Magic Within (Old Version)

Magic Within Part 6

AJ POV

Jazal welcomed us into his home.

"I'm sorry it's a bit... sparse." He apologised. "Times have been tough."

Shira shrugged. "Not as bad as where we were staying."

I nodded in agreement and relaxed into one of the wooden chairs. Surprisingly comfortable. Turning back to the others, I leaned on the table in the middle of what I assumed was the living room. On one end of the cabin there was a kitchen bench and a few shelves and cupboards. At the other end, two doors leading to other rooms. There was also a glass, half filled with water, containing a few wildflowers that brightened up the room. 

Jazal ran his fingers through his hair. "So. What's your plan?"

I sat up a little bit. "The plan, so far, is to gather as many Magicians as we can. After we've gathered as many as we can find, we'll go back to Emiscer and free everyone from that horrible place, once and for all. The two of us," I gestured to Shira, who was leaning against the wall on the other side of the room, "have friends who are either Magicians themselves, or would be willing to give us information on where we can find others like us. Once we have a better idea of our odds and our stengths, we can come up with a more detailed plan of action."

Jazal nodded, considering what I had said. "How many people do you have now?"

"Um," I said.

"The two of us." Shira said, standing up from where she'd been leaning against the wall and moving to stand next to me at the table.

Jazal smiled at us, and held up three fingers. "Make that three."

I grinned, and Shira smiled. Jazal showed us where were could rest our feet, and we slept through the night without incident.

The three of us were standing outside the small cabin, the air smelling faintly of rain, the ground slightly damp. Jazal had packed his things into a few bags, which he had slung over his shoulder. He stared at the cabin that had been his home for ever so long.

"I have half a mind to burn this place." Jazal murmured with a sigh.

Shira put a hand on his shoulder. "You'll be back here soon enough."

He nodded and smiled a little. We turned to follow the trail back to our recent campsite.

Jazal, thank the gods, was armed, and I wasn't about to doubt his ability to swing the axe he held lightly in his hands. Unfortunately, he didn't have any other weapons, but he did offer me his hunting bow and a small quiver full of arrows, saying that he was never a good shot anyway. It wasn't of the best quality, but it was certaintly better than nothing, so I wasn't complaining. If it came to it, I could probably bash our enemies on the head with it. Shira was still without a weapon, but her hand-to-hand combat skills were practically unmatched, so I wouldn't count her out either. In the next day or so, we should be well on our way to our next contact point.

Things are starting to look up.

Neri POV

That night was one of the best sleeps I've ever had. I slept like a log. I woke to Fraier shaking me awake. The sun's rays had barely started grazing the single window in our room. Dimitri was already awake, and stood half-crouched beside the door. As I shook myself out of the drowsy half-asleep state I was in, Fraier turned to Dimitri.

"I wish you wouldn't wear your uniform." He muttered. "We're trying to be inconspicuous. I'm buying you something else to wear as soon as we reach the next town."

Dimitri snorted. "Sure, sure. Inconspicuous, Mister Blindingly White Formal Shirt."

Fraier, who was once again wearing his crisp white shirt and black dress pants, looked a little miffed. "At least I don't dress like a sewer rat."

He left a few coins on the shelf for the Innkeeper to find later, and we silently crept out into the street which was covered in a thin coating of mud.

"Speaking of the next village," Dimitri murmured, "It'd probably be a good idea if we could pick up some horses. As much as I hate riding-"

"As much as you suck at riding." Fraier injected, still a little miffed.

"The speed we'd again would be invaluable." Dimitri continued, ignoring Fraier's comment, his voice sounding annoyed.

"So, where exactly are we going?" I said, trying to break the newly growing tension.

Fraier exhaled, and turned to me. "North, to Irragin, then Northwest to Icemeet. Of course, we'll be stopping at a few small villages here and there, but that's our main trajectory."

I nodded, glad that the tension had dissipated a little.

We left the village without incident. My legs were starting to get tired, truth be told, but complaining wouldn't help anyone. I must've looked bored though, because Fraier stopped us in the middle of the path after an hour of walking or so, and pull us into a small forested patch of land. Dimtri sat down and leant his back up against a tree, the dappled light from the early dawn passing through the tree canopy casting strange shadows across his face as he closed his eyes. I couldn't tell if he was asleep or not. I sat down on a fallen tree, and, after surveying the surrounding forest for anyone who might've been following us, Fraier sat down next to me. After a few moments of comfortable silence, He passed me a small leather-bound book, and a graphite pencil with a little eraser attached to a string, which looked like it could be strung around someone's neck. This wasn't unusual, as graphite pencils were hard to come by. Most writing was done with a quill and ink, by scribes, and that was hardly portable.

"I'm supposed to be recording everything that happens while we're out on this 'quest'," he said, making quotation marks with his fingers when he said 'quest', "but I've never found the time nor the energy to do so. You looked pretty bored, and I can't blame you, so I thought it might be nice for you to have something useful to do." He turned to look at me, an eyebrow raised. "You notice a lot more than most people would expect. Write what you see, write what you hear, write what you notice. Try and keep it as accurate as possible though. No embellishments. I'm trusting you."

I looked down at the notebook and smiled. "Okay! I won't let you down."

Fraier smiled slightly at me, as we drifted back into a comfortable silence once again.

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Who's excited for some c h a r a c t e r d e v e l o p m e n t ?

I am. I like these characters and I'd like to be able to show them off to you a little more.

And also make Shira an actual character and not a plot device that says something useful every now and again -_- I'm actaully pretty annoyed at myself for letting that happen, I'm sorry, I'm gonna fix it I promise.

Thank you for reading this far btw! I really hope you're enjoying it!!

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