The heavy rainfall had now developed to a thunderstorm. Bright flashes illuminated the forest from above, momentarily throwing long shadows on our path while the loud cracking of the thunder made sure that all of the animals remained hidden. Eventually we took that as our cue to join them, and deciding that we had had enough for the day.

Yet again we recalled our summoned beasts, went off the road and searched for a secure spot. This time, we discovered a little cave in the base of a mountain. It was not immediately visible, and we only managed to spot it because we were trying to protect ourselves from the rain by staying close to the mountain side.

We were cautious since we both knew that places well protected from the elements, like this one, were seldom unoccupied in the wild. I cast a protective barrier spell around us both and we stepped in.

Name : Minor Divine Mana Barrier

School of Magic : Abjuration

Verbal Components : 16 words

Somatic Components : Simple

Material Component : None

HP Consumed : 0

MP Consumed : 0

Divine Mana Consumed : 220

Range : Touch

Casting Time : 6 seconds

Precondition : None.

Description : A thin layer of mana envelops the caster and everything around them in a 5ft. Radius centered on their mana core. The bubble formed around them can deflect physical attacks for 20 minutes.

As soon as I entered the cave, I heard a loud scratching noise and noticed a huge black mass rushing toward me. Even though I came prepared to defend myself, I had no time to react with a spell and only managed to pull Kai behind me as a huge dark-furred bear closed in on us.

Name : Elysian Bear

Type : Beast

Level : 12

Disposition : Aggressive

HP : 199/199

Physical Attack : 23

Magic Attack : 17

Speed : 100

Attack Range : Melee

XP : 428

Description : The Elysian bear is the most commonly found bear species in the nation of Elysia. These beasts have lived in the mountains and forests of that continent for centuries and are well aware of the threat Elysian citizen might pose to them with their divine magic. For this reason, they tend to keep large distances from any villages or settlements, instead feeling more comfortable in the wild expanses between towns.

I could not believe the rate at which the incoming beast accelerated. I felt my heart stop as its gigantic white claws came close to my face, its humongous open mouth following close behind.

The sheer force of it hitting the protective barrier around us was enough to propel both of us back. The giant bear was now standing on its hind legs, completely blocking the entrance.

“Hit it, Myriam,” Kai said, while hiding behind me. I wasn’t sure if attacking the bear was what I actually wanted to do. The animal was not coming against us, but was just standing there, occasionally looking behind it, back into the cave. Seeing that it was not trying to attack us while we stood still, I thought I could cast a spell that would let me communicate with it.

Name : Beast Talk

School of Magic : Divination

Verbal Components : 32 words

Somatic Components : Simple

Material Component : None

HP Consumed : 0

MP Consumed : 0

Divine Mana Consumed : 420

Range : Touch

Casting Time : 10 seconds

Precondition : None.

Description : A spell that enables communication with all beasts. Some of them are intelligent enough to have developed languages of their own while other will only be able to communicate their ideas and feelings. Regardless of the level of their abilities, telepathic communication with a beast at a time will be possible for 10 minutes after this spell is cast.

Once I successfully completed the spell, I tried to connect with the bear that was still looking at us menacingly.

Of course I knew most animals did not communicate in the same way we did, but rather with emotions or simple one-word concepts. I only hoped that this animal would be open to conversing with me. After all, talking with beasts was the reason why I learned this spell in the first place.

“Beast. Angry,” the bear spoke in my mind.

“Safe,” was all I could manage to think of and offer in reply.

“Family. Fear.” The next words of the bear popped into my head as three bear cubs emerged from the back of the cave.

The bear was just protecting its cubs. It was stalling until they could all leave together. I suddenly felt bad that we were trying to make them leave the protection of their cave and run into the rain.

“Apology. Return.” It was the best I could manage.

I tried to make the animal understand that I did not want to make them move out of their cave. We would just have to find another place to stay, even if that meant staying out in the rain longer.

“Denial. Monster. Fear,” came the immediate response of the bear, as the cubs fled out of the cave-mouth. It followed directly after them.

“What was that all about, Myriam?” Kai asked. “It sounded like you were grunting as if you were having trouble breathing. Then the bear got scared of you?”

“I communicated with it,” I replied, still puzzled by our short conversation.

“And you told it to leave?”

“No. It was afraid for its cubs,” I answered, “so it left.”

“Well then. Let’s not stay out in the rain anymore.” Kai gingerly took a step forward.

“Afraid of a monster…” I whispered not being able to make sense of what had just happened. Communicating with animals was of course difficult, but the conversation didn’t feel quite right.

I didn’t want to push our luck any further though, so I threw a beam of light to illuminate the cavern all the way down to its end.

The cave didn’t go much deeper and even at the end of its formation, we would still be able to see the entrance. We quickly set up a barrier at the mouth of the cave and set our chest down in its deepest and darkest corner.

Once downstairs, in the safety and warmth of our home, we swiftly changed into dry robes and had a lengthy discussion on what we could do or use in order to be protected from similar circumstances in the future.

It seemed that the most sensible way of protecting ourselves was to calibrate a protective field orb, so that it could shrink in size and strengthen in resistance, but also allow for harmless things such as air or items we regularly used, to pass through. Kai suggested that we could also use it to solve the problem of getting soaking wet whilst riding in the rain, but that would definitely create a sight that I wanted to avoid when we were trying to travel inconspicuously.

A woman and a child riding in the rain with a protective barrier that repelled rain in a bubble-like fashion around them definitely sounded appealing but was also something that seemed like what every highwayman out there dreamed of. Easy prey with magical items. Ultimately, we decided against using it to repel rain, but agreed that we would have our protection on at all times when outside.

After dinner, our bodies were almost completely numb from tiredness and exposure to the elements. As we laid in our beds, I didn’t even have the willpower to turn the lights out.

“Myriam?” Kai asked.

“Yes?” I replied, and crossed the palms of my hands on the back of my head.

“What am I going to do without mana?” I thought I heard his voice tremble a bit.

“Billions upon billions of people have been living without mana for centuries, Kai, both in our world and in the Apocosmos in general,” I said, trying to make myself sound calm. “And we have enough artifacts to live our lives without either of us having to cast a single divine spell.” I paused. “But, should the need arise, I have more than enough mana for both of us.”

“That wasn’t what I meant,” he said, almost too quietly for me to hear.

“I know,” I replied. “I know. This is something that we will need to figure out together.”

I felt bad that I didn’t have a better answer for him and once again, I realized the weight of my responsibility.

It was one thing to protect Kai and make sure he stayed safe and quite another to make him happy and give him a purpose in life.

But I was going to make it happen. I would make sure of it.