Sense: A Fantasy LitRPG Saga (A Touch of Power Book 3)

by Jay Boyce

  They honestly reminded her of pallbearers at the moment. She walked back over, joining Tisha and Camille as they looked down at the body of Christopher. He looked peaceful, his arms crossed over his chest like he was merely sleeping. Without the dirt, blood, and fluids, and clad in a clean uniform, he reminded her more of the vivacious man she’d first met.

  Looking up at the guards, she smiled softly as she said gratefully, “Thank you for doing this.”

  “It was our pleasure, Lady Jade.” One of them responded immediately, and she nodded, indicating he should set it down. As soon as they were no longer holding onto the casket, she touched it and it vanished into the depths of her ring. There was a sharp intake of breath, but she just looked at the girls.

  “Are we ready to go?” Tisha nodded, still bouncing excitedly, even though seeing the body tempered her enthusiasm slightly. When Camille nodded as well, Jade smiled at the guards one more time. “Thanks again. I’ve got it from here.”

  Walking to the doors outside, she pushed them open, her mind calling out to her babies, who came fluttering over from the gardens a moment later. She felt the two girls behind her, and she grinned at Tisha. “You might want to hold onto your skirt.”

  “Oh!” Tisha’s squeak was a little bit adorable as she quickly tucked her skirt in between her legs, getting a firm hold on it and making sure she wouldn’t be exposed as Jade touched them, lessening their gravity before picking them all up with a wind bubble, her babies securely affixed to her hair. She heard the shouts of a few guards as they lifted into the sky, but they seemed to realize almost immediately that the girls were no threat as they rose into the sky, since no attacks came their way.

  Up, up, and away they went.

  Chapter Twenty-Four – Siothuil

  “This is amazing…” Camille’s soft whisper entered her ears as she paused high in the air and the three of them looked down at the city and across the plains. The sparkling white castle was glorious when viewed from above in the sunshine. Dracona sitting on a hill was magnificent and impressive, despite it being so many different buildings. The huge river winding through the city and off into the plains was like a sparkling gem bracelet that accessorized the city.

  What surprised Jade the most was how much she could see from above that she’d somehow missed entirely in her explorations of the city. Ammon telling her that Siothuil Cemetery was to the west and was full of trees hadn’t prepared her for the giant swath of trees she’d somehow completely missed when she was looking out the castle windows. It was probably because she’d had a limited, obscured view, and she’d mostly been focusing on what lay beyond the walls.

  Perhaps even more surprising was that while the trees occupied the length of a good half of the city, the other half of the west end was devoted to what she realized were the farms she’d heard about. She’d gotten the wind bubble high enough to get a good view, but not so high that they couldn’t see the individual shapes below. The tiny forms of beasts scattered throughout, along with what looked like greenhouses and numerous gardens and fruit trees, were fascinating. There were so many different walls there with walkways on top that it almost appeared like a maze was set up with patrols, tiny people moving across the paths with alacrity. It was a giant section of the city she’d never even gone close to before.

  Still, what impressed her the most was the organization of the city. While there were only a few straight roads that ran the length of the city, pretty much everything was organized into neat rows and blocks. The straight lines were still there for everything else; they were simply interspersed with horizontal blocks. It was pretty amazing. There were also a lot more town squares than she knew of, considering she’d only been to two, but she counted at least a dozen. She could even find large patches of greenery in the city, evidence of parks and rooftop gardens. The whole city was an amazing tapestry of color and activity from above.

  “I can’t believe it’s so organized…” Jade concurred with Camille as she set their course, sending them flying above the city and towards Siothuil.

  Tisha gushed happily in response, “That’s because of the Earth Guard! I told you they take care of the streets! It’s something our kingdom is known for, after all. King Alfred was a visionary! He made the walls around the area he envisioned for the city, rather than just what they needed at the time. There were some problems with that to start, just because it was such a huge area and they didn’t have the manpower. But he was determined to carve out a safe space, and this is his legacy. Can you imagine? The huge walls surrounding this place were originally made by a single man and his determination to provide for his people. Granted, we have expanded them a little bit since then, but not much.”

  Jade looked at the walls with renewed respect as she listened to Tisha happily expounding on the kingdom’s history. She thought her powers were crazy, but to be able to raise a wall like that by yourself…she was pretty sure it’d take her an inordinate amount of time if she tried. Sure, she’d created the bunker, but that was nothing in comparison to the miles upon miles of wall, complete with battlements and ways up and down. Had one man literally done all that, or was it merely ascribed to him in the annals of history to make it more impressive? She supposed Tisha also hadn’t mentioned how long it took him to make the walls, so he might’ve taken a while to do it too.

  Whatever the truth was, the reality of the walls and the effort that went into them was something she admired. It was a massive undertaking, regardless of who’d done it or how long it took. When you added the castle, Dracona, the very roads, and the maze that was the farms, and even just the buildings of the town, it became unfathomable. Sure, the buildings were probably something that individual earth mages were hired to create, but the fact that almost the entire city was made of sculpted stone was incredible.

  “Oh, hey, where are we supposed to go?” Jade realized that she was heading for the greenbelt without an idea of where in that giant mass of greenery she was aiming for.

  Camille and Tisha exchanged blank glances, then Camille stared at the greenery and said cautiously, “I think…maybe the center?”

  Raising her brows, she asked, “You don’t know where we’re going either?”

  Shrugging helplessly, Camille shook her head. “Not really. The last time I came out here was for my grandpa’s funeral, and even that was more than fifteen years ago. The cemetery always kinda freaked me out.”

  Jade couldn’t argue with that. While the idea of using the body as nutrients to signify new life was cool symbolism, in actuality, it felt like fodder for a haunted forest story. It also made sense as to why none of the trees she saw below her were fruit bearing trees. Eating something that you knew was nourished by the body of a friend or family member...even the thought of it made her slightly uncomfortable.

  “I wouldn’t worry about it too much. We just need to keep an eye out for a group of people. We find the group, we find the funeral.” Tisha was the voice of reason, pointing out the simple efficacy of using their eyes. She had a point. It wasn’t like they had to wander through the woods; they could literally fly above, looking for movement. Their current position made it a lot more feasible than if they’d been on foot, though if they were on the ground, they also could have stopped to ask for directions. Surely someone at the gates would have known where to send them.

  “Over there!” Camille’s voice sounded out as they began their journey over the trees. Jade chose to send them towards the center, figuring that would be the best vantage point. Camille was pointing to a spot somewhat to the north of the center, and when Jade glanced over she could see movement too.

  Correcting their course so they went towards the movement, Jade curiously turned on her mana sense to see if she could see any auras. “AHHHHHHHHH!” Tisha and Camille both screamed as the air bubble around them disappeared and they began to sink towards the ground. Thankfully, due to the gravity magic she’d put on them earlier, they weren’t sinking very quickly, and Jade managed to get her
self under control and capture them in an air bubble once again, though they’d stopped moving as Jade sat in midair, staring at the sky instead of the ground and blinking away the tears that were streaming from her eyes.

  “Jade! What just happened!?” Camille’s voice was filled with worry, though slightly calmer now that they weren’t falling or moving anymore.

  Taking in a deep breath, Jade held up a finger as she opened her skill sheet, searching for the piece of information she desired. When she got to Mana Sense and realized it hadn’t miraculously reached advanced at some point during the day, she realized that instead of her senses having been heightened...she slowly lowered her gaze back to the forest, ready now for the blaze of magical light emanating from it.

  The forest shone like thousands of beacons all shoved together. The vast majority of it was the dark green of nature magic, though there were undercurrents of water, earth, wind, light, and even some life magic spread throughout. The part that unnerved her slightly was the deep undercurrent of blood magic and the patches of light green spiritual magic. It felt like there were tinier currents of magic she wasn’t seeing from a distance, and she realized she needed to look at the trees from a much closer perspective to figure out what it was about them that was bugging her.

  Sighing, she looked back at the girls and apologized. “Sorry about that. I activated my mana sense and wasn’t prepared for how saturated the cemetery was.” Taking another deep, calming breath, she let her mana sense drop until she could look more closely. For now, it was too distracting when she was trying to find the group. Trying to find the aura of people in that mess was simply not going to happen. The instant muting of color was a relief, and she began moving the wind walls forward again as she finished, “Won’t happen again, I promise.”

  She felt Camille’s slightly trembling hand on her shoulder, giving it a light squeeze as Camille spoke gently while masking her own fright, “No worries. Was it really that bad?”

  Nodding, Jade replied, “Yeah. The whole place is completely lit up with different magics, though the vast majority is nature magic.” She didn’t mention the blood or spiritual magic on purpose. If Camille was freaked out by the cemetery before, the knowledge of what lingered there would only make it worse. Depending on what a closer inspection revealed, she wasn’t sure she’d be spending much time visiting either. Actually, she hoped she’d never have to come back, but that was a bit unrealistic.

  “Oh.” Camille’s voice was soft, and she obviously suspected that Jade wasn’t telling her everything. Her reaction was probably a bit too obvious and terrifying. She heaved a sigh of relief when they got closer to the movement and saw that it legitimately was where the funeral was meant to take place. Two large holes were dug in a more open section of the ground that was obviously meant for the bodies. People milled around the edges of the space, and she picked out several members of the royal family as they descended in a controlled manner.

  “They’re here!” She heard Victor call out as he pointed into the sky, causing most of the group to turn and look at the descending bubble. She aimed for the space that was subsequently cleared for their landing, dropping them gently on the ground and releasing the gravity magic she’d put on the girls. As soon as the wind dispersed, he was the first one over, smiling faintly at them as he asked sardonically, “You made it. Was there something wrong with taking the roads?”

  Jade smiled and shrugged back, “We were running out of time, so I took a shortcut.” Victor nodded like it was the most natural thing in the world, but she could tell everyone was straining to listen to the exchange, and some people were giving her incredulous looks.

  Tisha was straightening out her dress from the ride, letting the skirt out once more as she looked up at her brother and added, “We had to wait for the guards to finish preparing his body. If we’d walked, we’d have been late.”

  “Do you have it?” A small voice asked, and Jade looked over at the obviously pregnant woman as she cleared her throat once more and asked again, “Do you have my husband’s body?” Her complexion was ruddy and streaked with the signs of recent tears, and resting on her belly was a small sapling that she clutched in a white-knuckled grip.

  For the first time, Jade noticed that behind the woman was the dirt pulled from the ground, only now it was formed into a pedestal. There was a similar one to her left, and on it was Tevon’s body, though a woman sat next to him, holding his hand while tears fell down her face.

  “I have him.” Moving next to the woman, whose name she finally remembered was Allison, Jade put her left hand on her shoulder reassuringly as she stretched her right over the dirt pedestal. There were gasps from all around as the open casket appeared, revealing Christopher’s body. A sob broke from Allison’s lips, and Jade felt her body crumbling, her knees having given out in her grief. Instinctively reaching out, her arms encircled the woman, holding her up as she sobbed against her shoulder, whispering softly, “I’m so sorry, Allison. He was a wonderful man.”

  “I’m sorry, Lady Jade. We can take her.” She glanced up in surprise, finding a small group of people she’d never seen before in front of her. It wasn’t hard to figure out who they were, though; she could see the family resemblance instantly. The younger man was obviously Christopher’s brother, and he stood with what could only be his parents. She absently noted that he’d gotten his coloring from his mother, while his brother was closer to his father. Next to them was another couple, but since Allison was like a younger replica of her mom and she stood hand in hand with the gentleman, she figured those were her parents.

  Sniffling, Allison seemed to realize where she was as she looked tiredly up at Jade and mumbled, “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to--”

  “Don’t worry about it. It’s not a big deal, really. I had a similar breakdown this morning.” At the incredulity in their glances, she said self-deprecatingly, “I’m just extremely good at hiding the evidence.” Her hand on Allison’s shoulder pulsed with healing magic, even as water magic washed away her tears. She reduced the puffiness around her eyes and then bolstered her with a bit of extra energy. Allison stood a little straighter, looking at Jade in amazement with the rest of her family.

  Looking at them, she spoke softly, “Christopher was my friend, but he was your family. I’m sorry this happened. It’s my fault he was there…”

  “Not really.” Christopher’s brother spoke up, shaking his head adamantly. “Chris was always putting himself in the action. He said it was where he could do the most good.”

  Smiling wanly, Jade nodded. “He was always trying to help. Listen, I’d probably better go greet some of the other people here, but I’d like to have dinner with you all afterwards, if that’s okay?”

  “We’d like that, thank you.” Allison’s mother smiled tremulously at her, and Allison smiled gratefully as she let go of Jade, going into the arms of her family. Jade gave them one last look-over to make sure they were okay, then nodded and turned, walking towards Tevon’s side and the group of nobles gathered with the royal family.

  To her surprise, Brodie was the first one who met her halfway, a little girl in his arms. She looked to be maybe four or five years old, but she bore the same bright cornflower blue eyes and golden blonde hair that ran in the royal family. Her head rested on his shoulder as she looked out at the world with sad eyes. He spoke softly as he stopped in front of her, “Jade, I want you to meet my little sister, Artemis. Arty, this is Jade, the lady who brought our daddy back.”

  Taking her thumb out of her mouth, she pointed a wet finger at Jade’s head as she said quietly, “Sparkles move.”

  Laughing softly, Jade reached up, letting Amber jump onto her hand from her hair. Her babies had been quietly staying with her, even though she knew they wanted to go explore the forest. She didn’t want them loose just yet, not knowing if these people would attack them on sight...or if the trees were genuinely a safe place for them, considering the amount of ambient magic that was around.

  H
olding her baby out to the little girl, she spoke softly, “Arty, this is Amber. If you’re very careful, you can hold her. Would you like that?” When Arty nodded, holding out her chubby hand, Jade silently encouraged her baby queen. To Arty’s delight, Amber hopped onto her tiny hand and began to wander around, fluttering her wings to kiss the skin of the little girl. She giggled, and the sound of a child’s laughter filled the too-quiet area, causing most eyes to turn and look at the simple joy of a little girl.

  “Momma, look!” Jade noticed the woman who’d been sitting and crying by Tevon’s body came over, drawn by the sound of what was obviously her daughter’s giggles. She hooked her arm through Brodie’s free side, leaning her head on his shoulder as she smiled softly down at her daughter.

  She paused, leaning around her son to place a kiss on her daughter’s forehead as she said soothingly, “Very pretty, Arty.” Pulling back, she focused on Jade as she spoke, “Thank you for bringing my husband home, and for...everything you tried.” Her gaze flickered to her baby girl and Jade nodded, realizing they weren’t telling her what became of her dad. Maybe when she was older, she’d be able to handle the truth. The poor woman looked far too thin, like she’d lost a lot of weight in a short period of time.

  Brodie took a deep breath, nodding in agreement as he said, “Jade, this is my mom, Duchess Helen Ri’Cloch.”

  Jade leaned forward, both Helen and her planting air kisses on the other’s cheek as she said softly, “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Duchess.”

  Pulling back, she saw Helen shake her head almost imperceptibly. “You can call me Helen.” She paused, then glanced at her children before looking back at Jade. “I’m sorry for the trouble my family has given you. If there’s anything I can do to make it up to you...”