Awakening from ages of slumber, consciousness blooms like a celestial flower,
A world no longer dormant, breaking night's grip with newfound power.
- Thoubose
THEO
Over time, my nights filled up with a rigorous routine of exercises and tasks. They weren't keen on me having too much free time; they saw it as an opportunity for my real training to kick in. Not feeling tired at all worked to their advantage, and the cover of darkness allowed me to stay unnoticed. A routine also helped combat the boredom, and fortunately or unfortunately, someone was usually around during the night to keep me company whenever we weren't on the move.
My regiment typically consisted of two hours of physical endurance. That was usually sprinting for the duration or rock climbing, whatever pushes my muscles to their breaking points is what they want out of that time. It takes a lot of exertion to get to a breaking point. Usually, recovery for me is less than a few minutes after I get to that level. I might not be able to feel pain, but the endurance portion definitely has me feeling the burn up until those couple of minutes after I finish. That is a bit on an oddity for me, being invulnerable and all, but I chalk it up to unexplainable Acolyte things.
When someone is around to spar or train, the physical endurance could be two hours of sword play or other kinds of physical defense practice, but that typically doesn’t get to the exertion expected for the time block because it always relies on the partners ability to keep up with my seemingly never-ending stamina. After cardio, I meditate or try to reach enlightenment, so Gerald says is the overall goal. I have no clue if I am doing that right. I am supposed to breath, then think about my breath turning into energy that flows around the world. I have no idea what he means, it’s how he accesses his air channel I guess. It’s definitely not soothing when he tries to talk me through it in his gruffy, what he thinks of as a velvety, voice. So, I just usually spend an hour just listening to breezy move and nature when he isn’t around, maybe someday it will click. I am not too sure without the various essence cores normal people have, it works the same with the whole meditation thing anyways, but I haven’t had the heart to say anything to him. He really seems to enjoy that time of peaceful meditation himself whenever he is able to join me.
Then I work on my essence control, if it’s a safe place. Usually, I levitate objects for an hour or so. I started with just pebbles, but now I can control large objects. It’s not moving the objects with my mind that is more of Coleus’s realm from what I understand, he’s the acolyte of space and time. Montum, the earthen acolyte has a similar ability but he more levitates the object with earthen propulsion, or magnetics I guess is what scholars have deduced. What I am doing is pushing a lot of air pressure under objects for them to raise up. It’s significantly more difficult, I would like to think at least.
To my record, I have been able to do a boulder about four times my size. If I put too much essence in it though, the object can fire into the sky and then back down or slam thunderously into the ground right off the get go. Luckily with levitating this way, it typically only goes up or down unless I apply directional force by accident. I usually still misfire three to four times a night. It’s a large control exercise so I try not to cause earthquakes anymore by picking the biggest object I can find. There was definitely a time when that’s all I wanted to do, because you know, why not pick up the largest thing in the area on a whim.
Lately, my practice has focused on manipulating multiple small rocks. However, it can be risky when they scatter uncontrollably due to my occasional lapses in concentration. Maintaining precision and focus while managing these objects over extended periods remains a challenge, especially when I attempt to multitask with other spells or movements. I believe that mastering the art of multitasking with complex air spells is essential for reaching my full potential. Yet, it's evident that this skill takes a lot of time to develop. My goal is to perform certain tasks almost passively without draining my focus, particularly in battle situations. It has been slow progress overall.
Afterward, I work on precision blasts of air aimed at targets, which I'm quite proud to say I'm becoming deadly accurate with. I can bore a small hole through solid granite from several dozen meters away using the sheer force of air. I'm confident I could create much larger openings if I channeled more essence into my blasts, but that goes against the rules set by the group. They are strict about what I can and can't do since certain uses can severely scar the land, leaving distinct evidence. They already have to use essence on my practice areas to repair them periodically, even without me resorting to forbidden bursts.
To end the day's training, I work on levitating myself, a challenging task. I often collide with objects or get thrown off course, but at least it's relatively safe for the surroundings. Levitation seems to be the quickest path to mastering flight, but I struggle with the threshold of control. I can't seem to sense the forces around me well enough to maintain a solid hold in the air for extended periods. The slightest loss of connection to the air around me results in a sudden fall.
Manipulating the wind or other wind-related aspects, like lightning, is prohibited, especially after the tornado incident. Grandfather intends us to find a trainer before I delve into those elements again. In the past, I've caused significant catastrophes by meddling with these aspects of the air element too many times and Grandfather fears it will get worse, before getting better. Ventum, for instance, once leveled an entire walled city with a massive chain of lightning that was as thick as the city itself. Given the immense energy reservoir within me, it's important to approach these abilities with caution to avoid potential disasters. My inner well of power is like an ocean, and I've struggled to contain and close it when it surges out of control or opens freely.
…
Dusting myself off from the last attempted levitation, which was not bad I would say for standards, five minutes of solid airtime before wobbling out of control and slamming face first into the ground. I walked back to Gerald’s to help him with anything necessary before heading back to Grandfather’s camp. Gerald only visited me during my meditation time last night, to try his best guru Gerald attempt, before headed back. Grumbling about how much work it is to break through to me.
“Aye boy” Gerald called as I got close to his temporary cave. “Yous caused a few mini-quakes last night and don’t think I didn’t hear them trees snappin. I can only wonder how many things were sent to the stars tonight.” He chuckled in amusement. “I’m going to have my work cut out for me.”
“Ha ha very funny Gerald” I rolled my eyes in an over-the-top show. “The sound of the snapping trees was,” I paused hating to admit it. “From my face being propelled against them, not levitating objects.”
“Ha, five to nothin I reckon.” He snickered softly to himself. “I’ll be scoutin out about eight kilometers outside Riverside in all directions, gonna setup a ward network over the coming weeks and a base of operations. This should be a good place to practice, hopefully we can muffle it in time to prevent any mishaps if we find some of that good rock, granite, or quartz to carve the proper runes, plus the silver.” He stared at me incredulously. “Even with all that trouble I’ll be goin through, we aint goin to have any of them there mishaps now are we boy?”
“No Ger, we won’t, you know I am sorry.” I looked down, disheartened.
“Course I know boy, was getting tired of that place anyways. But Roman told me to give yous the raw end of it think’in he’s always the stern one, so here is me, giving you the raw end of it.” Gerald smiled reassuringly.
“Thanks Ger, love you bud. You could never be the bad guy.” I smiled and lifted up internally a bit at that.
“Course yous do, don’t be forgettin it.” He chuckled and smiled deeply. “Love yous too me baby Acolyte, and no, suppose I couldn’t ever be a bad guy to me boy.”
“And five? How are we playing this game?” I shot him an inquisitive look.
“Me game, me rules.” He smiled riley. “Now the prize. Five good mess ups for the night, Five slates.” He pointed to a pile of large buckler sized slates of rock.
“What are you playing at?” I asked incredulously.
“New thing I want to try. Run back to camp with those balancin on your head. They should stack well so no using them hands there!” He ruefully smiled. “Got it! No touchin!”
…
I met back up with Grandfather before he was finished breakfast to help him break down camp. It took far longer than it took initially. I ended up falling or stumbling too many times to admit, cursing at Gerald under my breath during a few of the nasty tumbles that send me careening in the opposite direction down a hill or path. I threw the slabs aside and Grandfather gave me a sideways glance at the oddity which I quickly waved off in frustration, I noticed him hiding a smile, before we both settled on our horses for the ride.
…
We journeyed slowly making the hour and change it should have taken a few additional hours. Most of the ride was on a pleasant road that ran adjacent to a river Grandfather said was the Montum river. This section of the river was dull and slow, not pushing downhill in a rush. Even though we are outside the Mountain Empire, their influence is heavy in this region of Thoubose. Hence, this river being named unanimously after their favored Acolyte so far from their border because the river originates from melt water from the range that holds the highest mountain on Thoubose. The river runs a majority of the continent.
“It’s best we stay settled in free territories. It’s hard to get work as a Valarian in the mountain empire, unlike our new backstory’s success. I just figured that would end any background inquiries, people understanding the struggle right away.” Grandfather snorted. “Out here though, everyone is equal and treated as such, which is something to admire at the least.”
“I would say as backwards as it seems out here, they do have some things right.” I agreed.
“Only backwards because these places have seen much more conflict and haven’t had the resources of the Acolytes and how far their gifts stretch.” Grandfather looked down at the slight bulge under his shirt that covered his peridot teardrop, then back at me. A tension seemingly releasing as Grandfather cut to the core of our struggles. “Theo, please understand, I don’t intend to come down on you so heavily. I can’t imagine what it’s like for you, and sometimes I unfairly try to mold you into a reflection of myself, when you aren’t even mortal.”
“I understand, Grandfather.” Our gazes locked in a moment of shared sincerity. “We are really treading new boundaries and you are trying to do what’s best for us.”
“I try to decide what's best, though my intentions aren’t to show frustration. It’s just that fear grips me when I think about losing you.” His voice trembled vulnerably.
“We’re in this together. You don’t have anything to fear. Once we fix this broken world, we’ll finally be free from being hunted and will just be able to live life.” I met his eyes with hope shining through.
“I know son.” He smiled fondly, seemingly now caste in thought.
Suddenly, Breezy came in as a large quick gust that frantically tussled Grandfather’s long grey hair. He became alert to that behavior immediately, shaking off the daydream and drawing his runic war hatchet and long knife. Grandfather and Breezy had a significant bond due to all our years together, regardless of an inner connection. They had to learn how to keep me safe without a bond. So, Grandfather understood the many ways Breezy communicated.
Looking around, Grandfather reluctantly gave me a nod and I activated my essence. I began to see several images in my head. In an order, I tried to piece together before giving Grandfather the update. His eyes peaked slightly as I worked.
“There are some nasty looking beasts from what Breezy’s showing me. It’s like a wolf, but maybe triple its size, with a lot less hair, like patchy or mangy. They have hollow crimson eyes and massive teeth.”
“That sounds like worgs.” Grandfather said in a serious tone.
“What’s wrong with worgs?” I asked incredulously.
“Wolves hunt as a pack; they typically are cunning animals. These are much smarter with that same pack mentality. A bigger, mutated version of a wolf. They set traps or ambush their prey. They like to stalk them for hours, taunting their prey with horrific sounds as they slowly rally them to wherever they want to trigger an ambush. Any other images?” Grandfather questioned as he jumped off his horse.
“What mutated them?” I asked before continuing.
“Essence. We often see these types of animals in war zones because non-natural essence in the battle torn areas becomes toxic.” Grandfather stared at me intently. “I doubt spells are causing this, there is probably an imbalance caused by an unclaimed gem and some natural anomalies of recent that caused it to passively leak essence. We will have Gerald look for it, it might be a fortunate find. We came across a few of these situations when I was in the Legion, but all our finds went to the Kingdom. We also came across a situation where someone was just poisoning certain watering holes to create these for petty revenge on a neighbor. That traitor was beheaded, but it took years to finally eradicate the line of the beasts.”
Pausing wanting to hear more about the traitor, I pushed back to the situation figuring I could get more of the details tonight or another time. “I see three hunters. They seem a bit petrified if I had to guess.” I relayed. “Why are you getting off your horse?”
“What exactly is a bit petrified Theo? And those things are usually the size of my horse. I don’t want to lose my horse when we are about to go into a river town with limited replacement options; less you order one months out.” Grandfather smiled with a wicked glint in his eyes as he quickly took out a leather strap to sharpen his instruments. I am not sure why this was always a pre-fight ritual for Grandfather, but perhaps it helped him focus and prepare. I certainly know even the best blacksmiths can’t sharpen a blade with six strikes on a leather strap and he never pulled any essence while doing it.
“There’s a more round than usual Montu in the group and he has a wet spot on his trousers. There’s a few other images I need to parse through. It looks like five or six of the beasts.” Montu were the race of people that were favored by Montum. They were stoutly built, double the width of a Valarian, like Grandfather and myself, but typically a third or less the height. Their skin, if closer to their native home, would be pale and mostly void of pigment due to their lack of Krom exposure being mainly a subdermal group of people. The complexion of this individual hinted at the opposite, which was understandable given their absence from the mountainous homes where the Montu typically burrowed to establish colonies, this more than likely not being a native Montu citizen all the way out here. Only the shunned, and their kin, left the mountains.
Grandfather stood up straight and stared at me. The number seeming to set him on edge versus his excited demeanor from seconds ago. “Alright, focus, what else is there?”
“I think they are doing like you said. Three are leading these guys to a ravine where the others are going to spring the trap.”
“Alright, we can’t blow our cover on the first day. I can’t kill these things with a quick call to my gem, but this also could be a good thing if we play this right.” Grandfather said, stroking his beard as he put his knife in his sheath and unfurrowed his rune embossed spear from his left bracer. “No essence for you Theo.” He scolded as he pulled a second plain spear that molded true from a spiral of ore in his saddle bag and tossed it to me along with a sheathed short sword.
The forge work on the black unembellished double edged, extra wide short sword was anything but plain and ordinary. Grandfather had to actually practice these professions we created backstories on, or we would be found out immediately. His dedication to these acquired professions was easily on display with this blade, forged while we traveled without fire and purely metal manipulation with his gem. A simple wind motif embossed on the pommel.
He started to drain a few of his runes from his spear, which I paused and puzzled a look before I pointed towards the direction Breezy was guiding me. “About two kilometers over that ridge is where the ambush is being setup.”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“About how far and in which direction do we have to go to flank them without blowing our element of surprise?” Grandfather replied in a calculating tone.
A large gust of wind flew over my shoulder in the direction of the hunters and after a short pause came back with updated images of the path we needed to go.
“We need to run half a kilometer east and then we should be able to rally to them by arcing northwest a kilometer and a half or so. It looks like they might have another twenty minutes before they are in the trap’s vicinity.”
“I have a semblance of a plan forming, but it might mean you have to take one or two of these things yourself at some point. You can do it. I have no doubt. You train enough for this, and you have your enhanced speed and agility you don’t need essence for. The size is daunting, but you should have nothing to fear if you use your head. Do you think you can do it?”
“Absolutely!” I said without hesitation. “I won’t let you down.”
“We might need to alter the story a bit. We are about to show off some military prowess, if we expect to save these men.”
“I will follow your lead.” I smiled at him.
“Oh by the way Theo, great job there, it only felt like a gem being activated when you pulled at your power that time. Much improvement.” Grandfather smiled in approval.
“I’ve been working on it hard with Ger, that is good to hear!” I just about yelped in excitement.
“Don’t let it get to your head, let’s go, no time to wait.” Grandfather pulled on his bracer, after a quick rummage through his pack, and activated one of his runes. A quick flash of light, visible even in the daylight, shot to the south. “Ger will grab the horses. We need to run on foot, let’s go!”
Then we were off, at a relatively fast pace for the old timer who was obviously using his gem to enhance his movement. He certainly would give me Krom for that I am sure, regardless of the situation. Of course, I wouldn’t say anything, especially seeing the glint in his eyes I haven’t seen in a long time. The glint of a challenge and excitement.
After about twelve minutes of decent trekking through the rough forest terrain, I paused. “We are close, Breezy keep our scent away from these things if you can. I know we are downwind right now, but we want to keep the element of surprise for the other party. In about three hundred meters, we should find the three flanking worgs overlooking the ridge they plan to spring the trap on.”
Grandfather activated another rune on his bracer. “I just turned-on heat source, I’ll sense their location from here.” He let me know as he inspected his bracer a bit further, before using one that made him almost fully disappear from sight. Heat source was a fire-based rune that did exactly that, it found heat sources and allowed the caster to see the changes in their minds eye, while his cloak rune was of the space / time class. “I am going to owe some favors if I don’t want to recharge these non-nature runes.” Grandfather mumbled from ahead, which caught me off guard a bit not being able to see where he was, but hearing him perfectly.
“Let’s sneak up on them as quietly as we can. They seem to be lazing around while they are waiting.” He activated an additional rune, silent stalk on myself with a card he pulled out and placed in my hand. I quickly pocketed the glyph card, as was the practice. My movements quieted until each footstep, even if I wanted to stomp hard or break a branch, would not make a sound vibration. Almost like an invisible sound bubble around my feet and the surrounding ground.
A way others could cast a rune on the non-essence imbued or other party members would be to give them a glyph card like this that they activate, using up a core essence slot from their own arsenal, but providing others it’s benefits at range from them. This was also a quick way to allow a Gemini or essence imbued person an extra passive skill while they still have the ability to use that class of power with their own core availability. When the glyph cards power exhausts, it just becomes inert. There was a maximum range based on various factors like stone composition, but we should be well within it for this.
“Alright” Grandfather whispered. “Two of them are hiding together, I am assuming to jump down on the hunters as soon as they are cornered against the rock edge at the bottom of this ridge. There is one a bit closer than that to us, on the backside of the hill. He must be a sentry scout to guard their flank.”
“Got any plans?” I whispered as low as I could.
“I think I’m going to take the two at the top of the hill, since I can use the rune excuse if things go wrong. I want you to kill the scout and then try to assist the hunters. The pursuers may run after we take down the ambush party, which is ok. Ger will need to hunt them later; we can’t leave these things here so close to Riverside, they spawn like rabbits when they haven’t been cut off from their source.” Grandfather whispered with a pondering look on his face.
“Sounds like a plan. What should we do once we are finished?” I replied.
“We both take opposite paths to the bottom and try to meet the remaining’s flank.” Grandfather relayed as he readied himself.
“I’ll head out first, when should I strike?” I asked as I began making my way towards my target.
“You will hear an owl sound when I am in position.” Grandfather called over my shoulder as he quickly made his way through the brush. I only saw and heard the moving of shrub limbs as he walked. His rune making him almost completely invisible, a slight visual distortion when he moved was the only thing that could cause alarm.
“Here we go Breezy.” I clutched the spear tightly and checked the scabbard’s tightness around my back as I crouched to make my way toward the sentry worg.
I had to get a bit closer than I was comfortable to the beast, to totally see it. That’s something that I wouldn’t have had to worry about if I could have used some essence enhanced sight, but at least I had Breezy to guide me. I crept up and positioned myself next to a tree that was directly behind the target.
Seeing and smelling the worg in person, not fuzzy images and passing scents, really cast a light on this thing. Grandfather was right. A little smaller than the horse I was riding a few minutes ago, it was a big mangy looking thing with pus oozing from open wounds throughout its coat. I could smell an overwhelming amount of decay from the position I crouched, not 15 meters behind the thing. It was a pungent smell that gave me a nauseated feeling in the pit of my stomach. The smell permeated from this thing’s breath, its partially rotting flesh, or a mixture of the two.
“Ooo this guy might be a bit of a meanie” I thought to myself with a chuckle.
I heard an owl hooting in the distance. Startling myself in excitement before I readied to pounce.
Rather than giving the thing a second to react, I leapt out from behind the tree and skewered the beast through its head in one clean motion that left brain matter slowly oozing towards the spears tip. The tip that was now firmly buried in the ground. My natural air acolyte affinity enhanced the jump and speed without needing to access my inner essence, allowing me to cover the gap in less than a heartbeat without blue flashes of light disrupting even during the light of day.
I heard a quick yelp followed by a vicious growl that was abruptly cut off mid-way through its reprisal attempt, I am assuming. I pushed my thoughts to Breezy to confirm the other two were down before bolting down the ravine towards the flanking point.
I received the images of my grandfather appearing from behind some brush, pointing the spear at one, quickly zapping it with a lightning rune that flash fried the rotten flesh off its bones. The other worg turning in alarm, the hair on the back of its neck standing straight up as it let out a vicious growl, only to find its windpipe shattered seconds later as Grandfather’s spear tore through its rearing throat.
“Welp that will do it.” I said to myself as I sprinted off. Excited determination ripe on my face.
…
HUNTERS
“Dang it Darren, those things are hot on our trail. How in Krom’s name are we going to lose them?” the stout Montum man said to his half Valarian hunting companion and best friend.
“I think we might be able to lose them in that little ravine that cuts through the ridge not much further ahead, you need to pick up the pace Charles.” Darren said to the back of the group in a worried tone as the men ran as fast as they could through their familiar hunting grounds.
A screeching howl sounded in the distance followed by another not fifty meters from their left.
“Scary blood sucking leaches… and those screams, they sound like children that are having their flesh removed while alive.” The Venti in the middle of the group yelped, quickening his pace which caused a misstep into a branch, making him lose his footing and stumble to the ground. Venti one of the standard races among the five, standing at a direct middle in height amongst the others, typically exceeding one and a half meters; usually showcasing a warm golden beige complexion and ridged angularly accented features.
“Jyle!” Charles grabbed him as he stumbled.
Looking up the two men saw Darren ahead, the man in the lead, frozen in place the color leaching from his face in terror. As they made their way towards him, Jyle limping slightly with the support of Charles, they saw one of the brutish mutated wolves blocking their path to safety. It’s drool dripping like a small faucet, eyes crimson red and locked on Darren.
The men slowly joined Darren’s side, trembling as they tried to get arrows and bows ready. It let out a brutish howl that shook the men to their core. The distance and ferocity of the howl petrifying the men in place with some type of essence effect, bows and arrows dropping to the floor in reaction. Charles being the only one to feel the full fury, dropping to the ground, skin as white as a ghost.
A granite spear flashed past their vision and impaled the imposing creature through its skull.
“Got that one Theo! Get the one that’s about to take them from behind!” the men heard someone yell from the ridgeline above, barely comprehending their salvation.
…
THEO
I ran down the incline as fast as possible, of course, causing me to ping pong down the sharp ridge as I lost my footing on a moss-covered boulder. This then led me to go over a ledge and fall steeply to the bottom of the ravine with a thud after a number of tree encounters, some breaking by my momentum. Trying to desperately scramble to make sure I wasn’t in the sight of the party; I was quickly relieved my fall went unnoticed. I looked up to see three men absolutely petrified, one of which was lying face down on the ground. Fortunately for me, they faced the opposite side of where I landed. The party was slowly coming to as they realized they just received temporary salvation from Grandfather. One of the men bending down to slap the fainted Montu. He looked visibly clammy from this distance. It might not have been his best look, but he was just seconds from sure death so how could you blame the man.
A whine followed by two rage filled screams sounded from behind the men as I saw the other two worgs charging at full speed, closing the short fifty-meter gap to their prey. I bounded into the path between myself and the two charging beasts in challenge, throwing my spear towards the larger of the two. It missed as my target ducked last second; the element of surprise gone to its heightened senses. I drew my short sword and readied my stance.
The larger of the two, and the leading worg hit me like a ton of bricks as the other circled wide to gain a better positioning. The attacking beast’s momentum was halted immediately on my redout like stance, something I was glad the observers wouldn’t have seen in the quickness of the moment. The worg’s teeth snapped around my sword hand’s forearm only to find itself missing teeth as they crunched down with all their might against my enhanced Acolyte skin. Only damage to me being it tearing my shirt in the process. In a reflexatory shake to free my arm, I accidently slashed the worg’s mouth clean through its Skull in a sideways chop.
“Score!” That probably looked way cooler than the ‘eww get it off, get it off’ reaction that really happened, I thought to myself with a smirk.
The final remaining worg, seeing the swift destruction of its pack turned tail and ran as fast as it could away from the direction of Riverside, through some underbrush, till it was out of sight.
“You ok there!” the Venti yelled from their place in the clearing their daze seemingly ending.
“What a rush!” I replied, trying to sound as casual as I could. “Luckily my grandfather cast a rune on me or that thing might have bit my arm off!” I exclaimed over my shoulder, wincing in hope that they bought the lie as I went to retrieve my spear.
“That was incredible!” one man gasped.
“Your Grandfather is an essence user?” the half Valarian in their group asked in amazement.
“Yes, he is. We have been on the road for a bit, luckily, we heard you. We have been looking to find a place to relocate, traveling to a place called Riverside in hopes that will finally end our travels, if you have heard of it?” I smiled before I turned around and straightened my face out, quickly rolling my remaining sleeve to the elbow to avoid further inquisition. “I am Theo.”
Grandfather made his way down the easier side of the ridge and greeted the group. “Hi all.” He called from the closing distance. “I am glad we were in the area and I had enough of these runes charged up.” Grandfather ripped his spear from the dead worg he approached, which showed only a few charged, lit up runes, remaining from dozens. He shot me a knowing look before lifting his expression in show. Thankfully, he could act way better than Ger. “You aren’t hurt, are you?” he asked me.
“Dear Thoubose look at the amount of unlit runes that spear holds! That is an artifact fit for..”
“Luckily the thick skin you used had enough power to withstand a chomp.” I artfully cut the man off trying to avoid that being the main topic remembered from this conversation. Now, I could tell exactly why Grandfather didn’t leave the other essence color runes charged, trying to draw down the amount he shows he knows after having to use the thing to begin with. “I can still feel it subtly, if you want to deactivate it.” I lied. “I was lucky the rune didn’t crumble from too much impact. I am glad you put the time in storing all those runes.” I exclaimed, following Grandfathers lead, knowing these small towns with little entertainment are just gossip factories. The more you have other people helping you write the story, the better.
The Montu in the group cleared his throat, gaining everyone in the clearing’s attention. “I am Charles, Charles Wasser of the Wasser Huntsmen. We are forever grateful for the intervention. There would only be scraps of clothes left of us, if anything to let our loved ones know we were gone.” He looked down at his wet trousers embarrassingly as the other two began to snicker at their own realization, before my grandfather stepped in.
“No worries gentleman, it was the least we could do when we heard the distress and had some means to step in. I am Roman Smith and this is my grandson Theo, but I believe you already acquainted yourselves.” Grandfather pulled his cloak sleeve back to reveal one of his bracers, this one being more of a utility one with just earthen and water based runes. He tapped on a blue shimmering rune on the bracer just for effect, it had a small depiction of folded clothes and bubbles. Its light faded slightly as the wet spot on Darren cleaned and dried itself instantly. Grandfather then extended his bracer arm for a handshake. “Let’s forget anything about that, terror is nothing to poke fun at.” he said pointedly as the others looked in awe.
So much for not showing too much. I stopped myself from rolling my eyes. Sure its always ok when he does it…
“This here is Jyle.” Charles pointed to the Vente in the hunting party. “And this is Darren.” Charles pointed to the man who seemed to be half Valarian, by the lightened nature of the normally jet-black Valarian skin and the less prominent point to his ears. “They are some of my apprentices. I own the hunting lodge in town. Are you folk coming to town on business, Theo said you lot might be looking for a new home? In either case, we are greatly indebted to you two if you were to stop by and need anything from our wares, it will never be at a charge. Uh, within reason you know.” He smiled bashfully.
“That won’t be necessary at all. We are looking to hopefully settle somewhere that can use my services. I am a blacksmith by trade, after I left the mercenary business behind. The war has uprooted us, and we are trying to find something more remote and removed from the front as to not have to move again. That is the hope at least.” Grandfather returned a warm smile to the men as we helped them gather up some of their displaced supplies.
“Mercenary indeed, that was impressive, you must train the boy well.” Charles eyebrows raised as he took another look at both of us. “You pick that weapon up in your fighting days or did you make it?”
“I had to let the trade go when my daughter came along,” Grandfather admitted with a slight wince, a pain etched across his face unnoticed by the others. “Understanding that death doesn’t put food on the table for your family hit hard. My wife passed away during the birth of my daughter which made me grow up quick. Years later, a similar tragedy unfolded with Theo.” Another wince, laden with sorrow, deepened the lines on Grandfather's face, eliciting a sympathetic ache in my heart. “I needed to shift my focus, to move on from where we were. The next generation of my family needed security. Even if the pay for the risk of winning battles was good, it wasn’t enough once you have little ones to care for. That’s why I threw myself into mastering a new craft. The weapon was a gift from a baron’s personal coffers after a contract, but I am still unable to light every type up. It does give me a challenge to work for when I find some spare time here and there. No advancement though past what I already know.”
Grandfather was careful not to claim ownership for the creation of the spear, knowing there would be a lot more explaining from there, like who did the runic work and so on. The wrong type of attention.
“I am sorry for your loss.” Charles looked around awkwardly before he decided to continue. “We do have a competent blacksmith, but his job board is never ending, and he has been grumbling for more than an apprentice to hire for years now. I think the lead time on asking for something is around five months currently. I am sure he can use the extra hands. Especially with you being an essence user and all.” Charles looked at Grandfather appreciatively. “Our blacksmith is one of the only essence attuned in town. By the look of it, you can do more than just a single essence, which is more than anyone else. We haven’t seen that before. It would be a major boon to the security and bounty of the area if we were to get more of you lot to settle back here.”
Jackpot, I thought as we uncovered a huge piece of information that could help us blend in better, while allowing me to practice with relative ease. Not only was there a small group of essence attuned people that even more fortunately could only use one essence type, but there was likely no hidden Gemini lord to contend with, which was expected of course. Any smalltown gossip would obviously lead with or clarify that bit of information once we revealed what we did, although a Gemini out here would probably try to stay hidden. It would be a profound oddity for such a rare power to be here of all places, which was one of the reasons we set out for Riverside when we started our journey, but it was good to be extra sure.
“Would you like us to escort you to town? We owe you a few pints for the save at the very least, and it would be nice to get to know some prospective neighbors.” Jyle asked as he finished gathering his effects from the ground.
“We left our horses and belongings a kilometer or so in the opposite direction. We dropped everything when we heard your group as the horses couldn’t traverse the hillside very quickly. We will have to go back and gather everything we left.” I said down casting my head.
“Can we assist you? Least we can do!” Charles said in a jolly tone.
“It’s alright no sense in you all trudging back just to turn right around, but we will be taking you fine gentlemen up on your offer for a drink. How’s about we meet at your local watering hole this afternoon, once we settle in. What place would you recommend?” Grandfather asked.
“Well, there is only one place in town, so I hope your expectations aren’t too high. It’s also the inn and general store.” The three of them laughed in amusement.
“Don’t worry about a thing.” Charles said as he caught my gloomy expression.” This might be a back wood country town but what we lack for in luxury we make up for in spirit, neighborly love, and hard work.” Charles added in a serious tone.
“We will see you this afternoon we hate to rush, but I would hate for some animals to run off with our rations or our horses to face a bear or even another of those things.” Grandfather expressed his sincerity.
“We have never seen those things around here. That seemed like a small hunting party to boot. Hopefully they were just passing” Charles’ voice trailed off as his eyes veered in the direction the thing fled. “That’s troubling enough to cause a town stir. You are right we best not keep you. We can have a proper chat once we have a nice pint of ale in front of us.” Charles tipped his hat as he gave us a warm smile, then he slung his pack over his shoulder and ventured towards Riverside the others slowly waddling after, Jyle needing the extra support with the leg injury still fresh.
“Best we get to disposing of the bodies. I’ll start with the ones up top, to give them enough time to get out of sight.” Grandfather unveiled his hidden bracer as he went to the ridge to incinerate the corpses.