Botan may have left on a really good note, but the next song was out of tune. Pulling and sometimes dragging the wagon through mud and swamp water was an incredible pain in the ass. He thought it'd only be an issue once or twice. He thought he'd just stick to the road and he'd be fine.
"No one told me they have a high water season and a low water season! The road is a solid foot underwater, and that's when I even find it!" Botan thought, scraping his boot across the ground again, using it to find the road beneath him.
Botan had always considered himself pretty athletic. Moreover, he had been fighting monsters and traveling all over the place. He had bonuses for stamina, strength, and much more. He thought he knew what he was in for. Yet every 4 hours, he had to stop to rest for at least an hour. It was too much. His feet felt like they were going to slide off his legs. Not to mention he needed to dry his feet all the time.
His mood would have soured, but Myskel was there.
"Misk~!" The blue cutie happily accepted a small portion of honey that Botan retrieved from his drop menu. Then pulled out dried meat for himself.
Despite everything, he felt kind of great. As he traveled, he tested his new skills, he felt a real sense of progress. Even though he had to drag the cart through mud and tar in places, it felt satisfying. Had this been in his old world, he knew he wouldn't be capable of this much. Despite the fact that his stats tended toward magic and speed, his endurance and strength were already far higher than they were ever before. He could lift the cart over his head with difficulty, something he wasn't sure he and his dad could do together back home.
"..." A sting was felt as his positive mood soured, thinking of home. On cue, Myskel felt the change of mood and began rubbing the top of her head on the bottom of his chin.
Botan traveled for 5 days straight. Despite his advantages over his previous life, he had to stop frequently. He tried to add time onto his travel as he went. If he went 4 hours without a break, he'd try to last 4 and a half hours the next time. He didn't meet many of his goals, but he did improve. While stats dictated a lot in this world, it seemed physical fitness still played a major role.
At night he'd look for the trees similar to the one he found Myskel's egg in. They all seemed to form a safe place to sleep below the trunk. While not advantageous to the tree themselves, this was probably appreciated by many monsters that needed shelter from storms. So the monster probably protect these trees, ultimately being a beneficial characteristic to the trees.
On the fourth night, a malestorm hit again. Botan was informed Ventus had more days with rain than without with more than one storm a week. So he took it as a sign he was getting closer to the border.
At the start of the fifth day, Botan thought it best to practice magic in his downtime, but something was different. When he went to cast anything at all, he remembered Tia dancing on the water at the king's funeral. Again and again. Whenever he thought of how to move, how to dance, how to invoke magic, all he thought about was that moment. That was magic, real magic. There was something to it. Something beyond the surface level. Beyond the movements, or even the magic invoked. It was so much more.
And while he tried, he was too far away from it to even understand what he was missing. He was supposed to be the Evergreen, this amazing mage. Tia herself marveled at his progress… yet what she did that night was so perfect-no, something too intangible to even label.
"How could I ever reach that level?" He thought. "If I'm supposed to save everyone and be this important hero, then… There'd be no point in summoning me if Tia could handle it. But she can't. And if she can't, how the hell can I? She's been doing this since she was a kid. That dance was the combination of a lifetime training. Even if I am more talented, that doesn't make up for the enormous golf in skill."
He used the waters and swamps he had to walk through as training. He learned to keep walking on the water's surface. Having to pull the cart while doing so was initially confusing and very difficult even after understanding. But it was the best training he could hope for, and the more he improved the less the water slowed him down. The first travel of the day lasted over 5 hours and covered nearly twice the ground he did in 4 hours the first day. And it would have been even longer, but he had arrived.
…
Fissle: Bordertown (Ventus/Mosden)
…
Botan saw that the mountains he was told about, the ones that were heavily featured through Ventus formed a natural border. The easiest crossing was a natural valley that was walled off. The walls extended into the mountains, forming a 1800 meter long wall that made the mountains look like the more appealing area for an invader. He could see three towers peak over the wall from the other side, Ventus' side. Yet, all the buildings on the Mosden side were no more than two stories tall.
The Mosden buildings were similar to the ones he had seen. Marble-like walls, roof gardens, a bit more wood due to lack of materials, but otherwise what he came to expect. The three towers gave off a very different walls appeared to be made of fired pottery clay placed on in layers, while the roofs were very distinctively gable roofs, like Japan had 100s of years ago. The major difference being the roof was made of some sort of metal. Botan assumed copper based on the color.
As he approached, he noticed a clear divide in the people. Most wore meager clothes, appearing poor. Similar to those in Lokkansted. Yet the few guards he saw were far better off. Their armor a mix of black and bronze, made of stacking plates, similar to samurai armor, but different enough to not be exactly the same. The biggest give away in the disparity was the race of those in armor. They all had dark skin and bright hair. Based on what he knew, that meant they were from Ventus.
He approached the town and two guards approached.
"Quite the haul. Where are you headed with all this?" The first guard gestured to the materials in the wagon. The man seemed to exchange glances with his friend, smiles forming on them both.
"The capital. Going to see this supposed 'dark genius' they won't stop talking about." Botan told them.
As soon as he told them, their smiles vanished, as if told they'd have no supper. The second one sighed. "Right, right. Fair enough. Sure he'd love to pick his way through all that. Got a Travel Pass?"
Botan sighed as well. "I got a letter from the Prince as a means of introduction. That good enough?" He asked, showing the sealed letter.
The two men shared a look. "Have the Gate Keeper take a look. Messing royal documentation is above our pay grade." The two guards waved him off and motioned him to go ahead.
They weren't being rude to him, but they also lacked any sort of friendliness. Botan assumed guards were just friendly guys considering the ones he spoke to in Mosden. "However, it could be that Ventus is just less friendly overall." He thought.
As he went along his way, someone rushed by, snagging something from the wagon. A piece of Knob at that. They were small and fast, but Botan was faster.
"[Vortex Grasp]."
Calmly saying the name, the small child was grabbed as if by an invisible hand and pulled into Botan's free hand, grabbing their shoulder. At the same time, the sudden stop from flying backwards and stopping caused their hood to fall back and their head to go back as well. Now a little girl was staring up at him.
"That isn't yours," Botan said, not trying to be too harsh.
The little girl's eyes grew wide with fright as she simply held the piece up for him to take. He did so. It would have remained a small moment and not an event of note, but the guards saw the exchange and approached.
"You damned thief! Those goods are on their way to Prince Typhus himself!" The first yelled.
"So that's his name." Botan did his best to commit the name to memory.
"Yeah! You've always been annoying, but you really screwed up this time!" The second yelled.
As their armored steps approached the girl gave Botan a pleading look. He looked at her for a moment. She looked dirtier than most, and some bruises were mixed in with the dirt. She had blue hair of a deep hue and darker skin than his own, but not as dark as the guards. Yellow eyes were left pleading, and he answered them. He let go of her shoulder and she took off as fast as she could.
The two guards soon passed him, cursing their luck. "Dammit! Now we'll be chasing that rat for days!" One yelled.
He quietly watched as the girl moved. She wasn't just fast, but very mobile. Able to dart, jump, and slide. Meanwhile, all the guards wore armor, leaving them unable to catch her. Even with their armor not being that restrictive, she was clearly far better at their little game of cat and mouse.
He wanted to stick his nose into her business, but he had more important things to do. He finished walking up the central road to an elaborately decorated double-door gate made of stone and steel. Several guards stood near, but one stood out more than the rest. While the others armor featured bronze, his was black and silver, his helmet also featured a different design, featuring a blue feather as plumage.
"Halt!" He said in a demanding voice. "State your name and business!" The mountains somehow carried his voice quite far.
Botan again grabbed the letter as he spoke. "I'm Botan Nakaya, the Evergreen. I come with a letter from the Prince of Mosden. I'm trying to meet up with Prince Typhus and register for the waves."
"..." For a moment, the knight didn't move. Just paused. Then next he extended his hand. "If you are who you say you are, I'll need to confirm it with my own eyes." He said diligently.
Wordlessly the letter exchanged hands and the knight did not hesitate to break the seal and read the letter. He read it three times, then looked at Botan.
"I can't find fault in this letter… but you can't be the Evergreen." The man pocketed the letter and crossed his arms.
"What do you mean? Do I need to show you this for you to believe me?" [Change Flower] Botan suddenly changed the holy flower back into its default form.
The man waved it off as if it were a trick. "Your tricks won't work on me. Do you have any idea who you are trying to lie to?"
Botan found himself pinching the bridge of his nose. "I. Don't. Care. I just showed you my weapon and the Prince's letter. What else do you want?"
"I am the Keeper of the Blue Gate. You know there are only four Gates, right? That means I'm the elite of the elite. Sir Julius Beaumont the third! One of the finest knights under the dark clouds of the kingdom of Ventus!" He continued, having ignored what Botan said.
Botan was about to get mad, but thought better of it. He took a deep breath. "Okay, but will you still be this oh-so-important 'Keeper of the Blue Gate' after they find out that the Evergreen was forced to go to Eld or Alden because you turned him away at the gate with a signed letter, and a literal wagon full of exotic monster materials?" "Idiot!" He thought but didn't say.
The knight did flinch at that, however, "Of course, I am not saying to go to either of those awful places. I will just need to confirm some things with both princes before I can let you through."
"Are you serious!?" "It'd take your best runners 3 or more days to travel that distance both ways each! I can't afford to waste that time!" He thought.
Botan went to leave, yet the knight tried to stop him. "Like I said, just wait. We can house your goods safely with security while you wait."
"You expect me to hand over all these valuables to you and just trust that none of it'll go missing? Yeah right."
"You seem to have no trust in us Ventus Knights."
"You don't trust the words of the prince, or your own eyes. Why should I trust you?"
To that, the Gate Keeper had no retort. He moved out of the way as Botan began pulling the cart back down the main street.
A guard approached the Gate Keeper. "Is it a good idea to let him leave? If any of his goods are stolen, and he is the Evergreen, or even if those goods are bound for Prince Typhus… Won't you be in big trouble?"
Julius stood firm, arms crossed. "It can't be helped. I don't know why he is acting this way. It'd take an hour at most to confirm with both princes via Voice Cannons… If it is confirmed, let him know he can pass through the gate… and if they say he is a liar, we'll send 20 guards to get him." He replied sternly.
He then walked back to his post in front of the gate and the other knight nodded. "By your orders, sir."
Botan was a little pissed, exiting the main road. He made his way to an inn, one he saw on his way through town. Instead of entering, he thought about what he should do.
"Staying here tonight would be great. I miss having a bed. But more importantly, I need to get past the wall. I can't afford to waste a week or more. Wait! That bastard kept my letter! I completely forgot!" Just as Botan was becoming flustered enough to consider talking to Julius again, Myskel poked him.
"Misk~." Following her other tiny claw pointing, Botan saw a small shadow hopping between nearby rooftops.
It was that same little girl. He let her go before, but now he had a reason to talk to her. He ran a few feet then leapt into the air. With his newfound strength and speed, he could jump over a small building, but with the surrounding buildings being two stories tall, he couldn't make the jump.
[Burst Jet]!
Pointing his flower downward, a burning orange jet stream shot from the tip, launching him much further. He landed on the rooftop that the girl was jumping towards, yet by the time he landed and adjusted himself, she had already landed and jumped again.
[Vortex Grasp]
He calmly said, aiming at her mid-air. For the second time, she was plucked midstride and dragged to Botan's free hand by an inescapable phantom hand of sorts.
"Let go of me! You-mmmhmhm!" Her screaming was cut short by Botan placing his hand over her mouth.
"Shhhh!" He shushed her. The girl quieted in confusion.
"You're a thief from around here, yeah?" Botan asked, not giving her a chance to answer with his hand still covering her mouth. "I need to find a way around that wall. You know a way?"
He freed her mouth, only for her to hell again. "How would I possibly have a way past The Blue Gate!? You-hmmmhmhm!" Again, he covered her mouth.
"C'mon. Don't you have some thieve's guild and have secret passages to and from places?"
The girl just stared at him like he was the stupidest person alive. She pulled his hand away. "Firstly, while would thieves ever make a guild? How would that even work? If it were to work, why would a 10-year-old be allowed to join? And if I knew of any way past that gate, I'd have used it myself!" She yelled again, but Botan made no move to quiet her again.
Being forced to think about it, the thieves' guilds in video games were pretty stupid. A smuggling operation would be more realistic, but even then… hiring a 10-year-old would be strange. Not impossible, but exceedingly unlikely. The more he thought about it, the less useful fantasy and video game knowledge was in a real-world of any kind.
"Misk!" Myskel headbutted Botan's chin to break him out of his internal thoughts.
"Wait, why do you want past the wall?" Botan asked her.
The girl finally freed herself of Botan, as he let go of her when Myskel hit him. "I have no reason to tell you!"
Botan sighed. "Listen, we-" She tried to run and Botan merely put his free arm out. While [Vortex Grasp] was still on cooldown, he had other options.
"Misk~!" Myskel slithered down his arm and held onto his wrist with her claws as her generously long tail wrapped around the fleeing girl's neck and pulled her in like a fish, complete with her fresh catch flopping around gasping for air.
Botan saw a few knights moving towards their general location. Her yelling was becoming a problem. "Myskel will loosen her grip, but you will sit still and not yell. Understood?" He asked.
The young girl could breathe and just nodded desperately. He motioned for Myskel to loosen her hold as the girl took several deep exaggerated breaths. "I thought I was about to see mom again." She lightly complained.
That struck a chord with Botan, but he had to ask her first. "I want to pass that wall, same as you. I have a lot of abilities. Do you think you can help me out? If you can, we can both get over that stupid wall." He offers.
She spoke quietly. "...It's not that simple. No one can get through. I've been trying for two years…"
Botan looked at the imposing wall, the orange light of a setting sun coloring its face. "I mean, I jumped up here in one leap…" Botan began.
"That's like 10 times as high." She argued.
"Yeah? But if we can figure out a way to make footholds I can clear it in 10 jumps then."
"..." She paused, thinking it was too simple to work, but at the same time, she couldn't dismiss it. Then she thought of something. "How were you able to jump up here in one go? Or grab me before?"
Botan wore a smile as he pointed a thumb at his chest. "Because I'm the Evergreen."
The girl quietly took in the sight of Botan. She glanced at his weapon and then back again. Slowly, sparkles gathered around her as she awed at him. But after a brief moment, the sparkles fell. "Wait… You mean you're the Evergreen and they won't even let you through?" She asked in equal parts confusion and disbelief.
"I know, right?" Botan freely expressed his own frustrations. "Sir look at me and my stupid ass feather said he'd need to confirm my letter with both princes. Does he not realize how long that'll take?"
The girl's eye shot open wide as if realizing something. She turned to him in a serious manner, but didn't say anything right away.
"...What?" Botan questioned her mannerisms.
She looked down and to the side, not meeting his gaze. "Uh um… If we wait until nightfall and use a dagger or something to bite into the small gaps in the wall…" She seemed to struggle with her words suddenly.
"Hehe, she's star struck." Botan thought. He patted her head, assuring her.
"Yeah, we'll… oh." Botan realized something. She gave him a questioning look, so he explained himself. "I have an entire cart. How do I get that over…?"
"Leave it." She said immediately.
"No can do." Botan said, patting the girl's head as he stood and moved to have sight of the cart. "Some of the materials I am traveling with are from allies who died fighting alongside me. That isn't happening." He told her softly.
Botan began to consider dancing on air. That was what Tia told him was the final training. "But still, doing so with a little girl and the wagon, having never done it alone?"
"Misk." Myskel shook her head 'no', as if she knew what Botan was thinking and was dismissing the idea for him.
The girl seemed more rushed than upset. She looked around and tried to come up with some sort of solution. "If we make it to the top of the wall without the cart, couldn't we pull it up?"
Botan thought about it for a moment and nodded. "We'll just need a whole lot of rope…" "I can produce vines but they don't last."
"I have plenty of rope. I've been trying to get over that stupid wall for two years. I'm all stocked up!" She assured him.
Botan looked like he was about to smile, but frowned instead. "And how much of this 'stock' is stolen, young lady?"
"All of it, duh." She told him matter-of-factly, arms crossed and leaning on one leg. "I'm 10 years old and have no one to take care of me. It's what I had to do." She argued.
Botan's expression softened. "Right, sorry… What's your name?" He asked her kindly.
"Your's first." She barked back.
"Botan Nakaya." He responded, not minding her rudeness.
"...Mira." She offered with a huff.
Mira was strangely motivated to not only get over the wall tonight but do so as soon as possible. She hid under the monster materials in his wagon while whispering directions to him. They had to take several detours to avoid the guards, but eventually, they reached a rundown home. The roof and part of the wall collapsed in on the building. Even given her small size, Botan didn't see Mira being able to slip into that place.
To his surprise, she went under what remained of the porch and began to grunt. "Oi! Some help mister big hero man." She exclaimed, waving a hand from below.
She slowly handed him the rope, but then a bag, and then another, and another. She finally handed over the last of it and offered her arm so Botan could drag her out.
"Sorry. I am getting too big to fit under there."
Botan stared at how his cart was twice as full as it was before, but asked a different question. "So the bruises and dirt are from this?"
She paused, stopping mid-step. "Y-Yeah. What, you think someone was abusing me?" Her momentary uncertainty became faux anger.
"I was just concerned."
"Heh, you'd be the first. No one lays a hand on me. No one can catch me and there's no one waiting for me, so I'm fine!" She barked again, returning to the back of the cart.
Botan had never really dealt with a situation like this and kept quiet for a bit, carting them both towards the wall. But eventually, he had to ask. "Mira, why are you alone?"
"..." Mira didn't say anything for more than a minute. Botan thought he was going to have problems with her, but eventually, she spoke up. "My mom died two years ago."
"And your old man?" He pried further, still keeping his voice low and his eyes watching his surroundings as he pulled the wagon.
"He's in a town about a day's travel from here." She said in a tired voice.
"..." Botan said nothing. The question was understood all the same.
"He didn't know he got my mom pregnant. He doesn't know I exist. And those stupid knights wouldn't help. I tried sending a letter, offering letters to travelers to give him on my behalf… but they always found them." She said, somehow becoming even smaller in the cart as if she shrank in shame.
"So you want over the wall to see your dad?"
"Yes. I've never met him, but Mom said he was a decent person. If I give him all the stuff I've taken over the last two years… at the very least I might make it to an orphanage." She rambled on.
Botan could tell she had more hopes than that but wanted to sound more realistic when talking to someone else. Almost like she expected them to laugh at her if she said she wanted her dad to accept her. Hearing this, Botan felt a tightness in his chest. "Now I have another reason to get over this." Botan thought, arriving at the base of the wall.
He sat the wagon down and tapped on it. The girl emerged. The pair first used the rope to secure the items in the cart more, then they tied several ropes together to see how long the rope was.
"I'm going to take a look, see if the rope reaches." He told her.
The small child raised her hands and opened her mouth, about to protest. "If you don't trust me, stay on the cart." Botan interrupted her.
She quietly shut her mouth and waited.
Botan walked up to the wall and examined the stonework as it began to grow dark. The grooves were so thin that he doubted it'd provide any grip if that was his plan. Luckily it wasn't. He took the rope in his left arm, keeping the Holy Flower in his right, and jumped as high as he could.
He cleared a full story plus a little more. Then he used [Vortex Grasp] pointing his weapon towards the top of the wall. Unlike when he used it before, it pulled Botan towards the target, not the other way around. This was because [Vortex Grasp] cared about weight. If the target was lighter than himself, it was pulled towards him. If the target weighs more than Botan, he dragged him to it. He likened it to an invisible grappling hook, except it was a clear binary. Where a normal grappling hook would pull both toward the other with the weight deciding which stays, this skill truly felt like 100% of the force was applied to whichever was lighter.
This pulled him up 5 stories more and could have gone more, but Botan wanted to keep the momentum. So, he stopped using the previous skill and again pointed his weapon downward.
[Jet Burst]!
The burning orange jet shot him up further and nearly let him reach the edge, but it wasn't enough.
[Rope of Thorns]!
He pointed his weapon again at the top of the wall. Four large and slender vines covered with thorns shot out and wrapped around a small outcropping of carved stone. This allowed Botan to hold his position. He now just needed to wait for any of his other skills to finish their cooldown and he'd make it to the top. While waiting, he turned to view the town of Fissle from on high. Unfortunately, he saw dozens of moving lights. They were from lanterns, all moving towards the location of the wagon and Mira.
He immediately understood that the brightness of [Jet Burst] against the wall captured the attention of many.
As he watched them close in, Mira climbed atop the cart and looked up to him with desperate eyes. Botan didn't know if the skills he used were going to be off cooldown before some of the guards reached the wagon. He began looking through his skills. Looking for anything that could help him. At the same time, he saw lights moving toward his vines from above.
"Shit!"
[Charge]!
He was suddenly thrown in the direction he was pointing, up. It raised him barely short of the ledge. But even worse, the sudden tension when he falls will snap the skill and he'll fall.
He desperately reaches out his arm for the ledge, just a few inches short. Then Myskel slithered down his neck, up his arm, and reached out for the ledge herself. She dug her claws into the stone and even bit the stone by slamming her upper jaw into it.
"Mmiiii!" She cried out in pain, muffled by the stone in her mouth.
Botan had to use Mskel as a rope, putting even more strain on her body to pull himself up. He climbed over the small stone ledge and breathed heavily while quickly eyeing the injured Myskel.
He saw the source of the lights above, two guards rushing him, an axe and mace drawn, a lantern in their other hand. Botan pointed his weapon at them and paused. He needed them dealt with, but without killing them.
[Smolder] [Flower Shower]
[Smolder] heated up the Holy Flower to a red glow while not affecting Botan as he held it. His skill, [Flower Shower], normally released water as if watering flowers from a watering can. Yet with both at once, the water was now boiling hot. The spray of burning hot water and vapor forced both guards to back away. They scrambled, and one even dropped his lantern.
Botan began to lift the cart with the rope, and Mira with it. He was able to pull the cart about 20 feet off the ground, the wheels rolling up the side of the wall, before his skill stopped and the two guards came at him again. With the wagon hanging
"Tsk." He clicked his teeth in frustration and quickly tied the rope to the stone outcropping. Before turning to the two men.
[Vile Toss]!
A dark purple ball of what appeared to be a mixture of tar and sludge was launched from the Holy Flower and landed between the pair. This sent one leaving the other's side, while the first one found his boot stuck to the foul-smelling substance as if it were industrial adhesive.
"One down, one more."
[Change Flower]! Having not yet mastered the form for the ability he wished to use, Botan was forced to swap weapon forms to the [Orange Marsh Flower].
[Noxious Fumes]!
Still pointing the Holy Flower between the pair, it released a yellow mist that caused both guards to begin choking and retreating. He aimed more at the one that wasn't pinned down. The mist lingered for some time and neither guard wanted to go near the mist. This gave Botan time to grab the rope and start pulling again.
Mira stared at more than 2 dozen guards all trying to reach her as she started moving up again. "Hurry!" She screamed, her voice cracking.
Botan locked in as much as he could. Each arm reeled in the rope as much as he could before the other arm reached out and secured the next pull. Again and again. Dragging the wagon up more as the wheels continued rolling up the side of the wall. The angle meant Mira was not really secured and instead half-dangled over the edge of the cart.
As much as Botan had improved, and as much as he thought he was strong now, he was reaching his limit. He pulled the wagon and Mira from one story up to five stories up before he had to tie off the rope again and take a moment. He gazed up to see the mist fading, but the armored guards weren't there anymore. The metal boot stuck to the ground and the shattered lantern was abandoned.
"They went to get more more people." Botan realized as he continued to breathe heavily. He glanced down at Mira. "Give me a moment!" He shouted down in assurance.
However, he now saw far more guards than what even made sense. He walked over to the other side of the wall to view the Ventus side for an explanation. "It's not a town, it's a military fort pretending to be a town!" The buildings were sterner, and stronger. Made of harder stone than the Mosdenian homes and accompanied by frequent metal reinforcement. They also seemed built into the earth about half a floor. It was far too defensible to be a town.
Botan went back over to the other side and eyed the situation again. People were standing back with bows, arguing. Botan could assume they were discussing whether to use them or not. That made his decision for him. He didn't think he had what it took to pull the cart up the remaining 5 stories, but Mira was going to be shot if he didn't.
He grit his teeth and began pulling the rope again. Not as fast as before, he was trying to maintain a less taxing speed.
"He's actually going to do it? Shit!" One man said as many ran towards the gate, likely coming up to stop Botan.
He went as much as he could, but he was seriously pushing himself. His muscles and bones all ached, the rope burned his hands, and sweat stung his eyes.
"Mi-mi-misk!" Seeing Botan working through the pain, she did the same. She coiled around Botan, healing him slightly and trying to gift him with renewed stamina.
Botan kept going, one pained grunt of effort after the other until he was able to place a hand on the cart. "Aaugh!" With a yell, he lifted the cart over the small outcropping of stone and sat it down atop the walkway of the wall.
"You did it!" Mira exclaimed. She looked at the city she lived in her whole life from a height she'd never thought she'd reach. With the briefest of hesitation, she spun around and saw the other half of Fissle. Something that had been hidden from her for her whole life. Her eyes explored all there was to see with excitement and joy. She peered beyond the round and valleys. Far beyond where her vision could take her.
After a generous moment, she turned to Botan. "Thank yo-" She saw him on all fours, nearly exhausted, Myskel injured but still trying to recover her partner. Mira's face shifted expressions starkly.
"No need *huff* to worry *huff* about me. Just give me *huff* a moment. It'll be *huff* easier going down *huff* than up." he tried assuring her.
However, that wasn't what gave her pause. She shivered in fright as she slowly pointed her finger behind Botan. Botan's eyes grew wide as he looked up to see what she was pointing at.
It was the Gatekeeper from earlier. Sir Julius Clamirio the third, The Keeper of the Blue Gate. He stared at Botan a moment, his face hidden by his helmet, keeping his expression a secret.
"Of all the reckless things… Stop at once, Evergreen." He said in an even tone.
Botan forced himself to his feet. "All my offensive skills are still ready to go. I can take him." He told himself. A forced smile grew over his face. False bravado to mask the growing panic.
Julius didn't seem to like that look and shifted his weight, preparing his footing. The two stared at each other for a moment as tension filled the air. Mira could feel it too and hid behind the cart.
Botan quickly raised his weapon as fast as he could.
[Heat Ra-]!
Botan's aim was harshly altered as Julius swung his flail from his position without advancing, striking Botan's weapon aside. Once done, he advanced quickly. Botan barely had time to react as Julius came in for a punch and Botan countered with a kick. The impacts colliding and pushing the wagon and Mira back a bit.
Botan's eyes went wide as Julius eventually pushed him back, showing himself to be stronger than Botan, and just as fast. Botan didn't immediately act. "Stronger, sure. But I have more options than he has." He needed to make himself harder to interrupt for future attacks.
[Swarm]!
Botan used another new skill, this one producing three balls of yellow energy that hovered near him. At the sight, Julius took one step back, then immediately reclaimed the ground. Botan could tell Julius was proud. He'd not run or show fear if he could help it.
Julius spun his flail in a circle to his side, a distorted energy becoming visible.
[Slice Saucer]!
Suddenly that distorted smoke-like disc flew off towards Botan, slashing at the air. One of the three balls of energy shot off and matched Julius' spell, creating a small explosion that threw a small amount of dust in the air.
"..." Without clear sight, Botan tried to listen closely for a sign of Julius if he were to attack. However, the ringing in his ear dulled any chance he had. The flail swiftly shot through the dust and would have stuck Botan in the face, but the second ball of energy fired off and struck it away. This created another small explosion, this one knocking the dust away.
Botan's eyes widened to find that Julius didn't just use a ranged strike. He was already rushing forward and about to knee him in the stomach. Botan knew it would fail, so he aimed for Julius' chest. The knee was struck by his last ball of energy as Botan used his skill.
[Heat Ray]!
What happened next was not expected. Julius pulled his chain with his left arm, dragging him out of the line of fire, if barely. The burning orange beam grazed his chestplate then burned a hole through countless pieces of stone before escaping into the sky.
With confusion, Botan turned to see how Julius managed that maneuver. He had wrapped the other end of his chain around one of the stone outcroppings. "Even with an advantage in stats, and having a hidden double-layer attack, he allowed himself the caution to plan around failure?" Botan couldn't believe it. This was way worse than fighting that mercenary captain. For all the pride Julius had, there was no arrogance.
"You need to-" Julius went to speak, but Mira cut him off. "If we can't beat him soon all the guards will be here soon!" She warned.
Botan had no choice but to go in and end this as quickly as he could. He advanced on Julius as he was still moving backward himself. As soon as he saw this, Julius stopped his retreat and landed firmly with a low stance. Oddly, he kept pulling the chain with his left hand. Botan was shocked to see Julius had the strength to rip stone apart like that.
[Change Flower]!
Botan swapped to the [Leaf Flower Shield], then he readied to block the incoming attack. He braced himself as the stone shattered against his shield. His counter-skill activated right afterward.
[C Needle Thrust]!
Botan advanced fast, not thrown off by the impact at all. However, when he gazed up to see Julius, he saw his right hand pulling back, away from Botan. Or so he thought. Julius retreated as Botan was only able to half turn before the flail struck him in the back, knocking the air out of him. He tried to recover and keep his feet below him as he kept moving towards Julius but it was pointless. Julius was far enough away that the skill didn't reach him and Botan couldn't say the name of another skill as he was catching his breath.
"Forgive the roughness." Julius said as he ran up to Botan. He tried to defend himself but Julius quickly ran around Botan once, then flipped over him again, wrapping his chain around him three times, binding his arms.
"Shit!" He thought but couldn't say.
Then Julius picked Botan from behind and with a grunt of effort proceeded to suplex him while he was chained up. Botan slammed hard against the ground, his vision and hearing were scattered. He laid on the ground for a moment, stunned and still tied up. Julius picked himself up and moved towards Mira.
"What silly little lies did you tell the Evergreen, rat?" He didn't ask as much as he demanded an answer as he slowly climbed onto the wagon.
Mira crawled under the wagon, whimpering and eyes full of tears. "Sh-Shut up! You aren't stopping me this time!" She said loudly but with no confidence.
"Tricking the Evergreen isn't even your biggest crime, rat. Do you understand what would happen if you two succeeded? This fort would be seen as the weakest of the four. If Alden or Eld attacked, this would become their battlefield. Every person here would die to the enemy army being concentrated at a point of perceived weakness!" Julius shouted at her as he readied himself to flip the wagon.
She shot out from under the wagon and ran towards then past Botan. "I don't care anymore! It'll all be your own fault! You should have just let me see my dad!" She shouted back.
Julius prepared himself to leap at Mira just as Botan stood again, shielding her. As Juius jumped, he felt anxiety. He locked eyes with Botan and he saw he was serious too. Botan spun around a few times, preparing magic while throwing the chains off of him.
"Move Evergreen!" Julius shouted at him. "He heard her admit she tricked him. So, why does he still defend her?"
Still armed with the side of the flail that had the head on it, Julius prepared to strike. To his shock Botan brought up his leg with such force it knocked his weapon aside and landed on his neck while he was still traveling forward.
He slid to a violent stop into a nearby wall. He laid there for a moment, not from pain, but surprise. He eventually took to his feet, eyeing Mira who hid behind Botan. For his part, Botan took a non-hostile stance.
"Willing to talk?" Julius asked.
"Yes." Botan responded curtly.
Mira went to speak. "But if we don't-"
"Mira. Stop." Botan said sternly. They locked eyes then she lowered hers in defeat.
"She was tricking you with urgency. Why could you not wait a single hour? What emergency were you tending to?" Julius inquired.
"An hour? What do you mean? It'd take someone days to race to either capital and days more to return." Botan said with confusion.
"...Seriously? Were you never told of Voice Cannons?" Julius sounded like he finally lost his composure.
"..." And suddenly everything was clear to Botan. He quickly glanced over to the three towers on the Ventus side of the wall he saw when he first arrived in town. He was told about Voice Cannons, but it was mentioned only once. It completely slipped his mind. Botan looked to the downcast Mira. "Rushing me along so I couldn't think about it… I see."
Botan let out a heavy sigh. "Well, this certainly isn't how I wanted my first visit to Ventus to go. I surrender." Botan said, his voice sounding a lot more annoyed than defeated.
"...I'll escort you and your wagon through the gate properly." Julius offered, removing his helmet to inspect it for damage. He had the same dark skin tone as he expected. His bright blue hair was a pleasant sight. It matched the feather that adorned his helm.
Botan stood still for a moment. "Don't you have a jail on this side?"
"You are the Evergreen, I am not arresting you." Julius assured.
"...But I just caused a huge incident. I kicked you in the face!" Botan said, now embarrassed and ashamed.
"Indeed. That was not appreciated. Even so, I will not detain you. Your presence in our kingdom will be a boon I will not obstruct. Moreover, detaining you would be very disrespectful." Julius dismissed.
"But… I was already disrespectful to you." Botan said reluctantly.
"What of it? If such events lead to more safety and security for Ventus, trampling on my pride is a small cost."
"..." Upon hearing him Botan bowed, his back horizontal to the ground, his legs still straight. "My sincerest apologies!" Botan did what all young Japanese were taught to do when they realized they were wrong.
Julius stared for a moment. The soldiers below finally climbed the stairs to the sight of Botan clearly surrendering to Julius. He motioned for them to leave. There was no longer any problems.
They slowly descended the stairs, Botan careful to not damage the stairs with his wagon. Once he reached the bottom, he could see a sea of armored men and women. It had to be at least 1000 soldiers stationed here. One guard moved to detain Mira who was still clinging to Botan and seemed like she was in a daze.
Before they could reach her, Botan scooped her up and looked to Julius. "I'll be on my way now."
"..." Mira was too surprised to say anything as Botan and Julius shared a silence.
"...You heard him! Open the gate!" Julius yelled, his mean quickly complying.
"...But I lied to you…" Mira meekly said in confusion.
"But not about anything important. C'mon. Let's go see your old man." Botan assured her.
Mira wept tears of joy as she finally passed beneath the arcs of Ventus' famous Blue Gate. Botan went through the gate, then promptly sat Mira down on the wagon. He turned and bowed again.
"I'm sorry for everything. We are on the same side and I forgot that. Please forgive me." He spoke as loud as he could so each soldier present could hear him. "I got a big head and failed to consider that you have reasons for what you do. Important reasons. I'll trust your words and actions in the future." And with that, he left. A large amount of laughter was heard.
One looked to Julius as they just kept laughing at Botan. "I can't believe you beat the Evergreen so badly. That's hilarious."
But he did not join in on the laughter. But under the mask, Julius just smiled. "So you're also willing to have your pride trampled for others? I misjudged you, Evergreen."
.
[Otherworld Index]
Today's Index will be on the four famous gates that surround Ventus. The North White Gate and South Black Gate are actually port cities at the north-most and south-most spots in Ventus. The remainder of the coasts have several natural and man-made barriers that make large-scale invasion undesirable. Due to this, one would want to invade Ventus by sea, one of these two gates would be the way to do so. Both serve as trade centers for the country as well as naval bases.
The Red Gate and Blue Gate are both located on the eastern border it shares with Mosden. The Red Gate is further north, the Blue Gate is further south. These two are both fortresses. The Blue Gate has a military base behind its wall, while the Red Gate has a single massive structure that serves as the entire base and wall. For this reason, the Blue Gate is generally believed to be the easiest gate to enter.
However, having obvious moves also causes problems. The Blue Gate located in the border town of Fissle has two other nearby bases, a larger total staff of guards, and more to compensate. If war were to break out those in Fissle have a good chance of being ground zero of an invasion into Ventus.
Alongside these military bases, Ventus gave the commander of each fort the special title of Gatekeeper. This allows the fame and infamy of the military bases themselves to be associated with the key personnel of each location. After 20 years or so, the title became a proper one recognized by the Dragon Hourglass. Meaning each Gatekeeper has higher stats than they otherwise would, favoring defense, and with a maximum level of 75, amongst the highest in Ventus and beyond.
[Author's notes]
Okay! Botan is officially out of Mosden. I originally had Botan explore his new skills but I am trying to become a better writer and it seemed it'd be better to introduce these skills via a meaningful showcase for the story. I know I didn't get to show all of them, but maybe next time?
Botan was tricked into causing a huge commission that could have had huge consequences had he not realized in time. Julius came off as a jerk before but ended up more worthy of his rank by the end of things. And for Botan choosing to make a fool of himself and appear to surrender to Julius at the end even though Julius had no intentions of arresting him, Botan heard what Julius said about the reputation of protecting the area from invasion and decided that being laughed at was worth building the reputation of the locate some.
I'm pretty sure I've said this before, but this isn't meant to be a power fantasy. Botan will lose, he will be humiliated, whatever should happen as Botan follows his own heart to wherever that leads. But I also do not bully Botan for no reason. When he makes these kinds of decisions, decisions that are not about power fantasy, I intend that they will all be purposefully meaningful and impactful later on.
I'm sure some will disagree with his decisions like Botan taking Mira with him despite her lying and tricking him. But this isn't a choose-your-own-adventure story, this is Botan's story.
Next time, I'll introduce another party member and a cute one at that. Stay tuned.