In the end, Verdan had to extend the self-imposed deadline and give them until the day after so they could organise their departure and take as much with them as possible. It wouldn’t be everything, of course, there was just too much for their comparatively small group to carry.

  In an effort to make life easier for them, Verdan and Magnus formed a pair of horses and a large cart from earth and stone, shaping them as best they could while Cullan shouted mostly useless advice from a perch that Barb found for him.

  When the time came for them to finally leave, Verdan walked out of the stronghold to see the distant Sorcerers staring his way, or rather, at something just above him. Glancing up, he saw all the remaining Vespa had gathered at the top of the hill, ready to leave.

  Vespa were the corrupted descendants of the Vesperai, one of the three founding races of the Grym Imperium, unlike their ancestors, though, the modern Vespa were a physically intimidating race. They were humanoid in form, but had great wings formed from bone and stretched skin, closer to a bat than a bird. The males of the species seemed to be born with little intelligence, their minds maturing as they aged and earned a name from their Queen.

  The Web above him, which seemed to be a term for both some sort of psychic link and a group of Vespa, had only a single Named to protect its Queen with the death of Ithernal.

  Seeing Verdan outside with the cart, the largest of the Vespa dropped down to land heavily next to the Wizard, his wings flaring before folding behind him. Kraujas Nus Grazzuma towered over Verdan, despite his overdeveloped muscles forcing him into a permanent slight hunch. Red stripes across his black fur marked him as both old enough to bear a name and as a wielder of blood magic.

  “Wizard. We are ready to leave,” Kraujas said slowly in High Imperial, his heavy jaw and large teeth making it difficult for him to speak. He’d improved considerably since they’d first spoken, but Verdan doubted he’d ever be entirely proficient.

  Despite his difficulty speaking, there was clear intelligence in Kraujas’s eyes, which were black with gold flecks, far from the multi-hued prismatic colours of a Queen.

  “I’m glad to hear it, we’ll be leaving shortly,” Verdan said. “Will you be flying alongside us?”

  “Yes, though the Queen will need to rest.”

  “Understood, if you need us to wait at all, just signal.” Verdan remembered Zathir, his hold Master, going on about how his people were best at flying short distances and the superiority of their wings to that of birds for agility in the air. How much of that was actually true and how much was Vesperai pride, Verdan had no idea. The Queen was closer to the Vesperai physique, though, as she lacked the ridiculous muscles of the males. She was also recovering from starvation and torture, so he’d be best anticipating that she wouldn’t have much endurance.

  Well, they wouldn’t be going quickly anyway, not with Cullan’s legs, so, hopefully, it wouldn’t be an issue.

  -**-

  “That’s everything,” Kai said, working with Vaijon to slide a heavy-looking box onto the cart. Dusting his hands, he turned and caught his spear as Barb tossed it back to him. “Ready when you are, Verdan.”

  Kai was a fire and air Sorcerer, and Verdan’s first and most loyal companion since he’d reawoken. About the same height as Verdan, Kai was an unassuming man with brown hair and eyes, the former kept short and the latter dark enough that they looked almost black in the right light. Kai was heavily scarred from countless fights, but he wore them well and was a solid, dependable presence.

  “Let’s get moving, then.” Verdan mentally urged the constructs forward and clambered up onto the front of the cart with Barb. There was a long path ahead of them, and he was eager to get started.

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  “Little better than scavengers.” Barb muttered with feeling, gesturing with her chin to where the Sorcerers and their retainers were already on the move. The division in the status held by Sorcerers and the Sect retainers had never been so clear as that moment. The former were heading straight for the stronghold, eager to search for loot or fulfil whatever assignment they’d been given. Meanwhile, the retainers were busy packing up their camp and doing the menial work.

  Leaning back in his seat, Verdan contemplated the future that he was shepherding along. If he had his way, Wizardry would be slowly but steadily reintroduced, along with the use and knowledge of Sigils. How would these Sects react when someone with not a whit of Essence could learn Sigils powerful enough to stand against them?

  Badly, he was sure. That was why it would have to be done slowly but steadily. For the moment, only Verdan and his Apprentices really understood what they were doing, so they were an oddity, rather than a threat. With how key Sigils were to the Brotherhood, Verdan intended to take steps to counter them, mainly by equipping his own people accordingly.

  Doing that without becoming a threat would be more difficult, but he had some ideas.

  -**-

  The first day of travel slowly went by as they made their way almost directly north. Verdan had no intention to go via Iranda, and was instead taking the most direct route out of the territory of the local Sects. It might add some time to their journey, but in his mind, taking a less obvious route and avoiding some potential trouble was well worth the price.

  After all, those Sorcerers had seen them leave with a fully-laden cart. He trusted Lucil, Notai, and Selem if he was pushed to it, not to attack them or stand by while someone else did. Still, the Sects had clearly demonstrated how little control they had over their Disciples, so that was less reassuring than it perhaps should have been.

  When they made camp that evening, Verdan was faced with a difficult choice. He had a dozen or more projects and potential opportunities he could work on. Everything from heading over to the nearby outcrop of rock where the Vespa had settled in so he could speak more with the Queen, all the way to improving the horse and cart so they could travel faster.

  Getting time to speak with the Queen once they were back would be difficult, but manageable, whereas the longer they took to get back, the more danger they were in. Cullan could manage a little faster, especially with some judicious use of magic, so the heavily-laden cart was setting their pace right now.

  Then again, that didn’t even account for the machine that imbued Aether or the wands and staves they’d recovered. There weren’t many of those, but they had a few different types of each, which meant a host of Sigils to work with.

  The potential of what Verdan could do for the city if he could figure out the trick of these wands was staggering. The Brotherhood had taken steps to prevent it, or at least that was what Verdan assumed was the purpose behind the items breaking when their owner died. That meant they saw the potential, but had chosen not to share their knowledge.

  For a group that claimed to oppose the way that Sorcerers behaved and wanted to free society from the grip of the Sects, they certainly didn’t act that way.

  Of course, it could be that the Sorcerer who’d tried to talk Verdan around had been lying, or he himself had been lied to, but Verdan doubted it. The cult-like obsession he’d seen explained much of what had confused him about the Brotherhood. Verdan had assumed they were little more than another Sect at first, a group of power-hungry backstabbers. The truth, though, was that they were far worse.

  Idealists who had blinded themselves to anything other than their own goals and desires. The pained screams of countless innocents would fall upon deaf ears, for all he knew they might even celebrate the victories of the Cyth. Every dead Sorcerer, every corrupted city, it all brought the Sects one step closer to being broken. The fact that it dragged the rest of the world straight to the Abyss with them was no doubt an acceptable cost.

  Shuddering, Verdan pushed the image from his head and ignored the sick feeling in his stomach. He knew what he had to do. In the end, talking to the Queen and improving the cart were short-term benefits. Figuring out the Sigils was more important.

  Heading for the cart, Verdan pulled out one of the boxes that he knew held a half-dozen wands, all with variations to their Sigils.

  “Master, do you have a moment?” Magnus’s voice came from behind him, and Verdan glanced back to see his Apprentice walking his way. Magnus slowed for a moment and frowned as he saw the box Verdan was holding. “Is that the one with the wands in it?”

  “I was going to study the Sigils on the wands and try recreating them, to see if we can understand them and then use them ourselves.”

  Magnus chuckled and nodded. “I was actually going to ask if you’d let me do that. It seems we had the same thought.”