They stopped at the creek side where her lilies burned. He turned to her in awe. “Do you know what this means?”

She looked down at the flowers. When her parents told her how they used to bury their dead on these very grounds she’d gone looking for tombstones. She never did find any so instead she planted these flowers in her favorite spot. A memorial to her heritage.

“Obviously not.”

“Right.” He looked back to the blazing flowers. “It means they’re growing right over a vein of fire rocks. They’re incredibly expensive, incredibly useful Alchemic tools. You could probably use them to make a stove inside.” He bent down to brush away at the dirt and expose a bright orange string running through the rock. She looked back at her flowers. That peaceful scene. The memories of her childhood. Every person the flowers now stood for in a world where she was lost.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ll want any of this disturbed. Keep it out of your report or whatever it is you do. I don’t care about fire rocks.”

She looked back to him. “Come on, let’s go.”

They hadn’t gone far before he spoke up again. “How much is there for us to cover?”

“250 acres.”

“Acres?”

“Just… a lot of land.”

“And your whole family is buried on it?”

She paused. How did he know that? She had to look up into his eyes. She didn’t like that. No one should be taller than her. She was already 6’ 2”. She answered. “Not everyone, just a lot of my ancestors. The tradition stopped a few Greats- back, but my parents are here also.” She hadn’t wanted to part with them. They lay beneath her garden outside her kitchen window so she could greet them every morning. Carefully, as if she were stepping through glass she asked, “How did you know any of that?”

“Man, this land really is built on the bones of your ancestors.”

She stopped and just waited. He noticed her absence and turned back. “Sorry, what was the question?”

“How did you know?” Cassidy repeated

“It’s the magic in the land. I bet you felt it when I showed up.” He waited but she was unresponsive. “Mana likes to link things. It's why those flowers were on fire; they were over a fire vein. It’s why you have so much control over your dog. You don’t even have to think right? She just does.”

That made her take a step back. She thought… All those times she never realized that’s what was happening.

“That’s the mana tie getting stronger between you two. It’ll have other effects as well but those will be up to you.” He looked over the woods and gestured with his hand. “The blood and bones of your family are buried throughout this property so the mana recognizes it as yours and gives you special rights and control over it. Your ancestors are the bones of this land making it your land and no one can argue against that. It can also mean rare resources that your heritage claims."

She had to take a moment. For once the rules of this world were working in her favor but she didn’t know exactly what that meant. Sugarbear tensed beside her and she jerked her head up, searching. Bertold hadn’t noticed anything. He was just watching expectantly so she put a finger to her lips and stepped forward to get a better view around him.

There. There it was. 100 meters out, too close. But it was waiting, considering if two humans were too much. She took that moment to draw. Bertold crouched, searching for the enemy. She sighted. It was staring right at them. Breath in, her hand steadied, and the arrow flew. Breath out. With that the deer fell. She flashed back to the bear. No deer ever survived an arrow to the eye. This one died like all the rest.

Bertold heard the fall and stood to look for it, finally seeing the body so close. He let out a whistle. He was begining to see why most explorers travelled with an archer. “That wasn’t a long shot but it was still very precise. What’s your Skill Level at?” His experience with the arrow nicking past his hands came to mind.

She was finishing adjusting her bow along her back. “Skill Level?”

They both stopped to stare dumbly at each other. It was Bertold who figured it out first.

“You don’t know what Skill Levels are do you?” A shake of her head. “Just say the Skill and then ask for Skill Level.”

“Oh” She cleared her throat “Archery: Precision. What is the Skill Level?”

He kept speaking as she asked the question, “Most Tier 1’s should have a Level around 5.”

~Archery: Precision Skill Level is 11.~

She wasn’t sure she wanted to tell him. Then it hit.

“Wait! How’d you know I was Tier 1?”

Another pause. His look was incredulous. “All you have to do is focus on the spot above a person’s head. Just like with animals.”

“Oh.” That’s embarrassing.

She stared at him and letters came into focus. They were red. Tier 3.

“What’s the difference between Tier 1 and Tier 3?”

He was looking through the underbrush as if he’d found something.

“Hey!” She nudged him with her foot and thought of something a lot more violent.

“What?” He leaned back to glower at her.

She was scowling now. “What’s the difference between a Tier 1 and a Tier 3?” She snapped.

“A big difference!”

She was growling now. “Like the difference between a Tier 0 and a Tier 2?” The bear came to mind.

“Yeah, sure.” He waved her off to go hunting in the bushes again. She wanted to smack that man. She pictured an arrow through his eye. Would it kill him or just enrage him, like the bear? She was a Tier 1 now, maybe a boring needle… Her leg ached. They needed to head back, but she’d promised him Neridia so she made good on that earlier idea and gave him a kick to his rear. “Come on. We gotta go. I promised you that flask of nymph water didn’t I?” That got him up and moving.

They made it to Neridia’s little spring in record time, considering how Bertold had been dragging this whole trip out. No more animals got in the way. The forest was still terribly underpopulated after what she termed, The Credit Massacre. When they saw the sprinng, there were bubbles in the center but no Neridia. Cassidy waited a minute before looking at Bertold. Figures, he ruins everything. Without giving him a chance to speak, she had his flask pulled off and sent him sprawling in the bushes before she stepped to the water’s edge.

“Neridia? Its just me now. Sorry, I shouldn’t have brought my guest.” The bubbles in the center began to merge, almost grudgingly so, till Neridia’s form was floating on the surface looking up at her. She wasn’t sure how to go about this. She never asked before, Neridia always just gave what Neridia thought best and Cassidy would roll with it. She now looked down at the flask in her hand, felt the weight of the water sloshing inside. Neridia followed her gaze and that gurgling voice spoke up.

“I fill this and all recompense is paid?”

Oh, how Cassidy wished she knew what she was doing, or at least what was going on.

“Yes, all recompense will be paid.” She dumped out the water and handed it to Neridia. The flask was significantly larger than her own. She worried about Neridia. Neridia was giving from her own body, Cassidy had picked that much up at least. How much more would this flask cost the water nymph? That is, did it cost the water nymph?

As with every other time, Neridia took the flask and swiped it through her body. It came back full of glowing water. Cassidy redid the cap. Neridia took one more look at her and spoke again. “Next time do not bring a guest.” Cassidy was still nodding her agreement as Neridia fell back into her spring. At least she knew she was allowed to come back.

She went to see Bertold still sprawled in his bush and fuming mad but he didn’t say anything. Just got up and picked twigs from his leather armor. Armor. She could still use some armor.

“Well?”

“Hm?”

He rounded on her. “The flask!”

“Oh.” Her thoughts still distracted by all her failed attempts at making armor. “Here. Sorry about the bush.”

“Humph.”

Her eyebrows twitched. Since when did he get off on being all dignified? She looked over at him to see Bertold gazing wide-eyed into the hole of his flask. She’d let this one go. While he spent time ogling the gift, she knelt down to pet Sugarbear. The dog had lost the aggression once they started walking together. She hoped that meant Bertold was no longer a threat and not just complacency on Sugarbear’s part. Who was she kidding? This was Sugarbear. She never did let a threat get by her, just like these burrs sticking in her coat. Cassidy shook her hand with a grimace. She’d have some extra work to do tonight.

Metal scraped against metal as Bertold twisted the cap on his precious prize.

“We need to head back for the day.” She didn’t bother looking at him, just walked back. He took a glance at the sun.

“About how much do you think we covered today?” This did earn him a backward glance.

“At the rate we’re going it’ll take us another four days if you insist on examining every rock and leaf.”

His face darkened like a storm. “That’s my job. And what I promised to do for you, if I might add. You’re the one that wanted to know what’s on your property. How am I suppose to tell you that if I never look at it?” She was distracted by the ache in her leg. She really hoped this was not a sign she was making anything worse.

“I’m far more concerned about my questions than about veins of fire rock. You never did say the difference between a Tier 1 and a Tier 3.”

“So you don’t want me to tell you about that bush of highly potent medicinal herbs I just saw?”

“I have Plant Identification too. You can just start answering my questions any time now. Or better yet, now. Right now.” When she saw the look he was giving her she was reevaluating some decisions, like whether Bertold was a threat or not.

He gave in with a groan. “Each Tier requires certain levels in your Attributes, like when you reached Tier 1, you had to have at least three Attributes at level 5.”

Now hold on wait a minute. She was staring at him wide-eyed. The voice lied to her! It said 5 in all! It must be trying to kill her!

He didn't pay attention to her mood; just kept going. “Well Tier 2 requires you to have three Attributes at level 15 and none below 5. And Tier 3 Requires two above 30 and none below 15. So yeah, I’d say there’s a big difference between us.” Her eye was twitching now. She wanted to kill him. Sugarbear was picking up on it and she felt the vibrations in the dog’s chest from a silent growl. Him and the voice. Everyone had to die. Another pain in her leg. She kept walking home. He followed at her side. Nobody was happy.

The trek back lifted their moods. Cassidy would get off her leg, Bertold now had his flask, Sugarbear’s owner had relaxed. Everyone was a lot happier, and less murderous in Cassidy’s case. Koda was still in the house even, as Cassidy saw much to her delight. Which reminded her, she should offer Bertold a place to stay. It’d be far too rude to make him camp under her stoop. She just needed to drag a mattress from the basement to the other side of the house. She figured she’d just give him a sheet just to keep the mattress clean. Pillows were for hotels and he lived in the woods. A mattress was a luxury she was kind enough to share with him. Just like her tea. There. She was a phenomenal host. While she was patting herself on the back, Bertold had stopped to gaze at the back of her house from a distance. “Are those… Winter Fairies? In this season?” She looked at the place he was pointing. The frozen butterflies were back, right over her lilies of the valley.

“Damnit. I thought I got rid of those.” Wait, they were fairies? She’d been murdering fairies? They didn’t look like tiny magic people!

“They can be damn pesky.” He chimed in as if she didn’t admit to an atrocity. “But it's far too late in the season for them to be appearing.” He looked over at her and frowned. “It must be the land.”

“Right. My magic land.” That didn’t sound silly at all.

He was staring at them again. “What are those plants they’re hovering over?”

Apparently, his Skill didn’t work over this distance. Hah! There wasn’t ‘a big difference between us.’ Blowhard.

“Those are lilies of the valley. They’re poisonous to deer."

Now he was frowning at her. “And how does that last part help us.”

“They’re poisonous to deer!” She was waving her arms over her head like a lunatic. Really the reason should be apparent!

He was rubbing his face now, like he could just brush off her stupidity. When that didn’t work, he marched right over to her plants. She stood indecisively, wanting to check on Koda, but the idea of leaving that man alone with her garden was too appalling. She rushed after him, leg ache forgotten.

They were both crouched low, trying to get close enough for Plant Identification without letting a butter-er….Fairy touch them. Eventually the Skill kicked in blah, blah, blah. Winter. They're heavy association with winter can pull winter related elements to them in the off season. Huh, Cassidy thought, looks like I have my new favorite flowers to thank for my fridge…. Littered with dead, broken bodies. Shoot. That’s disturbing.

“I’ve never seen something like this.” Bertold spoke in wonder.

“Flowers? I mean they’re pretty and all but hardly earth-shattering.” She was still trying to get over the whole killing fairies thing.

He sighed, “No, I mean a plant that shares an aspect of a season.”

She didn’t care. All she cared about now were the fairies and whether or not she’d turned her fridge into a mass graveyard. “So that's why these winged people showed up? Because the flowers are an aspect of their season?”

“People?” He was giving her that look again. Like she was crazy or an idiot or both. “No, they’re insects.”

She felt all the air rush out of her lungs and wanted to leap for joy, except for the frostbiting-welt-givers fluttering above her head. They were in the way of her joy, again.

“So, you’re telling me I haven’t been committing mass genocide?”

“I honestly don’t know how to talk to you.”