by Eric Vall
“Good to hear it.” He waved Anya over. “Now we should eat. Then you can get dressed, gather your things, say your goodbyes, and then we will be on our way.”
Without any further protest from me, we followed his lead. We ate a hearty helping of grits and ham, which was enough to get rid of the lingering whiskey effects. Once that was done, Maelor kept talking to mister Sleet while I went up to my room so I could pack. That wouldn’t take too long.
There was a time when Maelor and I stayed anchored in one place. For the better part of a decade after he rescued me, we stayed in the small hamlet of Njordenfalls, which is dominated by a lumber mill near a cute little waterfall. That’s where I’d learned most of my magical skills and grown up. It was a beautiful town, painting worthy. Some days I still ached to go back. But five years ago, Maelor thought we should lend our skills to the world, so we’d started to travel and build, or mine, or whatever was needed. And truthfully, I loved it.
Since we moved a lot, I didn’t have a lot in the way of possessions. It took me a scant few minutes to pack the three changes of clothes I had into my bag and pile the few books and mementos I had in as well. It pained me that I had practically nothing from my life before my parents died. But Maelor said our entire house had gone up in the flames, so all I had left of them was the copper band I wore around my neck, and a dagger with a burnt hilt that had belonged to my father. Not much, but I treasured both.
Once I was done, I slung my bag over my shoulder and made sure my bandoliers were nice and tight. I clasped my cloak firmly around my shoulders and tied my hair back into its familiar knot. I was ready to leave, or at least as ready as I’d ever been.
I heard a soft knock and turned to find Anya standing in the doorway with a sad smile painted across her face. “You’ll do amazing things at that Academy,” she said as she twisted her hands nervously.
“I certainly hope so.”
Before I could walk past her, she engulfed me in a hug. She almost cracked my back, and her breasts pressed so hard against my crystals that it couldn’t have been comfortable. Her grip was surprisingly strong despite how slight she was.
“Thank you for saving the town. We know you and Maelor work from town to town, so you had no obligation to help us, but … well, you’ll always have our gratitude.”
I hugged her back and failed to contain the smile that crept up on me. “I would do it again. I could never leave you to die.”
“Good,” she whispered into my neck. “The world needs more men like you.” She broke off her embrace, stood up on her toes, and planted a kiss on my cheek that oh so barely grazed my lips.
We looked at each other for a long moment, before we pressed our lips together. My hands tangled in her hair, and hers in mine. Her lips were soft and tasted like vanilla coffee. Our kisses grew hungrier, deeper, desperate.
I dropped my things and undid my bandoliers before I grabbed her around the waist and picked her up into my lap. With her in my arms, I stumbled back into the small chair behind me. We almost tipped out of it, but we barely noticed. Our kiss never stopped. I explored her flesh with my lips as I moved from hers. I started by nibbling at her ears, which elicited a low moan. Then I traveled down her neck, then to her shoulder, and lower still to her collarbone, kisses planted along the way.
She shuffled out of her tight top. Her large breasts spilled out, which only made me more excited. I continued to kiss and kiss while my hands explored the smooth contours of her back and grazed over her tight butt, and finally made their way to the soft and tender flesh of her breasts. I caressed and massaged them as she kissed me on the lips again, this time softer, more gently.
I broke off the kiss, gave her a peck on the lips, then worked back down to her breasts and wrapped my mouth around her nipples. She moaned loudly and whispered my name over and over as my tongue and mouth worked their magic.
My hands had begun to work off her gown. “Do you think we have enough time?” I asked as she pulled down my pants and gripped me, which sent a jolt down my spine and a smile on my face.
She kissed me long and deep. “Why don’t we find out, yeah?” she asked with a wink and a lustful sigh before she pushed me roughly onto the bed and climbed on top of me. Her hair fell around me, her breasts in my face. She eased herself down more gently onto me, and then I was inside of her.
All was right with my world for at least a little while.
When I looked out the window, the sun was still shallow in the sky. Not too much time had passed. I shuffled out of bed as quietly as I could and hastily pulled on my shirt, trousers, and cloak, then barely tied back my hair before finally pulling on and adjusting my belts and bandoliers. I was sure I still looked disheveled, and maybe even a tad sweaty, but I didn’t rightly care one way or another.
Anya stirred on the bed, her eye cracked open as she stifled a yawn. “Mmm, that was something.”
I cracked a wide grin. “Yeah, I’d say so.” Her flesh was still flushed and sweaty, her hair all over the place, but that didn’t stop her from looking beautiful. She stretched, her breasts fully exposed to the light and the Maker.
“Time for you to leave, I guess.”
“It would seem so,” I said with a nod.
She hopped out of bed and wrapped me in a fierce, naked hug. She whispered into my ear, “If you ever find yourself back here, don’t be a stranger.” She winked and then jumped back into bed and covered herself completely. I smiled widely like a drunken mule. That was one offer that I’d gladly take her up on. But that was not for today or for anytime soon. My life was changing, though for good or bad, I couldn’t yet say.
The mages and mister Sleet were waiting by the front door when I got downstairs, their faces bored and frustrated. They looked at me with annoyance. Anya’s father was nowhere to be seen, though it was a safe bet he’d gone to clean up and help around the town. It would take a lot of work before the town ever returned to a semblance of normalcy. I had my doubts that it ever would.
Maelor sat alone at the table from before. When he saw me, he grumbled, his frown intense. “Have fun? You sure took your sweet ass time, boy.”
I blushed and scratched my head. He knew what I’d been doing. “Uh sorry, I drifted back to sleep. Yesterday was tiring, you know?”
“Mhmm.”
I gave him a cheeky smile and he smacked me in the head, but I didn’t blame him. Then I looked back to him, and his expression had changed. I could see his sunken eyes, the sadness of my leaving. I swore if he cried, I’d lose it. I couldn’t remember a time where he’d shed a tear, so if he started now, I would sob like a fresh newborn. No one wanted to see that.
“You ready?” he asked.
“I don’t know, but I doubt that matters.”
He scratched his beard. “Yeah, I reckon you’re right about that.” He looked around and avoided my gaze. He cleared his throat. “I uh… I wanted to give you something of mine, as a parting gift.”
I put my hands up. “You don’t have to do that, old man.”
He rifled through his pockets. “No, no. I have to give this to you.” Before I could protest further, he pulled out a large essence crystal, brilliant and shimmering. Sharp as a dagger at both tips, it was exquisite, almost like jewelry. I didn’t feel worthy of holding it. Maelor stared at it for a while before he pinned me still with his eyes.
“This was my father’s. Then it became mine, and now it is yours. It’s never been much use to me, anyway.”
Despite my hesitation, my hand reached out and took the stone from him. I had no intention of summoning the monster, but as soon as my fingers wrapped around the warm surface of it, the shock of it almost made me drop it. What laid inside was far too powerful for me. I doubted that even the best summoners could control it.
“Maelor, this is a sun giant. I can’t—I can’t take this.”
He wouldn’t take it back though. “You can and you will,” he said with his hands behind his back. “Even if you can’t summon it, maybe
it will bring you comfort to know that a bit of me will always be with you.”
Damn you, old man. I was the one on the verge of tears now. I knew I couldn’t argue with him, so I nodded and tucked the crystal away in an empty pouch on my back.
“Thank you, Maelor.”
He grabbed me by the back of my head and pulled me down to him so that our foreheads touched. “Make me proud, son. Show those snooty Enclave shits how we handle our business.”
I couldn’t suppress my laughter. “I will.” We hugged fiercely, and I thought I could even feel him cry, but when we pulled apart, his eyes were dry. I turned my back to him and strode toward the headmaster, who waited by the door expectantly with the other mages. I followed them out into the bright morning and into my new life.
Chapter 3
When I joined the headmaster and the others outside, I found the soldiers had gathered up a bunch of horses and were preparing their saddles while the mages stood around and watched them work. Typical. I looked around. The fire-eye corpse had already been picked clean by scavengers and science teams from the Enclave trying to harvest their parts and use them for some crazy experiment or invention.
The streets were practically deserted, but a few townspeople milled about in a daze, cleaning and working to fix their homes. The bodies were all gone. I didn’t know if they’d already buried the dead, but I would have liked to have been there. While I didn’t know everyone in town particularly well, there were a few that I was friendly with.
I turned my head to the airship, but then found that it was gone. That came as a blow, for though I was skeptical of this whole arrangement, I had at least been looking forward to flying for the first time.
“Where’d the airship go?” I asked mister Sleet.
He adjusted his collar. “She was called away for more pressing matters.”
I waited for him to explain further, but he declined to do so. My shoulders sagged. Oh well. I’d gone my whole life without experiencing the sensation of flight, and though waiting was not appealing, I was sure I could manage for now.
No airship meant that we’d likely travel by horse. I was not fond of that idea. I liked horses just fine, but they didn’t like me. Maelor said it was on account of the fact that I carried around all that monstrous energy inside my essence crystals. It was a plausible explanation, though I didn’t have the slightest clue if it was true.
The headmaster stood beside me. “Can you ride?”
I nodded. “Not particularly well, but I’ll manage.”
“Good. It’s a half day’s ride to Carvuule. From there, we’ll take a train to the Enclave. Hopefully, we’ll arrive right on time for dinner.”
That sounded like a fine plan to me. I wouldn’t be able to fly, but I’d never ridden a train, so at least I would get to have one new experience today.
We mounted up. Our horses were hardy stock from up north, tall and bulky. My mare bucked at my touch, as all horses did with me, but I reined her in after a few moments of struggling. I patted down her spotted brown and white coat and whispered nice things into her ear. She snorted, but I think we had an understanding.
With everyone saddled, we took off at a gallop. We soared over the plains, with not much but open fields for hours before we came to a bunch of hills around midday. There, the terrain was broken up by a scattering of small wooden groves atop each hill with open grassland between each. Occasionally I spotted the remains of small hamlets scattered amongst the hills. Whether they were the casualty of monster attacks or bandit raids, I couldn’t say. The end result was the same.
We made great time, so we slowed to a canter when we got to the hills. I itched for conversation, for though I liked the scenery, I grew bored easily. So I spurred my horse to sidle up next to the mages. Though they rode together and were huddled close to speak, they ceased their hushed conversation when I got close.
“What’re we talking about?” I asked a little too enthusiastically.
They glared at me. One of them, with a long red ponytail and thick swirly mustache, answered me. “Nothing that concerns you, flea.”
Flea? That was a new one. The mage had elemental robes, gold with blue trim over his leather armor. Arrogant, this one.
“How do you know it doesn’t concern me?”
The female mage, with short blonde braids and a permanent scowl, scoffed. “Because the house politics of Enclave noble families don’t concern the trivial pursuits of a yokel like you. Now, shoo.” She waved her hand at me.
I laughed and pulled back on my horse’s reins. “It must be very difficult and uncomfortable to ride a horse with that stick up your rear. I commend you for your perseverance.”
The flabbergasted and shocked look in her eyes was all the entertainment I needed for the next few hours. That said, I did try to talk to one of the soldiers. He took up the rear of our group. He had his eyes peeled all around, alert for any movement in the hills and trees, but fatigue and worry stooped his shoulders. A scar along his nose twitched every time he moved his head.
“Having fun back here?” I asked with a smile.
He shook his head. “Not here to have fun. Have to make sure we don’t get attacked by bandits. Lots of them camped out in these hills.”
I shrugged. “I feel like five mages can handle some bandits.”
“Not if they have rifles. They can pick you off before you can get a word out.” He looked ahead to his fellow soldier, then back to me. “Honestly, I’m bored like you, but I’ve gotten in trouble before for being distracted. I can’t risk another reprimand. I don’t need my rations decreased.”
“Fair enough.” I didn’t want to get this guy in trouble, so I went ahead and let him hold his vigil. I almost went to talk to mister Sleet, but he looked content reading a book in the saddle, so I occupied myself with watching the scenery.
When the hills ended and we caught a glimpse of Carvuule sitting at the edge of the Barrowvale Woods an hour later, I nearly whooped for joy. Carvuule was a modern town, not as big as an Enclave certainly, but still impressive. She had large brick walls and tall buildings made of stucco and river stone. Tall leaded windows and shallow gabled roofs with dark blue tile peaked out over the walls. A massive clocktower of golden brick soared over the rest of the town, and beneath it sat the train station.
As we rode through the gates my stomach grumbled again, and I looked around, wondering where we would get food. I was pleased when my ears were filled with the chatter of the market and the general din of conversations. After the lack of talk on the road, this was great, even if it wasn’t directed at me.
As we crossed the main square, a loud whistle sounded, which signaled the arrival of the train. Mister Sleet rode up next to me. “Are you hungry?”
My stomach rumbled again at that. “Yes sir, I definitely am. Will there be food on the train?”
He shook his head. “I’m afraid not, but it will be some time before we can board. The soldiers aboard need to unload the supplies that are being delivered. It shouldn’t take more than an hour, so we have time to grab some food.”
“Good, I could eat a whole troll.”
“That doesn’t surprise me one bit.” He chuckled and led us toward a nice little café along the square to get lunch. It had an open patio surrounded by lilacs and daisies. I took a seat at a table and was only mildly surprised when the headmaster sat with me. Better him than those other mages.
“Tea and your pheasant, please,” he said to the waitress that came to us.
“And some soup and a plate of your roasted vegetables, please,” I told her. I wasn’t usually one for tea, but I felt like it would go well with what I’d ordered. The waitress returned minutes later with our tea, and then a few more after that with my food.
As I dug in, the headmaster sipped his tea and asked, “Have you ever ridden a train, Gryff?”
“No, sir,” I said with a shake of my head, “only ever ridden a horse before.”
He took a bite out of his small phe
asant. “Hmm. Well, I think you’ll enjoy it then. Trains are the most luxurious way to travel if I do say so.”
“Not airships?”
“Airships are … difficult,” he said thoughtfully. “The winds can make flight bumpy and uncomfortable. Though it’s easily the fastest means of transportation.” He looked off, almost in a daze. I could imagine him picturing flight. I wish I could.
“Huh. I’d still love to ride in an airship someday. To fly through the sky … I don’t care how bumpy it might be.”
Mister Sleet smirked. “It is an amazing experience, that much is true. You’ll likely get the chance one day soon.” That response made me beam.
We finished our meals soon after. We didn’t have to wait long before a loud whistle pierced the air. I’d never been on a train, but I’d certainly heard them, and I’d know their whistle any day. The headmaster said it was time to board, so we made our way to the train station, which was only a short walk from the café.
The train station was a quaint, single-story wood thing that seemed too small for the large metal engine that was parked next to it. The engine was a huge metal contraption with pipes and gears everywhere. At its center was a large glass storage orb that glowed and hummed. I couldn’t see through the light of it, but I knew a large essence crystal was suspended there, used to power the train. I’d heard rumors in one of the towns I’d worked in that the military was looking into coal power for train and airship use so that they wouldn’t be so reliant on monsters, but I couldn’t imagine anything being more powerful than an essence crystal.
We boarded the train cars. The car we were in had individual cabins for the passengers, whereas the next two cars were general seating for the soldiers. Beyond them were cargo cars. As I walked down the aisle, I couldn’t help but admire the ornate gas lamps that lined each door of the cabin, the intricate wood carvings on the doors and panels of monsters and battles. The carpet was soft beneath my boots. Mister Sleet was right. This was luxury.
The other mages all sat in one cabin, and when I stood there, unsure of where to go, the headmaster nudged me. “Pick any car you’d like. The ride should only be a few hours, so hopefully, we’ll get back right in time for dinner.” He gave me a grin and a wink, patted my shoulder, then moved past me to shake the hands of an older man in a crisp military uniform that I judged must belong to an officer. The pair slipped into a cabin.
