ã€ŠTatzelwyrmã€‹


 Prologue

    On a clearing by a cliff face deep in one of the many vast forests of Sturreland, over two hundred witches, druids, shamans and mages had gathered. They wore their best robes, grey with dark green borders, it was the formal attire of the Lodge. They sat on branches, which the trees surrounding the clearing had oriented and aligned for their comfort. This clearing was an important place of power and where the highest organs of the Lodge of Sturreland would gather, and today, they had come to see a trial. Many of them knew not the crime, had only heard from various gossips what it was about or who the accused was. Indeed, many of them did not even know the actual accused, for her existence had been a closely guarded secret for a while now.

    Trials by the Lodge of Sturreland were usually in halls and chambers in the small towns of Sturreland or on larger clearing nearer to the edge of the forest. This ancient clearing by a cliff however was as deep in the vast forest of Sturreland as the shame of the crime was deep, that one of Lodge¡¯s apprentices had committed.

    Just before the stone cliff face, the Arch-Druid Loganna and her twelve Trusted Judges had taken seat behind a long shale slab table. They wore even more elegant robes, with colourful stitching abound, covering almost all of the available cloth. The three accused knelt on the opposing end of the clearing. A woman with long dark hair, wearing a simple dress, usual work clothes for a witch of the Lodge, next to her a broad man with a well-kempt, blonde beard, his figure was framed in bulging muscles and thick sinews. His eyes were dark and full of spite; both of them were in iron shackles and wore iron cages over their heads, but they were merely accomplices of the crime. The main culprit knelt between them, it was a girl of maybe fifteen years and weird appearance. She had fur, of the colour of fields of grain just before the harvest, with a sheen like brushed metal and dark red mane like well-aged wine adorned her head. She wore a white prison gown, and had been wrapped in a long chain that was carved from the trunk of a tree that once stood above all others in Sturreland for centuries, but fell during the Great Sundering more than thirteen centuries ago. Each of the wooden links was engraved with powerful runes to bind and contain anyone or anything within. It was an important artefact of the Lodge and weighed the sinner down heavier than any guilt.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.

    An elderly woman with a burl wood cane came closer to the accused. She was of small stature, hunched over and leaning on her cane. Long straight white hair was hanging down from under the hood of her robe. Her eyes were sunken in deep and her skin full of furrows and wrinkles. On her shoulder sat a large black raven. She seemed to bow down to the girl, speaking words of encouragement, stroking her head. The girl seemed not to care much for the gesture.

    The crowd was still talking among themselves, discussing the severity of the crime, eying the weird accused, discussing her half-beast half-human appearance, and weighing her chances of leaving the clearing alive.

    The arch-Druid Loganna beckoned the crowd to calm down. The crowd fell silent. The trial was about to begin.

 Childhood & Charity I

    It was a warm summer night, just after sundown, when Garrett met Nannade for the first time. Back then, he didn¡¯t know her name, not her real one at least, or whether she was a boy or a girl, butwhat was certainwas that she was a crolachan. Garrett had done his research on that peculiar race of non-humans. Few of them were left on the continent of Ackarom and they stayed huddled close together in coastal cities. Many ship captains had assured him that they made excellent sailors. They climbed faster than most humanswalked, they were small and agile and they were remarkably resilient when it came to blunt force or falls from up high. Ideal for what he had planned for the child.

    He was sitting in an inn, chocked with smoky warmth, in one corner of the room. He didn''t have his eyes on the maidens, the booze, or any companions as the rest of the tavern¡¯s patrons did. He had his eyes fixed on the stairs leading up from the basement. A few moments ago, a man came from there, checked his belt buckle, and strolled over to his companions'' table with a big smirk on his face. Down there had to be where the mother was, and the child.

    Garrett had prepared for this night for a long time. He knew all the possible escape routes, he knew where he had a chance of getting out unseen and even if he was caught, he had a plan for that too. The planning had cost him very much. He wasn¡¯t getting paid for this, so he had to hoard a substantial amount of gold to live off from, for the past months and many yet to come. Even his usually well kempt beard had gone raggle-taggle from neglect.

    Garrett decided to go through his plan once more. He flipped open a small square notebook with a front and back made of leather and held together by a ring through a hole in one corner. The palm-sized pages were filled with all sorts of diagrams, formulas and geometries written in a dark and iridescent ink. He tore one out and put it face down on the table. The inn''s hallways were tight, he might have to fight in confined spaces. One Fog Cloak. He knew he¡¯d need some time alone and undisturbed to get through with his plan. He tore another paper in the same manner; one Door Seal, one more for safety. He knew the basement had one window with iron bars to the street. If he could remove one stone and take one bar out, he could climb out onto the street. One Stone Grind. He might also encounter unwelcome people and needed to incapacitate them, just for a while. Two Constrictors. If he ended up being followed by the guards outside, he needed some distraction to get them off his trail. One Needless Call. Three Fuses. And finally, he did what he always did, at least one for unexpected situations. One Invisible Fist.

    He looked at the range of papers now laying on the table in front of him. Then he put them under his waistband in the same sequence, saying their names again in his head each time, he bound the leather envelope of the notebook closed. He checked a glass flask in a special pouch on his belt. A ring rested on its neck, attached to a string hanging into the flask. Its content was a precious dark iridescent liquid. With the pouch closed,no one would suspect such a flask to be inside. He was ready to make his move. For a final time, he collected his thoughts and headed over to the stairs. Down in the narrow hallway he could see three doors and a guard waiting there. Although "guard" was a generous term. More like a broad-built man with a whacking stick, about as wide and tall as Garrett himself, but more owed to fat and menial labour than training and hardening. Garrett gave the guard a silver coin and he opened the door to the right and let Garrett in.

    Inside, Garrett saw what he had expected: three boxes like in a stable. The first stood open, inside a crolachan woman in a ragged dress on a pile of straw, chained to a wall. In the third, a small crolachan child, blindfolded and cloths over its ears, wearing a ragged tunica. The second box was empty. The woman looked like an average crolachan; she was a bit smaller than human women, about as wide, giving her a stout appearance, and covered in a very short but dense fur. Her eyes were golden, her ears long and mobile, between her legs a short, thin tail peeked forth. Probably an exotic beauty once, but now mostly worn down and covered in swellings and scabs, that much Garrett could tell even by the weak light of the candles on the wall. Her neck was branded with a collar of marks, glowing in a faint blue. Her eyes acknowledged him and filled with sorrow and shame, then she turned them away and slowly opened her legs. The stench of her previous patron filled the air. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that someone else was in the room with him. He brushed it off as his usually vigilant mind, he was pressed for time, after all.

    Garrett paid the woman little heed and instead looked at the child in the other corner. It breathed slowly but deeply, it knew someone had entered the room, knees drawn all the way close to its face. Its coat had no sheen or lustre to it, but no visible scabs or wounds, either.

    He made his way over to the woman, knelt next to her and bent down to her ear. ¡°I am here to make a trade with you.¡±

    With a cautious voice she answered: ¡°What do I have that I could trade?¡±

    "That child in the corners is yours, yes?"

    She nodded.

    "and it too has the collar of slavery on its neck, yes?"

    Again, she nodded.

    "I have learned of a method to remove the collar."

    The woman took a deep breath. "That would kill her, idiot."

    "I know the blood magic of the sigils well enough to transfer the killing function of her collar to another slave collar of the same kind."

    The woman seemed to take a while to understand, the swallowed and took another deep breath. "That would be mine, wouldn''t it?"

    "Yes. The collar needs to take a life in order to cease its function."

    Another short pause.

    "Why would you go to such lengths?"

    "Ending injustice in rotten places like this is my profession, my calling. I intend to train her to one day do the same."

    The woman took a deep and thoughtful look into Garrett¡¯s eyes, their eyes only a few inches apart. He could feel the judgement of a mother weighing heavy on him.

    "I will not use her as some sacrifice or put her to work in a brothel, that much I promise."

    ¡°Why her?¡±

    ¡°Because those of my profession must not suffer injustice by the hands of the powerful, their conviction must come from deep within.¡±

    A pause. "Can I talk to her a last time?"

    ¡°Aye¡±

    Garrett stood up and began pulling several objects from his pockets. A leather sheath with various small tools, a crystal glass vial as big as a thumb, an empty glass crystal inkwell, a metal quill on an ivory shaft, and a paper scroll. He took lock picks from the sheath and walked over to the child. First, he caressed her softly to sooth her, then picked the big padlock holding all the chains together. He took off the blindfolds. The girl looked at Garrett with perplexity. The mother spoke as loudly as she dared to. "It''s alright sweetie. This man will take you away from here. He''ll set you free. Come here to me!"

    The girl, with disbelief in her eyes, crawled over to the mother. She cradled the girl and whispered things in herear, rocking back and forth.

    It was taking quite some time and Garrett looked to the door. He reached into the pouch on his left hip and put the ring with the thread on his finger, then he took one paper from his waistband, put it over the gap between door and stone wall, imagined thumb and middle finger of a hand pressing against each other in his head and released them into a mental SNAP of the fingers. The ink lines flared up into fire and the paper quickly went up in a puff of flame. Where the paper had been, the formula had turned from ink into an apparition of glowing threads on the surface of the door and wall.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

    He turned around. Mother and child were still embracing each other. One of them did not seem to entirely grasp the gravity of this moment. When the mother saw Garrett standing next to her, his keen eyes piercing her teary eyes, she gave the child a last kiss and put the blindfold back on.

    Garrett knelt down, unrolled the paper scroll and weighed the edges down with rocks. It had many diagrams and glyphs sketched on it with coal, much more than the spells on the little papers. He took the woman''s hand and pricked her finger with his dagger. He guided her hand to put her finger into the inkwell and let the blood flow out. Then he dipped his quill into the blood and started tracing the coal lines.

    It took a while and he had to open the woman''s wound wider more than once. She did not let any sign of pain pass her lips for the entire ordeal. After all the lines were drawn with blood, he opened her wound up a last time, all the way down to the palm, held it above the vial and squeezed until it had filled completely, then he put the plug in and put it down in the middle of the paper. Her lips had been bitten bloody by her silent strain.

    He reached for the child''s head and pushed it on the paper, then did the same with the woman''s on the opposing side of the paper. She whispered a "thank you." Then he started the incantation.

    The marks on both necks began to glow brighter. The woman started to breathe heavily. Her hands shot to her neck, trying to free herself from its choking grasp. Garrett had to apply more and more force down on her head to keep her from struggling off the paper. Her eyes bulged out of their sockets, her mouth gaped wide. Where her skin was free of fur, such as in her ears and around her eyes, he could see the healthy pink vanish into paleness, the claws on her fingers began to scratch deep into her skin, but little blood flowed forth. Garrett ignored these distractions and concentrate on his incantations.

    The marks on their necks started to burn brighter and brighter and then, suddenly their colour shifted. The child''s marks were starting to turn a flaming orange, the woman''s marks a bright purple.

    A bang on the door. "EY, any longer and you''ll have to pay again, you hear me?" The guard sounded annoyed already. Garrett had no time to answer. He continued with his whispered incantations, formulas and calculations.

    The guard tried to open the door, but the seal held, flaring up in blazing lines with each push.

    ¡°EY, OPEN UP!¡± Again and again, the guard threw himself against the door, the seal strained and sparks flew, the banging stopped. Footsteps were heard going up the stairs, then shortly after, more footsteps down the stairs.

    Garrett heard another voice ¡°What did he lock it with? There''s nothing in there!¡±

    ¡°Maybe he used magic?¡± the fat guard said.

    ¡°Bloody-arse mages!¡±

    The banging resumed, more violently than before, the seal leaking more and more sparks, but the marks on the necks of mother and child were not yet done resisting.

    TWIAENG

    With a sound like splintering glass and tearing metal, the seal broke and the door flew open, the marks had reached their breaking point; a sharp fizzle, and the marks on their necks had gone out like a candle¡¯s wick. The two guards stormed towards Garrett, the first one yelled ¡°EY, HANDS OFF THE LITTLE GIRL!¡±

    Garrett rolled to the side without sparing time to look back. The guard¡¯s club whacked on the floor harshly just a breath later. The second guard struck out for a kick. Garrett blocked the foot with crossed arms.

    He reached for one of the papers, the Constrictor, held it between in front of his eyes at arm¡¯s length, imagined the tensed fingers in his head and let it SNAP. The guard fell to the floor, tied up and gagged with invisible ropes. The first guard swung again, Garrett rolled back, drew another paper, tensed up and cast the second Constrictor. He too fell to the floor, unable to do anything but struggle against his invisible bindings. Garrett stood up, exhaled to relaxation and looked around the room.

    The door stood open, the stench of burnt hair and skin had been added to the room, the blindfolded child was huddled against the wall, rocking back and forth, the mother¡¯s lifeless body lay on the floor. The room was silent safe for angry, muffled screams.

    Garrett knew the Constrictors wouldn¡¯t last long and moved on with his plan. He walked to the child and whispered in her ear "We''ll be leaving now. Just follow my lead." Garrett got quickly to packing all his things back where they belonged, burned the large paper scroll in the candle on the wall, and took the still blindfolded girl by the hand.

    He left the guards and the corpse in the room and closed the door behind him; he didn¡¯t want her to see this scene. He turned to his right. The tavern had a low window from the basement to the street somewhere, barred with iron, it had to be in one of the other rooms. He checked in the first and found no source of light. He checked in the second and saw the faint light from the street lamps shine in. He closed the door behind him and applied the second door seal. Then he took the blindfolds off the child. They were soaked in tears and snot. She looked at him with big wet eyes.

    ¡°Just trust me and be quiet, do you understand?¡±

    The child nodded.

    The room they were in was obviously a storage room; many crates and bags were blocking his path. He moved a few crates to get to the window, pulled out the Stone Grind and applied it to the wall above the iron bars. With another SNAP, stone crumbled to sand and dust. He pulled out two of the iron bars. It made the resulting hole just big enough, hopefully.

    Sudden bangs, rattling and curses on the door hurried him along, the child winced at the noise and shrank away from the door, pressing her body to the nearest wall. The seal would hold long enough for him to continue as planned. Quickly Garrett lifted the child outside, then he exhaled to make himself as thin as possible and forced himself through as well. With a lot of squeezing he managed to get out.

    The sky was already dark. The tavern was not far from the city walls, but he could not get out through the gates at night. He knew of a simple way to get up via a broken stairway, but the girl moved clumsily, wobbling on her feet. He went around the corner of the tavern, pulled out the Needless Call and one Fuse, pressed one of them above the other onto the tavern¡¯s wall, tensed his thoughts and whispered to the paper ¡°Here, I found him here!¡± then he let his mind SNAP again. A spark appeared on the Fuse¡¯s paper, slowly moving along the single trailing and meandering line that filled the entire paper. Garrett went back around the way he came. He knelt down in front of the girl and beckoned her to climb on his back. With the girl piggyback, he ran down the streets. His memory led him through a narrow passage away from any patrolling guards or curious people who might find a man carrying a small child on his back in the dark of the night interesting enough to investigate.

    Shortly after he had arrived at the broken stairway, he heard his own voice yelling from the distance ¡°Here, I found him here!¡± He knew he still had time and got back to his plan. He had to find a thin thread he had tied to a rope up on the broken stairs earlier in preparation. His fingers quickly moved through the air close to the broken wall and eventually got hold of the thread in the darkness. He pulled on it and the rope uncoiled from above. He climbed up himself and then told the girl to hold on tightly to the rope, then pulled her up. Here he had also stashed the rest of his pack, under some rubble.

    Up on the wall, he looked left and right. He could tell by the torches, that the next guard patrols were far away and slow. He told the girl again to hold on to the rope and lowered her down the outside of the wall, then he followed.

    Another tug on the thread and the knot that fastened the rope to the top of the wall came undone. He tied one end of the rope around the child''s waist and held on to the other end.Together they headed along the hedges and fields towards the forest in the distance, swallowed by the darkness of the night.

 Childhood & Charity II

    Garrett and the girl had been walking at a rather brisk pace. The night was young, but in summer, also short. On the other side of the forest was a river and on the other side of that river was a farming estate where he had booked safety and privacy for a few days. There he had stashed equipment he wouldn¡¯t want to carry in and out of the place behind them. Rations, tools, as well as clothes forthe girl. But first, there would be a small clearing he had chosen for a short break to throw off the hounds.

    He kept her walking by tugging on the rope. Many times, the girl would stumble due to tiredness and weakness. A life mostly spent in a small room had left her clumsy and unsure on uneven terrain.

    Neither of them talked the entire time. The girl could barely keep the head up, but at every sign of slowing, Garrett would get her back up and tell her ¡°The hounds won¡¯t rest and neither will we.¡± He didn¡¯t know whether her former owner ¨C a crime lord and mage called Doraleus ¨C had the capacity to hunt them with hounds, or in fact any other way; his influence did not reach far beyond the crumbling walls of that dirt hole that called itself a ¡°city¡±, but he had learned in his line of work that getting to safety without being chased is better than waiting to be chased. And he felt something observing them, following them. Numerous times he pulled the girl close and hunkered in the bushes. He put his hand over her mouth and listened into the silence.

    But the moments passed and he could hear nothing. Not even spells allowed him to see, hear, or otherwise detect any pursuers. It could be a spirit of some sort, but his research had shown that no one with the ability to speak to spirits or demons was in Doraleus'' service. Garrett would have to hurry along to Elissa. She¡¯d be able to ward off anything.

    Eventually, they arrived on the small clearing and Garrett finally allowed the girl to stop walking for a moment. He knelt down.

    ¡°I am Garetas, and I will be your Teacher. What is your name, girl?¡±

    ¡°My name is Fibi.¡± the girl replied shyly.

    Garrett shook his head. ¡°No. I mean the long name. The name your parents used when no one else was around.¡±

    The girl was intimidated. She looked around, then cautiously said ¡°Nannade.¡±

    ¡°Very good. Nannade. That is your name. From this day forth, no one will call you by your slave name anymore.¡±

    The girl seemed to be astounded by that, as well as happy, looking forward to hearing that name from now on.

    ¡°Give me your clothes.¡± He said to her, but before she complied, she looked him in the eye and asked him. "I won¡¯t see Mommy again, right?"

    Garrett wasn''t prepared as to how much of an impact this question would have on him. He was no stranger to death, killing or even blood magic, but at this moment he felt a pity for the scraggy girl in front of him like he had felt for no one ever before.

    "Did she tell you what would happen?"

    "No. But she said the same things when Pappy stopped coming back, it never came true, so this one won''t come true, too." Tears welled up in her eyes, but her mouth remained shut.

    ¡°I''m sorry, Nannade. There was nothing I could do!¡±

    She turned around and Garrett gave her a moment to regain her composure.

    She turned back around and took off her dress. She seemed to be used to that but not afraid in particular. Underneath the ragged dress she wore a loincloth in horrible condition, dirty in all the worst ways. She took it off too and Garrett could see the shabby state the girl was in. Even in this darkness, he could see fleas, lice and other parasites crawl in her fur. He put down a piece of paper inscribed with a formula he had prepared beforehand and threw the girl¡¯s dress on it. Then he imagined his fingers go SNAP in his head again and the paper together with the cloth went up in flames.

    ¡°NOOO!¡± The girl cried. She wanted to pick up the dress but she shrank back from the fire. She quickly turned to Garrett and tried to take the loincloth from him.

    ¡°GIVE! DON¡¯T BURN!¡±

    "Why? It''s filthy and it reeks and it will lead the hounds right to us. And it''s probably where those parasites breed!"

    "NO-O!!" Nannade didn¡¯t stop tugging on the loincloth. It was even dirtier than the tunica, Garrett was very careful to grab it delicately, with the tips of his fingers.

    "Mommy made this for me. She tore it from her dress so I didn''t have to be naked!"

    "Calm down, I''ll give you new clothes, for goodness sake!"

    Still she held on to the rag. "But it''s the only thing I have from Mommy!"

    Garrett paused and let go of the cloth. The girl quickly grabbed it and held it close. Any normal child her age would have a stuffed toy they could hold on to, or maybe a doll made of straw, but all this girl had was a dirty cloth used to cover herself with. It was on the verge of falling apart and as crude as a piece of clothing could get. He knelt down to her and looked into her eyes.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "Your mother left you your freedom. And your life. Cherish that. Protect it!"

    After holding much in for the entire night, Nannade finally broke out in loud, bawling cries. He held her close to his chest, hoping to muffle her cries to not be detected. By the time she finally detached from him, the fire had gone out. ¡°I am so sorry. I wish there had been another way, but the sigils of slavery are cruellike that.¡±

    She handed him the rags and he threw them on the rekindledflame. As he observed how intensely the girl stared into the flames, he suddenly remembered something. He went through his backpack and brought forth the small vial. It still had a drop of the mother''s blood in it, preserved as fresh as it came out of the wound thanks to the vial''s magical properties. The vial was about as big as his thumb and had a cylindrical, facetted cut. It was cut from a special crystal and he had used it in many rites. He showed it to the girl.

    "I used this vial in the rite to unbind you from your collar. It contained your mother''s blood. There is still some left inside."

    She looked at the tiny drop of red liquid in this fascinating pure crystal vial.

    "I gift it to you. It is her last and my first gift to you. When I have time and tools, I can turn it into a protective artefact for you, specifically for you, so your mother will always be with you, protect you."

    Nannade''s eyes almost glowed with curiosity. He took a leather cord from his backpack and tied it around the vial''s neck to make a necklace. Then he gave her one of his shirts. He tied it together with a sash. If she rolled up the sleeves, it almost looked like a proper dress. This would have to do until they made it to his booked room, where he had stashed more for her. They got to walking again. Nannadeseemed determined to stick close to Garrett this time, but still stumbled quite often.

    Still, Garrett felt watched;Nannade seemed distracted by something as well. Did she notice what was following them? Crolachans were said to have exceptional hearing and eyesight in darker conditions. Could it be this good? Or if it was a spirit, could she have the Mystic Gift? It would be an advantageous circumstance, but also worrying, since it meant that a spirit truly was following them.

    ¡°Did you notice anyone following us?¡± he asked her when she looked into the green darkness again.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I heard there are animals in the forest!¡±

    She was simply too naive to properly assess the situation.

    They finally arrived on the edge of the forest; ahead of them was the river Trohr, and behind that the farming estate visible as a collection of distant lights in the distance, still further behind that, almost invisible in the darkness of the night, the heavily forested mountains of Sturreland rose up.The two of them wouldn¡¯t arrive at the farming estate for a while and he was sure they could finally rest here to continue in the morning, they should get there by noon. Garrett put down his pack and got out some rations for them.

    He gave the girl some bread with sausage and cheese and sat her down on a fallen log with a view of the farming estate. ¡°We¡¯ll go there tomorrow. You¡¯ll have a bath and I''ll take care of your coat. But more importantly, that over there is where Sturreland begins, a land where slavery is forbidden; you can be free there.¡±

    ¡°Are the people there good people?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯re not bad people, but we must still be cautious. The person who used to be your master will probably hunt you. It is best you stay out of sight for a while.¡±

    The girl waited for a moment. ¡°And that is where I will live? To help there with cleaning?¡±

    ¡°No. Only stay for a short while. I will take you to a different place and teach you.¡±

    ¡°Teach me what?¡±

    ¡°You will know it good time. Just eat and relax.¡±

    The girl did as she was told until she had finished everything. She once mumbled ¡°I don¡¯t like cheese.¡± But when Garrett looked at her, she seemed to be frightened, hushedly said ¡°I¡¯ll eat it.¡± and quickly took another bite. The girl was easily scared, unprepared to deal with people. Garrett knew he had a stern face, but he couldn¡¯t be this scary, could he?

    Eventually, Nannade raised her head and her jaw dropped open at the sight above. The stars hung above the landscape like a swirl of diamond dust and milk, and the lights of the farm estate were faint in the distance, flickering like stars brought down to this world. This could very well have been the first time she had ever seen something like this, an open landscape and an open sky. Even Garrett himself got lost in the view. When he finally decided to look around again, he saw tears welling up in her eyes. She wasn''t even attempting to hold anything back, he could tell. He moved closer and put his cloak around her. Like this they sat until Nannade could no longer fight the urge to lay her head on his lap and fall asleep. Garrett looked at her tiny body and thought about all the things he would have to do to her to make her strong enough to survive. Endless beatings and injuries he himself had endured flared up from his memories. He took her hand; her fingers seemed like twigs compared to his, her hands were soft, even if the skin was dry in some places. He carried the frail little being to her blanket and rolled her up tight. He remained vigilant for a while. As he looked around, he could only see the green darkness of the forest, as if it was staring back at him.

 Childhood & Charity III

    "Take off your clothes and get in!¡±

    The girl was standing naked in a washing through with hot water, Garrett was kneeling before it, soap and brush in hand. They were in their room in the estate the morning after they camped at the edge of the forest.

    ¡°Sit down, I need to douse you first.¡±

    He was washing and grooming her. Getting her back to full health would take some time. Travelling over roads and through forests with a malnourished, sickly child was a bad idea.

    "Stand up.¡±

    He made use of the occasion to look at her health and anatomy more closely, he had read a few sources on crolachans, but he had found that much of the available information on them was conflicting or hard to believe.

    ¡°Tilt your head forward.¡±

    Her fur was very short, too short to bury his finger in it, but it had a soft feel to it, the hair was fine and smooth after being washed, albeit still crawling with lice and fleas. The skin on her chest, belly, the inner side of her extremities, as well as under her arms, and between her legs, seemed naked and pink at a glance, but upon closer inspection was covered by a light fuzz.

    ¡°Give me your hands.¡±

    Her hands and feet intrigued him especially. Instead of nails she had claws that curved along the fingertips, reminding him of a cat¡¯s claws, albeit not retractable, but her fingertips were very soft, so if she tightened her grip on something, her fingertips would give way and her claws consequently be brought to whatever she was gripping; with the right grip and dexterity, Garrett could see her easilyburrowing her claws into skin or wood. Right now however,her claws were broken, frayed and otherwise poorly kept, if she took care of them, they would serve her well.

    ¡°Quit wincing! Lift your arm up.¡±

    Her joints seemed flexible and mobile, although that could simply have been because she was a young girl. Some of her bones were not properly straight, especially the limbs, which was common among slave children kept indoors or underground. Her ears were long, pointy and mobile. She could raise them up almost perfectly straight, point them backwards or straight to the sides, as well as turn them. So far, they¡¯d often been hanging down, accompanied by slouched shoulders or laid flat and tight to the sides of her head in nervousness. Occasionally they would twitch up towards a sound.

    ¡°Good, now turn around.¡±

    Her tail was short, barely reaching halfway down the thigh, he couldn''t imagine it being very useful for balance, like many animals used theirs. Her back looked fine, her spine showed no malformation and she had a normal posture. Her skin had many scratches, some of which had gotten infected, but otherwise she did not seem to have any scabs or wounds.

    ¡°Turn back to me, open your mouth.¡±

    The insides of her mouth showed a few sore spots and badly healed wounds. She had normal teeth with the exception of the canines, which were much larger, longer and sharper than those of humans, especially the upper ones. Her teeth were also in need of proper care. One was missing but he could see the tip of another one coming up right below it. Her nose was short and flat, the tip somewhat turned up.

    ¡°Look me in the eyes, don¡¯t blink.¡±

    Her eyes were the colour of brass, almost shining, and had a slit-oval pupil, like that of a fox or a cat. She had no squint and her pupils were clear, her sclera was free of any parasites or disease as well.

    During the entire time that he was washing and examining her, she seemed uneasy. He explained that he was making sure she was healthy but she remained nervous. She was however not showing signs of outright panic or fright, so he assumed that she had not experienced frequent physical abuse.

    Garrett had already gotten an extra brush and lice-comb for her, alongside different lotions for her fur. Crolachans¡¯ coats were hard to keep shiny and healthy, and crolachans themselves were notoriously obsessed with cleanliness.

    Garrett got over to the chest with his stashed stuff. He left it here in the estate''s owner¡¯s care when he stayed here before.He got the girl her own clothes and equipment: A backpack, a wooden spoon and bowl, a cup, a thick blanket, a large hooded cloak similar to the one he wore, a shirt, pants, a sash, and leather wrappings for her hands and feet. Despite his best research, Garrett could not confirm how well normal gloves and shoes would fit a crolachan, but his worries turned out to be unfounded, her hands and feet had normal proportions. He had bought everything a bit larger in size so she could grow into it. Lastly, he also took a length of fine,red cloth. It was smooth and embroidered with flowing patterns, long enough to be worn around the neck as a scarf or bow and wide enough to cover her neck.

    ¡°Always wear this, it will hide your scars. We can¡¯t risk anyone finding out about them.¡±

    The girl seemed to like the accessory.

    ¡°And if anyone should ever ask you something while I¡¯m not around, remember: I¡¯m escorting you to relatives in Halonnes.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s Allon?¡±

    ¡°Halonnes, it¡¯s a big city far from here.¡±

    ¡°How long will we take to get there?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re not going there. It''s a lie to fool people who might try to find us.¡±

    The girl tilted her head. ¡°But I was told lying is wrong.¡±

    Garrett paused and sighed. ¡°The lie protects you from those that want you ill. The more people know about you, the more vulnerable you become. It is alright to lie to protect yourself.¡±

    They got dressed and went to the dining area to see what was left of dinner. The other patrons of the farming estate ¨C mostly travellersstaying for one night or just one meal ¨C had already cleared the dinning hall. Garrett knew that rich meals would be as essential to the girl¡¯s recovery as physical exercise. It would take some care, but he was convinced she''d make a quick recovery. Then the actual training could begin. But long before that, they could leave this place. The walls seemed to have eyes and out in the open he felt even more watched. They were already in Sturreland, slavery was outlawed here, but one never knew who might stretch their fingers over the border.

    They spent the afternoon taking a long walk around the fields of the estate. Garrett wanted to make sure her body got used to long periods of activity and being outside as opposed to locked up in a basement with no windows.

    At one point, Nannade¡¯s dared to ask some questions she had been holding back. ¡°What will you teach me?¡± was one of them.

    ¡°I am a Hidden Hand. Did you ever hear of those?¡±

    ¡°No.¡± The girl replied. Of course she didn¡¯t, even among the population that led normal lives in the outside world, they were barely more than a rumour or regarded as ramblings of the paranoid.

    ¡°We make sure that mages, warlocks, druids and many other powerful people do not misuse their power. For that, we are contracted by groups like universities, the city guard, guilds and churches, then we find the bad people and punish them according to the laws.¡±

    ¡°And what will you teach me?¡±

    ¡°Everything necessary for that. How to fight, how to cast spells, how to sneak, how to steal, how to hide and how to plan ahead.¡±

    ¡°Will it take very long?¡±

    ¡°Until you are an adult.¡±

    The girl remained silent for a while. ¡°And will you set me free then?¡±

    ¡°Only if you do not set yourself free first.¡±

    ¡°How?¡±

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.¡°If you manage to run away from me. Or kill me. But know that you owe me your freedom and your life. You owe me a lot of your time and service, so you should remember that I will chase you to the ends of the world, if you try to flee from me.¡±

    She did not answer anything to that. Instead she looked at the distant forests.

    After supper they retired to their room. Garrett was sitting on the table going through his notes, marking down Nannade¡¯s health and progress so far, while she was watching. He knew she''d have to get to learning the scripts soon. She was already behind on it compared to the students of druids, mages and others. But for now, to get the girl¡¯s mind on something useful, he showed her a few dexterity exercises, like letting a coin roll over her fingers or spinning a knife, but eventually, she just lay on the bed, fully clothed, and fell asleep.

    Although she seemed shy, sometimes even afraid of him, she still expressed a strong desire for a feeling of security. That evening after supper, after she got into bed, she immediately nestled in next to him. She seemed to enjoy even basic human closeness. In her sleep, her hands clenched and held on to his arms. He was glad she did not have very sharp claws for now.

    Their days on the estate quickly fell into a routine; bathing, grooming and airing out all the bedding and blankets, jogging along the fields and another grooming again in the evening. He paid very close attention to what the girl ate and occasionally ordered extra food for her. He also used the opportunity to learn more about the girl.

    Apparently, she was nine years old, but she didn¡¯t know when her name day was or when she had last asked her mother how old she was. Her father was ¡°a gladiator in the arena¡± she had said, but Garrett knew that the dirty assortment of huts that called itself a ¡°city¡± had no arena. It had fighting pits, where they would throw slaves to get mangled by wild beasts.Garrett did not know whether the father had been the slave or the beast. Occasionally, her father would ¡°make it so that mammy didn¡¯t have to work for a day¡± so they could go out into the city and get fresh air and maybe a treat for the girl. The mother used to have her own room for work, ¡°with a bed and pretty dresses¡±, but then ¡°the men stopped paying for her¡± so she was moved to the basement. Garrett deduced that the mother¡¯s value decreased, most likely due to child birth and sickness. Crolachans¡¯ coats quickly turned scraggy and dull without attention; a ship captain had once told him that they crolachan crew would often keep to themselves, occupied with all the grooming and care they could afford at sea. The girl had actually spent most of her time cleaning in the inn, not even entrusted to waiting tables or handling food, being locked back up in the basement when she was tired. Overall, her life experiences consisted of cold walls and mouldy straw.

    Half a dozen days had passed before the two of them were finally unable to find any more lice on each other. He still made it a habit to check her head frequently. Her fur had taken on a pretty sheen. Brushing her in the morning was becoming an enjoyable ritual for the two.

    During their entire stay, Garrett had noticed Nannade drawing quite a few curious looks, especially during meal times in the dining hall. Every time Garrett spotted a pair of eyes dart over to them, he had doubts in the back of his head. Did those people look like guards? or investigators? or thugs? Did they know of the escaped crolachan? or maybe even a price on the heads of the two? Maybe someone had sent one of Garrett¡¯s own trade after him?

    One day at lunch, there was a group of children present, a bit younger than Nannade. Garrett noticed them whispering to each other while looking at her. He could tell by the flicking and twisting of her ears that she was trying to listen in. He leaned close to her.

    "Do you want to play with them?"

    She nodded cautiously.

    "Alright, but first: Remember that people are looking for us and what kind of people they are. Protect yourself." Then he smiled and gave her a gentle shove towards the group.

    That and the next day Nannade spent playing with this group of rather active and noisy children. Garrett found it oddly satisfying to watch her chase around and get chased around by other children. He came from a land where slavery was not practiced, so he could not imagine what it felt like being property from the day one was born, but it was obvious to him that her not being allowed to leave that stinking hut of an inn had dealt a heavy blow to her understanding of other people. Yet here she was, taking part in the play of others as if she had never been an outsider at all.

    He fell deeper into thought until he felt a tuck on his clothes. Nannade was standing before him with daisies and dandelions woven into her wild mane. The other kids were nowhere to be seen but she had a big smile on her face and held an apple on her hands. "Timmothy gave this to me!" She looked rather cute as she stood there, presenting the magnificent gift she had received from her short-lived friendship. He smiled. Now that the lice were no longer a problem to be dealt with, he decided the next morning would be a good time for what he had promised her at the edge of the forest.

    After breakfast, the two of them sat in their room on opposing sides of the table. On the table was a paper scroll laid out. Garrett drew lines with a piece of sketching coal, half from memory, half according to his calculations. The girl was very attentive to this process. The mere act of drawing on paper seemed to intrigue her.

    "What are you doing?" She asked.

    "I am preparing the creation of the artefact I promised you. Don''t interrupt me!"

    The structure of the rite started to take shape on the paper. It was a complicated arrangement of glyphs written into commands, geometric lines describing proportions, and formulas. After making sure it all checked out, he was finally content with the result. He reached into his backpack and took out gauze bandages, a piece of wood roughly the size of his index finger, and the rest of his writing implements.

    He had locked the door and drawn the curtains, but he was still nervous about anyone catching them performing a blood ritual. "Give me your hand." He told Nannade. She complied. He turned her palm upwards. "This will hurt. Try not to be too loud." He cut into her pinkie finger, she winced and had fright written all over her face as he caught the blood trickling into the inkwell. "Don''t suck on the wound, just put your hand on the table, palm up."

    With quite a few drops in the inkwell, he started putting the blood to paper, tracing the charcoal lines. Again, Nannade was curious about every detail of the process. From the corner of his eye he observed her ears twitch and turn towards the sound of metal scraping on paper. Her golden eyes followed the silver quill all the way along the sketched lines. The inkwell required repeated refilling, and at one point he caught her dripping two or three drops of her blood into the inkwell on her own. It took him almost as long to trace the coal lines as it had taken him to deduce and sketch them, but at last, all was prepared. He beckoned her to give him the vial dangling around her neck. He put a last drop of her blood into it and the daughter''s blood joined that of the mother.

    He put the vial down on a blank part in the centre the paper. "Trust me." He said, putting the piece of wood in her mouth crosswise. "Bite down. You''ll need it." Then beckoned her again for her hand. He clasped her forearm tightly in his left hand. The piece of wood creaked as her jaw clenched up. "Make a fist and don''t let up, no matter what." With his left thumb he looked for the gap between the tendons, then he put down the obsidian blade exactly there.

    In one quick motion he pierced her skin and pulled the blade down her arm. She bit down on the piece of wood and let out a suppressed pained cry. Blood gushed from the cut. Garrett concentrated on the weavings and incantations of the spell. Rather than drip down on the table, the blood from her wound ran towards the paper, where it vanished without leaving a stain. One by one, the glyphs around the place where the vial laid, flared up and vanished with a sizzle. For a split second, Garrett allowed himself to look at the girl. Her eyes were wide open, her jaw clenched. He could feel her trying to pull her arm away from him, but her weak muscles could only struggle in vain against his iron grip.

    The last glyph had vanished and he let up, the incantation was complete. He loosened his hands and reached for the bandages. Quickly he got to wrapping them around her forearm. He wasn''t done with it yet before the girl let up her clenching. The piece of wood fell from her mouth, then her head fell forward and hit the table. Her body went completely limp. Garrett looked at her ears. Where he normally could see red veins shine through rosy skin, he now saw only paleness.

    A realization crashed down on him like a wave of ice. The young girl, already weakened by malnourishment and parasites, had much less blood than he had, a grown man. The required amount of blood for the spell was much too great for her. His mind raced for a second, then it fixated on a specific spell. No time to write it down on paper, he had to do it all in his head. He quickly undid the bandages, put the blade to his own forearm, cut in, put his wound on hers, grasping hers by the elbow, and pressed them together fast.

    His thoughts raced, formulas calculated in his head, geometries drawn with his mind and the hope that it was enough to save her.

    It took a few moments as his blood flowed out of his veins, was transmuted and then flowed into her veins. The ordeal exhausted him, but after he was done, he made sure to put bandages on both of them before finally allowing himself to fall back in his chair. Darkness took him quickly.

 Childhood & Charity IV

    Garrett awoke when Nannade was shaking him. "Hey Teacher, wake up!" She said repeatedly. He managed to open his eyes and tilt his head towards her voice. Worry was written all over her face. When he groaned sat up in his chair, her face relaxed. The sun shining through the window told him that it was well past noon. "What happened to you?" She asked.

    He stood up and collected his thoughts. He felt a bit dizzy, as if he had stood up too fast. He staggered over to the bed and laid down. The bandage on his forearm seemed alright, a bit drenched in blood but the bleeding had stopped. He looked at Nannade.

    "Show me your forearm, I need to check your bandage."

    Hers was fine as well.

    "What happened to you?" The girl asked again. Garrett just shook his head dismissively. "Don''t worry. The spell was just really tiring."

    "But you''re hurt. Did you hurt yourself?"

    "Yes, I had to, to finish the spell."

    He wanted to slip away back into slumber, but she kept shaking him. "Don''t die!"

    "I¡¯m not dying, I just need some rest."

    "How much? You look very sick!" She sounded increasingly worried.

    "It takes four months to recover all lost blood." He mumbled

    "You can''t sleep that long, I¡¯m hungry!"

    Eventually, she got him to the dining area by continuously pulling his arm. Of course, no food was being served at the time, so he fell asleep with his head on the table.After much begging and distressed calling from the girl, the maid put a bowl of cold stew and bread before the two latecomers. Somehow, despite his exhaustion, he managed to finish the meal and lug himself back to his room.

    The next morning found him well rested. He still felt listless, but much more awake and aware of his surroundings. Nannade was spritely as ever, urging him to get dressed and get breakfast. Before that however, he taught the girl how to check and change bandages to make sure the wounds would not fester. He saw immediately that both their wounds would need cleaning and redressing. Especially in her case, a lot of hair that could cause infection had gotten into to the wound. With slow but steady hands, he cleaned the wounds, applied alcohol disinfectant and stitched the rather grizzly wounds he had dealt to them both.

    At the breakfast table a maid stepped over to them. She looked at him with a stern expression, hands on her hips. "You scared me yesterday. What were you doing to that girl?"

    He looked at her then put on an assuring smile. "Everything is fine, no need to bother." The maid seemed not satisfied with that answer but turned around anyway. He felt angry with himself for being so careless both with his apprentice''s and with his own life.

    They had finished their meal and headed back to their room. As he came close to the door, he saw that it was not entirely closed. Did he leave it open in his drowsiness? The girl had left the room before him, he would normally always close it. He gestured towards Nannade to stay where she was, drew one of his throwing knives from a hidden sheath, raised it above his shoulder and carefully pushed the door open. The room was empty and all seemed to be in order at first. He check their backpacks and found nothing missing, not even a single coin. He checked the closet and under the bed, all while glancing back repeatedly to check on the girl, who peered through the door frame. He found nothing. He came to the conclusion that he must have let the door open out of carelessness; he got even angrier with himself.

    He sat back down at the table to clean the implements up when he noticed somethings were indeed missing. The obsidian blade, the crystal inkwell and the vial. A shock hit Garrett. The girl¡¯s blood, the mother¡¯s blood. They tracked them somehow using the mother¡¯s body. He knew he should have incinerated it down to dust.

    They must still be on the estate! He turned around. The girl noticed something was wrong by the lookon his face, she looked even more unnerved than before. Should he leave her in the room where she would be safe but unguarded or take her with him where she could be in harm¡¯s way? He decided on the latter. He was back to full alertness, as if he had never lost any blood.

    ¡°Come with me, Nannade!¡±

    ¡°Why? What happened?¡±

    ¡°Someone has come for you; they stole the pendant. Stick close by me and do not leave my sight!¡±This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

    She did as she was told and together, they left the room. Garrett locked the door, just to be safe. He did not wander the corridors of the guest house with drawn blades, and so he rested his right hand just above his hidden sheath, on the inside of his left arm¡¯s bracer. He tried to appear calm on the outside while remaining tensed on the inside. Every person that passed them by could be the one sent to find them. He had no lead to go by, but his best bet was checking with the estate¡¯s owner, with whom he had arranged to have an especially quiet room when he stashed the equipment here before heading to Prannten for the last time.

    In a leisurely stroll, as to not draw suspicion, he made his way to the main house of the estate, where the owner ¨C a certain Mister Grolldinger ¨C had his office. He entered the house and was about to head up the stairs when he heard someone dash around a corner into a nearby room. Someone was trying to evade him, badly.

    He turned to Nannade and whispered to her ¡°Stay here, don¡¯t make a sound.¡± Then he drew his blade and dashed into the room.

    He found the sneak and pinned her to the wall by her throat before she could react, pressing the flat side of the blade to her jugular. It was the concerned maid from the dining hall, still holding the pendant in her hand.

    ¡°Who do you work for?¡±

    Her eyes sought for something to hold on for, trying to make sense of the sudden situation.

    ¡°Wha-?¡±

    ¡°WHO do you work for?¡± Garrett barked again. The room they were in seemed to be a kitchen, empty right now, good for them.

    ¡°Mister Grolldinger, the owner of this estate.¡±

    ¡°Who told you to sneak around my room!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to, I was just concerned about the girl.¡±

    ¡°Were you offered a reward?¡±

    ¡°What? No! I just thought you might be doing something to the girl!¡±

    Garrett could see in her face that she wasn¡¯t lying. ¡°I made an arrangement with Mister Grolldinger to have an especially private room. The girl is none of your concern!¡±

    She nodded hastily. He let go of her throat and stretched out his hand. The maid emptied her pockets, giving the pendant, the inkwell and the blade back. Finally, he handed her a gold coin, probably twice her monthly salary, and made sure she understood their agreement. ¡°I know where you live and you can¡¯t run from me. I¡¯ll know if you talked.¡±

    She took the coin and disappeared into the corridor.

    He found Nannade where he had told her to wait. She had a worried look about her and when she asked him ¡°What happened?¡± He just assured her ¡°Everything is alright, no one will come to claim you.¡±

    They returned to their room and when he was sure they were alone, he took some time to inspect the objects the maid had taken carefully. All was in order. He turned to the girl and gave her the vial. "The ritual seemed to have been a success, your mother''s last wish to set you free and protect you from her own fate has flown into the vial. From now on, as long as there is your blood in it, your mother''s last sacrifice will protect you from any spells directed with ill intent towards you." She took the vial and turned it in her hand to observe it from all directions. A tear welled up in her eyes. She hung it from her neck, pressed it close to her chest and said "thank you".

    "Now, get your stuff, we''ll leave immediately. I don''t trust that snooping maid."

    They packed their things quickly. Garrett would have preferred to stay another half dozen of days to recuperate, but they were running out of time. He looked for a flask that contained a yellowish-brown liquid in his backpack. It was a tonic containing mostly liver oil and pig''s blood, disgusting but his only resort for now. He downed the vial and followed it up with a shot of Korn from a small hipflask. It would take some time off the time his body needed to replace his lost essence.

    They set out on the road running by the estate and headed down for a while. Then, when there were no other travellers in sight, Garrett took the path between the fields.

    "We won''t be staying on this road." He told Nannade.

    "Why not?"

    "I''m not taking you to a city yet. There is a friend who lives some time away, but we need to get to a river on the far side of that forest." He pointed to the heavily forested ridge flanking the valley. "We''ll stay there for a while. I already sent a notice ahead we''d be coming some while ago.¡±

    ¡°Will we hide there?"

    ¡°Not just that. Your training will finally begin there. There are many things you need to learn and I can''t teach you everything myself."

    "Why didn''t we go there from the farm?" The girl¡¯s questions started to annoy him, but he had to make sure she understood the situation.

    "Because then people would know that we''re heading into the forest. Anyone hunting for us could deduce by that where we''re headed."

    She appeared to think for a moment. Then she replied. "You lie a lot."

    "Yes. As I said, we''re wanted people. Truth and lie are to my profession like thread and needle are to a seamstress''."

    It would take them two days to reach the river port, three days on the boat and another half dozen by foot until they''d reach their destination.

 Childhood & Charity V

    At the end of a dirt road forking off another dirt road that ran through the forest, stood a hut. The woman living in the hut stood outside, chopping wood. Her dark brown hair fell on her shoulders and further down from there and her eyes were an earthy green. She was not in her youth anymore, but still long before her withering years. Her long dress ¨C sturdy linen in dark green and cream white ¨C was full of stains from kneeling on the ground, looking for all sorts of ingredients and tending to the forest. A badger¡¯s pelt lay around her shoulders. She was waiting for two travellers that would come down the road, as the spirits of the forest had told her about them ahead of time.

    The travellers arrived and she saw that it was who she was expecting. A broad-built man, wearing a long dark cloak, a durable linen shirt under a leather vest as well as laced leather pants and thick leather boots He had blue-ish grey eyes and dark blonde hair as well as a scraggy beard. At his side, a girl, wearing a similar cloak, much too large for her, a simple shirt and pants as well as leather foot and hand wrappings and a cute red bow on her neck.

    The woman from the hut knew the man too well. His name was Garrett, or Garetas to most others, and he had learned some arcane and mystic secrets beside her when they were still learning under an old healer named Tirana. That was around twenty years ago and ever since they had been somewhat of friends. He occasionally dropped by without warning, most commonly when he had to hide for a while, wait for a message, or lick his wounds. This time she knew he''d be coming, because he had sent a message a few months back that he was planning to "acquire" an apprentice and asked her for assistance in training that apprentice.

    Garrett waved at her from a distance and called out to her. "Lissy, good to see you."

    She embraced him for a greeting. Then she knelt down to the girl. From a distance she had suspected the girl to be a beast-human, but now she was sure. Her coat was short but dense, and of a golden colouration. Her red-ish mane was fringy and wild. Her long slender ears hung down at the side of her head and although she looked Elissa in the eyes, she had her head hung low.

    "Nannade, this is my old friend Elissa. Greet her."

    The girl brought forth a shy "hello" but not much more.

    Elissa went to open the door of the hut "Come on in."

    The majority of the hut¡¯s interior consisted of the central room. It served for eating, cooking, lounging and now also sleeping for the new guests. The cooking area with the stove was separated by a curtain, behind that were also the doors to a storage cabinet and the study, which had bookshelves and a desk. A large closet-sized cage in one corner housed two blackbirds and an herbalist¡¯s work bench ran almost the entire length of the longest wall, above it shelves with different ingredients and tools for cooking, chopping, dissecting and many more tasks. The door next to the guest-bed led to Elissa¡¯s bedroom.

    "You know, I''ve actually started to think you wouldn''t show up any more. I expected you earlier." Elissa said while the guests were taking place at the table. She went behind the curtain. "I''m going to put the kettle on for tea."

    "True, we were running late. I didn''t factor in that taking the child with me would slow me down this much." Garrett replied.

    "I knew that you taking on a child as an apprentice would lead to a lot of learning on your part." Ever since they had learned together under Tirana, Elissa had teased Garrett whenever he made a mistake and hid it behind the expression "learning".

    "That''s why I''ve come to you. Only half of this endeavour is training. The other half is taking care of a child."

    "I''m no mother. Don''t go assuming I can help you raise a child!"

    "All women have mother''s instincts. Why resist?"

    "Instinct doesn''t mean I know how to do things!" Elissa made sure to let her frustration with that oaf come through her voice.

    "You''re still more of a healer and home maker than I am." Garrett had her with that statement. He had never been one for a sessile lifestyle and being on the move with a child diminished the time he could spend training her.

    "True, but still. For now, I''ll let you stay a month, I owe you that much. I''m sorry if that throws off your plan, but I won''t just let someone stay at my house for a year or two out of the blue. Also, there are some people I must consult before I''m allowed to teach anyone anything."

    Garrett furrowed his brow. ¡°You haven¡¯t spoken with the Lodge yet?¡±

    ¡°No, I¡¯ve talked to the Arch-Druid and she gave me her okay for now. But she¡¯ll drop by later. It¡¯s not wise to let the entire Lodge be in the know when you Hidden Hands are involved.¡±

    ¡°She? It¡¯s not Loganos anymore?¡±

    ¡°No, his daughter, Loganna, but don¡¯t worry, she¡¯s the same breed of old fart.¡±

    ¡°He sure kept it in the family. Just like the nobles. It¡¯s the same aristocratic bunch as anywhere else.¡±

    ¡°But she¡¯s not unreasonable. Until she had a talk with the girl, I can¡¯t say anything for sure.¡±

    ¡°I understand.¡± A rare statement from Garrett.

    She didn''t expect him to not understand, but she did expect him to try her nonetheless. She could tell it didn''t dent his mood a bit, so he either had a back-up plan or some way to make her let them stay regardless.

    Elissa had come back to the table and turned to Nannade as she sat down. "Why don''t you tell me about yourself? Oh wait! I''ll tell you about me first!" She adjusted her dress to look proper and tilted her head, contemplating for a moment. "I''m Elissa and I''m what you could call a witch. I do mostly healing and soothsaying for the people who come to my house, and sometimes visit the village when people send for me. I learned together with this guy under a woman called Tirana. You could say we are friends from youth. Many people come here to buy medicine or advice from the spirits. I lived here since I left my Master''s house. I think Garrett wants me to teach you things like the basics of the arcane and the mystic, medicine and some other useful skills, but you may ask me anything else as well if you have any questions."

    The girl¡¯s shoulders were still slouched and her ears still hung low, but she looked very attentive to Elissa while she was speaking.

    After a moment of silence, Elissa encouraged her. "Go on, it''s your turn now."

    Nannade looked over to Garrett. "You don''t have to tell anything if you don''t want to." He told her.

    "My name is Nannade, but only Pappy and Mommy called me that, everyone else called me Fibi. I lived with Mommy and Pappy in a room, but Pappy stopped coming home one day. Mammy did work for men. Then Teacher Garetas came and took me with him."

    Something started to dawn on Elissa. She turned to Garrett and tried to ask him something but what she wasn''t sure what words to choose in front of the girl. Garrett saw the question on her face and answered. "Her mother was a whore-slave in some run-down inn in Prannten." He turned to Nannade with a stern expression. "It''s best you learn these words and what they mean as soon as possible, life will not be soft on you." He turned back to Elissa. "Nannade was apparently often in the room when her mother ''worked'', in another stable box. After I heard some self-important mercenary boast about how he frequented the services of a crolachan and how a child was crying in the room, I had an idea and started to investigate. I used a life essence transferal on the glyphs of their slave collars to transfer the punishment of death from Nannade''s collar to that of her mother. The mother had agreed to this. Then I got Nannade out of that basement. That was almost two dozen of days ago."

    A silence fell in the room. Nannade lookeddown at the table, her posture showed something like shame.

    "Don''t look like that, you did nothing wrong.¡± Garrett told her. ¡°You just had bad luck with the circumstances of your birth." The kettle started to hiss and Elissa got up to make tea for the three.

    When she had returned to the table, Garrett spoke up again. "Oh, and as to why I brought her here, just as well as teaching her, I need you to help me guide her body''s growth. I know you''re no expert on crolachans, but you still know a lot of things about medicine that I don''t."

    She actually had a book concerning crolachans and other non-human peoples, but she could tell that most of the information in it was hearsay or rumour at best; she''d rather consult an old waif''s idle prattle than that book to care for a child¡¯s health.

    "So, will you help me?"

    Elissa shook her head. ¡°You know, when you come here to lick your wounds, I always assume you had been locked in battle with some rogue magister or evil warlock or abominable werewolf, but this I can¡¯t assume away. You took away a little girl to train her. And now, you want me to brew that stuff your master forced you to drink for HER? She¡¯s a child!¡± She gave her voice a more concerned tone to drive home her point.

    ¡°So was I. I actually had it better than that girl. When my teeth got knocked out, it was because I got myself into a fight again. This girl was chained to a wall in the room her mother was raped in. It was disgusting in there for even a few minutes.¡± His attitude turned severe.

    ¡°So what, you just pick up a traumatized kid and think it¡¯s okay because it isn¡¯t quite worse?¡±

    ¡°We pick up children from the streets because they are largely without affiliations. My teacher picked me because I was a street kid with a mage for a father. That¡¯s rare. And so is she.¡±

    Elissa sighed out her frustration, slapped her hands on her face and sighed some more.

    "I don''t know. I''d much rather take her off your hands, but I don¡¯t know if I can take care of her either. And she''s probably nowhere as safe as she is with you. But then again training her to be one of your trade? I already think it was reckless of Tirana to have taught you."

    Garrett raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to lecture me on my work ethics again?"

    "No, no. Not at all." Elissa pressed her fingers on her forehead. "I know you''re not some common assassin or brutal thug, but still..." She turned to the girl and looked into her frightened eyes. "Somehow I think this cutie deserves better."

    "Could those be motherly instincts trying to protect a little child?" His words stung like a needle made of salt.

    "Have you ever thought about what she might want? Nannade, you must have an opinion, what do you want?¡±

    "She''s nine years old.¡± Garrett interjected. ¡°And almost all of that time she was locked in a basement. She couldn''t tell you what she wants because she knows nothing that she could want."

    Elissa paid his interjection no heed and looked at the girl.

    Nannade looked surprised that someone was addressing her for a moment. She looked to Garrett, but he wasn''t returning the look. Then she turned to Elissa. "I don''t want to be put in chains again."

    Elissa sighed and got up. "I give up. Anyway, I said one month, do you want to settle in? I set up my second bed over there and another cabinet. That''s all I can give you. I''ll be back outside chopping wood."

    "Let the girl do it! She needs to put on as fast as possible."

    Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!"You''ll let her swing an axe? What if she hurts herself?"

    Garetas flashed a cocky smile at Elissa. "Then that will be a learning experience."

    While the girl was chopping firewood outside the hut, the two adults sat inside and finished their tea.

    "Why would you go after a dumb rumour to get such a specific girl?" Elissa asked Garrett after a quick glance through the window. She sat so that she could keep an eye on the girl.

    "It wasn''t a rumour but a first-hand report from a witness."

    "Granted, but still: Why? Aren''t there enough street rats running around?"

    "Because I didn''t want a street rat. I wanted that kid. Her kind is nimble and quick and has good reflexes. I just know she¡¯ll make an excellent Hidden Hand."

    "She''s a rarity. I remember you being very cautions to never get any scars on your face so people wouldn''t recognize you as easily. How can a beast-human ever infiltrate anywhere unnoticed?"

    "She''ll do. She''s smart. She observes her environment very well and quickly notices when something isn¡¯t right. I''m confident she''ll figure something out. Also, I don''t intent on keeping her in these lands forever. We''ll move south and to the shore where her people are a bit more common."

    Elissa rolled her eyes. "You''re so smart when it comes to killing, sneaking and lying, but then you pick up a bundle of problems and immediately get attached to it. How you survived this long is beyond me."

    Garrett had a look around. ¡°Where¡¯s the cat? You still have the cat, right?¡±

    ¡°That cat¡¯s name is Faan and of course he¡¯s still around; Faan is my familiar.¡±

    ¡°Fine fine, no offense intended. I thought, you know, since cats don¡¯t live that long...¡±

    ¡°As I said, Faan is my familiar. He¡¯s not going to die of old age as long as I¡¯m around.¡±

    Garrett threw his hands up in the air. ¡°Guilty of not knowing everything. Anyway, he can tell whether she¡¯s a medium, right? That would clear many things up.¡±

    ¡°Yeah he can. I¡¯ll call him, he¡¯s probably up on the roof again.¡± She called out Faan¡¯s name and as she did, blue-ish smoke escaped her lungs like from a tiny chimney hoarding a huge smoky fire. Shortly after, a grey cat with bright stripes jumped on the window sill from the outside.

    ¡°Oh, is this about the girl?¡± He asked with a voice without mouth.

    ¡°Yes. Did you get a look at her?¡±

    ¡°Oh yeah, she¡¯s a medium. I noticed when they came down the path. She even is already awakened, so she shines brightly.¡±

    Elissa turned to Garrett and smiled with satisfaction. Garrett returned an irritated and confused look. ¡°You know I can¡¯t hear ethereal voices, what did he say?¡±

    ¡°She¡¯s a medium, but an awakened one.¡±

    ¡°Wait, you make it sound bad. Isn¡¯t that good?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s troubling to know someone who led her life is already awakened. I was around the spirits in the forest a lot when I was a child, but her? In the city?¡±

    ¡°Prannten doesn¡¯t have any functional wards to keep away spirits and demons, why do you think it¡¯s such a dirt hole? The walls themselves barely hold up.¡± Garrett seemed relieved about the news, not worried. ¡°Wait, could that mean she attracts spirits?¡±

    Garrett seemed nervous, which was never a good sign, Elissa had learned. She decided to investigate. ¡°Why? What happened?¡±

    ¡°Well, shortly after we left Prannten, I started to feel observed. It seemed familiar but dangerous. On the farming estate, I caught a maid snooping through our room, but it couldn¡¯t have been her who stalked me. I got used to it, but I still felt weird.¡±

    That was indeed a troubling thing. Garrett wasn¡¯t aware of the presence of spirits, but an especially strong presence could still set off his heightened senses for dangers. ¡°I guess it can¡¯t harm to have her sleep here. The hut is well warded, otherwise, the sprits of the forest would never leave me alone. If need be, I can put up additional wards.¡± Elissa made a mental note. She would have to look further into it later.

    ¡°So you can train her in all things spirits, right?¡±

    ¡°Maybe she really is a suitable candidate, but whether she¡¯ll be allowed into my care is still the Arch-Druid''s decision. And even if, I won''t chalk this up to mere friendship. If you want me to do it, she''ll stay with me until I deem her ready to leave my care again!"

    "Wow, what''s with that? First you wanted to practically turn us away, now you''re trying to force her to stay?!"

    "If she is awakened, she needs to know how to deal with spirits. I don''t want to teach her to commune and deal with the spirits just for you to put dumb ideas about it in her head, because you don¡¯t know the first thing about it."

    "Alright then. She''ll stay here until your arbitrary standard is met. Might actually allow me to go work somewhere for a while. I can''t live off savings forever."

    Elissa said nothing. She wanted him to realize the severity of his promise. She looked him deep in the eyes and stood up. "This isn''t just a promise by word."

    "You want to spill blood over this?" Garrett seemed almost excited about the prospect. "Sure, if I have to seal my words with my blood, I will do it. I''ll swear a blood oath."

    Elissa noticed that the sound of wood being chopped had stopped. With a sudden shock of worry, she quickly looked outside. The girl had moved the chopping block closer to the hut and was standing on it reaching for the edge of the roof. She started to make small jumps. Elissa got outside and just as she reached the door, the girl made a large jump forward, managed to grab the ledge of the roof and immediately lost it again. She fell on her bottom and started groaning and whimpering in pain. Elissa decided she would have a talk with the girl. She stuck her head through the window and looked at Garrett.

    "You know what? I''ll take her into the forest for a while. Not to the Glade, I just want to get to know her. You stay here. I''ll know if you follow me."

    "Don¡¯t worry, I''ll stay here. I won''t intrude upon your territory." He gave Faan a displeased and distrusting look while the tomcat was grooming himself on the table.

    Elissa had put on her cloak and asked Nannade whether she wanted to take stroll together. The girl agreed and Elissa took her by the hand. The girl''s fingers felt surprisingly soft apart from the claws. Together they were wandering on a small path that wound between the trees.

    "I want to ask you a few questions, if you are fine with that."

    Nannade nodded.

    "Garetas agreed to let us be, but even if he tried, he couldn''t get to us here, so you don''t need to worry about him."

    A moment passed, during which Nannada''s ears listened in all directions and she looked around carefully. The hut had already disappeared behind the trees.

    "What Garetas told back there, about how he freed you, was it all true?"

    The girl nodded.

    "And has he been nice to you."

    The girl nodded again. "He gives me lots of food. He even makes sure that I eat it all."

    "And does he hit you?"

    "He did a few times."

    "What?" Elissa looked at the girl, but she wouldn''t have been able to find any bruises on her regardless. "Where? When?"

    "When I was slowing down while we walked, he hit me on the back so I would walk faster."

    "Oh. That isn¡¯t really ¡®hitting¡¯. I meant more like with a fist or foot or a slap in the face."

    The girl thought about her words, then replied "I guess he didn¡¯t hit me."

    "And did he ever do something scary in front of you?¡±

    "When I was in the dark room, after Mommy held me, he pushed my head on the ground. I couldn''t see or hear anything but it was scary."

    "Anything else? Like threaten or kill a person?"

    "He made that spell with my vial, where he made me bleed and then everything went dark." Nannade held up a small glass crystal vial on a leather string around her neck. It was obviously a vessel that was used to preserve and contain blood for blood rites. It was filled with bright red blood at the moment.

    It intrigued Elissa what she was doing with that thing and why she had it in the first place. "I want you to tell me exactly what happened."

    It took a while for Nannade to explain the entire event and she obviously couldn''t describe many elements since she didn''t understand them to begin with, but from all Elissa heard, she could piece together very well what had happened. He had obviously created a protective charm with the mother''s last blood. These effects could be strong enough to unconsciously cast a crude spell or curse at the moment of death, but Garrett actually managed to seal some of that powerful magic into the glass crystal. He probably had more spells in his head than she in all her books; sometimes, he scared her. To make and then give the girl such an object showed some genuine interest in both, her safety and her abilities.

    "Was that the first time you saw magic?"

    Nannade shook her head. "I saw the owner make Mommy and me obey, he just said a few words and my whole body hurt. That¡¯s magic, isn''t it?"

    "Yes, the sigils of slavery are a form of magic. Do you want to cast magic too?"

    "Can I? I don''t know how!"

    "Not all humans are able to cast magic like Garetas and I can. We want to find out whether you can do it."

    "Then can you teach me?"

    "Surely. But tell me this and please be honest: if you had the opportunity, would you want to do something other than be Garetas'' apprentice?"

    Nannade didn''t say anything for a while, she seemed to be deep in thought. Finally, she answered. "I don''t want to go back into a room like before. I don''t mind anything else. But if Garetas says that I will forever be free once I learn everything, then I want to do that."

    "Even if it means you have to lie, steal and even kill?"

    "If I need to do that to be free, I''ll do them."

    "Even if it means not being free from him, having to do what he tells you until he lets you go?"

    "He said if I can escape from him, I''m free."

    That sounded indeed like something that Garrett would say. She understood why the girl had tried to climb on the roof. But she also knew that him saying that meant he''d chase her to the ends of the world as long as he felt as if she still owed him. She thought about the implications of caring for a child a lot. She never had a permanent man in her life and she was also not a mother. But for some reason she felt as if she had met Nannade at just the right time in her life. "I think I''ll teach you." She replied and it felt as if Nannade was very happy about that.

    "Can I ask you something?" The girl asked cautiously.

    "Sure."

    "Why do you call him Garrett?"

    Elissa couldn''t help but chuckle. "We''re not in slavers'' country anymore, so people here don''t mind calling close friends by shorter names. But If you want to address him as a teacher, you should stick to Garetas."

    ¡°And who was the person with you in the hut? He said I shine brightly.¡±

    ¡°That was Faan, my familiar. He¡¯s a cat, but he¡¯s also a spirit, albeit one with a physical body. You can hear him because you are a medium, a person with the mystic gift who can therefore see and talk to spirits effortlessly.¡±

    ¡°What are these spirits?¡±

    ¡°It is very hard to explain; they are like the gods of the trees and the animals, the rivers and the mountains; it¡¯s best if you experience it yourself. There are many spirits in this forest, that is why I live here.¡±

    ¡°Are they nice?¡±

    ¡°They sometimes are dangerous, but if you properly learn how to talk to them, you have nothing to fear.¡±

    The girl looked around, and her attention was quickly drawn to any sound she could hear.

    ¡°Say, Nannade, what do you know where you come from?¡±

    The girl shook her head. ¡°I always was with my mommy. But she once told me that her mommy came from the west, from an island, where all the people are like us, and the humans leave us alone.¡±

    Elissa knew a few basic things about crolachans. Not many remained in Ackarom, most lived far to the west on a chain of islands that were mountainous and heavily forested. Travellers said they build their houses in the trees, where their claws were ideal for climbing. They were much sought after as ship crews for their climbing prowess, resilience, stouter stature and tight social bonds. She thought about the girl growing up with just her parents and probably never seeing another of her kind. Sturreland, lacking any coasts, had probably barely any crolachan inhabitants to begin with. What a lonely outlook.

    When they arrived back at the hut, Garrett was busy with his equipment and his notes. The news of her final decision made Garrett very content and Elissa wasn''t sure exactly why. Of course, it was what he had planned, but why he was willing to hand potential control over Nannade''s entire training over to Elissa? Maybe he was glad he could take a back seat and let the woman do the child-raising things. Or maybe he trusted her and her abilities so much that he really wanted Nannade to learn from her as much as possible. She decided not to overthink it. For now, it was time to make supper. She still had enough in the storage cabinet, but she¡¯ll have to start buying more tomorrow. By then, things would surely seem much less worrisome.

 Childhood & Charity VI

    Nannade was sitting on the table in Elissa''s hut, Garrett, Elissa and Arch-Druid Loganna stood around her. It had been seven days since Garrett and Nannade arrived and Loganna had finally come to approve of the girl.

    Loganna put her thin, wrinkly hand on the girl''s cheek and pushed her head over to tilt it, then she inspected her neck.

    "What''s your favourite colour, girl?" Loganna asked with her dry voice.

    Nannade thought for a moment, visibly daunted. "Blue! Like the sky." She finally brought forth.

    The tall, thin woman leaned closer to inspect the girl''s eyes. Nannade could not lean away any further than she already did.

    "And what is your favourite game to play?" Loganna had been asking Nannade many questions like this, not out of pure interest but because she was probing the girl, looking for signs of trauma.

    "...I played chase with the children at the big house."

    Loganna turned around to cast an inquisitive glance at Garrett.

    "We stayed at a farming estate''s guest house for a few days to rid her of fleas and lice and get her fed better. She played with some other kids there."

    Loganna turned back around. "Let me ask you something else. How many people are here in this room?"

    Nannade was confused. "I see Teacher Garetas, Teacher Elissa, Faan, you, and the lady owl."

    Loganna leaned back and hummed in contemplation. "Interesting."

    She turned to Elissa and Garrett. "And you said she does not have the Arcane Gift?"

    Elissa shook her head. "We did the simple soot test and no pattern showed."

    Loganna made a concerned hum. "Hmmm. Still, she does have the Mystic Gift, that much is obvious. This should be enough for her to be inducted into your care, Elissa."

    "So you''ll allow her?" Garrett asked.

    Loganna''s head turned to Garrett in a sudden movement. "I have never approved of a Hidden Hand''s apprentice as the Arch-Druid so far. It was my father who approved of you and I will keep an eye on you and the girl, Garrett, especially in regards to that trauma of hers! I''ll enter the paperwork directly into the archives myself, no process necessary. She''ll be an apprentice of Elissa''s for all intents and purposes."

    Elissa furrowed her brow. "No induction ceremony?"

    "Of course not. She''s only your apprentice for bureaucratic purposes. The Highest Circle will understand." She took her staff and headed for the door. In the frame, she stopped and turned to Garrett one more time. "And stop it with the blood magic, Garrett. You''re now living a stone toss away from a place of power, I''d hate to see you cursed or worse by jealous spirits." She turned to Elissa. "Do a proper appeasement with him!"

    "Yes, High-Sister!" Elissa put her hands on her heart and bowed her head, Garrett did the same and Loganna answered them in kind before heading out the door

    Nuuph, her owl familiar, flew from the windowsill to Loganna''s shoulder and in a puff of blue smoke, transformed into a pair of huge ethereal wings protruding from her back and carrying her up into the sky above the treetops.

    "WOAH, she can fly!" Nannade said with bewonderment.

    Elissa put her hand on the girl''s head. "Yes, as the Arch-Druid of Sturreland, she is empowered to draw upon the life force of everyone and everything that lives here."

    "In other words," Garrett interjected, "she''s sucking the life out of you."

    "Shut up, Garrett, that''s not what''s happening at all." She turned back to Nannade. "Don''t listen to him, she''s not sucking anything out of you. All living things exude a tiny bit of life force all the time, even during sleep. It gathers in streams and pools we call ''ley-lines'' and ''places of power''. You will learn more about that soon enough, because you are now my apprentice!" Elissa smiled at the girl and the girl smiled back.

    Garrett scoffed again. "On paper! She''s still my apprentice. To keep you safe, Loganna gave you a cover-identity."

    "Garrett, for the sake of all living things, you wanted me to teach her. You even made a blood oath and if you don''t stop your pettiness, I''m am going to call upon it."

    "Fine, have it your way then." Garrett got up from the chair. "I''ll be out looking for a nice place in the forest to train her then."

    "You will do no such thing, you heard Loganna, first we''ll do an appeasement! And I don''t have all ingredients here, so I''ll go to the village, you wait here." Elissa put on her sandals and then paused for thought. "Actually, Nannade, do you want to go to village with me?"

    Garrett again spoke up. "Hey, didn''t we agree to keep this a secret? Now you want to parade her around town?"

    "I sooner or later will have to. She also needs a robe as my apprentice. We got this cover-identity precisely to distract from the fact that she''s a secret. The harder we try to conceal her, the more obvious it will become once even the tiniest bit of information gets out."

    Garrett wanted to protest, but Nannade came to his side. "Do I have to go with her?" She looked at him with big, confused eyes.

    Garrett put a hand on her shoulder. "No, you don''t have to do anything."

    "Oh come on Nannade, it''ll be fun. I''ll introduce you to some nice people." Elissa said with a smile.

    Nannade looked back to Garrett. He sighed. "Fine, you can go with her, if you want to. Elissa is trustworthy."

    Nannade smiled and came to Elissa''s side.

    Before they left through the door, Garrett said a few more words. "Keep her safe, Elissa, do you hear?"

    Elissa had to double check, just to be sure it was really Garrett and not an impostor. His face and voice showed genuine worry. He was no bad guy, just a bit pragmatic and a lot stubborn in his ways.

    "I will." She gave him that old smile of hers, the one she had used from the day they had first met.

    "We''ll get you a robe for when you have to partake in rituals by the Lodge." Elissa was holding Nannade''s hand while they were walking down the slope to the valley, where Heimeden lay, the nearest village.

    Heimeden wasn''t big, but it had a rest stop, a tavern, a village hall that also housed a shrine, and a general goods store that doubled as a post office. It was built along a road frequently travelled by traders on their way from the southern shore to the northern shore, and so anything could be acquired if one waited long enough, ideal for Elissa to acquire any ingredients she desired. And ideal for Garrett to keep correspondences for his contracts. If she left for the village by dawn, she could be back at the hut before noon, even during the winter months.

    Elissa noticed that the girl would occasionally look at Elissa''s right hand, where Elissa wore the seal of the Lodge ¨C a group of trees with a crowned crow above it and surrounded by a ring of hands ¨C drawn in filigree lines glowing with magic colours, pulsing and changing in sync with her heartbeat.

    "Do you want to know what this is?" she asked and waved with her right hand.

    Nannade nodded.

    "It''s a seal. The seal of the Lodge of Sturreland. That''s the name of the druids, shamans, witches and mages that rule all of this land," she made a wide sweeping motion towards the valley. "and much more land beyond that."

    "You rule this land?"

    "Haha, no, our power is invested in the Highest Circle and their power again in the Arch-Druid. The Highest Circle sets the laws of this land, the Guardians and Striders enforce them and together with the mayors, the Lodge makes sure that the grain they harvest is put to good use, stored, and sold for a fair price. And this seal proves that I am a part of the Lodge and that I''m allowed to cast magic."

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience."But Teacher Garetas doesn''t have one and he casts magic!"

    Elissa smiled again. As one of the few people to have insight into Hidden Hands, she enjoyed passing on this rare knowledge. "He has something similar, but not on his hand. Do you know where?"

    The girl pondered for a moment. Then she remembered visibly. "Oh! Here, there, on his back!" She pointed to below her right shoulder blade. "I saw it when he was taking a bath. But he has several of them!"

    "Yes. He is allowed to hide that which is normally on his hand, that''s why he''s called a Hidden Hand. And he has several because he was trained by many different groups of magic users, Universities mostly, but also the Lodge of Sturreland. These groups gave him their mark of approval."

    "But what if someone casts magic without a seal?"

    "Then they will be put on trial and punished as an outlaw. But if someone with a seal does something forbidden, they have the right to be tried by the group that gave them their seal. That means, if I enter a foreign land and break a law, then the Lodge will punish me. But even if the foreign land refuses to let me be judged by the Lodge, the Lodge will send someone to represent me during the trial."

    Nannade was contemplating the many different things she had just heard. "Will I get a seal?"

    "You will get your first mark of approval here, yes, but only if you learn well and don''t break the rules."

    "Are there many rules?"

    "Yes, so you should do what your teachers tell you."

    "But what if you two tell me different things. Like you did back there?"

    Elissa had to stop for a moment. Nannade looked surprised at the witch''s deep contemplation. "Well... Garrett is your Teacher, he can always demand you back from the Lodge. But I am officially your guardian. Let''s just say: when it''s in front of other people, listen to what I say. In other cases, listen to him."

    It seemed to please the girl''s curiosity, for now.

    They had come close enough to Heimeden that the first people came into sight, farmers taking care of their cattle and sheep on the meadows.

    "Those are huge deers!" Nannade said while pointing at a herd of cows.

    Elissa had to giggle. The girl had discovered some of the many animals of the woods in her short time outside of the basement. Deer were her favourite, but squirrels made her the most excited. "No, those are cows. The villagers keep them as cattle for all sorts of purposes."

    "Oh. Do they not live in the forest?"

    "No, they live with humans. They do many useful things. Like give milk or pull carts." Elissa stopped and waved to the man herding the cows in the distance. He came to meet them and Elissa introduced Nannade to him.

    When Nannade asked whether she could touch the cow, he led her over to the herd and let her pet them and feed them from her hand. Whether it was magic being cast right in front of her or seeing cows for the first time, Nannade was rapt by seemingly everything.

    Most of the villagers were delighted by Nannade, both her cute demeanour and her exotic exterior. She was shy around them, hiding behind Elissa''s legs and only carefully greeting people. Elissa got the ingredients she needed, luckily it was nothing too uncommon, and the general goods store always had a bit of incense and other paraphernalia for her, they knew what she would order most frequently. The tailor took the girl''s measurements and Elissa''s next stop would be the big hall, where a druid of the Lodge was teaching the peasants'' children right now. Every other day, they''d get lessons in the basic mundane things. It was the Lodge''s answer to the universities'' free education programs. They hoped that more educated peasants could do more complex and valuable work, but for now, quite a few peasants were deploring that their children could no longer help out on the fields. Elissa wanted to introduce Nannade to the children to make sure they knew who she was. As an apprentice of the Lodge, Nannade would be somewhat of an authority figure in the future, similar to a princess, but Elissa wanted to make sure it would not go to the girl''s head; she should not believe herself above others. It was on the way to the big hall that Elissa was contacted by her familiar in her mind.

    "Garrett said he saw a ghost."

    Elissa was sure that''s not what Garrett had said, but when Garrett grew nervous, it was seldom without reason. And he would also have had to poke and annoy Faan for quite a while until he was willing to spare the effort for such a long message. She decided to turn around and go back up the hill.

    "But what about the other children? Will we get to see them?"

    "Another time. We need to get back to the hut for now."

    Garrett was visibly distraught when Elissa finally came back.

    He hurried over to her and spoke in a hushed voice. "It''s back, that weird presence I told you about. It must have found her here despite your wards."

    "Garrett, my wards don''t fail. I''m sure it''s because of the stench of blood magic on you. I got all I needed, so we can do the appeasement."

    Elissa was preparing Garrett for the appeasement. He was kneeling topless in the hut. With a paint made from clay, chalk, water, herbal extracts and a tiny drop of his blood, Elissa was painting runes of appeasement, atonement, cleansing and friendship on his body.

    "Why are you doing that, Elissa?" Nannade asked at one point.

    Elissa made sure to keep her thin brush steady to not mess up the many fine lines of the runes as she answered. "Well, spirits don''t like it if life force is used for arcane spells. Spirits are born of life force and so they demand that all life force be spent on the nature that had brought them forth. But Garrett makes frequent use of blood for his spells."

    "Is that bad? Is it forbidden?"

    Garrett answered this time. "Using someone''s blood to supply a spell gives you power over that person. That''s also how the sigils of slavery work. It can also change how a spell works; it carries what the magisters of the universities call ''taint''. They consider it impure because of that. But smart wielders of magic use this to their advantage and work it into the spell itself. Like I did with your mother''s blood. Because her blood was let to free and protect you, it makes such spells stronger. If the wielder knows how to use it."

    The girl remained still for a while. "So all of this is to show the spirits that he means well?

    "Yes. It removes the stench from him and he will ask them for forgiveness." She could hear Garrett grumble at the mention of that. "Shut up, Garrett. I told you time and time again, those who can''t convene with the spirits shouldn''t use blood magic so freely." She got back to drawing. "These runes depict concepts and meanings in a way that spirits can understand them, and together, they form something like a contract, an agreement."

    "And Teacher, what is that weird mark there?" Nannade pointed towards a set of nine crosses that seemed etched in his skin above his heart. "I''ve never seen this before!"

    Garrett smiled at the girl. "It''s complicated. Let''s just say that I made a promise so strong I can''t break it." He technically could, but he knew he would be at Elissa''s mercy of he decided to break his blood oath; with his blood, she had power over him.

    The runes and patterns were done and it was time for the next step. Garrett was given a shallow wooden bowl to hold in both hands. It was filled with fresh spring water and a drop of his blood was put in. Then he was led outside into the forest.

    Elissa raised her voice to song. Many spirits started to gather; like coming out of the water, they emerged from beyond the mystic veil, slowly immersing themselves in reality itself. Nannade marvelled at the lots of different animals, leaves blowing in the wind, dancing little men; all not entirely real, not entirely of this world, yet gathered around them at this moment. Elissa was used to them, Garrett could only feel their presence by the tingle of his hair, but to Nannade it was completely new. She had barely seen any spirits during her stay here, maybe a tiny bit between the trees, but not so freely and openly as right now; and who knew what kind of experience awoke her to be a medium, what spirits she ever saw?

    Elissa suddenly felt something unfamiliar. For almost two decades she had lived in this forest, yet never had she felt such a presence. Old, starving, secretive. She could only tell its presence for fractions of a moment, like a whiff of an unfamiliar scent. She tried to see it directly, but it seemed to be in every shadow, as if a fog had descended upon the forest.

    Garrett said the lines in the runic tongue he had been taught and Elissa was back in the now, performing the ritual.

    "Take my apology, old ones, and be assured, that life shall find to life by my hands, and no strange words shall be whispered or written in my blood anymore."

    The spirits drew close, except for one, and took from the water each a drop, then Elissa gave Garrett the signal and he poured the remaining water over his head, and as the water washed off the paint, it took the stench with it.

    There he stood, drenched, cold, half-naked in the forest. Nannade started to giggle, then her head darted around towards the forest. Where she had looked, Elissa felt a void. Something had been there. She had seen it and so had Nannade. Elissa knew that Garrett getting nervous was not without cause. It would warrant further investigation.

 Childhood & Charity VII

    The forest was flooded with warm sunlight and the birds were up to their highest notes, as Garrett was chasing Nannade through the forest. He pushed her hard during their runs. She might stumble and try to give up, but he wouldn''t let her. He clenched an arrow''s shaft in his fist and every time she dared to slow down, he whacked her behind.

    She needed to learn that her body had far deeper reserves than she allowed herself to tap in to. When it was a flight for life, she could not decide to give up, and getting out of a confrontation was more important in his profession that standing one''s ground like a brave and stupid knight. There would be no ballads sung to Hidden Hands, their names would not be remembered, except by their own. Their death served no purpose, they were hired to end their target, not to die an honourable death.

    She finally started to pick up her pace again, even to outrun his leisurely trot and so he took after her.

    "Do you feel that?" He asked her while jogging next to her.

    She nodded, fatigue and pain gone from her face.

    "That''s your second wind. Remember it well. That is what you need to be able to hit reliably when death is on the line."

    Her second wind eventually faded as well and she collapsed to the forest floor. Her pulse was visible on her wrists and her little chest rose and fell more than it seemed possible for such a small girl, as if her ribs were spreading apart much farther than they should. Garrett had quickly taken note of her skeleton''s flexibility. He had read that crolachans were able to fall from great heights onto hard ground without significant injury. Even their skin was thicker, probably a good thing when the entire race had sharp claws that could easily open veins.

    "Can you walk again? Not run, just walk." He asked her after her breathing had calmed down.

    She nodded wordlessly and got up.

    She wobbled still a bit but found her equilibrium. They walked back to the hut and he told her to get up on the chopping block, where she would skip from one leg to the other. He threw small pebbles at her from various directions to distract her, but she kept her balance. Hard to believe this little girl was the same that had problems walking straight without tripping over her own feet just a month ago.

    After lunch, Elissa took the girl to her study to give her writing lessons, while Garrett went down to the village to take care of a few things for his continued stay in the area. Nannade sat hunched over a wax tablet, endlessly drawing wavy lines, straight lines, curves, corners, dashed lines, dotted lines, circles, squares and much more. Elissa was reading to prepare her own work and occasionally checking on the girl.

    "It''s so ugly. I can''t do it like on the picture!" the girl said full of resignation.

    Elissa looked over. The wax tablet was a mess of crooked and jagged lines. Nannade dropped the stylus and massaged her fingers. She tended to cramp up really fast. Her dexterity was decent, but she lacked control and steadiness.

    "You don''t need to cut all the way through the wax. Just gently scratch the surface, let the stylus glide over the wax."

    The girl made a pouty face and picked the stylus back up. She tried again with Elissa''s advice in mind and it did already look better. It made Elissa wonder; the girl was nine years old. Most nobles and other mages had their children tested for any of the magic gifts by the age of five or six. And those often already started learning how to write around the same time. Garrett had mentioned that the girl was quick on the uptake and had some sort of intuitive wit, but Elissa didn''t know whether that would be enough. Garrett had studied at four different universities, but his best skills did not come from "book smarts". They came from endless training, fierce determination and painful experience. The girl didn''t even understand the concept of knowledge and skill. To her, things were either possible or impossible, no line between.

    Suddenly, Nannade tore Elissa from her thoughts with a loud "Is this better?" while shoving the tablet almost up to Elissa''s face. She had drawn the patterns many times, with much more elegant lines, although she seemed to have cramped up again later.

    "Not bad. But still a way to go. If you mess a single glyph up, it can have disastrous consequences for the spell."

    The girl''s expression turned disgruntled again. "Why do I even have to learn that if I can''t cast spells myself?!" and let the tablet slump on the table.

    Elissa sighed, put down her book and put her elbows on the table.

    "Just like you, I have the Mystic Gift, that means I can call on spirits or ask my familiar Faan to cast spells for me. But those spells would have to be written down first. I can cast spells myself. Like Garrett, I have the Arcane Gift or Arcanist''s Hand or whatever you want to call it. That means I can ''weave'' spells without writing them down. But you do not have this gift. You will never be able to ''weave'' your own spells. You must write them down on paper as a formula."

    She took her little book from her dress'' pocket and showed it to Nannade. It was square, about as big as her palm and held together by a metal ring through a hole in one corner. "This is our little palm book, or cast book, or whatever you want to call it. In it are many, many spells we prepare in advance with special ink." She flipped through the book, tore out one of the papers and showed it to Nannade. In very fine script many glyphs were written, connected by geometric shapes and lines, all in a dark ink with a peculiar iridescence. She put the paper face up on the table, put her thumb and middle finger together and imagined in her head the same two fingers of her Arcane Hand.

    SNAP

    The ink flared up, engulfing the paper in flames and smoke. With the smoke, a ball of soft, white light rose upwards, bathing the entire room in a soft glow, finally hitting the ceiling with a hint of a thud.

    The girl''s mouth stood open in awe as she watched the spell work. Elissa called her name to get her attention. "I wrote this spell down in advance, like many other spells. Sometimes even people who can''t cast magic at all carry such a booklet because they can have someone else cast them. Your Teacher Garetas prepares his spells in advance, I can guarantee you that. And you will probably have to prepare them for him when your training has reached that point."

    "Even if I can''t cast spells myself, I can do magic?"

    "Sure. Here, I''ll show you." Elissa called Faan''s name and the cat came around the corner. "Faan, the young witch needs a demonstration, please do me a favour..." she flipped through her palm-book, tore out a paper and handed it to Nannade. "Hold it out to him." Thens he reached into a pouch on her belt and put a few grains of a dark iridescent powder onto her other hand. "Close your fist around it."

    The girl did as told and Faan attentively looked at the paper. His ears twitched and the paper went up in flames and smoke. But a tiny flame remained, hovering in the air between the girl and the cat. "Look!" Faan said with his disembodied voice as the flame slowly hovered towards him. "Now I can take care of it for you."

    Nannade''s eyes were full of wonder. "WAAAAH! I did this?!"

    Faan purred and his ethereal voice chuckled. "Well, Elissa wrote the spell down and I cast it, but when you can write spells down and have your own familiar, then sure, you could say you did it!"

    The girl''s face grew more determined than ever. "I''ll try again, really hard!" And got back to her tablet with new vigour. Faan used this opportunity to jump into Elissa''s lap and get some attention while she was reading her book.

    Garrett returned well before dinner. He greeted them, walked over to Nannade and handed her a leather bundle.

    "Open it, it''s yours."

    She opened the bundle. A comb ¨C a regular one, not for lice ¨C a small pair of scissors and a stoneware bottle. "That''s a special kind of soap for your coat." He said, gesturing to the bottle.

    The girl brought forth a friendly "Thank you." and put the things into her part of the cabinet.

    "Doting on her?" Elissa asked with a smirk.

    "Be still, you didn''t have to spend half a dozen days delousing the fur ball. You know nothing. Also, she should be brushing every morning or her coat will get all frowsty."

    "You weren''t in the village just for that, were you?"

    "Aye, I set up my correspondents. I should be receiving a few jobs offers soon."

    Nannade turned around to Garrett as if he had announced a tragedy. "Does that mean you''ll be leaving me?"

    "Only for a short while. Maybe a month, not much more."

    Her mood did not seem to improve, so Garrett put his hand on her head and tussled her hair. "Don''t worry, I''ll bring back a present for you."

    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings."But who will train me then? I did so well today!"

    Garrett turned to Elissa. "I''m sure she can chase you through the forest too." He gave Elissa a knowing glance that told her without words I know you''ll stick to the regimen!

    He sat down at the table. "Tell me, Nannade, what did Elissa teach you today?"

    "She cast a spell. A bright light. It was so pretty!"

    Garrett looked to Elissa.

    "I showed her how important spell construction is."

    "So, do you want to see some more spells?"

    Nannade nodded enthusiastically.

    They went outside, Garrett put a wood billet on the chopping block. He stood around twenty feet away from it, Nannade stood to the side outside the window while Elissa was leaning outside through it.

    Garrett took a broad stance, clenched his fist and then, with a step, brought his fist forward like a crossbow releasing a bolt.

    SCRACK

    Splinters burst through the air behind the chopping block, larger pieces and chunks of wood rained down as the finer remnants of the billet remained suspended in the air for a while. Garrett remained in his stance, fist outstretched like a sign post to obliteration, his shoulders in a straight line like a ceiling beam, his feet solid on the ground like pillars, as the last echoes of the spectacles were swallowed by the forest. Probably a good thirty feet away lay the furthest parts of the target, no bigger than Garrett''s fist.

    Nannade''s eyes were almost bulging out of her skull, her mouth agape. Garrett looked over to her. "This is what you''ll be up against. This and much, much more."

    She took a moment to look at the last fibres and splinters raining on the clearing''s floor. "Can I really do that?"

    "In good time, yes." Garrett came over to her, knelt down and put his hand on her shoulder. "And I am up against this every time I set out for a contract. It is a dangerous, but a good thing we Hidden Hands do. We are called when especially wicked and evil people are about and we bring justice with our magic. That is our duty, our privilege and our honour."

    The girl had a look of heavy contemplation about her as she let the words sink down on her. Then she brought forth "Hey, you didn''t use a paper. Is that weaving?" she looked to Elissa as if expecting praise for her remark.

    "Correct, Nannade. Garrett is rather good at weaving his spells freely." Elissa looked to Garrett and he nodded.

    "I use this spell it very often, so I memorized the spell''s construction perfectly and weave it with my Arcane Hand, or Arcane Gift or whatever you call it. But it takes concentration and practice. Weaving spells is not that different from constructing them, but... It is sort of different." He seemed to think for a moment and looked to Elissa, words failing him to explain it to the girl.

    Elissa picked it up. "It''s like the difference between speaking and writing." This did not help much either, the girl could not write yet. "You''ll understand in good time. But as I said. You do not possess the Arcane Gift."

    Garrett walked over to a barrel full of rain water. "I possess that gift. You possess the other one, the Mystic Gift. But Elissa possesses both of those. They are given and cannot be taken or acquired. This is the world we have to live in, and we are lucky to do so with these gifts. Almost everyone else out there has none of them, they are entirely mundane." He put his hand in the water and closed his eyes in concentration. When he lifted his hand out of the barrel, the water clung to it like honey.

    A swipe of his arm, The water shot forth and with a sudden SSNNK, sunk into the soft soil as an icicle.

    "You will remain forever unable to do that without writing the spell down. It is hard to do so freely even for those with the gift. But the grandest and most powerful spells have always been written down, because the more power you wield, the more care you must take." He wiped his hand off on his shirt. "And I will never be able to speak to spirits as you do. I would have to prepare a grand ritual with ample sacrifice just to coax them from beyond the veil. You only need to speak a word, as simply as you speak to me or Elissa, if you know what you are doing. So, listen to Elissa when she warns you of something. It will probably save your life in the future. Or your soul." As he finished, he bored his words into Nannade with his stern eyes, which she eagerly absorbed with mouth open, as this man with power over the elements was standing before her to give her advice.

    He picked up another billet and put it on the chopping block, then got back into position. This time Garrett didn''t clench his fist or even assumed a combat stance. He just stood there, inhaled slowly and then exhaled in a sudden burst. The sound of splintering again exploded on the clearing.

    Nannade turned to Elissa. "Why didn''t he punch this time?"

    Garrett answered her before Elissa could. "That punch is what I call a hook. It is not necessary. The only thing necessary is the spell formula, the construction in my head. But doing that hook helps me to remember the spell more easily. It''s hard to memorize entire spells accurately, so many wielders of magic use hooks. They do the hook over and over again while learning the spell. It''s what Elissa does when she snaps her fingers or speaks a certain word. The magisters from the universities use incantations and gestures to seem more ominous and secretive. It''s as much mnemonic association as it is showing off."

    Nannade had a confused look on her face, tilted her head, flicked her ears up and down. "Nemottik assosishun?"

    Elissa couldn''t help but chuckle. "Mnemonic means relating to memory and remembering. An association is a connection between two things."

    The girl had a look of realization, as if another secret was revealed to her. Elissa wondered how much Nannade had ever been allowed to ask. Whether her mother could answer any of her many questions.

    Garrett spoke up again. "Well, none of this is worth that much flux either way, so let''s call this little demonstration over." He checked the level in that special flask with the dark iridescent liquid.

    Nannade turned to Elissa. "What is that?"

    "Thats flux, that which flows through a spell to make it a reality, like wind blows over a windmill to drive the gears, like the powder I gave you earlier. It is like the life force that the spirits draw on and that is contained in your blood, but pure, without taint. In older times, mages used rock salt or grain or other things containing life force. These days, alchemists distil this life force from those things into the dark oil you see there in his flask or a powdered form, that''s easier to handle for some things." Elissa pointed to Garrett''s left hand, where he wore a ring, connected to the flask''s neck by a thick yarn soaked with the liquid. "With his ring there and the yarn, he doesn''t have to reach for the powder every time, it''s handy for those that cast in hectic situations."

    Garrett held up his flask and shook it to show off the oily dark liquid. Then he assumed an attentive pose, legs together and hands behind his straight back, like an obedient little student. "Whether it be the sweat on your skin or the flux in your flask, all that is to happen in this world takes energy, even magic." The he relaxed and smiled. "That''s what my Tutor in Halonnes always said."

    Elissa decided the time for dinner had come. After they had all finished, Elissa took the girl to a fresh spring pool in the forest to have a bath together. As they got into the water, Elissa saw welts on her rear as well as her tail.

    "What happened here?"

    The girl looked unsure and her eyes darted left and right before she answered. "Teacher Garetas hit me with a stick when I was running too slow."

    Elissa tried to keep the outrage from showing on her face. "WHAT?"

    Nannade winced, as if she had done something wrong. "I run faster, even though I was really tired out, so it worked, it''s all good now."

    "That''s no excuse!"

    Elissa did not bother to even get to bathing, instead putting their clothes back on and taking the girl by the hand to storm back to the hut, clothes and hairs clinging to her wet skin. She told the girl to wait outside while she would have a talk with Garrett.

    She made sure the door and window shutters were closed before confronting him.

    "I''ve seen her back, how dare you cane that little girl?"

    "You mean during training? It''s training, what part about that do you not get?"

    "What kind of excuse is that?" She took a cup from the table to smash it into his smug face trying to sell her his self-evidence.

    He caught her by the wrist. "The only one necessary. Elissa, you don''t see me work, but running and escaping from a more powerful caster or some monstrosity is literally the most important skill in our arsenal, even more important than killing them!"

    "You cannot be serious about caning a little girl!"

    He let go of her wrist and breathed in. It was as if his chest grew threefold in size before he took half a step closer to her and spoke calmly but determined. "If she doesn''t catch up in terms of fitness, she will fall behind and die. You only saw a sliver of how painful my training was, especially before you met me."

    She had to admit he was right. She had seen the scars all over his body when they were both still so young. "But why does it have to be this brutal?"

    "Because the world will be even more brutal." He put his hand on her shoulder and looked deep into her eyes with those blueish-grey stones of his that enthralled her. "Elissa, we are the ones who oppose the unopposed, the ones who prevent the impermissible. We are called in to exterminate that too dangerous for soldiers or guardians to face. We are the last option, and those whose bidding we do see us as contracted specialists. They have no problem sending us to die. As my Teacher always said: Better sweat than blood, better pain than death! Do you understand that?"

    She swallowed, then nodded slowly.

    The tension in the air disappeared. "Now, let''s get her back inside." He smiled. A cold spike remained in Elissa''s heart like an arrow.

    Before Elissa opened the door to let Nannade in, she already expected the girl to have an ear pressed against the wood, which made her all the more surprised to see not a single hair of her. She called out the girl''s name but got no answer. She checked around the house but couldn''t find her there either. Dread unfolded in Elissa like a frosty flower.

    "Faan, are you on the roof?"

    A moment of silence, then the cat leisurely strolled out of the study. "What? I was taking a nap."

    Elissa wanted to tear her hair out by the roots.

    "Nannade''s gone!"

    Garrett stood up from the table. "I''ll go look!"

    Elissa stopped him by the door. "Take Faan with you. If a spirit is with her, you won''t be able to do anything."

    Garrett nodded and the cat jumped on his shoulder.

    "You go look more towards the edge of the forest. I''ll go in deeper!"

    Elissa ran through the forest, calling out the girl''s name and hoped Nannade had just seen a squirrel and chased after it. If a spirit had enticed her to go deeper into the woods, maybe even to the Glade, she feared the worst could have already happened.

 Childhood & Charity VIII

    Elissa was rushing past trees, up the narrow path, hoping she would find Nannade in time. She tried asking the spirits whether they had seen Nannade, but most of them spoke of an "intruder". Garrett had made the appeasement, it couldn''t be him, but they could not describe this mysterious entity any further, which meant it was powerful enough to shroud itself. Elissa ran further up the slope towards the Glade, the last place she hoped to find the girl, but before she could reach that powerful place, she was startled by a sound.

    She turned to the sound and saw the girl''s red mane among the forest''s green. Behind that, set in deep and dark, was again the void in the air, as if something had just been there, but had disappeared violently from reality before she could catch a glimpse of it, like the ripples in a lake'' surface made by a fleeing fish.

    "NANNADE!?" She walked toward the spot of colour.

    The girl turned around.

    "What are you doing here?"

    The girl froze in shock, her eyes darting left and right.

    Elissa put more force in her voice. "Why did you run away?!"

    The girl pointed deeper into the forest. "I saw a thing!"

    "What thing?"

    "I don''t know. I wanted to see it!"

    Elissa was close enough to see that the girls eyes were trembling. "What was it?"

    "I don''t know, honest!" Nannade seemed almost panicked. Elissa arrived at the girl. Her feet were turned inwards, her tail clung to her thigh, her hands were fidgeting. What was the girl frightened about? She seemed close to tears, the girl was like a frightened rabbit, frozen solid by fear. Elissa bent down to pick the girl up. "Well anyway, it''s gone now. Let''s go back to the hut. Aren''t you hungry?" Answers could be gleaned from the girl later, for now it was important to keep Nannade under their vigilance.

    "Yes!" Nannade clung to Elissa''s shoulder while the witch carried her back to the path. Elissa could tell the girl was still uneasy. But why? Because she had been intimidated by the entity she saw, or because she had just been caught doing something she knew was wrong? Faan would be the right one to find out.

    Elissa called out to her familiar and they met back at the hut to let him and Garrett know the girl had been found. Supper went by uneventful. It was afterwards that Elissa sat on the porch with Faan on her lap, while Garrett and the girl were already fast asleep from the exhaustions of the day.

    "The girl was lured into the forest by something and I''m sure it''s a spirit."

    "Was it the one Garrett spoke of?"

    "I don''t know, but I think it was present during the appeasement. And the other spirits said it was an intruder that shrouded itself."

    "Sounds like a powerful one."

    Elissa nodded silently. "I might have to make a ward for her so she can walk through the forest safe from any attacks."

    There was silence for a while, then Elissa remembered what she wanted to ask Faan. "Faan, I need you to do me a favour; would you dream with her? I think we can get to the bottom of her trauma or anything else that might be hiding in there if you help her relive it in a safe environment."

    "Of course. Elissa you don''t have to ask me, your demands are commands to me!"

    She scratched him behind his ears. "Oh, let me be courteous!"

    Another, shorter silence, then Faan spoke up. "I like the girl. She is endearing. And she can give a real good scratch."

    "Until she digs her claws into your skin, then you''ll be sitting on only the highest shelves and licking your wounds for days."

    "I don''t think so. I''ll scratch back. It would get a laugh out of Garrett at least."

    "I can''t believe he canes the little girl. I''d take her from him if I could get away with it."

    From his spot on her lap, Faan looked Elissa deep in the eyes. "Don''t poke your nose into his world. You know not what dangers lurk there, only that even the Guardians of the Lodge might not be sent to deal with them."

    She had to agree. She herself would never be able to oppose what Garrett opposed. "Sometimes I wonder. If I ever were to turn, would he come for me? Would he let me go? Warn me of one of his colleagues coming, or maybe even fight for me?"

    "He will never be part of your life like you wish him to be. Elissa, banish these thoughts, I feel them too."

    But she could not banish him from her thoughts. "I still don''t understand why he insisted on adopting someone as an apprentice he had NO prior knowledge about. That is so not like him. The chances that she had neither the Arcane nor the Mystic Gift were incredibly high. Yet he fixated on her, just because he believes a crolachan would make a good thief."

    "You''re worrying too much. Focus on what lies clearly ahead. Make a ward and let it be gone, solve problems that exist, not ones that don''t."

    "I can''t. I have a feeling it might come back to bite us."

    "How about this: I''ll accompany the girl from now on and hold lookout for that spirit. Maybe I can keep it at bay."

    "I think I''d like that a lot." Elissa smiled at Faan. "Thank you." He did not rebuke her unnecessary gratitude.

    "Blood of the forest''s game, powdered soil of the land and ash of last year''s harvest." Elissa was mixing the ingredients in a bowl before her on the hut''s floor "All these are sure to attract the spirits'' attention."

    It was past lunch the next day, Garrett had been removed from the hut, for Elissa was about to summon the spirits to seek their counsel on the planning of the harvest, and the uninitiated and the unreceptive could interfere with a s¨¦ance in many ways. Also before Elissa was a large scroll of paper spread out, the edges held down by stones. Nannade sat opposite of Elissa, a bowl of finely powdered ash before her, and Faan sat at the girl''s side. The ingredients had turned into a thin, dark paste. Elissa dipped a small brush into it and started to draw along the edges of the paper.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

    "Runes of wind, rain, hail, sun, harvest and knowledge are telling the spirits what exactly we desire."

    The symbols she drew consisted of many fine strokes and each rune seemed like a picture in itself.

    "A rune is a specific concept''s meaning. Old and well known amongst humans and spirits of this region and far beyond. Like stones and mountains they are, lasting against the tides of time, while empires rise and fall, villages grow and crumble, runes retain their power and meaning. They are our connection to the spirits and the mystic realm beyond the veil."

    She finalized the paper with wavy, straight, trailing and meandering patterns to fill the spaces between the runes, but left a large circular space in the middle of the paper clear.

    "To attune the whole message to the realm beyond the veil, we must know well about the structure of the twirls and knots of the veil, that thin barrier between here and there. This makes sure the spirits can see it from that place there, where they usually reside."

    Elissa started to speak rhythmically in the language of the runes. Spirits were selfish beings. They needed to be convinced or tricked. A shrewd merchant would not be out of place at such a communion. Old poetry, singing, dancing, or other displays of respect and entertainment were best to attract their attention. Not any poetry would do for this case. Elissa wanted to attract specific spirits. Spirits were born of hundreds and thousands of life cycles of animals and plants coming together, their exuded life force attuned to their being; fox spirits from generation of foxes, oak spirits from generations of oaks. They had centuries of knowledge and experiences and it was this knowledge Elissa needed. She needed the knowledge of those spirits associated with crops and field plants. Of those that would remember when the heat of summer rose and fell, when it rained and when the storms would devastate the fields. Elissa needed to know when to bring in the harvest and so, she recited an old song about bringing in the harvest.

    A cold wind went through the room. The light itself seemed to dim. A presence had come to them, an old one. Inside the circle on the paper, a tuft of wheat began to grow, emitting a green glow. The blades of grass stretched upwards and as they grew, they started to weave over and under each other, slowly forming a living straw puppet. It was at this time that Faan needed to pay attention to Nannade, he moved closer to her side. Spirits seldom came alone, and the ''wrong'' spirit would cause more than just cheeky mischief. An emotional medium like the girl attracted spirits, daemons and other beings from beyond the veil very easily. And there was one now, like smoke in the shadows, moving under the furniture. Faan felt as if he knew the presence in here with them right now. Elissa was busy with her chants and appeals to the spirit of the wheat, the girl was fixated on the display as well, only Faan noticed the intruder trying to come in. He spoke words of defence and the spirit seemed to stay at a distance, but still circling them. It was foreign, not from this forest, barely present here at all, like the roar of a mighty beast in a distant forest. While it was repelled by Faan''s words, it spoke back to him, vague even for spirits. It spoke of "getting its due" and "protecting what is rightfully its". Normally Faan would take it as empty boasts, but not this time. He would tell Elissa about all of this later. He concentrated his efforts, staring into the caustic green heart of this presence.

    The s¨¦ance was eventually over and the spirits left the hut.

    "Look how the ash you sprinkled settled on the paper." Elissa said to the girl. "Look how it''s mostly small, neat piles? That''s because the spirit is showing us the stars at the morning of the harvest." Elissa pointed to the tiny piles in the middle of the paper where the straw puppet had been. "Now, using astrology, I can deduce the exact day of the harvest." She handed Nannade a white wax candle. "Use this wax stick to affix the ash to the paper. I''ll show you how. That way, the ash won''t smudge."

    They went over to the study, Faan stayed behind, to make sure all presences had left the hut.

    They didn''t talk much at supper, but Faan noticed that Nannade was kind of upbeat. She must have not noticed the spirit that tried to come for her during the s¨¦ance. She took great interest in almost anything around her and enjoyed hearing and seeing new things, as if she learned for the first time to be curious and ask questions. The chains must have imprinted themselves into her very demeanour, but finally started to fade.

    Garrett wanted to take Nannade on a quick run through the forest after supper. Faan decided to stick close to the girl, but a cat would have problems keeping up with them over long distances. Eventually, Garrett stopped and turned to the Faan lagging behind and panting in exhaustion.

    Garrett crossed his arms and talked down to Faan. "I don''t know what it is you want, but you can just tell me."

    Faan turned to Nannade. "Tell this oaf I am under instructions to keep an eye out for spirits while you are here."

    The girl relayed his words and Garrett became visibly frustrated. "How many hoops must I jump through for this woman."

    "Tell him he would do well to remember his promises. And that his safety is also at stake here."

    "I can''t believe I''m discussing this. Alright, he can hitch on my shoulder if he really needs to be by us the entire time, but I''ll discuss this later with his boss."

    Faan made a little kitty bow and jumped on to Garrett''s shoulders.

    When they returned to the house. Garrett had a another heated discussion with Elissa which ended in Garrett having to accept Faan''s presence. Meanwhile Nannade was sitting outside, enjoying the last few sunrays, Faan on her lap. They talked about small things but mostly just enjoyed the evening weather.

    At one point, Nannade asked "Faan, teacher Elissa said you would dream with me tonight. What does that mean?"

    "You see, in your dreams, your mind is less attached to this world, this reality, it can more easily perceive and interact with spirits. So, it is possible for spirits to enter your dream. That is what I''ll be doing."

    "What will you do in my dreams?"

    "There are things in your past that you cannot talk about very easily. In your dreams, your deepest thoughts can be unlocked and so we can work through your past, make it easier for you to tackle fears, shame and regrets."

    The girl was visibly nervous, avoided eye contact and fidgeted with her feet.

    Faan pressed his cheek against hers. "Don''t worry, Nannade. I am your friend, I would never do anything to upset or hurt you."

    She smiled, still reserved, and scratched him behind his ears that way he loved. The girl grew dear to him rather fast. Determination rose up in him, determination to not let anything hurt the girl, ever.

 Childhood & Charity IX

    Elissa''s bedroom was filled with soothing incense and the bed was strewn with fragrant herbs. Nannade was in Elissa''s bed and Elissa herself sat in her armchair that normally stood in the study. It was the first night of Faan and Nannade dreaming together. The first dream was always the most difficult, when the dreamer''s mind was not yet ready to accept the intrusion.

    Elissa was humming a soothing lullaby while stitching runes and patterns onto a thick piece of hardened leather the size of her palm, and Faan had curled up next to the girl''s head, stroking her forehead with his tail.

    "Go to sleep, kitten. I will follow soon. Don''t be afraid." She didn''t need to know that it would look like a nightmare to her at first, she wouldn''t remember it anyway. It was Faan who had to stay awake and experience it consciously.

    The girl slipped into sleep soon. Faan made sure she was asleep, then he turned to Elissa.

    "And you''re sure you can stay awake?"

    Elissa nodded. "I got my potion right here, so don''t you worry about me."

    "Please give me some time, don''t wake her up at the first sign of distress."

    "I know I know! Just go to her already."

    Faan concentrated on the girl''s mind. He found her centre and his mind leapt into hers. A whirl of green and gold surrounded him as he tore himself from reality, into that well-known chaos of thoughts and fantasy, so unique to every person, so familiar in any of its colours.

    He found himself in a forest, but not like the one outside of Elissa''s hut. It was dense and hot and humid, not a single oak or fir to be found, the trees here had large leaves and thick roots that crawled seemingly everywhere, slithering into crags and holes like snakes. He looked around and found the girl wandering among the trees and frightened and scared in this environment that she was seemingly unfamiliar with.

    Faan decided to call out to her. "Nannade!"

    The girl turned around and winced when she saw the grey cat. She walked backwards slowly, obviously afraid of him.

    "Don''t worry, I won''t hurt you!"

    The girl did not listen and continued her frightened retreat. Faan decided to stop. He sat there for a while just looking at her, while the girl hid behind a tree, occasionally peeking out see whether the weird animal was gone. Then Faan felt something. He felt watched.

    He turned around, but saw nothing but the dark and green of the forest. He heard the girl move across the leaves littering the forest floor. When he checked on her, she had retreated behind a tree further away. Again, Faan felt a presence coming nearer, and when he turned around, he saw again just the dark and the green of the forest, but he swore it had somehow gotten closer. Caustic in its threat yet invisible in its presence.

    "LEAVE!" was all he heard before a violent force enveloped him and squeezed all air from his lungs.

    He was back in Elissa''s bedroom.

    The witch was still humming and stitching in her armchair.

    "I got thrown out."

    Elissa looked up from her needlework. "So soon? That''s unusual. What did the girl do?"

    "Nothing. She just watched me and hid from me. That''s all."

    "Hmm? She didn''t throw you out?"

    "I don''t know. Maybe another part of her, but it hid from me."

    "Sounds worrying. She seems to have built up some serious defences around something."

    Faan stood up and walked to the edge of the bed. "Should we try again?"

    Elissa looked at the girl''s face. "Let''s wait a bit. She seems agitated. I''ll soothe her a little. Take a nap for now, gather your strength." She put a few herbs in a bowl and put it down next to Nannade''s head, then began to hum a lullaby.

    Faan gladly did as he was told and put his head on the girl''s chest. Her breathing was heavy and frightened but already started to calm down.

    Faan was awoken some time later by Elissa. Tiredness and wear were visible on her face. "I managed to calm her. You can try again."

    The girl breathed slowly and her face was content and calm. "Alright. Second try, here we go!"

    Again, Faan''s mind jumped into hers and he was back in the forest, but it was a different part. He heard someone walking not far from him. He went to investigate. It was the girl, carrying a large pot on the path, then putting it down to retrieve a second pot and carry it ahead, bit by bit she carried the pots like this. Faan still felt watched, he ignored it for now and walked in front of the girl''s path.

    "Who are you?" the girl asked him.

    "I am a friend to all children. Is there any way I can help you?"

    The girl, desperately holding on to one jug as she stood there, shook her head. "I need to bring these pots back home. I can do it by myself!"

    She put one jug down, carried the other one a few feet ahead, put that one done and came back for the first one.

    "Can I still accompany you?" Faan had the feeling the girl would need him.

    "Only if you promise to be nice!"

    Faan raised one paw. "I promise."

    "And don''t interrupt me!" the girl had picked up the other jug and carried it to the one ahead.

    "I promise."

    "Fine then!"

    Like this, Faan observed the girl move the jugs in small increments forward while growing ever nervous.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    "Why are you in such a hurry, little girl?"

    She spoke while hauling the heavy pots along. "The other children are already far ahead. I have to catch up, but I have so much to carry!"

    "I wish I could help you, little girl, but I am just a cat."

    "Then be quiet and let me work!" the girl snapped at him. Something crept up on Faan, he could feel it. He kept quiet for now.

    The girl seemed to grow ever and ever more nervous as she hurried along the path through the forest, until the moment came that she stood before a wall made of shadow that stretched all the way from left to right, seemingly endless.

    "What is this?" the girl slapped her hands against the wall. "WHAT IS THIS?!"

    "I don''t know, little girl, I am just as confused as you are."

    The girl turned to him with an angry look. "This is your fault, isn''t it? You did this. This wouldn''t be here if you weren''t!"

    "I assure you little gi-"

    "STOP CALLING ME LITTLE GIRL! I AM NANNADE! NANNADE! MY MOMMY GAVE ME THAT NAME! NANNADE!" she kept screaming at him and coming closer. Faan was sure a swift kick from her little feet was coming his way any moment now.

    "I didn''t do anything, Nannade, I promise!" He tried to calm her down. The black wall started to boil and fume out shadows, then it bent towards them, closing into a circle around them, shrinking, coming closer.

    "LIAR! YOU MOCKED ME AND MY HARD WORK!" Her eyes welled up. Then she shot her arm forward with a threatening index finger extended. "GET HIM!"

    Faan felt enormous jaws open wide behind him. He wanted to turn around, but his entire body was frozen, like wrapped in rope tightly. The maw enveloped him like a burlap sack woven from shadow and death.

    Finally, Faan managed to move. He jumped up high and turned around in the air, ready to scratch his opponent''s eyes out, but he landed just on the edge of the bed and fell off backwards.

    "Dear goodness, Faan, what''s the matter?" Elissa stood up from her chair and came to him. "Don''t scare me like that!"

    Faan reoriented himself. He was back out of the dream. "The girl threw me out again, or she commanded something to throw me out."

    "Did you see it?"

    "No. It was unperceivable. But the was a wall of shadows. I think she might have locked a few things in deep. Some part of her simply does not want me to experience it, maybe even her conscious self."

    "Even herself? What part of her would want something to stay hidden from herself?"

    Faan walked to the edge of the bed. "I do not know, but finding out could mean... breaking through some heavy defences. This might take years."

    Elissa hummed in agreement. "We will have to use more powerful means then. For tonight''s stay out. I''ll finish my watch tonight."

    "I must insist you get some sleep." Faan took another step to the girl, her struggle with nightmare still on her face.

    "I have my potion to keep me awake and this ward to finish. The sooner it is done, the better."

    "Elissa, are you sure?"

    Her face darkened. "You will do as I say, Faan. Get some sleep! You''ve been hopping in and out of minds enough for today." She pointed over to the cabinet.

    He bowed his head and hopped over to the cabinet to curl together on his pillow. He had no problems falling asleep quickly.

    The sun was shining through the window when he awakened again. Elissa had fallen asleep in her armchair and Nannade stood before her, inspecting the unfinished ward that rested on Elissa''s lap. Faan got up and jumped from the cabinet to the arm rest of Elissa''s chair, startling the girl.

    "I didn''t do anything!" was her first reaction.

    "Don''t worry, Nannade. You didn''t do anything bad."

    "What is that?" she pointed to the ward.

    "It is similar to the runes she drew on Garrett''s body. But this one is permanent. It''s called a ward. It is a command for spirits to stay away."

    The girl leaned closer over the piece of leather again. "What if the spirits won''t stay away?"

    "They will have to take it up with Elissa. The threads are made from her own hair. That proves that she is enforcing it. Think of it like a warning. ''Stay away, or I, Elissa of the far south-eastern Glade, will come and rough you up!'' Similar to that."

    The girl giggled. Faan had to admit it was a most beautiful sound. "Does that mean she will battle the spirits?"

    "Yes, but it is more like a battle of words. Spirits are made of thoughts and emotions, shaped out of life force. The right words spoken against the right spirit can be to that spirit like a smack on the head or a gut punch. That''s why it''s so important for mystics to learn the language of the runes. It is old and has been spoken for millennia. Like a trail through a field that had been walked for many years, the meanings of the words are strong and deeply engrained."

    Nannade followed Faan''s words attentively, her ears faced towards him as much as they could, albeit his voice being no sound of the material world. She seemed to repeat what he said in her head. Finally, after taking it all in, she spoke up. "Faan, what if I can''t make it? What if I fail? Garrett will hit me and Elissa will abandon me, won''t she?"

    Faan had to take a deep breath. "Nannade, you cute little kitten, don''t speak of such things. The one thing you cannot do in the fight for survival is doubt the end. If you doubt, you lose. Elissa will not abandon you. She would have saved you from that cell just as much as Garrett did. She is a good and kind soul. As for Garrett..." He had to pause for a moment and look around. Garrett couldn''t hear Faan''s ethereal voice. Still, he felt uneasy. "Yes, he will most likely hit you, but every time he does, he hopes you''ll get back up again. He cares for you. But the life he leads is much different from what anyone would call normal. His live was harsh and unforgiving even before he was trained and he wants you to be hard and strong enough to survive out there."

    "Are you sure? I mean..." the girl fidgeted with her toes. But before she could continue her worries, Faan decided move the day ahead.

    "Why don''t we wake Elissa up so we can have breakfast?"

    Nannade nodded and started shaking Elissa''s knees. Quickly after, Elissa opened her eyes and groaned. She got up, took the girl by the hand and left the room, ignoring Faan''s I-told-you-so glare. Faan himself stayed behind for just a moment longer. The experiences from the girl''s dreams stuck with him. There had been nothing in there that didn''t worry him.

 Childhood & Charity X

    Doessenhof was dirt hole of a city. It was so overrun by corruption that not even the street sweepers could do their job without paying protection money to three different gangs. Everyone was either a conman or a conned, and the luckiest were able to leave the city just as poor as they had entered it and without injury, most commonly down the mighty river Daune, towards richer cities, that had to deal with both the human and faecal scum the river carried to them. This corruption didn''t just manifest in the distrusting glances of everyone except for blissful idiots, but also in the building themselves. The towers lacked any fused stone or metal support webs shaped around them and some even needed support from beams and struts as they reached further upward in an attempt to escape the rot and stink of the lower levels. With only a vestigial part of a noble family remaining and no university, Doessenhof lacked any capacity to bring forth mages with a vested interested to stay in the city. And so, neither law enforcement nor city planning had any way to accommodate the needs of a city as grand as Halonnes or Calestre.

    Despite all of this, Garrett felt at home, for these were the streets that had raised him. Where he would tussle and scuffle with other children without parents to care about them; sometimes over pieces of bread and sausage, sometimes over marbles, smooth rocks or pointed sticks. Until a man named Mannerdon picked him up and decided to train him after finding out about Garrett''s arcanely gifted parentage. At first Garrett believed he would leave this place behind, but he quickly found himself drawn back over and over again, glad to accept contracts from this place, cleaning up a few pieces of scum in the process. With so many conmen, crime lords and cowards, there were a lot of throats to slit, and skilled labour was in short supply.

    Garrett interrupted his thoughts when he found his favourite inn, which also happened to be the meeting place for his contact for his current contract. The air inside was stagnant and smoky, the ale was tepid and tasteless and the back room was home to bare-fisted brawls and other gambler''s delights. He went towards one of the booths further back, where he would soon be joined by a woman with the moniker ''Cara'', a black-haired former beauty with more contacts than morals and willing to always trade a few more of the latter for the former.

    She greeted him first. "It is good to see your reliable services offered again, Ralt."

    Garrett responded to his moniker; it was a leftover of old times in the city. "It is good to be back in well-paying society. What is it the patrons need today?"

    Cara produced a leather ledger and opened it. Inside was a simple contract, no official writ. Cara handed Ralt the paper. It made pretty clear that a man by the name ¨C and this Ralt had to read several times over ¨C "the Great Pachullionarezettelidas" was to be gotten rid of as quickly as possible. No seal or signature was visible anywhere, neither the guard nor any university or noble house. That always meant two things: The target was too big for anyone to willingly associate their name with the assassination and that the target had no affiliation outside of the city, at least no apparent one.

    Ralt looked back up to Cara. "Any further information on this guy?"

    "Not much. He appeared out of nowhere and makes quite a few powerful people problems with his rapid growth in influence. He''s a real mage but wears no known university''s colours."

    Not a usual target, most commonly it was some sneak in the city guard who overstepped his bounds or someone with too much information trying to make a run for it, but this here was a serious threat to the fickle balance of bribing, blackmailing and back-stabbing that the many crime lords here spent most of their time with.

    Ralt sighed. "Looks like I''ll have to get back out the for some old-fashioned information gathering." He went over the contract again. The payment didn''t sit well with him. It was just a little under his minimum for a mission where he would have to do most of the research himself. A quick glance over to the ledger told him that there was an ample supply of work to be done here, to be handed this specific contract right out the gate meant it was an urgent one with few takers, or none at all.

    Cara had read his face and made the first move. "Unhappy about the payment?"

    "Hmmm." Ralt hummed in agreement while going over the contract a few more times. "It is indeed a bit thin."

    "I can grant you another quarter extra."

    "No deal. Double the original sum."

    Cara was visibly outraged by that demand. "DOUBLE? You''re insane! Quarter!"

    Ralt overshot on purpose, it would make his next demand seem more reasonable. "Half extra."

    "A third. My last offer, take it or leave it."

    It seemed poultry still, but Ralt planned on getting many more contracts via Cara, so he had to play it low for now. "Alright. I''ll take the third extra."

    Cara took a quill and changed the contract''s terms accordingly, then she signed with her handle, as did Ralt. Normally he would sign with a spell that scorched onto the paper the seal of his Hidden Hand call sign, Purple Paw of Halonnes, but a contract that came without a seal itself was better not signed with something that connected him directly, not that anyone in Doessenhof had the ability or interest to even touch him, but a clean image was important when dealing with people who had one themselves. There was a place for dirt, and it was not the face. He made off with his copy of the contract and got to work.

    Information gathering in Doessenhof was rather simple. Grab a few gang members, shake them a bunch, if that didn''t help, punch them a lot, note down what they blabbered out, repeat.

    And so, it came that two days later, Ralt was sitting in a sweltering, mouldy oven of an attic among the highest towers of Doessenhof. He had picked this tower as his launch point based on his scouting from the days before and was going through his plan. The Great Pachu ¨C as he had decided to refer to the man with a rockslide for a name ¨C was sitting on the highest floor of an unfinished tower. He had a sort of audience chamber in these lofty heights. Ralt reviewed his sketch of the positions of towers and where best to jump to.

    He knew there was a blind spot that he could cling to and climb all the way to the unfinished roof without being seen from the inside. It would place him behind the place where Pachu sat and opposite of the guards protecting the entrance. The guards seemed not too well armoured, but he still had to deal with four combatants and the mage as well; he tore three Metal Storms, two Freezing Bolts and a Stomp from his cast book.

    Ralt had also spied a few looks at Pachu from afar, and while his robes did not have the colours of any University Ralt knew, they were not covered in fake adornments like those of the charlatans that lined the streets, trying to sell useless crap as magic artefacts, which pointed to Pachu being at least properly trained, even without a degree and seal. If he had expressed his association to a University, that University would have most likely put out a bounty on his head to be dealt with quickly and discretely, rather than the crime lords of Doessenhof trying to make a loud example of him.

    Without knowing where Pachu had learned magic, it was much more difficult to anticipate any specific spells during a confrontation. Ralt tore off an Arcane Lens. He also didn''t know anything of his two "Ministers" who could well be casters or just better educated thugs. He went in mostly blind. But he knew he was very high up and everyone in that room had violent tendencies. He tore off two Feather Falls and a Shield Formation. Then he also tore off two Fuses and an Envelopment. Now he had everything he''d need. He checked his throwing knives; he preferred the ones with the broad blade and the cord wrapped around the shank. The shank was shaped into a ring at the end, big enough to put a finger through, which allowed him to handle them in the heat of combat quite well, as well as for some non-combat applications. He had eight, one each under bracers and shin guards, two each in sheathes on his upper hips, where his hands naturally rested. He checked his parry dagger. Its blade was long and thin with a strong central ridge, perfect for piercing armour and withstanding blows from heavier weapons. The cross guards were bent upwards, allowing him to catch a blade and twist it out of his opponent''s hands. And the pommel was replaced with a small glass crystal ball, just like on a mage''s staff, which allowed a wielder with the Arcane Gift to "store" a single woven spell in there for repeated uses, as long as they didn''t lose their concentration. He put it back in its sheath on the right side of his waist. Below that hung a small flask with a greenish liquid, he would need it soon, then he checked his flux flask on his left hip and put the ring on his left ring finger, establishing skin contact with the flux via the yarn that it ran up through. He put on a mask of hardened leather, not just to protect his identity, but also his face from wayward splinters and shards, which may well spray about when two wielders of magic went toe to toe. Lastly, he made sure he had his most important tool of the day: the head cage, a headgear made from wrought iron bands, designed to fit and be locked over a person''s head. Wearing anything made of worked metal over the entire head made use of the Arcane Gift impossible. Such a device was most important when dealing with casters.

    Ralt got up, put all the pieces of paper under his belt and climbed out of the window. The wind today was weak and the sky was partly cloudy. Ideal conditions to jump between towers. He stood on the roof and inhaled. His destination was a small stone ledge. He wouldn''t be able to cling to the wall just by his hands, so he took the small flask from his right side and poured the green liquid over his hands. It quickly turned slimy and incredibly sticky. He cast the first Feather Fall on himself, then he ran towards the edge and jumped off. His forward momentum carried him across the gap while the Feather Fall slowed his downward speed. For a moment he sailed across the gap, then he hit the wall with a SLAP. His hands sticking to the wall made sure he didn''t slip, but time was not with him. The stickiness would soon fade and turn into dry brittleness. He slapped the Envelopment and the two Fuses on the wall and cast them, then quickly, with sticky hands and his feet seeking foothold on every stone, he climbed upwards. He reached the unfinished portion of roof and heaved himself up. He must be directly above Pachu right now. He waited a few moments for the sticky goo to dry and rubbed it off, then he got closer to the edge to risk a peek. The two guards didn''t see him. They were holding halberds and wore chainmail armour with long sleeves as well as simple metal helmets. An additional person was just talking to Pachu with a favour to ask, something about guards for his shop because the other crime lords were trying to take their territory back.

    Ralt prepared. He weaved an Invisible Fist and projected it into his dagger''s crystal pommel. Then he took the Shield Formation from his belt into the left and a Stomp into his right. A snap later, he dropped down from his perch above the audience chamber.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    A wave of force shook the floor of the chamber. The people lost their footing and were swiftly blown over by a might gust of wind, Pachu remained standing with the help of his mage''s staff, simple and unassuming in make: wood with a clear crystal ball at the top and seven iron rings engraved with glyphs around the shaft. Seven were a lot. If he was a graduate it hadn''t been recently. As the others were still recovering, Ralt made his ultimatum known.

    "Each of you has one chance to get out alive, take it or die!"

    The Great Pachu wasn''t having any of that, he assumed a threatening position. His head was clean shaven, the blond goatee on his chin had been properly waxed to paint exactly the kind presentation that uneducated idiots would be impressed by. "GET HIM!" His henchmen stormed towards Ralt, only the shop keeper bolted for the door.

    Ralt snapped another time and slammed his left arm onto the floor, floorboards started to come loose and twist together into a many-layered shield of wood, covering him from head to knee and stuck to his left forearm. He shot his right forward and pointed the pommel of his dagger at one of the guards.

    SCREGG

    The guard fell over backwards, his skull dented in by an unseen force. Just in time Ralt raised his shield and blocked the first halberd strike. Three combatants, he had to drop the Invisible Fist from his crystal pommel and focus on combat.

    Blades shot through the air, catching the light like the eyes of their wielders. With his dagger Ralt caught one of the ministers'' sword between blade and prong and with a quick jerk of the wrist, wrest the weapon from his opponent''s hand. The other minister''s blade shot towards him. He ducked underneath; a halberd hovered high over Ralt before it rushed downwards. Ralt dodged backwards, now having all three combatants roughly in front of him, with Pachu to his far right. He had to do something quickly to reduce the number of opponents.

    Ralt drew one of his Metal Storms and one of his throwing knives.

    SNAP

    He threw the knife. With whistling and clanking, dozens of knives rained down upon Ralt''s opponents, as if an army had loosened their first volley of arrows. One of the men was hit by three and fell over dead instantly, the other with five, but took some time to bleed out. A moment later, the mirrored knives disappeared again. The last minister, who had seen this, decided to just leg it and ran out the door.

    "COWARD!" Pachu screamed after them.

    Ralt cocked a confident smile. "Good people are hard to come by in this city, you should have known."

    "I''ll have to deal with you myself."

    "I meant it though, you too have a chance. Let''s cut a deal! You can disappear into whatever crack you wish and I make sure everybody truly believes you''re dead."

    Scorn and disgust appeared on Pachu''s face. "You think me a coward like them? I came here to rid this city of the corrupt vermin that you serve."

    Ralt had seen this before. The honest-to-gods preachers that believed themselves to be truly good, only using dirty methods because the corrupt elite are using them too. There were almost as many preachers as there were teachings in this world, and Ralt had neither the time nor the salary to discern between them or even consider their causes.

    "You think I care about your intentions?" Ralt was getting ready to put an end to this pointless rambling. He brought his fist forward to fling an invisible one at Pachu. A single swipe of Pachu''s hand and the spell was deflected, a skill not easy to master, but against a primitive spell most useful, Ralt shouldn''t have expected different. He drew his dagger and got ready to weave something more powerful, but Pachu was ahead of him, already shooting his index finger forward.

    "FULMINA!"

    A crackle and a bright flash of light blinded the room. A smouldering, charred spot was on the floorboards where Ralt had just stood, but his legs had launched him away, to safety and away from the lightning bolt Pachu had conjured forth from his fingers.

    "Good reflexes for a common cutthroat and so nimble for a bloke your size. Who sent you?" asked Pachu.

    Ralt was recovering from his dodge and in no mood for dramatic conversations. "Shut UP!" He gave up on weaving anything and decided to look deeper into this guy''s spells. He plucked the Arcane Lens and held it up to cast it with a look at Pachu. The mage lifted his staff, a shimmering of threads and knots flared up in his staff''s crystal ball. Finest filaments were projected out into the air and Ralt recognized the structure, just before the faint threads were enveloped by a searing torrent of energy, conjuring forth a ball of energy, ready to unload its deadly force towards Ralt.

    Again, his legs propelled him to safety just in time. Pachu began his posturing again. "Whoever sent you, they should have spent some more coin, because you are barely a threat to a cockroach, fast as you might be!" He raised his hand again.

    Ralt was prepared. He focussed on a few short glyphs arranged in a simple geometry, tailored to the image he had just witnessed through his Arcane Lens. He shot his hand forward, index and middle finger extended towards the crystal ball. Spectral threads and knots tugged on his Arcane Hand, he felt his own projection strike Pachu''s weaving, destroying it at the key point, like glass fracturing at a weak point.

    Sparks and tendrils of energy flared up for a moment as the flux Pachu had poured into his spell broke out of the damaged weaving. Confused and disoriented, Pachu stumbled backwards, closer to the wall. Ralt didn''t give him a chance to recover and flung Invisible Fists to Pachu''s left and right. Puffs of pulverized stone irritated the mage even more. With his back against the wall and dust in his eyes, he did not notice the stones of the wall coming forward, enveloping him in a stone prison. The Fuse had finally ended, the Envelopment taken effect.

    Ralt stepped up to the heap of stones that contained Pachu. "See, this is what happens when you only use one spell and talk too much." He untied the metal cage from his belt in preparation to put it on Pachu''s head as soon as he freed him from the stones.

    Deep from within the stones he could her Pachu''s voice. "You know, Doessenhof has been ruled by corruption and crime for decades."

    Ralt leaned against the mass of stones like a hunter against a trophy. "I know, I grew up here."

    "Then you should know that they''re the ones making this city the hole of excrement it is."

    "And you thought just adding another crime lord would fix the problem? Boy let me tell you, your kind NEVER makes it any easier. Bunch of delusional saviours on a power-trip."

    Pachu seemed rather talkative. Was it because his henchmen were mostly imbeciles? "I would have beaten those crime lords at their own game, dismantling the criminal underworld from both the inside and the outside."

    "You thought you could build the criminal empire to end all criminal empires? Are you insane? Sooner or later one of your more powerful henchmen would have grown tired of your moralistic musings and stabbed you in the back to take all the spoils for himself! I''ve seen this before, you can''t wash away corruption and crime with more corruption and crime!"

    Pachu didn''t answer. Ralt turned around to take a look at the audience chamber. Deserted it lay before him, with a rather large hole in the floor where his shield had been created. No guards or protectors were coming to Pachu''s side, which mystified Ralt somewhat, but then again, many crime lords had only the feeblest loyalties upheld by the power of force. Once that was challenged, they scurried away like cockroaches. Garret was content with the development so far. His Envelopment was still holding up. It was lasting rather long, he was getting impatient. The Envelopment shouldn''t last this long. When it dawned on Ralt that Pachu was holding on to the stones from the inside, it was almost too late. As he leaned against the capsule around Pachu, he felt the stones vibrate and rattle with energy under his hand.

    A split second later and stones flew everywhere. They impacted on the stone walls, the wooden floor and Ralt''s shield as he cowered behind it, pushing him back with sufficient force to launch him off his feet.

    "You want different spells? Here, have them! ADURERE!"

    A scorching torrent shot forth from Pachu''s fingers. Again, Ralt could only cower behind his shield and hope it held, as singed spots and embers slowly crept through the gaps between the woven boards. He had given Pachu valuable time to prepare while engaging in pointless dialogue. Ralt was furious with himself and he needed a counter fast, something he could enact now.

    "BURN TO ASHES ALREADY!"

    Ralt started to feel the heat, no time to go through his cast book. He took a step back and his heel touched something. A stone, left over from the explosion. He went into himself for a moment. A primitive spell, imbuing an object with raw energy, just the minimum of guidance and control. He took the dagger in his right hand and concentrated on the pommel, then he pointed at the stone with it. The stone began to jitter and vibrate, ready to unleash its power at a moment''s notice. Ralt leap to the side and with a swift motion, brought the dagger forward, pointing its pommel at Pachu.

    The stone raced through the air, whistling with fury, Pachu dropped to the floor just in time. The stone shot above him and through the hole in the wall left by the Envelopment, to ruin some poor sod''s day somewhere else. Pachu was coming towards Ralt, raising his hand in preparation for his next attack, but Ralt was faster. Again and again he pointed the pommel at stones, then at Pachu, sending a barrage his way while keeping his mind tensed, to not let the spell drop from the crystal.

    With a daring leap, Pachu dived through the hole in the floor that had been left behind by Ralt''s Shield Formation and was gone from the room. Down there, Pachu would have the initiative again, but this time, Ralt could prepare. He flipped through his palm book and found a Fog Cloak. He tore it out and cast it. Fog emanated from his person, quickly spreading the room and flowing down into the lower floor.

    Pachu had managed to escape the assassin barely, but didn''t have long until the assassin would come after him. The moment the fog entered the room, Pachu hurled several Fulminas in quick succession. Then, as he saw the cloaked figure charge him, he hurled a fiery ball of death at him. The cloak went up in flames. Heat and smoke filled the room and blew through Pachu''s hair. When he dared to open his eyes again, nothing was left, not even a charred corpse. Too late he realized the feint. To his right, he saw the assassin dash towards him, without his cloak.

    Ralt had entered the room only after the fog emanating from his person had already gone down there. After the Fulminas stopped, he jumped down, took off his cloak and with his primitive projectile spell, shot it towards where he assumed Pachu to be. Then he darted to the side. Drawing a long trail of fog behind him, he ran along the outer wall of the room and towards Pachu, who only realized too late that he had been duped. Ralt readied his second Metal Storm.

    A hail of metal hailed onto Pachu, who remained alive, but littered with knives sticking out of his body.

    "Taff you, you scum! You''re saving nobody but the powerful!" he spoke while spitting out blood.

    "I told you that I gave everyone just one chance to get out alive."

    "All you do is extend the life of corruption in this city."

    "I know. I don''t care. It''s not really different anywhere else either, you''re just another failure with visions of justified grandeur." Ralt had closed the gap to the bleeding mage, then he slit his throat and got to severing the head from the neck.

    He looked for a University sigil on his hand and found it, now just fine black lines instead of pulsing with glowing colours in the rhythm of Pachu''s heartbeat. It was that of the university of Pelateille, not a bad place to learn, he could have made it as a proper member of society but apparently, he decided to take over the criminal underworld of his home town. With his curiosity satisfied, Ralt bagged the head, retrieved his knives and the head cage. Then he cast the second Feather Fall, jumped off the tower and landed safely on the ground. He headed back to Cara to collect his payment and get more work. This city was still in dire need of proper clean-up jobs. And he had to find a present for the girl as well.

 Childhood & Charity XI

    "And now forward, the fingers all the ways to your toes! Wonderful, you''re getting there."

    Elissa was stretching and warming up with Nannade. The girl for her training as according to Garrett''s plan, and Elissa for her dance. Now that the date for the harvest had been set, the festival of Harvest Thanks was as well, and he duty would be to dance in a ritual for the spirits. For this, she needed to get back into shape, something that became harder and harder for her with every passing year. The girl however was making fast strides. Her body was still nimble and growing, the ideal time to limber up and learn body tension and control.

    Nannade was now wearing the ward Elissa had made for her. It was an intricate stitching on a linen armband and made sure, that every spirit around the girl knew to stay away from her and if any of them should come close nonetheless, Elissa would know. Faan had attested to the effect of the spell and Elissa was most pleased with his reports.

    A sudden call alerted Elissa. A spirit told her of three men having entered the forest. She told the girl to continue while she took care of business. As the entrance to the forest came into view, she saw them, seemingly waiting for Elissa. That was a good sign, it meant they knew how to behave. Elissa could tell by the yellow surplices over their dark grey cowls, that they were members of the Communion of Sanctified Trade, a relatively young church that focussed on morally stringent, far-reaching trade. They were popular with merchants in Sturreland, because of the broad market and network they offered access to, in exchange for donation and worship.

    These three members seemed friendly enough. They had an ox-cart with them, covered with a taut linen tarp. The man in front, the tallest of the three, greeted Elissa.

    "You must be the Good Witch Elissa. My name is Lorenzus, and these are my two brothers in faith, Dougalas and Thomassus."

    Elissa decided to return the pleasantries, it was too early to be snappish. "Greetings, how may I help you?"

    "We wish to traverse through this forest with your guidance. We have handed in the respective inquiry with the Lodge''s office." Lorenzus produced a folded piece of paper from his satchel. It was a filled out and approved inquiry for usage of the specially protected infrastructure of the Lodge, which included the road through Elissa''s forest. She quickly cast a simple examination spell and saw that the seal and signature were genuine.

    "I see no reason, but please give me some time to prepare. I will find you here again in a few moments, then we can head out." She hurried back to the hut and told Nannade to get ready. She would have to come along. Faan would watch over the hut. She packed a bit of bread and fruit for lunch, the way through the forest and back would take the better part of the day.

    Before she decided to head out, she turned to the Priests again. "Now that I think of it, I would like to see your wares first."

    The three men looked at each other with puzzled face, but reluctantly agreed.

    Elissa took the linen tarp off the oxen cart, Nannade stood next to her peering over the cart''s side. They found large piles of pelts and wooden carvings, sinew, bone, stacks of full cow hides and similar things. Elissa found nothing suspicious and put the tarp back on the cart.

    They travelled in almost silence for a while until the girl asked Elissa a question. "What do they need all those things for?"

    "They''re traders, they buy things at one place and sell it at another, for more money."

    The girl turned to the three men. "So you don''t use the leather and fur yourselves?"

    Lorenzus chuckled and answered in a very soft tone. ?No, we instead make sure that the wares flow where they need to. You see, some places make some products more than they need to, and some things which they need not at all. By finding out which places have or need which and what, we make sure that people can afford the things they need for fair prices. Such is our duty as members of the Communion."

    He spoke in simple and easy to follow words, very good to blur the facts and convince people of the Communion''s cause. Elissa had to be careful, lest they manage to twist her head around against the Lodge.

    "Wow. You do that all over Sturreland?" The girl had left Elissa''s side and was now walking behind her next to Lorenzus.

    "No, not entirely. You see, the Lodge forbids us to trade certain goods like metals, stones, timber and grain. They reserve the right to distribute and ration these themselves. But we are grateful for all trade they do allow us." Elissa could hear he was intonating that part towards her, but she ignored it. "But we trade far beyond Sturreland; these pelts might go to big cities like Halonnes or Laeddunn, where people value fine pelts and strong leather from Sturreland very much."

    Elissa decided it had been enough missionary time. "Nannade, please stay by my side and pay attention to the forest." She took the girl''s hand as soon as she came back to her side. "I want you to learn how the forest behaves and feels." It was a quiet day and the spirits were at ease. Honestly, the clergymen could have walked by themselves and be fine, but Elissa took her few responsibilities seriously and she did not intend to let up now. They had made it almost all the way to the forest''s edge when Faan contacted Elissa by means of their mental bond.

    "Someone''s coming down the road, they''re coming for the hut. Three people."

    Contacting her with many and specific words was not easy, so Faan must have serious reason for concern. She concentrated hard and sent a message back. "Stay where you are, do not intervene."

    Just a short while later, Faan contacted her again. "THEY BROKE IN AND STARTED RUMMAGING THROUGH ALL OUR STUFF!"

    Now Elissa was alert. Nannade noticed and tried to ask her what the matter was, but Elissa shushed her. She turned to the clergymen and started to call out to the spirits in the runic tongue.

    Quickly, spirits of oak, birch and pine gathered and twisted roots out of the road and around the clergymen and the oxen, who seemed to be rather at ease, in contrast to the men.

    "What are you doing, Good Witch? What did we do wrong?" One of them protested; Elissa had already forgotten his name.

    "I am sorry, but as it turns out three assailants have entered my hut just as I was away leading you through here. You''re under arrest. The Guardians of the Lodge will come by soon." She turned to Nannade. "Come, we have to hurry back."

    "What happened?"

    "I''ll tell you when there''s time, DO NOT leave my side under any circumstance!" She took the girl by the hand and started running through the forest. How would they ever make it back there in time? It took only a few hundred feet of running for the girl to start stumbling. Elissa had to drag her back up. She would never make it before the assailants got what they wanted and Faan was not capable of facing down three people on his own. The girl was gasping for air. "Why are we running?" she asked.

    "There are bad people at the hut. The three men we were escorting are probably in cahoots with them."

    "I can''t run all the way back!" Nannade protested out of breath.

    "I know. Neither can I. But there is something I can do." She knelt down and beckoned Nannade to get on her back. "Hold on tight!" She said and the girl promptly wrapped her arms around Elissa''s neck. Elissa started to chant again. Long and loud. She felt the gathering winds around her. She wasn''t forbidden to do this, but she could get in trouble for using it wilfully. She doubted anyone would question her intentions in this case.

    As more and more spirits of air and birds gathered around her, she managed to strike an acceptable bargain. The time for payment would be later. She felt herself get lighter and lighter, then float up on spectral wings. The girl''s amazement was audible. Then Elissa''s body started moving forward, accelerating ever faster until the two of them were bolting through the air just above the forest''s canopy at ear-splitting speed. They took less than half an hour to get back to the hut, faster than any horse or carriage could have taken them. Faan was sitting on the roof, eagerly awaiting Elissa''s return. Elissa and the girl landed behind the hut, without making a sound.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    "Finally you''re here. They have been through most of your study already." Faan told them as they touched down. The girl''s face was still showing her amazement but also her fright of the speed. Her hair was wildly blown back and her eyes were red from the wind.

    "Have you send for the Guardians?" Elissa asked Faan.

    "Yes. Also told them about the three clergymen. Have you rooted them in place?"

    "Of course! Now let''s get in." She said while flipping through her cast book. "Nannade, stay behind me and Faan, but do not leave the clearing. Who knows what they might try? Of something goes wrong, hide close to the hut." She turned back to Faan. "Do any of them seem magically capable?"

    "One of them has a crystal ball on a short stick, not even a staff, so most likely an alleyway mage."

    Sometimes, people from the gutter happen to be born with the Arcane Gift and somehow discover it, taught by charlatans or criminal mages and away from universities and the law, they often end up becoming the highest rank of henchmen of more powerful and educated wielders of magic. "I knew I should have my staff with me at all times, DAMN!" Elissa was furious with herself.

    Elissa decided on drastic measures. There were no living plants in the hut, so she could not ask the spirits for much assistance here. But she could utilize the floor boards with an arcane spell. She tore a few Tanglewood and several Freezebolts from her book. Then she cast a Defraction on herself. She had quite a bit of flux powder with her, so she took and entire fist full.

    "Faan, I take care of the spellcaster, you keep the ones with blades off me and Nannade."

    Faan nodded. Then they went around the hut towards the entry. Elissa made sure the girl stayed back but in sight. They arrived at the door and ducked below the window. Elissa directed Faan to sneak a peek.

    "They''re still in the study, going through stuff. One''s in the cooking area, looking through some boxes."

    Elissa nodded to herself. The Guardians would be here soon, the spectral wings she had just used for the first time in years were their major mode of travel, but she could not risk the intruders getting away either. She decided to act.

    She burst through her own hut''s front door, papers in hand and loudly proclaimed "Surrender now! Last chance!"

    When none of them complied and instead drew their blades, she shot the first Freezebolt at the one in the kitchen. He was flung back against the wall and sunk to the floor, frozen in pose by an unseen force. With a puff of blue smoke, Faan turned from a grey striped kitty cat into a large black puma. The second assailant came for him with a drawn dagger, but Faan held him at distance, with growls and swipes, ready to pounce.

    The third, still standing in the door to the study, held up a glass crystal ball embedded in a twisting wooden staff about as long as a dagger''s hilt, primitive and amateurish in its make. He swung it like a heavy mace and hurled a fiery lance her way. It dispersed off her Defraction shield, but took out a good chunk of the flux Elissa had invested into it. She decided to take cover. The mages was distracted; with strides as long as she could, she rushed towards the table, flipped it upwards, and took cover behind the sturdy plate. Safe, for now. She drew the Tanglewood in preparation, took a deep breath, popped up and flung the spell the caster''s way.

    What should have happened was that the floorboards rose up and grew into vines that grasped the target''s legs. But what happened instead, was that the floorboards bent and twisted themselves until they broke into splinters. She could try another one, but he seemed to be protected by some kind of shield. This was exactly what Garrett was good at. She never properly learned Abjuration ¨C the field of magic concerning itself with countering, dispelling and denying of others'' magic ¨C so she had to keep flinging at him until something stuck.

    Faan was still keeping the other attacker in check. He was around the corner from the caster, next to Garrett''s bed, but the caster started to move into the room. If he got a clear line of sight to Faan, the two could overpower first him and then Elissa. Nannade was still cowering behind the door frame, only occasionally peeking in to look over to them.

    Elissa had made a decision. She concentrated on a specific weaving, then she popped back up from the table and cast her spells.

    All the pots, jars, glasses, cups and books on the shelves in the kitchen area started to dart towards the assailant. He had to duck and jump back to avoid them, stopping his advance into the room, this gave Elissa the time necessary to hurry over to her work bench. The attacker tried to fling another fiery lance at her, but his aim was interrupted by a small pot of parsley. The lance shot out the door and into the forest to scorch a tree''s bark somewhere further away.

    Elissa grabbed a knife on her work bench, held it out in front of her and concentrated on the most primitive yet powerful spell she knew. The knife darted off at the caster, cutting the air apart with a whistling scream. He didn''t manage to dodge. A wet scraping sound was heard as the knife sank into his abdomen, then a crack as his ribs on the other side of his lungs broke under the impact.

    He screamed in pain, calling out to his colleague, who turned around, ignoring Faan for a second and tried to throw himself at Elissa, but just as he set one foot in her direction, Faan pounced on him, pinning him to the floor.

    The caster was bleeding out fast, but he had one more in him. Elissa was walking over to Faan, so she missed what the caster was doing. Faan cried out to her and she could throw herself back and out of the way at the last moment, not realizing where she had stood. As she was gliding backwards, she saw Nannade peeking through the door frame.

    The fiery lance emanating from the caster''s crystal ball shot through the room, and hit the girl square in the face. She was flung back several feet, coming to a rest motionless on the ground.

    "NO!" Elissa got back up and ran towards Nannade. As she picked the girl up, she could see scorch marks and burnt hair in her face. "No, NO! Wake up, dear!" But the girl did not respond. Elissa did not give up hope. She put her fingers to the girl''s neck and searched for a pulse. There it was. Her heart was still beating.

    Elissa sighed with relief. She checked under the girl''s shirt and found the vial. It was empty, all the blood in it had been drained when the magic on the vial weakened the effect of the spell to a non-lethal level. Elissa laughed and embraced the girl tightly while rocking back and forth.

    It wasn''t long after that the Guardians of the Lodge showed up. Elissa was sitting on the porch chair, the unconscious girl on her lap. Through the forest''s canopy Elissa could see them approaching on ethereal wings emanating from their black feather pauldrons. Already from a distance she could see their grey surcoats with green edges and crest of the Lodge on the chest over their leather scale armour. After touching down, one, wielding the staff of a captain, walked over to Elissa while three more, wielding spears, took care of the attackers bound up inside the hut.

    "Sister Elissa, I hope you and your apprentice are well." The Captain took off his leather helmet to address her properly.

    Elissa nodded. "We made it out fine, she just took a sudden blow."

    "Another group has already taken care of the clergymen, they''re already being held at the nearest post."

    "One of them is dead, the others should be easy to take care of."

    Two Guardians accompanied the two survivors out, while the third Guardian and the captain accompanied Elissa inside. "They had nothing from here on them, we should still check whether anything is missing." Said the third Guardian.

    The three of them searched through the mess the attackers and the ensuing fight had caused. The ground was strewn with shards of plates, bottles, cups, pots and jars, herbs, spices, powdered minerals, dried or pickled animal organs, pans, bedding, torn cloth, books, loose papers and pages, cutlery, plates. It would take them all day to check all of it. But even longer to replace it all. Summer was ending and many flowers could no longer be picked.

    The girl eventually woke up. She had no problems remembering the events and her head seemed to be uninjured, safe for a few scorched hairs. After the Guardians had left, Elissa got to writing a letter. Not to anyone within the Lodge, but to Garrett. The assumption that the Communion of Sanctified Trade was behind the attack was obvious, but Garrett had once told her that the obvious is the best hiding place for the absurd. She knew that he had a safe house in Doessenhof and she knew a barkeeper he frequented for updates and messages. She just had to address it right and add the required fee.

    The spirit coming after Nannade, the Communion distracting her, the absence of Garrett, the thugs searching her house, it was all convenient for anyone trying to hide something. And if anyone tried to hide something, Garrett would be able to uncover it. She trusted his abilities that much. it was time to finally get to the bottom of all of this.

 Childhood & Charity XII

    It had been a rough dozen of days for Garrett. While he had still been doing jobs for the few rich in Doessenhof, he had received a letter from Elissa via a contact of his. She told of three thugs searching the hut. While it was initially thought to be a ploy by the Communion of Sanctified Trade to intrude upon the Lodge''s territory, she also had the suspicion that the girl''s former owners were behind the attack, as well as the spirit. He hurried along to get from Doessenhof to Prannten as fast as possible. Every day he was away from the girl and Elissa without having solved the mystery of who was behind the attacks put both of them further at risk. Now he was back in this stinking hole of a "city".

    Prannten had nothing a city should have. The walls were old and ruined, the wards no longer existed, not a single building rose higher than three or four floors, and in absence of even a rudimentary sewer system, human refuse was just splattered onto the street and maybe cleaned up by an enterprising night soil peddler. It did have a trading post though, which was frequently used by slavers, for this was one of the most southern and western of places that still allowed slavery on this continent. Compared to Prannten, Doessenhof was a clean jewel of virtuous values and newest magical applications.

    Here he had planned most of Nannade''s extraction. And so far, it had worked out almost completely flawlessly. But his oversight caught up to him. His insistence on not killing except when necessary has made him forget that sometimes, an enemy cannot be allowed to live or even retaliate. He wouldn''t make that mistake again. But the enemy''s engagement to get the girl back also meant an entire apparatus had been engaged. An apparatus Garrett had to find and disable as well.

    The man who used to own the girl and her parents was a local crime lord and mage known as "Doraleus the Pompous". He ran almost all crime and most legal business in the city as well. Cities without powerful people educated by the virtuous and strong would quickly fall to its own demons: corruption, greed, anger, vengefulness, lust. And Prannten was no different. Similar to the great Pachu, Doraleus would simply extinguish all competition and then just carry on as any other crime lord with a monopoly.

    It was night, still warm despite fall having come a while ago. He would probably miss the festival of Harvest Thanks, but this was more important. Garrett was sitting on the roof of the inn where Nannade was originally held. Soon, a fat guy with a whacking stick would come back out. When he did, Garrett would be prepared.

    The fat man eventually came out, yawned and made his way home. Garrett followed him on the rooftops, carefully to not make a wrong movement and risk detection. Without any high buildings, it was also hard to spot anyone climbing around on the roofs from above, so Garrett felt safe, for now. Eventually, the man entered the dilapidated hut he called his home. It was just one room with a corner to crap in a bucket, a table with a single chair, and a bed.

    Garrett put on his mask and went in through a small glassless window directly under the roof. From his perch on the ceiling beams, he spotted his target in the dim light of the candle on the table. Without a sound, Garrett landed behind the man and drew a cloth from his belt. Tightened his grips around it and put it in the man''s mouth from behind. Garrett''s victim wanted to cry for help, but it was already too late for him. Garret held the gag from behind with one hand and put a knife to his throat with the other.

    "Alright, fatso, here''s the deal." He said with an aggressive whisper. "you either tell me everything that happened that night I took the crolachan girl away or you die here and now, understood?"

    The man nodded hastily with eyes wide open.

    Garrett let the gag go, but put his blade closer to the man''s throat, already poking the skin. The man started talking immediately.

    "After we broke down the door to the storage room, we tried to follow you, but we couldn''t find you. Then a guard on the wall said he''s have seen two people walk down the path to the forest to the southwest, but when we got there, we couldn''t find anything in the dark. The boss had used some magic but couldn''t find anything either. He put out a bounty on you two, you dead or alive, the girl alive."

    "Who picked up the bounty?

    "I don''t know, only the boss would know that."

    Garrett moved his face closer to the stinking mouth of the stinking man. "I warn you, lying will not help your longevity."

    "I swear, please, I''m just the guy who takes the coin and opens the door, honest, please don''t kill me, ser!"

    Garrett came to the conclusion that he was a too low-value henchman. "What happened to the mother''s body?"

    "We buried her in the old graveyard."

    "Bring me there!"

    "Yes! Of course!"

    In the darkness they walked to the other side of Prannten, where a scuffed field with toppled gravestones marked where once maybe people had been buried properly, long ago. The man had obvious trouble finding his way around, but finally he led Garrett to a spot where only the churned-up earth indicated that someone had dug a while ago, no headstone or even a grave marker.

    "There, we put her in there!"

    Garrett found a shovel nearby and shoved it in the man''s hands.

    "Dig her up. I want to see her!"

    The man''s face showed dread of what might come after, but he turned around and started to dig, holding back sobs. It was not deep that they dug her grave, maybe two or three feet. It was obviously the mother''s body; Garrett could even still somewhat make out the collar of scars amidst the rot and decay. He pulled an extra flask of flux from his backpack, poured its content over the dead body, then threw a spell paper on it was well. With a SNAP, the carcass lit up in white flames and was completely consumed within moments, leaving not even soot behind on the moist soil. Her body may be rotten and her blood dried up, but he would take no chances anymore. Now nobody would be able to use the mother''s flesh, blood or bone for tracking the girl. Or the amulet she wore. Not to mention that this was a more dignified way to leave this world than through rot and decay in a shallow grave.

    Garrett turned to the man. Both knew what would come next.

    The man''s body was quickly covered in dirt and the ground sealed back up even without magic. Now Garrett would have to find more concrete info on what Doraleus had done to find the girl and how much he knew. For this, he''d have to drop by Doraleus'' place. The mage would long have gone to bed, so Garrett could hope to dig through his diary and business ledgers.

    The richer area of Prannten was almost city-like. There, surrounded by a small garden with a proper wall stood Doraleus'' house. Garrett knew he would face tight security, but he had made it up on the roof. With an inspection spell he had searched almost every square inch of the mansion for a proper entry point and he had finally found it. A window in the scullery was not covered by the alarm spell.

    Doraleus'' mansion was tight and small, made even tighter with all the paintings, trophies and tapestries on the walls. Doraleus sure was pompous, although he preferred the title "Diligent", and there was a reason for that. When Garrett was planning the girl''s extraction, he made sure to get a proper look at Doraleus. He even bribed the manservant to get more info. In the end, Garrett had found it unnecessary to break into Doraleus'' house, but he still kept all the notes. According to them, Doraleus'' study was secured with an extra layer of security that required the manservant to ring a bell and then wait until his master opened the door from the inside every time he brought tea, baked goods or letters. From this Garrett could deduce a few points.

    First, the door to the study was most likely sensitive to touch, otherwise the manservant would have been instructed to knock. Second that Doraleus'' himself had some sort of cipher or object to suppress an alarm or reaction. And third, that the security spell could not be disabled by anyone else.

    Garrett managed to sneak his way to the door of the study. He took out his various inspection spells and a large sheet of paper. Then he got to examining and writing down.

    He found exactly what he had expected; an identifying component that reacted to something Garrett had no hopes of reproducing; an entire array of trigger components, which all had to be held in place if he wanted to crack the spell; an array of effects ranging from loud sounds, bright lights, to shocking bolts and searing flames; the last big component was a large central control component that could disable single parts of the spell based on separate conditions. Smaller spells by less diligent mages often contained only a few of those component and only once, and so Garrett could rely on a series of standard spells he always held at the ready like the picks in his lock-picking set, or he could even do it all in his mind, thanks to his Arcane Gift. But Doraleus the Diligent would not be outdone by any simple two-bit intruder. Sitting on the hallway floor with a sheet of paper before him, Garrett got to sketching down what he had found out. When he was done, he had a very rough sketch of the basic outline of the spell that blocked him out.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

    Garrett looked at the sketch a few times. He had no hopes of constructing a fake key, because he didn''t even know what shape or nature the original was. It could be a ring Doraleus wore on the hand he opened the door with, it could be a special word whispered to the lock, or it could be intricate details of the surface of his palm, as he grabbed the door knob. So Garrett had to go to option number two: breaking the spell. Like breaking a lock, it would make it painfully obvious that someone had gotten in, but it was Garrett''s only way in for now. He would still have a few hours before sunrise and he hoped to be out again with all the information he needed. An assassination would have to wait until he rested, it had been a rough night already.

    He knelt in front of the door, leaning close but careful not to touch it. Then he got to work. Carefully he extended the arcane fingers of his mind into the woven mechanism that was the complex spell. He had to hold parts back, push others out of the way until he could feel that slight click in his mind. A sudden understanding came to him and he knew what he needed to know.

    SNAP

    Every bit of tension in his mind was gone as the spell broke apart like a glass filigree. Everything seemed a lot calmer within a heartbeat, the hallway was more silent than before, even Garrett''s thoughts weren''t as loud all of a sudden. He dared to touch the door. Nothing happened. He reached for the doorknob. Nothing happened. He turned the doorknob. Nothing happened. He opened the door. Nothing happened.

    He exhaled. After he had gotten inside, he quickly applied a Door Seal to make sure he would not be surprised by anyone.

    The study was a tidy room. Nothing was crammed in here, even the few adornments on the wall seemed modest compared to the rest of the mansion. The desk was simple and not extravagant. It made sense when Garrett thought about it. This was a room Doraleus never showed to anyone. No need to be pompous here.

    Garrett sat down in Doraleus'' chair and started going through his stuff. He found mostly legal and superficial dealings in the paper, but Doraleus had indeed booked a ''loss of personnel'' for the inn the day after Garrett had taken the girl, but no bounty appeared in the paperwork''s anywhere. Garrett would have expected Doraleus to set aside that money so he would not forget or could pay it out faster. There must be other paperwork somewhere.

    Garrett checked the bottoms of drawers for hidden compartments, behind the paintings and under the carpet, but he found nothing. Then he decided to look at the underside of the desk. There he found four metal latches that kept a cover on the underside in place. He swivelled them out of the way and caught the thin wooden plate that fell down, as well as the thick leather-bound ledger it held in place, then he sat back down at the desk. He carefully examined the pages. On them, Doraleus had written down all his dirty businesses. Although he needed to fear no police in a place as run-down as Prannten, he still knew to cover his tracks.

    Indeed, Doraleus had set aside a paltry sum of ten communion silver, a year''s earnings for a skilled labourer, but not at all enough for a girl slave, a crolachan one at that. The bounty on Garrett''s head however was twenty-four Communion Silver. A hefty sum for revenge. Nobody had even tried to claim either of those however.

    It did not tell Garrett anything he wanted to know. He went back and forth through the journals and the ledgers and noticed that many businesses had notes attached on how they were coming along; but not the issue of the missing crolachan. Could it be that Doraleus truly had no idea where Nannade was? Did he maybe have an even more secret ledger? Not even the most diligent of criminals would bury information this deep. Unless there were some things that Doraleus'' never put on paper. He could try a spell to scry invisible inks or secret script hidden with magic.

    Before Garrett could to so however, there was a rattle at the door. Somebody violently tried to open it. Garrett didn''t know what mistake had make to wake Doraleus and he didn''t prepare for this either. He drew his dagger and got ready to weave a spell, but before he could even think of one, the door shot through the room, tearing half the frame with it and leaving a dust cloud in its path. Doraleus stormed in, staff held in front of him. His small face on his big head on his small body was furious.

    "GOT YOU!"

    Before Garrett could bring his fist forward, Dorlaeus had already swung his staff above his bald head and an unseen force slammed Garrett back against the wall, pushing all air from his lungs. He focused his mind, weaving an Invisible Fist while his arms and legs were pinned against the wall, incapacitated.

    "I have no idea who you are but you must be an idiot if you thought I wouldn''t notice someone forcefully breaking my security."

    Garrett released the spell with a forceful grunt, but all resulted was a spectacle of sparks flying off into all directions as if a fine glass goblet was shattered on a stone statue.

    "Damn bounder, coming in here like a common thug, rummaging through my stuff hoping to find my wealth, stop your idiotic attempts at resistance. Tell me who your associates are and I will grant you a quick and painless death."

    Garrett was still struggling, physically and mentally, against the restraints, but it was hopeless. Without an Arcane Lens he wouldn''t be able to inspect the barrier that protected Doraleus, and without proper knowledge he couldn''t counter or bypass it. So he had to fall back on a much cruder and brutal method of battering through the barrier in a single swift spell he just needed a bit of time.

    "The only associate I have is a little girl you once called Fibi, and neither of us will get a quick and merciless death tonight."

    Doraleus'' face showed anger and sneer as he stepped closer to the wall. "Who do you think you are, sneaky plebian?!"

    "They call me the Purple Paw, and you will learn the full dread of that title!"

    The villain''s face showed confusion, then disbelief, but it was enough time for Garrett to conjure that which was never written down, only remembered and repeated in mind. He saw success in his endeavour as a drop of purple energy pooled at his fingertips. He fixated his gaze at Doraleus'' left side, hoping to avoid killing him outright, then he closed his eyes.

    TZWAENG

    The air was torn apart, splinter and chunks splattered on Garrett''s mask and when he opened his eyes again, Doraleus'' was screaming. His entire left arm was gone, a large gash running down his side.

    Time was of the essence; Garrett knew he had an applicable spell in his book. He found it quickly and with it, he let a sheet of ice grow over the mage''s wounds, stopping all bleeding before it could prove immediately fatal.

    Doraleus was still screaming in pain, and would soon expire, so Garrett quickly went through his palm book again. A spell to stabilise him was quickly found and one to suppress pain just as easily. Exhausted from pain, Doraleus was panting on the floor, shivering from the coldness of the ice.

    "Answer me and I will let you go without any further pain. Do you understand?"

    Doraleus nodded slowly.

    "What did you do to find the crolachan girl?"

    "I put up a bounty. Ten Communion Silver for the girl alive, twenty-four for your head."

    "Who did you sent to go after her?"

    "Nobody. She wasn''t worth that much. Just a stupid little girl."

    "Did you utilize the girl''s mother''s body for any sort of tracking spell?"

    "No."

    "Did you contact the Communion of Sanctified Trade or any people posing as such?"

    "No." Doraleus'' face showed more and more exhaustion and wear. He was quickly losing his strength. Garrett had seen what he had come here to see, there was no reason to assume otherwise. He flipped through his palm book one more time, to find something that didn''t cause any pain, when he paused and decided to ask one more question.

    "Have you ever considered that she could have been a very valuable asset if you had just taken care of her?"

    "Yes. But none of the idiots I told to do so ever did. They said she was creepy." He paused for breath. "They said that she was giving them the evil eye, or that something invisible threatened them." Another pause, longer this time. "So all they could do is tell her to clean the inn."

    Not the answer Garrett had suspected, but then again, he didn''t even know why he asked it in the first place. He shelved it in the back of his mind, tore a paper from the book and...

    SNAP

    Doraleus'' skull and its content were splattered sideways all across the carpet. No need to leave a clean scene after all this screaming and casting. All that mattered was that all the ties were severed, even if it hadn''t been the ones who sent that spirit or those thugs after the girl. Another dead end of a cold trail.

 Childhood & Charity XIII

    The few days flew by and the festival of Harvest Thanks came. Nannade was spritely and overjoyed, more so than before, happily she was skipping on the wooden posts Elissa had staked into the ground outside. Garrett was still away on his mission, and Elissa was hoping he would be successful in guaranteeing the girl''s future. He had sent her a little gift from the city, a small booklet, one of those printed rapidly in the cities lately. It was an introduction into knotting, with many pictures to follow along. The girl had tried a few of them, although she couldn''t quite read the words yet. She had used a rope and the instructions in the book to make herself a swing in the forest ¨C simply a sturdy plank hanging from a branch ¨C and she had spent quite a lot of time on there, falling off more than once, but never staying down. She had a remarkable threshold to pain, and Elissa did not like that one bit, because she did not know where, or whom, it came from.

    Today, Nannade would be helping Elissa and the townsfolk in the preparations for the festival of Harvest Thanks. They gathered in front of Elissa''s hut and together, the group walked to the Glade, which was on the other side of the ridge, deeper into the woods. Once they made the trip around, they had to cross an old stone bridge across a deep crevice to get to the flat area jutting out from the slope like a cliff. Four Guardians of the Lodge were there as well, as additional security. Normally, they''d just wear formal clothes and a surcoat, but today, they wore their full armour, a chest plate, bracers and shin guards made from incredibly dense and hard leather scales, each individually strengthened and infused by the druids, on their shoulders they wore pauldrons made of crow feathers. All this was deemed necessary because of the recent attack. This glade was one of the outmost places of power in Sturreland as well, so whispers of invasion or sabotage were going around in the inner circle of the Lodge. She had never heard back about the attack on her hut, only that the investigations and diplomatic negotiations were ongoing.

    It was difficult to host so many people in a place of power without the spirits being calmed first, so ample sacrifice would be prepared, incense lit and some of the underbrush and weeds that had grown since spring cleared. The glade itself was a large clearing probably two or three times bigger than the one that Elissa''s hut stood on. A large slab-like stone was in its centre and in the stone''s centre stood a stone block just large enough to serve as altar, the altar of probably thousands of rituals to the spirits inhabiting these woods over the previous centuries. People from many different towns bordering the forest would come, not just Heimeden. Even so, the number of people attending seemed to diminish each year.

    In Garrett''s prolonged absence, Elissa had taught the girl quite a few dance moves and exercises. Whenever Nannade had nothing to do, like carry things or listen to what Elissa had to tell her, she would skip around, practicing steps from Elissa''s lessons. A skip onto one leg, a twirl on the toes, a pivot on the heel, a handstand, a disgraceful drop over onto her back, a quick recovery, another attempt. The girl was hard to keep down, now that she had discovered the joy of movement and exercise. On some days she would refuse to go to bed if she didn''t get this one dance step right or hold the handstand for a little bit longer first. Elissa was thinking she was doing something right but at the same time she was sure that Garrett would push the girl''s enthusiasm to the breaking point. The girl would forgive him. A deep respect and gratitude for him spoke out of her. When she heard the news that Garrett would stay away longer than planned, she was disappointed, but his gift had helped her get over it.

    As the clearing was prepared, the sky started to dim and the first people arrived at the glade. Almost all of them scattered grains of wheat and barley on the ground as they walked towards the large stone slab, knelt down and said a short bid to the spirits. The glade filled more and more and soon a merry crowd was lining it on all sides. Finally, Elissa could see her friend Melanie come onto the Glade with her family. She had introduced Nannade and Melanie to each other before, since she needed someone to watch over the girl during the festival. Elissa pulled the girl close and whispered in her ear "remember the story we all agreed on. Other than that, be very careful and stay close to Melanie." Nannade nodded eagerly and Elissa could feel at ease, now that the girl would be taken care of. Melanie was that sort of woman who somehow gained clairvoyance through parenting, which manifested in her being able to sense mischief and accidents a few seconds before her children caused them. The two boys already knew Nannade from when Elissa had introduced the girl to the class in town. They started chatting and playing with the girl, being ever vigilant for anyone trying to pick on her, for example by pulling her tail. Elissa invited them all to come along as she walked with Nannade back to the hut to get changed.

    Elissa got Nannade dressed first. She had ordered a dress for her at the tailor''s and it came just in time. A girl should have something pretty to wear for such an occasion. The dress was of a dark grape colour, had short puff sleeves, an orange sash and a slit for her tail, Elissa had made sure the tailor got that point right, all finished with orange shoes. Nannade insisted on wearing the red bow Garrett had gotten for her, but tied on her head like a hair band instead of the neck. The sight of this beautiful girl in her adorable dress and bow flooded Elissa''s heart with content. She remembered her own first dress and her time with her friends. Nannade was so alone, but tonight, she could just be among other children. Elissa had to suppress a tear, then she sent the girl back to Melanie so they could go ahead to the Glade. Now she could get dressed herself.

    Even Elissa couldn''t really confirm whether spirits saw clothing as something of notice, but the emotions of the audience were important as well. Her dress was not as revealing as what she would wear for the Beg for Fertility in spring, but still much more exciting than anything she''d wear every other day. A straw skirt that ended just below her knees, a durable linen cloth cross-wrapped across her chest and around the neck to up perk up her breasts, and wrappings for her hands and feet. All made within the towns surrounding the forest, of course. This too was of questionable importance to the spirits, or whether they could even tell, but it was a custom Elissa liked to uphold anyway. How much of this was proven knowledge and how much was just for show and sentimentality, nobody could say, but then again, with spirits, all lines were always blurry. She left the ''knowing'' and ''proving'' to the magisters in the city''s towers. Out here, she could feel the life force of the land streaming over her daily, that''s all she needed to know.

    Outside her hut, one of the Guardians waited with a torch. He accompanied her back to the glade. As the two came closer the people on the glade grew silent. She threw off her cloak and entered the glade. The people moved aside in awe, forming an alley to the centre for her. Before the slab stood the mayor of Heimeden, holding a crown of this year''s ears of grain. Elissa walked up to him and knelt down so he could put it on her head to crown her the harvest priestess for this festival. A cheer went through the crowd as Elissa stepped up on the slab.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    She clapped her hands above her head, once, twice, thrice, to get the crowd started. They joined in with tambourines, bells, rattles, flutes, or just their voices. Elissa reached for her flux powder, recited an incantation and summoned thick smoke that engulfed the entire slab. With her mightiest leap, she jumped up into the air and when her feet slammed on the ground, all the smoke turned to flame and sent a huge ball of fire into the air.

    A roar went through the crowd and out into the forest. She had done this many times before and every time she was on edge. Displeasing the beings that gathered here could mean dire consequences for everyone present. She focussed on her steps and jumps. Her twirls, her pivots, her handsprings, her sweeps and all the other elements of her duty. She tried to get a glance of the girl the few times she dared to let her eyes sway across the crowd, but she could not find her anywhere. She already felt and saw the spirits gathering and so did the people, the streams of life force crossing at this Glade started to turn aroused. The spirits'' presence this night was powerful enough to make even unbelievers see, and so, people came to the braziers to throw their offerings into the fire. Handfuls of grain, shot game, berries, wine, many things they were thankful for.

    The evening went on, the chanting and bellowing among the people carried deep into the forest and Elissa could feel her sweat pooling on her skin, running down her limbs and being flung far away from her with every movement. This year again the spirits were pleased with her display and so they carried her on their spectral hands, like a cloud of energy enveloping her, her muscles cried with both pleasure and pain, her mouth and nose were filled with salty air, the soles of her feet were sore and slippery, but still she danced on. The life force boiled with arousal, softening the barrier between their reality and the mystic world beyond the veil, already thin at a place of power. The impossible became perceivable, just for this night.

    Finally, helpers threw incense and powders into the braziers to turn their smoke fragrant and colourful. That was the sign for the spirits to linger a while longer, and for Elissa that she could stop. With the thick smoke rising, the music of the people reached its climax. In a last pirouette she sank to the ground and let her body hit the smooth stone slab, cooling her racing blood by the touch. The music ebbed down and turned from a passionate screaming into a happy murmur among the trees.

    The hopes and wishes for the coming winter were in the air and the spirits agreed with the people. Elissa''s heart was beating against her resting chest, she tried to calm her breathing, sucking in the fresh night air and incense. Eventually, Nannade popped up at the edge of the stone slab to congratulate Elissa and tell her how spectacular she had been. She was accompanied by two girls roughly her age and Melanie''s boys, Frederick and Carstennus. Frederick was a tad younger than her while Carsten is was three years older. Elissa managed to pull together some strength and walk over to them. One of the Guardians put a cloak around her shoulders. For the rest of the evening, Nannade did not allow Elissa to leave her side, dragging her along to every person the girl had met that night, telling her all about how good friends they were now.

    The crowd marched down the slopes and out of the forest. On one of the fields between the towns the people had prepared rows of benches and tables for a feast, which was to the be opened by the priestess proclaiming that the spirits were pleased. If they were pleased. And so, Elissa opened the night''s feast. The people cheered and heaped pie, venison, vegetables, bread, fruit and many more things fresh from the harvest onto their plates. This was Elissa''s favourite time of the year. And now she enjoyed it with Nannade, who was completely blown away by the amount of food and jubilation. It was probably the first time in her life that she had gotten everything she asked for and more. She and the other children talked about all the spirits they had seen, foxes, snakes, owls, tiny men with leaves for hands, swooping gusts of wind and flashing sparks. All of them and many more were present, dancing between the feet of the townsfolk, in the branches above, on the slab with Elissa. The presence of a spirit was something mesmerizing. They seemed to be there, yet not completely real. Like the possibility of existence, the presence of observation but not interaction. Whenever Elissa had helped a non-medium experience the presence of a spirit, they would find different words but describe the same feeling. And exactly like that, the townsfolk tonight have felt this night.

    Elissa could relax and talk to her few friends, and the colleagues that came by since they had no responsibilities this night. Peterus was among them, the druid who taught the peasant children. He had already made Nannade''s acquaintance when Elissa introduced the girl to the class, and Peterus obviously had some question concerning her.

    "How is she doing?" Peterus said sitting down opposite of Elissa with a plate of quail and vegetables. He was a slender young man and fit perfectly into his grey and green robe and his blonde bushel of hair topped it off neatly. He hadn''t fallen into a reclusive lifestyle deep in the forests like many other druids did... yet.

    "Oh the girl?..." Elissa had been caught off guard. She had just shot another glance over her shoulder to look for the girl. She might be taken care of, but Elissa could not stop checking on her. "...she is doing alright. She can almost read words now."

    Peterus had a coy smile on his face, never a good sign. "So, how come she didn''t have an induction ceremony?"

    "What?" Elissa wasn''t prepared for those questions. Garrett might have been. He lied as easily as he breathed. Not to Elissa, but to everyone else.

    "I talked with a few others. Vivianne, Herlewin, even old waif Cordelia. None of them had any knowledge of the girl and said there was no induction ceremony. Isn''t that odd? Are you trying to pass her by the Highest Circle?"

    "Well you see..." she tried to remember something Garrett had once said. If lies aren''t somewhere founded on truth, they''ll easily collapse. "Truth is, she is a rescued slave who had witnessed the death of her mother. People are not supposed to know." Nothing but the truth, and she had already ensured his silence on the matter. "and she was brought to me because she might be a medium, which she is. But the Highest Circle said she would have to recuperate, mentally, emotionally, before Loganna would allow any decisions on the matter of induction." She was amazed how easily that had rolled off the tongue.

    "Oh..." Peterus seemed to have been thrown off by the ''honest'' story about the girl''s circumstances. "I hope she recuperates soon. Maybe at the winter solstice she can be inducted."

    "Yes. That would be nice." Elissa remembered her own induction. All the oaths she had to take and vows she had to make, all the phrases she had to learn, all the rituals whose symbolisms she didn''t quite understand yet back then. The girl wouldn''t be harmed by that. But it would be a lie. Garrett''s intended purpose for her made it impossible to keep all those promises. A liar by design was what she would become. Elissa looked over her shoulder to the girl. With food encrusted around her mouth, she was talking to some other children and laughing with them.

    For tonight, nothing would have to be a lie. For tonight, children could dream of a happy future.

 Childhood & Charity XIV

    Leaves were falling on the forest ground, still moist from the morning mist. Garrett had spent the last night in Heimeden at the inn, he had come back from his mission late at night, but now he had made it back into the forest. He knew Elissa already knew he was coming; the spirits would surely have told her. He was enjoying the serenity of the forest. The violence and worry about the girl had chipped away at his mood and while he was no closer to finding out who sent the spirit after the girl again and again, he was still at ease because he put one more threat to her to rest.

    He heard a rustling above him, that peculiar kind he always recognised, and quickly stepped aside. A bright blur whizzed past him and hit the ground like a sack of potatoes where he had just walked. Face down, both arms outstretched Nannade lay in the soft soil. She had made it awfully close to him.

    She got up, groaning in pain. "OOUUUUWCH! That''s mean! I wanted to land on you!"

    "I know, that''s why I dodged. Did you seriously think you could surprise me, Fleabag?"

    "Yes! You said if I can get rid of you, I''m free!" a tiny tear was in the corner of her eye, but she was holding back admirably.

    "And you don''t even have a weapon, come on now!"

    "I wanted to sharpen a stick, but Elissa wouldn''t give me a knife!"

    "If you had a knife you... Never mind." The girl was done getting up and brushing off her clothes with her hands. "You know if you fail like that on a real mission, you''ll get killed!"

    The girl nodded and hummed, putting on a serious demeanour.

    "Good. I just want to make sure you know there are consequences for failure. Dire consequences."

    She didn''t hear it in his voice, nor saw it in his eyes, and so she was taken by complete surprise when Garrett buried his fist deep in her guts, with a slight upward arc to press all the air out of her lungs.

    She curled in and keeled over, gasping, coughing, screaming.

    "Get up! GET UP!"

    She tried, with one arm, the other still slung around her belly.

    "You''re tougher than that, come on! Don''t cry!"

    She was holding back, but this time, she didn''t make it and fell back down, rolling over and crying through her gritted teeth.

    He picked her up and held her. When she had finally calmed down, he hugged her tightly. "Remember that pain. It will teach you well."

    She wiped off her tears with her sleeve and he took her up on his shoulders, despite the backpack already weighing heavy on them. He could feel that she had grown. Or maybe just put on. They arrived at the hut and entered without knocking. The hut was rife with herbal scents lingering in humid and warm air.

    Elissa was standing at the work bench and quickly turned around when she heard the two enter. "My goodness, Nannade, what happened to you?" She hurried over to the girl, ignoring Garrett''s return. "You''re all dirty and muddy!"

    "I jumped from a tree to surprise Teacher!" she said, almost proud of her achievement. "But I missed so I landed on the ground."

    "No, you didn''t miss." Garrett corrected her. "I dodged. Your aim was good, but you were too obvious."

    Elissa rolled her eyes at him, then got back to cleaning off the girl''s face.

    "I survived an assassination attempt; do I get any sympathy?" he put the girl down and let his backpack fall on the bed. Elissa chuckled a bit, but otherwise continued to ignore him.

    He saw that she was wearing her apron, covered in stains and smudges, and quite a large load of ingredients was on her workbench.

    "So, doing a big batch?" Her shelves seemed a lot emptier than usual, he was sure a few pots and jars were missing.

    "Yes, the last herbs of the year, I''m extracting their essence for the winter. Good to see you back without any bandages."

    There it was. She dropped her act and expressed her genuine worry. Garrett started unpacking his things on the table, checking and cleaning everything while Elissa and Nannade continued to work on the extraction. Nannade was sorting herbs of the same kind together and Elissa chopped them up finely and finally grounded them into a paste in the mortar. Then she filled it with water and placed a spell paper on top. She snapped he fingers and the water started to steam away within moments, filling the hut with another herbal scent as thick as storm clouds.

    Now all that was left in the mortar was a puddle of fine greenish oil. Elissa put it into a bottle and told Nannade what to write on a small paper label. "Water mint. W-A-T-E-R M-I-N-T"

    The girl was very careful to swing the letters out properly, while Elissa was washing out the mortar for the next set while she told the girl something about water mint and what to use it for; a common plant in ponds and on brooks with just weak magical properties but a very pleasant scent and some minor use in medicine concerning breath, throat and nose. They repeated their routine while Garrett watched them work, they got along just swell, he was happy Elissa had gained the girl''s trust.

    The point came that Elissa hit her forehead. "Crud, I am out of boiler spells."

    Nannade was intrigued by her saying that. "Can''t you just draw more?"

    "Yes, but I don''t know this one by heart."

    She went to her study and came back with writing implements and a large tome. One could easily see that more than half of the vellum pages were already filled. Last time Garrett had seen this book it had been less.

    With a loud THUD she let it fall on a clean spot on the work bench and opened it up. Nannade was deeply fascinated by what she saw. Every page bore a spell written down by Elissa, along with descriptions, the exact construction, alternative ways to write it, and important notes.

    "What is that book? I''ve never seen it before!" Nannade''s face was so close, she was almost pushing her nose between the pages.

    "It''s my spell index. It''s a book many magicians have, where they write down their spells so they can remember them. There it is!" she had found the spell she was looking for and quickly got to copying the constructed formula onto spell paper while Nannade had her eyes fixed on the many tiny lines and symbols covering the pages.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

    Garrett tried to distract the girl a little bit. "Say Nannade, what has Elissa taught you?"

    The girl whirled around with excitement in her eyes. "She taught me to dance. Look!" she raised her hands and attempted to do a cartwheel. It was a good attempt, but she didn''t quite get momentum to carry her feet all the way over the top.

    "That doesn''t look too bad. Do you like dancing!"

    "YES! But Elissa danced so much more better. You should have seen it, like running on air she did!"

    "Oh I have seen it. In fact, I was there when she first danced that dance." He got lost in nostalgia, while melancholy flashed over Elissa''s face. With a soft smile and a long blink, he let her know he knew how she felt.

    She was done and closed her spell index. "Teacher, do you have a spell index too?"

    Garrett shook his head. "No, I need to move around a lot. I have to keep all my spells in my head, a few in my notes. And you should learn that too! There''s no way you can cram such a book in your backpack."

    Nannade looked in amazement at her Teacher. "Woah, you can remember all that?"

    "Yes. Through years of practice and constant repetition. Also, knowing all those spells by heart also means that I can weave them with my Arcane Gift, no need to write them down or recite then from a book. If I really need to. You''ll always have to write them down."

    Nannade looked at the big book as if it was a puzzle to be solved, before Elissa carried it away. "I also have to hide my spell index. If anyone knew it, they could counter all my spells in the most harmful way."

    "Oooooh. Is that why those men looked through your books?"

    "Maybe. Maybe they were searching for something else, but if they had found this, they would have taken it for sure. Luckily, they didn''t find it." Elissa flashed a smile and a wink.

    Garrett had cleaned and sorted all his equipment, then put it away and decided to go for a walk in the forest. He had to admit he grew find of it. Especially knowing that the spirits no longer bore ill will his way, he felt at ease and could relax.

    He spent his time there in the forest. The many travels in the last few days made him too tired to get back into training, but he knew he had to. Elissa had trained the girl''s body as hard as he had hoped, and he was okay with her learning to dance. Elissa''s dance was not just a way to commune with the spirits, but also intense, fast and taxing on the endurance. And if she was already able to climb trees to ambush him, it couldn''t have been that bad of a training.

    He eventually returned and when he did, Elissa turned around with fists on her hips. She looked at the girl, "Nannade, would you please?"

    The girl just nodded and left the hut, closing the door behind her, and Faan jumped from the window sill onto her shoulder. It had suddenly become dreadfully cold in the hut.

    "I heard you hit her. Really hard." Icy coldness seemed to shoot from Elissa''s eyes at him.

    "I did. She attempted an assassination and failed. She needs to learn consequences; hit once or never hit again."

    "But please don''t hit her like that! You''ll hurt her."

    He always knew this talk would come up sooner or later. "Learning has to hurt. Pain is the best teacher!"

    Her eyes turned to pleading. "But PLEASE, not her body. Punish her, but not with such grievous attacks." She had come closer and put her hands on his chest.

    Her eyes drew him in, her mouth formed to a silent plea. She was deeply worried.

    "You saw how Mannerdon treated me and it worked well with me!"

    "Not with her! You were a street boy, fighting back was the only way for you to survive. She was a slave girl, fighting back meant death to her, obedience and stillness is her only way to survive. Please don''t put the fire of newfound joy out! I''m not asking for much, just stay your hand!"

    He tried another time to make his case. "She is durable, a gut-punch like that can''t..." he had to stop. Her eyes were wells, reaching endlessly deep down and filled with an inexhaustible reservoir of tears. His heart was in a free fall down those wells. "Alright. I shall find more constructive ways. I promise." His heart sunk, as if he let go of another string of control over the girl''s life and training, but then suddenly, it felt better. It was as if he had thrown off a heavy, soaked cloak and finally felt warm air dry his cold skin, cold at first, but better after.

    Elissa embraced him, held him tight for a moment. He let her.

    "Thank you, Garrett." She detached from him and smiled with true happiness. It made him wonder. What if he hadn''t been the way he was? What if they could have been what she wished?

    Her face showed concern again, but another kind. "How did your trip go?"

    Garrett walked to the bed and sat down with a sigh. "Doraleus'' didn''t send the spirit, or the thugs. He set out bounties on her head and mine, but he knew nothing. It doesn''t matter anymore. He is dead. Any news about investigations concerning the Communion?"

    "Not much, the Lodge cannot prove the Communion was behind it yet, but they are right to suspect them. For now, the relationship between the Lodge and the Communion are cold and strained. Loganna locked down all offices and temples of the Communion, they''re furious but can''t do anything against it. She threatened to outlaw any and all trade with the Communion''s coins in all of Sturreland, but much trade from here would be hurt by that as well, I don''t doubt she''d still do it."

    Garrett was not happy hearing so little about the situation. This unnerving feeling came back, his time away from it had been short indeed.

    Then Elissa put on a smile. "Let me show you something!" She took him by the hand, out the door in a light and springy step. She beckoned him to be silent, as they snuck between the trees away from the hut. When they finally arrived where the hut was long out of sight, Garrett could hear the girl talking.

    "... Then I take the bag of grain and give it to the mayor."

    It was coming from ahead of them, but he couldn''t tell who was with her.

    "And when the mayor has made a bow of gratitude, I say..." she hummed in contemplation for a moment.

    The girl came into sight, sitting on the forest floor, Faan opposite of her. The leaves moved to conceal Elissa and Garrett, but they could still peek between them.

    Garrett had to inquire in a whispering tone. "What are we looking at here?"

    "She''s practicing the induction ceremony."

    "I thought there would be none?"

    "I talked to some of the druids during the festival and they insisted. Then the girl heard about it from the druids and really wanted to take part."

    The girl seemed to remember what she was looking for. "I shall forever oversee the bounty and health of these people and those to come."

    Faan nodded. Garrett couldn''t hear the familiar talk, but he knew the cat wasn''t just listening.

    Elissa''s face bore such a beautiful smile like he hadn''t seen in a long time. He knew, he would always have to go through her as long as Nannade stayed here. He suddenly felt himself detached from Nannade; he would have to accept that he cannot have complete control over her. Elissa was too strong, in her own way, to be defied, but he was also glad it was her. He trusted Elissa, otherwise he wouldn''t have come to her first. In her hands, he would lay everything he cherished, even his own heart. Oh, if he only could.

 Childhood & Charity Epilogue

    It was partially cloudy but still warm that day, almost at the apex of summer. The curtains were drawn, just a bit, to shield against the bright forenoon sun outside the study''s window. Nannade was hunched over a piece of paper, concentrating on the glyphs she wrote with the quill and great care in blue-ish ink. She had tried many times already that day, but never managed to copy all the spell''s lines well enough for it to have the desired effect and quality. Elissa was hovering over the girl''s shoulder, watching her carefully.

    Nannade turned her head and gave Elissa an evil glance. "GRRR! I can''t do it good when you''re looking at it like that!"

    Elissa chuckled and backed off to let the girl draw comfortably. Meanwhile, Faan was right next to her, watching her just as intensely, but Nannade didn''t mind him. Elissa would normally let the girl use a protractor, but Garrett had insisted she learns it the hard way. "She won''t always have the time to use a protractor. If she can give me a halfway decent spell drawn freehand, she can use tools!" As a result, the girl drew much shorter lines to construct the geometries. She moved cartouches close together, abbreviated some things, and preferred intentionally curved designs. That, of course meant her spells were smaller in their effect, but she could also cram more things onto a small piece of paper. In short, the girl was already developing her own style.

    Nannade had finished the last line and proclaimed "DONE!" with a joyous expression. Then she handed the paper to Elissa. With an intense look Nannade observed every nuance on Elissa''s face as she was checking all the lines. Elissa could not suppress her smirk, knowing what face the girl was making without even looking. The spell looked fairly good though.

    "AAAAH, stop it! I tried really hard!" the girl protested, thinking the witch was laughing at her work. "Just try it already. It won''t work anyway!"

    Elissa stopped teasing the girl and held the paper at arm''s length. A last look over to the girl, raising a cheeky eyebrow, then she snapped her fingers and the paper went up in flames.

    A ball of light appeared in the air between them. It illuminated the dimness of the room with a perfectly white light, flickering ever so slightly. Nannade''s eyes became wide she was amazed by her work. But then the light started to dim, first lightly, then faster, until it disappeared long before its supposed expiration.

    Again, disappointment and anger came over the girl. "It didn''t work AGAIN!"

    "Hey hey," Elissa tried to stop the girl in her upset. "hold on there! Its colour was perfect and it didn''t pulse very much. It just died down a little fast."

    "But yours are so beautiful and even."

    "Yes, and I did this since I was seven years old. You can''t compare that. A clear and guided effect is more important than a long or strong one."

    The girl was not willing to be cheered up. Faan also tried his best. "I thought it was pretty, kitten. You''re doing good."

    Nannade tried hiding that she liked his comment and instead pouted even harder.

    Elissa checked the strip of light the sun had thrown on the floor. It seemed to be just about time. She nodded to Faan and he left out through the door and into the forest. Elissa encouraged Nannade to try it one more time, but she refused.

    "Why don''t you do it?" she said in an angry tone, quickly amending "So I can see how it''s done." much more hushed and careful.

    "Well then." Elissa sat down and copied the spell as it was in the book, being careful to swing the curves properly and make the lines straight, even without a ruler. Nannade watched so intently that her gaze seemed to pierce the paper. Suddenly, Faan called out to Elissa''s mind and startled her. The quill made a sudden jump and messed up the line. The girl looked at Elissa with a confused face.

    "I think, my hand just cramped." she said nervously. "I shouldn''t be sitting so much, let''s go for a walk in the forest and talk a bit."

    Nannade seemed surprised but alright with the suggestion.

    They walked outside and along the path.

    "Say Nannade, do you know how long you''ve been here?"

    "Well, When I came here it was summer and now it''s summer, so maybe a year?"

    "Almost a year. Very close to a year."

    "Hmm." The girl didn''t seem to pay much attention to that. But for Elissa it had been an interesting year. After initial worries of the girl being broken or damaged, she managed to convince Garrett to try an approach more appropriate for a little girl, although the desired end result stayed the same. Elissa was brewing the growth tonic Garrett had asked of her, but adapted to a girl''s physique. Elissa''s inexperience caused the girl to shoot up and catch up with the girls from the village in height, as well as steel her muscles and reflexes to be almost, but only almost, on par with the boys; Elissa was making sure she was not turning into a boyish churl. Elissa was cautious, if the girl''s development should be problematic, she would have to intervene in Garrett''s plans even more.

    The only true worry that remained was something hidden, or hiding, deep within her mind. She talked to beings in the forest if unsupervised, but it seemed to be only spirits from the forest itself. She had also shown a strange affixation to the Glade, saying she could "hear her lullaby better" there. Elissa still had the girl wear the ward around her arm, hopefully it worked to shield her from dark whispers. Garrett had seen to it, that no one of her past would come after her. Despite the combined vigilance of Elissa, Garrett and Faan, they hadn''t been able to catch even a glimpse of the mysterious spirit since the last time it appeared.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    The two of them came around the bend and Elissa could hear the others waiting and snickering. Elissa noticed the girl''s ears twitching and turning. Was she picking it up? Most likely. She furrowed her brow. "Someone''s over there, I think."

    "Oh, who would that be? Garetas is in the forest doing his training!" Elissa had to suppress a wide grin.

    Then, the table came into sight. Elissa looked at the table set up in the forest by the fork in the road. On it were several pies and baskets smelling of freshly cooked food. Suddenly, from behind the trees, people sprang forth and yelled "SURPRISE!"

    Nannade jumped and screamed, clinging to Elissa''s legs. Ten little claws dug into Elissa''s leg, but she managed to suppress it. The people that jumped forth were Melanie and Carolus, as well as their children, and Fiona and Katarina, two other girls that Nannade had built somewhat of a friendship with to over the last year. Garrett and Faan were there as well.

    "WHAT?" The girl screamed as the people came over to her to hug and congratulate her. She looked to the witch in utter confusion. Elissa just winked and smiled. She picked up the girl and they went over to the table. Pies, a roast and many other morsels were prepared, all initiated and organized by Melanie.

    The girl was still confused. Garrett came over to her and put his hand on her head. "Today, exactly one year ago, thirty and a half dozen days, I met you, and took away your fake name, Nannade."

    The girl took a moment to process all that. She smiled and wiped her watery eyes, then she leaned forward to hug Garrett. His face spoke of surprise but also of happiness.

    Nannade was showered with congratulations and presents. Elissa had gotten her a skipping rope, a pretty one with carved and painted handles of wood. Garrett had gotten her a cast book of her own and some writing implements, so she could start writing down her first spells as soon as possible. Or anything else she felt like writing down. Elissa had just been glad he didn''t get her throwing knives or something like that. Melanie had made all the food on the table. Her two boys and one girl gave her braided yarn in many different colours, to tie her hair up with, but since Garrett insisted on keeping her hair short for unnamed reasons, she tied them around her ears and flicked them up and down to everyone''s amusement. The two girls had made a brimmed pointed hat from old pieces of felt, like the ones witches used to wear and sometimes still do. Although Faan didn''t say anything about it, Elissa knew, that dead squirrel she had found in front of the door this morning was his.

    Nannade gladly wore the hat and thanked each and every one for their gifts and together, they started their dinner. The entire day was filled with jubilation. Elissa could again let herself go with her friend Melanie. Elissa remembered her own birthdays and how much she anticipated them as a child. These days it seemed as if the ten months of the year just flew by without her even noticing.

    At one point, one of her friends urged Nannade to cast a spell with her book. The girl looked to Elissa and Garrett for approval, and they both nodded. Nannade used an infused wax crayon and drew the light-bubble spell from memory, something Elissa didn''t expect. The crayon was a much cruder implement than a proper metal quill, but she managed to draw fine lines with it. The guests looked on in awe as she drew curved glyphs and straight geometries. More than once one of the girls said "So pretty!"

    Finally, Nannade was done. She ripped the piece of paper from the ring and looked at it sceptically. Then she held it up to Elissa, but it was Garrett who took it. He held the paper for the entire round to see, then he concentrated and snapped his fingers. The paper went up in flames and a short moment later, a sphere of light hovered in its place, fluctuating slightly in colour and intensity before vanishing with a few sparks.

    The guests applauded. "You did that?" one of Nannade''s friends asked.

    "Yes, she did." answered Garrett with a smile and a wink to Elissa.

    Her friends celebrated her for the rest of the day. Elissa got a book from her study and told tales of the past heroes of Sturreland. Powerful witches and druids, with loyal friends and evil villains. As the sun slowly set, the guests headed home and Elissa made the furniture hover back to the hut.

    They had supper, but during, Elissa saw Nannade pause several times and just look at the table empty-eyed.

    "What is it?" She finally managed to ask the girl.

    Nannade contemplated for a while, then said. "I really liked that, but..." a pause for more contemplation. "if we do it again, could we do it the day after? Please?"

    "What do you mean?"

    "Well, today a year ago, I met Teacher Garetas, but also my mother died. But tomorrow a year ago, Garetas was taking care of me and ate breakfast with me for the first time."

    Elissa and Garrett understood. They both gave her a hug and Elissa told her "We''ll just call it your name day, since you don''t remember yours, alright?"

    Happily, Nannade nodded, after a moment she asked "Does that mean I''m ten now?"

    "Yes, yes it does."

    They finished their supper and Nannade spent the rest of the evening drawing and writing on her palm book. It had been a happy day and Elissa was glad to have listened to Melanie''s proposal. Garrett had resisted at first, but in the end came around. The girl had adjusted to her new life and had a set goal in mind, not just to be free, but also to do good. With the help of Faan she was working out her traumatised memories and Elissa had convinced Garrett to adjust her training so she could grow a little freer. The path for the girl''s future seemed set across green pastures.

 Freedom & Folly I

    The sun blazed down upon the forest¡¯s dense canopy, only a few rays made it all the way into the fresh and cool dimness below. In this world of specks of light and songs of birds, a boy had lost his way.

    Ruediger was looking for his younger brother, who had chased after some animal. Far away from any path, he had lost track of direction, and even if he would find his brother, he would not know where to head to. All the trees looked the same and the ground was mostly even. Normally, he¡¯d just head down the slope, for the villages and towns of Sturreland were all in the valleys, but he had had the bad luck of stumbling upon an unusually even area of the land.

    He looked around and called out to his brother. ¡°TOBIAS!¡±

    He listened into the forest, hoping to hear an answer and when none came, he called out again. Finally, an answer came

    ¡°HEY!¡± it came from above. ¡°You¡¯re scaring up the entire forest, be quiet!¡±

    Ruediger looked up and saw a face looking back at him from one of the branches. It was covered in fur the colour of fresh straw and looked to be rather angry at him.

    ¡°What are you doing here?¡± the fur-covered girl asked him.

    He didn¡¯t know what to answer. Was she a spirit of the forest? ¡°I am looking for my brother, Tobias.¡±

    ¡°I guessed that from your incessant yelling. Why are you looking for him in the first place? Neither he nor you should be here!¡±

    His blood froze. When she talked, he could see her fangs, four pointy teeth that looked even more dangerous than those of barking and growling dogs. ¡°I am so sorry, great spirit of the forest, please forgive me!¡±

    The face became even angrier. ¡°I¡¯m not a spirit, I''m a crolachan!¡± She dropped down from her branch, much higher what he would ever dare to drop down from, but she landed on her feet and stood back up like she was getting fresh out of bed.

    She looked to be just a little smaller and younger than Ruediger, maybe fourteen years, and her entire body was covered by this golden fur, as much as he could see. She wore sturdy clothes, most notably, she wore pants, unusual for a girl, but in the forest certainly of use.

    ¡°I am Nannade, apprentice of the Lodge, and I better get you and your brother out of here before you get into trouble.¡± She held out her left hand; from her wrist dangled a medallion bearing the seal of the Lodge of Sturreland. On her fingers he could see claws where humans had nails, curved and sharp.

    Ruediger took a moment to recognize who was talking to him, then he took a step back, crossed his hands above the heart and bowed his head. ¡°I am sorry, Good Witch, I should have addressed you properly, Good Witch. My name is Ruediger, son of the miller Ludigert, of the village Groettal.¡±

    ¡°Fine fine. Let¡¯s get to looking for your brother instead of focussing on trivial stuff.¡±

    ¡°Erm. Yes. Thank you for your gracious service, Good Witch.¡±

    The girl witch rolled her eyes at his formalities, then turned around a few times, listening into the forest. She moved her pointy ears like a cat would, and out of her pants poked a short tail. Although he was intrigued by it, he quickly averted his gaze from that part of her body, even without a tail there, it would have been rude to stare.

    She had apparently finished her inspection of the surroundings. ¡°I better ask the spirits if they can help somehow. Kneel down, lower your head and do not look away from the ground!¡±

    Ruediger did as he was told, afraid to even ask why, but he assumed that he had already drawn the ire of the spirits by being here. The girl began to rhythmically speak in a weird way. Ruediger thought he could understand some of the words, but they seemed too different still. He had once heard that the spirits need to be addressed in an old language, ancient even to the trees and river.

    Some time went by like this, the girl calling out into the forest and growing discontent with the result, while Ruediger grew restless. He knew not what the dangers of the forests were, but almost all of the forests were off bounds to the mundane people of Sturreland. He thought he could hear beings gather around him, distrustful, angry, unwelcoming.

    The girl finally stopped and turned to Ruediger. ¡°I don¡¯t think the spirits will be of much help. I am not at home in this forest, so they don¡¯t entrust much to me, it will have to suffice.¡± She turned to find the position of the sun.

    It appeared odd to Ruediger for a witch of Sturreland to not be at home in the forests of Sturreland. ¡°I thought you¡¯re an apprentice of the Lodge, Good Witch.¡±

    ¡°I am, but not in this area. I am being taught close to Heimeden, if you know where that is. Getting back there by myself is part of my training.¡±

    ¡°Good Witch, you¡¯re far from home. It could take days getting back there on foot.¡±

    ¡°I am well aware. That¡¯s the point. Either way, the spirits said your brother is moving away from us and he''s walking towards the sun. That¡¯s all I know, so we better get to moving into that direction.¡± She turned to the left and started to walk with a brisk pace. Ruediger quickly caught up with her. The longer he had been in this forest, the more closely he felt watched, so he better stayed close.

    Time flew by with neither of them saying anything, but eventually he felt he had to ask her something. ¡°Please excuse my boldness, Good Witch, but crolachans, are they not so very rare in Sturreland.¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, then again, I was not born here. I was brought in.¡±

    ¡°For what purpose? Why don''t the witches train children of the townsfolk instead?¡±

    The girl turned around and gave him an angry scowl. ¡°The Mystic Gift is bestowed upon children by the land itself, not the Lodge or noble blood.¡±

    ¡°I am sorry, Good Witch. Please forgive my insolence.¡± He quickly shut his mouth and continued following her.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    She finally did stop and turned her ears to the surroundings. ¡°Something¡¯s close.¡±

    Now Ruediger''s head shot up too. He tried to listen into the forest, but heard nothing out of the ordinary to him. ¡°TOBIAS!?¡± He yelled, hoping to get an answer. He wanted to call out again, but the girl rushed to hold his mouth shut.

    ¡°Are you nuts? Stop making noise!¡± Her whispering voiced hissed in his ears. She snuck ahead to a group of bushes, where grunts could be heard from. She peeked through it, froze, then sprung up into a sprint back the way she came.

    ¡°RUN!¡±

    Ruediger couldn¡¯t help but shoot a glance back before following her advice. With the sound of cracking twigs and angry squeals, a large boar charged out of the bushes. He took after the girl, but she was already climbing up a tree as quickly as a squirrel. ¡°Find a tree to climb!¡±

    He looked around. None of the trees had low hanging branches. ¡°I can¡¯t climb trees like-¡° an angry squeal made him turn back around. The boar was charging towards him with wild eyes and rumbling hooves. He leapt to the side just as it was about to rear him to tatters with its tusks. He landed on the ground lengthwise, but the boar was already turning around for another charge. He was picking himself back up and saw the boar approaching. He knew it was too late.

    In a blur, the girl witch landed on the ground before him, facing the boar, arms outstretched. Was she planning to take on the beast? No, instead, she pressed her hands together and bowed, yelling another ancient word Ruediger thought to know but could not understand. The boar made a sudden turn and stopped. It was stomping its front hooves, grunting and rearing its head in anger. The girl repeated the word and the bow again and again, then she turned around and helped Ruediger up.

    ¡°Come on, she''s still angry with us. Let¡¯s get out of here!¡±

    The boar was grunting and squealing at them as they walked away until it was out of sight between the trees.

    ¡°What happened?¡± Ruediger finally brought forth, forgetting the appropriate language for a moment.

    ¡°It was a mother sow protecting her young. I- WE interrupted her while the piglets were suckling.¡±

    ¡°But you saved us, Good Witch, I am so very grateful to you!¡±

    ¡°Well I am still worried. I don¡¯t know if you noticed, but there was blood on her tusk.¡±

    Ruediger had to think for a moment. Now that she had said it, he remembered it too. ¡°Do you think Tobias has been wounded?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We better find his trail.¡± She again listened into the forest while turning into every direction. She found a direction and headed off even faster than before. Ruediger ran after her to keep up, until the girl witch came to a spot she apparently found interesting and stopped.

    ¡°These must be his tracks.¡± She said, pointing to the ground. Ruediger saw nothing at first, but when he looked closer, he could see footprints, appropriate for Tobias¡¯ age, along with drops of a dark liquid. The girl witch knelt down to inspect the drops, and when she got back up again, she showed him her palms. Unlike the back of her hand, her palms and underside of her forearm were not covered in fur. On her fingertip was a drop of dark blood.

    ¡°Is that Tobias'' blood?¡±

    ¡°I assume it is. These are a human¡¯s tracks.¡±

    They followed the tracks, more precisely, the girl witch followed them while Ruediger followed her. To him, they were barely visible on the forest ground, but she followed them as surely as thread of thick, white yarn. She kept an eye and ear turned to the forest and followed the tracks even through a shallow brook, always looking side to side. It was as if she would not let herself be distracted by worries or fears, instead, her mind seemed to be woven of steel threads.

    After a while again she stopped to listen into the forest. ¡°I can hear a child crying. How old is Tobias?¡±

    Ruediger thought about calling out to Tobias, but the girl shot him a cautionary glance to not make the same mistake again. Instead, he answered her question in the hushest of voices ¡°He¡¯s nine.¡± They snuck on and soon, Ruediger too could hear sobbing and crying; he was sure the voice was Tobias''. A tree with a low hanging branch came into sight and to it clung Tobias. His right leg was dangling down, blood flowing from it and dripping onto the ground.

    ¡°TOBIAS!¡± Ruediger could not hold himself back any more. He dashed towards the tree. The girl did not hold him back and instead caught up with him.

    ¡°RUUDYY! OOOUUWAAA! MY LEG!¡± Was all Tobias could bring forth. It looked like had been there for a while. Ruediger arrived and helped Tobias down. The girl witch caught up and immediately looked at the wound.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Tobias, she¡¯s a Good Witch of the Lodge. She led me to you and she¡¯ll make your leg all better. Won¡¯t you, Good Witch Nannade?!¡± He looked to the girl while she was still inspecting the wound.

    She took off her backpack and produced a rolled-up blanked from it, then spread it out on the ground. ¡°Ruediger, put him down here. Tobias, tell me what happened to you!¡±

    Between continued cries and sniffles, he finally brought forth a few coherent words. ¡°I ran from a boar but it got me, so I got up here and it left!¡±

    The girl witch''s face did not seem promising. ¡°We need to clean the wound. It goes in deep, the flesh has been torn up all the way from the bone. I don¡¯t have any medicine with me, but....¡± she took off her backpack and started rummaging around in it. She produced shreds of white cloth, a small pot the size of her palm, a water flask and a set of knives with simple blades and cord wrapped around their tangs as handles.

    She undid one knife''s cord and tied it tightly around Tobias¡¯ leg above the wound, and immediately it seemed to slow the flow of blood, then, with one of the shreds of cloth made wet, she cleaned the wound of the crusted and dried blood around it. Although the wound was still deep and bleeding, it suddenly didn¡¯t look so gruesome anymore. She pressed another piece of cloth onto the wound and held it in place tightly with another cord.

    ¡°This should help for now.¡± She turned to Ruediger. ¡°I have to go back and find some ingredients I saw earlier. You stay here and hold his leg up, understood?¡±

    Ruediger nodded hastily. Then the girl witch grabbed one of her knives and dashed off into the woods. The moment she was out of sight, Ruediger realized he was alone here again, apart from Tobias, who was holding back any more tears. ¡°I promise, it will all be well! She¡¯s a Good Witch, after all!¡± He wouldn¡¯t have believed his own words if he had been in Tobias¡¯ place, but he didn¡¯t know what else to say. It seemed to help however; his little brother was suddenly a lot braver. That was until another rustling noise came from behind them. The forest seemed much deeper again all of a sudden. Ruediger, turned around to see what was moving between the bushes and trees.

    ¡°What is it? Is it the boar?¡± Tobias tried to sit up, but Ruediger gestured him to be still.

    Thoughts shot through his head. Could he fight what was coming? Should he grab the knives and defend himself and his brother? Or should he try carrying Tobias and run away? His considerations came to an end when he saw the figure pushing its way through the underbrush.

 Freedom & Folly II

    Nannade was dashing through the forest, retracing her steps to where she had seen a patch of mallows, by the shallow brook, she remembered them. She arrives at the spot and immediately saw them, fringy leaves and white flowers with red centres. She immediately took one of her throwing knives and started to dig to harvest the entire plant, including roots. The knife was the same as the ones Teacher Garetas used; its blade was broad and double-edged, its tang was wrapped in cord and its end shaped into a loop big enough for her finger. Together with the cord around the tang, she could find a hundred uses for them; spear tip, tent pegs, trap components and for now, shovel.

    She gathered a few of the mallows and washed them off in the brook, then she dashed back to the two boys. She hoped that a few bits of fresh, undried mallow would be enough to quell pain and infection. She would have to make the best of what she got.

    She made it back, but when the place where she had left them came into sight, she saw a figure by the two boys. All she could see for now was that the figures was clad in a green cloak. As the figure turned to face her, she could see more. It was a man, not the tallest, but lean, with black hair that began to grey, on his shoulder sat a bird that could have been a small crow. Apart from the green cloak, he wore sturdy clothes and a hardened leather cuirass with a sigil embossed upon its chest, a raven amongst trees; the sigil of the Striders, keepers of the deepest forests and scouts of the Lodge.

    ¡°Oh, there is the brave girl witch!¡± was the first thing he said when she arrived. ¡°If it isn¡¯t Nannade the crolachan of Sturreland. I was informed that someone was causing quite the ruckus in this part of my range, but I am glad to see someone capable already has everything under control.¡±

    ¡°I am sorry for intruding upon your forest, Ser...¡±

    ¡°Strider Captain Osewald, glad to make your acquaintance, this is Skriri!¡± he gestured towards the bird on his shoulder, who greeted Nannade with a quick bow.

    The name seemed familiar to Nannade but before she could remember, Ruediger spoke up full of hope and vigour. ¡°He¡¯s the Jackdaw! He¡¯s a hero!¡±

    Osewald chuckled. ¡°Yes they call me the Jackdaw, the druids seem to like reading stories of my accomplishments in their lessons. But enough of me, Apprentice Nannade, you have a wound to tend to.¡± Captain Osewald took a step aside and let Nannade through to Tobias, who had calmed down.

    ¡°I already inspected your bandages, and they seem sufficient for the boy¡¯s immediate health.¡±

    Nannade was still sorting everything in her head. Of course she had heard of the Jackdaw, famous hero of the Lodge, known by every boy and girl for his heroic deeds such as defending the good people of Sturreland from Beric the Bear and finding the long-lost Helm of Sight of house Hitollarn.

    ¡°Go on! Help the boy!¡± Captain Osewald urged, beckoning to Tobias.

    Nannade had arrived back in the here and now and got back to the injury. She took one of the mallow''s roots and gave them to the boy. ¡°Chew on this!¡± she said. She undid the bandages and cleaned the wounds again. She took a few of the mallow¡¯s leaves, rubbed them between her palms to turn them into a coarse paste and undid the cork of the flat pot. In there was a fatty ointment, a good base for everything, Nannade herself used it most for scrapes and burns. She mixed the leaves with the ointment in her hands and applied it generously around the wound. During the entire ordeal, Tobias was much braver than before, maybe out of shame to show tears in front of the hero, maybe because the mallow root started showing its effects, maybe because he had gotten used to the pain, either way, it was much less stressful on Nannade, too. Finally, she wanted to put on new bandages, but Captain Osewald interrupted her by handing her a roll of proper fresh bandages, not the sorry scraps she had.

    ¡°Your effort to make do with scraps and cord are admirable, but we shouldn¡¯t forget the boy¡¯s health.¡±

    When she turned to thank him, she saw a smile on his face that seemed deeply genuine and affectionate, in a fatherly way.

    ¡°I thank you, Ser.¡±

    She used the bandages to finish up the treatment, layering more leaves and ointment above the wound in with the cloth. When all was done, Captain Osewald took the boy on his back.

    ¡°Come on now, I''ll lead you out!¡±

    Nannade took a moment to calm down. Her task was done. She packed all her stuff back together, then quickly caught up with Osewald and the boys.

    The journey to the edge of the forest was filled with questions by the boys about the Jackdaw''s exploits and heroics, as well as what it took to become a Strider. When they heard that the Mystic Gift was one requirement, they seemed to lose hope for a moment, but instead urged Nannade to become a Strider. In another life, where she owed her freedom and life to no one, it could have happened, but not in this.

    They arrived by the nearest village and gave the boys back into the care of their parents, who insisted on treating the two heroes of the Lodge to a meal as thanks, but both of them refused; they still had places to go.

    ¡°So, I am sort of well-known?¡± Nannade asked the Captain as they left the village for the hills.

    Captain Osewald nodded. ¡°A crolachan in Sturreland is rare, and one with the Mystic Gift even more so. And then there is this mysterious figure by her side, that many mistake for a Strider, but I looked into it and found him to be none of my comrades. His aura is so much different upon closer inspection.¡±

    Nannade wondered how much more the Striders knew about her. She was glad her friend from afar had not been with her all this time.

    ¡°Yes, he teaches me these things, letting me out into the wild to learn surviving and fending for myself.¡±

    ¡°You seem to be doing well. Although I never heard of such a training by the Lodge outside of us Striders, of course.¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s... a specialist in some things.¡± Nannade had not really paid attention to where they were walking on the paths along the fields, but now she saw that they were heading towards another forest on the other side of the valley. ¡°But this time he was being mean. My fourteenth name day is coming up and he knows I want to celebrate with my friends, so I have to hurry. Normally I take my time, as a sort of vacation. He doesn¡¯t like that.¡±

    Captain Osewald laughed. ¡°The forest really does grow on you, doesn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Out here, things just make sense. No one to chase after you with stupid chores. Just what is necessary.¡±

    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t want to stay anywhere else.¡±

    They continued their chatter until Osewald decided to open with a different issue. ¡°So tell me, Apprentice Nannade, is it true that you were once a slave, rescued by the Lodge?¡±

    She felt an itch on her neck. The scars were still there, fresh and pink as if the skin just got done healing, a consequence of the sigils being burned onto her very lifeforce itself, scarring the body deeper than just skin and flesh. These scars would never fade, would never let her forget. ¡°Yes. That man saved me and brought me to the Lodge because of my magic gift.¡±

    ¡°I see. I am glad you found a better place here.¡± They kept walking in silence until they stopped at the edge of the forest. ¡°Here I will let you go back on your test, I hope I have not interfered with it too much already. Good luck with it and stay safe.¡±

    Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.Nannade crossed her hands above her heart and bowed her head. ¡°I thank you, Captain.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. But if you should ever feel that you belong with the Striders, simply call for us and we will be glad to consider you.¡± He too did the bowing gesture, as did Skriri, who followed it up with a ¡°Farewell, child.¡±

    Nannade walked on the path with a brisk pace, hoping to make up for the lost time. If she hurried, she could still make it in time. She noticed that this forest had a strong current of life force ¨C a ley-line ¨C running through it. As she crossed it, she changed her course to walk along it. Soon, that distant friend of hers was drawn to her. This friend only came to her when she was alone, asking about her health, her training and her resolve. Teacher Garetas and Elissa had tried to keep this friend away for a long time, but never succeeded, at least not since she was allowed to take off that stupid ward. Still, being seen with this friend by another mystic could spell trouble, foreign spirits in Sturreland were not well received. The two of them had taken precautions that nobody would tear them apart. Nannade enjoyed those visits, as short as they might be. She decided to get back on track home.

    With fast steps she made her way back. She foraged on the way, her rations having run out the day before, and managed to get by. The direction the Jackdaw had set her upon was good enough for now. By night, she could correct her course with the help of the stars, by day she could see distant landmarks; significant hills or ridges, sometimes a familiar stream. Within three more days, she stood on the slopes above Heimeden.

    The sun was still long before setting, but it was the last day before her name day. It had been a narrow time schedule she had to keep, but it had paid off and she decided to reward herself with a visit to Carsten and his family.

    Carsten and Frederick were the sons of Elissa¡¯s best friend Melanie. Their farm was among the bigger ones in Heimeden and by this time, they would probably have dinner. Nannade didn¡¯t like intruding, but all this time eating squirrel, hedgehog and the occasional herb had harried her tongue and stomach. When she arrived on the farm, Carsten was just carrying a ball of hay to the mews.

    When he saw her, his face lit up with joy. ¡°Nannade, what brings you here?¡±

    Nannade decided to be honest with him. ¡°Your mother¡¯s cooking.¡±

    It got a laugh out of him. He put down the hay and came to hug her. ¡°You¡¯ve been in the wilderness again, haven¡¯t you?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°Teacher wanted me to return as quickly as possible, so I made it just in time for tomorrow.¡±

    ¡°Well then I''m glad you made it. I''m sure my mother has a bowl of stew extra for you. Just help me with the cows and we can go inside.¡±

    They brought the hay to the cows and after that had been taken care of, they went inside to the rest of the family. Apart from Carsten, who was three years older than Nannade and Frederick who was a year younger than her, Melanie also had three younger daughters ages nine, seven and four. Together with their father Carolus they made a happy big bunch that was always open to Nannade. She was a welcome guest at their table, as they felt graced by the presence of an apprentice of the Lodge.

    She had her fill of good stew and bread. Elissa was no bad cook, but cooking for seven just gave Melanie the edge, even if her herbs weren¡¯t fresh from the forest like Elissa¡¯s. The family of course asked Nannade all sorts of things, how her training was coming along, whether everything was well in the forest, whether she would finally be doing the dance of Harvest Thanks this year. Nannade indulged them as much as she could, still having to keep many of her secrets, but she had grown accustomed to living a second life by now. It was getting late and she decided to leave. If she hurried, she would catch Garrett and Elissa while they were still awake. She was heading off the farm when Carsten came running, calling out to her.

    ¡°I wanted to ask you something? For tomorrow.¡± he said out of breath as he came closer to her than he usually would.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Nannade had to admit to herself that she liked it when he came close to her.

    ¡°Up in the forest on the other side, I found a pond with ducklings, do you maybe want to go there tomorrow?¡±

    She liked the ducklings and she had little opportunity to the forest on the other side of the valley. ¡°Sure, I¡¯d be happy to spend my day with all of you.¡± She gave him a last hug and then was off down the road up to the hut. She wouldn¡¯t be able to take a bath today any more, but Melanie¡¯s cooking was worth waiting until to morrow to get the frowst out of her fur.

    Her return did not spark as much joy at the hut as it did at Melanie¡¯s table. Teacher Elissa stood at her work bench, labelling a last few pots in the light of her vial. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re back safe!¡±

    Teacher Garetas was reading some book at the table and merely remarked ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d make it this fast.¡± Without even looking up from the pages.

    ¡°Thank you for your concern. I did get held up when some boy crossed my path looking for his brother. I decided to get the two out of the forest, and Captain Osewald helped me.¡±

    At that name Elissa turned around. ¡°Captain Osewald of the Striders? That Captain Osewald?¡±

    Elissa''s sudden interest sent joy upwards to Nannade¡¯s face. ¡°Yes. The Jackdaw.¡± She turned to Garetas with a smirk. ¡°And he said the Striders would gladly have me if I were to apply. He was impressed with my work!¡±

    Garetas finally shot a glance to Nannade, without lifting his head from the pages. ¡°Sounds like I got competition. But I doubt he¡¯d be able to deny me if I ever came to claim you back.¡±

    Elissa rolled her eyes. ¡°The Striders are not some two-bit Rangers. They¡¯re knights you know? They may have no castles or courts, but still, bestowed nobility and all that.¡±

    ¡°Oh so they stride through the land and demand taxes wherever they set foot. I read the codices and such. They¡¯re not that tough.¡±

    Nannade sat down at the table, opposite of her Teacher. ¡°You know, not all is measured in the ability to defeat another.¡±

    This was the point when Garetas put that book down. ¡°Sure, in a civilized society where people obey the laws, you are free to judge anyone by any measure you wish. Or not judge at all. But us, Nannade...¡± he leaned forward on his elbows, gesturing to the two of them. ¡°...do not live in such a society. We stand at the outside, guarding and keeping it from those that would see it fall, corrupted or exploited. Without us there is no such society and so we will dredge deep in the crud of crime and corruption that is the ugly underworld hidden below every civilized city and pastoral people. Because those fine knights and nobles, they have standards, which means there is work that they believe beneath them. That''s what we do. We do what they can-¡°

    ¡°What they cannot and we cut off their diseased flesh that they are incapable of reaching... Yes yes, you told me all this before. Stop the speeches and bring me out there. Let me do the deed finally instead of telling me how important it is!¡±

    Garetas was deeply annoyed by Nannade¡¯s ability to predict his carefully chosen words, but Elissa was amused by the display. ¡°You know I can¡¯t let you kill anyone until you have your first Mark of Approval.¡±

    ¡°But there are so many other deeds! You acquire evidence, interrogate witnesses, bribe insiders, you do so much but I never get to!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll see action soon enough, just hold your tongue, Fleabag, and I''ll se what I can set you on as a first mission.¡±

    She decided to heed his word and held her tongue, lest he complain about its sharpness even more. Instead, she took off her clothes and got up in her hammock to get ready for sleep. Elissa had demanded Garetas stopped sharing a tiny bed with Nannade by the time she had turned eleven. Nannade''s love of high places gave Elissa the idea with the hammock. Now she slept directly above Garetas and she got there via a thick rope with knots hanging next to the hammock.

    She rolled into her blanket and wished the two of them a good night. Sleep quickly embraced her and the gentle swinging of the hammock reminded her of treetops beneath t

 Freedom & Folly III

    Nannade woke up with a happy yawn before the rest of the house had even stirred. She didn¡¯t bother with the rope next to her hammock and instead dropped down, landing next to Garrett with a loud THUMP, startling him up from slumber. Then she started her morning routine: stretching and mobilizing her body, going to the spring pool in the forest for a bath and a brush, and return for breakfast, every morning, and this morning she had further reason to hurry. She¡¯d go down to the town to meet up with her friends. Today there would be no lessons for her, no training, no reading, no writing. And as luck would have it, her friends would not have to attend lessons either. But first, she¡¯d have to spend some quality time with her three Teachers.

    The four of them sat at breakfast when Garetas brought up a point.

    ¡°You¡¯re just going to run out after this, right?¡±

    Nannade nodded, still chewing an entire cheek full of stir-fry.

    ¡°Well then, I¡¯ll just have to give you this in advance.¡± Garetas said and put a package wrapped in cloth on the table. Nannade wanted to reach for it but he poked her hand with his fork. ¡°First, finish eating!¡±

    She ate her breakfast even quicker, barely chewing her food before wolfing it down, despite Elissa¡¯s disgusted face at the sounds she was making and the way she was sitting, hunched over her plate, using the fork more like a shovel than cutlery.

    When she was finally done, she reached for the package. She had never gotten something this big and heavy. She unwrapped it and found a glass crystal flask in a leather holder for her belt. Above the flask¡¯s neck, a reel was attached, holding a spool of thick white yarn and a wooden ring at the yarn¡¯s end, the other end of the yarn was hanging inside the flask. She recognized what it was, her own flux flask.

    ¡°Amazing, thank you!¡± she hugged Garetas, then immediately put the entire contraption on her belt, on her left side. She put the ring on her left hand. As she moved her arm, the yarn unspooled and was reeled back in by a spring mechanism, just enough to remain taut. She flapped her arm up and down a few times just to see it work.

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know these came with a reel!¡± she said in amazement.

    ¡°Well I had to order it all the way from Halonnes and it wasn¡¯t cheap, but this way the thread is less likely to be cut or tangled up. That¡¯s important for our way of working. That¡¯s also why the holder is inside a normal pouch, so no one can tell from the outside when you close the cover.¡±

    ¡°You mean, your way of working.¡± Nannade added with a snark while closing the cover. It really was well concealed.

    ¡°No, I really meant our. Because one and a half dozen from today, we¡¯ll head out to Calestre together.¡±

    Nannade¡¯s eyes grew wide. ¡°No way, really?¡±

    Garetas nodded proudly. ¡°Yes. But be warned...¡± he leaned forward on the table and wagged his finger at her. ¡°If it turns out to be too high-risk or you act like an idiot, you¡¯ll stay behind, no whens, ifs or buts!¡±

    ¡°All right all right!¡± Nannade said, rolling her eyes. She was mainly just happy to get out a bit more. She could barely contain her excitement. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say so yesterday?¡±

    ¡°Because you need to learn patience and to wait for instructions, Fleabag!¡±

    Elissa interrupted her jubilation. ¡°Now then. Here¡¯s what I¡¯ll give you.¡± She held a bottle of a thick, oily, blue-iridescent liquid.

    Nannade got close to receive her gift, but Elissa quickly pulled it back to say a few more words. ¡°Don¡¯t top it off. Just a bit for today. All future flux will go out of your allowance, understood?!¡±

    ¡°Yes yes, understood!¡± Nannade said quickly. She gave Elissa a big hug and took the large bottle, bigger than the one wine would come in. She loosened her flask from the holder and got to pouring the flux in, when Elissa held a small metal funnel under her nose.

    ¡°You¡¯ll just spill everything, come on, you really do need some patience!¡±

    With the funnel, Nannade got about two fingers worth in, less than a fifth up the height of the flask, but the yarn was well-submerged. She watched the blue liquid get sucked up by the thread, all the way through the spool and up to the ring. She felt the cold liquid on her ring finger. With bodily contact established, all she needed was some spirit willing to ignite the spell with an arcane spark for her. She turned to Faan. ¡°Will you, please?¡±

    ¡°Gladdly, kitten.¡± He jumped on her shoulder and held on tight. In her little cast book, she found a spell that would do, ripped it out of the book and held it at arm¡¯s length. Faan¡¯s ears twitched and Nannade¡¯s hand burst into flames, as if it had been drenched in lamp oil, but she felt neither heat nor pain, just slight warmth. She moved her fingers and like a puppet on strings, the flame reacted, growing broader or higher, burning with more force or dying down to a flickering, all according to her hand¡¯s gesture and tension. Eventually she found a gesture that narrowed the flame into a flaming torrent, a pillar, almost reaching to the ceiling. Then she closed her fist, hoping it would cut off the flame, but when that didn¡¯t work, she grew concerned. She stayed calm. Intuitively, she decided to reach for the flame with her other hand and pull it off like a glove. The flame heeded and went out. Her heart felt a lot lighter. For a moment, she had been afraid to have started something she couldn¡¯t control. Glee and excitement came over her and she felt like having opened a whole new book in her life. Elissa and Garetas meanwhile were still looking for scorch marks or embers on the ceiling.

    Nannade checked her flask. ¡°It actually went down a bit, amazing.¡±

    She put Faan down on the ground and ran out the door with a ¡°Thank you so much, goodbye!¡± but Garetas quickly took after her, grabbing her by the wrist.

    ¡°Not yet, Fleabag! Medicine and hygiene!¡± and pulled her back into the hut. Garetas handed her the bitter brew Elissa made and after she painfully downed all of it, she also had to take the minty-tasting stuff and slosh it around her mouth. He noticed her making annoyed faced during the procedure and reminded her. ¡°You got way to pretty teeth to neglect them.¡±

    She spat out the fluid through the door and showed her teeth in defiance. ¡°Happy now?¡±

    ¡°Sure, have fun!¡±

    She was almost out the door when he had one more thing to say. ¡°Remember: Masquerade.¡±

    ¡°I know! I KNOW!!¡±

    With that, she stormed out the door. Garetas, Elissa and Faan stayed behind in the now much quieter hut.

    ¡°That girl will one day run headlong into a wall.¡± Garetas said.

    ¡°Just seven more years until the madness ends.¡± Elissa reminded him.

    Nannade ran down the path from the forest to the town. She didn¡¯t know whether the others would be ready by now, but it was the eighth day of the dozen so they should get the day free today and there weren¡¯t any lessons until afternoon.

    She arrived at Melanie¡¯s farm, somewhat out of breath, and immediately started banging on the door. Melanie opened and looked at Nannade in surprise.

    ¡°Oh hey, why are you here, did something happen?¡±

    ¡°Is Carstennas still here?¡±

    ¡°What? No, he¡¯s by Thoristan¡¯s place helping with the cattle.¡±

    ¡°Ugh, damn, thank you anyway.¡± Nannade ran off without waiting for Melanie to answer.

    Thoristan¡¯s ranch was further down the road and Nannade could see the boys¡¯ blonde tufts next to the cows from a distance.

    After she had loudly arrived, Carsten and Frederick joyously wished her a happy name day. They helped driving the cattle on the meadow and when Frederick and Thoristan weren¡¯t looking, Carsten grabbed Nannade by the wrist and ran up the hill to the forest.

    ¡°See you at the place!¡± He yelled to Frederick and increased his pace. The forest he was heading to was on the other side of town from Elissa¡¯s hut and they took quite a while to get there up the slope. They were just at the first trees and he was catching a breath. Nannade was feeling only a little winded, but she put on a show for the sake of Carsten¡¯s ego. After they both felt ready, they walked into the forest together.

    Carsten had always been a bit brash with her, but today he was especially eager to string her along. She was just happy to see him and the others. ¡°What about Fiona and Karina and Frederick?¡±

    ¡°They¡¯ll catch up, no worries.¡±

    They came to the pond he had talked about. She could hear the frogs croak, tadpoles scrimmaged in the water, and a family of ducks was slowly paddling across the pond. Carsten sat down on a fallen log and invited her to sit next to him. Nannade obliged and told about her gift. She showed him the mechanism and explained why it was so important.

    ¡°So, you actually can¡¯t cast spells and need this instead?¡± he asked at one point.

    ¡°No... well, yes, I can¡¯t cast spells by myself, but I can ask spirits to do it for me, even people with the Arcane Gift need to touch flux when casting spells.¡±

    ¡°Can you ask one now?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll try.¡± She said and Carsten replied with an excited expression. He had a cute way to be curious about things, especially magic. She looked around and let her senses come to rest. She sensed something close by. At a greater distance from a place of power, she needed to let her mind enter a calmer state to pick up more faint presences. Moments later, she felt a small spirit ¨C possibly one of water ¨C coming closer. She whispered a few words of encouragement to it and it came even closer. She tore off another one of the spells she cast earlier, held it with the claw of her left pinkie and pricked her middle finger with the claw of her thumb to release a few drops of blood. The bloody bait worked and the spirit came even closer. It finally agreed to the deal.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

    Nannade snapped her bloodied fingers and as the flame roared into existence, Carsten¡¯s eyes opened wide, full of wonder. Nannade could feel the spirit had left and again played with the flame like a puppet.

    Carsten carefully brought his face closer. ¡°Doesn¡¯t it burn your skin?¡±

    Nannade shook her head.

    ¡°Can I touch it, is it safe for me, too?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think so, be careful.¡±

    Cautiously he reached further and then stopped a finger¡¯s width away from it. ¡°I can feel the heat; I don¡¯t think it¡¯s safe. Can you extinguish it?¡±

    She repeated the glove-gesture from earlier. He took her still outstretched hand. At first, she was startled, but then she felt his warmth and softness.

    ¡°Your hand feels normal, as if it hadn¡¯t been touched by fire at all.¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, Elissa had taught me to include a redirection layer that shielded me from any primary effect and....¡± She saw his face and stopped. He had no idea what she was talking about. ¡°...I made sure it wouldn¡¯t hurt me, so...¡±

    He closed his hand a bit tighter and moved a bit closer. She felt like looking away. A chill went down her spine and she felt every hair on her body stand on end, but it subsided and she was just fine with sitting like this. Her heart was in panic, but her exterior remained calm.

    They spend a little while, just sitting close to each other, holding hands and exchanging occasional comments. Some time passed by and Carsten let go of her hand. Only now did she realize how sweaty her hand was. It felt cold and alone all of a sudden. Then he inched even closer, put his hand around her shoulder and pulled her to him.

    She didn¡¯t know to react, but she was able to stop herself from springing into defensive action as if in combat. After a heartbeat or two, she relaxed and leaned against his shoulder. She just wanted to relax for a while, tell him how glad she was when they could be together, even about her upcoming mission. But between them she had to build a wall of secrets and lies. Maybe, one day, she could return and talk to him about everything. That day was in the far future. But this day was now and she intended to enjoy it as much as possible.

    ¡°Remember when we met?¡± Carsten asked out of nowhere.

    ¡°Yes, of course.¡± She answered half absent. Her thoughts already carried her to that day.

    ¡°Elissa had brought you along, I don¡¯t know why, and we had lessons with druid Peterus.¡±

    ¡°She wanted me to meet other children, and to not let my status go to my head.¡± she looked up to him, but he was in thoughts.

    ¡°That obviously worked.¡± He made another pause. ¡°My brother and I kept pulling your tail and you were starting to cry.¡± He was almost laughing.

    Nannade had a much different recollection of events and shoved him with her shoulder. ¡°HEY! I was not! You cried when I slapped your dumb face.¡±

    ¡°You tore through my skin with your claws.¡±

    ¡°Oh boohoo. Elissa healed it right away anyway, so no harm done.¡±

    ¡°If she didn¡¯t, I¡¯d had this wicked scar on my cheek and I could tell people that I was attacked by a cougar or something.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re an ass!¡± Nannade put her hands on his thigh and poked his skin with her claws just the tiniest bit to tease him.

    He couldn¡¯t suppress his smirk anymore. ¡°And you cried.¡±

    ¡°Should we check whether you¡¯ll cry if I pull on your tail.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t ha...NO!¡±

    ¡°Thought so.¡±

    ¡°The other children in the classroom were really scared of you after that. I think one mother actually went to Peterus after that and said you should be removed from class.¡±

    ¡°I was there once. It¡¯s not like you could keep up with me in class today. It was just all really new to me back then.¡±

    ¡°Maybe you should teach me then so I can skip classes and be with you more.¡±

    ¡°Maybe.¡± she didn¡¯t know how serious she was about that. She stood up and walk around a bit. She didn¡¯t like to admit it, but even a day of lazing around made training seem less fun. It was best if it was something daily. She at least wanted to build her flexibility every day, it was her one advantage over her Teacher Garetas. She did her usual exercises to stretch her arms and legs on a large, sun-warmed boulder by the pond.

    ¡°What are you doing that for?¡± Carsten asked.

    ¡°I have to stay nimble, for the dance.¡±

    ¡°Will you really do it this Harvest?¡±

    ¡°Hopefully. When I did it, I can finally move on.¡±

    ¡°With what?¡± when Carsten asked that, Nannade realized she might have said too much, she can¡¯t tell him she will leave Sturreland shortly after adopting a familiar.

    ¡°New parts to my training.¡± she just had to hope he didn¡¯t figure anything out. Or maybe she wanted him to.

    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ll leave?¡± He sounded sad.

    ¡°Well, maybe...¡± she was looking for a way out. ¡°...it¡¯s more similar to...¡±

    ¡°You never told me you¡¯d leave. And so soon.¡± He stood up and went over to her. She was doing a split and he knelt down to her. ¡°We might only have two or three months left!¡±

    Nannade realized in a flash that she didn¡¯t even have to lie, the truth had prepared a little lie for her. ¡°It¡¯s just that I have to spend some time with another member of the Lodge and watch them do work and attend trials to learn about all the laws of the Lodge, it¡¯s called ¡®moral commensuration¡¯. It won¡¯t take more than three months and I might get to travel back to Elissa¡¯s in between. I¡¯ll probably be mostly in Sosken.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± Carsten seemed only a bit happier with that answer. ¡°But still. We barely see each other as it is.¡±

    ¡°I come at least once every dozen.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, but I can¡¯t visit you, and there¡¯s so little to do. Why is Elissa so strict about the forest?¡±

    ¡°Because it¡¯s a sacred place full of spirits.¡± That was only half of the truth. The other half was that Teacher Garetas was rather secretive about his training of the girl and preferred a seclusion where he didn¡¯t have to keep up an act.

    Carsten was still kneeling right in front of her. She got up and he did so too. She suddenly realized he was almost close enough for their toes to touch. Still, he set out to come another step closer, bowed down, raised his hands to her shoulders and closed his eyes.

    Nannade took a reflexive step back, her heel stepped off the edge of the boulder, her foot slipped, she fell backwards into the shallow water, her bottom hit the ground hard.

    ¡°NO, DAMN!¡± she stood up but it was too late. Her entire cast book was wet, ink leaking out from between the pages.

    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to!¡±

    ¡°What was that supposed to be, what the taff were you doing?¡±

    ¡°I didn¡¯t know you¡¯d do that and slip, I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    She got back up on the boulder and watched a big puddle of water flow from her feet. ¡°Well, I have to go home and change. The leather will get messed up if I don¡¯t take care of it.¡±

    ¡°Please just wait a minute.¡± He came closer again.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we can walk to the entrance to the forest together.¡± She was going through all her pouches and pockets to make sure none had accumulated any water or mud.

    ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant!¡± He was again very close. He grabbed her by the shoulders. It took Nannade a lot of control to not strike out at him. Then he pushed his lips onto hers.

    Nannade was in shock. It was warm and soft, but also sudden and scary. Carsten ran his hands upwards from her shoulders, up her neck, over her scars, onto her cheeks. When his fingers had arrived behind her ears, her lips had joined his in their motion.

    He eventually let go of her. She was still in awe. He smiled at her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± he said with a grin.

    She laughed ¡°Don¡¯t keep apologizing, you ass!¡± This was a new feeling to her. Weird, exciting, happy. She wanted more of it, it felt right, but a doubt in the back of her head remained and kept popping up. Fiona. Nannade thought Fiona and Carsten had been a much better fit. But now that he had chosen her, she didn¡¯t mind as much.

    Nannade finally managed to separate herself from him for a moment. ¡°Why me? Fiona is so much more... fitting. You know she really loves you!¡±

    He just smiled and came in closer again, but she turned her head away.

    ¡°No, seriously, why me?¡±

    He seemed to find the question silly. ¡°Fiona is just, boring, but you are... I don¡¯t know...¡±

    Nannade didn¡¯t like where this is going, she wanted to poke it just a tiny bit. ¡°What? Exotic?¡±

    ¡°Yes¡± his face lit up. ¡°You¡¯re exciting!¡±

    She felt something creep up her spine, like a cold shudder. ¡°Carsten, that¡¯s...¡±

    ¡°What? Not good enough? But I do, I think you¡¯re so much more exciting than anyone else.¡±

    Nannade wanted to accuse him of... something, but she decided to give Carsten the benefit of the doubt, he had never truly mistreated her. ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°Well...¡± He was stalling, she could tell. ¡°You can cast magic. And I like your teeth.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all? Just because... I mean I¡¯m more than...¡± She didn¡¯t know how to begin.

    Their spat was torn apart by Freddy barging onto the scene. ¡°Why did you tell me we¡¯d go to the cave and then end up here? Come on, that¡¯s not fair.¡±

    Carsten¡¯s eyes were wide open, his head darted between looking at his brother and at Nannade. ¡°W-What? No, I said we¡¯d be here, really!¡± He answered after hesitation.

    ¡°No, you said we¡¯d show Nannade the cave because maybe there was a spirit inside.¡±

    Carsten looked at Nannade, who was starting to realize something.

    ¡°Did you lie to him to have me for yourself here? Did you even tell Fiona and Karina?¡±

    Carsten¡¯s expression grew more and more frightened. She had heard and seen all she needed. She raised her hand as far as she could for a slap and he quickly ducked his head in, but he would probably like the scars. So instead, she clenched her left to a fist and smashed it across his jawline from below.

    Carsten went down, holding his face and groaning in pain.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Nannade, please, believe me.¡±

    Nannade was holding back tears. She was used getting heavy hits from Teacher Garetas, cuts from knives, bites from animals, and she learned to never even utter a whimper, but this was a different form of pain, it struck deep, deep down.

    ¡°I just wanted some time with you alone, to ourselves!¡±

    ¡°What am I to you? Just some exotic beauty to possess? You''re...¡± She felt her breath shudder, her jaw jittered, she couldn¡¯t really hold back anymore. ¡°YOU¡¯RE SUCH A BASTARD!¡±

    She kicked him, again and again. She couldn¡¯t bring out any more words, she just turned around and ran down the slope, back home. Carsten tried to yell something after her, but she was screaming at herself, her stupid self, and could not hear anything.

 Freedom & Folly IV

    Garrett was sitting on the porch, relaxing in his free time when he heard quick steps down the road. Since neither Faan nor Elissa had come out to meet the arrival halfway, it must be a very familiar person, which meant it was Nannade. He didn¡¯t expect her back so soon. At least she didn¡¯t bring anyone along.

    When she came around the bend and into sight, he could see by her face, that she was as angry as seven beaten dogs, her eyes were swollen up and her entire lower body dripping wet and muddy.

    ¡°Hey, what happened? You look like something happened.¡±

    ¡°Shut up!¡± she answered him. That wasn¡¯t good. Someone must have really messed with her.

    She went into the hut and slammed the door. He tried to follow inside, but the moment he stuck his head in, she threw a pillow at his face.

    ¡°I¡¯m getting CHANGED in here!¡±

    He went back outside, then heard Elissa come out of her study. Nannade didn¡¯t even bother to answer any of her questions. Garrett peeked through the slit in the shutters. Elissa didn¡¯t give up, but her digging for answers caused Nannade to tear up and eventually just stop what she was doing. She didn¡¯t really cry, she was just getting teary-eyed. She had learned to hold back a lot of tears over the years but it seems she encountered a new type of pain. Garrett decided to leave the women alone and went down the path.

    He reached the target that the girl and he often used to practice archery and knife-throwing. And from now on, most likely also spell-slinging. Having no Arcane Gift meant she would not be able to aim with her mind but instead had to aim with her body, but Garrett had little worries about that, the girl was prodigious at aiming and controlling her body. Her small recurve bow leaned unstrung on a tree. He had told her many times to look after it better, not letting it lay about like that. It wasn¡¯t even fifty inches long, and even a bit smaller when strung, but she could still shoot arrows accurately over large distances with it. It had been a gift for her twelfth name day and she had to train a lot just to be able to string and draw it. Garrett was not bad with a bow himself, but archery and climbing were the two things that the girl had already surpassed him in. And the bow¡¯s diminutive size allowed her to combine both rather gracefully.

    He had been throwing stones at the target for practice for a while when he heard people coming up the path yet again. From the steps he could tell that it was three in total. Elissa wasn¡¯t coming out from the hut, so he would have to take care of this one.

    He stepped onto the road and saw that it was Guardians of the Lodge in their typical surcoats and with spears, one of them with a staff.

    ¡°Halt! Who are you?¡± They said with a thick layer of unwarranted self-importance in their voice.

    ¡°My name is Garetas, I¡¯m a guest of Elissa¡¯s.¡±

    ¡°Why should we believe that?¡±

    ¡°Because you asked?!¡± He answered, unsure what they wanted to hear.

    ¡°Can you prove that?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but I¡¯d much rather know what business you have with Elissa.¡±

    ¡°That is none of your concern!¡±

    ¡°Well, I can walk with you to the hut, but you¡¯re just going to find Elissa being terribly busy there with her apprentice and they do not want to be disturbed.¡±

    They of course didn¡¯t believe him until they did exactly what he had predicted. The two women were engaged in a very lengthy and careful dialogue about a certain aspect of human contact. The Guardians recognized the issue and showed themselves out immediately.

    Garrett and the Guardians went back to the fork in the path, where he offered them his help.

    ¡°Look, I do contract work concerning the arcane. You can ask me and I will probably be able to help.¡±

    ¡°A boy has been severely mauled by something he described as a huge wolf. People have been disappearing in the forest on the other side of the valley, but this is the first confirmed attack. We believe the spirits are angered for some reason. We¡¯d need Elissa to sooth them and also take care of the boy.¡±

    Garrett thought about it for a while. If it really was a spirit, he could do little. ¡°I¡¯ll relay the issue to Elissa. Maybe she can cut her business here short.¡±

    Garrett arrived back at the hut and listened just outside the window. They were still talking about things such as ¡°careful¡± and ¡°exploiting¡±. Honestly, he thought she should have talked to the girl the day she started bleeding, but no, Elissa the Wise had to keep putting it off until it was too late. What a name day to remember. He decided to go in anyway.

    ¡°We really should go, apparently some boy got mauled by spirits, maybe.¡±

    Nannade washed her face, got changed, and the three of them went back to the fork, all readied up. Elissa had taken her usual case of medical supplies, Nannade had bravely sucked the sorrow all back in. She had also found the time to write down a few spells on dry papers for now.

    They eventually arrived at the house of the boy who got mauled. Melanie''s house. Elissa told Nannade to wait outside, but she was having none of it and came in anyway. When he asked what this was about, he got no answer from either of them.

    Inside the house, Elissa was greeted by her friend Melanie.

    ¡°Quick, come, Freddy is badly hurt.¡± She dragged Elissa to a bed in another room.

    The boy that got attacked was in a grim state. He was bleeding in several places, including his face and guts. His clothing was torn apart, his right foot got mangled, the shoe hanging off in strips of leather and the bed was red all over. Nannade was visibly worried and hurried to his side, but when she did, another, older boy tried to talk to her, repeatedly apologizing, ignoring her increasingly angry defences. When the boy wouldn¡¯t let up, Garrett decided to put his hands on the boy¡¯s shoulder and show him a ¡°No¡± rather than say one.

    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me everything about the attack? Outside?¡±

    The boy came along. ¡°I just found Freddy like this, alright? I followed him after Nannade ran away, and when I arrived, he was already wounded, he said he had chased the wolf off.¡±

    If the boy had seen the wolf himself, that would mean it was most likely not a spirit directly.

    ¡°What did he say about the wolf?¡±

    ¡°He said it was huge and had claws like hands!¡±

    This did not sound good. It might have been a werewolf, which complicated things. ¡°Anything else? Did it talk?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°What did your brother do?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, he said the wolf just attacked him.¡±

    ¡°Tell me exactly where the attack happened.¡±

    The boy told Garrett in detail how to get to the cave in question.

    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re done here.¡±

    The boy tugged on Garrett¡¯s shirt. ¡°Please tell Nannade that I¡¯m sorry.¡±

    ¡°Sorry, boy. This is a fight you¡¯ll have to win by yourself.¡±

    When he came back inside, Elissa had stabilized the boy. He was asleep and pale. She was mending some stitched-up wounds with magic, but the amount of blood the boy had lost meant she could only do so much with his own life force. A glass vial and a bandage on the mother¡¯s arm told Garrett that Elissa had used the family''s blood to heal the more gruesome wounds.

    ¡°I will stay here to watch over the boy. Garrett, what did you find out?¡±

    ¡°The older boy wasn¡¯t of much use except for the location and that it was a large wolf with claws like hands. Sounds like a werewolf to me.¡±

    Elissa turned to the Guardians. ¡°Who was the first person that disappeared?¡±

    But the Guardians didn¡¯t know anything and just shrugged.

    ¡°Garrett, go with them. Look for any trace.¡±

    The girl spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ll come with.¡±

    ¡°No, you stay here and help Elissa.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll come with or Frederick won¡¯t be the only boy that gets mauled today. Besides, you don¡¯t have the Mystic Gift, this could still be an issue of spirits.¡±

    She clenched her jaw and bared her fangs. Elissa¡¯s face gave Garrett approval to take her along.

    ¡°All right, but I¡¯ll give you some of my papers, just in case. And the Guardians stay here. We work alone and it might yet follow the trail of blood to the house.¡±

    On the way up he sorted through his palm book and tore out a few pages for her. Mostly ones that required no control, so she wouldn¡¯t be inconvenienced by her lack of an Arcane Gift. The boy had given them a last description of the way, avoiding eye contact with the girl, and then they were off. They went deeper into the forest, off path at a point with a marked boulder and arrived at a mound in the hillside. On top of the mound stood a tree, its roots held up the ceiling of a dark and deep cave.

    ¡°This must be the cave the boy had described. Stay behind me.¡± Garrett took out a small, bulbous vial and put a few drops of oily flux into it. The vial started glowing in a steady white light.

    Nannade pulled out one of her throwing knives and hooked her left ring finger into the ring that rested on the reel¡¯s barrel. Together they ventured into the cave, halfway ducked. A large portion of it seemed to have been dug with huge hands or paws. The stench of rotten flesh became noticeable, then dominant, then unbearable. They had gotten at least sixty or seventy feet in when the cave opened up and they could stand upright. A large chamber was dug into this part, in some sort of alcoves to the side was a small pile of mangled corpses, partially covered in dirt heaped onto it. Neither of them could sense anything in the cave. The wolf must have truly run off. They made their way back.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    ¡°Teacher, what is a werewolf exactly? It seemed pretty huge from the looks of that room¡¯s ceiling.¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a being part wolf and part human.¡±

    ¡°Where do they come from?¡±

    ¡°You know how a familiar is made when an animal body and an animal spirit of the same type are fused? Like crow-body to crow-spirit and cat-body to cat-spirit?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Well a werewolf is what we call an abomination. Which is created when the two beings do not line up. In the werewolf¡¯s case a wolf spirit is bonded with a human body.¡±

    Nannade sounded disgusted. ¡°Who would do that?¡±

    ¡°People who want power, or strength, or revenge. Spirits are deceitful and perfidious. They offer you one thing and take everything else. A werewolf is the result of the most inexcusable sin against humanity itself.¡±

    ¡°What if it¡¯s not a natural spirit, but an abstract one like Elissa told me about?¡±

    ¡°Even worse. There are people who have given their souls in to abstracts like hunger, greed, gluttony, domination. Horrible abomination spring from these, vampires are said to come from these. Yet some crazy bastards worship them as gods made flesh. You don¡¯t need a warrant or writ or anything like that to kill them without consequence. Just do it, if you trust your abilities. They are powerful and inhuman. They can¡¯t be reasoned with and often won¡¯t even kill you but keep you half alive to satiate some perverted desire they crave.¡±

    ¡°Alright.¡± The girl¡¯s voice sounded eager to get on with the mission.

    They were outside again and got to looking for tracks. They eventually found some leading further into the forest and followed them for a while, then the girl pointed out that she heard flowing water. Soon enough they found a little brook running down the side of the slope they were walking down. Below them knelt a huge beast, seemingly washing its face. It was huge, grotesque, humanoid but covered in shaggy fur and some patches of human skin. Its skull was mostly wolf but the area around the left eye was almost human. Its hands and feet bore huge claws with some fingers and toes still human-like. Garrett pulled the girl back behind a tree.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to slay it. You stay back and help me with these.¡± He handed her a few Invisible Fists and some protection spells. He was sure she¡¯d recognize them. ¡°Try to stay behind me a little so it doesn¡¯t have a straight line towards you. And do not listen to it! It will try to talk to you to make you confused, so be careful, the spirit will lie and exploit you!¡±

    Nannade nodded. She obviously grasped the severity of the situation.

    ¡°Now, find a spirit and keep it by your side, don¡¯t be afraid to spend a few drops of blood if it attracts them better.¡±

    Garrett made his way towards the beast. He could hear its growl as he got nearer, but there was also some kind of sobbing in it. It turned its head and Garrett could see its eyes were red and watering, as if he had been trying to rub dirt out of them.

    He put on his own flask¡¯s ring, then readied a blade in each hand. His dagger with the crystal pommel in the left, one of his throwing knives in his right. They would have to be his climbing picks today on this mountain of meat. The werewolf stood up. It had to be at least seven feet high. And looked just as wide when it stretched out its arms, bearing claws and fangs. It went back down into a crouching position and Garrett saw sinews and muscles tense under its skin. Then all tension unleashed in a mighty leap forward

    THUMP

    The beast landed on its hands; the thunder shook dry leaves and bark from the trees, but Garrett had rolled to the side and quickly cast his Constrictor. The beast was hindered for a moment but as its muscles and spirit struggled, the binds turned into ropes of sparks, and finally snapped with a crackling that lingered in the air for a heartbeat.

    SNAP

    A lance of fire hit the beast in the side of the head. Nannade had used the beast¡¯s distraction. It howled and screamed in pain, smacking its burning fur out with its hands. Another SNAP, another lance shot forth and hit the werewolf. Garrett turned around to see what Nannade was doing. She had resorted to her own flame she had designed, it was engulfing her entire left arm. With wide swipes and swings, she trailed a roaring flame from her arm like a burning whip that roared as it split the air in front of her.

    The werewolf was fixated on her now, although she was keeping it at bay with her whip. Garrett focussed his mind on the formulas and weavings required to conjure the spell without paper, then he projected it into his dagger¡¯s pommel and hurled a hail of fists towards the beast, hitting it all over its body from its jaw to its legs. None had a significant effect, the monster struck out to Garrett, but he rolled away, the beast continued approaching Nannade, only held back by her searing flame dance, Garrett himself was still to its side, attacking it from its right. He pelted the werewolf with invisible fists and sure enough, it seemed to show some effect, namely the werewolf turning its attention back to Garrett.

    He relaxed his mind and dropped the Invisible Fist from the crystal; it was without effect either way. Instead, he focussed his energy I to his throwing knife. A primitive magic for a primitive effect.

    SNAP

    The knife turned into a whistling bolt that shot through the air. A gushing sound, a pained grunt, as it sunk into the beast''s shoulder, but no more was what the knife accomplished against the beast.

    The werewolf reached for the knife with its right hand while leaning on its left. This was an opening Garrett had hoped for, both its hands where occupied. He concentrated and propelled himself forward with a gust of flux. He sunk his dagger deep in the beast¡¯s right upper arm.

    Quickly he rammed the other knife in as well and held on as the werewolf roared and reared up like a bucking horse. Garrett tried to land a stab to the jugular, but the monster¡¯s thrashing was too wild. He felt the beast¡¯s clawed fingers close around him. With a sudden jolt he was torn off its body.

    KOTSH

    The beast slammed Garrett to the ground, all air forced from his lungs, he felt a rib or two break, pain ringing in his skull. The wolf approached from above, jaws dripping with drool.

    SNAP

    The beast flinched back. He saw Nannade standing there, pieces of paper in hand and getting closer. Bolts blasted, flames flared from her hands.

    He wanted to warn her, but had to dodge one of the wolf¡¯s claws bearing down on him. He rolled away and was standing again. He drew more knives from their sheathes and positioned himself between the girl and the monster. She tried to get closer, but he kept getting in her way on purpose.

    ¡°Out of the way!¡± she yelled at him.

    ¡°Keep your distance!¡± he yelled back.

    ¡°Just,¡­ let me do this, I got him!¡±

    Garrett wanted to prepare another assault, but then he saw that the werewolf was rather calm right now. Fangs and claws still bared, but breathing deeply. Garrett looked how it moved, side to side, slowly, carefully placing its feet. Garrett observed the two. The two were as if locked in a dance. She too moved side to side, slowly, carefully placing her feet, while whispering something, as if talking to the beast. The monster would just have to take a step and she would be within swiping distance.

    He used this opportunity and threw one of his knives, then leapt forward with his other at the ready.

    ¡°NO!¡± the girl screamed, then the wolf awakened from his trance.

    With a swipe of its claws, it swatted Garrett out of the air like a fly. The wolf barked and was about to stomp on him when a fiery lash hit its face. Like a tendril it seemed to snake its way into its mouth, wide open to suck in air.

    The monster broke out in a violent fit of coughing and hoarse howling. It rolled on the floor and fell against a tree, which tilted to the side like a loose fence post.

    Nannade, her left arm still burning, came to him. ¡°Are you alright?¡±

    ¡°I said stay back!¡±

    She was helping him up, looking at him with a worried face rather than angry. ¡°I was staying back. I had him!¡±

    ¡°Yah, I doubt it will recover from a fire to the lungs.¡±

    Howling, screaming, wailing the beast writhed on the forest ground, moments stretched into excruciating length. When it had finally come to rest on the floor, still coughing and trying to get back up again, Garrett got close. He took his knives and stepped towards the monster¡¯s head. It tried to fend him off, but its muscles failed it. He ran his blades in deep and down its jugular. It took quite some while to bleed out.

    ¡°You did well.¡± He said to Nannade.

    ¡°Thanks.¡± Nannade seemed sad as she looked at the monstrosity.

    ¡°Did you entrance it somehow?¡±

    ¡°I was dancing for the spirits.¡± She said with a smile. ¡°It works surprisingly well, even on the spirits of abominations apparently. I tried to slow its breathing, so I could time the flame better, but you got it fired back up again. It was luck at that point.¡±

    ¡°Going for the lungs was clever.¡±

    ¡°We weren¡¯t doing any damage with fists and cuts and fire from the outside.¡±

    ¡°Keep that head on your shoulders and it will serve you well.¡± Garrett had noticed that she was able to cast her spells quite quickly. ¡°You seemed to have a trusty one at your side.¡±

    ¡°The spirit? Yes, it stuck around well, I think it likes me, but it¡¯s gone now.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like a prime candidate for a familiar.¡±

    At that remark, she smiled even wider. ¡°Sure, why not?¡±

    He had noticed only now that at least one of the hits from the wolf¡¯s claws had left some serious cuts on his chest. ¡°Let¡¯s get back, I need Elissa to take a look at me.¡±

    ¡°I can do it, we should close it sooner than later.¡± Nannade got to inspecting the wounds and wrote a simple healing spell down to stitch the wounds. ¡°This uses blood as a source of flux, so you¡¯ll be tired.¡±

    ¡°Fine, go ahead.¡±

    The girl had done a good job patching him back up. Being trained by a healer had its advantages. He himself knew the stuff but barely ever did it these days. He immediately noticed his strength leaving him. If he fell asleep now, the girl would have to drag him back to the hut.

    They returned to Heimeden and notified the Guardians, who verified the corpse and paid Garrett a hefty sum out of their bounty pot. The older boy seemed glad to see Nannade unharmed, but again, she scared him off with a glare.

    Elissa was still by the side of the boy, who was still asleep but stable. She checked on the girl¡¯s work and was content with it. She left some medicine with Carolus and Melanie. They thanked her and promised to pay their due in time, then saw the three off.

    ¡°What a birthday to remember.¡± Elissa said on their way home. ¡°Let¡¯s have a relaxing evening together.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll hit the hay, I am spent for the day.¡± Garrett said. All in all, it had taken quite a toll on him. He would regenerate before their mission in eighteen days, but he¡¯d have to rest now. He managed to eat something before falling into bed and asleep.

 Freedom & Folly V

    Elissa was beat for the day. Nannade hadn¡¯t eaten lunch because of a certain incident, and was now catching up with most of it. Elissa was still with her, but Garrett was already snoring in his bed. After Nannade had gotten her fill, Elissa invited her outside. They sat on the porch. Their earlier talk about some important things had been interrupted and she wanted to finish it now.

    They sat down on the chairs on the porch and Elissa got out two cups and a big green bottle. Then she poured both of them some wine.

    Nannade looked confused. ¡°What? I shouldn¡¯t, you said not until after my first dance!¡±

    ¡°Screw that, today is a good day to let go of some rules.¡±

    The girl accepted and inspected the dark red liquid. She sniffed the cup, took a tiny sip and squinched up her face.

    ¡°You¡¯ll get used to it, don¡¯t worry.¡± Elissa told her. ¡°But not anytime soon, this is only for tonight, understood?¡± The girl nodded quickly while taking another sip. Elissa let her thoughts wander. ¡°You have to be so careful with men. Not just because they might take advantage of you or something like that. Also because they¡¯re so fragile on the inside.¡±

    ¡°Really? Teacher always seems tough enough.¡±

    ¡°Yah, he is tough enough most of the time, but has his sensitive sides.¡± Elissa quickly peeked through the window and checked whether his snoring was still calm and in rhythm. ¡°Don¡¯t tell him I said that.¡±

    ¡°You grew up together, what was he like?¡±

    ¡°Oh, not much different. He¡¯d get into fights more often. He really likes fistfights. He once got scolded by his teacher for spending his entire allowance gambling on some backyard brawl. And when they were sparring, his teacher didn¡¯t go easy on him like Garrett does with you. No elegant grasping and twisting of limbs. Full on brawling and grappling until someone was about to suffocate in the mud.¡±

    ¡°What was his teacher like?¡±

    ¡°Some guy named Mannerdon. Gruff and boring. And about as humorous as a funeral.¡±

    ¡°Not much different from today¡¯s Garetas then?¡±

    ¡°Eh...Garrett can be funny. He just doesn¡¯t like showing you, he¡¯s more open to me.¡±

    Nannade put on a coy smile. ¡°And... did the two of you?¡±

    ¡°Did we what?¡± Elissa tried to read the girl¡¯s face, but she was already almost to the bottom of her cup while the girl had barely touched hers.

    ¡°You know. What we talked about!?¡±

    ¡°Oh that, oh. Oh no. I mean, I tried. Really hard, but it wasn¡¯t meant to be.¡±

    Nannade furrowed her brow. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you know, he¡¯s a lost cause.¡±

    ¡°Come on tell me!¡± Nannade was obviously spurred on by Elissa¡¯s reservation.

    ¡°It¡¯s a long story, and not that funny, you know.¡±

    ¡°Oh come on! I told you everything about Carsten, now spit it out.¡±

    Elissa really didn¡¯t want to tell the story now of all times, but the girl wouldn¡¯t let go once she had her eyes set on something. She peeked through the window to check on Garetas again, then she emptied her cup in one go, poured herself another and got up. ¡°But you absolutely have to promise me, you¡¯ll never tell him I told you, alright?¡±

    ¡°Of course, sure!¡± Nannade nodded enthusiastically, curiosity burning in her eyes.

    ¡°It was when I was fifteen, the night before the summer solstice...

    It had long been dark, but the summer heat of the day lingered still on the fields and river. The next time the sun rose, it would stay up longer than any other day of the year. Elissa lay in her bed, in her room, in Tirana¡¯s house, in a village not far from Sosken. Tomorrow she would dance along the river, trailing the communion of people and spirits behind her. Her dress was ready, she had memorized each step, Tirana and many others had confirmed her that she moved gracefully and looked beautiful. But she was still unhappy.

    She threw the thin blanket off to vent out the hot, sweaty air. She got up, took off her night gown and looked down her body. ¡°You¡¯re beautiful, stop worrying.¡± Tirana had said many times. ¡°Your dress is gorgeous; it shows your best sides.¡± ¡°Be a bit more self-assertion, men like that in a woman!¡± Susanna had told her. ¡°You¡¯ll never get the boy of your fancy ¨C or any boy for that matter ¨C if you are too scared to show off your best side!¡± But Elissa didn¡¯t want to hear it from them. It had to be someone else.

    Last night, Garrett came home late again. Mannerdon didn¡¯t come by every day anymore, he was keeping the boy mostly in Tirana¡¯s care and teachings, so Garrett wasn¡¯t as scared of his teacher anymore. She knew where Garrett went. There was a loggers¡¯ camp outside the town where some of the men would have fist fights for money. They wrapped straw or cloth around their fists and fought with their shirts off. ¡°Come watch me, they¡¯ll let me fight tonight.¡± Garrett had once said to her.

    She didn¡¯t like it very much. It was brutal and disgusting. But she did enjoy watching him fight. Most of the men were fat or at least halfway to ugly. ¡°Don¡¯t look at their faces, look at their technique. Look at how that one can just take one hit after another and keep on going. Look at the way his fist impacts but stays in a solid pose!¡± Garrett had tried to convince her of the brawl¡¯s merits. But it was not for her.

    She went to her cabinet and went through her clothes. A dress for running errands in town, a dress and apron for work at the cauldron, a dress for out on the fields and in the woods, a dress for formal occasions, and a robe for official businesses with the Lodge. And one last she had. The simple yellow one she got a while ago, not for any specific purpose, but because she wanted it. Its cloth was very light and thin, its cut simple. She put it on. It felt breezy enough for such a summer¡¯s night. She put on her straw sandals and carefully opened the door, then she tiptoed down the hall to Garrett¡¯s room and entered carefully.

    He was already asleep. She went over to his bed, knelt down and stroked his forehead until he awoke. He was still half asleep but he recognized her. She put her finger to his mouth, then said with the hushest of voices ¡°Come with, I want to show you something.¡± He tried to ask her what, but she would not let him. She just pulled him up, told him to get dressed and follow her.

    Elissa was pulling Garrett along by his hand and he would still try to get out of her what she was planning on doing, but she kept her mouth shut in a coy smile. He still obliged and so she led him to a certain part in the forest, to a smaller river that would later flow into the large stream. Its waters were clear and just deep enough to bathe. There, she had seen a nice big boulder, smooth and flat.

    They sat down, next to each other, on the boulder. She had often thought about this. What she wanted a man to do, not say, when he saw her. Susanna had told her what men loved about women and what they liked to do, or have done to them. ¡°All men¡¯s groins beat to the same rhythm. They want to feel like victorious warriors.¡± She had told Elissa. She had also told Elissa where her mother kept a peculiar bottle of that medicine for the careless, frivolous girls that came to her under the cover of the night. Just in case, of course.

    She was ready. She knew what she needed to do and she knew Garrett was the right one. They had been close for a long time, but Garrett seemed too friendly when it came to girls. He had no qualms beating and grappling any of his male friends. He was willing to charge into any fight head long. And she knew for a fact that he had killed. But with women, he was shy to the point of being hamstrung. ¡°They want to feel like victorious warriors, but they are still little boys at heart, yearning for adventure, yet too afraid to set out from the threshold. Someone needs to take their hand and guide them a little bit until they get the taste for conquest.¡±

    ¡°Now, what was it you wanted to show me?¡± he asked with annoyance in his voice.

    Elissa had to chuckle. He really was thick-witted tonight. She took off her dress and let herself slide to the ground, feet in the water. Naked she walked to the centre of the brook and turned around. ¡°This, you loveable oaf.¡±

    His face had gone to pieces. She walked back to the boulder and grabbed his ankle. ¡°Will you join me or do I have to drag you down here?¡±

    He quickly took off his clothes and joined her in the water, but he was still shy, still carefully placing his hands out of reach of any of the fun places. She tried to take his hand and guide him while they kissed, but he seemed to have no interest in exploring or taking whatever he wanted. She tried to feel him, but what Susanna had told her about men, had not yet happened between his legs.

    She stopped kissing. ¡°Is everything alright with you?¡±

    Something appeared on his face, she couldn¡¯t quite tell what it was in the dim moonlight. He quickly shook his head and said. ¡°No, everything is fine, totally... fine.¡± and quickly got back to kissing her. He started to do what she had expected, but he was rough, as if he was not into it or did not care about her. She pushed him away.

    ¡°What is wrong with you?¡±

    She saw that tears welled up in his eyes. He looked at her as if she represented his shattered hopes and wishes. He turned around. For a while, there was only the sound of flowing water and rustling leaves. She approached him and put her hands on his shoulders from behind.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think this is what I want.¡± Garrett finally said.

    Elissa didn¡¯t understand. She felt weird. ¡°Am I not beautiful?¡±

    ¡°No, it¡¯s not that, I... I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t know what?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± a silence fell, she could feel his tension, his muscles pressed his veins through his skin. ¡°...whether you are beautiful.¡±

    ¡°WHAT?¡± Elissa understood even less now. ¡°How can you not know? Are you blind?¡±

    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t understand!¡± He walked towards the boulder and picked up his clothes.

    Elissa didn¡¯t know what to say.

    Halfway through his searching he stopped again. ¡°Elissa?...¡± he sounded careful.

    ¡°...yes?¡±

    ¡°Can you not... Tell anyone about this?... Please?¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Could you just say yes?¡±

    Elissa could hear the tears in his voice. She came closer. ¡°Garrett. I promise, but please, tell me!¡±

    ¡°I just...¡± She heard that he had trouble breathing calmly. ¡°When some of the other guys look at women and say Oh, she¡¯s a looker! Or Look at this one! And all that stuff, I never know what they¡¯re talking about. It¡¯s like I don¡¯t see the appeal, but when I ask them, they get all weirded out and look at me in some manner that...¡±

    He still hadn¡¯t turned around, she wanted to embrace him, but as she came closer, he fell to his knees, stuck his head under water and screamed. He screamed so loud the fish in the ocean must have heard him.

    They sat, side by side, naked, on the boulder for probably an hour or two. He had mostly calmed down and had told her about everything. How the other men talked and he couldn¡¯t join in, how Mannerdon had offered him a round in the brothel and he had refused, how he had acquired a lewd deck of cards to get the other men off his case, how he felt nothing in particular when looking at the cards, and what he was thinking about when he was with himself. She was not sure what he was exactly talking about, but she knew that he was hurt, deeply at odds with himself, and agonising over it. She had an open ear for him, tried to help him back up on the inside, and generally tried her best, but she still felt powerless to help him.

    At the end of it all, when he had no more pain to share, she took his chin, turned his face to hers and told him ¡°You always carry yourself with such pride and confidence, don¡¯t falter now.¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t know how.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to join in with them, even if you were like them, there is no reason why you should join their gawking and leering. They wouldn¡¯t join yours either, or would they?¡± he carefully shook his head. ¡°Is your teacher not teaching to keep yourself hidden?¡±

    He tried to say something, then reconsidered, and finally said ¡°But, I don¡¯t want to hide from everyone.¡±

    ¡°I am sure you¡¯re not the only man like this, even if you feel alone, you¡¯ll find someone.¡± she felt so stupid for telling him phrases she didn¡¯t entirely understand herself. ¡°And until then, you¡¯ll never have to hide from me, I promise.¡±

    A bittersweet smile appeared on his face. They remained on the boulder for a while, but Elissa wanted to be fresh and spritely in the morning. After they had gotten dressed again, Garrett spoke up once again.

    ¡°Remember, you promised to not tell anyone!¡±

    ¡°Of course!¡± Elissa couldn¡¯t imagine what kind of person she¡¯d have to be to tell anyone this about her closest friend.

    His face spoke of uncertainty and fright. ¡°Do you still promise?¡±

    She kissed him softly on the cheek. ¡°I promise, again and again, as often you want to hear it.¡±

    ¡­ I was so tired the next morning from staying up so late, but it was worth it, for his sake.¡± Elissa¡¯s voice had gained a thick layer of melancholy and nostalgia.

    Nannade still looked at Elissa with as if under a spell.

    ¡°So don¡¯t forget, never tell him I told you.¡±

    The girl nodded slowly. She was lost in thought. After a while she brought forth ¡°But how does that even work, how woul-

    ¡°Don¡¯t ask. I won¡¯t tell you because I¡¯m not sure I want to know either. Now finish your cup, I don¡¯t want to be the only one drunk and rambling!¡± Nannade took a few deep gulps from her cup and Elissa sat back down again. ¡°So, now you know what I mean when I tell you that I know what it means, when a foolish girl¡¯s heart makes a mistake and gets broken. You know what I¡¯m talking about.¡±

    Nannade smiled knowingly. Elissa was glad the girl could already smile about that.

    Elissa stared into the distance and reminisced about her old days. As if they were thinking about the same thing, Nannade asked her ¡°So, Susanna is Tirana¡¯s daughter?¡±

    ¡°Yes, she is. Garrett actually picked her as a candidate to be your future teacher.¡±

    ¡°What will she teach me?¡±

    ¡°Etiquette and social behaviour.¡±

    ¡°No magic?¡±

    ¡°No, Susanna is no wielder of any magic. The children of mediums are not any more likely to be mediums themselves.¡±

    ¡°Did you grow up together?¡± Nannade seemed really interested in Elissa¡¯s past. Maybe because she had no reference points how other girls grew up.

    ¡°Sort of. She is seven years older than me, so when I first met her, she was a bit younger than you are now. She was sometimes like a big sister to me, but the moment that I came into her mother¡¯s care, Susanna was basically air for her, I got all the attention, and Garrett just made it worse. She might have had disdain for me because of that at first, but I never noticed at the time. We became friends later. Anyway, she became an entertainer, then she invested in establishments in Halonnes. Now she owns several establishments and is a courtesan.¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Nannade was still taking these careful and tiny sips from her cup.

    ¡°Think of it as someone who organizes all the lavish parties that the nobles and rich in the cities love so much. A festival of prancing dandies and stuck up bods.¡±

    ¡°And I need to learn that why?¡± Nannade had finished her cup and Elissa had already gotten to refilling it.

    ¡°Oh, Garrett said something about blending in and being able to live in every strata of society.¡±

    ¡°Sounds exhausting.¡±

    ¡°It is!¡± Elissa couldn¡¯t suppress her guffawing.

    Nannade seemed to have a lot of questions on her mind. ¡°Garrett said the arcane gift runs in the family, that¡¯s why the nobles try to keep their blood pure. But it''s not the same with the Mystic Gift?¡±

    ¡°No. Nobody knows what makes a medium. Some think it¡¯s pure coincidence. In the cities, with the universities attracting so many mages and whatnot, you¡¯ll find many arcanists, but on the land it¡¯s much less. Mediums are even rarer in cities than on the countryside. Tirana once said the records do not speak of changing numbers of mediums in the land. So no matter how densely packed a land is, there¡¯s not going to be more mediums in total. Some witches say that the land itself chooses its mediums, some believe that communing with spirits while they are still with child improves the odds, so they do that, bathe in places of power, sleep on ley lines, all that stuff. But I also heard many of their children arrive twisted, deformed, ¡®blessed too much¡¯. The sisterhoods who still do this are... unpleasant to say the least.¡±

    A silence fell between them. Nannade broke it after a while.

    ¡°The spirit part of the werewolf talked to me.¡± Her voice was rife with melancholy and guilt.

    Elissa knew this too well. She too had to put down those that wanted too much. ¡°That¡¯s always unpleasant. It was in pain, wasn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. It sounded so sad and regretful.¡±

    ¡°Just like the human body turns to wolf, the wolfen spirit fuses with the human soul and inherits its regrets and shames and fears.¡±

    ¡°I just wish I could have killed it quicker, with less pain.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t let it get to you!¡±

    Nannade still looked down. ¡°Do you think that my kind stems from things like this?¡±

    ¡°Oh girl, you better not start with the theories where your kind comes from, there are more opinions on that than stars!¡± she was starting to pour another cup.

    ¡°Do you really think you should be drinking so much?¡± Nannade had seen Elissa a bit drunk once or twice before but never seen her actually drinking.

    ¡°Oh shush, you drink another one too.¡±

    Nannade seemed a bit squeamish but agreed. She downed what remained in her cup and then held it out.

    ¡°Nothing like a girl¡¯s talk after the little boys have gone to bed.¡± Elissa said, almost proud of her deep wisdom.

    ¡°Will you ever marry?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m probably worse in picking my men than you are. The snoring bastard in there is proof of that!¡±

    Nannade stared into the distance. ¡°I was so dumb, thinking I could be with Carsten. I¡¯ll have to leave soon anyway. I¡¯ll go to Fiona and tell her.¡±

    ¡°Tell her what?¡±

    ¡°That I¡¯m through with Carsten.¡±

    ¡°Why Fiona?¡±

    ¡°She told me that she had a crush on him when I was twelve, but made me swear never to tell anyone. After Carsten approached me, she begged me not to answer him, but I did, and she hated me for that.¡±

    Elissa nodded. ¡°You should tidy things like that up before you leave. It¡¯s not good leaving something like that behind.¡±

    Nannade nodded, half absent from the conversation. Then she turned to Elissa again. ¡°Since it wasn¡¯t Garetas, who was your first man?¡±

    Elissa chuckled. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you that tonight. Maybe later. Maybe after you had yours and we can talk like women of experience.¡±

    ¡°But I wanna know what to do!¡± her voice started to take on a begging undertone.

    ¡°Not knowing is the best part!¡± Elissa couldn¡¯t help but snicker at the thought of Nannade being as helpless as she was. But she would probably be much more active and headstrong. As Garrett had said: ¡°That girl will one day run headlong into a wall.¡±

    ¡°And it will be a great opportunity to learn.¡± She whispered to herself.

    When Nannade accepted that she would not make progress with Elissa any more, she got up and stretched her hands to the sky. Then she started to do a cartwheel. It was decent, but the landing was a bit wobbly. The girl found her balance again and tried again, until she finally landed on her butt with a loud SMACK. She groaned in pain and the two snickered.

    ¡°Oh girl, I could watch you all day. Remember when we first met and you tried to get up on the roof from the chopping block?¡±

    ¡°I managed to grab the edge, though!¡± The girl interjected.

    ¡°Yah, for half a second.¡±

    Nannade walked to the roof. She stretched her arm up and managed to lightly brush against the roof¡¯s edge. ¡°I don¡¯t even need the chopping block anymore.¡± she exclaimed proudly.

    ¡°How the years went by.¡± Elissa thought about the ones that were still to come by.

    They were both talking and laughing for a while longer, Nannade leaning against one of the porch¡¯s supports, Elissa in her porch chair. Eventually, the girl fell asleep while still leaning against the support and Elissa decided it was time for them to get to bed. The two went to bed, opting to stay in Elissa¡¯s bedroom, as to not disturb the sleeping oaf.

 Freedom & Folly VI

    The air on the clearing was still, as if the forest animals themselves felt the tension. Two combatants stood opposite each other; their eyes already locked in a fierce battle before the first punch was even thrown. Nannade observed every single one of her Teacher¡¯s muscles for any sign of movement, but they remained like chiselled in stone. She kept moving, smoothly and fluidly, to not let him anticipate where the first strike would come from, one step forward, one step back, to the side, left arm raising for a guard, right arm readying for an attack, dropping the attack, moving to a cross guard with the left. She never remained in one pose. She came closer, but he remained stalwart in his simple combat pose, left guarding his lower body, right guarding his upper body, not betraying his plan for the first movement. She dared to come closer, she was within his reach, but he not yet in hers, she needed to come a lot closer, into the danger zone, but be wary of all of his limbs.

    She saw it, a tiny opening in his guard on his far-left, upper body. Her right fist shot in an arch towards the opening, he raised his elbow, deflecting her strike upwards, her right side was now completely open. He turned his left arm to catch hers in an elbow-lock, but she managed to wind out of his grip.

    Garetas was facing Nannade with his left shoulder now. With a swift kick from her left she could reach him from behind. Nannade put all her might into it, but he still saw it coming. He seized her ankle with his right. Before he could pull her up by the ankle, she launched her entire body into a spin with her remaining leg.

    Airborne, she drove her right foot up and inwards. Like with her left foot, Garetas anticipated a kick to his head and tried to catch it, but her target was not his head. Instead, it shot above his head over to the other side. With the impulse from her body, her left foot twisted itself free from Garetas¡¯ grip. She caught her fall with her arms, face down, back to him.

    ¡°Too slow.¡± He said while putting his boot on the back of her head from behind. ¡°Nice way to twist yourself free, but you didn¡¯t think far enough ahead.¡±

    She knew what would come next. ¡°How many?¡±

    ¡°A hundred, minus ten for creativity. But you¡¯re still half a continent away from catching up to me.¡±

    When she was done with the push-ups, her arms felt like falling off.

    ¡°Come on, next round.¡± He helped her up.

    It pained her to raise her hands to a defensive position, but she would not give up now, the price was too great, she wasn¡¯t going to give up now. He again remained in his almost perfect pose. A thought shot into her head. He wouldn¡¯t put a faulty guard; he was too good for that. He had baited her! She would not fall for it again. Instead, she would bait him!

    She checked his stance all over and found the obvious open spot. His right lower body was not properly guarded. She sent her left for the obvious trap, but a moment later, she sent her right to follow up on his face. He stepped aside. His stance narrowed. Her fist flew by his face, his right arm blocked her other fist outward. He swept her forward leg away, she lost balance and he stepped aside to clear her way to the ground. To add insult to injury, he swept her arms away too, forcing her to fall right on her face.

    ¡°That one wasn¡¯t even good form, a feint may be creative, but done like this, it only worsens your situation. A hundred and twenty.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t. She had soil between her teeth and her arms were already protesting the prospect of merely ten push-ups. ¡°Does it have to? I¡¯m spent.¡±

    He smirked; she could tell without even looking. ¡°Alright then. I¡¯ll get the bowl.¡±

    She wanted to protest again, but she knew he¡¯d have worse in store. She instead accepted and got up on one of the stakes on her balance path, balancing on the ball of one foot. Garrett soon came out of the house with a shallow wooden bowl half filled with water, which he proceeded to carefully balance on her head until it sat still.

    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be doing my reading then on the porch.¡± Garrett sat down in one of the porch chairs with a small book of his, while Nannade held her balance on the stake. The worst part about this punishment was that the better she did, the longer she would have to do it next time, but the worse she did, the more he increased every other punishment.

    By the sundial Elissa had set up on the clearing, the better half of an hour had passed when Elissa came out of the hut in a quick stride. ¡°Someone¡¯s coming.¡± she said passing Garrett, then vanished down the road away from the hut.

    He checked his clothes and looked over to Nannade. She begged him to call the punishment off with her eyes, but he didn¡¯t seem to think it necessary. This was not breaking the masquerade according to him. Elissa returned shortly after with a weird man by her side. He was tall and a bit pudgy, with the air of a careful observer about him. His light brown hair hung down in fringes and his blue eyes had a cautious thing about them that she couldn¡¯t put a finger on.

    ¡°You¡¯ve got a visitor, Garrett.¡± Elissa said and went back to her study.

    Garrett smiled when he saw the visitor. ¡°Silver Feather. I was afraid you wouldn¡¯t show up!¡±

    ¡°Purple Paw, I wouldn¡¯t let you down on such an important task.¡± He answered him and they shared a handshake and a hug. Nannade understood what was going on.

    Garrett led the visitor over to Nannade. ¡°This is her. My latest endeavour.¡± He turned to Nannade, who couldn¡¯t tilt her head for the risk of tipping the bowl. ¡°This is Silver Feather of Sturreland. He will be granting you permission to accompany me on my contracts despite you not having call sign yet.¡±

    Nannade peered from the corners of her eyes. ¡°Understood. It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you, colleague Silver Feather.¡±

    Silver Feather laughed heartily. ¡°Don¡¯t get ahead of yourself, little girl, I''m no colleague of yours just yet.¡± Then he got to inspecting her balanced pose. Suddenly, keeping her equilibrium had become harder than ever.

    He turned to Garetas again. ¡°So this is for who you passed on the contract on Dranton¡¯s head?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I would have loved to see the life snuffed out on his stupid face, but she is a little miracle, I tell you!¡± He looked Nannade directly in the eyes while Silver Feather inspected her from all sides. ¡°Silver Feather will also oversee the establishment of your call sign and first mark of approval, should you pass the tests to come.¡±

    Silver Feather had made a few rounds around Nannade when he nodded to himself. ¡°So, Paw, show me!¡±

    ¡°What do you want to see?¡±

    ¡°Anything.¡±

    ¡°Okay.¡± Garrett turned to Nannade again. ¡°Get down. Don¡¯t spill a single drop!¡±

    This was unfair. She only had managed twice before and it had been more luck than skill. She would still try. Slowly, she bent down the leg she was standing on and carefully reached for the ground with her other one, having to keep her head perfectly lever the entire time. Her foot reached the cool, moist forest floor. When she had secured her footing, she moved her other foot down as well. Stable, straight and with the bowl still level on her head, she stood there. Silver Feather¡¯s face showed respect. Pride welled up within Nannade, she tried to bottle it, to not let it appear on her face.

    ¡°Not bad. But be honest, Paw, why a crolachan?¡±

    Garetas smiled. ¡°Let¡¯s show him, Fleabag, get your bow.¡±

    Nannade took the bowl off and tossed it away. Then she walked over to her bow and hip quiver. This was her favourite part of training. She climbed up on a low branch that already had hundreds of scratches from her claws, partially covered up by a cloth tied around it with the number one on it. Garetas had gotten a stack of old wooden shingles with the marks of many dozen arrows. Garetas went to his position and raised one shingle in his hand. He was ready, but she wanted to wait a little longer. Silver Feather stood close to Teacher, eager to see what kind of demonstration he would behold.

    She felt the leather of her bow¡¯s grip and ran her fingers along its string, absorbing its tautness. With only a claw she plucked the string a tiny bit and listened to its note. Then she tightened her grip on the bow and gave her Teacher the sign that she was ready. He took a swing and let go of the shingle, sending it flying high to the thinnest branches of the trees. It was reeling upwards through the air. Nannade moved the bow and its string to the quiver. She nocked an arrow. As she moved her left into an aiming position, she drew the string back with her right. She took aim, at that spot there, where the shingle would halt for a moment at its apex. She heard the strain of the string next to her ear, its ache to unleash its whistling scream. She let loose its song.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    FWOCK

    The shingle tumbled backwards in a sudden jolt, arrow stuck in its wood. She hadn''t heard it land yet, when the next one flew upwards.

    FWOCK

    The next one flew more sideward, obscured in its path by the occasional tree.

    FWOCK

    Garrett struck out with the next target and yelled ¡°TWO!¡± just before sending it flying especially high.

    Nannade jumped to her left, onto the trunk of another tree. She hit the trunk, right hand and both feet stretched out to the soft bark, softening the impact and granting her footing. With a single impulse, she pushed herself upwards to the next branch marked with the number two. She made it into a standing position on the branch, the claws on her toes digging into the soft bark while she took aim on the next board, sailing through the air away from her.

    FWOCK

    The next two flew at the same time. She hated this. One arrow on the string, the other between middle and ring finger of her right.

    FWOCK

    FWOCK

    ¡°THREE!¡±

    She made another leap, landed on the next branch. The boards were flying in quick succession. She drew and loose an entire canon of arrows.

    FWOCK FWOCK FWOCK FWOCK

    Her quiver was empty.

    SMOTT

    The last board hit the moist forest floor with no arrow stuck to it. The last note had resounded in all its cacophonic atrocity.

    ¡°Why did that happen?¡± Garetas asked the girl standing on the branch around twenty feet above him.

    ¡°I ran out of arrows, Teacher.¡±

    ¡°And why did that happen?¡±

    ¡°Because I wasn¡¯t prepared, Teacher. I should have checked the number of targets you brought.¡±

    He nodded with content. ¡°Very well. Come down from there.¡± He turned back to Silver Feather. ¡°Is that enough explanation?¡±

    Silver Feather was watching Nannade, observing each of her fingers and toes as they seemed to stick to the wood like steel nails on her descent from up high. ¡°I think she¡¯ll do you fine work, Paw.¡±

    ¡°Does that mean you¡¯ll allow her?¡±

    ¡°Not yet, there remains one thing I¡¯d like to see.¡± Silver Feather turned to Nannade. ¡°Your cast book, Apprentice.¡±

    Nannade handed it over to him. ¡°Sure, but it got wet a few days ago, I haven¡¯t written down that much.¡±

    Silver Feather was going through it either way, until one of the spells seemed to catch his interest. ¡°Well, I know that this one isn¡¯t your teaching, Paw.¡± He showed a page to Garetas so that Nannade could not see it.

    Garetas nodded. ¡°That¡¯s one of Elissa¡¯s, simple scrying spell to detect wounds and injuries below skin. The girl often accompanies Elissa on her visits to the villagers.¡±

    ¡°Well enough, not a bad thing, just interesting.¡± Silver Feather handed the book back to Nannade. ¡°I¡¯ll allow her. I saw the contract, Paw, it¡¯s just some evidence acquisition, no execution involved.¡±

    Garetas grinned. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t try to break code by having her kill before her first mark of approval; not under your scrutinizing eyes.¡±

    ¡°So, now that it¡¯s all taken care of, how about we two head to that inn down in that village? I booked a bed there and am itching to try their ale.¡±

    Garetas looked to be most agreeing. ¡°Sure, it¡¯s been a while since I shared a drink with someone of the trade.¡±

    ¡°Hey wait!¡± Nannade shot between the two. ¡°Elissa will go to Melanie¡¯s tonight, you can¡¯t leave me here alone, we were supposed to go through our gear together! The job is just two days away!¡±

    Garetas waved her complaints away. ¡°Oh we can do that tomorrow, relax.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s not the point. You promised we¡¯d stick to the routine.¡±

    He rolled his eyes and turned to Silver Feather ¡°What can I do? Looks like I¡¯ll be babysitting tonight.¡±

    She just proved herself worthy, she would no longer take this attitude from him. ¡°You don¡¯t get to call me a baby anymore. For the sake of all living things, I¡¯m fourteen!¡±

    ¡°Fine then, Fleabag, looks like I¡¯ll have to watch you sharpen knives and oil ropes again, because apparently, you can¡¯t do that by yourself.¡±

    Nannade tried to remain calm. ¡°Forget it, I¡¯ll entertain myself!¡± and wandered off deeper into the forest. She would always be able to cool off there.

    Clueless as he was, Garetas had to call out to her. ¡°Wait, you have to tell me where you¡¯re going!¡±

    ¡°The Glade, where else?¡± She sped up her pace to escape his stupid questions.

    For the longest time of her stay in Sturreland, the Glade had been a place off-bounds for her outside of special occasions, until she had learned how to treat the spirits and the life force, as well as controlling her mind and her Mystic Gift. It was a place of power, a place where ley-lines crossed and the flowing life force they carried gathered, and so did the spirits. It cost them less energy to manifest there, allowing a free and unhindered communion with the land.

    She came to the small stone bridge across the rift. Behind this bridge, the boundaries of this world became thinner, reality became malleable, distance and time blurred, but only those with the Mystic Gift and sufficient control of it could fully benefit from this ¡°unreality¡±. She stepped across and let the energies wash over her, like a broad and strong current of warmth and coldness. She walked on to the altar on the slab in the middle and sat down on it. As she felt the life force flow through her, she attuned her voice and body and sang in its harmony, then she dared to open her mind, just the tiniest bit, and impressions stormed in. The feeling of feet on soil, the taste of succulent blades of grass between her teeth, the force of wind beneath her wings.

    This most crucial of abilities for a mystic took her almost four years to realize. To be accepted by the land and its life force was important for a mystic, to feel as the animals, the plants and the very elements felt. As if on a road network for her mind, she could see long distances, feel distant places, talk to distant spirits ¨C such as her friend, who felt closer now than ever before. She fully understood why the druids guarded these places so well and how they could keep control over such a vast land, while a university had trouble keeping a single city under control. The arcane was the magic of what one could grasp with a single hand. But the mystic was the magic of entire lands, people and continents. The arcane emerged and vanished with the snap of a finger, but spirits remained and remembered aeons. The magisters hid from the mystic. They were afraid because it could not be controlled with drawings of ink, the mystic could not be wrestled to the ground and forced to do one¡¯s bidding, it needed to be bartered with, it needed charm and charisma, things that Garetas had about as much of as he had of motherly instincts. And now that she had managed to develop this skill, Teacher Garetas would take her away as soon as she had accepted a part of this land as her familiar.

    She felt him coming up the slope, without Silver Feather, who most likely tried to stop him from messing with places of power. Silver Feather of Sturreland, that call sign told her that he received his first mark of approval here, and he most likely knew that Sturreland was even more stubborn than all other lands in Ackarom. The people were proud and steadfast in their way of living, the witches and druids of the Lodge were powerful, commanding the land and the people absolute, and the spirits reflected all that. Or did they enforce it? It mattered not. The city folk ¨C like Garetas ¨C would not understand either way. He had arrived by the Glade, interrupting her meditation. She kept her eyes closed, preferring to watch him through the forest¡¯s eyes rather than her own.

    ¡°Hey, scrying to faraway places again?¡± He asked from across the bridge, wary of entering this place that was not for him.

    ¡°Obviously not anymore. What do you want?¡±

    He seemed intimidated by her whenever she was or had recently been convening with the land. ¡°You know, you could come along with us, learn a bit more about the trade, have some fun, get to know someone new.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to disturb your buddy-time, I¡¯ll stick to what I know, you go ahead and pour ale into your head.¡±

    He came an inch closer, to the very edge of the bride. ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t want there to be bad blood between us. I know you¡¯re angry because you¡¯ll have to leave soon after the next festival dance. But know that you are by far not done with your training, that¡¯s a dangerous world out there. You¡¯ll see that soon enough when we do our first contract.¡±

    ¡°If it¡¯s so dangerous, why take me there? Why keep me along? Just release me. Or are you afraid I¡¯ll babble out all those juicy Hidden Hands secrets?¡±

    His voice hardened. ¡°You should be the one afraid of that. I¡¯d hate to have to put you down, because that¡¯s the punishment for failing to train an apprentice properly.¡±

    She had to pause for a moment. The days when he told her that she would be free if she could kill him were over, she must be coming closer and he didn¡¯t like that. ¡°Would you, though?

    His back straightened, as if he had just received a challenge. ¡°I have been in this business longer than you have lived, young girl! Don¡¯t question my resolve.¡±

    Something came over her. A presence, a power, a friend. Like a mantle it covered her body and mind. She didn¡¯t need to call for her friend anymore to enjoy the company. Here they could be together without anyone interrupting them.

    ¡°Are you sure I am questioning your resolve? Maybe I am questioning your abilities, old man.¡± She didn¡¯t know why she had said that, but it had felt so good, maybe because she could observe his stupid face from so many different angles. It showed confusion, irritation and resignation

    ¡°I see you¡¯d much rather be alone with the spirits for now; I¡¯ll cool off with Silver Feather, maybe you can go take a dip in the cool spring to get that hot head of yours down to a proper level.¡± He turned around and went back down the slope.

    She suppressed a giggle and turned her mind to her friend again. She cherished these twosome moments with an entity from far, faaar away, there were always such delicious secrets to indulge. No one would ever tear them apart, her friend promised her that.

 Freedom & Folly VII

    A dark side alley next a stone cliff in the middle of the city, two figures in cloaks staring upward, where the upper class of the city had their secure and sheltered mansions. But this security would be violated tonight, by these two shadows. Purple Paw could see that his apprentice was in an especially eager mood today, by the way she kept clicking her claws together, curled in her toes that where poking out of her leather wrappings and kept curving and straightening her short tail. Up there at the top of the cliff was the estate they were supposed to infiltrate under the cover of the night, in order to acquire evidence against a guild-representative on the city''s council. The climb would be around a hundred feet, not all of which would be along the natural stone cliff. The last twenty or so feet would be a smooth limestone wall topped with fence spikes.

    Purple Paw looked at his apprentice, expecting her initiative. She took a while to free her eyes from the long way up, when she finally did, her expression told him that she had no idea what he wanted.

    "Well, I said you''d have to memorize the plan!" He reminded her.

    "OH, OH! Yes!" She looked up again, then down. She tried to remember. "The glue!"

    Purple Paw nodded. "And then!? The whole plan!"

    The apprentice thought for a while longer. "Up the wall with the glue, secure the rope, wait for you. Up through the window, also with the glue, climb into the storage chamber, secure rope again, up to the study, search the study, find the evidence, get back out, down the rope, down the other rope, meet at the place, hand over evidence, get paid."

    Purple Paw nodded with satisfaction. "And what do we do with the plan?"

    "We stick to it!" Her eyes were determined. It was her first mission and she showed promise.

    "Excellent. Let''s go."

    They took off their cloaks and left them in the bushes, then they put on their masks. Purple Paw produced a bottle with a thick green liquid from his bag while his apprentice got her bow out. She tied one end of the rope around the arrow, then added the liquid to the head and then she tied the other end of the rope around her ankle. She aimed for a moment and shot. The arrow hit with a soft SMUDSH and the glue kept it stuck to the upper part of the limestone wall. The apprentice quickly got to climbing. She wouldn''t have much time before the glue would turn completely hard and started to crumble.

    The crolachan climbed up faster than some people walked over even ground. Determination and confidence spoke from her movements and she arrived at the drying glob of glue. She now had to bridge the gap to the top of the wall. She stemmed her legs against the limestone blocks, bent her knees and, with a mighty push, propelled herself upwards.

    CRACK

    The glob of glue came loose from the wall and rained bits of dried glue and limestone shards down. Purple Paw shielded his eyes. When he looked back up, his apprentice was still up there, on the foothold that the tiny ledge of natural rock at the wall''s base provided. With her hands she clung to the wall, with her feet to the natural rock, pushing her claws into the narrowest of gaps. It didn''t look very secure for any moment longer than necessary. She looked down to him. He tried signalling her that she should throw him the bow so he could shoot a new rope. She didn''t pay him any heed and instead carefully squatted down, keeping her body as close to the wall as possible. Purple Paw tried to figure what it was she wanted to do. Did she want to jump all the way up the wall from this unsecure squatting position? She couldn''t jump twenty feet!

    She went down one more inch, then she propelled herself upwards.

    With the sound of scraping claws on stone she almost crawled up the wall, sustaining her momentum with the slightest hold the claws on her hands and feet found on the wall. She arrived at the top and grabbed onto the ledge, pulled herself up and swung a leg over the wall, carefully avoiding the wall spikes. She untied the end of the rope from her ankle and tied it to one of the spikes. Then she waved to Purple Paw to give the all clear.

    His apprentice was already over the wall when he arrived. She had run towards the mansion and pressed herself to a wall to avoid detection. Purple Paw threw the rope to the other side so they could still get back up and ran to her. He couldn''t see any guards, but he wasn''t willing to wait for one.

    "That was pretty good." he said after arriving by her side.

    "Thanks. I learned from squirrels and cats."

    "And what do we do now?"

    She got a small mirror out of the pocket of her leather vest and used it to look around the corner. After a bit of looking, she said "We should be able to get in through the top window at the very end of that wall."

    Like a teacher during a test, he asked her "And how do you know that?"

    "Because the servants always leave that open in the evening."

    Purple Paw nodded with satisfaction. The two of them started to run along the wall.

    After they arrived, they did the same trick with the glue and the rope and the arrow again, shooting the arrow above the window and just stepping inside from there. First the apprentice, then Purple Paw. The window led into a small side room primarily used by servants as storage for cleaning utensils. The girl checked the hallway when Purple Paw put his hand on her shoulder. "I''ll take it from here!" He said. She slouched her shoulders in disappointment and wanted to protest for a moment, but then she relaxed and let it got with a nod.

    Purple Paw took his small square notebook bound in leather from his hips. He flipped through all the different spell formula he had written down beforehand, then ripped out six and stuck them securely under his belt. An Invisible Fist, a Door Seal, two Constrictors, an Arcane Lens and a Metal Storm. Then he took two more, both Silent Steps, and held the first in front of his eyes while looking at his apprentice. He concentrated on that SNAP in his mind. The ink of the spell formula ignited and a flame swallowed the piece of paper. Then he did the same with himself. He got to the door and beckoned his apprentice to follow him.

    They sprinted down the hallway, to the stairs, up into the third floor, their footsteps silenced by the spell. The hallway was clear. They had a few breaths left on the spell. They hurried along to the second door, the one which they deduced to be the target''s study. The spell had run out by the time they arrived. Purple Paw knelt by the door knob and looked at his apprentice. She was ready. He drew his lock picks. Were they not in such a hurry, he would let her do it.The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

    The lock did not put up much of a fight and shortly after, the two burst inside. The room was empty. Quickly they got to sealing the door from the inside. The room was large, even for the luxurious manor. Two sofas around a coffee table to the left of the door formed a sort of business-talking corner, to the right stood a desk carved from burl wood and behind it a comfortable looking chair, the walls had many cabinets and book cases filled with case folders and reference books. The two of them started searching the room. Their contact had assured them that the object they were looking for was somewhere in this room. Purple Paw had finished looking through one of the cabinets when he heard steps outside the door. Both of them stopped for a moment before drawing their knives and looking at the door in anticipation. The steps passed by. They sighed in relief and got back to searching.

    Finally, when Purple Paw had already gone through all the cabinets, his apprentice waved to get his attention. She was standing in front of a bust of some noble that made himself distinguished to the city a few decades back. The bust was facing slightly to the wall, no way for a bust to be arranged in such a room. Purple Paw drew the Arcane Lens and cast it. The bust was booby-trapped, even if just with a very simple spell that seemed to have a heat and a sound component. The spell would probably severely burn a careless thief''s hands and wake up everyone in the vicinity. Purple Paw figured out a simple counter that should work. He cleared his mind and did the necessary calculations, then he let his improvised contraption loose on the bust. It started to vibrate as the tensed up power inside sought another outlet without actually causing the spell''s intended effect. The bust was not content with just vibrating, starting instead to rattle and skip with angry CLANK and TWAENG. Finally, it came to a standstill.

    When his apprentice tried to pick it up, she immediately retracted her hand. The bust was uncomfortably hot. She carefully held it with the palms of her hands covered by her fingerless gloves.

    The bottom had a small handle. Turning it a few degrees allowed them to take out the centre of the underside, revealing a hollow space inside. From there the apprentice pulled forth a very long and tightly rolled scroll. Purple Paw unrolled it. Various accounts of trades and transactions their client had suspected. He quickly rolled the scroll back up and tucked it under his belt when his apprentice tried to peek in.

    "Is it what we were looking for? Can I see?"

    "Just business dealings he shouldn''t have, let''s go." He put the bust back as it was.

    "But what is it? I want to see, too!"

    "No need for you to see, it''s according to contract and enough to incriminate him."

    His apprentice wanted to start another attempt, but he shot her down with a glare, then walked back to the door.

    "Ready?"

    His apprentice nodded, then Purple Paw opened the door.

    The apprentice burst outside of the room onto the hallway and saw herself confronted with a surprised maid. Both made a sudden sound. Purple Paw barely had time to recognize the uniform before he pulled one of the Constrictors from his belt. He tensed his mind and SNAP. A flame swallowed the paper, and half a moment before the maid could call for help, her entire body seized up. Now, they had around a minute to get out. They carried her into the study and Purple Paw applied the door seal. Then they got back to hurrying down the hallway, making sure to not run to avoid any unnecessary noise. The second floor seemed clear. Quickly they got back to the storage room, rappelled down the mansion wall and back towards where they had left the rope. It was still there, but as they came closer, two guards patrolled around the corner, lanterns dousing the surroundings on bright white light, Paw and his apprentice included. The guards didn''t need to look at the intruders and the rope twice before yelling an alarm.

    The apprentice was quick to throw two knives, both of which were blocked by the guards'' armour. Purple Paw''s hand reached for his belt. He pulled out the Invisible Fist, held the piece of paper into his line of sight to the first guard and cast the spell.

    PAENG

    The guard''s metal chest plate dented inward, a sudden jolt flung him backwards onto his back. Purple Paw used the second Constrictor on the other guard.

    Bells were heard, the alarm was rung across the mansion. Soon both private and city guards would be swarming here. The two intruders got to the rope over the wall before the guard could recover from the Invisible Fist. Purple Paw took his notebook and threw it to his apprentice. "CATCH! GET ON THE WALL FIND ME TWO FEATHER FALLS!" She took the lead up the rope and sat on top of the wall, a leg to each side frantically flipping through the notes while Purple Paw drew his dagger with the crystal pommel. The girl was still flipping when the first guard had arrived and swung his halberd at Purple Paw. He dodged to the side and saw the other guards approaching behind his opponents.

    "Are you even looking?" He yelled to the girl.

    "I can''t find a second Feather Fall!"

    The guard swung another time. A quick step, Purple Paw got closer, behind the head of his opponent''s halberd. He stepped on the shaft, wresting the weapon from his opponent''s arm and readied his dagger for a thrust under his armour plates. The guard had already reached for his short sword. It cut through the air and landed between prong and blade of Purple Paw''s dagger. A twist of the defender''s wrist and the guard lost hold of his sword. Purple Paw sent his foot to the guard''s face and knocked him down.

    "TAFF!" Purple Paw cursed and hurried to the rope. A guard had already started shooting arrows their way. He dodged an arrow, half stumbling. Another group of three guards came their way.

    "FEATHER FALL! NOW!"

    "I only got one here!"

    "SHOW ME!"

    The apprentice held the Feather Fall at arm''s length, with formula facing Paw. Despite arrows flying, he took the time to cast the spell off the paper, and immediately prepare an Invisible Fist of strong intensity in his mind.

    "WHAT?" was her only reaction as the paper went up in flames.

    "Stick to the plan!" He yelled at her, then tossed her the paper scroll, which she caught with another "WHAT?" and a "WHY?" as well. The Invisible Fist followed immediately after.

    With a gentle shove, the apprentice lost her balance and fell off the wall backwards and Paw turned around just in time to block another strike and bind the attacker''s weapon with his dagger. He''d have to keep them off her back for a while.

    The apprentice meanwhile realized that she was falling at a rather comfortable speed. The fist that should have pulverized her bones was weakened by the magic amulet hanging from her neck. The apprentice arrived safely on the ground. She looked up to the rope. Her Teacher still wasn''t coming over the wall. She waited for another heartbeat. Her hands started to get sweaty. Stick to the plan, she thought. Another heartbeat. She heard people coming around the corner in a hurry. Another heartbeat. Still nothing from up top. She picked up both their cloaks and Purple Paw''s palm book, then she ran down the streets. Stick to the plan. Meet at the place. Hand over the evidence. Get paid.

 Freedom & Folly VIII

    Calestre was a pretty city, but so far Nannade hadn''t gotten to enjoying it yet, she and Garret had either been busy sitting in their room at the inn to plan their heist, sitting in a different inn to make deals for information with disgruntled servants, or sneaking through dark alleyways to get to their destination.

    It was deepest night and only the huge bulbous vials that served as streetlamps bathed the city in soft white. Right now, Nannade sat under a bridge spanning the river Celbre, on the fundament of the last arc, just about two hands'' width above the water line. This was where they had planned to meet with their contact, hand over the evidence, and get their payment. She had done that long ago. Now she was waiting here for her Teacher Garetas. He''d get out of any situation, given enough time, she just had to wait. So far, she had been waiting since midnight and probably three hours had passed since then - she couldn''t see the university''s clock tower very well from under the bridge. If she leaned out from her hiding place, she could see the city on the other side of the river. Its spires reached into the sky, illuminated by the lights of the university. The central tower was the council''s. There the faculty, the guild masters and the elected representatives of the mundane commoners would meet to discuss their plans for the city and the surrounding lands. One of those representatives'' house was broken in tonight. By Nannade and her Teacher Garetas. She was never told what they found and handed over, but she did use the opportunity to peek on the small scroll before handing it over. Huge volumes on heavily rolled wares. Furs, spices, various alchemical and magical ingredients, possibly stolen goods. Nannade didn''t like being left in the dark, but she had to trust her Teacher in most aspects, she was in no position to question him, she didn''t even have her own call sign yet. But even if she did, he was vastly more experienced and skilled than her, she had seen as much today, when the situation got sticky and wild. Nannade had panicked, but her Teacher had kept it together and reacted just right. His speed during combat was awe-inspiring. She was used to him being collected and vigilant during their sparring fights. Tonight, she saw he could take on two trained fighters. He even correctly considered the force he needed to apply to the Invisible Fist to not hurt her but still get through the protection of her mother''s last wish. She looked at the vial that hung from her neck. All the blood in it had drained, to protect her from the effects of Teacher Garetas'' spell. She thought about refilling it with her blood. But not now, maybe later.

    Teacher eventually showed up. He sighed in relief when he saw her. "My goodness am I glad to see you." He sat down and came to a rest.

    "That took long. Does it always take this long to shake them?"

    "Most of that time was hiding. I tried to so many times, but they always found me in my hiding spot sooner or later. Which meant I had to escape again, find a new spot and yadda yadda yadda."

    She handed him his palm book. "Are we clear?"

    "Honestly? I''m not sure. Until the evidence is through with the Magistrate and he clears us, we can only hide or bounce."

    "I don''t want to bounce yet."

    "You''ll have enough time sightseeing later."

    "When? When we take another contract here? I want to spend my share." She had waited for this moment for a long time. Calestre might not be Halonnes or any of the Bridges, but it still had many things Nannade couldn''t get anywhere else.

    "Before you talk about your share, hand over the money."

    Nannade got out a bag the size of two fists ¨C Garetas'' grown man fists ¨C and handed it over to him. "It''s all he promised, in Halonnes silver, as agreed."

    Garetas looked in the bag, then nodded. "Looks about right. We can''t count it here."

    "Back to the room?"

    "Yes, let''s go."

    The inn they stayed at was on the other side of the bridge from the city. It wasn''t luxurious but the stench of shit wasn''t just so bad there. Nannade would often complain, associating it with the dark hole she had inhabited for most of her life.

    Back at their room Garrett had confirmed the pay and was happy with the night''s earnings. He gave Nannade her share, an eighth for her free use, plus another eighth for her equipment. Most apprentices made less in two dozen days than she just made in a single night. It was a five day''s journey each way though. It wasn''t very cost-efficient to live so far off the roads and rivers, but considering Garrett did it to keep her safe and unknown, it was a worthy investment.

    "I really want to go into the city tomorrow, teacher."

    "Please stop pestering me. I told you, it''s dangerous."

    Nannade pouted. She had gotten good at it.

    "We can ask some of the traders on the road, they''ll be full of stocks from the city."

    "But it''s not the same!"

    "You''ll get plenty of opportunities later. Why don''t you save up your pay a bit more? Then you can get something really big, like a blade breaker or new boots."

    "I want to look at fabrics and flutes."

    "You still want to learn playing those? The one thing neither of us can teach you and yet you still go for it?"

    "I CAN." she stomped her feet. "Carsten had already taught me a bit. But I need a new flute, the old one broke and it was badly made. Maybe I can get one out of brass." Her desperation became apparent in her voice.

    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story."Didn''t one of the druids offer you one made from bone? If a medium makes them, I heard they can be used to charm spirits."

    "Not everything in my life revolves around magic and fighting."

    Garrett, who had been going through his notes, slowly looked up from the table. "Excuse me what? I''m your Teacher, until you learn everything I teach you right and pay me back for your education, those two things should be your only concern."

    Nannade bare her teeth and hissed. Garrett blamed Faan for teaching her that. "Now now, we don''t want that escalating again, do we?" He demonstrably stuck his dagger into the table. She had lost this sort of discussion before.

    She bottled her anger and for the rest of the evening, they didn''t speak.

    ========

    A beautiful morning broke and Garrett got out of bed quickly. He checked the room. Nannade was nowhere to be found. Of course, she would try to get out before him to sneak back into the city. At least she had left a little note.

    I''ll meet you at the piers outside the city. I promise, I won''t be long. -NND

    They had to catch an early boat upstream to get back to Sturreland soon. At least she was considerate enough to stick to the planned steps.

    Garrett had gotten all his things ready. Nannade had packed everything she had so she was serious about waiting at the piers. He could go there and wait for her, but that would give her exactly what she wanted. But entering the city could mean a higher risk for him to be recognized. And she also carried a tiny risk of being recognized or picked up for some other reason.

    He was walking the market streets while hastily eating breakfast. Most shops and stands were only opening, but she would surely pester the keepers until they let her see everything early. And that would be her trace he could follow her by. Most keepers said they didn''t see the girl, but two or three remembered her and said she went along without buying anything. He asked for shops that sold musical instruments. At the second shop he got to, the keeper told him "You just missed her."

    "Which way did she head?"

    "Out then left."

    "I just came from there!" He yelled at himself and quickly got back outside.

    He hadn''t seen a single shed hair of her so far, but she had to know he was hot on her trail. He returned through narrow passageways and further into the city. He would soon get into the campus district, with its numerous high towers. That''s when Garrett had the idea of the high ground. He tried looking for an easy way up, but even in the narrow alleys, he had problems getting to a point of easy access.

    He eventually found a spot where two buildings were close enough together to allow him scaling up by pressing between the two walls and slowly inching up. With different equipment, he could have scaled almost anywhere. He finally made it to the roof. Now he just had to make sure no one on any higher floor would spot him. Five stories above the streets, he finally had a sizeable view of the city.

    Garrett had been looking for a while when he heard a weirdly familiar noise. He turned around. But whatever had made the sound was gone already. He ran to the edge of the roof and looked down into the alleyway, just in time to see the corner of a dark green cloak disappearing around the corner. He knew he had heard it, the scraping of claws on stone.

    That''s how she was able to disappear seconds after leaving the stores; she just scaled up the walls like she did yesterday. Raising her in a forest was a mistake, or a blessing, at least she would have no problems getting out of trouble like he did yesterday.

    He only knew of one last store she could head to. And he did not want to give her the satisfaction of winning by getting to purchase what she wanted. He started sprinting across the roof. With a leap of faith and a bit of flux, he managed barely to cross the main street and arrive on the roof on the other side. He could hear her running in the street below.

    The two raced through and above the streets. He saw the building in which the store was supposed to be. He had to hurry. The girl had a slight disadvantage as long as he could cut the path over the roofs, but he also had to get down somehow, there were times when he knew the weavings of the Feather Fall by heart, but that time was long over, he had become bad at improvising. He saw no easy way down, but the house next to the one he was on didn''t have an overhanging roof and windows with window sills. Quickly he jumped over the narrow gap and got hold of one of the sills. Now it was just a matter of dropping from one window to the next. At the second to last window, he suddenly saw himself face to face with an angry pair of eyes, as he was dangling from the sill above. It was a young man''s who was just holding a tea pot. Without thinking, the man threw the can at Garrett''s face, hitting him squarely on the nose. Garrett managed to hold on, but a moment later, the man placed a fist where the pot had just hit. Garrett heard his nose crack and lost grip of the sill. He arrived on the ground with a loud THUD.

    He was rubbing his behind and tried to get back to running, but his bones and muscles protested. With a bleeding nose he moved across the busy street, drawing quite a few looks. He headed around the building towards the entrance to the last store.

    Nannade noticed him coming in. She turned around and, with a triumphant "HAH!" presented a flute of brass sheet with a fipple carved from horn and engraved with straight, red painted lines. "I even had time to choose a pattern and scale!"

    Garrett stood in the doorway. Out of breath, beaten, broken, bleeding. There was only one thing left to do.

    Nannade would not shut up the entire way up the river, annoying most of the other passengers of the boat. An old lady next to Garrett asked him nicely "Why won''t you give the girl her flute back?" to which he only replied. "Learning has to hurt."

 Freedom & Folly IX

    ¡°Is this alright? It looks off. I messed up these stitches!¡± Nannade was standing in front of the large mirror in Elissa¡¯s bedroom.

    ¡°Your dress looks fine.¡± Elissa said. ¡°Nobody will see those stitches and even if, they won¡¯t notice they¡¯re a bit uneven. Relax. You look magnificent. The audience will love you!¡±

    ¡°I still don¡¯t know. Wearing this in front of all those people?¡±

    Elissa grinned on the inside. ¡°You chickened out of the dance for the harvest, now you¡¯ll have to do the dance of spring. And it is a fertility rite, you knew, you saw me in my dress the last few years, none of this is new to you. You mustn¡¯t disappoint the spirits, or else all those couples asking for children might end up sad and alone in the coming year.¡± Elissa mocked Nannade with a sarcastic frowny face.

    ¡°Oh sure, put me under even more pressure, that is sure to help!¡±

    Nannade was still looking for things about the dress to be unhappy with. Her outfit consisted of a short, one-sided skirt that barely covered her lap, some undergarment and very light, sheer cloth cross-wrapped around her chest and neck to cover and perk up her breasts. Additional to that, embroidered edges, a silver necklace, a hair band and wrist- and ankle-bracelets, all adorned with runes and patterns to draw attention from the spirits. All in all, a fine piece of work she had made herself with materials from Sturreland alone. She had designed it not dissimilar of Elissa¡¯s dress for the spring, which Elissa was already wearing.

    Nannade was halfway to her fifteenth name day and her body had started to blossom into that of a woman. Slender, wiry, flexible. Her chest and belly were still covered by only the slightest fuzz, but in the middle, running from collar bone all the way to between her legs, was a crest of longer, soft hair coming together into a line of fluff. She kept pulling at the hair, unhappy with her changing body.

    Elissa had to interject the girl¡¯s moping ¡°Stop looking like you dropped a pie in the cesspit. It¡¯s beautiful. Even regular humans grow hair in certain places when they grow up.¡±

    ¡°This is just from that brew you make me drink! It messes with my development. It¡¯s also why these are so small!¡± She cupped her breasts.

    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. I told you. I got you that book from Halonnes, you know what it said about crolachans'' development; it¡¯s normal for women of your kind to have that fluff-crest.¡± Elissa did suspect that the ¡®medicine¡¯ to accelerate the girl¡¯s muscle-growth and reflexes might have delayed her feminine development, but the girl needed not to know that, she¡¯d put it off soon anyway, as soon as she left Elissa¡¯s care for good. She found the crest to be cute, but her opinion as a woman on that topic didn¡¯t count as much to Nannade. Even if Garrett had been present this night, his opinion wouldn¡¯t matter to her either, for obvious reasons. But he never liked fertility rites and so he would always find an excuse to disappear into some city for a dozen of days.

    ¡°Finish up and let¡¯s go. We don¡¯t want to let anyone wait. A lot of the people out there want to get on with it, if you know what I mean.¡±

    The girl groaned and rolled her eyes. ¡°DAAARN! I KNOW! IT¡¯S A FERTILITY RITE!¡±

    Elissa chuckled. ¡°I will be waiting outside.¡± And left the hut. The sky was still bright and blue but the sunlight had turned to that slight golden shine that promised a warm night.

    Together, the two went the long path towards the glade. Silence fell upon the crowd as the two crossed the bridge onto the clearing. Many were enchanted by Nannade¡¯s beauty, even if it was unconventional. Some of the elders had complained about a non-human doing the rites, but the Lodge had allowed it. Heimeden¡¯s mayor was already waiting in front of the slab, to crown Nannade and Elissa the priestesses of the Beg for Fertility. As the crowns touched their heads, the crowd cheered. Elissa could well see the stage fright in the girl¡¯s face, but she kept her composure remarkably well. Normally, she wouldn¡¯t even undress in front of anyone but Elissa or Faan, not even Garrett. Now she was to dance in front of a huge crowd, in a dress that was more adorning than covering her body. A lover only had to dedicate her body to a lover, but this night, Nannade would have to dedicate hers to the crowd and the spirits, a much more daunting task. This would truly show her to be a proud woman, rather than a scared girl.

    Elissa created a puff of blue smoke on the entire slab. That was the signal for Nannade. Concealed by it, she jumped onto the slab and got into her position at the centre. The stone altar had been covered with a wide, wooden platform. A man at a large standing drum started a slow rhythm and the crowd joined in with their instruments. A SNAP of Elissa¡¯s fingers and the smoke went up into a puff of flame. As the fire vanished, they could see Nannade in position.

    She had chosen a handstand. The rhythm quickened, slowly, as Nannade bent her elbows and lowered her legs over her back until she was in a bridge. In a sudden jolt she flipped up into a wild dance, chased by the rhythm of the drum. It truly was her dance, the steps learned from Elissa, but put together and prepared herself, it even contained a few moves Elissa never even dreamed about, not even back in her most gracile of days.

    In twirls, flips, and rolls Nannade dashed across her wooden dance floor. She linked pirouettes, handsprings, swaying hips, and shaking chest to an endless loop of movements around and around. Petals were thrown in the air by the crowd, smoking incense swirled in thin veils around the slender girl¡¯s body. More and more spirits gathered to behold the girl¡¯s performance and the wild crowd. Elissa told the drummer to beat a slower rhythm, signalling the girl to ease her dance to slow but happy skipping around the edge of the platform in circle Time had come for Elissa to fulfil her duty.

    She got up onto the slab and stepped to the first row of people at the slab, the young couples promising each other faithfulness before the witnessing spirits today. Elissa knelt down to a couple and bound a braid of fresh grass and flowers around their joined hands before yelling their names high into the sky for all the spirits and the crowd to hear, the crowd answered with a cheer, the spirits answered in a much more subtle way. After the spirits had witnessed the promise of the couple, Elissa kissed each on the forehead and helped them up on the slab so they could join the skipping dance around the slab alongside Nannade. Elissa did this with all the couples and the remaining onlookers threw petals to their feet to wish them well in their future endeavours.

    Elissa had no reason to fear a mishap so far. The girl was doing great. The crowd was captivated by her. Elissa spotted one particular boy trying really hard to get a good look. He could become a potential hazard for the entire area. Nannade might still be angry at him, but she was ready to forgive him. Elissa had made sure to talk about her obligations as a priestess this night, but also knew that obligations and morals were easily washed from the mind by carnal passion.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    The sun had set and the last few rays shone across the firmament. In the warm light of the roaring braziers, Nannade¡¯s fur shined like a tapestry woven from precious metals and fresh straw. Elissa could see in her face the concentration, how she tried to block out all the noises from the outside, to feel the rhythm by the vibrations of her dance floor.

    Elissa gave the signal and the helpers threw spices and herbs into the fire, flooding the air with an alluring scent and flying sparks. The people cheered one last time and the glade emptied. The elders gathered the children too young to personally understand the true meaning of ¡°fertility¡±. Together, they headed down to the feast among the fields. The new year had officially begun. The couples dispersed off the slab and into the forest, to indulge the spirits of the evening some more.

    Elissa got up on the slab and sat next to Nannade, who was lying belly down on the cold stone. Her ribcage was heaving ebbing further than it seemed humanly possible, sucking in the evening air and soothing smokes of the Glade.

    ¡°You did well. Absolutely marvellous.¡± Elissa stroked the girl¡¯s back.

    Nannade just looked at her with a smile, too out of breath to properly speak.

    It took her quite a while to get back up. A few people were still in the Glade, Carsten, however, was nowhere to be seen. Elissa had expected him to linger to get a chance to talk to Nannade. They decided to slowly head down the slopes to join the others and talk. Along the way, they met Melanie. She herself was expecting twins, being graced another time after five children, hers was a happy and healthy family and to most people of Sturreland that was all the bliss they ever asked the spirits for. She and her husband Carolus had been overjoyed when Elissa had told them the news from the spirits about their future children. Melanie was taking it slow, carefully carrying her precious burden down the slope.

    ¡°Where¡¯s Carolus? Wouldn¡¯t he accompany you down the slope?¡± Elissa asked when she noticed his absence.

    ¡°He took the children down to the feast. And besides, I told him to, since I''d have you!¡±

    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t think ill of him. He¡¯s working so hard for all of you, that is plain to see.¡±

    ¡°Oh yes, but tonight someone else had worked much harder than all of us.¡± Melanie turned around to smile at Nannade. ¡°Oh looks like she went into the forest with someone, good for her.¡±

    Elissa turned around in panic ¡°Nannade?!¡± The girl was nowhere to be seen. ¡°NANNADE!¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the matter? It¡¯s a great night for her, let her have fun like the others, if she got a sweetheart, that is.¡± Melanie said with a wink. ¡°You know, I was conceived on the first night of the year.¡±

    Elissa turned around, half panicked, half angered. ¡°You fool! Nannade can¡¯t bear children from humans. If she soils fertility with purely hedonistic pleasures this night, she will draw much wrath the spirits!¡±

    Melanie furrowed her brow. ¡°I never knew that.¡±

    ¡°We must find her before she commits something really, really stupid.¡±

    Elissa called out to Faan. He was probably making sure the path out of the forest was safe. She had no time to wait for him and spent the effort to send him a message. ¡°Carsten has nabbed the girl. Find her, remind her, stop them if need be.¡± She immediately received ¡°Understood!¡± back. She stayed with Melanie, who called out for her son. Considering her relation to the boy, should he really commit a sacrilege together with Nannade, Melanie and the unborn children could the targets of the spirits¡¯ wrath. She considered drawing a protective circle around Melanie, but she didn¡¯t have any suitable materials with her, so she sang to calm any angry spirits and hoped Faan would be successful in preventing the worst. She could feel a chilling wind setting around them.

    It had only been a few moments, but she heard Faan¡¯s voice again. ¡°Someone is at the Glade! Back to the Glade!¡±

    The two made their way back up the slope, Elissa supported Melanie, continuing her song as well as she could.

    They hurried along and were almost up to the stone bridge again when Melanie¡¯s legs gave in. She was groaning in pain and holding her belly. From down where they were, Elissa could see Faan coming back across the bridge.

    ¡°What is it?¡± she asked him.

    ¡°Come and see for yourself, but be careful.¡±

    She left Melanie alone for a moment, making sure to just peek around the corner, so she would not be out of sight.

    There, on the slab was Nannade, kissing Carsten on the forehead, then kissing Fiona on the forehead, then she helped the two on the slab. Carsten and Fiona¡¯s hands were locked and a braid of grass and flowers was tied around them. They skipped around the slab, while Nannade was singing a happy, jumpy tune to the spirits.

    Elissa turned to Melanie, who seemed to have recovered from the exhaustion. ¡°Come quickly, you¡¯ll want to see this!¡±

    As Melanie saw her son dance on the slab with Fiona her expression warmed.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t he tell me?¡± She asked.

    ¡°Why didn¡¯t they do that when the others were around?¡± Elissa asked.

    Nannade had noticed the three onlookers and waved with an excited smile. Eventually, the other two noticed their audience as well, interrupted their dance and went to meet them.

    ¡°I wasn¡¯t sure whether I should tell you.¡± Carsten said to his mother. ¡°Since I wasn¡¯t sure she was serious. And I couldn¡¯t work up the courage to ask her until the dance was over. So, she weaved a braid for us while I asked Nannade to do the rite for us.¡± They lifted their hands, still locked and braid around them.

    Nannade shot a playful smile to Elissa. ¡°I hope I didn¡¯t overstep my obligations.¡±

    ¡°Not at all, girl. Come now, I¡¯m getting hungry.¡±

    Elissa and Nannade went to the feast and left all the familial matters to the other three. Melanie and Faan followed soon after, but it took the last two quite a while to finally come down from the woods.

    The tables were set, it was not a grand fest as the Harvest Thanks was, but there were still snacks and morsels to be had. A wide, flat bonfire was also put up and a few couples were still waiting to jump over it, hand in hand, for good luck in their marriages without ¡®indulging the spirits¡¯.

    ¡°When I came to Fiona to apologize after Carsten had taken me to that pond,¡± Nannade started at one point. ¡°she asked me to do the rite with them, if Carsten should ever ask her. That¡¯s why I didn¡¯t do the dance for the harvest.¡±

    ¡°I told you it was better to not leave these things unresolved. I''m glad you did that. I will watch over these two when you¡¯re gone, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    ¡°I wonder if I will ever be able to tell them. At least a tiny bit.¡±

    Elissa put her hand on the girl¡¯s shoulder and looked her deep into the eyes. ¡°No one forces you to live alone. It merely makes the job easier. That¡¯s what your Teacher once told me. As soon as you¡¯re your own master, you can decide what to do with it.¡±

    Nannade smiled, but it was more sombre than hopeful. They didn¡¯t talk about any heavy or difficult issues. They talked like two women, having wine and telling stories of boys and men.

    Elissa was sure the girl would be alright, no matter where Garrett took her next. Soon, it would be time for her to get a familiar. Then, Garret would take her out of the forest, to one of the big cities the girl dreamed about so much. She herself already missed the girl.

 Freedom & Folly X

    Nannade was in her Hammock, bored, too bored to fall asleep. The last few days had dragged on. She had finished the last of her days with another druid of the Lodge, a pudgy pencil pusher by the name of Herlewin, for her test of moral commensuration. All in all, she had been with him for three months, three whole months of mind-numbing boredom, with interruptions for the Beg for Fertility and a few contracts alongside Teacher Garetas. She would carry Herlewin¡¯s stuff to court dates, finalize his notes and every time he went into review of guilt and punishment, he would turn to her and ask for her detailed opinion on why or why not and how much some farmer should be fined for overstepping some land marker to his neighbour¡¯s field. But now she had nothing left to do and it was even worse.

    The entire time was just to spite her, that much was obvious. Arch-Druid Loganna still hadn¡¯t approved her request to gain permission to take on a familiar. Elissa had said Loganna had ¡°better things to do¡± and that she ¡°had to run Sturreland after all¡± as if she didn¡¯t have assistants and the Highest Circle by her side for all the menial tasks. Nannade could tell the old hag never liked her, because she wasn¡¯t a ''proper'' apprentice of the Lodge, but of Garetas, an outsider. Nannade knew the ritual to bind a familiar well. She even had a few spirits that trusted her and often came to her side when she called. She could do it. But she¡¯d get in trouble if some stamp wasn¡¯t pressed on some paper first. They hadn¡¯t even announced when she would finally get her call sign and the first mark of approval. If she had that, she¡¯d be officially allowed to take on contracts as a Hidden Hand, even though she remained an apprentice until she had at least three marks of approval. Still, finally graduating and moving on, what a dream it would be! She wanted to see Halonnes! Garetas¡¯ was playing secretive but Elissa let enough information slip already.

    And Garetas was the worst offender of the all, actually. He stopped taking her on contracts, wouldn¡¯t even tell her where he went. It was as if he had completely dumped her off on Elissa and wouldn¡¯t ask for an audience with the Arch-Druid on Nannade¡¯s behalf. She thought about seeing Carsten and Fiona, but they also had things to take care off. The few friends she had all got married, built houses, expected children, sowed their own fields and she was still sitting in her Teachers¡¯ hut, reading books on alternative theories to the four petals of magic domains and on extended contracts with non-natural spirit entities.

    She decided to go for a walk. She took off her night gown, climbed down the rope next to her hammock carefully, making sure not to wake Garetas, and walked out into the forest in her undergarments. Sometimes she really hated clothes. They could get really disgusting, accumulating all the frowst and loose hair of her fur. She wondered if her people walked around naked in their lands. Or at least less covered. Maybe in wide, flowing robes and coats, maybe like she was right now. She dug the claws on her toes into the soft ground, to feel the soil. The forest air was just cool enough for her taste. It was a starry night. She liked the milky swirl of stars, how it seemed to watch over everything as it trailed across the sky each night. What could it see? What could it tell her? In the realm beyond the veil, there was bound to be a being that could tell her all the answers she desired. Elissa didn¡¯t want Nannade to call or even talk to spirits not originating from nature. Maybe, if she asked, Garetas would allow Nannade to get a mark of approval from a church or divine college. Fulgopolis, Chsyatana, Havnarsund; any of these would do. Speaking to beings apart from foxes, mice, owls, cats, wolves and all the other things living their lives in the forest would be a thing of her dreams. Something that was beyond the little terms that little minds used, yes, that¡¯s what her life was lacking!Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

    ¡°Justice¡± Garetas had once said, ¡°is not something we cast or decide. It is something we dispense. If you have a writ or an order of execution or apprehension, then you are free to see that it is carried out whichever way you like. No matter the collateral. We can move outside the law if we wish.¡± was this the freedom he had promised her? Slightly longer chains and a slightly more comfortable collar? If she could choose between taking this ¡°freedom¡± for herself or settling down, she¡¯d most likely go with the latter. Suddenly, staying with Carsten and founding a family didn¡¯t seem so boring, maybe she shouldn¡¯t had given up on him, even if he was an ass and a bastard. They could adopt orphans or she could free and adopt a child from slavery, like Garetas once did.

    She had walked quite a bit and she started to feel that familiar presence again, her friend from far away. Her secret friend would help her when she was in danger and watch over her without holding her back. They understood each other. Her friend knew of ¡°justice¡±, knew of those that deserve it. Garetas would often say ¡°learning has to hurt.¡± Her friend agreed with that, but also added that so should punishment; that pain is a blessing on the wicked for their betterment. Mercy is not something Nannade should grant to the merciless.

    She noticed that she had walked with her friend a far distance. She was closer to the Glade than she was to the hut. She hastened her step and soon arrived at the bridge to the Glade. There she paused for thought. It was here that she would finally take on a familiar. She would find an animal spirit that she liked and that liked her, and then find the spirit¡¯s mundane counterpart. A cat for a cat spirit, a fox for a fox spirit, she knew the ritual well. She would open the mundane to allow the spirit to enter and finally seal it with her mind. A portion of her mind as glue and connection, forever binding the two, as long as both lived. And the familiar would be her ally and her crutch. Helping her because she did not have the Arcane Gift.

    Yes, she knew the ritual. She could find all the ingredients herself nearby. She didn¡¯t even need a blade, her claws were sharp enough. Her friend reminded her, there are closer bonds than that between a medium and their familiar. She felt that power again, coming over her like a mantle, she thirsted for it, as if her body had suddenly lost a hindrance and a haze had been lifted that had concealed her own potential. She remembered something, a promise she had made long ago, like a half-forgotten dream coming back to her. She had made up her mind. Garetas had told her so long ago, if she could take her freedom, she shall have it, yet he did everything to hold her back: not allowing her to gather experience on missions, not teaching her in any weapons but knife and bow, not imparting some of his more powerful spells on her. And Elissa abided all of this. She had let herself be influenced by him, let her heart be fooled. She knew well she could never have Garetas, but she couldn¡¯t let go. The grown-ups were acting like idiots.

    Garetas needed to learn the consequences of his moralistic grandstanding. He promised her freedom but gave her nothing, it was time she took it. It was her time to surpass him and his arrogance. Her friend agreed.

    It is time. Fulfil the promise. My Temple. My Priestess.

 Freedom & Folly XI

    The night had been silent and calm before Elissa was awoken by Faan''s shrill scream.

    ¡°SOMEONE¡¯S IN THE GLADE!¡± She heard him scream with his ethereal voice, reaching far into her dreams and mind.

    She jumped out of bed, put on shoes and grabbed her staff before even realizing what he had said. ¡°WHAT? WHO?¡±

    ¡°The spirits aren¡¯t saying much, but it¡¯s big. REALLY BIG.¡±

    She slammed the door open and poked her staff at Garrett to wake him up, then at Nannade¡¯s hammock. But she didn¡¯t feel anything in there.

    Nannade wasn¡¯t in the hammock.

    ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Garrett asked confused.

    ¡°There¡¯s an intruder in the Glade and Nannade¡¯s gone!¡±

    ¡°So? Nannade¡¯s been to the Glade plenty of times. Can¡¯t she be there by herself suddenly?¡±

    Elissa tapped his head with her staff. ¡°No, Nannade¡¯s not the intruder, but someone else. A big one. We need to get there.¡±

    He put on his pants, boots, and belt with the knives. Then he followed her outside.

    As Elissa, Faan and Garrett dashed up the path around the slopes to the Glade, the forest was abuzz with panic. Many spirits were in uproar. They were furious, scared. They cried for help and screamed at an unseen intruder, not knowing whether to attack or flee. Even Garrett seemed to notice something.

    ¡°This air smells of fear and anger. What the taff is happening?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know, but the girl must have drawn something through the stream of life force. Something large from far away.¡± she was getting short of breath.

    Garrett overtook her and went on ahead.

    Elissa called out to him. ¡°STOP! Whatever it is you can¡¯t handle it alone.¡±

    He got back to her and helped her along. ¡°Talk less, run more!¡±

    The forest was growing more and more quiet, as animals and spirits fled from the Glade. Then, a droning took over the soundscape. A droning of both mundane and ethereal nature. They came closer to its source, closer to the Glade.

    They arrived at the bridge across the crevice and there, on the stone block altar, was Nannade. She was in her undergarments, kneeling, arms raised up to the open sky. Runes written in blood covered her, the altar and even the stone slab. A presence was with her. An immense amount of power flowed from the Glade, even the trees were shaking in fear. Elissa took the lead and strode onto the Glade. ¡°NANNADE!¡± The girl reacted slowly but with confidence. ¡°WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?! WHAT IS THIS?¡±

    The Glade felt not like a lively pond of energies, but a deafening waterfall, all reverberating away from its centre: Nannade ¨C and whatever presence was there with her. As if a dam had been broken, the girl was wreathed in this rawness, this feeling of unbound force. The girl looked at Elissa and that¡¯s when a realization hit her.

    Elissa was at the edge of the large stone slab, but she was close enough to see Nannade¡¯s eyes. And they were not golden like the grain in late summer anymore. They were green, like fresh leaves in spring. Her face was different, too. And a presence emerged from her body, coiling around her and slithering across her with every movement of her muscles. Black as night, cloaked in smoke and fog, with scales glistening like stars. A long cut ran down her Nannade¡¯s forearm. She opened her lips to a big toothy smile, then she stood up and walked towards Elissa.

    Faan jumped from Elissa¡¯s shoulder and moved in the girl¡¯s path.

    ¡°This does not concern either of you two.¡± Nannade hissed.

    A puff of blue smoke exploded around Faan and from it he emerged as a lion with flowing mane and blinking claws. ¡°I can¡¯t let you pass, kitten!¡± He stood up on his hind legs in an attempt to intimidate her, but she simply ducked under his swiping paws and was on her path directly towards Garrett. When Faan tried to pounce her from behind, the presence that coiled around Nannade lashed out, with ethereal fangs it bit the attacker. Faan screamed up, losing all composure as he seemed to burst with pain.

    A sharp pain Elissa''s mind like a searing whip striking a metal plate, leaving a high-pitched ringing and blistering lash in her mind. Her legs gave in and the voiceless screaming reverberated throughout her thoughts. ¡°WHAT DID YOU DO? GET IT OUT OF MY HEAD!¡± she pulled her hair as if she hoped to get the pain out of there. She heard Nannade walk on towards Garrett.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Elissa crawled over to Faan, he had reverted back to his original form and was still screaming and squirming on the ground. She managed to sit up and cradled him, held him close to her chest. His claws dug deep in her skin and somehow, the very real pain washed the ethereal one away, anchored Elissa back in reality. The haze retreated and she saw Garrett and Nannade ¨C or whatever the girl now was ¨C locked in combat. Garrett had drawn two knives while Nannade was fighting bare-clawed. She was fast, faster than during any of the sparring matches Elissa ever observed. She swayed and flexed out of the path of Garrett¡¯s blades as if she saw them coming before he planned them. Her spine seemed to be a rope the way it bent into any and all directions with ease as the broad man chased the sinewy girl. His huge mass of muscles moved with unprecedented violence and determination, her feet danced with joy and almost mocking facility. Whenever she moved for a counter, her claws turned into a chorus of whistles as they cut the air apart. Garrett managed to dodge once or twice, but soon he had to block with his bare forearms, leaving the girl¡¯s claws casting drops of blood all over the Glade''s floor.

    Garrett''s face bore fierce concentration, his target was clear to him and he intended to pursue it to the end, while the girl was grinning in anticipation, as if she had been waiting for this day for a long time. While she remained mostly on the defensive, she did not seem to be pressured by Garrett¡¯s assault. On the contrary, it seemed as if she let him chase him. But Elissa knew Garrett was still holding back.

    The moment came that the girl dodged one of Garrett¡¯s lunges sideward and caught his wrist. Elissa saw his other hand as a blur, shooting at the girl from behind and below, she was sure this strike would hit, the blade would sink deep into her flesh.

    But it did not happen so. Holding on to Garrett¡¯s wrist, Nannade summersaulted over his arm, twisting it with a sudden jerk, the huge man big enough to block a door was slammed to the ground. Nannade kicked his knives away and standing above Garrett, readying her claws, her grin grew to a sickening width. Garrett was not yet done. Elissa could tell by his face that he was concentrating, calculating in the heat of battle.

    FSHWOCK

    Nannade recoiled backwards as the Invisible Fist hit her directly in the face, her feet left the ground, she flipped over and landed on her back. Garrett picked himself up and got into position, just as Nannade¡¯s body was rising from the ground before stiffness and strength even returned to her limbs. She remained in a lower position, tensing all her muscles, readying for a leap. Garrett went into himself, shot his right hand forward, and at the tip of his finger, a purple drop of energy pooled.

    Elissa recognized it with dread and horror. The girl had launched herself forward at Garrett. In a split second, Elissa dropped Faan and raised her hand. A fraction of a formula flashed through her mind.

    ¡°NO!¡±

    Raw energies poured out of the countered spell¡¯s broken weavings in purple tendrils, blinding all present. Elissa could hear bodies hitting the floor. She blinked, once, twice, and could see Garrett on the floor, knocked down. Nannade was shielding her eyes but regained her momentum towards Garrett, violent anticipation shining like green fire in her eyes.

    Elissa banished the last voiceless screams from her head and called upon the spirits, if any were left in this place. She begged for help, offered much in return. An oak¡¯s whisper answered and Elissa brought forth her please; to prevent death and bloodshed in this sacred place.

    Nannade had taken the initiative and jumped onto Garrett, pinning him down by the throat while her feet pressed down his hands, their claws digging into wrists. Elissa watched as the girl¡¯s maw seemed to open ever further, her lower jaw connected more to the neck than the skull, and two huge fangs ¨C much larger than the girl ever had before ¨C readying to sink into Garrett¡¯s flesh.

    Roots shot from the ground and yanked the girl away from Garrett, who immediately sprung back into action and grabbed his knives from the floor.

    ¡°NO! Stop!¡± Elissa yelled at him as he walked towards the girl, who was already starting to slither out of the roots binding her to the ground.

    Garrett did not seem swayed. ¡°This thing must be ended, abomination, twisted, wicked monstrosity.¡± He strode on and Elissa pointed her staff towards him, commanding the spirit another time. Roots entangled Garrett too and tried to bind him down, but his muscles bulged and tore through the binds. Thicker and thicker roots and vines wrapped around him, meanwhile, an ever finer net covered Nannade who continued to escape her binds through the tiniest holes and slits.

    ¡°Stop it! Stop it!¡± she pressured both of them. ¡°It¡¯s over. I rule here and I say stop!¡±

    Nannade was still struggling, Elissa called upon more and more vines to bind her to the floor for good and she stopped struggling as they finally constricted her neck. She tried to turn her head to glare at Elissa, but Elissa would not look into those disgusting green eyes.

    ¡°It¡¯s OVER. This clawing at stabbing ends NOW! You¡¯re both under arrest.¡±

 Freedom & Folly XII

    It hadn¡¯t taken long for the Guardians to show up and take everyone into custody. The event had echoed throughout all ley-lines and places of power within the region. Elissa and Garrett had both been placed under house arrest while Nannade was taken to a special containment cell in the Lodge¡¯s main administration building in Sosken. Loganna was furious, only thanks to Elissa¡¯s diplomacy, Garrett avoided being thrown into a cell as well. But the Guardians stationed outside their hut remained, they were still officially under arrest and would stand trial to, as accomplices to Nannade¡¯s grievous transgressions. The Guardians also took all flux-containing substances and weapons from the hut they could find. Elissa was sure Garrett had hidden some more somewhere else, but he didn¡¯t seem eager to resist or fights any more for now.

    Faan had been somewhat stabilized. His spirit was still not completely reattached to his body, but Elissa was making progress. Most of the time, he still acted mostly like a regular cat and barely ever spoke. He needed to regain a lot of his spiritual essence and so Elissa was allowed to take him to the glade, accompanied by a Guardian, to bathe him in the stream of life force that had finally calmed down; the spirits had returned from their flight and the animals started to act normally again. The effects on Elissa had disappeared except for harrowingly empty dreams and fears. At the glade it felt like burning pain going through her head, and her soul wanting to lash out and leave her body. A spectral venom had been injected into the mental bond between witch and familiar.

    It had been two days after the fateful night in the glade when the Guardian stationed with Elissa notified them of the newest development. Arch-Druid Loganna had decided to call in an expert on blood pactitioners. He was expected to arrive within six days. He would then start and lead the investigation in preparation for the trial. Who this specialist exactly was, the Guardian would not tell them.

    The two tried to distract themselves as much as possible. Garrett was going through all his notes, as if he could find a clue as to what could have gone wrong. Elissa read old books she hadn¡¯t read since she left her teacher¡¯s house.

    On the sixth day, they were notified that the expert had arrived. Then, on the seventh day, the specialist sent for Garrett; he was to take his notes with him. Then the Guardian took him to Sosken, via air.

    Sosken was the ¡°capital¡±, so to say, of Sturreland. It was a large town, with stone-paved roads and a few high buildings, even a simple sewage line, but no walls. Instead, it had an open structure that let the wind breathe through the streets. The largest building was the headquarters of the Lodge. It looked very new and Garrett guessed it could have been built during his lifetime. It had a large front with two long wings to each side, making a horse-shoe shape. It housed many administrative facilities, especially for the mundane citizens of the land.

    Garrett was led into the building''s basement. It was rather clean, no mouldy smell or damp corners. The floor was covered tiles and the doors were made from solid wood, the walls were made of black basalt blocks. All of them, every tile, every block, every board, was engraved with mystic runes and arcane glyphs to weave powerful protection and containment spells. This was most likely where the Lodge stored their most powerful artefacts, their most sensitive information and their most dangerous criminals. The Guardian stopped at a door and knocked. The person who opened had a sharp-edged appearance. He had pale skin and long straight black hair bound into a low ponytail. His joints and muscles pressed their outlines through his skin to the point of being anatomical showcases, his face was long and hard, his eyes piercing and cold. He wore a long dark grey robe with a leather apron.

    ¡°You must be Garetas, also known as Purple Paw, Nannade¡¯s teacher?!¡±

    Garrett nodded.

    ¡°Pleased to meet you, my name is Black Surgeon of Hozorcia. Please come in.¡± He stepped aside; the Guardian stayed outside the door. The call sign told Garrett immediately that he was a Hidden Hand too. Black Surgeon¡¯s voice was maintained and neutral, with a hint of warmth, like some people would expect the ideal manservant to speak.

    The room was a sort of study, with a desk, a small bookshelf and a long table in the middle.

    ¡°I trust you realized that I am a Hidden Hand by now. I specialize in dealing with pactitioners, abominations and chimeras. I bear no ill will to you, so don¡¯t be afraid, there is no assessment of your work going on, only of the girl. For her however, I cannot guarantee any safety or leniency.¡± He raised his hand. ¡°This is Aaka, my familiar, I was told you¡¯re not a medium, but formalities where formalities belong.¡± On his hand, Garrett saw a small spider, waving at him. Garrett waved back. ¡°I hope you brought your notes as I requested.¡±

    ¡°Of course, what is this about?¡±

    ¡°I am currently evaluating the girl¡¯s physique and psyche, and although I found some reliable references on demi-humans in general, I am still unsure about crolachans specifically. I needed someone who knew the girl¡¯s physique before she changed. Therefore, I¡¯d like to have your expert opinion on it.¡±

    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.¡°I will do what I can to help.¡± Garrett caught himself worrying about the girl and almost poking at Black Surgeon for more info.

    ¡°Later, we will take a closer look at the girl, but for now we¡¯ll make an inventory check on what you have written down.¡±

    ¡°Sure, but you should know that Elissa kept notes too, she was much more attentive to the girl¡¯s growth.¡±

    ¡°Understood, noted, then let''s get started.¡±

    Garrett spent most of the time going through his notes about Nannade¡¯s growth and behaviour and reading the relevant ones to Black Surgeon, who wrote everything down in his own notes. When he was done cataloguing Nannade''s development, they moved on to examining the girl herself.

    Black Surgeon opened the door, peeked outside and talked to the guard, then he returned.

    He folded his hands together in a calm stance. ¡°I have no Arcane Gift, so my Familiar has been most helpful in keeping the girl in check.¡±

    Garrett didn¡¯t exactly know what he meant by that until the door opened and the girl was led in. She was dressed in a white, long prison gown, her hands were in cuffs and her legs closely shackled together, so she could only take very short steps. Runic inscriptions covered everything she was wearing. She was glaring at everything with angry eyes, as if her expression had been frozen since that night in the glade. On her shoulder, Aaka was sitting, as a huge brown spider, baring fangs like fish hooks, visible even from a distance, ready to sink them in at a moment¡¯s notice.

    ¡°Hello Nannade, are you well?¡± Black Surgeon asked with a friendly twist in his voice. A moment passed. ¡°No answer? Well you look healthy at least.¡±

    Garrett didn¡¯t say anything. He didn¡¯t know what he could say. He couldn¡¯t even look her in the eyes properly. She was looking at him with spite burning in her green eyes, and feelings of shame and guilt rose in him, but also disappointment and anger.

    ¡°Please, sit on the table.¡± He opened the shackles on her arms and took off her gown.

    Nannade complied, still keeping up her angry scowl, in the Glade he had almost seen the otherworldly presence coiling around her, writhing and slithering across her skin, but here, all that remained was this piercing, caustic green in her eyes, like a fire of pain burning within her, yet there was a certain coldness to it, not the hot joy and viciousness he had seen in the Glade, but a cold calculation, following his every move, as if she was planning her next strike.

    ¡°Is the... spirit still there?¡±

    Black Surgeon looked up from his notes. ¡°Hm? The Serpent? Yes, it is still attached to the girl¡¯s spiritual body. The full extent of their union will become clear in my finalized report, now please focus on the corporeal.¡±

    Garrett still felt uneasy. He hadn¡¯t seen the girl naked since she had been twelve and it made him feel uneasy, especially her further developed body. He started to examine her, running his hands and fingers over her body, feeling feeling her bones, sinew and muscles under her skin. She seemed more wiry than usual, even an inch taller, it was as if there was nothing left of the usual short and stout crolachan stature. Her spine was much more flexible in all places and directions, flanked and wrapped by muscles tense as steel; when her felt her joints, they seemed to easily move and shift, as if they were ready to dislocate, slid out of the way and relocate at a moment¡¯s notice. Her fangs seemed longer and pointier than be remembered them to be, as well as her tail, reaching all the way to her knees. Apart from her height and her tail, she seemed largely unchanged at first glance. Black Surgeon was correct to ask Garrett and Elissa for help; someone unfamiliar with crolachans would have mostly ignored her exterior.

    Throughout the examination, he tried to catch a smile or at least a letting up of the scowl from her, but to no avail, even when he tried showing her a melancholic smile himself. The room seemed cold and empty.

    Garrett had finished his part and was escorted back to Elissa¡¯s hut, where she squeezed him for every bit of information, but he denied her every answer. He had to swear secrecy to Black Surgeon, in order to not taint the examination Elissa would have to do.

    It was the next day, after Elissa had returned from her part of the examination, and the two of them were sitting at the table, their minds still whirring with worry and fear.

    ¡°There was this spiteful burning in her eyes.¡± Garrett said at one point. ¡°Back in the Glade, when we thought. She seemed like a vicious monster.¡±

    ¡°I noticed that.¡±

    ¡°But when I was examining her, she seemed... timid. Controlled. Still spiteful, but no longer viscious or violent. I thought the girl was gone. I thought I was fighting a monster, but the girl I saw...¡±

    ¡°...she¡¯s still in there.¡± Elissa finished the sentence before he could.

    ¡°Yes!¡±

    ¡°But, the spirit is, too. I¡¯ve seen it. They are like two heads of the same person, both so spiteful, as if we had betrayed her. We won¡¯t get her back. At least not like she used to be. Her soul is now bound to the spirit.¡±

    Garrett¡¯s thoughts wandered back to the night in the Glade. ¡°I would have killed her. Obliterated her head and heart.¡±

    ¡°I saw.¡±

    Garrett stood up and hugged Elissa deeply. ¡°Thank you for stopping me, Lissy.¡±

    Elissa hugged back. ¡°Thank you for coming around.¡±

    The days dragged on and the court date hang above them like a block of granite suspended on brittle chains, its straining and aching robbing them of any sleep. Finally, they were told the date: thirteen days after the night in the Glade; two more nights of restless sleep to get through, if any.

 Freedom & Folly XIII

    The clearing by the cliff face was surrounded by members of the Lodge seated on branches of the trees. The crowd was still chattering among themselves. Just in front of the cliff face, the Arch-Druid Loganna and her twelve Trusted Judges sat on a long shale slab table, on the opposing side of the clearing were the three accused; Nannade as the main culprit and Elissa and Garrett as accessories to the crime, as well as Priscilla as their advocate. The girl knelt, wearing her white prison gown and wrapped in the chain of guilt, an incredibly old and powerful artefact even older than the Lodge that held it; Garrett and Elissa were bound in normal iron chains shackles at their hands and feet and iron cages over their heads, Elissa''s familiar Faan in a small iron cage. Elissa turned to Priscilla to talk to her. She may be old and incredibly wizened, but she was the most experienced member of the Lodge Elissa knew. And according to what Elissa was able to glean from the others, she readily accepted the task of representing the defence for them when the offer came up. Elissa would never have been able to do it herself, she had no court experience, unlike Priscilla, who even had returned from her quiet sunset years to fulfil such an important part in the court.

    As she saw Elissa turning to her, Priscilla turned to Elissa''s direction. She could no longer speak, barely even see, but her raven familiar Rrokhaa spoke with her raven-voice on the old witch''s behalf. If one had lived as long as Priscilla and her familiar, the mental bond between them grew strong enough to be intuitive, natural, like an extension of the person itself.

    "What is your concern, child?" she cawed.

    "I want to thank you again so much, High-Sister Priscilla, for taking the defence. Your experience is highly valued."

    The old witch chuckled, then Rrokhaa continued. "Not all think like you. Many consider me old-fashioned and obsolete. But the young need the shade of old trees to play and grow, don''t they?" The old witch patted Nannade''s head, the girl shot her a glare that could pierce steel, almost as if she wanted to snap at the hand.

    "I think she won''t be very cooperative." Elissa knelt down to Nannade. "None of this will get any better for us if you don''t cooperate!" She wished Garrett would talk to her, but he seemed to have made up his mind. He wasn''t trying to kill her anymore, but he refused to give her any more reason to shoot angry glares at him, he said he couldn''t bare it. She tried to come up with something to tell the girl, but the Arch-Druid interrupted her.

    "Please, Sisters and Brothers, come to a rest!" her voice boomed across the clearing louder than mundanely possible. Everyone took their places. The persecution took place to the right of the judges. The chief prosecutor was someone Elissa only knew as "High-Brother Dennicus", a man of accurate cut in both stature and poise, a very formal man taking his duties seriously. Elissa hadn''t been able to find out more on such short notice. Around the clearing, between the free space and the trees in which the crowd was seated, a line of Guardians stood with their staves and spears. All of them armed and protected with the best enchanted artefacts the Lodge had to offer, far more than their usual feather pauldrons and hardened scale armour. Even striders were present with their familiars staying further out, in the woods as an additional line of defence. Elissa had never seen such a contingent of force brought up by the Lodge.

    After everyone had come to rest at last, Loganna began to read the charges. Engaging in a blood pact with a foreign spirit entity. Drawing a foreign spirit entity from the outside through Sturreland''s ley-lines. Attack on members of the Lodge. Attack on a guest of the Lodge. Shedding of human blood on hallowed ground.

    As the charges were being read, most members of the crowd started to talk among themselves. It was a rather large gathering, but by far not all members of the Lodge were present; the call had gone out mostly to the Highest Circle, those elected two hundred tasked with seeing to the important decisions of the Lodge, including acting as jury during trial. From the looks of it, Elissa guessed all two hundred could very well be present, event much more. The word seemed to have spread to many member of the Lodge beyond the Highest Circle, and it drew quite the crowd. After all charges were read, Loganna turned to the accused.

    "How do the accused plead?"

    Nannade wanted to say something, but Priscilla put a hand on her head and Rrokhaa spoke up. "As the legal representative of the defence, I relay to the court that the accused all plead ''not guilty''."

    The girl seemed angered, but when she tried to stand up, the Guardians at her side stomped their staves on the ground and the wooden chain yanked the girl back down, scotching any attempt at rebellion. Elissa hissed at the girl "Stay quiet and down! Don''t make this unnecessarily difficult for all of us!" But the girl merely shot an insolent glare back, flaring her nostrils and turning her ears all the way forward in a gesture of intimidation.

    Loganna acknowledged the Guardians'' vigilance and went on. "We will now proceed to hear the report by Black Surgeon of Hozorcia, a Hidden Hand and specialist on blood pactitioners commissioned to examine and assess the accused."

    Black Surgeon took the centre of the clearing. He had a large stack of papers to read from and took long, meandering paths across the clearing, alternating between speaking to the judges, the crowd, the accused and the witnesses, rather than addressing merely the judges. He announced that he had structured his report into three parts: the report on the girl''s body, the report on the entity she had made a pact with and the report on the bond between them.

    He started by describing the usual physique of a crolachan of her gender and age, about the development Elissa and Garrett had observed and influenced, for example with the special brew Garrett have had Elissa make for the girl, and how her current body differed from this "normal" development. He noted her heightened senses, her flexibility, her unusual height compared to the usually stout crolachans, her speed and strength and her resilience, all built and guided by the Hidden Hand Purple Paw of Halonnes.

    Next, he moved onto the spirit that lived inside her body now. This was what Elissa, Faan and Garrett could never find out before deciding to ignore the issue with the help of a simple ward.

    "The spiritual being the accused entered a pact with" Black Surgeon began, "has no sense of a corporeal self as familiars would, but it still has its own, completely separate will. It has neither destroyed nor changed the accused''s intellect and thought. It claims to have lost its name safe for ''Ssil'' as it entered the accused''s body; I believe that this shedding of power and name was what alerted the Guardians of the Lodge to the incident. It claimed to have had numerous contacts with the accused, which it refers to as ''the priestess'' and at times ''the promised''. What exactly this means is unclear, but since the entity is partly abstract rather than natural, I came to the conclusion, that the spirit has been worshipped by some people as a tutelary deity or patron spirit. It was originally a snake spirit, but centuries, possibly millennia of worship added layers of abstract concepts onto this spirit of nature. It has referenced several titles it had been given, among them are ''devourer of vermin'', ''bringer of just death'', ''certain vengeance'' and ''silent one'' It is highly predatory and solitary in its personality. The being also said that it had been entrusted with an old task that had it return to the accused regularly."

    Black Surgeon paused for a moment to take a gulp from a bottle of water. He sought eye contact with the judges, then he continued, script in hand to meander around to open space of the clearing.

    "This brings me to the third part of my report: the bond between the accused and the spirit. The spirit was tasked with something relating to the individual that is the accused, most likely her well-being. I interpret this as the reason why it did not interfere with the accused''s own will, as to preserve her identity as an individual. This is at least my explanation. It seems to be passive, but not submissive or obedient to the accused. The accused and the spirit share a single submerged mind, but split acting minds in thought, rationale and body. They are connected at an intuitive level. This goes far beyond the connection which a medium shares with their familiar, as it does not require active "calling out" to the other party and their conscious reaction. I believe, that since the spirit made frequent and close contact with the accused throughout her life, especially in her dreams, her submerged level was already influenced from a young age on. I also assume this could explain the accused being an already awakened medium by the time it arrived under Elissa''s care as she reported."

    Was the spirit really present before Garret himself? Was it keeping the girl safe? Maybe even safe from Garrett and Elissa? Were they perceived as dangers to the girl by the spirit? Elissa couldn''t make sense, not to her satisfaction.

    Black Surgeon finished his report with the usual formalities concerning the report and his statements. Loganna stood up and raised her hands. "The floor is now open to investigations to Black Surgeon."

    Dennicus took the opportunity first and was granted the floor.

    "Mister Black Surgeon, would you agree to the conclusion from your report that the accused Nannade has indeed engaged in a blood pact and has therefore become an abomination?"

    Black Surgeon cleared his throat. "First and foremost, it is-"

    Dennicus cut him off harshly. "Please only yes or no answers, Mister Black Surgeon"

    Black Surgeon''s glare was sharp enough to puncture steel, but Dennicus seemed unfazed. "First and foremost, it is just ''Black Surgeon'' no ''Mister''! Our call signs are our titles and we can insist on them before any court that accepts our seal, such as this. Second, no, I would not agree with that conclusion."

    Dennicus rolled his eyes and continued. "Well then, Black Surgeon, how come you do not agree to that conclusion?"

    "Well simply," Black Surgeon corrected his pose. "Because the term ''abomination'' is entirely misleading in this case. You may see it fitting to bestow upon general cases of werewolves and other beings of unnatural origin, but not Nannade specifically."

    "Then your disagreement is based merely on semantics, not logics?"

    "No."

    Dennicus paused for a moment, seemingly thrown off. "What is it then?"

    "I would say that a being such as the one Nannade as I have found her to be during my examinations, is not abominable."

    Dennicus paced for a while, hand on his chin, before asking his next question. "Casting aside your dubious understanding of ''abominable'', would you agree to the conclusion that the accused Nannade has indeed engaged in a blood pact?"

    "Yes."

    "And would you agree to the conclusion that she has changed significantly by this?"

    "Yes."

    "And would you agree to the conclusion, that she might become dangerous to someone in the future, through or because of these changes?"

    Black surgeon inhaled deeply. "Yes, bu-"

    "Only yes will do, Black Surgeon." Dennicus made a gesture towards the judges and left the central floor.

    The floor was given to Priscilla. She chose to stand not directly in front of Black Surgeon, but slightly to the side as well. "Black Surgeon, of what exact nature is this ''danger to someone'' you claim Nannade could be?"

    Black Surgeon shot a quick smile over to Dennicus, incredibly fast and incredibly subtle, but Elissa had seen it appear and disappear on his thin, pale lips. "Given she is being trained to be a danger to law-breakers, yes, she could be dangerous ¨C thank gods ¨C since that is her purpose, and to this end she could easily utilize her altered body and mind. Thus, she could indeed become a danger through or because of these changes."

    "Black Surgeon, in what regards would you describe Nannade as ''not abominable''?"

    Black Surgeon seemed to have waited for this question for quite a while. "What struck me initially about her was her regular appearance, all of her acquired traits and changes are symmetrical and all-over. Usually, there would be a mental struggle for dominance between host and spirit during the merging, but this has apparently not been the case for these two; instead of showing patches of either the spirit''s or the host''s nature, Nannade possesses a still remarkably normal body compared to before, in fact, unless one were acquainted closely with crolachan anatomy, one would not be able to recognize any abnormalities apart from those arisen from her training and upbringing. And since there are no inconsistencies in flesh, it is also very likely that there are no inconsistencies in mind either. I have further found no evidence of the latter during any later part of my examination."

    Elissa began to have an odd feeling about Priscilla. Did she know something about blood pacts she wasn''t letting on?

    "Please elaborate on what these ''inconsistencies in mind'' would entail."

    "Well, irrational behaviour, often based solely on the nature of the spirit, also, side-effects of inconsistencies in flesh are constant pain, resulting in further mental torment."

    "Would you say that the accused accepted the spirit willingly and without struggle?"

    "Yes."

    "Yet she doesn''t submit her will and mind completely to the spirit''s will?"

    "No!"

    Priscilla turned her face further to the ground as she heard that, but Elissa could swear she saw a hint of a smile there for a moment. What were here plans for this?

    "Please elaborate for us how that paradox can be."

    "Well you see, the final state of the accused did not come about from submission to one of the two''s will, but agreement on purposes and roles. It was as if Nannade and Ssil had agreed upon these terms for a very long time, and the ritual that Nannade had performed was even tailored for such, under Ssil''s instructions. Each of them has their responsibilities and under these conditions, it was agreed and needed no further struggle between the two, and if there was, the exact ritual would have prevented it."

    Elissa could see the disbelief in Loganna''s face as she leaned closer in, as if an evil plot was being laid bare before her.

    "Would this mean you deem the accused ''rational''?"

    "Yes, certainly. While she is highly irritated, angry and emotional, none of these are uncommon for a girl her age and situation. At least I found no sign to assume it to be any different from a human girl her age and situation."

    "Thank you, Black Surgeon. I have no further questions." Priscilla and Black Surgeon returned to their places at the side-lines.

    Next were the witness reports. Elissa, Garrett and Faan''s statements ¨C taken at the night of the incidient ¨C were read, along with those of the involved Guardians as well. Nannade was also granted to give her report, but decided to abstain. Priscilla again acted in her stead, pulling forth a piece of paper, which she claimed was given to her by Black Surgeon. It was the statements the girl made about the night in question while in containment.

    They said that she had had the idea for the ritual while thinking about her Teacher, Garetas, who had led her to belief her freedom would be granted, if she could take it from him, surpass him. In order to achieve this, she decided to ''take a different route, one only open to her and no one else'', rather than ''chase after Garetas'' stupid, thick-headed demands.'' She also said the spirit had helped her, for example with altering the Lodge''s usual ritual for binding a familiar to better suit her ends.

    Garrett slouched his shoulders and hung his head low as the statements were read, but Elissa propped him back up. She reminded him that his training methods had been appropriate and to not be so easily swayed to shame by an angry, stubborn, pubescent girl.

    The floor was given to interrogations. The next item on the agenda was determining the degree to which Nannades teachers were to blame for the events of the night in question; only if they could be absolved of all guilt and wrongdoing, could the girl be truly be tried by the court. Garrett was the first they called upon for questioning. He took the oath before the court and although Priscilla was granted the first opportunity to question her own witness, she relinquished that to the prosecution, for some reasion. The chief prosecutor Dennicus gladly took the opportunity and started to walk circled around Garret, who stood in the centre of the floor and seemed to be a great deal annoyed by Dennicus'' path.Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.

    "Purple Paw, is it true that you knew of a spirit following the then nine-year-old Nannade as early as soon as the night you have removed her from ownership?"

    "Well, I had a feeling that-"

    "Please only answer yes or no."

    "No, I did not know that there was a spirit following her."

    "But you did have a suspicion."

    "Yes."

    "And after you told the Sister Elissa about it, she did not take immediate steps to prevent such an entity from following Nannade any further?"

    "No, she did not, but-"

    "Yes or no is enough." Dennicus interrupted him. "What did Sister Elissa ultimately do to keep the spirit away?"

    Garrett seemed to be not sure and glanced back to Elissa, but she didn''t know what to tell him either. "She made a ward and her familiar dreamt with the girl repeatedly to make sure she wasn''t being taken advantage of."

    "And are you aware of the fact that wards do not in fact destroy or banish spirits, merely threaten or convince them, if done right?"

    "Yes."

    "Did you undertake any measures to notify any of the Lodge of Sturreland''s agents? Such as Arch-Druid Loganna of the presence and interference of the spirit?"

    "No."

    "Why not?"

    "Because I saw no reason to and it was not my position to take such measures by myself."

    "Whose position did you think it was then to take such measures?"

    Garrett again paused for a moment, then glanced back to Elissa. His eyes showed regret. "Elissa''s. She was to take such measures by her own discretion."

    Dennicus took a few more steps around Garrett before speaking up again. "No further questions then." He left the centre, leaving behind Garrett.

    Loganna again opened the floor to the defence. Priscilla stepped to the centre of the floor and faced Garrett, not directly in front of him. "Purple Paw, may I ask you whether you have ever talked with your apprentice about the nature of blood pacts?"

    Garrett nodded. "Yes, I did."

    "And when was the last time you did?"

    "Around half a year ago, I and her took on a plea from the Guardians of Sturreland to deal with a werewolf. I used that opportunity to tell her more about the nature of abominations and her duty to destroy them."

    "And did she fulfil her duty?"

    "At that day, yes, she dealt the decisive blow to the creature, on her own initiative."

    "Would you agree that she showed to possess the determination to vanquish abominations if ever she came across them?"

    "Yes."

    Priscilla turned to the judges. "I conclude my questions to this witness." and left the floor.

    Elissa was called upon, swore the oath and Dennicus again was the first to ask questions.

    "Sister Elissa, since when did you know Purple Paw?"

    "Since I was ten, so more than twenty years."

    "And in this time did he ever show any signs of awareness of spirits?"

    "He''s got a vigilant mind, so-"

    "Only yes or no, if you please!"

    "Yes, he did."

    "But does he have the mystic gift, according to your own knowledge?"

    "No, he does not."

    "Did he tell you about the spirit following the accused?"

    "Yes he did, but I didn''t-"

    "Sister Elissa, yes or no!"

    "Yes, he did."

    "And what steps did you take to protect the accused from its influence the first time he told you about it?"

    "I did an appeasement."

    "Why did you do that?"

    "I didn''t believe it was about the girl, I believed it was about him at first." A short silence squeezed itself in between Elissa''s words while she realized just how badly she might have screwed up when dealing with the issue back then. "I thought he was just being over-vigilant."

    "What did Purple Paw that warranted an appeasement? Did he act disrespectful to the spirits of this land?"

    Elissa bit her lip, Dennicus knew exactly where to dig. "He practices-... practiced blood magic regularly. He used blood magic to unbind the girl from her sigils of slavery. He fashioned a powerful artefact for her using blood magic." Murmurs mong the trees, Dennicus scoff, Loganna''s rolling eyes and Garrett''s icy glare let her know that she might have played into Dennicus'' hands.

    "So, the accused was exposed to blood magic from an early time on?"

    "Yes, but it is normal an-"

    Dennicus stopped in his pace and shot her a scolding look. "Only yes or no, thank you!"

    "Yes."

    "Coming back to that appeasement, did it work?"

    "Yes. Purple Paw could move about the forest freely without drawing the ire of the spirits."

    "And did you believe the problem to be solved."

    "No."

    "Why is that?"

    "Because I witnessed a foreign presence. I believed Purple Paw back then."

    "Was that when you decided to fashion a charm and let your familiar dream with the accused?"

    "Yes."

    "When was it that you thought these things no longer necessary?"

    Elissa had to think. "Around her twelfth birthday. She showed no signs of secrecy anymore and her dreams had become calm and uneventful."

    "You did not see anything wrong from there on?"

    "No."

    "Did it at any point occur to you the accused could be lying?"

    "Not really, no."

    Dennicus paced a few more rounds, silently, then he nodded to himself. "I have no further questions for Sister Elissa."

    Again, Priscilla took the floor. "Sister Elissa, how much of the apprentice''s training and education would you think you took compared to Purple Paw?"

    "Very close to an equal share, High-Sister Priscilla."

    "And what were the parts of her training and education you engaged in?"

    "I would usually take the general and mystic education, as well as the basis of the Arcane and the healing arts, Purple Paw would take the physical training and further education in the Arcane upon himself, but there were occasions where I would also train the girl physically."

    "And how did you approach the issue of blood magic with the accused?"

    Again, Elissa felt an icy sting in her neck. "I told her that those that commune with the spirits could afford to draw upon blood for the Arcane, since they could do an appeasement themselves."

    Priscilla hummed for a moment. "And did you ever warn the apprentice of the consequences of blood pacts?"

    "I made it perfectly clear to her that familiars were the only form of binding spirits to living bodies that were acceptable to the Lodge and general morality across Ackarom."

    Priscilla was done with her questions and Elissa returned to her place on the side line, next to Garrett. They both looked at each other with deep regrets. Loganna was called upon by Dennicus next. She too was questioned, about her knowledge of Garret''s blood magic, the Hidden Hand''s methods while operating outside the law, and many more things making Nannade and Garrett look like criminals by default and Elissa complicit. There was little that High-Sister Priscilla could still ask Loganna and so, Loganna decided it would be time for closing statements. Nobody seemed to care about questioning Faan, but he was fine, Elissa had already said everything he had deemed important anyway and so he remained in his iron cage.

    A silence entered the clearing. Priscilla moved towards the centre of the floor, she hit the ground a few times to ask for silence and the crowd soon died down. "A long time ago, when I was still an apprentice of the Lodge, an old Druid named Partelleon, already old and grey as I am today, told me a story from his apprenticeship many decades before.-"

    Dennicus scoffed loudly. "HAH! High-Sister Priscilla, is this story going anywhere? How many childhoods do we still have to-"

    "BE QUIET, CHILD!" The raven cawed loudly, while Priscilla stomped her cane on the ground, an unnaturally loud boom echoing from the rocky cliff face. "As I was saying, when Partelleon was a young apprentice, the Lodge had just bid farewell to a peculiar being that they used to care for and consult. It was a large stag with the upper body of a man. They called him ''the living temple'' because in him lived an ancient spirit of a stag and protector of the woods. This spirit had been an important guardian of Sturreland and had been fused with the man in a ritual performed by the Lodge. What Nannade has done was once a common practice among our kind, and many other cultures as well. I am sure the young Black Surgeon can verify that."

    Dennicus raised an eyebrow. "So accused should not be punished because two long lifetimes ago our predecessors did something similar? That is idiotic! It is forbidden now!"

    Priscilla seemed to grimace under her hood. "But why is it forbidden? Because we''re afraid of what the universities might say? We have forgotten ourselves in an attempt to become like them, but what do they do that we admire so much? Cramming people together in endless towers, as many into the same space of ground as possible, riddled with disease, rivers of excrements flowing through the streets? I believe that there are still virtues in our way of life, living with the-"

    Dennicus interrupted Priscilla once again, this time with more heat and less mockery in his voice. "Blood pacts are an affront to humanity!"

    Elissa was amazed Loganna allowed these interruptions of Priscilla''s closing statement.

    "Why? Because it changes humanity? We all change. We all use magic to heal and adjust our body. We ask the spirits to mend a boy''s legs if he was born crippled; we seal wounds with blood magic, no matter how much we deny it in front of the universities and churches; we ask spirits to grant children upon people who could not conceive by the unguided flow of nature! We speak of nature and its ways, but without us those fields and orchards we rely on so much would be dense and wild forests within a generation!"

    Dennicus now openly walked onto the floor and made further gestures to mock High-Sister Priscilla. "And what does that add-"

    A loud CANK interrupted him. One of the Trusted Judges had slammed his staff on the shale slab table. He raised his voice. "High-Sister Priscilla has the floor and she will continue to until she is done or the judges say so." He gave Dennicus a stern look, who had stopped his gestures and shrunk back from the centre."

    "Yes, High-Brother."

    "And you, Arch-Druid," the Trusted Judge turned to Loganna. "have neglected your duty of keeping order in the court. Do you feel capable of attending to your duties? Or do the Trusted Judges have to replace entirely you in this court?"

    Surprise and outrage were visible on Loganna''s face. She looked to the other Trusted Judges, but they too gave her stern looks, which made her understand that she was heading for a serious situation. "Yes, of course I will attend to my duties, High-Brother, thank you for reminding me."

    The Trusted Judge made a gesture to Priscilla to resume her statement.

    "Either way, Brothers and Sisters, if you do not care as much about our past traditions, let me tell you this: the girl is still a child. Both her teachers were not aware of the hidden depths within her. She was not aware of the full severity of her actions; she couldn''t have been, the Lodge hadn''t even allowed her to take on a familiar yet, as such she was still an apprentice, deemed unable to make a single decision herself. In all things, we should show leniency and understanding with her, so that we as the Lodge can still make sure she grows into a respectable human bei-" Priscilla stopped herself for a moment before continuing on. "into a respectable person. I can look back on more than a century of experience in raising apprentices, some of which even sit among the Trusted Judges today." She nodded to a few members behind the shale slab table who returned the gesture. "I can tell you how important understanding of wrongdoing is, both one''s own wrongdoings as well as of those we judge." Priscilla made a bowing gesture towards the judges, as far as her hunched figure could.

    Murmur rose from the crowd again, until Dennicus stepped forth to make his closing statement.

    "I have to still disagree with High-Sister Priscilla for some important reasons. First, the accused Nannade remains a menace, emotional, short-sighted and possibly even too powerful. If a single university, church, college, sister- or brotherhood learns of our weakness when dealing with abominations, we will be the mockery of all of Ackarom. Our seal wouldn''t be worth a single coin anymore." Dennicus made a short pause. "Additionally, I oppose High-Sister Priscilla''s depiction of the accused as a child. It is a reported fact that Sister Elissa has asked for her to be crowned Priestess of Fertility for the last spring equinox. The Lodge approved, meaning they deem Nannade adult enough to take on the role of a priestess. Other girls her age married at that festival, they are having children, sowing their own fields. She was well aware. And as for her teachers: they failed and should be stripped of our seal. Such a short-sightedness cannot be allowed to be passed onto other apprentices. Let us learn from their mistakes, they have already spoiled too much with them!" Dennicus too bowed to the judges and left the floor.

    Nobody was left to speak and Loganna was about to continue with the trial when Nannade stood up, still wrapped in chains. The Guardians stomped their staves again. The chains yanked on the girl''s body, but this time, she was prepared; she managed to stem her legs against the ground and resist the yank as well as struggle against the unceasing force pulling her down to the ground.

    Loganna raised her hand. "Let her speak."

    Fright arose in Elissa, she looked to Priscilla, who seemed to abide all of this. The Guardians lifted their staves off the floor and Nannade was alleviated of her struggle. She took a single step forward and spoke up, her ears were twitching in anger, the tips trembling. "Why should I give a toss about what you deem me? You think I am some kind of monster now, yet you didn''t even know me a day ago and you''d see me as little more than a cursiosity in these lands." She put on a mocking face. "Oh crolachans, aren''t they not so very rare in Sturreland? Well taff you!"

    The whispering and chattering from the crowd perched on the trees was deafening. People were throwing insults at the girl and her stubborn behind. Elissa turned to Priscilla, who was already raising her hand to intervene, but Loganna shot her down with a wave of her hand. Instead, Loganna let the girl continue tantrum and called the crowd to silence. Elissa turned to Garrett. He was biting his lip, but in his eyes, she could see a plan.

    The girl smirked into the crowd and continued. "I will tell you about me: I was thrust here, from one slavery to the next, my life was decided by everyone but me. And my Teacher told me, the only freedom is the one I can take myself, which I tried and now I am here. If I shall die for doing so, then let death be my eternal freedom! There is nothing I can do to sway you if you really wish to see me as an ''abomination''. You look down upon me from your centuries of experience, yet condemn my own experience as sacrilegious. Taff you, again!" The deafening chatter returned as if a waterfall had started to pour over the cliff above them.

    Nannade returned to the other accused. Elissa tried to hurl as much fury the girl''s way as she could. That stupid, hysterical, baulky child! She had just accepted the death sentence for herself. How can she not realize how carefully she has to tread in court?

    "Do something, Garrett!" Elissa hissed. He tried to come forward, but Loghanna was busy calming the crowd. Again and again Garrett tried to get the attention of the judges and when the crowd had finally calmed, Loganna merely answered him with a. "The closing statements are over; this is no place for spats within the family."

    Garrett tried again, taking even another step forward, but the Guardians yanked him back into line, unrecognized even by the Arch-Druid.

    A pottery urn with a split opening was brought to the Judges'' table, one side painted white and the other black. The members of the Highest Circle present would then be asked to cast their tokens, into the white opening for ''innocent'' and the black opening for ''guilty''. Arch-Druid Loganna stood up and raised her hands.

    "The jury shall now cast their tokens to give their verdict on Sister Elissa whether she can be held accountable for the actions of her apprentice Nannade." She handed the urn to one of the Guardians who held it to each of the jury members.

    Elissa tried to see how people were voting, but the Guardian handling the urn concealed the urn from everyone else with his cloak. The process dragged on and Elissa could at least hear that both sides of the urn were filling up with tokens. When the urn was returned to the judges'' shale slab table, the entire crowd leaned closer and observed as the two compartments of the urn were poured out into separate piles, one of which was significantly larger than the other one; nobody needed to heart a count to see the verdict, yet still the votes were counted, for official protocol''s sake. With a majority of more than two to one, Elissa was acquitted of any and all guilt for Nannade''s actions.

    There was little reason for Elissa to be at ease, it had become much more likely the girl would be found guilty and punished, Elissa could no longer bear any part of it herself.

    Each member of the Highest Circle was handed back a token so the process could be repeated for Garrett''s case. "The jury shall now cast their tokens to give their verdict on Purple Paw whether he can be held accountable for the actions of his apprentice Nannade."

    The process dragged just as much and when the piles were again poured out, Elissa saw the piles to be much closer together in size. Up until the very end, it seemed there was one token on the pile of innocence for every token on the pile of guilt. A margin of merely eleven tokens determined: Purple Paw too, was acquitted of all and any guilt for Nannade''s actions. Both Elissa and Garrett hung their head low as they looked to Nannade. She was still bitter and only looking ahead at Loganna. She either did not grasp the situation or she was truly indifferent to it.

    Again the tokens were returned and Loganna raised her hands. "The jury shall now cast their tokens to give their verdict on whether Apprentice Nannade is guilty of engaging in a blood pact."

    At the sound of every token falling, Elissa''s heart beat twice as strong. She looked to Nannade, begging her silently to look over to her, to meet her eyes, maybe for the last time, but the girl was just scowling at the judges.

    An eternity later, the urn was returned to the table and the piles poured out. From where Elissa was, they were equal in size. The counting began and until the end, no definitive result was in sight. Then, finally, whiole four tokens remained on the second, the last token was taken from the first pile.

    Guilty.

    Loganna raised her voice. "The inner jury of the Lodge has deemed the accused Apprentice Nannade guilty. The punishment is death."

    The sound of a dozen waterfalls crashed onto the clearing from all sides.

    Guilty, by four tokens.

 Freedom & Folly XIV

    The clamour of the crowd was deafening, impossible listen to, the screams and yells merely storming and hailing onto the clearing.

    "She''s a child!"

    "She is intolerable!"

    "You have not enough support for this!"

    "We demand justice!"

    "Death by four tokens? Unheard of!"

    "She doesn''t even belong here!"

    "This is not over!"

    It was impossible for Loganna to regain control over the crowd. Again, Garrett stood up and dared a step onto the clearing, but this time he did not wait for attention.

    "I demand the right to speak!"

    The storm of chatter began to ebb, just the slightest bit, Garrett yelled once more.

    "I demand the right to speak!"

    One of the Trusted Judges seemed to have noticed Garrett. The crowd finally started to calm down.

    "I DEMAND the right to SPEAK!"

    His voice, drawn deeply from within his chest cavity echoed from the bare cliff face was swallowed by the trees of the forest.

    The Trusted Judge that had noticed him stood up. "Purple Paw, you have the floor." Loganna looked at the judge in disbelief but the other judges made her understand that they were willing to overrule her any moment now.

    Garrett bowed in acknowledgement. "I wish to show my Apprentice something to put this entire situation in its true light."

    The trusted judges beckoned him to continue.

    "I will need a n object which was taken from the accused Nannade at the night of the incident."

    A gesture from the Trusted Judges told the Guardians to bring forth Nannade''s items. Garrett approached them and took from them the blood vial necklace. He returned to Nannade, knelt down to her and undid the plug. Then he poured the fresh-red blood onto the ground of the clearing. Nannade''s scowl only intensified. Then Garrett took one of her claws and pricked her own palm with it, despite her struggles to unwind her finger his iron grip. He squeezed a few drops of blood into the vial and held it up the girl''s face. After a few moments the blood turned a perfect pitch black, as the vial rejected that which it did not recognize as the blood of the girl Nannade''s mother had died to set free.

    Realization and shock appeared on the girl''s face, but she quickly re-established her fa?ade of spite and resentment. Then, slowly bubbling up from the depths of her mind, regret, shame, and guilt came to the surface. The girl tried to keep herself composed as tears welled up in her eyes. She closed her eyes and turned her face upwards and away, trying hard to keep her dignity. Even that was eventually overwhelmed and her breathing began to shake. She started to snivel, turned her head down. When she finally grasped what she had done and what she lost, thrown away by her actions, her lungs seemed to fill with agony and pain before she straightened her head up and released a blaring cry from deep within her chest that shook even the trees at the edge of the clearing.

    She toppled over forward, pressed her face on the cold ground, as if she was hoping to suffocate herself in it. Her wails echoed from the cliff face. Over and over again she cried "Mommy" and "I''m sorry!" while beating her head onto the ground that had swallowed the last drop of old Nannade''s blood, the last blood worthy of her mother''s love. The crowd murmured, Loganna tried to look somewhere else but didn''t know where, Priscilla knelt down to the girl and looked at her with deep sympathy from her sunken-in eyes, Elissa started to get teary eyes herself, Faan stretched his paw through his cage''s parts to touch her foot, and Garrett softly ran his fingers through Nannade''s hair, cradling her head.

    Garrett picked the girl up, still in chains, turned to the forest and looked to the judges. Loganna made an imposing gesture, but one of the Trusted Judges called two Guardians to their side and sent them into the forest with Garret. He bowed in gratitude to the Judge and the Guardians, then he carried the girl off into the depths of the forest, until it swallowed all her cries.

    Loganna called a break of undefined length, but told everyone to stay within sight of the clearing. Black Surgeon used this opportunity to walk over to Elissa. His face showed remorse and sympathy as he approached her. "I am deeply sorry. I do not want the girl to die."

    "Are you not the one who is specialized in hunting pactitioners down, to cast judgement upon them, Black Surgeon of Hozorcia?" She said his call sign, his title with a sort of mocking veneration.

    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon."Yes. And that''s why I say that she should not die. She is no abomination. She is not inhuman; she is a rare case even among those who do not lose their will and mind."

    Elissa wanted to believe that. That he truly cared for the girl. Garrett would have killed her for sure that night had she not stopped both of them, but he had come around, maybe the girl had more allies than she initially thought.

    "I believe the girl will need a lot of work and discovery to fully understand her transgression and position. But she should not be forsaken."

    "And who would teach her in this world where she was left alone even before this transgression? You?"

    Black Surgeon smiled a genuine ¨C not polite ¨C and deeply beautiful smile. "It would be about time I took on an apprentice."

    Elissa tried to smile back, but she was already back in deep sorrow.

    Eventually, Nannade came back from amidst the trees walking on her own feet, followed by Garrett and the two Guardians. She returned to her place, but did not kneel down. Garrett remained behind her.

    Loganna beckoned everyone to return to their places and silence was quickly re-established in the court. She raised her voice reluctantly, glancing over to a certain Judge. "Does the defence have anything to append to their closing statements?"

    Garrett nodded. Then the girl raised her head and spoke to the judges. Her posture was much more relaxed but still determined, she looked ahead with purpose, as if she saw the future ahead and braced for it in all its severity.

    "I recognize my past stubbornness and wish to retract my impolite words, if the jury would forgive me at least this." She turned to the crowd, who answered with just slight murmur. "But my resolve remains! The Lodge had not just condoned, but furthered my education into an assassin and thief for the past six years. Arch-Druid Loganna had personally accepted me. I have read books and learned under a teacher of the Lodge, I learned about anatomy, poisons, spells, traps, and much more with the Lodge''s help. Now, they want to get rid of me." The girl paused for a moment, looked into the crowd and to the prosecution, then continued. "I have absolved my test of moral commensuration under Druid Herlewin."

    She apparently had found Herlewin''s face in the crowd, but he pretended to have found something more interesting than the fourteen-year-old crolachan abomination making her stand against the death penalty right now.

    "I was deemed to be capable and morally adequate. But now you say I am not? Based on what? The report said it, I''m still the same individual, the Serpent couldn''t have taken this from me, it always wanted my well-being; without me, there would be no well-being of mine! Hidden Hands do not kill because someone has power, but because they misuse it, otherwise no university, sisterhood, lodge or church would be left standing. If I am dangerous because of my new capabilities, then the Hidden Hands must settle this, as it is up to their discretion whether my capabilities can be handled by their training. If I am dangerous because I am no longer the same person but instead an abomination, then I ask you to prove it, you want to put me to death, not the other way around."

    Nannade ended it with a long and angry eye contact with Loganna, but the Arch-Druid was not intimidated in the least. Nannade''s eyes were watery, swollen up and red, but her face showed no sadness or fear anymore. Garrett smiled upon Nannade''s words. How many of those were truly hers?

    Loganna had fallen back in her chair, holding her forehead. After a while, she sighed and turned to Black Surgeon. "Black Surgeon, you are the specialist. Can you help us draft a test and report specifically on whether she is abominable beyond any doubt, not just your own understanding of the term?"

    Black Surgeon stood up and spoke to the judges. "I must again stress the uniqueness of Nannade''s case. I am a specialist in dealing with blood pactitioners, abominations, possessions, ghouls and other forms of spiritual transgressions, that is why I was summoned. And part of my experience is having seen hundreds of such entities and this girl is probably the most human-like ¨C apart from being crolachan - one would find. If one were not familiar with crolachans, one would easily ignore all her abnormalities. Her body is symmetrical and healthy. No mutations, disfigurement or constant pain as it is usual for abominations. Her mind is clear and self-defined. This is all a result of unique circumstances and lucky coincidences, based on the spirit, the girl''s past and the exact ritual she happened to perform, and thus, the result is unique in many ways." Black Surgeon had spent quite a while with not answering Loganna''s question, and annoyance had appeared on her face. "But, if you insist on making an exact judgement then, yes, I could help you draft such a test and report, but it would not be done in a time frame as short as you had previously given me. I''d also have to call to aid many other specialists on a similar matter for only they can make an exact judgement, most of which cannot simply travel here, take a look at her and give a solid judgement."

    Loganna again fell back in her chair, sighing and putting her face in her hands. The rising chatter seemed to not help her in her thinking, even the Trusted Judges seemed to argue loudly amongst themselves She banged her staff on the shale slab table repeatedly and called for order. When she had returned order at last, she rose.

    "As my Trusted Judges have informed me, the sentence cannot stand." Resignation and defeat resounded in her voice. Did she want to put the girl down like a rabid dog? "As such, we will retreat for deliberation. The guilty verdict stands."

    The Trusted Judges and Loganna turned around. Loganna tapped the cliff''s stone face with her staff and a part of the rock slid back and upwards to reveal a tunnel in the mountain that the thirteen promptly disappeared into. The tunnel closed back up again and the clearing seemed empty and void of power.

    Elissa moved over to Nannade, embraced her and held her, she held the girl as tightly as she never had before, she could feel her own heart hammering in her chest and against the girl''s skull. Together, they waited for the final verdict. The Guardians had problems keeping the crowd orderly, rarely had something split the Lodge so cleanly in half. Elissa feared that she was the parting of a cleft within the Lodge. No matter how the Trusted Judges and Loganna decided, there was no telling what would happen beyond the law. Clasha nd conflict was unlike the Sisters and Brothers of the Lodge, but it was all she saw in their faces. The time seemed to stretch to infinity and all that was left to do was waiting and hoping, but eventually, the cliff face opened again. As if the air had disappeared through that tunnel, silence gripped the clearing within a single heartbeat.

 Freedom & Folly Epilogue

    The sun had just gotten up and the hut was awoken by the Guardians accompanying Nannade. They had allowed Nannade to see her teachers one last time before they would carry her off. Elissa, Garrett and Faan used it to impart a few more words of courage on her. The girl still wore her vial with her black, rejected blood inside, "as a reminder¡± she had said.

    ¡°Tell Carsten and Fiona at least that I¡¯m sorry that I can¡¯t be there for the babe.¡±

    ¡°We will.¡±

    She had a last embrace with the three of them, then she turned around to the Guardians and signalled them she was ready to go. They put her back into shackles, then their ethereal wings sprouted from their feather-pauldrons and lifted them off into the sky, eastward. Elissa, Garrett and Faan watched them disappear behind the treetops, then they tried to find something to return to.

    The Guardians and Nannade had set foot down at a bridge over the river Trohr, the mighty stream marking most of the eastward border of Sturreland. Beyond it, the southernmost reaches of the country Nannade was once enslaved in, Southern Nisumski. It was a cruel return, but she had decided to do nothing but push on forward, for now she had to brave three tests to gain approval from three different people, to prove she was not abominable. The Guardians accompanied Nannade over the toll bridge, then they opened her shackles and returned her backpack to her. Everything had been searched so she may not take anything that she could use to her advantage on her coming tests. They also set Aaka on her shoulder, she would make sure Nannade would be able to take these tests and report to Black Surgeon directly. Then Nannade turned east on the road and walked, back to darker lands, having her first goal set for her, the ¡°Forest of Dreams¡±, whatever that may be.Stolen novel; please report.

    The hut was silent. No one had any schedule to keep up, spirits to shoo away, brews to prepare or contracts to look for.

    ¡°I¡¯ll move out of your hair.¡± Garrett eventually said, while mindlessly chewing on some dried meat; no use in keeping it around if he won¡¯t be allowed to leave the country for a year anyway. ¡°Maybe I can find some work in Sturreland.¡± He was still bitter about the two of them being kept as leverage to force Nannade to pass the tests and return to Sturreland.

    ¡°Maybe I will really pick up that teaching job. Just to be out of this empty hut.¡± Elissa told him.

    ¡°How did you survive without her?¡±

    ¡°I have no idea.¡± Elissa was trying to think back to her days before the girl arrived. They were blurry at best, smearing and mixing into a smooth stretch of time.

    ¡°I heard Black Surgeon had to send his spider along to keep contact, maybe I can squeeze some news about her out of him.¡±

    That gave Elissa little hope. ¡°If the Trusted Judges will even let you speak to him.¡±

    ¡°Eh, in our profession, we have our ways to relay information.¡±

    ¡°You do your thing. You¡¯ll have to ask the Arch-Druid''s office for permission to move residence, by the way. Where would you go?¡±

    ¡°Sosken.¡±

    ¡°Figures. At least it has a bit of the city flair, eh?¡± Elissa sat down at the table next to him.

    ¡°It¡¯s not quite a city. It doesn¡¯t smell like shit all the time, so that¡¯s an advantage.¡±

    ¡°And what do there? Didn¡¯t you say your savings ran dry a while ago?¡±

    He finished the last piece of dried meat. ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll let myself get hired as a private teacher. The Lodge will probably hand me a certificate that I graduated here.¡±

    ¡°Yeah, probably. Just don¡¯t ask Loganna directly.¡±

    ¡°I figured as much.¡±

    ¡°Well, good luck with that.¡±

    A silence fell. All was dull and depressing.

 Search & Scrutiny I

th

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 Search & Scrutiny II

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    ¡°Maybe a sedentary life will suit me.¡± The faintest smile touched his face.

 Search & Scrutiny III

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 Search & Scrutiny IV

    A few wagons had already departed when Clara was sitting down to eat breakfast at the remnants of the campfire. Benny was still busy with shaving. He didn¡¯t want to but Clara had insisted on it. His beard was awfully ugly and he had to look good to attract more customers in the towns they passed through. Eventually, the girl stumbled out of the wagon as well.

    She looked around and inspected the wagons and seemed to pause when she saw a wagon that Clara hadn¡¯t seen anyone enter or leave all morning.

    ¡°Everything alright?¡± Clara asked the girl.

    ¡°Hm? Yes.¡± It sounded insincere.

    Nannade sat down and had breakfast with Clara. They decided Benny could have breakfast in the wagon while Nannade took the reins for the morning. She liked doing that apparently. Clara wasn¡¯t able to get anything out of the girl. About her past, her travels, her destination, her occupation. But it seemed alright. Clara trusted the girl for now.

    Eventually, before noon, Benny insisted on taking back the reins and Nannade sat in the back and watched Clara embroider the newest patch to be added to the wagon. It was red felt and supposed to replace an old piece that had been worn down and torn. The girl took interest and told about how she had made a few outfits herself. She showed her a pair of leather gloves who had tiny slits with overlapping flaps in the fingertips that she could poke her claws through. ¡°It helps me climb trees.¡± She said.

    ¡°So you like climbing?¡±

    ¡°Well, I was raised in Sturreland. There¡¯s lots of trees there.¡± She said that last part with a humorous undertone. It was a huge understatement, considering almost all of Sturreland was heavily forested, with some woods being so deep and dense that not even the druids of the Lodge know all the secrets buried there.

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s true.¡± Clara laughed. It was the most she had hear the girl talk about her past.

    Occasionally, Nannadewould sniff her arms or legs and look down. Eventually, she leaned in close and whispered in Clara¡¯s ear. Clara accepted the girl¡¯s request and pulled the curtains in the front and back of the wagon.

    ¡°What are you doing that for?¡± Benny asked her.

    ¡°Don¡¯t look back here, understand?!¡±

    ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Just don¡¯t, boy!¡±

    ¡°Fine, I won¡¯t.¡±

    Nannade handed Clara a brush from her backpack and started undressing. The girl¡¯s clothing was baggy in many spots and underneath she was wearing something like a set of hardened leather armour, bracers, shin guards, and a vest, but Clara hadn¡¯t assumed the girl¡¯s body to be this slender and muscular. It wasn¡¯t boyish, although her female charms were on the smaller side. Like tensed ropes her muscles and tendons ran along her bones and joints, visible even through her fur. Was that all from climbing? Or did she do other things as well? The girl sat down on her knees with her back to Clara. Clara started brushing as she had her asked to. She could tell the girl was enjoying it. With every stroke, Clara could see her coat getting cleaner and shinier, as if she was brushing dust and grime off a brazen statue. She also did the parts the girl could reach herself well enough, just out of enjoyment. Clara had seen one of her kind a long time ago, when she was freshly married, she and her husband had travelled all the way down to Halonnes to see a bit more of the world. There, Clara saw two or three of them pass them by in a crowd. That was the first and only time she had seen one. And now she was brushing this beautiful girl in her own wagon.

    Nannade was grateful for what Clara had done. ¡°We can do that every morning if you want to? Nothing I do here is of any importance anyway.¡±

    ¡°That would be wonderful, Clara.¡±

    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t let Bennie hear you use our short names.¡± The two girls giggled.

    The journey went along and Nannade sat next to Benny by the reins. The way the two sat together made Clara wish to see her son married soon. Her daughters looked so beautiful in their wedding dresses, but she did not need any more of that,she just wanted to see him happy with another person.

    They saw a small town appear in the distance, off the stone road, next to a sprawling forest. They decided to stop by and offer their wares. They managed to sell a few buttons, leather scraps and yarn. Then Clara heard one of the people say something about a witch. She got down from the wagon and followed the young girl who had said it.

    ¡°Excuse me, did you say there was a witch here?¡±

    The girl turned around. ¡°Yes. Deeper into the woods. Be careful as you enter, spirits guard there.¡± She pointed up the hill. A path was clinging to the slopes and eventually entered the forest, although Clara couldn¡¯t see where.

    ¡°What services do you need from her?¡±

    ¡°Just information.¡± Clara said.

    ¡°She takes much coin for even small things if you are not from here. Do not disrespect her or the forest.¡±

    ¡°We won¡¯t. Thank you very much for your help. We might stop here again on our way back. Be well.¡±

    ¡°Be well.¡±

    She had decided to drive the wagon up there for Nannade¡¯s sake, although the girl initially insisted it wasn¡¯t necessary. The path was mostly easy to navigate, only at one point they had to cling to a steep wall to the right in order to not slip off the steep slope to the left. They made it to the edge of the forest. The horses were nervous and Benny was afraid they¡¯d buck any moment. Nannade took the reins from him with a smile, then she started to sing in a weird old tongue. It sounded a bit like the tongue of Sturreland, but Clara could only understand every fifth word or so.

    The horses calmed down and did as they were told. Calmly, they trotted along the path through the woods. Nannade looked out for someone or something as she was steering and singing. Clara felt as if eyes from dark corners were fixed on her. Despite the clear weather, the forest seemed dim and cold.

    They arrived at a hut on a clearing. Nannade stopped her song and got off the wagon. She turned to the other two.

    ¡°I ask that you do not follow me or listen in on our conversation.¡± Her face and voice had something serious, almost threatening.

    ¡°We won¡¯t.¡± Benny said before Clara could.

    The girl walked to the door and without knocking or calling, a person inside opened up.

    She was gone quite a while. The horses grew restless again, but did not buck or panic. When she came back out, she thanked the person inside and came back to the wagon.

    ¡°I¡¯m done here. We should get back to the road.¡±

    The two agreed. They did not like it in these woods. There seemed to be things here with them. Nannade guided the horses out of the forest and gave the reins back to Benny after they had cleared the last tree.

    They came to the narrow passage at the slope again when Nannade suddenly turned around. She was alerted.

    ¡°What is-¡± was all Clara could say before a something that felt like a wet blanket hit her in the face.

    The world was dark and she had trouble breathing, only a thin stream of air came through, even sound was drowned out. She could feel that she was being tied up and thrown on the ground. Then the sticky blackness was pulled from her face.

    A man stood above her, grinning, clothed in thin leather armour with bits and scraps of metal sown on. He held a dark glob in his hand that looked like some alchemically altered tar. Benny and Nannade lay beside her, also gagged and bound. Benny seemed unconscious, bleeding from the head.

    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.The man tapped Clara''s forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll set you free once we have everything. Your boy was stupid. He resisted. The girl was smarter. We might take her off your hands. She¡¯ll go for a good price.¡±

    As the man mentioned that, Nannade began loudly protesting against her gag, but the man didn¡¯t pay her any attention. He turned around and helped his men carry the wares out of the wagon. It was probably five or even six people.

    Clara turned to Nannade and tried to comfort her. The girl wasn¡¯t crying or scared. Instead, she seemed angered, even annoyed. The girl gave Clara a determined look, then she started to wriggle around in her restraints. The girl¡¯s joints seemed to shift and slip, as if they were dislocated. Clara could hear them crack and pop. The girl¡¯s bindings slipped off like a slipper off a foot. Slowly, the girl got up and rearranged her body, rising from the ground like an angry snake.

    Clara could only watch, she forgot the restraints, gag, and even the critters walking on her for a moment and just watched the girl escape from these binds and got herself ready for something.

    Run, girl. RUN! Don¡¯t be a fool and save yourself! Clara wanted to scream at her, but Nannade seemed determined to fight.

    The girl reached into the pouch on her left hip, and when she pulled her hand forth, a thread of yarn was stretching from the pouch to a ring on her finger. Clara recognized this. She had seen it before, used by mages. On the inside of the pouch must be a flask full of flux oil. Some things started to make sense to Clara now.

    The girl also took a few pieces of paper out of a small book hanging out of the pouch. She had no weapon, but these pieces seemed to instil her with greater confidence than any weapon could. The bandits had already noticed her. They yelled out and told her to get back, threatening her by wagging their crude weapons at her. The girl took one piece of paper and held it at arm¡¯s length. It went up in flames and a fire engulfed her left arm, a standing torrent of flame coiled around her like a serpent.

    Nannade started her assault. The girl and the flame seemed to meld together in their movements. The fire lashed out at the bandits, searing their eyes and hands, while the girl¡¯s claws and fists tore their skin and broke their noses. A man charged at the girl with a huge knife. Nannade dodged with a leap to his side, grabbed his arm from behind, twisted it up, stepped on his back and while jumping over his shoulder, with a sickening KLOPP, released his arm from its socket. She took his knife and faced the next assailants. In her hands it looked like massive butcher¡¯s cleaver, but when she swung it, it sang and whistled through the air like a songbird. The men tried to gang up on her, but were kept in check by either the burning serpent embracing the girl or the girl¡¯s blade.

    They surrounded her closer, started to throw rocks at her. The girl being distracted, a bandit saw his opportunity, charged at her. His knife sunk deep into her right side just as she shielded her from another rock. She screeched in pain, then turned to the attacker, grabbed his throat, dug in her claws and tore open his neck, a fountain of blood shotforth. He sank to the floor like the others.

    Nannade was halted by a sudden yell.

    ¡°STOP IT OR SHE GETS IT!¡± one of the men, burned in the face but otherwise well-off, held a knife to Clara¡¯s throat, she could feel the sharp cold steel touching her pulsing vein. Nannade stopped. The two last remaining men around her laughed and got closer. The fire around Nannade died down.

    The man got down to Clara, pressing the flat side of his knife to her neck and grinned. ¡°We¡¯re going to have LOTS AND LOTS of FUN with you two girls.¡± His grin was unbearable. Clara pressed her eyes shut, afraid of what might happen next, but even more afraid to witness it.

    She heard the man scream out in pain. She opened her eyes and saw that the man had dropped his knife and was instead holding his right hand.

    ¡°DAMN SPIDER!¡± He yelled and slapped a large brown spider sitting on his hand. ¡°DIE, DIE!¡±he yelled as he was stomping it into the dirt.

    He wasn¡¯t done cursing when Nannade had felled the last two men, then she walked towards him. He stared at her in fear and tried to make a fist, but his hand was already swollen and refusing to do as told, he searched on the ground for his knife, but Nannade was already too close. She stretched out her hands, and with a few long steps, closed the distance to his throat.

    Clara watched in horror as the girl clenched her delicate fingers shut around the man¡¯s throat until all struggle had seized.

    Nannade sank to the floor. Her entire right side was stained with blood. She took off her clothes to inspect her wound. It looked bad. Clara had taken care of her fair share of wounds in her life, and the girl¡¯s looked to be on the more grievous side of her experience.

    Nannade cut Clara¡¯s bonds, then looked at her. ¡°I can¡¯t mend it. It will tax me too much!¡±

    Clara didn¡¯t quite understand what she said, but nonetheless, she ran inside the cart and got all she needed for a suture. When she got back outside, she wanted to kneel down next to Nannade, but with a loud ¡°NOO!¡± the girl seized Clara¡¯s foot as it was about to set down on the ground where the big brown spider was still laying, a single leg twitching. ¡°NO! Not Aaka!¡± Carefully the girl took the spider, and put it far under the cart, where it was safe from stomping feet. Then Nannade turned to Benny, who was still bound, unconscious, and bleeding from the head. She looked at the wound and now Clara could see that the skull had been dented in at the wound.

    ¡°He has a serious skull fracture. His brain has most likely received a serious bruise.¡±

    Clara didn¡¯t want to believe the girl, but after what she had witnessed, she stopped expecting to see the girl¡¯s limits.

    She got out a small square booklet from her left-hand pouch. Now Clara could look inside and truly see a flask with flux oil and a weird spool-like contraption at the opening.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need some time. Stitch me up while I draw.¡±

    Clara looked at the girl. She got out a blue thin crayon and started drawing patterns in her book.

    ¡°Stitch me up, hurry!¡±

    Clara got to work. She could see no harm to any interior organs, just the skin and muscle were cleanly cut. Still, the girl was in danger of bleeding out if untreated. With every stitch of the needle, the girl twitched, but kept her hand steady on the paper. She looked desperate. Often, she would pause, checking something on the paper and in her head, whispering something to herself that sounded like a Magistrate¡¯s babble or a nursery rhyme.

    Clara finished the last stitch and started bandaging her. A short while later the girl seemed to be finished. On the palm-sized, square piece of paper, Clara saw many intricate, curved, straight, and jointed lines connected with words written in a weird script to form a complicated mess.

    ¡°I hope this works. I¡¯ll need your help.¡± Nannade said.

    ¡°What can I do? Will it help Benny?¡± She just saw the girl kill more than a handful of people like in a trance, but she was willing to trust her. She could save her son, Clara was sure of it.

    ¡°I¡¯ll need your blood.¡±

    ¡°For Benny?¡±

    ¡°Yes. The blood of relatives works best. I don¡¯t have enough left either way. Kneel over there and give me your arm. And take one of those gauze bandages.¡±

    Clara did as she was told. Nannade held Clara¡¯s arm above Benny. Directly underneath the arm was the piece of paper.

    Nannade took a knife and held it to Clara¡¯s wrist. She exhaled and inhaled very carefully, then looked Clara straight into the eyes. ¡°This will hurt. You¡¯ll have to take care of yourself after this.¡± Her eyes seemed tired, at the verge of collapse. Then she pushed the knife into Clara¡¯s wrist. The pain seemed to nail her to this world. She felt Nannade clenching down on her hand, making sure she couldn¡¯t pull it back.

    The blood from her wrist dropped onto the piece of paper and Benny¡¯s clothes. Then the piece of paper went up in flames. The blood disappeared as if soaked up by the air itself, and a glimmer surrounded Benny, a maelstrom of energy and power connected the three of them as well as a fourth being she couldn¡¯t see, but it definitely was therewith them.

    The spell seemed to have worked, Benny¡¯s head was no longer dented, he was no longer bleeding. Nannade lost all tension in her body and fell over.

    ¡°Aaka.¡± was the last thing she could say. Then her consciousness slipped away.

    Clara was alone. Seven dead men lay around her. Both her son and this mysterious girl were unconscious but stable. She herself was busy bandaging and suturing her wrist. Their cargo was strewn all over the slopes, where the bandits had dropped it. At least the horses had calmed down. She felt as if a horrible storm had passed her by.

    Clara didn¡¯t know where she should start.

 Search & Scrutiny V

    Elissa was sitting at the side of the classroom. It was a provisional classroom in town hall, but after years of begging by the mayor, Arch-Druid Loganna had finally promised funds for the construction of a proper school house. The children learning here came from all the families in town and were at all age groups. One afternoon every other day had to be enough. Peterus was the druid teaching them, but with the girl gone, Elissa had taken an interest in maybe taking the job up herself. She¡¯d have to travel from town to town, but she figured travelling within Sturreland was alright.

    Louissos was with her. She had met him as she was heading down the slope and he had decided to tag along. Now they were just watching the children learn. Much of what they did was self-study, so each child could learn at their own pace while Peterus went around and helped them individually. This was all part of the plan that the highest circle had made as an answer to the universities¡¯ similar efforts to allow everyone access to writing, reading and calculation. It weakened the farmers¡¯ workforce for now, but they hoped that more literate citizens could do more valuable work and thereby increase the overall workforce. Elissa left the economics to the druids. She was happy with helping and healing. But maybe teaching wasn¡¯t so bad either.

    During self-study, Elissa helped Peterus along. Louissos could have too, but he was still an outsider to the Lodge and so he held back.

    Elissa had just passed by Clarissa, Carsten''s younger sister, and got ready to help the next student, when she heard a sudden scream from the side of the classroom.

    Louissos was twitching on the floor, screaming and slapping his head. ¡°AAACKA!¡± he screamed again and again. Everyone looked and asked questions. Elissa hurried to his side and held his hand, trying to stop him from hitting himself further. He quickly stopped acting out but was obviously in pain and weak. He quickly stopped screaming, but was still writhing in pain. The class was in uproar and many children what was wrong and what he was doing. She supported and helped Louissosto a different room to take care of him. There she lay him down on a couch and brought him some water.

    ¡°I really don¡¯t need water.¡± He said when he had finally relaxed.

    ¡°Just drink, it won¡¯t hurt you.¡±

    Louissos did as he was told. ¡°I think Aaka is seriously injured.¡±

    ¡°What happened? Is Nannade alright?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. All I know is... Aaka is in pain. Great pain. I can¡¯t feel her anymore.¡±

    ¡°Is she dead?¡± Elissa''s heart sank low and panic spread throughout her thoughts. If Aaka was dead, what chance did Nannade have to survive? Wasn¡¯t the spider supposed to protect the girl? Maybe the girl lashed out at the spider like she did with Garrett, seeing her as another captor.

    ¡°No, the thread between our minds still exists. But it is faint, weakening.¡±

    ¡°What can I do? Should I get something?¡± Elissa wanted to get up, but Louissos grabbed her hand.

    ¡°No. There¡¯s nothing you can do. Except stay with me, distract me.¡± A smile appeared amidst the pain on his face.

    It struck Elissa suddenly, but she decided to stay. ¡°Alright.¡±

    ¡°Was Faan ever at danger?¡± He asked her.

    ¡°A few times, the last time was when we fought Nannade in the glade. Our bond was almost separated. But he recovered before the trial, it was less an injury to his body and more to our connected minds.¡±

    A silence fell. She didn¡¯t know what to say. From the next room they could hear Peterus¡¯ lesson.

    ¡°I interrupted class. How embarrassing.¡±

    ¡°Oh, think nothing of it. You¡¯re not the first one to do so.¡±

    ¡°An interesting story?¡± he tried to force another smile.

    ¡°When I brought Nannade along to introduce her, but I left her unsupervised. She was just nine years old at the time. When neither me or Peterus were looking, a boy pulled her tail and she slapped him across the cheek so hard, he had four cuts running down his face. From her claws.¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    Elissa had to smirk thinking of it all. ¡°The chaos! Some of the boys were really impressed. WOAH, IT¡¯S BLEEDING! And things like that. The girls were really afraid except for a few. One said SERVES HIM RIGHT! I healed the boy¡¯s cheek and it didn¡¯t leave any scars, but the story spread and some parents claimed I brought a wild animal to class and things like that. A few came to my hut and argued so loud with me at the fork that Nannade heard it in the hut and came running to apologize.¡±

    She lost herself in thought again.

    ¡°She seems to be a good kid.¡± Louissos said to her. He was still holding on to her hand. She didn¡¯t feel like letting go either.

    ¡°She is. And Garrett didn¡¯t raise her wrong. Just tough. I think there is a strong sense of justice behind the girl. But Garrett has a laxer approach. I think. He thinks in more pragmatic ways. He wants to get paid. The girl talked about ¡°a path only she can take¡±. I think she saw something wrong in Garrett¡¯s pragmatism.¡±

    ¡°Or maybe the serpent did.¡± Louissos face had become more serious. He was still straining under the mental load of whatever happened to Aaka.

    ¡°What do you mean?¡±

    ¡°The serpent isn¡¯t just an animal spirit. It¡¯s... like a guardian spirit, maybe some form of deity. It represents an ideal, a concept.¡±

    "She always was at odds with Garrett¡¯s ideals. He had promised her that she would have her freedom if she could take it. I think it was more a life-wisdom about the harsh world outside there than a part of the curriculum.¡±

    ¡°As if there is a curriculum.¡± Louissos smiled sarcastically.

    ¡°How are Hidden Hands organizing?¡±

    ¡°Little to not at all. We have no solid circles; we feel more drawn to the circles that gave us their marks of approval. But sometimes we come together and speak of professional dealings, organize for big contracts or check-up whether we were all still doing well. Most commonly just before an apprentice gets their first mark and call sign. It is tradition to hold a deliberation with at least four other Hidden Hands.¡±

    ¡°And you do not do that one chance doctrine?¡±

    Louissoscollected his thoughts for a while. ¡°Sometimes it¡¯s better to leave a witness alive so they can tell the tale of what happens to pactitioners. I rarely enter the scene first myself, Aaka does most of the critical work. Going toe to toe with abominations without something up a sleeve is not advisable. That¡¯s why I prefer striking from the shadows, but a witness can be useful.¡±

    They went silent again. ¡°How is Aaka doing?¡±

    ¡°I think she is still hurt, but safe.¡± Louissos¡¯ eyelids were starting to look heavy. ¡°It will take a lot of my mind to heal her up. Maybe I should find a place here to sleep. I won¡¯t be able to move far.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll take care of things. You get some rest.¡±

    ¡°Will you still be here when I wake up?¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t promise. But someone will be here.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t care about someone. I care about you.¡±

    It hit Elissa¡¯s heart like a rock. She quickly looked away. She didn¡¯t want to look into his eyes, like a spider¡¯s web, she wouldn¡¯t be able to come free again once she did.

    ¡°Fine, hate me then. I¡¯ll just be gone in a year anyway.¡±

    Again, Elissa¡¯s heart was struck. She hated that stupid thing. She had lost Nannade and instantly clung onto the next best person that hadn''t rejected her yet. Nannade had felt like glue between her and Garrett, holding the two together who were never meant to be.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± She said. ¡°I¡¯ll step outside for a while. I¡¯ll be back.¡± She got up.

    ¡°Be well.¡±

    The outside air refreshed her. The hills and forests in the distance seemed so clear and real. The room where Louissos was seemed so small and distant from here, almost like a different world. She had to get her mind clear. She didn¡¯t want to go back to the lonely hut. She went back to the classroom and listened in on the lecture Peterus was giving. All the children sitting in their seats, some whispering among each other, passing badly written notes, making plans. It all seemed so natural and purposeful. What was her purpose now that Nannade was gone? What had been her purpose before Garrett brought her along? Going down to town every third or fourth day to visit someone and hope they came to her for help, less and less each year? She couldn¡¯t go back to that anymore. She would never go back to that.

    She went back to Louissos. He was asleep. She watched him for a while. She thought about how she would have to take Garrett¡¯s bed apart and store its parts somewhere. Or maybe she could just leave it up for now. As a patient¡¯s bed.

 Search & Scrutiny VI

    Nannade woke up when it was already dark outside. She lay next to Benny in the wagon. Outside, she could hear a campfire. She checked on it and saw Clara, alone, sitting with her back to the wagon, looking in the distance where the town was. She noticed Nannade and turned around.

    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake, good.¡± Sleepiness and exhaustion were audible in her voice. ¡°How are you feeling?¡±

    ¡°Rather good, I think I will recuperate within a dozen of da-¡± That¡¯s when she noticed Clara had moved the wagon quite some distance away from where they were attacked. A thought shot into her mind. ¡°AAKA! We have to get back to get Aaka, I put her under the wagon! Did you roll ov-¡±

    ¡°IT¡¯S ALRIGHT! It¡¯s alright.¡± Clara interrupted her. ¡°You were so worried about the spider that I put it in a jar, she¡¯s still with us.¡±

    Nannade hadn¡¯t entirely calmed down yet. ¡°Where? I have to see her.¡±

    Clara went inside the wagon and got out a glass jar with a big cork. Small holes had been poked into the cork and fresh grass was stuffed inside. After searching for a bit, Clara was able to show her Aaka, sitting between the blades of grass. She still looked badly hurt, but her body seemed to already regenerate somewhat. ¡°My boy used these jars all the time for grasshoppers and spiders and mantis and many other crawling things when he was little. I noticed how concerned you were about that spider and when I saw it still moving after being stomped on so many times, I figured, it can¡¯t be a normal spider.¡±

    Nannade sighed in relief. ¡°Thank you so much. Without her, my entire journey is bust.¡± She might just have said too much. But it¡¯s not like she could hide much anymore. ¡°I am sorry you had to see this side of me. I¡¯ll leave you two tonight if you wish so.¡±

    Clara¡¯s face spoke of fear. ¡°Stop it! Yes, it was frightening to see. Especially that last man. I don¡¯t fault you for never saying anything. But don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll tell no one, and we¡¯ll not chase you out after inviting you along.¡±

    ¡°It is better for you to not remember me. Forget my name, forget you ever saw me. Before we enter Kalonitz, I will leave you.¡±

    A bittersweet smile appeared on Clara¡¯s face. ¡°Oh child. How I wish I could cradle you and take you back with me.¡± She reached out and stroked Nannade¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°Are you not afraid of me?¡±

    ¡°Yes, I sort of am. But just because people lash out and do violent things to protect themselves, doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re bad people. I now know that you are merciless to those that hurt us. I would prefer a gracious and merciful saviour. But someone who can calm horses like that and cares for others¡¯ health, even that of a little spider, in the face of her own death, cannot be lusting for blood. You saved my son. You could have let us die and take the wagon on your long journey, but you saved us.¡±

    ¡°I got you into trouble to begin with. Because of me, you went into the forest, which was dangerous enough. Because of me you were attacked. And I fear you will get into trouble because of me again soon.¡±

    Clara rolled her eyes. ¡°I told you it was fine. I insisted on looking for someone who knew something about the deep woods. And you said you know everything you need because of that. Let me help a girl I thought was helpless and alone.¡±

    ¡°You look tired.¡± Nannade said to Clara.

    ¡°I feel lightheaded. Maybe because I lost some blood, carried all the cargo back into the wagon and kept lookout until now. Although I didn¡¯t find the last crate. I don¡¯t care about that one, it was just all scraps anyway.¡±

    ¡°I am awake now, let me hold lookout. Lie down.¡± Nannade put a hand on Clara¡¯s shoulder.

    ¡°Should we move the wagon to the town? I don¡¯t feel safe.¡±

    Nannade nodded and they got to packing the last bits into the wagon and set out.

    The light vial Clara had couldn¡¯t cast its light very far, but Nannade didn¡¯t need it anyway. Ever since the pact, she could see different things than what the light touched. The temperature of people, fires, animals, were revealed to her. Like a beacon they glowed in the cold dark night. She could see where warm things had touched the cold ground recently, and even the trees gave of a slight shine in the pitch blackness. It was a different form of sight. Certainly useful. Maybe, like her venomous fangs, it was a gift from the serpent. She still didn¡¯t know how to feel about those things. The black blood in the vial around her neck reminded her that she was no longer truly crolachan. Should she embrace these gifts? Was these all she received or would the serpent keep on giving, until she was a serpent herself? The harsh events in the last two days had felt too close to the skin to question what she did. Survival had turned from a game Garetas had played with her into a very real thing. None of Elissa¡¯s spirits were out here with her to call for help in case things went awry. She felt naked, sliding and falling from event to event without much agency. She would have to learn how to run.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

    They arrived back in the town and parked the wagon in the open space in the centre. They took care of the horses and then Clara laid down to rest next to her son. Nannade couldn¡¯t rest yet. Many things were still going on inside her head. She took the light vial and got out her note book. She needed to write some things down anyway. She opened it and began writing.

    Killed again today. Seven men. They jumped us after the witch¡¯s woods. Managed to fight them off, mostly, but Benny & Aaka got badly hurt. One stabbed my side, Clara patched me up. It will leave a scar.

    How dumb to be jumped and tied up two days in a row, but I got better at getting out of it. They did a better job than Bronislaw, too.

    Last one died slowly. The serpent demanded it. His face was frightened as I did it. Ssil made me look, made it pass into my heart. The pain & death she lusts to inflict are justice, not cruelty. I am not allowed to be merciful. Garetasalways said he gives them one chance to get out alive & then kills quickly. Feel sorry for not being able to follow. Maybe I can make arrangements with Ssil. Until then, no one better crosses my path like that again.

    The witch asked an old & far-travelled spirit for some hefty coin. Gave me a hint where the forest of dreams might be, but need more information.

    Those that travel from west to North & South want to cut through a corner. Those that don¡¯t, arrive at North, those that do, arrive nowhere and never, where trees speak & humans flow into the forest. A weak mind cannot enter without falling asleep. A strong mind cannot stay without dreaming. No one can leave without waking up.

    North & South refers to Northbridge & Southbridge, I think. Don''t know about anything else. Why can¡¯t spirits ever be concise?

    Earlier on the road, we passed a wagon with slaves on it. They wore iron collars; don¡¯t think they had glyphs like me. They didn¡¯t seem valuable enough for that. Still, the scars on my neck itched when I saw them.

    Nannade was thinking about the other things she wanted to note down and mindlessly turned pages. Then, towards the middle, she noticed a page that was slightly thicker and heavier than the others. The light vial had almost died down, so Nannade refreshed it with a bit of her own flux oil. She moved the bright vial closer and saw in one corner, that the page consisted of two pages stuck together. She got out her knife and very carefully pried the pages apart. They came apart without ripping and between them was a small note.

    If you can¡¯t make it, stay away. Don¡¯t worry about us. A dozen before the year runs out, I¡¯ll grab E and get out of there. Meet up at the place. -G

    Nannade shook her head. Now she had twelve days less to return before Garetas did something stupid that just got everyone into more trouble. He had written the note in infused ink. She took the note and the serpent ignited it in her hand.

    The night had dragged on and she decided to get some rest too.

 Search & Scrutiny VII

    A long stone road was running almost straight to the horizon, where Kalonizrose its spires and grand halls into the sky. At the side of the road stood a wagon covered in a colourful patchwork of felt. Nannade was standing at its side, adding a sky-blue patch to the wagon¡¯s adornment. On it, she had sewn an intricate design of runes and patterns with horse hair.

    ¡°The patch is in place. The harvest mouse is a shy animal, that knows how to hide from predators, and the horses know the road well. Leave a few corns of barley, rye or wheat every morning in the wagon, somewhere you can¡¯t see them. Harm none of its kind and be gentle to the horses, and in exchange, harvest mouse¡¯s spirit will hide you from preying eyes.¡±

    Clara hugged the girl. ¡°How can I ever thank you?¡±

    ¡°Forget me. Forget you ever saw me, met me, talked to me. It will be easier for you two and for me.¡±

    Clara had a tear in her eyes. ¡°You stupid, cruel child. How could I ever forget you? After you saved us?¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t want to forget you either. I want to say that we will meet again, but I don¡¯t think we will.¡±

    Benny gave Nannade a tight handshake, then sat on the bench behind the horses. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to thank you, or even pay you back, but I pray that the road will ease your step wherever you might wander.¡±

    Nannade smiled. ¡°I wish you safe travels, Bernhardus.¡±

    ¡°Please, call me Benny.¡±

    A chuckle escaped Nannade¡¯s lips, with a hint of sadness. ¡°Farewell Benny.¡±

    Benny whigged the horses and the wagons was on its way down the stone road. Clara waved at the girl from the back of the wagon.

    Nannade watched them disappear in the distance. Then she stashed her latest purchases in her backpack. A leather envelope with several needles, a spool of yarn, a small awl and some sinew. Clara had insisted on also giving her a few linen- and leather scraps for free. All of them would come in handy when she had to repair her outfit in the future. Once all was stashed away, she made her way towards Kaloniz on foot. She¡¯ll probably not arrive before evening, but she was okay. The wagon had brought her far in ten days.

    It was indeed evening when she arrived. She was lucky to still get inside. The guards were getting ready to close the gate for the night. One of them shot Nannade a distrustful glance and sohe hurried her step along.

    Passing through the wards on the walls felt disgusting to her, as if she was snorting slimy yarn up her nose, but her entire body was the nose. Once she had passed through, the feeling was gone, but the serpent inside of her was still writhing, unhappy with its suppressed state.

    Nannade quickly found a guesthouse and booked into the communal room. She wasn¡¯t willing to spend any more coin than necessary. She had only limited funds and she needed them possibly later on. Who knows where she had to go after she finally found the forest of dreams and finished her task?

    She woke up the next morning, well rested, after sleeping in a proper bed for the first time since she left the containment cell in Sosken. She enjoyed finally being in the city without Garetas breathing down her neck. She took her time from early morning to noon looking at stands and wares. Kaloniz was a grand city, she could find almost anything even outside the Magistrates¡¯ quarter, where she wouldn¡¯t be able to go without a seal. The architecture was impressive. Towers reached for the clouds, and grand halls were held up by columns jutting from the ground like the teeth of a mountain range. Every building of fused stone exuded an aura of strength and certainty. The people here valued determination and actions more than sophistication and words. They did not mess around before taking action, making haggling a battle of grit and willpower. It also explained the way Bronislaw behaved.

    At noon she looked for something to eat and found a bakery selling old and dry bread on the cheap, so she got quite some to stretch her rations. She needed a lot of water to wash it down, but it was better than wasting rations. She eventually decided to ask travelling merchants for the quickest way to Southbridge. If the ones who wanted to take a shortcut were the ones disappearing, then the shortcut would most likely run through or close to the forest of dreams.

    Most merchants knew only one way: The Shgatlu pass by the city of Shgatluni. They told Nannade that it was the path that the old imperial road took, and therefore most preferable either way. The only other pass would be further to the north. They said passing through the Impjasegi to the east was impossible, only directly southwards, but that would take the girl to the squabbling states, for a merchant a hell of tolls and bandits calling themselves guards.

    While she continued to ask without any success, she came across a small court with a chest-high wall in the main market square. Inside the court was a wooden stage, and on it, a slave trader held an auction. Most of the slaves were just usual workers and got sold off in groups, most commonly families, but a few were valuable enough to sell as single items. One of them was so valuable, that it warranted him wearing a collar not of metal, but of magical glyphs. He was a scribe who wrote and spoke seven languages, according to the seller, valuable indeed. Seeing him made Nannade¡¯s scars itch. She decided to tuck her head in and move on.

    It was at a fur trader¡¯s wagon that things changed. She asked again, for the fastest route to Southbridge, while casually looking over the wares. She actually thought about buying something. Maybe it would help the merchant to remember something he knew. But when she pushed him, with a few ermine pelts in hand, he started looking at her queerly.

    His voice got a hushed tone and he asked her ¡°Are you a runaway slave?¡±

    A shock hit Nannade, she looked around and started getting nervous. When she absent-mindedly scratched her neck again, he noticed her scars.

    ¡°Hey, I know those scars.¡± He said a bit louder. A nearby guard noticed the interaction and came closer.

    Nannadethrew the pelts back onto the pile and stack to disappear into the crowd, but the guard was already after her. It was time to run.

    She pushed herself through the crowd, to the next alley where she could find a way up. Quickly, the guard rang his handbell and other guards converged on her position. With her entire pack on her back, she moved slower than she usually would. She kept pressing through the crowd until she finally arrived at an alley she remembered and ran in. She was just about to start scaling the rough stone wall when a hand pulled her back on her ankle, one of the guards had caught up with her.

    ¡°You¡¯ll come with me, let¡¯s see if there¡¯s a bounty on your head!¡± He took out shackles, but when he came closer, she managed to place a kick between his legs, which bought her enough time to get up and scamper away.

    She ran further down the alley, more guards were already pouring in. She boltedaround a corner and again started to scale the walls. It was harder than she was used to, since her boots didn¡¯t allow her to use all her claws. Up on the roof she thought herself safe, but she could see guards on the walls and towers of the neighbouring Magistrates'' quarter, and they could see her. Alarms were yelled and she saw herself followed by guards leaping and dashing over the roofs, not unlike her.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

    She quickly got to looking around and getting her bearings. There were quite a few routes still open to her and she ran directly for the wall. If she could jump the city wall, she¡¯d be able to escape. She darted over the roofs as fast as she could, the roof tiles and shingles jingling beneath her boots. Ahead was a rather wide jump and she didn¡¯t know whether she would make it across. She pushed herself with all her might and soared above the street. For a moment, there was this familiar feeling of both weightlessness and helplessness, nothing to hold her, just the wind blowing in her face.

    She slammed against the side of the roof, but managed to cling onto the wooden roof shingles, digging the claws on her hands deep into this lucky coincidence. The wall was close now and the only guards ahead were the ones manning it. She looked back. Although trained and capable human men would still have the upper hand in hand-to-hand combat, if she bet on mobility and agility, she could still beat them. One last guard was still running, straight for her. She could not see him making the jump, until he reached the edge of the roof. Then he suddenly leapt an incredible distance into the air and forward. As he was in the air against the bright sky, Nannade could see a thin thread going from his hip to his hand.

    ¡°Shit!¡± was all she could bring forth before starting her sprint again. She hadn¡¯t thought of that. Since she was let go from Sturreland, she hadn¡¯t written down many of spells, although the travel in the wagon had given her enough time. But there was one habit that Garetas had drilled into her. Today it would prove its usefulness to her.

    She cleared another building. It was less than five hundred feet to the wall. She reached into the side pouch, and in one quick movement, put the ring on her finger and pricked the foremost paper in her palm book. She pulled the paper out with her claw and confirmed it. It was an Invisible Fist. The three foremost papers were always Invisible Fists. ¡°Half of good improvisation is being prepared for the unexpected.¡± Garetas had always said.

    She wouldn¡¯t get the guard pursuing her with a simple spell like this and he could cast an attack on her any minute now. With long steps, he came closer and closer, soon he would close the gap between them. When was she in range for his version of the Constrictor? Almost every mage had at least one.

    Nannade had around three hundred feet to the wall left, and the guards on there were already nocking their arrows. She decided on a change of plans. In a hard turn left she moved parallel to the wall. It gave her pursuer the chance to cut her off, but she had seen another wide street. She didn¡¯t know whether she could make the jump, but her target weren¡¯t the roofs on the other side. It was a tree standing in the old cemetery.

    She leapt and managed to land in the crown of the tree. The branches welcomed her with slight strokes of their leaves. She quickly turned around and looked to where the guard would leap off from. There he was! His trajectory would put him squarely in the tree, but he most likely couldn¡¯t look inside. That¡¯s when Nannade lifted the piece of paper up to her line of sight and snapped her fingers.

    A few of the leaves were brushed aside and the guard was hit mid-flight, stopping all his momentum and making him plummet like a tossed stone. Nannade didn¡¯t wait to see if or how he would recover. She got out of the tree and climbed over the wall of the cemetery to the alley on the other side. With her only pursuer left shaken and the guards on the wall having no direct line of sight, she managed to hide. She sat between a few stacked crates an old wooden barrel, taking a breather. After a while she was sure she could hear someone move, she even smelled a torch burning, but no matter how much she looked, she couldn¡¯t see anyone coming down any side of the alley. Then she heard a whisper.

    ¡°PSST!¡± The voice tried to gain her attention as quietly as possible. It came from her right. She carefully peeked around the crates. She even checked above her just to be sure.

    ¡°PSSSSSST! HEY! Slave girl!¡±

    She dared to stand up and look around. No one was there in the alley with her.

    "No, the crates! Here!¡± She took a look at the crates. Between two boards, there was an unusually broad slit and behind it, an eye, ¡°yeah, I¡¯m here, I¡¯m in here.¡±. the voice said.

    Nannade needed a second to order her thoughts.

    The lid of the topmost crate was lifted from inside, and a man crawled out. He had dark hair and eyes as well as shaggy clothing. He beckoned her to follow him into the crates. When she climbed up and looked inside, she could see that the crates were actually affixed above a hole in the pavement with a ladder standing inside. The man handed her the lid, climbed down and told her to follow. The lid had a handle on the underside, with which she could pull it back tightly into the topmost crate. She climbed down and found the man standing at the bottom. She stood in the entrance of a tunnel dug into the dirt below the city and reinforced with wooden poles and boards.

    "I¡¯m Vlatiko. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m on your side. We¡¯ll help you!¡±

    ¡°I am Nannade, what are we doing here?¡±

    ¡°Come along, I¡¯ll lead you to a safer place.¡± He took a torch from the wall and they walked down the narrow and low tunnels. She had to duck her head in more than once to avoid hitting her head.

    They arrived at a larger room with several other tunnels going off. In the middle stood a crude table with some chairs and a flux-powered vial-lamp. Its neutral, white light shone brightly. On one of the chairs sat another man, not dissimilar to Vlatiko in appearance, but with shorter and brighter hair.

    The second man stood up and raised his hand. ¡°I am Zivadin. Welcome to our humble home.¡±

    ¡°I am Nannade. How did you find me and know I was a slave?¡±

    ¡°A fur merchant who repeatedly smuggles wares and people for us, contacted us and said that the guard was after a crolachan girl with marks of slavery on her. That would be you, I assume?¡± Zivadin held out the ermine pelts she was holding before making a run for it. ¡°He said you might want these.¡±

    Nannade had to process that for a moment. ¡°The fur merchant... was he trying to help me?¡±

    ¡°Yes. We help escaped slaves to get out of the city and towards their destination.¡±

    ¡°I feel kind of sorry for running away.¡± Nannade tilted her head to one side and exposed the scars of left by the sigils of slavery underneath her fur, still fresh and pink as on the first day, a property of the magical signs so the few that could escape with their lives would never forget and always be identifiable.

    ¡°Are those from sigils of slavery? How did you get them off?¡±

    ¡°I was freed six years ago by a man proficient in blood magic, but someone had to pay very high price for my freedom.¡±

    ¡°And what do you want? You don¡¯t sound like you¡¯re from here, so why come back?¡±

    ¡°I need to a find a place that¡¯s supposedly on or very close to the fastest way from here to southbridge. I asked a few merchants if they knew anything.¡±

    Zivadin and Vlatiko looked at each other and seemed to be discussing something without words.

    Zivadin spoke up. ¡°We don¡¯t know whether we can trust you. Actually, I think Vlatiko was reckless to even bring you here.¡±

    ¡°Is this supposed to be a joke? Do you want me to pay you?¡±

    By his face, Nannade could see that Zivadin was uncomfortable. ¡°Well, the thing is, kid, we don¡¯t want to reveal important information to foreigners we don¡¯t know whether we can trust yet.¡±

    Nannade sighed and rolled her eyes. ¡°What do I have to do?¡± And raised an eyebrow.

    ¡°What can you do?¡±

    Nannade got out her palm book and looked for an interesting but not destructive spell. She decided to summon an orb of light.

    As the paper went up into a puff of flame and hovered above the table, outshining the flux-powered lamp, the two men looked upon it, as it slowly dimmed down.

    ¡°I am a witch in training and I need to get to that pass through the Impjasegi. What is your price?¡± She asked them.

    The two again held silent counsel.

    ¡°We already hired several thieves and robbers to steal something for us, but never saw results, or even them ever again. Do you think you can use magic to get it for us?¡±

    A big, shifty grin appeared on Nannade¡¯s face as the two men told her of a big ledger locked away in a tightly secured safe.

 Search & Scrutiny VIII

    [Entry into Nannade¡¯s notebook]

    Mission: Get Lopatinov¡¯s retrieval ledger

    Employer: the liberators

    Payment: location of desperation pass

    Location: Lopatinov¡¯s mansion.

    Situation: Lopatinov is a rich land owner who manages runaway slaves & the bounties on them. Most slaves have no individual bounty, but some represent important assets.

    has a rather large mansion.

    Likes whores. Whores -> bribe! I DON¡¯T HAVE ENOUGH COIN!!

    Disguise as whore & sneak in? Too suspicious!

    Scale wall, get in concealed by rat spirits? Wards are strong, will be hard.

    Could reconstruct Garetas¡¯ embracing Shadows Spell

    [several attempts at reconstructing, all struck through, notes read:

    How did he get it to stay solid?

    Can¡¯t deduce the solidification command!

    Probably forgot half the glyphs

    end]

    Use spirits to conceal is best shot. Need material to bind. Don¡¯t have any sinew or hair long enough. Maybe blood on fresh rat skin? Short lived contract, might be more powerful. Need a lot of preparation.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.

    Can¡¯t deal with this. Maybe shouldn¡¯t have come here. Guards are looking for me. A stupid little crolachan girl. Am I still crolachan?

    [long trailing lines&patterns]

    Am I still crolachan? I never knew any except mammy & pappy. Now people tell me I¡¯m different, but they can¡¯t tell. No one can. Maybe need to meet one of my kind. Maybe need to go to Halonnes.

    I am no longer the Nannade that her mother died for. Black blood is proof. Why am I this horrible person? Why did I spit on my mother¡¯s corpse? Should never have listened to Ssil. She¡¯s not evil. But she shouldn¡¯t be with me. Why did I listen to her? She is hiding something from me.

    A few months ago, I wed my best friends. Now I have to prove I am still human or be executed. How could it come to this?

    But I¡¯m not. I¡¯m not human. I¡¯m crolachan. I used to be crolachan. I¡¯m different now. Am I Ssil? Am I Nannade? Mother gave me that name but I spat on her corpse. My blood¡¯s black in her love. The vial is the last bit of proof that Nannade once existed.

    It¡¯s cold. I miss my hammock. I miss Garetas¡¯ snoring. Back when I was little, he never cuddled back. Elissa did. But I still liked his warmth. I have no one now.

    Just want to run away sometimes. See the distant woods & yearn to run there. Free & wild. Want to hunt & make my own clothes from hides & bones. But I won''t spit on Elissa¡¯s & Garetas¡¯ trust.

    Have to get this ledger. No teacher around to make plans for me. I will save Garetas & Elissa. Won¡¯t let them down.

    [Endof entry]

 Search & Scrutiny IX

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

 Search & Scrutiny X

    The mansion lay silent in the night. No movement could be seen, except for the guards patrolling the area. Then, inside the mansion¡¯s bath, a drainage grate started moving. It lifted up by a few inches and a rat crawled out. It sniffed around for a while, then another rat followed. They sniffed around the room and eventualy came back to the grate. Then a figure lifted the grate up from below and crawled out. It was naked except for a grey cloak that enveloped it. It stood up in the drained pool of the bath and got its bearings. It went down the hallway and a host of rats emerging from the hole followed its step.

    It managed to get through the mansion with relative ease. A small pouch was hanging from the figure¡¯s wrist. From it, the figure pulled a number of small metal tools with which it opened all locks that blocked its path.

    The figure did not know where exactly to go, except upwards, and so it sent out members of its host to scout the mansion. The rats swarmed through the mansion, like searching fingers, into every room they could enter. If they came to a door they could not open or bypass, they moved on. And so, soon the floorplan of all hallways and some rooms was revealed to the rats and the figure. It kept moving and the rats followed. They were loyal to the figure. It had become one of them when it had lived with them in the sewers. Singing them songs, learning their language, taming their god, and it was this god who had bestowed great powers and cunning upon the figure.

    Up the stairs the figure moved and to a large, unlocked door. Behind it was the bedroom of the mansion¡¯s lord, an old, short and thin man, almost scrawny. He slept deeply and well on his giant bed next to his wife. Bookshelves, decorative swords, hunting trophies and many more treasures lined the walls. Right next to the bed¡¯s head end was another door. The figure silently moved towards the second door. Again, the metal tools were inserted into the lock, but this one was more complicated. It had many more pins and with more sophisticated defences, an intricate design for warding off attacks exactly like the ones the figure was trying. The attempt dragged on and the minute scraping of the tools seemed to grow louder and more violent. Until now, the locks were little more than inconvenient door knobs, but this one turned out to be a proper barrier to the figure¡¯s advance.

    The figure looked around the room. There was no other way inside except this door. The room on the other side of the door didn¡¯t even have windows that could be opened, only smashed. It sat down on the floor, not far away from the sleeping lord. The rats looked at the figure and awaited its next command.

    They swarmed out again, looking harder for any openings they could squeeze themselves through. The figure opened a window and put a few of the rats on the ornamental sandstone that ran along the outer wall under each floor¡¯s windows. One or two were not balanced enough and fell from a great height into bushes and onto grass. They were mostly unharmed and got back up, looking for their way in this new terrain. The figure itself started to rummage through various drawers, hoping to find a key to the lock. When it found nothing, it looked at the lord, who was still sleeping. He didn¡¯t seem to have anything on him. He must keep the key in a very secure location.

    The scouts returned and reported that they were not able to find a way inside. The figure had to consider giving up the attempt. But it didn¡¯t give up. There was at least one person who knew how to get to the key. All the figure had to do was get that person to reveal its secret. It went through a drawer by the desk and pulled forth writing implements, ink and paper. Then it got to work.

    <hr>

    Lopatinov had slept well until he was awoken by a loud bang, then a mechanical click and then loud rummaging. He suddenly sat straight up in his bed. He looked around the dark room. He saw nothing but a light from under the door to his study. Someone was in there, going through his belongings and papers. He rang the bell to the side of his bed and got his staff from the cabinet. The cabinet had been opened and the staff lay on the floor, but was undamaged. By now, the entire mansion was in uproar and readiness.

    His wife was quickly escorted to safety and he prepared to storm the study, where an unknown person was still hastily going through his things. The entire bedroom smelled of sewage and other things better left in the sewers. Three armed guards with halberds, protective vests and wards stood by his side, the head butler arrived with the intricate key that protected his study. The other important keys were on the same ring, like the one to his safe. He was responsible for a lot of business and finances of his wealthy clients in the city. If he lost anything valuable, a lot of powerful people would come for his head.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    He prepared himself, loaded an apprehension spell into his crystal ball and held a few other spell papers in his left hand. He gave the key to one of the guards, who opened the door to let the other two storm inside, followed by Lord Lopatinov.

    The room was empty and dark. The only light came in through the open door. Lopatinov had stepped on something, but before he could look what it was, he noticed the stench of sewage getting stronger. Then, darkness fell over them, like a tidal wave.

    The guards yelled in alert. Something brushed past Lopatinov and he heard the jangling of keys with it. He tried to yell but he lost his balance and fell against one of his guards. He could hear the safe being unlocked, things being taken out hastily and finally a window breaking. ¡°STOP THEM¡± he yelled to his guards, but they seemed to be tripping over their own feet. Lopatinov felt hundreds of tiny feet and furry bodies flow by him, squeaking in anger and biting his heels and toes. From the outside, He could hear the guards in the yard yell and exclaim something about the intruder fleeing.

    The darkness subsided and he could see again. The window was open, the safe had been opened and emptied. The floor was swarming with rats, disgusting dirty, shaggy, of sewage smelling rats, that now started to disperse back out the door, looking for some place to be rather than here. He looked outside the window, where he saw two guards standing next to his study¡¯s chair and shards of glass.

    ¡°WHERE ARE THEY?¡± He yelled at them when he didn¡¯t notice them having apprehended the intruder.

    They yelled something up to him and pointed upwards. He could hear faint footsteps on roof tiles. He looked upwards but saw nothing. He turned around and inspected the room. If the intruder could open the door, why did they need the key to the safe?

    The guards were searching the room for more clues. One of them called Lopatinov over to the door. He pointed at the floor right behind the door. The ash typical of burnt paper lay directly beyond the threshold. With the stench of sewage gone, he could smell something else. Burnt paper and corporeal flux, typical for spellcasting.

    Some puzzle pieces slowly came together in his head. The intruder had pushed several light- and sound-spells with fuses attached under the threshold. While the fuses were still burning, the intruder somehow hid in the bedroom or someplace else nearby and waited for their entrance, then enveloped them in darkness to steal the key in the confusions and make off with whatever they wanted. Now the intruder was running across his mansion¡¯s roof and down some rope or other implement they had prepared no doubt. Lopatinov would later hear from the guards in the yard that the thief had managed to crawl up the mansion¡¯s walls as if they were on solid ground. They described the being as half-human, half-rat with a grey cloak, shadows emanating from beneath the cloak¡¯s hood. He didn¡¯t know how much to believe, but he knew he wouldn¡¯t last very long if he didn¡¯t apprehend someone to blame. And even then, his head might still roll.

    <hr>

    Vlatiko sat in the central room of their hideout when he heard a steps coming down one of the corridors. Specifically the one he had led the bjestja girl down to the sewers some time ago. He took the lamp off the table and drew the dagger from his belt to investigate. Slowly, a figure came closer. It was the bjestja girl. She quickly hurried to the central room, concealing something under her cloak. An abominable stench followed her.

    ¡°We thought you were dead!¡± He said to her as she was hurrying down the tunnel to the communal room.

    ¡°I was only gone three days, don¡¯t write me off so easily.¡±

    ¡°FOUR days.¡± Vlatiko insisted.

    The girl slammed something on the table and when Vlatiko entered the central room he saw it. A massive ledger book, filled with countless loose pages and added on letters. It was Lopatinov¡¯s ledger. Exactly what they asked for.

    Vlatiko took a few moments to process everything. ¡°Wow.¡± He finally brought forth. He looked at the girl and just now noticed that she stood with hands on her hips, which lifted her cloak just enough to reveal that she was naked and encrusted with various dried liquids. It also let out more of the horrid stench.

    ¡°You smell like shit.¡±

    The girl grinned. ¡°I smell of shit, big difference!¡±

    ¡°Anyway, wow, you did it. We thought you were dead.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t blame you. The rats are really distrustful of humans, a shame how the animals are treated here.¡±

    ¡°What are you talking about? Put something on!¡±

    ¡°Nevermind either of those. I¡¯ll find a bath. I am not putting on my clothes before I got a good scrubbing and brushing. What¡¯s the nearest bath house?¡± She got to packing her things up. And came back to the communal room still expecting an answer. ¡°Well? I don¡¯t intend to stay this smelly. Do you have any idea how long I¡¯ve been going without a bath?¡±

    Vlatiko gave her the answer she wanted and she left quickly, wrapped in her dark green cloak. He sat down and looked through the ledger. They would actually have to give her the way to desperation corner now, a small price for what they tried three years to acquire.

 Search & Scrutiny XI

The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

 Search & Scrutiny XII

    Tanasha stood at the entrance to the mine. She took a torch and ignited it with a snap of her fingers. ¡°Are you afraid of the dark, Ssil?¡± she asked the girl.

    ¡°No¡± the girl replied. ¡°I grew up there.¡±

    It was the morning after the old shaman had helped the girl with a S¨¦ance. She had sung with the villagers - all former slaves - and they had their fill of food and stories. Tanasha had taught the girl how to read a ¡°map¡± of the tunnels. It was made by knotting strings of different lengths and thickness together to form a sort of schematic of the tunnels with barely any regard to direction. The girl bought some last rations and an additional water skin, allowing her to last at least four days without refilling. Her backpack got heavier and she got more determined to push on.

    The two women travelled down a horizontal tunnel. Left and right more tunnels branched off, but they kept on going, until they came to a spiral ramp. Like the tunnel, it had two groves chiselled into the floor.

    ¡°These tunnels were dug by thousands of slaves of the course of over a thousand years. The mine has many entrances, but most have been blocked by rubble, especially during the Great Sundering. We cleared many tunnels of the rubble and fortified them, either ourselves or with the help of the spirits.¡±

    They eventually came into a large hall dominated by a wooden platform that they arrived on. The torch cast light barely reaching to the end of the platform, and with the exception of a few glistening spots, the walls and ceiling were utterly black. The girl said how she could see warmth, but this place was as cold as the fathoms of winter to her. Their bodies shone like suns, she said.

    ¡°This is as far as I can take you. Many tunnels run through here and maybe one day, we will come here in search for more silver or other treasures, but your path lays far beyond. Do not be afraid to consult the spirits, they bear no ill will to you. I hope you will fare well. I hope we don¡¯t need to meet again.¡±

    With these words Tanasha handed the girl three torches and ignited one of them.

    The girl bowed and exclaimed ¡°I cannot thank you enough. May you forever be safe and loved.¡± it was a way of saying good bye the girl had heard from the other villagers. Tanasha answered in kind.

    The woman was gone and so was the warm light of her torch. The girl stuffed the other two in her backpack and got out the ash map from the s¨¦ance. The ash had been fixed with a thin layer of wax, to protect it against smudging. She looked at it again. Her face showed strain as she tried to make sense of all the lines and shapes.

    ¡°Try to imagine the large spot in the centre to be the place of power.¡± Aaka told the girl. ¡°Around it, the view of the spirit is oriented.¡±

    The girl¡¯s strain only grew. ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem to make sense.¡±

    ¡°Of course it doesn¡¯t. It¡¯s a spirit¡¯s view.¡±

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you help me?¡± The girl¡¯s voice showed irritation and resentment.

    ¡°I can¡¯t help you too much. And I already told you that geography is not what a spider would usually understand. Maybe ask a burrowing animal like a-¡±

    ¡°Unless I can actually find any animal spirits on or in this forsaken rock, I don¡¯t need to know about any damn burrowing animals.¡± the girl snapped back at Aaka.

    The girl got back to looking at the map. She sighed and inhaled deeply. She took another look at the map. There was no strain on her face this time. ¡°If the centre is the place of power, then these must be ley-lines.¡± She ran her fingers over two dominant lines that seemed to get wider as the approached the edges of the map. ¡°The thickness of the lines could refer to strength or to closeness to our world, but then they would be thickest at the place of power, which they aren¡¯t.¡± The girl seemed to finally get an epiphany. ¡°Therefore, they must relate to position within space relative to ours. So, the lines are... flowing out of the paper, towards me...?¡± She thought for a few moments. ¡°IT¡¯S A SHADOW!¡± She suddenly exclaimed, her epiphany echoing back from the stone walls. ¡°It¡¯s like a shadow of an object on a wall. Depending on how the object is oriented, some parts may look bigger!¡± She was almost jumping with joy.

    ¡°So, do you know where we must go?¡±

    The girl thought for a while ¡°...no.¡± Her joy had vanished from her face.

    ¡°So, let¡¯s see. If I could determine the ley lines, I could... no, the ley lines could run far past me, I¡¯d search for days to align myself with them from here...¡± She tilted her head first left, then right, then left again. ¡°Maybe if I assume my current position...¡± She put the paper down on the ground and weighed down the edges. She walked in circles around the paper and tried to make sense of the lines in their new orientation. ¡°I cannot find anything to line the map up with.¡±

    The girl was lost in thought again. ¡°I helped Elissa with asking the spirits for the best day of harvest lots of times, it was easy.¡± She began to tell. ¡°We set up the paper with runes, like this one, and sprinkled the ashes, just like Tanasha did. The ash settled in dots that represented important stars and constellations. That way, we could tell what the sky looked like at the morning of the day of harvest. Of course, we needed to mark where north was so we could orient the scroll accordingly. North on the map would be where north was during the s¨¦ance. That means, the orientation of this paper must align with that during the s¨¦ance. Which I don¡¯t know and isn¡¯t noted down here... why didn¡¯t they note that down.¡± the girl¡¯s hands started to tremble. ¡°COME ON!¡± She got out her compass. ¡°Maybe I can tell. The place of power should be roughly in front of me.¡± The compass needle turned and twitched wildly, pointing in different directions as the girl moved it around. ¡°WHAT? HOW?¡±

    Aaka felt she needed to calm the girl down. ¡°The minerals and ores in the mountain are confusing the compass. They didn¡¯t note the cardinal directions down because the compass would be useless anyway.¡±

    The girl sighted again.

    Aaka tried again to lift her spirits. ¡°What about the tunnels? What if you go only by the ley-lines instead of tunnels?¡±

    Nannade hummed and tilted her head. ¡°Hmmmmm. Maybe... wait. Even if I could read the tunnels, where would I find the exit that I need?¡± She squatted down to the piece of paper. She found a thin line close to the edge of the map. It didn¡¯t look like any of the tunnels. It wasn¡¯t straight in any way, rather jiggly. ¡°This must be the mountain¡¯s outline, seen from the point of the s¨¦ance. Again...¡± The girl seemed to sink only deeper into despair.

    ¡°I mean, what if you tried to use the tunnels you know to orient the map accordingly?¡±

    ¡°But I don¡¯t know any tunnels.¡±

    ¡°The ones we just passed through. And the spiral ramp.¡±

    The girl looked closer on the map. ¡°I guess I can see them, yes. They¡¯re like a shadow within a shadow, but I think they¡¯re around here.¡± The girl pointed to a section to the top left of the map, covered in different lines and broad strokes. The waxing process had blurred some of the finer shapes and especially the areas of denser ash within less dense ash lost detail, but it was still workable.

    The girl picked up the map, oriented herself accordingly and looked to the path ahead of her. ¡°I guess I should go this direction for a while.¡± She set off into the darkness that seemed to almost embrace her, where it not for the torch keeping it at bay.

    They had been travelling down the far hall for what seemed to be ages. The tunnels that led away from the large hall were extremely narrow and at some points too low even for the girl. A man like Garrett would get stuck with shoulders and head, but small and young slaves would have been able to push their narrow mine carts along the grooves in the ground. Eventually, rubble that had come loose from the walls or ceiling needed to be stepped over, but all major blockages had apparently been cleared out. Some places were still reinforced by wood, but the path led the girl mostly over rocky ground. Her boots were making their price proud down here. The girl started to mention hunger, but she continued on. Markers would occasionally show up at intersections, pointing down the tunnels and naming directions such as ¡°greater vein¡±, ¡°northern access¡± and ¡°dead end¡±. They were set up recently by the former slaves, that much Aaka could tell. At one intersection, the girl got the map out again and looked into it. She traced the line she travelled so far and determined the exact intersection she was at. ¡°If I go this pathway up, I should come to a way out.¡± She took a tunnel going in a slight slope upwards.

    Time faded into eternity and the first torch ran out. The girl didn¡¯t light the second. She said she wanted to ¡°try it without light.¡± and she did fairly well. She barely if ever stumbled and could guess the height of the ceiling correctly, but sometimes she would miss things until they were close, like openings to other tunnels or a spider¡¯s web. She still went on, becoming accustomed to the darkness. She strode through it with sure steps where other people would carefully set one foot ahead of the other and try to feel their way along the walls. ¡°The light distracts from what is important.¡± The girl began to tell at one point. ¡°When I¡¯m blind like this I can see the one thing that¡¯s important: the path ahead. My goal.¡± She continued on and Aaka could see the exhaustion the steady slope upwards caused her.

    The girl¡¯s sure stride came to an end when the girl arrived at a pile of rubble blocking the tunnel.

    ¡°But the map implied this path was cleared! This isn¡¯t fair, the tunnel intersected with the mountain¡¯s outline! It should go out here!¡± She wanted to get the map out, but couldn¡¯t see a thing in the darkness. She tried to flip through her palm book, but again, in the darkness, she couldn¡¯t read any of the spells. She searched for her flint and steel and ignited the second torch. Using its light, she searched for a few light or fire spells first and tucked them under her belt ¡°Just to be sure.¡± she said. Then she looked at the map.

    ¡°It should be HERE!¡± she pointed to an intersection of a straight line and the mountain¡¯s outline.

    Aaka offered her to help. ¡°I can try to crawl between the rocks to see how far it is. Maybe you can use some spells to clear the way. If I feel a draft of fresh air, I¡¯ll let you know.¡±

    The girl calmed her breathing and then nodded. ¡°Thank you, Aaka.¡±

    Aaka started to crawl between the rocks, trying to cling to the floor to make sure she was still going uphill. Her safety thread stuck to the floor would make tracking back easy, so she was not concerned about getting lost, just getting nowhere. She squeezed through the cracks and crevices and crawled upwards along the floor wherever possible, hoping to find a way out soon.

    Aaka was getting tired and she still hadn¡¯t gotten anywhere. She felt no draft of fresh air and saw now light anywhere. She decided to turn around, following her thread back. She arrived back in the tunnel and found the girl sleeping. She was rolled into her sleeping bag and breathing slowly. Aaka decided to go to sleep as well and start fresh in the morning.

    The two of them awoke and exchanged news. Nannade was not surprised but still let down by the bad news. She also told Aaka that she could not figure out how to bring the map of ash and the map of strings together into a single coherent map.This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    The girl started to explain ¡°I tried suspending it from gravity with a spell and aligning the knots with the intersections and then brought the strings into the positions of the lines, but so many were always off and I-¡± she started to talk faster and faster, before Aaka cut her off.

    ¡°Don¡¯t try to do that. The point of view of the map isn¡¯t just a singular point. Spirits see the world differently.¡±

    ¡°I know, but... I just... I just realized I walked so far into the mountain with no real plan. Garetas would be furious with me.¡± she rubbed her eyes.

    ¡°Eat something, girl. You¡¯ll need energy.¡±

    The girl ate her ration. Aaka was happy to live off pill bugs while they were down here. They were slow and their hard shell no match for the smart Aaka.

    They sat out again, with no light. The girl returned to the last intersection and continued down the direction she was going into before going up the slope. They knew that the straight tunnel would continue for quite some distance. That much both maps agreed on. Eventually, they came by a tunnel leading downwards. The girl stopped for a moment.

    ¡°What is it.¡± Aaka asked her.

    ¡°I hear something. Something is happening down there.¡±

    ¡°Are you sure going down increases your chances of getting to the surface?¡±

    ¡°Have you even looked at the maps? It¡¯s a mess down here, who knows where any of these tunnels lead?!¡± She lit what remained of the second torch. ¡°Just to be safe.¡± she said.

    The girl walked down the slope. As they got closer, Aaka started to hear something too. It was dripping water. They got closer and soon, the girl stopped. She stood in the exit of the carved tunnel and before her was a vast hall. ¡°I can¡¯t see the walls anywhere.¡± she said and waited for another moment. When her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, her chin dropped. She quickly put out her torch and let the darkness flood back into the cave. After a moment Aaka too saw what the girl was on about. Above them, the ceiling was covered with pearls on threads glowing from within and painting a starry sky above them. The green-blue light was bright enough to reveal a glory beyond human creativity. The wet walls and ceiling glistened, stalactites and stalagmites grew from above and below, and where they met, pillars kept up a ceiling too grand for any building of mortals, dotted with millions of glowing dewdrops.

    Both the girl - ignorant of most of the world outside of Sturreland - and the spider - travelled far and wide with insights into deep mysteries - were speechless at the sheer majesty of this place. The girl walked on, deep into the hall that would make the emperors of old envious, on a small path that wound through it. The path was slippery and the girl had to be careful to not fall into any of the many pools of perfectly still and clear water around her. Pale fish and blind newts slowly moved in the ponds, white spiders and bugs crawled on the walls, flies like bleached paper fluttered through the air, and occasionally would steer too close to the starry sky, where they were caught in the glowing threads and pearls, struggling against the sticky light.

    And accompanying all this mundane glory was the whirring of the spirits that had witnessed this beauty over innumerable millennia. They sang songs like a thousand dripping stalactites, about the never-ending tranquillity and darkness. A tranquillity and darkness disturbed by picks and chisels of metal, torches spewing choking smoke, and loud voices rebounding off the smooth wet walls. They sang of their revenge upon the intruders.

    Aaka remembered their purpose down here. ¡°Where are you going, you shouldn¡¯t be here!¡±

    ¡°We¡¯re nearing the place of power, a ley-line runs through this place.¡±

    ¡°I know, that¡¯s why you should leave. This place is not for your use, do not enter the stream of life force!¡± Aaka was afraid what the girl could awaken with her foolishness.

    ¡°We¡¯ll never find out if we don¡¯t get some overview of the mountain!¡± The girl pressed on. Aaka was not allowed to hinder or help her to such an extent, and she was not sure which one stopping her now would be. She could really find out easily, possibly even find hidden pathways if she got an overview like this, but the spirits would be angered. They liked their tranquillity and engaged with the villagers only minimally. The girl could even make it back out the cave without problems, if she was quick enough, but then the spirits could direct their wrath at the villagers.

    They had come far into the darkness and the spirits grew more and more restless, calling out angrily against the intruders. The girl came to a spot where large pillars almost formed a solid wall, with only four narrow gaps between them. She had problems climbing up the slippery surface, but with a bit of force, her claws dug into the soft stone and she managed to peek her head through one of the gaps and beyond the wall of pillars. The great hall seemed to split off into three smaller tunnels, still dotted with glowing dewdrops and dripping stalactites, but smaller and leading further in. The girl checked the other gaps and came to the same conclusion.

    ¡°We need to take one of them further down.¡± She said.

    Aaka grew more concerned. ¡°Why?¡±

    ¡°Because that¡¯s where the place of power is, the heart of the mountain.¡±

    ¡°DO NOT ENTER THE PLACE OF POWER!¡± Aaka screamed with her ethereal voice.

    The girl paid no heed and went on. Aaka considered calling out to Louissos. The chance of her dying here were high if the girl continued her reckless behaviour. Dying down here was sad, but if it was close enough to a place of power, her spirit could return to her master in time to be recaptured before it dissolved in the stream of life force.

    The girl had taken her pick of which path to follow and headed further down. With the proper foot path gone, she had taken her boots off and used her hands¡¯ and feet¡¯s claws to avoid slipping on the wet and smooth stone. At points, the tunnel became awfully narrow, but the flexible crolachan managed to slip through any opening her head fit through, sometimes requiring her to take off her backpack and other equipment. The narrower tunnels allowed for less of the glowing worms to occupy the ceiling and so, the light dimmed, but the girl seemed to find her way nonetheless. ¡°Something is back there, I can see it.¡± she said. The serpent¡¯s senses, both mundane and ethereal, drew the girl to the fire of mystic energy. Eventually, Aaka saw it too. Around one bend, the walls of the tunnel seemed to be lit by another source of light. A stream of slightly warmer and more humid air was coming their way. They got closer and the light and stream became stronger, eventually accompanied by a slight humming of the walls. The girl cleared the bend and they saw the source.

    Down there, behind a hole barely big enough for a human being to stand upright, was a cavern flooded with light. White opaque crystals, the size of tree trunks, lay inside a huge interior chamber, jutting in from all sides. The floor of the cavern was covered with water, just a few inches deep. Wisps and sprites slowly hovered over and under the crystals, doing laps around the interior space. The air just at the edge of the cavern was unbearably hot and humid. Cool water was running back into the cavern out of the tunnel and a few others like it also connected to the chamber, barely visible between the countless crystals.

    Both of them just stared for a while, not daring to enter, just beholding the place of power that lay undisturbed for aeons untold, while many spirits were still doing angry laps around them, warning them, full of spite.

    ¡°Do you still want to enter?¡± Aaka asked the girl carefully.

    ¡°No. The spirits told me enough.¡±

    She sat down in the narrow tunnel and just watched for a while in awe and humming along with the walls. The spirits calmed down and the girl got out her flute. She played a few notes and although she stil was not good at it, she kept on playing until she was happy with it. Then she put her flute away again and got out the maps of ash to inspect it closer.

    The girl turned it a bit and tilted her head. ¡°I think I can see it now. When I close my eyes, I can see the lines, the knots and the intersections.¡±

    It was not uncommon to be able to perceive ley-lines so close to a place of power without actually touching the life force and elemental energy flowing within.

    ¡°Did you find a way out?¡± Aaka asked.

    ¡°Yes.¡± The girl got out a pencil and carefully made a few markings on the piece of paper. Then she took the map of strings and suspended it from gravity directly above the map of ash with a spell from her palm book. She carefully bent and turned the strings into a specific configuration.

    ¡°There, they made a mistake there.¡± She said, pointing to a very dense knot of strings.

    ¡°Who did?¡±

    ¡°The villagers. They should have added an additional short string, it¡¯s actually three separate intersections. Or they simplified it without telling me.¡±

    She stashed everything in her backpack and looked into the cavern a bit more. When the warm air got unbearable, she went back up. They soon entered the great hall again. The girl put her boots back on and left the way they came.

    Soon, she arrived at the point where she took the wrong turn, got the map of ash out again and checked her bearings. They decided to have a short snack before heading into the direction the girl had picked.

    She headed down a long, straight tunnel to the furthest point still marked on the map. They eventually came to a proper upwards bend. More and more rubble lay in their path and they came to a point, where it completely blocked their way. Aaka however could feel a light breeze blowing through the rubble. It was mostly large chunks, very little sand and gravel.

    ¡°I can almost feel the light behind the rubble.¡± The girl said. The air smells fresher and a bit of warmth comes down here too. This must be the exit. No need to scout ahead.

    The girl sat down and got out her palm book. ¡°If I modify Garetas¡¯ Rock Grinder, I can clear most of the rubble. I hope it reaches far enough and that the rubble isn¡¯t keeping the tunnel from collapsing even further.¡±

    The girl looked at the rocks one last time, made sure all her equipment was sitting ell and cast the spell. Slowly, the larger stones turned to smaller stones, then gravel, then coarse sand. The sand ran down the sloped tunnel. A few cracks and thuds could be heard from ahead and the girl had to jump up and clamp herself into the tunnel with her arms and legs to dodge several larger rocks rolling down from above.

    ¡°Itdidkeep the tunnel from collapsing even further.¡± She yelled amidst the rumbling and tumbling echoing through the tunnels.

    ¡°Then run, now, before it all collapses! RUN!¡± Aaka told to her.

    The girl waited for another rock to pass them by underneath, then dropped down and got to dashing for the exit. The sand was still trickling down, denying the girl¡¯s boots the grip she needed. She had to skip over even more hazards rolling her way. The rubble had cleared enough to let the light in the distance shine through, blinding the girl. With eyes squinting and hand shielding her eyes she kept running upwards. Suddenly, her boots slipped away on the sand, she fell forward, onto her hands. Another rock came hurtling down towards her. Aaka wanted to warn the girl, but it was too late. The rock hit her; a wet scraping sound could be heard. The girl seemed to lose consciousness, but quickly got up again, stumbling and staggering ever upwards, towards the light.

    The girl shot out of the tunnel into the light. Blinding brightness enveloped them, she was still running at full speed, until her feet no longer met solid ground. Neither of them could see where they were falling. A hard impact and sudden wild flailing told Aaka, the girl had hit the ground. The world tumbled around her and she grass in her jar with all her legs and thread. She saw a stone on the mountain¡¯s side coming directly towards her, she would be squashed again, she braced for the pain and prepared to lose consciousness, but then the stone passed her by. The girl had finally managed to get her limbs under control and was skidding down the mountainside on her hands and knees, head first. Her claws looked for a hold on mostly flat stone, but failed. She suppressed a pained scream as the rough ground grated her palms and legs. She hit a rock protruding from the mountain¡¯s side. With a loudOOPH, the girl and the spider in the jar came to a stop, the girl¡¯s body burying the jar underneath her, but not shattering the glass. Aaka could hear a few more pebbles and stones trickle onto their stone perch, then all was silent safe for the girl¡¯s heartbeat.

 Search & Scrutiny XIII

    Aaka left her jar through the big hole in the cork and squeezed through the folds of the girl¡¯s shirt, out back into the open sunlight. Ahead of her lay an endless landscape of mountain peaks, a land of grey and white. The clouds seemed close enough to touch and a howling cold wind pushed them on across the sky at amazing speeds. The mountain, which they had just left, still towered more than a thousand feet above them.

    Slowly, the girl got back up. Her trouser legs were completely torn open, her knees and palms were bloody, full of gravel and sand, and blood ran from the side of her head. She wobbled and totted for a moment and finally stood straight again on the uneven ground.

    She looked at her hands. ¡°I don¡¯t like this feeling. This looks bad.¡± the girl¡¯s speech was monotonous and slow.

    ¡°Well you took quite a beating. How do you feel?¡±

    ¡°Bad.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s all?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s hard to describe. The priestess would know better. I hope she wakes up soon.¡±

    ¡°What? What priestess?¡±

    ¡°The one who used to own this body alone.¡±

    Aaka tried to make sense of it. Then it dawned on her. The girl had actually lost consciousness in the tunnel. The serpent had taken control of the body.

    Aaka remembered the experiments and tests she and Louissos had run on the girl. Telling her to do a task with her left hand while blindfolded. She could not see or describe what she was doing, but she knew that she was completing the tasks as instructed. The girl had given reports of how, while she was fighting with her teachers in the grove, she could concentrate on two different things at the same time, see two different things at the same time, starting an attack while blocking her opponent¡¯s. The serpent and the girl were joined in awareness and intuition,only their conscious decisions were separated.

    Aaka decided to take care of their shared body first. She inspected the girl¡¯s wounds closer. The wound on her head was not too bad, the skull was still intact, not fractured and dented in, but a shred of skin was hanging down and would need proper dressing. Her hands and knees were badly scraped and in need of cleaning before an infection could take hold. Some of her claws were broken and frayed and a few of her claw beds were bleeding. She had several scratches and bruises all over her body. Her backpack had a small tear in one place, her shirt was completely torn to shreds. The hardened leather she wore underneath had protected her chest, back, shins and forearms from the worst.

    Their surroundings weren¡¯t too dire. They stood on a protruding stone few dozen feet down from the tunnel exit. The girl would be able to scale the surrounding slope and get back up, even without her claws. There was a narrow ledge in front of the tunnel exit that they would be able to traverse, serving as a foot path, but they¡¯d have to get there first. From what Aaka could see from her position, the tunnel exit had completely collapsed again.

    The serpent in the girl¡¯s body sat down on the almost level stone they were sitting on. She took her backpack off, and searched it for the girl¡¯s medical supplies.

    ¡°So, what do I call you?¡± Aaka asked.

    ¡°I used to have a long and revered name, but all that remains of it is Ssil.¡± her voice was still monotonous, albeit a bit more fluent.

    ¡°The girl used that to refer to herself after she shed the name Nannade.¡±

    ¡°She isn¡¯t fully aware yet of her duties and responsibilities according to the pact. She keeps me inside and doesn¡¯t want me to fulfil my duty as I should. She refuses to answer to her name, as if she could get out of the pact if she pretends to be someone else. She refuses to talk to me, turns her face away, but tells me what to do.¡±

    ¡°You seem to comply with that though, the girl is casting spells almost like any arcanist.¡±

    ¡°It is better to serve her for now. She cannot avoid me forever.¡±

    ¡°Why have we never spoken? You do have an ethereal voice, don¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°There is no need. The girl knows everything that needs to be said and done, even if she sometimes struggles against it.¡±

    Their subconscious connection apparently allowed them communicate and find consent without speaking, was it this consent that the girl struggled so hard against?

    The snake had lifted the girl¡¯s head and stared into the distance. ¡°Everything seems so... hard and... solid... Real. It seems real.¡±

    Aaka remembered her own birth as a familiar, it was the first real memory she had. The sensation of reality can be overpowering at first. Just like people from the real world felt a sense of nonsensical possibilities when entering a place of power and tapping into the ley lines, spirits felt a sense of surety and determination when entering physical bodies. Like watching a thrown stone and knowing, even foreseeing, where it will land.

    ¡°You should take care of the wounds, Ssil.¡± Aaka reminded her. ¡°I will take care of cleaning first, give me a moment.

    In puff of blue smoke, Aaka transformed into a bigger orb weaver, with fine but strong legs and started to clean even the finest dust and dirt from the girl¡¯s wound, finishing it by covering the surface with a dense web of silk to keep the wounds closed together, especially the hanging shred of skin on her head. She had done this by Louissos¡¯ orders many times. It helped the scab forming faster and made it more durable. After that was done, the serpent also applied gauze bandages for added protection. They decided to make their rest on their stone perch, the girl¡¯s body was tired and needed more care. She would recuperate, but her hands would probably be out of commission, unless the girl woke up soon to heal them. The two spiritual entities tried to go through her palm book and find a healing spell, but the girl¡¯s knowledge was not available to Ssil at the time, so she could not recognize any of them.

    They ate their rations and went to rest, as the sun slowly set behind the snowy peaks in the distance.

    Aaka was awoken by the girl getting out of her sleeping bag. She saw her standing on the edge of the stone perch.

    The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.¡°Where are we?¡± She asked Aaka.

    ¡°We made it out of the tunnel.¡±

    ¡°I remember running in up the tunnel, to the light, then all went dark.¡±

    ¡°You lost consciousness when a stone hit your head. The serpent carried us out.¡±

    ¡°What? How?¡± The girl turned around, scratching her head.

    ¡°Ssil, the actual Ssil, took control over your body. She ran all the way out, stumbled down the mountain and landed here. Then we took care of your wounds.¡±

    ¡°My... wounds?¡± She looked at her bandaged hands and knees and picked at the bandages on her head.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, nothing too bad. You should heal up soon, but your hands will need some tending. We couldn¡¯t figure out what spell was for healing.¡±

    ¡°Why not? Don¡¯t spirit know something like that intuitively?¡±

    ¡°No, arcane formulas make no sense to us. We can recognize patterns when they have manifested and take effect, but on paper, it¡¯s just scribbles. We speak the language, that does not mean we can read and write it.¡±

    The girl raised an eyebrow. ¡°But you can read runes just fine!¡±

    ¡°Because they relate to us, our beings, what we represent.¡±

    The girl looked like she contemplated an answer but then dropped it. Instead she sat down, carefully went through her palm book and plucked out a spell. ¡°This one will do, how far is the healing process?¡± She took off her bandages. ¡°That¡¯s a solid scab.¡±

    ¡°I helped with my silk. I often do that for Black Surgeon.¡±

    The girl felt her wound through the scab on her left hand. ¡°I think I can still help a bit, but it will still hurt and take a while to fully regenerate.¡± She cast the spell, then she peeled off the scab. Underneath was freshly healed, but sensitive and pink skin. Had she cast the spell immediately after receiving the wound, it would have helped more, but to tamper with the body¡¯s own efforts at healing itself this far in can have dire consequences.

    ¡°You could have left the scab on.¡± Aaka told her.

    ¡°I wanted to check whether it had worked. I¡¯ll leave the one on my right hand on, don¡¯t worry.¡±

    She checked her equipment but found nothing missing. A few rations had been crumpled in their wraps, but nothing major. She quickly closed the tear in the backpack with a bit of the sinew and the awl she had bought from Clara and Benny. Then she got a proper look at the countryside.

    ¡°Where do we go from here?¡± She asked herself. ¡°Where even is here?¡± She got out her compass and checked her bearings. She was looking east, a bit towards south. ¡°Well, this is already the right direction.¡± She looked over the edge of the stone they camped on. The mountain¡¯s slope steepened to an almost vertical drop beneath them. She looked up to the ledge above them. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to try that trail.¡± In the distance, she could see that the ledge quickly ran towards the bottom of the basin, offering a safe way down.

    She checked her shirt. It was torn in many places, barely holding together. She still had her hardened leather vest and undergarments underneath, as well as the thick green cloak, so she took the shirt off and stashed it in her backpack. ¡°Just for scraps¡± she said. She left the trousers be for now. She¡¯d have to repair them later. Going pantsless in the cold, dry mountain air was a bad idea.

    They broke camp and moved up towards the path on the ledge. Despite several broken or frayed claws, she still managed to use the remaining ones quite effectively. Their descent into the basin was even easier and eventless. They had been moving east and slightly south, towards a point where the basin opened up to a deeper valley, for a while, when the girl spoke up.

    ¡°I think my memories are coming back to me. How I kept on running and took care of my wounds. I know it wasn¡¯t me, but the memories... they are different.¡± she was obviously having problems with piecing it all back together in her head.

    Aaka tried to calm her. ¡°Don¡¯t fret about it. You will find your equilibrium soon enough.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how it works anymore. Ssil had complete control over my body. What if she decides to... or maybe she already did... when I strangled the bandit, I kind of felt like I didn¡¯t have control, I thought, it had to be done, so I gave in to the compulsion.¡± The girl stopped walking ¡°I think... I called myself Ssil. Why would I do that?¡±

    Aaka sensed that something was bubbling up from deep within the girl, but she had no words to stop it.

    ¡°I just...¡± the girl looked at her hands. ¡°...thought I wasn¡¯t me anymore. Or that my name shouldn¡¯t be Nannade.¡± A gust of wind blew through the basin. ¡°I have to move on. I have to find that damn enchanted forest or whatever it¡¯s called. If Elissa and Garetas die, it¡¯s all over, doesn¡¯t matter who I am or what I call myself.¡± She set out again.

    The girl had deeply rooted issues, and Aaka didn¡¯t know whether she would be able to resolve them by herself before they got to her too much.

    They arrived at the widening part of the basin. Below them lay a valley, covered mostly with grass and a few grazing animals that looked like large oxen, it was too far to tell with certainty. In the distance more and more peaks rose, seemingly endlessly. The valley made a bend further ahead, possibly running further south than east. The descent into the valley was very steep and the slope consisted of loose rubble that flowed out of the basin, it seemed to be a hundred feet to the bottom. If they went down there, they wouldn¡¯t be able to get back up again.

    The girl sighed. ¡°We won¡¯t get anywhere at this pace and we don¡¯t even know if that anywhere will be where we need to go in the first place.¡± She sighed and sat down on the ground, contemplating her choices. ¡°Maybe I should have tapped into that place of power. Who knows when I would get that opportunity again?¡±

    Aaka tried to keep the girl¡¯s ambition strong. She had been shown to be incredibly resourceful when faced with difficulties in her path. ¡°It was a wise decision to stay out of it. You need to find another way, around the obstacle in your path.¡±

    ¡°Obstacle in my path? I don¡¯t even have a path! All I have is a handful of rumours and a pointer.¡±

    Silence fell again. ¡°I wish I could ask Elissa for help. She¡¯d always find a way. Or Garetas. Sometimes I thought he could walk straight through walls, no place was unreachable for him.¡±

    Aaka did not know the two specifically, but the strength the girl described was of a certain nature. ¡°They manage that because they don¡¯t give up. And neither must you. Like in the caverns below, you decided to press on. You might have been wrong to attempt to enter the place of power, but your decision to look inward was correct. Look inward and find what gives you strength, not what frightens you.¡± Aaka was starting to think she was helping the girl too much.

    The girl looked into the distance in the west, beyond the mountains. ¡°What gives me strength? I think I know what that is.¡± Then she sat down next to the tufts of grass, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. She started singing.

    She drew her voice from deep within her chest, sending it far across the valley below them. The grazing animals raised their heads, the wind turned to bolster her words, even the clouds seemed to change their course slightly, as the girl sang of home, sang of pain, sang of regret, sang of coming to rest.

    Then, without warning, the girl lost consciousness.

 Search & Scrutiny XIV

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 Search & Scrutiny XV

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 Search & Scrutiny XVI

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

 Search & Scrutiny Epilogue

    Nannade might have left the clearing, but she was still in the forest. Like in a dream, reality was still malleable and bent to the whims of the dreamer. Who the grand dreamer was, she did not know, but it might be the embrace of the dreamers, or whatever it was they were embracing, and it wanted to keep her here. To unite her with her nature, both that of the crolachan and that of the serpent. She noticed this power when she tried to walk up the slopes along the brook. She intended to leave for real now. There was no goal keeping her here or drawing her further in.

    She kept going up the slope. As easy as it had been to find the embrace of dreamers, that much harder it would be to get away from it. She kept her senses clear and keen.¡°In a dream, you do not feel with the skin, but with the mind¡± was what Faan once had said. Every dry twig, every grain of dirt, every patch of moss and lichen that her feet touched, she tried to take them all in, to remind herself what reality was.Whenever she felt that her foot hadn¡¯t set down on the slope as she had intended, she would stop, look down and confirm she was still on the right track. It was a long and arduous endeavour, but it was the only way she could be sure to leave the forest for good.

    She did not dare to climb and leap from tree to tree, she might just get lost in her joy again. The only thing that gave her direction was the heartbeat of the forest, slowly pumping the haze through the valley. She might end up leaving the forest at the wrong point and have to walk all the way around to reach her equipment and Aaka. She had to keep her goal simple to not lose it. Just getting out would have to do.

    The days again passed. Hunting for food was still easy, but she needed to be careful, or the dreamer would take her in deeper again. To walk the forest and scout ahead while she was dreaming was useless, no semblance of reality remained in the dream of the grand dreamer, only the forest existed. Whatever dreamer was dreaming here, whatever the dreamers in the clearing had been embracing when their bodies turned to trees, it was a powerful being, the life force that filled the entire valley was its blanket and nourishment, all here existed just to keep the slumber going.

    The girl followed the thin remnant of reality out of the valley, like a thread of yarn through a dark maze it guided her, always in danger of slipping out of her fingers or tearing altogether.

    She finally cleared the last tree on a steep slope on the western side of the valley. No trail was visible to guide her. She breathed in the cold, harsh air, devoid of the soothing and intoxicating haze. It was like opening the window during winter. The warmth had fled, but the cold air brought freshness and took away the staleness she had come accustomed to. The reality was reassuring. For the past few days that she had tried to get out of the forest, her mind had been tensed up and ever vigilant. But out here in reality, the things required no effort to be perceived, they were simply apparent all by themselves.

    She looked at her hand. The large acorn was still with her. Losing it would mean failing, even if her mind had been reassembled into an ordered state and at peace with the serpent. The priestess Nannade and the serpent Ssil were their own separate beings, confined in the same temple. Two heads conjoined at the neck.

    She made her way northward. It was from there that she had entered the valley, there she would find her things and Aaka. She decided to move quickly and banish all thought of food and drink from her mind. Returning to the forest to hunt could mean getting lost for good.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    Two days passed and the stone ledge she spent her last night on before entering the forest came into sight. She knew she must be close. Hunger gnawed on her entrails, luckily she had been able to drink at a few mountain brooks flowing into the forest. She cleared a last bend, clinging to the western slopes.

    She arrived where Aaka had left her to absolve her test. The mound of stones she had used to hide her equipment seemed to have been frozen over, but it was the apex of summer and not a trace of frost or snow could be seen anywhere. As she got closer, she saw this wasn¡¯t frost. It was spider webs, wrapped around the stones in many thick layers.

    Nannade couldn¡¯t see Aaka, but she was sure it was her doing. A prank? Or an act of boredom? Nannade was not up for jokes and shenanigans, she was hungry and wanted to get to her rations.

    She called out for Aaka, and eventually, the spider crawled out of the mound.

    ¡°Did you do this?¡± Nannade asked, pointing to the mound with an accusing finger.

    ¡°Yes I did, but purely for our both benefit!¡± Nannade raised an eyebrow, but let the spider continue. ¡°You see, I noticed lots of vermin being drawn towards your rations. With great effort I disposed of every single one of them and wrapped the entire structure in thick webs, so that none could get in. Of course I made use of the ample food I caught this way.¡±

    Nannade had to sigh and got to unwrapping the mound out of what felt like ten pounds of spider silk.

    When she had finally unpacked everything, she went straight for her rations. Most of them were still edible, some of the ox¡¯s meat hadn¡¯t been dried properly and gone bad.

    After having her fill for the last two days, she decided to secure the acorn. She took one of the leather scraps and rolled the acorn into it, then she stitched it shut and with a single strand of sinew, stitched the small leather package to the inside of the backpack. As long as she didn¡¯t lose the backpack, she couldn¡¯t lose the acorn. All the while Aaka asked her questions.

    Nannade did not reveal the pact young Nannade had made so long ago, but she did tell Aaka the final realization: the serpent and the priestess were their own beings, because they had different roles, living in the same temple. Although the temple may no longer share the blood of Nannade¡¯s mother, it was still the same mind inside. ¡°I am Nannade, high-priestess of the Just Serpent Ssil and caretaker of her temple.¡± She finished her explanation.

    She picked up the black vial, looked deeply into it and whispered to herself ¡°I did as you wished, Mammy. I did not let myself get broken and I am strong, but I paid a price. I hope you can forgive my transgression.¡±

    After she was done, Nannade decided it was her turn to ask a question. ¡°Any news on where I should go next?¡±

    ¡°Thanks to my ample food supply, I was able to contact Black Surgeon. He told me to lead you to Plirova, where you will get further instructions.¡±

    Plirova. Formerly Pliranto, capital of the ancient Pliranti empire, now called the sundered empire.Visiting this city had always been on Nannade¡¯s list of travels. She had heard great tales of the splendour of the rebuild city, but she never thought she¡¯d go there under such circumstances.

    Nannade went through the rest of her equipment. The sleeping bag had become moist and mouldy. She decided to leave it behind, it had become too disgusting to bear and probably would give her rashes and hives. She still had her blanket and cloak as alternative.

    She got dressed and moved her camp up the trail, back on the stone she had made camp during her first day in this valley. Tomorrow, she¡¯d leave the dream behind. She knew that she was Nannade. The blood in the vial would forever remain black and weigh down her neck, but to abandon the life her mother had died for and the purpose that had set her free, would be an even greater affront to her mother¡¯s memory than casting off such a trivial trinket. She may have lost single ownership over her body and her subconscious, but that made her conscious decisions all the more important.

 Dispute & Duplexity Prologue

    The streets of old Pliranto lay silent this late in the night and this far below. Barely anyone dares to venture this deep beneath the city of Plirova, into the ruins of the old city of Pliranto. But there were two parties with lights, running through the many tunnels that were once bathed in light and fresh air. Paolo was one of these parties. He ran for his life, his pursuers not far behind. All he had to light his way was a tiny flimsy bulbous vial, shining a weak white light on the ancient city streets and house walls. His panicked breath echoed throughout the tunnels dug into the soil. He could hear his pursuers not far behind. Their goal was simple: to capture and sacrifice him to their Lord.

    Paolo had been chosen by the oracle to be nourishment for the Lord''s next feast, but he did not intent on accepting this ¡°honour¡±, no matter how much they threatened his family, he would not be turned into god-food.

    A four-way junction came up, this offered Paolo the opportunity he was looking for. He took a left and looked for an ancient house that still held up. He found one, threw his vial down the main road, hoping it wouldn¡¯t shatter, ran into the house and hid in the darkness.

    The sound of his heavy breathing pierced his ears is if it was a siren, he tried to calm himself. His pursuers came closer and passed by him. They quickly saw that the light of the vial was no longer moving.

    ¡°He tried to fool us. Spread out and bring him to me!¡± the leader of the group of five said. ¡°Bring him alive.¡±

    Paolo heard them searching the houses that lined the buried street. He still had a chance to escape. Through the door frame he could see the lights of his pursuers go from the main road into the houses. When the road was darkest, he took his chance.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    He rushed out the door and down the main road, the way he had come. His pursuers needed a second to set out after him. He had brought some distance between himself and them, but now he had no light vial.

    Still, he ran. He ran for his life. His feet started to falter and he felt his lungs burning, still, he ran. Too late he noticed the echo of his own footsteps coming closer and ran directly into the wall ahead. His had rang from the hard impact and the world around him was in shambles. He saw the lights of his pursuers come closer. He got up and tried to find his was, but it was no use, his body failed his mind and he could no longer walk straight. With wooden clubs they beat him back down, then he felt ropes wrapped around his hands and feet and they dragged him back down is escape route. A long and desperate cry escaped his throat.

    They had gotten him to the chamber of offering, a large room lit by precious vials on the walls and with a cage just large enough for a man to stand in the centre, for all onlookers to see. They undid his bindings and threw him into the cage. The hooded figures that were attending the ritual chanted their blessed words of power.

    Before Paolo could hold on to the cage, the floor beneath him opened and fell down, into the maze.

    Complete darkness enveloped him. He was in an endless loop of tunnels, junctions, and chambers, from which there was no escape. He heard the Lord grunt in some distant tunnel, but the sound came closer. Paolo start to run again, but quickly stumbled over the uneven ground and landed in the dirt. He could hear the Lord rushing down the tunnel towards him. He could not see anything, only hear the monstrosity, then his whiskers and then his razor-sharp teeth digging into tearing off his limbs. The cracking of bones, the tearing of flesh, and his own screams of pain and desperation were the last things Paolo heard.

 Dispute & Duplexity I

    The white city walls shone in the sun like fresh paper, the spires of the city rose into the sky like the ribcage of a giant and the river Etira glistened like a road paved with sapphires. This was the view that Nannade saw from three miles away, on the last hill before the city Plirova, daughter of old Pliranto, city-state capital of Cintezzio, at the base of the southernmost tip of the Impjasegi mountains.

    This was the city she had been sent to. For almost an entire month, she had been wandering far off the roads, through the southern Impjasegi, to avoid having to pass through the squabbling kingdoms. So many borders meant so many tolls, and conflict was still young in that land. Her efforts had paid off. Now she stood here. Short on supplies and coin, but alive and well. Aaka - now freed of one of her most critical of duties - had remained largely inactive, sitting in her glass jar, which Nannade was sure to drop a grasshopper or butterfly into every day.

    Nannade has had a few talks with Ssil, especially in her dreams. For now, it was mainly about the people they now were. Nannade had to accept that she was Nannade and that nothing would ever get her out of the pact that she had called for, that she had agreed to. They were conjoined now. A situation both of them had to accept. Nannade had gained a life outside of the basement and free by her own design and abilities, Ssil had gained a temple to call her home and safety from the slow death of oblivion. Now they had to accept the price for these gains.

    Nannade shook her head free of these contemplations. Her journey to Plirova would take priority for now.

    She passed through the outskirts. Miserable looking and crumbled houses littered the hills surrounding the city, like rotten dreams fallen on ground not fertile enough to sprout into a life as rich and glamorous as promised. Just before the walls was a great moat into which the refuse of the city poured. The closer she got to the walls, the more impressive they seemed. Over a hundred feet high and engraved and adorned with wards in abundance, they looked like no army could ever overcome them. For a moment, even magic seemed flimsy and insignificant.

    ¡°You have to report to the headquarters of the city guard, where you will receive further instructions.¡± Aaka told the girl as she walked through the city walls.Nannade still hated the feeling of passing through such wards. The suppression of the spirit was something she¡¯d have to take care of sooner or later. For now, she just wanted to receive her mission and get on with it.

    Inside the walls the city was blinding with pomp and glory, even more so than Kalonitz or Calestre. Stones of perfectly equal size and shape paved the road, coloured glass was in every window and fused stone rose into the sky in the form of towers and halls, with grooved pillars and round arcs dominating the architecture, and no building rose less than five floors upwards, without any crooked towers like she had seen in Doessenhof. It was all dazzling, to say the least.

    She made her way to the headquarters of the guard by the directions of the guards by the gate. The streets were busy and many people moved here and there, on undoubtedly important business, the centre of the road was kept clear for the wagons and Nannade was looking at each and every one, guessing each time what they might have loaded and for whom. She even saw one of the rumoured horseless wagons, used almost exclusively within cities, where the cost of flux was offset by the advantage of not having to pay stable boys and not having to deal with nervous and bucking horses. They were marvels of modern technology and magical application.

    She took a turn into another street, and that was when she saw them. Crolachans. A group of four, two men, two women, walked down the street in the opposite direction. She just now realized that she had never seen another crolachan in her entire life, except for her parents. On her dream journey she saw those in the serpent¡¯s temple, but they were more like the concept of a crolachan. These were actual crolachans. Their coats were even lighter in colouration than Nannade''s, with only a hint of creamy yellow on the darkest areas, and white in most other places, they were of much smaller stature than Nannade, already a tall woman by herself, grown a little taller by the pact. She also noticed their much shorter tails. Nannade felt the need to hide herself and drew the cloak even further closed, despite the last of the summer heat building up in the street canyons. Black Surgeon had said that people of her own kind or familiar with their facial structure might recognize her as not entirely crolachan

    They passed her by without noticing her, engaged in their own chatter. They moved carefree and without covering themselves. In Sturreland, Nannade had always moved about unashamed. People would ask her questions from time to time, beg to stroke her fur, and look at her other inhuman features, but in the end, her status as an apprentice of the Lodge made her untouchable ¨C to a certain degree ¨C but now the tables had turned. She had been hiding herself mostly in the recent month, and a new feeling of deep shame and fear accompanied her everywhere.

    The other crolachans had disappeared in the crowd behind her and Nannade focussed her mind back to finding the headquarters of the guard. She finally found it, and again was struck by the construction. It consisted of a great central building, seven stories high, with pillars and columns that seemed to flow upwards to stem the weight, flanked by two high spires that served as lookouts. The city guard in Plirovawas their own power, as in most cities, that much Nannade knew, on equal footing with the guilds, the university and the major churches, only accountable to the city council and largely self-run. Technically, they could issue their own citizenships and currency, and in some cities they did.

    The inside was a large room, large enough to house the patrons of three large inns. Almost no light was let inside and instead, light vials on the walls and the ceiling cast a soft white glow onto the interior. There were several tellers with signs above them to indicate where to report crimes, request assistance, or pay fees and tolls.

    She got in line at the sign for requesting assistance, but when stating her concern, was pointed to a smaller teller further in the back of the lobby, next to a noticeboard and the sign ¡°contractual work & bounties¡± next to it. This type of teller would be her future, that much she knew.

    Nannade stepped closer and an old woman with an air of bureaucracy about her lifted her head from a long list to look at her.

    The woman spoke in cintezzian, the local language, which Nannade did not understand, and when she noticed, the woman turned to scholarian instead. ¡°What can I do for you child? This is for bounties and contractual work, do you want assistance to find your way in the city? Then line up back there!¡± she lifter a thin finger pointing back to the other tellers.

    But Nannade persisted. ¡°My name is Nannade, apprentice of the Lodge of Sturreland. I was told to come here for a contract.¡±

    The woman raised an eyebrow, but checked her list. ¡°I see. I will inform the chief commissario then.¡±

    The old woman took a piece of paper, wrote something on it and rang a bell. A boy, younger than Nannade, came running, assumed an attentive stance, and received the piece of paper from the woman. Then he dashed off to somewhere in the back of a building. Shortly afterward, the boy came back and spoke to Nannade in very insecure and accented scholarian. ¡°This way please, commissarioFanderi will receive you now.¡±

    CommissarioFanderi was an imposing man. A few dark brown hairs remained in his grey mane, and he was large enough to block a doorway with his broad shoulders and hard chest. He wore the uniform of the guard, a dark blue vest, black pants and a white shirt, all covered by a blue robe with a short cut and leather bracings, to indicate his status as a mage. A seal Nannade did not recognize gleamed on his right hand, with three circles of glyphs around it, meaning he had acquired three separate degrees. He looked at Nannade intently, seizing her up with his piercing, judging eyes. She did not know how much he knew about her and her quest, so she decided to answer every question truthfully, but leave everything else unsaid.

    ¡°So, you are here to stand in for Black Surgeon?¡± Fanderi asked her.

    ¡°Yes. I¡¯ve been sent on a mission. I am accompanied by his familiar, Aaka.¡± She held up the jar to show the spider. ¡°But I have not yet been inducted into this specific contract.¡±

    Fanderi nodded and hummed in agreement. ¡°We called for Black Surgeon because we recently got the last bit of information on a problem that has been plaguing this city for quite a while. Are you familiar with the city below?¡±

    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.¡°You mean Pliranto''s ruins?¡±

    ¡°Yes and no. The greatest parts of Plirantoare still buried somewhere beneath, together with the bodies of countless dead. As it turns out, the city is still somewhat alive, as a corpse, crawling with maggots and rats, the scum of this city: Thieves, muggers, murderers, drug runners, and worst of all, occultists.¡±

    Nannade had thought as much. Garetas had taught her that there is an underworld beneath every society, in some cases literally in the form of tunnels, repurposed crypts and ruins, especially in those big cities that were simply rebuild atop the ruins after the Great Sundering.

    Fanderi continued his explanation. ¡°For the longest time we had no success in getting into that place and cleaning it out. The thugs know these tunnels too well and we cannot afford to lose more men. But thanks to some recent info we squeezed out of a captured occultist, we are confident that we can start our move. He confirmed the existence of a ¡°Lord of the Tunnels¡± which we thought was just a moniker, but now we know it¡¯s an actual being, an unholy union of human and demon. We only have a rough understanding for where this beast is held, which they worship as a god and use as their highest enforcer. And we need a specialist to finally kill it. That¡¯s where your master comes in, girl. He wrote me at length that you are trained and prepared for this, aren¡¯t you?¡±

    Nannade wanted to protest with the notion that Black Surgeon was her master, but she decided not to. ¡°Yes, I am.¡± She also was no specialist. But she realized the contents of this test: Kill one of ¡°her kind¡±, or die. They not only wanted her to prove she was no monster, but also that she was willing to put humans before those that share a fate similar to hers. At least that¡¯s what she suspected. She knew Black Surgeon wasn¡¯t the only one choosing the tasks. The Arch-Druid and the highest circle of the Lodge were involved as well. If she died off in distant lands, that were fine by them. She did not however know whether Garetas and Elissa would still be executed. She never heard the terms and conditions considering her death, only her failure to return. This could be a cruel stipulation by a certain someone to get rid of a certain other someone as well. She returned to the present and asked Fanderi a question. ¡°Is there any kind of support I am granted? I did not bring special equipment apart from a few knives.¡±

    Fanderi leaned back. ¡°I guess we could grant you any equipment from our own armoury, flux included. But we cannot send men down with you. They seem to smell the blue on us, because no attempt at infiltration was ever successful. At a certain point, our agents were simply... disposed of.¡±

    Nannade had not expected to get much help. These were tasks picked for her, not someone else.

    ¡°Alright, I accept. Give me all the info you have.¡± She said and prepared to get up. ¡°When will I start?¡±

    ¡°We want you to enter the crypts as soon as possible. Best this night already.¡±

    ¡°I need rest, I walked here from Kalonitz, with extra detours.¡±

    ¡°You can lay down in the guards¡¯ quarters. We¡¯ll get you some food as well.¡±

    ¡°Alright then.¡± Nannade was just about to get up and leave, when Fanderi interrupted her another time.

    ¡°Nannade!¡± She turned around. ¡°It is customary to address people of my rank with ¡°ser¡±. I won¡¯t assume anything about your upbringing, I¡¯m just warning you.¡±

    Nannade nodded hastily. ¡°Thank you, ser.¡±

    Nannade wanted to take a proper bath, best with someone grooming her. But if she had to go down into the soil below the city anyway, then it would serve no real purpose. She accepted the terms, took the information ledger she was handed and then led to the guards¡¯ cantina by the same boy as before.

    The mostly men there gave her queer looks and asked each other questions behind hushing hands. At one point, someone sat down in front of her. When she looked up from her bowl of gruel with dried fruits and nuts, she saw a crolachan man - probably on the older side of his service ¨C smiling at her. He too had the much lighter coloration of the ones Nannade had seen on the street, his hair had some dull grey areas in his hair and even through his fur, Nannade could see the beginning of wrinkles

    ¡°Hey there. I¡¯m Lieutenant Camillo, what¡¯s your name?¡±

    Nannade thought for a moment, swallowed her last bite and answered. ¡°Nannade, ser.¡±

    ¡°Nannade? Huh. That¡¯s an uncommon name, where is it from?¡±

    ¡°My parents, ser.¡± Nannade knew what he was trying to get at, but to be honest, she didn¡¯t know either way. People in Sturreland always just accepted that a crolachan would have a weird name. But Camillo was local. So apparently, the small crolachan population here gave their children usual names.

    ¡°No need to ¡°ser¡± me. I mean, where do you hail from? You don¡¯t look like a usual crolachan.¡±

    Nannade had to think again. He could be referring to the fact that she seemed to stem from what is called the western tribe, or that she had engaged in a blood pact.

    ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know my heritage myself. I haven¡¯t seen another crolachan except for my parents, and they¡¯re both dead since I was nine, so there are not many people to go by.¡± It was always easiest to shroud a mystery in ignorance. ¡°Was there anything you wanted from me?¡±

    ¡°Okay, good for you. Or not. I mean...¡± Camillo was out of his element. There was nothing about Nannade he could hold on to in a conversation without seeming overbearing or ignorant. ¡°I¡¯ll just go and... leave you to... what you¡¯re doing.¡± He stood up and went. Nannade watched him leave the cantina in embarrassment.

    After she was done eating, she was led to the armoury. A large collection of spears, helmets, armour, and even swords, was available to her. She chose to go for a long, slim dagger with a bent-up guard, like the one Garetas had, just without the crystal pommel, and a padded leather cap, as well as a green shirt to replace her torn one. She was allowed to simply keep it as hers without compensation. She thought about getting a spear to compensate for her short reach, but she needed to stay concealed for most of her mission and spears were cumbersome in the narrow tunnels anyway. At last, she filled up her flux bottle, which was not used that much. She had restrained herself well on its usage, but she did need a new infused wax crayon, so she got one of those as well. They were more expensive that a comparable amount of infused ink and were much less precise than a quill, but they needed no inkwell and quill and would not smear when wet. Lastly, she also traded a bit of her Communion silver in for local coin, the ¡°Plirenni¡±.

    She slept well in the bunk beds of the guards¡¯ dorms. The other guards, resting from their nightshift, snored loudly and it reminded her a bit of home. She decided to write a few last lines in her Notebook before falling asleep.

    [Entry into Nannade¡¯s Notebook]

    Arrived in Plirova. A grand city, truly. Got my task from commissioner Fanderi. Again have to enter the city¡¯s underground not even a day after arriving, have to slay some abomination the underground gangs use as a god & enforcer. Won¡¯t be easy, have barely any info, the map of the tunnels looks outdated. Will have to make my way down there in the tunnels.

    [End]

    She was awoken in the middle of the night by Fanderi and two officers. They guided her to the piazza di sepolcro. Where Fanderi gave her some background info on the crypts below.

    ¡°After the landslide, the few survivors tried to unearth the city. They stopped after just a few buildings due to the lack of workforce and food. So they just repurposed the ruined buildings for building material and built this crypt, expanding it whenever needed. Now half the city is sitting on top of it. We have our own secret access to the tunnels in there.¡±

    They entered the crypt via a big wooden door strengthened with glyphs and sigils. Inside was a spiral staircase and down there were rows and rows of stone shelves with compartments. In front of every single one was a human skull, sometimes crolachan, even rarer other shapes of skulls that Nannade did not recognize. To the left and right other tunnels in the same fashion branched off. She was led down a few branches, and branches of branches, until they came to a dead end. Fanderi beckoned one of the officers to help him. With a key they unlocked a keyhole hidden in one of the stone shelves and then pulled three compartments out of that shelf, roughly the height of a man. The fake compartments were only a few inches deep, and behind them lay a dark tunnel dug into the soil.

    ¡°You¡¯ll have to walk around a hundred feet and then drop down through a hole in the floor. We wish you good luck and may Radiance light your path.¡±

    She made a small bow to them and thanked them. ¡°I will do my best, I promise, ser.¡±

    She walked into the tunnel and the door was closed behind her. She would have to go on alone from here on out. She preferred it this way. The darkness welcomed her back.

 Dispute & Duplexity II

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 Dispute & Duplexity III

    A man in ordinary street clothes was walking down the tunnels of old Pliranto. Again and again he glanced over his shoulder, but never did he see or hear anyone. He was not imagining things however, because not far behind followed a shadow.

    Nannade had been tailing the man the entire morning. Or what she believed to be morning. She had spent two or three days underground by now. Gracia graciously gave her shelter and bed, although her composure and behaviour spoke more and more of fear and nervousness when around the crolachan girl, that much Nannade could tell. Some people were just able to pick up on Ssil¡¯s presence, even if they could never put a finger on it.

    The man however was unnerved simply by the feeling of being observed. Which he was. Shadows clung to Nannade¡¯s green felt cloak, a simple modification of her teacher¡¯s Embracing Shadows spell, but not almighty. She needed to stay out of bright light for the shadows to not be blown away, so she kept her distance from the man''s lantern. She knew the man she was following was somehow affiliated with the cult surrounding the Lord of the Tunnels, because he had come out of the same tunnels that the gang known as the Carpet-Drenchers would deliver abducted people and returned without them. The cult was most likely using them as sacrifices to their Lord. They needed funds and resources to continue their rituals, and one of those resources were ¡°offerings¡± Nannade could piece together from reports of other inhabitants down here, that those chosen to sustain the Lord were picked by the gangs and then delivered to the cult via specific tunnels inaccessible to anyone but the cult. She just needed to find out where they ran.Many of these tunnels were dead ends that Nannade suspected to be secured and protected by magic means. She hadn¡¯t come across any mediums or arcanists, but members of a cult or religion could do without either to cast the ¡°Miracles¡± of their gods.

    In the end, cults were just religions who made up for their tiny memberships ¨C most commonly less than two hundred ¨C with increased devotion, service and sacrifice. Blood and life were suitable sacrifices for that. Offer a spirit an entire chicken or goat, and it might just manifest strongly enough for even a mundane person to see and interact with. Not unlike what happened in the glade during the festivals.

    Now this particular man was again walking making his way to the tunnel, coming from a tightly locked building, carrying a big backpack filled almost to the bursting point, hurrying and scurrying down various alleys and bends, but with the Serpent¡¯s gift, Nannade had no problems tracking the man. His warmth shone like a lone candle in the dark tunnels.

    She followed him down several bends, until he arrived at the furthest point Nannade had ever been into these parts of the tunnel network. He cleared a corner and she had to hurry to not lose him around the next bend.

    As she arrived at the bend he had disappeared around, she stared down a long, dark tunnel, probably fifty to seventy feet long, with no sign of warmth around. He could not have made it all the way to the end of the tunnel during the time she had lost sight of him. She took out her own light-vial, twisted the glass plug to turn its light on, and started following the man¡¯s footprints, blowing the shadows away doing so.

    The floor in the tunnels this far away from the ruins consisted mainly of wet, compacted soil, but she could still see where his boots had left a slight imprint. The warmth had had no opportunity to sink in. She tracked his prints to around one third down the tunnel, where they disappeared. He had not turned into any specific direction and neither floor, walls nor ceiling seemed to hide any sort of secret doors. Nannade decided to mark the spot by cutting a notch into the walls at around ankle-height. Nobody should notice them there. She was about to turn around, go back to Gracia¡¯s house when she decided to keep going down the tunnel.

    It was not very far until she hit the dead end as she expected, but there was something peculiar about it. The soil in front of it had no footprints and seemed rather loose, butthe walls were smooth and compacted, as if created rather than excavated with tools. She wanted to test something. She took a step back and kicked the wall of soil with all her might. It budged. Not dented in, not compacted, it budged. There was a hollow space behind it.

    Nannade decided to dig using her throwing knives. Their broad, strong blades were perfect for such a task. The wall of soil was barely twenty inches thick. Behind it, the light of her vial revealed a large and open space, once maybe a well-kept lawn, but now a barren open space. A paved road led to a broad building, mostly covered in soil, but the entrance with its flanking columns was excavated. She got closer and read the inscription chiselled into the stone above the entrance. It was a bath house.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    She went inside and after a small ante room with a sort of teller, found herself in a large welcoming area. Mosaics lined the walls and ceilings and to both left and right doors lead to equally large rooms with rotten piles of wood littering the floor, some of the boards implied that they had once been part of cabinets or shelves. The inscriptions of the walls designated left to be the area for women, right the area for men. The two wings seemed to be identical in layout. She checked both of them. Some rooms contained large basins, which at one point must have been filled with water for the guests, others seemed to be just for sitting. Nannade had read once that the old Pliranti liked their saunas, hot rooms where people would endure the heat and humidity to steel their bodies against hardships, even if they only ever lived in the comfort and luxury of their cities.

    Nannade explored the dilapidated building. The ceiling seemed to be intact and holding well except for at one place in the left wing, where the ceiling had collapsed and soil flooded the room. At other points, the floor had crumbled and revealed the circulation system for hot air below. She imagined the people of old bathing amidst the colourful walls and pristine waters, not ashamed of their naked bodies, and she made herself no illusions that her own kind wouldhave been allowed in here. Not just because nobody liked shed fur in their bathing water, but because her kind was literally regarded as demi-humans in the old empire. Half a person, only worth half as much as a human. Two crolachans were required to challenge testimony of a human in court, two crolachans needed to prove their credit-worthiness to the banks to open an account, and many other such cases. It ran deep. And now it was gone, the term soon vanished from living memory.

    She quickly realized that this is where the cultists must have set up their temple. Below even the ruins of old Pliranto, they could move freely, emerging at any point in the ruins as they wished, concealed my magic. She quickly got to re-erecting the wall that blocked the bath off from the sewers.

    She thought about it for a moment. If she set up a base in the bath house, she would have direct and exclusive access to the cultists. An opportunity to study the cult without them noticing. She would just have to move some supplies over to the bath house so she could stay there.

    She quickly got to taking her stuff from Gracia¡¯s home. It would be a waste of the rent she had paid, but it was safer for Gracia this way. Nannade informed her that she was leaving, not telling her where. She also looked for Aaka. She had left her jar some time ago and occasionally, Nannade would see a gleaming point from the corner of her eyes. The spider was undoubtedly watching her from time to time, but also following her own will. Nannade was sure the spider would follow her sooner or later.

    After she had returned to the bath house, she had the weird desire to start making the place more homely, dusting off some areas, getting rid of the rotting wood, freeing the mosaics from dust and dirt, as if she would stay here for a long time rather than a few days. She instead focussed on what was important: re-concealing the place to make sure the cult did not find their little oversight. After she had rebuilt the facade, she got back to more long-term needs. She knew she would also need more food and water in this place. And she also knew that some of the houses in the ruins must be some kind of supply storage for the cult, the man with the backpack had shown her as much. Maybe one of them had food and water.

    She went out back into the city, squeezing through a tiny hole she had constructed and concealed in the shadows to allow herself easy and secret access to her new base of operations. She was about to get her lockpicks to work on one of the storage houses, when a group of Carpet-Drenchers called out to her.

    ¡°Oi, you, kitty-girl. We¡¯ve been looking for you.¡± one of them called out to her and got closer. Nannade tensed up, but made sure to make no wrong movements just yet. ¡°The Don will receive you soon, come with me!¡±

 Dispuite & Duplexity IV

    Don Telliduso was not happy. His day had been filled with mostly petty shit no one cares about and bad news. He sat on his chair behind a broad desk in the backroom of a former temple in the ruins of old Pliranto, the headquarters of the Carpet-Drenchers. To his left and right sat his two advisors and the only door was guarded by guards with daggers and short spears. Some of his closer officers and enforcers were there as well. He leaned his head with dark brown hair beginning to grey on his hand. Most of the bad news he had received that day were about lost territory in the south of old Pliranto. But he also knew there was an interesting point coming up on the agenda. An outsider had requested an audience with him with no direct goal stated, and was granted by all the people supposed to make sure Telliduso never had to deal with such folk. They must have bribed some of his officers quite well to be put through directly to him. When the time had finally come and they brought the outsider in, he had to let his laughter roar through the ancient room.

    ¡°Hey Patti, when I told you that I wanted some fine pussy, you didn¡¯t need to take it that literally!¡± That got a laugh out of almost the entire room. Telliduso wasn¡¯t sure how much the crolachan girl had understood, but she didn¡¯t look amused to begin with anyway. ¡°So, who are you and what can I do for you?¡± he asked in his splendid scholarian.

    The crolachan stepped a bit closer, the guards to Telliduso¡¯s side were alert, but her beckoned them to calm down. ¡°My name is Nannade and I am here to gather information about and then dispose of the Lord of the Tunnels and the cult surrounding it, Don.¡±

    Again, the room was laughing, except Telliduso. He looked into this girl¡¯s bright green eyes and saw something. She did not scowl at him or anyone else, she did not deepen their eye contact, she did not even wince an eyelash. She knew what she said and how it sounded, and she was not afraid of what people thought about her. She had been beaten and humiliated countless times and she had risen from that stronger than before. And she had killed. Telliduso did not become Don by ignoring the looks in people¡¯s eyes.

    He leaned forward. ¡°And what makes you think that we would give you any sort of help towards that?¡±

    The girl let a smile graze her lips for a moment. ¡°Because the occultists that revere him are also controlling your daily dealings and demanding tribute from you.¡±

    ¡°And what if the occultists find out that we helped an assassination attempt on their god? We would have dire problems then.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll have dire problems anyway, because the ones who sent me will send more next time. I am not the trump card, I am merely the first hand to be dealt.¡±

    She had given up on her life, and she was fine with letting that shine through. ¡°Are you threatening me?¡±

    ¡°I am a threat to whoever protects you from the city up there, you could say that.¡±

    Telliduso suspected something about the girl. He decided to poke at her some more.

    ¡°So, if we help you to slay the Lord, and let''s assume you manage to do that, then what? What do we have from that?¡±

    ¡°A bit more time to pack up and hit the road before the blue swarm down here.¡±

    Again, a round of chuckles. Her eyes remained as they were. The longer Telliduso looked, the more he was convinced to recognize something. He decided to get a closer look at her. He snapped his fingers and the footboy came to his side. ¡°Prepare the private room.¡± He told the boy and off he ran.

    The room had gone silent. Everyone seemed to regret laughing all of a sudden. Telliduso waited a while and looked at everyone¡¯s faces. They seemed ashamed that they had not noticed something about the girl that their Don obviously had. They didn¡¯t know what, they never knew in these situations, but Telliduso was fine with leaving them in the dark on most things. He stood up and walked past the girl. Two of his guards grabbed the girl and ¡°accompanied¡± her along with him.

    He went out into the main hall of the temple. Then he took a right into a smaller chamber with a small fountain on the wall. There the footboy stood, he put a key into the pedestal and turned it, then the two guards pushed the fountain to the side, revealing a stairway behind it. Before they went down, the Footboy handed Telliduso a small chest. He in turn gave it to Nannade, then stepped behind her and pushed her gently forward, as the two of them descended the stairway into a large storage area stuffed to the brim with all sorts of artefacts, relics and other treasures plundered from the ruins.

    Amidst all the splendour, a small area was cleared for two armchairs, with a small table between them. He sat down and beckoned the crolachan to the chair and she sat down. Then he opened the chest and pulled forth a small box, two well-crafted ancient glass cups, and a bottle of the finest wine.

    He opened the box and offered Nannade one of the two pipes inside, already packed. She refused. He took the other one and lit it. Then he poured both of them a cup. ¡°I¡¯ve been told you drink wine, don¡¯t rebuff me again!¡± She accepted the cup and took a sip.

    Finally, they had come to a relaxing point. He could tell the girl was still unsure what was going on, but he decided to just start asking away.

    ¡°So, girl. Show ¡®em to me!¡±

    The girl seemed irritated. ¡°WHAT?¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t mean your tits. I mean your marks.¡±

    She still was none the wiser. ¡°What marks are you talking about?¡±

    ¡°Come on, don¡¯t play dumb. I know they gotta be somewhere one your body. Back? Chest? Inside of your thigh?¡± He asked that last one with a lewd twist in his voice.

    The girl seemed to understand, she settled back down. ¡°You can tell? How?¡±

    ¡°I guess if you won¡¯t start, then I will.¡± He stood up, pulled his shirt out of his pants and lifted it up so she could see the mark on his belly, alongside the many gruesome scars. His name seal, designating him as ¡°Green Hawk¡±, and the first mark of approval from the University of Plirova, no other. The girl¡¯s eyes grew wide.

    ¡°So, I showed you mine, now show me yours.¡± He sat back down and took a deep sip from his cup.

    She let her ears hang. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Don, I don¡¯t have mine yet. I have to fulfil this contract as part of my last test.¡±

    ¡°Hm! Wouldn¡¯t have expected something this difficult. Are you sure you¡¯re not an abysmal failure and they want to dispose of you in a convenient way with enough plausible deniability?¡±

    He knew he hit a sore spot when that remark got her to slouch even more in shame and look away.

    She didn¡¯t make any attempts at keeping the conversation alive, so he went on.

    ¡°So, you¡¯ve been sent to kill the monster, brave little pussycat. And you were just going to waltz into the gang¡¯s headquarters and demand support? I have to admit, if some of my guys were as ballsy as you, half of them would be feared throughout Pliravo, and the other half would be dead. Now tell me: which one of these two halves do you think you¡¯d belong to?¡±

    The girl again answered nothing. She shrank even further in her chair, taking a careful sip from her cup.

    He leaned towards her and slammed a hand on the small table, making Nannade jump up a bit in her chair. ¡°If I hadn¡¯t been the gentleman I am, you¡¯d probably be passed around the room by now, no matter how strong and undefeatable you think you are. What kind of dumb girl does something like this? Those men were right to laugh at you. You were out of your league and I probably sound like your teacher right now, do I?¡±

    She finally turned her head his way. ¡°Yes, Don.¡±

    ¡°AND DON''T CALL ME DON!¡± As he yelled that, she drew her knees close to her face and curled up into a ball, as if she wanted to drop off the chair and roll into the shadows between the crates and veiled statues filling the room.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    He sighed and calmed down. ¡°Listen. I really don¡¯t want to make you turn around and leave this be, because you seem really determined, but the damn beast is out of your league. Believe me I tried.¡±

    She finally looked at him again and spoke up. ¡°Is that where the scars are from?¡±

    Telliduso nodded. The girl had barely sipped on her cup.

    ¡°I am not going to stop you from killing yourself, but I am also not going to help you defeat that thing. Do you know why?¡±

    She shook her head.

    ¡°Well, think about it. Who were you supposed to kill?¡±

    She mumbled something, so he had to encourage her to speak up. ¡°The Lord of the Tunnels and the cult around it.¡± She finally said audibly.

    ¡°And none of us gangs? The Tongue-Takers, the Carpet-Drenchers, the Knuckle-Breakers?¡±

    She shook her head again.

    ¡°And why do you think that is?¡±

    She thought for a moment. ¡°Because you¡¯re no threat?¡±

    ¡°EXACTLY. We¡¯re no threat. The only reason we can keep this up down here is because the cult protects us from the outside. And in return, they¡¯re untouchable and we deliver them an offering every other day. Without them, the blue vests could just march down here and take us all apart. I am one of the few mages down here and most of my men don¡¯t even know it. Because I¡¯m not that good.¡±

    ¡°So, you deliver them the poor people to be sacrificed?¡± The girl asked carefully.

    ¡°The price needs to be paid, even if it is in blood.¡±

    The girl seemed to think for a moment. ¡°Can you give me as an offering?¡±

    ¡°You hope of getting in that way?¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°Well, it will be difficult. They don¡¯t let you take anything down there. Are you a medium or do you have an arcanist¡¯s hand?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m a medium.¡±

    ¡°And do you have a familiar with you? I haven¡¯t seen anything around.¡±

    ¡°No, I got a spirit with me... by other means.¡±

    Telliduso had to think for a moment, but then he understood. ¡°Ah, so it¡¯s an object-bound spirit. Yeah, you won¡¯t be able to take it down there.¡± It was a rare practice these days, but spirits could be persuaded ¨C or in rare cases forced ¨C to enter and stay within an object until needed for a very specific purpose, but the amount of repeated daily rituals made it highly inconvenient, except for cults or religions that rely on daily rituals anyway.

    ¡°So, without weapons or your spirit, but let¡¯s say you could take your spirit with you, it would still be impossible for you. No matter how well you think you¡¯re trained. As I said. I tried, back when these stronzos moved in. Even without their Lord, they still put up a fight. Some of them are experienced arcanists, after all.¡± He leaned back in his chair and raised his cup to the girl to tell her to drink. Then he took a deep gulp and went on. ¡°So, let¡¯s imagine you can hide your mystic abilities from them and can take your sacred object with you ¨C I don¡¯t know, maybe in the smuggler¡¯s compartment or the smuggler¡¯s wife¡¯s compartment ¨C and you manage to get past the arcanists and the other occultists... then you still have to face a huge beast about as strong as three men, fast like a cat and clever as a human. Did I mention it can heal any wounds within seconds? It can and it¡¯s terrifying. Believe me, I met him, the Lord of the Tunnels. That¡¯s why I was the first one bow to the cult. I experienced first-hand what their wrath unleashed can do.¡±

    The girl seemed to think about what he said for a while. Then she finally asked. ¡°So, what would you do if the Lord and his cult fell?¡±

    Telliduso scoffed at that hypothetical scenario. ¡°I¡¯d pack my things and run. No chance in hell would I be able to stand against the blue vests. Probably go to a smaller city and adopt a more honourable profession for a while until I can get back into the underworld game. I might be getting old I still know my way around thugs and crooks. But it¡¯s a useless question. You can¡¯t fell him. I tried and I finished more of my training than you did.¡±

    ¡°How come you stopped?¡±

    He thought back for a while, finished his cup and poured himself another one. Then he told a bittersweet tale.

    ¡°I was seventeen, just got my first mark from the university of Plirova. Of course, at my age, I wasn¡¯t properly enrolled there, got a private tutelage instead. My teacher, Grey Cat of Plirova, had connections. Before we were supposed to move on to Laeggdaunn for my second mark, he wanted to take one last job. At the time, a mage called Miratto ruled the entire Miratto underground here. He was really good, a former dean of the university turned power hungry. My teacher wanted to make his departure from Plirova one big show. So, he took the job. The blue vests were glad to send him and me instead of half an army into the tight tunnels, where numbers mean little. We came down here and Miratto took us apart. When his underlings had us surrounded, I pleaded with my teacher to leave well enough be. But he didn¡¯t listen. He was killed by Miratto, who then offered me something: follow my master, or become his apprentice. I was never good in the arcane crafts. But he raised me up well. Taught me some powerful spells. And one day, I drove a dagger between his old ribs. I was not as good as him however and so I lost half the territory he held. But I am still the biggest fish in this underground pond.¡± He had finished and leaned back in his chair to wallow in nostalgia a bit more. ¡°Then the cultists moved in. Those spunk stains are to us what we are to the shopkeepers in the slums and the inhabitants of the ruins.¡±

    ¡°And did you make the right decision?¡± the girl asked after a moment of silence.

    He burst into laughter. ¡°OF COURSE! Life has way too much wine and women to let me pass by. It has been over twenty-five years and I didn¡¯t regret it one bit.¡± He watched the girl take bigger and bigger gulps from her cup. ¡°You know, I could offer you the same. Being my apprentice.¡±

    The girl seemed to check her environment before answering. ¡°Are you being serious?¡±

    ¡°Sure. And I don¡¯t even want to get into your pants. I never liked hairy ones. But you got gusto and the eyes of a killer. I could teach you a lot. And I could get you any book on magic you want. Maybe even some fake correspondences to enrol you into Plirova University. It¡¯s no Northbridge, but it¡¯s still pretty good. And in time, if we put our combined efforts and knowledge to it, we could take that cult down ourselves. Reclaim the underworld of Plirova. Together, no blue vest could stand in our way. We¡¯d be the freest people below the pavement. How does that sound?¡±

    The girl fidgeted with her feet and seemed to honestly contemplate the offer. ¡°No.¡± she answered finally. ¡°It sounds nice, but...¡± her pause got longer and longer.

    ¡°But what?¡± Telliduso leaned forward over to her. ¡°Come on girl, you started it, now finish the sentence. I won¡¯t kill you for words, I promise.¡±

    "There¡¯s a part of me that would seriously consider it. But I know my teacher would come after me. Either to recapture me or to claim the bounty on my head. And there¡¯s another part of me that wants to kill you, slowly and painfully. Not when you¡¯re old, but right now, in this moment.¡±

    For a moment he had been sure to have her on his side. But not anymore. ¡°Too bad. Most of the people here are knuckle heads. You may be a bit na?ve, but you¡¯re not stupid, that much I can tell.¡± He finished his cup.

    ¡°Well, this bottle is empty. Decide now, do you want me to pass you off as an offering? It could go wrong, considering you¡¯re a medium, they could tell. They¡¯d just kill you and you¡¯d never see a single claw of the beast.¡±

    ¡°I am not yet prepared. I need to gather more info. You know, sneaking in shadows, collecting intel.¡±

    Telliduso hummed in agreement. ¡°Yes, but be sure to know your environment. This isn¡¯t like the forest or the open city where you can hide on trees and rooftops. You almost always only have two directions to go and the tunnels are easily overseen.¡±

    ¡°Anything else you can help me with?¡±

    ¡°I told you. I won¡¯t help you. I do want to get my revenge on these stronzos, but if that beast falls, and you are not on my side and strong enough, I am done for.¡±

    ¡°Well, let me at least repay you for the wine and the private audience. I will kill the Lord of the Tunnels and dispose of the cult. Even if it takes me half a year. Consider this your heads up, so you can pack your things.¡±

    He chuckled and she almost joined in, he could tell. ¡°I¡¯ll miss you when you¡¯re dead.¡±

    She smiled ¡°You might just be the one I¡¯ll let get away. Or at least, I¡¯ll kill you last.¡± Now she really chuckled. She finished her cup and together, they went back up.

    The girl was escorted back out into the ruined city and Telliduso had finished his business for the day. He stared at the fresco on the ceiling of his open audience chamber from behind his desk. He might just start packing his things. Not because he believed the girl could do it, but because he believed she¡¯d try. And if they caught her and find out he has been giving her even the little information he did, they would come for him. He¡¯d also have to increase patrols, especially around the tunnels leading down to the sewers below the ruins. He poured himself another cup of wine.

 Dispute & Duplexity V

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 Dispute & Duplexity VI

    Nannade spent most of her time in the sewers, hiding in dark corners, following cult members on their way to errands and listening in on conversations. So far, she had not found an entrance to any sort of temple or base anywhere, but she knew it had to be there somewhere, most likely hidden by magic or simply by design. Her own entrance to the sewers she had disguised well. A few more crates from the storage were repurposed as a door and a layer of compacted soil made discovery from the outside unlikely. The captive stayed uncooperative and every time Nannade gave her food and emptied her bucket, an idea stung in the back of her head. She knew so many ways to cause people pain, in low doses her venom could be used, for example, but Nannade told the serpent no. This was no time to be cruel just yet. Like this, Nannade spent two more days underground, exploring the vast sewer system, recording cult activities and writing down their equipment, looks and size, to hopefully be able to estimate the size of the cult.

    And so it came that one day, Nannade happened to be in the right place at the right time to witness an offering being brought through the sewers. A cultist in usual garb ¨C a dark red robe with a white trim and a golden phoenix stitched on the chest ¨C was leading two cultists in light guard gear ¨C padded jacket, iron helmet, short spear and short sword ¨C who were holding the woman by both arms while a third was walking behind her with his spear to her back. Nannade could not see the woman from where she was. She dashed into a parallel tunnel in order to get ahead of the group. Nannade was sure of the route they were going to take. Maybe she could finally see them opening the secret door.

    She was right, she could intercept the five as she had thought. From the distance, in an intersecting tunnel, she observed them pull the woman further into the sewer system. Nannade finally got a good look at the offering. Although she was blindfolded, gagged and her hands bound, she recognized her. It was Gracia. Nannade¡¯s heart froze.

    Within a split second, a dozen approaches, scenarios and possibilities ran through her head. What spells did she have prepared? Which of the guards should she take out first? Can the robed cultist work their god¡¯s miracles? How well could she hold her own against four? Would a Flooding Shadows spell give her enough time to grab Gracia and run back out?

    Nannade tried to assemble a plan, but her head failed her. She could only watch as they pushed her further down the tunnels, towards their Lord''s maws.

    No, she had to help Gracia. She had shown her so much decency and kindness although she was in a difficult situation herself.

    But Nannade could not just run down there and take them on. She did not yet have enough information and alerting the cult to her plans could jeopardize her entire work so far.

    Neither could she do nothing. Saving Gracia was her duty.

    Nannade was no saviour, she was a judge and executioner.

    She was more than what the serpent had made her. She was a person, not a cruel bystander.

    If she had used pain to acquire more information, she might just have put an end to the cult by now.

    The group had long passed down the tunnels and Nannade snapped back to reality. She hurried after them, she could at least watch them enter the temple, that much she knew. They came to a dead end Nannade had already mapped. From the distance that Nannade was comfortable staying at, she could not exactly see what they were making, but the robed cultist took some sort of wooden object and banged it against the wall at one point. The stones of the wall started to slide out of the way to reveal a hidden passageway. Now was Nannade¡¯s time. She was sure she could make it if she hurried, even if the stones started to re-arrange right now, she could make it.

    She should not risk her entire mission, her own life and the lives of Elissa and Garetas, just for some beggar woman who showed kindness to her once.

    Nannade ignored her niggling doubts and made a dash for it. She had already had an Invisible Fist in her hand when she made it through the closing hole in the wall. She held it outstretched and snapped her fingers. The group of five had turned around, but the paper had not gone up in flames yet. Again, she snapped her fingers, with greater pressure in her mind. This time, Ssil complied and the paper went up in flames.

    The fist hit the guard behind Gracia. The robed cultist yelled a command at the guards and hurried the third one along to drag the offering faster down the corridor.

    Nannade called out to Gracia, and she heard her, Nannade could tell by her increased struggle against her binds and captors. She tried to scream something to her through the gag.

    Then Nannade drew and threw one of her throwing knives at the second guard, but it was deflected by his metal helmet. She drew another knife, but kept it in her left.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!

    The first guard had gotten up again and together with the second, they blocked the corridor with their broad shoulders.

    An alarm was rung. The other cultists quickly dragged Gracia around a corner and were out of sight. Shortly afterwards, more cultists with dagger¡¯s or spears came rushing into the corridor.

    Nannade looked around, she was outmanned, she had maybe twenty feet to the now closed hole in the wall. She knew she still had a Stone Grind under her belt.

    She started her slow retreat, sure to let none of the guards¡¯ spears come too close. Out of a door behind her, a robed cultist with a dagger came into the corridor and lunged at her. She dodged, but the new combatant distracted her. She could still fend off the spears with her right, as long as Ssil kept the dagger at bay with the left.

    She did well, but she could no longer retreat as the dagger was still behind her. She tried to tell Ssil to end him, but instead she dodged, pressed her to the wall, the robed cultist had lunged at her again. Both Nannade and Ssil used the opportunity and retaliated. Both dagger and knife penetrated the cultist¡¯s side, meanwhile one of the spearmen had attacked Nannade at the moment the dagger could no longer guard Nannade''s right side. The spear cut deep into her thigh and she had to suppress a pained cry. Her legs gave in, but she managed to get up and shove the bleeding cultist out of the way. It was time to run.

    Nannade made it to the wall and the Stone Grind was ready. It had a short range and created only a small hole to slip through, but she managed it just barely. The guards tried to follow her, unable to squeeze their broad and burdened bodies through the narrow passage in the wall. Nannade had already fled into the darkness of the sewers.

    They could still follow her by the trail of blood. She was out of Flooding Shadows, Stone Grinds, she still had Constrictors and Invisible Fists. She found a simple healing spell. She hid in a corner, the guards were still somewhat behind. Her exertion had pressed quite a lot of blood from the wound. The spells quickly sealed the wound, not necessarily healing it.

    Her next task would be loosing the pursuers. She was close to an exit she had already mapped. She would have no luck in opening it, she had not the right magical keys to do so, but the was an inlet nearby.

    She found the exit, a staircase upwards, and next to it, the inlet, a tight pipe upwards through which in the old days the effluence of the people above would drain into the sewers. Nannade squeezed her head in. She could feel her joins pop and slide apart, twisting and stretching her tendons and filaments, but the voice in the back of her head spurned her onward. All the way in she squeezer her entire body, not even her toes were poking out of the end anymore.

    It was tight and dark, nothing was to be seen and all Nannade could hear was her own heartbeat and breath. At any point, a sharp spear tip could find its way into the pipe, and she would be powerless to do anything against it or even defend herself.

    She did not know how long she had been in there; it could have been hours or even the entire day for all she could tell. She had a lot of time to think. And so did Ssil. She made Nannade understand how close they had been to death, how irrational she had acted. Gracia was dead because of her. Not because she failed in her foolish attempt to save her, but because she refused to apply the necessary means to acquire the information faster. The time for mercy had passed. Ssil would show Nannade how to wield pain as elegantly as she wielded the quill, and as accurately as she shot her arrows.

    Finally, she felt safe enough to slide back out again. Her body reassembled itself from the sack of loose bones that it felt like, and assumed itsNannade-shaped exterior again. She stood in the silent darkness of the sewers. The stale air down here felt almost fresh to Nannade after being stuck in the inlet with her own breath.

    She made her way back. She had to evade quite a few patrols on her way. They had increased security. She had vastly overestimated her own prowess, especially against several combatants. Her fights before had been lucky; the bandits on the road were idiots, not trained and steeled men. Garetas was unprepared and holding back. She realized just winging it in combat would be no winning strategy. She needed to get her body in tune with Ssil, so they can wield it properly. It would no longer be as easy to enter the temple from now on. She had squandered a great opportunity on nothing.

    She felt broken and scolded as she finally came back to the bath house, all seemed well here. Nannade''s captive was glad to finally receive her meal of salted fish and raw potatoes, and she could tell that Nannade had been roughed up. She seemed awfully pleased by that. Nannade wanted to break the bitch¡¯s face and batter her flat on the stone walls, but a sharp thought shot this thought from the back of her mind.

    Violence is crude; pain is graceful. Injury heals; agony imprints.

    All Nannade had strength left for was fall on her blanket and roll in tight. She felt alone again. She never talked much with Gracia, but at least she was someone she knew, sort of. She let her only ally die. Even Telliduso, the friendliest man she had met in a very long time, was more of an enemy to her right now. And she probably brought him into trouble soon. The cult had spies in the gangs and they were sure to assume he helped her.

    Many troubling thoughts haunted her. She suddenly became very aware of the feet upon feet of soil, rubble and bones that lay above her. She was buried, deep underground, inside a rotting corpse, far from home.

 Dispute & Duplexity VII

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

 Dispute & Duplexity VIII

    There was a certain serenity to darkness for Nannade. Although true darkness was lost to her. The serpent¡¯s gift made her see her surroundings even blindfolded and with closes eyes in total darkness. Nothing was ever truly black anymore. In this sea of black, illuminated by warmth, she began her hunt.

    Ever since her attempted rescue mission, the cultists had increased their guards, hired more gang members to comb the ruins. Telliduso had fled the ruins, possible the entire city or even country too. And the sewers as well were much better guarded. The cultists must have noticed she was not just an ambitious girl, but a serious threat.

    This time, she was prepared. She had prepared more spells than ever before and she knew exactly where to enter. Her captive had revealed all secrets to her willingly in exchange for a quick and painless death. A part of Nannade looked back in disgust and shame, but certain things needed to be buried. The high-priestess had obligations to fulfil. For now, and for ever more.

    Many cultists were still patrolling the sewers, but Nannade did not avoid them. She waited for them. Around corners, hidden in nooks and crannies. When they walked by, she struck.

    She initially planned on using a variation of the Embracing Shadows or Flooding Shadows spells to separate and pick them off individually, but she decided against such a wasteful use of flux. Instead, she had carved herself blades out of bones. Bones were ample below the earth here, and porous, perfect for soaking up venom. Which one of these imperial citizens would have thought that their remains would be used as venomous blades thirteen centuries after their painful death buried by rock and soil?

    She observed her targets, a patrol of three. She knew the serpent was able strike with surgical precision, if she let herself be guided. She didn¡¯t need to kill all of them, the venom would take some time to take a lethal effect. During this time, the victims had time to return to base and make reports. The fight¡¯s echoes would also quickly draw attention by other patrols. She was prepared for all. She had found a harmony between herself and the serpent. Nothing could stand against them now. The church of one would hold its first mass tonight.

    She may have accepted the title of high-priestess and relinquished her body as a temple back in the forest of dreams, but it was here, deep within the corpse of the undying city, that she had accepted the responsibilities this title brought with it and the tools she needed to wield.

    The three had passed her by, she made her move. Slowly but steadily she got closer.

    Only one of the guards wore metal plate and chainmail beneath, the others just padded vests and leather caps, not unlike the cap Nannade was wearing. The one with the metal plate would need a strong thrust from up close, with her dagger. The blade was narrow but long, with a thick central ridge. Ideal for catching even heavy blows and penetrating armour. Nannade had little use for slashing weapons. Her short reach and lower strength compared to steeled and trained men meant she would always be at a disadvantage, but the long and slender dagger compensated for her shortcomings admirably.

    She was less than eight feet away from them when she drew the first of her knives and threw it with all force she could muster. It landed squarely in the first guard¡¯s unarmoured leg.

    The guard screamed in pain, all three of them looked around, just in time to seeNannade, lunging at them. She buried her dagger deep in the second one¡¯s neck, gliding through the chainmail like through paper, while her left arm grabbed the first one by the shoulder and tripped him over her leg.

    She pulled the dagger out of the first one¡¯s neck, releasing a fountain of blood, turned around, and caught the third one¡¯s spear in the dagger''s upturned guard. She moved behind the tip, closer to her opponent. She was close enough for a kiss when her blade of bone penetrated his side and delivered her venom deep into his body. She left the blade there, wrested the spear from his hands and drove it several times into the back of the guard still on the floor. Then she retreatedback into the shadows.

    The third guard looked around panicked, not knowing whether to help his comrades, take care of his own wound or run for his life. He did not know that each was useless. Nannade had let him run for a reason.

    The guard would make it back to base, open the door and report what had happened to the others. Then the security would draw close and concentrate. A call back to the base would be made to tighten security. All of this was in the security protocol that Nannade had obtained from the woman in the fine clothes.

    It happened as she had planned it. As the patrols withdrew from the sewers and the ruined city, many of them ran into her trap. None of those came back complete, all of them lost at least one of their comrades to blade or venom. The dance of venom had begun, and while none of them knew the steps, all of them would join in sooner or later.

    They swept through the sewersin a tight formation. Groups of five at least, all accompanied by a priest or acolyte, meeting up, reporting, and setting out again from the junctions and intersections where they met. But none of them would find the intruder, because the intruder was counting on them to fulfil their duty. She had long slipped inside the temple. The most elite of all guards were guarding the high-priest and his closest acolytes inside the temple. But it mattered not. None of them were Nannade¡¯s target. For now. She would leave it to the god todestroy the faith.

    She knew that there was a tunnel running under the chamber of offerings, where the ritual to feed the lord was performed. She also knew that there was an auditorium next to it, one of those that had steps leading downward to a stage like in anamphitheatre. A simple Stone Grind was all she needed. She knew that apart from the door in the ceiling below the chamber of offering, there was one other exit. A hidden door that led into the sewers, to unleash the beast and guide it to the place in the ruined city where the cult needed to instil respect and loyalty.

    her.

    Did he take her for another offering? Unlikely. The cultists would attract him with chants and other rituals to prepare him. When was the last time he was fed? Most likely this morning, according to the regular schedule Nannade had been told.

    She made it around another corner, and there in the distance, she could see him, shining like a bonfire in the night. A grotesque mix of rat and man. Not chaotic and half-formed like the werewolf. No, this union was much more guided and controlled, the cultists had done their homework. Whatever ritual they had used to bind the spirit into corporeal flesh, they had made sure to erase all will beyond feeding, as to better control the beast. It would be today that this would cost them.

    The Lord of the Tunnels started coming towards her. First with slow steps, then faster, then charging at her, shaking the soil loose from walls and ceiling with his mass. From here on out, she needed to be even more careful. Although his bulging muscles seemed too large for even these tunnels, he effortlessly pushed his body through them, as if everything in his body was willing to simply flow out of the way.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

    She hurried through the tunnels, towards where she knew the exit would be. It was well hidden but from within there was one significant sign: the only two tunnels towards this exit had wide grate gates installed, linked to levers above to drop down if the exit gate itself needed tending or repairs, and protect the workers from the Lord. She found the gates and forced one of them to drop by breaking the retention mechanism. The Lord could probably tear them open, but she only needed to hinder him for a moment.

    Heavy breathing and angry grunting announced the Lord was coming for her. She stood behind the grate and drew one of her spells from her belt, took a step back away from the grate and braced herself. With all his might, the Lord of the Tunnels threw himself against the grate. It bent inwards, but it held. Nannade was safe.

    Nannade snapped her fingers and a lance of burning fire hit the lord straight in his right eye. It howled and screamed. If they hadn¡¯t by now, this would alert the cultists, that the intruder had been successful. The beast would, of course, not die as easily as this. He was powerful and even gruesome injuries would not stall it for long. He turned around and looked for a path to the other gate.

    Nannade quickly moved to the other gate and blocked it with a column of transmuted stone. Then she used an adapted version of Stone Grind beneath her to make a little hidey-hole and once inside, made sure to cover the hole back up with a reinforced layer of sculpted soil. She could hear the Lord coming through the open gate above her, sniffing around for her. He might find her in here, given enough time, but she already heard the exit open.

    By her plan, the cultists would pour in to find the Lord uncontained and then attempt to subdue him with their spells, charms and wards. At this stage, they would most likely succeed, calm him down and then re-establish containment, but Nannade knew their protocol well enough to tamper with it.

    She could hear the Lord¡¯s step above her, feel how the soil was compressed beneath his feet, making her ceiling bulge downwards. When the bulge receded, it was her time. She took Flooding Shadows from her belt, breached the ceiling of her little hidey-hole and cast the spell.

    She could still easily see the warm bodies around. Most importantly, the Lord¡¯s massive form towering directly above her. She grabbed one of his legs, dug her fangs in deep and pressed all venom she had from them. A dose as large as possible for this huge beast. It reared up and screamed in agony as the pain entered its veins. After she had done that, she ran away, into the sewers, the cultists would not see a single hair of her.

    The screams and howls of the monstrosity could be heard throughout the labyrinth and the sewers, maybe even in the ruins above. Nannade could also hear the panicked screams of the cultists. The pain would be too great to contain the raging beast with any charm or ward they had. It would not kill the beast. Even the burned eye she had dealt had already healed. But the pain would remain.

    Now it was just a matter of time. They would require more and more guards to subdue the beast, then they would run out. When even the arcanists could not stop the painful rage, they would flee. But Nannade was already ahead of them.

    Currently, they had only one exit left open, they had made sure to make the other seals magic-proof, and they would never find the exit in the old bath-house. They would need a long rite to unseal their own tomb. For the low chance they would make it towards the only exit, Nannade was waiting for them. She sat above the stairs leading up to the surface. The door to the ruins behind her was merely barred from the inside, not locked. And sure enough, two guards made it. They both fell quickly to her dagger, not prepared for any attack. Soon after, a priest followed, he too fell quickly.

    Nannade was still sitting above the stairs, listening into the sewers. The beast was no longer screaming in agony, merely weeping and wailing. Soon the poison would be cleansed from its body by its unnatural resilience, but still, it caused great agony. Occasionally, she could still hear him stomping.

    For a while, she just listened to the panicked screams of the cultists being picked off one by one, trying to escape or fight back. Sometimes, she could hear incantations being screamed, but they soon died down as well.Eventually, Nannade decided it was time. She set out into the sewers again.

    She found him sure enough, breathing heavily, turning and shuffling around in confusion and daze, bloody drool dripping out of his mouth. Left alone, he would soon heal up again. He noticed her and turned around. Did he know it was her who had delivered this most painful of punishments? It most likely didn¡¯t matter; his rage was blind.

    She held her last bone blade, soaked full of venom, in her left, and the dagger in her right. Various spells were pricked onto her claws. While she was fighting during her rescue attempt, Nannade felt a dissonance between her and the serpent. She needed attunement, and for this, her will needed to take a step back, so the serpent could wield her body with the skill priestess had learned. The priestess closed her eyes. The serpent¡¯s eyes were enough, she would guide the priestess, like she had guided the snake in the pit of the temple. The bonfire before her pierced the cold darkness.

    She hated direct confrontation, but the serpent demanded a dance, and so the priestess danced. The Lord¡¯s knuckles shook the ground as he brought his fists down towards the priestess, screaming in agony at every movement. Nannade dodged left, dodged right, never backed down, rolled under the monster to cut across its chest and tendons, driving the bone blade deep into its side and leaving it there. With every drop of blood spilled, the monstrosity let out another grunt, deepening his determination to kill the priestess. But while she remained within his reach, she eluded his grasp, and soon, the Lord took a few steps back, giving himself time to heal up.

    Where ever he was taking the energy to keep healing from, he had vast reserves. Reserves Nannade did not have, but she did have some venom left, two vials full. Her bone blade was still sticking out of the beast¡¯s flesh, but the wound had not healed up, proving Nannade right in her assumptions. She took the vials, pulled out the corks, and poured all of the venom into her mouth. The serpent had understood and accepted the priestess¡¯ cunning.

    The beast was ready and came back towards Nannade. She stood with her back to the wall of a T-section in the sewers. She went as far back as she could, until her back touched the wall. The beast came for her. Nannade pressed her hands and feet against the wall and tensed her muscles.

    The lord lunged, his fist came for her. She leapt up, her feet pushing her off the wall. His fist hit stone. She soared towards him, her dagger sank into his shoulder, her claws found hold in his skin, her fangs dug straight into his neck. The venom entered the wound.

    A pained scream reverberated throughout the tunnels, followed by thundering as the Lord slammed his body against the stone wall, squashing the priestess, once, twice, thrice, until she let go and fell to the ground.

    The priestess rolled away from the Lord, out of his reach. Her ribs ached and breathing pained her.She knew at least some of them were broken, but she didn¡¯t know how much more fight she had left in her. She started her dance again, to occupy the beast, give the venom time to work. They danced, the priestess beginning to slug, but not being caught yet. Countless times she cut her opponent, the wounds stopped healing up and his movements became less accurate with each passing moment. His legs started to buckle, his fingers stopped closing all the way to a fist. Tremors seized his every limb.

    Nannade still had many papers left. A Lash of Fire seared the Lord''s eyes, Invisible Fists knocked his head about, but he kept up his offensive.

    Finally, his speed and strength had died down to a human level. As the priestess stood again with her back to a wall, the Lord galumphed towards her with heavy steps. The serpent lit another paper. Two large spikes of stone grew from the wall behind the priestess, piercing the monstrosity''s shoulders. His body grinded to a halt on the spikes. Nannade could still hear his breath and heartbeat, albeit slow and weak.

    She picked up a particular large piece of rubble, climbed up to the Lord''s head. She put one of her throwing knives to his forehead, closed her eyes and said ¡°You can rest now.¡± Then she hammered the knife into his braincase.

    ¡°Impossible my ass, Telliduso, you half-baked drop-out!¡±

    When she had confirmed the beast¡¯s death multiple times, she walked to the temple to confirm everyone there was dead as well.

    As she swept through the temple, she discovered the remnants of disgusting rituals that made her stomach churn. Many inscriptions in old imperial and murals lined the wall. Most of them concerned the resurrection of the buried city. They used the phoenix as their crest and claimed to be the true heirs to the old empire, while the city above was a lifeless imitation and a rotting one at that. They promised restoration and empowerment. But never did they mention the Lord of the tunnels, except for one room.

    The room was large and squared, in the middle was a cage just big enough for a single man to stand upright, and a door in the floor. This must be the chamber of offering, where captives were dropped down to the Lord. In the murals on the walls, the Lord was depicted as a huge rat, tearing apart those that stood against the resurrection of the old empire.

    She searched the entire complex. An auditorium, barracks, a cantina, sparring rooms, they had repurposed some old cellars of buildings and even the basement of a prison for their purposes. Some of the complex was newly built by them. In one room obviously already visited by the Lord, a scared cultist crawled forth from under a pile of corpses.

    ¡°Is he gone?¡± He asked with a shaking voice.

    ¡°Yes, but I''m here now.¡± Nannade took his life and his phoenix-medallion, just to have something to show the city guard. She made her way back to the Lord''s corpse, she still had to bring the head up to the surface, but she¡¯d need one powerhouse of a spell to take it off its shoulders.

 Dispuite & Duplexity IX

    ¡°Well yes, you did fulfil the mission.¡± Commissioner Fanderi told Nannade in his office. ¡°And we were all terrible impressed with a fifteen-year-old girl dragging a head bigger than her ribcage through the tunnels all the way to the surface, but the contract went to your master Black Surgeon, and you have no marks of approval yet, so we can¡¯t give you any of the money. You¡¯d have to wait for your master to send you some of it. We have already sent it his way in Hozorcia, along with our report and recommendation.¡±

    Nannade massaged her temples with her fingers. ¡°I told you, ser, he¡¯s not in Hozorcia! It will be almost a month before it reaches Sturreland, then makes its way back to me. I am taffing penniless here, ser!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, my hands are tied.¡± Was the last thing Fanderi said before asking her to leave the headquarter.

    The City guard did not want to pay her out, so she was stuck here. Her boot-stash was the last coin she had had. She wouldn¡¯t even be able to buy rations like this. And where ever she needed to go next, Plirova would be the best place to catch a ship there.

    Nannade had already cleared some things up below before dragging the huge head up through the tunnels, into the tombs below the piazza di sepolcro,and then called for a member of the guard from there to carry her trophy to the headquarters. Her captive had been happy to see Nannade succeed. It meant her suffering would have an end. Nannade had given the woman the quick and painless death that she had promised her. Leaving the bath house behind had been sorrowful. Somehow, she had grown attached. She could call it her first place to call her own, in a sneaky, ¡°criminal underworld¡± kind of way. Patti sat on the Don¡¯s throne now, but his butt wouldn¡¯t even have enough time to warm it properly before the city guard dragged it off there again. Nannade had decided to leave her coin purse with him. She was in no condition to fight and the gangs had already increased security.

    Now she stood on the streets of Plirova, in the golden evening sun, with not a single coin to her name, Aaka at her belt again and not knowing where to go. Aaka had already contacted Black Surgeon, but was still waiting for a last confirmation, so Nannade didn¡¯t even know where she¡¯d have to go next. She almost felt like lying down and sleeping on the streets. She wanted a bath. She felt so disgusting. She was hungry. Salted fish and raw potatoes made terrible food and she had not eaten as much as she should have.

    She walked over to one of the large columns in front of the headquarters and sat down leaning against it. She watched as the people in the busy streets headed home after a long day of work,then she took out her notebook to write a few things down, when someone came up to her. It was Lieutenant Camillo.

    ¡°Nannade, right?¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°I knew it. It¡¯s been a while, what have you been doing?¡±

    ¡°Oh, you know, ser, helping the city guard with something.¡±

    ¡°You look lost, do you have a place to stay?¡±

    Nannade saw where this was heading and did not like staying with someone of her own kind, but she had little choice. ¡°No, ser. My payment¡¯s been delayed. I don¡¯t have a single coin left.¡± She hated telling people that she was in such a situation, but she could not bring herself to decline his offer.

    ¡°Then why don¡¯t you come home with me? I¡¯m sure my wife made enough for dinner to feed one mouth more. Seems like you could use a bath too.¡± He chuckled. ¡°And stop it with the ser.¡±

    They made their way to the harbour district, a place very popular with her kind, she had been told. She just now noticed that she was about as tall as Camillo himself. She never realized how much taller she was than her kind, most likely due to Elissa¡¯s growth serum.

    She felt something awkward between them that she wanted to get rid of. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I was so gruff to you the other day.¡± She finally said.

    ¡°Don¡¯t think about it. Plirova is a tough place to be.¡± he waved her concern. It made her glad.

    Camillo¡¯s house was rather large. Then again, he was the lieutenant of the entire harbour division. As she entered the house, she took in all the scents she could. Pinewood, a fire in the fireplace, simmering minced meat with garlic and onions, herbs and spices from distant lands. She loved the smell here.

    Camillo¡¯s wife came around the corner. He had already told Nannade her name was Martina. She was an entire head shorter than Nannade.

    ¡°Welcome, dear. A friend of yours, dear?¡± She said while straightening her messy apron.

    ¡°She was helping the guard with something and her payment got delayed, so I offered her a place.¡±

    Nannade was somewhat confused. ¡°Why do you speak scholarian in your own house?¡±

    Martina snickered. ¡°You look like a traveller from scalp to soles. And I¡¯ve never seen someone from the western tribe from this city. Now, I will get you a bath ready, I can tell you need it.¡±

    She disappeared around a corner to get a bath ready for her. ¡°I¡¯ll wash you properly, it must have been months since your last proper bath.¡± Martina said and she was right, the last time she had a proper bath was in Kalonitz, two months ago. She was lucky she wasn¡¯t crawling with flees and lice after spending so much time around rats in sewers and tunnels in both cities.The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Their bath was its own room, not just a nook behind a curtain, and connected to the central sewer system of Plirova. It smelled of lavender and citrus. Such exotic smells to Nannade, who knew best the smell of pine trees, chestnut bloom, wet soil, and water mint, local scents of rough nature, not the refined scents of the city folk.

    It was nice getting groomed again. Nannade could tell Martina was intrigued by her body, but she kept quiet as she washed and brushed her thoroughly, Nannadeenjoyed it enough to even ignore the pain when Martina got to her ribs.

    After Martina had washed, dried off and brushed Nannade, she also gave her some simple clothes to wear for now. She had insisted on washing Nannade¡¯s clothes and airing out the leather, as well as her blanket. Nannade did not even think about refusing.

    At the dinner table their two sons joined them, Camillo Jr., sixteen years old, and Patricio, nine years old. All four of them had that brighter, almost white, creamy colouration and larger ears of the southern tribe. The dish for tonight was meat balls ¨C which Martina called ¡°polpette¡± ¨C and noodles.While she was eating, all four of them were pelting Nannade with questions. By now, she had no issues with reciting her usual story. Garetas had taught her how to get her story straight and play a role: She was an apprentice witch of the Lodge of Sturreland, travelling for her test of moral commensuration. So far, no real lies. She had delivered and presented recommendations by the Lodge on improving the wards of the city, as well as introduce new measures to detecting, identifying and handling spirits that still went through. Of course, the family asked her all sorts of questions about spirits and magic, and Nannade gladly indulged them in exchange for the dinner, bath and place to stay for the night. The youngest son did not speak scholarian well, but the older had already finished his Secundum, so his was good enough to hold a conversation. He talked about how he wanted to follow his father¡¯s footsteps, while the younger told of adventures across the sea. Nannade did not have the heart to tell him how tiring and crushing adventures could be. All the while Nannade felt their stares on her. How they sized up her body, looked at the discrepancies and weirdness that was her mutated appearance, always able to tell something was off, but never being able to put a finger on it. The two boys were especially wary of her.

    ¡°Say, Nannade,¡­" Camillo Sr. opened at one point. ¡°Is it trued what you told me? About never meeting any other of our kind.¡±

    Nannade had to put her cutlery down. ¡°Kind of, yes. I saw some on the streets of Plirova when I came here, but I never saw any of my kind except for my parents.¡±

    Martina¡¯s face showed sympathy. ¡°Was it a lonely life?¡±

    Nannade had to think for a moment. ¡°I guess... yes. I never knew what it meant to talk to people. When I saw others talk to each other, like the guests of the inn, I was wondering what there was to talk about. I got used to not understanding things.¡± Before she knew she was rambling. Was it the recent months of isolation that made her just sputter forth her innermost memories? ¡°My mother never had the strength to endure my endless questions after a day of ¡°work¡±, so after a while, I stopped asking. I felt as if the world was just one big darkness which I could never grasp. Maybe that¡¯s what makes me a good medium. I accept that spirits are unreal, that no one can comprehend them, only accept them.¡± The mood had hit a low point. She stopped. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I did not want to bring this dark place from my past to your dinner table.¡±

    Camillo Sr. and Martina shrugged it off, but Camillo Jr.¡¯s gaze only grew more suspicious. They had their fill of food and stories, and eventually, the family retired to bed. Before he followed them, Camillor Sr. took Nannade aside for a quick chat.

    ¡°I know what you told me is a lie. The thing with the wards and such.¡±

    Nannade was not entirely surprised. ¡°How?¡±

    ¡°Many saw you enter the entrance hall along the guards carrying that huge head. I know you did the Lord of the Tunnels in; half the guard was talking about it.¡±

    ¡°So why not expose me as a liar? I could be a danger to your family. I don¡¯t get why you would be so friendly to me then.¡±

    ¡°Because in a port city, you see many strange things enter and leave. You ate in the cantina of the guard, so I already knew my superiors trusted you. You can¡¯t be that bad.¡± He put his hand on her shoulder. ¡°But most importantly, because in this world, even in this city, no one will look out for you as much as your own kin. You can¡¯t survive alone, you need friends, and we are the few remaining in this part of the world, as far as I know, and if we don¡¯t look after each other and stick together, the humans will just trample all over us without any regard to position, rank or anything else.¡±

    It hit home for Nannade. ¡°I understand. I guess I¡¯m just fine with being exceptional.¡±

    ¡°You don¡¯t have to.¡± Again, Camillo smiled that smile of his that seemed old and worn in for him.

    ¡°But I do.¡±

    ¡°You can¡¯t hide from everybody.¡±

    ¡°I know. Thank you so much. For everything. Your family is lovely, and you should hold on to them as dearly as possible.¡±

    Camillo nodded and went to bed.

    Nannade had been given a large sack of straw and few Blankets to sleep in the living room for the night.

    She lay awake for a while and imagined what it was like, not being the subject of anatomical study for someone else as she grew up. Not being that exceptional. Growing up with others of her kind. She always accepted to be the only one of her kind for miles and miles around. It never occurred to her that there were people like her, and now that she was aware of it, she had that frightening thing attached to her everywhere she went. And they could tell.

    Just before sleep could take her, she was awoken by something. She sat upright before realizing what it had been. Was it a scream of pain? She could no longer tell. Sleep eventually took her for good, but something was waiting for her there.

 Dispute & Duplexity Epilogue

    Nannade was awoken by Camillo¡¯s family the next morning. She had slept uneasy but softly. Her clothes were clean and quickly dried with a bit of flux invested and she took part in the family¡¯s breakfast. It was during breakfast that Aaka spoke up. She informed Nannade that her next destination would be Northbridge.

    ¡°NORTHBRIDGE?¡± Nannade could not hold back her surprise. It was a mix between shock and jubilation. The entire family gathered at the table made a sudden jump and looked at her puzzled. Nannade noticed and quickly explained. ¡°I¡¯ve been informed via mystic means that my next destination will be Northbridge.¡±

    Camillo Sr. raised a surprised eyebrow. ¡°That¡¯s a far way from here.¡±

    ¡°I feared as much. And I can¡¯t afford the fare for a ship travel there. Guess I¡¯ll walk again.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯d walk a thousand miles.¡±

    ¡°I made it through tougher terrain than the coastal road.¡±

    Camillo shook his head. ¡°That must be one damn worthy test you¡¯re taking.¡±

    Nannade just nodded silently.

    ¡°I can¡¯t give you much. But I¡¯ll give you something for the road.¡±

    She took his gift, a pot of dried and salted herring, and Martina gave her some day-old bread that should last her a while. With that she set out from the family¡¯s home towards the eastern city gate.

    She came by many stands. How she would have loved to remain a little while and browse the wares. When Don Telliduso ¨C mistakenly ¨C mentioned object-bound spirits,it had given her an idea, but putting it into action would cost her. She hadn¡¯t had any real opportunity in Kalonitz and now she had no coin.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

    Thinking of Kalonitz reminded her of something. She quickly took off her backpack and searched through it. Even Aaka was intrigued enough by that to ask a question.

    ¡°What is it, did you forget something?¡±

    ¡°Of course. I just remembered I got these in Kalonitz.¡± Nannade pulled forth four ermine pelts. ¡°They will fetch me a fine price!¡±

    She managed to get quite a bit of communion silver for them from a fur merchant. They were not of the highest quality, but they were worth something. She managed to get herself a few rations with the returns. She¡¯d still have to hunt and barter with dried meat along the way. Or find other ways to get along. but she¡¯d get by.

    The road ahead of her would take her to Southbridge. From there, maybe she could take the salt river to Northbridge. Seeing either of those within her lifetime would have been a dream come true, but now she¡¯d get to see all three. She had no time to waste with dreaming of the destination when she had so much walking to do. The greatest cities of their time were waiting for her. Soon she¡¯d see the wonders of magical application, the testament that civilisations could create monuments to immortality without the use of slaves, empires or nobles.

    She might have the longest way of her journey ahead, but for the first time since being banished from Sturreland, she had the feeling that the furthest reaches of the world were just a few steps away. She had come this far. How much could a thousand miles more be?

 Future & Fertility Prologue

The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

 Future & Fertility I

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 Future & Fertility II

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

 Future & Fertility III

    ¡°I am sorry, uncle Muhtessem.¡± the boy brought forth ¡°but don¡¯t set out alone. I¡¯ll be healthy in no time, then we can rush down the cleft together again.¡± He had to cough several times. His mother was wiping his forehead with a wet cloth.

    Atabey was a good boy and Muhtessem was glad to have him at his side, but he was na?ve if he thought that he would just sit idly by and let sickness take his only nephew.

    ¡°I promise, I¡¯ll help you.¡± Muhtessem said. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make it just fine.¡±

    He left the house of his sister Vahide and was back out in the open air. He lived inside the fifth wall of Southbridge; the houses here still had some space between them but it was close enough to the port. His own house was closer to the waterline, so he could still see his boat from his door.

    He rubbed his belly, gotten larger in his recent years, and decided to go down to the port, look for sailors who¡¯d rush the cleft with him. It was a difficult job, one needed to be aware of all the dangers that lurked below and above, as well as from all sides at once. He neither was nor had a soothsinger who could assuage the raging powers still active within the cleft itself. Only the big shipping houses could afford them and they took the important cargo. He could merely hope to outrun the heavy vessels to deliver faster, many of his colleagues lost boat or even life trying to do so.

    He arrived at the Sturdy Mast, his favourite dive at the docks, close to the bridge itself. It lay close to the outer docks, so that the sorry lads that were already broke on payday could find their way quickly. Minnie was already out, trying to attract some patrons to her chamber when he passed her by. ¡°Morning Tessem¡± she greeted him, still trying her best, ¡°Morning, Minnie¡± he greeted back and went through the door to the bar.

    The usual scent of damp wood, stale smoke and cheap alcohol greeted him. He took place at the bar and ordered something light for a start. The day had barely begun and he needed to find someone willing to rush down the cleft with him on a small ship with a crew of two for almost no pay-out at all.In other words, an idiot. While most people here fit the bill, not all of them were also desperate or bright-eyed enough to accept the deal.

    He had barely started to look around the room for some suckers when his old friend Marceus approached him.

    ¡°Well, Tessem, is your boy still sick?¡± he opened with an expectant smile.

    ¡°Yes, why do you ask?¡±

    His smile turned into a grin. ¡°So you are still looking for someone to run the cleft with you?¡±

    Tessem did not know where this was going. ¡°Yes, what are you trying to get at?¡±

    Now Marc was actually chuckling. ¡°Well you see, there¡¯s this crolachan who came in here yesterday evening, after you had left and asked whether someone could ¡°give her a lift up the salt river for free¡± and everyone just laughed her off. She also said she had no experience in sailing. Torry told me, she¡¯s been going around SEVERAL bars at the docks and harbour, yesterday and today too.¡±

    ¡°And you¡¯re telling me why?¡±

    Marc laughed. ¡°Because I want to see who¡¯s more desperate.¡± He couldn¡¯t stop his laughter anymore.

    Tessem turned back around and eyed his drink. It was just a few moments later that the door opened and in came someone. Right now, Tessem did not really care much right now, but Marc was already at his side, grabbed his head and turned it towards the door. ¡°That¡¯s her, mate. I was JUST talking about her!¡±

    In front of the door stood a crolachan girl, probably a bit younger than Atabey, in a green felt cloak and traveller¡¯s clothes, with a big backpack on and a look as if she was looking for sinner at church. She had a weird aura, strong and self-assured to the point of pitiful. Tessem decided to go talk to her.

    ¡°You the one looking for passage north?¡± He asked her.

    She looked at him with eyes the colour of the freshest green in the forest. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m Nannade. Are you a crack dasher?¡±

    He had to chortle a bit. ¡°I¡¯m Muhtessem and yes, I¡¯m a cleft rusher, yes. I transport wares up the salt river to Northbridge.¡±

    ¡°And you need another sailor?¡± Her voice was almost hopeful.

    Tessem nodded. ¡°My current sailor is not available, so I need someone to work the night shifts.¡±

    The crolachan raised an eyebrow. ¡°Night shifts?¡±

    ¡°You know what, let¡¯s go down to my boat and I¡¯ll explain it to you.¡±

    They left the bar after Tessem had paid his drink and went down to the dock where his boat, the ¡°Flitting Fiona¡± lay. As the crolachan came closer, she giggled. Did she make fun of his boat? She might be no glorious schooner, but she was his.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    ¡°What is it, did you think I would have some grand vessel staffed with dozens of sailors?¡±

    She waved his remark. ¡°No, I just have a friend called Fiona and I found it funny.¡±

    ¡°Oh.¡± He felt bad for sarcastically snapping at her like that.

    She took a hard look at the one-masted catamaran. Fiona was fifteen feet wide and twenty-two feet long. The majority of the space was taken up for cargo, which would normally be loaded onto palettes and then tied down with a strong tarp and ropes. There was a small but long shed at the stern, it housed storage for tools, personal items as well as a single bunk. One person always needed to man the ship anyway. Once or twice he had taken his Narinsa out towards the rocks off the mouth of the salt river, anchored the vessel and enjoyed the full moon and the ocean waves, while lying in the bunk, tightly squeezed together. But those days were long gone and so was she.

    ¡°So there¡¯s only two people, huh?¡± The crolachan asked him and pulled him back to the present day.

    ¡°Er, yes. Just me and you.¡±

    The crolachan gave him a queer glare.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I am a man of honour, ask anyone in all the bars both east and west.¡±

    ¡°So, what do I do?¡±

    This was the part he was afraid of. ¡°You really have no experience in manning a boat?¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°I heard my kind is gladly seen on ships.¡±

    ¡°Well, yes, on large ships where high masts must be climbed and held on to in the most violent of storms. But my ship needs little climbing, as you can see.¡±

    ¡°Oh. I didn¡¯t know it was because of that.¡±

    ¡°Do you not have a brother or a cousin at least who works on a boat? Anyone who could have told you about what it¡¯s like?¡±

    Again, she shook her head. ¡°I grew up...¡± she hesitated. ¡°...in Sturreland, in the heart of the forest. I can climb and I have no problem with balance, but I¡¯ve never been on a boat. Oh, except down and up the rivers, as a passenger.¡±

    That really did not add up to much in Tessem''s book. ¡°Well, we came all the way down here, let me see what you can do at least.¡±

    <hr>

    ¡°Yes, now grab the stay. No, not that!¡± It was not even half an hour later, she was clinging to the mast and Tessem was trying to instruct her standing on the shore on some simple tasks. ¡°The other sail, towards the bow!¡±

    She gave him a confused look. ¡°Which one¡¯s the bow again? Left or right?¡±

    He gave up.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry girl, training you would take about twice as long as hiring a proper sailor and making two runs instead of one.¡±

    She hung her head and ears low and gave him a sorry look. She got down from the boat and walked to him. ¡°Is it that bad?¡±

    ¡°Well, you must see, the cleft is incredibly dangerous, and sailors have two options: taking a small but fast vessel like mine and run the risk of falling to the dangers of the cleft or get hired on a larger but slower ship that transports much more cargo and have their own shipmage or soothsinger to protect them from dangers.¡±

    He ears suddenly flipped straight to the horizontal. ¡°Did you say soothsinger?¡±

    ¡°Yes, but those are really rare!¡±

    The crolachan leaned in closer. ¡°Are they like shamans?¡±

    ¡°Yes, why do you ask?¡±

    The girl had a sneaky look to her as she stepped even closer and almost whispered.

    ¡°I¡¯m a witch in training.¡±

    Tessem had to laugh out loud. ¡°Girl, you amuse me. You must be really desperate to save that little coin with a trick such as this.¡± He had seen her hand, there was no seal there. He wanted to pat her head, but when he looked down to her,she had something in her look, something... unnerving. She was angry and disappointed, but also planning. With her hand she reached for a pouch on her left hip, out she drew a piece of paper, held it in front of her chest, holding her cloak above it to shield it from all sight but his, and snapped her fingers.

    The paper went up in a puff of fire, and in its stead, she held a sphere of light, which she gently tossed up and caught a few times, then she lobbed it towards Tessem. He caught it instinctively. It seemed to be hard, but completely weightless. With another snap of her fingers, the sphere disappeared.

    The crolachan looked back at him. ¡°I can also talk to spirits. If you tell anyone in this city, I will make sure it will be the last thing you say, understand?¡±

    He only now realized his mouth still stood agape. He closed his mouth and nodded slowly. A gifted one to simply walk around in dirty sailors¡¯ dives was unheard of.

    ¡°I don¡¯t have a seal or license, I am on this journey to earn them, but I need to get to Northbridge to continue. If you take me with you, I¡¯ll sing as much sooth as you want, no need to give me any share.¡±

    He realized what opportunities had suddenly opened. ¡°But you¡¯ll leave in Northbridge?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°And you need to hide it from the authorities?¡±

    ¡°Technically no, but also yes. Getting found out would mean no consequences for the long run but I¡¯d be an inconvenience to explain and prove my circumstances to them.¡±

    ¡°Well then. Let¡¯s assume you talk to the spirits and get me safely to the other side; I¡¯d be stuck there unless I want to take five days and much more risk on the way back.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t help you with that.¡±

    He thought for a while. Half a fast job was still better than no job at all.

    ¡°Alright, but only if you can get at least the simplest tasks of how to handle Fiona right by the end of the day.¡±

    A gleam appeared in her eyes ¡°I¡¯ll do my best!¡±

    Tessem couldn¡¯t help but notice that the mood had just suddenly shifted completely to the other side. The threatening crolachan had turned into a cheerful kitten. He¡¯d make sure to instruct her as best as he could, teacher her the rest as they went along tomorrow.

 Future & Fertility IV

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

 Future & Fertility V

    When Nannade was awoken again, they were already anchored on the stone walls and the narrow band of sky above them was already getting brighter. The cliffs here had to be well over two thousand feet high. Tessem had told Nannade that the highest point would be more than three thousand feet. From that up high, any stone dropped could smash her skull right in. Occasionally, she could see bridges cross the cleft, but none of them were cities, just normal, ordinary bridges.

    They didn¡¯t have to wait long for the rising tide to return.Nannade found another wisp to follow them along. She just hummed and recited a short poem and it willingly took the offering. Her voice thanked her.

    ¡°We''ll arrive midpoint bay today.¡± Tessem said while she was on the rudder again. ¡°It¡¯s not exactly in the middle, but close. It¡¯s also where the biggest river plunges into the cleft, the Kanshega. The land sculptors of the time after the Sundering dug out a large area to make the cleft passable. The river¡¯s huge waterfall would have smashed any and all boats trying to cross underneath.¡±

    Tessem''s lessons on the history and nature of the cleft were quite interesting to Nannade. From her books, Nannade wasn¡¯t able to learn much, and she was sure even more things were not written down anywhere at all. This was the life authors of many books should lead, instead of spending all their time in universities.

    She wanted to know more. ¡°So, is there some kind of town there?¡±

    ¡°Oh yes. Meiaddos is an important town for the inland trade. They also have huge elevators to transport wares and people up and down the cliff and rumour has it, that some architects want to build an elevator for boats there, so the boats from the river can pass down here.¡±

    Another wonder of the world that Nannade wanted to witness, once it¡¯s done, of course.

    ¡°And what will we do there?¡±

    ¡°Not much except wait for the receding tide. We can pick up some more crabs there maybe. I think we¡¯re already halfway through this barrel here.¡±

    The sun rose close to its apex and suddenly, the narrow cleft opened up to the left. Nannade could see the over two thousand feet high cliffs rising to the skies vertically, behind a layer of haze. Somehow, seeing them from afar was even more awe-inspiring that seeing them directly above her. They towered like the walls of the world themselves, and from up on high to her left, a river plunged into the bay, fraying out into a new-born cloud before it even hit the water¡¯s surface.

    ¡°That¡¯ the river Kanshega, it used to flow into a vast lake here, over fifty miles from shore to shore they say.¡± Tessem explained her. ¡°But the great cleft runs straight through it, so it drained into the salt river below. The city at its coast remained and became the top part of the city of Meiaddos. The bottom part is over there, next to the northern exit.¡±

    And there it was, carved and sculpted into the cliff face like a gallery well above the waterline, crowds moving about their daily businesses as on any other street in any other city. A series of long ramps was also carved into the cliff face, lined with pillars to hold up the ceiling. Below the town was a large area of floating docks with plenty of boats already docked.

    ¡°We rushers call this the Lung, because this is where the flow of tide and wind reverses, it¡¯s where the breath is taken in and brought back out from.¡±

    They steered towards the piers and stocked up on crabs, food and water.

    ¡°From now on, we¡¯ll sail with the receding tide, but the same rules still apply.¡± Tessem informed her. ¡°If we keep on being lucky, we¡¯ll arrive by evening of the day after tomorrow, but for now we''ll have to wait for the tide to stop rising. Come, I''ll show you a nice place to grease your pretty voice.¡±

    They climbed up the wooden ramps to the town in the rocks. All the stone inside was truly sculpted into elegant buildings, even a road smooth enough to forego wheels and instead pull cargo on sleds. Tessem lead Nannade to a small tavern with a sweet aroma filling the air. Incense and spices were things coming through here in great volumes every day.

    Tessem paid her a cup of sweet and fragrant wine and they sat down on a table in a cozy corner.

    She finally opened with something she had wanted to tell him for a long time now. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I threatened you that day.¡±

    ¡°When was that?¡±

    ¡°When I said that you shouldn¡¯t tell anyone that I¡¯m a magic user without seal.¡±

    ¡°Oh that. I forgot about that.¡± He chuckled. ¡°If I held a grudge against everyone who threatens me... believe me, I¡¯ve been mugged plenty of times. Especially in this town.¡±

    ¡°Still. It was kind of a jerk thing to do.¡±

    ¡°I can see where you¡¯re coming from, believe me.¡±

    Nannade didn¡¯t like his ¡°believe me¡±. ¡°I doubt you do.¡±

    He sat upright, then leaned far across the table and looker her in the eyes. ¡°You come from a place where you needed to scratch and fight to survive, where nobody loved you and everybody was an opponent. Then you got picked up by some witch or something and they taught you.¡±

    Nannade smiled. ¡°You are close. I was raised by someone like you described. At least for the last six years. Before that, I was simply a slave. Chained to a wall or made to clean and wait tables. No fighting. I didn¡¯t have the strength. I kept my fight inside of me. In the darkness.¡±

    Tessem leaned back in his chair. ¡°Oh. I guess I should apologize.¡±

    ¡°Let¡¯s call it even.¡±

    He put down his empty cup. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s go back to Fiona. We have to get ourselves flushed out.¡±

    They arrived back at Fiona to find many other boats already hustling in front of both entrances to the cleft. There was no slow narrowing of the cleft here as there was on the coast, they would have to take care not to get crammed in and pushed against the stone face.

    The Flitting Fiona was in position. Tessem once again took the rudder while Nannade was looking for a friendly spirit, but could not find one yet.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    The tide receded and the boats started to get sucked through the cleft. A few unlucky ones were turned around and had to navigate backwards, Fiona was spared such a mishap. They were back on their way and soon found themselves overtaking many others. Fiona truly was a rusher''s boat.

    The rage below the water sent its sparks upwards and so, Nannade began to sing again. Soon she found a friendly seagull spirit eager to accept her offerings and accompany them, soaring on the stiff breeze it brought. Soon the ships thinned out and they were again almost alone as far as she could see.

    It wasn¡¯t long until Nannade saw something odd in the distance. It looked like a wedge-shaped boulder was stuck in the near the top of the cliff.

    Tessem noticed her confusion. ¡°That happened around four months ago. A large part of the upper cliff simply broke off and got stuck in the cleft. The land-sculptors are still in the process of securing it. It took the damn cities along the river three whole months to decide who¡¯s gonna pay how much.¡±

    ¡°It looks distressing.¡±

    ¡°Aye, it is. In the first dozen of days, falling rocks sank many boats. They still do to from time to time.¡±

    ¡°So, should we watch out?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Tell your friend to watch out for it.¡±

    ¡°Aye, will do!¡± Nannade relayed a plea to the gull to warn them and it screeched an agreeing tone. Nannade gave a thumbs up to Tessem.

    They were about four to five miles away from the wedge, when Nannade heard the gull¡¯s distressed screams. She looked to the wedge-shaped rock and saw something happen. It looked as if a piece broke off and fell down the cleft.

    Tessem had seen it too. ¡°Shit¡± he brought forth just before the rock hit the water¡¯s surface. A fountain of water and mist shot upwards several hundred feet and a short while later, the thunder of the splash blew past them.

    Tessem seemed optimistic. ¡°At least it sank in and didn¡¯t get stuck beneath the water.¡±

    But the large piece was not the last. More and more rocks broke off and rained down from the wedge, which now seemed to slowly move itself.

    Tessem¡¯s optimism had vanished. ¡°Please don''t let it be today, please not today. You can fall any other cursed day but not this one. Witch girl, you can do something, can¡¯t you?¡±

    Dozens of formulas and constructions had been whizzing through Nannade¡¯s head since before he asked her that. She could protect this boat, all she needed was a proper spell. Physical deflection was easy, if she adjusted size and shape, she could make it a pyramid that closed all the way above the mast. At this speed she had a few minutes time, maybe less. The deck itself also posed a challenge, it had no free central space, since that¡¯s where the cargo was, so Nannade would have to work within the margins, which complicated things further. She saw the larger free area at the bow in front of the cargo. If she constructed the majority there, the stern would be less protected, but considering their speed, a wake of deflection might just be enough. And then there was the issue of the writing itself. She only had crayons and ink, neither of which would be sufficient to write a spell large enough for the entire boat. If she had infused chalk...

    An idea shot into her mind. She went to the shed and started rummaging around. ¡°I need that damn pot.¡± She said impatiently.

    She found what she had been looking for, the small earthenware pot that Camillo had given her. The salted fish was gone since long ago, but a lot of salt still lined the walls. She scooped up water from the river and then used her crayon to draw an old and familiar spell on the pottery. She put on her ring and snapped her fingers; the water started to boil away instantly. Kneeling ad the side of the boat, pot clamped between her knees, she kept adding more seawater with her hands, until the entire pot was filled with thick, boiling brine.

    During the entire process, she looked up again and again to see the crumbling and falling stone get closer. Tessem¡¯s face showed both worry about the falling rocks and wonderment about the ceaselessly steaming pot.

    Finally, all the water had boiled away and the pot had accumulated a thick layer of dry and solid salt at the bottom. Nannade slammed the pot on the ground, shattering it to get large chunks of salt between the shards.

    She picked one up and started writing. Salt did not contain much natural flux, only rock salt was strong enough to work properly as fuel, since it had absorbed the elemental force of both ocean and rock, but all salt was conductive, like all substances and materials containing flux, that was enough. She could draw flux from elsewhere.

    She needed to concentrate on her calculations, formulas and notations, as she crawled over the deck and wrote on the damp wood, rubbing off just enough salt that it might work. The glyphs weren¡¯t perfect and the geometries weren¡¯t exact, but they would have to suffice.

    More and more thundering splashes reminded Nannade that the falling rock came closer. She was just done drawing the last line around the deck. Now she needed flux. She put on her ring, went to the barrel and took out four crabs. Then she pinned them to the deck with her knives and dagger, their blood poured from their carapaces onto the salt lines. Finally, she slammed her left hand on the lines as well. ¡°CLOSE YOUR EYES!¡± she yelled to Tessem, then she snapped her fingers.

    A flash of steam rose from the lines of brine and engulfed them for a scalding moment, and when they dared open their eyes again, Fiona was pushing a fluttering wake of mist. Shortly afterwards, the first rock came directly from above, pushing the boat into the water before recoiling off the shield with a hissing pop.

    They were almost directly under the wedge and still going strong. Nannade kept her hand pressed onto the floorboards. She could see the level in her flask drop rapidly, but she had enough as far as she could see. A more experienced mage with more time would have been able to construct a more efficient spell. She could just hope to be good enough.

    Several more rocks hit the shield and glanced off. They were coming out from directly under the wedge when Tessem looked up and let out a loud ¡°SHIIIIIIIIT!¡±. Nannade looked up and had to swallow. A huge chunk was plummeting downwards, and they would be where it would hit. Tessem tried to steer the boat out of the way, but it was too late.

    The rock it them at full force. The right part of the bow was pushed under water, then the rock slid off the wake-shield. Nannade was hit by the rushing wave flowing over the deck and pushed her on all fours. As the boat rose back up through the water, the backflow sucked Nannade along, off the deck and into the waters of the salt river. Her world was tumbling and she could hear Tessem call her name, but the darkness of the water already surrounded her.

    Fiona rushed her by quickly and was gone before she breached the water¡¯s surface. She gasped for air and struggled against her own weight. Panicked and splashing, she regretted never learning to swim. Saltwater stung her eyes and blurred her vision, she had problems to breathe, the current dragged her along, her arms grasped for something solid, anything solid. Gulls screamed above her, the rock just a few feet away was as unreachable as the sky¡¯s distant blue band above her.

 Future & Fertility VI

<hr>

    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

 Future & Fertility VII

    The next day greeted Nannade sickly. Or better said, she felt sick. She had to run outside before even putting on her clothes. In her undergarments, she leaned over the railing. Only after she had lifted her head back above her shoulders, did she notice the leering looks of salacious seamen.

    She had quickly returned to her berth to get dressed. When she got back outside, whistles and cheers celebrated her return to the light of day. Some laughs were had and she accepted her mishap. A crolachan man came up to her and put his arm around her shoulders. He could have easily been twice as old as her. His stinking mouth blew obnoxious words her way and she feared lice and other parasites might jump from his arm into her fur any moment now.

    ¡°Girl, are you going to grace us with your morning ritual every day? I dearly hope so;we don¡¯t get such a sight to behold at sea.¡±

    She carefully removed his arm from her shoulders and went onto the stern deck. She found Alivor and the captain, discussing the course of actions.

    ¡°What am I supposed to do? Can I help somehow?¡±

    Alivor turned to her. ¡°Just find a place where you¡¯re out of the way and do not interfere. The crew is highly trained and needs to go about their duty without interruptions or distractions.¡± He said that last word with a stern tone. Apparently, he had seen what had happened earlier.

    ¡°Can¡¯t I help out in any non-distracting way? I want to be of use.¡±

    ¡°Since you¡¯re not a trained sailor, I highly doubt you¡¯d be of adequate use, this is not training voyage, this is a real mission!¡±

    The captain put his hand on the professor¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Actually, if she is a witch, she can sing a tune to the wind once we set sail. Fair weathers are always welcome.¡±

    Nannade looked to the professor. He shrugged. ¡°I guess you can do that once we set sail.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll get to seeking some contact to the spirits as soon as possible.¡±

    Nannade turned around and looked at the vessel, how sailors were hurrying along to fulfil their duties and stow the last bits of cargo. Then she looked up the two masts. Against the vista of the sky and the bridge above them, she saw them sway from left to right, not unlike the trees in the forest on a windy day.

    She knew where she could find some quiet and got to climbing up on one of the masts to be further away from the people below and closer to the winds. The mast had wrappings of rough rope that offered perfect hold for her claws, making her climb much faster than over the rigging for the non-crolachan crew members. She sat down on a horizontal yard and started to listen to the songs of wind and sea.

    She felt its tune and hummed along. It blew from the salt river, the breath of the day. The land itself was breathing at this hotspot of wild energies. She could feel the uplifting winds carrying her to further shores, she could feel the fire river taking her along further north. But that was not where she needed the winds to blow. East, that¡¯s where their voyage would take them.

    She felt many a sprite and spirit blown out of the salt river and over the ocean. They beckoned Nannade to come with them. ¡°Soon¡± she thought. ¡°But not today.¡± And she sang them farewell songs.

    She was deep in her trance when she suddenly heard someone creep up to her. She opened her eyes and saw to her terror, that a smiling face had come up to her. It was a crolachan man, but not that stinking slob from earlier. A bit more hygienic and a bit less old. He held on to the mast just below her, having her hips at eye-level.

    ¡°What¡¯s that tune ye¡¯re singing?¡±

    Nannade inched a bit away and turned her butt out of his sight. ¡°It¡¯s not for you. It¡¯s for the spirits.¡±

    ¡°Oh, ye''re a shaman then?¡±

    ¡°Yes. Captain Christopherus told me I should summon some favourable winds when we set out. I¡¯m just getting acquainted for now.¡±

    He seemed to be not very intrested in what she had said. ¡°I¡¯m Gregorus, but you can just call me Gregg! What¡¯s your name?¡±

    ¡°Well, Gregorus, my name is Nannade, and before you ask where it¡¯s from, I don¡¯t know.¡±

    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s a fine name.¡± He widened his smile. ¡°And can I ask where ye¡¯re from? Never seen one like ya.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m from Sturreland, and you¡¯ll never see one like me again!¡±

    ¡°Aye, I''ll believe that! But don¡¯t worry, I still think you¡¯re beautiful!¡± He gave her a cheeky wink.

    Nannade raised an eyebrow, somehow she couldn¡¯t shake the feeling he was poking fun at her. ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°Ya know, because...¡± he gesticulated up and down her body. ¡°...ya know!¡±

    She leaned closer to him. ¡°WHAT?¡±

    ¡°Because... Ye¡¯re so... lanky and sinewy. But don¡¯t worry, put on a pretty dress and ya''ll look just adorable!¡±

    She decided it was enough and put her boot gently on his face. ¡°I think YA should get down and leave me be before YAfall.¡±

    ¡°MISS NANNADE!¡± Captain Christopherus'' voice startled her nearly enough to lose balance. ¡°Get down from there now and leave my men alone!¡±

    She looked down to the captain standing at the bottom of the mast. ¡°He¡¯s a total creep and it needs to stop!¡±

    If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.¡°Get down. From there. To here. Now!¡± he pointed to the ground in front of him.

    She took her boot from Gregorus'' face and started her descend.

    ¡°Bye Nannade.¡±

    She had problems keeping her shoulders up after she arrived in front of the captain. ¡°I was just getting in tune with the spi-¡°

    ¡°I don¡¯t care, Miss Nannade! While you¡¯re on my ship, you¡¯ll ask me for permission for such things. You¡¯ll make sure that you do not get in the way of my crew¡¯s important duties. That means you¡¯ll stay out of their workplace, you¡¯ll not respond to their advances, it only encourages them, and you¡¯ll keep yourself properly covered up outside of your berth, do you understand?!¡±

    Nannade sighed and then inhaled deeply. ¡°Yes, Captain.¡±

    ¡°Well then. If you want to remain undisturbed either sit in your berth or on the stern deck.¡±

    She ended up sitting on the stern deck¡¯s floor, leaned against the railing, and worked on her project. Her mood was too downed to properly attune to the spirits now anyway.Her project took on shape, but she still got a lot of embroidery to do until it could finally be called finished. All the important runes had been stitched with sinew, all that remained was covering the cloth in patterns, stitched with thread twisted from her own hair.

    Around late noon, she noticed a group of people boarding the ship. Six men, all wearing some odd mix between a short robe and a gambeson, in the colours of Northbridge university. She assumed them to be the university¡¯s mages trained for battle. The last in the line was the young man that had welcomed Nannade the day before. She stood up to observe them go below deck, each with a seabag in one hand, their staff in the other.

    They had apparently settled in below deck, but a few came back up. The young man, by far the youngest of the group with merely one metal ring on his staff, was among them. He noticed Nannade and waved with a friendly smile. He came up to the stern deck.

    ¡°I had the feeling I¡¯d see you again, Miss Nannade.¡± He said with a friendly smile. He seemed much less distant and cold than in the faculty building. ¡°I guess it would be best to exchange names, we might have to work together, I am Olybrius.¡±

    Nannade didn¡¯t quite know what to do. She got up and shook his hand. ¡°Well then,¡­ is it Mister Olybrius then?¡±

    ¡°Oh no.¡± He chuckled. ¡°Magister! But please, let¡¯s just agree to drop these honorifics.¡±

    Nannade felt weird and awkward, she had to readjust her pose. ¡°I am sorry, but is this not proper tone?¡±

    ¡°Oh, in front of professor Alivor certainly, but I don¡¯t insist so much on it for myself. People just call me Olybrius anyway.¡±

    ¡°I suppose people call me Nannade anyway. But...¡± She looked around for the captain. ¡°Captain Christopherus has told me to not... get in his crew¡¯s way anymore.¡±

    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s alright, we¡¯re not part of the ship¡¯s crew. There is a board-mage here, but we¡¯re under the command of colonel Alivor.¡±

    Nannade did not see herself learning all of this anytime soon. ¡°Colonel? Not his spectability or professor?¡±

    Olybrius laughed. ¡°Oh no. I think I did it now! Just call him professor. I am sure you are under no obligation. "his spectability¡± is for when he¡¯s acting as dean of the faculty of evocation. But this is a mission, so he is either addressed by his rank in the university¡¯s armed forces or just professor. You can¡¯t go wrong with that last one.¡±

    Nannade sighed. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I can jump through all these hoops in time.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ll manage. So, what will you do?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll be attached to the Ordo Militaris¡¯ scouts and make sure the streams of twisted life force don¡¯t mess anything up. Or demons. I have almost no previous information on this undertaking, I have no idea if I¡¯m to the job.¡±

    He put his hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s my first deployment, too.¡± She just now noticed his eyes, a smooth reddish brown, like finest clay. ¡°I barely graduated and was lucky to be allowed to serve under professor Alivor, I am nervous as well.¡±

    ¡°Is that why you work as his... umm, I don¡¯t know what it was you did yesterday.¡±

    ¡°Secretary? No, I¡¯ve been doing that since before I graduated. I guess it¡¯s the other way around. Because I am his secretary, I managed to land a place here so early.¡±

    ¡°Well I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll do well enough.¡± She tried to smile without it coming off as nervous.

    Just then she noticed something on his hip, like a palm book, but much larger and tightly shut in wooden boards with metal inlays and a strong clasp. ¡°What are those?¡± She asked, more than happy to change the topic.

    ¡°Oh, these are our printed spells.¡± He held the book up. The papers were held by several metal rings, not just one, and they were separated by index cards.

    ¡°I heard of printed spells, isn¡¯t it dangerous?¡±

    ¡°Oh, only during printing, but these days the printing facilities are properly shielded and warded. And these iron nets also act as a shield.¡± He pointed to the metal inlays in the wood. Then he opened it up and showed a plethora of printed spells with exact curvatures and geometries.

    ¡°How do you adapt them? It looks like there¡¯s no more space left for adjustments.¡±

    ¡°Oh, we¡¯re not allowed to make adjustments. We¡¯re soldiers that need to work in unison and harmony. Just casting freehand is dangerous. Only higher ranks and special agents are allowed to do that.¡±

    Nannade furrowed her brow. ¡°That seems artless and stiff.¡±

    ¡°Well... it¡¯s a job that lives depend on.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ll stick to my palm book.¡± She flipped hers open and when he saw what was inside, Olybrius furrowed his brow.

    ¡°Those constructions are all over the place. You surely have been taught by a free spirit.¡± And amusement flashed over his face.

    ¡°Well, yes. There are no professors for miles in the forests of Sturreland.¡±

    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll see some wild things from you then, young witch.¡± He waved a short goodbye and got back to his comrades. Nannade waved back. She was glad to have someone who looked her in the eye from a common level, instead of down on her or ogling her lecherously.

    Then, finally at evening, just before supper was served, the last member arrived, a tall blonde woman named Ionna, scout lieutenant of the Ordo Militaris. Ser Andronicus introduced her and Nannade formally. They would have to work together in the field once they reached Stakkarun. Departure was set for the next morning¡¯s tide.

    As Nannade looked out the harbour from the bow deck, she felt its beckoning winds bolster her up. She would have to deal with an entire land¡¯s twisted life force. It was fitting that this would be her last test. Just thinking ¡°last test¡± made the scents of home rise up in her memory. The wet forest soil, the rosiny pine trees, the water mint at the fresh pool. Then the salty winds called her back.

 Future & Fertility VIII

    Salty breeze. Screaming gulls. Breaking waves.

    Nannadestood on the bow of theVigilantiaand looked to the distance. Aftersixdays of voyage, they finally arrived in the vicinity ofStakkarun. The ocean betweenAckaromandBotrelandtwas windy and temperate, occasionally blowing icy air to the shoes of northernAckarom. They had weathered the sea quite well, not just because ofNannade''sspiritual aid. She was unfamiliar with the needs and dangers of sailing, but she had brought then a constant breeze, which was enough for such a short voyage.

    The island rose quickly, its central mountainmassdisappearing in the haze and clouds and leaving little level land on the shore. The weather looked especially grey, even for autumn.

    The ship was navigated into a small bay, shielded by rocky cliffs from both weather and sight. It seemed empty and wild, but as they got closer, they penetrated an illusion spell and a tent camp was revealed, standing amidst a small assortment of huts and houses, some of them with scorch marks or even burned to the ground.

    They were welcomed by a tall, blonde man. He saluted to SeeAndronicusand showed them to the command tent. The stewarding lieutenants excused themselves as the team entered.

    AndronicusandIonnawere given updated reports by the tall blonde man, who looked an awfully lot likeIonna.They even wore similar equipment, that of a scout, although the man¡¯s brooch showed him to be of a much higher rank.

    Nannadehad been given instructions. She would be accompanying ¨C or how they had called it ¡°attached to¡± ¨C the scout squad commanded byIonna, to go ahead of all else. Shortly after them would come the vanguard, led into the field by ProfessorAlivor, and followed by the two standard squads, led bySerAndronicus. All in all, more than fifty men. The last squad, led bythe tall man, would stay at the bridgehead and keep the opportunity to retreat open.

    The man''s name was Silva us and he was thescoutsmasterof the OrdoMilitaris, and indeedIonna''syounger brother. He was rather approachable and quickly recognizedNannade¡¯sexpertise.He askedNannadeto see her equipment, and when he saw, he insisted she take on a spear from the armoury.

    ¡°We¡¯ll shorten shaft a bit for you.¡±Ionnasaid while handing her a spear in the armoury on the ship. Behind herNannadecould see a row of bows leaning in their stand.

    ¡°Oh, I think a bow would serve me well, too.¡±Nannadesaid. Itwereonlyflatbows, nothing like her recurve bow back at home, but it had been a while and she¡¯d even settle for a cumbersome longbow. She took and stringedone.Ionnawas impressedby her strength to easily string a bow made for male human soldiers.

    She held the bow and plucked the string, just a little.

    BWENG.

    She welcomed the sound. Like the first note to an old, familiar tune. She drew the string all the way back, right next to her ear. Its strain, like inhaling just before a mighty yell. She let it go.

    TFWAENG.

    This was the first beat to the melody.

    ¡°How I have missed this.¡±

    Ionnachortled. ¡°So melodramatic. You have experience with the bow?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯ve been training for five years now. Got my own bow when I was twelve. But never felled anyone with it. A bit of hunting, that¡¯s it.¡±

    ¡°Well we got an archery target outside of you¡¯re feeling rusty.¡±Ionnasaid with a wink.

    They went outside to a tree with a wooden plate hanging from ropes.

    ¡°A weak hit won¡¯tdo,the arrow needs to hit at full speed or the board will just swing out of the way.¡±

    ¡°I think it''ll do.¡±Nannadesaid andnockedher first arrow. She drew the string back, inhaled, held, felt the strength of the wood and sinew, let loose.

    The arrow cut through the air and with a loudTHWOCK, hit the target, making it swing back and forth. As it came to a standstill, both of them watched and saw; the arrow was cleanly in the centre.

    ¡°Not bad for a first shot, but let¡¯s try that again.¡±Ionnaaid.

    Nannadeagain nocked, drew back, inhaled, held, felt, let loose.

    THWOCK.

    Clean in the centre, barely half an inch from the first.

    Ionnanodded respectfully. ¡°Excellent for a second shot. How about a third?¡±

    Nannadedecided to up the stakes. ¡°How about a ninth?¡±Nannadeasked.

    Ionnadid not know what she was getting at, but she had already shouldered the bow and gotten to drawing in her palm-book. She still remembered the construction, but her hand drew a few ugly lines. Never mind, she could make it work.

    Made curious by the sounds, Silvanus had arrived as well, he saw what was going on.¡°Soyou¡¯re instructing the girl?And you¡¯re even making her take notes?!¡±

    ¡°Noyou idiot, she¡¯s drawing magic. She¡¯s a witch after all.¡±Ionnastepped closer to peek overNannade''sshoulder.

    ¡°Witch¡¯s apprentice, but close. This will be my last test.¡±Nannadecorrectedher.

    The spell was ready.

    She pricked the paper onto the claw of her left index, then she drew the bow. As the paper was in front of the arrow¡¯s tip, she snapped her fingers.

    The paper went up in flames and in its stead, a whirling golden ring appeared in the air. She adjusted her aim and let the arrow loose through the ring.

    THWTHWTHWOCK.

    Three arrows pelted the target. Four missed. Six arrows disappeared. One remained, less than an inch from the centre.

    Both siblings were still processing what just happened.

    ¡°DAMN! That was UGLY! I should havedrawnthat better.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t think anyone at the receiving end of this cares.¡±Ionnasaid while her brother was in awe.

    ButNannaderemained unfulfilled by her performance.

    She went to pick up the arrows and brought them back. She got a quiver to put on her hip.With a smile, she inspectedher new gear. Maybe she could keep this one. Her recurve bow back home might be better suited and of a higher make than this one, but she was a farwayfrom home.

    The day went on rather eventless.Nannadesat on a log and wrotedown as many spells for the upcomingmissionas possible. Spells toscryinto the distance, spells to conceal beneath twigs and leaves, spells to pelt her opponents with arrows numerous and strong, spells to heal grievous wounds quickly.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

    She had worn her crayon down to a nub again and looked for a replacement, whenOlybriuswalked by.

    ¡°Do you know if they have infused crayons for replacements?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I guess you can take my replacements, I''ll get new ones before tomorrow anyway.¡± He rummaged through his pouch and handed her two. ¡°What are you writing down?¡±

    He sat down next to her and looked at her palm-book.

    ¡°Oh, this is just something for stitching up a wound.¡±

    He seemed impressed. ¡°Life-transmutation is a tricky thing, and...¡± He hesitated and looked at her spell closer. He obviously had problems understanding the freeform structure. ¡°Andyou... Is that blood magic?¡± he finally brought forth and pointed to a certain part of her spell.

    Nannaderealized she might have revealed too much. ¡°Well, how else are you going to close a wound?¡±

    ¡°Haven¡¯t you learned in your Axiomata how dangerous that is?!¡± He gave her a concerned stare.

    ¡°I learned it under close tutelage by an experienced healer. I guess we do things different inSturreland.¡± Nervously she put on a smile and ducked her head in.

    ¡°Well, I hope you know what you¡¯re doing.¡±

    ¡°Can I ask, what¡¯s the Axiomata?¡±

    He furrowed his brow. ¡°Do they not have Axiomata inSturreland?¡±

    Nannadefelt as if she had said something wrong and noticed she hadducked her head in. ¡°I don''t know. I kind of grew up in a hut in the forest. I was trained and taught by two people.¡±

    Olybriusprocessed that for a moment. ¡°Soyou never went to school?¡±

    ¡°Well, once, to introduce me to the townsfolk. I know their schooling isn¡¯t as good as the city''s. It¡¯s only every other day.¡±

    ¡°That sounds like the free program by the universities. But if the parents can pay, they visit schoolbetween seven and nineteen years old.I guess you don¡¯t knowPrimum,SecundumandTertiumthen either?¡±

    ¡°Oh, I know that. I should be doing the last year of mySecundumright now, and my Tertium from seventeen to nineteen. But what¡¯s Axiomata?¡±

    ¡°Well you see, children that are to be taught in magic can begin their Axiomata when they start theirSecundum. There they are taught the basics of the natural laws concerning magic as well as the university''s laws that govern the use of magic. If they manage to do it, they get a token by the university, like a pendant, to cast magic as long as they¡¯re within the city. But only basic stuff, like lighting candles or cleaning clothes, you know.¡±

    ¡°Huh.¡±Nannadethought about the life of a city school child. She realized how odd her life was in relation to other children, even those with magic gifts.

    He shook his head. ¡°Now I know why you¡¯re so far ahead on some stuff.¡±

    ¡°I guess my teachers are very ¡°result-oriented¡± and don¡¯t waste much time on needless basics.¡±

    ¡°What is that supposed to mean?¡±

    ¡°They preferred very drastic methods to accelerate my learning after... I came from a sort of dark place and suffered from neglect and entered their care when I was nine.SoI had to catch up a lot.¡±

    He raised his eyebrows. ¡°You caught up well, I have to say.¡±

    ¡°Thanks, but I think it hasn¡¯t all been good. You see, how should I put it?For example, they gave me some brew to accelerate my growth and it might have kind of made me... more human, if you get what I mean.¡±

    He shook his head with furrowed brow.

    ¡°I am not typicalcrolachan. Humans usually can¡¯t tell, and I never met othercrolachansuntilIeftSturrelandthis year, so I never knew how different I was. One of thecrolachanmen on the ship called me ¡°lanky and sinewy¡± and...¡± She just now noticed what she had been rambling about. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t want to bother you with my insecure-girl talk.¡±

    He put his hand on her shoulder again, like he did on theVigilantia. ¡°Nannade, you are under no obligation to fit in with everyone. Especially since you¡¯re destined for something higher, you have a gift and to let yourself get held back by those that will never understand your worldwill only bring you pain. Don¡¯t look back.¡±

    She had to blink once or twice before she had truly understood what he had said. ¡°Thank you. I think I just want to not be seen as something broken anymore, as something that needs to be fixed.¡±

    ¡°I won¡¯t presume to know what broke you, but I know that people can¡¯t be ¡°fixed¡±. They can only heal, by themselves; and the best other people can do is be there for them. It doesn¡¯t sound like your teachers have your best interests in mind, but I hope you either have or find someone who can help you heal.¡±

    She put her hand on his to remove it from her shoulder, but for a moment, she stopped. It feltniceand warm. She had to detach from him andturn around for a while. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll get some stuff done and talk toIonna. See you.¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡± He sounded guilty for some reason.

    She just went toIonnato confirm their departure early the next morning, before everyone else. Then she sat in her tent, which she shared with the Professor and made a few more stitches to her project, hoping to clear her head. She noticed a certain gaze on her the entire time.

    ¡°What is it,Aaka?¡± She finally asked her observer, whose presence she tended to forget more and more recently.

    ¡°I hope you don¡¯t think that Purple Paw and Elissa mean you ill.¡±

    ¡°What are you, my confessor?¡±

    ¡°No, I just want to warn you that resentment can grow. I¡¯m not saying you shouldn¡¯t listen to that boy, but don¡¯t let yourself get driven by spite and defiance... again!¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I fully intent to return to Purple Paw and continue my training. I just want to be able to see it from someone else¡¯s perspective for once.¡±

    Aakadid not answer to that, but she was no longer in the jar whenNannadeleft the tent.

    Night fell and the platoon gathered around several campfires.Nannadesat next toOlybriusagain. She had noticed that she had started to see him more like a mature boy than a young man. The robe and his stiff posture had somehow made her believe he was beyond childish things and insecurities.

    Theyhad been eating side by side in relative silence whenOlybriusspoke up. ¡°Say, can I ask you what it is that you were stitching for so long on the ship?¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s a charm for a certain spirit, so I can bind it into it.¡± She told him. Not entirely wrong.

    ¡°Do spirits like being bound into objects?¡± he asked, with a cute boyish curiosity thatNannadeknew from somewhere.

    ¡°In the end we can¡¯t command spirits, only make contracts with them.Soit¡¯s up to the spirit whether it enters.¡±

    ¡°I heard that before, that mediums often have to trick daemons or they get tricked by them.¡±

    ¡°Yes, spirits are a dangerous lot. They offer you one thing and take everything else.¡±

    ¡°Is it that dangerous to deal with them?¡±

    She had to think how to describe it. ¡°You know that the arcane has its rules that need to be studied for years to apply on a basic level. But the mystic is as easy as speaking a single word, but that also means the wrong word can allow the other one, the spirit, to do as they see fit. A wish for a growing garden can easily lead to choking vines swallowing your entire house. The only way is speaking clearly, knowing all the words, and being aware of what entity you are dealing with.¡±

    Olybriussucked up her every word. ¡°Can you show me?¡±

    ¡°Show you what?¡±

    ¡°A spirit.¡±

    ¡°Eeer...¡± she really wanted to say yes. ¡°... Non-mediums cannot perceive them without a very longattunementguided and enforced by self-discipline. Followers of a faith study their religion for years in order to be able to perceive a tiny sliver of their god. Priests are those few that managed.¡±

    He seemeddobe not deterred. ¡°But can you show me what they can do?¡±

    Nannadehad to think for a moment. ¡°I guess I can look at the edge of the concealment spell for a spirit...¡±

    She looked around. She found an empty cup and carefully put a burning ember inside. Then she returned toOlybriusand beckoned him to follow her.

    At the edge of the concealment spell, behind some bushes and rocks, they sat down andNannadestarted to whisper runic words. It would be hard to find an elemental spirit in such a distant, unknown land, but sure enough, a sprite showed up, born from the warmth of the ember.

    ¡°I found one!¡± she said with a smile of success.

    ¡°A spirit, it is here?¡±

    ¡°No, a sprite.¡±

    ¡°What are those?¡±

    ¡°If spirits are minds without bodies, sprites are thoughts without minds. A seed from which a new spirit can form.¡±

    ¡°And can it do something for us?¡±

    ¡°Only one thing:¡±Nannadeleaned closer to the cup and the sprite within and whispered a single runic word. ¡°Burn!¡±

    The ember turned into a brightly burning flame, shooting high out of the cup.NannadeandOlybriusleaned back at first, but then got closer, observing as the flame consumed the entire ember, reducing it down to ashes within a few moments. As the flame died down,Nannadecould seeOlybriusamazed face behind it. He raised his gaze from the cup to her eyes. She looked intoloam-browneyes and he intoherspring-greeneyes longerthan any time before. Today, his eyes were notcold or shy. Today, in that moment, they were hungry. She saw her own reflection in them. Were her eyes hungry too? She feltso.

    She dropped the cup and put her hands to his face.

 Future & Fertility IX

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 Future & Fertility X

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 Future & Fertility XI

    ¡°You dare to intrude upon my tent unannounced and without permission?!¡± Ionna chided Nannade while the sergeant was covering her with the blanket drawn up.

    Nannade was about to apologize and leave, but then decided against it. Instead she put her fists to her hips and broadened her stance before the two adults hiding behind the blanket like children hiding from the monster under their bed.

    ¡°The platoon will arrive soon.¡± She told the lieutenant, not even looking at the sergeant. ¡°And I need to talk to you, Lieutenant Ionna, from woman to woman.¡± Nannade was hoping her words came across like she imagined them.

    The sergeant got dressed and left the tent, while the women remained.

    ¡°This island is taken by a strong spirit running rampart, and it has an effect on all of us.¡± She told the lieutenant. ¡°As this just demonstrated.¡±

    ¡°No demon has taken hold of me! I am a pure maiden of Our Lady Radiance!¡±

    ¡°Then I guess you were just warming the sergeant up like any commander would do for their subordinates?¡±

    ¡°This does not concern you, little child.¡±

    ¡°I was a priestess of fertility and helped bring several children into this world. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on!¡± She conveniently left out that her own knowledge of these things was barely more than a year old at this point.

    Ionna was not giving up her defence. ¡°It is honourable to grace the faith with young, strong followers!¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t question your faith, that is up to Her Paladin Andronicus. As the summoned specialist on spirits I do however question your judgement. You might think you¡¯re doing this for your faith, but you are influenced by the spirit at work here!¡±

    ¡°Really? And you aren¡¯t?! Don¡¯t be so arrogant, I am sure plenty a demon has already taken you for their whore!¡±

    Nannade had to swallow her rage. ¡°Your priorities are messed up. Focus on your mission! Right now, the platoon is about to arrive and you should give your report. I will give my own personal report to professor Alivor, and it will include this here.¡±

    ¡°You shall do no such thing, witch!¡±

    ¡°I shall! Because It¡¯s my responsibility to ensure this mission can make its way through this corrupted land successfully. And if that means gaining the support I need to separate you from the rest of the troop, then so be it!¡± With these words, Nannade left the tent and headed outside, down the road the platoon was expected to arrive on.

    It wasn¡¯t long before sundown when they did. Nannade wasted no time and took the professor aside to have a chat with him. She told him every detail; the weird plants, the behaviour of the people in the villages, the behaviour of the scouts and the lieutenant, her own experiences while meditating, even her weird dreams.

    He showed much understanding and offered her his full support. ¡°I¡¯ll talk to Ser Andronicus this evening to discuss further strategies.¡±

    As it turned out, Ionna¡¯s report mentioned a concerning absence of any and all military structures. Some watchtowers on the mountain¡¯s flanks were obviously crumbled, the roads were mostly in disrepair and unable to support large armies marching over them, and many other details that pointed towards an absence of military activity.

    Nannade and Ionna were both present during the discussions in the command tent.

    ¡°Seeing as there seems to be no military presence anywhere in our path,¡± Ser Andronicus opened ¡°I think it¡¯s safe to assume that we will face a massive military resistance at Highwatch Keep. Which is why we must proceed with utmost care.¡±

    He showed an old map of the island, probably based on twenty-year-old information, but still the newest they could find about this isolated island. ¡°We will continue our trek to Highwatch Keep around the northern part of the mountains.¡± He showed the intended path, going along something marked as a tiny path. ¡°And make our final assessment there. If we should be able to take the cult out with our numbers, we will. Otherwise, we¡¯ll dig in and sent for reinforcements.¡±

    The professor chimed in. ¡°Let¡¯s say if they do have their entire military concentrated there. Do you think anyone would have a chance?¡±

    Ser Andronicus straightened up and put his fists to his hips. ¡°The Ordo Militaris of Her Holy Radiance has the numbers to lay siege on all of Northbridge, if need be. We can handle that. The question is: are your forces willing to grant us the power to batter down their walls, or will we have to take care of that too?¡±

    The professor nodded, although visibly worried. Nannade imagined he would like to see this be resolved covertly and with minimal losses either way. He made his own suggestion. ¡°However, our specialist Nannade told me that it would be ideal to send a small and specialized team higher up into the mountains, looking for a shortcut and secret passage into Highwatch Keep.¡±

    Ser Andronicus raised an eyebrow. ¡°And who would this ¡°small and specialized team¡± consist of?¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d recommend Nannade herself and the lieutenant, they are both experienced in scouting and infiltration.¡±

    Ionna spoke up with a bright red face. ¡°No, absolutely not, I will not take that witch with me!¡±

    The professor turned to the lieutenant. ¡°To the contrary, she will take you with you.¡±

    ¡°WHAT?¡± Both Nannade and Ionna were surprised. She just wanted to get the lieutenant away from the men before they could start a mass orgy.

    ¡°She is the only one equipped and experienced in dealing with the spirits of this land and cults such as these. You will be under her guidance and command.¡±

    Even the paladin spoke up about that. ¡°I must ask you to not simply rearrange command structures without my approval, your spectability.¡± Nannade hadn¡¯t heard the paladin use that honorific yet, but it showed his seriousness about the request.

    ¡°Ser Andronicus, you are a highly respected veteran and unbeatable in the field, but we are in enemy¡¯s territory at a numerical disadvantage. Nannade here is from Sturreland and was trained to keep those forests safe. So I must ask you: have you ever heard of Sturreland being conquered? Defeated? Invaded successfully?¡±

    Nannade saw what the professor was playing at. If Andronicus wanted to remain truthful, he had to say no to all of these. And so he did.

    ¡°I do not have exact numbers, but I think myself well informed enough to assume that all of Sturreland has about half as many inhabitants as Northbridge. Would you be willing to lay siege to Sturreland?¡±

    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.Again, Andronicus said no to that.

    ¡°And that¡¯s why young Nannade, though still in training, but already inducted in the secrets of spiritual warfare, is best for this mission. Your lieutenant is the best at military scouting, but alone in the wild, clueless to what demons might roam there to defend the cult, she will not withstand.¡±

    Both Andronicus and Ionna had to admit defeat. Nannade was given command over the specialist expedition. They were to forge ahead and leave messages with a special system the scouts used to relay information about the situation ahead.

    Nannade was back outside, carrying her gear from the professor¡¯s tent to Ionna¡¯s, when she was confronted by the latter.

    ¡°Don¡¯t you get any funny ideas about bossing me around!¡±

    Nannade managed to stay calm. She knew how powerful these spirits could be. ¡°I think you should be more humble towards the only one to ensure you don¡¯t fall to insanity in the mountains. Because apparently, your whole church didn¡¯t think it necessary to send a single medium along with you.¡±

    ¡°Why do you think we are some sort lusty maniacs just because we¡¯re far into enemy territory?!¡±

    Nannade walked over to the lieutenant¡¯s camp bed and lifted the blanket to reveal a sticky wet spot. Ionna hung her head. ¡°Who do you think you are to judge me and try to shame me like this?!¡±

    ¡°I am the only one standing between you and an impromptu fertility ritual involving the entire platoon, that¡¯s who I think I am. Normally there would be many spirits ¨C or what you call demons ¨C on this island, competing with one another and keeping each other in check. But this land has been twisted, purged of balance, which is why we need to infiltrate the cult''s base and destroy or disrupt whatever is doing this twisting before the rest of the platoon can even begin taking on their military.¡±

    Ionna narrowed her eyes. ¡°And you are sure that you¡¯re thinking straight? What tells me lust hasn¡¯t taken hold of you as well? Maybe you already had a wild toss with my men yourself.¡±

    ¡°This isn¡¯t about lust, this is about fertility, and the next crolachan man around for miles is on the ship. So yes, right now I am above the influence, but so will you as soon as you detach yourself from the platoon. That¡¯s why I''m doing that!¡± Nannade was playing her only bluff and did not have any plan what she would do if the woman¡¯s mind still slipped when separated from the men.

    Nannade went ahead and excused the two for the rest of the night. It was better for the two women to stay out of the sight of the men. The sergeant tried to enter her tent again, but was quickly thrown out again.

    Nannade thought about going to meet Olly. But it would be unfair towards Ionna. She was not a bad person, she just felt personally attacked very quickly, and this situation was not making things better for anyone.

    ¡°I am warning you.¡± Nannade told her. ¡°I might have to equip you with wards as we travel closer to the source.¡±

    ¡°Do we have time to make them?¡±

    ¡°We¡¯ll have to make time. As we travel closer to the source, cultists who wield spirits could easily take advantage of your predicament. I¡¯ll have to prepare myself too, sooner or later.¡±

    They managed to stay out of the men¡¯s sight for the entire evening and got up earlier than anyone else the next morning. Ionna gave last orders to the scouts¡¯ sergeant, spoke their prayer with them and then the two women made off with light gear. They headed straight for the pass in the mountains.

    Across the landscape they cut, without any regard for route. Ionna was well trained and as long as they weren¡¯t climbing, even faster than Nannade. They finally made it to the pass over the ridge they had been aiming for and saw before them a steep landscape full of rocks and small tufts of grass. The goats¡¯ trail that led through the pass wounded and twisted between the rocks and boulders littering the ground.

    During a short break or lunch to eat, Ionna spoke up.

    ¡°You know, Carl... sergeant Carellus and I have been somewhat close for a while, we didn¡¯t just... engage in that act out of the blue. I just felt surer of it and engaged him.¡±

    Nannade swallowed her bite. ¡°You don¡¯t have to justify yourself in front of me. I know how seductive the influence of spirits can be. In many regards, us mediums are more easily influenced by them, that¡¯s why we must go through years of training to be able to converse with them freely. Even for me this is a crucible.¡± She stared into the distance. They were facing northwest. The ocean was just barely visible from here.

    Ionna spoke up again. ¡°Soon, icy winds will drive ice into the strait and make the waters hostile and dangerous. This could well be the last chance of the year we had to launch this mission.¡±

    ¡°Winter alone in the forest was always so cold.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t you have it warm in your pelt?¡±

    ¡°Not that warm.¡± Nannade had to giggle. ¡°Although I¡¯d like to have a thick, bushy fur like the dogs sometimes.¡±

    Now Ionna had to giggle too. ¡°My brother¡¯s always been the tougher of us two, but when the opportunity came to serve in the headquarters instead of out in the field, he jumped to it. I have to admit, these days he complains more about his job, too much paperwork, he says. I¡¯m glad I stayed in the field.¡±

    ¡°What drove you to become a soldier in the first place? Not a very womanly vocation.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t know. My brother always said he¡¯d join the Order and I didn¡¯t want to leave him alone there, so I signed up, I had to play mother and father to him often enough, it came natural to me. They tried to push me into the infirmary or some other ¡°womanly vocation¡± but I stuck with the scouts.¡± Her face turned nostalgic. ¡°We always lived far out in the countryside. We learned to hunt with bow and trap early on.¡±

    They sat for a few more moments like this, then Nannade got back up.

    ¡°Let¡¯s keep going up the mountain. We won¡¯t arrive at the castle if we make long breaks.¡±

    As they continued on, the landscape made it harder and harder to cut across and they had to stick to the trail. By late afternoon, they had entered somewhat of a gulch between boulders, during the thawing season, this would most likely be a brook.

    They eventually arrived at the end of the path; an old, crumbled watchtower above a steep, long cliff. No way led down but the one they came. They¡¯d have to walk a far way down until they would be able to look for another path.

    ¡°This doesn¡¯t make sense!¡± Ionna said.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like it either, but we must find another path. I could probably climb down here but I¡¯m not so sure about you.¡±

    ¡°No, I mean it doesn¡¯t make sense that this tower is a ruin and unguarded.¡±

    Nannade tilted her head. ¡°Huh?¡±

    Ionna walked over to the few remaining stones of the wall and sat down. ¡°Just think about it. We have not seen a single military installation. No toll posts, no garrisons, no towers. Nothing.¡± She swung her arm across the vista of the landscape. ¡°This is a perfect spot to guard this area. We came across several towns. What were they using all that grain for if not for a huge, standing army?¡±

    Nannade pondered on that for a while. ¡°I guess you¡¯re right. I was so fixated on figuring out the curse of this strange land that I didn¡¯t pay attention to the military aspects.¡±

    ¡°I am wondering were such a huge army could be hiding.¡±

    ¡°Maybe they¡¯re not hiding at all. These are cultists, they must appease their god with something. Human sacrifice could be what they use the men for, to keep the women alive as birthing slaves.¡±

    Ionna¡¯s face showed disgust. ¡°I can¡¯t believe I furthered this demon¡¯s bidding with my love. Now that I¡¯m up here, away from it all, my head is so much clearer. What have I done?¡±

    ¡°Stop beating yourself up over it.¡± Nannade walked over to the circle of crumbled wall that was left of the tower and looked over the countryside. The sun had already turned golden just above the horizon. ¡°I think we should make camp here. We won¡¯t make it anywhere better in time.¡±

    Ionna nodded.

    They looked at the sunset for a little while longer before putting up their tent and settling in for the night.

 Future & Fertility XII

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 Future & Fertility XIII

    The sun had not yet risen when the camp got ready to set out towards Highwatch Keep. Olly hoped Nannade and Ionna had been successful in their mission to infiltrate and sabotage the keep ahead of them.

    The priest was speaking a last prayer with the rest of the platoon. Olly joined in. He had never been a believer and his father ¨C ever the cunning merchant ¨C was a follower of the Communion of sanctified Trade, but he had seen his mother, a lesser daughter from a lower branch of the house of Teccarno, to sometimes pray to Her Holy Radiance. And here, it had brought him ease of mind, an abatement from the haunting guilt and shame that had kept him awake so much these past few days.

    They set out, already in formation. Two of the mages, Olly among them, was put ahead of a squad of archers of the Ordo Militaris. They were told to take position on the walls by themselves while the colonel would accompany father Syagricus and Ser Andronicus down the middle. The scouts had been in contact with their lieutenant and had a rough description on Highwatch Keep. Its outer walls were built some seven hundred years ago during the age of quarrels, old but still solid and doing their purpose, infused with magic to shield them against reshaping and obliteration. The interior walls and the fortress inside housed were built some four hundred years later, direly understaffed by guards, enough for the platoon to take on by themselves. And finally, less than two hundred years old, the palace itself, thought to house the cult and their most holy rituals. This would the platoon¡¯s final destination.

    They could see the fortress from afar, its dark granite walls rising before them and the bright rosy palace spires rising into the twilight sky. The gate standing open, as expected. The women had succeeded in their sabotage mission. They quickly marched over the drawbridge and not all were inside when the alarm was rung. Through the gatehouse, Olly lead his archers up the walls. Little resistance in the outer yard, but the first soldiers were swarming out of the fortress already.

    Olly instructed the archers to lay down a barrage on the fortress¡¯ battlements, to suppress the enemies before they could take position, then he erected the barrier. It would allow projectiles to pass through from his side, but shield him and his squad from the enemy¡¯s projectiles.

    His colleagues down in the yard were shielding the soldiers¡¯ advance, among those soldiers was Ser Andronicus, who strode across the field like a lord through his own castle. Under the magic shields, the trunk of a large tree, felled and equipped with handles last night, was carried over to the fortress¡¯ gate. The colonel cast his spell and the trunk was engulfed in an angry red energy. The soldiers started to batter the fortress¡¯ gate with the trunk and pulsing rage washed across it, shaking even the walls.

    The enemy¡¯s arcanists had taken position on the fortress¡¯ walls and the Olly¡¯s captain gave the signal. The mages of Northwatch university started to hurl their bolts and balls of flame at the gate. Thunder and crackling energy resounded form the mountain¡¯s flanks.

    Drawbridges were let down from the fortress¡¯ battlements to the thoseof the inner walls and from there to those of the outer walls and over them, soldiers of the cult spilled onto the battlements with wide shields, pushing towards Olly and the archers under his command. He redirected their arrows towards them and looked on in horror as they pushed everyone off the walls or slaughtered them, driven by unholy fervour.

    Olly pulled a less often used spell from his ledger and directed a lance of hot steel their way. It splattered off their shields, setting a few of them on fire before disappearing back into the void. The soldiers moved ahead unhindered.

    Olly called out to his comrades below. They saw his distress and pelted the advancing column with rage and prejudice from their unshielded sides and the advance staggered, but soon, the attackers in the yard saw themselves in a pinch themselves. Enemy soldiers jumped down from the fortress¡¯ battlements, the cult¡¯s arcanists cushioning their fall with spells. As they landed on top of the attackers, the battering team had to let up and defend themselves.

    That¡¯s when Ser Andronicus drew his blade. A battle cry boomed across the yard and his soldiers, invigorated by the mighty presence of the Paladin, doubled their efforts to keep the assault up. Steel and wood clashed at the front line. The mages were now completely occupied by the battle that raged below.

    Olly refocussed his efforts to halt the enemies advancing on him and the archers. He kept drawing aggressive spells and hurling them at the shield wall that had re-established itself. Their large barriers were remarkable resistant, even against stronger magic, and so it came that Olly saw himself almost eye to eye with the enemies, that now shoved their spears between the wood braced with iron that could just as well been stone braced with endurium.

    That¡¯s when Olly had one last idea. He slammed his staff onto the ground and erected a momentary barrier between him and the enemy, to buy himself time. Then he found a spell used to pull down crude walls and fortifications.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

    ¡°NOCK AND DRAW!¡± he yelled to those under his command. Then he cast the spell.

    Three of the four front men on the battlement held fast, but the last fell forward, holding on to his shield as it was pulled down towards the ground.

    ¡°LOOSE!¡±

    Dozens of arrows barraged into the small hole in the enemy¡¯s defence. Already thinned out, they failed to fill the gaps quickly enough and with their short swords drawn, the archers stormed past Olly, scattering the last enemies down the walls.

    Olly took his breath and beheld the scene below. Colonel Alivor was scorching and shattering enemy forces with lances of pure energy. Her Paladin Ser Andronicus cut down heavily armoured knights as if his sword was a knife through butter. Father Syagricus kept the wards and protections up to shield the battlefield from the defending archers and arcanists. On the other side of the yard, Olly¡¯s comrade with the second squad of archers stood and tried his best too to defend against the column of shield-bearers.

    Olly gathered his men back around him and had them send volley after volley all across the yard to help the pincher¡¯s other side. He hurled his spell as well, launching handfuls of men left and right.

    The drawbridges from the outer walls to the fortress¡¯ battlements had been drawn back up and so Olly would have to use his spells to tear them back down again. Arrows and spells suppressed them and he had problems keeping up the barriers. The flux in his flask was dropping faster than he liked and the mages below were looking to be in a fair set of trouble themselves. The stream of soldiers down the walls had stopped, but the remaining archers and arcanists were hailing their arrows and spells upon them. The attackers could do little more than defend against the projectiles and continue the battering of the front gate.

    Olly pushed further towards the drawbridges, but the cult¡¯s arcanists pelted them with their spells. Finally, one of his barriers gave in, just for a moment. A long slender needle, about as thick as his pinkie finger, pierced his calf and he sank in. A burned paper later, he had re-established his barrier. The pain was sudden and real. It felt as it had torn away a fog of suppressed thoughts. He knew what parts of his emergency pouch to apply to stifle the bleeding and kill the pain. Before he applied the herbal pill he thought for a moment. ¡°Nannade would have closed it with her blood magic.¡± Was what he thought. Why did his thoughts wander to her. In the moment of pain, before the fog settled again on his mind, he knew that he loved her. He squeezes the herbal pill into the wound, its juice numbing the pain. He was ready to go on. He looked back on the battlefield. The enemy resistance was almost completely gone and the sun¡¯s first rays crept over the castle walls.

    After much effort from both his spells and the archers¡¯ grappling hooks, they managed to yank the draw bridges down. They Stormed over the battlements and with sword, spell and bow, felled the few remaining arcanists and archers. The doors could not be barred for long and soon, they were in.

    Inside, Olly met up with his comrade commanding the remaining archers and from the gallery, rained fire and molten metal upon the few defenders inside. Their moment of victory had come.

    The gate was battered down. And the remaining soldiers of the platoon quickly struck down every man they could find. The fortress was theirs. Ser Andronicus called out for lieutenant Ionna, but neither she nor Nannade were anywhere to be seen. It was possible they decided to infiltrate the palace ahead of them. The doors of the palace were just as thick, possibly even thicker than those of the fortress. Opening them from the inside was probably their best shot.

    Alivor and Andronicus gathered their men around them and counted the losses. Two of Olly¡¯s comrades had fallen, quite more of the soldiers under Andronicus¡¯ command. Yet the commanders decided to push on. They marched on the Palace walls.

    Archers already stood at the windows and on the balconies, raining arrows down on them. A few times, Olly glanced up through his shield and noticed something about them. They were much smaller and slenderer, and looked as if the armour did not fit them. Could it be these were women? Home makers and mothers defending their home to the last?

    Neither the Paladin nor the colonel paid heed and instructed their men to give it their all. Again, the gate was battered with no regard for a possible infiltration attempt.

    The door barely showed signs of strain or damage when the raining of arrows ceased. From above, white flags were let down and the women took off their helmets, showing no signs of adversity. They yelled that they¡¯d open the doors if the men promised to be good husbands and fathers rather than just take them before cutting their throats. They pleaded for their lives.

    ¡°Do not listen to the sinners!¡± Ser Andronicus yelled to his men. ¡°Do not give in to their allure.¡± But his words fell upon deaf ears. The men cheered, as if they had found water in the desert. Even Olly caught himself wanting to join in. His thoughts went to Nannade, but they seemed to be suppressed. She was irrelevant, only the beautiful women on the balconies, scared and tired, seemed to matter.

    The gate opened and the men flooded inside. Many forgot their vows instantly and fell to the welcoming arms and opened legs of the servants and guards. Others took their blades to the defenders, driving them deep into their exposed chests and necks. Archers and arcanists attacked from the gallery above, killing both men and women where they were too close to distinguish.

    Father Syagricus and Colonel Alivor pulled as many of the men close to them, trying to keep them from storming in. Ser Andronicus stormed after his men, trying to keep them from founding a family right there in the entrance hall, cutting down as many enemies as he could find and screaming as he pushed further in.

    An orgy of life and death, love and hate, unfolded before Olly and he tried to resist, but he felt himself walk in as well, just before the colonel pulled him closer and he stood back in his own boots again. Something seemed to shield him and Father Syagricus.

    ¡°Pray with me, child!¡± The priest said to him. ¡°Don¡¯t fall to the madness, stay with us!¡±

    Olly did as asked and fell to his knees, closing his eyes off from the insanity around him.

 Future & Fertility XIV

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 Future & Fertility XV

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 Future & Fertility XVI

    Nannade gasped for air. She had breached the water¡¯s surface again. The Maiden¡¯s smiling face welcomed her back.

    ¡°She no longer interferes, does she?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°Truly, she doesn¡¯t. Not a sliver of her left alive in your mind.¡± The Maiden smiled.

    Nannade again lacked the strength to stand in Her presence. ¡°Can I be your sister now?¡± All she could think of was the babe. And Olly. Together they¡¯d be a happier family than the statues.

    ¡°Not yet, sadly. You have to help me yet again.¡±

    Nannade felt betrayed, but willing to forgive. ¡°What is it?¡±

    The Maiden helped Nannade stand back up. ¡°The perfect seed can no longer be distilled from this weak land. But you have brought a happenstance of nature to me. Even from imperfect nature, a perfect seed has been brought up for me.¡± She brought Nannade closer to her, almost embracing her. ¡°Bring me the strongest seed, and together we can bring about our own futures!¡±

    ¡°Who is it?¡±

    ¡°You know the one. The one that fears nothing and smites all of my men down with ease. The one they call Paladin.¡±

    Nannade nodded. She walked on her own again, to the door out of the room.

    The door fell shut behind her and she breathed. She felt a stirring within her and welcomed it. Her vision was close now. She just needed to bring Andronicus to Her.

    She made her way back through the corridor towards the entrance hall. She found the door to the gallery open, blood splattered in many places. Up from the gallery she saw the fight in the entrance hall, already decided in favour of the attackers. Soldiers of the faith and mages of the university were battling the last female guards. A soldier had already left his pants somewhere else and like a mad beast was hunting for any guard still alive to receive him.

    Amidst the battle she saw Olly¡¯s dark curls. He was locked in a fight with a female cultist. She had torn her robe open to entice him. Nannade¡¯s arrows made quick work of the whore. Olly turned around and saw Nannade. She pointed down the hallway further into the castle and called out to him that she¡¯d meet him there.

    Further down the corridor, she came to the gallery of the courtyard, below Olly was rushing beside her, then she came to the grand stair hall. She hurried down the elegantly curving stairs to embrace him. She kissed him deeply, but he struggled.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

    ¡°I am sorry, Nannade, but we can¡¯t, it¡¯s wrong. I came to realize that!¡±

    She smiled and shook her head. ¡°No. I will make it right, then we can be together, I promise!¡±

    ¡°What is that supposed to mean? What will you make right?¡±

    She had to let go of him. There was a time for everything. ¡°I need to find Andronicus, where is he?¡±

    ¡°He stormed ahead with the priest and a few of his men.¡±

    She hurried back up the stairs. There was a fourth door in the antechamber, she could guess where it led to. She could find him on that path.

    Ser Andronicus and Father Syagricus had been cornered in the ballroom, even grander than the throne room. The two of them were surrounded by arcanists of the cult. They hurled their spells at the two, but Syagricus held them off with a gleaming shield in the air. Andronicus¡¯ sword was alight with a silvery flame that bathed his armour and weapon in gold. Hisplate withstood the arcanists¡¯ spells, as he chased them off with his blade.

    Nannade managed to put arrows in one arcanist before they noticed her. Andronicus used the opportunity to strike another one down. The last few were confused by the new arrival. Nannade shot more arrows at them, but they shattered on unseen shields. An Invisible Fist put one out of commission, Ser Andronicus felled another one. The last tried to flee, but was felled by a judging lance of light cast forth by Syagricus.

    The ballroom fell silent and the three allowed themselves to take a breather.

    After a while, the Paladin took off his helmet and came towards Nannade. ¡°Mighty well you did that, witch girl! It is good to see you sane and well-behaved amongst this utter chaos and complete loss of morality that my men have fallen to.¡±

    ¡°Thank you Ser, but this is not yet over. Only you can put an end to it. I found the foul demon.¡±

    Andronicus smiled brightly. ¡°Finally. We are at the threshold to victory! Lead me, girl!¡±

    ¡°It¡¯s not far now.¡±

    They arrived in the antechamber. Nannade stepped to the door to the throne room. ¡°It¡¯s in here. But you need to go alone. Only you can face this wickedness.¡±

    Syagricus tried to protest, but before he could say anything, Andronicus interrupted him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, old friend, no demon shall defeat me! This is a fight of the gods we each serve!¡±

    Nannade opened the door for the Paladin and closed it again behind him. Then she took her spear and with a paper from her belt, made the shaft twist and knot around the door¡¯s handles.

    Father Syagricus became furious at the sight. ¡°What are you doing, witch? What if he needs assistance?¡±

    ¡°He won¡¯t need assistance. He¡¯ll fulfil his purpose without anyone¡¯s help perfectly. Now if you excuse me, there¡¯s something I still have to do.¡±

    She needed to make sure their meeting went as the Maiden had planned.

 Future & Fertility XVII

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 Future & Fertility XVIII

    Andronicus had left and the demon had stopped talking and was merely twitching on the floor, while Nannade was observing her. The demon¡¯s eyes were full of spite and sorrow, but not looking anywhere, desperately searching for a point to fix on in the darkness before them. Nannade started to question whether the demon had been as false in her promises as she had thought.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, sister. But penance is pain. I¡¯d like to tell you that it¡¯s nothing personal, but I killed you literally for what you were born as.¡± She stroked the demon¡¯s forehead.

    ¡°Do not shed a tear for that being!¡± Aaka was crawling from a corner up high. ¡°Her existence is a danger to everything around her.¡±

    ¡°Oh hey, where have you been spying from?¡±

    ¡°I was actually waiting for her to fall asleep so I could try and poison her myself, since I believed you to have failed.¡± The spider had arrived by Nannade and seemed to give the demon a wide berth.

    ¡°Thanks for your confidence!¡± Nannade ran her fingers through the woman¡¯s long, smooth, golden hair. ¡°You have to admit that I am not entirely impartial to this.¡±

    ¡°STOP THIS! She deserves no one¡¯s sympathy. She already manipulated and abused her powers when she was still a little child. And she was not born human either. She did not have a beating heart yet when the enslaved spirit was forced into a union with her. There was no separation like with you. Why are you so damn sympathetic to her?¡±

    ¡°Because I know her pain. I have felt my own venom. But unlike for me, for her it will not subside or get better.¡±

    Even when professor Alivor arrived in the throne room, she did not stop letting the paralyzed victim know, someone was still with her.

    ¡°So. You did it. I heard you played a double play?!¡±

    Nannade might not have had a plan, but she had a partner she could rely on to keep true to the goal.

    ¡°Well yeah, I guess I''m a real two-faced bitch. But honest question for you, professor: did you know something like this would happen?¡±

    He paused for a moment, apparently not willing to share all he knew with her. ¡°They told me you¡¯d be a wild card. And as the priest expressed more and more worry along the trail, I knew you¡¯d come in handy.¡±

    Nannade could only scoff. ¡°I guess being useful is the highest honours I can achieve in my profession.¡± She continued stroking the demon¡¯s forehead and making cooing sounds.

    The professor took note of the situation. ¡°I believe an exorcism is required.¡±

    Nannade raised her head. ¡°I¡¯ve never done an exorcism before.¡±

    ¡°That¡¯s what father Syagricus is here for, but your and Aaka¡¯s help will be required.¡±

    ¡°So I guess this isn¡¯t over for me yet.¡±

    ¡°No. Father Syagricus will be here momentarily.¡±

    When he finally did, accompanied by four of the soldiers, in the garbs of acolytes, they got to each of their parts in the ritual. Aaka spun threads of silk over the barely even twitching body, Nannade filled the hall with song and poem to the demon''s soul inside the hall, and father Syagricus and his acolytes prayed to Her Holy Radiance to banish it back through the wound it had torn into the world, beyond the veil again, so it might get purified again, while Ssil guarded any possible exit that the demon¡¯s soul might try to take.

    They sang and prayed long and the demon¡¯s soul struggled much against its banishment, screaming profanities and pleas into the hall. The windows shook, the door rattled and the even the carpet seemed to be afraid. Nannade could see on the faces of the Acolytes that they were seeing, hearing and feeling such otherworldly things for the first time. This final thrashing and writhing of the demon was powerful enough to be visible even to the least receptive to that which comes from beyond the veil. Aaka¡¯s silken wards, Ssil¡¯s threatening poses, Nannade¡¯s song of refutation and father Syagricus'' verses of banishment eventually did the spirit in. It was pushed back through the crystal pool and it closed neatly behind the demon, sealing the entrance without leaving even a stitch in the carpet or crack in the floor.

    ¡°What was that?¡± one of the Acolytes asked as the final scream had echoed throughout the hall.

    ¡°A wound in reality.¡± Nannade stepped up to where the hole was. ¡°Where the veil is already thin, this demon had been pulled through, leaving behind this hole. We managed to close it, it was only small and had not frayed out yet, but a bigger hole would have required a seamstress of rare talents to stitch back up.¡±

    A generous amount of incense and prayers were spread throughout the hall and Nannade left before the smell could settle in her fur and clothes.

    She found Olly waiting for her in the antechamber, holding a large slice of bread with sausage and cheese from supper for her. He stood up and embraced her. ¡°You made it right. Thank you.¡±

    She would have fallen asleep standing, had he not sat down on one of the cushioned benches immediately. Instead, she fell asleep on his lap.

    After he awoke her again sometime later ¨C the sky had already turned dark ¨C she gladly ate what he had brought her, safe for the cheese.

    ¡°I don¡¯t like cheese. It doesn¡¯t sit well with my stomach.¡± But the sausage was aged and dried well, just as she liked it.

    ¡°The past few days have been horrible.¡± He finally broke the silence.

    ¡°I know.¡± She stroked his knees.

    ¡°But now I feel empty and hollow.¡±

    She closed her eyes again and took his scent in. Both of them were in dire need of a bath. ¡°Me too. Let¡¯s just stay here for a while.¡±

    ¡°I can¡¯t come with you to Northbridge. After this is done.¡±

    ¡°I feared as much. I can¡¯t follow you to Sturreland either.¡±

    ¡°I know.¡±

    ¡°You could probably sell your services for much coin on any ship. Maybe even the Vigilantia.¡± He said that last part with an absent smile. ¡°And in time, even enrol in Northbridge university.¡±

    ¡°Please keep spinning that dream.¡± She stroked his chest.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know whether my father would approve of you. He wants me to marry into another noble family. He really likes to spit in the face of my mother¡¯s grand uncle.¡±

    ¡°Who¡¯s that?¡±

    ¡°Head of the house Teccarno. He was furious when I was found to have the arcane gift. Typical noble bickering and their laments about marrying into commoners'' families.¡± His smile turned nasty. ¡°It was fun at first. Now my father¡¯s just being petty after being mistreated by that old fart for so long.¡±

    ¡°Oh there¡¯s lots of land in Sturreland you could claim. And maybe, if it¡¯s all the same to you, you could marry into house Hitollarn and every other night, I could drop in from the forests through the window.¡± She kissed him on the cheek with a kittenish smile and a coquette wink.

    ¡°I already see that I can¡¯t hold you.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re already holding me.¡± She reminded him and pushed her face against his chest.

    ¡°For now.¡± he held her closer.

    ¡°For now.¡±

    They remained like this until a servant of the palace arrived. Her clothes were bloodstained and did not sit properly, but she was visibly eager to do her duties to the best of her abilities.

    ¡°Miss Nannade, I am to lead you to your chambers. The mage may also go to the mages¡¯ quarter.¡±

    The two followed her. Nannade¡¯s chambers was a luxurious bedroom, not unlike the one Nannade had snuck through earlier. The bed was big enough to offer comfortable sleep to an entire family. She got settled in with the little she had and the servant led Olly to the mages¡¯ quarters, but he soon returned with a knock on the door.

    Shehad no qualms spending the night with him, both of them were too tired to do anything but fall asleep nestled together.

    The next morning saw breakfast served in the dining hall, much smaller than the throne room, but still able to house the entire platoon two or three times over. Everyone seemed alleviated but exhausted, as if a large burden had been taken off of them. Olly had gotten up earlier than Nannade and sat with his comrades and when Nannade wanted to sit with him, professor Alivor took her by her arm and sat her down next to himself.

    ¡°We¡¯ll have an important meeting after this. The leaders of the expedition are to prepare the island for the rest of the forces to take over and we need to hand out tasks. Your attendance and advice will be required.¡±

    Nannade merely nodded silently as she took her fill from the bread basket on the table. She glanced over to Olly and occasionally, he glanced back, waving to her, but deciding to remain by his comrades. She decided to catch him after the meeting.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

    She was led into a sort of council chamber. The other leaders as they had gathered on the Vigilantia were already present, welcoming her with a soft cheer. Andronicus greeted her with an especially warm smile, but Nannade could tell that it was hiding something else. All stood around a table shaped like the island itself, plans and reports already laid out.

    ¡°My men are still sighting the documents and books in the castle.¡± The professor said. ¡°But it seems like we can already start handing out new texts of laws to the villages and the capital. The central government will yield soon.¡± He turned to Nannade and offered her a chair at the table and she sat down. ¡°Your task will be observing nature and determining how long this land will take to recover. Can you already tell us anything about how it will most likely look here in the coming years?¡±

    Nannade felt all the eyes dart to her. She adjusted her pose on the chair and thought for a moment. ¡°This year¡¯s harvest will still be plentiful, but it might very well be that the coming years will be tough. The land will have to recover from the heavy strain, its life force is worn thin and turned caustic in many places. But those are just guesses based on what the druids have taught me.¡±

    A scribe noted down her words and they moved on. As the decision most important to her, she was tasked with writing a first report. The church and university had decided to not leave the country to its own devices again. The church would bring scribes and lawmakers to govern the island until men and women here had properly awoken from their long nightmare and returned to sanity under Her Holy Radience¡¯s guidance. They would also bring in some harvest maidens, mediums sent by the church to help with farming in the lands especially faithful. Exactly for these Nannade was supposed to write the reports. It would take well over a dozen days before she would be released from her contract, but if the weather did not play along, she might have to stay the entire winter. She would not be able to spend every night in the castle with Olly, whose job it was to catalogue all the texts, books and magic artefacts of the palace alongside his comrades. Instead, Nannade would have to wander the wilderness to seek for more signs of how the nature here was doing.

    For most of the discussion, Nannade felt barely present, yet she was called upon for many comments. It was odd, her expertise was barely ever asked before, only her ability to recite Garetas'' plans or Elissa¡¯s lessons.

    When she finally was able to leave the council chambers, she sighed in relief and started to wander the palace halls. Most of the servants had returned to their duties in freshly washed clothes, but when Nannade came to where the battle had been, she saw the extent of the death and sex that had happened here. Many men and women still seemed to be as odds with the returning reality. She decided to seek out Ionna and after asking the other members of the Ordo Militaris, found her to be sitting on a balcony, watching the landscape with sergeant Carellus at her side.

    ¡°Ser Andronicus has given me leave for the rest of the deployment!¡± she told Nannade with a smile. ¡°I shall have my dream for now.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m happy for you two. I¡¯d offer to do the rites for you, but you wouldn¡¯t want that from a heathen, would you?¡±

    Ionna shook her head with a ¡°thank you¡± on her lips.

    She left the two to themselves again and sought out her own happiness.

    Olly was sitting in the dining hall with his comrades. They congratulated him when the young girl came closer. One expressed disapproval, but Olly did not seem to care and gave Nannade a deep kiss in front of all of them.

    Their days were filled with their own joys. She¡¯d spent one to three days camping in the wild, turning over leaves and rocks, questioning the few wild animals she could find, trying to convene with the slowly returning and shy spirits and feeling the flow of life force return to a feeble balance. He would wait for her and after supper they¡¯d talk and lay in each other''s arms. Their remaining luggage arrived from the Vigilantia and Nannade continued on her work in project. The stitching and embroideries took shape and covered almost the entire cloth. Olly marvelled more and more at Nannade''s skill with thread and needle.

    She sang lullabies for him or played them on her flute, and he brushed her fur morning and evening. They made their dreamy plans. She knew she could get her teacher to enrol her in Northbridge university. She had always wanted her freedom, now she knew what she wanted to use it for. She could even see herself paying for the tuition if she could take on contracts herself, although she did not tell Olly about any such contracts. There were many things he didn¡¯t need to know about for now. She¡¯d manage to squeeze another life in between lies and secrets for now, everything else came later.

    He on the other hand already wrote letters to his father. He knew the old man would be disapproving and disappointed, but from the words Olly chose to bring to paper, Nannade already learned to respect the man.

    The days passed along and Olly''s comrades started to refer to Nannade as ¡°wife of Olybrius¡±. She didn¡¯t mind, even knowing she¡¯d never be able to be wed in the eyes of the spirits of Sturreland. They would be most displeased with such an infertile union. She didn¡¯t care anymore. She was already an affront to nature. Let her be the hand of pain and death, she needed no life but the one Olly and her would share. After all, she could remember much more of what Garetas and Elissa had taught her than her birth parents, and there were still slave children in need of freeing. Olly seemed to be happy with that option too.

    Late into their stay, she finalized her project. Ten feet long the serpent¡¯s banner fell, in pure white of tough linen and the dark red of her own hair. She giggled and twirled on her toes in the middle of their shared bedroom. She sang a song for Ssil and felt the serpent take hold of the cloth, but it failed over and over again.

    ¡°What is it?¡± Olly asked while watching her face become more and more disappointed. ¡°Isn¡¯t it working?¡±

    She let go of the banner and looked at every crease as it lay motionless on the floor. ¡°No... something¡¯s missing. This is not it.¡±

    ¡°Any spirit not wanting to call that banner home is a fool. It¡¯s beautiful and made by ¨C and from ¨C the most beautiful girl I know.¡±

    She had to smile at that remark. ¡°Stop your stupid flattery.¡±

    She wrapped the banner around her arms and across her neck. At least it could still keep her warm. And the double-sewn cloth with the snakeskin in between could actually hold off a few cuts she imagined. She¡¯d figure out the issue later on. Probably would need more of her own life force imbued into it, then Ssil could take hold of it, move it, hide from spying eyes in it without having to enter Nannade¡¯s spiritual body, as long as the cloth had contact to Nannade¡¯s body. For now, she embraced and kissed Olly and he pulled her in closer, letting his hands wander all over her. She had come to enjoy it, the pleasure in his face, the deep breathing every time she dug her claws in, the convulsions and twitching under her hips. He was disappointed at not being on top, but he understood her fears. Maybe, one day, she''d be able to let him. But for now, she told him of the basement, her collar, her mother, her rescue, and he understood it all. There would be a better time to tell him of the serpent or anything else.

    It was late on a late autumn day when Nannade found Ser Andronicus sitting on a balcony and watching the setting sun after another long day.

    ¡°You have been reclusive, Ser. Is anything the matter?¡±

    ¡°I think you can drop the ''Ser''. You¡¯ve seen me in there, two-faced witch.¡±

    ¡°I have to admit I''m not sorry for using you as unknowing bait.¡±

    He turned around and looked her in the eyes as she took place on the balustrade. ¡°It¡¯s not about that. I know I would have told her if I had known I was merely bait. It''s deeper than that. I am weary. Glory and greatness, I already had those. This conquest was no grand victory. Sure, they¡¯ll call me a hero here once the priests and preachers of Her Holy Radiance get here, but I know this land was worn thin. The forces were exhausted, nobody was even willing to fight.¡± He adjusted his pose. ¡°Maybe those men taking the servants as their wives was the right thing to do. This island will need strong men with strong faith in the coming years.¡±

    ¡°And you. Everyone seems to be planning their future here, on the threshold of a new life, you too?¡±

    ¡°I will return to the monastery. It is time for me to train the next generation of warriors, generals and holy men.¡±

    ¡°Ever the faithful.¡± She smiled to tease him.

    ¡°Oh, little girl, how I envy your youth. Once you have been on this path for as long as I have, you cannot leave. I thought I''d seek an honourable death in glorious battle. If I fell, so be it, let my opponent send me to Her. But that would be of little use. If I had fallen here, the cult had maybe not fallen.¡±

    ¡°So you saw the use in your life, rather than your death.¡±

    ¡°The Andronicus that stepped on the Vigilantia''s deck would have called me a coward.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m a lying, conniving, thieving, abominable coward and I learned to live with it.¡±

    Andronicus scoffed at her. ¡°I lived a life in the light of Her Holy Radiance, I can imagine living in sin is easy if you also intent to hide in the shadows. And you better do, the church would see you hang without a second thought. Just because you killed another demon, doesn¡¯t make you any less of an abomination. But still I draw breath, you not having disposed of me alongside her to minimize the threat. You can¡¯t be that afraid of me or them.¡±

    Nannade knew what he was getting at. She could have easily destroyed all evidence, had Aaka not been there. But Aaka wasn¡¯t reason she kept her fangs and blades sheathed. ¡°The very heathens that raised and taught me wanted me dead at one point for being an abomination. There¡¯s no need to get rid of you. You couldn¡¯t kill me if you tried.¡±

    ¡°Return to you dark forests and stay there. Then you might live a long life. I¡¯ll even allow you to take that poor mage and do your dark and dirty deeds with him.¡±

    She shook her head. ¡°My death and pain won¡¯t stay in Sturreland. Who knows? Maybe I''ll even learn at the holy college of Her Holy Radiance in Fulgopolis. Just to tempt my luck.¡±

    He again scoffed. ¡°I¡¯d put the rope around your neck myself if I caught you there.¡±

    She got back up. ¡°Well Ser, I have a ''husband'' to return to. Little time is granted to us. And he intends to use it for many a dirty deed with me in the luxurious chambers before its end.¡±

    ¡°Flaunt your sins, maybe it will lead to repentance.¡± He called to her before she could close the glass door to the balcony. She did not answer to it.

 Future & Fertility XIX

    It was either the last breath of autumn or the first breeze of winter that was blowing over the deck of the Vigilantia as she sat ready to sail out from Stakkarun. The last bits of cargo were brought aboard as Nannade stood at the railing and watched the land lie there. It had recovered quite a bit in the mere two dozen days that she had observed it for her report, but now that job hers was done. The mages too were done cataloguing every bit of written information, every magic artefact, every ward and protection spell active in the keep.

    Olly came up from below deck and embraced her from behind. They were prepared for a long time of separation, and both of them had to fight stern men to get their future dreams granted, but finally, Nannade had something to fight for other than her nebulous concept of freedom. Finally she wanted not just freedom, but freedom to achieve something, freedom for a purpose, not out of principle. She kissed him on the neck. ¡°I love you.¡± She knew he was the one she wanted to heal her scars alongside.

    ¡°And I you too.¡±

    They set out and Nannade sang her song, but just as on the land, few spirits answered and those that did, had little strength to help them. They were at the mercy of an unguided nature.

    The professor had granted Olly his bunk in the berth for two. It was his last gift to Nannade. ¡°You did an excellent job and I will send my letter of recommendation to the Lodge of Sturreland first thing when I return to my dry and warm office.¡±

    As for Nannade''s immediate future, Aaka had already filled her in. She¡¯d await a transport from Northbridge all the way to Laeddunn, a city at the lake Anmorley, which lied at the northern border of Sturreland. She still had more than half a year of her banishment left and she wouldn¡¯t be allowed inside Sturreland until then, not even for her trial, so the council of Laeddunn agreed to host the trial instead. She was worried about being judged again, but she was also awaiting it eagerly, to get out of this deal for now. At least until Northbridge she still had someone to distract her from all of that.

    Nannade and Olly loved each other a last few times. Every falling asleep brought uncertainty with it, and every awakening alongside him was a smiling sunrise in her heart.

    It was on the night of the third day of their travel back when Olly noticed a change in course amidst the rocking waves. They went on deck to look ahead and there in the distance she could see dark clouds alight with lightning. She asked the steersman and he replied that captain Christopherus¡¯ had ordered him to take shelter behind the cliffs of Ulfnar''s finger, a peninsula of Botrelandt, against the coming storms.

    ¡°That will take us further north! We need to go south to Ackarom!¡±

    ¡°You¡¯re neither captain nor navigator, little girl.¡±

    Soon the mages were called from their bunks on deck. The sea was getting rough. Nannade was called upon to soothe the spirits, but she could not find any.

    ¡°There are no spirits here. This is raw life force, wrought up by the corrupt life force that fled from Stakkarun, we¡¯re heading right into the turbulent frontier.¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t you call upon your own spirit to protect us?¡± was all captain Christopherus¡¯ answered.

    ¡°Ssil is not a spirit of weather. And even if. Any spirit would be a candle in the storm to come.¡±

    The captain yelled commands to his men. The mages erected barriers as the wind picked up and rain lashed the deck. Olly was in charge of a huge light ahead of the ship illuminating the windswept sea ahead of them.

    Nannade still wanted to help. She got to the railing, dug her claws into the soaked wood and held watch. She searched her pack for anything that could be of use, but when she found nothing, she closed it.

    The storm seemed to cut their way to the cliffs off and hit them with its full force. The wind and thunder were deafening. The lightning strikes made even the shining light orb Olly held above them at the bow look like a shadow. Like the back of a mighty sea creature rising from its sleep, the waves shoved the ship around, a plaything on the waters, at the mercy of pure raw forces of nature in these godless waters.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    Nannade had problems holding on, even the experienced men stumbled and fell on the deck, their bodies¡¯ warmth in the cold stormlike hushing mice before a roaring lion, eager to devour them. She looked over to Olly many times, but his gaze was stern and fixed forward, to his duty, his lips hastily but confidently whispering incantations to focus on keeping the light high and bright.

    From the distance Nannade saw a rippling glistening wall roll towards them, and when another lightning bolt struck close to them, tearing her hearing from her for a moment, she saw the wave in all its terrifying size, like the maw of a monster its crest already curled above them.

    Olly and many other men let out a panicked cry, the mages ran to the starboard side of the ship to ready their spells. On the professor¡¯s command, they unleashed a might blade of air that tore the sea apart.

    The wave split before them, its spraying remains still hitting the deck and knocking a few to the ground. On the backflow of the shattered stream, the ship was tilted left and right and the water rushing in from the side threatened to pull the vessel under.

    Nannade lost her balance and was flung away from the railing. She slid over the wet planks. Olly turned around and looked to her with a frightened face, but kept the orb of light alive. Nannade got up and smiled to ease his worry. She stayed with her claws close to the floorboards and crept towards the nearest rail to hold on.

    In the distance, a dark cliff line was visible against the sky illuminated by lighting strikes. Their relative safety was close now, but they had to still weather much.

    The ship made a sudden turn. Nannade looked over board and saw powerful currents shove the ship aside on their own course in disregard from the crew''s hopes and goals, as if the monster of the sea had opened its mouth again and sucked them into its belly.

    The steersman tried to keep the Vigilantia steady and forward, but even if the wind had played along, it was impossible. The mages cast more spells to stabilise the vessel, and for a while they were successful, but finally, their strength and endurance came to an end. Barrels of flux had been hauled on deck, but even those seemed like single drops in the storm they were fighting against.

    So it came, that the monstrous sea sent another huge wave against them, and although Olly and the others spotted it much earlier and Alivor and his men cast another destructive blade, the wave seemed to just reassemble itself to smash against and upon the ship nonetheless.

    The Vigilantia was thrown off once again, and this time, against something. A worrisome CREAK and a wet scraping, followed by a frightening CRACK and something gave way.

    Nannade was thrown against the railing, bending over it in strain but clinging on, and in her horror, she saw a rocky tooth protruding from the sea and into the side of the ship, now acting as a fulcrum around which the ship turned.

    Yells and cries were heard and more cracking followed as the water fell and the Vigilantia sank deeper onto the stone spire spearing her side.Nannade tried to run away, but the ship tilted over to her side and now the stone was coming for her, shearing the ship in two as it fell further down onto the widening rock.

    ¡°GET AWAY, GIRL!¡± she heard Aaka¡¯s spectral voice.

    The boards under her feet buckled and burst. She threw herself against a bit of railing behind her and dug her claws in deep.

    ¡°NA-NNA-DE!¡±

    She could not tell who it was that was calling for her. She saw Olly lunging towards her, he had let the orb of light go, it flickered a few times before darkness crashed down upon the deck stronger than any of the waves had.Brightly glowing spheres enveloped the mages and the crew near them. One also appeared around Olly just as Nannade¡¯s hold shifted further back and over the dark waters. She could almost feel the hard and glowingbarrier on her face, so close was it, and yet too far. The remains of the railing gave way and she plummeted off the deck.

    In a last act of defiance, the glass jar on her belt got stuck between two planks and held her, dangling above the water and rock, not quickly rising back up to swallow her. But the leather strap with which the jar was tied to her belt was not meant to bear her weight.It snapped. She fell into the water.

    ¡°AAKA!¡±

    She hit the surface and struggled back up, her hands sought anything to hold on to. The current sucked her away, she could not see anything. A bright shimmerwas visible above her.

    ¡°AAKA! OLLY!¡± She called out to anyone. She could see the spectral spec that was Aaka''s spiritual body, and she was trying to do something, but it was irrelevant.

    SWIM. The mind in the back of her mind tried to do it for her, but panic controlled her body and would not let go. She kept on thrashing around. Something must be there. She¡¯d take the rocky spire as a hold. Something was there. Round and slippery, but her claws found hold. Was it a barrel? Maybe it was a barrel, it was something that floated. It gave her a moment to think. She looked around, but nothing to tell the Vigilantia apart from the blackness was visible anymore. The mages and the crew were safe in their spheres. She was out here, alone, drifting ever further away.

 Future & Fertility Epilogue

    The clock was ticking away the seconds as Garrett sat in the study of Elissa''s practice. He had four or five books on the laws and precedents of Sturreland open and he knew he¡¯d need to get another one. Well, Elissa would have to; he was not allowed entry to the Lodge''s library.

    He had had little sleep those past few days. Nannade could start her travel back home any day now and neither he nor Elissa felt even remotely ready to defend her in court, but they¡¯d have to do it, no one else would, not even Herlewin, that cowardly pencil-pusher.

    He heard Elissa come up the stairs and for the study. Her steps had become heavy and slow. The court had forbidden both of them any contact to Louissos or anyone else involved in the trials or reports about them. The separation had weighed heavy on Elissa.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

    They came on the door and Garrett called her in. Her face was even more depressed than usual. Garret would have been quick to dismiss it as her usual morning mood, had he not taken a second look. Something had happened.

    ¡°What is it?¡±

    She had difficulties looking for the right words. ¡°There had been an accident, concerning Nannade.¡±

    He sat down and she told him what had happened.

    His head immediately began to work. He knew he had a list with some helpful and indebted people. He stormed off to find the ledger with his documents. He had to write letters. To people in Northbridge, Havnarsund, Prirdam, Kalonitz, Elveskatt, Undaemopolis. He¡¯d have to open his coin purse wide for them to keep their eyes open for him, but now was not the time to be stingy.

 Letters & Latency Prologue

    The sky was not entirely bright and the wind was still blowing, but the waves were already calm and the rain had died down. Nannade crawled ashore after hours of drifting, some of which had been washed from her brain by exhaustion and coldness. Her mind had been stretched to almost a single thread, but she kept on crawling on land, beyond the tidal line. She was cold, so very cold, but on the sandy beach she would find no fire wood and she did not know any way to scale the steep cliffs ahead and whether she would find wood there either. Just surviving would have to do now.

    She let herself fall into the sand for a while and before she knew, she was asleep.

    She woke up under a brighter sky, even colder, hungrier and more beat down that before.

    She finally got up and looked around. Her barrel was not far from her on the beach, rocked by the occasional waves. Some other flotsam was there with her. Parts of the Vigilantia no doubt.

    She picked herself up and made sure her backpack was still with her. All of the stuff in there was soaked. The diary was torn and tattered. A few coins remained inside, but most importantly, the leather scrap in which she had wrapped the large acorn was still there and the acorn was still inside.

    She set out down the beach. The cold winds made her shiver and her mouth jitter, but hopefully, walking would warm her up somewhat. More and more cargo came into sight, most of it useless to her. Empty crates and barrels. Some more parts of wreckage. A few weapons, she picked up a spear to have something; she hadn¡¯t have her knives or dagger on her when the storm hit.

    Shehadn¡¯t seen any survivors yet, but after she had cleared a bent she saw someone. First she thought it to be another survivor, he was hunched over something lying on the beach. When she called out and he stood up to face her, she saw he was not wearing a sailor''s clothes or a Mage¡¯s robe. He wore simple clothes of leather and fur. His face was scarred and tanned, a thick bushy moustache adorned his upper lip. The thing he had been hunching over was a corpse, unmistakably a sailor of the Vigilantia.

    The man seemed agitated and yelled at Nannade in a language that seemed familiar but still unintelligible to her. He drew a short axe and waved it about.

    ¡°Calm down, please, I mean no harm. I need help, please help me!¡±

    He did not let up and defended the corpse, obviously his to plunder, against her slow and peaceful approach.

    She continued to come close and decided to drop the spear. She was in no condition to fight. He made quick steps towards her and she decided to move back. No point in getting into a fight anyway.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

    As he got closer, he must have seen something in her, because suddenly, he decided to charge for her.

    Was it her backpack? Her pristine body? Her exotic exterior? She was worth something now! He reached her and swung his axe.

    Nannade blocked the strike at his arm, careful not to be hit by the axe¡¯s blade. Her defence succeeded again and again, no small thanks to Ssil¡¯s vigilance, but their body could not muster the strength to strike back.

    He kept pushing her back, she would stumble sooner or later. It was time to strike. Her fist went straight to his face and hit, but it was too weak to cause any harm. He swung his axe from below and the blade sank into her exposed armpit.

    Blood drained from her arm quickly, soaking her clothes. She lost all strength and fell backwards.The man stood above her now and she heard herself whimper

    ¡°No! Please!¡±

    He put his left hand to her throat and struck out with the axe, ready to end her for good. She shot her left hand forward in a last attempt to catch the blade. It came down.

    A wet rustling sound and a red soaking serpentine shape shot from her left sleeve, wrapped around the axe and yanked it out of the man''s hand. The serpent''s banner had moved on its own, the fresh blood like a conduit for Ssil''s will.

    As Ssil wrest the weapon from the man¡¯s hand, he lost his balance and fell on Nannade. The banner brought the axe to Nannade¡¯s hand, like reeling in a fish on the line. The man, full of panic, tried to stop it, but to no avail. She had the axe. Blindly, she brought it down where she thought his head would be. It sunk in, she pulled it out, sunk it in again, pulled it out, sunk it in again. Again. Again. Blood, brain and bone splattered over her, into her eyes and mouth, but she kept going a few more times. When she had lost her last bit of strength, she left the axe where it stuck in the man''s head.

    The twitching corpse laid on her, blood still seeped from her armpit. The bleeding needed to be stopped, but she was too weak to ever free herself from the heavy corpse.

    The serpent was already acting. The banner wrapped tightly around her armpit, applying pressure on the wound and covering like a huge gauze, but she had lost too much blood.

    Coldness and darkness took her.

    <hr>

    She awoke again in oblivion. Everything was dark, not even warmth was discernable. A distant muffled grinding sound and constantrocking as all around her. A soft and moist weight was on her, she breathed in rot and decay. She could not move, too great was her weakness and the weight. She tried screaming, but her weakened lungs could not defeat the oppressive atmosphere.

    Finally, the grinding and shaking stopped. The weight was alleviated bit by bit and finally, she managed to push something out of the way.

    She emerged with a gasp. The cold air tore her skin, the bright sky scorched her eyes. She screamed as loud as she could and people around her answered in fright. When her eyes had adjusted, she saw men standing at the edge of a hole, throwing in dead bodies. She sat upright in a cart loaded with even more dead bodies. The shovel-wielding man right in front of her was visibly startled, she tried to say something, but before she could come up with anything, a metallic CLUNK hit the back of her head and knocked her back out again.

 Letters & Latency I

    To the honourable mage Kolgrimr the powerful of Havnarsund,

    I am in need of your services once more; my men have recently captured a bjestja at the beach, a survivor of a shipwreck. She was separated from the other survivors, who put up enough of a fight to deter my men. But the bjestja alone is price enough. Not only is she young and beautiful in her own way, but our singer has found a devil inside of her, bound to her blood and powerful and vicious in nature. I hope to sell her as a slave on the markets of Havnarsund, her value is most likely in excess of several thousand horses. Her body is strong and trained and the way she struggles against our bindings and the singer¡¯s runes, she would be able to defeat most men with ease. My men reported she put up a fight even after being knocked down once.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    We require your services, to place the blood sigils on her to bind both her and her devil to the services of her new master, after we sold her on the slave market of Havnarsund. We are currently preparing her passage over to the city. Four singers need to sing in shifts to keep her strength and powers suppressed, so time is of the essence.

    Please answer fast, for I mean to rid myself of her tireless fury as soon as possible.

    Your old friend,

    Jarl Utgarthaloki, ruler of Ulfnar¡¯s finger and leader of the Lojoerken.

 Letters & Latency II

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 Letters & Latency III

    Dear Olly,

    Making my way through the marshy plains is harder than I expected. But now I found a friendly ferryman who will take me down to the city in the plain¡¯s delta, his name is Olefas. The snow is already falling here and while the lakes and rivers remain mostly ice-free, Olefas said that soon, the waterways will be blocked by the winter. Even just wet feet in this climate could cost me a toe or two. I am glad I have my fur now, although it is getting awfully frowsty. I liked it when I had you to brush me every day.

    After I arrive in the city ¨C which Olefas told me was named Myrskattnholm ¨C I''ll try to find a ship to Ackarom or even just a way to send a letter.

    But the real reason why I write this letter today, is to tell you everything. I hope to send these letters in the city, but if I can¡¯t I hope I can still tell you some day.

    I have kept a secret from you, namely, that I am an abomination,a blood pactitioner. Roughly half a year ago, I engaged in a blood pact with the spirit now known as Ssil. She is part of my subconscious mind, but has a will of her own. She will always be bound to my body and mind. She used to be a goddess of justice and execution, now I am her high priestess. This is also the reason why I am on this journey. To prove to the Lodge of Sturreland that I am no monster. I do not know whether I will be judged worthy. In fact, I may be put to death, never have I feared this outcome more than when Ii was With you. I will make sure to hand these letters over to good hands before that happens, so they will be delivered to you.

    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.I am abnormal not just because of the growth serum my teachers have given me, but because my body is also the host to a serpent that seeks to inflict pain and death onto those that chose to become criminals.

    I am also not being trained to become a regular witch. My teacher and liberator is a Hidden Hand, a hired blade for dealing with rogue mages and druids and so on. I am being trained to spy, investigate and kill.

    These lies cause me a great deal of shame and regret with every person I talk to, and in the future, I will have to keep even more secrets from even more people. Lie and secret will be as much part of my life as needle and threat of a seamstress''. But not to you. I chose you as the person I do not want to hide from. You shall be worthy all my honesty.

    I hope you will not hate me for keeping this all a secret so far. I hope you can still find a place for me in your heart.

    I miss you.

    In love,

    Nannade.

 Letters & Latency IV

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 Letters & Latency V

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 Letters & Latency VI

    Esteem colleague Blue Wing of Havnarsund,

    Thank you for the enclosed letter, but I must inform you that I cannot help you with the investigation, for the reason, that the person who wrote this letter is my apprentice and right now a fugitive of the Lodge of Sturreland, therefore she cannot answer for the crimes she has committed in Myrskattnholm before answering for her crimes in Sturreland. I must ask you to return her to me, as she is to stand trial. That is why I enclose the following contract for you. Whether you do so or not, please deliver the enclosed letter to her either way, it will make your job considerably easier if she reads it before you attempt to capture her forcefully. In good faith I have also enclosed 50 Communion Copper as payment for that favour.

    If she turns out to be difficult and you decide to go after her, please be assured that she is trained and dangerous and that she most likely has abilities that not even I am entirely aware of. I suspect she is most likely heading for the wound of the north, given her status as a medium and having travelled to the forest of dreams before.

    Best of luck,A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

    Purple Paw of Halonnes.

    Approved by the university of Halonnes

    Approved by the Lodge of Sturreland

    Approved by the university of Fulgopolis

    Approved by the university of Laeddun

    Approved by the university of Plirova

    <hr>

    Contract for the capture and delivery of a fugitive criminal to the court of the Lodge of Sturreland.

    This contract is offering a payment of 20 Communion silver to the contractor.

    Target: Nannade of Sturreland

    Description: Female crolachan of yellow fur, dark red hair and green eyes, approximately 5 feet 4 inches in height

    Last sighting: leaving Myrskattnholm, northbound

    Additional information: Medium, pactitioner and abomination, engaged in a blood bond with a snake spirit (partially abstract).

    Conditions: The target must be brought alive and well before the court of the Lodge of Sturreland, for the purpose of standing trial seated in the council house of Laeddunn.

    Permissions: any methods that do not harm the target will be pardoned.

    Signed, Loganna of Sturreland, Arch-Druid of the Lodge of Sturreland, Sosken 6-3-8, 1346

 Letters & Latency VII

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 Letters & Latency VIII

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 Letters & Latency IX

    Log of Blue Wing

    Contract: Return Nannade of Sturreland

    Day 1: Accepted the contract today and set out. 20 Communion silver is a lot for such a simple task. Purple Paw also gave me 50 Communion copper just to deliver a letter. I won¡¯t disappoint a colleague for that price. Set out from Myrskattnholm on my boat. Already know she¡¯s most likely heading for the crater. Why wouldn¡¯t she?

    Day 2: Pushing my boat upstream through the river delta. Made some good distance today. If all the girl can do is travel on the roads or through the marsh, I¡¯ll have caught up to her soon. Will let Skraar survey from above. Having an eagle as a familiar comes in handy.

    Day 3: At a ferrymen¡¯s camp met someone who saw the girl. Said she was heading dead north.

    Day 4: Nothing of note, caught a big fish for supper, has to be one of my biggest so far. Smoked most of it during the night.

    Day 5: Nothing of note.

    Day 6: Nothing of note.

    Day 7: Coming close to the end of the river delta now. Will have to abandon my boat. Will ask Spirits to conceal it for me as usual.

    Day 8: Heading for the turtle eye''s place of power. I just have to figure which island in the turtle''s eye it currently is closest to. By the stars, I''d say the northernmost one.

    Day 9: Nothing of note. Still heading for the turtle''s eye. I am getting too old for this! Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    Day10: Was at the place of power. Spirits told me the crolachan girl was here too. I tried to contact the singers of the fuming lake, but wasn¡¯t successful.

    Day 11: This target is better at hiding her tracks than I thought, but she¡¯s lagging. Is she taking time or perpetually lost? 20 Communion silver might have been just enough. Skraar does not see a fire every night.

    Day 12: Nothing of note.

    Day 13: Fishers today told me they had heard weird noises across the lakes five days ago. Asked villagers about it. They said they never heard it before and that it sounded ¡°tormented and regretful¡±. Also said someone had been camping on an island there.

    Day 14: I''m pretty sure the screams came from the girl. Some villagers saw her. A fisher claimed to have heard the screams from a certain island north of my position.

    Day 15: Found the island in question. The girl was here. The ground had recently been stirred, there was a buried campfire and some patches of blood. On the other shore, I found logs tied together into a simple raft, had claw marks. She must have clung to it to cross the lake.

    Day 16: The girl moves faster than I anticipated. She now comes into less marshy areas. That¡¯s bad, I can¡¯t catch up to her as easily there. She probably took ten days to make five days¡¯ worth of distance in the marshes. Soon she¡¯ll be at a normal pace again.

    Day 17: It is almost as if I¡¯m coming closer now. In the time it took for the messages to travel between Sturreland and Myrskettnholm, she should have made it out of the marshes without a problem, I''m still in luck no matter how I see it.

    Day 18: Nothing of note. Skraar just spotted her! Far away, but he could see a medium and a spirit on their way out of the marshes. Apparently, they had just gotten up. That¡¯s why Skraar never saw them before: she moved at night. How, I do not know, but she did! That means I can comb the area during day.

    Day 19: Nothing of note.

    Day 20: This morning, Skraar might have spotted her, saw how someone went into a ditch below bushes and didn¡¯t come out. That must be her sleeping spot for the day. Will set up traps before engaging her. Hopefully, the letter from Purple Paw will make her compliant.

 Letter & Latency X

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

 Letters & Latency XI

Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

 Letters & Latency XII

The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

 Letters & Latency XIII

    Day, 31: Reached the pass and stood before the vista again, it is as awe-inspiring as ever. The singers of the shore should remember me. That¡¯s probably where the girl will head to.

    Day 32: That sly fox has snuck a letter into my pack! I can¡¯t believe she had the gall to sneak up on me at night! Skraar said he was paralyzed and could not act. Damn that weasel of a girl!

    <hr>

    Esteemed colleague Blue Wing,

    I do not intend to stop before I have finished what I have to do. If you wish to try and hinder me, I understand, I''m probably worth a lot, and I have no wish to kill you. But be aware. I managed to get to your stuff once. This is just a letter made from paper, but the next time, it might be something different. I already stand on trial for devious crimes.

    Nannade, apprentice of Purple Paw of Halonnes.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    <hr>

    That damn brat! I¡¯ll have to ward my campsites from now on!

    Day 33: The town of Gildronsteathnur lies before me tranquil as ever. The lake is its usual blue and ice-free. I had forgotten how beautiful it is here. Maybe this is where I''ll settle down. I could go hunting with Skraar every day and listen to the singers'' songs of mending.

    Day 34: Getting closer now. Skraar can no longer spot the girl from the air, she might still sleep during the day to fool me.

    Day 35: Arrived in Gildronsteathnur. The people welcomed me back and when I asked about the girl, several people said they saw her, but she apparently quickly moved on to the lake. I will have to seek an audience with the singers.

    Day 36: Not only did they receive her, the singers at the shore sent the girl straight to the Oneirian! On his demand! What has led them to this? What business does she have on the island in the mist? How would she ever achieve it? Who does she know to just waltz into the great wound? I might have overshot it with this contract. 20 silver are suddenly not worth this. The singers will not let me pass. I will have to wait for her if I want to fulfil my contract. Nothing to do but knock a few ones back with old acquaintances.

 Letters & Latency XIV

    I am sitting here at the shore, after the fact, and writing all this down on a large piece of wax paper. The memories of the dream-like logic and unreality of it all are unravelling in my head, dissolving like sugar in hot tea. Most of it could never even be understood by a tiny mind like mine. So I decided to pin these memories down with words before they disappear into nonsense completely.

    I had barely arrived in the town close to the lake, when a young girl greeted me with my name and told me the singers were waiting for me. I followed the girl and she brought me to the shore of the lake. The town itself was some distance from the shore, at the banks of the river that flowed out of the lake and out of the valley. There are no buildings at the lake¡¯s shore and not a single boat on the lake itself.

    Five women of different age greeted me and spoke to me in the old runic language. I didn¡¯t understand everything, but much more than in the native tongue of the land. They told me to make my way across to the island in the lake and showed me to a rowboat.

    I rowed towards the small island, poking out of the still, misty waters like a rock bristled with fir trees. I saw many more singer¡¯s along the shore and heard their song. It was beautiful, soothing, lamenting, pacifying. The mist turned thicker and thicker and finally, the island was more clearly visible than the shore I had left from. I do not know whether it was steam, mist, fumes or something else entirely that rose from the waters, but it seemed to greet me, embrace me.

    I set foot on the island''s shore. Through the trees, I heard the sound of wood being chopped. In the middle I found a hut and in front of it, a young man, maybe an almost adult boy, at the chopping block. He greeted me and said this master would receive me soon, then vanished inside the hut. Finally, a beckoning call led me inside.

    There I found an old man sitting at a fire, wrapped in endless layers of hides, furs and pelts. He told me to take a seat, then he asked me what my request was.

    I told him: to retrieve something that Ssil had told me to retrieve. He answered with a concerned furrow on his brow. Then he told me that I would never return with such a goal in mind, but he was not here to guide me, merely to let me pass. He said that he could not refuse a god entry to their homelands, only the other way around, and so, he would decide whether I would return to the lake''s shore or not.

    I asked where we were and he merely answered, that we were neither here nor there, whatever that means. Spirits and seers are not ones of concise and definitive answers.

    Then I asked, how I would get there and he told me that I was already halfway there and just needed to complete the second half. Finally, he painted a symbol on my forehead with ash and guided me out the door.

    I was back at the rowboat and stared into the distance. I saw the faint lights of the town through the mist. I walked around the Island once, twice, until I decided I had to keep going, no matter what. I came here for a mission that I knew would take me to strange places. Logic and plans were useless here.

    I got back into the rowboat and finished my journey across the lake. It seemed to be much smaller while rowing over it than it had from my vista in the mountains.

    The sky had disappeared while I had been in the mist, and as I regained sight of it, blue translucent floes of ice were drifting like clouds in front of a bright sky with that familiar black star.

    As I stepped onto the shore on the other side, I noticed a shift. I looked back and saw the island still lying there, wreathed in opaque white. An animal that I took for a stag grazed nearby, but its antlers were majesty, forking and tapering out to a hundred tips or more and between each tip ran a thread of golden light. It paid me little heed and merely got back to grazing on the luscious grass growing to its feet. Somehow, I had the feeling that I could not see the entire being, as if the remainder of its greater whole was hiding behind what I saw, always obscured from my limited point of view.

    Ssil, once again from my body, swam through the air and pointed me towards the mountains ahead. They were not the mountains and cliffs I had seen from atop the pass. A narrow notch could be seen where I could make my way through. I tried setting one foot in front of the other, but just that cost me a great deal of concentration and will. With each step, the landscape changed, but it was still the same landscape. My mind strained just trying to perceive that strange place, understanding seemed impossible, but eventually the peak of the mountain pass had become the place where I stood. I looked around and the full weirdness of that plane hit me like a charging bull.

    Ahead of me I saw a trail, leading away from me and towards a large shrouded landscape not obeying any laws of geography. It bent and twisted over and under itself, fraying out into threads and reforming from thin air, my mind feels like it¡¯s about to throw up just remembering.

    It''s weird to say what I did and what happened as a result, but I guess I could say that I turned my head and the landscape changed, except the landscape stayed the same and my head didn¡¯t move, especially because no head can turn into such a direction and stay attached to the neck. It felt more as if I turned my mind! And as a result, I thought about the landscape differently.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.

    As I turned my mind, the black star in the sky set behind the horizon and I watched the landscape change shape like the shadow of an object as I turn it between my fingers or move the light source. It was still the same landscape, but much easier on the mind to bare. I felt unfettered by the bounds of logic, yet also afraid, like a boat adrift on an ocean of strong currents.

    I think this was when it dawned on me, that directions like up and down, left and right, forward and backward, did not exist in that place beyond; they were illusions created by my feeble mind to have something to hold on to. To give the true dimensions of that place shape and form. I had to come to terms with that illusion, or else I would be merely dragged along by Ssil. Like a baby having to learn how to walk, I had to learn to think in a  completely new manner.

    Ssil led me through valleys and over ridges. Thinking back to it, it really felt like I was in a boat carried by currents, with only a flimsy paddle to steer my path. More than once I passed beneath floating shards that seemed to exude a relaxing hum that felt as if it was an island of reality and sanity in that ocean of nonsense. I feared that the ground under my feet could slip through the fingers of my mind if I let myself be distracted any more.

    Ssil made sure to keep me anchored to the correct directions. Her former place of residence, her temple, stood at the intersection of pain and justice, a place not unpopulated, and so we found a town there that was built entirely of courts, arenas, trial grounds, torture chambers and martyr¡¯s stakes. I am sure that if I had turned my mind yet again, I would have discovered dozens of directions into which the city sprawled.

    We arrived at a building that I recognized. I had seen one very much like it before, in a dream about Ssil¡¯s home. It had the same pit in the courtyard and the same pyramid-like central complex, but the one I stood before was made of a dark and merciless stone, not red and white stone with painted reliefs.

    Ssil beckoned me to climb the stairs to the roof of the pyramid complex. There I found a pedestal upon which lied an ornate ceremonial robe covered in feathers and stone pearls, as well as a curved dagger, with an ebony hilt and a blade made from a material like volcanic glass, but bright green instead of black.

    I looked around and saw the courtyard with the pit below me. From up there anyone could easily cast judgement on others. But there was something else with me on that vantage point, other beings. I could feel them standing behind me and to my side, but when I turned my head, there was no one there but Ssil. Until I turned my mind again, that¡¯s when I saw it all.

    I remember seeing the building, vaster than anything I had ever seen. And on it, the serpent¡¯s temple was merely one tiny balcony of many, on each stood another robed figure, casting their judging glares over a landscape of squirming souls. Each figure wore a robe of different make and a held a different tool. A gavel made from beech wood braced with cold-wrought iron. A finely etched sword as high as a person and without point or guard. An axe with a sickle-like blade made from bronze that flowed like water. A torch with a gilded cage containing a silvery flame. A red-hot glowing branding iron that constantly twisted into new shapes. I saw many more tools, most of which are fleeing from my memory as I write.

    I turned around to the objects to my feet. Ssil was impatient, beckoning me to pick up those implements, they obviously no longer fit her; she had shed too much of her former self when she sought refuge in my body. I picked them up.

    The objects weighed heavy in my hands. The robe was a tiny bit too large to fit me, but I imagined I could grow into it. The blade felt cumbersome, badly balanced and useless as anything but a ceremonial tool. These objects were alien; there were not made for me, and Ssil could no longer accommodate them. Yet with every heartbeat I felt my mind¡¯s yearning to expand, to adapt to these items so that I may wield them; it was struggling against my willpower. I heard drums in the distance, coming closer and my heart aching to match the rhythm. My will began to face a dead power, left behind but eager to reunite, and I felt its magnitude envelop my entire world.

    I remembered Elissa¡¯s words, Garetas¡¯ words, and the old man¡¯s words, like a nail in my forehead they tethered my mind. I packed the dagger into the robe, then I struck out as far as I could and hurled the bundle to the ground. I heard the green stone shatter and the robe burst into flames, leaving behind nothing of the two, not even ash or soot.

    Ssil hissed in anger, I did not expect otherwise. But this was the time I had to stake my ground. I will not let go of what I have so easily. I have something to fight for now.

    I told her no. These were no tools for me and no tools for us. We were one now, and everything she only used to be was not part of us. Any power or tool we would come to wield would come from us. I told her that we would forge a new tool to wield and tailor us a new garment to fit us in our new life. No longer would she sit and wait that those to be judged be brought before her. Judgement will come to them like a nightmare in restless sleep.

    She was still reserved, twitching and coiling in anger as she hovered before me.

    It is unwise to anger an entity that I share a body with. I stepped closer and stroked her to show that I did not hate her. I want us to be a union, but I can¡¯t call it union if I submit to her will and become everything she desires to be. That would be submission. Enslavement.

    She understood. I knew it would be difficult to forge a new tool, I don¡¯t even know what these things were that appeared to me as robe and dagger, but I know that it was not meant for me.

    My mind turned around again and was back in the temple. Ruin and decay had already taken roots between its dark and merciless stones since the vestments had been destroyed. It would not last much longer. Ssil seemed melancholic, I think I would have been too. It was time to look ahead, we will make this body a great new temple.

    I sit here now, at the shore of lake Stormeithslgigr and write this. With each word I put down, the otherworldly logic is pinned down a little more, but much had already fled from my mind before I even arrived. I don¡¯t know how long I had been gone. Time was possibly of no meaning in that place.

    It is time to meet Blue Wing. He might not have stopped me, but I could still do him the favour of letting him take me to Sturreland for that contract. No reason to spit on his efforts, also, it would mean I¡¯d have a safe passage and would have to pay no fee.

    It¡¯s time to go home.

 Letters & Latency Epilogue

    The lake was still, only the slowly rising mist gave of any sense of life. Snow had piled up its shores and the singers were weaving their songs into the wind. Blue Wing had been sitting on the shore quite a while. The singers had not allowed him to come any closer, but he returned here each day to see whether the girl had returned, most of his stash was with an acquaintance in the town. Why the Oneirian invited the girl was beyond him, but he was in no place to question him or the singers. Blue Wing had been doing this for far too long. His hair and turned white as the snow sooner than most people¡¯s but still, his age showed. He didn¡¯t know how many of those hunts across the snow and ice, through marsh and reeds he still had in him.

    Finally, the girl returned. She stepped close to him as he sat on a bench.

    ¡°I am done. Do you want to fulfil your contract?¡±

    He looked up from his contemplation. Her eyes were full of determination. She had a plan and he knew he was part of it.

    ¡°I guess you took pity on me and thought you could get an easy ride back home in me?¡±

    She nodded.

    ¡°Well if we are going to do that, we¡¯re going to do it right.¡± He reached for the bundle next to him and pulled forth a chain hauberk and a pair of cold-wrought iron shackles.

    ¡°Is that really necessary?¡±

    ¡°For appearances, yes. Also, you threatened me, remember?¡±

    She sighed and rolled her eyes. She truly was her age. He put the shackles and the hauberk on her and the two of them got going. He still had to recover some of his stuff from his acquaintance''s.

    ¡°I have a favour to ask.¡± She said while they were heading for the hut. ¡°I want to send a few letters to Northbridge from Myrskattnholm. Do you think you could lend me the postage.¡±

    It was a minor request. She should have it. ¡°Sure.¡±

    <hr>

    It would take them quite a while to reach Laeddunn. With her help, the trail across the mountains was much faster. She quickly climbed ahead ¨C freed from her shackles ¨C and secured the rope for him. Once over the mountains, they managed to buy passage on a ferryman¡¯s sled down the frozen river, all the way to Myrskattnholm. From there, it was more than a dozen days on foot south, to the last ice-free port on the western continent.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.

    After they had reached the port, they took a ship Havnarsund, where the captain insisted on laying in port for the yearless days were nigh, those six or five days between the last day of the previous year and the first day of the new year. The scholars and wise ones used these days to line up the days of the year with the equinoxes and solstices. The common folk used these days to reflect on their past and plan for their future, recount their mistakes and observe their progress. Endeavours of mundane nature were put to rest during this time, so the captain insisted. Then, the spring equinox came. Little reason for the girl to celebrate. She had told Blue Wing that she would never be allowed to dance for the rites of fertility.

    Their journey went on, all the way around the Veshurky mountains, between the Gimean islands, up the river into lake Anmorley and to the ports of Laeddunn.

    During this long way home, he and Skraar had gotten to know the girl and her past. He was sure she would make a decent Hidden Hand, if she was not executed for her crimes. Her greatest sin was being born. If she ran, she could have lived well in the wilderness of the north, she already proved she could survive the depths of winter.

    Skraar''s opinion of the girl was almost one of respect. He had seldomly been able to spot the girl, placing her wits above his keen senses. Eagles were ambitious animals, soaring high to plunge with great force, staking large claims above all other animals. It was rare that one would pay this much respect to a sneaky prey such as Nannade.

    The girl had quite enough time on the ship to learn card games from the sailors. They had no qualms about inviting a young girl in shackles to a round of cards. Towers, Polly¡¯s Basket and Caravan, they knew every way a man could waste time and coin with gambling.

    It was a fresh spring day that the spires of Laeddunn rose on the horizon. Both Nannade and Blue Wing stood at the deck of the ship, Skraar flying ahead to give note of the prisoner arriving.

    ¡°If they execute me here,¡± The girl whispered to the wind. ¡°I won¡¯t even see Sturreland again.¡±

    ¡°Sounds like the greatest of injustices to me.¡±

    ¡°I don¡¯t worry about it. I won¡¯t let it happen. And neither will She.¡±

 Judgement & Jeopardy Prologue

    Winds of spring were filling the sails on the three masts. Blue Wing was standing on deck with Nannade. She had her hands and feet bound in iron shackles and wore an iron chain hauberk, to disable her from using any magic. Not that it was necessary, the girl had been most cooperative. But optics had to be upheld.

    The ship had passed onto the lake Anmorley and the spires of Laeddunn harbour and government district rose from the waters high above, connected by skyways and plazas. Most dominant of all was the bulky body of the prison, suspended on hundreds of big chains, far out on the lake. If anything should happen with the dangerous individuals inside, the chains could easily be dropped and the people inside drowned. The special containment cell the girl had to be put into was most likely inside as well.

    At the pier, a group of five Guardians of the Lodge of Sturrelandalready stood ready, in their grey surcoats, crow feather pauldrons, leather helmets, and spears. Skraar sat beside them, eagerly awaiting his master¡¯s return.

    As they walked over the gangplank, they hailed him and he led the girl to them. Three of them took the girl immediately into their custody and led her off, while the remaining two stayed with Blue Wing.

    ¡°We¡¯ll assume you¡¯re Blue Wing of Havnarsund. Please follow us for the pay-out and a final debriefing.¡±

    They led him to city hall of Leaddunn. He had never been in this city but it was renown for being partially build above lake Anmorley and he was impressed by the architecture. He had never been this far west and the harsh nature of the Gimean people surely showed in the architecture, even though this was on the mainland.

    City hall was built on four towers above the lake shore and the way upwards was made easy by an elevator.

    He was led inside into a small office, where another Guardian of the Lodge of Sturreland was already waiting. He had his 20 Communion Silver paid out to him and signed the receipt, all usual process for these sort of contracts. Just as he thought the process was over, one of the Guardians turned to him.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    ¡°There is one last request we are to relay: Purple Paw of Halonnes wishes to speak to you. Will you grant him the time?¡±

    Blue Wing was taken by surprise, but did not have to think for long. ¡°Yes, gladly.¡±

    He was led further down city hall to another small office, where a man, strong built, with a well-kempt beard and short dark blonde hair, sat behind a desk.

    ¡°You must be Blue Wing.¡± The man stood up to greet him. ¡°I am Purple Paw, pleased to meet you, I am the teacher and attorney of Nannade. I am deeply grateful for bringing her back.¡±

    He moved a chair aside for Blue Wing to sit down as well.

    ¡°I have a couple of small favours to ask of you and I hope that you agree, please take a seat.¡± He took place behind the desk and pulled out a huge leather ledger, then let it fall on the desk with a loud THUD.

    ¡°There are a few things I had to prepare in anticipation of the trial. I think you understand the difficult situation the girl is in?¡±

    ¡°Aye.¡± Blue Wing nodded. She was heading for death if things did not go well.

    Purple Paw stood up again and walked to the door. ¡°If you do not want to be implicated in anything, I advise you leave now.¡± He made a gesture toward the door.

    Blue Wing was just about to stand up, but something held him back. He didn¡¯t know whether it was the way the girl had carried herself so carefree despite her situation, or the way this man seemed to be defeated by something long and tiresome. He planted his behind even deeper in the chair¡¯s cushion. When Purple Paw understood him, he returned to behind the desk and drew the courtains. He leaned over the desk to Blue Wing and whispered.

    ¡°There are many things I am willing to save her from, and just as many things I¡¯m willing to give up. But I can¡¯t do it alone.¡±

    Then Purple Paw drew forth a piece of paper from the ledger and handed it to Blue Wing. On it was a simple letter of gratitude with all the necessary verbiage. But what struck Blue Wing was not that it was so ordinary as a letter, but that the paper itself felt heavier and thicker than a normal sheet, almost as if it was two pieces glued together.

    Then Purple Paw stood up and spoke in a loud and clear voice. ¡°I thank you. I would appreciate it very much, if you would stay with the other Hands for the trial. A good day to you, colleague.¡±

    Blue Wing stood up as well and shook his hand. With this, he left the office. He¡¯d go look for a good inn to book into for now, one where he would be guaranteed a private chamber.

 Judgement & Jeopardy I

    Nannade was sitting in a special containment cell again. This one was a bit smaller and a bit colder than the one in Sosken, but otherwise the same. Cold-wrought iron strips lined the walls, inscribed with runes of holding and arcane spells to shield against any attempted attack or breach. She had a table with two chairs, a bed and a bucket. Occasionally, she could feel the building sway in the wind, similar to how it felt under the deck of the Vigilantia. At least it was rare enough to not make her sick. Being suspended above water in an iron chamber did make her nervous, however. She had always hated enclosed and dark spaces. She preferred to sleep among the trees and high up. In this cell she would wait for her trial. Or at least the announcement of the date. So far nobody had come to talk to her, despite it being more than a day that she had arrived in Laeddunn.

    She heard steps down the corridor outside. It had to be for her, she was sure to be the only inmate on this level. Many lands and cities liked to pay Laeddunn for security containment of their more difficult criminals, but this seemed to be off-season for heavy-duty crime.

    She heard the keys being inserted into her cell¡¯s door and turned one after the other. Several heavy mechanisms unlocked and it opened. It was two of the prison guards accompanied by a Guardian of the Lodge.

    ¡°We¡¯re here to escort you to your attorneys, Elissa of Sturreland and Purple Paw of Halonnes.¡±

    Nannade''s heart jumped twice in joy. The feeling of home was palpable at last! She was quickly on her feet. No need to keep them waiting. She didn¡¯t even mind the extra guards accompanying her or the chains and wards they put on her.

    They led her out of the prison complex and towards city hall. Other people walking on the skyways quickly made way for the heavily guarded prisoner escort. The skyways were wide enough for two carriages, although none ever drove on them. The towers and skyways were shaped elegantly from a bright stone and a metal with a light blue tint, clinging to the stone like flowing net.

    She was led inside city hall and there to a small office, also heavily guarded. The door was opened and she saw them, sitting at a desk in conversation. Garetas and Elissa, those two faces she had seen at least one of every day for her entire life in freedom. Nannade didn¡¯t give a rat¡¯s arse about the guards holding her by the shoulder. Within a heartbeat, she broke loose and jumped around Garetas'' neck before he could even brace himself. Tears pushed their way out of her eyes, even though she tried hardest to not let them. She just took in the smell of his skin and the feeling of his beard bristling against her cheek.

    ¡°Hey there. I missed you too, Fleabag.¡±

    She finally managed to detach herself from him and he took a good look up and down her body.

    ¡°You¡¯ve grown, girl.¡± He gestured up and down her body. She didn¡¯t notice all this time but she had to admit she saw it now that he mentioned it, he seemed a tad smaller. ¡°And the hair too!¡±

    She smiled with still wet eyes. ¡°These aren¡¯t coming off, no matter what you say!¡± she liked them as they were now, reaching as far as her chin and a bit beyond. She ran her fingers through them, then she turned to Elissa and was hit with a shock. Under her dress, her belly bulged. Just a tiny bit, but definitely.

    ¡°WHAT?¡±

    Elissa had to giggle.

    ¡°WHO?¡± she turned to Garetas.

    ¡°No, how can you even think that?¡±

    Elissa just hugged her. ¡°We¡¯ll talk about it later. For now, we have more important matters to discuss.¡±

    They took place at the table and Garetas put a big ledger on the table.

    ¡°First things first, Nannade.¡± He struck out for his coming report. ¡°Priscilla, High-Sister Priscilla, died a few dozens of days after you left. We decided to be your defence, since no one else was willing to do it.¡±

    The death of Priscilla hit Nannade hard. She never took the opportunity to properly thank her after being so nasty to her during the first half of the trial.

    ¡°We will also have to do with a much smaller jury this time. Not all of the inner circle could make it to Laeddunn.¡± We suspect that Loganna might have ordered the trial to be held now and outside of Sturreland for the specific purpose of stacking the deck against us, instead of waiting for the year to pass or annulling your banishment. She seems really bent on seeing you dead, Nannade. BUT!¡± And now Garetas inhaled deeply. ¡°We might have a chance to counter her. You see, I have already called in several Hidden Hands just in case you should be found innocent or not dangerous and thereby let go. Normally, five other Hidden Hands have to oversee the establishing of a new Hand¡¯s call sign and first mark of approval. But I managed to negotiate that these five to be additional advisors. They might be able to sway the inner circle, and also remind the Lodge of our role and importance. They might even get the right to convene with the trusted judges and Loganna as a tribunal.¡±

    Nannadetook a few breaths. It was a little bit to take in. Elissa¡¯s pregnancy and Priscilla¡¯s death were enough for now. She had to free her mind.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    ¡°Everything alright?¡± Elissa put a hand on her shoulder.

    Nannade nodded. ¡°Just taking it in one at a time.¡±

    Elissa looked to Garetas gave her a few moments to order the thoughts in her head.

    ¡°Now, I told you that you have good chances. But we don¡¯t know if Loganna sees the reports the same way we do. She might be overruled by her highest judges again, but she might not.¡±

    ¡°Can I see the reports?¡±

    ¡°Sure.¡± Garetas took the ledger and handed it to Nannade.

    Endless single pieces of paper, short reports of what happened as well as longer assessments were just shoved into it, in loose chronological order. She Started to sort them, most of them furnished with a date in one corner. She could not find herself in all those statements. There were certain issues that had been glossed over, sugar-coated or outright omitted. How she dealt with Bronislaw, the woman she tortured for three days and nights, her failure to resist the Maiden of Fertility, the fact she now had venomous fangs, and a few more things. Why would Aaka, or Black Surgeon omit these?

    Then it dawned on her. The paths she had been set upon; the tasks she had been given. Black Surgeon had trained her, not assessed her. She wasn¡¯t supposed to be tested, Black Surgeon already knew she was no threat, he wanted her to learn how to arrange herself with Ssil and how to better wield her new body. Like a silken thread of conspiracy, it ran throughout her travels and the report as well. Barely visible, but still fatal to those who get tangled up in it. It was all a clever trick to fool Loganna. She would not betray his trick so close to its pointe.

    She made sure to keep her composure and hoped the other two hadn¡¯t noticed her contemplation and revelation.

    ¡°Okay... I guess this looks good, please tell me, what¡¯s the plan now? What am I in for?¡±

    Elissa averted her eyes. Then Garetas sighed and looked straight at Nannadewith a glare he¡¯d normally only put on when discussing the plan for a mission in all detail and seriousness.

    ¡°If Loganna manages to overturn the previous session''s verdict, which she will at least try, she might get a guilty verdict with a broad enough margin to have you executed.¡±

    ¡°WHAT?¡±

    ¡°The law of Sturreland is not exactly precise on this, but it is said that execution is only possible if there is at least a two-thirds margin for guilty.¡±

    Nannade felt fear flare up like an icy burn on her heart. ¡°She can¡¯t do that! There is no way the report warrants that!¡±

    ¡°She might try to get that tossed out as well. We don¡¯t know how she intends to do that, but it would fit her blend of nastiness and malignity.¡±

    ¡°You won¡¯t let that happen, right?¡± She looked to Elissa, who was still silent and turned away.

    ¡°We promise, we¡¯ll get you out of the death penalty. But the options don¡¯t look very good.¡±

    ¡°Like what?¡± Nannade didn¡¯t know whether knowing or not knowing the alternatives was better.

    Elissa was the one to speak up. ¡°They say that the Lodge of Sturreland does not believe in prisons, but they still have some choices. You could be bound in some cave, guarded by druids. Like in the story of Borakand the Bear. Or they could bind your soul to a place of power, making you unable to leave the forest, even in death. They could brand your forehead with the mark of the sinner and forbid you from leaving Sturreland. Then there are some other means, like taking your hands, shattering your mind, making you deaf, dumb and blind, or simply leaving you in that containment cell in Sosken until you die.¡±

    ¡°No!¡± Nannade had to shudder at each of these alternatives. ¡°I won¡¯t be put back in chains, I won¡¯t go back into some dungeon or hole in the rock to be forgotten! I WONT! Teacher,¡± she turned to Garetas. ¡°Tell me, please tell me you''ll get me executed before that happens! I won¡¯t go back there!¡± Even Ssil writhed in anger as she heard what might be her fate as well; unlike Nannade, her mind would not be able to leave an imprisonment of the soul simply by dying.

    Garetas, who had thrown an accusing glare at Elissa, made assuaging gestures. ¡°Those are just the worst cases. And as I said: I got other Hidden Hands involved. We can sway them, we can even demand to put you before our own tribunal, which would however result in your exclusion from my tutelage. And former apprentices of Hidden Hands have a remarkably short lifespan.¡±

    That did not make things better. Not one bit.

    ¡°I¡¯d probably take the mission myself to make sure you won¡¯t suffer before your death.¡±

    This was somehow the most uplifting thing that Nannade had heard in this room.

    ¡°Another thing that could happen is that they demote you to and Empty Palm. You would get a call sign, but a dishonourable one that marks you as an Empty Palm, you would be barred from getting any marks of approval, casting magic, taking contracts by yourself, taking on apprentices, sitting in any council or tribunal; basically you¡¯d be like you are now. With no right or voice and forever attached to me.They could also simply void your time in Sturreland, forcibly put you under the tutelage of someone else. I have a weird feeling Black Surgeon would want to volunteer for that.¡±

    The best option still sounded horrible. Nannade put her forehead on the desk. ¡°It¡¯s over, isn''t it?¡±

    ¡°No. There are still chances. The trusted judges seek to stop Loganna from turning this into a mock trial.¡±

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Elissa put her hands on Nannade¡¯s shoulders. ¡°There are other places more open to what you did. Remember what High-Sister Priscilla said? Just a few generations ago, it was even practiced by the Lodge itself to some extent.¡±

    Nannade was at the end of her resilience. ¡°I can¡¯t deal with this anymore. I am useless here anyway. Just put me back in my cell.¡± She stood up and turned to the guards. ¡°Put me back in, boys.¡±

    Garetas made one last attempt at cheering her up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Fleabag, I always come prepared.¡±

    She smiled as much as she could. ¡°Thank you. Both of you. For everything.¡±

    She had a last hug with them, then the guards escorted her back to her cell.

 Judgement & Jeopardy II

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 Judgement & Jeopardy III

    Damn Loganna that underhanded bitch!

    Nannade gritted her teeth and suppressed many curses. Curses at Loganna for bringing in a witness without notifying the defence. Curses at Bronislaw for having the gall to play victim after he tried to kill her. But also curses at herself for not staying to make sure that bastard died.

    Bronislaw was just done introducing himself and stating his significance to the trial when Loganna addressed him again. ¡°Brother Bronislaw, if you feel able to, please tell us the circumstances and events during your encounter with the accused.¡±

    Before Bronislaw could answer, one of Loganna''s trusted judges spoke up. ¡°High-sister Loganna, it is highly discouraged to introduce a witnessed at such short notice into the trial.¡±

    Loganna had little time for that remark and brushed it aside before asking Bronislaw to start his witness report.

    All Nannade could do was listen and grit her teeth while Bronislaw told his lies. That she had threatened him when he had refused to tell her the location of the forest for dreams, for her own protection. That she had hissed at him. That she had made threatening gestures. That he only bound her to calm her down. That he tried to tell her the location after all. The entire time, Nannade could have pulverised stones between her teeth, and her teachers noticed. Elissa was trying to calm her by stroking Nannade¡¯s clenched fist while Garetas seemed to join in on the teeth-gritting.

    He was lying with a silver tongue and Loganna was happy he did, Nannade could smell her inner smirk all the way to where she sat while having to listen to that bastard.

    ¡°... then she continued her assault with bare fists. Let¡¯s get that blood pumping! She said. She used pain and poison like tools. This demon she has, it is cruelty!¡±

    His voice was weak and hoarse, surely the venom had rampaged in his body quite a lot and he had sustained permanent afflictions, not just blindness. Still Nannade saw the play in his demeanour, his fake fear. He had come to get a second chance at killing her.

    Nannade wanted to spring into action, but Garetas had already put his hand on her shoulder, he knew what force was tensed up inside of her.

    ¡°...if it hadn¡¯t been for a fellow caretaker of the land finding me out of mere luck and circumstance, I would have slowly died in pain and agony.¡± His testimony was finally done. Loganna turned to Nannade, to try to batter her down with her judgement. But Nannade wouldn¡¯t be the one to squirm beneath her eyes.

    ¡°Nannade, how do you answer these accusations?¡±

    ¡°He¡¯s a bloody liar! He attacked me and he did NOT want to untie me. He kept going despite knowing I was crolachan! He never even asked for confirmation that I stood under the protection of the Lodge!¡±

    Loganna smirked. ¡°It is weird that this is not mentioned in Aaka''s reports, merely that you somehow ¡°got away from him¡± and nothing more.¡± She turned to Black Surgeon. ¡°Why was this not included in the report, Black Surgeon. We trusted you.¡±

    Murmuring rose in the crowd, in these closed walls much more suffocating than on the clearing in the forest.

    Black Surgeon adjusted his pose. He had apparently managed to prepare a statement this time. ¡°Because Aaka saw Nannade¡¯s behaviour as completely adequate and reasonable, not out of the ordinary, just like her venom; Aaka is a spider after all. Nannade is a young girl, tricked and lured to be killed by someone she had trusted. It was not cruelty; it was merely a valve to vent pent up frustration he had put her through.¡±

    ¡°You had been hired as a neutral observer and advisor. It¡¯s now all too obvious that you¡¯ve been compromised by your ties to our sister Elissa, that should have been obvious. You have failed your task. These entire past months had been nothing but a waste!¡± Loganna slammed her hand on the desk in front of her. ¡°You tricked and deceived us!¡±

    The room grew restless. Black Surgeon raised his hand. ¡°Do I still have the floor? Hello?¡± he tried to calm them down. ¡°To accuse me of manipulating data is preposterous. Was it not the accused herself that demanded we prove her dangerous? Even if all was as brother Bronislawdescribed it, it seems that Nannade is not any more dangerous for it. She was attacked in both versions of the story. If brother Bronislaw had not attacked her, he would have not suffered her defence.¡±

    The anger and spite on Loganna''s face could have dried up an entire oak tree. ¡°You lied to us, we cannot trust a single word you say, all of this was pointless! You wasted our time and allowed this highly dangerous individual to gather more experience in killing!¡±

    The fire in Nannade¡¯s legs roared and before her teachers could react, she sprung up, half over to table with an outstretched finger. ¡°What do you mean, highly dangerous? I defended myself! This guy comes in here-¡° Elissa and Garetas tried to put a calming hand on her shoulder, but she slapped them away. ¡°-comes in here and tells these lies that would allow you to execute me, but you question Black Surgeon instead of the stranger? Have you forgotten where you stand and what for?¡±

    Nannade''s voice resounded from the walls and sherealized that she might have underestimated her volume. The room was a bit silent, until Loganna leaned forward on her elbows.

    ¡°Nannade, you would be wise to remember your peculiar situation here. We cannot trust anything these people say. So, watch what you say when you¡¯re talking to me, you brat! Purple Paw, reign in your overambitious yob of an apprentice! You two have been nothing but trouble ever since you arrived in Sturreland.¡±

    Garetas finally pushed Nannade down back into her chair.

    Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!¡°You can¡¯t seriously be giving her this satisfaction!¡± She snarled at him. ¡°She just wants me in chains as long as possible!¡±

    ¡°Shut up, fleabag! We can wait this out, trust me. This is exactly what we talked about.¡±

    She wanted to hiss, but held back, just for now.

    ¡°I think the balance of evidence has been established, ¡°Loganna again put up her bulwark of arrogance before her. ¡°with the report being nothing but lies and the letters being flimsier than the paper they were written on, we can move on to casting judgement on whether Nannade, apprentice of Purple Paw, is guilty of being a dangerous abomination.¡±

    This time it was Garetas who jumped up. ¡°You can¡¯t do that, we already had that vote cast last session!¡±

    ¡°But it was inconclusive because no one had sufficient evidence.¡±

    Garetas¡¯ voice was made out ofoutrage and protest. ¡°It WAS conclusive. Guilty by a narrow margin, too narrow to condemn an accused not of age to death, this time I came prepared, I read your convoluted laws! I call upon the trusted judges uphold the proper procedure!¡±

    Loganna¡¯s face deformed into a grotesque stew of hatred and arrogance. ¡°I¡¯ve had enough, Guardians, remove Purple Paw from the court room so we can continue this trial in proper order!¡±

    One of the Guardian made a move towards Garetas, but immediately halted in his movement. He looked to the trusted judges, one of which had raised his hand. The room grew silent, even Loganna.

    The judge raised her voice. ¡°Arch-Druid Loganna. You cannot have the defence removed from the room after you did so much to spur them on so much. We will now take over the proceedings of the trial. You have proven to be incapable of keeping order in the courtroom. You are, in fact, one of the biggest source of unrest in this courtroom.¡±

    Loganna wanted to protest, but saw that she had used up all her good will. She moved to the back of the podium, while whispers and murmur filledthe room. Then the judge turned to Garetas.

    ¡°And of you, Purple Paw, I have ask that you remain from commenting or bursting out when not given the floor. The same goes for your apprentice. Chastise her or we shall chastise you.¡±

    Garetas appeared to be rather content with that. He turned to Elissa. ¡°Do you want to do the rest?¡± His voice was oddly calm.

    Elissa nodded. ¡°Still kind of rude what you did.¡±

    Nannade understood what had happened. They had taken the reigns away from Loganna on purpose. There may have been some genuine emotion in what Garetas had done, but it was not entirely incidental.

    Elissa stood up, before the judge could move on with the trial.

    ¡°Does the defence have something to say?¡±

    ¡°Yes, your honour. We would like to question the witness, if that is permitted.¡±

    ¡°Go ahead.¡±

    Elissa turned to Bronislaw, who was still sitting to the side of the podium.

    ¡°Brother Bronislaw, Why did you not believe when the accused told you she was an apprentice of the Lodge of Sturreland? We know she could have shown you the letter detailing her circumstances.¡±

    The gaunt man took a while before answering. ¡°She is an abomination, I was right in this regard!¡±

    ¡°But she was right in her regard too.¡±

    ¡°Why should I give the sinner benefit of the doubt?!¡± he seemed angry, as far as his voice allowed him to. ¡°She was dangerous! She wanted me dead!¡±

    ¡°If you did not believe her, then what led you to the Lodge of Sturreland to seek justice for her supposed crime against you?¡±

    Bronislaw took much longer than before to come up with an answer this time. Even NANNADE knew that Elissa had him with that question.

    Bronislaw finally answered. ¡°It was my only lead. What else should I have done?¡±

    Elissa turned to the podium. ¡°May I ask High-Sister Loganna a question?¡±

    The high judge hesitated and looked to her peers. They seemed to be just as puzzled but agreed.

    Loganna was not up for it. Her face showed genuine disgust with Elissa, but she abided by the ordeal.

    ¡°High-Sister Loganna, have you already filed charges against Brother Bronislaw with the Siblings of Northern Nisumski?¡±

    The expression on Loganna''s face showed genuine surprise. ¡°No, why should I?¡±

    The way Nannade saw it, Elissa had both of them by the ears, twisting and tugging like one would with a disobedient child.

    ¡°You tell Black Surgeon off for getting some things supposedly wrong, yet you completely ignore the fact that even in Brother Bronislaw''s side of the story, he would be guilty of something that could be seen as a slight against the Lodge of Sturreland. You have not even considered his words to be untrue.¡± Agreeing murmurs could be heard from the podium and the jury. ¡°You do not represent the interests of the members of the Lodge, as you promised when sworn in. You jumped to the occasion to accuse a member of the Lodge of a crime, without defending her.¡±

    Loganna answered in a hurt and angry tone. ¡°Nannade is the apprentice of a Hidden Hand, not the Lodge!¡±

    The force with which Elissa snapped back at Loganna was frightening. ¡°Then let THEM deal with her, but you opened the trial against her as a member of the Lodge, instead of calling upon other Hidden Hands to form a tribunal, Purple Paw had to do that himself, he had to CONVINCE the highest members to let the tribunal of five take part! They¡¯re here now, there they are!¡± Elissa beckoned towards the masked figures on the side lines.

    The room lay silent for a long time. With many questions lined up on her eyebrow, Nannade looked to Garetas, who only smiled back at her. Did they know Loganna would try a foul play like that? If yes, how? She looked over to Black Surgeon. He did not look at them, but rather at Loganna, as if he was drinking in her expression. Again, she found herself surrounded by invisible, silken thread of conspiracy, sure that no matter where she turned, she¡¯d run into one of those silken threads spun disgustingly at exactly eye-level.

    Loganna still had not replied to Elissa, and it didn¡¯t look like she even intended to.

    ¡°No further questions, your honour.¡± With that Elissa went back to her seat, satisfied and nodding to Garetas.

    The crowd hastily whispered among themselves as Elissa took place next to the other two. Garetas seemed rather content with her. Was this all planned? How much can these two plot together? Or maybe it was three? Four? Who else?

    The master of ceremonies spoke up. ¡°Unless any party has any remarks or questions left, the twelve trusted judges and the tribunal of Hidden Hands will now proceed to deliberation on an appropriate sentence.¡± He paused for a moment and looked around the room. Blue Wing had raised his hand.

    ¡°Blue Wing of Havnarsund, was it? You have the floor.¡±

    Blue Wing cleared his throat. ¡°I do not wish to decide whether what brother Bronislaw said was the truth, but regardless of that, Nannade had the chance to kill me. But instead, she decided to use the opportunity to tell me her intentions. I have hunted many people that were much more willing to fight and kill instead of going about their way. She is not dangerous. Her cooperative ways have told me as much. I think, of all the people who wrote their letters to this court, I have spent the most time with her on our travels, at least that¡¯s what I read from the report, more than two months, not counting my pursuit across plains and mountains. That¡¯s why I consider myself experienced enough to judge this. She''s a good soul, deep and full of secrets like the ocean, but good.¡±

    At that last sentence, Nannade felt her heart make an especially strong beat. It was different from when Black Surgeon made his stand for her during the first session. She was happy Blue Wing had spoken up.

    ¡°Please take that into consideration.¡±

    A moment of silence.

    The master of ceremonies scanned the room again, finding no one with any remarks left. The judges stood up and disappeared through the door behind the podium, the tribunal of five remained. The door fell shut with a loud CLUNK.

    Nothing to do but wait.

 Judgement & Jeopardy IV

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 Judgement & Jeopardy V

    A stiff breeze was blowing over the skyways as Nannade was once again led to City hall by guards. This time she was led to a different room. She was not yet allowed inside, instead waiting on one of the chairs in the hallway, opposite of the great arched glass windows that were flooding the building with a sunny atmosphere. Soon after, Elissa and Garetas arrived as well. They were informed that the tribunal and the judges were still preparing to receive Garetas to hear his formal appeal. Nannade would have to wait outside. ¡°Only Hidden Hands with a call sign can address a tribunal of five as a peer.¡± Was what Garetas had said.

    After that, they would have to wait some more until they would be called upon by the tribunal. The three of them, well-guarded, waited for the tribunal to open the session.

    When it finally was time, Garetas was called in. He pulled a folded piece of paper from his vest pocket, unfolded it, threw a few last glances on it, then put it back in the pocket. His face showed concentration and surety.

    The moments that he was inside seemed to stretch ever longer but finally, he emerged from the door. Anticipation unleashed the tension in Nannade¡¯s body as she shot up from her seat a d turned to him.

    Garrett chuckled, trying to hide frustration and tiredness. ¡°Not yet, I just made the formal appeal and clarified the issue.¡±

    ¡°AAAND?¡± Nannade tensed up even more. ¡°What did they say?¡±

    ¡°Well,... I told them that the mark of the sinner would be detrimental to your past years of training and preparation being utilized. They accepted my appeal and will now deliberate and negotiate. That can take a while and they might want any of us for further testimonies. Sit back down!¡±

    The hours of waiting stretched even more agonizing than the few minutes Garetas had been inside. Agonizing boredom. Garrett and Nannade tried to get two of the guards involved in a game of cards, but they remained stalwart. So instead, Garrett tested Nannade''s wit with a memory game. It had been a while that she really practiced anything. She had to use her wits and skills many times in the past year, but never were they purposefully tested like this.

    The sun outside the broad and high windows was beginning to turn to a golden yellow when Nannade noticed a sound at the door. Shortly after, it opened and member of the five Hands stepped out and turned to them.

    ¡°The tribunal has concluded. Please enter.¡±

    Nannade tried to contain her nervousness as they entered and found the seventeen sitting there. The door shut behind her and the room felt like it was tearing her apart from mere tension. The head judge awaited them. She held up a piece of paper and read aloud. ¡°Nannade of Sturreland, we, the tribunal of five Hidden Hands and twelve trusted judges of Sturreland, have come to the conclusion that your punishment shall be branding with the mark of the sinner-¡°This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.

    Nannade''s heart sank. Then the judge went on.

    ¡°-in accordance with the proceedings and to the discretion of the five Hands overseeing theestablishment of your call sign and reception of your mark of approval by the Lodge of Sturreland. The stone of sin will then be handed over to one of the five Hidden Hands of this tribunal, chosen by us twelve judges, but not disclosed to any one person.¡±

    Nannade tried to make sense of the words she just had heard. ¡°What is that supposed to mean? In accordance with the proceedings...chosen by us but not disclosed to any one person...¡±

    It was Garetas who answered her. ¡°It means you¡¯re allowed to hide the mark of the sinner like you are allowed to hide your seal.¡±

    In her head, she finally managed to arrange the mazy words into a proper meaning. ¡°Oh.¡±

    The judge spoke up again. ¡°Does the defence wish to make an appeal?¡±

    The room was silent as all eyes looked to Nannade, only Nannade¡¯s eyes looked to Garrett.

    ¡°Do you?¡± he asked her.

    She turned inward. This was the day she had banished from her mind so many times. It would not get better from here on out, she knew that much. She tensed up her jaw, straightened her back and prepared for her answer. ¡°No, the defence does not wish to file anappeal.¡± This was her fire to walk into alone.

    ¡°Then your branding will be made in Laeddunn in thirteen days from now. Once you are branded, you and your stone of sin will be handed over to the responsibility of the tribunal. These were the conditions that all parties could agree on. Guilt and punishment will be upheld, as will be professional destination.¡±

    Something inside Nannadesank deep, deeper than she could have ever imagined, but was at peace at the same time. She felt that something was coming to an end. She accepted it. It was like trying on a new collar and finding if to be bearable.

    ¡°Court dismissed.¡±

    They were back out on the hallway. The sun and clouds outside cast a cruelly beautiful evening upon the city. It was not her day.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Fleabag.¡± Garetas¡¯ tried to cheer her up. ¡°This is an even better outcome that I had expected. You should see this as a victory.¡±

    Nannade could only sigh as the guards put their hands on her shoulders and led her back outside. Garetas and Elissa were accompanying her.

    ¡°I know. Still. I guess all that time out there felt so good. I felt so free. Now that comes to an end. I feel like I lied to myself all this time. I forgot that I failed in my lifelong goal. The serpent didn¡¯t set me truly free after all. I couldn¡¯t take my freedom from you. I was betrayed or toyed with by almost everyone, from Bronislaw to Black Surgeon.¡±, She sighed again. Heavier and heartier than before. ¡°I just...¡± she stopped for a moment. The guards pushed her on, bit she resisted, only a little. ¡°...I thought I could just take what I wanted, but instead I broke it. For the rest of my life.¡±

    They arrived at the swaying suspended bridge leading to the suspended prison. Nannade sighed another time. ¡°I guess this is where we say goodbye for now.¡±

    Garetas¡¯ tried his best at a smile. ¡°We¡¯ll see if we can get some visitations. They gotta let us see you some day.¡±

    Nannade liked that. They said their goodbyes and Nannade was escorted inside and put back in her cell.

    With a loud SLAM the door was shut, the locked several times behind her. She was in her cell again. Thirteen days. She really hoped her teachers would be allowed to visit her.

 Judgement & Jeopardy VI

    Nannade was trembling. She was hiding it well, but she was trembling, that much Garrett could see. She was standing before a door in a basement of Laeddunn University. Behind the door lay a room that was currently being prepared for her branding. She had been very brave up until now. Garrett had made sure to prepare her mentally, but that was mainly to ease her fear so she would at least feel prepared. In reality, nobody could be prepared for the branding if the soul, only for that of the body.

    A knock came from the door, the sign for the two of them to enter. The guards put a blindfold on Nannade, so she may not see the faces of those that brandish her, and a gag in her mouth to give her something to bite down on. Then she was led inside by the shoulders. The room was not unlike a prison cell, except the only furniture was a special bench in the centre. Around ten people or more stood cramped in the room, among the head judge of Sturreland, the tribunal of five and guards. Safe for the guard, all people present wore black robes.

    The judge beckoned to the table. ¡°Sinner Nannade, approach!¡±

    She did as she was told and stepped closer. The guards undid her shackles, Garrett could hear her inhale deeply as all shackles, chainmail and even the prison gown was taken off her. With bare upper body she lay down on the bench and was bound down with the iron braces bolted onto the wood, then covered with a large piece of chainmail.

    When all locks were closed and secured, the judge beckoned to the person to her right. The small figure took forth a bundle of cloth and from it produced the stone of sin.

    A black basalt cylinder, as wide as a palm and as high as three fingers. Its side was engraved with the name of the sinner, the description of the sin and other relevant information. On one of the faces, the symbol of the sinner ¨C made from dark red crystal ¨C protruded, not unlike a stamp.

    The judge raised the stone up for everyone to see, then she spoke up.

    ¡°This branding will happen in accordance with the establishment of your call sign, therefore it will be placed on your back, opposite of where you have chosen to receive your name seal.¡±

    Then the judge put the stone down below Nannade¡¯s left shoulder blade. She inhaled sharply, startled by it.The judge held the stone with one hand, raised the other one.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    ¡°Nannade of Sturreland, with this hand I brand you a sinner, for the abhorrent act of selling your body and mind to a being not of this world, becoming the abominable and renouncing your crolachanity.¡±

    Then she put the free hand on the back of the stone, spoke an ancient word and pressed it deeper onto he skin. A searing sizzle was heard, the stench of burning hair and skin filled the room and a muffled grunt came from Nannade, growing first into a deep whine, then into a heart-shattering scream through the gag. That was the sound of someone who¡¯s soul was being forever marked with shame and pain. Her muscles strained against the iron shackles, forcing a strained creaking from the wood. An angry hiss was audible in the room, making the people in it flinch and wince in fright. Garrett did not know where it came from, it seemed to sound from deep within the very air, but he knew who it was that made this sound.

    The process took more seconds than Garrett could bear it to hear her screams, but he did not dare to look away. This was her decision and he respected it. He promised her freedom, this was hers.

    After the few unending moments, the stone was lifted and where it had laid now was seen the brand of the sinner, blazing red below her left shoulder, not unlike the seals of mages, but not in fine elegant lines and changing slowly in colour, instead in broad, crude strokes, blazing in a deep hateful red, as did the crystal in the stone of sin. Both of them pulsated with the beat of the girl''s heart.

    From this day on, there was a connection between the two, and the stone, as the brand, would blaze as long as the girl was alive. If push ever came to shove, the stone could even be used to track the girl down. This was her new chain, they could not yank on it, but they could always find her, if they wished so.

    The locks were undone and the chains taken off her.

    ¡°Stand up, Sinner Nannade.¡±

    Nannade stood up from the table and now stood there, blindfolded and stared at by the rest of the room.

    ¡°Go on now without the chains. The brand is punishment¡¯s proof. Never shall you be able to lie about your misdeed and never shall you be able to renounce the title of Sinner.¡±

    The words seemed to stretch Nannade''s back out a tiny bit, making her grow half an inch. Was she learning to bear the shame of guilt? Was she revelling in her apostasy?

    The head judge turned around and gave the stone of sin back to her attendant, then received a bundle back from her. She gave the bundle to Nannade. ¡°Take these, you no longer need to wear the prisoner''s gown.¡±

    With these words, the head judge left the room and the rest followed her. Only Garrett and Nannade remained. He took off her blindfold and immediately saw her red, tear-swelled eyes. ¡°It¡¯s over.¡± He gave her a friendly slap on the shoulder. ¡°The entire ordeal is done. Now it is behind you, nothing to do but look ahead.¡±

    She nodded. ¡°I wanted this more than to flee. I did not want to have to hide from law and justice for the rest of my life. I¡¯ve seen the company that brings with it.¡±

    She got dressed and the two of them left the room and the university campus. There was nothing left for her in this city.

 Judgement & Jeopardy VII

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

 Judgement & Jeopardy Epilogue

    The sun had made the majority of its way across the sky and Carsten was busy working on the back wall of what would hopefully become a cabinet soon. His wife Fiona was inside making clothes for the child. Their small, new house was right next to that of Carsten''s parents, next to the road leading straight through Heimeden, and down this road he saw a figure coming towards him. Feminine, tall, slender, determined. Was she coming to them? It seemed so. As the figure came closer, he saw that the figure was crolachan. Carsten knew a crolachan girl, but she disappeared at the beginning of last summer and he hadn¡¯t been able to glean any information about her. Could it be her?

    She came into sight and her face seemed familiar, but unfamiliar. She looked like Nannade, but different, more than just matured. Her hair was much longer than before, she always said she was forbidden from letting it grow long, but the hair of this figure reached all the way to her shoulders. The face looked different too, harder and stronger. The figure approaching him was taller than Nannade, and something in the way she walked was different, too. Then the figure raised a hand to wave at him. It had to be her. Full of joy, he waved back.

    She arrived by him with a guilty smile on her face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I disappeared so suddenly, Carsten.¡± Was the first thing she said.

    He had to blink twice, thrice, to make sure he was seeing right. ¡°Nannade? We already thought we¡¯d never see you again.¡±

    ¡°That could have well have happened. But I''m back. For now.¡±

    Carsten put down his tools. ¡°Please, come inside, Fiona is with the babe.¡±

    Her smile took on something genuine. ¡°I¡¯d like to see them, yes.¡±

    When Fiona saw the guest, she too had to blink twice, thrice. ¡°Nannade? You¡¯ve grown. And... Changed?¡± She stood up to hug her. ¡°Where have you been? Sit down! Can we bring you anything? We have some hard sausage and wine left in the pantry.¡±

    ¡°No, nothing like that.¡± Nannade sat down and looked around the room. ¡°So, your own house? How lovely!¡±

    ¡°Yes. We were building for quite a while. We didn¡¯t make it before the child¡¯s birth.¡±

    Nannade had already spotted the crib. ¡°May I see him? Her?¡±

    ¡°Yes of course!¡± Fiona sounded almost surprised she would ask something so self-apparent. She got up and took the child out of her crib and turned to Nannade.

    ¡°Her name is Nadine. We wanted to call her Nannade, but you weren¡¯t there to give your blessings and... There¡¯s always only been one Nannade.¡±Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.

    Nannade smiled softly as she saw the babe. ¡°That¡¯s alright. Nadine is a beautiful name and I''m touched you wanted to honour me like that.¡±

    Carsten was slowly grasping the fact of her return. ¡°So, now that you¡¯re back, will you do the festivities for summer solstice?¡±

    She shook her head with a sombre smile. ¡°I¡¯ll be gone soon, for good. Maybe one or two visits back here in the future, but I''m moving on.¡±

    ¡°To where? Why do you have to go?¡± Fiona asked, holding the Nadine while Nannade stroked her rosy head. ¡°What have you been doing, why were you gone? Everyone refused to give us or anyone else answers!¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I can¡¯t tell you. I wish I could. But this was sort of always the plan, you know. One day, I would have disappeared, maybe without notice.¡±

    ¡°You¡¯ve always been the secretive kind, haven¡¯t you?¡± Carsten accepted it more and more.

    ¡°I knew this day would come, so I tried to have the most fun I could and without you that wouldn¡¯t have been possible. But I have new responsibilities, that are not to be taken lightly.¡±

    It was now that Carsten noticed another change about her. The eyes. Her eyes had a different colour. That can¡¯t be! Nannade had always had golden eyes, not such a caustic green. Maybe it wasn¡¯t Nannade. Maybe this was an impostor, send to distract from the fact Nannade had been killed in some sort of ritual.

    He shouldn¡¯t have these childish kinds of thoughts. The Lodge was good. They protected the land, made the crops grow, dispensed justice, kept the people at peace. He decided to not mention it. But as he saw her lean down to Nadine and give her a kiss on the forehead, fear rose up within him. He had let her into his house. Who was she, if not Nannade?

    ¡°I want to do the two of you a last favour.¡± She asked them. ¡°Will you allow me to make a charm for the child? I would have made one before it arrived, but I wasn¡¯t here then.¡±

    Fiona overflowed with joy. ¡°Oh yes of course! We would be honoured to have you to ask the spirits directly for help for us!¡±

    Carsten had his reservations about it. Was she the real Nannade? He held back and decided to put on a friendly smile and observe her.

    Nannade, if it was her, sat together with them and talked about old times and what had happened in the village during her absence. She refused to indulge much of her travel, only that it was around the world, as far as Botrelandt. All while braiding the straw from last year¡¯s harvest into a ring that fit around the child¡¯s wrist, and with her own hair she stitched very fine runes on the ring, humming and singing all the way.

    When she was finally done, she put the ring on Nadine¡¯s wrist. ¡°Until the fall equinox, the spirits will make sure no ill will come over her. Ask Elissa at the harvest festival and I am sure she''ll make another one for her.¡±

    She got up to leave, but Fiona interrupted her. ¡°Please, Nannade, stay a little while longer.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯d love to. But there is business to take care of. Letters to read and answer, luggage to pack, futures to plan. I was away for long and my life is not getting any less busy.¡±

    The crolachan left after a heartfelt goodbye and they were both sad to see her go, but Carsten also felt at ease, now that she had gone. Looking at the braid, doubts bubbled up in his mind. Fiona had noticed nothing in particular about her, but Carsten wanted to throw that cursed thing into the fire as soon as possible. Fiona would never allow that. He¡¯d have to do it tonight, after she had fallen asleep.

    Tranquillity had returned, but doubt and fear remained.

 Outlook & Obituary I

    Nannade was alone in her room, in her world, in the upper floor of Elissa¡¯s practice. The room was very narrow, just twice as wide as the door, but long enough two fit to beds in it lengthwise. It would normally be a storage room, but Elissa and Louissos had cleared it for her hammock, a cabinet and a mirror. She didn¡¯t have enough to warrant much furniture, and she never had her own room before. Right now, she was somewhat glad to have a room all to herself. She sat in one corner, a letter lay some few feet away from her, on it, the seal of the university of Northbridge.

    <hr>

    Esteemed Miss Nannade,

    It is my sorrowful duty to inform you that Olybrius of the Vigilantia has perished in an attack on the ship¡¯s wreck on the shores of Botrelandt. He died defending the injured and the remainders of the ship against most aggressive raiders. I hope that you can find comfort in the fact that he has sacrificed his life for a noble cause. For his selfless sacrifice, his ashes have been interred in the crypt of the honoured of Northbridge University. On your behest, I shall lay down a wreath of roses at his urn, if you wish so. I sadly cannot allow you entry into the crypt of the honoured.

    Apart from the first, all your letters remain sealed and unread in the safe in my office.

    I wish you all the best of luck in your future endeavours.

    - His spectability Professor Alivor, Evocator Praestabilis, University of Northbridge

    <hr>

    Tears stained the paper, Nannade had been crying for hours now and she didn¡¯t feel it stop anytime soon. Stupid, she had been stupid to take anything as given. She had dared to dream and was lifted to lofty heights of life only to be smashed back down by death. The serpent tried not to soothe her, and Nannade knew why. She saw it as just. She did and in the future would take many lives, all lives of loved people and so, she had been taken a loved one, astoknow that pain. First her mother, now her lover, not the first in a long line, Nannade imagined. Her only protection was to not have loved ones any more. She worked for death now.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    She would have loved to put down a wreath there herself, but it was best to erase this part of her life. No trace should remain of her. She would make sure to write that to Professor Alivor, as well as ask him to burn all letters she had sent, no, use a disintegration or annihilation spell on them. Nothing shall remain but dust, of her as of her love for him.

    She had nestled comfortably in her sorrows when a knock came on the door. Elissa entered before Nannade could refuse her.

    ¡°What do you want?¡±

    ¡°Just checking. I don¡¯t want to leave you alone like this.¡±

    ¡°If you want to do something for me, just put me the taff down.¡±

    ¡°I think you should get out of this room. This isn¡¯t doing you well.¡±

    Nannade didn¡¯t feel like answering. For her, remaining inside and disappearing from the face of the world seemed like a good enough prospect for her.

    ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere together. Want to visit the tailor? Or maybe spend a day and a night in Sosken? They have some great bakeries there with some good strawberry tart. Come on! There must be something you want to do!¡±

    Nannade turned her head away. Happy people were such a nuisance. But Elissa didn¡¯t give up. She sat down next to Nannade and put her arms around her. Nannade couldn¡¯t resist her eyes anymore and buried her face behind her knees, so Elissa wouldn¡¯t see the tears or hear the sobs, but Elissa just held her tighter. Nannade had to admit that it felt good, just to be held. She took Elissa¡¯s hand and squeezed tight.

    ¡°It¡¯s not going to get easier to bear, but it will get easier to stand back up. That¡¯s all I can promise you.¡±

    Nannade didn¡¯t know what to do with these words, she just let them go and nestled deeper, in Elissa¡¯s embrace as well as her own sorrows.

    She finally remembered something she wanted to do. ¡°I want to visit Priscilla¡¯s grave.¡±

    ¡°Really? This soon you want to occupy yourself with death again?¡±

    ¡°I want to pay my respects.¡±

    ¡°Fine. I guess we can travel there. It will take us a few days though. As long as it gets you out of the house.¡±

    ¡°I¡¯m fine with that.¡±

    ¡°Mind if Garrett comes with?¡±

    ¡°No.¡±

    ¡°And Louis?¡±

    The way she asked this was annoying. She didn¡¯t want to call him Louissos or Louis. He was Black Surgeon, the guy who studied her like a vivisection and sent her on some stupid errand run on the other side of the continent. But there was this in Elissa¡¯s voice. This love for him, the same kind of love that had been taken from her. ¡°No. He can come with.¡±

    Elissa gave Nannade a kiss on the forehead and got up to leave. The door fell shut and Nannade was back alone in her sorrow. She missed Elissa¡¯s warmth already.

    Nannade knew she should have thanked Priscilla earlier. It was unfair of her to treat the High Sister that way. Another lesson death wanted to teach her. Never leave things unfinished.

 Outlook & Obituary II

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

 Outlook & Obituary III

    A mass of people moved slowly along the wide streets, slowest at the outsides, carriages, horses and other vehicles on the most inner parts. Nannade used all her strength to push herself through the crowd and catch up to her teacher. Garetas had three distinct advantages on these streets. First, he grew up in Halonnes ¨C at least from the age of seven to twelve. Second, he was much taller, being able to peek above the crowd had its advantages. And third, he was wide and strong enough to simply push his way through where Nannade had to employ her elbows to squeeze her nimble body through between shoulders and hips.

    The city was beautifully busy and Nannade would have loved to stay a day or two, but Garetas had insisted on booking passage further east as soon as possible. Now they were heading for the harbour. Eventually, after much pushing, they made it through the harbour gate onto the harbour bridge. Wide enough for three oxen carts it spanned the mouth of the river, first from western bank to guardian island, then from there to the eastern bank. From the gate, they had the perfect view on guardian island, the rest of the harbour and the wide blue ocean to the south. Guardian island was shaped like a four-pointed star and housed dozens of docks both on its east and west side. Directly opposite of it on the western bank of the river were the university¡¯s docks. Many ships were lying in wait or setting out as they were walking, heading either up the river or out to the ocean. And in the centre of guardian island, dominating it all, stood the salt spire.

    Several hundred feet high it rose from the fortifications of guardian island, dazzling in the sunlight like a salt-encrusted needle. Garetas stopped for a moment. ¡°I missed this view. That spire is covered by thousands of crystals and at night, they shine brighter than the stars. Sailors say the spectacle can be seen from more than fifty miles away.¡±

    Nannade began to dream. She had to admit that despite her bad experiences, the prospect of setting sails over the seas had its allure. Maybe it was that the ocean was an obstacle to most, but to sailors, it was freedom, a path to faraway lands, only the wind and water to guide them.It didn¡¯t take them long to find a ship eastbound. In Southbridge, they would find one even further east, through the passage of Lu-Udi into the bay sea and finally to Chsyatana. At noon, they would set sail.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

    The winds were favourable and the travel went along nicely. Just over a month it would take them, during much of which Nannade meditated to get in tune with Ssil. But more and more often, the Serpent would not answer her calls, or just speak in simple terms at best. During their stop in Southbridge, Nannade caught herself looking whether she could see the Flitting Fiona anywhere, but to no avail, a silly proposition, Muhtessem spent more time moving that resting still, after all.

    It was three days after they had set out from Southbridge and Nannde was standing on deck, looking far into the distance. Southward, that¡¯s where the shattered continent of Lmakahir was, torn apart in the great sundering by a might force, the same force that cleaved the salt river through Ackarom. Further south, it had turned a continent into nothing but an assortment of stone shards, still jutting out of the sea like the scattered teeth of a sea monsters.

    Garetas joined her at the railing. ¡°What are you pondering, Fleabag?¡±

    ¡°Just this and that. Over there is where Lmakahir is, isn¡¯t it?¡±

    ¡°Yes. I have never been there, but one day maybe.¡±

    ¡°At what wounds of the world were you so far?¡±

    ¡°Only two. The salt river and Othmuraigg.¡±

    Nannade thought back to her visit to the wound of the north. ¡°I guess we both have room to fill our travel stories then.¡±

    ¡°Travelling far must be a wonderful vocation.¡± They stared into the distance for a while.

    Garetas eventually asked her a question in that hushed and serious tone of his. ¡°You were beyond the veil, weren¡¯t you?¡±

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    ¡°Despite all the warnings Elissa gave you? That you came back at all is a miracle.¡±

    She couldn¡¯t even remember her thinking back then. It was all just a drive in the back of her head. ¡°I had to. It was time.¡±

    ¡°For what?¡±

    ¡°The Serpent told me of objects I had to retrieve.¡±

    ¡°And did you?¡±

    ¡°No. I destroyed them. Not even a trace remains. But the Serpent has been... dissatisfied with me. She grows restless.¡±

    ¡°This is what we¡¯re heading to Chsyatana for, Nannade. They¡¯ll know how to make this work. I won¡¯t lose you to that snake completely.¡±

    Nannade could feel the Serpent tremble in anger over that remark. For now, Nannade could do little else but trust her teacher.

 Miracle & Mystery Prologue

    A long corridor in a dark room, shelves lining its sides, pots, jars, backs, crates and other containers filling all boards of the shelves. A young woman was walking down the corridor, apparently looking for something. She held a light vial in her left, a stepladder in her right. When she had reached what she was looking for, she opened a pot from the topmost board of the shelf, filled a small bag with a pinch the coarse reddish crystals from the pot, then made her way back.

    Korinna was moving fast, it was hard to justify being in the storage on her own if she had no task to work on. Master Paramonos was ever vigilant, so she snuck through the atelier with greatest care, peeking around every corner before hurrying down the hallways. She made it back to her chamber without being noticed and immediately blocked the door behind her with a wedge. She hurried over to her bed and laid on the floor to pull forth the tiny chest she kept there. She unlocked it with a key she always had with her and opened it. Many other ingredients were already stored inside, a tiny vial of a greenish liquid, another with a watery blue liquid, a small paper envelope containing plates of a various metals, a sheet of valuable vellum parchment, a single lump of a soft yellow substance, a tetrahedron of black volcanic glass, a scroll with notes. Korinna put the bag of the reddish crystal into the chest and took the scroll. She unrolled it and crossed one of the items off the lest. Just two more to go. She locked the small chest and shoved it back far under the bed. Tonight has been a success. She inched closer to true knowledge, she would pierce the shadows soon enough, but she had to be prepared for when she finally did.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

 Miracle & Mystery I

    The summer wind was blowing along the dry sandstone of Chsyatana. The city stood where the Zagdib mountains met the bay sea''s southern shore. A cliff almost a thousand feet tall rose directly from the water, not far a steep slope rose to meet its top. To this slope clung the city of Chsyatana, already ancient when the Pliranti Empire conquered it almost two thousand years ago. The city¡¯s terraces clung to the slope like the steps of stairs in disarray. Ten it where, the topmost being the royal terrace, housing the royal Family Apetochos, the lowest being the harbour terrace, where all the docks as well as many warehouses and trading offices were. Carved into the sides of the cliff ¨C the one overlooking the city as well as the one overlooking the sea ¨C was the fortress. How large it truly was and how deep it went into the rock was a closely guarded secret, but it had stood the test of time so far.

    To the north of the city, in the bay sea, an occasional rock protruded from the calm waves, the highest point of the sunken spires, a vestige of the Zagdib mountains running north that had sunken in the Great Sundering. They sunk any ship daring to cross from west to east anywhere other than the less than the half mile-wide gap that lay so close to the city of Chsyatana. And it was through this passage through which a ship was passing on this dry summer day, carrying Nannade and her Teacher Garetas.

    Nannade was taking the view in. The carved galleries of the fortress and the ramp-elevators running between terraces reminded her of what she had seen at midpoint bay of the salt river. This was even further east than the salt river or the bridges and marked her first visit to east Ackarom.

    The ship landed at its dock and the passengers poured from deck. Nannade took a moment to take in the view. She had throw her head back all the way to see the palace at the top of the slope. The cliff ran out of the side of the slope towards the ocean and into it were carved fortifications and battlement. Surely from that angle, one could easily oversee the entire city.

    ¡°Come.¡± Her Teacher Garetas gestured her to catch up. ¡°We have a lot of stairs to climb before we reach Master Paramonos¡¯ house.¡±

    Master Paramonos¡¯ house was on the merchant''s terrace, not a bad area of the city, but Nannade imagined he would probably prefer the scholar¡¯s terrace. They had to climb many stairs, since Garrett insisted on her using her legs rather than relaxing on the ramp elevators. ¡°How pathetic of someone like you to complain about stairs to climb. You''re light and nimble, put your lazy butt to work!¡±

    As they climbed higher, the ocean started to reveal its true vastness to Nannade. She could see the sunken spires connect into a narrow band running past the horizon, the sails of ships like colourful leaves carried by the wind, all being pressed through that narrow safe passage not far away from the cliff side city.

    The sight did not last long. The first row of houses on each terrace already robbed all others of the view, narrow alleys dominating the architecture of almost all terraces. They found Master Paramonos¡¯ house, directly up to the natural rock face of the slope. It was pressed directly against the rock of the slope and rather wide, covering the width of several smaller houses on the terrace.

    Master Paramonos was a short man with a bushy head of grey and white hair. His face seemed to be eternally jovial. He wore a long robe of dark blue and bright red with black trim. He greeted the two and beckoned them to come in.

    ¡°Be greeted, you must be Nannade of Sturreland. I am Master Paramonos and I will soon be your Master to induct you into the deep mysteries that we study here. Come on in!¡±

    The room he led them to was comfortably furnished and inviting. Garetas and Paramonos took place in armchairs close to each other, while Nannade sat down in an armchair a bit further away. A young man came in through another door and put down baked goods and tea for then to enjoy while Garetas and Paramonos held a lengthy discussion that the Master only interrupted to introduce the young man.

    ¡°This is Timaeus, one of my current students.¡± The young man made a bowing gesture and smiled at Nannade. He was of average stature and height and his blonde short hair had a waxy sheen to them. He wore a weird, tall hat that folded forward two thirds up to the pointy tip as well as a dark blue and a short, bright red jacket with black trim held closed with a wide sash of bright red.

    ¡°You will be learning alongside him, pay good attention and you will learn many important things!¡±

    The young man excused himself and left the room. Garetas returned to a grim subject. ¡°Our main concern here is not the broad learning you can offer, but the deep mysteries that will help the girl adapt to her new predicament.¡±

    ¡°Of course, of course Garetas! I am the master of the House of theForbidden after all, the one of the Houses of Mysteries that concerns itself exactly with unholy unions, blood pacts, possessions and all those other things. We have trained many a specialist in the necessary things to deal with these issues, one way or another.¡±

    Nannade felt itchy in the comfortable chair, she felt like she was the target of an assassination contract being negotiated right in front of her.

    ¡°The most important thing is that we take inventory of what we can see superficially, then we will dive into the girl''s subconscious and psyche.¡±Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

    After some more chat between the two men, it came as Paramonos had said. She was led into the Master¡¯s study, a windowless room with no furniture besides a desk and chair as well as two large book shelves. Timaeus was already waiting with a wax tablet in hand. A young woman in the same garb as Timaeus waited there, too. She had long, dark, wavy hair she wore in a braid and deep brown eyes. Paramonos introduced her as Korinna. She looked at Nannade with a sort of distant spite, uncaringness, while Timaeus smiled.

    Paramonos got a set of measuring tools from the desk in the corner. ¡°Undress, Nannade.¡±

    Nannade had to blink once or twice. ¡°Excuse me what?¡±

    ¡°Undress. We need to study your body properly, to spot any progress it might make.¡±

    Garetas spoke up. ¡°Go ahead, these are scholars, not some ogling and leering sailors.¡±

    Nannade did as she was told and instantly felt the eyes on her. Paramonos was busy poking and brushing her skin with the cold and hard instruments, then dictating the taken measurements to Timaeus, but Timaeus and Korinna both had their eyes fixed on her, she needed not to see them, at least not with her own eyes. She felt the judging gaze of Korinna and the leering glances of Timaeus. She wanted to speak up, but she also felt Garetas¡¯ admonishing glare and knew to behave.

    Countless measurements were taken and called aloud for Timaeus to note down. Her height, the length of her legs, the width and length of her fingers, her weight, the numbers of joints in her tail, the distance between her nipples, angles of tendons, position of facial features, rotation range of joints, and many, many more.

    After Nannade felt that even the darkest nooks and crannies of her body had been measured and noted down, she was handed her clothes back by Paramonos. ¡°Follow Korinna, she will show you to your chambers.¡±

    Nannade got dressed and looked to Korinna, who was waiting for her by the exit. Through various long corridors, Korinna led Nannade.

    ¡°Where do all these doors lead?¡±

    ¡°Master Paramonos is the head of the House of the Forbidden and houses almost all facilities of that part of the Houses of Mysteries.¡± Korinna spoke scholarian with a thick accent that was somewhat pleasing in its tone. In her voice Nannade could hear the weight of duty, as if Korinna not truly wanted her to tell these things. ¡°As such, this building has many rooms, most of which are off-bounds to you or any other student of lower rank.¡±

    ¡°So, are you a student of lower rank too?¡±

    ¡°No, I have already passed my tests.¡± She waved her right hand, bearing the seal of the Houses of Mysteries. ¡°I bear the seal but have decided to dedicate myself further to the mysteries. I hope to master the forbidden mysteries soon so I can move on.¡±

    They arrived at a door and Korinna opened it to let Nannade inside. She found a simple sleeping quarter for two. ¡°We will be sharing this room. I hope we will get along well.¡±

    It was phrased in a weird way and that did not sit right with Nannade. Nevertheless, she thanked Korinna and inspected their room. It had a window and identical furniture in each half of the room; a bed, a cabinet, a set of drawers. Everything she owned would fit in here. The sooner she got to hauling it here the faster she would be done settling in. She went back to Garetas.

    Her Teacher was waiting for Nannade in the room Paramonos had originally received them in. ¡°Ah Nannade, just in time. Your luggage has arrived. I¡¯ll be gone soon, I need to settle into my own quarters down on the craftsman¡¯s terrace.¡±

    Nannade walked over to the heavy chest. ¡°What will you be doing here?¡±

    ¡°At first? Make contacts and acquaintances. I should start looking for reliable people to get contracts from. When that¡¯s done, I¡¯ll be conducting my own studies and research.¡±

    Teacher had never really about receiving his sixth mark of approval someday. Three were required to graduate from apprentice to independent Hidden Hand, six completely encircled the name seal of a Hidden Hand, making a sort of milestone, but many never got more than four, and some rare ones even acquired a seventh or eighth. It would be fitting that he would acquire his sixth seal from Chsyatana, considering he lacked much knowledge about the mystic arts and that he would now have to deal with them much more.

    ¡°I¡¯ll help you carry your things to your room.¡±

    After they had brought the big heavy chest down and sorted her clothes in her cabinet, Garetas turned to Nannade put his hand on her shoulder. ¡°Do your best and master your situation. And do what Master Paramonos tells you. Don¡¯t act by yourself, if I have some contracts for the both of us, I''ll contact you! Do you understand?¡±

    She nodded. ¡°Yes, Teacher.¡±

    Once the door had fallen shut, Paramonos turned to Nannade with a jovial expression. ¡°Nannade, I hope you will get along well with the other students. Don¡¯t be intimidated, this situation is new and unfamiliar for everyone.¡± He took one of two small bells from the side table and rang it. Soon after, Korinna came around the corner and assumed an attentive pose.

    ¡°Yes, Master?¡±

    ¡°Please take Nannade to the tailor''s and hand in this commission for her garb. But first, give her your old clothes.¡± He handed her a letter for the tailor.

    Korinna took the envelope with a ¡°Yes, Master.¡± And turned to Nannade. ¡°Come with me.¡± They returned to their sleep stead and Nannade put down her chest on her bed. Korinna handed her garb, not dissimilar to what she was wearing now, but the hat was much shorter and ending in a flat top rather than a point. ¡°These are the clothes of a student of lower rank. Now get dressed and let¡¯s go down to the tailor¡¯s. Stick close by me.¡±

    Nannade could very well see how getting lost in Chsyatana would be a pain she wanted to avoid. She noticed very quickly something about the inhabitants on the streets: they all wore jewellery quite openly and opulent. Whether it be gold, bronze, silver or other metals, many people adorned their hands, arms, chests and necks with at least something made of them, encrusted with gemstones or even just rock polished to a mirror sheen.

    Nannade decided to bring it up to Korinna. ¡°People here sure like jewellery.¡±

    Korinna nodded and hummed. ¡°This city is known for its access to rich mountains. Many jewellers live and work here and even more come from afar to learn the many secrets of the trade that have been discovered here. Jewellery is an important part of fashion here.¡±

    Nannade would have asked more questions, but Korinna already sounded annoyed by her. They arrived at the tailor''s shop soon after and handed the piece of paper over. The tailor made big eyes but accepted and the two young women were on their way back.

    The remaining day consisted of Nannade sorting her things into the cabinet and the drawers and asking Korinna questions occasionally, all of which seemed to dent her mood even further. Nannade came to the conclusion that her time here would not make her any friends. She grasped the vial around her neck tightly and relaxed. She didn¡¯t need friends. There were much more pressing matters at hand.

    The Serpent remained silent.

 Miracle & Mystery II

    ¡°Watch it closely!¡± Teacher Philinna pointed to a spherical bottle containing a few pieces of burning coal. ¡°Just as we can starve the flame of air and kill it like any other living being, we can supply it with different substances to change its character.¡± She opened another valve on one of the many glass tubes connected to the spherical bottle, this one connected to a bottle containing a liquid bubbling over a flame. Within a few moments, the flame in the bottle turned green.

    The students in the room let out a silent ¡°Ooooh¡±. It were about a handful, usual class sizes at the Houses of Mysteries, just what fit into the backroom laboratory of apothecary Philinna'' shop.

    The teacher demonstrated other colours, from a deep red to an icy blue, all by mixing different valves or dropping various substances directly onto the flame until they heard the university¡¯s bell tower ring outside. The teacher finished up the lesson and the students left the tight room, almost all of them bundled together closely, chatting among each other; except for Nannade. She had only been here a dozen days but she had already figured out she was not welcome with the others. Despite many of the students being of varying age, from twelve to thirty and being from all around the continent ¨C and even further ¨C the students got along fine, yet Nannade hadn¡¯t found a connection or common ground with many. They answered her few questions about technicalities, but the moment she inquired further about them, the conversation seemed to stop. Nannade didn¡¯t mind that much. The exotic fascination of the people of Sturreland was nice, but finding out Carsten only liked her because of her status was still a somewhat jarring experience. She could handle this. Her goal was to seek unity within, not without. She was learning again, that¡¯s all that mattered, it was a bit dry and a bit more difficult, but learning would propel her forward. Her first mark of approval might have taken six years, but this she would acquire in two years, three at most.

    She had some breaks in her schedule and most of the time, she used those to finish her notes and review the lessons, but right now she felt like enjoying the sunny weather. She would have preferred relaxing on the branches of trees, but the city guard was enforcing a strict no-climbing-rule. Instead, she sat in the shade of a tree in the large public park that was the gardener¡¯s terrace. There was also Sylvania¡¯s terrace, but it was reserved for the royal family and in part for the Royal Academy, the university of this city. While the Houses of Mysteries granted a seal to its graduates, it understood itself more like a repository of knowledge and keeper of often forgotten arts than a real university, and its size and organization reflected that. Nannade didn¡¯t really understand the latter, but the former was obvious from how much she had seen; she guessed it had less than fifty students of lower rank and even less students of higher rank, maybe a dozen teachers who weren¡¯t also students of higher rank. A few of the students were even finishing their second studies here, having already graduated from a university somewhere else and enjoying the vast and deep secrets found only within these Houses of Mysteries.

    She wasted her time a bit, letting her thoughts wander, with closed eyes; she couldn¡¯t stand the sight of people right now, especially couples. She knew she was being bitter, but bitterness was such a sweet perch to look down upon others from. She wondered how long until she ran for the hills. The wild had been such a logical place, but now she was back in the muck of having to deal with people all the time.

    The clock tower of the royal academy rang again and she returned to Paramonos¡¯ house, or how he had insisted to be called, Master Paramonos¡¯, even if the title left a sour taste in Nannade¡¯s mouth. She would have to prepare some notes soon. Back at the house, she settled into the small study where she and the other two students had their own desk each, but she couldn¡¯t get much done before Timaeus entered the study.

    ¡°Nannade, I''d like to talk with you about the next lessons, we need to prepare a few things.¡± He said while coming in with his wax tablet and some notes on paper. ¡°I hope you have a moment.¡± He grabbed a chair and sat down next to her.

    ¡°What do you mean next lesson? I have to be in language classes after noon.¡±

    ¡°No, the lesson we are going to have.¡± He made a gesture towards himself. ¡°The students of higher rank. Korinna and me.¡±

    Nannade didn¡¯t quite understand him and when he noticed, he giggled. Was something wrong with her face?

    ¡°You¡¯re our study subject, have you forgotten?¡±

    ¡°WHAT? Does that mean you¡¯ll measure me again for half the day?¡±

    ¡°No no! The body studies are done, for now, but we will be taking more in-depth looks at some parts later on. Next lesson will be about your connection to your familiar. Or guardian or god or whatever her title is.¡±

    Nannade was still sorting things in her head. Master Paramonos did say they would delve into her psyche, but she didn¡¯t know the other two would be involved. ¡°So what do you need from me?¡±

    ¡°Would you please prepare a few statements and insights for us?¡±

    ¡°Can¡¯t I just arrange for Black Surgeon¡¯s notes to be delivered to you?¡±

    ¡°Oh no, we need our own observations, we don''t work with other people¡¯s notes, that adulterates the knowledge we glean.¡±

    ¡°I guess. If it is what Master Paramonos needs to help me... What exactly is it that you need?¡±

    Timaeus smiled and handed her a piece of paper with several questions written down. ¡°Thank you Nannade. Here. The lesson will take place three days from now, in the afternoon. Don¡¯t worry if you have struggles with some things, you can leave a few answers out if they are still too personal for now, I am sure Master Paramonos will understand.¡± On his way to the door he turned around and addressed her again. ¡°And Nannade,... I hope you don¡¯t dislike me because of our professional involvement. I can keep a secret, I promise.¡±This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

    She looked into his eyes while he said that and his words seemed to hit hard like crossbow bolts. He was kind of cute when he talked like that. The Serpent disagreed. ¡°I appreciate that.¡± She answered and he smiled when she did.

    The door fell shut and Nannade read some of the questions. What were you promised at the time of the pact? What did you gain? What were your interactions with the entity before the pact? What form does the entity take in your mind? Does the entity frequently try to convince you of certain things? Many more questions were listed. Nannade decided to start writing at least some answers down.

    ¡°Nannade, clear your mind.¡±

    ¡°I know how to meditate, Master Paramonos!¡±

    ¡°Do not concern yourself with answering, just let go of everything.¡±

    ¡°I am trying.¡± Nannade exhaled. She meditated a lot in the last few days, but never with someone sitting this close to her. It reminded her a bit of when Faan still dreamed with her from time to time, but he was empathic, genuinely concerned for her and cuddly, Master Paramonos was none of these. She was sitting on the floor of his study, face to face with Master Paramonos in a circle of salt drawn around them, strengthened with runes. Next to her were Korinna and Timaeus to observe what would happen. Nannade inhaled. She felt the Serpent inside of her spiritual body. Nannade exhaled and with it, she let Ssil out. She unfurled like a fern leaf in spring.

    ¡°What do you see, my students?¡± Master Paramonos asked the two others.

    Timaeus spoke up first. ¡°A snake. Black and smoky.¡±

    ¡°An animal, not unlike a snake, dark and cloaked.¡± was Korinna¡¯s account.

    ¡°Very good. Take good note. I will keep it still and we can see how it reacts.¡± Master Paramonos bent forward and grabbed Nannade¡¯s head with both hands. She felt his mind grasp the serpent. He closed his eyes and started to whisper ancient words, some unknown even to Nannade. The Serpent screamed as she squirmed in his seizure. His words pressed onto her scaly skin like strings of a web, every breath of his like another knot.

    ¡°Let up, Nannade! No harm will come to the two of you.¡±

    Nannade tried to sway the Serpent, without voice, she recited poems and lullabies in her head, but the Serpent would not heed.¡±

    Timaeus sounded concerned, almost worried. ¡°She escapes your grip, Master!¡±

    ¡°No, observe and take note of everything you see.¡±

    The Serpent was not relenting. Hissing, spittling, lashing she tried to come free from the iron grip of Master Paramonos¡¯ words. She drew upon Nannade¡¯s mind and essence to fight back, but Nannade was under strict instructions to not lend the Serpent any of her own might, so that she might not subjugate Nannade whenever she wished. And so, the three were struggling. Nannade against Ssil, Ssil against Paramonos and Paramonos against both of them.

    The ordeal taxed Nannade, she eventually had to give in and Paramonos stopped the experiment, to not risk Nannade¡¯sstate of mind. She let herself fall backwards in exhaustion.

    ¡°Very well. I think we got some useful observations noted down today, Nannade, if you wish you may take the rest of the day off. You did very well.¡± He stood up and took a step towards the door. ¡°Korinna, Timaeus, we will meet back here to talk about what we have seen in an hour.¡± He turned to the door and beckoned them to leave. Korinna and Master Paramonos went about their other businesses. Nannade, still out of breath, sat down in a chair standing in the hallway and Timaeus came to her side.

    ¡°I admire you, Nannade. That being is no simple spirit. For you to struggle against it that much, to defend your mind against her every day, is amazing.¡±

    Nannade looked at him. His eyes were of a bright blue, more colourful than Teacher Garetas¡¯ eyes. ¡°Thank you for your words. I think I¡¯ll go out for a while.¡±

    Timaeus went on down the hallway and Nannade was alone. With the Serpent. She would have to come up with a way to make her convene with her again. This silent treatment was starting to make her nervous. She started to feel pressure from the Serpent, but with no clear demands or direction, just... pressure.

    She returned to her bedroom to get ready for leaving the house when she found a letter on her bed. Korinna was not there at the moment, but she still looked around the room before opening it. The letter was written in a cipher, but Nannade could already tell by the handwriting that it was from TeacherGaretas. The cipher wasn¡¯t particularly hard to figure out, it wasn¡¯t to relay critical information safe from enemy spies, but rather to fend off snooping noses of people who couldn¡¯t keep them out of others¡¯ business.

    ¡°We meet tonight, after sundown, at the ramp from harbour¡¯s to craftsman''s.¡±

    She was sure it was finally time. Their first contract together as proper Hidden Hands. She went through her equipment and readied it for tonight. She had almost replaced most of it. Her cast book and flux flask were the most important ones and with those, she was already well equipped, but she still had no knives or dagger of her own. A chest guard of hardened leather, fingerless gloves, a cloak, her bow and quiver, a good length of rope and a grappling hook. The bow was surely too conspicuous to take on a contract, if Teacher had thought it necessary, he would have told her. But still, she took care of it, waxing the string and the wood, to make sure they kept well, even if she wasn¡¯t using them much. She was done sooner than she thought. The Serpent finally raised her head in interest in the promise of food, although Nannade was sure it would not be an assassination, or even a confrontation. Still, she felt her joy shared with someone. It would be good enough to see Teacher again, a face she can actually talk to.

 Miracle & Mystery III

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 Miracle & Mystery IV

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 Miracle & Mystery V

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 Miracle & Mystery VI

    Nannade descended the stairs from Master Paramonos¡¯ private study. Her light vial was illuminating the narrow passageway down. It was obviously leading into the soft sandstone rock of the slope, but not hewn like the tunnels of gangsters and thieves, no, shaped with magic, most elegant and sophisticated. She felt the cool dampness creep under her clothes. The Serpent was wide awake, vigilant; she was sure something would soon meet them and she warned Nannade to not take it lightly. It made sense, the private study was barely more than a decoy, instead, all important things were hidden even deeper and guarded, probably by a being bound by the mystic arts, not some arcane contrivance.

    She reached another door, wooden, heavy, inscribed with powerful runes of holding. Something was held behind that door. She pushed the handle down and felt no resistance; it didn¡¯t even have a lock to begin with.

    Behind the door she found a large chamber, bookshelves pointed into the room, all full with tomes, jars and pots in which she could see preserved specimens, lungs, livers, hearts, even a preserved hand with monstrous features and the seal of the Houses of Mysteries, in another jar, a human head bearing the brand of the sinner. A large desk was strewn with sheets of paper and scrolls of parchment, quills and inkwells with differently coloured inks as well as rulers, protractors and compasses had been left as they had been used. But most of all dominated this room a cage of large crystalline bars running from floor to ceiling uninterrupted, surrounding an area fifteen feet in length on each side. Nannade closed the door before she dared to look upon what was in the cage in all detail.

    An almost upright standing stone, roughly eight feet tall and four feet wide, and to it, bound with black chains engraved with blazing red runes unlike any Nannade had ever seen before, a man. Tall, pale, with long and perfectly white, smooth hair but without any wrinkles or scars anywhere on his skin. He wore nothing but the chains and covered in the same runes. He struggled and ached, strained and grunted.

    She stepped closer to the cage, but did not dare to put her hands on the bars of crystal. She leaned in closer to get a better look. The man was even gagged with the black chains, his eyes were full of tears, darting around, searching for something to fix on, but never meeting Nannade¡¯s gaze.

    ¡°Hello my child.¡± The voice was sudden, charming and most of all, familiar.

    ¡°Who was that? Where are you?¡±

    A man stepped out from behind the stone, he looked exactly like the one bound on the stone, but was not covered in runes and instead dressed gallantly. ¡°I am here, I can be nowhere else.¡± His voice was as if Nannade had heard it before, but she could not remember where or even what she had heard him say.

    ¡°Who are you?¡± Nannade sized the man up and down, but could not see a single ill-willing fibre on his entire body, he seemed harmless at first and second glance.

    ¡°I am hurt, my child, that you do not even recognize your godfather, whose name you bear.¡±

    Nannade took a step back from the bars. ¡°I have no godfather and I bear the name of my grandmother!¡±

    ¡°I do not care about the sound that others make to get your attention and neither do I care about the flesh that brought forth the flesh that brought forth your flesh. I care about your being, my child.¡±

    ¡°And what does that make me, my ¡®being¡¯?¡±

    ¡°My knight, my disciple, my most sorrowful of followers.¡±

    ¡°I fight for no one but justice.¡±

    The man flashed a playful smiled and stepped closer to the bars. ¡°You might think you fight for justice, but you do not fight with justice. It is an end to you, not a path, the path you take is mine, because only on my path do you find your chosen opponents.¡±The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

    Nannade stood her ground. ¡°Who are you? And who is that?¡± She pointed to the bound man.

    ¡°I am a part and I am the whole. I am an ember of the fire that drives all men left in cold darkness, that drives all people in fact, but leads none. The king that commanded no one but was followed by everyone, before I was broken from the crown and bound here. And that man is as much jailed here with me as he is the jailer.¡±

    Nannade wanted to tell him to stop speaking in riddles, but by now she had realized what exactly he was; a spirit, daemon, deity or whatever one might call it, bound to the body of some unlucky sod to be forced into servitude to a third. Servitude to Master Paramonos. But unlike familiars or pactitioners, he was not granted to reveal the nature to anyone but his master, forced to speak in riddles instead.

    She decided to start poking for the truly important questions. ¡°So, do you have a name? What is your domain? And what do you do for Master Paramonos?¡±

    ¡°My domain is every human being and those that are close enough, like you. My name is so manifold it could fill a thousand books in a thousand languages, but to truly know it, you only need to understand what I bestowed upon you. For Master I do everything he asks of me, including guarding this room. It was me who screamed against his binds in the hope you heard me in that faraway place just beyond the bars, and you did. It was me who opened the door, and without my approval, you would not be able to open it again.¡±

    She found the guardian of Paramonos¡¯ secrets. ¡°Is that so? Then what would you ask of me to gain your approval and your silence? And what else could I gain from this encounter?¡±

    The man smiled. ¡°It is difficult for me to hide things from our master, but for you, my child, I shall grant you this favour, if you promise to return, then I might answer all your questions. I already know you are noticing a web around you, you¡¯re not yet entirely caught, but before too long, you shall return for my aid.¡± He stretched out his hand at the very edge of the cage, not daring to pass beyond the bars. ¡°It would be a shame to be left helpless and exposed in your hour of need, at the mercy of a cruel master that took your very body and free will from you.¡±

    Nannade knew he was right about the web; she was definitely at a disadvantage against everyone in this house. ¡°Why would you do that? Simply for a promise?¡±

    ¡°I need strength to draw upon, to resist the man we both call Master. Surety that I will see your sweet face once more, that would give me the strength to endure a thousand days of questions.¡±

    Nannade hesitated. Words spoken to a spirit could have dire consequences, a careless promise could doom her even further than her blood already did. ¡°Why is that so important or powerful?¡±

    ¡°You hurt me yet again. You are the first of my children to ever visit me, and you are so beautiful, so delectable and so refined. How can I not long for such a company once more?¡±

    Nannade did not entirely believe him, but she needed not to, just be careful. ¡°I promise, that I will enter this room once more from this point looking forward.¡±

    The man smiled and wiggled his fingers, extended his pinkie and moved it as close to the bars as possible. Nannade too extended her pinkie and moved it to meet his. Their fingers formed into hooks and interlocked. A flash went through Nannade. The man¡¯s face seared into her mind in blazing red, his smile so welcoming and powerful. Her tired mind gave in, allowed him to speak her name, crude and cruel.

    It took a short moment for Nannade to return back to the room. The man smiled at her with content. ¡°Thank you, my child. Your secrets will be safe. I am looking forward to our future arrangement.¡±

    Questions swirled in her head, but she felt tired, incredibly tired, she had no strength to ponder on them now. She turned around and left the room without much thought but that of sleep. She heard the man call after her. ¡°Until we meet again.¡± She could barely bring forth a ¡°Yes, yes.¡± Before pulling the door shut. She felt like a huge burden had been put on her. She finally made it back to her bed, and did not even manage to take off her student¡¯s garbs before falling into bed. As her eyes fell shut, she could see the blazing red face, like an afterimage of a candle, alight in her mind.

 Miracle & Mystery VII

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 Miracle & Mystery VIII

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 Miracle & Mystery IX

    The salty breeze was blowing over the sands of the beach wet from morning dew. The waves were slowly drawing nearer to the small mound where the night before someone had buried themselves into the sand still dry and warm from the previous day. As the sun rose above the horizon over the bay sea and bathed the tiny cove in light, so too did Nannade rise from her sandy sleep stead. She looked around, but couldn¡¯t see the city, yet she heard it and smelled it, she even saw the ships heading for the harbour. She got up out of the sand and immediately, a dull pain shot in her head, pushing her skull apart, weighing it down and striking her centre. She had to pause to regain her balance. She had no recollection of how she got here or what she had been doing. She knew she had drunk with Timaeus and others, that¡¯s all she could remember for now. She inspected herself. Blood stained her clothes in some areas, in other areas it seemed to have been washed out. Other parts of her clothes were still wet with saltwater and covered in sand. It took her quite some while to get most of the sand out of all her clothes and fur, and still some remained.

    Irritated and confused she staggered up the beach towards a notch in the stony crescent that formed the cove. When she finally got her head above the rocks, she saw where she was. Before her was the city and between her and therewas the sea. She was on a tiny rocky island roughly five hundred feet west of the city, out of the way of the harbour of Chsyatana. Did she swim here? How? She couldn¡¯t swim!

    Nannade''s irritation and confusion grew only more. She tried asking the Serpent, but she again refused to answer, instead resting soundly, fat and content. She could only be fed by two things: pain and justice. What had happened? She hadn¡¯t been on a contract with Teacher, so what else could she have done? She felt something sticking between her teeth and when she used her claws to pick it out, she saw with dread what it was. A strip of skin, human skin, a few hairs, possibly from an arm, and the fatty layer underneath still attached. Dread rose within her. She stumbled back down the rocks to the sandy beach, her brains felt like slime, sloshing around in her skull, the world tumbled, she fell forward on hands and knees.

    Revulsion and sickness came over her, shuddered her body and finally pressed up her gullet and out her mouth with disgusting violence. Liquid and mushy chunks splattered into the sand, forming a pool of slimy black and red, forcing tears up into her eyes on their way out. Again and again, she expelled her stomach¡¯s contents. Even when her guts were completely empty, her insides were still contracting, forcing her mouth to gape, her tongue to stick out and her eyes to roll into an abhorrent visage.

    The spasms came to an end. With tears in her eyes and acid in her nose, she observed the red soup in the sand before her. Clumps of red paste, partially dissolved strips of skin, tendons, blood turned to blackened clods, even something that looked like a finger bone, partially dissolved and corroded away. As she saw it all, she wanted to heave all over again. She stood up, turned around and crawled on the other side of the rocky crescent to get that mess out of her sight. The Serpent would still not answer for the events of the previous night, no matter the urgency with which Nannade flung these questions and her disgust at the Serpent.

    The tide was rising. The nearest shore was maybe two hundred feet away, from there she could walk along the beach back to the city. Maybe she had walked across on some shallow floor during the tide¡¯s low point, but soon, this island would be almost completely swallowed by the high tide, Nannade had seen it often enough from the harbour. Maybe she could get the attention of one of the sailors. No, she didn¡¯t want to be seen with even a few drops of blood on her clothes.

    She decided to try her luck and find a shallow area. Carefully, she waded out and at the furthest spot she could still feel the ground, she launched herself forward with the waves, hoping to bridge the gap.

    Wildly she flailed her arms forward and kicked her feet backward, hoping to somehow stay afloat. She held her breath, water rushed over her face with dread, salt stung her eyes with panic, waves crashed upon her with brute force.

    Panting, screaming, cursing, she arrived on the beach and let herself fall in the sand. She looked back and saw the tiny island, almost mockingly close to the shore.

    She dripped and shivered all the way from the beach to Master Paramonos¡¯ house. She saw neither him nor any other students and so she was alone in her chamber. She ditched the wet clothes on the ground and thought about rolling herself into her blanket for a while, to enjoy the dry warmth, but first, she had to make sure to get rid of any further evidence.

    With a spell she barely remembered she burned the wet clothes, leaving no soot, smoke or ash. A good shirt, coat and pants gone, but peace of mind restored. She was lucky she hadn¡¯t worn her student¡¯s garb that day, it would have been much harder to replace and explain to Master Paramonos.

    She allowed herself to go to bed and warm back up, but her mind came not to rest just yet. The Serpent had awoken and slowly she regained memories, memories of screams of pain and helplessness, of men crying as they were bleeding out, of long, thick strips of flesh travelling down her throat and quickening her appetite to a voracity beyond a mere animal''s. And between them all, a bright red blazing face. She heard not a single movement in the entire house. Could it be she was alone?

    She would not be getting any rest either way and so, she got out of bed, put her student¡¯s garb on and made her way to Master Paramonos¡¯ study. The lock gave way to her fingers and tools and she entered. Nobody was here. She pulled the tapestry down and descended into the rock. The second door too opened for her. Through a tiny slit she peeked into the room but saw no one move about.

    ¡°Come in, my child, Master is not here.¡± The familiar voice had already spotted her.

    She entered the room and closed the door behind her and approached the cage. The white-haired man smiled with his usual politeness.

    ¡°Have you been doing well? I was almost worried you¡¯d have forgotten me.¡±

    ¡°How could I? You keep showing your face in my mind.¡± In truth, Nannade didn¡¯t know why she had come back, other than frightened drive.

    ¡°Oh yes, that I do. I felt you needed my help.¡±

    ¡°What do you know? What if Master Paramonos returns?¡±

    ¡°I cannot let that force of voracious shapelessness walk around the house freely. It would be a disservice to our master and my children alike.¡±

    ¡°So, what would you do to serve those then?¡±

    ¡°To serve Master? I''d make sure he knows that this raw power was finally ready for him to shape into whatever tool he wished. To serve you? I¡¯d tell you what it means to shape raw power before our master could.¡±

    His words started to make sense. ¡°But you wouldn¡¯t do that for free?¡±

    ¡°I take no payment from you, but I would ask you for a token of your love for your godfather!¡±

    She looked around the room, took in the sight of numerous books, scrolls and tablets containing ancient wisdom Master Paramonos consider not fit even for students of the Forbidden. ¡°So if he already knows how to do it, it must be written down in here somewhere. Why should I risk a contract with you?¡±Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.

    The man made is clearly visible that he had anticipated this. ¡°How it befits a serpent to try and squeeze through every opening She can. But not this one. You are running out of time. The Serpent is fed for now, but how long until She demands from you again?¡±

    ¡°I will not make the same mistake and get as drunk again. I can hold Her!¡±

    ¡°Oh really?¡± He stepped closer to the bars. ¡°You see this mountain before you and think you can work its metal, yet you wouldn¡¯t know ore from useless rock if you saw it.¡±

    Nannade got used to his cryptic babble and he was right. Never could she learn all the necessary languages, read every book and every tablet and recognize the knowledge within, at least not before the writhing Serpent had completely swallowed her mind. Her best shot would be to ask this being. ¡°Then how do I prove my ''love'' to you?¡±

    He grinned, knowing he was about to gain what he ultimately wanted. ¡°Oh how short-sighted of you! What would you gift a shackled slave?¡±

    ¡°It is your freedom then?¡±

    The man just nodded, apparently happy with her quick deduction.

    ¡°But not before I leave this place for good. Lest yo-... our master might get wind of our talks and agreements.¡±

    ¡°I would be a fool to think you fool enough. Of course, but you must at least accept me as your godfather, otherwise how can you accept my teachings?¡±

    Nannade nodded. ¡°Agreed. I accept you as my godfather. Without you, the me I am today would not exist. And when the time comes, I promise I shall free you from this cage and see you leave this room.¡±

    The man smiled. ¡°Well then, my child, I welcome you into my arms, as soon as these bars and chains are removed.¡±

    Nannade felt a sharp, searing pain on her left shoulder, almost as if the brand of the sinner was applied a second time. She tried to struggle against the pain, the guilt, the shame, but she had no option but to let it in, reaching far down onto her very soul. What a wretched, disgusting being she was, how horrible she had become. The men had cried for help, for mercy, pleaded for their lives. The men had been utterly alone and afraid in the face of horrible gruesome death. And she had enjoyed it! Sick! Disgusting! She was a sinner through and through.

    The sensation ebbed and she could find herself again, deep in the rock, before the cage. The Serpent was writhing against the pain still, unbridled force and will pushing against Nannade¡¯s waking mind. ¡°What do I have to do?¡±

    ¡°So listen to my first lessons to you, my child.¡± The man assumed a pose that would be seen uptight and comical even for a professor. ¡°A deity released from its purpose and duty is no deity, but a wild, unrestrained demon. The Serpent has returned to rawness, to purity of power. As the priest¡¯s words and acts reflect the glory of his deity, so does the jewellery on the priest¡¯s vestments. This must be so, for to us beings of words, thoughts and meanings, they are as real as air, rock and water are to you. My child, you were not handed down words of your deity by any teachers and when you were handed Her vestments, you decided to destroy them. And thus, you must fashion both words and jewellery in unity to one another, completely anew. The Serpent¡¯s power is still hot and malleable, as She has not yet found Her new preferred shape. The smith must strike the metal before it cools or else it might become a cold, shapeless, useless lump. He must strike it repeatedly, place each of his strikes with purpose and precision, for without a vision of the final creation, he will just deform one shapelessness into another shapelessness. He must prepare sockets for gems most recognized by the parish, engrave patterns most befitting the wearer, and close it all with links and seams strong enough to hold the power of that which is to fill the vessel. And only if all this is done in accordance with the words spoken by the priest, then shall the deity find Her new home in vestment and tool, shape and purpose. If it is done, all shall know the priest by garments and words.¡±

    For a while, his words resounded in the rock-walled chamber as well as in Nannade¡¯s mind. She had started to accept the white-haired man''s way of words. She would have to dwell on those words later, ask her godfather what all of those really refer to.

    ¡°And when I follow your advice, will I be able to control the Serpent once and for all?¡±

    The man seemed to be amused by her question. ¡°Control? Oh dearest child, no! Even you cannot control a deity. You have entered a pact; all you can do is remind Her. But she will never again go outside Her bounds, should you succeed in your task. Show determination towards a purpose and She will follow suit. Try to enslave Her and She will escape you like you once did your old Master. If you think this will be easy, you are a fool. If you wish to remake yourself, you must be prepared to be both the red-hot glowing metal and the cold, hard hammer.¡±

    ¡°What is that supposed to mean again?¡±

    ¡°I would like to tell you more, but Master returns! Until your next lesson, I bid you farewell, my child.¡±

    She heard steps coming down the stairs behind her, she wanted to ask the man more, but he put his index finger to his lips and smiled. She looked around in the room for some place to hide, but before she could disappear anywhere, the door opened.

    Nannade froze in place.

    The door opened and Master Paramonos entered the room. He looked straight at Nannade, his gaze piercing her eyes.

    ¡°Good day to you.¡± He said with no shred of his usually jovial demeanour.

    Nannade was looking for words, but her mind failed her.

    The man behind her answered. ¡°Good day to you too, Master Paramonos.¡±

    Master Paramonos closed the door behind him, turned towards his desk and walked past Nannade, just a nose¡¯s length apart, without even batting an eye in her direction.

    ¡°Is there anything you need to tell me?¡±

    ¡°No. All is well.¡±

    ¡°Good then.¡± Master Paramonos sat down at his desk and picked up a scroll of parchment still lying about disorderly.

    Nannade realized what was happening. She reached for the door, slowly pushing the door handle down and opening the heavy wooden door carefully, hoping it would make no sound to betray her. As she threw a last glance into the room, she could see the man looking at her over his shoulder, a grin beaming on his face like she had never seen before. She closed the door behind her and hurried up the stairs as silently as she could. Only after she had left Master Paramonos¡¯ study and returned to her own bedroom did she allow herself to relax. Her heart was about to jump from her chest, even the Serpent, though fed and content just moments before, was in fear.

    The man''s ¨C her godfather''s words came back to her. A smith had to strike the metal while it¡¯s hot, and place every strike with precision and purpose. It made sense, somehow. She needed to come up with words to hammer into the serpent how they were to use their power and according to those words a garment and tool, to make shape and powers apparent to both of them. A new covenant needed to be established and for that, priest and deity needed to come together. Images of the Bearer of the Flame came back to her. His acolytes well prepared for the ritual, him holding the Flame without being burned by it, the powers of his deity were shaped and solid like granite and both of them kept their end of the contract.

    Her body might be a temple to the Serpent, but worship was not practiced there very often, the deity was not at home, merely bound there, set free when needed and not tended to otherwise. Her meditation time had to make way for prayer.

    But how was the Serpent prayed to? What language should she use? Nannade knew not the language of her ancestral home. Except for a few snippets her parents had said to each other. And a lullaby. Her mother¡¯s lullaby. So sweet its words seemed to Nannade, even though she only understood tiny meanings of a few words. She sang it nonetheless.

    The words came back to her, as she sighed them to herself, with just a hint of voice. A rage inside of her dimmed and her thoughts were freer than before.

    She spent a while just dwelling on those words, until she felt ready like leaving her room again.

    She stood up, straightened her back, inhaled and decided to head for the library, that of the House of the Unseen, not the Forbidden. They would know what makes a god. She was just about to head out the door when it opened from the outside.

    A broad figure pushed inside, towering above her like a bear with raised paws, ready to drop down upon her. Her Teacher''s eyes told her this would not be over as quickly as a mauling by a bear.

 Miracle & Mystery X

    The girl was trembling as Garrett entered the room. They stood in the entrance of Master Paramonos¡® house and were alone here. He saw her cowering before him, she knew what was about to come, but he knew she was already preparing to play dumb.

    ¡°Teacher,... what brings you here? Another contract?¡±

    Garrett was in no mood to play games. He had seen the corpses, he had heard the testimony of the witness. ¡°Nannade, did you do it?¡±

    Her eyes darted away from his. ¡°What did you mean? I didn¡¯t do anything!¡±

    ¡°You know what I mean. Stop playing dumb and we can get to solving the issue.¡± He was almost ashamed to have trained such a bad liar.

    Nannade exhaled and let her shoulders and ears slouch. ¡°Yes, it was me.¡± Before the words settled in Garrett¡¯s mind, she followed up with quick words. ¡°But I wasn¡¯t aware of it! The Serpent had control! I was out of it!¡±

    ¡°First you say the Serpent was not even talking to you and now she was the one acting on her own?! I don¡¯t believe it!¡±

    She slapped her hands together in a pleading gesture. ¡°Please Teacher, you have to believe me, she is reverting back into viciousness, she adheres to no rules and just does what she wants!¡±

    ¡°And have you turned to Master Paramonos¡¯ yet?¡±

    ¡°Yes and he did nothing! He wants me to become brutal, he wants to turn me and her into a tool, ply the Serpent into whatever he desires.¡±

    Garrett had already heard similar excuses; she was just making stuff up to justify her selfish lifestyle. ¡°How do you know that? That seems like a serious accusation!¡±

    She lowered gaze away from him. ¡°I just know.¡±

    He knew this was a lie. Had she done her own investigations? ¡°Nannade, tell me now if you know anything!¡±

    She seemed to somewhere within herself find some determination and no longer shrunk away from him. ¡°I snuck around, yes, I found and went through his secret studies. He¡¯s keeping preserved parts of other abominations. He just sees me as another subject to study and use! He''s keeping a bound daemon and it was he who told me Paramonos¡¯ plans!¡±

    ¡°I told you to keep your nose out of this and not act on your own!¡±

    ¡°And I told you that the issue with Ssil needed to be addressed. I will wait no longer!¡± She put her index finger on his chest. ¡°I¡¯ll try myself if you¡¯re unwilling to help. I will not become some monster, not after I had to fight for so long to convince the Trusted Judges. It¡¯s your decision whether you put me down now or later.¡±

    The girl was out of it. He grabbed her by her student¡¯s jacket, spun around and slammed her against the wall next to the door frame. ¡°Maybe I should put you down! Don¡¯t make me itch for it, girl!¡±

    She seemed not the slightest bit impressed. ¡°I have faced death more than once, I was offered better lives more than once, but I always refused. Not because I love you, or anything like that, Teacher. No, because I knew there was a greater purpose for me in this vocation of yours.¡± She just hung there in her jacket, didn¡¯t even struggle, just scowling his way with these bright green-yellow eyes of her, caustic spite pushing against his blue-grey. ¡°And now you would stand by idly while I am turned into a lapdog? Or did you commission Paramonos exactly so he would do that for you?¡±If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

    He pushed her harder onto the wall. ¡°Do NOT even insinuate this! I made a promise to your mother, that¡¯s why she was willing to set you free into my care!¡±

    He could see the girl¡¯s jaw clench at the mention of her mother. ¡°You are about to let that promise fall and shatter. I need your help; don¡¯t you get that? I am asking you, because I don¡¯t want to do this alone! I know you can help me.¡±

    Her words rung like the echo of a distant bell. The girl is right now in a very difficult and complicated situation and before too long, she will need your help. That¡¯s what Black Surgeon had told her. Did he know the girl that well? Or did he know that much about the nature of that Serpent?

    He looked back at her eyes. She was still staring at him with determination. It wasn¡¯t the pouting determination of a rebellious girl wanting to go shopping in the big city, but the determination of a woman with something left to lose. She had found something out there on her journeys and she was resolute to keep it.

    ¡°What would you have me do then?¡±

    ¡°Stop treating me like a child. And help me forge this shapeless lump of a demon into a proper deity. I am sure we can find the necessary books and make the necessary preparations. And when the time has come, let me preach my sermon to my parish of the guilty.¡±

    She had thought about this well, he could tell, she was not stupid after all. ¡°Well then, what would you do about Paramonos and his plans then?¡±

    Nannade grinned wide and toothy, it disturbed him how long her fangs were now. ¡°I think I got a way to keep him guessing.¡±

    Garrett put her down. ¡°Either way, I have an investigation to lead, I better make sure to keep the city guard guessing on my end, too.¡±

    ¡°Got any plans?¡±

    ¡°Well, as long as no more attacks happen that people ascribe to ¡®the beast of the equinox¡¯, the guard will not look into it much a month from now and we¡¯ll be in the clear. The victims at least seemed well chosen.¡±

    The girl nodded. ¡°The Serpent is not completely gone yet. But without justice to remind her or snakes to sustain her, her refined shape will soon vanish. That¡¯s why we need to reshape her into something more...¡± She searched for words.

    ¡°...felicitious?¡±

    Nannade nodded. ¡°I will head to the library of the House of the Unthought, maybe the Unseen. They are bound to harbour some writings about the liturgies and rites of various cults. They might be in love with uncaring or indifferent gods, but they¡¯re good at handling them. I will let you know if I have worked out more of what I need.¡±

    The girl straightened her clothes, put her hat on properly and left the house. Garrett left soon after. He had tracks to cover. He felt weird. As if he was suddenly a lot further with the girl and her situation. The path ahead was suddenly open before him. He shouldn¡¯t have tried to load her off on someone else. At least not someone he had no reason to trust. Elissa was no longer there to take care of the girl. It was his job now and he thought he could avoid that by loading her off on Paramonos, an ambitious, secretive man with his own plans and intentions. Garrett¡¯s new goal was to make sure that man¡¯s ambitions would stay fruitless.

 Miracle & Mystery XI

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

 Miracle & Mystery XII

    A chime rang through the room dug into the soft, damp sandstone, lit by merely three candles and a brazier hanging from the ceiling. Brazen Claw knelt in front of a bowl made of brass, waiting for the ringing to come to an end.

    TEAR!

    ¡°Pain is a blessing upon the wicked.¡±

    Claw struck the bowl to raise another chime.

    FEED!

    ¡°Death is a mercy they don¡¯t deserve.¡±

    Claw rang a chime again.

    TAKE!

    ¡°Those who deal pain shall come to know pain.¡±

    Chime.

    GORGE!

    ¡°Those who repent shall come to feel the price.¡±

    Chime.

    FEAST!

    ¡°Those who refuse, shall pay it in full.¡±

    Brazen Claw waited for the sound to end, then put her forehead to the ground. The Serpent was still furious, but Claw pressed down, kept her from acting out any more.

    Again and again she had said these and many other words in deep concentration. Every time she let them flow from her mind to her mouth over her lips, she felt them grind into her soul, which was also the Serpent¡¯s soul-To a degree. It was painful to say them, they went against every desire and demand the Serpent stirred within Claw¡¯s heart and mind. Every syllable felt only like a single drop on a hot stone, but steady drop would wear even this stone down to timidity. Ever since the Serpent had gained control during Claw¡¯s drunken stupor, She had tried again and again, becoming bolder, more aggressive. Subsequently, Claw needed to repeat these words many times a day, not unlike what Master Paramonos did when they were meditating, except this time, Claw was in control. She tried not to make the Serpent subservient, but to bring Her thrashing and moving into harmony with her own desires and purpose.

    She was waiting in the basement of a house on the craftsman''s terrace, procured by Teacher for the purpose of their attempts to shape the Serpent into a true deity and Claw into a true priestess. She wore the primitive forms of her vestments: a bright green scapular with a hood and a wide leather belt around her waist, along with one of two long yew spars, about as long as she was tall and slightly thicker than her thumb. The most important ingredient however would soon be brought by Teacher, a parish. For the first time, her ability to teach the Serpent discipline would be put to the test. She repeated the litanies once more. She had drawn inspiration from the many sources; books on the early priesthood of the Flame, scrolls from the priests of the old Pliranti Empire, and her own journals, especially her dream journal. In the weirdness of dreams, like the weirdness of the realm beyond the veil where the Serpent came from, truth could be gleaned.

    In the end, Claw sought the truths she held dear in her heart, the lessons her teacher had taught her, while also having to banish some of them. She had learned from her teacher that fights were to be avoided, conflict to be shunned and attacks to be hidden and unseen. The Serpent knew how to lurk in the shadows and strike from them, but the ritual demanded to be a duel, not a sneaky ambush. The one litany her teacher would be most willing to agree: to fight means to forfeit the way of the word. The way of the blade, bludgeon and bow is one of victory or defeat, not negotiation and compromise, there can be no middle ground.

    And there it was. The sound of the door to the house being flung open, then smashed closed again, struggling, muffled yelling and cursing. They were coming down the stairs to the cellar. Then the door to the room was flung open.

    A man was thrown through the door. He was thin and small, about Claw¡¯s size, with dark hair and below, a face with more scars than a man should survive. Scrapes, cuts, burns, a crooked nose and cheek bones, it was all there like a morbid collection of violence. His hands were bound and his mouth gagged. Behind him, Purple Paw moved his huge figure carefully through the low doorway.

    ¡°Irenus the stabber,¡± he proclaimed loudly. ¡°ten counts of theft or robbery, six counts of blackmail, four counts of rape, three counts of murder, at least those are what is sure to the city guard.¡± He undid the man¡¯s gags and binds, ending by kicking him further into the room and away from him. ¡°I think he does qualify, what do you say, High Priestess?¡± Purple Paw did not put any sarcastic twist on that title.

    ¡°He will, my Acolyte.¡± She made sure to emphasize the honour and recognition that address bore with it. She turned to Irenus. ¡°Do you deny these charges?¡±

    ¡°What¡¯s the issue with you weirdos? What kind of circus is this?¡± He looked around and found the only exit to be blocked by Purple Paw¡¯s impressive shape. ¡°I thought you¡¯d bring me to the guard, but you¡¯re just doing some kind of... what is this? Are you some sickos that get off on torturing people while doing it?¡± He stood up, weary of the man behind him and the kneeling girl in front of him.

    Claw asked again, with patience in her voice. ¡°Do you deny these charges?¡±

    ¡°You know what? Screw this, what if I don¡¯t? Just go ahead and kill me!¡±

    ¡°This is not a murder. This is a trial. Should you come out victorious, you will be granted to leave.¡± Claw waved to her acolyte and he moved away from the door, into a corner of the room. ¡°It is my promise as High Priestess.¡±

    ¡°What sick god do you serve? Never seen a priest like you!¡±

    Claw smiled. The ream of smoke from the brazier suddenly whipped around, towards her and started to whirl, get denser, until it assumed the shape of a serpent, the Serpent. ¡°The Just Serpent Ssil. She will judge you. But first, you must accept the charges to be able to wash yourself free of them.¡±She held one of the two spars aloft. ¡°I assume you will be content with this weapon?¡±

    Irenus grinned. ¡°Fine then, I¡¯ll play your stupid game, whore. I accept the charges. I had my fair share of stabbing and blessing some gals with the time of their lives; you look like you¡¯ll do fine.¡±

    Claw threw the spare spar forward and got up for her kneeling position. She held her spar tightly. Some would say it was too thin for a proper weapon, but it wasn¡¯t supposed to kill, it was supposed to hurt.

    Irenus picked up the staff and shota quick glance over to Paw, who remained where he stood.

    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. His duty is done. He will not interfere.¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

    Irenus twirled the staff a bit, found the centre of mass, gripped it at one end and closed the gap between him and Claw with a long step and yell. He brought the staff down on Claw, who blocked the strike easily with hers, held in both hands. His anger spurred her heart on, but she had to remain calm. The Serpent was to learn how to control Herself during a fight. Today, they would see whether She had learned anything in the past month, whether discipline and purpose had been added to Her shape.

    In a single, quick motion, Claw moved Irenus¡¯ staff over her with hers and moved to his back, he was at the disadvantage. A strike to the back of his knee and he sank in. She saw him, on his knees, unable to fight back, her pulse rose. She took a step back.

    Stay calm.

    FEED!

    Her throat started to dry, it cried out for flesh and blood. Both were in ample supply in front of her, she just needed to reach out and take it. She could kill him easily. Her glance shot over to her acolyte; his stern gaze reminded her.

    No! Show restraint, the accused needs to suffer. Harvest the pain, savour every drop of it!

    Claw charged forward. Irenustried to punt her with the tip of his staff. To the right she dodged, pushing his attack to her left. With the staff in her right she aimed for the side of his head. The staff whizzed through the air and hit Irenus¡¯ head.

    SWAEK

    At this satisfying sound, the Serpent jiggled her ethereal body in delight, bathing in the pain; the scream was her music. Irenus sank against the wall and slumped to the ground. Awareness had passed from his eyes, he was at Claw¡¯s mercy. She felt strength surge through her every fibre.

    Strength taken from pain, given to pain!

    MORE!

    Strength made her hand shoot forward, her claws dug into Irenus'' skin. As she pushed him to the wall, she felt his pulse, his blood coursing through him like a panicked crowd. She could take it all. She should take it all! She dropped her staff and readied her other hand to tear deeper into his veins. Fear rose into his eyes as he saw the other hand approaching his neck

    The red haze was torn apart by a ringing knife. Claw regained her mind and looked to her acolyte. Before him on the ground was a brass bowl, its chime still hanging in the air. She saw clear again. She saw her helpless victim before her and she realized he was an accused, not a victim.

    She released her grip and took a step back, then picked her staff back up.¡°Stand up! Stand back up; your trial is not yet concluded!¡±

    Irenus¡¯ staggered onto his feet, stemming his weight with his staff. He regained clarity and was ready.

    ¡°Fine then, you got me good. But down think you will do it again!¡± He twirled his staff some more, keeping his distance this time. He grinned.

    Claw wanted to wipe that smirk off his face. She got closer. A quick strike from her right to his left, blocked. She retreated a step before he could bind her weapon. A step forward, a punt to his chest with the tip of her staff. He tried to smack her staff aside, but she brought hers around. Another hit to his head.

    Irenus caught himself before falling this time. He positioned himself. With a quick stab and step, he came closer, but she wouldn¡¯t let him stay within reach and took a step back. Her hands were trembling, her desire to lash out grew, but she held her thoughts back, whispering to herself.

    The time to strike will come. The goal is pain, not death. Harvest it, savour it.

    She held her ground. Irenus¡¯ lips split into a wide grin. He took another step, attempting a jab. As Claw moved her staff into position for a block, he changed his direction. Upwards.

    CLANK

    His staff hit the brazier directly above her, tipping it over and raining burning coals and ash down on her. A scream escaped her, a whack hit her hips, then her knees as she shielded her face with her hands.

    ¡°TAFF!¡± she screamed and dropped her staff. The Serpent lashed in anger, but Claw kept her under control, barely. Although it was dark and hot ash in her eyes, she had not lost sight. The warmth of Irenus¡¯ and her acolyte¡¯s body were glowing brightly in the cold room in the sandstone rock.

    Irenus tried to get out the door, bit it was locked. He couldn¡¯t see and his cunning plan was thwarted by itself before it could come to fruition. He was at her mercy. ¡°DAMNIT LET ME OUT!¡± He rattled the door in futility

    Claw had patted the hot embers out of her clothes and fur and with just a few long steps she arrived at the door. The image she saw was strange. Like a picture held in front of her eyes, it was not her own sight, it was the Serpent¡¯s and She grew ravenous within a beat of her heart.

    Grabbing him at the back of his shirt, Claw brought Irenus to fall and he screamed in frightened pain as she dug her claws into his skin again.

    ¡°GET OFF ME, WHORE!¡±

    She sat on top of him, clamping his hands below her knees, and reached for the sides of his head.

    TAKE IT ALL!

    Her claws started to itch, her fingers thirsted for soft flesh to sing into. She reached for his jugular when suddenly, another chime blew away her delectable delirium at the same time same time that light filled the room to the brim and stung her corporeal eyes. A white orb was in her acolyte¡¯s hand. The anger calmed. She saw the accused again. Accused, not victim.

    ¡°You deserve to suffer more; death shall not come quickly for you!¡± She stood back up, got her staff, wiped the last bits of ash out of her face. ¡°Get up! GET UP!¡± she tapped the staff on the ground as she paced up and down. He was stalling for time, the bastard. She waited eagerly until he had picked his weapon back up.

    She stormed forward, the staff shrieked as it cut through the air, hit his shoulder with a satisfying WHACK, drove a scream of pain from his mouth. What a symphony! The dance continued.

    The priestess whipped many more screams from the accused. His face filled with bruises, his legs buckled and blood was drawn from his knuckles where she had hit them many times. As the drops hit the ground or were sprayed across the walls by the priestess¡¯ staff, its scent rose to her head and burrowed into her mind.

    It seemed to exude power and a red, blazing stench filled her nostrils. The stench of tears of women and children. The stench of the slime of his loins dripping into them as they struggled. The stench of the blood of his victims running down his blade and hand. The stench wails of mothers and fathers as their courageous children sink to the floor lifeless. The stench of his greedy hands as they tore gold and silver from the elderly and weak. She smelled it all. The stench of his sins. The Serpent remembered these. Many sinners She had tasted and all She had crushed by the weight of guilt.

    ¡°Rapist!¡± She heard herself say. ¡°Murderer! Thief! Degenerate! I will draw every drop of payment from your body.¡±

    Again and again she hit the accused. His voice became hoarse from screaming, his body became limp and weak as he lost more and more blood.

    It was a feast. What a delectable feast! All the flavours she could imagine were there for her. Claw 0had to rear in the Serpent, force her to taste the pain as that which it was: payment for crimes. No strike was placed wildly or without consideration.

    The time came that Irenus expired. Claw looked at her work. The floor and walls were speckled in red, teeth lay strewn around the room, Irenus¡¯ body was covered in welts and lacerations, his entire stature resembled that of a sack full of butchery scraps, the room stank of death and worse. Purple Paw sat in the corner, still observing the high priestess.¡°I have to admit that I disagree with such a death. Not just ugly, bit also ineffective.¡±

    Brazen Claw cleared her head of voracity and bloodshed. ¡°This one was rife with guilt, enough to condemn half a dozen men to death. But others might not have to die. Tonight, the Serpent could drink more than enough. It will be harder to rein Her in when there is less offered up toHher.¡±

    ¡°Good. She must learn that She is no demon that drinks as deeply as possible from the sacrifices of mortals; She shall be given only what she is due.¡±

    Claw nodded. All of this had been Paw¡¯s idea, she just fine-tuned the specifics.

    ¡°So ...¡± Paw clapped his hands together. ¡°...how do we feel?¡±

    ¡°We feel good. The Serpent learned much today. I have to admit, this massacre is starting to clench my stomach. But the next time, I shall contain the violence and distil the purest pain. This staff is good at dealing pain in combat, but not every fight must be drawn out so cruelly, it¡¯s too coarse and brutal. Many things need to be learned anew and refined.¡±

    Paw put his hand on her shoulder. ¡°I¡¯m here for you, high priestess. But for now, we better get to cleaning up.¡±

    Claw nodded. The Serpent agreed. There was nothing left in this room to feast upon, but Her time would come again, that much She had learned today.

 Miracle & Mystery XIII

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 Miracle & Mystery Epilogue

    A swift breeze blew over the cliffs and terraces of Chsyatana, wishing all those departing sailors farewell. Garrett sat down on the guard railing of the scholar¡¯s terrace, next to Nannade and turned to her. She was about an inch smaller now, her face was back to the broad crolachan norm, her eyes had again the colour of grain and a tiny snake was slithering around her neck and shoulders. It was weird to see her like this again, after just having gotten used to her altered appearance.

    ¡°What is it?¡± She snickered, no doubt at his stupid face.

    ¡°It¡¯s just... as if you had never made that stupid mistake. As if all of that had been just a bad dream and we¡¯re about to head to Halonnes like nothing bad ever happened.¡±

    Nannade smiled. So much Garrett had missed this smile. ¡°I tried too hard to be something else. First I tried to be just Nannade, ignoring the Serpent. Then I tried to be not Nannade at all, leaving everything I ever had behind, as if the Serpent had recruited me in a completely new life with that only She decided on. Finally, now that deity and priestess have defined and agreed on roles and rituals, the Serpent lets me be me again.¡± The snake made its way down Nannade¡¯s shirt, from where she quickly retrieved her new ¡®pet¡¯.¡°The staff is a part of my body, after all, sort of. As long as the staff is with me and she retreats into the staff, and stays by my me, my body can revert. We''re still connected, but it still feels... less cramped in here." She tapped her chest, then stroked the snake''s head. ¡°Somewhat. And it makes a nice cover. It¡¯s almost as if She truly is just a familiar.¡± She lifted the snake up to her face. ¡°Isn¡¯t that right, Ssil? You¡¯re just my familiar, nothing suspicious or abominable about that at all!¡± and giggled when the snake flickered her tongue at Nannade¡¯s nose.

    Garrett remembered that type of snake; orange with red patches, about as thick as a finger or two and around four feet long. Elissa used to catch them in the fields when they were still kids, at the brink of adulthood. She liked to scare the girls in town with them and laugh while they screamed and squealed. He remained in the memories for a while. ¡°I think it will come in handy when you¡¯ll try to blend in at campus.¡±Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

    ¡°I hope so. I won¡¯t let myself be treated like a monster anymore.¡±

    They just sat for a while, looking to the glistening ocean.

    ¡°I¡¯ll miss this city somewhat, I think.¡± She said absent minded.

    ¡°And you should. The air is fresh compared to cities on level ground, like Halonnes.¡±

    ¡°What about you? Looking forward to see your alma mater?¡±

    Garrett shook his head. ¡°Somewhat, yes. But I hate to leave Philander behind. Maybe one day I¡¯ll come back for him. This city has grown on me too. And I¡¯ve been to many.¡±

    Nannade nodded. ¡°Two years. I can¡¯t believe it went by so smoothly. Well... apart from that business with Paramonos.¡±

    Garrett merely gave off an agreeing hum. They watched the ships come in and go out of the harbour for a while. He was glad everything had worked out after Paramonos was disposed of, thanks to Master Anaxagoras. Merely four of the former five houses remained, but the search for a graduate that could pick up Paramonos¡¯ mantle had already begun. Now the girl¡¯s third mark of approval was getting close. Halonnes would be the perfect finish to her education.

    He had to think back to what she had said. She knew. She knew everything. Elissa had told her. For some reason, he wasn¡¯t angry with Elissa at all; it felt liberating. He didn¡¯t have to tell Nannade, but Nannade understood. There was no pressure, not fear, no dread of his secret leaking out. He was happy. For the first time in a long time, he was truly happy, with no anxiety or worries in the back of his head to spoil his happiness and bring him down to a cruel and uncaring reality. And it was thanks to Elissa. Although she promised never to tell anyone. He was glad she did tell the girl, but he would still guilt trip her about it; maybe she will buy him a bottle of that Sturreland apple schnapps as apology. He couldn¡¯t really be angry with her, though. How did he ever deserve such a blessing?

    ¡°I hope you can get along with the people in Halonnes, Nannade.¡±

    ¡°Yes. Me too. I mostly look forward to meeting Susanna.¡±

    Garrett had to laugh. ¡°Oh I promise, you will grow tired of her real quickly.¡±

    Nannade shrugged. ¡°Hmmm; maybe. I want to see for myself. I want to see the campus in all its colours and glory.¡±

    ¡°You will.¡± Garrett put his hand on her shoulder and stood back up. ¡°We should really get going. We have a long trip by ship ahead of us.¡±

    Nannade hummed and nodded, then got up, too. She peered into the distance with determination that befit her just right. Her posture spoke volumes about the strength she had found in those rituals, all worries, problems and qualms neatly stored away into fitting solutions. They made their way down to the harbour.