She followed Qrixit out of the smoking den and into the alley. The colors of the daytime had been replaced with the grays of night. Oddly, the late hour didn’t seem to have dampened the revelry based on the sounds she heard echoing down the alley from the nearby street. Qrixit started to head towards the street.

“I thought we were trying to lay low,” she said.

“There’s nothing to worry about. Most of the enforcers are tulkas, and they’re rarely up this late,” he replied.

“Really? Why’s that?” she asked.

“They slow down when it’s cool,” he replied.

“So, they are like snakes?” she asked.

“Well, yes, I suppose they are, but like I told you, it’s rude to compare them, so don’t,” he replied.

“Right, don’t want to upset the cannibals,” Anna said.

“Just because you don’t agree with part of their culture doesn’t mean you can insult them,” he replied.

“If that part of their culture involves killing and eating people, I can insult them all I want,” Anna said.

Qrixit let out an exasperated sound and walked away. She followed after.

“Isn’t the gate and the tarrasque skull the other way?” she asked.

“Yes, but you’ll need supplies for your journey. It’s not going to be easy traveling during the rainy season, and I don’t want to see you go off unprepared,” he replied.

“Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense,” she said.

“You were just going to run off into the wilderness without any supplies, weren’t you?” he asked.

“Wouldn’t be the first time I did,” she replied.

“I don’t think you understand just how dangerous the grasslands are during the rainy season,” he said.

He’s going to worry about me if I don’t get supplies for the trip, so I’d better do it. It just feels like a waste of gems though. I mean, everything is just going to get wet and nasty if the rain is as bad as he says it’s going to be.

“Alright, I’ll get them,” she replied.

“Good. We’ll make our way to one of the night markets,” he said.

“What’s a night market?” she asked.

“Just what it sounds like, a market open at night. They are usually run by the nocturnal peoples that live in the city,” he replied.

“Oh, yeah, that makes sense,” she said.

“If I remember right, there should be one nearby,” he replied.

They made their way through the busy streets heading to the night market. As they neared, she noticed fewer and fewer torches and braziers lighting the streets, and by the time they reached the market, the only light was that of the stars and waning moon above them.

The festive mood in the city was less pronounced in the night market. Everyone here seemed more interested in going about their business than celebrating.

Let’s see, I’ll need a pack, some food, maybe a small bedroll, and a spear should be enough to make Qrixit feel better about me leaving.

She felt the wiggling in her chest when she thought about leaving the only friend she had on this side of the world, and part of her desperately wanted to stay.

No, I have to go! I can’t stay here, I just can’t!

She took a deep breath, hoping to calm herself.

“Is everything alright?” Qrixit asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied.

“You don’t sound fine,” he said.

“Well, I am!” she replied.

She didn’t wait for him to reply. Instead, she started off into the market.

“Come on, I need to find a pack to put the supplies in,” she added.

After some browsing, she found a stall that was selling leather goods and started to look though the various packs they had for sale. The packs came in all shapes and sizes, most of which were clearly made for people with vastly different body types than humans. She did manage to find a large pack with multiple pouches and pockets that fit her well enough after some searching.

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This will work!

“How much?” she asked.

“Ten yellow,” the merchant replied.

She looked over at Qrixit who gave her a head bob indicating he thought it was a fair price. She paid the merchant and put the pack on before they moved on.

As they passed by stalls selling everything from buttons to stone tools, she noticed a single mote of light float by.

MANA!!!

She looked around frantically trying to find the source of the stray mana and noticed a stall filled with sparkling crystals. She rushed over excitedly. Qrixit had to run to catch up with her.

“Slow down!” he said.

She stopped in front of the stall and stared at the crystals with wide eyes, watching the mana float off them.

“We don’t have time for this! Come on!” Qrixit said.

“What are they?” Anna asked the merchant, ignoring Qrixit.

“Shamanic stones,” the merchant said.

“I’ve never heard that word before,” Anna said.

“Shaman are people who can control the elements and speak to the spirits,” Qrixit replied.

You know, that sounds like a mage, so I bet shaman is the word for mage in the trade language.

The merchant waved his hand over the stones, and they glowed as it passed over.

“This is how you can tell they are true shamanic stones. They react to the spirit inside you,” the merchant said.

On a whim she put her hands over the stones, and nothing happened.

“Not everyone has a spirit potent enough to light up the stones,” the merchant added.

Qrixit scoffed.

“It’s just a trick. Watch, I bet nothing happens when I do it either,” he said.

He held his hand over the stones, and they glowed softly just like when the merchant did it. Qrixit had a shocked look on his face, and the merchant looked smug. At least, that’s what she thought the look was. She’d never seen his species before.

Hmm, these things must be made from something that’s an awful lot like focus crystals. I wonder if I could figure out how to make a magic ring or staff or something out of it? I’d love to be able to cast some spells like the ones in my rings again.

She picked up the biggest shamanic stone.

“How much is this one?” she asked.

“A red gem,” the merchant replied.

She took a red gem from her pouch and handed it over.

“Anna! That’s not worth that much!” Qrixit said.

“It is to me,” Anna replied.

“But why? You can’t even use it!” he asked.

She held the stone up and pushed a small amount of mana into it causing it to glow a bright purple. The sudden brightness caused everyone around her to cover their eyes and turn away. She immediately stopped channeling her mana, and the stone dimmed but did not go completely dark.

“Sorry!” she said.

She stuffed the stone into her pack quickly.

“How’d you do that?” Qrixit asked.

“Uh, I’m not sure how to explain it in the trade language exactly, but I guess you could say I pushed my spirit into it,” she replied.

“Only shaman can do that!” the merchant said.

“I guess I’m a shaman,” Anna replied.

“Come on! We need to go!” Qrixit said.

He pulled her arm and led her away from the stall quickly.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“Did you forget about everything that happened yesterday?!” he replied.

“No, but you said the enforcers were all asleep, so it’s fine,” she said.

“I did not say that! I said the tulkas were sleeping. There are enforcers of other races!” he replied.

“Fuck!” Anna said.

“Exactly, now come on. Let’s get the rest of the things you’ll need before they come looking for the strange shaman and find you!” he replied.

They rushed away from the stall and quickly purchased everything she’d need for a long journey into the wilderness, at least what Qrixit thought she’d need, before leaving the night market. They started back towards the center of the city where the great skull was located.

“Are you sure we should be doing this? I mean, I could just leave. I don’t mind,” she said.

“So long as we’re quick, it shouldn’t be a problem,” Qrixit replied.

They reached the center of the city over an hour later, stepping into a huge open square where a huge crowd of people surrounded a massive platform covered in giant skulls. The skulls were all from predators, and each one looked as if it could gobble down a horse in a single bite.

“That’s the tarrasque skull,” Qrixit said.

He pointed at the biggest skull on the platform.

Damn those are some big teeth! Still though, I think the sea monster skull I saw on the beach was bigger.

They made their way over to the skulls, and she looked at them for a few minutes, watching the shadows dance across them in the flickering torch light. They walked away from the skulls and headed towards the south gate, pushing through the crowds as they went.

Qrixit looked over his shoulder when they left the square and then suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her into an alley.

“Run!” he said.

They both took off running. She made sure to stay just behind him, so she didn’t lose him. She glanced over her shoulder and noticed that half a dozen heavily armed enforcers were just behind them. Qrixit pulled her down another alley where they rushed towards a crowded street.

Just before they reached the street, another group of enforcers darted out from in between the buildings, cutting off their escape route. They stopped running and looked back and forth between the two groups frantically.

“Surrender and we’ll make it quick!” one of the enforcers said.

“I’ll rip your fucking heads off!!!” Anna replied.

The enforcers leveled their spears and rushed at them. She clenched her hands into fists and prepared to attack.

Suddenly, they were all showered with sparks of mana, more than she’d ever seen in one place. The mana swirled into a huge ring before a loud bang sounded through the air, and a massive rush of air blasted out from inside. The enforcers scrambled backwards before they turned and ran away with Qrixit close on their heels.

“Qrixit wait!” she said.

Before she could run after him, a hand reached through the ring, grabbed her by the arm, and pulled her through. She blinked a few times to clear her vision from all of the mana sparks and found herself standing in a large room surrounded by human men wearing blue robes covered in stylized stars.

“Is your name Anna?” an old man asked.

He was the one who had pulled her through what was undoubtedly a portal.

“Uh, yeah,” she replied.

He smiled at her.

“Well, then there are some people here that will be very happy to see you!” he said.

“Who?” she asked.

“Come on. I’ll take you to them,” he replied.

The portal snapped shut behind her, and the men started to file out of the room. She followed the old man out of the room. She was so confused she simply didn’t know what else to do, and they walked down a long passageway. The old man pulled a door open for her and gestured for her to go inside. She walked through the door and froze when she saw who was waiting for her.

“Lass,” Thokri said.

He bolted over to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into a big hug and lifting her off the ground. She hugged him back and squeezed him tightly while her other friends rushed over, joining in.

After a moment, Thokri put her down and let go. She looked around at each of their smiling faces for a moment before bursting into tears.

“I’m so sorry!” she said.