Chapter 112 - Family, Frustrations, and Fire

"Pirates? As in people in boats who rob other people in boats? That's a thing that actually happens?" The questions tumbled out of my mouth almost as fast as they appeared in my brain.

"Yes? Did you think that pirates weren't real?" Eira blinked, clearly surprised at my confusion. And I was confused at her surprise.

"I thought they were something that happened in the distant past! Like when my romance novels are set! Like harems, bandits, three-headed lightning dragons, and people claiming to have come from other worlds and shit!" I sputtered.

Eira rubbed the bridge of her nose and sighed, a long, deep sigh. I sensed that I had said something either offensive or deeply stupid or both. Gods above and below, I should not make conversation without proper coffee.

"Ok. There is a lot to unpack there, and we can definitely get into that later. But let's steer this back on track. Yes, pirates are real, and my family is pirates."

"Ok, sorry. Sorry. That just kind of threw me for a loop. I was expecting a lot, but not that." I bowed slightly, feeling an embarrassed flush on my face.

"Again, something else to unpack later. But yes. I'm going to guess you're going to need some explanation of a few things since you didn't immediately react to my last name being Medwin way back when." Eira shifted uncomfortably.

"Take your time, sweet. Just get through as much as you can." I held her hand tight as she calmed herself.

"Thank you. So, my parents run the Medwin family, which is a pretty extensive group of pirate ships. My mother specifically is called The Bloody Commodore. Or at least she was. She's still technically in charge, but runs things from a base out in the Free Waters. There's a whole pirate political thing, but let's not get into that." Eira gesticulated as she talked, something I had begun to notice she did when she was really nervous.

"Thank you, I don't think my brain has room for more political stuff." I sighed in relief.

Eira continued without commenting.

"Anyway, so my mom leads the pirates, my dad helps her out, and while they don't focus on the Swordwind Sea and Hastera area, they do still sometimes attack ships headed there, and Tarkota is working with the Silver Trident and Tide Inquisitors to bring them in, as technically they're public enemy number one." She cringed as she said it.

I had to stew on that one for a long moment. On the one hand, it explained an awful lot of Eira's caginess and reticence to talk about her past and family. On the other hand, I now had to wonder if she was also implicated in their crimes. On the other, other hand, its was kind of made her a kind of roguish bad girl by association, and let me tell you, that did things for me. As if Eira needed any more things that did it for me.

No time for those thoughts right now, though. We're having a serious emotional moment, and I needed to think with my emotion brain, not my pants brain.

I hugged her tight.

"It's ok. It's their crimes, not yours!" I had an unfortunate thought. "Right? You, uh, you didn't commit pirate crimes too, right?"

"No. No! I mean, I'm pretty sure I didn't. My parents didn't want any of us involved in the 'family' business till we were adults. We knew about it, of course. Some of my brothers and sisters joined in, a lot stayed behind and, officially, disowned themselves. Made normal lives. Some actually disowned themselves, which is sad. I didn't want to cut myself off, but I also didn't want to be a pirate, so I went wandering and eventually ended up at Dungeon School. Used what was left of my travel money to pay for it." Eira explained as she held on to me tight. She was trembling a bit.

"It's ok. It's ok. I'm here for you." I stroked her hair softly as I held on to her. I started to hate her family for putting her in this situation that wasn't even remotely her fault. I also was feeling more than a little hatred towards these Inquisitors for scaring her.

"You don't hate me? You're not afraid of a pirate's daughter or anything like that?" She said quietly, like she was afraid to put her fears to words.

"I could never hate you. Unless you stabbed me in the ribs. That's a little bit of a deal breaker. Besides, you didn't do anything other than be born into a family that makes questionable business choices. I'm far too familiar with that myself." I said, trying my best to comfort her. She snorted with a little giggle.

"That really does make me feel better." We sat there for a good long while, just enjoying each other's warmth and presence.

I saw Eira looking towards the drawn blinds, and I realized the light outside was beginning to wane.

"Suns looking to set soon. Maybe an hour or two. We'll be stopping for dinner. Maybe we should see about using that shower carriage thing Langhurst mentioned."

"Now, Eira. We're going to be in the middle of people. I don't think we should get into anything like that except in the privacy of our carriage." I blushed at her implication.

"Oh please. I'm no exhibitionist. Besides, you kind of stink right now, and I don't care how sexy you are, it ain't happening till you're clean." She laughed as she wiggled out of my arms.

"Oh, and whose fault is that, little miss 'Training Regimen From The Hells Themselves'" I laughed and had to grudgingly agree she was completely correct.

I made a dramatic sniff, "Alas, your assessment is accurate! I shall acquiesce! I must needs bathe myself, lest I be exiled from our carriage, forced to slumber beneath the stars, to be a feast for the beasts!"

"Ok, ok, drama duchess, I get it, I get it. You are so silly, sometimes." She giggled and gave me a quick kiss as the carriage rolled to a stop.

"I do my best." I bowed.

We ate our meal, which thankfully was much better than breakfast, and we discovered that the border station blessedly had restocked the coffee supplies, so morning was unlikely to be as dreadful this time.

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

We also took our showers, and despite being cramped stalls, we managed to get decently clean enough. We were good and didn't mess around either, much to my simultaneous relief and chagrin.

We made our way back to our carriage, and I stopped to look out at the stars. It was amazing how clear and bright they were. The red star twinkled the same as it had since I first saw it. It was almost comforting to see it.

Even though I was seeing new and unfamiliar places, that little bright light, along with Eira, was a steady spot in my life.

"So, you want to work on magic practice tonight?" Eira asked, a town slung over her shoulders.

"I do. But, would you mind if I practiced under the stars? I think I need some air, and to enjoy the outdoors for just a bit." I said.

"Do you want me there? I do magic a bit differently than you, but it's probably similar enough." Eira put her hand on the small of my back.

I smiled and shook my head.

"Nah, I think I'll sit by myself for a bit. The guards got the crystal rods up, and they're patrolling, so I'll be fine. I'm just going to sit on the grass nearby." I said.

"Ok. But if you need me, I'm just over in the carriage. I love you." Eira said, seriously as she stole another kiss from my lips. I flushed and smiled from the contact, as I always did, and hopefully always will. I have kissed her hundreds of times, and it still thrilled me as much as our first.

I watched her as she walked away, and cursed myself gently for being diligent.

Sighing, I found a quiet spot and sat down on the grass, the verdant blades tickling my legs, bare from the short pants I wore to keep some level of modesty on the trip from the shower cart.

I closed my eyes, breathed in, breathed out. Four seconds in, hold for four seconds, four seconds out. Repeat.

As I did this, I focused my mind internally, visualizing my mana as a well full of water, sensing it within me.

As always, there was a small part at the bottom of that well that didn't feel like it belonged. The part left in me from my little dungeon core, which had grown up and left the metaphorical nest.

No, don't let the mind wander. Focus.

Pull mana from my reservoir, push it into my hands, make a ball, pull mana from the air around me. Repeat.

This was a normal exercise for magic users. It was one of the few spells I could do without a spell poem. A light ball didn't need much in terms of redirection of energies.

Now for something more complicated. A barrier. A barrier required a specific sequence of mana manipulation to make it manifest. You needed to balance the interior and exterior of it. I had never been able to use it without a spell poem, which would remind me of the shape I had to manipulate. I tried to focus, force myself to remember, while pulling mana out of myself, replacing it from the air so I wouldn't empty myself and pass out on the grass. But also not to absorb so much I'd cause a feedback overload.

It may sound simple, but its a different story when you're actually doing it. Your brain is basically trying to focus on a huge amount of simultaneous tasks at once, and you can't rely on muscle memory for any of it.

It was a lot to juggle at once, and I felt it slipping. I forced the energy into the ground around me, dissipating it before it ran away from me. The grass immediately around me withered ever so slightly before bouncing back more vibrant than before.

"It's a lot to manage at once, isn't it?" A voice from behind me said.

I let out a small yelp and nearly jumped to my feet.

"Who?!" I said, reaching for the travel dagger that I mentally cursed myself for forgetting when I went for my shower.

I focused my eyes in the dark at the tall shadow, which coalesced into a familiar shape in front of me, silver blue hair shining like strings of moonlight in the inky blackness. It was Caru, the strange passenger from the other side of our carriage.

"Apologies. I was enjoying the stars and could feel your mana. I felt an urge to observe. I overstepped." They bowed in apology.

"Right. Sorry. Reflexes. It's ok. Yeah, I was just practicing. Don't want my magic skills to get rusty while I'm on this trip. You know how it goes." I said quickly without really thinking about it.

They nodded at me softly before sitting in front of me, legs crossed.

"You have a great deal of trouble focusing when doing spells. I could feel it in how you manipulated the energies around you. I suspect you use spell poems to help. And you are also self-taught, a sword-witch I believe the Burgotovans call it, yes?" Caru asked softly. They had read me like a book. I didn't much care for that. I didn't get the creepy crawly feelings from them like some of the other travelers seemed to, but there was something that I didn't like or trust.

But they would no doubt be able to tell I was lying if I tried to be deceptive.

"You've got the sum of it," I said with a shrug.

"It is a shame you couldn't have found a proper teacher to teach you the ways of a sword-mage, or guided you from the bladed path altogether. I am sorry to say, that it might be too late for you to increase your magical prowess at your current state. Too many bad habits have taken hold." Caru said breathily, almost sadly.

I didn't really want to hear that, but it was as though they spoke my own internal fears.

"You might be right, but I have to try to get better at this. My party needs me and I have the most magical power of all of them. It's my responsibility." I said, feeling a bit bitter about it. I was happy Myth was finding a path meant for her, but I didn't like the pressure it put on me.

"Even if that power isn't entirely yours? Borrowed power can help, but it will one day cost you dearly." Caru's soft expression hardened suddenly as they locked eyes on me.

"What are you talking about?" I felt a sudden chill up my spine that had nothing to do with the cool summer air.

"I will say no more about it. It is not my place." They stood, almost too gracefully, making Caru feel even more ethereal than they already were. "I will give you one piece of advice, Alta Alba Marchesi. A mage should never borrow power. A mage should take power and make it their own. Be beholden to no one, and nothing. A core most of all."

They turned and left, disappearing into the darkness of the night as quickly as they had appeared.

I sat there in the dark, nothing but starlight and the distant glow of the crystals and torches.

"What the ever-loving hells was that all about?!" I huffed to no one.

I was too tired for this enigmatic nonsense. I had a girlfriend to snuggle with, and little to no patience for whatever that was.

I took a deep breath of the crisp night air, and gave my red star above one last glance, before heading back to the carriage, where doubtless my beloved awaited me.

The only thing that soured it was remembering Caru was just a piece of wall away.

To the hells with them. Cryptic weirdo.

As I walked back to the carriage, I could hear some kind of sound in the distant woods. At first I thought it was dogs; Revenstahd had strays that sounded like that sometimes.

But it was far too loud. And coming from too many directions. I saw the guards running about suddenly, shouting things at each other. I could see the shine of swords and spears in the crystal light.

And then the emergency bell began to ring.

I swore as I tore into a full sprint towards the carriage. As much as my instincts told me to get ready for a fight, I knew to stay out of the mercenaries' way. The only thought I had was to be with Eira and keep her safe.

A prospect that got more difficult as a shape appeared in front of me. I had been half right about what I heard.

It was canine in shape, but large. Almost the size of the carriage itself. The thing that horrified me was that, despite the torch and crystal light, it was black as the deepest shadow. Except for its mouth and eyes, which glowed a horrible, sickly red, like an infected wound. A glow that felt familiar, but the shock and fear building in me refused to let me mentally process that fully. I had faced all kinds of horrors, and technically even died. But this was something altogether more horrible.

Its mouth opened with a growl, and its saliva set the ground beneath it on fire, burning with an acrid smoke that threatened to make me vomit right where I stood.

I had absolutely no idea what I was even facing. The bestiaries had nothing like this in them. At least not in the ones I read.

I reached for my dagger, and cursed myself again for forgetting it.

I was really and truly all kinds of screwed right now.

I was starting to really hate this trip.