In my years of traveling, I have found that the powers, abilities, and achievements give me the power to do what I want, but it’s the little moments when camping or drinking around the table that give me the strength.

  -Unknown Veteran Traveler

  The next morning, Olivia, her knights, and I get up, pack the wagon with the last of the supplies, and head out. As I am about to walk out the gate of the town, I think about the people I met, and wonder if I should say goodbye. I think about Mia and how I hope she grows up to be happy. I think about old Nan and Orus, thinking the faster I leave, the better.

  Before we leave, I think about Morgana. I can tell she makes Benjamin and Lucian very jumpy, but Olivia and Kurt seemed fine with her, or at least pretended to be fine with her, not to insult me. I make my way to Olivia’s room, and when we are alone, I ask:

  “Does Morgana creep you out?”

  “Morgana’s her name, huh? Interesting name choice. Not really, she’s one of your powers and part of what keeps us alive. It would be like asking if my spear creeps you out. It’s a weapon that can be used against you in malicious ways, but we’re a team, and I wield it to protect us…”

  I’m not sure I like her being viewed as a weapon, but I see the practicality in her viewpoint.

  “Benjamin seems put off by her.”

  “Well, it’s a bit creepy how you call it, her. I’ve seen some veterans talk to their weapons, and it doesn’t inspire confidence in others.” She says while arching her brow.

  “Are you saying you have not named her?” I ask, pointing at her spear to diffuse some of the seriousness in the conversation.

  She looks aghast. “He is named Yismar, and he is a beautiful work of art, not a creepy zombie.”

  I chuckle as she continues in a more serious tone. “Benjamin is a good man, but if it were up to him, you wouldn’t have any weapons. He would probably like it if we all went back to my parents’ estate and never left our bedrooms.”

  I nod at her comment. It bothers me that Morgana is getting some disdainful looks from Benjamin, but after Olivia puts it in perspective, I don’t feel quite as bad. To be clear, I don’t like them treating her badly, but I can understand that there would be no pleasing Benjamin.

  Lucian’s issue is a bit different; he seems a bit creeped out, and considering how her face is in the uncanny valley, I hope to resolve that issue with time and mana. I wonder how they would react if they knew Morgana was really the spirit of a tortured girl.

  Olivia then turns to the elf in the cage.

  “It is kind of creepy keeping the elf around, though. You should kill him; if it were up to us, we would push the elves from this continent. They’ve done enough atrocities over here that they should be removed.” The statement does not sit well with me. Much of what I have seen showed the elves in a bad light, but I refused to condemn a whole race or nation of people as bad.

  When she sees my face, her anger fades, and she smiles at me with forced joviality. “Hey, look, we get it. Keeping him alive can help with growing your skills. Even Benjamin understands why you keep the elf around.” I try to wipe the look off my face and remind myself that they are in the middle of a war. Had I seen my friends and family killed, I might have lost the ability to see the elves as people.

  “Hey, can you tell me more about the war with the elves and why they hate humans so much? I mean, I get the elves have done some heinous things, but why are they coming after us?”

  She takes in a deep breath and deflates some. “You are giving the elves too much credit. They hate humans because we are not willing to be a slave race like the goblins. Still, there was a time when we lived in peace.”

  “Long ago, humans were spread out across the land, but we came together to form a kingdom so people could be protected from the monsters of the dungeons, and prosperity could be had by all. The Elves worked to bring other races under them to serve. Goblins were too weak and were made to serve. Dryads couldn’t leave their tree groves and so could not flee the elves. Trolls were too dumb and were tricked into service through elven mind magi. They attempted to bring us to heel through some of the same ways, but we resisted and pushed them back.”

  “The elves grew angry, and their greatest warrior came forth and waged war upon the plains of man. After years of killing or enslaving us, we were pushed back. One day, their warrior was slain, and the elves lost the will to fight. Since then, we have been training to take back what was stolen from us. The gods blessed us with the demigod hero Hercules, and he led an army of humans into the plains.

  “He destroyed walls with a single punch, and no warrior could stand against him. The magi and warriors of the elves could only hope to slow him through treachery as he drove deeper into elven territory.”

  I feel lost as I hear about Hercules and demigods. Hercules was a character out of Greek mythology!

  “Last news was that he was sitting in an elven city far to the south of here. While we try to consolidate what was taken back, the elves strike at us from the shadows.”

  “Did you say Hercules?”

  “Yes, have you heard of him in your continent?”

  “Yes, but only in our mythology. Zeus had a son who completed a bunch of tasks. I don’t remember all of it, but he was a demigod who was supposed to be insanely strong.”

  She laughs melodically. “Ah, yes, well, there are tales of him, but this is a different Hercules. He was named in honor of the Hercules from legends.”

  “Oh, ok, so he’s not a demigod?” I ask, confused.

  “No, he’s definitely a demigod sired by Zeus.” I’m a bit confused that she thought Greek mythology was real. Then again, I was in a land full of magic. I think back to my dream of Hera on the island and shiver. I had thought that just a dream, but now I begin to wonder.

  “Have you ever seen Zeus?”

  “Well, no… I have been too busy dungeon diving. If you want to see him, though, he will sometimes appear in his temple at the Capitol.”

  “So, the Greek gods live in the Capitol?”

  “No, Zeus is our patron deity, but other gods and goddesses have temples in their patron cities.”

  “So why don’t the Greek gods wipe out the elves? Surely the king of the gods would not let an enemy nation stand.”

  “Well, that is a bit more complicated. The elves are adamant that Zeus is not their enemy, at least openly, but their patron deity is conniving and has the ear of Zeus.”

  “Ok, who is their patron deity?”

  “Hera, goddess of empires and slaves.” She added the second part as if spitting. I listen in rapt attention as I drink in every word. I had grown up knowing the Greek gods were a myth, but now I was told they were real. If magic were real, why not the gods and myths as well?

  I ponder on what Olivia told me throughout the trip. I try to get answers from our elf captive, but he still refuses to answer. My mental prodding feels as though I am on the precipice of a breakthrough, but I am not sure if I want to push forward. Most minds resist or become hostile when I push with any real strength, but his despair feels like it makes his mind more malleable. I feel that I could mold or dig deeper into the elf’s mind, and that scared me. I wanted answers, but did I want to do to him what was done to Morgana?

  No, this was all too much. I still felt that I should be able to create a spell form that translated languages, and that is what I would do. Each day, I continued to try to get him to communicate. In the morning of the day we are to leave, I find the cage empty as I get into the wagon.

  “What happened to the elf?” I ask the group.

  Benjamin gives me a hard stare before looking away.

  “He was taken care of. Healers shouldn’t be made to execute the living.” He then walks away without another word.

  The words feel like they have a deeper significance to him. Why would it matter that I am a healer? Kurt then approaches and puts his hand on my shoulder.

  “We got together and had Olivia take care of him. The experience gained wasn’t much. We also understand that for an outsider who’s never had to deal with elves before, we might seem a bit fanatical. I know you’re a good person and deep down want to help people, but if we had let him go, he would‘ve repaid that kindness by doing evil to the first human he found.”

  I’m a bit stunned at what’s just happened, but I go about cleaning and prepping the camp.

  ‘Are you ok?’ Morgana inquires of me.

  “Yeah, just can’t believe he is dead. I thought I could do more with him, for him, but in the end, all I did was prolong his suffering.”

  ‘I did not see you hurt or attack him.’

  “That is not what I meant-”

  ‘Did you leave a wound to fester or starve him?’

  ‘No…’

  ‘It sounds like you did the best you could with what you had.’

  Back on Earth, what was done to the elf would be beyond barbaric, but I do think Morgana is right. On Earth, we had prisons that we could stock with food and water, since we were in a position of power. Here in the wilderness, he ate the same food we ate, was never beaten, and was left alone except when I tried to communicate with him.

  It is barbaric by my old-world standards, but it’s the best I could do here. I firm my resolve, no, it is the best I could do today, but I will strive to grow stronger so I can face future situations from a position of strength. Each day, I’m stronger, and I will continue until I have the control to change this world into a better place.

  The wagon is pulled by two horses while Benjamin drives the first part of the journey. I take in the rolling hills and greenery of the landscape. I feel the right thing to do would be to start a conversation with my new teammates and start learning about them, but I enjoy the relaxed atmosphere and calming beauty of nature. The nature and trees create a soothing backdrop that is hard for me to describe, and I keep pushing back, starting conversations, to drink in more of the peaceful tranquility.

  Not only is it peaceful, but I see new sights I’ve never seen before. Most of the nature around me is the same with trees, grass, dirt, and plants, but they’re different in small and unique ways. Trees that have leaves in fractal shapes I have seen before. The grass is slightly different, too. Instead of pointed blades of grass, the grass grows like axe blades, creating a weird but strangely familiar view.

  Even the other plants seem strange, vines with shades of blue, hints of green, and veins of dark orange. I think about how little my survival training from my youth will help me, with an entirely new world of plants, all different shapes and colors. Even the familiar pang of thinking of my time in my childhood with my dad is lighter under the joy and wonder of seeing the unique plants.

  As we roll down the road, I see new animals in the distance, weaving in and out of the trees. I see one animal that looks like a hybrid of a deer and a tree. It has brown and thick bark-like skin and antlers that are covered in what looks like blue-green foliage. Were it standing still, instead of bounding through the woods, I’d think it’s just another strange plant.

  I see flocks of birds that look like birds from Earth, but they’re a spattering of color and a collage of shapes that create a fascinating picture. One of the birds I see looks like a majestic raven, but it has purple at the edge of its feathers and a red gem in its forehead. Another is light blue with dark blue at the tips of its wings, with a small fin on its back.

  Once my legs start to grow tired, I make my way into the back of the covered wagon and sit across from Olivia. She’s nestled between some crates with covers to pad her seat. She looks up as I move across from her, causing the cheap wagon to sway with my movements. Morgana stays outside the wagon but within eyesight of me. I can feel she doesn’t trust Olivia or her knights.

  The night before, she relayed this concern when I asked her for her thoughts on the strangers we would be traveling with. She insists that we would be outnumbered, despite my reassurances that numbers will protect us from other threats like predators in the wild.

  She suggested I raise at least two other elves, so I would have the numbers without the need for strangers. I thanked her for her opinion, and she relented when I mentioned that spreading myself so thin would only make things more difficult for me.

  “So, tell me more about you, Olivia,” I ask in as jovial a tone as I can manage.

  “What would you like to know?” She replies, trying to match my tone, but grimaces in pain as she answers. I can feel through my empathy that she’s unsure about me, and her response is measured.

  “Tell me about your parents and where you grew up,” I ask, trying to start with something simple. Everyone has parents after all… but then again, anything is possible in a land with magic.

  “My parents are the Lord Terrance Victor Heartbran and the Lady Silphia Rachel Heartbran. I grew up in the Heartbran Earldom. Being trained from a young age to master my skills for the good of my family and kingdom.”

  The response seems like one she’d given many times and is far too rehearsed.

  I nod along, “Fascinating, what did you do for fun when you were younger?”

  She takes a deep breath, about to speak, but pauses. The question takes her aback. I can tell my question derails the practiced conversation script she had expected me to follow.

  “Well, when I was a child, I was trained in all the basic weapon katas. I enjoyed the spear the most. Once I was tested at the age of awakening, I began practicing fire and spell forms. Once I had mastered my first dual magic combat spell, I was sent on dungeon runs once a month to train. When my parents impressed the duty of high nobility during the war, I was given access to one of the royal dungeons where I found my staff.”

  I listen, trying to be an attentive listener. It sounds like an exciting childhood, but not very fun. It’s clear she decides to continue with the practiced speech, unsure how to answer my speech. I listen, soaking it all in.

  “Right, right… so you are a zombie who was raised in secret. You always do what you are told and never break etiquette.”

  She scoffs and rolls her eyes. I know I have broken through just a bit of her noble fa?ade. “No, I’m not a zombie, which a dead caller would know better.”

  Her eyes briefly flick to Morgana.

  I give her my best winning smile, “ok, so tell me about a time you got in trouble for breaking the rules.”

  Strangely, that question evokes a spike of emotion that I catch through my empathy. It’s gone before I can interpret it.

  She gets bashful as she admits, “Well, I will admit when I was a girl, I snuck away to a small dungeon in the wilderness that was being contested by two estates. With the two houses vying for control, they were too busy watching for each other to see me. I only made it to the mini-boss, which was a major accomplishment for me. When I came back and exclaimed to my parents what I had done, they were quite… frustrated. Of course, while they were stern with me publicly, they each secretly met with me to tell me they were proud of me.”

  “Tell me more about dungeons. What was the one you went into like?”

  “Well, it was a wind and earth affinity dungeon. As you would probably expect, most of the creatures were desert-themed. Wind affinity snakes, earth affinity scorpions and rats, and even a cactus boss on the first level. The second floor had a scorpion boss, which gives me the shivers even now.”

  “What about on the islands? Are there dungeons out there?”

  “I’m not as familiar with them. Most nobles stick to the mainland since the island dungeons are normally low-level and hard to defend. Most of the mainland dungeons have entire estates built around them to defend and conserve the resource.”

  “So, all the dungeons on the mainland are controlled?”

  “Nobles are assigned if one is discovered. They can use it to train soldiers, sell dungeon runs for revenue, and most of all contain them so they don’t start spilling monsters.”

  “Dungeons will release monsters?”

  “Only if it is severely neglected. The monsters will go hunting and bring back resources to the dungeon, but I’ve only heard about that in stories.”

  “What about the island dungeons, won’t they spill monsters that will eventually make it to the mainland?”

  “That’s part of why the adventurer’s guild is so important. They will send adventurers to stop the monsters or run the more perilous dungeons once they have a high enough rank. In fact, most nobles are part of the adventurer’s guild because of the benefits and opportunities to get quests or run dungeons.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “You make it sound like the adventurer’s guild is a real powerhouse.”

  “Well… they help coordinate the needs and resources of the nobles. Instead of a lord trying to find a mage to sell a dungeon run to, or to aid in a roaming monster band, they issue a request to the guild. Most of the highest-level adventurers are nobles, so in a sense you are right, but they don’t do much aside from the logistics of quests and dungeon runs.”

  After conversing for a while, she keeps mentioning adventurers running dungeons, but not anyone else. “So, adventurers only run dungeons?”

  Her brain locks up until she remembers I am a foreigner in a foreign land.

  “I can see how you would think that, but no. As a noble adventuring team, we have greater access to dungeons, which give access to magical items. Many adventurers go from town to town taking quests to assist with monsters, protection, or more mundane tasks. Kurt and Benjamin will sometimes do these quests for a little extra money. It’s far more efficient to get experience or gold by running a dungeon than hunting a single monster. With the war, though, some of the adventurers from lower nobility have been able to grow in power and status.”

  I furrow my brows and ask, “So, adventurers are given quests for the war?”

  “Nobles are expected to take quests from the adventuring guild. I didn’t reach the level threshold to participate this time. Citizen adventurers usually don’t reach the same level, so they aren’t reliable enough to participate. Once they do gain enough levels and prestige, a noble will provide patronage, which will give them greater access to dungeons but will contract them to do a certain number of quests for free and require them to defend territory during wartime.”

  “Kind of sounds like knights.”

  “No, though that is how most citizens become knights. A noble will recognize their talent and send them to the academy. Doesn’t happen often, but does happen.”

  “Backing up a moment, there were supposed to be adventurers protecting that town? Was that what you were doing?”

  She snorts at my questions in indignation. “My parents wouldn’t give me a quest to defend a backwater town; my time is much better used running dungeons to level and find better equipment. The mayor couldn’t afford to hire any adventurers, and even if he did, what he could afford wouldn’t have been enough to hold off two squads of elves. If they pooled their resources, they might have been able to hire a squad of knights, but I am a noble and I barely held them off.”

  Some of the noble pompousness bleeding through makes me a bit uneasy, so I change the direction of the conversation. “You said you were a dual mage. What are your affinities?”

  She straightens up some and a bright smile crosses her face as she announces, “My father had the affinities of fire and wind, giving him lightning dual affinity, while my mother had wind and light affinities, giving her the dual affinity sound. I have the dual affinities of fire and light, giving me access to the affinity of gleam. Though I am sure you saw the power I was able to wield on the battlefield.”

  I had enjoyed learning to use magic and felt like I was becoming quite powerful, but her family sounded terrifying. Facing off against a mage who could shoot lasers, lightning, or sound… I could only imagine the ways they could dish out damage, and I could think of no way to adequately defend myself. I count myself fortunate that I didn’t need to defend myself against such attacks during the defense of the town, and hope I never would.

  “Did you get anything good from the dungeon you ran?”

  She shrugs. “I found a ring that had a slight mana increase and a minor stamina increase. Kurt is wearing it now.”

  I furrow my brows. “Wouldn’t the mana benefit you more? Kurt seems like a very strong man, but if you could fire another beam of fire that could do more damage.”

  She shrugs. “It’s not enough to fuel a single use of that spell form, but it will allow him to enhance his attacks for two or three more swings.”

  My mind catches on the statement. I hadn’t seen any proof that Kurt was a mage. “Does Kurt have an affinity?”

  “No, but he’s a knight and is trained in the basics of unaligned affinity.” I feel the world shift under me. I’ve been using my unlocked affinities, but I never tried to use my mana for other cases. I’m not sure how to do it, but I knew I needed to learn more. Even if I never used it, I don’t want my ignorance to kill me in a fight.

  “Ah, I never had much practice with unaligned affinity. Maybe I can ask for some training.”

  She has a strange look but quickly schools her face before saying, “The adventuring guild should have basic training stones available. It would be better to go through an established trainer, though it will probably be a waste of time. With your dual affinity, you should focus on your other powers. Speaking of, what is your dual affinity? I saw your healing, and it looks like you also have some necromancy. What other spell forms do you possess?”

  “I have an ice attack, water healing, water manipulation, and a raise undead spell form.”

  I give her a list of my water, ice, and darkness spell forms, but do not talk about my mind, delve, or blood affinity. There seems to be a great emphasis on being a dual mage, and I’m not sure what having more affinities would mean. Would I be hailed as royalty or seen as a threat that needed to be dealt with? Maybe both? I could always let them know later.

  “That is an interesting set of spell forms. It sounds like your spells are all over the place. Did your master have a direction for how you are supposed to use your abilities?”

  I shrug. There seems to be a strong emphasis on using only spell forms, and it bothers me. Like I’m missing something. Most of my magic revolves around using magic without spell forms. Maybe they grew more efficient and powerful as they leveled to the point, they were this world's “meta”: the strongest way to use magic.

  “No, not really. I just kind of picked them up as I used my magic.”

  A blank look goes over her face, and she tilts her head in confusion. I can’t help but think it’s a bit cute. I quickly banish the thought.

  This time, she doesn’t hide her surprise, “What do you mean you just picked them up?”

  “Well, I used my magic affinity until it coalesced into a spell form.” I can feel confusion radiating off her, and I feel as though I misstepped.

  As if not understanding my words, she asks, “Jason, what do you mean you used your affinity until it turned into a spell form? You mentioned the water manipulation spell form. How did you learn it?”

  “When I was on the island, I tapped into my water magic affinity to shape the water. After I used my affinity enough, I just learned how to use the current spell form,” I say.

  “Ok, but how… did they have training stones on the island?”

  I shrug, “I just did it. Like how I can freeze water into ice.”

  Her tone changes as if talking to a petulant child, “Yes, but you have the spell form to do that.”

  I take a different approach. “I mean, I do now… ok, let me ask you this. How did you learn your spell forms?”

  “I was given a learning stone, and I would flood the stone full of mana until I memorized the spell form. My parents had a few in their library, but they had to purchase the dual affinity training stone, which was rare and costly.”

  I feel concern and interest radiating off her. “Is this not how you did it?”

  I shake my head. “I just kind of messed around and found out.”

  Her face changes, and I can see a look of recognition. “I guess it’s true; you must be a wilder. I’ve heard stories of some magi stumbling upon spell forms. I never actually believed them myself. You are quite lucky to have learned so many and not blown yourself up, especially a healing one.”

  I nod my head and let the statement sink in. I wasn’t worried about the healing one since it was given to me by a quest, but at the mention of accidentally blowing myself up, I think I should be more careful in the future.

  I inquire about their spell forms she knows and learn she has nine spell forms for her three affinities: spark (fire), illuminate (light), cone of flame (fire), flash (light), ray (gleam), fire shard (fire), fire shield (fire), laser pointer (gleam) and fire shard (fire). Kurt has a general enhancement spell form that increases his strength stat by one and another that increases his agility by one. Benjamin has agility, dexterity, and a vision enhancement for unaligned spell forms.

  “I know there are a few light spell forms that enhance vision, but I have not gotten around to buying them yet. I am trying to save up for a few spell form upgrades. My ears perk up at this. She picks up on my interest.

  “Ah, I forgot you are a wilder. Some affinity users can manipulate spells. It is a complicated and high-level technique; I am told it can be learned by some of the most experienced magi. With enough money, I can get some of them to change my spell form to make it do more damage, be more mana efficient, or enhance it in other ways.

  All my starter learning stones: spark, illuminate, and laser pointer, will need to stay at their base form for the future; otherwise, they would be too hard for new magi, but my family has accumulated a couple of enhanced spell forms and even a twice-enhanced fireball spell form. I’m not able to learn it yet, but I’m hoping that after a few more dungeons and I will get there.”

  “Do you need more attributes or mana to wield the new spell form? What is holding you back?”

  “No, a bigger mana pool will help, but my staff reduces the costs of all fire-aligned spells. As you practice your spell forms, you might have seen on your status sheet that there is a magic level. Once you use a spell enough, it will level up, and eventually you will have the capacity to learn higher-level spells. Wait, you do know how to access your status screen, right?”

  “Yes, I do,” I say distractedly as I think about what she had said. She’s saying all the affinity users learned spell forms, and then the high-level affinity users could use their magic skill to enhance spell forms. I already have the ability to manipulate raw affinity mana, so I should be able to create new spell forms or enhance existing spell forms. I’ve been doing everything intuitively so far, but I need to work on using my spell forms while watching what happens.

  My mind swirls with thoughts, so I walk for a bit and digest what I had been told. I thank Olivia, then jump off the wagon.

  Throughout the day, I’ve been giving Morgana some of my excess mana, which, with my increased mana regen, turns out to be quite a lot. It’s mentally taxing to use my mana all day long, so I don’t give her all my mana regen, but about ten percent of what I generate goes to her. As I continue to walk, I decide to pull a little water with my current spell form and watch it as I spin it in a circle.

  To my frustration, all I see is water spinning. I decide to take water with aqua kinesis and spin it in a circle beside it. The unformed magic is much slower and is harder to control, but I notice it is much more flexible. I try to concentrate on the feeling. After about an hour of spinning water in both of my palms, a voice interrupts me.

  “What are you doing?” Kurt asks with general interest.

  “I am practicing my spell to see how it feels.” He nods his head as he watches me. I also notice Benjamin comes over to look at what I am doing for a second before going back to driving the wagon.

  Then an idea strikes me. If he could enhance his sight, maybe I could somehow figure out a way to see magic. I contemplate the thought for a while, worried about damaging my eye. Even the knowledge that I can heal whatever damage I do doesn’t make the idea of messing up my eye any more appealing.

  With a slow, light touch, I try to overlay water magic on my eye. I go through trial and error for a few hours, but the temptation of being able to improve my spells is too much. Eventually, I start to see glimmers of light in my hands. In my left with the unformed mana, I see a glimmer in the middle that is constantly corralled and pushed, while in my right hand is a series of points of light creating a tunnel like a construct. The process of seeing mana is slow and frustrating.

  I only see glimmers of light, like reflections off the surface of water, as the water affinity sight goes in and out of focus. I can feel I’m getting closer as I narrow down how to focus the magical eyesight, but I cannot reliably grasp it by the time my legs get sore.

  I jump into the back of the wagon to continue practicing my magic. Seeing me play with magic on the road, Kurt doesn’t interrupt, but when I move toward the back of the wagon, Kurt asks me to sit with him and watch the road for a while. I gingerly avoid the crates and step over the back of the bench seat to sit in the front. I wonder what he wanted, settling on the idea that he wants to give Olivia some space so she can recover in peace.

  About an hour later, Kurt switches with Benjamin. Kurt steps over the back seat, causing the wagon to rock. Benjamin and Olivia yell at Kurt, but he just smiles and laughs as he settles down. I hold the reins until Benjamin joins me.

  “Do you want to rest for a while? I can drive the wagon.” I’ve never driven a wagon before, but I had observed Kurt for the last hour. He did nothing but sit with the leather straps in his hands. So maybe I didn’t learn much, but I can hold onto the straps for an hour or so. I know I could at least do that while he took a break.

  “You would like that, wouldn’t you?” He says while squinting his eyes so he can discreetly look over at me.

  “Actually, no, that would be more work for me.” The looks of confusion on his face made it worth it, and I can hear Olivia chuckle behind me. I can see the paranoid man trying to figure out what my angle is and how he can do the opposite of what I want.

  I slowly scan the road and the tree line for any movement. I have no idea what I’m doing, but I hope that I’ll recognize any signs of danger before it hits us.

  “So how did you end up with Olivia’s team?” I ask.

  Benjamin answers only with silence. I ask a few more questions to try to get to know him better, but the only response I get is “concentrate on the road.”

  “Don’t mind him,” Kurt says in his deep, jovial voice. “Benjamin is three times as paranoid as normal, so we don’t need to be.”

  “You should be more careful, so I don’t need to be so paranoid. You are too trusting.” He mumbles back.

  “Come now, you know you enjoy it,” Kurt says while slapping the man on the back.

  Benjamin indignantly says, “I do not!”

  “He does too!” I hear Lucian call from his position behind the wagon. We all chuckle before settling into a comfortable silence.

  The ride is uneventful over the next couple of hours, and I enjoy the fresh mountain air. After a while, Olivia says she wants to drive. After a round of light protests, Benjamin changes places with Olivia, but lets me know he’s watching me before sitting where Olivia was just a moment ago.

  Wanting to fill the silence, I ask, “So how long is the ride to town?”

  She grins over at me with a mischievous grin. “You are stuck roughing it with us for three days wilder.”

  We stop for camp an hour after Olivia takes the reins. Kurt starts a fire, and we settle around the flame with our bedrolls. Everyone is exhausted and still recovering from the fight in the town. I notice Kurt settling in to take watch.

  “Do you want me to take a shift?” Not sure if it’s needed because Morgana will be the perfect sentry, but many hands make light work. The more shifts, the more we can sleep.

  “Don’t worry about it, Wilder, besides Benjamin would throw a fit.”

  “Hey! Why does he get to sleep the whole night? He can take my shift.” Lucian adds.

  “Oh no! We are not trusting him with a shift.” Benjamin shouts.

  “Relax, I told him the same thing. Wilder, get your rest, you earned it after all you did to help Lady Olivia.” I shrug, mentally asking Morgana to keep an eye out and drift off to sleep.

  The second day of the trip is much quieter; each of us basks in the serene beauty of nature. At least the four of us do, while Benjamin watches the forest like it is ready to pounce on us at any moment.

  As my own eyes roam the trees and as I get used to the strange nuances of color and shapes, something else sticks out to me. Along both sides of the road are thick trees, neatly paralleling the road. Not only are these trees standing exactly three feet from the road, almost all of them have thick fruit on their bows. More than once, I notice Olivia’s knights grabbing fruit from the trees.

  I move over to Kurt, the friendliest of the bunch, and ask, “How can you tell which ones are poisonous and which ones are safe to eat?”

  His eyes cut to me, and he gives me an incredulous look, “All the fruits are safe to eat wilder, what a strange thing to say.”

  I blink, “Why are there so many fruit trees on the highway? I mean, it’s convenient, but I would expect to see farmers picking the fruit.”

  Lucian, bored, walks over, “What is the wilder on about?”

  “He’s asking about the trees and why they aren’t poisoning us,” Kurt replies.

  Lucian shakes his head, “Wilder, you are spending far too much time around Benjamin.”

  I ignore his comment, “ok, but seriously, there are so many fruits. Don’t you harvest them?”

  Lucian shrugs, “nah, if you need one, you take one.”

  “-but what about the off-season?”

  “Off-season?” Kurt asks.

  “Yeah, like when the trees are growing new fruits.”

  Lucian motions me over and picks a fruit. Then he points to the stem. Before my eyes, I notice another fruit forming. At the rate it’s growing, it’ll take another hour or so, but that’s insanely fast. I stare in wonder as a dozen questions begin forming.

  Why do the trees keep producing fruit that stays on the limb? Why aren’t there rotting fruits everywhere? Why are the trees three feet from the road when there are so many fruits? Why is there a road at all if the fruits grow so fast?

  Lucian chuckles, “You should see your face.”

  “This doesn’t make any sense. If the fruits grow this fast, how is there even a road here?”

  Lucian shrugs, “I don’t know. There is fruit to eat, battles to fight, and beers to drink. Why waste your thoughts on why trees grow fruits?”

  By now, Benjamin, driving the wagon, has grown interested. “What are you three talking about?”

  “The wilder wants to know why the trees grow and why they don’t grow,” Lucian yells.

  Benjamin looks confused at Lucian’s answer, so I clarify, “The fruits grow so fast, but there’s hardly any dead fruit on the ground. Why don’t the trees simply overtake the road?”

  “Ah, the kingdom performed some magic when they heavily salted the road so the trees would stay back.”

  I digest the words, but instead of felling my question, it causes more to grow. Trees aren’t sentient, so why would they hold back their fruit? Better yet, why grow it in the first place if they don’t plan to cast them on the ground to grow new trees?

  “Are the trees sentient?”

  Kurt scoffs, “Wilder, don’t give him any ideas. He is suspicious enough about people. We don’t need him thinking the trees are out to get him.”

  Lucian chuckles, “Yeah, Benjamin, you don’t need to worry about the trees. If you saw their plot, you’d realize they're all bark.”

  “Ha, ha… very funny.” Benjamin deadpans.

  Kurt laughs, patting Lucian on the shoulder, “Ha! Their plot! All bark!”

  I can’t help but chuckle along with them. Still, the question gnaws at me. Something’s going on, something that isn’t answered by a simple application of salt.

  We continue walking in silence, with Kurt occasionally chuckling as he retells the story to Olivia later. After a long day of walking, we camped and had a nice stew. While chewing, Benjamin asks, “So wilder, what is your story?”

  Olivia gives him a stern look, but Lucian cuts in, “Hey, we are all curious. We shed blood together; it would be rude not to ask about our new friend.”

  I chew on a piece of dried meat as I consider his words. Not knowing where to start, I ask, “Well… what do you want to know?”

  “Where are you from?” Benjamin is quick to ask.

  “Well, you probably wouldn’t know it, but I guess America.”

  “What of your family?” This time it is Olivia.

  “Well... I lived with my fiancé, but I was close with my mother and sister.”

  “What of your father?” Kurt asks.

  “He- the man that was my brother, killed him.” I’m not sure what else to say. I couldn’t acknowledge him as my brother anymore, not after what he had done.

  “Why? Did he want to take your house?” Lucian asks.

  I remember back to the night. Back to hearing the story for the first time. How he had got into a fit of rage and killed my father with a shotgun to the chest. I tried to understand why he would do such a thing, but the truth is, there is no reason. No reason would ever be enough to justify or understand.

  “He fed his rage, and when he couldn’t stomach the choices he made in life, he blamed the man who loved him most.”

  Olivia jumps in, trying to turn the subject, “Tell us of your fiancé.”

  “She was a wonderful woman. Caring and kind.”

  “It sounds like she supported you after your father’s death.”

  “Yeah,” I say, but I don’t mention all the times I turned inward to a place she couldn’t reach. Desperately, she tried to be there for me, and the way she tried to hide the hurt when I became emotionally unresponsive. She still loved me, and I still loved her, but I lost a part of myself. The part of myself that would send roses to her work just because, or drive her to surprise dates.

  “Yeah, she was great.”

  “Was?” Benjamin picks up.

  “Our engagement ended.” I don’t elaborate.

  “Well, that is depressing,” Lucian announces.

  I snort. “Yeah, it is.”

  “What about your mother and sister?” Kurt asks, and I hear a thread of concern in his voice.

  I wave it away, “Oh, they’re fine. Last I saw them, they were healthy.” A lie. The stress had driven my mother into a deep depression, and my sister had started talking to the shadows in the basement. It took me half a year before I found out and helped her get the medicine she needed.

  “Yeah, the man who killed my father is locked away. My mother and sister will be fine; they are strong.” I try to summon another topic, anything else to talk about.

  Kurt comes over to put a hand on my shoulder, “Hey, you are alive. You faced a fierce battle, and you survived.”

  I wonder about his words. Had I? Maybe I had been the one who drove Maria away. If my father hadn’t died, if I weren’t so cold and distant, and if I had been the man from before, would things have gone the way they did that night? Would I have died in that cabin?

  “Yeah, I guess I was lucky.” I scratch the back of my head.

  Lucian spits in the fire, “Alright, this is far too sad and mopey to sleep on. Tell us something fun about your life before coming here.”

  I scratch my chin. In my past life, I had fun reading books, walking, and helping people. All very fulfilling, but the type of material you boast about around a campfire. Instead, I think of a few medical-related jokes and try to change them up a bit, given the magical world around me.

  “Alright, a king learns his castle is soon to be under siege, so he summons forth one of his magi: a necromancer. He says, ‘summon an army to protect my walls and overcome our foes.”

  "Necromancer shrugs, ‘I can’t.’

  “‘What of your skeleton legions?’

  “‘Yeah, I can give the order, but they ain’t got the guts to pull it off.’

  It takes a moment, but Benjamin is the first to laugh, “wilder… that is so dumb.”

  “Yeah, after that, the king had a bone to pick with the necromancer.” I continue.

  This time Kurt and Lucian chuckle, and Olivia shakes her head good-naturedly. Benjamin’s eyebrows look like they are trying to beat a drum as he chooses whether to be surprised or irritated.

  “…and he was lucky they were undead, otherwise his disparaging remarks might have gotten under their skin,” I add.

  This time, there are groans all around. I discard at least eight good jokes that I could tell with the names of bones, but throw one last joke out.

  “Then the king threw the necromancer out, and when his skeletal guards only stood, watching it happen, the necromancer turned to them and said, ‘You’re dead to me.’”

  “Wilder… stop,” Lucian says, shaking his head, but I can see the smile on everyone’s face.

  Then, to my surprise, Benjamin adds, “I’m surprised the king called him up. It sounds like all he does is hang around a bunch of nobodies.”

  Olivia shakes her head, “Not you too, Benjamin.”

  Benjamin gives a big grin, delighting in the groans of his fellow travelers.

  As the laughs die down, we retreat from the fire to find sleep and take turns guarding the camp. The next day is quieter than the rest, but despite the quiet contemplation of the journey, I get a greater sense of camaraderie from my new traveling companions. Every once and a while, Kurt or Lucian will mumble something about skeletons or trees while grinning at me.

  At the next campfire, Lucina recalls a story of his time at the academy, where he had three duels, so he took them all at the same time and won. Kurt talked of his parents, proud that their son followed in their footsteps. Benjamin remained quiet, but I could sense him warming up. Olivia remained quiet as well, but I could see her soaking in the good cheer. I got the feeling she was often distant with her knights, but was enjoying the opportunity to indulge in their stories.

  Time passed in a flash, and soon we were rolling up to the gate of our destination.