Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the OC's I have created, all intellectual properties mentioned, belong to their respective IP holders.
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Plz don't sue me.
AN: Hey y'all! It's been a bit, sorry this chapter took so long to come out, I really have no excuse except for working on the announcements below and rewriting this a couple times to make sure it came out how I wanted it to. Now that this story has reached my goal of 50 followers and 50 favorites, I have my green light to not only continue making further chapters, instead of a rewrite, but also to announce that...
My new story "A Cleric's Chronicle of Remnant" has had its first two chapters published. I hope that those who have enjoyed this story will check it out.
Also, for some reason hates the words "pub" and "D&D", and automatically autocorrects them every time you save a document, to "Folk" and "D ". I'm trying to fix the errors this had caused, but it might take me a bit.
Gobert600: Hmm... James and Emira have very conflicting personalities. One of them slacks off, pranks, and holds little stock in education. While the other hates pranks, would do pretty much anything for interesting knowledge, and gets heavily engrossed in his work.
If that is not the set-up for a rom-com, then I don't know what is. However, I'm not really sure if I know how to write romance, and if I screw that up, it could train wreck the whole story. So I'll put it to a vote.
Von The Unstoppable: Ask and ye shall receive...
RWBY SHIPPING TRASH: I added a bit more 'Bang' to this chapter as well.
LinkiePie2214: Glad we agree on how fascinating of a concept the Gamer System is, and the possibilities it can unleash on different Fandoms.
Marshman101: Yeah, Lilith is one the best characters in my opinion. But as you said, he is far too young for her. That's of course ignoring the AroAce thing with her character.
TheWaterKid: Here you go mate. Also, Thanks for checking out my other story! I'm glad you liked it.
-Important- Those who believe that I should do a pairing for James in this story, leave a review of confirmation. If you think he shouldn't then you can leave a review of that as well. Currently the only viable girl on the table is Emira, but you can suggest others, if they appear.
Note (1): Not every girl suggested is guaranteed to make the list of possible options. Right now even while I'm not sure I will do a pairing, I'm pretty confident if there is one, that it will be with Emira. You may suggest one, but please don't be upset if I eliminate the option for various reasons.
Note (2): If there is an age gap greater than 2 years they are pretty much automatically denied.
And welcome, to this chapter (Jurassic Park music plays: Da Na na na na... Da Na na na na).
~The Owl House 8am~
"Hey Luz?" James called, as he laid upon the couch.
"Yeah?" She inquired from her spot in the other end of the couch, King sitting in her lap.
"Do you think the 'Phantom Jester' sounds like I'm trying to hard?" He inquired.
She looked up from her task of petting kings sleeping form, "What do you mean, you didn't pick the name?"
"Yeah, but I did do the pose." He motioned towards the poster that sat tacked on top of Eda's and next to Luz'. "Like, does it look overly edgy?"
She turned to the poster James was referring to. The image of him in his shadowy garb, leaning against the doorway was plastered across it.
"I mean, you look like a rogue, but you're not scowling. I guess your kinda like a superhero in appearance."
James felt his pride swell at her comment.
"But like, a really weak and not well known one." His heart sank as she continued.
"Like if someone took Hawkeye but took out all the coolness of him. Like all of it." She elaborated.
James felt his cheeks go red in indignation before he took a breather. "Is that so...?" He questioned with a dangerous smile.
Luz, who was having way to much fun messing with James, didn't notice the change and continued her description.
"Yeah, and I guess in a way you do look like your trying too hard."
James had silently shifted closer to Luz before launching his attack. "Bah!"
"Ahh!" Luz yelled as she jumped, throwing King off her lap.
Even in broad daylight, with the 'instigator' right in front of her, Luz was extremely easily frightened by jump-scares.
James laughed as he took off the jester mask he had equipped.
"Eghhh!" The voice of Bill Cypher whined, having been tossed into the floor when Luz jumped.
Yeah, James was never going to get used to hearing that voice around.
Luz, after picking herself off of the floor, turned to James. "Now you're asking for it" she said smirking.
"Oh I'm asking for it am I?" James inquired, smiling cockily at his sister.
"I seem to remember you starting this duel." He continued in a more theatrical tone.
Luz, noticing where he was going with his act, responded "Ah, but with your sudden query, you disturbed the rest thine's sleeping prince ("I'm a King!" King angrily interrupted)." She spoke dramatically, while holding the back of her hand to her forehead.
"Thine's sleeping prince is a fiend, but a fiend not by his own nature. You, dastardly Lady Macbeth, have flooded sin through his soul, you vile temptress."
"Thy calleth a face touched by the creator of the laws that govern our flawed world, a fiend?"
"Only a fiend would hide behind a mask of innocent virtue, like thy and thine's ally." James elaborated.
"And what justification holds the waters of your deduction, which leaps like a So ration symposium?"
"Would you two quit it! Its 7 in the morning and Hooty's sleepwalking kept me up all night." Eda spoke exasperatedly.
The two kids quickly ended their weird enactment of Shakespeare's "Macbeth".
"Fine. By the way, I need to borrow the portal." The artificer mentioned as he grabbed his wallet and phone.
He still had all of his regular cash in his wallet, as it seemed that the System wouldn't accept human currency for interchanging. He had discovered this when he tried to get more snails the other day for some shopping, by turning his cash into snails.
"What do you need from the Human Realm?" Eda asked as she began looking through her hair for the key.
James gave no response.
...
...
Eda rolled her eyes and sighed at James' antics. "What do you need from Midgard?" She reluctantly spoke, using the new name that James had coined for Earth.
James acknowledging her this time, responded "Just some general supplies, and certain things that I either can't get on the Boiling Isles or don't trust."
"Well, stay safe and don't do anything I would do." The witch instructed as she clicked the key and the portal unfolded.
"Aww, you do care." James joked.
"Oh hush and get out of my hair." Eda responded without any real anger.
As James went to walk to the portal, a sudden glow surrounded him, and he was launched through by Eda's spell.
James, picking himself up of the grass of the forest floor behind Luz' house, caught the key as Eda through it to him, and he quickly closed the portal.
"Well, I'm back." James announced to the empty forest as he stuffed both the key and door into his bag of holding.
~30 Minutes Later, at the Alderson Home~
James stared at the house, even with all of the lights off it still looked surprisingly lively. As though his family would be there when he walked through the doors.
"Come on James, deep breathes. You got over this once, another consciousness stuck in your head isn't gonna change that." James spoke as he worked up the courage to go inside.
Taking one last moment, he began walking up the brick path to the front door. His advance eventually led him to the twin red doors of the abode, and with a quick input of a code, into the house.
Marching up the stairs to his room, he quickly reviewed the items on his list in his head. 'My bed, PC, Back-up power box, mini-fig paints, and...'
However, James was distracted by the bookshelf at the top of the stairs.
...
He grabbed a thick tome and stuck it into his bag without a word.
...
He returned to the task at hand and collected the things he needed from his room. Soon, James was heading out into the backyard, and he noticed his dad's woodcarving tools.
"Well, I do need to carve my Palismans one day."
As James picked up the items he was prompted by his system.
Would you like to begin learning to use "Woodcarver's Tools"?
Y/N?
'Uhm, yeah?' James mentally answered.
Proficiency Training: Woodcarver's Tools
0/120 Hours of Practice
"Fuck that's gonna take a while." He idly commented.
Walking out the side door to the driveway he hopped into his mother's car and drove off.
~In the Car~
As James was driving around and getting the necessary supplies, he thought back to a task he had set a couple of days ago.
Getting a gun.
'How the Hell am I at supposed to get a gun at 16 year-old?' He thought.
...
...
"God I'm so fucking dumb."
'I'm an American.'
~"Greg's Guns" Gun Store~
"And you said this is for a school project?" The salesman clarified as he held up the M1 Garand that James was attempting to purchase.
"Yes, I'm doing a project on the American involvement in the Korean war." James reassured.
"Great! Always good to see kids knowing the history of proper firearms. By the way, would you like to purchase any ammunition with that? If you buy any rifle and 5 ten-round packs alongside it, we throw in a free Colt revolver." The dude with a moustache so great that it could make Sam Elliot jealous, spoke.
"That would be great! Actually, could I get about twelve full rounds for the Colt?" James inquired.
"No problem." The man confirmed.
~An Hour and a Half Later~
James drove back into the driveway after his shopping spree. He had gone to a couple of arts and crafts stores to get balsa wood to practice wood carving, a large leather bound empty book, and obscene amounts of note cards and other pieces of paper. Their uses to be revealed eventually.
'Hmm, since I'm going back to the Isles, I should probably leave the car in the garage.' He concluded.
Clicking the fob for the door, he slowly inched the car inside before pressing the fob again and closing it behind him.
James, getting out of the car, with all of his purchases safely stowed away in his bag of holding, dared to look at the other half of the garage.
It was empty.
Where the used to be a second car, was now only bare concrete. He knew where his father's car was, off in some dump. For it had been totaled during the crash, and even if it weren't, James couldn't bear the thought of looking at it again.
While he stared upon the bare concrete, the newly minted orphan could almost imagine the car still sitting there.
He could imagine opening the door and turning on the engine...
System Error!
Attempting to Decorrupt Background Data
~James' Mind~
D̴̘͍̯͕̣͉̟̦̯̝̞̹͌̒̈̀̂̈́̀̈́͐̚͝͝A̶̛͇͙̥̥̮͕̋̓͋Ȓ̶̛̹̇̈́̉͐̉̂̏̈́̚K̷̢̛̝̜̝̈́̈́͆̏͐̐̌̇̕̕͝
James opened the door and sat in the black sedan...
R̴̹̻̭̞̘̞̒͗͜A̶̤̙͙͔̹̫̮̭̼͌̏͗͐̔̿͘͝I̶͎̗̫̜̓̈́̉͌͋̈̀̄͌̈́̀̔̋̚N̵̛̘̣̹̙͍̐͌̈́
The rain struck against the hood of the car, leaving gentle reminders of their decent...
L̶̞̥̼̳͔͖̣̝̲̲̫̟̰̲͉̐͐̊͋͗̚I̶̙̝͛̃̾̋̽̏̽̈́̾͐G̦͉̒̓̄̒̊H̃ͅŢ̷̘̑͌̈̍͗
The headlights of the car ignited as the engine purred...
"NO!" James screamed.
System Error!
User Attempting to Override File Decorruption Process
"No, it didn't happen! I didn't!" Even in his mind, James voice was hoarse in his wails.
File Decorruption Overridden
~The Garage~
Background Partially Uncorrupted
New Tool Proficiency Gained: Vehicles (Land)
New Trait Gained: Thana-ERROR-ERROR
James found himself laying on his back upon the garage floor. He felt the back of his head throb from where he must have impacted.
Damage Taken: 1 Bludgeoning
"What in the Titan's name just happened!" James exclaimed groggily.
He began to try to think back to it however...
Attempting to Decorrup-"NO!" James stopped it before it did its thing again.
"Alright, new plan, let's ignore the weird and probably dangerous errors occurring in the artifact that seems to be bound to my soul." He instructed himself.
Walking inside, he checked his phone to see it was roughly 3pm, and he had been asleep for about four hours.
'Hmm, the show never specifically stated what time it was that they defeated Eda's owl form, but it looked to be around midnight.' He thought.
He knew he needed to leave that fight to Luz, in order for her to discover glyphs and grow as a person. Thankfully, he hadn't received any quest for him to jump in and help her, so he took the opportunity to run some errands in Midgard.
Being back in Midgard, James once more had cell service. With a few quick searches and a short debate about the risks of his next actions, James ordered something off of the web.
'Alright, I need to come back in...' He checked the delivery date. '...3 days.'
"Well, I got about 9 hours to kill, might as well start working on this." James spoke as he grabbed the golden chalice from his bag of holding and sat down at the couch.
Turning it over in his hands a few times, a message from his System appeared.
Magic Item Investigation Initiated
Arcana Check: 13 Rolled + 3 Int. Mod. + 2 Prof. Bonus = 18
Investigation Timer: 8 Hours - (18 x 5 Minutes) = 6.5 Hours
As the screen faded from his view, James noticed that there was now a small timer in the upper right corner of his vision slowly counting down. Curious, he set the goblet on the coffee table and tried walking away and watched as the timer paused itself. Moving back to the table and picking up the chalice, after turning it over in his hands a few times he saw the timer resume.
Once again trying something new, James sent a small spark of his magic into the cup. It glowed for a brief moment, before fading away again. Across his vision a new message flashed.
Experiment Complete: -30 Minutes
"It can't be that easy, can it?" James questioned to no one.
Pulsing magic through the grail again, James waited for the message.
Experiment Complete: [Repeated]
'Hmm, nope. Though, perhaps...'
James went through trying different experiments upon the item, but never attempting to drink from it.
He poured water into it, yet nothing seemed to occur. The same held true when he doused it in wine from the cupboard, milk, bleach, and even hydrochloric acid. Though he did make sure to clean it between the bleach and hydrochloric acid.
[Seriously, to those reading. DO NOT MIX HYDROCHOLIRC ACID WITH BLEACH! That will make chlorine gas, which can easily harm you, and in some cases prove fatal]
His experiments continued, and before he knew it.
Magic Item Investigation Completed
The Holy Grail (Does not require attunement):
The chalice of legend, upon which many tales of Christian mythos were founded and said to be a boon from the Creator. In actuality though, it is relic from the Savage ages that was brought temporarily, with the sword Excalibur, to the Human Realm by the Lady of the Lake. The Lady of the Lake otherwise known as Viviane Gale, who was one of the greatest Witches to ever walk the Boiling Isles, specialized in magical invention. She created the artifact in order to cure those who had been poisoned by long-term exposure to the noxious fumes of Titan's Blood. She hoped that by adding water into the chalice, that it would be turned into a cure for the ailments. However, in her efforts, she accidentally created what the Christians termed as 'Holy Water'. Viviane, after naming the new substance 'Anti Blood', used the artifact to cure her human friend Galahad.
Effects: Doubles damage of Holy Water produced within it and empowers the liquid to be able to cure "Ichor Affliction".
James' jaw hung open as silence permeated the room.
"Holy Shit." Once he was able to speak again, James' voice came out in a near whisper of awe.
'Ohhhh, I get it now. The lake was a wolf portal!' James concluded.
When he had originally grabbed the chalice, he had assumed it would be some cheap knockoff of the holy grail. Perhaps it would merely make a potion last a minute longer, or health potions heal one more point of damage. However, this, this was nowhere near what he had expected.
'Wait, how in the Hell did Eda get ahold of this?!' James questioned.
Quest Initiated: The Holy Trinity
Objective (A): Recover the Holy Grail [Completed]
Objective (B): Recover Excalibur [In Progress]
Objective (C): Recover the Arc of the Covenant [In Progress]
Objective (D): Recover all three artifacts
Reward (A): Trotting Talisman and 400Exp
Reward (B): ? and 400Exp
Reward (C): ? and 400Exp
Reward (D): ? and 1,200Exp
"I... I have no words..." James, was in fact at a loss for words at the moment.
Trotting Talisman Gained
400Exp Gained
Checking his level, James was excited to see he was about halfway there.
Level: [3] 1425/2,700Exp
His attention was brought away from his experience point gain however, when a small onyx black horse figurine appeared in his hand.
Trotting Talisman (Requires Attunement): A small talisman of a horse made for the elite soldiers of King [Redacted].
Effect: Once per long rest, the player may use a bonus action to 'activate' the talisman and summon a valiant warhorse to their aid.
"This kicks so much ass." James spoke excitedly.
Quickly running to his backyard, James raised his left hand that was holding the talisman in front of him, and gently squeezed. A small glow of light emitted from the gaps of his fingers, and he felt a pool of warmth grow in his hands. Soon, the glow expanded and formed motes of green light that coalesced a few feet in front of him. Finally, as the spectral figure of a horse was formed, with a great 'burst' the lights disappeared.
Standing in front of James was a 6"5' towering War horse, with a seemingly brand new saddle and bridle already attached. The horse's coat was caramel brown, and a combed black mane trailed upon its head. The horse trotted around a few paces, shaking its head a couple times as though to clear the cobwebs from it. It was an imposing figure and moved with powerful strides. After its brief wake-up walk, the stallion approached James.
'uhm, shit! what do I do?' James internally panicked.
Thinking quick, James slowly held out his hand in front of himself.
Animal Handling Check: 12 Rolled + 1 Wis. Mod. + 2 Prof. Bonus = 15
Success!
The horse continued its trot until it nuzzled up against James' awaiting hand. Taking the horse's actions as a signal to continue, James gently ran his hand across the horse's mane, and along the rest of its coat.
"Aww, you look all big and scary, but you're a big softy, aren't you?" James spoke in a baby voice to his new friend.
The horse gave out a snort, as if to say "Duh, isn't it obvious."
"Hmm, what to name you...? Oh, wait!" James quickly dug in his pocket and brought out his phone.
After a brief bit a searching the web, James put forth his findings. "I'm going to call you Hengroen (Pronounced "Hine-Grown"), after one of King Arthur's horses."
The newly minted Hengroen, merely gave a brief neigh and shake of his head, once again with human-like intelligence as if to say "Sure, whatever floats your boat."
"Okay, I'm going to get on now, is that alright?" James tentatively asked.
Hengroen merely butted into his side.
"...I'll take that as a yes."
Being as careful as possible, James slowly pulled himself up onto the saddle and placed his feat in the stirrups.
"Alright, Well, I read the Ranger's Apprentice series, and I have land vehicle proficiency, so I'm practically an expert on horses... Hopefully. Okay, from what I remember, I need to hold on tightly to the reins, and then gently squeeze my legs into the horse's sides." James thought out loud.
"Here goes nothin'." James spoke as he gently urged on his horse.
Surprising James, Hengroen actually began to slowly trot around the area of the backyard. Emboldened by his efforts, James squeezed his legs again, and felt his stead increase in pace. Taking some time to get used to things, James began running Hengroen in laps around the backyard.
"Fuck it! We got this right Hengroen? Full speed ahead!" James cockily sped his horse into action and began riding him through the forest.
As Hengroen reached a full gallop, James listened and watched as the trees blurred by. He felt every heave of Hengroen's chest, and stamp of his hooves upon the ground. it was an experience nearly as magical as the Boiling Isles.
Wisdom Saving Throw: 1 Rolled + 1 Wis. Mod + 2 Prof. Bonus = 4
Failed
"I can't wait to show Luz thi-THWACK! Snap!
James, preoccupied thinking about Luz, forgot to guide Hengroen away from a set of low tree branches, and was struck across the chest by one. He felt Hengroen move forward beneath him as all the air was forced from his chest with a great FWOOMPH.
Finally, with an all mighty Thud, James landed on his back upon the ground.
Damage Taken: 13 Bludgeoning
Health: 2/17
James groaned as he laid upon the ground, short breathes struggled to leave his lips as he tried to reintroduce oxygen to his body.
'Fuck! That was stupid, everything hurts.' He thought since he couldn't find the air to speak, nor breathe.
After a few tense seconds, he felt his lungs finally fill again, and he hacked out a cough as he once more was breathing.
Yet, as he coughed, pain lanced through his rib cage and up his spine. "AHhHhH!" He screamed out in pain
Damage Taken: 1 Piercing
'Piercing?' He questioned, before looking down at his impacted chest. 'Oh, Fuck!' He thought terrified.
His chest was a bit more flat than usual, and as he attempted to breathe in another breathe, he felt a series of sharp jabs coming from it.
'Fucking fantastic, I broke my ribs, and I think I have internal bleeding!'
Due to the summoned mount exceeding 200ft form it's summoner-"Fuck off! Ow!" James yelled at his system.
'Alright James, stay calm, you can get through this. Step one is to call 911.' He instructed himself.
He looked for his phone... It was in his breast pocket, or rather, what was left of his phone was. The rest was probably shoved into his ribs.
'Shit! Okay, new plan... Ummm, Portal! I can get Eda to help me. Fuck, but it is still light out, Luz won't have discovered glyphs yet.'
...
Damage Taken: 1 Piercing
'Jesus H Christ! What the fuck am I thinking? Never Fuckin' mind that, I'm going to die!' He concluded.
Being as gentle as possible, but still with speed, he removed the portal and portal key from his bag of holding and clicked the button. Soon, it sprang out in front of him, and with great diligence and pain wracking his body, James crawled upon his back through the door.
~The Boiling Isles~
Shutting the door and stuffing it in his bag of holding as he made it through, James called out "Luz, help! Please!" His voice was incredibly weak by this point.
However, it was in vain, as his eyes gazed upon his new landscape, he realized that he did not return to the Owl House but was instead in the middle of a random forest.
James felt tears began to prickle into the corners of his eyes. Both from pain, and the realization that he was going to die. The world around him was blurry from tears and his glasses that had fallen of his face while he crawled.
"Please." He begged softly, "Please, if there is anyone out there, please come help me."
His whole body began to feel cold, and the corners of his vision began to darken.
"No... Not like this... I'm not ready." He whispered desperately.
"if only someone could hear me?" He asked rhetorically.
Damage Taken: 1 Piercing
A small glimmer of hope appeared in his mind, and with his fading consciousness, he cast a spell.
"Tonitruum Fluctus! (Thunder Wave)."
~Nearby~
When they had been ordered to journey to Pinky Port (The port on the pinky toe of the left foot of the Titan), they weren't expecting it to be this boring.
Flying above the trees of the Hemlock Hip forest, they questioned why they couldn't make their Palisman go any faster before-BOOM!
The loud crack of thunder broke through the sound of the wind rushing by. Soon after came a shockwave that rattled their hair, across their face. Looking in the direction of the origin of the event, they sped off in hopes of something interesting to liven their day.
~James' Mind~
James found himself sitting in a cold stone chair, with ever shifting mist surrounding him. Reaching down, he noticed that his chest was no longer caved in, and that he could breathe normally.
Soon the mist began to part in front of him, and he found himself seated before a large stone table. Across from him, sat another occupant at the table, wearing a deep black hooded cloak that obscured them entirely. Yet, they soon reached forward, and held out their hand palm upward, showcasing a single D20.
...
And that they were entirely bone.
Looking back up at the person across from him, James now noticed an old weathered scythe leaning against the back of their chair. Glancing down again at the die, James saw that while most of the icosahedron looked per usual. Albeit, made of a suspiciously bone-like substance, and colored in what he swore was blood. No, the different part was the picture of a cross where the twenty should be, and a skull for the one.
"Death Saves." He realized terrified.
Death nodded and gestured for him to take the die.
While every part of him was screaming not to grab it, he felt his body act against his will, and he soon held his fate in his hands.
He quite literally held a death grip upon the die, to the point that he saw blood begin to drip between his knuckles, and onto the stone of the table. His body continued to act against him and eventually the die fell from his hands and clattered upon the table, spilling droplets of red bile that soon were absorbed into the stonework.
The die rolled upon the table with piecing clicks and clacks, which echoed across the empty space.
...
13
James chocked out a sob of relief upon seeing the number, however his hand began to reach and pick it up again.
"No! Please! Don't make me!" James begged the being in front of him, anger leaching into his voice.
Death said nothing.
Before James knew it, the die had hit the table once more.
...
9
"FUCK!" He swore, and yet his hand reached for the die again.
"Your Death, right? You make deals all the time, right? I'll make a deal with you!" He suggested.
Death shook its head, and James' hand dropped the die again.
...
19
He couldn't help it, he began to laugh. He was so close to being saved, and yet it rolled away from the twenty. "Hahaha! Ha-ha... Ha!" His laughter soon turned into violent sobs. The tears of which also fell upon the table, pooling and swirling with his essence of life, further staining the cold stone table.
The die smacked down into the growing pool of bodily fluid, sending ripples across its surface.
...
3
"Luz, I doubt you can hear me right now, but I want you to know how much I love you. You're the best sister and friend a person could ever ask for, and I'm sorry I'm abandoning you so soon." He apologized into the darkness.
Death inclined it's head, it would never understand the odd emotions of the mortals that it took. It often considered what aspects of "living" it missed out upon due to its immortality.
As the die began to leave James' hand, no matter the outcome, for the final time. He sent a small prayer to his family. "Don't worry, I'll be there soon."
Stabilizing...
"Wait! What?" James asked shocked.
~Hemlock Hip Forest~
James let out a hacking cough as he returned to consciousness.
"Hey, easy, stay lying down, your still injured. I'm honestly surprised you were still alive by the time I got here, you were in quite the rough shape." An annoying voice commented.
"Wha-?" James slowly turned his head to the side and saw a figure sitting by an improvised campfire. The flames flickering and every so often illuminating his features.
"It's probably the Titan's blessing that had me learning some new healing spells the other day, you would have been a goner without them." The individual, who James now identified as Hunter, idly commented.
Looking once more upon his chest, James saw it covered in bloody bandages. His torn up shirt was discarded to the side, and his glasses sat atop them.
"Here, drink. You lost a lot of fluids." He handed James a red potion, followed by a canteen of water to wash down the taste.
Health Gained: 5 Rolled + 2 = 7
Health: 8/17
Hunter gave a dry chuckle as James sputtered at the horrible taste of the potion.
Finally fully finding his voice, James spoke. "Thank you, I was pretty sure I was a goner there for a bit."
"It's fine, though I am curious as to what caused this in the first place." The magic-less Witch spoke.
James took better notice of Hunter's attire, specifically being that he was out of uniform.
Thinking quickly, James gave his best lie. "I was journeying out to BonesBorough when a griffin grabbed me and flew off. I don't know how far it took me, but it soon let go over this forest. I fell and my chest struck on one of the tree branches before hit I the ground. In my fading consciousness, I had cast a spell hoping someone would hear it. It appears as though you did."
Deception Check: 15 Rolled - 1 Chr. Mod. = 14
Success
"Hmm, I have heard the griffin population near the Hemlock Hip forest has been more active recently. I'll have to repor-I mean... I'll let my boss know for future assignments." Hunter spoke.
'What the shit was that? He's out of uniform and pretending to be a civilian.' James mentally questioned.
"Uh yeah, they are getting pretty bad. I'm James by the way. James Alderson. Thank you once again. For your help." James said sincerely as he sat up enough to reach out his hand.
Hunter looked conflicted for a moment, before reaching out and shaking James' hand. "I'm... I'm Hunter. Hunter..." He looked around searchingly for a moment, before settling his eyes in the nearby trees. "Hemlock. Yes, I'm Hunter Hemlock."
James internally laughed at Hunter's odd attempt to hide his identity.
"Truly, what a coincidence to meet you in a forest of Hemlock trees, hmm?" James mentioned as sincerely as possible.
"Yes, well... uh, you see my family has lived in this forest for generations. We often work with the bark of the trees for our potion making and we eventually adopted the surname in correspondence." Hunter confirmed.
"Fascinating, you must tell me more about it. Of course, as much as your willing. I understand there may be family secrets you need to keep of course." James said.
"I-um-I will, of course, but your still injured and need to rest for now." Hunter said, dodging the line of questioning for now.
Hunter, realizing he was on the back-foot, asked another question. "So, what is a human doing in BonesBorough in the first place?" He inquired.
It was at this moment that James realized his beanie was no longer on his head. The cold night wind brushed against his exposed ears.
'Why must this day suck so much?' James rhetorically asked the heavens above.
"Honestly, I'm not a hundred per cent sure on how I ended up here. I remember a swirling pool of light, and then I was here." He said, not technically a lie, but not the full truth.
Deception Check: 12 Rolled - 1 Chr. Mod. = 11
Partial Success
'Oh thank Titan.' James thought.
"Hmm, a wild portal. Those are becoming increasingly rare upon the Isles. Do you remember where it was?" Hunter inquired.
"Well, there's a pool of water in a cave system. There is lots of old mining equipment left about." James lies again.
A muttered "Eclipse Lake." left Hunter's breath.
"Wait, spell, how did you cast a spell? Humans have no bile sacs." Hunter looked very suspicious of James now.
"A scroll." James answered "I bought it off a traveler at Grimm Grub's the other day."
Deception Check: 19 Rolled - 1 Chr. Mod. = 18
Success
'Yes! I am on a roll today.' James cheered internally.
"You did? What did this Witch look like?" Hunter pressed.
This one he didn't have to lie for. "He had a black cloak and was wearing a purple and green jester's mask. Beyond that I didn't see much."
Once more Hunter whispered under his breath.
Perception Check: 5 Rolled + 1 Wis. Mod + 2 Prof. Bonus = 8
Partial Failure
James heard the word "Phantom" followed by incomprehensible mumblings. Yet it didn't take a genius for James to realize that Hunter knew he was talking about the Phantom Jester.
James wondered if he had been given a report of the occurrence in the pub, and if he recognized the Thunder Wave spell, he had used there and now.
"Well, I'd be careful around any other witches you see like them. Your new here, but those are dangerous individuals known as Wild Witches. They are savages and won't hesitate to use others for their dangerous Wild Magic." Hunter advised.
"I see... Thank you for the advice. I'll be sure to be careful and on the lookout in the future." James responded.
~With Hunter~
'What am I doing?! This can't be what Lilith was telling me to do when she said to "make allies and build connections", right? Or is it? Why is this so complicated?' Hunter mentally ranted.
"You okay dude? You've been silent for a bit." James called over.
"Ye-yes, I um. Are you a- I mean, Ughhh?" Hunter ground out a sigh. "Are we allies...?" Hunter hesitatingly asked.
"What?" James asked, looking at him perplexed before a look of realization crossed his face. "Wait, do you mean friends? Is that what you're asking?"
"Yes, as I have saved your life, we're friends now... right?" While he had started out confident, Hunter's words ended in a whisper.
James gave out a short good-hearted chuckle before holding out his fist to Hunter. "Sure Hunter, sounds good to me."
Hunter now looked on to his new friend confused. 'Why is he pointing his fist at me? Is he attacking me? Do friends attack each other?'
James, realizing Hunters plight, helped him out. "It's a human thing, friends gently tap their fists together as both a form of greeting and congratulations. It's called a fist bump."
"Oh, okay." Hunter squeezed his fist and slowly tapped it against James' awaiting one.
...
...
'That was fun...' Hunter thought.
...
"Are there other greetings that human friends do?" Hunter asked.
...
And so on went the rest of the night, with James and Hunter bonding over weird human traditions.
~A Few Hours Later~
Short Rest Completed: Would you like to roll hit dice?
No/1d8/2d8?
'One' James mentally commanded.
Rolling Hit Dice: 4 Rolled 2 + Con. Mod. = 6 Health Restored
Health: 14/17
James felt his chest rapidly heal, it was a little freaky at first, but he was more focused on the lessening pain than anything else.
Looking over, James saw Hunter asleep resting against a boulder. He was glad that his friend hadn't seen his rapid regeneration, as he doubted, he could just say that "humans recover quick."
Taking great care, James slowly pulled himself to his feet. While his chest still ached a little, and there was an angry bruise across it, it was a far cry from the injury he had earlier.
Shuffling in his bag for a moment, James pulled out the only hoodie he owned. While the words were faded, he could still recognize it as the one he bought for a Dropkick Murphy's concert years ago.
He heard a groan and looked over to see Hunter waking up. Checking his phone, James saw that it was 6am.
"What's that?" Hunter inquired, peering at the device in James' hand.
Holding it up to Hunter, James spoke. "This is a phone. It's pretty much the human equivalent of a scroll, except it runs on electricity instead of magic."
"Electricity?" Hunter further pursued.
"Think lightening, but wayyyyy~ less powerful." James explained.
"Humans harnessed lightening?" Hunter was astonished.
James shook his hand in a 'so-so' gesture. "Kind-of, but we can't exactly shoot lightening bolts at people... Actually, wait, we can, they're called Tesla Coils, and they shoot out small lightening bolts."
Hunter looked both amazed and frightened. "The Human realm sounds so... different."
James laughed. "How do you think I feel in this place? We don't even have griffins back home."
Hunter chuckled with him, before broaching a new subject. "Will you be able to get home...? Or uh, do you even have a place to stay here?"
James nodded. "Yeah, it's only a few miles out of BonesBorough so it won't take long on foot."
James walked up to his friend and clapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks again Hunter. I'll see you around alright?" James spoke.
Hunter grinned, his fangs showing. "Sure."
Hunter held out his fist to James.
...And James bumped back.
~The Owl House~
James walked up to Hooty at the door.
"OH! JAMES! Your back! You missed so much! I missed you so much! I can't wait to tell you about it!" Hooty exclaimed.
James chuckled at Hooty's behavior. "Sure Hooty, but I got to sleep for a bit, so tell me later."
"OKAY! I'll wait till you have finished sleeping! HOOT! HOOT!" Hooty complied, before swinging the door open.
James entered the house, seeing various claw marks dotting the walls and furniture. As he began walking to the basement, he heard Luz come down the stairs behind him.
"James! Where have you been? I have so much to tell you, I learned Magic!" Luz told him excitedly.
James grabbed his backpack out of the corner in the basement he left it in. Rummaging around in it for a bit, he pulled out a shirt to change into.
"That's great Luz! I've been doing a few things in Midgard." James responded as he began switching his shirt.
"What things-Oh my gosh! You're hurt! What happened?" Luz tone switched the moment she caught sight of James' bandaged chest. The bandages were stained red from his blood, so she was frantic in her inquiry.
James, finishing putting his shirt on responded. "Well, in order: I bought a gun, found the Holy Grail, rode a horse, died for a bit, and made a new friend." He said. His tone suggesting that what happened was normal.
His attempt at humor was not appreciated.
"James Alderson Noceda! Sit down and tell me what happened!" Luz ordered, her eyes showed great distress and worry.
It was times like these where James wondered who truly was the older sibling.
And he was all the more grateful to her for it.
AN: Once more, I know this chapter took a long while to come out, but I really wanted to make it perfect. I rewrote the scene with Hunter several times over since it didn't feel right the first few times.
Once more I'd like to remind y'all to vote in the reviews if you would or wouldn't like a pairing, and if it should be Emira.
Even if you don't care about the pairing, please leave a review as it inspires me to continue writing.
I can't confirm how the schedule is going to look for now on since I also have my other fic going, but I'm going to try my best to keep updating these at a reasonable pace. I understand that, that may not be what you wanted to hear, but it is sadly the truth. I am also getting closer to exams, which means my schedule is going to get very crowded soon.
I hope you all are doing well! Take care!