As Primrose wrung out her winged hat while digging through her bag for different socks, Olberic accepted his wetness. It built character and endurance for the battles ahead in which they'd get splashed like people in the first three rows.

Tressa had taken off with the professor once again, this time to assist in bringing in their prisoner. Olberic had offered to be the one to help Cyrus, but the young girl was excited to turn a thief into the authorities and Russel had lost interest in resisting.

Torture is indeed a heinous act – a thought that went through the warriors head over and over since overhearing Cyrus' protests to Primrose's magic. The dancer adjusting her damp hat was his oldest friend, but he felt a deeper and discouraging understanding of her that wasn't there an hour ago. Are her tactics truly as vile as the wizard said?

Olberic could be just as chatty as Tressa, he just happened to be the only one he liked talking to. Do I have the right to judge? Perhaps her methods are cruel, but for every one man she's killed, how many have I sent to an early grave? 1000? maybe more? Morality used to be such a simple thing when he had a king, but since he became his own man, good and evil got a lot more complicated.

"All done!" Tressa shouted as her and Cyrus emerged from the doors of the academy. The pair were in great spirits.

"And I have some remarkable news." As Primrose expected, the professor was the type to say open ended sentences in hopes of dragging people into a conversation. Unfortunately, he was also shameless enough to not care when no one did. "I've been suspended from the academy and was ordered to leave the city."

Primrose wanted to use all of her mind to be confused, but she was overcome with dread by the foregone conclusion of the wizard's point. "What could you have done to be punished so?"

"It's quite humorous, really." Primrose believed him. It was unlikely that Cyrus ever did anything funny, but his personality was probably a magnet for funny things to happen to him. "I've done nothing wrong at all."

Primrose wanted to hurry along to the bad part. "Care to elaborate, professor?"

Cyrus really did care to. "For reasons beyond my comprehension, some misguided or misinformed soul shared a story to the headmaster that I was involved in some interdicted affair with Her Highness." Primrose knew the only reasons to ruin someone's reputation were love or money and she had a feeling she knew which of the two it was.

"Thankfully the headmaster knew an educator like myself could never do something so unseemly with my own student, but once I explained my banishment to Tressa, she had a most marvellous idea."

Primrose muttered, "I'm sure she did."

"You're venturing West, as am I. A partnership is the only logical course of action."

He was right. Even more troubling was that he was probably right all the time, but as long as he didn't get in their way, the wizard would be formidable against monsters. Olberic and Primrose didn't need words, or even a glance to agree to this. Both of them knew the other was smart enough to see Cyrus' value.

Tressa didn't need words either, but that never stopped her before. "I knew everyone would think it was a great idea! On to our next adventure!"


As the group descended the large staircase of Cyrus' former place of employment, Primrose stopped to remove a rock from her sandal that had been there far too long and the professor halted alongside her.

"If I may have a word with you, my dear."

Fiddling with the inside of her shoe, Primrose grunted, "you're part of our troupe now, professor. There is no need for formalities." A man in Cyrus' position – teaching the likes of royalty – likely only knew formalities, so his pause must have been his potent brain calculating how to speak normally.

"When we were in Russel's laboratory, I expressed hostility towards you in the heat of combat."

The number of horrible men that said horrible things to Primrose over the years, the time had finally come where she heard an apology, and it was for something she had found more flattering than offensive.

"You and Olberic care for Tressa. You happened upon a situation with an unclear level of peril." This wasn't just an apology, but an offer of forgiveness – neither of which Primrose wanted. "You were ready to protect yourself and your friends and acted accordingly. One cannot fault you for that."

Faith was a word Primrose used often. When one has faith in a god, you never question them and, you never apologize for them. This logic transferred over to the undying faith she had in herself. "If you're going to be in our troupe, Cyrus, you need to know the other dancers moves." She had grown tired of the metaphor, but a good performer commits.

"I knew exactly what I was doing. Whatever was hiding behind your ice walls, I knew Olberic and Tressa could handle it, so I singled out the meek coward of a man, and was ready to make him suffer like he never had before."

Primrose expected Cyrus' eyes to widen, his lip to sneer, at least a condescending shake of his head, but he only smiled. "But you made the choice not to. When I dropped the barrier I conjured, you saw I was in no condition to resist you a second time. I know your intention to strike had dissipated with the ice. Would you care to know how I deduced that?"

Primrose replied hesitantly,"a master of psychology as well?" She didn't like the idea of people being in her head.

Cyrus said proudly, "a master of none, actually. It's the unfortunate reality when ones curiosity exceeds ones own talents. Though, if I had to proclaim myself proficient in any one thing, it's observation." Primrose had a feeling she would be hearing a lot these observations in the near future. "And the moment I saw how beautiful you are, I knew you would decide to spare Russel."

Primrose thought to herself, what is going on in this man's mind? She responded to Cyrus coldly, "you've spent too much time in the library if you think a beautiful woman is harmless."

"You misunderstand me completely." Cyrus was was insistent but unashamed. "Your looks alone could wield you tremendous power, but you still took it upon yourself to learn the kind of arcane skill that few possess. I suspect you wield the dagger with equal expertise."

"In my experience, Primrose, most content being ordinary, but not you." The dancer didn't want to ruin the professor's speech by informing him that these traits were just as much her father's as they were hers. "You strive to be a better woman than you were at sunrise. Perhaps yesterday, you may have laid your curse on that helpless man, but today, you woke up as someone better than that. And tomorrow, as impossible as it may seem, you will be even better."

Primrose interrupted, "professor, quit the sweet talk."

Cyrus tilted his head slightly like a very, very smart dog. "Have I spoken out of turn? It was certainly not my intent."

"Not at all," Primrose said as she turned to catch up with their friends. "But it's starting to work."

Had she turned back around, she would have seen Cyrus' head tilt even further.


Olberic and Tressa had been waiting patiently for them (rather, Olberic was patient enough for the both of them and Tressa was shaking like a small tremor was underfoot).

"Let's get going already!"

Primrose took the high ground and ignored Tressa rather than remind her they would have left town hours ago had she not wandered off. "We should stop at the tavern and figure out how to get to Stillsnow from here." Everyone agreed, but they barely made it a quarter of the way there when they heard screaming behind them.

"Professor!"

Had Olberic and Primrose believed the student of Cyrus' they had met earlier was capable of raising her voice, they might have recognized it. The professor understood it clear and winced at the oncoming interruption.

"Therese," Cyrus said quite pleasantly, implying it wasn't the girl he had a problem with, but the news he'd have to give her. "What can I do for you?"

Therese looked around at all three of Cyrus' new companions, giving Tressa an extra sideways glance before doing her best to pretend they weren't there. "It's...It's all my fault!"

What a surprise, Primrose thought. It was a predictable outcome, but what came next was anyone's guess. As enticing as that was, the result was this business of only Cyrus and his student. It was also pretty obvious this wasn't a show Olberic would have been interested in and the dancer ushered her two friends toward the inn.


Tressa had her face in the map as Cyrus entered the tavern. She was so engrossed in it that she hadn't realized she was blocking Olberic's view. He didn't much mind though. Primrose was smart enough to figure out their course and even if she couldn't Tressa had made a good point, "it's called Stillsnow so it must be north."

The intimidating fighter was content to stand behind the two young women, making sure his sword was very visible to any of the men walking too close. He was happy to see the professor come in though, confirming that he would be joining them on the road. Olberic figured one more person meant an extra ear for Tressa and Primrose, which would mean less conversation for him.

Oh how wrong he would be.

Cyrus said excitedly, "I see the cartography has already begun. In that case, I shall procure ale for the table."

"Wait, professor!" Tressa, still focused on the map yelled after him - unwilling to wait the minute it would take him to return. "Did your student tell you why she made that stuff up about you?"

Cyrus shook his head, clearly disappointed. "As it turns out, the fault lay with me. Therese simply desired more help with her studies and I failed to notice. She felt so helpless that the poor girl decided she had no choice but to take such drastic steps."

"Is that actually what she said, professor?" Primrose inquired, sounding unimpressed.

"Indeed it was. I wish things had played out differently, but one can't help but admire her passion for education."

Primrose grabbed Cyrus on the shoulder as he tried again to make for the bar. "Were those her exact words?"

Cyrus' eyes rolled up as he searched for an answer. "I can't claim to have an eidetic recollection of each word, but that is an accurate summary of our conversation."

After Cyrus had gotten out of earshot, Primrose turned to them and purposely clucked her tongue. "Truly remarkable."

Tressa kind of agreed. "No kidding. The professor must be one heck of an inspiring teacher to get her to care that much about school."

"Wait, you don't ac-"

Olberic nodded, taken aback as well. "Even as a boy, I never cared much for books. I still don't understand the appeal, but passion in young people is important."

"Okay, bu-"

"Ya know, Olberic, you've got a good point." The warrior wasn't sure what Tressa meant and he was too distracted by Cyrus returning with drinks to notice her walking away.

Primrose looked up to grab her ale and thank the professor, but found herself asking, "where in the hells did she go?" Olberic scanned the bar as well and sighed quietly.

Cyrus chimed in matter of factly as he put the drinks down, gesturing behind them. "She walked out the door moments ago."

The dancer was beginning to question the value of Cyrus' intelligence. "You didn't think it wise to say something?"

"We met eyes and she didn't bid me farewell, or as it seems, either of you. Tressa must fully intend to return."

The logic was sound albeit with a massive asterisks. "I see your point, professor, but we would rather some notice when the child walks off."

Cyrus slowly sipped his drink in contemplation. "Child seems like a somewhat condescending and inaccurate sobriquet for a young woman like Tressa. She may be spontaneous and immature at times, but aren't we all guilty of that?"

"We are," Primrose said as Olberic began joining in the drinking, "but she's the only one guilty of being a 14 year old."

Cyrus' face froze as his fingers ran lines over the old wooded table as if they were instinctively writing notes for him. When his hand came to a stop, the rest of him woke up again. "Unless I've missed a crucial detail about her life, Tressa can't be any younger than 17, though what I know about her would more likely put her at 18."

Olberic and Primrose raised a brow at each other. "Did she tell you that?"

After quickly taking in rest of his mug, Cyrus raised his hand to ask for more. "I don't recall it coming up in conversation, but the facts are there, clear as day. She was born in Rippletide and given her wide green eyes and brown hair, her family's origins are entrenched in the Coastlands; Tressa's height and frame are consistent with a fully grown woman of that lineage."

The waitress came quickly and left slowly as Cyrus carried on. "Of course, you must think this moot as height is not conclusive, but her details go further than that." Primrose was suspicious that the professor was talking out of more than just his mouth, but she had to concede that he was a charming educator. "As I'm sure you have both noticed, Tressa is able to carry a heavy bag of wares while wielding a spear with proficiency."

"This far exceeds the strength of most people her age, which I've deduced is due to her profession. Stocking shelves and hauling around goods may be wonderful exercise, but the only 14 year olds that would be as muscular as her would be a soldier or farmhand." Cyrus reached over and squeezed Olberic's shoulder. "I'm sure our friend here was strapping evidence of that in his youth."

Primrose was too impressed to question the weird gesture or notice the discomfort on Olberic's face. "Anything else?"

"That just about covers the essential facts, though I suppose I could add some additional subjective data." Cyrus spoke those words as if they were taboo. "How many 14 year old girls have you known to willingly partake such a dangerous adventure?"

Primrose chuckled to herself at the irony of the question, then laughed a second time when she thought about how the professor would have scolded her for the improper use of the word. That aside, Cyrus made a damn good argument. Perhaps Tressa is a woman, but I've never known a grown woman to be so lou-

"I'm back!"

"Wonderful," Cyrus proclaimed as he slid Tressa's cup to her. "A toast to new friends then." The toast was as warming as the alcohol, though Primrose added that to the list of things she would never admit and judging from the slight smile on Olberic's face, she knew he felt the same unless maybe Cyrus melted him slightly

The group agreed to Cyrus' pledge though, unsurprisingly, no one banged their mug harder or drank faster than Tressa. "Hey, professor, that Russel guy said the people he owed money to were going to hurt him in prison, right?"

Cyrus sighed, "indeed. It is the responsibility of the kingdom to keep it's prisoners safe from outside sources, but his concern is unfortunately not without merit."

"Do you think we could find the loan sharks before we hit the road?"

"Perhaps, but to what end, my dear?"

"I want to negotiate a deal. I'll give them some leafs in exchange for Russel's safety until he gets out and can pay off the rest of his debt." Primrose had seen her share of gambling debts from tavern patrons and while Tressa likely didn't understand the harshness of the world she was getting in to, the dancer was willing to put faith that her friend could pull it off. "He may be a thief, but once he takes his lumps, he deserves a second chance."

Cyrus nodded his approval of the plan and Primrose looked to her (not so) young friend to admire her in a new light and spotted she had added an accessory to her hat. "Tressa, please tell me that isn't the little girl's feather sticking out of you."

The merchant responded proudly, "you bet it is! Olberic was right, kids need a passion, so I gave her ten times her asking price and told her to find more stuff to sell. When she becomes the second best merchant in all of Orsterra, our paths will cross again and something good will come from it."

Primrose asked, "that's a worthy quest, but where did you get all this money?"

"I picked up some eggs and crab. With that and the milk I bought, some chef that needed them for the king or something paid me through the roof for them!"

Primrose raised her mug to her friend, "you are a very impressive woman, Tressa."