." Bo frowned and declined Selena's offer of free booze. "If you're having a problem, come back here, Asme." Selena acquiesced and walked away. Wendy, confused by the exchange,

ickly wore off. On the first night out of Halle, Wendy observed as Grey refreshed the inscriptions on Bo's armor and weapon. Despite her teasing, Selena and Grey worked together efficiently. After completing Bo's armor, Grey meticulously inspected the spells on Selena's sword and armor, which needed to be redone every night. On the second night, Wendy approached Bo and Grey as they worked on his armor, noticing Grey using charcoal to inscribe symbols on Bo's shoulder pad. Wendy offered to enhance the inscriptions with tools from her bag and teach Grey more powerful symbols with practice. Grey, however, refused and walked away. Wendy saw this as an opportunity to prove herself and believed that once Grey saw the potency of her inscriptions, he would come around and want to learn from her. Wendy asked Bo if he minded her redoing his inscriptions, to which he agreed. She took out a silver bar and wiped away the old markings on his shoulder pad with a cloth. Bo was surprised at how clean it looked afterward. Wendy explained that it was best to start with a clean slate and proceeded to use the silver bar to make a straight, unbroken line on his armor while whispering under her breath. She focused on the symbol that occupied her thoughts, watching as it illuminated the dark night air. But she wasn't finished yet. Continuing to whisper, she extended both hands, one still clutching the bar, and reached out to touch the symbol before pulling back and circling around the body. With each completed circle, she paused and added a small mark to his armor. By the time she finished, there was a large symbol on his shoulder and the rest of his armor was dotted with small silver spots. Bo looked down at himself, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "That will last a few months, or a few years if the protection isn't used. Now, about your sword..." Later that night, as Wendy curled up in her blankets, she watched as Grey inspected her handiwork. Bo spoke with him in hushed tones, and from the expression on Grey's face, he was not pleased. Wendy, however, was secretly pleased with herself. She had clearly proven her skill and drifted off to sleep feeling happy. It wasn't until the morning of the eighteenth day that they left Mercôt and entered Sontmor. The border was marked by the low-lying Upper Scheldt River, and Wendy spent most of the day looking around for any sign that they had entered the unknown land of Sontmor. They crossed the river via the sturdy wooden Merciac bridge, which rose high over the water to withstand the spring floods. Despite feeling a flutter of excitement, Wendy's enthusiasm soon faded as the world on the Sontmor side was much the same as on the Mercôt side. Although they were in the midst of summer, it was grey and chilly due to their location in the south. If Wendy hadn't known the geography and significance of the Merciac bridge, she would never have realized they had left Mercôt. As they journeyed on, the cleared land stretched out around them, with farmsteads visible in the distance. The terrain became