It took us about an hour after the Griffin attack to reach our pnned camping grounds. Vanya aia left to go scouting immediately while the rest of us set up the camp: tents, a few fire pits for cooking, and then a short survey of the surrounding fields.

  There wasn't much to find in them, just weeds and abandoned pnts. Well, and griffin footprints and ndsites. The only real problem is that there isn't much cover; the griffins took the few hills in the area to in. Luckily, the griffins have likely killed anything we would o worry about already. So just two people on watch should be enough uhere is some insane number of griffins that we always have to be prepared against. The damn eagles see better than most of us at night, but once we spot them, Shimmer light up the area.

  Inanos and the healer are busy talking in one of the tents. Hopefully, she finds something that loosens the curse a bit, maybe lets her circute some mana through. Elyne and Shimmer are keeping watch while the rest of us wait around for the scouting party to e back. Yaleph says we're about two hours from the , so we won't get information till a little after dinner.

  Not that we're eating dinner. We're switg over to the magic supplement to make the food st longer. Nasty stuff, but only needing one meal a day makes the food st and gives you a lot more time in the day.

  Vanya aia had to eat on the way here, while the rest of us finished our meal just a little bit ago after setting up the camp. If Yaleph is accurate oime, the duo should have half an hour before they start snooping around the , giving us all a lot of time to do nothing. It's a bit of a waste of time saver. It'll only really help if we have to go chasing the griffins during their hunts.

  I would prefer to just kill them all in their .

  Most of the women are spending the time meditating ients. Just Yaleph, Geta, and I sit around the fire pit, the sap in the wood popping as the fmes flick around. Shimmer got it going with a bit of mana. She could keep it going without any wood, but we want to serve our mana.

  The chairs are more like wooden crates than chairs, but they store easily and work well enough on the move. o worry about a crate getting damaged in the weather or a surprise fight; simple enough to buy a new one or fix it up if the damage is small.

  "Yhness, I've heard you use a bit of fire magic," Yaleph asked with an expet look in her eyes.

  "Yes, not much. A weak affinity, if even that. Didn't even know it till I got my third css and got a skill that lets me set my bde on fire. A bit useless; I don't normally have my bde on my enemy long enough to catch them on fire. Looks cool and probably intimidating, but practically it just taunts me with what I could've had. The Queen's Fire has always been a bit of a dream for me, and it seems to just keep gettier. She had quite the dispy at my little sister's birthday party," I say. I've gotten a few other skills that incorporate fire in some way. I pull out enough mana to start a fire if I have some kindling, but even those without a fire affinity do that if they have enough mana.

  I've tried to have Shimmer help me get more out of my fire affinity, but it seems our mana works differently. Her method just doesn't seem t ara mana out of hiding. If I get it to just one fireball worth of mana, I'll be so much more dangerous. Just a bit of extra reach is helpful in keeping the mages worried in a fight.

  "So that's why you don't show it; you don't have enough to do it. I was w if you just liked keeping it secret for an ambush or something. Still cool to have more than one; a lot seem to think that helps your mana grow or have a higher baseline," Yaleph says.

  "That is the general belief in the royal family. It seems to hold true, but it be hard to tell if they have the sed affinity due to the extra mana rowth or if the sed affinity is the cause. Doesn't matter too mu the end, more mana is always nice," I say.

  "It should be the first one. You he mana to mahe sed affinity. That's why it doesn't show up till ter normally. That's when you've earned enough mana to have the sed affinity show. A sed affinity is more on than people think, but most don't get enough mana to show it, and even if they did, it would be like you, honey, and be useless if they don't pick a css that brings it out," Geta says.

  "That does make sense, but the research is still trying to make sure of it. The main goal is to try tthen the crystals the nobles use on the kids. See if they find the sed affinity in kids, then track if they get oer in life or at the start. And about how much mana they have when it shows up."

  " you show your bde on fire for a few seds? Want to see what a great sword looks like with fmes shooting off it," Yaleph asks. Evea perks up a bit at the thought.

  "Sure, a few seds won't hurt," I say, standing up. I pull out my great sword and hold it up before using the skill and c it in red fmes. The fmes lick about, the rgest growing to about three inches before I snuff the skill, and the bde returns to the normal silver color of ented steel.

  "It is pretty and would get me to back up. But I agree it won't do much outside of a moment of pause," Yaleph says after a few cps for my little dispy.

  "Thanks. I've tried to find ways to use it, but it really is just a y. The only moments I've had it be useful is heating up my bde enough to help me slice through thick skin, but even then I've got a number of easier ways to do that. The only true thing it helps is letting me say I have two affinities."

  "Take what you get. Have you ever traveled out of the try?" Yaleph asks, eager to learn more about her princess.

  "Not much, just a few trips to Edeozia for some tours when I was younger. Part of repairing the retionship between us or something. Not much is different up there. Elves and humans all around, with some of the other species filling in. It is colder, so the walls are thicker, and eys are more on. But besides that, it seems all elves like to build their cities in simir ways. Never got to explore much outside the capital, o lose a princess in fn nds. It would kind of go against the repairiionship part. When I sit ohrone, I'll get to travel more outside our territory."

  "Well, we all appreciate the work you've done ihe Queendom. Set quite the standard for the adventures and nobles. oners love to sing your praise for years after you visit them. It seems you're almost too polite to them."

  "That is the goal. Being polite and helpful lets me hear more about their problems and e up with solutions that actually help them. Gd it brings pressure for everyoo behave correctly."

  "It is a relief. Higher nobles have been a bit mreeable when they visit i decade or so. Makes it a lot easier to be a guard when you don't have nobles bickering over little things and maids running wild in the castle."

  "hought about that. Always thought nobles would behave just in case the Queen needs an excuse to promote someone ive a bit of nd away."

  "Fear only works so much, and when the punishment is rare and small, they don't care. She rarely takes anyone's nd and most that lose their title had it ing over much worse things than being rude to a baroness. Bigger moo worry about for the Queen, so I don't bme her."

  "I suppose so. I guess it may be hard to reach the Queen about that kind of thing, with her mail going through a bunch of hands before they even have a ce to reach her desk. Wouldn't be surprised if a lot of requests get cut before they should."

  "Nothing is perfect. She doesn't have time to review every request, so she's got to give it to people she trusts. The Queen's got a lot to care for. She did well getting you out here and solving some of her problems. The best you do when you reach the throne is make sure your kids do the same outreach. You've proven they cover for the Queen. I should joihers aate. With there likely only being two or three left, I'll want to be ready for the attack tonight," Yaleph says. Trying to cover up her pints a bit. Though I do agree with her. A big part of the Queen's job is keeping the nobles in line.

  "Yes, that isn't too bad of an idea. Geta, would you like to join?" I ask the padin.

  "Sure, honey. But meditating is a personal thing," Geta says with an eye roll.

  "You meditate while letting your wife hold you irong arms."

  "Yes, just reminding you not to distract me," she says, standing up.

  "Don't worry, we all he rest. Just want to hold a wife while I do it. What is the point of marriage if you 't hold them a bit?"

  "Plenty of things, dear," she says with a small shake of her head. Too bad we o be ready for an attack. I would love to show her one of the plenty of things to do with a spouse.