Armor and Magic
She felt wretched. Nothing had gone the way she had wanted for the past week. First, those bullies at the Academy forced her hand. Then her great grandfather said she had to leave, though in not so many words. So she did. After the first day, she regretted it. She didn’t have a lot of money and she ended up spending most of it on food and a room at the inn the first night outside Artina. The next day, she had nearly been run over by a group of cavalry galloping away from the capital. The next night she found that what little money she did have wasn’t enough for a room, so she slept in the stables. She woke up that morning stiff and smelling of horse. The next three days consisted of avoiding a small, but persistent, group of thugs that kept trying to catch her. Fortunately, she had finally discouraged them by burying their leader up to his chest in dirt using her magic. Unfortunately, the use of magic exhausted her even more and now, she was in Relaith without any money and looking as ragged and dirty as any common urchin. But she had hope. For the past hour she had been following an armored man who wasn’t keeping an eye on his coin pouch too well. He was much older than she was. She knew that old warriors were dangerous, after all they had a lot of experience, but she figured that if she let him get a few drinks in him, she might be able to snatch the pouch and run for it. She watched him go into a tavern and snorted. Here she was, a former student of the Academy of Force and Faith, great grand daughter of it’s headmaster, looking for all the world like a thief. And acting like it, she grumbled quietly.
—-
A young girl in shabby robes and carrying an almost empty pack clumsily shadowed the armored man. The man knew she was there but took no notice of her. She was very obviously looking for anything she could steal, but he wasn’t the kind of person who turned in hungry children to the authorities. As he kept walking, he loosened his belt pouch, apparently accidentally. In truth, he wanted the girl to try to take it so he could catch her. He hated to see children begging or stealing and tried, whenever possible, to give them a good meal and safe place to rest instead of letting them steal coins. He kept walking towards the tavern where he was staying, well aware that she was following him. He had been in the town of Relaith for over a month, looking for work and spending what coin he had saved over the previous year. He had been targeted early on by the other urchins in town, but they quickly learned that he wasn’t an easy target, despite the fact that he was kind to them. This girl was new to town and he was well aware of what would happen if some of the other, more dangerous residents got there hands on her.
The man stopped at the entrance to the tavern and looked around. He caught sight of the girl crouching in the alley watching him. As he entered the inn, he smiled.
—-
She carefully slipped into the tavern, conscious of her shabby appearance. She glanced around and noticed that the armored man was sitting off to one side and he already had three mugs turned over on his table. She cautiously slipped around the edge of the common room. Sticking to the shadows, she murmured softly to herself trying to pull shadows to her. Ever so carefully she reached a tiny probe of power towards the knot that secured the pouch to his belt. As she worked the knot loose, a gruff voice said “If you would like a meal, why don’t you trying asking for one?” She immediately stopped picking at the knot and released the shadows around her.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said diffidently.
“Oh?” said the man quietly as he turned to face her. “You weren’t trying to steal my belt pouch? You haven’t been shadowing me for the past hour and a half?” he asked, a small grin on his face.
She looked at him, aghast. “You knew,” she said. “What now? Are you going to turn me over to the guard?”
He chuckled softly. “Why don’t you take a seat and eat something while we discuss that?” He pushed the chair next him away from the table with his foot.
She cautiously sat down and edged away from the man. He signaled the waitress to come over and ordered a bowl of soup, a thick slab of bread, and a mug of cider for the girl. The waitress looked dubiously at the girl but when the man handed her a half silver, she shrugged and walked away.
“What’s your name, girl?” he asked.
“Avaia” she said quickly, looking at the table.
“Uh huh. Okay, Avaia.” he said. “How long have been in town?”
“A couple of weeks”, she lied.
“Ah. It was some rain last week, wasn’t it?” he asked.
“Yeah. Terrible.” she said, confused.
“I bet it was where ever you were, but it was beautiful weather here in Relaith last week.” he said, watching her.
She inched the chair back, fear creeping into her face. A small flame leapt into the air and disappeared. The man’s eyes widened fractionally.
“Okay. You know what. Never mind for now. Your supper is here.” he said as the waitress dropped the bowl of soup, bread, and mug of cider on the table in front of her.
The man leaned back and sipped from his mug as he watched the girl eat. She couldn’t be more than fifteen or sixteen, maybe eighteen if she was just small, but she radiated an arrogance that he hadn’t seen in a long time. Not since Ellaia had come to him that first night had he seen someone that felt they had the right to do what they were doing. She had snuck into his room that night and climbed on top of him in his bed. Kneeling on him, she had kissed him on the lips without warning for a moment he had forgotten himself and reciprocated. She had been fourteen at the time and when she felt him getting aroused, she panicked and ran away. But she had come back the next night, and the night after that. Six months later, a week after her fifteenth birthday, they consummated their relationship. He choked on his cider as that memory came to mind and he sputtered.
The girl looked up from the soup she was devouring, raising an eyebrow. “Everything ok?”
“Yeah,” he grumbled. “everything’s fine.”
“So what’s your name? I have to call you something.” she asked.
“Ardel.” he said.
“Thank you for the meal, Ardel” she said.
“Don’t worry about it. Just don’t try stealing from anyone. You’re rather obvious and not particularly subtle with your magic.” he said. “Also, and this is just some advice, I’d stay away from thievery in Relaith. If the guards don’t catch you and put you in the work camps, the local thugs will just beat you to a pulp. You’re not one of them and they don’t take kindly to strangers working their territory.”
She gulped.
“Oh, and another thing. If you’re going to use a fake name, try not to use the same name as the Empress.” he said.
She looked down at the table. “Thanks for the advice, Ardel.”
She sipped her cider slowly, savoring it. Ardel drank the rest of his cider in one long pull and then signaled the waitress again and ordered a beer. When the waitress brought it back, Ardel handed her a half crown and said “This is for the girl. Give her a room, a bath, and whatever she wants to eat.” With that he drained his beer and got up.
“Have a good night, Avaia. Try to avoid trouble tonight.” he said before heading through the back of the common room.
The waitress looked at the girl and sighed. “When you’re ready, come find me and I’ll show you the bath and your room.”
The girl looked at the waitress and nodded. “Thank you” she whispered.
The waitress shook her head. “Don’t thank me. Thank Ardel. I don’t understand him at all, but he’s a nice man and doesn’t ask for much.”
Much later, the girl soaked in a warm bath and sighed. She finally felt clean after scrubbing her skin and hair half a dozen times. When the water cooled, she wearily climbed out and wrapped herself in a soft robe that the waitress had given her. Then she walked quietly to the room that she had been shown and, after locking the door, she fell into the bed and slept.
—-
Ardel was sitting at the same table the next morning when the ‘Avaia’ walked into the common room. He blinked several times when she did for her appearance was a complete change from what he had seen the previous night. Her hair was a rich copper color and long. It was braided tightly and the braids reached well past her shoulders. Her skin was a rich tan and she wore an embroidered, if plain, robe. She saw him and walked over. “Good morning Ardel,” she said as she sat down.
Ardel stared at her for a moment before answering. “Good morning Avaia. You look…different.” He smiled as he said that. “Much better, in fact. Not so scruffy.”
She grinned. “I feel much better. It’s amazing how grimy you can get when you haven’t had a decent bath in a week.”
“Is that how long it’s been?” asked Ardel.
She nodded. “Close enough. I left Artina five days ago.” She related the last five days to Ardel while they ate a hearty breakfast. When she was done, Ardel nodded. “I can’t say I wouldn’t do the same in your situation. Where are you headed, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“Home. I haven’t seen my father in six years.” she said.
“I see. I don’t suppose you’d want a traveling companion?” he asked.
She eyed him warily. “Why?”
He grinned. “You’re thinking I’m either a dirty old man or just looking to get you out of town before taking everything you own and leaving you dead, right? Well, don’t worry about it. You’re too young for me and I haven’t killed anyone in over a year. Besides, I have to get out of here before I go crazy. I’ve been here too long already. The urchins are starting to lose their awe of me. Don’t worry about paying me. I’m getting out here for my own good. And I hate traveling alone, been doing that too long.” he explained.
“Uh huh.” she said. “While I don’t necessarily believe you, I’d rather travel with someone that’s helped me already then run into someone I can’t handle alone on the road.”
“Deal. I’ll keep me hands and eyes to myself and you lead the way to fortune.” he chuckled.
She smiled. “You should probably know my real name then since I’ll never remember the other name I said.”
Ardel nodded. “That would be good. That way there’s no confusion.”
She looked at her hands, wrapped around a mug of cider. “My name is really Najal. I was a student at the Academy of Force and Faith. But I left. After six years, I finally realized it’s not for me. I can’t learn there.”
Ardel nodded, listening closely to Najal as she rambled on. Ardel could see the tension and stress bleed out of her as she spoke of the bullying of the students, the abuse from the teachers, the struggle that she had with her temper, and all the little things that tormented her at the Academy.
When she finished, she blushed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to talk your ear off like that.”
“Don’t worry about it. It sounded like you needed someone to listen to you.” he said, waving the waitress over. “What did you want to eat?”
Najal looked up and grinned. She ordered a slab of bread with butter and honey, some eggs, and more cider. Ardel ordered another mug of cider. After watching Najal dig into breakfast, Ardel stood up. “Do you have anything left in your room?” Najal shook her head. “Okay, I’m going to pack my room up. I’ll be back in a couple of minutes.” he said. Najal just nodded as she chewed. Ardel grinned and headed back to his room.
The waitress stopped by the table and dropped another mug of cider in front of Najal after Ardel left. “I don’t know what game you’re playing, girl, but be careful what you ask for. Lead him on and he’ll hurt a lot of people.”
Najal glared at the waitress. “I don’t know what you think is going on, but I’m not playing any game. And I’m not looking at seduce him either, if that’s what you think. Now don’t you have patrons to attend to?”
A flash of anger crossed the waitress’ face. “God have mercy on you if you’re lying, girl.” she snarled as she turned away.
Najal was just finishing another mug of cider when Ardel can back, carrying a large pack on his back. He was wearing a light chain shirt and had two swords and three knives strapped on. A quiver of arrows was strapped to the side of the pack and he carried a longbow also. Najal almost choked on her cider. “Are we going to war, Ardel?” she asked in disbelief.
Ardel grinned. “This is all I own. I’m a mercenary, Najal. My weapons are my life.”
Najal put the empty mug on the table and picked up her pack. “I’m ready.”
Ardel looked confused. “That’s all you have?”
Najal nodded. “You’ll see later” she said as she got up from the table. Together they walked out into the mid-morning sun.
“Which way?” asked Ardel.
“Well, if we’re walking we head towards Asery,” said Najal, pointing out the road that led out of town to the north.
—-
The rain slashed down on the two travelers from the gray sky. They slogged down the muddy road in silence for while. The taller of the two travelers looked over at the shorter and asked ”Can’t you do something about this?”
The shorter one stopped and put hands on hips. A feminine voice replied “Do something about what? The weather? The rain? The mud? What?”
The taller one stopped and turned around. “Gods, Najal. What’s your problem?”
“What’s my problem? My problem? This damn weather is my problem! This rain is getting in everything! I have rivers running down my back! My hair is plastered to my face! My boots are soaked through! And I don’t know any magic that can help! That’s my problem, Ardel!” she yelled. Then she stomped past Ardel down the road.
“Najal. Najal!” Ardel said as she walked off. “Damn it, girl, don’t get angry! I wasn’t accusing you of anything!” He quickly caught up with her. He grabbed her arm and stopped her. “Here. Hold still a minute.” he said. He flipped her cloak collar around, pulled her pant legs out of her boots and draped them over the outside of the boots, and made a few more adjustments to her clothes. “There. That should keep most of the water off of you. We can’t do much about the boots until it stops raining, but you should feel better soon.” he said as he started walking down the road again.
Najal just stood there for a minute. Then she ran up to catch up to Ardel. “I’m sorry Ardel. This weather is just driving me crazy.” Ardel kept walking. “Ardel? Say something.” she pleaded.
“I know. I hate walking in the rain also. I didn’t realize your boots and cloak were soaked. You should have said something earlier.” he said.
“I’m sorry, Ardel.” she said contritely.
They walked in silence for a while longer as the rain continued. Eventually, Ardel looked up at the sky. “It’s getting late. We should look for some place to set up camp.”
Najal squinted up into the rain. “How can you tell?”
Ardel grinned. “You see that light patch in the sky, just above the trees?” Najal nodded. “Yeah.”
“That’s the sun. Since it’s over there, it means it’s setting.” he explained. Najal looked at the light gray part of the clouds for a minute before responding. “Oh. Neat trick.”
They continued walked for a few more minutes before Ardel stopped. “Okay. We should be able to find a place to camp over here.” he said, pointing at a point off the side of the road where several small rivulets of water were running towards the road. He stomped off the road and into the brush, returning a few minutes later. “Come on. I found a spot that’s a little higher up and big enough for the tents.”
Najal shook her head at his confidence and followed him. True to his word, Ardel had found a small rise that was wide enough not only for the tents but for a fire also. “Okay. Deal time. You set up the tents and I’ll get a fire going.” she said.
Ardel looked at her and laughed. “Sure. It’s a deal.” he said. Najal tossed her pack to him and he opened the flap and extracted the two tents from it while Najal wandered around the woods looking for fallen branches and sticks. After thirty minutes, she had collected a small mountain of branches that she built into an enormous mound. Then she crouched next to the pile and concentrated, murmuring softly. Ever so slowly, a line of smoke started rising from the center of the pile, growing until sparks and flames were leaping between the branches. Soon the small mountain was replaced with a roaring fire that warded off the cold and shrouded the small rise with steam. A low whistle sounded from behind her. She turned to see Ardel standing there and she smiled.
“That’s impressive, Najal. Very impressive.” he said.
She blushed. “It’s nothing. My teachers would punish me for using the elements because they are ‘dragon’ magic.”
Ardel grunted. “Bah. Magic is magic from my perspective. Don’t much care what is being done as long as it’s not trying to kill me.”
Najal blushed even more. “I need to get more wood.” she stammered as she ran back into the woods.
Ardel watched her go and finished staking out the second tent. Then he crawled into the tent and unrolled his bedroll. He stripped off his wet clothes and put on a dry pair of trousers and a shirt before laying on the bedroll.
It was very hard, he thought. She was so much like Ellaia that it hurt.
—-
Najal kicked another rock out of her way. It wasn’t fair. Why did she have to react like that to his praise? She was mortified that she blushed the way she did. She was scared of how she felt when he praised her. She walked around some more gathering more branches. After fifteen minutes, she had a large armful of branches and she headed back to the camp.
When she got back, Ardel was no where to be seen so she dropped the branches near the fire and went over to one of the tents. Just before she opened the flap, she heard a soft snore coming from inside. Sighing, she walked over to the other tent and crawled in. Stripping off her wet clothes, she wrapped herself in a dry robe and unrolled her bedroll. Crawling into the bedroll, she curled up and imagined herself wrapped up in Ardel’s arms.
—-
The next day was cloudy, but thankfully the rain had stopped. When Najal crawled out of her tent, Ardel had already brought the fire back to life and had a pot of water boiling. “Good morning Ardel.” she said with a grin.
He looked up and grinned back. “A very good morning. No rain.”
“Indeed. I never want to walk through rain like that ever again.” she said.
“Well, the good news is that when we get to Fararn we’ll be able to get some mounts.” said Ardel.
Najal paused. “Are you sure you want to spend money on a horse for me? You’ve done enough for me already.” she said.
Ardel grinned. “Think of it as a loan. When you get home, I’ll keep your horse. Plus, it will get you home faster.”
Najal glared at him with mock outrage. “Are you saying you want to get rid of me?”
He laughed. “Not at all. I relish the demonstrations of your anger and frustration.” He smiled at Najal. She blushed and looked away.
Ardel scooped two mugs of boiling water out of the pot and dumped tea leaves in each before setting them aside. Then he added two large scoops of track mix and oats into the boiling water. Unsealing a small pot, he handed a mug of tea and the small pot to Najal. She rummaged through her pack for a moment, pulling out a spoon, before looking at the small pot. She smiled happily when she saw it was honey. Taking a large dollop of it, she dropped her spoon into the tea and handed the pot back to Ardel.
A candlemark later they had finished a hearty porridge breakfast and packed the small campsite back into Najal’s pack. Najal picked up the pack and slung it over her shoulders as Ardel strapped on his arsenal. She was sitting patiently on a rock as he finally picked up his longbow. “Are you finally ready, my knight?” she asked with a grin.
Ardel looked at her in surprise before looking at his feet. “Thank you for the implied honor of that title, Najal, but I am nobody’s anything.” he said seriously. Najal was taken aback. “Ardel. I’m sorry. I only meant it in jest.” she apologized.
Ardel shook his head. “There is no need to apologize. My Ellaia used to call me that when she was your age. It brings back too many raw memories.” he said as he started walking towards the road. Najal followed slowly behind him.
When she reached the road, Ardel was there waiting. He grinned at her. “If you walk that slowly, it will be several tendays before you get to ride a horse.” She stuck her tongue out at him. “Then let’s start walking, you armored ogre.” she retorted. Ardel laughed. “Ogres smell better,” he said. Najal chuckled. “True, but I don’t think they talk particularly well.” They laughed together for a while.
—-
The next several days passed uneventfully under cloudy but dry skies. The clouds finally broke on the seventh day as they approached the outskirts of Fararn. Najal was practically skipping as they walked down the main road. “Finally, a clean bed, a bath, and a decent meal.” she said, happily. Ardel laughed. “Well, if you knew how to cook, you wouldn’t need to eat my cooking.” he said. She laughed. “Which inn are we staying at?” she asked.
Ardel looked around. “The last time I was here, there was an inn called The Cracked Axle. It wasn’t too bad, but it was a bit rougher than you’d like. I think there’s another inn on the other side of town though that we can try.”
Najal nodded. “What’s that one called?” He shrugged. “No idea. Never stayed on that side of town.” he said as they crossed the central square. “We’ll probably have to stay here for two nights, though.” She looked at him questioningly. “Why?”
“For one thing, you need new boots. Those things are practically falling off. For another, you need better travel clothes and after that storm we walked through, some real rain gear.” he said.
Najal looked at her clothes and laughed. “Ok. I’ll admit that my boots could stand to be replaced. And yes, this particular set of clothes has seen better days. But I’ll have you know that I don’t have any rain gear, so even bad rain gear would be welcome.”
Ardel chuckled. “Point taken.” he said. “But it will take at least a full day for new clothes to be made.”
She nodded. “When we get to my home, I will repay you. I will not have you lavishly throwing money around for me.”
Ardel started to protest, but she was adamant. “No. For all intents and purposes, we are strangers. You most likely saved me back in Relaith and I will repay you for that. You have put up with me on this trip and you have already said that you are going to be buying horses to help us travel faster. I will not have you simply throw money around in order to get me new clothes. You will accept repayment when we reach my home. And you will like it.”
Ardel looked at her in surprise. “Okay, Najal. You win. When we reach your home, you can repay me.”
“Good” she said. “Now when do we eat? Shopping will be hungry work.”
Ardel led her through the town and they finally found the other inn, a small establishment with flowering ivy wrapping the doorframe and a picture of a blue flower hanging over the door. Najal snorted and looked sidelong as Ardel as they walked in. He just shrugged and they walked into the common room and sat down at an empty table. The hostess walked over and looked first at Najal and then Ardel. “There’ll be no funny business here at the Blue Ivy. You want to conduct business, you go somewhere else.” Najal blushed deeply. Ardel coughed. “Ma’am, I assure there is no business, funny or otherwise being conducted here.” he said. “She is a student travelling home and I am her escort. We are just looking for food and two rooms for two nights.”
The hostess nodded skeptically and looked at Ardel. “I’ll be keeping my eye on you. And missy, if he so much as looks at you crooked, you let me know.” she said to Najal. “What’ll you be having then, if food is what you want?”
Najal flushed again, color showing on her neck and the back of her hands. Ardel chuckled. After a moment, Ardel ordered some cider for the both of them along with roast pork leg and a loaf of dark bread. The hostess nodded and, after a few pointed glares at Ardel, she went back to the kitchen. A minute later, she returned with mugs of cider and the loaf of bread. They were still sipping cider and chuckling when the hostess returned several minutes later with a platter of vegetables with a roast pork leg on it. Ardel handed the hostess three silvers and she glared at him one more time before walking away.
When they had finished off the pork leg, vegetables, and cider, the hostess returned. “Rooms are a half-crown each. If you be wanting a bath too, that’ll be another half-crown. And if there’s any funny business, you’ll be out on the street faster than you can say sorry.”
Ardel handed the hostess four half-crown coins. “Two rooms. Two nights. One bath.” he said. “And the other half-crown is for your assistance in ensuring my young charge’s safety.” The hostess’ eyes narrowed as she took the coins from Ardel. “You best watch yourself, sir. Flattery will get you no where.” she said. “Rooms be upstairs on the right. Bath is upstairs at the end of the hall.” She turned away with a swirl of her dress and walked away.
They walked upstairs and into their rooms. Each room had a small bed, a side table with a mirror and doors that locked from the inside. Najal tossed her pack on the bed and sat down. Ardel knocked on the side of the door and leaned against the frame. “Why don’t you go wash up first?” he suggested.
She looked up and smiled. “Thanks.” She grabbed a robe and headed to the bath while Ardel extracted his clothes from the pack. A candlemark later, Najal walked out of the bath, clean and refreshed. She knocked on Ardel’s closed door. “Ardel? I’m done.” she said through it. The door opened slowly a moment later and Ardel was standing there sleepily. “Thanks” he said and stumbled past her to the bath. Najal went back to her room and closed the door. She sat on the bed across from the mirror and methodically braided her hair in an intricate braid and looped back on itself across the back of her neck as well as across her forehead. The she dressed in her wet, but clean, travel clothes. Just as she finished slipping on her shirt, there was a knock on the door. “Yes?” she asked.
“It’s Ardel. I’m going to head back downstairs. I’ll wait for you if you’re not ready yet.” he said.
“I’m ready. I was about to go see if you had fallen asleep again.” she said.
Together they walked back downstairs and found the hostess. Najal approached her while Ardel waited by the door. “Pardon, ma’am. Where would there be a proper tailor and cobbler in town?” she asked, indicating her heavily worn boots and leggings. “I still have a tenday and more of travel ahead and I fear that my student clothes wouldn’t be up for the trip. I hestitate to think what my escort would think if there were any more holes worn through my clothes.” she continued.
The hostess’ eyes immediately narrowed and glared at Ardel over Najal’s shoulder. “You be wanting old Ethran for proper travelling boots. And Eywen will have travel clothes and the like of what’s proper for a girl.” she whispered, stealing glances at Ardel. “You sure about that man, missy? He seems a mite off.” she hissed softly.
Najal nodded. “I am sure. We have travelled for a tenday together so far and he has been honorable thus far, but I appreciate your concern. Who might I say referred me to the merchants? Surely they appreciate the added custom.” she asked.
The hostess nodded at Najal. “You be telling Ethran that Marast sent you. And I’ll let Eywen know you be coming later. My daughter will do right by you.” Najal bowed to Marast. “Many thanks, Lady Marast.” Marast just harrumphed and shooed Najal and Ardel out of the inn. “And no funny business.” she said after them.
When they turned to corner on their way to Ethran, the cobbler, Najal stopped and started laughing. “Oh gods and goddesses. Marast would make a fine year counselor at the Academy. ‘No funny business!’” she imitated. Ardel smiled and laughed as well. “And those glares at me. Like I was some lecherous old man.” he gasped. After a few minutes, they composed themselves again and continued on their way.
—-
Two days and no funny business later, Najal and Ardel were on their way out of Fararn. Najal was wearing supple leather leggings dyed a shade of blue that complemented her hair and new, perfectly fitted boots that were similarly dyed. Ardel was wearing his standard chain shirt and arsenal of weapons. They were riding two newly purchased horses, a blood bay palfrey with star and stripe markings and a silver bay destrier with white stockings. Ardel rode comfortably on the stallion, occasionally letting go of the reins to look around. Najal sat nervously on the palfrey, never having ridden a horse before. They rode side by side down the road at a good pace and every now and then, Ardel would reach over and place a hand on Najal’s clenched fists. “Relax, Najal. At this rate, you’re going to be sore in the morning. The idea is to move with the horse.” By the end of the first day, Najal was sitting in the saddle better, but true to Ardel’s words, her legs were sore and her back and hands ached from tensing too much.
That evening, Ardel told Najal to just walk around the campsite they found while he got everything set up. “There’s no point in you trying to help when you should be stretching those sore muscles. If they cramp up, you will be in more agony than you are already.” Reluctantly, Najal took his advice and walked around the campsite several times before starting to go through the ritual exercises they learned at the Academy to help relax. She was never any good at them and they only served to relax her for a few minutes in school. Now she could barely come close to the appropriate positions because her muscles were so sore. However, as she continued performing the exercises, she did feel some of the tension leak out of her back and legs. By the time Ardel was putting the finishing touches on supper, Najal felt confident that she wasn’t going to cramp up during the meal and she sat down on the ground.
After the meal, Najal helped clean up before crawling to her tent. She sat in the entrance of the tent and struggled to get her boots off, to no avail. “Ardel, can you help me? My boots are stuck.” she said as she stuck one leg out towards him.
Ardel walked over and grasped the boot in both hands before gently rocking it back and forth until it slid off. As it did, Najal gasped softly and bit on her lip. “Are you okay?” asked Ardel. She nodded and gently put her stockinged foot on the ground before extending her other leg. Again, Ardel gently worked her boot off and she gasped when the pressure finally released. “I think they might have been a touch too small” she said, breathlessly. She shrugged out of the riding jacket that she wore and crawled all the way into the tent with a groan. Within minutes, she was asleep and Ardel shook his head. “She’s going to be miserable if she stays in those clothes” he said to himself.
Ardel walked over to Najal’s tent and lifted the flap. Carefully, he reached in and shook her arm. “Najal,” he said softly. “You should really change into something else before you fall asleep. If you sleep in your riding gear, you’ll be miserable.”
“I’m already miserable,” mumbled Najal.
“Okay, then you’ll be even more miserable.” said Ardel. “Come on. Change into something else.” He shook her arm again.
Najal gave an inarticulate grumble and shook his hand off. “Fine. But you’re going to have to help me, then.” she said as she turned over. She started unhooking clasps, releasing buckles, and unsnapping buttons around the waist and legs of the leggings. Ardel froze as she did this. When she finished, she reached for Ardel. “You’re going to have to help me get out of these,” she said as she guided his hands to her waist. With Ardel pulling and Najal pushing and squirming, the leggings slid off of her legs. When they did, Ardel was left holding them as Najal removed her undergarments and crawled, naked, to her pack. She took out a sleeping robe and wrapped herself in it before collapsing on her bedroll again. Ardel carefully put the leggings on her pack and backed out of her tent.
—-
A groan of pain woke Ardel. He crawled out of his tent and walked over to Najal’s tent. Tapping on the tent, he asked if everything was ok. “I hurt everywhere,” groaned Najal. Ardel chuckled. “Sorry. Everyone is like that after the first long day in the saddle. It will get better though.”
Najal groaned again and Ardel laughed softly. “In your pack there is a small red jar sealed with waxed paper. Open it and rub a very small amount where ever you hurt. It’ll help ease the aches.” he said as he coaxed the fire back to life and set breakfast to cooking. Najal rummaged through her pack before sticking her arm through the tent entrance. “This?” she asked. “That’s the one,” said Ardel. “Why don’t you give me your boots while you do that? I have something to soften them a bit.” Her boots tumbled out of the tent and Ardel picked them up before going back to his tent. Soft moans of relief echoed from Najal’s tent as Ardel rubbed her boots with a softening lotion. After he was done, he put her boots at the entrance of her tent. “When you’re feeling up for it, breakfast is ready.” he said.
He had finished his breakfast of porridge and collapsed his tent when Najal stiffly crawled out of her tent and picked up her mug of tea. She slowly eased herself onto a rock by the fire and cradled the mug in hands. “Ardel, am I going to hurt like this every day?” she groaned. Ardel rolled up his tent and smiled. “No, the first day is the worst. You’ll be yourself tomorrow. Today is just going to be tiring. The rider’s salve really works.”
She looked up from her mug. “What is in that salve anyway? It really dulled the aches.”
Ardel grinned. “Cavalry secrets,” he grinned. “Condensed spirits of mandrake, aloe and mint. The mint really doesn’t do anything, but it smells horrible without it.”
Najal was quiet for a moment before she nodded. “That makes sense. Mandrake is odd stuff in alchemy, but we were always warned to wash it off immediately because it would deaden sensation. Not the best thing to happen to your hands when trying to perform alchemy.” She glanced up at Ardel. “But what’s the aloe for?” Ardel looked at her. “You don’t know what aloe is for?” She shook her head. “It’s a moisturizer. It will ease the chaffing from long hours in the saddle,” he explained. She nodded slowly. “Thank you.” she said softly.
Ardel laughed. “Don’t worry about it, Najal. I still remember what it’s like the first time you spend a full day riding. I sort of figured that you might need it. Now, quickly, finish your breakfast and let’s get back on the road before the entire day is wasted.”
Ardel was correct. By the next day she was feeling much better and actually enjoying the ride. They rode for a couple of more days through clear weather before reaching a fork in the road at midday of the sixth day. There was a large stone at the fork with arrows pointing down each side. “Ardosrion – 30″ was etched on the southern side of the stone. The northern side just said “Biqam”. Najal though for a moment. “Ardosrion is out of the way. It’s in the wrong direction. Biqam was only five days by carriage from my home. We go that way.” she said as she pointed down the northern fork. Together they headed down the northern fork.
Several candlemarks later they were in the deep woods when an arrow landed in the middle of the road. Ardel reined in and stopped, pulling in front of Najal. Two thin men stepped out of the woods. “Evening, travellers.” said one of them. “Welcome to the forest of Naddaki.” They bowed to Ardel and Najal. “You are welcome to travel these roads, though there is a small fee.” he said.
Ardel raised an eyebrow as Najal’s eyebrows knitted. “Oh really? What would that fee be?” he asked lightly.
The man who spoke first said, “It’s nothing really. Just your money, your horses, and your weapons.” The other man nudged the first one, who glared back. “What?” The second man tilted his head at Najal and the first one looked at her. “Oh. Right. And your woman.” The second man chuckled. Ardel face turned grim as Najal eyes widened and lit with anger.
“I would gladly have paid you money, sirs.” he said. “I would even have considered giving you my horses. But my weapons will not leave me while I live and this woman is under my protection, so she goes nowhere.”
“That’s alright” said Najal. “I’m probably too much for them anyway. They look no tougher than street thugs.”
The two men sighed and looked at each other. The talkative one said “Why does it always go like this? Naddaki never has these problems.” The other one just shrugged and drew his sword. The talkative one whistled sharply and Najal turned to see three other men step from the woods.
“Only five?” she asked sardonically. “Really now. You expect to take the both of us with just five of you?” she laughed softly. “Okay, let’s see what you can do. I can handle these three.” The anger in her had built to rage and she carefully focused it as Ardel turned and walked his horse towards the first two men. The talkative one uncoiled a whip and cracked it at Ardel’s horse. The horse simply snapped it’s teeth at the whip and kept walking towards the man. The silent one circled around to the side and then leapt at Ardel’s sword arm. In the meantime, the three newcomers had drawn swords and clubs and started to circle around Najal.
As the silent one reached Ardel, Najal released her rage and the newcomers fell like wheat as an invisible line of pure force shattered their knees. They all started screaming in agony as they writhed on the ground. This distracted the silent one and Ardel took advantage this by bringing his armored fist against the man’s temple, dropping him. The talkative one stood there for a moment before throwing down his whip and running into the forest. Ardel looked at Najal and said “We really should move on and get out of here as fast as possible.” Najal shook her head. “No. We catch the mouthy creep first.” she said as she rode into the forest after the man. Ardel turned his horse and kicked it into a trot as he loosened his broad sword. He quickly caught and passed Najal. “Stay behind me” he said as he passed. Together, they quickly catch up to and started pacing the running bandit. He started screaming at the top of his lungs as he ran towards a break in the trees. Bursting out of the woods into a clearing, Ardel and Najal saw a small camp at the base of a waterfall. As the running bandit approached the camp, he suddenly pitched over and tumbled to a stop with several crossbow bolts in his chest. Ardel reined in, forcing Najal to stop as well. A giant of a man walked out of the camp towards them, unlimbering a great sword and motioning to others in the camp. Eight men and six women walked out of the camp with him carrying an assortment of weapons. Two of them were hauling back on crossbow strings, reloading them.
The giant stopped twenty feet from Ardel. “Who you?” he asked in a barely understandable grunt.
“We were just after the man over there for trying to rob us.” said Ardel.
“Who? Him? He dead.” grunted the giant. “Why you want dead?”
“We didn’t want him dead. We wanted to talk to him.” said Ardel.
“Why? He dead. Dead no talk.” The giant looked like he was getting to the end of his limited vocabulary when another man walked up.
“Arkus here is a little slow. Why don’t you dismount and tell us what you wanted to talk to that unfortunate dead man about?” said the newcomer.
Arkus looked relieved that he didn’t have to talk any more and simply gripped his great sword tightly. Ardel looked at the newcomer, a short but broad man. “He insulted me and my escort.” said Najal. “I wished to extract a certain amount of penance from him.” The short man looked at Najal and then back to Ardel. “I see,” he said. “It is unfortunate that he is dead then. Might I offer my apologizes in his stead?”
Najal glared at him. “And you are?” she asked.
“I am Naddaki. These are my woods and my people.” he said with a bow. “It is good you have come here today, though. It makes it that much easier for us to find you in order to catch and ransom you.” he said with an evil grin.
Ardel dismounted and after handing the reins to Najal, he loosened his sword. “I see. And what makes you think that we are worth a ransom?” he asked. “Or that you could even capture us? Your five men surprised us and then didn’t get close to capturing us.”
Naddaki smiled and simply stood there. “Well, they were idiots. We,” he said gesturing to the rest of the group, “are not. If you would like to try to escape, feel free to. But I warn you, unless you know every inch of the woods, you won’t make it out alive.” Ardel shrugged and drew his broad sword and a long knife. “I would prefer if you told us the way out. It would be much easier for all us then.” he said.
Naddaki raised an eyebrow. “It would be easier for you, certainly. But I fail to see how it would be easier for us.” he said dubiously.
Ardel sighed. “I thought you were smarter than those fools that ambushed us?” he asked. Shrugging, he gestured to Arkus. “You there, moron, come here. Let’s show your idiot of a master why it would be easier for him to tell us the way out.” Arkus looked and Naddaki who nodded. He then lumbered forward and waited for Ardel to make the first move.
As Ardel’s attention focused down to his single opponent, Najal began carefully studying the other people in the group. There were only the two bowmen. But there were half a dozen swordsmen and another half dozen with spears, clubs, and knives. And there was also Naddaki who, although appeared unarmed, had a certain lethal air about him. She made up her mind just as Ardel stepped forward and took his first swing at Arkus. The giant dodged out of the way with surprising grace and swung back at Ardel. Just as he caught the great sword on the hilt of his long knife, a strange transformation took place. His face lost all emotion, his eyes rolled back in his head, and his blades were a blur of motion as he caught swing after swing from Arkus and return them three-fold. Within a minute, Arkus was staggering around bleeding from more than a dozen gashes and slices. As Arkus fell, Ardel’s broad sword flicked out and hammered through his neck, sending his head through the air and spraying Naddaki in blood.
As the dozen bandits with melee weapons charged Ardel, Najal focused on the bowmen. When they raised their weapons to fire at Ardel, she sent a lance of lightning at them, shattering their weapons and flinging them to the ground with charred clothing. Naddaki took a quick glance at Ardel being mobbed by his gang and turned on Najal. “Little girl, why don’t you come down here nice and quietly?” he said.
Najal took one look at the evil snarl on his face and sent a hammer of force towards him. It slammed into him, but he only twitched as it impacted. He laughed out loud. “A mage. An ill trained one and completely unsubtle at that.” He pitched him voice slightly down and added a throaty rumble to it. “Come here, girl.” The command tugged at Najal’s mind and she started to swing her leg over her horse to dismount. A knife flickered through the air and hit her horse in the shoulder with it’s hilt. The horse reared up and Najal grabbed on tightly to avoid being thrown. Naddaki growled as his compulsion broke. He quickly grabbed the reins of Najal’s horse and yanked hard, bringing the horse to it’s knees and jolting Najal to the ground. Releasing the reins, he stepped towards Najal. She crawled backwards away from him as he smirked. “You see, girl, you have a lot to learn about magic.” Pitching his voice down again, “Why don’t you come with me?” Najal’s eyes’ glazed over as the compulsion started to settle on her, but then they flared brightly and cleared. She glared at him and snarled, “Why don’t you go to hell?” Getting to her feet, her eyes blazed with rage. As they glared at each other in a contest of wills, Ardel was carving his way through the last of the armed bandits.
Small motes of reddish-orange light fell softly from the skies. They flared briefly where they landed. A slight breeze picked them up and swirled them towards Naddaki. The light continued thickening until actual flames were spontaneously bursting in the air. The breeze picked up until it was a small whirlwind with Naddaki in the middle. A brief look of panic washed over his face as the flames finally merged with the whirlwind to make a twisting pillar of fire that washed over and through him. As it dissipated leaving nothing of Naddaki except a small pile of ash, Najal fell unconscious to the ground. Ardel was removing his knife from the throat of the last bandit. His eyes had rolled forward and he started looking around. Seeing Najal on the ground, he ran to her side and picked her up.
“No no no no,” he cried. “Don’t be dead. Please don’t be dead.” He clutched her to him and cried. Najal’s eyes slowly opened and she moaned. “I hate when that happens,” she groaned. Ardel’s fear turned to joy as she spoke. “Thank the gods, I thought you were dead.” he exclaimed. “You were just laying there, I didn’t know what happened and all I could think of was how Ellaia died.” He gently set her down again.
Najal hid her disappointment as he let go of her. “No. I’m not dead. This headache just makes me wish I was.” She rubbed her temples to try of ease the pain. “Would you mind if we rested here, tonight? I don’t think I can ride anymore today.” she pleaded. Ardel nodded. “I think I agree with you. This camp looks rather permanent” he said, indicating one very permanent building off to the side of the pool that the waterfall poured into. He helped Najal back to her feet and together they corralled the horses before heading towards the camp.
They tied the horses to a rail outside the small building and then pushed the door open. Inside was evidence that these bandits had been in these parts for quite some time. Several chests of coins, mostly copper pennies, were stacked against one wall and a pile of weapons in the corner. There was an extremely neat bed on the other side of the single room. Several books were piled on the floor. There was a table with two chairs in the center of the room and a fireplace opposite the door. There were several vials and scrolls on the table along with half a dozen jars. “They seemed to do well”, Ardel said. “But where did the rest of them stay?”
They searched the clearing but didn’t find signs of all the others. There were some tents, but not enough for the fifteen bandits. Najal looked at the carnage several dozen yards from the lodge and coughed. “Umm, Ardel, are we just going to leave them there?” she asked tentatively. Ardel looked around at her. “What? Oh. Yeah, I’ll take care of that. I saw a shovel behind the lodge. ” he said. “Would you mind getting a fire started? It’s going to take a while to clean that up.”
Najal nodded and went back into the lodge to get firewood. By the time she had the fire started, Ardel was knee-deep in a hole. She walked over. “Do you need help?” she asked. Ardel looked up, surprised. “You found another shovel?” She shook her head. “It’s going to hurt worse than what I did to Naddaki, but I think I can save some time for you.” She stood back and concentrated, chanting. Her hands and legs were shaking from the tension that was building up. The air above the corpses started to shimmer and then, without warning, there was an ear-splitting crack and all of the bandits’ clothing collapsed over emptiness. Najal teetered and sat down with a thud. Ardel stood up from where he had been crouching in the hole and walked over to her. “Do you mind if I asked what you did?” he asked, sitting down next to her. “I buried them.” she said flatly.
He chuckled. “I can see that. Very impressive. Why does it hurt you so much to do it though?”
Najal lay back in the grass. “Partly it’s a matter of scope and precision. It takes a lot to focus on all the corpses, the ash, the blood. It takes even more to ignore everything else in the area. All their equipment is still there, even their jewelry. And also notice that the ground is still level.” Ardel nodded. “So it’s easier if you didn’t worry about their equipment or about the ground?” he asked.
“Yes. When I was ten, I put a ten-foot diameter, three-foot deep hole in my father’s front yard when I killed someone.” she said flatly. “I still have nightmares about that woman.”
“Do you want to talk about it?” asked Ardel.
“Not now. Right now I want to drink something and sleep.” she said. Ardel stood up and reached down to her. “Here let me help you.” Najal reached up and took his hand. He pulled Najal up to her feet, but she staggered and leaned against him. “Oof. I can’t balance.” she said as she leaned against him. With a sigh, Ardel reached down and scooped her up off her feet. “You need to stop doing this, you know.” he chuckled. “This is getting close to being ‘funny business’.” Najal chuckled and then groaned. “Oh, that’s not nice. Laughing with this headache just makes it worse.” Ardel carried her into the lodge and put her on the bed. “I’ll get some food and tea for you.” he said.
—-
The next day was overcast and cloudy. Najal woke to the smell of roasting meat and found Ardel outside cooking a large rabbit over the fire. He smiled when she opened the door. “Good morning” he said.
“Good morning. Smells good.” she said. Ardel nodded, “Lucky shot with one of the crossbows. I was aiming at a small deer and missed.”
They ate quickly and then scoured the lodge for anything worthwhile taking. Najal packed the jars, vials, scrolls, and books while Ardel picked through the weapons, taking a few more knives and another sword. He also picked up the staff that was leaning up against the fireplace. When they were satisfied that they had all the objects of value, Ardel looked at the chests. “I don’t suppose those would fit in your pack also,” he asked idly. Najal shook her head. “If it can’t completely fit in the physical area of the bag, it won’t fit at all. That’s why I’m really happy those tents roll up so small. They barely fit.” she answered. “What happens if you try to force it?” he asked.
“Bad things. You pretty much always lose everything that was already in the bag. If you’re unlucky, you get sucked into some kind of rift. If you’re really unlucky, you and everything around gets sucked in.” she answered, knowing where he was going with the questioning. “And no weapons either. Those are guaranteed to ruin it.”
Ardel sighed. “That’s a shame. I don’t suppose we could pour the coins in and leave the chests?”
“Not unless you want to spend a virtual enternity fishing out each coin.” she laughed. “Is it just copper pennies?”
“I thought I saw a couple of silvers, but that was just on top. I haven’t dug through it.”
“Shall we then?” asked Najal as she picked up one of the chests and brought it to the table. They rummaged through all four chests. There was a fortune in copper pennies, of which Najal took a handful. They also found three dozen silver pennies and several silver half-crowns. The best find was a small pouch with a dozen gems in it, which Najal immediately insisted be taken by Ardel. “Consider it repayment. You deserve it all.” Ardel shook his head, but accepted the pouch. Together with the half dozen rings and necklaces that the bandits had been wearing, they had more than recouped Ardel’s expenses over the past two ten-days.
Looking around the lodge, Ardel grumbled. “We can’t take all of this, but I don’t particularly want to leave it here for another group of bandits to take over.” Najal looked him, confused. “What do you mean? You think there are still more bandits around here?”
Ardel nodded. “We’re sort of in the middle of nowhere. Nobles don’t really keep track of things more than a day or two away from the towns they control. Sometimes people just want to escape from things and, unless they did something really bad, like murder someone, most nobles don’t care. Bandit gangs grow from those people getting desperate. If a bandit gang gets really big and dangerous, nobles may send out their troops to hunt them down, but from the looks of things, Naddaki’s gang kept themselves small enough and limited enough that they survived a long time.”
Najal nodded. “So you don’t want to leave an instant armory for the next group of bandits to find.” Ardel nodded. “Right.” Najal thought for a moment. “What about dumping them in the river? Won’t they rust and be unusable after a while?” Ardel considered it for a minute. “Maybe. But the river isn’t too deep. Maybe the pool is though. Good idea.” he said. Najal smiled and grabbed a spear before heading out of the lodge. She walked to the pool at the base of the waterfall and started poking around in the water. Ardel walked over with an armload of small weapons. “Did you find any place that’s deep?” he asked. She nodded. “Right here.” she said as she took the spear and drove it into the pool. The butt of the spear barely stuck above the waterline. “That’ll work,” Ardel said as he started tossing the weapons into the pool near the spear. Najal walked back to the lodge and grabbed another armful of weapons.
A candle-mark later, all the remaining weapons and armor bits were at the bottom of the pool. As Ardel walked around the camp one last time, Najal sat at the end of the pool and listened to the crash of the waterfall. Having finished his final inspection, Ardel walked over to where Najal was sitting. “Ready to head out again?” he asked. Najal sighed. “I suppose so. The waterfall is so peaceful though. I could sit here forever. The echo isn’t that bad either. It’s sort of soothing.” Ardel cocked his head. “Echo?” Najal nodded. “Close your eyes and listen.” she said.
Ardel closed his eyes. Barely distinguishable over the crash of the waterfall was an echo of the crashing. He opened his eyes. “That’s weird. I wonder if there’s a cave behind the waterfall.” he said. Najal looked up. “A cave? I suppose that would make it echo. Let’s go take a look.” she said as she stood up. She walked around the pool until she reached some thick bushes. Ardel looked around at the spray covered bushes before reaching into them and feeling around. Finally he grinned and pushed on something. There was a grinding noise from behind the bushes. When the noise stopped, he drew his sword and pushed his way through the bushes. Najal followed closely behind him. They found a short corridor that led further behind the waterfall. After less than a dozen yards, the corridor widened out into a large cave that was open on one side, facing out through the waterfall. Scattered around the cave were two dozen bedrolls and pillows. “Um, Ardel. How many bandits did we kill?” asked Najal, nervously. Ardel was busy looking a stout wooden door set into the back wall of the cave. “Well, we killed four on the road. One was killed by his ‘friends’. And there were sixteen others including Naddaki. Why?”
“Would bandits leave extra bedrolls laid out for any reason?” she asked.
“Probably not. Why?” he asked, continuing to examine the lock on the door.
“Because I count two dozen bedrolls here. With the tents and the lodge, there were probably thirty or so bandits, depending on whether the tents were used by one or two people.” she said.
Ardel looked up sharply. “What? Thirty? The others were probably out looking for victims. This isn’t good.” he said. “I didn’t hear anything on the other side of the door there, but it’s definitely locked. I don’t suppose you know how to open locks?”
Najal shook her head. “No idea. Thanks to my father, I never learned that skill for opening doors. Can’t you break it down?”
Ardel shrugged. “I could try. The door’s pretty thick though. Here goes.” He walked over to the door and reared back and slammed the door handle with his boot. The door shuddered but didn’t open. He tried again with the same result. He tried running into it with his shoulder but only succeeded in coming away with a sore shoulder.
Najal coughed. “Ardel, stop before you hurt yourself any more. I thought you wanted the lock picked. If you just want it bashed, stand back.” Ardel stepped away from the door as Najal concentrated. The tension built in the air until she reached her hand out and made a twisting motion. The door handle groaned, squealed, and popped before the entire handle assembly twisted and fell apart. The door shuddered and opened a crack. Najal blinked hard and swayed a little bit, but didn’t fall. Ardel looked at her and she nodded. “I’ll be fine. That wasn’t too bad.” Ardel picked up his sword and cautiously prodded the door open. There was a short corridor carved straight into the rock with two doors at the end of it. One door was wooden and just had a handle. The other door was iron, with riveted iron bands around it and two keyholes in it.
“Let’s look behind the wooden door first,” said Najal. “I don’t think I can deal with the locks on the iron one just yet.” Ardel nodded and walked down the short corridor. With one hand holding his sword, he reached out with his other hand and grasped the handle. With a quick twist and shove, he pushed into the room beyond and immediately backed out, slamming the door shut. He dropped to one knee and gasped for breath. “Don’t go in there.” he gasped. Najal hurried to his side and draped his arm over her shoulders. She helped him stand up. “What is that smell?” she asked, holding her nose. “It smells like rotten meat.” Ardel shook his head. “Don’t go in there. You don’t want to see what’s in there.” he said, waving her back. “There’s nothing in there that can help us.”
Najal looked at him skeptically but walked over the iron door and looked at the iron door. She cautiously reached out and grabbed the handle. There was an audible click and the iron door swung open. Ardel quickly reached out and pulled her back. The door swung all the way open to reveal two rows of manacles bolted into the left side of the room. On the right side, there were several empty bowls. Blood stains were evident on the left wall as well as on the floor underneath the manacles. In the back was another, smaller iron door. Najal looked at the blood and manacles and gagged. She fought the urge to vomit as she looked to Ardel. “Is that what I think it is?” she asked, choking back a sob. Ardel nodded. “Yeah. That’s why I didn’t want you to look in that other room.”
Najal swallowed hard before stepping into the prison cell. “Then I’m glad we killed those bastards,” she growled. Ardel walked into the prison cell and over to the smaller door. There were no keyholes in it, but Ardel couldn’t open it. “Najal, can you try opening the door? There may be something about your ability with magic that can open it.” She nodded grimly and walked over. True enough, when she grasped the door handle, there was a click and the door opened. Inside was a small sack, a sword, a staff, and a deep blue silk robe with black embroidery. She gasped when she saw the robe. “Ardel, that’s beautiful.” She stepped into the room and immediately stopped. “Ardel, don’t come in here,” she warned. “I can feel enormous power radiating the walls. I think it would be bad for a non-mage to come in.” Ardel nodded. “No problem at all. What do you want to do with those items?”
Najal looked over her shoulder at him. “We’re taking them. That’s what we’re going to do.”
Extending her magical senses, she examined each of the items. As soon as she looked at the sack, she simply picked it up and tossed it to Ardel. “There’s no magic in that,” she said as she tossed it. Ardel caught it easily and it jingled. “Probably more coins” he said. Najal carefully examined the sword next and, after a minute she reached out and said “I claim you” as she grasped the hilt. There was a loud hum and she gritted her teeth, but nothing else happened. She picked up the sword and gently placed it in the prison cell. “Don’t touch that yet, Ardel” she warned. Najal went back and did the same thing with the staff.
Lastly she approached the robe and examined it. The craftsmanship was extraordinary. The deep blue silk was smooth and cool to the touch. The black embroidery was made of thread that looked darker than the shadows on a moon-less night. Both the silk and the embroidery emanated an enormous amount of power. Ever so carefully, she lifted it from the rack that it was hanging on and folded it up without saying a word. As she carried it out of the room, the doorway shimmered and sparked preventing Najal from leaving. She looked at the doorway in frustration. “Damn it. I was hoping that wouldn’t happen,” she said. Ardel looked at her. “What do mean?” he asked.
“This room was constructed to only allow a person to leave with what belongs to them. That’s why I said ‘I claim you’ before taking the sword and staff. But I didn’t say it when I took the robe because I don’t think I’ll be able to control it if I do. It’s much too powerful.” she explained. “I think the robe is enchanted to basically adhere to the owner like a second skin, but with the amount of power that’s bleeding off of it, it would be a constant struggle against being consumed by it. I don’t feel up to that.”
Ardel nodded. “So what now? Can you break the enchantment on the room?”
“I’m not sure. There’s an enormous amount of magic built into the room itself. Add to that the amount of maigc that I’d have to use to break the enchantment and I’m not sure what would happen. And if I claim the robe, I’d have almost as difficult a battle.”
Ardel pursed his lips. “What do you want me to do?”
“Can you get those books we found in the lodge? Maybe there’s something in there that we can use to break this.”
Ardel nodded and ran out to get Najal’s pack. As soon as he left, she started probing the room with her senses. There were several layers of magic on the room. The lowest, and weakest, layer was a simple ward that prevented non-mages from entering the room. Beyond that was the trap that she triggered when she tried leaving the room with the robe. After that were shields upon shields to prevent anyone from breaking into the room by magical or physical means. Following the patterns, she noticed that all the shields were linked to each other as well as to the trap and from there the patterns meandered out of the shielded room to the prison cell and then to the manacles. Najal shuddered as she realized what that meant. They discussed blood magic in general terms during the fourth year course on rituals, but they never went into details. In the fifth year followup course, they discussed using the mage’s own blood to enhance the ritual, but never beyond that. She was still tracing the patterns when Ardel returned with the books. As he started to slide the pack towards her, Najal shook her head. “Don’t, Ardel. They won’t help.”
Ardel looked at her. “What do you mean?” he asked. “How do you know?”
She sighed. “Naddaki used blood magic to build this. Books don’t tell you how to do that.” She paced around the small room, cursing. After a minute, she stopped. “This is going to suck,” she said. “First, I’m going to break the compulsion that keeps you from entering. But that’s not going to matter until I can take down the trap and the shields. But what I’m going to need is for you to be absolutely ready to run in here and apply all the healing you can. I’m going to need it.” Ardel’s face paled.
Najal moved the weapon stand to the side of the room as well as the rack that the robe had been hanging on. Then she sat in the center of the room and started breathing deeply. Her shoulders sank as she relaxed into a trance and started murmuring softly. Slowly, the murmuring rose in pace and and volume until it was a rapid, loud chant. She raised her arms above her head and then slowly stretched them out to either side before yanking them back in to her chest. There was an audible snap and dust sifted down from the ceilings and walls of the cave. She looked up and smiled grimly. “Well, that’s taken care of. You’ll be able to come in after I break these shields.” Ardel nodded and said, “I’ll be ready.”
Najal rolled her shoulders and neck before once again settling into a trance. This time the muscles in her neck and shoulders started to tense immediately as she began chanting. The pitch and volume both rose, but the pace remained steady. As her voice reached the top of her range, she pulled a small knife from her belt and slashed up the middle of her forearm. As blood poured from the slash, she clenched her eyes and fists tightly and thrust her arm forward. The blood immediately flashed into a ray of fire and light stretched out and struck the doorway. From there it spread out like a flaming spiderweb. Najal’s face contorted as blood continued to pour from her slashed arm. After several moments, she started to sway and, just as she toppled over, there was a thunderous roar and a rush of superheated wind blasted out of the room. Ardel staggered at first but then rushed into the room and cracked a vial of red syrup over Najal’s arm before wrapping it tightly in a thick bandage. A red stain spread over the bandage as he poured another vial of red syrup down Najal’s throat. Taking a small packet from his belt pouch, he sprinkled the contents over the bandage and then wrapped another bandage over that. Then he lifted that arm over his shoulders lifted Najal up and carried her all the way to main cave, looking out through the waterfall.
Ardel sat there, holding Najal and whispered into her ear. “You are strong. You are incredibly strong. You wanted to live. You will live.” He continued whispering to her for half a candle-mark before Najal finally moved. “I get it,” she groaned. “I’m strong and I’ll live. Can I have something to drink now? That stuff you poured down my throat tastes horrible.” Ardel laughed as he helped her drink some water from his waterskin. She drank greedily, but when the waterskin was finally empty, she looked much better and was able to sit up on her own. Ardel went back to the lodge and returned with enough food for both of them to have a hearty midday meal.
Once they finished dinner, Najal stood up unsteadily and walked back to the prison. The blood stains on the walls and floor had burned away, leaving only ash. She picked up the robe, the staff, and the sword and, steadying herself against the wall, walked back. Ardel watched her as she did this, concern showing on his face until she returned. Putting the robe and staff on the ground, she held the sword across her palms and extended it to Ardel. “Take the hilt, Ardel. I need to do this before we leave here,” she said. “Otherwise, no one else will be able to use it without me dying first.”
Ardel grasped the hilt. “Now what?” he asked. She looked into his eyes and said, “I freely give this weapon to you, Ardel, to use for all things good and true. Do you accept?” He nodded and said, “I freely accept and claim this weapon to use for things good and true.” The sword flared and gleamed with a pure white light as Ardel lifted it. “What was that?!” he exclaimed.
Najal smiled. “That was the proper way to pass on a Pureblade from one owner to the next,” she explained. “Naddaki probably took it off one of his victims, but a bandit can hardly be ‘good’ or ‘true’ so they wouldn’t have been able to use it too well.” Ardel nodded in vague understanding. “I don’t know that I understand what a Pureblade is, but if passing it on requires a ceremony, then it’s probably not an insignificant item. How many of these are there?”
Najal shrugged. “Probably several hundred. They date back to before the founding, but I don’t quite remember the full story behind them. I think my father has a tome that talks about some of the devices crafted during the First Age to fight the dragon hordes.” Ardel nodded and said, “Then it can wait. Hopefully we won’t need me to use it before then.” Najal smiled. “I’ve had more than enough excitement on this trip also,” she said, laughing.
After resting for another candle-mark, they gathered up their equipment and headed out of the cave. Najal was still a little unsteady on her feet but by leaning on the staff she was able to walk on her own. She had the robe draped over one shoulder and her bandaged arm hung limply at her side. Ardel carried the Pureblade in one arm while holding the sack in the other. Najal gently put the robe in her pack before putting the pack over both shoulders and, with Ardel’s help, mounted her horse. Ardel mounted his horse as well and together they rode downriver towards the spot they had entered from. As they approached the woods, a rumble of farawy thunder drew their attention downriver. They watched in horrified fascination as a powerful storm tore down a ravine several leagues to the south. As it moved, they saw a small tornado rio down one side of the ravine. Najal shuddered as she saw that. “We would’ve had to cross that ravine if we had taken the southern route, you know” she said. Ardel grimaced. “I don’t know which is worse. The fight we went through or having to deal with that storm.” he said. Najal chuckled. “I’m not sure. But I do know that I’m happy we’re still alive.”
—-
Two days later they had passed through Biqam and were on the road towards Aturoane when Ardel looked over at the young woman that rode confidently in her saddle and smiled. “You’ve changed a lot,” he said. “For the better too.”
Najal looked back at him and smiled. “Thanks. I think. We’ve been through a lot. I’ve done things I never thought I’d have to,” she said, cradling her still bandaged forearm in her lap. In her other hand, she carried the staff she had claimed from the cave. Her horse was loosely tied to the back of Ardel’s saddle by it’s reins since she had difficulty guiding the horse while holding the staff and dealing with her injured arm.
Ardel had asked her about that when they had gotten out of the forest two days earlier. She had explained that the staff was a magus staff. When truly bound to a mage, that mage could store energy in the staff and then use it later to augment themselves. There wasn’t much energy in the staff when they had found it, but as long as she held it, it would slowly charge. It would take about a ten-day to be completely charged. Her arm, on the other hand, had been healing extremely slowly despite the healing potions and powders that had been applied to the wound. The first night, she explained that it was the nature of blood magic wounds to heal slowly. If they healed quickly, it would be too easy to abuse the extra power it granted so the gods balanced that power with an incredibly slow healing rate. It took magic to even stop the bleeding from a blood magic wound and the ‘natural’ healing rate was ten times slower even then. Ardel had just shaken his head after hearing that, in complete disbelief that anyone would use blood magic with that price tag on it.
Three uneventful days later and they were entering the gates of Aturoane. Najal had been getting more and more cheerful as they got closer to Aturoane and as they rode through the gates, she was practically bubbling with excitement. “Almost home,” she said as they guided their horses through the town and out the northern gate. A candle-mark later they were approaching Najal’s home outside of town.
