The Great Hero is a Schoolteacher

I had a feeling that I wasn’t falling as fast as I should, but I wouldn’t risk a glance. I wanted to reach the ground with both eyes intact, so I kept them shut, my whole body curled up to protect my vital organs.

My guardian angel’s evanescent voice came back to my mind.

“I did my best, Al. You should stay in one piece.”

“Thank you, Cherub.”

I hit a treetop, then another. Wood cracked. There were so many branches breaking one after the other under my weight. Splinters tearing my woolen clothes, getting through my pants and shirt, scratching my scalp. I bounced from one tree to the other in what felt like an endless game of pinball. It was pain and then more pain, breaking my resolve to stay curled up. Still, as my body flew across the forest, I kept my eyes closed and my jaws clenched, through the fear, through everything. And then I hit the ground, scattering a thick layer of leaves in the impact.

This doesn’t look natural.

Cherub’s thoughts echoed in my mind.

“I increased the elasticity of the wood, gathered a large amount of vegetation, and used a little wind to limit your acceleration.”

“It worked! I’m alive! But I can’t really move right now…”

“Can you feel your legs?”

I wiggled my toes.

“A bit too much, to be honest. I didn’t break my neck. You’re the best angel, Cherub.”

I lay on my back, on top of a large heap of dead leaves and dry pine needles. I checked one limb at a time. Nothing felt broken, but I couldn’t get up yet, with my whole body so sore that every move was a torture.

I saw the evening sky above me, through the hole my fall had torn in the canopy.

I was alive.

The night fell and I still hurt too much to move away from the heap of leaves. I heard wolves howling in the distance, and other animals walking around me. If any of them thought me dead, they didn’t show it by trying to feast on me or anything. A predator could try its chance, though. I didn’t know whether I could fight back at all.

So I lay there, thinking.

Kossi kissed me in front of Catalin.

It wasn’t the thought I was supposed to be contemplating, but the next step of my quest relied on finding the wizard Uturi, and I had to wait until the next day before I could ask Cherub for help, so I indulged in romantic angst for the night.

What will she imagine? She must feel terribly betrayed, when the last she saw of me was a kiss with a man she’d never met in his human form, and now she’s locked in a cell, believing I fell to my death. Saegorg said he’d starve her and Chess. I just hope they won’t be tortured more than that. Hunger is difficult enough. Hunger, and believing I’m dead.

“Catalin Robi, I love you!”

A bird flew away.

“All right,” I added in a much lower voice. “Shouting in a forest at night might not be the best thing to do, especially when I’m not supposed to be alive.”

Why did Kossi kiss me by surprise? I mean, it was an amazing experience, like fire that doesn’t burn, and part of me craved it ever since I saw his human face in the council room, but he needs to learn a thing or two about consent!

After a while, I had to reluctantly roll over and remove some of my clothes to relieve a human urge. It didn’t smell or feel like I had internal bleeding, and my organs seemed to be in their right place. But even crouching was an ordeal, and I was feeling cold.

My woolen skirt had been badly torn in the fall. I finished the job, turning it into some kind of cape, and I wrapped myself in it, curled up against a tree. I was glad I’d kept my own clothes underneath my cook costume.

Despite the pain, I managed to sleep a little.

Dawn awoke me. Was it the light, was it the dew? Probably a bit of both. I sat up cautiously.

Ouch! I’m literally covered in cuts and scratches and I think I have a broken rib or two, but at least, my body doesn’t hurt as much as it did yesterday. Now I need to be brave, stand up and walk.

I felt hungry, but I had nothing to eat, and nothing that would help me get food, either. Our bags had stayed in the kitchen, up there, in Malo Castle, and what little equipment we had was now in the hands of Saegorg’s guards. I searched my pockets for anything useful, cursing under my breath every time my ribs hurt.

I had a lighter, a spoon, a folded piece of paper…

What’s this?

I frowned and took out a small object I didn’t remember carrying. It was round and wrapped in a sheet of soft paper.

I carefully unfolded the package. A message was written inside.

It’s not Brealian or Inabarian. It doesn’t even use the same alphabet.

And yet, thanks to my gift of languages, I was able to read it.

Lady Al, knowing your whereabouts fills me with joy, but also with worry, given your limited knowledge of our world. You will be welcome whenever you want to visit Elkodunar, provided you don’t plan on invading the empire or murdering me. This little gift might help you. I look forward to hearing of your feats.

There was no signature, but I didn’t need it to understand who the letter came from. I even had an idea of the exact moment Faur had slipped it into my pocket without me or my companions noticing. Swift deceitful demon! I’d sat on his lap for less than two seconds, when his coach had taken speed, and then he’d grabbed me to put me back on my own seat. I hadn’t even felt a thing.

I sighed.

“So, tell me, Faur, dear sworn enemy, what is this device you gave me?”

It looked like a compass with a complex dial. How am I supposed to use this? Faur, you wrote it yourself, I’m not familiar with this world! What do you want with me?

I sighed and rolled up my eyes. I’m too old for these games of riddles. Then I turned the object around, and I understood. A spell was cast upon it. But what did it do?

I spent some time reading the magic symbol that glowed on the brass surface.

It can take me to a place of my choice. Is that why Faur mentioned I could come to Elkodunar? No, wait…

The spell became clearer after a while.

I need to have a mental picture of the destination, so I couldn’t go to the Demon Empire even if I wanted to. It has to be a place I already know. The spell will only work once, and then, the compass will become normal, nonmagical.

An enchantment designed for a single use? I’d seen it before. A similar spell had protected Turoch Garnet’s house, back on the banks of Lake Mera.

The compass is beautifully crafted, though. I suppose I can keep it once the magic’s gone, and learn how to use it in a more conventional way.

But in the meantime, there was power in it. Power that could teleport me wherever I wanted.

My heart wanted to see Catalin and tell her I was alive. I considered this option for a moment, before shrugging it off. It was too risky. A single use meant I could get into Malo Castle, but not out, and I’d get caught again. I couldn’t let Saegorg know he’d failed to kill me.

Moreover, there were two days left before the end of Kossi’s ultimatum. At this point, I was alone, unable to reunite with my friends, and that hurt and disheveled hero was the dragon’s only hope. If I didn’t break the seal of magic that kept him under Saegorg’s influence, he’d either die riddled with bolts and spells, or survive the ambush and mercilessly kill King Esthar and all his council.

Keep focused, Alicia. I couldn’t go around contemplating disaster. There was one seal left, and the only person who could break it was a wizard named Uturi.

The day had dawned, which meant I could ask for Cherub’s help. I closed my eyes.

“Cherub? I’m still alive, thanks to your help! Scratched and bruised, and I may have a broken rib or two, but I passed the night. I can walk. And I need your help again.”

There was no answer.

“Cherub?” I insisted. “I need you to help me find a wizard I don’t know. All I have is his name, Uturi. What can you tell me?”

“You already know this person, Al. You met him.”

“Excuse me?”

“You know him as Senior Magus Pernel. That was your info for the day. Get well soon, isn’t that what you humans say?”

“Yes, but…”

Cherub’s thoughts vanished from my conscience, leaving me in deep shock.

Pernel. The Senior Magus with the rose gold hair. The one who’d carried my voice like a megaphone, to guide as many people as I could out of the moat, back in Carastra. He was condescending and not very pleasant to be around, but he’d helped me, so why would I even imagine he could be a traitor?

The man who cast the spell on Kossi is one of King Esthar’s closest advisors. He’s involved in the military operation to bring the dragon down.

I remembered the debate in the council room. All of the Senior Magi had agreed to kill the dragon fairly quickly, and Pernel had been the most vocal one, when it came to convincing advisors who brought up doubts. He wants it to happen. He wins either way: either Kossi dies and Brealia loses a major protector, or Kossi lives and has an opportunity to kill the king. How long has he secretly been working for Inabar?

My head was spinning with hunger and dread. Pernel and King Esthar seemed rather close. I was pretty sure the king trusted his Senior Magus in a way he’d never trust me. I couldn’t just walk to him and say “Hi, Your Majesty, this man is a traitor who only pushes you to ambush Kossi because it serves Saegorg’s interests.” In fact, I probably couldn’t even say “Hi, Your Majesty” without being arrested.

Yet, I had to find a way around that situation. I hated knowing that the wizard responsible for all we’d been through was in Carastra all along. I was the Great Hero Al. I should have seen it coming.

Come on, Alicia, I can’t guess everything. I’m not much of a hero.

I breathed in.

But I can try and act like one. I have innocent lives to spare, and two friends to free before they get tortured.

I looked down at the compass in my hand. Carastra it was, then. I’d find Uturi and confront him. But in my state, I couldn’t face a Senior Magus alone.

I need someone to help me. And I know who.

I looked at the magic symbol again. I needed to put my fingertips in certain places around the compass, think very hard of the place I wanted to be transported to, and use a word of command. It was rather simple to everyone but me.

To me, it’d be a terrible experience, I knew it. Faur had teleported me before and it’d made me feel sick, so a trip over a much longer distance would probably feel a lot worse. But I’d sworn to save everyone I could, and the only way to achieve it was to do it at the expense of my poor stomach.

It's empty, after all. There isn’t much I can throw up.

I focused on my destination. The index finger goes here and the thumb goes there, and now, remember Carastra, Alicia!

The world around me blurred.

It was early morning and I could only hope to be fairly undisturbed in my landing spot, near the grotto in Lexas Gardens.