Along the Southern Shore of Jaga Lake – Year 1344, Pax, 16th

Olea Munroe

“Olea… Olea… Wake up!” came a shrill voice, echoing through my mind.

“I’m awake!” was my first response as I groaned and moved to sit upright.

“You’ve been staring into the middle distance for hours; not blinking, moving, or speaking. That’s not normal…”

“I was not!” Surely, I was not some zombie. If the statement of the event was indeed true, I am sure I would have known of it, or at least have had a very good reason for doing so.

Where was I, though? I could hear the bird calls from overhead, not just the one obvious raven. I needed to get a name for him, or did he have one already? Who knows? The ground around me was cast in shadow and I was leaning back against a tree. From the orientation of my perch, it could very well be said that I may have been staring off to the north-east. Not doubt I had fallen asleep; it was quite a warm day for early spring. The slow steady breeze flowed up the shore from the lake to bring the smell of loamy water and that almost tangible smell of fish you get in particularly natural settings. I was thankful it did not reek of old bilge water and the fetid smell of ship waste.

“Okay, okay. Hey Birdbrain, how long have I been out here?” I may have successfully hidden some of the turmoil I could feel welling up in my heart. I did not like being confused or lost; I was starting to feel like I’d been drugged and possibly used for nefarious purposes after a very long night spent with dubious people. Whether voluntarily or not is not important here. I hated being so befuddled. Yes, befuddled.

“Days? Yeah, at least a few days.” Came the quick response, though I was picking up a slight confusion coming from the bird. Was this a sign that our spiritual bond was getting stronger, and what did that mean? How strong would the connection grow, I wasn’t sure I’d like the bird to sense it every time I was doing things best left to the privacy of my own privy. Alone time is needed for proper mental stability after all.

The comment about days out here was more troubling. I remember John asking if I could make the rest of the trip myself once we came within view of town. He was reluctant to leave me alone, but I could tell that he was more reluctant to enter the city. I did ask why he said that unsure of whether he had a slightly shady reputation among the city folk as he called them. His response was more of the typical hermit variety, too many people, too much noise, and far too many curious questions about where he was. Basically, he was hinting at avoiding the very same treatment I had been giving him during the day of travel we shared.

How long ago was that? “What day is it…” I muttered even as I called up the information.

Month of Pax, the 16th Year 1344.

“Well shit.” It had been almost five days since I had left John’s company, what the hell had I been doing.

A sense of vertigo and unease started to creep up from my subconscious mind as I thought more about my lost time.

“Help-chan? Got a minute?” Surely my faithful friend could assist me in finding my lost memory.

Minutes passed as I stared dumbly ahead, waiting for some mental nudge or knock from my ever-present friend.

“Help-chan? This is becoming less funny.” I had been ignored for small moments before, but I had never been outright unanswered for so long when I had a genuine concern. I mean there was that time when I could not get an answer on what flavor candy was better and I know it was a particularly major decision as I had spent a full silver mark for the small bag of sweets. I could also see where it was not especially important and could have seemed slightly inane to my timeless passenger. Still, this seemed different. I could sense him-them-she-it somewhere in the back of my own mind, floating ever-ready to be helpful in more important tasks, or even when keeping me on task.

Now, it was just empty. There was a void where once there was a helpful friend.

“Hey, you! Have you spoken to help-chan?”

There was a small moment of hesitation in my feathered friend’s flight, like a stutter stop where he forgot to beat his wings before righting himself.

“Are you okay, Olea?

“What do you mean, am I okay? I wouldn’t be asking you if I was okay and had any idea where help-chan was. I’d be asking them!” I was shouting now, though I wasn’t sure why as I think most of this conversation had been occurring inside my own mind, possibly using the Forum skill subconsciously.

Several birds took to the air from the tree above me as my shout seemed to echo out across the water. That was weird, I did not think echoes could carry across bodies of water.

“You asked the same question yesterday, and the day before that. You also had the same attempt at snark, give or take a word or two.”

I did not recall that at all. Either my new companion was having quite the fanciful fit of imaginative angst I had ever experienced, or I was in a bad way.

How did one account for their own sanity when all outside observers commented on your lack or loss of mental faculties? How could one prove them untrue without the input from multiple sources, or at least without the ability to recall any information to the contrary in that same span of time? I was never one for existential dives and rabbit holing myself into a bout of paranoia, but this was just not adding up in my head. I couldn’t even remember how I had gotten to where I was right now.

“Screw this.” I slowly rose from my near-seated position at the base of the tree, it was time for me to head home, or back to South Jaga at any rate. I had said before that it was my home now, but for some reason it seemed a more distant claim now. Did I really belong here, was my presence even appreciated? Sure, I had people in the city who seemed to enjoy my company and even people like Mister and Missus Baker who would smile and wave whenever they caught sight of me, I didn’t think it was only because of my large orders of bread. But was it home, I could not quite settle on a yes.

As I gained my feet, the sudden sense of vertigo returned in force, as if my commitment to moving was increasing the pressure the world put on my mind. Like standing too fast after hours of gaming and then chugging a milk shake. Yes, it’s not something normally done, but the sensations were similar. First the light-headedness as blood flow quickly resumed, feeding oxygen to my protesting musculature followed by the chill at the back of my throat that seemed to numb my mind and slow my already unsteady movement. It was not a pleasant feeling.

How long had I been sitting there? I had no idea, and that was frightening. Granted, my new companion did say I had been wandering for days so I could not, by that logic, have been sitting under that particular tree for very long.

I sent a quick query to my mental, or spiritual, Forum. “Which way back to town again?”

In response my feathered friend veered hard right squawking all the way, whether in annoyance of jubilant affirmation I did not know.

I turned on my heel and began to walk. As I thought of it, this made sense. The lake was north of me, and by putting it on my left I was now facing east, why did this not occur to me more quickly? I’d be best served if I hurried back to the somewhat safer domain of the city.

I began to cycle up some spells as I started walking, I had the mana so I should use it to expedite my trip and stay safe.

Mana: 112/112

First off, Wind Walk. I watched as my mana dropped to seventy-seven. At least I knew the mana cost for my future staple spell. I also remembered that keeping the passive active would take up a portion of my constant mana regeneration as well. I’d have to keep an eye on that, though it would have to wait for future experimentation.

Next up, Vigor. I had just awakened from a stupor induced by some means, so I did not expect the spell to benefit me much, but I was going to start working on building a foundation of spells before future expeditions into the unknown. Starting now seemed like a promising idea. I also figured that starting to think of this as a pre-travel buffing scenario gave my mind some familiar structured plan to focus on, this served to help ingrain the practice as well as giving my brain something to think of other than my growing anxiety of why the hell I was out here in the first place. With no idea of where I was, or why I was where I was.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

Mana: 67/112.

Oddly, as the spell took hold my muscles not only stopped their tingling from my returned circulation, but they seemed to relax as if they had been drawn taut from stress. I had not noticed that before.

“Argh, Focus!” I whisper-shouted to myself.

For protection I invoked my Armor spell. A shimmering shield of translucent energy wrapped itself around my body before dissipating away into a nearly invisible skin I could almost see coating my body. It went under my clothing, not sharing its protective nature with my sadly diminishing clothing supply.

Mana: 57/112.

Now that I look at myself, I was filthy. I did not quite remember the last time I had been so thoroughly covered in rust-colored grim and streaks of something else’s blood before. Was it my first job killing the rats? Probably. The bigger question, why I was covered in so much goop and crud, I had not even noticed when I had started walking. Surely the smell should have given it away, or the fact that I could hear my clothes crinkle as they moved with my steps. Ugh.

I thought to myself for a few moments before looking around, finding no one but the birds and bees I took off my shirt. I doubted anyone would see me unless a boat of fishermen happened by the trees further inland did a good job of breaking silhouettes.

I channeled my spell Create Water through my hands as I twisted and turned my shirt. I saw another ten mana drop from the tank as water flowed through the shirt forcing the ick away. It was by no means thorough, but I was happy to see what I assumed were thickly clotted clumps of blood flow freely to the ground. I channeled the spell through another cycle seeing my mana pool drop by another five points while I remembered Help-chan saying that channeling spells cost less that recasting them as the initial cost was a mix of creating the bridge from my magical body into the outside world. I dropped the shirt on the grass as I continued the spell making sure to scrub my own body with my hands as the water came into existence, it was a very odd sensation.

The water coalesced around my hands, not between my hands and the rest of my body, almost like a low-pressure shower. A very cold, low-pressure shower.

As clean as I would get without stopping, because there was no way I would stop now that I was becoming more aware of just how totally bizarre my situation had somehow become.

Not going to lie. I was a wee bit more than just a little scared. If not for the trials and tribulations of my past life, I was fairly sure I would be losing my crackers right now.

Mana: 32/112.

Last spell in mind was the newer one, meant to keep me from angry visitors, spirits, and stuff. I focused my intent and called up Protection from Evil. I felt the mana stir and begin to move, but just as suddenly and lacking all the subtlety of a spell taking shape, my mana froze. The spell failed and I was aware of my vision dimming even as I saw the ground approaching,

A Forest Clearing Somewhere West of South Jaga – Year 1344, Pax, 18th.

“Where am I?” I asked the open air as I stirred awake.

I felt odd and tired, and so very, very confused. Was I dreaming, and what was I dreaming about?

I looked around and found myself in a small clearing, surrounded by a sea of tall trees. Birds were singing far above, while the sounds of small, landed animals added into the mix filling my ears. I could see the glimmer of daylight filtering through the canopy above, very distant. The ground was hard beneath me and smelled of that old, rich, and very dark soil. The kind everyone wants in their garden.

How had I gotten here, I barely recalled leaving John for town just yesterday. I remembered John asking if Ibe okay from here once we came within view of city. He was reluctant to leave, but I could sense his reluctance to continue. I considered pressing the matter but did not to stir up bad feelings in the man who had risked his life to save me from the cows. I’m sure his inner forest-hermit motif would clash with the bustling of the small city regardless of his reasons.

Probably.

That did not answer the question bubbling in my mind about how I came to be in a forest, even if I had passed out the moment John left me, I should see a road nearby. I was within sight of the gates of South Jaga after all. There was no way I, in all my distractedness, could get so thoroughly turned about.

Turned about and lost… What to do?

I ran a few circles around inside my head, feeling out the skills and such I had at my disposal.

Stealth - Rank 1

* Pierce - Rank 1

* Sneak - Rank 1

Piety - Rank 3

* Armor – Rank 1

* Cure Wounds – Rank 2

* Detect Magic – Rank 1

* Vigor – Rank 2

* Water Breath – Rank 1

* Water Walk – Rank 2

* Wind Walk – Rank 3

* Create Food – Rank 1

* Create Water – Rank 1

* Detect Aura – Rank 1

* Dispel Magic – Rank 1

* Command – Rank 1

* Conjure Elemental Spirit – Rank 1

* Protection from Evil – Rank 1

Triumvir Soul Skills

* Vessel of Souls

* Soul Link

* Dowsing

* Forum

* Shared Senses

So… Yeah. I think I should give my soul skill a try.

I focused on the framework of the skill centered at the core of my being, deeper than my well of mana, at the heart of my very being. Or so I thought. I channeled my intent and set my mind to emphasizing my desire to be home again. Home, in South Jaga city. With my new friends and the people, I had been growing close to. Not a lengthy list but I was sure it would help.

Dowsing.

I felt a pull on my mind, a shifting of the balance and focus of my will and then I knew. I knew the direction of the city, or at least the general direction of the people and places I had thought of when thinking about the city.

“Time to go!” I said to no one in particular. I found myself walking even before putting conscious thought to standing. If my mind were distracted, my body would take over. I could not see anything wrong with that, and so I let my feet do their thing as I took in the view. At least I was heading in the right direction.

It was not long before I realized that my skill was telling me I had somehow gotten much further from the city during the preceding day or days. What time was it, anyway?

Month of Pax, the 18th Year 1344.

“What the…” This couldn’t be right. How did I lose track of time? What was going on, I did not remember passing an earth-standard week wandering about in the forest. What the hell had I been doing? I could feel anxiety building in my chest, a cold grip of pressure on my beating heart.

Calm, need to calm down. Stressed, scared people die. They always die, usually in a bad way.

“What do I know?” Nothing. I don’t know how I got here or what I have been doing. My body feels fine, no new holes in me or my clothing, though I am much filthier. I could now feel the grime and build up of drying fluids and other things upon my clothes, dry stains of red and yellow and some amethyst-colored gunk.

I knew not where I had been, but I knew where I had to go. I had to get help, and soon. Trust in the skill, I had to. It was a Soul Skill after all. It had to know my feelings and it also had to be helping. I mean, whose soul would actively work against them. Not a thing, at least not something My Soul would do. My soul is amazing! That had to count for something.

And so, I walked. I walked, and I walked. Hours passed by and as I grew tired, I found myself casting Vigor on myself, letting my energy levels rise repeatedly. My mana seemed to tick back up fast enough to cast the spell every twenty or thirty minutes and stay relatively topped off. It seemed that my regeneration would stay high so long as I didn’t start tanking my reserves. I recalled something to that effect, the lower my percentage of mana remaining the lower my total available regen would drop. Something to think about, especially as I recalled some spells would eat away at my maximum regeneration rate to sustain themselves.

I was suffering through a circle of less savory thoughts as the trees ahead seemed to grow further apart. I also noticed a stronger breeze flowing from ahead, as well as more light seeping in through the thinning canopy. I was almost free of the forest. I could then find the road; I was sure of it! I broke through the dense low-lying shrubs at the last row of large oaken giants took up residence behind me.

An expanse of green hills greeted me, flowing ever outward from the forest. In the distance, maybe a days more walking, I could see tiny homes and plotted fields of crops and corrals. Civilization!

“Finally.” I could see in the distance, beyond where the small farms lay, on the very edge of the horizon a faint shimmer of sun-heated water haze near a wall of what must be the gray stone of the city. This fact was confirmed as I felt out the direction with my Dowsing. I would make it yet.

I began walking once again, determined to find a safe place to rest closer to living people before I napped for the night, I would be home sometime tomorrow afternoon, surely. I could not wait to get back to my meat pies and fresh baked bread. And the people, those were important too. Doogie and Lenn, Sicily and even Keen.

A whole week, I hope the street kids were still safe and keeping fed. I am sure it was silly of me as they had been surviving for long years as a collection of kids coming and going in the group, changing every year as a child grew and left, or was otherwise lost to the fold. Some things were best not thought of, though I could not help but think of the way Keen had mentioned that kids went missing all the time. The younger children, girls above all others but children all.

Yeah, I had to fix that, or at least make sure someone did.

I had made it barely a few hundred feet before my legs betrayed me and gave way. Darkness enshrouded my mind, and I was filled with an emptiness so profound that I could not even be bothered to feel the pain as I hit the hardened ground beneath me.