9.

Ashe and Florian stood in the fields just as they had the previous day. Ashe's body had still been in pain. She cast and the plants grew. Florian had helped some of the villagers cultivate the Khalt. Once Florian had been close enough Ashe spoke up.

"You didn't say anything dumb to Alaric, right?"

Florian shook his head. "At first, I was angry when he struck you down the first time. But once I saw you try so hard to beat him. I felt that if he had shown you mercy, that would have been disrespectful." "I wouldn't have known what to do if I was in his shoes."

Ashe chuckled. "You would've done the same." "Alaric is strong, he might not have the brute strength of that Jugz guy but he sees the battle differently to you and me."

"What do you mean by that?" Florian asked.

"It is hard to explain. It is like he rigs the battle from the start." "He left the tavern earlier last night to draw the rune onto the road. He knew I had to grab my spear."

"He cheated?"

Ashe shook her head. "No, he just planned better. I think we can get stronger if we begin to think like he does when we battle."

"I don't think that is what you want to do." Another voice popped up.

Alaric walked between the fields holding buckets filled with water. A few women stood behind him with their buckets.

"Do not try to fight like me," Alaric said once again as he sprinkled some water over the plants.

"Why not?" Ashe asked.

"My way of fighting has its weaknesses as well." "Take Florian's fight for example. I wouldn't have fared any better than Florian had against Jugz."

"You could use your barriers to block his attacks though." Florian brought it up.

Alaric shook a finger at Florian. "I can't block everything. If the attack is powerful, it takes a large toll on my body. I get extremely fatigued if I constantly erect barriers as well. And I cannot move when I cast a barrier." "There are many weaknesses that I have, the best way to improve is to adapt to your weaknesses."

"Great, this is turning into another lecture," Florian said.

Alaric chuckled. "My point being, that you should use your strengths to the best of your abilities. That means Ashe, continue using your ever-impressive athleticness. And Florian, use your quick wits. Only when you do this well, will you overwhelm your opponents."

"Where did you learn all this?" Ashe asked.

"I read it in a book I found in Priest Able's room."

"Maybe we should've read more." Ashe laughed.

Florian shuddered at the thought.

The trio laughed as they continued to work.

The twins' light was dissipating as the trio got back to the village. Florian had helped Ashe walk. The village was different this evening. Wooden tables stood spread out on the road. The people of Nezzagwyn looked incredibly busy but they had smiles on their faces.

"What is happening?" Ashe asked.

Alaric spotted Miss Thea and went up to her.

"Oh, Master Alaric. You are early, we are still preparing." Miss Thea bowed.

"Preparing what exactly?" He asked.

"A feast."

"A feast for what?"

"For our three masters."

"Why?" Ashe asked.

"There is a tradition amongst the Gwyn people, whenever a prosperous time ends we celebrate with a feast." Miss Thea explained.

"That cannot be good for the state of the village, Miss Thea. We do not need a feast." Alaric argued.

"This cannot be argued against, Master Alaric. Everyone in the village agreed to the feast. We are thankful for the hope you continue to give us each passing day."

Alaric looked to argue further but Ashe stopped him.

"Some things do not have to be explained by logic but rather from the heart. And these people wish to share their heart with us." Ashe said.

Alaric reluctantly nodded.

Miss Thea led the trio to a table and brought three wooden mugs. Ashe drank it but almost spit it out. It had been bitter.

"What Is this?" She asked. She stared at the dark yellow liquid.

"This is Adhu Aqua Ale. I have kept it for special occasions. Is it not to your liking, dear Ashe." Miss Thea asked.

Ashe shook her head.

Alaric and Florian seemed to enjoy the drink.

"This is a fascinating drink, Miss Thea," Alaric said as Florian agreed with him.

"I can't drink this, it tastes terrible," Ashe said.

Miss Thea bowed. "I apologise, I shall bring another beverage shortly."

Once everything had been set up, the townsfolk joined the trio. The feast had not been very large but the atmosphere oozed joy. People had been dancing and people had been laughing.

Ashe smiled as she watched her brothers. Florian had way too much ale and had been swaying as he tried to dance with the folk. She watched as Alaric downed another ale but looked as stern as ever. The celebration was halted as a voice exclaimed.

"What is the meaning of this?" A woman stood on the road looking at the feast. Her hair had been cut short, and she had a rugged look to her. Her clothes had been torn in places. She held a blade in her left hand. She walked up to Florian with her blade pointed at him. Alaric stepped between them.

“What did you, casters, do to my village?” She asked.

“We have done nothing. You are the one pointing the blade.” Alaric replied, his voice did not have the sharp edge as it normally did.

The woman swung her sword at Alaric. Her sword bounced off Alaric's yellow barrier as he swiftly cast.

“Thorin! Stop that right now!” A voice called.

The woman, named Thorin, paused.

Miss Thea slowly walked up to her.

“You cannot harm these people.” Miss Thea said.

“But grandma, they are casters. How can you feast while they are here.” “Did you forget what they did to us? Us mysurs.”

Miss Thea shook her head.

“Master Alaric and his friends are not like the rest of them.” “They helped us greatly.”

Thorin was shocked. “This can’t be! They are manipulating you. They have to be!”

Alaric put a firm hand on Miss Thea’s shoulder. “It seems our time here has run out. We shall retire for the night. We wouldn’t want to cause trouble.”

Thorin held her blade towards Alaric the entire time. Alaric helped Florian walk as he gestured for Ashe to follow. They went into the tavern.

“What was that all about?” Ashe asked.

“She is a brave mysur. It takes a lot of courage to stand up against a caster.” Alaric answered.

“Why didn’t you stand up for yourself?”

Alaric rubbed at the stubble on his chin. “Nothing I explain would put her at ease. More trouble would’ve brewed had I opened my mouth.”

Florian had passed out immediately as Alaric carried him to his bedroll. Miss Thea entered the tavern later, standing with her had been Thorin.

Miss Thea bowed. “I apologise for the happenings this evening, Master Alaric.”

Thorin scowled at Alaric.

“It had been no bother to us. We quite enjoyed the feast but it had grown late and we were going to retire regardless.” Alaric stated as he smiled.

“Don’t let my grandma fool you, I do not trust people like you,” Thorin said.

Alaric chuckled. “That is something we have in common.” “Now if you will excuse us, we will like to rest for the night.”

“Very well, Master Alaric.”

Thorin glared at Alaric as she left with her grandmother.

“Won’t she try and…kill us while we sleep,” Ashe asked.

Alaric shook his head. “She might be brave but let’s hope she is not stupid.”

Thorin stood staring at fields outside Nezzargwyn. Orange vegetables stood proudly in the early light.

“How?” Thorin asked.

“This is only a portion of what they had done for us.” Miss Thea said. Thea revealed a pouch filled with sentz.

“Why would they do this?”

Thea smiled. “I think they are just good people sent to us by Heinzidal's grace.”

“Casters are not good people. They took papa.” Thorin said.

Thea placed a reassuring hand on Thorin's shoulder. “Master Alaric is journeying to Isern to attempt to free our people.” “Why don't you travel alongside them? It is much safer than having you here, antagonising Lord Chapman's forces.”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Thorin scowled. “Why do you trust this Master Alaric so much?”

“He has a good head on his shoulders.” “You could learn a thing or two from him.”

Thorin sighed. “You are too trusting.”

Thea chuckled. “It is a far easier way to live.” “Come on, let's go home."

Thea walked back to town followed by Thorin.

Alaric, Florian and Ashe stood in front of the tavern.

“Miss Thea, you have returned. We did not want to leave without bidding you farewell.” Florian said.

Thorin glared at Florian.

“Thank you for allowing us into your home,” Alaric said as he bowed.

Thea shook her head. “It has been my pleasure, masters.” “Travel safely and return to visit us in the future.”

“We will definitely return and have a feast once again,” Ashe said excitedly.

The trio waved their goodbyes and took off onto the gravel road. A voice called out behind them.

“Are you headed to Isern?” Thorin asked.

Alaric turned around to face her. “That is part of the plan.”

“I am familiar with these parts, I can guide you there.”

Alaric shrugged. “Are you sure you want to travel with casters?”

Thorin scoffed. “I have to determine if you all are serious about facing Chapman.”

Ashe smiled at her. “Just join us!”

Thorin said farewell to her grandma and joined the trio along the road.

The quartet left the village.

“Did you not bring anything along?” Florian asked.

Thorin did not answer. Her face had been in a permanent scowl.

The group walked along the banks of the Gwyn river.

“Do you know anything particular about Chapman?” Ashe asked Thorin.

Once again she didn't answer.

Alaric chuckled. “A helpful guide indeed.”

Thorin sighed. “I have never met Chapman myself, all I know about him is that he is a good friend of King Godric.” She spoke dismissively.

“That makes our mission even more difficult,” Alaric said.

“It is the reason he gets away with what he does. Not even Great Lord Ivo bothers to intervene.”

“Great Lord Ivo?” Florian asked.

Thorin stared at him with confusion.

“What? Is he someone I should know?” Florian asked.

Alaric flinched at the mention of the name.

“Sorry about him. We are from a land far from here.” Alaric interrupted.

“Great Lord Ivo the Eyes, ruler of the Great City of Adhu Aqua. These are his lands.” Thorin explained. “Anyone who resides on Hominus should know this.”

Florian scratched the back of his head. “Let's say I haven't paid enough attention.”

“How many Great Lords are there?” Ashe asked.

“There are five Great Lords, each ruling over a Great City,” Alaric explained further.

“Who rules over Meinspir?” Florian answered.

Thorin gave him a weird look causing Alaric to chuckle.

“Meinspir is the capital city of the Zidal Empire. It is where the King resides.” Alaric explained.

“What kind of casters does not know this?” Thorin asked.

The trio did not know how to answer the question.

Thorin shook her head.

As dusk arrived the quartet still walked along the banks of the river.

“There should be villages around here, right? Shouldn't we find a place to stay?” Florian asked.

“No, we have to spare our sentz. We might have to use it later. We will sleep outside tonight.” Alaric answered.

Florian grumbled.

“Look there is someone there!” Ashe exclaimed while pointing at a figure sitting on the ground in the distance.

Thorin immediately dashed to the figure. Alaric gestured for the rest to follow her. The figure had been a young boy. The boy had been conscious. He had worn similar ragged clothes like Thorin.

“What happened to you?” Thorin asked. Her tone had been much more relaxed when she spoke to the boy.

As the boy tried to speak, black symbols appeared around his mouth. The boy looked as if had been struggling to speak.

Thorin patted the boy on the cheek. “Shhh, don't speak. It will be fine. I know you are scared but you have to go back to your village.”

The boy froze before he nodded. The boy got up and stared at the rest of the group before taking off in the opposite direction.

“Did Heinzidal Text form around that child's mouth?” Alaric asked.

Thorin nodded. “He is afflicted with the Versus Curse.” She spoke again with a hostile tone.

“Like the Mountains of Versus?” Ashe asked.

Thorin did not respond.

“Those who set foot within the cursed mountain range shall never return the same man. Or so the old tale goes.” Alaric stated solemnly. “The old history stated that Versus was a haven for those who lived prior to Heinzidal's death. Some old scripts believe that the curse was brought to the land as a cost for Heinzidal's ultimate sacrifice.” Alaric looked at the sky. “Why don't we rest here for the night.”

After collecting some kindle for a fire. Ashe and Florian unfurled their bedrolls and sat on them. Alaric offered his bedroll to Thorin, who swiftly shut him down.

“Us mysurs are used to sleeping on the ground,” Thorin said offhandedly.

Alaric rolled his eyes. “That may be true but I don't think I would be able to sleep knowing a woman is sleeping on the ground while I sleep comfortably.”

Thorin still refused to take the bedroll.

“Think of it as payment. Tell us everything you know about the Versus Curse.” Alaric said.

Thorin sighed and grabbed the bedroll.

The quartet sat around the fire as Thorin began to explain.

“Recently there has been more and more people appearing who have this curse. Most of their families claim that they have never set foot in those mountains.”

“How does the curse affect you?” Ashe asked.

“As we witnessed earlier, it takes away your ability to speak,” Thorin said.

“Is there a reason for the sudden increase of the curse?” Florian asked.

“I...am not sure. Some state that there is a hooded man who comes out at night and passes on the curse.”

“That would make the Versus curse more of a cast than a curse,” Alaric stated.

“Yes, but that is just hearsay.” “Those who have been cursed are treated as outcasts, for people who reside along The Gwyn believe that entry into the mountains is forbidden.”

The fire crackled as she spoke.

“Why don't we just head into the mountains?” Florian asked.

Thorin almost burst out with laughter.

“The risk is too high. If the two of you are cursed, you won't be able to cast ever again.” Alaric said. “For once I am curious as well, but we cannot go.”

“What about if we caught the culprit?” Ashe asked.

“That is a possibility however we have a mission right now.” “We can't afford to stop anytime people require help,” Alaric stated.

They are strange casters.

The night passed silently.

A few days passed without any issues. One night, Florian woke them up when he heard sounds. Alaric stomped out the fire. They could hear a person yelling in a language none of them could understand. Alaric suggested they follow the origin of the sound. The quartet walked quietly through the trees that surrounded them. The sound led them to two figures. One was a young woman who had her back faced to a rock and the other had been a hooded figure. The figure's robe had an interesting design, it looked like a patchwork of many different materials. The figure began chanting.

“He is a caster.” Thorin heard someone say. Suddenly black symbols appeared on the woman's face. Thorin grabbed her blade and was about to charge at the hooded figure when Alaric grabbed her.

“Let go of me,” Thorin whispered.

“I will if you listen closely,” Alaric whispered.

Thorin attempted to break free of his hold but once she couldn’t she gave in.

“You distract the hooded guy, while we ambush him from the other side. Got it?” Alaric stated.

Thorin scowled but nodded. Why would I listen to you?

“Don't aim to kill, we want whoever is under there alive,” Alaric whispered as he sneaked away.

Thorin waited for the rest to get a decent distance away before she revealed herself to the figure.

"What did you do to her?" Thorin yelled.

The figure mumbled something.

"What are you mumbling for?" "Don't be a coward and show yourself!"

The figure was about to run when Alaric appeared behind and grabbed the figure in a chokehold. The person struggled for a while before eventually falling unconscious.

Alaric took off the figure's hood. It revealed a middle-aged man. The man had been bald, replacing his hair with many black symbols.

"We need a way to constrain him," Alaric said.

Ashe held the man's hands close together and cast. Pale yellow light appeared along the man's wrists binding them together. She has done the same to the man's ankles.

"This should hold for now," Ashe said.

Thorin immediately ran to the woman who was now sitting against the rock looking terrified. The woman tried to speak but the black symbols prevented her.

"Gesture if you know this man," Thorin said while pointing at the bald man.

The woman shook her head.

After handing the man over to Florian, Alaric joined Thorin. He pulled out his Rixa amulet and placed it against the woman's face.

Nothing occurred. Alaric cursed.

"What is that?" Thorin asked.

"It is an amulet that can absorb stria. But it seems it cannot undo this curse." Alaric answered as he hid the amulet.

Alaric whispered to the woman. "Show us to your home, we will make sure you get there safely."

The woman, who had been crying, nodded.

Thorin watched as Alaric carried the woman on his back as she pointed when he should go.

There is something different about them.

They had returned the woman to her family and returned to the campsite. Her family seemed to be acquainted with Thorin.

"Have you ever seen anyone that looks like this, Thorin?" Alaric asked, pointing at the captive.

Thorin shook her head. "This is the first time I have seen such a man. That robe too is not like any of the other caster robes."

"I guess we will only get answers once he regains consciousness," Alaric said.

The quartet fell silent as they watched the fire.

"What is the deal with you three? You are not regular casters." Thorin asked.

The trio did not say anything.

Alaric sighed, he then revealed his Rixa amulet.

"Is it okay to tell her?" Florian asked.

"She will be travelling with us, it is better to get this out now before she finds out later," Alaric said. "We are not casters. All three of us are mysurs just like you."

Thorin paused.

"The ability to cast comes from this amulet," Alaric explained.

Thorin grabbed her blade before scurrying backwards.

"I have been travelling with Scaev, this whole time. You disgusting pigs." Thorin exclaimed.

"What is Scaev?" Ashe asked

"Those are Rixa amulets. You aren't going to convince me to join your ranks." Thorin said. She sounded scared.

"Calm down! We have no idea what you are talking about. What is a Scaev?" Alaric asked.

Thorin had been conflicted at the questions. How do they not know?

Thorin then slowly made a way back to the campsite. "Are you telling me the truth? You do not know about the Scaev?"

The trio shook their heads.

Thorin sighed. "The Scaev is a group of heretics both caster and mysur alike. They worship the Nixum and believe the realm should have ended when the Nixum invaded.

I am no expert on the subject, but I have been told to never associate myself with a Scaev. Scaev's are known to wear an amulet that gives them power. An amulet that is created using the blood of hundreds of Heinzidal's offspring." "I ask where did you get those amulets?"

"Our guardian gave us the amulets..." Alaric said.

"Then the-" Florian had been interrupted by Ashe.

"There is no way. Not Priest Able."

Alaric was about to speak when they heard some rustling. The bald man had woken up and attempted to break free of his restraints.

"We speak about this later, first we deal with him," Alaric said.

Alaric kneeled before the man who glared at him.

"What is your name?" Alaric asked.

The man yelled in a foreign language before spitting in Alaric's face. Alaric wiped the spit off his face and turned to Thorin. "You recognise the language?"

"No, I haven't heard anything like it before." She answered.

Alaric turned back to the man. "Where did you come from?"

The man continued yelling in another language.

"We are not going to get anywhere if we can't understand him," Florian said.

Alaric watched Ashe as she seemed down.

The man yelled continuously for hours while trying desperately to break free. The group was silent until they heard a word they understood in their language.

Versus.

"He said 'Versus'. Right?" Florian asked. Thorin nodded.

"This might be a wild idea but I think we should go to the cursed mountains," Alaric suggested.

"No-no-no. There is no way I will ever set foot there." Thorin said.

"I agree with her, Alaric. Like you said a few days ago, the risk is just too high." Florian said.

"We cannot keep this guy with us the entire way and we do not know if there are more people like him out there. The only thing we know is that he is related somehow to the mountains of Versus." Alaric explained.

"Why don't we just kill him?" Thorin asked.

"No!" Alaric exclaimed. "We are not savages." Alaric shakily rubbed his right hand.

The group looked at Alaric with confusion.

"I mean...maybe there are still some things we can fish out of him," Alaric said. "For now let's just get some rest."