Harvey and Hannah stepped outside to find Julian building a fire near the blacksmith's front door. He had shaved the black bark away from the wood underneath and made a pile of kindling in the center of 3 logs. He’d piled up more firewood to the side and was currently struggling to use his sword and a piece of flint from the forge to light a fire. As they approached, they could hear him muttering something about stopping a fire being easier than starting one.
When sparks finally leapt into the pile and crackled to life, he climbed up from his knees, wiped the dust on his pants, and turned to face them.
“Hopefully, this pile will last through the night. I figure we can sleep in shifts. Two of us standing guard and keeping the fire lit while the others sleep inside.” Julian suggested.
“Sounds good to me! Thanks for doing all the hard work while we got to play with the Loom.” Hannah teased.
“No problem! How’d it go?” He asked.
“I got a skill that lets me infuse arrows with more essence for each shot I hit in a row,” Hannah replied.
“And I can make a barrier that knocks things back when it breaks,” Harvey added.
“Those both sound great! Have you tried them out?” Julian congratulated.
“Not yet, but I definitely think we should. Better to test the limits now while we’re safe.” Harvey said. “Hannah, hit me.”
Without hesitation, she slapped him hard on the back, sending him stumbling forward.
“Oof,” Harvey groaned, “I wasn’t ready yet.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Hannah said, covering her mouth to hide her mix of concern and enjoyment. “I’m not used to this new strength. I had three brothers growing up, and I guess my instincts got the best of me with an open invitation like that.”
“You’re good.” Harvey coughed. She was surprisingly strong. “I guess I should’ve clarified. Let me make the barrier first. THEN you can hit me”
He chuckled as essence coursed through his weave, down towards the sigil on his left forearm. The skill answered, greedily drinking almost double what he needed for an arcane bolt. Patient and powerful, it waited for him to decide where to place the barrier, and he was relieved to see it spring up over his right shoulder. Even if it could only manifest over his forearm, the skill would be useful, but the freedom to create one anywhere took it from good to great.
The barrier was a plate of steely blue energy, gently glowing. Once it was created, he felt no drain on his essence. It just floated, standing guard. The feeling in his weave suggested he could flood more essence to increase the size, but larger shields would cost exponentially more than the one covering from his shoulder to just above his elbow.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Hannah hesitantly reached out, prodding the barrier before quickly pulling her hand away like she had touched a hot stove.
“Does it hurt?” Harvey asked.
“No, it feels like I’m touching nothing. I know it’s there because I can’t move through it, but I can't feel it at all.” Hannah said as she placed her palm flat against the glowing light. She tentatively slid her hand up and down, squeezing like she was trying to grab his arm. When she tried knocking on the shield, an audible crack and wave of force pushed her hand away, sending her spinning backwards.
“It works! What memories make a shield like that?” Julian asked, laughing as Hannah shook her head clear.
“Ones where I couldn’t hit anything until it was tearing into me. Hopefully, now I won’t need to get bloody to hit a shot.” Harvey remarked.
“Your turn, Hannah!” Julian said.
She smiled as she grabbed the bow off her shoulder and knocked an arrow, aiming for a hitching post 30 feet away. Harvey watched as she shimmied her feet, burying them in the sand like a golfer preparing for a bunker shot. She took a deep breath, leaned forward, and let the arrow fly. It sank into the wood with a dull thud, and a smile spread across her face. She grabbed another arrow and prepared her stance again, but looked confused as she released the draw to look at her weapon.
“Something wrong?” Julian asked.
“Umm, yeah. When I used essence to replace my arrows earlier, I could feel the quiver waiting for me to charge it. I don’t feel anything from the arrow.” Hannah replied.
“What about the sigil on your bicep? Does it work if you send the essence there?” Harvey asked.
She drew her bow again and waited, but he couldn’t see any change in the arrow. She let it fly anyway, hitting the post again.
“Nothing.” She sighed. “Maybe target practice doesn’t count for some reason.”
“That sucks,” Julian said as she strode back to the fire. “How would the skill even know what you’re shooting at?”
“Probably the same way it knows if she hit her target. I have no idea how it works, but the sigil has to know somehow since the whole point is increased power for every consecutive hit.”
“You know what? It’s ok.” She replied with a bright smile. “I don’t have to know how it all works yet. I’m just happy my body isn’t hurting right now. I never thought I would be able to do stuff like this pain-free ever again after my diagnosis.”
“I hadn’t thought about that. Harvey and I were both healthy when we died.” Julian said.
“No matter what, at least I get to feel normal again for a little while. Better than normal!” Hannah said wistfully, before catapulting into a perfect double back handspring down the road.
The three laughed as she started dancing around like a hyperactive schoolgirl.
“Well, considering you have the energy to dance, do you guys mind taking the first watch? I want to be up with Gabe since he’s the lowest level out of all of us. We have the sleeping bags set up just inside the blacksmith, so we’ll hear if you start shouting.” Julian asked.
“Sure, no problem,” Harvey replied, moving a wooden chair Julian must have found inside closer to the fire.
“Awesome. Just keep the fire lit and wake me up if anyone shows up.” Julian said as he threw another log on the makeshift firepit.
“We got this, just get some sleep. You’ve earned it.” Harvey exhorted. With a smile, Julian nodded and went inside.
