Chapter 32: The Peasant Girl

I was slowly waking from my dreamless sleep. At the edge of my consciousness, I could hear the crackle of fire, smell old wood and cloth. A door opened and I could hear someone shuffling about. I snapped back to full consciousness and readied a radiant lance in an instant aiming it directly at the individual.A young woman, a girl really, probably no older than 15 with long frizzy brown hair, green eyes and a freckled face dropped the bundle she was holding and fell backward on her butt."Oh, gods yer a mage" she shrieked in fear. She scooted backward until she hit a wall on the far side of the room. Realizing that this must have been the person that carried me from the forest I dismissed the spell. I looked around at the house. It was a single room with two beds on one side and a hearth and kitchen on the other. There was only a single door which likely led outside. There were a few old and mostly degraded pieces of furniture around as well as a small table with three chairs in the kitchen."Apologies" I said as I examined the girl. She was dressed in ragged homespun clothing, so likely not as an assassin."I have been through quite a bit the last few days and I reacted out of instinct."The girl's breathing slowed as she calmed down. "Ummm it's alright, ye looked quite the mess when I found ye." She got up and came over to me.She sounded every bit the peasant she was. I had no clue where I was at this point."Where am I?" I asked."Bout a mile north o Floxum." she said as she took a seat on the other bed. Of all the villages and towns on my map I could not remember seeing a village called Floxum."Floxum? I've never heard of it." I said."Not surprisn barely a hundred people live ere, not even on most maps. What happened to ye?" she said."I was attacked and barely survived." I looked down at myself. And realized I was nude under the threadbare blanket."Where is my armor?" I said."Oh, right over ere" it was laying spread out in front of the hearth. She went over, picked it up and brought it over to me. The purple armor was completely blackened and some of the gold decoration was partially melted. I could smell the burnt leather."Looks right, costly.""It was over 30 gelding for the full set. It was right of you to get it off me.""30 gelding" she whispered in astonishment. It was probably an unimaginable sum for someone living in a village so remote that it wasn't even on most maps.I awkwardly searched the chest piece and found the 3 gems, bank card and the 4 ingots of Mithrite. I breathed a sigh of relief that I didn't end up losing them. The 40 or so gelding stashed throughout the armor was still there so she probably didn't search through it."You have done me a kindness..."I paused realizing I didn't know her name."What is your name?""Benny Sir mage." the girl said."No need for all that, just call me Moon.""Ok...…..Moon" she said.Noticing the room had two beds, one which I occupied at the moment I asked. "Is there another who lives here?""No just, me ma and pa died a while back."So, a single girl a mile away from a village that wasn't even on a map. This was a perfect place to recover provided I could convince her to assist me."I will take time to restore myself to full health and with missing limbs moving around will be difficult. Can I ask for your assistance until I am healed? In return I can offer a substantial amount of gold"She looked at me doubtfully. "You can fix all that." she said, nodding to my missing limbs."Yes, but I need time and food to do it.""How much gold?" she asked.Thinking of the gelding in my armor."3 gelding a week for two months and if you wish we can travel to whatever barony we are in where I can reward you with 500 gelding for your timely rescue. If you do not wish to travel with me I can offer this as a reward"Her eyes widened into saucers at the mention of so much wealth. I pulled out a single ingot of Mithrite."What's that?" she asked numbly.I tossed it to her and she caught it."It is called Mithrite, a metal that conducts ether that ingot alone would fetch hundreds of gelding but finding the right buyer is a problem."She looked dumbstruck, her eyes fixed on the blue metal. I imagine she couldn't even fathom what to do with so much coin. She handed it back to me as if the metal was dangerous."I guess I'll take the gold." she said numbly."Agreed then how about….."She interrupted me as she released something."Am I in danger keeping ye here?"I was going to lie but I decided against it. While I doubted my attackers could track me to wherever I was, it was not impossible. Perhaps honesty would ingratiate her more to me."It's rather unlikely but not impossible. So long as it doesn't spread that there is an elf in the village, I doubt there is any danger to you.""So, I just keep ye cooped up here for a few months and get ye food?" she asked."Essentially yes, and plenty of meat if possible.""I can only hunt so much, and meat is costly."I pulled out 10 gelding out of a pocket in my armor and her eyes practically locked on to the coin."Would this be enough for 2 months?""That should do," she said in a high-pitched voice. I handed her the coin and she slid them into a pocket of her brown trousers with solemnity."So what's ye story, don't elves live up north.""Yes, but my origins are rather unique. If I do tell you my tale you would have to swear to never share it with anyone without my permission."

She put a fist to her heart and in the same manner Garred and Sten did and said.

"I swear to never mention ye tale to anyone without ye permission.""How about this get me some dinner and I'll tell you my tale"An hour later we were sitting at the small table finishing a bowl of rabbit stew. She gave me a linen shirt and some old trousers. When she helped me to the table, I realized she was even shorter than I was probably 5-2 to my 5-4. It was bland but I was so hungry that I regarded it as the nectar of the gods. I told her an abridged version of my story, embellishing a few details here and there to make it more entertaining. She was enraptured by the tale, asking very few questions. She seemed particularly entertained anytime magic was mentioned."I can't believe ye survived all that, I mean cutting yer own limbs off is crazy.""I suppose it is. Whoever wants to be dead paid for quality assassins.""My coins on the baron seemed like a right tosser," she said."I'm leaning more elf."She was rather easy to talk to. She was just a peasant girl, so I didn't really have to care about guarding my words or maintaining any kind of pageantry."Ye should have bedded Lilian when ye had the chance. But instead, you go for the orc woman. I'm surprised she didn't turn yer hips to dust." Strange how not bedding Lilian was somehow a contentious point for her."Half orc actually, regardless I didn't want to risk Lilian catching a child, so I didn't try.""Still fer only a year ye've lived an amazin life."We talked about ourselves for most of the meal, so I asked her. "So, what about you?""Me?" she asked in confusion."Yes, I've told you my story. I'm curious to know how you came to live here on your own."She seemed embarrassed for some reason but answered anyway."Well, my granda built it and passed it onto my pa ummm then he married my ma and had me. We hunted and had a small farm out back. Ma died to the flux and pa died hunting a year ago. So, it's just me now. I don't really have a good story. I hunt and sell meat or skins in the village."Her eyes darted about the room as if looking for something. I suppose compared to the craziness of my own life a normal peasant wouldn't have much in the way of story. Deciding to change the subject I said."Would you like to see some magic?" her eyes practically popped out of her head with how wide her eyes opened. I figured she would be receptive to this since every time magic was brought up in my tale, she was laser focused.She nodded eagerly.I created a ball of light in front of her and she stared wide eyed at it as it floated in the air. Then I cast levitate on a spoon and had it fly around the room. She started laughing and then grabbed it out of the air. On an object so small the ether surrounding her body was enough to break the spell. Then I cast a radiant carapace on myself."Go ahead, throw it at me" I said pointing at the knife on the table. I had told her about the spell. She had a mischievous grin on her face as she picked it up and threw it at my shoulder. It bounced off and fell to the floor."Amazin," She said with a wide smile."Indeed, once I cast my first spell it was as if an entire world was open to me, and all I had but to reach out and grasp it. It felt..." I paused looking for the right word."Freeing.""How hard is it to learn?" she asked."Quite hard, but I had the luxury of prior knowledge and being an elf made it even easier. Months of study could be compressed into days" I was already feeling a bit tired so I decided to do some healing and meditate."Thank you for the meal and conversation. But I need some rest. Perhaps when I'm mobile I can show you some real magic.""Oh ok have a good rest, I'll head into the village and get some supplies."She bit her lip almost as if she wanted to ask me something. Then she changed her mind and left through the door. She couldn't hide her expressions if she tried. As simple as she was, it was a blessing that I didn't have to constantly keep myself on guard while talking to her. Hopefully she proved to be as trustworthy as she seemed. I laid back down in the small bet. The rabbit stew was rather filling so this was an excellent time to get some healing done.While I had more pressing things to heal, I really couldn't deal with my face in the state that it was. Call me vain but I used most of the time rebuilding the flesh, muscle, and skin that I had lost. I regret the hair follicles and prompt my hair and eyelashes to grow back so I had no bald spots. It took hours of work, but I was finally finished.I peeled off the last bit of old skin and I spotted a small metal plate that was polished enough for me to see myself if a bit blurry. I smiled as I saw my lovely face again. Next was regrowing my ears so they were back to their regular size and symmetrical. By the time that was finished I was hungry again.Benny walked in as I admired my reflection and said."Oh my" she said as I looked up at her."Well, what do you think?" I asked as I gave her a smile."I've heard that elves are pretty, but this is ridiculous." she said as she laid down a canvas sack that she was carrying."Ah so you approve." I said, feeling pleased."I guess now there's one more reason ye shouldn't show yer face in the village." she said."And that is?""Those idiot boys have never seen a thing like ye. They'd propose marriage half of them wouldn't care about your bits" we shared a laugh and then I asked."What do you have there?""Put yer coin to use I did, some bread, 3 a hams, sausages, bread , even some salt and herbs." she mischievously added at the end."And some wine. We're eating tonight. I'll go fetch some water for the sew." She was about to run off.Before she left I said, "Oh don't worry about that, where do you want the water?"She raised eyebrows as she pointed to the pot over the hearth. I hopped over and said."Tell me when to stop." I cast a water stream. She stared dumbly as I seemed to summon water out of nowhere. She got her wits back and said."Ok that's enough."I dismissed the spell."Of all yer magic that's the best."We had a feast for dinner. She wasn't an amazing cook but with the salt and herbs it was decent. I laid nearly comatose on the bed as I had stuffed myself to bursting. She was in much the same state as I was. We only ended up eating half to stew so the rest would be for breakfast. It was almost night, so she threw herself into the other bed and seemed to pass out instantly.I closed my eyes and focused on healing. Slowly I started to repair my body. Rebuilding lost scarred tissue, fixing bones that were not properly healed. This process went on for hours using a combination of light magic and life Ether. Eventually I decided to call it a night. I sunk into a deep meditation to rest and recover for tomorrow.A voice at the edge of my consciousness prompted me to wake up."Moon ye in there" Benny said.I blinked as daylight filled the room."Ah yer ok, you were barely breathing." she looked genuinely worried."I was meditation, elves don't really need sleep the same way humans do, we meditate instead.""Ah is that what it is? thought you were dead for a moment. We can break our fast now. Honestly, I've never eaten this much meat before." she said as she excitedly started to ladle out more of the stew from last night. She did look a bit skinny then again peasants being undernourished was common. She was apparently 16 years old, so I guess she had more room to grow. With the coin I would give her she could eat like this for the rest of her life.After breakfast I took some time to examine my armor. Benny left to do some hunting. She was apparently a decent shot though she would often get a tense expression on her face as if she wanted to ask me something then abandoned it. I figured she would get to asking me eventually.I spent much of the time either healing or examining my armor. It was in ruin; the leather was charred and many of the straps that held the pieces together were falling apart. I scavenged the gold buttons and buckles but removed the pockets to act as makeshift pouches for the gems and ingots. I'll have to order a new set if I get the chance.Things continued like for two weeks and every few days she would head into town. Returned with a sack of produce and cooked. I slowly grew my leg and arm back inch by inch. It was a difficult process that pushed my understanding of anatomy and physiology but fortunately I had a reference. Most of my scarring was gone and with some help from Benny much of the burnt and damaged hair on my head was cut off. Now it was only a few inches long. I mourned the loss of it almost as much as my legs, but it would grow back in time. I could even help it if I wished.Benny and I sat around the table, Drinking some cheap wine from some wooden cups. We sat in companionable silence before she said."You're looking better and better," Benny said.I smiled and said. "Indeed, I don't even think it will take two months as I thought at most I assume a month and two weeks. I can't wait to get on the road."I figured if my assassins were still chasing me they would have found me by now so I figured I Was in there clear."Mmmmhm" she mumbled.There's that look again. She's been doing it constantly the last few days. I had to assume that she wanted to accompany me or something. From what I could tell, life in the village was rather dull. Honestly, I wouldn't mind it's been rather nice talking with someone with little or no ulterior motives.The problem was that she was effectively defenseless. I suppose she could learn the sword, but I didn't know a damn thing about sword fighting. That stupid sword from the goblin camp I still carried. Honestly it was surprising that it didn't detach from my waist in all the fighting. Now it sat uselessly in the corner of the room. The hilt and scabbard were damaged, but it was still a proper sword.I sighed and decided to press the issue, not wanting to wait on her to make her decision."What is Benny?"She looked at me shocked."What?" she asked."Just come out and say it, something has been on your mind."She bit her lips and her eyes started to dart around the room. It was a habit she had every time she was nervous."What do you plan on doing after you leave?"I shrugged and answered. "Head north I think, probably to the imperial capital, maybe take a few employment opportunities in the baronies. Between here and there" she nodded along"You said you would give me 500 gelding for helping you?""Yes, with that amount of coin you could live the rest of your life in comfort" I asked, did she want more?"Would you prefer a thousand?" I asked."What? No" she sounded shocked.She took a deep breath and said. "I don't want coin. I want to learn magic."Well, that was unexpected.I said with some sympathy "Look Benny the ability to control ether is something you're born with it's not something that can be taught.""I know.""Have you ever demonstrated that you can control the ether?" I asked genuinely curious if she could."Da was a drunk he beat on ma sometimes when he got too deep in his cups. Once when I got angry and knocked him over?" she said. Her eyes were looking at a spot on the floor."Are you sure he didn't just fall over? Did your mother see it happen? Remember you said he was drunk."She shook her head and said. "I knocked over some plates in the kitchen too.""How old were you?"."5 summers."I considered that for a moment. It wasn't uncommon for children with magical ability to project ether in a moment of stress. But this could easily be the delusion of a child."Everyone said that I was making it even mi mum, but I swear Moon I'm not lying." She met my eyes and there was no wavering gaze. At the very least she believed it. I suppose this is why she was so interested in magic. Maybe she created a small gust of wind with air attenuation. I would have to test it."Sit there," I said, pointing at the floor in the center of the room."Ok?" she said in confusion. I joined her sitting directly in front of her."One skill every mage must learn is how to see into the ether. If you have the ability to control it, then I will see fluctuations under the right conditions.""But I don't know how to control it?" she said."If you did in fact, use the ether as a child then we would have to recreate that same emotion. My fear and rage during the fight with the goblin is what I used. Close your eyes and think back to that day."She followed my instructions."Think back to the moments leading up to him falling. Remember how you felt. Describe it to me."I shifted my vision to the ether."He was drunk, the last bit of coin we had for food he spent on drink. Ma was upset, she threatened to leave with me. He got angry and hit her. She fell then he kept hitting. He kept calling her names 'worthless' 'trash' 'whore'. I tried to stop him but I was so small and weak. I started screaming for him to stop hurting ma then he just fell over and some of the pots and pans above the hearth fell. I felt colder than in winter I fell asleep after."While she was telling the story I could see it. The faintest flicker in the ether as her emotions took hold of her. It seems she was right; she could become a mage. This kind of fluctuation would never happen with a normal human regardless of their emotional state.I flicked my vision back to the real world to see her eyes were slightly red, but she forced down the tears with a will that I had to respect."Yes, you are right, you can become a mage?" Her expression brightened but before she became too excited I asked."Why do you want to become a mage?" I didn't know where I was going with this, but I wanted to ask it."Ummmm" her eyes started to dart around again."Don't think just answer honestly." I didn't really have a preference for her answer, but I wanted to understand her a bit more.She thought for a few moments then she pointed towards her backyard. "Not 5 minutes' walk my ma and pa are buried. 10 minutes grandma and grandpa."She said she thought for another few seconds and said. "I don't want to die in this forest,

I don't want to marry some village idiot and pop out children."

The words started to pour out almost unthinkingly. "I want to see the capitol, meet people, fight in battles. I want to go places without fear and choose what to eat and wear. I want...i want" she can't seem to find the exact words for it."A sense of Agency" I said."What's that mean?" she asked."The feeling that you can control your life. That you can make decisions and control your own destiny. The belief that you have the ability to achieve anything." I said , understanding how she felt. While my tale isn't as tragic, I can understand the desire to control your one life."Yes, I want that. I'm just a peasant girl livin at the edge of a forest. With magic I can be more."It was as good a reason as any to become a mage. Honestly any reason would have been ok as long as she didn't say something like 'helping those who can't help themselves' or any other altruistic nonsense. While I'm not above helping others, I'm not going to sacrifice myself. Number one always comes first, perhaps she could be my number two?I decided to explore more."Decent reason but I will be honest with you and treat you as an adult and not as a child." She nodded so I continued."I am not a good person, I'm selfish, power hungry, but my heart is not made of stone. I will not sacrifice my own health and safety for another without good reason. Honor or righteousness will never factor into it. I told you of the baron's actions while I would never swerve the man again. Still, if I could do it again, I would make the same choices.""But you didn't do any rapin and murderin right?" she asked."I did not. Call me a hypocrite if you must but some cruelties are beyond me. Either way I did not try to stop it. I had too much to lose. Remember I have killed over a thousand humans and will do it again for the right price. Training you will take years if you are unwilling to kill, either in defense of myself or yourself then you cannot travel with me."I laid it out as plainly as I could for her. I don't want her to have any false presumptions about my character or intentions. I gave her some time to digest that before I continued. If she truly wanted to be my apprentice, then she needed to choose me over any other options."You have done me a great service by helping me the past few weeks and I will repay you. If you wish, you may travel with me to the imperial capital where I can give you enough gold to live in luxury for the rest of your life. Entrance to a magical academy according to my own master is roughly 200 gelding. I can easily give you 1200 gelding when we reach any bank. You could live in safety and luxury in the capital, learn magic around people your age and maybe someday get an excellent position as a court mage. They make between 20 to 30 gelding a week just doing nothing. Remember the condition you found me in. My life will be dangerous and I don't intend on settling down."She sat there staring off into the distance contemplating what I said. I tried to make as enticing an option as possible to refuse me. I wasn't lying, I would do all I said and take her to the capitol."I'm going for a walk up to the creak. Think about your options and come find me when you have made a decision." She said nothing clearly deep in thought. It's good that she is thinking about it. I would have doubts about her if she answered too quickly.I hopped over to my walking stick and left. There was a small creak about a half an hour walk from the house where she collected water. With my abilities she didn't need to go there anymore. I sat on the bank doing some more healing work on my arm. At this point I had rebuilt everything above my elbow. And for my leg I finished my knee yesterday. It was slow mostly due to the complexity but all I needed was time. Over two hours later I heard steps approaching. I was anxious to learn what her voice was.She stopped behind me and said, "I know why ye offer to take me to the capitol.""Why is that?" I asked curiously."Ye can't trust someone who will jump ship for calmer waters." She was correct. I said nothing as she continued."Ye wants loyalty, the kind you won't need to question."Right again.She walked in front of me and met my eyes. Her green orbs locked onto mine completely unwavering."Can ye swear the same?" she said.That was surprising but fair on her part. Loyalty was a two-way street after all. If I want her loyalty, I must offer mine in return. This is acceptable, preferable even. We would have to see how things would progress, but I felt she was genuine. I thought of the etheric gems in my possession: air, earth, water. I thought about the Mithrite I had, and a plan began to take shape."Yes." I said simply.She placed a fist over her heart. "I swear to you Moon that I will never betray yer trust. I swear I will take life for our defense. I swear I will follow yer lead, commands and wisdom as my master..... And friend"It's lilting and clearly practiced but she looked as if she meant every word of it. I stood up and with some help from my walking stick. Placed a fist on my heart and said."I swear to you Benny, that I will never betray the loyalty you have offered. I swear to never endanger you recklessly. I swear that I will teach you to the fullest of my ability. I swear as my power grows so will yours. I swear that you will forever have my loyalty as your master...….. And friend " I added the same way she did.I sat back down, and she stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do though she had a broad smile across her face."What now?" she asked."Come have a seat my apprentice." she beamed and sat to my right, where my missing hand was. We looked out at the small creak and the setting sun."Let us begin with the question all mages ask themselves.""What is the Ether? "