The wind howled in the night as Norbert stared at the ceiling above him, or what Norbert could call a ceiling, if there wasn’t a gaping hole in it, Norbert ceiling cracks on the side, hoping it was still stable. A stream of moonlight coming in and shining on his face and trying to move but unable to, something pinning his arm down. Norbert looked to the side, seeing red locks falling around the pillow as Norbert stared at the woman by his side.
Slowly, being careful not to disturb them, Norbert looked down his body, breathing a sigh of relief that he still had his clothes on. Nothing disastrous had happened between now and his meal that he might come to regret.
Looking again at the woman, Norbert lifted his head slightly, looking down and seeing the blue robe. Sure it was Azalea, but not wanting to disturb her or whoever else it might be, Norbert moved his eyes to the top, looking out towards the sky and waiting for her to move.
As the sky lightened, a new day came. Norbert felt a rustling on the bed. Turning his head, Norbert saw an eye flutter open, looking straight at him again, enraptured by the ocean moving in her irises, his previous thought confirmed that it was Azalea he was with. Hearing a cleared throat, Norbert focused once more on her; she moved her head slightly, looking down at the arm she used as a pillow.
Looking back at him, she raised an eyebrow, lifting her head enough to allow Norbert to slip his hand out from under her. Staring up at the ceiling, avoiding looking at her, Norbert asked, "Do you remember what happened last night?"
Hearing rustling, Norbert looked, seeing her stand up and walking towards the door frame, staring out at the town as the sun opened. "You can relax; not enough beds, and we stumbled into one together."
Norbert nodded his eyes, watching as her hair turned fire red; looking back at him, "Well, we've got a busy couple of days ahead of us" Norbert flipped his legs around, nodding as he stood up, combing his hair with his fingers as he prepared for the day.
Walking through the town and back to the gate, Norbert found a crowd already forming around the gate, waiting for the announcement, whispers filling the crowd of the Frontiers and the villagers.
The gate took on its smoke impression as Dousan appeared, looking at the crowd already forming. He nodded satisfactorily, saying, "Thank you all for arriving here. We will prepare to meet the raptors and exterminate them before they spread any further. The villagers will stay in their homes; supplies are being organised to repair and fortify them."
Norbert heard sighs of relief fill the crowd, happy that the villagers were being looked after. Norbert focused on, "As of now, sharpen your swords. The scouts and some mages will go out into the field, laying traps and confirming the extent of their spread. Go to your commanders who know your pairings."
Murmurs of dealings and what this meant having the two teams paired up, who out of the mages would be the unlucky ones on the front lines. Dousan's voice cutting through the scramble, shouted, "Together, like all other times, we shall succeed, and only with our brothers and sisters supporting us will we succeed!" Dousan raised his hand for the salute, all the people doing the same.
Dispersing, Norbert made a beeline for the other scouts, all congregating around Martitia. Able to spot Dobert out of the crowd, Norbert also approached them.
"… Dobert will be in group four to assist the mages in placing traps, and where is Norbert?" she asked. Raising his hand, Norbert shot it above the crowd.
"There you are, you're going to be in group five; that's it for all of you. Take the supplies needed; it's expected you will be out there for a week while the rest of us make our way over," Martitia grumbled at the end.
Dobert asked, "What's with that sour face? Normally wouldn't we all be going together?"
Marietta sighed, "Just some internal issues, nothing you need to be wary of. Now go out there and meet up with your mages. And play nice, all of you."
As one, everyone responded, "Yes, Mum", resulting in everyone giggling as they headed to the mess tent. Norbert heading off, saw Martitia signal him out of the corner of his eye. Branching out of the group, the two of them leaning against the wall of a building.
"You recovered?" She asked him.
Norbert looked at her, wondering what she could be talking about, seeing her point to his hands and the gloves covering them. Norbert nodded, having recovered from his use and staying up for the past two days.
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"Good, you're going to be going for much longer. Had Dousan pull in some favours for this, so don't expect any more unless you share your winnings at a casino again," she finished, pulling out a little glass bottle with a dark blue liquid slushing inside.
Norbert stared at it, his hand somehow already out, feeling the weight in his hand. Looking down, Norbert raised his eyes, whispering, "Are you sure?"
Just receiving a nod in response, Norbert turned to the wall, opening the lid and sculling the contents down. The taste of blueberries and cloud lollies went down his throat, feeling it pool around his head and heart. Passing the bottle over, Norbert doubled over, feeling his heart beating rapidly. Focusing on breathing, Norbert closed his eyes, hoping it would pass without any black liquids coming out.
After a minute and his heart rate slowing down, Norbert stood up, instantly walking into the building, Martitia following him. On the search for the kitchen, Norbert passed the first room, looking primarily intact. Walking into the second, Norbert found the kitchen and his prize ahead.
Walking over, each stride with a purpose to the sink, Norbert placed his palm against the position the circle should be in. Closing his eyes, Norbert focused on his chest, trying to feel the ball that should be there.
Feeling the energy inside twisting constantly, Norbert made it move, taking a thread out and moving it towards his hand. At the fingers, Norbert forced it out of his body; when it touched the magic circle, the backlash again happened worse than last time.
It rocked back into the ball, the line rolling itself up. Once it was at the centre, Norbert felts spin even faster, each spin making his head split in half. Groaning, Norbert moved both his hands to the edge of the sink, holding himself up as he waited for his head to stop spinning.
Hearing water gurgle and splash into the sink, then hearing it fill up a cup before it stopped, Norbert felt a nudge on his hand. Opening one eye, he saw a cup held before him. Moving one hand off, he brought it to his lips, sipping it.
As the minutes wore on and the cup drained, Norbert felt like the anvil in his head had slowed, allowing him to move somewhat around. Opening his eyes, he turned around, seeing Martitia with a worried expression and a sad smile as she saw him look.
"Could be worse?" She said, trying to raise Norbert's spirits.
"Could be better", Norbert replied. Walking outside and back to the house's side, watching everyone else move about. Norbert turned around, grateful for an elixir that she had given him.
"Honestly, thank you for it, it might not have gone the way I desired, but the gift is still appreciated," Norbert said, raising his hand in salute.
Martitia just nodded. "And you're going to need it, as you now have the most elixirs out of all the other scouts; you're the fastest over the longest distances. Group five will be going past the raptors and trying to find something that could be the cause of their congregation."
Norbert just nodded. "Anything else I should know?"
Martitia just shook her head. "No, that's everything, you're dismissed. Head over and get the necessary supplies; expect some food and drink."
Norbert nodded, jogging off where he previously saw the other scout's head. Heading inside, Norbert rummaged around, finding a water skin he confirmed was filled with water and several biscuits he asked around would stay good for long enough.
His bag packed, Norbert headed to the village road, heading in the same direction. Ahead Norbert saw someone in a blue robe sitting on a rock on the side of the road. Continuing, Norbert slowed as he recognised who it was.
"Group five?" Norbert asked Azalea as she sat on the rock reading the tome she was reading before. Taking her eyes away from the book, she looked up, smirking at seeing Norbert there.
"Yeah, guess you're the other member of group five, no unexpected, I would say," she took her backpack off her, placed her tome inside, and started walking down the path. Norbert catching up, asked, "How come it's not a surprise?"
Azalea just gave him a look, smiling and tapping her nose. Norbert needed to confirm, "It's a secret then?" and received a nod in response.
Shaking his head in annoyance, Norbert asked, "Do you have any more information other than see what's causing the raptors to come together?"
"Sadly, no", Azalea responded.
Norbert, nodding, asked, "Want to do the same as we did last time?" he asked.
"Thought you would never ask, my gallant steed", Azalea responded. Norbert was stunned for a minute, wondering how much the translation was doing it or if it was something in the vocabulary of this world as well.
Stunned, Norbert moved on instinct, moving his pack to the front of his body. Snapping out of his stupor as he felt a weight on his shoulders. Moving around a bit until they were both comfortable, Norbert went off, finally with nobody slowing him down as he left the road, heading in the right direction, Norbert ran with all his might, tufts of grass being blown away behind him, feeling Azalea hold even tighter to his body, for fear of falling off.
Laughing at her worry, Norbert continued running, waving as he passed the other scouts jogging across the plains.
***
Martitia looked as Norbert talked with Azalea before they headed off. Shaking her head, trying to dispel the worry, she headed towards the gate, Dousan still standing there.
Seeing her appear, Dousan asked, "Did you give it to him?"
Martitia nodded, Dousan needing to ask, "Did he believe the story, and is he fine?"
Martitia replied, "Yeah, he believed it and is fine. He tried to use magic but got a splitting headache, it seemed. But I don't understand what the commander sees in a lone scout to give him an elixir for magic when he can't even use magic?"
Dousan just shook his head. "You and I know times are changing once more; all we can do is hold on and go with the change."
Martitia just nodded, the two following after Norbert as they saw dirt flying behind him.