Chapter 6: Respite

Kurgren sat around a small fire with his new allies and having a simple lunch of skewered rabbit meat, hunted with his bow and Louise magical aid, with a soup made of dried vegetables while Ardent went out to find water.

At this time, he had manage to get a better look at them.

Erhardt had a squarish, as far as he could guess with his beard, face and with yellow eyes and a squarish nose, rust-red hair styled in a mullet with a trimmed beard and moustache.

Louise had the face of a young lady in her twenties, a big contrast to her child like body and large feet, with a button nose and black hair tied in a bun and brown eyes. With the front part of her hair bright white and hourglass-shaped pupils being the signs of her being a sorceress.

But what was most surprising was Erhardt's armor and weapons.

Unlike his or Ardent's equipment's, which are made of iron, the metal on his armor and gloves had a shined like silver with a mottling, raindrop like, pattern.

"So, what's with the metal you have?" Kurgren ask.

Erhardt chuckles "This metal is called ulfdun in my language. But to the common people it is known as steel." Showing the knuckles on his glove.

"So, it's true" Kurgren thought. Having heard rumor's of a strange metal made by the Dwarves ages ago, it's secret held by their blacksmiths in their homeland, the Volksgard alps.

Upon closer inspection he saw that his gloves had quarter inch long studs with padding behind them and at the bottom of the glove under his pinkie is a slightly blunt spike half an inch long.

Kurgren whistles in awe "Impressive but where's your weapon?"

Erhardt then laughs "you're looking at them."

He then brandished his left fist "While others would fight with swords or hammers, I prefer up close fisticuffs and throws, with some aid of course." and punched the trunk of the tree he's sitting on. Leaving four, inch deep, dents in them.

He then asked Louise what Erhardt meant by sorceress of time.

"That simple, it means, due to my connection to the arcane realms, I can briefly see many different futures at will but only as far as hour or so before it gets blurry, and a sixth sense of seeing danger or surprise seconds before it comes."

Kurgren then nods before replying to Louise. Poking the log to make sure the fire didn't burn out.

"Then how does your magic work?"

"Spells are made by drawing chi, either from the fae realm or the surroundings. And by combining one or more of the five elements. Earth, wind, fire, water, and aether, it forms a spell, like a fireball. Which is done by calling on incantations of the fae tongue and ritual movements, of which is the root of martial arts, to form the spell and cast. But our bodies can only cast a small amount of chi, known as cantrips. And, unless you're a sorcerer like me, can only pull a small trickle of it around us. Hence why mages, magus, and warlocks use a fairy, inhabitants of the fae realm, to cast their spells."

"Then what's the difference between a mage, magus, warlock and monk?"

"A mage, magus, and warlock make a fairy their familiar with a contract to use their chi. Giving them the ability to cast chi far greater than they can naturally hold but suffers from having a limited amount of chi per day. While a monk draws out as much chi as they can from their surroundings to cast multiple cantrips. And as for sorcerers our connection to the fae realm allows us to draw an unlimited amount chi, like a fairy, but at the cost of having to use our natural casting limit rather than a fairy. And also access to special powers like my ability of fates and time."

Kurgren then nodded before forming a barely visible smile. He was always curious about why they were different but most of the villagers lacked much knowledge, except that their good at washing clothes and keeping the lightbulbs working.

"And I know this is strange, but do you hold a black orb?"

Kurgren was stunned, so that hummingbird was a mage familiar and, with some hesitation, he pulled out the orb and shows it to her.

Louise then gasped in shock.

"We must join you! One of the predictions was finding a half-Orc and Human with a black orb."

Before Kurgren could reply Ardent returns with filled waterskins.

"If all of you are done with lunch we should probably leave, Loken is a few more miles away and it will be nightfall when we reach."

They extinguished the fire and left with their horses, but Kurgren had a strange feeling of being watched.

Hours then past as Kurgren saw the two suns, the big sister Celestia and the orbiting younger Solaris behind, moved westward before disappearing. To be replace by Artemis, the great moon of swirling black and white, and its smaller daughters, the white moon Selena and the black moon Luna.

And soon they reached Loken and were greeted by the guards then proceed to park their horses in the stable. Renting a two-story inn with a basement before ordering dinner and drinks, beers for Kurgren and Erhardt, rose milk for Louise, and barley tea for Ardent.

Louise had told Kurgren that she and Erhardt were captured by an ambush of fifteen bandits when they left Pirium and were dragged to their hideout near Brindel four days ago because she misjudged a future. But managed to escape two days later with most of their equipment due to a prediction that the current guard drops the manacle keys and with some subterfuge and predictions unlocked it at the right time and ran where they hid in the forest for two days until they found them.

While they are waiting, Erhardt and Louise having left to buy supplies, Kurgren asked Ardent.

"So what happened back in Pirium, when you healed my wound. How was that possible?"

Ardent looks sheepishly "Sorry I forgot to mention it but it's one of the basic divine spells of a knight."

Kurgren raise an eyebrow "I don't understand?"

"If arcane magic influence externally then divine magic does internally and emotionally by drawing mana from the spirit realm. With a priest, cleric, and knight being similar to a magus, mage, and warlock, using sprite, spirit or spriggan to cast. Bards channeling the mana they pull around them into music like a monk. And druid channeling an unlimited mana like a sorcerer but suffers from a small casting limit, most of all, are able to summon a being called a holon to fight with them. Strange spirits with powers who either stands by them with a body, bound to the druid which allows them to morph their body like turning their hand into a claw, or being summoned by objects, like a set of keys or orbs."

He then takes a sip as Kurgren process what he said.

"And what's the difference in magic?"

"Divine magic have less direct, offensive spells, barring holons, compared to arcane but they have three distinct advantages over fairies: they can heal wounds, bless allies, or curse foes. And allow their users to wield metallic arms and armor without loss of power. But like fairies they also draw upon the five main elements and their sub-elements. While casting is the opposite. In that we channel mana as a combined energy of the five with complex one made by separating the threads."

Kurgren nods before a question formed.

"What do you mean by wielding metallic arms and armor?"

"Fairies have an aversion to metals and when touched by it, whether be bronze or steel, will hurt them and their users, akin to touching a red hot iron, upon touch, with sorcerers suffering the same effect. Unless the metal is elven mythral. The alternative are if the mage trains in the sub-magic of metal, or becomes a magus by making contract with a young fairy, a fay, or a warlock making a contract with an elder fairy, a faerie. Though a magus will have to rely on tools to compensate for their weaker magic and warlock have to pay a price, an equivalent exchange, to cast their spells."

Kurgren nods as both the Dwarf and Halfling returned and a barmaid comes with their dinner, a large pot of mutton stew with black bread to share.

After finishing the simple meal they leave for bed, Kurgren and Ardent rented one room on the upper floor to share while Louise and Erhardt shared another room in the basement, readying themselves for tomorrow resupply and trip to the bandit camp to retrieve the silver bounty and their new allies equipment's.

And, sleeping atop a tree, a green-cloaked figure follows them.