The strain on my abilities felt like I was lifting something heavy as I continued pushing, trying to move faster. Earlier when I’d risen through the clouds, it’d taken a while, but now I zipped through them almost immediately. The ground below was so far away, but grew quickly. I angled my flight as best I could Northward, where I should be traveling, and the ground continued to edge closer even as it flashed by underneath me. Maneuvering at this speed was difficult, and it was only through all my years of practice and some slight variations I made to my wind screen that I was able to turn much at all.
I knew from experience that the ground could come up surprisingly quickly while flying, and judging distances could be tricky. Finally, I decided that pushing any further would be dangerous and used my power to slam on the brakes, slowing myself down as fast as I could.
“Yah!” I screamed, startled as thunder crashed over me. The air at my back seemed to push against me for a moment, great pressure running over my body and my wind screen. I continued to slow and moved toward the ground below. “What was that?” I whispered, nervously looking back.
When I’d settled, I took some time to look at my map while I rested, panting from the effort I’d just made. Once I’d figured out my new location, at least probably close, I whistled in astonishment. I’d flown a very, very long distance in a short amount of time, even with all the climbing at first.
“How fast was I flying?” I wondered aloud. A monster chose that moment to attack me, a giant spider jumping from a tree. I absently cut it in half with Pewpew. The mutilated creature came apart in mid-air, its guts barely missing my foot. I made a look of distaste and left it where it lay.
Using the ring took effort, but had been fast and near silent. I didn’t know exactly where I was and didn’t want to make a racket. The aftershock from using Pewpew hit but I merely shivered, letting the sensation wash over me. It would never be pleasant, and I would never be able to use the weapon willy-nilly, but I could handle it a lot better now.
My body was still shaking, more from the thrill of flying than the mild surprise of the monster attack. I realized a few moments later that it could be from hunger too. A ravenous feeling seemed to overtake me all at once, and I cast around for some edible Ludus plants, grabbing some and munching them as I rose into the air, moving away.
I spared one last look for the dead spider monster, shaking my head as I thought of how some adventurers actually ate monsters. “They’re insane,” I muttered, chewing on some stalks of silkbarb. I couldn’t believe people would prefer to eat monsters over the wild plants that grew everywhere. They really weren’t bad, even raw.
After I’d picked up speed and made some more progress, covering a few miles at least, I saw water in the distance. “Lucky,” I thought aloud. Over the years I’d learned that I could use a vib-punch while hovering over water to stun fish, only needing to scoop them up afterward. Of course, now that I was in Berber, I’d need to watch out for thinly armored spitting water ambush demons, too. I didn’t think there were any of them this far north, but it wouldn’t hurt to be careful. At the very least, there might be some other monster lying in wait, waiting to devour some hapless soul that got too close to the water.
I remembered that before he’d died, my father had told me about how people on Earth needed to worry about water ambushes as well. He’d known someone whose family member had been killed by a “crocodile.” He’d said a crocodile was an animal, and I’d told him it sounded like a monster to me.
That opinion had spawned a conversation about the difference between monsters and animals, which had left me unsatisfied, and I still wasn’t entirely clear about it to this day. The only thing I knew for certain was that animals didn’t have long, awkward names like monsters did. In Luda, the long names were imperfect translations of their original names in Enochian, or so the scholars said. I didn’t care either way. If something was big, or scary, and was in the process of trying to murder me or looked like it might, I was going to kill it.
“Or I guess it could kill me too,” I said aloud.
The silkbarb tasted delicious as I crunched happily, pleased that I felt normal again. My endurance abilities really helped me bounce back from exertions like the one I’d just made. Maybe I could try flying fast again today.
***
The days passed quickly, and I stayed busy. I wasn’t in any hurry to get to Bittertown; nothing pushed me other than my own need to know the truth of my past. Dread held me back. On the third day, I had admitted that to myself that I was afraid of what I might find after going back, after coming home.
One way or another, Eneus would probably taste blood again, and I had long since grown tired of combat. I’d seen enough violence now for several lifetimes, but I wasn’t going to turn away from necessity.
I was not in a huge rush to hurry things along, though. The possibility that I might have to fight old comrades had occurred to me too. The last time I’d done so, it had destroyed my life and had almost broken me as a person.
The travel itself was definitely less dangerous for me than it might have been for others since I could fly. I spent a lot of my time thinking, and practicing with my new abilities. Changing Eneus’ length had proven to be something I could actually use in a fight. It was easier to shorten the spear into something like a sword than lengthen it, but I practiced both.
During the entire journey, the only strange thing that had happened, my only real hiccup in training had been when I thought I’d spotted a...machine in the distance. Even after doing a double take, I hadn’t been sure. Half-remembered conversations with my father about Earth “airplanes” had come to mind, but I’d shaken my head. Ludus doesn’t have airplanes, I’d thought.
I’d hovered, watching the unknown object in the distance move away until it wasn’t much more than a black speck. While I could easily catch up to it if I’d wanted to, something made me wary. I hadn’t been able to get a really good look at it, but I thought I’d seen tubes of some sort, probably weapons. If it was a machine and not some sort of monster, I didn’t want anything to do with it. For that matter, I didn’t want anything to do with it if it were a monster, either.
My curiosity had been piqued, but I hadn’t lived this long by giving in to every rotting impulse I had. That life was for heroes, the fools. My time would be better spent training than chasing down every odd thing I saw in the sky, especially one that had given me goosebumps.
I never really forgot about the strange sight, but decided to stop thinking about it.
As I continued to experiment with Flight, I learned that shifting my body weight became more important at higher speed. I also learned that creating gusts of wind from my hands using my Air Element ability could help me maneuver. That had been a really lucky discovery, and now while moving slowly, my combat ability would be greatly enhanced. I could actually dodge now, even as I hovered!
Practicing this new skill, which I could work on a bit even while flying for travel, led me to my last great maneuvering discovery. I could adjust my body weight from one side to the other.
In the past, I’d only changed my body weight higher or especially lower, never moved it around...at least consciously. As I flew, I’d realized I had been unconsciously doing some of this when I wasn’t thinking about flying. Once I’d noticed, it’d been a simple thing to incorporate it into my evening practice sessions.
I smiled wryly as I approached Bittertown in the distance, thinking about the first time I’d ever tried flying, and how I’d borrowed some spices in Tolstey. That had been years ago, but sometimes it felt like I’d only been ‘Bonded for a week.
Coming back to Bittertown definitely dispelled some of that illusion. I could already spot changes, even from the air. This forced me to think about how to actually enter the city. Approaching from the sky was an option, but I didn’t want to draw attention to myself, not least of which because I didn’t want casual observers to think I was ‘Bonded and tell anyone they’d seen me. The
bounty hounds after orb-Bonded often paid money for information, after all.
Before I could really get down to business, to do what I came here for, I’d probably need information. Of course, I needed to pay a debt first.
I set down outside of town, alighting on a beach I’d explored as a child. The wistful memory came and went like a summer breeze, not lasting long, but leaving behind the feeling of its passage.
I walked into Bittertown without challenge. Since I’d come from the beach, and past any patrols, I even avoided needing to pay a weapons tax. Nobody paid any attention to me—my newly clean appearance probably helped with that. A handy stream the day before had helped me clean my clothing, so I looked much like any other traveler now. Bittertown didn’t get many adventurers, but I didn’t think I cut a very impressive figure, especially with Eneus minimized. Hopefully, I would continue to avoid notice.
Despite the changes I’d noticed while flying, I quickly discovered that I would still have no problem making my way around Bittertown. Good, I thought, and I made my way for Reesi’s house.
Other Arrangements
I noted the time as I headed to Reesi’s house—late afternoon. There was actually no way to be sure that the woman still lived there after I’d left town, but it had been her house for more than a decade already so I figured it was likely.
My special, reinforced pouch on my belt felt heavy again as I walked, much like it had when I’d spoken to my mother. I didn’t think I’d ever be comfortable carrying serious wealth. Thank the creator I hadn’t left anything truly precious in my pack back on the airship.
I kept an eye out for any Guard or bounty hunters that might be watching me as I crossed Bittertown, but nobody paid me much mind. A few children noticed me, but most of them promptly lost interest. Even in Bittertown, there were more impressive or interesting-looking people to gawk at than me. I stole covert glances at message boards as I moved, confirming that no pictures of me or want ads seemed to be posted around town. Good.
After all this time, I didn’t expect anyone to be seriously looking for me anymore, but one could never be too careful.
When I arrived at Reesi’s house, her doors were locked. The attached business seemed to have changed, now it was a herb shop. Luckily, I was able to verify she still lived there by the name on her mailbox, and the clutter she kept on her porch.
The memory of breaking into this house before I’d fled Bittertown came unbidden. Just like before, I really didn’t want to talk to the older woman because doing so would put her in danger. I felt better about it this time since now I wasn’t here to receive aid, but to pay her back for her kindness.
I owed her my life. She’d given me Durben, her zebra, to ride out of town, and supplies, and had hit herself so she could do so—making it seem like I’d taken everything by force. I would have owed her a large debt even without her statement that it had all been a loan.
Of course, at the time it had been unlikely I’d even live. The old woman’s insistence I pay her back had probably been more out of worry than anything, but I planned to settle my debt.
I was no thief, but I’d had some practice picking locks through various circumstances, so I took a simple pack of picks out of my pocket and went to work. The lock was surprisingly easy to get through and I shook my head. Reesi really needed to be careful of using locks like this one; someone might pick her door one day.
Actually, hadn’t I picked the door last time too?
Once I was through the door, my instincts screamed at me and I ducked just in time to avoid a club. A man was attacking me! Someone must have broken into Reesi’s house!
I dodged another attack and came up swinging, punching, trapping the weapon arm, and sweeping the man’s feet from under him. He was only wearing a robe, probably with an undershirt and house pants underneath, at least I hoped so. Shameful! What was this man planning to do to my friend?
He gasped, and I got my first good look at him as the fading daylight glowed from a nearby window. The man was scruffy, definitely advanced in age and heading to fat, but looked like he’d lived a long life of physical labor. I narrowed my eyes, growling as I slapped Eneus up into my hand from my wrist, turning it back into a weapon. My arm reared back, ready to drive the point right through the man’s chest.
“Stop!” I recognized the voice. The barked command stayed my hand long enough to glance up. Reesi stood in a doorway, pointing a crossbow at my face. “Nora?” she asked, incredulous. Then her aim steadied again, her eyes tightened, and she said, “Step away from Max. Please.”
“You know this man?” I asked.
“Yes, very well. I’m not going to say it again. If you don’t stop threatening my husband, I’m going to shoot.”
“Husband?” I said and goggled. Uh oh, I thought. None of this was working out how it had in my mind.
***
I sat in one of the mismatched chairs around Reesi’s kitchen table. Over the last few minutes, ever since mutely pushing me here, the woman had just sat and stared at me. The man named Max, her husband, also stared, but thankfully at Reesi, not me.
When he swung his gaze around, gently rubbing himself where I’d hit him, I winced. He was younger than Reesi, but still getting on in age. It was a good thing I hadn’t solidly connected any of my strikes or he would have been left with more than just nasty bruises. I’d been so surprised I hadn’t really been going for a kill until I’d had Eneus in hand. Max seemed more amused than angry as he looked at me, and I finally broke the silence, violating the tension around the table. “I’m sorry, goodman.”
He made a gesture and shrugged. I ignored Reesi’s glare across the table and I said, “Uh, you seem less angry than I thought you might.”
Max chuckled. “Well, I will admit it is not every day I get beat up in my own home, but I’ve heard of you, Nora Hazard. Here in Bittertown, since you left, a few people have even been tracking your exploits abroad, or rumors of them anyway.” He nodded significantly at his wife. “With what others have told me, I should probably thank the Creator that I wasn’t dead in less than a second. Your reputation is...colorful.”
“Oh.” I dropped my head, trying to ignore the flush creeping its way up my neck.
Max coughed, and I could hear his smile in the sound. He said, “I am going to get up and make you ladies some tea.” Reesi still didn’t say anything as the man left the table, heading to another room.
When I felt brave enough to raise my head, Reesi was still staring at me. I noticed that one of her hands was gripping the edge of the table so tightly that it shook. I didn’t want to keep sitting in silence, but what could I say when I’d almost killed my friend’s husband? “So, uh, hi Reesi. When did you get married?”
The older woman’s razor gaze finally dulled as she leaned back, sighing in exasperation and anger. “Three years, Nora. It has been over three years since I’ve seen you, not knowing if you were even alive except for some stories from traders. Then you break into my house again. What is wrong with you, girl? Do I need to give you a class on how to knock on a door like a normal person?”
“I’m sorry,” I said quietly. I fidgeted. Shame felt like it was seeping into my bones.
“Why are you even here? Come to take more supplies? For that matter, why are you here at all, in Bittertown I mean? You shouldn’t be here, girl. This town has changed, and not for the better.”
I nodded, and reached into a pocket, producing a suede pouch. After I’d undone the strings, I pulled out a bank note, pushing it across the table. “Arren didn’t have any family, at least none that she gave a damn about. I owed you a great debt for what you did to help me escape Bittertown in the past. I knew Arren would want you to have anything I might think I’d owe her too.” I made a face. “Actually, if she’d been alive, she would have made me keep it, but she wasn’t here to stop me, so this is what I’m giving you.”
Reesi’s jaw dropped. “That is a lot of money, Nora. Where did you get this?”
“I was in the Tolstey army for a few years.” Reesi nodded her head like she’d suspected as much, and I continued. “I saved most of my pay. As an officer, I got to keep some of the personal effects of the criminals my team killed, and I sold most of those, too. Getting all the currency transferred from Tolstey to Berber notes cost some money, but this is the rest of it.”
“Nora, this is too much. I can’t accept this,” Reesi said, shaking her head. She started to push it back.
“That isn’t all I brought, either.” I reached into the pouch again, pulling out a small wooden box. Then I set it on the table and flipped it open. Even in the dim light through the rice paper curtains over the kitchen windows and a single oil lamp burning on a nearby counter, it was unmistakable what I’d just revealed.
Reesi gasped, and started getting up from her chair, moving away from the table before she slowly sat down again. “That is what I think it is, right?”
“Yes. This is a Dolos orb.”
“Is that...is that the same one you had when you left before?”
I smiled slightly. “No, this is one I picked up recently. My team and I had to kill a couple orb-Bonded bandits in Tolstey. The military got some of the spoils, but my team did too. Then through a lottery system and my friends’ decision, I got this orb. I have kept it since then, now it is yours.” I paused. “Now that you’re married, it might be a little more complicated, but I thought you might be able to use this since you’re getting older and ‘Bonded can live a few hundred years. These things heal most health problems too, I think.”
“Might be able to use—” Reesi muttered. She gently closed the lid on the box and looked up, searching my face. “Are you sure about all this?”
I was glad that she’d stopped refusing. If Reesi was anything, she was practical. “Of course I am. I had a while to think about it.”
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