Jade and Acantha stepped out from between the trees into the small open space around the lake. It was peaceful, quiet. Very different from the last time they had been here. During their previous visit the lake had been boiling and they were being barraged with stones by weemen.
Acantha moved towards the water and dipped her foot in.
“Feels cold,” she said, turning her head around towards Jade and shaking her foot to get rid of the water on her toes.
“I guess that’s a good sign,” Jade replied.
“Wanna go into the cave?” Acantha didn’t wait for an answer and started walking towards the entrance. Jade followed her meekly. The entrance was closed off by a large rock, but nothing the two of them couldn’t handle. They started pushing the rock and it came around rather easily. Almost as if it was meant to be pushed around.
“After you,” Jade grinned, hoping Acantha would take her gesture as kindness.
Acantha dipped her head and went in the small tunnel. Quickly it turned dark and for a few minutes they weren’t able to see anything. Then, a light flickering started to light up the tunnel and they expected a fire would welcome them soon.
When they reached the chamber beneath the lake, there was indeed a fire burning in the center of the room. However, the size of the fire was in no way as large as it had been when they first saw it. The fire was small, well contained, like a warm and pleasant hearth. The fire was large enough to light the room, but small enough for the smoke to be somehow extracted. Not only the fire was different from how they left it. The damage, from the rocks that had splattered the burning black liquid around, was gone.
Jade and Acantha exchanged a look.
“Perhaps Decker has found his way back up?” Suggested Jade. Acantha shrugged and started calling out:
“Decker? You there?”
“Hold on!” A voice called out. It didn’t sound like Decker, the voice was much deeper.
From the other end of the room a dark-bearded man walked in. He was dressed in a well fitted robe with metal adornments.
“Good morning,” he greeted the two, “to whom do I own this pleasure?”
“Good morning, sir,” Jade started, “I am Jade and my friend is Acantha. We are Truepath clan, followers of Aoda.”
“Welcome, Jade and Acantha. My name is Black. What can I do you for?”
“Black!” Jade exclaimed and turned her head to Acantha. The dark haired man raised a bushy eyebrow. Jade turned back to Decker and said:
“We came to see if Decker was alright. He said he would be waiting for you.”
Black raised his other eyebrow to complete his surprised look.
“Why, I have been looking all over for Decker, do you know where he is?”
Jade nodded heavily, but when she opened her mouth, Acantha interrupted her:
“If you haven’t found him yet, he’s still down the tunnel.”
“Aha!” The man slapped his hands together, “That explains it.”
“Explains what?” Acantha inquired without holding back her curiousness.
“He had to be nearby to upkeep our house,” Black said.
Acantha looked puzzled. If Decker was the one making sure the house was maintained all by himself, that meant he had to be incredibly strong. To prevent nature from claiming it’s natural form, one had to bind any item. Any piece of craft would return back to nature if it was left unbound. Acantha was able to bind her clothes and her tent, perhaps a few more items if she wanted. The clan together could perhaps bind multiple tents and some fortification. Aoda had been able to bind the pool of water, she could probably bind a lot more. But one person binding this cave, the burning pool of black liquid, the bed, the cupboards. That was a lot to take on. Acantha started to get properly exited.
“Excuse me for a moment,” Black said and he turned around and swiftly half-walked-half-jogged towards the room he left earlier. When he returned he held a long rope with some kind of metal cross at the end. He kept his trot up and moved past them into the room that had been a sanctuary with pews neatly arranged.
Acantha and Jade waited for Black to return. They could easily overhear Black from where they were standing. He called out for Decker, then there was metal clanging, then silence. Acantha walked around the room. She was intrigued by the fire and the structure that contained the dark burning liquid. It seemed like a roundabout way to make fire. But then again, there was so much that she did not understand about the world yet.
“What do you think this is used for?” she asked, picking up a long rod with a cup on it’s end.
“I don’t know,” Jade responded uneasily. She wasn’t comfortable prodding around someone’s home. She also didn’t feel comfortable speculating too much. Speculation oftentimes led to questions. And questions were an uneasy subject altogether.
Jade was glad she heard stumbling and soft voices from the other room. Perhaps the two men could direct the spawn’s inquisitiveness. The elf grinned when Black returned, now with a slightly shivering Decker by his side.
“Why don’t you join us for a cup of tea,” Black invited the two girls.
***
Morn huffed, they felt exhausted.
“Well done!” The upbeat female voice was accompanied by enthusiastic claps. “I’m surprised at how quickly you learn. Perhaps you have the right soul for it.”
Morn frowned, they weren’t sure about soul, it felt more like they’d been using the strength of their body. Somehow.
Morn looked at their hands, there were no longer yellow. Their hands were a dark grey, as if all the light had been removed and the warrior was now clad in a dark shadow. The orc sensed something, a feather-light creature was sitting on their shoulder. Morn turned their head to look at it. The creature was pitch black. It’s blackness was so deep that it’s form was difficult to make out and it appeared to be flat like a shadow. The creature turned it’s beaked head and shifted on it’s two clawed paws. It had the contours of large bird, a raven perhaps. Morn smiled at the creature. They had done it, they had performed their first magic ritual.