Gifted

Kaylee got to the trio of men first by a country mile. Her longer legs and, no doubt higher, stats carried her far more swiftly across the barren and rocky ground than a couple of kids could manage. I had always been faster than Etta and so was the second to arrive, getting scooped up into Gramps’ arms as I almost crashed into his hip with my head. The old man smelled of sweat and smoke with the faint tang of iron that told me there was blood somewhere.

Next to Gramps, Kaylee was wrapped around George like a constrictor, crying quietly into the stoic man’s fur and leather jerkin. He too looked like he had seen better days, with a faint sheen of sweat and dirt on his face. It was the most unkempt I had ever witnessed the man. Etta crashed into her dad a moment later and I half expected him to fall over, forgetting for a moment about the superhuman nature of the Myriad Paths. The five year old girl didn’t even make him budge an inch as he lifted her up without dislodging his wife.

Hurin, on the other hand, didn’t even stop walking. The bearded forester kept walking with a huge bundle tied to his back that dwarfed the man. From within the tied on tarp I could see brown and white feathers poking out that were longer than my forearm.

“I’ll drop these off at Magatha’s,” he called back, never pausing in his steps as he marched towards the road. His only acknowledgement of Mother and the others was a raised hand in greeting. Truly a hermit committed to his cause, I decided.

“What happened?” I said demandingly as I leaned back a little so I could stare Gramps in his bright blue eyes.

“I’ll tell you and your mother inside. Gotta get this pack off my back. I’m not made for this kind of travel anymore,” he grumbled.

“How about some tea?” I offered with a smile.

Gramps got an amused smile on his lips at my offer. “That sounds lovely and will give me a chance to clean up. Are you heading home, George?”

George nodded, walking towards his own house as he carried his wife in one arm and his daughter in the other. “We are, I think. Thanks again, Cornelius. Let’s talk tomorrow.”

With plans made I hopped down so that the old man didn’t need to carry me and followed him back to the outpost. It didn’t take long for Grandma Lucille, Martin, and Griselda to pack up their things, and goodbyes were said as they all left with bags on their backs, headed for their own homes. The latter two had stayed long enough to help move the tables and chairs back inside the outpost before taking their leave.

I made a beeline for the kitchen; after switching out my paths, I got to work on brewing a pot of tea for Gramps — which saw my Path of Brewing ticking up a single step. It was a nice change as I hadn’t needed to do much brewing over the past week with none of the others being huge fans of the drink.

Mother sat down with us at the table as Gramps returned from washing his face and changing his clothes. His salt and pepper beard had seen better days, looking a little scraggly with droplets of water still fresh in it from his quick wash and I figured he would be back to looking like himself by tomorrow after a more thorough grooming.

The smell of tea wafted from the clay mug as Gramps sipped his warm drink, soon followed by the sound of sizzling meat as Mum got back up to cook a quick dinner. I, of course, immediately started harassing Gramps with questions.

“What happened? Did you fight a storm eagle? What about the coldfang serpents? Why were you late getting back?”

Gramps held up a hand to stall my barrage, taking his time to finish his tea in one long drink before holding his mug out to me for more. I dutifully refilled his cup, vibrating with the need to have my questions answered.

“What happened, huh? Well, as planned, we fought and defeated a storm eagle. Decent sized one too, as you might’ve been able to tell from Hurin’s makeshift backpack. Its wingspan must’ve been at least four metres.”

“How did you bring it down?” I asked excitedly.

“Caught it while it was out hunting. It had dived down for a mountain goat, big, hairy bugger, and as the eagle was trying to carry it away I took out one of its wings with a fire lance spell. It still managed to get itself back in the air using storm magic but its ability to move was so severely hampered that when I took out the other wing with another fire lance it crashed into the mountain. George was able to finish it from there, binding it up in stone. Was the easiest part of the trip.”

“Surprised you didn’t bring the goat back as well,” Mother interjected as she stirred a sauce simmering in her enchanted pot. It smelled divine, the scent of rosemary from her garden mixing with the fat from the meat causing me to salivate.

“We would’ve but the body tumbled down the mountain and we weren’t game to go after it,” Gramps replied. “As I was saying, getting the damn bird was the easiest part of the trip. The weather turned on us the second day and we ended up hunkering down to avoid any landslides. Half the mountain’s slopes might as well have been rivers and I am pretty sure I spotted more than one storm eagle in the skies. I don’t normally go around making assumptions, but I am pretty sure those damned birds were looking for us. Could sense the aether in the air. That weather wasn’t natural.”

Gramps paused to sip his tea as I leaned forward hanging on his every word, reminded of the day while he had been gone where the rain fell in a torrent from the sky. This was it. This was an adventure, and I was honestly all for it. The good and the bad.

“Took a couple of days for the weather to clear enough for us to make a move, and we weren’t keen on staying in any of the caves. Coldfangs aren’t the only nasty things on the peaks. Catching them took longer than expected as well. Even George couldn’t sense the little blighters till they moved, so Hurin ended up playing bait for us. We had to try about seven caves just to get three of them and that took another couple of days. The moment that was done we started making our way back, but we ended up taking a more difficult path down the mountain than we had up as Hurin was convinced some predator had our trail from the smell of the storm eagle’s carcass. Took us half a day to get beyond its hunting grounds. And that’s it lad. That’s the tale. Pretty boring and cold, right?”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

I grinned, knowing exactly what he was trying to do, so I spouted my response with intention.

“When I grow up, I want to go on adventures like that!”

My mother tensed up where she stood cooking and I immediately felt bad.

Gramps just grunted. “Maybe you’ll change your mind when you’re a little older. For me, that’s enough adventuring for a while I think.”

I nodded, knowing that I wouldn’t change my mind. In a world of magic and wonders, my curiosity would never be satisfied with quiet safety. I wanted to explore and progress. Safety was not in my future, which was fine by me, though I did worry about what my mother would do when I set out on my first adventure. Still, that problem was years away and not worth spending any more time on it yet.

“So, what now?” I asked as Mum put down plates with steamed vegetables and meat swimming in delicious gravy.

“Now? Well, now Magatha needs to deliver on her part of the deal,” Gramps grumbled.

“Can we go ask her?” I said, spinning to face my mother.

Mum turned her heart-shaped face towards me and smiled. “We can, sweetheart. Tomorrow, alright?”

I nodded emphatically even as I saw the thinking behind my mother’s eyes. She was having second thoughts on how she felt about me learning from Magatha. After all, someone following a Class Path related to alchemy was more likely to stay in one location. A safe location, if my Mum had anything to say about it. One where she could continue to watch over me.

That night, Mum hung around a little longer as she was putting me to bed. I could tell she was fussing and was likely worrying about things so I decided to confide in her in the hopes that it would help settle her worries. Plus, I just liked talking to her.

“Etta knows I have unlocked my Status, Mum. Grandma Lucille probably as well.”

“You told them?” she asked, scooting closer to my bed of piled furs and laying her arm across me gently.

“No. Etta figured it out from the games I used to come up with. Grandma Lucille too. Etta said her parents thought the games were made up by Gramps,” I explained.

Mum nodded with a smile and kissed my forehead. “Did that make you worried? That they figured it out?”

I shook my head. “No. Etta said she would keep it a secret and that Grandma Lucille doesn’t tell George and Kaylee about the things Etta and I get up to. I think she’ll keep my secret too. But… do you think that means other people will figure it out?”

My mother shrugged gently, the action making her dark, woolen dress shift in the shadows like water rippling in a cave. “Maybe, but I don’t think it will matter for much longer. You’re almost five and then we can just tell anyone who asks that you have unlocked your Status. And for now, even with all your extra Stats, they shouldn’t be able to tell something odd is going on. We can just say you’re naturally athletic. But, by the time you’re ten, at the rate you’re progressing on your Paths, it’ll start to become really obvious that you’re ahead of other kids your age.”

“But, won’t we be living in Helenica by then with your aunt?” I blurted out without thinking.

My mother simply raised a delicate eyebrow in amusement at my words. “Eavesdropping again? I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised, but Bastian, it may get you in trouble one day. There are some people who are very skilled at noticing when someone is sneaking about.”

“Yeah, like Keryth,” I mumbled, thinking about the elf that always caught me sneaking about.

“Yes, like Keryth, or Hurin, or Warden Thomas. Be careful you don’t annoy people or do something dangerous, my little man. The world can be a very unkind place.”

I nodded seriously before flashing a small, cheeky smile. “And moving to Helenica?”

My mother looked at me seriously, a sad look in her eyes that I couldn’t place. “Is that what you want? To attend Songleaf Academy?”

“Will it help me progress my Paths and get a good Class Path?” I asked, answering her question with one of my own.

“If the rumours are to be believed, then there is nowhere better on the continent to help educate young men and women. But it’s not cheap. Maybe your grandfather could afford a year or two’s tuition if he spent the next six years making aether coins. But the academy runs for eight years, starting when you’re ten. If we ask for Aunt Agnes’s help to pay for your tuition, she will want something in return.”

“Like what?” I asked, already knowing a little but wanting Mum to spell it out for me.

“To make friends and connections. To be social. And, I suppose, to be one of the best. If she thinks you’re not performing up to the standards she demands, I have no doubt that she would pull the rug out from under you, and the funds for your tuition along with it.”

“So, I need to learn how to make people like me?” I replied.

“I like you,” countered my mother with a smile.

I grinned back. “Muuumm, I meant other people! Like how I got Griselda to teach me. And Magatha.”

“Yes, I suppose just like that, only with kids your own age, many of whom will look down on you for not being of noble or wealthy birth. Or worse.”

The last words sounded hard for my mother to get out and she didn’t explain why, just looking at me with a mixture of love and worry in her eyes. I could tell she didn’t want her baby boy getting hurt. Little did she know, I was made of tougher stuff. I could deal with arrogant nobles. No one was going to get in the way of my progress and future adventures, least of all me.

“I can learn, Mum.”

“Alright, sweetheart. I’ll tell your grandfather, and we’ll decide when it is best to talk to your Grandaunt Agnes. Sleep tight, my little man and I will see you in the morning.”

With one last kiss planted on my forehead, my mother left the room and I rolled over to go to sleep, dreaming of eagles flying in the air and dropping lightning bolts around a cackling Magatha as she stirred a giant, black cauldron.