We took our leave from the two guards, thanking them -- mostly Gren -- for the advice. But we didn’t progress too far beyond their boundary posts before I called a brief halt.
“I know, I know, sorry. But now that I’m thinking about it, I’m going to get my weapon ready now, so I don’t accidentally distract you all by bringing it out once a fight has started. Also, Jazmyn might need to practice equipping her weapon,” I said.
“Is it just intent like looking at the spells?” she asked. And before anyone else could answer, a classic wooden staff with a silvery orb at one end appeared in her hands. She almost dropped it, surprised by the sudden weight. “Whoa, that’s kind of cool. Too bad we can’t do that with textbooks and school supplies.”
Ette strode over closer to Jazmyn; she chose to walk for short distances, but rolled otherwise apparently. “Later on, once we and you get stronger, your staff will probably mostly be for the effects it grants, such as increased spell power or resistances, and you’ll have so many spells and mana to use the spells, that you’ll never need to swing that stick around.” Ette gave as serious a look as she could manage with only two glowing orbs for eyes. “We’re not there yet, so be sure to give these monsters a whack or two if they get too close.”
Jazmyn gave the staff a few experimental swings and then shrugged. “It’s too big to treat like a softball bat or a golf club, but I’m sure I’ll figure something out. Now what do you have, Rie, that’s going to be so distracting?”
“Hmm? This.” I focused on the Spirit of Daybreak Gleaming that was equipped to my left hand, willing her to manifest. At first, there was just a faint green glow surrounding my hand, but two heartbeats later, and an echo of hoofbeats sounded from within a swirl of mist that appeared midair. Then, with a challenging whinny, Daybreak Gleaming leapt through the misty portal and landed in front of us, tossing her mane and posing to allow light and shadow to play off her spiraled horn. She seemed to want to show off even more than I had.
Ette’s expression was unreadable, but the rest of the girls were visibly impressed. Even Mikachu dropped her stoic demeanor and crowded close to my wooden unicorn in order to pat her side and marvel at her horn and mane. It was a little amusing to see my tomboy friend acting like a preschool child seeing her first pony up close, but, well, Daybreak Gleaning was a unicorn, and magical in a way that a mere pony couldn’t be. Even I wasn’t unaffected by her charm, and I had already seen her before.
Stolen story; please report.
“You got a unicorn as a weapon!” Jazmyn exclaimed. “You absolutely have to show Jocelyn. She’ll be so jealous!”
“How does that even work?” Noa wanted to know. “How do you use a unicorn to fight?”
“I don’t know. We obviously haven’t done any fighting yet, but I would guess she probably fights on her own, accepting maybe some input or suggestions. Kind of like a hunter’s or beastmaster’s pet, but better.”
“Her horn looks pretty formidable,” Mikachu said, “and I wouldn’t want to get kicked by a wooden pony. How do horses fight, anyway?” She looked at Noa.
“Don’t ask me. I’m a tactician. I’ve got two little folding fans, presumably for signaling you all what to do,” the centauress replied.
“Those war fans make decent clubs, if little, and can be used to block arrows and maybe even slash if the edge of the fanblade is sharp,” Ette explained. “But there’s probably also magic in them.”
Noa shrugged. “I guess we’ll find out when we find some of those little monsters. What about you, Mika...chu?.”
My best friend’s expression was wry. “I thought mine was going to be the most unexpected, but I can’t compete with a unicorn. Anyway, I’ve got this,” she said and a large crystal ball appeared, floating in mid-air in front of her. It was smooth, shiny, and translucent, about the size of a bowling ball but without the finger holes, and the crystal sphere sparkled faintly in the bright light.
Ette was interested, but my sister and Noa were still too busy admiring Daybreak Gleaming, and my unicorn seemed perfectly content to be admired.
“I bet,” said Ette, “that I’ll be able to craft something like that before too long. Not yet, of course, but after a few days of practicing, provided we get enough resources to craft with, I might be able to make an upgrade to that. Well, it isn’t magical or anything, is it?”
Mikachu shook her head. “No more so than any other newbie equipment. Well, other than the unicorn there. And I can’t imagine getting or crafting an upgraded drop for that. Any ideas, Rie?”
“Ah, Daybreak Gleaming is listed as ‘upgradeable’ on my character sheet. Also as ‘Tier 0’. I imagine we’ll find some way of making her stronger as we adventure, craft, and level up,” I replied.