[Espy]

What...is that alchemy?! Cu stared down at the group of people some thirty feet below him. He had never been in contact with too many mages, and alchemy was rare even among them...

He mentally told himself to shut his gaping mouth, and half-consciously pulled the tip of his cowl down lower over his face. It wasn't as if that would matter; the angle was such that anyone in the group could see his face anyways. But then again, he was simply passing through. He had heard rumors that someone up north was paying a generous sum for the head of his rival, and Cu had immediately been interested.

The soft flapping of wings behind him caught his attention. A crow alighted on a nearby branch, and Cu lifted a finger to his lips as if telling the bird to hush.

But I have to be careful...I can smell a dragon nearby. He squinted, trying to catch sight of the beast, but to no avail.