As I was looking around for someone to help, I noticed that all the villagers that had picked up gnolls were headed towards a specific hut. They were specifically headed toward the largest hut, the one at the top of the horseshoe layout of the village.

  I look at the two dead gnolls lying at my feet, and as i’m wondering if I could somehow carry both of them on my shoulders, (Hey I hear you doubting me, that’s rude. I’m strong…ok, ok, I’m probably not THAT strong. Jeez, way to rub it in.) I hear footsteps coming towards me. I look up to see a guy about my age who looks suspiciously similar to Chief Ground.

  “Hi I’m Terrance, my dad sent me over here to help you, and show you around the village.”

  “And your dad is …?”

  “Chief Ground, you really couldn’t tell? Huh, everyone says we look like we could be twins. Anyway, like I said he sent me over here to help you and show you around. Do you need help carrying those to the Arck basin?”

  “Arck basin? Sure, I could use the help, lead the way!” I bend down to pick up the gnoll, and after a few unsuccessful tries, I look up and Terrance is staring at me like i’m a sideshow attraction. “Umm… so I don’t really know what i’m doing. How do I pick these guys up?”

  Terrance busts out laughing, “You can’t even pick them up, how were you planning on moving them?” I glare at him for a second before saying, “I thought it’d be easier, ok?”

  Once Terrance gets done laughing, he starts coaching me through how to pick up the gnolls, it’s not that they’re necessarily heavy, it’s just awkward to try to pick up someone that’s limp, ok? I decide to pick up the archer since he? seems smaller than the other one.

  I start by getting him into a sitting position, then I move around to the front, while making sure not to let him fall. Once i’m in front, I grab the gnoll’s left hand with my right, and loop both of our arms behind my head. I hook my left arm under his left knee. I squat down and then pull the gnoll forward until he’s leaning on my back, and then I stand up while picking up with my left arm and pulling the gnoll further onto my back with my right.

  It takes a few tries, but once I learn to roll my left shoulder to help pull the gnoll onto my back, I finally succeed. I turn around to face Terrance to find him clapping WITH THE OTHER GNOLL ON HIS BACK, showoff.

  He claps for a few seconds and then he says, “Alright let’s take these to the storage hut.”

  “I thought you said we were taking them to the Arck basin?”

  “Yeah, the basin’s in the storage hut, where else would we put the thing that stores most of our essence?”

  I don’t have an argument for that. (mostly because i’m still confused, and he keeps saying words that I don’t know) I just shrug and follow Terrance to the big hut that the other villagers were taking the other gnolls to.

  When we get to the ‘storage hut’ I follow Terrance inside, and see that the other villagers are lined up beside a table where yet another villager stands, holding a small crystal. The villager at the table touches the crystal to each of the gnolls as the villagers make their way through the line, I notice that the bottom of the crystal is turning a light gray color. After several villagers go through the line, finally it’s our turn.

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  “Well, hi there, who are you?” the villager asks.

  Terrance, ever the charismatic one says, “This is… actually I didn’t get your name, why don’t you tell both of us what it is?”

  I laugh and say “ My name is Alex, and I know Terrance’s name cause he gave me his without asking for mine, but what’s your name?”

  The villager shakes his head, looks at Terrance and says, “Terrance, you didn’t even ask the wanderer for his name?” He laughs some more, and turns to me, “Anyway, name’s Garrett, I manage all the supplies for the village, which means I get stuck in this hut all day. But it also means I can keep back the good stuff for someone who deserves it, so all in all not a bad gig.”

  “Nice to meet you Garrett, i’m not sure what i’m supposed to do with this guy though.” I say gesturing to the gnoll on my shoulders. “Can you help me out?”

  “Sure thing let me just see what you’re working with here.” He moves the crystal towards the gnoll, (which I just know noticed in covered in little symbols and a number ‘250’, the crystal by the way, not the gnoll) When the crystal gets closer to the gnoll I start to see small particles coming off of it and entering the crystal.

  “Cool, hey what are those little particles by the way?” I say. Garrett and Terrance both look at me quizzically. “You mean the essence motes, what color are they?” Garrett asks.

  “Well there’s a few that are kind of a light blue color but most of them are light gray like the bottom of your crystal.”

  Garrett whistles. “Dual Tier 3 affinities? You sure found one heck of a wanderer, Terrance!”

  I notice now that the light gray color on the crystal has creeped a little higher and there’s also a hairline section that’s the same light blue color that I saw. I look at Terrance to see him once again staring at me like i’ve grown a second head. “What does any of that even mean?”

  Terrance shakes his head and sighs “Let’s just get these gnolls in the basin and go see my dad.” He walks up to Garrett, who repeats the process with his gnoll, only this time there’s no light blue motes. After Garrett does his little show with the crystal, Terrance takes his gnoll to the other side of the tent where there’s a large multicolored crystal basin. I look at the basin to see if I can tell what all colors are present. The crystal is predominantly gray, but there’s a small section that’s blue, an even smaller section that’s red and I can just make out a tiny sliver of green.

  “What’s this for anyway?” I ask Terrance. He replies “It’s to collect the necromantic essence, duh. Even though we’re not Necromancers, essence is still essence, it’d be money down the drain to just get rid of them.”

  “Right, yeah that makes sense. If I knew what the heck any of that meant?!” Regardless I pile my gnoll on top of his and follow him outside.

  Once outside we follow the huts to our right, until we get to the middle one. “Here we are!” Terrance says. “Just wait here one second I gotta talk to my dad first, Chief business. You know?” I nod, unsure if he’s joking or not.

  Terrance walks in the hut to talk to his dad, while I stand there awkwardly. I can’t really make out what they’re saying, but I hope he’s not telling his dad that I didn’t even know how to pick up the gnolls, that’d be embarrassing.

  After a few awkward moments, I hear a deeper authoritative voice call out from inside the tent. “Alex, come in, it appears we have much to discuss.” As I enter the tent, I see Terrance leaving, he whispers “Good luck!” I shoot him a thumbs up, which causes a momentary look of confusion to cross his face.

  When I enter the tent, I see Chief Ground sitting on a cloth mat in front of a fire, a fire which has WAY more embers coming off of it than any fire i’ve ever seen in my life.

  The Chief wastes no time and just jumps right into it. “So my boy tells me you have Dual Tier 3 affinities, Aeromantic and Necromantic is that right?”

  It’s hard to focus on what he’s saying as i’m too worried one of the hundreds of embers coming off the fire are going to burn the place down with us inside.

  “Son are you alri-” It’s then that the Chief notices that I seem to be staring directly at the fire essence coming off his fire. “Interesting… boy what do you see?”

  “I see way more embers in one place than i think i’ve ever seen before. Does that mean something, why’d you say that that’s interesting?”

  “Embers!? ….I want you to try something for me, I want you to imagine for a second, that all of those embers, aren’t just embers. I want you to imagine them as an extension of the fire itself. Can you do that for me?”

  “I’ll try.” Almost as soon as I imagine that those embers are part of the fire, It’s as if somebody handed Claymore a container of lighter fluid and told him to ‘Have fun’. The fire expands outward and rushes to the top of the tent, where I can only imagine the spectacle the villagers outside are seeing.

  After just a few moments, three villagers rush in with spears, wearing some kind of scaly gauntlets with claws. “Hold on, it’s alright nobodies hurt.” The Chief starts. One of the men cuts in. “Sorry Chief, we saw the flame come out of the tent, and we just thought..” “It’s alright, just go back out, and let everybody know that it’s safe. Go.” The men exit the tent, and I can hear them calming everyone down.

  Chief Ground turns back towards me, and says “Alright kid, I think it’s time I hear your story.”