"I told you, it's that way! Why don't you listen to me?" Abad heard Firtz's voice well before he saw them. The dwarf was very loud.

  "You old coot, this is the trail. You're just lost! Stop fussing and follow me." A-Nis sounded tired.

  Abad smiled at their voices and walked toward them. He emerged from a thick clump of bushes into a small grove, where he found the elf and dwarf arguing. They both stopped mid-shout to glare at him.

  "Girl, why didn't you tell me someone was coming?" The dwarf hefted his axe. "You know I've got bad ears!"

  "Because you decided to yell for the last twenty minutes. How could I possibly hear anything else?" A-Nis drew her bow and knocked an arrow.

  "Hold, friends." Abad held his hands up. "I mean no harm."

  "Do I know you, boy?" The dwarf squinted at him. "You seem familiar."

  "No, you don't, but I know you, Firtz Proudhelm." Abad bowed. "And you, A-Nis."

  "How do you know us?" A-Nis hissed. She drew her arrow back. In response, a caw called overhead. Just as he heard the flutter of wings, he performed a subtle gesture behind his back. Angra hissed, but she alighted on a branch overhead.

  "It's my familiar, my friends. She's a touch protective. Come, Angra. Say hello." He held his arm out. Angra flew down and perched on it.

  A-Nis's eyes grew wide. "That's the biggest Raven I've ever seen. It's as big as a buzzard!" She lowered her bow. "May I approach it?" Her eyes sparkled as she fished something out of her belt pouch. A piece of jerky appeared in her hand. She waved it at the familiar, clicking her tongue as she did.

  Abad held his arms out and shook his head. "Unfortunately, she's rather temperamental." He felt her talons dig into his arm. He did his best not to yelp. "Maybe in time, she'll trust you enough to come close on her own." Angra loosened her talons, took off, and landed on a nearby branch.

  A-Nis looked devastated. Abad had never seen the woman so obviously disappointed about anything. He hadn't realized she liked animals so much.

  Firtz wasn't amused. "So, a mage appears in the middle of an uninhabited forest in the damned Reach and says he knows us?" The man's grey eyes scanned him. "I'm not buying it. Explain yourself, mage. Who are you?" His stance grew wider.

  Abad was about to say his name, but he hesitated. Kasimir had found him through his name last time. Did he want to go down that road again? Perhaps in this life, he could find the old mage and find and different path. If not, he might be able to battle him in better circumstances than the last time. "I'm Tel-Arun," he bowed. "I'm an amateur scholar and mage of some small power. There's a temple of Yslene out that way," he said as he gestured behind himself. "I was conducting research out that way and happened across real heroes. Goddess be praised." He lifted his eyes to the sky in mock prayer. A small smile broke across his face. It was hard for one to believe in a being that one personally knew.

  "Yslene?" Firtz eyebrows knitted together. "No one's worshipped her in centuries. At least since my grandpa foug—"

  "Is this really the time for your stories, Firtz?" A-Nis shook her head. "Please to meet you, Tel-Arun. It's not often you see a sun elf this far from the Tower."

  "Indeed." Abad smiled. "I've been away for some Saern for some time. I've found the Reach holds many spots of interest, and I suppose I'm too curious for my own good."

  Firtz drove his axe into the ground. "Well, as interesting as all these elf matters are, we're hunting a monster. Big thing, like a cat. You seen it?"

  Abad unslung his pack and reached within. He willed the skull from the vault and pulled it out of the bag. "You mean this?" He tossed it to the ground in front of the dwarf. Both of the adventurers stared at it in shock.

  "Why... well... yes." The dwarf looked him over. "Some small power, my foot. That was no simple beast."

  Abad laughed. "As much as I would love to take credit, I managed to find it this way and decided it was interesting. Something else got it." Abad froze as the words left his lips. He hadn't thought of it before. What had killed the creature? The trolls? Trolls would have eaten the body. The boy? The wounds didn't match up. It couldn't be the fey'ra. Helia didn't claim them until after Abad destroyed [Final Law]. Was there something else out here too? The thought unnerved him.

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "Something else?" A-Nis looked at Firtz, who shrugged. "I don't like that."

  Firtz nodded. "I knew something felt foul out here. It stinks of mist and evil." He reached down and picked up the skull. This is good news at least." The dwarf looked at Abad. "Even if we won't get the credit or crystals.

  "If you lot help me back to town, I'd be happy to share the bounty. I don't know that I could face a creature that defeated a beast like that one," Abad lied. "Plus, it's rather heavy."

  Firtz knelt and picked up the skull. "Did you get sent out here by the adventurer's guild too?"

  Abad shook his head. "No. Fighting isn't in my temperament. I just thought the skull was interesting is all. I'm happy I took it. Saved you the trip."

  Firtz looked to the sky. "The Goddess works in mysterious ways." He clapped his hands, stashed the skull in his pack, and grabbed his axe. "This will give us a few days to ourselves. What say we celebrate properly tonight? Maybe head out tomorrow?"

  A-Nis nodded, but before she could speak, something dawned on Abad. He shook his head. "There's a wagon heading back from the Tower of the Moon. If we hurry to the Silverway, we might just catch it in time."

  "In time?" A-Nis asked. "For what?"

  "To catch a ride back." When he noticed Firtz's lack of enthusiasm, Abad added, "and likely get paid for our time."

  "Ehh, there'll be other wagons. Might take until the Old King's Way, but there'll be more wagons."

  "Yeah, but the one I speak of has been given quite the job from the Mage's Guild. They'll need protection on the way home. From the look of you two, you seem more than capable of helping them out, far more than I." Abad looked up at Angra on the branch above them. A wave of emotion struck him. "It would be a shame to make the wrong choice and regret it."

  Angra cawed in solidarity.

  A-Nis laughed. "That's a fun trick. I heard familiars only mimic intelligence, but yours seems like it has a will of its own." She gazed at Angra.

  "That's because she does," Abad said, his tone sincere and final. "She's far more than a simple familiar. In all the realms, there's only one like her." Abad could feel his familiar's black eyes considering him. He subtly bowed to her.

  "I had no idea that was possible..." A-Nis gazed a while longer at the crow, then shook her head and looked at Firtz. "Tel-Arun is right. We should take the opportunity if we have it. They sound like they're in need, and we need the money. Even with this skull, it's not like we're rolling in crystals or anything.

  Firtz nodded. "You're right, lass. We ought to do what we can. Let's get back to the other string bean and head back to the road."

  The elf smiled. "Sounds good to me." She looked at Abad. "Come on. Let's get going. My sister is a little ways back at camp."

  ***

  "Look around for wagon tracks. I know for a fact that no other wagons have passed this way in some time," Abad said to the others. Shani sat on top of a boulder near the road, scanning for signs of passage with a faraway look on her face. Firtz and A-Nis wandered up and down the road.

  "Nothing," A-Nis called out.

  "I don't see anything either," Shani added.

  "Good." It couldn't be long. At his insistence, the trio had pushed themselves, reaching the road in three days. Since they'd only missed the wagon by one or two days the first time, he assumed it would arrive within a day. "Let's make camp. I'll send my familiar. She'll let us know how long we need to wait." In response, Angra took off, flying straight east down the Silverway.

  Shani hopped off the boulder, and Firtz began making lunch. By the time lunch was ready, the Tower's light filled the sky overhead. Each of them settled down for their meal of salted beef and boiled potatoes.

  "The Reach isn't half bad when there aren't any monsters lurking around," Abad offered.

  "The monsters keep it interesting. Without them, trips out here are dull," Firtz said through of mouthful of potatoes.

  "I agree," Shani added. "I'm not so bqttle-hungry as the old man, but a good fight now and again keeps the senses sharp and the blade sharper." She blew on some salted meat, then shoved a massive slice down her gullet.

  "I, for one, prefer game to monsters. They don't taste great," A-Nis replied between bites.

  "I suppose I'm the only softy among us, then," Abad laughed, images of his past conquests filling his mind.

  "You never did say how you knew us," A-Nis asked. "Aside from the old man, we aren't all that well known."

  Abad smiled and took a small bite of salted meat. They'd all eaten over the past days, so he was more than sated, but he stomached it down nonetheless. A part of him hated having to lie to them. Being open and honest with these mortals regarding his true nature had been refreshing in his past life. He hated giving it up. Luckily, a caw overhead allowed him to pretend a while longer. "Angra's returned." A moment later, the great black raven alighted on his arm. "What have you learned, my dear?"

  She nestled into his neck, then said in her husky corvid voice, "they are close, master. Within an hour."

  He stood, "accidentally" knocking over his bowl as he did. "Oh, apologies, Firtz. It was quite good, too."

  "Eats like a damn bird," the dwarf muttered as he shoveled the last of his food down.

  "How far?" A-Nis asked.

  "Within an hour."

  The four settled in, finishing their tasks before the wagon appeared. Sure enough, around an hour later, a horse-drawn cart rolled down the road in front of them.

  "Excuse me," Abad called, waving his arms as he did.

  With his shadow-enhanced sight, he could make out the driver, the guard, and the passengers within. There were seven people left on the wagon. Six men and one woman. The woman was seated next to the driver and guard. Something was nestled between her legs.

  Abad squinted. Not seven, but eight people were on the wagon. In the woman's lap sat the young boy, whose face had etched itself into his memory. They locked eyes. Abad tensed. It saw him, yet its face remained passive. But, after a moment, the boy's lips curled. It was the slightest hint of a smile.

  Shards was something I was, and to an extent still am, so proud of. The fact that I did it, I wrote a book in a month, is something that I'll always carry with me. This was my first (and most of a second) book. How could I not be proud? And it was something I had been thinking of for so many years. I finally got it out.

  Shards were written in a way that was inspired by authors I like and admire. At first, I did my best to write in a way that they would, and I think I did a decent job, even if I find typos every time I look back (so frustrating!).

  Shards chapters take me roughly twice as long to write as Zero chapters. That's not nothing.

  Zero to Hero. The dual stories actually help my ADHD ass come up with better ideas and give me a break from one or the other when I need it. I regretted launching a second story a month ago, but I'm happy about it now.