Silence reigned for a good while. I tried to start conversations but I was met by only amused glances and grunts to affirm they had heard me. I took to silence well. Luka, Sky, and I darted into and out of the woods but did not stray too far from the group. We were practicing our prowling for a few minutes at a time before we would rush to catch back up with the group. I wasn’t sure why they weren’t talking, but given the smirks on their faces I assumed they were just messing with me.
After about an hour of flitting through the woods with the foxes, I realized this was the first time in eight and a half years that I wasn’t constantly working, studying, or training. I was starting to struggle with the lack of activity, growing antsy and bored. I glanced ahead of me where the group had started to chatter among themselves. I whistled to call back Luka and Sky, Luka came back covered in dirt with a bunny wriggling in his mouth.
“Luka did you catch that all by yourself?” I asked the self satisfied animal.
He just waggled over to the others, stumbling on his find. Sky, on the other hand, hopped up on my shoulders from a nearby tree branch.
“I didn’t even know foxes could climb trees...” I mumbled and glanced at her. The branch was fairly low but I hadn’t seen her climb much before.I jogged to catch up with the others and caught the middle of the conversation.
“... missing baths already!” Amelia groaned and shuddered. She carried a small pack on her back, tiny really when compared to my hulking and packed bag.
“Well, you’ll get one in the next town.” Elric turned to her and his eyes lit up upon seeing Luka waddling behind everyone. “Whatcha got there Luka? Is that a bunny?”
“Eeew Lios you cant let them kill cute bunnies!” Liana spun around and gave me a pouty lip.
Elric picked Luka up and helped hold the rabbit in his hand as the fox started to gnaw on it. There was a squelching and quickly followed by a crunching noise as the food fiend voraciously tore into his kill. I could feel his satisfaction from even here, a few feet away.
“Sky Sky com’ere girly!” Amelia held out her arms, reaching towards my shoulder. I laughed and pulled Sky off of me and into Amelia’s arms.
“I’m starting to wonder if the foxes are the only reasons you all let me come with you.” A soft chuckle escaped my lips. A breeze rustled my clothes and long red hair, it was down to my shoulders and I was starting to consider putting it into a ponytail. It was just too much hassle to cut so frequently.
“Wha, that's just crazy. Adrien wouldn’t let that be the only reason.” Amelia giggled as she squished Sky. Sky yipped in consternation, looking at me with pleading eyes.
“Somehow I believe it even less now.”
“Lios, can you come here?” Adrien called over his shoulder at me.
I left Sky and Luka with their captors, ignoring the whimpery wines escaping their toothy maws. Trotting up to the older man I slowed when I was just behind him
“Good, now, what are your skills?” His tone made it known that he would not accept me skirting the question. I would try anyway.
“I’d rather not say. With all respect I’ve only just met you all,” I said from his side. My eyes flickered to him, his expression was hidden however. My chest tightened, thinking the worst, that they wouldn’t let me travel with them.
“Hmm... True, you’ve only just met us but if you’re gonna take on small jobs we need to know what you can actually handle. For instance, can you communicate with the foxes? What does your bond with them allow? If you can communicate with them even a little we can trust you to track down monsters, if they can fight we would know you can handle more than if you're on your own.” He walked with a casual grace. His gait was slowed to accommodate me, though I could tell he wasn’t upset by the leisure he was being forced to move.
“Okay, I’ll tell you what I'm comfortable with.” Despite them being behind me I knew the others were raptly listening. Liana and Elric had stopped their quiet bickering over Elric helping Luka devour an innocent cute little bunny. “First, my pact skill hasn't evolved just yet, I only have [Fox Friend]. I’m level forty eight in my class which is a variant of a swordsman class.”
“You’re only level forty eight? Where did you get the skills to make that sword?”Mild disbelief laced Adriens words, [Intuition] elucidated.
“Yessir, and as for my smithing skills, those are all general skills. Well, evolved general skills, but general skills all the same.” A sense of pride flitted through me, my cheeks roseying and chin lifting.
“Wait, you don't have a pact skill? What about these guys?” Amelia shoved Sky in my direction who took the moment to kick off of her captor and land upon the ground in a puff of dust. She glanced back at Amelia as though she were taunting the woman.
“I’ve just had them since they were kits, I do have a fox raising skill but that's it.” Sky stayed by my side as we continued to walk, though I was walking backwards to talk with Amelia.
“And yer other skills? Lios, I assure you we won't bring harm to you if that's yer concern. I know there’s plenty o’ bad folks in this business but we aren't, we just wan’ to make sure yer safe. And us by proxy.” Adrien seemed genuine but I had been told by my father not to trust people easily with the information. Especially after I had gotten a seemingly rare or even lost class.
I chewed my lip in silence for a bit, tuning them out as they started to chit chat. I listened to snippets but after a few minutes I activated my [Meditation] so I could think without interruption. On one hand, I'll probably be with them for at least half a year, probably more if they're not going directly to a major city... But on the other, the more they know about my class the more they’ll be able to counter me should I need to fight them. I pondered for a bit before realizing that they were so much higher level than me that it was unlikely that knowing my skills would give them even more advantage. But I won't always be level fifty... Maybe I can get them to share some info too?
“... Kinnesville seems to have a hefty number, any that suit our young friend?” Elric's voice struck me as I pulled away from my thoughts.
“Aye, there’s two he coul’ probly handle. Dependin on his skills o’ course.” I caught a sideways glance from Adrien. “When he and I sparred I coulda sworn he were at leas’ level fifty five but ye said yer, what, forty eight?”
“Yeah. Level forty eight. My class is [Bladedancer]. It's a combination of swordsman and wizardry. That's the most I feel comfortable saying right now.” Luka and Sky were both absent. I was about to call them but saw the shrubbery move not too far ahead and figured they were both hunting. “I plan to take a smithing class for my second, with a focus on runeforging.”
“Wait, so you really made that sword your teacher gave you?” Liana stepped up glancing down at my hip where the sword was secured.
“Sure did, but he made me step back so I could get some rest near the end.” I paused in my steps for a moment to draw the blade, gingerly holding the sharp sword. “He finished the handle but I made the blade and the hilt.”
“Isn’t runeforging a dwarvish technique? How’d you learn it?” Elric piped up and stepped to my side to look at the sword more closely.
“Self taught. It took a long while though.” I held the sword out to him, pommel first.
He took it and looked closely, then glanced back at me. “Pretty good quality. What is the pattern? I don’t see any runes or sigils anywhere, but I can feel its magic.”
“Trade secrets, I'm afraid. So, what were the two jobs you mentioned?” I took the sword back as it was offered then fed it my mana. The longsword shifted into a falchion then a rapier, the excess metal forming a crossguard over my hand.
“Ooh, fancy fancy. And can’t tell ya till we get to town. No point worryin over it ‘til we can make sure you c’n handle it, right Lios?” Adrien grinned at me. It was disconcerting how white his teeth were in this place without toothpaste. Another thing to add to things I missed, hygienic products. There wasn’t even deodorant.
“Hmmph, fine then keep your secrets bossman!” I spouted teasingly, knowing I was keeping a fair amount from them.
We walked like that for a while, idly conversing. It was easy to get along with them, and they already seemed pretty tight knit. When we settled for dark I felt much more comfortable than when we had left, though I still wasn’t ready to divulge anything too deeply. I was setting up my tent when Ameliastarted to hover behind me, hers and Liana’s already put up.
“So, who was that cutiepie that gave you the necklace? Your betrothed?” Her voice was sweet and teasy. She stood uncomfortably close as I secured the last stake.
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Blood rushed to my face, it wasn’t the first time we had been accused of being together but I only saw Maya as a sister. Perhaps when we were both older that could change but I couldn’t even see her romantically even with my being in my teens. Some things, thankfully, never changed. “No, nothing like that. She’s just a friend.”
“Does she know that?” Now that the tent was set she stepped in front of me, a playful smirk on her crimson lips and eyes twinkling with mischief. Her crossed arms did not help whatever attraction I had for her as her chest was squeezed and pushed up a bit.
A bit of me had to force my eyes to stay on her face, the blush warming up. She definitely noticed as her smirk shifted knowingly. “No, I don't think she does... Think I shoulda been clearer?”
“A woman's heart is a fickle thing. If you were hoping she’d stop pursuing you just cuz you went off on an adventure I bet you'll be wrong. The second stories of you reach your lil town she’ll be jumpin for any chance to lock you down.” She uncrossed her arms and jumped in time for when she said it, amusement flashing over her face.
“Amelia, stop teasing the damn boy, I can see his blush from here!” Liana called out from the freshly lit fire.
“Thanks, Liana, appreciate you calling me out.” I laughed and turned towards her. I tossed my pack into my tent and laid out my bed roll, after which I came back out and saw Amelia was still standing there.
“I’m being so for real though, you should have probably been more direct instead of having her put that necklace on you or kissing her forehead. She wont stop thinking about you for years at least.” Amelia turned around and walked towards the fire and I trailed behind her. Luka and Sky were both already laying near it.
“Lios, sorry to divert the conversation, but how did you cast your spells? I didn’t see any verbal components. Incantations are the most common way for battlemages to cast, inscriptions an sigils take too long for combat. So, how’d you do it?” Liana seemingly forgot she just called me out, but I was petty.
“Hmm. I tell you what if you guess it I’ll tell ya, but only one guess a day.” My head tilted as I waited for an agreement.
“Hmm... fine. For today then, do you have prewritten spell circles?” I could tell she was thinking about it so I waited a moment before answering. “That’s wrong isn't it?”
“It is, sorry but guess you gotta wait for tomorrow.”
Adrien and Elric had gone out as soon as their tent was erected to find something to hunt and eat. I didn’t expect them back for a bit and wondered if I should get my foxes to hunt for supper too. I looked at them sleepily curled up by the fire and thought it best not to bother them, they didn't often move as much as they did today.
Instead, I stepped to the outside of the camp and pulled out my notebook with the rune circle for my latest experiment. I had several pages filled with different attempts or ideas for the same spell, where some runes were incompatible with others and resulted in the spell misfiring. This time, the spell worked on paper; it was only a matter of translating that to a sword dance, a kata. I set the series of runes to memory before drawing my sword. I thought about the name and shifted the blade to that of a saber, pulling it from its default longsword shape. I shifted it into the shape of a jian style chinese sword. I started my dance slowly, beginning with the first circle of Lexico runes, which took less than a few seconds. As I grew more confident and capable the time reduced significantly per dance.
I moved on quickly, to the much much more difficult circle. Because five runes were from the Lexico language, I still had twenty to go in order to finish the spell circle. Runes were mathematical, growing in size rapidly. The first, or inner circle, consisted of five runes, always. The next was twenty, the following would be one hundred. The size of each spell was always an exponent of five. I didn’t foresee myself ever using anything larger than a third circle, it didn't seem feasible to attempt a six hundred or larger rune circle during a combat scenario.
Eyes were on me as I twirled and slashed out, practicing both my sword technique and my runedance. I slowed significantly as I reached the portion of Frith runes, as they were less familiar to me individually than the bevvy of runes I typically used for my basic dances. The much more complex runes sang around me, tickling my [mana sense] even as I neglected to activate my [RuneSight]. I sighed, satisfied as I approached the end of the dance after around forty seconds, hesitating to activate the runes. I deactivated it, dispelling the runes and lamenting the waste of mana. Then I tried it again.
And again.
I repeated the dance for a while, halfway through I began to meditate as I practiced, slowing my movements quite a bit but allowing me to regenerate mana quicker.
After a while I nervously sighed. I was ready to try it out, confident that the runes were perfect. It worked on paper, but there was no telling how badly it could hurt me if I failed it. Before activating it I glanced at the camp, seeing four sets of eyes on me.
“Anyone have any healing magic? And if I do something super loud, is that okay?” I called out before I noticed the massive boar roasting over the fire. Adrien had a piece in his mouth as he walked towards me frowning.
“Healin magic, what fer?”
“This is a new spell... not sure how it’ll go.”
Liana’s eyes lit up, I don’t think she had realized I was practicing my spells. “I have a basic healing spell, it's a ritual though so don't do anything that will kill you before I can cast it. Takes around a minute for me to chant it.”
“Got it, Adrien, you may wish to step back.” He had gotten close to me, seemingly curious as he looked about for a sign of my spell. I noticed he glanced at the ground, at my feet, and frowned. The runes were still scattered, but my mana faintly shimmered to those who were looking for it.
He stepped back a few paces then stood with arms crossed. He waved as if telling me to do it. So I did. I pulled the runes together at my feet, oriented myself towards the direction with the widest gaps between trees so that I would hopefully not run into any, and poured the remaining mana necessary into the runes. Instantly I felt the hair on my arms raise, my hair on my head poofing out like I’d just been shocked. Then I took a step forward, once I felt the mana take hold and the runes finish activating, and I shot ahead. As soon as I stopped, just before a tree, a lightning bolt came down at me. Well, at my conductive sword. It was far too fast for me to dodge as it struck, my arm immediately going numb before I let out a shocked cry. My legs convulsed, heart felt as though it were being crushed. I felt a litany of tears roll down my cheeks and almost fell to the ground, the smell of seared flesh wafting into the air.
I fell to my knee, using a hand to brace myself as I finally took a deep pained breath. It wheezed out of me and I coughed before standing again, panting. The world around me was deafened but as I turned I could see everyone talking emphatically, Liana rushing towards me. She was saying something, her hands outstretched, and I realized she was casting a healing spell. I waited a few moments before a shimmer of golden light swarmed me, covering me.
Being healed was a strange, itchy feeling. My torn muscles and burnt flesh started to stitch itself back together. There was a loud POP in my ears before I could hear everyone. They had stopped chatting and only looked at me with concern. I reached back and itched the back of my head sheepishly. “Well, that wasn’t meant to happen...”
“You don’t say.” Liana patted my arm as if to make sure I was okay, there was a sheen of sweat on her face.
“Thanks for healing me Liana, would have really sucked if that was the end of my great adventure.”
She slapped me upside the head. “Here I thought you might get, like, a scratch or two. You just got struck by lightning, what was supposed to happen?” Her frown made me take a half step back out of guilt.
“Oh uhm...” I pulled out my notebook to see where I went wrong, referencing my compendium. “I was supposed to summon a thunder wave behind me... Ah here it is... I used the ‘bolt’ rune by accident. Oops.”
The runes weren’t extremely similar but it seemed that when I was writing the spell initially my mind had associated ‘thunder’ with ‘bolt’ and had naturally made such a mistake. I was generally fairly meticulous so I was quite disappointed with the mistake, especially because if I were on my own I could very well have died.
“Oops? Kid, ya know how close you were ta dying?” Adrien glowered at me. He stepped up and grabbed at my collar. “I can see how much damage my allies take and you were very very close to the edge.”
“Sorry. Truly, I wasn’t expecting that either. I was trying to make a new spell, mixed up some runes.” I couldn’t look him in the eyes. The taller man scoffed and pulled away. I knew i had fucked up, but I also know he was exaggerating the damage. I wasn’t strong enough to deal that much damage in a single spell. My spells had their strengths, of course, but at worst I would have been unconscious for a day or so.
“Make sure to do better next time. We can’t have you exhausting our wizard every night, that spell took a lot out of her.” He walked back to the fire, I could tell he was furious so I didn’t speak up again. I glanced over to where Liana was standing as Amelia stepped up to me, both foxes in her arms struggling.
“Sorry for the strain I put on you, Miss Liana.” I bowed to her as Amelia let the foxes down who immediately began to frantically sniff all around me, checking that I was fine.
“Don’t mind Adrien, it wasn’t overly difficult, just tiring. He was right, you did much damage to yourself.” She gave me a calming smile. “Though he may have exaggerated a touch. You weren’t that close to dying, so don’t worry too much.”
I offered her a shoulder to lean on as we made our way back to the camp. Luka and Sky, seemingly satisfied that I was safe, returned to their spots by the fire. I could feel someone looking at me heavily, I turned expecting Adrien but instead found Elric watching me impassively. Adrien cut off a large slab of greasy roasted boar and slapped it in my hands as soon as I sat on the ground.
“Eat, your body needs sustenance to heal from a lightning strike.” He was still glowering but seemed in a decent enough mood that he could still care for me.
I didn’t complain, I hadn’t realized how hungry I had gotten. I glanced down at my clothes, making sure they weren’t too damaged as the self repair enchantments started to take effect. The clothes still looked burned in places but I could see it stitching itself back together.
“Did your mother make your clothes? They look meager but the enchantments are very nice.” Liana said from my side. She had procured a stump, or perhaps one of the others had.
“I made them, actually. If we can come across something I can make fabric from I’d be happy to make some for you all as well.My parents gave me a portable loom before I left.” Grease dripped down my chin and Luka attempted to assault me and lick it off. Falling to my back I held the hunk of meat aloft while he smothered my face with gluttonous and worried licks. Sky jumped to steal my food but I waved it away from her, laughing a touch. Despite the tension from my near death experience, the others aside from Adrien were starting to light up again at our antics.
“How many days travel is it to the next town?” I asked after finally getting back up, I tore a piece of meat off for each fox.
“Nine more to Kinnesville. We’ll stay there fer a few days. Do a couple quests fer the town.” Adrien glanced back at me, then sighed heavily. “Sorry, I overreacted. But seriously, that was scary. Don’t do it again.”
“It’s the nature of spellcraft, I’m afraid. You’ve seen me blow my throat out chanting before, what Lios did wasn’t much different.” Liana sprang to my defense.
“But ye had a much higher level when ye went the wizardry route, Lios is fifteen and doesn’t have the vitality or endurance to survive some catastrophic spell failure like you do.” Adrien looked me over. “Tomorrow we’re gonna help ‘im get to level fifty. Mayhap if he ‘as an extra class he won’t hurt so bad when he messes up again.”
I got up and cut another piece from the boar, not holding back for any politeness as I fed a bit to my companions before devouring it. Everyone fell into a mildly tense silence, even Amelia wasn’t teasing me. After a bit I asked about keeping watch and was told not to worry about it so I went to bed. I meditated for a fair while and used candlelight to rewrite my spell, I’d give it another go on the morrow.