Olivia, in her dark wood armor, went out with Ssamalih. They’d be going through the woods, exploring some, training and hunting. The girl had her pack on her back, spear wrapped and attached there too. She finished trimming her light brown hair, cutting it so it was shoulder length, drank deeply from the spring and hopped to follow after the lizard.
It was odd, seeing someone so inhuman and so much stronger, but it also gave her hope. She could learn to use the spear in ways she couldn’t on her own, and with that be able to defend and defeat even greater foes.
“Asheh”
Olivia turned to Ssamalih, who’d just spoken, thought for a moment, then pointed up.
“Sky?”
As they walked further and further from the home she’d made here, they kept exchanging words, teaching each other the language. The lizard woman nodded at the girl’s answer, the slow trek and talk filling the day until the sun started to set.
Ssamalih had taken her for two reasons, or at least that's what the girl believed.
The first was because she was the one using a spear, so was best suited to learn from the lizard.
The second was that she was the one most eager to learn the language and therefore was the best conversation Ssamalih would have.
They were looking for the hunters, for another trial or for anything interesting. The lizard woman hadn't told them where she'd come from, other than that it was far. She'd been sparse on the details regarding the hunters too. What she knew was that they were after her and her friends for being here and were quite unwilling to talk, though Olivia still hoped that if she managed to deescalate - or capture one of them - she could have a civilized conversation with them.
—
“We’ve got Tar, Hari, Mayhe and I suppose I count now too as our mages. I’m not sure about the difference between casting from a Tome and casting from an amulet.”
Anika looked at Tar, the boy standing up straighter.
“Well, I think it comes down to how wide and deep the magic is. In a Tome, you can find many spells, and you can understand them at a level that far exceeds what you’d get from an item. But an item helps concentrate and cast something even when your energy reserves might be lower, as well as reduce the skill needed for it.”
“Gasp! You’re saying my healing magic is unskilled?”
Hari’s voice was teasing, followed by an elbow to the boy’s side and a smile from him.
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“Well… Kinda? It’s less you casting and more you telling the item to cast it while giving it energy. Could you do SII instead of SIAR?”
“Uhh… Let me try. What’s the difference?”
Hari focused, closing their eyes and breathing deeply.
“SII should be you healing yourself, rather than someone else. The SI part is the healing one, and the others are for targeting in this instance.”
“SII!”
There was some waiting, then a head shake from Hari.
“I felt like something might happen, like I was pushing against it, but no.”
“That’s normal and what Tomes are there for. They give you information, but also are magical in their own right, helping your words reach the world.”
Anika cleared her throat after Tar’s explanation, drawing eyes back to her.
“Anyway, so we’ve got four mages, two of which Tomed and two just having a trick up their sleeves. Though Tar is the only one properly focused on magic. Kunit and Luce are working on the alchemical stuff, Nargha mostly puts herself towards non-combat stuff. Can’t blame her, and the things she cooks up for us in this situation is more than worth it. Then there’s Hitch, Pallia and Olivia as our non-magical people. Hitch is good for sneaking and flanking, Olivia is also mobile and Pallia is still asleep, but excellent at being the vanguard. Me and Luce are also able to stand and fight, and our only archer right now is Hari, who should conserve energy in battle in case healing is needed. Mayhe’s more of a swordsman than a mage too, though he mixes those two together. Did I miss anything?”
There was silence on that front, the others agreeing with the outline.
“We’ve got three shacks, work on the fourth starting. We’ve still got supplies but we need a more stable source of food. Knowing all that, does anyone have ideas on what to do?”
“A farm would be nice. Need some seeds for that.”
Nargha was the first to answer, nods following.
“Some more protection, like a fence?”
“To keep us from getting swarmed, Hari?”
“Yeah, I think it would be nice in case something like the porcelain things attack again.”
“We should keep looking for those magical loot places too. I might be the least qualified to say this, having lost an arm and all, but I think they’re worth it.”
“Okay, so farm, fence and exploration. We’ve got our plan, now we just need to split the work and get to it.”
—
They toiled away at the camp. Hitch went out looking for any edible plants they could cultivate and came back with some tomatoes. He’d kept an eye out for any more weird hints or places where another trial might await, but so far he hadn’t seen anything of the sort.
That night, he sat with Mayhe and Kunit by the fire, the girl excitedly telling them both about how they’d almost made the pest repellent. The boys sat a bit farther away, being able to smell the attempts on her. Mayhe had learned to create a little glowing orb of light, which hung above his shoulder now.
They were enjoying the leftover soup before bed, still warm and now poured into their bowls. The weather was getting warmer and warmer, making sleeping inside the small shacks with other less appealing, so sometimes they'd sleep outside somewhere. An idea to make a hammock was floated around, but without tools or materials it was shelved for now.
Hitch went to bed quite satisfied with how things were going and sleep quickly took him.
