Chapter 97 – Setting up Camp

It took us about an hour after the Griffin attack to reach our planned camping grounds. Vanya and Sextia 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 plants. Well, and griffin footprints and landsites. The only real problem is that there isn't much cover; the griffins took the few hills in the area to nest in. Luckily, the griffins have likely killed anything we would need to worry about already. So just two people on watch should be enough unless there is some insane number of griffins that we always have to be prepared against. The damn eagles can see better than most of us at night, but once we spot them, Shimmer can 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 circulate some mana through. Elyne and Shimmer are keeping watch while the rest of us wait around for the scouting party to come back. Yaleph says we're about two hours from the nest, so we won't get information till a little after dinner.

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

Vanya and Sextia 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 on the time, the duo should have half an hour before they can start snooping around the nest, 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 nest.

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

The chairs are more like wooden crates than chairs, but they store easily and work well enough on the move. No need to 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.

"Your Highness, I've heard you can use a bit of fire magic," Yaleph asked with an expectant look in her eyes.

"Yes, not much. A weak affinity, if even that. Didn't even know it till I got my third class and got a skill that lets me set my blade on fire. A bit useless; I don't normally have my blade 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 getting better. She had quite the display at my little sister's birthday party," I say. I've gotten a few other skills that incorporate fire in some way. I can pull out enough mana to start a fire if I have some kindling, but even those without a fire affinity can 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 to bring any extra mana out of hiding. If I can 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 wondering 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 can be hard to tell if they have the second affinity due to the extra mana or growth or if the second affinity is the cause. Doesn't matter too much in the end, more mana is always nice," I say.

"It should be the first one. You need the mana to manifest the second affinity. That's why it doesn't show up till later normally. That's when you've earned enough mana to have the second affinity show. A second affinity is more common 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 class 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 to strengthen the crystals the nobles use on the kids. See if they can find the second affinity in kids, then track if they get one later in life or at the start. And about how much mana they have when it shows up."

"Can you show your blade on fire for a few seconds? Want to see what a great sword looks like with flames shooting off it," Yaleph asks. Even Geta perks up a bit at the thought.

"Sure, a few seconds won't hurt," I say, standing up. I pull out my great sword and hold it up before using the skill and covering it in red flames. The flames lick about, the largest growing to about three inches before I snuff the skill, and the blade returns to the normal silver color of enchanted 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 claps for my little display.

"Thanks. I've tried to find ways to use it, but it really is just a novelty. The only moments I've had it be useful is heating up my blade 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 can get. Have you ever traveled out of the country?" Yaleph asks, eager to learn more about her princess.

"Not much, just a few trips to Edeozia for some tournaments when I was younger. Part of repairing the relationship 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 chimneys are more common. But besides that, it seems all elves like to build their cities in similar ways. Never got to explore much outside the capital, no need to lose a princess in foreign lands. It would kind of go against the repairing relationship part. When I sit on the throne, I'll get to travel more outside our territory."

"Well, we all appreciate the work you've done inside the Queendom. Set quite the standard for the adventures and nobles. Commoners 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 come up with solutions that actually help them. Glad it brings pressure for everyone to behave correctly."

"It is a relief. Higher nobles have been a bit more agreeable when they visit in the last 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."

"Never thought about that. Always thought nobles would behave just in case the Queen needs an excuse to promote someone or give a bit of land away."

"Fear only works so much, and when the punishment is rare and small, they don't care. She rarely takes anyone's land and most that lose their title had it coming over much worse things than being rude to a baroness. Bigger monsters to worry about for the Queen, so I don't blame 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 chance 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 can do when you reach the throne is make sure your kids do the same outreach. You've proven they can cover for the Queen. I should join the others and meditate. 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 complaints 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 paladin.

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

"You can meditate while letting your wife hold you in her strong arms."

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

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

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