The First Mage

On the day the sky turned purple, the guards and merchants of Alarna experienced a feeling of whiplash. They set out on the road to Cerus in the morning, only to turn back around shortly after when the self-proclaimed leader of the Wildlands stood in their way, explaining calmly that he couldn’t let them pass—in their own best interest. Having arrived back in Alarna, the travelers assumed they wouldn’t leave again for some time, and they begrudgingly began unloading the wagons, only to be informed an hour later that they were to start a second attempt.

The reactions this caused in the people varied heavily, and many experienced mixed emotions. Alarna was in desperate need for supplies from Cerus, but the Wildlands were still viewed as a place of horror, where danger lurked behind every tree. If Miles’ words rang true, there was a high likelihood of running into a horde of beasts on the way. And even if he had been lying, one had to ask themselves how far the Guild would go to prevent the Alarnans from leaving anyway. Would the guards have to fight them? How would that turn out? Nobody knew. Some also didn’t want to know. And yet, orders were orders. Merchants and guards gathered once more, wagons were loaded up, and a group of thirty people left for Cerus through the western gate.

Four wagons rattled along as they transitioned from cobblestone to dirt road, leaving the town one after the other. They were pulled by two Fighters each, and flanked by two more. The merchants typically rested with the wares inside, so they wouldn’t get in the way in case of emergency. But today, one of them couldn’t quite bear to sit still. Walking alongside the guards of the first wagon, an old, scruffy man voiced his concerns.

“Crait. Do you agree with these orders?” he asked.

“We have no choice in the matter,” Crait replied curtly.

“That’s not what I asked though.”

Crait sighed warily. “No, I don’t agree with it, but what am I supposed to do, Balun?”

“Did you even attempt to argue with the higher ups?” Balun asked with a frown.

No response came as they walked on, Crait’s eyes fixed on the road before them. The two walked in silence for a moment, keeping a vigilant eye on the tree line in the distance. Finally, Balun piped up again.

“Something about this feels off. I’ve been making these trips since I was a wee youngling, and we never risked anyone’s lives unnecessarily. If there was a warning about large numbers of beasts we always waited for the road to be clear before departing. Count the boy as one of the beasts and the situation is even more grave. What are the Rulers thinking? Or do they simply not care about what happens to us?”

Nobody else in the caravan said a word, trepidation reigning over them. The only noises to be heard were the creaking of the wagons and the crunching of boots against dirt and pebbles. This silence made it even more jarring to ignore Balun’s investigation attempts, but Crait tried his best.

“Don’t worry,” Balun continued. “You can trust me. You can tell me why we are already trying again.” He crept closer to Crait, laying a hand on his shoulder. “How long have we known each other? Oh boy, it must be over fifteen years. I still remember how you were quaking in your boots the first time we left those walls behind us.”

Crait’s stoic expression contorted into a light smile, reminiscing about that day. He had been only eighteen at the time, one of the youngest Fighters to ever be assigned to the caravan. Crait had been very talented, but he hadn’t left the town once before that time, and he was nervous beyond belief.

“You rescued a young woman who fled into the woods in fear back then, didn’t you?” Balun remembered. “Oh, how much we experienced on these travels.” He leaned in and got closer to Crait’s ear, his voice becoming a whisper. “Sometimes I felt like a father to you young guards accompanying us, you know? To see you take your first steps... get your first accomplishments under your belt... Console you in times when things didn’t work out... It’s a special bond in a way, isn’t it?”

Crait found himself nodding and smiling along as his mind began to grow cloudy. He had fond memories of these trips, but also many bad ones, and it felt like Balun had always been there regardless. To say that he was like a father figure didn’t seem like a stretch at all. He had greeted Crait on his first day, he had once sat next to a guard grieving over the loss of a friend, and he... he...

When Crait was unable to piece together enough memorable moments to build a convincing story in his mind, the facade crumbled, and he realized what was happening. He reflexively smacked himself across the face to shake himself out of his daze and glowered at the merchant clinging to him.

“You...” Crait hissed.

Balun turned away immediately, acting as if nothing had happened.

“You and your daughter, one and the same,” Crait spat.

“What do you mean? What about me and Janna?” Balun asked innocently.

Annoyance flared up inside the guard. “If you don’t stop, you’ll spend a night in a cell the moment we get back. Am I making myself clear?”

Balun grinned despite himself. “Perhaps I’m losing my edge. I haven’t practiced recently. I hope Janna did better.”

Crait grunted in displeasure, hazily remembering the evening when he barely made it out of Janna’s bar before it disappeared in a black torrent. He should’ve arrested her for her actions as well, but as both the son and father of Charmers, he had a soft spot for them.

The guard on the other side of the wagon looked over, asking, “Everything alright?”

“Yeah, Yeah...” Crait responded and turned back to Balun. “Believe me, you don’t want to know why we’re out here again.”

“Perhaps I’m not a father figure to you, but you should know me better after all those years. I do want to know, and even more so after this cryptic statement.”

An exasperated sigh escaped Crait. He contemplated his next move, but realistically, Balun was not going to give up, and Crait figured it might be nice to vent a little. He waved Balun closer and spoke in a low voice.

“I heard the new Ruler convinced Ms. Berlotte that there was no danger, and that this group would never try to harm us.”

Balun’s eyes narrowed as the words sank in. “The new Ruler? She’s a commoner, isn’t she?”

“That’s right...” Crait mumbled.

“At best she’s a Ruler in name. And she just married into that position.”

“Hmmm-hm,” Crait grunted knowingly.

“That’s ridiculous!” Balun bellowed.

Crait hurriedly gestured for him not to make a scene. “Psht! I don't want everyone to panic!” he warned.

Matching the guard’s lowered voice, Balun continued. “You really mean to tell me that’s why we’re out here again despite the danger? Why would Ms. Berlotte listen to some random girl?”

“I wish I could tell you. Maybe she knows something, but it does seem reckless. I hate it, but all we can do is hope that she was right. Now you know.”

This revelation hit Balun hard. It seemed like there was already another young woman in a position of authority who was able and willing to control the people’s lives.

“There is a sudden surge of powerful women, is there not?” Balun wondered. “And they don’t have the best track record. First we get Hope, supposedly a gift from the gods who was clearly instrumentalized by the late High Priest, then Lilly, who brought criminals and her own murderer into our midst, and now this girl, who’s first action is endangering our lives even more than necessary. This isn’t right.”

Crait nodded in agreement and the two kept ranting, though neither made any attempts to turn around. The order had come from up above and they knew there was very little they could do to change it. They were also used to the risks of this trip, and while they would’ve preferred to be as safe as possible, there never were any guarantees. Though this didn’t stop them from venting.

The caravan carried on until they were about to reach the forest. There was a slight curve in the road, and this was the point where Miles and his beast had come into view before. This time, however, they didn’t see anyone. Passing the tree line, Crait and the other guards surveyed the road ahead carefully, and they breathed a sigh of relief when they found it empty.

They were rash to think themselves safe though. Just a couple meters into the woods one of the guards suddenly yelled “Beast!” and pointed at the southern edge of the forest a little head. Balun hurriedly climbed onto his wagon while all Fighters jumped to take protective stances, preparing for what was to come even before they had seen the monster.

When they finally did, many grimaced at the sight of a category three with gray fur, unsure of whether this was preferable to a normal beast or not. Their eyes wandered upwards, expecting to see Miles’ face, but instead, a young man and woman clad the same way as them sat on the beast’s back. The two rode to the center of the road in a slow trot and dismounted the wolf before finally addressing the agitated guards from Alarna.

“In the name of the Guild I must ask you to turn around!” the female Fighter exclaimed. “The road ahead is not safe!”

The guards exchanged confused glances over meeting two other guards out here. Several of them recognized Brie and Garn, and Crait, too, squinted his eyes, looking the two up and down while trying to avoid eye-contact with the beast.

“I know you,” Crait said. “You were their guards. You are supposed to be on guard duty in the farming district right now!”

Garn grinned mischievously. “We didn’t feel very welcome in Alarna anymore. We thought we’d give the Wildlands a try.”

The confusion among the guards grew, hearing that some of their own had decided to leave their hometown. Not only that, everyone knew that even more guards with ties to the criminals had disappeared, and now it seemed very obvious where they had gone.

“Not welcome?” Crait spat. “You were suspected of being traitors to the town and its leadership, and now you have shown just how correct this assessment was! Regardless, we have orders to travel to Cerus, and we will not be stopped by the likes of you.”

He watched Brie and Garn glance at each, seemingly discussing their next course of action non-verbally. Garn’s amused expression disappeared instantly when he took a step forward and glared at Crait.

“And we have orders not to let anyone risk their necks on this road,” Garn said, his voice commanding. “What will we do about this conundrum?”

The grip on the guards’ weapons tightened. It seemed that a clash between the two groups was inevitable. But while it was sixteen against three, none of the Fighters from Alarna was looking forward to finding out how much of a difference the beast would make.

The tension was palpable as the moment stretched into eternity. Until Crait made an unexpected move. He relaxed his muscles, rested his spear on his shoulder, and commanded, “Ignore them!” He averted his eyes and strode forward, aiming to walk past the blockade.

Brie and Garn wore perplexed expressions as everybody followed suit and the caravan slowly rolled in their general direction. “Stop!” Brie shouted. The two rushed to stand in their way once more, and the ensuing growling from their beast made the merchants flinch, but the guards paid their antics no mind and did exactly as they had been commanded.

“If you’re held up by anyone belonging to the guild, ignore them and walk on as if they didn’t exist.”

It quickly became clear that these young Fighters did not know how to handle this situation, and more importantly, that they never intended to hold back anyone by force. As the wagons inched closer, and Brie and Garn realized they weren’t going to stop, they had no other choice but to step aside.

The caravan left the three behind and their warnings and the growling soon subsided in the distance. Glancing back at them, Crait breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, she was right about the first hurdle...” he mumbled.

***

Brie and Garn stood motionless as they watched the wagons grow smaller in the distance, their faces a mixture of confusion, frustration, and panic.

“Well, that was a bust,” Garn concluded.

Brie rolled her eyes. “You think?”

“But were we supposed to do? Attack them?”

Brie didn’t know the answer either. “This definitely didn’t go according to plan. That’s unusual.”

The assumption had been that the guards would either turn around or threaten them, justifying the use of some light violence to put them in their place. They hadn’t been prepared for being ignored.

“We can’t just let them leave though... right?” Garn pondered. “What would Miles do?”

“I’m not sure. And it’s not like we can ask him.”

“Next in command then?” Garn asked.

Brie nodded. “Hayla it is. And... Ugh... We need to be quick.”

Garn grinned wryly. “I suppose so.”

Their eyes fell on Beast, who cocked his head in confusion, unable to follow their conversation. He didn’t know it yet, but he would end up carrying these humans around for a while longer.