The Knight

  The door to the rickety cabin swung open, and the knight looked up. “Easy. You’ll take the damn thing off its hinges.” He paused. His companion was missing a shoe. He looked like he’d been in a fight. Good. Maybe roughhousing with the local villagers would convince him to get rid of that ridiculous leather armor.

  “Boss, it was them. It was just like you said, that M guy came back. Got away from me, though. They’re strong. They’ve got an assassin on their side, and one of them can use earth elemental magic. Trapped me in the middle of the street,” he said.

  “No,” the knight corrected. “From what I’ve gathered, it’s not earth magic. It’s the baby. It has powers that allow it to manipulate earth, but there’s no hex involved. Which way did they go?”

  “At first, back towards Jeca, but…” He held up a hand and a scarlet hex appeared. “They redirected towards Port Carrus when they thought they’d escaped me. That’s where we’ll find them.”

  The knight nodded. “Good work. Then it’s settled. We’re going to Port Carrus. Get the horses ready,” the knight told him.

  “Don’t worry, boss, already taken care of. We can leave whenever.”

  “Good.” He cracked his neck and checked that his armor was locked in place. This was it. They’d catch up to their target soon.

  Charlie

  Charlie looked out the back of the wagon, temporarily distracted from the special project he and Orb were working on. He was sitting in Vetica’s lap but was pretty sure she’d fallen asleep. Mousifer and Bleedy were napping in the wagon’s corner, pressed up against the back of the driver’s bench.

  The sky was a clear, bright blue and seabirds followed the wagon, squawking and crying out to one another. And perhaps at the wagon itself, hoping its passengers would throw food.

  When Charlie asked, Merlin had told them they would see more and more of the birds following them or flying around as they got closer to Port Carrus. The flying white birds were fun to watch, and Charlie found the noises they made relaxing for some reason.

  The wagon slowly rolled to a stop. Charlie turned to look up. In his peripheral vision, he noticed Vetica stir as well.

  “What is it? Trouble?” she asked.

  Merlin turned to look back at them. “No, it’s fine. There’s a trader up ahead. I’m going to flag him down and take a look at his goods. If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, he deals in clothing and fabrics. We could use some new clothes.”

  “Can’t we buy some once we get to Port Carrus?” Orb asked, floating beside Charlie.

  “At this point, we have the cult, the knights, and that creepy stranger that ambushed me in the guild after us. I was thinking a change of clothes might help us lie low for a while. Especially in a major city like Port Carrus,” Merlin said.

  Vetica sighed. “I can’t argue with that logic. Make sure you urge discretion, though. We don’t need anyone picking up our trail because you bought something from a merchant on the road.” She sat up to study the approaching wagon. When she noticed Charlie craning his head to try to see over the bench as well, she held him up.

  The wagon wasn’t all that different from Merlin’s, but it didn’t have a canvas covering. It was full of with colorful, vibrant fabrics and outfits, though. The entire wagon was packed to the brim. He wondered if the merchant lived in the town they’d just left, or if he was just passing through.

  Merlin waved the man down. The two horses pulling the merchant’s wagon slowed as he pulled on the reins.

  Merlin spoke to Vetica without turning around completely. “It’s best just to act normal. If I ask him to keep our dealings to himself, he’ll assume I’m some nobleman in the countryside with his mistress and their secret lovechild. Then he’d want to tell everyone he ran across. Trust me—” He paused. It was almost like he could feel Vetica glaring at the back of her head.

  “Call me someone’s mistress again and I’ll be the widow of a nobleman, traveling with his corpse so I can bury it in the woods,” she said.

  Orb shuddered. “Merlin, you should really watch what you say in the future. I mean, really, some people can be so careless. Oh, by the way, Vetica, I’ve been meaning to ask, have you gained weight lately?”

  Vetica drew her blade and swung at Orb in an instant. But Charlie activated the transfer ability in time. He’d give Orb a short time out in the dungeon. He knew the dungeon core was just messing with her, but it wasn’t a nice thing to say and if he stuck around, Vetica might destroy him.

  Merlin used the distraction to escape her wrath and hurried over to the merchant. Charlie and Vetica watched them talk, but quickly grew bored. After several minutes had passed, the merchant finally pulled off and Merlin returned. A small pile of clothing was draped over one of his arms. In his opposite hand, he held a pair of boots. He walked to the back of the wagon and sat everything down.

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  “Alright,” he said, setting the pile of clothes down on the back of the wagon. He pulled an elegant yellow dress from the pile and held it up towards Vetica. “What do you think? I thought it might suit you, and it’s very different from your usual attire. I had to guess the size, but I think—”

  “I am not wearing that,” Vetica said.

  Merlin sank. “But it costs so much money. They’ll be looking for a man wearing a purple cloak and a woman who looks like she could kill you with a look. The dress is disarming. It’ll make people underestimate you. Besides, blending in will help us keep Charlie safe.”

  At that, Vetica paused.

  “I think it will look good on you, Vetica! Try it!” Charlie encouraged her.

  She looked down at him and cracked a smile. “Fine.” She set Charlie on the floor and slid out of the wagon. After grabbing the dress, she looked at Charlie. “Send me to the dungeon so I can change, then.”

  Charlie smiled, and Vetica disappeared in a flash.

  After a few moments, Parent informed Charlie that Vetica was asking to come back. When she did, she was wearing the dress. She was also holding Orb tightly in her hand.

  “Charlie…help me…” Orb begged. His voice was faint. Charlie realized the real reason Vetica had asked to change in the dungeon when she normally would just hang something in the wagon for privacy while the others waited outside. She wanted to get to Orb.

  Charlie turned to look at Merlin. Orb kind of deserved her wrath a little, anyway. “What else did you get?” Charlie asked.

  A short while later, they turned off of the side road they’d been on and finally hit the Capitol Road. A much larger number of travelers moved around. Some walked, others rode horses or were in wagons like they were. They passed soldiers, merchants, and all kinds of people. Apparently, it wasn’t uncommon for merchants to do business along the road itself. Many of them had pulled over and set up shop right on the side of the road. Others shouted out what goods they were transporting in case anyone might be interested. The grin on Merlin’s face proved he felt right at home.

  Vetica looked really pretty in her new dress but was clearly not used to wearing one. She sat with her feet hanging off the back of the wagon. Orb had wedged himself between Bleedy and Mousifer to hide from Vetica. A long, thin crack ran through his center. It would go away on its own in a little while, but Orb was still mad at Vetica for being so rough with him.

  Merlin sat up front, as usual. He had stowed his purple cloak in the central storage compartment along with the extra clothing he’d bought and his old boots. Vetica had said he should throw them out, but Merlin insisted on having them fixed. For now, he rocked the new brown pair of boots and a tan button-up shirt he’d bought from the merchant that didn’t look all that different from his usual. To be fair, the cloak was Merlin’s most prominent article of clothing, so simply removing that was probably enough.

  “We’re making good time,” Merlin said after waving at a passing merchant. “By the way, Charlie, what are you working on?” he asked.

  Charlie looked at the rock he had shaped in his hands with Orb’s advice. “It’s a life preserver! Orb said that on Earth, people used them to float in the water. It goes around your waist and keeps you from sinking! Since we’ll be by the ocean, he said I should make one so we can go swimming!”

  Merlin turned all the way around on the bench. “I’m sorry, Orb told you that a piece of rock would help you float?”

  Charlie nodded. “Yeah! Don’t worry, he’s going to help me make life jackets for you and Vetica next! Then we can go all go swimming.”

  “And those will be made out of rock, too?” Merlin asked.

  Charlie nodded fervently. “Yeah!”

  Merlin looked down at Orb sitting amongst the sleeping Bleedy and Mousifer. “Orb, what is wrong with you? Rocks don’t float.”

  “Not normally, no. But when you shape them a certain way, they do. You’ll see. You just don’t understand advanced earth technology,” Orb spat back.

  Merlin shook his head and turned back.

  Charlie set his life preserver in progress to the side and turned to look at Vetica. “Hey Vetica, what did you and Arroane talk about in the dungeon?”

  His question seemed to surprise her. She twisted to look at him over her shoulder. “Right…I guess I should tell you all. I wanted to talk to him because I needed some advice.”

  “Advice about what?” Charlie asked. He wondered what Vetica could possibly have wanted to ask a man she’d considered an enemy not long before.

  “My hex.”

  The words sent a chill through Charlie’s body. Vetica had the blue blade hex. It wasn’t something she’d need to ask Arroane about. The only reason she’d need to talk to him about hexes was if…

  The wagon slowed to a halt. Merlin grew quiet. He stepped over the bench and took a seat in the back. Vetica turned to lean against the wagon’s side and look at them. “You inherited it? The unique hex your father is after.” Merlin didn’t wait for her to confirm it. “When?” he asked.

  “During the fight with my sister,” she whispered.

  Merlin scoffed. “That long ago? Why didn’t you say anything? You didn’t need to carry that burden alone. What…what did you need to talk to Arroane about then? Is it similar to his hex or something?” he asked.

  Vetica shook her head. “No. Well, I don’t know. I don’t know the hexes’ name yet. I’ve only figured out part of what it does. It seems like a stronger version of the blade hex. But it feels like I’ve only scratched the surface. Since Arroane has a unique hex as well, I thought I’d ask him about it. I wanted to know how to learn more about my powers.”

  Orb slowly floated and turned to look at her. The new revelation was apparently more pressing than his pouting. “Wait, you don’t know its name? How is that possible? Is a unique hex really that different?” he asked.

  Merlin nodded. “It is. Unique hexes work differently. They can be incredibly powerful, but you have to unlock that power for yourself. At least from what I’ve heard.”

  Charlie looked between them. To be honest, he hadn’t learned that much about hexes since coming to this world. He’d seen them in use a lot during combat. He knew they were how other people used magic. But he didn’t need them. His powers worked differently, so he never really thought to learn more about hexes. But now he was curious. Vetica had a unique hex, and from the serious expression on Merlin’s face. Things were about to get interesting.

  “Parent, can you…”

  “Of course,” Parent said before Charlie finished his sentence. “I’ve been waiting to share this information with you for a while. To truly understand what a unique hex means, you need a greater understanding of hexes in general. Let’s begin now.”

  Thanks for your understanding,