《Tamer Tails》


 The first journey - 1

    The sun peeked over the horizon, dyeing the sky in an orange hue. At a small hamlet surrounded by fields of various crops, all the residents are at the entrance to the hamlet. In front of them was a wagon with a thick, brownish cloth bonnet. The creature that pulled the carriage looked like a regular, brown horse, if it weren''t for the small, hexagonal red gem on its forehead.


    Once the carriage stopped a man in a thick, black coat got off the wagon. He had brown eyes, short black hair and was roughly five feet tall. He didn''t appear to have much muscle and his face was rugged with a little stubble, other than that, the man had no discernible features.


    "I''ll be setting off in thirty minutes, so make any orders and trades you want now. The next merchant that will come through will be in a week." The man said in a deep, calm voice.


    "Not to worry, not to worry," said the man who seemed to be the leader of the hamlet, "we already had everything prepared yesterday. As was mentioned last week, we have four children travelling this year, mister Darniss"


    Hearing this, Darniss, the merchant, smiled and nodded. Several people from the group came forward and spoke to Darniss or brought some of their harvest to sell.


    After having noted down all the orders the people made, Darniss then started to get ready to leave. Three boys, age thirteen, excitedly walked to the carriage, their parents waving them off.This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    "Where''s the lass that''s supposed to be here?" Darniss asked as he was just about ready to set off.


    Near the front of a crowd, thirteen year old girl, long blonde hair tied into a ponytail, her face hidden in her mother''s embrace as she cried.


    "*sniff* I... I don'' want t-to go." She wailed, as her mother comforted her.


    "Now, now Delia, it''s going to be alright," her mother said, "it will only be two weeks, and then you can come home. You''ll also be able to form your first pact, and if you don''t go this year, you''ll never be able to."


    "B-b- *sniff* but what if I can''t get what I want?" Delia moaned. "Why can''t you come with me?"


    "*sigh* Delia, you know it''s time to harvest the rinja in three days. The faster we harvest them the better quality they will be." Her father comforted, "now, my brave little Delia, how about you show your mother how brave I know you are? You have the money and your luggage has already been loaded onto the wagon."


    Delia wiped the tears from her eyes, revealing her chestnut brown eyes and her freckled cheeks. She puffed her cheeks, trying to hold back her tears. Knowing that she wouldn''t settle down her father lifted her up and carried her to the wagon. Delia only squirmed slightly, knowing that she had no say in the matter.


    "I''ll miss you," She said softly, as her father plopped her on the back of the carriage and gave her a kiss on her cheek.


    "She''s on board now, mister Darniss," Delia''s father shouted.


    "Aye. Since everything''s in order, we''ll be leaving now. Don''t worry, your children are in good hands. See you all in two weeks!" Darniss shouted, then with a pull on his reins, they left the hamlet behind and headed down the beaten path.

 The first journey - 2

    "Mister Darniss, I''m bo~ored" one of the boys complained.


    The wagon had left the little hamlet six hours ago, not stopping once. The three boys in the wagon were excited to start with. Having not gone on a trip before, they found travelling in a carriage to be strange and new, but that got old quickly. After a while, they started to point at the different plants and occasional tree they passed, though they ran out of new things to point out or argued over whether they''d seen that type of tree before. That was two hours ago, the monotony of travelling by wagon started to bore them, and they weren''t even allowed to leave the wagon.


    "*sigh*, there isn''t much I can about that, I''m afraid." Darniss sighed, his co-workers warned that the children would end up like this, saying they had no patience for travel. If it weren''t for the substantial pay he would receive for taking them there and that this was his first time doing so, he would never have agreed to take them. "We''ll be stopping for lunch in an hour or so, you''ll be able to have a little wander around. Some fellow merchants shall be meeting us there, they will have a bunch of kids travelling with them, too."


    "An hour? That''s so~o long away." One of the other boys complained. "Why are we even meeting up with them, there will be a bunch at the town."


    "Just be patient, we have a schedule to keep to, and I don''t want to be the one causing delay," Darniss replied, slightly grumpy. "We''re not going to stay in the town, the inns will be too expensive. Besides, we''ll be reaching the town tomorrow morning, setting off with all the others wagons and carriages forming a convoy. Since it will be safer with more wagons, we''ll be meeting up for lunch. How''s the little lass doing?"


    "She fell asleep by that barrel," the boy said, pointing towards where Delia was.


    Ever since they left the hamlet, Delia hadn''t said a word to anyone. The boys tried to get her to join them and cheer her up, but she didn''t even look at them. Darniss couldn''t help but worry for her, as he remembered how alone he felt when he was their age, heading to the city.


    "Hopefully she will be able to make some friends when we stop for lunch, there should be thirteen more kids there from the hamlets in the area. Some are probably feeling the same as her, too." Darniss said, then muttered "at the very least, I hope everyone will feel more at ease after this."


    An hour passed, and they came to a stop in an area where the only noticeable thing was the forest a hundred meters east of them.


    "This is the spot, looks like we''re a little early though." Darniss announced, the boys leaped out of the carriage, excited to finally leave the wagon. Chuckling, Darniss told them, "Since you boys are so full of energy, I''ll ask you to go and collect some firewood to cook lunch. Just don''t go too far away and if you go over to the forest, stay near the entrance."


    Hearing this, the boys all darted towards the forest, more likely to play than gather any firewood. Meanwhile, Darniss went back to the wagon and gently woke Delia up, explaining to her what they would be doing before they reach the town. Delia stayed within the wagon, watching Darniss prepare the food for lunch.


    "You sure you don''t want to help with anything," Darniss asked while cutting up some kind of root vegetable.


    Although she tried hard, Delia kept glancing at the horse. This didn''t go unnoticed, as Darniss realised before they even left the hamlet. Chuckling he asked, "Do you want to look after Fleur?"


    Hearing this, Delia blushed slightly and sheepishly nodded her head. Darniss coughed, stifling another laugh, as he walked to the wagon and took out a bag that was by his seat. Inside, there were several different brushes and combs, as well as a cloth and a pick. Seeing Delia''s eyes sparkle, he went on to explain what each tool was used for and how Fleur will react depending on the mood. Darniss then let out a breath he didn''t know he was holding as he saw Delia open up a bit and express herself more.


    Ten minutes later three wagons arrived, pulled by the same type of horse as Fleur. On each of the wagon''s coachman seat was a black cloaked man, one was short and skinny, while the other two had large, broad and muscular frames. As they approached the camp, the shorter man removed the hood from his head. When the face was revealed, you could see burn marks across the left side of his face. He had short, bright blonde hair, a right blue eye while his left eye was white.


    The man broke out into a wide smile, "Darniss!" He called out cheerfully, "''ow long ya bin waitin'', dinnae think ya''d be ''ere firs''. I reckon ya''d be a few mo'' ''ours, did ya set off yestarday ta get here?"


    "Oliver!" Darniss responds firmly shaking the man''s hand when he approached. "I''m surprised you managed to stay on the road, did the other two help you get here safely. I would have a fire going, I sent the boys to get some firewood when we arrived, ten minutes ago." He then glanced over to the forest, "but it looks like the boys are off playing instead."


    Oliver also looked over. "Aye, I can see ''em over deyr, fightin'' wi'' sticks." Oliver said, shaking his head with a slight smile on his face. He then patted the back of one of the other coachmen. The man grunted and nodded his head. "Archie an'' me''ll go an'' get da firewood, I''ll send da lads back too." Oliver said, heading off towards the forest with the man he patted.


    Darniss and the other coachman had the children get off the three wagons and gather together. The children got off the wagons with varying degrees of excitement and nervousness. One of the boys even refused to leave the wagon. There were thirteen children in total, three boys and ten girls, not including Darniss'' group. Moments later, the three boys that went to ''collect firewood'' returned, laughing and pushing each other. Darniss then brought Delia to the rest of the children, though she ended up hiding behind Darniss.


    When everyone had gathered, not including the boy hiding in the wagon, the remaining cloaked coachman addressed the group in a deep, gruff voice. "Now then, this is the group we will remain in for the rest of the journey to Ebonhearth city. I hope you''ll all get along and make lasting bonds for the time you will be together. Tonight, we''ll be camping together, so you will split into three groups of no more than six. Lunch will be ready within the hour, you can do what you want in the meantime, just stay within sight of the wagons."This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    After the man finished, he and Darniss continued to prepare lunch. Meanwhile, most of the children split off into groups, some from the same group they were in to start with, others formed groups with each other when they saw the others playing. Most of the children were complete strangers to one another as each hamlet was likely to only send one or two children a year.


    Delia ended up distancing herself from the rest of the group. Darniss told her that it wouldn''t be fair if she was the only one who looked after Fleur and the other horses, hoping she would make a friend or two. Not comfortable around so many new faces, she went off to pick flowers, waking a basket with her. Unbeknownst to Delia, one of the girls approached her. She had long, wavy brown hair hanging down to her waist, amber eyes and a button-nose.


    "What are you doing?" The girl asked quietly.


    Delia jumped, looking around in fright, "W-w-w-what?"


    "Sorry, I didn''t mean to scare you," the girl said frantically, taking a step back.


    Seeing this, Delia calmed down slightly, and nervously showed her the flowers she was picking. "I-I-I''m picking f-flowers... t-t-to make... ma-make flower chains."


    "Can I help?" The girl asked, smiling and extending her hand, "oh by the way my names Flora, what''s yours?"


    "Delia," she quietly said, feeling a little less apprehensive. Delia took Flora''s hand, slowly, and they lightly shook hands.


    Taking this as a yes, Flora started to pick flowers with her. "Are you going to make the chains in the wagon?" Flora asked, feeling awkward about the silence. Delia simply nodded and continued to pick flowers.


    When lunch was ready, the cloaked man called out for everyone to gather. The children all gathered in the groups they had formed during the break. The food was roasted vegetables, part of the payment they received for taking the children to the city.


    After lunch was finished, the four coachmen started moving goods between the wagons. When they were done, one of the wagons was loaded with more goods than the others.


    The children then were split into the three wagons that had more space now that there was more space on them. The wagons then set off again.


    On Darniss'' wagon, Flora had joined along with the boy that refused to leave the wagon for the whole time they had stopped. The boy¡¯s name was Fred, he had violet eyes, short, dark brown hair and a slightly skinny body that would be slightly shorter than the rest of the children. Fred acted in a similar way to the way Delia was acting before. But the difference this time was that he watched Delia and Flora making flower chains and he did speak a few words when they asked him some questions, like his name, age and about the hamlet he was from.


    Like this, six hours passed before they came to a stop. Oliver and Archie, having just tied up their horses properly, immediately set off to collect firewood. The children then gathered together, with Flora and Delia off to the side and Fred peeking out of the wagon.


    "Now then, this is where we''ll be staying for the night." Said the coachman that the children didn''t know the name of, "since most of you won''t have put up a tent before, Darniss and I will help you set up your tents. Listen closely because you''ll all be setting up your tents by yourself from tomorrow onwards. The boys will all stay in one tent since there is six of you, while you girls will split into a group of five and a group of six. Once your tent is set up, you¡¯re free to do as you please, but stay near the campsite."


    Delia ended up in a group of five with Flora. Flora was the one who gathered the three other girls into the group. The three girls were Rein, Louise and Wendy. Rein was a lively girl with reddish brown hair down to her shoulders, bright blue eyes. Louise and Wendy were a pair of identical twins, they both had brown hair and grey eyes, the only difference between them was that Wendy''s hair was down to her shoulders whereas Louise''s was half the length.


    Darniss and the unnamed coachman helped the boys set up their tent whilst the girls were forming their two groups. When the boys tent was set up, Darniss helped Delia''s group set up their tent and the other man helped the other group.


    When the final tent was set up for the coachmen themselves, Archie and Oliver returned. Triumphantly, Oliver handed to Darniss three round ball shaped rabbits.


    "Bounce rabbits?" Darniss said, "I''m guessing you want me to cook them for dinner tonight?"


    Archie nodded enthusiastically, causing his hood to fall off. The revealed head was bald and covered in scars. His eyes, an eerie green, seemed to be in a permanent glare and his mouth, which was in what could only be called an evil grin, had several teeth missing as well. Seeing this, a few of the nearby children ran away screaming. Archie then looked down, a tear forming in his eye as he pulled his hood up again. This was a regular occurrence to Archie, as the other three shook their heads and sighed while Darniss muttered "I knew this would happen," under his breath.


    Oliver left quickly to calm the children down, some of which started shouting that Archie was a monster going to eat them all in their sleep. Darniss, ignoring what just happened, was about to start skinning the rabbits when Delia came over with Flora. Only Delia had a sparkle in her eyes, though it was hard to notice as she was looking down nervously at the time, fidgeting with her dress.


    "Mister Darniss, I think Delia wants to brush Fleur and the other horses. She told me that she was taking care of Fleur before we arrived." Flora said, knowing Delia was too nervous to ask even if she had done so earlier.


    "That''s fine, just let others help if they want to. Since I''ll be busy preparing our supper, you''ll have to explain how to use the different brushes and combs," Darniss said, then handing her the bag by his side. "Actually, I''ll take the pick and cloth out, it''s harder to show how to properly use those."


    Having been given just the brushes and combs, Delia happily walk over to the four horses. Not long later some girls approached Delia, Rein and two girls from the other wagon. She told them what she was doing, but only Rein stayed to help. The other two walked off grumpily, thinking that Delia was going to play with them and just didn''t want them to join in. Fred joined them later, he had helped out making the tent a little, as the three boys on the wagon had made him feel a little more comfortable around him. He seemed to be just as happy as Rein and Delia were to brush the horses and care for them. They even got to feed the horses when Oliver walked over to them, bringing two more sets of brushes and combs. Oliver, after being asked by Darniss and the other coachman, then watched over them, helping them and teaching them when Delia couldn''t explain too well.


    Whilst Delia, Rein and Fred were looking after the horses, the other children were being taught some fun games by Archie. Archie was constantly pestered by the children after Oliver had managed to defuse the earlier incident. He had ''accidentally'' told them that Archie knew of good ways to pass time in the wagon, something which caused the children that rode his wagon to hit him with sticks. Archie had relented, but after he taught them one game, they kept asking for more and more. Though this might have seen annoying to most, Archie was actually very happy to have them so happily ask him, which was why he ended up trying to think of new games for them to play, hopefully games which he might be able to play with them.


    As the sun began to set, Darniss shouted to the group that dinner was ready. The meal was roasted bounce rabbit with some hard bread and a little vegetable stew. After dinner, some of the children needed the toilet, so Oliver, quite brazenly, told them how they normally did it while travelling. After that, the children went to bed in their tents. The four coachman alternated who would keep lookout where two would keep lookout, switching one person every two hours.

 The first journey - 3

    The next morning as the sun peaked over the horizon, Darniss was preparing breakfast while Archie was feeding the horses. Being the last two on lookout duty, they were the ones who had to prepare food for the others. Darniss, knowing they had to set off early, simply roasted a large amount of a vegetable that looked like corn on the cob. He did this so they could be eaten while they travelled, allowing them to set off earlier.


    As the fragrance from the food roused the children from their sleep, they got themselves ready for the day. They changed their clothes, washed themselves and the clothes they wore the previous day. Afterwards, instead of having breakfast, they were told to pack up the tents.


    Ten minutes later the coachmen had packed the tents onto the wagons. The children boarded the wagons in the same groups they slept in. With everything quickly sorted, Darniss handed them all their breakfast and they set off towards the town, just as the sun had finished rising.


    The journey this time was short-lived as they reached the town thirty-five minutes later. Surrounding the town was a fifteen foot grey stone brick wall with a tower on either side of the gate. They went around the city and approached the northern gate. Some of the children looked out of the wagon, gasping and oohing in awe of the town. At the northern gate, there were already thirty or so wagons waiting. The wagons had all already split into separate groups, some of them having vastly different wagons and creatures pulling them, while others were more uniform, presumably being from the same company.


    When they came to a stop, Darniss got off his wagon and boarded the only one that wasn''t carrying any of the children.


    "Stay in the wagons for now, I''ll return with information on when we are going to set off." Saying this Darniss and the unnamed coachman left towards the gate.


    While he was gone, the children asked Archie and Oliver why they moved all the stuff to one wagon.


    "Tha''s ''cos we only ''ave four wagons in da firs'' place," Oliver said. "While we be takin'' ya all ta da city, that wagon''ll be da one dat''s gon'' troo ya ''amlets."


    After that, the children started to talk and play games in the wagon as they waited for Darniss to return. When he did return, Darniss looked like he had swallowed something bitter.


    "It looks like we''re going to have a bit of trouble on this journey." Darniss said, a tinge of irritation in his voice. "One of viscount Enrague''s sons turned thirteen this year, he will be travelling with this convoy to the city. So, we''ll have to wait until they arrives before we set off."


    Hearing this, Archie shook his head and Oliver sighed while using his left hand to feel the burn on his face.


    "I''m gonna tell ya li''l scamps one thin'' ya need ta know ''bout nobles." Oliver lamented, "Nevah annoy a noble, dey''ll punish ya fo'' anyfin'' dey can. Dis burn mark on ma face," he then pointed to the left of his face, "wa'' done ''cos da noble dinae like da way I spoke." Oliver went silent for a while, frowning as his eyes flicker. "I tink I''m a lucky one dough, ''leas'' I''m still aroun'' livin'' ma life. Udders are''n'' sa lucky, I seen time''s when da noble kills or tortures dem fo'' ta death."


    Hearing this, the children collectively gulped. More warnings were given to them by Darniss and Oliver to make sure they didn''t do anything stupid


    Time passed and more wagons showed up at the northern gate of Engal town. It was only two hours after Darniss'' group arrived that a luxurious carriage exited the town.


    The carriage had a completely wooden exterior, a deep brown wood that shone from its polish. The wagon had various creatures engraved on the bottom of the sides, with a large engraving of a two headed reptile. The reptile stood on two legs, facing to the right whilst its body turned to be facing outwards with two short arms on its body. The two heads were pointing in opposite directions looking diagonally outwards. This was the noble crest of viscount Enrague''s house.


    Pulling the wagon was a reptile that looked similar to the one on depicted on the crest, except it only had one head and walked on all four legs. Its scales were a fiery red, with them turning duller and darker the further away from the head the scales were. The body was shaped like a dogs, except it had no tail and was the size of a horse. Its head was shaped like a crocodile and was perfectly proportioned to its body. A short horn, that glowed red, was on the end of its snout. Three rows of black, sharp spikes ran along the spine of its back. Its eyes were a murky yellow that showed no trace of intelligence, only the wild instincts of a beast.


    Behind the luxurious carriage, two more carriages drove past, stopping on the left and right. These carriages were simple with no decorations other than the Emblem that was on the luxurious carriage. Two men, roughly the same height and clad in metal armour, stepped out of the wagon. The metal armour had an emblem engraved on their chest plate and pauldrons indicating that they were two of the personal knights of the Enrague house. One of the knights had a silver cobra, sleeping on their left shoulder, the other had a bird that looked like a robin on their head.


    The two knights then walked next to the luxurious carriage and stood either side of the door. The door to the carriage opened and out stepped an elderly man with short, grey hair. He wore a black tailcoat suit, with a black tie, white gloves and a monocle. His eyes were cold and stern, releasing an aura of seriousness that would make one listen to his words. As he left the carriage, with a perfect posture, he pulled out a silver medallion with a ruby inlaid in the centre. He moved the medallion close to his mouth and opened his mouth.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "The third son of the lord of Engal town, our beloved Viscount Astra of house Enrague, Feegal V Enrague has arrived." The man announced, his voice spread through the area without losing its clarity. "Young master Feegal shall be departing soon, lord Astra has given you all the honour of forming the convoy that young master Feegal shall be travelling with. You have five minutes to prepare before the departure towards Ebonhearth city"


    The man then walked back into the carriage, leaving no chance for arguments or questions. Knowing what would happen if they dilly dallied, the coachmen prepared to depart, gathering the children, readying the reins and ensuring everything was already packed inside.


    The convoy then set off exactly five minutes later, the old man''s voice resounded through the wind, informing them that they will now depart. The wagons and carriages of different types then set off, quickly leaving the front gate deserted, leaving only the tracks and footprints as evidence they were there.


    "Mister Darniss, how come there are less wagons than my father said there would be?" Wendy asked.


    ""Not every year has the same number of children travelling to the city," Darniss said, "though we did set off an hour earlier than we had planned, so a second convoy is likely to form behind ours. Though it will probably be about a third the size of ours, maybe even less."


    "Then why did we set off early?" Louise asked, poking her head out the front of the wagon with her sister.


    Darniss quickly looked at the wagons around them and at the luxurious wagon near the back of the convoy.


    "Because the butler said so, he is one of Viscount Enrague''s retainers, though I don''t know much about the viscount in the first place." Darniss carefully said, nervously.


    "But-"


    "Stop!" Darniss hissed, releasing a slight aura of fear, "since you lived in the countryside, you probably won''t know. Badmouthing a noble, or anything that can be seen as besmirching their image will be met with consequences."


    The girls, slightly scared from Darniss'' sudden change in attitude, hid back in the wagon. Hearing the movements behind him he shook his head slightly, regretting having to use such a harsh tone. But it couldn''t be helped, if it wasn''t hammered into them now, they could end up in a terrible situation.


    The wagon then continued on for a few hours. Delia and Flora were making more flower accessories out of all the flowers they had picked, while the other girls were plating some of the games Archie taught them. Delia and Flora joined them a few times, placing flower crowns on the others'' heads in the process.


    Knowing that the girls were avoiding him slightly, he decided to try and amend the slight awkwardness that remained.


    "What do you girls know about the blessing?" He asked abruptly.


    A little startled from Darniss sudden question, the girls took awhile to register what was asked.


    "We can create a pact with our first tamed creature." Started Flora, gesturing for Delia to say something before she missed the chance to.


    "You find out your elemental aptitude and soul affinity," Rein added on, quite happy to show off her knowledge.


    "You can start to learn spells from your pacts," Wendy and Louise said in sync, much to their dismay as they both glared at each other.


    Hearing no other responses, he quickly glanced back to see the girls looking at him curiously, wondering why he asked something they were taught when they were ten years old.


    "That''s just the bare basics of the blessing, but there is more to the blessing than just that." Darniss said. "Since you haven''t said anything else, I''ll ask this, what can you tell me about soul affinity?"


    Hearing the next question, the girls realised Darniss was trying to teach them something new about the blessing. This time the girls helped Delia speak first, as they had all realised how bad Delia was with speaking around people in the first place.


    "You-Your soul affinityte-tells you what type of c-creatures you can form a pact with." Delia nervously said, doing her best for the new friends she had made.


    "That''s almost right," Darniss chuckled, "though this isn''t common knowledge, quite a lot of people know that you can form a pact with any creature you wish, it just takes longer the less compatible you are. My soul affinity was fifty-five percent feathered creatures, thirty-five percent small creatures and ten percent creatures with lightning affinity." He then glanced back to see slight confusion or distrust on their faces, "Don''t jump to conclusions too quickly, my second pact is with Fleur, it took me three whole days to form the pact though. If you don''t believe me, at Ebonhearth city I''ll go and get my soul affinity verified for you. Next, let''s hear what you know about elemental aptitude."


    Rein started off this time, mentioning that elemental aptitude shows you one to three elements and the numerical aptitude you have in that element. The girls then said all the elements they knew of: fire, water, earth, wind, lightning, wood, metal, sand, light, dark, poison, ice, space, shadow, illusion and demon.


    "That''s a good coverage of the basic elements actually," Darniss said slightly impressed, "but there are more advanced versions of elements, though I''ve only witnessed two myself, blood flames and holy light. I guess you guys should know that you can raise the value of your aptitude of the elements, right?" Darniss then looked back again to see Rein and Delia nod their heads while the other three had surprise plastered over their faces. "Guess not all of you knew, not that it matters much in the first place. It''s quite easy to figure out so I was shocked myself when I found out, only to be laughed at when I told my friends my discovery."


    Silence filled the wagon for a while as Darniss tried to regain his composure.


    "Anyway, that''s going off topic." he said, coughing off his embarrassment, "the only other thing I found out about elemental aptitude was that you can gain new aptitudes. I''ve heard there are many ways of gaining a new elemental affinity, but I only know of gaining one through a pact. But there is one thing I must warn you about now, the more elements you have, the harder it is to get more. I''ve heard the record for most elements a person had was eleven, though I never found out anything else about them."


    After having finished, the girls in the wagon started to talk about the blessing, with renewed enthusiasm that had slightly died down after the first day of travelling.

 The first Journey - 4

    Six hours had passed since the convoy from Engal town had set off for Ebonhearth city. A horn sounded, spreading throughout the convoy.


    "All stop!" The butler shouted.


    Hearing this, the convoy slowed down, starting with the wagons at the back. When they all came to a stop the butler once again stepped out of the Enrague carriage.


    "We shall stop here for lunch," he said into his medallion, "I will announce when we will depart again."


    The convoy had grown slightly since they departed Engal town, several wagons from villages and hamlets on the journey had joined the convoy as they passed them. The name of the coachman on each wagon was written down by the coachman as when they joined.


    The coachmen from those wagons each went to the encampment the Enrague carriage was, bringing tributes to them in the form of money or provisions for the journey. This was common procedure when a person of high standing was travelling in a convoy. If they didn''t make a tribute or it was insufficient, the wagons would have over half their supplies taken as ''payment'' for the protection.


    From when they set off from Engal town, Oliver, Darniss and Archie''s wagons had remained in a triangle formation, with Archie''s wagon being at the front. When they came to a stop, the three wagons lined up side by side.


    "Stay in the wagon for now," Darniss said to the girls. He then got off the wagon and headed towards two wagons that stopped in front of them. "If you need anything, ask Oliver or Archie." he shouted back to them.


    While Darniss was gone, Oliver started to make lunch. With no firewood available for cooking, he used dried bounce rabbit meat and bread with a crunchy leaf to make some simple sandwiches.


    Louise, Flora and Rein headed to Oliver''s wagon while they were waiting for lunch. The three of them had made friends with the other girls that were on Oliver¡¯s wagon and wanted to talk about what Darniss had told them about the blessing.


    While Oliver was making lunch, Archie was checking the wagons, feeding the horses and making sure they were well rested for travelling again. When he was done, Oliver finished making lunch. With nothing else to do Archie took a pile of the sandwiches back to the boys on his wagon while Oliver took sandwiches to the girls on His and Darniss'' wagons.


    "Oliver! Archie! Come over!" Darniss called.


    He had three other adults with him, coachmen from different wagons. When Archie and Oliver joined them, the six coachmen started to discuss things out of earshot of the children. Ten minutes of talking, laughing and hand shaking later the six split apart and went back to their wagons.


    "Mister Darniss?" Wendy called, as soon as Darniss returned, "What were you doing with the other adults over there?"


    "I was expanding our group, just in case something happens," Darniss started.


    "What? A-Are we not safe here?" Delia asked, slightly panicked.


    "Not in the slightest, in such a big group we won''t be attacked while travelling. Even if we are, we have more than enough strength to deal with them" Darniss said, calming Delia down. "Even at night there will be wards set up to keep anything from approaching. We only need a few extra hands for hunting and night watch."This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    A few seconds later, the horn sounded again, causing Darniss to stop talking.


    "We shall be departing in ten minutes," The butler announced, again.


    Louise, Rein and Flora all returned to the wagon quickly, then the convoy set off once again. With no incidents, they travelled for another eight hours before coming to a stop at the butlers signal, again.


    Darniss, Oliver, Archie and the three coachmen that joined them stopped their wagons into two rows of three side by side wagons. The six gathered the children into a group and started to prepare camp. While they were setting up camp, the coachmen introduced themselves to the children. The three coachmen that joined were named Jack, Felix and Amelia.


    Jack was a tall and portly man. He had short ginger hair and a long, curly beard and moustache. His eyes were hidden under his thick bushy eyebrows. Felix was a short, skinny man. He had long hair tied into a pony tail and a bit of stubble. He wore an eyepatch over his left eye, while his right eye was green. Amelia was slightly taller than Felix and had modest proportions. Her hair was long brown and tied into a French plait and her eyes were a deep blue.


    Once introductions were over, Archie, Oliver and Jack went off to hunt and gather firewood while Darniss, Felix and Amelia started to prepare dinner.


    Once Delia and Rein finished putting up their tent, they ran over to Darniss who was preparing vegetables for the stew they were going to make. When the two girls got there, Darniss immediately handed them the bag containing brushes and combs before they had a chance to ask.


    Seeing this, Felix asked "What are you two doing?"


    "We''re caring for the horses," Rein replied happily, with Delia hidden slightly behind her.


    "Would you like to care for my and Jack''s ostricks, too?" Felix then asked, pointing towards the two animals that were pulling Felix and Jack''s wagons.


    The two animals Felix pointed to were large bird creatures. They had a long neck short wings and long, thick featherless legs. Their feathers were mostly brown, except the white feathers on their belly. They had large brown eyes and a short, thick beak.


    When Delia saw the birds, she quickly shook her head before hiding behind Rein again. Rein also refused, though she did so in a calmer manner than Delia did. Seeing that, Felix sighed and went back to help prepare the stew.


    "You can take care of my horse if you''d like," Amelia called to the girls as they were leaving. It''s a fironare just like the ones that you were taking care of."


    Hearing this Delia and Rein both nodded, still heading towards the horses. Fred joined them later, having just finished setting up his tent. Rein told him about the ostricks and Felix asking if they would take care of them. With much more enthusiasm than when he was looking after the horses, Fred darted over to Felix, asking if he could take care of the ostricks.


    Felix then led Fred over to the ostricks. He taught Fred how to groom them, what to feed them and what certain attitudes indicated. Time passed and the three returned from their hunt with a few dozen small birds of some kind. The birds were then dismantled with the feathers being placed into a bag. Most of the meat was being roasted over the fire and the bones were put into the stew. Any of the waste was then buried in a small hole they made.


    When dinner was made, the children gathered around the fire in groups of four and five. Delia, Fred and Rein were the only ones to look after the horses and ostricks in the end, as most of the other children showed no interest. Those that did asked them what they were doing, but left when they learned that it was just caring for them.


    Over dinner, a few groups started to discuss things they overheard about the blessings. Some of the children laughed at them, saying that you shouldn''t believe everything you hear, even if it does sound true. When some of them heard this they looked down, ashamed. In the end, most of the children ended up believing that it was a bunch of nonsense someone thought up as a prank.


    As night fell, the children went to sleep in their tents. Meanwhile, the adults were deciding their rota for night watch that night. The night was peaceful for the children, not a single sound to be heard. However, as morning broke and the children were just starting to wake, a scream echoed through the whole convoy

 The first journey - 5

    The scream echoed across the whole convoy in the early hours of the morning. The adults that were asleep or just waking up rushed out of their tents. The children had mixed reactions, from hiding in their blankets, to running out of the tents and either took a fighting stance or ran to the wagons. The only exceptions to this were the adults who were already awake and the whole of Feegal''s camp.


    The cause of this whole commotion was one frightened little girl, who was staring at ten wooden poles with children tied to them. The children were beaten bloody and were gagged to prevent them from speaking. Near where they were bound was Feegal''s camp, where breakfast was already being prepared by the butler, who was using fine meat and vegetables as well as expensive spices, to make a mouth-watering meal.


    A young boy of thirteen stepped out of the wagon. He had green, shoulder length hair that danced in the breeze, revealing steaks of golden yellow hair. His eyes, the left an ocean blue and the right an emerald green, were sharp and filled with arrogance, glaring at the surroundings with disdain. He kept his chin elevated so he could look down upon the world more and he wore the most luxurious robe the children had ever laid their eyes on. It was an emerald green robe with golden embroidery of animals, like the one''s depicted on the carriage he exited. There was a crest, identical to the one on the wagon, embroidered on the left side of his robe. This was Feegal V Enrague, and with a glance it was clear, he was furious.


    He clapped his hands twice, with finesse and elegance. Two boys and one girl exited their own personal tents, clearly made from finer materials than the ones the rest of the children were using. The three children were the children of influential merchants that worked in Engal town''s region. They quickly stood behind Feegal, forming a sort of entourage for him, as the four of them walked over to the bound children.


    Feegal''s disgust and fury only seemed to grow as they got closer and closer. When they reached the ten bound children, Feegal kicked the nearest one in the stomach with all his might. His lips curled into a smile as he saw the child grimace at the pain he inflicted. He then straightened his robe, dusting it with his hands, and regained the serious demeanour he had before. He clapped his hands once more and the butler came running, handing him the medallion the butler always used to amplify his voice.


    "Last night, ten children infiltrated my camp!" Feegal said, fury leaking into his voice. "They were apprehended by my personal guards and tied up here as a warning! Now I, Feegal V Enrague, third son of Engal city lord Viscount Astra Enrague, shall punish these scoundrel''s. Since I am a benevolent man, I shall only punish three each day and allow the final one to go free."


    Feegal then took a pause to think before looking at the three children who followed him. He then spoke to them without using the medallion, allowing a slightly private conversation. When he finished he turned around to face the ten children, unable to hold back his sinister smile.


    "My three followers shall each pick one person to be punished today. Those of you who aren''t shall be tied to the back of my guard''s wagons and march with the convoy." Feegal announced, with slight glee in his voice.


    He then allowed his three followers to pick three of the children. They each picked one after looking and pondering over each individual. The three children who were selected were unbound and lined up, with their backs facing a knight Feegal had brought over. The knight pulled out a whip and started to whip the three repeatedly. The three tried to scream, but were unable to due to the gags still in their mouths, tears bean to fall down their cheeks as the pain became unbearable. The whipping continued for fifteen minutes before the three passed out. After this the three were bound once more and put inside one of the knight carriages.


    Silence pervaded the convoy as the children, and some adults, had just witnessed how cruel a noble could be. In the group led by Darniss and the other five coachmen, most of the children were nibbling on bread in silence, occasionally shivering from remembering the scene that played out before breakfast.


    Delia, Fred and Flora all couldn''t even bring themselves to eat breakfast. The three decided to instead help pack up the tents with the adults, who knew that it would take more time for the children to do so after what just happened. When all the tents were packed away, Darniss and Archie patted the three''s heads, saying that they did a good job and that nothing will happen to them. The six coachmen then had to comfort the rest of the children, saying that they were glad they listened to their warnings and that they were happy they were safe and able to eat.


    The butler once again announced departure, much to the relief of the children. The wagons then set off once more, heading to Ebonhearth city.


    The following day, before they stopped for lunch at the butlers, now dread inducing, call for a break, the convoy was travelling with morbid silence. Another three children had been punished this morning, but in a much more horrific way than before. The previous three had managed to live after receiving two more whippings at afternoon and night, before having marks branded onto their backs with hot metal prods.


    This morning, Feegal had allowed the bound children to choose themselves who would be punished that day. When the gags were removed, one tried to bite a knight and another cursed at Feegal for, in the child''s words, mean treatment. Those two, along with one who hadn''t stopped staring daggers at Feegal the whole time, were executed by being boiled alive. Their mouth gags were removed so their screaming, crying and even begging could be heard.


    A knight riding a fironare was approaching the convoy, a little left to the way they were travelling.


    "Halt!" Shouted the knight, their voice carrying itself like the butler''s did when he used the medallion.


    The convoy quickly came to a halt, much to the displeasure of Feegal. He rode the reptile that was pulling his wagon with a knight in front and two more knights riding two more of the same reptile, which were the two that pulled the knight''s carriages. When the three reached the front of the convoy, Feegal looked at the knight that arrived with fury.


    "What is the meaning of this! You dare to order my convoy to stop, who do you think you are?" Feegal bellowed, his fury on full display before everyone who was watching


    The knight dismounted and removed their helmet. What was revealed was the scowling face of a woman. She had short, black, shoulder length hair tied into a bun. Her eyes, a dark brown, glared at Feegal as she clicked her tongue at the child''s shouting.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "I have no need to speak to a child who throws a tantrum at me for doing my job, where is the one in charge of this ill-tempered brat." The knight berated, clearly in a foul mood.


    "That would be me," the butler spoke, bowing politely to the knight. "I apologise for young master Feegal''s outburst. How may I be of assistance to a knight of Ebonhearth city?"


    When the butler flattered the knight, Feegal¡¯s mood only seemed to sour more. That was until he mentioned she worked for Ebonhearth city. A knight from a city may not be working for the lord of the city itself, but they would be employed by someone at the rank of viscount or above.


    "A large pack of pagobsli was spotted yesterday in the direction you are headed. I and several other knights are to look for any convoys heading for the city and have them form smaller groups and travel more eastward to avoid the pack" The knight announced, her face stern as the butler had placated her.


    The butler and knights looked at the female knight with shock. Normally they would be asked to change direction only if the pack was large enough to be considered several ranks higher than the species would be on its own. But that would only cause them to avoid travelling directly towards the area the pack hunted, not split up the whole convoy and take separate routes to reach the city.


    "What size is the pack?" The butler asked with a tinge of fear in his voice.


    "Raze class, a bounty was immediately put up as soon as the pack was classified to be above swarm class. Any pagobslus you kill can be redeemed if you bring their pride scale for an increased price." The knight recited, clearly bored from saying these lines multiple times.


    After a few more questions about which routes were safer and how far they had to travel eastward, the butler bid farewell to the knight. The convoy then began to form smaller groups of four to eight wagons. The groups then each elected a leader to go and speak with the other chosen leaders and determine which route each group would take. After the routes had been settled, several groups immediately set off, either not feeling safe being in the large convoy or feeling that it was wiser to set off earlier, attracting less attention from the pagobsli who likely didn''t have large packs hunting along those routes yet. The rest stopped for lunch, with no rush to quickly eat lunch, the groups took time making a slightly more lavish meal than what they had been able to prepare for lunch the previous days


    Darniss was elected as the leader of his group, with Oliver, Archie, Felix Jack and Amelia staying in the group they had formed on the first day they set off from Engal town. They were one of the groups who chose to stay, discussing dangers they might encounter and solutions to them.


    "Mister Darniss, why are we avoiding the pagobsli?" Fred asked as he was eating some roasted boar that was caught this morning. "It''s only a pack of them, no matter how many there are shouldn''t they be passive, my father said that pagobsli were one of the more peaceful animals you would encounter in the wild."


    "And your father isn''t wrong, but in large numbers they require a lot more food for their kind. When there is less food available and their population keeps growing, they start to aggressively hunt for food." Darniss replied, "Pagobslus are mainly peaceful due to being weak and that their population doesn''t reach three digits often. But this is a raze sized pack, and I know for a fact that a pack that size could quickly become the dominant species in the area if nothing is done."


    "Then why don''t they increase the bounty on them to get rid of them quicker?" Rein asked, with small bits of boar meat and juices around her mouth.


    "''ow come eve''one asks ya da queshons?" Oliver grumpily interrupted.


    "Because when we asked you how to look after Fleur and the others, you used words like ''brush them with passion'' and ''use your soul to feel their feelings''," Rein snidely replied.


    "And when you were helping us with the tent, we couldn''t understand half the words you were using." One of the girls added on, exhaustion in her voice.


    Oliver scratched his cheek, slightly embarrassed at the girl¡¯s remarks. Amelia and Felix burst into laughter when they saw Oliver become passive.


    "Darniss is the best one here at explaining things anyway," Jack added on happily, resulting in Archie laughing as well.


    "Anyway, let''s get back on topic," Darniss said, switching the topic back, "it was about why they don''t increase the bounty, right?" He asked, causing Rein to nod. "That''s mainly because they are still going to make a profit from the materials sold. The bounty is put up by the hunter guild, they also buy the materials you can get from what you kill. With so many pagobsli out there, the demand for their parts will drop, meaning they will buy the materials for significantly less. With this, they encourage more hunting by putting a bounty on it so they can get more materials for cheap. These materials are either sold to crafters or used by the crafters in the guild itself. The goods used by the guild itself can be sold at a much larger price when the demand drops again resulting in a large profit for them."


    "''ow big is raze class anyway?" Oliver asked, a cheeky grin on his face.


    Darniss frowned at Oliver''s question, but upon seeing the children''s eye''s filled with wonder and curiosity, he could only sigh.


    "I honestly don''t know the specific ways they categorise the size of a pack," he relented. "I know the sizes of the smaller packs, as they are commonly seen. But I''m not a hunter, I''m a merchant, I only know what I need to know about them."


    Darniss then took a long pause, gathering all the information he had on the subject in his head, thinking of a way to explain it to them.


    "I guess I should start with the different names of the pack sizes." Darniss then continued, "from smallest to largest the pack sizes are: regular, medium, large, swarm, raid, terror, nightmare, raze, army and finally county. As you should know, Oliver, regular sized packs are around ten to twenty members in size, they are usually just a family sized pack and the children tend to leave when they are able to. Medium size packs can reach seventy in size while large packs can reach two hundred. These types of packs are commonly multiple families and are something that you won''t be able to kill on your own unless you can kill them in one hit. After that is a swarm size which reaches numbers of roughly seven hundred and are something you will tend to run away from if you are alone. As you can tell, the larger the pack the harder it is to deal with. For raid class and above, I don''t know the specifics but I know the rough required force to wipe them out. For raid sized packs, a group of around eighty people of the same rank are required to wipe out the pack within a week. Terror sized packs often take a month to fully subjugate, with around a hundred and fifty hunters hunting them every day. For nightmare class and above, I''ve only heard rumours that they can take several months to a year to subjugate, with several hundred hunters hunting down the pack day and night. So as you can tell, this raze class pack is not something that they can get rid of by simply spending a bit more money. Chances are it will remain there for a year maybe a bit longer before the pack gets wiped out."


    When Darniss finished, the children fell silent at the realisation that this pack was not something they wanted to encounter. The silence loomed over them even when they finished lunch and set off towards Ebonhearth city again, on the route that had been decided earlier.


    They journeyed for a full day with no encounter with any pagobsli. That peace only lasted until the end of their lunch break the day after the convoy split up.


    A group of twenty-five bipedal humanoid creatures around the height of a child appeared. They had large, golden plates covering their bodies. Their head had none of the plates, except for the small dark gold one on their forehead. Their faces looked like a hairless monkeys, with yellow-brown skin, their lower jaws were larger causing an under bite with their teeth protruding up above the lips. These were pagobsli, a supposed distant cousin to the goblins.

 The first journey - 6

    Twenty- five pagobsli approached the group, cautiously and stealthily. Unbeknownst to them, Felix had already spotted the group of twenty-five, using several hand signals to inform the five other adults. With nods and more hand signals as confirmation, the adults made their move, quickly.


    Amelia and Felix gathered the children, who weren''t allowed to go more than five meters away from the wagons since they split from the convoy. They then had them crowd onto Amelia and Felix''s wagons, so they could make a quick escape if things went south.


    Darniss, Archie and Oliver mounted their fironares and Jack mounted his ostrick. The four then charged at the pagobsli, with Darniss lagging behind as he started to mutter quietly.


    The pagobsli, realising that their ambush had failed, split into two groups. One group, having twelve of the pagobsli, charged forwards at the oncoming fironares and singular ostrick. The remaining group of thirteen started going around Darniss and the others, aiming for the wagons.


    The gems on the Archie¡¯s and Oliver''s fironares glowed red slightly as they charged at the pagobsli. With their riders command, the two fironares then leaped over the pint sized group, kicking backwards when they landed. The hooves on the fironares glowed in the same way their gems did, when they collided with the heads of two pagobsli, fire burst forth, blasting the two pagobsli backwards.


    The ostrick on the other hand, lunged directly at them. Its beak glowed white as it pecked at a pagobsli, hitting the dark gold plate on its forehead. Jack pulled a crossbow out from under his cloak, shooting a pagobslus in the neck. Following up, the ostrick moved its leg, kicking another with both speed and strength.


    The pagobsli responded in kind, clawing at the three.


    "Fireball!" Shouted Darniss, pointing his left hand towards the clustered pagobsli. A ball of flame flew from his hand, flying directly at the group. The ball collided with one, bursting into flames and sending them flying. The flames hitting another four of them.


    Although it seemed like they were overwhelming the pagobsli, only three of the twelve had died in that exchange.


    Oliver and Archie then drew their weapons from under their cloaks. Oliver held a thin rapier and stabbed at one of the pagobslus, grazing their cheek. Archie pulled out a long sword, swinging it at another pagobslus, decapitating it in one clean swing, only for the sword to then be dropped. Jack and the ostrick continued their attacks, hitting and sniping the pagobsli.


    Cuts and gashes started to accumulate on the fironares and the ostrick. Gaining momentum, the pagobsli began to push harder, trying to end this faster and get their rewards.


    "Double! Flame enchant!" Darniss shouted once more, slumping down afterwards. This time he pointed towards Oliver and Archie. The two and their fironares glowed slightly, with the glow slowly focusing on the fironares'' hooves. They then reared themselves on their back legs, prompting the pagobsli to move forward. They then slammed their hooves down, causing an explosion of flames to explode on the pagobsli they landed on and push back the others.


    With the sudden deaths of several more pagobsli, the rest attempted to escape. Fleeing in different directions, Archie, Oliver and Jack chased after them, leaving none alive.


    The group that went to attack the wagons was quickly routed when they were fifteen meters from the wagons. Arrows flew, hitting the pagobsli in the neck. Felix''s ostrick attacked them from behind, kicking them with its powerful legs. Amelia''s fironare burned them with its flaming hooves, charging through the group.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    With all twenty-five pagobsli killed, Oliver, Jack, Archie and Felix collected the bodies so they could be dismantled. All the children had left the two crowded wagons as soon as it was confirmed safe for them. Darniss returned to the wagon, collapsing into his seat as he dozed off. Seeing Darniss collapse like that, Delia, Rein, Louise, Wendy and Flora ran over to him.


    "Mister Darniss, are you alright?" Wendy and Louise asked simultaneously.


    "He''s fine," said Amelia, having chased after the girls as they ran. "He just used too much magic, so we should let him rest for a bit and he''ll be fine."


    "Why did he do that?" Delia asked, slightly shaken. She had opened up to Darniss and the four girls during this trip, so seeing Darniss collapse with little energy had scared her.


    "Because if I didn''t, we might have to stay here longer." Darniss spoke wearily.


    "You should rest, we can handle everything fine,¡± Amelia sternly said.


    "How can I rest with all the noise around?" Darniss grunted back, "I was elected leader anyway, so I should sort things out before I rest and recover."


    Hearing this, Amelia could only sigh and shake her head. She may have only known Darniss for a few days, but he had shown himself to be a good leader, despite the fact that he had few times he could show it in the convoy.


    "I want to set off as soon as we are able. I chose to use magic to lessen the damage and to prevent any from escaping." Darniss started, "the packs shouldn''t be this big this far away from the main pack, unless it¡¯s larger than they thought. Amelia, I want you to teach either Rein or Delia to be a coachman."


    "Eh?" Delia and Flora blurted out, puzzled. Amelia simply nodded and waited for Darniss to continue.


    "I might still be sleeping when we set off. If that happens, don''t disturb me, I need to be at full strength the next time we are attacked," Darniss said, trying to keep focused. "You two are the closest to Fleur, if you both want to, have... Archie teach as well."


    Seeing Darniss still had something to say, Amelia waited patiently for his next words.


    "Finally... children... help... disman-..." Darniss tried to say, before falling into a deep slumber.


    "*sigh* Okay." Amelia sighed, slapping her cheeks to encourage herself. "Delia, Rein, which of you would like to learn to steer the wagon."


    Hearing this, both Delia and Rein said yes. Amelia then went over to Archie, Oliver, Jack and Felix. When she relayed what Darniss said, the four of them frowned slightly.


    Oliver then grabbed Fred and had him help treat the two fironares and the ostrick. While he was doing that, Felix and Jack had the rest of the children help with the pagobsli. Those that had a bit of experience helped with dismantling, slightly speeding up the work now that they had lost two sets of hands. The rest of the children carried and loaded the parts that had been dismantled, bringing jars, bottles and other containers that they were asked to bring, too


    Amelia then started to teach Delia on her wagon, while Archie taught Rein on his wagon, after Oliver treated his fironare. Some of the children complained about Delia, Rein and Fred getting special treatment, not having to help out with the pagobsli corpses. They were quickly scolded by whoever was closest, mentioning that Delia and Rein would be the ones steering the wagon if Darniss didn''t wake up and that Fred was treating the injuries from the fight with Oliver so that they could leave quicker. This didn''t convince some of them though, they thought those were only excuses the adults came up with to give reason for their favouritism.


    An hour later, they set off. With Darniss still asleep, both Delia and Rein sat at the front of the wagon. With the two of them having only just learned how to steer the wagon, they ended up being in the middle of the group while they travelled. Darniss woke up five hours later, taking the reins much to Rein and Delia''s relief.


    While travelling, Felix kept a close eye on any tracks left behind by groups of pagobsli. Whenever they approached an area where a group of pagobsli had passed recently, Felix pointed it out, causing them to take slight detours.


    Luckily, they didn''t encounter any other groups, pagobsli or human. Unfortunately though, they couldn''t find a good place to rest, as there seemed to be pagobsli tracks every ten minutes. With only short, five minute breaks, they travelled through the night. When the morning sun began to rise, they had finally reached Ebonhearth city.

 Blessings and magic - 1

    Ebonhearth city, the third largest city in the Glyphdor kingdom, held a population of more than seventy thousand. Surrounding the city was a stone brick wall, with a height of forty feet and a thickness of twenty feet. Towers were built every hundred meters into the wall, with soldiers posted at each one to keep an eye on the surroundings. The only way into the city was through one of the five gate, located at the south, west, north-west, north-north-east and south-east-east.


    Since yesterday, the traffic at all five gates has increased until more than twenty wagon were waiting outside each gate. Each gate had two lines for carriages and wagons to enter the city and one entrance that only high-class carriages entered.


    Darniss'' group had finally reached the city in the morning. Having travelled for the full night with only five minute breaks and having to remain on high alert had tired the six adults and their ostricks and fironares. Finally having a chance to rest, the group stopped, out of the way of the traffic.


    Thirty minutes after the adults had fallen asleep, three soldiers marched towards the group. Apart from Delia, Fred and a few other shy kids, the children waved, greeted and shouted to the three soldiers.


    "May I speak to the person in charge," the soldier sternly said, a frown upon his face as he saw only children in the group.


    The children told the soldiers that they were sleeping, though it was hard to understand with them all talking at once and saying slightly different things. With a bit of effort and a lot of patience, the soldiers finally managed to get the children to wake Darniss and the others.


    "Good morning, sorry for stopping near the gates," Darniss yawned, walking towards the soldiers.


    "An apology isn''t enough. If you don''t have a good enough reason, you will be fined." The soldier sternly said, "Now, for the report, I need you to tell me the reasonyour six wagonshave stopped near the city wall."


    Darniss then went on to explain the attack from twenty-five pagobsli, the aftermath and avoiding any more encounters throughout the night with no rest. He then pointed out the route and the area they fought the pagobsli on a map the soldier brought out.


    "If that''s everything, I will file a report and you should be fine. Please go to the public courts for the verdict tomorrow, here is a ticket for you to head there." The soldier said, writing down the details, handing each of the adults a ticket with a code on it that matched the code of the report. "Now, you will have to line up in front of the gate and head into the city. If you don''t line up within the next fifteen minutes, I will have to file another report, one for which you will get a fine for with possible further penalties to be decided in the public courts. Good day."


    With that, the three soldiers headed back to the gate. The group then headed towards the lines.


    "I think we''ll part ways here," Amelia said. "We each have our own responsibilities and staying in such a large group isn''t feasible during our stay in the city."


    "That''s probably for the best. We''ll have to meet tomorrow at the public office for that report though," Felix affirmed. "Oh yeah! Darniss, you should mention that you have three wagons from the same area, the clerks will try to accommodate for larger groups, though sometimes there aren''t enough spaces available." He exclaimed, having remembered it suddenly.


    "Thanks for the advice," Darniss said, then looked at the dozen wagons in each line. "Looks like we''ll be waiting in line for over an hour to get through though."


    With that, Amelia, Jack and Felix lined up in one line, while Darniss, Archie and Oliver lined up in the other. The children, being allowed out of the wagon while they waited, played around with the others. An hour and a half later, when it was time for Darniss and Amelia to go through the gate, the children had already said their farewells and gotten back on the wagons.


    The gate they headed into had five sections, each wide enough for a large carriage to pass. While passing through the passage, there was a window into an office where several clerks were moving about. Three soldiers lined up at the other end of the passage, barring entry for any wagons until theywere cleared for entry.


    "Name, location, passengers," one of the clerks, a woman in her thirties sternly said.


    "My name is Darniss, I have five children with me from several hamlets south-west of Engal town," Darniss said quickly, hoping to get through the gates the slightest bit sooner. "Also, the two wagons behind me are from the same area, each carrying six children."


    "Thank you mister Darniss," the clerk said. They then looked through several documents, asked for the names of the five girls and had the soldiers check for anything unusualin the wagon and looking for anything not mentionedin Darniss'' answer. "Here are the documents for your temporary residence in the city, you will be staying in house eight on Argal Street in the Greenbell district. You have been registered for tomorrow''s ceremony between one and three at the Flamebirth church. Failure to attend the ceremony will result in a fine and possible imprisonment. Wandering the city without a relevant permit during the first two days of the ceremony, unless you are shopping alone for groceries or you are heading to the public office or courts, is prohibited. To obtain a permit, please go to the public office by the central plaza. If you are found to be without a valid permit while exploring the city, you will be incarcerated. Asoldier will now guide you to the lodging you will stay in for your time in the city."


    "Can you tell Archie and Oliver where we will be staying," Darniss asked as he received the documents.


    "Provided you have given the correct information for the amount of children they have with them, they will be allocated to the same district as you," the clerk responded. "I will also inform them of your lodgings. Have a fortuitous blessing, children."


    Having received the documents, Darniss, led by the soldier, headed into the city. Travelling along the main street, the girls marvelled at the bustling streets and the stalls filled with a multitude of itemsthey had never seen before and all the different creatures people had formed pacts with. A short time later, they left the main street and reached the Greenbell district. The streets were much quieter than the main streets in the city. The streets were narrow, only wide enough for two small wagons to narrowly pass each other, something they experienced first-hand whenthey struggled to passa wagon.Other than that, nothing eventful happened, even when they arrived at Argal Street. Having reached their destination, Darniss got off the wagon and knocked on the door.


    "Coming!" A lively, slightly croaky voice called from the house. As the door opened an elderly woman stepped out, beaming brightly. "Hello, ah... you must be my guests this year, I wasn''t expecting to have anyone until late this afternoon. You''ll have to forgive me, I haven''t prepared anything"


    The woman that answered the door was in her late seventies. She had very short, grey, curly hair, her face had a few wrinkles and her brown eyes held the wisdom that came with age.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    "Don''t worry about it, we are the ones intrudingma''am." Darniss said, waving his hand dismissively. "My name is Darniss, can I have your name?" Darniss eloquently said, handing over one of the documents he received.


    "Well aren''t you just the sweetest," the woman said, attempting to squeeze his cheeks. "I''m Dorothy, I think we''ll get along splendidly." The woman said, as she waved off the soldier who was returning to his post after confirming Dorothy knew who her guests were. "Come on in then, I''ll show the children to their room."


    The house was small for a house in the city, but to the children it was significantly bigger than the three room, one floor houses they lived in. On the first floor, there were four rooms, a dining room, a kitchen, a lavatory and a room for Dorothy¡¯s creatures to stay in. The second floor had three bedrooms. Only one of the bedrooms was available due to Dorothy already having a guest who had been renting one of the rooms for five months.


    The girls got the free room, which had three bunk beds. Having received a tour of the house from Dorothy, Darniss unloaded all the goods from his wagon, apart from the pagobsli materials which he was going to sell later. The girls took the few clothes and items they had to their room. While, they were unpacking, Archie and Oliver greeted Darniss as they passed by on the way to their lodgings and informed them where they were staying, houses twelve and seventeen.


    By the time everything had been unpacked, it was an hour before noon. Darniss then headed out with Oliver and Archie to get some permits for the children to explore after they attend the ceremony. With Darniss gone, Dorothy decided to introduce the creatures she had formed pacts with.


    Dorothy had formed pacts with three different creatures: A bird, a tortoise and a slime.The birdwas three meters tall red bird called a phonyx. It had beautiful wings that glowed like fire spanning five meters. Seeing him currently sleeping in a nest of feathers and twigs, Dorothy told them that it was best to leave the phonyx, which she had named Arsber, alone to rest.


    The tortoise was much smaller, only being 25 centimetres high. It had a deep crimson shell with its skin having an orange hue. This tortoise was a rare variation of the dust tortoise, a blood dust tortoise. Dorothy mentioned that the little tortoise had been with her since she received her blessing. As Dorothy opened up her house to guests during the blessing ceremony over the years, the blood dust tortoise had gotten used to having children around, petting and invading her personal space. She had even started to protect the creatures the children had brought from Arsber¡¯s temper, reminiscing about the dayshe met Dorothy, and how she gave her the wonderful name Shelly.


    The slime, which hid from the children the moment they entered, was shaking as Dorothy picked them up. Dorothy told the children that this was a red gel, a slime that had a more solid, gelatinous body than the average slime. In order for the palm sized gel to calm down, Dorothy took them with her as she led the children and Shelly to the dining room. Sitting down at the table she allowed Gloop the gel to get used to the girls'' presence, only allowing one of them to be near them at a time.


    Having had their fun with Shelly, the children sat down to have a meal Dorothy had prepared when Gloop had calmed down.


    "Do you have an affinity for creatures that are red?" Flora asked,after everyone had finished.


    "Mm," Dorothy nodded. "If I had a gliff for every time I was asked that, I''d be quite a rich old woman," she chuckled. "I wonder, it''s hard to say what my affinity is. Though such a common thing as red isn''t that great."


    "What do you meant?" Rein and Flora asked, as the other three''s eyes looked at Dorothy in wonder.


    "You girls," Dorothy said shaking her head. "I''ll tell you this now since you, and probably your parents, haven''t had much contact with guilds, churches or even soldiers." Dorothy said with a stern look on her face. "Most people tend to keep what they learn from the blessings and what their blessings are to themselves. There are two main reasons, first is to prevent people from knowing what you can do. The other, which I find preposterous, is so people can discover new ways for theblessing to be used."


    Seeing the confusion on the children¡¯s faces, Dorothy sighed. "For the first reason, there are people who would hunt other people. If they knew what the others specialties were, they could think of counters for their magic and creatures. About sixty years ago, it wasn''t like that and you had to publish your general blessing information every year. It resulted in the death of hundreds of powerful tamers, even a noble and all of his employed guards were killed in one night by a group of three specially selected assassins, which countered them completely."


    Seeing the five girls scared and shivering, Dorothy put on a gentle smile. "It''s not like that now, though. The main problem back then was that there was no way of concealing any hidden talent or power, such as a spell that they rarely used. It was all information that was very easy to get a hold of"


    "What about figuring out secrets for yourself?" Rein asked.


    "That''s...," Dorothy started, trying to figure out how to word it. "It''s mainly the nobles and leaders of guild''s that often say that the next generation shouldn''t be given answers to the secrets of the blessing and let them figure out things for themselves as they might find something new. The first problem with that is that a lot of secrets have already been found, so you won''t know if you''ve found something new as no one shares what they''ve found."


    Seeing the girls nodding along, not quite understanding whatshe meant, Dorothy sighed. "When I was your age and got my blessing, things weren''t so simple. For growing in strength fast, a lot of new tamers joined guilds. These guilds offered lots of benefits and rewards for successful tamers. Only, too many young tamers died quickly from negligence and naivety. The fortunateended up with broken pacts, having to leave the guilds they joined and finding a place to work without an active or free pact."


    A tear fell from Dorothy''s eye as she remembered those times.


    "I was one of the lucky few who made it, though the friends I had had... moved on." Taking a deep breath, Dorothy wiped the tears from her eyes as Shelly nuzzled itself against her leg. Picking Shelly up, Dorothy whispered, ''though I still have you,'' rubbing its head as she smiled.


    Having cheered up from Shelly''s timely intervention, Dorothy continued. "At that time, I thought I''d start helping other young tamers survive by teaching them some of the things I''d learned." Dorothy''s expression changed, becoming sour and filled with disgust. "I taught the new tamers a lot of helpful advice about surviving in the wild and it benefitted them a lot. Differentiating the different types of plants, how to track creatures and the marks of powerful creatures. But whenever I mentioned,triedto mention anything about the blessing, I couldn''t. I found out the contract I signed prevented me from doing it, it has a binding power that I believe uses a secret of the blessing itself to prevent me from speaking of anything about the blessing."


    "Eep!" Shelly grunted, gently biting Dorothy afterwards.


    Dorothy, snapping out of her grim mood looked at Shelly apologetically. She then looked at the girls, seeing that they were frozen stiff, not daring to move from the glare filled with hatred and the venom filled voice that Dorothy was using just moments earlier.


    "Sorry dearies," she said gently. "The contract is something that I''ve had to deal with for decades, and I''m still..." Dorothy paused, breathing heavily to calm down. "I''m still furious that I can''t share anything. I believe the reason theyrestrict the secrets of the blessing so much is so that they can keep themselves in power." Dorothy sighed, once again, releasing all the tension she built up while speaking. "I''ve never tried to look into finding new secrets about the blessing since I retired. It''s so I don''t accidentally find that secret on contracts, if it exists at all."


    "So you can''t tell us anything?" Louise started.


    "About the blessing?" Wendy added on.


    "Sadly, no," Dorothy said. "I still have the written contract, see?"


    Dorothy then pulled some documents out of thin air. The girls looked at Dorothy in shock, quickly becoming excited again.


    "Is that magic?" Delia asked, looking at Dorothy with here eyes wide, eagerly waiting a response.


    "So youcantalk," Dorothy chuckled, causing Delia to look down in embarrassment. "And no, Dearie, I haven''t used any magic." Seeing the disappointment in their eyes, Dorothy smiled, "I think you''ll figure it out what I did yourselves soon enough. Now then, you all are probably bored from listening to this old me droning on.I shall be preparing supper soon, and I''m sure Mister Darniss will be backin an hour.You should have a look around, the house still has a lot of things for you to see," she added, gesturing towards the framed paintingson the walls. "I''m sure you''ll be able to find something interesting that will help you in the future." She then left, calling Arsber as she went towards the kitchen.

 Blessings and magic - 1.5

    Leaving the girls in the care of Dorothy, I headed over to the entrance to Argal Street to drop off my wagon. It''s been almost twenty years since I last stepped foot in Ebonhearth city, that was when I chose to be anadventurer. I''d just received my blessing and formed a pact with Aria, my first creature. The hours I spent trying to learn the spells, the nights in the wilderness, the days spent hunting and the gliff and pix I spent weeks to earn. Those days were fun, though the pay was horrible. It took me two years to earn enough money to get my second pact and tame Fleur.


    "*sigh* I still miss you, Aria."


    "O''s Aria?"


    I jumped, startled at the voice that broke my trance. I looked over to see it was that idiot, Oliver. I was waitingby the stables I wouldleavemy wagon in, as the guides would send both Oliver and Archie here to leave their wagons, too.


    "Aria was my first pact creature." I told him.


    "Wha'' ''appened to ''em, I nevah ''eard ya talk ''bout''em before."


    "That''s cos she''s dead, you dimwit!" Archie interrupted, arriving with his wagon. "I''m done helping the boys unpack, should we lock our wagons up then?"


    Thankfully, Archie turned up. Now I won''t have to mention my adventuring days. I could try to lie through it, but Oliver is surprisinglyperceptive when it comes to lies, it''s the only reason he became a half decent merchant.


    We locked up our wagons in a combined storage area, receivinga key to the lock after showing our citizens cards. I pocketed the key andmounted Fleur. With nothing else to do, the three of us trotted towards the public office.


    "Halt," I heard a man call.


    I turned myself to look in the direction I heard the voice to see a man in full plate staring back at me. The knight, with a crest I didn''t recognise on his chest,started to approach us, so I stopped Fleur, raising my hand for Archie and Oliver to stop. When the knight reached us, I saw that he was riding a warno, a black rhino with a sharp blade-like horn.


    "Are the three of you aware that riding your tamed creatures through the streets is prohibited during the blessing festival?" He asked us in a harsh tone. Probably judging out reactions, the knight shook his head, muttering something under his breath. "I can see you don''t have permits either, where are you heading?"


    "The public office to get passes for the blessing ceremony." I answered, it should be fine, and needing a pass to go get a pass would be ludicrous, though his sigh at my response is indeed worrying.


    "When you entered the city, you should have been told about the regulations during the festival," he stated. "In order to prevent the streets from becoming overcrowded, you will be allotted a time you can explore the city when you visit the public office. To visit the public office, we knights are guiding people from gathering points. Since it seems you are unaware of this,I will just need to see your identity cards and you will just need to visit the courts tomorrow for a verdict."


    With that, we were showed the knight our cards, then we followed him to the public office. He stopped by several different gathering points on the way, though there was a bit of a fuss from a few of the points. It was due to the three of us riding our fironares, but the knight straightened it out quickly, saying that we are to visit the courts later. By the time we reached the public office, there were thirty-seven people following the knight, having picked up twenty along the way. After we dismounted, the knight said he''ll keep an eye on the Fleur and the other while we were in the office before guiding us back to Argal Street.


    Upon entering, I could see a few dozen peoplestood in a line, moving along every ten seconds, give or take. Seeing there was asign to line up there when you entered, the three of us walked to the back of the line, after the other thirty-odd people who entered before us. Waiting for roughly four minutes, we finally reached the front.


    "Here is your number, please wait for it to be called and you will be able to speak with one of our clerks." A woman said in a dull emotionless tone, handing me a copper plate with ''307'' engraved on it. "Do you have any questions?"


    "Yes, is it possible to have my two fellow merchants to see the person at the same time?" I asked, things should sorted out faster that way


    "That is perfectly alright sir. The three of you can simply head to the desk when your number, three hundred and seven, is called. If there are no further questions, the three of you can go and take a seat," she politely informed me, still in that emotionless tone.


    "Can I get information such as a map of the city, or perhaps where to buy one?" This should be the last thing I need to know.


    "There are maps available from the clerks," she politely answered. "Please direct further questions related to your business here to the clerk who will be dealing with your requests."


    "Thank you," I say, bowing my head slightly before leaving.


    That last part was quite embarrassing, the person behind the three of us, some pompous, wealthy merchant, even started to loudly berate us, saying something about wasting his precious time. If anything, the three of us going together saved him on time. The three of us sat down in some available seats, keeping to ourselves like most of the other people around us. That pompous man, thankfully, didn''t bother us, headed to a group of other wealthy-looking merchants on the other side of the waiting area.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    It was such an uneventful thirty minute wait, we managed to triple check all the information we needed for our stay here. When the number was finally called, we walked over to the clerk that called our number. He led the way to a private room where we sat down in the three seats on one side of the desk.


    "Good afternoon, my name is Alfred." He politely introduced himself. "What is it I may help you with on your visit today?"


    "We need permits for the three of us and seventeen children," I answered, showing my citizen card.


    "We would like to have a permit for us three and seventeen children." I told Alfred, handing over my, Archie and Oliver''s citizen cards.


    "Will this be for one outing or will you be going around at different times?" Alfred asked us.


    "It will be at the same time, the children will be at the blessing ceremony between one and three tomorrow. We would also like some time after the ceremony to buy the children their first familiar," it''s fine if a few of them don''t get one on this outing, we can go out with them another time.


    "I can give you a five hour permit between the times of noon and four, is that time alright?"


    "That would be fine, is it possible to obtain a map of the city?"


    "Of course," he responded. "A papyrus map will cost four gliff, a parchment map will cost one drey. We also have a list ofcurrent familiar contract shops, familiarware shops, familiar care shops and familiargrowth shops. Each of those will costthree drey for thechanges within the last year or seven drey for the full set of information,which will include each shops specialty, the price range of their stock and the reputation"


    Guess it''s a good thing we came together, we might have bought the same information multiple times. We should have enough to buy the map and the information on the familiar contract shop and the food shop from what the hamlets gave us to send their children here. Now I know why it costs one to two drey per hamlet, the food cost is one thing, but the price of information is ridiculous. And this information will change almost every year, especially the reputation of the store.There are also new stores that open or close down, possible expansions to a store or changes in specialties. Honestly, if it wasn''t for the fact that


    "*sigh*, I''d like a parchment map, three papyrus maps and the full information on the familiar contractand care shops."


    "That will besixteen drey," Alfred said, taking out three papyrus maps from his desk. "Is there anything else you need before I have someone bring your permits and the information you asked for?"


    "We have to visit the courts tomorrow, will we need permits for that?" I asked, it''s best to ask this now. If I did so at the start, he may have marked up the prices thinking we''re some sort of small time crook. Though I can''t be sure he would, it''s better to be safe than sorry.


    "No, just ask a knight tomorrow to guide you to the courts. It''s best if you get it done first thing in the morning at around four or three before noon, otherwise you may be late for the blessing ceremony."


    "Thanks, I believe that is everything. Is there anything you think we will need for the children?" I hope that there isn''t, but we could have overlook something important.


    "Other than information on tamer academy''s which will be exhibitioning on the third day of the blessing, there is just theware and growth shops information. Though, I wouldn''t recommend buying theinformation for academies. It tends to be the wealthy who buy the informationseveral months early in preparation for their child¡¯s education. Getting the information now is unnecessary, unless one of the children in your care receives a valuable blessing in either their soul affinity or their elemental aptitude. Even then, you can look at the academies on the day if one of the priests grants the child an emblem of the church." He told me, without any change in his demeanour.


    "What about information on guilds?" Archie abruptly asked, though I can see Alfred''s brow furrowing.


    "Due to the near constant changes in the guilds themselves, the public office has stopped selling information on guilds themselves. If you want information, the adventurer''s guild branch offers a list of guild names and a brief summary of each guild forone gliff." Alfred stated in a much less friendly manner than before. "There will also be a guild recruitment going on three days after the blessing ceremony is over. There will be no need for permits, though yourlodgings may ask for payment after the ceremony is over."


    "Thank you, thatshould be everything." I said, if there is more information we need, we can just.


    "Okay then, I shall send off for your information now," Arthur then waved his hand over a crystal ball imbedded into the desk. He then vacantly stared at the air, a clear sign that he was using the blessing, before focusing back on us. "It will take a few minutes before the documents come, would you like me to explain how the permits work in the meantime?"


    "Please," I requested.


    "Each permit is represented by a blue card the same size as your citizen cards." Arthur recited, no doubt having repeated this explanation countless time."The card will turn purple when your allotted time arrives, which will be noon for you. When you are in the city during the blessing ceremony, you are to show your permits to anyone you are buying items from or to any knights who speak to you. You will receive a total of twenty permits, one for each and every one of you. You don''t have to stay in the same group, however it is advised that you don''t let the children wander the city alone."


    That should be obvious. Especially since this is the blessing ceremony, there will be numerous people who would take an unsupervised ornaive child.


    "When your allotted time in the city is over, your permits will turn from purple to red. At that time, if you are found to be still exploring the city, you will be arrested. It is perfectly fine to head to a gathering point and wait for a knight to guide you back to your district."


    *knock* *knock*


    A knock on the door interrupted Arthur, I bet it''s the permits and information.


    "Come in," Arthur called, loudly yet still polite.


    "Here are the documents and permits you requested," a short lady said, entering the room in a slight rush.


    She seemed to only be sixteen years old, with short curly brown hair. I wonder how such a youth managed to get a job here. She can''t be a commoner, so she must have been the child of an influential person.She won''t be the child of a noble, she''s too timid to be one. She could be the child of a knightor a high ranking administrator. But even then, she must have had a poor blessing or met with some serious trouble to end up running errands in the public office.


    "Thank you, Katie," Arthur said, a slight smile on his face. "Here are your documents, please return the permits when you have finished with them. You can hand them over at the city gates or here at the public office.Thank you for your time andhave apleasantstay in Ebonhearth."


    With that, we were guided to the door with our new permits, maps and information in hand. When we arrived outside, the knight was still there, waiting with our fironares. We were guided back to the gathering point near Argal Street. We then headed back to our lodgings, leavingFleur and the othersin the stables on the way.


    "I''m back," I called as I opened the front door.

 I am still writing (and Im not dead)

    For those of you who enjoyed reading this, and anyone else who is reading this I guess (but who would read a book they don''t enjoy, unless you''re expecting something. But then you must have enjoyed it slightly)


    I am writing this again, I have just finished looking through blessings and magic 1 and 1.5 editing 1 significantly and changing the end to that chapter a lot.


    The reason I stopped writing is multifold. I have depression and anxiety and I put myself under a lot of presure to write 50,000 words in the month for the NaNoWriMo contest. Not to say that I can''t write 50,000 words in a month, I just stressed myself out too much.


    From now on I''ll try to do a chapter once every 2 weeks (huge emphasis on try) and see how things go from there. Each chapter should be atleast 2,000 words from now on, just because I don''t like writing shorter chapters. I will upload at most once a week just so I can have a backlog if I write more.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    If any of you are actually interested in my current situation, I''m doing a lot better now (otherwise I wouldn''t be posting this). Currently I''m going to be writing this story and another that I won''t upload until I''m really happy about it. This story is the one I''m going to focus on more for now, I will try to keep you updated (if you care). I am currently getting help for my situation, though I''ve been on a long waiting list since march which I''m still on.


    The next chapter will continue on from where Magic and blessings 1 left off. Also, if you haven''t voted on the poll in The first journey - 4</a>, I still haven''t closed the poll, but it will close when I release 2 or 3 of blessings and magic.