Erin leaned into a half crouch, putting her hands on her knees as sweat ran down her face. At first, she had expected that training with their magic would be strenuous; difficult even, but it was, in fact, a nightmare. Maybe under other circumstances it would’ve been less demanding, but when it came to training, Sigrid was a monster.

No, Erin thought, I’ve faced monsters. Sigrid is far scarier.

Some sort of mania had possessed the dark-haired woman, and she’d become relentless in her role as instructor. Pushing them to the point of near collapse and then demanding more. Liam had purchased some monster gems in the village out of self-defense, saying that if he channeled any more earth magic, he’d probably turn into a stone himself.

Erin couldn’t entirely blame Sigrid, though that was a tough admission to make after days of enduring the strict regimen she’d concocted. Worse perhaps was that Sigrid wasn’t any more knowledgeable about certain things than Liam or Erin herself, so certain aspects of their training might be changed or adjusted on the fly, as Sigrid made a realization or had an idea.

The first thing they did in the morning was run laps around the village, skirting the wall until Erin was about ready to throw up. Sigrid insisted that this kind of training would improve their stamina for casting spells, but it would be awhile before any improvements would be noticeable. After running, they would return to their clearing in the woods and Erin would summon and dismiss the wing spell in a cycle that felt endless. Using the spells in practice seemed to improve them in various ways.

Perhaps the most important gain was the one Sigrid had originally sought. After five days of training, Erin could call on her wings much more rapidly, making it possible to snap them into existence and perform a quick maneuver before releasing the magic, but they had also discovered that routine practice with the spell contributed to its growth on the character sheet.

Name: Erin Young

Class: Bronze Mage

Tier 2

Soul: Bronze

Mind: Bronze

Body: Bronze

Spells

Spell Slot (Soul): Binding Point (Bronze: 2%

Aug 1

Aug 2

Spell Slot (Mind:) Devouring Fireball (Bronze: 17%)

Aug 1: Bolstering

Aug 2:

Spell Slot (Body): Mirage Wyrm's Wings (Bronze: 9%)

Aug 1:

Aug 2:

Spell Slot (Special): Mirage Wyrm Whelp (Bronze: 0%)

Aug 1:

Aug 2:

Boons:

Liaison

Bronze State

Mirage Mage (Bronze)

(Unknown)

(Unknown)

Inventory:

Inventory Item: Bronze Medallion

Augment Rune: Resistance

Equipment:

Torches (2)

Crafting:

0.5lbs of Iron Chitin

Currency:

Gold Maefars: 5

Silver Maefars: 51

Copper Maefars: 406

Artifacts

Slot 1: All-Purpose Hat (Bronze)

Slot 2: Refilling Vial: Stamina Potion (Bronze)

Slot 3: Empty

Slot 4: Empty

Albeit much more slowly than actually using the spells in combat. Sigrid had placed an embargo on the Bronze State for the first few days. Partly because she was concerned about some sort of accident occurring, and partly because she wanted to ingrain the training regimen before they started trying to use ‘performance enhancing magic.’

Erin, as much as she hated to admit it, was realizing Sigrid was on the right track. As her spell progressed, not only was calling it up quicker, but it was taking less stamina to maintain it, and while it was too early to say for sure. She thought the growth of the spell being in the ‘body slot’ was impacting her physical capabilities, which made everything else easier. Like every part of the training was feeding back into itself. She supposed that’s what a well-designed regimen accomplished, but this went beyond anything that had been possible in her old life.

“Try it again. Aim for the tree I’ve marked.” Sigrid called out, and Erin pushed herself upright, suppressing the urge to groan. Sigrid had no tolerance for complaints or anything that resembled complaint. Erin’s wings snapped into existence, and flapped them down hard enough to generate lift. At the same time, she ran, bending her knees and leaping into the air. Icy wind rushed around her as she sped across the clearing, moving at an angle to the tree Sigrid had marked as her target. Erin’s fireball flashed out at the midpoint of her wing-assisted leap and missed the tree by inches. Erin landed with a graceless stumble, but stayed on her feet, which was a marked improvement over the first dozen times she’d attempted the maneuver.

“Better.” Sigrid called out, awarding some rare praise, and then immediately ruining it by adding, “With a bit more work, you’ll be a true terror to anything that can’t run away, dodge or otherwise defend itself.” Erin groaned, which earned her a dozen laps around the clearing at a sprint.

Once finished, she flopped into the snow. Her breath was visible as smoke in the cold, billowing in huge clouds before her face as she heaved.

“I didn’t realize it was nap time!” Sigrid yelled, and Erin had to restrain herself from making a rude gesture.

“I want you to know, Liam,” Erin called out, her voice breathless. “I blame you!”

“What did I do?” The big Mage paused in his practice to turn and yell back.

“You were the one who called it Mage bootcamp.”

“Team building retreat!” Sigrid insisted with a yell. Erin pushed herself into a sitting position and was surprised to see Sigrid was smiling as she approached. Since they’d begun the training, the woman had become surly and ill-tempered. A state that abated only somewhat when she declared they were done for the day. As nice as it was to see her in a good mood, Erin couldn’t deny she was deeply concerned about what that might mean for her and Liam.

“Huddle up,” Sigrid called, waving them both toward her. With a herculean effort, Erin pushed herself the rest of the way to her feet and walked toward Sigrid. A walk that quickly became a jog after Sigrid shot her an impatient glance.

“Alright. So-” She started, but then her head snapped up as something caught her eye, and Erin and Liam both turned to follow her gaze. Stumbling into the clearing, and out of breath, was one of the Monster Hunters. Erin recognized the man from the short time she’d spent with them, looking into the qek’s approach of Dangole.

“Reuben, isn’t it?” Erin asked as she walked toward him, Sigrid moving to her left side.

“What is it?” Sigrid asked, her tone sharp.

“Qek.” He announced, trying to draw himself upright. Erin’s stomach sank at the word, cold anxiety blooming in her chest and spreading throughout her body. “A swarm of ‘em is approaching from the north. Just like you said.”

“So they’re here.” Erin said.

“I was expecting them sooner, if I’m being honest.” Sigrid said as she crossed her arms. “I mean, how long does it take to walk here? They’re a mass of monsters, with no logistical concerns. They should’ve been right behind us.” Erin shrugged. Did it really matter how long it had taken? The monsters had arrived.

“We should get back.” She said and started forward.

“Wait,” Sigrid said, still standing with her arms crossed, feet apart, and planted in the snow. Erin turned back to look over her shoulder. “This is your last chance to make a decision.” Sigrid said, meeting her eye. “You too,” she said, glancing at Liam. “If we go back to Dangole now, we’re in this fight. There is a very high likelihood that any or all of us don’t live through it. We’ve all improved, but we still have a long way to go. This is your one chance to walk away.”

Erin’s gut told her to reject all consideration of leaving Dangole to fend for itself, but she knew better than to let that feeling run off with her. So she considered it. What would it really mean to leave now? That people would die? What if that happened anyway? What if staying to fight made no difference?

Well, if you walk away, you’ll never know. Her father’s voice echoed through her memory, his words carried within her across the void of death that separated them. Was he right, or was she sentimental? Did it matter? If she left Dangole to its fate, and everyone died, it would haunt her. She’d always wonder what might’ve been different, and if she died fighting? Well, she’d died before. The thought didn’t really comfort her. Despite having gone through it once, the thought of dying a second time made her uneasy on an instinctive level.

Erin took a deep breath, counting slowly to seven in her head, and then released it counting to five. The tension in her body eased somewhat, and she met Sigrid’s eye.

“I’m going to fight.” Sigrid’s face gave nothing away, and she turned to look at Liam. Everyone, (including Reuben) turned their attention to the big man. After a moment, he rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head.

“I don’t like to think what my dad would say to me if I ever saw him again and had to tell him I acted the coward and abandoned my friends.”

The word hit Erin like a blow to the gut.

His friends? Erin hadn't been certain what Liam thought of them, and half suspected it was his fear of Sigrid that kept him coming back to train with them. Now she was starting to think she'd wildly misjudged because of his quiet nature, there was no time to dwell on the revelation as Sigrid was already moving on.

“So it’s decided then.” Sigrid said, stepping forward, her stride confident and smooth as she headed toward Dangole. Erin moved to match her pace, with Liam and Reuben coming up on either side of them.

“You know,” the Monster Hunter said. “Some of the village folk had their doubts. There was a lot of talk that you folk would skip off to the south once any trouble came.” All three Mages turned to look at him, but he carried on “Not ol’ Reuben though. I never doubted. You ain’t like all those stuffy Mages who works for the City, you ain’t. Kiran said so too, when I was sent to fetch ya’ back. He said ‘they’ll come’ to the commander. Very inspiring, he was. Not that ol’ Reuben needed it, of course. I-”

“We should run,” Sigrid cut him off. Despite the circumstances, Erin couldn’t repress a small smile at the irritation in Sigrid's voice. The three Mages took off at a healthy clip, their Tier 2 bodies showing their mettle as they left ‘ol Reuben’ to lope along after them at a much slower pace.

“We should keep an eye on him.” Erin called out, looking back. “We don’t want him to get eaten.”

“We don’t?” Sigrid called back and Erin gave her a look. “I’m joking, Liam. You’re a strong fellow. Why don’t you give Reuben a lift back to Dangole?” This was, strictly speaking, a piece of flattery. While Liam looked stronger, with his broad shoulders and wide chest, they had determined it was mostly for show. They had proven to be roughly equally strong as each other, with Liam holding a very slight advantage. Mages, it seemed, were not subject to the whims of biology. Erin suspected muscles infused with magic by the Body stat had a lot more to do with it than testosterone and dumbbells.

Liam knew all of this, but agreed anyway. Slowing his pace so Reuben could catch up, and then tossing him rather unceremoniously over his shoulder. Together, the four of them charged back to Dangole. It wasn’t a long run from their clearing, just distant enough that the magical pressure Mages exuded when calling upon their magic wouldn’t disturb the villagers. The town seemed quiet as they approached. The fact the gate was closed was the only thing out of the ordinary that Erin could detect. As they arrived, the wood doors were unbarred, and swinging open. Liam caught up and set Reuben down on his feet. The old Monster Hunter sputtered with indignation, but no one paid him any mind as they entered the village.

Kiran was quick to approach, already wearing his full kit. His usually carefree expression, replaced by one of tense concentration, but a genuine smile illuminated his face briefly as he met Erin’s eye.

“Told them you’d come to help. “

“Of course I’m going to help.” She said, plucking her all-purpose helmet from her inventory and sliding it onto her head. “Just tell me where the monsters are.”