His grandmother was the first to act, once the door closed behind Rala. "Children, it is late and sentiments are running high. Now you will all listen to what I say and take a cup of this and go to bed." She started handing out cups with small doses of the tea she personally prepared this afternoon. Adults got theirs in a larger size, for him grandmother prepared a small one. "I will brook no argument on this. Take it and go. We will speak on this in the morning with a clear head. Go!" she shooed Septimus when he looked ready to start arguing back.

Tercius got his own, the liquid barely covering the bottom of the cup and he drank it all in one go. He expected some bitter concoction and he was not wrong, that was exactly what he got and it was so foul he got lucky when he drank it all in one go because he was not sure he could stomach another.

Within moments of hitting the bed he started feeling it's effects, his eyes closing slowly, losing strength, body shutting down.

This is some potent stuff, I need to get this recipe from grandmother, this could be useful for sudden bouts of insomnia.

***

It was morning the next day and he felt as good as new, his grandmother had the best concoctions. He slept the sleep of the dead. When he finally decided to get out of bed everyone was already up and a conversation was ongoing. He waved them good morning and joined the round table.

"You did the right thing. " his mother gave reassuring words to her husband.

" Did I? It doesn't feel like I did. It feels like I just gave up. " his father said.

" You did "just give up" and that is why it feels that way, yet that does not mean it was the wrong thing to do. " his grandmother said from the side, "When you heard he was asked to avoid violent means, I could see you thinking that maybe you stand a fighting chance. Let me shatter that thought right now. You don't. You know the ways of his kind. Tell me what do you think he would do if you happened to refuse? "

"... Well..." his father barely started when grandmother cut him off, evidently he just tried answering a rhetorical question.

"Even with no violence he had means, and his master has more of them at his disposal. They could chip at us from the sidelines, until we break, day by day. Maybe take your son until you sign over the papers? Maybe your wife? We have been over this Septimus, don't doubt in this. You did the right thing. We all agree and deep down so do you because you care more about all of us than about anything else. " his grandmother assured him. "You will get that money and we will be able to start once more. We did it once before without anything, and now... "

" I know what you are saying Rona and I understand it up here, yet I can't change how I feel for this. It will pass, I just need some time. " father said.

"We have this house for six more months, we have to figure out what do we do, where do we go... " mother said.

"Don't worry about that honey, you focus on the baby, we will figure something out. When the baby comes you can join, until then rest as much as you can. I know it will be difficult but please endure, you know what Darina said about taking things slowly and being calm." grandfather gently reassured mother.

"It's easy for you to say... You try sitting still... All right, all right, now all of you need to calm down." she went mum when she saw the looks she got from everyone around the table.

"We need to figure out first where we go from here. I need to find information on caravans in that direction. " father said.

"Maybe in the light of recent information we move back home?" grandmother enthusiastically suggested. "At least somewhere back north, it's too hot here for my bones."

"We will see. I don't know if that is a good idea." Father glanced my way. "Considering how we left."

They were keeping something hidden from him. I bet this has something to do with what Rala said about someone looking over fathers shoulder. Curious.

He decided that he would not pry. They could keep their secrets, after all he himself had plenty they knew nothing about. But if he found out about it by his own efforts, then it was fair game.

"I will stop with getting new goods in about four months and then sell as much as I can. I may need to pay some fines for breaking a few contracts early. Rona can you increase the quantity of those herbs I mentioned to you? "

"It's not as if I can carry the garden with me. You will get more than you asked and I will start processing the herbs that will be useful for the road. " grandmother said.

"Good, that will smooth some things over. Maybe I should inform Kasim of this decision?" father asked.

"Wait for now, we need to see how the things will pay out over the next few days. So that leaves Ciron and little Tercius." grandmother instructed and moved her attention over to us.

"I had this plan for a while now and I think that it's time to do it. Tercius and I will go to the quarry and ask Ftir to get us lodging there. If we work from there we can amass considerable funds. If a building job shows up we can go and we will work directly from the site. Maybe bring Neiran with us? Eh Tercius, what do you think? " grandfather asked him.

"Sure, but won't mother need us? " he said. He didn't know if separating now was a good idea.

"Don't worry for me, I have your grandmother and your father here. If you want to go, go."

Well if you put it that way...

He had to admit he liked the idea, he only had to wonder if now was the right time for it, but if they saw nothing wrong with it, maybe he was overthinking this?

"All right then we go, but if you need me for anything..." he started.

"I will find someone to find you." his mother finished with a smile. "It's a deal." he nodded.

***

He had an hour of free time. There were many things one could do in an hour and for him it was to try to regain Visualisation. In the past two days he spent an hour each day practising in the same way he initially gained the skill hoping that maybe that had some positive influence. Today he was going to try something new, something that he dreamt last night in a drug induced sleep. It was a product of his mind, yet he still hesitated to call the idea his own and was honestly ashamed of not thinking of this sooner. The idea was simple: to use multiple skills at the same time, for starters just two.

He started with Meditation. Soon the familiar void surrounded him on all sides. What now? he thought. How do I go about this?

The only thing that comes to mind is to try something similar to that process for breaking the barrier. he thought.

So he did just that. He imagined the skill as he saw it the last time, shriveled and dried up, conjuring more details with each second. He had an awareness here that surpassed anything he ever experienced. So he honed it and waited. He drew the skill he imagined in his mind eye and he felt the change. Oh so slowly at first, just an outline, then it started flickering, appearing and disappearing. Fighting for it's existence against forces unknown that sought to erase it. He had to strain himself for every second spent on this experiment and he felt something new. He felt some part of himself drain, trickling away and he knew that should it be completely gone, this experiment was over until he got it back. I have to speed this up!

He finished giving the skill the image he last remembered of it and it snapped in the void shining it's bright light on an otherwise black background. It took up a small space inside of him, the size of a fingernail yet it's light was so bright it brought day to the void outside.

I can't stay here all day, I need to try this as soon as possible.

He moved his awareness towards it, observing it like a child would a small toy. He brought it right next to his nose, his eyes observed everything. Just like the last time he saw it, it was made of a glass like material, right now looking like a melted mess where he knew previously stood a pristine cube. How do I mould glass? He asked himself and tried remembering. Memories came of large furnaces and open doors with a small sun inside of it, a man bringing a long pipe with glass on the lower end and then he HEATED it!

He needed HEAT! An idea came to him. He knew someone who had heat. Something. I need HEAT! Help me! Please!?

So they came. He could feel them answering his call, happy to be of help. They roved all over the space that was his body here and settled slowly around the skill that needed heating. A hot wisp passed through the skill leaving a bit of it's respective temperature behind and before the second went through the skill was already melting. Bubbling and boiling it popped. The wisps waited around it, standing still, waiting for him to do the next step.

We did what you asked now it's up to you. he could practically hear them say it.

He brought the skill next to his metaphorical nose and used his metaphorical fingers to remould the base to it's previous form. It was so easy, with all the practice he had with Stone Shaping and his was the same thing just another material. The melted mess obeyed the wishes of his fingers and palms, changing, smooth sides starting to appear. At first just one, then another, one more all until the last. In front of him stood a cube, not perfect like before, but looking a lot more like it. At least now anyone looking at it could say with certainty that it was a cube, before his repair that wouldn't have happened in a million years. But he was spent. He had to leave. His grandfather once explained to him that all skills used mana and once spent you could use them no longer, until it regenerated. For that to happen time had to pass.

What do I do now? How will I work with grandfather? he turned his attention to the wisps. Maybe they could help? Worth a try.

Mana? Nothing happened.

I am an ass, sorry. Thanks once again you have been a great help. he thought at them and started the process of leaving. They lingered for a bit then like shooting stars they went on their way.

He came to in the same spot and pose he entered. A bit foggy, sore and unfocused but otherwise fine. He got up and took a bit of water from the pitcher he left near the bed. It seems that melting glass is a dehydrating business.

Then he stretched his legs and sat back down to try once more with Visualisation. If he was already late a few minutes won't matter much. He closed his eyes and thought. Now, what to picture? He chose something easily verifiable. His room, the one he sat in right now.

From the outside you see a door. It's made of wood, light brown in colour and...

Visualization (8)

Lowers the influence of the surroundings on you and gives focus to details of a visual memory. Every skill level increases the effect by a small degree and lowers the cost of its use by a small degree.

What the hell?

Oh! OH!

...

The implications...

Now is not the time for this, you are running late! another part of him thought and it had a point.

***

"Sorry I am late grandfather." he apologised to the elder.

"Don't worry about it and let us go, before we lose more time." grandfather said as they started walking. They went to the village to pick up Neiran at his house, where he lived with his mother and his paternal grandparents.

His father died in an accident at the quarry, over six years ago, when a whole section of the quarry near Nurium collapsed during an earthquake. Neiran at the time was only two years old, making him three years senior to Tercius. He was a quiet kid who kept to himself, not to the same level as he did and not to mention to the level his grandfather did, while other kids played he liked using a knife to whittle wood or stone and make sculptures. That is how grandfather found him one day and approached his family with the offer to teach him soon after.

"Neiran! It's me Tercius! " he shouted when they approached the house. It was a small cabin like house, made of clay bricks. While grandfather would never allow a single block to look out of place on a house that he inhabited, this one looked ready to topple. There were some repairs done, from the looks of it it was a recent work yet even it had flaws, and they were quite familiar flaws at that. That was Neiran's work. Now that he paid some more attention on the walls he saw that they were in a much better condition than before. The tilt he observed previously was now a bit better. His grandfather taught both of them the theory of doing this, yet it seemed Neiran already put it into practice. He wanted to point it out to his grandfather yet he saw that the elder already had his eye on it, judging the work done by his junior student. From the look on his face he found it satisfactory.

"You wait here for Neiran, I need to talk to his folk. " grandfather said and went to knock on the door. There was a shout from the inside, a male one from the sound of it, and aside from Neiran, there was only his grandfather. There could be trouble there, the two geezers never saw eye to eye. Neiran opened the door, gave a greeting to grandfather and ran to Tercius, while grandfather went in, closing the door behind him.

"Hey Ter. " said Neiran in his usual shy manner. Even after six months he still had these episodes of shyness that sometimes occurred. Only when he was working or talking about his work did he come out of his shell.

"Hey Neiran. Did you finish it?" Tercius asked about Neiran's latest artistic project. It was in the works for this last week and was supposed to be finished any day now.

"I think it's done!" proudly proclaimed Neiran holding in his hands the finished . A small lion sitting on a piece of white rock, his head raised and roaring at the sky, front legs straight and holding up the head and the larger than expected mane, while a small tail curled around the back legs. The eyes were a bit small for the head too. But for an eight year old kid...

"Wow Neiran this is incredible!" and he really meant it. Outside of some proportions that gave it a caricature look it was a true work of art. Everything was there and where it was supposed to be and all of this is something Neiran did from a description Tercius gave him, no pictures or paintings and Neiran never saw one. He could take some credit for giving such an accurate description but it would be a thimble compared to Neiran's part.

"What do we have here? Eh? Let me see." At some point, while they admired the lion, his grandfather sneaked up on them. Truly a devious elder, wanting to scare a couple of boys. Only it failed, the geezer underestimated the focus that pulled their attention.

Seeing his prank not achieving success he envisioned he lost a bit from his smug smile and with open arms declared.

"All right boys, I have your parent's permission, so what do you say we go on an adventure? Eh? Who is with me? " said grandfather while Neiran let out a cheer in agreement, almost dropping the work it took him a week to finish, and truth be told he almost did too. The cheer part, not the drop one.

***

They had to postpone the planned trip for a reason beyond their control. The sun clouded over and rain started to fall, with thunder soon following the storm. It came quickly and poured for hours. He, Neiran and grandfather got soaked to the bone until they returned home.

Only the surprises of the day didn't end there.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

After dinner, when the members of the household were entertaining their guest for the night, a loud noise echoed from the front door. It reminded them of the events of the previous night and their backs broke out in cold sweat, their breath held tight.

"Septimus!" a familiar voice spoke from the other side, someone from the village.

His father went to open the door and two more men came back with him, both from the village. They were both drenched.

"Septimus we came to warn you. It seems that there is a beast at large. A little while ago a man came from the army to tell us that they are hunting it. It already got it's first victims, over the river there, that Lirtan and his family. All butchered! He told us to spread the word and keep the children safe inside." the man said in a panic.

Tercius found the eyes of his father and in that moment they knew each others thoughts. There was indeed a beast prowling around, only it was of a different nature than what these men went on to describe.

Lirtan was an owner of another large parcel of land, right on the border of the piece his father owned and it seemed that this poor man and his family had no one to look over their shoulder.

Tercius stood there in a blank stupor, unable to get a grip of himself, disbelief etched on his face.