Life Review Ch. 05

"We were in time, the gods watch over this man," Denza called back sounding pleased. "I'll throw down the harness!"

Shawn couldn't make out the state of the man and knew that moving someone in unknown condition could make everything much worse, but he didn't have many options. Even if the coast guard was a thing in Niverra, a helicopter wouldn't have been able to make it down into the narrow opening of the gorge and the wind was too strong and chaotic.

"Hey buddy, if you can hear me I'm sorry ahead of time if this is painful," Shawn said to the man.

Shawn heard a ragged breath and mumbled attempts at trying to speak and was able to make out his hoarse whispered plea, "Help...only one left...need to warn..."

Denza tossed down the makeshift rope harness to him. He pulled the man into a sitting position and started tying the loops around his limbs and torso. The man groaned in pain but didn't fight him. After he finished, he looped the two largest straps around himself and secured them in place with one of the few knots he learned in the Scouts as a kid and double checked to make sure it was secure.

"We are here looking for the missing caravan and the expeditionaries that went out looking for it. Given that we've found you like this, you probably know the reason why we need to be quiet," Shawn told the man quietly as he worked, trying to keep his tone soothing.

Once he was finished, Shawn took a deep breath and smoothly got to his feet. The man on his back stifled a scream as his body was jostled. He saw the man bite down on his fist while his free arm gripped Shawn like a vice, steeling himself for the hardest leg of the rescue.

"They'll find us," The man slurred as his head lolled to the side.

"I'll give you a choice. We can do this the slow and steady way, you'll be in pain longer but I'll try to keep from moving you too much," Shawn offered. "Or we can try to get this taken care of in one go, but it might cause you to be in considerably more pain if I try to jump us the whole way in once shot."

"Hurry...no time. Escape...," The man gripped him harder, starting to shake as he suppressed his fearful sobs.

Shawn looked up at the soft ruby light casting Denza in shadow and called up to her, "Denza, I'm going to try to make this in one jump. I need you to be my target. Brace yourself!"

He crouched down and flexed his muscles until he felt like he was a coiled spring. He reached for the nebulous power of the wind inside his mind and felt it suffuse his whole body. He focused on Denza and her light as his target, flipping the mental switch to active Gale Intercept. He glanced up to check his trajectory one last time and almost lost focus when he swore he saw an arcing line that mapped his path to the ledge above. He blinked and the line vanished as the spell took hold.

Shawn felt himself rise upwards on the winds before it exploded under his feet with a muffled thwump as he was sent rocketing towards his target. With half a thought he reached out and caught the handle of his climbing axe on the way up and felt his arm almost get torn from its socket as the embedded blade was ripped free of the rockface.

The wind tore at his armor and exposed face as it fought back against his explosive acceleration. While his magic was propelling him he had the urge to shut his eyes to block out the stinging sensation. He knew that if he did, he would slam into Denza or the rocks.

His spell ended as quickly as it had begun, and Shawn found himself hanging motionless in midair with Denza looking up at him with her face frozen in shock. Shawn could feel himself still moving and his body felt primed as if ready to explode into motion. Shawn thought back to his training session at the guild but couldn't quite understand what he was experiencing.

Shawn's world lurched into motioned and he shot passed Denza and straight towards the towering wall of the gorge behind her. His heart skipped a beat and panic rose in his chest, but his body reacted before he could overcome his fear response. His knees jerked to his chest so that he collided feet first into the wall. There was a sharp sound of metal striking stone as the steel plates in his boots collided with the stone. The resulting shock ripped up Shawn's legs, feeling like his muscles had been cut into with a white hot blade and felt sharp popping sensations in his joints.

He didn't have time to deal with the pain lancing through his body. Gravity chose that moment to reassert its presence and he fell backwards. Fighting through the shock and pain that clouding his brain, Shawn managed to twist his body at the last moment and land hard on his hands and aching knees. The world had turned monochrome as his blood thundered in his ears. Someone moaned in pain and Shawn couldn't quite figure out if it was him or his injured passenger.

Strong hangs pulled him to his feet and Denza's face entered his vision, "Shawn! Shawn! Are you okay? Can you stand?"

Shawn blinked drunkenly as he slowly deciphered her words. He took a quick stock of his body and while he was in considerable pain, he could still move, "Probably."

"That was an idiotic idea!" Denza growled at him. She looped his arm over her shoulders and forced him to lean on her as she guided him back towards the main trail..

"It worked though!" Shawn giggled. The pain in his body faded away and was replaced with a rolling body high that made him feel light headed. "God that was awesome!"

"You aren't going to be saying that soon. You are high on adrenaline. Once those fade you are going to be kicking yourself for this stunt," Denza said angrily.

Shawn leaned over and gave her cheek a sloppy kiss, "You need to relax more! Cassidy taught me a long time ago that life isn't as fun when you have a stick up your butt!"

Denza sputtered and pushed his head away with her unoccupied hand, "Stop talking you imbecile, you probably have a concussion."

Shawn laughed loudly, his mirth echoing around the gorge walls, "Nope! Didn't hit my head! I did some cool monk-y stuff! Jeez, this is just too cool."

Denza clamped her hand over his mouth hard, looking around wildly, "If you don't shut up, I will give you a concussion!"

"Now is that any way to talk to your master and lover?" Shawn tripped over a loose stone and stumbled. Denza barely managed to keep him from tumbling to the ground with the added weight of the injured man on his back.

"Oh sweet goddess of virtue, grant me endless patience," Denza muttered under her breath.

"Speaking of virtue," Shawn slurred, stroking her cheek with the hand wrapped around her shoulders.

"This is not the time or the place!" Denza hissed, smacking away his hand.

"Jeez," Shawn mumbled. "I was just going to say I wanted our first time to be special, not in some dingey rundown motel."

Denza sighed tiredly, "Shawn, we talked about this. We agreed nothing would happen until after we finished our task."

Shawn dug in his heels and forced Denza to stop, which was extremely awkward for them as he was carrying another man on his back. He forced her to look at him, bringing her swimming face into focus, "I know. What I mean to say is that you mean a lot to me. Even though you tried to kill me, and you've been moody and demanding, not to mention that your brother tried to kill me."

Denza looked hurt. Tears filled her eyes as she bit her lip to hold them back. Shawn's sluggish brain noticed this facet of information and he promptly kicked himself both literally and figuratively. He tried again, speaking slower so that his brain had time to string his words together in a coherent thought, "What I mean to say is that after this is all over, I want to get to know the Denza that isn't consumed with grief and anger. I'm happy we found you, and that you've help guide us through all of this while we are adjusting to this new world. I just want you to know how special you are to me."

Denza made a sound halfway between a laugh and a sob, "You have such a way with words, Shawn."

Shawn blinked, "Denza, did you just make a joke?"

Denza gave a small smile and said nothing. She pulled Shawn tighter to herself and half dragged him forward, "Come, we need to make it back to Nessa before your shock fades and the real pain sets in."

Shawn gave her a confident drunken smile, "I'll be fine."

As it turned out, Shawn was not fine. Denza guided them back to their companions, but their going was slow. Shawn's pain came flooding back at the halfway point and was focused mainly in his legs and lower back. Shawn pushed past the discomfort and forced himself to keep walking despite his legs threatening to buckle after each step he took.

At camp Nessa had rushed out to meet them. She worked with Denza to unfasten the man from Shawn's back and carry him into their makeshift shelter. Shawn sagged heavily against the wall and focused inwardly to asses the damage he took. The menu popped into existence and he saw a long list of new injuries in the 'Injuries and Scars' section of the main screen.

All of the injuries were listed in yellow which he took to mean that they weren't major, but still needed to be attended to. From what he gathered from the information presented he did a number on the ligaments and muscles in his legs and back from absorbing the impact of the collison. He opened his eyes after dismissing his menu to see Cassidy standing in front of him with her arms crossed.

"You look like hell Shawn," Cassidy said disapprovingly.

"I feel like it," He admitted. "We managed to rescue the guy though."

"What happened?" Cassidy frowned as looked him over. Her perceptive gaze quickly picked up on his discomfort and she forced him into the camp. She laid him down and placed his head in her lap.

Shawn groaned as his legs and back stretched out while his joints slowly decompressed, "The guy was in a lot of pain, so climbing out slowly was going to be an issue. He saw something that really shook him. I used my Gale Intercept ability to jump from the ledge to trail, but I think I misjudged the speed or distance."

Cassidy stuck her tongue in her cheek as she thought about his words, then said, "I don't think that's the case. Remember that we have passive understanding on how our own abilities work, so failure should be extremely rare."

Shawn replayed the events in his head and he stopped at that moment where he felt like the world had slowed to a crawl, "There was one thing. I was aiming for Denza, because I needed a target for my spell. Once I got into range with her, it felt like time stretched and my body wanted to do something in that moment."

Cassidy nodded, stroking his hair absently, "And this is like a charge ability, right? Not just movement?"

Shawn shrugged, "Judging from the name I would say so. It's only the second time I've used it."

"You might have to do something after the initial charge," Cassidy theorized. "Each spell has its own architecture in which it functions. That is basic knowledge we both know from our vocation background. We also know that the framework has a power curve and points of critical failure, that being when the architecture fails to support the amount of power we put into the spell."

"You have considerably more control over that than I do, but I know the theory behind it," Shawn agreed.

"So, it sounds like you didn't complete the spell," Cassidy concluded.

"I don't follow. The spell used that energy I put into it, so it had to have been complete, right?" Shawn asked, puzzled.

"I think that spell requires you to take an action once you reach your target, or it cancels. You are still subject to the laws of physics, which is why you continued until you hit the wall or like during training when you simply lost momentum," Cassidy said.

"I think this is a solid example of the talent and effort argument," Shawn chuckled.

"Are you saying that we are naturally gifted but waste our potential because we don't put in the work to bring us to the pinnacle?" Cassidy arched an eyebrow.

"Pretty much. I know you study your little butt off, but we haven't really put in the effort to learn. Our menu allow us to absorb ludicrous amounts of information, but the practical application still falls on us. I'm a prime example, because I didn't know that there was a second stage to my ability. I just assumed I knew how it worked," Shawn said, looking up at the stars peaking through the clouds.

Cassidy and Shawn rested contently away from the rest of the group in silence, each deep in their own thoughts. Nessa came over after attending to their injured guest while Denza repurposed her tent to create a canvas canopy that would conceal the light of the fire from any watchful eyes.

"Denza told me that you got hurt?" Nessa pointed her finger at him accusingly. She had a bag slung over her shoulder with the flap opened to reveal its contents of vials, medical instruments, and jars full of various colored pastes.

"I did a number on my ligaments and deep muscle fibers," Shawn admitted sheepishly.

"He used a spell without fully understanding its purpose," Cassidy sniggered.

"Do you have any previous experience in medicine, Shawn? Most people don't know about the internal workings of their own bodies," Nessa commented, looking at him critically.

Shawn blinked, "They don't?"

"No," Nessa replied firmly.

Shawn saw Denza shake her head and gave him an 'I warned you' look. He saw Nessa was waiting for him to give her an answer, so he said, "Where me and Cassidy come from it's pretty standard to learn basic human anatomy and physiology."

"Sounds like quite the place, do you remember where you are from then?" Nessa asked, looking at them suspiciously.

Cassidy stopped her stroking of his hair and her voice turned steely, "Stop pushing, Nessa."

Shawn looked up and saw Cassidy's mouth set in a hard line. He looked form Cassidy to Nessa who looked equally as tense, "I feel like I'm missing something."

Cassidy looked down at him, her blue eyes stormy, "Nessa has an insatiable curiosity. I told her back at the guild to respect our privacy."

Denza looked startled at the news. Shawn thought to all the time Nessa had spent with Cassidy, but he had never given a thought to what they were ever talking about. She never seemed to pry into his past when she was teaching him while Cassidy and Denza were away with Edwin.

"Nessa," Shawn coaxed gently, trying to ease the tension in the group. "What is it that you want to know? I'll tell you what I can, but you need to accept that there are things we cannot tell you."

"Why wouldn't you be able to tell me?" Nessa asked, crossing her arms stubbornly. "Have I not been a suitable mentor to you both?"

Shawn studied the witch's face. He trusted her, but he still didn't know her very well. Cassidy liked her too, or else she wouldn't have worked with her so closely. Shawn felt like Death's warning was given to keep them safe and out of trouble, which meant that they needed to keep the number to people who knew the truth about them to a minimum.

"You have been wonderful. You have taken on a huge risk to help us. The only thing I can say is that there are some things we just can't tell you. It could prove to be dangerous," Shawn told the witch.

"Can't or won't?" Nessa glared at them.

"Won't," Cassidy snapped. Nessa looked genuinely hurt.

Shawn rolled his eyes and smacked Cassidy's leg, "Look, let's drop the subject for now. I can assure you that we are just two normal people. Our secret isn't diabolical or harmful to anyone except us if people know the truth about us."

"Normal? You two are anything but normal. Cassidy is growing as a spellcaster faster than anything I've seen, and Edwin told me that you are no slacker yourself," Nessa put her hands on her hips.

"We learn things quickly, that's really the only special thing about us," Shawn deflected.

"How many spells do you know, Cassidy?" Nessa pushed.

"Five," Cassidy answered defensively.

"And you Shawn?" Nessa shot at him.

"Five," Shawn didn't know what point Nessa was trying to prove.

"When you showed up at the fort five days ago you both only knew one spell, is that correct?" Nessa forged on.

"Yes," Cassidy answered slowly.

"How long does it take to learn a new spell?" Nessa asked with a satisfied smile, and suddenly Shawn realized what her point was.

"It varies person to person, but the average is about six weeks," Cassidy recited automatically. As soon as the words left her mouth, she stiffened.

"I understand now," Shawn said to Nessa. He sat up painfully and turned to look at Cassidy, "We are breaking the rules."

"It's not like we can help it. It just the way we were made," Cassidy argued.

"I know, but try to see it form Nessa's perspective. What if we met someone when we were home and they were perfectly normal people, if not apparently clueless to how the world works, but they could instantly pick up any skill in a matter of days," Shawn gestured between them. "We threaten the entire foundation of what Nessa knows."

"Oh shit," Cassidy whispered, looking wide eyed at Nessa.

"Oh shit is right," Shawn chuckled. "It didn't matter with Denza, because we don't have overlapping skills. I have a whole different discipline than Edwin, so he only thought I was just a gifted martial artist. Nessa is the only one with extensive knowledge on a subject we both know, so it's obvious to her that we are glaring anomalies to the system she exists in."

"Exactly," Nessa said, relaxing slightly. "I didn't want to just outright accuse you of something without evidence to support my claim."

"I'm sorry, Nessa," Cassidy stood up and took Nessa's hands in hers. "I didn't think about why you kept pushing me for information on our past, I thought you were just being nosy."

Nessa looked embarrassed, "I didn't mean to come across that way. I can see why you wouldn't trust someone who kept on prying into your past."

Cassidy hugged the witch who had finally relaxed and told her, "As Shawn said, we can't tell you everything. We were warned that bringing attention to our situation could prove to be dangerous not only to us but to the people around us. Denza only knows because of her bond with Shawn."

"I'm even more curious now," Nessa lamented.

Cassidy looked back at Shawn with a look that told him she conflicted about tell Nessa the truth. She considered the witch to be a friend. Shawn weighed the issue before coming to a decision, "Nessa, we trust you and want to confide in you. At the moment our only protection is secrecy. Once we become strong enough to protect not just ourselves but our friends, we would feel comfortable telling you the full truth. We were told we shouldn't tell people, not that we couldn't."

"That makes sense. From what I know now you would both be pressured to join institutions all over the world. If there is more to you than just your extraordinary ability to learn, there danger might be very real," Nessa said seriously.

"This isn't the place for a conversation like this, we do have a guest," Denza interjected, jerking her thumb at the prone figure lying by the fire.

Nessa shook her head, "I put him in a deep sleep while the potion does its work. He won't wake up until I give him the antidote."

"Speaking of potions, can I get one? I should be recovered by morning," Shawn quickly changed topics, rubbing his the sore spots on his legs.

"You two might be gifted, but you are still woefully unprepared," Nessa laughed. "The batch brewed before we left should be enough for all of us."

"There is your incentive to help us get stronger," Cassidy suggested conspiratorially. "The more I unlock in the grimoire, the faster I get Tricha's recipe for the super strong rejuvenation potion."