It’d been that situation that had allowed him to prove his archery ability. He’d wounded three of the beasts with his bow, which had made his life in the small town a lot more pleasant.
After that, after seeing his first monster, Calvin had pestered Thomas for all the knowledge the man knew about monsters, dungeons, and especially Dolos orbs.
Even Thomas had been more guarded before Calvin had fought monsters. After that, he and the rest of the villagers had relaxed around him and had been much more willing to answer his questions. There’d even been a young farm girl who started spending more time visiting Thomas and his family. Calvin had been looking forward to seeing Elisa again after he’d conquered the dungeon and came back a wealthy man.
He snorted. Yeah, real wealthy. Had a nice weapon before I left, now I don’t even have a damn belt, he mentally complained. Glancing down at his filthy, sock-covered feet, he sighed. Or shoes.
He thought back to the ambush and tried to recall how many men there’d been. Rufus was the one who hit him from behind, but he was pretty certain he’d seen at least four others approaching him before he saw stars.
Even if I am orb-Bonded now, going after that brute would be suicide. At least I don’t feel guilty about keeping the orb to myself, though.
Calvin looked around for a dry spot to sit. A wet butt would just make a really terrible day even worse. He glumly set his chin in his hands, realizing that he was probably the most broke he’d ever been in his life. Being orb-Bonded now, having super powers, helped his bad mood, but didn’t cure it.
Suddenly, a voice rang out in his mind:
This is the Great God Dolos! I have an announcement to make!
I really despise talking to mortals, even if I don’t have to be there in person. Oh well, needs must.
Uh-oh, thought Calvin.
***
He’d fallen to his knees after hearing the strange voice, and he remained in that position as Dolos, the god of this world, had finished his announcement, revealing he’d placed a bounty on every orb-Bonded.
The revelation had Calvin’s mind racing as he debated what to do. As he twisted his face up, furiously thinking, a twig snapped, startling him out of his inner turmoil. He listened closely, and thought he heard angry whispering, but wasn’t certain.
If it’s a monster, or one of the thugs coming back to finish the job, not a lot I can do about it. He thought about his orb-Bonded status. Or is there? He honestly didn’t know at this point.
Calvin rose and moved away from the noise, searching for a weapon, while keeping his eyes on the thick brush between him and where he thought it came from. Then the noise came again. This time he definitely heard whispering. He froze for a second before swallowing and returning to look for anything to defend himself with.
Off to his left, he found a rough-looking stick, a little longer than his arm.
Better than trying to fight a freaking horned wolf unarmed. Calvin grabbed the makeshift weapon, frowning as he hefted the poorly balanced club and waited for his stalker.
“See? I said you were being too loud, you’ve startled him,” a soft, distinctly feminine voice muttered.
“I think we’d be more likely to scare him if we stepped out of the trees right behind him, Lydia,” another, more confident voice replied.
“Uh, hello?” Calvin called out. They were watching me already; if they’re friendly, they might even show me the way back to town.
“Hello. Why are you alone out here?” the second voice asked.
He opened his mouth to answer when two beautiful women pushed their way through the thick undergrowth.
His jaw dropped, and he stared at the fantastical Nordic beauties.
Both young women, probably younger than his own twenty-four years, had platinum-blonde hair and fair skin. Dark-blue eyes were set in eerily similar faces, though one pair was sharp and suspicious while the other was warm and welcoming, drawing him into their depths.
As he stared at the women, he realized they were twins—beautiful, tall, Scandinavian-looking twins. They were both dressed like a pair of RPG fantasy characters.
The sharp-eyed one was wearing a quilted coat and had a broad-billed hat partially concealing her braided hair. The friendlier sister wore a bronze breastplate and bracers over a padded gambeson like the one her twin wore. The armored sister also carried a large wooden shield and had a short bronze sword in her hand.
They stared at him in silence then turned to look at each other before glancing back to him.
“Can you understand us?” the swordswoman asked.
That finally jump-started his mind. “Yeah, I understand, sorry. I was—” He trailed off as he heard his words.
I’m speaking another language. Is this Luda?
“Are you injured? You’re covered in blood.” The friendly sister flashed a breathtaking white smile.
“If he’s got any open wounds, he’ll probably die from all that filth he’s covered in,” the other said. From their conversation before he’d seen these two, he knew this woman’s name was Lydia.
Calvin shrugged. “What? I think I was, injured that is. We’d just finished exploring the dungeon and then Rufus hit me from behind,” he said slowly.
Both women scowled, and he flinched back from their hateful expressions. Their looks just make the glaring so much worse.
“So you were working with that scumbag Rayburn?” the previously friendly sister asked. Now he felt like they both wanted to gut him.
Calvin nodded slowly. “Yeah, I should have known better, but he was pretty convincing at first.”
“How long did you work with him?” Lydia asked, her eyes narrowing as she stared at him, like she was trying to set him on fire with a look.
Given this world has real magic, maybe she can, Calvin thought. Out loud he said, “Little over a day? Not sure how long it took us to clear the dungeon, or even which day it is today. I think I took a solid blow to the head,” he said, lowering his improvised club.
Both women watched him warily, but neither moved as he tossed it aside.
Then the armored sister growled at him. “You think we’re so little threat that you disarm yourself before us?”
“Wait, what?” he asked, shaking his head. “No, I decided to get rid of it because if you want to hurt me, there’s not a lot I can do with a stupid stick. I don’t even know how to fight, well other than with a bow,” Calvin said, holding his open palms toward the woman as she prowled forward.
She paused, her glare softening and turned to look at her sister. Lydia stepped closer, and they whispered quietly for a moment.
While they were busy, Calvin worked to clean himself as best he could. His clothes were filthy, bloodstained, and torn, but he wiped his face. He figured he’d gotten most of the mess off, but didn’t even try to deal with his matted hair. He just pushed it back so it wouldn’t be in his eyes.
One of the women suddenly gasped, and he blinked as the two of them began staring at him, mouths agape.
“What? Did I make it worse?” Calvin asked, feeling his face heat as the two beautiful women studied him.
“You’re orb-Bonded,” the swordswoman said, half statement, half question.
“How did you know?” he asked, startled by the sudden look of fear he caught in Lydia’s blue eyes.
“There was a tone, like a chime in my head, and then words scrolled across my left eye,” the first one said. Her melodic voice sounded distracted. “Your name is Calvin Seymour Bowyer?” she asked.
Now it was his turn to stare. “I haven’t told anyone my middle name since I came to this godforsaken planet,” he said, his stomach clenching as the woman kept her full intensity on him.
“You have a Dolos Orb, Specialist Type, and are First Rank,” she said as though reading. “Second Generation.”
He chuckled, then muttered darkly, “Well congratulations, you apparently know more about my orb than I do.”
“What? You didn’t even know what ty
pe of orb you have? How does that happen?” the previously friendly sister asked.
Calvin flinched; she was looking at him like he was an idiot. Great job impressing the two most beautiful women you’ve ever met, he thought. You’re beat up in the middle of the woods, two hotties come by, and it was a perfect time to foot-mouth, eh? Out loud, a bit defensive, he said, “I swallowed the orb just before Rufus and his buddies beat the shit out of me.”
“Ah, but I heard that Dolos orbs came with instructions or labels, something like that,” said the woman, smiling slightly, eyes skeptical.
“Yeah it did, but I couldn’t read it. I’d heard a little about them and thought the idea of getting superpowers sounded really cool.”
She stared at him like he was stupid again. “Wait, Rufus Rayburn let you swallow a Dolos orb?”
“Uh, not exactly,” Calvin said sheepishly. “I was starting to get a bad feeling about him, so when the chance came, I pocketed the orb before he saw it. First time he looked away, I swallowed it. And listen, not to be rude or anything, but could you two tell me who you are?” he asked. He was getting tired of thinking of them as Lydia, Nordic hottie one and Nordic hottie two.
Doubt they’d appreciate the label either.
The twins both blushed at his words, straightening up before the talkative one said, “I am Eupheme Halvorson, and this is my sister Lydia Halvorsen,” she said, bowing slightly.
“Thank you, I’m—”
“Calvin Seymour Bowyer,” Eupheme said, grinning.
“Oh, uh, right.” He blushed, scratching at the tangle of itchy gunk on the back of his head.
“If you wouldn’t mind, maybe just call me Calvin, or even Cal?” he asked. “I really hate my middle name.”
Smile widening, Eupheme nodded. “As you wish, Calvin. Would you be willing to share your plans with us? I’m curious what you intend to do next.”
“Do next?” He scratched some flakes of blood off his shirt. “I had planned to go back to… whatever that town’s called and settle down as a rich adventurer.” He gestured at himself. “But you can see how that went.”
“Are you referring to Clarkston?” Lydia asked. She was quieter than her sister, but had a similarly melodious voice.
“Maybe? Sounds right,” he said, shrugging.
“Then it would be our pleasure to escort you safely back home, Calvin,” Eupheme said, still smiling. “You may be orb-Bonded, but you have no gear and you are new to this world, yes?”
He blushed, but held her gaze and smiled back. “I’d appreciate it. Honestly, I’m completely turned around out here.”
“Well, we simply could not abandon you here alone,” she replied.
Friends and Enemies, Chapter Two
The sun was setting before he saw the rough palisade wall surrounding the town itself.
He knew they had farms spread out beyond the walls on the far side, but that was supposedly the safer direction, closer to the well-patrolled region around Taretha, the capital of Tolstey.
The side of town closest to the dense wilderness was more heavily fortified, with only a single gate allowing entrance. Guarding the one side so heavily had seemed silly to him when he’d first seen the layout. But once he’d seen it in action, the way they’d made use of the uneven terrain made a lot of sense.
“Here we are, Mr. Bowyer,” Lydia said, not looking at him. “You should be grateful my sister decided to help you instead of trying for the bounty.”
“The bou—”
Right, that crazy Dolos guy said he’d put a bounty on every orb-Bonded. How am I going to survive now that people instantly know? “If it’s not too much, would you tell me how you knew I was orb-Bonded?”
“I already told you about the strange tone and the information just appearing in my vision,” Eupheme said.
“Yeah, but it didn’t seem like you realized it until I was trying to clean up.”
She started to reply, then paused. The swordswoman chewed at her lip for a minute and smiled at him. “I think it was when you wiped your face clean.”
“So if I cover my face in dirt it prevents it?”
“Maybe?” she replied.
Calvin pursed his lip while he thought and said more to himself, “Worth a try. I really don’t want anyone to kill me in my sleep.” Then he knelt down to gather dirt. He tried to coat his face with it for a short while when one of the sisters snickered.
“That’s not working at all, let me help,” Lydia said. She sounded suspiciously chipper.
Turning to face her, Calvin screwed his eyes shut before a sloppy ball of mud smashed into his face. He sputtered, spitting out wet earth and wiping at his eyes. Beside him, he heard the sisters giggling, and he felt a flash of surprise, then irritation, but ultimately suppressed a grin.
These are probably the happiest-sounding people I’ve met since I arrived here. Everyone in town seems beaten down by monsters and bandits. Thinking of bandits reminded him that a group stalking the main road out of town had captured several locals.
I bet that ass Rufus works for them. Maybe they were the ones who ambushed me? It’s kind of strange he’s managed to avoid being linked to bandits, since he’s done this before. Either way, I’m probably lucky to be alive, orb or not.
Eupheme was smiling at him when he got his eyes clean enough to see. “That should work perfectly,” she said, almost keeping a straight face.
“Gee, thanks.”
Once more completely covered in filth, more than a little of it blood, he let the sisters lead the way into Clarkston. The female guard frowned at him, but he got the feeling it was more about the mess he was making as he walked than anything else. Hopefully. At least he didn’t think she’d noticed he was orb-Bonded.
I have to wait and see I guess, he thought. If someone slits my throat in the middle of the night, then the mud didn’t work.
Inside the walls, the sisters let him take the lead as he headed back to Thomas’ small cottage. But when he got there, they discovered he’d overstayed his welcome. The farmer was polite, but he and his senior wife insisted they wanted nothing to do with a man who’d survived being killed in a dungeon.
What had happened before he’d woken up quickly came to light. He should have known Rufus would stop back in town and report how he’d died heroically while fighting against spindly cave demons. I really hate that name, he thought.
Calvin was a little hurt that they seemed to fear him now, but these were simple, kind people, and he couldn’t hold it against them. He still thanked the farmer for helping him out when he had first arrived, but was careful not to reveal that he spoke Luda now.
Fortunately the Halverson sisters had rented a house, and they invited him to stay with them. More accurately, Eupheme invited him, while Lydia continued to argue that they could let him stay in the stable with the zebras.
“If you two have mounts, why were you wandering around in the wilderness like that?” he asked.
The sisters went silent for a moment, seeming to communicate with a glance before turning back to him. “We were hunting Rayburn,” Eupheme said, spitting the man’s name like a curse.
“You have a history with him?” asked Calvin.
Lydia glowered, but her sister nodded brusquely.
“Yes, he’s been tricking deluded fools into thinking he’s an adventurer for months.”
Calvin flushed at the way she said it, but couldn’t deny he’d been pretty damn stupid to follow the smug bastard like he did. Now their actions after finding out he’d been duped made sense. He hadn’t just been a random stranger they’d bumped into; it sounds like they’d been working. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that without being orb-Bonded, he probably wouldn’t even be alive right now and the sisters might have discovered his body instead.
“Did he try to drag you two into a dungeon?” he asked politely.
Eupheme stared at him, her eyes as hard as Lydia’s until she turned away. “Something like that,” she said brusquely.
“Now come, we need to get you cleaned up before you can come inside.”
Realizing he’d offended the only people willing to talk to him now, Calvin followed along quietly, content to let them cool off before trying to figure out anything more. Without speaking further, Eupheme led him around to the back and helped him wash off.
Shivering and soaking wet, he was more than happy to head inside.
The house the two had rented wasn’t big, but it had a separate bedroom the sisters could share, leaving him to sleep on the floor in the main room. Calvin didn’t mind; this state of affairs wasn’t any worse than staying in Thomas’ crowded cottage.
After having been robbed, he didn’t have a change of clothes, but to his surprise, Lydia wordlessly entered the room and set some simple clothes on a chair. He thanked her, earning a hesitant smile before she retreated to the bedroom. By the time he’d finished changing, he was yawning nonstop and fell asleep the instant his head hit the feather-stuffed pillow.
***
Calvin woke to the sound of talking. Stretching, he blinked his eyes open and grinned at the two beauties before him. Now that’s a sight worth coming to this place for. He dropped his smile before it got too big, though, not wanting to offend people who had been nothing but kind to him so far.
“Ah, how did you sleep?” Eupheme asked.
“Like the dead. I don’t suppose you’ve got any coffee do you?”
She stared at him blankly before shaking her head. “I don’t know—don’t think so, but we do have some food ready, if you’re hungry.”
Realizing he was starving, Calvin quickly joined the siblings at the table.
When they’d finished eating, they discussed what to do next.
“I’m grateful to you two for leading me back and letting me stay here, but I don’t have any way to repay you.”
Lydia scrunched her nose at him, looking all sorts of cute before huffing and turning away. Calvin turned to look at her sister and was surprised at the heated look she gave him.
“I can think of a few things you could do for us, but maybe it’s more about what we can do for you,” she said, flashing a predatory grin.
Delvers LLC- Surviving Ludus Page 22
