章 15: Only The Paranoid Survive

A patient enemy is a terrible foe.

That was the lesson Kir learned.

Whatever information he'd gained, Lugh didn't act on it the next day.

Or the day after that.

Or the week after that.

By the eleventh day, Kir felt a little crazy.

By the time they arrived at the last town before Norneau, he would jump at every little surprise.

His moms decided to rent a room at the local inn, while just outside the town the circus began to set up.

By then, Kir's family got along well enough with the circus folk that they offered to look after their wagon and raptors for the night, which saved them a bit on stabling fees.

Kir volunteered to look after the wagon, giving his moms a precious night to themselves and saving them another couple of silvers.

He felt a small amount of safety from the fact that Lugh was staying at a different inn. The population of villagers in the caravan had steadily decreased with each town on the way. Now any settlers left were staying in the village, so he hoped to have a nice quiet night.

That hope ended when Morn showed up with a bottle of wine.

After she sold him out, Kir avoided her as much as Lugh. He thought perhaps that meant she felt guilty, but now he wasn't so sure.

"Hey Kir. Fancy a bottle?" she asked, shaking an open bottle of some unidentifiable substance.

Kir had been laying on top of the supplies, only slightly uncomfortable thanks to his wings. He sat up halfway before addressing her. "I'm too young to drink," he said flatly, hoping to play into her perception that he was boring.

"Aww come on, your mams tell you that? Don't be a mama's boy," she challenged.

"What do you want?" Kir asked, staring into her eyes. The way she looked away said that perhaps she did feel guilty.

"A girl doesn't have to want something to be good company," she replied. "You should know that, eh?"

"I do know that," Kir said. "But I'm not a girl, and you're not just here for fun."

"Eh, fair point." She took a swig from the bottle. "There, see, not poison."

"Why would you think that I think you want to poison me?" Kir tucked his wings and stood a little to get some feathers out from under him before sitting up fully.

She snorted and chuckled. "You're paranoid. Good. Among our kind that means you'll make a good survivor." She laughed, but there was more than a little rue in the sound.

Kir wasn't in the mood for games. While she finished laughing he made the decision to get to cut strait to the point. "I know you sold me out to Lugh," Kir said.

Morn lowered the bottle to her side, eyeing Kir soberly. He watched her bite her tongue lightly as a look came over her face that said she was thinking very hard about something.

"You spied on us with magic?" she asked.

"I was in the area. Had some traps near the trail." He evaded her question.

"Ah. Knew Lugh wasn't the smart one in your little..." she gestured with a hand, "Rivalry?"

"We aren't rivals," Kir replied. "He's a racist prick, and I'm just trying to make a life for myself."

"Aren't we all," Morn said, leaning onto the wagon's chair without asking. "Honestly, I thought he fancied you. Wouldn't be the only man in camp with your name on their lips. Your pa must have been a real looker. Coulda made a lot more friends if you had more fun. Don't see hips like that on most boys."

Kir sighed. He looked older than sixteen and he was tired of reminding people that he considered himself too young for the 'activities' they wanted from him. And he certainly didn't want to unpack why she thought Lugh might be into him. The thought of that made him sick.

Instead, he changed the subject. "Let me be clear, I don't blame you for selling me out. What he does is on him... and I'll deal with it if he comes at me. Just like what you do is on you..." He stared her down.

The hand she held the bottle with twitched and Kir's eyes were drawn to it. "Well, you're right about that," she reached into her bodice and pulled out a stone token, onto which was carved a spell circle. "Lugh paid me to toss this into the wagon. Whole gold, too. Figured I'd pull you away to sleep somewhere else in case whatever he's fixing to do happens tonight."

"Why are you telling me this?" Kir asked. "I thought you sell information."

"There are people that buy knowledge, but then there are people who deserve to know things. You did good by my folk, so this is just me returning the favor," she crossed her arms in front of her and looked off into the lanes between circus tents.

"I appreciate it," Kir said. "I can tell you really care about the people here." He looked off into the tents as well, hearing laughter and he distant sounds of conversation. "Can I see the spell stone?"

"Have a go," she said, tossing it up to him.

Kir caught it and took a good look. Up close it turned out not to be stone but ceramic. The spell circle carved into it was rather simple. It was carved with the word for "fire" in Ancient Lyrlywrit, which was a precaution to keep just anyone from activating it.

Basically, it was an assistance tool for remote spellcasting, a focal point around which someone wishing to generate fire could cast instead of nearby. It needed only a small power source in the form of a mana crystal, and so Kir experimentally crushed it in his palm, surprised when it crumbled and revealed a small, coin-sized piece of red crystal.

A familiar temptation seized him, and so he delicately picked out the mana crystal with his other hand, before condensing some water to wash it clean.

As soon as it hit his tongue, he tasted sweetness and cinnamon. A little spicier compared to the raw mana crystal that had formed in the heart of the crystalbranch, but oh so very good. A warmth filled his body as he chewed and swallowed, the crystal breaking apart in his mouth like rock candy.

Morn's mouth dropped open in surprise. "You just... ate that." She wondered.

Kir shrugged. "Thought it would taste good."

"Only monsters eat mana crystals. That's how they get stronger before they change," she looked at him like he was curiosity. "I'm starting to think you might be a monster."

"Maybe I am... physically," Kir replied. "That token you had would have set this wagon on fire."

"Figured it was something like that," she replied. "Mighta did you a favor if I nicked some of those dresses your big mam was showing off the other night at the dance."

"I'm not about you to reward you with one if that's what you want," Kir said. "But you do have my thanks." He reached over and dug around, finding his purse amidst his things. The already light purse became lighter. From it, he extracted a couple of silver coins and handed them to her.

"Not gonna say no to that," she said as she took them. "You're a better kid than I thought. Wanna fly off? Have a little fun?"

Kir blushed and looked away. "I can't do that, I have to guard the wagon... besides, I still haven't figured out how to fly."

"Aww, come on lad. It's like riding a raptor. With a bit of magic, you can even float a bit. Does wonders for me when I have long lines in a play." She smiled up at him.

Kir sighed. "Fine. I'll learn from you. But only if you tell me what you told him, and only if I can keep watch on the wagon."

"First one's free, I decided," she took a moment to look around before she stood on her toes to whisper.

As soon as Kir learned what she'd told Lugh, he sighed.

It was bad, but not so bad he didn't think he could deal with it. Not like the thing he was most worried about...

"Thanks for telling me," he said.

"Ready to fly?" she asked.

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