As Adeline had promised, a week after the party left Correntry, they crossed the boundary of Valley Hearth. The dense vegetation the heartlands were known for dwindled with each passing day, even as winter robbed them of their bright green color. Traveling first with Storyteller, then with Olivia and the others, Caden had seen much of the heartlands, from the thick forests that lined the Lumber Road, where farmers made due with whatever clearing they could find or make to themselves; to the more spare woods that popped up along the rivers and streams of the Flax Road, where villages had constructed dams and irrigation channels to grow the crops that gave the trade route its name. Even the deadlands, with their rocky soil, had been choked and tangled with bushes, brambles, and scraggly, resilient trees.

Valley Hearth was different, and Caden could easily see why it had become so densely settled for the purpose of agriculture. Amongst the open plains and rolling hills of the sprawing valley, trees were few and far between, and farmlands stretched as far as the eye could see. Rather than individual farmhouses with a family or two, entire settlements worked the massive, loosely divided fields. Some were barren, left fallow to replenish themselves for a year or two, while others still showed the lingering roots and stalks of harvested crops.

So late in the year, Caden would've expected the villages to be bustling, bundling the last of their crops for winter storage and preparing for the encroaching cold, or perhaps even celebrating the close of another year's hard work. But instead, the little communities were quiet. What few people moved about didn't come to the road to greet the travelers, but even from a distance, Caden's sharp eyes could make out the cloth masks tied over their faces. No children were in evidence, the most vulnerable likely hidden away to keep them safe from the disease.

Either that, or they all already caught it, Caden found himself thinking.

The Apothic Order mages were obvious, with a few in evidence in each village they passed by. The healers wore bright red mantles to show their affiliation, and Adeline claimed that, up close, they'd be able to see the gold embroideries that indicated the level and gifts of each of the mages.

Despite moving through the much more settled lands, the band of adventurers found themselves sleeping outside as they crossed Valley Hearth, as Adeline didn't want to risk leaving the road to investigate the infected villages until they had made contact with the Mendicant and knew what precautions were warranted. Most of the party took to this without complaint.

Most.

"Remind me again why I left Correntry?" Allana groaned on their second night of camping.

"Being an adventurer isn't just about fighting and tricking mercenaries," Caden said simply. Absently, he reached up to scratch the back of his head, noticing the way his tight wolf tail was tugging at his scalp uncomfortably. It was feeling like it might be time for a change. "Sometimes it's about camping under the stars and hunting for dinner."

Allana rolled her eyes, but her complaints subsided for a bit as the pair got the fire burning.

#

"So Oli," Allana started, as they walked down the long, straight road through Valley Hearth, "you really don't have any specifics you want out of your transition?"

Cadence blew out a breath. She had to come to think of the tone Allana was currently using as her "I'm bored so I'm going to start a fight" voice. She wouldn't pick at Olivia's sensitivity though, would she? Cadence had thought that the rogue and the squire were getting on better than that lately…

Olivia either didn't notice the girl's tone or simply didn't take the bait, so her answer was more reflective than anything else when she replied, "Not really. I just want to be… me. I don't know. As long as people don't mistake me for a man anymore, I suppose I'll be happy."

Allana nodded, and Cadence watched the girl carefully, curious about where she was going with.

"Right, right," Allana replied, "but you've had to have spent some time thinking about it, right? Considering what you'd want your new body to look like?"

Olivia blushed a little, though Cadence wasn't sure why. Behind them, Tenebres walked along with his usual look of idle distraction, lost in the tangle of his thoughts. At the front of the party, Adeline continued walking without casting a look back, which Cadence was thankful for. The beautiful knight had a way of turning Olivia into a blubbering mess with a single look, especially when the eclipsed girl was thinking about her gender and her transition.

Still, Cadence thought she caught a bit of interest in the knight's posture.

"I mean, sure," Olivia told Allana. "I've been thinking about this for a long time, of course I've wondered what I'd look like after I transitioned."

"Right, but…" Allana bit her lip thoughtfully, as if considering her next words carefully–a rarity for the streetborn rogue. Finally, she said, "It's just… have you ever actually seen a woman? Like, naked?"

Olivia blanched, her steps stopping for a second as her face abruptly heated to an incandescent shade of pink. "Excuse me!?"

Cadence sighed, the line of questioning suddenly making sense to her–but her faint annoyance couldn't quite keep a small grin off of her face. She was just happy that Olivia's outburst had kept her from noticing Adeline's surprised snort of laughter.

"Well," Allana continued, still acting like the question was perfectly normal, "it's just, if you've never even seen a girl's body, how are you supposed to know what you want?"

"I…I-I don't need to see a girl's body to know what I want to look like!" Olivia objected, still spluttering.

Cadence felt her lips stretch a little wider, and her cheeks hurt from trying to keep the grin off of her face. She had never really thought about it before–in Felisen, nudity wasn't exactly commonplace, but it was far from unheard of. Most of the village's kids, and even some of its adults, preferred to wash themselves in a small pool fed by a stream in the woods nearby, and by the time Cadence had become cognizant of her body as a teenager, nudity had been normal enough to her that she didn't put any special import on it.

Tenebres had, no doubt, grown up in a similar environment, at least prior to his time in the cult–and then he had spent months with Allana, who, as far as Cadence could tell, had more sexual experience than the other three of them put together. But Olivia, growing up uncomfortable in her body and immersed in the strict culture of the nobility, had apparently never gotten any of those experiences.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"And I don't need to taste my options to know what I want to drink, but it helps!" Allana replied with a smirk.

"Are you expecting to look like Alyssia?" Cadence asked, trying to draw the conversation in a more helpful direction.

"Who's this?" Allana asked.

"My sister," Olivia said, giving Cadence a flat look.

"She's tall, like Oli, but built thin. All hard angles and straight lines. But she was still pretty." Cadence added the last with a wink that deepened Oli's blush even more–while Allana's eyes widened.

"Wait! Back when we first met, you said that there was a noble–"

Cadence took a sharp breath, and she hurriedly talked over Allana, giving her a glare. "So do you think you want to end up like that, Oli?"

Olivia was still flushed, but she mumbled a reply, rather than retreating from the topic the way she would've not so long ago. "I don't know… I always thought Alyssia was kind of skinny. I don't know if I want to lose that much size…"

"So more like me then?" Allana asked. "Curvy and strong?" The rogue pranced around in front of Oli and struck a little pose even as she continued walking backwards.

Olivia looked away, which was more than Cadence could manage. Even wearing more conservative clothing than normal to ward off the winter chill, the curves of Allana's chest and hips were obvious, and the confident swagger with which she carried herself had an obvious appeal.

"N-no," Olivia mumbled, obviously embarrassed. "I feel like I'd fall over…"

Cadence giggled while Allana stuck out her tongue. "Well, what then? C'mon, you've gotta have some idea!"

"I don't know…" Olivia repeated–but Cadence caught the way her eyes drifted to Adeline. The knight was only a little shorter than Allana, and her frame carried a similar blending of soft curves and hard muscle, but she was overall more slender than the rogue, both her curves and muscles less noticeable. More than that, though, her posture was completely different from the at-times lunar girl. Adeline carried herself with an elegance that somehow bespoke both grace and strength.

It didn't take a genius to know the sort of body Olivia idealized, and the celestial sighed. It had become obvious, since they had met Adeline months ago, that the eclipsed girl carried an immense, and immensely one-sided, attraction for her mentor, one Adeline herself clearly didn't always know how to respond to. Cadence respected the knight for keeping her distance from her confused squire during such a difficult time–but she also knew that, at the end of the day, Adeline's support for any of Olivia's choices would go much farther than any encouragement the rest of the group could offer.

"Oh, give her a break," Tenebres interjected, joining the conversation for the first time. "Not everyone is as open with their sexuality as you are, Allana. Some of us have a little restraint."

Allana rolled her eyes–but she subsided, and Olivia offered a small smile of thanks to Tenebres.

As Allana drifted back to start bothering Tenebres instead, Cadence approached Olivia with a gentle smile. "You know we're with you no matter what, right?" she asked softly.

Olivia swallowed, but after a moment, she nodded. "I know. And I know Allana just wants to help. But it's still hard to talk about sometimes…"

Cadence nodded. "I know. I'll talk to her. Just think about it though, okay? Whatever anyone wants to say, you deserve a body you're comfortable in, no matter what it looks like."

#

"Welcome to Keystone."

Cadence knew, even without Adleine's words, that they had reached the central-most settlement in Valley Hearth, the trade town on which the rest of the valley relied. Compared to the rolling plains that defined the rest of the valley, Keystone was built amongst a stand of tall, silver-barked trees, and even from a distance, Cadence could make out the towering boughs of the great vitalwood that was the town's most important landmark.

So far, Cadence's travels had shown her a large variety of different mindsets that went into the settlement of construction of various settlements throughout the heartlands. Felisen, and many of the other centuries-old villages that dotted the heartlands, had sprouted up organically over the course of years, pioneers finding plots of lands that struck them as comfortable to build on, leading to rambling, winding settlements with no obvious plan.

Some few, like Kellister, were built for specific reasons, like the working of a nearby quarry. They were founded with more clear structure, with straight streets of cobblestones and defined property lines making for more orderly hamlets. Jellis had split the difference–the original town had been built along the curve of a river and a pair of mills, but as it grew more established and began to expand, it grew in a more linear and planned fashion, leading to a town that offered the best of both worlds.

Keystone was different from all the others. One of the oldest settlements in the entirety of the Realm, the town had been founded in the shadow of the tall and magically-infused grove, and it existed in harmony with the nature around it. The settlement's roads were winding, but rather than a product of natural growth, they were clearly laid to minimize disruption to the towering, silvery vitalwoods. Roads would take broad curves, or even circle back on themselves just to avoid disturbing the magical trees, and buildings were constructed around them, with a couple houses even being built circularly, tree trunks rising straight through the center of them.

In short, it was an utterly unique place, different from anything Cadence had seen or imagined. And apparently, her gift agreed with her.

[Gift of the Wanderer] experience gained

Level: Novice

Experience: 100%

[Gift of the Wanderer] has leveled up!

Cadence stopped in her steps, and she felt a wide smile stretch her lips. Though this wasn't her first level up, she wasn't distracted by a life-or-death struggle this time. She happily took a moment to enjoy the feeling of her gift expanding, carving new channels of power through her soul.

"Cadence?" Olivia asked, noting the celestial's pause.

Adeline shushed her squire. "Let her enjoy the moment."

[Gift of the Wanderer]

Level: Apprentice

Experience: 0%

Ability Unlock: [Create Waystone] - Ritual - Imbue an object of emotional significance with a link to your soul. Waystone can be targeted with Wanderer abilities from any distance. Major stamina and focus cost on creation. One waystone may be maintained at a time.

Ability Progression: [Know Direction] - Active, Utility - Learn the direction of true north or your waystone. No cost.

Ability Progression: [Wanderer's Knowledge] - Active, Utility - Learn essential knowledge about any single target or the status of anyone in possession of your waystone. May not work on exceptional or rare targets. Minor focus cost per use.

Cadence's eyes narrowed as she looked over the descriptions, trying to understand her new abilities. She had never seen the "ritual" trait on any ability, even among those she had copied, but overall, Create Waystone seemed to continue the gift of the wanderer's trend towards useful utility abilities that would do little to help her in combat.

"I think I'm going to have something to try out tonight," she told the rest of the party with a smile.

Olivia matched the expression with her own. "Welcome to Apprentice level!"

"That means there's only one of us left at Novice," Allana pointed out, giving Tenebres a sidelong glance.

The boy rolled his crimson eyes. "It's just the gift of the void holding me back," he reminded them all. "If this hag is anything like Hellesa, I'm sure I'll get it over the line soon."

"Congrats, Cadie," Adeline told her warmly, letting the others bicker. "Now c'mon–let's get settled in Keystone so you can tell us about your new abilities!"

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