Spellsword

1 - True Enough

Danis hiked the strap of his pack higher onto his shoulder. He could feel every step along the tough, cragged mountain road with each thrum of pain in his body. The high sun cast no shadows, bearing down relentlessly on the traveler, his skin already cracked and blistered from the journey so far. He grumbled to himself, far too sick of the sight of dry trails and cragged peaks, the magnificence of the Arrynean mountains having worn thin days prior. I should've taken that cart, he thought, begrudgingly, seething over the mistake as he tripped over what felt like the billionth pebble on his trek.

Dan was short for a terren, with curly black locks fashioned into a bun at the back of his head. His blue eyes swam with pale wisps of mysta, reacting to the scarce, unbound threads suspended in the air. He was smartly garnished, with an embroidered wine-red surcoat tucked into a leather belt at his waist, but his clothes had grown dirty and unkempt during his hike - the collars of his boots wilted from the heat and the cloth at his neck and arms salty with dried sweat. The sword at his belt clanked and clacked familiarly against his knee, ready to be drawn - although it had been weeks since he'd seen any reason.

Surprising, Danis thought, not a single brigand attack since I started. Elmaister said they'd be stalking me from the moment I set foot on the mountain. Maybe it's the heat... At this, he stopped, doubling over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. He'd never felt labored like this before - usually fatigue could be cured with the simplest of bindings, but the air was too thin and dry up here to carry enough mysta. He felt a little revitalized at his last stop for water, the blue "threads" of mysta almost leaping from the trickling stream to his hands as he filled his waterskin.

Untying the bladder from his belt, he uncorked it and took a swig, closing his eyes contentedly. The surge of vitality he felt as the cool water touched his lips was almost intoxicating. He could feel the mysta bind itself to him, strengthening him, but the feeling had passed and was gone almost as quickly as he felt it. Still, he sighed with satisfaction. Whenever he felt particularly drained like this, fresh water always seemed to restore whatever energy he had lost.

Having paused mid-step, Danis used this moment to look around. He hadn't been paying attention to where his feet were carrying him, only ensuring that he stayed on the obvious cliffside road. A sudden crack of stone against stone commanded his sight almost immediately, and Dan quickly spun to look at where the noise came from. Behind him, a rock had fallen loose from the mountain face above and tumbled into the road, kicking up powdery dust where it lay. The little mysta he could see in the air reacted lazily, wrapping hair-thin, gossamer tendrils around the rock before they too settled, seeming to disappear into the air again.

Without a thought, he stretched his arms above his head and kicked his feet back into work, pressing onward up the road. For some time, he pondered what kind of town this "Sinos" was. He liked to make bets with himself, sometimes, trying to predict something before he encountered it, wagering whatever he could; purely for entertainment. Could be a mining town, this high up, he thought. Passed some heavy carts on my way, could've been filled with ore. He decided that if he was right, he'd buy an ale at the tavern. If he was wrong, well... that would be telling of how smart he actually was, which was punishment enough.

As if the thoughts of the village alone conjured it, Dan turned at a switchback and saw the town sitting above him on the cliff, not far at all. To his left, a signpost read: Sinos → and below it: Arrynean Border ←.

Relieved, he adjusted his pack once more and continued on, strength returning to his legs again - this time without magic. The sun beat down on this village just as harshly as it did on the road, but the thought of sanctuary was enough to shield Dan. The thatched roofs and stony houses of the village loomed over the rest of the cliff edge, as they were built on stilts, a complex array of wooden walkways and scaffolding connecting them all. They seemed to have been built around the stones and boulders protruding from the mountain-face.