I pushed my steed faster, farther. When Daniel and Patricia came to me and asked if I had seen Nicholas I thought it was no issue, he must’ve just been with Bruno or Chris, I had said. I prayed to the gods my carelessness hadn’t cost the boy his life. My worries had only started gnawing at me when Bruno had come to me in the evening asking about Nicholas, I of course asked him if Nicholas might be with Chris or Alana. He said Chris and Alana had been with him since noon.
I pressed my steed, the last vestiges of sunlight dying behind the thick forest canopy. The long shadows teasing the edge of my vision like thieves in the night. My thoughts at the time were rationalizing, Nicholas would never put himself in danger, he was the only apprentice who actually listened to my advice the first time. I heard the calls of evening doves as a murder of crows flew overhead. I was no diviner myself but the signs were plenty obvious when I looked for them.
Somehow I only went into the forest when young master Silas brought an omen to my attention. The village was small and news traveled fast, there was not a single person who did not know that Silas had been given the gift of prophets, his awakening–a term the village apothecary had thrown around–had apparently been an intricate understanding of the world a mile around him, a sure signifier for divining, even I knew that.
The omen was of a dream he had, supposedly in the dream, he saw a daffodil grow in the day and then wilt in the night, then I would be the one to pick the poor flower. The imagery must’ve been nonsense for the boy, but his words nearly made my heart stop. My dearest mother had helped deliver Nicholas on a bed of daffodils. I was only a boy myself at the time but the memory stuck out to me, because the child hadn’t cried a lick.
The sound of my steed’s hooves striking the ground–drifting as we slid through turns in the road–filled the air. My eyes searched frantically for any sign of someone going off the path. There! Pieces of the underbrush, bent down, recently walked on! I hopped off my steed and rushed quickly into the forest, sticking close to the ground to conceal myself. I heard a massive crack, as though thunder had shouted from the trees, I moved faster, readying my bow.
I saw blood on the ground, much of it, I feared the worst. I followed the trail even faster now, damning myself to a painful fate if anything too dangerous was nearby. The trail was ragged now, and carried signs of a pursuer. Then the trail abruptly ended, the grass in front of me must’ve been eight feet tall, I saw the branches of massive trees hanging over the grass, stretching out to create a massive cover that must’ve been tens of dozens of feet wide, I walked further into the grass, and I came across a peculiar sight, a shabby spear–probably goblin made–and the grass around it was dead yellow.
I walked into the center of this strange area of growth and in a ten foot radius around Nicholas, everything looked as it did in the rest of the forest. Except of course the bones and dead grass surrounding him . I didn’t know what was happening, all I knew was that Nicholas was covered in both blue and red blood, and he was heavily wounded.
I quickly put a splint on his leg, the best I could in the darkness, and lifted him gently as I could between my arms, I tried to keep him still best I could. I hadn’t brought any bandages, I would need to get him back fast. He was slowly bleeding out, I had to hurry.
I carefully retraced my steps out of the trail and onto the path once more, I hoisted the boy up onto my horse and sped gently as I could back to the village. It was pitch black when I arrived, but my eyes had somewhat adjusted, I could see Daniel, Patricia, and Keffler, waiting anxiously for my return. I slowed my horse as we passed through the barrier, we went quickly to the apothecary. It was late at night and I could only hope the Apothecary was awake.
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I awoke to a pounding on my door. What someone could possibly need at this time of night I did not know.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
“Coming!”
The incessant pounding did not tire.
“I said coming!” I shouted, rather angrily. I donned my apparel, all the while growing more annoyed at the knocking.
“What!?” I yelled as I pulled my door open “Could you possibly-” my anger fell “-oh.” the boy was heavily wounded, multiple lacerations and heavy bruising across the visible parts of his body. “Bring him inside, quickly.”
“Is he going to be alright?”
“I don’t know James, I can’t exactly see through his clothes now can I?” I said, perhaps a bit too much venom in my voice, my awakening still had yet to leave my mind. We rushed through my abode until we reached the apothecary in which I conducted my business. “Quickly, put him on the table,” I reached for my tools “and put on the lights.”
“Where are the torches?” Said Keffler.
“Nevermind, I’ll do it myself,” I activated the magic circuit connected to my everlight torches. I returned to my patient and cut his shirt open.
“What are you doing!?”
“Ensuring he doesn’t have a hole through his chest,” Multiple lacerations, a broken arm and leg, possibly broken ribs indicated by the purple bruises at his sides, a particularly nasty cut at his left side.” James, I need the Goldroot.”
“How much?”
“Two Jars,” I analyzed the boy, I further deduced he had already started healing at an accelerated pace. “James, where did you find this boy?”
“Off the road.” He handed me the Goldroot. “Why?”
“He seems to be under the effects of a minor healing spell,” There was something strange about this spellwork “Was there anything special about the area you found him in?”
“It was very overgrown, except right around him.”
“He’s been trying to progress his magic for a while now, do you think it’s connected?” said the man whose name I did not know.
“Oh by the gods Daniel-” Ah, that was his name then “-do you think he made a deal with fey!?”
“Don’t worry Patricia,” said Keffler “Nicholas-” that was the patient’s name then “-is smarter than that.”
“Smart enough not to go into the woods by himself?” James asked, I assume rhetorically.
“Quiet!” I shouted “I need to focus. James, white quartz dust, one container.”
“Here.” James handed me the dust.
“You can cast aside your fears madam, Nicholas has nothing the fey would want, even if there were any in the forest,” I began mixing the ingredients, infusing them with my mana. I grabbed the distilled water and mixed the powder I had made into it seamlessly. “Hold his mouth open. He has to drink this.”
Keffler opened the boys mouth, and tilted his head. “Like this?”
“Perfect,” I poured the concoction down Nicholas’ throat. “Has Nicholas here found a mentor?”
“As far as we know you’re the only permanent resident who knows any magic at all.” Said Daniel.
“Incredibly strange.”
“How so?” Asked Keffler.
“The spell casted on him carries the intent of a fourth level spell, but has no structure at all, it should not be working the way it is,” I paused, realizing no one would understand what I was talking about, perhaps I should further explain “As a spell with only unstructured intent and a circuit, it should at most instantly heal Nicholas using the mana from the spell itself, which can be incredibly damaging to the body. However, this spell is instead working by accelerating Nicholas’ own healing process, a method much better for the body, but much harder to pull off, and seems to have multiple different circuits dedicated to multiple different tasks, despite only having a primary circuit.” I paused, realizing that perhaps there was some other information of importance, “Additionally, in order to cast a spell like this, the caster would have to have an intricate knowledge of biology, and at the very least a passing knowledge of the target’s personal physiology.”
“What does that mean then?” James asked.
“I don’t know. I can’t say anything for sure, but it is clear to me after further analysis that Nicholas awakened out there, and has suffered from mana flood, meaning he channeled too much mana, and his mana pool perforated, my concoction has healed the burst, however, it should not be completely healed as it is now-” I wiped my hands off “-I will need to keep Nicholas here for observation, he should be unconscious for a few days while his body heals itself.”
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“I didn’t really mention it when we brought Nicholas in, but…”
“But what James? he hasn’t woken in four days, anything might help.”
“On the way through the overgrown area I saw a goblin spear, surrounding it was dead yellow grass, it wasn’t tall like the rest, and in front of Nicholas the same was true, but no spear, only bones.”
“Curious.” Just what happened out in those woods, young Nicholas?