NO TRIUMPH WITHOUT STRIFE: CH-1-2
WARNING: Spoilers to SAO and SAO II may be present as well as light sexual themes and violence. If you are distdisturbed or too young to be reading these themes, this warning is for you. Life has no censors...
Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to references, characters, or franchises from SAO project. These characters are original characters for use in the story. All events involving them are meant to tie seemlessly into the story of Sword Art Online and Sword Art Online II; Namira Steiner (Dornia), Kiumimatsu Kanade (Claudia), Nora Steiner, Victoria Steiner, Toyo Kanade, Sakuya Kanade, Dauntless, Charles (Archangel).
CHAPTER I: The Death Game Begins
"Has it really been that long?" Dornia asked herself while sitting in the fields of floor one. She looked at the clock on the interface menu. For her, she had been waiting for an hour. The clock read '17:24'. "Sheesh, she's late again! She is gonna be the death of me..." She fell on her back in dramatic fashion. Claudia, her girlfriend IRL, was usually late but not for things like this.
The Nerve Gear and SAO were highly anticipated by both of them. It was basically a guarantee that they would both get a copy due to both of Dornia's mothers being on the design team. Dornia's birth mother, Victoria, was part of the item design team. She chored over every stat and design of a weapon to be sure it was perfect before release to the rest of the programmers. She was meticulous. A veteran of the German army, she was a helicopter pilot during the Afghanistan conflict. She was German on one side and Japanese on the other. Nora, worked closely with Victoria. Nora was also a veteran of the Afghanistan conflict. She was an AWACS controller with the US Navy. She was very passionate of her work on VRMMOs pouring her very soul into each line of code to be certain that every movement made was perfectly executed by a player. Due to their company dedication, they were allowed free copies of the finished product.
"It's not like she had to rush out and buy the game... what's taking her?" She excaimed, letting out a restless sigh. She allowed her head to turn from the skybox she starred at to fall to the left where she could see two players fighting a boar. It seemed to her that the one in the blue was teaching the other how to use power attacks. A rejoice was had when he finally struck the boar down and they promptly ended the confrontation with a high five.
"Hurry up, will you? C'mon Kiu... I'm bored as hell out here." She looked back to the skybox and closed her eyes. Suddenly, the constant gonging of a large bell was heard. She opened her eyes in a flash. She was no longer in the fields where she had been laying. She was in the town square lying down, surrounded by thousands of other players. The sky was red and it had seemed all time had stopped. "What the-? How did I get here? Must be a bug with teleport crystals or something..." She stood up and stretched her arms. A notification had popped up in the corner of her interface. '3 minutes ago: Claudia is online.' Looking around, she realized that all of the players were here. Every single one in the server.
The ringing stopped and a red hexagon displaying the word, 'warning' floated in the air. The hexagon multiplied until it filled the entire sky. One would assume blood poured from the lines that separated their shapes forming a massive figure in a cloak. People spoke aloud, "Is that a game master? Is this an event? It's probably just part of the opening ceremony..." It spoke as those who listened grew more panicked by every word that poured from his venemous voice.
"Attention Players. Welcome to my world. My name is Akihiko Kayaba. As of this moment, I am the only person able to control this world. I'm sure ypu've already noticed that the logout button is missing from the main menu. But this is not a defect in the game. I repeat... this is not a defect in the game, but a key feature in Sword Art Online. You cannot log out of SAO of your own will and no one on the outside can shut down or remove the NerveGear. Should this be attempted, the transmitter inside the NerveGear will emite powerful microwaves, destroying your brain and thus ending your life."
Groups of panicked individuals tried to leave but found it was in vain due to an invisible barrier that surrounded the perimeter of the town square. Akahiko Kayaba continued.
"Unfortunately, there have been several instances where players' friends and families have ignored this warning, and attempted to forcibly remove the NerveGear. As a result, 213 players have exited permenantly from Aincrad and the real world."
With a swipe of his hand, several floating displays began showing various news articles and public saftey warnings about the situation.
"As you can see, news organizations across the world are reporting on the situation, including the multiple deaths. Thus, you can assume that the danger of a NerveGear being removed has been reduced. So, I would like you all to focus on clearing the game. But be sure to keep this in mind. There is no longer any function to revive someone within the game. The instant your HP drops to zero, your avatars will vanish forever. And simultaneously, your brains will be destroyed by the NerveGear. The one condition for your escape is to complete this game."
He gestured and the once floating news reels were replaced by a 3d representation of Aincrad.
"You are presently on the lowest floor of Aincrad, floor one. If you make your way through the dungeon and defeat the Floor Boss, you may advance to the next level. Defeat the final boss on floor 100 and you will clear the game. Now then, finally, I've presented you all with a present in your item storage. Please see for yourselves."
Curious, Dornia opopened her inventory and pulled out a small mirror. In it, she saw her avatar with it's deep violet eyes, mature face, and long flowing jet black hair. She watched as her person was enveloped by a bright blue light as others were. Anxious of what was happening, she froze in fear. First there was a loud ringing and a blinding light, then as quickly as it came it all vanished. She looked around and noticed that players looked different. Some more drastic than others. Some became younger while others changed their genders entirely. The confusion spread like a miasma. She looked back in the mirror to see her face had changed as well. Her violet eyes were replaced by blue eyes, her face looked much younger like that of her real age, and her long black hair was replaced by golden blonde hair that extended no further than her collar bones. Her avatar looked exactly like her real world self aside from a scar on her upper lip that was not present. Others quickly came to the same conclusion as she did. She opened her stats and saw that her name did not change. It displayed 'Dornia' as her avatar. "How did it know what I look like?" She could overhear the two that fought the boar theorizing that it was due to the NerveGear scanning your head and the calibration. She recognized them from their gear they wore. She looked at herself and realized she was a few inches shorter. She saw the one in blue say something else but failed to hear him as he extended his finger to the game master. She looked to the game master once more. He spoke.
"Right now, you must all be wondering, 'Why? Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and the NerveGear, do such a thing?' My goal has already been achieved. I created Sword Art Online for one reason... To create this world and meddle in it. And now, all is complete. This ends the tutorial for the official Sword Art Online launch. I wish you luck, players."
Ahikiko Kayaba began corrupting and vaporizing in a red smoke, being sucked back into the sky riddles with 'Warning' and 'System Announcement'. As quick as it came, it vanished like it never was there to begin with. The town square was silent and still. All faces bore a look of shock and appall. Dornia's stomach sank and she felt nausious. The panic returned as the crowd began shoving and screaming. Dornia stood still as mobs bumped into her trying to flee. Where could they run to? She thought to herself. Nobody can leave here. Is fighting even worth it?
Minutes passed by as the town became closer and closer to vacant. More and more, Dornia considered giving up until she realized what she had read earlier. Claudia is online. Somewhere in the near ten thousand was Kiumimatsu Kanade, her love. "Kiu is here? Dammit, why couldn't she be a bit later! The one time she nearly makes it on time!" She looked around like a frenzied animal, frantic and afraid. She sprinted through the streets and began screaming her name. "Kiu! Kiu where are you! Kiu, it's Namira. Where are you!?". I have to find her. I have to find Kiu. It repeated in her head like an obsession for substance. She passed by players who ignored her. She was not the only one searching for someone. All seemed in vain.
Hours turned to days as she searched. Nothing. She could not find her anywhere. The hopelessness overcame her and she slowed her pace gradually until one day, she simply stopped. Sitting on a step, she began weeping for hours. Tears did fall but not a single sound left her mouth. She wanted to be alone for a while.
CHAPTER II: From Solitude Came Inspiration
Three months passed by. A young woman in a brown ragged cloak and a long sword on her hip sat upon the steps of the market strumming a lute guitar. A tale of lost love and revenge played melodiously. Dornia trudged along slowly for she felt she had no purpose. She stopped by the steps of the lute player who had a beret on the ground being filled with gold from other players. It would vanish into her inventory as she tipped her head to the passer-by. She never missed a note nor broke her bearing. She was dedicated. Her legs finally gave out from her restless search and she sat next to the lute player blank faced. Intently, Dornia listened to every note strummed and every chorus that flowed from the woman's lovely voice. Dornia realized she was smiling and quickly buried her head into her knees. It was the first time she had heard music in three months. It was sweeter than she had remembered.
The troubadour ended her song and stood to bow. She looked down on Dornia and scanned her. A girl in her later teens judging by her build. A pair of worn red trousers and brown boots covered her lower half. The troubadour could see she was wearing a cheaper cloak. Far less so in quality in comparison to even hers. She wore a white simple blouse, a light piece of chest armor, and golden hair hung down over her head obscuring any view of her face. With her foot, the troubadour nudged the quiet girl. "Hey, are you dead or somethin'?" She asked while doing so. "C'mon, your downer of a mood is turning paying tributers away. Either cheer up or go away." Dornia responded by curling up even tighter, not knowing what to say. She decided that silence was her best option.
"Look kid, don't try and hide from me. I am literally right in front of you. Curl up and hide if you want but don't think I didn't spot that look on your face. I saw that dumb smile of yours." There was a coy tone in her voice. She sounded playful, almost seductive with her word choice. What is she getting at? Dornia thought as she sat. All the while, the troubadour continued into another instrumental song with a beautiful chord ascending and falling in a wonderful melody. Dornia sat and listened. All the while, she could feel her stare searing into her. The woman pivoted back toward the passerby's and began singing another lovely chorus about a persistent lover.
"These scars long do yearn for your tender embrace, to bind our fortunes... damned what the stars own.
Rend my heart open, then my love profess. A winding weaving fate to which we both atone."
She continued the song with a large crowd gathering. People began talking among themselves in glee over her ballad. "Is that dauntless?" Asks a woman in a set of mid level light armor and an impressive lance. "I've heard that song from another game! Such a beautiful voice..." Another man in a light blue tunic armed with a dagger exclaimed. More and more gathered around, heavily congesting the main road with spectators of the bard. She finished her song with a quiet slow of her lute before giving an exaggeratedly low bow. "That is all for today, good people. I, The great troubadour Dauntless, shall be outside of the sleeping guardsman tavern at noon performing more ballads. Do tell your friends and loved ones, spread the word!" The bard raised herself to applause as she dawned a massive grin of satisfaction. She turned to see the curled up girl next to her had loosened up and was watching her in near awe.
"Will ya cheer up, Blondie? You're bumming me out." Dauntless said in a more sympathetic tone. She returned her lute to her inventory and placed her hands on her hips. She continued, "Look, I don't know what your issue is but I know two things for a fact in this world. One, we've all lost something and have scars to bear from it. And two, everyone cheers right up when they've had some good quality food to eat. Especially when it's free. My treat, kid. You coming?" She extended her hand out to Dornia and waited patiently with a sly smile. With hesitation, she reached out as well and Dauntless guided her through the town. "We'd better hurry along, it's already 18:30 or so. C'mon lets quicken our pace a bit!" Dauntless exclaimed in a chipper voice as she jogged along, practically dragging Dornia through the streets.
The two of them had been running for about ten minutes before arriving at the before mentioned tavern, 'The Sleeping Guardsman', at the southern end of town. Dauntless looked to Dornia who was hiding behind her cloak in a forlorn fashion. She still wore that sly smile as she spoke, "Stick to me, kid. I'm pretty popular around here so don't run off or you might get lost in the sea of groupies." Ending her statement with a wink, she practically kicked the door in. It swung open to a dissatisfied barkeep and shocked patrons who were taken off guard. One in the back shouted, "Aha! Dauntless is back!" and the revelry began in bustling and loud fashion in mere seconds. Cutting their way to the back with nearly a whole guild's worth of people following her, they took a seat at an isolated table against the wall.
"You playing anything tonight, Dauntless?" A rowdy man sporting a rough beard inquired. "Tomorrow boys and girls. Just here for a bite and a bed." She replied before turning to the barkeep who bore an expression that suggested he knew this would happen. "Barkeep, lets have the cook's special for two and desert! Surprise us! Start us with the usual!" She leaned back in her chair while the revelry began to die down but the cheery mood stayed constant. Dornia sat forward with her arms crossed feeling rather out of place in such an establishment. She was taken off guard when Dauntless piped up, " You gotta name, blondie? Don't think I need to give you mine." She gave a chuckle at the end of her sentence. Should I give her my real name or my character name? Dornia thought. I suppose Dauntless isn't her real name and I've only just met her... "Dornia... My name is Dornia." she stammered as she loosened her arms a bit. Her facial expression grew more relaxed but she still bore a look of neutrality. Dauntless wasn't fooled, she could see the despair deep in her dead eyes. "Dornia, huh? I liked blondie more but Dornia is good too... So you ever had booze before, Dornia?" Dauntless asked in an attempt to change the mood. The barkeep arrived at their table with a large picher of a deep violet liquid and two tankards. Dornia looked upon it and shook her head. "Well you're gonna love it." Dauntless said with her chin on her hands smiling hideously.
Dauntless and Dornia sat with their heads lying upon the table, the room spinning all the while. Dornia opened her main menu to see the time read '23:56'. "Shit. It's late..." She mumbled. She sat her head up to see that Dauntless was asleep on the table. She sat back in her chair and let her arms fall to her side while looking at the empty dishes on the table. "What am I doing here? Why am I still sitting with Dauntless? Sure she bought me a meal but why am I still sitting here?" She asked herself quietly. Her head hung back on the back of the chair and she looked on the wooden plank ceiling of the now rather vacant tavern. A different barkeep stood where the previous did. "May I have some water?" Dornia asked with a tired voice. A muffled voice from the mess of black hair on the table spoke.
"He doesn't speak Japanese very well... German. Hope you know it..."
"I know a bit I guess..."
"Well you're not getting any if you don't ask. He has a cheat list up there if you wanna try that."
Dornia cleared her throat, "Kann Ich habe ein Glas wasser, bitte?" The barkeep nodded with a smile.
"Holy shit, you actually know German?"
"A bit. I probably made a mistake or two but he got the gist of it I guess..."
"What, you know three languages?"
"Well one of my mothers is from Germany and the other is from America. It was sort of expected of me I suppose."
"Next you'll say you play the violin or something..."
"Well..." Dornia sighed and closed her eyes.
"Are you even a real person? You have all of this talent and you waste it running through the streets calling for someone who probably has already left the city. Who is this Kiu anyways?"
The barkeep sat a flagon of water on the table. "Danke Schön." Dornia leaned forward and drank from the flagon. "Bitte schön." He replied with a smile. Dornia wore her blank face once again. "I've been looking for my girlfriend... her name is Kium- er... Claudia. She's been missing since the beginning. To be honest, I don't even know if she's alive anymore."
"C'mon, if she's got even a little common sense she'd join a guild and use that as a jump. She play any other MMOs before this?" Dauntless asked mumbling with her face still pressed against the table. She was looking out across the tavern at the two at the bar. "Yeah," Dornia stammered. The alcohol, although digital, still seemed to affect her and loosened her tongue to Dauntless. She continued. "She has played more than I. She and I used to want to join competitive guilds and try to get into E-Sports but that sorta fell through." "Then there is no doubt in my mind that she joined a guild or a party. What I wanna know is, why didn't you join one?" Dauntless asked as she peeled her face from the hard oak table. Her face showed she was visibly exhausted. "Fear. I've been terrified from the very beginning." Dornia said as her face curled in disgust with herself. Why have I been such a coward all this time? I feel like a moron. She thought as she fell forward and slammed her head on the table, knocking a tankard onto the floor. It rolled about a meter before stopping at the leg of a wooden chair.
Dauntless, staring at the top of Dornia's blonde head, mumbled in a much clearer tone, "Fear is a piss poor reason. Fear isn't a hindrance, Dornia... fear is a motivator. Use that motivator and weaponize it. Sure it isn't all sunshine and rainbows but knights in shining armor are just knights who've never had their metal truly tested..." She gave a gesture without speaking and the German speaking man walked over with two more tankards of the violet liquid. He turned to walk away and bent down to retrieve the wayward tankard. He did not seem bothered in the slightest. "A little late to do anything about that I guess. I've got nothing to my name... That and I'm certain that, if what you say is true, she is somewhere in the level twenties or thirties. Here I am, still level one." "Listen kid, I hate listening to you mope and wallow in self pity. I'm gonna cut you a deal. I'll give you a loan from my earnings and you can get yourself gear..." Dauntless said in a monotone voice. Dornia lifted her head a bit as she listened. She was interested but knew there were strings attached. What does she want in return, I wonder? "On three conditions, Dornia. One; You are to be my apprentice bard and use some of that to buy an instrument." Dornia was confused but nodded to signal she was ready to hear the next term. "Two; You are to be certain you get a weapon because we will face foes and I hate dead weight in a fight." She nodded once again. "Finally, Three; We are going to find this Kiu person. Not because I want to swoop in and rescue from the big bad monsters she surely can handle herself. No, I just want to write a new ballad about this adventure we are about to embark on. Do you accept the terms of your surrender, Dornia?" Dornia was flooded with joy and tears began falling from her eyes. "Yes... I will do it. Thank you, Dauntless." Dauntless lifted herself with some effort and launched herself into Dornia across the top of the table shouting, "It's a deal then!" She wore a large grin and shot into Dornia's chest with her arms outstretched to hug her. Dornia jolted back but her balance betrayed her and she took the hug full force, toppling with the woman latched to her chest over the back of the chair and landed painfully on her back with the chair. Dauntless, legs still partially on the table, smothered Dornia with her cloak and bousum as various metal dishes scattered across the floor near the table. The two with the violet liquid spilled on the ground before vanishing as an expired food item. "H- Hey, Miss Dauntless? Could you get off of me, please?" Dornia requested in vain for she was already fast asleep, leg still resting on the table. Dornia sighed and tried to push her off but failed to do anything but move her head away from the cloak and bousum that suffocated her. She sighed and decided to give up, falling asleep as well.
Dornia awoke groggy and confused but she could, at least, tell she was no longer suffering from the affects of the alcohol she had drunk. Dauntless still laid on her, leg on the table, but had her arms wrapped around her. Dornia blushed but did not move in fear of waking the troubadour. She opened her menu wanting to check the time to see a request for partnership from Dauntless. She sent this three hours ago? Dornia thought as she accepted it. She looked at the clock to see it read '07:56'. She closed her menu and looked around the tavern to see it was full of players who simply ignored them. It was quiet. "I guess I'm stuck here for a while..." Dornia whispered as she laid under Dauntless' unconscious body. I really should move but this lady is just way too heavy... Is this a regular thing for her to do? It doesn't seem like anyone is paying any mind to my predicament... Dornia pondered as she looked at the ceiling. From it hung a splendid chandelier made of antlers where candles burned in the brackets fastened to the piece.
A boot clad in plate steel struck the body that laid upon Dornia. Dornia jolted awake from the sudden shift of her body weight. She looked up, confused, to see a man in full and ornate steel plate armor. It sported chain mail underneath and large pauldrons complimented with beautiful wings and sharp details on the steel. A red and white tunic could be seen underneath. The man's face was hidden by a knight templar style helm with a cross for the visor that stretched from the forehead to the chin. He held a large kite shield some meter or so long and a sword to match. A red cross was painted on the shield with a white backdrop. Dornia's face had turned red as his tunic as she realized what it looked like to others in the tavern. She could not recall falling asleep again. A deep and gravelly voice spoke with an annoyed tone.
"Dauntless, wake up you damned fool. I thought I told you to stop sleeping around with random people!"
Dauntless jolted awake as well after a groan, "Wha- Who? It's not what it looks like!" She scrambled to get to her feet, knocking down a chair and tripping only to land on Dornia's chest, catching herself on Dornia's breasts with force. Dornia wanted to yell and protest but had the wind knocked out of her, all she could muster was a pained groan. Dauntless tried to stand once again. Dornia rolled to her side, gasping for air. Finally on her feet, Dauntless stood favoring her left foot as she spoke in her usual sly tone as if all was well.
"Well well well, look who it is... If it isn't Archangel. You really couldn't pick a less cringy alias, could you Charles?"
Archangel looked down to the woman and then to Dornia who still rolled about on the ground, finally catching her breath. "Quit changing the subject, Dauntless. I thought I might find you here. Even in this deplorable state as well. It seems my intuition is sound..." Dauntless brushed her clothes off and opened her menu. '11:13' is what it read. She sighed and closed the menu before looking back to the hulk of armor before her. "What do you want, Charles?" "You have a debt that is due, I'm here to collect. Do you have it?" He asked in a serious tone. "Nope, I haven't performed today. What are we racked up to, now?" Dauntless lied. "6,641 gold according to guild records. You want to pay an installment or do I need to bring the head of civilian affairs into this from the guild?" She cocked her head, placed her hands on her hips and spoke with sass, "I don't have it, Charles. Search my coffers if you like but I'm broke. Give me another month. I'll pay plus interest." Charles rested his helmet covered head in his armored hand in annoyance and sighed. "You said that last month, we gave you a month. I haven't the slightest clue how you got approved for this and, at this rate, I have no idea how you plan to pay it off at this rate." "Look, your guild, those blood knight guys-" Dauntless started. "Knights of the Blood Oath." Archangel interrupted. "Whatever. They're the good guys, right? So what do they plan on doing if I can't pay? Doubt they'd execute me. Imprison me? With what prison? Turn me over to the army? Those goofs can't defend themselves from a boar. I could just run off into the wild and hide out. You'd never find me, Charles." "True, none of those are really options. Even so, I am a creative person. I can find ways to ruin your life, woman. I admire your tenacity, though. You get one more week." He proclaimed and gestured to Dornia who was attempting to stand up with assistance from the wall. He continued, "You may actually make the money if you'd stop indulging yourself and open an account at the bank." Dornia spoke up, "W- We aren't together... I'm already spoken for. I mean, I'm taken. Not by her, I mean." She held her head low, embarrassed for even speaking. "Well whatever the two of you are, I'd be careful of this one," He said as he gestured to Dauntless' "She's likely to drug you to get what she wants... but it seems as though you've experienced this for yourself already. A good day to you ladies." He pivoted on his heel and gracefully glided out of the tavern.
They waited for the hulking individual to leave the tavern before speaking. "Who was that? What guild is he in?" Dornia asked, bewildered by the situation they were just in. "That was Archangel from the Knights of the Bloodoath. He is a shield man for their boss formation. I believe he is ranked as number eight in the line of power. He's really just a nobody, though." Dauntless said with ease as she picked the chair up and slid it under the table. "But that guy said you're in debt to them. How do you even get into debt with a guild on this game?" Dornia asked, still with much confusion displayed on her face. She threw her arms behind her head and smiled coyly. "Let's just say I'm a bit of a loot whore." A chuckle escaped her voice. She grabbed Dornia by the hand and began dragging her outside, "C'mon kid, we gotta get you equipped if we are gonna do this. Don't forget, you signed a contract!" She cheerfully exclaimed with a wink. "Take this list, I've taken the liberty to organize what you need and what you may want to grab. Here's 4,500 gold. Consider this your binding debt until this is resolved." Dornia, silent and anxious, took the list from her. It was on a scroll of paper neatly printed out in a font that looked similar to hand writing. It read;
To my dearest blondie, the following is a list of items you will need as well as reccomendations.
Needed items:
-weapon of your choosing
-find a musical instrument you can play. (If you get a lute, I can teach you how to play)
-armor of some sort (light reccomended)
-teleport crystal
-healing items
Reccomended items:
-cooking wares
-fishing rod
-bedroll
-lockpicking tools (hey, you never know)
-weapon maintenance kits
-a small weapon (dagger or dirk)
Return to the Sleeping Guardsman when you're done, rent us a room when you get there. I imagine I'll be performing still.
With all the unconditional love in the world, Dauntless the mighty.
Dornia lowered the list and noticed that Dauntless was already outside and strumming a lovely melody. There was some forty players crowding the pedestrian traffic. Dornia sighed and looked back at the list. With all the unconditional love in the world "Must she be so creepy? I really do hope she is being facetious." Dornia rolled the scroll up and painstakingly slipped her way through the crowd of clapping and cheering for 'Dauntless the mighty'. After some difficult coordination, she finally slipped out of the back of the crowd and began her walk into town. Fortunately for Dornia, there was no risk of her getting lost in the town of new beginnings here on floor one. She had, afterall, been running through these streets for some three months in forlorn effort. Dornia scorned herself and looked at the ground feeling guilt. Why, all of a sudden, do I feel so open and calm now? Is it her? Maybe it's just that I haven't had contact with someone for months? I've just slipped along the crowd saying four words. Those four words that I never want to have to say again. Kiu, where are you? She shook her head violently as she became lost in thought. "Focus, Namira! Focus!" She whispered to herself as she walked the familiar streets. Turning the corner, she continued for some hundred meters down the road before reaching a large market bustling with players who were buying, selling, and shops that lined the walls of the huge market. She knew there was a blacksmith in town that was very reputable.
She opened the door slowly. A bell hung against it and rang with a light jingle, notifying the shop keep. Dornia, caught off guard, jumped when she heard it. A young girl's voice could be heard from the back room, "Welcome to Lisabeth's smith shop! I'll be right there, feel free to look at the merchandise!" Dornia noticed the girl sounded much younger than her. There was a cheery pep in her voice but it was betrayed by the sound of struggle conveyed in her voice. Dornia hesitantly shuffled past the various display cases housing impressive and intricate swords, making her way to the wooden counter. She called out to the doorway behind the counter where struggling could be heard, "H- Hello? Do you... er... Do you need assistance in there?" The gleeful voice replied quickly, "Oh never you mind, I'll be up there in a jiffy!" Dornia, unsure with what to do with herself on account of her new found time, examined the swords in the display cases more closely. A particular piece caught her eye, although it was not what she was searching for. The ornate silver displayed obvious exemplary craftsmanship truly from a passionate labor. The piece was a rapier whose basket was a delicate weave of silver vines and leaves that tapered into the length of the blade itself. The black hilt was wrapped with dyed leather strips, between which silver wire spiraled up the hilt that only added to it's beauty. Dornia was in awe.
Dornia heard labored breaths on the other side of the doorway behind the counter. Peering over her shoulder, she could see a short girl who wore brown boots guarded by steel plate over the shins, a red dress covered by a white apron wielding plate steel on the hips, and the back of the apron tie hanging low to her calves. Dornia could see no more than that due to the three crates she carried that effectively covered the rest of her body from view. Nearly tripping on the last step of the entrance between the forge and the shop, she finally reached the top of the stairs. She took a moment to catch her breath but let out a sigh of shock when she began to lose balance. Dornia, in her vigilance of the situation, sprung forward toward the girl. Due to her agile nature, Dornia was able to slip past her and brace her from behind before she toppled down the five or six steps leading down to the forge. "Th- Thanks" She said with effort, still out of breath. "It was nothing, really." Dornia said as she lowered her arms, releasing her from a bracing position. Lisabeth, after a deep breath, continued forward with the three crates. Dornia followed closely behind until she set them down on the ground behind the counter.
Dornia walked back around the counter and was able to get a better look at Lisabeth without the crates obscuring her image. She was a short girl, about thirteen years old but she was uncertain. Her chest was covered by a steel chest piece and beneath it was the dress instead of the apron for it was tied at the waist. The dress wore long sleeves ended with white cuffs, the left shoulder being covered by a single two layer steel pauldron. Her slender neck was ornamented by a white collar and a red scarf bearing two yellow stripes running parallel to the length. Her freckled face was partially covered by a loose bunch of dyed pink hair. She looked up at her forehead with her crimson eyes and blew at her hair in frustration whilst she dug through her apron pocket. She revealed a white hair pin she promptly slid into her right bang, effectively removing the obstruction. She looked back to Dornia with a smile displaying glee, "What can I help you with, miss?" "Dornia replied, "Dornia. My name is Dornia." She returned a small smile. It was small but genuine and warm.
"Well Dornia, what can I help you with? Looking for blades or armor? I can sell it to you or forge it for you. I'm pretty skilled, you know?" She said confidently with her hands on her hips. "Um... I need a sword made. It's kind of specific and I need it for about fifteen hundred." Dornia replied, biting her lip to ease her anxiety. "What kind of specifics are you talking about? I'm good but I'm no miracle worker, you know?" "I need a long sword. It doesn't have to be ornate or made of rare materials. I just need a simple weapon." She placed her finger on her chin and pondered for a moment as she examined her customer, "You don't seem to be a very high level player... What level are you, if you don't mind my asking?" Dornia, with anxiety in her voice, spoke, "I'm er
.. I'm still only level one." Her voice began to die down in volume and became nearly inaudible. "Level one? Still? How did you get 1,500 gold?" Dornia chuckled nervously and replied, rubbing the back of her head. "It's kind of a loan... I need this sword to help pay it back. It's important... It's really important to me." Her voice trailed off to that same quiet tone at the end. Lisabeth recognized sadness in her voice as her facial expression changed from that of confusion to pity. "A- are you sure you want a long sword? I mean, it's a pretty heavy weapon in comparison to a short sword or rapier..." Dornia's expression turned to determination as she listened to Lisabeth speak. "A long sword is all I know how to use." "How? You're level one. There's no way you've fought something yet." "Yeah, I may not have leveled up yet but I do have one thing on my side." Lisabeth listened but did not interrupt. Dornia continued, "I do have my real world experience. If this truly is a realistic game, so long as that weapon meets my strength or agility level, I can wield it, right?" Lisabeth nodded. "Then I want an agility based sword. Please, Lisabeth..." Dornia had a look of desperation as Lisabeth looked her in the eyes. A moment of hesitation before she spoke, "Alright Dornia, I will forge you a sword... but do one favor for me when you leave here." Dornia, who was bearing a smile, asked, "What's that? I hope it isn't more debt..." "You have to survive. Survive and come back here with whoever it is you're looking for. Got it?" She gave a toothy grin and nodded.
Lisabeth walked to the doorway leading to the forge and picked up a board with a paper on it. Giving a swipe, a quill materialized in her hand. "Let's hear those specifics, shall we?" Dornia nodded and splayed a serious expression as she talked, akin to that of a professor at an ivy league college. Whipping her finger in the air and drawing in the air as well as gesturing to the table, she described the sword she desired. "The overall length of the sword should be 51 inches long, in which the cemter of balance should be 2 and a half inches below the top of the cross guard." Lisabeth began scribbling down as much as she could and as fast as she could as the blonde girl spoke. "The blade width should taper from 2 inches at the cross guard down to 1 inch an inch and a half from the tip before coming to a point. The cross guard in total length as a single piece should be 8 inches, however, should be bent forward at an angle as so the width of the sword does not exceed 5 inches." She was punctual as she gestured to the imaginary drawing on the wooden counter. "The hilt of the sword should be a leather wrapped hilt about a foot long for two handed use. Finally, the pommel itself is simple. It just needs to be a simple flat butt pommel with four flanges in a slight spiral. The piece needs to weigh 3 and a half pounds." Dornia laid her hands on her hips, feeling proud of her explanation she had provided and felt it more than adequate.
Lisabeth, still scribbling away on the scroll she had now laid on the table, paused and looked up at Dornia before inquiring, "All these specifics and in imperial system at that... what about personal touches?" Dornia placed her finger on her chin and pondered. She threw said hand in a point and continued her lecture with confidence, "I'd like the leather on the hilt to be dyed red... and let's add a charm on the pommel. A hawk skull made of brass." She said with a smile as she looked off into the distance in thought. Lisabeth leaned forward with an ecstatic smile and said, "Ya know, I've just unlocked this new smithing skill called 'engraving'. I have yet to try it out and would really like to. If you want, I can engrave something on the blade for you as a test of my skill. I'll even give you a discount on the finished product!" Dornia's face turned to that of self debate as she weighed her options. "Sure... you can engrave the blade." Nearly interrupting her, Lisabeth ecstatically vocalized her satisfaction, "Great! What do you want me to engrave? Since this is my first engraving, I'd recommend something with text instead of a mural or something crazy like that." She rambled on, twisting her hand nonchalantly. Dornia, with not even five seconds of thought, snapped her fingers, "No triumph without strife. It's something my mother always tells me..." Dornia's warm smile turned back to her usual sad expression she had become accustomed to. "Well, since it's that important to you, I guess I'll have to make certain this is a masterpiece!" The pink haired girl exclaimed with a thumbs up in an attempt to cheer her up. She looked back down to her scroll and studied it intently as she spoke, "You can stay here and watch me forge it or come back in an hour or so, if you like." "Actually, I have some other things I need to pick up so I will come back later." Alright then, I'll have it waiting for you when you return." She gave a wave without looking up from her scroll. She retrieved a parchment from under the counter and began writing various notes on it. Dornia began walking away toward the door and stopped a few paces from it. She looked over her shoulder at the young blacksmith, "Oh, and Lisabeth?" Lisabeth raised her head attentively, her scribbling paused. "Thank you..." Dornia said with a small smile. Lisabeth saw it was a small smile but genuine and felt it meant the world to her. She returned that smile. The bell rang once more as the door opened gently. It rang once more as it closed in the same fashion. Lisabeth sighed with a satisfied smile and began scribbling again.
Slipping through the crowds of both grim and cheery players, Dornia snaked her way across the market to a town guide. Interacting with it, she searched for a store that sold musical instruments. It provided her with the directions to one store. Seemingly the only one in the entire city. It was clear on the other side of town. A good half hour walk she reckoned. She decided to postpone her walk there and chose to stop at a general store in the market square. She opened the door of a shop front with large windows displaying basic weapons and armors as well as various crystals. Stepping inside, she received a warm greeting from the shop keep. He was an older man with a mustache as grey as his hair.
"Good afternoon, young miss. What can I get for you?"
"I need some of these items on this list."
"Hmm... I can get you most of these items but I don't have musical instruments..."
"Disregard that as well as the weapon. I do, however, need a dagger of some sort."
"I have all you need, then. These don't run very cheap though. The healing crystals I mean. After all is said and done, You're looking at about 700 gold."
Dornia, with some hesitation, opened her inventory and requested the broker for trade. 800 gold is all I have left. I need to be careful.
"Here you go. I have three sets of light armor. They aren't mythril or ebony but they are decent enough to keep you safe. Which would you like?" He gestured to three stands in the corner displaying sets of light steel armor. Each was complimented with a cloak with silver trim. The first displayed a plain but practical armor design with a black finish. The shoulders were small and covered the upper arms as well as had vambraces. The second proudly showed a shiny finished armor with ornate engravings on it's chest piece. The shoulders were like the one before it but had a blue cloak and the grieves sported plate down the legs. The vambrace on the left arm had spiked studs and gauntlets fully covering the hands. The third was similar to the first but wore red and white colors as well as a red cloak.
"The second one, please. With the blue cloak." The shop keep nodded and added it to her inventory. "There is a changing room over there to the left." He exclaimed as he gestured to his right. To Dornia's left was a wooden door that was left ajar. The shop keep picked up the suit of lightweight armor off of it's stand and handed the pieces to Dornia, carrying the smaller pieces with her as they walked to the changing room. "Thank you. I can take it from here." Dornia said, trying not to sound condescending. The shop keep didn't mind at all. He gave a bow and walked back to his counter, leaving her to her own devices in the changing room. Dornia walked inside with the rather large set of gear she had just bought. She couldn't believe how much larger than her it was. Splaying it out, she was able to get a better look at the armor itself with all of it's finer details revealed in the light of the candles. It's actually quite beautiful. Dornia thought as she looked over the overall piece.
The boots were a fine leather that was soft to the touch but well sewn and had plates of steel covering them with sharp points. Each end of their overlapping steel was complimented by a floral engraving of roses on a vine. The shins and thighs were covered by a series of inverted steel plates crawling up the legs of the wearer, ensuring maximum frontal protection. They too were complimented by similar engravings along their outlines. The belt was heavy leather sporting a simple steel buckle as well as a hanger for a sword. The chest piece was a form fitted plate proudly displaying more engravings of roses on vines wrapping up the left side of the chest and forming a coat of arms bearing a fleur d' lys on a checkered shield. The gorget was petite and covered the neck well, also complimented with roses on vines along it's trim. The neck was partially covered by the navy blue cloak that flowed off of it, lined by silver trim. The back of the cloak had a fleur d' lys as well in the same silver grey as the trim. The large hood partially covered the symbol as it hung from the back of the neck. The Shoulders were slim but sharp with two layers of plate steel. The left shoulder bore the lys as well while the right, the roses and vines. They did not seem to obstruct free arm movement. The upper arms were covered by a simple piece of armor with small ornate roses engraved into them. The gauntlets were a slim series of three plates, armed with full steel gloves. The plates that covered the hands were intricate, dexterous, and overall quite sharp. The knuckles as well as the left gauntlet flashed brutal studded spikes. It was clear to her that they were intended to be used as a way of parrying and light attacks. The armor bore a navy blue and silver striped quilted armory coat and trousers to compliment the theme. Dornia was impressed and satisfied with her choice but was confused of how to put the armor on. That and it looked too large for her, let alone the breast plate was clearly not made for a woman to wear.
Mumbling to herself, "I suppose I should start with the pants..." Dornia pulled her own pants down, revealing her black undergarments. In one movement, she removed her rugged old boots as well as her trousers, leaving only her tunic she had worn in. She fiddled with the armor until she was able to retrieve the trousers. Upon inspection, she saw that they were quite large for her. I suppose he would have brought up the fact that the armor was too big if it mattered. This is a game, after all. She pondered as she pulled them on, covering her undergarments up once again. She fastened the buttons and pulled the waist out forward, showing the five centimeters of spare waist room unused. She sighed in defeat but was interrupted when the trousers shrunk to her size. Stunned for but a moment, she quickly pulled out the coat and fit it over her tunic. It too shrunk in but a few moments. A wide smile appeared on her face as she continued equipping the armor. I never thought I'd be getting anything like this after this long of... her thoughts trailed off as she remembered her hopeless endeavor of running through streets shouting until she would collapse from exhaustion. She shook her head violently as to escape the depressing memories of the last three months. "None of that matters anymore," She said with confidence, looking in the mirror. "I'm going to find her and we will be together again. No more moping around!" She noticed an icon on the mirror next to text. It read, 'Currently in manual equip mode, press here to change to automatic equip (default)'. Dornia looked at herself and realized that she was changing like she would in the real world I keep forgetting this is a game. She face palmed herself and sighed. Swiping the menu downward, she changed the equip mode back to default and selected 'equip all'. A notification appeared in the corner of her eye, 'Armor of the Knight of Thorns equipped. Agility and endurance bonus active.'. This is a named set? Why is this so cheap? Dornia added her boots and trousers back in her inventory before exiting the small room.
The shopkeep took notice of her entrance to the main shop where another player was perusing the items on the various shelves and racks. "It looks quite nice on you, Miss. A fine fit! To be honest, I couldn't get a soul to purchase it for the longest time. I'm glad my son's work has sold." Dornia, examining the look of the gauntlets, spoke in a tone of genuine astonishment. "Your son made this? Why sell it for so cheap?" "It's more of a recognition thing. See, we don't really have our name out there yet so we plan on selling some impressive low and mid tier gear to lure in more customers. Pretty clever, huh?" He wore a cocky grin as he spoke. "That boy has some real creativity. That set you have is completely unique. Nobody in Aincrad has that armor but you. It may not be made of master materials but it will keep a new player well equipped until level 20 or so. Enjoy it and take good care of it, miss. Oh, and don't forget to spread the word of where you got it from! The name is Mizuki!" Smiling contently, Dornia replied in an anxious tone. "S-Sure thing... I suppose I owe it to you for giving me such a great deal." Dornia waved and turned to walk out, trying her best not to walk awkwardly with the foreign feeling of her new armor. "Have a good day, Mister Mizuki." She pushed the door open, letting the outside light into the dusty shop and beaming over the shelves of various potions and crystals, refracting a beautiful display of colors across the walls. The door swung closed on it's own, concealing the display until the next customer opened the door.
Dornia looked around the market and noticed it was significantly busier than it was previously. She swiped open her menu and checked the time. It read, '12:36'. "I should head over to the music store. I'm sure Lisabeth isn't finished yet. I should have 2,250 gold when all is said and done." She said to herself as she wormed her way out of the market toward the east. Various people were trying to barter off their old gear to passerby's. One called Dornia over to him. He was rugged and missing his shirt. His beard was down to his sternum and a large ax sat in his belt. On his back, a round shield was worn. It was clear, he was depicting a viking of some sort. "C'mere blondie!" He beckoned, "You haven't even a sword to defend yourself. How do you expect to fight, eh? C'mon and buy one from me!" Another in similar armor proclaimed, "You're in need of new armor with those old rags! I've got some quality tier gear for cheap!" Dornia ignored them and walked on, them changing their targets accordingly to those who were more willing to bite at their lure. Turning and winding through the stalls, she finally reached the edge of the market and onto the streets towards the eastern reaches of town. Various players walked about in groups chatting about achievements and rumors of the front. Dornia ignored them as well.
It took her near an hour to reach the shop front she was walking to. It was a shopfront in a much smaller and much less packed market, the architecture of the building having a stone foundation with plaster walls bordered by lumber. It reminded Dornia of her family in Germany and their property along the Rhein. She smiled feeling nostalgic. Turning the handle, she opened the door with a loud creak that would surely have echoed if not for the near hundred various instruments on shelves and walls that dampened the sound. A slender man with a fancy shirt and sideburns of brown hair was scribbling away on parchment. He turned his head toward the light of outdoors where he spotted a suit of armor and a cloak closing the door. The back bore a clear fleur d' lys and blonde hair in a loose bun. Dornia turned and saw the man had a short pony tail and a black velvet bow tied around his neck.
He straightened up from the counter and smiled coolly. "Ah, welcome to my humbled shop, miss?" Dornia replied, stumbling over her own inelegant words. "Hmm? Oh er.. Dornia. My name is Dornia." She blushed slightly in embarrassment of her ungraceful efforts. He, on the other hand, spoke with ease and eloquency. "Good afternoon miss Dornia, my name is Gabriel. What may I interest you in on this fine day?" He straightened his velvet ribbon on his neck as he spoke. "I er... was given a budget by my... partner. She wanted me to pick up an instrument to perform with her but my bughet is limited to about two-thousand gold. Could you help me?" "Of course miss Dornia, this way please." He exclaimed with a slight bow, gesturing toward a corner of the shop where various drums, viols, and madolins hung amongst many more instruments. Dornia stopped half way there, something had caught her eye and halted her dead in her tracks. "How much is that?" She asked, desire practically forming a miasma around her. "For that fiddle? 22,000. Just a bit out of your price range. I have plenty of fiddles but this one and it's sister are rare finds." "It looks just like a violin..." He held himself high, arms behind his back as he spoke, "Yes, they play exactly like a violin does as well. These items are rare drops on a floor 15 quest. Hence the price." Dornia bore a troubled look as she stared and bit her lip. "It's expensive... it would take me forever to get the money for that..." He shrugged and began strolling toward their destination as Dornia asked, "Is there a way I can play it for a few minutes?" He pivoted on his heel and took the fiddle down from the wall, swiped the body, and typed something on the menu. Dornia was unable to see what it was. He presented the piece to her, waited for her to hold it, and finally handed her the bow.
"It is currently in default mode. There are about a hundred songs into choose from, simply select one and you can play." Dornia, unsatisfied with the choices, reluctantly selected one and readied her hands. Before her, a display appeared similar to a rythym game from the early 2000's. "This is all wrong. This isn't like a real violin at all. Dauntless performs her own ballads on her lute. Writes her own songs. Is there a way to do that with this viol- this fiddle?" Upon hearing the name Dauntless, he looked to her with interest in his eyes. "Like Dauntless, you say? Idolize her, do you?" "No, it's not like that at all. She and I are partners as of last night. She took me as her apprentice or something. I really just needed her help to find someone. She's only interested in it for a ballad or something." Dornia's face turned sour as she spoke. Dornia felt displeasure in talking about her but she was the only person in two months who even acknowledged her existence, let alone offer a hand to help, regardless of the rediculous reasons she probably had. While she was thankful of Dauntless, she also felt resent. "Have you any proof of her partnership with you? A contract perhaps?" Gabriel asked. Dornia opened her inventory and pulled out the list she was given. "I don't have the contract. She kept that. I do have the list she wrote out for me though." She presented him with the list. "With all the unconditional love in the world... That certainly sounds like her but I'm afraid this just isn't enough proof. Perhaps there is another reason? She can spot talent quite well, it's how she became as good as she is today. I'll tell you what, you impress me and maybe we can work out a deal?" Dornia nodded eagerly. She knew she could, however, it was a question of how. "Here, swipe along the body and open the menu. Go to settings and change the play style to realism. It will perform exactly like a real violin. Full freedom of play style." Dornia followed the instructions to the letter and slid the bow across the A string.
"It's out of tune." She exclaimed as she began to slowly turn the knobs on the head. Beginning with G, little by little she tuned the violin. Another rub across the strings, followed by a few test rolls of her fingering notes. "That should do." She said as she took a picturesque pose. A simple melody was played, escalating and descending notes with various pulls of the strings. "I said impress me. If you cannot do so, stop wasting my time." Dornia stopped and looked him in the eye with an annoyed look in hers. "It's been half a year since I've played. I was recovering from a broken hand. Give me a moment." There was a sting in her voice as she punctuated every consonant at the end of her sentence. She readied herself once again and held the bow at an angle.
She began with a sul punticello giving off an earie high rasp and adjusted the bow to the normal postition, fingering the board with trills. The melody was depressing. Clearly a song of loss or despair. An escalation of chords fell to a sul tasto, regaining the sad perception. The sul tasto continued for a few seconds with soft trills complimenting the harmony. A sudden stop with a spicatto, interrupted by a brief movement of running the bow from the neck to the board, regaining the eerie feel. It plunged back into spicatto, raising tension. Expertly, her fingers danced across the fingerboard, sending visible chills down Gabriel's back as he listened in awe. The melody's intensity gradually died down to sul tasto and became deeper. The tempo rose, her tul tasto growing stronger until it burst in an explosion of heavy chords with spicattos at every other interval. Her delicate movements on the fingerboard ceased upon her ending notes where she slid the bow down from the neck once again, achieving the return of the eerie shrieking of chords. It was complimented by a final line of soft sul testos. Dornia held herself with a satisfied smile, her eyes closed during the performance.
"Where did you hear that song?" Gabriel asked, his eyes narrow.
Dornia, removing the bow and lowering the instrument, replied. "I learned it from my mother. She's the one who taught me how to play."
"What is your mother's name?" Gabriel asked, leaning back with arms crossed.
"Victoria."
"Victoria Steiner?"
"Yes. You know her?"
"Know her? I attended the same college as her. She and I were in the same orchestra. So you are her daughter? I didn't know she had a daughter."
"Yes, I'm her daughter. Namira Steiner." Dornia wanted to act condescending toward him but couldn't bring herself to act as snide toward him as he did her.
"So, who was the lucky man? Never saw her with anyone when I knew her."
"Well, she didn't exactly have a lucky man. More like a lucky woman..."
"A woman? That is unexpected. I hadn't even a suspicion she was a lesbian. Though now that I think about it, I fits."
Gabriel extended his arms out to receive the instrument from Dornia. "Now I know for certain you are Dauntless' apprentice. Especially if you are your mother's daughter. In saying so, I'm willing to make a deal with you." Dornia's attention was caught with his mentioning of a deal. He continued, "I am willing to part with this fiddle for 22,000 gold, however, I will allow you and only you to make a down payment and pay it in installments. four-thousand gold a month, am I clear?" He wore a grin foreign to Dornia. She could only tell it was lighthearted. "Er.. Yes. You have made yourself clear." His left arm returned behind his back with the fiddle as he spoke, articulating the bow in his right hand as he spoke. "Very good. I can take that two-thousand as down payment and you can return here to make payments or do so through the bank if you like. As for selection, I had stated that I have two fiddles. The first is the ash wood you were just playing. The second is in a display on the counter. I think you would like this one much more than the ash wood." He hung the fiddle back on the rack and the bow next to it. They walked back to the counter in the center of the shop. He reached down below the counter and opened a menu. In an instant, another fiddle with a rosewood finish materialized in his hands, the neck in his left and the bow in his right. "This one may be more to your liking." "It looks just like mine." Dornia exclaimed as she began examining it more closely. "Well the rosewood is a common finish but your mother has one like this. Family heriloom I imagine." "Yes it is." "It's yours after you pay the two-thousand. After which, I expect you to pay the fees on time." He wagged his finger at her in punctual fashion, making clear his point. She eagerly nodded, ecstatic to get her hands on the piece. "Take care of it, it's not yours yet Dornia." She nodded with a serious look on her face. Gabriel gave a swipe and typed something once again. After a brief moment, he handed the piece to her and a travel case with leather straps. "For travel. This will keep it invulnerable when it is equipped. Keep in mind, however, that it can be broken when it is outside of that case." She nodded and gave him the gold. 'Rosewood fiddle added to inventory' promptly appeared in the corner of her eye as it de-materialized. With a few swipes and presses, it re-materialized on her back in the brown leather case. "Thanks Gabriel. I'll let Dauntless know you said hi." "No you won't. Although talented, she is trouble." He replied, his hands in the air and smiling coyly. She chuckled and turned to leave, grabbing the knob and turning it.
Dornia exhaled with satisfaction as she readjusted the strap to her liking. Swiping open her menu, she examined the time. '13:59'. "Oh shit, the sword!" She exclaimed, her tone quivered with urgency. Like a fleet foot, she sprinted through the town streets retracing her steps. Jumping various stalls and slipping between bystanders and merchants. Her actions and movements, although aggressive, managed not to harm or disturb anyone along the near hour long journey she had run. Coming to a screeching halt, she stood outside of Lisabeth's blacksmith shop. She, once again' checked the time. '14:26'. "It's a good thing I'd decided to run." She wheezed, out of breath and hunching over gasping for air. After a moment of regaining normal breathing, she straightened her posture. Pushing open the door to she shop, she heard the bell once again. She was, however, prepared this time for the rather loud and sudden jingle.
"Welcome! I'll be up there in just a few minutes." Dornia heard Lisabeth call out from the forge. She walked to the back, behind the counter, and held on the wooded frame as she peered into the forge. Lisabeth had her back turned and was holding a steel rod in a furnace. Pulling it out, she set the billet on an anvil, cleaving off the rod from the billet. She retrieved a hammer and began pounding the billet that glowed in a brilliant yellow orange. After a few slams of the hammer, it transformed into a decent quality basket rapier. Dornia was unable to see her expression but could tell she was dissatisfied with her work by the sigh she let out. She stepped back and gave the sword a few swings and thrusts to test the balance of the piece. "At least that's correct..." Dornia noticed her mumble in the silence of the forge. There was no hope of hearing her mumble before due to the clanging of hammers and the crackle of the fire when the bellows blew air into the forge. She turned to her right and set it down in a pile of a few other swords of slightly more ornate designs. Beside them was a fur rolled up. Dornia hesitantly knocked on the door-frame to get her attention.
Lisabeth's head turned to see Dornia standing in a brilliant suit of light plate armor bearing the fleur d' lys and a leather case for an instrument on her back. "Oh wow, Dornia if you wanted armor..." She gestured, addressing the room in general, "I mean I am a blacksmith. I could have made you armor as well." She swiped across her hands, unequipping her white smithing gloves before rambling on, "The suit looks very good on you. May not match the sword though. Red hilt and all." She shrugged. Dornia waved her hamd dismissively as she approached, descending the stairs. Before she could walk to Lisabeth, she already stood before her and was inspecting the craftmanship of her new armor. She was very intrusive, and in doing so, caused Dornia to blush as the young smith lifted plates, kncked on plates, and crawled about her person. "W-What are you looking for down there?" Dornia asked, burning red. All the while, Lisabeth was nearly on her back looking up Dornia's legs, seemingly inspecting the knee joints of the grieves. "This is the work of an ammeter! A skilled ammeter but an ammeter at that! I'll give them credit though. The skill stacks give some incredible bonuses in combat with that agility and endurance boost. Even if you manage to get hit, it shouldn't hurt you too much. Smart decision." She jumped back to her feet and was rubbing her chin with an impressed look on her face. "Er... Is my sword-" Before Dornia could finish her question, Lisabeth cut her off, "Aha! Your sword is truly a pride-worthy piece. It was difficult to do with the limited price range but I managed! A real miracle worker is what I am." She quickly walked to the fur wrap and unraveled it, revealing a sword exactly as described with the words 'NO TRIUMPH WITHOUT STRIFE' engraved on one side and 'SERA DORNIA THE FER-DE-LANCE' engraved on the other in an old English text.
"Sera Dornia the Fer-De-Lance? What does that mean?" Dornia asked with a blank and clueless stare
"You know, like the snake?"
Dornia retained her expression.
"So sera is like a knight who is female and a fer-de-lance is a type of viper from South America. I figured the fast and lethal strikes of a viper was fitting." Lisabeth handed her the sword and stood back. Dornia swung it around doing various cuts and snakes to test the balance. It was perfect.
"Here, this is the sheath. It can be mounted on the hip or the back, whichever is to your liking." Dornia took the sheath and held it to her left hip where she envisioned it being mounted. She smiled with great satisfaction. Lisabeth returned the same smile two fold, pleased that her newest customer was so pleased with her work. She beckoned her to follow her to the shop as she walked toward the steps. Dornia followed, sheathing the sword as she walked behind her. "Most people wear their swords on their backs, why not you?" Lisabeth asked, looking over her shoulder. "Try doing that in real life. A sword this size won't even leave the sheath off the back. At least the hip is possible in real life." Dornia replied, exhaling as she stepped up the stairs. Lisabeth leaned on the counter as Dornia walked around the front. "So I managed to forge your sword using limited supplies and it came out fantastically. The cost added up to 1,370 gold. Looks like you've saved 130 gold." She exclaimed with a huge grin on her face. Without speaking, Dornia opened her menu and purchased the piece. Her small smile returned. She was on her way. "Take care of it, Fer-de-lance, she is yours. Treat her well and she will treat you well." Dornia nodded and equipped the sword to her waist. Before turning to walk away, she pulled the small Lisabeth across the counter and hugged her, unable to contain her giddiness. Neither Dornia or Lisabeth said a word. They both knew what Dornia was saying as Dornia released her and walked to the door. The bell rung once as the door opened. Once again as it closed. "You're welcome, Dornia..." Lisabeth said quietly as she smiled warmly. "You're very welcome..."
Swiping open the menu, Dornia checked the time. '14:41'. "I made good enough time, I guess. Time to head back." She started her walk back to the sleeping guardsman. She passed various peddlers on the streets she had seen before but she ignored them all the same just as they did her. Weaving through the now heavy afternoon traffic of players, it took her twice as long to walk to her destination. She arrived to a crowd some 15 meters thick of congested traffic trying to enter the sleeping guardsman. She began squeezing her way through and into the door, the excessive force she had to use to make it through the crowd exhausting her. Finally she broke through the crowd at a table to the left where two players sat, drinking an ale. She lost her balance upon exiting and was forced to brace herself on their table or risk falling upon it. Her arms hit the table and knocked the flagon out of a patrons hands, causing it to fall to the ground. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Let me buy you a new one. Ein mal ale bitte?" Dornia shouted. The man was visibly distressed until Dornia gave him 10 gold. "So sorry." She said as she bowed once, twice, and thrice before continuing.
Dornia looked across the bar and saw Dauntless sitting on the bar counter, drinking profuse amounts of alcohol and shouting across the crowd. She drew her lute like a blade and strummed it stylishly into the air as she laughed heartily. Dornia stood back and observed as she lashed on her strings with a devious grin before singing a verse.
"It was in the dark of moon in a week in June upon a hill all dressed in black,
"Standing above the graves, a black horse neighs, in it's stirrups the rider sat back.
She strummed violently between versus as she told the tale of a headless rider who reaped the souls of those who saw him. It was a truly horrid ballad but nevertheless, the crowd cheered on. Upon ending, she stood on the counter and gave an exaggerated bow to the patrons and listeners. As she did, she spotted Dornia trying to stay in the back of the crowd, listening with interest. "Alas good people, I am done with my performance and that is so. However, this doesn't mean the show ends yet!" She bellowed to cheers across the room. She gave a gesture across the tavern and crowd to Dornia who froze as her arm extended in her direction. Anxiety and exhibitionism was all she was made up of at that moment while she shouted across her audience. "Come one, come all. Allow me to introduce my apprentice troubadour!" The crowd before her parted, forming a path to the counter that was her stage. Dornia, still frozen with stage fright, could not bring herself to take a step. That was, until a foreign hand from the crowd shoved her forward. She stepped hesitantly at first but her step gradually became smooth and graceful as she approached the smiling Dauntless. Taking her hand, she climbed onto the top of the counter and stood on Dauntless' right. "My apprentice, only now revealed for the first time, shall reveal to you her stage name!" She proclaimed as she nudged Dornia in the ribs and egged her to speak. Dornia swallowed, her dry mouth making it difficult, and stammered, "Er... I'm er.. I-." She cleared her throat, took a deep breath, and spoke more calmly. "They call me Dornia the Fer-De-Lance. You all may call my Fer-De-Lance..." She clenched her fists to keep her hands from trembling as she spoke to her curious audience. She opened the leather case and revealed what seemed to the crowd to be a violin. Readying herself, she spoke across her crowd more comfortably but in her mind, it was chaos and fret. Oh god, don't fuck this up Namira! It's just like a concert at school. Calm and deep breaths.
"The song I shall perform for you is called Óró Sé do Bheatha Abhaile. It's a song of, after a wedding, bringing your wife home with you. It is in Gaelic but the lyrics aren't important. What is important is how much drink you have while you listen in!" Her bow slid across the strings as she rolled her fingers over the strings, playing high and low notes ending with a trill on each bar. She sang,
(Author's note: This song, Óró Sé do Bheatha Abhaile, can be found on youtube. The performance by The Dubliners is reccomended.)
"Óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh.
'Sé do bheatha, a bhean ba léanmhar
do bé ár gcreach tú bheith i ngéibhinn
do dhúiche bhreá i seilbh meirleach
's tú díolta leis na Gallaibh."
The crowd was quiet as she played, curious and optimistic. They began their merriment of drinking and swaying as the fiddler sawed, her leg swaying as it hung from the counter. A group in the back, seemingly knowing of the lyrics, began to sing along as they slurred every other word. Dauntless was unable to hide her gleeful smile as she watched the Fer-De-Lance play. She was so pleased by the reaction of her first performance that she brought up her lute and began to follow the chords as she got the gist of the tempo and chords. The song became a duet of lute and fiddle and the crowd became rather energetic. The chorus rang,
Óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh.
Tá Gráinne Mhaol ag teacht thar sáile
óglaigh armtha léi mar gharda,
Gaeil iad féin is ní Francaigh ná Spáinnigh
's cuirfidh siad ruaig ar Ghallaibh."
The crowd, at this point, all held flagons in the air as they swayed. Passerby's would stop and peer through the windows and watch with a smile. Such a joyful sight was rare in the game of death. It was this fact that troubadours, although rare, are welcomed by all. Dornia felt Dauntless rest her head on her shoulder, eyes closed, as she plucked the strings of her instrument. She sung on, shaking away her blush that began to spread across her face.
"Óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh."
A bhuí le Rí na bhFeart go bhfeiceam
muna mbeam beo ina dhiaidh ach seachtain
Gráinne Mhaol agus míle gaiscíoch
ag fógairt fáin ar Ghallaibh."
Nearly the entire crowd was giving it all to sing along, although terribly, but together the crowd managed to harmonize with each-other. It was truly a sight to behold. People from all walks of life, trapped in a death game and yet they all were care free. Dornia realized this. No matter how bad things got, there can be good things as well. She smiled that genuine small smile as her passion for the song multiplied. This is why I enjoy this so much? The mere thought of making people happy? So be it. She thought as she sang the closing chorus.
"Óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh.
Óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
óró, sé do bheatha bhaile
anois ar theacht an tsamhraidh."
Jumping to her feet, her fiddle never missing a note, Dornia sawed violently as she played the closing solo. The crowd joined her tempo with cheers and clapping to the rythym. She stomped her feet as they clapped, Dauntless looked on in awe as her new apprentice stole the show. She was wearing a large smile as she allowed her to play the solo. Giving two stomps, she ended her performance with a broad smile and a bow to the thunderous cheers and slamming of flagons that she received. Dauntless stood up and grabbed Dornia's wrist, raising her arm and fiddle into the air. "Fer-De-Lance, everyone!" She bellowed to the cheering crowd as some threw their arms in the air with her. Dornia was unable to hide her blush this time. "Th- Thank you." She stuttered. The crowd shouted back, "Give us another one!" One shouted as two others shouted in sync, "Encore!" Dornia could barely hear over the hundred or so giving applaud to her performance. Dauntless asked in her ear, "Well? Will you hive them one more?" Dornia looked to her, seeing her coy grin and cocky expression. She looked back to the crowd and held her fiddle in ready position, playing an eerie sul punticello from neck to board that silenced the crowd. She raised her fiddle, pointing it to the crowd. "Since we end our performance post this next performance, let us fill our parting glasses and leave here as merry as we are now." She exclaimed as she grabbed what she assumed was Dauntless tankard, raising it in the air after setting her fiddle down for but a moment. "To the here, to the now, and to those who we've lost and may we never forget them." Dornia set the tankard down and took up her fiddle once more and played a soft chord before she sang. It was not like the last song she sang. Nearly all in the room joined in song as she played. They sang,
(Author's note: This song, The Parting Glass, can be found on YouTube. The recommended performance is by The Clancy Brothers.)
"Oh all the money that e'er I spent
I spent it in good company
And all the harm that e'er I've done
Alas, it was to none but me
And all I've done for want of wit
To memory now I can't recall
So fill to me the parting glass
Good night and joy be with you all
Oh all the comrades that e'er I've had
Are sorry for my going away
And all the sweethearts that e'er I've had
Would wish me one more day to stay
But since it falls unto my lot
That I should rise and you should not
I'll gently rise and I'll softly call
Good night and joy be with you all
Good night and joy be with you all"
A thunderous applause shook the floor boards and roared through the streets from the door that hung open. Dornia stood and gave a bow as the crowd cheered her name. "Fer-De-Lance! Fer-De-Lance! Fer-De-Lance!" Dauntless, seemingly unable to contain her joy, squealed and tackled her in a hug thus causing the two if them to fall off of the bar and behind the counter. "A spectacular reaction! You're a natural, kiddo!" Dornia blushed as the woman was still lying on-top of her. "Would you mind getting off of me please, Miss Dauntless?" Dornia wheezed. "Only on one condition." Dauntless said as she wagged her finger. Dornia looked on expectantly. "Don't call me miss. Dauntless is just fine!" She exclaimed with a huge grin while she rolled off of her. She jumped to her feet, energetic as ever, and held a hand out to her. Dornia, catching the wind that was knocked out of her from the fall, accepted her hand.
"A violin, huh? Figured you'd find a fiddle but that looks pretty expensive. How much did you end up spending?" Dauntless questioned, hands on her hips and a coy grin on her face. "Er... Well... I used most of it on the fiddle... It was a down payment of sorts..." Dornia scratched her head and laughed nervously. "What did you do, my fiddler apprentice?" Her eyes narrowed as she smiled. Her eyebrow raised as she spoke. "I spent two thousand on the fiddle as a down payment." "Ah... So what do you owe still?" Dornia mumbled, "twenty thousand gold..." "What was that? Speak clearly." "twenty thousand gold." Dauntless' face turned pale. "twenty thousand?!" Dornia thought Dauntless might faint as she leaned on the counter. "W-Why did you buy a twenty thousand gold fiddle?! I'm already in debt as it is! Are you trying to get us pressed into service with a guild?!" Dornia brought her hands up in a defensive posture as she tried to calm the hissing whispers speaking to her. "It's okay, it's four thousand a month. We can make that easy! I got this deal because the guy knew my mother! That's why he cut me a break!" She still displayed her nervous smile. Dauntless stood silently but stared in Dornia's eyes for a few seconds contemplating something. "Fine but you're doing most of the work since you're the one that got us into this mess of a financial situation. Got it?" Dornia nodded as she lowered her hands. She took her fiddle and placed it back in it's case, securing it to her waist. "How about that room?" Dornia offered trying to change the subject that weighed heavy between them.
She and Dauntless hopped over the counter to the customer side and waited at two open stools in the rather crowded tavern. "Zwei biere und ein zimmer für zwei bitte." Dornia asked to the barkeep who was taking inventory of his stocks in a menu. He acknowledged them with a nod and, after some tapping and swiping on a menu, brought out two tankards of a light colored beer. "Seiner Zimmer ist im Obergeschoss. Es ist die letze Tür rechts." He said wiwith a smile as he handed them a key. "What did he say?" Dauntless asked after a drink. "Last door on the right. Upstairs." Dornia said before she took a drink. Her face turned bitter as she set the tankard down and slid it toward Dauntless. "Don't worry, it's an aquired tase." She said with a laugh. Dornia looked over her shoulder to see the patrons who had attended the show were mingling with other players and laughing heartily. Some in the corner jeld a table to themselves where they played dice poker and another pair were playing tablero. She had seen the game played before but did not understand it enough to play it herself. Meanwhile, Dauntless was observing her and what she was looking at before she piped up, "Have you ever played?" Dornia shook her head. "I don't know how, I'm afraid." Dauntless smiled, spun around with tankard in hand, "I'll teach you someday if you want. You don't have to play with beer. You just need four pints of a drink. It could even be water but that would be pretty lame..." Her head hung back to the ceiling as she spoke. She was quiet for some time before she jolted back to the conversation. So sudden, it took Dornia off guard and startled her. "Hey! I know what we should do today!" She rolled her head toward her as she shouted. Dornia nearly fell off of the stool as she met Dauntless' face mere centimeters from her own. She grabbed the tankard, slammed it's contents, slammed Dornia's as well, and grabbed her by the wrist before running out of the sleeping guardsman.
Practically plowing through players, some of which were already too inebriated to tell what was happening, and bolted out the door. "Wha-Where are you taking meee?!" Dornia screamed as the near sprinting woman dragged her through the streets, Dornia barely managing not to trip over the uneven bricks paving their way. "You got that fancy new sword now, eh? Fancy seeing how good you are with it?" She shouted back without turning her head. "What do you mean? Who am O going to fight?" Dornia shouted in total confusion. Dauntless looked over with fore in her eyes and a menacing grin. "Me." She held her thumb up toward herself as she ran. Dornia was unable to find words. She felt her stomach sink and her legs grow weak. Still, Dornia managed to keep up.
After a good twenty minutes of running, Dauntless came to a screeching halt causing Dornia to whip around her arm and roll across the ground. She took a moment to get her bearing before she stood up and dusted herself off. "We're hee-eer" Dauntless sang as she beckoned Dornia to join her by the wooden double doors. The building was similar to Gabirel's shop in architecture but was much larger. The sign outside read 'Mutual Sparring Arena'. "Let's see if you know how to use that long sword." As Dornia hesitantly approached, her arm was grabbed once again and she was dragged into the darkness of the building. Her eyes adjusted as they entered to see it was occupied by other players who were chatting and making gestures as if practicing various cuts and swings with a sword. "C'mon, let's go find a ring!" Dauntless said with an energetic tone. She dragged Dornia to the end of the room and turned into a hallway. Making another turn revealed a much larger room with open space, an open ceiling, and several of pairs sparring with various pole arms, daggers, swords, and even a pair wielding only round shields as they bashed into each other. They made their way to the back of the sparring field, weaving their way around to the back wall as to nit disrupt other players who were sparring. Dornia noticed there were chests along the walls near each ring and a number stenciled on each. They came to chest thirty-one and thirty-two. "Alright Dornia, stow your gear and keep your armor and sword. We'll see if you play a blade as well as you play a fiddle, hmm?" "Will our equipment be safe in these chests? There are a lot of players in here..." Dauntless gave Dornia a smack on her shoulder making a distinct clank of metal plates absorbing the impact, "Of course! Once you close it, it adds a key to that chest in your inventory. Once it is empty, the key disappears." "Oh... I see. So how does this work? Is it like duels?" Dornia asked, swallowing in dread that her health may actually drain in this fight. "It's similar... Hmm... Weapons and armor don't have defensive or offensive stats. Therefore, my sword cannot harm you in this building. The same goes for you. It's meant for perfecting technique rather than testing power levels like a duel. Anyways, we're wasting time! Go over there and ready yourself! Shoo shoo!" Dauntless gestured toward the other side of their plot.
Dornia pulled her sword from it's sheath and held it at shoulder level, her right hand ontop of the hilt and her left near the pommel, holding it vertically and ready. Left foot forward and hips toward her opponent, she exclaimed with a shaky tone, "I'm ready when you are." Dornia tried to staunch the anxiety she felt. She was comforted by the restrictions in the sparring rings that protected player lives. Dauntless unsheathed a traditional hand and half long sword whose cross guard was a dragon whose wings were extended up the blade some eleven centimeters. She held it with one hand and posed a strange stance. Her left foot was behind her, her left arm was outstretched toward her oponent, and her sword was raised above shoulder height pointing in the same direction. She coiled like a snake waiting to strike. Dornia analyzed her opponent for her possible movements from such a position, reminding herself that this was a game and inhuman movements are always a possibility. I'll have to get creative with what I know. I'm a bit too text book right now. She'll read me like a book. Dornia thought as she calmed her breathing and rotated her wrists, bringing the point of her blade toward her opponent. Dornia extended her blade toward the middle of the ring as Dauntless did, allowing them to make contact and signalling the beginning of the fight. They simultaneously returned to their readied stances.
Like a flash of lightning, Dauntless coiled her wrist and gave an underhanded low cut towards Dornia's extended leg. Dornia, nearly too late, managed to block with the flat of her blade and slid toward her opponent while the hand and half slid down her sword. With her right leg, Dornia kicked Dauntless' thigh, knocking her off balance. Dornia performed a feigned overhand cut and twisted her blade under as Dauntless attempted to parry. She failed to meet the blade and, instead, attempted to hit her opponent. Dornia was forced to abandon her strike with a side step. It was far larger than she thought. They had swapped sides of the ring. "So it's true... skill can beat the system. Let's get a bit harder then." Dauntless said with a grin. She raised her sword and readied herself in the same position. Dornia positioned herself in a much more bizarre stance. She held the blade downward and low to the right, her hands in the same position as before, leaving her entire left side open.
Dauntless coiled back and lowered herself before lunging at Dornia's chest. Dornia spun, allowing the blade to narrowly miss it's target, and whipped her blade upwards into Dauntless', knocking her sword and arm into the air. Dornia used the momentum to wrap the blade around like a vortex and hooked the off balance weak of Dauntless' sword, disarming her. Her sword circled around and stopped at her throat. A mere second later, Dauntless's sword slammed into the dirt, blade first, stabbing into the ground with force. Dauntless raised her hands and said with a nervous chuckle, "Alright, you win." Dornia lowered her blade and said calmly, "You telegraph your attacks too much. I can see what you were going to do with that last attack before you attacked." Dauntless said with narrow eyes and a coy grin, "Wow, you aren't so shy in combat, are you kiddo? You know some good moves there." "I was second place in the long sword fencing tournament last year in Germany. My mother encouraged that I take up the family tradition of fencing." Dornia said as she sheathed her sword. "Well aren't you a mama's girl? Mother this and mother that." Dauntless teased with a hearty laugh. She continued, "I'm impressed. You should be just fine on the road. 'Beware the Fer-De-Lance' they'll all say." She waved her hand across the metaphoric horizon as she spoke, ending her sentence with a giggle.
Dauntless placed her hands on her hips after sheathing her sword. "Where'd you even get a stage name like that?" Dornia shrugged and said, "I needed something on the spot and the girl who forged my sword engraved 'Sera Dornia the Fer-De-Lance' on the blade. I have no idea why she did, she told me it was a species of viper in South America. That was the first thing that came to mind, I guess..." "Well good luck changing it. That's what people are going to know you as. Know us as. Dauntless and Fer-De-Lance. I like the ring of it, actually." Dauntless took a moment to peer off into the sky through the open ceiling, her hand on her chin as she entertained the thought of people calling them said titles. Dornia shook her head and said, "Shall we take our gear and leave now?" Dauntless snapped out of it and nodded. "Yes, let's. We should go somewhere for supper. After all, we have quite a lot of coin from that little performance." "How much is quite a lot?" Dornia asked, walking toward chest thirty-four. "Without you, I made four thousand and fifty three gold. With you, we managed an extra fifteen hundred exactly." Dornia's jaw dropped, "What?! How are you still in debt with earnings like this?!" Dauntless opened her chest and followed Dornia's lead in re-equipping her items before placing her hand on her shoulder. "Simple kid, booze and lots of it." She slapped her shoulder, her plates absorbing the impact once again, and gave a wide and toothy grin. Dornia looked at her with disbelief and sighed, "You're despicable..." Dauntless, now walking in front of her, spun around and replied while walking backwards, "Ohhoh boy don't I know it?!" She spun back around and walked on, her hands behind her head and laughing. They walked onward to the exit and left. Retracing their steps, they walked back to the sleeping guardsman.
Dauntless, with exaggerated courtesy, pushed the door open to the tavern. "After you, Sera Dornia the Fer-De-Lance." She said with a teasing giggle. Dornia rolled her eyes but was unable to hide her smile. They walked into the tavern to find it quite full with some dozen players, outnumbering the other patrons, sharing laughs and clanking their tankards. One among them was Archangel, the one Dauntless knew as Charles. All of them wore the same colors of armor, white and red standards over their plate. Archangel stood to give a toast, his tankard raised in the air. "A toast to our victory, a toast to our fallen comrades, and a toast to the shield line. May our line not lose another to the heat of battle." They all raised their tankards in unison to the toast, "Here!" They said in unison before taking a swig. Archangel noticed Dauntless enter with Dornia and waved to them to join them. The other knights looked over to see the troubadour and an unknown young woman with blonde hair walking over to them. He gestured to some open seats at the end of the table. Dornia tried her best to sit in them modestly as she was intimidated by the presence of those foreign to her. Dauntless, however, pulled out the chair and spun it around with a screech on the wood floor, and straddled it backwards before greeting them, "Greetings gents. What can this troubadour do fer ya', Archangel?" She spoke cockily.
Archangel cleared his throat, "So I understand you've taken an apprentice? This one here?" He said as he gestured to Dornia who sat quite uncomfortably among the men and women of the guild. "Yep. That's her. Mean with a sword, meaner with a fiddle. The one and only Dornia the Fer-De-Lance!" Dauntless said, playing up Dornia's name in an attempt to be impressive. Dornia blushed and lowered her head as she cringed. Archangel did not seem to be impressed. "So this is the talk of the town? Fer-De-Lance Dornia? Hmm... What is your relationship with my cousin?" Dornia's head shot up in a flash but she was unable to find words to her dismay. All she could muster was, "Eh? Huh?" As she looked to Dauntless and back to Archangel. "Well?" Archangel asked expectantly. "Erm... I'm just... I'm just her apprentice. N-Nothing more!" Dornia said, choking on her words as she spoke. By now, all eyes were on her as she was boiling in embarrassment. Shit! Why did I word it like that?! Dornia thought as she stood blanched and ready to wince at his next words he spoke. He did not seem like a patient person to Dornia. Archangel spoke again, "Just her apprentice? What did I witness this morning? Just being her apprentice?" Dornia did wince but only for a moment. She swallowed hard as she tried to speak, "I- I- We were just-" Dornia was cut off by Dauntless. "Relax Archangel, she's already in a relationship with someone else. She's not sleeping around with me and I'm not with her. We're just partners, nothing more." She said casually as she leaned forward on the chair, her chin on her hands as she rested her arms on the back of the chair. "If you say so, Dauntless. You know why I want to know." Dauntless threw herself back in her chair before exclaiming with an impatient tone, "Yeah yeah, I know. You worry about me." She opened and closed her hand as she spoke, mocking him. "Don't worry, Archangel, I'll be fine! Now do we want to stop making my apprentice uncomfortable? That'd be great, thanks." Archangel let out a huff and shrugged. "Very well. My apologies, Dornia." Dornia nodded in acceptance of his apology and crossed her arms that were pinned to her knees for the duration of their awkward encounter. She wished it was her first encounter with him but it was not.
Dauntless let out a yawn and looked around at the group of shield men and women. "Hey, you're missing a few people. Why aren't they here?" She asked. The group all wore a sad expression. One of them spoke solemly, "We lost Suki in the last raid. Rosa and him, they were close. Rosa is back at the guild headquarters with Chloe. Chloe decided to stay with her and comfort her since Rosa is practically wrapped around her finger. She took it harder than anyone." A large built man next to Archangel began franticly wiping away his tears, trying to hide them. "I- I'm sorry. I didn't know him well but he seemed like a good kid." Dauntless apologised after a stunned expression. "I often forget just what the stakes are in this game. To Suki." Dauntless pulled out a wine skin from her inventory, held it up in toast, and drank. The others followed suit without a second thought. "To Suki." They said in unison.
Archangel, after staring off for a moment, said, "Thank you, Dauntless. How have you been, debt aside." "Well... as you know, I've taken an aprentice. We are setting out tomorow for the next town to perform and gather leads." Archangel looked intrigued. "Leads? For what, may I ask?" She looked to Dornia for approval to speak about her mission. Dornia nodded. "Dornia here is level one and lacks the resources and skills to undertake her grand quest of finding her love who is somewhere in Aincrad. She is here in this game but they have been seperated since the game had begun. I took her as my apprentice in a... mutual partnership." "Meaning you just want to make money off of her? I figured that much. Who is this person she is looking for?" Archangel asked. Dornia felt a nudge on her shoulder, queing her to speak. She was unprepared and hesitant. "Eh? Er.. She's... Her name is Kiumimatsu in the real world. Her character name is Claudia. She's a bit taller than I, has long black hair, and brown eyes." Archangel pondered for a moment and spoke the name aloud. "Claudia? Hmm... It seems familiar. I've heard the name before but I cannot seem to recall where or when. Is that all the description you can give me?" Dornia nodded. "She has a scar under her left eye from when we were kids but the NerveGear doesn't seem to scan scars. Only the key features of a person." Dornia said, her face showing her depression from the situation. "Anything else you can give me? Perhaps her fighting style or armor she wears?" Archangel said. Dornia shook her head. "I see. It's vague but if I hear anything else, I will send a message to Dauntless." Dornia nodded, trying to smile with gratitude but the result was pitiful. Instead of a smile, a few tears fell. Dornia quickly wiped them away, sniffed, and rubbed her eyes in an attempt to compose herself. Archangel watched, expressionless.
Dauntless, trying to ease the heavy emotion looming over the table, piped up in her usual chipper tone, "Hey! Who's hungry? I'm dying over her! Dornia, order us something!" She said, placing her hand on her pauldron and shaking it around, clanking the steel plates. Dornia snapped out of it and looked at Dauntless to see her give her a wink. Dornia smiled, and looked around the table. She counted twelve puzzled faces from the change of tone. Add two for Dauntless and herself. "Alright, how does vegetable stew sound for everybody?" She recieved no response, only blank expressions. One across from the large built man, a young woman with short brown hair, nodded with a smile. "Okay. I'll be right back." She stood, the chair screeching on the wood floor as it slid out from the table. As she walked away, she could hear Dauntless bragging. "She knows German, you know? She can talk to the barkeep without using that parchment you guys all carry around." Dornia could practically feel the smug grin from where she was. Dornia sighed as she departed from the party. She stood patiently at the bar awaiting the barkeep's attention. She did not interrupt his customers or his work.
He took notice of her standing alone waiting with her hands clasped. Hurrying over to her, he greeted her, "Guten tag, frau Dornia." She replied with a friendly smile. "Guten tag. Es tut mir leid aber Ich weiß seinen name nicht." "Ah, Ich bin Klaus. Was wöllen Sie meine freund?" "Wir möchten Gemuse Eintöpfe für vierzehn leute. Wie viel geld ist daß?" "Für vierzehn? Neun und achtzigg geld." Dornia opened her inventory and offered the trade in the bar menu. With a few quick taps and swipes, the transaction was complete and three platters appeared upon the counter behind the bar near the stove. "Kann Ich Dir hilfen?" Dornia asked. Klaus nodded and allowed the young blonde to take a platter. They both walked to the table filled with hearty laughter. Archangel even chuckled and shook his head to what Dautless had told them but Dornia was unable to hear what she said. Dornia and Klaus arrived at the table and began passing out bowls that were met wih rubbing hands and eager eyes. Everyone knew how popular Klaus' vegetable stew was, even Dornia who had never once tasted it. Once the bowls were placed, nearly in unison, the party spoke, "Thanks for the food!" Before they began consuming it in a mannor that was just barely considered courtious. Klaus took the tray from Dornia and spoke before returning to his post at the bar. "Danke für die Helfe, Frau Dornia." She smiled and replied, "Ich war froh zu Helfen."
"Just how many languages do you speak, exactly?" One asked. Dornia, a little more comfortable with the group, replied much more coherently. "Well... I can speak English fluently as well as German, although my German is not as good." "Why learn English? Was that required in your school or something?" "Well yes, but I learned English from my mom's side of the family. She's American after all." "So where'd you pick German up, then?" Another voice asked. "Er, well... I learned German from my mother." "Is your mom a linguist or something?" A girl asked between slurps of stew. "Well no, my mother is German." "Wait, I'm confused. Your mom is German? I thought she was American?" Dauntless piped up, "Two seperate mothers. One's her birth mother, calls her mother. Her mother's wife, she calls her mom. Mother; German. Mom; American. Make sense now?" "Aha! I get it now. What about your dad? Is he anything special?" "Actually, I don't know my dad." Dornia said, still smiling with a nervous twitch. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry too much." The girl said, with a look of remorse. Dornia tried to ease her discomfort, "Eh, it's not like that at all. See, I was from a donation bank. I don't know my father because he was a doner. He may be my genetic father, whoever he is, but he isn't my dad. I already have my parents." Dornia smiled warmly as she thought of home. That prospect of returning to the real world some day cheered her up and filled her with hope. "Two moms, huh? Same here." Said the large one next to Archangel. "Toki here has two dads as well. Not so different from us, Fer-De-Lance. Nothing to be so nervous about." He said with an inviting smile. Dornia blushed slightly, "Thanks, you guys."
One slammed their fist on the table, "Shit! We're so rude, you guys! Even after she treated us to a meal, we still haven't introduced ourselves!" The one next to Dornia bowed her head, "Crap, he's right..." She looked Dornia in the eyes, her neon blue hair that hung to shoulder length whipped around her head as she grabbed her hands. "My name is Kallen!" Dornia froze, unsure of her next action. "Any friend of Dauntless is a friend of mine!" Kallen said as she smiled, releasing her hands. On her left, a red headed man with a short beard and short hair shaved to a mohawk spoke, "You know me! Toki here!" He gestured to himself with his thumb. Just to Toki's left was a boy in his mid teens with black hair in a bowl cut and a cowlick. Quiet until now, he stammered, "I- I'm Nadako." A rather suave looking one with blonde swept back hair with slight curls spoke charismatically. "They call me Soul." He flipped his hair with his hand as he spoke, eyes closed. To his left, a far more cold voice spoke, "My name is Yagami. How do you do?" His head dipped, showing his black hair that was tied in a long pony tail. Leaning back in her chair, a girl whose black hair was bobbed in the back and long in the front blurted out in a chipper tone, "I'm Suuki! Let's grab a drink some time, yeah?" Sitting at the head of the table was Archangel not wearing his helmet, therefore Dornia was able to see his identity. He had short cut black hair with a cross painted on his cheek in red paint. "Don't look at me. You already know me." Archangel said without expression and arms crossed. Across from Suuki, the dark skinned, bald, and large built man spoke next. "The name is Briggs. Welcome to the group." His tone was mellow and kind. To Briggs left was a brown scraggly haired man with a slender build and rough facial hair. "I am Averion. A pleasure to make your aquaintence." To his left, a man with long black hair complimented by red streaks leaned in his chair, nearly tipping off of it a few times. "Delroy." He said as he gestured a two fingered salute. Beside him was a woman who had her feet on the table, ontop of another pair of feet. She sported a short bobbed cut of jet black hair that was nearly as dishevelled as Averions. Playing with a dagger, she spoke softly with a devious grin. "You may call me Suzane." Under Suzane's feet was another pair on the table belonging to a man with a short white ponytail. "Last but not least, It is I, Corvus." He threw his arms in the air.
"It's a pleasure to make your aquaintence, all if you." She replied with a cheerful nod. "Interesting to think that Dauntless would find an aprentice. I never knew she was looking for one." Briggs exclaimed, setting down his spoon for a moment to speak. "Well I wasn't. I more or less stumbled upon this one while looking for a source to write a ballad about. I wanted some real stories. Nothing embelished this time." Dauntless said between greedy spoonfuls. "You said that about the last one you wrote and changed the salamander to a dragon..." Delroy said with a quizical look. "A minor detail that I mistook." She quickly responded. Others around the table giggled. Delroy responded as quickly, "It was a two meter salamander that didn't even breathe fire! You made it into a dragon the size of a town!" "It's not like I claimed it to be true what I said-" She was interrupted. "You started your first performance of that ballad with, 'The events of this story is true' and strummed on. People keep hailing me as some sort of hero for that!" Dauntless scratched her head, "Okay maybe I embelished a little more than I remember. Still, I want this next one to be embelishment free. Once I found out over some drinks that she too is a musician, I offered a partnership. With some fine print of course." She mumbled the last sentence to herself to where not even Dornia understood. Archangel, however, did hear. It was obvious his listening skill was quite high. He remained stoic and continued to eat his stew. Delroy just laughed and shook his head, recognizing that it was not worth getting into with her as Dauntless had a way of dissuading just about anything.
A few hours had passed and Archangel checked the time. "It's getting late." He said as he looked out the window to the golden yellow light peering across the town and on the building across the street. Briggs stood up, "Yep, looks like it. We should get back to the guild house and check on Rosa and Chloe." A few sighed as they also stood up. They filed to the door waving their goodbyes and one-by-one exited into the street. Archangel was the last to exit. "Take care of yourself, Dauntless. Don't forget about your debt. One week." He exclaimed. "Goodbye Charles." She sneered teasingly. Archangel nodded, tusseled her hair, and walked out with his deep and gravelly voice, "Goodbye cousin." After which, striding out with his party. They were now alone at the table. Dornia sat with Dauntless in the quiet, the various sounds of the tavern, dishes clanking, chattering of patrons, and the crackling of the hearth, were now noticable as they were possibly the most rowdy group of patrons there for the better part of three hours. Dornia looked to Dauntless who had spun her chair around and had her feet on the table, her arms behind her head. Her seating position did not look comfortable to Dornia. "Why doesn't anyone else call him Charles?" Dornia asked. Dauntless was caught off guard by her question. "Huh? Well because he is my cousin. We know eachother in the real world, obviously. He doesn't like people calling him by his real name." "I see. I'm sorry for asking. I know it's rude to ask about people's lives in the real world." Dauntless slapped her shoulder, "Don't worry about it, Blondie! Curiosity strikes where it pleases!" She rocked her chair forward, throwing her legs off of the table, and stood up. "They're right, it's getting late. Let's grab some drinks before we head up to our room, yeah?" Dauntless offered Dornia her hand, to which she took, and helped her up. Dornia did not need the help but humored her. "I hope we don't get beer again..." Dornia said, appearing blanched. "No, I have something else in mind that I think you will like." Dauntless let go of her hand once Dornia was standing and walked to the bar counter with her. Dauntless held up two fingers and said with cheer to Klaus, "Cider!" Klaus nodded with a smile and, with some swipes and taps on menus between the two of them, carried two tankards out to them. Dornia, out of habbit, thanked him. "Danke." It was met with Klaus returning the gesture. "Bitte, Frau Dornia." After which, he wiped his brow, sighed, and went back to tending a couple of players who were partying and drinking copiously.
"Go on, try it! This is much different from beer." Dauntless pressured. Dornia raised it to her lips, expecting a bitter taste. Instead, she was greeted by the pleasant smell of sweet apples and cinamon. The flavor was exactly how it smelled, with a distinct after-taste of alcohol in low concentration and carbonated like that of a soft drink from the real world. Much like the wine they had the night prior. "Wow, this is good. I half expected a trick. What is this?" "It's called a hard cider. Basically beer but using fruit instead of grains and other shit, I don't know what. I don't brew the stuff, I just drink it." Dauntless shrugged and took a swig. Dornia followed suit.
Another two hours and nearly a hundred gold later, Dornia and Dauntless had joined the other couple in the copious amount of drink they were consuming. They were feeling the effects of the alcohol quite heavily, or rather the game's ability to accurately simulate being drunk. Dauntless, like a picturesque cartoon character, peered at her clock with one eye closed and mouth parted in a bitter face as she attempted to read the numbers. "Fuck... it's time to head to bed, Blondie." Dauntless said, stumbling off of her stool. Dornia, like her shadow, followed suit. The two of them staggered to the staircase and, after much effort and two failed attempts, clambered up the stairs to a hallway. They stumbled down the hall, Dornia retrieving the key, and opened the door to a room whose image was fuzzy at best. Candles were burning next to the bed. "I thought- *hic* I thought you got one with two beds?" Dauntless asked. Dornia shrugged and the two girls tumbled onto the bed. As they did, Dornia used her foot to close the door, it latching as it slammed shut. Dauntless landed face first into a pillow, letting out a long groan. Dornia, instead, landed on her side. They laid in silence for a few moments before Dornia returned to a thought she had ever since their duel. It had lingered in the back of her mind for hours but, whether it was the booze or the curiosity, she wanted to ask. "Hey Dauntless..." Dornia asked, nearly mumbling. "Hmm?" Dauntless groaned, as if it were that she had been sleeping. "When we were dueling, why did you let me win so easily?" She asked, her voice cracking. "What do you mean?" She mumbled from the pillow she had pressed to her face. "Clearly you held back. If you didn't want to duel me, then what were you really trying to do?" Dornia yawned. "Wanted to get to know you better." Mumbled the pillow. "In a fight? Why not just ask me?" The pillow replied, a mess of black hair sprawled out across it, "There are some things you can't communicate without conflict." "Where did you hear that one?" Chuckled Dornia, thinking it to be a jest at first. "Some kid from where I work... She said that to me a few months ago. Didn't understand what it really meant until today." Dornia laid in the silence once more. What does she mean by that? Maybe how I acted during the fight? I don't know, I'm too tired to think... Dornia thought to herself as she stared at the walls of plaster where a painting of a windmill stood on a grassy hill, complimented by a blue sky. She wanted to ask her further about what her partner had learned but decided not to. It was convenient for her to let it go, for if she had decided to ask her, it would have fallen on deaf ears and a low rumble of snoring. Dornia let it go and drifted off to sleep.
Dornia awoke to see Dauntless still lying lifeless with the exception of her snoring. Her position did not change as she slept. Dornia sat up and checked her clock, stretching all the while. '08:18'. She nudged Dauntless' shoulder to wake her. The snoring halted abruptly as she raised her head to look around. "Ehh? What?" She groaned as she looked around the now well lit room. The morning sun shone through the wundows of the second story, filling the room with a warm glow. "You said yourself we were going to depart early in the morning? It's nearly eight-twenty." She stood up and stretched, her lute swaying on her back as she did. "Yeah yeah, let's go get some food for the road before we leave." She said as she staggered to her feet and walked to the door, Dornia following close behind her. Down the hallway and down the stairs they walked, passing a couple other players who were also opening their doors to head down the stairs and start their day. Reaching the bar, Klaus approached them and looked to Dauntless who gave a nod. After some swiping and tapping of menus, they nodded to eachother and Dauntless turned to walk out the door. Dornia said nothing, choosing to follow her lead instead as they walked their way through the morning crowds of players. They passed the markets, they passed the swindlers, they even passed some guards who were attempting to sort out an argument with a player accusing another of cheating him. It was a twenty or thirty minute walk before they finally made it to the city gates. They stopped at the open gate before the winding and weaving road that passed meadows and hills of beautiful green. The very border of the safe zone was in front of them. Beyond this point, she could be killed by anything. Dornia knew and feared this but her determination and newfound hope drove her to staunch the fear that welled inside her gut, screaming for her to return to the safety of the city. "Are you ready?" Dauntless asked. Dornia swallowed in fear but nodded with determination. Dauntless smiled, "Time for an adventure of a lifetime." The two stepped forward and departed down the winding cobblestone path towards the next town.
[End of chapter two. Do feel free to provide feedback as criticism is imperrative to keeping high quality in the story! Thanks for giving this a read. Look forward to the next chapter coming out around December or January! (Upload date: 6th of November, 2017) ~Dean]