Chương 34: Layers (of Discoveries)

Hidium is a brew that extends stamina levels. It works by using sunlight to help adjust energy levels back to their previous state faster. There are also properties within it allowing for better nutrient absorption, and muscle strength production. It's a high-level tonic and in the case of horses, requires copious amounts in order to have any effect. However, ever since I came to the Enclave, I've been able to make a version that outstrips the previous one. More potent. Less tonic required.

Seven drops is all each horse needs for approximately eight hours' worth of travel. You don't want to give the animal any more than that within the eight hours. After feeding and watering them, it's okay to apply a few more drops. But for no more than two days in succession. Pushing such large creatures isn't advisable if we want them to get away without any damage. Jax normally has a comfortable trot, and the Hidium version of it feels like I'm flying on a cloud.

Our speed is equivalent to a gallop, but takes half the effort on behalf of our steeds. Or it should. I'm coming to realize there's a lot more to Mithris. He barely speaks and seems quite irritated with having been sent on this mission. Not only that, but he pushes the horses longer than I'd recommend. The bright side is that the journey should be over faster. Night has fallen before we pull up in a small town just over the Sorrishen border from Korrien. Elandritin.

It boasts both stone and wooden buildings, a paved main road, a smithy, and an inn. A general store abuts the inn, and gentle golden light bathes the path outside of it. Welcoming. Even if Mithris scowls like a toddler who isn't allowed to play with their favorite things. Xan is the personable one among us, and checks us smoothly into the inn. They speak to the stable hands as we're rubbing our horses down. All of our horses. Just Xan and I. Because Mithris has wandered off somewhere.

Technically I'm a Journeyman now and I could hand it over to Xan. But first up Xan would find a way to pay me back. And secondly, I'm not about to leave Jax's care in someone else's hands when my horse worked so hard for me today. I am somewhat of a pet person. Jax isn't just my mode of transport. Usually when we travel on contracts, Xan and I don't get to stay at inns. We're often meant to be out of sight of the public eye.

Don't let anyone know about new people here, don't let anyone gather wind of what we're about to do. In this case however, we're not even in our regular garb. My brown leather pants and soft peasant blouse allow for better ventilation while riding. Even if I do pull a jacket over it.

"Ria?" I look over at Xan who's already finished with both his and Mithris's mount. Giving Jax a quick hug, I let the stable hand take him off me.

"Don'ya worry miss. I'll take good care 'o him." The stable hand has a gentle touch as he leads Jax away. I guess sometimes people end up doing something they really love.

"Let's go eat." Xan's eyes are shining with anticipation and I have to admit to being excited to get to sit in a tavern and eat something decent. While not exactly a people person, I do enjoy warmth, comfort, and good food. Jerky is okay and a means to an end. I'll eat rations when I need to. Tonight, I get to splurge. The inn is bustling inside. A fire dances in the stone edged firepit lending well needed warmth from the chill night air.

There's a bard in the far corner, strumming a lute and singing softly enough that it's pleasant background noise instead of rowdy accompaniment. We sit a small table and a young woman, maybe my age, perhaps closer to twenty-five comes and smiles down at us.

"What'll it be?" A chalkboard hangs above the bar with several items scrawled on it. Beef stew sounds like heaven right about now.

"I'll have the beef stew, and an ale." She nods at me and turns her attention to Xan. While they order a meat pie and mead, I scan the room again. There's a couple of small families in here. Parents with two or three small children. Chatter fills the hall with noise that I find less distracting than I thought I would. Even through the sensations the elements feed me, there's this thrum of happiness. Contentment. I know for a fact that some of the Nightshade members do stay over in inns when on missions.

While I'm good at blending in, I always feel far too conspicuous. The serving girl comes back to our table, mugs of ale and mead in hand.

"Won't be long on that food," she says in an effort reassure us. I watch her go, swaying her hips as she delivers the other four massive mugs she was holding. That's a whole different kettle of talent there. I'd probably drop three of those.

"This is where you got to." Mithris's appearance is sudden. Even for me. It could be that I was paying too much attention to people farther away from us. To the general sensations the tavern full of people delivered through my connections. Or it could be that Mithris is very good at concealing his presence. Given his rank, I wouldn't be surprised. Fifth-blade Adepts are nothing to scoff at. But I don't feel that's it. Yet again my gut steps in to make me question logic.

"We're hungry," Xan says, sipping from their mead. Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Right. Right." Mithris raises his hand, catches the girl's eye and holds up two fingers. She doesn't even approach the table. While I can tell he obviously ordered the second item on the menu—a bowl of beef stew, just like mine, I didn't realize his ordering method was acceptable.

"You two are a little green." Mithris smirks, his eyes never stay still though. He's taking in his surroundings at all times. Always alert.

"We're not green. We've been Initiate's coming up on two years." Xan bristles a bit beneath the criticism. Mithris waves the words away.

"That's not what I meant. I meant in the way of our Order." Even as he says that I can feel it. This deep-seated curiosity burning to wake up and be answered.

"What do you mean?" I ask. He glances over his shoulder again just as I feel the serving girl approaching. She places my stew down, as well as Mithris's and then a meat pie bangs onto the table where Xan sits. The smells make my mouth water. There's a big, warm, crunchy on the outside piece of bread served with the stew too. Even better.

"That'll be it? Right?" she says, flashing us a brief smile. Xan nods and she continues.

"Just holler if you wantin' more drinks." And then she's gone. The food is fantastic. It's even better than the stew we get back at the Enclave. Perhaps that stems from the atmosphere a bit too, though. Fireplace, music. Just a general feeling of ease. In our line of work contentment isn't really a commonplace thing. We are good at what we do, and there's a sense of pride involved. But we're not the sort of people who hangout on a regular basis. I need to get out more.

Mithris is still watching everything around us. He's hyperalert even without seeming to. At first I thought it had nefarious origins, but from what I can tell, it turns out he's just observant. At least, I think so. My own abilities show me nothing in here. Just people going about their nights and doing what they like most. Eating. Drinking. Being merry.

"This inn has the best food along the track to Sorrishen City. But we needed to push for that. Sorry I didn't tell you on the road," Mithris says between bites.

"I got the horses extra alfalfa and carrots from the store. Thanks for brushing Chant down." My entire worldview of Mithris shifts. He has more layers than I thought. Is more approachable than Aarron. More considerate. Completely unexpected.

"You're welcome. Chant's a good horse," Xan says, pausing in their eating for a few moments.

"Thanks for getting them treats." Mithris nods around another mouthful of stew.

"Yeah. Chant has a good chunk of time before I have to retire him. As long as he's taken care of." Then his attention turns to me, and for the first time he makes eye contact.

"Journeyman, eh?" I nod, unsure of where this is going.

"Right. I remember now. Adept track and all." He pauses, taking a swig of his own drink, swirling it in the tankard.

"Keep an eye on that. On everyone. Don't let your guard down." Great. Yet another cryptic master. Pushing himself up, Mithris glances around again, motioning to the girl once more before taking his seat again.

"Can't stay up too long. Big day ahead tomorrow. Never know what we're going to find." He speaks like he surveys, short staccato bursts, constantly vigilant. I reassess my opinion of him.

"Sleep after a full day's riding will be nice." Xan pushes their plate away, and takes the final swig of their mead, emptying it. A split second later, there's a refilled tankard and the empty one is taken away. I'm the only one still nursing my first drink. That's okay though. I've seen what having dulled senses can do to a person. Weak as this ale is—if I drink it too fast and have too many, inebriation will catch me. Who knows what could happen then. I'm not willing to risk burying an entire inn by accident.

"I'm not used to riding for full days anymore. I think I'm getting old." Xan stretches, and Mithris laughs.

"If you're old, the rest of us don't stand a chance." Not that I think our mission leader is old, but he's at least several years my senior.

"Few in our line of work survives into old age," I mutter as I take another sip of my drink. I'm still trying to get a real feel for all the people in here. They confuse my elemental senses something bad. But the rest of it? Just observation. That tells me a lot about this whole town. It's getting late, well past sun down now, with more and more people filtering in. Almost every table is filled, along with standing room only at the bar itself.

The bard strums up a few chords and a cheer goes up from the crowd before the lively jig riles them up even more. I'm glad we arrived when we did. The stew is worth it, but now there are too many people. It's difficult to keep track of all of them, and their very presence feeds the earthen and water elements that fill my head with noise. It's so loud in here. Xan glances at me.

"Woah. Ria. You look positively exhausted. Let's get you upstairs." I know they've done that just for my sake. If I look half as sick as I suddenly feel, then there's no surprise. Still, Mithris takes a look at me and nods.

"Let's get to our room. I'll meet you there after I make sure we'll have breakfast for the road." The quarters are nice, if sparse. Two double beds, and a couch that looks moderately comfortable. There's even a small washroom off to the side. This place is one of the fancier inns I've been to. Judging from the crowd downstairs and Mithris's comments about the food, it's probably one of the main pass throughs between Korrien and Sorrishen. The wooden embellishments on the beds make them even more surprising.

I am tireder than I expected, regardless of whether we rode all day.

"You're forgetting you spent almost two entire days distilling, brewing, and constantly using your…abilities," Xan says quietly as they're stripping in the corner behind me.

"Truth." I seem to always think I can do everything all at once, at full speed, all the time. Sometimes, like now, my body proves me wrong. I need to work on that too. Recovery Acclimation is difficult to sustain while riding at breakneck speeds through the countryside. I think that's why I feel so drained by the noise from downstairs. Stripping down, I crawl into one of the beds. I'm not about to sleep on the couch, although I don't doubt I could sleep anywhere right now. Call me spoiled.

Xan is gently shaking my shoulder to wake me before I know it. There were no dreams, no waking moments. Just sleep, fueling my body with the elements around me. It's never a good idea to startle me awake. Xan learned that the hard way when we were Two-blade Novices. Slinking out of bed, I realize Mithris isn't anywhere to be seen. I tiptoe over to the washroom and give myself a quick wipe down before splashing water on my face. I realize I feel refreshed.

A whole night of Recovery Acclimation sure helped sooth my body of its aches and pains. Xan is moving stiffly enough that I reach out to touch their shoulder, exerting just a sliver of my power. It stands to reason that giving a little of my own strength, while pulling on my healing abilities, I should be able to pass it to someone else. I mean, I did it before. In mere moments Xan is standing straighter and shrugging their shoulders.

"Thanks," they whisper as we finish packing our bags to get started on the trip again.

"Did he go?" I ask, fully curious now. I can't sense Mithris anywhere near us. Xan nods.

"A while ago actually. He'll be waiting for us at the horses." I guess Mithris is just used to moving alone. The horses are saddled and ready to go when we get there. Sunlight is barely starting to crest the horizon. Mithris stands in the flickering lamplight, counting drops out onto a carrot. He doesn't look up as he speaks.

"I've fed Chant, and Dayla. This one's for you." He hands me the carrot which I feed to Jax. The early morning energy of the land has this vibrance to it. Like it's just waking up after rejuvenating itself. Sweet, with just a hint of mischief. Under it all though, I can sense something I didn't notice before now. Maybe it's because there aren't as many people clustered around me, choking up my ability to sense the earth around me.

There's a darkness lying below us, swirling underground off in the direction of Sorrishen. For now it's just a glimpse. But as we mount our horses and head toward our destination, I can feel that darkness growing. Little by little, getting stronger. My own powers shrink away from it one moment, and fuel me with anger the next. The elements are confused. Fearful. Disgusted. There's ire mixed in with those feelings.

This strange sensation has an underlying sense of death that I, in all my time over the last seven years, have never experienced. It's like death hopped up on a potion meant to drive it over the edge. To push it to the point of no return. So that it explodes. There's no way to articulate this to someone who can't feel it. Feel it on a physical level. Revulsion. Hatred. Control. Whatever it is has already begun to infect the elements in this area.

But the worst thing is, we're headed for where it's worse, and I have no idea what to expect.