After days of lonely stretches and a road that seemed endless, Sonder began to notice faint marks of travelers: wheel ruts pressed deep into the dirt, bootprints layered over one another, and the occasional leftover piece of fabric.
By noon, the sound of voices carried faintly across the road ahead.
Sonder slowed her pace until the road curved and revealed them.
A wagon had veered half into a ditch, its load of barrels covered hastily with canvas. One wheel was split through the spokes, useless.
Beside it, two men and a woman argued in low, sharp tones. Their horse, sides bound with rough bandages, trembled against its traces but stood its ground.
Sonder stepped closer. "What happened?"
All three turned at once. Their eyes scanned her before fixing on the sword at her side. Suspicion crept over them like a shadow.
At last, the older man spat into the dirt. "Garrions. Came at dawn. Took what they liked, left us this wreck. And they'll be back. They always come back."
Sonder remembered the Garrions, and all the unpleasantness that came with them.
"Do you have anyone who can protect you?" she asked.
The younger man laughs bitterly. He had scratches and bruises on his face.
"Protect us? If a dozen come again, what are we meant to do? Throw stones?"
Sonder's hand tightened around her hilt. "If they come back, I can protect you."
The words left her mouth, and even as they hung in the air, she felt the weight of the promise and wondered if she could keep it.
The travelers stared. The woman gave a small, disbelieving smile, gentle but edged with pity. "You? You're no taller than my boy was. Forgive me, child, but a stiff wind would carry you off. How could you fight the Garrions when we couldn't?"
"I can fight," Sonder said, steady this time.
The three exchanged a look, something between worry and weary amusement. The older man sighed. "If nothing else," he muttered, "better you walk with us than alone. These roads aren't kind to children."
Sonder nodded.
Together they dragged the crippled wagon farther down the road until the light bled from the sky. When darkness came, they lit a small fire in a hollow, careful to keep the smoke low.
Sonder sat a little apart, watching the flames play across the battered barrels. She felt their eyes on her, still doubting. Yet they had offered her food and drink, without asking anything in return.
Before lying down, the woman touched her shoulder kindly. "Best sleep while you can. Tomorrow will be long."
Sonder nodded, but she stayed awake.
Her rib ached faintly where the Yellow Mage's rib rested, a tether that pulled her thoughts to Vell. It was a sort of comfort.
Then - snap. A twig, sharp in the brushes around them.
Her eyes flew open.
Shadows shifted at the edge of the trees. Laughter, low and muffled. The crunch of boots pressing into leaves.
Garrions.
Sonder rose to her feet at once, hand closing on the hilt of her sword.