Leaving Safety

The early light of dawn embraced me as the city rushed past. Footsteps echoing through the empty streets. Running had become a routine for me in the last two weeks. Normally, I detested any kind of physical activity; my true calling was behind a desk researching and writing rota sequences! But to my dismay, I had to get used to controlling my new body and figure out how much mana it used. Droplets of water flew off my face as I raced past shops that were setting up for the day.

I had purchased a bottle so I could spray my face with water. Why? Because I was paranoid, and my body cannot sweat.

Next in my new routine is looking at the assignment board at the guild. I had taken it upon myself to fulfill as many magic-related jobs as I could. Most of them involved helping artificers who lacked the mana to charge their devices.

Doing this, I had reached rank E, providing me with access to better assignments. The jobs I took paid quite well. Together with the money Olgore and Dust had given me, saving was easy. My expenses were minimal, I just paid for my room. Food was also of no concern to me, I am unable to eat, which did wonders for my purse.

I sighed, those two. I missed them, the last two weeks, a hole had started growing within me. Apart from Luce, the receptionist, I barely spoke with anyone. In my laboratory days, this would have been all too fine with me. Yet, the time I was bottled up had changed me; the pit of loneliness in my chest hurt. People just seemed so unapproachable. What if they thought I was weird? Don’t like me? There was a solid yet invisible wall between me and them. I sighed as I opened the door to the Guild.

Once more, I found myself before the job board. Lacking motivation, my eyes scanned the offers, looking for the usual suspects. I stopped, there was an assignment piquing my interest. It was commissioned by Windbreak Academy.

It read:

In need of mages for help at Archaeological site.

Must know at least 200 rota.

Your role will be to help decipher the existing rota and record new ones.

Location will be disclosed upon taking the assignment.

Signed.: Scholars Association of Windbreak

Now that sounded interesting! In no time, I had taken down the assignment number in my notebook. I was perfect for this job. Two hundred rota? Please, I know thousands. They were part of my native language, after all. That job piqued my interest because those ruins could be Kirin! We have a long history of visiting other worlds.

A few were in line before me as I waited to take the job I had found. My excitement faltered, this job meant I would have to step beyond the protective walls of the city. Was I ready for that? Before, I had Olgore and Dust with me, guarding me. Now I had no one. Without warning, I found myself back on that desolate road where this world confronted me with its violence. Frozen in place, I looked around. Was history repeating itself? Once again I found myself standing above the small stream of water beside the road. The iron-like smell of blood creeped up my nose. Looking up, I saw the ground before me scattered with what was left of the bandit I had killed without mercy. His legs, the only thing left standing, blood pooling around his feet. Looking away, no longer able to bear the sight, I saw Olgore and Dust standing on the road. There was shock painted across their faces.
“No this, this isn’t what I wanted, Please believe me! Olgore, Dust… this isn’t who I am. Accident… it was an accident.”

Their shocked faces set in stone, my pleading did not do anything.

I closed my eyes, my breath grew ragged. No, no, no, this cannot be happening! The world grew silent around me, the wind had stopped, the rustling of the needle leaves gone. My eyes opened again, there was a red void around me, blood ascending my legs, threatening to consume me. Opening my mouth, I tried to scream, nothing but suffocating silence escaping me.

Stumbling forward, something had pushed me. My eyes blinking, I found myself back in line at the guild. A single tear escaping my eyes.

“Oi, move lad, we haven’t got all day!” Someone said. My body was frozen. Trying to lift my feet, I found it impossible. Again, someone shoved me forwards.

“Dammit lad, move!” The voice said again. I shook my head. My vision blurred. A loud clap resounded through the room as I slapped myself. At last, one small shaking step after another, I moved towards the receptionist. If I don’t take this assignment, nothing would change!

“Finally, she is moving,” The guy behind me said.

Forcing my legs to move, I found myself before Luce.

“Everything okay, Tepin? You look a bit shaken there.”

“I-I am okay. Just let me take this quest.” I had ripped out the piece of paper with the assignment number I had noted down and placed it on the counter.

“Oh, finally something that takes you out of the city, I see,” he said.

“Yes finally! This one looks right up my ally.”

“Alright, I will show you the location on your map.”

“Am I supposed to have one of those?” I scratched my head.

“You don’t have one? Don’t worry, the guild will provide.” Convenient! Luce opened a drawer behind his counter and took a rolled-up paper out.

“This here is a map of the republic of Inas and the surrounding territory. We are here, as you should know. The archaeological site is around a day’s walk away, around here.” He pointed towards a location outside the city. Finger following an invisible line, he traced it to a road that came from Inas’Gate.

“You should leave the road around here to get there. There should be a small outpost, with people waiting for assignment takers and scholars.”

“I see, thank you, that is good information,” I picked up the map and rolled it close again.

“No problem and good luck out there, Tepin.”

“T-t-thanks Luce.” Feet still shaking, I made my way back to my room.

The morning light warmed my room as my hand rested on the doorknob leading to the outside world.
Push, I just had to push and leave. But the door felt too heavy. I forced the faces of my lost family into my mind. Opening this door was just the first step to being reunited with them. My resolve steeled, I stepped forward, opening the door.

The enormous wall that marked the border between me and the outside came closer. With each step, my feet grew heavier, but I continued forward.

By the time the city’s gate came into view my feet were shaking, but I pressed on. A thought invaded my mind, what if the guards monitored who went inside and out? I never got checked going in. If I were able to, I would start to sweat buckets just about now. My worries turned out to be unfounded, I got through without incident.

Leaving the city behind, I soon found myself on the road to the ruins. Each time I heard the creaking of a wheel or some travelers talking, my eyes shot to the noise. It took time, but as minutes turned to hours, I accepted that there was no danger here. The road was well traveled, the constant noise of creaking carriages accompanied me as I walked along. Around midday, my energy started fleeting, so I decided to stop. Inas’Gate was no longer visible on the horizon, and before me lay the beginnings of a forest. There were some lonely rocks around, and I chose one to rest on. Sliding my fingers across the cold rough surface, I began to meditate. Closing my eyes, I focused my senses on the ambient mana. Wind gathered around me, accompanying the warm energy that started flowing into me. I could feel my hair being lifted by the breeze. Soon, I should work on compressing my sphere again so I could go further distances with my body.

Not sure how much time had passed within my meditation, I opened my eyes. A bunch of travelers were standing in front of me. I blinked. Why? The gust of wind that had found its place around me lost strength as I stopped beckoning mana towards me. They were staring at me, just standing there. My cheeks burned a bright red. What was going on? When I moved one of my feet back to the ground, they broke out of their stupor and, as if nothing happened, continued on. For a while longer I sat there confused. What had that been about?

Shaking it off, I stepped back on the road, moving on.

It had gotten late, and the number of travelers on the road had declined. The outpost Luce had pointed out should soon come into sight. Should I stay there for the night? Things seemed safe, but continuing in the dark might be a bit much.

“HELP!”

I froze dead in place as an ear-piercing scream reached my ears. I looked around, there was no one close by. What do I do?

“HELP!”
There it was again, the scream more desperate than before. Someone needed help! But was I the right person? I remembered what happened the last time I was confronted by this world.

“SOMEONE! HELP!”

“Shut her up!” A new voice yelled in an accent I had never heard before.

My mind was a mess, eyes darting everywhere. Yet, I found myself running towards the screams. My body, betraying me, deciding the course of action by itself. The underbrush scratched up my arms as I ran into the forest. This is what I had decided, so now I had to deal with it. With that, I readied one paralyzing spell in each of my hands, the familiar buzzing of mana reaching my ears. Breaking through the shrubbery onto a small clearing, broken branches scattered around me. I saw two men in long black and red robes, hooded, wrestling down a woman trying to bind her. Another one stood before her.

“Look out, behind you!” The two busy ones warned the one facing away from me. I released my spells, pointing at the two holding the elf. A loud crackling sound could be heard throughout the clearing as two purple lightning streaks hit their targets. In an instant, the two fell over, and I noticed my mistake. I should have started by hitting the one that wasn’t busy. Eyes wide, too late, I felt a thud running through my body as an arrow pierced my shoulder. Stumbling back, I heard a triumphant laugh coming from my opponent. Not feeling any pain, a grin crossed my face, surprising myself. My arm blurred as I raised it, rota forming so fast they were a purple blur. The one still standing had readied another arrow when he looked towards me and his eyes widened. A blur of wild purple lightning hit him in the chest, quickly spreading through him. He fell over backwards, knocked out. Revealing the elf standing behind him, holding a shaking dagger. Was it over already? Could it have been really that easy? Frozen in place, I took another look at the one I had saved.

There she stood shaking. Long elven ears peeked out from beneath neck-long hair the color of white with a hint of sky blue coming through. Her skin was of a pale almond color. Crimson eyes staring back at me in fear. She was cradling her right arm hidden beneath her cape, I hope she wasn’t hurt.

A groan disturbed the silence between us. My eyes darted towards the source of it, one of the fallen bandits was in the process of waking up. Fuck this. I ran towards her, and as she stepped back, I got hold of her still outstretched arm. Pulling her with me towards the road. “Let’s get out of here,” I said. Not giving her much room to answer, I dragged her behind me.

Running, we soon reached the road, not stopping, I continued sprinting. Only after her ragged breath reached my ears, I slowed down. After we hid behind some trees I let go of her. She stood there with the knife still in her hand, taking deep breaths. She donned a dark cape that covered her right arm. Beneath was a charcoal grey coat, opening up to reveal short white pants. White stockings covered most of her legs. I stood there looking as she recovered.

“Are you hurt anywhere?” I asked. She looked up, still catching her breath.

“Never mind me, what about you?” Raising one of her arms to point towards my shoulder. I glanced at the red stain where the arrow was still stuck in my clothes.

“Oh no, my new armor!” Grabbing the arrow tight, I pulled it out. Touching the ragged hole the arrow had left behind, I panicked, “No, no, no, not my jacket. Ah! The blood is going to leave stains, nooo!” I willed my body to stop bleeding. Was there anything around to wipe the blood off? My eyes landed back on the elf. Who was standing before me, back straightened, looking at me, mouth open. Huh? What? What did I do now?

“What is wrong with you?” She said.

“Why?”

“You are clearly hurt! That injury needs treatment!” She screamed at me.

Taking a few steps back, I took a look at the arrow in my hands, blood trickling down from it. The adrenaline left me as it was replaced by dread. Shaking, I opened my hand, letting the arrow fall. Wounded people are supposed to feel pain.

“S-s-sorry if I made you worry, I u-uhm have a very high pain tolerance,” I said. In an attempt to calm her down further, I opened my back and pulled out the shirt that didn’t fit me. Ripping part of it off to bandage myself. Failing to wrap myself with the ripped cloth, the elf stepped closer to me. I needed to raise my head to look up at her, she was a good head taller than me. Just like Dust. As I stood there looking up, she took the cloth from me. With care, she wrapped my injury.

“Never underestimate your injuries. Treat them early, do not ignore your pain.” She said with a low voice. She had an accent similar to Dust, I wonder if they come from the same lands?

“T-thanks. How did you even end up in that situation?”

“I would like to know that myself. These roads are supposed to be safe. Inas’Gate is not that far away after all. They just jumped me out of nowhere and dragged me off. In light of that, however, thanks for saving me,” she said. I took a look around. We had run quite far, but who knows if they were trying to follow us?

“Maybe we should get going, we can talk while we walk. Do you think it might be a good idea to stay off the road? Where were you headed?”

“I was headed to an archaeological site, and yes we should stay hidden for now.” The elf said, as my eyes lit up.

“Oh, we are going the same way! The outpost should be close.”

“I don’t think I have seen you at Windbreak before. Are you contracted?” She asked.

“Yes, I saw the job yesterday. Thought it was perfect for me!”

“Still thinking that?”

“Nope. I know what can happen beyond the walls.” In truth, I was very much doubting my decision, but she didn’t need to know that.

For a while, we continued on in shared silence. Peeking at her, I noticed that she was still rubbing her right arm, hidden away beneath her cape. Taking one step after another, my desire to talk to her grew. She was going to the same place I was, maybe I could befriend her? Becoming aware that I hadn’t asked her her name, I decided to pick up the conversation again.

“What can I call you?”

“Kaylin or Kay is fine.” She answered.

“You can call me Tepin by the way!” I told her.

“Good to know, it was rude of me not to ask.” She said.

That was weirdly formal? Either way, how do I talk to people again? The conversation just started, and I already didn’t know what to say next. Each step I took, the silence between us grew louder. Speaking to Olgore and Dust was effortless in comparison. My head dropped, I missed them. Defeated, I continued walking, sometimes glancing at Kaylin. I sucked at small talk.

Soon we could see lights dancing on the horizon. Could that be the camp? Wait, could that be a topic to start the conversation again?

“That should be the outpost, right, Kaylin?”

“Yes, I can see the emblem of Windbreak,” she said. Good, so no unwanted surprises. I noticed that the flags that were raised had a simple circle with a dot in the middle. So that was the sign of Windbreak. Desperate to keep talking to her, I asked.

“Now, seeing how we are both going to the same place, h-how about we leave for the site together tomorrow?” Please say yes. Pleaaaaase say yes, I yelled within my mind.

“It is safer in numbers, agreed.” That was not the answer I expected, but better than nothing?

“Great! I-I mean good.” Nailed it.

Arriving at the little camp, we were greeted by two guards that seemed to be hired by Windbreak. We explained what had occurred to us. Well, mostly Kaylin did, I just stood there looking around. The outpost was small, there was a little bonfire in the middle of it, little embers flying off into the sky. Man, it must be boring sitting here all day waiting for people to point them the right way. Looking back at Kaylin, I noticed she also had the emblem of Windbreak on the back of her cape. As I stared at her, she turned around, her crimson eyes directed at me.

“These kind guards lent me a spare bedroll, If you ask them, they might provide you with one, too. As it has become late, I will rest now. I am grateful for your assistance once more. We can talk more in the morrow.” Again, so formal.
“Thanks for the advice! Good night.”

“May you rest well, too.” And with that, she turned around and walked away.

Having had enough of trying to have a proper conversation with anyone, I found myself a nearby tree to sleep at. It wasn’t like I needed a comfy bed, turning off my sense of touch would do the trick.

Considering what had happened, I was quite calm. In fact, I think it has lessened my anxiety about being outside. My spell had worked perfectly, those three criminals had stood no chance.

Rubbing my head, I decided I to call it a day. Who knows how late it was, and knowing how bad I was at waking up, I closed my eyes!

As I drifted off into sleep, I dreamed of red eyes following me through the darkness of the night.