“The elder this morning said people would be joining the clan at the end of the week. Maybe you were one he saw.”
Mindie’s eyes widened, then she giggled. “I forgot he has foresight, too.”
“And he’s right a lot,” Yukiko nodded. “You should speak with Bishop or Dia today.”
“I will,” Mindie said. “All that’s required is belief that Aether will return, right?”
“There’s a small test to see if your belief is true,” Jenn told her. “A trip to a teahouse.”
Mindie had looked worried, but her worry vanished, a relieved smile coming to her. “I wish I had known... I would have waited.”
“Waited?” Gregory asked.
Mindie looked to him, then away, her cheeks heating. “Yes. I went after your last training session to see if it would be right for me.” She started to turn a deeper shade of red.
“Did the vision embarrass you?” Jenn asked softly, touching Mindie’s shoulder gently.
Mindie swallowed. “A little.”
“You don’t have to tell us,” Yukiko said, touching Mindie’s other shoulder. “If you want to, though, none of us will say a word against it.”
“You say that so easily…” Mindie whispered.
“Take your time,” Yukiko told her with kindness.
“It should be just about sixth bell,” Gregory said. “We need to head out there.”
Mindie nodded. “Yes. Please don’t be late because of me.”
“We won’t be. If we were late, it would be because we wanted to help a friend,” Yukiko said, taking her hand away.
“We’ll try not to make you work too hard today,” Jenn said as she patted Mindie’s shoulder.
“Let’s go,” Gregory said before donning his mask.
Mindie watched them go with a hopeful smile, her heart beating fast. Touching her chest, she followed them. Maybe I can join them all… Daciana and the others are interested in him… so maybe I can be, too… Mindie was lost in her thoughts as she stopped right at the tunnel exit.
Gin turned to face them when they came out, nodding as they were already masked and ready. As the sixth bell rang, Vemril and three more magi came out of the other tunnel.
Vemril wore a sad smile as she crossed the sands. “Last week of training. You’ve all improved, but I’m sad this will be the last time we’ll cross blades in a friendly manner.” She looked toward the stands, then at Gin. “Just the three of them?”
“The elder decided to leave the other two out of the fighting side of the tournament,” Gin replied.
“Ah, yes. Considering they will be in the Empire’s Gambit side, there was no need to risk injury,” Vemril nodded. “Congratulations on your clan taking both of those tournaments, by the way.”
“We just give them the chance to learn,” Gin replied. “The fact they learn as quickly and as well as they do is just who they are.”
Vemril nodded. “Yes, they are eager to improve. Few apprentices have so much drive. Are you three ready for a week of torment?”
“We are ready to test ourselves,” Jenn said.
“It isn’t torment if we’re learning and enjoying the challenge,” Yukiko added.
“We’ll win at least half of our fights,” Gregory said.
Vemril smirked, then glanced at Gin. “Haven’t told them, yet?”
All three of them turned their heads to Gin in question.
“This week, Vemril and the others will be using magic and energy equal to a first rank adept,” Gin explained.
Gregory inhaled slowly, nodding. “This will be bad, but we’ll manage.”
“Very well. Separate and get ready to begin,” Gin said.
Chapter Forty-nine
Gregory gritted his teeth as Mindie healed his arm. “Damn... this is brutal.”
“No armor for any of you makes it harder,” Mindie said softly. “You should ask him to let you put some on.”
“We probably should,” Jenn said. “We’ll have armor, eventually.”
“They can do so much more than we can,” Yukiko sighed as she waited for Gregory to heal. “It’d been even energy before, even when we started to wane in the later fights. Now, they can just outlast us if we don’t finish them quickly.”
“And they can do more,” Jenn sighed. “Trying to break all those earth spikes wore me out.”
Dia came out of the closer tunnel, a smile on her lips.
Yukiko bowed to her. “Dia, is something wrong?”
“Wrong? No, it’s just fine. We’ve been waiting for certain things to arrive, and now that they are here, maybe you’ll find this easier.”
All three looked at her in confusion for a moment, until more people came out of the tunnel. One was a dwarven male, and the other was an elephas eurtik. The younger Shieldbreaker had nothing in his hands, but Elliot had a large chest balanced on his shoulder.
“Our weapons and armor?” Jenn asked with eager eyes.
“Indeed,” Dia smiled.
“You’re healed,” Mindie said, sitting back with a sigh.
Gregory handed her some jerky. “Thanks. Looks like you could use some.”
Mindie took the jerky from him and ate it, blinking as aether infused her. “Goodness.”
“Koi,” Yukiko told Mindie, though she was watching the two men coming toward them. “Made by a master chef.”
Mindie couldn’t disagree— the jerky was delicious, and her aether was refilling quickly.
“Apprentices, we did what we could for each of you,” the younger Shieldbreaker said proudly. “Might I present them now?” he asked Dia.
“One moment,” Dia said as Gin and the Hardened Fist members came closer. She motioned to the armsmaster, who pulled out a metallic disk and handed it to her. “We will be explaining each item for our guests,” she said, handing the disk to the dwarf.
“As you request,” he replied. He took the disc, which illuminated when he brought it up to his mouth. “I present Gregory Pettit his weapon first.” A naginata suddenly appeared in his hand, and he held it out to Gregory.
Taking the weapon, Gregory looked it over. The haft was dull gray and felt like smooth wood, but it weighed more than wood normally would. The blade was blackened steel, and the edge was a bright silver that shone in the light. There were no decorations on it except for the tsuba, which depicted the clan icon on either side of the blade.
“The naginata can never be broken, will never need to be sharpened, and, if aether is pushed into it, it can create a barrier,” the dwarf said into the disc.
Gregory stepped back and pushed aether into the naginata. A blue dome appeared around Gregory, extending seven feet in all directions. “This is a large barrier.”
“The barrier appears instantly around you,” the speaker continued to explain. The dome vanished a couple of seconds later. “It doesn’t last long, but long enough to save you from multiple avenues of attack. It will also move with you.”
Gregory bowed to the dwarf. “My thanks to you and your family.”
“Our pleasure. Now, we move on to Jenn Pettit.” A wakizashi appeared in his hand, the sheath engraved with images of several different types of swords. “This weapon can be shifted into any sword that is shown on the sheath. It takes a little aether to manage it, but nothing exhausting. With the enchantment we had to add, it will always be sharp, and unbreakable as well. Otherwise, it would quickly lose all of its functionality.”
Jenn accepted the wakizashi with reverence. She looked at the weapons on the sheath as she stepped back. Pulling the blade free, she smiled at the gleaming, razor-sharp metal. She went through a simple kata, then did it again, but on the second pass, the short blade became a katana. On her third repetition, the sword changed again, becoming an odachi. She went through three more katas, and the weapon shifted to a rapier, a gladius, and an eating knife as she did.
“Why the eating knife?” Jenn asked when she finished.
The dwarf nodded at the sheath, which she had set down
before trying her weapon. It currently looked like it would fit the small knife in her hand. “The sheath shifts to hold whatever you changed it to at the time. You could carry your weapon openly almost anywhere if they don’t know its power.”
Jenn let it become a wakizashi again, then sheathed it. She bowed deeply to the dwarf. “My thanks.”
“A pleasure. It was interesting to work on.” Clearing his throat, he turned toward Yukiko last. “For Yukiko Pettit, we have this.” He held out a wakizashi to her, but its sheath had a few shuriken emblazoned on it. “Again, this weapon will never break, nor need sharpening, but its trick is a simple one— each of the shuriken can be used once per day. All you have to do is touch it and will it to your hand. After a few seconds, the shuriken vanishes, and the image will reappear.”
Yukiko took the weapon with respect, looking at the six shuriken decorating the sheath. She noted how the sword hilt and sheath were dark in coloration. Pulling the blade free, she grinned at the blackened blade; the only part that had a different coloration was the edge, which gleamed sharply. Sheathing it again, she touched one of the shurikens and it appeared in her hand. Yukiko spun and threw it away from everyone, then looked right back at the sheath. A few seconds later, the image was back, but looked blurry.
“The images on the sheath will let you know which ones you can or cannot use.”
“Thank you,” Yukiko said as she bowed deeply to him.
“That is all we could do for you,” the younger Shieldbreaker said. “May they serve you well.” He held the disk out to Elliot, who shook his head.
“My enslavement forbids me from using devices like that,” Elliot said.
Dia took the offered disk and went to Elliot’s side. “Allow me to assist.”
“Thank you, Magus. If you hold it, I may use it.” Elliot said. He bowed to her before kneeling, setting the chest on the ground. “I will kneel here, Magus.”
“As you wish,” Dia smiled, holding the disk at an easy angle for him.
Opening the chest, Elliot pulled out the first set of armor. “This armor is for Yukiko Pettit. As she is one for stealth and quickly moving through shadows, the mistress bent her will to emphasize those for her.” He held out the black leather in his large hands. “The entire set is made with darkvine, so it’ll blend easily into shadows. You should feel it easier to gather the shadows around you. It has whisper-silk woven into it, so your movements will be hard to hear, even for you. It comes with the standard enchantment to repair itself, though that does take aether being infused into the armor for it to work. The other enchantment on it will summon five three-foot bubbles of shadow. It pulls in ambient aether and can have aether infused into it. Either or both can be used to refresh the enchantment and repair the armor.”
Yukiko smiled when she took the offered armor. “Can I cast the globes of shadow out?”
“About twenty feet away from you,” Elliot replied.
“I will put this to good use. Thank you, and the mistress.”
“I will pass your thanks along,” Elliot replied. “Next, we have the armor for Jenn Pettit.” The armor he pulled out this time was much more elaborate. It was a mix of gray leather and blue enameled plates. “Ironvine is the base, and the hardened pieces are steelwood. This gives the same protection as metal armor, but with less weight, so it shouldn’t hinder your speed. The joints are reinforced with extra ironvine, making them more likely to turn a blade. It is not as good against bludgeoning, but against most weapons, it should serve you well. The armor is enchanted to grant small barriers— each arm and leg, the chestguard, and the helm can all produce one. It recharges like the other armor.”
Jenn was grinning as she took the armor with care. The segmented breastplate had the clan emblem— the black shield and blue flame marking her as Aether’s Guard. “Thank her for me, but you have my thanks, too, Elliot.”
Elliot bowed his head, his large ears flapping lightly. “We do our best.” He looked at Gregory last. “Yours is the most complicated set. Since you don’t rely on speed or stealth, the mistress opted for protection for you.” He began to pull pieces from the chest. It was a collection by the time he finished. “The repair enchantment is on it, along with one that negates fire. She considered how much you’ve angered the Eternal Flame and thought this might be for the best. The material is ironvine for the leather, steelwood for the larger plates, and ironsilk for the stitching. She did end up going with the lighter materials, as you aren’t used to a full suit.”
“Thank you, and of course the mistress,” Gregory said, eyeing the armor with trepidation. It was even more armor than Bishop had worn as a proctor.
Elliot closed the chest and hefted it onto his shoulder before standing. “The mistress wishes you all the best. She will be listening to hear about you in the future.”
“Our thanks,” the three said together, bowing to Elliot and the younger Shieldbreaker.
“There will be a small break as the apprentices don their armor,” Dia said. “We’ll continue training after that.” When she finished talking, she handed the speaking disk back to Gin and led the two visitors away.
The group used their storage rings to absorb their weapons and armor. Gin went over to them as they turned toward the tunnel. “Take a few minutes to prepare yourselves. Stretch out again with the armor on to find your restrictions.”
“Yes, Sensei,” they said.
“Sadly, your new weapons can’t be used. However, your armor should give you some extra abilities. I expect to see you win one today.”
“We’ll do our best,” Yukiko said, then turned to Mindie. “Can you assist us, Mindie?”
“Of course,” Mindie said.
~*~*~
It took them time to get the armor on, and Gregory found he needed help to get all of his on. He could don part of it and be as armored as Jenn, but the full set had buckles that were behind him.
Mindie finished with the last buckle. “You’re all done, Greg.”
“Thanks, Mindie,” Gregory said, taking a step forward. Turning around, he saw his wives already in their armor. “Wow... that makes an impact.”
Yukiko and Jenn both grinned at him. Yukiko’s was supple leather that covered her from the top of her neck to the bottom of her feet. It didn’t fit her like a second skin, but it was snug, giving an idea of her figure underneath. Jenn’s wasn’t as flattering, but it was more intimidating, and it didn’t clank when she shifted. The helm didn’t impede her vision, being open-faced, but it would protect her cheeks, and the thin, downward thrust of the nose guard would help keep her nose intact. The clan emblem was on Yukiko’s armor too, but as it wasn’t painted, so it wasn’t visible unless someone was within a few feet of her.
Gregory’s armor was black and blue like Jenn’s, with the clan emblem on his chestguard. The aether flame almost seemed to flicker with a blue light when he shifted slightly. The breastplate wasn’t a solid piece, made up of segmented plates of ironwood that would allow him full flexibility. Another piece of armor connected just under the breastplate to protect his lower abdomen and groin, again made of segmented plates that could fold over each other. The shoulders were slightly large, but had a curvature that would help push glancing blows away, and covered down to his bicep. Underneath those, long sleeves of vertical ironwood slats, banded together by ironvine, went from his shoulder to his wrist.
The lower part of the armor was different, and Gregory had needed some help to understand it. The shinguards ran from his knees to his ankles, which were fine, but above them were large, square plates that attached to the lower abdomen piece with ironvine. Mindie had explained how they were supposed to function as she helped him with them.
Gregory was okay with the helm— it had a flare down by his neck, and came with a face covering that would leave just his eyes uncovered, though it had holes for his nostrils. The mask was decorated to be a snarling dragon’s face.
“Well?” he asked, his face obscured by the mask.
Both of them stared at him with smiles. “Intimidating,” Yukiko said. “Can you scowl?”
Gregory glared at them, and Jenn nodded.
“That does it,” Jenn said. “A scowl makes that mask work.”
“It fits him,” Mindie said softly.
“It does. It feels natural,” Yukiko agreed.
Jenn closed her eyes and, after a moment, Gregory felt a tingle on his skin. Her eyes opened a second later and she nodded. “It feels right.”
“Back out to fight again,” Gregory said with a deep breath. “Ready?”
“I’m sure they’ll be armored now, too,” Jenn said. “We’ll make it work, though.”
Aether's Apprentices Page 40
