Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. Updates are going to slow a bit. I'm working on revising my writing style, trying to improve the detail found in the descriptions, but this is going to slow the writing process down a bit. As it is, I feel as if I'm rushing through some things. Don't worry, though. I'm pretty sure I can still manage at least one chapter per week! In the meantime, enjoy this less action-packed chapter!
Chapter 10 – Peaceful Interludes
The sun was still high in the sky as two female figures made their way down the dusty trail north. This morning was particularly warm and unlike previous mornings did not carry the crisp bite of a chilly mountain breeze that was usually so common in this region. A nearby waterfall, one of several in this particular area, gave the air a fresh, clean scent that blended well with the smell of newly blooming flowers.
"Hey, do you hear that?" Lucia asked her tall, dark-haired companion. She slowed to a stop and cocked her head to the side as she strained to confirm what she'd heard. Her companion stopped as well, curiously cocking her head and pushing a thick lock of hair behind her ear. It took a moment, but she also heard it. The faint sound of water cascading into a deep basin.
"It sounds like a waterfall. Why?" Naga replied curiously.
"Where there's a waterfall, there's a pool. Where there's a pool, there's a place to take a bath." The blonde replied after a moment, flashing a bright smile at her friend. The taller woman looked down at the blonde skeptically.
"Lucia, we left an inn less than two hours ago. They would have provided us with a hot bath and soap." The sorceress mentioned, giving Lucia a withering look, though she did agree that it had been some time since the two of them had found an opportunity to relax and clean up. She could feel the grime of traveling on dusty roads and sleeping on the ground starting to catch up to her, and she was sure that Lucia, who preferred more modest, full-body armor probably felt the same.
"You're complaining about cold versus hot while wearing that in early spring time?" Lucia teased, pointing out the sorceress' trademark leather bikini-type outfit that she almost never went without.
"Ohhhhh-ho-ho-ho-ho-ho!" Naga rattled off with another of her trademarks, an over-confident, highly-developed laugh that caused most people to cringe in terror. "Sometimes you have to make sacrifices in the name of fashion, Lucia. It simply wouldn't do for a woman such as myself to wear mere rags, now would it?" Naga stated rhetorically.
"Well, consider this a sacrifice in the name of hygiene, then!" The swordswoman replied, giggling as she turned off the path and headed in the direction of the waterfall. Naga folded her arms across her ample bosom and watched the girl head into the treeline. She considered waiting for her, or perhaps going on ahead and letting her companion catch up, but then followed after her with a sigh.
It didn't take them long to reach the waterfall. The roar of the water was not particularly loud, but its deep, base sound could be heard for nearly half a mile. As Lucia had suspected, beneath the waterfall was a wide pool of water where the current was negligible as it fed into a small river which, according to the map Lucia had tucked away in her cloak, then fed into a larger river further south. The two women made their way to the side of the pool and systematically began removing their traveling clothes.
Lucia laid her cloak down neatly in the grass, first slipping her leather bracers off and tossing them onto it, followed by her gauntlets. She then detached the pauldrons she wore on her shoulders and set them aside as well. Kneeling, Lucia removed the shinguards on her boots, then pulled her feet out of the boots themselves. Nearby, Naga watched the smaller woman curiously. She hadn't traveled with a warrior before for any length of time, and on the few occasions she had she'd always noticed how one could tell the difference between a respectable fighter and a mere thug. Lucia took care of her armor, often spending hours rubbing oil into the mix of soft and hard leather and small strips of chainmail that made up her suit. As a result, the blonde often carried a very faint scent of freshly oiled leather. She recalled the way the girl's hair had smelled a few nights ago when she had been comforting the sorceress following a horrible nightmare, and the memory caused her to blush. She suddenly realized that Lucia was looking over at her and that she'd been caught staring and immediately pulled her gaze away, doing her best to act nonchalant as she went about removing her own outfit.
Lucia glanced around briefly, wondering how secluded this spot was. It was about ten minutes off of the road, which itself was only rarely traveled. She figured the odds of encountering someone out here was probably pretty remote, and what did she care if some pervert decided to hide in the bushes and ogle her? If she caught one, she'd be sure to leave them humiliated enough to reconsider ever doing it again. Once her short survey was over, she slipped out of the soft undertunic and trousers she wore under the armor, feeling a shiver flow through her as the cool air drifted across her naked form. Lucia clasped her hands together and stretched her arms over her head, letting out a contented sigh before moving over to the water and dipping a toe in experimentally.
"Huh? Hey, Naga! This water is warm!" Lucia exclaimed excitedly. She'd expected chilly mountain water, but the water was lukewarm and far more inviting than she'd anticipated it would be. She looked over at Naga and felt her heart leap into her throat. The sorceress was already naked as she walked over to join the swordswoman at the water's edge. Lucia couldn't come up with any words to describe the vision before her. Several adjectives flew through her mind, though. Heavenly. Breathtaking. Mouthwatering. That last one made her blush quite profusely. Naga was fully aware of the effect her body was having on her blonde companion and did her best to act casually.
"You'd better not be lying just so you can push me in or something." Naga said as she leaned down to test the water, finding much to her own surprise that the water was indeed warm. "Well, it's no bath water, but it'll do." The sorceress said, pretending to be less impressed than she really was. It was likely that the pool's heat was due to underground hot springs feeding heated water into it. Naga lowered herself into the water, followed quickly by Lucia who was doing her best to hide the redness in her face.
"S-sorry…" Lucia murmured softly as she realized that the sorceress had caught her staring.
"For what? I can't blame you for admiring perfection." The sorceress smugly replied, running her fingers through her hair as she settled down into the water, both women having situated themselves on a natural rock shelf just under the surface of the water. Lucia continued to watch the woman for a moment, tilting her head to the side as her curiosity started to overcome her sheepishness.
"Do you do it on purpose?" Lucia asked softly as she let herself soak in the refreshing water, feeling it lift the grime off of her skin.
"Do what on purpose?" Naga replied.
"Flaunt your body? I mean, do you mean to draw attention to yourself with it or is that just a side-effect of wearing what you're comfortable with?" The swordswoman asked. She knew the question sounded more than a little confrontational, but the truth was she was simply curious. Still, she hoped Naga would take it as some sort of jealous preamble.
"Well, I figure if you've got it, flaunt it. You'd be amazed how many free drinks and discounts I've received." Naga responded as she dipped her head back far enough to wet her hair, allowing it to slick back over her scalp. Lucia took another look at the sorceress' body through the blurring surface of the water.
"It must be nice to have that luxury." Lucia replied after a moment. She was never the type to feel any sort of self-pity, and she'd always been proud of her body regardless of her short stature. Naga let loose one of her trademark laughs, keeping it mercifully short despite the fact that she was with one of the few people in the world that didn't mind it.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Lucia." The sorceress said. "You definitely have what it takes to turn more than a few heads. Like I said before, quantity does not always equal quality." Naga stated, leaning back against the rock and closing her eyes as the noonday sun filtered through the canopy of trees above them. The sorceress grinned and leaned closer to Lucia, speaking in a conspiring tone. "I'd never tell her this, but even Lina had more redeeming qualities than the rumors gave her credit for."
Lucia blinked a few times, having heard very different things about the infamous flat-chested Bandit Killer. "Really? The rumors that float around about the infamous 'Dragon Spooker' are hardly flattering." The swordswoman pointed out as she lazily worked up a small whirlpool with her fingers in the surface of the water.
"Lina's not as bad as the rumors say." Naga said. "Lina did have small breasts, but she had a petite figure and a very pretty face." The sorceress said, barely believing the was paying a compliment to the woman that had acted as her biggest and foremost rival for years. "Of course, you'd never hear me say it to her face. She'd never let me hear the end of it."
"Really? Huh." Was Lucia's only reply. The rumors, which she had always taken with a grain of salt given the nature of rumors and folk stories, had caused her to envision an unattractive, nagging, hot-tempered girl that looked more like an ugly boy than a real woman.
"Lucia?" Naga said, the thoughtful tone in her voice drawing the blonde's attention. It was clear that the conversation was about to turn more serious.
"Uh-huh?" Lucia casually replied, rubbing her fingers in her wet hair to try and dislodge as much of the road dirt as she could. She was lucky that she had naturally healthy hair, and couldn't count the number of times she'd had to wash blood and dirt out of it.
"What's it like? When you lose control and go into a frenzy?" The sorceress asked softly, hoping that she wasn't touching on a topic too sensitive for the woman. She saw Lucia tense up for a moment and was about to withdraw her question, but Lucia beat her to the punch.
"It's like...everything turns red." The swordswoman replied at first. "All the muscles in my body feel like they're buzzing, and I feel this huge surge of strength and energy, but it's all jumbled. I can't concentrate on anything, and all I want to do is…is kill whoever it was that got me angry."
"Kill? Every time?" Naga replied, wondering if Lucia ever just got mad enough to smack someone around without killing them. Solemnly, the swordswoman nodded her head.
"When I get so mad that it pushes me over the edge, that's all I can think about. Killing. I used to get angry over stupid stuff. I once beat a man to death because he threw some trash at a beggar." Lucia replied, idly rubbing her arm with her fingertips. Naga was starting to look a little green at the thought of how much blood such an act would create. "I was able to convince the local guards that I'd been defending the man, but they still locked me up for three days."
"Have you…ever tried to learn to control it? I mean, to harness it?" Naga asked thoughtfully. While she personally was against using any sort of bladed weapons on her enemies, she had the tactical capacity to recognize that Lucia's ability could be extremely powerful if properly honed.
"Several times. The problem is, I have to lose control in order to gain the….the 'benefits' of going berserk." Lucia said. She hated referring the effects of her rage as being 'beneficial' to anyone, but it had saved her life more than once. "Once I regain control of my emotions, it fades. I can't willingly turn it on or off anymore than you can force yourself to suddenly be happy about something that makes you sad." The blonde woman explained. "Plus, it leaves me totally drained of energy afterwards."
"Well, I guess it's good that you've learned how to suppress it, then." Naga replied, leaning back once more against the warm rocks. She figured the two of them would relax for a few more minutes in the water before resuming their journey. She hadn't gotten much time to relax lately, and she deserved a little R&R. She reminded herself to plan out a nice long vacation once this little quest of theirs was completed.
"My turn." Lucia said suddenly, pulling the sorceress from her thoughts. She sat up and looked over at the swordswoman with a confused expression.
"Your turn for what?" She asked.
"Questions!" Lucia replied cheerfully, then dropped the beaming smile to a more friendly one. "Have you ever tried to get over your fear of blood?" The woman asked, and it was Naga's turn to tense up in response to a sensitive subject.
"I don't know if I ever could. Every time I see blood, it…I don't even do it consciously, I just get light-headed and everything goes black." The sorceress replied, looking down at the water. "Normally, my own blood doesn't cause any problems, but at Bennet's manor, there was just so much, and it was all over my hands just like before. It was everywhere, and it was dripping...It was just like...just like then, and I couldn't..." Naga continued, her voice starting to quiver. Lucia saw that her eyes were starting to lose focus and that she was starting to grow frantic from the memory, so she moved closer and put a hand on Naga's shoulder.
"Naga!" Lucia exclaimed softly. She managed to pull the sorceress out of the spiral she'd put herself in, and Naga blinked a few times before reaching up and squeezing Lucia's hand gently.
"Sorry. Ugh...I'm okay." Naga said, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down.
"The reason I ask is because if we're going to be traveling together, I have to warn you that using a sword, especially one as sharp as mine, tends to result in a lot of blood." Lucia explained, watching the uncertain expression on Naga's face. Lucia sighed, realizing the same thing Naga was, that the two of them were going to run into some difficulties down the road. Naga brought her gaze up and locked it with Lucia's.
"You're right. I do need to work on it." Naga replied. "But how?"
Lucia looked thoughtful for a moment, then her eyes widened as she got an idea. "I know! How about I teach you to use that sword you're always carrying around?" The swordswoman said, referring to the long sword Naga was known to carry yet never use. She had never asked her about it before, but knowing now how the sorceress felt about blood, she doubted it ever even spent time outside its scabbard. Naga looked a little uneasy about the prospect of having to use a sword in battle.
"I guess we could. My sword isn't magic or anything, though. Won't your sword cut it in half?" The sorceress replied, raising a brow at Lucia. The swordswoman couldn't figure out if Naga was trying to come up with excuses or if she seriously thought that they were going to practice with real swords instead of training wasters.
"Well, we use wooden swords to practice with, that way we only end up with bruises instead of lethal injuries." The swordswoman replied, noting a hint of disappointment in Naga's expression that indicated she had indeed been trying to distract Lucia from the matter at hand. "We don't have to start anytime soon, it's just something we should really look in to. Come to think of it, how do you normally handle that time of the month?"
"To be honest with you?" Naga replied, hesitating for a moment before shrugging casually. "I usually stay secluded in a tavern for a few days until it blows over." She finally replied, not bothering to include the fact that 'stay secluded in a tavern' included 'in a drunken stupor'. She knew Lucia didn't like her constant drinking, but she had her reasons for the regular alcohol abuse she subjected herself to.
"Well, we could look into something other than a sword, I suppose. Perhaps a staff or something." The swordswoman replied. "Of course, even those tend to draw blood. Broken noses, dislodged teeth, that sort of thing." She added. Naga sighed. Clearly the whole conversation had made her realize that in some logical ways Lucia was right, but faced with the prospect of having to choose what sort of weapon she wanted to carry was inconvenient and frustrating.
"Maybe I'll just throw rocks." The sorceress muttered in frustration. "What's a rock going to do anyway?" As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt herself wanting to pull them back. She recalled Lucia's story about the first time she'd lost control and gone into a frenzy and looked over at her blonde companion. Lucia's jaw was tight and she had a far away look in her eyes as she gazed down at the water, looking as if she were staring through the Earth itself. Naga was about to apologize to her when Lucia's eyes suddenly lit up.
"That's it!" Lucia said excitedly. "Naga, you're a genius!"
"I know." Was Naga's quick reply, but then she cocked her head to the side. "What am I a genius about?"
"A bow and arrows." Lucia replied, smiling widely. "When you mentioned throwing rocks, I realized something. If you're far enough away from your targets, you won't really have to see the blood up close! That gives you plenty of time to get used to it without having to practically bathe in it!"
"But I don't know how to shoot a bow, Lucia." Naga replied disdainfully. She'd been trained in the use of a sword as a child as was common for virtually all children of noble birth, both male and female. Such training included political campaigning and battle tactics. She had also been training to become a shrine maiden of Saillune, but her education as a shrine maiden had often taken a back seat to that required as a member of the royal family.
"I've seen you cast freeze arrow, and I've cast flare arrow before as well as used a bow!" Lucia said excitedly. "It's almost the same, you just have to account for gravity, that's all!" The swordswoman appeared quite excited at the prospect of training the sorceress in archery, and even if Naga was still somewhat unsure of the idea, Lucia's enthusiasm definitely made it seem like a more feasible possibility.
"I guess we could try." Naga replied slowly, turning to gaze at the mist being kicked up by the waterfall's flow. They mutually allowed the conversation to end there, letting the water relax them for several more minutes before Lucia glanced up at the sky and uttered a reluctant sigh.
"I suppose we'd better get moving. We don't want it to be dark when we get to the ruins, after all." Lucia stated, recalling that undead preferred the darkness of night and most couldn't even linger in the sunlight without melting into ichor or bursting into flames. Even those that could survive the sunlight tended to be much weaker in such circumstances.
"I suppose you're right." Naga replied, pushing herself out of the water and once more treating Lucia to the captivating view of her voluptuous form. The swordswoman swallowed and forced herself to look away. It was bad enough that she couldn't get the vision of the sorceress approaching her earlier at the start of their little bath, but she couldn't afford to allow herself to suffer any more distractions when they were so close to entering a potentially deadly situation. The swordswoman quickly hopped out of the water herself and made her way to her things. Fortunately, a towel was considered a common survival item and, in fact, some strange individuals even believed that it was the most important piece of equipment an adventurer could possibly possess. Before long, both companions were dry and clothed with several hours of daylight still ahead of them.
"According to the map, we should only be another thirty minutes away." Lucia said once the duo was back on the road. The blonde held up the map, her eyes moving across its wrinkled surface to read the faded inking. The man that had sold her the map told her that it had been tucked away on one of his back shelves for several decades, and that he wouldn't have even recalled its existance had Lucia not explicitly been asking for something rare and 'possibly dangerous' to hunt down.
Of course, neither woman had any idea what awaited them at the end of that hunt, and both of them would soon find their trust in each other put to the test before it was all over.