So, long story short, I'm glad to have you back. You'll probably notice some things are different. A lot happened since the last time you were here. Everybody is back in peak condition, probably better if I'm honest. It seems like Nigel's just been getting stronger, and John isn't as insufferable as the last time you saw him.
Enough theatrics, it's not like it's been years. Sure, it's been a busy month or so, but it's not like we can really just camp in the middle of a forest forever. I don't think I'm the only one itching to get home at this point. Literally now, the bugs are awful here. I think I saw a beetle the size of a dog last night, no thank you. So, when Nigel spoke up, I was ready to listen.
"Alright, we have to move. Everyone up."
I do wish he'd waited for morning though.
"Listen kid, I need my beauty sleep, this face doesn't look this perfect too easy. Wait for morning."
I said he was better, not that John's heart had grown three sizes. He is still the grinch that stole the underworld after all. I think it might be a good time to explain some things. I finally got a chance to sit down with John and Glen, even if Nigel remains a mystery. Starting with Mr. prickly, John isn't just a rich and eccentric fool. Don't misunderstand, he is a rich and eccentric fool, but he is also a technological genius. In his original world, he was the CEO of Soul Searchers Incorporated, which he really likes to call SSI, but up until yesterday really didn't like to explain. Apparently, in his old world, technology was a little beyond modern ability. His company was spearheading research into… Immortality?
That's more of a side effect, but what he says scares me. He claims he's attempting to discover how to defeat death, and monetize it. Through some science called genetic reconstruction I don't fully understand, his company was able to make the old seem young, heal wounds that would normally kill a man, prevent death by natural causes entirely given enough time, and even cure cancer. It sounds pretty far fetched to me, but apparently his world had nano-bots too, and that sci-fi plot point isn't lost on me. In his old world he was a millionaire. I do have to emphasize, however much I don't really want to, that in his world money is a little rarer due to the nuclear apocalypse thing, and in terms of actual value he's worth maybe twenty to thirty hundred times as much.
Though it doesn't matter much in this new world, it certainly has him on a high horse. I haven't been able to learn much about him personally, but I can tell he's hiding something behind his cocky attitude. He hasn't made too much progress on the whole making friends with ancient legends thing. I caught a few glances of some of the people he'd tried to be friendly with in passing. First was a tall and thin guy, they didn't get along very well, and the visit was short. Second was a better mesh, somebody he might even be able to bring back. He was around for a little while, but he was overloading John's magic, and it took all John had just to keep him around for a while. He wasn't very imposing, maybe five foot seven, had to weigh at most 170 pounds. He dressed a bit like John, a suit and tie with a handkerchief, but his suit was a dark blue grey, and his tie a bright royal blue. He had light blue eyes that felt like they pierced through me, and a streak of glowing blue hair that surprised me with his professional appearance.
John wouldn't tell me much about him, or about what he learned about his own power from him, but I expect I'll be seeing him more, even if John can barely even bring him around.
"If you think you can sleep through the forest fire, or that bear coming back, be my guest."
Well, I'm up. Not dealing with that monster again, we barely made it last time, and it almost killed three of us. Hell, Nigel's shoulder still wasn't perfect, you could see the scar through the tear in his hoodie. I'd offered to try and heal that away too, but he'd turned me down, said I might need my mana for something more important, which he probably wasn't wrong about.
"Get up John, ain't no point in arguin'. Let's move, this place was starting to get old anyhow."
Glen's putting on a brave face, but I knew better. I'd talked a lot with John over the past few days. Between him beating me up and my teaching him magic, we've had a lot of time to talk. Even if he's quiet, no one can resist a good listener for that long.
He's a little crass, blunt is an understatement, but he seems like a good man to me. He's proud, and a little violent, but he knows how to teach. He'd already told me he was a sergeant in the army, and I'd had a few guesses, but he'd confirmed it was the second world war. He'd fought in Europe before he ended up in the pacific. He's seen more than I'm comfortable asking about, from what I can tell. He's haunted, and even if he has a strong look to him, he really struggles with magic. Nigel mentioned that it probably has something to do with his time in the military, but I think he might just be hiding from himself.
Our training has been… eventful, but less than fruitful. I'm not suited to the whole fighting malarkey, but I've managed to learn how I should throw a punch, even if I suck at it. Granted, Glen wasn't much better at magic than I was combat. He really struggles with finding the magic he needs, and even when he does, he tends to have trouble visualizing what he wants to happen. Classic fantasy stuff like fireballs and tornado's haven't gone well. His fireballs usually end up missing entirely unless he takes minutes to prepare, and the one tornado he tried almost blew us all away. Even training since I've been able to, these weeks only have him able to do weak attack magics without running into control issues. The only spell he's learned that I figure could be considered anything more than a beginner's is wind bullet. At the very least, even if it doesn't do much damage, it's pretty hard to notice, so it might come in handy.
"Well, I can't argue with forest fires and killer bears."
As for myself, I've been slacking on sleep. I don't wanna drag us down, so after getting beaten up on the daily, I've been taking pretty late nights learning to control my own magic. I still go a little overboard sometimes, but Nigel gave me a few tips while I was trying to teach Glen. Apparently, the better picture I have of a spell, the more controllable and efficient it is, so just imagining the abstract idea of a fireball isn't all that good. Not like I can cast it anyway. This whole magic class thing is a lot more limiting than I'd given it credit. Like, how many spells do you hear about wizards casting that had no offense in it? I can't even make a spiky wall, it just comes out like a smooth wall, or nothing at all.
"Fine! Where are we going?"
Nigel points off away from the fire, seeming a little tired himself.
"We'll hike that way until we find a good place to stop again. I am a little worried though, this fire came out of nowhere, so I've got a feeling this might not be all too innocent."
Wait, wildfire? He's said that a few times now, is he serious? That's a yes, the smoke behind me is a pretty good indication, and it seems like this might not be a walk in the park kinda hike. He's right though, it did come out of nowhere. Yesterday there was no sign of fire, and we wake up to a wildfire big enough to look like a volcano went off behind us? That's more than a little fishy.
"I'll walk in front. No point in any of you being there, if I'm only good as a shield, might as well act like one."
Nigel's mouth presses into a line, he's holding something back, but he gives a tired nod none the less.
"Glen, take second, then me, then you, John."
"Why do I have to be last? Wouldn't you be better at dodging?"
"You might be right, but if another magic beast attacks us from behind, you at least have a chance to stun it so we can run. All I can do is get myself hurt against something like that."
"Bah, I've seen you run."
"Then your back would be last again anyway."
John looks annoyed, but he stops arguing. A real piece of work this group is, huh?
So, we set off. I trailblazed with Glen just behind, into the forest. I'm not much of a woodsman, so we didn't make progress very quickly at first, but eventually Glen helped me find a deer trail or something like it, and we made decent headway over the fire.
Or so I was thinking.
After walking down the path we'd conveniently found, we came upon a clearing. And in this innocent clearing, the trees across the way had leaves of flames. Fire quietly crackled from the branches of ancient looking oaks, veins that leaked embers and ash ran up their trunks, and bushes at their base were like bonfires roaring against them. It was a mystical sight, and would have been something to marvel at had we not been running away from a sudden wildfire.
"James, I think this might be safe."
It took me a moment to process. That flaming mess safe? Crazy talk, it's gotta be as hot as an oven in there, and even worse it'd be hard to get anywhere without catching on fire. What had to be the worst part about the suggestion is that it came from Glen, not Nigel, so I was actually considering it.
"I think Glen might be right, feel for it with your magic."
Right, magic world, magic rules. I stretched out my new and tender senses towards the flaming forest, expecting to feel like I was remembering the first time I learned not to touch the frying pan right off the burner. But it never came. Only a comforting warmth, an inviting one, with no malicious intent I could feel. Plus, it's not like we have many other options.
This world is weird.
Running from a forest fire, into a forest of fire. What is even happening anymore?
So, in we went. As brainless as it may seem, as dangerous as we thought it probably was, we followed that deer trail straight into the burning oaks. Once we got closer, I got an even better look at the phenomenon. The grass was little licks of flame covering the ground, the dirt covered in ash, looking like hot coals. You could still hear animals in the flames, birds chirped, but their calls sounded louder, and the soft roar of flames from the forest made most things hard to hear.
But it didn't kill us. If anything, it was making me feel a little more energized after our hike, even with the little sleep I've had. John seemed to be the only one of us that was uncomfortable.
"I think we're being watched."
John spoke up, fear tickling his tone.
"Maybe we got the curiosity of some woodland creatures. I've known some creatures at home that followed me through the woods. Granted, it wasn't a great time more often than not. But I don't feel like any predators are watching us, we should be alright."
I was so distracted listening to Glen, I didn't even notice the root sticking up out of the path. I fell flat on my face. I'd be embarrassed, but more concerning is what I was seeing when I lifted my head again. In front of me was a snout, and up said snout a pair of old yellow eyes, intelligent beyond what I could really understand. I heard the roar of Glen's wind bullet spell winding up. But even more shocking the wolf that stood a mere six inches away spoke, it's voice rich and deep.
"You aren't from here. Outsiders? No, you aren't marked as them… Stragglers? No, too weak. I should speak with my mother."
The wolf, as suddenly as it had appeared, lit ablaze again, quickly disappearing into the prevalent natural camouflage for his flaming coat of fur.
"That was certainly something."
"You've got that right, I was maybe 5 seconds from shooting that thing."
"Trigger happy?"
"Would you rather I let it bite both of us?"
"Hey, it seemed peaceful enough. It didn't attack us."
"Usually, they haven't attacked you yet by the time they get around to you. After all, what's the point in sneaking up on someone to squander the element of surprise?"
"Listen, it was a cute dog, let me find a way to not be scared of it."
Why can nothing just be simple? Falling from the sky, bears with magic wind powers, wildfires appearing out of nowhere, the most useful member of our team being unbearable, and now flaming wolves.
Well, out of a flaming forest with bears and into a flaming forest with wolves and paranoia. I was hoping I'd have a bit more time to recover before things picked up again. I still need to process the whole new world idea, but I guess it'll have to wait a while.