Chapter 33: Best foot forward

Chapter 33: Best foot forward

“Putting your best foot forward at least keeps it out of your mouth.”

Morris Mandel

As soon as he landed on the island we scarpered. At half Aleera’s size I am still the millstone around her neck. In this case I’m bound to Aleera’s back and the cross she has to bear in an attempt to speed up our flight from Grandfather. Strapped to her back I could see him nod before giving chase.

“He’s coming.” I shout.

“Right as planned then!” is all she has time to say as she starts sprinting.

We took an oblique angle to the house cutting across the coast along our newly prepared route. On our way home, yet seemingly, running away from it, out along a short peninsular of the island.

It was a change from our usual straight dash to house and Grandfather paused before following. Perhaps confused at our direction or simply amused. It was difficult to tell from this distance although he was probably both.

. . .

In the afternoons after our run, clamber, swim and running battle against grandfather we would work on our magic. We were hoping that what we have practiced will help us make it home before being caught.

. . .

“Now Kai.” Aleera whispered. Rounding a corner as we passed a pool of water and reached the coast I used my skill boil to set it steaming sending my Mana along the top of the water as far down the coast as I can manage. We have attempted this before and in the cool autumn days the water steams creating a mist covered coast much like the morning mists that sometimes hide the island completely from lake town.

Silent we freeze and hide in a thin crevice watching the mist quickly expand along the shoreline. Hopefully enough to block the view of wherever we might have fled to. Just in time as Grandfather quickly rounds the bend.

“Ha.” We hear him exclaim before the sound of his foot beats quickly disappear into the fog along the peninsular we are no longer running down. It would not give us long but every second counts in our dash home.

. . .

We are allowed to use magic now in our battles as long as it is simple and not immediately obvious. I suppose from the mainland it probably looks like Grandfather is just playing a game with grandchildren. A distant game of tag played in fun perhaps. Although I’m sure someone with a farsight skill could probably catch us at our games, Grandfather doesn’t seem concerned and has allowed the inclusion of magic in our flight home. As long as it is out of sight from the town. Where we had hidden and the mist billowing down the coast was just out of sight round the edge of the island from the town.The inaugural upload of this chapter took place via N0v3l-B1n.

. . .

Aleera quietly pointed and motioned for me to get on with the next bit. We had no idea how good his hearing was and did not want to give the game away having made it this far undiscovered. Walking as quietly as possible we clambered across the rocks till we reached the inside of the inlet and our magically prepared craft.

I would like to say that I had fashioned a beautiful boat out of ice but it would be more truthful to say that I had created a slab of ice that was somewhere between a basic raft and kayak but unrecognisable as either.

Setting out silently, we slipped out onto the water. In theory and practice the ice should last till we made it to the other side as we would need to be engaged with calling the wind.

While Aleera may have been impressed with my ignite, freeze and boil skills. I have been equally impressed with her ability to control her mana inside threads to make them move seemingly of their own accord and her ability to call the wind sometimes enough to cut her threads. We were not planning to cut anything but instead planned to use the wrap she used to hold me in as makeshift sail and quickly sail across the inlet before Grandfather noticed and returned.

I started to expel mana into her waiting hands powering Aleera to magnify and sustain her spell gust as she started turn it into a northerly wind. Softly at first but increasingly stronger, eventually the breeze began to blow us across the water. Aleera held onto me and the wrap as I acted like a sail to propel us across the bay. We hoped that even if he noticed us he would choose to run around the inlet rather than simply swim across to catch us. Gaining us a few more moments to make it.

We hoped that we might just this once manage to get home first.

There was a gentle crunch as we land.

Had he heard it?

. . .

“Scroyle is the word.” Grandfather states. Then we all had a go at attempting to be convincing. Two of us were lying while one of us was telling the truth.

“1. A scroyle was a type of scroll, designed to be small enough to put in a purse. Scroyles were often printed with morals or popular sayings e.g. It is writ upon my scroyle.” Aleera informed us.

My turn next, “2. A scroyle was a type of stocking often worn by aristocratic lords. Because of their unusually fine weave, scroyles were expensive and only owned by those with money to spend e.g. His legs are dressed in finest scroyles.” I slowly read from the card. My reading is improving and I think I sometimes win simply because I spend so long trying to read out loud the words some of which I still don’t know till after they have been explained I can deliver them factually whether they are true or not. Albeit with the odd occasionaly mispronunciation.

“3. A scroyle was a scoundrel or ruffian. Often used in the plural to insult a whole group of people e.g. These Ponentian scroyles are keen to fight.” Finshed Grandfather once more. Before we attempted to work out who was telling the truth and who was lying.

. . .

Fascinatingly, we can actually all play this game as long has the cards are grouped in their threes. Once the three cards get picked up, you know that one of the other two is telling the truth and the other is lying if you hold a false card. However, if you hold the truth card you know the other two must be false but the other two don’t know and you have to be effective in your lying to keep them from finding out. I find it fascinating that there are games to teach skills. The game is doing wonders for my vocabulary but they are sometimes left explaining in detail have the words before I can understand enough to even have a half way decent guess.

. . .

Grandfather insisted that we don’t reveal our answers if we could so that the words can go back into the box. Sometimes I wonder if we haven’t all drawn lies that we are trying to convince the other two are truths.

“The next word is Wanny.” Grandfather continued.

“1. Wanny meant to whinge and grizzle (usually unnecessarily). It is probably a conflagration of the words whine and whinny – the noises humans and horses make respectively e.g. Must thou wanny so?” Aleera left me confused with some of the long words but you can generally take a guess at the gist of it even if you can’t understand every single word.

“2. Wanny meant wan i.e. pallid and pale. Often used to describe the pale cheeks of a young lady or the pale complexion of the sick e.g. How her wanny cheeks are faded.” I cheerfully responded actually able to comprehend the majority of my words as well as the fact that mine was the true answer. I hoped my cheerfulness reflected my success with words rather than a smugness in knowing I had the right answer.

“3. A wanny, was a small cheap fish commonly made into pies by the poor. It lived plentifully in rivers but was rather small and bony by all accounts! E.g. Be thankful for your wanny pie.” Grandfather almost smirked as if reminding us that we had missed out on dinner once again that night.

. . .

Again, this skill would normally be taught after turning 5 so like all of his training so far Grandfather does not seem to expect me to excel and seems to think my successes are more due to luck than any real skill. My biggest question though is why aren’t all skills played like games, levelled through games. If all children were playing these games to learn skills wouldn’t all our levels rise. A rising tide lifts all boats. There are so many ideas, tips and tricks that could be shared to help everyone improve but it does not seem like that is done here.

Apparently, every house has its own proprietarily skills, techniques, games and methods of learning skills and they are guarded most jealousy. In fact, the methods and manner of gaining skills and levels can actually be nobles house’s most prize possessions. Money land even power can be lost through the fortunes of war and fate but your levels and stats will always be yours no matter what.

Grandfather has told us tales of houses who lost all their money, power and land but have been able to retain their noble status through their traditions and teachings or at least they have been able to safeguard their titles through their own physical might and the strength of their children raised by their traditions and teachings.

When asked why we couldn’t use this to start our own Noble house he pointed out that those nobles who had managed to maintain it had sufficiently strong enough older members than an old man, a 10-year-old and a baby. He had a good point.

As he pessimistically reiterated, “No matter the training methods we might have access to from the fallen house I was bound to. Until we have gained and used the skills, levels and stats from them they are not a strength merely another weakness. A gem or jewel stronger houses will covet.”

Thinking about it though, we have an island, we are gaining magic and have a fallen houses training system. All we really need is time to build our own house and personal strength. I am certainly not particularly keen to be beholden to someone else.

This world feels to very much be a feudal era where they can command more I was used to in the modern world I once lived in. It seems strange that should I be found out, I could be conscripted or poached from my home.

It is not that I don’t want to see the world.

I just want to see it on my own terms.