Jackal Among Snakes

Dawn light fell onto the village of White Edge. Argrave sat with legs dangling off the floor of the carriage while the door remained opened, watching the still-visible red moon dip behind the canopy of the forest. His eyes had dark bags beneath them, and he felt generally miserable. Despite that, he knew there was much to do today.

Last night, they had laid out the poison-laced deer flesh throughout the lily fields, leaving distinct marks by each to determine which poison had been effective. Today, they would have to check and see which had been consumed and which had been left alone. Argrave wished most to sleep. The feeling overwhelmed, and Argrave pulled out the bronze hand mirror and stared at it to get into the right mindset.

Traits: [Tall], [Sickly], [Weak], [Intelligent], [Magic Affinity (High)], [Insomniac], [Blessing of Supersession (MAX)]

Skills: [Elemental Magic (C)], [Blood Magic (D)], [Healing Magic (C)], [Illusion Magic (D)], [Warding Magic(D)], [Druidic Magic (C)], [Inscription (E)], [Imbuing (E)]

Argrave had mostly made advancements in druidic magic—specifically, the supplementary spells of [Pack Leader] enabling him to give vague commands to the animals he was linked to. Unplanned combat was the number one cause of death in ‘Heroes of Berendar,’ and so being able to avoid it with proper scouting was quite important to him. He could already order the birds to move to specific locations, watch over him as he slept, or search for a specific thing. [Pack Leader] was but a gateway into a very useful subset of druidic spells. It would truly manifest its usefulness when he linked to animals more versatile than pigeons—animals he intended to get at the Burnt Desert.

Argrave turned the hand mirror about in his hand, about to put it away. A voice brought him from his distracted haze.

“Do you hate yourself?”

Argrave looked up, somewhat surprised. Anneliese watched, arms crossed as she stood a fair distance away from Argrave and the carriage.

Argrave frowned. “Hate myself? Where’s this coming from?”

She pointed to his hands. “Whenever you look into that mirror, I see some resentment.”

“I don’t hate myself,” Argrave dismissed, taking another glance at the mirror.

“Your face, then?”

Argrave laughed at that notion. He weighed the mirror in his hand, and then his expression grew pensive. He held the mirror out. “What do you see when you look into this?”

Argrave felt anxious even asking the question. He was probing into something he’d been doing his best to avoid thinking about—what exactly had happened to him. He worked tirelessly precisely so he never had to think about it.

Anneliese hesitated, and then stepped forward and took the mirror. She held it up before her face cautiously. “I see myself,” she responded immediately, lowering the mirror as though it as though it was obvious.

Argrave stared at the mirror in her hand for a long time. He couldn’t quite comprehend what emotion he was feeling at her response—disappointment, maybe, or some warped sense of affirmation. He examined the emotion, feeling it twisting about in his head and chest. Then he placed it.

Isolation.

No matter how much more lifelike these people had become, what he knew of this world and where he had come from placed an unbreakable barrier between him and everyone else he spoke to. A game becoming reality was a difficult thing to comprehend in theory. In practice… it was enough to make Argrave lose his mind. So, he didn’t accept it. He ignored it and lost himself in studying magic, poor humor, and a steady advance towards what hehad done a thousand times: finish the game.

Argrave blinked quickly, trying to bring himself out of his train of thought. “I see,” he finally said in response to Anneliese’s statement. He reached out and took the mirror, stowing it away.

do you see?” she

Argrave responded simply

and concern expressed on her face. “Do you hate your

the door. “We should start heading towards the lily fields, find out what poison

out. “At the same time, you

paused and looked back. “Didn’t realize I was so fascinating.

or change the subject when I pry,” she

there’s a hint

and worse. You don’t sleep, you have nightmares, you bury yourself in distractions…” she trailed off, then continued. “I won’t presume your burden. I don’t know what it is you’re thinking about because you won’t share. You might think it’s too much for me—for Galamon too. You might think it’s

frowning. He shook his head and turned around. “Oh, poor me.

a smile that made

his head to the road. “I feel something from my birds.

After a few seconds, a pigeon in the trees flew up into the air, following down the road. Some

on the

“A red flag with a white sun

looked for Galamon, but he had sent him out both to collect more game for a larger-scale poisoning and to deal

either.” Argrave lowered his

but mostly empty from what I saw. There were

sounds like a tax collector. I was under the impression that

“Tax collector?”

or other suitable compensation as tax. In return, the feudal lord protects them. This system is the foundation of society in most of Berendar, although it’s a bit

the road, keeping his eyes fixed on the distant path ahead. Soon enough, what Anneliese had scouted with druidic magic came into view—a large wooden carriage driven by two horses, a man holding the reins to the

the knights took notice of Argrave, they urged their horses forward and rode ahead. Seeing that Argrave was taking no measures to hide himself, their caution did not rise any further than that.

one of the knights said

I wasn’t aware of that?”

each other after Argrave’s undaunted response. “Are you part of the village of White Edge?” one of the knights questioned. The carriage came to a stop, and Argrave was not so far from the two horses bound

the knight’s question. The knight looked to the man driving the

to this village,” the man confirmed. “Many other villages, too, but that’s beside the point. Are you a resident of this village? Likely not, judging by your

Argrave identified himself with his badge. “I was under the impression tax collectors don’t find it worth the time to head to White Edge.

the knights shifted uneasily. Jorund adjusted in the seat, and

Jorund said cordially, “I can’t claim to know why it is that I was ordered to do something, merely that I was. In the grand scheme

skip the preamble. What’s the tax?” Argrave pressed, gesturing with his hands. “You

moment…” Jorund said, unoffended by Argrave’s brusqueness. He reached into his back pocket and pulled free a rolled-up piece of parchment. He unraveled it, and then

was a ridiculous amount for a place like White Edge which didn’t have the most fertile lands. “That’s a bit excessive, don’t you think? I thought Jast was remaining neutral in the war. What’s the