Chapter 40: End of the Year Festival

  Before breakfast, we were all getting dressed in the clothes Cilia had gifted us, except for Gareth, who was trying to squeeze into the outfit he had gotten during his trip to the capital. He had already outgrown the expensive clothes. He was not happy, but all of us were laughing quietly at his vulgarities and how tight the clothes were on his frame. Eventually, he gave up and tossed the clothes down from the loft. “Stormy, I’ve outgrown these boys’ clothes. You can have them.” He dressed in the clothes Cilia got him, which fit perfectly, much to his annoyance.

  At breakfast, Gareth’s excitement returned. He planned to seek out Brianne to spend the festivities with her. He thought his new physique, a well-muscled six foot three frame, would impress her. I didn’t have the heart to tell him that she might be taken already.

  Aelyn still didn’t want to go into town, but I asked her twice at breakfast, and she said yes the second time, shocking me. I was asking to be nice, but mustered a genuine smile. I guessed she could sleep in my old room, and I would sleep on the old couch in the shed. Introducing her to my mother and father would be tricky, but hopefully Freya and Pascal had smoothed the road already.

  After the festival’s first day, I would be alone with Aelyn. I figured I would spend the rest of my time fishing and relaxing at the swimming hole near town. Hopefully, Aelyn would be up for that. I planned to do no stretching or exercising whatsoever! I would practice my focus exercises because those required no movement. I was going to leave the alarm spellbook behind as well to give my mind a break. This was going to be a vacation for me, both physically and mentally.

  Callem and Wynna would be spending the holiday with Ennet in Hen’s Hollow. Callem told us to find him there if we needed him. He reminded me that I was not allowed to go into the city and to just enjoy the festival in Hen’s Hollow. The city would have grander celebrations, but the New Year was a family and friends affair.

  I knew I should just be happy to be away from Callem’s endless exercises and intense supervision for a few days. I reminded myself not to go anywhere near Ennet’s house. I dug out the six bottles of wine for Ennet from my pack and handed them to Callem to pass along. That way, I would save myself a trip.

  Breakfast was sausage, egg, and cheese sandwiches. We really had gotten too many chickens, and it seemed like every meal now included eggs. At least it was a versatile ingredient. I wanted to use my next evolution on my personal dimensional space to extend the stasis effect, and then I could store the excess eggs there. The second evolution would increase it to a hundred to one time differential, but when the entry was open, time would pass normally.

  We headed out for Hen’s Hollow right after breakfast. It was still quite early; most likely, I would get to town before my family finished breakfast. We walked Celia and Leda to the skyship dock on the edge of town and said our goodbyes. I headed to my house with Aelyn, while Gareth went to his parent’s house. I had a large backpack with my gifts.

  Monty was the first to greet me, running from the overgrown side yard and tackling me. He was one big puppy, easily over a hundred pounds now, and very fluffy. His fur had hundreds of seeds stuck in it. I would have to talk to Freya about grooming him more often. I wrestled with him while Aelyn watched, and I even caught her smiling. I was surprised at how strong the pup was, and he won, getting victory licks on my face. Freya came running out of the house and tackled me.

  “Storme! Father said you might come! It’s been forever since I’ve seen you. I missed you! I have so much to tell you. Gwen and I are friends! Bet you can’t believe that! Well, she sort of works for me. I have another five other kids in town running for me as well! My courier business has been doing really well!” She was already out of breath.

  “Slow down, Freya. We’ll have all day to catch up!” I said, glad she was doing well. “Are we going to give gifts in the morning or after dinner?” I asked her after she broke her fierce hug. She noticed Aelyn for the first time.

  “Aelyn!” She ran and hugged the stunned young woman. “I told Mother and Father all about you! They’ll want to meet you!” Freya started pulling the stunned half-elf towards the house. “Gifts are tonight,” she yelled back at me. “I hope you got me something awesome!”

  We all walked into the house while Monty circled us, his tail wagging enthusiastically. Once inside, Mother ambushed me with a hug of her own. They were cleaning up breakfast, so I moved to break the hug and snag some breakfast rolls.

  Father spoke first. “Are you Aelyn? You’re welcome at our table for the festivities! Freya told us all about Storme’s little harem!”

  My mother whacked my father on the head with a dirty wooden spoon.

  “I mean, all about his female friends,” he corrected himself. Slightly abashed, he asked me, “When are we going to see your wizardry?” He was all smiles. “Maybe we can spar later, and you can show me your sword skills, too?” Father was in a great mood, apparently. I didn’t want to do any work on my short vacation, though.

  “Father, next time I visit, I promise to engage you in some swordplay. I’m under orders to get some rest.”

  His disappointment was written on his face.

  “How about some magic? Mother, I can remove those scars on your arms.”

  This caught everyone off guard, and soon, I was removing scars from everyone. Father had the most, nearly thirty scars all over his body from a lifetime of combat practice. With the magic display finally done, we sat at the table.

  Mother said, “Storme, I’m sorry, but it will take time to prepare your room. We’ve been storing things in there and never bought another mattress.” She gave my father a cross look. My guess was that she had suggested many times that he get another mattress, and he’d declined.

  “No matter. Aelyn and I can always stay at the pub. Don’t worry, Mother. I’ll spend the entire day with you here.” I waved off her concern as best I could. The pub wasn’t an inn but had small rooms for rent upstairs. With the city so close, Hen’s Hollow had no need for a real inn.

  “Can I stay with Storme and Aelyn?” Freya blurted out, her pleading eyes already on our parents.

  “No, Freya, they don’t allow dogs,” I said before she could worm her way into staying with me. “And the beds are tiny there.” Freya had a petulant look on her face and slunk down in her chair at the rejection. I wasn’t going to give in, though. I wanted some peace and quiet when I slept.

  “So, Storme, Pascal says you’re going to the Adventurer’s Academy together in the capital?” Mother asked. I froze, a bun halfway to my mouth. Aelyn gave me an amused look. I directed my gaze to Pascal with a cocked eyebrow. He wore a guilty expression.

  “Sorry, Storme. Gareth told me he was going to convince you to attend the Adventurer’s Academy.” Well, that was news to me. Gareth hadn’t mentioned anything; he was probably coming up with some plot to convince me. At least Pascal’s loose lips would give me time to counter him. I had no intention of risking my life for others or fame.

  “I haven’t decided where to attend just yet. The Adventurer’s Academy is just a possibility,” I deflected. “I still have two years before I enter the first-year Academy in Hen’s Hollow, and then a year at that Academy before deciding which advanced Academy to attend. Callem and Wynna have already offered to sponsor Gareth and me wherever we choose to attend.” Well, I’d planted that seed now and removed any financial burden from them. Also, with our affluent sponsors, my wealth wouldn’t be as much of a shock to others.

  The conversation progressed to get me caught up on my family. Father had been promoted and was in charge of the other six men at the single skyship dock in town. It meant he traveled more often on the transport runs, doing four a week instead of one, but the pay raise made it worth it. Mother had failed to pass her master’s test but griped that it was political, as the city leather cutters guild voted heavily for their cutters over the cutters from the surrounding towns.

  Freya was building a business empire. She was making over two silvers every week, and most of the kids in town worked for her. Pascal was now the best swordsman attending the first year Academy in town, which started next week. He was doing his best to teach others what he had learned at the farm. Monty was the favorite dog in town, and just as I had thought, he was getting scraps from numerous people, which was probably helping him grow at a prodigious rate.

  I told them about my spells. They were very impressed when I demonstrated the cleanliness spell, so I felt I didn’t need to reveal my other two spells. I answered a few questions about my magic, and then my mother said, “Tell me about these young women you are training with.” She eyed Aelyn, who had been sitting quietly. “Pascal says they all look up to you even though you are much younger than them. Freya says the same.”

  What do you tell your mother when you encounter such a situation? Father had a smirk on his face, Pascal a grin, and Freya a smile. Aelyn had her eyebrow raised in curiosity at what I would say.

  “They’re fellow students. Nothing more.” Aelyn’s face fell . “They’re also my friends,” I amended. “I heal them and cook for them,” Mother was waiting for more information, glancing between Aelyn and me, hoping one of us would provide a more complete answer.

  When I didn’t continue, she gave a slight nod like she knew something I didn’t. “Isn’t it time for Remembrance?” I asked, trying to push the conversation off me. Remembrance was where we told stories of those who had passed in the previous year and others long before that. This meant Mother and Father told stories of relatives we’d never met or didn’t remember, as they passed when we were young.

  Father started with stories of our grandfather. He told tales of the man, Jorric, and all the things Jorric taught him. Grandfather was a city guard, and while off duty, he died trying to break up a tavern brawl in the city. Mother and Father alternated, talking about our past relatives. They told the stories as we prepared lunch and long into the afternoon.

  We heard the same stories every year, but they were still fascinating. Father talked mostly about achievements, while Mother talked about personalities and how they treated others. Before we knew it, dinnertime was upon us, and I was nominated to make the meal. I supervised, and everyone pitched in. A large salad, grilled chicken, and a cheesy potato casserole. Dessert would be chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven.

  The meal was fantastic, tasting much better in present company. After the cookies, Freya was the first to jump up and try to initiate the gift-giving. Since birthdays were usually only recognized up to age 17, Skyholme culture had adopted a New Year gift-giving celebration for everyone. I whispered to Aelyn not to worry about giving gifts. As my family had ignored her brands, she was slowly getting more comfortable.

  I gave my mother her leather carving tools, and she was ecstatic. Apparently, the smith who made them was famous. Thank you, Wynna! My mother and father also gave me goggles. They looked like aviator goggles. Apparently, they were designed for dragon riders, skyship pilots, and navigators. They were magical, sharpened your vision, and tinted in response to bright light.

  Pascal told me they were expensive, but Father got them in a city port for cheap. There was a lost and found that Skyholme port guards all contributed to. After a certain time, the items were available for sale to guardsmen. Father explained that he got them for me because Freya had said I planned to get my own skyship. Well, I had told her about the Wind Splitter with enthusiasm. She must have inferred too much from my words.

  I gave Father his potion belt next, and he was shocked. He knew the four potions were expensive, and he gave me a bear hug. Then I gave Pascal his belt, and he was ecstatic, trying it on immediately. Pascal had gotten me an elven cookbook. Just elven cuisine, as the book was thankfully not in the elvish language. I had seen this very book on the discount rack at Wigand’s. It was the thought that counted.

  I gave Monty his treat bag next and got a lick. Then he took a bone to the corner of the room and started crunching loudly on it. Freya was beyond the limit of her patience. Being last was too much for her. I pulled out the six school textbooks for her. She looked shocked and unhappy and frosted a smile at me. I pretended that was all I had gotten her for a good minute, but before we moved on, I reached into my bag and produced two boxes of candy samplers from a famous candy shop in the Skyholme capital.

  Freya’s smile returned, having forgotten about the expensive books in place of the cavity-inducing treats. Freya then gave me the gift she had gotten for me. It was a dark brown leather vest. It looked expensive, and she showed me the interior pockets with excitement. Apparently, it was the height of fashion, so I put it on. It was a little big, but Freya said that was so I could grow into it.

  The gift-giving proceeded until everyone had exchanged gifts. It was late, and I hugged everyone and headed to the pub with Aelyn. Hopefully there were rooms available. I hadn’t thought about it till now, but a lot of the outlying farmers came to the town for the festivities that started tomorrow.

  At the pub, my worries were found to be valid. They had one room for tonight, and all rooms were reserved for tomorrow.

  I looked at Aelyn with a guilty expression. “I can sleep on the floor.”

  Aelyn was unreadable as she considered. “No, it’s fine. We can share the bed. Just stay on your half.”

  We went upstairs with the key and found six doors. It was my first time up the stairs, and I didn’t realize they had this many rooms. As I looked for my room in the hallway, a door opened, and I was shocked to see Meradith…or maybe Feradith?

  “Storme?” she asked. She yelled excitedly into her room, “Fera, it’s Storme!” Almost immediately, a door across the hall opened, and their father was there, as well as their mother holding the youngest Gaskil. The stern look on the man’s face at seeing me with Aelyn forced me to explain myself.

  ”Sir, I got a room here tonight…My family repurposed my room, and I surprised them by coming home…I didn’t know you were staying here…I mean, I’m not here to see your daughters….” I was making assumptions about why he looked so cross. Ms. Gaskil whispered something in his ear, and he softened.

  “Sorry, Storme. If you spend time talking with the twins, just keep the door open.”

  One of the girls squealed a little. Their mother eyed Aelyn with suspicion but didn’t say anything before pushing her husband in and closing the door. A hand pulled me from behind into the twins’ room.

  I oriented myself and found the twins and their younger sister sharing a room.

  “Storme!” Meradith said. “It’s good to see you! After Captain Callem bought all those supplies and chickens from us, Father promised we would spend two nights in town for the festival! We just got in. Our brothers and grandparents are taking care of the farm! Have you seen Gareth? Can you and Gareth be our escorts for the festival? Who is your servant? She is so beautiful!”

  The younger sister was on the bed, watching us.

  I liked these girls; they were genuine and were always smiling. They had also cleaned up and were wearing their best clothes. They had the hard-working farmgirl vibe to them.

  “This is my friend, Aelyn. She’s training with us on Captain Callem’s farm. You heard I surprised my parents, so my room had no usable bed. It’s up to Aelyn, but I think it would be fantastic if you joined us for the festival!”

  Aelyn didn’t look as excited at the prospect, but remained quiet and just gave a small nod of acceptance. I knew this would make Gareth happy.

  Either way, Mera and Fera would be fun to spend the day with. Maybe their energy and endless smiling would rub off on Aelyn. I talked with them briefly until their mother came and told them it was time for bed.

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  We found the bed in my room small. Aelyn seemed unperturbed and lay down. “Oh, just lay in front of me! There isn’t much room, and neither of us is going to sleep on the floor!” I scooted in as the small spoon and spammed my cleanliness spell. The bed sheets and blankets definitely needed a good cleaning.

  Aelyn wrapped an arm around me to get comfortable, her body heat pleasant against my back. I started making coins into my dimensional space to distract myself until her breathing evened out and I knew she was asleep. I made lots of copper coins for tomorrow. If Gareth and I were to entertain the twins, the small coins would be handy. I soon fell asleep myself.

  In the morning, I was awoken by soft knocks on my door. The twins were raring to go, and it was early. After a short discussion under the gaze of their parents, we decided I would buy them and Aelyn breakfast at the pub and take them to the baths. While they were cleaning up, I would go get Gareth. Using the baths was the twins’ idea, and their father seemed overly suspicious. Aelyn was reluctant to join the twins as they were strangers, but I didn’t give her a choice.

  Breakfast was a buffet, since many townsfolk were passing through the inn today. I paid for all four of us and filled my plate twice. Mera challenged me to see which of us could eat more. She put up a good fight, but I won, to the amusement of her sister and Aelyn. I escorted the three lovely girls to the baths and gave Edel enough coin for them to get private tubs and have their clothes washed. The girls felt awkward that I was spending so much on them, but I waved it off, saying that Captain Callem paid us well on the farm. Aelyn whispered something to them, which made me anxious, but they still wore smiles afterward.

  I went to Gareth’s house with the good news. Unfortunately, his mother said he was spending the day with Brianne. I was shocked, as I was certain Brianne would be occupied today—if not with Edward, then with someone else. It looked like the burden of escorting the three girls would be on me. As I was returning to the bathhouse, I saw Pascal with one of his female friends with whom he had sparred.

  At the bathhouse, I had to wait half an hour for the twins and Aelyn to finish. They seemed to have drawn Aelyn out of her shell, as I could hear her talking and giggling with them. I was concerned about what stories Aelyn was telling them about me.

  When they exited the bath, they all looked fresh and happy. They were a little upset about there being no Gareth, but Mera took my arm and Fera took Aelyn’s, and we hauled off to the festival. We immediately ran into Gareth and Brianne when we got to the town commons. The twins flocked to Brianne and started talking with her. Aelyn moved to listen but didn’t participate.

  Gareth and I moved to a sidebar. Gareth was excited about Brianne but kept eyeing the twins. They were tall and prettily dressed in their best clothes. I suspected Gareth was jealous of me. “Storme, where did you find the Gaskil twins?”

  “They asked me to escort them. They wanted you to help, but your mother said you were with Brianne today,” I informed him. He seemed to deflate a little.

  “Brianne asked me to escort her last night,” he said and smirked, cheering up. I didn’t want to know where his mind was going. He suddenly forgot about the young women. “My parents got me an adventurer’s pack as a gift! It has a tent, a down feather sleeping bag, a runic firestone, a cooking set with a small box of various seasonings, a shaving kit, twelve tightly wrapped ration bars, a water skin, a heavy rain cloak, two different skinning knives, a hand axe, twenty feet of cord, two bandages, six small watertight sacks, two steel flasks, and six small bells.” He stopped, out of breath.

  The girls had finished discussing whatever young women discuss, and Brianne pulled Gareth away with a smile on her face. As my group strolled through the festival, I pampered my three dates. I was showing off my wealth a little, too. I dropped lots of coins and even demonstrated my cleanliness spell a few times, turning old coins bright and shiny. My simple magic trick greatly impressed the twins.

  We found Wynna and Ennet had set up a tent for readings. They were charging just five silver for a reading, though it was for townsfolk only. Expensive for the locals, but much less than the few gold they would normally charge. With their skills, five gold was a bargain. It took some cajoling, but the twins eventually allowed me to pay for a reading for them.

  Even though I told them not to tell me what they found out, they did anyway. They were just too excited. Mera had a tier 2 ability called fermentation. I assumed it sped up and gave some control over the wine and beer-making process. It also had some alchemy uses. Mera hadn’t been aware she had the ability, so she was quite excited.

  Fera had two tier 1 abilities, strength of the ox and harvest. Harvest was a common ability that local farmers had. It allowed her to accelerate the growth of a plant. She already knew she had the ability, so it wasn’t a surprise. Strength of the ox was a revelation for her, though, and it would give her additional strength as she grew.

  The day was fun. We ate, danced, played games, ate, sang songs, watched people, ate more, and were looking forward to the illusionary fireworks tonight. Aelyn started to get along with the twins, which made me happy. After sampling our seventh food cart, the town bell sounded twice, paused, and then sounded twice again. It kept repeating, and time seemed to freeze.

  That was the alarm for an attack by Sadians.

  Chapter 41: Applying What You Learned

  The center of town started moving again as people realized what was happening. Being on the perimeter of the second-most populous island meant we had trained for this. All able-bodied men were to head to the city to help with the defense. Everyone else was to gather as many supplies as they could carry and follow them to the city. In the event the city was unreachable, the townsfolk were to band together and defend it.

  In all, it was a simple plan that seemed too difficult to follow. Each person first looked for their family and then either headed home or to a friend’s house.

  “Meradith and Feradith, I have to go,” I said worriedly, looking around for my parents and Freya. My thoughts were churning. I had put my hand axe and throwing daggers into my storage last night. Spending the entire day with the twins, I hadn’t thought to bring them out. I brought the axe with its belt to my hand and strapped it around my waist, ignoring Mera’s look of disbelief. Next, I got two throwing daggers secured on my person. Aelyn also brought forth various weapons in preparation.

  Mera elbowed her sister, who had been searching the quickly dispersing crowd for her family. Fera saw the daggers appear as I secured them and asked, “You have other magic, Storme?”

  I had also been scanning the crowds, looking for family or friends. It was Gareth who found me first and came toward me with Brianne in tow.

  “Storme! My dad and yours have gone to the city to help with defense. They told us to hold up at Callem’s farm with our families. If it’s a large-scale attack, they’ll focus on the city, and we would be safer there. I think Callem went with them, but I haven’t seen him.”

  I nodded, breathing heavily due to the stress of the situation. I offered some optimism, “We have plenty of food, and it should be well out of the path if any Sadian skyships land on this part of the island.” Gareth, for his part, seemed extremely calm, but he was scanning the rushing crowd for familiar faces.

  “Fera and Mera, you can join us at the farm with your family if you want,” I said.

  “Our parents went to the city with our siblings to enjoy the larger celebration there today,” Fera said, uncertain. “Our grandparents are at our farm. Maybe we should head there?”

  I calmed my mind with my exercises and decided to take charge. “No. You’re coming with us. Your farm is a good two miles away, and your grandparents are smart enough to know what to do. Gareth, go get your mother and as many supplies as you can and meet me at my house. We will leave from there.” I jogged alongside Aelyn, with Fera and Mera following.

  I found my mother packing large satchels with food when we entered the house. She jumped as I slammed the door open. “Sorry to scare you, Mother. This is Fera and Mera. We’re all going to Callem’s farm to wait out the attack.” I started to help her. The twins paused briefly before helping as well. Aelyn remained at the door and scanned the streets. She was smarter than me. I should have designated someone to stand watch.

  “Where’s Freya?” I asked. My mother looked up, noticing for the first time that she was not with us. Her brow creased in worry, then realization.

  “Oh, no, I think she went swimming with Gwen. They were in the pie-eating contest together and were a mess!” Of course, nothing would be simple.

  “Pascal’s coming!” Aelyn said from the doorway, and Pascal entered thirty seconds later. He looked a little shocked at all the activity in the house. I noticed a hickey on his neck, so he had been busy today.

  Pascal regained his composure. " I came to get my sword and head to the city for defense.”

  Our mother looked at him like he was an idiot.

  “I can fight,” he said, gaining confidence in front of our matriarch. Mother nodded resignedly and resumed her packing, accepting that Pascal was now old enough to make his own decisions.

  “I’m going to get Freya and Gwen,” I announced, moving toward the door.

  “I’m coming,” Aelyn said, and I just nodded.

  “Mera, stand watch at the door. We should be back in twenty minutes with the girls.” I bolted out the door and down the street to Gareth’s house. Gareth and his mother were still packing. “Head to my house,” I told Gareth’s tiny mother. “We’re headed to the swimming hole; Freya and Gwen are up there,” I told Gareth. He glanced at what he had been working on before grabbing his hand axe and heading toward me to go out the door, leaving his new adventurer’s pack behind.

  As a trio, we ran toward the swimming hole, and even with my heart thudding and the noise from running, I heard something that put dread in my heart. The warning bell in the center of Hen’s Hollow had switched to a constant cadence.

  This meant that enemies were on the island and within sight of the town. How? This made no sense to my addled brain. With all the magical scrying the Skyholme Navy employed, we should have had more warning! My thoughts parted to clarity as I heard barking—Monty. Gareth had already increased his pace, but the exercises I had been doing to keep my mind clear.

  “Gareth, don’t get ahead of us! If there’s a threat, then we need to meet it together!”

  Gareth slowed, though he clearly didn’t want. I increased my pace to the fastest speed and got my throwing axe ready. A pained yelp from a dog echoed, and my heart lurched. This could not be happening!

  We broke through the clearing, and though I was shocked at what I saw, I continued sprinting. Five massive gray-skinned humanoids stood on the banks. Monty was down on the shore, and Freya and Gwen were in the middle of the shallow, wide stream. They looked helpless and unsure of what to do.

  I quickly came up with a plan. “Gareth, center. Aelyn, left,” I said as I moved to engage the ogre on the right. The name came to me from the collection of monster plates I had collected. Our bestiary training with Callem had taught us they were strong, hardy, and usually simple-minded.

  Gareth raced ahead of us at the only ogre currently facing us, a dagger in each hand. The ogre swung a massive maul parallel to the ground. The idiot ogre had so clearly telegraphed his attack that I could have dodged it. Gareth slid between the monstrosity’s legs and cut both of the ogre’s femoral arteries with his daggers.

  Coming up behind the ogre, he threw the daggers at the back of the necks of two different ogres. The penetration wasn’t much, and they turned around. I had my own ogre to worry about. It was also turning at the commotion.

  My goal was to hack into my ogre’s neck, hopefully hitting a carotid artery. Instead, my axe swing only got the shoulder, and its turning body yanked the embedded axe from my grip. My opponent was wielding a massive sword, and it did not look happy as its bloodshot eyes narrowed in on me. Freya and Gwen were yelling, but I needed to focus, and my heart was pounding in my ears. Even if they were issuing a warning of something coming from behind me, I should have time to circle and see. My ogre flicked its wrist, and its blade raced toward me. If I hadn’t seen its forearm flexing in preparation for the attack, I would have probably died right there.

  Of course, of the five ogres, I got the trained swordsman. Cynically, I thought it was probably the only skilled warrior in the group. Its swing came up short, and I dodged just out of reach. My opponent was wearing well-made, form-fitting leather armor. It was definitely not a grunt, even if it smelled like rotting garbage. I managed to turn off my olfactory sense enough to continue.

  I circled to see how my friends were doing. Gareth’s first victim looked to be bleeding out, moving feebly on his knees. His other two opponents didn’t look good either. One had Gareth’s throwing axe embedded in its chest, and the other was dripping blood from its dominant hand, which had a few missing fingers, as it struggled to hold its maul. Aelyn, for her part, had put daggers in the kneecap and both eyes of her opponent. The blinded ogre was swinging wildly, and Aelyn’s eyes flitted between it and Gareth’s ogre, who now just wielded its hand axe.

  If I could keep my opponent occupied, they should be able to come and—wait! I had magic. My ogre turned to help its brethren, and I summoned throwing daggers and peppered it with them. When it turned in irritation, I aimed for its eyes, and it easily deflected the daggers with its blade. It was much quicker than it looked. I definitely needed more weapons in my storage. My ogre’s footwork suddenly changed, and fuck…It really was a swordsman. The steps were from Dragon’s Might. One of Gareth’s favorite offensive sword forms.

  At least I knew that even though the attack was overpowering, it had some openings. The ogre’s advance was faster than I anticipated. Fuck. It had reach, speed, power, and skill. How the hell was this fair? The ogre came in heavy from my right side and I moved heavily, focusing on its body and arm movements to counter the attack. I recognized it too late and interposed my axe to force a glancing blow. Nope…it was a lot stronger than Gareth, and the axe flew out of my hand. The ogre’s blade cut deep into my chest and threw me back. Thinking it had finished me, it turned. I used my hand to hold the gash together and worked my healing magic through my pain. I didn’t panic or pass out.

  The cut had sliced my pectoral muscles and completely ruined the outfit Cilia had gotten me. Aelyn and Gareth only had one ogre standing when my opponent joined the fray. Gareth diverted to engage it, and Aelyn took the remaining foe. I moved to get Freya and Gwen out of the water. At the shore, I waved them toward me; Freya’s eyes were wide in shock. Of course, she had probably thought I was dead. Monty was prone on the shore, and I got to him first. He was barely alive, with a shallow rise and fall of his chest. I forced my healing magic into the dog. I was very inefficient with my aether, but that didn’t matter. Monty’s wounds closed, but he had lost a lot of blood, and the sand was soaked with crimson. I had used a lot of his body’s stores to heal him, and he thinned noticeably.

  My chest healing was still incomplete, but I needed to help my friends. When Gwen and Freya reached me from the river, I ordered in a hoarse voice, “Run to our house as fast as you can. When we finish here, we will carry Monty there.”

  It was Gwen who spoke through their shared shock. “Monty’s alive!” she yelled, drawing the attention of the ogre swordsman. The sword-wielding ogre spun its head, and anger burned in its bloodshot eyes at seeing me alive. I could only imagine what was going through its mind.

  “Go!” I yelled at the girls. They stumbled and ran away toward town. Gareth wasn’t letting the ogre disengage. Even with the shorter weapon, Gareth could dodge and move easily around its attacks. At least it looked like the ogre only knew one sword form, and now that I watched its movements, I would say they looked unpolished, unlike Gareth, who looked like flowing water in comparison.

  I continued to heal myself as I moved toward the fight. Seeing I had no weapons, the ogre ignored me to defend itself from the pesky Gareth. Gareth had cut the ogre multiple times, but with the shorter reach of the axe, he hadn’t done much damage.

  When I was sure the ogre wasn’t looking at me, I summoned my saber and rushed to help Aelyn. The ogre didn’t notice me, but the sword wielder had barked a warning. Fortunately, my opponent didn’t comprehend the danger as I slid my sword into its rib cage from behind. I pivoted the sword, letting it do as much internal damage as possible before retreating. The ogre turned, frothing blood from its mouth.

  Now outnumbered three to one, the ogre swordsman tried to flee. Gareth didn’t want to let it and kept blocking his escape route. “Gareth!” I yelled. “We don’t have time!” Gareth didn’t look happy, as he know he could win this fight, but it would be a battle of attrition. He let the ogre’s next feint work so it could run away. “Gather what you can quickly, and then I need you to carry Monty.” Gareth glanced at the large shepherd, his fur coated in blood, and nodded.

  We all gathered our weapons and moved towards the town with Gareth carrying a heavy Monty between me and Aelyn.

  “Those were Calthorn mercenaries,” Aelyn said as we moved at a much slower pace, feeling the danger lighten.

  Gareth asked, “Why would mercenaries be up here in Skyholme?”

  Aelyn scanned our surroundings. “The Calthorn mercenaries’ emblem was a white boar with black thorn on their leather armor. They’re a very expansive company that draws from dozens of races. I don’t know why they’re here. I have seen them in many cities in the lowlands. I think they usually participate in wars, raids or serve as guards in the lowlands.”

  I supposed that made sense. If you had the gold, mercs were disposable. The combat skills of those ogres were not impressive. The leader was competent, but if Gareth had the sword I had forged him, it would have been no match.

  We broke into the outskirts of town. The bell had stopped, and I didn’t hear anything as we entered my house. Freya went and cried in our mother’s arms, and the twins held Gwen close, comforting her. “Brianne went to find her family,” Gareth’s mother said when I couldn’t find her.

  My mother came to me worriedly and started fingering the damage from the sword and my blood-soaked clothes. She was shedding quiet tears as well, but wiped them before Freya could see. She knew she needed to be strong for us.

  “Grab the packs,” I ordered. “We’re moving out now.”

  It took a few minutes before we left the house, loaded down with what we could carry. We borrowed a small cart from our neighbors to load Monty and some of the provisions. The twins took turns pulling while Gareth, Aelyn, and I scanned the woods. We were about a hundred yards into the woods when we heard fighting and small explosions back in town. Gareth looked like he wanted to return to help, but I shook my head.

  Those explosions were probably magic. Gareth didn’t have good defenses against magic, and we needed him. We moved quickly, and Monty started whining as he came to awareness. I whispered to Freya that she should feed him soft food once we made it to the farmhouse so he could recover. My own healing was finally done, and I could move without pain.

  Before we entered the farm clearing, Aelyn went and scouted all the buildings. When we were sure that it was clear, we moved into Callem’s farmhouse. It had the escape tunnel in the basement, and I showed it to everyone as we settled in. The air had an ozone smell to it and the temperature was much hotter than normal, so we stripped to our underclothes as we sweated together, waiting for word.

  The mood was tense, and I couldn’t believe Gareth kept checking out the twins when they weren’t looking. The twins’ shirts were soaked with sweat, sticking to their bodies. “Not the time, Gareth!” I hissed at him as I passed. His mother even clapped him on the side of his head.

  I used my cleanliness spell on myself and started giving orders to settle everyone in. We would sleep in the basement, as it was cooler. But first we needed to get blankets and beds down there, because the cold runes were active. I went and packed up our bunkhouse, shoving furniture, food, and weapons into my storage space to make transport easier. It was hours before the basement was set up for the group. Everyone was somber. I didn’t find any of Callem’s or Wynna’s communication stones in their room, so we were effectively cut off.

  There wasn’t much we could do now but wait.

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