Chapter 13 – Travelling with the Sword Hero

Melromarc, Raphtalia's World

30 Zinat, Springtime

Eiku lay awake next to the fire, unable to sleep. Nearby, the fire snapped and crackled as the wood burned through moisture and sap in the wood. In the distance, nocturnal animals called to each other. It was a pleasant night and even though Eiku was exhausted from the day's events, he could not calm his mind enough to rest. It did not help that ever since yesterday afternoon his soulbond had been pulsing with a distracting worry so strong it was drowning out all other feelings and almost eclipsing the ever-present warmth. 'Naofumi must have gotten my letter yesterday,' he thought.

Eiku had met up with Sir Amaki and his new temporary party on the morning of the twenty-fifth of Zinat. Eiku had not recognized any of the other five people the Sword Hero had added to his party. They had all seemed like capable and talented individuals, however. Once Sir Amaki had added Eiku to the group, he had immediately teleported them all away from Capital Town without making sure they were all completely ready first. From then on the trend had continued.

They had materialized in Mirso Village and the Sword Hero had set off at a fast pace, heading south out of the village. As Eiku and the rest of the group had hurried to follow, Eiku noticed that the villagers were looking at the Sword Hero, and by extension Eiku and the others, with dislike. Eiku had thought that strange but did not have more than a few seconds to reflect on it before he was out of the village and following the Sword Hero into the hills and mountains to the south.

As they rushed through the hills, Eiku had heard Sir Amaki mutter, "Good thing I left one of my three teleport locations as Mirso Village. Made travelling here easy. Now, to find that monster."

'The teleport skill only worked for three locations?' Eiku had filled that information away for later. Eiku had not had many opportunities to find out more information for Naofumi since he had promised to do so close to two fortnights ago. Perhaps this excursion with the Sword Hero would not be so terrible after all. Maybe Eiku could learn more information from the Sword Hero that Naofumi would find useful.

That optimism had lasted only long enough to get through his first encounter with a large, terrible creature with fangs that had stretched back into a dark maw. They had suffered their first loss during the fight. A male fighter Eiku had never learned the name of. Sir Amaki had slain the creature and left the corpse to rot as he turned to the fallen fighter. He had barely acknowledged the man's death before he had turned away with a muttered, "Worthless NPC," and continued on his way.

Eiku and the remaining four party members had stared at the Sword Hero's retreating back in disbelief before Eiku had managed to find his voice and call out, "We can't just leave him here!"

The Sword Hero had not paused or stopped. In the end, three of the others had left to follow, leaving Eiku and a woman behind to burn both the monster's and the fighter's bodies as best they could with no fire magic between the two of them.

The next four days had continued in that fashion. Sir Amaki had rushed from place to place, barely pausing long enough for his party to keep up. They kept running into monsters in the hills and mountains. Eiku had seen more caves in those four days than he had seen in his entire life. On the third day, and in the depths of one such cave, they had lost another party member. Once again, only Eiku and the woman Eiku had learned was named Suki had stayed behind long enough to take care of the body.

Then just that morning, they had been traversing the side of a mountain and one of the remaining party members had slipped on some loose rock and shale and had disappeared with a sharp, panicked cry down the side of the mountain and out of sight. One of the remaining party members, a mage by the name of Oyoya, had let out an anguished cry that had followed her down. There had been nothing Eiku or Suki could do about the body. Sir Amaki had not even looked back when he said, "There goes another NPC."

Eiku had grit his teeth as distaste and anger at the Sword Hero had flooded his mind. How could the man care so little about the people he was travelling with?

Eiku rolled over and watched Sir Amaki feed plants and materials to his sword and get bottles of potions in return. The light and shadows created by the fire danced across the man's face and black hair and made him look both mysterious and powerful. Eiku barely suppressed a snort. If he had ever had any respect for the Sword Hero, the last five days had completely destroyed it. It was abundantly clear that the man considered the lives of those he travelled with to be worth less than nothing.

Eiku watched the Sword Hero create several more potions and store them in his sword. The man then began to feed gems and metal to the sword's blue gem and get a completed ring in return. 'Can Naofumi do that?' Eiku wondered. 'Being able to make potions and items so easily would be the envy of any alchemist or crafter.'

Then Sir Amaki feed more metal, some leather, and some fangs from a monster they had killed that day to his sword and was given a new sword in return. Eiku's eyes widened as he watched the Sword Hero stand up to swing the blade around to test its weight and balance. 'He made a brand new sword just like that?' Eiku mentally screamed in surprise. He continued to watch in shock as Sir Amaki then touched his legendary sword to the one he had just made and the weapon changed into an exact copy. The Sword Hero feed the newly created sword to his legendary one to store it and then tested the newly copied blade out.

"It's fine," Amaki spoke aloud into the night, his tone contemplative. "The weapons I copied from that blacksmith are better though."

'What blacksmith?' Eiku wondered. 'Does he mean Erhard? Did he buy them before copying them? Is he stealing from Erhard by copying his weapons?' Based on what he had seen of the man so far, Eiku doubted the Sword Hero was paying for them. 'I better warn Erhard, just in case. If the Sword Hero is copying weapons, then the other weapon heroes likely are too. Is Naofumi?' If his soulmate was copying the shields he came across, Eiku wanted to believe the Shield Hero was paying for them. 'I'll bring it up with him and find out.'

Eiku made a mental note to do just that as he watched the Sword Hero feed more monster material and other items to his sword and instantly get fully crafted weapons in return. After Sir Amaki had created three more swords and copied them before storing them in his sword, the Sword Hero had turned to Eiku.

"If you're up anyway, you might as well start your watch. I'm going to sleep."

Eiku rose from his bedroll without complaint as the Sword Hero walked around the fire and laid down on his bedroll. Eiku stretched and then donned his armour, arming cap, and helmet. He retrieved his sword and strapped it on as he walked to the edge of the fire and kept the light at his back so he could look out into the night. Eiku had been on second watch shift and had just been lying in his bedroll – unable to sleep. Starting watch early was not a big deal – even if it was unfair.

Eiku did a parameter check and then settled in for his shift, always keeping the light behind him so it did not impair his vision. He looked up at the partly cloudy night sky. It was a decently-lit night with one moon waxing crescent and the other waxing gibbous. He admired the view as he thought of his remaining companions.

Of the original five, only two remained. One was the male mage, Oyoya, and the other was Suki. Oyoya seemed scared of his own shadow after witnessing the deaths of three of his companions. Suki on the other hand remained calm and unflappable, no matter what they encountered. Or, she seemed calm, anyway. It was hard to tell for certain for she never took her silver mask off. For some reason, she had decided to stay constantly by Eiku's side and Eiku was sure she was one of the main reasons he had not gotten eaten by a random monster so far.

Eiku knew his martial and magic skills had greatly improved. He was not discounting his own skill. Still, he could not help but wonder why Suki seemed so intent on sticking close to him – especially in battles. Her dark purple cloaked form had become a familiar and reliable presence at his side or back and Eiku wondered if he would have lasted this long had she had not been one of the Sword Hero's temporary party members.

Eiku rubbed his eyes and then tensed when he heard a crunch of gravel in the distance. He turned in the direction of the sound and his hand went to his sword as he saw a large beast with the body and head of a feline with a goat's body and head attached to its back and a large serpent for a tail. The chimera was standing upon some rocks, its silhouette almost invisible against an inky backdrop of stars. Eiku could not be certain if the creature had noticed their campsite yet and he could not tell in exactly which direction the beast was looking.

Slowly, Eiku crept around the campsite while doing his best to keep his eyes on the beast in the distance. When he had gotten to the area where he remembered Sir Amaki's bedroll to be, Eiku backed up into the ring of light from the fire and instantly lost sight of the chimera. Eiku knew he could have waited until he was positive the beast had seen them before alerting the camp. However, he would rather everyone be awake for the possible danger ahead of time than have them rush to get ready should the danger actually arrive.

Eiku knelt by Sir Amaki's bedroll and shook his shoulder gently to rouse the man. "Sword Hero, there is danger. Wake up, please."

The Sword Hero opened his blue eyes and scowled up at Eiku. "What is it?"

"Danger," Eiku repeated. "I spotted a chimera in the distance. I do not know if it has noticed us."

The Sword Hero knocked Eiku's hand away and rolled over, presenting Eiku with his back. "Events don't trigger at night. Having a night watch is pointless even. Go back to sleep or whatever and don't disturb me 'til morning."

Did the Sword Hero think the danger wasn't real? "What events are you talking about? This isn't a fantasy and night watch isn't pointless!" Eiku exclaimed in frustration. "There is a real, live and very large chimera out there!" Eiku was keeping his voice down so his voice wouldn't carry past the camp. How sensitive was a chimera's hearing anyway? He did not want to find out by being caught unawares.

"Are NPCs always this annoying? Go away. Trying to sleep here," Sir Amaki grumbled.

Eiku sat back on his heels. "Unbelievable!" he hissed at the man's back. Eiku stood and carefully made his way over to Suki's bedroll and when he knelt to wake her up discovered that her eyes were already open and looking up at him. For the first time since meeting her, he was seeing her without her silver mask on. Her eyes looked amber in the glow of the fire.

"Danger?" she asked in a whisper.

Eiku nodded. "A chimera," he confirmed.

Suki crawled out of her bedroll and quickly donned her mask, cloak, and armour, and then grabbed her weapons. She followed Eiku back into the darkness and they quietly stood with their backs to the fire as they let their eyes adjust.

'Why did I have to come on this adventure?' Eiku mentally asked once his eyes had adjusted to the darkness. There, standing not even thirty-three yards away, was the chimera and it was looking straight at them.

BREAK

The worry in his soulbond flared again as if in reaction to the sight and Eiku winced as he watched the beast begin to slowly stalk towards him and Suki. 'I'm right there with you,' he thought as he tried fruitlessly to soothe the worry. Sending emotions to each other through the soulbond did not work that way. Especially if he was feeling worried and scared about the situation himself. Only strong emotions regarding one's soulmate were transferred. 'I'm sorry for making you worry so much, Naofumi' he thought. The amount of constant worry he could feel from the bond almost made him smile from the thought of how much Naofumi cared. He might have too if he didn't feel so guilty for being the cause of it.

"Suki," Eiku whispered as he drew his sword, "Go wake up Oyoya. I'll fend the chimera off if it charges."

"No," Suki said, her voice firm. "I promised the queen to look after you. I'm not leaving you to face a chimera alone. You go get Oyoya and try again to wake the Sword Hero."

Eiku turned and looked at her in shock. "The queen?" he quietly exclaimed.

She didn't turn to look at him – instead of keeping her attention on the chimera as it slowly stalked closer. Its long, serpent tail arched up and opened a mouth to reveal distinctly more fangs than Eiku had ever heard of a snake possessing. "Yes. I can explain later. Go!"

Eiku carefully backed into the light of the fire and quickly circled around to Oyoya's bedroll. He knelt and reached out to gently shake the mage awake. "Oyoya, wake up. A chimera is attacking."

The man partially opened his steel-grey eyes. They were puffy and red-rimed and there were dried tear tracks on his cheeks. He rubbed his eyes and looked up at Eiku. "What?"

"A chimera," Eiku patiently repeated. He wanted to ask the man what was wrong, but there was no time. "Get up and get your gear. Suki is holding it off."

Oyoya looked at him in incomprehension for a second before the expression cleared to be replaced by panic. He quickly got up and started to grab his gear as Eiku turned and made his way once more to Sir Amaki's bedroll. When he got there, he had to suppress the desire to kick the man awake and settled for nudging him gently with one armoured boot.

"Sir Amaki, the chimera is attacking."

"There is no chimera event," came the Sword Hero's stubborn reply, his voice heavy with sleep.

"I still don't understand what you mean by 'event', but whether you believe it or not, monsters do attack at night and Suki, Oyoya and I may not be able to hold it off for long." Eiku looked to the side and watched as Oyoya left the light of the campfire and disappeared.

Then a loud roar rent the night and with a hiss, the fire suddenly went out. Eiku did not wait to find out if Sir Amaki was going to get up or not. He ran past the charred logs that were smoking toxic, yellow clouds and, his heart pounding, threw himself into the fight.

He arrived just in time to block a strike from the chimera's large serpent tail aimed for Oyoya. The muscles in Eiku's arms and shoulders tensed with the effort of keeping the dripping fangs away from his face. Yellow drops of liquid fell to the ground and hissed against the grass and rocks beneath Eiku's feet. He had a sneaking suspicion that not only was that venom highly deadly, but that was what had put out the campfire. As he used both hands to push his sword back against the strength of the creature, Eiku was reminded of how easy Naofumi had made it look when he held back the strike of the ogre during the Second Wave. A fresh wave of admiration for his soulmate flared up in his chest, briefly overriding the constant feeling of worry coming from Naofumi.

Behind him, the mage finished chanting and called out, "Tundra Spikes!"

Spikes of ice erupted from the ground around them and the snake reared back with a hiss. Freed from the weight of the snake's gaping jaws, Eiku threw himself back, barely managing to dodge the spikes continuing to erupt around his feet. He turned and pulled the mage back with him when the feline part of the chimera roared and lashed out with one massive paw – long, razor-sharp claws extended.

"You two alright?" Suki called.

Eiku turned and saw Suki fending off the enraged chimera. Its other three paws were frozen to the ground and one of its hind legs was pinned by spikes of ice. However, the ice was already breaking and would not hold it for long.

Eiku desperately tried to recall all he knew of chimeras as he took advantage of the chimera's temporary stasis and the frozen ground from Oyoya's Tundra Spikes. He started casting Cryotherapy Frost Armour as he dashed forward towards one of the chimera's immobile hind legs.

The chimera was a ferocious beast that contained different makeups. The one they were fighting – with a serpent tail – was one of the weakest varieties. Chimeras could reach a height of 152 centimetres and weigh as much as 1,814 kilograms. The bovid section of a chimera was the weakest part. Chimeras used breath attacks when fighting and only the dragon part (complete with wings and the power of flight – which they, fortunately, were not facing) of the chimera could spit fire, lighting, or ice. The bovid and feline heads worked in tandem to create fire with the bovid spitting a toxic, explosive gas that the feline would set on fire with sparks from its mouth.

He had never learned how to defeat one.

He finished casting the armour spell and felt the regeneration properties of the spell take effect as he reached the hindquarters of the monster and slashed at it with his sword. Blood sprayed, missing him completely as the creature roared and the serpent tail came down from above, its jaws wide open, a dozen dripping fangs on clear display, forcing him to duck to the side. He slipped on the ice on the ground and landed on his rear. As he slid under the beast, he heard Oyoya let out a gurgled scream.

Somewhere in the distance, a second chimera roared.

Thinking quickly, he reached up with his sword and ran the creature's belly through with his sword as he passed under it.

Hot blood and viscera rained down on him.

Turns out the blood of a chimera was made up of acid.

It quickly ate through his frost armour.

He screamed.

~*~End of Chapter 13~*~