I wake, happy. Dressing and preparing for the day's work. Two years, two years of being a scholars assistant. Two years and our peoples battle lines moved forward, surged as the great mother roused. The land itself moving to divert or cross rivers, to destroy our enemies and protect our people. One week of unprecedented success, one week to gain miles and kill more of our enemy. Just as sudden as it began our great mother went back to sleep. The land stopped moving to support us, but it was more than enough. The world was in our control more than it had ever been since the invasion. The injustice of millennia finally starting to be turned back. I let the soft one, Morgan know. It didn’t seem to affect them. They just resumed copying texts with their too thin body. I still copied texts but with my gained knowledge of alchemy I brewed potions. Precisely mixing ingredients at times and temperatures to create powerful effects. Today’s potions were routine, flasks of fire oil. Thrown to break and on breaking light on fire. A way for those using blades to have something that can kill multiple of the soft-skins at a time.

[Rev] “looks to be coming along well”

“yeah well I know what I’m doing with these”

[Rev] “yes you do. In fact so much so that you won’t be staying here for long. You, along with others of this specialty will move into the mountains and help a team try to isolate certain glands of soul eaters”

“wh-WHAT?! I’m going near soul eaters? That’s, it, why?!”

[Rev] “I understand it being a frightening assignment but others will fight and kill those terrifying wolves, you are merely to help with work on the corpse. It’s not a question, this has been decided. You will have a guard and the soft one copying texts here will go with you to assist”

I breathed heavy not even responding as this brought a whole new set of fears. I was going south to fight- no not fight just be near all of the fighting of the little green soft-skins and their monstrous masters. Abominations made from animals being fused with the green ones until a new species was made. One that had such twisted and ripped up souls they could feed on and destroy the souls of others. And I was told it’d be fine… things never go exactly as planned, if I couldn’t stop it from happening then I would definitely prepare. Some special potions needed to be made.

[Al] “my my you’ve been a potion brewing machine for the last couple weeks, what’ve you made my friend?”

“as if you don’t know why”

[Al] “riight, you got a few days left before you go off into the maw of danger and the like”

“One! Day left. Today al, that’s it.”

[Al] “right, so what’ve you made my busy friend?”

I sigh “two vials of knockout gas, a flask of fire oil, a potion of feigned death for a total of fifteen hours effect, mesmerizing vapor vial, five healing potions just in case, a vial of the most corrosive acid, and one charm potion… at least I hope so”

[Al] whistles “my that’s quite the variety. You get enough sleep there buddy?”

“no, I don’t need it”

[Al] “sure you don’t. Look you’ve done all you can so call it quits”

“no, not yet. One more potion.”

[Al] “and what would be so worthwhile?”

“One potion of haste.”

[Al] “ok yeah that is really worth while to brew. But just that and then you get some sleep my friend”

I nod and keep brewing.

[Al] “well, how do you feel about having her along?”

“her?”

[Al] “yeah her… wait, did you never notice? The human, er soft-skin that’s been making copies and getting smart. Working on her skills, maybe one day she’ll throw fireballs”

“what?”

[Al] sighs. "Guess you’ll figure it out on your own. Besides you’re too focused on brewing aren’t you?”

“why wouldn't I be?”

[Al] “you know you should listen to me more, you might pick up on what’s going on around you better that way”

“how would that help?”

[Al] “oohhh my friend we have a lot to work on for your skills. Well regardless make sure to take care of yourself, I’ll be off for a bit”

“yeah sure” I don’t get enough sleep before we have to go, but I made my potions. Walking tired I go to where we meet our bodyguard, Morgan and I. She seems to have gotten all the rest she needs, so odd to be thinking of her as having a gender. Always seemed too thin to be either, just bones wrapped in skin. Our guard stood, soft armor that didn’t conceal his missing small arms. He looked at me and I could see and hear him chuckling, head bobbing and inner jaw clicking.

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[Blade] “oh I am definitely going to get that answer from you now”

I hissed, too tired to hide my frustration and he trilled his laugh in reply. This was going to be a trip that takes far longer than it should. “walk and talk then. I assume you’re packed”

[Blade] “yes. I know the way so you will both follow”

I move into place taking my position behind him and Morgan following suit as we walked out.

He was mercifully silent the first day, something I appreciated as I got another full nights rest and started feeling something other than drained the next day. Morgan was also silent, more typical for her… not typical for her kind, they seemed to make the most noise of anything I knew. Was she a mute? No, I’d heard her talk before… yes, yes I had. Just bizarrely quiet, something likable about her to be sure. “so, how many days travel?”

[Blade] “three or so, depends on how fast you move. We’re meeting with a mothers blood mage”

A blue mage. Almost certainly so we could be teleported… another tool taken from our enemies. “oh, well that will be new for me. How did you…”

[Blade] “victory in battle, beyond expectations. It helped to have the chaos of our great mothers rousing making the enemy panic. Captured enemy leaders that weren’t expected to be captured. Did it enough that they elevated my back to being a proper warrior” I noticed the short blades hanging at his sides, he must have unusually good precision on his strong arms to use only those in battle.

[Blade] “now, as I said. I will have my answer as to how you rose so quickly” said as he stopped and looked directly at me.

“well, when I got sick… infected I was favored by the great mother, I recovered what seemed impossible to recover from. After that the master scholar Reveals hidden truths elevated me after I asked some questions on texts I copied” he stared me down, un-moving and not showing a single hint of his thoughts. It had to be… minutes of this? The he shifted and, I think his smaller arms would have moved in a shrug, if he had them.

[Blade] “fine. Lets keep moving”

And then he turned back around and kept leading us. Morgan I noticed looked at me confused, pitiful thing must not have understood a word of the first language. Her loss though it wouldn’t have mattered much, all she was going to be on this trip was an extra set of hands.

We walked into the night, uphill, then up the mountain and to one of our cities. A proper city with spires and causeways, then below would be the tunnels and warrens. Intersecting and connecting paths the would move in many more directions than a soft-skins mind would understand. They always seemed to have trouble with anything that wasn’t meant to be traversed on a flat pain or almost directly vertical, another showing of how each was inferior.

[Blade] “stick close, I don’t want to go looking for you and we’re not supposed to be staying here.”

We traveled into the great mother, descending into the depths carved out and through stone halls. Rounded paths set to our kind and our kind alone. Our language carved into the rock denoting paths and locations. After an hour of being led we arrived at a doorway with hanging cloth. Blade knocked on the doorway, alerting those inside. A couple minutes later one in the sky blue colors of a blue mage approached, lifting the clothe aside.

[Mage] “ah blade in shadows?”

[Blade] “yes”

[Mage] “late, let’s get you sent”

Soon we’re on a carved circle, runes and writing of the magic I didn’t know forever set into the floor. Morgan seemed the most interested looking at all of it before the magic activated and we were sent to a mountain valley, stars above us in the night. Morgan let out a sound I wasn’t familiar with then blade started pulling out the bedding.

[Blade] “we sleep here, tomorrow more walking. We sleep again and then more walking”

“and then we arrive?”

[Blade] “yes. It’s late so sleep”

I get my bedding out and settle down.

[Al] “finally, tomorrow night you are going to practice using my gift. Damn it’s taken too long. Oh and be sure to get some good sleep tonight”