A Jaded Life

Maybe eavesdropping was a bad habit but at the end of the day, could anyone blame me if I kept vigilant about the new people within my domain and wanted to know what they were up to? So, if they started to talk just outside the tower after we had just hashed out the deal that would have us give lessons to Samantha and Daniel, it wasn’t really my fault, was it?

Whatever the case may be, given that we made a deal in which they, meaning Jack, Jonas and Murray, would hunt in the area around the tower and provide meat for all of us, while Daniel and Samantha got their lessons, I wasn’t feeling too bad. They would have to get used to having somebody keep an eye on them, especially as the deal also included accommodation. Not in the tower itself, mind you, but within a small cottage I would set up for them within the quarry, it wasn’t a difficult thing to do for me, but it would give them a bit of perceived privacy and keep them out of our private spaces. Additionally, it would allow me to show off some of my abilities by making the cottage as impressive as possible, especially when it came to the enchantments to mimic modern conveniences.

However, given that this party of five was only part of a larger community, Jack felt that he couldn’t just stay out here without people knowing about it. I could understand his desire, as the rest of their community would likely be rather annoyed if they stayed away for a few months and only returned after the winter was over and my party was moving on. To prevent that from happening, Jack felt they needed to report in, something I didn’t mind too much. Sure, I would make sure that any attempt to attack the tower would result in abject failure and a horrifying loss of life, but that was an entirely different topic.

But back to my eavesdropping on the people walking away from my tower, especially Daniel and Jonas. It sounded as if Jonas was a little annoyed at the prospect of having to stick to this area, something I didn’t quite understand. An additional base far from their usual one was a valuable resource, not something to be annoyed about. Sure, there was a certain expectation for them to hunt and provide supplies for me, but it wasn’t as if they got nothing out of it, even without the lessons. And yet, Jonas was complaining and Jack was, so far, not stepping in, despite his status as their leader.

“No, Jonas, you just don’t get it, do you?” Daniel’s voice came clearly through the spell I used to listen in. It was an interesting application of Wind Magic, somewhat similar to my usual scrying construct but, at the same time, entirely different. Far shorter range, for one, and it didn’t take my entire attention, so I could use it fairly causally.

“For you, training is easy,” he continued on, “Or maybe not easy but it’s at least possible, you have some idea what you need to do to continue on your path,” I could easily hear the annoyance, especially when Daniel let out an almost defeated sigh at the end. “I don’t have that. I have no idea where to go next with my magic, other than to muddle along as I have so far. Hammond tried to help me but the way he does things is different from the way I do and the less is said about Weir, the better. It often feels as if she is just going through the motions and things work out that way but she has no real idea why they do or what will happen next. She can do stuff but she can’t teach unless you happen to have the right traits. And I don’t have them!” he continued to rant, his voice getting more passionate with each word.

Hearing new names, I made sure to mentally note them down, as it sounded as if these might be legacies, or at least somewhat competent spellcasters in their community. That they weren’t able to help Daniel wasn’t a big deal, if I had only the magical understanding I had gained on Mundus, I wouldn’t really be able to help him, either, so I wasn’t about to judge. There were distinct boni to having Lady Hecate’s favour, even if having the connection occasionally chafed. Not because I disliked Lady Hecate in particular but because I wasn’t too fond of the concept of Divinity in and of itself. Sure, it seemed like the Gods were nothing more but people who were a lot further along their path, so nothing fundamentally different to us, but there was a part of me that felt inferior, a sensation I didn’t like one bit.

Shaking off those thoughts I focused back on Daniel and Jonas, though now the rest of their party started to get involved and things became interesting. It sounded as if none of the other four felt that Daniel needed to prove himself, that he was doing fine just as he was, but it wasn’t a view Daniel seemed to share, given that he continued to rant, though it was an amusingly complimentary rant. I certainly wouldn’t be insulted if somebody wanted to call me a bloody genius, smart enough to make me feel like a toddler or if that same person described me as built like a tank and strong enough to give Rambo an inferiority complex. Those were, incidentally, the descriptions he used for Samantha and Murray, though his comparisons for Jack and Jonas were similarly flowery.

At that point, Jack started to add his own two cents and the points he was making were fairly interesting. By his own admission, the three of them, meaning Jack himself, Jonas and Murray, were only good at one thing, fighting, with a few other small tricks thrown in. But ultimately, they could only fight and every fight had a chance to be their last fight. Daniel, on the other hand, could provide utility matched by only a few others. His ability to conjure Water allowed them to remain in the field far longer than they normally could and his ability to make Fire, nearly regardless of the circumstances and the fuel used was invaluable, too. Sure, Daniel couldn’t burn up hordes of enemies, a declaration to which I mentally added, ‘yet’, but Daniel could let the others work a lot more efficiently. And now, he, Daniel, was getting lessons, so who knew what the future would bring?

“What do you think about our visitors, Mom?” Luna asked, distracting me from my scheduled entertainment. Though the entertainment value was steadily declining, now that Jack quelled their quarrel.

“They might be interesting. You talked to Murray and Jonas while I negotiated with Jack, didn’t you?” I asked Luna, curious what she thought about those two, especially Murray. I wasn’t sure if I had heard more than a handful of words from him, the guy was incredibly quiet for his size. Or maybe he was just shy, an idea so wonderfully contrary to his massively powerful appearance, I just wanted it to be true.

“Jonas was interested in the Oculus, wanted to know what it could do, who made it, things like that. I think the big, shiny object caught his attention;” Luna explained with a grin, making me nod thoughtfully. She was right, the Oculus was an incredible way to get the attention of everyone in a large area, simply because there was nothing alike, at least not within some hundred kilometres. Probably not beyond that, either, unless other Gods noticed Lady Hecate’s flexing and decided to copy it, maybe put on their own touch.

“What do you think about our visitors yourself? Can we have them in close proximity without problems?” I had to ask while considering my own impressions. I didn’t think Jack would make problems unprovoked, the guy seemed to have a fairly level head on his shoulders, but at the same time, I had the impression that if he felt it was needed, he would do absolutely anything to make sure his people got out of any mess they might find themself in. An excellent quality to have in a leader and a horrible one to have in an enemy.

“Jonas is quite smart, though I don’t think he’s interested in the Arcane, be it purely magical or alchemical. Mechanics, on the other hand, those are what fascinates him. If you can make him a slingshot or something you might have a friend for life,” Luna grinned, before continuing on, “Murray, on the other hand, I’m not sure about. I think he prefers to have somebody tell him what to do, but with the right direction, he’s a force to be reckoned with.”

After listening to my daughter, I considered the last person in their group and the slightly strange way my older child had reacted to her. It seemed as if I would have to have that… talk with Lia. And I had no idea how to go about that. Why didn’t parenting come with some sort of instruction manual? Or maybe a tutorial?