by Jez Cajiao
“Tank?” she asked, only half paying attention as she looked at the books in her hands.
“The way I and Bob fight are tanks roles. We step up and take the center of the line, fighting and keeping the enemies’ attention, so that the rest of the team don’t have to. On this trip, we don’t have Bob, and I’ve seen the way you fight. Want to step up and take his place?” I asked, and the sudden grin she gave me was all the answer I needed.
“Hell, yes!” she said, and I grinned back at her.
“Glad to hear it! So why don’t you sort your squad out; Bane can watch over them while you read your own books and check out your new gear.”
“I... I will, thank ye. I don’t know what else to say, just…thank ye, Jax,” Lydia said again, shaking her head as she looked at the books.
“Like I said, you earned it. There are these books for the squad, as well,” I replied, gesturing to the books, and she nodded to me, a genuine smile brightening her face. A second later, it was gone, as she turned to find some of her squad clearly trying to listen in.
“Did I tell yer to stand around lookin’ cute, or to sort yer gear?” she growled at them. “Because there’s a shit load of gear here, and yer all fugly, so yeh’ve failed on both counts! That’s it! Bane! D’yer think ye could teach these idiots a lesson for me?”
“Happily!” Bane growled, stepping forward.
“Well, let’s have a little challenge, shall we?” Lydia snapped out, looking over the disorganized rabble as they tried to look busy. “I say they’re weak, but might have a chance of being more; what do ye say, Bane?”
“I say they’re too weak, worthless!” Bane snapped back.
“Well, then!” Lydia replied, clearly playing her part to the hilt. “I’ll bet yer the gifts that Lord Jax set aside for ’em, that you can’t break ‘em in say, an hour? I’ll leave ‘em in yer hands, and ye see what yer can do. If they’re all still standin’ when I return, they get the skill and Spellbooks Lord Jax picked out for ’em. If not, they go back to ‘im until we can find a squad that’s worthy of ’em!”
“Sounds like a deal!” Bane replied. “In fact, if they lose the books, I might see if I can persuade Lord Jax to give some to me; no need to waste them ‘eh?”
“Deal!” Lydia snapped, before glaring at her squad who stood like rabbits, heads jerking from her, to Bane, to the pile of books on a barrel by the edge of the ship’s railing, the wind ruffling the pages as they flew.
“They’ve got potential!” Barrett whispered to me, having walked over during Lydia’s performance, and I grinned at him.
“Was that your doing?” I asked, and he nodded.
“Mine and Flux’s; he spent a lot of time adventuring when he was younger, and it sounds like his team was pretty much military, through and through. He was a scout for them, much as Bane will be for us. The two of us had a chat with Lydia about leading her squad.”
“Looks like she’s the right choice for leading them,” I said quietly, and he nodded.
“She’s got the gift for it, that’s for sure.” We both glanced back over our shoulders, seeing Bane spreading the group out and ordering them into a series of kicks and punches we’d all learned this morning. Lydia glared at her squad for a while, before turning away and heading below decks, the two books I’d given her held tight.
I nodded to the group, grinning as I saw the way they all tried to do the exercises they’d been taught, while Bane separated books out as I’d directed, putting them next to each member of the group.
The funniest was Arrin, the mage support, who kept tripping and falling into the others as he desperately tried to read the titles of the pair of Spellbooks set on the deck before him.
Bane had deliberately put them down upside down, and I could feel his laughter as Arrin tried to read them.
“I’ll be claiming these books back soon, but I wanted you all to know what you were going to be losing,” Bane informed them, starting to speed up the exercises.
I shook my head, grinning at the evil tactic, before saying goodbye to Barrett and walking over to where Tel stood nervously by three large bags.
Tel was a large man, with heavy, sloped shoulders and massive fingers, clumsy to the point of being laughable, but for some reason, he became graceful when he worked with plants, those massive fingers gentle and assured in his movements.
When Cai had told me about him, I’d almost dismissed it out of hand. The thought of this huge lump of a man using the Alchemy set? Then I’d caught a glimpse of my own reflection, and I’d paused.
I was bigger than he was, considerably so, and if I could do it, however badly, then surely he could too.
“Tel,” I greeted him as I approached.
“L... Lord Jax!” he said, bowing and almost falling over as the ship lurched on an air current.
“Whoa, there!” I said, catching him by the shoulders and steadying him. “Let’s not worry about that right now; no need for bowing and all that shit. Let’s just concentrate on why you’re here, okay?”
“Y…Yes! Cai said you wanted me to help you with some alchemy…but I’m not sure….”
“Yes and no, Tel.” I said, cutting him off. “You’re here to help me, and for me to help you. I’ve heard you’ve got a gift with Herbs and Alchemical plants, is that right?” I asked, and he nodded hesitantly.
“Yes, Lord, I’ve always been good with plants. They…well, they just seem to like me. They grow real easy, and I can sell them easy enough. I always wanted to learn more, but nobody could teach me, so I sort of just made it up as I went along… I guess?” He said shyly, wringing his hands in embarrassment.
“Well, today you get to learn, then. I’m going to be making as many health, stamina, and mana potions as I can over the next day of travel. You’re going to be reading these and helping me,” I said pulling out a ‘Basics of Alchemy’ and ‘Bartlebee’s Excellent Herbalism Primer’ Skillbooks. I had no idea who Bartlebee had been, but he’d clearly thought a lot of himself.
“My lord!” Tel squeaked, clutching the books as I passed them to him.
“Get them read, and then I want you to start sorting through the alchemy ingredients,” I told him, gesturing to the three bags. “I’ll set up the basic gear I have, over there, I think,” I said, pointing to an area to one side where it didn’t look like we’d be in anyone’s way, “…and I’ll get started on the health potions first, so I suggest you hurry.”
I reached down to grab the first bag, intending on shifting them over, only to have Tel sit on it in his excitement to get started. He jumped up quickly, the combination of realizing what he’d done, and the sharp spike of a thorn helping him along.
I couldn’t help but laugh, and I pointed at the corner nearby.
“Sit there and read; I’ve got these.” I said, grabbing the bags. They were the size of rubbish bags from back home, stuffed with herbs and seemingly random plants that I guessed had alchemical properties, but they were light enough, and in a few minutes, I had them sorted out. I spent the next twenty minutes picking through the plants, taking anything I didn’t recognize and trying it.
I got a dozen new alchemical ingredients added to my internal list, and a combination of wonderful side effects, one of which resulted in Oracle having to use a healing spell on me while I chugged one of my old basic ‘Cure-All’ potions.
Whatever else Althem Blossoms were capable of, they were fucking lethal poison as well, and I couldn’t get the damn taste out of my mouth. I ate a couple of Thulin berries that I’d identified earlier, discovering that they had a stamina boost effect, just to get rid of the taste.
“O…okay, L…Lord Jax…” I heard the hesitant voice speak up, and I looked over at him, popping another handful of berries into my mouth and munching on them.
“Tel, you ready?” I got a nervous smile in return. “That’s great,” I said and made room for him in front of the alchemy gear. “So, did you get a healing potion recipe as part of the alchemy book?” I asked
, and he nodded. “Great, and with the herbalism one, can you identify these ingredients? No, not all of them? Then let’s go over them,” I said, spreading a sample of each out on the deck as I went. His hesitation disappeared as we talked about the various plants and their properties. Some of his knowledge was different from my own, and I made notes as we went, adding the extra properties to the ingredients in my list.
The day passed quickly, Tel and I taking turns on using the alchemy set I’d brought.
I spent my turn teaching him my methods and making sure he understood how and why I did things, and he did the same. Our basic knowledge was nearly identical, but coming from two different Skillbooks, we got slight differences.
It took a few hours, but eventually, I got the notification I’d been hoping for:
You must now pick a path to follow. Will you choose the path of IMPROVEMENT, or concentrate on CREATION? Choose carefully, as this choice cannot be undone.
IMPROVEMENT:
Choosing to specialize in this direction will result in a 5% increase in potency of your learned potions, and you will have a 5% chance of a breakthrough when being tutored by an alchemist of higher experience.
CREATION:
Choosing to specialize in CREATION will result in a 5% increase in your chances of creating a new recipe from unconventional ingredients. Following in the footsteps of others will result in a 10% drop in potency of all potions you make, but for each potion you create without others’ assistance, you will gain a point in Intelligence
I didn’t pause in the slightest, not when stat points were on the line, as I preferred going my own way anyway. I selected the path of Creation and felt a shudder run through me.
Congratulations!
You are now a Creationist Alchemist. A path trodden by few means that greater rewards could await you.
I grinned and dismissed it, resolving to make the most of the trip. It’d take a full day and a half to arrive at the city of Himnel, and for obvious reasons, we wanted to arrive in the dead of night. It was starting to get dark now, and Decin had made the decision to head east by southeast from the Tower, meaning we’d approach from the side least likely to be heavily guarded.
I looked down at the lake that was approaching in the distance, and I hoped that this one didn’t have thousands of goblins pissing in it.
I’d wanted to try to find more of the waystations as well. The Golems that Waystation Four had provided were a huge help but searching for them on the way would have meant heading more towards the south, and Narkolt. Approaching from anywhere that Himnel was already at war with wasn’t likely to help our attempts at stealth at all.
I shivered suddenly, with a feeling like someone walking on my grave, and I turned around. Lydia’s squad was long gone, which meant that Bane…
“Well?” Bane said from beside me, and I turned to look at him.
“Well, what?” I asked him, and he shook his head at me, making my heart sink.
“What, you think I’d forget our agreement already? Because we will need the potions, I left you to play with them until your alchemist had learned enough to make them, but now? Now, it is time to start training.”
“Fuck.” I muttered, already knowing that I was going to regret this.
Bane had me strip out of most of my gear, setting all but my naginata aside, and bare to the waist.
I saw the looks my bandage-wrapped chest and arms got me, but I ignored them, standing opposite Bane as he stood holding one of his spears.
He guided me through a basic spear kata that he knew, slowly. The influence of being an aquatic species was clear, as his movements were far more fluid than my own, and the kata seemed…slow as hell at first. I just knew it wasn’t going to stay that way.
We began with a slow sweep upwards, pausing, then pulling down, the butt of our weapons striking the ground. We pulled them in close, hands well spread, and held the weapons to our sides, our feet steady and braced. I slowly brought the naginata up till it was horizontal, before sweeping it down slowly to my right. Once the point dipped below my knee, I spun it slowly, arching around behind me until it returned to the horizontal. I repeated the move, switching my grip to dip the blade down on the left, spinning it and returning to holding in on my left side now.
It was a simple kata, meant more to make sure that my footwork and grip were both firm, but as Bane made me repeat it, over and over again, slowly increasing the speed of my movements, I became less jerky and more fluid as I went.
He made me repeat the kata for two turns of the hourglass, missing the evening meal as it was served, continuing on until it grew dark enough that the crew lit lanterns around us.
Eventually, he let me take a break. My stamina reserves had bottomed out, and I collapsed to the floor, wheezing, and covered in sweat.
“Are you okay?” Oracle asked me as she landed beside me, back to her usual diminutive size.
“No,” I managed to gasp out, and I felt Bane laughing. I managed to lift one shaky hand and give him the finger, resulting in multiple voices raised in laughter from my right.
I turned my head and saw that the majority of the ship’s crew were seated there, having finished their evening meal and just watching me.
“How… how long… have they… been there…?” I managed to gasp out, and Oracle gently stroked my face as Lydia replied from my other side.
“We’ve been watchin’ for the last hour or so, m’lord.”
“Feck,” I groaned, my stamina slowly starting to return, and I could see that I was surrounded on three sides by people who’d just been watching my kata, and the way that Bane kicked my ass on every mistake.
Just what I needed.
“Thanks for that, Bane,” I said as I forced myself to my feet, my muscles aching as I stretched and pretended that I was fine. “I think that was a good bout.”
“It was; you did well, my lord,” He replied, and I looked at him, considering the fact he called me Jax normally, at my insistence. I just knew the fucker was being sarcastic.
“So, ready to give in for the night like a normal person, or can you keep going?” he asked me, and the low murmur of voices that had begun to climb immediately silenced.
Goddamn evil…sadistic…motherfuc…
“Yeah, I can go a bit longer…” I said, forcing the words out with a fake smile. I hadn’t felt this bad with training since I first started with the Nigerian. Even Flux’s workout this morning had been gentler, and I’d only done one damn kata!
“Excellent! Perhaps it would be better taught without lights, however. We don’t need to be seen here, hmmm?” I quickly agreed with him, and people moved to put the lights out, the mid deck where we stood vanishing into blackness.
A low grumble rose from the spectators, even as Decin and Lydia started chivvying their people away, forcing everyone below decks or back to their stations now that the entertainment was over.
“Oh, thank fuck,” I whispered, slumping over my naginata. I drew in a few deep breaths and straightened, facing Bane. “Come on, then, let’s get it over with…” I whispered, and he shook his head firmly.
“No. I wanted to see if you’d push past it and continue, that’s all. Flux gave me very specific rules for your training. Relax, Jax, we will do half an hour cool down and stretches, then sleep.”
“You’re a fucking legend, mate,” I whispered, moving to lean against the railing, while Oracle summoned a spring of clean water to fountain up and bubble over next to Bane. He dipped his face into the water, drawing in long lungful’s until it dissipated.
He slowly straightened up again, shaking the water off, and bowed to Oracle.
“Thank you, Oracle,” he said simply, and she replied with a sunny smile, landing lightly on the railing next to me. She reached out and slowly stroked my back and neck, the tips of her nails caressing my skin in a way that made the hairs rise and caused me to shudder. She grinned at me, and I snorted, shaking my head at the sight of her.
She�
�d conjured up a grey low-cut top that barely held her in, and yoga pants that were surely sprayed on, they were that sheer.
I was too exhausted to really appreciate the view, but I remembered the way the sailors had looked at her ass as she bent over to check on me after training, and I laughed again.
There was going to be a lot of studious remembering going on in the crews bunks tonight over that image, I had no doubt.
I staggered over to Bane, and we worked through the cooldown, ending with a series of stretches and lunges that made my back pop, but I felt better immediately.
I didn’t bother going down into the hold and finding a space. I’d refused the offer from Decin and Hanau of taking their cabin, and I’d insisted I’d just sort somewhere out. Now, I couldn’t be bothered to try, and instead put my bedroll on the floor and laid down right where I was.
Bane put his gear down nearby, and a few minutes later, I noticed Lydia join us, a little hesitant at first, but when we included her in the conversation, she relaxed.
I finally got my evening meal, and as soon as I finished it, I was asleep, not even noticing when a sailor came to collect the bowls.
Chapter Nineteen
I coughed, forcing gummy eyes open, and frowned. The room before me was lit by flames that danced and spun in bowls of polished bronze. The reflectors positioned behind the pools sent the blazing light out to fill the small room, and I shifted, my body subtly wrong as I sat up.
“Mana Wight…” I whispered to myself, the reality of my situation slowly filtering through the cloudy exhaustion that filled my mind.
