I looked over the supplies Avani had packed and decided that while she was well outfitted for camping, she had nothing to spare. With the addition of Dylas and myself to the expedition, I'd need to obtain more of nearly everything. After I'd finished my evaluation, I went to my room to pack my things and to check in on Sano and Uno. Next, I headed over to the clinic and spoke with Nancy regarding the medical supplies needed for our mission. She assembled a first aid kit for us to take along, complete with medicinal herbs, tinctures, bandages—everything we might need. Finally I went to Blossom's store to purchase the additional camping supplies. On a whim, I also purchased a small block of chocolate, justifying it to myself that it would be a useful source of quick energy, although I knew deep down that I had only bought it because I wanted to surprise Avani with it later, just to see her radiant smile. I tucked it into my rucksack, grabbed the rest of my purchases, and headed over to the castle just as the shadows were lengthening.

Dylas was already there, taking a look at some new heavy gauntlets that Avani had reinforced and modified with sturdy spikes along the knuckles. He had slipped them on and was curling his hand into a fist, admiring her handiwork. Before, he'd had only plated gauntlets, which had been effective enough on smaller targets, but less so against larger foes, and had been more awkward to use, too. They looked up as I walked in, dropped my purchases in a pile near the door, and strolled over to have a look at Dylas's new toys.

"Oh, great timing, Leon," Avani said, turning to grab a spear from behind her. "Here, take a look at this." She tossed me a long corseque made of a length of strong, hard, straight wood and reinforced with metal bands along the length to the tri-tip blade at the end. A guard set with small blood-red stones surrounded the grip. It was a trifle coarse in design, but it looked sufficient for combat, especially considering the short time frame. I gave it an experimental swing and found it was well-balanced and lighter than it looked.

"It's been imbued with elemental fire magic," she explained as I gave the gemstones a closer look. "Dylas's gloves have been imbued with water magic, my long sword with earth magic, and my dual swords with wind magic. So we're pretty well set no matter what we go up against. I wish I was more skillful, but these are the best I could do on such short notice." I nodded approval and thanked her. She had also improved our shields and procured some better-quality mail and boots. It seemed our preparations were all but complete.

"All right," Avani said, after approving of my purchases—barring the chocolate, which I kept hidden in my personal belongings, "Leon, Dylas, why don't you go say your farewells and meet me at Porcoline's in about an hour? I need to finalize arrangements with Vishnal and Clorica to tend to my beasts and my farm while I'm away, and then I'll find Arthur and meet you there. We'll go over our plans with him one last time over supper, then we'll get to sleep in preparation for an early start. See you soon, then?" We agreed and headed out.

Dylas walked in silence alongside me as we headed over to the part of town where the inn and restaurant were located. When we reached the inn, he turned to me and said, "Hey, thanks for coming. I know it's not really your fight... but I'm glad to have you with us. I can tell you're going to make a great fighter just from how rapidly you're improving. And, well, I'm just glad Avani will have you there fighting with her, too, and not only me. I don't know what we'll be facing, and I don't know if I'll be strong enough...."

"Hey," I interrupted, "don't be so glum. I'm looking forward to this—it should be interesting. I think the three of us make a good team, and it'll be a great opportunity to face some bigger challenges and hone our skills. See you in a while—and cheer up. Just look at it as a chance to take a camping trip with your lover, even if you do have me tagging along." With that, I headed into the inn. I bathed in the excellent bathhouse there, then I filled Lin and Xiao in on my plans, promising to return safely. They wished us luck in our quest, and I headed over to the restaurant, arriving just a few minutes past the hour.

Dylas was discussing something with Porcoline at the counter when I walked in, and over on the far side of the dining room, Arthur was just holding the door between the restaurant and his offices open for Avani as she walked on in. I noticed that as she passed him, he gave her a look of such unabashed admiration that I was startled by its intensity. I looked again at her, and was struck anew by her magnetism. She wasn't exactly beautiful, not conventionally so anyway, or even quite pretty. But she had some inner fire that suffused her with its radiance. She stood straight and tall and walked with confidence, her figure trim and lithe, and while she didn't fuss over clothes and makeup and hairstyles the way most young women seemed to do, she also had no need of artifice to enhance her natural appeal. Even if she might not be the most gorgeous girl in a room, she would surely be the one who attracted the most attention. So although I hadn't realized that Arthur was enamored of her, neither did I find it very surprising. I was certain most men would find her irresistible. And I was equally certain Avani had no idea—she was far too naïve for her own good, I feared, though I also felt that her artlessness was part of her charm.

We gathered at one of the smaller, private tables, except for Dylas, who helped Porcoline serve the food. Or rather, he snatched the food away from Porcoline before he could devour it and delivered it to our table unscathed. I began to see why Dylas had such excellent reflexes—he had to move quickly in this place. I shook my head, thinking it couldn't be an easy job. Once the food was safely delivered, Dylas joined us, sitting in the vacant seat opposite me. As we ate, Arthur and Avani went over details: the capitol's response to the current crisis, the town's fortifications, and Avani's plans for seeking out the research facility. Dylas and I mainly focused on eating and listening; I was too new to this era to contribute much myself, and Dylas seemed to prefer to leave most of the planning to the others.

We finished our meal and wrapped things up, then Arthur departed for his rooms. Dylas began to say goodnight, preparing to retire to his room above the restaurant, but Avani stopped him. "No," she said, "it'll be better if you both sleep at my place tonight. Since I delayed a day, I want to leave extra early tomorrow morning. If we're already together, we'll be able to depart with minimal disturbance to others. So if you still have anything here that you want, go grab it and we'll head back to the castle. We can stop by the inn, too, if you need anything there," she added, turning to me as Dylas hurried up the stairs to his room.

 "A few things, yes. I was expecting to return for the night," I replied.

"That reminds me," she added, "you can bring Sano and Uno if you want, but they might be better off staying here. If you bring them, it'll be up to you to keep them under control—I can't have them getting into mischief and attracting attention."

"I'll leave them here, though the little rascals might still follow me. Are you sure you have room for me to stay overnight, too?"

She nodded, saying with a smile, "Yes, there's a very comfortable chaise in one of my smaller rooms—the one I use as a study. I think you'll be fairly at home there among my books and scrolls. Anyway, Dylas slept there a couple of times before we became lovers, and he seemed to find it adequate, if a little on the short side for him."

"I haven't yet been given a tour of your suite, so I don't know where this study of yours is. How many rooms do you have in that suite of yours?" I asked.

"Oh, a crazy number, really. Besides the main chamber, there are five interconnected smaller rooms, some of which haven't been used in ages and are in need of a lot of cleaning and repairs before they're usable. Still, it's nice to know they're there if I ever need them. And then there's a series of three rooms in a cellar that I use mainly for storage—trophies, equipment, and so on. So I guess that makes nine rooms, and that's not even counting my outbuildings."

I admit I was surprised. Even Prince Arthur himself had only two rooms, though admittedly one of them was as large as Porcoline's entire restaurant. Of course, it was originally the plan for him to occupy that suite of rooms in the castle, which would have been more befitting his rank. But he was the consummate gentleman and had insisted that Avani keep the rooms she'd been given by mistake—Venti had told me all about it during one of our chats. But I hadn't realized that the castle, which had been built after my time, was quite so expansive.

Dylas returned a moment later, and we headed over to the inn. The baths were still open, so Avani told me to take my time—she wanted one last soak before departing. So I packed the last few things I needed, then spent a little time selecting a book to read, just in case I didn't find anything of interest in her collection. I roused my foxes, who had curled up on my bed and fallen soundly asleep, and told them I'd be away for a few days and that they should remain there in my room until I returned. Fortunately, being spirits, they had no actual need of food or drink, though they were capable of consuming and even enjoying either. They yawned and stretched, then settled back down to sleep as I grabbed my things and headed to the stairs.

When I returned to the lobby, Dylas had finished his bath and was waiting for Avani to finish hers. He glanced up as I walked in and nodded to me, looking impatient. Bathing seemed to be her favorite indulgence—she visited the baths often, I'd noticed, and when accompanied by Dylas, he always seemed to finish long before her. Finally she appeared, radiant from the hot water and with her still-damp hair clinging to her shoulders and back. Dylas gave her a look that seemed a mixture of annoyance and adoration as he strode over to the vending machine to buy her a cold drink. She thanked him with a smile and sipped it as we walked towards the castle.

We took a route that passed the house Forte shared with her younger brother, Kiel, and she stopped to let her know that we'd be departing very early in the morning. We continued on to her rooms, where she told us to wait for a minute. She headed out the back door that led to her gardens, then returned several minutes later with a massive silver wolf following tamely at her heels. I must have looked surprised, because she laughed and explained that she was bringing the wolf, Baldur, to guard our campsite and also to use as a pack beast. He was easily the size of a sturdy pony, but I wondered how he'd respond to being treated like a beast of burden. Still, he seemed tame, even devoted to his mistress. He was apparently intelligent enough to understand and follow commands, as she instructed him to lie down before the fire and stay—and he did so with alacrity.

Next she helped me gather up my things and showed me to her study, up a flight of stairs situated between her bed and her wardrobe. She disappeared for a moment and returned with an armload of blankets and cushions. She bustled around for a few minutes, making up a bed on the sofa and building a fire in the small fireplace, and soon she had everything arranged to her satisfaction.

She disappeared for another moment, returning with a large pitcher full of water resting in a basin, and a towel and washcloth draped over her arm. She placed these on a small table near the door, then she picked up a slender taper resting on top of the mantle, lit it in the fire, and used that to light a pair of large pillar candles on a table next to the chaise. "There. I think that does it," she said, pinching out the taper and returning it to its place before looking around at her arrangements. "Please feel free to help yourself to my books, and you know where the kitchen is if you find yourself hungry or thirsty. Just help yourself to whatever you want. Is there anything else you need before I retire?" she asked, looking at me.

"No... no, this should do nicely. Thank you," I replied.

"Certainly. I'll call you early, before sunrise. We'll eat a quick breakfast and head out as soon as we're able. Good night, Leon," she said as she turned to leave.

"Good night, Avani. Sleep well," I replied.

After she left, I changed into my pyjamas and strolled over to inspect her books. Although I had found her to be quite intelligent, I hadn't expected our tastes in reading matter to be so well matched. I was a little surprised by the fine selection of books and scrolls in her personal library, nearly all of which appealed to me. I found one old volume of legends that especially intrigued me—legends which had sprung up since my time and thus were new to me—and settled down in the narrow but comfortable bed to read it by the light of the candles.

After a little while, a noise from downstairs drew my attention from my book. I set the book down and listened for a minute, hearing faint sounds but unable to determine their significance, when I noticed that the door had not closed completely behind Avani when she left and thus was slightly ajar. I opened the door to listen better and suddenly realized the cause of the sounds I was hearing from Avani's bedchamber.

Feeling amused yet oddly unsettled by my discovery, I quickly but quietly closed the door and returned to my bed. I tried without success to get back into my book, but my concentration was shot after that distraction. I soon gave up, blew out the candle, and went to sleep.

************

I woke in the middle of the night, confused momentarily by the unfamiliar surroundings and feeling terribly thirsty from the generous portion of salted salmon I'd had earlier at the restaurant. I recalled where I was and that Avani had left a pitcher of water—but I found she had neglected to bring a glass. I cautiously opened the door and listened; all was quiet now.

I silently slipped downstairs to Avani's room. In the glow of the fireplace, I could see her wolf lying before the fire, remaining where she had ordered him to lie, yet alert as he watched me as quietly pass through. In her large bed, Avani lay curled in Dylas's arms, his chin resting on the top of her head, both soundly asleep. I managed to get into the kitchen, drink a couple glasses of water, and return without disturbing them. Either I was moving more silently than I thought, or they were really worn out, I thought to myself as I closed the study door behind me. I was surprised to find that the thought was a slightly bitter one.