I ran back to the inn and went in through the front door, since I didn't want to waste the time to try and levitate myself back up to my room's window. The innkeeper didn't even glance my way as I passed by and went up the stairs. I arrived just in time to have breakfast delivered and took the tray from the serving cart before the elderly lady could knock on my door.
“Thank you.” I said as I passed by her, gave her a copper coin, and went into the room. She stared at me with her hand hovering in the air as if to knock. I chuckled and closed the door on her and carried the tray of food over to the table. I turned off my powered armor, hung the coat on the back of a chair, then I went over to the bed.
“Is somebody still sleeping?” I asked and hopped onto the bed, which popped the other two occupants up about six inches off of the bed. Afyne giggled, fully awake, and I caught her in my arms and hugged her, then kissed her cheek a couple of times to make her laugh some more.
“I feel a little left out.” Maylia said and fake pouted.
I grabbed her hand and pulled her on top of us and kissed her, too. “There! Do you feel better now?”
“Maybe.” Maylia said with a smile.
We climbed out of bed and sat at the table to eat breakfast and enjoyed it a little more than we normally would, especially after the close call Afyne had the night before with the garglemacer. We finished breakfast and I picked up the tray as I stood.
“Afyne, we're heading out in a little while. Can you head over to the stable with Evus and get the horses ready?” I asked.
Afyne nodded and started to get changed. Maylia gave her a hand to help and I left the room to check on Diofra and Evus and knocked on their door.
“Good morning.” I said when Evus opened the door. “You look positively alive.”
Evus laughed and rubbed his chest through his nightgown. “I don't understand how wounds like that can be healed; but, I'm very grateful.”
“So am I.” I said and put a hand on his shoulder. “Thank you for what you did. I really appreciate it.”
“It was my honor.” Evus said, his tone serious. “It really was a valiant death.”
I nodded. “It would have been fitting, that's true.” I said and gave his shoulder a squeeze. “You still have work to do, though. I couldn't let some creature stop you from fulfilling your appointed duties.” I smiled. “Like escorting Afyne to the stable to prep the horses.”
Evus smiled back. “Escort duty it is.” He said. “I'll need to stop at the castle to pick up another armor chest plate first.”
“I'll go, too.” Diofra said and stood up from the table. “Give me a few minutes to change and...”
“I have a surprise for you.” I said and took out the copies of the flight spell. “You might want this.”
Diofra came over to the door and took the couple of sheets of paper and read the top one. “Are you serious? This is... it's a true flight spell!”
I nodded. “I asked Jessica for it last night and she left it with the queen this morning, along with a map of the cracks that are left in the kingdom.” I said and took the map out.
“By Black Laura's pale white tit!” Evus exclaimed. “Look at them all!”
“Yeah, it's going to take a while.” I said and tried not to laugh as Diofra rolled her eyes at Evus' curse. “Of course, we now have two groups working on closing them, so it's not as daunting of a task as it would be if we were doing them all alone.”
“It is a bit of a relief to know that there's someone else that can deal with these things.” Diofra said.
“We're leaving in about an hour, so if there are any supplies you need, make a list and we can pick up whatever you need then.”
“We're going to need more food and water, since a lot of these are out in the wilderness.” Evus said and pointed to a few spots. “We might need thicker clothing for some of these parts, too.”
“Tell Afyne to get thicker blankets for the horses and anything else they might need.” I said and gave him some silver and copper coins. “When you're both changed, come over to my room to pick her up.”
They nodded and I went over to Allirynn's room and knocked. When he answered, I told him everything I had just told Evus and Diofra and he agreed we should leave after buying more supplies. I told him the hour time limit and left him and Imiryl to get ready and went back to my room. Afyne was dressed and looked a little sad, so I knelt in front of her and she gave me a little hug.
“That was scary last night, wasn't it?” I asked.
Afyne leaned back without letting me go and nodded.
“Evus did his job and kept you safe.”
Afyne nodded. “I know the difference now, just like he does.”
I raised my eyebrows at her and she smiled.
“It was the difference between what Gavell did and what Evus did.” Afyne said. “The monster didn't even slow down when Gavell stepped in front of it and it acted like it was scared when Evus started fighting it.”
I smiled and kissed her cheek. “You are very smart to understand what some grown ups don't.” I said and her face flushed a little red. “Evus and Diofra will be here in a few minutes to take you...”
There was a knock on the room door and I saw that it was Evus and Diofra.
“...to the stable right now.” I finished and she giggled. I led her over to the door and she left with Evus on one side and Diofra on the other. I closed the door and turned around, and Maylia was already completely naked.
“How the hell did you do that so fast?” I asked with surprise on my face and she laughed. I quickly pulled off my pants and tossed them on the chair, then my long sleeved t-shirt and underwear followed it. We were in each other's arms a second later and then on the bed a few seconds after that.
Less than an hour was barely enough time for her to have three 'lessons' and I only managed one myself, mainly because it was so much more fun to teach her. I had almost forgotten that I wanted to have fun, too. Maylia was much more receptive this time and I was very close to her not going passive when I tried to go all the way with her, so I knew it wouldn't be long before we would both enjoy having actual intercourse. I think we were both getting anxious about crossing that final line.
We cleaned up and dressed in our adventuring outfits, went over to meet with Allirynn and Imiryl, and we went to the stable to see that all six horses were prepped and ready to be ridden. Evus was putting the last of the horse supplies into his bag of holding as we walked over to them.
“I guess that was perfect timing.” I said.
“Hunter!” Afyne exclaimed and hugged me. “I got new blankets and better feed bags and...”
I held her and smiled as she happily gave me a complete rundown of everything she had bought and replaced for the horses, which included a new feed mix to give them more energy.
“Now we have to do the same thing for ourselves.” I said.
Maylia laughed. “I don't want a snugly fit feed bag, thank you.”
I turned to look at her and imagined a bit and bridle in her mouth and around her head, then snorted a laugh. “Yes, that would be ridiculous.”
“You just imagined me wearing it, you ass!” Maylia smacked my shoulder and I laughed.
“We can get some of the supplies we need from the general store.” Evus said with a grin and we led the horses along the street. “We'll have to stop at a good tailor for the thick blankets and clothing.”
“We know just the place.” Maylia and I said at the same time and we all laughed.
Surprisingly, it didn't take us long to get all of the supplies we needed, even with all the people working on repairing the damage the garglemacers had done to a lot of the buildings. We even managed to get some actual food from one of the restaurants, mainly because Allirynn had caught the garglemacer before it had rampaged through the place. The food wasn't going to stay fresh for very long and we were all okay with having to eat it within the first couple of days.
If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.
With all of our things gathered and the load of supplies spread evenly over the horses and our bags of holding, we trotted out to the edge of the city. The guards at the guard house gave us a salute as we passed and I returned it. Once outside the city, Maylia and I boosted the horses with speed and we took off at a fast and leisurely pace. The closest crack was only about six hours away, because of the ridiculous speed that the horses could achieve, and we didn't push them hard as we travelled.
*
Jessica went back to the Church of Light and saw that everyone was up and waited for her, because Josh had told them what she was doing. She gave them the map of the cracks around the kingdom that needed to be sealed and pointed out the closest one.
“I gave the map to the queen and she's going to give it to Hunter.” Jessica said. “I've got a speed spell ready, so we should get there before him.”
“It would be better if we coordinated movements with him.” Kara said. “I doubt we'll catch him at the closest one, so I suggest going straight to this one.” She said and pointed to the next closest one that was a couple of days away and in the same direction. “With the carriage and the speed spell, we can be there in a day.”
The Church of Light had purchased a carriage so that the emissaries could travel and not have to worry about always finding a room to stay in.
“I'll have it loaded with supplies.” The head acolyte turned and whispered to the acolyte behind her.
“Jessica, have you thought about keeping Aimee as an apprentice?” Josh asked.
Jessica felt the normal pressure around her increase slightly. “I have thought about it, and I just can't take her back as an apprentice.”
“Why not?” Kara asked, and you could hear the incredulity in her voice, because dismissing an apprentice never happened in The Order, except in extreme cases.
“I have no right to try and teach someone when I didn't even know the basics of magic that any child born here would know.” Jessica said. “It's not fair to the apprentice to have that large of a gap in the knowledge of their teacher.”
“I guess... that's fair.” Josh said, a little unsure. “How are you going to fix that?”
“I'm going back to the beginning, of course.” Jessica said and took out one of the children's books she had bought.
Josh laughed at the bright and colorful book. “Are you kidding? You're so far beyond that!”
“I thought so, too... until I read it.” Jessica said and held the book out. “This one on mana crystals was great!”
“Wait, you're not kidding?” Josh asked and took the small book about mana crystals. He opened it and tried to read it, then winced. “Uh, it's full of stupid rhymes.”
Jessica laughed. “It's a children's book! It's supposed to rhyme!”
“You actually got something out of this?” Josh asked and flipped through the pages without actually reading them. “It's baby stuff.”
“It really is... and isn't it a little sad that we don't know what a baby would know about magic?”
Josh opened his mouth to say that he knew a lot more about magic than a baby did, then he sighed when he saw some kind of formula about mana use that he hadn't seen before. He was going to have to read it to get the proper background for it.
“Can I borrow this?” Josh asked.
“Why else do you think I bought it? I read it twice and it's stuck in my head.” Jessica smiled. “I want it to stick in your head, too!”
“Oh, geez.” Josh said as she pat his head like he was a little kid.
“If you manage to get through it and understand what it's saying, I'll give you a present.”
“It's another book, isn't it?” Josh asked, and she laughed.
“Finish it and find out.” Jessica said and looked at Kara. “I think you're right. We won't catch Hunter at the closest crack. It's almost in the middle of nowhere, so there's nothing to keep him there for long.”
Kara nodded. “Even if he hunts down whatever it is that comes out of it, he's going to move on fairly quickly.”
“Then we better get ready ourselves.” Steven said. “It's going to be a long trip, if this map is any indication.”
“Yes, we definitely have a lot of cracks to close.” Josh said and flipped back to the first page of the children's book. “I just hope there's enough time between them for us to rest until the next one.”
“There will be.” The head acolyte said. “My daughter is getting used to having the Goddess use her body as an avatar.”
“That's great!” Steven said. “I was getting worried about how much time she's been unconscious.”
“You're worried about her and not about me?” Josh asked.
“You're a guy.” Steven laughed. “Who worries about how a guy feels?”
Josh was about to argue, then he laughed instead. Jessica glanced at Kara and saw that she wasn't bothered by that statement, just like she wasn't bothered by wanting Hunter charmed by the Goddess.
“I've got to get some things from my room.” Jessica said and went down into the basement and slipped the emblem she had left on the bed, back into her robes. She didn't know how it had appeared on her, since she had refused it the day before; but, she didn't want them to try looking for her and not be able to find her, especially if they were going on an extended trip around the country to close all of the cracks she had detected.
Jessica sat down on her bed and looked around the room. She wasn't going to be seeing it again for a while, so she quickly made up a small altar and put the markings of the Church of Light on it. She was tempted to add other emblems and items that she had seen on that other magic user's altar at the magic shop, then decided she could to that later if it was necessary. She slipped the little altar into her bag of holding and went back up the stairs to wait for the others.
Kara, Steven, Josh, and Evangeline came back a few minutes later and Jessica followed them outside to the waiting carriage. It was fully stocked for an extended trip, and Jessica used one of her stored speed spells on it and the horses. The entire carriage glowed and stayed that way, and the driver nodded his thanks to her. The emissaries climbed inside and the driver flicked the reins. The carriage took off at a good speed until they hit the outskirts of town, then the driver went to full speed.
*
The next six hours passed by like a flash for me and we arrived at the spot where the crack was to find that the vegetation in the area had been eaten. Not just a little bit, either. It was completely gone. There were no trees, no bushes, no grass, and nothing even remotely close to a plant anywhere within a quarter of a mile of the crack. The illusion of a thicket of trees remained, however.
“What do you think did this?” Maylia asked and stared at the barren ground, which was almost hideous to her eyes, since she had lived for almost a hundred years inside of a lush forest. “I don't think there are even seeds left.”
“I don't know.” I said. “I also don't really want to know.”
“I hear that.” Evus said. “If it can do this to trees and grass, what would it do to a person?”
“We need to close that crack immediately.” I said and hopped off my horse and left Afyne on it. Just as I was about to approach the thicket of trees, a formless black cloud floated out of the thicket. It shifted and changed shape, almost as if it was alive, then I realized what it was. “Diofra! Fireball!”
I formed a solid Mana Presence box around the cloud and Diofra pulled out her mana crystal and said a quick chant to cast the fireball spell. I opened the wall on that side for a moment and caught the fireball inside. I closed the box and held it and the cloud together as I tried to keep my concentration. My skin started to blister as the magical fire burned my Presence and the cloud in equal measure.
“Hunter! Let it go!” Maylia exclaimed and jumped off her horse to stand by me.
“I... can't.” I said and let the fire burn. “If even... one of them... gets out...”
“One of what? There's only one cloud!” Maylia said.
I saw that the fire wasn't going to last long enough, so I started to add my own mana to it to keep it going. The fire flared up and filled the inside of the large solid Presence box I had made and the cloud started to be consumed by the mystical fire.
“N-no, it... it's a swarm. Thousands of... bugs.” I said and tried to compress the box. It shrunk a little and the heat inside increased. It was then that we heard the intense buzzing from the bugs, and whatever they were, they tried to get out. I wasn't letting that happen. I formed another solid Mana Presence box around that one to hold it steady and relaxed as the bugs started to die off in droves. I could see them as they struggled through the flames and tried to break free of their fiery prison. I felt satisfaction as the last of them burned up in the fire and I dismissed both boxes and collapsed to the ground.
“HUNTER!” Afyne yelled and was at my side before Maylia had rolled me over. Burns covered about half of my body and I saw Diofra's tears as she used her major healing spell on me. A lot of the burns faded and she held out her mana crystal and cast the spell again. All the burns were gone from my physical body; but, I could still feel them in my mana.
“Boy, that sucked.” I said with a smile.
“This isn't funny.” Maylia said. “You know you can't do things like that with your Presence and mana!”
“It was all I could think to do.” I said and they helped me sit up. I winced from pain and Diofra wiped at her tears. “Thanks for not hesitating.”
Diofra let out a sob and Evus put his arm around her. She leaned against him and cried her eyes out.
“Dear god, I need to close that crack.” I said and didn't fight god's Presence as his consciousness appeared around me. I gave up everything to his control, except for my head, and he hopped up and ran over to the thicket and went inside. He closed the crack and sewed it shut, then healed it. The illusion faded away and he walked my body back over to Maylia and Afyne and laid down without saying a word. “Thank you, god. Amen.”
The Presence and consciousness faded away and I was left with magical burns that no one but specialized healers could deal with.
“Well, it looks like we'll be meeting up with the Emissaries of Light a lot sooner than I thought we were going to.” I joked, and everyone stared down at me with stern expressions. “Don't just stand there. Go search around for any other bare patches and I'll hope beyond hope that this was the only one.”
The others exchanged looks for a moment and nodded, and Allirynn, Imiryl, Evus, and Diofra spread out to look. Maylia glared at me for only a moment more and nodded, then she went to search as well.
“It's my turn to take care of you now.” Afyne said and leaned down to give me a kiss on the cheek, then she propped my head up a little, put it on her lap, and pet my hair. I could feel her trying to push mana into me and I used a touch of Presence to make the connection. She gasped at the sensation, then I let her discover that her mana wasn't needed. She just held me close and kept stroking my hair after that.
It took a little while for the others to finish searching around and to come back. When they did, they had great news. No bare trails, no bare patches, and no signs of bugs anywhere.
I relaxed and sighed dramatically. “I was not looking forward to doing that again.”
“You are not doing that again, regardless.” Maylia ordered. “Imiryl can encase them in ice, or...”
“Not quickly enough.” I said and pat Afyne's hand.
Afyne stopped petting me and helped me sit up again.
“I'll try to come up with something better, I promise.” I said. “Until I do, though...”
Maylia took in a deep breath and reluctantly nodded.
“Help me up into the saddle.” I said and turned on my powered armor. “This is going to be a long ride.”
I was quickly mounted onto my horse, so I turned off the armor and Afyne sat in her regular spot in front of me.
“Hold on tightly.” Afyne ordered as she took the reins. Since I was pretty much at her mercy, I put my arms around her waist and held on tightly as ordered. I saw her happy smile as she flicked the reins twice, and the horse took off at full speed. Apparently, it wasn't going to be that long of a ride after all.