“Yo, you must be Terrance.” A voice called out as I stumbled through the door at absurdly early in the morning. “Not a morning person? No worries, we’ll get you there, shorty.” Forcing my bleary eyes to focus, I took a look at the two people I would be working with. It must have been Nick talking to me as the voice was masculine. And Nick was masculine. Easily six feet six inches, he was just all around large. Brown hair with a tint of blonde, he wore simple clothes and had a large crook in his hand. Looking at him could be intimidating, but he had a casual smile that took the sting out of his words.
Sheila must be the silent person next to him. She had similar clothes, though hers were a bit baggier. She was just as sturdy as Nick was, but her hair was pure blonde and she lacked his smile. “Ready to go?” She asked while she looked me up and down. “No weapons? No food? I guess we can share and cut you a staff later. Tomorrow you will have everything needed.”
“Don’t mind her, she’s always too serious.” Nick chuckled.
“So I was wondering. Did you think the mountain was too short and you needed to add a little extra height, or did your parents stretch you as a kid?” I asked as I stepped through the gate and followed the two.
“HA! He does have some bite!” Nick bellowed, slapping me on the back. “Well I had no choice in the matter. Word from the older kids is that mom got sick of me running off while she was trying to do laundry so she hung me up with the clothes by my ankles. She didn’t realize it was stretching me out the entire time.”
“If you haven’t figured it out yet, you can only listen to about one in three things this big lug says.” Sheila replied.
“Aww, love you to Shells.” Nick said, dodging what looked to be a reflexive swing. “So violent.”
“One of these days Nick.” She glared.
“So where exactly are we going?” I interrupted.
“Out through the back of the village. We’ll explain when we get there.” Sheila said. Shrugging, I followed behind the rather subdued pair. We made quick time through the village, and I got a bit better look than the other day. To my surprise, the village was more of a linear design instead of the spoke and wheel design where I grew up. The main road was paralleled by one other road on each side, leaving room for four rows of houses. The mountain resumed swiftly after the outer rows, and aside from the square there were no businesses. I did see smoke rising from two areas near the square, one which had to be a blacksmith shop from what I could see from the street.
“The other one’s the baker.” Nick said, noticing my look.
“Just a blacksmith and a baker?” I asked.
“Don’t really need much else.” He shrugged. “It’s small enough town that we usually barter for what we need. Phil can make us what little metal stuff we need, and the Loren’s family has made the best meat pies for generations. Everything else we get from the summer caravans or grow it ourselves.”
We fell into silence for a bit, and I noted that it only took us about ten minutes of walking to make it completely through the town. A wall of stone rose about the height of a house at the back end of the village, with a simple wooden gate in the middle of it. I didn’t think much of it, as it was wide open and unguarded. As we passed through the stone wall, the other two kept sneaking glances back at me for some reason.
That reason was swiftly revealed as we exited the wall. Opening up before us was a gently sloping valley that ended in a massive lake in the bottom. “Whoah.” I uttered, stopping and staring at the beauty. The entire area looked to be a mile or two across. The lake was nearly a quarter mile across and almost perfectly round, with a small island in the middle. We had entered from the south, and the northwest portion of the area was almost completely old growth pine forest. Half of the southwest area looked to be regrowing forest, and the rest was a meadow full of differently colored flowers. Sheep were grazing peacefully in scattered smaller herds, and a black dog was bounding towards us, tail wagging.
“Welcome to the Crown portion of Crownhill.” Nick chuckled. “Gods but I love seeing someone’s first reaction.”
“How? What?” I asked, dumbfounded.
“How did we get this lucky?” Sheila asked then answered her own question. “Legend has it that this used to be one of those fire mountains. Long ago something happened, and the top third was lost to an explosion. The outer wall formed this crown, and the falling dirt plugged the mountain enough that it hasn’t erupted since. The fires still live down below, heating this hidden vale enough that it grows year round.”
“And there’s no death gases escaping?” I asked, somewhat familiar from some of the areas in the Lost Lands.
“None.” Nick answered. “We let the sheep graze in some of the lower areas of the mountain during the summer, and let this grow wild all year. In the winter they are more than happy to come up here. We can get some fish out of the lake too.”
“Why do you bring them in during storms then?” I asked, confused. “Or even better, why not build the entire village here?”
“Reagan’s blessing.” Sheila answered. “Well, that’s why we don’t live in here. Our ancestors made a pact, that so long as we maintain the sanctity of this vale then they will be blessed with bountiful herds. What few logs we need to harvest each year are replanted, as you can probably tell from the younger forest area.”
“As for the storms? Well the snow does fall in here most of the time. It just so happens that it’ll melt in a day, day and a half at most.” Nick added. “Besides, there are a few areas around the crown that predators can get in. That’s why we’re here. Keep watch on the sheep and keep away some bears lookin’ for a mutton snack before hibernating. But that’s enough of boring stuff. C’mon, let’s head down to the lake.”
I don’t know how he managed to ignore the dog who could damn near look me in the eye through that entire conversation, especially as the thing was bouncing around like a toddler being ignored. Thankfully it decided to chase after Nick full tilt while Sheila and I looked on.
“So, you guys?” I asked, pointing back and forth between her and Nick.
“Gods no.” She shuddered and started walking after him. “He’s fine in small doses, but I spend nearly every day with him. Permanently put me off jokes.”
“Oh it can’t be that bad, can it?” I asked as I joined her. I was surprised at how quickly I was recovering from the near death experience, at least stamina wise. Walking wasn’t the most strenuous of exercises after all.
“Give it until noon. If you aren’t in agreement, I’ll eat my hat.” Shrugging at her statement, I followed her down to the lake where Nick was already looking around the ground for something.
“What’re you searching for?” I asked.
“Bait.” He said, slowly sweeping his foot back and forth to disturb the grass. “Any type of bug will do. There we go!” He said gleefully, dropping down and slowly extending his hand before having it shoot out and grabbing the back legs of a cricket I hadn’t even seen.
“Look, I’m not against fishing but shouldn’t we be watching the sheep?”
“Nah.” Sheila said. “I’ll keep an eye out. This late in the year most of the bears are already hibernating. Wolves don’t travel this high up, not enough to sustain a pack.” I looked at her, and she was already facing away from us, plopping down onto a dirt mound suspiciously shaped like a chair.
“Ever been fishing?” Nick asked, and I shook my head. “No worries. Here, I’ll show you how to bait the hook.” I leaned in, quite interested in how he was about to do it. Holding the cricket by its back legs, he held the simple hook upside down and placed the point just below the head. “What you wanna do is sneak the tip of the hook in behind the chest plate. Then just toss it in and wait for a bite.”
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I watched as he demonstrated, slightly grossed out as the legs of the insect kept waving around, tapping on the hook to no avail. Once it was in, he tossed it into the lake with a flick of the rod, dropping the bait just on the edge of a moss pad.
“Wait, it’s still alive?” I asked as I saw it desperately kicking its legs, trying to get out of the water.
“Yep, best way to catch fish. They see the little guy struggling, think it’s an easy meal. The trick is to toss it just outside of some cover. Most of these fish are ambush predators. They’ll sneak up from below, then slam into it in a burst of speed.”
Not wanting to be outdone, I started looking for my own bait. Brushing my foot back and forth, I saw three different bugs take off in three different directions. I started to chase one, only to be distracted by a new bug and losing track of all of them. After several frustrating minutes where I could feel the eyes of the others on me, I was getting mad. Then it happened.
“EEEEIIIIIKKKK!” I let out an incredibly manly scream as a bug unexpectedly jumped onto my chest, startling me. I most definitely wasn’t flailing my arms at my body trying to brush it off.
“BAHAHAHAHAHA!” Both kids started laughing at me, Sheila even went so far as to fall out of her chair.
“Oh gods!” Nick laughed, bent over double. “That shriek! AAAAAH!”
“It startled me!” I tried explaining, but could only shake my head as they weren’t listening.
“Get it off! Get it off!” Nick bellowed, flailing madly at his chest as he spun in circles. Flopping to the ground, he leaned back and sighed. “Ah, thanks for that Terrance. I haven’t laughed that hard in ages.”
“You’re welcome.” I muttered, flopping to the ground myself as I pondered my reaction. Had anyone back home laughed at me like that, I would already have several plots to get back at them. But these two?
“Don’t look so glum.” Sheila said, bumping into my shoulder. “We’ve all got stuff to be embarrassed about. Nicky boy here passed out the first time he saw his dad cleaning one of the fish he caught.”
“Hell yeah I did.” Nick smiled. “Took me three minutes to finally hit the ground after I fell.”
“Suuure.” Sheila responded, voice dripping with sarcasm.
“But enough about my awesomeness. Should we tell him about that spring you were crying looking at them shear the sheep?”
“NICK!” Sheila lunged for him, but he was already up and running, putting the dirt chair between them.
“Can’t catch me! Listen up Terrance. She was absolutely bawling.”
“Nick! I swear to Reagan that if you finish this story I will castrate you!”
“Why the crying?” I asked, intrigued.
“Niiiiiiick.”
“Her brother told her that she was next. That the first time a girl’s hair got long enough to sit on that it was all cut off and used to make hair for dolls.”
“THAT’S IT!” She roared, leaping over the chair and giving chase. To my shock, Nick was surprisingly nimble, sharply changing directions at will. Sheila would get within a few finger lengths only to miss as he turned, and she would then slip as she tried to match him.
“Her brother had even made a terrible wooden doll.” Before he could finish the story, we all froze as the dog started going crazy, barking at something from the north.
“Cave bear.” Sheila growled out, immediately stopping her pursuit of Nick and heading towards the direction the dog was barking. “Dax! Look back, Away to me.” I had no idea what she was talking about, but the dog apparently did as it took off like an arrow from a bow before swinging out and circling around the sheep.
“Follow.” Nick ordered me, jogging towards the bear that was rapidly approaching. “We don’t know your abilities just yet, so stand back and let us handle it. It’s just a small bear, probably got pushed out of the prime feeding grounds and needs a bit more before hibernating.”
Small bear he says. We were close enough now to see that the bear would be staring straight into Nick’s chest if it got close. “Sheila!” He called out, and I heard her faint voice chanting. Turning, I saw her hands enveloped in a green glow as she held them in a weird configuration.
“Reagan. I call upon your Nature. Grant us now your protection from that which seeks harm. Barkskin.” At the end of her chant, part of the green glow shot off to envelope Nick while the rest spread across her body.
While this was happening, Nick was also chanting as the bear rapidly approached. “Reagan. Bedrock of our world. Let your foundation strengthen my bones, that my enemies will feel my fury. Stone fist.” The brown glow around his hands went midway up his forearms before turning grey. “Ready when you are Shells. Get him in the air.”
Meanwhile Sheila ran up to me and gave a small smile. “Stay behind me. Sorry about not getting you in the protective spell, but the more people I cast on the less it works.” With a gentle push, she moved in front of me and took another step to the side so that she had a clear view to the bear that was now about 15 to 20 feet away. “The enemy approaches. Let Reagan unleash her anger and strike swiftly. Stone shard barrage.”
I watched as a brown glow left Sheila’s hands and turned into several grey cones, before shooting straight into the face of the bear. Leaning in, I watched as it did. . . . absolutely nothing. The shards got caught in the fur of its neck, only one of the shards actually hitting it in the face and it barely left a mark on the bear’s lip. But that one little hit was enough to get the bear to rear up on its hind legs and give a chest shaking roar.
“Come on scrawny! I could use a new rug!” Nick bellowed as he charged in, and I though he had lost his mind. The bear was easily twice his height at this point. It had no idea what he said, but from the barest flash of red I could tell that Nick had done something to enrage the bear. Sure enough, it raised a paw as it fell towards him.
“WATCH OUT!” Sheila screamed as the paw descended, leaving three red streaks trailing it. Nick ignored it, stepping into its range and unleashing a devastating uppercut into the jaw of the bear as it fell to the ground. I saw the grey stone around his fist shatter as the claw slammed into his chest, sending him stumbling back a step and a half. The bear didn’t fare well either, shaking its head as it grunted in pain.
“Take this!” Nick growled out as he recovered and sent the mother of all haymakers straight into the bear’s nose. This time the stone merely cracked and dropped off a bit of rubble, but the effect on the bear was immediate. It staggered back several steps, shaking its head before turning and running off.
“NICK!” He didn’t have time to turn, as Sheila grabbed his shoulder and spun him around before frantically ripping at his shredded clothes.
“Shells?” He asked, confused.
“Where did it get you? I’ve got bandages, where?” She asked, finally getting his shirt out of the way and freezing when she saw he wasn’t bleeding. “Huh?”
“Shells, I’m fine.”
“You. You. YOU BLOODY IDIOT!” She screamed, eventually hitting him in the chest with each word. “WHY WOULD YOU LET IT HIT YOU WHEN IT WAS OBVIOUSLY USING A SKILL? HAVE YOU LOST WHAT LITTLE MIND YOU HAVE LEFT?”
“Sheila. Sheila.” He tried to interrupt, but couldn’t. When he heard her first sob, he yelled back at her. “SHELLS!” Freezing at his tone, she looked up to him only to see his face go from fierce to a gentle smile. “The only skills those bears can learn are claw swipe and power bite. I was never in danger.”
“Never?” She tried to say but was interrupted when he put his finger to her lips and shushed her.
“Barkskin provides extra defense against slashes. How could I be in danger when you have my back?”
“You. Trust me that much?” She asked, voice soft.
“Of course I do.” He said, wiping the tears from her eyes. “You think I haven’t noticed how hard you practice? How you practice through the day with silent casting, yet still use the full chant to get the power boost when we are in actual danger?”
I walked away midway through their conversation, not wanting to intrude into such a gentle moment. While they were doing that, I sat in the dirt chair for a think as I absentmindedly patted the sheep dog on the head. How could he trust someone so much that he would allow a lethal blow to strike just so that he could land a counter on such a dangerous opponent? How sheltered was life here?
Eventually the duo returned, this time Sheila’s arm was around Nick’s waist while his were on her shoulders. “You two good?” I asked.
“Perfectly peachy.” Nick grinned.
“That’s great, but we have a small problem.” I said, pointing to the sheep that were now all herded neatly nearby. And in one massive group.
“Oh that’s no problem. Dax, take time, in here.” Sheila said, and the dog walked towards the group and started separating them to my amazement. She chuckled. “Did you really think we wouldn’t have a way to separate them again? Dax’s good. He’ll have them split up in a bit.”
“That’s amazing. How do you know which sheep goes where?”
“There’s one sheep in each group that acts like a stallion with horses. As far as we know, these are the only type of sheep like this. Dax separates them, and their little herd follows. It’s also how we know how to get them to their owners at the end of the day, or when it snows.”
“Ah, that was bothering me.” I nodded. After that, we all just lazed about near the lake for the rest of the afternoon. That bear was more than enough excitement for me. I could have easily taken it out, but it would have revealed far too much. It at least gave me an idea for what I could do to hide some of my magic moving forward. Once the sun hit the top of the western portion of the crown, we all got up and started heading back.
“Dax, one away.” Sheila said, and I smiled as I saw the dog happily trotting off to herd the groups to the wall one at a time. I could see some movement up there, but it wasn’t enough to really make out who was doing what.
“So Dax herds them in at the end of the day and we just wait? What’s the plan for after we take care of the sheep?”
“Pretty much. After this we have some magic lessons with Father Tomas. Wanna join us?” Nick asked.
“Sure.” I nodded. “Sounds fun.”
“Pfft.” Sheila snorted. “Yeah, we can go with that. Fun.” Shaking her head, she took a half step lead on us as we headed back in, but she kept her hand in Nick’s.