Chapter 17

  Energetic

  Sketched onto a piece of yellow velum was the visage of a monster. Wicked black scars on his cheeks, spiked hair white as bone, and eyes vacant of emotion, mercy, and pupils. The scroll was splashed in black ink, WANTED! And showed the image, and bounty. Enough gil to buy a house, or coast for a few months.

  A bounty hunter slammed his knife onto the table, right through the face of the target. “This thing destroyed an entire village?! I’ll gut him myself!”

  “Hey, I worked hard on that picture.”

  “Can it! Let’s track down this creep. He was last seen in Nita right? I saw we head North from there.”

  “I heard he came from the north, we should go south.”

  “What about heading east?”

  “Whatever! Let’s head to Nita and find out which way he went, then go after him.” The bounty hunter said, “And cut his freaking head off!”

  “He’s worth double alive.” The scout said, leaning her arm onto the table. “We should capture him and turn him in.”

  “And risk him breaking free?! No chance, this thing needs to go down!” The bounty hunter slammed his fist and sent two plates and a tankard to the floor.

  “Calm down, you’re causing a scene.” the scout said. “Is this an official bounty yet?” She looked over the poster again, but there was no seal from the crown. “Guess not.”

  “It will be, and we’ll capture him before then to get the increased reward.” The bounty hunter said.

  “I thought you wanted to kill him.” The trapper said, wedging the knife out of the table.

  “Changed my mind. Let’s get going, I don’t want to waste any more time on this.”

  “What about the tab for the drinks?” The trapper said, glancing at the bartender with apprehension.

  “No time! We’ll come back when we’re rich.” The bounty hunter and his companions left the bar in a hurry, followed by an angry server moments later. Throughout the taverns and the villages near the Oaken Forest in Myrrh, many others gathered for the same reason. A bounty had been placed, and word spread that an empty eyed man destroyed Liniva and killed the guard captain of Nita. Merchants and travelers from Nita backed up these rumors, though the slayers were keeping quiet.

  Vero sat on the edge of the watchtower’s guardrail, chuckling to himself. He watched the last guard scurry out the base of the tower and rush to the stables as he fled. Vero flicked his hand at him, and the fleeing guard was struck in the back by his own discarded sword. “Keh heh heh heh.” Vero laughed. “People love a good sob story, don’t they?”

  The armored warrior standing behind Vero brushed away entrails from the left pauldron of their full plate. “What do you mean?”

  “It took almost no effort to spread those stories around. Even if the kingdom discovers the bounty is fake, there are too many superstitious bigots taking up arms already. They have to respond.” Vero said.

  The armored warrior stepped through the pile of blood and guts that remained of the watchtower sentries, and recovered the greataxe buried in the stone pillar. The axe and the armor both gleamed with a faint reflective sheen over deep gray metal. “That doesn’t sound like a sob story, Vero.”

  “Oh but it was. To the ones I told, I spoke in fear and anguish. I showed them tears, Velicio, and said ‘It was he! The empty eyed one killed them all!’ or something like that.” Vero’s hoarse voice rose an octave as he explained his acting.

  “And this will somehow bring forth a Hero?” Velicio asked.

  “Ye~sss. It will. Animosity will drive tension, and conflict.” Vero said with hunger in his voice. “Michael will soon find out there is far worse in this world than Zori. The wrath and judgment of people can leave much deeper scars.”

  Velicio walked over to Vero. The armored warrior was taller, larger, stronger, and younger than the emaciated Vero. “You would know all about that, brother.” Velicio said.

  Vero turned back, and smiled. Only some of his face showed from under the hood, but his eyes were pinpoints of light that glowed with twisted ambition. “Ye~sss!” Vero hissed. “And yet, Father’s negligence has led me to something far greater. Purpose!”

  Velicio shuddered and turned away. “Shouldn’t we chase after them too?”

  “There is no need.” Vero said. “Not yet. Keh heh heh heh heh.”

  Compared to the cacophony of the forests, a morning in the Drakmor Mountains was a silent affair. From up high, even with nearby peaks obscuring the view, the world was vast. Stretching out in all directions, bigger and stranger than it appeared. Michael sat on the edge of the ruin, staring out at the blue sky. Michael was alone with his thoughts, considering the impossible. What Hyato explained that morning, he was lost in time? That didn’t make a whole lot of sense. What did that even mean?

  “Come down here Michael.” Yan said. Michael dropped from the wall and walked over to Yan. “Hold this.” Yan put a bundle of cloth in Michael’s arms and finished gathering the rest of her things, then slipped the bundle into her pack. “Okay, done.”

  When packing was completed, Sebastian stretched and stood up. “That’s everything. Let’s continue the journey.” Yan and Hyato nodded, and Michael adjusted his pack.

  “I wish you all the best of luck.” Kyria said.

  “You aren’t coming with?” Michael asked.

  “No, I have my own dreams to chase. I still want to get more powerful, and Sebby gave me some pointers on where I should train next last night.” Kyria said.

  “Sebby?” Yan asked, looking at Sebastian with a raised eyebrow. Sebastian tried to look aloof, but his blush gave him away.

  Kyria giggled, “Anyways, I know you are tracking someone, so I won’t keep you.” Kyria said. “Fare well everyone!”

  “You too.” Hyato said.

  “Yeah, take care of yourself.” Michael said.

  The five adventurers departed the ruin and walked down the slope to the road itself. The walk took a minute as silence hung over the air. A rock skittered away from the kick of Sebastian’s shoe. Hyato coughed a few times. Michael adjusted his pack. It wasn’t a long walk, but felt like it. They reached the road itself.

  Kyria blushed as she got to the road. “Yeah... maybe we should have said goodbye down here.” She said. “Anyways, take care.”

  The others gave half hearted farewells as Kyria went along the road back towards Nita. “Well, that was awkward.” Yan said when they turned back to their own road.

  “Yep.” Sebastian said, “But, let’s focus on the path ahead. You scouted a good path for us to take Yan?”

  “Yes. It should take us ahead of the bandit Hyato saw. We can make it ahead of him if we’re quick.”

  “Then let’s be quick!” Michael said, moving ahead in long strides. “Come on everyone, we can do this!” Hyato chuckled as Michael sped ahead, and they set off again on the road through the Drakmor Mountains.

  Wind soared through the peaks of the mountains, passing valleys, ruins, dungeons, and hidden villages. The wind sang a tune of adventure and freedom, changing tune on a whim. Gusts and breezes broke off from that wind, spreading the tune of freedom in all corners of the land. A breeze passed Michael, stirring his hair around.

  “Here, I’ll get that,” Yan said, reaching over and fixing the stray strands of hair. Michael smiled and enjoyed the breeze.

  “Trouble ahead.” Hyato said. He pointed out a swirling mass of colored wind. It undulated and writhed with unnatural awareness.

  “Elazori.” Sebastian said. “Made of elements, but twisted. This one looks like a wind Elazori, might be a challenge to fight.”

  Michael and Hyato drew their swords, and Yan prepared her knives. “We can take it!” Michael said. He infused his legs with a surge and leapt at the enemy!

  As Michael neared the Zori changed form, becoming a slender oblong twister to sway out of harm’s way. Michael’s slash missed. He landed and swung again, unleashing a surge from his slash!

  The Wind Zori slipped around the energy slash. Michael tried again, jumping up to strike with another attack! He used flames this time, conjured from his elemancy training. The fires dispersed before they reached the foe, who had flown up out of reach.

  Blades of dark wind shot out from the Wind Zori at Michael. There were many of them, and most missed, but a few hit Michael, not sharp enough to cut, but hitting like heavy ropes, whipping him to the ground.

  “Yan, Energy Form.” Hyato said, his body shifting. Hyato’s red energy spiked around him, and he changed. His skin became erratic red energy, and his clothes and sword were surrounded in the same vivid power. It was like he flexed his whole body! Hyato leapt towards the Elazori, sailing further than he should have.

  Emerald force surrounded Yan, changing her body as well. The energy she turned into was smooth, calm, but seemed honed and sharp. She took a running start into a short jump, then kicked off with intense speed. She sailed past Hyato and reached the enemy first, slashing it four or five times, Michael couldn’t tell, before sailing past and landing in a tree.

  As the Wind howled in pain, Hyato arrived, delivering a focused front strike with both hands, slashing into a wound left by Yan. The Elazori split apart, slain. It’s howl faded with it's ethereal body.

  Hyato landed next to Michael, awash in the red energy. A long tail of energy stretched from his head in a lazy arc, like a weightless energy ponytail to accompany his hair. Hyato took in a breath, and changed back. His skin returned to the dark peach complexion instead of red, his hair and eyes became brown again, and the energy surrounding him faded out of sight. Hyato sheathed his sword.

  Yan dropped from the tree in her normal form and walked over to Michael just as Sebastian sauntered over. “That’s one battle out of the way.” Yan said. “There will probably be more, of course.”

  “So...” Michael said. “What’s this energy form then?”

  “Ah yes.” Sebastian said, “You need tutelage on the racial abilities. Let us continue walking, and I shall explain.”

  The party continued their journey. Michael walked next to Sebastian and awaited his teaching. After a little thinking, Sebastian began. “How well do you know the races of the world?” He asked

  “I’m not sure what you mean.” Michael said.

  “Okay. Well, to put it simply, not all people are the same race. I am an Evari, and you are a mix of the Valon and Feral.”

  “Oh yeah, you mentioned that before.” Michael said. “My ears.” He touched the furred ears that poked out from his head. Yan had similar ears in her hair color. Hyato’s looked rounded and fleshy, while Sebastian’s were a bit wider and pointed, but still covered in skin too.

  “For some, that is enough to distinguish a few of the races. But if you look only at the ears, you would not be able to tell the difference between a Valon and a Phanokai, or an Evari and a Senne.” Sebastian said.

  “Okay. So, what does that have to do with Energy form?”

  “They are intrinsically linked.” Sebastian said. “Each race is capable of a few special actions that others are not. For example.” Sebastian reached behind himself and scratched his own back. His arms bent more than Michael’s ever could.

  “Doesn’t that hurt?” Michael asked. He reached back behind himself but only got so far.

  “Evari are far more flexible than the other races. I can also do some minor things, like preventing my hair from growing.” Michael looked at Sebastian’s slightly curled blond hair.

  “That’s... cool?”

  “Well there are other things.” Sebastian said, returning to a normal walk. “But for the Valon.” Sebastian pointed at Hyato. “One such action is the Energy Form.”

  “When they turn into energy, the Valon are lighter and able to dish out any attack as an energy attack.” Sebastian said.

  “That’s awesome! Why doesn’t he just stay in that form?” Michael asked.

  “Because, it’s also tiring. And he cannot interact physically for the most part. He wouldn’t be able to turn a door handle or pick up a glass. He can use his sword and keeps his clothes on because they are pretty much a part of him, but he wouldn’t be able to get something out of his pack, or even unsheathe his sword while already in Energy Form.”

  “Oh. So can I enter Energy Form?” Michael asked.

  “I’m an Evari, I don’t know how to explain something like that.” Sebastian said. “Yan.”

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  “We’re both three part Valon, one part Feral.” Yan said to Michael. “I can enter Energy Form. You should be able to also!”

  “Okay, so how do I do that?” Michael asked.

  “Here, watch.” Yan stopped for a moment and concentrated. She changed again, her green energy emerging and taking her over. She stayed in energy form for just a moment before changing back. “You try.”

  Michael nodded and screwed up his face in concentration. He thought, Energy Form, Energy Form, Energy Form! And felt his muscles tense up. He looked around after a moment.

  Sebastian shook his head, and Yan covered her face, stifling a giggle. “Nothing happened, huh.” Michael said.

  “Perhaps a more thorough explanation.” Sebastian said, side-eyeing Yan.

  Yan’s face was twitching with a suppressed grin, as she tried to look calm. “Well, I...” She burst out a giggle, and then took a few breaths to calm down. “Sorry.” She said. Michael shrugged, smiling a bit. “I’m not sure how to explain it.”

  “Energy Form.” Hyato said. “Is not like flexing energy for a Surge. It comes naturally, and on accident for young Valon.”

  “I was afraid of that.” Sebastian said.

  “What?” Michael asked.

  “Well, since you are only part Valon, you might not be able to enter Energy Form.” Sebastian said.

  “What! Why not?”

  “Sometimes not every trait is passed on. There are cases when even full Valon were unable to utilize the transformation. The greatest Hero, Amadon, who fathered the way of adventuring, was a pure Valon incapable of using Energy Form.” Sebastian explained. “You may just be someone incapable of using it as well.”

  “Oh.” Michael said. “Fine.”

  “Let’s not dally any longer.” Sebastian said. “We have to keep going.”

  Over the course of the next few hours the party journeyed along cliffs, canyons, and old bridges leading further through the mountains. Several times, small groups of Zori attacked, and were slain. Gibzori struck from hiding spots, Elazori appeared as obstacles, and a stray Anozori struck with snarling howls. Michael tried a few more times to use Energy Form, to no avail. None of the other Zori they fought needed it, despite there being so many.

  “Why are there so many Zori?” Michael wondered. Hyato shrugged.

  “It is good to be encountering so many Zori.” Sebastian said.

  “Why? For training?” Michael asked.

  “To a point. But let me ask you something else. How would you feel if you went through a day without encountering any Zori?” Sebastian asked.

  Michael shrugged. “Pretty good?”

  Hyato and Yan frowned. “That would be troublesome.” Hyato said.

  “Why?”

  “Because, Michael, when there are no Zori around, it can mean one good thing, or two bad things.” Sebastian said. “The good thing would be, that there are not many Zori around, and the area is more peaceful.”

  “What about the bad?” Michael asked, hopping from a stone to a ledge, training himself by moving with the party on rough terrain.

  “The bad.” Sebastian said. “Either the local Zori already have something distracting them, which could be innocent people, or they are building up to launch a Raid.”

  “A Raid.” Michael said. “They attack people as an army?”

  “People, yes. And towns, cities even.” Sebastian said. “You never know when a Raid of Zori will come. Most cities have walls to help defend against them for that reason.”

  “In that case.” Michael said, swinging the black sword he carried, “I’ll eliminate every Zori I see, so they can’t Raid anyone.”

  “Don’t be reckless.” Yan said. “Sometimes there are enemies too strong to fight. Take caution into account.” Michael nodded.

  As Michael imposed training on himself, he considered the conversation. If Hyato was witnessing time out of order, wouldn’t he be able to warn them of incoming Zori? Then again, Hyato said he didn’t always know when things were in relation to others. From the sound of it, he couldn’t control it. That wouldn’t help as a warning system. Michael would have to be vigilant on his own. He scoured the mountains around, looking for signs of Zori.

  Michael’s empty eyes widened. There was someone on a path at the other end of the canyon they were crossing. “Look!” He said, pointing out the man ahead.

  The party looked and Hyato gasped. “That’s him. I’m sure of it.”

  “Let’s follow.” Yan said. “Come along!” She picked up the pace, and the others moved to chase after. Sebastian panted a few dozen yards later, but didn’t complain.

  They trailed the man until they lost sight of him around a bend. “Go!” Michael said. “You’re faster than us, Yan.”

  Yan nodded and sped off, running and leaping over a gap to a stone pillar, then leaping again to the other side of the canyon. It was no river valley, but still. “That jump was risky.” Hyato said. Yan sped along and went out of sight.

  The guys continued to the natural crossing of the canyon, but as they crossed it, Yan returned. “Did you lose him?” Sebastian asked.

  "No," Yan shook her head. “He met up with a bunch of other people. They all went off in the same direction. You sure that was the guy, Hyato?”

  Hyato nodded, “I am certain of it.”

  “Then let’s follow from a distance.” Yan said. “There are too many and they moved like they knew the area. We’ll follow them, and scout it out, and plan our next move.”

  Michael nodded, with a huge grin on his face. “Yeah.”

  “What are you so excited about?” Yan asked.

  “Cause we found him.” Michael said.

  Yan put a hand on her hip and raised an eyebrow. “Did you think we wouldn’t?”

  “Well...” Michael said, “Kind of.”

  “Have some faith in me, man.” Yan said, heaving a sigh. “Come on guys, let’s keep going after them.”

  The others followed Yan, and Michael wondered if he had offended her. ‘I’d better make it up to her.’ Michael thought. He tried to think of what to do about that.

  Hours of trekking through the mountains, and more hours following the men and revenant, used up the daylight faster than Sebastian would have liked. “We’ll need to make camp soon.” He said.

  The sky was ablaze in orange hues, and Yan nodded. “I can always track them tomorrow. They aren’t covering their tracks well, but are too vigilant to approach in the open.”

  “But we don’t want to let them get back to their base, right?” Hyato said. "We should attack."

  “They are too careful out in the open. And there are a dozen of them.” Yan said. “It makes sense though, right? I mean, they have to worry about Zori too.”

  “Attacking might leave us open to ambush by Zori, which could make everything go wrong.” Sebastian said. “But we can make a plan if they go to some hideout, or we follow them all the way to a town. Then blending in would be rather easy.”

  “I know this area.” Yan said. “There is a good campsite just over there.” She indicated an area covered in pine trees. Michael saw a waterfall that must be the start of the nearby river.

  “Lead the way.” Sebastian said.

  The party entered a secluded area near the base of a cliff, surrounded by stones and pine trees. Hyato picked some fern out of his coat, and Sebastian began setting up camp. “Okay guys.” Yan said. “I’ll be back in camp in an hour or so. Don’t follow me, I’ll be fine.” She went off into the woods.

  “Will she be alright?” Hyato wondered.

  “She did say she knew this area.” Sebastian said. “I trust her not to be foolish. She won’t be eating any poisonous clovers anyways.”

  “Gotcha.” Hyato said, looking away.

  “Well, I’m going to go do some training.” Michael said, after setting down his gear.

  Hyato watched Sebastian and Michael get comfortable, but remained standing with his coat and sword in place. “We shouldn’t relax. We could still be attacked by Zori.”

  “If we do not relax,” Sebastian said, “We will succumb to stress instead.”

  “Well, I don’t feel like relaxing.” Hyato said, watching Michael wander off in the direction opposite of Yan, towards the cliffs.

  “Then how about you do some training?” Sebastian said. “Or more foraging.”

  “I’ll find something to hunt.” Hyato said. “I’ll be back.” He wandered off as well, leaving Sebastian to himself. The Evari gentleman chuckled, and took a book from his pack and cracked it open.

  Michael stood at the base of a tall cliff. He looked up at the stone outcroppings, sections of grass and moss, and the brush that clung to the wall in defiance of reasonable plant behavior. “This looks good.” He said to himself. He set aside his shirt, it was kind of hot in the mountains here. Michael stretched out and limbered up for a few minutes, then grinned. “Okay!”

  He jumped up the wall to the first outcropping, then the second, and then the third. He kept his hands in his pants pockets as he trained. He went up a few sections, then back down before he fell. Jumping down to outcroppings below him made his heart race. The ground seemed farther than he remembered, but arrived all too soon. Still, Michael landed on his feet, crouching low to spread the impact out. “Good!” He said. “Again!”

  Jumping up the cliff got easier and easier, and scarier as Michael jumped his way back down. He started to think he might consider using his hands for balance on the way down. He didn’t want to trip and tumble down the side of the slope. Michael followed his instinct and began to train using his arms for balance as he jumped around.

  After several reps of this, Michael’s legs and back were sore. He sat and looked up at the wall. “I wonder what the view is like up there.” He said, chewing on the idea. The top had a jutting section of cliff that would be hard to get around. If he could accomplish that...

  Michael hopped to his feet and began climbing the wall, jumping from stone to stone. He got most of the way up when the rocks started moving out and away from the cliffside. There was no way to climb that without using his arms to grip. Michael eyed the paths he could see, there were many dead ends.

  After some deliberation, he started climbing. “Won’t make progress just standing here.” He said, talking to himself quite a bit. Michael clung to stones with his knees and one hand as the other searched for another handhold. One stone at a time, Michael crawled along the underside of the cliff lip.

  Insects scattered as Michael reached for another handhold at the edge of the lip, but there wasn’t one. He waved his arm all around, but found only smooth stone. Nothing broke off to create a small crack to grab either. ‘What do I do?!’ Michael avoided looking behind him, where the ground was no doubt looming. He could feel the pull of the world, trying to drag him off the cliff. His knees were sore, clinging to the stone like that.

  Michael thought over everything he knew. Terramancy? He didn’t know enough to use it here. He didn’t know any useful spells, and there was no way to use a Vibe or Surge to get out of this mess. He was athletic, but if he had nowhere to go he couldn’t use that.

  Wait. There was something he could try. Michael tensed up his free hand and flexed a surge around it. Then he focused that flex around his fingers, and reached again. He pressed his fingertips at the stone. It hurt. It stung bad. Dust grated against his fingers, and a pressure made them feel like something tried to burst out of them. The stone surface was cool and stiff, and unbending. Michael grunted, and kept pushing!

  The stone gave in first! Michael’s fingers bored into the rock and he let go of the surge, which kicked loose the dust in the crevice. Michael grinned and continued climbing. He made each handhold with surges, and climbed to the top!

  Michael stumbled away from the edge of the cliff, not wanting to fall off on accident, then lay on the ground. “YES!” He said, victorious. He had climbed the cliff! “Michael wins!” He shouted. He lay back more, panting as he caught his breath.

  Once he had recovered some, Michael sat up. He looked out at the mountains. There were so many peaks out there, but each had its own shape and feel to it. There were taller peaks that were narrow and pointed, gentle peaks that sloped to a rounded top, and bumpy mountains that spread their peak across many wider ones. Most of the mountains had trees up halfway, except the taller ones that eschewed trees altogether. There were forests in the Drakmor Mountains. The wind kept the clouds and mists moving about, hiding and revealing the world without agenda. Michael smiled.

  After gazing at the peaks and valleys for a little while, Michael stood up and stretched. “I should be getting back.” He took a step and looked for a way down.

  A loud crack filled the air, and Michael’s ears twitched. He looked to his feet, and a small fissure grew around the area where he had stepped. “Shoot.” Michael said as the ground gave way!

  Swallowed into the earth, Michael had to fight to keep from panic. A slippery surface tripped him and he started to slide, a natural chute carrying him along! He flexed energy to his back to protect himself, but tried to slow down by digging his feet in. It didn’t work.

  Fear was overpowering, so much that Michael could not scream. He could end up anywhere. Was this some Zori trap? A Bandit trap? What should he do? The stone tunnel was too wet to stop. Water. This chute was filled with water. It’s not a trap, it's a river! Or a creek anyways. The water was getting deeper, so Michael took a deep breath.

  Michael plunged from stone chute into rushing water, and continued to move fast. He was being carried away. ‘There’s an outlet. There must be a stream or something this leads to.’ He thought. Michael held his breath and straightened his legs. He started to move faster!

  Rushing waters carried away Michael, bouncing him about, as he kept his breath locked in. Then his feet came against something. Rock. The water continued past him, Michael tilted his head to look at his feet. The water stung a bit, but that wasn’t important.

  The water flowed through a crack, Michael could see natural light, but he was too big to fit. The chute was too narrow to reach it. If he could get his hands down there, boring through the stone would be easy. There was no way he could do that. He flexed energy into his foot and stomped. He hit the rocks, but there was no force to it. He tried again.

  This wasn’t going to work. Michael coughed, letting out air. His vision wavered. No. The water was getting too intense. There was too much pressure. Pressure, pushing down on him. He was going to drown before this broke.

  No. He could break this. Hydromancy. Michael focused on the point just past his feet, the other side of the rocks. The water there would stay there! Michael concentrated, and stopped the flow, holding the water close. He kept the water in place, then wondered, ‘How do I know this?’ Darkness clouded his vision, numbness overtook his senses. The end was nigh.

  Stone ruptured as the blockage gave way and Michael jerked his feet, losing his concentration. Water exploded forth, and he was sent flying with it! He felt air on his face and bare chest again, and he took a breath as he started to fall. He tumbled through the air, getting a glimpse of tree, cliffs, a pond, and the waterfall cascading him forth. Then Michael hit something.

  There was a yelp of surprise at the impact, and Michael felt a rock bounce off his head, making him shake his head in pain for a moment. Michael groaned. Water returned to a normal downpour on his back, spreading into mist and bouncing around. Michael landed face down, but was not submerged, it was shallow here. Warm too. And soft.

  Michael opened his eyes to see something pink. There was a rather pleasant smell reaching his nose. He looked up, and saw a red faced Yan looking down at him with a piercing emerald gaze. She didn’t move or blink, and her mouth was shut tight. Michael could hear her heart racing, and realized he was pressed down onto her naked body. Michael took another look at her boobs, then jumped up off of her in one swift motion. “Hi... Yan.” Michael said. “Sorry to drop in on you, like that...” He looked off to the side. At the shore he saw where Yan had hung her clothes and pack.

  “Michael.” Yan said. Michael looked as she was sitting up and covering her breasts with one arm. Her belly and lower body were submerged in the water, hidden by the rippling water. “What are you doing here?”

  “Well...” Michael coughed. “I went to a cliff and started training my ability to climb it using only my legs and was climbing up and down along it and heading back down was kind of hard and I was getting a bit worried so I started to use my arms for balance to help with the training so I did that a few times before looking up and thinking that climbing to the top would give me a really good view so I...” Michael started to cough, trying to catch his breath.

  “Don’t try to speak it all at once.” Yan said, having turned to look a bit away and face her body from him. “Speak clearly. Where’s your shirt?”

  “I took it off while I was training.” Michael said.

  “Okay.” Yan’s ear twitched. “You were climbing to the top.”

  Michael looked at Yan’s smooth back and started again. “I decided to climb up to get a better view.”

  “A better view of what.” Yan said, looking over.

  “Not you,” Michael said, putting his hands before him. “I was looking at the peaks and valleys!” Yan’s face was still red. “I climbed to the top, I had to use a surge in my fingers to get all the way up, and looked out over the mountains. Then I fell into a chute and ended up in the waterfall.”

  Yan watched Michael’s face as he told his story. He didn’t seem to be lying, but his eyes kept wandering. “Go back to camp Michael. And put on a shirt.”

  “Yes. I’ll do that.” Michael trudged out of the pond, his boots squelching with the water trapped inside. He glanced back at Yan once more, and his cheeks felt warm. Then he continued back towards camp.

  Unable to help herself, Yan looked at Michael as he walked away. His back was muscle. It rippled as he moved, and Yan caught herself smiling. She took a breath to calm down, and continued bathing.

  Michael recovered his things and returned to the campsite. He sat on a small log that had been placed out, dripping a puddle around him. Sebastian looked him over and raised an eyebrow. “What happened to you?”

  “I stopped a waterfall with hydromancy.” Michael said, “Until it kind of exploded.”

  “Ah, that’d do it.” Sebastian said. “You’re soaking wet.”

  “Yeah.” Michael said, creating fire in front of him. “I’ll dry off with pyromancy.”

  “Good idea. Mix up the training and you learn faster.” Sebastian said. “Now you just need to convince Yan to practice with you.”

  “Why’s that?” Michael asked.

  “Maybe you two could become closer.” Sebastian said, a sly smile on his face.

  “I doubt it.” Michael said. “Maybe.” Michael focused, and the fire started to dry his pants. The black snakeskin or whatever they were made of was not drying very fast. His leather shoes looked all wrinkled too. Michael let out a sigh. It was going to be a long night.