Kyritus senecaru (1)

It was a painful journey to Helscope that morning. The paths were long and winding, moving over rock bluffs and soft meadows that treated every centimeter of her chafed legs as equals. At one point, in a patch of foliage, she even fell off her monta, something Edico panicked about. But she got back on, suffering through it, continuing on toward her destination.

Sara didn't get any sort of relief until the paths became roads with deep ruts from wagon wheels. By then, they had already entered the fields of farmers that stretched for miles. Serfs were busy harvesting hemsgrain, a long green stalk with rice-like grains that, when fermented, could quell the night terrors. The brew was called twalla, an adventurer favorite, and it was big business.

As they passed, two tanned farm boys without shirts snickered at her.

"Hey lady!" the older said, using his hands as a megaphone, "Ain't you never rode a monta before? You look like you've double-bagged a grave digger!"

Sara's eyes deadened. You know…. I'll have to remember that. God knows I've run out of things to say to Mary.

While she was musing, the boys' father jumped off his monta and burst through the field, clapping the kid upside the head.

"Hey! What was that for?"

"Is you crazy, boy? When people pass, you pay them no heed. Ain't we ever teach you nothin'?"

"But Dad, they're—"

"But nothin'. One of these days, you'll be apt to get us all killed. Now get back to harvestin' and pray to Delina they don't return, or I'll offer them a piece of your hide."

"She ain't gonna hurt us, Pa. She can't even ride a monta!"

"Power ain't judged in ridin'. Now, back-talk me again, boy, and you'll be takin' your meals standin' for a month!"

Sara developed a bittersweet smile as their words faded into the distance.

"Did you find that strange?" Edico asked.

"No," Sara replied. "I think it was wise." Farming boys understood that males were physically stronger than females, but harsh experiences taught farming men that magic and money made physical strength irrelevant.

"It is," Edico said. That was the last exchange they had until they saw Helscope over the horizon.

Towns in Reemada weren't what people imagined towns in the Middle Ages would be, but they weren't exactly modern, either. They were just different, much in the same way that the streets of Bangalore were different from Chicago. Forges pumped black smokestacks into the air as Artifaces (as trades mages were called) regulated carbon input to create steel. Then blacksmiths struck the red hot billet on anvils in geometric arrays, using minor gravity magic to hit harder and more evenly. Outside, there were public fountains filled with water magic, and the ground was perfectly level, courtesy of work from earth mages. None of this arcana was advanced. Military magic was banned for the citizenry. But it was technology, much in the same way that citizens could own factories but not military-grade weapons on Earth.

Being in Helscope, watching people weave in and out of taverns in a drunkenly organized manner filled her with a deep sense of nostalgia. It had been eight months, but she had finally returned.

Edico didn't fail to notice.

Sara didn't hide it. She couldn't even if she tried.

"Where's the tavern?" Edico asked. He didn't know the specifics of the mission but knew enough not to ask more questions than necessary.

"I'm unsure," Sara replied. "Let's look around." And so they did, walking aimlessly through the streets, Sara disguising her scouting as curiosity. When she spotted a beggar on a side street of Alexbrook Tavern, she had what she needed and set her plan into motion.

"Guh…." Sara gripped her head, groaning. Suddenly, a pulse of mana shot through her, spreading through the streets. The citizens didn't notice, but Edico panicked. "Lady Reece!" he said. "What's wrong?"

Sara didn't reply. She let out another groan, collapsing toward the ground. Edico caught her with ghostly speed. "Lady Reece! Speak to me!"

She grabbed his breastplate to hold herself up. "I-I know where it is. The tavern. It's—"

"Don't speak. We need to get you to an inn."

"No…. We must. It's the mission. If we don't…." Sara trembled, genuine anxiety on her face. "I can do it. It'll only be an hour."

Edico frowned as he sat Sara on an empty farmer's crate. "An hour? What are you going to discuss?"

"What?" Sara chuckled breathlessly. "You make it sound planned. Conversations take time, and it'll take a lot longer if King Escar's Royal Guard kicks down the door. Assuming it doesn't mess it up."

"I…. Lady Reece…."

"I'll be okay."

"Where… is it?"

Sara pointed a stone's throw down the road, just past a bustling side street of busy citizens carrying bread from a nearby bakery. There, on the wall, was a large sign that read Alexbrook Tavern. "I'll be fine."

"I don't know," Edico grimaced. "It's my sworn duty—"

"Yeah, yeah. I get it. It's your job to break down the door, terrorize the common folk, and make declarations of the king if anything happens."

"This is serious, Lady Reece."

"I'm being serious." Sara sighed and presented her bare palm. "Just trust me. This is what we're here to do."

Edico grimaced. "Let me at least check it out."

"By all means," Sara said, wiggling her fingers.

Edico sighed, reached into his leather satchel, and presented Sara with a wrapped bottle. "I'll be right back."

When he put up his hood and disappeared into the crowd, Sara pulled out a pink plant from her pocket. It had hundreds of serrated leaves that resembled a Jurassic-era chainsaw. Today's going to suck, she thought, chomping into it. It tasted like chewing on Tylenol and had twice the burn. Her mind immediately flooded with the euphoria of endorphins, removing the pain from her chafed thighs, and she remembered why dope fiends braved tista weed. Time's ticking…. she thought grimly.

Stepping forward, she bumped into a citizen, making him fall to the ground. "I'm sorry!" she said, rushing forward to help him up. "Let me help you."

The citizen's eyes widened at her appearance, and he blushed. "O-Okay."

As she helped him up, she dusted off his jacket, smoothly sliding the tista weed into his pocket. "I didn't mean—"

"No worries," Sara said, flashing him a bright smile. "I need to go before my father comes looking for me." Without giving him time to speak, she walked toward the Alexbrook Tavern, smiling as she watched his mana signature disappearing—along with the evidence.