We all headed to bed me and me and Wendy only worked a short time making potions until our tired bodies pulled us to our beds. I had a strange dream of waking in the middle of the night placing my bow in my lap.
The gem was placed on its thickest section and then sliced my hand covering it in my blood. Thin vines grow from the bow and opened forming small tubes to the bow, others wrapped around the gem absorbing its energy.
When I awoke my bow was lying on my bed next to me, and my gem was missing but I saw no cuts or blood any where so it had to be a dream right. However my bow seemed more natural to be held its length seemed just a touch shorter and it's arrows seemed to gleam even brighter. Wow imagination is awesome.
We grabbed our things then I set the transport scroll up to transfer goods to my room, both me and Wendy stuck our potions and other non essentials into the portal because we knew from here on we would have to be more vigelant. It would be much more likely that from here on robbers, thiefs, and beast could and would attack.
Often just a standing armed guard often would discouraged most from attacking especially with a mage present. So they took shifts standing with a ominous presence to discourage any would be trouble makers. Dingo and me stood one shift and Wendy and Castle held the next. Wendy stayed on stand by and gave the horses energy boost and stamina to ease their hard constant trotting.
We only were attacked by a group of wild dogs which were trying to eat of grab a hold of anything hanging. Dingo solved that by tossing the left over food scraps to them. We knew they were no real threat to us but starving dogs could eat a walking family to the bones with enough of them. Castle told the drivers to report them to the guild that size of pack was going to cause more trouble.
Finally we arrived at a small village and since it had no inn were invited to sleep in the loft of the guild building. It wasn't too bad with a fresh bale of hay to lay down on but definitely lacked privacy and any indoor areas to take care of necessities. Castle joked that we could sleep outside but might end up as dog food by morning.
By morning the locals offered a new quest to take down the dog pack their reward wasn't that bad ether since few adventures stayed in this area. Castle said we might help them out on the way back if they still needed help but our mission came first for now.
The next day we spotted several small groups hidden in the woods that stood to both side of our route. However only miscellaneous beasts tryed any thing and that was after darkness fell. Cinders fire balls discouraged them soon enough, even I practiced calling some forth and sent them flying like a fast pitched ball.
I felt so proud that I managed to actually hit one and drew ten before my mana made me weak. Cinder laughed as she used her large gemed staff to spray a whole pack of spiders into flames. Wendy just shook her head, in actuality I was doing great for just learning a few days ago.
Castle said to not wear myself out so much and leave the magic for close emergencies because my skills with the bow were able to do more damage currently. "Just give it time and build your mana then train using both skills in that way,you can become efficient at the use of both skills."
"She just wasting time learning both should focus and become excellent in one field if you ask me. Then she will be the best able to finish her goals and help us out. Me and Wendy got the magic and you two got the muscle so she needs to fully understand her bow and it's limitations," stated Cinder.
Windy tryed to moderate between the two by saying, "I think learning the basics now can't hurt but also think you shouldn't push it too hard or you will suffer burn out and not be as successful." Dingo just patted my shoulder and gave me he's big toothed grin.
Finally we made to the next even smaller village the guild building was actually also was hosting the local mailroom as well. A single room with three tables and a board with dusty quests was basically it. The drivers slept in the mail carriage and we were graced with the wooden table to sleep on.
The whole town was asleep and closed up tight when we arrived even the animals were boarded up in the centermost area of the village. Soon after going to bed the animals started to kick up a fuss and upon running out half dressed but armed we discovered a group of goblins snatching the farmers animals.
It took a whopping five minutes to kill off the invading gobs and another five to chase the last two to the den. Half hour later we had finished off another twenty of the beasts and found a dying woman so scarred up a person couldnt tell her age.
She died as Dingo was trying to bring her back to the village, when we entered the villages were already burning the bodies. Several of the children were even dancing around it singing some kind of morbid folk song. The chief of the village quieted them down when he saw the body and then slowly took it from Dingos hands.
Many stared at Dingo and considered him to be barely a step above the ones bring burned, several woman started weeping as their dead was brought inside. The chief asked Castle inside to discuss something while the rest of us returned to the guild building. Dingo I noticed slipped into the woods and I felt for him.