Suddenly the tree next to Cirus cracked and went up in smoke. Zalim stepped out from behind a tree. “Piljer! Piljer!” Two fire arrows hit the beast in quick succession.

“That wasn’t a very good idea,” Cirus said to him, pulling out his wand. “Let’s see if we can figure out its weak spot. Erken zwak!”

“Klein wor,” Zalim made the creature smaller.

“Vermolz,” Cirus’ spell slammed it against a tree. The creature slid down the tree and lay with its head on its knees.

“Let’s go finish it off,” Zalim said.

“No. We need to do it from here.” They discussed which spell would ensure that the beast was dead. Finally, they agreed, “One, two, three, bliksem!” Two lightning bolts hit the animal in the head. Its brains splattered on the tree behind it and the two defenders looked at one another.

Cirus led the way back to the campsite. “You may come out of your tents now,” Zalim spoke into its communicator. Zippers and snaps were undone, and people spilled out.

“What happened?” Elodi asked.

“A risar came after the meat. We led it away from the camp. After we went a good distance, we thought it would go away, so we started back. It followed us. We killed it.” Zalim didn’t mince words.

“Was it in the camp?” Luminary Dev was genuinely concerned for the group.

“No, it was at that edge. Where the meat was hanging.”

“How many tents used their security charms last night?” Jal asked. People slowly raised their hands. “Only half of us? Seriously?” Jal was furious. “That animal came for the meat that was hanging! But if you didn’t have some sort of a security charm on, it could have easily destroyed any one of you.” Jal looked around. “Immediately after we’re finished with breakfast, I want to talk to those people who did not activate a security charm.”

A short time later, eleven people stood around Jal. “Stand with your tent partner,” it ordered. They paired off. “I want to know if you have a security charm.”

Everyone but Mink raised their hand. “Let’s try this again. Do you have some sort of yellow charm in your possession?” Mink shook his head. “We made it clear that you should each bring one along, not just to carry in your pack, but to use at night. All right, let’s go to the area by the fire.”

“What tasks need to be taken care of this morning?” Jal asked as he stood at the edge of the group. Three things were listed off. “We are going to do one more thing. After you finish your task, and the meat is smoking over the fire, you will each bring all of the charms in your possession to Dr. Gyasi and I. We need to know exactly which charms you have. We gave you a specific list. If you don’t have a specific charm, it will be provided to each of you.”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“You’ve sure gotten bossy, Jal!” Mink exclaimed.

“I have the right to be bossy!” Jal retorted. “I am the co-leader of this expedition. Dr. Gyasi and I went through these when we hired you. Those requirements were to ensure your safety.”

He turned to leave. “Fine.”

“I’m not finished yet. The guards will be expected each night to check whether your tent has a security charm activated. If it isn’t, they will wake you, and you will activate one.”

“That’s not fair!” Mink argued.

“Would it be fair if you were dead?”

That morning, people washed clothes, sorted their packs for things to send to the Protectorate storage or to friends, and cut up an antelope-like animal for smoking. Each person met with Jal and Dr. Gyasi. Every individual was asked to show all of the charms in their possession as well as their wand. Each was asked to evaluate how they thought they were doing.

“We have one person left,” Dr. Gyasi said to Jal. “I’ll find Mink Faber.”

The young man was irritated when Dr. Gyasi called him out from his sword practice with Verle. He became angrier as he sat down with Jal. “Tell us how you think you’re doing, Mink.”

“I’m doing fine. I get along with everyone. We help each other out all the time.”

“You’ve been very quiet and seem frustrated,” Jal said.

“I thought this was supposed to be exciting. It’s just a lot of work. A waste of my time.”

“It is a lot of work,” Dr Gyasi agreed. “Does it take as much energy as fighting does?”

“No! This is drawn out and exhausting. I’m used to working out for short times and fighting short bouts against opponents. Everyone else seems to be doing great, but I’m not. I thought we were going to fight enemies and monsters.”

“We told you up front that we didn’t know what this would be like,” Dr. Gyasi reminded him. “Please show us what charms you’ve brought.”

Mink took a chain off his neck and gave it to Dr. Gyasi. “Three? You only have three of the ten? And your wand?” Mink looked at the ground. “You don’t have one? Did you start to learn the basic spells?”

“I don’t have time for such things! I want to spend my time fighting.”

“Tell us how you would have handled the situation last night,” Jal said quietly.

“I would have crept up to the risar and killed it with my sword.”

“Hm,” Dr. Gyasi sat with his arms crossed. “Now that you know that the beast has the capability of killing and starting fires by looking at something, what will you do?”

“I would throw a knife or two. I would hit the target in the chest.”

“Zalim said the weak spot was in its head. Would you have thrown the knife at its head?”

“No. The chest is a bigger target.”

“Please excuse us for a few minutes,” Dr. Gyasi said to Mink. Jal and Dr. Gyasi spoke quietly for a few minutes, then returned. “We would like you to continue on with us, however, only if you are willing to meet certain conditions.”

“Like what?”

“Like learning how to use magic and charms effectively,” Jal said. “You will be given a full set of charms and a wand. You will meet with Kir to learn the basic magic spells for offense and defense.”

“You will interact with the other members of this group, not just the fighters,” Dr. Gyasi added.

“And you will do the tasks that you are supposed to do, when it is your turn.”

“I do those!”

“No. You don’t,” Jal said firmly. “I have heard you telling others that you don’t know how to do a task and asking them do it for you. If you don’t know how to do something, you will ask for help to learn it.”

“I came to fight, not to learn how to use magic or work!”

“You seem very unhappy with the situation, Mink. If you are not willing to meet the conditions we’ve just described, you are welcome to drop out. You will forfeit half of the agreed-upon amount, if you leave.”

“That’s not fair!”

“If it’s not fair, then why did you sign the agreement?”

Mink’s eyes flashed with anger, “I need that currency!”

“You will have to decide how badly you need it. Tomorrow morning, we will transport our extra weight to the Protectorate and supplies will be sent down. You have until then to decide whether to continue on, or whether you are finished here.”