Boredom and frostbite become very real concerns; no trees equals no firewood, and our newest cave doesn't come with complimentary cable and Wi-Fi, let alone warmth. Time drags on until we estimate about a week is left until the coming full moon. We try to be productive with our time, attempting to teach our companions about our world. Most of the time, Thirax just grins and looks at us like we're pulling his leg. The rest of the time, he seems to enjoy the stories. Acri, as usual, absorbs all the information and asks many, many questions.
As a tradeoff, the elf tries to teach us a little about his magic. I ask a lot of questions of my own, trying to understand the Healing Magics some more. Most of what he has to say is formula and theory. He never studied Healing Magics and claims he has no aptitude for it. It seems that each magic user has a natural affinity for one or more types. Sadly, after much testing, it seems I have only the knack for minor healing for now. The one spell I have managed is much stronger with the added power of the stones, but they aren’t totally necessary. But like anything else, I assume the magic can get stronger with practice and hard work, or at least this will help me level up. So, I spend my time working on that. I wonder if it will last when we return to our world?
There have been no new attacks on us nor sightings of anything more suspicious than a surly mountain goat, so we decide it’s safe to start moving again. Going down the mountain passes is a hell of a lot easier than going up. Without Thirax, I know we would’ve gotten lost many times.
The air warms as we descend the hills, and the days pass in exhausting, mile-consuming hikes. Each night is a cold camp with double watches. Of course, this means little sleep for anyone. Olivia and I are down to one MRE a day and have been for a while. Likewise, for the other two, we've been traveling too fast to allow much in the way of foraging or hunting.
We are all tired, hungry, and cranky by the time we come within sight of the lake again. This is it. The moon should be full tonight for the first of three nights. Our chance at going home is close, and this cheers Olivia and me a lot. Thirax seems to just roll with the idea, but Acri now seems a little nervous whenever anyone brings it up.
I can't blame him. Prior to meeting us, he had a cushy job, steady pay, cheap wine, and a future. Now, he is homeless, jobless, poor, and most of his extended family may be dead because we took him hostage. His cooperation is somewhat surprising, now that I think about it. I'm just glad he's warmed up to us a bit, and everyone is a lot less hostile toward each other. I wouldn't call he and I friends, exactly, more like two people trying to ignore that they tried to kill each other and are now forced to work together. I don’t think there’s a word for that…
We make a midday camp in a small clearing about a stone's throw from the water's edge. The sky above the lake is clear for miles; the mage storm must have burned itself out or maybe just moved on.
Thirax offers to go out and scout the clearing and see what kind of fortifications and troops have been added. I begin to tell him to be careful when I see the look on his face. I shut my mouth and wish him luck. The remaining three of us settle down to wait for his return.
I've never been good with sitting idle. I always feel like I should be doing something. So, I try to work on a plan. Using the sole of my boot, I sweep the dried leaves and sticks from a patch of ground. I sketch a rough map of the lake, the roads that we know of, and the path to the cave, complete with the MRE stockpile. Next, I add the clearing and the stockade as last I saw it. Acri takes the stick and completes the drawing with a sketch of the cave system. After seeing the completed map, it galls me a little to know just how close I was to going home. And that was only a month ago, though it feels a lot longer.
What Acri does next surprises me and goes a long way to get me to trust him. He continues to sketch, adding the mountain that the cave goes through. On that mountain, he marks a trail from just beneath the peak to a small room off the main cavern.
“I trust you know some basics of magic by this time, yes?” he asks us. Olivia shrugs her shoulders a little, and I nod in affirmative. “Good, so we can skip that part. Now, as you may remember from our talks, I am a Fire Magus. That is my natural affinity and my natural inclination. But that does not mean that is my only discipline. I've had many long hours sitting at that damn gate to experiment and practice other magic types. After months of study, I passed through fire and into molten metals, and from metals to stone. Magma. From there, it was a short step to Earth Magics.”
“Why are you telling us this? Kind of an odd time to be bragging, isn't it?” Olivia asks with a smile to take the sting out of
