We spent many of the next several days going out on training missions, preparing the most able-bodied townsfolk in case they were needed to help defend Selphia. Arthur kept his word, investing in better quality armor and weapons the day after Avani's scolding. She also took greater care from then on to check what gear her trainees had before taking them out—and supplying them as best she could with what they lacked if they were unable to arm themselves.
Before their falling out, she had intended to ask Dylas to help her with those townsfolk who needed close combat training rather than magical, but he'd all but disappeared since their conditional reconciliation. Even Porcoline said he'd hardly seen him at all recently. He returned to his room late at night and went straight to bed, then he'd be gone again long before Porcoline himself awoke. Avani looked concerned but said nothing, leaving him to take care of his business in his own time and fashion. Meanwhile, I helped her out in his stead, which didn't do me any harm, either.
After more than two weeks of intensive training with only a few days of rest, Avani felt satisfied with the results. Everyone still had a ways to go, but they'd improved dramatically. If they could manage to continue training on their own, she told Arthur and Forte, they'd soon find themselves a force to be reckoned with. The only one who didn't make any substantial progress was Amber—but Avani gave her up as a lost cause after a couple more outings. She was just too sweet and innocent to be an effective fighter, so she asked Doug to please take special care of her as well as Granny Blossom if anything happened.
She met with Arthur the day after she declared the initial phase of training to be over and found that he'd finally managed to secure a drop point on the far side of the destroyed bridge. It had not been easy, he said, because they needed a place that was secluded enough not to attract unwanted attention, and that was sheltered from the extreme winds and rock slides that were a constant danger along the Maya Road—particularly important now that the winter snows had arrived. But at last he found a place that seemed ideal, near an unoccupied farmhouse not far from the trailhead.
Meanwhile, he'd asked Volkanon to see to repairing the bridge, as that was apparently one of his areas of expertise. He refused to leave Venti's side, however, so instead he trained Clorica to complete the task on his behalf—with a little help.
One morning shortly after she'd completed Volkanon's training, Clorica approached Avani as we broke our fast and asked for her assistance with the bridge repairs—she had the knowledge to construct the bridge, she said, but not the strength to carry and place the heavy stones. Avani agreed, and the two soon departed. Bereft of my companion, I settled down to spend the day on my translation work.
Avani returned home just past sunset, exhausted and grimy from the day's work. As I came down the stairs leading to her study, she dropped down into one of her chairs, saying wearily, "It's finished. I swear there isn't a muscle in my body that doesn't ache."
I smiled at my lover, thinking to myself that all the sweat and dust and grime in the world couldn't dim her beauty in my eyes. I gathered her up in my arms and kissed her, tasting and smelling the salty tang of sweat and the earthiness of soil and stone and timber. "Would you like a long soak in a hot bath, My Lady?"
"More than anything," she replied fervently, wrapping her arms around my neck.
"Then you shall have one," I said, carrying her out the back door.
She let out a sharp exclamation when she realized that I intended to carry her the whole way there, but I refused to set her down. "You're much too tired to walk there," I murmured into her ear, "and besides, I rather enjoy holding you close to me. I'll leave you to Xiao's tender care and fetch you some clean clothing while you enjoy a good soak. Take as long as you like."
************
She was completely recovered by morning, and at breakfast she said she wanted to leave for the Maya Road the following day—with or without Dylas. Her defensive preparations for the town were complete, so all that remained was to equip us for the journey. "I'll leave word first thing this morning for Dylas, letting him know my plans. Can you arrange for supplies, while I handle our weapons and armor?" she asked as we finished our coffee, reaching for a pad of paper and a pencil as she spoke.
"Yes, I should be able to manage that," I replied. "Do you plan to return to town each night, or try to camp along the Maya Road?"
"I don't think it's feasible to camp up there. The strong winds would likely blow us off a cliff in our sleep, and although there are caves, I understand that they're populated by strange, dangerous monsters about which little is known. I think I'd prefer to return to town when possible, but prepare emergency camping gear, just in case, okay? And I don't know when, or even if, we'll hear from Dylas—whether he'll be able to join us or not. But plan for three, just to be safe."
"As you wish, My Lady," I replied, giving her a kiss as she dashed off to deliver her note and begin her day's work.
A little while later, after I'd washed up from breakfast and was pulling my clothes on to go shop for our supplies, the front door banged open and Dylas burst in, breathless and panting, clutching a piece of paper in his hand. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he gasped, "Is-is Avani here? I need to talk to her."
I raised an eyebrow at him as I tightened and fastened my belt buckle emphatically, then said coolly, "I think she's still out back, doing her morning chores. What's up?"
He pushed past me, racing out the back door, but he called back, "I need you guys to wait just one more day—then I think I'll be able to join you." I stared after him for a moment, then shrugged as I grabbed my vest and followed to see what transpired.
He caught up to her just as she began to empty bushels of fruit from her orchard into her shipping bin. I strolled up just as he was saying, "I've nearly finished my preparations for making up with Illuminata. It took a long time to... well, to track down what I needed. But everything won't be ready until tomorrow, so please, can you wait just one more day? Then I can come with you—if you'll let me, I mean. Please, Avani. I want to come with you. I want to fight by your side."
She placed the last of the apples into the bin and banged the lid shut. "Give me a minute to think, Dylas. I need to tend to my beasts right now." She dropped the bushel baskets next to the bin and headed into her barn.
Dylas trailed along after her, and I followed. We kept out of her way, following her from one room to another as she tended her beasts. She was silent as she worked, first making a quick run through to gather the day's produce and add it to the shipping bin just in time for the morning pick-up, then making a second pass to groom her monsters. As she brushed her beasts, she seemed to be lost in thought, murmuring to them absentmindedly.
Finally, while she brushed Baldur's gleaming, metallic coat as the wolf grinned with pleasure, licking her face in appreciation, she looked at Dylas and said, "I'll give you one more day. I don't deny that it would be nice to have you along—you're a good fighter, and the Maya Road is a dangerous place. But I also can't keep postponing forever. Winter's here now, and the weather is only going to get worse the longer I delay. And I certainly don't want to wait until spring."
She gave one final stroke with the brush to Baldur's back, then scratched his ears before she continued. "You'll need to get your gear in order first. So sometime today, please take stock of your equipment and let me know if you need repairs or replacements for any of your armor and weapons. I think most of it is still in my storeroom. Go ahead on in when you're ready; you know where it is. I'll do what I can to outfit you. Leo is taking care of other arrangements—food, medical supplies, and so on. If you come along, I'll put you in charge of cooking, so you'll need to let Leo know if there's anything particular you want him to get. He's also going to pack camping gear, just in case—I don't intend to camp overnight in such a hostile environment, but it's best to be prepared. We'll need to travel lightly, though—I don't plan to bring Baldur this time."
She put her brush away in her pack, stroking the big wolf's head lovingly as he gazed up at her adoringly and whined, aware she was talking about him. She turned back to Dylas and said, "Check in with me or Leo sometime before 20:00 and let us know what you need, and I'll work on your gear tomorrow. You can sleep in my guest bed tomorrow night, and we'll leave early the following morning. All of this is assuming that I approve of what you do tomorrow with regards to Lumie, of course."
He nodded, then turned and started to dash off, but Avani grabbed his arm and stopped him. Looking him in the eyes with a long, steady gaze, she said, "Dylas... don't disappoint me."
He met her gaze and nodded, standing a little straighter as he said, "I won't." Then she let him go and he dashed out of the barn.
I looked at Avani, then put my arm around her shoulders as we walked back to her suite. "Well," I said looking sadly into her eyes, "I can't deny feeling some regret that we won't be working alone, after all. But you're right—it'll be good to have another fighter with us. And while I wish we could take someone who isn't a rival for your affection, Dylas is the strongest fighter in town. Except, of course, for us," I added with an audacious grin, earning a chuckle.
"Well," she said, as she unloaded the produce she'd kept from the morning's harvest into her refrigerator, "since I have an extra day, I think I'll see about expanding my barn. It's getting crowded, and I'd like room for a few additions. I'll see you at dinner tonight, if not before," she said, then pulled me down to her and kissed me. "Thanks for your help, Leo. I love you." Then she was sprinting out the door again before I could muster a reply.
************
I spent the day planning what supplies we'd need and making arrangements with the shops in town to get them delivered. Dylas didn't request anything of me, so I ordered rice, dried fruits, dried fish, root vegetables, and basic kitchen staples such as flour and salt to be delivered. Afterwards, I spent a few hours fishing, to stock Avani's refrigerator with fish for quick meals either before or after the day's efforts.
When I returned to her rooms, I found a large box on her coffee table with an envelope resting on the top. It was sealed, but I could detect faint traces of earthy smells coming from it, as well as something... no, someone familiar that I couldn't quite place, rather like a word just at the tip of one's tongue.
I was examining the envelope, which bore no writing, when Avani walked in the back door. "What's that?" she asked, curiously, as she hung up her jacket and kicked off her boots.
"No idea, it was just sitting here when I arrived. There's no name, but I assume it's for you as this is, after all, your home."
"Hmmm, curious," she said as she took the envelope from my hand. She opened it and read the script on the enclosed card, her cheeks flushing deep pink as she read.
"What is it?" I asked, feeling very curious by now.
She didn't answer, but instead opened the box. Inside was a selection of rare minerals and ores, including gold, platinum, and even a small amount of the very rare ore called orichalcum, and a few unpolished gemstones. I whistled, saying, "Well, somebody knows what you like! Who's it from?"
"It... it's from Barrett. He says here that it's to thank me for my 'generosity' to him. He says he thinks I'll find these useful to our preparations for our upcoming campaign."
I was surprised, to put it lightly. I recalled the recent event to which he alluded with a frown, my ear twitching in annoyance at the reminder. It had been a singularly unpleasant occasion—for me, that is, not for him—and I'd found it more difficult than I cared to admit even to myself to maintain a friendly demeanor towards the man for some time afterwards. Even now, having more or less regained my equanimity, I still very much disliked to be reminded of it, even in such a generous way. Though when I considered it, even the exorbitantly expensive orichalcum wasn't worth as much as ten minutes alone with Avani—and he'd had several hours with her. You just can't put a price on the priceless, I thought to myself.
************
We'd just finished dinner and started to wash the dishes when there was a knock on the front door. I went to answer it, and found Dylas waiting on the doorstep with his arms full of equipment. I let him in, and he said, "I've looked over what I have and figured out what I think I'll need. Is... is Avani around?"
Just then she stepped out of the kitchen, having heard his voice. "So what will you need?" she asked, eying the gear he had brought with him and gesturing to the sitting area. He dropped it on the floor by a chair and sat down, and Avani sat on the end of the sofa nearest to him. I sat next to her, placing my arm around her shoulders, and we had a look at what Dylas had brought.
"First, my armor is kind of battered. It would probably be fine with just some repairs, though of course I'm always grateful for any improvements. Same with my boots—the toes and heels in particular are pretty beat up. My headgear seems to be holding up okay. Now for my gloves..." and he pulled out from the pile some decrepit fighting gloves. "Of course my gloves get the hardest use, so they always seem to wear out the fastest. So if it wouldn't be too much trouble...."
"Don't be silly, Dylas. Do you think I'd ever send you into combat unprepared? You should have heard me chewing Arthur out a while back when he brought out some really low-grade crap! Remember that, Leo?" she said, turning to me with a grin.
"Every minute of it," I said slowly, in a low voice, looking at her suggestively as I gave her shoulders a squeeze. I had the pleasure of seeing her blush deeply as she inferred my meaning.
Clearing her throat as she turned back to Dylas, she continued, "A-anyway, as I was saying.... Of course it's no trouble. I'll see what I can do for you tomorrow. Barrett just today sent us a very kind gift of some valuable materials, so I should be able to come up with some pretty good weapons for all of us, and there might be enough for armor, too."
Dylas frowned, looking puzzled. "Barrett? Why would he do something like that? He seems like a nice enough guy—but not that nice. Not that rich, either."
"It... it's a long story," Avani said with a sigh. "I'll tell you about it some other time, maybe. I guess he felt like he owed me a... a favor, and apparently this was how he chose to repay it. It was unnecessary, of course—friends help friends in need, and that's all I did, really. But I'm grateful to have the materials, so I won't complain."
"I might," I muttered.
Avani shot me a warning glance, and Dylas glanced sharply at me as she went on. "I don't know what you have planned for tomorrow... when do you expect to have some free time?"
"Oh, ahh... about that. I wondered if you could be there, too? I think everything will be in place by lunchtime, so if you could meet me at Porcoline's at midday... and if it's not too much to ask, could you maybe bring Illuminata with you? She doesn't know I have anything planned, so please don't mention me to her. Just bring her along somehow, if you don't mind? You can come, too," he added, looking at me. "I've arranged for lunch. There'll be grilled fish...."
"Then I'll be there," I added with a wide grin.
"Great. Then... I guess I'll leave my stuff here and see you around 12:00 tomorrow? I think... I hope that I'll be free the rest of the day, after lunch. So I can do anything you want then." He rose, and we walked him to the door. He turned and waved goodbye, and as we waved back, I leaned down and kissed Avani's neck. Then I pulled her back into the room before closing and locking the door behind us.