Sorry that it took so long for the chapter to come out. I ended up rearranging the order of the first couple of chapters, so the next one shouldn't take as long. I also went back and rewrote the prologue so take a look at that.

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Erin wondered when they would realize that she had brought along her Prayer Book. It would take Bryan a while to remember them, he was too invested in his books to take notice of anyone else’s. The Head on the other hand… it was safe to assume that she did not have much time.

Erin pulled herself out of her inner monologue, and sighed. She had been staring at the fire for some time now. She gave a glance around the tavern. She pulled out the Prayer Book. This was as good a chance as any to learn spells that were useless to her before. There was one section in particular that grabbed her attention, the one about curses.

‘Curses often affect not only the body, but also the mind. When this happens a purify spell might not be able to remove the curse. There are also plenty of mind related debuffs, and illnesses. The best way to cure this type of curse is to use a combination of the Calm Mind spell and the Healer’s Aura.

‘The Healer’s Aura is a semi-passive buff. Healers, due to being close to The Goddess are naturally calmer than others, and others tend to feel calmer when around healers. However, it is possible to use your own aura as a medium and project the feeling of being calm.

'Calm Mind goes as follows. [Domina, comprimi quaeso mortale.]’

Erin was flipping the page when a conversation caught her ears.

“We’re here lookin’ for a Bounty.”

“Oh.” the Hostess said resting her hand on the table, “what’s the bounty for?”

At the table was seated two men: one was wearing armor, his hair cropped short, and sword by his side, the other had dark green hair that fell past his shoulders wearing a dark leather suit and a quiver hung over his chair. The swordsman was leaning toward the Hostess saying, “Don’t know, but the Fyrrans laid down good money for it.”

The Hostess nodded drawing back her hand, “Well, ‘ope you catch it safely,” before sweeping off to the next table.

“That’s one good looker,” The hunter gaze lingered on the Hostess for a moment before turning to his companion, “Hey Rob, the bounty ain’t that far, do you want ta get a taste of her?”

The swordsman laughed, “Will, what’s this about the bounty not being far from here? She left Mudhollow o’er a week ago. We don’t even sure she went this way.”

 “My tracking skills are ne’er wrong,” the hunter said, glaring at the swordsman, clenching his stein.

“Fine, fine.” The swordsman placatied the hunter with a wave, “She went this way. But what if she got hold of a horse and left the dukedom?”

The hunter took a swig before answering, “Horses gather a lot of attention. Lone horsemen e’en more.”

The other conversations drowned out the sound of the two bounty hunters’. Erin’s hands trembled as she shoved the book back into her bag. She needed to get out soon. Just as she was about to get up, she picked up on the two men’s conversation once more.

“If she ’s the young master’s then she ought to be good,” the hunter said.

The swordsman shook his head, “Nah, even he wouldn’t dare. You see, the church gots a claim on her too.”

The hunter let out a whistle as she slipped out of the tavern.

 Erin had gotten very good about navigating in the dark since she ran away, though in truth, she had only traveled at night for the first couple of days. She kept a steady pace as she marched onward.

It was almost dawn by the time that she could finally sleep. She stepped off the path, tumbling past the brush and collapsed.

Erin awoke to the sound of someone coming down the road. She turned to peer through the bushes to see who was coming. When she caught sight of them her heart rose to her throat. It was the bounty hunters from last night.

“Let’s take a break,” the swordsman said plopping onto the ground.

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The hunter nodded, his hair pulled back and he started rummaging through his pack pulling out some jerky and eating.

“Hand me one too,” the swordaman said opening the lid to his water satchel. “How long do we have to chase one little girl for?”

“Until we get her.”  The hunter responded, tossing the jerky to his companion.

The swordsman caught it and took a bite, “Yah, but are you sure she’s this way?”

The hunter rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to speak but stopped. His eyes snapped back to the bushes Erin was hiding behind. “Look, the branches are broken.” He whispered.

Erin inched back slowly.

The swordsman took a quick look. “It’s probably nothing,” he said but started to get to his feet regardless.

Erin let out a cry as she slipped backwards into a ditch.

The two men turned to look at where the sound came from. “There!” the swordsman shouted as he jumped to his feet. They started parting the bushes on their way towards her.

Erin popped up and started weaving through the brush, relieved that it had not rained during the night. An arrow zoomed past her, reminding her to scour the landscape. Up ahead she noticed pond tingling with magic. That will have to do. Erin gasped when an arrow pierced her arm, but she could not stop yet.

Behind her the voices of the two men carried. “Are you trying to kill her?” The swordsman cried, “She is worth so much more alive!”

“We won’t get nothin’ if she gets away,” the hunter snapped back.

“Fine then. I’m going on ahead. Don’t blame me if she dies,” the swordsman said, but the hunter just laughed.

Erin glanced over her shoulder and saw the swordsman only a few feet behind her.

“Girlie,” he shouted, “Last chance.”

She continued running.

“Have it your way then,” The swordsman said, and started thrusting mana into his sword, taking on a fiery gleam.

Erin grimaced. With her experiences with Clinton, she did NOT want to deal with a Magic swordsman. However, fire does not mesh well with water. She gave a slight smile as she saw the pond ripple slightly.

She heard them cry out as she jumped into the pond and began swimming.

The Guardian stirred from its deep slumber at the bottom of the pond as it felt magic nearby. Fire magic. It swam to the shore to see who dared come near after so long. It snorted to see a pesky human that had coated a piece of iron with magic. How dare he think himself a challenge? It would have fun playing with the human to make up for it. The Guardian was so focused on the insult that it did not register the young girl swimming in its territory.

Erin was exhausted by the time she got out of the water. She stumbled forward a few yards before she crumpled down to the ground. She wanted to sleep, but before that she needed to heal her arm. She should healed it before she jumped, but she did not have the time. The shaft had broken off while she was swimming, but the arrow head was still in.

Erin hissed out as her fingers dug inside the wound, pulling the head out. She closed her teary eyes and muttered through the pain, “[salvum me fac et ligare.]” As the pain dulled, she drifted off to sleep.

Erin was sore in the morning. She massaged her arm where the arrow had been. “Good,” she sighed, looks like it healed well. “I cannot believe that I forgot to check.”

She stood up and looked around, completely lost. Erin opened her bag, meaning to look at the map. However her hand stayed as she saw the inside of the bag. She had forgotten the books when she jumped. She picked up her Prayer Book and sighed. It was completely illegible now. She went through her bag and dumped all of the papers that had been in it before.

“Great, now I have no idea what direction to go.” Erin mumbled, staring at the soggy pile. After a minute she looked up. “I suppose it does not matter which way I go,” she said, slinging her much lighter bag over her shoulder and started walking.