Earth

by Rosie Scott

  “Oh? And why the hell not?” Nyx wiggled her eyebrows toward me. “Get up, sleepyhead, we're going shopping.”

  Even as I pulled myself out of bed, I asked her, “Is Theron awake?”

  “Theron's been awake. He went to shop for new pants when he realized you were taking forever. I passed him on his way out. He promised to be back by the evening.” Nyx smirked toward Cerin. “And then, I find our room empty, and here you are.”

  “We were discussing our plans for Nahara far into the night,” Cerin said, as an excuse.

  “Yes, well, that is about the least interesting thing you could do while in bed with someone as hot as Kai,” Nyx commented.

  “Nyx,” I hissed, embarrassed by her arguments. I knew she was only looking out for me, but as usual, she was far more blunt about things than I would have been. I hurried past Cerin to go to my own room, where I'd left my armor. Glancing back to Cerin, I said, “We'll meet in the hall in a few minutes?”

  He nodded, but said nothing, seemingly perplexed by the recent conversation.

  Nyx followed me into our room, grinning at me after she'd shut the door behind us. “You managed to weasel your way into Cerin's room in nothing but your underclothes, and nothing untoward happened? What are we going to do with you?”

  “Unlike you, some of us form relationships over time,” I retorted, pulling armor over my clothing.

  “Ugh. Boring,” she commented, though she still grinned.

  “How was your night?” I asked her.

  She gave me an even stare. “Riveting.”

  I chuckled. “It must have been, if it took all night.”

  “Some things are worth the lack of sleep,” she replied, crossing her dark arms across her chest as she waited for me.

  We were on our way into the crowds of Comercio within minutes, and took our time shopping. I managed to purchase a map of Nahara hand drawn on thick parchment from a man who claimed to call it his home. Nyx bought more street food, and some Naharan throwing stars which she insisted she would teach herself how to use. Cerin bought himself a new metal file with which to sharpen his scythe, since he'd lost his previous one at some point during our recent travels.

  When we went to trade in some of the loot we'd obtained, we found Theron doing the same with the things he was carrying, so we decided to stick together from then on out. The prices we received on our loot were much less than we'd gotten far to the north in Thornwell; perhaps the influx of new goods from all over the continent here kept the prices low.

  Theron had found himself new armor for his legs to replace his old pair. Silas had long ago mended his old armor from where I'd needed to cut it back in the wyvern's lair near Whispermere, but I knew the ranger had wanted to fully replace the cut garment. Because our time in Sera had been short, he hadn't been able to replace them then.

  All that was left to buy were lotions for Nyx's skin, as she would need them for the dry heat of Nahara, and I wanted to stop by the bookstore to see if they sold any spell books. After selling our things, we were on our way, heading as a group through the masses of tourists and merchants.

  “The alchemy store was just up on this corner,” Theron commented, as we reached the end of a street.

  “One of them,” I replied, before turning back to ask Nyx, “Weren't there multiple?” My question teetered off into the air, and I frowned as I saw my best friend handing her entire coin purse to a young elven man, smiling toward him as if they were the greatest of acquaintances. I'd never seen the man before. His skin held a bronze hue, and his long, deep brown hair was kept up in a ponytail. He was much darker complected than most Celdic elves I'd ever seen, but I assumed that's what he was, since he surely wasn't Alderi. “Nyx?” I called, confused.

  She smiled up at me. The elf, however, took the coin purse and bolted, rushing the opposite way through the crowds.

  “What the hell?” I glared at Nyx, outrageously confused. She only smiled back at me. “What are you doing?”

  “What?” She asked, looking just as perplexed. “I gave that man my money.” She stopped, hesitated, and realized what she'd said. “Oh, that little shit!”

  Nyx took off running after the elf. Despite the chaotic situation, I followed, hearing Cerin and Theron on my heels. The thief darted down the main street, before dashing between two stores and into an alleyway.

  “Nyx, Kai! Move!” Theron's voice boomed out from behind us. Both Nyx and I scurried to the wall of the building beside us, and I heard the ranger fire one arrow. My golden eyes followed its trajectory to the back of the fleeing elf, where the arrow punctured his right calf. The elf fell forward, and the gold from Nyx's coin purse scattered as it broke open upon hitting the ground.

  The thief panicked and backed into the nearby wall, watching as we neared and favoring his injured leg, which had started to bleed onto the cobblestone below. Up ahead, at the end of the alleyway, passersby watched the situation curiously as Nyx closed the distance between herself and the elf who had stolen her money.

  “Take the gold!” The elf pleaded, pushing the purse toward Nyx as she approached him with her daggers. “Please don't kill me.”

  “What did you do to me, you little shit?” She demanded, stalking up to him and kicking the elf to the side. He scooted over, watching as she ducked to start gathering her gold.

  “I...stole from you,” he admitted, breathing hard. He grimaced as his leg released another rush of blood.

  “No, I gave that gold to you like it was my idea.”

  The elf raised both hands above his head, as if she would kill him then. “Illusion magic, is all. It is a spell called charm. It is harmless. You are unharmed,” he repeated. “I am harmed. You have won. Take the gold. Please, just leave me be.”

  I frowned at the elf. Despite his admitted defeat, there was an intense sadness in his gray eyes. It pulled at my curiosity, and I walked over to him, squatting between him and the wall. He watched me with fear, pulling his head back from me just a bit.

  “You are far from Celendar,” I commented.

  He shook his head. “I am not a Celd.”

  “What are you, then?”

  “Vhiri,” he replied, simply. Vhiri. I knew of the race, but I had never expected to see one here. The Vhiri were a race of elves which mostly kept to themselves across the seas from Chairel in their home country of Eteri. I had never seen one before, because they made it a point to avoid Chairel. I knew of their hatred of our country, and particularly of the Serans. The Vhiri were a highly magical race of elves, and I knew they tended to look down upon humans. High elves, I'd heard them called with disdain, due to the pedestals the race placed themselves upon. Given that Sera—a city of mostly humans—had a monopoly on magical services and education and attempted to impose it upon the world, they despised us. Tensions had always been high between the humans of Chairel and the Vhiri, and there had been many wars waged between the two.

  “Ah,” I finally said. “You are even farther from Eteri.”

  “I have lived all my life in Nahara,” he explained. “My parents were missionaries.”

  “Nahara? Then why are you here, in Chairel?”

  The elf grimaced. Memories of tragedy passed through his eyes, before he cleared them to answer me. “Unfortunate circumstance.”

  “Circumstances that have led to thievery,” I mused, though it also served as a question.

  The elf swallowed hard and looked away, suddenly emotional. “I am truly sorry for inconveniencing you all. I plead you to let me live. I have so much left to accomplish.”

  “Yeah, so do we, and we don't have the time to deal with thieves,” Nyx seethed.

  I understood my friend's anger, but I also took our meeting of this man as an opportunity. “Do you have business here, or in Nahara?”

  He was silent a few moments, before deciding it wouldn't hurt to tell me. “Nahara,” he admitted.

  “You are in debt?” I questioned, figuring his thievery to be related to his ails.

>   “No...I am trying to save enough money to buy the freedom of someone I love.” His eyes glazed over, and he turned his head away from me, before I heard him sniffle. “Forgive me.”

  “He is trying to tug at your heart strings,” Nyx said, from above me. She'd cleaned up all of her gold, and it was back in her coin purse, which she shoved back into her pocket.

  “He is telling the truth,” I replied, still staring at the man, searching his eyes for honesty. “What is your name?”

  “Jakan,” he murmured.

  “Are you alone in Comercio, Jakan?”

  “Yes.”

  “I am assuming you know your way around Nahara?” I questioned.

  “Very well,” he replied.

  Nyx exhaled roughly from above me. “You want to bring a thief with us?” This clearly displeased her.

  I glanced up to her. “He's being honest with me, Nyx. Can't you tell?”

  My friend watched the elf for a moment, before she crossed her arms. “I don't take kindly to those who slight me.”

  “That's...understandable.” Jakan looked back to me. “You are on your way to Nahara?”

  “We are.”

  “What are your reasons for going?”

  “My reasons are my own,” I replied, vaguely. Despite feeling the Vhiri was being honest with me, I didn't want to reveal anything to a stranger before we were even out of Chairel. “I cannot trust you to fully say,” I added, apologetically. “If I heal your wound, will you take us there? We could use a guide.”

  Jakan hesitated, eyeing his bleeding wound. “I appreciate your offer, but I cannot return to Nahara until I have the means with which to free my love. Gold is rare in Nahara, so I must make my fortune here.”

  I pondered this. “How much gold do you need?”

  “Last I heard, one thousand pieces, but Anto is a good fighter, and he is becoming known for it. I was last there three seasons ago. The more fights he wins, the higher the price. But I want him to win, because otherwise...” he trailed off, leaving the rest of his statement up to the imagination.

  “I don't understand. You say you want his freedom, but he is a fighter?” I asked.

  Theron spoke up from behind me. “There is a coliseum in T'ahal. Slaves captured from around the lands are brought there to fight to the death. It is a gruesome spectacle. The owners of these people make riches in bets and branded merchandise.”

  “That's...despicable.” I turned to Jakan, my mind racing with possibilities. I planned on trying to negotiate with the Naharans as it was, but I couldn't be sure I would succeed. I couldn't promise this desperate man that I could arrange for his lover's release from slavery, and one thousand gold was a hefty sum. I was able to afford it, but barely, and I wasn't sure I would want to spend the majority of my money on someone I barely knew. Even still, that sum was an old amount. It was possible the cost had since grown higher.

  “How much gold do you have saved?”

  “A little over two hundred,” Jakan replied.

  “I will pay you a few hundred to take us there,” I offered. “And gold is attracted to us...you may make the remainder of what you need in the meantime.”

  Jakan stared at me, a little shocked. “A few hundred? You are rich?”

  “I am a healer, friend. Of course I am.” I reached out to elf's injured leg, holding it still as I slowly removed Theron's arrow. Jakan hissed between his lips in pain as the arrowhead slipped out of his skin, letting more blood escape from the wound. Lying the arrow down on the ground beside him, I lifted his pant leg and hovered my hands above the wound.

  “Promotus le imun,” I whispered.

  “Will this cost me a fortune?” Jakan managed, watching as I then began to close the wound with another life spell.

  “No, you are taking us to Nahara, remember?” I murmured, watching as his muscle reconnected itself, followed then by his skin.

  “...yes,” he agreed. I knew he felt he had little choice. I was offering him more than he could get by stealing from the populace of Comercio.

  “Good. Now,” I refocused on meeting Jakan's gaze once more, now that his wound was healed. “How do you feel about necromancy?”

  The elf looked taken aback. “I fear it, like anyone else.”

  Lowering my voice a bit, I asked, “What if it was used alongside you?”

  Jakan hesitated. “You are a necromancer...?” He trailed off, remembering he had just seen me use life magic. He did not know my true identity, so he couldn't have known I wielded all elements. Then, his eyes flicked to above my shoulder, where Cerin must have been standing. Given his pale skin, dark hair, and foreboding looks, I knew what he saw. “Oh,” he said. He chuckled nervously, before meeting my stare. “It is of little wonder why you are fleeing Chairel.”

  “Will that be a problem?”

  He shook his head, his bronze face betraying his fear. “No. You have offered me assistance in my quest. I will not question you about yours.”

  “Good. We will get along just fine. Tell me, Jakan...” I glanced to the end of the alleyway, making sure no ears were eavesdropping. “Your illusion magic...can I bother you to make use of it once more?”

  He watched me carefully. “What did you have in mind?”

  The group of us were soon on our way down the street together, our new member in tow. Jakan led the way, since he knew the routes through the city best and would be the one we relied upon for this to go smoothly. I watched the elf's bouncy gait, wondering how old he was. It was hard to tell with elves, but Jakan gave off the aura of youth, and had mentioned living in Nahara due to his parents, so it seemed like a recent enough event for him.

  We made our way into the book store I'd wanted to visit anyway, and were greeted by a middle-aged human woman standing behind a counter. She asked us if we needed any help, and Jakan waved away her concerns as he walked farther into the store and past some shelves which held all manner of books. Books that held fables, spells, guides for alchemy, or even recipes for dishes utilizing the different foods of various lands.

  Jakan held up a finger to me, before nodding over to another customer in the store who was in the midst of browsing. I understood his meaning; the plan for which we were here required there to be no witnesses.

  We all began to browse books ourselves, just to pass the time. Theron picked up a few books on alchemy and cooking, flipping through them with interest of his hobbies. Cerin and I looked through spell books, though they mostly covered that which we already knew. Nyx, on the other hand, just looked bored, and ended up taking a seat on a chair at the end of the aisle.

  “Have a good day!” The greeting turned my attention back to the front of the store, where the other customer had just left. I followed Jakan up to the front, where the merchant smiled over the counter at us.

  “Excuse me,” I greeted, pulling the woman's attention to me. I watched as Jakan nonchalantly walked to the side of the counter, just out of view of the woman's peripheral vision. “I was wondering if you could help me locate a book.”

  “Why, I can sure try,” she replied, with a beaming smile. From the corner of my vision, I saw a burst of coral-pink magic transfer from Jakan's palm to the merchant. At first, nothing seemed to happen. I couldn't tell any magic had been used at all. “What are you looking for?”

  “We are looking for spell books for a discerning necromancer,” Jakan spoke up, just as casually as if he were talking about anything else.

  “Ah! Well, as a matter of fact, I have something for you.” The merchant continued to treat us as if we were her best customers. Then, she stopped, looking flustered, and my heart thumped against my chest, wondering if her mind was clearing through the magic. She spoke again, “But I think it's in the back room. Why would it be there? Give me a moment.”

  The merchant disappeared through a door meant only for her. Jakan and I exchanged glances. Cerin watched us with interest from down an aisle, finding this all fascinating.

  The woman reappeared before us m
oments later, holding a thick, black leather book which had seen better days. An arcanic symbol was carved into the front of it, and its edges and corners were frayed from time and use.

  “We were getting ready to pitch it. Imagine that!” The woman chuckled, putting it up on the counter. “Does it look like something you'd like?”

  I pulled open the cover, flipping through the yellowed pages, my eyes coming across spells I had never heard of before, written in words I did not yet know. Some of the spells were those which combined necromancy with another element. Excitement built within me from seeing all I would be able to learn. All I would be able to do.

  “This'll work,” I blurted, pulling the book to me. “How much is it?”

  The woman hesitated. “I don't know,” she admitted, looking confused. “We were going to pitch it.”

  I dug into my coin purse and pulled out two gold coins, even as Cerin came by me to take the spell book and hide it within his satchel. “Will two gold do?”

  The merchant beamed at me, currently the most agreeable person in the world given the illusion magic which confused her. “Okay!”

  I watched as she took the gold and put it into a locked box she retrieved from beneath the counter. As she bent over to put the box back into its place, Jakan sent another spell her way, made of a thick and murky gray energy.

  Then, Jakan made his way around the counter to us, and we prepared to leave. The merchant lifted her head above the counter again, and watched as Nyx and Theron came with us to leave.

  “Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't see you there. Did you need help finding anything?”

  I smiled back at the merchant, amused. I'd always heard of illusion magic's uses, but it wasn't until today that I fully understood them. For not only had Jakan managed to charm the woman into giving us what we wanted, but he'd then confused her to make her forget the transaction. I was beginning to see how the Vhiri elf could be of much use to us.

  “No, thanks. We were just leaving.”

  The woman nodded. “Have a good day! Come back to see us!”

  We left the book store, an illegal book of necromantic spells heavy in Cerin's satchel. We prepared to visit the alchemy shop next for Nyx's lotions, since Jakan's thievery had cut our visit short earlier in the day.