“I’m an aura mage,” Cleo said. She hated lying to them again, but she couldn’t be too careful, and staying inconspicuous was just plain common sense. Saying something like, ‘Oh hey, I actually have a legendary class card,’ meant added complications she wasn’t ready to deal with yet. “And I already demonstrated to you what my cards could do before we fought any undead. It’s just that… I may have left a couple of things out. For my own safety. I’m sorry, but at the time I felt it was best not to reveal everything I could do.”

  She could sense Rosalia staring at her.

  “You have more cards,” the mage said.

  Cleo shook her head, but in the darkness of the cave they might not be able to see. “No. I didn’t hide my cards,” …apart from my Legend class card… “but both my energy shield and my curse have secondary abilities.”

  “Which are, I take it, the damaging wave we saw, and the beam of light area strike? They were… unexpected. It’s not usual for cards to have secondary abilities. It’s rare. One of mine does, though I won’t reveal what, just yet.”

  “Retribution is the wave ability; it does damage based on the damage my energy shield absorbs, if that makes sense. And my curse also has Curse Strike, which consumes my curses to inflict damage. I’d been casting my curse almost non-stop, and it stacks, so when I used Curse Strike, it just… I’ve never used it before so I had no idea what would happen.”

  “It hit hard,” Kalak said. “Both were void damage from the looks of them, which is a rare damage type, but you seem to have been lucky with your cards. Your Curse Strike hit hard enough to put down four of the Silent Legion and make the other one flee.”

  “That it did, Kalak,” Rosalia said. “That it did. Though from what Cleo said, it consumed her curses to give the strike extra power. I’ve never seen that effect before, and I’m not sure I will again. We were lucky that here on the frontier, far from their masters, the undead are weaker. And the Silent Legion we encountered must have been feeble compared to the rest of them. Scouts, or maybe outcasts. The rank and file of the Corrupted Scourge are mindless undead, but there are greater and more malevolent creatures guiding them. Cleo, I’m not going to chastise you for holding out on us; after all, we’ve done the same to you, as you probably suspect. It was wise of you not to reveal everything to us, as much as I hate to admit it. At least from now on we’ll have a full picture of what your abilities are and what they can do. And your mana lasted surprisingly long in the fight. I was surprised you held out for as long as you did, and then to have enough juice left for your Curse Strikes… But, don’t get overconfident.”

  “With any luck, we won’t get into another scuffle,” Kalak mumbled through a mouthful of jerky. “But I’d say our luck’s just about run out, so maybe it’s time to think about retiring. I prefer my fights to be unfair, not like what we just went through.”

  Rosalia laughed softly. “You’d better stop wasting your money for the next few years, then, or you won’t have a nest egg to retire with.”

  “Says the woman who spends good coin on useless glass figurines every time we make it back.”

  “Collecting is a hobby. Like your drinking.”

  “It’s dusty out here in the Blighted Lands, you know that. This damn dry air makes you thirsty.”

  “What’s next, then?” Cleo asked. “We wait for dawn, and then head straight for Ankratur?”

  “Yes,” Rosalia said. “You get some rest. We’ll also rest when we can, and hopefully we won’t run into any more of the Silent Legion. Though now I’m a bit more confident we’ll make it back alive, you never can tell. The Blighted Lands have a way of screwing even the most prepared adventurer. Pardon my language. And speaking of adventurers, we’ll sponsor guild membership for you. You’ll need it if you’re going to keep your cards.”

  “Someone will take them from me if I’m not a member of the guild?”

  “Someone will kill you for them. The Guilds, the Institutions, the Military Orders, and the Empire’s forces, afford cardholders a measure of protection. Without joining one of them, you’re in for a rough time, and I wouldn’t recommend going that route. Anyhow, we can discuss more once we’re safe. Ankratur isn’t far now. I’ll keep mana cycling while Kalak keeps watch, and you can sleep, if you can.”

  Although she still had a hundred questions, Cleo knew a dismissal when she heard one. She was happy to stop talking and to spend some time thinking. Rosalia and Kalak had a comfortable familiarity with each other; the result of many years together she assumed, and she felt awkward. The third person with them would have been Scrubby, not her, and she couldn’t help but feel as if she was an intruder.

  She wasn’t sure Rosalia had entirely bought her explanation of her secondary abilities, and the mage definitely suspected something because her mana had lasted longer than expected. She had to remember that Rosalia was a trained and experienced mage, and pulling the wool over her eyes was probably doomed to fail in the long run. With any luck, she could get organized in Ankratur and bid the two of them farewell before they became too suspicious.

  Cleo breathed a sigh and then settled down as comfortably as she could. Despite the cold air, the ground was strangely warm and kept most of the chill at bay. She closed her eyes and tried to ignore her aching body and the burning rash on her cheeks, which the healing potion hadn’t affected significantly. Overcome with exhaustion, both physical and mental, her head nodded and her breathing slowed.

  [Processing experience. Assessing understanding. Assessing stressors.]

  [Calculating.]

  [Tier up requirements not met.]

  What the…?!

  * * *

  When Cleo woke, the clouds had somewhat cleared and three moons hung in the sky, shedding enough light that she thought they wouldn’t need to wait for dawn to leave their cave and be on their way. Two of the moons were smaller and reddish-brown, about a third the size of Earth’s moon; while the third was yellowish and almost twice as big as Earth’s.

  Rosalia stood at the mouth of the shallow cave, stretching in different poses and rubbing the back of her neck, while Kalak snored gently, using his backpack as a makeshift pillow.

  She rubbed her own aching neck, not even having had the luxury of a leather backpack to rest her head on, and then rose quietly and began her own stretches. Her muscles protested painfully, and her joints still ached, especially her knees and ankles, but Cleo felt well rested and buzzed with energy. Perhaps it was the lingering effects of the potion?

  “We’ll move out soon,” Rosalia said. “No need to whisper, we need Kalak awake, and as far as I can sense, there are no undead nearby.” She stared at Cleo for a few moments. “Huh. No tier up? I thought for sure you’d get one.”

  She just identified me again.

  “I wasn’t injured like you and Kalak were,” Cleo said. “So, I guess the system decided I hadn’t done much.” What she really thought was that the higher the card rarity, the harder it was to tier up. Rosalia would know this, presumably, so it might be best if she downplayed her contribution to their ‘scuffle’ as much as possible.

  “Makes sense. You’ve developed a rash on your cheeks.”

  Cleo bobbed her head. “It’s from a condition I have. It flares up occasionally. Maybe there’s a healer in Ankratur that could help me.”

  “There are a few carded healers, so probably. And alchemists, though some of them charge an arm and a leg. Healing you can carry around with you is worth a great deal.”

  “I’d like to cure my condition, if that’s even possible.” Finally, some useful information!

  “Try a few healers then, though you’ll need a good amount of coin, and it doesn’t look like you’re well off. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but you probably already knew that.”

  “What about my cut from selling the daggers?”

  “Nowhere near enough, sorry. Maybe one of the Military Orders could help, but you’d have to join, and I don’t recommend it. Too strict. And most of the loot goes to the order. If you need coin then it’s not a good option.” Rosalia prodded Kalak with the toe of her boot, and the warrior grunted and opened his eyes instantly.

  “Everything good?” he said.

  “Yes, get up and let’s go. The sooner we’re safe in Ankratur, the better.”

  “You don’t need to tell me that.” Kalak sat up and rubbed his eyes, and then shouldered his pack and grabbed his spear. “Ready. I can clean my teeth when we get back.”

  “I think that’s a good idea,” Rosalia said.

  Cleo didn’t have a backpack or anything much to check, so she discreetly touched the outside of her pocket to make sure whatever coins Saskia had given her hadn’t slipped out. She hadn’t had time to take them out to examine, but she could do that when she had some privacy.

  They left the cave, moving slowly at first as visibility was poor, until they made it to wider gorges and soon to the edge of the lake again. There was a slight breeze that swayed her hair, and Cleo’s stomach decided now was the time to remind her that she’d hardly eaten. After a particularly loud gurgle, Kalak chuckled.

  Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

  “Don’t bring any undead down on us with your noise, princess.”

  “I’m not a princess. And yes, I do say so. I’d like a small piece of jerky if you can spare it, please.”

  Kalak handed her some. He’d again been snacking almost the entire time they’d been walking this morning. “No point in saving it,” he said. “There’ll be better food in Ankratur, and nobody’s going to buy leftover jerky from an expedition into the Blighted Lands. Chow down, girl. It’ll just go to waste otherwise.”

  Cleo ate her portion, afraid to inquire about the meat's origin, and hoping her lupus wouldn't worsen. They circled the lake, keeping an eye on groups of undead in the distance, and though the going was slow it was safe and Cleo only had to put down a few stray undead with her curse before they started to see green shoots that emerged from the sandy soil. The air changed from bone dry to humid and carried the scent of loam and greenery.

  The line wasn’t a definitive barrier, but at some point Cleo grasped they’d left the Blighted Lands and passed into relative safety. There were no more undead to worry about, the air didn’t smell lifeless, and the stepped pyramid of Ankratur loomed large in front of them. She could make out smoke from numerous fires curling into the sky, and some buildings, and realized the city was built on the steps of the vast pyramid.

  Then what’s inside? And large doesn’t do it justice. It’s massive.

  “Soap, soap, soap,” sang Rosalia, startling Cleo out of her thoughts.

  Kalak gave an amused laugh, and Cleo remembered him weeping yesterday. An adventurer’s life wasn’t easy, she decided. One day you’re certain you’re about to die, and the next you’re safe and relieved, but if you haven’t gathered enough loot you know you’ll have to go out there and do it all again. With the two of them using the emergency beacon—and getting Cleo—and the expensive healing potion, she doubted they’d come out ahead on this expedition. In fact, they might even have gone backwards. She’d have to find out.

  As they walked, Cleo came to the realization that something was amiss long before sighting the trampled fields and burned-out husks of farms. Scavenging birds circled in a few places, and once, in the distance, she saw a heavily armored squad of cavalry, complete with lances, though they were headed to the west, not towards them or Ankratur. Clouds of dark smoke rose from two large mounds of burning… something… which Cleo figured was most likely undead.

  “Too close to the line,” Kalak muttered. “Idiots.”

  “Can’t argue with that,” Rosalia said. “They should have waited until the Empire built and manned a few outposts, and offered some protection. Or at the very least somewhere to flee to.”

  “Outposts have been promised for years, but I ain’t seen any built.”

  “The Empire’s resources are vast, but finite.”

  Kalak snorted deeply, and then spat into the patchy grass. “Syphoned off by the nobles and the wealthy more like it.”

  “Not this again.”

  “I’ll keep saying it until you see sense.”

  There was a point of contention between them, Cleo realized, though their words had the sound of well-worn arguments and an ‘agree-to-disagree’ feel.

  “Cleo,” Rosalia said, clearly trying to change the subject. “Before we enter Ankratur proper, we should talk.”

  “Yeah,” Kalak added. “Good idea.”

  “We know, now, what your cards can do, but you were wise to keep everything from us. I won’t tell anyone about your abilities, but you do have a choice to make, or it will go badly for you.”

  “I ain’t going to say anything either,” Kalak said. “Without you we’d be dead. And that counts for something in my book.”

  “I didn’t know you could read.”

  “Shut up.”

  “Anyhow,” Rosalia continued, “anyone who has an Identify card can scan you and determine a certain amount of information. The higher the tier or the card rarity, the more information. There are… illegal groups that keep an eye out for strays. People with no affiliations, let’s say. They’re unprotected and can be easy pickings. Do you understand?”

  “Yes. This is why you said you’d sponsor me for guild membership.”

  “Exactly. You’ll need to stick close to us for the time being, and never go out on your own, until you’re a member. Once that’s finalized you’ll be afforded some protection. Only the foolhardy try to take cards from guild members.”

  “There’s still a few of them around,” Kalak said. “Though most only get to try it once before they’re caught.”

  “What happens to them then?”

  “They’re hanged. So you can see why it’s a fool’s game. Only the truly desperate think cards are worth dying for. Though these days it feels like there are more and more of them around. Times are tough.”

  Rosalia moved close to Cleo and flung an arm over her shoulders. The mage had a smile on her face and looked happy. Surviving another incursion into the Blighted Lands was probably the reason for her good cheer, though she knew they’d have to help tidy up Scrubby’s affairs and break the bad news to his family. Yet, for now, survival and being alive were cause for celebration.

  “When we arrive, what are the first steps?” Cleo said. “I mean, I need somewhere to stay, and to apply for guild membership. What else is essential?”

  Rosalia glanced at Cleo and then gestured at the pyramid. “We keep a low profile until your membership is finalized. You can stay with us. We have a place that’s out of the way and a—”

  “We won’t charge you much rent,” Kalak interjected.

  “Kalak… as I was saying, we can get cleaned up a bit and then head straight to the guild’s outpost here. A proper bath will have to wait. Once you get a provisional badge, you’re relatively safe, and we can figure things out from there. You said you needed to get to the Misk’Imas Institution, if I recall correctly?”

  Cleo nodded twice. “Yes, I was told to go there.”

  “By who?”

  “Er… someone I trust.”

  Rosalia and Kalak exchanged a glance. “All right, then,” Rosalia said. “I won’t press you on it. We’ll factor that into the equation later. A quick wash, the guild, and then—”

  “A proper meal,” Kalak said. “With fresh meat, and bread and butter.”

  Cleo’s mouth began to water. Fresh bread would be—her stomach rumbled, and she tried to banish all thoughts of eating.

  “Food,” Rosalia said. “Then we split the loot and visit Scrubby’s family to deliver the bad news, and then figure out a plan for Cleo. Aura Mages aren’t in demand, but you seem stronger than most, and you also have a few tricks up your sleeve that should make a difference.”

  Kalak snorted. “Blasting a few of the Silent Legion to pieces is quite a trick.”

  “Yes, quite, though they were weak ones,” Rosalia said with a thoughtful look at her as they trudged along.

  Cleo’s thoughts wandered constantly back to the fight with the Silent Legion, and the undead she’d put down beforehand. She’d handled it better than she thought she would—the final killing of undead creatures who’d once been human and alive—although the task had proved… difficult. Her eyes had fixed on small details, oddities – the unfathomable expressions on the undead faces, the strange twists of their bodies, and the unrelenting stench – but what had been the hardest for her were the children. Once innocent and curious, reduced to ravening husks with a semblance of life, but were tragically not living. She had nearly wept for the children, and didn’t know why she hadn’t yet. Maybe her situation was still too unreal.

  Though she’d managed to hold onto a semblance of calm throughout the horrid ordeal; now, as her mind kept returning to what she’d done, it was if something inside her that had always been stable now faltered, threatening her steadiness. As if her soul was now bruised and injured and confused.

  Cleo had wanted to come here. She had wanted to see if a world of magic could cure her. But the terrible reality pressed down on her shoulders like a profound weight. She drew herself up and brushed dust from her face. She’d made her decision, and she’d have to live with it.

  They reached the gates of Ankratur after another half day of walking, after a rough packed earth road formed. The pyramid covered nearly half the sky by then, and Cleo could see that only sections of the first three steps were occupied, though there were crumbling remains of stone and brick and timber buildings on higher steps. At some time in the past, the population of Ankratur must have been much larger. Around them, what had started as patchy fields and grazing land earlier in the day had solidified into an endless swathe of green, punctuated by barns and cottages segregated by low, loose stone walls. A sparse but steady stream of wagons pulled by hairy oxen rolled in from the fields to the pyramid city—farmers with their produce: baskets overflowing with leafy vegetables, cream-colored tubers that were a cross between a potato and a carrot, green speckled spheres the size of a small apple, reed cages holding live chickens and smaller fowl, and shallow baskets filled with their eggs. The farmers paid them no mind as they joined the flow of traffic toward Ankratur, though children in rough-spun clothes sat on some of the wagons and stared at the adventurers. One of them waved, and Rosalia waved back.

  There were no city walls; instead, the road traveled up a sturdy incline with steeply sloping sides around fifty yards wide that ended at the flat part of the first tier of the pyramid. The entire edifice looked to be built from massive gray-and-red-speckled granite blocks, but she wasn’t an expert on different types of stone. In the sun, the place must be like an oven with all that stone absorbing the heat. The pyramid’s steps looked to be about the same depth and height of a 100-meter racetrack.

  Ironbound thick wooden gates lay open, and the entrance was guarded by a squad of seven soldiers whose job seemed to be lounging against the walls and just letting anyone in. On either side of the gates were towers a few times taller than Cleo, atop which sat ballista and bundles of ammunition along with two women that looked more like Rosalia in their robes and wands at their belts than the soldiers in their leather armor. Mages, obviously.

  When the trio trudged to the top of the incline, one of the soldiers raised a hand to stop them. As he did, Rosalia and Kalak drew out flat metal circular pendants on steel chains and hung them around their necks. Kalak’s was fashioned from brass, and Rosalia’s was silvery. Cleo didn’t get a good look at the design on the insignia, but she could do that later.

  The soldier, a tall, gray-haired man with a reddish tint to his skin, examined each of them in turn, as well as the two badges. “Move to the side so you don’t block traffic,” he ordered.

  “Come on, Berek,” Kalak said with a frown. “You know us.”

  “Where’s Scrubby?”

  “Dead,” Kalak said flatly.

  “Shit. Fraking undead. Did you salvage his cards?”

  “No. We were overrun.”

  “That’s not good news for his family. All right, you know the drill. Any legendary cards or artifacts to declare? The Imperial mages will find out if you lie, and if found guilty the penalty ranges from five years imprisonment to forced conscription and a twenty-year stint on the borderlands.” Berek’s tone was bored, as if he repeated the same lines many times a day.

  “No, nothing to declare.”

  Would they be able to tell Cleo had a Legendary card? It was hidden though, wasn’t it? She had no idea what abilities other cards gave people, but she was confident Saskia wouldn’t lead her astray. Mau, that ill-behaved cat, on the other hand…

  Berek looked at one of his soldiers, a woman with reddish-brown hair and the same tint to her skin that he had. She shook her head, and then went back to leaning against the wall in the shade.

  “Checking that we’re not undead,” Rosalia said quietly.

  “It’s obvious, isn’t it?” Cleo said.

  “Some can pass for human, for a short while. Others, until they’re caught. Any time you let your guard down is when you’ll regret it. A few years ago, one slipped through somehow and ended up killing a score of people. It wasn’t pretty.”

  “And who’s this? Never seen her before.” Berek pointed at Cleo.

  Kalak sighed heavily. “She’s a fraking princess we rescued and her family’s going to reward us handsomely so I can finally get out of this shit-hole and not see your ugly face again.”

  The soldier, Berek, guffawed and waved them to continue inside. “She’s a shitty Aura Mage, not a princess. You’re stuck here like the rest of us.”

  So, the soldier has an Identify card, which makes sense. At least one of the guardsmen on duty will have that ability. I’m certain of it.

  “We’re taking her to register with the Adventurer’s Guild, so she’s off limits.”

  Berek shrugged. “The Korazail Empire doesn’t need shitty Aura Mages, anyway. What’s she doing here?”

  Being a ‘shitty’ Aura Mage was a good cover story, but Cleo could see there were limitations—like the fact no one seemed to take her seriously and thought she couldn’t handle herself, which might lead to hurdles in the future. Still, once she was a member of the Adventurers Guild, she could do some thinking and figure things out. After all, she could change her class title if she really needed to.

  Kalak let out an audible groan. “She’s on a holiday, Berek. She’s my long-lost niece and she’s here to see the sights.”

  “Don’t get smart with me, Kalak.”

  “She’s carded, and soon to be a guild member, and that’s all you need to know.”

  “I’m going to report this.”

  “I don’t care. We’re tired and hungry and filthy and lucky to be alive, and we have to tell Scrubby’s family he’s dead. Report whatever you want. Now get out of our way, there’s a barely cooked steak with my name on it along with a dozen beers.”

  Berek sniffed and scowled at all of them, but stood aside to let them pass. Rosalia urged Cleo forward, and they passed through the gates into Ankratur proper.

  If you're enjoying the story, please follow, favorite, rate/review ??

  It's free to do and gives you a warm, fuzzy feeling! And it motivates me to keep writing as fast as possible and (hopefully) to keep the quality at a competent level (by revising too much while eating pastries!).

  Want more chapters?

  Join my which is currently one chapter ahead, and soon to be five.