“This one?”

“No! No no, the other one. With the blue crystals.” Azza held up yet another bundle of trinkets, odds and ends, to which Elijah shook his head. “No no, with the round crystals that are faceted.” While giving instructions, he himself dug through piles of… piles. What he searched for, Azza could only guess.

Elijah’s list contained a staggering amount of what Azza considered junk, but he had insisted they needed it for the trip. She smirked as she sifted through bags and shelves and drawers, asking each time if she’d found the right one. Usually, the answer was ‘no.’ Azza was almost impressed with the sheer volume of stuff her teacher had accumulated, compared to her meager belongings. Two changes of clothes, a longsword–Elijah had made eyes at that when they first reunited–and some sentimental trinkets.

In the end, Elijah found most of it himself, things ranging from “required” to “absolutely imperative.” He shooed Azza outside to help the bespectacled-man and the flame-haired woman load the wagon. This didn’t take long, as they did not need many actual provisions for the short trip. The blue-haired glasses man waited patiently, muttering something now and then.

The red haired lass waited… less patiently. After ‘convincing’ the wagoner to extend his services, the woman spent the time shifting her feet and fidgeting. She was fuming. Not angry, Azza realized, but literally fuming. Swirls of mana radiated off of her like smoke. Elijah hadn’t seemed thrilled with her presence, and it took a bit for Azza to recall who she was. Her life was so full of disasters, that the banquet in Salvar barely registered in her memory. ’Elijah must have taken it personally…’

The group departed with the noon sun beating down on them. The atmosphere between the three ‘adults’ remained tense as they traveled, with only terse words exchanged. Meanwhile, Azza herself was happy to just enjoy the sights as the wagon rolled along the shifting dunes of ash and glass.