The Tale of Tarrance

Tarrance's Dismay

Things were bad, this was bad. Tarrance's thoughts were dominated by the thought of church officials, so many of them, descending on the village and the scrutiny it was going to bring with it. And there was no good outcome for what they were here to do.

If they found that there was no miracle then that would only lead to more questions potentially. And even if they decided for some damned reason that it was a miracle from Orros it would only lead to a more permanent presence of the church, a monastery at the very least would be erected. The town would grow from there as more and more people flocked to the area. Untold numbers of pilgrims would travel to the latest place that their god had tread and even more would follow to make a living from them.

Either outcome sounded like it was just a matter of time before he and his grandmother were discovered for what they truly were.

"A miracle! Seriously!" he had been astounded at Joshua spouting such nonsense. Especially since the coward had tucked his tail and ran at the first sign of sickness and only returned from Forling once word reached him of everything being well once again. This was all he needed on top of everything else.

Tarrance still wasn't on the best of terms with his grandmother after what she had done. Even with the news of the visiting church officials and the dread it brought with it he still hadn't found the time to talk to her about anything that was bothering him.

Yet the magic lessons hadn't stopped but they had gone differently from what he had expected they might have. Especially, as the day of the church's arrival grew closer.

His grandmother's magic may have been different from his but there was still plenty she could teach him. The mechanism of his spellcraft was slightly different when he cast, but the effect was the same. And with the urgency of the disease dealt with the lessons should have become less stressful and far more enjoyable. It should have been fun, learning for the sake of it rather than being pushed to learn before a deadline. But something about the way she was teaching him still felt like there was a deadline involved like she was trying to teach him as much as she could as quickly as she could. It made him have another worry on top of all the others.

Even still when he struggled, he was welcomed with a soft look and the reassurance that he would get it eventually.

"Everyone learns at their own pace," his grandmother would tell him before they would try something else.

Tarrance's relationship with his grandmother had grown strange over the last few weeks. They had always been close ever since his father died, being the only family either of them had left but now the last veil of lies had dropped between them. Their greatest secret was shared and the burden of carrying it was made easier with the help they gave each other. At least that is how it should have been yet there seemed to be a distance between them that he couldn't quite find the reason for.

Sure, he was still a bit sore at her leaving him in the lurch when it came to the final spell to fend off the sickness, the whole business of the spark and what she had done to herself had been infuriating and confusing, but it all worked out in the end so he wouldn't complain too much. Even if he still intended to have words with her about how to communicate given how long he had held back from having that particular conversation perhaps he wasn't one to talk.

Either way, he was now worried that it was Maria pulling away from him for whatever reason. And it only grew worse as the dreaded day grew closer. That must have something to do with it, he had known pretty much it had since he noticed the strangeness between them but every time he felt close to an answer something distracted him. Usually his grandmother.

"Have you spoken to Kerrie recently?" Maria asked him suddenly his dark thoughts interrupted as he sat at the table. It might have looked to Maria as if he was trying to learn a new spell, as he ruminated over materials in front of him but his mind had taken a break from that pursuit a while ago.