They had left the caravan when the south bound road met with the narrow trail heading towards the mountain pass the Western Kingdom shared with Forsyth. While it was still early in the season, it was decided that by the time they reached the remote pass it would likely be open. Unlike Master Trader Paedar, they had no ship waiting for them and Paedar's ship was going to Grale, not Forsyth where the Nereus would be waiting.
"Have you seen our shadows?" Bron asked, referring to the four Examiners that had stayed on their trail for the past two weeks.
"No, but they won't be too far behind. Now that we are no longer protected by the caravan, I expect they will try and catch us quickly," Aeronwyn replied.
Now that they were on their own again, Aeronwyn started working with Keri to improve her understanding of the patterns of magic. Keri's practice with fire seemed unique and Aeronwyn wanted her to increase that and her other skills. Unlike all the other mages who crafted fire externally, like a fireball that could be thrown, Keri's use of fire magic allowed her to hold it and attach it without harm to objects. They tried the experiment with the sword and Keri was able to duplicate her feat of making the entire blade come alive with flames.
That night they camped by a small stream where Aeronwyn and Keri were able to bathe. The water was ice cold, so Aeronwyn decided on an experiment. "Keri, try putting your hands under the water and crafting fire." Aeronwyn watched, curious to see how it would turn out.
Keri placed her hands below the surface of the water and focussed on fire. The two women could see the area around her hands start to give off light, then a blue-green flame hovered as Keri held her hands cupped below the water. "Wow," said Keri. "Fire that water can't put out?" Keri concentrated, trying to increase the strength of the flames. "Maybe I can warm this water a little?"
To Keri's dismay, the fire was growing too fast. She tried to reduce its strength but the green-blue flame increased. The water she and Aeronwyn were in was starting to get too warm.
"That is warm enough!" Aeronwyn cautioned.
"I can't stop it! Aeronwyn...help!" Keri's panicked response brought Aeronwyn over to her side.
"Pull your hands out of the water, Keri. Now." Keri did as Aeronwyn said but the ball of green-blue flame stayed in the water. If anything, it was larger now. "Ow! This is getting hot. Get out!" Aeronwyn ordered.
Both the women climbed on the bank of the small stream when behind them the ball of green-blue light exploded, throwing them into the muddy bank. At the sound of the explosion, Bron came running. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Fine," sputtered Aeronwyn. "Good," said Keri.
Bron started to chuckle. "Well, then, perhaps a bath might be in order and then, if you want to, some clothes?" Bron laughed and walked back to the camp. Aeronwyn looked at Keri just as Keri looked at her and they both laughed. The dive into the riverbank and explosion from the water had covered both of them with mud from head to toe. The small pool they had been in quickly refilled with fresh water and the two women re-entered the icy water to clean the mud off.
"Well, now we know it isn't safe to start mage fires under water." Keri said.
"Hmm. Maybe not. Or maybe there is something of the patterns of fire and water that we just don't know yet. Is it possible that something in water, when acted on, can fuel a fire?" Aeronwyn mused. They spoke about it for a while, then after washing each other's back and rinsing out their hair, went looking for their clothes.
