Choice

"That's it? That's all the info you've got on them?" I said in a rather shocked tone. "I have to choose between a group of testosterone fuelled men running around with large swords. A group of guys that use magic to do whatever they want. And a group of mystery men who the rest of the world hardly even knows about?" I rolled my eyes. "Ya, this is going to be easy... would they even accept a woman?"

"I don't see why the wouldn't" The Captain stated . "Horrendous's sister is a great Fire Knight and is known throughout their order as a woman of brave and noble character. Horvath has a niece who travels all over the world teaching others magic. As for the conjures they have no qualms with women being part of them, at least none that I have heard of."

I nodded my head thinking over my choices, this was not going to be easy... I wasn't a weak woman, but it's not like I was that strong either... I was pretty smart, at least by earth standards but who says that counts for anything here in Nox? I sighed

"Is there anything else you can tell me? This isn't an easy dissension you know..."

The Captain looked at me with a compassionate gaze.

"I know it isn't... but unfortunately the best people to ask would be the the heads of the orders themselves... and unless you enter one of their orders there is no chance of you meeting any of them."

I sighed... of course that would be the case. I mulled over my choices; the warriors didn't seem too bad, I wasn't the strongest person but I wasn't weak either. If I were to go with them things could be interesting... but how would they help me get back if they didn't have magic? The wizards might be able to help me a bit more with going home, but would they want an outsider learning their secrets and then leaving? I'm almost positive that they'd want to keep me around for at least a little while if they were to take me in...

I sighed and rubbed my head, what about the conjures? It doesn't seem like they'd try and keep me here, but what if they couldn't get me home? Sighing again I looked up at the Captain.

"What do you think I should do? You know this place far better then I ever will."

The Captain chuckled. "Perhaps, but it's your life, not mine that we're discussing now isn't it? This is your path, and only you should choose which way you want to go. For better or for worse my dear."

Now knowing with certainty that I would be getting no more information out of this strange old man. I gave one last run-over of the information that he had given me before making my choice.

"I'll become a Conjurer then... I really don't want any more trouble than I already have."

The man smiled and nodded, "Excellent, when following the path of a Conjurer an unnoticeable appearance is the best rout. I'll drop you off by some abandoned mines, they will lead you to the outskirts of the village of Ix. Once there it wouldn't hurt to get to know the Mayor, Theogrin, since you need his permission to leave Ix."

"... why would I need his permission to leave exactly?"

Looking up from making his landing preparations the Captain spoke in a somber tone. "Because there are things that can kill you out in the woods. It's his job to make sure that no townspeople who can't handle themselves outside of the town leave it's relative safety."

"oh..." I paused. "And you think I'll be able to survive?"

The old man chuckled. "I am old but not daft young lady. I can see your will to survive and return home. Not many people have your kind of determination, and those who do rarely let something like the prospect of death keep them from achieving their goals."

"... If you say so Captain..."

He gave a hearty laugh. "I do, but this will help raise your confidence a bit"

He walked over to a large chest, upon opening it he retrieved what looked like a large wooden staff. It had a large head on it with a small metal blade that was carefully grafted underneath it. It looked sturdy enough but I couldn't help but gulp when I saw the word "flimsy" engraved into it's side. Seeing my concern the Captain gave me a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry lass, it's just flimsy in comparison to other stave's. It's not going to break on you any time soon, and besides." he gave a mischievous grin and pulled out a staff of his own also marked "flimsy". "I'll teach you how to use it, we have about a day before we reach Ix. Let's see how quickly I can teach you." he got into a fighting stance. "And just how fast you learn!"

I never even got a hit on him. The guy moved like he'd been doing this all his life, and now that I think about it he probably had. I, on the other hand, got so many bruises and scratches from that blasted blade that I could barely stand after a while. I still kept going though, well, I would have if he hadn't disarmed me...

"That's enough for now Lior, you learn quickly but don't push yourself." he reached into one of his numerous pouches and pulled out a flask of red liquid. "Here, drink this, it will speed up the healing process without making you loose all that muscle being built."

"... what does it taste like? Should I just gulp it down quickly or something?" I asked nervously, taking the bottle.

He shrugged "only if you want to, it's made from berries that grow in all three inhabited areas of Nox. It doesn't taste bad, in fact, it doesn't taste like much at all."

Taking one last sceptical look at the liquid, I downed the continence into my stomach. It had a slightly fruity flavour that resembled some of the flavoured waters back home. He was right though, it didn't taste like much at all. Suddenly I felt the now empty flask heat up slightly, I looked down in amazement to see the flask slowly vanish in to a cloud of grey smoke. The Captain, no doubt seeing my face let out a very obnoxious laugh.

"Don't be so surprised" he chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye. "once a bottle is used it gets teleported back to where it came from to get cleansed and reused"

"Oh..." I was still a little confused but managed to shrug it off. It wasn't worth worrying about.

Smiling a bit the Captain asked "So, how do you feel?"

I was taken aback by the question. How did I feel? He had just put me through a mini version of hell and he was asking me how I felt? I was about to say as much when I actually took a moment to think about it.

"... Actually I feel fine..." I looked down at my previously beaten body. Every cut, every bruise, every sore joint and muscle was healed. "Wow... I definitely need to learn how to make this stuff..."

Chuckling, the old man gestured for me to follow him. "It's getting late, here will be your quarters. We'll do some more training tomorrow before you leave."

I thanked him for his kindness and quickly fell asleep, dreaming of home.