Taz nodded. “We’ve been meeting regularly… a few times… to talk about the situation and learn more about each other.” She said, biting her lip then adding. “We’d talked about training together… both magically and physically.” It sounded… childish now that she said it out loud… like Alric and Tazrae could take on this mage alone. She knew they couldn’t. They didn’t stand a chance.
“That’s not a bad idea.” Duncan said softly, though the rest could tell it cost him to say it. All four men agreed. Tazrae, for her part, just stared, utterly surprised. Duncan continued. “You are not even an apprentice at this level. A full mage would take what he wanted and you’d have no counter to it. If Alric is what you both think he is and what the Dreamwalker has verified, and you have the potential of two djedlines, then you both need to catch up. I don’t know how old this mage is or what he knows, but you can’t just do nothing.” He added. “I agree you need to train.” He added. “And I offer any help if I can give it.” He said softly, nodding to the rest. “But your core education in magic is lacking. You need more to that base in order to be a good mage. If you cut corners and skip the basics, your magic will fall apart at higher levels.” The water Reimancer cautioned.
Taz took a deep breath, hating what she was hearing, yet understanding why they said it.
James spoke up at this point. “Like I said, I know Florentin Arcadius not exactly personally but by reputation, and he’s far older than he seems. I would assume he’s older than all of us here. He has patience about himself too. You might have a bit of time, but not much. I wouldn’t bet on anything at this point.” The captain confessed, shaking his head.
Meanwhile, Randal had something to add to the conversation. “I know this isn’t your doing, Tazrae. You stumbled into this thing blindly and probably out of a need to help someone. But you aren’t ignorant of it now, and there are things you can do to protect yourself and this settlement. You'd be a fool to take him as a lover, or trust him with the things we've talked about here.” He said thoughtfully and bluntly.
Tazrae knew Randal was right. And she knew he didn't say anything lightly. But she also knew there were other parts of her involved now too... like her heart.
“First and foremost, this goes no further than those who are present here. You need to make sure any trips you have out of the settlement are carefully planned and you aren’t spotted or watched. You need to be unpredictable and random, moving in disguise and not meeting at someplace public like an Inn. You should also consider inviting Alric to join us here on the edge of civilization. It will take this mage a long time to look someplace so obscure as Syka.” Randal said, shaking his head. “But it’s a long trip from Sunberth. And you can’t join him there. You have too many responsibilities here. You swore an oath to Kihala to be her guardian.” He reminded her.
Tazrae knew this. It was something she’d shared with Alric. “I told him about that. He knows I can’t leave.” She said, nodding to everything Randal said and knowing she’d have to do better.
Buraga spoke up then. “We should work on your physical training. And we’ll definitely bump up security and tell the Rangers what they need to know to be more protective. But if there are rogue groups working for this mage in the jungle, we need to know about them and eliminate them. It's best if no one thinks Falyndar is easily penetrated and harvested for components, regardless of who sends them. If we don’t discourage it now, we’ll constantly be getting company that doesn’t involve paid tourism and will lean more towards piracy.” He added, then glanced at Mathias who had remained quiet and contemplative.
Duncan winced slightly, almost unnoticed. He was back to rubbing his temple again as if his wrapped eyes bothered him.
Mathias nodded, rose, and slipped back into his Bungalow. He returned with a huge book in his hands and an oilskin to wrap it in for protection. He offered the enormous volume to Tazrae. “This is for you. It’s the encyclopedia of Arcanology. You’ll need to study it to get the fundamentals. It has all the common types of magic in it with an explanation of how they work. It also has information in initiation and learning. Don’t try to learn everything in here, but pick and choose carefully. Do learn the fundamentals through and carefully study the sections on djed and overgiving.” He said thoughtfully, handing Tazrae the book.
She nodded at his words, running her hands over the giant book. “Thank you all. I’ll take all your advice to heart. And again, this is not something I wanted to happen. I’m very sorry this is encroaching on the safety of Syka and involving all of you. I hope I don’t bring problems to Syka, but if you are forewarned, hopefully, we can counter it together. I will learn and take any lessons Duncan and Buraga want to give me. And meanwhile, I think playing the role of a simple Innkeeper will be the best cover I can possibly have to hide in plain sight from a mage looking for another mage.” She said softly, rising. “I’m going to leave you now to talk. I know you’ll need to and without me. Buraga… Duncan… can you swing by when you have time or send me a message and I’ll come to find you to figure out some sort of training schedule?” She added, wanting them to know she was serious about their offers and was taking them seriously.
She managed to slide the volume into her backpack and shouldered it without effort. Then she hit the stairs to the beach to meet Bree and head home.
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