Chapter 7: Life in the New Normal

Thane always had a strong sense of justice and a desire to help people. It was what would lead him to be called a hero one day. Unfortunately he also had a severe flaw that most heroic individuals possess: He valued the lives of others higher than his own.

This flaw is the reason that there are so few heroes. Most would-be heroes die before they can receive the title. Even when they come close to death, they tend not to learn from their mistakes, since they don’t care if they get hurt as long as others are safe. While most people would consider a near death experience harrowing and life changing, Thane simply continued on as if nothing happened. He had a new life and he was eager to experience it.

I suppose part of the reason would be that he was used to painfully blacking out from trying to perfect his enhancement technique.

Luckily it would be some time before Thane would be fighting again. Plenty of time for him to think upon the lessons he never learned. It is only when other people get hurt or killed due to their actions, or their failure to act, that a hero would start to feel regret.

The group made their way back to their new home, and became adjusted to their new daily life. If they were back in Omeric they would be preparing for harvest in a few weeks, followed by toiling away in the fields and mill for a few more. Instead they would be celebrating a victory in high spirits, training to fight with new people, and having an expert in magic train them to use stronger and more effective magic. They would make new friends, go to a city for the first time, see more of the world and things they had only heard of before.

They would also meet dangerous new enemies and creatures darker than they could have imagined.

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Thane

When thane woke up he ached all over. The ribs were only bruised now instead of broken, but the pain still burned like the hells. They were at an Inn in the small town near the orc settlement, split into two rooms. He heard Mahs chuckle at his misfortune as he put on some light clothing, grunting in pain the entire time.

He made his way to the girls room and knocked on the door. When he realized the room was empty he went outside to look for Kisha. The amount of healing he could do was limited to circulating mana in order to make his natural healing happen faster. It took a Theurge or someone who could use nature magic to perform true healing.

When he found here she was smiling embarrassed in front of an old man who seemed to be thanking her with two small children clinging to her legs. She seemed relieved when she saw Thane approach. “Sorry guys, but I have to help my friend here. He hurt himself fighting the Orcs yesterday.”

“But we want to see more!” the children complained. She gave them a few words that Thane couldn’t hear before saying goodbye and joining Thane.

“What was that about?” he asked.

“The old man needed help setting up a winter herb garden. I helped clean up the stones from the ground. Since I used magic, the kids passing by saw the ground start spitting up rocks and wanted me to show them more.”

“I hope you have enough left to heal me, I am in some serious pain here. You know I got hit with a boulder right?”

She rolled her eyes and placed her hand on his chest to start healing. When the mana started to flow between them she spoke “We did the right thing you know. Even if it was risky. These people, this town was close to getting destroyed. If we would have waited there is no telling if we would have gotten back in time.”

“I know.” Thane replied.

“Sarah said you were reckless, that you risked your life to help someone you didn’t know when you should have left the giant behind. I’m glad you didn’t.”

“How is the big guy doing? Have you seen Stone this morning?”

“He followed Sarah back to the orc village. She wanted to finish any survivors and see if there was anything of value to salvage. We have that orc mage’s staff. It’s probably valuable but we’ll need Gailwyn to take a look at it.”

When Kisha was finished he stretched out, testing his movement to make sure everything was back to normal. He rubbed his neck.

“I took care of that bruise as well. It was a pretty nasty purple color.”

“Thanks.”

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They walked around the town for a while until Stone and Sarah returned with what they could salvage. There was very little valuable, so it was more like a collection of scrap metal with a few weapons that were still in a usable condition.

True to his word, Stone accompanied them on their trip home, but Liam hadn’t been seen since they returned to town the night before. Despite not having a horse, mostly because he would crush any horse he attempted to ride, Stone managed to keep up quite well. His long legs allowed him to jog next to them as they rode, and his training allowed him to keep up the pace for hours without tiring.

They arrived at the road leading up to the gate around the same time as Harland’s group. The three of them looked exhausted and were guiding an extra horse but Lily and Bart managed to perk up a bit when they saw Thane and his group ride up next to them.

“So what were you guys doing?” asked Bart.

“Orc hunting, you?”

“Ugh, Samson wanted to investigate where we found those tiny Lizard Men”

“Leios” corrected Harland.

“Yeah those. We ran around to every town and cave around the area non stop until Samson was satisfied. Found a few more of the little guys but nothing big. The worst part is once that mage had everything he needed, he just teleported himself back and left us to ride.”

“Wasn’t he part of the elite team, like Liam? Why are they following our groups around?”

“Oh, their Theurge, the priestess, got called back on some church business so they took a break. Samson and Liam are here helping out. Their tracker is missing though, don’t know where he went.” He paused for a moment trying to think of something to keep the conversation going. “By the way, how long have you guys known each other?”

“Pretty much our entire lives.” Thane replied. “Castor had to watch over all four of us the past several years, so it’s like we’re family.”

“Hmm…” Since the pace had slowed, Stone was now walking casually with the team and Bart introduced himself. “My name is Bartholemew but everyone just calls me Bart. Did you join up with these guys?”

“I am Stone” he replied, “Yes, I am protecting these children.”

“Are you from the south? A part of the Miol Car tribe?”

He nodded, “You know my people?”

“My dad transports iron down there. His boss would occasionally trade it for salt and fish.”

“Hmmm.” Stone began to rub his chin but didn’t continue the conversation, and soon the two groups arrived at the Stone Fox Fortress.

“Hey, come on down to the common area in the keep once you are finished giving your report. We’ll be resting there for a while.”

“You’re here!” Harland shouted, surprising the others next to him. He jumped off his horse and ran over to a pile of goods that had just been delivered. He wrapped his arms around a large barrel and was rubbing his cheek against it like it was some long lost lover.

“Oh, it looks like his wine is here.” he turned to the group to give one last farewell, “Oh, and don’t worry about that mage woman staring you down while you talk. She is just making sure you don’t lie.”

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When Thane and Sarah gave the report, Marcus was obviously shocked. He wasn’t expecting to hear a report like this, and the description of the new species of Orc had him especially concerned. When Sarah gave a tally of all the Orcs and Goblins that were slain, he looked to Gailwyn for confirmation. When she gave a nod of affirmation he shook his head trying to process what had transpired.

“That is quite a bit of bounty that the Barony owes you. Unfortunately payment will be a bit delayed. I can give a portion of it to you in a few days, but you won’t be getting the rest until things are under control in the Baron’s household.”

“I understand. Is there anything else you needed from us?”

“No, I need a bit of time to think about all I learned today. Do what you will. With Twinford silent it might be a while before I have another task for you.”

Gailwyn cleared her throat to get Thane’s attention. “Thane, could you come with me and meet up with your friends later?”

He looked to his friends and confirmed it was ok before he replied. “Lead on.”

They walked down the halls towards Gailwyn’s study and she asked “Thane, did you use elemental mana recently?”

“Yes, I used a fireball spell to attack a clustered group of orcs. It was quite draining.”

She paused and blinked a few times trying to piece together what he said before continuing, “I think I know why it was draining. You keep surprising me but it has become fairly obvious that you have never had a proper tutor. When it comes to magic, the way you do things is strange sometimes.” She opened the door to her study and continued as they entered. “Compared to that lightning bolt you tried to fire off at Lance earlier, how draining was the fireball?”

“Probably three times as draining.”

She nodded, “As I expected. You are supposed to shape the Aether into fire rather than conjuring existing fire. I’ll teach you the proper method later. Until then let me take a look at you.” She opened up her book and looked at Thane through the screen. “Are you in any pain? Do you have a headache that seems to be spread out rather than in a specific location?”

“No not at all.”

“You should have been in pain the moment you tapped into the elemental planes to draw out fire. You still had that empyrean mana floating around in you. I forgot to purge it before you left last time.”

“What?”

“Do you know why mages focus their studies not only to the types of magic they cast, but the type of mana they use?” When Thane shook his head no she continued. “Imagine it is like cooking. When you cook with oil a bit of the oil sticks around in the pan, making it a bit easier to cook with less oil the next time. So the more they cook, or cast spells, the easier the mana flows. Now imagine that if you mixed different types of oil, it would damage the pan. So an elementalist will only ever use mana from the elemental planes and never touch Aether ever again. The mana in the body could be purged, allowing a mage to use a different type of mana without pain, but then all the effort of coating the pan in the first place would be wasted. The ease of mana channeling could be lost and it could set the mage back weeks or even years. I purged the chthonic mana out of your body before we did the experiment last time. I figured it would be healthier for you anyway.”

Thane was deep in thought at the concept of purging mana.

“Well, like I said, mixing two types of mana tends to damage the pan, or in this case your body. But you have no damage at all and aren’t in any pain. Your body must be very adaptable when it comes to channeling mana.”

She was right of course, which is why he was able to survive his fathers technique. He wondered if she could help him with it, but Castor had warned him to keep it quiet. Instead he asked one more question. “Could you tell me more about purging mana and teach me how to do it?”

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Mahs

Why is he the one who always gets the attention? Mahs thought as Thane walked away with Gailwyn. And why is he the leader anyway, I’m the oldest.

Mahs sighed, he knew the answer to that question. His sister obviously had mixed feelings for him, and Kisha had been clinging to him since their parents died. It didn’t matter which one was older, smarter, or more qualified, they would pick Thane over him every time. It’s not like he could complain, Thane was quite good at it. He could read the battlefield well and come up with plans quickly.

So Mahs needed another way to distinguish himself, and that is what brought him here.

While the others were joining Lily and her friends, Mahs was off to the library. He found this little treasure while exploring the fortress. Most of the library was simple records of the jobs the Stone Fox had taken, as well as maps and records of the four kingdoms and free cities. In the corner, however, Mahs found a dusty box with “Atelier salvage” written on the top. Most of the books inside were dedicated to alchemy and imbuing items with magic, some were damaged by fire or water, and a few were dedicated to the study of magic.

He just needed a bit more to be able to cast four circle spells. A bit more knowledge, and a bit more practice. One of the tomes was dedicated to Mahs’ specialty of Illusion magic, there were new theories, experimental circles, and even a branch of Illusion magic that his father had never told him about.

He sat at a desk, pouring over the pages now that he had enough free time to dedicate himself to studying. He read the tome until he fell asleep in the chair, not waking up until the next morning. He was so close, but he just needed a little bit more. One large piece was missing, the foundation mental construct he needed to get these new spells to work. He could only guess that it was in one of the damaged, unreadable pages.

There was only one person he could ask for assistance, so he went to see Gailwyn. He didn’t mind seeking help from her, since she was one of the people he aimed to impress. If she could see how far his training had gone and how much his magical talent was advancing it would work in his favor.

When he arrived in her study he went directly to the point after their greetings. “I recently learned of a different branch of illusion magic. One that affects a person's perceptions directly rather than creating an interference node. It supposedly can even alter a person's emotions. Make them feel fear or disgust.”

“I am familiar with this magic. What did you need to know?”

“Well, I found this book, but some of the pages are unreadable.” He flipped through the pages a bit, “This design for instance is used to make someone feel an overwhelming fear, this one can make someone think they are blind, and this one is very complicated, but it looks like it bombards a mind with images of fear and death, making the mind think that they have died. Which according to this author, can sometimes lead to the person actually dying.”

“Hm, I remember that book, it was part of a group that we salvaged from a burning alchemist’s atelier. I think I know what you need.” She turned away to look through her bookshelf and pulled two books down. “You should find what you are looking for in this book, and the second one will help you if you want to focus more on your illusions. Once you are through copying what you need, I’ll need these back.”

He thanked her and left, taking the books into his room and setting them down on a desk. He flipped through the first, it was a basic treatise on illusion magic, and likely had the missing pieces to the advanced manual he was looking through earlier. The second had an unusual title but Mahs found it quite interesting.

“The Realm of Nightmares: A Guide on Its History and Tapping Into Its Power”

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Sarah

Sarah was bored.

It had been three days since they returned from their Orc hunt. The others seemed to be keeping busy with training. Since they now relied on the skills her father taught them to make a living, they seemed focused on expanding and strengthening those skills, and would spend much of the day practicing and training. Her brother had disappeared into his room and spent most of the last few days reading, which was fairly normal for him. Usually father had to drag him out to get him to do any practice or help with any of the town's work. Without Castor here, it might be a while before her brother would see sunlight again.

She kept herself in shape by exercising every morning, and sparred with Thane on the first day, but it was difficult to practice her skillset in this environment. She missed the games of cat and mouse she used to play with her second master. She had tried to find Onyx, a woman who supposedly had a similar skillset, but was never able to meet with her.

For a while she explored the area around the fortress, and then inside the keep. She explored every room, even the ones that were locked. Especially the ones that were locked. She got a pretty good idea of the type of people that worked for Marcus after she had examined each of their private rooms. She even managed to find a few interesting objects hidden away behind lock and key.

Most of the time she did what she was doing now, just walking around trying to keep herself from growing bored. She managed to form a plan on how to keep herself amused for a while, and was now waiting for the chance to implement it. When the sun was going down she returned to the keep, she saw Thane pacing in the training yard lost in thought. When he saw her he perked up and smiled, “Sarah, there you are, could you help me with something?”

Something was off about the way he was asking, but she agreed. “It’s pretty dark out, do you want to do it now?

“It has to be dark, I don’t want anyone seeing me if it can be avoided.”

She sighed, “What do you need me to do?”

“Just come here and let me know how I do compared to before. Also I’ll need you to carry me to my room if I explode.”

“Or how about if I leave you here until morning? You know I hate it when you’re idiotically self destructive.”

“Show some compassion, I think I can get it to work this time.”

Sarah crossed her arms, “Fine.”

Thane took a deep breath, and focused himself. The mana in the air grew thicker and the pure energy was being absorbed into Thane’s body. He gave a few practice punches in the air, the strikes were fast, fast enough Sarah couldn’t keep track of them in the dark. He then sprinted across the field to the archery targets, punching one three times in the center before running back. He was definitely fast, faster than he was fighting the mercenaries that attacked their village.

It had been around 15 seconds since he activated the technique when he stopped in front of her. He closed his eyes and began to focus again. This time making a motion with his hands as if he was pushing something down. He opened his eyes and smiled, but he was breathing heavily. He looked a bit pale and was sweating even in the cold autumn air.

“I did it!” he said, but his smile suddenly disappeared as he wiped his upper lip to clear off the blood that was dripping from his nose. “Mostly.”

“Are you...how do you feel?”

“Tired, like I just ran for hours. But I managed to clear the mana out of my body before it found its own way out.”

Sarah was relieved but also concerned. If he managed to find a way to use the technique without passing out, he might start to rely on it more. “It’s still damaging you though, even if it doesn’t tear its way out. You’re far from being able to use it in combat.”

Thane bit his lip, she could tell he wanted to protest but knew she was right. Either that or he didn’t want to risk getting punched for being reckless again. It was probably a mix of both. “Come on,” she said, “let's head inside.” She thought that this was the perfect time to put her plan into motion.

They walked into the keep and Thane started to head towards his room, “I need to rest a bit.”

“Don’t go to sleep yet, I’ll be right back.”

She grabbed what she needed from the common area and headed towards a room near the larder. It was under lock and key, but it was not like that could stop her. With a pair of thin metal rods, she managed to get the door open, and access to the treasure inside. She re-locked the door, making certain she wasn’t seen and headed off to Thane’s room with a full pouch hanging from her shoulder.

It took a few moments for him to answer the door and as soon as he opened it, she grabbed his hand. “Follow me, it’s my turn to show you something.”

She pulled him down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor of the keep. When they reached a locked door she let go and pulled out her lockpicks again. “Wait are you sure we should be here? There aren’t very many locked doors so it's probably closed for a reason.”

“You told Bart we are like family right? Well in that case you should just listen to your big sister and be quiet.” The lock clicked and she pulled the door open to reveal a spiral staircase heading upwards. “I found this while exploring, follow me.”

They climbed the stairs and reached another locked door that was bolted from this side. She slid out the bolt and opened the door and the wind from outdoors suddenly rushed into the stairwell. The two stepped outside in the night and Sarah started climbing the slanted roof to the top of the keep.

“This is the highest point in the keep, you can see everything from here when it is daytime. For now we will have to be satisfied with the stars.” She sat down on the slanted roof and Thane followed. She reached into her pouch and pulled out a waterskin, shaking it a few times to let the liquid inside move around. “It’s some of Harland’s wine. We never had a chance to celebrate finishing our first mission. I suppose now we can also celebrate you not self destructing tonight as well.”

She poured wine into the two cups she had brought and handed one over to Thane before raising hers for a toast. “To not exploding!” she exclaimed.

Thane gave a short laugh and raised his glass. “To not exploding!”. They both took a drink and Thane looked to the sky. “This is nice, I need to rest a bit after exhausting myself earlier. I was worried you had planned something a bit more strenuous.”

Sarah smiled, “Maybe next time, for now it’s just this.” She took another drink and refilled their cups.

They talked for a while about the past and how things were going in their new life. When the torches and lanterns around the fortress were almost completely out, Sarah pointed off into the distance. “You see the lights over there? Down the river?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s Twinford, the biggest city in this Barony. There's thousands of people living inside those walls. Once we get the money from Marcus, you and I should go check it out. I’m sure we can find anything we could want there.”

“That sounds like a good idea. It would be our first time in a real city.” She heard him lean back and set his empty cup down. It was silent for an almost uncomfortably long time before she spoke up again.

“Hey, Thane…” She waited for a response and heard nothing. When she looked over she saw that he was fast asleep on the roof. His exhaustion had finally caught up with him. “Way to ruin the mood.” she said as she emptied out the last of the wine.

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Kisha

“Hmmm…” Kisha was deep in thought as she looked at herself in the mirror. Quality mirrors were rare, especially ones of this size. Usually you could get one that was a simple, framed sheet of polished metal that had a decent reflective surface. The highest quality mirrors were a plate of clear glass that covered and protected a smooth polished silver surface. This was one of the latter, and it was as tall as a full grown adult. Kisha was shocked when she first found and uncovered it in the keep storage, and was now turning back and forth in front of it to get a good look at herself.

The mirror that she was standing in front of was probably worth more gold than everything in her old village combined. It was extremely clear and for the first time she could really see what she looked like from a wider perspective. She brushed her silver hair out of her eyes and seemed pleased by most of what she saw. She was better proportioned than she thought, but the one problem was…

She stood on the tips of her toes and tried to stretch out her body. She hated to think that she might have stopped growing, barely reaching 150 centimeters tall.

Or at least 145.

Almost?

She dropped back on her heels with an irritated grunt. She blamed her father for this. Kisha had never met him and didn’t know what kind of Fey he was. All she knew was that her lack of height had to be his fault.

Still… she pulled her shirt tight around her waist and turned to look at her side. She had always been nervous comparing herself to the older Sarah, and especially to that elf Mersine that would pass through the village. She was starting to get a bit more confidence back and nodded in approval at her reflection in the mirror before covering it back up.

She wasn’t sure why she was so concerned about her appearance all of a sudden. Maybe it had something to do with what Castor had said to her before they left. About the expectations the village had for her.

She grabbed her shield and walked out of the fortress and into the wooded area away from the river to begin her daily routine. Once she found a good spot to sit she set her shield on her lap, closed her eyes and began to focus on the trees around her. After a while she could sense almost everything. She could sense dozens of the bushy tailed rodents hiding away food for the winter, and the small foxes that were hunting them. There were also two large figures that were heading her direction.

She continued, keeping her eyes closed until she felt the branches near her crack under the weight of the two men. When she opened her eyes she saw Stone carrying two deer, one over each shoulder, and Gryssel. The wood elf had his hands open and crossed, his fingertips came to a point on his forehead and his palms covered his eyes while he bowed at Kisha.

“Wait, why are you bowing?”

“To show respect for one who speaks with nature.”

She tried to hide her embarrassment “Please don’t, I’m just one of your comrades here.”

“As you wish, Cosan. Is the shield your focus? Your reacht?”

“Y-, yes. I’m surprised you noticed, most people just think it is a shield, and they wonder why I prefer one that is completely wooden.”

“May I see it?”

She flipped the shield around and held it out to him. He didn’t take it like she expected, but instead closely examined it. The interior of the shield was a circle of runes surrounding a stone in the middle that resembled a smooth piece of jade. The stone seemed to have grown roots, attaching itself to the wood surrounding it.

Gryssel reached out and tapped the shield with his knuckle. “Leaite?”

“I hardened it with magic. I still can’t harden living wood like this. I didn’t even know it was possible until recently.”

“I would tell you to find a Coileach or another Cosan to train you, but they are very hard to find in this country. You are the first I have seen since I left my homeland.”

“What is a Cosan? You called me that earlier.”

“It means protector, those who use the power of the land to defend the land.” He gently pushed the shield back towards her, “Thank you for showing me, it is beautiful.”

“Beautiful? It’s just something a little girl made to help her magic.”

He crossed his fingertips over his forehead and bowed to her again. “ I apologize for interrupting your communion. I will take my leave. Thane is lucky to count you among his companions.”

The two men left her embarrassed and blushing. She tried to go back to her routine, but was unable to focus.

The next day Marcus called their group to gather, including Stone. He gave them each a bag of many silver coins, quite a bit more than they were expecting. “I was finally able to secure the bounty for the Malkin you took care of. Just so you know, this sort of delay is not normal, I usually will have your payment ready for you within a day. However, there was a fire in Twinford that caused a delay in receiving the bounty from the Barony.”

Kisha was excited that she finally had some extra money and paused to count her coins while the others split off. She hurried back to her room and ran into Stone on the way. He had emptied his pouch into his hands and was staring at the tiny silver disks. They looked so small in his massive hands and it was difficult for him to pick up a single coin in his fingers to examine more closely.

“Um, would you like me to hang on to those for you?” she asked.

He nodded, “Thank you” and kneeled down so she could look into his open palm. He handed her the empty pouch and she scooped the coins up from his palm.

“Let me know when you need them.” she said before hurrying off to her room. She needed to change.

She pulled out a blue dress that was her favorite and quickly put it on. She made a few adjustments this time, tightening it around the waist a bit more than usual and smoothing it out as much as she could. Once she was ready she went to Thane’s room and knocked on the door.

“He’s outside somewhere,” said Mahs as he walked by. “He was asking Marcus about borrowing a horse so I think he might be going somewhere outside the fort today.”

Suddenly she was in a rush, and hurried outside to try to find Thane. She found him talking to Bart and Lily just outside the training yard. She wasted no time in walking up to him to ask her question. “Thane, since we have some spare money now we should head over to the city and pick up a few things.”

Thane hesitated for a moment, “Sarah and I were just getting ready to leave.”

She felt a sinking sensation in her chest when an oblivious Bart spoke up, “Heading to Twinford? My cousin and I were thinking about heading there soon too. We should go together.”

Mahs was the next to interject, Kisha could only assume that he followed her outside. “That sounds like a good idea. There are a few supplies I need as well. You wouldn’t mind if I joined you, would you sister?”

Kisha looked at Sarah, who joined in just a bit too late to prevent her plan from collapsing. She gave a forced smile, “Of course not brother, happy to have you along.”