Growing Up Fast

Mansion of Van Reichnott

Darius stood to the side as he observed some of the maids at work with the demi-human children. Next to him stood the lord of the manor with the same friendly expression on his face while his bodyguard, according to her, Figneria stood behind them both with her gaze boring through the back of Darius's head. 'I always thought I'd be excited to have a beautiful woman staring at me,' thought the Armory Hero as he glanced behind him before turning his attention back to the children. "So what exactly are the vials there for?"

"You confirmed what I feared earlier this morning," explained Reichnott, "When you got in yesterday, the maids informed me that all but one of the children had slave crests. I sent for the potion to dissolve it right before you awoke and it just recently arrived."

"Slave crests?" Questioned Darius with a raised eyebrow, "Is that some sort of branding?"

"It's a mystical seal used to bind a slave to their master," explained Reichnott, "It causes extreme pain whenever they don't follow orders. It also prevents them from lying or running from their masters and only becomes ineffective once the seal is removed or the master dies. I do find it curious that the weasel girl did not have one." Darius thought for a moment before materializing the potion Fitoria had given him.

"Could this have had anything to do with it," he asked as he showed the nobleman the bottle, "I got it from someone who knows quite a bit about magic. She told me it's powerful enough to heal wounds, cure ailments and remove impurities. That might mean stuff like slave crests too." Reichnott took the potion for a moment and examined it, likely looking at the stats.

"I've never seen a potion with such powerful properties," He said as he handed the bottle back to Darius, "Whoever made this was not only a good mixer but also, as you said, a skilled magic user."

"She couldn't remember exactly who made it," said Darius as he sent it back to his inventory, "But it was probably the previous Shield Hero."

"Intriguing," said Reichnott with a hand to his chin, "If she trusted you enough to give you something like that, it further confirms your story of being who you say you are."

"Yeah I know the story seems far-fetched," said Darius, "But believe me or not, my main concern right now is to make sure those children are safe then get on over to the capital pronto."

"It just seems curious that there exists a fifth cardinal hero that no one knows about," Figneria pointed out, "I'd think even a minor hero of legend would still have a few that remember them."

"The one who told me all of this remembered, even if it was in bits and pieces," said Darius, "And I can back up the fact that my abilities are different from most forms of magic in this land. But as I said before it's not the most pressing issue right now." Figneria still didn't seem convinced, but all other conversation was cut short as Rifana walked up to them, wearing a new little sundress with short-sleeves Reichnott had provided for her.

"Are my friends going to be okay?" Questioned Rifana, still somewhat sheepish from her time in a cell.

"Of course they are," said Reichnott with a soft smile, "I've ordered my maids to take the utmost care of all of you. Why do you ask?"

"Well the maids said Keel picked up a cold yesterday," said Rifana, "The one I had was pretty bad until Darius gave me that medicine. I'm just, I know I would've died from mine if no one had helped me."

"You needn't worry little one," these words coming from Figneria, surprisingly enough, "My lord has cared for many demi-humans. He'll insure something as trivial as a cold doesn't take any of them away."

"Thank you," said Rifana with a look of relief in her eyes. But it was obvious something else was troubling her. "Also, I was wondering. C-could I travel with you Darius?" Needless to say, everyone was more than a little surprised by this request.

"Uh, Rifana," said Darius as he rubbed the back of his head wondering how best to explain the situation, "Don't you think it'd be better if you stuck with your friends? I already explained that I can't hang around long."

"All my friends are getting taken care of, you saw to that," replied Rifana, "So I want to come along with you and if possible look for Raphtalia."

"I'm afraid I must advise against that," said Reichnott with a note of concern in his voice, "As Mr. Saxon has finished explaining to us, he is apparently the Armory Hero. What that means is he'll be heading into battle against many fearsome monsters in a couple weeks' time. It would be beyond irresponsible for him to bring a child to a possible war zone."

"Then, I'll learn to fight," said Rifana with a little bit of conviction in her words.

"It's not that simple," said Darius, "The next wave is coming by the end of this month which gives us a little over three weeks. In that time I need to make it to the capital and meet the other heroes while also getting my level up as high as I can. Even if I had trained someone before I doubt I'd be able to get you up to fighting shape in time to make it to the capital." He honestly hated saying all of this as he knew it was making the little one cry. Fate, however, seemed to have other plans.

"If I may," said Figneria, "that's not entirely true." The bodyguard stepped forward then and kneeled down in front of Rifana, staring into her eyes as if she were inspecting a weapon. "I thought so, you've killed before haven't you child?" The weasel girl simply nodded weakly. Figneria stood back up as she resumed speaking. "She has the eyes of a fighter, so I doubt you'll easily dissuade her. And forgive me for speaking out of turn my lord, but have you forgotten the special trait of demi-humans who've formed a party?"

"My goodness you're right," said Reichnott as he rubbed his head in embarrassment, "Indeed it would take much less time if Mr. Saxon here truly is a cardinal hero."

"Does anyone wanna clue me in on the big secret here," said Darius, not sure he was liking where this conversation was headed.

"Well as you may know," began the nobleman, "those who form parties, especially parties with heroes, share experience when they bring down an enemy. What you might not have heard is that when a demi-human forms a party and gains experience alongside a hero, they grow and become stronger much more quickly. I believe Figneria is suggesting that you may be able to get her up to 'fighting shape' much sooner than you think."

"That still doesn't solve the other problem, though," said Darius, "I've never taught anyone how to fight. My Imitator ability copies fighting styles but it's partly intuitive, meaning I'll naturally use the correct form and balance without hardly thinking about it. So even if she stands by for a bit and gains experience from me killing monsters, there's still the matter of teaching her how to use a weapon."

"I can handle that," said Figneria, "I've trained people before and we've been having a slight issue with small monsters lurking around recently. I could train the both of you to fight and in exchange you help clear the monsters. Besides, we won't be able to provide you with a wagon for at least a couple of days as they're all busy."

"Busy," said Darius as he directed a half-questioning, half-accusing gaze towards Reichnott.

"Ah yes, I was going to mention that," said the nobleman, "You see I've decided to set up an auction of sorts for the belongings of Idol Rabier. To that end I've sent out all of my available wagons to bring back as much as they can carry. The process will take a few days as we'll be doing a lot of sorting and cataloging."

"So I'm basically stuck here waiting on one of your wagons to show up or I got to go into town and hope there's someone around I can pay for a lift," Darius summed up.

"That is correct," affirmed Figneria, "And we can't guarantee this child won't come after you. I am also still suspicious of your story about being a cardinal hero. So consider this a way to put my own fears to rest." Darius looked between all of their faces, trying to see if any of them would back down. But it was obvious Rifana was determined enough to follow after him even if he said no and even if he was successful in getting her to stay, Figneria might just train her and send her off anyway. Finally, the Armory Hero came to a decision with a sigh.

"Alright, how about this," suggested Darius as he turned to Rifana, "I'll give you about a week to show me that you've got what it takes to travel with me. If you don't give up or get yourself severely hurt during that time then you can come along. If, however, it becomes obvious that you can't fully grasp the concept of monster fighting or you spend an excessive amount of time complaining then the deals off and you stay here." Rifana nodded in understanding as Darius held out his hand. A message appeared in his field of vision then as the weasel girl shook his hand: add new party member?

Darius focused his vision on 'yes' as the message disappeared and a second health and status bar appeared under his with Rifana's name on it. Surprisingly, she was already level three. 'I guess killing Rabier did more for her than I thought,' he pondered as he turned to Figneria. "Alright, you got your little monster extermination team, so what'll we need to do first?"

"The little one is going to need a weapon," said Figneria, "I'm certain you can provide one."

"If it helps verify my story," said Darius as he opened up a few portals on the ground from which multiple types of weapons sprouted. "Alright Rifana, these are some of the smaller weapons I've got in my inventory so choose wisely and all that." The weasel girl nodded in understanding before walking back and forth between the weapons presented to her until she finally stopped in front of the mace Darius had used the first night he'd met her. She grabbed a hold of it and managed to heft it upwards with a surprising strength.

"Could I use this one Darius?" Questioned Rifana, "I, don't really want to use something with a blade again, at least not yet."

"Only if you're sure," replied the cardinal hero as he turned back to Figneria, "Next order of business I guess, where are the monsters hiding?"

Forest Road: A Short Time Later

"The monsters encountered on this part of the road are not terribly high level," explained Figneria, "But some are strong enough to harass even the more hardy villagers and I cannot spare enough time to deal with them all. So this will be your first test little one." As if on cue, a balloon monster leapt out of the bushes heading straight for her. The woman didn't even flinch as she swiftly caught the little cretin with her hands and held it out in front of her. "Hit it as hard as you can."

Rifana nodded as she held the mace up hesitantly above her head. Then, with what Darius assumed was an extraordinarily cute battle cry, she charged forward and swung, with her eyes closed. Despite that, the hit still landed with enough force to destroy the balloon monster as the Armory Hero watched both him and Rifana gain EXP. "Not a bad hit, but it still needs a lot of work," said Figneria, "This time try not to close your eyes. Darius, you'll also be holding the monster this time."

"Yeah I'm one step ahead of ya on that," said Darius as he held out his arm which currently had one of the balloons chomped down on it. He'd quickly discovered that the higher his level the less pain he felt from small attacks. He hoped that applied to this next one as Rifana charged again, swinging the mace horizontally this time. The cardinal hero managed to adjust his arm at the last second so the hit wouldn't be off target as the two of them were rewarded with yet another popped balloon and more EXP.

"Now for the next step," said Figneria as she watched another approaching balloon, "You'll need to hit one when it's not stationary." Rifana nodded in understanding, her face showing a little more confidence as she stepped to the side of the road and swung at the next balloon that leapt out. But this time, the result was not quite satisfactory as the little monster managed to grab onto the top of her mace with its jaws, causing the demi-human girl to squeal in panic as she began frantically swinging it all over the place.

"Calm yourself, fear is an enemy that must also be overcome," said Figneria as Darius attempted to step forward and help her. A decision he immediately regretted as the monster covered mace was slammed into his more sensitive areas, causing him to almost double over before being hit in the head. He quickly curled into the fetal position as he felt himself being hit a few more times before the balloon finally popped.

"Oh my goodness, are you okay Darius," exclaimed a worried, and rather embarrassed Rifana.

"Just the first day," replied Darius in a slightly higher voice with a thumbs up, "These things happen."

"We'd best stand clear for the next one," commented Figneria as the hero struggled back to his feet. It'd take him the better part of an hour before his voice returned to normal.

Behind Reichnott Mansion: That Evening

After a few more hiccups, or bites as it were, the two of them managed to get into a comfortable enough rhythm, at least to the point where Figneria was confident enough to leave them be for a few hours. By the time they returned, Rifana had actually managed to jump up a few levels and barely needed any intervention in fighting the basic balloons as they returned to the mansion, more or less, triumphantly. Now, after a quick meal and a good amount of rest later, the two-person party stood in front of Figneria once more as the next part of their training commenced. "Now," she said, "You've seen what you're capable of and what you need to improve on. So for you Rifana, I'll be showing you a couple of basic forms that should help you develop an actual technique in fighting."

"And what should I be doing," questioned Darius with a raised hand.

"You shall watch first and then we'll spar," said Figneria as she held out her hand, "I hope you have a second mace."

"Hope you don't mind Morning-star," replied the Armory Hero as he produced one of the maces he'd picked up at Rabier's mansion and handed it to the head guard. Figneria then proceeded to go through a series of basic movements with the mace as Rifana watched closely.

"Now do the first few movements and I'll be along to help in a moment," said Figneria as she sent Rifana off before turning back to Darius. "As for you, just toss me the weapons I call out." Darius nodded in understanding as he accepted the mace back and returned it to his inventory. "First, spear." Her order was answered quickly as the requested item was materialized and tossed to her.

The warrior woman wasted no time as she immediately broke into a series of twirls, jabs and sweeping maneuvers. "Now a sword," she called out, waiting for her student to summon it first before tossing him the spear and catching the new weapon. As before she demonstrated a slightly complex form, this one just as skillful as the last. "Second sword, dagger, twin dagger, ax, halberd." It was all Darius could do to keep up as he summoned and stored one weapon after another while keeping his eye on the woman in motion.

Finally, after she had used a saber did she stop her form and toss it back to Darius. "I hope you saw all of that," said Figneria, "I'm not one for repeat performances."

"You make it sound like I need much of an excuse to watch a beautiful lady in motion," said Darius as he formed his Imitator mask. He didn't catch the sigh of annoyance from his comment as he launched into the form he'd just witnessed. It was less graceful and his transition from one weapon to the next wasn't necessarily smooth, but otherwise he did an almost perfect imitation of Figneria's weapon forms.

"I suppose that's passable," said Figneria as she made some adjustments to Rifana's form before having her perform another series of movements, "But tell me, how effective is it in actual combat?"

"It worked last time I used it," replied Darius, "though I was going up against a bunch of guys armed with only daggers or their fists."

"Coincidentally," said Figneria as she drew a pair of short, ornate blades, "daggers are my preferred weapon. Now, strike at me with everything you've learned."

"I'm not entirely certain this is necessary," said Darius as he assumed his own stance and switched over to a short sword, "But since you insist." The guard woman took her own stance as the two studied each other for a moment. Darius made the first move as he closed the gap with a low diagonal strike, which was quickly parried by Figneria. The cardinal hero quickly followed up with a horizontal strike on the other side with the same result as the blow was again blocked. 'Gotta change up styles,' he thought as he used a feint before switching hands to use a reverse-gripped slash.

But the maneuver wasn't quick enough as Figneria dodged it with a step back. "Is that the only weapon you're going to use?" Questioned the mercenary woman as she moved and managed to get a kick in under Darius's guard. The Armory Hero, taking her advice, backed up and switched to a spear before moving back in with a series of jabs.

Despite him almost perfectly imitating the attacks he'd been shown, however, he noticed something was off. He just wasn't as fast or as strong, or as experienced as her, meaning she was able to counter, avoid or block anyone of the attacks he used. She yanked the spear out of his hand, twisted a sword out of his grasp and even managed to cut the bindings of a shield he'd tried to use in a surprise attack. Finally, he attempted to use dual daggers against her and managed to hold his own for a short while given that he'd learned more and more attacks just by watching her. But even these eventually failed as she managed to grasp his arm and kick the back of his leg, bringing him down into a half-kneeling position in an arm bar.

"It seems clear to me now," said Figneria as she released the Armory Hero, "your Imitator ability may allow you to duplicate the moves you've seen, but you've had little actual weapons training."

"Well my world doesn't use a lot in the way of swords and spears these days," explained Darius as he rubbed his arm a bit, "do ya got any recommendations?"

"I believe I do have a criteria now," replied Figneria as Rifana also walked up to listen, "Tomorrow and for the rest of this week, you two shall start weapons and ability training in the morning and raise your levels in the afternoon. Do you think you can handle this?"

"Can't be much worse than training with Fitoria," remarked Darius.

"If that's what it takes for me to be able to help, I'll do it," said Rifana with a determined look in her eyes.

"Very well then," said Figneria, "Get plenty of rest tonight. Hero or child I will not be going easy on either of you."

One Painful Week Later

Reichnott's guard was as good as her word. Each morning was a round of weapons training and sparring. Sometimes she'd spar with Darius and sometimes she'd spar with Rifana. The two of them were also given the chance to hone their abilities or learn new ones such as Rifana increasing her strength and speed while the cardinal hero learned how to effectively shoot with a bow and arrow alongside his Phantom Army projectiles. By the end of each morning, both hero and child would be plenty ready for lunch which, despite Darius's protests, Reichnott assured were on the house as it seemed he expected to make quite a killing at his little auction.

The afternoons would then be filled with Darius and Rifana venturing out and exterminating the monster population which had gathered near the roadsides. They'd managed to form a slight strategy for fighting with Darius firing projectiles at approaching enemies and Rifana bashing any that got through the barrage. The Armory Hero would also engage in close combat alongside his companion if any remaining monsters managed to make it that far. The two party members actually enjoyed this part of the training as it not only allowed them to level up a decent amount, but it also gave them a sense of accomplishment knowing they were helping out the nearby town.

A few other noteworthy changes were also occurring with the little weasel girl, namely that she wasn't quite as little anymore. In fact she seemed to be growing as quickly as her confidence as the petite little lady he'd met only a few days ago now looked like a developing teenager. 'I hope she doesn't have a rebellious phase,' thought Darius as he watched her come back with their latest monster kill, a type of nasty lizard with fangs similar to snakes. "I got it Darius," sang Rifana happily, "Do you think it'll be good for dinner tonight?"

"Couldn't say," replied the cardinal hero as he accepted the lizard carcass, "But I hear with enough seasoning you can eat just about anything. And given that we're going to be on the road tomorrow, we might as well get used to the possibility of eating wild game."

"Right," said the weasel girl happily as she hopped along back to the wagon. 'I really hope she's only happy about a job well done and not the fact that she killed something,' mused Darius as Rifana called back to him to hurry up. The return trip that evening was pleasant and so was the meal as Reichnott took a moment to say a word of thanks to the two of them for curbing the monster infestation near the village. He even granted them a reward in the form of a bag of gold coins, despite the both of them insisting that they had enough money already.

But the kind noble was even more insistent and said they'd need it for their journey tomorrow as all the other preparations had been made for them to depart in the morning. 'It'll take us a few days to reach the capital once we get started,' surmised the cardinal hero as he washed his face and looked in the mirror, still wondering where in the heck he'd managed to obtain silver highlights in his hair. 'I just hope we can make it in time before the wave hits. There's still going to be plenty to do once we arrive.'

"Are you feeling uneasy, Mr. Saxon," said a female voice as Darius whirled around to see Figneria standing in the doorway.

"Oh it's you," said Darius as he stopped himself from summoning a weapon at the last moment, "What brings you to the men's bathroom?"

"You left the door open," Figneria pointed out, "And I already knew you were done bathing."

"I won't comment on how it's creepy that you knew that," said Darius as he walked out of the doorway and headed towards his room with the woman in tow, "So what's got you prowling around looking for me? Aren't any problems with tomorrow's travel plans are there?"

"Not as far as supplies and materials go," replied Figneria as they arrived at his room, "but I have a slight concern when it comes to your mental well-being."

"How so," questioned the college student with a raised eyebrow, "I mean it's a lot of pressure when I sit down and think about this whole save the world mess I've been pulled into. But I've felt fine otherwise."

"I'm talking about your willingness to take a life again," said Figneria, "I mentioned when you first arrived that Rifana's eyes were of someone who'd killed before. Yours have a similar look to them, but it's more resigned." Darius sighed at the observation as he sat down on his bed.

"Are you asking me if I regret doing what I had to do at the mansion," inquired Darius, "Because the answer is, not as much as I expected."

"Why do you think it is you feel that way?" Figneria questioned further as she too sat down on the bed across from him.

"If I'm being perfectly honest, Rabier was still going to die even if the plan had gone the way it was supposed to," explained Darius, "after seeing what he was doing to Rifana and her friends, something just snapped inside of me. It was the first time in my life I'd ever truly wanted to end someone, and given that the guards all helped him hurt so many innocent people, I guess I really stopped seeing them as human beings. I'm not gonna lie and say I believe I was justified in killing so many people, but if I hadn't, those kids might've died instead."

"So you don't feel much in the way of guilt," asked Figneria with a neutral expression.

"I do wish the situation had gone differently," admitted Darius, "But truthfully, I've hardly lost sleep over killing those guards. Are you telling me that's abnormal for a regular person in this world?"

"Not in this case," said Figneria, "The reason I'm asking is because you will likely encounter more who despise demi-humans and there may come a time when you'll have to end another's life in order to protect Rifana. I have already spoken with her and I can tell she is willing to do what she has to in order to keep others from suffering as she has."

"And you're worried that I might choke at the thought of having to kill more people," said Darius, "If I didn't know better I'd almost think you were worried about me."

"My concern is for the child traveling with you," said Figneria, "When the two of you leave tomorrow you'll be depending on each other to survive. You may not have realized it but she has latched onto you as one of her only remaining reasons to keep on living. So you must survive for her if for nothing else and that may mean raising your weapons against other human beings. So I'm asking you now, if it comes to it will you end the lives of more people if it means protecting hers?" Darius's eyes narrowed as all humor left his voice.

"I may wish that fewer people had to die at Rabier's mansion," stated the Armory Hero, "But I'd do it again and kill twice to three times as many in order to see Rifana and the children safe. If the moment comes again where I have to choose between Rifana's life and the life of some bastard, you better believe I won't hesitate to end them."

"Hmm, you're not lying," said Figneria with the slightest curve of what might have been a smirk as she stood up from the bed, "I'm still not entirely convinced. But more than enough that I won't need to worry when you set out tomorrow. So have a pleasant sleep, Sir Hero." With that, the mercenary woman gave a slight bow before exiting the room. As for Darius, he had a slightly harder time falling asleep that night.

That Morning: Time of Departure

A small entourage had gathered to watch as the wagon began pulling away. "A safe journey to the both of you," called Reichnott as he and a number of his maids waved to their departing guests. Even if it had only been a week, a number of them had grown fond of the presence of the Armory Hero and his new weasel girl companion.

"Thank you again for all your help everyone," called back Rifana as she hung from the front side of the wagon and waved back. The girl was now wearing grey baggy pants and boots along with a pair of gloves that covered past her wrists. She also wore a brown shirt with chainmail underneath the fabric, a gift that Figneria had surprised her with last night. She also now wore basic leather shin and arm guards as well as a basic leather armor covering over her shirt.

In all honesty it was a little strange to Darius as he realized that the girl in his dream might actually have been this weasel girl. But he put those thoughts to the back of his mind as he sat in the front of the wagon and waved to the nobleman, his servants and, oddly enough, Figneria of all people as the mansion slowly shrank behind them.

"Oh I've always wanted to see the capital," said Rifana excitedly as she finally sat down properly next to Darius, "I hear the castle is breathtaking!"

"You do remember we're headed into a battle," Darius pointed out, "I wouldn't get too excited about our travel plans just yet."

"But I can't help it," said Rifana, "after everything that's happened I'm actually going on an adventure, and with a real cardinal hero!"

"You saying you would be less excited if I was just an ordinary adventurer?" Questioned Darius with a raised eyebrow.

"Even if you were I'd still be excited," said Rifana with a smile, "It's always been my dream to meet one of the cardinal heroes some day and now I've got the chance to meet all four of them! And I'm doing it with a fifth cardinal hero whose legend is starting anew!"

"I guess if you want to put it that way," said Darius, "But since we're on the subject, which cardinal hero are you hoping to meet out of all of them?" Rifana turned to him with a beaming smile.

"Why the Shield Hero of course," she replied, "He's been praised as the kindest and noblest by all demi-humans after all."

"Well let's hope he and the rest of the heroes all live up to the hype then," said Darius as he snapped the reins to increase the wagons speed, "Because starting now we're fighting for the fate of the world, so let's give it our all!" Rifana cheered at the declaration as they rode off into the day. And Darius had to admit, despite the terrible events of a week ago, he was excited to face the coming challenges ahead. One of those challenges, would be learning that legends and real life are sometimes very different.

At last Darius and his new companion are on their way as the training wheels finally come off! That's right, from this point on it's Darius and Rifana against the world, so to speak. Oh and before anyone asks, this will not be the last we see of Figneria. In the meantime, hello everyone, hope you enjoyed this latest chapter and as always, feel free to leave a comment or review about what you liked/disliked or if you've got any neat ideas for future chapters. Be sure to stop in next time as Darius and Rifana reach their destination, and meet a rather grumpy cardinal hero! 'Til then.