The next morning Geo was waked up just before sunrise by a jell.

  “Hurry up everyone we want to have left the village in 2 hours!”

  Geo stumbled in the direction of the jell and found Sieg shouting at various people. Wanting to impress his new boss Geo went to him and asked what he needed to be done and how he could help.

  “Listen Geoffrey you will go to merchants and help them where ever you can. This goes from preparing the animals to loading crates in the respective charts. If you are done with that I want, you to go to the well near Eric’s place and grab something to eat on the way. You will wait there until the cart with the two donkeys in front of it starts walking and you will stay near that one, until we make rest! Understood!”

  Geo didn’t expect to be jelled at this early, but he assumed that that was something he had to get used to. So, he did what he was told to do. He made his way to the stables. There he met some of the merchants that he was introduced to earlier. Although he couldn’t remember their names he helped them out. The first thing he had to do was to get an especially surly donkey out of the stables. The donkey didn’t want to move until his owner, a skinny 25-year-old lured him out with some fruit. Then he helped to store the food that was bought in the village onto four wagons. This took him almost the entire two hours Sieg was jelling about earlier. It took him so much time in fact that the wagon with the two donkeys was about to leave when he arrived at the meeting place. So that the bread and fish that he wanted to eat were left in his bag. He would have to eat them later that day on the way.

  The caravan went north along the ocean. So, there was a fresh breeze during the journey. Which was nice since Geo knew that they’d be walking for a long time. After walking for a while Geo started to get bored and looked around while walking. He judged his position in the caravan to be while closer to the end of the line still be near the middle of the caravan. Most consider this to be one of the worse places to be in the caravan since there is a lot dust that is being thrown up by the people that walk in the front also for people with animals this position was also annoying since the animals can’t eat the grass on the sides since they are most of the time being trampled on. But it could be worse, he could be at the end of the trail. Since there all of this was a problem but if ambushed that is where you would be the least safe. Geo has no problems with any of these common problems. Firstly, the fresh spring Klima keeps the ground solid so it doesn’t dust too much. Secondly, he didn’t have any animals, so the grass was no problems and since he wasn’t at the end of the line he wasn’t the first one attacked by an ambush. Something that was slightly more annoying was that the ground was a little muddy. Geo thought about if there was a way for him to turn the ground he stands on harder with every step when he was approached by the priest apprentice.

  “Say Geoffrey, Sieg said you from so far away that no local maps could show it. Tell me where are you from?”

  This was the first time that Geo had a chance to talk to the girl outside their hasty introduction a few days ago. So, he also took a good look at her. She was about one meter seventy tall with light brown almost blond hair. She wore a brown with dark stones decorated robe that reaches down to her ankles and on her back, she wore a heavy looking bag. Geo’s overall evaluation of her was that she was really cute.

  “I am from the Western Kingdom of Alexia. I don’t think that you know where what is. ?hm… I am really sorry. I forgot your name miss…”

  “Diane, my name is Diane. Sooo Sieg mentioned that you are a blackhand but you have no tattoos. Is that true is that possible?”

  Diane stated to get more and more exited as she asked the question.

  “Well I could try to explain it to you I guess you’d like demonstration anyways so…”

  Geo stamped the ground and a grey edgy rock flew into his hand and before Diane could have said anything he made a hand gesture to signal her that he isn’t done jet. So, he started to rub his hands all over the rock, magically shaving it down to a perfect sphere.

  Then he lightly threw the now polished rock to her, which she instinctively caught. She looked at it with amazement. After rolling it around in her hand a few times she went back to Geo.

  “How do you do this?”

  “What?”

  “How does this work? There are no formulas on your body to shape or direct the spell. How do you can you control it so freely? Please tell me the secret. I really want to know. Like even the basics are fine. I really want to”

  “Diane!”

  The priest suddenly appeared in front of the pair and jelled at the girl.

  “Why are you disturbing the man. You know that it’s rude to just go and talk to strangers. Come back to our place in the middle. You know that we aren’t supposed to leave out place in the caravan.”

  It was the second time Geo met him as well. So, he also took a quick glimpse at him. He was a tall man, almost a head taller than Geo. He also wore a brown robe with similar stones to the one that Diane wears. While he doesn’t wear a heavy bag like Diane he carries instead some sort of long spear with an unreasonably wide blade on it on his back. His hair while mostly black does show early symptoms of age and his facial expression hinted that he was angry at the girl.

  “Oh! Conrad. This is the new guard of the bodyguard that Sieg talked about. I just asked him about the formula-less magic that he can do. Look!”

  Excitedly she shows Conrad the rock that Geo just polished for her. Conrad even took the rock after she handed it over to him. Shortly after, he ordered Diane:

  “Diane come back to us now!”

  He handed Geo the rock and said:

  “Thank you for the rock mister Geoffrey but we have to go back. Now!”

  He grabbed his apprentice’s hand and pulled her further into the line. Diane quickly yelled at Geo while being pulled away:

  “Thank you, for showing me the magic. Well talk later see yeah ok?”

  And she was gone. Confused Geo stood still for a second, until he realized that he had to return to his post that just moved away from him. After returning to his spot, he realized that he was all alone again, and he was quickly getting bored without anyone to talk to or even anything to do. He even tried to start a conversation with the driver of the chart next to him but all he got was an annoyed grunt until he left him alone.

  Geo stayed alone for the next three days. On the fourth day when the caravan finally made a stop, Geo was tired. He was walking for hours up to this point and it was early afternoon. The sun was getting hot and he didn’t carry a lot of water with him. So, when they made a one-and-a-half-hour rest next to a river that flows that flows in the direction of the ocean he sat down exhausted. But he didn’t have a lot of time to rest since Sieg came over to him.

  “Listen Geoffrey! I am sorry that I didn’t had any time for you in the last few days but the first few days after leaving a town are usually more diffifult to handle, at least until everyone got used to traveling agian. So how are you feeling right now?”

  While catching for breath Geo proclaimed:

  “I am ok. For the most part. But I didn’t expect to be walking for so long without break. How long were we walking?”

  Sieg who was apparently barely even tired answered:

  “Four and a half hours. That is for how long we walk in this weather and area. When we get further up north it will be slightly hotter, so we will have to take more breaks. But you are holding up pretty well for all I care. Most people who join us for the first time ask me after two to three hours to take a break. Even the ones who don’t have to walk and can ride a chart tend to get sick of it in the same time span.”

  “Yeah guess I would feel a lot better if I could hitch a ride with one of the merchants. But I guess you can’t organize that for me, right?”

  “You guessed right. I can’t. Officially you are here to protect us. So, you need to be able to run around in an emergency and not be bound by a chart or something like that. That is the reason why I can’t just stuff my personnel into random charts. Believe me I already have enough trouble convincing people to make room for essentials. And this is not a discussion that I want to part of. But that is that. What I wanted to tell you is that you will now move your position in the line further into the middle. So, when you see the chart with the bronze shield emblem painted on it moving you’ll go and stay just behind them! Understood?”

  Geo nodded. He was too tired to care why he was moved but he didn’t care. It mostly annoyed him since he will have to move out ten minutes earlier.

  So, after a quick nap and even quicker meal, that was handed out by one of the carts with food Geo searched the chart that he was assigned to. And when he found it he waited there until the Signal to move out came.

  About ten minutes after the whole caravan was able to move out Geo was approached again by Diane, this time accompanied by Conrad and Jaeger.

  “Hey Geoffrey, why are you here? I thought that you had to stay in the back?”

  “I don’t know. Sieg just suddenly came to me and told me to move up here. I didn’t really think much about it.”

  “Oh, that might be because of me.”

  Suddenly Jeager joined the conversation.

  “Conrad was pissed that Diane was trying to sneak away the whole time. And I was getting sick of him complaining. So, the most logical solution was to talk to Sieg and get him to rearrange your post.”

  Conrad looked like he wanted to say something in return but then decided against it and looked back at Geo and Diane.

  “Listen I am sorry, if I came of mean at first. But I had to get Diane back to our place in the line.”

  He bowed his head in apology and continued:

  “Well anyways it’s nice to meet you. Our first introduction was a bit hasty and I hope that we can get along for as long as we share this journey.”

  Diane finally got a chance to speak again after the introduction was over.

  “Well I am sorry, that I had to leave you earlier, but I am really curios. How do you make magic without any inscribed formulas?”

  Bevor Geo could answer Conrad started to scold her:

  “Diane! You know it’s rude to ask a blackhand about his secrets. I am sorry, but she is really interested in magic. So, I hope that she didn’t bother you.”

  “No, its fine really it isn’t a secret, how to do it. At least where I am from. Its part of the basic army training. In fact, I have no idea what a blackhand is even supposed to be. So, I would be glad to answer your questions if you have any. Although in return it would be nice if you guys could answer some of my questions. In the village I stayed there were no magicians. So, I have no idea what a blackhand is supposed to be and Sieg said something about tattoos that where important all of which I know nothing about. So, yeah like I said if it is ok with you that I also ask.”

  The trio looked at each other worried. After a while Diane came forth and said:

  “It is considered rude to ask a blackhand about their abilities and secrets. But I guess we could tell you some of the more basic things. Right? Is that ok Con?”

  Conrad looked worried and was about to say something but then stopped himself. After a short while he began speaking:

  “Well as long as it is the basics I guess we can tell him. Listen Geoffrey! Being a priest of reso I do have some magic tattoos. Meaning that I am a blackhand. And like I said, we do not want people to steal our secrets. So, you will have to understand if there are some areas that we won’t talk about. If you are still fine with that then I guess we have a deal.”

  “Guess I am ok with that. Ok. Then I guess you can ask me what you wanted to know.”

  Diane excitedly starts to hammer him with questions:

  “Ok how do you form the spell? How do you command it? Do you need to channel it? Is there a limit to how much and what you can control? And if there is are there ways to improve your ability? How does your magic interact with formulas and how long did it take for you to master it? And if you…”

  Her questions overwhelmed Geo. Half of what she asked used words that Geo didn’t know. He didn’t even know how to start answering the apprentice’s questions. Jaeger realized that the wave of questions was overwhelming Geo, so he put his hand on Diane’s shoulder. She stopped and looked at him confused.

  “Listen Diane! I think you are asking too much at once. How about you start at a simple question and we can work from there. Ok?”

  “Yes. Sorry.”

  “Don’t apologize to me do it to Geoffrey!”

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  She turned back to Geo sank her head in an apologetic way and apologized.

  “Sorry mister Geoffrey. I just got really excited.”

  “Oh, no its ok. I said I am ok with questions. You just overwhelmed me. Also, please call me Geo. Calling me Geoffrey feels so formal. And we still have a long journey together. Now please, one question after the other!”

  “Yes, mister Geoffrey. I mean Geo. So, as I said. How do you form a spell?”

  “?hm I don’t think I know what you mean.”

  “How do you do a single spell. Like what do you have to do to do it?”

  “Let me think. It has been long since I learned the basics. By now I do most things automatically… Well thirst I have to… how can I describe it? Feel the earth that I want to manipulate. Like imagine that there is an invisible line between me and the earth. Then I do the corresponding movement to move the earth. The result is that I can move the earth however I want.”

  “Wait how does this work? I mean there is no structure involved and no order to command the earth. Hmmm…”

  Diane held her neck with her left hand and started to look at the sky. It was obvious that she was in deep thought. Conrad looked at her and said to Geo:

  “Ok, this might take a while. But I heard what you said. So now I am curious. You said, you can “feel the earth” what does that mean?”

  Geo sighed.

  “I told you it is difficult to describe it. It’s like trying to explain someone how to see. Like imagine a connection between you and the earth. And then you can, like tell how the earth is. How hard it is. How heavy the block of earth and how difficult it is to control. It is something that can’t really be explained but only felt. It is something most newcomers struggle to get. If we had the time for it I could teach you how it feels but that is out of the question for now.”

  Diane snapped out of her trance.

  “Why don’t we have time for it? Like how long could it take to learn to “feel the earth”. It is not like we have anything else to do while we walk. And we will be on our way for like a month so there is time. Isn’t it?”

  “The basic course in the army takes 3 months. And with basic I don’t mean the actual ability to move the earth. Just to feel it reliably. If you have a really good private tutor, you might learn it in one and a half months. And even then, it takes three to four hours a day. I am really sorry, but we don’t have time for this.”

  Diane looked slightly disappointed. To Geo it was obvious that she was really excited by the idea to move the earth magically.

  “Well that is that. Now if you don’t mind can I ask some questions about how magic is done here?”

  Conrad answered him:

  “Shure if we can answer you.”

  “Ok. Why are magicians called blackhands and why are there barely any? In the village that I spent the last few months there wasn’t a single one. How come?”

  Conrad thought about how to explain this. Then he turned his head over to Diane and commanded her.

  “Diane, explain!”

  Diane confused for a second by the sudden order started to explain as if she was reciting a textbook from school:

  “The term blackhand comes from the fact that most magicians have parts or most of the formulas inscribed on their body. Since most spells need a direction as part of the activation conditions the arms and hands are preferred placed for the inscription to be, since they can naturally aim. The term blackhand is used since most magicians have their hands filled with inscriptions. Leaving very little space for untattooed skin.”

  “Well answered.”

  Conrad turns his head back to Geo and pulls his left glove of. On it Geo sees multiple lines in a, to Geo, nonsensical pattern. Shortly after Conrad has put his Glove back on.

  “And for the reasons for why there aren’t many of us running around are simple. Firstly, applying the formula is really tricky and even more expensive. The materials aren’t cheap and the training that goes into learning to draw them takes forever. Meaning that there aren’t many worthwhile magic painters out there. A fact not helped by the second reason. That is that they all fear that someone might steal their formulas. So that most who can make inscriptions don’t even know a lot inscription. That is also why blackhands don’t like to show their tattoos. The only reason why I have them is because I am a highly recognized priest of reso and got them as a symbol of my status.”

  As they talked they kept walking. Until they heard a series of yells. It seems that various people in the line yelled the message from the front to the back.

  “Everyone slow down! And every group should send someone to the front. There is a problem.”

  The travelers started to become unnerved due to the commotion.

  “Alright, guess I’ll have to go. Jaeger!”

  The priest ordered his guard.

  “Look out for Diane, while I see what this is about.”

  As soon as he said that he left. Biss barked out of nowhere. Geo jumped surprised. He completely forgot that the dog was around. In fact, this was the first time that the dog made any noise since Geo met him for the first time. Jaeger pat his pet to calm him down.

  “Shhh. Calm down big boy. All is ok. It is nothing to get excited about.”

  “What do you think is going on?”

  Asked Diane slightly worried. But Jaeger just shrug his shoulders and sat on the ground. Since there wasn’t anything else to do both Diane and Geo imitated the bodyguard and sat down. For a while nothing happened except that the hound moved from his master over to Diane and put his head onto her knees to get some attention from the girl.

  After a while Jaeger yelled.

  “What is going on? Why did we stop?”

  Surprised Geo turned his head into the direction that the man was screaming to and saw a group of people walking towards them. As they came closer Geo was able to recognize Conrad, Sieg and two other people he didn’t know. How the man knew that they were coming was beyond Geo.

  Sieg started talking:

  “The two scouts told me that the bridge that we wanted to cross was destroyed. We need to rethink our route. We’d have to go down the river for a day or two until we find another way over it. That is unless.”

  He turned his head towards Geo.

  “Our new friend can do something about this. Geoffrey can you use your earth magic to fix the bridge?”

  Now the rest of the group looked to Geo.

  “I don’t know. It depends. Making a bridge takes a lot of energy. Especially if it needs to be strong enough to carry the whole caravan. But I could take a look at it. Don’t know how much I can help though.”

  As Geo stared to get up Conrad also said towards Jaeger:

  “I would also like it if you could take a look at the bridge!”

  Except for the priest’s trio most of the group looked confused at Conrad for that suggestion.

  He added:

  “Jaeger has a good eye. Maybe he finds something that we overlooked. It won’t hurt to let him have a look.”

  Everyone was ok with the explanation. So, everyone walked to where the bridge was. As they arrived Geo took a good look at the destroyed bridge. It was about three steps long and made from a for the area uncharacteristic dark grey rock. At least the parts that where still there. About two and a half meters of the six-meter-long bridge where gone. Even the pillar in the middle of the bridge that was supposed to support it was only half there. Biss went to the broken off part and started to sniff around next to him Jaeger kneeled looking for clues. On the bridge Geo took a provisional stance. Knees low, elbows at his body with his fists facing away from him. He tried to find the other pieces of the bridge. While he was able to feel a large amount of the dark rock right next to the broken pillar, he also knew that some of the rocks have been washed away by the strong current. He knew that these rocks had to be from the bridge since they were made from the same, for the area unusual material. So, he started to move his right hand upwards while opening his hand so that the inside of his hand faced his face. He tried to lift some of the under-water rubble towards him. Since he needed to get familiar with the type of rock before he made with it and he didn’t want to rip a piece out of the bridge since it was already broken enough. But it wasn’t easy. Not just was the water making it difficult to hold a magical connection to the rocks the current also was pushing the rocks away from him. It was in vain. He couldn’t hold the rocks and lost most the pieces that he tried to fish out. Of the five kilos that he tried to fish out of the water lost almost half. Although the procedure only took 15 seconds the most it felt a lot longer to him. So, when he was finally able to get the rubble out of the water he already knew it was unlikely that he could fix the bridge. He lifted the rubble out of the water and placed it next to him. He turned around to his spectators and said:

  “I am sorry. I can’t fix the bridge. Due to the current most of the pieces are unreachable for me. And even those that are there where so broken down that I can’t work with them. Maybe if there were two others and we had like two weeks I might be able to get this bridge to hold together but even then, it wouldn’t last long.”

  Sieg angerly grabbed his hat and threw it to the ground.

  “The next closest way to the other side is one and a half day away. This will cost us almost a week. F’’k.”

  Conrad looked over to Jaeger.

  “You found something?”

  He asked his companion.

  “I am not sure. But someone was here like two weeks ago. At least four people. Also, I found some unusual scratches where the bridge broke off. It could mean nothing. Hey Sieg.”

  He called the pissed of caravan leader.

  “Do you know if other people use this bridge? Like, what groups could have been here in the last couple of weeks?”

  Sieg thought for a second.

  “There should have been a few people traveling through here. But not to many, since it only became spring a month ago. Why?”

  “Call it a bad feeling but I think that this bridge didn’t collapse naturally.”

  Sieg became pale. He knew exactly what that meant. He turned around and ordered his men:

  “Get me the leader of the traveling groups! Now! And tell everyone to prepare. There is a chance that we might be ambushed.”

  It didn’t take long to get the eight most important members of the caravan and all the security personnel together. As soon as the situation was explained Sieg started to tell everyone what they were going to do:

  “We will have to travel for almost two days down the river. Then we should be able to cross the river near where the river flows into the ocean. Although in theory there are other bridges on the way they are not made to withstand the weight of twelve loaded charts. Until then I want twice the people on look out. We won’t send any scouts for the time since it is too dangerous for them to stay away too long. We have four blackhands with us so that should help. And a security team of seven people. Let’s pray to the spirits that we are overreacting. We leave in 40. Everyone dismissed.”

  Everyone was on the edge. Although nothing happened for hours for most of the time barely anyone was talking. Even Diane who until now talked with Geo whenever possible about magic didn’t start a conversation with him. In fact, she seemed to be surrounded by her companions like she was some sort of rare animal. Out of a mixture of as a precautionary measure Geo even picked up some hard rocks along the way. So that if an attack happens, he would have some ammunition that he was used to. But nothing happened. When the caravan stopped to prepare for the night the sun was about to set. The reason why it took longer than usually to find a resting spot was because Sieg wanted an advantageous spot in case of an ambush. Usually the camp would be organized in the order that they walk in so that they can leave better in the morning but today Sieg had other plans. He ordered the carts to make an improvised barrier so that in case of an ambush they had an easier time to defend themselves. This led to more problems than expected. Geo found some merchants including Dick in an argument with Sieg about the placing of their goods.

  “But the contents of my carriage are the most valuable wouldn’t it make sense to have it inside the barrier so that nothing happens to them?”

  “Pah. Your carriage is sturdier then mine we should put it at the outside so that the barrier becomes stronger.”

  “No! We should…”

  Sieg who didn’t say anything jet started to lose his cool. It was obvious that the usually experienced man didn’t know what to tell his patrons. Geo knew that he had to help somehow. So, he took a special well sharpened fist sized rock out of his satchel and let it hover over his hand and spin fast. He walked closer, signaling Sieg his plans with making some clear indications with his head. Sieg caught on and said intimately:

  “Listen we have no time to bicker around. And even a single one who doesn’t fulfill his orders will have to answer to the blackhand over there.”

  He pointed towards Geo who in the dim light looked really intimidating. Specially with the rock over his palm that spun in a frightening speed.

  “And I gave orders to kill any deserters on sight. Which is why you all should go to where you should be NOW!”

  The merchants, clearly intimidated by the display of power went to their carts. Sieg went over to Geo.

  “Thank you. I didn’t know what to do. Now you to should go back to sleep. If I remember correctly your shift starts shortly after midnight. We’ll see each other later.”

  He grabbed the necklace that he was wearing and said.

  “And may the spirits keep watch over you.”

  Geo grabbed his own necklace and went over to the group of the priest. Mostly since he felt lonely and they were the closest thing to friends he made here so far. When he found them, Diane was studying over some books and notes while Conrad was semi paying attention to her, Jaeger on the other hand was taking a nap for which he used Biss as a pillow.

  “Hey there. Is it ok if I join you for the evening? My shift starts after midnight and I don’t feel like being alone right now.”

  The priest looked up from the girl smiled and said:

  “No problem Geo, but I if you want to talk I’d suggest that we move away a little. We don’t want to disturb Diane during her studies.”

  Geo nodded, and Conrad came over to him. They walked a few steps away and Conrad began to talk:

  “So, what is it that is bothering you?”

  “Why do you assume that something was bothering me?”

  “Firstly, you came out of nowhere today evening because you “didn’t want to be alone” and secondly I am a trained priest. I am used to people coming to me with their problems. Now I am sure that you aren’t a follower of reso but I could still listen to your problems.”

  “It’s not that I have problems it’s just… wait a sec!”

  Geo did a quick upwards movement with both of his hands to rise two blocks of earth. He sat down on his improvised chair. Conrad, after a moment of surprise, also sat down on his.

  “It’s nothing. I am just feeling a bit lonely. And I want someone to talk to. That is ok, right? I am sorry if I am bothering you I just wanted to”

  Geo started to talk faster and started to pronounce his words less clear. So that Conrad stopped him and started to reassure him.

  “It’s ok. You are just a bit stressed out because of the warning. That is completely normal. There is a real danger here and you are afraid that something might happen. Now calm down. Take a deep breath!”

  Geo tried to calm down and inhaled strongly.

  “Sorry”

  “It’s ok. I think it would be best if we changed the subject. It will help you calm down. Is that ok with you?”

  “Yes. I think that would be for the best.”

  “Is there anything else you want to talk about?”

  Geo thought for a while. He tried not to think about how nervous Sieg was or what would happen if they were to be attacked. That is when he shifted his view over to Diane who was still diligently studying.

  “What is she reading?”

  Geo asked while pointing a finger towards the priest’s apprentice.

  “Nothing important. At least for you. She is just reading studying the wisdom of reso. It is important that she knows it for her future. But you don’t have to know about it. Instead tell me about you.”

  Conrad quickly changed the subject. It was obvious that he didn’t want to talk about her.

  “What me? What do you want to know?”

  “Tell me about your home country! I know that it is on the other side of the world but nothing else.”

  “What is there to tell? Well its name is the “eastern empire of Alexia” and that is…”

  So, they talked for a while. Mostly about Geo’s home, his family and about the church of reso. When Geo went to bed to get a little rest before his shift he did feel a bit better. It was obvious that the priest is experienced in dealing with nervous people and he was able to help Geo not thinking about the potential danger. And when it was time for his shift he was waked up by the person who was responsible for the previous shift. Although he had trouble staying awake he managed to not fall asleep during his time. It was one-hour bevor sunrise when it was time for the shift to end. The only good thing about having the twelve to four o’clock shift is that he can sleep on one of the carts until noon. Sieg apparently introduced that rule years ago after complaints that slowed the speed of the caravan down. So, he slept when he had the chance walked when he couldn’t take a break or talked with Diane and Conrad. After the expected day and a half, they reached the other bridge and crossed it safely. The atmosphere started to become more relaxed inside the caravan since nothing happened.

  Due to the route change Sieg decided that it would be faster to move along the sea for the coming time so that when they stopped next to another smaller river that wouldn’t be too difficult to cross with the caravan so that they wouldn’t have to find a bridge to cross it. But that would have to wait a day since according to Sieg’s map there wouldn’t be a source of water for almost three days and they wanted to make use of it for as long as possible. The long early stop would allow Geo to do some exercises that he didn’t do the days bevor and get familiar with the rocks that made most of the beach. He really liked those rocks since they were really similar to the ones he trained with during his stays at Porttown. And that was how that day came to an end. Luckily it wasn’t his shift so that he could go to bed early.

  Geo woke up in the middle of the night when he heard a loud scream.

  “AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! My cart is burning help! Someone please HELP!”

  It took Geo a moment to wake up. But as he came to his senses he saw one of the carts on fire. He jumped up to help when he saw something small flying from his right. That small thing landed and got stuck next to the merchant whose goods were on fire. He realized that that was an arrow and more importantly that they were under attack.