet.”

  Brother Francis blessed the meal before we ate. His prayers were simple and sincere. No elaborate ritual, just gratitude for food and safety and good company.

  Felix had retreated to his tent to wrestle with Katherine’s list. I could see his silhouette against the canvas, hunched over papers by lamplight. The sight made me think of Sarah.

  By now she had closed the bakery, swept the floors, and counted the day’s receipts. Does she think about me the way I thought about her?

  I pulled out my journal and a fresh sheet of paper.

  Sarah,

  We made good time today. The royal carriage is more comfortable than expected, though Felix has spent most of the journey drowning in wedding decisions. Kyle’s team sends their regards. They remember the bread you sent with us on the expedition and asked if there might be more waiting when they return from their border patrol.

  I paused. The words felt inadequate. I wanted to say something about missing her. About the way the empty seat beside me in the carriage made me think of all the journeys we might take together someday. About how her smile was the last thing I pictured before sleep and the first thing I thought of each morning.