Chapter 3: The Beginning of the Journey

When someone speaks of a journey, they don’t always just refer to moving from one place to another. In these lands, it is common to refer to anything that results in a significant change as a journey. The Journey of Jors Molan refers to a series of experiments and discoveries that resulted in turning the slow and intricate rituals of magic into the modern form of spellcasting we use today. The Journey of Corvus refers to the long years of conquest that changed the many myriad kingdoms of the Southlands into a single, united empire...for a while.

All journeys start the same way, with the decision to make the change. Sage Molan had a dream of people controlling magic by themselves, Corvus wanted the endless wars and changing borders to end. Thane and his friends, however, were practically forced into their journey.

It is true that they almost certainly would have left one day on their own, the fact that they grew too big for Omeric Village was by design. They were prepared from a young age to be adept at combat and well educated. From the day that their parents decided to settle in this small village they feared that one day their children may have to deal with the mess they had made long ago and wanted them to be prepared to survive in a harsh world.

It is a harsh world after all. Even in the most civilized areas there is always a bit of danger lurking in the dark places. Having a dagger openly displayed on your hip is an accepted practice. It was common to start carrying one for protection at a young age, and is even seen as required in some places. This is only when walking in civilized lands of the mortal races. When you walk the wilds or even the open roads, a dagger can be quite insufficient. A horde of Malkin, a ravenous beast or undead won’t be discouraged by a knife, and require something much larger or more powerful. When Thane and his friends left their village they thought that they were prepared for anything this world had in store for them. For the most part, they may have been right.

But just because you are prepared for something, doesn’t mean you can handle it when it actually happens.

There would be success and failure, loss and gain.

If anyone wants to learn more about Thane’s journey, they would find it easy to learn about, since, for good or ill, people would remember him wherever he went. At the end, once all is finished, how would people talk about the journey of Thane?

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Thane

It was nearly midday when Thane and the others were fully prepared to leave. Deciding what to take was difficult. They each had only a small amount of space in a wagon and whatever they could fit on a horse to take with them. Castor assured them that they would watch over their things until they returned to pick them up. He would even send some things with the merchants the next time they passed through. Plans were made to return for the midwinter celebration in a few months at the latest.

When he was bringing his things up to the meeting point he noticed that most of the mercenaries were gone. Only Gailwyn was left to meet them with a small group to drive and guard the wagon. Once all of them arrived, they started the horses off on a brisk pace and began their trek east.

Just as the horses began to take their first steps, Thane rode up next to Gailwyn “Did the rest of them leave already?” he asked.

“Yes” Gailwyn replied, “The royal observer left with his attendants at dawn to escort the men you caught for interrogation and holding, and eventually trial. Marcus left a few hours ago with most of the men. He wanted to get back quickly so keeping pace with a wagon would be out of the question.”

“Interrogation and trial? What did these men do? Why were they running from you in the first place.”

“They attempted to rob an armory owned by the local Baron. When Baron Astley received word of the attack he sent for the closest soldiers for help, which was us. When we arrived, the thieves panicked and set fire to the Armory and fled, damaging or destroying most of what was inside. Even leaving behind almost everything. They split into two groups, one fled and wound up here, the other ambushed us while we tried to put out the fire.”

“That doesn’t make much sense. Why would they flee without grabbing any of the weapons or armor?”

“That is what they hope to find out with the interrogation. It is out of our hands now, our jobs were to capture or kill them and protect the armory, and we only succeeded at one of those tasks.”

“So why are you the one left behind to escort us?”

“Because I was curious, mostly about you.”

Thane looked at her quizzically and she continued. “When I use my scrying on individuals I can get a good idea about what kind of magic they can use and how powerful the magic they can use is. When I looked at you the magic was definitely third circle in strength, but the type was undefined. Having no speciality isn’t rare, but mages rarely make it to the third circle with no specialty, and almost never beyond it. For you, however, the mana was still strong and...well, either you specialize in everything, which is unlikely, or you have an unusual mana channeling technique that interfered with my scrying. It was like looking at a pure white flat surface.”

Just out of curiosity, what did you read in the others?”

She smiled, and showed an air of confidence, “The silver haired girl, the Tamlin, her magic as Fae in origin, rare and difficult to control for most humans, but for a half blood such as herself, it would be much easier. She focuses on transmutation and enchantment. Judging by the man we had to cut out of a cocoon of roots, she uses transmutation that affects plants.”

“Ok, that one was easy, anyone who saw what she left behind could have guessed that, next one.”

“The brother and sister then? First off the brother, he is third circle like the Tamlin, but focuses mostly on illusion, with a bit of conjuration. The sister is a second circle who almost exclusively uses enchantment magic, most likely body strengthening or enhancement, and uses a small bit of illusion as well.”

“You managed to learn all that just by looking at us for a few seconds through that haze?”

“That haze is where I get my second name from, it completely removes the need for a scrying focus. It is a method I invented. I create the ‘haze’ and look through it like a scrying focus, the council of Attica named it ‘Gailwyn’s looking Glass’. When I look at people or objects through the haze I can see information about them that I wish to know. Different spells for different information. I can find out who traveled through an area and where they are going by scanning the ground. I can examine a person to gauge their magical capabilities, or even verify their bloodline. I can not only tell you the properties and enchantments of an item, but get a general idea about the person who used it and how it was used.”

“So you have an entire branch of magic named after you? That is pretty impressive. Why is it that you work for a mercenary group?”

“I don’t work for a mercenary group, I work for Marcus. He wasn’t always a mercenary, he used to be a knight. ‘The Stone Fox’ was his nickname. The royal family wouldn’t trust him with the job in the demilitarized zone if he were just a mercenary.”

“Wait, he was a knight? If he called Castor “Captain”, then who was my master?”

“I don’t know, Marcus captain would have been…” she paused for a moment, “unless…”. “I’ll ask Marcus when we arrive but I doubt he will tell me anything. Let’s pick up the pace, we need to arrive before sunset.”

Gailwyn spurred her horse on to move faster and the rest of the entourage followed, leaving Thane to his thoughts. Up until now he had never given thought to his circumstances, but now he was starting to realize how strange they were. If it was a knight captain that had trained him since he was young, then that would explain why his combat and magic techniques were so advanced. He still wondered why the small town. Someone as important as a knight captain would likely have land and money provided to him, so why would Castor settle in a village of a few dozen people?

Thane soon became distracted by the scenery. RIght now he was further from his home than he had ever been in his life, and with each passing moment his home was growing more distant. After a few hours at a brisk pace, the horses came up to a river and began to follow it upstream. Soon his new home came into sight. It looked to be a walled fortress with a river running through the middle of it. He couldn’t see much over the walls other than a large keep and a pair of observation towers, but the walls themselves seemed to surround an area larger than Omeric Village where Thane grew up.

“That is the Stone Fox Fortress. We repaired it and outfitted it a few years ago. It was one of the many garrison fortresses during the Chaotic Reign before the rise of Emperor Corvus 300 years ago. It hadn’t been officially used since that time, so the cleanup was quite time consuming. The iron to rebuild the river grates were quite expensive as well. As it stands now, it is a fully functioning garrison fortress far far away from any borders or conflict. There is a single entry gate opposite the keep. I’ll have someone give you a proper tour once we are inside.”

The river was more of a stream, being about six to seven meters across. When it reached the fortress it ran through a latticed grate of iron bars that were spaced enough that someone could stick their head through the gap but not much else.

Once they reached the walls, they traveled along the south edge until reaching the gates. The gates were wide open revealing the large courtyard inside the walls. It had been converted into a training field where dozens of men were currently making practice swings. Gailwyn dismounted from her horse and began to guide it on foot and Thane and his companions followed. She approached a man in his early thirties who was overseeing the training.

“Theo, where is Jerrod? The new recruits have arrived and I need someone to show them around.”

“Jerrod’s still out on a wight hunt. Boss said you get to show the new blood ‘round the place.” She gave an irritated sigh but he was no longer interested in her and was instead looking over her shoulder at Thane. “Like ya heard, name’s Theodore son of Quinn, Theo if you’re my mum or want to piss me off, but I prefer to be called Mace.”

Thane shook his hand, “Thane, son of Alexander, why Mace?”

“Cuz I prefer the weapons with a bit of heft like hammers and maces. Figured it’d be a good name, bit more intimidatin’ after all. Who ever heard of someone runnin’ in fear from the mighty Theodore?” He continued down the line introducing himself to the other three before continuing. “‘ ‘S my job to change this pack o’ rabble to a disciplined fightin’ force by spring. Lost cause for most of ‘em.”

“You think so? What is so bad about them?”

“Ehh, every single one o’ them got their issues and I don’t like ta dig too deep. You got yer usual young kids who think they are far better than they really and are lookin’ for some kind of glory. A few good strong lads who think this ‘s a good way to make coin. A few desperate weepers who’re willin’ to risk their life just for food and a place to sleep.”

“How many are there?”

“A bit over two hundred once we meet up with the regulars. More than enough to deal with the small groups wanderin’ around. Long as they don’t pick up a few wizards that is.”

“You talk too much ‘Mace’” said Gailwyn. “They don’t need to know that much, especially if some of them decide not to stay with us.”

“Bringin’ them in when they ain’t official? How accommodation’ of ya. Now get to your guidin’ and leave me to my work woman.” He waved her off and turned back to the trainees.

“It looks like I’ll have to show you around. Although the walls and keep were rebuilt we haven’t put up many other buildings yet so we have a couple large open yards that we use for training. Barracks and a shared dining area to the right, and stables to the left after entry. You shouldn’t need to worry about the barracks area since it’s usually only used by the trainees and not irregulars.”

“Irregulars?”

“Adventurers if you prefer that term. Anyone with magical prowess or advanced combat abilities are given special tasks. Other than the notice board, most of the important locations are in the keep on the other side of the river.” They lead their horses to the stable and continue to walk towards the bridge leading to the keep.

“What about that building?” Sarah pointed to a small house built right next to the river and wall. A few tanning and smoking racks were surrounding it.

“That is Gryssel’s place. Most of the irregulars are given their own rooms in the keep, but that elf couldn’t stand living in a stone room so he built that himself.” they approached a notice board next to the bridge. “Assuming you aren’t given a job to do, some tasks will be posted here. Mostly general stuff that isn’t too difficult. Any important or dangerous jobs like monster or magical beast hunts will be handed out directly.”

The tour went on to the other side of the river that divided the fortress in half. There was a second training yard with more specialized tools. There was a young magician shooting magical bolts at a target while an older magician stood behind him and struck him with a staff every time he made an error in the spell or didn’t send the spell off with enough force. There was a smithy and armory as well as a library which didn’t contain books so much as it contained maps and records. Information about the surrounding lands and other countries.

They ended the tour in the small keep, which kept the old audience and meeting hall instact, but the rest of the space was converted into sleeping rooms for the irregulars as well as a kitchen and dining area.

As the tour was nearing the end, Gailwyn spoke. “Meals will not be provided for the most part. There are a few common ingredients provided. Anything else will need to be supplied by you and any cooking will have to be done by yourself. You can also join the regulars in the common mess hall if this is too much trouble. The last stop is Marcus’ office. He will want to see you before you head off to your quarters.”

They entered the office and found Marcus sitting behind a large polished stone desk that seemed to have been here since the fortress was built. His head was resting on his palm and he looked like he was growing impatient with the man in front of him. There is a black haired young man wearing piecemeal armor that was composed mostly of padded leather with a few metal plates in various places. There was a bandage wrapped tightly around his left forearm that had a bit of blood seeping through and he was in the middle of giving Marcus a report in a very animated fashion, even giving whooshing sound effects as he swung his arms around.

“Then a half dozen of the little bastards came running down the hill from behind. I barely had time to turn around when they leapt at me. As quick as I could I brought my arm up to defend myself. He stabbed right through it and I brought my sword down.” The man acts out the incident turning around and bringing his bandaged left arm up as if shielding himself and after giving a fake painful “aagh” he swung an imaginary sword down with his right when he noticed the others who had just entered. He blinked in surprise a few times and his mouth opened and closed silently like a fish before he composed himself. “Oh, uh….where was I?”

“I think I get the idea.” said Marcus. You found a nest of Leios on a recovery mission and your team had to fight them off so you returned injured without the target.”

The man looked embarrassed, “Uh, yeah, that’s about right.”

“Was there any sign of idols, altars or draconic imagery?”

“Yeah, a few, there were little statues that looked like dragons, why?”

Marcus looked over to Gailwyn, “There haven’t been any signs or sightings, have there? If not, see what your magic can find. As for you,” he pointed to the young man who was telling the story, “get that wound patched up proper, you’re starting to bleed through your bandage.” He paused for a moment, “Kisha, you use nature magic, can you do it? The blade evidently went completely through his arm between the bones.”

Kisha seemed to be surprised that he was addressing her directly and gave a nod, “It won’t be a problem.”

The young man walked over nervously and attempted to introduce himself. “I’m Kisha- no you’re prett- you’re Kisha, I’m Bart- Bartholemew. Um…..hi.”

Thane was speechless at the boy’s blubbering, and could hear Sarah give an audible snort while barely containing her laughter. “Hi Bart, “ Kisha replied calmly, “let’s heal that arm.”

Marcus then addressed Thane and his friends. “I wanted to see you, Thane, before the end of the day. I have already spoken to the twins and they have agreed to work with us for now. Have you and Kisha made up your mind?”

He looked over to Kisha who had removed the bandage from the blushing boys arm and was healing the nasty looking stab wound. She gave him a nod before he responded. “We’ve decided to stay. We’ll work with you as contracted adventurers.”

“We call them irregulars here, and I am glad to count you among them. Being students of Castor makes you more than qualified, but we will still need to test your skills. Gailwyn was looking forward to testing your magic tonight, but it will have to wait until morning.” He smiled, “And I would like to see how well you learned to fight from Castor.”

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Later that day after sunset

Kisha

Kisha sat with Mahs and Sara in the keep dining hall. The three were gathered and waiting for Thane who was busy in the kitchen.

“So where did he get the meat from?” asked Mahs.

Kisha replied “He traded with that elf in the river hut. Talked with him for an hour about hunting before making the deal.”

“So what kind of meat did he wind up getting?”

Kisha had a worried look on her face when she replied, “Dire boar.”

“Dire..boar? Can you even eat that?”

“The Elf that killed it claimed you can.” Kisha wasn’t sure how palatable it would be. They had heard of dire animals before, but had never seen one. They were larger, meaner and uglier versions of animals, often having bony ridges, horns or scales where their normal versions did not. Whatever origin they had was lost to history, and they were often called walking disasters due to their destructive nature. The thought of eating one was a bit unsettling. She would just have to trust Thane and see how it turned out.

As she tried to see what Thane was doing in the kitchen Kisha noticed Sara give a smirk before addressing her, “Oh look, Kisha, your new admirer is here.”

Kisha looked towards the entrance and saw Bart with what she assumed was the rest of his group. He had taken off his armor and was now in normal clothes as were the rest of his companions. Bartholemew was the youngest of them, it would be surprising to hear if he was over twenty. There was a woman with him about the same age with a thin scar running under her right eye. The third was an older man carrying a rucksack, probably in his mid thirties with the first signs of grey showing.

Bart beckoned at his companions and then to Kisha and his two companions followed him to the table. “This is them, the new guys I was talking about. Kisha here is the one that healed my arm.” He slapped his left forearm to show it was fine despite being stabbed through earlier today.

The woman with him arched her eyebrow, “Hm, she is definitely cute, cousin, but you said she was the most- mmph.”

Bart was quick to cover the girls mouth before she could embarrass him further. “These are my companions, this is my cousin Lily and the old man is Harland.”

“Old man? Watch your tongue boy.”

Lily smiled at Kisha, “So you’re a priestess?”

“No, I use nature magic.”

“Ohh, that’s rare.”

Kisha and the twins gave their introductions and included Thane who was still cooking in the kitchen. They explained that this was the first time any of them had left the village they were born in. It was quite a new experience, but they had often heard the tales of their parents, especially Castor and Maria. Leaving for the larger world was something that they had wanted for a long time.

The three of them sit down at the table next to Kisha. “Until you arrived today, Lily and I were the youngest.”

“How many other groups are there?”

“Hm, there are three other groups and 2 solo adventurers”

“Can you tell me about them?”

“Let’s see, there is one other new group that joined recently set out to the west to prepare a base of operations for the bandit suppression. There is Jerrod’s group that mostly hunts the nastier monsters. Finally there is the elite group that I have only ever seen once. They don’t stop by too often. Oh! There is also Python and Cale, the mage and his apprentice. He’s using this as training for the boy. I think one or both of them are nobles, because when they go out on assignments, they always take a few of Lance’s knights to cover for them. For the solos there is Onyx, which isn’t her real name. She's from the far north and got tired of people pronouncing her name wrong so she goes by Onyx. Probably something to do with her black hair and eyes. She is...the most terrifying woman I have ever met, she always has more knives on her than we have teeth. All different shapes and sizes. Then there is Gryssel the wood elf. Probably the most unfriendly and unhelpful people you will ever meet.”

About this time Thane finally returned with the dinner for the four of them. “Here you go, braised boar with apples.” He set a deep dish with the meat and braising liquid in front of Mahs and Sara before heading back. “I’ll be back with mine and Kisha’s”

In a few moments he returned with two dishes and a few loaves of bread and Sara spoke up, “We were just talking about Gryssel, you met him earlier didn’t you?”

“Yes, he’s a great guy, he invited me to go hunting with him some time later.” The three members of Bart's group all had a shocked look on their face.

“How?” asked Harland. “How did you even get him to talk to you?”

“Um...I knocked on his door and we started talking”

“More importantly, that’s a big meal that looks like it took quite a bit of effort to make. Is there some special occasion?”

“I promised Kisha I would make her a good meal for her coming of age. She’ll be 16 in a couple days.”

“Oho! I have just the thing then. If the girl is coming of age that means it is about time for her to start enjoying wine!” He reached into his rucksack and pulled out a round glass bottle filled with a purple liquid.

“He always does this.” explained Bart. “His family runs a vineyard and he never passes up an opportunity to brag about the wine they make.”

“But I’m not of age yet.”

“Please,” Harland countered, “The gods and the laws of man will not punish you for partaking in the vine a few days early. If you are celebrating now, then now is the time for a toast!” He poured a good amount of liquid into the various mugs and goblets at the tables before raising his mug in a toast. “To the young lady on her birthday. The world is open to you now so enjoy your new life and new friends!”

“To a new life” Kisha’s friends shouted before taking a drink of the wine.

She hesitated for just a moment looking at the wine in her hands before smiling. “To a new life!”