Ascendant

“I imagine you are wondering why I am here,” Babkin said.

“A little bit, yes.”

“My friend here found you, you see. And then he came to town to get some medicine for you, as you were sick with death chills and delirious. And because he is my friend, he stopped to see me. That is what you do when you are in the neighborhood. He told me the tale of the curious boy he found in a tree looking like a busted kite, and it was not hard to figure out he was talking about you. So I am here to make sure you are alright, and to see if you are finally ready to give up this senseless fascination with this forest.”

“Well that certainly explains it then.”

The other man sitting next to Babkin set his drink down and said, “Hello. My name’s Leaf. Uh, welcome to the forest. I can’t really blame you much for wanting to be here instead of living in a town. It’s much nicer out here, but yeah, little bit dangerous on occasion. Don’t mind Babkin’s mother henning, he does it to everyone.”

Babkin scowled at his companion. “I do not mother hen everyone,” he protested.

“What do you call it then?” Leaf asked.

“I am trying to keep this boy from killing himself.”

“He survived a run in with a frost wraith. Sure, he got a bit roughed up, but he’s still breathing. That’s not nothing.”

“He would not have needed to survive it if he had stayed where it was safe.”

“How did you know it was frost wraiths?” Nym asked, frowning.

Leaf shrugged. “Not hard to see. Go live in the north for a little while and eventually you’ll see someone who got caught in the cold. They looked a lot like you. You learn to recognize the signs and how to treat for them.”

“Did you say wraiths, as in more than one?” Babkin asked. “You are extraordinarily lucky to survive a run in with two or three.”

“I don’t know how many there were,” Nym said. “Too many to count. Maybe a hundred? The mist was so thick I had to fly a few hundred feet up to get out of it.”

Both men abruptly sobered. “Tell no lies,” Leaf said, his voice hard. “You do not need to stretch your tales here. I am already convinced of your bravery.”

“I’m not lying,” Nym said, confused. “Why would I lie?”

“Because what you are saying cannot be the truth. No one could live through an attack of that magnitude, and frost wraiths gathering in numbers thick enough to form a fog bank that size is an impossible event.”

Both men were deadly serious now, and Nym got the sense that there was something important about his encounter that he wasn’t grasping. At their request, he described the events as accurately as possible, several times. By the time they were satisfied with his recollections, both men wore grave expressions.

“Do you think Ul’tuthik broke free?” Leaf asked.

Babkin shook his head. “Everybody would know. This may be a warning sign. We’ll need to investigate this.”

“I’ll leave today. It’ll take me days to get there though, especially if the frost wraiths are coming out in droves now. Unless… hmmm…” Leaf gave Nym a speculative look. “How are you at passenger flight?”

“Leaf, no. Do not involve him in this any more than he already is. He is far too young to-”

“Do not try to tell me what I can and cannot do, Babkin.” Leaf’s voice took on a hard, dangerous edge. “I am not one of those village bumpkins who cowers when you raise your voice. Nym is just as much a part of this now as you or I. Surviving a frost wraith attack of that scale is unheard of. If he’s willing and it can save me days of hard travel, I’ll use that power.”

“Uh, excuse me. What are we talking about?” Nym asked.

Babkin glowered, but didn’t say anything. He just stared daggers at Leaf while the other man ignored him. “Short version: there’s a spot where a necromancer poked a hole in reality that leads to the lands of the dead. A monster got free for a little bit, but we stuffed it back through, killed the necromancer, and put a patch on the hole. It’s had twenty years now to try to get free, and it looks like maybe something broke, so I’m going to go look before we call in assistance.”

“Oh, and you want me to fly you out there. I get it.”

“That’s pretty much it. So, can you do it?”

Nym shrugged. “Depends how heavy you are and how far you need to go.”

“This is a terrible idea,” Babkin rumbled, but they both ignored him.

Leaf continued, “Then there’s the fact that you were completely inside the fog bank created when they group up and didn’t just die on the spot. That takes… powerful… magic. I believe you, but it’s a mystery. You should not have survived something like that.”

As far as he knew, Nym hadn’t done anything special. He’d stayed near the fire, used a bit of magic to make it burn hotter, and ran for it the first chance he had. “Maybe it was because I cleared the mist away so I could see them?”

Leaf shrugged. “We don’t know much about the frost wraiths. The name… that was actually an argument in the old group. Our mage insisted that it wasn’t accurate, that they weren’t actually water aspected, that it was a metaphorical ‘chill of the grave’ and that their touch drained life from a victim. Everyone else overruled him because getting a hug from one of the bastards was like being dunked in cold water.”

“I remember that,” Babkin said. “Veran had to be restrained, he was so upset.”

“Gave you a black eye, if I recall,” Leaf added. He laughed. “I thought you were going to break him in two.”

The innkeeper did not laugh. “It was a great effort to restrain myself,” he said. “Had it been anyone else, I would not have been so gentle.”

“Gentle? He never did get that wheeze out of his voice after you punched him back.”

Babkin appeared faintly embarrassed, and quickly changed the subject. “Regardless of the past, it would be better not to involve Nym in this. The seal is our problem. It is specifically why we are still here. He should return to Zoskan.”

“Why don’t you ask him what he wants to do, Babkin?” Leaf said. “That’s always been your problem. You think you know best and you trample all over what anyone else has to say about it. Nym, what do you want?”

“Me?” Nym was caught flat-footed. “I guess… I wanted to save enough money to use the teleport platform to go to Abilanth and see about joining the Academy.” Babkin looked startled, but Nym ignored him and continued, “I figure I owe you one for getting me out of that tree, so I can take you to where you need to go if you want. Then I’m heading down the road to the next town to try again. I can’t make any money in this town anymore. Too many restrictions.”

“You wanted to go to the Academy?” Babkin said. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Nym just stared at him for a minute. Finally, he said, “What business is it of yours what I want to do?”

He tried hard to keep the bitterness and resentment out of his voice, but it was obvious he hadn’t succeeded judging by the look on the two men’s faces. Leaf shot Babkin an exasperated look and said, “How much does the mages guild charge for a teleport now anyway?”

“I am not sure. I don’t keep track.”

“Two crests for a one-way trip to Abilanth for one person,” Nym supplied.

“What! That’s robbery!” Leaf yelped.

“That certainly explains your willingness to take risks for quick cash,” Babkin said. He sighed. “I owe you an apology, I think. You should not have been out here, but I assumed it to be foolish childish fancy that led you to risk your life. You had a goal, an admirable goal to better yourself, and I was an obstacle to that because I did not take the time to talk to you.”

Leaf’s jaw dropped open. He stared at Babkin, then looked to Nym, then back to Babkin again, before sputtering, “You… he… how… what? You… what? You’ve never given an apology in your life!”

“I am old now, Leaf, too old to be full of fire and ready to conquer the world. In my haste to prevent a boy from flinging himself head-first in an early grave, I never stopped to consider why he was doing the things he did. That having been said, I still have to insist that he should not be involved any further in this. The seal has held for two decades, it can hold a few extra days while you go check on it.”

Leaf made a face. “Easy for you to consign me to make the trip while you go back to your inn. The boy is a scrapper, like me. He’s tougher than you’re giving him credit for. Tell you what, Nym, you want to go to Abilanth. Fly me to where I need to go and back here, and I’ll pay your way for you. All… two crests, by God’s saggy sack, that’s a lot for a simple teleport. But yes, two crests.”

“Just like that? Do you know how hard I worked to figure out double layer casting so I could harvest those stupid plants for Cern, and then you wouldn’t even let me sell them to him?” Nym asked Babkin.

“I do not know what double layer casting is, so, no, I am afraid I do not know.”

“It doesn’t matter! The point was it was hard work. Fine, whatever. I’ll do it. But I want a meal first!”

“I think I can agree to that,” Leaf said. “Babkin, are you staying?”

“No, I think I must get back soon. Nym, I will tell Cern he can buy from you if he wants. You will need a great deal more than two crests to obtain an education at the Academy. But, promise me that when you are done with this foolishness with Leaf, you will stay near the edges of the forest where it is safer. I will be warning everyone away from the deep woods for the time being until we can finish investigating the frost wraith outbreak.”

Nym rolled his eyes. “I’m not making any promises. I will do whatever I want to do. Stop treating me like a little kid.”

“You kind of are a little kid,” Leaf pointed out.

“Do you want my help or not?”

Leaf raised his hands in surrender. He walked away, laughing to himself, and started working in the little kitchenette he had sat up in one corner of the room. Meanwhile, Babkin glowered at Nym. Nym just glared back at him.

“Fine. You are obviously far more capable than I gave you credit for. Ease an old man’s mind though and be careful. You are too young to meet your end in a monster’s belly. Leaf will know if anything tries to sneak up on you. Do as he says and retreat to the sky while he fights, if it comes to that.”

“Flying off is my default reaction to trouble,” Nym told him. “No reason to change tactics now.”

Babkin shook his head and sighed. He heaved himself to his feet and threw back the rest of his cup in one gulp. “Leaf, please come find me in town once you’ve surveyed the seal. I am holding you responsible for Nym’s safety.”

“Get out of here, you old worrier,” Leaf said, not looking up from where he was dicing some vegetables. “I’ll see you in a day or two.”

The old innkeeper departed, and Nym took his chair. “This’ll be fun, huh?” he said.

Leaf grunted, but he looked a lot more tired and worn out than he had a few minutes ago.