by Ian Rodgers
A shrill of fear coursed through me and I hoped he’d come to his own conclusions if I told him about my most recent training.
Thankfully he nodded along and seemed to buy my flimsy excuse.
“Is that what that is? I’d always wondered why mages seemed so much more healthier and full of life even after time on the road. So, they were using their magic like that. Interesting.”
“Yeah, pretty embarrassing for me not to have figured it out after so long, so I’d appreciate it if you not tell any other mages about my little problem,” I said with a self-deprecating laugh.
Yorrik joined in as well and slapped me on the back good naturedly.
“Certainly! Your secret is safe with me!”
“So, what are you doing here?”
“Uncle Torren needed some more muscle in protecting his caravan and I decided to help out. He only had so much he could afford to pay for adventurers, which is why this isn’t an official quest for me. I’m technically only a hired hand right now.”
“He couldn’t afford a B-rank? But he looks well off,” I mused, looking over the crates and boxes and barrels.
With my enhanced senses I could tell that the food he was transporting was of a very high quality, as well as the rare alchemy ingredients stored more carefully in a sealed chest. Even taking into account transport costs and employee pay, the man should still make a tidy profit.
“Uncle’s a skinflint,” Yorrik said softly so the man in question wouldn’t overhear. “Tighter purse than a dwarf, and pricklier about rules than an elf. He only hired a handful of C-rank and two D-rank because, in his words, ‘I have a nephew who’ll work for cheap and won’t shaft me on the hiring fees.’”
“Sounds like a fun guy,” I said sarcastically, Rosa blowing a raspberry in agreement. Yorrik chuckled in agreement.
“Yup. But he’s certain there won’t be much trouble on the road. The way to Arv Prith is generally safe this time of year. At least for monster attacks. Maybe a few hungry Dire-breed, and bandits and the like only really operate in the spring or winter, so he felt justified in a small contingent for his caravan.”
“I see. Reminds me of Headmaster Cantos in a way,” I said, thinking back to the money grubber that was my mentor. Oh, he hid it well, and never let his greed usurp his strict morals, but he milked me and his students for all we were worth. Don’t even get me started on how he literally milked me for Ooze Extract that one time!
“You know that headmaster of the Academy?” the Ranger asked in awe. A few of the nearby adventurers perked up at that and listened in.
“To an extent. My patron knows him well, and he’s taught me a few tricks,” I said carefully.
“Patron… that means you have a noble who’s sponsoring you, correct?” Yorrik asked.
“Yes. In exchange for lessons I go out in the field for them, assisting with their research on Oozes.” As I spoke I looked around the group, taking note of the other adventurers’ appearances and mana levels. It seemed I was the only mage in the group, but a few could probably toss around a couple Magic Arrows and basic Cantrips.
“Has the other D-rank showed up yet?” Torren’s gruff voice demanded and we turned to face the merchant.
“No, uncle.”
The burly man grunted in annoyance. “We leave in five minutes. If they are not here, they get left behind.”
I winced at that, and several of the others did so as well. Yorrik rolled his eyes but gave a nod all the same. As the merchant wandered off to check the readiness of his carts and horses the B-ranker turned to me with a wan smile.
“What did I tell ya? Stickler for rules. If his schedule says to leave at 9 am, he will damn well leave at 9 am. No ifs, ands, or buts.”
“I can tell this will be a pleasant trip,” I said with a thick helping of sarcasm in my voice. Rosa nodded.
“Ah, don’t worry about him. As long as you’re perfect, he won’t complain,” Yorrik said with a remarkably straight face. He then broke down laughing a few seconds later, and I joined him along with a few others.
“Sorry I’m late!” A cheerful and apologetic voice suddenly called out, and we all turned to see a very short woman with short hair dashing towards the group.
“Hang on, let me catch my breath,” she gasped once she reached us. After a few seconds she straightened up and showed Yorrik a slip of paper.
“I’m Katherine, a D-rank hired for this caravan and a Promotion Quest.”
The Ranger took the paper and perused it before handing it back.
“Looks to be in order. Glad you could make it. The man who hired you is over by that fruit cart, you should report to him.”
The young woman nodded and darted off to report to Torren and I shared a look with Yorrik.
“That was a dwarf, right?” he asked hesitantly. I shrugged.
“Seemed like she was. Short and stocky enough to be one.”
“I thought they braided their hair, though,” the B-ranker mused. I shrugged again.
“I’m sure she has her circumstances. Maybe she’s in that rebellious phase.”
Yorrik held back his laugh so it became a snort before composing himself.
“Well, regardless she’s here now. Ready to walk a hundred miles or so?”
I shrugged one last time. “Not like I have a choice to refuse, do I?”
.
It was slow. Agonizingly so. That was my first thought as the caravan ground to a halt around dusk at a small clearing on the side of the road.
Although we had traveled for about ten hours we’d actually covered less distance than I had expected. A caravan of any type or size could only move as fast as its slowest member, and that drastically cut into the travel speed.
We couldn’t even stop for lunch. Everyone ate while walking, which admittedly wasn’t a problem for me or Rosa. A few newbies to the traveling scene had grumbled, though, which got annoying very fast.
There was another aspect of escort work I quickly discovered I disliked, and that was the horses. I decided that I hated the smelly beasts. Always going to the bathroom as they pleased and leaving the path filthy for those of us who had to walk behind.
I was cleaning off my boots with a vigorous application of Summon Water when Yorrik walked over.
“Jellik, do you mind doing a bit of patrolling with me? We’re setting up camp for the night and I’d like you to help me set up a perimeter.”
I nodded and followed after him. The edge of the Dullwild was nearby, and we checked carefully to make sure no wild animals or monsters were wandering about.
Yorrik used his Ranger training to look for tracks and physical signs of life while I used my array of senses and a few Detect type spells.
“Nothing over here. Nor any poisonous plants someone might accidentally stumble across,” I said as my Detect Poison showed nothing hazardous.
“This is why I like mages. You’ve got a whole host of spells for any occasion,” Yorrik said happily. He clapped me on the shoulder. “I can use a few Detect spells as well, plus a few others, but it’s nice to work with someone who can use them so efficiently.”
“Thank you,” I said, pleased and flattered at the praise. Rosa flew over to me and settled onto my hat brim this time. She looked tired but happy.
“Did you dig the outhouse pits already?” I asked, impressed. She nodded and gestured to where three square cloth tents had been set up for the purpose of ‘relieving’ oneself.
‘Tara, remind me to visit one of those later tonight to keep up my human act,’ I asked telepathically, and got a confirmation back a second later.
Out loud, I praised my Familiar with a fond pat on the head and a few words of honest praise.
“Good job, Rosa. I knew your Earth magic would come in handy someday!”
She frowned and bopped me on the ‘head’ then stuck her tongue out at me. Yorrik and I laughed at how cute she looked while doing so.
“Come, let’s do some introductions with the others. It’s
good to know the people we’ll be working with,” Yorrik said as he led me back to the group of adventurers.
They were set up a slight distance from the rest of the caravan, as it was their job to be on the lookout and protect the rest of the group. They waved towards us as we approached, some of them greeting Yorrik fondly.
“It’s been awhile since I’ve seen some of you,” Yorrik said with a grin. “There are some I don’t know however, and it’s likely we don’t know everyone here. So, how about some introductions? I suppose I’ll go first.”
“The name’s Yorrik Vastonne, B-rank. Some know me as the “Twin Fangs” thanks to these babies here,” the Ranger said, gesturing to his dual swords at his waist.
“Born in a small town in Talamark, but I’ve lived in Brune since I became an adventurer when I was 18. Trained as a Ranger and I have a decent aim if I do say so myself. My goal is to be knighted. Alright, you’re up next!”
He pointed to me and I nodded. “Um, hello. I’m Jellik, from Sanc Aldet. I’m a D-ranked adventurer and a novice mage, and I’ve been traveling as an adventurer for about a year now. And this is Rosa, a Carbuncle and my Familiar.”
She waved to the crowd, and a few waved back.
“Anyways, if I had a dream, I suppose it would be to become strong enough to protect the people closest to me.”
A round of polite nods and faint applause greeted my words. As I sat down the short young woman stood up.
I managed to get a good look at her this time. Now that she was closer I could tell she was indeed a dwarf. Her dark, bronze colored skin gave that away along with her height. She was less muscular than the male dwarves I’d met, but she was still bulkier and wider at the shoulders than any human or elf woman.
Her coal black hair was cut in an odd style. I could only describe it as a feminine bowl cut with slightly longer bangs framing her face. I was sure there was another name for the haircut, but I was unaware of what it might be.
No braids in it, nor was she wearing any runes or jewelry bar a pair of gold stud earrings.
A brace of knives was at her waist, held in a bandoleer for easy access. She wore basic dark leather armor, complete with gloves and boots of a matching style.
She also had a cheerful, friendly smile.
“Hello, everyone! My name is Katherine Shale! It’s not a very dwarfish first name, I know, but my godfather named me, so there. You can call me Kat, if you like. But if you call me ‘Kitty’ or ‘Kitten’ I will stab you in the butt,” she warned with a cheeky grin. Some people laughed, but I could tell she was deadly serious. Her eyes had not been laughing when she warned us.
“Anyways, I’m a D-rank and I’ve been an adventurer for two years now. My dream is to amass a bunch of money and buy my own store!”
Everyone offered her polite greetings, and the sole female adventurer of the group took a spot by the campfire.
The rest of the group continued to their introductions, but I tuned them out. My focus was instead on the dwarf.
She had been shooting me looks throughout the march, and watching me with curiosity that I felt was a bit unnerving.
Was she interesting in my magic? Or was it something else?
(Jelly has a lady friend! Jelly has a lady friend!) Rosa taunted in my mind.
~Now, now, Rosa, don’t be so quick to jump to that. He hasn’t even taken her out on a date yet,~ Tara said, joining in on the teasing.
‘Ha. Hilarious, you two. What’s next? A Stand-up routine?’
~Maybe. If you keep being so snarky to us we just might keep telling jokes in here all day tomorrow,~ Tara threatened playfully. I shuddered at that thought.
‘I apologize, I’ll be good, so please avoid doing that!’
The two of them laughed before leaving me to my own thoughts.
“Well, that’s everyone introduced, then!” Yorrik said with a clap of his hands that brought my attention back. “Everyone should set up their tents now before it gets completely dark. We’ll prepare some food afterwards.”
Everyone eagerly broke up at that, and I headed off to get my portable lodgings set up for the evening. I made sure to set up plenty of privacy wards around my tent so I could relax in my true form in the evenings.
And all the while I worked I could feel a certain diminutive woman’s eyes on me back.
Chapter 9: When the dead walk
Three days passed, and the caravan continued its slow passage towards Arv Prith. It was a fairly boring time for me and everyone else, though I got to know a few of the adventurers pretty well thanks to all of walking and talking that went on. Not to mention it was good practice for walking in a bipedal form.
I also practiced my mana suppression and control. Rosa helped by showing me a few tricks young Carbuncles learned to suppress their magical signature. Apparently, this was done in order to hide when poachers and other threats were around.
First, I would construct a magical orb of light. I would change its color and size. Fairly simple stuff. I remembered doing such exercises at the Academy with Liliana and Kine.
However, Rosa took it in a different direction. I had to make the orb ‘hollow,’ for lack of a better word. I had to reduce the amount of mana inside of it while maintaining its shape and ability to change colors and glow.
It was not easy. Too little mana and the spell would just collapse and cease to be. Too much and the spell would go haywire and cease to be in a very violent way. And I was a being of almost pure magical energy without much control. More often than not my glowing orb exploded like a fireball.
Still, it was something to do. Guarding the caravan was boring. So far we hadn’t encountered any threats. Which was nice, don’t get me wrong, but after months of being chased by a maniac and dodging curses, inaction was grating on my nerves.
Rosa had plenty of fun though. The merchants and adventurers all loved her. She was cute and silly and just made everyone smile. Even the jaded heart of Torren melted a little when she was around.
The ruby-studded Carbuncle was doing practice of her own. She was still fencing with a sewing needle, and was getting pointers from a few of the swordsmen in the group, Yorrik included. In fact, she seemed rather taken with him and spent most of her time around the B-ranker when she wasn’t with me.
The only problem I had during those three days was Katherine. The dwarf was constantly watching me. Never overtly so it became suspicious, but whenever I was around she was focused on me, evaluating every action I took and spell I made.
It grew tedious putting up with her stares and pretending I was unaware of her gaze, and I grew worried about the level of scrutiny I was under. Had she noticed something off about my disguise? Was it a sort of dwarven sense for magic that told her I was not what I seemed?
“Jellik!”
My thoughts were interrupted and my Dancing Light spell sputtered and died. I bit back a sigh and glanced over at Yorrik.
“Yes?”
“Sorry for bothering you, but we came across something. We need your magic to check on it,” the senior adventurer said. Rosa fluttered off my shoulder onto his.
(Come on, come on! This sounds like fun!)
I chuckled at her excitement and nodded, then broke off from the slow-moving wagon train with a party of three other adventurers and Yorrik. Katherine was with us, as well as an axe wielder and a spearman. I noticed we were approaching the edge of the Dullwilds.
“What’s the issue?” I asked.
“Brent here was scouting and found a cluster of monsters. They’re too close to the road, and if left alone they’ll spill out and attack anyone nearby,” Yorrik said, nodding at the burly man carrying an axe. He nodded back and turned to address the rest of us.
“It’s not much, just a bunch of zombies animated by the Dullwilds’ natural Ambient Mana. Still, there’s a few of them, and we can’t risk them going after us or any other travelers.”
“Why only us, then?” Katherine asked. “Shouldn’t the rest of the adventurers be
here with us?”
“They’re on guard duty in case anything else appears and tries to use the Undead as a distraction. Bandits have been known to lure zombies towards travelers and ambush the survivors when they’re exhausted. We can’t rule that out as a potential threat to the caravan,” Yorrik explained.
“I don’t really know any purification or banishing spells,” I cautioned.
“Do you know how to temporarily enchant weapons?”
“Yes,” I replied to Yorrik’s query.
“Alright, then that’s fine. Buff our weapons with a spell or two. It’s easier to destroy Undead with spells or magical weapons due to the interference two opposing energies will cause. They’ll crumble faster that way than tearing them apart limb by limb into tiny pieces,” the Ranger informed me.
I nodded and raised my hands. “Rip and tear! Slice and shred! All can be cut! Sharpen!”
My spell flickered to life and coated the edges of everyone’s weapons with a faint dull purple sheen before it faded. The Level Two spell Sharpen was a basic buff to increase the cutting power and sharpness of a bladed weapon. Since everyone here besides me used those sorts of weapons I made sure they all got a nice coating.
Yorrik examined his twin blades and nodded in approval. “Nice work, Jellik. I’ve been practicing with Magic Edge myself but I’m not at the level where I feel comfortable applying it in actual combat. This enchantment will help.”
“It’ll only last another fifteen minutes or so,” I warned. “Let’s re-kill those zombies before it wears off.”
The adventurers nodded in agreement and we headed into the forest, ready to slay some Undead.
It was not hard locating them. The smell was a dead giveaway. It wasn’t just the stench of rot and gore, but there was a distinct sickly-sweet aroma thanks to the Dark magic animating them that was easy to detect.
And with my magical sight the zombies stood out among the vibrant green energy of the healthy forest as pulsating black tumors. There were over a dozen of the shambling corpses that lurched about. It wasn’t just humans that had risen either. A pair of horses, a wolf, and I think a raccoon had joined the human corpses in unlife.
