“I’m not entirely sure,” I said. “It seemed to happen by accident. I do know it was triggered while I was tied up in the slavers’ wagon.”
Veronica’s face paled at this. Obviously, it was easy to forget that I’d been a slave until so recently.
I continued. “My Fire tattoo seemed to be activated when I was watching one of the slavers about to hit Amelia. My emotions were so strong that my hands just started producing fire.”
“Oh, I didn’t realize you acquired those abilities just for me,” Amelia said. We all laughed.
“As I was forced to face more slavers, and then monsters in the woods,” I continued, “I just worked out more about how my powers work through trial and error.”
“Fortunately, there wasn’t too much error,” Amelia added.
“Yes, we were very fortunate.”
“You seem pretty brave to me,” Veronica replied. “You went through all that yesterday, and today here you are, coming to help an experienced Mage like myself in a monster battle.” She almost seemed a little ashamed that I’d come to rescue her.
“There were a lot of monsters,” I said. “Besides, you looked like you were handling yourself pretty well.”
Veronica shook her head. “Had you not given me your help, I don’t know what would have happened. My sister was always telling me that I was too rash and that it’d eventually be my undoing. Luckily, you two came along, so I never had to learn my lesson, eh?” She chuckled humorlessly under her breath. At the mention of her sister, her face had fallen a bit. It was obviously a soft spot, so I didn’t ask more about it.
“Who knows, maybe we can do something about the escaped Beasts?” I asked. “Once Amelia and I figure that out, we could even free the slaves.”
“That sounds like a great idea, but I doubt us three would ever be capable of such a thing,” Veronica said.
“The three of us?” I asked.
Veronica blushed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to assume we would work together. It’s been a while since I’ve had anyone to call a friend in these parts, besides the mistress of the tavern in Brightwater and some vagabond who drinks too much.”
“It’s no problem,” I said. “I make friends easily, and I don’t mind calling you one of them, even if we’ve known each other for no more than an hour. A lot can change in a short space of time. A few days ago, Amelia and I were just Elemental Sensitives. Now, I’m an Ink Mage and Amelia is a… What exactly are you?”
Amelia shrugged. “I’m not sure. Even though I can use magic, I wouldn’t feel right calling myself a Mage since I never trained as one. I’m not an Ink Mage—only one who can give tattoos can be called that. I must be something else.”
I considered a name that would suit her, and one came to me as I looked at the tattoo I’d drawn on her body.
“Rune Sorcerer,” I said. “That’s what you are.”
“Rune Sorcerer?” Amelia wore a thoughtful expression that quickly turned into a beaming smile. “I love it!”
“It’s a good title,” Veronica agreed. “I am wondering about something, though. You said that you two were Elemental Sensitives. Is that why you were enslaved?”
“That’s correct,” Amelia replied. “Yes, I am. My base affinity is Cold. I didn’t discover this until I ventured out from Astros. Otherwise, I would have been snatched up and sent to the mines much earlier.”
“You can both sense the Beast Cores you’re carrying then?” Veronica asked. “Doesn’t that get a bit distracting?”
“I don’t notice it all the time,” I said. “It’s more like how you sense your own body parts. You know that your fingers are there, but your brain doesn’t remind you of it all the time.”
“I see.” Veronica paused in the middle of the forest track and fished out a Fire Beast Core from her pocket. “What do you sense when I hold this out?”
“It’s mostly a heat-like sensation, stronger now that it’s uncovered. The Cold Cores in your pocket are at the back of my mind, but when I focus on them, a shiver runs through me, as though an icy wind blew against my skin.”
“That doesn’t sound too overwhelming,” Veronica said as she returned the Core to her pocket.
“It’s never really overwhelming. I feel it most strongly when I crack the Cores open. It’s like having something tugging at my mind. Of course, it’s actually tugging at my Mana pool.”
Veronica opened her mouth, but no sound came out. After a moment, she tried again. “You crack Beast Cores open? Are you a madman? Those are worth so much money, and they’re so dangerous. Only enchanters in Astros open Cores.”
I shrugged. “Where else would I get the ink to draw my tattoos?”
Veronica just shook her head, lost for words.
“I would have thought that it was crazy too, only a few days ago,” Amelia said. “It sounds incredibly risky to play with such dangerous magic and foolhardy to tamper with items worth so much money. But the magic that William can perform as an Ink Mage is simply wonderful.” At that, she clasped her hand in mine and kissed me on the cheek.
Veronica raised an eyebrow at the both of us. “Are you two... married?”
I laughed, and Amelia nudged me none-too-softly in the side.
“No, we’re not,” the beautiful Rune Sorcerer said. “Although we have made love. Last night, actually.”
Veronica raised her hand. “Please, spare me the details. It’s been so very long since I’ve felt a man’s warmth, I’m not sure I could take it.”
Amelia giggled before she whispered under her breath. “I could barely take William.”
“Enough, ladies,” I
