“Good morning, ma’am,” I said to Odel, the matronly old woman who took care of the Obdorn baron’s local house in Ivarnel.Once I had started walking to and from school, I sometimes went back with Felton and Felris to their place to study or hang out. Odel and her husband, Gusius—the family butler, who went by Gus—were always kind and welcoming. Despite the household having significantly less wealth than Somnial’s, the food was always delicious, and the married couple kept the place tidy and comfortable. I had even spent the night a few times, and had grown pretty comfortable there.“Good morning, dearie,” Odel replied with a warm smile. “All ready for the journey?”“Yup.” I grinned, turning back to Byron, who was unloading our carriage, handing my things to Gus. He loaded them right back up into a second, slightly older carriage.Somnial’s head butler turned to me. “Are you sure you don’t want an attendant to go with you, master Tovar?”I shook my head. “That’s not necessary, Byron. Gus and Odel will take great care of me.”“As you wish,” he said with a small bow. “Then we will see you at the end of your break when you return.”I waved after the carriage as it trundled away, turning when a noise from behind drew my attention back.“Tovar!” Felris exclaimed, bursting out of the house with Felton in tow. “Are you ready to see Obdorn?”“Sure am.”It would take a handful of days to reach the barony from Ivarnel, and then again to return. That was a significant chunk of our break just in traveling, but traveling could be fun as well. We’d still have a little over two weeks in Obdorn to rest, play, and—more importantly—check out the dungeon I had been interested in since I first heard about it.I felt a little guilty about not heading back to Redding for the break, but it was much farther, and summer in Redding promised little more than weeding the fields and (...)