"What in the hells happened to the A.T.V.?"
Thalia asked as they all regrouped around the vehicle before heading out.
The sun was still slightly hidden by the horizon, marking that summer was beginning to come to an end.
The A.T.V. looked almost like a different vehicle.
Its shape had changed.
Its size had changed.
Everything about it had changed.
Large circular spotlights shone ahead onto the road from above the windshield, bolted to what seemed to be a new metal roof rack.
A new plate with a spell of some kind sat suspended in the center console, the rings of the magic circle bouncing up and down as if they were balloons on elastic strings.
The plates around the A.T.V. were thicker now, and several of them had magic circles carved into them. Those ones lay dormant and quiet.
The engine hummed with a smoothness that was unusual compared to what it had been before.
Even the engine seemed to have received some changes.
There was also a small arm sitting near the passenger seat, another magic circle pulsing as Aiden and Selene sat in the front seats.
"L-Look," Selene said, sounding excited as she swiveled the small arm to show Aiden something. "It works. I can see your HP and everything."
However, the trailer seemed to have gotten the most dramatic overhaul.
Before, it had been a simple roofless trailer where the passengers used sleeping bags as seats while they bounced along.
When it rained, they had to hook up the tarp as a makeshift rain cover.
So while it was better than walking, it had not exactly been comfortable.
Now, the trailer was longer by a good six feet.
The entire thing was covered, with a front hatch for anyone who wanted to climb up to the ballista.
Several side hatches sat along both walls, and Liora was placing their luggage inside them.
The same plates that covered the A.T.V. now covered the trailer.
A small circular thing spun on top, its purpose completely unknown.
Thalia looked over to Jax and Beatris, who were staring slack-jawed into the lowered ramp at the back of the trailer.
Making her way over, Thalia looked inside.
Then she saw why they seemed so surprised.
The interior had completely changed.
It was no longer a flat spot with wheels and small walls to keep cargo in place.
There were padded seats now.
And a table.
Cabinets lined one side of the wall.
On the other side, there was even a small space that looked like it had been set up as a sleeping area.
"When did this happen?" Beatris asked.
She walked inside and ran her tail along the interior of the new trailer, as if she was not sure whether or not it was an illusion.
Liora walked back with a smug look on her face.
"Like the upgrades we got?"
Thalia turned to her.
"How much did these upgrades cost?"
Liora shrugged and put her hands on her hips.
"In total, a little over eight thousand," Liora said. "But Aiden, Selene, and I divided the bill."
Her smugness deepened.
"And the upgrades are totally worth it."
Liora led them inside and began pointing out the different upgrades.
"We got spotlights, driver assistance, emergency shields, mending magic, an engine upgrade, a health checker thing, an auto-eject system, interior living spaces, air conditioning for the cab and trailer, and insect repellent."
The last one caught Thalia's attention more than she would like to admit.
Because when it came to the tales of adventurers, nobody ever told you just how many mosquitoes existed at night.
Especially when you were in a sleeping bag.
Part of the reason they always made a fire was because the smoke warded some of them off.
But the number of times they had woken up with less blood because of those little leeches was higher than Thalia cared to count.
As they all loaded up to head out, they practically sank into the nice cushioning of the seats.
Liora, Jax, Beatris, and Thalia all let out a contented sigh.
The normal sharp, jarring bounces that made the ride better than walking, but not actually comfortable, were gone.
Replaced instead by the simple pleasure of suspension and cushioned seats.
Jax and Beatris moved to the ballista platform after a bit.
When Liora began to follow them to annoy them, Thalia used her strings to pull her back.
Liora had embarrassed the pair enough yesterday to the point that they could barely look each other in the face without turning away.
It made Thalia wonder if the concept of romance had only been brought up in their minds when Liora said it out loud.
While Thalia was not someone who would claim to follow romance as a hobby, she had to admit it was rather fun to watch the two be awkward around each other.
She was preparing to take a nap when Liora put a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey, Thalia," Liora said. "I have a question."
Thalia turned back to her.
Normally, she would tell Liora to ask after she took a nap.
But there was something in Liora's tone that made Thalia pause.
"What is it?"
Liora fidgeted for a moment.
Then she looked at Thalia, and her words rushed over each other to get out of her mouth.
"Is there a way to make Ymer dying look like an accident?"
Thalia looked back at Liora in silence.
Her eyes were too soft to be asking questions like this.
"There are several ways," Thalia said. "But you can't do it."
Liora scowled.
The air around Thalia began to shiver as Liora's mana unconsciously seeped out.
Thalia twitched one finger, letting a single string trail out.
It wormed across the ground, moved behind Liora, and slipped through one of the supports in the roof of the trailer.
"Are you defending that man right now?" Liora asked.
Her voice was dangerously quiet.
Thalia shook her head.
"No," she said. "I agree. He needs to be dealt with. His pride will always make him come back, and because of his class, pain won't be a motivation to avoid us."
Thalia let her string trail upward, making a slow circle around Liora's neck before knotting itself.
Liora seemed oblivious to it.
"What I'm saying," Thalia continued, "is that you can't do it."
Liora looked bewildered.
"I don't—"
Thalia cut her off with a flick of her hand.
Not to hurt her.
Only to tighten the string enough that Liora could feel where it was.
Enough to show that Thalia could drag her up if she needed to.
Liora froze.
Shock and pale fear crossed her face as she felt the string tighten and pull slightly.
Her eyes met Thalia's.
Thalia centered herself and forced her mind back to that day.
To the feeling of emptiness and silence that came from what she had done.
She met Liora's eyes with her own empty ones.
"The mind is a powerful thing," Thalia said. "But the body has its own instincts. One of those is to avoid killing others like you."
Thalia released the string.
Liora held her neck and audibly gulped, but she kept watching as Thalia slowly paced.
"People get over this instinct in three ways," Thalia said. "The first is by dehumanizing the target. Ripping away what makes someone like you. Labels like enemy or savage."
She looked toward the front of the trailer.
"It's how soldiers do it."
Thalia raised a second finger.
"The second is desperation. In moments where one can only await death, the body becomes more lenient on what it does and does not try to stop."
She waited for a moment.
For the inevitable question.
Liora swallowed.
"And the final way?"
Thalia turned back to her.
"That's simple," she said. "You take the proverbial cold plunge and get your first kill."
Her expression did not change.
"It only gets easier from there."
Thalia began to lie down in the small sleeping hollow.
Liora remained standing.
"How do you even know this?"
"It's the eyes," Thalia said. "That faint emptiness. Like something was lost."
She adjusted her pillow.
"Jax has it. Beatris has it. Selene has it."
She looked back at Liora.
"Only you and Aiden are still fresh in that regard."
Liora said nothing.
"As for why I know it works," Thalia continued, "I won't answer. All I will say is to let my past sit until it's the right time to reveal it."
Liora did not say anything after that.
She just stared at Thalia for a while before heading out the side hatch.
From the sound of it, she climbed up and laid down on the roof of the trailer.
Thalia pulled the pillow over her head as if that would silence the echoes of that day in her mind.
Her body shivered from distant fear.
From lingering nausea.
From the voice of a much younger version of herself, still crying out for Grandpa.