The Witch

by V. A. Lewis

  And I did not like what I was imagining.

  I stood up, strutting over to my bag after deciding to study to get my mind off any unpleasant thoughts; I was rummaging through my bag, about to pull out the sheets of paper to practice drawing the runes when I paused.

  I pulled out The Thauma. One of the first books I was given to learn magic from. It was then I realized I hadn’t been practicing my magic at all since I started tinkering under Gennady. Spellcasting was almost second nature to me, due to the circumstances that resulted in me ending up in this world, but I had been neglecting it.

  I was still able to fight well using magic, as seen from the brief scuffle I had with the pirates, but I was not happy with my performance. If I continued practicing magic I could’ve… I shook my head. That wouldn’t have helped much, since I had no more grimoires to learn from. Or maybe not.

  I carefully flipped through The Thauma, recalling that it was more than just a book schooling me how to spellcast. I had learned all the most advanced spells in it— Magic Missile, Explosive Orbs, Dispel Magic, Force Bindings, Force Barrier— although these were considered intermediate level spells and not truly powerful ones. It was supposed to be an introductory book, after all.

  And yet, something about the book stood out beyond the rest: it was written during a time when magic had not been so rigorously studied by spellcasters. The Demon Lord himself wrote The Thauma almost four thousand years ago. And while these spells were not advanced ones of the current time period, they were some of the more powerful ones back when it was written.

  With the instructions on how to learn them, the Demon Lord also offered advice— how to create spells. Or at least, how to experiment with the current spells in a spellcasters repertoire, to possibly upgrade it or even mix spells together to achieve a different effect.

  The ideas presented in The Thauma were incredibly abstract— more so than the almost-scientific tomes of recent centuries— which not only dissuaded me from meddling with it beyond the spells it taught, but also made me wary of how things could go wrong. I did not want a spell to blow up in my face, especially not when I was in some random inn.

  It was dangerous in both exposing me as a ‘heretic’, as well dangerous in that it could kill me. And although simply reading what was said in the grimoire was obviously not dangerous, I carefully turned the pages of it, treating it as though it were.

  I found myself looking at the last chapter of The Thauma; it had some concluding words by the Demon Lord, trying to explain the benefits of learning magic and how knowing such spells would be helpful for all species’. Clearly, his words were not very compelling.

  I ignored all that, and slowly read through the important bits— the ones which dealt with going beyond with one’s spellcasting. My understanding of what was being said was nebulous at best, but if I were reading it correctly, spells were often derivative of one another. A spell could very rarely be made from nothing, and typically had to be built off the understanding of something else.

  One way which this was exemplified was in how I learned Magic Bolt: I was in the middle of what I now realize was a panic attack, and was afraid of the incoming Abominations that I somehow emulated the feeling of firing a pistol and manifested it as a spell instead.

  And while I might not have used a wide variety of mana tools, there was something I had done once or twice that seemed like it would be pretty effective in a fight. It was a tactic I had just used again recently, after nearly losing my life after doing it the first time— destabilizing a mana crystal.

  It was dangerous. Probably would take a while to learn for me to do it safely. But it had to have worked. I knew it had to.

  Magic was simply the manipulation of mana in the world around you, whereas using mana tools was pushing and pulling the mana inside of a mana crystal. If the solid form of pure mana could somehow achieve such raw destructive power by itself, would it not make sense for the mana in around me to be able to do so too?

  I pulled out the Lesser mana crystal I had bought and held it in the palm of my hands. I inspected it for a second before shaking my head. Nope, I thought. Too dangerous.

  I needed something that was weaker. A small Inferior mana crystal. I wanted to experiment with the feeling of pushing the mana in it to the brink of exploding, but not exactly just there yet.

  I got up and pocketed my mana crystal and headed out of my room; I made sure to keep all my belongings safely hidden of course. I kept only the important things with me.

  I once again went down the gangplank of the ship and trudged through the soft sand floor of the beach. I walked past all the festivities— people were drinking and socializing, enjoying each other's company— I paused as I saw Braz already passed out at the bench of a table. How long have I been reading?

  I thought I was in my room for no more than an hour, but it seemed that I might’ve lost track of time. I shook my head, and continued searching for Gennady. He had to have at least one or two Inferior mana crystals he could spare me.

  I could have broken off a small shard from my Inferior mana crystal, but I did not want to damage it.

  I found Gennady drunk, and laughing with a group of pirates.

  "Ah, Melas!" he cheerfully greeted me. "Glad you’re here, lass. Want a drink?"

  "No thanks," I politely turned him down. "I was just wondering if you have any spare Inferior mana crystals I could borrow?"

  "Inferior mana crystals?" He furrowed his brows. "Now why would you want those? Aren’t ya past the point of making simple everyday tools?"

  "I am," I said. "But I need those for… something else."

  "Well if you do insist, you can just go grab some from my bike. There’s a few in the compartments on the side." He waved a hand in the direction of the ship.

  I nodded my head and was about to turn around before I paused. "Your bike?"

  "Ye, lass. Just make sure not to touch the things in me bag."

  Gennady didn’t seem to realize it, and I hesitated for a moment. I pursed my lips for a moment, considering where to say it.

  "What’s wrong?" The Dwarf cocked his head. He still seemed rather jovial, and I did not want to ruin his mood. However, I had no choice: I had to tell him.

  "Gennady," I started, ignoring the stares from the pirates seated around him, "about your bike…"

  He took a swig of ale, and slammed the cup down. He wiped some of the foam off his beard as he frowned. "Out with it, lass? What’s wrong?"

  I sighed. "Your bike is gone."

  "What?"

  There was a look of bewilderment— as if what I just told him made no sense. And perhaps it didn’t. Even if he was sober, he might not have understood immediately. However, I realized the problem in our rushed departure due to our flight.

  "We left it," I said, not meeting his eyes. "Back at Lisa and Jack’s ship. We didn’t bring it with us when we left their ship."

  Gennady’s eyes widened as it finally settled in.

  "M-my bike…" he trailed off.

  "I’m sorry." I meekly met his gaze, but he turned away.

  I thought the Dwarf would be mad. I thought he would be upset and maybe blame me for dragging him into this. He never would’ve left for Jahar’taw if not for me, after all, right? But he didn’t. Instead, he called over a lady who was serving drinks to the table.

  "Give me your best drink, lassie. I don’t think I’ll be sleeping tonight."

  I felt bad for him, and wanted to say something, but it did not seem like now was the time. I had already apologized, but it did not feel like it was enough. I was just about to leave before Gennady stopped me.

  "It’s not your fault," he said softly.

  I stared at Gennady for a moment. He continued.

  "Don’t blame yourself. I came with you out of my own accord."

  I wanted to protest— but I caught myself. Neither of us would feel better that way; instead, I just tried to give him my best smile.

  "Hey, maybe I could make you a
nother one if I get good enough with tinkering."

  He snorted. "No way that’ll happen. I doubt you’ll ever be able to understand how steam engines work. Just work on what you’re doing, and don’t spread out your skills too much.

  "And don’t worry," he added, "we’ll get back at those pirates. Damned speciesist pricks."

  "Right," I said, nodding.

  Then he went back to his drink and I left him there. I was just about to return to the ship— go back to my room and just rest— when a young man stopped me.

  "Hey, I heard you were looking for Inferiors."

  "I am," I answered curtly. "Why?"

  "Well," he said, reaching to his side and pulling out a gleaming mana crystal before handing it to me. "I just so happened to have some which I didn’t need. So you can have it."

  I blinked. "Wait, I can’t accept this—"

  "It’s fine." The young man grinned. "Ginah told us you and Mr Gennady are here to help us. So we might as well help you back where we can, right?"

  I slowly reached over and grabbed it. "...thank you."

  "It’s not a problem." He shot me a thumbs up.

  I was just about to ask him for his name when he ran off, going over to Gennady; he began talking to the Dwarf, striking up a conversation with him. Then I realized, others were doing the same. They were trying to cheer him up— regale him by getting him to talk about other topics.

  Should I also…? I shook my head. I did not want to drink, and I absolutely did not want to accidentally reveal any of my secrets by accident.

  The fact that the people here were friendly, and were willing to help lighten Gennady’s mood was good. I could let them do that without feeling bad. However, I had to do what was important for me— and by extension, them.

  If I could better my magic, I would be able to aid them better, no? So instead, I grasped the small Inferior mana crystal in between my fingers, and returned to my room.

  Chapter 28: Interrogation

  I felt the mana in the mana crystal flare up; I was forcing my will onto it— trying to drain it of all its mana at once. That would destabilize it, creating a violent dispersion of energy. It would not always result in an explosion, depending on the density of the mana inside of it.

  I was not trying to force such a result regardless. My control over the mana crystal kept it teetering at the edge of destabilization, but not enough for it to fully shatter into tiny little shards. I just had to hold that feeling.

  I raised my other hand, and I closed my eyes. I never once let go of the mana crystal, still maintaining the same amount of control over it; I copied over that feeling into my free hand, applying the same amount of pressure on the mana in the air.

  A small green magic circle took shape, the air flickering where it formed. I watched the symbols and lines within its perimeter slowly begin to intersect, as I tried to emulate what I felt over the mana crystal.

  The air around the spell circle grew visible to the naked eye, slowly coming together into the nebulous shape of a ball. It looked small enough that if I held it, I could completely wrap my fingers around it, but there was a constant rippling to it that made that seem like a bad idea.

  I took a deep breath, and putting down the mana crystal, I exhaled. I shoved the rest of the mana in the air, forcing a rapid release. The compressed air… did not burst out into all directions, but instead fizzled out— almost like a spark being snuffed out.

  Shaking my head, I put down the Inferior mana crystal and reached for my forehead. My head spun as the world around me turned to a blur, but after massaging my temples for a minute or two, my vision returned to normal.

  I was tired.

  After having spent a few hours last night doing the exact same thing before retiring to bed, I slept for a total of three hours before waking back up. I was… wary.

  It was not easy to rest peacefully when I still wasn’t entirely certain whether I trusted these pirates or not. At the end of the day, they were criminals— very morally dubious. Sure, I was technically a criminal myself since I violated Holy Law every time I cast a spell. But the last time I gave my complete trust without any questions to a group of lawbreakers, I was… betrayed.

  Or perhaps I betrayed them. Whatever it was, things did not exactly go so well, which meant I should at least be a little cautious when dealing with these pirates.

  So I slept little, but I knew I couldn’t do that all the time. You did not go up against a large criminal organization and win overnight: my trip to Jahar’taw was ostensibly delayed for the foreseeable future. I was not sure how long I would be working with Ginah’s Crew, but I would prefer if I received my end of the deal before the end of the year. And considering that it was only Summer, I was not sure if that was a realistic goal.

  I was in no rush; I had plenty of time to spare. My preferences however, pushed me to act sooner rather than later. I wasn’t going to wait around to be surprised by something I could have easily found out if I spent a few days or weeks prying around. Plus, I needed a break from practicing both my tinkering and my spellcasting.

  I got out of bed and exited my room. The boat I was sleeping in was not fully beached onto the shore, and I still felt a slight swaying whenever I took a step. It was subtle, barely even noticeable, but still noticeable.

  The wooden floors of the stairway creaked as I made my way up onto deck, before descending down the gangplank and onto the soft, white sand. I glanced about at the remains of the party that had been thrown— eyeing the few dozen drunken men and women passed out on the tables and chairs they had set out.

  Whoever that’s going to clean that up is going to have a bad time, I thought. I had been to a number of parties before back on Earth, but apparently teenagers and young adults there were not nearly as rambunctious as fully grown adults here were.

  I paused for a moment, trying to see if Gennady was in the pile of unconscious bodies, and was glad to see that he wasn’t. I hoped he managed to cheer up at least slightly after last night. It was not fun being the bearer of bad news, and it was even less fun to be incapable of doing anything to make the recipient feel better.

  I started in the direction of the crude wooden structures in the corner of the cave. After seeing me to my room, Ginah brought Lisa and Jack to theirs too. I did not know exactly where they were, but I assumed they were sleeping in the same dormitory area that I was shown to yesterday.

  I started in that direction, when I caught a glimpse of a light stirring. Braz pushed himself to his feet from lying face first in the sand, and wiped at his face.

  "G’morning," he said, yawning without covering his mouth. He blinked a few times, looking out the mouth of the cave. "Phew, it’s early. What time is it?"

  "I don’t know," I replied honestly. "I don’t have a clock or a watch."

  He nodded his head wisely a few times. Or at least, he probably thought he did. "Well, you should get one! It’s important to know the time if you want to be punctual."

  I ignored his unsolicited advice, and cocked my head at him. "Didn’t you drink a lot last night? Don’t you have a hangover or something?"

  "Oh I do." He gave me a carefree grin and spoke in a tone that betrayed his next few words. "It’s absolutely terrible. I feel like my head’s about to explode!"

  "I’m sure there’s a potion or medicine for that."

  "There is," he said, finally standing up and dusting himself off of sand. "But we don’t own any. We’d be broke if we had to keep a constant supply of those."

  I raised my shoulders in a shrug. "Why do you guys have to throw parties?"

  Braz paused, as if he was seriously considering my rhetorical question. Then he brought a hand up to his chin, and scratched it uncertainly. "...morale?"

  I rolled my eyes and sighed. "I don’t actually care. You guys can spend your resources however you want, as long as we put a stop to this enuim trade and you guys keep your end of the deal."

  "Hey!" Braz shot a hand up, and patted me on the he
ad. "Don’t worry, we aren’t liars."

  I just gave him a blank look. "That’s what a liar would say."

  "Well, maybe," he said, not losing any of his cheerful demeanour. "Guess you’ll just have to trust us."

  "Mhm," I gave him a noncommittal sound in response. Then I turned towards the wooden buildings in the near distance. "Where’s Lisa? Or Jack?"

  "Dunno about Jack." Braz scratched the back of his head. "He wasn’t at the party last night, but Lisa was there briefly. Saw her retire to those rooms over there."

  "Thanks." I quickly bowed my head and started in the direction he pointed.

  I wanted to speak with Lisa; after all the chaos that happened yesterday, we didn’t have time to discuss our agreement. I wanted my gold back, of course. And I was sure Gennady would prefer to have it back too after he lost his bike— I hoped it would have been somewhat of a consolation to know he could keep his gold to buy the parts to make another one.

  I pushed the door of the first building so that it was open slightly ajar, and peered in. I saw about a dozen women sleeping in a line, but could not pick out Lisa from among them. There were a few kids— only two, and they were young. Less than half my age in this world. I furrowed my brows as I considered the danger these kids' parents were putting them in by bringing them in a fight against the Elise.

  I shook my head and walked to the next building. I was just about to step in when the door opened up. I blinked as Lisa glanced down at me, and cocked her head.

  "Oh, Ari— I mean Melas. What are you doing here?" she asked.

  I paused only for a moment, still unused to being called by my real name, but managed to snap myself back to reality quickly enough. "Lisa," I said, gesturing away from the building, "can we talk?"

  "Sure, uh, just give me a minute. I’m going to freshen up, ok?"

  I nodded, and pointed back at the ship. "Could you meet me in my room?"