By the next two days Sonya had been getting the hang of this reading thing. She still wasn't allowed to cook. Or do anything more than help identify plants with Siorradh when it came to apothecary work.
Or any stonework.
Or wood work.
Or Fletching.
Maybe some Leatherwork.

She was not allowed. Otherwise, she was a weaver. But now, since she was closer to being fully healed other than some scars she was helping with killing things. Her magic, so far seemed to be heavily supportive or healing. But she seemed to have a third category. She was able to cause damage to other things that attacked her and her companions. A 'retribution' class of spells. Perhaps a subclass of her support magic. She seemed to have a lot available to her. The magic book had basic spells, but only magic she had an affinity for was actually legible once she was able to learn the language.

Quick heal was the only healing spell she had so far. Of her supportive spells she had several temporary stat boosting spells that were all 'Faust' level or the weakest level of magic. One for speed, one for defense, one for attack, one for stamina, a few for raising different resistances.

Her largest affinity seemed to be retribution magic. The first was poisoning enemies that attacked her or allies she cast the spell on. Another hampered the speed of the enemy including their attack speed. Then there was one that caused burns, which she loved because it caused more damage over time then the poison did. Another was similar to her thorn aura but it only worked for allies excluding herself. These were also 'Faust' level.

Sioc and Siorradh seemed to both have an affinity for ice magic. This seemed unsurprising. But Sioc also had an affinity for water magic while Siorradh had an affinity for wind magic. Being able to use magic was going to make quests even easier. But the amount of quests involving trolls and mercenary bands were becoming alarming. It seemed like the country was being invaded by different kinds of trolls. Some were forest trolls and others were mountain trolls. Either were big, mean, and not keen on the idea of being taken down very easily.

As of right now Sonya was being wailed on by a large mountain troll who ignored the fact that each time he (assuming this because it wore a loincloth and was bare chest) attacked it took various damage and status effects. The creature was practically on fire from her Faust Will-o-wisp spell. And her Thorn Aura was causing small slices and bleeding. But it wasn't enough. Siorradh attacked from a tree using wind magic to propel ice shards at the creatures face and neck while Sioc used water and ice magic to create and throw ice javelins. The creature was not going down willingly.

Sonya grunted when the creature ripped a tree from the ground and hit her with it. She withstood it but it hurt. Like Hell. She was taking damage despite her poise and shield stability.

"Shield Rush!" Sonya yelled aiming for one of its legs that she ran into and knocked the creature down. Sioc took this opportunity to use his spear to stab it in the back of its neck.

"Siorradh, Sioc! Use your magic together to open a larger wound!" Sonya yelled. Sioc looked at her confused until Siorradh started to use a combination of wind and ice magic to continuously blow an icy breeze towards the tip of Sioc's spear once she got on to the mountain troll's back.. Sioc caught on and used his water and ice magic to force water into the opening he created. The creature started to shriek and try to buck them but Sonya made sure it didn't get back up on it's feet by holding it down.

They ended up beheading the the monster that way. Sonya sighed. They were all exhausted. The trolls that were invading were getting harder to repel. And they were now having difficulty with just repelling one. Sonya wasn't happy with the situation. They needed a larger party to do more damage per second. Sonya looked at her log book. The quest they were on was to defend the village in the mountains of Melromark. It wasn't an easy task. Especially because the village had little to no defenses. Things were not looking pretty.

"Guys, we are going to need help... And we are probably going to need some way to fortify this village some." Sonya said. They had encountered the mountain troll on a scouting routine and decided to neutralize it before it caused any damage. Fighting trolls was not fun.

Sioc frowned and 'hmphed.' Siorradh simply sighed. "I understand. I guess we need to tell the villagers?" The feline asked. Sonya simply nodded. It was straight to the village leader. An old stubborn man who wasn't very reasonable. This would be a headache.

The head of the village was an older man who was not afraid of speaking his mind. Nor saying things that would offend others. Such was the case currently as Sonya knocked on the door of a cabin and an the village chief answered the door. "Oh, it's you. What do you want?" The man asked looking at her with distaste. The next hour was spent with Sonya trying to convince the old man that they needed to hire more help. He refused, saying he was not going to spend any more of his money until the job was done. Sonya sat at a chair at his table and made the suggestion to take it out of their pay then. The village's safety was more important than their pay.

The old man eyed her for a moment before laughing at her and and not so politely calling her a few choice words before continuing to laugh at her for wanting to work dirt cheap. He accepted her request and Sonya bid him farewell. Sonya had made Sioc and Siorradh wait outside. They were both very angry but fell right behind her. Sioc was growling. " Why do you put up with that bastard?" He asked once they got to their INN room. "Are you really going to just let it go?"

Sonya simply sat on her bed and smiled. " Oh my dear. I'm sorry if you have feelings for him. But I have every intention of beating him within an inch of his life." She said rather happily. " I love you both dearly, and I don't mind being mistaken as a mother to you both. But I do not enjoy the way he insinuates it every time I am within earshot of him."

The fact that Sonya was still smiling pleasantly when she said all this made both the demi-humans very uncomfortable. She seemed to already have made up her find what she was going to do with him. " So don't worry. After I'm done he won't be able to have any more children even if he wasn't too old to." She said calmly. The man was nearly twice her age but she was sure kicking him in the crouch would hurt like hell. But she didn't plan on simply ending there. The menacing smile widened as she thought about the man's agony waiting for him.

Sioc looked at Sonya as if he made up his mind about something. " Sonya, I don't want you to be a mom to me." Sioc said looking at her taking her armor off. Sonya didn't respond. "I want to you to know I-" Sioc tried to finish but Sonya cut him off.

" Sioc, I'm not going to replace you mother. Or any family. I want you to know I care about you and I will do my best to look out for you and Siorradh. I will do my best to protect the both of you as you have me. So don't worry." Sonya said, cutting the wolf man off. Sioc looked at her for a moment then sighed.

" Okay. For now I need to get some fresh air. I'll be back." He said calmly and left.

Siorradh threw a pillow at Sonya after Sioc left. " Why wouldn't you let him confess to you?" Siorradh asked. Sonya started to get changed out of her under armor and into her usual gray dress.

" Because now isn't the time to really pursue romance. Now is a time we need to be fighting to survive. Even in the calm before the storm we are still struggling. I don't want the complications of a relationship right now. That goes for the both of you. Hold off until after we stop this calamity. Then we can be free to live our lives." Sonya said bluntly.

Siorradh sighed and threw her arms giving up. " Fine. But don't you love him?" The feline asked as she plopped down on the bed her and Sonya were sharing. Sonya simply smiled.

"I love you both." She said simply. Siorradh looked at Sonya cautiously. " That's not what I meant... Unless... You are 'that way.'" Siorradh said. "And i-if you are, I like you, but not in that way!"

Sonya looked at Siorradh confused for a moment the gently kicked the feline out of the bed once it clicked what she meant. " No! No I am not 'that way'" Sonya said.

Siorradh sighed in relief and started to laugh. " Good. So, you really don't have any feelings for Sioc?" Siorradh asked.

Sonya smiled at the cat deviously. " I think how he wags his tail when I praise him for doing a good job is rather cute." Sonya said simply.

Siorradh looked at her for a moment as if not seeing why that had anything to do with what they were talking about. Siorradh started to turn red.

Sonya smiled. "He also-" Sonya began but Siorradh waved her arms begging her to stop.
"No more, no more! I don't want to hear it!" Siorradh wined. Sonya simply smiled deviously. " I see." She said and started to wash her face and hands before pulling a toothbrush from her back.

"Please don't say stuff like that. He's an idiot but that idiot has really become like a brother to me. A really dumb brother..." Siorradh said. She watched Sonya who was using a mirror that was in their room. "I mean, he believed me when I told him that there are rocks out there that could be eaten as candy."

" And that is why you are trying to help him even if he is your rival?" Sonya said simply. Siorradh nodded. "Well... We are rivals... But not in that way... I mean. I don't think of anyone in that way right now... So it wouldn't hurt if I helped him." Siorradh said.

Sonya looked back at the cat annoyed. " I'd rather you two go back to acting your age. I get that you both are adults as demi-humans but that doesn't mean you can't get away with not acting like it. Am I wrong?" Sonya asked after she finished brushing.

Siorradh looked at the other woman annoyed. " I don't want to act like a silly little brat." She said very firmly.

Sonya simply giggled. " Then act like a silly young woman. I'm not going to stop you. But if Sioc tries to make any advances you know I'm going to shoot them down... So... Won't you keep him busy?" Sonya asked as she sat on her bed. " The both of you are very competitive. So, until we finally have peace... Can you... I'm sorry I have to ask this of you. I just don't want either of you hurt."

The feline looked at Sonya and put a hand on her Vambrace Shield. "You really do fit well as a shield hero." Siorradh said and left the room to go find Sioc. And probably pounce on him just to mess with him. He hated that.

It was two more days before reinforcements arrived. Sonya and her group were run ragged. The trolls were starting to invade with more force each day and before back up arrived the village had been forced to take refuge in the stockade they had managed to construct. Sonya sighed. Video Game logic made it so anyone using a ranged weapon. It wasn't effective unless they were a high enough level.

Uta-san arrived. Sioc stood on the wall with a ice javelin in hand. " Thank goodness. Do you have any idea how glad we are to see you?" Sioc called out. They opened the gates.

" Sioc, we need you at the east side! They are coming at the shepherd's gate!" Siorradh called out.
Uta-San followed close behind the volki as he ran across the village and up the steps to stand on the platform so he could look above the palisade.

"Raah! These things don't stop coming!" He yelled and started throwing the javelins. Uta-san looked around her carefully. "Where is Birinte-San?" Uta-san asked. Sioc sighed and ducked behind the wall when a rock was chucked at his head. "She's with the wood cutters acting as an escort and decoy." Sioc said calmly.

Uta-san looked at Sioc as if he was out of his mind. " She's fighting them by herself?" Uta-San asked. Sioc popped up to throw a javelin at a forest troll's eyes. " She's gotten to where she can handle herself long enough to pull it off. Have faith in her. I do." Sioc said and watched as Uta-san dropped one of the trolls with a shot to the heart. "But she can't hurt them. She's a shield wielder!" Uta-san protested.

Sioc laughed. " She can kill things by herself. It takes a bit longer than it would you or me, but don't tell me she can't hurt them. The more they attack her the more of a hurting she puts on them." Sioc said.

With reinforcements, they were able to repel another wave. It was hours before Sonya returned. Her band had wooden planked shield on their backs and guiding horses, oxes, and philorial who were carrying wagons of logs and saplings.

"Okay ladies and gentlemen! We need those stakes made to fill the new ditches. Gordo, how are the embankments coming along?" Sonya said as she went about getting status reports from different people. Men, women, elf, or dwarf. Some were even demi-humans. Uta-san looked at Sonya as she really took charge with constructing the fortifications. A man who was in the Stocks yelled at her. People ignored him. He was the old head of the village. It was the next day after she had made her request that she discovered that he was abandoning them all. After that she took over.

Uta-San looked at the village. They had replaced the village buildings with thicker cabin walls and roofs to act as shelter. They were then covered in stucco to add fire resistance in case the trolls tried to burn them down. Sonya was starting to turn the village into a small fort and it seemed like she was planning on allowing for expansion once they started receiving a steady supply of stone.

Uta-San was impressed. "Birinte-San!" Uta-San called out and waved. Sonya finished speaking with a group of dwarven engineers before walking over to Uta-San. Sonya looked very worn. Her armor was damaged to the point that she was only wearing her chest and leg armor of her Chimera armor with her under armor. The rest was regular cow hide. It seemed like everyone had been suffering through various sieges. But Sonya kept everyone productive.

"Glad to see you here Uta-San. We really have been needing help. The troll army has been attacking us relentlessly from the north and we are trying to hold things down until the King can mobilize his army." Sonya said and pulled out a book. " Here... Oh... Um. Can you read the local language?"

Uta-San looked at the woman standing before her impressed. Uta-San had felt like she had gained confidence since the last invasion but Sonya had learned how to become literate and learned a variety of Tzuvait level magic. Her small group had become specialized in apothecary, leather work, cooking, fletching, and flint knapping. Sonya herself was very good at weaving.

Uta-San shook her head. Sonya sighed. " Alright then. Let me explain." She said and showed the archer a detailed map of their surrounding area. " About five miles from here to the north there is a troll encampment. We have been trying to do some damage at night with small strike teams but we just don't have enough people. We probably still won't do more then put a dent into their forces but maybe it will be enough to force them to have to gather and resupply. We are most often attacked from the direct north but they have gotten wise and started to attack from the west and east. We are trying to expand out but..." Sonya climbed and pointed out several outposts that had been demolished.

"We have held out so far. We are hoping to gain ground now if possible but the trolls are getting close to level 40s now. Things aren't easy." Sonya concluded. Uta-San surveyed their surroundings. " How much food do we have?" The Bow Hero asked.

Sonya smiled wryly. " Well, we have been able to get by but without constant foraging we are going to end up eating the livestock. About five days worth without resupply before we just have livestock and maybe a months worth of livestock and grain that the villagers aren't keen on chewing through..." Sonya answered earnestly. "I am hoping we can end this in a few days. The Siltvelt Wave is almost here and I'm not sure we are going to make it."

Uta-San frowned. They were not in the best situation but they could last. Sonya was obviously trying to save the village from falling into a difficult financial situation. The aftermath mattered too. Even if they survived the invasion, they still needed something to live off of after wards.

Uta-San gunner came in to report that the village was secure. Sonya seemed amused. She ordered a couple elves to ready for recon missions along the hills and asked for Uta-San if she could have some of her party prepare for a strike force. Uta-San blinked. " You really think they are in the valley?" The archer asked. Sonya nodded.

"I know they are. It is just a matter of finding them. The scouts will flash a blue stone if they aren't and a red stone if an enemy is spotted, then green if the area is safe for a team to go out." Sonya said. Siorradh looked at her comrade. "You need to get some rest Sonya-San. Me and Sioc can take over for a while." She said. Sonya sighed and shook her head. " Have Sioc taken off duty too then. Once the afternoon shift starts you too." Sonya said then turned to the Bow Hero. "Uta-San, if you would please? We will be needing wall guards to watch for any raiders"

Uta-San nodded and with that a mole beastman took charge and tried to negotiate shifts with Uta-san and her party.

Things were looking brighter. But they didn't know just how bad their situation would turn out without reinforcements.