Survivors of Corrica

by Courtney Bowen

  Fato’s eyes widened. “Rhona wouldn’t do this, would she? It’s too dangerous and treacherous for her.”

  “I don’t know, she might surprise you.” Paracleus said. “We give her a hard time, but she does come through with us. She’s the only one besides us who knows about the Corricans and Bahealfisaba and I think she was affected as well by that tragedy. Maybe we can convince her to help us if we promise not to betray her, mess anything up, or take more than we need to aid the humans.”

  “Okay, I suppose we’ll give her a chance and tell her what we’re up to.” Fato said, looking up at Paracleus. “You think we have a chance at succeeding with this?”

  “Sure, I think there’s a chance with enough preparation. I’m proud of you, Fato, for being willing to risk everything on a gamble like this. I think I might’ve rubbed off on you.”

  Fato laughed. “I think I’m more of a gambler than you are.”

  “You might have your adventurous streak, but I nursed that out of you.”

  Fato and Paracleus smirked at each other, and then Fato quickly got out of there as Paracleus closed the shutters behind him. With that partnership settled at least, Fato was able to sleep, and the next morning, he and Paracleus went to visit Rhona in private to deliver news of their plan.

  Rhona stared at them for a moment. “Are you nuts?” She asked.

  “Look, we know it’s not ideal. I wouldn’t have suggested this idea if I thought there was another way we could help the Corricans and Bahealfisaba. But we don’t have anything else to give them besides these powers, and we can’t stand idly by and allow them to suffer like this while we live in comfort and guilt, can we?” Fato asked.

  Rhona grimaced. “I don’t like it, deceiving and stealing from our people like this. We could get into big trouble just for thinking about such a heist. But you might be right, too, and I don’t want to leave the humans alone with such a bitter taste in my mouth. All right, I suppose we could give it a shot, but you definitely need to plan this out more.”

  “What do you mean?” Paracleus asked. “We’ve got a good layout or outline of the plan already, don’t we?”

  “For starters, you can’t smuggle out all ten elements at once. You’re going to have to smuggle out each sample of each element one at a time.” Rhona said.

  “One at a time?” Fato’s eyes boggled. “That just increases the chances of getting caught. Why?”

  “It’s more conspicuous if you’re trying to smuggle out ten containers at once. And you’ll carry the elements in vials, small, non-breakable ones.” Rhona told them. “We only need a little bit of the magical elements, after all. If you take one sample at a time, it’s easier to hide, less noticeable in its absence. If you’re caught sneaking out a vial, at least it’s just one element sample, and not all ten. That’d be less suspicious and you might get a lighter sentencing than if you’re transporting all ten.”

  “Plus there might be heavier guards on some of the more necessary elements that we use, like the Plant element.” Paracleus said, thinking. “If you start off taking less important or noteworthy elements, like the Death element, then at least we can build up our reserve for the humans and better prepare ourselves for stealing from the biggest targets.”

  “Couldn’t we ask or request a sample of an element for a science or magic project at our school?” Fato suggested. “For just one of them?”

  “No, there’s no project like that in our curriculum for months yet, and then we’d have to show them the project requirements before they granted our request. We couldn’t sneak out a sample that way.” Rhona told him.

  “But it’ll take weeks, maybe months to plan, set up, and execute these heists.” Fato said. “We won’t be able to give the humans all ten magical elements for a long time.”

  “It’ll be okay, Fato, we just have to be patient.” Rhona told him. “I know it won’t be easy, and the humans won’t benefit from this for a while. But I promise we can do this for them if we’re careful about it.”

  “Yeah, and at least we can meet with them, tell them what we’ve got planned, and figure out how to incorporate our magic powers to help them.” Paracleus said.

  Fato looked around at everybody. “Okay, I suppose that’s an idea. Yes, let’s try it then.”

  Chapter Fifteen:

  The Unstoked Fire

  Lapida sat alone in a cold, still smithy, the fire burned out in the furnace without any of the hustle and bustle she’d associate with such a place. It was too quiet for her taste without any crackling from the blaze, or the ringing and clanging as a new weapon or tool was formed. She missed the people who populated the shop, all of the blacksmiths she trained and befriended, but now most of them were gone, taken by the Savorre several weeks ago.

  It was now Octi 1st according to the new calendar, but October 27th according to Corrica’s old calendar. She’d come here to the remnants of the village to see if there was anything left of the forge, if they could possibly revive and reignite the fire, but now she was overcome by despair and wondering if they had any chance of succeeding.

  Plans were afoot back at the Corrican settlement to eventually take on the Savorre, but they were somewhat stymied. Hasbas and Marko helped organize a combat class to teach villagers and Corricans how to fight, and Dahlia, Geneva, Mogame Corr, Wintha, Anya, Porran and more had joined the course to learn how to defend themselves. Huette was also tutoring new students who possessed magical powers in how to shield and attack with their capabilities, along with older students like Porran, Mogame, and Anya.

  Even more Corricans had tested to find out if they had any magical aptitude after the assault on Bahealfisaba, and it turned out that Lapida, Hasbas, Marko, Geneva and Zeldos had various levels of potential in different elements. Lapida apparently might become a fire mage if she studied and acquired new skills, but she wasn’t certain if she was ready for such a change in her life, especially after everything she’d already been through.

  Hasbas might be strong in the death element like Corr, but he was also hesitant and slow in his magical lessons, too busy with his other duties to practice afterwards. Perhaps he didn’t want to become a mage either. Marko possessed the stone element and he jumped at this new opportunity to battle his foes, hounding Demetrius to help him out in learning how to use it.

  Geneva, who used to begrudge and dislike sorcery, didn’t take kindly at first to discovering that she had the earth element. But she reluctantly accepted that she had to at least be educated in its potency, and she sought Oran out to aid her in managing it. Zeldos was one of the happiest people to ascertain that he had the plant element, just like Cassandra, and he relished and reveled in his new talent, causing plants to spring up everywhere.

  Buzzbo and Dahlia were amongst the half of the Corricans that didn’t have any powers, and they were annoyed at such a lack and feeling left out, wondering why they hadn’t acquired any. They commiserated over such an injustice and felt better that they at least had each other to share this burden with, while they chatted and complained about Marko behind his back and watched Jomo play.

  While not having any magic could be a disadvantage in warfare, Lapida half wondered if they might be lucky not to deal with the consequences of wielding it. Rowena was still unconscious, sustained by a liquid diet, but she was wasting away. Anya, Huette, and Mogame were researching ways of reviving her, but with little luck so far.

  Meanwhile, Oran, Demetrius, and Kozu attempted to organize the villagers, who were staying with the Corricans in their barns and homes until they finished constructing temporary shelters next to them, into a small fighting force. Preparations were slow, but at least they were underway, and Lapida, as one of the last ironsmiths remaining, would have to help supply them with new weapons, another reason why she’d come to check out the forge.

  They were also trying to rally support from neighbors, like the Anjia, Rynalda, and the Dobalas to oppose the Savorre, but so far they hadn’t received much encouraging news or a soli
d commitment from those parties. The others were too afraid to challenge the Savorre and suffer the same fate as Bahealfisaba did.

  Kiki and Kozu still mourned the loss of their father Kalino, and they weren’t speaking to Corr anymore, probably still disappointed that he and the others had kept the Fay a secret from them. Corr was lonely and sad, Lapida knew, missing his friends, including Fato, who he almost thought had betrayed him.

  Anya and Wintha also grieved for Wilama, not knowing if she was dead or alive yet, but they were certain her fate might be bleak if they couldn’t save her and the others in time. Wintha attempted to use her soothsaying powers to discern Wilama’s destiny and how they might fare in the fight against the Savorre, but she couldn’t perceive anything.

  “It’s like something’s blocking my abilities to pierce through the veil.” Wintha told Anya and the others when they asked. “I can’t predict anything anymore.” She almost started crying.

  “It’s okay, Wintha, you don’t have to push yourself so much.” Anya said, hugging her adoptive daughter. “We care more about you than any ability you might have. We love you, Wintha, no matter what, even if you never see anything again.”

  “I love you, too, Mama Anya, but I still have to know. I have to see. There’s something out there trying to stop me and I have to find out why.” Wintha said.

  Wintha tried to visit the oracle and seek help from her, but with little result. Lapida pondered if such prophetic arts might actually be more unpredictable and volatile than Wintha let on, that most of the time, she didn’t know more than the average person about the future.

  But they still trusted Wintha at times to help them out with her predictive capabilities, after everything she’d done for them in the past. It must be a difficult burden for a young girl like her. Despite all of that misery and suffering, life still went on, though, and now Zeldos and Cassandra were engaged.

  Everyone was surprised when a week ago, as they were meeting in the meadow near Zeldos’s house, next to the boulder and the birch trees, he climbed up on top of the rock and proclaimed that he loved Cassandra and wanted to marry her in front of everyone. She laughed and accepted his proposal, which added a touch of jubilee to the proceedings, as people started singing and dancing while Zeldos and Cassandra kissed.

  Since then, Huette and Porran had been talking privately a lot, and Lapida wondered if there might be another engagement announced between them in the near future. Mogame and Geneva were still courting each other as far as anyone knew, but they’d been a little cool to each other these past couple of weeks, especially when they were so busy.

  On top of all that, Lapida had just found out after seeing Anya that she might be pregnant. It was a shock to her, she hadn’t even told Hasbas or anyone else about it yet, as she was still processing what a baby could mean to her and her plans to restart the smithy and fight as a fire mage. Her life was a mess at the moment, as was everyone else’s, it seemed like. Could it get any worse?

  “Hello, is anyone around here?” A voice called and she stuck her head out, spotting one of the Fay kids, Paracleus if she recalled his name right, walking around the deserted village.

  “What do you want?” She asked him, and Paracleus turned to her.

  “Hello, there, we haven’t been properly introduced, but my name’s Paracleus. Are you Corr’s sister-in-law, Lapida?” He asked.

  “Yes. What’s brought you back here so late?” Lapida glanced around. “Are you alone?”

  “At the moment, but I wanted to talk to you or someone about an idea we’ve had.”

  “No, I don’t think we want to hear it.” Lapida turned away from him.

  “We’re sorry about everything that happened, and we want to make it up to you all somehow in some small manner. We want to help you all out against the Savorre, to fight them on a more even ground. It’s unfair what happened to you all.”

  Lapida sighed. “I’m not sure if you can make good on such a promise. It’d be unfair to raise our hopes up, and then dash them again. Corr trusted Fato, so we trusted him in turn, and now we’re in a bleak situation.”

  “You can’t pin everything on Fato, though.” Paracleus remarked. “He might’ve led you all here, true, but he didn’t encourage or interfere with you all beyond that. Corr was his friend, though, just like me and Rhona, and he still feels guilty and ashamed, if he acted dishonorably in any way. That’s why he wants to help you all out.”

  “How? By what means?” Lapida faced him. “You three can’t do a damn thing right, can you?”

  “We want to try by stealing some magic to give to you all.” Paracleus said.

  “That’s a terrible idea. You shouldn’t do that.” Lapida told him.

  “It’s the only way we can make things right, I’m telling you. We’ll only steal small amounts, barely enough that it’ll be missed by our elders, but it’s enough to give you humans a greater advantage against the Savorre. Wouldn’t you want that?”

  “It’s too risky.” Lapida shook her head. “You’re barely kids, no matter how old you are, just like Corr. Why should you do a dumb thing like that and get into trouble? Just for us?”

  “Yes, that’s exactly why we should do it, for all of you. We know it’s a hazard, we’ve talked about it amongst ourselves, but we think it’s a chance we’re willing to take for you, Corr, and everyone else. Wouldn’t you gamble the same way to save your own family and friends?”

  Lapida hesitated, glancing between Paracleus and the rest of the destroyed village. “All right, maybe it’s something we’ll consider. But I think we’ll want to discuss it amongst ourselves, if we can accept such aid, especially when it could be a heavy burden. One thing, though, this magic, what would it be like? What form would it take?”

  “We haven’t entirely figured that part out yet.” Paracleus said. “See, the magic would be tiny drops or so, very potent, but still in a raw form. I don’t think anyone should drink it, though, because it’s not digestible and it’d either burn out your body or go right through you. Then it’d be wasted.”

  “Right, we can’t drink it.” Lapida said. “What about an inanimate object, could you dip something in it, or sprinkle the magic on top of it?”

  “Yes, that’d work very well. It’d last a lot longer, imbuing itself into the object. It needs a useful, sturdy vessel to house itself in, perhaps something you can take into battle with you. I don’t think it should be breakable or vulnerable to destruction.”

  “What about a sword, an iron or steel sword?” Lapida asked, pointing at the smithy. “I could forge a good sword, and you could use it that way.”

  Paracleus stared at the blacksmith shop and then at her as he said, “A sword, or swords, ten swords for the ten magical elements, that’d be perfect!” He gasped. “We need time to gather the magic and bring it over here. It’d be good if we could imbue the magic right into the sword as you’re making it.”

  “No problem. I need to repair the smithy, get some iron ore, and refine that into the proper mix. Would you all bring these magical elements one at a time, or all at once?”

  “Maybe one or two at a time would be best. We need to figure out the proper procedure, too. I think we’ll get on that right away.” Paracleus turned away.

  “Hold up, I think you should wait until we all agree to go along with this plan before you implement it.”

  “How long should we wait? When can you tell us your decision?” Paracleus asked.

  “Tomorrow, I think. You can go back, tell Rhona and Fato, and we’ll discuss the idea over here.” Lapida said.

  Paracleus agreed and departed, while Lapida returned to meet with the Corricans and villagers and tell them about the plan. After a heated debate, the next day, Lapida, Kozu, Kiki, Corr, Hasbas, Marko, Mogame, Huette, Oran and Demetrius headed to the village and waited until Rhona showed up.

  “Where’s Paracleus? And why hasn’t Fato come?” Corr asked, curious.

  “We’ll have to take turns coming here one at a ti
me so that our absence isn’t noticed back home. Fato’s involved in the actual heist, so he can’t vanish for too long or he might arouse suspicion.” Rhona said. “Have you all made a decision?”

  “We have, and we believe we can accept the offer, but we need to be certain about the safety of the swords and that we’re not endangering ourselves in the process.” Huette said.

  “We’ll thoroughly check each sword as we create them to ensure they’re safe, and that no one here will be harmed.” Rhona said.

  “We also want to be certain that whoever wields the swords will be skilled in combat, and able to use the magic embedded in the blades. There will be a sword for each element?” Marko asked.

  “Yes, ten swords at least, though if there’s any leftover magic, we can make less powerful weapons for each element, too.” Rhona said.

  “Also we want to make sure that the division’s equal between Bahealfisaba and the Corricans, that five people from each group will be granted the blades.” Oran said.

  “Look, I can’t determine everything now. We barely know if we can get ahold of the necessary magical power. It’s a little early to discuss this, but I promise we’ll try our best to distribute these swords equally, okay?” Rhona said.

  “That sounds fair.” Hasbas said. “How long before we hear back from all of you?”

  “Soon, I hope. We should have a few samples of magical power any day now.” Rhona said.

  “When it comes to the iron ore for making the swords, does it matter where it comes from?” Demetrius asked. “Can it come from rocks close to the stone circle here?”

  “That’d be some good material. It might soak up the magic residue better, and enhance it as well. Yes, you can use those rocks.” Rhona said.