Chapter 3.
The sun was getting very close to the horizon, following its customary route before giving way to dusk, and then finally, to the night. Yet on the last steps of its trip, it rebelliously shone its rays, basking the beautiful countryside in reddish light, giving it a somewhat extravagant quality. Just before dipping below the horizon, the sun's last rays showed a lone rider who was traveling across the countryside, gazing in every direction with wonder.
"Why the hell is this country called Wildlands?!"
Magnus asked himself for the tenth time in the last few days. He had crossed the questionable border between Nessia and Wildlands two days ago, and since then he had been enjoying the beauty of this tumultuous country. It reminded him of Ashad, with its meadows, woods, and streams, yet the plant life was definitely of a different kind here. Still, it seemed like a beautiful land, and he couldn't reconcile the picture he had formed in his mind when he had first heard the name Wildlands with the sight he had before his eyes. He was expecting a wasteland, a desert... or a dryish prairie at the most, yet in the last two days, all he had seen were blooming grasslands and forests.
Magnus stopped for a moment and looked around in every direction. The dusk was about to settle and he needed a decent camping spot. After a moment of deliberation, he found a clearing surrounded by trees. It would keep him reasonably hidden from sight. He dismounted and stretched his limbs, trying to shake off the ache in his muscles, especially in his legs and butt. Then, he cast a few earth and air spells all around the clearing to serve as a warning in case someone tried to sneak upon him.
"Although, I am yet to see a single human being in these... Wildlands,"
Magnus thought, settling down on the ground and taking some food out of his bag. Judging by the scarce information he had gotten in Nessia, Wildlands had plenty of tribes who often warred amongst themselves, and the only reason this nice land hadn't been conquered by some other country was because the tribes would usually stop their quarrels to deal with the invader. If the stories were true, they were fierce warriors, honed by years of infighting.
"I wonder why they can't find a way towards peace,"
Magnus mused as he took a bite of dried meat and cheese. The last chance he had had for eating something warm was several days ago in an inn in Nessia, and he felt quite fed up with dry food. But it was all he had right now. He was about to take a second bite when he heard one of his alarm spells go off. He rose to his feet quickly, straining his eyes to see in the waning light of the day.
"There... what..."
Magnus thought as he started charging a spell by instinct.
THWACK!
The crossbow made a distinct sound as it launched its deadly projectile towards Magnus. On pure instinct, Magnus released his spell instantly and his lightning bolt flew straight into the trees...
A jolt of pain shook his body, radiating from his left shoulder, as a muffled cry sounded from the trees. Magnus turned his head and saw a crossbow bolt lodged in the flesh. The bolt had likely stopped when it hit bone, and it was now protruding from his left shoulder. Anticipating pain, he gritted his teeth and pulled at the bolt, yanking it out of his body with a cry of pain. Blood flowed in rivulets out of the wound, but Magnus paid no attention. A cold shiver ran through his body as his brain processed the sight before his eyes. The head of the bolt was blue.
"Lenerium..."
Magnus thought as the implications became clear. This was no bandit attack; this was an assassination attempt...
Magnus walked slowly towards the trees, expecting any moment to feel the surge of energies in his body, indicating that his brain was working on mending the shoulder wound. Yet, nothing was happening...
"The last time, my magic returned the second lenerium was removed from my arm..."
Magnus thought, nearing the place where he heard a cry.
"Maybe if it penetrates my body... or maybe if it touches my blood it takes longer for the magic to return?"
He felt a pang of worry in his gut. He barely knew anything about the strange metal. Yet he did know it was extremely expensive and quite brittle, so only a fool would use it for a crossbow bolt... unless one wanted to kill a mage.
Magnus made a few more steps and then spotted his attacker. He was lying face down on the ground and Magnus approached him cautiously, straining his eyes to spot any kind of movement in the receding light of the day. Then, he realized his caution was unnecessary. The assassin was dead.
"So much for the answers..."
Magnus thought, turning the body over and searching through the pockets.
"Nothing..." Magnus exclaimed with a hint of frustration. The man was probably just a paid assassin anyway. The pain in his arm reminded Magnus of his wound and of the fact that his healing wasn't working...
"I'll just have to do it the old-fashioned way..."
Magnus thought, walking back towards his horse. Rummaging through his bags, he found some clean cloth and miraculously, some of the healing ointment that Fiona used to buy from her sources. It must have been among his things since before he developed his healing abilities. He rubbed it over his wound, grunting in pain and hoping the ointment would work. Then he bandaged the wound carefully and sat on the ground sighing heavily.
"I must have stirred some attention after all..."
He thought, realizing the implications. Instead of going west in a straight line from elven lands, he had chosen to travel south, following the same way he had used to get to elven lands, through Fluvia and its capital Charobny, then through Vistania's Highfort and then finally heading for Nessia. He had traveled through every major city that was even remotely on his trajectory, hoping to find some clue, some information, just in case the directions he had gotten from the Seer were no good. He had asked questions, describing Lina and watching for clues on the faces of people he had asked, but without result. Yet somebody had obviously been rattled enough by his questions to want him dead, and it seemed that same somebody had spared no expenses.
"I wish they had tried something BEFORE I went through three whole countries... Then I would at least have some idea where to go and poke... Now, after asking questions in so many places, I have no way of knowing where and whom did I provoke..."
Magnus thought, stretching on the ground.
"No... I must continue west and hope that the Seer was right. Hopefully, my magic will be back after a night's sleep."
***
Magnus woke up, feeling a throbbing pain in his shoulder. He groaned, realizing he was still cut off from magic. He was getting worried.
"I am not sure if I will be able to accomplish much without it... but I must press on. I am still a week or two away from the coast and plenty can happen in that time. I really hope it is just a matter of time before my magic returns...,"
