Haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday, have I. Guess I’ll get some breakfast before meditating.

Adion got out of his bed and did some light stretches before getting dressed. 

I can’t slack off now just because I’ve reached peak Bronze. I’m so close to becoming a Silver mage; it’s not much longer before my core is filled to the brim, and I’m sure my Will is more than enough to handle it.

It was now a few weeks into winter, and Adion had managed to advance to peak Bronze a little over a month ago, after which he spent a lot more time meditating than usual, pushing himself to the limit every day in order to quickly reach Silver.

I wonder if any of the others are up yet? Adion thought as he made his way downstairs. We usually have breakfast much later, so I guess I’ll be having breakfast alone today.

But to Adion’s surprise, he spotted his whole team entering the inn from outside, stomping off snow from their shoes.

Where have they been so early?

“Adion?” Benji spotted him approaching them, “You’re already up? That’s perfect; it’s time to leave soon.”

“What are you talking about? I thought we weren’t leaving for Cyalis until spring?” Adion questioned.

“We’re not going to Cyalis,” Benji shook his head with a smile, “We’re going to Dorbarta!”

Adion couldn’t understand what the purpose of going to Dorbarta could be. He just stared at Benji with a confused look on his face.

“By any chance,” Sahra said, looking at Adion with a slight smile, “Did you forget what day it is today?”

“Why? What’s today?” Adion asked.

“It’s your birthday!” Rufus exclaimed and went to throw an arm around Adion’s shoulders, “Happy birthday, you little training maniac.”

“Oh…I guess it is,” Adion said, “I completely forgot. How did you guys know?”

“Well,” Benji smiled a little awkwardly, “We were discussing a way to get you to take a break to have some fun when Lomin suggested we wait for your birthday to plan something.”

That’s actually really nice. Guess I won’t have a chance to train today.

Adion got a small smile from the gesture, “What have you planned then?”

“We’re going to Dorbarta,” Benji said, “Didn’t I say?”

“Oh, of course. Fun,” Adion said, thinking they had planned something besides just visiting the city.

“We’re obviously not just going there sightseeing,” Sahra interjected, “We have rooms at the Silver Diamond that we stayed at last time, and we’ll be going to see a bard performing at some place Lomin heard about. You seemed to enjoy it last time.”

“I did,” Adion nodded, “That’s great. Thanks, guys.”

“Think nothing of it,” Benji said, smiling brightly.

Adion noticed the rest of the group also all lit up into smiles at Adion’s acceptance.

I know I train a lot, but we still see each other every day. Aren’t they overreacting a little?

“I wanted to take you gambling, but I was voted down,” Rufus lamented.

“That’s because it would only end up with Adion doing his weird space stuff and stealing everything,” Benji said.

“That’s a nice idea,” Adion said, looking down in thought, “I could probably get away with all kinds of cheating.”

“No way,” Benji said, “No more thievery. At least until we’re out of the Empire, it’s too risky while we’re staying in one place.”

“I guess that makes sense. And hearing some new songs seems more fun anyway,” Adion said.

“Good,” Benji said, “Then let’s get some breakfast, and we’ll leave straight afterward. We’ve rented a carriage that can take us there in about eight hours, so we’ll have plenty of time, but we’ll have to leave soon.”

“Alright,” Adion nodded.

It’s a little hard to ignore my training like this. But it would feel way worse to turn away their kindness. Just one day is fine.

The group quickly ate their breakfast and then went to their rooms for a quick change of clothing. Adion made sure to bring his backpack with pills with him. He had gotten used to leaving it behind as he had found a pretty secure hiding spot. But leaving for an entire day made Adion feel uneasy at the thought of leaving them behind.

He threw the backpack over his shoulders and made his way out of the inn. As he stepped outside, Adion immediately spotted a carriage that stood parked to the side of the road.

“This is our ride,” Benji said, stepping up to Adion, “We have someone driving the carriage this time, so keep your voice down if you want to talk about anything sensitive.”

“Mm,” Adion nodded.

The rest of the team was already there, so they all got inside, and the carriage started moving, picking up speed as soon as they left Lermen.

“How do you usually spend your birthdays?” Lomin asked.

“Hm? Well, last year, I had a few drinks with Villem back in Bellford. Before that…I guess I forgot it when I turned 13 and 14. It was hard keeping track of the days in the-” Adion stopped himself as he remembered the driver. He assumed it would be hard to hear, but he still wanted to be safe, so he decided to try something he had been experimenting with lately.

He grabbed hold of the space surrounding the team, but not all the space, just a thin film, creating a sort of soundproof bubble. Well, it wasn’t completely soundproof, as he had discovered when doing some testing, but it was very close.

“In the Endless Forest,” Adion continued.

“You did your little sound trick?” Rufus asked.

“Mm,” Adion nodded.

“How about back at your clan?” Lomin asked.

Adion thought back to his previous birthdays, a small smile on his face.

“It was nice, just me and my family. Eating together, talking. Nothing special ever happened as far as I can remember. Maybe that was what made them so special.” Adion said.

“That’s nice,” Sahra said with a smile.

The group continued their conversation as the carriage moved on ahead. Adion realized that perhaps he had been more absent than he had thought as he got to talking with his teammates. Usually, he didn’t stay for any lengthy conversations whenever they ate. And it wasn’t the best environment for talking when they were out hunting together, either. 

The group reached Dorbarta a couple of hours past noon. Adion looked out the carriage, watching the city he hadn’t visited since summer. He couldn’t help but notice that the city seemed a little different.

“Is it just me,” Adion said, “Or does the atmosphere here seem a little tense? Are they so depressed just because winter is here?” 

“It probably has to do with the tension between the Tyllen and Derolm family,” Benji said, “They have never seen eye to eye, and ever since the theft that the Derolm expedition experienced, things have escalated to a new level of hostility. As far as I know, nothing major has happened yet. But that only makes people here hold their breath for when it finally does.”

“Right,” Adion said, “I had forgotten about that.”

“How could you forget about-” Sahra began, but stopped herself, “I guess it’s your birthday. You’re right, Adion. I almost forgot about it myself.”

Adion looked at Sahra weirdly, “I suppose I could do better to keep up to date with the local news.”

“Hahaha!” Rufus laughed, “Seems you found the way to change Adion, Sahra. Just say you feel the same way, and he’ll immediately correct himself.”

“It’s not like that,” Adion refuted, “I have just been busy thinking about other things. But I should do better to keep stuff like this in mind.”

Adion had really dropped almost all his worries about the theft of the Merillian Soul Peaches. He felt like he and Sell got away with a close-to-perfect crime. And Astor appearing when he did had thrown away the last of Adion’s worries about being a suspect. 

As for feeling guilty about the consequences of his deed, Adion couldn’t care less. His enemies couldn’t be allowed to keep such nice things. And Astor had brought it upon himself when he tried to get involved with Sell.

“Looks like we’re here,” Benji said as the carriage came to a halt in front of the Silver Diamond.

They all stepped out of the carriage and made their way inside after Benji left some instructions to the driver, who would drive them home the day after. 

“Aaah,” Sahra breathed in the warm air in the lobby, “We should make trips to Dorbarta more often. We have the money.”

Adion almost said something about how that would get in the way of training but stopped himself as he realized that might ruin the mood.

“Mm,” Rufus nodded with a smile, “It’s a nice place.”

Benji led the way to the reception, where he got the keys to everyone’s rooms. 

“No point in hanging out in our rooms, right?” Benji asked, “Let’s leave our stuff and meet back here in a few minutes. We can get a couple of drinks before the bard starts performing.”

They all agreed and headed up to their room to leave their packs. Adion noticed that the room didn’t lose to the one he had stayed in the last time he was there.

Fancy as always. Almost too big for just one person. Almost.

Adion didn’t linger, though. He went down to the lobby, where he met up with his teammates. They headed out on the busy street and followed Lomin as he led the way.

“How do you know where it is?” Rufus asked, “Have you sneaked out all the way over here too?”

“No,” Lomin shook his head, “I was just given instructions from the bartender at Mergen’s. I should tell you that it probably won’t be a fancy place, but I don’t believe the performance will suffer because of it.”

“That’s fine,” Adion said, “I prefer it that way.”

“Me too,” Rufus agreed, “Don’t want a bunch of Nobles looking at us with their judgy eyes.”

As they passed one of the many manors in the central part of town, Adion felt something that immediately grabbed his attention.

What up with the space here?

Adion tried to get a feeling for what was off, focusing on the space around him.

It’s slightly more stable…Of course! The artifact that was sold at the auction. 

Adion looked to his teammates, but they didn’t seem to notice anything, which wasn’t surprising. Lomin was the only one who had noticed last time, and that was only after Adion brought his attention to it. And it was a lot weaker than it had been at the auction, probably because the artifact was closer to them back then.

I wonder what family won the bid in the end. Maybe I should have paid some attention even if I’m not interested in having it for myself. I suppose I could ask someone which family lives in the manor. 

But is it really something worth getting involved with? These people might think affecting space, however small, is something revolutionary. But it’s not much in my eyes.

If I had any knowledge about runes, it might have been worth attempting to steal it. But right now, I don’t think it’s worth it.

Adion decided to bring it up to his team later and continued walking in silence. 

The group arrived outside a nice-looking bar about 20 minutes later.

It might not be anything close to the Silver Diamond in quality, but it’s a lot nicer-looking than Mergen’s.

“I’m thinking a ‘one of everything’ for Adion tonight,” Rufus said as they stepped into the bar, “What do you think, guys?”

“Sounds like a birthday if I ever heard one,” Sahra said with a grin.

Adion just shook his head with a smile.

I guess it will be fun. I’m already here so I should try to enjoy myself.

Everyone took their seats in a corner of the bar with a good vision of the small stage where the bard would be performing later. Rufus took care of ordering the drinks, and Adion received a beer like everyone else.

“We’ll start off with this one,” Rufus said, “I noticed they had some pretty interesting supply of drinks to offer.”

“Well, I’m looking forward to trying them,” Adion said, “Maybe I can even impress Sell with a more advanced palate the next time we meet.”

“Haha!” Rufus laughed, “I’m afraid we would have to go someplace a lot fancier than this if that is your goal.”

“Looking forward to spending the next birthday with your girlfriend, Adion?” Sahra asked with a smirk.

I hadn’t thought about that.

“That would be nice,” Adion said, “Hopefully, we’ll both be able to make it to Cyalis by then.”

“Haaah,” Rufus sighed, “I guess there is no competing against young love.”

“This is great too, of course,” Adion added, not wanting to drag down the atmosphere.

“Haha,” Sahra laughed, “It’s fine, Adion. I would have to yell at you if you didn’t miss Sell. I’m sure she’s missing you too.”

Maybe she is…She will turn 16 in four days. I wonder how she’ll celebrate.

“Look at him,” Rufus muttered, “Lost in the clouds.”

“Sorry,” Adion smiled awkwardly, “Let’s get to drinking, right?”

“There you go,” Rufus grinned and took a few large gulps of his beer.

“By the way,” Adion said and leaned in. He made sure to soundproof the conversation with his space just like he had on the way over, “Do you guys remember the artifact being sold at the auction? The one that could stabilize space?”

“Of course,” Benji nodded.

“I felt it today when we were walking by a manor in the central part of the city,” Adion said, “I don’t know which family won it in the end, though.”

“Oh?” Sahra said, “Wasn’t it the…the Ferrem family?”

“I think so,” Benji nodded.

“Ferrem family?” Adion asked.

“A 1st tier family clan based in Hermot,” Benji said, “I remember them winning over the Derolm family in a bidding war. Weren’t you paying attention?”

“I couldn’t be bothered since it seemed so useless,” Adion said.

“An artifact controlling space seemed useless?” Sahra asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Adion said, “Anyway, why did I feel it in from a manor here in Dorbarta then?”

“That’s odd,” Benji agreed.

“Couldn’t the Ferrem family have a manor in Dorbarta even if they are based in Hermot?” Rufus asked.

“Not a manor like that,” Adion shook his head, “Unless they are a very wealthy and powerful Noble family, I can’t imagine having a manor like that in a different city.” 

“Do you think someone stole it?” Sahra asked.

“Maybe,” Adion said.

“You’re thinking about stealing it yourself, aren’t you?” Sahra asked.

“What? No,” Adion shook his head, “I don’t have any need for it. Maybe if it was easily accessible, but I would have to find a way to get deep into their manor before I could reach it with my teleportation. I don’t want to make a risky plan like that for something I won’t have any use for.”

“Wouldn’t it be very useful?” Rufus asked, “I know you can do a lot more amazing stuff, but if you got some knowledge about runes in the future, this artifact might come in handy. You could find a way to combine your space power and runes. Who knows what you could get from that.”

That’s it!

“Rufus!” Adion exclaimed, “You just gave me a great idea.”

“Oh? What idea?” Rufus asked.

“I need a way to teleport a much larger distance than I am able to at the moment,” Adion said, “So far, I haven’t come up with any ideas for how to do that without advancing my core. But what if I had a runic device that would somehow allow me to grab hold space where it was, no matter how far away it was located.”

“That would be amazing,” Rufus admitted, “But do you know how to do something like that?”

“Well, no,” Adion said, “But it’s something worth thinking about.”

“I guess,” Rufus nodded.

“You’re not planning on stealing the artifact because of this, are you?” Benji asked, an uncertain smile on his face.

“I admit I’m a little tempted,” Adion said, “But I’m in no rush. It’s nothing that can be pulled off tonight, at least. I’ll give it some thought when we’re back in Lermen.”

Benji looked at Adion hesitantly before sighing, “Alright. Just remember to run the plan by me before doing anything.”

“Sure,” Adion nodded. 

After that, they stayed away from any sensitive topics and spent the evening talking about day-to-day stuff. Later in the evening, a bard stepped on stage and performed for a little over an hour. Adion thoroughly enjoyed it, but it still didn’t beat the bard he had seen in Lermen.

As the night came to an end and the group made their way back to the Silver Diamond, Adion realized just how much he had missed hanging out with his team like this.

I’ll sacrifice one day every month for a night like this going forward. I’m still far too weak, so I won’t waste more training time than that.