Wizardness

“So how tall do you think you’re gonna get?” Giggles asked unexpectedly. Tobias saw he was gesturing with a spoon at Plain.
“Hmm. Mother said I was tall for my age. She prophesized I would be a bit over nine feet tall.” Plain said softly. There was a hint of sadness.
“What do you think? Fifteen or eighteen foot ceiling? So you can swing most any weapon?”
“Better go with 20 feet. I might need to jump and swing.”
“I think we’re going to need two stories if we are going to practice inside. Otherwise, beds and kitchen would be destroyed on a daily basis.”
“Hmm, yes. The halflings would not like that.”
Giggles laughed, “No. They’d poison your food.”
Plain roared in laughter, “They could do it too!”
Dar’kid tossed a piece of paper on the table. It was a sketch of a dormitory. A side view and a top down view. He had drawn a circle and fit the hexagon inside, with the farthest edge being measured at 50 feet. The height was 35 feet total, with the upper story being a bit shorter than the bottom. Though, the center did peak, to allow for smoke to rise.
The drawing was suddenly gone.
Commander Lee cleared his throat, “This is a great start to your design. Your giant born does complicate the sizing of the design. Training for indoor battles is a must, so it’s a regretful requirement.”
Tobias cast a furtive glance at Plain. He noticed he wasn’t the only one.
“I cannot help I am a giant any more than you can help being a man. It is not regretful that I am a giant.” Plain responded.
Lee glanced at him. Then nodded. “All the floors must be the same height. You need to have an odd number of floors. Second floor will be for cooking, eating, learning. Third floor will be sleeping, fucking, healing. I’d like to see rooms attached to each exterior wall. Each room should house at least 4 bunk beds. This should be plenty large enough.”
The drawing was on the table.
“Please update the drawing,” Tobias requested. “Tomorrow we can build models and figure out how to make this work.”
The fist nodded. Dar’kid continued to draw. The rest of the group got ready for bed.
Morning arrived quickly. Tobias relieved himself before anyone was awake. After doing so, he took in the great drawing Dar’kid had left on the table. He had gone above and beyond on the design. Originally he had simply drawn straight lines, but this time, he embellished. He added buttresses, arches, and the Winged Star. It felt like a Good God Damn barracks.
He had included rough sketches of each floor, including little additions like where the beds and kitchen would be, he also included indoor toilets!
After his quick review of the drawing, Tobias gently woke up the fist. He got cursed out by most everyone again. Dar’kid looked exceptionally tired.
“Looks like you’re going to be paying for that great design, today.” Tobias smiled.
Dar’kid grinned, “Yea, but you’re going to be paying for it when we build it.”
Tobias laughed as he moved on to the next bunk.
Dar’kid swung down and stretched. He yawned as he walked to the table. “Huh, someone added a few things to this after I went to bed last night. Probably Commander Lee.”
“Regardless, Epsilon, be ready to go in 15 minutes. I’ll be waiting outside.” Tobias said loud enough for everyone to hear.
He saw a few nods in return. He went to wait outside.
The island had shifted again. Even from when he relieved himself 20 minutes ago. The barracks was now nestled in a cozy looking valley. Still halfway up the valley, so it wasn’t at any risk of washing away if there was a hard rain during the annual thaw. He smelled the air, it was a strange mix of coastal, alpine, and an herbal garden.
From inside the barracks Tobias heard Giggles roar with laughter. “Fuckin’ indoor plumbling? Who the hell here knows how to plumb? Our glorious leader outside or Commander Lee maybe?”
Dar’kid’s reply was muffled, but sounded angry. Tobias shook his head. Indoor plumbing would certainly be a huge challenge. That was a problem for later though. The problem for today was running in the mountains.
He opened the door.
To find Raven walking up to it. “Where the fuck are we?” She exclaimed, “Where did those mountains come from?”
Tobias shook his head, “I don’t know. I came inside to suggest grabbing some warmer clothes. We’re in the morning’s eastern sunlight, the west side of the island is going to be dark and a lot colder.”
“What in the Stars is this?” Giggles laughed as he stared into his trunk, “There’s climbing gear here. Hehehe ahah. Fuck.”
“Everyone grab your bag.” Tobias said. He cursed under his breath as he grabbed his gear from his trunk.
“I’ve never climbed before.” Raven said.
“Me either.” Dar’kid chimed in. “We didn’t even have mountains where I’m from.”
“I will help. I have climbed mountain before.” Plain said in his simple calm way.
Epsilon packed up their bags. Each grabbing some extra food or water, based on their last two runs they’d need. They filed out the door.
It was only when they were outside and jogging did Tobias realize Plain was carrying his pack and Giggles. The big man wasn’t struggling, but it was still early. He shook his head when he realized Giggles had his own pack, too.
Dar’kid was in the lead, but was trying to chat with Raven and Red. Raven was nodding along, but Red was scowling at the boy. Tobias gestured towards the front at Plain. When Plain nodded, Tobias jogged up to the front and settled in next to Dar’kid. He noticed a relieved look from Red as he passed them.
Based on the ruggedness of the terrain Tobias lowered the run to walk breath ratio from 5:1 to 4:1. This would help them recover faster. The path was not smooth and definitely didn’t look forgiving. The trail continued upward as they progressed. They rounded a corner and found themselves heading down and around a mountain. The temperature dropped 10 degrees almost immediately. The hill side was significantly darker.
Tobias slowed the group to a walk. When Epsilon reached a small out cropping, he called a halt.
Raven was gasping for breath. Dar’kid was shivering. The temperature drop wasn’t that significant, but the kid was skinny and they were drenched in sweat. The packs were heavy. Plain put Giggles down and began to rummage in his bag. Giggles did the same. He quickly grabbed a jacket and a bite to eat.
Tobias and the rest of Epsilon followed suit. Dar’kid stopped shivering once he got his jacket on; Raven caught her breath.
Tobias glanced around, Red was flush, but not out of breath. Plain was as stoic as ever. Dar’kid was chatting with Giggles. He nodded to himself. “Let’s go. It’s only going to get colder on this side. Let’s not waste the heat we still have.”
“Fuck” Raven breathed.
“Scrambles ahead. no run.” Plain said. He gestured towards the trail. There were some steep climbs ahead. “Scrambles worse than running.”
Tobias knelt in front of Giggles. From over his shoulder, Giggles said, “Save your strength. You can carry me on the other side of the climb.”
Tobias glanced at Plain who shrugged.
Epsilon left the outcropping quickly then. Wind picked up on this side of the mountain and, with the sudden drop in temperature, it wasn’t a comforting breeze. The wind made the scrambles more complicated as the small rocks and dirt were blown into the faces of the person below. Giggles suffered the most. He was the farthest one out and everything landed on him.
Epsilon had ran about 3 miles and finished a significant scramble, Tobias called for another stop. They didn’t have much space on the trail here, but it was better than resting on a scramble. His hands were raw, he swung his bag around and grabbed his gloves. The rest of Epsilon found their’s too. Raven found a collapsible walking stick in her bag and flung that out. She grinned.
Giggles laughed behind her. He was waving his about atop Plain. Tobias laughed. It was a solid belly laugh. He felt stress melt from his shoulders. He relaxed.
The trail beneath him shifted. He felt the ground give way. He spun around reaching for a root, a rock, anything. He found nothing, though and slid down the hill side towards a rocky beach below. He shimmied to slide down on his bag, he tried to direct himself towards something, so he could slow his descent.
He felt himself jerk, he swung around, then hung upside down. His bag’s strap had caught onto something. Some sort of root or rock had grabbed the bottom of the strap. He slid down, nearly tumbling out of the bag. Another rock grabbed hold of his bag. Tobias clung on for dear life.
He righted himself and braced himself on the hillside. He pulled himself up and closer to the rocks. They were massive hand. He grabbed hold of one and held on.
“I have you order boy,” called a voice. Plain. He had another spark, Tobias noted in his terror.
“You saved my life!”
“Laughing man told me to do this.”
“Thank you Giggles!”
“Don’t thank me yet. I’m coming down to get you!” Giggles called.
“You?”
“Yes. Me. I’m the lightest, I’m rested, and I know how to climb. Beside, you’ll be pulling your ass up yourself. I just need to bring the rope down.”
Tobias watched as the one legged man made his way down the hill. He’d slide down a few feet, then add a pinion, slide down, and repeat. He made surprisingly quick progress down the hill.
Once Giggles got down to Tobias, Giggles stood on one of the arms. They both heard a curse from above.
“Give me your bag.”
Tobias shifted his bag up towards Giggles. Who rummaged through the bag swiftly and found some climbing gear. He let the rope support him as he maneuvered around Tobias. It was not an easy or comfortable process pulling on the climbing harness while holding on to Plain’s hand. The two of them managed, with only minor slips and hitches.
Giggles tied themselves together. “Do what I do and we’ll get up quickly and safely. Ok?”
“Yep.”
Tobias’ arms were already burning from the effort of holding onto Plain. He wasn’t sure if he could make it up the hillside. It was a solid 200 feet up to the trail.
Giggles’ single leg was a significant impediment on the way up. He often had to hold onto the rope while searching for a solid enough foothold. Hey were both panting within minutes of starting the climb.
About a hundred feet up, they found a small place to rest. Tobias sipped some water as he caught his breath. “You’re impressive, man.”
Giggles shrugged. “Not my first climb. Well, it is my first climb with one leg, but if I had both, I’d be free climbing this, with no problem. Ok, let’s go. We shouldn’t strain Big Guy too much.”
Tobias started. Giggles laughed at him. “Let’s go!”
With Giggles in the lead, the two continued on. Another 20 minutes later and they managed to reach the top. They were both panting. They unhooked themselves from the rope.
“We can’t stay here.” Plain said.
Tobias nodded. He saw that Giggles was panting safely from Plain’s back.
He trudged ahead. It was just the three of them. The others were out of sight. “Where’s the rest of Epsilon?” He gasped between breaths.
“They are around the bend. Not far. There was a safer place there. The skinny boy found it.”
“Ok.”
The bend wasn’t far but it took them a little while to get there. Tobias was exhausted. His legs were jello, he’d glanced down at himself. There was a huge tear in his left pant leg, his leg was covered in wet dirt. His shirt was torn in a spot or two. He could feel something gritty in his mouth. He was alive, though, some how.
When they rounded the bend, the rest of Epsilon was there. Dar’kid and Red both had water ready. Raven had some bread.
Tobias rinsed out his mouth, took a drink, then a small piece of the bread.
Once he was finished drinking, Dar’kid asked, “Are you alright? That was a nasty fall.”
“I’m alive. I’m feeling pretty beat up, but I’m alive.”
Tobias turned to Plain and Giggles, “Thank you both for saving my life.”
“I follow Giggles instructions. He told me where to grab.”
“How did you know?”
Giggles rubbed the back of his neck. He laughed nervously. “I know you all think I’m mad. This was,” he hesitated, “this was something I’d seen before. That fall had dozens of different outcomes. A few had this exact outcome. So I made sure those things happened.”
Tobias pulled Giggles into a hug. “If those visions tell you anything else, to keep us alive, those are some powerful visions. Thank you.”
Giggles smiled. Tears formed at the edge of his eyes. Tobias patted his back. “Thanks. I mean it. You’re a part of Epsilon. We all are.”
Tobias let him go and turned to the group, “Thank you for the help here. It means a lot to me. I’m proud to be a part of your fist. Now, let’s get off this damn mountain.”