“You’re not funny.”
“I don’t think anyone else would agree with you,” Nym argued.
“Fine, if you’re so funny, you can row the boat.”
Nym considered that for a second. “I don’t see the connection here,” he told Ciana.
“The connection is I’m all wet now!”
“Well, I’m a big shot mage now, so I could just fix that. Like… this.”
A twist of elemental water magic dried her clothes and hair out. She gawked a little bit as it formed into a ball between them before splashing back into the cove, but then said, “As impressive as that might be, you still get to row the boat.”
Nym cast a quick scrying spell to look at all the crab traps, noted which ones were full, and used elemental water manipulation to pull them all up at once. Nine traps rose up to sit on top of the water, which he used telekinesis on to remove the trapped crabs and reset the traps while he sent the crustaceans all flying over to land in the bucket between himself and Ciana.
“Where exactly am I rowing to again? The shore?”
“Listen here, you! That… that… that was very helpful. Thank you, Nym.”
“You are quite welcome. So, what are we having for lunch today?”
“Oh God save me, he’s turned into a teenager. My pantry won’t survive having him in my home.”
Nym scowled. “I dug you a whole cellar last time I was here! I even left money for you to stock it!”
“Food doesn’t just appear out of nowhere, Nym.”
Before he could respond, something bumped into the boat. Nym looked over to see a familiar scarred shark circling. “Really?” he asked the shark. “I thought you’d given up after I beat you.”
The shark swam another circle and scraped up against the boat again. Annoyed, Nym sent the water beneath him flowing towards the beach. The boat rode the wave that rose up under it until it was in the shallows. A bit of fine manipulation pulled it up the rest of the way to its normal resting spot. Behind them, the shark cruised forward, only to circle away when the water got too shallow to continue.
“It’s just like old times,” Ciana said with a small smile. She glanced at the bucket of crabs and added, “Well, almost.”
“Stupid shark. It’s not even there anymore, why are you still bothering me?” Nym yelled at the water.
“Come on then, shark whisperer. Let’s get these home.”
Nym lifted both of them into the air and flew them back to Ciana’s shack. He examined it with a critical eye and said, “Are you sure you don’t want something better? I could seal this all up nicely for you.”
“Ask me again when it starts getting cold. I like the breeze this time of year.”
“In a month when summer ends?”
Ciana gave him a flat glare and said, “I liked you better when you were a little kid instead of a lippy teenager.”
“Yeah, yeah. Love you too, big sis.”
They went down to the cellar, where Ciana had left the bucket with a weighted lid placed on it to hold the crabs. Nym cracked open the stone floor and confirmed his cube was still safe, then smoothed the whole thing back over while she watched.
“You never really told me what that thing is,” she said as they walked back up the stairs together.
“It contains all of my memories,” Nym explained. “I just can’t access it yet. Hopefully that’ll change soon.”
“Oh really? Did you find out… you know… why?”
“Still working out the details. I guess someone’s trying to kill me and I’m in hiding.”
“What!”
Nym shrugged. It wasn’t the first time he’d almost died, though if he understood the threat, a fully powered ascendant was far more dangerous to him than a giant ice worm or a psychotic criminal stalker. He’d just have to trust his past self’s preparations to hold until he was ready to become a real ascendant again.
The threat of this other ascendant, this Exarch, was nebulous and far-off. Nym knew intellectually that it was real and lethal if they ever caught up with him, but he was pretty good at getting out of trouble. He was willing to bet he could outfly just about anyone at this point, and that was without even considering teleportation.
Then he thought about someone like Archmage Veran deciding to come after him, someone who could teleport himself whenever they wanted, who could toss around literal earth-shattering magic all day without getting tired, and tried to imagine a mage who was even stronger. There existed a possibility that he was vastly underestimating the threat.
He hadn’t gone out of his way to interact with the archmage too much outside of their lessons. The old man already knew too many of Nym’s secrets. Even though his association with the Collective had ended in what was probably the best possible way for him, Nym didn’t really feel like he’d come out ahead. He’d saved himself a few months at the expense of permanently losing his anonymity. No doubt other higher ups in their organization had realized what he was, even if Lord Feldstal hadn’t told them himself.
“So, lunch?” he asked, trying to distract himself before he started brooding over it again. “I know a great restaurant if you want.”
“I… I don’t know if you going into Palmara is the best idea. You are still wanted for questioning for Senman’s murder. I don’t think they’d try to arrest you, but they… you know. They weren’t exactly as interested in the truth of the matter as I expected them to be. There were politics. People his family were friends with cared more about revenge than justice.”
“Are you sure you want to keep living here?” Nym asked.
“Yes. This is my home.”
Nym looked around the shack. It felt smaller than he remembered it being when he was living there. For a single person, it was enough space, but it could use better furnishings, maybe an actual cooking stove and a real bed with blankets that weren’t threadbare.
“Your choice. Anyway, I wasn’t talking about going to Palmara. I was thinking steak at a place I know called the Quarterhouse.”
“That sounds expensive,” she said hesitantly. “Are you sure that’s what you want? I did save a bit of money, but…”
“I’m paying,” he said, his voice firm. “I don’t know if I told you this, but I’m a pretty talented mage.”
“A pretty egotistical mage, maybe.”
“It’s not ego if it’s true. Just think of it this way. I still owe you for your unexpected swim. I’ll handle travel and meal expenses for today.”
He could see her wavering. She just needed a push. “Did I mention their bar has an extensive selection?”
And there it was. He had her. “Fine, you win,” she said, her hands held up in surrender. “Where are we going?”
“City called Thrakus. Uh, don’t mind the smell.”
He pulled in third layer arcana, a feat which only took a few seconds now instead of close to half a minute, and wove together a teleportation spell. They disappeared from the coast and reappeared just off the road outside of Thrakus. That pungent livestock smell hit him immediately, just like he remembered.
“You get used to that,” he continued. “But if you go away for a while, it comes back.”
“It’s certainly… strong.”
“Come on, the sooner we get away from the stockyards, the better the air will smell.”
They walked down the streets of Thrakus until they reached the Quarterhouse, where Nym treated Ciana to a delicious lunch and plied her with several glasses of various beverages. She was a bit tipsy when they left and, as it turned out, very giggly in that state.
Then he sprung the second part of his surprise on her. Nym knew she wouldn’t accept it sober, so he’d deliberately chosen a good restaurant that he knew served a wide variety of alcohol she’d be open to trying. And then, still tipsy, he took her shopping.
She tried to protest, but he ignored her and dragged her through a few stores. She got three new outfits, with the promise from the tailor that they’d be altered to her size in the matter of an hour after Nym gave him a generous tip. She got a few packs of dried tea leaves, several pounds of jerky, a new hunting knife, and a few other practical necessities that weren’t always available in a small town like Palmara.
Her new pack loaded down with the fruits of their shopping labors, they returned to the tailor and picked up her outfits. By now, the buzz had worn off and Ciana was looking uneasy at the amount of stuff she was carrying with her. She didn’t say anything while they were in the store, but once they got back outside, she stopped on the side of the street.
“This is enough,” she said. “It’s too much, really.”
“You saved my life. I figure I owe you a lot more than this.”
“I didn’t do it so I could spend your money later.”
“Didn’t say you did,” Nym said. “But you know I’ll always be grateful to you. Let me spoil my big sister for a day before she goes back to live in her beachside shack and I go back to my life of opulent luxuries.”
She rolled her eyes and hefted her pack. “Come on then, this was a nice afternoon, but let’s get home.”
“You sure?” Nym asked. “There’s a café not too far away that sells chocolate. I have a friend who insists it’s a delicacy.”
“Why are you making that face when you say ‘chocolate?’” Ciana asked.
“I did not find it to my taste, but I thought you might like it.”
Ciana said something, but Nym didn’t hear it. He’d noticed two men staring at him from across the street, two familiar faces from his last visit to the city. They were members of the contractors guild that had attacked him and Analia during the early morning hours when they’d been leaving. Both were scowling in his direction. Nym met their eyes and grinned.
He sent a little pulse of arcana into the dirt beneath their feet, just enough to make it shift a bit. Their arms flailed while they tried to keep upright, and they ended up grabbing onto each other for support. Nym watched them disentangle from each other and run off, then turned back to face Ciana.
“Sorry, thought I saw someone I knew. You said you were ready to go home?”
“Something like that,” she said. “You’ve got your mischief face on.”
“My what face?”
“The smirk you get when you’re causing trouble.”
“I do not!” he protested.
“You definitely do. What are you planning?”
“I’m not planning anything,” Nym said. Technically, it was true. He hadn’t planned anything; he’d just seen an opportunity and taken advantage of it.
“I don’t believe you. It’s probably best to get home before you get in trouble. Which way was it to the gates again.”
“We don’t need to walk that far,” Nym said. “It was just easier to teleport into an open space. We can teleport out much easier.”
He led her off the main street to a dirt road lined with houses. Once they were away from the crowd, he cast the teleportation spell again and whisked them away to her home. She laughed a bit and shook her head. “What was it you said, a talented mage? I suppose it is true after all.”
“I’m shocked and offended that you thought I was lying,” he deadpanned.
“You’ll be alright.” She looked thoughtful for a second, then she said again a softer, more serious tone, “You will be alright. It’s a lot easier to believe that now than it was a year ago. You’re kind of amazing, kid, even if you are pretty weird.”
“Please, I already paid for lunch. No need to keep trying to flatter me.”
Ciana gave him a shove. “Still a smart-mouth though. Come on, let’s go inside.”
“You go on,” Nym said. “I’ve got another appointment with some friends.”
“You know multiple people who will tolerate you now? That’s more impressive than the magic. You should bring them around to visit sometime.”
“Maybe I will,” Nym said. “Just to prove they’re real.”
They shared a good laugh, and then Nym teleported back to Geldrin. It had been a good day, but it was time for a more serious conversation.
“You’re not funny.”
“I don’t think anyone else would agree with you,” Nym argued.
“Fine, if you’re so funny, you can row the boat.”
Nym considered that for a second. “I don’t see the connection here,” he told Ciana.
“The connection is I’m all wet now!”
“Well, I’m a big shot mage now, so I could just fix that. Like… this.”
A twist of elemental water magic dried her clothes and hair out. She gawked a little bit as it formed into a ball between them before splashing back into the cove, but then said, “As impressive as that might be, you still get to row the boat.”
Nym cast a quick scrying spell to look at all the crab traps, noted which ones were full, and used elemental water manipulation to pull them all up at once. Nine traps rose up to sit on top of the water, which he used telekinesis on to remove the trapped crabs and reset the traps while he sent the crustaceans all flying over to land in the bucket between himself and Ciana.
“Where exactly am I rowing to again? The shore?”
“Listen here, you! That… that… that was very helpful. Thank you, Nym.”
“You are quite welcome. So, what are we having for lunch today?”
“Oh God save me, he’s turned into a teenager. My pantry won’t survive having him in my home.”
Nym scowled. “I dug you a whole cellar last time I was here! I even left money for you to stock it!”
“Food doesn’t just appear out of nowhere, Nym.”
Before he could respond, something bumped into the boat. Nym looked over to see a familiar scarred shark circling. “Really?” he asked the shark. “I thought you’d given up after I beat you.”
The shark swam another circle and scraped up against the boat again. Annoyed, Nym sent the water beneath him flowing towards the beach. The boat rode the wave that rose up under it until it was in the shallows. A bit of fine manipulation pulled it up the rest of the way to its normal resting spot. Behind them, the shark cruised forward, only to circle away when the water got too shallow to continue.
“It’s just like old times,” Ciana said with a small smile. She glanced at the bucket of crabs and added, “Well, almost.”
“Stupid shark. It’s not even there anymore, why are you still bothering me?” Nym yelled at the water.
“Come on then, shark whisperer. Let’s get these home.”
Nym lifted both of them into the air and flew them back to Ciana’s shack. He examined it with a critical eye and said, “Are you sure you don’t want something better? I could seal this all up nicely for you.”
“Ask me again when it starts getting cold. I like the breeze this time of year.”
“In a month when summer ends?”
Ciana gave him a flat glare and said, “I liked you better when you were a little kid instead of a lippy teenager.”
“Yeah, yeah. Love you too, big sis.”
They went down to the cellar, where Ciana had left the bucket with a weighted lid placed on it to hold the crabs. Nym cracked open the stone floor and confirmed his cube was still safe, then smoothed the whole thing back over while she watched.
“You never really told me what that thing is,” she said as they walked back up the stairs together.
“It contains all of my memories,” Nym explained. “I just can’t access it yet. Hopefully that’ll change soon.”
“Oh really? Did you find out… you know… why?”
“Still working out the details. I guess someone’s trying to kill me and I’m in hiding.”
“What!”
Nym shrugged. It wasn’t the first time he’d almost died, though if he understood the threat, a fully powered ascendant was far more dangerous to him than a giant ice worm or a psychotic criminal stalker. He’d just have to trust his past self’s preparations to hold until he was ready to become a real ascendant again.
The threat of this other ascendant, this Exarch, was nebulous and far-off. Nym knew intellectually that it was real and lethal if they ever caught up with him, but he was pretty good at getting out of trouble. He was willing to bet he could outfly just about anyone at this point, and that was without even considering teleportation.
Then he thought about someone like Archmage Veran deciding to come after him, someone who could teleport himself whenever they wanted, who could toss around literal earth-shattering magic all day without getting tired, and tried to imagine a mage who was even stronger. There existed a possibility that he was vastly underestimating the threat.
He hadn’t gone out of his way to interact with the archmage too much outside of their lessons. The old man already knew too many of Nym’s secrets. Even though his association with the Collective had ended in what was probably the best possible way for him, Nym didn’t really feel like he’d come out ahead. He’d saved himself a few months at the expense of permanently losing his anonymity. No doubt other higher ups in their organization had realized what he was, even if Lord Feldstal hadn’t told them himself.
“So, lunch?” he asked, trying to distract himself before he started brooding over it again. “I know a great restaurant if you want.”
“I… I don’t know if you going into Palmara is the best idea. You are still wanted for questioning for Senman’s murder. I don’t think they’d try to arrest you, but they… you know. They weren’t exactly as interested in the truth of the matter as I expected them to be. There were politics. People his family were friends with cared more about revenge than justice.”
“Are you sure you want to keep living here?” Nym asked.
“Yes. This is my home.”
Nym looked around the shack. It felt smaller than he remembered it being when he was living there. For a single person, it was enough space, but it could use better furnishings, maybe an actual cooking stove and a real bed with blankets that weren’t threadbare.
“Your choice. Anyway, I wasn’t talking about going to Palmara. I was thinking steak at a place I know called the Quarterhouse.”
“That sounds expensive,” she said hesitantly. “Are you sure that’s what you want? I did save a bit of money, but…”
“I’m paying,” he said, his voice firm. “I don’t know if I told you this, but I’m a pretty talented mage.”
“A pretty egotistical mage, maybe.”
“It’s not ego if it’s true. Just think of it this way. I still owe you for your unexpected swim. I’ll handle travel and meal expenses for today.”
He could see her wavering. She just needed a push. “Did I mention their bar has an extensive selection?”
And there it was. He had her. “Fine, you win,” she said, her hands held up in surrender. “Where are we going?”
“City called Thrakus. Uh, don’t mind the smell.”
He pulled in third layer arcana, a feat which only took a few seconds now instead of close to half a minute, and wove together a teleportation spell. They disappeared from the coast and reappeared just off the road outside of Thrakus. That pungent livestock smell hit him immediately, just like he remembered.
“You get used to that,” he continued. “But if you go away for a while, it comes back.”
“It’s certainly… strong.”
“Come on, the sooner we get away from the stockyards, the better the air will smell.”
They walked down the streets of Thrakus until they reached the Quarterhouse, where Nym treated Ciana to a delicious lunch and plied her with several glasses of various beverages. She was a bit tipsy when they left and, as it turned out, very giggly in that state.
Then he sprung the second part of his surprise on her. Nym knew she wouldn’t accept it sober, so he’d deliberately chosen a good restaurant that he knew served a wide variety of alcohol she’d be open to trying. And then, still tipsy, he took her shopping.
She tried to protest, but he ignored her and dragged her through a few stores. She got three new outfits, with the promise from the tailor that they’d be altered to her size in the matter of an hour after Nym gave him a generous tip. She got a few packs of dried tea leaves, several pounds of jerky, a new hunting knife, and a few other practical necessities that weren’t always available in a small town like Palmara.
Her new pack loaded down with the fruits of their shopping labors, they returned to the tailor and picked up her outfits. By now, the buzz had worn off and Ciana was looking uneasy at the amount of stuff she was carrying with her. She didn’t say anything while they were in the store, but once they got back outside, she stopped on the side of the street.
“This is enough,” she said. “It’s too much, really.”
“You saved my life. I figure I owe you a lot more than this.”
“I didn’t do it so I could spend your money later.”
“Didn’t say you did,” Nym said. “But you know I’ll always be grateful to you. Let me spoil my big sister for a day before she goes back to live in her beachside shack and I go back to my life of opulent luxuries.”
She rolled her eyes and hefted her pack. “Come on then, this was a nice afternoon, but let’s get home.”
“You sure?” Nym asked. “There’s a café not too far away that sells chocolate. I have a friend who insists it’s a delicacy.”
“Why are you making that face when you say ‘chocolate?’” Ciana asked.
“I did not find it to my taste, but I thought you might like it.”
Ciana said something, but Nym didn’t hear it. He’d noticed two men staring at him from across the street, two familiar faces from his last visit to the city. They were members of the contractors guild that had attacked him and Analia during the early morning hours when they’d been leaving. Both were scowling in his direction. Nym met their eyes and grinned.
He sent a little pulse of arcana into the dirt beneath their feet, just enough to make it shift a bit. Their arms flailed while they tried to keep upright, and they ended up grabbing onto each other for support. Nym watched them disentangle from each other and run off, then turned back to face Ciana.
“Sorry, thought I saw someone I knew. You said you were ready to go home?”
“Something like that,” she said. “You’ve got your mischief face on.”
“My what face?”
“The smirk you get when you’re causing trouble.”
“I do not!” he protested.
“You definitely do. What are you planning?”
“I’m not planning anything,” Nym said. Technically, it was true. He hadn’t planned anything; he’d just seen an opportunity and taken advantage of it.
“I don’t believe you. It’s probably best to get home before you get in trouble. Which way was it to the gates again.”
“We don’t need to walk that far,” Nym said. “It was just easier to teleport into an open space. We can teleport out much easier.”
He led her off the main street to a dirt road lined with houses. Once they were away from the crowd, he cast the teleportation spell again and whisked them away to her home. She laughed a bit and shook her head. “What was it you said, a talented mage? I suppose it is true after all.”
“I’m shocked and offended that you thought I was lying,” he deadpanned.
“You’ll be alright.” She looked thoughtful for a second, then she said again a softer, more serious tone, “You will be alright. It’s a lot easier to believe that now than it was a year ago. You’re kind of amazing, kid, even if you are pretty weird.”
“Please, I already paid for lunch. No need to keep trying to flatter me.”
Ciana gave him a shove. “Still a smart-mouth though. Come on, let’s go inside.”
“You go on,” Nym said. “I’ve got another appointment with some friends.”
“You know multiple people who will tolerate you now? That’s more impressive than the magic. You should bring them around to visit sometime.”
“Maybe I will,” Nym said. “Just to prove they’re real.”
They shared a good laugh, and then Nym teleported back to Geldrin. It had been a good day, but it was time for a more serious conversation.
