Chapter 13
The next request was for protection work. A noble requested for guards to protect him while he goes… trophy hunting. Something that drew Botan's interest. His servant was sent to the guild house to find someone to answer the request immediately and it was there that the archer took it up immediately.
"Are you sure about this?" asked Miyabi after the servant left.
"Well, Botan insisted. So, sure. I think we can handle it," admitted Nene as she shrugged, "We've been through a lot. Should be okay."
"Hello!" greeted a voice behind her. Risu and Moona met up with them at the counter. Without Baloo, strangely enough.
"Hello. We're going on a quest now," the lore bard informed them.
"Oh, oh, can we go with you?" asked the druid eagerly.
"Hmm? Where is the owlbear?" asked Polka in puzzlement.
"Ah, she left them with the other druids in the circle," said the aasimar, "Or so she says."
"But it's true!" protested the squirrel girl, "The elders say the others need to get used to Baloo too."
"Huh, makes sense," replied Aloe as she nodded.
"Let's go now. The guy is waiting for us, so hurry up and decide," urged the archer.
They met with the noble, a Lord Grish, a half-orc who supposedly had more human blood than orc blood. His entourage, a couple of his friends as well as many servants carrying weapons and equipment. He stepped up and shook their hands. After the round of introductions, he informed them of what they need to do. Protect the nobles and the servants from getting attacked by whatever wild animals that would attack them. That included possible rampaging targets that might suddenly turn around and charge them down. They agreed and they made their way north to the open, sparse grasslands to hunt for game. The nobles went on horseback while the rest went on foot.
During their jaunt into the wilderness, they got to know what everyone else was like a little better. The servants were… well… servants. Polite and respectful. They were also a little afraid of Aloe. The nobles acted in a similar way but less afraid and more disdain for the succubus. The disdain was extended to Risu, Botan and Polka. It was less when addressing Nene and Moona but a bit more welcoming towards Lamy. She even walked with Lord Grish at one time. Eventually, after an hour or two of traveling, the nobles started shouting and they broke off from their servants with loaded crossbows and throwing spears. A lone bull elephant was spotted. It looked old and was probably separated from its herd. The nobles brought it down easily, as evident by their cheers and how fast they took down the old bull. They then dismounted and called the servants over to attend them. A few servants were tasked with removing the head while the rest served food and wine to the nobles. However, while this was going on, a few of the party spotted something in the distance.
"Hmm? Something's coming," stated Botan.
"Can you see what it is?" asked Polka as she peered into the distance.
"Regardless, we better get ready. I shall let Lord Grish know of this," informed Lamy.
"I think… I think..." muttered Risu as she squinted, "I see hyenas... giant hyenas."
"Eh?" sounded Nene, and then they heard loud, weird-sounding laughter.
"I think she's right," snarked Aloe as she got ready for a fight.
"Well, time to earn your keep, ladies," stated Lord Grish as he walked over to them, "Just keep them away from the elephant until the servants get the head off." The rest of his noble friends had retreated far away.
"Can't you have them retreat as well?" asked Moona with a frown, "It is too dangerous."
"Hmph, I apologize for saying this, but you should do well to mind your place," he replied gruffly, before heading back to the noble group.
"Well, that was inconsiderate," the aasimar grumbled with a huff.
"Sadly, this is called 'keeping up appearances'. All too familiar," muttered the cleric as she shook her head, "Nevermind him. Let us protect the servants as best we can."
The party jogged past the elephant carcass and the fearful servants that were trying to detach the head. The growls, barks, and laughs came nearer and nearer until they could spot six and more vicious than a normal hyena, it is rumored that they could be tamed. However, there have been stories of long-lived versions of them transforming into gnolls after gorging on the flesh of sentient beings. It is unknown if it was true, but the party was certain they didn't want to be added to those numbers.
However, they were still animals, so Risu suggested, "Can I talk to them first? Maybe they aren't that hungry yet."
After getting the okay for it, Risu produced her mistletoe and started chanting, waving the sprig at the hyenas that approached warily. Slowly, she stepped forward and pointed the mistletoe at each one. Then, she started mimicking their laugh and barks, making as if in communication. One of them, the apparent leader, barked back. After doing that a few more times, the leader laughed and walked off with the others, lying down on the ground a good distance away.
The druid grinned as she turned to them, "They weren't that hungry so they can wait. We might want the servants to hurry up and-"
A loud shriek interrupted her. They spun around and found one of the servants missing. Botan yelled, "Look out!" as that servant suddenly fell to the ground, neck broken and his shirt ripped at the shoulders.
Looking to the sky, they spotted six giant vultures circling overhead. The druid tried calling out to them but when they answered back, she frowned and squinted her eyes. "These birds are nasty," she informed them, "Very greedy and they won't listen. We have no choice but to kill them." With that said, she started making circles above her head as she chanted softly something else.
"Right, here I go then," Aloe declared as she ran forward before flying up to attack the nearest giant vulture. A radiant moonbeam then landed in the vulture's space and seared its body and burned its feathers.
"Tch," sounded Polka as her dart missed. She then ran over to the elephant carcass and shouted to the servants, "Go now! Don't get caught up with this!"
"W-w-we want t-t-to but if we d-d-do, we'd be p-p-punished," stammered one of them as the rest went as fast as they could, cutting through the neck and hammering the thick neck bones. At that time, four of the giant vultures clashed with the succubus while the other two circled downward towards Lamy.
Nene strummed her lute and sang of being under the pressure, getting loud screeching from the annoyed vultures.
"Why is it we don't feel any different when you sing that?" asked Botan aloud as her arrow clipped the wings of a giant vulture.
"The song is more for troubling the enemy than helping us," the bard explained as she swapped out for her rapier. Meanwhile, the cleric summoned her spirit sword to aid Aloe in killing her target while sending a ray of frost at her descending attackers, clipping one in the wing.
"Nice, five more to go!" cheered on the dream druid as she swung her sprig of mistletoe, slowly moving the moonbeam nearer to the elephant.
"And I'm staying on the ground," growled the succubus as she landed next to Polka, her arms and wings covered in gouges and talon marks.
"Glad you're still with us," quipped the monk as she threw another dart, this time at Lamy's attacker. The metal implement dug into its body and remained stuck there. Without warning, two of the giant vultures flew down and attacked them. "Yikes! Get off!" she shouted as the both of them tried to fight them off under the moonbeam. The other giant vultures then started attacking the others on the ground, Lamy's attackers commencing as well while the last one attacked the servants instead.
"Run! Ru-urk" shouted one as he and another died to talon and beak. The others ran away.
"Get them!" urged on the lore bard as she ran forward to attack the nearest one. The archer and the druid complied and helped the cleric to fight back, their efforts grievously wounding it. At the same moment, Aloe, Polka, and Moona took on another, keeping it under the moonbeam long enough to roast it alive.
The giant vultures, their numbers down by half, tried to rally. Two continued to attack while the other dashed away, its body and wings bleeding profusely. That didn't work too well, as Nene and Lamy's spirit sword took one out while Botan shot down the escapee. After giving directions, Lamy moved to the middle of the group and prayed, "I plead, oh goddess, rain your healing down on your beautiful servants."
As rejuvenation was given to Aloe and herself, the moonbeam moved over the final giant vulture. As the attacks against it continued, it tried to fly away but Moona jumped on it and stabbed her dagger through its heart, causing it to crash to the ground dead. As it fell, she ran over to Lamy and healed her, humming a healing note that soothed and renewed.
"Thank you," stated the half-snow elf gratefully. She then topped it off with her healing potion, knowing that sudden attacks may happen the longer they stay here.
Lord Grish barked out an order and several other servants went forward and hurried to finish what was started earlier. He walked over calmly and said, "Well, all of you did well. However, it seems two of my servants have died." He sighed and continued, "Normally, I wouldn't have minded… but… in keeping up appearances, I will have to reduce the reward. I did expect protection for everyone here, after all."
"That will be acceptable, milord," the cleric spoke up immediately before the lore bard could say anything. He nodded and moved back to the group of nobles.
"Why did you accept?" Nene asked in confusion as the rest of them gathered around.
"...I know what it means to 'keep up appearances'. I know all too well," she said cryptically, "He was born a half-orc and a noble. How many of you know of orcs? Of what they could do?" Getting nods from Botan, Polka, and Risu, she continued, " Then you can guess how he came to be? It is already difficult enough to be a half-orc, but to be a noble as well? Monumental."
"...Alright… I guess... " accepted the lore bard with a frown.
Moona put a hand on her shoulder and said, "Well, these are the kind of things you face when dealing with nobles. You sometimes have to expect it."
After these wise words were said, they continued to keep watch. After the elephant's head was harvested, they journeyed back home, leaving the dead bodies to the giant hyenas. It was evening when they reached the city At the north gate, the lord came up to them with a servant.
"Well, thank you for your service. I'll be sure to recommend the guild to the others too," he stated as he held out his hand. The servant placed a bag in it and in turn, he handed it to Nene.
"Thank you, Lord Grish," she replied politely. He nodded and returned to his posse, which moved in with him towards the noble district.
"Well, let's head back to the guild house and divide it up," said Botan as she wrapped an arm around her shoulder.
She grinned and said, "Yes. Let's."
The next day couldn't come any sooner for Botan. The owlbear head. Her trophy. The moment she woke up that new morn, she knew what she must do. The moment she got ready, she almost ran to the tannery, but she kept her cool and headed there. The head looked magnificent. After paying for a few extra things, she brought the head back to the guild house. Miyabi's mouth pretty much fell open when she carried it to the side room. Then, he came to his senses and fetched some tools to help with the mounting.
"Woah! Looks amazing!" exclaimed Polka when the party joined her in the side room.
The lion girl was grinning from ear to ear. "Hi, hi, right?" she stated proudly. Then, she looked at them and asked, "Want to go hunting for another?"
"No!" the other party members exclaimed. The guild clerk just chuckled.
"Hn, tough crowd," she grumbled to herself with a pout
"Hello, how is- wow, cool," exclaimed Doris as she came into the side room, followed by Civia, who said the same.
"I know, right?" spoked up the archer, her face grinning again.
The two quickly passed on a request to Miyabi, who followed them out to process it. Several other members checked out the side room and praised the trophy, making her happier and prouder.
"Alright, enough preening. Let's get a quest," stated Nene in deadpan as she pulled the lion girl by the arm, making her yelp in surprise.
"No worries, I got a good one today," informed the monk as she presented the piece of paper to the guild clerk.
He gave it a good look and sighed. "Right, you have to go to school."
"...Eh?" they sounded.
"It only came in today, if I recall correctly," he explained sternly, which was unusual, "A few of the wizards are going to practice conjuration magics today and they want some extra help just in case things get out of hand."
"Ah… what's that?" asked a puzzled bard.
"A branch of magic," stated Artia as she came up from behind them. She glanced at the owlbear trophy and said, "Ah, impressive." She turned back to the party, which included a smiling lion girl, and explained, "It involves using magic to create, to summon or to send."
"Summon what exactly?" asked Lamy with a frown.
"Well… it can be materials, creatures, or energy," she continued her explanation, "Conjurers can summon from any plane of existence. Skilled ones can even call and bind great beings from their respective planes, summon grand fortresses out of thin air, or even twist the tapestry of fate to create a miracle. And… admittedly, more unscrupulous conjurers could also summon demons. But there won't be anything of the sort going on at the school."
"And we are supposed to be at hand to protect them, am I correct?" the cleric pressed further.
"Well… normally the conjurations are harmless, but the more complicated spells can call beings and animals from other places and they may not always be fond of being summoned," the ice genasi replied, "So, it always helps to have a backup plan."
The half-snow elf nodded in approval.
"Well, let's go then," stated Aloe eagerly, "I think it should be very interesting to see what a couple of novices can pull out. I mean...what really could go wrong?"
Artia then led the party to the school. They went to a large hall-like room. It looked like a normal classroom with a blackboard, teacher's desk, and chair, a shelf of books for referral. The glaring difference was the absence of tables and chairs for the students. Instead, there was a large, heavy table on the side of the room that had several types of reagents and spell components on it. And on the floor, there were several magic circles drawn on in for containment purposes.
"And this is Master Hirto, Conjuration Master of the school," introduced the ice genasi.
The teacher was old but still looking healthy. A neatly trimmed grey beard and combed hair. He adjusted his glasses and said, "Ah, you must be the ones the guild sent over. Please, come in. The examination will be starting soon, and uhm… yes, you can stand at the back of the class. We have… let me see..." He went to his table and picked up a scroll of parchment. "Ah, yes. Five students. Five students for the journeyman test… and one retaker… hmm, alright. That should be all," he announced as he placed it back on the table.
Clapping his hands as he turned to them with an eager look, "Very well, please take your places. Things will begin very soon." Then, focussing on Artia, he then asked, "If you would please assist me in looking out for the students. Direct them in one by one, if you'd please."
"Yes, sir," agreed the wizard and went outside to wait. Soon, a student was sent in, a half-elf. The conjurer master then declared, "Very well! Let us begin the test."
AN: Hello, readers. Welcome to the next chapter. Right, the next two quests are short ones. One is playing escort to a noble with a throwaway name. then, we have an observation of a magical exam. Oh, yeah, and Botan got the owlbear head back. She is very, very proud of that achievement.
Thank you for reading and have a good day, dear readers.