[ - Author's Note - ]
Well, here we are. New chapter!
Since it's come up in a few comments I'll state it outright; Dawn is a secondary protagonist. The story will focus on her for this chapter but she'll be the supporting character most of the time. She's not going to replace James at all; don't worry. With that said...
What do we have this time? Well, Dawn and her party take on a guild job, James opts to do some culinary testing and... the Primus has a guest.
I'll leave it there. So, let's just get into it, shall we?
[ - Act IV - Chapter X: Dawn's Adventure - ]
I would wish to not live in a world of heroes. When heroes are needed it is because there is a problem in need of solving. Because people or nations quarrel over things great or small, hurting equals or lessers to a degree that wounds too deep and thus we need heroes to save us from our own suffering. If we lived in a world of peace and happiness what would we need for heroes? The world is better off without heroes.
~Oxleon Dent, Foreword to The Final Word on Wars
We need heroes. Heroes who inspire us, uplift us and, yes, protect us and solve the world's problems. My colleague, Mr. Dent, may decry the need for heroes but he forgets why a need for heroes exists in the first place; the world is an imperfect place that is littered with strife and conflict. Even if man and related races like elves and halflings could come together in an honest, lasting peace across the world we would still have dangerous Aberrant raiding villages, diseases we cannot yet combat, disasters that we cannot prevent, accidents that will occur. A world without heroes is one without leadership, without hope. Let there always be heroes.
~Dominic James Pencraft, An Address to My Peers
[-]
"Pass the-Ohh, thanks."
"No problem there, Master." It was a bit... odd being called 'Master' by someone other then Riri but this time it came with a different meaning and tone. With Riri it was a case of 'I am here to serve you' but with Dawn the tone was 'I am here to learn'. She passed me the screwdriver while we levitated as I moved to secure the bracket in place above the door of the manor with a small bit of spell glass in it. This glass was in a series with matching mana signatures boasting modified voxlux spells on them to make a system of cameras as a means of increasing security in and around the manor.
Once I realized how much I needed to secure the Enterprise from theft or sabotage it got me thinking I should do the same for the manor proper. As such I had a set up with twenty voxluxs (With options to add more later, if needed/desired) with one on each side of the outer wall looking inwards, eight looking outwards, one on each wall of the manor looking outwards and one at each corner. Gregory in particular loved the idea and we had the viewers set up in an office of the manor's barracks. I could also view them in my quarters or from my voxlux if need be.
A tap would bring the glass online as I finished the work, passing the screwdriver back as she set the tool into a small box as we moved to land on the ground. Over the past week I've been working with Dawn and helping teach her. My father helped with her magical and general education while my mother helped with her physical. By contrast my focus was on two major points; enchanting and combining her magical and physical skills into one combat style. Unlike Miika she had the magical talent to make full use of my fighting style although she had different strengths; she was more agile then strong and her magic was powerful but lacked the mana capacity to make the full use of it, giving her limited endurance on the magical side of things. That wasn't to say her endurance was low; just lower compared to how much bang she could output.
To that end I opted to adapt my style for her to hit hard, hit fast and hit often until the problem went away to match her natural, aggressive fighting style. I also opted to have her focus on boosting her mana capacity further to ensure that she had the staying power in case said problem didn't instantly crumble. So far the efforts were gaining results; one level on her end and some... changes to her status.
(-)
Name : Dawn the Red Blade
Title : The Dragon's Apprentice
Class : Spell Blade
Level : 15
Alignment : Friendly
Reputation : 81
Status : Healthy - Tired, Surprised, Relieved
Romance Rating : 92
Corruption Rating : 4
Known Traits
[Rapier Mistress] You are a master at handling rapiers. +3 Damage to all equipped rapiers. Additionally, any enchanted rapier when equipped will increase your Mag by your level divided by 5 (Rounded up)
[Prodigy] You master spells and magic at a highly improved rate. +20% spell mastery rate.
[Blast & Blade] 5% of your Str is added to magical damage. Add 5% of your Mag to physical damage
[Bi The Way] You are bi-sexual and are willing to play the field.
[Hero's Apprentice] You are the apprentice to a notable hero of the realm! Your rate of growth is improved thanks to your tutoring! +7% to Exp and Stat Exp when training with your master. While fighting at his side your stats increase by 1% per level of difference between you and him.
A natural at spellcraft since a young age, Dawn was a former prodigy of House Brangus and was given a good, magical education alongside fencing training until a falling out with both her parents and extended family saw her cast out and her education incomplete. She would turn to mercenary work for a time before a chance encounter saw her taken under the wing of James Noxdecus, the Champion of Eostia.
(-)
Given the twenty-five level difference between us that meant she would punch over her weight class when at my side... but even so I was reluctant to bring her to anything in my weight class; at least for the time being. Even so she could act as my eyes and ears as needed whenever my status as Champion made that difficult or impossible; that wasn't a big deal in Argon where everyone knew of me to some degree... for now. The city's growth could change that over the years...
Anyway... "Aren't you joining your party today for a job?" I asked as she gave me a nod.
She was the fifth member of a little adventuring party; The first and leader was Robert Greenhood's grandson Robin, who was also the team's archer and while he couldn't match his grandfather's skill yet he was a talented sniper, even if he's yet to join the archery contests. The second was Peter Ocland, ninth son (and fifteenth child) of a minor noble from Ur who was the team's scout as well as a back-up archer, talented in his own right. Third was Wendy Ing; a swordswoman with an enchanted claymore boasting both Shocking Weapon and a lightning spell built in for some utility... but lacked any armor. Lastly was Paul Warner; boasting scale mail, a some swords and a six foot long halberd. They were an effective, little group with Paul as the tank and muscle, Wendy as the mobile flanker, Robin as the leader and archer and Peter as the scout, tracker and ranged flanker or additional melee flanker.
Dawn slipped into their little group well enough with her natural flexibility; being able to swap between ranges, bring powerful magical attacks and good magical healing she brought both more of what they already had and what they didn't. With luck they'd have a good time and not, ya know... run into a semen slime...
Gah! I can still smell it...
[-]
"About time you got here!" Dawn heard as she came near the guild's building, panting a bit as she ended her jog and slowed to a brisk walk to stop to the man leaning into the wall of the structure.
"Sorry Robin! Master was doing some work so I offered a hand..." She let off, rubbing the back of her head. Robin sighed and shrugged softly. He stood six foot two and wore well padded, leather armor that was colored a forest green on the skull cap, torso and boots and a rich brown on the gloves and leggings. A long, red feather was stuck into the left side of his skull cap and a second was tied to the top of his long bow. A brown colored quiver was set to his back and stuck out to the right over his shoulder. At his left hip was a short sword with a pronged guard and a ringed pommel hanging on a belt with a few pouches In addition to that a bundle of spare arrows was tied and set to the small of his back.
"Whatever. We are stealing you from our good champion; we have to be thankful." He said with a shrug. His hair was groomed short and he bore a thin mustache and short goatee as green eyes looked over her. "Come on; everyone's inside looking over the board." She would nod once as he pushed off the wall and walked in as she followed.
For Dawn it was nice to be able to join the guild, finally; sure, there were other means of finding work as a sellsword but none as reliable and as safe as the Guild. More importantly it was easier to find and team up with reliable, good allies; doubly so when you had the Champion of the Realm in your corner. As they entered someone by the board looked over to them and gave a nod; her face staying stoic as she moved her hands to her hips. "New boss keep you for awhile?" She let off in an easy, neutral drawl. The woman in question stood some five-nine in height, bore short, black hair that was cropped with bangs pointing down and to the right, highlighting brown eyes. A cloth, black collar was around her neck along with a leather cord holding up a long, pointed tooth of... something; Dawn never asked what it was.
For clothing she wore a white blouse that was left open, showing off her cleavage and the tops of her C-Cup breasts with it's sleeves ending in the middle of the forearms. She bore a brown corset around her midsection along with belts to hold up a pouch at her right hip and gloves over her hands; the left longer with a metal plate on the back and the left short. Another metal plate was over the side of her bicep, held with two, leather strips. Black, leather pants were over the legs with thigh high, brown boots, a small, curved knife held in a white sheathe to her left thigh with a strap wrapped around it three times and a small chain over her right thigh. Ending the look was her main weapon; a claymore on her back with a black wrapped handle and black toned spell stone in the middle of it's guard.
The weapon in question, Iron Burst, was the strongest among their group in terms of enchantment; half steel and half mythril it boasted a lightning blade enhancement, lightning spell, the attach to back enhancement and the usual bonuses enchanters usually used. She was tight lipped on where or how she got it beyond that she broke her old weapon getting it but she did let Dawn examine it... the differences between what she could make and her blade was vast but James' teaching had helped her understand more of what she was looking at. "Just giving him a hand, Wendy." The swordswoman shrugged and sighed.
"Figures." She said simply in reply as a scoff came from nearby.
"Well that's our lord for you; always making something." She would look over to the speaker, Peter of House Ocland. Ocland was a House of minor nobility from Blackwell that minded the southern parts of the barony and was decently wealthy... and boasted a patriarch who boasted three wives (One, his mother, being elven); a right granted to him thirty years ago at King Aston's recommendation due to his daring in the war... and each bore him seven children for a total of twenty one. With little to inherit it was little wonder he took up some form of profession.
A half elf standing five foot seven with green eyes and hair in a ponytail and a long bang reaching the outside of his right eye he wore a set of leather armor that was black in tone on the plates and gray on the under layer with metal plates over the elbows, knees, shins and knuckles. Like Robin he bore a quiver and bow (If a short bow) at his back, both black in color but his bow bore a small spell stone to reinforce it and both add force and silence his arrows; a gift from his father. At one hip was short sword but with an oddly long handle; mainly as the handle could split in two with the upper half acting as a sheathe for a thin bladed dagger.
Over his right shoulder was a plate boasting the emblem of his House; a circle with a thick outline and dark red background featuring the image of a raven extending a wing in a stylized manner and deep, golden eye. "It's added another voxlux to our group, if nothing else. And I guess having the Champion himself on call can be good if we find something nasty enough to warrant it."
Indeed, they had bought two to split between the four of them before but James gave his apprentice one of her own, upping the number to three. "Let's not bother the good lord, Ocland." The last member of the group let off, pulling a sheet off the board. "We can handle anything here; it's not like someone as dangerous as Olga's coming out here anytime soon." The last of the group, Paul Warner, was a five ten man but build wide. He was bald and clean shaven and bore a single, green left eye. His right eye was replaced with a spell stone one that was green in color (Her master offered to add an Illusion to make it look like his natural eye but Paul declined) which gave him a striking look. He wore steel, scale mail armor with overlapping, rounded plates that fell to the thighs and scales over the leggings. Brown gloves were over the hands with metal plates over the back of the hands and fingers and matching boots on the feet with plates over the toes and tops. At one hip was a simple kettle style helm with cheek guards and a padded plate over the chin held by the chinstrap.
A poncho cover his shoulders and covered the top of his left arm; colored red with black trim and with the image of a pair of wings over the left shoulder. He had a basic halberd with a small stone set to the head in red; usual enchantments with the attach to back one to make it easier to carry. Around his hips was a thick, brown belt would hold a few pouches on it and a long sword at his left hip and a short sword at his right. He would hold the sheet he pulled to Robin and looked to him. "Have a look at this one." Robin hummed as he took the sheet and read what was on it.
"Aberrant job; lone ogre and some goblins it seems." He mused. "Merchants have spotted them near the roads between Creekwood and Tangleburry and blockaded the road to try and stop them only for a mage to blow the blockade apart." Their leader let off with a frown. "Local Regulars chased them off but locals have seen signs of them closer to Tangleburry." Creekwood was located in Ur just past the border with Mungale while Tangleburry was off to the side of the main road connecting Stonewall City with Argon City; sitting between the later and Creekwood.
That would take them well away from Argon but someone needed to deal with it and given the expected travel distance it paid well too. Normally such jobs were, apparently, handled by a group called the Rowdy Boys... who hadn't been considered welcome in town since their leader picked a fight with her Master for some reason. There wasn't a large party that could replace them yet but, for the moment, that just meant these jobs were now up for grabs. "We'll just need to track them down then, huh?" She let off.
"I know a local farmer who's heading that way, he'll likely not mind us hitching a ride." Robin let off. "Might be a couple days or so to finish the job though."
"I'll let master know..." Dawn sighed as they walked over to the guild's desk; Kara giving them a short wave as she minded something on her shelving. It was a half minute before she walked to the desk and smiled.
"Okay then; what are you guys hoping to d-ahh, that one." She said, looking over the sheet and nodding. "Since the end of the war there's been an unfortunate influx of Aberrant that slipped Garan's control. The ogre in charge was one that broke off with his forces but he wasn't the only one to escape; his name is supposed to be Dredge. No one's sure where exactly he's hiding but the last sightings are around Tangleberry. Nothing fancy; find and destroy."
"Right. Pay's good as well." Robin let off; it was eight gold in total and split between them a gold and six silver each. Not a bad payout; if they could pull it off. "We'll take care of it. What else can you tell us?"
[-]
Dawn came back to the manor to pack some extra food; seems her job would take her away for a couple of days. I tossed her an enchanting book so she could study a bit along the way and took the time to pass her a scroll I had made with Holy Flare Spread on it so she could learn it. I had planned to teach her hands-on, but that's life. (In case your wondering; I had scribed scrolls of my (And in this case, Prim's) custom spells down for future reference and so I could spread them to others as needed, doubly so Blessed Waters) I chose that spell in particular as it was useful to avoid friendly fire, was the least mana intensive hybrid spell I had and it offered a solid punch in a wide spread.
With her off and away I opted do some additional work; I was making a dark/fire version of Flare Spread for more anti-shield options but mostly experimenting with holy/darkness spells. How well I could make a spell based on it I didn't know but I saw some use in enchanting due to what property it took on; an increase in the effect of gravity on something. I was modifying a Holy Arrow spell and while it wasn't ready I saw some use in it; it increased the force of gravity on what was impacted by a degree which was, so far, around a tenth. It was possible a stronger spell would have a harsher effect; it was hard to say. I had seen a similar enchantment before, but I doubted it was the same thing here.
That would mean hitting someone with it would add weight to their strikes (A downside) but, more importantly, reduce their speed and agility (An upside!) and make it harder to move; even if it wasn't much. That said, as an enchantment the effect had some real potential; making armor lighter and easier to use or heavier as a means of training. Making weapons lighter until impact and shifting to heavier to boost the force of the impact... I could also see adding it to Enterprise as a means of counteracting someone neutralizing the Levitation spell on it; maybe not letting it float but at least slowing a fall.
I had a day of work before being called to the front of the manor to deal with a problem... and not one I expected... Standing before our front door was two people; Joseph and Sally Yellowfield, father and daughter. Both were in brown overalls but his were pants and hers a skirt. Both wore brown boots and white shirts, but his shirt was full sleeved and hers short. She also had a black ribbon tied like a bow tie around her neck while he had a red ascot around his. Both bore brown hair with his in a halo around his head with grayed edges and a thick, bushy but short beard while hers was a cute, short bob. Both bore blue eyes with Joseph standing at six foot even and a boasting a Dad-Bod and she standing five seven with smaller, C-cup breasts. They were a pair indeed...
And they dropped a seventy pound sack of cornmeal at my feet as my mother and Sora watched on. "Well this is an odd surprise..." I let off. "Better then some of the things I've been given recently..."
(-)
Name: Joseph Yellowfield
Title: Corn Farmer of Mungale
Class: Farmer
Level: 7
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 78
Status: Healthy, Hopeful, Jovial
Known Traits
[Green Thumb] You know how to grow plants and know what wild plants are good to eat and aren't.
[Seed The Fields] You know how to farm! All of your seeds grow 5% faster.
An old farmer of Mungale and one of it's finest he focuses mostly on corn but also grows wheat, potatoes and barley. Thanks to smart business dealings, hard work and luck he's expanded to larger fields and hires several hands to help with his crops and animals making him a local leader in the villages near Argon.
(-)
Name: Sally Yellowfield
Title: Lady of the Cornfields
Class: Farmer
Level: 5
Alignment: Friendly
Reputation: 87
Status: Healthy, Nervous, Hopeful
Romance Rating: 101
Corruption Rating: 4
Known Traits
[Cute As A Button] You are attractive to all men to some degree
[?]
Daughter of one of Mungale's best farmers she handles the cows and manages the oxen when working the fields. She also loves corn and preparing various recipes and snacks based on corn and is even experimenting with kernels on dried stalks. She is hoping to find a good husband someday.
(-)
To explain for some context; over the winter break post-war I've been doing various little things. Most of that was to prep the transformation of the Buttercup into the Enterprise, spellcraft, studying and even work on the voxlux system but one thing I did was to try and boost food output. As an experiment I took a watering can, slapped on a spell stone in it's bottom and enchanted with a earth/water hybrid mana version of the Aqua Create spell I had made to make the water infused with both earth and water mana at the same time... although it was useless for drinking (It tasted like dirt and was colored piss yellow) or any sort of offensive use (It only came out as a trickle if used as a spell) using it on plants around the manor seemed to have a positive effect on their growth so I approached the Yellowfields, explained what I had made and requested they experiment with it to see how well it would work... but that was, like, mid January. "So, how did the water can work?"
"Well you're lookin' at the results right there, sir." He said, gesturing to the sack as my eyes widened.
"You harvested the corn in March!?" I let off shocked; holy crap! "That one part of the field sprouted so fast?"
"Eh, been using it on the fields almost daily, all of'em." He said to my surprise; I'd ask he only use it on a small part of his crops in case something went wrong. He caught my look as gave a wide grin. "Now, now, I listened well and stuck to a small part but they grew fast and they ain't poisoned or toxic or nothin' so seemed to be a good way to grow corn quick. And damn if we have all we can sell and more... except..."
"Problem is, M'lord,-" Sally injected. "-we made a deal with an Elddale merchant in regards to our cornmeal; we made a bargain as he assumed we couldn't supply all he needed... and reigned on the deal when it turned out we could and it would disadvantage him." She sighed and shook her head along with a shrug for extra measure. "So that's a good deal of coin we missed out on."
"And now we have around a thousand pounds of the stuff because we can grow it so fast!" Joseph added in with a snort. "Oh, sure, we made corn syrup and such with a lot of it too, and we ain't hurtin' for coin at the moment but we need to do somethin' with this!" He said gesturing to the bag with his hands as I blinked.
"I'd imagine, and I'm not above helping out as long as nothing more pressing is on hand-" I replied as I rubbed the back of my head. "-but why bring this problem to me, exactly?"
"Ahh, well we know of that ice cream ya made; we even sell to the Creamy Dream." He replied as I nodded. "I... sorta hoped you could make somethin' with cornmeal as well; even if I don't know what."
"We're not expectin' ya to waste time on it, o' course." Sally injected as she raised her hands, palms forwards as if to say 'no offense'. "But you might have better luck then us." Sora hummed as she picked up the sack with a soft grunt, looking to the cornmeal within before pulling the draw string closed.
"If nothing else, Lady Saxon can use this in her baking." She mused as I nodded... and I started to have an idea come to me...
"Okay, I won't promise anything but I'll take a crack at it." I said as I rubbed my chin with a thumb. I did, in fact, have an idea in mind...
"Well if it works out let me know; might be somethin' good we can all use." Joseph let off as I thought back to my old life...
Namely that time my mother and I tried a little homemade cereal...
[-]
The Palace of the Golden Senate
Northern Aerarium City
Capital of the Plutocracy of Zenith
Office of the Primus
Achelous Chryso laced his fingers together as he sat behind his desk as he tried to remain calm; what was likely the most deadly man on the continent was about to arrive in his office... Ligeia Opados stood behind him, wand tucked into the back of her waistband and at the ready while Achelous kept his mace behind the desk, handle standing up. They were nervous but didn't expect violence... but one should never be too careful around such a freelance assassin...
At the very least one thing assuring he wouldn't turn on them was the one hundred platinum asking price for the meeting with the man. Even for a man of his wealth that wasn't a drop in the bucket...
Neither was the five hundred platinum cost for a completed job... but it would be the price needed to secure Zenith from a potential assault by air... Finall a knock sounded on the door. "Enter." Achelous let off, trying to stay calm as the door opened and two men walked in, the first man shutting the door behind them.
That first man in question wore a long, silken, cream colored, long sleeved robe that fell to his ankles with a red and gold panel along the bottom with circular patterns with red and gold colored shoes with raised points under them. A rich, green, silken long coat was over the robes with golden patterns stitched into it. A wide brown belt was under the coat and over the robes with a large, polished sapphire set to it on a golden bracket, matching the one set to the center of his white turban via a golden plate. At five foot nine he was a portly man with a thick, well groomed, black beard. Blue eyes looked over him set into dusky skin and, had someone of another world been there, they'd mention he looked Arabic in dress and looked very wealthy; highlighted by the three rings on each hand with gemstones set to them. His name was Ayman Yataklam; he spoke for his client and was the one to handle the negotiations...
The other man was the one he had summoned to take on the job of assassinating James Noxdecus; the World's Deadliest Assassin... He Who Knew No Failure... The Man Who Will Find You... The Unstoppable Slayer...
Qatil Aleaql...
He stood five foot eleven in height but his other features, save piercing red eyes, was obscured by his clothing. A thick tunic colored a deep, dark green covered his frame; baggy and loose to hide his exact shape and boasting white, blocky patterns along the bottom, a white sash around his center under a brown belt boasting two long knives on it. Hanging off the right hip was a lock of black hair tied together with a leather strap; taken from Empress Hilda von Harmon twenty-one years ago as proof he could reach anyone, no matter how secluded and protected they were.
White, baggy pants were over his legs bearing thin, well spaced green, vertical stripes that hid anything under them, be it armor or weaponry. They tucked into short, brown boots that bore a double thick top while being padded on the bottom to further hide his footsteps. Likewise his tunic was tucked into elbow length, brown gloves with padded knuckles and small, rounded plates over that padding.
Around his shoulders was a thick, white cloak that fell to the knees that could be pulled around him but, at the moment, was pulled back with a second, thinner, shoulder length cloak over the first; both trimmed near the bottom with a brown line. A white hood was around his head and a white, cloth mask was pulled over his face obscuring his nose down while a matching bandanna covered him from the eyebrows up; only a hint of ducky skin showing. The two men would sit down from across the Primus as he kept his voice calm and even. "Master Aleaql, I thank you for answering my summons. May I provide you with refreshments or would you rather get to business?"
Qatil said nothing, only turning his head to look at Ayman; the assassin never spoke to anyone. Ever. For all he knew the man was mute or merely wished none to know the sound of his voice to make his ability to hide and approach his targets easier; even if they were former clients. "No thank you." Ayman replied with an accented tone common to the Bahr Alrimal region as Qatil looked back to Achelous. "It is no offense to you but my client wishes to try a new restaurant in the city. He very much enjoys the delicacies his homeland lacks and wishes to arrive hungry." Achelous nodded once at that.
Southeast of the Great Savannah was a range of mountains the Catalan tribes called Duss'Oxzyl; the Great Peaks. This range of mountains would split into two directions, one hugging the Savannah in it's east and the other going south east. Trapped between the two lengths of the range was a massive desert; rainfall blocked by the Great Peaks and fed only by a single river for water to bring life that cut through the region known as Bahr Alrimal, the Sea of Sand. Once held by the Egul Empire who built massive tombs and irrigation projects; the lone river, the Egula, made the region a bread basket and let them expand their conquests and power outwards through military conquests until the Fate of Empires felled it through rebellions and outside threats.
For a thousand years after it was split between tribes, warlords and unsteady nations until Ghaleb Fiddtan discovered that, in a forgotten corner of the Bahr Alrimal, there was powdered metal within the sands; platinum. Discovering a way to separate sand and metal he used the precious metals to fund his own conquests and hire mercenary armies he conquered and united the region under his control; forming 'ard Alfida, the Land of Silver. Despite the name being silver it was platinum that earned them their wealth. That being said nearly everything from wood to steel to spell stones had to be imported; their only other notable export was spell glass. Outside of wheat, beef and some seafood via the river their food options was limited.
"Naturally; a trading hub like Zenith would have anything for any pallet." Achelous replied with a nod. "In regards to your target; he's a rising Eostian noble." A gesture and Ligeia set a small orb onto the table; it quickly projected a man with brown hair in blue, dragon scale armor. "James Noxdecus. I am sure his name has reached even your ears."
"Ahhh yes... The newly fabled, so-called Champion of Eostia, yes?" Ayman let off as he and Qatil shared a brief look. Once it ended he continued to speak, looking back to the pigman. "My client would be very interested in... ending his growing legacy... For the usual price, of course. One should not do what they are good at for free, after all..." The Primus always wondered how a glance was enough for him to know what the assassin wanted but he didn't question it.
"Of course; once the job is done I will forwards the money, or product equating it of your choice, to you." He said as he smiled, hiding his nervousness.
"A pleasure as always to do business with you." Ayman said as he stood, taking the orb projecting the image, turning it off and pocketing it. "I think it will be a week and some time before we arrive at his home. Expect word two weeks and a half at the latest via spell letter." Qatil nodded once, the only communication he gave the pigman, before spinning, his cloak sweeping out before falling around him as he turned to leave, Ayman following.
As soon as the door shut he pulled out a cigar, had Ligeia light it before having her undo his pants...
...being in the same room as Qatil was stressful after all...
[-]
Taking the sack of cornmeal to the kitchen I opted to take my time and experiment with making a batter with it while my mother joined me. It was clear I had something in mind as she worked on getting the oven ready. To make the batter I just added a bit of water; maybe about four parts cornmeal and three water when it was all said and done. Once it was a thick batter I would spread it thin on a tray and we'd stick it into the oven for a bit... I was going off memory so there would need to be some experimentation to do...
The first two batches were a little too singed but batch number three came out just right; flaky and... still not quite right. After another failed batch I would bake the next one, have the oven turned down, break the sheet into large flakes and bake it a second time until they were toasted to a golden color. Saxon tried in and gave a surprised look as I tried it and... It was okay but a bit... plain...
My mother made up a new batch but did a few different things; namely adding a hint of salt, some vanilla, a bit of corn syrup for a kick of sweetness and then sprinkled cornmeal onto the batter once it was laid out. Cooked, crumbled, cooled, toasted and tried once more and it was... much better. At least I knew the last step; dropping some into a bowl and adding a bit of milk.
Now we had Corn Flakes and, come lunch, we opted to test the newest batch on people. Miika, to no one's surprise, took to it like a cat to cream but Miria took to it to the same level... and Morika for that matter... That said, Makoto and Tiffany enjoyed it rather well as well but it was Aeris who took seconds.
We'd experiment with it throughout the day; mom's batch being the basis for what we adjusted by tweaking the amount of vanilla and corn syrup added, how much cornmeal we sprinkled onto the batter and so on. In the end we didn't over-complicate it, wrote down the recipe and dropped the flakes we didn't eat but made during testing into a large jar and took it to the Yellowfield's farm.
It was a farm with a large, yellow painted barn and house. Cattle could be seen grazing with several farm hands harvesting corn; including recent dark elf arrivals. Interesting...
It wasn't long before we (My mother and I, along with an escort who stayed outside of the house) were in their kitchen as Joseph and Sally tried their first bowl. "Well?" I asked as Joseph went from a bowl full to drops of milk left with Sally following quickly.
"My word... How did you make this so quickly?" Joseph let off, looking over his spoon then the jar, as if surprised.
"I had an idea and some good help." My mother gave a proud smile at that as I chuckled. "But regardless; I didn't just come over to showcase the fruits of my efforts... or flakes, as they are." I said with a shrug. "Moreover we've made something new and, in my opinion, worth selling." That made him perk up. "If we were, to perhaps, find the right means of packaging it and the means to produce it in large enough amounts..."
"Hooo... I can provide the cornmeal and you can provide the fundin' to start up..." Joseph let off with a nod as I smiled back. Left unsaid was that just my involvement alone would generate some interest...
"Mind, building a facility to churn out these Corn Flakes will be a while, let alone starting up distribution but I know the right merchants for that." I said with a smile. "They can find the demand while we work on the supply."
"Well, I think we gots somethin' worth talkin' about!" Sally injected with a smile. I agreed and nodded.
With Luck Dawn was having as much luck on her job as I was...
[-]
County of Mungale
Road to Tangleburry
Late Afternoon
"It's lucky we're getting a ride like this." Dawn let off, sitting cross-legged on the back of the wagon, looking up to the sky as she sighed while taking a break from her loaned book. It wasn't an unusual arrangement for locals with horse drawn wagons to offer rides to Adventurers, mercenaries or other armed people who could be afforded a level of trust; for the armed men in question they got where they were going quicker and with less effort and for the man with the wagon it was armed protection they didn't need to pay for.
"Don't relax too much." Paul grunted out gruffly, sitting on one side but looking out towards the other side; seated on a box left in the wagon. "Aberrant attacks are on the rise, it seems. The Legion's split up." Dawn frowned but silently agreed; elements of the Legion were in a mad dash to establish their own clans and tribes. It was one of the reasons they were going so far afield.
"Take it easy." Wendy drawled out softly, sitting across from him. "You can be too serious sometime, ya know?" She turned her head to look to Robin for a moment. "Not that he's wrong about the Aberrant though... I wonder how long this uptick will last?"
"It's not like they can flee north of the border now." Their leader said with a snort, seated in a corner at the front of the wagon. "Well... they can; it's just the Garanians are hunting them down now to. It's possible after this uptick we'll see a big downturn if they start getting knocked off."
"Guess jobs will dry up then." Peter huffed. "Oh well. With luck we'll get on the trail of this batch soon."
"So..." Dawn let off, half turning to look at her party. "If I can ask; what brought you guys to guild work?" They knew her story, for the most part, and how she ended up on then off of the blacklist. There was a moment of silence as Robin shrugged and spoke first.
"My old man ended up in the army like his old man so I ended up there too. Fought in the last incursion, even." He said, shrugging. "I figured there'd be a chance at that so I started work a year and a half ago; get some experience in fighting. It paid off well, all in all. I was usually a scout; served under Miria Noxdecus a few times too."
"I don't like to talk about my reasons." Wendy said with a huff. "But what I will say is I wanted independence from my family and there wasn't too many good ways to get it." That made Dawn wonder if Wendy had any noble origins; spares were sometimes known to work for the guild if they lacked a real inheritance. A part of her wanted to press Wendy but she decided it was better to respect her desire to stay quiet about her past.
"I have my guesses on our little Blade Princess here." Peter replied with a chuckle. "But you guys know mine; noble house, no inheritance for one so far down. I needed something to do. Who knows; maybe I'll get knighted if I catch our good Count's eye? Or hell, we got his son's apprentice here; maybe she can help me on that sometime."
"I'll keep that in mind..." Dawn said with a soft chuckle.
"Career." Paul was the final one to speak. "Dad was a 'venturer. So was grand dad. I figured it was a natural choice; helped I got my old man's armor when he retired."
"Huh... So you had choices in the end, huh?" After all what did a thirteen year old kicked out from her house with her clothes and little else could do but apply skills she was still learning.
"You do too, now." Wendy said with a shrug. "You could just be an apprentice now."
"Master James thinks hands-on experience is a better idea."
"Well he was an adventurer too, even if he never needed to deal with the same limitations as the rest of us." Robin's words followed Dawn's own. "Maybe he thinks if it helped him it will help you." Dawn nodded once; it did make sense but he also mentioned it allowed him to directly interact with people as well.
Small talk would carry on for a bit but it took another hour for them to arrive at Tangleburry. They would dismount and walk the last mile as the farmer drove his wagon back to his farm along the road that was cut along grasslands with spare trees and brush. The road was dirt but well compacted with use and, perhaps, magic. The town itself was a fairly common town, although with some stone bases and even fully stone buildings. The most notable structure was a large watchtower, almost a small keep, off to the side of the road with a man in gambeson on it's roof with a bow. Militia, perhaps, she thought.
The town was bustling softly as people went to a small, local market and as they walked in Robin moved ahead of the group and rose his hand as he turned to face the party. "Right. The town hall has a guild affiliate who might know more. I'll go see what they know; the rest of you split up and ask about town. The more we know the easier it will be to find this Aberrant gang." Everyone agreed and after a word of confirmation everyone took off in their own direction; Dawn walking deeper into the market as she thought who was the best to approach.
Who would have the most knowledge of Aberrant raiders in town? Merchants would be one; they'd be the most threatened by them... but there was someone else she could think of.
And thus she turned to the direction she came from and walked to the watchtower.
There wasn't any guards at the bottom and the door was unlocked so entering and ascending was of no trouble once at the top she scraped her feet, making the bowman jump at the sound and his hand move to a militia club hanging at his hip. "Beg pardon." She said as she waved, stepping up.
"No one but the militia is meant to be up here." The man, a younger one with his hair tied behind his head and only an inch of tail resulting from it. Cute she guessed, five nine and brown eyed.
"Sorry. I took a guild job to deal with Aberrant what was supposed to be around here." She said, hand on her chest as she walked closer but stopped five feet away. "I was hoping you might have seen something that can help us." He frowned and gave a long, annoyed groan before sighing and moving his hand off his weapon before turning to the west, pointing outwards.
"I've seen movement off over there. Coulda just been animals but... who knows." He said with a huff, walking over to the end of the roof as she followed. "But some of the others in militia say they saw something in the night."
"They didn't try and approach the town?" Dawn let off as the man shook his head.
"Nah. Scouts, maybe. If I had to guess they're not strong enough to stage an attack." Likely the reason the guild had the job on offer; to deal with them before they became strong enough.
"Do you know where they retreated to?" She said, setting her hands on the crenelations of the roof; using Telescopic Vision to look further out into the distance.
"Not sure; they seemed to have head into the woods over there." He said, pointing a little to the southwest; there some mile and a half out was a series of woods that thickened and could, perhaps, conceal an Aberrant camp. She raised the idea but the man shook his head. "No, hunters come and go from the woods and there's no one missing yet... if they are in there it's deeper in then most people usually go."
"So either deeper in or just using it as cover for wherever it is they really go?" Dawn summarized as she kept watch for a moment... before leaning in.
"What is it?"
"I'm using magic to see further." She said softly... "I see a goblin."
"What? Where?" The man asked as she pointed outwards.
"It's hard to see, but there. He's shuffling behind the bushes and skulking away..." She could see it, the goblin, armed with a bow, looking out to the road and then turning to enter the forest deeper until she could no longer see it.
"I saw a bit of red, yeah... A scout, then?" He mused as she frowned.
"But what is it hoping to see?" She asked...
[-]
"A scout?" Robin let off as the party regrouped and compared notes. Paul and Peter learned of nothing new that they already didn't while Wendy learned of something different; there were abandoned mines in the southwest that no one really went to or used anymore that was once funded by men hoping to find valuable ore and finding not much else then dirt. It sounded like a possible den that could be used by Aberrant; something Dawn's spotting of the goblin confirmed given it's direction of retreat. "One has to wonder what they're up to though... Are they seeking to attack the town or just the roads?"
"Nothing from the guild affiliate?" Wendy asked him as Robin shook his head.
"Not that we didn't already know. I asked around like you guys after though." He said as he frowned. "Someone spotted two goblins from a wagon and they seemed to fall back after being spotted; closer to half way to Creekwood and southwest."
"Hmmm... I have a bad feeling about this..." Dawn let off as she cupped her chin as Robin looked over to her.
"What do you mean?" He asked as Dawn looked back.
"Gangs of Aberrant don't give up; they fall back and regroup. Usually they'll raid smaller villages or farms to grab women, breed and come back in a year once they have new blood old enough to fight; even if the youngest aren't truly ready." Robin frowned at that and crossed his arms. "They might go to ground and only raid a little until..."
"Best to find them now, then, as opposed to let them get away." Peter let off. "Let's get moving then; sooner we find them the sooner we get paid and don't need to worry about a bigger problem."
"Agreed." Robin let off with a nod. "Let's go."
[-]
I got started on the Corn Flakes thing and was already staring to consider how to make it all work. I imagined that converting a building to purpose would be the best route to go with but with the uptick in people and merchants coming in there... wasn't really any left. So we'd need to build new; great. Still that wasn't an issue; I had the funds for it. It just meant it would take a month as opposed to a few weeks before things kicked off. Oh well.
As I worked on that I opted to do a mix of work; training yes but also more spellcraft; starting with that spell Dawn used in our spar. She didn't have a name for it, for some reason, so I opted to name it myself.
(-)
Pocket Sand [Lvl I] (0/1000)
Magic Type: Earth
Cool Down: Very Low
Mana Cost: Very Low
Blast particles of earth mana in a sand like manner. Causes no direct damage but can blind a target if it gets into their eyes until cleared out or the mana dissipates.
(-)
Yep. I named it after a meme. Cause why not?
Regardless, while that was the most notable spell I worked on there was one more I had been working on for a while.
(-)
Blessed Guard [Lvl I] (0/1000)
Magic Type: Holy/Wind
Cool Down: None
Mana Cost: High
The user creates a soft green colored spiral of flat wind that can block projectiles and some melee attacks but also repels magical attacks.
(-)
Another defensive option; mostly to defend against spells. I had no idea how well it would hold up to something like an Annihilation Stream but anything short of that should be repelled. Can't let myself run out tricks, can I?
Beyond that I did some things to relax; read, ride White Peach, play games with Miika and such. And of course... talk with my fiancees. "Did you need to take a bath while calling us?" Alicia let off as I shrugged in said bath.
"What, you hate the view?" I let off with a grin. I had modified my personal voxlux as well; it now had a Levitation spell so I could go hands free fully as well as a 'return to hand' spell, plus a few other little features. It hovered before me projecting three images (An original feature that didn't see much use) as I made a four way call with my brides-to-be.
"D-D-Don't say it like that!" The blonde let off as Prim giggled loudly. As far as I could tell all three were in their quarters as I sat in the bath, hands behind my head and water up to the bottom of my chest.
"Oh come on, I want to see lower." My first fiancee let off as she giggled a bit more as I rolled my eyes. "But all joking aside; how is the new apprentice working out?"
"So far, so good." I replied as I sighed. "She and her party are off on a longer term job out west so it'll be a couple more days at least before I see her once more; Aberrant issues." I said as Kaguya sighed.
"There has been an uptick, hasn't there? The bulk are, thankfully, disorganized." She summarized. "Given that the bulk are Legion you'd expect more discipline and organization; not that I'll complain."
"...What if this is just the riff-raff?" Alicia pipped up; head turned as I assumed to look at Kaguya's image. "What if the more talented and capable are laying low, or worse, they've joined the Black Storm to some degree. Some interrogations have suggested that Aberrant seem to think 'change is coming' and, well..."
"Hmmm... Makes sense..." I mused. "But some might still strike out on their own... or the less talented will try and make a name for themselves..."
"As is the way of things..." Kaguya sighed.
"Are you sure about letting Dawn head off and fight without you there?" Alicia asked, concern clear in her tone.
"She survived five years before I found her. And while she has rough edges she's as tough as they come; sorta like Carmen is, really." I said as I looked to the Princess Knight. "Don't misunderstand; it's not like I have no worries but between her and her group she should be fine. Moreover between her new weapon and her training she's more then capable then she already was."
"Even so, do not be too lax with her." Kaguya injected as I looked to her image. "There does need to be a focus on fundamentals in addition to experience."
"Of course; I plan to work her hard." I injected with a nod. "But I know she can handle herself. I just plan on dragging her up further."
"On another note-" Kaguya began as Prim stood and moved off to the side of her image to do... something. "-the reforms in the Seindai are coming along and people are... starting to tone down the fun."
"Well they do need to stay serious some of the time." I said as Alicia nodded. "But it's good to hear they're enjoying themselves a bit too... So, is it going smoothly?"
"Mostly." Kaguya let off, reaching to the side and sipping a cup of tea for a moment. "I will say there are some hold outs but they've been convinced to not to bar the reforms... although not by my convincing... I'm... not sure how it happened..."
"I'm... sure someone was convincing..." I mean I've seen the priestesses under her watch.
Insert long wolf whistle here.
"Likely someone put out." Prim let off from off camera as Alicia sighed and shook her head.
"She... might be right..." The blonde said. "There's adjustments on my end as well; Benton is getting ready for accepting the crown but most of that is catching up on Feoh's politics and situation. When he's not learning he's touring Feoh and it's states."
"Luckily, in that regard, that Feoh is the smallest kingdom of the seven..." I mused. "He seems able enough but we won't know for sure until the weight of a crown is dropped on his head for real."
"That is the state of it, isn't itttttttt!" Alicia let off as Prim returned to her seat... nude. I, of course, stared... I mean all three of them are worth staring at but Prim's breasts may have been the finest... "Prim!"
"What? I'm getting ready for bed!" She let off with a shrug. I sighed but smiled at the same time.
Alicia was also staring... and Kaguya.
I mean...
Yum!
[-]
Following Morning
County of Mungale
Southwest of Tangleburry
Robin and his party had camped in the woods, taking watch one by one. Come the morning they would carry on to the mines with Peter in the lead. He would stay well ahead of the group but just in sight as they looked about; keeping alert. The half elf had slightly sharper hearing then the others and, as such, was the best to detect anyone ahead of them. Wendy took point for the rest of the group and Paul followed in the rear with Robin and Dawn between the two.
They had exited the forest sometime ago and trees became sparser and sparser as he went on. They should have been getting close to the abandoned mines and Dawn knew they were all nervous; Robin idly twirled an arrow in his hand while Wendy's head would turn slightly now and then; her eyes likely scanning about. Dawn's thumb flicked over the pommel of her own rapier, hilted in her sheathe, and Paul would look at the polished head of his halberd; using it as a mirror to glance behind him. Finally Peter would kneel and lift his hand; making the rest rush to his side. "What is it?" Robin asked as Peter moved his hand to the ground.
Within the grass was patches of bare dirt; maybe cleared by a deer or some other means. He could see, what appeared to be, overlapping footprints... a lot of them. "Goblin feet, no doubt." Peter said as he felt the dirt with a finger. "...But these aren't fresh... Days old; maybe even a week."
"A week?" Wendy let off as she shared a look with Dawn before the red clad spellcaster walked forwards for a moment before using magic to look further ahead.
"I see what looks like the mine... There's a small hill with a tunnel." She reported looking to Robin who nodded.
"Let's go. Eyes open; we don't want the sentries to get the drop on us." He said, notching his arrow as they moved ahead. It wasn't long before they arrived at the mine... with no goblin's spotted. The group would reorganize; Paul taking point with Peter behind him. Wendy now took the rear, glancing behind her as Dawn cast a simple light spell to let them see as they went in deeper and deeper... Paul followed the point of his weapon with a grim frown; ready for anything. Footprints of goblins ran back and forth on the tunnel floor. They would soon reach a chamber.
Nothing.
They would go down the only path deeper down to another chamber... And then they saw a few things...
The ashes and charcoal of an old campfire was found. Bits of wood was scattered about, logs that could have been used as seats around what was once a fire. Robin would find a torch and, with some flint, lit it and lifted it up for more light. "...They were here..."
"Bones." Paul let off as he looked down at loose bones; human or animal, it was hard to tell at the moment. "Hmmm... Did they leave?"
"That's not good." Dawn let off as she huffed. "Then they're in the wind."
"Maybe not." Everyone turned to Wendy as she looked back to them. "Bring that light over here; I think I found something."
"Hmm?" Dawn let off, making her light brighter as they walked over to what seemed like a mostly clear patch of ground. A few footprints littered the area but the bulk was covered by a drawing in the dirt; likely carved into it with a stick. Lines (Two larger then the rest), an 'X', a large square and rounded swirls. "...Is that a map?"
"They drew a map, yes. But of where?" Peter asked as Dawn hummed for a moment before moving to take out her voxlux. She took an image of the drawing before making a call, the pinging drawing the attention of the rest... as James Noxdecus' face appeared over it...
[-]
So with the Corn Flakes kitchen still in the planning stages I had little to do in that moment... Honestly; after a night of chatting with my fiancees, complete with Prim's 'show', I was a little tired that morning.
Mondays, am I right?
I took the time to study in the library with Aeris joining me and Sora bringing in fresh tea when Dawn called my on my voxlux. I set it to hover as I answered. "Hey Dawn, how's the goblin hunt going?"
"It's taken a... turn..." She admitted as I blinked at her. "We found the goblin nest but... no goblins... Instead we found this." She would turn the view about as I saw...
"A dirt map?" Huh... A look and silent, mouthed words was all I needed for Sora to go fetch one of my GPS maps. "Any clues on the direction of where it is in relation to where you are?"
"We're southwest of Tangleburry, M'lord." I heard Robin speak up as his bow came into view, pointing at the map. "I don't think there's anything like this near here; these seem to be twin rivers or creeks. I've hunted across Mungale; I've not seen anything like this before."
"Could it be in Ur?" Another woman let off, Wendy I think.
"Maybe. It'll be a mom-ahh, thank you Sora." I said as I took the device as she returned with it as I set it down and activated it. I started to scan and scroll around eastern Ur near the Mungale border... and after a few moment I found it, turning my own voxlux to showcase it. "Here. There's two rivers due south of Creekwood and near a town called Hygogg. It's between the rivers."
"If this map is accurate then Hygogg is the square, here." Robin mused. "Then this X might be their new base?"
"Worth checking out." Paul grunted out.
"Thanks Master... Sorry for troubling you."
"Part of my job is looking out for you." I replied to Dawn as we moved our voxluxs to face us once more. "Take care and I want to hear of how the job turns out soon, got it?"
"Got it!" She chirped out and before she hung up I heard Robin one last time.
"Right gang, let's move out!"
[-]
Three Days Later
Grand Duchy of Ur
Outside of Hygogg
"Well, we've arrived." Robin let off as he overlooked the town in question. The five of them walked into the town as Robin led the way, looking over his shoulder. "Okay guys, by the numbers once more. I'll find the town hall and ask there; you guys ask around and see what people know of these Aberrant."
"Right." Dawn chirped with a nod. By contrast to Taggleburry, Hygogg was a fair bit larger; not to the point it could be called a city or close to it but still sizable and more bustling. To the north and south of the two was a wide creek and a river; the north creek was shallow to the point of being ankle high and the southern river being deep enough to come up the waist. Both bodies of water had a bridge built to cross them easier; the north creek didn't need it but one could see how the creek could swell in heavier rain.
The town itself was mostly buildings of brick foundations and wooden upper floors. It bore two watch towers by the bridges but both were wooden and nowhere near as tall or wide as the one by Taggleburry. The town market seemed twice as large as Tagleburry's as well and even more bustling. Seeing as checking with militia in a watchtower worked out the last time Dawn opted to try that once more, approaching the north one first.
Robin, for his part, quickly found the town hall within a fully stone building and stepped in to see a large, empty room; large enough for a sizable town gathering at least. "Is someone there?" A man called out from a side room that Robin moved towards.
"Aye. Apologies for the interruption." Robin let off, opening the door and seeing an older man seated behind a desk over paperwork with a thick, long beard that matched a halo of thinning, gray hair around his head and brown eyes set into a wrinkled face. Simple brown robes were all what the man wore. "Robin Greenhood, on a guild job." He said as he pulled out his voxlux; he had Dawn shape the dirt map with him and he opted to turn it on and set it on the man's desk for him to see. "We're chasing a gang of Aberrant and we have reason to suspect they might have moved nearby; their lair had this scribed into the ground."
"I say... Hmmm, indeed... that does look like it could be our town..." The elder said with a hand moving to stroke his beard. "...Damned to say, more then likely it is our town... Blast..." He hissed out before looking to a shelf with a frown before pointing. "I have a map, sir. Upper left there rolled up. Fetch it for me, would you kindly?" Robin nodded and, as asked, moved to the shelf and picked the map out and moved back to the desk, rolling it out so they can both look at it. "Hmmm..."
"You have an inkling where they may be hiding?" Robin asked as he looked to the older man as they looked over the map; indeed the dirt map seemed to match up well to it.
"I may well have a good guess..." The elder let off as he looked back. "There was an old mine over there; a small one. Spell stones, mostly. Hell, once upon a time people have gone over time to time to dig up a few but it's... mostly dried up now and abandoned. No one really goes over anymore but the odd one still might. If there's Aberrant there now... well, someone might get a nasty surprise if they're hoping to dig up somethin' worth sellin'."
"Another set of mines, eh?" Robin let off, stroking his chin for a moment. "Makes sense I guess; easily defensible and if you know where the vents are you can use them to escape. Thanks; if they are there we'll clear them out."
[-]
Sparring XP gained then converted to Regular Trait Points and I opted to look at my wish list of Traits. I was one short of fifty so I had a good selection of choices on that wish list; in the end I chose Shield Caster to bolster the shields I casted, the one my armor made and the one on my ship. Overall I was happy with that choice and set up upgrading everything. I had also been making headway on my date night planning while trying to keep things... subtle... ish.
On the Corn Flakes; contracting for the kitchen to be built in town was finalized so things were going smoothly... and then I had an unexpected call. "I swear, the Imperium's golem techniques are amazing! I think I've rediscovered enchanting code that's been lost for thousands of years! I'm already preparing to test the code on my own golems!"
"I had the thought you'd be the best man for the job of turning over it's secrets." I let off as my voxlux hovered by me as I nodded and worked. I had a couple of finger sized spell stones and one the size of a thumb and was making a little... gift with them. One of the finger sized ones I shifted into a flower stem recolored emerald and the other into a short, wide, ruby colored pot that held the stem up. The thumb sized one was the one taking the bulk of the work and focus; I was making it into a near-trasparent, crystal hued rose to set to the stem. I had a plan for some... little enchantments and was toying with a new one that generated smell. Well, less generated and more copied and then generated a smell. A little perfume on it should do the trick...
Not that's where I'd stop with it, of course.
"And I am honored by that!" He let off as I glanced back to him as he grinned wide. "My friend, it's like a late Blessmas gift! I should get you something in return for something so valuable!"
"It's not needed, but the thought is appreciated." I replied with a smile. "Although I might ask for further advice on tightening up Enterprise's enchantments down the line."
"I'd be more then pleased to help!" He said as he adjusted his monocle. "Doubly so after I've seen the original bibles of the Larentian faiths..." In case your wondering, yes, I told him the tale which wasn't public yet... but due soon. Once they were set for display lords would be given the chance to view them first for a few minutes before the general public was allowed to see them the next day. Celestine extended an invite to both the Pope and Archbishop (The latter invite likely given through gritted teeth) to come over on the day of the public unveiling and while all they knew was it was a matter of important to the Church and Faith both she said she wasn't ready to announce what it was yet.
I imagine the Archbitchop would blow his gasket once he got the full tale...
"Honestly; I think it'll be too much fame for my own liking to be on hand." I replied with a sigh. Not helping; my spell stone rose didn't look quite right... "That said I do hope you enjoy them... The feel of mana stone is something else."
"I know; I've only held it once before..." He let off, clapping his hands in an excited manner. "Ahh, what a find... I'm a bit envious... Finding something on such an excursion..."
"Well you're a little more anchored by your responsibilities." I replied as I sighed. "I imagine in a few years I'll be likewise anchored."
"Bah! I'm sure you'll find adventure still! Or it will find you; whichever." He replied with a grin and a shrug. "Oh, that reminds me! We have same gator jerky; finely seasoned with a good amount of spice! I should send some for your enjoyment!" I managed to not look weirded out by that; figures he'd enjoy that...
At least I got my rose to look just right now...
[-]
Mid-Afternoon
Grand Duchy of Ur
Abandoned Mines Outside of Hygogg
"That's more like it..." Robin mused as he hid behind a tall shrub; knelt down. Ahead of him was less of a hill and more a short, sheer cliff in the middle of otherwise flat land with a few trees about. A tunnel was cut into the cliff that was large enough for entry of any sort of human. And, more importantly, two goblins were outside of it. They had the decency to coat their skin in mud to hid their red skin and hid behind their own bushes but he made them out.
Dawn, Wendy and Paul were hidden further behind him while Peter was moving about to scout and flank their position. Indeed; he was waiting for Peter to either dispatch the sentries or contact him some how once his scouting was done. He held his bow in one hand with an arrow notched but not pulled back in preparation in case he needed to fire on one of the sentries.
Then an arrow hit one of the sentries from behind; Peter's work no doubt. As the goblin fell the other took notice and turned; Robin pulled his arrow back, took aim and set the missile to fly; impaling the side of it's skull before it could act. He drew a second arrow as Wendy and Dawn moved from their spots to his flanks with Paul moving to his rear... Only for Peter to walk out from behind the brush and trees to wave them over; the rest of the group quickly moving to join him. "That's all the sentries, huh?" Robin let off as Peter nodded.
"There was a patrol of three as well. Didn't know what hit them." Their scout said as he shrugged with a grin before taking on a serious look. "I did find a vent inside the mine and crawled down for a quick peek; they're getting their shit together still but are getting ready to raid, soon. Likely outlying farms."
"Figures." Wendy let off as Robin nodded in agreement.
"Right. By the numbers then. Paul; take point. Wendy; watch our back." He let off as he nodded firmly. Nods answered as they formed into their formations and started to approach the mine; Dawn casting a Light spell to allow them to see as they walked into the darkness.
Bit by bit, step by step they went through the tunnel with Peter following Paul closely. Finally Peter would lift a hand and turn to Dawn; swinging a knife hand over his own throat as she cut her spell. Clad now in darkness they carried on as the sound of small talk reached them along with grunting. Soon they reached a main chamber, fifteen feet in height lit with torches and a few, small orbs of spell glass...
Fire roaring in a dugout pit with a spit of some sort of meat over it. Two dozen goblins at least idling about, some grumbling and some shooting dirty looks to where the sole ogre was with another goblin speaking to him; the ogre humping down into something. Female legs could be seen but... there was no sound of a female's moan or screams from such rape which was... worrying. Either the women were unconscious or... worse.
Raping corpses wasn't beyond some Aberrant.
Without speaking Robin began to assign targets; himself on the left side, Peter on the right and Dawn down the middle. She drew mana to cast the newest spell she had learned as she drew her rapier and held it inverted; Holy Flare Spread, a spell made by Princess Prim Fiorire based on a spell by her master. "Dawn, on you..." Robin spoke softly as she nodded. She decided to aim at the group around the campfire; it was the densest collection of enemies she could target after all... She took a calming breath as her spell was ready and then... cast.
Blazing, golden pellets of holy fire fired off as their ambush began. There was a half dozen goblins around the campfire; she struck all but one and of the five hit four died and one was knocked out cold. Peter and Robin loosed their arrows at the same time; Peter catching one in the guts and making it shriek and double over before collapsing while Robin's found it's mark... in the ass of the ogre.
It howled out and pulled away from what it was doing; erection at it's groin as it picked up a heavy looking battleaxe. Clubs, daggers and other weapons were grabbed as Paul and Wendy rushed into the room as the fight truly began. Paul charged a trio of goblins who rushed him in turn and faking a swing he transitioned to a thrust; catching the center goblin in the center before swinging the butt of the weapon into the face of the one on the left in a staggering strike with the first's now corpse on the weapon's point. The other would have it's comrade's body thrown onto it roughly and knocking it to the ground, dislodging the corpse from the weapon.
One swing would decapitate the second and a chop would deal with the third before it could rise.
For Robin's part he would fire two more arrows back to back; dealing with two more distant foes while another closed ranks. Rather then draw another arrow he drew his short sword in his right hand and waited for the incoming strike. He didn't need to wait long as the red skinned Aberrant thrust it's long knife, letting him catch the blade with his own, lifting and turning to grip it with his weapon's prongs and pushing it aside before landing a front kick to it's face and knocking it down to it's back while pulling it's weapon away. He didn't even bother stabbing the creature; rather he just stomped on it's throat and crushed it's windpipe as he held his sword with his ring and pinky fingers as he drew another arrow and notched it, catching another goblin in the eye as he let it loose.
Peter, by contrast, shot one arrow before setting his bow away and drawing his long handled short sword; using a Combat Art to rush into a goblin and slamming his blade into it. He grinned as he pulled the weapon out of the dying Aberrant before kicking the corpse to it's buddy and closed distance to it. The goblin used it's shoulder to push his dead friend away before swinging it's axe; which was in reality a halberd with a shaft broken in it's center. The goblin was swift enough to transition from a swing to a block, pushing the sword aside before thrusting it's spike at Peter who spread his hands, caught the weapon with his handle between spike and axe head before twisting as he turned to hit the goblin with a spinning back kick while trying to wrench the weapon from it's hands.
The goblin staggered back but kept hold of it's weapon, withdrawing it and turning into a spinning swing, trying to land a heavy blow and as Peter stepped back it transitioned into a thrust as the scout caught the weapon with his blade this time and, with a lift and twist of the bottom half of the handle, drew his dagger from his blade; pushing his foe's weapon to the side as he stepped in, slamming the dagger to it's neck. As it's weapon fell from limp hands he slammed his sword to it's chest as a follow up.
Five goblins would rush Wendy but with such a high ceiling her long weapon was unrestricted; she swung it above her head once as a threat to her foes as she stepped in, deflecting a club with a swing before stepping back with a turning step before swinging and slashed it's throat, blood splattering on another goblin. The next two would attempt to flank her sides but with another spinning step, this one to the one on her left, and coupling her swing with a Combat Art let her cut through club and foe in one strike before planting her feet and catching the other flanker off guard with a sudden thrust; she made sure to feed the goblin's chest only a foot of blade before stepping back and letting it drop.
The most important key to using such a long sword was to mind your distance; you had more reach with a claymore then any axe or other sword could manage and could even match smaller polearms but anything that got too close bore an advantage over you. The last goblin before her bore a pair of daggers and was now staying just out of her weapon's reach; shuffling it's feet softly as it eyed her as it clearly made a plan to get inside that reach. Soon it rushed her and she swung in response... only to miss as it hopped back, never fully committing to the charge and as her blade passed by it rushed for real which led to the second most important key to using such a weapon as she continued her swing and used it to turn her body into a spinning back kick into it's face.
Have a plan for when something gets into your reach. She kept up the turn and transitioned to a vertical slash as it prepared for a horizontal one; it's head being split in two for it's mistake.
Dawn would also charge, waiting for her foes to rush her before using a Combat Art to dash to one side and unleash a second Holy Flare Spread; nailing three of the goblins and leaving one dead and the others dying. She kept moving as the forth goblin rushed her with a sword; slashing in a direction as she made a feint. A snappy swing of her new rapier saw it's throat slit and it would collapse; hands over the wound to stem the bleeding and try and survive. It was, for all purposes, out of the fight.
That left the ogre.
He would charge her and meet her two thirds of the way into the chamber as she fired off her custom spell (Her master offered the idea of 'Pocket Sand' as name and it was as good as any) into it's face; it blocked with the head of it's weapon (Turned to hide it's eyes behind the flat) but that motion was still enough to let her use a Combat Art to leap upwards. As it readied for a swing it lost track of her for a moment until the sound of her boots hitting the ground behind it; by then she was ready to cast her third holy/fire spell as she turned on it and slammed it to the Aberrant's back and making it howl out. Even so it managed to swing hard at her with such speed she couldn't fully dodge; she used her mythril rapier to deflect the blow as she set her off hand to the blade's flat. Even so she skidded back six feet before she could act; using a Piercing Thrust as recovered from it's heavy swing and thrusting her sword near to the hilt into it's guts before letting go of her weapon and leaping back before it could grab her with it's off hand.
She was, of course, drawing mana and she of course had a reason for abandoning her weapon inside her foe's belly... namely as a target for a basic Lightning Strike spell... Thrusting her hand forwards she fired off a bolt of blue lightning that caught her weapon's pommel and guard and sent it into the ogre's belly and making it scream out as it's guts cooked from the energy. As the spell ended it dropped to it's knees as a burnt stench rose up and it's weapon dropped to the ground. She would step in and grab her rapier and with a hint of difficulty she pulled it free before it fell to it's back. She looked about to see if anyone was left standing among their foes and upon seeing none relaxed at last.
"Right... We'll need to check the lower chambers while Dawn checks on the women." Robin let off as he sheathed his sword but kept a hold on his bow. "But I think that should be the worst of it."
"Hell yeah!" Peter let off with a chuckle, sheathing his dagger back into his sword. "Took a while but we got some easy money... and maybe there's stuff worth selling here. We came! We saw! And we kic-"
RAAAAAAAAAWWWRARRRRR!
"...spoke too soon..." Paul let off turning to the side tunnel and gripping his halberd tightly. Peter sheathed his sword and drew his bow once more as Wendy shouldered her weapon. Dawn inverted her rapier and drew mana, bracing for... whatever they just heard as a soft yet growing thumping sounded from the tunnel.
"Troll..." Dawn let off before the beast even appeared; getting a nervous look from the others. The one she saw James defeat was the second she had ever seen. The first was three years ago; a nine foot tall adolescent that challenged her and the two people with her. They died charging the Aberrant and she only survived by running and diving into a cave that was too small and narrow for it to follow.
The roar was the same and, indeed, stomping down the tunnel on all fours was the face of an ugly, green skinned troll that, once inside of the chamber, rose to a full eleven feet of height. "Awwww, crap..." Peter let off as Dawn opened the fight with a Holy Flare Spread to it's face; hoping to blind the giant beast while Wendy called upon the power of her Iron Burst blade with it's edge becoming coated in crackling electricity. "No one said they had a fucking troll!" He let off as the troll ducked the spell, moving to all fours before rushing the lone mage of the group.
"Well, our problem now!" Robin let off firing his arrow at it's face as Dawn used her own Combat Art to leap over it's rush, back flipping as the arrow hit the side of it's temple; sticking in but causing no real harm. Dawn would land on it's back, thrusting her rapier down and holding onto it with both hands before sending another Lightning Strike spell through it. The troll howled for a moment but she was forced to leap off and away as the troll leaped straight upwards, slamming it's back to the ceiling and rocking the chamber itself with dirt spilling down around them for a moment as Dawn landed on her side, rolling twice before clambering to her feet as Paul charged around to it's leg as it landed and swung for it's ankle; connecting and cutting part way into it-
-only for the leg to pull away and catch him in the chest in a mule kick and knocking him almost fifteen feet back and landing hard on the ground with a hard grunt. As the troll rose to it's feet it was struck in the face with lightning; this time from the point of Wendy's Iron Burst blade as she charged it before using a Combat Art to leap and swing at it's head only to be slapped into the ground hard before she could swing with the troll's open hand; she was quick enough to use the Combat Art Steel Skin to blunt the damage but was left winded from the impact as she slammed back first into the dirt while Peter's arrow struck it in the side of the neck followed by Robin's hitting the shoulder; neither noticed by the massive thing. Despite being young, a teenager by troll terms, the huge Aberrant was a credible threat to a group like their own and it was proving it; following up with a punch towards Dawn who brought up a shield spell before her; it shattered and she was still struck by it's fist, knocking her back seven feet as she rolled over her shoulder to her feet with her Armor Weave taking the brunt of the leftover impact.
Paul was able to get back to his feet as Dawn made her next cast; Holy Flare Spread towards the face once more. It ducked to dodge before lunging, reaching at her with a hand... as she expected; already drawing the mana needed for another spell...
Pocket Sand.
It screeched as the sand-like mana splashed into it's eyes; making it recoil back and cover it's eyes as Paul charged in once more and pulled his halberd back like an axe as he used a Combat Art and slashed at the back of it's knee; he cut half way through before the weapon got stuck inside the limb and when a pull didn't free it he abandoned the weapon as the troll reached for him, forcing him to leap back as he drew his swords with his long sword in his right and his short sword in his left. The troll limped as Wendy rolled to her front; stepping back and shaking it's head out as Dawn took the moment to rush to her female companion's side; casting a Minor Heal on her. "Are you okay?"
"I will be when it's dead." She hissed out, finally getting to her feet and taking hold of her weapon in both hands. She took off in a run while ignoring lingering pains, charging the giant monster as she first slashed at it's unharmed knee, cutting into bone just under it but rather then stop or retreat she kept running, turning to the mine's wall and leaping up to press her feet to it as the lightning on her blade intensified by double; her slash staggered it and, coupled with Paul's lodged weapon, made it fall to a kneel and left it's head and neck open.
This time her slash struck true and severed head and shoulders by the neck that connected them. She landed roughly on her feet just before the head hit the floor and it's body right after. "Fuck..." Wendy let off as she stood up fully, stretching.
"Who knew a troll would be down here?" Peter let off Paul grunted, sheathing his swords before checking on his armor as he walked to his trapped weapon. Planting his feet he yanked on the halberd to pull it out, requiring a long moment before it started to move.
"Never assume." Paul grunted with a pull as Robin nodded.
"Paul, take Peter and Wendy and scout the lower chambers." He let off. "Dawn, check the women and he-"
"They're dead." Dawn said as he looked; the mage already checking as he winced and looked to the bodies; one mature and busty, the other petite and youthful. "Fuck... There's a smell but it's not too bad... Couldn't have been, bleck, been that long ago..." She let off as Paul's weapon came loose. "...I... think they were dead before they were..."
"Ick." Wendy let off as Dawn nodded... then blinked. She reached down to one of the dead women's hands and pulled something off; a ring that was cyan in color and shaped like a kite shield with yellow edges, bearing a gray sword on it, point down. "This is a strange ring..."
"Now that you mention it... I don't see anything that looks like their stuff..." Robin let off as Dawn hummed as she pulled out her voxlux as she pulled the ring off. As she did the voxlux pinged twice before it was answered.
[-]
"Hey Dawn, how's the hunt going?" I asked as I answered my apprentice. This time as she called I had finished lunch and was entering the library for, you guessed it, more work. Yep.
"Well enough... we had to deal with a smaller troll-" I winced; that's fun. Not. "-but we found two dead women in here with a weird ring." She said holding it up. "I hoped you might know what it is."
"...No... But it looks familiar..." I said as I sighed. "Two women dead, huh..." I let off as she nodded and turned the voxlux... and while the skin was paled and patches discolored I recognized them after a few moments. "Wait! I know these two!" I cried out, pausing in my steps.
"You do?" Robin asked from out of the voxlux's view.
"Their names are Amaru Zweimantel and Zillag Seitenlippe..." I told them. "They're Dawn Templars!"
[ - Author's Note - ]
Dun, Dun, Duuuuun! Help; a little cliffhanger there... I wonder how many of you even remember then; don't worry, I should have James give a lil' reminder next chapter. We also get to see our legendary assassin, if briefly, and that collision is about to occur.
As for James he finally has a moment to breathe; doing a little work, talking to his fiancees and Blake von Adelle... and making Corn Flakes. Yes, I know people suggested he should make popcorn and for awhile now but I think this was another idea to go with; who doesn't like Corn Flakes after all?
Oh, and date planning. Can't forget that.
As an aside I imagine the current timeline of evens will be a chapter about the Templars, dealing with Qatil the next chapter and then the date. This is a tentative timeline, understand, but for those who have been salivating the Celestine date since it was brought up last act(!-!-!) it's coming and I hope it will be worth the wait.
My aim for Act Four is to to keep it at twenty-ish chapters like Act Three. No Act Two scale stuff, nope. No, no, no.
I think of the acts I have planned Act Five will be the roughest... We'll see when we get there, I guess.
In other news; a new Questlines chapter will be dropped with this chapter; and the first to star canon characters! I won't say who here, you'll need to go and see yourself!
As usual leave a comment, say what you liked, didn't like, things could have been better and so on. I do hope you enjoyed it and await the commentary. As for what's next, well, as mentioned there's going to be an investigation...
Hope to see you then!
~Eostian Scribe
