“I’m from a very isolated area,” Jason said. “We don’t really know anything about magic there. I’m just starting to learn this stuff for myself.”

“Must be pretty damn isolated,” Hiram said. “If you try and absorb an essence too young, there are problems. Never seen it myself, but I’ve heard it’s bad. There’s a simple test to see if your body’s ready. It’s usually at around sixteen or seventeen, but it can go a year or two either way.”

“Thanks,” Jason said. “I still have a lot to learn.”

“Well, I owe you,” Hiram said, getting to his feet. “So does the village. I don’t want to think about what would have happened if four of those things got in there.”

Jason likewise stood up.

“I’m sure it would have been fine,” he said. “If they made it to the village my adventurer friends would have seen it and stepped in. That’s what adventurers do, right?”

“That’s right,” Hiram said, putting a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “That’s what adventurers do.”

30. Closing the Door Too Hard

30

Closing the Door Too Hard

In the garden courtyard of the inn, Jason sat comfortably in the late afternoon shade, looking down at a single leech on the ground.

“So you’ve got it, right?” he asked. “Left for yes, right for no. That’s my left and right, so your right and left. You have that?”

The leech moved to the left.

“Okay, that’s a yes. Unless you don’t have it right and you were trying to say no.”

The leech wobbled side to side.

“Yeah, I’m confused too. I can’t seem to help overcomplicating things. Alright, let’s just assume you’ve got it. That fine by you?”

The leech moved left.

“Great. So, do you have a name?”

The leech moved right.

“No name, okay. Would you like me to give you one?”

The leech moved left.

“That’s good,” Jason said. “I don’t want to keep calling you Leechy. That’d be like Gary calling me Humany. Or Outworldery, I guess. Not being human anymore is bit of a blow.”

“Who are you talking to?” Gary asked, walking into the courtyard.

“I’m trying to come up with a name for my familiar,” Jason said.

“How do you know it doesn’t have one already?” Farrah said, following Gary into the courtyard.

“I asked,” Jason said.

“And it answered?” Gary asked.

“We have a system,” Jason said. “Where have you all been? There was some excitement here.”

“We found out the guy had a cabin in the desert,” Farrah said. “There’s a cave where he’d go searching for earth quintessence. We thought that might be where he’d holed up.”