"Who in the heck are you? Why are you acting like you know me?" Alred point his sword at Jon. By this time both Laena and Jep have run into the room, their weapons drawn.
"Just like him you are." Jon rubs his eyes. "Good you have two contacts. My name is Master Mage Jon Lakes."
"Why should I…"
"When the wind talks…"
"The owl-cat sings." The earth around Alreds staff drops to the ground. His grandfather used to say this to him everyday when the two of them trained. "Put your weapons down. This is the true Master Lake."
Laena and Jep lower their weapons. They then bow and move to Alreds side. They both rested their hands on them just in case.
"They seem loyal to you, that's good. What happen to Else body?" The three of them turn pale.
"Valmoch had us process her. We have been smoking her meat and tanning her hide. He also said his contract was coming here in order to train us." Jep says. "He also had the two of us working on our mana."
"His contract was on their way here until I found them. Mine are stationed around this mountain. I will be sending each of you to train with one of them where they are." He pulls a flask from his robe. He takes a swig and makes a kissing sound. "I do need him to get back soon. I'm running out of my shine."
"What about the war that's about to start? The Havricks want to take over. I was a fool and have been here for far to long. I need to warn the King." Alred turns around, marching for the door.
"That war is already over. You and Lord Goldridge ended it." Alred stops, looking back at Jon. He's now seating on the ground. "You caught Frank. To my surprise, Valmoch sent him to the King." He takes another drink. "Tom actually cut off his own son's head."
"OH. Well, I haven't received any orders yet. Do you know anything?" Jon shakes his head.
Alred looks at the tree. There's a chunk still missing from its trunk. Black marks seem to be growing form that area. Alred races up to the tree placing his head on a clean part of the trunk.
"Hello? Tree of Life?" No sounds enter his head. The darkness continues to climb the tree.
"Master, is there a way to stop this darkness? At this rate before the tree and egg could die." Alred looks over at Jon who is drink again.
"You," He points at Alred. Maybe, his hand is weaving all over the place. "Plac… hic-p.. ye hands on. Hic-p. On the trunk, let… brup. Your mana." Alred holds his hand up to stop him from talking.
"I give it a go. Just try to slow down on the drinking. I need to learn from you, not watch you die."
Alred places his hand on the tree trunk, letting his mana flow into the tree. He closes his eyes feeling inside the tree.
"It burns!" Her voice shrieks in his ear. He startles letting the tree go. He looks around to see no one is there. He repeats the process. Again she cries in pain.
"How can I help?" As he spoke these words, he felt eyes looking at him. He feels his body freezing. Even his thoughts seem to slow down.
"Ah, boy seems you made." His body warming up. "What do you want, can you not see I am in pain?" Alred shakes his head, gripping the tree harder now.
He cleanses his teeth, "I want to help."
"You are a metal. How do you plan on helping me? Although this tree will die and it does hurt, I will still remain in this world. Valmoch has been trying to kill me for years." The sound of his name sends anger through Alred.
"It is my fault that you are hurt and I want to help." There still seems to be some pain, he's able to mange it better now.
"Hmm. Do you have affinity with the light?" She ask.
"I don't think so. I have affinity with fire, earth and air." He tries to think about when he's seen someone use light magic. Valmoch used dark, it was black with hues is purple in it.
"No, light and dark magic are not the same as the elements. You have to find a being that specializes in one or the other. Once you learn one you can not learn the other."
"Wait. What kind of being do we have to learn it from? Are you able to teach it?" He hears the pause in her voice.
"If I could I would. But I have a different kind of magic, life and time. There is a being to the west, in the Wild-lands. His name is Bunir, he is a gnome."
"A gnome? I didn't think there was anymore left in AiRisa."
"You can never get rid of them. They are simply to good at hiding. I'm surprised humans were able to."
"I have only heard stories but I guess they were destroying towns."
"Ah, the great gnome army of 155 BEC(Before Eunoite Comet). That wasn't that long ago." He can hear her tone, her mind is gone to another time.
"Not long ago? We are in the year 563 AEC(After Eunoite Comet)."
"OH, its about time for that to happen." He can feel her looking for something. "I will make you a deal, Alred. Find Bunir, get him to teach you light magic and once you heal my this tree. I will have a rewards for you."
Alred holds himself stead. The urge to run off right now to claim the rewards is too temping. It seems the kingdom is going to be able to avoid a civil war. He should have the time to make a trip into the Wild-lands. He will have to see if Master Lake, the real one, can stay here guard the egg.
"Three weeks." Her voice enters his mind. "That is how long this tree can hold on before it and the egg get turned into something darker."
"I'll be back as soon as I can." Alred let's go with his mind, his eyes open to see his body is pressed against the tree. His fingers have dug into the trunk itself. "Sorry." He pats the tree.
He turns around to talk to Jon only to see him asleep on the ground and new person tending to a fire.
The sides of her head is shaved, the top is pulled back into a ponytail. Her brown eyes feel warm and dangerous. Her body small and slender, she moves with grace.
"Ah, seems you are done. My name is Abigail, please call me Abby. Master feel a asleep not long after enter the tree." She pulls a bottle from her robe holding it out. "You need to learn light magic, Bunir the gnome is the closest. He is a little cranky. Offer him this, make sure you learn before he gets this, understood?"
Alred takes the bottle, looking over it. The brown glass with a dark liquid inside. The only thing on the bottle is a pair of fairy wings.
"Fairy milk?" Alred points to the wings facing to Abby.
"You will find once you climb the ranks of a mage, more things become easier to attain. Master believes the egg will be ready in four weeks. That is how long we will be staying here." Alred relaxes a bit knowing this.
"I will be leaving and will be back in three weeks time. Do you know where Bunir is?"
"The last time we saw him, he was living on a beach facing the Newhall Bay. Seems a group of gnomes have chosen to settle there." She runs her hand through her hair. "Its been a couple years."
"Thank you for all of your help. We will hurry back." Alred turns walking out of the room. He calls Laena and Jep. He needs to find Agis and see if he can get some horses.
"Alred?" He turns around when he hears Abby. She throws a brown leather pouch to him. "Keep working on the training. Valmoch may be evil but he set you on the right path."