The exchange seemed friendly on the surface, but each side had its own plans.
Dervis's question appeared to be about where Edna wanted to go. But if the girl treated her graduation journey as a game, he would naturally take control back.
And if the route Edna planned did not suit a Mage, he would find the flaw and use it.
Finally, if Edna insisted on testing herself in the most dangerous places, Dervis would have to crush her desire to call the shots, even with a great crowd of Terrasil Elves guarding her.
It was hardly fair to a fifteen-year-old girl. But if Edna wanted to work with the Half-Elf and hold real authority over the party, she had to show that she could lead it. Even if she was merely passing on the Half-Elf's wishes, she still had to prove herself capable.
Dervis would not put his future in the hands of an impulsive, willful girl. So what if following her might let him meet the Goddess of Magic?
If he died, he would end up in Azuth's Divine Kingdom. But what Mage wanted to meet his own Supreme God so soon?
He had yet to leave his mark on the elegance and intricacy of spells. He had not even created a spell of his own!
His name was not yet in the Encyclopedia of Spells. How could he die now?
Edna met Dewis Pace's gentle smile with a radiant one of her own. "I've thought it over. We'll head south from Hidden Forest, visit the spell academy in Aglaia City, then take Faerûn Avenue to Candlekeep.
"Once I've exchanged all the books I brought, we'll leave Candlekeep and continue south along the Sword Coast, straight to Calimshan."
Dervis's eyelid twitched. Mages knew perfectly well what was happening