[h2]Efander[/h2]

In effect, the sage was the last to approach the camp... seemingly because her every attempt to avoid the traps that the others had so effortlessly noted only set them off. Swinging logs, pitfalls, a collapsing pile of rocks... had the aim been to merely alert the bandits so they could get away, and Efander had been alone, then maybe it would have worked. As far as damage went, however, not a single of the simple traps succeeded in laying a scratch on the child. A tap here or there and the swinging log rocketed off its ropes and into a nearby tree; the collapsing rocks deflected into one another and falling in a neat pile beside her.

It was a better warm-up than the bandits themselves would have been, and a better check of her abilities to boot. Physical changes aside, it felt that nothing was amiss, and the great sage came to a halt beside Malachi.

"Sylphie is as overenthusiastic as ever..." she said, shaking her head. There was no need for another person to join in on the one-sided massacre, "I won't force the matter but after agreeing to see out the alliance's goals, going off alone would betray the trust they placed in all of us."