Greenwood's Academy, Year 1.
Outdoor survival
"Hello. I am Rincewind and I am your teacher in surviving outdoors. Do as I do and say, and none of you will die."
What?
That was the brief introduction their… colorful instructor had given them before taking their class out for an excursion into the woods outside the academy. He was cheerful and friendly, but he was serious when it came to surviving out in the wilds. Maybe that was why he was a tenured instructor at the academy; to provide aspiring wizards not just the means to wield magic but to last longer than a week out in the field.
"We'll be going out once a season. To get in the sense of what you need for the time of the year. We'll be in the mountains, the forests, the swamps, and the river deltas. Where we are and when that is my decision and the headmaster. You will use as little magic as possible, but you will bring your spellbooks so that you learn how to care for them. They might be made of vellum, but even high-quality animal skin will decay and break under stress."
Their first outing that Nodoka experienced was in the fall. The golden leaves and the bright colors of autumn were in full swing as the winds blew. But they had merely brief moments of admiring the beauty. Rincewind was on them from the start.
First, they had to find a decent campsite for the night. The landscape was a dense forest full of hardwood trees and no grass. Little animals, like squirrels and hares, were running about. They had to scout for a decent site that would serve them for the night. And no, Rincewind wouldn't allow them to cast any spells or cantrips. They were on their own wits.
Fortunately for them, Nodoka did have experience traveling and scouting. She didn't like to lie, but she simply said her father would take her camping once in a while when she was a child. Better to swallow than her being a combat veteran on some faraway world.
The clearing was next to a brook, so they had a water source. They had trees with low-hanging branches, dead trees lying on the ground, flat stones, and enough open space to pitch tents up for everyone if there were four people per tent.
Something told Nodoka that Rincewind had been here before with a former class. And he wasn't done with them, yet. Now they had to put the tents up, get a fire started, fetch water and in the process of all this, Nodoka's robes got torn while getting the firewood ready, meaning she had to do one-on-one sewing with Rincewind. And permission to use magic to fix it was denied. Amati sure got a laugh out of that before the master smacked him upside the head and sent him off to collect something she didn't know about.
"It's getting cold, so make sure your robe is intact and whole so it'll cover you," Rincewind told her after having shown her how to thread the needle. "The robe is wool so you need not worry about insulation, but you have to have a needle and thread to ensure you can mend them."
"Isn't the needle and thread needed for mending all clothes, Master?" She asked.
"Yes. So make sure you have it on you at all times. Now all of you, while Miyazaki mends her robes, let's move on to starting a fire with what wood she managed to collect…"
Present-day, day 1
To the far northeast, beyond the Dalelands and Cormanthor, thousands of miles from the Sword Coast, and between the High Ice and the wasteland known as the Tortured Lands, north of the Moonsea North, you will find a cold grass steppe with rolling hills and flanked by mountains. Unexplored by any of the civilized races, unclaimed by any adventurer seeking to carve a kingdom for himself, untouched by any of the monstrous races, it is both desolate, yet teeming with life. The cold winds bite you as they blow past, there are no man-made landmarks to help you navigate, and most worrisome, there are no cities or shelters to huddle in when the winter blizzards come.
The land itself has no official name. Many races have a name for this wasteland, but no one can agree on which is proper. Everyone just knows it is a cold steppe, inhabited by wildlife and monsters and little else. Rothé (1) and reindeer roamed the land, along with wild mountain sheep and goats, the odd family of boars coming through. Predators thrive in this land, no hunters around to take them down and few species that could take them on. It is a dangerous, shivering, yet peaceful land, simply on the grounds that there is no organized warfare here.
And in this land that is untouched by civilization, is where the legend of Madivh Samasal began. Back then, hers was not a name everyone knew. But it began with a deed no one thought imaginable. But that is a long way from now.
The young wizard had been through survival training in Greenwood's Academy, under the tutelage of Master Rincewind. He had covered mountains, forests, river deltas, and swamps. The students had gone hunting, fought off wildlife and the odd troll, and shared campfires with adventurers who were out and about in the world, collecting bounties and exploring ruins.
But this was not covered by the schooling. The steppe had never been high on the survival course's curriculum. Still, Nodoka Miyazaki was going to make the most of what she did know from the survival training. After all, Rincewind focused on the basics of outdoor survival.
To the south were forest and mountain. To the east, there was more mountain. Everywhere in between, was frozen grassland with merely animal prints to signify which species thrived in this land. To the west was the High Ice, a land she had only read about in the geography books and the maps the university had. All around, monsters lurked. Monsters and predators.
But what kind?
Nodoka knew that living out on the grassland was paramount to peril. Too much open space where attackers could come from anywhere. She had to find shelter elsewhere. The west was a no-go. High Ice was filled to the brim with monsters that saw no distinction between a fight and a meal. The eastern mountains were the safest bet from them, but it was a fair distance and there was no guarantee that there would be much in terms of food. And nothing existed to the north for over a thousand miles.
So Nodoka - she stopped herself. She wasn't Nodoka anymore, she was Madivh now. The name change was necessary, she was told. It was meant to prevent someone from tracking her down if they decided to get antsy with her. In theory, it was a good safeguard against hostile wizards tracking her. Still, abandoning her name - her family's name, the name her mother gave her at birth - felt as right as getting punched in the stomach. She had to remind herself it was to stay alive long enough to see her family again.
So Madivh began heading south, to the forest and the mountains. There could be plenty of plant-based food there. And if need be, small game she could try to hunt. Sadly, she didn't have anything to hunt with.
Instead, she simply got a knife and her spellbook. Everything else, Eva-chan had confiscated. Her pactio card, her rings, her wands, and her notebooks. Everything she had to her name was confiscated save the spellbook Fashtar gave her at graduation from the university and a small knife that wasn't much use for killing things. That and a small medallion that Master Rincewind had given her when she graduated three years ago. When asked, he simply said, "You'll work it out."
Well, three years now and she hasn't made much progress on that front. And no, she had to do it on her own. Asking her master would be cheating. And Madivh wasn't going to be a cheater on this test.
Regardless, the lack of equipment was telling. If she was going to be living in this land for the next tenday, just foraging for food was bound to be a challenge. While a knife was useful, it made for poor hunting gear. So Madivh would have to be creative, once shelter had been reached.
The trek was long. And dull. A small water creek frozen over. Trampled snow revealing spots of chewed grass and peat. The most interesting thing she saw if anything during her journey south to the forest was a herd of rothé. The great lumbering beasts saw her, she saw them. For understandable reasons, she kept her distance. Literally anyone you did not know on the steppe was a potential enemy. So why risk getting closer?
The rothé up here on the surface were different from the ones down below in the Underdark. Madivh had once been on a visit with her master to the castle of House Vandree, the one noble family in Menzoberranzan who controlled the agriculture needed to keep the city fed, clothed, and drunk. The beasts there were smaller due to a lack of grass, but they were still sizable enough for orcs to keep their distance. The noble drow concerned themselves with looking for sick beasts, controlling the great mushrooms for when they should be harvested, and shedding their rothé for their wool to sell to the city weavers so the lower classes could have clothes.
As a result, House Vandree was protected by all the noble houses that meant something to their society for this menial task. Houses trying to eradicate them were swiftly and brutally exterminated, down to the last child.
Madivh found the visit educational. They were courteous enough, though a bit smelly from their excursions with their herd.
These rothé by comparison were considerably larger and if provoked, even an ogre would have a fierce battle. Madivh surely could outrun these animals, but to take them on would require more than she could ever muster.
It would be hours before she saw anything else. She would have expected to see more than one herd of animals out there on the steppe. The only other sign she had that other beasts lived out here were tracks all over the place. Wild horses, elk, probably reindeer, and no doubt wolves, those paw prints were impeccable.
There were other tracks out there that she didn't identify. Those worried her the most. For all she knew, there could be dragons out here. She hadn't seen one since coming to Faerûn, she had only read about them in the library after hours and sneaking away from the chief librarian who skulked around searching for students out of bed.
What kind of dragon, though, would live out here? Would they be merely drakes (2), or true dragons? If there was a true dragon out here, what scales would it have? The master of Magical Beasts was very adamant to have his students memorize the difference between a good dragon, and an evil one. Madivh would write down everything in class and read her notes afterward while memorizing her spells for the next day.
Madivh picked up a more immediate concern. A wind breeze cold as ice stung her in the back. Dark clouds were gathering and, with them, a wind picking up speed and more cold.
Now, Master Rincewind insisted that they would not use their spells to make it easier for them without permission. The students had groaned and grumbled and planned to do so anyway, but the old codger had caught them. Forcing them to spank each other was something they would not forget. But the humiliation was always there to remind them not to sneak off and cast spells.
But in the end, the lesson he had impacted was simply this: Appreciate what you have. And Madivh had the highest grades in school in a century, making her the best wizard of her generation to come out of Greenwood's Academy.
And she always asked for permission. While turned down a lot, there was one spell she made clear to Rincewind they had to perform to avoid both sickness and loss of body function at times. This was such a time.
She said the words, made the gestures, and there. The magic insulated her better than a warm winter coat ever could. Madivh smiled. Not having to worry about freezing to death anytime soon was a much bigger relief than one would think.
Now, though, she had to focus on finding shelter soon. If luck was on her side, those clouds wouldn't be causing a blizzard.
But ever since she left home, when was luck ever on her side?
It would take many hours, but the forest was eventually in sight, rather than a distant shape on the horizon. Madivh reached it in the late afternoon. In winter times, the sun would be setting by the time it was three o'clock, but being so far north and neighboring High Ice, the steppe was in a state of perpetual winter, much like Siberia.
Her real problem was knowing what time of the year it was. The Underdark didn't allow for snow, or rain, it was just a constant of ice-cold tunnels and the heating magic of Menzoberranzan mimicking the surface sun of the day. But it was just mimicry, not the real thing. Madivh felt her body clock being broken by this. Being thrust from one world and into another was most vexing, particularly on the body. Given time to adjust, she could make it. But this was too sudden a change for her. Yesterday, she was preparing to sleep in her room one last time, in a warm castle underground with no sun. Now she was on the surface on the chilled steppe lands under the sun and a potential blizzard on the way.
Way too sudden.
Still, the sight of trees was welcome again. Pine and spruce trees sprouted up everywhere, and dead trees lay beneath everywhere. The cold seemed to deny certain trees a chance to keep growing. On the upside, new trees were taking the energy of the dead to-
That thought went somewhere dark real fast. Maddie - Madivh was getting a bit too formal at this point - thought that she might have spent a bit too much time with the necromancy books. Cycle of life and all, but even after ten years, the concept of death was still something to be avoided for her. Maybe it was just her being human.
But Maddie didn't have time for philosophy right now. Her immediate concern was finding someplace safe to sleep. Even if the spell she cast allowed her to sleep naked outside at this temperature and still come out okay, it wasn't ideal. She didn't know if the temperature dropped lower at night. And the spell would only protect her for so long and only down to a certain temperature (3).
Rincewind was once able to create a cottage that housed wet and shivering students one time during the winter after an accidental dunk in a frozen river. Maddie couldn't pull that one off. Yet. She had done research on that spell, but it was too complicated for her to memorize at the moment. Perhaps later in life…
Speaking of later, the snow was starting to fall. Not good. She had to find a place to tuck herself in for the night and prepare new spells for tomorrow, and soon. She walked further into the forest, looking for a place to sleep. A fallen tree could do the trick, but she didn't know if there were wolves in the area or not. They would easily smell her and think "Hmm, light snack", and… well.
A cave would be ideal, but those were best in the mountains and they tended to be occupied anyway. A bear would have been a lucky find. Anything bigger than a bear and she'd be in trouble.
Damnit, if only she had a-
Tower? She stopped to double-check.
A set of four long logs stood together, bearing a circular platform with a roof atop. The roof itself was simply thatch made from hollow straws held up with wooden pegs and rope. Designed to be a lookout tower, no doubt. Maddie couldn't help but feel a bit drawn to it.
I thought the land around here was untouched by civilization, she thought as she approached. It was late, feeding time for the carnivorous wildlife, but one would think the sound of approaching footsteps would make anyone cautious. "Hello?" She called.
The tower wasn't designed to be a comfortable place, but beggars can't be choosers. Besides, it was elevated. In an elevated place, she only had to worry about… practically nothing. Save drakes and dragons, but when were they ever not a threat?
"Hello?" She called again, and no one answered. She spotted a ladder fixation on one of the logs and chose to climb up into the tower for lack of better options.
A simple watchtower, with a bow and quiver full of arrows, and a simple footstool. No one was inside. The bow was unstrung, even. This was getting weird. Maybe someone was out on patrol or a hunt- no, the bow was in the tower. That suggested that someone wasn't out hunting. It suggested someone was here.
Maddie got up into the tower for a closer look and the view. The trees were obstacles by themselves, but she had a good view over most things that passed between. The tower was off to the side in a small clearing that provided just a tad of sunlight. Someone had gone to big lengths to erect this. And Maddie felt like she was trespassing.
Then she looked to the side and saw the unexpected.
A small round cottage with a grass roof and a hole in the middle. The roof zig-zagged up and down around, clearly, a man-made structure, cuz no way would nature produce something like this. The rest of the cottage had been dug down into the earth, most likely for the insulation against the cold winds. How could she have missed that at first?
Next to the raised roof, she spotted a pool of water. Liquid water. It was how cold, now again, and there was a pool of water here? What's going on?
"Helloooooo?" She shouted in case someone was in the area. The elevation should have helped her get heard, at least.
But no one answered. There was no one else here. "What on earth-?" She climbed down to check on the pool. Maddie's biggest question at the moment was how the water managed to stay liquid. It must be freezing temperatures, at least minus 20 degrees. Of course, she had no way of checking the temperature, but still.
The water pool was lukewarm. Temperate, even. Maddie had read many stories about how water could remain water at cold temperatures, yet none of them came to mind straight away. Not without advanced divination magic - which she did not have - could she determine how the water was maintained in its state.
Best guess, there could be some underground volcanic activity underneath that - no, no she couldn't be bothered right now. The state of the water was not a top priority at the moment. Finding out about this whole place was.
"Why is there a cottage here in the first place?" She asked herself. Conversation with no one else around was rather droll. Being alone was just awful. How did Asuna pull off her excursion in the mountains when it was her turn?
Maddie's next concern was getting into the cottage. "There must be a door somewhere," she said softly. There was the hole, but that would be a bit cramped and she might just fall into the firepit. Because a cottage without a firepit in this land would be daft.
Still, the door was findable, and she got inside. The interior wasn't arranged by a drunken orc, but it wasn't done by a high elf, either. It was very spartan; a central firepit that had an airway installed to the outside, a bed made of wood with a large pelt for a duvet, and hopefully a blanket underneath. Shelves with clay jars filled with stuff lined the walls and in one small corner, tucked away behind a stool, was a spear, a hatchet, some cooking pots, a kettle, bowls, and utensils.
Someone lived here. That was obvious. No one would be so daft as to leave their stuff here. They weren't home at the moment, but Maddie expected them to come home at any moment by now. She could easily explain her presence (lying sat ill with her, but getting killed sat ill even more so) and if push came to shove… well, she had a knife.
One thing missing though was firewood. Perhaps the person who lived here was out collecting firewood. Though that wouldn't explain the hatchet being here.
So if there was someone here, who was not out on a hunt since their bow was here, and they weren't out to get firewood since the hatchet was here… were they perhaps out foraging?
Maddie made a decision: check the jars for something edible. Her stomach was rumbling. A hearty breakfast had been prepared for her before she was dropped off here: A large rothé steak with buttered prawns, garlic bread (which was impressive given the lack of garlic in the Underdark), and poached eggs, rounded up with a large glass of lemon juice. Eva-chan certainly had her connections and hidden stashes. Now Maddie was running on fumes.
Much to her annoyance, there was nothing to eat, save salt in one jar, but who eats salt alone? No firewood, and nothing to eat. Was there someone here at all, then? Maybe this was a waystation for travelers. But the closest country was over a thousand miles to the south. Why would they have a waystation out here?
Was someone exiled here or something?
Heh, exiled. Maddie couldn't help but feel a bit sympathetic for that. But there was a difference between not being able to go home, and being in exile. She was the former, yet at times felt the latter.
The lack of food was an issue. Although humans could last three weeks without food, that was preferable to be avoided. Starvation is not fun.
Maddie started contemplating if a fire should be started or not. Her spell to endure the elements made sure she didn't need it, but a fire would be nice to have. Some form of heating and comfort. Even though there was no firewood. Which meant she'd have to… go out there in the dark and chop firewood while wild nocturnal animals lurked in the dark…
Well, that settled that, then. No fire. Just sleep in the cold dark and wait for sunlight. Right, that was the new plan. But first, memorize new spells for tomorrow. Always memorize new spells for the next day. Been doing it for the past ten years, it's become old hat by now.
Lucky for her that the most basic spells were some of the most vital out here. As usual, an Alarm spell would be needed. Lasts a full day and could be tied to either her or her current location. Endure Elements was a must out on the steppe. Being impeded by blizzards and cold winds was certainly bad. Some might think it romantic, but it certainly is not.
The next two spells were gonna be close calls to make. And that little difference would mean everything. Her first choice was one that gave her greater speed. You never know when you need to catch up to running prey on a hunt… or to run from predators on one of their own.
The second choice made it clear she was thinking of going hunting if she could. True Strike. Good enough to make a clear shot of whatever she aimed at. With a little luck, she might only have to go on a single hunt. Killing things never sat well with her. Hunting for food was simply survival to see the next day.
Those were the simpler spells. Maddie focused on her cantrips next. The easiest spells might be useless in some ways, but the headmaster drummed into her students' heads that one should always look at the substance of a spell rather than the descriptions in the books. See the effects and decide for yourself. Maddie made her selection of cantrips pretty early on.
Now she had to pick her spells for the next level, Bull's Strength seemed apt. Hauling things was always tiring work so it made sense for her to memorize it. Shame it didn't last for hours.
Two more, now. This was going to be rather tricky. What could she use if she was going on a hunt? Perhaps agility? Wait, what if it got dark and she needed to see? How about some kind of trap? What kind of trap could she set out here?
Wait… if she could scare something into…
She chose the webbing spell. She had bad memories of that spell. A jealous apprentice within Baenre, a man who thought himself superior to anyone non-drow, had trapped her once in a pitfall with a web spell and laughed while she had to get herself untangled before the spell ended and she wound up in the nest of a large spider getting hungry.
No one objected when she brought the charges against him. With the Diarum Ejeus revealing his deeds, they were happy to feed him to the spider themselves. Maddie felt like she had killed him, but the matron simply said that it was do-or-die for her to do what she did. A nuisance arising now could become a threat by tomorrow.
Still, the web spell could prove useful now. If she memorized that one, she could set a trap, have something run into it and then… take care of things from there.
After that, she chose the spell for darkvision. That would last for hours in case it got dark.
Finally, the more advanced magic spells she could get. Maddie loved the challenge of not knowing which spells would be useful. All she knew was she was planning on going hunting tomorrow and what spells would be useful for a hunt among the top-tier spells she had just managed to learn?
Perhaps Gentle Repose. Once the hunt was done and she had brought down her meal, the body would decay over time. With this spell, that would be delayed for several days. Keep the meat fresh and ready for consumption at any time.
Yes, that seemed like a good idea. Now she had only one choice left. And one she could pick without worry now. Fly. Flying gave a new angle at things, kept her out of danger and it was fun to fly at times. The first time she flew on her own, it was thrilling. A real sensation.
Right up until she crashed.
There. That's the last spell put in her head. Now she just had to sleep on it and those spells would be ready for the day. Now all she had to do was track animals, find a good target and bring it down so she could eat.
Best get some sleep. Good thing the bed looked soft. And it was going to be a long day.
Tu'narath, the City of Death, somewhere in the Astral Sea
"You have been blessed."
Not yet, he hasn't. This wasn't a blessing. This was an enhancement ritual to make him better at his work. And the damn tattoos haven't begun working yet.
Still, he let them talk. Inquisitorial bastards thought they could be the same as priests for the damn slave chattel and their obsession with faith in some overlord who wasn't there for them. At least her Majesty was real. But she wasn't a god. So why did they?
For sixty years he's been doing their bidding. That's young compared to the crew he had been assigned to. A veteran warband, specializing in targeting the toughest warships and armored trade convoys. The goal was always the same: Money, steel, and slaves. He thrived in taking down the strongest opponents, and the mages who thought themselves safe.
Now, they kept on spouting crap about him being chosen and blessed for some mission that he had been handpicked by the queen Herself.
"Agh!" He hissed and glared at the mage enhancing the tattoo on his right hand. She looked very sheepish from his perspective. An accident. He let it slide. It was nearly over, anyway.
One of the tattoos on his chest was done, at least. Worth spending ten hours without a shirt. If only they could be done by now with the rest.
Five tattoos. Five enhancements that let him do magic. They had pulled out the stops on this mission. They even took his armor and weapons away for "conditioning". And they took him aside to get inked. They didn't have any mages specializing in tattoo magic, from what he knew. They actually kidnapped a human specialist for this commission.
This mission was different. And he didn't even know what it was.
"You've been chosen," the inquisitor said. "You were meant for something special."
"I was chosen because I'm the best," he snapped back. "Nothing special about it." Then he felt the magic surge into his left arm. That tattoo was now done. He could feel what it allowed him to do. Good. His horns would have made him stand out, anyway.
"Her Majesty called for you, by name," the bastard pointed out. "You may be the strongest here, but never forget that you are merely a half-breed, here to do Her bidding."
Half-breed. That name infuriated him. He was being enthused here, granted power to do magic on his own, chosen for a mission by queen Herself, and they still call him that.
"So how come you were not chosen for this glorious mission instead of me," he snarked back, "oh-so-hoity-toity purebred inquisitor?" Since he didn't hear any response, it seems he hit a nerve with the prick.
As he talked, the third tattoo was done. Now, he could do something a bit more useful than changing his own shape. And he could move his arms now. Just two more to go and he could get up.
"I was hand-picked by her Majesty to ensure glory and prestige for our people," the inquisitor prided himself. "It is thanks to my fervor that our fleets and warbands earn glory and honor."
"Yet you deprive yourself of the honor and glory that can only be earned in battle," he countered. "And from what I can see, your arms lack the muscles gained from swinging swords. Hmm, seems to me that you are not what you proclaim yourself to be."
He could hear the growling behind him. He must have angered the inquisitor now. He never liked these bastards anyway. Always spouting the words as if-
That's when he felt it. The cold dread running up his spine. The air growing heavy with the scent of death. And the stench of some zombie lurking about.
She had come.
Barefooted and in her ragged robes and the black crown, just like last time. He had only seen Her once before in his life as a child and that was customary. Back then, he had the impression of an imposing figure, towering and dominant. Here, She was smaller than him but no less terrifying than She had ever been.
Vlaakith the Undying, the one-hundred-and-fifty-seventh of Her name, last of the royal bloodline going all the way back to the founding of their people, and the longest-ruling. And as a lich, She was going to remain for a long time. Accompanying Her was one of the many soulless husks She had gathered over the years of Her reign. The husk carried a trunk that was probably full of stuff.
Many of their people hated Her, but as long as they feared Her, that was irrelevant.
"Hold still," the human mage doing the tattoos on him snapped when he tried to kneel. She didn't either know or care that the most powerful lich in known existence had arrived. "You need to be still for the tattoos to set in properly." He settled back down and could only nod at Her arrival.
Vlaakith approached him and the tattoo artist mage, who just realized she was in a very precarious position between the Lich Queen and one of her creations. She knelt down, inspecting the work. Then she nodded to the mage and got back up.
"Your Majesty," he addressed Her. "As the one who has been… 'chosen' for this endeavor that required the use of magic tattoos and the eminent requisition of my equipment, I need to know: What is my mission?"
Vlaaktih viewed him with some degree of… scrutiny? Ignorance? ...Annoyance? Then she turned on the inquisitor behind him and stared. The hardest part with meeting Her gaze was that you could never really tell what she was thinking when looking at you.
Then the inquisitor, who seemed to have cooled his rage, spoke. "There is a specific target that the Queen wants to be brought before Her. You are to find them and bring them here."
"When you say here, do you mean… here-here, as in this very location, or-" The Queen growled at his question. "Just checking. Throne room it is."
Then the last two tattoos were done. "There," said the mage. "That's it, then." Vlaakith knelt down again to inspect the work. He felt Her hand on him. He was feeling uncomfortable with that. The Queen had a reputation…
But then she simply nodded and got up, pulling the poor human mage up alongside Her. The tattoo mage was given a bag of gold and a piece of parchment.
"Your Majesty, you're letting them go?" The inquisitor inquired, as the mage scurried off, probably to get a ship out of there. A staredown from the Queen made him back down.
"Finally, I can get up," said the main subject of the magic tattoo artistry. "Now where's my gear? Can't go hunting without my gear."
The husk stepped forward and dropped the trunk in front of him. He took that as a hint and looked inside. "... this is not my regular gear."
This time when Vlaakith stared at him, he got the message perfectly. "Of course it is not your fucking regular 'gear'. We took a look at it and replaced what was useless. And this is better. Now be grateful for fuck's sake, accept the gear and go on this fucking mission."
Maaaaybe leave out a few words.
Still, he started collecting it up. At least he had his old shirt from before, and ooh, that's a new arming jacket.
"So, if I may ask yet again… what's the target?"
This time, Vlaakith simply clapped her hands together horizontally and revealed the target. He had to say, he wasn't impressed. Just… surprised. A young-looking human girl with bangs covering her eyes wearing simple robes and holding books in hand.
"A girl?" he asked. "Not to show ill respect, but I was expecting something a little more dangerous than a human child."
Before he could even react, She had grabbed him by the throat. She didn't lift him up or squeeze, She merely held him in place. He couldn't move out of Her grip, and he couldn't focus on anything but Her. Speaking bluntly in front of Her was not usually warranted punishment, nor was it frowned upon. But it wasn't encouraged, either.
He could see it in Her eyes: this human was dangerous. Dangerous enough to warrant so many upgrades and new items and weapons to use. He closed his eyes to concede the point, and she let go. He picked up the new breastplate he got. Adamantine, nice.
He wasn't expecting a bandolier of all things. But the wands tucked in would come in nicely. And then, he saw the scabbard. He could tell what it was, straight off. A magic scabbard that could hone your blade sharp, regardless of the length or type of your weapon. And it adjusted itself. Now, this was some interesting magic. And he was most pleased that his sword, his sword, was already tucked neatly inside.
Hmm? It seemed his sword had been improved as well. He couldn't tell what it was yet, but it would be beneficial for him, anyway.
He put his new stuff on with ease. Any warrior worth his mettle should be able to put on their own equipment by themselves. Just glad he didn't get a helmet. His horns would get in the way, as usual. Unless…. Nah, it would be fine. He could handle himself if it came to it. Besides, he could buy one out there if need be.
"Now, I have one last question, your Grace," he spoke yet again and he had Her full attention yet again. The pressure she let out was intense when you had Her attention.
"Any overbearing priorities regarding this target?"
All of a sudden, that pressure was gone.
Vlaakith walked up to him and put a hand on his shoulder. That was not done, usually. He felt very uncomfortable with this, but then again he had asked what she wanted with the target. Vlaakith leaned in close and spoke one word.
"ALIVE."
The pressure came back searingly, like an echo ringing forever in his head, or like a hot-iron brand scorching his skin. For all his own strength, he was powerless against her. And before he knew it, she was gone. He had a moment to sink to his knees. He counted himself fortunate he had gone to the latrines before his time with the tattoo artist.
It was only when he felt she was gone that he could bring himself to leave the chamber.
But Vlaakith waited for him, nonetheless. She was flanked by the inquisitor from before, who had somehow scurried away during the Queen's presence in the room, and both stood next to a large red dragon, with a jaw large enough to bite a horse in half and swallow a person whole. Vlaakith was scratching its lower chin as if scratching a small furry creature humans referred to as cats. Or tiny dogs. Why would they have tiny dogs?
"You are not alone in this assignment. This one has agreed to aid you in this endeavor. Try not to kill each other," the inquisitor smirked.
He glared at the bastard. But Vlaakith glaring at them both made them focus on what was really important. So he merely addressed the dragon who in turn addressed him.
"Well, you're not as ugly as my previous partner," he told the great beast.
"Still prettier than you, half-breed," the dragon replied. He sighed.
"You are the one individual I will tolerate calling me that."
And with that, he mounted upon his new partner. Vlaakith focused her attention off into the void of the Astral Seas and began her incantation. She has cast this spell many times before for the fleets to raid and conquer. Casting this spell to acquire this human girl would be no different, save on a small scale.
"You ready?"
"Let's go, already. I want to rub it in the other dragons' faces that I helped do this mission."
The gate opened to reveal a desert landscape before them and his partner took flight through it. They were going to find this human and bring her before the Queen and-
He just realized they didn't have a clue where the target was.
…
This was going to take a while.
A/N: Hello, hello. I am back with another Incursion Timeline story. I told you I wasn't done. This is probably going to be the only A/N for a while so let me be clear: I will give hints this time around. I will not take suggestions, and I will not change my mind. I have set my course and made my decision about how this story will unfold. If you like it, please let me know. If you don't, read something else.
Mahou Sensei Negima is owned by Funimation, Kodansha, and Ken Akamatsu. Please support the official- wait, the manga is finished. Nevermind.
Dungeons & Dragons is owned by the Sword Coast. Please support THAT official release.
(1) Herbivores reminiscent of muskox. They live both on cold plains or in the Underdark as wild herds.
(2) Drakes: Essentially flightless dragons that come in various forms, from komodo dragons to theropod dinosaurs.
(3) Endure Elements. Level 1 spell available for nearly every spellcaster class there is.
