Claiming a seat at a lonely table in the corner, Ran put his pack on the chair next to him and waited for to be served.

It wasn’t long before a older, panting woman rushed over to him.

“Welcome to the Whisper-”, she paused, regaining her breath, “Whispering Duck. The home of the finest stout north of Aarn!” red faced and puffy cheeked, she exclaimed with exuberance, “What’n can I get you, stranger?”.

Smiling at her enthusiasm, “I’m actually looking for a room, along with a meal and hopefully a bath?” Ran wasn’t holding out for that last one if the smell of the Inn was anything to go by… “And a mug of that stout, since it’s so highly recommended” Ran added, as an afterthought.

“Hmm, honey, I’m ‘fraid we’re all out o’ rooms currently” She paused, thoughtfully, “Though… You be seeming like an honest sought, so, if’n you were really stuck, you could use ma son’s room ’til he’s back. It’s only small, but a bed’s a bed” she said.

“Don’t worry. If it’s any troub-“ Ran was cut off.

“No, that’d be the end of it, honey. I’ve decided.” She affirmed. “How many nights will you be stickin’ around?”

“I’m just staying the night, actually”

“That shouldn’t be a problem”, and gave me a huge smile, “Little Peter’s room is upstairs, last one on the left.” She hesitated, a frown furrowing her face. “That should be er- two silver and thirtee- er- fourteen copper. Sorry, my Da always said I shoulda worked on my numbers more”.

Ran handed over the money and a shadow of sadness flitted across her face before her sunny mask was back up, “Sorry, hun, I’ll jus’ bring ya some beef broth that’d been slow cook’d all day”, she turned away, shouting to the barkeep before stopping, then turning back and flashing Ran a sympathetic smile.

“But if’n you be wanting to bathe, I’m afraid you’ll be haf’n to go to the public bathhouses.”

It was a faint hope.

______________________________________________________

After dinner, Ran decided it would be best to turn in for the night, so he headed up to the innkeep’s son’s room, and took a look around. The woman wasn’t lying. The room was indeed small, but that has never been a problem for Ran. Giving the room a quick once over; it seemed to be around six by five feet wide, with a small mirror and a water basin beside the bed.

Sighing, Ran took off a necklace that was hidden under his shirt and placed it on the bedside table next to him. The necklace was an odd one, it appeared to be a single tooth on a black string, with a couple of feathers attached by the base. However, if you caught the tooth just out the corner of your eye, it almost seemed to waver, as though seen through a heat mirage.

Splashing some water on his face, Ran examined himself in the mirror, smiling wryly. It had been a long time since vanity had concerned him.

Maybe I could do with a bit of a clean up… Ran thought, seeing his face caked in dust. I just wish they had a bath here instead.

Sighing again, Ran really looked at himself. He looked like death warmed over. His flaming red hair had become a sooty brown. The dark bags weighed down his eyes, he had several small cuts across his face, and his pale face was either red or peeling from the strong sun on the way here.

Almost there. Ran told himself, Just a little further to the border, then it’s smooth sailing from there.

After washing up as best he could, Ran sat crossed legged on the floor and started to breathe deeply.

Centre. Calm. Control. It had become so easy since… Well, Ran didn’t really want to think about it too deeply. Focusing on his mantra, Ran felt down deep inside himself, looking for the power he had so easily gotten used to using lately.

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There you are. It still amazed Ran. The blazing well he saw inside himself. Mana… Qi… Whatever you wish to call it, it’s all the same. Will.

Satisfied, Ran concentrated on the spellform, imagining how his will will affect reality. This part had always come easiest to him. In fact, it used to be the only part of a spellform that Ran could actually do with any regularity. The Imagining. No matter what it was, a natural phenomenon, an idea, an emotion. Ran’s brain could understand the very essence of the concept. Of course, in reality, what Ran thought he understood about, say, lightning, and what lightning actually is are very different. It didn’t matter. All that mattered to Ran was that he understood the essence of lightning.

Taking a deep breath, and holding it. Ran pictured silence and hiding in his mind. Next came the part Ran used to struggle with the most. The gathering of Will. In this step, one must use their Will. The Will has been called many things over many years in many cultures, but, inherently, they are all the same thing. A person’s internal Will to change external things.

Then releasing the breath, Ran muttered, “Gone”. The final part. The Word. By themselves, words didn’t actually hold any power, but when imbued with Imagining and Will, a word became the medium the the sorcerer affects the world. In this case, Ran cast a simple spellform to hide his whereabouts to anyone who might be looking via magical means. The necklace achieves basically the same effect without any energy expenditure, however, it requires an active and awake mind to use.

Finished with the first, Ran quickly cast several more spellforms on the room and the door,

“Lock. Hold. Alarm.”

Although, the words themselves alone do not hold any power, they have a sympathetic relationship with the intent of the Imagining and the Will. To put it simply, the more a single word aligns with the intent of the spellform, the stronger the result will be. Of course, this led to  spellformers trying to learn as many words as they can, so they can always have the strongest sympathetic link possible. But for Ran… Well, that wasn’t necessary anymore.

Done with all his precautions, Ran finally lay down on his bed and slept as Pips squeezed in beside him.

______________________________________________________

Ran woke with a start.

Panting, and with sweat pouring off his body, Ran sat upright in bed. Beside him he heard an indignant squeak as Pips was flung from his comfortable resting place on Ran’s arm.

“Criff. Sorry Pips.” Ran soothed, still getting his breath back. Pips just turned his face away, clearly unhappy with his rude awakening. Softly laughing at his antics, Ran stroked his back and reached into a pocket for a bit of dried jerky.

“Here, take this” Ran offered the meat, which Pips quickly gobbled up. “Am I forgiven?” he asked. The grey ferret looked at Ran seriously before gravely nodding his head. A warning.

“Sheesh, I thought I was a bad morning person.” Ran said, getting out of bed. Ahh, still no bath. Guess a few more days won’t hurt. Almost there. Calm. Control.

Ran started the new morning by getting dressed and performing his daily routine of stretches. It had been a habit he picked up after a few days into his journey. Walking all day for months is painful enough without cramps.

Finished, Ran decided to head downstairs,

“Unlock. Release. Remove.” Ran quickly disarmed his precautions, and was about to climb the stairs when he suddenly heard mens voices below,

“-oking for a young man matching this description who may have traveled through this way over the last couple of days. We we wondering if you had seen him?” Said the first voice. Ran froze where he stood. How have they found me so fast?!

“Oh my! Has he done something bad?” the voice of the older woman from last night rang out.

“I’m afraid that’s confidential, madam.” Said yet another gruff voice.

That was enough for Ran. Without making a sound he retreated back into his room and scooped Pips up into his hood.

“Time to go Pips.” He explained, “Now I know you hate this, but it’s the only way.”

Pips is gonna be mad for ages. Ran thought. Well, better than dead I suppose

Sitting down, Ran took another deep breath, trying to steady his heart rate. Centre. Calm. Control. Ran Imagined several things at once. Lock. Hold. Brace.

“Okay, the door is sorted.” Ran said to himself. Centre. Calm. Control. Ran could hear footsteps on the stairs. No time!

“We know you’re up there kid!” A voice from below.

“Just come out! We will give you a fair trial!” Another voice coerced. Close this time.

“Criff this!” THUD “Let’s just break the door down!” A third, more agitated voice shouted. Right outside. Centre. Calm. Control.

“Stop, you idiot! This door and wall have been spelled.” Finally, a fourth, more authoritarian voice commanded, “Listen, Ran. I know what’s happened. You’re a wanted criminal. The whole might of the Empire will follow you wherever you go. There’s nowhere you can run that we won’t find you. Just give up. We will be lenient.”

Ran just ignored him and focused. This spellform wasn’t easy, and if something went wrong, it could be disastrous. Not just for Ran and Pips, but the whole village of Matarn.

“Really sorry about this Pips.” Ran muttered, then spoke a sentence.

Centre. Calm. Control.

“Jump”.

The world disappeared.