The bed was tougher than the noble sleeping area I was used to. This left me less refreshed than I wanted to be the next morning as I was awakened by the sound of footsteps above. Remembering Selaria's promise to me, I made the quick walk to her hut. The door was open, as it had been yesterday. Selaria was accustomed to beginning her actions earlier than I and was most likely already there.
I walked through, descended the ladder, and saw Selaria at the smooth stone table. A set of leather gloves with metal claws hovered over it, as the table glowed with faint purple light. She set down other things: a green-black orb, one of the green glowing crystals I saw yesterday, and a bar of blue metal. Selaria turned a small lever on the side of the table, and blue liquid flowed in through a pipe. The items spun and fused together, the mixture glowing intensely, until a new set of claws dropped to replace the old ones. They were just as large, blueish-silver in colour, and had faint green lines on the back. Selaria slid them onto each hand, turning around to see me.
"Good morning, human. Have you slept well? Noble beds are much softer than ours."
"It was adequate," I responded, hardly able to tell if she was mocking me or caring about my sleep. "You said you could direct me somewhere?"
"Yes I did." Selaria made a few practice swings with her claws, newly enchanted. "The sage, Vuldeem of Silverglint, knows a lot more than I do. He's a few days worth of walking north. Good luck, human." I climbed back out, checking the location of the sun. It was most of the way up, but I could tell where it was rising. Adjusting my direction, I left Tirwood for the forest.
In just over half an hour's walking, I saw another cat. This one looked much more confident than the last, sitting directly in the middle of the path I was taking.
"What are you?" I asked it, thinking cats preferred trees and other sheltered places.
"I am Mimi, the magical cat." She looked directly into my eyes, her own narrowing "I've seen you before, haven't I? I'm coming with you, human!" she thought into my head.
With little resistance from me, the dark grey cat walked alongside.
"Exactly what can you do, little cat?" I asked, looking down at her.
"I don't know yet, human. But I'm sure we'll find out!" She walked by my side, unexpectedly brave.
"How, exactly, do you resist fear? Many felines dart into bushes at the first sign of trouble. Especially the small ones." Mimi made a "mrr" noise, before looking up at me.
"It's simple, human. I'm a magical cat!" I stopped questioning her logic. Cats had bizarre lines of thought, speaking ones acting as living proof. A superstition in my Kingdom involved cats being creatures of inherent magic, more so than humans, but not creatures of logic.
As I walked, The trees grew less thick. Slowly, the scenery around transitioned from forest to plains with my movements. Barely attentive all this time, and nearly tripping a few times, some shouting brought me back to attention. I could see familiar leather armor, studded in metal: humans armed with battle axes and a few shields. Another group of bandits.
"Where is that damn scouting party? They should be here by now!" I realized who they meant. It was the bandits from yesterday, the ones responsible for separating me from my hunter group. I hid in a bush, knowing I was no match for all the bandits. I was crouched, behind a tree with my spear on my belt and upward-facing pack. From there, I thought I looked hidden, keeping my breath quiet. Their voices were passing through the area, and thinking it to be clear, I stood and stepped around the tree.
A few steps later and another shout. One of them had turned back, and I broke into a run. The bandits chased me, shouting to each other about a new catch, bragging to each other about who'd get me first. I felt a shield bash the back of my head, disrupting my balance. A pair of hands grabbed my arms, another my legs, and together three bandits lifted me up, my head falling back. I could see only a vague idea of where I was, as I was upside-down, backwards, and my head had been hit by a shield. Somehow, I fell asleep.
I awakened some time later, tied up. I was being moved into a large wooden room by a few of the bandits, and then dropped sharply. "Untie him? It's not like he'll put up much of a fight!" one mocked. "First, let's take his weapon. Not like he'll need it!" another gave a drunken-sounding laugh. "You two idiots should at least cage him."
I rolled on the ground, seeing a cloak of a dark green colour. The last voice sounded less rough than the other two, more in control. I was stripped of my weapon, half-untied, then thrown in the cage. Already annoyed, the two bandits taunted me. "Oh, look at that poor little noble. Why not go back home and cry to your King?" The other elbowed the first bandit. "I bet he's crying in his boots right now." He turned towards me, a sickening smile on his face. "How much do those boots cost? I bet they're more than my house." The first laughed, walking close to the cage. My short spear was in his hand, which he stuck through the bars. "You want it? You want it?" he asked, speaking like he was speaking to a dog. "Go get it!" The bandit threw my spear across the room, end sticking into a corner. The other bent over, howling with laughter.
"Will you two shut up!" I snapped. The front one flinched a bit, but the one at the back got up from his chair.
"Oh, look at that! Thinks she can bark us into doing what she wants? I bet your servants do that all the time!" He bent over, arms at his back, with a mockingly high voice. He turned towards the other bandit, who could hardly contain himself. "Master, oh master, should I carry your clothes for you? Make your bed? Chew your food?"
I rose, feeling a pulsing within my arms. "I, Vienna of Tareris--"
"BAHAHAHAH" one gasped out through bursts of laughter "SHE THINKS SHE'S FIRE!"
His words had the effect of a windstorm on a boulder. All this time, the pulsing intensified within.
"I will put you through the ground, you incompetent pieces of--" As soon as I began the curse, a much more powerful and literal curse escaped from my hands. An orb of force shot from my hand, shattering the metal bars and slamming the bandit against the back wall. I heard a crack as something unambiguously broke. The other bandit ran at me with his axe and his anger, only to be interrupted by an upward force bolt from my hand. It came from a low angle but shot with enough force to slide his head backwards, skull slammed by magic. I recovered my spear just in time to see the green-cloaked one leave. Knowing there to be more, I backed out, the pulsing in my hands subsiding. I returned to the cage, now open for me to travel through, and rested. I sat, my spear lying sideways under my legs. Getting an idea, I took the bonds my captors placed over me and arranged them to appear tied up still. I did not sleep, thankful for my decision, as another bandit burst into the room. His armor looked more protective than that of the standard bandits I saw, some of it being chain as opposed to mere leather. His head turned wildly to look through the room, eyes met with the dead bandits and broken cage bars, and his grip tightened.
"You there!" he shouted at me, having much less of a sense of humor than the other bandits. "Did you do this?" I pretended to be tied up, hardly moving at all, save for my hand, poised around the grip of my spear. The bandit leaned in closer, met with a quick flourish and a surprise impalement. I put one leg up, pulling my spear out, and the bandit fell back with a dull thump. The thump was followed by a sharp crack! as my spear split right in half, blade embedded in the bandit. I heard a small clink when the bandit hit the floor. A key had fallen out of his armor, skittering across the floor. I picked it up and stashed it. It must have opened my cage, though a bolt of non-elemental force did this much better.
I looked beyond the room, expecting to see a house the size of an average Tirwood dwelling and instead was greeted with a large low storage room. It glittered in the low light, sides lined with piles of looted jewelry, bags of coin and various other treasures. Ornate swords and maces were sticking out of the piles. A rapier with a long blade caught my eye, the guard set with only a ruby and sapphire. I drew it out, knowing it would grant me no more royalty, sweeping my blade along one side at an angle. I ascended some stairs on the other side of the room.
Once my head poked out of the upward-facing door, I could see how high off the ground I was. The horizon felt much farther away, ground a great distance from the wooden floor I stood upon. A pit gaped open on the roof of the building on which I stood. Bandits circled it, shouting in words of insult and encouragement. I looked over the shoulder of one to see what they were shouting at. I was always told of gladiator fights, though I thought those were violent, primitive sports that I would never even go near. The fact that I saw a crowd yelling at a heavily-armored axeman dueling against a dagger-wielder in leather armor, proved me wrong. As the axeman claimed victory, I pushed through the crowd and jumped down.
"Vienna of Tareris has joined the battle!" I echoed from my experiences after class. I felt a wave of shock rush through the crowd. My opponent raised her axe from the ground, charging at me in an obvious overhead strike. Her axe gleamed in the sunlight, signaling me to jump backwards at the last moment, then running forward and striking like a lancer. I hit under a plate of armor just above her belt line, drawing my sword out to find it was covered in fresh blood. I held my sword high, being the last thing my opponent saw as she crumpled. Some bandits pulled a rope, and a door opened on the wall of the pit. I ran out of the way, an arrow following my path. It stuck in the wall, and my head whipped around to find its source. A human in leather armor greeted me. Not a bandit, as conveyed by the arrow's power.
"Kamon?" I stopped in my tracks. She was in the doorway, another arrow already in hand. My off hand felt cold, as I realized she was alive.
"Vienna? How did you get here?" She sounded just as surprised as I.
"Fortunate you didn't meet me at the point of your arrow."
I looked up to the crowd, their incomprehensible words slowly turning into a chant.
"Fight! Fight! Fight!"
"I guess this means one thing, doesn't it." Kamon drew an arrow, aiming her bow upwards. It hit one of the bandits right through the shoulder blades, causing him and his equipment to fall into the pit. Kamon picked up the bandit's axe, swinging it around in her hand. The rest scattered, but someone familiar jumped in. One in a dark green cloak, though their name was unknown to me.
"I should have guessed you would somehow escape the cage. I nod to your persistence, but not to your survival." The figure's hood dropped. Her look was as cold and piercing as the ice I put through a bat, gaze unbreaking as she drew a curved greatsword from her back. How it fit there was anyone's guess. She stepped calmly towards me, sword in an arcing upward slash. In a moment of panic, I jumped to one side, thrusting in a step forward. The side of her sword blocked the tip of mine, her focus breaking to parry Kamon's jumping axe strike. I aimed a few wild, rapid stabs, piercing right through her cloak... which fell, giving way to green-runed chainmail over a layer of cloth. She seemed faster with the cloak off, speed more than matching mine. My chain of stabs turned more erratic, with the intent to keep my enemy on the defensive. The bandit leader raised her cleaver over her head, eyes widening. Kamon had struck her from behind with her newfound axe, breaking through the chainmail's protection and striking right into her back. With a high battle cry, she spun around with the cleaver out.
"Not today." My hand, feeling much more cold than normal, opened reflexively. I pointed my arm, a shard of ice striking the large, curved blade from her hand. Kamon took the opening, striking the bandit's head clean off with a single swing. I gave a deep breath, recovering stamina. "I've seen you with a bow, but an axe? I thought hunters discouraged their use." Kamon spun it around, and stuck the handle through her knife hilt.
"You know how we built that lodge? Lots of woodcutting. And how we repair it?"
"Lots of woodcutting." I finished, tone impersonating hers. I looked up, and realized the height I'd have to climb. The distance from the edge of the pit was at least ten feet, enough for me to descend, but not to ascend.
"How did you get in here?" I asked, looking at the door in the side of the wall. It led from the pit into a small room, and barely-seen hallway.
"Right through that door. I was caged, then brought through there to fight," said Kamon. She looked around the room. I got back up, walking down the hall. My hand was along the right wall, with no clue as to where Kamon was, until I turned around a corner. I saw a large room, connecting back to the outside through an open door in the roof. I walked through the room, feeling a strange sense of quiet. Up the stairs and onto the roof again, this time I got a much better opportunity to look around. Over the side, I saw the ground. Moving. A set of giant sails were attached to the flanks of the wooden structure. Below those were wheels, making this into a giant boat, re-fitted for land. The area around the vehicle was mostly barren, though some civilization could be seen ahead. I looked upwards, at the sun. It felt like it was late in the day, but much more important was where it was. On the left flank of the vehicle. We were going north. Right to the sage I sought after. Walking more along the side, I came to what I gathered to be the controls. Two thick ropes that extended into the wooden vehicle, sat on either side of the front, corresponding to each of the sails. I pulled on one, testing the difficulty. Kamon followed me to the front. She was in a set of newly acquired chainmail, green runes faintly glowing on it.
"I figured I wouldn't want to pass up the chance." I paid this no mind, struggling with the rope. Kamon walked towards it and pulled; our combined force caused the sail to slowly rise. The vehicle turned, ever so slowly. I could see us veer off the path, city slightly to one side. It was approaching faster now, as the wind was picking up, sails stretching further than normal to harness the winds. I felt greater determination of the presence of magic, and a chill of anticipation run through me. The cold, excited feeling ended at my hands. They glowed slightly, firing off a single spike of ice. The rope snapped from the impact, sending the sail back down. As I realized this, I lost balance, in surprise and in fear. The winds grew even harsher, sending us much faster towards the city in the distance. One of the giant wooden wheels moved over a rock, sending the vehicle wobbling to one side. Kamon and I slid off, and my body froze. The last thing I saw was Kamon catching the ledge. The last thing I thought was a curse to my own magic.
A blur filled my vision. I felt myself lying down, looking upwards, being unable to comprehend what I saw. By the end of the first minute or so, I could identify indirect light, another minute brought me knowledge of being surrounded by stone. Speaking was difficult, to the point where words came out as little more than vowels. One thought surfaced in my mind, blocking out perception.
"This is the weakest I've ever felt." Gathering the strength to roll to one side, I saw beds lined against a wall, many of them empty, and a set of white hooded robes walking down the area between them. I could see red triangles surrounding the holes for the face, hands, and legs, but not the one inside, even as she stood over me, staff in hand. The staff was far from a simple wooden stick, as three floating orbs surrounded it. Yellow, cyan, and white in colour, with a faint glow on all three. "Oh, you look awake..." she said quietly. "You hit the ground badly, so I took you back here."
"How..." I barely got the words out. "How am I alive?"
"My healing magic, of course!" Her volume rose to that of standard speech, my interest in her powers rising with it. "I was walking around the edges of town, like I do on my days off, and saw a grey cat right outside. She meowed at me and led me out, to where I saw you lying there."
"Mimi?" I thought, sitting up. "How did she get out here?"
"Fortunately, she let me live. And what is your name, before I leave this place?"
She flinched as if being hit with water, question unexpected. "I'm Tenka of Silverglint." My mouth opened. This was the town I was looking for!
"My gratitude to you, Tenka" I told her, hiding my excitement to prevent another icy bolt. Walking, full of leaning to one side and catching myself, I left the stone building, onto the street. Kingdoms were usually crowded, especially the nobility's lands. Here was barren by comparison, having only a few people walking outside. I walked up to one, tapping his shoulder. "Do you know where I can locate the Sage Vuldeem? I hear he lives in this city."
The commoner looked at me, confused. "Hardly. The tavern's down that way though. You could learn more there," he said in a blunt voice.
"Thank you," I responded straightforwardly.
I walked down the street, my head clearing. I checked my rapier. Somehow, the gems weren't even scratched. Everything else was in the same condition as I found it. A yelling voice from across the street broke my concentration, "Put that away, you could run that clean through someone's eye!" Realizing I had no noble power here, I obliged, sheathing my weapon. A sign on the side of a building caught my attention. "The Knight and Butterfly," it read, a painted symbol of the moon behind the blue-silver words. The place was mostly wood, though more refined than the Hunters' Lodge or Selaria's house. Pillars of wood reinforced the place, planks suspending windows of glass. Knowing where I was heading, I opened the door.
I saw more people than I had seen the entire day, mostly filling the small building. Warmth flowed from within, though whether the fire pit in the center, or the proximity of the patrons got to me first, was a question. As I moved to close the door behind me, I heard it slam. A tower of a man stood at one side of the door, waving me past. His presence contrasted the entire room, like a sword stuck in the middle of a hearth fire. I kept my head high, walking between rows of people. Many of them looked like civilians, in basic cloth, in shades of brown, though a few looked out of place, sitting around a heavy-looking book. They all seemed intently focused, when I sat down near them. I was about to say something, when I saw the book itself. The book's letters seemed to dance across the page. They were written in a dark gold colour, larger ones glowing with their own light. I gasped as I saw what they entailed. "Magic!" One of them turned, his wide hat spinning.
"What did you say to me?" He sounded just as much scared as offended.
I kept calm, speaking again. "Your book of magic fascinates me."
"What are you, a noble who thinks he can barge in here and take over our book?" one of his friends snapped from across the table. Her hands glowed slightly, and I could see black marks on the table.
"No," I responded, conjuring up an ice shard in one hand. But to do that, I needed to conjure up a memory. I focused inwards, thinking of Kamon and me, playing outside. I remember picking up a well-sized stick and declaring myself a great swordsmaster, Kamon preferring to throw leaves from a distance, like fragments of steel. When we got our hands on a pair of a squire's metal gloves, Kamon took them. To her, they were claws. Dragon claws. That single moment, when my imagined sword was striking between her metal hands. Out of the memory, I pointed my hand forward, open as if in grip. Before the eyes of the wizards watching me, an ice shard formed, shooting into the fire pit.
"How did she cast that?" a purple-robed wizard asked.
"Is she even a wizard?" a voice from another in red.
I lowered my arm, point proven. "I am no mere noble. Now, I seek the Sage, Vuldeem. do you have any leads?"
Silence fell among them upon hearing his name. Finally, one stepped forward. His robes were blue with silver trim, and looked heavier than mine. His head was bare, black hair and dark eyes visible. "You said you seek Vuldeem? Do you know of his power?" The wizard before me closed the book with one hand, carrying it under his arm. "Meet me tomorrow, in the fields just outside town. I'll measure your worth..."
"Vienna," I finished. He stuck out his open hand, taking mine to shake.
"Niko." His name sent a similar pulse of cold through me, as if all the magic I had just left me and slowly returned. "How did you get here?" he asked, seeing my moment of stun.
"I'm hardly sure myself. I began following a friend north of my Kingdom on a hunting trip. We were captured by bandits and brought to a giant wooden box on wheels to fight, before it tipped and sent me flying. Tenka found me outside, taking me in to heal."
I thought for a second. "That should be all. I arrived at this tavern with some direction."
Niko nodded. "As I thought, you're not from here. My wizards, however, have some space in a room upstairs."
"Your wizards?" I asked. "Do you command them?"
Niko shook his head. "Hardly. The only authority I have is their respect. They are students, intending to magic. I've been taking them on a journey throughout the lands, on a dedicated quest for knowledge. Quintvere, show him to your room." A wizard in deep blue, as if based on water, rose from his seat.
"Fine then." He gave me a dull glare. His sharp walk led me up the bent wooden stairs, around the corner, and to a door on one side. Made of dark brown wood, marked with a metal "113," it was easily unlocked by a hidden key. Inside were two more wizards, one in grey and the other in green, both going over spells. "Got a new catch. He's not from around here." Quintvere pushed me in, closing the door. Thankful, I never dropped my items. I sat down on the dark red carpeting. The one in grey looked up from his book, storing his pen back in its ink.
"Who are you?" he asked, sounding annoyed that someone had distracted him.
"That's Xavven." The one in green picked up his words.
"I'm Beatrice, and who are you? We don't really get told names."
"Vienna here." I reached into my own pack, searching for what could pass as a spellbook.
The one known as Xaaven tilted his head to one side. "You sound like a mere noble. How'd you get in here?"
"Quintvere threw him in, didn't you see?" Beatrice joked, from her position, sitting on her bed. Xaaven sighed, going back to reading.
"Seriously though, why'd he throw you in here?" Beatrice spoke more quickly and quietly,
"A wizard named Niko." I responded, turning to my marked page.
Beatrice's eyes widened. "You talked to him? I've wanted to do that for weeks, but I always get thrown off by his magical control."
"I didn't know he was that influential," I responded. "I thought he was just some guide."
"Some guide?" Beatrice sounded surprised, with a streak of offendedness. "He's the most powerful wizard I know!"
"Forget I spoke ill of him," I trailed off. "What brought you under his study?"
Beatrice thought for a mere second, recovering the story from her mind. "My brothers and I used to pretend we were knights and monsters. I would build dungeons full of puzzles for them to solve, and of course act out monster fights. To act out the main villain of one, I looked for a book of magic to use. Nothing fancy, just an illusion. But when they saw me cast honest magic, it was such a big hit that they wanted more." The conversation over dinner that night was filled with them talking about my first spell. "Finding Niko was just a matter of time, I guess. But how did you learn magic? I don't know of any book that contains a spell quite like yours."
"I've cast magic from my bare hands. I need no book of magic. In times of intense happiness, I conjure ice. Enragement brings me colourless force."
Beatrice looked confused. "I haven't seen a wizard who didn't need a spellbook or a tool. All of us that I know of have needed more materials than you do." Having little more to talk about, she went back through her spellbook.
"Beatrice, can you show me some of your illusions?" I asked.
Beatrice's eyes shone, figuratively speaking. She conjured up a row of grey-robed wizards, half a foot in height, all standing like they were in defense of a stronghold. Miniature copies of herself and Niko were in the center, right behind the line, followed by two brown-robed wizards on the outside, two horse-mounted green wizards slightly inwards, and two holy-looking wizards just beside her and Niko. A similar display went up in front of me, the apprentices' grey becoming a dull brown. The horses became wolves, and the likeness of Niko changed to my own. "Did you create a game of chess before our eyes?" I asked, parallels before my eyes.
"You got me." She sounded embarrassed. One of her apprentices, mere pawns of magic, slid forward. It was the one in front of her illusion, allowing her more room to move. I moved the one in front of my own, like a mirror to hers. "Are you trying to mock me?" she asked, advancing the one directly in front of Niko.
"Not at all." I smugly moved my copy of her ahead, the entire battlefield threatened by her presence. Her apprentice pointed its staff, striking one of mine with a bolt of colourless energy. My copy of her strode forward, spear running through a mere apprentice. Her mounted wizard panicked, leaping over the head of an apprentice. It stood, almost in spear range of my attacking player, who calmly moved to the side of the board, spear pointed directly at Niko's illusion. Beatrice hurriedly directed herself between them, spear pointed at herself, when I moved my priest like a shield, his staff pointing like a spear, mimicking her move. At the threat of a single one of her apprentices, the holy mage jumped back in fear before ramming through the apprentice with a shield bash covered in flames. He met his end stabbed in the back, to a single apprentice dagger. My copy of Beatrice darted right past the apprentice, when her illusion stepped forward threateningly. I moved my wolf-mounted wizard strategically...When her illusion stood directly before me, spear pointed at the hole in my defenses, I directed myself to one side, and that was all it took to keep me safe. Her illusion went right after mine, chasing each other around a single confused apprentice. Finally, mine broke through. She entered the final line, Niko in her sights, dodging a mounted mage to line up for the final blow. A holy wizard blocked the strike, but not without sacrifice, as my copy of Beatrice turned around and split an earth wizard down the middle with her spear. She swept through another apprentice, killing one at the same time as Beatrice's illusion of herself took one of mine. Pieces fell, left and right. My army was crumbling, my own unit coming out to fight, while the illusion of Niko hid behind a line of apprentices. Somehow, my illusion had advanced all the way to her side, dodging her spear, and trapped Niko inside his own living fortress. The illusion stabbed its rapier through the heart of the other, ending the game.
At some point, Quintvere had returned, unwilling to interrupt. I went to my bed after that, all of us falling asleep some time later that evening.