“That can’t possibly work Anon.” Lucy stated. “It would take exceptional control to keep the storm from taking him too.” She folded her arms and leaned toward Anon in a clearly hostile pose.
Mistress Anon laughed at her friend, clearly unfazed by her anger.
“I believe in you Lucy. I have seen you do exceptional things that no other sorcerer could even dream of doing.”
“You should have seen my grandfather. You would have taken him for a husband with how powerful he was.” Lucy replied solemnly. It seemed her anger had fizzled with the mention of her power.
“Oh, come now.” Mistress Anon muttered as she shifted uncomfortably. “You can’t think so little of me. Mere power would not entice me into such an abominable union.”
And with that Lucy let out a laugh that would put most men to shame. It boomed off the distant walls and echoed back to us with a surprising vol
I walked out of the cellar and into the fresh cold night air. It was crisp on my face as the temperature dropped dangerously low. I looked around at the ivy wondering what kind of temperatures the invasive snarl enjoyed the most. Mistress Anon sped away to talk to the surrounding hunters as I continued back to the Enclave. Her instructions to me after I finished my questions were clear.I needed to check in on everything and report back on the status of The Widows Enclave. She informed me not to judge the girls for what I see. Some of the clientele have specific tastes. I had three people I needed to talk to in specific.Mistress Anon wanted reports from the patroness on the bar, from Cynthia on the “back room”, and Bethany who was the gal in charge of the upstairs while Madam was away. If I saw any disturbances on the way while in the Enclave I was to “help in whatever means necessary”. When I asked her to elaborate on that, I received a harsh
I glared up into the rising sun. The heat of it on my face. I resent the very sight of it. My head begins to pound terribly as I turn away for the blinding angle of the sun. The alley way I have found myself in reeks of cat piss, feces, and rotten meat. I work to block out the overwhelming odor as I cut past the beggar who resides behind this butcher shop. I don’t have time for his simpering today I have a schedule to keep, and I could already feel I was running late. I found my way to the back door and dutifully smacked the center three times with the side of my knuckles, a hard resounding knack-knack-knack. “Whacha want now!?” boomed an irriate voice from behind the door. The door swung open quickly with a whoosh of air in the very next second. The butchers cragged and pock scarred face greets me with a familiar scowl twisting his flawed features. “Don’t get your knickers in a twist Morty. It’s just me. Looks as though your pariah has gone an
I heaved a deep sigh and got up from the fire. I quickly removed the pan so the steak wouldn’t burn and kicked some dirt over the remaining flames to smother the fire. Once I was satisfied that it was properly extinguished, I proceeded to the still child.I placed a finger under her nose and felt the gentle breath of life emitting from her. Well, she wasn’t dead, yet. After another deep sigh, I began to gingerly test her neck and spine for any signs of damage. She appeared to be fine, just out cold. I replaced her arms on her chest and sat down to finish my steak. She had until I was done eating and then I would be on my way again.As I sat there eating my bloody steak, periodically licking the trails of blood from my fingers. I looked over the child once more. She was definitely human. There was no dwarven or elven features to speak of, and she was far to small to be of orc descent. Her cloths were worn in and patched. Coming up short on her legs and arms.
As I predicted, I didn’t have any spar time to make dinner as I finally neared the top of Witch Mountain. The path was obvious once you knew the trick to it. Every few meters there would be a rod hammered into the ground, surrounded by a patch of mushrooms. It looked like there was a large portion of the mountain dedicated to the growth of mushrooms. And what was worse, every time I accidentally trod on the vile things, the child would scold me for my carelessness. The nerve of this child.Finally, the journey came to an end as I crossed through a path in a four-foot cobbled wall, just beyond it I could see a modest cottage and a well-tended garden around the side. An old bent man stood inside the cobbled wall, preventing me from proceeding further. I stopped and bowed slightly.“It is a pleasure to see you again Sir FreeForde. How have you been getting on in the last fore moon?” I inquired dutifully as one does with the elderly. Politely and inquirin
After completing the so-called tasks, more like chores, he finally instructed me to meditate for the next four hours. When asked if we should sleep tonight, I was met with mirthless laugh. “We got things to do in four hours boy. We don’t have time for you to falling into a deep sleep. Here starts your training. Now meditate or do without even that.” He stated with a harrumph. He then settled himself into the floor and gestured for me to mimic his posture. I sighed, crossed my legs, and sank to the floor. I watched him closely as he loosely placed his wrists above his knees, took a deep breath, and closed his eyes. I sighed one final time, accepting my fate and copied his actions. As I closed my eyes he began to speak.“Take a deep breath through your nose, hold it for a moment, and then exhale fully. As you exhale, allow your mind to become blank and serene. Push all your angst and worries away as you take another deep breath. Exhale fully again.
This morning has been anything but basic. I didn’t understand what any of this had to do with training. I could feel my skin start to sluff off the bottoms of my feet. Only a few hundred feet left to go and I would be done with this new task.You would think conjuring a mage hand would be easy. But it had taken me the better part of the morning to be able to even get it to appear. It took the rest of the afternoon to make it move. Now it was well past nightfall and I have finally gotten it to carry the damned rock up the mountain. Every time I dropped it, I had to start all over again. I was completely worn through when I blissfully placed the rock on the pedestal atop the mountain.I collapsed as the old man harrumphed behind me. “About bloody well time boy. Took you all day to do a task that took a seven-year-old fifteen minutes to complete. Blessed be I sure hope it doesn’t take you this long to learn all your cantrips. Just to be on the safe side
I woke the next morning to the chill of the wind hitting my face. I felt cold, sore, and alone. I rubbed my eyes as I rolled into a sitting position. I looked about me only to see trees and brush. I was fully clothed, and I had been laying next to the pedestal.If my rough guess at the time was correct, it was about three in the morning. I groaned as I got to my feet. I dusted off the dirt and grass, and I straightened my belt buckle. I began trudging down the mountain. It had been hours since the old man had left me up here to regain my strength to leave.That was definitely not the reason I had stayed so late but I was hoping he’d buy into it. He sure hadn’t mentioned anyone else being up on this mountain. And my skin was dark enough to hide the ‘hickies’ I could feel on my neck and chest. My face began to burn as I recalled the last few hours. Everything that woman did to me had set me on fire and craving more. What a woman. I hoped she would
The next few days were pure torture. Every moment I spent around her pulled my concentration in two. But by the end of it, I knew how to control my mage hand without it being so much strain on my mind and body. I could only manifest fully manifest it for about a minute. If it got more than thirty feet from me, it would vanish all together. And I could only get it to carry up to ten pounds. Sir FreeFord and Nyphiria kept assuring me that these things were completely normal, and most people were bound by the same restrictions. But apart of me felt like I should be able to achieve more.This feeling of unmet expectations continued to plague me through the rest of Nyphiria’s visit. Not once did she come to me or request my time that didn’t involve training. And what made matters worse, the old man was always tagging along to “watch my progress”. He refused to step in and offer any advice, but he watched me steadily throughout the entirety of my training se