by Tao Wong
Daniel groaned inwardly while Asin was much more direct as she poked Omrak with her claw and glared at him. The teenager had already been warned to not speak of Daniel’s abilities. With magic users rare, and Healers, in particular, being extremely in demand, Daniel had already experienced the politicking and the ends the guilds would go to acquire a Healer. Still, the cat was out of the bag.
“I’m not exactly a Healer. I have a few healing spells but not the Class,” Daniel said, correcting the misconception.
“What spells?” Seth said, some of his initial enthusiasm waning.
“Minor Healing II and Healer’s Mark,” Daniel reported.
“And your Level?”
“Ten.”
“Really?” Seth said, slightly surprised now. “And you cleared a Basic Dungeon?”
“I did,” Daniel said, pointing to his friends. Omrak, having grown bored with this conversation had wandered off to the training ground where he was loudly announcing his intention to take the Advanced Class test. A few Adventurers, training on the grounds, were giving the big Northerner angry glares at his proud boasting. Except Daniel knew that Omrak’s volume had nothing to do with pride or a desire to publicly announce his actions but long years living on barren, windswept mountains. Asin had followed along with Omrak, probably as much out of curiosity as a genuine desire to test herself. “I completed Karlak with them actually. And we just cleared Peel too.”
“Ah, good team then,” Seth nodded. “Well, you might not have the same number of spells, and you’re a bit under-Leveled, but I think, hmm… I could probably offer you an Orange designation. If you wanted more, you’d have to test.”
“Orange,” Daniel muttered. “Can I think about it?”
“Sure. It’s your time,” Seth said as he waved Daniel away. Nodding in thanks, Daniel walked over to watch his friends, not forgetting to take a drink from his canteen.
Already, the two newcomers were beginning to be put through their paces. In a fenced off, dirt sparring ground, Omrak faced a monster of a melee fighter, an individual so large, he made the blond Northerner look average sized. Hefting a long stick wrapped in steel, Omrak’s opponent attempted to bludgeon the Northerner into the ground. Each strike between the pair was so violent that the attacks rang out through the courtyard, Omrak barely able to stay standing under the onslaught. Yet, no matter how fast or how hard his opponent swung, Omrak always managed to get his sword in place to block in time.
In another corner, Asin was running an obstacle course filled with strung ropes, sharp pits, swaying rope bridges and spinning rocks. All the while, Asin had to attack targets - with failure to do so resulting in an attack of opportunity launched against the Catkin by the invigilator who strode alongside the course.
“You joining us?” The speaker was an older woman in her forties, an eyepatch over one eye and clad in a tight leather tunic that showcased the intimidating number of muscles that clad her body. When she noticed that Daniel’s attention was focused on her, she offered him her hand. “Angie.”
“Daniel,” he replied, shaking her hand.
“So, are you?”
“I’m just watching for now.”
“Really. So, you’re going to let the bureaucrat dictate how strong you are?”
Daniel smiled at the challenge in Angie’s voice. “Seems like I’d be as strong as I am whether I take the test or not. The only difference might be the color of my designation.”
“Har,” Angie laughed, slapping her thigh in mirth. “That’s a pretty mature way of looking at things. Surprising for one so young.”
“I’m not that young,” Daniel protested. Unfortunately, those with his own ethnic descent were uncommon in Brad, often leading to instances where he was mistaken for being younger than he was.
“Most of you kids are, to me,” Angie said, chuckling. “But you are wrong about one thing. If you test, I’ll guarantee that you will learn something. Might even save your life.”
“Oh?” Daniel said, intrigued. “What?”
“Well, if I could tell you, what would be the point of the test?” Angie said with a smile. After a moment, Daniel finally acceded to her request.
“Good man. Come on,” Angie pointed to an empty sparring ring, rolling her shoulders as she entered the ring.
“Wait. I’m fighting you?”
“There a problem?” Angie asked, the glowering threat by the one-eyed lady making Daniel suddenly gulp and shake his head. He never had a problem anyway, just surprise. As she glared at him, Daniel hurried forward quickly while pulling his hammer and shield off his back. Already, he had begun to regret his choice.
“Yield!” Daniel croaked out loud, spitting around the sand that had entered his mouth. Legs splayed across his back, Angie had his weapon arm cranked up behind his back while she ground his body into the sand, her weight pushing down across the younger man’s back.
“Eighteen seconds,” one of the bystanders said laconically. “You did worse than the last time.”
“Remember, just tap my body if you can’t speak,” Angie reminded Daniel as she got off him and helped him to his feet.
“Are you sure this is the test?” Daniel complained as he rotated his shoulder to remove the ache in it. Already, Daniel could feel the numerous bruises that covered his body. While the plate armor protected against impacts and strikes, it was also brutally uncomfortable to fall in with the edges digging and bruising his body on each landing. And it did nothing to protect from Angie twisting and yanking his body like a straw figure.
“It’s my test,” Angie said with a smile. “Again?”
Daniel stared at Angie, wondering how many more times he was going to be tossed to the ground. At the wide, sadistic smirk, Daniel could only sigh. It seemed the answer was ‘a lot’. Still, Daniel bent to pick up his weapons and got into his combat stance again. If there was one thing that Daniel had, it was his stubbornness. You either grew a stubborn streak as a Miner or you left the Class. Under the earth, the weak and the hesitant broke.
“Minor Healing,” Daniel whispered under his breath, using the vocal component to help focus his swimming mind. Having rolled over onto his knees, Daniel had to pause as the world rolled like the sea on a gusty day.
The slight warmth of Mana leaving his body, and the cold healing pressure of his Spell entering it a second later helped him focus. He felt something shift, a slight pop in his ears as the cloudiness in his thoughts parted. Concussion. I have a concussion.
“Oh shit, did I throw you too hard?” Angie said, bending down. “Crap, they’re going to ream me out again…”
“I’ll… I’ll be fine. I’ll just heal myself,” Daniel croaked, still not realising he had spoken aloud. Khy’ra’s voice came to him, reminding him.
“Never use a healing spell on a brain injury if you have a choice. The possibility of making the injury permanent is extremely high. Our spells are no substitute for actual healing, even Healer’s Mark speeds up the healing process too much. Better to take the time to treat the wound properly and let it heal naturally,” Khy’ra said in one of their talks after a particularly long evening in the free Clinic they had run together in Karlak. The next part Daniel recalled clearly for in her voice was the slight incredulity, the awe that she had felt for his Gift. “Your Gift though, that should be fine. From what you’ve told me, you can sense what is wrong and fix it directly.”
His Gift. Once again Daniel reached within, finding the spot where his Gift lived. He pulled on it, focusing on his mind, on his injury. As Khy’ra had eluded to, he ‘felt’ the wrongness, the bruising and injury, the incipient inflammation from being thrown so often. It took only the lightest of nudges, the smallest application of warmth to shunt the damage away, to clear his mind.
“Be nice to be a Healer. If we had a Healer, I wouldn’t have…” Angie trailed off, visibly shaking her thoughts aside. “You good yet?”
“Just need a little more time,” Daniel said softly, focusing again as he ca
lled forth his Mana. Healer’s Mark, a heal over time spell sped up his regeneration, allowing his body to heal the numerous other injuries that had collected over the fight. Even the minor damage he hadn’t cleared in his head from his Gift would be fixed by this wide area spell.
“Well, we’re done. I’m impressed. Seventeen times. Most give up after the eleventh,” Angie said. “Like somehow the number ten is the right number, the one that they had to beat to be considered tough.”
Daniel laughed slightly as he slowly clambered to his feet. Angie had taken him on, shield and mace equipped, unarmed each of the seventeen times and each time, she had put him on his back before she gripped and controlled his attacking arm with consummate ease. She had dodged, jumped, punched and clambered over him like a particularly affectionate monkey, always one step ahead of Daniel. Through all seventeen times, Daniel had learnt only one thing – do not let her put her hands on him. For the moment she had her hands on him, the fight was over.
“What was that?” Daniel said as the pair exited the arena to allow another group to take over. As Daniel crossed by the waiting Adventurers, hands reached out to clap him on the shoulder in congratulations. Vocal encouragement was also added, though there was a tinge of gleeful amusement to it all too. One that Daniel felt was perhaps the kind that the long-suffering felt upon seeing another added to the list.
“Lopak,” Angie said. “It’s a fighting style I was trained in when I was little. Focuses on controlling your opponent’s limbs and body to defeat them.”
“But surely, it’s more dangerous…” Daniel trailed off, glancing at his shield and mace that had been of little use in their fight.
“Har! Of course, it is. I’m not recommending you trade your weapons away. Just that it’s worth knowing what to do when your opponent is too close for you to wield them,” Angie said with a nod. “You’d be surprised how often a little knowledge like that could save you.”
Now that he was no longer focused on his own suffering, Daniel noted that Omrak was currently showcasing his strength to all, going through a circuit of lifting, pulling and carrying exercises in one corner. To Daniel’s experienced eyes, he realised that Omrak had not gotten off unscathed from the fight with his movements slightly more stiff than usual. In another corner, Asin was sparring with Omrak’s previous opponent. Though perhaps sparring was the wrong word as Asin ran around the arena, throwing her knives and otherwise harrying the Adventurer who attempted to catch her.
“Your friends are doing well,” Angie said, seeing where Daniel’s attention had been drawn. “You’re still all Red badgers, but in a few weeks, I dare say you might qualify for Orange. If your Catkin had a few more enchanted pieces, maybe even now.”
Daniel nodded at her words. Asin was, without a doubt, the fastest and most agile of the group. She seemed to have a second sense for where attacks would come from as well, a fact that frustrated Daniel and Omrak in their sparring sessions. If it wasn’t for the fact that she had difficulty injuring others, Daniel would undoubtedly consider her the most dangerous of the group.
“Well, what are you waiting for?” Angie said, clapping Daniel on his back and pointing to the obstacle course. “You’re not done yet.”
“But…”
“No buts. No waiting around for your Mark to finish,” Angie said with a sniff. “You don’t always have the luxury of healing in the Dungeon.”
Groaning, Daniel strode over to the obstacle course, a thread of dread already running through him. He hated obstacle courses. At least, he consoled himself, they were not as bad as puzzle rooms. Puzzle dungeons could burn with Ba’al.
Hours later, the trio stared at the simple red sheath that now covered their Guild cards. The other Adventurers called it a badge, but really, it was a simple cloth sheathe that stored their cards. A physical reminder for the world that not only were the group Advanced Adventurers, but they were the lowest of the low in that group.
Yet for all that, the trio found themselves grinning as they strode back to their attic in the Lonely Candle. It might not have been much, but now, they had a goal. And the ability to enter the Dungeon the next day.
Later that evening, Daniel found himself seated in a corner, a single candle the only illumination as he painstakingly worked on the letter before him.
Dear Khy’ra,
Well, we’re in Silverstone now. We finally cleared the Peel dungeon, and I’ve hit Level 10! Now I have the Level to go with my status of an Advanced Adventurer. The city, as mentioned, is big. Omrak wandered around, wide-eyed all of today. It was kind of funny actually, even if we did have to beat off a few pickpockets. I’m not sure he noticed.
We’re currently staying in the Lonely Candle. The innkeeper is nice; she reminds me a lot of Elise. Do say hi to her for me as well as Litzburn and Liev.
Talking of Liev, how come I didn’t know he was the Guild Master? Was it just me? He never put on any airs; I just thought he was a senior clerk. I don’t think I’d have spoken to him the way I did if I had known.
In Silverstone, the Adventurers Guild has a training grounds staffed with old Adventurers. Met a very strange woman today who kept making me eat dirt for our testing. I’m now officially an Orange tier Advanced Class Adventurer. They wanted to give me the Yellow tier because of my Healing spells, but I refused. It feels a bit wrong, just because I have a little knowledge. It feels unearned.
I know, you’ve cautioned me again and again about how useful healing is. How important it is. But, it just seems strange. Learning healing, even Healer’s Mark from you, it never felt earned.
I’m sorry. You probably heard enough of this from me before. I miss you. Hope things are going well. Say hi to everyone.
Love,
Daniel
Staring at what he had written, Daniel could not help but grimace. It sounded like he was whining. But, paper was expensive and what he had written was the truth. Khy’ra knew better anyway, to ignore his whining, his complaints. He was sure she’d read between the lines.
Chapter 3
Morning. It was going to be a glorious morning, Omrak thought as he bounced lightly on his feet outside the Lonely Candle. As always, both Asin and Daniel were slow, taking their time to exit the building because, well, because that was them. Omrak would be frustrated if there was not so much to see!
Even early in the morning as it was, raining as it was, Silverstone was busy. In the last five minutes, Omrak was sure he had seen more people – more different people – than his entire village held. There was the baker and his assistant, working hard at producing the fresh, unleavened bread that was in demand. They even made these tasty sweet buns, ones that sold nearly as quickly as they emerged from the oven, at an outrageous price of ten copper.
Down the street, farmers and labourers arrived from the nearby village, intent on bringing their produce to market. There were so many farmers that the city had multiple markets that ran every day. Dedicated grocers purchased these goods as well from various farmers, selling the produce on to the hungry populace for a little convenience. They had so much abundance that Omrak had even seen some grocers throwing perfectly good food – food that was just a little rotten – away last night.
“Omrak!” Daniel’s voice called to him, and Omrak turned from his people watching, grinning at his friend. “Get out of the rain. Or at least put something on your head.”
“Ah, Hero Daniel, this is wonderful weather. Why would you seek to hide from it?” Omrak said, shaking his head and leaning his head back to once again enjoy the downpour.
“Because you’ll get sick and cold,” Daniel said, shaking his head. Omrak just laughed boisterously, more so when he heard Daniel mutter about him lacking the sense to get out of the rain. Asin snorted, wrapped tight in a slick woolen cloak that shed the water. Rather than take part in the argument, the young Catkin had taken off towards their destination.
Their destination. Omrak’s grin widened as he strode forwards, barely noticing how the smaller
Southerners all scrambled to get out of his way. They were going to a new Dungeon today. Porthos it was. What a strange name. But Southerners were very strange. The land had been conquered, split and reconquered so many times that many names of places came from other kingdoms. But that was why Brad was so interesting.
“Remember, Omrak, we’re just going to explore the first floor today. We might not even make it to the first Overseer. It’s a very big floor, and while we purchased a floor crystal, with the way the walkways move, it’s not as useful as you’d think.”
“Of course,” Omrak rumbled in agreement. Still, at the mention of the floor crystal, Omrak could not help but glance down at Daniel’s waist. The map crystal was an amazing piece of enchanting, even if they were mass-produced and would require charging in a month. It had cost them nearly all their remaining gold, pooled together. But with it, the team did not have to concern themselves about getting lost in the massive first floor. After all, Daniel’s extremely useful Mapping skill required that he actually visit said location before. And with the walkways supposedly moving, previous paths might not necessarily hold true any longer.
This time, the trio was not stopped at the gate after they flashed their newly acquired badges. They were even wished well by the guards, a blessing that Omrak returned heartily. Facing the silvery portal, Omrak bounced on his feet once again and began a series of long, slow stretches, working out the kinks and aches in his body. Rather than using friend Daniel’s precious Mana, Omrak had decided to forego the healing. It was, in the end, better for his body to adapt to the strain that he placed on it gradually. Magic, while useful, was no replacement for hard work!
“Ugh!” Omrak grunted as he stepped through the portal, walking forwards immediately to join his friends at the corner of the platform they were on. The portal had sucked away some of his body heat on transit, a side effect of being sodden to the bone, and left him slightly chilled.
