Chapter 1: Salt of the Earth

A flash of light, a deafening crack, and the loss of balance shocked Noah without warning. A lightning bolt fell from a cloudless sky and struck the ground directly in front of him, spooking his horse and sending it rearing onto its hind legs with a fearful scream. He tried to calm the creature, but it was all he could do to keep from being thrown off.

His vision blurred from the light, and he couldn’t tell up from down with the way his horse was jerking around. He reassumed as much control as possible and pulled to the left with the reins. Now given a direction to unleash its panic, the horse galloped across the rocky stream Noah had been following.

Moments later, five men emerged from the dense forest flanking the path’s right side. Bandits, he had already encountered them multiple times since leaving Clive. Under different circumstances, he might have taken them on, but between his disorientation and his horse’s mortality, fleeing was the better option.

One of the men, wearing a filthy robe, aimed his hand at Noah and shouted a spell. A golden hologram of floating runes appeared around his hand, and he fired a burst of grape-sized spheres of light like buckshot. Most hit nothing but air, though one struck Noah in the back. He jerked in pain, feeling like he had just been branded. It was Noah’s first time experiencing thunder magic, and, in all likelihood, far from his last.

His horse reached the opposite bank, and he turned it to run parallel to the river. Noah’s vision returned, and he dared a look back at the men. One of them was aiming with a bow and arrow. Noah leaned to the side, trying to make himself less of a target, but the arrow still drilled into his shoulder, and he nearly blacked out. He raised himself in the saddle, no longer stunned, though racked with pain and stuck with an unusable arm.

Noah reached around and felt his back, wincing when he found the place where the spell hit him. He wasn’t bleeding, so he could ignore the wound for now. As for the arrow, he couldn’t remove it while on the move like this. Nevertheless, the horse’s fear drove it at a good pace, and Noah steered it back and forth across the creek, maneuvering past fallen trees and boulders. Five miles from the scene, he finally allowed his horse to slow and returned to the road.

Bandits only seemed to chase their prey when they had horses, and even then, a commoner like Noah wouldn’t be worth the trouble. Regardless, he now kept a constant watch on the path behind him. He was rarely caught in such a trap, as he could generally see an ambush coming from a mile away. Those guys had some skill, even if they lacked the follow-through to pursue him.

The attack was just another reminder that this was a violent, unpredictable world ruled by strength and magic. Minus the injuries of the lifestyle, Noah liked it this way. It gave him something he had never seen before and endless new possibilities to discover. As for the dangers, well, he had plenty of experience when it came to fighting and surviving. Getting hit with spells and arrows was not his idea of a good time, but at least it was more interesting than regular bullets.

The day was getting late, and he needed to set up camp. He directed his horse off the road and towards an upheaved slab of bedrock in the distance. He led it through the woods, its reins in one hand and his sword in the other. He reached the rocky crag with just a few hours of daylight left. Millions of years ago, the nearby mountain was born and caused the upheaval of the landscape, offering not a cave, so much as a giant stone lean-to.

Either way, it was a roof over his head, and nothing could sneak up on him from behind. The bones of past inhabitants and their meals littered the ground. Many animals, including goblins, had used this spot as their den, but nothing seemed fresh enough to warrant concern. Still, he raked the area clean and set up camp.

This was the safest time he could expect to get, and Noah’s wounds desperately needed attention. He washed his hands and knife with some high-proof liquor he had bought a while ago for just this occasion. The arrow hadn’t pierced his shoulder all the way, so he couldn’t just snap off the arrowhead and yank out the shaft. Instead, he had to dig it out with his knife, slowly, with blood streaming down his arm and the pain giving him spasms. Perhaps it was better to be hit with bullets rather than arrows, after all.

He eventually removed the arrow and poured half a healing potion onto the wound. These potions could mend flesh and bone with no less than miraculous speed, but they were dangerous if used too frequently. However, this wasn’t an injury he could afford to have in the wild.

Next, he focused on his back and used alcohol to clean what seemed to be a second-degree burn. He couldn’t see it, only feel the wound with his fingers. It was like a spoonful of black powder had been set off on his back. Thunder spells were no joke; just that one minor hit had been like a jab from a cattle prod, and simply sanitizing the wound took up the last of his pain tolerance.

He drew two small vials from within his ring, both filled with ointments of different colors. The first syrupy layer would moisturize and soothe the area, and the creamy second layer would keep it sterile. The last step was wrapping the bandages, helping to ease the throbbing in his back.

Tired as he was, there was work to be done. He unloaded everything off the horse, so it could rest and feed on a sack of oats. A repurposed metal helmet served as a drinking bowl, though the horse had drunk plenty at the creek. With what light he still had, Noah gathered spruce boughs to use as bedding and thorny bushes and bristle plants for protection. They wouldn’t stop a determined opponent, but it would hopefully be enough to hinder them and help conceal the light of his campfire.

While gathering firewood, he met his dinner. A lone stag was flitting between the trees nearby. It seemed aware of Noah and was trying to leave the area without drawing more attention. Its moves were calm, and the way it stepped, its hooves on the forest floor, made no sound. Noah aimed with his bow, staring at his prize with an arrow between them. It was crooked, a cheap piece of scrap with a full quiver more on his back. It was the best he could get in the last town. Noah released the string as the deer turned away. The arrow slipped in under the ribcage and pierced a lung.

The deer’s heart had stopped by the time Noah reached it. He worked fast, carving off the pieces he wanted and removing as much of the pelt as he could before he lost the light. This had become second nature to him. Once he had collected everything, he dragged the carcass far from his campsite. Most of the remains were left behind, considered offensive in an ordinary world but ignored in this one. After all, a magic circle would summon one sometime soon.

All animals not born through physical mating were conjured out of mana, keeping a fixed population for every species. One was considered lucky to see a creature appear from the light, unless it ended up being a monster. Besides, that body would likely be gone within a day or two.

Night overtook the forest, save for the cliff’s shadow, where transient sparks were glowing like stars. The striking of flint and steel finally brought forth flames from some birch bark shavings, and soon, a steady campfire was burning. Noah set up a tripod over the fire with three sticks and dangled a metal pot about the size of a coffee can. It was full of water from the creek, filtered through a handmade life straw.

As Noah waited for the water to boil, he prepared the meat. What wasn’t smoked over the fire was turned into stew. He added some dried vegetables bought in town and some herbs and mushrooms for extra flavor. Most of the plants in this world had the same properties as their counterparts in other worlds, at least in these lands, so Noah often stopped to gather anything useful.

He dropped in a lump of salt, and had himself a hearty stew, sided with some chunks of bread and cold pine needle tea. This was considered an adventurer’s roadside feast in this world, while in most other lifetimes, this would be thought of as some homeless person’s back alley meal. But, it was worth the extra effort, at least Noah believed it to be. It was best to enjoy the little things, to live in the now. He repeated that to himself obsessively, like a little hamster spinning its wheel in the back of his mind.

His horse settled nearby, but it had yet to fall asleep. Like Noah, it knew that sleep was dangerous in lands like these. Those who lived here had to be constantly aware, always ready for battle or escape. When the horse did lower its head and drift off, its ears remained pointed up, twitching from every noise within their range.

Lying on his bedroll with his sword beside him, Noah waited out the night, half asleep. He kept his eyes on the fire, moving only to put on more wood. Without technology, a man can stare into a fire for hours without getting bored. How many times had he done this already? How many evenings had he spent staring into the fire while surrounded by dangers and unsure of the next day?

Perhaps it was instinctive, a habit ingrained from the earliest members of the human race to huddle around a fire, to nourish their minds with its light and warmth when night fell. Perhaps it was just due to his experience, being well versed in such a scene.

Noah closed his eyes and trained his ears on the fire. Its crackles and snaps competed with the evening chorus. Everything seemed to come alive at night, from the clicking and crying of insects to the howling of wolves in the distance. It was just another sound he had grown used to hearing when he slept, like the roar of traffic, the mountain winds, raining shells and automatic gunfire, the groaning of metal hulls in the sea, air, and space, the silence of burnt-out cities and atom bomb craters, the soft breathing of a woman at his side and maybe the snoring of a dog at his feet, the beeping of heart monitors either after his birth or before his death, and so many more.

A crack, too loud to come from the flames, awoke him. He got to his feet with his sword in hand, despite his eyes not fully adjusting and blurred from sleep. Noah focused his gaze, spotting a humanoid figure standing on the other side of the thorn barrier. It had just stepped on a pinecone, one of many that Noah had laid out to alert him if any enemies came close. He moved around the fire but off to the side, not wanting this intruder to hide within his shadow.

The creature was more muscular than a human, taller, and with longer limbs. It wore clothes made of animal hides and carried an axe. Other than its missing lips and sharp teeth, what stood out most was the single great eye in the middle of its face, flanked by long, greasy hair. It stared at Noah with a rumble in its throat.

“You just keep walking,” Noah said with his raised sword.

Would it attack directly in front, leaping over or charging through the wall of thorns? That would be its fastest means of attack, and considering its stature, it was not an opponent he could face with a weakened defense. He’d have to fight it while focusing on technique over strength. It could also attack from the sides, searching Noah’s defenses for an opening it could exploit. It was a slower method with less chance of receiving injuries from the thorns, but it would give Noah enough time to cast his magic.

Numerous scenarios played through Noah’s mind, but his heart was calm. He didn’t move a muscle, keeping a solid grip on his sword. Releasing one of his hands to activate a spell would likely provoke the creature, so he waited to see what it would do. It was analyzing him to determine whether fighting Noah was worth the risk.

Even for Noah, being stared down by that colossal eye was a bit unnerving. It felt like a billboard projecting the creature’s bloodlust, while Noah himself felt its gaze scrutinize everything, sinking into his flesh like radiation. There was no telling what information the creature was receiving.

“I’d rather not kill you. After all, I’d have to drag your corpse away so it doesn’t draw animals. What do you say you spare us both the effort?”

Whether or not the creature understood human language, it gave in and receded into the darkness of the woods without ever taking its eye off Noah. He waited a few minutes, scanning the area, and when all was peaceful, he returned to his bedroll. He put some more wood on the fire, but did not go back to sleep. Getting a deep rest was hard out in the wilderness, especially when he was on his own. His internal clock told him that dawn was near, so it would be best to wait it out.

To pass the time, he decided to train his magic. He covered his left eye with his hand, and to anyone watching, Noah seemed to vanish into thin air. In reality, he had just made himself invisible. While he couldn’t see the difference, he could feel his mana wrapping around him, concealing his appearance, smell, and any noises he made.

It felt like he was stretching his body, and his veins were widening to allow more blood to run through his body faster. It wasn’t an unpleasant feeling, but to expend mana wasn’t much different from using physical energy; it required effort and resulted in fatigue.

Noah was trying to calm the mana in his body, except for his hand. He wanted to learn how to use this spell more lightly, in this case, only making certain parts of his body invisible. His mana would naturally stick to things and hide them, such as his clothes and weapons, and could likewise retract and return them to normal, but he couldn’t control the mana within his body.

‘I can’t help but feel like I missed steps with my spells. If I had acquired magic at a younger age, I probably would have had to work my way up to making my whole body invisible.’

He gave up after thirty minutes, the halfway mark of his mana reserves. He had to conserve his strength and be ready to fight at any moment. The sky was starting to brighten; he might as well get ready to leave. Breakfast was the leftover stew, heated up over the fire. Reheated food was just as mediocre over a fire as in a microwave, but he ate it regardless.

He packed his things and opened up the thorn barrier. It still wasn’t bright enough to return to the road, so he let his horse graze. It stepped out of the enclosure, and he led it into the woods, then released it to nibble on whatever met its fancy.

He hung back and conjured his bow and an arrow from his ring. The horse began shuffling around, giving everything a sniff while the birds and crickets seemed emboldened by the sun. Noah cleared it from his mind, hearing only the steps of his horse on the forest floor and the flaring of its nostrils. His breath did not fog, but he felt a chill in the air, joined with the dew gathering on his face and hands. All was calm. All was quiet.

Noah kept a constant vigil, turning his head like an owl. If anything was going to happen, it was bound to happen soon. There it was, the snap of a twig. A deer entered the scene. Noah took aim, and while he didn’t release, he never took his eyes off the creature either. For all he knew, it could turn into something grotesque or launch fireballs from its head.

The horse and deer noticed each other, forming lasting eye contact as they tried to identify their distant relatives. They soon looked away, each judging the other not to be a threat. Noah considered lowering his bow, but instinct told him to wait. Barely a moment later, the deer was knocked off its feet as a wolf slammed into it like a missile. Its fangs found the deer’s neck, silencing it before it could scream and spilling its blood upon the forest floor. The wolf pinned its prey down, biting it repeatedly with a crushing grip to ensure its death.

Noah’s horse, noticing the fate of the deer, began to panic. Its frantic steps and voice drew the eyes of the wolf, forgetting about its meal and staring at an even bigger prize, only to find itself on the unfriendly end of an arrow. If it took a step forward, he’d shoot. He listened to the fearful breaths of the horse behind him and the restrained whiffs of the wolf as the smell of blood tickled its nose and riled it up.

Moments passed, the rising sun casting its light upon the three actors. Cooler heads prevailed, and the wolf began dragging away its kill. Noah kept his bow drawn, only lowering it when all was silent. It was time to get going. He rode his horse out of the woods and back onto the road, sending it on a steady trot. The morning was more peaceful than he expected; no monsters or bandits lying in wait or perhaps unwilling to test their luck.

As the sun rose ever higher, he spotted a group of adventures heading in the same direction. Unlike bandits, which preyed on people, adventurers hunted and performed odd jobs for a living. It wasn’t always easy to tell the difference in time, so he was hesitant to approach. They heard the heavy steps of his horse and looked back, then moved to the side to let him pass. It could just as easily be a trap, but he decided to take a chance.

“Excuse me, a moment of your time?”

He rode up alongside, and the leader, a bearded man carrying a sword, turned to him. He was a dwarf, standing just four feet tall. Noah had seen them in various towns, this offshoot of the human race hailing from the east. They were long-lived, and their diminutive bodies made up for it with increased strength.

“What do you want?”

Noah pulled a map out of his pack and unrolled it. “Is this road the fastest way to the capital?”

Hand-drawn maps were rarely reliable, so it was best to get confirmation. He glanced at the other three members of the group. Only one of them was a woman, but she was armed and appeared healthy, so she likely wasn’t being abused. The state of female members was one of the details he’d use to determine risk.

“I’ve been heading south from Clive. Should I keep going towards the mountain or go west?”

The leader tapped the mountain on the map. “That mountain is the territory of a dragon. You’d best avoid it at all costs. The western road will take you around, but you’ll pass through the lands of several lords, and you’ll have to pay a toll each time. Your fastest option would be Took, here along the channel. You might be able to get a boat ride to the capital.”

The channel he referred to was a narrow line of the ocean, severing a massive chunk of land off the side of the continent. It served as the dividing line between Uther and the dwarf nation of Vandheim.

“Took? Thanks.”

He tossed the man a coin and rode off, looking for the next road to the east. Near midday, he broke out of the woods, passing an open pasture of tall grass with the creek on the other side. Both he and his horse were in need of a break, and when he climbed off the saddle and touched down on the ground, a groan of relief escaped him. Riding a horse all day was exhausting in its own regard, and anything that wasn’t numb was aching.

He led the horse to the creek and let it drink to satisfaction. Noah refilled his canteen while checking for anything lying in wait. Minus some cat-sized slimes scooting along the riverbank, he didn’t detect anything that could be a threat. His horse appeared sated, so Noah brought it back to the pasture to graze. Before letting it go, he put his hand over his right eye, activating his second spell.

Rather than making him invisible, it created an illusionary clone of himself, a holographic puppet. It was more than just a trick of the light, as the clone could project Noah’s voice, smell, and even cast a shadow. He sent it off, running through the field like a frightened rabbit to draw the attention of anything lying in wait.

It couldn’t make physical contact with anything, but it produced the sounds of physical actions. In this case, it mimicked the breaking and swishing of grass. Noah could maintain his invisibility for an hour. His clone, just over half of that. That was the limit before he’d lose the ability to fight, and the time was cut down to a matter of minutes if he used them simultaneously. However, that was if he didn’t separate from his clone.

The toll got heavier and heavier as he increased the distance. For Noah, sending it off felt like swimming straight down, with the pressure increasing with each step and his mana lasting only as long as he could hold his breath. It was best used only in quick bursts, sending it running out for several seconds and then bringing it back so he could steady himself and slow his mana depletion.

Not too long ago, separating from his clone was easy, but he had become overdependent on mana potions during training, leaving a detrimental effect on his magic abilities. Hopefully, he could recover.

As his horse ate, Noah piloted the clone through the tall grass. Near the middle of the field, a trapdoor made of earth and webbing opened, and a spider half the size of a grown man lunged toward the clone. It simply passed through the illusion, and the clone ran off unhindered before it could figure out what had happened. Noah saw the rustling of the grass and heard its signature hiss. Despite being fierce, terrifying predators, the giant forest arachnids usually stayed in their burrows until a potential meal entered their reach. He wisely kept his distance and made sure the horse stayed close.

Both Noah and his mount enjoyed the chance to relax and eat. As the horse feasted on grass, Noah made short work of the smoked venison from the day before. He continued piloting his clone while he ate, not just to lure out enemies, but also for training. Noah wanted to keep the motions as realistic as possible and pushed the limits of how far he could send the clone. He couldn’t see through its eyes, so he had to keep it in view to best control it, like piloting an RC car.

Now for his next exercise. While sitting on a fallen log and watching his horse, he repeatedly cast and recast the spell, trying to manifest it only in portions. His goal was to figure out how to cast partial illusions, such as making one arm invisible while creating a fake arm to use as a decoy. Unfortunately, he found the same problem with his invisibility training. The spells were either on at full power or completely dormant, and he could stop his mana no easier than stopping the blood in his hand from flowing. As usual, he used up half his mana before calling it quits. It was time to move once more.

Barely an hour since departing, he was forced to slow his horse. A boar was up ahead, loitering in the road with its tail swatting at flies. The beast was larger than an oil drum, with tusks that could punch through armor. The scent of Noah and his horse reached the boar’s snout, pushing it into a state of agitation. It stomped its hooves while snorting and squealing, keeping its beady eyes focused on Noah.

“It’s always one thing or another.”

Noah conjured his bow from within his ring and grazed its back with a cheap arrow. The boar charged and deflected a second arrow with its tusk. It was close enough now that the horse decided to act independently. It reared up on its hind legs, threatening to stomp on the boar if it came close.

The boar ignored the warning, continuing to charge like a runaway train. Planted in its shoulder, a third arrow threw it off balance and it missed the horse. It tumbled across the ground, breaking the arrow lodged in its flesh. A fourth arrow ended its life before it could make another attempt.

Sitting atop his horse, Noah pondered for a few moments, looking at the body, checking the sun’s position, and then sighed. “Nah, not worth the effort.” He cracked the reins, and his horse carried him off.

The hours passed without further attacks, and he even spotted a road sign confirming he was on the path to Took. Unfortunately, the weather was turning, and the sun was setting with no village in sight. He’d have to set up camp with the expectation of rain. He continued to ride, searching for a suitable place to bed down, and the smell of smoke soon made him pull back on the horse’s reins, bringing it to a stop.

He searched for the source and spotted some fallen branches with fresh leaves. He moved them out of the way and revealed a path in the forest formed by wagon wheels and horse hooves. He had yet to encounter bandits using wagons, so it must have led to a hidden farm. It was a risk, but the clouds overhead were starting to rumble as if complaining of the weight of the rain they carried. The last time he got stuck out in the rain, it almost killed him.

He led his horse onto the path, closed it behind him, and activated his invisibility. If someone were lying in wait, they wouldn’t attack a lone horse. He followed the path through the woods, coming out into a freshly logged area bordering a field of growing wheat. A barn and farmhouse stood at the trail’s end, with smoke wafting from the chimney.

Upon Noah’s approach, a collared wolf began to bark. He activated his second spell as the door opened. His ethereal copy appeared around his invisible body, occupying the same space he did and making him appear normal.

A tall bearded man stepped out with a bow. “That’s enough, Bar,” he said, bringing the wolf’s barking to a low growl. “Who are you?” Noah, still invisible, leaned down and away from the arrow’s likely path and had his clone raise its hands. “My name is James, and I’m an adventurer on my way to Took. I was hoping you might grant me some shelter for the night.”

James was a name picked at random. Since he was on the road, Noah had reverted to an old habit of using a fake name whenever possible and changing it each time. He wasn’t aware of anyone looking for him, but it was best to cover his tracks all the same.

“This isn’t an inn.”

‘In this case, it would be more like a B&B.’ “Listen, I can pay one silver coin now and a second one tomorrow morning. I just need a roof to keep me out of the rain.”

Two silver coins were as tantalizing as Noah expected, making the farmer pause and reconsider. “Toss me one of the coins.”

Noah took it out and threw it, letting it land by the man’s feet. The light from within the cabin was bright enough to illuminate the silver face on the coin. He eased his pull on his bow. “Very well, you can sleep in the barn tonight. Follow me.”

The farmer retrieved a lantern from inside and led Noah to the barn. Noah helped him open the double doors, and inside lay two horses, a dozen goats, and several chickens, most already asleep. The smell of livestock was nothing compared to camping outside on a night like this. Tools lined the walls, and Noah had already spotted two hay bales that would make for a decent mattress.

“Just don’t light any fires, and I’m locking the doors so that you don’t sneak off with anything.”

“I understand, thank you.”

He left Noah with the lantern and secured the barn doors with a heavy wooden beam. Before doing anything, Noah searched the barn for peepholes or assailants’ hiding spots. He could not rest his wings until he was sure he wasn’t in a spider’s web. Noah unpacked and removed the horse’s saddle when the barn was declared safe, letting it feed and drink from troughs in the corner. It was a warm night, so a fire wasn’t needed, and he even had a blanket sealed within his ring.

He sat down on his makeshift bed and looked in disdain at the venison that was his dinner. After eating it for the past three meals, he now thought fondly of the boar he had killed earlier. Just a few bites in, he was stopped by the sound of the doors opening. He kept his sword in reach for just this scenario.

The farmer had returned. “My wife insists that I invite you to join my family for dinner.” Both his tone and expression were stony, but he appeared to be telling the truth.

‘I don’t want to let my horse and stuff out of my sight, and I especially don’t want to experience yet another slasher movie death. But, on the other hand, homecooked food, hopefully not made of human flesh, and a chance to learn more about this culture. Besides, refusing might just piss him off and get me kicked out.’ “I’d love to.”

They stepped out of the barn, and Noah felt a fat raindrop hit his nose. It seemed he had made the right call to take refuge. He followed the farmer into his home moments before the downpour. The house was made of stones gathered from plowing land and had a thatched roof.

The kitchen was built around the fireplace, which served as a barbeque grill, a stovetop, and an oven. A ladder went up to a loft overhead, where the beds were kept. Aside from the single table and set of chairs, the best craftsmanship was found in the few chests and cupboards. The bare soil beneath the floorboards and the thatched roof overhead produced an earthy smell. Everything inside served some purpose, with no furniture or items that weren’t worth the space they took.

The farmer’s wife was setting the table with the help of their daughter, just entering adolescence, and their son, maybe around eight years old. They all wore the same rough wool and linen clothes and appeared healthy. Upon seeing Noah, she stopped and bowed her head with a smile.

“Welcome to our home. You must be James. I’m Mary, you’ve met my husband Joshua, and these are our children, Thomas and Elizabeth. Welcome to our home.”