by Pirateaba
“Oh come on. You all know you have magic inside of you, right?”
Gerial looked down at his stomach, bemused.
“We do?”
“Of course. Magic is part of us. It’s in the air we breathe, the food we eat—we all have our own supply of mana, however small. My kind has a great deal of internal magic we generate simply by existing so we make good mages. Humans on the other hand—”
She shrugged and bit into a piece of pancake. She chewed and spoke around her food.
“Not as much. But exceptions exist and they make good mages. But even if you don’t cast spells you have some mana in you. Enough to sustain basic spells or supply a summoned creature with enough magic to survive if it can’t by itself.”
“So I have magic? In me? Does that mean if Toren wasn’t here I’d—be able to cast spells?”
Ceria paused and shook her head sympathetically.
“I’m sorry. But if Pisces tested you it’s unlikely. Maybe there’s a better chance but…”
“Oh.”
Erin said it quietly. She kept eating in silence as the other adventurers spoke.
“I’d like to go into the city and collect our share of the supplies. We also need to visit the Adventurer’s Guild to make sure we’re still cleared to enter the ruins. But ah, we can’t go if that adventurer is still around.”
Calruz scowled as he ate two pancakes in a single bite.
“Gazi the Omniscient. It would be inconvenient if she were to trouble us now. I will go with you.”
Erin blinked and looked up from her plate.
“Gazi? Oh, she’s gone.”
The other Horns of Hammerad stared at her.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. She told me she was going and looking for something. Somewhere else.”
Erin was aware of the other adventurers sharing a look at the table, but she didn’t understand what it meant. It was just a look that told you it was significant but didn’t share any of the details. It could be that it was a look to signify the world was changing and those present were at the precipice of a new era. Or it could be a look to subtly acknowledge some unlucky person had stepped in dog poo and hadn’t noticed. You couldn’t tell.
“Well then, that makes things simpler. At least for now.”
Gerial shook his head and stood up from the table.
“We’ll see if anything else needs doing in the city. Calruz, do you still want to join us?”
The Minotaur snorted.
“There is no need to waste any more time with useless chattering and polishing weapons. Tomorrow we fight. Tell the others I will be ready when the time comes.”
The adventurers nodded and began trooping out the door. Erin stared at their dirty dishes and pointed silently to Toren and then at the table. The skeleton obediently walked over and began to gather them.
Calruz was still eating, but Erin could hear the other adventurers debating how to spend their last day. Some were in favor of buying trinkets to send to family, others to see what kind of entertainment was available in the city. Erin clearly heard Gerial talking casually to the others as he closed the door behind him.
“That’s odd. Was that large rock there yesterday?”
Erin shot up in her seat.
“Wait!”
She threw the door open and caught the adventurers as they were descending the hill. Erin desperately waved her arms at them and shouted incoherently.
“Stop! Hold it! Don’t go any further!”
The turned and stared. Erin pointed with a trembling finger at the large, conspicuously inconspicuous boulder casually blocking their path towards the city.
“Stay right there! If the rock moves, hit it or cast spell or something!”
“Hit the rock?”
Perplexed, Gerial and the other adventurers stared at the hidden Rock Crab. Ceria on the other hand narrowed her eyes and took a few steps back.
Erin rushed inside her inn and came out a few seconds later with a basket full of seed cores. Calruz followed her and stared at the giant boulder.
“What are you worried about?”
Erin grabbed one of the seed cores carefully and held it in one hand. She pointed at the boulder as she glared at Calruz.
“There’s a monster down there.”
He squinted.
“I don’t see it. Is it hiding in the ground?”
“No!”
Erin pointed again.
“See that? That thing?”
Calruz looked. He frowned.
“That is a boulder. What of it?”
Ceria coughed.
“It’s actually not, Calruz. It’s a monster, hiding under the rock. What you’re actually looking at is a shell.”
The other adventurers reacted to that news. Several swore and those holding weapons backed up as they gripped their weapon hilts.
“Are you sure?”
Ceria nodded.
“I didn’t see it at first, but there’s definitely something odd about that boulder. It looks too—out of place. See how the grass is flattened around it? And it hasn’t sunk into the earth as it should have over time.”
Gerial frowned as he half-unsheathed his sword.
“I believe you, but my [Dangersense] hasn’t gone off.”
“Not everything trips the [Dangersense]. And if it’s a sneak attack you’d have to be right next to the creature and by that point you’d be dead.”
He blew out his mustache.
“Fair point. Well, how do you want to tackle it? Freezing spells and then we charge in?”
Calruz nodded. He reached for his axe.
“I’ll break its shell.”
“No need.”
To the adventurer’s surprise Erin walked forwards.
“I can totally scare it off.”
Calruz’s face was a statement of incredulity.
“Impossible.”
“Watch me.
Erin took aim and threw. Her first seed core splattered harmlessly against the Rock Crab’s shell. The second and third did the same, as blue-gray seeds and liquid began trickling down the side of the boulder.
The adventurers were just starting to fidget in place when the Rock Crab suddenly lurched to its feet. They immediately readied their weapons, but the giant crab began scuttling away as Erin threw several more Seed Cores after it. Courtesy of her skill, each one struck the shell until the Rock Crab scuttled over a hilltop and disappeared.
Erin turned, smiling, and saw the Horns of Hammerad staring at her, slack-jawed.
“How did you do that?”
She showed them the seed cores and explained about the strange trees in the orchard she’d found. Ceria frowned at the small cores.
“I think I know what you’re talking about. Can I see one of those ah, seed cores?”
“Here.”
Erin casually tossed a seed core at Ceria. The Half-elf yelped, desperately grabbed the pod and held it gingerly in her hands as if it were a live grenade.
“Tree kissing rot! Don’t do that!”
“Why?”
Ceria’s hand shook as she very carefully held the seed core in her hand.
“I thought it had to be it. Blue fruit—hollow seed pod—this is a core of the Amentus fruit. It’s highly poisonous. Don’t you know that?”
“Um. No.”
Actually, Erin remembered Pisces mentioning it before.
“It’s toxic. Very dangerous stuff. Surely you realized consuming it was bad?”
“Well it smells so terrible that I never tried.”
“Here.”
Ceria gingerly handed the core back to Erin and watched it as she put it in the basket.
“It’s fine if you don’t break them, but don’t let any of the liquid get on your skin.”
“Why?”
“You could get sick. Not too badly, but it’s possible even touching the liquid could poison you mildly.”
Erin thought back to the time when she’s started
throwing up randomly.
“Oh.”
“It’s not as if you’d die instantly. But ingest enough of the liquid or the seeds and you’d be dead within the day.”
“Ooh. That would explain why I got sick one time. I accidentally squished a seed pod while I was making blue juice.”
Ceria’s eyes bulged.
“We’ve been drinking that? Are you insane?”
“Just the outer part!”
Erin hurried to reassure Ceria. The Half-elf looked pale, but after a while she accepted that Erin probably hadn’t poisoned them.
Gerial frowned at the seed cores in Erin’s basket, confused.
“That explains why the crab ran off. But why is it afraid of a tiny bit of poison? It’s a lot bigger than we are.”
“It must not have strong resistance to poison. Either that or it has no way to reduce the buildup of toxins like we do. Those crab-creatures might carry the sickness within them for the rest of their lives if they’re not careful.”
Gerial and the other adventurers muttered as Erin handed Toren the seed cores to put back in the inn. This time far away from the kitchen.
“Well, you saved our hides from a nasty encounter. That thing was big and I don’t relish wasting any more healing potions before we go into the ruins.”
“Mm.”
Calruz folded his arms and stared at the place where the Rock Crab had been. He didn’t appear particularly impressed.
“Go, then. I will remain here.”
Ceria and the others eyed him curiously.
“Doing what? Sleeping?”
“No. Teaching.”
—-
“Only Calruz would think about teaching an innkeeper to fight.”
Geiral shook his head as he and Ceria pushed their way into the local Adventurer’s Guild in Liscor. The building was far smaller than they were used to and bustling with activity. Countless Bronze-rank adventurers were trying to turn in bounties on monsters or take the few requests posted on the jobs board.
“Here.”
Ceria pointed and the two got into the shortest line. They kept talking as a harried-looking Drake receptionist dealt with the adventurers in front of them.
“I mean, why does she need training? You saw how she handled that crab thing.”
“That’s not the same as knowing how to fight. And besides, those seed cores won’t do much good against a group of bandits or even a few Goblins.”
Ceria had to raise her voice to talk over the hubbub in the room. The receptionist in front of them had a loud voice and she was using it liberally as she dealt with the line in front of them.
“Look, I don’t care how the Human cities do it. We don’t give out bounties for beating up thugs. How do you know they were guilty anyways? Next time, let the Watch take care of it. Next!”
“Still. Do you think he’s going to teach her how to use a weapon? In a day?”
“It’s Calruz. He probably expects Erin to be like Minotaur children. They grow up knowing how to use a blade.”
“Evil Goblins? Robbing you? And what are we supposed to do about it? Go and post a bounty if you’re that upset. But they’re Goblins. Go grab a sword and deal with it yourself!”
“I hope he goes easy on her. I’d hate for him to hurt her accidentally.”
“You Humans. Always so worried. She’s survived this far. Calruz won’t kill her by the time we get back. Probably.”
“No, there are no more requests available. Sorry. Next! You two, the Human and er, pointy-eared Human!”
Gerial and Ceria looked up. Selys waved at them and they approached.
“What can I do for you? And if it’s about lodging or supplies, don’t bother. The Guild is all out of everything.”
“No, ah it’s not that miss.”
Gerial cleared his throat and smiled at Selys. The Drake did not return the smile.
“We’re part of the Horns of Hammerad. We—and four other teams—put in a request a few days ago to enter the ruins as part of an expedition. We were wondering if we had permission—”
“Oh, you’re that lot.”
Selys’s eyes widened and she stared at Gerial and Ceria.
“You’re the first Silver-rank team we’ve had in the city in a while. I expected you’d be bigger. And don’t you have a Minotaur in your group? Please don’t let him cause any damage.”
She rushed on before either adventurer could respond.
“Anyways, the Guild already approved your request so there’s nothing to worry about. Go right ahead.”
Both Ceria and Gerial exchanged a quizzical glance. Gerial cleared his throat.
“Um. We don’t need any seals? Any letters or proof we can enter?”
This time it was Selys’ turn to look confused.
“Why would you need anything like that? You’re adventurers, right? Just go out and kill monsters and try not to get killed.”
“Oh it’s just—”
“It’s just that in Human cities adventuring is a lot more regulated.”
Ceria leaned over the counter and smiled at Selys.
“We don’t want to cause any trouble, being outsiders and all.”
Selys smiled at Ceria, her eyes flicking to the half-Elf’s pointed ears.
“Well, I appreciate that. Most of your Humans—er, the Humans we get don’t obey many of our laws. If you could clear out those Ruins so they all go away I think the city would throw you a celebration.”
“Something to look forwards to. We’re heading in tomorrow. So just to clarify—there’s nothing we need to do?”
Selys waved one hand.
“You’re fine. Go in whenever you like—just don’t bring any trouble out with you. The Watch is busy enough as it is.”
She turned to call for the next adventurer when another Drake walked over and put a hand on Sely’s shoulder. The other Drake murmured in Selys’s ear. She called out to Gerial and Ceria as they were about to leave.
“Wait! You two!”
They turned. Selys flashed them another smile.
“Sorry, but you’re from the north, aren’t you? There’s an annoying Human messenger in the city and he keeps bothering people.”
“Oh?”
Intrigued, Gerial and Ceria returned to the counter. Gossip and rumor were the lifeblood of an adventurer, and they were always curious about politics even in cities like Liscor.
“Apparently he’s come representing some flower. No—oh! I see. A Lady Magnolia. That makes more sense.”
“Lady Magnolia?”
“Yeah, something like that. He wants to talk to someone important. Well, we have a Council but they’re not going to listen to every Human noble who comes calling. But he’s persistent and he won’t go away. Is this Magnolia that important?”
“Very! She’s one of the Five Families!”
“The what?”
“You haven’t heard of them?”
Selys rolled her eyes and twitched her tail in annoyance.
“If I had I wouldn’t be asking. Who are they?”
“The Reinharts, Veltras, Terland, Wellfar and El families were the first humans to ever settle on this continent. They were aristocracy – related to kings from the continent Terandria. They’re still very rich and influential today.”
The female Drake frowned.
“El? What kind of name is that? You Humans and your strange names.”
She shook her head and continued.
“Okay, I suppose that means she’s important? Would you say she’s like the mayor of a village?”
“She would outrank the ruler of a city. The Reinharts have so many connections that if they declared war, half a dozen cities would march their armies at their command!”
Selys’ tail stopped moving. The receptionist next to her flicked out her tongue once.
“Um. Really?”
Ceria and Gerial both nodded seriously, as did the other Humans in earshot.
“The other four families have vari
ous scions with degrees of power, but as far as the Reinharts are concerned, Lady Magnolia rules the entire house. She’s wealthy, powerful, and probably one of the ten most important individuals in the continent.”
“Er. You mean in the north, right?”
“Anywhere.”
Selys exchanged a look with the other Drake. The other Drake’s bright orange scales and her green scales had lost a bit of their color.
“Um. Well. Thank you. We’ll—we’ll do something about that.”
The other receptionist practically sprinted out of the building. Selys stared at her back and then shook her head. She stared at the heaving room of mostly humanity and sighed. Then she raised her voice.
“Next!”
—-
Erin made a fist with her hands. She raised it and prepared to punch. Then she hesitated.
“Aren’t you going to block?”
Calruz shook his head.
“Give me your strongest punch. I wish to feel it.”
Erin nodded. She raised her fist and then hesitated again.
“You’re sure I can hit you?”
Calruz snorted impatiently.
“If you can injure me I will hang up my axe and cease living as a warrior this instant.”
“Fine then. You asked for it!”
Erin clenched her hand tightly. She breathed in and out quickly a few times, trying to psyche herself up. Somehow, even though Calruz was just standing in the grass outside of her inn he suddenly looked huge—that was, even taller than he already was.
Three hundred pounds and closer to seven feet than six of solid Minotaur loomed over Erin. She took a deep breath and attacked.
“Hiyah!”
Erin tried to punch hard and fast. Her fist struck Calruz in his stomach and she yelped.
“Ow!”
His abs were like stone.
“Try again.”
Erin did. Her fist bounced off of Calrus’s stomach.
“Ow! Why do I feel like I’m hurting myself more than you?”
“Your form is terrible.”
“Thanks.”
“It is not a compliment.”
Calruz sighed.
“Do you not even know how to punch properly?”
Erin stared at him.
“Is there a way to punch right? Don’t you just make a fist and—”
She punched at the air and then saw Calruz’s expression.
