The Lightbearer's Gift

After our official greeting Sten called Breala over. The large green woman walked over, standing next to us, I noticed that she was at least a foot and a half taller than me and nearly a head taller than Sten.

Sten looked to be around 6 Feet so she must be pushing close to 7. And those arms. One could only imagine what kind of damage she could do. The numerous scars showed that she had seen plenty of battle.

“You have need of me?” she said. She had a voice much lower than what would be expected of a woman.

“Moon, this is Braela, my second in command.” Breala looked over to me and gave me a short nod and said. “Greetings.” In a monotone voice.

“Hello, Breala.” I responded.

“Moon here has decided to accompany us for the duration of our contract. And since I don't believe in free rides, he needs to help out to earn his keep. So, what needs doing?”

Breala looked to me, then to my arms and said, “Preparations for tonight's rest has been completed, and we will begin distributing rations shortly.”

“As for Moon, he can carry some of our supplies tomorrow with the help of Sarah.” Breala stopped, thought for a moment, then continued in her monotone voice. “That light he demonstrated could be useful in assaulting the goblins nest and his medical skills could be invaluable after the battle.”

“Alright then.” Sten said, then looked at me.” Sounds good to you?” I had no real interest in either fighting or working as a pack mule, but I'll have to go along with them, as I didn't have any alternative available to me.

“That is acceptable. “I said.

He looked down at my feet and made a small humming sound. Glancing around the camp for a bit he focused on the spear woman.

“Hey Tanner, you have an extra pair of boots?” Tanner, who was sitting by the fire, didn’t appear to like the direction this was going.

“Gonna give it to the elf?”

With a disarming smile Sten said. “Just until we get back to town.”

Tanner huffed, went over to her pack, and pulled out a pair of what looked like well-worn brown boots and tossed them at me.

She looked at me and said, “Don't you go ruining my boots elf.”

They already looked to be years old at this point, but I wasn't going to complain. “I'm guessing we're sharing dinner with the elf as well.''

One balding man with a large beard said. “I ain't going hungry cause you decided to pick up another knife ear.”

The entire mood of the camp fell off a cliff as people stiffened.

Lilian with a deadly edge to her voice said. “Watch your tongue human.”

By the Way Lilian reacted I guessed that “knife ear’ was perhaps a slur. The words meant nothing to me, but Lilian, however, looked ready to draw blades. Sten with his jovial expression stood up. In the same moment so did the bearded man.

Inches from each other, their locked eyes, Sten with ferocity in his voice said. “Do you have a problem with how I run this outfit, Caan.”

“I don't appreciate you givin our stuff to this……. Elf. What's next our pay?”

It seemed that he was going to say knife ear again, but the quick glance he gave to Lilian probably changed his mind. The entire camp was watching the confrontation. Some did have concerned expressions when he mentioned pay.

“If you don't like how I lead then you’re free to leave after this contract. I assure you your cut, down to the nearest copper will be included in your pay.”

Sten continued. “We have enough rations to last twice the length of this contract, paid out from my own pocket. So, we can spare a few meals.”

Sten seemed to be giving this speech for the benefit of the rest of the group. I figured it was obvious why he was being so generous with supplies, but I suppose some people could not take the hint.

“Now, how about you apologize for such cruel words then sit down and eat your rations.” Sten said as if speaking to a child. This served to anger Caan even more as he started to reach for his sword. Faster than thought, Sten's sword was at Caans throat before he could draw.

A few others reached for weapons, but did not draw them. Sarah pulled out a short ornate staff, a little shorter than her forearm with a red glowing gem at the tip.

“I’m not going to repeat myself.” Caan seemed to look to the rest of the group for help, but all he got was cold stares.

Seeming to realize his situation, he looked at me and practically spat out, “Apologies for my choice of words.”

Sten gave Caan a long look before Caan turned his gaze to the ground. Seemingly satisfied that Caan was cowed, Sten said. “Good, it seems you seem to have some sense. Now either you sit down or lay down.”

Caan removed his hands from his weapon then finally sat down. The rest of the camp finally calmed down and sheathed their weapons. I watched as Sarah put the staff into her long cloak.

With one last warning look Sten sheathed his weapon and returned to his seat. A young brown-haired man not much taller than I went over to the pot and idly started stirring. During the awkward silence I strapped on the boots. They were large and ill-fitting with a slight odor of feet that I tried not to turn my nose up to.

“Thank you, Tanner.” I said, pouring as much sincerity as I could into the statement. Tanner gave me a small smile as bowls were being passed out. Lilian was busy staring daggers at Caan.

Deciding to hopefully break the silence I asked, “Sten, I don’t think I have been properly introduced to everyone.” Hoping to drag everyone away from that bit of drama, though I did make a mental note to keep an eye on Caan for the rest of our travels.

With one last exasperated glance at Caan, Sten put his trademark smile back on and spoke. “You’re right, where are my manners?”

He pointed at the first man to his left, “That's Brandon, our resident marksman.” Brandon was a handsome man with thick blonde hair. He gave me a nod.

Then Sten then pointed to the cook. “That’s John, decent swordsman, shite cook.” John rolled his eyes at the statement and continued stirring.

“Next, we have Tanner, our spearman. Don't play cards with her if you want to keep your coin.” Tanner grinned at me.

“Bast, a man of few words, but I'll trust him to watch my back in any fight,” he said, pointing to a bald man with a wicked scar across his cheek. He didn’t even look up from polishing his sword.

He then pointed at Sarah, “Next up is Sarah Newman, our lovely adept fire mage, as a warning don’t be on the business end of her amplifier.”

So, Sarah was a fire mage. I'm not sure what that means, other than assuming she specializes in fire magic. And amplifiers? Could that be her staff and what exactly does it amplify? She and Sten are the only ones with family names so far.

Not sure that means anything.

“Breala, my second in command and the second-best warrior in our little group.” The large woman actually snorted at that comment. That was probably the most emotion she's shown at this point.

“Mark, my oldest war buddy.” He nodded to a brown-haired man that looked roughly the same age as Sten.

“Last, but certainly not least, is Mikah. Don't let that innocent face fool you, he's the only one of us crazy enough to use dual swords.” He said pointing at a young brown-haired man. He made a small wave. No one seemed concerned that he skipped over Caan.

John handed me a bowl filled with some kind of steaming stew, with a wooden spoon already sitting in the bowl. “Thank you for the meal, John.” I said.

“You're welcome. Moon, was it?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“Nice to meet you.”

Everyone started digging into their meal, polishing away the stew as if it wasn't steaming hot. Only Sarah and Lilian had some hesitation when eating. Sarah actually used a metal spoon and seemed to be forcing the stew down. Lilian just ate mechanically, not even tasting the food. I brought a spoon up to my face, blew off some steam and took a bite.

It was not a good stew; It was thick, with tiny bits of meat and strange tasting vegetables, accompanied by an unpleasant layer of fat sitting on the surface. What I did enjoy however was the pleasant warmth it sent through my body. Each steaming hot spoon seemed to chase away the constant biting cold. Before I knew it the bowl was empty.

A few of the group started to strike up conversation with each other, speaking about the upcoming conflict with the goblins, weather, and some brewing conflict with Vernon and another baron named Suncrest. Sten walked over to Breala and started a conversation with her, by the occasional glances they sent my way, I assumed it was about me.

Mikah, the young man finished his stew and set the bowl next to the empty cooking pot.

He walked over to me and plopped down, “So, you really don't remember anything.” He asked.

“Not a thing, well mostly nothing.” I responded.

“Right, right. You're a healer but not a magic one.” He took an inquisitive look at me and spoke. “You plannin on learnin?” He asked.

“Magical healing?” I asked in response.

“O’course, everyone with light magic can heal, even the shite ones. Everyone knows that.”

Then he looked at me again and said, “Well I guess you wouldn't, no memories and all that.”

So light magic can be used for healing beyond myself. I wonder how it works exactly, seeing an opportunity to gain more information I asked. “How does it work?” He shrugged and spoke. “No clue, Alls I know is, they patch you up, shine some green light, and a couple minutes later. Good as new.”

He pulled up his shirt and spoke. “Look it.”

There was a scar about 8 inches long that ran from his left floating rib towards his navel. “Got that on my first contract with Sten. It was a hell of a bleeder, but he brought me to a light mage and half an hour later I was as good as new.”

He seemed to be proud of the scar but of more importance was what he said after they patched up. They shined light on the wound for some minutes and it simply healed rapidly. “No pain or redness around the wound? did the scar change over time?”

He pursed his lips, likely thinking back to that day. “No there weren't any pain. And the scar’s a little bit faded, but looks bout the same as back then.”

So, weeks of healing compressed into the span of a few minutes via the light. I'll have to approach Sten, Sarah, or Lilian on this topic to get more details. I couldn't even imagine how that could be done. I suppose I could try projecting a weak light and see if that did something.

I now understood completely what Sten wanted. The same mage tended to his wounds and healed him with the light. So, one would assume medical knowledge would be a necessary skill for a light mage. Furthermore, if even an incompetent light mage can heal, what could a powerful light mage accomplish?

Sarah's begrudging acknowledgement likely means that my ability is quite strong. How valuable would that kind of person be, especially if that person has no other allegiances?

Putting Mikah out of my mind, I looked over at Sten, still talking with Breala and thought to myself. ‘So that is what you want, hmm; your own personal light mage.’

Maybe I was being a bit pessimistic, and he was doing this out of the goodness of his heart. Thinking back on his predatory smile, when I agreed not to take certain death and join him on his contract, killed that stupid idea before it could even form. How would he guarantee me not simply leaving when we reach civilization. Or if someone else takes note of my talent and offers me more than what he could. How would I even be trained? Sarah maybe? Can a fire mage train a light mage? There were too many unknowns at this point.

For now, I’ll continue to act blissfully unaware of Sten’s aspirations and try to learn as much as possible without rocking the boat. We chatted a bit more, but it mostly consisted of him asking me more about my journey here.

I tried to ask Mikah more about magic, but he knew next to nothing. With a yawn I said, “I think I'll rest for the night; travel starts early. Have a good night's sleep Mikah.”

“You know you talk like a noble, but you're a lot nicer than most I've met. G’night Moon.” I idly wondered if this peasant had met many nobles in his life. He walked away and unrolled a bedroll strapped from a random pack. Looking away from I him noticed others were doing the same.

Sten came back over to me and spoke. “Don't have any extra bedrolls so you'll have to hoof it for tonight.”

“It's alright. Sten, you have been more accommodating than I thought someone would be to a stranger. You have my thanks. I hope to repay you and your company for this kindness someday.” As expected, he looked quite pleased. I must be a better actor than I thought. In reality if I could find better accommodations than this, I would take it without a second thought.

“I suggest you sleep close to the fire. You'll get to skip the watch rotation for today, so have a good rest and we'll have a lot to discuss tomorrow.” He handed me a large dark green hooded cloak. “This should keep the chill off for the night.”

“My thanks.” I said, taking it from him and trying it on.

It was much too large for me to use practically. It should help for the night. Sten headed off to his own bedroll and the camp quieted down for the night. Bast stood at the edge with his sword sheathed and shield in one hand, taking the first watch.

I always set my back against a tree to sleep, so it took me a few moments to figure out how to sleep without my ears getting in the way. Laying on my back was uncomfortable. So, I switched to my side using, a forearm as a pillow. It raised my head just enough to give my ears clearance. I drifted off to sleep almost immediately.