"Well, I'll be. We have two mages with us." Yrak said. Lise smiled at him, beaming with pride.
"Well, I had the good fortune of kidnapping my second cousin. Who, might I add, specializes in healing. Though I have to teach her more complex healing."
"Shut up; I got you able to heal yourself."
"And I showed you gratitude."
"Remind me to teach you proper gratitude, then." I shook my head and looked at Yrak and Az.
"Yrak, you got a weapon that won't kill me in one hit?"
"I do, Leha," Az said, smirking and grabbing their bow.
"Make me a pincushion then. Lise needs to be able to heal combat wounds, and what better way than?"
"You're an idiot. Just cut your hand with your knife." Lise said, smacking the back of my head. Yrak laughed at the scene before him.
"I see so much of Thyme in both of you," Yrak chuckled at us,
"That's a much better idea than what I had come up with. I know, Yrak; it's painful at times." I shook my head.
"So, what's for dinner?" Lise said.
"O'Ad, you may hunt Yrak to feed yourselves tonight," Az said
"C'Tek'n O'yi, Az, but that's not necessary. I brought food for our journey," Yrak said.
"Hy'ys,"
"That still didn't answer my question," Lise said, crossing her arms. Yrak smiled and reached into a bag that was hanging from his side. I shot him a questioning look, and he pulled out a bag that was bigger and fuller than the one he wore.
"You also have a Bag of Infinite Space."
"Yes, we all did." Where is Justin's anyway? I noticed it was missing as soon as I recognized you. There were always two things he had: the Library and his bag."
"In a Castle of mine, I took from a spoiled lord who insulted me."
"I wonder."
"What?" I replied
"When you get the bag, we'll check, but he probably took it out anyway.
"What's in the bag, Yrak?" Lise said, practically drooling over the bag Yrak pulled out.
"Venison Jerky, biscuits, and apples."
"Apple, now please." She said. Yrak opened the sack and pulled out a bright red apple, and before I could blink, Lise had grabbed the apple out of his hands and took a loud bite. "It's been days since I had any fruit. Louis would bring back a whole bunch whenever he left for the woods. I miss my fiancé." She said, holding back a tear.
"You're engaged? You may be his granddaughter, but actually, never mind. He got married himself."
"So, we keep walking for about 2 more hours and take on the bandits in the morning?" I said, starting down the trail again.
"Lela, the bandits are that way," Az said, pointing down; upon a second look, it was a deer trail.
"I knew that," I grumbled and followed Az and Yrak into the woods with Lise silently chuckling next to me. The trail was clearly meant for smaller animals than us, but that didn't stop Yrak and Az from seeming like the very forest was helping them glide along. Lise was able to navigate the brush with no trouble. She pushed, ducked, and dodged her way through. I felt the entire forest fight my every move. Roots that Lise didn't see, I tripped on. Branches swung from the wind, clearing her way, then swung back, hitting my face.
"We're at the edge of the Protected," Az said, after a stick found its way into the back of my cloak for the up-teenth time. "Fantastic, I'm over this place. It feels like the trees themselves are sick of my presence. It was just the Aura at first, but now the plants are physically attacking me, I said, taking a few more steps. As soon as I stepped out of the strong elven Aura, I felt silence, True Silence. I closed my eyes and sat down on a fallen log. The silence was overwhelming at first; I had grown accustomed to the buzz of the forest. Now it felt like I was missing a limb.
"The C'Qa'ad want you to be better, Ta'uq of C'Tola," Az said in elvish, looking at me.
"Look, I understood most of that. But why do the trees want me to change? I don't owe this forest a Selk thing."
"The C'Qa'ad do not speak for The Ry'Qad'c. The why is yours to discover, Ta'uq."
"So who do they talk to then?"
"A'Jaqo'C'Tuk'H," Az said. I let out a sigh that felt like it calmed down the Universe. I looked at Ana, and she was smiling at me.
"What are you smiling at?" I said to Lise.
"She sees what C'ta May'M'za sees in you. The Spark to be something better than you are." Az said, looking around the woods. "The forest does feel different. It's not you." I said to them.
"It's quite drastic. Like the forest is cut off from itself, a forest that is alive but not living is the best description I have for it. It's the first time I've experienced it. I've never been beyond The Ry'Qad'c until now." Az said.
"That is a good way to understand it. I don't know why some forests have that aura, and others don't. Justin would have had that answer." Yrak said. As they looked around, their words rang in my head like cathedral bells. I sighed and looked off in the distance. The sounds of this part of the forest comforted me. Birds were chirping, the setting sun off in the horizon warmed my face, and the squirrels were jumping to and fro from the trees. The conversation Yrak and Az were having was falling away. As the peaceful surroundings lulled me into a meditative state, I felt my mind slipping further and further into the surrounding calm. My mind was drawn back to what Az had said about Lise seeing what the elves saw in me. I knew what they were talking about. Koga was a mask I had built myself, an Identity that let me do what I wanted without suffering the consequences. Now, I sit here dealing with the consequences of my actions. A realization washed over me.
"Hey, Lise." I felt my voice get caught in my throat, and it only came out as a whisper. I looked up and saw she was nowhere to be found. I glanced around and felt my heart skip a beat. I only took my eyes off her for what seemed like only five minutes or so.
"Lise?" I said louder. Yrak stopped unrolling his bedroll and looked at me, then around our campsite.
"Aw, you do care about more than just yourself," She said. I followed her voice to a tree where she appeared with a few decent pieces of firewood.
"Shut it, you shouldn't go wandering off when we're close to a group of bandits anyway."
"His message, albeit harsh, does ring true," Yoak said, with a smile in his eye. "I'm not defenseless, and I would have screamed if I had been attacked," Lise said, walking back to the center.
"The Byys'd appreciate you grabbing fallen limbs for the fire." Az grabbed the wood and started to make a very small fire.
"See, somebody around here appreciates what I do around here," Lise joked as she sat next to me.
"Sorry, it's been these really crazy nightmares the last two nights."
"That's right, you said something about it this morning," She said, looking at me with concern in her eyes.
"Yes, and they're bad. Lise, Mathios has access to one of our grandfathers' books, and he controls everything about these nightmares. He's using them to get information about everyone I'm close with and use that against me." I said.
"So you need something to give you an edge in this dream world?" She said, crossing her arms.
"Effectively, yes, I should have access to my magic in my dreams, but I have nothing. What woke me up last time was when Amelia spoke; it was most certainly her who spoke, but there was something wrong with her voice. Like she was doing an impression of an impression of her."
"I think I actually saw a herb that helps with very vivid dreaming. It might help." Lise got up and started towards where she appeared from. I rolled my eyes and followed after her.
"We'll be back," I called out to the other two. Yrak and Az grunted in unison as we walked off.
"So, what's the plant called?"
"Elvish mint. You brew it into a tea before bed, and it's supposed to let you live for 200 years in just one night. And before you go, why's it called that?"
"I wasn't going to. It might give me an edge; I will not dwell on why it's called something. Most names are just observations. It probably smells of mint and looks like an elf ear."
"That's actually exactly why it's called that. Alright, fine. I just wanted to show off my herbalist skills. Thanks for shutting me down."
"What are cousins for?" I smiled at her
"Well, you're my first ever cousin, and right now. Not living up to my expectations."
"You have expectations for me being a cousin?"
"Yeah, and I'm definitely sure not kidnapping me is at least one of them."
"You mean whisk you off for an amazing adventure."
"You didn't have to burn down my hometown to whisk me away for that amazing adventure."
"That was an accident, and nobody got killed." I heard a branch snap and swung around to see a pair of armored men in what looked to be leather armor.
"Friends of yours?"
"I don't think they were ever really my friends."
"OY, we're standing right here, don't act like we're not," one of the bandits said.
"Shut up, you stupid whelp, before I better put you in your place." The other bandit couldn't contain a snort.
"I think someone just did," said the second bandit.
"Shut up!" both the first bandit and I said together.
"Now, take me to somebody who actually matters in your organization before I incinerate you," I said, finishing my sentence with a conjured fireball in my hand. The bandit's eyes went wide.
"Wait, I remember that tone now. You're the boss's boss, ain't you?" the second bandit said.
"Ah, good. This one has a brain after all. Take us to Leonaides then, since he's still in charge!" The bandits looked at each other and shrugged.
"Alright, follow us then," the first bandit said. They started as I went to follow. Lise shot me a concerned look; Yrak and Az were still at camp, unaware of what was happening. I motioned towards our guides and gave her a reassuring look. She slowly nodded, and we began our way into the belly of the beast.