The Quest

by Linton Bowers

  “There are only a couple people here,” Eve whispered.

  “I can see that. It’s good. Means there is still a good selection,” Larion whispered. “But why are we whispering?”

  “Because, if we say it too loud the universe will hear us and bring more people. With your luck the entire town will arrive at the wagon just before we get to it.”

  “Not funny,” Larion replied no longer whispering.

  “Then why am I laughing?” Eve said between chuckles. If not for her being so pretty when she laughed he might have taken issue with being the butt of a joke.

  “Welcome,” The Merchant said. He was a tall man with a round belly which he hid behind an ornate maroon coat with gold trim. He had an odd shaped hat with a long purple feather sticking straight up from the brim. which he removed as he bowed to Larion and Eve.

  “Good morning to you, sir,” Eve said. “I was hoping you might have some books?” Her eyebrows rose in anticipation.

  The merchant’s smile grew wide. “Oh dear lady are you ever in luck. I just happen to have a rather decent collection.” He grabbed the side of a cabinet and pushed. The cabinet spun to reveal a bookshelf on the back side.”As you can see.”

  Eve gasped. Larion didn’t speak, but he understood. There had to be more than twenty books on those shelves. More than either of them had seen in one place. “He has the complete journey of Dace Drakonian. Please sir, can you tell me how much for this one?” She pulled the thick tome off the shelf.

  “I can tell you are smitten by that book. I tell you what, for you I will allow it to go for a single gold coin.” Eve’s smile fell. “Do not fret though, for if you buy three books of your choosing I will let them go for a mere two gold. How does that grab you?”

  “I don’t…”

  “Sold,” Larion said. His family did well for themselves between the sheep, their vegetable farm, and his mother’s apothecary. “Eve, pick two more books. Sir,” Larion turned his attention to the merchant. “I need alchemical reagents and alchemy recipes. Do you have any?”

  The merchant folded his hands over his belly and gave Larion an appraising look. He looked to Eve and back to Larion. “I like your style,” He said. “A generous man is always the best of customers, and I don’t mean because you spend the most. It is my experience that men and women like yourself will always spread the word about the merchant that played them fair. So tell me, do you know the transmute skill?”

  “Why no,” Larion replied. He had heard of it. It was the skill that allowed alchemists to change the properties of objects. It was highly sought after and very expensive.

  The merchant’s smile grew wider. “You are fortunate then.” He turned to his cart, produced a key from his pocket, and opened a locked drawer. Larion held his excitement in check. He knew he was not going to be able to afford the skill. The merchant turned back with a purple skill book in hand. It had the alchemist's seal embossed in gold on the front. He held the book out.

  Larion reached for it but stopped short. “I’m sorry, but I can not afford this.”

  “Ha. I never asked for payment. This is a gift. A token of generosity for a generous man. Please take it. I do hope you will put it to good use. And I have some recipes that you may wish to purchase as well as reagents for most.”

  “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Thank you will be more than sufficient.”

  Larion took the book. As his hand touched it he spotted movement from the corner of his eye. He looked in Eve’s direction but saw nothing. He could have sworn there was a shadow on the ground.

  “About those recipes,” The merchant asked.

  “Oh yes, please show me what you have.” Larion turned back to the man and noticed a glistening sheen of sweat that wasn’t there before. He noted it but didn’t give it much thought.

  When it was all said and done Larion walked away with a new skill book and three new recipes plus enough reagents to make each recipe ten times over. The entire lot cost him ten gold coins on top of the two he spent on Eve.

  “Thank you, Larion. You didn’t have to do this for me.” She held the bundle of books tight to her chest. They were bound together by a leather thong the merchant had given her. She reminded him of a story he once read about a dragon that hoarded treasure.

  “You are most welcome.”

  “But why?” She asked.

  “Well, you are my friend. And I guess I look forward to hearing you tell me about them after you read them. Life as a shepherd's gets boring you know.”

  “Then why don’t you stop doing it? You have more than enough hands on the farm to help tend the sheep.”

  “I like doing my part. We all have a part to play and tending the sheep lets me help my family,” Larion said. “And Patty doesn’t listen to anyone but me. Things would be very bad if Patty was allowed to have her way.” They both laughed at that.

  CHAPTER 16

  Actaeon stood five feet from Tanveer with his spear held in his right hand. She nodded. He threw his leg back and thrust his spear forward.

  Tanveer’s eyes narrowed. Other than that she didn't make a sound or show any emotion. While he held his stance she walked around him slowly taking in his position.

  “Stand,” she said once she was back in front of him. “I am surprised you have done as well as you have. Now I will point out your flaws. When you perform a spear thrust you must step forward. You gain more power by pushing with your whole body. Keep your back leg straight and bend the forward knee more. Like this.” She lunged forward and held the pose. “See how my thigh is parallel to the ground? This is stable and strong.” She stood. “Do you have questions?”

  “Um… you move too fast. My eyes can’t track you. One second you are upright the next you are in the stance with your spear sticking out in front of you.”

  Tanveer righted herself. “I see. You should have mentioned this yesterday. If you had you might be better off than you are now.” She snapped. “Do not hold back questions that will serve to make you better.”

  “Tanveer!” Shouted a short green skinned creature from across the arena. “Come! We must speak. Important, very important.” He shouted as he got closer. Actaeon thought he might be the same gremlin that greeted him upon arriving in this nightmare.

  “Is that the same green fuck that collared me when I woke spawned here?” Actaeon asked.

  “Yes,” Tanveer said. “That is Lurge. He is the owner of the arena, and us. I must go. Stay here.”

  Tanveer met with the little green guy. They were too far away for Actaeon to hear what was said, but there was a lot of motion. The little guy jumped up and down waving his hands. He was moving around so much a small dust cloud started to form around the pair.

  Tanveer for her parts did not stand still and take it. She had one hand on her hip in a way that said, ‘oh no you didn’t!’ and the with the other she pointed down at the little man. Her head jerked back and forth as she gave as good as he did. Or Actaeon assumed she did, since he still couldn’t hear them. A few low words from the little fellow were enough to silence her. She bowed her head in defeat then returned. The usual defiance in her step was gone.

  “We are leaving in the morning to participate in skirmish battles in another arena,” Tanveer snarled.

  “What? Why? I just started training with you. I’m nowhere near ready for anything like that,” Actaeon replied. He felt the floor begin to fall out from beneath him. First the battle with the demon lord and now this. How was he going to survive who knows what in a strange place?

  “Skirmish battles are not designed to leave the combatants dead,” Tanveer said. “We are ambassadors in a sense. It is our job to promote goodwill between the lord of a rival arena and ours. Think of this as an extended training session.”

  Actaeon let out a sigh. “Well, fuck. In the morning huh?” Tanveer nodded. “Okay, not that I have a choice. What’s our next play?” He asked.

  “I must gather two others to accompany us. The
n we continue training for the day. Tomorrow we leave,” She replied.

  “Do you need help rounding up the troops?” Excitement colored his voice. Any break from Tanveer’s training was a welcome one.

  “No, you practice. I know who I will bring. We need strength and healing to round out our team. I will return with the other two. You continue practicing your spear stance.” She didn’t wait for a response before spinning on her heels and marching away. Some of her usual fire seemed to have returned. It was good to see it.

  Tanveer approached a pair of purple skinned people Actaeon had never noticed. The pair, a male and a female, were in the middle of a sparring match. They threw punches and kicks, dodged and parried. Their movements were light and smooth. It was like watching some fucked up dance recital at The School of Hard Knocks Arts Department.

  The pair stopped when they saw Tanveer standing next to them. They bowed to one another then to the green skinned woman. After a few moments of discussion the pair shared a glance. It must have been enough for them to convey their thoughts. Right after they joined Tanveer in her stroll back to Actaeon.

  “Actaeon, this is Kenshiro and his sister Kenishera. They will be joining us on this expedition. Guys, this is Actaeon. I have been charged with turning him into a warrior,” Tanveer said.

  The purple pair pushed past Tanveer and stood uncomfortably close to Actaeon. “Did you really survive a demon lord in your first match?” The male, Kenshiro asked. “Are you like some kind of super ninja with bad-ass fighting skills?” Kenishera spit out before Actaeon could respond to her brother’s question.

  “Yes I did fight a demon lord, and no I’m not a ninja”

  Their eyes opened wide and they looked at each other with mouths agape. “How did you survive a demon Lord?” They asked in unison.

  “I had some help.” Actaeon told the purple pair his tale of how he and his clone defeated the demon Lord. He left out the bit about a quest to get free. It seemed like the kind of thing that would get him laughed at our worse.

  “That is heavy, dude,” Kenshiro said. “I’m glad you pulled through.” Yeah me too.” Kenishera added.

  “That makes three of us,” Actaeon said.

  “Enough with this idle chatter. You two,” Tanveer pointed to the purple siblings, “Get back to your sparring. I will not have us fail.” The pair bowed to Tanveer and left. “You will continue,” Tanveer said as she turned back to Actaeon. “You must master the lunge before we can move on. Get back to it.”

  Tanveer spun dropping to the ground and kicking out her leg. Her heel connected with the back of Actaeon's ankles knocking his legs out from under him.

  Actaeon’s head hit the ground hard enough to send a ring of stars floating around his skull. He saw a green blur rise up to tower over him. “You should have deflected or dodged. That proves just how ill fit you are to compete. I have half a mind to kill you myself and save us both from embarrassment,” Tanveer said. Actaeon's responded with a groan.

  By the time Actaeon's head stopped ringing and his vision cleared Tanveer was gone. He was grateful for her absence. She was a one woman terrorist force. He had no doubt that she had strapped on more than one suicide bomb only to find herself still standing after detonation. The bombs having been too weak to destroy the force that is Tanveer. He chuckled as he stood.

  Actaeon spread his legs and dropped down into the stance. He thrust the pointed end at an imaginary foe. In his mind's eye a smaller version of the demon lord burst into a million glimmering pixels.

  Wait! This place is a game, or based on one. Shouldn’t there be…

  Actaeon thought of a skills menu. To his delight a window appeared with his skills. He selected the Begining Spearman skill. A second window appeared.

  Beginning Spearman: Lvl 1

  Damage done with spears increased by 5%

  Sub Skills:

  Spear Thrust: Lvl 1

  A spear attack dealing 2-6 weapon damage and 2 piercing damage. Cost 5 actions points to use. 5% chance to cause bleeding effect.

  Not a bad attack. The question was how long till the skill leveled up. He was on day two of thrusting over and over again with no progress. Worth looking into. Actaeon's would have to remember to ask Tanveer about it.

  Since spear thrust was an actual skill it stood to reason that skills could be activated. Actaeon moved back into his basic spear stance. He thought of activating spear thrust as he started the set of movements Tanveer taught him. He stepped forward and lowered his stance at the same time thrusting the spear forward.

  For the first time the attack felt smooth and natural. Not only that it was faster than he thought himself capable of moving. The down side was feeling winded after performing the strike while activating the skill. The feeling passed after a few seconds. So Actaeon did it again.

  Once more he felt winded but the move was done flawlessly. He drove the butt of the spear into the ground so he could lean on it while he caught his breath. Actaeon couldn’t help but smile at his success. There was no way Tanveer would be displeased with his progress.

  “What the shit do you think you are doing?” Tanveer growled.

  Actaeon's straightened and spun around facing her. “I’m practicing like you said. I think I’ve made some serious progress.” Actaeon beamed.

  “When the hell did I tell you to activate the Spear Thrust skill? Never, that is when. I told you what to do. Your job is simple. Follow my instructions and do nothing else.” She stepped closer and stabbed his forehead with her index finger. “Listen up, newb. What I say goes. You do not improvise unless I give you the leeway to do so. Clear?” She continued without letting Actaeon respond. “Do you think I am so dumb that I was unaware of an activatable skill? I am trying to train you to be a real warrior and not a point and click soldier. It takes real skills to survive in this world. If you focus on activating skills this world will eat you alive. Do you understand me?”

  Actaeon waited for the continuation of her tirade. Instead she threw up her hands and stormed off. Not the outcome he was looking for. He raised his hand and almost called out to her. He thought better of it. When she was in a better mood she put him on his ass for no reason. What would Tanveer the Terrible do now that she was angry? Best not to find out

  Her words did give him something to ponder. Activating skills was death. Real fighting ability was life. Why couldn’t she just say that? Why did everything have to be a mystery with her?

  Actaeon lunged and thrust his spear. The movement was near perfect and much faster than he had been capable of before skill activation. He was sure that he hadn’t activated the skill. This was interesting. To be sure he performed the move again activating the skill. The spear thrust was flawless and blazingly fast.

  Like when he was activating the skill his action points were going faster. He had enough points for two more so he decided to see if he was using the skill unconsciously or doing it the way Tanveer wanted.

  Performing the move twice in a row left him gasping for air. He was sure that he was indeed performing the thrust and not relying on the skill. Carrying the weapon at Port arms he went to the buckets and took a sip of water, then a sip from the enchanted water to boost his leveling. Even though he didn’t seem to be gaining any points from his training.

  Gained 10% stat boost and 10% xp gain from drinking the Waters of Life.

  When he turned back to resume training he found Al waiting there. “Hi Al,” Actaeon said.

  “Hello my friend. Word is you are leaving us on a skirmish excursion. Is this so?”

  “Looks like it, I’m afraid. Wish I could get stronger first but that isn’t going to happen.”

  “Oh do not be so worried. These skirmishes are a great opportunity for collecting experience without having to worry about dying. I myself have been to a few skirmish matches and managed to gain at least five levels per. To top it all off you are being trained by one of the best this cursed land has to offer. If you want my advice, I suggest you do whate
ver Lady Tanveer tells you. Her strength is unparalleled.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind, Al. Thank you.’ Actaeon took a look around the arena. There was something that has been bothering him and he wanted to verify before asking. “Of all the different races here training, why are none of them the cat-men?”

  “Ha,” Al responded. “Astute observation, friend. And a simple question to answer. There are three races native to Char. The cat-men, as you call them. There are humans such as yourself, and Gremlins like Lurge. The cat-men are called Ferralin by the way.”

  “Interesting. Thanks, Al. I better get back to training before Tanveer sees me and has a fit.”

  “Good day, friend,” Al said.

  CHAPTER 17

  An exhausted Actaeon dropped onto the hard floor of his cell.

  Tanveer had put him through his paces once she returned. Commenting on his sudden increase in skill. She made him demonstrate using the skill and just doing it from memory to be sure. The difference was noticeable, but he was increasing his ability by leaps and bounds. By the time they called it a night doing the spear thrust without activating his skill used as much action points as doing it with skill activation.

  Which brought about another matter. Actaeon had pending status messages. He pulled up the flashing icon and was treated with a pleasant surprise.

  Due to your diligence your skills points have increased.

  Strength + 1

  Stamina + 1

  Dexterity + 2

  The increase brought a chuckle out of him. Sure his circumstances were dire, but he was stronger now. Not by a lot but every little bit helped.

  A scream of pain echoed down the hall. Actaeon closed his windows and sat up. The hall was dark so it was impossible to see who and why, but he could still hear what was going on.

  Rough guttural voices he recognized as belonging to the cat-men, or Ferralin as he now knew they were called, spoke an unintelligible language. Two distinct voices bantered back and forth separated by the occasional laugh and or scream.