Chapter 32: Terribly Wrong

Chapter 32: Terribly Wrong

Tala moved towards the chuckwagon, allowing her back and shoulders to move along with the rest of her, keeping balance.

It felt strange to relinquish the rigidity that shed held for so long. The manner of movement didnt feel like something she did; it had become a part of her. Even so, she wasnt stiff, as her daily stretches and exercises had kept her limber despite her manner of movement.

Honestly, it felt like she was going to fall over, which was incredibly disconcerting given that she was focused on her balance, so she knew she was perfectly stable.

Like feeling starving on a full stomach It made no sense.

Still, she rested in the feeling instead of fighting it and found a strange comfort in the flow of the movement, as her whole body seemed to harmonize with her balance and breath.

This is fantastic!

She easily got her food and made her way to the Mages' table, where the three people there were already gorging themselves.

Tala smiled at the three. Rough day?

Renix nodded emphatically, speaking around food. Yeah, and tomorrow will be the hardest.

Tala found herself nodding. Shed noticed the slow increase in ambient magic as they progressed, and now having seen the power practically streaming through the pass, she understood. Well, Alefast is a waning city, so...?

All three stopped eating and turned to look at her.

Trent cleared his throat. Mistress Tala. I know that your training was He glanced at Atrexia, then back to Tala. unusual, but did you really not think to investigate what the implications were for the stage of our destination city?

Tala shrugged. Honestly? No. So, a city in its last stages, eh? Population in the tens of thousands, buttoning up and getting the last of the goods out. She smiled, sitting down with her food. Magic coalescing about the walls like water in the ocean, luring in all manner of creatures, both the simply arcane, and the truly magical.

Atrexia shook her head and continued eating. Like a child with a bedtime story.

Trent ignored his fellow Mage protector. Even the harvesting guilds will be beginning to pull out. Why do you think I wasnt willing to go with you to the ending tree grove?

You said it would be too expensive?

He gave her a flat look. And have we encountered so much lately that that made sense?

Oh. She nodded, digging into her food and talking around the mouthful. I get it. The abandoned outer circles of the city, and the surrounding countryside, will be crawling with beasts.

Atrexia hesitated, then sighed. That is close enough to true. You know, it would be better if you stayed in the city. You are taking the next caravan out, yes?

Tala nodded. I am, but Im very interested in the ending-berries, and I think its worth the risk. Talas eyes narrowed. You didnt care if I risked myself the last time it was brought up.

Atrexia put on a false veneer of affront. Mistress Tala! I never meant to imply Id like to see you die. I only meant that your death would be a travesty to more than just you, if you died before tomorrow morning.

Talas eyes further narrowed. You dont think theres another in the city who can empower cargo-slots. Atrexia took a hasty bite of food. Tala took the silence as a response and continued. Youre afraid of getting stuck in Alefast until a replacement can arrive, if I die.

Renix was still shoveling food in his mouth, but he managed to give Atrexia a hurt look. Thats not very kind.

I dont want her to die, ok? Why must you look for the reasons why? Isnt my desire enough. She glanced Talas way. Besides, I wont be with the caravan coming back immediately anyways. My departure doesnt hinge on her.

That gave Tala pause. Maybe, its something else, then? Fair enough. She turned back to Trent. So, what will tomorrow look like?

The pass will be the biggest gamble. Mistress Atrexia is uniquely suited to fight in that terrain, thats largely why she was recruited for this particular venture.

Strong-armed, more like, the woman muttered around her food.

In either case, she should be able to drive back anything we encounter through the pass. Once were out, the power in the area beyond the pass will have changed the local animals much more substantially than those weve seen so far, and there will likely be at least a few purely magical creatures.

Trent? Why are you giving her the most basic lesson? Atrexia had paused eating, once again, to regard him.

He shrugged. I prefer to be thorough.

Atrexia grunted, seeming unsatisfied, but didnt press.

Do you need me to be ready to help?

Atrexia rolled her eyes but refrained from commenting.

Trent, though, was nodding. Maybe. What sort of support could you offer?

Tala hesitated, realizing that she didnt really want to explain her abilities. Finally, she settled on being accurate, but vague. I can remove single targets, largely without difficulty. There will be some magical creatures that can shrug off my attack for a time, but very few. I cannot easily effect a swarm, but I can remove up to She glanced at the back of her hand. 23? I think I can remove any 23 opponents from the field, either one at a time, or in groups. If there are particularly resilient opponents, treat them as more than one of that number, and it should still be accurate.

Renix whistled in appreciation around his food, somehow, but didnt comment further.

Trent nodded. Big and focused. That might be useful. Renix and I are good at quickly removing lots of normal opponents, and the guards can handle a horde of weak, or a small number of normal, enemies. He glanced to Atrexia and smiled. She can obliterate almost anything arcane in the mountains, the few exceptions should be subject to Renix and I, but its good to know we can call on you. He turned back to Tala. Are you limited by what they are composed of? He blinked, seeming to consider for himself, then shook his head. Of course, you arent; I apologize. Youre an immaterial, the material that is around is irrelevant to you.

Tala smiled. Reasonable question, nonetheless. If I can see or sense them, I can affect them.

Well keep that in mind. Thank you.

Happy to help.

Small talk filled the remainder of the space around the consumption of their food, and the four parted ways for the night.

Tala felt somewhat strange as she made her way back to her wagon, requisitioning herself a shield along the way. She didnt feel sick, precisely, but she did feel off.

She dismissed it.

No, I couldnt have. Your unawareness is all that allowed me to break the core of your misalignment.

She grumbled, but she knew he was right. Her body was no longer screaming at her quite so loudly, and her lungs no longer felt like they were in open revolt.

Ive seen you stretching. It is a good set. Triple your time in it this morning, and do another set, just as long, at least twice more today. Try to focus on the things from yesterday, and dont be discouraged when you have more difficulty than before.

Tala grunted, then sighed. Thank you. After a short pause, she added. I think I still hate you, but thank you for not just abandoning me. After another pause, she continued. You came, because you knew Id be off this morning?

He quirked a smile. That, and I could hear you gasping for air from the other side of the caravan.

She felt herself color. Was it that loud?

I was waiting for some indication that you were awake, so I was paying very close attention.

She felt slightly mollified.

Ill leave you to it, then. Without further comment from either of them, Adam departed.

After he was well out of earshot, Tala muttered to herself. I hope some sort of masseuse is still in Alefast, because there is no way Im getting all these knots out just by stretching

Breathing first, Tala. She calmed herself, centering her thoughts, and drawing her awareness inward, enforcing her breathing pattern. It wasnt perfect, but she was able to alleviate the feeling of drowning in perfectly good air.

That done, she clumsily gathered up her bedroll and tossed the shield down over the side. Shed normally have carried it but didnt want the added imbalance.

She returned the shield and stored her bedroll. Then, she went through her morning empowerment of the cargo-slots.

It was much more difficult, today, as her body's aches and general feel of being off-balance weakened her mental construct, thereby lowering efficiency.

Even so, it didnt take long for her to be finished with her work for the morning.

That done, she made her way to stand outside the wagon circle in the light of the rising sun and began to stretch, following Adams advice and lingering deeply in each position when it was a static stretch, and increasing the repetitions for those that were dynamic.

Her body felt like a twisted cord being pulled. It was unwinding, but there were still spins in the line that caused strange pulling.

It was deeply uncomfortable.

Extended stretches complete, she moved through her exercises, then did another, normal set of stretches after. More cant hurt.

Through the body work, shed been keeping a portion of her mind on her breathing, and it continued to settle into place.

All told, it was well after sunrise when she finished, and most people had finished their breakfasts by the time she grabbed hers. She found herself catching her feet on the uneven ground as she approached the chuckwagon but kept herself from falling, cursing, or making too much a spectacle of herself.

Brand, bless the man, had a massive earthen jug of coffee to go with her food. It was at least a half-gallon in size. The meal itself was an omelet, containing a healthy helping of thunder bull meat along with cheeses, spices, peppers, and other vegetables.

She poured out her thanks, then took her breakfast back to her wagon, tripping several more times along the way. Thankfully, she was always able to recover herself before dropping anything.

As she ate, she stared at the pass they would traverse in the next few hours. The density of magic flowing through it was palpably higher than that in the surrounding hills. What awaits us, there?

Shed find out soon enough, but she had more immediate concerns.

Her food eaten and coffee at the ready, Tala turned her focus inward and simply breathed.

Tala sat on top of her wagon in the shade of her wide-brimmed hat, eyes closed and thoughts directed inward.

Even so, she was able to hear the creak of the wagon beneath her and feel the growing warmth on her right side as the caravan began to move towards the cleft that they would use as a pass.

As she directed her attention towards her breathing, it seemed to activate her mage-sights deeper perception, because she was suddenly able to see the air, lightly infused with magic, moving in and out with each cycling breath.

It was strange, as there seemed to be power relating to fire in each breath in, and her body was harvesting that, replacing it with something that appeared reminiscent of living plants, at least that was the feeling she got. Strangely, the air she exhaled seemed to be denser with magic than that which she drew in.

Am I losing power with each breath? It was a strange thought but made a sort of sense. Most Mages leak power all around themselves. I dont. I suppose losing some through breathing isnt unique to me, it is just more noticeable to me.

It was more than sensing the contents of her lungs; though, that was part of it, and that was strange enough.

Just as the thunder cattle, or terror bird, had been more than the animal they diverged from, so the air in her lungs was more than simply air.

Within most human cities, there was almost no magic free floating, as all of it was harvested and directed towards the defenses of the city, itself.

Here, in the wilds, it was everywhere.

She could feel the slowly increasing quantity of magic in the air she drew in, steadily rising towards the density that she exhaled.

Experimentally, she held her breath, and watched closely. Not only did the tint of the air in her lungs move away from a patron of fire, and towards an aide to plant life, but it also became more and more magically dense, moving rapidly towards the levels of power observable throughout her body. Could we make a device that measured a Mages power via breath?

She contemplated. Wed have to have them hold their breath for a set amount of time As she continued to observe, she noticed that as the magic in the air she breathed increased, so did that in the air she exhaled. Wed need to be in a magically sterile environment, too. So, it would only work in cities

Experimentally, as she continued to breathe, she reached out to the power in the air within her lungs. To her surprise, it moved easily, responding to her will.

In gleeful fervor, she concentrated the power, pushing it together as she exhaled.

A small pop caused her eyes to snap open. What was that? It hadnt truly been a sound, though a sound had accompanied the feeling.

Den turned his head around, barely able to see as he looked over the front edge of the wagon, a question in his eyes. She waved and smiled. After smiling and returning the gesture, he shrugged, and turned back towards his work.

Den felt that? No, he likely heard the slight pop. It hadnt really sounded like anything natural. She couldnt think of a way to describe the sound as she took notes. Pay more attention next time.