Arrival

  “You realize you’ll have to tell Gav the story at some point, right?” Rosie whispered conspiratorially as they walked. Mark gave her the best smile he could muster, but it probably came across pretty weak. There were a lot of avenues this conversation could take, and he still couldn’t tell which one was in store.

  When they got to the front of the wagon, he found Darius grinning down at him from his perch atop the driver’s seat. “Ah, yer back with us! I was afraid ye’d die on the way and I’d have ta sell yeh for fertilizer.” He extended his hand to help Mark up into the wagon, which Mark dutifully accepted. He was about to say his thanks when Darius suddenly hauled Mark off the ground, swinging him through the air and depositing Mark on the opposite side of the wagon. The large man grinned at Mark’s shocked expression and gave him a wink, then slid over to make room for his wife. Once she was settled, he snapped the reigns and got the wagon moving again.

  Rosie didn’t even acknowledge her husband’s antics, simply handing the plate of food and a waterskin to Mark. “There you go; have a bite before we chat.”

  “Thank you?” Mark said, putting the staff in the crook of his elbow and accepting the plate of food. He ate slowly, partially to delay their inevitable conversation, but mostly to stare in wonder at the changes in his surroundings.

  The forest that had previously dominated the right side of the road had been transformed into a massive sea of farmland. Workers dotted the fields as they took care of their morning chores, while others were loading up carts of goods, preparing to bring them into the enormous city that loomed a few kilometres down the road.

  “Is that Palmyre?” he said, hardly able to believe it.

  “Aye, tis,” Darius answered.

  Mark could only gape. Had he done it? Had he gotten to the city despite everything that had happened? What about his family? Were they there? Would they ever be?

  “You alright?” Rosie said.

  It was almost too much. Mark nodded, wiping away tears. He looked at Rosie and Darius. What to say? How much to say? He hummed and hawed, then decided that without knowing anything about this world, the truth was no riskier than whatever lie he could concoct. Besides, there was every chance in the world they straight-up wouldn’t believe him.

  “I’m fine,” he said. “It’s just been a long few days. Very long. A lot has happened, and most of it is pretty unbelievable. Hell, you probably won’t believe me, but it’s the truth, so there you have it.”

  “Eh, why don’t yeh try us,” Darius said. “I’ve seen more than a few strange things in my day. Even married one of ’em.”

  Rosie playfully slapped Darius on the arm, and he faked grievous injury, even letting the wagon drift to the side of the road as though he could no longer operate the reigns. It was just a simple, fun exchange between a husband and wife, but their easy companionship calmed Mark’s fears about revealing where he came from.

  Mark hesitated, then said, “I’m not from this world. I was born on a planet called Earth and brought to Arenia against my will.”

  Darius and Rosie’s play stopped immediately. Mark waited for laughter or derision, possibly a concern for his mental health, but Rosie instead covered her mouth with one hand while Darius stared at him wide-eyed.

  “The lad’s a Legend!” Darius bellowed. “Now it all makes sense! If anyone else woulda said it, I’d not believe it for a second. But after what I seen, combined with your low Renown?” He grabbed Rosie by the shoulder. “A Legend! In our own wagon!”

  “I can hardly believe it either,” Rosie said, shaking her head. “But why would you TELL us?”

  “I shouldn’t have?” Mark said.

  Both of them shook their heads violently.

  “Absolutely not,” Rosie said. “There’s all kinds of trouble you could get into if people knew you were a Legend. We haven’t seen one in these parts for decades. Be grateful we’re good people.

  “Oh, and don’t tell Gavin,” she added. “The lad’s lovely, and he’s used to keeping a secret about magic, but you being a Legend is a bit too much to stake on the restraint of a child.”

  Mark groaned. He had assumed his status was more common than that, and now he’d gone and blown his secret. What’s worse, he’d also effectively outed his family. Hopefully, they had more sense than to let their secret slip any further.

  At least he trusted Darius and Rosie. Or as much as one could with so little time spent together.

  “Well then, lad,” Darius said. “I’ve got a lot a questions I could ask, but it seems the most pressin’ ones concern that magic o’ yours that Rosie mentioned. You willin’ to shed some light on just what it was yeh did back there?”

  After the reaction Mark had gotten to his Earthly origins, he quickly reconsidered sharing the story of his experiences in the fog. Even with the knowledge that he was a Legend, they seemed nervous about what he had done. Which meant it was a secret he had to keep.

  Unfortunately, he only could think of one way to do that.

  Mark glanced at Rosie. He hated to do it, but he would have to be a bit of a jerk if he wanted to run damage control.

  “Speaking of people’s natures, you’re a faerie, aren’t you?”

  Rosie’s eyes narrowed. “Yes. I am a sylph, and that fact is a tightly held secret in Palmyre. Most people merely suspect I have some faerie heritage rather than being full-blooded. I hope you can keep the truth to yourself. If I hadn’t needed my true form for battle magic, I would never have revealed it to you. The last thing I need is you sharing my secret out of ignorance—only a true-blood faerie can shapeshift, so merely recounting the story of our fight would expose me.”

  Then she shook her head and gave a small chuckle. “In retrospect, maybe knowing each other’s secret is for the best. It provides a kind of morbid insurance against disclosure, doesn’t it?”

  Mark sighed internally. Now it was time to be a dick. “Yes, it’s great in principle, but only if we’re both willing to keep the secret.”

  Rosie’s eyes sparked at his comment, but Mark forestalled her with a hand.

  “Before you get all worked up, I’m not implying that I plan on telling people your secret.”

  “And you believe I will share yours?” Rosie snapped. Even Darius’s brow took on a dark look. “Do you realize what an insult that is?”

  “Oh, for sure,” Mark said. “But we have stories of faeries even where I come from. And the Faerie Queen is always a big deal in those stories.”

  “Yes, but I don’t see what—” Realization dawned on Rosie’s face. She closed her eyes and dropped her head. “I see where you’re going with this.”

  “Yeah,” Mark said sadly. “You’re going to tell the Faerie Queen about me, aren’t you?”

  Rosie nodded.

  “Which means you can’t promise to keep my secret.”

  Darius cleared his throat. “Lad… what do you gain by destroying my family? Palmyre won’t take kindly to a full-blood faerie living within its walls. Faeries are not known for playing well with others.”

  “To be honest, I’d prefer not to say anything,” Mark said. “But if you’re going to share my secret, I’d like something in return for keeping yours.”

  “You’re blackmailing us?” Darius said incredulously.

  “That’s a bit of a harsh term,” Mark said. “You just told me that being a Legend is a huge secret that I don’t want getting out, but the first thing you’re going to do when we get to Palmyre is tell the leader of a powerful magical species. I think I’m entitled to some ledger-balancing here.”

  Darius glared at him, clearly expecting something ridiculous. “Fine then. What do you want?”

  Mark smiled. “Lessons.”

  Darius and Rosie looked confused.

  “Lessons on what?” Rosie said.

  “Everything,” Mark answered. “I don’t know anything about Arenia, not even the things a child would know. I want to hang around your family and learn everything I can. Yes, you’re going to be
reporting what you know back to the Faerie Queen, but at least I know who it is you’re reporting to.”

  “We’re hardly scholars, lad,” Darius said.

  “I don’t need a scholar. I need to understand this world. I want to be able to pummel you with questions about things you’ll probably think are general knowledge but are critical for me to understand.”

  “Like what?”

  “Everything! What Tomes are, how magic works, systems of measurement, how to go to the bathroom in a city, the currency. All of it.”

  “Aye, that’s really… that sure is the basics,” Darius said. “You really don’t know how a bathroom works?”

  “On Earth, sure. Not Arenia.”

  “Oi. Alright then. Is that it?”

  “Well, I’d also like you to throw in some armour for me if you don’t mind,” Mark said. “Nothing too fancy—I don’t want to get it stolen because my gear outlevels me.”

  Rosie chuckled. “That seems reasonable. Darius?”

  Before Darius could answer, Mark added one more thing. “I also want a promise from Rosie that if I ever need a meeting with the Faerie Queen, she’ll arrange it.”

  Rosie laughed outright and slapped her knee. “My dear boy! If you tried to go to the land of Faerie with anything less than 50 Levels of Renown and base Attributes below 30, your body would be torn apart by the magical energies alone. You’re what, 19 years old and only Level 10? You’ll never get there in one lifetime!”

  “I’m 20. But I’m also a Legend, remember?” Mark said with a shrug. “How many lifetimes do I need?”

  Rosie abruptly stopped laughing.

  “There is that,” she conceded. After a moment’s thought, she nodded. “Okay, I’ll agree. But first, I want to know how you were able to—”

  “Stop,” Mark said. “If you’re about to ask where my magic comes from, that’s not going to happen. Right now, you’re obligated to tell your queen, so the only way I keep that secret is if I don’t tell you at all.”

  Rosie’s brow pursed, but she nodded. “Fine. But that means I have no idea what you are capable of, and I will not bring a powerful entity into my land—one that can destroy nimh with a single spell—without either knowledge of their abilities or a pledge. If you want this favour from me, you must pledge not to harm anyone while in the land of faerie.”

  “No harm to anyone unless they do harm to me,” Mark clarified. The last thing he wanted was to get trapped into some kind of Aes Sedai word-handcuff situation on a hostile plane. They were faeries, after all.

  Rosie nodded. “So be it. At your request, I am bound to take you to visit the Faerie Queen. In return, you will not harm anyone unless they harm you.”

  “And no taking hostages and using them against me,” Mark said. “Or harming me or my friends, or trying to trap me in the realm of faerie, or putting me in some sort of time warp. And I define harm as ‘anything that might cause physiological, psychological, or magilogical damage in the short or long term to the bodies or statistics, or any other pertinent characteristics attached to me as an entity, or that of my friends, family, or allies.”

  Rosie gaped at him. When she recovered, she snapped at him in a clipped, indignant tone. “What kind of monsters do you think we are? Do you really want to include that… that disrespectful drivel?”

  She was so forceful in her response that Mark worried for a moment that his experience with fantasy novels had given him a prejudiced view of faeries. Those concerns were soon negated by Darius giving him a double-thumbs-up and nodding profusely behind Rosie’s back.

  “Yes, I do,” Mark said.

  She smiled with a twinkle in her eye. “Smart lad. Very well then; a compact has been made.”

  A vaguely unsettling feeling washed over Mark, and he could see a similar reaction from Rosie. A pair of contracts appeared in the air, both looking very gilded and formal, and they vanished into their respective Tomes as soon as they’d been read.

  A Faerie Compact Has Been Created

  The sylph Rosalind Poppyseed promises to bring you to the land of faeries to meet the Queen, at your behest, one time. In return, you will not harm anyone there unless they attempt to harm you. Additionally, the faeries are forbidden from: taking hostages to use against you, trying to trap you in the realm of faerie, putting you in “some sort of time warp” (whatever that means), or doing harm in a manner that might cause physiological, psychological, or magilogical damage in the short or long term to the bodies, statistics, or any other pertinent characteristics attached to you as an entity, or that of your friends, family, or allies.

  * * *

  NOTE: Some jerk just won a thousand platinum on a ten silver bet that you’d make a faerie compact before getting to Palmyre. You’re like the Giving Tree for bad betters. Alarmingly comprehensive Compact though—did someone have problems with loan sharks in a past life?

  “For the record, ‘magilogical’ isn’t even a word,” Rosie pointed out.

  “I have no problems with that,” Mark noted.

  Slapping the side of the wagon, Darius said, “Alright then. I can’t say I’m happy with how little we know about you, but you saaaaveed ouuur liiiv…”

  As Darius’s words slowed, so did his actions until he was frozen in place. Mark looked around and realized everything had frozen, even the birds in the air. The only thing that hadn’t was Rosie. A brilliant golden light surrounded her, and her voice resonated with the same choral feel that had permeated it during the battle.

  “A piece of advice for you, Mark Sullivan. Legend of Arenia,” Rosie growled. “Do not let my human appearance fool you. I have lived a very long time. In all those years, only once have I felt magic like yours. I didn’t fear it before then because I didn’t believe the legends. I fear it now. So remember this: Should you ever choose to call in your favour and go to see my queen, and you use your magic in the land of the Fae, the very realm itself will rise up to crush you from existence, even if it means the death of every last one of us.”

  Rosie’s appearance returned to normal, but she kept her eyes locked on Mark. “I don’t know if you will ever master your magic, young man, but if you don’t, it will master you. See that it doesn’t.”

  The world slowly wound back up to speed, Darius’ words resuming where they’d left off.

  “…vvveees sssooo I won’t push. Besides, I’m sure yeh’ll eventually blurt everything out by accident if you’re planning to hang around as much as it sounds!” He finished off with a bellowing laugh and a slap on Mark’s back that nearly took him out of his seat.

  Mark gave Darius a sickly grin as he considered Rosie’s words. Apparently, his magic was rare in this realm. How to master it though, he had no idea.

  Hopefully, Palmyre held some answers.

  As a general rule, Beth wasn’t a big drinker. A glass of wine here and there. The occasional beer if the mood struck her. Despite that, she had still managed to run afoul of some serious hangovers in her day. Frosh week. Kathy’s wedding. That time in high school where she drank a whole bottle of Frangelico in one night.

  None of them even came close to the feeling awaiting her when she woke up.

  Waves of nausea brought Beth to full consciousness and she scrambled on her hands and knees to the tall grass, just barely getting there before throwing up. At some point someone came over and held her hair out of her face, rubbing her back as she heaved. Who it was, Beth didn’t know. It could have been another goblin for all she cared.

  Goblins?

  Actually, maybe she did care.

  Turning around, Beth squinted through the dim morning light to see Eliza smiling back at her.

  “Thought we’d lost you for a while there, girl,” Eliza said.

  “I’m 44—hardly a girl,” Beth croaked.

  “You’re young enough to be my daughter. I can call you whatever I want.”

  Beth gave her a weak thumbs-up. “Oh, god. Why do I feel so bad?”

  “Eh, that’s my fault,” Eli
za said, squinching her nose. “I don’t use health potions as much as in my younger years, and it looks like the one we gave you went a bit sour since I last refreshed this stash. Sorry about that. I should be able to help with that upset stomach, though.”

  Laying a hand on Beth’s stomach, Beth watched in awe as a golden glow sank into her tummy, alleviating the worst of her stomach-related hangover symptoms.

  “Oh my god, you are my hero,” she said. “Is that how you fixed my blisters?”

  Eliza nodded. “Yes, but it only works on a very localized area. A Ranger like me has a tiny bit of healing magic available to them, but it’s a far cry from what a proper cleric can do.”

  “Well, I’m not going to look a gift horse in the mouth,” Beth said.

  Eliza cocked her head. “Someone gave you a horse?”

  “What? No, yeah, uh, Earth saying. Just ignore me.” Beth looked around, only then realizing that the trees had changed. “Where are we? Last I remember, we were sneaking up on the goblins, then something hit me before Peter could— Peter!”

  Panic grabbed Beth and she spun around, eyes darting everywhere before finally landing on her husband sitting a few metres away, smiling at her.

  “Peter!” she shouted, sprinting away from Eliza and hurling herself at her husband, arms wrapping tightly around him as she knocked him flat on his back. “I was so worried! Are you okay? Did you get hur— ow!”

  Beth winced as an intense ache shot through the right side of her back, just below the shoulder blades.

  “Are you okay?” Peter said, concern evident in his voice.

  “I think so,” Beth said, rotating her arm to try and work out the kink. Her back really hurt. “Geez… what did I sleep on?”

  Peter shook his head. “You’re worried about my health?” He reached over and picked up a short, blood-covered stick with a sharpened stone point lashed to one end. “This was in your back. That’s why it hurts, not some rock you slept on.”

  “That was in my back?” Beth said, her voice rising in pitch.