In the murmurs of leaves parting and colliding with one another in gentle winds water crashed against the crags from falls above. A numb pain ran from her extremities as uncontrollable shivers shook her body awake trying to generate any amount of warmth. She tried to pull herself up from the lip of the shore, leather slacks, and wet linen clothing clung to her body like frigid hands trying to pull her back down to the water she lay in until she had crawled her way against the wet gravel shore, sunlight peeking through the forest canopy as it warmed her pale skin.

  As her hearing returned and her senses tuned themselves the faint crackle of wood burning could be heard some feet away from her sight as her gaze trained onto the fragmented wreak of a wagon. The carrier broke in two as its axles lay in splinters. The canvas cover smoldered in the corner as wooden crates lay out ransacked of any value. The figures of a man slumped over on his side, the hand of another lifelessly reaching towards the sky, a woman folded against a tree, its trunk caved and splinted the trauma. The mess of black hair on the girl’s face messily covered the scene as her stomach knotted, heaving whatever water she had taken in from her time in the spring.

  The methodic footfall of boots trails at a brisk pace as a figure arrives at the scene, scrounging their way through the smoldering remnants of the wagon, tossing away broken tools and empty sacks until the glint of their long blonde hair disappears and their eyes meet. Fear strikes the shivering girl as her eyes meet with the emerald green of the other’s. “A survivor?” a feminine voice asks.

  The blonde-haired girl slowly approached the quivering girl, her arms fanned out as she crouches, making herself appear smaller. “My name is Mary, h-here let me help.” She says and drapes her leather coat over the shivering girl, gripping it loosely as its warmth fills her.

  “Here, lend me your arm, and let’s get you away from here, it’s not safe right now.” She looked back to the wagon before lifting the girl from the ground with her arm around her shoulders. “You got a name, miss?” Mary asks as her emerald green eyes train on the girl, her legs buckling beneath her like a newborn fawn.

  The black-haired girl simply tilts her head, confused about the prospect as strength slowly returns to her legs. “N-name? Ah, I... I don’t know what a name is... But you said your name was Mary, right? So, a name is... Something to call someone by?”

  Mary raised her hand before biting on her thumb for a second, taken aback from the peculiar girl that walked besides her as her weight gradually slipped from Mary’s shoulder. Watching as the girl managed to get her own two feet beneath her. Mary’s eyes wandered in thought, “Then how about... Ahh... Alexis? Alexis Clarke, do you... Do you like it?”

  Mary stared at the girl for a moment as their eyes met. An amethyst hue sparkled as the light of the forest shone into the clueless gaze of the girl and her expression lit up in glee. “Alexis, Alexis! Hehe, it sounds really nice, what a pretty name! Is it okay for me to have it?” Alexis asked as her hands grasped onto Mary’s, surprising the Elven girl as her ears rushed with warmth.

  “Y-yes, it is yours and yours alone to keep, Alexis.”

  Mary stared on at Alexis as she repeated her name as if it was the first word she had ever learned. Her semi-high-pitched voice giggling at each syllable that hung onto her tongue in comparison to Mary’s whose tone could lull you to sleep at just the right volume. Mary withdrew her hand after a moment as the sun began to shine through the forest, the tree cover becoming thinner till only grass was forwards of them. Mary turned her attention to Alexis, checking on her condition after having hiked a fair bit away from where she had found her Alexis simply tilted her head and hugged Mary’s leather jacket. Much of the water had wicked away from her clothes and had collected at the very bottom of her slacks and shirt as Mary turned her attention to the mountains west of them and headed in their direction, Alexis following behind almost like an imprinted hatchling.

  “Hey,” Mary’s voice calls to Alexis. “So... Where are you from?”

  “Here? Well... I remember... I was with the people in the wagon, we were moving some goods from Altania up into Gleamwell helping them with moving their cargo but we got attacked by some monster. There were four wagons with people and...” Alexis pauses. Her gaze turning pale as the image of the outstretched hand reaching up makes her stomach churn.

  “I see... That’s enough then, no need to be pulling from bad memories. Come, there’s still a long journey ahead of us. If you’d like you can come with me to Flambard where I’ll be headed northward. I have people who could use my help.”

  Mary pats Alexis’s shoulder as the two hike into the mountains. Following the lightly traveled trail as their footfall breaks the forest noise. A stream carves through the twisting bends of the valleys and the leafy canopy is replaced by the needles of tall pines that prod and poke at Alexis’s sides. “I take it you’re unfamiliar with the terrain here?” Mary asks Alexis as she brushes away a branch for her to pass.

  “These trees are sharp and uninviting and it feels like a pressure in my ears is building up as we climb. Is that normal?” Alexis asks as she closes the jacket around her.

  “That’s altitude for you. The air will grow thinner the higher we climb and with that, different terrain. But if it really helps just stand a little closer to me, it’s easier to breathe.”

  Alexis does as Mary suggests, noticing the pressure change as her hearing normalizes and it becomes easier for her to breathe again as a gentle breeze passes between the two. “That’s amazing! How are you doing this?”

  It’s simple really, it's magic. I’m gathering air around us and condensing it into an atmosphere like bubble.”

  “Can anyone use magic?”

  “It depends. Every living thing channels something called mana and that works like a kind of fuel that allows users to control and manipulate the world around them. Some people can channel it better but it really just takes practice. Depending on where you are some elements are stronger than others.”

  “That’s pretty knowledgeable, how do you know all this?”

  “Let’s say I had a decent education in my time and I’ve had to put some practice through necessity. Here eat this, keep your energy up.”

  Mary hands Alexis a set of crackers as the sky darkens into the twilight hours. The forest growing less and less inviting as Mary unslings her pack from her shoulder. “There. We’ll stop for the night here.” Mary points to an abandoned cabin. The silhouette was barely able to be made out by Alexis in the fading evening light.

  Mary tries the door, feeling it stuck in place she presses her body weight into it. Bracing for a moment before slamming into it. Budging the door enough for a crack to peer into the interior. “Alexis dear, can you help me with the door?” Mary asks as she moves to the side and gestures for Alexis to come over.

  Alexis nods and braces herself against the door with Mary, nodding as she collects her breath. “Okay on three we go together, one, two, three!” Mary coordinates as the pair line up and charges the door, budging more as a gap the size of a fist opens.

  “One more time, one, two, three!”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  As the two crash the door their weight pushes the rusted hinges and the pair move through the entrance. Mary catching her feet from under her as Alexis takes a small tumble onto the dirty wood floors. “Hey good work girl, close up shop and we can call it a night here.” Mary gestures to the door as she makes her way to the firepit on the ground.

  Alexis nods and goes to the door, closing it with relative ease compared to when they were opening it as the hinges squeak closed. Alexis makes her way over to Mary she rummages through her pack, a sense of worry on her face as she takes out the contents in a semi-organized fashion before connecting the palm of her hand to her face and sighs. “I misplaced my fire-starting kit... So, it might be a cold night unless I can figure a trick out...” Mary sighs and forms a small pile of pine needles and bark into a small pile within the firepit while Alexis busies herself and gathers a couple of logs from the modest woodpile.

  “Why not try to make a flame from your hands through mana? We only need a small flame, maybe even just a couple of sparks.” Alexis suggests as she settles down, taking Mary’s coat off her as she watches Mary in the dark.

  “I-I’m not familiar with fire magic at all but I suppose we don’t have much of a choice.” Mary gives a sigh and took a deep breath.

  Her breathing steadies into a focused routine as Mary can feel her fingertips grow warmer. Sweat forming along her brow as the mana that collects in her hands begins to glow. A quiet blue flame forms in her right hand as her thumb and fingertip meet until the small head of a flame appears from her fingertips. Entranced by Mary’s effort she collects the small tinder bundle and watches as the pine needles cry before catching aflame. The small embers spread to dried grass and dead leaves as soon as the bark also catches. “Mary, you’ve done it! We have a fire!” Alexis touches Mary’s shoulder and snaps her from her focus.

  Mary took a moment to regain her composure, instinctively moving her hand away from the growing fire by her hand as the small flame between her thumb and forefinger snuffed out as her hands stopped channeling mana, collapsing to the side as she reached for her water pouch and drinks from it. A trail fell from the corner of her lip. Alexis tends to the fire, layering small pieces of tinder as it grows, feeding twigs and small sticks before splinters of wood are bed to the fire. The way the embers crackle in the empty cabin interior provided a semblance of comfort in the unknown. “So Alexis,” Mary’s voice broke through the silence, “do you remember what happened when your people were attacked?”

  Alexis wracks her brain at the series of events that led to waking up in that spring. The shouts of men and screaming horses echoed inside her mind as writhing tendril and a gaping maw engulfed Alexis’s view. Her stomach disagrees with the memory as it churns with the sensation of bile creeping up to the back of her throat. “I... I joined as part of a caravan group from Altania, we were moving goods over to Gleamwell and into Flambard when something big attacked us...”

  “Big? Like a bear or a mantid?” Mary lifts her eyebrow.

  “No, its skin was like oil with tendrils like a jellyfish. But it’s face was... Just a mouth with rows upon rows of teeth. There was blood everywhere... Then everything went dark.” Alexis recalls.

  The recollection of memory makes Alexis reel, her face turning pale as she shivers at having to remember the scene. The sudden touch of Mary’s hand on her shoulder startling her as it pulls her attention back. “S-sorry for making you remember but from what you’ve told me it sounds like something from the east came crawling out into the forest.”

  “East? What’s in the east?” Alexis asks, pulling her knees up to her chest.

  “You don’t know? I guess it has been a few hundred years since anyone’s talk about it with any real concern,” Mary remarked as she stroked the fire. “There are many names for the lands out east. The Scattered Lands, Effluvia, The World’s Graveyard. Most just call it The Corruption. A space where abominations inhabit and the land robs life of its free will. Efforts were made to cleanse the continent of its influence but the ritual to purify the ground hasn’t worked for some time. It’s rare for something to come out from the Corruption and out into the but not unheard of.” Mary explains.

  “Then it’s just simple bad luck then huh? Ha.. Ha ha ha...” Alexis chuckles, putting her hands over her eyes and shaking her head.

  “I... I’m sorry about the people you were traveling with, Alexis,” Mary comforts Alexis, “you are alive today though. Continue to live for them.”

  Alexis uncovers her eyes, resting herself against Mary’s side as the two sit beside the small fire. “I guess we return to Altania then? I wanna go home.”

  Mary looks over at Alexis, biting her lip in discomfort before speaking, “The path back to Altania is cut off by the Bloodsworn. Whatever your caravan was hauling through the forest was looted by them when you were attacked. If we try to go to Altania now we’d just end up captured and sold as slaves.” Mary explains.

  “T-then where do we go? Y-you're not one of them are you?” Alexis scoots away from Mary.

  “Heavens- heavens no. I have my own issues with that reprehensible lot,” Mary responds as she sets her things aside to bed down for the night, “we leave for Flambard in the morning. After that you can decide whether or not you want to go back home or would prefer to stick by my side for a while longer.”

  Alexis weighs her options for a moment as she watches the flames lick away at the outer edges of the twiggy wood Mary feeds to the fire. A longing ache in her heart draws her to return home but if what Mary said was true then the path home would be more difficult on her own than to continue with Mary. Safety in numbers. Mary appeared to be rather capable as well judging from the appearance of her equipment. The way the bits of linen cloth frayed, how the leather worn into a supple, pliable texture without cracking or rotting into pieces. Alexis felt underprepared compared to her companion. Still clutching the coat that she had given her Alexis collected herself as she prepared her response to Mary. “Flambard it is. It’ll be nice to make it out of the wilderness for a change.

  Mary looks towards Alexis, her eyes falling on the purple-eyed girl for a second longer than normal before giving a slight smile. “Good. Whoever wakes first in the morning will wake the other. It’s getting late. It won’t be anything amazing but I hope this meager supper will suffice.” Mary says as she gets up. Getting a derelict iron pot from the floor and wiping the interior of it with her shirt.

  Satisfied with the interior Mary pours from the waterskin across her torso into the pot. Lifting the skin high into the air till every drop empties into the pot while it dangles from the spit above the fire. Alexis watches as Mary produces a small ornate dagger hidden away on the side of her hip and roughly cuts apart pieces of dried meat she had been keeping from within her knapsack. Dropping them into the water once she’s satisfied with the size of the bits. Settling a bag down as crumbs from within spill out. “Alexis, if you could can you mash these and add them into the pot. I’m going to refill this bag of mine and we can drink,” Mary explains as she approaches the door.

  Alexis gives a nod in understanding as Mary steps out. Taking a broken leg from a stool and mashing the hardtack into small granules and adding them to the pot. A strange brown slurry bubbles from within as it gradually thickens with darker bits rolling within the water as Mary steps inside once again. “Ah perfect. Sorry that this poor meal is the first that you’re having with me, Alexis. Maybe once we’re in Flambard we can find ourselves a proper meal.”

  “N-no issue at all. I haven’t had a proper meal since setting off from Altania so I’m grateful. What is the meat if I may ask?” Alexis asks as she sets two small metal pots beside the fire. Mary setting some water within to boil the water as the gruel nears its completion.

  “Venison,” Mary replies plainly. “It is plentiful on the eastern side of the mountain range that it is easier to come by than beef from your western side”

  “Interesting. Thank you for sharing your rations with me Mary. I’ll remember to pay you back for this when I get the chance,” she says as Mary ladles the thin slurry into some cracked wooden bowls strewn within the cabin.

  With a slight smile Mary nods and gives a small toast as she holds the pot with a cloth over the handle. Blowing over the surface. “I look forward to it, let’s eat then.”

  The mixture is about as basic as one can imagine as Alexis eats from her bowl. The taste of stale grain was only made palatable by the stringy rehydrated pieces of deer meat that lay hidden in the slurry. But a smile rests within the corners of Alexis’ lips as the nagging tightness within her stomach recedes. The expression is not lost on Mary as she gives her own smile and eats from her bowl. “From your appearance I take it it’s to your liking?”

  Alexis wipes the corner of her cheek as she clears her throat, “W-well anything is delicious if you haven’t eaten in a long time.” Alexis hides her face in her bowl as it is quickly emptied. Only a thin lining of residue remaining along the interior.

  “How true. Well, there is enough for another serving if you’d like. Once you’re done let’s clean up a little bit and rest for the night,” Mary says after finishing her pot of water. Filling it once more so that she can replenish her waterskin.

  With a nod, Alexis eats once more. Letting the crinkles of embers fill the silence.