The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage: Wandmaker Vol.2

WM [48] Time for The Talk

Bjorn sat on the box seat with Adelheid as she drove the wagon behind Joha. There were far more people on the road now that they were so close to the border. Travelers, pilgrims, missionaries and monster hunters coming and going. Bjorn couldn't help but look in wonder at the different races he had never seen before. Notably an albino woman in all white with long silver hair. She was in a delicate looking white and blue dress with the motif of winter embroidered across the silk-like material. Her eyes caught his attention most—a deep, unnatural red, like the heart of a flame against the stark coldness of her appearance.

"It's rude to stare you know," Adelheid chided.

Bjorn hadn't even noticed he was looking at her with all his heads. He did so absently and didn't even use Identify on her as he turned his attention away from the encounter. The mysterious figure turned to him for a moment, a spark of curiosity in her eyes as they passed her on the wagon.

"If you are curious, she is a ghost-born," Adelheid continued. "Not very common in these parts and from the looks of her, she was of the Yuki clan. Which is even rarer since the temperature here is moderate and they typically hang around cold places. They are one of the few people I know who live in the corrupted lands."

Bjorn listened to her lazily, but didn't really care. The woman had caught his attention just because she stood out because of her appearance being a stark contrast to the landscape. He tasted the air around him and noticed an unforgettable magic lingering. It was faint and if Bjorn wasn't so sensitive to it now he would have missed it all together. He stood up alert as he looked around for the source of the magic. It was druids and they were close.

Bjorn tried to convey his concern as clearly as possible through his bond with Tanisha. He needed her to know he was picking up the taste of druidic magic. He turned to face the forest where the scent was coming from but didn't see anything. His alarm worked as Tanisha appeared next to him using her Arcane Shift. She had her knives in hand, and she was ready to fight, even eager by her emotions.

"Woah!" Adelheid jumped in her seat in surprise, swerving the wagon. "What the—Tanisha?"

"Bjorn, what is wrong? Adelheid, stop the wagon," Tanisha ordered.

Bjorn jumped down and Tanisha followed without hesitation. She watched him carefully as he immediately started to write on the ground.

Bjorn wrote: I taste druids in forest. Scent is weak but they is close.

"Are you sure?" Tanisha asked. "Is it the druids that were around the town?"

Bjorn wrote: I don't know.

Adelheid brought the wagon to a stop and even alerted Joha to stop as well. After a few minutes they were meeting off the main road. Tanisha told them what Bjorn had written and there was definite concern and anger across the other faces. Bjorn could see the desire for revenge on Adelheid's face, the druids definitely killed members of her pack even if Bjorn had led them there.

Bjorn, however, was focused on Tanisha. He could feel her indifference to the emotions swirling around them. For her, this wasn't about revenge, honor, or even justice—it was about opportunity. The cold, calculated hunger for power simmered beneath her skin. He could feel her emotions sharpening into something cold and clinical, as though she were already planning how many kills it would take to level up, how much power she could gain.

"This doesn't change much," Joha said and took a long drag of his maya pipe. "We tell the guard at the border there is a druid encampment, then Adelheid is free to go back to her pack and we leave. We should not get caught up in this war more than we already have."

"They killed members of my pack and you want me to just run away?" Adelheid yelled, and she pointed to the forest.

"No, once we make it to the border you are free to do whatever you want," Joha said with a finality that rumbled in the air. "If you want to fight the druids do that, but Tanisha and I are leaving."