When Maki woke up, she didn't see Ember. Maki assumed the worst, thinking Ember was punishing Sear and Pearce. She didn't think twice before getting up and going to see if her assumption was true. And there Ember was... watching Sear and Pearce sleeping, with a look of genuine anger in her eyes. Ember's hands were balled into fists as fire was radiating off of her. Maki only felt this kind of fear when she first fought Ember. Despite this, she still walked over to Ember and gently hugged her. Ember calmed down and hugged back. The two went back to their room and got dressed.
When they left their room, Maki couldn't help but feel bad for the two bandits, seeing as their panties were stretched and torn. As she was thinking this, the bandits woke up. There were several glances at one another before Maki reached into her one of her bags and pulled out to pairs of black panties. After the bandits changed their panties, they all left the rundown house. Ember, being the sadist she was, tied a rope around the necks of both of the bandits and had the walk in front. It was tight enough that they wouldn't be able to take it off, but loose enough for them to breathe.
A few boring hours passed until they found a town. Ember knew what she wanted but could tell the others needed food, so they went to a tavern. As they took their seats at a booth, a barmaid in a short skirt came by to take their orders. Unlike Maki and the bandits, Ember chose to get a few mugs of ale. Afterward, they left. But Ember wanted to look for something vital for their adventure, and there it was. A farm with a horse and a carriage. After paying 50 gold for it, the bandits were forced to drive their carriage while Maki and Ember rode in the back.
"Take us to that river." The bandits stopped at the river so Maki could train with Ember, "If you two leave without my permission, you'll be punished without mercy." Maki and Ember found a nice area by the river, "Ok, now remember what I showed you yesterday. You have to concentrate. Fire is so much more than just a primitive tool for heat. It's an extension of yourself." Maki kind of understood but still had some questions, "Wouldn't the same go for all elements of magic?" Ember looked at Maki with an expression of slight annoyance as she made a very condensed ball of fire in her hand. She then plucked the ball of fire at Maki as if it were a marble. On impact, Maki was sent crashing through a few trees before finally stopping at one tree that fell over.
The rest of that afternoon was spent on teaching Maki learning different ways to use fire magic. When Ember was finally satisfied, they called it a day, "So I finally mastered fire magic?" Ember laughed, "Of course not. You're nowhere near mastered it. As of right now, your fire is still more powerful than any adventurer. But that's only because they use fire for simple attacks. You can condense your fire, but you still don't even know how to slice with fire yet." Ember turned to look at Maki but found her laying on the ground unconscious. Ember had a little smile as she picked up Maki and put her in the carriage.
She then ordered the bandits to take them somewhere, "Take us back to the town." After arriving at the town, they found a place to put their carriage and went into the tavern from earlier. Ember carried Maki on her back as she talked to a barmaid, "How much for two rooms?" The barmaid smiled, "Two gold coins, please." Ember and Maki shared a room while the bandits got their own room and had the job of watching their things, "You two stay here. If you even think about leaving, I'll find you, and I'll have you begging for mercy." The fear in the bandits was undeniable, but Ember had one last thing to say, "Sear, punish Pearce while we're gone. If you fail to comply, then I'll have to do it when I get back." Ember said this with an innocent smile as she left their room.
Maki was now awake but barely functional. The two went to the tavern's quest board and looked around. Ember found a quest and took the paper off the wall, but she didn't tell Maki what it was. The two then left the tavern and then the town. They walked for quite a while before finding a cave entrance. All around, it was bloodied weapons and even limbs from previous adventurers. Maki was scared but was glad Ember was with her, "Do this by yourself. Consider it a test." So much for that.
