by Peri Akman
“If it’s a problem, Cosime’s here. Besides, I won’t get in trouble,” Quinn muttered, feeling annoyed. Kay was correct, and that bugged him. But Kole wouldn’t punish him for this. Would she?
Through the tube, Quinn watched as Asim stood in the center of the lake, concentrating on holding up the wind. The water held most of the wild life, but a few fish were pathetically flopping on the now dried river bed.
In the center, flickering in the light, was the nest. It was huge. Huger than Quinn had anticipated, and sure enough, just as Kole had said, dozens upon dozens of demons had congregated around it, hissing angrily. They traversed in and out of the large demonic orb with ease, with the occasional demon kicking up a dying fish or a pebble.
Flickering limbs shot out of the orb, and tried to reach out to pummel the warlocks, but their range was barely a few feet.
From the safety of above, Dale generated a large lance, like she did before, with Kole supplying three of her own. It wasn’t as much as last time, but now she wasn’t panicking for dear life, and she didn’t have the benefit of being fully healed. Kole was probably still sore from saving Quinn’s life earlier that day.
The lances swirled and shot down towards the nest.
Quinn blinked in anticipation of the ensuing crash. One of these things had taken down a huge monster. A bunch of them could take down this nest portal, right?
One by one, the lances crashed down onto the flickering orb, before promptly disintegrating into black energy dust.
The orb remained just as thick as ever.
Through the tube, Quinn could hear Kole’s angry curses. Quinn couldn’t help but chuckle at the yelling.
Another barrage of black energy, but the orb did not flicker.
“This isn’t working,” Kole snapped.
“We have to keep trying,” Dale replied in a tone of annoyed contrariness. “We can’t just let this thing go free ’cause we’re lazy.”
Kole began to reply, but Asim quieted her. The barrage continued. For five minutes they battered the orb.
For ten minutes.
For thirty minutes.
An hour.
By that point, the apprentices had taken to lying on the ground and staring at the clouds. Even Quinn stopped watching intently after a while.
Finally, Asim stepped out of the lake, shaking. He flicked his hands, and the water collapsed. From within the water bubble, Kole maintained a smaller bubble, and the other two emerged unscathed.
The second the disc of energy touched the hard ground, Dale and Kole both promptly collapsed.
“That… was a terrible idea,” Dale moaned.
“It was your lousy idea!” Kole hissed, beginning to struggle to get up.
“We can argue about whose idea it was after it goes away,” Asim cut in.
Dale motioned to Cosime.
“Heal us,” she said.
Kole made a strangulated noise.
“Except for that one,” Dale amended.
“You are missing the principle here.” Kole continued to make hissing noises as she spoke.
Quinn frowned. He was beginning to dislike Dale for the trouble she was causing, but the sniping was just getting annoying. It was probably as cordial as they were going to get without breaking into a fight, but it wasn’t exactly pleasant to endure.
“I’m going to go get us food and supplies.” Quinn said, rising to his feet.
“I’ll come with you,” Kole said, struggling to stand up.
“You’re tired—don’t,” Quinn protested.
“Oh no, I’m in pain. Whatever will I do?” Kole sarcastically asked.
Kole hobbled towards Quinn, and he reached out to help support her weight. The two walked off together.
Once they were far enough away, Quinn summoned Ser Hero, told them to shut up, and ordered them to carry Kole.
“A job worthy of any hero, oh great master of the awkwardness!” Ser Hero proclaimed proudly, before scooping up Kole like she was a kitten. Even more impressive, since this Ser Hero was shorter than both of them, but still with chiseled features and long flowing black hair. They weren’t even attractive, just extremely symmetrical.
Kole, on her part, did not protest this, although she did grumble once she was actually held.
They walked quietly for a few minutes, until Kole breached the topic that was on both of their minds.
“All right, what did you want to talk to me about?” She waved her walking stick like it was a wand. She even flailed slightly, but Ser Hero did not seem to strain their grip for a moment.
“It’s not that important,” Quinn babbled quickly. “I can tell you when you’re not in pain.”
“Quinn, I’m sore all over from constant energy expenditure. It’s not like I was stabbed or bludgeoned or anything,” Kole gave a chuckle. “Plus, I’m being carted by some six foot inter-dimensional being. I’m basically pampered at the moment.”
“All right…” Quinn trailed off, his breath hitching.
He didn’t finish his statement, and the two continued in silence for a while as Quinn tried to formulate how to best go about this. Kole didn’t press him for continued speaking, and finally, after they reached the houses, Quinn came up with the best phrasing he could muster.
“If… I was hearing voices… would that be a bad thing?” Quinn asked.
Kole raised an eyebrow. “As in auditory hallucinations?”
“I mean… kind of? I was just thinking of all the stuff I could summon, when suddenly I just… heard a suggestion of summoning monsters,” Quinn swallowed dryly and grimaced, bracing himself for the worst.
“And you’re sure it was someone else’s voice, not an intrusive thought?” Kole asked.
“Intrusive thought?” Quinn asked, blinking in confusion.
Kole sighed and swatted at Ser Hero to let her go. Ser Hero at first refused, but Quinn gave the go ahead, and Ser Hero ungracefully dropped her to the ground.
“Intrusive thoughts. Like if you see a lake and think ‘I should jump in the lake’ or you see a cliff and think ‘I should jump off that cliff’ or if you see a knife and think ‘I should stab someone with that knife.’ Stuff like that,” Kole explained, as she sat down, massaging her leg slightly.
Quinn paled. “I—no! That sounds horrifying!”
Kole shrugged. “Eh.”
“It’s definitely not intrusive thoughts,” Quinn stated with a degree of confidence.
“All right.” Kole replied, saying nothing else.
“Well?” Quinn prodded. “Is that bad?”
“I mean, yeah, probably, but that doesn’t mean it’s world-endingly bad. It could mean some empath is playing tricks on you. Or it could mean you’re experiencing auditory hallucinations. Which isn’t a bad thing, it just needs to be dealt with. I already said that warlocks are sixty-five percent more likely to have some deviation in their brain. You could just be psychotic for example,” Kole explained slowly.
“Psychotic like… murderous?” Quinn stepped back, his stomach turning in on itself.
“You are not psychotic at all, Master of the Heroes!” Ser Hero said reassuringly.
“No. Psychotic just means you’re suffering from psychosis. Which means you have a disconnect from reality. One of the ways this is characterized is by auditory hallucinations,” Kole continued patiently. “Not without its stigma, but we have the skills to treat it in many cities.”
“And… you think I have that?”
“No. Not at all. I’m just giving an example. Not every weird interaction with reality has to do with magic. Sometimes it’s just the mundane mucking about. Not everything we deal with is earth-shattering,” Kole said. She reached her hand out to Quinn and hoisted herself up with his help. She brought herself close, and hugged him tightly.
Quinn returned the hug.
“Quinn, pay attention to your own body, see if anything else weird like that happens, and then, once we’re done with this, we’ll head down to Trell and get you a che
ck-up, all right?” Kole ruffled his hair playfully.
“What if it is magical, though?” Quinn protested.
“Then it’s probably a demon messing with you. It will be gone by the time we leave Shorne, and we lose nothing from this encounter,” Kole assured him.
The two were interrupted by Ser Hero joining in on the hug, and gripping them both rather tightly.
“I approve of this emotional display of kindness, sincerity and the bonds of friendship!” Ser Hero stated with a smile a bit too wide to be genuine.
Quinn rolled his eyes and banished Ser Hero. In the houses he grabbed some blankets and assorted supplies.
“We’re gonna need food if we’re keeping an eye on the orb,” Kole muttered, displeased with this realization.
“Then you head back. I’ll go back to the temple and ask for more food,” Quinn said simply.
Quinn made a motion, and summoned an ox with a cart.
Kole prodded the cart with her stick.
“No way, that thing is not made right. Redo it!” Kole ordered.
Quinn frowned. “How is it not made right?”
“The wheels are just kinda jammed on there. Here—” Kole started, and summoned several parts, scattering them on the floor.
“Needs to have these things put together. Then it will work. Oh—wait! You got it!” Kole said, flailing her arms.
Quinn had summoned it again. It didn’t look different, but hey, if it worked better, who was he to question how things turned out?
“Thanks. I’d do it myself, but I can’t summon living things,” Kole quipped, gesturing to the ox.
“Yeah, about that…” Quinn started uncomfortably.
“I’m assuming you haven’t mentioned this to Wind Walker and company, hm?” Kole asked, guessing Quinn’s conflict.
Quinn shook his head.
“Do you want to?” Kole asked rather simply, as she unloaded the supplies onto the cart.
“I… don’t know,” Quinn admitted. “I kind of feel like I shouldn’t.”
“If you’re not comfortable saying anything, then don’t.”
“That’s… it’s not that I’m uncomfortable, it’s just that I feel like I shouldn’t. There’s a difference.” Quinn could not help but frown at Kole’s obtuse reaction.
Kole sighed. “I can’t help you here, Quinn. You need to make that decision yourself. But I should tell you, Wind Walker will not react well. I have no idea about anyone else.”
Another arrow seemed to pierce the sheen that was the image of Asim of Trell.
Each time it hurt a little bit less.
“Why?” Quinn asked.
“Well, Wind Walker’s always been a bit of a golden boy. Doesn’t like getting his hands dirty. He’ll blame it on others before he lets his own reputation be tarnished. If he knows you summoned a living thing, he’s going to get very suspicious. And if we do cause any problems, he’s not going to hesitate to tell the government the exact specifics, especially if he learns about that monster summoning,” Kole explained quietly.
“You know, I don’t get that,” Quinn complained.
“Don’t get what?” Kole asked, as she heaved the last of the blankets and fabrics onto the cart.
“How is he a golden boy? He got the sigil tattooed on his eye in protest. You guys did illegal things together. How in the world does that equate to always being lawful?” Quinn asked, folding his arms in annoyance.
Kole gave a bit of a snort. “Being a rebellious little twit and being a golden boy aren’t mutually exclusive.”
“Yes they are!” Quinn protested. “They are in fact polar opposites!”
“Well in case you haven’t noticed, Wind Walker is a two faced prat.” Kole responded without missing a beat.
“You really dislike him, don’t you?” Quinn asked, raising an eyebrow.
“What makes you say that?”
“You’ve known him for years, but you don’t ever refer to him by his name, and you have nothing nice to say about him. You obviously don’t hate him, but you don’t like him very much,” Quinn explained his reasoning. He supposed there was the explanation that Han-Yue had postulated, of them formerly being a thing, but Quinn didn’t buy it. Quiet animosity didn’t lead to a relationship.
Kole did not move for a moment. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Odd answer, but Quinn was beginning to not care about the fabled Asim of Trell.
“I don’t think I’m telling anyone unless our lives depend on it,” Quinn stated. “It seems too annoying to have to explain what forces of the universe led to Ser Hero’s creation.”
Kole cackled. “Fine by me. I’ll unboard everything before I get too close.”
Quinn stared at the cart that was now full of the things that were heading towards the lake. “Uh.”
“Something wrong?” Kole asked.
“I was uh, planning on actually using the cart myself,” Quinn said sheepishly, suddenly realizing how stupid it was of him to expect Kole to make the trek, carrying supplies, to the lake.
Kole wilted. “Oh.”
“Don’t you have your storage stick?” Quinn asked, shifting awkwardly.
Kole stared at her walking stick, and while Quinn couldn’t see her face, it was evident she was frowning.
“Nevermind! It’s fine, you need it more than me. Uh. I’m just not sure how I’m going to get the food here,” Quinn sputtered.
Kole stared at the cart, and then back at Quinn. She extended a hand, and summoned a small rubber ball. “Here.”
Quinn stared at it dully. “Is it a magical ball?”
“What? No! It’s a regular ball! When I reach the lake, I’ll banish it. When you know you don’t have the ball anymore, you can summon the cart back to you, or a Ser Hero or whatever!” Kole snapped.
“Sounds good,” Quinn said, taking the ball and pocketing it.
“Don’t get into trouble, Quinn,” Kole replied, before inelegantly scrambling into the cart, and motioning for the ox to head towards the lake.
Quinn nodded and turned away back to the temple. He’d have to get a lot of food if they were staying by the lake. The walk was annoying enough from the houses to the temple, but the lake to the temple? That involved travelling uphill!
The cart would have probably made it easier, but it would have involved the uneven landscape, as well as riding a thing he was concentrating to maintain. Probably best that he wasn’t using it.
You’re boring.
Quinn flinched and whipped around. Once again, no one was there.
“You know what? Stop that! Stop that right now!” Quinn yelled to no one in particular.
There was a silence.
He was yelling to himself, excellent. This wasn’t helping his case at all.
Well, if all this weirdness was going to do was make him hear things, then he would be fine. It wasn’t like it sounded like a human’s voice anyway.
He would be just fine.
Quinn continued his walk to the Temple, jumping at every shadow along the way.
Chapter Twenty-Three
It was dark out by the time Quinn returned to the lake. He dropped the boxes of food with a heavy sigh, and quietly banished his six-armed summon of Ser Hero, who had been helping with the boxes. Four tents had been set up, two big enough for two people, two big enough for only one.
Dale and Cosime slept in one tent.
Kay slept in one of the single tents.
The other two were completely empty.
Quinn briefly checked the larger tent, and found it set up with his pillow inside. He and Kole were probably going to share this tent, which meant that Asim and Kay were the ones who had split up.
He was a bit annoyed that this had been set up without his input, but it wasn’t like he disagreed. He and Kole had both slept on that same pull-out couch in Doctor Travitz’s apartment. Neither of them snored or tossed and turned much. It was a matter of convenience.
Of course, the real question was where As
im and Kole were. The lake was calm and unmoving, so it wasn’t like they had chosen to hammer away at that into the night.
Quinn summoned a bird of the non-talking variety, and sent it off with orders to find them. Just in case they were in trouble.
The bird fumbled around blindly until Quinn banished it and summoned an owl, realizing that most birds were not actually good at flying at night.
Learning new things every hour, it would seem.
The owl flew away, and Quinn settled down on the ground, relaxing from his rather long and annoying trek both ways. Some optimistic part wondered if the reason Kay hadn’t recognized him was because he had become amazingly fit over these last two months, and thus a completely changed man, but the logical part quieted the fancy by pointing out that walking was not some magical face changer.
Quinn hadn't been waiting long before the owl came back. He followed the owl up a small hill, to a more rocky area overlooking the lake.
Kole and Asim were sitting casually, talking, drinking from a flask.
Quinn initially took a few steps toward them, but stopped. It felt wrong, that he was sneaking up on them like this, but his curiosity overrode his sense, he wanted to know. It was only bad if he got caught, right?
Quinn crouched down behind a tree and tried very hard not to breathe. As it turned out, eavesdropping was harder than it looked, since they were not talking at a level that could be heard by someone a few feet away, obscured by a tree. After a bit of effort, involving sucking in his gut and pressing himself against the ground, Quinn was able to hear them while not compromising his hiding spot.
“—yeah, no, we had a terrible argument,” Asim said, “and the pathetic part is I should have realized it was you, but I didn’t put two and two together. She was complaining about this crazy old woman who had tried to murder her. So of course I said ‘well you know some people might see you as robbing a poor child of their free will.’ Dale took it rather negatively.”
Kole gave a rough laugh. “Bet she loved that.”
“That’s one way to put it. Honestly, you should watch yourself, Kole,” Asim said. “She’s looking for something bad to lord over you. She only needs to be right on technicality to really hurt you.”