After putting up the third building that I intend to be an art gallery Timbre taps me on the shoulder. Looking to her she points to the training grounds. I can see there are guards training here again. I think it’s a different group than what we saw this morning. “Can we train with them a little?” At Timbre’s request I think about the benefit of getting a little more formal training.
“Sure. Maybe I can find someone to help me train with the staff.” Taking her slender yet powerful hand in mine, I lead her over to the training grounds. Looking around I find Grondar again. He is sparring with the automaton. Looks like a fairly one sided match in Grondar’s favor, but the construct isn’t using any elemental powers. Just purely physical combat. When they break apart for a moment I call out to the captain of the guard to get his attention. When he sees us he tells the automaton to stand down and comes over. “That thing you summoned is a little slow but quite formidable. What brings you back her so soon my lord?”
“Hey Grondar. We finished up most of what we had to this morning and Timbre wanted to get a little training in. I figure I could use a little instruction on my staff too. I’ve had some in the past but I would like to improve my skills some more. You think you can help us out with that?”
Looking us both up and down for a moment and seriously studying us he finally nods. “I should be able to accommodate. What kind of style does she fight with?” he asks me while looking to Timbre.
“She is a vanguard type and can take a hit but focuses more on deflecting. She prefers the shield and hammer” is my answer to him.
He turns around and looks at a few of the sparring circles that are occupied. Stepping next to Timbre he then points toward one of the circles where there is a man standing next to it and calling out instructions. “See that man there? The dwarf yelling at the fighters?” At her nod he continues. “That is my lieutenant Laramie. He fights much like you do. Tell him I said he needed to give you lessons personally.” Timbre heads over to the dwarf and they exchange a couple words before he looks to Grondar. With a nod from the captain Laramie takes Timbre over to an empty sparring circle. Turning back to me he says “Where is your staff. If I recall it had an interesting shape to the top of it.”
With a flex of my will the bracelet that is a staff flows into my hand and enlarges to full size. This visibly startles the dwarf and he looks at me inquiringly. “It evolved while we were in the dungeon and it can do this now” I answer his unasked question.
Shaking off his surprise, he holds out his hand to see my staff. I feel a great uneasiness come over me at that point and I hesitate to hand it over. I reign in my emotions and give it to him for inspection. He looks it over for a moment and tests the sharp edge where the raised wings of the thunderbird cradle the large gem. “Dolan’s work of course. The excellent craftsmanship and his obvious flourish for making everything he takes pride in as versatile and practical as possible gives it away. He always tried to spoil Azzaria too.” He says all this quietly like he is mostly talking to himself. Raising his head from the study of my staff his voice is back to a normal volume. “This weapon of yours is a lot like a pike or a short halberd. The style is much like that of a staff but there is some slashing and stabbing incorporated.”
“Do you have anyone that can help me then?” The smile that came onto his face at my question was one of absolute joy. And it scared the shit out of me in its place on the usually gruff dwarf. Even when he smiled to Azzaria there was more of a fondness there. Unadulterated happiness on Grondar’s face was like seeing a skirt on a turtle or a hat on a fish. It just doesn’t make any sense and is fundamentally wrong.
A few hours later I’m laying on the ground panting with exhaustion and with multiple bruises forming all over my body. Apparently Grondar is good with more than just his hammer. He said there were some better staff users but he was the best with a halberd. I had learned some about fighting with a staff back on Earth when I was trying out martial arts, but it was different with the added slashes and stabs that Grondar instructed me in. After that he deemed my overall comprehension good enough to spar with him. From there he proceeded to lay the hurt on. We only used training pikes that were all wood and dull but it still hurts enough being bashed with one.
While I’m laying there in the sand looking into the sky Grondar’s head comes into view. A scene from one of my favorite movies pops into my head. I almost think he is going to tell me I was weighted and measured but found wanting. “Not bad. Looks like you had some basic training in the past. Hopefully this can help you adapt to that weapon of yours.” Then he steps away to start yelling instructions to a group fighting nearby. A few moments later I recover enough to cast Reverse Pain a few times and ease the soreness I feel all over. I slowly get to my feet, and even though my HP is full my muscles feel a lingering ache. Taking a moment to stretch I then head over to where Timbre is training.
When I get close to where I saw her before I don’t hear any fighting. In sight of the sparring pit I don’t see them either. I walk up and lean on the rail when I finally catch sight of Timbre and Laramie. They’re both flat on the sand, much like I was a few minutes ago. “You two all right?”
At the sound of my voice they both look over to me. Laramie stays there and just gives me a thumbs up. Timbre on the other hand tries to jump up upon seeing me. She is unstable when she gets to her feet and almost falls over before grabbing the rail that surrounds the ring. “I’m fine” she tells me.
“No you’re not.” I move next to her. “I can handle it” is her reply. I reach for her arm to help support her and she pulls away only to stumble at the sudden movement. Before she can recover I step in front of her on the other side of the rail from me. This time I get a hand on her upper arm to help support her and put the other hand to her cheek. Turning her face to me I see worry in her eyes.
Trying to understand what is wrong I look at her for a moment. Not coming up with anything I just ask her. “What are you worried about?”
Frustration flashes in her eyes before the concern returns. “I’m weak.” I am still staring at her but I don’t say anything so she can continue. “I don’t want you to find someone else to help you.”
I shake my head at her. “Silly wolf” I tell her. Then I lean forward and lick her on the cheek. Her eyes go wide at the uncharacteristic gesture from me. “I could never replace you. We are a team and we will get stronger together. Isn’t that why we’re here?”
She looks at me and the worry fades a little from her expression. A moment later determination replaces the concern and she gives me a resolute nod of the head. I cast a few spells to help her recover like I did and then we head out. As we walk back toward the keep I can see Timbre is checking out her status, so I check my own messages. The training was unpleasant but it seems to have been quite effective. I picked up four levels in my Staff Mastery and got it up to level ten. I also got another message.
Staff Mastery has reached level 10. You gain the skill Rebound for reaching lvl 10 in a weapon mastery and for performing defensive movements with that weapon.
Rebound lvl 1: Forcefully block an attackers strike, causing the weapon to bounce back. Range: Melee. Cost: 10 MP.
I got a new skill out of the afternoon of training, and from the slight smile on Timbre’s lips I’m guessing she is happy with the results too. We meet up with Azzaria and Thia again at The Golden Feather. It’s still pretty early so there is no band or anything, but I do see a few people that we know when I enter with Timbre. Most of the council is there as well as a the two rogues I worked with when we rescued the villagers of Efftin. I found out later that, yes they are brothers, and their names are Deryl and Ian. The adventurer group led by Nickie is at the table next to them as well.
“What’s all this” I ask Azzaria who was waiting at the door for us.
“I thought that some people would want to say goodbye before we leave tomorrow, so I told a few people we would be getting dinner here” is her happy reply.
&n
bsp; Heading over toward the council we are greeted by Dolan. “There ye be Vol. We be here for a proper send off.”
Everyone at the table has drinks and ale is set in front of me as soon as we take a seat at one of the nearby tables. The adventurers raised a glass to us when we sat so we raised one back and took a drink. I’m planning to leave early so I don’t want to drink too much and try to pace my self. We eat and sit around telling stories for a while. I haven’t finished my first ale but I start feeling it after a little while. At some point Kalliel and her group make an appearance. They even use the instruments I gave them. It’s pretty good but they need to get used to the different sound they make so they can write music to accommodate that. I start wondering why I only wanted to have a couple of ales when I first got here when I’m having a great time. There are both pros and cons to drinking though the pros can be a double edged sword. I knew this but I was about to experience both. You can be grateful for and still regret certain things I would find.
Chapter 11
Pain. That is the first thing that comes with waking up. I can feel that I’m snuggled in tight between others but that isn’t causing me any alarm since it has happened a few times. The massive hangover is a little puzzling though. Trying to make sense of the situation I set aside the pain in my head and try to push past the fog blocking out everything. Finally, after flailing around in my memory a minute, I start getting some scraps of what took place last night.
The impromptu going away dinner and the drinks. Me only having one drink. Then I drag up a memory of catching Azzaria switching out my half full mug of ale for a full one when she thought I wasn’t looking. Okay, she definitely got me with that little trick, but the question is why. Then there is a memory of pinching Timbre on the butt while we were at the inn. Azzaria’s intoxicating smell in my nose as she leans in close to my ear. “Do you trust me?” she asked, her hot breath caressing my ear.
After that she led me and the other two girls back to our room. On the way I pinched Thia’s butt this time. Pushing deeper I try to remember anything else that happened. Then it comes back to me, and boy did something happen alright. Checking to make sure that I wasn’t just dreaming the last part I move my right arm down the side of one of the girls sandwiching me in. Nothing but smooth skin the whole way. Nope. Not a dream then. I thought I would be a little mad at Azzaria for forcing this level of relationship on me, but as I lay there I can’t dredge up any anger. It’s a little tough when I had such a good time last night. A really good time.
Reaching on the other side of me I stroke the really soft tail of Timbre. I remember from last night that she really enjoys this. Maybe a little too much for polite company. This seems to wake her up, though slowly. I then move on to the other two and wake them with soft touches in similarly sensitive areas until everyone is rousing from their rest. When she is awake enough to understand my question I ask. “Why did you do that?” There is no anger in my voice just curiosity.
Azzaria looks at me for a moment as if trying to comprehend my question. I give her a light pinch to her exposed chest to jog her memory. With the light of realization in her eyes she blushes deeply, but still answers. “I was tired of waiting. Also, I didn’t want to do anything with you alone since the girls have admitted their feelings to you. So I just gave you a little push.”
“You got me drunk and then took advantage of me” I say playfully.
To this she looks suitably chagrined. “You obviously love us all but I could tell taking it farther was difficult for you. I thought I would give you a hand by lowering your inhibitions a little. Plus it was a little selfish too. I wanted some….intimate time with you before we left.”
I give her a peck on the lips to reassure her I’m not too upset. “Don’t worry about it. But I do have to say that a hangover to start the trip with is not pleasant.”
There is a green glow that appears under the covers and I feel a warmth wash over me. My head clears of the hangover and I feel more refreshed than I did when I first woke up. “Cure really helps with that” Azzaria tells me with another smile. She then casts her spell on the rest of our group.
Refreshed, we all get out of bed and get ready for our trip. We head down to the main hall and meet up with the council while we eat. “Yer armor all be fixed” Dolan tells us as he hands it over. We all equip it and are ready to head out after eating.
While the others are finishing their breakfast I head into the chapel with the Alter of Gwydia. Kneeling before it I place a hand upon the top and pray. “I will be leaving here for a time. I want to see the world and I need to build this town as well. Thank you for the chance you have given me at a new life. I know I said it before, but here I found not one, but three women that I adore and love me in return. So I can never thank you enough. I only hope that I can help you along the way and return here so that we can build this place with you at the center of it all.” Having purged the spur of the moment desire to pray, I get up and walk back to the table where the council and my girls wait.
“You all be careful now” Enora tells us. “This town needs you to come back.”
Her words and demeanor are serious. Answering in the same manor I respond. “We will. I’m counting on all of you to look after the place while I’m gone. IMA should be a big help to you as well.” With nothing much else to say I turn to my group. “Time to get the collars on.” I wait for them to do so then continue. “I’m going to open a door a little ways from Efftin so we can scout the area. Be ready just in case there is someone around when we come out.” When everyone is ready I open the Spatial door and step through followed close behind by Timbre, Thia and Azzaria bringing up the rear.
When we get through we all pause for a moment as we catch sight of a human soldier standing a dozen yards from us. His mouth is dropped open and he is just staring at us until I raise my hands to cast a spell. When he sees this his eyes get even wider but it breaks him out of his stupor. Turning, he attempts to flee. I start to cast quicksand so that he can’t get away but I cancel the cast and return the mana to my pool a moment later. The reason is that Azzaria’s cast was faster and tree roots break free of the ground to entangle his feet.
I step up and point my hand to finish him but I get a better look at his face and realize he is just a kid. Something like fourteen or fifteen years old. This has all taken about ten seconds and the door we used is still open. Quickly making a decision not to kill a young boy I use the dagger on my hip. Slicing the roots from the ground I tightly bind his hands and feet before removing a piece of paper from my storage. I scribble a quick note regarding this person and that I would deal with him upon my return. Grabbing one side as Timbre grabs the other we haul him to the portal and chuck him through the open doorway. Just in time, as his feet barely make it through when it closes.
Looking around to the girls I take a breath. “Well that was a little more exciting than I was planning so early in the morning. Thia, please change and scout the area from the air. Timbre, you do the same from the ground. Make sure that we don’t run into any more scouts. Looks like there is definitely a unit nearby investigating the disappearance of their soldiers.” With their marching orders given my two quiet companions shift to their animal forms and take off. Thia flaps her beautiful wings and soars up through the canopy while Timbre bounds into the underbrush and fades out of sight.
I take a moment to calm down and the scared face of a boy not yet into adulthood haunts my mind. I was close to ending that kid and it bothers me. It’s one thing if a person is an active threat, a life or death situation. It’s a whole different thing to kill someone helpless like he was. I realize then that I would do it if it was to protect one of my girls, but even the idea of it bothers me. Vowing to do my best to avoid that kind of scenario in the future I put it out of my mind. There are more important concerns to deal with at the moment. Turning back to Azzaria I take a closer look now that she is geared for action. Something seems different. “Something is different about you.
” After saying so I see it. The arrows over her shoulder all have snow white fletching. “The arrows are different. You usually use ones with brown feathers.”
She saunters up to me and her movements draw my eyes to her hips, but my focus snaps back to her face when she speaks. “I bought enchanted arrows.” When I open my mouth to tell her I would have done it she raises her hands to forestall me. “I know you could have done them for me but you have been busy and I needed more arrows anyway. Plus I wanted to get extras since I have plenty of space with the bracelet you made for me.”
“Yeah I have been busy, but I will always have time for you girls” I tell her. “So, what kinds of enchantments did you get?”
“Girls huh? If we were then I think you made women of us last night. I flush at the mention of last night’s activities but can’t come up with anything to say to that. The smirk she has from my reaction shows how much she enjoys teasing me but she doesn’t continue the topic. Taking my arm, she leads me over to a nearby tree where we sit. “I got an assortment of different ones. Some have better piercing or critical strike damage. Some of them have elemental damage with ones for each type.”
A Mage Rising: (The Chronicles of Herst 2: A LitRPG Saga) Page 22
