In the wee hours of the cool, foggy morning, Calista sneaked out of the tavern. She intended to wake before the others so she wouldn’t have another inept run-in. Despite what Wish had suggested, she hadn’t gotten far with sorting out her own thoughts and feelings. It was deeply invigorating and flattering to live each of the men’s fantasies, but it was profoundly embarrassing, too. Still wading through a mess of thoughts, she entered the storefront of a spiritualist.

“You seek answers,” Phoebe said. She smiled and looked up at Calista. “Welcome.”

“Answers is the short of it,” Calista said. She moved through the various sheer curtains and the shelves that were filled with gemstones, charms and tomes. “I need something to control my psychic energy better.” She stopped and turned toward the other woman. “Suggestions for that?”

“Turquoise,” Phoebe answered. She pointed to indicate a shelf.

Calista immediately picked up a casting circlet that had the gemstone embedded in it. She turned over and examined the item. “This has got to be expensive. Can I trade a favor or two for this?”

“Hmm. A trade.” Phoebe looked the woman up and down. She could feel the emotional turmoil seeping from Calista’s thoughts. It had been a long while since somebody from out of town paid her shop a visit and she loved exercising her gifts. She gave the idea consideration. Phoebe tapped her fingers on the counter. “Let me read your everything and the circlet is yours.”

“Alright.” Calista shrugged. She followed the petite elf woman to a nearby table. “I need something for that. Some answers would be good, too.” She collapsed into a chair.

Phoebe sat across from the young woman. “So you are not here alone,” she glimpsed.

“I’m not.”

Phoebe took Calista’s hand into hers. The spiritualist shut her eyes and cleared her mind. Calista stared down at the red-brown table while she awaited additional questions or commentary. Phoebe remained silent for a long moment. “Oh, your mind is a mess.”

“It is,” Calista said.

“And your energy waves are a mix of arcane and fae magics,” Phoebe added.

Calista nodded once. “Mhm.”

Phoebe once again fell silent. She opened her eyes. Her eyebrows went up. “Oh, this is going to be a long day.”

***

Glyph sat in the tavern, penning a letter. He listed off several of the recent events he had experienced with the group while he worked through his coffee. He occasionally stopped and picked at the bread the barkeep brought him with his coffee. He had been using the letter drafts as a means to sort through his own thoughts and feelings. He had always known Rune was sweet on Calista. Rune chose to approach her enthusiastically upon first seeing her despite Glyph finding the idea awkward. He knew he liked Calista’s fiery attitude and her exuberance since they met. As the basis for friendship evolved he began reflecting on the emotional implications of traveling with her and the effect she had on him.

Glyph scrawled out his thoughts: You would get along with her. She is straightforward, full of energy and self-sufficient. She is a powerful mage who travels the world alongside us and an orc and elf who have become friends, too. Deciding it was trite he crumpled the parchment then started another draft.

While Glyph worked on the letter, Aenaes joined him. The elf was still in a mental fog. Yawning and barely alert, he collapsed against the rounded table. “What are you writing?” he muttered.

“A letter to my mother,” Glyph answered.

“Ah.” Aenaes used his arms as a pillow. “Which is she?”

“She’s the dragon,” Glyph replied. “Our father is the human half of our bloodline.”

“Hmm. Interesting.” Aenaes confirmed an order for coffee and a small meal, but otherwise left the half-dragon to his letter.

Glyph started and restarted the letter repeatedly. Each time he decided he was too emotionally revealing he would become flustered, then grab a new piece of parchment. “Why must this be so difficult?” he muttered. Glyph dipped the quill into the inkwell. When it came out dry he groaned. “I’ll be right back.”

“Sure,” Aenaes muttered. His meal arrived shortly after Glyph left the table. The elf nudged the current draft of the half-dragon’s letter. His eyes trailed to the bottom paragraph.

Rune and I both adore her. She is a dear friend to us and others. I am becoming worried that my and Rune’s emotional attachments to Calista will be the source of a rift. I do not wish for that to happen, but I may be returning home, departing from the group soon to prevent the fallout. You do not need to worry about Rune, though. Calista and he get along well and they take care of the other.

Aenaes sighed and groaned. He started on his food to try getting the idea out of his mind. While he grew more alert, his mind swirled around the words the half-dragon had penned. In hindsight, many of the developments recently revealed the various emotional tethers to Calista. She was the heart of their group, the person who the others initially connected with. He stared down at the bowl of porridge. “She’s who I connected with,” he muttered. He was caught up in his own anxieties and worries of Calista finding out how he feels. The disastrous consequences loomed over him so often he was blinded by the others’ similar situations. He began eating while he tried to forget that he saw the personal sentiment from Glyph.

Glyph returned with an inkwell. He glanced briefly at the elf. “You seem tense.”

Aenaes shook his head. “I am simply trying to wake up. I didn’t sleep well.”

“Ah.” Glyph continued scrawling words onto his current draft of the letter. “I hope you aren’t sick with whatever Calista has come down with.”

“I hope not,” Aenaes replied.

“I was going to get her tonics for her symptoms after I finish my letter. If you’re feeling up for it, I could use the extra hands,” Glyph said.

Aenaes gave the half-dragon a curious look. He then shrugged. “Sure. I have some things I want to look for myself.”

“Good. I want to make preparations for when we are ready to depart,” Glyph explained. “Everything from taking care of the horses to our food supply.”

“All good planning,” Aenaes said. “Is there anything else you are wanting to do?”

“Look for ways to make money.” Glyph looked up from the letter. The surface of the table was littered with crumpled parchment balls from rejected drafts. “Otherwise I may need more ink and parchment,” he sheepishly added.

Aenaes eyed the various discarded parchment pieces. “You may.” He sighed and lost himself in his thoughts once more. He wondered if Calista had somehow become aware of how he felt for her. His thoughts transmuted to weighty dread. She hadn’t spent extensive amounts of time with him since they arrived and now he had to wonder why that may be. He tried to keep his face neutral through his sharp thoughts. Did Glyph somehow know how he felt, too?

Glyph sighed, relieved. He was finally satisfied with the message he intended to mail to his mother. “And send this off with a courier,” he added. Glyph capped the inkwell, wiped off the quill, then blew gentle breaths to dry the ink. “After it’s dry.”

Aenaes nodded. “Mhm, of course.”

“So we have quite a bit to do,” Glyph muttered to himself.