Pelhore was a small town at the northwestern edge of the federal territories at the end of the spice road, reting between a long chain of valleys and hills, thick jungle and flat delta. It was known to be a sarai, a resting spot for travellers and merchants. This provided it the opportunity to grow from a small village to a thriving township. Many new jobs were created due to its access to the spice road and  proximity to a freshwater lake. Fishermen, innkeepers, restaurants, brothels and most importantly for him and his group, guides. 

Advik and the squad arrived in Pelhore just as the sun was rising in the east. They had ridden hard and fast across the Sindhu delta from Kartarpur to get here and they were ready to collapse onto some soft mattresses with a full stomach. Unfortunately for them, such luxuries were not in the books. They had to find a guide and quickly too. The Kartarpur troops might gain on them at any moment now.

Advik and Jagjit rushed into the town in search of a guide. They looked left right and center but no one was wiling to leave so early in the morning. No one unemployed that is. Those who were, were already in the employ of other caravans and had left even earlier to make the most of the daylight hours. With the exception of one man. A young boy by the name of Khurshid. 

He had little experience outside of traveling to the next town over, but claimed he knew the language of the Wu people. 

Seeing no other options, they took him on, but only on one condition. 

"If you mess up, you won't get paid." Said Advik.

"Hehe... " said the boy rubbing his nose, "I won't fail. I'm the best among the younger generation!"

"More like the only one still left among the younger generation. Your peers left for jobs in the big cities. That doesn't make you the best. That make you the only one still stuck here. Don't think I didn't ask around. I know all about you." Jagjit snorted.

"And isn't that a blessing for you lost souls! If I'm the only one left then obviously I'm the best! I even know a secret route! Bow before my magnificence.. hehehe!" He chuckled.

"Cheeky brat!" 

"Alright bring whatever you need and come. We leave now." Said Advik.

"I have nothing. Let's go." Said the boy picking up his lathi. 

"What about food?" Kevalya asked. 

"Isn't it obvious? You'll be providing it for me!" He said.

"Nonsense. Being your own food we dont have anything to spare." Kevalya argued. 

"What part of I don't have anything didn't you understand. I don't have any money. This is my first job in a week."

"Fine. But you'll only get a little bit." Kevalya relented.

"Anything's better than nothing!" Said the boy.

Three hour later, they were lost. 

"I think it's this way but I'm not sure.."

"That's what you said twenty minutes ago. We're going in circles! How are you even a guide? I knew we should've hired someone else." Said Jagjit.

"Sheesh! Calm down I'll find a way out of here. Just wait." He said as he clambered over a pile of rocks and slid down the other side. 

"Guys!" He cried, "I found it. It's this way." pointing to a mark on the side of a rock.

"What even is this route. I have never heard of a route through a cave system." Jagjit asked.

"Yeah, how do you know about it?" Advik added.

"Of course you don't. It wouldn't be much of a secret of everyone knew about it, would it?My grandpa discovered it during the great war fifty years ago. His company was hiding from the shadesmitten in here and got trapped in. He lost his leg trying to find his way out. But eventually he did, saving the lives of countless men in the process. He was even rewarded for his actions. A whole three gold Shreni. He talked about it till his dying day."

"Was he an earth mage?" Advik asked.

"How did you know?" Khurshid was surprised. 

"The rock formation here. It's reinforced. Transfigured even. None but an earth mage could have done such a thing." Advik replied.

"Have you ever seen another mage?" Asked Khurshid.

"Plenty. The national civil service academy Was adjacent to Rishi Parmanand's gurukul. There were plenty of mages around, though they were mostly fire mages." Answered Advik.

"Are you a mage?"

"No. Of course not. I didn't have the talent for it." Said Advik, "Not that I wanted to be one. Mages live a short life and die unpleasant deaths. Not the kind of life I want."

"Yeah. Grandpa died early too. Just 87 years old."

"See. Nothing good ever comes out of using magic. Its best to live a long peaceful life. No offense to your grandfather." Advik said. 

"If you practice both the breath and the mind, you won't have to die early though." Said Kevalya.

"But I still wouldn't live past 150." Advik replied. 

"And it's better that way. If they could wield such power and live a long life, wouldn't that be cheating." Jagjit added. 

He was right. Even a middling mage was a force to be reckoned. Not because of their power necessarily, though that was part of it too, but more so because of the near untraceable nature of magic. A warrior you could see killing a man, a mage on the other hand could boil your blood from across the street and no one would notice unless they had their third eye opened.

Mages were exceedingly rare though. Only 1 in 80 had the willpower required and less than 1 in 120 had the talent sufficient to wield magic. You could still learn it but without those capabilities, it was near impossible to use it efficiently.

Advik was thankful for that. It meant that tracking down rogue mages was easier since all mages were kept on a government roster.

Slowly but surely they made their way out of the cave system and into the land of Wu, where a new adventure awaited them.

Jagjit looked back at Advik.

He saw his hands shaking, wet with perspiration, his eyes defocused and his face pale.

He realized what was happening.

He strode up to Advik and took his hands in his palm. Rubbing them gently, he said, "It's okay. Take a deep breath. Just, .. look at me. Good. Now take a deep breath. Good. It's okay."

"What's happening?" Asked Kevalya. 

"Nothing." Exclaimed Advik, taking a deep breath.

"He's panicking. It's fine, it'll be over in a flash. Hold on." Said Jagjit.

"Why? Did something happen to him?"

"No. Its just that this is a new experience for him." Said Jagjit.

"It....I .. have never really left this country y'know? And now I'm jumping headfirst into" he took another deep breath, " a war in a whole other country, where I don't speak the language, where people don't look like us, think like we do. It's a bit of an overwhelming experience. I'll be fine. Just spare me a minute."

"Ah! I know that feeling. When I went on my first campaign into Jaran; I was just 18 back then. After one particularly bad day on the battlefield, I sat on an outcrop, watching the sun set. I just had this feeling, I couldn't breathe, I couldn't move; the battle played out again and again before my eyes. It was a horrid experience.I understand. Take a brief rest. We will leave in an hour."