This one's actually short.
Still set in the elements world.
The horse neighed in pain. It's mouth was open in agony, and its legs were skewed out in odd angles. As Jirin approached, it made a feeble attempt at kicking out, before returning to its struggling.
"This is her," said the farmer, "Be careful, she doesn't like it when people get too close." He tried to keep it out of his voice, but Jirin could tell he was fearful for his horse.
Jirin knelt down to take a closer look at the mare.Her muscles were taught with tension, and her tongue lolled lazily in her mouth. As she opened it for another moan, Jirin noticed flecks of grey around her gums.
"What has she eaten in the last few days?," he said.
"Not much," said the farmer, "Some hay, a few apples, a bit of fish from the lake..."
"Fish?" Jirin looked up. He had a feeling he knew what the problem was. "What kind of fish?"
"I don't know. But we've been eating from that lake for the last four years with nothing bad happening. Do you really think it was the fish?"
Jirin didn't answer. He was busy trying to think about what he was going to do next.
She's poisoned, he thought. He knew what was wrong. But what could he do now? To his knowledge, there was only one spell that could help. His tutor had shown it to him, once. But he hadn't been interested. It wasn't in his collection and he didn't know anyone else who had it. What could he do?
He took a deep breath, and drew a vial of water out fromp his pocket.
"Visualization is of vital importance to an elemental," his tutor had said, "You release your magic by putting your mind into the right pattern. Cards are just there to remind you of these patterns. The best elementals don't need them."
It was such a long time ago. But he'd always had a good memory...
He uncorked the vial, closed his eyes, and thought.
The water in the bottle started to flow out in a line, almost lazily so. It coalesced in midair to form a small globe, and, as it did so, it took upon a shiny, silver-like quality. I started to float slowly towards the mare, who had stopped her neighing and was watching the orb quietly. It got closer, then, in a sudden movement, burst, and splashed across her torso.
Jirin's eyes opened. The mare went limp.
"You've killed her!," shouted the farmer. He begun to raise his arm in violence.
"Wait, look!" Jirin pointed. The water on the mare's flank was draining into her skin, and colour began returning to her face. She opened her eyes, and as they watched, shakily got to her feet. She gave an uncertain whinny, then wandered off.
"She should be back to full health within a day," said Jirin. The farmer gave him a thankful expression, and put his hand in his pocket.
"What's the payment?"
"25 electrum."
"Righto."
The coins exchanged hands, and Jirin began getting ready to leave.
"Hey wait," said the farmer, "You should stay for dinner. It's the least we can do."
Jirin paused. What the heck, he thought. A few hours won't make a difference.
He turned around and followed the farmer inside.
After a delicious dinner of rice and beans, Jirin and the farmer (who's name, it turned out, was Derrik)were sitting outside on the front porch. Before them were the pastures and crops Derrik tended. Every so often, the baaa of a sheep could be heard.
"So, where you heading, Jirin?," said Derrik.
"To Iretrey, for a bit." He yawned. "That's just to meet up with someone though. We're gonna try to find a Source."
"A Source, you say. Well, you better be careful. I hear most who try to find a Source end up dead. It'd be a real pity if you were one of them."
"Don't worry, we'll be well prepared."
They sat in silence a short while longer, until Jirin started to get up.
"Well, i should get going. Thanks for the dinner, it was great."
"Don't mention it. But, uh," Derrik looked a bit uncomfortable,"What about the lake? I eat fish pretty often." Jirin pondered the matter. Such an unheard of occurrence, toxic fish this far north. He wondered if it meant anything.
Outloud he said "Just check the fish before you eat it. If you don't know what it is, don't eat it." He hauled his pack onto his shoulder and started walking down the path. He felt sleepy, but knew it would've been overstaying his welcome. Another night in the open, he thought. Oh well, can't be helped.
He shifted the pack and continued walking.
