by Jamey Sultan
***
The next morning, James woke up to find Nidra frowning at seemingly nothing. “You okay?” he asked, concerned.
“What does that look like to you?” Nidra asked, gesturing in front of her.
James had no idea what she was talking about, so he shrugged. “Grass?” he guessed.
Nidra shook her head. “Not grass. Frost.”
“Oh.” James wasn’t sure what else to say. He was baffled by their conversation and didn’t understand why she was so concerned about the frost. Winter was starting, it wasn’t a big deal, especially with their cold resistances.
Nidra rolled her eyes. “Right. I keep forgetting how much you don’t know. Actually, the two Dwarves should hear this too, especially Karim.” She called them over and continued her explanation. “Listen closely, this is important. Arik, you were only in the Human lands for a few months, right?”
Arik nodded.
“And Karim, you’ve never been to any Human land, right?”
Karim nodded. “But Humans and Dwarves aren’t too different, culturally. I’ve had a few lessons on Human interaction, and there’s nothing too different.”
Nidra nodded. “You’re right, Dwarves and Humans are pretty similar. But there are a few big differences. The one I’m most concerned about is a tradition called the Wintering. Have either of you heard of it?”
“Is that…?” Karim trailed off for a second, his eyes unfocused, but not like someone reading notifications, more like someone trying to remember something they’d forgotten. He snapped his fingers in frustration. “It’s on the tip of my tongue. I remember reading something about it in a training manual.”
“Well, no worries. I’ll explain, it’s—”
“A training exercise,” Karim interrupted. “It’s a snow survival training, right?”
Nidra sighed. “Sort of. Every year, all the recruits who pass initiation are sent out during the first snow with nothing but an iron dagger and told to survive. Those who make it to the end of the winter are given their choice of position along with a specialized class trainer to help them. Those who don’t pass initiation, or who return early, become normal soldiers.” She looked at Karim. “It’s important for you because you’re heading to Fallmire. The rest of us are going to be far enough from Fallmire that there is a very low chance we encounter any but the most adventurous recruits.”
“Okay, but I’ve met with some of the guard recruits, they’re idiots,” James said, thinking of Lew back at Riverside.
“Riverside is a joke. It’s where nobles send their kids to get experience safely instead of sending them to the Wintering. No, only the prodigies take part in the Wintering.”
“So, how do the civilians feel about a bunch of armed teenagers being set loose every year?” James asked. “Are they allowed to steal from people or hurt anyone?”
Nidra nodded. “The only rule is that they can’t attack first. They are allowed to sneak and steal, but if they get caught, they’re supposed to leave unless attacked. Still, hunger can lead to desperation…”
At that grim note, they quieted and packed up camp. They still had a long way to go and they all wanted to sleep at an inn that night.
***
They were almost to the bottom of the mountain when James called out for the group to halt. He pointed down a few switchbacks, where a fallen tree blocked the path. After his experience with bandits outside of Riverside, James was wary of any tree blocking his way forward.
“What’s up?” Nidra asked.
“Something about that tree looks off,” James said, gesturing down. “It’s too straight across the path, like someone dragged it there.”
“Why would anyone drag a tree across the path? It’s not like this is a well-traveled road,” Arik pointed out.
“No, he’s right,” Karim said. “It’s definitely not natural. Look at the dirt around it, someone definitely dragged that tree onto the path.”
James smacked himself on the forehead. “Oh, you know why?”
“This is the only way off of the mountain,” Nidra said, realization striking her at the same time it hit James.
“Exactly.” James nodded. “Our fire last night was like a beacon, letting everybody around know that there were people up here. If this is the only way down the mountain, then it wouldn’t take a genius to set up an ambush at the bottom of the mountain.”
Karim chuckled. “Definitely not a genius. Whoever’s down there set up their trap in such an easy to spot location and didn’t even bother to try to hide it very well.”
James checked his Essence; once they’d gotten to the valley, it had started recovering in the sunlight. It hadn’t been able to recover fully because a lot of their journey was in the shadows, but he’d still managed to recover about 600 Essence and he was back up to around 1800. That was enough for a few teleports. “Here’s the plan: we’ll all get as close as we can without alerting them, then I’ll use Arcane Teleport to get behind them and attack. While they’re distracted, the rest of you attack from the front.”
Before dropping into Stealth, James canceled Mage Armor. The barrier gave his skin a subtle blue glow that would give him away.
Once Stealthed, James followed the path, darting between plants for cover. The fact that the path was worn and out of use worked in his favor because there was enough foliage to hide him, but stones stuck out of the ground at even enough intervals for him walk along them instead of risking the snapping branches and crinkling leaves along the forest floor.
Soon enough, James could hear hushed conversation filtering in through the trees.
“Are you sure about this? What if he finds out?” The voice was high-pitched and whiny. To James, it sounded like the voice of every 80s movie nerd, the annoying best friend to the main character.
“He’s not gonna find out.” The other voice could not have been more different. It was low and gruff like that of a lumberjack.
“Well, how do you know anyone’s up there?”
“You saw the fire just like I did.”
“Well, what if they live up there? Or what if they’re not coming down today?”
“They’ve got to come down eventually.”
“We’re supposed to be heading toward Four Rivers.” The first voice had taken on an even higher-pitched whine, like the drone of an insect. “We shouldn’t be here.”
“They should be coming down the mountain sometime today and then we can head to Four Rivers.”
“But what about—”
James missed the rest of the bandit’s whining as he focused on navigating a particularly difficult stretch of forest. There was a break in the foliage he was using for cover and he had to move into the denser plant life off of the road or risk the bandits seeing him. It was around midday, so there was no chance he could just sneak by them. He probably could have used Arcane Teleport to clear the gap, but it seemed like a waste of Essence.
Instead, James walked off the path and into the trees. There were more branches and leaves on the ground, along with thick vegetation that rustled with every movement, but he was able to get by without alerting the bandits by traversing across a series of thick tree roots.
You have gained 1 Skill Rank in Stealth.
You are now Skill Rank 26.
Back on the path, James tuned back into the bandits’ conversation.
“I already told you, the Red King is dealing with some personal issues. Something about his kids. He’s not going to find out.” The deeper voiced bandit, the one who seemed to be in charge, was getting annoyed. “Now be quiet, we don’t want to alert them.”
James grinned to himself as he got closer to the two bandits—they were in for a rude awakening.
When James reached the switchback directly above the fallen tree branch, he cast Arcane Teleport. The noise of the forest cut instantly, dropping him into complete silence. He tried to push through the foliage, but with the world frozen, so were the plants. Even with all of his strength, James cou
ldn’t move them. Instead, he clambered over them, gripping the glowing grid bars for assistance when he needed it.
It took two teleports chained together to flank the bandits, but once he was in position behind them, he was able to read their status pages. As he read, he recast Mage Armor just in case. He’d had it active for so long that he felt naked without it.
Name: Cretus Arce
Race: Human
Level: 27
Class: Bandit Earth Mage
Name: Liam Ringer
Race: Human
Level: 35
Class: Bandit Swordsman
Cretus was a wiry Human with long greasy black hair that fell across his face. Underneath his hair, his eyes darted back and forth nervously. He wore dirty green robes and carried a thin oaken staff. He could not have been more unlike his partner if he’d tried. Liam was thick and beefy with squinty eyes and barely any neck. He reminded James of a block of wood. The Bandit Swordsman had a massive sword strapped to his back.
James’ party had come up with two plans depending on the bandits’ levels. If they were a high enough level that Karim couldn’t take care of them, then James would retreat, and they would make a new plan. But that wasn’t the case, so the plan was for James to get them to leave their cover and Karim would snipe them from above.
Arik had argued that he should have a chance to fight because James and Nidra had been doing most of the killing lately and he hadn’t been able to get much experience, but they pointed out that that wasn’t his role and that it would be dangerous to take on an unknown amount to bandits waiting to ambush them.
James considered ignoring the plan; he was pretty sure he could teleport directly next to Cretus and stab the bandit in the neck. The mage definitely wouldn’t be able to react quickly enough to stop him, but James was worried about the Bandit Swordsman. He might react faster than James could teleport away.
So, ignoring the part of his brain that led him to make poor decisions, James stepped back, looking up the mountain. Karim would be watching and let him know when he was in view. When James had taken ten paces, Arik started to talk loudly, the Dwarf’s voice carrying down the mountain. The two bandits stiffened and peered up the ridge.
“Afternoon, assholes,” James said, glowing with power as he sent three Arcane Missiles streaking toward the mage.
The bandits spun around to face James, their eyes widening. The Swordsman charged towards James with a battle cry that surrounded him with a red glow. He made it two steps before he fell, an arrow sticking out of his eye. His sword dropped from lifeless fingers and struck a rock, sending up sparks.
A wall of rock erupted from the earth and two of James’ missiles slammed into it, sending shards of stone into the air and obscuring James’ view with a cloud of dust.
The third missile flew into the dust and exploded into a shower of blue light. James crossed his fingers, hoping it’d hit, but the mage stepped into view, unharmed except for a scorch mark across his cheek. His skin shone in the sunlight like metal, and the mage raised his hand into the air.
James prepared to cast Arcane Teleport to dodge whatever magic the mage planned to throw at him, but instead of casting a spell, the mage maneuvered his hand so that the sunlight reflected off of it directly into James’ eyes.
The unexpected attack blinded James, and he dropped to the ground rubbing at them, trying to get rid of the black spots blocking his vision.
There was a sound like metal striking metal, then a thud, and then silence.
Chapter 30
When James’ vision recovered, he saw the mage collapsed on the ground with an arrow sticking out of his forehead. While he waited for his friends to reach him, he examined the mage’s corpse. James removed the mage’s robes and staff, setting them aside for Karim. Since the Hunter had killed him, it was his loot.
Soiled Novice Earth Mage’s Robes:
Rank: Common
+ 10% Damage when using Earth-based magic
- 5 Charisma until cleaned
These robes could use a wash.
James sniffed the robes and gagged. When the bandit had died, he’d left them a present in his robes.
Oaken Staff:
Rank: Common
+ 10% Casting speed to Earth-based magic
Grants the Earth Spike Spell
Anyone with the proper affinities can use this staff to channel the Earth Spike Spell.
Removing the mage’s robes revealed a medallion across his chest. The medallion had a symbol across it that looked like two snowcapped mountain peaks.
Amulet of the Twin Peaks Student:
Rank: Unusual
+ 15% Casting speed
This amulet belonged to a student at the Twin Peaks School.
As soon as James picked up the amulet, a quest notification flashed into view.
You have been given a quest: Twin Peaks I
Twin Peaks I: You have found an amulet belonging to the Twin Peaks Magic School. Return it for a possible reward.
Suggested level: 11
Reward: Unknown.
Penalty for failure or refusal: If a representative of the Twin Peaks School sees you wearing this amulet, they will attack you on sight.
James accepted the quest but dropped the amulet onto the pile with the rest of the mage’s items. He was excited at the idea of a magic school and would love to get a chance to check it out. While he thought about what the magic school would look like, his party reached him.
“Nice distraction,” Arik said, clapping him on the shoulder.
James grinned at him and turned to Karim. “Nice shooting.” He gestured to the items. “I piled up the mage’s items for you. I’d like to keep the necklace if you don’t mind, though. There’s a quest to go to a magic school that looks like fun.”
Karim looked over the mages gear and his nose wrinkled. “You can keep it all,” he said. “I don’t have any use for it, and I’ve got too much to do to worry about returning an amulet to some magic school.” He gestured at the Bandit Swordsman’s weapon laying abandoned in the dirt next to his corpse. “Take the sword too, I don’t need it. And his armor.”
James thanked him and picked up the sword. It was heavier than he’d expected, but not too heavy to wield.
Heavy Beater:
Rank: Common
It’s more a slab of steel than it is a sword, but it hits things well enough.
After he’d slipped the sword into his inventory, James stripped the bandit and dropped all of the gear into his pouch. It was a nice set of Steel Armor, but only one piece was enchanted.
Steel Gauntlets of Grip:
Rank: Unusual
+ 10 Strength in the wielder’s hands and forearms
These gauntlets have been forged from Steel and enchanted to strengthen the wearer’s grip strength.
James offered the entire armor set to Arik, but the Dwarf refused. One of the limitations of his class was that he could only use weapons and armor that he’d forged himself.
***
Ten minutes later, they stepped off of the mountain and onto a lightly worn deer trail through the forest, just wide enough for them to walk single file. James knew he was probably imagining it, but the air felt fresher off the mountain. Crisp and sweet, with just a hint of winter. It was the smell of firewood burning on a cold day. He smiled as he exhaled, a cloud of frost puffing from between his lips.
Both the Witchwood and the Fertile Expanse had hinted at something more, something dangerous. When James had been in the Witchwood, he’d felt the presence of evil all around. It had felt as if someone were constantly watching him and plotting how to destroy him. The Fertile Expanse was terrifying in a different way. James had barely scratched the border of the Fertile Expanse when he’d visited Ferko’s farm, but the thick trees and tangled undergrowth had made him feel like a child in a prehistoric playground.
Not this forest, though. Here, the trees were tall, but the arrangement of their branches allowed sunlight to pass
through, dappling the ground with warmth.
Slowly, the trail widened as the forest thinned until they emerged from the woods and onto a cobbled road that stretched out on both sides and disappeared into the distance. The trees ended at the road, and before them stretched a valley of rolling hills.
The sight of the road caused James to let out a whoop of joy. They were finally free. Finally back to civilization.
James looked left, then he looked right, then he swore. Some things never changed, and he still had no idea which way they should go. Luckily, Arik had thought to bring a map of the Serpent Plains.
He pointed at a bit of road that stretched along the woods. “We’re somewhere along this road here.” Then he looked up at James and Nidra. “If we want to follow Lucien, we need to figure out where he’s heading. Do you have any ideas?”
“If it helps,” Karim chimed in, “if I had to guess, the palace gate either lets out here,” he pointed to the southernmost village, “which is the closest village to Silencia.” He moved his finger to a city marker in the center of a lake. “Or the tunnel could have led straight to Silencia. That’s the most likely pathway. I don’t see the nobles exiting in a little village.”
“One of us mentioned Silencia before,” James remembered, tapping his chin. “And Lucien had a weird reaction to the city. Do any of you know why?”
The others shook their heads, so James shrugged. “Seems like all signs point to Silencia then. Besides, I’ve got a lot that I want to do, and it seems like the city might be the best place to do them.”