The woman was taller even than Chloe, at a guess, I’d say 6ft 9. She wasn’t even wearing heels. She had a small shield strapped to her left arm, although she had not moved it at all during the commotion. She had a long black robe with red accents and a blood red pointed hat.

  She smelt of saffron, which was odd. Saffron is one of the most expensive things you can come by. To obtain enough of it to smell of it is… bewildering. She was significantly older that any of us. Then again, that wasn’t hard. I was supposedly the oldest in the party at 17… and that was a lie to begin with.

  She looked down at the three of us and said “Aid your companion, then we continue…” she looked up at the cases on top of the wagon… she then looked directly at me and said “you used my case as a shield, boy… you will compensate me for that.”

  I was still in shock about the lightning spell, so I just looked back at her nodding my head and saying “of course my lady.” She tilted her head saying “do not refer to me as lady” before climbing back into the wagon.

  Chloe grabbed my leg “little help, Shorty!” Chloe was a bit burned in places and had hurt her foot when she fell. We lifted her up and sat her on the front of the wagon again. Fortunately, we were almost at Vardan, the chances of us being attacked again were minimal.

  We made it to Vardan in one piece. The jeweller within the wagon gave us our quest completion letter that we were to give to the guild back in Kataravonia in order to receive our payment. We just had to get home first.

  Travelling the road back on foot would take many hours but it is still doable. However, with Chloe’s foot damaged we decided it would be best to wait for the wagon to return. We wouldn’t get any money for the return journey, but we also wouldn’t be charged as we would provide free protection.

  The jeweller was not returning to Kataravonia, but the tall woman was. She insisted that as payment for me damaging her case I was to help her run her errands in the town. She intended to return on the wagon at the same time as we did, so it worked out fine. She handed me her case, which still had arrows poking out of it and bid me to follow her.

  She wasn’t one for initiating conversation. She simply gave instructions when she wanted me to do something. Chloe and Tilda had stayed back at the wagon due to Chloe’s foot. So, it was just me with this giant of a woman. I say giant… she wasn’t large and muscular like Chloe… she was just tall… so very tall. I know that my opinion on tall is probably a bit bias… I’m only 4ft. Everybody is tall to me, but seriously, just, fuck me, she was tall.

  She looked to be younger than my mother, but not by much, at a guess I’d say late thirties maybe, I’m not good at guessing human ages once they get past twenty. Her hair was long, flowing, and red like fire. Her eyes were grey, which I had never seen before. She seemed like a competent and confident woman. I wondered why she had enlisted my assistance.

  Eventually, I got the courage to attempt to talk to the woman. I said “Excuse me, miss… might I ask your name?” She simply said “Phoenix” and kept moving. I tried again… “My name is Dwynfel. May I ask why you need my assistance?” She turned, looked at me and said “because you damaged my case.” “Yes miss.” I responded “I am aware of that, but this case is very light, surely I am more of a hinderance to you.”

  She pulled her hammer out of her cloak with her right hand, raised her left hand (which had a red glove on it that travelled all the way up her arm and inside her cloak), she placed the hammer in her left hand and let go of it with her right hand. The hammer dropped to the ground.

  She said “My left hand does not function. You allow me to freely purchase what I need without having to constantly pick up and put down the case. Any further questions?” I replied “No miss, sorry miss.” She picked up her hammer, took a few steps and said “Just call me Phoenix. There is no need for formality.” “Yes, miss Phoenix… Sorry.” I replied. I heard her sigh as she walked off ahead.

  We had arrived at a herbalist’s store and Phoenix had told me to hand her case over to the herbalist and wait outside. As I waited, I looked around and I noticed that Vardan was a much grander city than Kataravonia. I always thought Kataravonia was huge. But I was clearly wrong. Vardan was at least five times the size. The buildings were much taller and mostly made of stone. Kataravonia mostly has houses made out of wood and what I assume is clay. It looked like clay when I saw them building houses from a distance anyway.

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  Vardan was also divided differently. Kataravonia simply had the north, west, south, and east districts with a kind of marketplace in the middle. Vardan seemed to move outwards in circles. It had a castle in the middle which I was only able to make out from a great distance, by which I mean well outside of the city itself. Wearing a cowl in the castle would be forbidden. You must have your face on display in such locations. The eyes are the windows to the soul apparently, which obviously means that such places are a no go for me.

  Around the castle was a large wall. Outside of that wall was the noble residencies, followed by another large wall, followed by the middle-class residencies, then another wall, then the slums and finally another large wall all around the city. This would be a much harder place to invade than Kataraonia. Obviously, I didn’t know all of that yet, the walls were so high that I couldn’t see over them at all. The only reason that I saw the castle from a distance was because the towers protruded over the top of the walls.

  I was excited to be in another city and wanted to see as much as I could, so, as I waited, I decided to attempt to climb the large stone wall to get a glimpse of the other side. The wall was much higher than I was used to. The stone felt bizarre. I was not used to stones being so smooth. It made it very difficult to climb. I got about halfway up before I couldn’t find any more footholds.

  I was about to give up and climb down when suddenly I heard Phoenix’s voice again… she simply said “levitation.” Suddenly I started to float upwards. It was terrifying at first… then… kind of exhilarating. It is hard to describe the feeling of being weightless. It took my stomach some time to adjust for one thing. I was so close to throwing up. Imagine your whole body is floating in water… only without the moisture. It was beyond weird.

  I let go of the wall and let myself float upwards above the wall. I could see right across the city and to the castle. It was truly beautiful. The kind of view I had only ever seen in paintings before. It was captivating. I dreamed of one day entering that castle. I knew it would never happen, but a guy has to dream, right. Then I realised… if I’m up this high… what happens when the spell wears off?

  I tried to manoeuvre my way to the wall so that I could grab it and climb down, but it became apparent to me that I was not the one in control of this. I looked down at Phoenix who was stood outside the herbalist’s shop with her hair and hammer once again glowing. She lowered the hammer and I began to slowly float down to the ground.

  When I landed, she handed me her case, which now felt significantly heavier than before. She began to walk off and I said “Thank you, but why did you do that for me?” “Because you were about to give up.”

  She paused for a moment then continued. “Know this child, magic can help you achieve what you thought impossible. If you wish to take adventuring seriously, you must expand your party.” I ran after her and asked “would you consider joining us?... Please.” She simply replied “no.” A little disheartened I asked “Why? You said yourself that we need a mage. You’re really good, you saved Chloe’s life, I’m sure we could do great.”

  “What do you have in that little bag of yours?” She asked. I was a little confused by her question, I wasn’t sure what it had to do with my question. I told her “Two explosive flasks, some antivenin, and a healing potion.”

  “You have but one healing potion?” She said as she continued walking ahead of me. “If your entire party is harmed, one healing potion is not going to help you. You need a cleric or a priestess. And carrying one antivenin is useless, the chances of you being bitten by the exact right type of venom for the antivenin you hold is beyond miniscule.” I replied “You would normally be correct, but this is not usual antivenin. My father invented it. It works on all venoms. It won’t remove all symptoms of every venom… but it will prevent death and paralysis.”

  She stopped and turned to me saying “maybe there is more to you than meets the eye, child… regardless, you still need a cleric or a priestess. Having a healer in the party will save your life. You may be comfortable throwing your own life away, but I’m guessing you will not be so cavalier with the lives of your companions. I witnessed you risking yourself in an attempt to protect your warrior.”

  I thought for a second before responding. “If we can find a cleric to join our party… then will you consider it?” She laughed and turned from me. As she walked away, she said “Clerics are hard to come by boy, priestesses even harder. Finding one will not be so easy. I have some business to which I must attend to once I return to Kataravonia. I shall seek you out at the guild in precisely two weeks. If you have no healer by then, then you will have missed your chance.”

  She began to walk faster. Given how long her legs were, her strides were huge compared to mine. It was a struggle for me to keep up whilst carrying her now heavy case. While I waddled after her with a complete lack of grace, I said to her “You have a deal. Also, I’m not a child… I’m 17.” She didn’t even look at me… she just laughed and said “Whatever you say, child.”