Yamara

My thrown dagger missed, but it caused the creature to dodge to the side. That gave me the time I needed to jump to my feet and sprint over on its flank. It spun to try and attack me, but my shortsword cut across its upper arm, causing it to draw back in pain. My next swing took the spear out of its hand, leaving it defenseless. I approached it again, sword held ready to strike, and the creature looked at me with fear in its eyes. It fell to its knees and raised its hands in a supplicating gesture, begging for mercy. I gave it the only mercy I knew... and its head fell beside its body.

I snatched up my dagger then and turned to see how my companions fared. Sandala was pulling her bastard sword out of the rib cage of the last of her adversaries, though she bled freely from her arm and her side. Kryl and Arktan were both finished with their foes, but were to far from the rest of us to offer much help. Brina was still retreating from the last two, her strikes becoming more and more desperate as the creatures got a feel for fighting with each other against her. I decided to even things up a bit and sheathed my sword and dagger. I pulled the two throwing daggers I always carry close by and threw both of them, one after another.

Brina saw the flash of steel and jumped forward, ramming her saber into the bowels of one of the creatures. The other one turned to strike her down but stumbled and fell to its knees instead. My daggers stuck out of its back, one spearing a kidney and another a lung. Wrenching her saber free in a disemboweling move, Brina turned and lopped the head of the kneeling creature to finish them both off. She smiled at me and winked, then looked around.

I reclaimed my throwing daggers and looked down at the scraps of the halter top hanging from my shoulders. I pulled it off my shoulders and winced as I stretched and the gash across my chest opened further. Chuckling ironically, I figured I had some fresh scars coming. The blood ran down my chest and across my belly. I opened a pouch at my side and reached into it, my hand sinking deeper in it then should have been possible. I saw Brina watching me out of the corner of her eye and I smiled to myself. She definitely had potential. I did not see Sandala also keeping her eye on me, however.

I pulled a vial of pale blue liquid out of my magical pouch of accessibility, so named for its extra-dimensional space inside that could hold far many times what it should be able to, as well as its ability to let whatever the user wants to find (if it is inside the pouch) be found simply by willing it to be so, instead of rooting around needlessly for the correct thing. I took the cork out of the end of the vial and carefully took a sip of it, making certain I drank no more then a third of it. The liquid ran down my throat and felt cool and soothing, tempting me to drink more of it simply to fight off the effects of the exertion in the heat.

Brina gasped when I turned around and faced them. While the blood on my chest and belly was still there, the wound itself had rapidly began to close and knit together. In a matter of moments a pink scar was all that remained, though it was still tender to the touch. An added benefit I had not considered would happen from taking a drink of my healing potion was that my skin, already a bright red from the suns harmful touch, tanned down quickly. Inadvertently, I had just saved myself several days or more of painful sunburn and peeling. I popped the cork back into the vial and placed it back in my magical pouch.

"What did you just drink?" Sandala asked, coming closer to me. Brina approached also, her hand reaching out subconsciously to touch my chest where the slash had been.

"It was a potion of healing," I said, watching Brina as her fingers lightly traced the new scar then pulled back as she realized that she had just practically fondled my breasts.

"A potion? I have never heard of such a thing," Sandala said, a hint of awe in her voice.

"They are common where I come from," I told her. "Or at least common among magical items."

"We have something similar here, though none of us have any," Sandala said, considering what she had learned. "To us such healing can take place by consuming kuwami fruits."

I tilted my head and considered what she said. "You okay?" Kryl said as he came up on the three of us. He had already gone through several of the dead creatures belongings, and Arktan was finishing up with the others. Arktan had a slight gash on one of his cheeks, and Kryl was unwounded.

"Aye, we'll live," Sandala said, smiling at the Acathian.

He grunted and studied me for a few moments, not paying any attention to my exposed chest any more then he did the rest of me. Finally he met my gaze for a moment and nodded. "You fought well," was all he said to me before he turned away went to check on more of the creatures.

"I think he likes you," Brina said conspiratorially to me with a grin. I could not help but laugh at that, in spite of myself.

"He's in a good mood," Sandala explained, "he got to fight."

I chuckled and turned to look at the slain beings. "What were they? I've never seen their like before."

"Shissar's," Sandala said. "A small group of them, usually there are many more. And usually they are lead by a more skilled and powerful leader with psionic powers."

Something clicked in my head at that. "Then there must be one about! When we approached I felt something contact my mind, I thought it was magic at the time. It warned me to retreat because we were in danger. Then those rocks all came flying at us, remember?"

Sandala, Brina, and Arktan all looked around suspiciously then, remembering the rocks themselves. "I don't think that the shissar leader would warn you before attacking," she said doubtfully. "But the rocks are proof enough of a powerful psionicist being here."

"He was here, and he has been dealt with."

I spun at the sound, seeing a man wearing a light brown robe floating slowly down from the exposed upper story of a ruined building. He held out his hands to show that he had no immediate ill intentions toward us, but my hands rested on the hilts of my weapons regardless.

"Who are you?" Sandala asked. Kryl had seen what was happening and rejoined us quickly, scowling at the man but clearly excited at the prospect of more battle.

"My name is Keeden," He said, finally reaching the ground and approaching us with a smile on his face. "I have been hiding from those Shissar for many days now, always a step ahead of them. I and my companion have been troubled by them, but they were to many for us to deal with. I thank you for your intervention, and in return I dealt with their leader so he would not harm you."

He turned and looked at me then, a strange look in his eye. "It was me that contacted and tried to warn you. You have a strange mind, not like your companions or any I have ever touched before. I think there is a hidden potential in you."

I bristled at that. "I thank you for your warning and help, but I warn you once and once only, stay out of my mind."

He held up his hands apologetically. "I'm sorry to upset you, I was not 'in your mind', as you put it, I merely touched it to warn you and sensed the unharnessed power within you. I could help you find it, if you would like."

I refused to believe that he was willing to help me without some sort of personal gain, it went against everything I had come to know and trust. "And what do you get out of it?"

He appeared surprised at that question, but I knew it had to be a ploy. "Well, um, I suppose you could pay me if you wanted, but I don't really need it. Consider it another sign of my thanks for helping me stop the Shissar that were plaguing me and my friend."

I snorted slightly and turned at the sound of someone approaching. From between two buildings emerged a woman using a walking staff that I was certain could double as a weapon in a moments notice. She wore a revealingly low cut tunic made of some tanned animal hide I did not recognize that also exposed her sides through wide leather laces. She also had a shield on her left arm, boots and a sand colored cloak to complete her outfit. A moment later a female lion slipped out behind her. Both came to stop next to the man, the lion sitting down and panting in the heat as she leaned affectionately against the woman's leg. I studied her carefully, noting faint elven - oops, make that Pudarin - features in her face and tall but skinny frame.

"Allow me to introduce my traveling partner, Sarya. We came here several weeks ago because I have heard there is some psychic disturbance in this area and I wished to investigate it for my own curiosity," Keeden said.

"Hoping to find some long lost treasure?" I asked cynically.

He laughed and responded, "Well, of course... aren't you?"

He had me there, so I did not respond. Sandala looked around at the scene we stood in the middle of. A small tribe of dead shissar with an as yet undiscovered psionic leader, and an admitted psionicist in front of us. Apparently my suspicions were not the only ones to be raised.

"Where is the shissar leader?" She asked.

"Check that building over there, he should be on the first floor in the back near what was once a window," Keeden responded.

Sandala nodded to Kryl to go and check it out. He scowled but headed towards the building. I glanced at Arktan and then the building and felt a brief moment of pity. Standing 9 feet tall, he would have a hard time fitting in almost any human sized establishment.

Kryl came out a moment later and tossed the body of another shissar onto the ground in front of us. Dried blood had run from his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth, and there was bruising apparent around his temples. I shuddered slightly to think of the power of a man that could kill with his mind alone, and vowed that I needed to learn as much about psionics as I could.

"You are wounded, please, Sarya is a priestess, she can tend your wounds," Keeden said, noticing the blood on us and how Brina and Sandala seemed to be not faring as well because of it. Sarya looked at him questioningly, but he just smiled and nodded towards us.

"What sort of priest is she?" I asked cautiously. After all the talk of corrupt priests serving evil sorcerer-kings, I was not about to let one of them touch me.

"I worship the elemental powers of water," Sarya said defensively, looking at me challengingly. I could tell right there that the two of us were not going to get along.

"A water priestess? You travel in good company, Keeden," Sandala said, nodding her assent to Sarya to treat her.

Sarya came forward and examined Sandala's wounds. She studied them for a few moments before chanting low arcane words that I sensed were little more then nonsense. She grabbed the waterskin at her side and pulled the stopper from it. She let a few drops of water fall into the palm of her hand and mixed a strange powder from one of her pouches with it. When she applied the mud to Sandala's injuries the wound quickly healed, leaving streaks of clean skin amidst all the dust and dirt of several days travel. She moved to Brina next and repeated her process. The lion yawned in the heat and moved over to a spot of shade next to the wall. She laid down and waited patiently for Sarya to finish.

She left Brina and approached Arktan next, motioning for him to bend over so she could heal the scratch on his head. He smiled at her and thanked her quietly, offering her some of the ceramic coins he had taken off of the dead shissar. She smiled at him and shook her head, pushing his hand away. She moved to me next, and I could tell that if it were up to her, she would leave me to die rather then heal me. I smiled at her sweetly, knowing how much she must be irritated and enjoying it for some dark reason. She looked at my wounds carefully though, spending as little time staring at my exposed chest as possible, before deciding there was nothing she could do for me.

I had been healed many times by clerics in the past and I knew damn well that she saw no open wounds or life threatening injuries so she did not want to waste her time on me, but I was still sore and could have used a little bit of help. Rather then add any fuel to the situation, I just smiled at her and said, "Thanks anyhow." She returned to Keeden's side, refusing to look at me.

"The day grows long and now that at least this part of Guthmoor appears safe, will you share a camp with us?" Keeden asked us. I glanced at my newfound companions and shrugged. It appeared the others had similar feelings.

"Our thanks again, Keeden and Sarya, we would be glad to share your fire," Sandala said.

Being the individualistic person that I am, I would have figured that Sandala and I would rub each other the wrong way, since she appeared to be the leader of the group. However, we got along quite well thus far, and I was surprised by it. I admired her keen intellect and ability to react to situations as they unfolded with the group in mind. I had to admit, she did a good job of it, probably even better then I would be able to, since I would keep my own well being as a priority over anyone else. Then again, we had not butted heads over anything yet either, so perhaps our comradely nature would dissolve as soon as it was tested.

Nonetheless, we gathered what things we needed from the mounts and moved them within the city walls several streets away where Keeden and Sarya had already set up a camp. I grabbed another shirt from Brina's sack of clothing, with her permission, and realized that by the time we reached a tailor, I would probably owe her a fortune in clothing alone. Picking a sharp rock out of my bare foot I realized that I would gladly pay a fortune for a decent pair of boots.

Night, or the perpetual dusk that Acathia called night, came quickly after that, and we split up the watch amongst all of us in pairs again. This time Keeden got stuck with me on the second watch, and the jealous looks from Sarya told me far more then I suspect she wanted me to know about their relationship. I filed it away for future use, and spent my time speaking with Keeden about psionics, wanting to learn as much as I could about them.

By the time our watch was over, Keeden had showed me some of his psionic abilities. Igniting the torn and useless top I had worn before the fight with his mind alone, as well as weakening a piece of rock so that I could snap it in two with my fingers. The powers of the mind, he explained to me, were limited only by the mind. Pretty existential. By the end of my watch with him, I was seriously considering his offer to help me unlock the hidden potential he claimed I had. My questions remained as to how far I could trust him to tamper with my mind. He insisted that he would not look into my thoughts, but if he could do all the things I had seen him do, and I was sure countless more beyond that, then how could I trust him? He had pointed out that my companions would be there to protect me in case anything happened, but that made me wonder just how much I trusted my companions.

I felt as though I had the potential to open up a great new world for exploration, but my fear was that perhaps instead of a door to a new world, I might instead find a fake door with a poisonous trap instead. Worse then that was the thought that I might become dependant upon people, even if only for a short time. Even worse yet, what if I could not let myself depend upon them?

Chapter 5

And so, after a night to sleep on it, I decided the very next day to let Keeden help me try to unlock my psychic potential. Having glimpsed the power I might have, I could not deny myself the opportunity to reach for them., whatever the cost.

I might have been better off had I not approached Keeden while he was with Sarya, but that would have stolen some of my fun. In a bleak world such as Acathia, I wanted as much enjoyment as I could get. "After our talk last night, I think I'm willing to enlist your help," was what I said.

It was not anything bad or misleading, but the look on Sarya's face showed that it did not need to be. She glared hard at me for a moment, then turned when Keeden responded. "Alright, let us try it tonight, when Yorinn sets. It will take me some time to prepare myself for it, and you would do well to relax and calm your mind beforehand as well, for it can be an exhaustive process."

Sarya's mouth opened and shut silently like a fish gasping for air. I fought down the chuckle and nodded, then turned and walked away. I could hear her start in on him as soon as I was out of earshot, and I could no longer resist the smile that found its way onto my face. Jealousy is such a foolish emotion.

For that day, Sarya and Keeden spent most of it by themselves, him preparing for the nights ordeal, and her waiting hand and foot on him. Kryl, Arktan, and Brina did some exploring of the ruins nearby. I waited and tried to spend the day resting and preparing myself, but that merely made the day lost longer. Sandala was nearby at all times, doing this or that, and always ready to talk whenever a question made its way through my thoughts. Even preoccupied as I was, I appreciated her kindness and wondered at the type of person that could show such a thing without any need or want for recompense. Somewhat bitterly I decided that I would owe her a favor later on, and that was surely why she was trying so hard to befriend me. More subtle then Brina, by far, but a similar bait to catch the Yamara fish.

So it was that when the time finally approached, I was more then ready to be done with it.

Keeden and I sat facing each other on the sandy ground, the campfire beside us casting flickering shadows across our faces. He threw some powder into the campfire which burned brightly and sent a pleasant smell into the air. I recognized it as simple incense, but suspected that he used it as a cheap parlor trick to try and increase the authenticity of his act. Then I had to admit, his act needed little convincing.

Taking his lead, I closed my eyes and let myself be lulled by the crackling fire and the smell of the incense into a meditative pose. Then I felt something brush up against the back of my head. It was like before, gently making contact with me so subtly that I barely knew it was there. Then the contact was fully established and our minds opened to each other.

I reveled in the sensation at first. It was so new and so wondrous, to be able to feel and see and read whatever thoughts were on the surface of his mind. Then I realized that he could do the same to me, and I took care to shield my thoughts by thinking about nothing. I felt his humor then, and heard him tell me to relax and to open myself up or else we would be unable to continue. Hesitantly, I relaxed my guard.

What came next stunned me. Our minds were already linked on the surface, but the convergence that took place left me feeling ... inadequate. It was as if our minds were working together, our memories were shared, our skills were shared, our ability to think and to reason was shared. To a limited extent, even our consciousness was shared. It was quite overwhelming for me, and so I sat there stunned and more then a little frightened.

Keeden spoke to me in my mind, trying to reassure me. Slowly I regained my composure, and he proceeded, sifting through my mind like a healer trying to remove an arrowhead from a wound and causing as little damage as possible with his knife. I was unaware of how long it was taking, for it seemed as though all of eternity could pass in a moment.

I reached out then myself, exploring his mind as stealthily as I could. I think he had not anticipated this, for he left no wards or guards up to protect himself. I discovered his memories and quickly plunged into them, experiencing his life as much as he had experienced it. That finished, I continued on, searching out his knowledge, trying to learn as much as I could both about Acathia and about him and what he could do. I was quite impressed by the time I had finished, for I realized that here was a man who's mental discipline was very powerful. Through his memories, I had witnessed him crushing creatures with the power of his mind alone. It was rather humbling for me.