The Mountain Valley War

by M. A. Carlson

  “That sounds fun, lead the way,” Rose said, smiling happily.

  Plan ‘B’ was a hole in the wall Dwarven restaurant that was supposedly super romantic but not necessarily good for a first date, more like a third or fourth date. Plan ‘C’ was another pub with a wandering violinist that was really not my style . . . at all.

  “But first I thought we could do a little shopping,” I said, most women enjoy shopping and while the shopping I had planned was more toward making Rose and myself stronger, I felt I knew Rose well enough that she would enjoy this little trip.

  The shop, ‘Winslow’s Wizarding Wonders’ also served as the Hammerton branch of the Mage’s Guild.

  “Any spell you want, my treat,” I said after we entered. I know it wasn’t much of a gift but seeing Rose’s eyes light up told me it was perfect.

  “Welcome to Winslow’s Wizarding Wonders, I’m Wilson Magibear, owner and proprietor, how can I be of service?” asked upon seeing us, he smiled far too broadly and the way he was rubbing his hands together suggested he heard my offer to Rose.

  “Dark magic, what have you got?” Rose asked, sounding all business.

  “Follow me,” Wilson said, eager to guide us to an aisle of tomes, each one popping up a different description in my UI and each tome holding anywhere from one to hundreds of copies of the same spell. It made me wonder if someday I would be able to make a tome of spells like these with my ‘Runology’ profession.

  Rose scrutinized the options before huffing. “No, none of these. I’m a tank, a defender. All these would take too long in a fight to be useful.”

  “Well, if price is no obstacle as your . . . boyfriend promised, then perhaps you would like to see my private stock,” offered Wilson.

  I expected Rose to correct him on the ‘boyfriend’ comment, but she said nothing, simply taking my hand and dragging me along behind her as she followed him to the back of the shop and to an open doorway, on the other side of which, I could see a few more bookshelves filled with more tomes.

  “One moment while I remove the ward,” said Wilson, he placed his hand in the center of the doorway, causing a blue energy field to light up. Around Wilson’s hand, gold symbols moved in and out from the center like tumblers in a lock until the blue field vanished. “Ah, there we are.”

  “So, Wilson, why is the shop called Winslow’s?” Rose asked, making casual conversation.

  “Winslow Magibear was my father and the original proprietor of this shop,” Wilson answered. “When the old duffer decided to retire, it became mine.”

  “Not your first choice of careers then?” I asked, hearing a bit of resentment in his voice.

  “No, I wanted to study at the University in Root City and learn about Runes and Enchanting,” said Wilson wistfully. “Alas, that dream dug a hole and pulled stone over itself.”

  I felt for him.

  “It’s never too late,” Rose suggested.

  “Ah, if only. I could never let my father’s shop go out of business. Maybe in thirty or forty years when my boy Willis is old enough to take over, but for now I am content,” said Wilson.

  “Doesn’t your son have his own dreams?” I asked.

  “Aye, he does. He is already working on becoming a certified member of the Mage’s Guild. He studies hard for it. Once he does, he wants to take over the shop. He is a lot like his grandfather in that regard,” Wilson answered. “Anyway, find anything you like?” he asked, looking at Rose as she continued perusing the shelves.

  “Not yet,” Rose answered absentmindedly.

  “Well, is there a specific task you need a spell for?” Wilson asked, trying to be helpful.

  “A drain mana spell would be helpful,” Rose said.

  I could tell that wasn’t what she really wanted but seeing Wilson grin broadly and dash right for a ladder, sliding it over and climbing to the top, I knew he had exactly that.

  Wilson pulled three tomes off the shelf, being careful to balance the stack of books as he climbed back down. “Right here, Drain Life, Drain Magic, and Drain Energy, all from the school of Dark magic. Only 50-Gold each.”

  I could have strangled him right there. 50-Gold per spell was ridiculous no matter how powerful or useful they might be.

  “Instant cast?” Rose asked.

  “Um . . .” Wilson hesitated, opening one of the books and flipping through the pages quickly then cringing. “No,” he said remorsefully.

  “Pass, I need an instant cast,” said Rose.

  Wilson sighed, restacking his tomes in his arms and working to return them to the shelf.

  “The Drain Life might be useful for pulling mobs at range,” I suggested, having thought about it for a moment.

  “Maybe,” said Rose. “I’ll think about it. I was really hoping to find something non-damaging that drains mana in an instant.”

  “What about a silence type spell?” Wilson said, popping up again with two tomes this time. “I brought back the ‘Drain Life’ tome just in case. But,” he said, holding up one of the tomes, “this one is ‘Magic Paralysis’, another dark school spell, it paralyzes the mana in the target, prevents it from being used for 10-seconds. It’s an instant cast with a 30-second cooldown. Costly, but very effective.”

  “Now we’re talking,” said Rose, finally sounding interested. “If I stack it with the ‘Drain Magic’ then I think that solves your problem, Jack.”

  Here I was wanting Rose to get a spell for herself that she wanted to use to her benefit, and she was thinking about how to help me.

  “But . . . ’Drain . . . Magic’ . . . but . . . but . . .” Wilson whimpered, looking between Rose and the ladder he already climbed up and down several times.

  “How much for ‘Magic Paralysis’?” I asked.

  “100-Gold, it is a very rare spell,” said Wilson, huffing as if trying to psych himself up for climbing the ladder again.

  “175-Gold for ‘Drain Life’, ‘Drain Magic’ and ‘Magic Paralysis’ and I’ll get the tomes down for you and put them back,” I offered. I had seen where he pulled the books from the shelf, I could put them back for him.

  “Deal!” Wilson all but shouted.

  “Jack, that’s too much,” Rose tried to protest.

  “Rose, I wanted you to get a spell for you, and you ended up getting spells to help me,” I said. “Let me be greedy and ensure you get the spells you need to help me.”

  “I suppose,” said Rose ruefully. “But that means you get to tank tomorrow while I work on my spells.”

  “Deal, I need to level up ‘One-Handed Polearms’ and ‘Phalanx Shield’ anyway,” I said, still feeling like I got the better end of the deal. I happily paid the Dwarf who turned the two books over to Rose while I climbed the ladder and retrieved the ‘Drain Magic’ spell.

  I was climbing down when I caught sight of another tome that made me smile. I pulled it off the shelf and carried it down as well.

  “This one too,” I said, handing the tome to the Dwarf.

  “This one, really? It is only 25-Gold, it does not sell very well,” Wilson said as if trying to talk me out of the sale.

  I paid him the other 25-Gold for the spell.

  “Okay, so those three spells are your gift to me. This spell is my gift to you,” I said, handing Rose the other tome.

  Rose squinted, studying me and my smirk before she took the tome only to bark out a laugh when she read the spell name and description.

  “It was too perfect not to,” I said, trying to hold back my own laugh.

  “Jack, this is brilliant,” said Rose, giving me a quick kiss before she learned the spell.

  After Rose learned all her new spells and the Dwarf’s tomes were back on the shelves it was time for Rose and me to get moving.

  “Now, let’s get to that restaurant, I’m starving,” Rose said, taking my arm once again, her smile bright and happy as she did so.

  Rose and I chatted a little about mundane things as we walked. But mostly we seemed to be
content walking together, or at least I was.

  “Jack, where are you going? There’s a line,” said Rose, as I skipped past the line of waiting Dwarves.

  “Come on, we’re not waiting,” I said, encouraging her to follow.

  Rose laughed and rolled her eyes, “If you say so, Jack.”

  Despite the protesting of the Dwarves waiting in line, Rose and I went right inside, pausing once we did to take it all in. Inside ‘Falling Down Dwarf’ was huge. There was a large round stage in the center with various musical instruments, some I couldn’t even begin to identify. Surrounding the stage was a dancefloor and around that were dining tables. Up above us, there was a balcony wrapping around the whole wall of the building with more tables and Dwarves dining. It seemed like every seat was filled and the line of protesting Dwarves behind us was only slightly concerning. However, I had waited this long for my date with Rose, no line was about to stand in my way. In this one instance, I was not above bribery, may the Goddess Issara forgive me.

  Spotting the hostess behind a podium holding a leather-bound book, a reservation book if my guess was correct, I went right up to her. The hostess was a young-looking Dwarf with red hair pulled back in a ponytail. “Hello, reservation for Bye-bye Jacko,” I said to the hostess, prepared to drop a load of Gold coins into the hands of the .

  “Welcome, Mr. Jacko, any friend of the Duchess is a friend of the ‘Falling Down Dwarf’,” she said before I could drop a single coin. “We have the best table in the house for you, just follow me.”

  “How the devil did you set this up so fast?” Rose asked.

  “Apparently, I have friends in high places,” I said, happy it worked out so well. Barkley was definitely getting a raise, the only way we could have gotten this was if he set it up.

  We were led up a flight of stairs to one of the balcony tables, this one right by the railing with a good view of the bandstand. Arriving at our table, I remembered one of the lectures . . . lessons my mother instilled in me about what being a gentleman entailed. I pulled out Rose’s chair for her and helped her push it in again.

  “Someone will be along shortly to take your orders. Can I get you an ale in the meantime?” the hostess asked.

  I looked at Rose, she nodded. “Two of the house’s best,” I said, feeling a little gregarious.

  “Ah, a man after me own heart,” laughed the hostess. “Two Hammered Dwarves, coming right up.”

  “If I get too drunk to remember this in the morning, then the date never happened, and you’ll have to work to impress me all over again,” Rose warned me with a laugh.

  “It would be worth it to see you like this again,” I said, making Rose blush. I was surprised by my own words. I was never this smooth . . . or was it all in my imagination.

  Rose reaching across the table and taking my hand in hers suggested it wasn’t in my imagination. I was happy to entwine my fingers with her own.

  Drinks came, and we sipped at them slowly. The band played some light music for dinner service. Food came and went along with a few more drinks but not so much that the night would be forgotten. A hundred years from now I wouldn’t be able to tell you a thing we talked about, none of that mattered so much as just being there.

  Eventually, Rose and I were both drawn to the dancing below us. I never thought for the life of me that Dwarves would be into line-dancing, but here we were, and just below us a hundred or more Dwarves surrounded the stage and were moving in step together in some kind of line dance they seemed to know by heart.

  “We are so dancing with them,” said Rose, dragging me from my chair and down to the dance floor where the Dwarves welcomed us with open arms.

  A couple of them took the time to teach both of us the basic steps until we were moving right along with them, learning new dances as the songs changed and the line dance with it. I had never enjoyed dancing before, but for Rose, it was worth it. I don’t know if it was just Rose being there with me, but I really enjoyed myself.

  And when the song turned into a slow ballad and I held Rose in my arms swaying to the music, I knew I couldn’t have asked for a better first date.

  The night ended far too soon for my liking as Rose and I danced until the ‘Falling Down Dwarf’ closed its doors for the night. Returning to Mardi’s residence, neither Rose nor I wanted the night to end, so we decided to walk around the pond and enjoy the gem-lit scenery. At some point we did return inside and being the gentleman, I was raised to be, I escorted Rose to her room.

  “This was . . . perfect,” Rose said softly.

  “It really was,” I agreed, starting to lean forward when Rose gripped my shirt and pulled me in, our lips meeting in passion and hunger.

  “Your room,” Rose said between kisses, walking me backwards down the hall away from her room, bumping into the walls, occasionally laughing as we went.

  We were about halfway down the hall when we both froze at hearing an “Ahem” coughed very loudly and making Rose and me very aware of our audience. And I do mean audience.

  “Rose, you should be getting to bed,” said Micaela. “Baby, escort your sister to the safety of your room and lock the door behind you. Olaf, make sure Bye-bye finds his way back to his room. Heath, stop leering and go to bed. Mardi, sorry if we woke you. Ash, go back to bed.”

  “I wish I had some of that popcorn you told me about. That was one heck of a show,” the Duchess commented, shivering for a moment.

  Gras shook his head, no doubt mumbling in his head something along the line of ‘Crazy adventurers’ before turning away and entering his own room.

  I couldn’t help but notice Mardi glaring at him as he passed her.

  “Night, Jack,” said Rose, giving me one more quick kiss and bolting for her room.

  I grinned. I was certain I looked like a complete idiot, but I didn’t really care . . . not even a little bit.

  “C’mon, lover boy,” said Olaf, placing a hand on my shoulder and turning me away from Rose’s door.

  I was dazed as I walked to my room, guided by my friend, he gently pushed me into my room and closed the door behind me.

  I chuckled . . . might have been a giggle, either way, it was a happy thing. Undressing, I fell into bed rather comfortably, my thoughts occupied with just one thing . . . one person.

  I tried to let my thoughts rest but the irritating flashing at the corner of my UI made me curious about what I had learned or achieved so I opened them, only to get bombarded with Charisma increase notices, taking me all the way up to 150, my current level cap. Then there was my new skill and subskills.

  Dancing

  Level: 16

  Experience: 87.14%

  Skill Effect (Passive): Increases your Dexterity by 1.60%

  Skill Effect (Passive): Increases your Dexterity Experience Gain by 16.00%

  Subskill: Dwarven Line Dancing

  Skill Effect (Active): Doubles Dexterity Experience gained while using Dwarven Line Dancing

  Subskill: Slow Dance

  Skill Effect (Active): Increase Charisma Experience gained while using Slow Dance by 24.00%

  I couldn’t help but laugh, as my mind quickly drifted back to dancing with Rose, it was no wonder my Charisma shot up as it did. I couldn’t wait to do it again, even if I never gained another stat point from it.

  Chapter 8

  I had a pep in my step and a silly grin on my face as I made my way down to the dining room for breakfast with my friends, my eyes immediately seeking out Rose’s when I got there.

  Rose’s eyes met mine and she smiled and blushed a little, she busied herself with adding fruit and eggs to her plate.

  “Morning,” I said, being an overeager idiot, I sidled up next to her to fill my own plate.

  “Morning,” Rose replied, leaning into me slightly.

  I enjoyed the contact immensely, being close like this. I tried to focus on putting food on my plate but Rose and I both just kind of stopped, more enjoying the closeness.

  “I�
��m starting to feel left out, like I don’t matter anymore. Know what I mean, babe?” Olaf complained, sitting at the table with his wife.

  “I know what you mean, they grow up so fast though, don’t they?” Micaela added, giggling.

  As if the spell had been broken, I rolled my eyes. “Good morning, Olaf and Micaela. How are you this morning?”

  “Fine, a little sleepy, some bloody fools woke me up in the middle of the night,” complained Olaf.

  “Aye, my beauty rest was ruined by a pair of horny teenagers trying to sneak in, in the middle of the night no less, can you imagine that?” Micaela commented with a wicked grin. It certainly explained why Micaela put the kybosh on Rose and I migrating to my room for the night. Not that I was angry, it was probably the perfect end to the night and the other part would come in time, I was in no rush.

  “Anyway, best eat fast, we are meeting Captain Grandmite shortly,” said Olaf, grinning at us. “That is, if you two love birds ever finish filling your plates and eat.”

  Olaf was right. Reluctantly, I filled my plate with a little fruit and eggs before adding a pile of bacon, I couldn’t help but notice Rose’s plate was once more without bacon. We didn’t even get back to the table before she snuck a piece, smirking at me.

  “Ugh, they’re like teenagers,” groused Baby as she grumpily entered the room.

  “You’re just jealous,” Rose said, poking her tongue out at her sister.

  Baby growled and glared to no effect. “I will get you back for that comment.”

  “What ever you say, Fairy Overlord,” said Rose, smirking a little as she put her new spell to work.

  “Morning all,” said Heath gregariously as he entered the room only to freeze, his eyes fixed on Baby. “Um, Baby . . . when uh . . . when did you get the title?”

  “What title?” Baby asked, her head tilted up, trying to see her nameplate.

  Micaela snorted, fixing her eyes on Baby. It was an avalanche of laughter from there. Olaf laughed. And I had no compunction about joining in, nor did Rose.

  “What title?” Baby demanded, stomping her little foot in the air, making us laugh even harder.