CHAPTER 9: FOUL PLAY
"Bow, peasant!"
Shit.
Arcanis' mind went into overdrive, considering how to react to the sudden challenge. Simply ignoring the boy and moving along might work, but if his guards were close by - and where were they? - the boy might send them after him. Obeying would probably work out better, but might get him more involved with whatever the boy had in mind, which he wanted to avoid if at all possible. Besides, something stubborn inside him refused to obey such an arbitrary, pointless command from a young child. Challenging the boy on the other hand might work given his age, but the guards would likely object if they were in range or returned. Deflecting the boy's attention ...
As Arcanis got distracted thinking through the various options to avoid deeper involvement, seconds ticked on and the boy realized, that his giving of a command had failed. His young face fell, his hands dropped and he looked close to tears as he muttered, probably intending for only himself to hear "... didn't work ...?"
The child's distress resolved Arcanis' inner turmoil - noble, rich kid or not, he was unable to leave a child sad if he could help it. He went down on one knee to be on the same height as the young boy and smiled in a friendly and - hopefully - reassuring manner. "Hey there, I'm Arcanis, who are you?"
The kid stared at him in surprise, startled out of his mumbling. "I- ... I'm Aaron!" A fast sequence of emotions ran over Aaron's unguarded face - worry not supposed to talk with strangers?, determination standing your ground, eh?, pride remembered who you are? Did your teachers proud? Either way, the kid's posture relaxed and the boy looked at the aspiring wizard, curiosity written all over his face. "Why did you not bow? The guards all do when commanded ..."
"Hm..." Arcanis scratched the back of his head in thought, buying a couple of seconds with the gesture. "... I suppose I saw no reason to...?" The boys expression darkened and he quickly hurried on "Think about it, I have no idea who you are. Your guards, they know you and are in the service of your family, are they?"
The young noble? nodded in confirmation.
"Well, there you have it - they get paid to obey you."
The boy thought through that explanation for a second, face brightening as he came to a conclusion. "So, if I pay you, you'd bow?"
Arcanis grinned cheerfully at him "I probably would, indeed. But Aaron, I have to wonder: Why did you want me to bow to you, when I was a complete stranger after all?"
A wide grin formed in response, as the young boy answered "Uncle Yusuf is sooo awesome!" His eyes almost started to sparkle, admiration of his kin written all over his face "Everybody obeys him right away ..." The short burst of enthusiasm fled again, as Aaron did not finish the sentence, reminded of his previous failure.
Arcanis nodded in understanding. "So, you really want to be like your uncle, people obeying your every command, eh?"
"Yes!!" Aaron recovered instantly, mood swinging back to enthusiastic. Excitable fellow, now, how to best set him on his path ...
"Well, there are basically two ways to achieve that: Either people respect you - in which case they will obey because they want to - or they fear you, which will have them obey you, afraid of what would happen to them if they don't." He gave the attentive boy a stern look "Making people fear you is pretty simple, so long as you have power. But it means you have to hurt them, and most will hate you. Do you want to be hated?"
He shot the young boy a sharp glance, who answered by energetically shaking his head in negation.
"Respect it is then. Earning the respect of people is definitely harder. The way to do that is doing your job well. Always. It requires learning a lot of things that are probably quite boring. To be patient and keep at it for years." He gave the boy a sober look, whose enthusiasm had taken a hit, the expression rather neutral. "I won't lie to you: It will often be frustrating and annoying, but ... the people around you will recognize your efforts. It may take years for everybody to fully recognize and acknowledge you - in fact some never will, no matter what - but your family, your guards, your servants, will be with you and support you."
Aaron eyes were slightly unfocused, several emotions waging a war on his expression as he thought through what the young man had said. Worry. Determination. Loneliness. Confusion. Was that a bit much in one go? "... so if I learn a lot, people will obey me?"
Arcanis nodded at that. "That and then use what you learned, when you are older."
"Huh ..." The boy's expression settled on resolved "... can do that."
Arcanis grinned at the response and nodded at him, then looked up as he heard the ringing steps of fast moving soldiers - the metallic sound of sabatons and metal armor distinct and constant across the realms the aspiring wizard (and former barbarian warlord) had lived in. He rose to his full height as they approached, before fixing young Aaron with a serious look.
"Young master Aaron" he gave a deep bow with as much flourish as he was able to muster "Good luck on your studies. I have faith in your determination and look forward to what will come from your efforts." He rose back up, giving a cheerful wink at the youngster that was answered with a grin, just as half a dozen armored soldiers surrounded them.
"Young master!" The man in the fanciest armor addresses the boy, while two other guardsmen - bodyguards? - gripped Arcanis at his arms and dragged him slightly away. He offered no resistance, instead listening on and observing passively, helpless in the face of their vastly superior strength.
"Are you alright, young master?! Did the stranger do anything to you?" Arcanis imagined the guardsman to have a rather panicked expression underneath his helmet.
Aaron swiftly shook his head. "It is ok Mario, I am perfectly fine. Mister Arcanis and I were merely talking, nothing wrong with that when it was me talking to him first, is there?"
The Guardsman - Mario - reluctantly nodded. "That is well then. We were rather worried when you were suddenly gone, I hope you can forgive us for being suspicious."
The young boy was unable to keep eye-contact with his chief guardian. "Ehm, yeaah ... sorry about that Mario, but I just had to check out that shop and I was only going to be for bit, and you were busy with the carriage anyway, so ..." He looked back at the guard after quick glance at Arcanis. "Anyway. That's over and done and you found me after all so all is well." The youngster switched into an imperious stance, reminiscent to how the conversation with the aspiring wizard had started. "Let's head back, I've seen enough of the town for now and some of my studies left to deal with!"
The guardsman was obviously surprised at the fast switch of mood in his young charge, judging by the twitch before he straightened and nodded. "As you wish, master Aaron." He nodded to four guardsmen and -women behind the youngster "Why don't you go ahead with Mariella? I'll follow after a quick chat with this Arcanis."
The boy shot the aspiring wizard a worried look before nodding. "He was nice and friendly Mario, so don't hurt him." Then he turned away and followed the indicated guardswoman - Mariella - while the other guards surrounded him, shielding him from the commoners on the street.
* * *
With a sigh, Mario turned back to the young man he had found attending master Aaron. He did not look like much, equipped with regular adventurer's gear, but not yet filling it out like a proper adventurer. Rather young too, probably just started his career. Let's see whether he is a problem we need to take care of.
He nodded at the two remaining guards that had held the lad, who released him and took a step back. That Arcanis fellow seemed unflustered, returning Mario's assessing look in equal measure.
"An interesting mess that" The guardsman started. "Hope you don't mind the handling - gotta be sure when it comes to the young master, I'm sure you understand" The young man nodded in response. "Alright, why don't you just tell me who you are and what your business was with the young master and we'll take it from there?"
Arcanis nodded again before replying. "As the young master already mentioned, I'm Arcanis. No Surname. I recently entered the city for the first time, currently learning the adventurer profession as a fairly green newcomer under the party of Thomas Endosi."
A solid name drop that - at least something we can easily verify.
"I was just returning from training" Arcanis continued "when I ran into a boy of rich and probably noble parentage without any guards. He started addressing me and thus we got into a conversation, until you found him."
"Any reason you didn't try to help return him to us?" The guardsman gave the youngster a stern look for good measure, which however failed to affect the young man.
"Well, moving him seemed a bad idea - I hardly knew where he had come from and it would rather look like I was trying to kidnap him if I did. Hard to accuse me of that when I neither touched nor moved him." Good point.
He nodded agreement. "Yeah, we might well have assumed that. Alright, last question before I let you go your way and we go ours. Where are you staying at?"
"Seamus' Inn. Not sure it has a formal name." Arcanis pointed in a direction "About twenty minutes walking in that direction."
"That the place with that fiendish - and fiendishly good - old lady cook. Maria, I think she was called?"
"Martha, but yeah, sounds like her."
Mario gave a final nod at that, before gesturing for his two subordinates to move over. "Alright, sounds fair enough. Try not to leave the city for the next few days, in case we have more questions. Other than that, I can't rightly fault you. For now."
He waved at his two men and led them back towards to carriage. Looks like he really is who he said he is. Seriously good liar if not, anyway. And whoever managed to make the brat go back to studying willingly can't be all bad, can they?
* * *
Arcanis breathed easier when the guardsmen finally turned away and he was free to continue towards his cooking lessons. Fiendish, huh? Can't imagine how she got that reputation. Who of her trainees would have dared tell the truth ...
Still thinking over his recent encounter, he did not really watch his way as he walked down the now familiar streets towards the inn. So, as he went down a less travelled side-street - almost an alley really - he was late realizing he was surrounded by four tough looking men in worn-down clothing.
"Look who's trying to just waltz through our street" Their apparent leader said, a man not much older than Arcanis with unkempt black hair, a smell that should have warned him before ever entering the street, a well muscled build and an obviously angry disposition. The man spat on the ground in disgust before continuing. "I say the young master owes us a toll!" He grinned mockingly at the aspiring wizard.
The others laughed cruelly and readied their weapons, a mix of daggers and clubs. Seeing no other way out of this, Arcanis took off and tried to run, dodging a stab from one of the muggers, only to run into a kick from their leader. Pain coursed through him as the momentum of the kick and his run saw him tumbling and crashing over the ground. He frantically tried to get up, managed to dodge another kick by throwing himself to the side when finally a massive burst of pain exploded in the back of his head.
The last system messages he read mocked him as darkness claimed him.
You have raised the skill: Dodge to level 10
+1 Agility, +5% Speed for the purpose of evading attacks
You have raised the skill: Pain Tolerance to level 3
+1 Constitution, +2% Pain Tolerance
* * *
Arcanis woke up with a splitting headache. Out of reflex, his first act was to "Healing Touch" himself, and while it did restore his missing HP, it did little for the headache. His eyes focusing again he looked around and he found himself in his own room in Seamus' Inn. By the lack of light from his window it was obvious night, and voices sounded from the team's common room.
Seeing how his headache would not go away, he decided to at least get an update on what happened. Leaving his bed, Arcanis realized he was in a rather dire state of undress, only his underwear protecting his modesty. A fresh set of clothes was piled on his table, but there was no trace of his original gear. Including the notes and book, dammit!
With there no helping his lack of equipment, he left the room, only to be greeted by ...
"Look who's finally decided to grace us with his presence!" Maria grinned maliciously at him. "Come and join us, princess!" She waved at a free seat around the table, then pointed at the remaining food still on the table, the others - all gathered around the table - obviously already done with their portion. The rest of the team too looked at him, but gave him nothing worse than a welcoming smile.
He sat down at the indicated chair, grabbing a plate, the remaining bread and the pot with the lukewarm stew. His headache appreciating the temporary lull in conversation, he silently served himself and got to eating while Thomas sent a mug of beer his way. The first taste of the stew silenced his raging stomach, which had gone unnoticed so far thanks to his head claiming precedence. Bliss. Now if only that headache would stop.
The others kept their silence as Arcanis decimated the remnants of dinner. Which couldn't possibly have taken more than a minute or two. Head notwithstanding, even no longer at its freshest that food deserved a blissful sigh, which the aspiring wizard certainly did not stint it.
"Wellll" Thomas opened after the food was dealt with. Arcanis winced at the lance of pain going through his head at the loud word and Thomas moderated his volume as he continued. "Welcome back among the living, now that the worst has been dealt with!" He raised his mug in repeated greeting. "First, let me catch you up on what happened: A neighbor found you lying on the ground in Roswell street. Didn't know you, but had remembered you staying at the inn, so he dragged you here. Seamus then brought you to your room. All your stuff - gear, clothes, money, writing materials - were gone when you were found."
The warrior looked straight at the aspiring wizard. "Now what the hell happened so you'd get into this state?"
"Not much to say, really. After training I stopped at the tavern in the guildhall and practiced my writing before going back to the regular cooking training. After a short altercation with another guild member, I got to meet Ramona."
Ricardo interrupted the story with a whistle, only to be stared down by the others. "On the way back, after another small interruption I went down the path back as usual when I ran into four thugs. They started a traditional extortion gig, demanding a toll, but before I even got the chance to respond they drew blank steel, so I tried to run. Didn't quite work out."
Maria grinned at that while Thomas nodded. "Quite so." He took a big swig from his mug, buying time to think things through. "Well, nothing to it. Your stuff is gone, so we'll need to buy a new set. Try to stay off the side-streets while alone, at least until we are done getting you ready and can handle a mugging yourself. Now, unless there's something else, why don't you go back to sleep to help yourself recover - none of us were injured badly enough to need your immediate attention and you can obviously use the rest."
"Actually" Arcanis answered "There are two more things. For one: My healing could so far handle most everything, but it appears powerless against the headache. Any idea why?"
"Alright, let me take this one, boss-man." Maria forestalled Thomas "Your healing appears to deal with lost HP and direct physical trauma. My best guess here would be that it cannot handle negative status effects equally well. At least the mind ones." She nodded at herself, possibly checking off a mental checkbox while thinking through her own answer before continuing. "This is only extrapolation on too little data, but I would assume it is equally without effect against diseases or possibly poisons. Curses or magic effects as well."
The budding healer digested that for a moment before nodding as well and moving on the the next item. "Ok, makes sense I suppose. The other one then: Is there any notable local noble with the given name 'Yusuf'?"
Thomas shook his head in mock despair before resting his forehead on his right hand for support. "Well yeah, there is." He let out a sigh. "Count Yusuf of Erfurt, the ruler of Erfurt and all the lands around it." The warrior gave the aspiring wizard a tired look. "Anything you left out of your story that might be worth mentioning after all?"
A groan was his only reply.
* * *
The next two days went by without anything of great notice happening. During their morning practice he got a refresher on the basics for axes and maces respectively, both very well within expectations.
In the afternoons, he focused on his demanding training under Martha, while the late evenings were spent companionable with the team, healing health and bleeding coins at the gaming table.
This did lead to a rather significant jump in stats.
You have unlocked the skill: Weapon: Axe!
Weapon: Axe (Level: 1) [Martial]
"The key difference between a man and a tree is in how difficult they are to hit, not in whether they can be felled."
You have studied up on how to mutilate trees.
Awesome!
See, they are already shaking in fright.
A wait, sorry, that was the wind.
Anyway, go out and do more of it, at least the stats should come in handy and you will appreciate the lumber in winter.
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Power, +1% Damage with Axes
You have unlocked the skill: Axes: Disarm!
Axes: Disarm (Level: 1) [Martial]
"Alright, we'll call it a draw"
Let us be honest here - your enemy probably doesn't even need those appendages anyway.
A focused strike, aiming to remove a limb.
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Power, +5% Maneuver Strength
You have unlocked the skill: Weapon: Mace!
Weapon: Mace (Level: 1) [Martial]
"Keep it Simple, Stupid"
Put the thin end in your hand, and the other end in your enemy's head.
That is really all there is to wielding maces, hammers and their ilk.
Oh, sorry, "their ilk" means "their kind" ... so, similar things.
You know what? Stop thinking and start smashing.
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Dexterity, +1% Damage with Maces
You have unlocked the skill: Maces: Smash!
Maces: Smash (Level: 1) [Martial]
"Force may not be the answer to ALL problems, but you'd be surprised how many of it it makes go away"
You already understand how to hit your foe with a blunt instrument.
Now do it again, only with more force.
A strong strike, aimed to crush your enemy's bones.
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Dexterity, +5% Maneuver Strength
Name: Arcanis
Classes
None
Attributes
Strength: 50
Agility: 23
Dexterity: 82
Constitution: 63
Mana: 18
Power: 33
Luck: 33
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
Derived Attributes
HP: 630
EP: 390
MP: 260
Skills
General
Athletics 1
Cleaning 10
Cooking 8
Gaming 8
Writing 2
Magic
Healer 6
Magic for Dummies 5
Martial
Ambush 1
Dodge 10
Unarmed Combat 1
Weapon: Dagger 7
Daggers: Coup-de-Grace 2
Weapon: Staff 5
Staff: Sweeping Strike 1
Weapon: Sword 9
Swords: Riposte 4
Weapon: Mace 7
Maces: Smash 3
Weapon: Axe 7
Axes: Disarm 3
Nature
Animal Husbandry 2
First Aid 1
Pain Tolerance 3
Social
Dissembling 2
Gambling 5
Languages
Herani (Mother language)
Spells
Firebolt*
Healing Touch*
Titles
-
Traits
-
Innate Abilities
Gift of Magic
Magic Researcher
Linguist
To think I charged into a goblin raid with sixty HP ...
* * *
The next morning held a surprise in store for Arcanis - when leaving his room for breakfast, he found a few presents in front of his door: A small leather bag, a book that looked familiar and a lot of notes with horrible handwriting. Looking through the items, the notes were indeed his and the book the book on meditation his supposed master had given him (whenever their first teaching session would finally happen), both of which had been stolen during the mugging. Inspecting the contents of the bag last, it turned out to contain four human ears, blood dried and only slightly smelly.
Soon after, the others woke up as well - or, as was the case with Shinji, their ascetic monk, came in from their morning meditation on some roof - and they all gathered around the breakfast table.
"So boss-man, what's the plan today? We going to switch to the two-handed weapons for the lad?" Maria asked, leaning back contently after having demolished her own portion in short order.
Thomas, taking the slow approach to food ingestion, put down his bread and gave her an evil smirk. "Spears"
"Oh, oh, oh, that's going to be fun!" The swashbuckler replied enthusiastically, obviously itching to get started.
"Mind if I watch for this one?" Ricardo asked, also with obvious interest. "I always love seeing how much of a manifestation we get!"
The warrior nodded to the ranger in consent. "Sure. The more the merrier." Thomas leaned back and closed his exes in thought for a bit before snapping back and pointing at Towlar, the next youngest after Arcanis. "Now that I think about it, Tow, we skipped spears with you, did we not?"
The youngster nodded, also interested in what had the others enthusiastic.
"Well, best time to catch up on that, not that you need the stats." Another smirk flashed over his expression. "That way Ricardo can watch two at a time and we only get one ... disruption for both of you."
Arcanis looked into the group, giving each of them a suspicious glare. "Why do I have the suspicion that nobody coming out and telling me - and Tow, presumably - what is going to happen is not quite an accident?"
"Because it isn't" Maria replied cheerfully, throwing an apple at the aspiring wizard, at a speed he would have been hard-pressed to handle only a few days ago. Now ... he managed, though I still need to work at my fine control he mentally grumbled, the apple slightly smashed by his own hand, juices dripping down his right arm.
"And I see you all are not going to tell us what this is all about either. Well, if it is all going to be in good fun, who am I to try and make you spoil the surprise?" He raised his hands in surrender, accepting his - and apparently Tow's - fate. "Slight topic change, now that we are all done with eating though." He placed the book and the bag on the table - the notes ... he would not surrender voluntarily until he got done training a lot more. "Thank you to whoever got me back my stolen items, but wasn't collecting ears going a bit far?"
Silence spread through the room, everybody confused for a moment. Thomas stared at Maria, questioningly but she only shook her head in reply. Both looked at Ricardo who raised his hands defensively in denial. They all skipped over Towlar before finally settling on Shinji. The man in question took another sip from his cup before raising an eyebrow questioningly.
They apparently parsed the look as a denial and all looked back at the table and Thomas answer for them all. "Looks like it was none of us. Where did you find them?"
"They were stacked in front of my room - right here in the commons room."
At that finally Shinji spoke up, for the first time. "Not there when I left."
Thomas nodded at the contribution. "So somebody intruded in our commons room in the last hour before dawn. Will have to speak to Seamus about that. I don't think he noticed anything - he's not the kind to just let intruders waltz in - but he needs to know somebody managed to pull it off anyway."
He sighed, regaining his focus and mentally moving on to what appeared to be the next point on his agenda. "Alright, another mystery to solve, but let's move on for now." He looked pointedly at their latest party member. "Arcanis, are you certain in that you want to persist with staff fighting?"
The young man nodded, calm faced, trying to show resolve.
"Well, if that's the way you want to roll, I managed to find you a teacher." Everybody looked surprised at that. "Turns out your recommendation to ask Quentin was a good one, Maria." That earned him a raised mug from their female companion before he continued. "Well, old Sirius apparently has a strong enthusiasm towards the staff, but hit the same wall all do that invest into the skill. He has agreed to train Arcanis, on the condition on their having a discussion and reaching an agreement of some sorts. We will be meeting him before beginning the training.
"After that, we should finally be all back at a hundred percent thanks to the healing. So afternoon is back to the dungeon, straight to the third shelf."
Maria whistled appreciatively at that. "Sure we can handle that, boss-man? My left leg still remembers the last time we tried that."
"Agreed, and under normal circumstances I wouldn't propose that either, but ... we have improved and while usually it wouldn't be financially viable with the downtime, the boy's healing has gotten a lot better along with his Power growth. Say what you will about the risk of our last delve into the third, it was the best training we've ever gotten out of the dungeon."
"Hard to argue with that" the Ranger chimed in. "I'm in anyway - so long as none of us looses an arm or a leg, things should be alright"
"I-I wouldn't mind keeping m-my head either!" Towlar countered, then grinned "G-guess I'll just stick to the shadows then."
Thomas clapped loudly and everybody focused on him. "Alright folks, unless anybody has something more to add, let's finish this up and move out!"
* * *
"Ok kiddo, I'll be blunt. Why do you want to learn the staff?"
The man they met in the tavern section of the guildhall looked well into his sixties. He still appeared lean and fit, moving with an unnatural seeming grace, causing no sound whatsoever. He towered over Arcanis and stared at the youngster with a distrustful frown. This early in the day they were the only patrons so far and with nobody else around Arcanis did not mind being a bit more frank than he would otherwise have been.
"Several reasons, mister Grey" He answered, returning the gaze with an unflinching look of his own. The aspiring wizard then continued with a calm voice without letting his voice carry too far. "For one thing, among all the weapons I know it is the one least concerned with killing. I appreciate the need to fight and also to kill, but for the art I seek to master, I prefer something that does not make the killing part the heart of its focus, the core purpose if you will.
"Then there is the motion aspect." The old man looked curious at that, but did not interrupt Arcanis. "From what I have seen in combat, and practiced myself, I think it suits me best to not oppose force with force, but to instead pick up the force of the one attacking me and redirecting it at the attacker him- or herself. From all the weapon arts I have seen so far, staff arts fit this the best."
"Not sure I like the sound of that, kiddo." The old man finally spoke up. "First of all, I can't have you underestimating any weapon type. Staves kill just as surely as any other weapon will do in a skillful - or particularly unskilled - person's hand. That said, the motion thing you mentioned sure is true for the base weapon, but only single of the discovered maneuver skills supports that and once people figure out the move, you're toast. And redirecting and picking up the motion of your opponents attack only works when they don't use a maneuver with disruption resistance, the most common attribute of a maneuver.
"Sorry, but as it stands, teaching you the Staff would be a waste of both your time and mine." He shook his head sadly, but still in rejection.
"Wasn't done yet, cause I have a few more reasons to add to the pile." Arcanis took back the conversation lead. Sirius shot him a light glare but did not interrupt. "What I hadn't brought up yet, is that I have the Gift of Magic." The young man first cut and then healed himself, to silence the disbelieve in the older man's eyes. "So another reason is that Staff skills are the only weapon skill I have found yet that boost a magic attribute. I don't know which, but gaining levels in it raised my maximum magic points, which is bound to be helpful. This is also why I am confident in not being a liability with a weapon less specialized in killing an enemy of equivalent strength - at least in the long run, where the skill limits would start to matter: By then, magic will be my primary choice of dealing damage, I expect."
Finally the old weapons master seemed no longer negative about the whole prospect. Which meant to Arcanis that now was the perfect moment to strike with his final point.
"Besides" He grinned at the older man "I think I have a good idea about how to get around the skill limitation issue on Staff skills."
The old man's eyes fought out a fight of several emotions at that, his self control broken. Disbelief, hope, anger, enthusiasm, back to disbelief, hope, anger, ... . Finally his expression settled on cheerful malice.
"Oh? Do tell me more."
* * *
"Well, there you are! Did you come to an agreement with old man Sirius?" Thomas greeted Arcanis as he stepped into the training hall, where the others were already busy to warming up.
The youngster grinned back at the warrior. "Sure did. He is willing to train me starting next week, three mornings each, free of charge."
"F-Free!?" Maria interrupted, astonishment written all over her face. "That old pirate wouldn't train C for free!"
"C? Who is C?" Arcanis asked out of curiosity. The question caused all present - the whole team other than Shinji - to stare at him in disbelief.
A few seconds passed before Tow broke the silence "Y-you don't k-know who C is?"
"Must have been some real backwater village where he came from" Thomas took over and winked at Arcanis. "Some of them don't really cover much of religion, often having only a sole god or otherwise holy being they worship.
"Anyway, C is the god of the system. She handles all aspects that come from or through the system, such as classes, skills, level progression, and so on."
"She is the system?"
"Ah, not quite, from what the priests have to say" Thomas admitted. "From what I heard, she is more about maintaining the system, making sure it runs smoothly and in balance."
"What is important from an adventurer's perspective" Maria entered the conversation "is that her priests are the only ones that can actually remove a class from you. It's pretty expensive an operation, and only the high priests in the capital can actually remove one without consent."
"Other than that, they also don't share the secrets of the system." Thomas added "So don't bother asking them about rare classes and how to get them. Sharing those 'would devalue the individual's discovery of the system and hamper their true growth'. At least that's their excuse for not interfering with the nobility's hoarding of their precious classes."
Arcanis nodded at that rare bit of poison from their party's leader. "Thanks for explaining that. Anyway ..." He swept with his left hand at the training spears that had already been arranged for their perusal.
Thomas took the hint and pinned both Towlar and the aspiring wizard with a glare. "Alright kiddos, both of you have come here to learn the noble art of the Spearman!" He grabbed one of the many spears on the rack, seemingly at random, then held it in front of them. "A spear is recognized by the system as a long stick with something sharp or pointy at its end. Whether it is a completely wooden, improvised affair, a finely crafted metal-tipped spear, a pike or a dragon killer that requires a group of four to handle. And stop looking for the dragon killer, only the Dwarven Thanedoms have those, and only Dwarves wield them."
The warrior gave the two of them an assessing look. "And I think both of you are a bit too large for that. Barely. Anyway, what makes the spear such a weird skill - except for a certain surprise still waiting for you both - is the fact that depending on which variety of spear you choose, you get a completely different set of maneuver skills.
"So ..." he copied Arcanis' gesture and swept invitingly with his arm at the rack of spears. "... why don't the two of you go ahead and pick the variety that looks just right to you?"
Tow quickly moved in and picked out a simple variety, a wooden stick with a point end - wooden on this training gear, as all of them, but probably dangerous enough in an expert's hand. The aspiring wizard took his time, moving from one not-quite deadly implement to the other, weighing it, testing its balance, until he finally stopped at one particular spear - a round reinforced ball on one end, a pointy end and two opposed blades on the other, the whole arrangement somewhat longer than the one the young rogue had picked. Something about it just seemed to be right to Arcanis, an odd tinge of nostalgia touched him, as he swung it.
"Alright, I can see you have chosen ..." Thomas continued after they stepped back from the weapon racks, the weapon of choice at the ready. "... a regular spear and a Guardian Blade. With the spear, you can expect stabbing moves, as well as forward mobility and pushback. An excellent choice for a military unit or teams hunting a beast. The Guardian Blade on the other hand is a great tool for area control - expect wide, sweeping attacks, mobility, jumping and even fully airborne maneuvers.
"Anyway ..." he picked up a spear of his own, as did Maria "... get ready to defend yourself!"
You have unlocked the skill: Weapon: Spear!
Weapon: Spear (Level: 1) [Martial]
"Fast like a storm, destructive like an inferno, unyielding like a mountain"
You have earned the Guardian's skill.
It may be a long time until you become his equal, but keep up the hard work.
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Agility, +1% Damage with Spears
You have raised the skill: Weapon: Spear to level 2
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Agility, +1% Damage with Spears
You have raised the skill: Weapon: Spear to level 3
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Agility, +1% Damage with Spears
You have raised the skill: Weapon: Spear to level 4
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Agility, +1% Damage with Spears
You have raised the skill: Weapon: Spear to level 5
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Agility, +1% Damage with Spears
You have unlocked the skill: Spears: Pinning Strike!
Spears: Pinning Strike (Level: 1) [Martial]
"Piercing the heavens, he kept down even the very gods"
You have found the Guardian's ancient technique of stopping an enemy.
Pinned down by your spear, your foes shall find their inevitable fate.
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Agility, +5% Maneuver Strength
You have raised the skill: Weapon: Spear to level 6
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Agility, +1% Damage with Spears
You have raised the skill: Spears: Pinning Strike to level 2
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Agility, +5% Maneuver Strength
You have raised the skill: Weapon: Spear to level 7
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Agility, +1% Damage with Spears
You have raised the skill: Spears: Pinning Strike to level 3
+1 Strength, +1 Constitution, +1 Agility, +5% Maneuver Strength
* * *
After their training - which to Ricardo's disgruntlement did not produce whatever 'manifestations' he had been hoping for (and would not elaborate about) - the others moved on to delve into the dungeon while Arcanis went back as usual to his cooking practice. While Martha was her usual demanding self, he did feel he got a better handle on the cooking basics. The system agreed, which was nice, but surprisingly secondary to his concerns. The act of creation something he would be happy to lose himself in, were it not for the still too frequent raps of Martha's spoon over his fingers, whenever he made a mistake. Customers enjoying the result of his work being an added bonus.
It was almost with regret that he finally quit fairly late into the night and returned to the party's common room. The others returned late also, heavily injured but nobody maimed, giving him more practice dumping his mana into their damaged bodies.
Nobody was in the mood for a round of Ravenda and thus they soon retired after seeing to their worst ills. Arcanis finally checked his gains from the second half of the day before finally nodding off.
You have raised the skill: Cleaning to level 11
+1 Dexterity, +5% Cleaning Result
You have raised the skill: Cooking to level 9
+1 Dexterity, +1 Power, Improved Cooking Result
You have raised the skill: Cooking to level 10
+1 Dexterity, +1 Power, Improved Cooking Result
You have raised the skill: Healer to level 7
+1 Mana, +1% Power of benevolent healing magic effects
* * *
Raul was in a foul mood. Their party's fortune had not improved with him too getting injured. He had known Ramona was powerful, but that had been far beyond what he expected. Definitely has a few good classes, that dragon he mused. It still smarted, that brat had no business being there and why the hell would the old lady take sides with the brat?! Anyway, even his own team had abandoned him over his getting injured, making it quite clear that he was no longer welcome.
And so he spent the night with a few of his more understanding friends getting drunk. Which at Constitution two hundred took some drinking, but was still within affordable range if your standards weren't too high.
It was going to be a long night, even if he would likely not remember much.
* * *
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The characteristic cry of a raven went out and passed through the valley. It flew low - above the endless expanse of trees, high enough still to be able to evade trouble, but not so high it would attract the attention of the predators roaming the higher ranges.
It's flight took it north, along a deep valley, slowly ascending to the looming mountains. Shifting course from one valley to the next, always careful not to attract attention, the flight continued, untiring. It lost all sense of time, the need to reach the destination an overriding imperative, drowning out the individual wants of the bird. Some ruins, remnants of a glorious past, taken over by nature were still visible, but the view never lasted, the flight continued.
Finally, after who knows how long, it approached its destination. It knew not what it was, only that it was close and needed to be reached. A last valley, already high up, the mountains immediately ahead, until it finally ended, leading directly into a mountain pass. The goal was in sight - the ruin of a fortification that used to block and guard this narrow passage through the mountain range. The wall had crumbled, a ruin, fit not to bar the path of anybody.
Time had taken its toll.
The bird settled on the highest perch still available, waiting.
A loud bellow followed shortly after, a roar from a mighty beast. From the valley it had just left, a large, massive beast charged up the slope - four-legged, grey, thick skin, partially covered in scales, three horns, the better to pierce whatever dared stand in front of the charge of this monster, six meter long, disregarding the tail.
Out of one of the ruined buildings, a man stepped. Without apparent hurry, he still managed to step into the beast's path in plenty of time. The man - large, weathered, heavily muscled - wore patchwork armor. Traces of a glorious past could still be guessed at, but it had been damaged and repaired so many times, it was hard to be sure.
This man - the 'Guardian', the spirit sharing the vision of the raven knew, though he know not how - took up a stance, and a spear materialized from nowhere, the kind of spear somehow hard to determine. The beast, finally noticing the enemy facing it roared in challenge and picked up the pace. The Guardian too, bellowed a counter-challenge in his deep voice, charged, jumped and in one downward stab pinned down the beast into the ground of the mountain pass.
None shall pass, so it has been and so shall it be until the fated day. But at least dinner had delivered itself.
----------------------------------------
Arcanis woke up, covered in sweat. His hands shook, as the strange emotions that ... likely were not his own subsided. A strange sense of nostalgia remained. And a sense of duty, unending, unyielding.
Still shaken, he needed to get out, get some air, find a way to ... disentangle himself from that haunting experience. It was still night, so he left his room silently, hearing a light moan from Towlar's room, but ignored it as he made his way out of the inn.
If that is the same experience everyone goes through as they learn the spear ... he shook his head, getting some clarity back into his thought. ... no wonder they don't tell people about it ahead of time. How the hell do you prepare anybody for this?
He kicked a pebble down the street. And no wonder those jokers looked forward to the result. They'll be insufferable during breakfast.
* * *
Raul and his friends were returning from their drinking night. Their goal had been met successfully - and they had made sure to drink a few extra, just to guarantee they were not wrong about that. The five of them swaggered - and tumbled - down the road towards their homes as Raul noticed a person standing in the lamplight, staring at the night sky that appeared familiar.
A thought - calling it a plan would be too much - formed in his drunken mind.
Wouldn't that be poetic justice?
* * *
The butler sweated as he faced the man on the other side of the desk, whose shape was beautifully outlined in the morning sun, shining straight into the room from behind him, casting the room into an image of yellow and orange. The man repeatedly tapped on the masterpiece of an office table at which he sat, a light beat as he thought through the report he had just received.
"So you say not only did he return early from his day off, he stopped trying to hide from his tutor?"
The butler bowed. "Indeed master"
"Not only that, he keeps pestering the man long beyond the planned for hours?"
The butler bowed again. "Indeed master"
"And when his friends came over and tried to engage him in playing a prank on the maids, his response was 'I don't have time for such frivolities', preferring training his riding again?"
The butler bowed once more. "It is as you say, master."
"Hm." The man at the desk leaned back in thought for a minute as his servant maintained the silence on the other side of the table.
"Ludwig"
"Yes master?"
"I think I wish to make the acquaintance of that person that managed to produce such a change in young Aaron."
The butler bowed one final time. "Certainly, master."
* * *
Arcanis woke up to a drop of water hitting his face. Not quite there yet, he turned away on his bed to avoid the leak in the roof, only to feel the cold stone biting into his side and have the pain in both back and head help accelerate his path to full consciousness.
He jumped up, only to see ... quite little actually, given that he woke up to almost perfect darkness, only very limited blue light shone from a few mushrooms. The floor he was on was not the even stone of a building, but the rough and uneven stone of a cavern. From what hopefully consisted quite some distance, a monster roar could be heard echoing down the ... well, probably tunnels. Hard to be sure with the current visibility.
Well, on the upside ... Arcanis thought as he used his healing to reduce the pain at least somewhat ... at least I won't have to worry about their hazing over the Guardian dream.