Journal Entry #24
So, it turns out magic is complete nonsense.
Or at least that’s what I’ve determined after we returned to the cave the next night. The witch brought out the cauldron once more, but before we could start, she demanded to know why I ran off right as I was making progress.
I tried to dodge around the question, saying that I was just frustrated, but she didn’t buy my answer, and kept nagging at me until I finally told her that I’d rather be at home with my family than here in this shit-filled cave learning magic.
My outburst didn’t phase her at all. In fact, she smiled and asked if I was thinking about them last night.
I didn’t answer, just scowled, but the witch must have taken that as a yes, because she excitedly started heating up the cauldron, and asked me to do the same thing tonight.
My temper boiled over in sync with the cauldron, making my vision go red as I stood up and kicked the rotting cauldron away from her.
The witch of course, was not happy with me, and sprung to her feet as well, then glared at me as the redness flooding my eyesight collapsed into a single ball in front of her hand.
She must have tracked my eyes as they followed the light, because she raised her hand, then sent the red ball down the cave, cackling as I turned my head to follow it.
Turns out “seeing red” isn’t just an expression.
---
Travis
Rocksday the 5th of Ninethmonth
Bluerock Fortress – Main Hall
“Liger, use Solar Strike Claw!” Thaddeus roared over the gathered audience for tonight’s ceremony. I couldn’t make out what was happening, but the sound of clattering of dice followed immediately by a chorus of cheers made it obvious that his attack was successful.
Focusing back on what I was supposed to do, I smiled as the next little girl in line to meet Seleyna kept turning her impatient head around and tugging on her mother’s skirt to ask if she could instead join the other children. Thankfully the princess was gracefully taking everything in good humor, so she quickly handed off the box containing the small Fortresses & Fighters figurine, then told the little girl to hurry and find a good spot to watch the conclusion of Squad 2’s demonstration match, smiling brightly as they scurried off.
After overhearing me mention offhandedly that I had no clue that the tin soldiers I had growing up were pieces to a popular strategy game in the capital, Squad 2’s mages were appalled when they discovered that I was far from the only person not in the know. As a result, they decided to make it their personal mission to teach every single rural child we encountered on our Fall Expedition how to play the game. Now that we were on our fourth stop, their routine and presentation was well rehearsed, with the Creeksmith twins standing on opposite ends of a banquet table using their (by even Arc’s standards) impressive control over Fire and Water to conjure cat-sized monsters to take turns attacking each other. Mattius and Treblana, not wanting to be overshadowed, crafted oversized dice for the children to roll, and were in no way at all fudging the dice rolls to keep the matches interesting.
Safe to say, Squad 1 was getting upstaged.
“I still don’t get how they can do that.” I commented as Zaccheus’ summoned shadecoon leapt forward for a tail swipe.
Drozuk snorted in reply, “You humans and your affinities… you’re all a bunch of cheaters.”
I gave my orkish friend the stink-eye, “I don’t have an affinity. Remember? I spartan’d myself because I was too impatient to start training to become a mage.”
“I do. It’s why you’re one of the few humans I can tolerate.” A throat clear from Versil behind us alerted Drozuk to Seleyna’s judgmental stare. “Uh… you of course are included in that small group princess.”
Seleyna’s stern look broke into a grin, “Glad to know. Though you are right, having an affinity certainly feels like cheating at times. That [Fire Arrow] enchantment I used the other day, for example, would have been impossible for me to do otherwise.” She turned to Vesril, “I assume a typical Watcher wouldn’t be able to learn that in four months?”
Vesril shrugged, “Not sure. Watchers often spend an entire calendar cycle just to master mana reinforcement, then another learning enchantments, but their ranks are usually made from those who couldn’t get into a university, so… they’re not known to be quick learners.”
A fresh round of cheers and applause rang out, drawing our attention back to Squad 2. I could just barely make out Zaccheus doing a ridiculous victory dance with Treblana that included multiple hip checks, high-fives, and him picking her up by the waist to spin around.
“Ooh… Mattius looks pissed, bet he’s regretting scrubbing the high numbers off his damage die now.”
I groaned; looks like we won’t be making any progress on his puzzle box tonight. The guy was a paper beaver when it comes to girls, all confident and resolute when motivated, but the second he caught a potential whiff of himself falling short, he’d turn into a miserable pile of insecurities.
Releasing one last sigh, I gave Arc his usual rub, then turned my attention back to our group just in time to see an older man in formal Lakelander attire approaching us with an ornately armored dwarf.
“Princess Seleyna, before we begin the ceremony, let me personally thank you for visiting our humble fortress. It honors us greatly, especially given that your impressive ship could have merely extended today’s journey by an hour to arrive at Union Fortress.”
Seleyna smiled, “No thanks are needed Jarl Clemet, your fortress is more than deserving of the crown’s attention. Without you defending the territories north of Union Fortress, the kingdom’s largest trade hub would be under constant attack.” She paused to briefly look around, then leaned in to stage whisper, “Also, last time I was in Union Fortress, I didn’t get a wink of sleep from all the noise. If I’m going to walk around those overcrowded markets tomorrow, I’m going to do it with a good night’s sleep.”
The two continued to trade pleasantries, but I lost focus once I noticed that the bearded dwarf accompanying the jarl was staring at me constantly through narrowed eyes. At first, I thought they were just trying to get a peek at my poleaxe like every other dwarf I’ve met, but the long duration, along with a subtle growl rumbling in their throat, was making me grow nervous.
“This guy’s making me feel uncomfortable too.”
“Speaking of renovations, allow me to introduce you to Aravruil Pebblefall, Paladin of Adamanrion. They’ve been instrumental in helping us complete the refurbishing of our defenses ahead of schedule.”
Aravruil either didn’t hear or didn’t care, because they ignored the jarl and continued to glare at me. Despite their short stature, I felt small standing before the dwarf. Their beard had two sets of braids, indicating that they were at least two eras (188 years) old, and if that wasn’t intimidating enough, their armor compounded their presence.
In a similar vein to their buildings, dwarves decorate their armor with runes to denote accomplishments in combat, crafting, and life. Unlike Durinn’s and Thramreat’s armor, which I recall only having a few sporadic decorations, this bearded was covered from head to toe in runes without a single bare spot visible. I couldn’t even comprehend what it’d be like to live for that long.
Luckily, the jarl came to my rescue, giving the immovable object a hard jab in the pauldron to get the dwarf’s attention.
“Aravruil,” the jarl spoke through gritted teeth, “you must have zoned out again while planning the next step of reconstruction. Given that your church sent you here on a mission of goodwill, I’m positive you meant no disrespect to my kingdom’s princess.”
The dwarf reluctantly broke their stare, then cleared their throat in a poor attempt to recompose themself, “Apologies, Princess Seleyna, I was… distracted by the unusual company you keep.” They briefly glanced towards me once more, anger still flooding their eyes, “It’s not every day I witness a walking paradox.”
Seleyna plastered on a fake smile and attempted to diffuse the situation, “I see rumors about Travis have reached even here. Though, I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised. Being the first official Human Elementalist Mage is one thing, but to have such a humble origin as well…”
Aravruil scowled, “That is not what I was referring to.” They raised an accusatory finger at me, “This child carries both a weapon blessed by the divine and an abomination of creation! Has your kingdom abandoned all propriety? I will not stand this insult to Adamanrion’s domain of purification!”
“Travis, don’t listen to this bigot. Your poleaxe is not an abomination.”
Despite Arc’s attempt to reassure me, I was paralyzed from the mix of fear, awkwardness, and general confusion over what was happening. The dwarf was overflowing with zealotry, now quoting scripture at the top of their lungs, and drawing in the entire hall’s attention. Even Seleyna had dropped her jaw in utter amazement at the sudden capsizing of events.
A blur of darkness blinked in front of me, and a set of leather armor covered in smoke-like tendrils of Shadow filled my vision.
“Sir Travis,” the commando spoke in a tone oddly reminiscent of my dad when trying to calm an angry bull, “please stay your hand. I will dispose of this nuisance.”
Raven Four raised his arm, sending the Shadow Mana clinging to his body into the air, and casting a curtain of darkness over the area. For a long second, I couldn’t see a thing, but then the collected mana began to dissipate, revealing that the commando had disappeared, along with the dwarven paladin.
Silence now filled the hall, the eeriness almost more unsettling than the dwarf was, until… someone next to me started haughtily laughing. Turning my head, I was surprised to see that it was Vesril.
“That was the most entertaining thing I’ve seen all week.” The hysterical high elf spoke in a complete reversal of his usual dower and unamused attitude, “Honestly, you’d think an official of the church would know better than to trust old bardic tales." They shook their head, “Calling your sword an abomination of all things. Are they going to claim that it whispers to you in battle as well? Goes to show that even the brightest of dwarves can go senile with age.” He gave my shoulder a friendly clap, then moseyed up to Seleyna to gossip.
“Wait a sec… he thinks the paladin was referring to me?!” Arc then started spitting a torrent of curses at the absent paladin, claiming their mother was a rodent, and their father smells like… old man berries?
Fully distracted, I didn’t even notice Drozuk approaching me with a worried face until he jostled my shoulder.
“Travis, you okay?”
“Umm, yeah… just a little shaken.” I sighed, thinking back to my previous encounters with paladins, “You know, just once I would like to meet a normal paladin.”
Drozuk beamed with a toothy grin, “Well… since tomorrow’s Woodsday, and we’ll be in Union Fortress, how about I be a good Apherosian for a change and actually go to church with you tomorrow? If we’re lucky, my uncle Marceles will be in town, and I can introduce him to you.”
I briefly hesitated at the thought of entering another church but was able to rationalize that Apheros was unlikely to try and talk to me, “Sure, that’d be great. Oh, we can find out for sure if he’s the one that healed my dad.”
---
Reidar
Woodsday, the 6th of Ninethmonth
Warden’s Hammer
ETA to Union Fortress Palace – 12 minutes
Standing patiently on the aft deck with the other spartans, Reidar waited for the mages and knights to finish their morning debriefing from Captain Adaline over expected behavior for today’s shore leave. The Royal Knight’s speech was oddly reminiscent of the warnings Braxton used to give his first squad before they went on field trips, and it was making him miss the old spartan. He hadn’t gotten to visit as often as he would have preferred due to his studies.
Thanks to the royal banner strung from his mast, Warden’s Hammer was able to drift past the port authority’s oxbow and bypass the heavy nautical traffic awaiting passage through Union Fortress. A few minutes later, the opened gates to the fortress were properly in sight, causing Reidar to frown at the structure.
A carving of Apheros lounging in a stuffed chair surrounded by three beautiful women adorned the central tower dividing the flow of traffic beneath the two gates. Since the artist didn’t include the ironbark helmet, the nature god’s beaming grin of intense self-satisfaction was on full display as he was waited on by the goddesses. To the left was Philiadra, holding a book in her hands and reading the contents aloud, to the right was Erosathan, carrying away a tray of eaten food, and below at the feet of Apheros, Jormania was tying his feet to the legs of the chair.
“Trying to decide which maiden to visit?” The ship captain cackled, forcing Reidar to snap his head in attention.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Reidar tilted his head in the military standard gesture of inquiry, “I will need more context to answer your question.”
“Come now, no need to act like your stripes are still drying. Even a sprout knows the adage, ‘What happens in Union Fortress, stays in Union Fortress.’” The grey-haired and darkly tanned Lakelander chuckled once more as he clapped Reidar on the pauldron, “I was your age once… headstrong and full of vigor, but remember, even Apheros couldn’t conquer all three rivers in a single day. Best to just pick a single stream, otherwise you’ll end up underperforming and disappointing the lasses or… eh, lads if your boat drifts that way.”
Still at a loss, Reidar remained as still as an oak, not saying a word while his mind raced to puzzle out what the sailor was talking about. It wasn’t until Varguk crept up to whisper in his ear that light finally shone through the leaves.
“He’s asking if you’re going to visit one of the brothels.”
One of the more irritating traits of being half Northman oddly wasn’t that his skin burned easily in the summer sun. In fact, nowadays with him wearing his armor nearly sixteen hours a day, and classroom studies keeping him indoors, it had been barely a nuisance this past summer. No, the feature he truly hated about his skin was that his pale complexion made it vibrantly clear when he’d blush with embarrassment. Braxton once joked that he could turn as red as a tomato.
Wanting to hide his face, Reidar turned to face the knights and mages who just finished their meeting, and almost sighed in relief at the sight of Travis waving for him to come join. The temptation to leap over the banister onto the main deck and escape his snickering squad-brother and ship captain was strong, but he preserved, willing himself to march steadily down the steps to join Travis.
“Reidar, once we get settled in, a few of us were planning on going to church before getting lunch and exploring the fortress. Do you want to join us?”
‘Hmm… that’s an intriguing proposition.’
Despite being the Chosen of Apheros, Reidar hadn’t yet gone to a church service dedicated to the nature god. He was assured that it wasn’t required, and that it was actually easier for Apheros to communicate with him on Voltsday when he visited the Shrine of Protection due to there being less “noise”, but he did feel some minor guilt about not showing proper reverence for the god who’d taken a personal interest in him.
“I’d be happy to accompany you. Is there anything I need to do in preparation?”
One of the identical twins of the Creeksmith family barked a laugh, “Yeah, get some vocal warmups in. If Travis is half as good at singing as everyone claims, we’re going to need to break out the oars to keep up.”
‘Keep up? What does he mean by…’
A heavy boulder of dread sank into the pit of Reidar’s stomach as he remembered that he was only half Lakelander.
---
Arc
Wow, these kids are spoiled.
After skipping what should have been an hour long wait to go through customs, the ship sailed straight into the upside-down peace symbol that was the fortress’ layout and arrived at the private dock for the local jarl’s palace. Everyone on board, including the horses, had their luggage carted to their luxurious rooms while they got a quick tour of the Mediterranean (or maybe old Hollywood) styled mansions from my previous world. The kids eventually entered one of the white marble additions topped with red low-pitched roofs and arched doorways and got to work changing out of their uniforms.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay here by yourself?” Travis voiced as he put on his board shorts and tapered shirt.
“Yes, I’ll be fine.” I assured for the dozenth time. “My range is much farther than it was in the capital, so I can entertain myself with people watching. Now, quit fussing over me, and go have fun with your friends.”
Travis let out a nervous sigh, set me on the weapons rack next to his poleaxe, then exited the room.
I mentally yawned as I let my focus drift around the palace grounds, hoping to find someone interesting to spy on. The small army of servants and corpsmen in the palace loved to gossip, so it didn’t take long for talk about the visiting battalion to spread, including a spicy tidbit that Seleyna’s oldest sister and Galehaut were once arranged to get married.
After about an hour though, I got tired of overhearing vapid tales, so I instead decided to follow Private Tomas around as he personally made sure Travis’ nameless horse was groomed and exercised. I did find it odd that he didn’t take the local stable boys’ offer to do it for him, especially after the other corpsmen tried to coerce him into joining them out on the town, but after watching him guide the nameless horse to a pen, I kinda wondered if he just liked the stallion. My musings, frivolous as they were, got interrupted when a pair of corpsmen approached to knock on Travis’ door.
“Laundry detail.” The corpsman waited for a response, then motioned for his partner to enter the room while they remained outside, swiveling their gaze from one end of the hallway to the other. The partner, a lanky twig of a man that would probably look malnourished if he stood next to Travis or the even beefier knights and spartans, set down the laundry bag he was holding, then walked right past Travis’ uniform, and towards his personal crate. It wasn’t until the frustrated corpsman pulled out a set of lock-picking tools and tried to jimmy open the lock that I finally realized Travis was about to get robbed.
Crap! What should I do?
Thinking over my options, I couldn’t come up with an easy solution that wouldn’t rouse suspicion. Sure, scaring them with a Light and Shadow show would be child’s play, but that might just send them running and screaming straight into the guards. Calling someone over wouldn’t be an wiser, especially with all the mana users gone, someone might be smart enough to notice the discrepancy. Maybe I should just leave them be? Travis has his wallet, and the only truly irreplaceable thing in the chest is the blanket the Hopkins family gave him.
“Forget the chest.” The door guard snarled after a few minutes, “We don’t have time.”
“But the boss said—”
“That I was the one in charge.” Door guy interrupted. “Now, quit dicking around.”
The lanky guy looked like he wanted to protest but must have given up internally after seeing his partner’s vicious glare. He put his tools away, approached the weapons rack where I was displayed, then widened his eyes at my glorious form.
“Phymur’s luck… Shadow, this thing’s made from aelderwood!”
Ugh… of course he falls in love with the poleaxe…
The door guy, or Shadow I guess (seriously, couldn’t think of anything original?), looked as annoyed as I felt, “Figures… we finally find the motherlode, but we have no way to sneak it out.” He groaned, then checked the clock on the wall, “Bones, quit dawdling. We’ve got twelve minutes before the shift change.”
Bones (ugh, again with the unoriginal names) nodded, then to my utter amazement, picked me up from the weapons rack and started stuffing me into the laundry bag.
Well… this is unexpected… Oh wait, this is perfect! I’ll just slink away once we’re in an alleyway, then use Earth and Water magic to…
Shadow moved into the room, gently closing the door behind them, and signaled to his partner to hide behind the bed. Confused, I paid more attention to my surroundings, and discovered that Private Tomas, returning from his caretaking duties, decided to take an unexpected detour down the hallway containing the knights and mages apartments for some gods and God forsaken reason.
The Northman, who I flat out refused to believe was older than Travis due to his late tweenager looks, was whistling a tune and doing a terrible job of looking nonchalant as he checked the name cards on each door. He eventually came across Travis’ placard, made sure no one was nearby, then stepped inside.
The thieves tensed as they heard the door open, prompting Shadow to cautiously reach towards the knife on his belt.
Dammit, I need to do something.
The threat to Tomas grew exponentially as the lad approached the chest, so I quickly weaved a handful of Air Mana into a [Sound Barrier] and [Message] spells, then sent them to the scared thief who wasn’t contemplating murder.
“Stop him. That man will get you killed if he attacks that boy.”
Instead of my usual voice that I based off an audiobook narrator I enjoyed listening to on long road trips, I channeled the gravitas of every single wise wizard that I’d seen on the big screen and even added some reverb for added effect.
My results were mixed…
As Tomas pulled out a key, Bones was darting their head around, trying to find the source of my voice. Panic soon flooded me as the other thief drew his knife and shifted his feet to pounce on the unsuspecting corpsman.
“You fool! Stop him! Now!”
Finally listening to the word of god, Bones grabbed on to his partner with his scrawny arm, earning him a viscous sneer. Shadow, not seeming to care about the consequences of offing someone, soundlessly threw off the offending limb of his partner while Tomas opened Travis’ chest, blissfully unaware of the nearby danger as he began rooting through it. The knife-wielding thief cautiously shifted back into position to attack once more but got interrupted by Bones bear-hugging him from behind.
Now furious, Shadow wrestled free, and spun around with his dagger and held it up to the throat of Bones. With murder in his eyes, he mouthed to his partner that he wouldn’t hesitate to kill him should he dare try and stop him once more.
Thankfully, that was all the time needed for delay. Tomas pulled out a book, tucked it into a hidden pocket in his uniform, then locked the chest back up and exited the room while whistling, still doing a terrible job of not looking suspicious.
Once the coast was clear, Shadow spun his dagger in his palm and struck Bones across the face with the pommel, “Do that again, and I’ll toss your ass over the wall.”
Bones held a trembling hand up to his bleeding cheek and nodded, too frightened to say anything. He then picked up the laundry bag with me in it, cinched it up tight to completely hide me, and followed Shadow out of Travis’ room.
It was only later that I discovered a huge flaw in my plan.
---
Reidar
Riverbark Temple
Reidar’s elbow got nudged in the middle of yet another song he was trying his best to mumble through, and eagerly took the excuse to lower his hymnal to see Drozuk giving him a toothy grin.
“Lakelanders… am I right?”
He had to agree. The differences between this service and the ones he attended for Torbolt with his first squad were like night and day. For starters, the worship book for the service was an entirely separate tome, and needed to be followed closely so he could recite the numerous responses out loud. The rituals also changed depending on what month it was, so earlier when he forgot to mark his spot before swapping to the hymnal, he ended up completely lost and needed Travis to share his book with him. Then there was the sermon. Torbolt’s pastors usually read anonymous accounts from soldiers fighting in the constant war with monsters, often pairing happier tales of victory with more humbling stories of strife. Apheros’ pastors, on the other hand, seemed to prefer analyzing the various tenets the nature god established, and discussing how they can be applied to the audience’s lives.
However, those differences, and the countless other variances, were minuscule when comparing music. Each song in the Lakelander hymnals had eight separate parts! (SSAATTBB) And every single one was utilized by the congregation in perfect harmony. He didn’t understand why they even bothered to have a church choir, until he heard a much more grandiose composition accompanied by a small orchestra during the distribution of bread and cider. The simple chants he struggled to follow along to the beat of a single drum in Torbolt’s church seemed so infantile in comparison.
The service eventually came to a halt, taking just under an hour, so once it finished, he and the mages were able to exit the main sanctuary and head towards a side hall containing a shrine dedicated to Apheros’ Domain of Protection. Once there, Travis and Drozuk separated to speak with one of the clerics, leaving just him and the Creeksmith twins behind to pull out their idols for individual prayers.
Hey bud! Can’t talk long, barely able to grasp on to your thread, but I’ve got some great news! Elafred’s willing to offer you a boon.
‘Elafred? Who is that?’
Minor goddess of sapient critters, and one of my former Chosen. She’s also the progenitor of all those stories about princesses saving hapless knights. If you can’t make it to one of her shrines here, talk to Aelder when you get to Loggercliff Fortress, he’s got a tree there and can fill you in.
Reidar had a lot of questions of course, like what exactly a boon was, but it was not the time or place for that.
‘Anything else I need to know?’
Well… if any of your friends consider partaking in the local—
Reidar looked down at his idol, unsure if he subconsciously cut off the fertility god, or if Apheros simply lost his connection. He sat pondering for a moment, before deciding it wasn’t relevant to his current task, then returned the idol to his valuables pouch and stood up to walk over to Travis. His friend had a sly grin across his face, making him curious as to why, given that Travis’ orkish friend was looking rather distressed.
“Did something happen?”
“Eh, more like something didn’t happen.” Travis teased as he elbowed Drozuk.
The green-skinned Water Mage groaned before reporting with zero exuberance, “My uncle was ordered to report to the archbishop right after the travel ban ended and has been in the capital since.” He clenched his jaw, “Which means I would have likely run into him at some point… had I’d gone to church.”
Reidar nodded, able to easily understand the frustration, but was confused in one regard, “Did your uncle not send a letter informing you of his presence?”
“I received a few but he never mentioned being relocated.” Drozuk groaned even louder, prompting Travis’ grin to grow even larger as the orc’s posture collapsed in defeat, “He did, however, include a friendly suggestion to pray at the main temple when I got the chance.”
“Perhaps you will still be able to visit him once we return from our Fall Expedition?”
“Maybe… but that assumes he didn’t tell my dad that I’ve been ditching church, ‘cuz he’s going to kill me if he finds out.”
---
Paulus, aka “Bones”
Shadow led Bones through the palace grounds at a brisk pace, hoping that they’d be able to make up for lost time, but Phymur must have decided to keep gracing the thieves with his blessings and curses, because the hourly bell chimed right as the pair entered the warehouse.
The two stood silent as they cursed their poor luck and ensured no one was in the vicinity, then moved on to plan their next move. Well, one of them did. Paulus, or as he was better known in the thieves’ guild by his moniker “Bones”, was having a bit of an existential crisis. Just minutes ago, a mysterious voice commanded him to stop his partner from killing an unsuspecting corpsman, and there were only two possible explanations as to who it was.
Either a god had spoken to him or…
Paulus looked down at the laundry bag and gulped. Surely, those ancient stories about spartans going stark raving mad after claiming adamantium blades from marauding Lakelander knights were just old matriarch tales… right?
“Quit daydreaming!” Shadow barked as he backhanded Bones, striking the still tender bruise from earlier, then pulled on his partner’s collar to bring him to eye level and growl, “Prep the disposal cart. I’m going to find a spot for us to hide until the next shift change.”
“C… can’t we just exit normally? Our identity papers the boss gave us should get us past the gate.”
Shadow rolled his eyes, then spoke to Bones like he was a child, “If we exit during the shift change, the guards will only do a cursory inspection to keep the line moving. But since they’re bored now, they’ll take the time to properly rummage through everything.” Done talking, he threw his partner to the ground, then stomped out of the building.
Paulus laid on the hard stone, eyes closed tightly, and breathing through clenched teeth as waves of pain rippled through his body. Once the worst of the tremors were over, he slowly checked over himself, then sighed in relief that nothing was broken. Limping into the free clinic was not something he enjoyed doing, especially since they liked to ask questions, and the guild’s cleric refused to help anyone unless they were dying.
Needing to grunt as he rose, he slowly got to his feet, then started walking to the small handcart filled with old rags and torn uniforms, and was about to toss in the bag when a voice in his ear made him freeze.
“So… you’re just going to let him push you around like that?”
Paulus darted his head around, silently praying that he and Shadow were merely spotted by a guard, but it appeared that he was alone in the warehouse.
“Who’s there?! Show yourself!”
“I can’t really do that… You stuffed me into a bag.”
Deep ragged breaths forcibly drew air in and out of Paulus’ lungs as panic fully began to settle in.
“There’s no need to panic. I harbor no ill intent towards you.” The deep voice reverberated in his ear. “Now, how about you remove me from this bag so we can speak face to… face.”
Paulus’ hands trembled as he peered down at the bag in his sweating hands. His grasp failed shortly after, and the overwhelming urge to run was screaming in the back of his mind, but… then the sword said something that piqued his interest.
“Hmm… perhaps a bargain is needed… If you remove me from this filthy rucksack, I will in return gift you with the power to cast magic comparable to that of a master mage should you hold me in your grasp.”
Paulus stared down at the sword…
Power.
Magic.
There had to be a catch… right?
“What about your previous wielder?”
“The one who left me on a rack like a common soldier’s blade?” The sword sneered. “I sense much more potential in your left toe than he held in his entire body.”
Grinning with avarice, Paulus leaned down to open the bag, but hesitated when his fingers reached the clasp, “The guild won’t let me keep you. We were encouraged to pilfer anything we wanted from that mage, but you were supposed to be delivered to the guild master personally.”
The sword chuckled darkly, “Don’t see why we still can’t do that.”
---
“This frosted mission…” Shadow muttered to himself as he reentered the warehouse. It was only by the grace of Mermes that corpsman didn’t raise the alarm. He’d have to arrange for an “accident” to befall Bones for disobeying him once this job was done.
He moved to the back of the building where the garbage cart was, but stopped mid step upon seeing Bones.
The sword they were supposed to steal was in his right hand, and in front of his outstretched left was…
Bones grinned like a madman, “Rock Bolt!”
The world went black.