“How are you feeling this morning?” Ellie asked as I was finishing up my breakfast.
“Not too bad.” I answered after taking a moment to swallow the bite I had just taken. Why was it that people always asked questions right after someone else took a bite? “Head still aches a little bit.”
“Do you need?”
“Nope!” I interrupted. “I’ll be fine, no need to brew me some of the willow bark tea. Save it for yourself.” Ellie was giving me a look like she wanted to brew it anyway when we were interrupted by a coughing fit from Scott. It had been a few days since I had given him the last treatment, but the remissions were lasting shorter and shorter. The thought of needing to give him daily treatments and how that was going to absolutely wreck his body added a weight on my heart.
“Gonna head out with Nicky and Sheila then?” Ellie asked, looking at me.
“Yeah. Fresh air would probably do me a bit of good.” I nodded.
“Can I have a word with you before you go?” Scott asked.
“Sure.” I immediately replied, wondering what he was going to do.
“I need to head out to the barn, meet me there when you’re ready.” He nodded and headed off, but not before I heard the wheeze as he suppressed another coughing fit.
I practically inhaled the last few bites, wanting to get out to the field as swiftly as I could. A small hand on my elbow stopped me. “Hmm?” I asked, turning to look at Ellie
“Terrance.” She started, wiping a tear away from her eye. “It’s only gonna get colder, even out there in the crater. I had wanted to give these to you after I had a chance to make them a bit cuter, but. Well we all run out of time eventually. So here, take these and keep warm out there.” She pulled a pair of gloves and the scarf I had seen her working on out from her apron pocket, and handed them to me.
“They’re perfect.” I said, giving her a half hug and before I had realized it, a peck on her temple as well. “Thanks for everything you’ve done.” I donned my new clothes and headed out the door, anxious about Scott and wondering what Ellie would do without him.
“Scott? You there?” I called as I entered the barn.
“Come on to the back here!” I heard, followed by the crash of wood on wood.
“Everything ok?” As I asked, I saw Scott straightening up with something in his hand covered with a tarp.
“As good as I can be. Come, have a seat.” He motioned to a few hay bales, taking his own seat across from me. As he sat, he started a really wet sounding coughing fit, and I could see flecks of red flying from his mouth. “Ah. It’s coming back faster and faster, isn’t it?”
“Huh?” I asked, shocked.
“Think I could get a treatment before you head out? Or is your head still hurting? I’ll survive another day if so.”
“It’s fine, and how did you know?” I asked.
“You’re a few decades too early to sneak up on a wily soldier son.” He chuckled as I placed my hand on his chest and concentrated. I could have tried going through his throat again, but I was afraid of what could happen if he entered a coughing fit in the middle of the process. Instead I sent needles of death mana into the clusters in his chest, taking out ten of them that were about half the size of my pinky’s fingernail. I could tell that Scott was doing his best to suppress the coughing, and I quickly sat back when I finished.
“Let it go.” I ordered, and he immediately turned to the side and coughed out several black plugs.
“Ugh. That’s never pleasant.” He groaned, sitting back up. “Any idea how much time I have left?”
“Sorry, I have no idea.” I answered. “I know how to treat it, but that’s about it. When did you figure out what I was doing?”
“That first night.” He smiled.
“Bullshit.”
“Truth.”
“I checked though. Neither of you have any magic, and there were no wards.”
"Flour on the ground. Just had to make sure I swept it up before Ellie got up." He took a good long look at me, then asked something strange. “Why did you do it?”
“You saved my life. It was the least I could do.”
“And you kept going because?”
That was a bit harder to answer, and I sat there uncomfortable for a long while. Or at least what seemed like a long while. “I don’t know. I just. The thought of you suffering through that when I could do something just made me uncomfortable.” I stared at my thumbs as they circled around each other.
“I’m glad I made the choice I did then, son.” He said, and I looked up to see him smiling. “But if I hadn’t made that choice, I would be killing the man that Ellie loved for all those years. Now, I know I don’t have much time left and I want to make the absolute most of it, so no crying. And for the love of Callumen, no telling Ellie!”
“Understood.” I nodded. “I’ll do whatever I can to help.”
“I know. And I saw how much that little bit of magic hurt. I know you have some secrets, and I’m not gonna pry. But you are the first person in our lives who will be leaving this village behind since our Jonas passed, and this thing is just gathering dust back here.”
“Scott.”
“Nope. You’re either running from something or running to something, but the fact of the matter is that you are running. And if today is any indication, there will be times in the future where you can’t use or rely on your magic. When that happens, the best thing to have by your side is some good, cold steel.” Saying that, he flipped off the tarp to reveal a basic boar spear. “She may not look like much, but she kept me safe for my years in the army. The royal smiths don’t put out bad work. A foot long leaf blade at the tip to reach your enemy’s heart. Another foot of shaft before you hit the wings, and six inches of steel behind it to prevent a blade from snapping it off. The shaft goes up halfway between the wings and the blade, and is made of ironwood. Alchemically treated, it’ll never rot. Don’t worry about the height. The way you’ve been eating, you’ll grow into her.”
“I couldn’t”
“Yes, ya can and ya will. I just hope she’ll keep you as safe as she kept me.” He said, tears in his eyes as he handed the spear over, running his hand lovingly down the shaft one last time.
“Thanks.” I finally managed to mutter around the stone in my throat. “I’ll take good care of her.”
“One last favor, if you will. Consider it my dying request.”
“Sure.” I nodded.
“Ellie’s gonna get lonely. The village will help, but could you remember to send back a letter or two of your adventures?”
“Of course.” I mumbled as I wiped tears out of my eyes.
“Now keep that spear close today. Hunter Ben says things have been odd lately.” Nodding, I headed out the door and took my time heading towards the meadow. It wasn’t fair. IT WASN’T FAIR! Scott was a little rough, but Ellie was the kindest soul I had ever come across. The little bit of time I had spent with them had changed me. If ever there were two souls that were destined to be together, it was them. Separating them would devastate Ellie. And that would take a bit of light out of this world. I couldn’t let that happen. I had the power to stop it.
But. I scowled as I thought about it. I couldn’t just make Scott into a zombie. That wouldn’t work for so many reasons, and he just didn’t deserve that. Both he and Ellie would hate me forever if I did that, and. The thought of Ellie looking at me with hatred tore my heart up. I didn’t know when she had made her way in, but true to herself she had smashed through all the walls I had spent a lifetime building. She then promptly sat down and made herself at home, somehow making everything more inviting as she did.
I could try a ghoul, but no. Wouldn’t work, he would need to eat. Homunculus? Too much clay, and they never really feel right. Ellie would know the moment she touched it. Abominations were out as well. Even if I just used his original body, they were too unstable and tended to lose their inhibitions. That’s why so many of them were so violent.
Most of the other undead I could easily make were too easy to spot as being undead. That left one option: turn him into a lich. The biggest downside to that would be that it required a high level ritual. I had most of the items thanks to my inheritance, but doing the ritual would send out a beacon. It would not only let whoever Necropolis had sent after me know where I was and what I was doing, but Father Tomas and the Inquisitor that was no doubt on their way would feel it too. Plus I wasn’t sure that I could even pull the ritual off if I was casting it on someone else.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Hey Sheila, think we could make a coat with all the wool Terrance is gathering?” I was torn from my musings by Nick’s mocking voice. Somehow I had already arrived at the meadow. Looking around, everything seemed peaceful. Like it wanted to mock my heart. The sheep were grazing, Dax was ignoring the squirrels, heck there was even an eagle lazily floating in the sky.
“What’s going on in that head of yours?” A thump on my back and a hand around my shoulder once again brought me back to the present.
“Just. Been thinking.” I shrugged.
“Father Tomas and Witch Hazel clear you for that?” He chuckled.
“Nick.” Sheila warned.
“Sorry.” He mumbled.
“No worries.” I waved off their concern. “It’s probably the least I deserve after what I put you guys through. Thanks for carrying me back by the way.”
“No problem. How is the head?”
“Better, but not perfect.” I said. “Tomas wants me to not cast or practice any magic for today and maybe tomorrow too. That’s why Scott sent me along with this spear. Said something about the animals acting strange according to some Ben guy.”
“Hunter Ben?” Sheila asked, and both of them immediately focused on me.
“Yeah, sounds about right. Why?”
“Well, for one Ben isn’t given to panic. If he says something is up, you should take it to heart. And two, he is one of the few that will travel around the mountain in winter. It’s about the only time that he can get the pristine fox pelts that sell for so much.”
“Gotcha. Well, let’s keep the sheep a bit closer today, what’d’ya say?”
“Good call.” Sheila nodded, then yelled some weird order to Dax that had him shooting off like an arrow from a bow. While Dax was off, I headed down to the lake to take a mental inventory of myself. Tomas and Hazel might have had skills, but neither one really spent much time with me. And one thing I was absolutely sure of: the person to best know about my own health was myself.
I easily dropped into a light meditation, and gently started moving my mana through my body. It caused a few tweaks and twinges, but the pain was minimal. At least until my mana traveled up my spine and reached the base of my skull. That was where the blockage seemed to start, as well as some feedback from using the spell attempt the other day. I immediately backed off, but it got me wondering. I had been working on my legs, but should I switch to my head? Tomas had hinted that mana could possibly improve my body. Maybe a slightly improved mind would help me make less stupid mistakes. And casting a spell from my forehead would be a lot more useful than casting from the soles of my feet. Let someone else worry about flying, I was more than happy keeping my feet firmly on the ground.
“BEAR!” I heard Nick roar at the same time the animal did. Looking up, I saw it charging from the rim of the crater. I didn’t waste any time, heading over to meet with Nick and Sheila.
“This isn’t right.” Nick said as we arrived.
“What?” Sheila asked.
“Look at it.” He pointed. “Since when does a hunting bear run full tilt down the crater?”
“Think this is what Ben warned us about?” I asked.
“Definitely.” He nodded. “Sheila, stay at your max range and keep your mana for protecting me. Terrance, I don’t want you anywhere near that thing. You can’t use your magic, and with you still recovering you won’t be able to use that spear properly.”
“Hey now.” I started, but he glared at me.
“ENOUGH!” He snarled. “You will stay back and protect Sheila. I’ll deal with the bear. I’ve done it before.” Having given his orders, he trotted toward the bear that was still going full tilt. We were close enough that I could see the white foam at its mouth.
“Sheila, just cast the spell on Nick.” I said, not liking how things were. “He might need all the protection he can get.”
“Reagan. I call upon your Nature. Grant us now your protection from that which seeks harm. Barkskin.” This time only Nick glowed with the activation of the spell, and I nodded. “Let’s head to the flank just in case.” She said, and I followed her at a jog. We circled around until we were to Nick’s right, and they were already in a savage battle.
Nick hadn’t wasted any time and already had his hands covered in rock, smashing them into the face of the bear to little effect. It was in pain, and the foam now had some blood, but it wasn’t reacting how the last one did. As I looked closer, I noticed that the hair towards the back had streaks of blood in it.
“Sheila, is that blood?” I asked, pointing.
“Yeah.” She said in a serious tone.
“What could have done it? And should we help out?”
“Not yet.” She shook her head no. “Nick’s doing fine, and if he sees you rushing in he’ll be distracted. As to what did it, probably wolves. Another bear would have met it head on. Wolves are fast enough and numerous enough to get around behind it. But why are the wolves heading this high on the mountain?”
Ignoring her question, I focused in on the fight. Nervously tapping the heel of the spear on the ground, I watched impotently as Nick and the bear slugged it out. He was doing his best to avoid anything with a hint of a skill, but the unskilled strikes he had no qualms about meeting fist on. After the bear lost a tooth, it stopped trying to bite him and simply went with the claws. I was feeling good about how things were going until the bear decided that enough was enough and simply charged through the tiny man that was causing it so much pain.
“NICK!” Sheila screamed, and I had already started my charge. The bear’s shoulder had slammed into him and sent him stumbling back, but he somehow managed to turn his fall into a roll that helped him regain his feet just as the bear slammed two massive paws where he had initially fallen. Enraged, the bear raised up onto two feet and let out an earth shattering roar.
That roar must have had something in it, because even as far away as I was I still stumbled a bit. Nick though. Somehow he took that roar head on, and roared right back at the bear! As the bear dropped back down onto all fours, it had the intelligence to stay out of Nick’s reach so he couldn’t slam it with his fist. I circled around to where I was mostly behind it, wondering how I was going to be able to help.
I had some very basic work back home with thrusting a spear, but nothing more than how to hold it and stab forward. Spears were a commoner’s weapon, and inelegant. “Nobility use swords, curs use spears.” Dad used to say. Sizing up the bear, I had zero confidence that I would be able to strike somewhere vital with the spear.
That left crippling it. And as enraged as Nick had the thing, I was going to get at least one free shot at it. I had to make sure I made the most of it. I could go for the hind legs. That would prevent it from running over Nick again, but it wouldn’t do anything to really make Nick safer. Just behind one of the forelegs? That could disable an arm if I got it just right. Or I could end up pissing it off and having it turn on me and ripping my head right off.
Or I could disembowel it. I would be most likely ruining the meat, but it would make it die faster. Taking a deep breath, I positioned myself with the spear horizontal but the blade vertical. If I did it right, then I could hopefully cut through enough of the belly fat that the intestines would burst free. It took me two steps before I realized just how stupid my plan was.
Cut through the belly fat? It was the beginning of winter. This was when the bear’s fat was supposed to be thickest! Changing direction slightly, I aimed the spear head for the equivalent of the calf muscle on the bear. Sever enough of it, and we can slow it down enough to employ wolf tactics.
Darting forward, I slammed into the muscle and was surprised at just how much resistance there was. I managed to get about 9 inches of the blade into the leg of the bear with my charge, before I was forced to desperately hold on as the bear spun to roar in my direction.
“OH SHIT!” I screamed, jabbing the spear rapidly at the bear’s nose. If a stone fist from Nick could drive it away, surely getting poked by a spear in that sensitive bit would work. I didn’t break the skin, but I did give it a few glancing blows that got it to back up just a bit.
“Nick! Now would be a good time for a plan!” I shouted between panting as I tried to catch my breath. My lungs were burning, but my body had never felt so alive.
“How am I supposed to do that when you’ve got him so pissed at you?” Nick shouted as I saw him trying to circle around. Before we could link back up, I saw a flash of something streak through the air and slam into the bear’s side. Roaring in agony, it snapped at whatever had impacted it before raising up to roar in the general direction it came from. That proved to be a fatal mistake, as three arrows flashed into its chest. The bear dropped down to its belly, snapping off the bits of the arrows that hadn’t fully penetrated. As it gave out its last breath, I saw someone jogging towards us.
He had a short trimmed beard, and was as heavily muscled as Nick was. His coat was covered in greens and browns, and he had a bow that looked to be as thick around as my wrist and all of five feet long.
“Ben, thank the gods you got here when you did.” Nick said, clasping forearms with the guy.
“Y’all alright?” he asked.
“Doing fine thanks to you.” I added. “Thanks for the timely rescue.”
“Hmm. Scott took what I said to heart. Good man.” He said, nodding at my spear.
“Yeah. I just wish I had a fraction of the skill Scott probably has.”
“It’ll come.” He replied, walking towards the bear. We watched silently as he inspected it, grunting a few times as he looked it over. He did a far more thorough inspection than what I would have anticipated, even going so far as to lift up the lips and look in its mouth. After he had made a second circle around the body, he looked at us. “Good news is that it wasn’t rabid. Foam’s just from runnin’. Bad news is that it was wolves that done it.”
“Wolves?” Sheila asked.
“Yep. At least three different ones got a good bite on ‘im.”
“So what do we do?” She asked.
“Go ahead and take the sheep in for the day. They won’t wanna be around all this blood anyhow. Have Tomas call a town meeting, but give me two hours to process this body. Hide’s pretty well ruined for sellin’, but we can make a blanket from ‘im. Meat’s good too.”
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Just a bit over two hours later found us all in the church looking at Father Tomas and Ben. He had cleaned up his hands, but he must have wiped his head a time or two as there were still the remnants of blood streaks across his forehead.
“Calm down, calm down.” Tomas ordered, and the bits of conversation dropped off. “Ben?”
“Right.” He said, stepping forward. “First off, nobody got hurt. I had warned Nick and them about the animals acting off, and they were prepared. Terrance there even managed a decent stab to the things leg to confuse it.” I blushed at the praise, nodding at Scott when I caught his eye.
“So what’s going on?” Someone shouted.
“Ain’t got no idea.” Ben answered. “But somethin’ drove a pack of wolves up from the lowlands into bear territory, and they drove the bear into our areas. Weren’t no small bear neither. This one was just younger than prime adulthood.”
“So what do we do?”
“Well, we can’t keep everything penned up that’s for sure. I can stick close, but I’ve got to get the hunting and trapping done now if we’re gonna have enough to trade come spring. Anyone decent with a bow, I suggest dusting it off and getting back in practice. Until we can figure out what is driving things our way, we’ll have to be able to defend our herds.”
Ben nodded at everyone, then stepped back as they all started talking at once. There were some wild guesses, but all of them were wrong. I knew it had to be Eric driving things our way. I wanted to speak up, but I was scared. I knew Nick, Sheila, Scott and Ellie would stand by me, maybe even Father Tomas. But would the rest of the town? I hadn’t met half of them, and the other half I had barely interacted with. Would they stand with Scott and Ellie, or would they just consider it easier to exile me in Eric’s general direction?