After Kin dragged me back to the rest of the convoy, I was thrown into the back of a carriage that was anything but that. I was shoved inside, and found myself inside the world's smallest mobile lab: Everything was bolted down, and obviously manufactured to withstand the constant rocking and shaking of an unpleasant ride.
"Whoa..." I muttered to myself as I gazed at the interior. Kin shut the door and began walking around the other side. The way it was set up made it so that only two people could sit inside, one on each seat. The rest was occupied by lab equipment, ranging from basic test tubes, vials, and other magic shit.
I didn't know what half of this stuff did or was, so I opted not to touch anything for now. As Kin took his seat on the other side, he offered me an... empty cup?
"Here," The mage said as he gave it to me. I just stared into it for a moment before he said, "Spit in the cup." I glanced at him as the wagon began moving.
"You want me to do what?" I asked, incredulous.
"Saliva will tell me many things I need to know, such as if what Hicks said is true," Kin told me, staring intently at me and the cup in my hand.
I didn't really know what else to do, I wasn't a fan of giving them anything. At the same time, if I didn't, I was going to start raising suspicions. As much as I hate it, the only way I'll be able to save Olga and Chloe is if I cooperate, for now.
So I gathered the spit that I could and hacked a loogie into the cup. "There, one cup'o'spit," I said, handing it back to him. Without another word, he grabbed it and immediately poured it into a vial. From there, it was held up to a strange crystal.
"Hmm…" Kin hummed as he rotated it, before handing it to me.
"Hold it up to the crystal and look at it."
With some hesitation, I did, and noticed something odd. My spit was sort of… glowing? Or at least, that was how it looked from my end. I knew it wasn't the crystal making the glow, because it was as dull as a turned off lightbulb.
"What exactly am I looking at?"
"Your saliva."
I gave him a flat look, before passing it back to him. "What does this… thing tell us?" I asked, gesturing to the crystal itself. The mage rolled his eyes.
"That 'thing' is a Magic Focus." He said, and that got my attention. "Humans generally can't use these like Elves can, but they do have their uses." He placed the vial into a little holder. "Such as letting us know if what we are dealing with is magical in nature," he said, a strange and not very comforting smile stretching across his face.
"So, James…" he drawled, leaning forward, "Would you mind telling me how you ended up being the first Human to have naturally occurring Magic?" I began nervously rubbing the back of my neck.
"I'm not exactly sure what to tell you." I had to think of something quickly, something that couldn't really be proven, at least not without a lot of hard detective work.
"Oh, come now, no need to be embarrassed or coy with me," he said, before he decided to... help me? Sorta?
"Here, how about something simpler? Who or what were your parents? Where were you from?" He asked.
Uh…
"My parents?" I asked, earning a nod from him.
"I...uh... Well… the thing is... They're kinda..." I was trying to think of something to say, but I couldn't come up with anything. I had never really thought about a fake background before, and I damn well wasn't going to talk about my real parents to this freak. Kin suddenly leaned back.
"Oh…" He said quietly, before closing his eyes and bowing his head, "I am sorry for your loss."
Wait, what?
"I understand that the conflict has left many orphans, it was foolish of me to assume."
I blinked at him for a moment. He thought my parents were dead? That… is very convenient for me, actually.
"Yeah, I never knew them. I can't even tell you where I was born, to be honest." I lied through my teeth. Thankfully, he didn't press further.
"That is unfortunate," he uttered simply, before pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing, "It limits the amount of research I can conduct. However, if you are open to more testing later, I would be glad to… analyze you." Kin said, and I couldn't help but shift uncomfortably in my seat.
"What sort of tests?" I hesitantly asked, the mage simply smiling in a way that unsettled me.
"First off, samples of every substance your body produces: Saliva, tears, hair, blood, urine, fecal matter, semen," he listed off, and I couldn't hold back the disgust from showing: This guy wanted everything!
"In addition to that, testing the capabilities of your magic, and…" He seemed to stop himself before he continued.
"Other tests…" He trailed off.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out for a second, you want my what?!"
Kin eyed me from the side as he began inspecting the vial with another tool.
"Every part of the body, be it flesh, bone or fluids, contains various amounts of residual magic. Since I doubt you are willing to present me a literal pound of your flesh, or to live with one less bone in your body than everyone else, secretions and fluids will have to do," he told me in a matter of fact voice. "I am willing to compensate you for your contributions."
"A tempting offer, but I'll have to pass for now."
"Are you certain? I am willing to offer much in the name of researching this strange… phenomenon that is yourself. Gold, books, and anything else that you desire."
I was about to say no again, but paused. I was going to need gold, and getting more books will help me in the long run…
"How much?"
That creepy smile of his widened a few inches.
"Name your price."
I blinked and leaned back. "One Thousand for every sample," I said firmly, that would do wonders for me in the future. Or at least, I hoped so.
"Done."
"Wait, for real? Just like that?" To say I was shocked was an understatement. The mage simply nodded.
"Of course, money is no object in the name of my research. Since I already have a vial of spit, I will leave the money in your tent when I can. In the meantime, may I ask for more samples?"
I won't lie, the speed at which he agreed made me a bit more wary of this whole affair, but I needed the money. I don't doubt that the 600 in my pocket was a decent sum, but since I was no expert on how this economy worked, the more, the better.
"Well, unfortunately I can't cry on command, and I don't have to piss or shit right now. I guess hair and blood is all I can offer right now." To this, Kin nodded happily.
"Understandable," he told me as he reached into his cloak and took out a knife.
"Here."
After I took the blade from him, I grabbed a bit of my hair and carefully sliced it off. My hair wasn't long by any means, but it was long enough that I could actually get a small cut like this without making myself look silly.
"Alright, you got your hairs," I said as I dropped them into his waiting hand.
"The knife was meant for the blood," he flatly told me while accepting the sample.
Marvelous job James, you managed to make yourself look like a fool.
"Oh… right." I nervously chuckled as I looked at the knife and my hand. Okay, right… cutting my hand open… I can do this. I can heal it up afterwards, and it'll be fine. I gripped the blade in my other hand.
"Alright… In three, two, one!"
My hands didn't move.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah… just… just not used to hurting myself like this." I told him truthfully. I was always told not to play around with knives as a kid, and I am pretty sure this is exactly what they meant! But I needed the money, and Kin needed a sample.
With a quick motion, I slashed open my palm and resisted the urge to heal it straight away, watching the mage across from me pull out another vial and let the blood from my hand pour into it.
"I appreciate the amount, but I was more intending a few drops from a prick in your finger," he told me, and I glared at the damn four-eyed bastard.
"Why didn't you stop me then?"
The mage simply shrugged. "I wasn't going to say no to a larger sample."
I groaned and rolled my eyes as I withdrew my hand from the vial. While he put a cap on the vial and put it away, I healed my hand quickly. It took less than a second, and I am fairly sure that he didn't notice.
"So, are we done for now?" I asked, and Kin nodded.
"For now," he said, "I would like to continue these tests later, but for the moment, I am going to begin analyzing these samples you've provided," he told me. We rode in silence for a good while as I watched him begin examining my blood, spit and hairs with various tools. At some point though, I must have dozed off, only to awaken as Kin glanced out the window.
"We are close to the Dark Queen's land now."
"How can you tell?" I asked groggily as I began trying to shake off my sleep. The mage simply gave a nod towards the window, so I looked out and up and….
Damn, that's a menacing sky if there ever was one.
"Okay then… What kinds of monsters can we expect there?"
"We don't know yet. We'll be stopping soon and letting our Scouts survey the place. We also need to wait for some reinforcements from Ansur that we hired to arrive."
"We need more guys?" I glanced out at the rest of the convoy, and there was already a small army out there.
"We are about to stab at the heart of the Dark War, Olga Discordia's Citadel, we need every able-bodied man we can get," he said as our carriage came to a stop. "We have no idea what is waiting for us in there, and Vault doesn't want to take any chances if he doesn't have to."
I guess I can understand why, but there was something bugging me about this whole thing. Why did Vault need more men when the Black Dogs aligned with monsters? And where were they anyways?
Hmm… maybe they need more guys because they haven't gotten the monsters yet? Or maybe they simply aren't here. I don't think people would be fine sharing living space with an Ogre, or a Troll.
I shuddered at the memory of the one I encountered the other day. Yeah, they didn't seem like good roommates.
"Alright, well, I guess this is our stop then," I muttered as I climbed out. Me and Kin both exited the carriage, and I ended up helping set up camp. This took some time, and by the end of the day, I found myself sitting around a campfire with a bowl of stew in my hands, while being forced to listen to a bunch of sexist pigs talk about ladies.
It was not a fun time considering the fact that every word that came out of their mouths was something that in a better world would have gotten anyone a knuckle sandwich and a side of teeth soup.
"And there I was, my dick pushing into her tits, when this little tiny boy came into the room, asking why his mommy was screaming."
"Oof, never liked kids, always ruining the perfect moments. What happened next?" Asked another man, the storyteller letting out a hardy laugh.
"I looked down at the kid, and said 'I'm giving your mommy a special massage!' And then I bust all over her tiddys!"
A collective gasp was heard.
"In front of the kid?"
The man smiled proudly.
"Yep! I even told him it was a special lotion that men could produce for this 'massage', and got the broad to even start rubbing it in to keep it believable!"
I couldn't help but twist my face in disgust. How could anyone in their right mind… Oh, right. None of these fuckers has any sense of basic human decency or morality.
"That's fucked up," I muttered to myself as I tried to return to my food. Only to have a hand slap my back, knocking my spoonful of stew back into the bowl.
"Hey James, what are you doing over here?" Hicks asked as he sat down on one of the crates someone had been using as a foot rest. I shrugged.
"Eating, I suppose."
The scout rolled his eyes. "Well, I can see that, but Vault was wondering if you wanted to join us over by the bonfire tonight," he asked, pointing to the huge fire barbecuing…. Was that a deer?
"Why?" I had to ask. Hicks glanced down at me.
"Well, let's see here," he said, before raising a hand, and beginning to count on his fingers.
"One: You've been here about two days now, and no one knows a damn thing about you. Two: You are a cosmic impossibility, what with the magic and all. Three, you managed to kill a bunch of… bandits on your own." He paused before saying bandits, I noticed.
"By the way, by all accounts, you should not have survived those odds." He added before resuming his counting.
"Four: Vault says you've got some type of special talent when it comes to killing monsters. And reason number five is my personal favorite: I wanna hear what kinds of conquests you got under that belt."
I gave the scout a strange look for a few moments as I tried to figure out the meaning of that last reason. It clicked after a moment, and I just rolled my eyes and tried to ignore him. There is nothing more I want to share with them than I already have. The Scout Commander however, decided that he didn't like my decision to ignore him, and raised his other hand.
"And reason number six," he proclaimed, before snatching my bowl away.
"HEY!"
"You wanna eat? You get your ass over to the bonfire," he told me as he left, leaving me sitting on the ground with a wooden spoon in hand.
I groaned: A part of me wanted to just ignore his 'request', but I was hungry, and needed to eat something. I can't do much of anything if I don't have any energy now, can I? As such, I stood up, deciding that I would just grab another bowl, only for the chef to hit me with some rather unfortunate news.
"Sorry man, one bowl per person," he told me, "We gotta make sure we have enough supplies for the long haul. That means rationing out resources like food and water, and making sure everyone gets their fair share. Sorry, but those are the rules."
With a defeated sigh, I turned my head back to the bonfire where all the big shots in the Black Dogs were sitting, along with a few other people I didn't recognize. I slowly turned the rest of my body and dragged my feet over there, dropping down onto the unoccupied stump.
"There he is!" Hicks said triumphantly before handing my bowl back. Once I received it, I immediately stood up and began to walk away.
"Wha- Hey!"
Before I had the chance to get even five feet away from them, Morgan was in front of me.
"Whoa, where are you going?" He asked as he blocked my path.
"To go eat by myself."
I saw Morgan open his mouth to try and protest, only for a much deeper one to speak first.
"Alright then, suit yourself," said Vault, earning confused looks from everyone else, myself included. "You can't force him to warm up to us in a day. He's like a wild dog, you have to let him come to us," he told them, before turning his own attention to me.
"Speaking of: From what Hicks tells me, you have a talent for fighting, but no real skill to back it up."
"What's your point?" I asked, glancing back at the Black Dog Leader.
He chuckled as he spoke. "Well, the way I see it, you need some training," he said as he gestured towards Hicks. "In a straight fight, even with that little trick of yours, Hicks would beat you nine times out of ten." The King of Rape didn't sugar coat that truth one bit.
"And if you are going to be backing us up in the Dark Fortress, I want you to be as good as we can make you." He sat a bit straighter for this next part. "As such, I will be putting you through the paces, and I want you to learn everything that you can from it. Do I make myself clear?"
I didn't respond for a moment, too busy processing what was just asked of me.
"You? Train me?" I asked in disbelief, and the burly man nodded.
"Yeah, I am used to training the boys, back when we were a smaller company. Not to mention, with you and your particular… talents, I think I would be the one best suited for doing it."
"What makes you qualified?"
Me and Vault stared at each other for a few moments before his smile almost turned savage.
"That right there is why," he told me in a way that sent an icy chill down my spine. "You are like me, not quite on my level yet, but I can see it in your eyes." He leaned forward.
"You have the eyes of a killer."
I narrowed my own gaze at him.
"I am nothing like you," I told him as I turned to leave, "And never will be."
After I walked away from the conversation, I found myself a nice, quiet spot to eat: One that was out of sight, but didn't stop me from hearing what they started talking about after I left.
"Wow boss, it's been a while since you took a personal interest in someone." I heard one of the common mooks say as they gathered around.
"Yeah, what makes him any more a killer than us?"
"He's only been around for a day! What's with the special treatment?!"
They all asked similar questions, but Vault merely held one hand up, and all conversation ceased for a few moments.
"He killed Crunch and his band of recruits," Vault announced quietly. It was almost a whisper, but I could just barely make out what he said. I heard a few gasps.
"Crunch is dead?!"
"No way, that guy was way strong!"
"He was a veteran, he had been operating with the Dogs before I even joined up!"
I couldn't help the angry noise that rose from my throat. So, Crunch was one of theirs, huh? Makes sense, I suppose, I never really thought that the Black Dogs only decided to rape after capturing Queen Discordia.
"I saw the whole thing," I heard Hicks add, "Shoved his head into a furnace and held it there 'till the guy had no more face to burn off."
The collective sounds of awe were something I couldn't help but feel a bit proud of, even if my enemies were the ones making them. But if Hicks saw the whole fight, then he had to have known I barely managed to turn that around. Why are they making it sound like it wasn't a fair fight?
"Oh, that sounds brutal!"
"Damn, that's a bad way to go."
"Ha, couldn't have happened to a nicer guy!"
I listened for a few moments in confusion. They didn't really sound all too broken up about losing a friend. Or at the very least, a co-worker. Then again, these are the people that decide to say 'Fuck it, lets just rape the entire kingdom', so I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that they don't really give a sshit that I killed someone they know… actually, quite a few people.
"He stood against many opponents on his own, and somehow came out on top of it all smelling like roses," said Vault. "He's got the potential to be one of the finest additions to the Black Dogs, and I won't see it squandered by those Seven Sluts." He spoke, and I was glad to be finished with my food. I wasn't in the mood to listen anymore.
I didn't bother returning my bowl or spoon, simply taking it back to my tent and placing it on the wooden table, which I noticed had a few bags of coin on it. There was a small note by it that simply read: "Your payment for the samples." I gave one of the bags a curious shake and frowned. It didn't feel like the thousand I asked for. I opened the bag and found myself looking at coins, a small pile of coins, but more than I had figured there would have been for such a small purse.
I then realized that they were in their own bag of holding. Smaller than my satchel, but still it was more than I thought. I dumped each little bag into my own and tossed the empty ones back on the desk. That brings me up to three thousand six hundred, right? Yeah, I think that was correct. Now that my day was pretty much done, I sat down on the cot and sighed deeply. I found my mind wandering back to what Vault said, and the battle I was in earlier today.
As much as I hated to admit it, Vault had a point about my fighting ability. I've gotten lucky so far, but I cannot rely on it to carry me to the endgame. If Vault gave me some tips that I could use later down the line, no matter how minor they were, it could save my life one day. I ground my teeth together as I realized that, like it or not, I needed his help, as much as it pained me to actually accept it. With a frown, I laid back and stared at the cloth roof of the tent.
"God damn it," I said quietly to myself. I closed my eyes and began trying to get some rest, and for a moment it seemed like I would, until I heard some voices outside of my tent.
"So Hicks, you saw him fight in person. You think the Queen might be correct about him?" A deep voice that I managed to identify as Vault asked as he began walking past.
"Well…*Yawn*… That depends, Boss. He doesn't appear too thrilled with the idea of joining us," he said, his voice getting a bit quieter as he moved further away. "If we can't get him to warm up to us soon I'd say kill him before he even has a chance to get back."
Now, that got me to raise my eyebrows in alarm. I slowly got out of the cot and crouch, moved over to the tent flap and peeked out. They had their back turned to me for now and were moving away. I couldn't quite make out what they were saying, so my only option was to try and get closer. Thankfully, the camp had a lot of decent cover to hide behind, and I didn't want to risk them catching me in the open and changing their topic. So when I left, I moved slowly and made sure to keep behind some of the other tents as I listened to their conversation.
"... come around," I heard Vault finish as I got closer. "All we have to do is find the right… motivation," said Vault after some consideration of his words.
"What would be more motivating than living like a baron in a land of free fucking?" Hicks asked as they walked.
The other chuckled a bit. "Depends on the person. I know you and all the boys are perfectly fine with it, but even among all of us there are some people that want a more… specific prize." He told Hicks as they marched, before entering a spacious tent. I assume it must be an important one, maybe it was Vault's, or a war tent. I got close to the cloth wall and listened intently as the conversation continued.
"Well, yeah I know that, but James hasn't really given us anything to work with in that regard." The Scout Commander told Vault, and the latter gave a deep chuckle.
"Not entirely. But I got a hunch on what he wants," he said, before saying something that I couldn't make out, since his voice was a bit quieter.
I heard Hicks whistle. "Well now, can't exactly fault him for that now, can I?" I heard him ask. What the fuck were they talking about? Vault hummed in agreement.
"No, but unfortunately, all I can offer is to let him have the first go at her, she is too important to simply sell off. Tomorrow I'll try to get some more out of him, maybe even figure out an alternative. I don't want to have to kill a potential powerful ally, and Kin wouldn't be happy if I took out his new favorite science experiment."
So, if I don't start warming to them soon, they might just take me out to make sure I don't join the Shields? The idea that my fate rests on whether or not I can make it appear like I am open to the idea of free rape doesn't exactly sit well with me. Hell, I doubt it would sit well with anyone.
"Alright, you're the boss. By the way, are… 'those two' coming by with the mercs from Ansur?"
"Yeah, hopefully the meeting will tell us if James is worth all the trouble to keep him around. Between him and the Aberrants, I will pick the latter every time." I couldn't help but narrow my eyes, who was he talking about? Who is coming and what meeting are they talking about? And what are Aberrants?
Hicks let out an audible yawn. "Well boss, I am gonna go catch some Z's. What about you?"
"I gotta hash out some issues with Shamuhaza, I heard rumors of bugs roaming around the camp unsupervised, and I need it to stop before one of his precious bugs ends up squashed," Vault said. I heard them start walking towards the entrance of the tent, and quickly hid myself behind a barrel and let them go their separate ways, taking care not to make a sound while they left.
Once the coast was clear, I was about to sneak back, until a thought occurred. There might be incriminating documents in there, stuff that might help me get the Shields prepared before the actual war starts. It was risky, but if I was right, then I might be able to cut this war a little short. I approached the entrance slowly, moving the flap out of the way, and entering the tent. It was lit by candle, and pretty darn bright all things considered.
"Alright, if I had incriminating evidence, where would I hide it?" I asked aloud, before wandering to the center table and examining the map. I couldn't help but give it a strange look. There were strange markings on each of the fortresses, but what they meant I couldn't figure out. It might be valuable information, but I didn't know if anyone besides a Black Dog would actually know what these mean. Maybe it could be helpful, maybe not. I grabbed a blank paper, a quill and some ink, and began copying the markings as best as I could over the names of the fortresses.
It took me a hot second, but my art skills are poor. I wasn't sure anyone else would be able to tell what these were, but me. I growled out a curse.
"Damn it," I said quietly, I didn't have time to try again. I needed to keep looking for more solid proof. I searched over the table, and found nothing but notes from Hicks and Kin: Reports about the Black Fortress, it looks like. Nothing I can use... wait a minute.
Underneath all the notes and reports was a letter, one that was much fancier than any I had seen. The paper was an almost pristine white, with a wax seal that had been broken, and a ribbon wrapped around it. Maybe some noble is in communication with them? That minister that rapes Alicia or maybe even that old General that rapes Claudia?
I opened it up and read the contents:
Dear Shield Princess Maia,
I have urgent news that you must know:
The Goddess has blessed me with a vision. One that does not only concern the fate of Ansur, or Geofu, but all of the Kingdom. A great darkness is coming, one that not you, or I, or the Seven Shield Alliance, can hope to repel on our own. It will consume us, and doom will befall on everything we know and hold dear, if we cannot stop it.
Thankfully, She has shown me the face of the one who can push it back. And just the other day, I was blessed equally to have met him myself.
A young man, an adventurer, by the name of James Hind. He came to me the same day after I had my vision, and in the process saved young Isaac's life from a Kobold (Little Issac still has difficulty telling the difference between subspecies of Creatures of Darkness). But more so, he managed to end its life with a simple stab, completely ignoring the enhancements the Dark Queen Olga Discordia had given them.
I know in my heart that he is the key to our nation's salvation. I have sent him with the Black Dog Mercenaries in the hope that they might end this war. However, should they fail, or be incapable of fulfilling their mission, I am sending you this letter and a picture of his face so you may identify him should he ever end up in Ansur. If he does, I implore you to aid him in whatever way you can.
May the Blessings of the Goddess be upon you.
Celestine Lucross.
I stared at the letter for a few moments, blinking in slow realization. A slight smile crossed my face as I thought about it. She has put so much faith in me that I can't help but feel flattered and crushed by it. I can't let her down, I can't let anyone down.
Slowly, I sighed as I began focusing back at the task at hand: Why would Vault have this? It was addressed to Maia, of Ansur I guess. Did he steal these while he was meeting with Celestine? Intercept a courier or something?
I guess it doesn't matter, since I wouldn't know the first thing about sending this back on course. I folded the letter back up, placed it nice and neatly in its envelope, and stuffed it into my satchel. Maybe I can figure out something later on. I looked around the table again, and again, and again, and still nothing in this damn tent was incriminating!
"This can't be it, there must be something here!" I growled out as I began searching around, even under the table.
The instant I poked my head below, I spotted another letter. This time, the paper was yellowish, and had a less complex wax seal in the shape of a pig's nose. I opened it and found myself doing a double take at the writing… No, not writing, this was goddamn gibberish! I couldn't make out a single goddamn word of this message, except for the very bottom signature: Conti & Ponti Montadella, of Ur. I frowned and put it back on the table, that doesn't help me in the slightest.
"What was in the requisition order again?" I heard from outside.
I didn't recognize the voices, so I assumed they were just common mooks. I carefully crouched down and made my way to the opposite side of the tent they were coming from.
"I don't remember. Maybe they have it in the war tent?" One suggested as they neared the entrance flap.
I decided that it would be an opportune time to leave, got low and crawled out the back of the tent. I wasn't too keen on sticking around, so I slowly made my way back to my tent, taking special care to avoid anyone seeing me. By the time I made it back, I felt tired enough to actually get some shut-eye. So I did, I laid back into my cot, closed my eyes and tried to get some rest for tomorrow.
I woke up at dawn, and had barely managed to grab an apple for breakfast before I was summoned by Vault to our 'training session', which I quickly found out would be a bit more in depth than I had anticipated. When I arrived at the little training ground he had set up, he gave me an almost feral smile.
"Good to see you've taken up my offer," he stated, before reaching for a small weapon rack and tossing me two wooden training swords, one that was a similar size and shape to my steel sword, and the other one I would need both hands to swing properly.
"What do I need both of these for?" I asked. I had only planned on using one-handed swords that were easy to swing and stab with, especially in tight spaces like caves and other similar places.
Vault let out an amused hum, before saying, "I try to make sure all my men know the importance of versatility. No one is acceptable to me if they specialize too heavily in one form of fighting. We won't be getting into anything fancy or complicated, I only want to make sure that you know the basics of fighting."
I nodded, I had heard it hundreds of times from various games: the basics will save your life. I can only assume the same applies here.
"Alright, what are we starting with?" I asked as I began focusing. I needed to know this if I wanted any chance of surviving the attack on the Black Fortress, and the escape from it.
Vault nodded, holding his one-handed sword in a strange grip, damn near looked like his hand was covering the entirety of the handle.
"We'll start with your basic stance, then move onto basic attacks," he stated. "Now, show me what you got."
At his command, I got into my normal fighting pose: I spread my legs a bit, putting them at my shoulders, bent my knees a bit, and held my sword slightly out.
"You mean like this?" I asked as I held my blade just a bit away from me. I was doing my best to mimic the only real sword fighting pose I knew: the one from Skyrim. It was probably all kinds of wrong, but I had no idea what else to do, truly. Vault had a strange look on his face.
"Pretty good all things considered," he said, "Bend your knees a bit more, you want to be springy if you need to move. And your sword should be a bit more forward. Then again, I assume you plan on using Magic before melee, correct?" He asked, and I nodded, that was probably better.
"All in all, your form is good enough. Now then, come at me with your basic attacks. I want to know what I am dealing with."
And so I did. He blocked every time, of course, but that didn't exactly mean I did a poor job.
"How was that?" I asked as I took a few steps back, breathing a bit heavier from the attacks.
"They were… rough," Vault said slowly. "I noticed that you only used about five of the eight attack angles, your grip was too rigid, and you had a tendency to leave yourself open after an attack," he told me with a frown. "Alright, before we set to correct that, I am going to test out your blocks. Are you ready?" I gave a slight nod.
"As ready as I will ever be, I suppose."
I held up my sword. Vault approached slowly, almost as if he were taunting me, giving me a few moments to prepare before he swung at my wooden sword once, and broke my guard. He then hit me hard on the shoulder before I could even recover.
"Dead," He said simply, before standing up straight.
"Okay…" He sighed, "I've got my work cut out for me, I suppose." He said as he rubbed his face, "Alright, here, copy me..." Vault told me before he began showing me the proper technique.
He drilled into me this stuff for what felt like hours, solely repeating the same motion over and over again. It was exhausting how much he was forcing me to practice these, but he made sure I understood them. I found myself in a weird spot: I was thankful that he was taking the time to show me this, because I didn't know the first thing about proper sword fighting. At the same time though, I hated his guts for what he would orchestrate.
I do have to give credit where it is due, however, he seemed to know his stuff.
Every little mistake I made, he pointed it out, and forced me to correct it. While not the best instructor, I had to put my trust into what he was trying to teach me. So, again and again, I swung my sword in simple yet strong attacks. After I completed the set he showed me, he raised his hand.
"Alright, take a breather," he told me, and I felt my arms almost drop in relief.
"We'll take five for a second, then I want you to show me how well those lessons stuck." He waved over some random Black Dog.
"Get us something to drink." He ordered, and the soldier marched off.
"This is a bit more tiring than I expected it would be," I said with a few deep breaths. Vault gave a single nod.
"For what it's worth you lasted longer than most of my other recruits." The Mercenary Lord sat down and leaned back on his sword like it was the back of a chair.
"And it looks like you got almost everything down pretty quickly, I haven't seen any severe issues with your form besides the initial ones."
I nodded and sat down, putting the training sword in my lap for now.
"Thanks," I paused to take another breath, "If I am going to be traveling the lands seeking fame and fortune, then I am going to need all the help I can get." I closed my eyes and dropped my head low, gazing at the wooden weapon in my lap.
"So, fame and fortune is what you're after, huh?" Vault questioned, accepting a canteen provided by one of his soldiers. "You know, working for me full time, I can promise you could live like a baron among men if that is what you want."
I was about to open my mouth to try and deny that, but then I remembered what I had overheard last night. If I don't seem… compatible with the Black Dogs, then I might end up on the wrong end of a sword soon. So, I decided my best approach might just be the smile and nod one. If I can make him believe this, then he won't try and kill me just yet.
"Fame, fortune, and a bunch of sexy ladies at my beck and call… that's what I'm after," I lied.
I mean, I did kinda want fame, and money is always positive, but honestly? I never really got the appeal of having multiple partners committed. Seems like a lot of responsibility when most can hardly handle one woman. Vault hummed in a bit of amusement.
"And here I thought that you weren't interested in anything like that," he said quietly as he took a drink, before tossing it to me. I decided to wipe the rim of the canteen before taking a drink myself. The instant my water touched my tongue, though, I had to resist the urge to spit it out, before managing to actually swallow it. While I did that, I heard vault let out a deep chortle.
"What's that face for?!" He asked as he laughed. I screwed the cap back on and tossed it back.
"Well, I didn't expect piss water to be my drink of today."
Whatever that was, it tasted absolutely horrid. I didn't think it was water, because it tasted so terrible.
"Well friend, that is the water from the local pond," he said, and I gave a questioning gaze. "We do not have tons of fresh water to spare, and up here in the north, most water sources are toxic to all but monsters," he told me before pointing at the red sky.
"The same destructive magic that caused that," Vault turned his finger to point down, "Also caused the water and plant life in the area to become a hazard to normal life."
"Why?"
The brawny man simply shrugged.
"I don't know. No one does, not the Church, not the Shields, not even Her Highness Lucross, has any idea why that bitch did any of this." He let out a quiet chuckle.
"Not that it matters now though, we'll take her out and bring a new age to the Kingdom," Vault said with a sinister smile.
The true meaning of his words wasn't lost on me.
"But that's enough resting. Come on, and show me what you learned," challenged Vault, as he stood up and prepared to block.
I got up slowly, and after we were both ready, I swung at him. First was the overhead, then the left, right, left shoulder, right shoulder, left leg, right leg, and finally a thrust. Vault managed to block them all with ease, but a smile began spreading across his face as I finished the thrust.
"You got that down fast," he commented. "Knowing how to strike like that will save your life down the line. Next, I want you to understand how to block the right way," he said, getting ready to show me how to properly block, before pausing.
This was different from the other time: Instead of copying his movements, I had to focus on keeping my defense up. Perceiving what strike will come from which direction, and attempting to block it. I think he purposely took it slow in order to make sure I could guard in time, but I couldn't be sure. And I tended to get a mean little cut every so often.
"You know, I don't think I should be blocking with just a sword," I said as I tried to block an overhead swing, and buckled under the force that Vault applied.
"No, generally speaking, you shouldn't be trying to block with just a plain old sword, but you can't always pick and choose what you fight with," he told me before stopping after a few moments.
"When we get the reinforcements from Ansur, we got a few merchants coming by with some supplies, maybe you can get yourself a shield when they come."
That didn't sound like a bad idea. After all, I remember the hits I took in that cave when I rescued those girls. I need to avoid fights ending that badly, and a shield might help me stay on my feet.
"I'll think about it," I said, before I began having to block more attacks.
We continued on for hours, and Vault began to pick up the pace. Every attack I blocked, he made sure to give me as little time between attacks as he could, without actually outpacing my reflexes. As the day went on, we both got increasingly more exhausted, me more than him. By the end of my training, I was on my ass, while he was just breathing deeply, clearly less winded than I was.
"Well," he started, before taking another breath. "You've got decent reflexes, and you can hold against some pretty strong attacks," he said as his breathing slowed to a normal pace. "You picked those up swiftly, but those were just the basics."
"You know what they say," I replied between labored breaths, "The basics save your life and all that stuff." I laid flat on my back and began staring up at the red sky.
"How long have we been at this?" I wondered aloud, I doubt Vault was actually keeping track of the time.
"Hmm… About most of the day?" I heard Morgan answer, causing me to turn my head to look at him before he squatted down next to me.
"Gotta say, I'm impressed, James. Nobody has ever gone at it with the Boss for that long before they reached their breaking point," he stated, and a part of me was wondering if that had a double meaning or not.
"Hey boss, mind if I steal this guy away for a second? I want his help to grab something for dinner." Wait, what?
"Go ahead, we'll call it a day here, and pick up after we beat the bitch… If you're still with us, that is," Vault said, before Morgan pulled me up to my feet.
"Now, put those training weapons back on the rack, and we'll see you when you get back," he said, before turning and mounting his practice weapons onto the mentioned rack. I moseyed on over and put my own wooden weapons up.
"Alright, Morgan, what do you need me for?" I asked with a slight groan. "I should warn you that I don't know the first thing about hunting or foraging, so unless you wanna buy some food, I can't help you," I truthfully told him, but he just smiled in response.
"Well, we'll have to fix that. Come on."
The Scout led me to the back of the camp. "We are luckily on the border, so we should still find some decent game if we play our cards right. You don't need to worry about me, I can hunt with the best of them, I only need you to find some good herbs and other edible plants." He boasted before grabbing a bow and quiver.
"What will I be looking for?" I asked as we began walking out of the camp. Morgan hummed for a moment.
"Well, there are dozens of things you can grab. One of the reasons they call this kingdom blessed is because almost everything here is edible," he said with a laugh. "Besides that, most plants that aren't just grass, weeds, or trees have some sort of medicinal function beyond just eating." He snatched a basket and handed it to me on our way out.
"Just grab any plant you think looks interesting, it doesn't even have to be strictly edible."
I gave him a quizzical look. "Then why bring me along if the job is that simple?" I asked as we entered the nearby forest.
"It's the rules, Vault wants everyone in pairs for hunting, foraging and other such stuff. The more people there are, the more deterred monsters are, and the higher the chance of our success. Now, go start grabbing whatever unusual-looking plants you can find, I'll get us something to eat when we get back."
After he said that, Morgan seemed to vanish into the trees, leaving me alone with a basket and a menial task of simply finding anything that looks interesting. I stared down at it, and began wondering: Maybe I could hurt them by coming back with entirely random shit? Not enough to do anything with, but enough to fill the basket.
I began walking in another direction, simply picking whatever: Plants with flowers, berries and leaves were all I was looking for. Heck, I even grabbed some roots just to make sure it got that extra bit of filling. Thankfully, there weren't any monsters around -or at least none that I could see- and I couldn't help but take a few moments to appreciate the beauty of the forest. I had never been in a forest before, or at least one so untouched by man like this.
I even found a stream filled to the brim with fish. Well, not to the brim, but still plenty to behold. The water was also strangely clear too. Despite everything, I glanced into my basket, and decided that I had a few moments to just sit down and appreciate nature.
The bank of the stream was where I sat, and simply watched the fish swim by quickly, aided by the natural current. As I observed them, a memory sprung itself to the surface of my Dad. He once took me out on a hike when I was a little kid. He had tried to show me the beauty of nature, and ended up falling into a stream as he tried to jump over it.
The memory of him falling over and into the water was a comfort. I couldn't explain it, but how he laughed as a fish tried to jump over him was something that gave me a faint sliver of happiness, even in this dark situation.
"I wonder what you would be doing if you were here with me," I wondered idly as I leaned back and closed my eyes, relaxing a bit. I had some time, that basket wasn't going anywhere.
"AAAH!"
My eyes shot open when I heard a cry. Quickly, I bolted upright and began following the direction of the scream. When I arrived at the source, I could only blink in response, as I beheld Morgan holding a Goblin under water.
"You little bastard! You think you can fuck with me and get away with it?!" he angrily asked as he watched the Goblin struggle and drown under him.
"What the hell happened?" I asked as I approached him. He barely spared me a glance before returning his eyes to the Goblin.
"This little bitch is responsible for me losing my prey, and he managed to slice open my hand with that little knife of his."
I noticed the bloody knife on the ground nearby. "You gonna be okay?"
Morgan finally let go of the goblin as it became still.
"Fine, but I won't go back empty-handed," he said before grabbing his bow and handing it to me. "I can't use this right now, but you can," he told me, "I'll give you instructions, you follow them, and we'll both go home happy."
With a nod, I gave the bow a few test pulls before I notched an arrow into it.
"Just so you are aware I've never used a bow before," I told him, and he just rolled his eyes in response.
"Just nock an arrow, pull back on the string, and shoot. It isn't a difficult concept to grasp. Now, my prey shouldn't have gotten too far, come on. I'll show you where its tracks are."
Morgan led me across a river and stopped at the other side. "You see the tracks there?" He pointed to the ones in the mud, and I gave a simple nod. "Following them is easy, just keep track of it and move quietly as you do."
Following Morgan's rather vague instructions, I tried my best to track whatever he was hunting. It looked like a deer, but I am no expert in animals or their tracks, so who knows. I kept low and made sure I was ready to fire in case I spotted it, but we had to travel a decent way down the river bank until I felt Morgan grab my shoulder.
"What is it?" I asked quietly, only for him to put a finger to his lips in a shushing gesture. He slowly pointed to the other side of the river, and there it was, a large deer carefully drinking water from the river.
"Now, slowly raise the bow," instructed Morgan in a voice that I could barely hear. Once I did as he told me, he gave the next instruction.
"Carefully pull back on the string, and aim carefully."
I gave a slight nod, and began aiming. Once I had its head zoned in on, I relaxed my hand and let the string launch the arrow. Unfortunately, the deer had moved its head up and my arrow passed it by. Or maybe I aimed incorrectly, either could explain my failure. The deer's head shot up and it ran off before I could even attempt to try again.
"Damn it," I said aloud, now that our quarry was gone, "I missed."
Morgan sighed, "You were way off." He began crossing the river, probably to get the arrow.
"Next time, at least wait for my call to fire." The scout let out a groan as he grabbed the arrow and dropped it to the ground. "Broken. Come on, let's find something else, I won't go back empty-handed."
"Well, I said I never used a bow before, didn't I?" I reminded him, and again he rolled his eyes, "What else are we going to try and find out here?"
Morgan was squatting by the fresh prints the deer left. "Well…" He put a hand on his chin as he murmured to himself, "Up here in the north there are plenty of game, but they tend to get chased around by monsters a lot, so they are normally a bit more skittish than those in the south."
I saw his mouth about to open as he turned to me, ready to say something, only for him to slowly begin standing.
"What's wrong?" I asked as he raised his hands in a calming gesture.
"Don't make any sudden movements," Morgan said quietly, "Don't turn around, and whatever you do, don't panic."
Of course, I was a damn idiot, turning my head to look behind me, and instantly finding myself facing Morgan again.
"That's a goddamn bear!" I quietly exclaimed! There was a bear slowly creeping behind me!
"I know it's a goddamn bear!" Morgan quietly yelled back.
I was tempted to glance back at it, but decided to ask instead, "What do we do?"
Morgan was oddly quiet before suddenly crying out, "Oh shit! RUN!" He sprinted off, and I made an attempt to follow. Notice I used the word attempt?
Yeah, that's because as soon as I tried, I found myself flipped by a giant furry bulldozer. It hit the back of my legs hard enough to send them over my head before I hit the ground. I was wondering for a brief instant why I wasn't being mauled to death, and the answer to that was the fact it was circling back towards me.
I had about two whole seconds to get out my sword, and managed to do exactly that before I got tackled, and found myself face to face with an angry bear. I felt its claws rip into me, practically shredding the leather armor, and even the occasional bite from its mouth left holes in it. I might as well have been wearing cloth, with all the good my armor did.
Without a whole lot of options, I pushed magic into my hand, and let my palm ignite with that magical fire, trying to burn the side of its face. That sort of worked, and sort of didn't. I pissed it off, that much I could tell, if the fact that it sunk its teeth into my arm and began trying to rip it off was any indication.
I pushed the magic into my other hand and began burning the side of its face, and managed to make it let go for a few moments. It reared up onto its hind legs and roared at me. I took that brief moment to crawl back to where my sword was, and in the flash of a moment, I managed to impale it as it came down on top of me.
I was breathing heavily, crawling out from under the huge corpse and just sitting there for a few moments in shock, taking a few deep breaths as I sought to recover from the shock of a fucking bear attack. It might not have been the longest fight of my life, but fuck me, did it get my heart beating.
I looked down at myself, and knew that this armor was done for. The leather was all torn, and I didn't know the first thing about fixing it. I felt a little guilty though, Celestine got me this armor, and it didn't even make it too far before it got torn up. Maybe one of the people at the Black Dog camp can fix it, or one of the merchants coming by.
After a few moments of mental recovery, I began using a healing spell on the deep cuts and other places. Healing spells were a great relief, because it made these life threatening injuries an easy fix, or at least the non-lethal ones. Not that I am in a rush to find out if I can heal up a stab, or a sliced throat, though. As I healed myself, I let my mind wander back to Morgan.
The bastard fled and left me behind to face an angry bear on my own. I don't know if I am pissed off about that, because in a strange way, it was kind of expected? He is a part of the same mercenary group that wants to enslave all women of the land. I doubt he feels any sort of responsibility to watch out for anyone but himself.
A few more calming breaths, and I managed to find it in me to stand up and look down at the dead bear. I had been lucky, extremely so: When he came down, he landed on my sword just as I raised it up. And I was thankful that I managed to get him in the head, he was only a wild animal trying to survive out here, after all. It didn't deserve to suffer, at least not like the Black Dogs do.
With a sigh, I rolled it over just enough to get my sword out from under its head. Thank god Steel is sturdier than Iron. I cleaned it off as best as I could, wiping the blood off and putting it back in the sheath. Once it was back, let out a groan.
"How am I gonna get this back?" I asked aloud, before simply grabbing it by the foot and dragging it. Thankfully, Morgan left me a trail of footprints to follow back to the camp, so getting there wasn't an issue. By the time I arrived, the night had fallen. Or at least, I think it was. Hard to tell, what with the crimson sky and all.
"Who's there?!" One of the sentries on lookout yelled out.
"The guy bringing dinner, now can someone please help me drag this thing?!" I answered back. The sentry ran back towards the camp and returned a few moments later with four other guys. I heard a series of cheers as they came down to grab the carcass.
"Alright, you guys got this? I need to go have a little chat with Morgan." I told them.
"Yeah, sure, we can get this to the chefs. Thanks to you, many guys will feast merrily tonight!" One said before I left them to go find Morgan. I wanted to grill him a bit for leaving me to a goddamn bear.
Asking around for him was the easy part, but when I found him, I learned someone else had beat me to the punch.
"How could you have simply left him?!" I was pretty sure it was Kin's voice.
"The first ever Human to naturally produce Magic, and you let him die without even having the decency to make sure he had a child first?" Wow… that was what you cared about? "He might have been the next step in human evolution!" I heard him cry out.
"Take it easy, think about it this way: We don't have to worry about if he is on our side or not, now that he's bear chow." And that would be Hicks, the bastard. I heard another voice hum.
"Hmm," it was deep, but not Vault deep."While you have a valid point, he could have proven quite useful in advancing my own research. I will send out scavengers to try and locate his remains, perhaps the corpse might be of some use." Ah, it was Shamuhaza I was hearing.
"Good luck, last I checked, that bear had him pinned and was ripping into him like it was starving or rabid." There was Morgan. "I mean, the guy might have taken on some monsters, and a few of our newbies, but I don't think any of them had caught him by surprise." Well, that's not untrue.
It was now I chose to enter the meeting tent. The instant the flap moved, all eyes snapped onto me, and I could see Vault, and all the others sitting at a table discussing this. Everyone stared at me with a surprised expression, save for Vault and Shamuhaza.
"I lived…" I stated as I gave a pointed look towards Morgan. "Bitch."
There was a beat of silence for a few moments, before Hicks and Vault began laughing. "Well, I guess Morgan here shouldn't count you out so easily, huh?" said the latter.
"I guess not." The Scout replied weakly. "No hard feelings, right?" he asked hopefully. I gave him a flat look.
"First chance I get, I am leaving your ass for dead too," I said it sarcastically, but for all intents and purposes, I wasn't joking. As soon as I get the chance to, I am dropping his ass into the fire and turning around.
"Also, I brought in a bear, so we ought to be having a decent meal tonight," I announced, earning a cheer from Hicks, Vault, and a weak little chuckle from Morgan.
Kin stood up. "Well, since the entire purpose of this meeting has been made somewhat pointless, I will be taking my leave." He began to walk out, only to stop next to me. "And as for you, please do not perish without at least leaving some offspring for me to study," he stated, before leaving.
Shamuhaza left without a word, but I noticed he was glaring at me almost the entire way out. What's his issue, I wonder?
"Well, it's good to see you alive, James," Vault said with a broad smile as he approached. He then glanced down at my armor. "Damn, that bear did a number on you didn't it?" It was a statement more than a question. I gazed down at the ripped and torn leather armor.
"I was hoping it would last a bit longer, to be honest," I said, before receiving a pat on the shoulder from the brawny man.
"Word to the wise kid, the Church cheaps out on this sort of thing, you want quality gear? Get it directly from a blacksmith, or a trusted merchant," he said, before glancing behind me.
"Speaking of which," he murmured quietly, before he strode past me, indicating to follow with a simple gesture. "James, I want to introduce you to some reliable business partners to the Black Dogs," he told me as he led me out of the tent.
Just outside the tent was a carriage followed by a wagon pulling up, driven by two men that wore cloth pig masks. The side of both read in big bold letters: The Porker Brokers.
Just as I was about to open my mouth to ask who they were, only to watch as the wagon opened up, and I mean opened. The sides flew out, the top flew up and unveiled two more features. I was staring for a moment before I realized the wagon had turned into a merchant stand!
I watched as two people exited the carriage, both were short and stout, but wore fine clothing, like they were nobility. The two took up spots behind the merchant stand, and I finally got a good look at their faces. To say that I was shocked would be a bit of an understatement. The two men were, in truth, Pigmen: As in, their faces were actually those of Pigs.
I remember one single scene involving creatures like them, and suffice it to say, it took a great deal of self-control not to launch myself at them. But then again, it takes ample amounts of self-control to merely be among these animals, so I guess that makes me the master of it.
"Come one, come all!" The one in pink called out, followed closely by the one in green, "Gentlemen of the Black Dog Army, we offer you our most humble services for your honored patronage!"
""THE MORTADELLA BROTHERS ARE AT YOUR SERVICE!""
Never more had there been a more awkward silence. Matter of fact, I am fairly certain that the crickets decided to stop, solely to let that air of awkwardness settle even more. It would've been almost comical, if it wasn't so pathetic.
"I told you that was a bad idea, Conti," whispered the pink one to the other.
The green one whispered back, "I'm sorry brother, I believed it might attract more customers."
Everyone was kind of just standing around, myself among them, before I felt Vault put a hand on my back and push me forward. He decided to remain back as I found myself in front of their stand.
"Wait a moment, Conti, observe! We have a new customer!" The pink one told his brother. The green one, or Conti, stared down at me from their spot on the stand.
"Ah-ha! Welcome, young man!" He said excitedly as he stretched his hand down to shake mine. Only, mine never went up and I gave the pig a decidedly unimpressed stare. I watched the Pigman slowly reach back up and rub the back of his… nonexistent neck.
"What can we do for you today?" He decided to ask.
"Well, what do you got for armor?" I asked, and the Pig Merchant's eyes lit up swiftly.
"Ponti! What do we have for armors in this young customer's size?!" Conti asked his brother, apparently named Ponti.
With a strange display of agility, I watched as the pink one leaped over the stand and landed in front of me with a measuring tape. He got to work quickly, wrapping the tape around my waist.
"Hey! What are you-" I asked before I felt one of my arms being grabbed. I glanced over and found Conti holding it out.
"Let go-!"
I was interrupted when I felt the fat fingers of the other brother grab arm and wrap the tape around it. I managed to yank my arm free, and before I could even get them away from me, I found my height being taken. Ponti tossed the tape to his brother.
"Hmm, nice strong build, not exactly one for dodging," Ponti said aloud as he began grabbing my biceps and feeling them up. "Broad chest, plenty of power hiding within this lean frame," he said before backing up and snapping his fingers. "We need something heavy, Conti!"
"Ponti! We have an issue!" Conti called out from the wagon stall. The pink porker turned to look at his brother.
"What is it?!"
The other was alarmed. "Most of our heavy armor is gone!"
I observed Ponti's eyes widen a smidgen. "MOST?! GONE?!" he cried out, before freezing.
"Oh you STUPID CONTI! Didn't I ask you to restock?!"
Conti's face turned from one of shock into one of horrifying understanding.
"I FORGOT TO RESTOCK!" he cried out as he grasped his head. The Pigman next to me gave a defeated sigh.
"What do we have?!"
Conti turned around for a moment, and then back. "We have a set of iron in his size, a few more sets of steel, but those are too small for him to wear!" The mention of steel got a couple of the other Black Dogs' attention. Ponti gave me a remorseful gaze.
"I humbly apologize, friend, for my brother's incompetence," he said, putting his hands together and giving a half bow. "In compensation, I am willing to offer you a bargain: I will not only take 20% off, but also throw in a brand-new shield, forged by the Halflings of Rad."
I couldn't help but blink a few times before I asked, "What's the price, normally?"
"It would have been two hundred and ninety-five, but for you, the price is two hundred and thirty-six," he told me… I will admit, I wasn't exactly sure if the math checked out. However, I would be getting a shield free of charge, and that might help my chances considerably, I reckon.
"You got a deal," I said, before reaching towards my satchel to get the gold, before pausing for a moment. "Umm... How do I get a bunch of coins instead of a handful?" I murmured to myself.
Conti, however, must have overheard me as he brought the items, one suit of basic Iron armor along with an Iron Shield. "Just imagine the amount you wish, and a bag shall be produced, holding as much as you need," he stated simply.
I decided to follow his instructions, and sure enough, as I thought about pulling out two hundred and thirty-six, I pulled out a bag of gold.
"Huh, what do you know?" I said in awe with a sliver of a smile coming over my face.
"I love this thing," I said quietly, this will make paying for things much easier.
"Will that be all?" Ponti asked, and I felt myself a little bit interested in what they had.
"What else you got?"
I have to hand it to those merchants, I left their stall sufficiently satisfied. It's just a shame they are working for the Black Dogs. Anyways, by the time I ended my little shopping spree, I left with a few interesting items. One was a book of the flora of the Kingdom, which cost me about twenty. I also got a Spell Book about lighting and ice, both cost me about a hundred gold together.
I intended to use them later, but I also got myself two health potions, costing me about seventy-two coins.
If my math is correct, I had three thousand six hundred - two hundred and thirty-six = three thousand, three hundred sixty-four?
Three thousand, three hundred sixty-four - twenty = three thousand, three hundred forty-four - one-hundred = three thousand, two hundred forty-four - seventy = three thousand, one hundred seventy-two?
So I got three thousand, one hundred seventy-two gold left, not bad.
I took everything back to my tent and got dressed in my new iron armor. I put the helmet in my satchel, I didn't need it right now, after all the Black Dogs weren't trying to kill me just yet. While I had the privacy of my tent, I decided to use the Sparks Spell Book and got that shoved into my head. Still not fun, but now I could feel electricity in my veins.
Fantastic, just one more book, and I'll be capable of using all types of Destruction Spells, but I'll see if I can squeeze an extra thousand from Kin before I use that one.
Once I left my tent it was time for dinner: Bear stew, courtesy of yours truly. I got my bowl like before, and a part of me was tempted to return to my tent, only to remember that I needed to make them believe I was one of them. It wouldn't do me any good to get murdered before I even had a chance to save anyone, so I took a spot by the bonfire.
"Well, well, well, look who has decided to grace us with their presence tonight!" Vault announced as I took a seat on a vacant stump. "So James, what made you decide to finally dine with us this time?" he asked as he took a bit of a potato.
I sat on my answer for a minute. "I guess I just figured, if we were going to be marching into a deathtrap, I might as well try to get along with the people that I am going to be putting my life in the hands of," I said as I ate my stew, and he nodded.
"Smart man, but we all know about each other already," he said while gesturing to everyone else, "So, how bout we have some fun? We'll each take a turn asking you a question, and you get to ask us one in return. Sounds reasonable?" I gave a slight nod, and Vault smiled broadly.
"Fine, I'll go first then: James, of the Shields you have encountered, which one is the most attractive to you?"
I internally rolled my eyes: Of course, the King of Rape would ask that question. I put a hand on my chin.
"I've only met two, Celestine and Claudia. But if I had to pick, then Celestine, hands down." While I was only saying this to gain their trust, I wasn't truly lying. Claudia is a bombshell, no doubt about that, but she is married. If she weren't, it would be a fair bit harder to decide, but she isn't. Vault and many others let out chuckles, oohs and aaahs.
"On first name basis with the Goddess, are you?" He laughed, but I gave him a confused look.
"What's so funny?" I asked, before internally slapping myself. I shouldn't have wasted a question on that!
Vault placed his bowl to the side before leaning forward, putting a hand on his knee and saying, "There is only a close group of people that have ever addressed Her Holiness by her name like that." He raised his hand and held out one finger.
"Her children." He added another finger.
"Her bodyguard." He added one more finger.
"And the Archbishop when he needs to make a point." He finished before leaning back. I sat there for a moment and chewed on that little tidbit of information. Before I even could fully process it. Hicks spoke up next.
"My turn!" he called before anyone else. "Alright James, I got a fun question for you: What do you like most about Her Highness?"
You know, I was beginning to wonder if doing this was actually a good idea now.
"Uh… Her personality?" I asked hesitantly. Hicks shook his head.
"Oh don't be like that, we're all guys here. You like those fine jugs? Or maybe that nice, round ass? That silky, blonde hair? Come on, tell me!"
I coughed, and asked, "Is everything an option?" I didn't want to spend too long thinking about her like that, and trying to pick a favorite part was kind of like trying to select the best brush stroke in a work of art, isn't it? Hicks leaned forward with a smile.
"Maybe, if you can tell me why?"
"Well, there isn't any part of her that's exactly my favorite, since it's all good," I stated, "Her body is just perfect in all the right ways. She isn't called the Goddess Reincarnated for no reason, you know?"
They were enjoying this, I just know it.
"I do." He said in an almost smug voice.
"I believe I am next," Kin said... Hey, wait a minute!
"Hold on, I didn't get to ask my question!" I protested. Vault and Hicks shared a look.
"Yes, you did, you asked if Hicks understood what you meant."
"That doesn't count!"
Vault shrugged. "I think it counts."
As I groaned, Kin asked his question. "Tell me, how does it feel to use Magic by hand?"
Ah, good a question I can actually answer! Unfortunately, he was met with a crescendo of complaints.
"Boo!"
"Come on man, ask something good!"
"I believed in you!"
I opened my mouth to answer only for Kin to groan himself. "Very well, then," he said. "James, have you ever used your magic to pleasure yourself?"
Kin, what the fuck?! Well, at least it was easy enough to respond.
"No, I do not. Fire isn't exactly something I want close to the bits," I replied, earning a nod from Kin. Great, I get to ask my question.
"So Kin, why did you join up with the Black Dogs?" I asked, hoping for some insight as to what I can expect from the mage of the company. He shrugged.
"My experiments require funding, and materials. Unfortunately, this kingdom and the surrounding ones are rather... fickle... when it comes to allowing me to research magical theory and advance my practices," he said with a sigh, before pushing his glasses up. "Vault, however, provides me with what I need in return for my expertise and prowess. So long as I produce results, that is."
So, a scientist at heart, I already knew that. At least he isn't purely motivated by lust, as little as that means.
"Dibs!" Morgan called the next question.
"Alright, James, I've got a good one for you," he said, a smirk forming on his face, "Are you a virgin?"
Silence fell on the group as all eyes focused on me. I never thought I could experience peer pressure like this since I left High School.
"I mean…" I started, before rubbing the back of my head and looking down. "I never had a relationship before," I said quietly as the men around me burst into laughter. Vault slapped my back hard enough to almost make me drop my bowl.
"Alright James, tell you what: If you survive this attack, I'll personally see to it that you lose your chastity!" he said with a hearty laugh.
I… didn't like the sound of that. Not losing my virginity, but Vault making sure I do.
"You really don't have to." I tried to decline, but I could tell I was falling on deaf ears, so I decided I would try to change the subject. "Why are you guys so interested in this anyways?"
I tried to shift the topic. I could have asked something better, but for the life of me I couldn't think of anything better. Vault quieted down a bit, and so did everyone else.
"Why?" he asked as if confirming the question, so I nodded, "Sex and women are one of the few constants in life that we as men can appreciate time after time without really getting sick of it. I've lain with… Goddess knows how many by this point. But one thing I do know, no woman is ever the same, their feel, their moans, their softness… When I grow too old to fight, I want to spend the rest of my days being serviced by the women of the nation." He leaned back on his seat, and from the look on his face, he was fantasizing about the future.
Everyone began sharing their own reasons, but most of them were exactly like Vault's, only sounding remarkably less driven about it. It was easy for me to tell why he was the leader, and everyone else just follows along.
"I am next."
I almost jumped at the voice of Shamuhaza when he arrived.
"Ah, I was wondering if you were going to join us," Vault said as he gave the bandaged man a glance and gesturing for him to sit. He complied easily, taking a spot next to me.
"James, why did you lie to me?" He asked with an accusing look in his eyes, "When you informed me of my insect entering your tent, I was under the impression it was defective, and yet you have it naturally." He stated before focusing on me intently, "Why did you try and keep it secret?"
Ah… that was a bit harder to answer.
"I..." I hesitated for a moment, before I thought up a lie. With a sigh, I continued, "Truth is, I didn't want any form of special treatment." I tried to sound sorry for myself, creating a tiny flame in my hand.
"I wasn't sure what to expect from you or anyone else if they found out I could use it, like I was some freak of nature." I dismissed the flame and returned my gaze to Shamuhaza.
"Would you trust absolute strangers with that kind of secret?"
Shamuhaza considered my response for a few moments before nodding.
"No, I suppose I couldn't."
"I thought not." Wow, am I a better liar than I thought? Anyways, time for my question!
"So, can I ask about the bugs?"
Shamuhaza stood back up and quickly replied 'No', before turning and walking back into the shadows. Hicks waved his hand at that.
"Eh, don't mind him. He's weird and creepy, but no one actually understands his obsession with bugs, not even the Boss," he told me, while Vault nodded in confirmation. "So long as he does his job, he can do whatever he wants."
Well, I suppose that's enough for one night. At least I think I am safe from a dagger in the dark, for now.
"Well, this was fun, but I want to get some rest for tomorrow," I told them as I stood up, earning some groans from the mooks that wanted to ask me stuff. Too bad for them, I suppose.
"He's right, everyone should start turning in for the night, I don't want any issues for tomorrow," Vault told his men, who quickly got to finishing up their business.
"That goes double for you," he said, pointing at me. "Tomorrow, you're gonna be put to the test, and we'll see if you can really kill monsters."
I nodded. "Don't you worry," I patted the hilt of my sword. "I don't intend to disappoint," I told him, before I trudged back to my tent. Once I was inside, I got undressed. I took off the actual armor, put it off to the side and laid down.
You know, it never occurred to me that tomorrow, I may end up dead. It's strange, I had all yesterday and today to worry about this, but until now, I didn't truly give thought about it. I am going to be marching headfirst into a place that is more than likely ten times worse than the cave, and all I can do to prepare for it is to pray.
I can take some peace in the fact that I'm a bit more prepared than I was before: New Iron Armor, two new spells, some more potions and some actual training. It's not much, but it's the best I can do for now. Regardless, this is going to be one of the biggest fights of my life. The future of this kingdom is on my shoulders, and if I can't find a way to get Olga and Chloe out of there, then we are all fucked, both figuratively and literally.
I have to be ready for it, I can't afford not to be.
FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK FUCK! THIS CHAPTER WASN'T MEANT TO TAKE THIS LONG!
I am so sorry for the wait, I had never intended for it to take this long. I thought that last month and this month would be relatively free, but almost all of my free time has been taken up by something, or my own laziness, and for that I apologize.
You deserve better than that. You deserve better from me.
All I can ask for is forgiveness for this failure.
But hey, on the bright side, at least next chapter (Hopefully) we'll meet the two Dark Elves! That'll be fun.
Also we have the results of the poll for Claudia: A total of 44 people voted: 32 in favor of Claudia joining and 12 against. So it looks like she will be joining after all. Thank you for voting all of you, your input is greatly appreciated.
Anyways, leave a review, follow or fav, I really can't ask for more than that.
I'll see you guys next time. And again, I am sorry I took so long.
Also, I am going to be putting James' inventory and stuff down here just to make sure everyone knows what he's got.
Gold: 3172
Equipped Items
Armor: Iron (Normal)
Weapon: Steel Sword
Spells: Flames, Sparks, (Frostbite), Healing, Lesser Ward
Perks: Armsman (1/5)
Items in inventory
Leather Armor (Damaged)
Guard Armor (Damaged)
Iron Sword (Broken)
1 Minor Healing potion, 2 Healing potions,
6 Minor Stamina
Also Special thanks to LittleWhiteMouse for Proofreading the chapter.