Terry stood amongst his people, each person silently worked around the beautiful willow tree. Creating pathways made of stone slabs, It led outward toward the foundations that had already been set for the construction plan of the village. His people were quick and capable, each person knew what the other would need for the job, so tasks were delegated without words. This village of silence felt otherworldly.
Terry moved his arms as if he were weaving a fine tapestry. A faint crackle of energy began building just beyond his fingertips. Soon, the crackle of energy roared loudly, a blue energy shimmered around his hands, leaving a bright aura of light in his vicinity.
Were Terry’s consciousness not consumed by the hive, he might have wondered how a simple farmer could perform such miracles. Truth be told he knew nothing of the sort, the soul behind the puppet grinned, as the spell was reaching its climax. The sound roared louder, and louder by the second. He let out a laugh, slashing his arms like claws. Blue lightning escaped his finger tips, a simple blink and the power had already crashed into the woods down the hill. Trees fell, sending up pillars of smoke, and fire began to spread. Terry’s hair was standing on end, and all around his body a hum of power still remained. Blue light sparked around his fingers even with the spell's completion.
“My spell form worked!” Mort laughed from Terries mouth, he never would have tried this in his own body. He did not even feel tired, before doing this kind of spell would have been crippling. But he seemed to have gained the stamina of a monster. With a quick swipe of his hand, he closed his fist. A sucking sound could be heard in the forest down below, as the fire extinguished. He looked down at his hands, “Even that would have been impossible for me.” He said aloud it was a strange feeling. One day you were a powerless nobody, who could not even admit feelings for a woman he loved. Next, control the power of pure energy creating lightning, one of the deadliest of magics. Mort wondered what circle magic was he truly capable of?
Thinking back, Mort was beyond lucky, he had beat the odds, overpowering the mind of the domineering silver cats, but there was a price for doing so. Mort had replaced it; his own body started to feel alien, same with the bodies he was currently manipulating. It was an incredibly strange feeling; ‘I am the very monster that tried to devour me, and my knowledge,’ Mort considered what his future might hold. The whole ordeal was a seamless transition, one day he just felt like he was in control, while the other day he felt like a sleeping thought.
Shaking the concerns and anxieties from his mind, he looked toward the cave entrance. ‘I made Silver Cats that were able to repair broken bodies, and manipulate essence. Will I be able to create a Silver Cat that can see it?’ He could not see the future, but he could plan for the possibilities beyond today, that was why this town was being rebuilt here. He needed to protect his main body, and spawning pool. Plus, having a town built around it, there was no way anyone would bypass this many of his drones. But, with the things Mort had experienced, he could not say ‘never’, or ‘impossible’.
With a quick flourish of his hand the torches in the village lit, even the oil lanterns. His perception was extended by each body, letting him easily track the locations of all torches. It made his task so simple, the more he got used to this, the less impressive he thought it was. Mort smiled one last time as the iridescent color faded from Terries eyes, the Silver-cat-drone set to work Terry moved into town setting to work aiding in construction, as another manual laborer.
–
Mort opened his eyes slowly, the glowing iridescent color seemed stronger than usual. He had long ago carried Drake back to his room; the kid had taken over Gorthans room. After all, he no longer had a use for it, having carried him back, Mort explained what happened to Lyn and left once more returning to the Ogre Ape corpse he then butchered it. Dressing the meat in large leaves and tying them up. He learned how to do this from the memories of the butcher, within the town of silence. ‘I have so much knowledge at my fingertips.’ Mort could not help but smile, it was like experiencing countless lifetimes at one time, it did in a way affect morts personality, and rationality. But, he felt like it mostly affected his patience and confidence. Although, he has noticed an increase in his desire to assimilate humans he sees.
But when thinking about it logically he had decided against it. If everyone in the world was him, what would the point of life be? To be alone? The original hive was a foolish creature. It had not even taken measures to ensure it would not be overpowered by other consciousness, but mort had. Finishing his task, he took as much meat as he could carry, leaving behind the rest for nature to feast upon. “Thank you for your sacrifice.” Mort gave a respectful bow to the corpse before stepping away, never looking back.
Mort walked toward the town gates. The large portcullis was raised, letting most individuals pass with no trouble. The guards called for identification from each person, briefly checking their guild cards. All citizens were required to have one. To get a new one issued, it cost one gold piece, which was about one hundred copper or ten silvers. To stay at an inn, it was three silvers a night, including basic meals; otherwise, a nightly stay was about one silver. Guild cards could display anything from a profession to a company, but they always displayed the town of origin.
“Identification,” a guard demanded, blocking Mort’s path with a spear. Mort did not recognize the guard, so he must have been a new Gatekeeper. It was best to stay in these people’s good graces. With a bloody hand, Mort reached into his tunic and removed the metal card with the words 'Triple Threat’ and just below that ‘Mort, Ostine. Second Circle Mage’. The guard handed the card back and told him he could pass. But instead of passing right away, Mort set his bag on the ground, pulling out a nicely wrapped slab of meat. He held it out to the man. “A gift for the new Gatekeeper,” he said, forcing it into the man's hand. Mort did not wait for a response and continued on his way. Thinking about it, this gate was the eastern gate. The north and west gates were usually used by merchants, while the citizens and adventurers tended to use the west gate, as that was the direction of the wildlands.
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The hair on the back of Mort's neck stood on end. I have a feeling things are going to start getting hectic, he thought. He shook the feeling away, waving a hand here and there at people he knew until he reached the bakery. He stepped over to the open doorway. A chime played, and a familiar voice spoke in a bored tone. “Welcome to Bake Bake Bake, where we do just that. Here to order fresh or buy pre-made?” The name of this place always made Mort smile; it was such a ridiculous name. The person behind the counter was standing on a box so they could reach the counter. They had an exceptionally long beard and a bald head covered by an absurdly small chef’s hat.
“Dorin, bored as ever, I see,” Mort stated. The dwarf finally looked at who had come in, and a grin spread across the man's face.
“Mort! Triple of the Threat! Got a treat for me, aye? What will it be this time?” the man wondered aloud, running a hand through his own beard. Mort set his rucksack on the counter and reached inside, pulling out a hefty slab of Ogre Ape meat.
“Fresh off the bone for you, my friend.” He paused, giving the man a wide grin, showing his teeth. He leaned over the counter, pushing down on his rucksack with his blood-dried hands. “Lyn confessed to me.” His grin never faded as he told him.
“Really?” He looked confused. “You let that pretty girl admit it herself instead of you?” A hearty laugh escaped his lips as another chime went off behind Mort. Dorin glanced around Mort and yelled, “Get out of here, you daft cunt! I’m busy! CLOSED! Out!” He turned his eyes back to Mort. “Have you two…” His eyebrows started going up and down. When Mort looked confused, Dorin brought up both his hands, making a circle with one hand and sticking a finger from his other hand into the circle. “Eh? Have you?” he winked at him.
Mort laughed, a little uncomfortable with the whole thing. “You really think we would rush anything when it took three years for us to get to this point, old man? Are you going senile?” The look on the dwarf’s face was unperturbed.
“Boy, I have been around the block a few dozen times. Life’s short for you humans. Why waste the little time you have?” It was now that the old guy stopped his smile and joking demeanor.
Right, his human wife died fifty years ago, and he can’t bring himself to move on. It was a beautiful thing, the sad part about Dorin’s whole situation was that he used to love baking. When his wife was alive, the two of them started this shop together, but now that she’s gone, he had turned into this depressed, bored old man, simply waiting for death. “You’re right,” Mort said. The smile had faded from his own lips as well. “I’ll take a few of your fresh loaves.” The old man nodded his head, setting them in the sack for Mort.
Mort shifted the sack onto his back and was getting ready to leave, but he turned his head back to him. “Thanks, Dad.” He walked out of the building without waiting for a response. Truth be told, Mort was a half-blood—part human, part dwarf—but the problem was, he got his height from his mother’s side. She was actually one of the tallest his father had met, and he loved that fact. It’s too bad I never got to meet her. Years ago, his father told him about how his mother died. It was because of Mort; even with healers, she died in childbirth.
Mort arrived back home. He looked for the scuff mark on the door and kicked it with the tip of his shoe, sending the door wide open. “We really need to fix that,” Mort said aloud, coming inside to see Lyn setting the table. She smiled at him, and he felt something clench in his chest.
“Welcome home,” she said, walking around the table toward him. For the first time in a long time, he felt a few tears begin to form in his eyes. She threw most of her weight into him and buried her head in his chest, clenching his tunic between her fingers. She breathed a sigh of relief into his chest. “I missed you, Mort.”
His heart was beating rapidly, and he knew she could hear it. This woman is going to kill me, Mort thought as he wiped the small beads that had formed from his eyes and pulled her a few inches away so he could see her face. “I got the meat and bread.” She smiled at him, dragging him to the table and forcing him to sit down. She did not say anything else, nor did he. He just watched her work while she hummed. She used another device that Mort could not claim the credit for, but he easily recreated it in their home. A stone slab was on the counter with different etchings. In the center of the slab was a circle, and around it were the etchings. Around the etchings, written in Dwarvish, were the words “Low,” “Medium,” and “High.” She swiped her finger through Low, then Medium, and the center of the stone began to heat.
Mort rested his head on his arm, laying on the table. He watched her curves sway while she worked until he fell asleep. A sort of darkness fell over him for the first time in a long while. Instead of shifting to one of the other bodies in his network, he and his hive were all resting. He dreamed of the smell of roasted meats, of happy smiles. He dreamed of a life with his mother, father, and Lyn. All of his anxiety was gone in this dream. But it was too happy, and because of that alone, he knew it was a dream.
His eyes snapped open as Drake entered the room. A yawn escaped Drake's mouth. “Up finally?” Mort asked, with his head still laying on the table. His eyes lingered on Lyn once more, and she turned her head toward Mort, catching him red-handed.
“Nooo,” Drake yawned between each letter, as if he were intentionally trying to drive the point home. Lyn came over to Mort and bumped him with her hip. He moved a bit out of her way, and she set some food on the table: roasted meat, slices of bread, and some seared vegetables. A bit of seasoning was spread over the whole dish; it smelled great. He gave her a smile, and she moved on, setting the rest of the plates. I won’t let her keep cooking for me, he thought. He preferred to be the one to cook, just because he loved her reaction every time she ate his food. He had taught her a few recipes, but Mort now had the knowledge of some chefs, so why not use it?
–
They ate, and Mort told his story about what happened. Drake exaggerated how high he had jumped, saying it was all thanks to the training. But mostly, Mort explained what they should do next. For now, they had plenty of money and did not need to work for at least another month or two, even with the extra mouth to feed. Mort could see Drake in the corner of his eye, slamming his hand on the table while saying, “So gooood!” Mort just smirked to himself. He then told them more about the details pertaining to the recently posted guild missions. In particular, there was a quest to investigate why a certain village had moved to another location. He could easily leave the city for a few days, but it would give them a reason to go out together. Plus, near the Town of Silence was a dungeon. It would make great practice for Drake, Lyn, and Mort’s teamwork.
The three of them started prepping for the trip, drying out the leftover Ogre Ape meat and making it into jerky. It took a few days, but eventually, they were ready to head out. It would only take them a couple of days, but still.