by Jamie Davis
Rod slid the jar of honey over next to his plate and lifted the ceramic lid pulling out the notched wooden rod to drizzle honey across the top of his breakfast cakes. “These look delicious, honey.”
“They’ll taste just as good as they look, I promise.”
Jaycee came in holding the bucket in front of her with two hands. She worked hard to not spill any as she set the bucket of fresh water down next to the stove and then sat at the table next to her father.
Cari set a smaller stack of griddlecakes down in front of her daughter, who also drizzled fresh honey over them before starting to eat. Cari prepared her plate last of all and sat down across from the two of them. She was so happy here with the two of them it almost seemed like it was a fairytale.
Once again, the hint of shadowy words flashed across her eyes. She had that nagging feeling in the back of her mind that something wasn’t right. She stared at Jaycee and Rodrigo, making sure they were alright. They seemed fine to her eyes and Cari shook her head, banishing the concerns.
Rodrigo looked up at her, concern showing in his eyes. “Is something wrong, dear? Are you not feeling well?”
“It is nothing,” Cari said. She waved her hand in the air to dismiss his worry. “I think I am just having the leftovers of a bad dream from last night’s sleep. It was the oddest thing, you know. You and I were running from someone who wanted to hurt our little Jaycee. We both carried swords. Isn’t that odd?”
Rodrigo laughed out loud. “Swords? Like we were soldiers or something? As if you and I could know anything about fighting. My father would have had me hit with the strap if he thought I would run off to war and become a soldier. There’s nothing quite like earning an honest living working the land with your own two hands. My father always said that, and I believe him.
“My father said much the same thing to me,” Cari said. For some reason, the words didn’t ring true in her ears. She thought for a moment about why they didn’t comfort her the way they should. She shook her head. No, her father had never said anything like that to her.
Her father had always wanted her to achieve great things and would have been disappointed if she had settled down to work a small farm like this at such a young age.
Cari stood and backed away from the table. She stared at her husband and daughter, suddenly seeing them as companions and not her family.
Why was she here?
More of the shadowy words drifted across her vision. She managed to make out three of them before they faded away. They made no sense to her at all.
* * *
Saving throw failed
* * *
She thought about the words. It seemed like it was an odd thing to see. She hadn’t thrown anything. She once again brushed the words away from her mind and sat back down to continue eating her breakfast. There was much that needed doing today on their farm and Cari wanted to make sure she still had time this evening to continue working on embroidering the new dress she’d made for Jaycee to wear at the barn raising tomorrow. She loved to show off her needlework skill to the neighbors. It was the best in the county.
When they finished breakfast, Cari gathered the plates while Jaycee went out with Rodrigo to gather up the eggs from the chicken coop. As Cari washed the dishes off with some of the water from the bucket, she looked out the window at her daughter and husband as they walked towards the chicken coop together.
She noticed once again something strange. At the edge of her vision, things were blurry. It seemed as if the world wavered there just beyond what she could see directly in front of her. Cari wanted to turn and see what was beyond the edge of that wavering area, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of Rodrigo or Jaycee. It was as if the world only existed in the direction in which she was looking.
Something was wrong.
She knew it now. Cari didn’t know what it was, but something wasn’t right with her or with her family. Were they all in some sort of danger? If that was true, she had to act and protect her family.
Her family?
Why did she think there was something wrong with her family? She looked out at Rodrigo and Jaycee again and had the odd thought again that neither of them was actually part of her family.
The instant the thought passed through her mind, many more followed in a crushing wave.
Cari wasn’t married. She didn’t have a husband and had never had any children. She was far too young to have a daughter as old as Jaycee was. This was all wrong.
* * *
Saving throw successful
Magic resistance engaged
* * *
Suddenly, as if someone tore apart a canvas picture in front of her, the image of Rodrigo and Jaycee walking towards the chicken coop ripped away and was replaced with the sideways image of the wooden floor of a small cabin. She could see the legs of a small table and chairs and behind them a small fireplace. Cari blinked her eyes and tried to orient herself to where she was.
The last thing she remembered was entering the old woman’s cabin with Rodrigo looking for Jaycee. The kind woman had invited both of them inside. Then she’d fallen into that strange vision.
Cari’s thoughts went back to the last game message she’d received. Magic resistance the message read. That meant someone had used magic on her. Someone had created that false vision of her, Rodrigo, and Jaycee. Cari sat up, anger fueling her recovery.
Across the room from her, the old woman stood in front of the small fireplace with her back to Cari. She bent over a black, cast-iron pot suspended over the flames.
“What have you done to us,” Cari whispered, her voice hoarse as she struggled to get to her feet. Her mind was still fuzzy, and she found herself stumbling a little as she stood up. Dizziness threatened to make her fall back to the floor of the cabin.
The old woman spun around. Her eyes wide with shock. “How did you break my spell? No one has ever been able to break my spells before.”
Cari drew her dagger and pushed past the dizziness, advancing on the old woman.
“None of your unsuspecting victims has ever been a member of the Dix family before. You made a mistake casting that spell on me. You should have killed me while you had the chance.”
The woman backed away from Cari sidling around towards the cabin’s only door. Cari turned to continue her advance around the table. An open flyer on the table caught her eye. Once again, Cari saw a remarkably accurate drawing of her face along with a description of Jaycee. This time there were also descriptions of the Dragoons, Rodrigo, Helen, and Francesca. Below the descriptions were the words, “2,500 Gold Crowns for any information leading to their capture.”
Cari snatched up the flyer and held out in front of her. “Is this what you’re after? You thought you could capture us with this simple magic spell?”
A glance around the small cabin revealed Jaycee lying on a cot in the corner and Rodrigo collapsed on the floor next to where she’d been lying moments before. “Release my companions. Release them this instant or so help me I’ll break the spell by gutting you with my dagger right here in the middle of your home.”
Rage boiled within her. Cari felt betrayed and deceived. She was embarrassed at being caught by the illusion, in part because something deep inside of her had enjoyed the vision the woman had cast on her. That revelation renewed her anger and she took another step towards the old witch. Cari wanted blood.
She wasn’t sure, however, if killing the woman would break the spell on Rodrigo and Jaycee. Cari took another two steps forward, pinning the woman against the wall with a hand against her chest while holding the point of her dagger at the woman’s throat.
Cari looked back at her friends, trying to puzzle out what to do next. Rodrigo’s eyes were open in a blank stare as he walked through the vision created by the old witch’s spell. Jaycee still lay on a small bed in the corner. She too stared forward, still caught in the illusion.
Cari turned back and fixed her eyes on the woman cowering before her. Then she noticed the w
oman’s lips were moving.
She was casting another spell.
Cari leaned forward and pricked the tip of her dagger’s razor-sharp edge against the woman’s throat. A drop of blood welled up and dripped down onto her bosom. “Utter one more syllable and you’re done,” Cari hissed. “Just one more syllable.”
The woman’s lips stop moving and her resolve withered beneath Cari’s grip and the tip of her dagger.
“Finished with trying to use magic against me?”
The woman didn’t say anything, she merely nodded.
“Good. Don’t talk, just nod or shake your head. Do you need to say anything to break the spell on my friends?”
The woman shook her head.
“Also good. Now, without saying a word, bring them out of the spell you have them under.” Cari kept her eyes on the old woman, ready to skewer her the instant she said anything before she got any more spells off. Behind Cari, she heard both Jaycee and Rodrigo groan and begin to wake up.
“Where am I?” Rodrigo asked. “Cari, what’s going on?”
“Go and help Jaycee. This woman cast a spell on us so she could try and take the bounty offered for our capture.”
“But, what about the farm, and our family together? It was all so real.” Rodrigo’s voice sounded confused. He still wasn’t entirely free of the spell’s effects. Cari wanted to turn to look at him but resisted. She needed to make sure this woman didn’t cast any more magic on them and she was unsure how much she might be able to do if Cari wasn’t vigilant.
Jaycee called out to Cari. “Mama, uh, I mean, Cari, that woman asked me to come into her cabin. Then she gave me something to eat and told me to lie down and rest while she went to look for you and Da— I mean Rodrigo. Then I had a bizarre dream. It was a dream, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, honey, it was a dream, a spell. It was cast by this woman while she tried to capture us for the reward. We all fell for it. It’s alright, though. I’m here now. I told you. I’ll always come to rescue you.” Cari spared a glance back to reassure the princess.
The old woman took advantage of Cari’s distraction and lunged towards the door while muttering something under her breath. She almost slipped past Cari’s guard.
Almost.
Without a thought, Cari turned back and plunged her dagger into the woman’s chest piercing her heart and driving her to the floor. Cari knelt on top of the woman, watching the life fade from her eyes. Killing used to bother her, but this one had her bloodlust up.
Cari shook her head, a savage grin on her face. “Foolish woman. I told you I’d kill you if you tried anything.”
* * *
8,000 experience awarded
Quest completed — escape the witch’s trap
25,000 experience awarded
Quest completed — locate the lost princess
25,000 experience awarded
Level up!
* * *
Cari waited until the light faded from the woman’s eyes, then got up and wiped the dagger clean, scrubbing off the old woman’s blood on her apron. She turned back to her friends. “I’m going to drag her body out of here and into the woods where the carrion birds and animals can have at her. She doesn’t deserve a decent burial. I’ll be back shortly.”
“Why don’t we all come with you,” Rodrigo said.
Cari shook her head. “There’s no need for that. We found this cabin. It’s safe and dry and out of the way where it’s hidden in these woods. We should take advantage of it. We can stay here safely for at least the night while we figure out where to go next. Clearly, we’re going to need a better plan than to just walk to the Crystal City.” She gestured to the flyer on the table with her picture on it. “Too many people know who we are and are keeping an eye out for us.”
Cari motioned with her head towards the fireplace. “Why don’t the two of you see what she had cooking for dinner. Hopefully, there’s enough for all of us. I’ll be right back.”
Cari bent over and lifted the woman’s legs. She dragged her by her ankles out the door of the cabin, across the clearing and a good way into the woods. She made sure to leave the body well away from any trail in case anyone should pass by.
The cabin was hidden deep in the woods, so it was unlikely anyone lived too close. Cari figured there was no way the woman had time to send for anyone since she’d cast the spell on the three of them. Cari planned on taking advantage of the break to make sure their next move was the right one.
Cari remembered she’d leveled up again and pulled up her personal stats to allot her new attribute points and skill point. She decided to increase her ability to resist magic by increasing her luck score by two.
She added another level to her acrobatic dodge skill anticipating the need in the fight she knew was coming once they reached the city and planned for interrupting the coronation of Timron.
She turned and headed back towards the light from the cabin door. Once again, she’d flirted with death and won. Cari looked over her stats one more time and wondered if the extra luck would do anything.
* * *
Name: Cari Dix
Class: Duelist
Level: 14
* * *
Attributes:
Brawn: 12 - +2 to hit/damage
Wisdom: 10 - +1
Luck: 14 - +3 to all saving throws
Speed: 22 - +7 defense
Charm: 18 - +5 personal reaction
Health: 140/140
* * *
Skills: Two-Weapon Combat, Acrobatic Dodge — 4, Multi-Foe Tactics — 2, Feint — 2, Bladesmith — Master, Prescience — 4, Ambidexterity, Seamanship — Master, Navigation — Master, Aimed Cannon Shot — 2, Earth Sense
Master Duelist — Projectile Dodge (60% Chance of Activation, Max)
Regeneration – 1hp/second (max 60 seconds); 1/day
Experience: 852,500/1,100,000
Chapter 28
It took Hal and Mona five days of hard riding northward to reach the area marked on Colin’s map. On the final day, Hal started noticing signs that a wild grendling tribe lived in the area. Grendlings were distant cousins to goblins. They lived in more of the northern regions of the empire where they followed the caribou herds. They were fairly war-like and not to be trifled with. He was surprised to find one of the northern grendling tribes shifting this far south.
“Mona, we need to be careful. There’re signs of grendlings nearby.”
“How do you know?”
“I saw a rock cairn on the trail back there. I didn’t point it out to you at the time, thinking it was an old marker. I was wrong. There’s another one over there just behind that tree. See?”
Hal pointed to a pile of smooth river stone topped by a human skull.
“It could be just a burial site.”
“This one has no moss growing on it like the other one did. This one was made recently, marking a kill in battle. They boiled the skin off the skull of their most recent kill and left it here as a warning of their battle prowess. I saw some others like it in my travels in the northland when I was training as a mage. It’s definitely a fresh sign of grendlings nearby. We’ll have to keep our guard up.”
Mono looked around and shrugged. “You know best about these types of things. I’ve never encountered these particular beasts before. Aren’t they goblin kin? Can’t we parlay with them for safe passage like you’ve done with the goblins in the Valley of the Sun?”
“I’ve only encountered them a few times. They are like goblins in many ways except that I’ve never been able to get along with them quite as well as I do their southern cousins. Let’s keep our eyes open and be ready for trouble.”
Hal scanned the forest around them as the two of them continued riding. It was getting near dark and they’d have to camp soon.
Mona must’ve had a similar idea and motioned to a line of trees just in front of a large outcropping of rock jutting up from the ground.
“Let’s go camp over there. We might be able to find
some shelter in the rocks. It’ll help hide our campfire from any enemies nearby.”
“Good idea,” Hal said. “It’ll also give us a potential defensible position in case any grendlings show up.”
The two of them headed into the copse of trees. The rock outcropping was huge, towering nearly thirty feet into the air. It was a hundred feet or more across at the base. After a little search around the base, they found a small cave under a rock overhang. It would be a perfect place to camp. There was even room to bring the horses inside with them after some coaxing.
While Mona got the camp situated and picketed the horses inside the cave, Hal went out and cut some of the long grass growing just beyond the tree line to bring into the cave. It would supplement the small sack of grain they had to feed the horses.
Hal returned and dumped the double armload of grass on the cave floor in front of the horses, kicking it to spread it out before them. He turned back to where Mona was already preparing their meal.
“This is perfect,” he said, scanning the cave. We can probably use it as a base of operations while we scout the area. According to the map, we’ve got to be very close to this old wizard’s tower.”
“Let’s eat first,” Mona said. “After dinner, we can do a little scouting before returning to settle in for the night.”
Hal crouched by the fire to help her finish the meal, handing her supplies they had in their packs. Thanks to Mona’s quick work with her crossbow, they’d bagged several rabbits earlier in the day. Now Hal skinned them and cut portions of the meat up to add to their small camp pot over the fire.
The rabbit stew they had for dinner satisfied Hal’s growling stomach. He and Mona made a good team in the kitchen whether at home or here in the wild. If it weren’t for the seriousness of their quest, he’d almost enjoy their little camp excursion. It had been a long time since it had been just the two of them without any other people, electronics or technology to distract them.
