Marcella looked down, trying to avoid the stares of the crowd. Even with the hood on, it was obvious enough who she was. Led on by the two riders, Tristan side-by-side with another knight. A familiar face, one with a striking resemblance to my own, only with a much more muscular build. Even with my added strength, my frame was on the leaner side, not like that of a trained knight. 

"Hello, Tristan... hello Gerald."

I was actually a little disappointed that it was just the two of them, I had many more brothers after all, and in the situation I found myself in, there was nobody I could trust more than family. 

Gerald gave me a bit of a silent nod, pulling the reins on his horse so we could speak. 

"Just the two of you?"

"Just so you know, I did ask. But... you know how it is." Tristan confirmed. 

Being one of the youngest, not to mention the undeniable runt of the family, I had always had something of an inferiority complex. And it seems like even with the relative fame I had brought our family, not many of them were convinced that following me to an uncertain future was a better idea than leaving the peace and relative comfort Jagen's employ.

I could only grimace at the bitter memories this topic was bringing up, my thoughts only interrupted by Tristan surreptitiously handing over a vial of finely grained blue powder. The distinct coloring immediately tipping me off that it was Lazuli stone, as I quickly stashed it within my inventory. 

"The prison had some extra from the shipment. Also..." Tristan paused, searching through the saddle pack at his side before pulling out a triangular prism. One that looked like some form of glass, the insides filled with a black smoke-like gas. Handing the strange object over to me before explaining. 

"Father wanted you to have it, he said it had to do with your mother." 

I could only look at prism with mixed curiosity and confusion, the object small enough to hold upon the palm of my hand as I held it.

Mother had died very young, pretty much immediately after I was born. As such, I had never actually seen or heard much about her. All I knew was that she had been an adventurer, and not a very good one at that. Being a young girl who had come here during the initial establishment of Tromwell, she didn't have any particular skills to speak of... I had always heard father married her out of pity. It had always been something of a shame that my brothers were all too keen to remind me of when they were younger, only recently did these feelings start to fade as I formed my own base of confidence. 

"What is this thing?" I asked curiously, shaking the prism like a snowglobe and watching the smoke inside swirl about as it formed various shapes, dancing around the glass prison as I held it up to the light. Tapping on the glass it seemed like it wasn't really glass at all, but rather a transparent crystal, maybe even diamond.

"There was an expedition several years ago not too far from here, ancient ruins or so I'm told. It was a big deal at the time, but nothing much ever came from it. Aside from quite a few random trinkets like this, that is. Sell it or keep it, up to you. Father appreciates the help you've given to our siblings, their promotions as Jagen's knights were due to your influence and he wanted to thank you somehow. It's probably worth a few hundred gold to a collector."

Shaking the prism again to watch the smoke fly around inside, forming into a ball as it slammed into the sides before dissipating. Even an object this strange was only worth a few hundred gold? It was clearly magical, which I assumed made it worth more. Was it because it didn't have an actual use? Or were things like this actually common? I'd probably need to ask an appraiser somehow to see what it was actually worth.

Moving to store the item, but finding myself strangely unable, frowning as I examined it for a second time before pocketing it quickly. The inventory can't store it? I could only question the nature of such an item, being the first magical item I had ever encountered. The supposedly 'anti-magic' lazuli stone went in easily enough, but a magical item couldn't? Did the magic that powered this trinket interfere with my inventory skill in some way? A topic for another day, no doubt.

"Well, thank you then. I appreciate it. I'd like to thank father, but it seems like there's no time... I'll send him a letter later."  

In reality I just didn't want to speak with him. The two of us had always had a strained relationship at best. He was still my father, and I owed him that level of respect, but given the fact that I had lived most of my childhood in a small cabin outside the main residence, it was clear that he had always been keeping me at a distance. If even becoming a mage wasn't enough for him to want to see me, then nothing would be. Taking the trinket as nothing more than a bribe for me to go away, perhaps that's what it truly was. 

Bitter feelings rising once more before I pushed them from my mind. I am my own man now. 

"Let's get a move on then, shall we?" I stated not just to Tristan and Gerald, but to all present within the small crowd. Bael, Cal, the soldiers, and the few other wagon drivers we had hired to transport a small amount of goods that would be used during the journey. Hay for the horses, food and water for the soldiers. I could resupply the wagons when they ran low, but handing out snacks every-time someone was hungry would grow old rather fast after all. 

Watching Bael's face light up from within his carriage as he if he agreed greatly with my sentiment. 

My new men, all entirely soldiers aside from Tristan and Gerald, organized around each of the brothers. A structure soon being decided as the column split into two groups, both moving in tandem to protectively flank my personal carriage from the front and back. 

Seeing how everything seemed to be in order, I prepared to step up into the carriage for the journey. Pausing when I realized I had an observer.

Marcella staring at me from behind her hooded cloak, wearing a hopeful expression, as if to ask if she could ride with us. 

"You're walking." I could only say with a wry smile before stepping through to the compartment and closing the door. Looking around the relatively roomy box where we would be spending most of our existence for the next month. The padded leather seats and back rest feeling nice enough that it certainly couldn't be the worst way to travel. 

A small single pane window on both sides of the box, inlaid into the door frame itself and containing a secondary extendable wooden frame that we could cover the windows with if we so choose. 

Tammy and Belle both sitting opposite to me with similarly excited faces. This would be a similarly new experience for all three of us, leaving Tromwell for the first time. An entire new world awaits.