As the first light of dawn began to paint the horizon, the weary trio finally paused to rest. The terrain had been relentless, with jagged rocks and steep inclines testing their resilience. Exhaustion weighed heavily on them, but the night's harrowing encounter fueled their determination to press on.
Zarath leaned against a boulder, watching as the sun's rays gradually illuminated the landscape. Hura, ever loyal, sat by his side, her ears perked and alert. Lyra, despite her injury, meticulously checked their supplies, ensuring nothing was lost in their hasty departure. Tharon, ever the sentinel, stood guard a few paces away, his eyes scanning the surroundings for any signs of movement.
"Zarath," Lyra's voice broke the morning silence, "where do we go from here?"
Zarath took a deep breath, contemplating their next move. "We should find shelter, after last night and then running till morning we need to at least get a little rest, but we need to keep heading south. Maybe find a traveling caravan or something, maybe those creatures won't attack us so readily if we have a larger group."
"You know what would be really helpful right now." Tharon said in between gasping breaths using his spear as a walking stick.
"Tharon, I swear if you say something about horses right now." Zarath rubbed his face, his hand sliding over his muzzle as he too was panting after all that running.
"I w... I was going to say magic, if we had a spell caster with us or hell id even take a Valkar (Spirit Weavers) even though we don't know any outside of our tribe." Tharon took a deep breath as he recomposed himself making ready to start moving again.
"I've told you before just because I'm a Grak'Shrak doesn't mean I can use magic." Zarath let out a sigh as he stood up from his spot leaning on the boulder him and Tharon letting out a small chuckle at each other. Lyra, looking back and forth at the boys, a bit confused.
"Is there like some reason magic would be helpful in this situation?" Lyra asked, still not sure what was going on with them.
"To be honest right now not much unless the magic caster new something like recovery or healing, but even some attack spells would be great, me and Tharon may be skilled fighters but even we would have trouble with a magic user." Zarath shook slightly his white fur bristling at the thought of having to fight a magic user. "But the problem is with magic each group as a different type like us wolfkin our magic is similar to elves more than humans we draw our magic straight from the source the veil, where elves are born with natural magic even a child of their people can use basic spells."
"How do you know all that." Lyra asked a bit curious as to how Zarath had so much knowledge but still seemed to want nothing to do with it.
"Zarath was forced to learn our rituals and all that stuff like that since he is the Horl (pack leaders) grandson and a Grak'Shrak he studied with our tribes Tharakar (shaman), he is the only one I know in our tribe that can read three different languages." Tharon gave his friend a nudge as he walked past him, taking the lead position in their tiro as they began to walk again seeking shelter.
"Ugh the amount of time I spent with the Tharakar Koto observing burial rites and remembrance rituals." Zarath playfully pushed Tharon, making him lose balance for a second due to their exhaustion.
Tharon regained his footing, a playful glare aimed at Zarath who merely smirked in response. The trio continued their journey, the weight of the previous night's events still heavy on their shoulders. The jagged and rough hills offered a semblance of protection, but it also cloaked potential dangers around every turn.
Lyra, ever inquisitive, couldn't help but probe further. "So, magic is more about heritage and the source it draws from? That sounds incredibly complex."
Zarath gave a nod, his eyes scanning the surroundings vigilantly. "It is and it isn't. Every race has its own connection to magic. It's not just about power; it's about understanding and respecting the source. For us wolfkin, the veil is everything. It's our lifeline to the magic that courses through our lands, but at the same time spells like fireball or light or even heal are all common spells anyone with enough mana can learn no matter what race they are."
Tharon interjected, his voice carrying a mix of reverence and frustration. "And yet, here we are, without a single spell to our name."
Zarath chuckled, albeit a bit bitterly. "Life has a funny way of testing us, doesn't it? But we've survived this long without magic. We'll keep surviving."
Lyra let out a deep yawn, still exhausted after all the running, her voice a bit stretched as she tried to talk. "So, does that mean that even I can learn human magic."
Zarath let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of nose. "Yea, if you have the mana for it but, even among human's mages are only born." Zarath took a second to think, making a humming noise as he did. "I'd say maybe two out of ten maybe more, but it doesn't matter what magic it is you use though given your half wolfkin using our magic would be better but yeah if you wanted to use human hell even elven magic you could if you have the ability."
"Soo as a Grak'Shrak don't you have the ability?" Lyra just couldn't pass up the chance to learn more about this stuff, even as the niece of the Grak Tharakar Vos she only ever learned about the rituals the temple preformed.
"Yes, technically I could use magic." Zarath stated with a sarcastic tone as he just repeated himself. Tharon couldn't help but laugh at Lyra and Zarath's conversation as they all walked through the hill lands.
"But?" Lyra's replied with her own sarcastic tone not willing to take Zarath's response as an answer. She picked up her pace a little so that she was in front of him turning around and walking backwards so she could look him in the eye.
"But I never bothered to learn how, ok I was already being forced to learn how to do all the religious stuff and everything else that I didn't want to." Zarath rolled his eyes annoyed with Lyra as he gently pushed past her.
The group walked until midday the sun beating down on them, between the exhaustion from last night and walking half the day, the heat was only made worse by their leather armor and their body fur. The canteens they had filled the other day completely empty, even Hura began to slow down. Zarath climbed up the next hill at a slow pace as he reached the top something in the distance caught his eye.
Despite the groups best attempts to avoid the main road they somehow found their way back to it, and on the other side of the road at the bottom of the hill was a small walled off farmstead, the wall was about seven feet high and surrounded three buildings the largest one being a barn or stable, the second largest a two story house and the smallest building was right next to the entrance of the farmstead was what looked like a waystation two armed, guards both human and well equipped. That told Zarath that this was a stopping point for merchants traveling south, they were far enough south to have entered human lands, so it was possible a village was nearby maybe a day's walk.
As much as Zarath didn't want to he knew his friends and his Barkkon were all tired, even he was exhausted and so the decision he had before him was make his group walk all day or take shelter in this waystation. So, he walked back down the hill to his group.
"Well good and bad news, bad news we somehow ended up on the main road again, but there is a farmstead possible merchants way station, its walled off and it has two guards from what I saw." Zarath scratched the back of his head.
"Two guards for a waystation, I've seen humans a couple of times when they traded with our tribe, but only two guards." Tharon stretched out and shook his tail swaying behind him.
"I don't really care at this point a real bed and hot meal is all I care about right now." Lyra voiced her opinion without a care in the world, and started walking up the hill, Hura following behind her.
"Well guess we are going to the waystation." Zarath shrugged his shoulders and followed behind them, Tharon rolling his eyes deciding not to argue at this point and followed behind his friend. They crossed over the hilltop and descended down the far side, hitting the main road. As the group approached the walled farmstead, one of the guards shouted and soon both of them stood at the open gate, hands on the hilts of their swords, as they all got closer, another guard appeared from inside the wall stepping in between the guards already there.
"That's close enough, state your business." The new guard stated holding a hand up to tell the group to stop.
"We are just tired travelers looking for a safe place to rest." Zarath held his hands up and away from his weapons as to not appear threatening despite the fact he was a five-foot-tall wolf with claws and fangs.
"Three heavily armed wolfkin and a dire wolf, in midday approach my families farm and the waystation I guard by order of the Eldoria royal military." The guard stepped forward; he was a foot taller than Zarath. "And what's to say you aren't bandits trying to attack and rob us."
"Oh, that's a load of crap come on we are tired hungry, I'm tired of walking and I haven't bathed in a week." Lyra's frustration all came out at once before Zarath could say anything, catching both her friends and the guards by surprise.
Zarath cleared his throat and turned to the guard "This is her first trip anywhere, and we can pay." Zarath reached for the coin pouch his father had given him. They had already spent some of it in Vaerthruin and didn't have any way to make any money at this point.
After explaining a little more about the situation to the guard/famer that was in charge of the waystation and paying a small fee, the group was allowed inside and treated to a full meal for the first time in a week since they left Vaerthruin. The beds they were offered were all in one room and in an outbuilding behind the main house the walls surrounding the farmstead provided some since of security.
"See I told you this was a good idea warm food and a warm bed for the night." Lyra flopped over onto her bed quickly cuddling up to the pillow as if she had never seen one before.
"You technically just decided to walk towards this place without asking either me or Zarath." Tharon joked only to suddenly be hit in the face by a pillow, he quickly looked at Lyra who was pouting at him from atop her bed.
"Both of you just get some rest it's been a long day and I'm still tired after last night." Zarath quickly dropped onto his assigned bed, his face buried in the pillow as he let out a deep sigh.
The room soon filled with the gentle sounds of breathing as the trio drifted off to sleep, exhaustion claiming them swiftly. Outside, Hura kept a vigilant watch, they slept most of the day and the night passed uneventfully, the tranquility a stark contrast to their recent trials. As dawn broke, Zarath was the first to awaken, the morning light filtering through the small window of their lodgings. He stretched and quietly moved to rouse his companions. Lyra stirred slowly, a contented smile on her face.
"We should get moving soon," Zarath said softly, mindful of the others still resting in the main house. "We still have a long way to go, and we don't want to get caught by surprise again." Lyra yawned and nodded, reluctantly pulling herself from the comfort of the bed. Tharon grumbled but eventually followed suit, packing their belongings with practiced efficiency. The warm meal and restful sleep had done wonders for their spirits, and they felt ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
Before leaving, they thanked the guard and his family for their hospitality, promising to repay their kindness if ever their paths crossed again. The guard, giving them information about the trip south and how close they were to the town of Frontier, wished them safe travels, and with that the group set off, the sun rising higher in the sky, casting a golden hue over the fields. As they walked.