The Chronicles of a Scalebound Sage

[11] Raw

Bjorn was on his second trip back to the bayou taking the longer route around the shadow wolves territory. He had the goal of hunting a few of the snakes and lizards since they would leave the water in fear of him. He also needed to find the last of the ingredients for Freja’s health potions. The first two luckily grew in the grassland but the last grew closer to water sources and should be fairly common. 

Before he left he had to assist Freja in making a splint for her leg. All he had to do was find appropriately sized sticks and her wind hand magic did the rest. She had to sacrifice a few garments namely her bloody outfit that was already torn to shreds by the troll. He is surprised at how well she is holding up. She was from a noble house, a lady of class, but she seemed to have dedicated herself to survival no matter what. He imagined anyone else her age in her position would have broken down and been paralyzed in grief but not his master.

He had Failsafe carry the new empty beaker Freja will need for the potions. Bjorn flicked his tongue, tasting the air for anything unusual. He was especially worried about a second run in with the wolves. He still had seven or so hours before he could use his magic again. This left him with his only options being climbing a tree or biting which was deadly but against eight wolves he doubted he could win.

“Freja’s wind magic has gotten much stronger, did you notice?” Failsafe stated absently.

“It was an improvement from what we saw at the academy.” Bjorn agreed as he flicked his tongue and altered his course slightly. “Why bring it up suddenly?”

“Well, I think she may have finally realized what my magic did to her.” Failsafe stated. “While the familiar contract is helping stabilize her magic, what her body copied from me is organizing it in a way that is helping her out with control.”

“Yeah and as she grows in magic we do too.” Bjorn added. “The more her mana is refined and amplified the more we get from her. She also seems to be okay with the fact that I can understand her.”

“I am pretty sure she may think that you are a True of some kind. I mean I would too if I were her.” Failsafe said while bobbing his own head in agreement.

“Well, as soon as we get enough magic and I can talk, we will clear all that up.” Bjorn responded.

“What if you are a True? We are going to unlock a small fragment of your memories soon. What if we find out this creature you reincarnated as is one.” Failsafe stated thoughtfully. “When you are a few hundred years older you will literally be one of the most powerful entities in this plane. Freja will too, if she lives that long or rather if you keep the familiar contract. Both of you might be pulled into the higher planes.”

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“That is thinking so far ahead it doesn’t even matter.” Bjorn stated. “Right now we need to focus on getting out of this forest alive. The shadow wolves will expand their territory now that the troll is dead and we are at least a week or two away from being able to leave.”

“Right-right. I am just excited about being that powerful. I have a vague image of you before you died but you would have been limited by the fact that you were mortal. Being a True would mean not only will we inevitably reach that level of power again but we will grow far beyond it.” 

“If I am one that would make you obsolete. I will live forever so why have a reincarnation system?” Bjorn stated as he flicked his tongue tasting the air for the direction of the water. “See, it is better to think about what we have going on right now.”

“Oh, right…” Failsafe thought about it for a long while. “That just means I get to hang out with you forever then so that is okay.”

The water came into view and Bjorn immediately went to fill the beaker then left it by a rock while he went to find the plants. As he approached the water he could see reptiles avoiding him and taste the fear in the air. He would have to focus on that later when it was time to hunt. Fleron is a small blue-green flowering plant with feathery leaves. He needed to dig some up for its roots. 

The first time he was here he was so on edge he didn’t even have the time to appreciate the beauty of the wetland. Now that he wasn't being chased he could really use his heightened senses and keen awareness to experience the world in a whole new way. While he kept a constant look out for the taste of shadow wolves’ magic, he also came across a vast array of natural scents and tastes. 

The muddy ground gave a little under the weight of his paws and the break in the trees allowed the area to glow with a myriad of greens and browns. A few trees grew out of the water, life magics seeped out from their branches into the ambiance of the air. Moss grew in drapes across the ancient woodland and a sense of untouched nature threatened to cause Bjorn to drop his guard and just take it all in.

After climbing over the gnarled roots of an ancient tree he finally came across the first plant that looked similar to the image Freja had shown him. His journey took him dangerously close to the shadow wolf territory but he didn’t have a choice. As soon as he collected the plants he would swim back so they couldn’t track his scent if they tried.

He found that digging was not his strong suit. He was working diligently to uncover his third fleron cluster and each of them had been a hassle to claw up from the mud. The roots of the plant were connected to a bulb the size of a green onion and they grew in small clusters of about four or five. While he dug Failsafe kept an eye out for any changes and he trusted that the magical construct would keep him safe. He had been at the bayou for three hours and he still had to hunt something and return with his prizes. 

“All that is left is to find something we can catch really quick.” Bjorn said mentally to Failsafe as he placed the fleron cluster next to the beaker of water. “This is going well.”

“What did you have in mind?” Failsafe stated. “I have been keeping an eye on several snakes and lizards.”

 “We will kill a few snakes.” Bjorn said thoughtfully as he turned to look at the sky. “We should be able to carry them easily enough. We need to hurry though it will be getting late by the time we return.”

Failsafe easily guided Bjorn to a snake which he had been keeping an eye on. The coiled up brown snake was almost invisible amongst the dead vegetation and fallen leaves. If not for the strong taste of fear in the air Bjorn would have missed the creature altogether. As he approached the snake opened its mouth revealing its fangs in an attempt to dissuade him from getting any closer. Of course it didn’t work and the snake continued to coil in preparation for a strike. 

In the blink of an eye the snake lunged forward only for Bjorn to catch it mid strike between his jaws and bite down on its head. The iron tang of blood mixed in his mouth and the snake hung limp. He found the taste oddly pleasant even more so than the cooked meat they fed him at the academy. Something about the fresh kill and blood spoke to his instincts. Nevertheless he needed to catch a few more and would eat a couple before returning.

The cave was in sight and night was approaching fast. The rot of the troll and the still ever increasing flock of vultures meant not much had changed. The last sprinkling of light faded as they approached the cave mouth.

“Do we even know if Freja eats meat?” Failsafe stated as they entered. “I mean she does have antlers like a deer, what if she is vegetarian.”

“You have a point. I don’t know. Well if we bring her animal corpses she’ll either cook and eat or send us to find something she can eat.” Bjorn responded thinking back and remembering he never saw her eat before.

Freja was asleep when he arrived but the sound of his claws clacking against the rock floor roused her awake. The fire was little more than embers but the stack of firewood had decreased. Freja must have been using wind hands to keep it going. She greets Bjorn and inquires about the fleron roots which he presents along with the beaker of water and three snake corpses. She examines the roots while Bjorn places the water near the embers and replaces the wood, restarting the fire.

“Bjorn, did you kill these with your venom?” Freja asked while looking at the snakes.

Failsafe turned around and shook his head no before turning back around to help Bjorn. He was stoking the fire when he heard crunching behind him. He turned and to his surprise Freja was eating one of the snakes raw, scales and all. He never noticed before but her teeth weren’t that of a herbivore or really even an omnivore. Her teeth were sharp and she had eight canine teeth, four top and four bottom to drive the point home. Freja’s species was most certainly not vegetarians. She seemed more comfortable eating the snake raw than he did.

Failsafe said mentally to Bjorn. “I think we know what she eats now.”

Freja picked up the second snake and opened her mouth ready to bite when she noticed Bjorn watching her. She lowered it slightly embarrassed.

“What?” She said as she looked between Bjorn and the snake. “Were these for you?”