The Umiran Amulet

Chapter Two: Going Home

As Cary had suspected, Benny was a relentless chatterbox. He talked a lot about the stars, of days spent studying them, learning how to navigate by them, reading the stories that their ancestors had come up with about them. Some of the things he said made it sound like he had even been up in the heavens to see them in person. It made Cary laugh about how completely, well, starstruck he sounded about them.

He switched tracks easily enough though, when nudged with another topic. "So how does a noble end up fighting as a soldier? Most of our experiences with your lot, you all do whatever you can to get out of it."

"Oh? Figured that out, did you?"

"Most people in the lower classes can't spare the kind of gold it takes for magic lessons."

Benny shrugged. "Seemed like the right thing to do. Too many of my 'kinsmen' are all too happy to sit around at home while so many other people are dying. I thought maybe I could shame them into taking action, or something. At the very least, I couldn't live with myself if I didn't do something to actively help. There are few enough mages fighting this war on our side as it is, maybe I can help to save a few people."

"And have you?"

"I don't know. I hope so."

Later that day, Benny got his bandages removed. Cary wasn't quite sure what he was expecting, but a mass of copper-colored ringlets wasn't it. He had never seen such vibrant red hair before. The doctor gave his head one final check, then declared him to be in the clear.

Benny still didn't leave, though.

"Depleted magicka reserves," the mage explained when Cary gave him a confused look. "The head wound is what landed me here—along with a few other, smaller physical injuries, of course—but that's what's keeping me here."

"And how does that happen?"

"Overexertion," Benny said with a shrug. "It was a pretty nasty battle. I'd like to think that me giving it my all is why so many of the other soldiers in my division made it out alive, but I was knocked out at some point, so I can't say for sure. Last thing I can remember, I was trying to catch my breath, and then a sharp pain exploded in my skull. Whoever it was must have been in a hurry, to just leave me lying on the ground after that, but I'm not complaining. I was still one of the lucky ones." Cary nodded his understanding. "The doctors here have never seen a case as bad as mine before. I do feel fine now, my head was what I was more concerned about, but I guess it's their job to worry. I mean, that sort of thing can have long term or even permanent effects on a person."

"The... depleted magicka reserves, you mean?"

Benny nodded. "Left untreated, it could have permanently damaged my ability to cast spells. But I'm well on my way to recovery now," he added when Cary gave him a concerned look. "They'll probably let me go home in a couple more days."

The thought saddened the twins. Though they had only known each other for twenty-four hours at this point, they had already come to be fond of Benny. Even knowing who they were now, even having heard the rumors of what happened at Southlake Point, he didn't pry, or push them to describe what they had seen there. Instead he chattered brightly about the stars, or about his siblings (he had five, a mix of brothers and sisters, of which he was the youngest), or his magic lessons he took while growing up. When he did ask them questions, they were about their parents, or what life was like while they were growing up.

"We grew up in Studsboro," Cary answered at length. "Small town, west of Bricksburg. Mum and Dad still live there. It's a fishing town, right on the coast, with a thick wood on its eastern side. We played there a lot when we were young, the other kids thought we were too strange to play with."