Jennifer Jones
Stories
4
Chapters
1,292
Words
687.3 K
Comments
0
Reading
2 d, 9 h
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Tala floated in hot water, luxuriating as the heat helped her body rid itself of the lingering nastiness, which Emi had worked from her muscles. She could feel her own power, flowing along channels inscribed by Holly’s machine, sweeping away the toxins more efficiently than her own body could have, naturally. It was fantastic. Her muscles felt like they were free for the first time in her life, and the magic flowing through her was rebuilding them. Somehow, she knew that this time was taking longer than…-
211 •
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Tala hadn’t moved, and Terry was sitting with her, when Boma returned, stone slate in hand. “Here, this should be in order.” Tala stood and walked to him, Terry appearing on her shoulder after she was up. “Thank you.” She took the tablet and looked over the short bill of sale before retracting her power from her finger, pricking it, and certifying the transaction. “There you are.” She handed it back. “Oh! What would it cost to get one of those?” Boma accepted the slate back, seeming to…
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211 •
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Tala sat in the nicely appointed waiting room. The furniture was comfortable, but not so much so that she wished to stay here for a long time. It appeared robustly made, and didn’t creak or budge even when Tala, herself, shifted. It was mostly a dark wood in construction, though she couldn’t tell if that was the wood itself, or a stain. Heavy canvas, a darker blue in color, covered the cushioned portions, and she had little trouble imagining the pieces lasting for years, or even decades, with…
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211 •
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Tala passed a bit of time with Master Himmal, but eventually bid him goodbye, promising to come by to test out the custom cargo-slots near the end of the week. She had been surprised that he hadn’t commented on Terry, but she supposed arcane pets weren’t too uncommon. She fell back into her routine as she walked to the training ground that Adam had indicated. She was almost done with the first set of topics she’d noted for review. When Tala arrived, she was startled by what she found. It was a…
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211 •
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Sighing, Tala took one last look around her room before turning around to see Lyn standing in the doorway. “Gah!” Lyn smiled. “I know it probably feels even smaller now, after the wilds…” Tala smiled, her stance softening. “It’s wonderful, Lyn. Thank you, again.” Lyn’s smile widened. “So… you’re sure you want to stay?” “Absolutely.” The older woman stepped forward and gave Tala a quick hug. “Good.” After the brief contact, she pulled back. “How about I go grab us…
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211 •
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As Tala did her best to mentally prepare for the next steps, she found the continued pain distracting. “Can I activate the mid-layers?” Holly was maneuvering the torturous contraption but glanced towards her face while answering. “Hmmm? Sure. The work on your shoulder is fully finished, after all. I thought you already had.” Tala decided it was best to not comment. Power blossomed through Tala’s arm, and the pain was washed away as her flesh knit together around the inscriptions. She looked…
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211 •
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Tala found herself telling an abridged, and only slightly redacted, version of her trip. She didn’t feel like her secrets were really needed, here, and the two women had a lot more knowledge than she, herself. That said, she didn’t feel it was time to discuss her Archon stars. She tried not to focus on the fact that she’d had her pay docked by one gold, and twenty silver, ounces for expenses incurred due to her disappearance. It didn’t seem fair… They didn’t interrupt, only asking minimal…
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211 •
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Tala whiled the rest of the afternoon away in what had become the usual fashion. There were quite a few arcanous encounters, scattered around the wagon train, but Rane wasn’t needed, let alone Tala. She was sorely tempted to investigate, whether for harvest or just to get involved, but wisdom won out. So, pragmatism won out. It was a surprisingly peaceful afternoon, all things considered, and Tala felt tensions that she hadn’t noticed slowly releasing, as her body seemed to finally realize that the…
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211 •
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Tala was surprised by the weight of emotion in Trent’s response, but she didn’t comment. Den, for his part, turned to look at Trent. “Master Trent, you might as well tell her.” Tala blinked, looking between the driver and the Mage. “Den? You know?” He gave her a curious expression. “Of course, I know. I have to steer us around them, don’t I?” She hadn’t considered that. “Are there that many?” Den shrugged. “I’m not really sure. One or two for every ten square…
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211 •
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As Tala and Rane walked, to catch up with the caravan, several mounted guards came by to check in with Rane, to ensure that all was well. He sent them off quickly to report Tala’s return and to confirm there were no threats approaching from the rear, before returning his attention to Tala’s abbreviated tale. As word traveled through the caravan, the wagons slowed just slightly, the need for haste seemingly negated by her return. Rane rolled his eyes. “Oh, now you smell it.” Rane gave her an odd…
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