Mallory sat up, having been leaning against Ryan who sat beside her. “How are we planning to get everyone back that we’re going to rescue?”
“I didn’t think about that.” Brodie patted Fang who was curled up in his lap.
Ryan looked towards the wagoner. “Do you ever hire out your wagon?”
The wagoner glanced over his shoulder. “It’s too expensive to replace to do that.”
“Do you ever go south?” Mallory stared at the wagoner’s back, willing him to say yes.
The wagoner again glanced over his shoulder. “The furthest I’ve been is Wester. But I wouldn’t mind going to Velkden. They have an essence crystal mine there.”
“What are essence crystals?” Mallory asked.
“A source of mana you can automatically draw on. Mages tend to use it for doing spells above their level of mana. Such as for making
