She woke up later in the day than normal and found out she had missed the adventurers as well as breakfast. Elizabeth gave her a bowl of cold porridge, which she ate quickly, and deposited the bowl in the dish wash basin in the kitchen. After doing her daily chores, she went back to her room to practice instead of going out for her usual trip around the town with Beth. The girl was finished working with her mother, but now Anna was the busy one.
She spent the rest of the day practicing mana control. She managed to get the crystal to go out several times, but it lit right back up every time she looked at it. That evening, she went downstairs to start her shift. Ted waved her over. “Anna, what did those adventurers talk to you about?” he asked. She explained the events of the night before. Ted’s face fell after hearing the story. “Well, it’s time to get to work then,” he said. She grabbed a tray filled it up and headed to the tables.
She went straight to bed that night. The eyes were back watching and waiting. The next several days were the same, practicing all day and working at night. By the third day, she was able to keep the light out even when looking at it, and by the fifth, she didn’t need to close her eyes. She made steady progress, and by the tenth day, she could control her core with no conscious effort. Like walking or breathing, she only needed to pay attention to it when she wanted it to do something.
She decided to wear the gem as a neckless so she could practice making it light up at will. She thought it would be pretty if she did that. The jeweler in town wrapped the gem in a piece of wire and hooked it to a strip of leather. After twelve days of practice, she could make the gem light up in different spots and make glowing symbols if she wanted to. She couldn’t wait to show Lyreen. The party showed up in the late evening on the fifteenth day. They went straight to their rooms to sleep, not even stopping to say hello.
They came down late the next morning looking like they had slept in their clothes. Except Barika. She looked well rested. She had started to pulse the crystal out of habit, including making the light swirl on the inside. Lyreen looked oddly at her before walking over and sitting down at the table. “How,” she said, pointing at the crystal. “Oh, I’ve been practicing like you said. See?” She began to make symbols in the crystal, and Lyreen just stared. “I’ve never seen anyone that can do that,” Barika said. “Aye,” Thokri replied. “I have. The archmage can control gems like that,” she said.
“We are staying for another week before we head out,” Voekeer said. “We talked it over while exploring the ruins. Would you like to come with us?” he asked. Anna was torn. She liked this town, but she wasn’t going to learn much else here. Apart from the stories the sailors told, this place wasn’t very exciting. “I think I will,” she replied. “Aye, that’s the spirit,” Thokri said. “Come on Lass. Let’s go get you outfitted.” He pulled her arm, dragging her out the door.
Thokri stopped when they reached the middle of the road, not sure where to go. Anna guided him to the market stalls a few streets away, and he was off again, dragging her from one booth to the next. She bought a pack, a bed roll, a small tent he called a shelter, and even a tin mug with a lid. He told her she could cook in it. “I’m going to starve,” she thought, looking at the size of the mug. They went to the food market next and walked past all the wonderful food to a section she had never stopped at.
This vender had dried hard bread squares and tough dry unseasoned, except for the layer of salt, meat strips. Thokri called it jerky and seemed to love it. “I really am going to starve,” she thought. “One more stop,” Thokri said, pulling her away again. They began walking back toward the goods market when Anna noticed they were heading to the stall with a stylized boot on the front. “No, nope, not going to happen,” Anna said while lifting the dwarf up with one hand. “I’ll deal with the stuff you claim is food. I’ll deal with the tiny portions. But there is no way I’m wearing shoes!” She said glaring up at him. “Aye,” he replied with a shocked look on his face. She set him down and stormed back to the inn. After returning, she dumped her new gear in her room and went back to the bar to find Ted.
“I’m going to be leaving with the adventures,” she told him. “I figured that was going to happen being a mage and all. I didn’t see you staying,” he replied. “Your leaving?” she heard a small voice behind her. Turning around, she saw Beth looking at her with big eyes. “Yes. I need to train, and the only people who can train me are leaving in a week. I have to go,” she replied. “But I’m going to need a few travel dresses, and you’re the only one I know who can make them fit just right,” she added smiling. Beth smiled as well. “Bring me the cloth, and I’ll make as many as you need,” she replied smiling back.
Ted told her that she didn’t need to wait tables anymore and that the adventures had paid more than enough for her room as well. Not sure what to do with herself, she went looking for Lyreen to see if she could get a lesson before the day ended. She found the adventures behind the inn. The two elves were standing facing each other holding sticks in one hand. They would hit them together at odd intervals making a cracking sound. Barika was sitting on her knees nearby. She had her head bent down and her hands were holding each other with her fingers interlaced. There was a small statue of a women in front of her. “I wonder what she’s doing?” Anna thought while looking around. Thokri sat on a rock watching the elves intently while drinking out of his flask.
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She sat down on the rock next to him feeling bad about yelling. She turned to apologize. Before she could get the words out, he held out his flask and waved it towards her. She took the flask and drank savoring the flavor. She handed him back the flask smiling. “Thanks,” she said. He nodded. “Aye,” he replied. He looked at her, and then back at the elves, and then back at her, and got a strange smile on his face.
“Lad, while you’re playing with your stick, why don’t you show the young lass here how to defend herself?” Thokri asked. Voekeer looked at the dwarf. “I’m not sure. She is going to be training to be a mage,” he replied. “Baa, she won’t be able to singe skeeters in a week. If you don’t think your stick can handle a round with her, just let us know,” Thokri said. Voekeer got a stern look on his face, snatched the stick from Lyreen, and stormed over to Anna. Thrusting the stick in her direction, he said, “Here. Let’s see what you can do.” They walked back over to the spot he and Lyreen had been practicing.
“First, I’ll demonstrate the proper way to hold a sword and how to swing one,” he said. He held the stick in his right hand loosely, putting his left foot back and his left hand held near his waist. He began to swing the stick first from his right shoulder down to the left then from the left down to the right. He stopped. “There. Now you try,” he said. Anna copied the stance and began to swing. “Good, good. You can stop now,” he said. She stopped, and he stepped closer. “Now I want you to hit my stick with yours. Use the top third of it to hit the middle of mine. I want you to swing as hard as you can so I can get a feel for your strength,” he said. She nodded and looked at Thokri. He was smirking. Lyreen had taken a seat next to the dwarf. “Go on. It’s okay,” she said.
Anna swung the stick with all the force she could muster. When they connected, the was a loud CRACK, and Voekeer’s stick exploded into splinters. They flew across the open space and hit the stone fence. She looked down to see that the top half of her stick was gone. “Fuck,” Voekeer said in a pained voice. She heard Thokri laughing. “Guess your stick wasn’t up to it,” he said, doubling over laughing again. “You knew about this didn’t you, you dammed dwarf!” Voekeer shouted.
Barika rushed over and placed her hand on his. Anna watched as a golden light seemed to form around their hands and soak in. Barika took her hand off Voekeer’s, and his hand seemed completely fine. “Aye, I did. She scruffed me like a cur when I tried to get her shoes. Figured you’d want to know about it, and this was the best way I could think of,” Thokri said.
“Well, I think that display proves my point,” Lyreen said. All the adventurers seemed to be nodding at that statement. Anna looked around. “What?" She asked. “We have been talking about your heritage, and we think you’re a Fae child,” Lyreen said. “What’s that?” Anna asked. “Races can’t mix naturally. It takes magic for an elf and a human to have a child together,” Barika said. “Oh, so what does this have to do with the Fae?” Anna asked “I was getting to that. The Fae are made from magic, so if they go out for a tryst, a baby will usually happen.
Now, the reason we aren’t up to our necks in Fae children is because they don’t come over very often, and they always take the babe with them,” Barika said. “How could I be a Fae child if they keep them?” “Because the children that aren’t Fae enough are brought back and left at a village of the race of their non-Fae parent. They also lose all of the memories from the Fae realm,” she added. “This is perfect. I can just tell people I’m a Fae child, and all the strange stuff will get blamed on that,” she thought.
“That make sense. So, what does that mean for me?” she asked. “Well, not much, but you may have trouble learning mortal magic if you’re too much like the Fae. They cast spells different from the rest of us,” Lyreen said. “I’m sure I’ll be fine. I mean, if I am part Fae, it's not much since they didn’t let me stay,” Anna replied. “You’re probably right. Let’s go start. I’m sure you’ll be a natural,” Lyreen said. They headed into the inn and up to Lyreen’s room to practice.