Four days of traveling later, the party was mostly bored. Riding in the wagon had turned from monotonous to unbearably dull, and with the heavy rains, they couldn''t even stretch their legs or walk.


    Each of them had found ways to entertain themselves. En-in had taken to fleecing the caravan merchants in the evenings after attempting to swindle the party. He pouted after being forbidden from playing card games in their wagon once they discovered his cards were marked. Shani had sharpened her sword and oiled her gear at least twenty times, and A-Nis had fletched about a hundred arrows. The dwarves largely slept and discussed their holy book in Dwarven, and Zethari remained at the edge of nausea. Everyone was soaked and exhausted.


    The sisters, being the only seasoned drivers, had rotated driving duties every hour or so in an attempt to stay somewhat dry, but it made little difference. The entire wagon was dripping and soaked, the weatherproof canvas no longer able to hold back the constant rainfall. Luckily, according to their employer Ulrich, they''d reach Wysten tomorrow, the next day at the latest, and would have two days off. They were all looking forward to it.


    Abad spent most of his time reading the tome Ta-Li gifted him. He''d managed to commit to memory a new spell, one that would come in handy on his travels: [Minor Illusion]. While it was only a first circle spell that created small illusions of sight or sound, with his [Quasireality] talent, he''d be able to use the illusions for more than simple trickery. When a shadow becomes as sharp as a blade or an illusory ball of flame is as deadly as the real thing, his illusions could be weapons and tools. More importantly, the ability to bend reality caused his enemies to overestimate him, which was always beneficial.


    He''d not made much progress outside of that one spell, however. While he understood the theories behind most of the spells, he had to recreate the mental frameworks associated with every spell he wanted to cast, which took time. It was long, arduous work to internalize the principles connected to each spell, and it took even more time to solidify the glyphs and sigils that represented them within his spirit. He could cast the spells the old way, running through each incantation slowly to produce the spell''s effects, but he''d need mana crystals to do so, and casting magic in that way was inefficient and slow. If he could get his hands on some low-grade crystals, or if he had time to make some, he might be able to use them to speed up the formation of new glyphs within his spirit, but he hadn''t seen any mana crystals since he''d been awake again and didn''t know where he could find them.


    He''d also tested his new talent as they traveled. Rubbing his hands up his face and across his scalp, he found that he could pass his fingers through the horns hidden by his [Mask of Many Faces]. They felt like they were there when he focused on them, but when he moved his hand around his scalp, his fingers passed through them with only slight resistance. It was a strange feeling, as though his fingers were moving through heavy air, but it comforted him. He wouldn''t need to worry about losing his horns in a fight, and he felt more comfortable knowing that he wouldn''t accidentally catch a horn on a stray branch or rope or something. More importantly, others wouldn''t be able to detect them.


    Due to what he considered his fortuitous birth under the sign of The Mask, he''d made extensive use of this particular element of his birthright throughout his long life. Illusion magic had always been his most prominent tool. He''d managed to unlock his birth sign as a child, a year or so after he and his parents had been forced from their home when his people discovered what he was. Since that day, he''d overcome any number of challenges through its use. He was sure that his birth sign was in no small part why he''d been so successful in life. Unlike his siblings and allies—besides Selene, who miraculously didn''t manifest visible signs of corruption—he''d lived a life of relative ease while they were stuck wandering the edges of society. He''d eternally been grateful for his parents'' good timing.


    Outside of testing [Quasireality], he''d inspected his scroll for some time. He''d unlocked all but one of his talents at this point and knew that leveling would slow once he did. He believed that, because he was more remembering his talents than unlocking them for the first time, he''d leveled exceptionally fast since he''d woken up. He''d also been in near-constant danger as well, which made leveling easy, but he knew that wouldn''t last forever. He''d either need to keep chasing more and more danger, or he''d need to pick up another class. In the past, he''d also been an enchanter, but his long sleep had deprived him of that skillset. In time, he decided he''d try to take up that profession once again. He also had some class specializations in the past as well, but those were gone too. He didn''t know where to begin to unlock those, so he set aside that thought for now.


    Outside of his magical training, his focus was dedicated to keeping Zethari somewhat active. The wolf woman''s nausea was improving through his and Kjormur''s efforts, but the days were rough on the woman, and her sleep was fitful. There didn''t seem to be anything that could help take away her nausea permanently. Abad realized at some point that her animal nature might be affecting her in some way that didn''t affect him or the mortals. He didn''t know the principles behind it, but animals rarely seemed comfortable traveling in wagons or carts, so he assumed that traveling in this way was difficult for her kind. He''d need to travel with other fey''ra to test the theory, but it was the best idea he had at the moment regarding her perpetual sickness.


    For now, all he could do was study, train, and support the fey''ra, hoping that would be enough for whatever was coming next.


    ***


    As evening approached on the sixth day, Ulrich''s voice sounded in the distance, calling for the caravan to halt. A moment later, he heard the man call for the party, so Abad hopped out of the back of the wagon, his boots squelching in the mud as he did, and he made his way to the front of the line of wagons. As he approached the front of the caravan, he could see something lying in the road through the heavy rain. Several somethings. When he reached Ulrich, he could see the forms more clearly. They looked like humanoids, but each body was much larger than a human or an elf. A pit opened up in his stomach.


    "What is it?" Abad asked Ulrich.


    "I don''t know." The man''s eyes never left the road. "They''re large, whatever they are." A wave of rain and mist obscured the road. Abad heard the others approach behind him.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    "What''s going on?" Shani asked.


    "Bodies." Abad gestured up the road. "Big ones."


    "How many?" Firtz asked.


    He reached out through the mist and rain to the bodies. He could just barely feel them at this distance. The last dregs of their spirits were still clinging to their corpses, though one of them felt like it held on longer than the others and had more essence left. "Feels like five. I''d say they''ve been here for a day or so. There''s hardly anything left." He reached out with his senses in every other direction but couldn''t feel anything else. "Doesn''t seem like whatever got them stuck around."


    Ulrich whistled. "Happy to have a mage on board." The man looked away from the road and to Abad and the others. "Mind inspecting them?"


    "Not at all." Abad turned to the others.


    "Some of us should stay behind in case this is an ambush," Firtz said. "I''ll keep the ranger, my nephew, and the boy. You take the string bean and the wolf. If anything happens, we''ll come to your aid."


    Agreeing with the man''s logic, Abad nodded to Shani and Zethari. Shani drew her weapons, and for the first time in days, Zethari had a gleam in her eye.


    "Everyone in the wagons!" Ulrich called to the caravan. The few people who''d filtered out walked back into their vehicles and closed their doors and windows. Abad wished they''d had a wagon with real walls and not just a cloth tarp as he watched them. They had to be more cozy. he decided then and there that he''d purchase a nice carriage or wagon in the future.


    A minute later, Ulrich entered his own wagon, and before he closed the door, he gave Abad''s group a nod before snapping his door shut.


    "Okay, let''s go," Abad said to the women.


    The three of them made their way up the road, slowly closing the distance to the corpses. As they got closer, the smell of rot mixed with the damp scent of the rain and mist.


    "It''s a wonder we didn''t smell it sooner," Shani said.


    Zethari wrinkled her nose. "I did."


    "How far can you smell?"


    "Far."


    As they approached, Abad could make out details. He saw large, green bodies strewn about on the ground. They were trolls. One lay on its back in the middle of the road, its belly torn open, while the others seemed to have been hacked apart, but none of them had been eaten. Whatever had killed them had simply left them for scavengers. He could see maggots wriggling in the trolls'' flesh, and the stench of rot was nearly unbearable as they got close. Zethari covered her face with a scarf she''d found, and Shani gagged. "Keep watch, Shani." He remembered she didn''t like corpses and spared her the next part. She nodded to him, her eyes filled with gratitude, before turning and keeping watch.


    "Whatever took these down was skilled. And strong," The wolf woman said. She knelt next to the closest troll, which was in the grass on the right side of the road. She began inspecting the body. Abad did the same with the others. Inspecting the next troll, it was immediately apparent that whatever had attacked them was powerful. Huge chunks of flesh were torn away from the troll''s hides, and their limbs had been shattered. He knew from experience that troll flesh was tough, and if they didn''t die after being wounded, they could simply grow their limbs back in minutes to hours. It took significant, repeated trauma for a troll to die without flame, and they had more stamina than most other creatures. To take one down that way took great effort. To kill five was no small feat.


    "I see no footprints," Zethari called from the grass.


    "They''ve probably washed away by now," Abad answered.


    "There has to be something. Even rain can''t wash away all traces in a couple of days. Let''s start searching." Shani replied. The women broke off and began searching the surrounding area.


    He walked up to the largest troll, the one in the middle of the road that was most intact, and inspected it. It was large, though not as large as Graul had been, and its belly was torn open. Its entrails had been pulled out and thrown across the ground. Its limbs were torn, and countless wounds littered the corpse.


    The creature had been brutalized.


    Its chest was covered in huge, gaping wounds that looked like claws, and its hands and face were mangled. An eye was gouged out, and its ears were missing, the flesh torn from its skull. A large claw mark ran down its face, so he walked around the body to inspect it. As he did, the corpse shuddered. A single, wracking breath emitted from its mishappen mouth.


    Abad stepped back. "Hey, this one''s still alive," he called out. Zethari and Shani turned toward him and began approaching the creature. He reached out with his senses. This was the one that had more energy than the others. While its essence was barely tethered to its corpse, it was indeed alive, teetering at the edge of life and death. As he watched, its chest rose, and it breathed out again. Its one remaining eye opened, and the green orb hazily gazed at him. Shocking Abad, who still didn''t understand how these creatures could talk, it tried to mouth words, but only a weak hiss emitted from its throat.


    "It can''t regenerate. Its wounds are too severe." Shani said. "Should we put it out of its misery?"


    "Soon. But bear with me a moment. You won''t like this." Abad reached out and touched the creature''s shoulder.


    [Essence Transfer]


    He gave the troll a small amount of his life force, just enough to regenerate some and possibly speak. The troll''s entrails quivered, and the tears in its chest closed slightly.


    "Me... feel..." it choked, black fluid erupting from its lips torn lips, "master..." Its green orb focused on Abad.


    "I am Eater." He approached the troll''s good eye and placed his hands on the creature''s head. He gave it more energy. Its entrails began quivering like tired snakes, trying to pull back into its ruined body.


    "Eater..." More black fluid flowed from the creature''s lips, and the wounds on its chest began to close.


    "Abad..." Shani''s voice was filled with caution.


    "It''s okay." He didn''t look away from the creature.


    "What happened here?" He gave the thing another shot of energy. If he gave it much more, it would surely heal, but he was confident he could incinerate it if it became unruly.


    "Attack... Master... Ran... Caught..." The wounds on the creature''s chest had nearly closed, and its arm began to twitch.


    "What is your name?"


    "Drugg." The creature''s breathing stabilized.


    "Are you from from Graul''s tribe, Drugg?" The troll''s head moved up and down.


    "I, eater, killed Graul."


    "You Fire Eater. You strong." The creature''s entrails began to pull back into its stomach, pulling in dirt and sticks with them. Abad gave the troll more essence. "I Drugg." The creature said, "I strong. Not strong like Fire Eater."


    "Where did you come from, Drugg?"


    "Far. Outside wall. Came. Found master. Found..." It''s dumb eye gazed into the sky. "Purpose."


    Purpose? That was a high concept for a monster. "What purpose is that?"


    The troll''s arm moved. Shani leveled her sword at it. "Make... master happy." It turned its eye toward Abad again. "Make home. For Drugg. For master."


    "Are there others like you?"


    "Yes."


    "How many."


    Its eye narrowed at him. "No tell." Its entrails had mostly pulled back into its stomach, and the dirt and sticks started pushing out of the gaping wound in its belly, which had begun to close. "You not master."


    He gritted his teeth. "[Speak]." A wave of power rippled from his words, and the creature''s jaw opened against its will. Abad could feel his power overwhelming its mind.


    Its hand jerkily pointed to the northeast. "That way. Many." The wound on its stomach had nearly knit shut. "Master gone. Tribe ran. Many dead."


    Abad knew it was almost time to end this. "What killed them?" He gestured to the corpses.


    The creature tried to sit up, but its arm snapped. It fell back into the mud with a loud plop. It turned its head and looked at Zethari. Its mouth curled into a snarl. "Her."