It was well after noon. We had slept for most of the day. We went downstairs and quickly grabbed something for breakfast. As we were finishing up, Eidechse greeted us.

“Mornin’. Vyth, how about we spar for a bit?”, he said.

“Spar?”, Vyth asked, “Sure. You’re coming as well, right Oth?”.

“Yeah, of course”, I answered.

We put on our hoods, grabbed our bags and followed Eidechse to a clear area outside of town. The area was a circle of grassland. It seemed like the land itself had been roughed up. Some of the grass was burnt and there were many bald spots. The grass was unevenly cut. Some of it was taller than me and Vyth, while other spots had grass that came up only to our knees. Eidechse stopped us in the middle and faced us.

“Could you just spectate for now, Oth?”, Eidechse asked.

“Sure. I didn’t feel like fighting anyway”.

I left the circle and sat down in the shade. Both of them drew their weapons. Vyth, his new sword, and Eidechse, a hammer and small shield. They stared each other down. Eidechse had a wide, toothy grin, while Vyth looked intense. Then, without a warning, they attacked.

Vyth slashed with his sword, but Eidechse blocked it with his shield. Vyth quickly jumped back, just as the hammer was about to smash into his side. Eidechse went back into his stance, waiting for the next move. Vyth rushed forward, attempting to stab his opponent. The shield smacked his sword away, before he landed his hit. It threw him a bit off balance and turned his back to Eidechse. The Dragonkin swung his hammer in an upward arc, aiming for the head. Fortunately, Vyth quickly turned around and leaned back to avoid the strike. The hammer zoomed past his jaw, missing it by only an inch at best.

Vyth nearly fell backwards, but he kept himself up using his tail. As soon as his balance returned, he continued his attacks. A flurry of strikes and stabs, which Eidechse blocked. The Dragonkin’s grin had turned into chuckles.

“Surely, this isn’t your best, small scales?”, he said mockingly.

His hammer went up again and quickly came down. The hammer hit the ground, instead of Vyth, and kicked up dirt. But, this is what Vyth wanted. He quickly wrapped his tail around Eidechse’s arm. He pulled himself up and thrusted his sword towards the throat. Eidechse’s fast reflexes pulled his shield up, but Vyth had expected it. Vyth let go of the arm and put his foot on the shield’s edge. He pushed himself upwards, going over Eidechse’s head. Just as he got over the head, Vyth swung his sword at the Dragonkin’s nape. It was a deadly spot. I was worried he might accidentally kill him. As the sword was still cutting through the air, Eidechse turned around with frightening speed and bashed Vyth down with his shield.

The fight was over. Vyth was on the ground, slowly recovering from the blow. Eidechse pulled him up with that same grin on his face.

“You’re quite the tactician. I know a lot of folk whose death that would’ve been. The gate guards certainly don’t stand a chance”, Eidechse praised.

“Really? You think I’m strong enough to kill the humans?”, Vyth excitedly asked.

“...Uh, sure. Just, try not to kill them unprovoked. Uh, how about you, Oth? You want to spar?”.

“No, thanks”, I replied.

“Well, alright. Vyth, how about I train you? Could use some more exerci...”.

“Yes!”, Vyth quickly responded, “I want to be stronger! I want to learn what you just did!”.

Vyth had become a ball of energy. He happily followed Eidechse’s instructions and trained hard. It had been a while since I’d seen him that happy. Life was becoming more bearable. We still had to be careful around the townsfolk, to not betray our identity, but it was better than roaming around in the woods.

I still didn’t fully trust Eidechse and the Dwarf, though. They’re criminals, likely drug dealers. On top of that, they quickly accepted us. We broke into their shop and stole a sword, yet after one task, they’re friendly to us. Not to forget that we’re considered monsters by most people. Eidechse might not see us that way, since he’s Dragon-like, just like us. But, what reason does Thetara have for being fine with us?

I put it off of my mind. There wasn’t much I could do anyway. They’re friendly towards us for now. If they plan to betray us or abuse us or something, they’ll likely do it further down the line. We should be safe for the time being. Until then, I should focus on getting stronger in my own way. Luckily, I came prepared. I grabbed one of the books from my bag and opened it. The symbols were completely alien to me. It was as I had expected and hoped for. I began slowly saying the chant I overheard from the Elf. I could feel my energy being drained from me, as I focused on the spell. It was only a few sentences, yet it felt like I was reciting a whole chapter. I wasn’t even sure if it would work on written text. I just figured that something stationary, like written text, would be easier than something that comes and goes, like speech.

Still, I was determined to succeed this time. Halfway through the chant, the symbols began moving and becoming hazy in front of my eyes. Now nausea was fighting against me as well. I pushed through. I couldn’t stay like this forever. I had to advance. I had to learn more spells. Spells capable of keeping me and my brother safe.

The text was stabilizing and becoming more clear. Though, through my hazy vision, I could see that they weren’t the same as before. I started recognising letters. Letters from the alphabet. My vision had returned back to normal now. My eyes instantly went to the very beginning for this book. I read: “It was a quiet country, surrounded by rugged, forbidding mountains and hidden behind tall walls”.