Chapter Six: Campfire Stories

  “Well, after tha’ ‘er da’ threw me ou’ on mah ass, screamin’ a’ me teh hol’ time nah to com’ back withou’ a dowry!” A burst of laughter barks from the crew arranged around the fire, mine included. I slurp at the stew the caravaneers had offered me, just basking in the warmth of being part of a group again… it’s not quite like a unit, but it's damn close. I can tell the core doesn’t understand by the confused signals it is sending me. I get the impression that it was a solitary being before, everything is either food or a threat to it… but even so, I can feel its gentle pulsing as we sit here too.

  Zgxx’teg chuckles, his laugh coming out a half clicking, half vibratory purr. He nudges my elbow with his own, the Salamandermyn guard captain and I having become fast friends over the last two days, “How’ss About you Ssage? Got a tale for the flamess?”

  I grin and call out to the crowd, “Well, do you want to hear about some of my adventures at the college, or…” I raise my eyebrows, “My time in the King’s Auxiliaries?”

  Chants of “Aux” and “War Stories!” make the crowd’s will clear.

  I clear my throat, “Alright then.” I take a moment to collect my thoughts and throw another log on the fire for effect. The fire roars as it begins consuming its new food, and I begin, “Have any of you heard of the Mad Mage Harold?” A few of the older caravaneers gasp, I nod to them, “Now this was a while ago, but at the time he was one of the biggest threats to the Kingdom.” A shudder makes its way across my body as the memories try to force their way through me, I take a breath, grin, and continue, “Old Harold was once a royal wizard, but he fled the capital when it was revealed that he had been experimenting on the slumling mynfolk there.” I lean in, “You see, Harold loved magic, loved learning, but it is said he hated the pain that comes from using one's own essence to cast spells.” I look around conspiratorially, “More than that though, I think he was just afraid to die old and frail.”

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  The crowd murmurs, most nodding along, magical ability was common enough that most of them were familiar with the ache of using your own essence to power spells and abilities. I get louder and sweep my hands, “Harold figured he could use other peoples essence in place of his own! Not only that, but that he thought he could transfer their life force into himself, causing him to regain his youthful body and mind!”

  Gasps from some of the little ones, dark looks from the old, “It didn’t quite work out the way he wanted though, his experiments had warped those he drew from, turning them into husks, robbing them of their minds and replacing all they were with a terrible hunger.” I lean a bit back and whisper, “After Harold had fled the King found whole sewer sections beneath the capital that were full of half-dead myn Harold had used up and tossed aside.”

  The crowd is dead silent now, I continue, “My regiment was part of the teams sent to clear out the sewers…” I pause for dramatic effect, “Now keep in mind, I am no front line fighter, even back then I was working as a healer's aid, running bandages, hauling the injured to the surgeons, that kind of thing…” my nose crinkles as I remember the smell, “But gods above, I can still hear the screams of those husks as they threw themselves at our men.” I shudder again, “It took us days to clear those sewers, Harold must have been experimenting for years without anyone the wiser… But, in the end, the King's men prevailed!” then I let out a little giggle, “We had to burn our uniforms and bathe over and over again before anyone would come near us though.”

  The crowd laughs, a little nervously, but the joke helps to ease the tension of a tough story. Someone in the crowd pipes up, I think its the young myn who takes care of the pack animals, “Sage? What happened to Harold? Did he get the King’s justice?”

  I sigh, “Harold? No… he was last seen fleeing into the mountains north of the capital, his body had… changed. The mages in my unit guessed that all that essence in one body wasn’t natural and that he had become as much of a monster as those he experimented on…” I pause and lean in, “He’s still out there somewhere kiddo.”

  Zgxx’teg comes in with a perfect climax, throwing a large bucket of water on the fire, causing it to hiss and the people around me to jump and scream. He grins at all of them, “Well… Now that the Ssage hass sscared you all nicce and proper, it’ss time for bed!”

  I take a bow to the crowd, and head back to my own spot to get a good night's sleep.