The storm continued to rage throughout the day as we traveled along the road toward Kalidar’s capital city, Hindra. I was glad that Kalidar maintained the stone-paved road so well since we would have been in for a very uncomfortable journey on less well-maintained dirt roads that would have turned to mud. As it was, we all got thoroughly soaked when it was our turn at the reins.

Master Nirlyn took the first turn driving the kirgen, while Vesha and I spent most of the morning alternating between snuggling, practicing with our instruments, and working on our other studies as well. Vesha helped me with my reading and writing since she was far more literate than I was and better at reading music sheets as well. Music theory, composition, and the basics of magic were better left for when Master Nirlyn could be there to properly instruct us though, and Korine would have to be in on those lessons as well.

So, the majority of our morning, until Vesha took over for Master Nirlyn on the driver’s bench, was spent becoming familiar with our new instruments. Both my new fiddle and Vesha’s new lute were finely crafted instruments with a rich sound to them. I felt that I would probably end up playing the fiddle a lot more often, now that I had such a fine one that belonged to me rather than one I would have to borrow. The harp was still my favorite instrument, but this fine fiddle was probably a close second once I had a chance to play it and enjoy the melodious sounds that I could make with it. Vesha seemed to be over the moon with her lute as well.

When midday came around and the storm had not yet abated, it was decided that we would all have a quick and simple meal inside of our wagons before pressing onward. The meal was as cold as the rain outside, consisting of bread, cheese, and dried meat that the troupe had gotten in Loden while restocking our supplies. It was not great, but it was filling, and I made some hot tea on our wagon’s stove to go with it and ward off the chill of the damp weather.

It was late afternoon, and moving swiftly toward evening, when the wagons ahead of me slowed to a stop. Very wet, and feeling miserable, I reined in the kirgen to bring them to a stop as I waited to see what was going on. It was still quite some time before we were due to stop to set up camp and begin preparations for the evening meal, so the longer that we lingered the more uncomfortable that I became. Something was wrong.

I was not reassured when my grandfather approached from the front of the caravan with Mara, who had been scouting the road ahead of us for fallen trees or other unexpected obstacles, and Uncle Bryden. I had been assured that bandits would not be a problem since this road led directly to the capital and was both well-traveled and regularly patrolled by Kalidaran soldiers. The grim expression on my grandfather’s face as they approached did not reassure me at all.

“Kaelyn, we will be setting up camp just ahead, Vaela and Shava will cast the Seeming while we move the wagons into place. I want you, Niryln, Vesha, Bryden, and Hagen to go with Mara, she found something troublesome while scouting the road up ahead. We’ll have someone drive your wagons to the campsite we’ve chosen,” my grandfather stated as Mara continued past our wagon to her own, presumably to get her husband, Hagen.

My stomach sank at his words, and I reached behind the driver’s bench to rap loudly upon the door. It was not lost on me that the people who would be accompanying Mara would be those in our troupe most capable of combat. Mara and Hagen were the troupe’s hunters and scouts and had seen their fair share of fights. Uncle Bryden had experience with swords and other weapons and was probably the best knife fighter in the troupe. As for the rest of us, Master Nirlyn was a Spellsinger; Vesha had her thick scales, strength, and fire; and I had Neva’kul and my armor, and Sharai could take control if we encountered something that I couldn’t handle on my own. Vesha and I could also fly, making us the quickest and capable of aerial scouting.

Sensing that my grandfather had a reason for his choices, I removed my sword belt bearing Neva’kul and laid the blade on the bench to my side. Then I quickly summoned my armor before hopping off the bench and returning both belt and blade to their proper place. My grandfather nodded approvingly as my Master and fellow apprentice emerged from the wagon.

Master Nirlyn took one look at my grandfather, Uncle Bryden, and me and sighed, “Trouble ahead, Lorne?”

“Aye, Mara spotted something,” he agreed with a frown. “Even if we did decide to push onward, it would take time to clear the road or make our way around the blockage.”

“Mara said it looks like a merchant caravan of some sort, but most of the wagons have been destroyed. Couldn’t have happened more than a few hours ago. She has a bad feeling about it, and didn’t want to get any closer without backup, in case whatever caused the damage is still around,” my uncle explained.

“Something doesn’t smell right, an’ I’d rather be safe than sorry,” the scout in question added in a serious tone as she and her husband approached from their wagon with their five-year-old daughter, Cylia. “We’ll leave Cylia with Zenna until we get back; she can play with the twins for a bit.” Sending her to play with the twins was a good idea; they were only a year older than she was and always full of energy. They would keep her well occupied until we returned.

As usual, Cylia’s face brightened when she saw me. She always seemed enraptured with my wings and brightly colored hair. I crouched down to her level and managed a smile for her. “Are you going to play with Kirla and Kegan?” At her energetic nod, I leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “I still have some of those sweets that we got in Loden yesterday, when we get back, I will bring you all some.”

The young girl squealed happily and wrapped me up in a hug, and I quickly picked her up to carry her as we made our way toward the front of the caravan with her parents and the rest of the group. Zenna and Godan’s wagon was only a couple ahead of us in the procession, so she was soon safe and drying off inside while excitedly telling the twins about my sweet offer.

Soon we left my grandfather behind to sort out moving the wagons to a clearing a short distance away from the road that Mara had found on her way back to the troupe. My grandmother and Shava were already there as I could sense the former casting the Seeming that would keep us safe and hidden from mortal eyes. I was glad that Shava was with her. Our grandmother was serious about teaching her magic and without that keeping her busy; I feared that my cousin might follow us to try to help. She was still new to learning combat and, unlike Sharai; Alara was too long without a body of her own to use Shava’s effectively and keep her safe.

Eventually, we crested a hill that allowed us to view the road for leagues ahead of us. “I stopped here,” Mara announced. “As I said, something doesn’t smell right.”

I nodded in agreement, as I saw the remains of wagons and other detritus spread out across the road in the shallow valley ahead. “It is faint, just at the edge of my senses, but can sense magic down there. There is something else as well, something dark. I think that whatever destroyed that caravan was a Tainted. Are there any dark zones near here?”

Hagen and Mara quickly shook their heads. “No, at least not that were nearby when we last came through,” Hagen replied. “The closest dark zone is the one that you and Vesha explored.”

That’s way too far northwest for any Tainted to have strayed this far,” Vesha said with a grimace. The expression on her face seemed to darken even further as she suggested, “What if it’s a Shadow Elemental?”

Everyone’s eyes widened at the possibility. There were stories, but none that could be confirmed, of Elementals who were tainted by a dark zone. The element that they were formed from became infused with the dark mana that permeated the dark zone and it was said that they could leave the dark zones, that they themselves were like living dark zones, tainting all that they came across.

Mara shook her head furiously as if hoping to negate the very idea before looking around nervously. “Those are just a myth, right? Their existence has never been confirmed.”

“Not by any culture still around today,” Vesha replied in a hushed tone. “They’re real though, I learned a lot about my people during my time within the eternal flame, both what they told me and memories that I absorbed by being one with them inside the flame. They had to kill a few of their kind who met that fate. I would have likely become one myself if I hadn’t been in my physical form when I was cut by that Darkling. My body was becoming Tainted, but it hadn’t yet infected the fire at my core when I let the eternal flame consume my physical shell and became a true Salamander, like those who gave me life. They believe that faerie fire might have purified me though, as it did the Darkling, had my core been tainted.”

-It is possible,- Sharai agreed. -Nobody has ever thought to use it to purify spirits though, only to provide warmth, light, and consume the souls of Demons and those corrupted by tainted mana. You though, intended to purify her soul, rather than destroy it, when you used faerie fire on the Darkling that was once General Espalia; something that my people never thought possible before. Perhaps the intent is more important when using faerie fire than any of our people have believed until now.-

Uncle Bryden wore a dark expression as he summed up, “So, our possibilities include a Shadow Elemental, a new dark zone in the area, or Tainted are straying much farther away from dark zones than they once did. I don’t like any of those.”

“Could be sumthin’ else, bu’ those are the mos’ likely options,” Master Nirlyn agreed as a deep frown creased her features. Then she focused her attention on her adopted daughter and me. “The two o’ ya best get in the air an’ see what’s what.”

Mara nodded in agreement. “She’s right, if whatever caused that is still down there, maybe you can spot it from the air and get some idea of what we’re dealing with. Vesha, you can do that. Kaelyn, I want you to fly a large circle around the valley. If there’s a new dark zone in the area, hopefully, you’ll be able to spot it, and the range of your magic sense is much greater than the rest of us.”

We both nodded and set our wings in motion to take to the air. While the Salamander headed straight for the destruction ahead, I turned immediately to the southeast to encircle the valley as quickly as my wings could carry me. I was not sure whether I should be concerned or relieved when I neither saw nor sensed anything that would indicate a dark zone. In fact, the only dark magic that I could sense was when I returned to my starting point and once again sensed whatever was down in that valley.

“I did not sense anything that could be a dark zone, and no other dark magic than whatever is down there,” I announced when I landed. I would have preferred to stay in the air where my moving wings could keep me warm and somewhat dry.

Vesha had arrived before me and looked down at the destroyed caravan before adding her own report. “The rain wasn’t making it easy, but I saw a lot of dead bodies, smashed wagons, and a couple of things moving. One of them was huge.”

“We need to go down there, but if we’re dealing with Tainted, we’ll need to be careful to not get too close,” Hagen muttered. “Mara and I will keep our bows ready and Nirlyn can use magic if need be.”

“I’ll keep my throwing knives handy,” Uncle Bryden answered Hagen’s unasked question.

“Kaelyn and I can take the point,” Vesha offered. “My scales and her armor and sword should keep us safe enough if anything manages to get in close, but I have my fire to keep them from doing that, and she has a few options too.”

“Aye, tha’s prob’ly fer the best. You an’ I ‘ave the best noses o’ the bunch, an’ Kaelyn an’ I ‘ave the best ears. I’ll cover our rear,” Master Nirlyn agreed with a nod.

We made our way cautiously down the road, straining our senses for any hints of danger. I also summoned half a dozen faerie fires for the dual purpose of keeping us all warm in the cold rain and having them on hand in case a Tainted attacked. We had yet to encounter anything when we reached the first of the wagons, this one merely damaged rather than destroyed as most of the others were. It was painted in bright colors, nearly as bright as our troupe’s wagons, and there were words and images painted on what was left of the wagon’s side.

I wondered briefly if maybe they were another troupe of Voyagers, but their wagons did not seem quite as well made as ours. I could also see the remains of steel cages and sense the metal all around us. “A travellin’ menagerie,” Master Nirlyn explained from somewhere behind us. “They collect rare an’ unusual creatures from all over Esmere. People like this would pay good coin fer tha’ owl o’ yers, Kaeyln.”

“And even more for Kaelyn and Vesha,” Uncle Bryden spat bitterly. “They traffic in the misery of other living creatures.”

“Aye, tha’ they do,” the Master Bard dismally agreed. “Let’s ‘ope some survived t’ earn their freedom.”

“There are a lot of magical presences around us, possibly Mana-touched. There’s a really strong presence in the next wagon,” I said as my gaze shifted between the wagon in question and the dark presence ahead of us. I could only feel one at the moment, or perhaps they were close together? I didn’t even have to point out the Tainted though since it was visible even through the torrential rain and nearly as large as the wagon that it was currently trying to destroy.

“Let’s take care of the Tainted first, then we can search for survivors,” Hagen suggested. It was then, as we were about to leave the wagon behind to get a better look at the behemoth, that I heard shuffling movement and what sounded like a small child crying coming from where I was feeling the strong magical presence. Heedless of Hagen’s words, I rushed toward the sound.

The wagon was half-destroyed and inside there were mangled cages with the remains of whatever poor creatures had inhabited them crushed and bloodied inside. Only one of the larger cages remained intact, near one end of the wagon that had not been reduced to splintered wreckage. It was half covered in broken planks of wood and other detritus, but once that was quickly cleared away, I saw a small child, perhaps two years old with pointed ears and hair the color of a clear blue sky. Teary eyes of the same shade looked up at me imploringly.

“An Elf?” I wondered aloud. The girl stared up at me with a perplexed expression as if trying to understand me. I reached out a hand carefully and said as gently as I could, “Do not be afraid, we will get you out of here.”

The flash of surprise from Sharai nearly staggered me. -That is not a normal coloring for an Elf, Kaelyn. Unlike Pixies and us Faeries, elves do not have such striking coloring; usually, they have brown eyes and hair in shades of blond or brown. Mana-touched animals and humans are rare enough, but I only know of one Mana-touched Fae in our entire history. Even as young as she is, I can feel the great power sleeping within her. This girl has the potential to be one of the greatest mages that the world has ever seen. How did these humans get their hands on such a treasure?! And how dare they lock her up like some animal!-

Uncle Bryden was already at work picking the lock on the cage and he seemed as surprised and angered at seeing the Elven girl inside as Sharai was. The girl shrank away from him and the others who had joined me though. Did Voyagers too closely resemble the Humans who held her captive? She did not seem as afraid of Vesha, who many would find far more intimidating. Master Nirlyn had not entered the wagon with the others though; she was outside of the ruined wagon, occasionally sniffing the air and carefully watching the massive Tainted, in case it decided to focus on us rather than the wagons.

I had carefully scooped the young Elven girl up in my arms and was leaving the destroyed wagon when a sensation hit me that nearly stopped my heart. The second Tainted suddenly reappeared to my magic sense, as if it had been somehow hiding its presence. I gasped, “Oh Goddess, they separated! One of the Tainted hid itself and got behind us somehow! It is moving toward our troupe!”