The Unbreakable Bow

Aefrine looked away acting like he didn't see anything. And then he looked back at the same spot. There was nothing. He tried searching for it in the sky without Alma noticing. Instead, he found Duke Rudolf talking to another orc in the ground below them. The other orc was big and very muscular. He was balancing a pitchfork on his shoulder. Aefrine knows that it means that he probably worked with animals.

"Do you think Rudolf is getting more tea ?"

"Eh? Oh ...what no. Nobody grows tea here. It's a foreign drink. The closest producer is on the other side of the world. Honestly, that man must be wasting his money on buying expensive tea. I hate to tell him that it is probably second-hand tea. But I do wonder what he has to do with the stable man Hans ?"

Aefrine was about to ask what was a stable man, even though he could figure it out on his own, before he noticed the crow again this time on a tree not too far from the two chatting. He wasn't sure though. There were lots of leaves covering it. There was no clear figure. It could simply be a green lamp. However, Aefrine wasn't taking any chances. He closed his eyes and listened to all the souls he could find. He hadn't heard a soul of a spirit before. And he wasn't sure if it had a soul in the first place. But he had nothing to lose.

There were multiple different animals here and there as well as the trees. They were as still as Berta's soul, obviously because she was asleep. Hans's had irritation and disgust with some envy. Meanwhile, Alma was full of anticipation but since she was closer, he could see her inner self. It had contempt with some layers of shame. However, Aefrine couldn't focus on her because something else had pulled his full attention.

Rudolf's soul had anticipation and boredom but what was troublesome was some sort of blob connected to his soul. It didn't emit any emotion it simply made Aefrine's mind go crazy. Despite being far from him, it made him feel like he was listening to chalk being scratched right next to his ear. It felt like he was forcefully smelling a load of animal urine. It wasn't before long when Aefrine finally stopped, crashing his hands on the table, almost losing his insanity. Despite all of that, there was no sight or rather sound of a crow. So it either was just a lamp after all, or spirits simply didn't have souls.

"Aefrine, are you okay?"

He took a nervous look at her. She was justifiably worried. He would be worried if the person next to you just slammed his hands on the table for no apparent reason. He didn't know what to reply. He couldn't explain his power to her. He would sound crazy, wouldn't he?

"Do you think that Rudolf is a good soul magic user ?"

"What?.. No, as far as I know, he only specialises in temperature and phys magic. Why?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"Aefrine? Are you sure you are fine? Do you want to seek a doctor?"

"What? No. I just need ... some sleep. I am fine, really. "

He stood up and left her lost in her thoughts. He just couldn't think what he was going to tell her. He decided that maybe sleep would help him. Aefrine had developed a particular liking towards sleeping to the point that he unconsciously decided that sleep was the cure for all his problems. Alma thankfully didn't follow him. Halfway to his room, he no longer wanted to sleep but rather answer, but where to go? He entered the room and peeked outside to see if anyone had followed him. And close the door shut. He sat on the bed and asked the only one with him: Larry

"Hey Larry, Er...."

"W'at master?"

He didn't know what to start with... He had a lot of things to ask...

"Do you think spirits have souls ?"

"Er. W'at are spirits, master?"

Aefrine stared at him for a moment in disbelief. Larry didn't move, not knowing what his master was seeking.

"You don't know what are spirits?"

"No."

"Never mind...Er, listen, I have this weird power that allows me to hear other people's souls. Today, I had this terrible feeling about a particular soul. "

"W'at is a soul, master?"

"You don't know what a soul is?"

"No."

"Ever heard of soul magic ?"

"I know magic but soul,no."

"What do you know about magic?"

"I know magic is somet'ing t'at you use to do stuff, you can't do wit'out it."

Sigh

Aefrine couldn't be more disappointed. He didn't blame Larry for simply not knowing stuff. Who knows how long he has been in that well? He was just annoyed that at the time he needed Larry the most, he wasn't able to help him. With no other options, he went to sleep.

"Is t'ere anyt'ing else I can 'elp you wit', master?"

"No, Larry . You can go to sleep."

"I don't know 'ow to sleep.."

"Just ..."

He was about to say close your eyes, but Larry didn't have any.

"Just watch for any crow spirits..."

"W'at is a crow ?"

"I was joking. Just count to the highest number and repeat. You will probably sleep that way."

"Ok."

As Aefrine was struggling with entering unconsciousness, many thoughts came and went.

He could go back to Claus and see if he really is up to something. With his bow, he could easily spy on him if he wanted. He was the one who was spying on the other, first, so it would be OK for Aefrine. But what if he wasn't... In both cases, if he got spotted, he would be very suspicious. He is still a foreigner and a guest. Getting caught won't be ideal for him. And more importantly, what was he going to do about Rudolf? He had training with him the next morning. And there is something about his soul that isn't right to say, at the very least. But what could he do about it...

After some second thoughts, maybe he just took a disliking for him, which affected his ability, but he didn't really hate him, even after everything so far. Maybe he is a soul magic user after all, and he simply stopped Aefrine from peeking into him. No matter how much he thought, there wasn't anything clearly that he could do ... Maybe he just had a bad day...

Knock Knock

Aefrine stood up alarmed.

"Who's there?"

"It's me. Princesse Alma. "

"Oh, you can come in if you want ..."

"Ok. I just bought you some books that you might like."

"Thanks..."

Of course, she is going to recommend books to cheer him up...

"These are some easy books that talk about the different countries and their beauty. I thought that you might like a bit of change and at the same time, it will open your mind to the outer world. "

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. Don't worry, I won't be questioning you about any of them. Just enjoy... You will be present for dinner?"

"Eh? No, I am not hungry... really..."

"Ok, as you wish. Sleep tight."

"Er... Goodnight?"

He didn't know how to reply. He knows that night hasn't fallen yet. He could hear Alma's giggles as she went. He didn't really care.

With that, he went to sleep. At least he tried. He turned right. He turned left. He put his head under the pillow but to no avail. Then he decided he read the books that Alma recommended for him. He didn't bother reading, though. He just looked at the pictures. He saw a lot of stuff:

A big yellow tower that looked enormous compared to the castles sitting around it. A giant triangular building made out of glass. A colourful palace decorated with multiple different gems of different sizes.A huge circular port where ships were flying and many more ...

Aefrine definitely wanted to visit them all, but he wasn't in the mood to read about it. However, once he reached a page talking about 'The Celtonic Kingdom of Tabollba',he started reading in full interest. Perhaps, just perhaps, he might find something helpful...

The first thing to notice was the picture of what seemed like water, green and grey hills, trees, and words written here and there. It was a map of the kingdom. If only Aefrine knew what a map was... He looked at the words labelled :

The biggest word was "Kingdom of Tabollba." He could understand that the area that was closed with green lines was Tabollba. It looked best like a wooden plank facing upwards with the upper part being cut. It was shaped like a right-angled trapezoid. The water surrounded its upper side with the sea labelled as 'The Keffen Ocean'. The lower side was faced with grey hills, and the green lines purposefully avoided a bit of land under those hills. There was only a dot in that land which was labelled as 'Olson'. Under Olson was again water, but this time labelled as 'The Medninian Sea'.

The two sides of the kingdom were surrounded by trees, but on the right side, they were dark green, and there were also circles of water in them. The right side was labelled 'The Kasrinien Swamps'. The left side with light green trees was labelled as 'Nabile'. On the right corner of the page was a banner that looked very familiar to Aefrine. It was hunter green with a black shield in it was a garnet red head of what was definitely a T.rex. The map was filled with dots of different sizes, but the one that stood out the most was the star near the hills of the lower side with the name 'Monastadt'.

Aefrine read:

'The Celtonic Kingdom of Tabollba is a relatively small monarchy in the far north-west of the planet. Established in 220 BWW by its founder Dismark, the second, it is one of the oldest continuous states of the West.Most of its population of one and a half million are Celtonic orcs, inhabiting the south regions due to cold weather.

From the west, it borders various Nabilean states like the principality of Nadhour and the duchy of Sbikha, while to the west it borders the swamp lands of Kasrinine making it a gateway between the Nabilean peninsula and the main continent. The north faces the cold Keffen Ocean, limiting its naval activities. However, the south borders the city of Olson, a colony of the Republic of Sofax and the kingdom's major trading partner.

The current currency used is the Tabollbinean Mark.The Kingdom's major exports include many metals, mostly iron and copper as well as animal skin, meat and auroch's milk.

"Milk? Wait what is an auroch ?"

Its capital, Monastadt, is home to seventy-five thousand people. It is considered one of the oldest settlements in the region dating back to the era of ignorance. However, its most famous monument lies further north: the ancient muthav of Leopold Enger, which still stands in the city of Naji. Built to honour the legendary hero who played a huge role in the great World War. It stands firm after approximately five hundred years...

Okay, that is enough....I will just ask Alma if I ever need a history lesson...

With no more hope to find anything useful, Aefrine put the book next to the rest and slept.

The next morning, Aefrine woke up more cheerful than he should have, which was due to the fact he had forgotten his training session. Luckily, Alma asked him if he was feeling better and was ready to get back to the yard, which reminded him of his worries. Knowing, he doesn't have much to do about it. He went to meet Rudolf.

The yard was different today. On one side, there were poles, monkey bars, over fences, and on the other was a tea-less Rudolf sitting on a barrel next to the big iron door that Aefrine never bothered to notice. He went straight for him. He walked slowly. Then, he closed his eyes and listened to his soul. The same feeling came back. He could sense the anticipation in Rudolf's soul, but the blob quickly took his focus away. Aefrine stopped his attempt and stood still. Despite it being for a few moments, Aefrine still felt the effects of yesterday. His mouth felt like it was full of mud. However, it was less severe than yesterday, so he continued forward arguing with himself whether should he ask Rudolf about this or not. In the end, he decided if the Duke didn't give any signs that he knew something about it, he could act like it never happened.

"Good morning, Aefrine, a bit late, are we? "

"Good morning - eh? Oh, sorry..."

"Wear these"

He threw at him four iron shackles, each disconnected.

"Er..why?"

"Eh? Wear them, and you will know."

Aefrine never questioned Rudolf's methods before, however, now he started to have some trust issues, but nevertheless, he wore them anyway. He quickly realised why. The moment he puts them on, they emit a light purple glow, and then their weight will increase immensely. Aefrine struggled at first, but like always, he quickly got used to it. However, they still made movement very hard.

"Are they a bit tight? I made sure that they fit you well. Here, take this. "

He rolled him an apple the size of his head. A normal apple in this world.

"Pick it up."

It was heavy, of course. But if this was today's training, then it was too easy compared to everything else.

"For this week, I have no tea, so I will be observing you this time closely.....Don't worry, there are only three rules:

One: Don't use magic except for phys magic as usual.

Two:Don't drop the apple,no matter what.

Three:Survive ..."

"Ok-wait, what??"

Rudolf opened the iron gate. Aefrine's instincts kicked in, making him run. A giant iron gate would only hold a giant creature, right?

As he hit the ground sprinting, he could hear from behind a chilling grumble. The ground was shaking.

Does Aefrine even dare to look behind...?