Gaborn were a hardy people. They were a bit shorter than most peoples on Zlithia; not by a lot but by a little. It was just enough that most sapient peoples looked down at them, most literally and many figuratively. The boar folk had a reputation—when something was in their way, they went through it rather than around it. Their tempers also ran hot.
All of this combined together meant they got into a lot of fights. As a species, they got into a lot of wars both among their own and with others. This made them dangerous but they weren’t an endemic threat to life on Zlithia or anything truly dire. For as tough and sturdy as they were, they were terrible spellcasters, poor negotiators, and somewhat predictable. They could be beaten and driven back, at a cost. On the global scale they were often seen as a boulder rolling down hill which more clever factions gleefully took advantage of by trying to push one another into their path.
As adventurers and even as people, gaborn prized strength and directness. To say the boar folk were not subtle was an understatement. Subtlety took one look at the snout-nosed folk and booked passage for another continent. For many places on Zlithia, this was not a trait of endearment. It was a source of frustration and headaches for anyone unfortunate enough to have to deal with them for any extended period of time.
Of course, those who knew the gaborn or who knew how to interact with them could do so to their benefit rather than their peril. This was why the gaborn man who literally flew from the inn’s doors and landed on his back was laughing rather than cursing.
“15! You hear that, Duncan? 15!” the prone man shouted. Another gaborn man emerged from the inn and went over to kneel next to the first. Both wore nondescript cloth tunics and shorts tailor made to their stocky frames.
“Aye, looks like a solid blow. A good hit,” Duncan agreed. He then drew back and slugged the prone man in the arm. “That you should have braced for, you nonce.”
“Not my fault. I expected a tickle,” the first gaborn said with a grin beneath his snout. He sat up and looked at the trio. “Wings, snake, dog. Hey Duncan, I think our vacation is over.”
“Oh, so it is,” he replied while standing up. “Brivaria, Kseniya, and dog?” he then asked. Trixie barked a happily reply. “Nice to meet ya, I’m Duncan and this lout on the ground is my brother, Rory.” He kicked Rory for emphasis and the other gaborn quickly hauled himself up to a standing position.
“That’s us and this is Trixie. Gustav at the adventurers guild recommended the Stillwater Inn and told us about the situation with the request.” The angel looked between the two boar men. The two were nearly identical. They were both well-muscled and sported gray fur over their bodies.
Celians were distinguished by being part Arslan, part beast. Most were closer to Arslan than beast. Races like the lephori simply had the ears, tails, and other features of their bestial association. Races like lamia and centaurs looked almost half and half. Finally, races like the gaborn looked very much akin to the bestial cousins only walking on two legs with fur, snout, tusks, and more. They just barely qualified for the umbrella term the angels used for them.
“Nice to meet you lot.” Duncan offered his hand to Brivaria then Kseniya then, surprisingly bent down to do the same with Trixie. To Brivaria’s astonishment, the dog put her paw on Duncan’s hand and he shook it politely. He then stood. “Come on inside and we can talk. Got someone for you to meet as well.”
Five minutes later, there were five people at a table inside the common room. Two benches sat alongside the rectangular table. Kseniya didn’t need to sit so she coiled at the end of the table. Brivaria sat on one side of the table with Trixie on the bench next to her. The golden’s head rested on Brivaria’s thigh and she stroked the dog’s soft fur.
Across from the angel and dog were the two gaborn brothers as well as a catfolk girl who they introduced as Nyx. The catfolk were similar to the lephori with the ears, tail, and claws of their feline cousins but sans many other physical traits. Nyx had shoulder-length black hair with a streak of white that ran from the front to back. She was also frowning.
“Gonna make them punch you too?” she asked sourly.
“Nah. Guild says she’s a paladin, snake is some kind of spellcaster,” Duncan looked from Nyx to Brivaria. “Paladins sometimes got healing. Got any?” Brivaria nodded.
“Yes. It’s touch-based though. I’ve got to touch you to heal you,” she said. Duncan grabbed Rory’s arm and jerked it so the hand was outstretched toward the angel. She obliged. The winged girl touch her hand to the gaborn’s and activated Healing Touch. The mana flowed into the skill.
“It’s all back. The pain is gone too,” Rory said while feeling his previously bruised chest with his one free hand.
“How is the efficiency?” The angel considered Duncan’s question and made a so-so gesture with her hand. “Decent mana reserve?”
“For my level. I could do another twenty of those without issue.” Rory looked excited at her words but Duncan just nodded.
“That’s excellent. Spending enough coin to have healing potions on the days we need them adds up fast, let alone on the days we don’t.” He looked to Nyx. “If bird girl had no other skills but that one then she’d still be worth the time and share of the request money.” Nyx frowned and Kseniya could see the girl’s tail swishing angrily from side to side.
“So, I am hearing that you already have a plan in mind. It sounds like you have thought much about this, you know? I would very much like to know what the two little piggies have in mind.” Kseniya’s words earned a smile from the cat girl and a hearty laugh from the boars.
“These two little piggies might be thinking of having snake for dinner,” Duncan said with more mirth in his voice than threat. When Kseniya didn’t take the bait, he went on.
“My brother and I came here on vacation. We were intending to take a break from things and do some fishing when the request was upgraded at the guild. We don’t mind doing some work before our break if the pay is right and the boy at the guild said he could swing a discount on a boat for us if we helped.” Duncan was interrupted by Kseniya before he could continue.
“And what is the right pay?” the serpent girl asked, orange eyes scrutinizing the two boars.
“The request payment is 120 coin. My brother and I take half of it. The kitten gets 10. You two can split the rest.” The angel looked to Nyx and began to ask about the low payment but Duncan saw the question before it left her lips. “Nyx is an adventurer as of this week. She’s got at least one combat skill that hits decently hard and some information that may help us. Taking her is more babysitting than anything else but everyone’s gotta start somewhere.” Nyx bared her teeth which Brivaria could see were fairly sharp.
“My brother is one of the hunters who disappeared recently. I know where he was hunting and I want to get him back or...” Nyx trailed off for a moment. “I’m not here for the coin.” Kseniya made a thoughtful sound and Brivaria’s smile turned sad. The angel spoke to clear the mood before it could set in.
“I’m here to help. The money arrangement sounds good to me. I’ll need a day or so to restock supplies. How does setting out the day after tomorrow sound?” Nyx frowned but Duncan nodded.
“Sounds good. My brother, the cat, and I are all close combat types. We’d be very glad to have a spellcaster in our group but paladins are close combat as well, aren’t they? I see you carry a sword and shield.” The gaborn had a thoughtful look as he regarded the angel and lamia.
“I fight with my sword and shield but I have some spells I can use as well. If it’s crowded or we need someone watching our flanks then I can focus on using them.” Both gaborn brothers cheered up at Brivaria’s words.
“Two spellcasters would be quite the boon. Not quite balanced but better,” Rory commented.
“About that…” Brivaria began but Kseniya cut her off.
“I’m here in town to see a friend, first and foremost. I may accompany you. I may not. I would be sad if anything happened to my winged friend or her very, very cute doggy, you know? We will see.” Duncan was about to reply when a human approached their table. He wore a brown beret signifying that he was one of Pemburne’s reporters.
“Excuse me, friends. I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation,” the man began.
“Oh yes, I’m sure you couldn’t help using a skill to make sure you heard every single word we spoke as well,” Nyx said acidly. The human reporter winced.
“My apologies for any insult my fellows have done you, miss. As the astute feline lady no doubt surmises, I am a reporter for the local paper. My name is Silas. If your group is going to be setting out to discover the fate of the missing hunters then I’d like to join you. Hunters have been going missing in the eastern forest for weeks. Neither I nor my fellows know anything to date.” Silas had a black beard, green eyes, and looked about average in most ways. He looked so plain that Brivaria realized there had to be a skill at work that caused the eyes to just glance past him unless he making himself known as he was doing now. Rogues and scoundrels often got a skill like that after a certain level so it was impressive to the angel.
“Can ye fight?” Duncan asked bluntly.
“I’m not much in a brawl,” Silas admitted, “however I can fire a crossbow and sometimes hit what I’m aiming at or thrust a blade. I wouldn’t say either is my forte. I have other skills that could be useful.”
“Are you observant?” the angel asked. Silas smiled broadly and nodded.
“Very little escapes my notice and I can be quiet enough that these noble gaborn fellows won’t be needing to pull my arse out of a scrape too soon.” Rory shook his head despite the human’s words.
“Brother, we’re already babysitting the cat. We don’t need a second one and I’m not inclined to bury more than one idiot on this trip. At least the cat can fight,” Rory protested.
“I recommend Silas come along,” the angel said over Rory’s protesting. Duncan and Kseniya both turned to look at her. Neither looked displeased but, rather, discerning. The winged girl could sense they would judge whatever she said next.
“Nyx’s people have the best awareness out of anyone here but she’s not high enough level to take advantage of that. I think Duncan and Rory would make better lookouts. Humans are better than average and Silas is probably high enough level in his class to be a competent lookout. Decent awareness with perception-related talents are something we could use. If he had no other skills but those then he’d still be worth taking along.” Duncan chortled upon hearing the angel reuse his own phrase. Silas was delighted with the angel seemingly making his sales pitch for him.
“Aye, well said. So the six of us then, pending the snake’s choice.” Trixie lifted her head from Brivaria’s thigh and rested it on the table to look across at the cat and two gaborn. “Ah, right. Seven,” Duncan amended.
Silas stayed with the group a little while longer to give himself a proper introduction and talk a bit. He wasn’t native to Pemburne but he was from the Velk region. He’d stopped in Pemburne when the news of a paper caught his ear. The human had never heard of such a thing until that moment and joined up instantly. He gained a class for it at his next advancement. The angel wondered how many scoundrel levels or the like the man had prior to taking his current class.
Nyx was angry. That seemed to be the girl’s de facto state of being but Brivaria could see the concern the young woman had for her missing brother. It was concern born from caring and it resonated with the blonde angel as it was the same thing she’d felt from Balthazar but for her own wellbeing. The winged girl would do her best to help find Nyx’s lost brother though her hopes were low.
The brothers were, well, they were gaborn. If not for Duncan’s hat then she wouldn’t have been able to tell them apart. Well that wasn’t entirely true. Duncan did seem more level-headed than Rory. Neither were especially enthused about interrupting their fishing trip to go chase forest monsters but it was one thing to ignore a request and another to look someone in the eyes and tell them no. If they hadn’t been sold on the job then Nyx swayed them even if they feigned not giving the cat girl so much as the time of day.
Introductions done, Brivaria checked into the Stillwater Inn. The angel didn’t have a pack to drop off and lock in her room so checking in mostly consisted of ensuring she knew where the room was and that the key worked. Trixie inspected the bed and gave it a happy wuff of approval before they locked the door and headed back to the common room.
Kseniya joined the angel a short while later sans the large traveling pack the lamia carried. Brivaria hoped the other woman would join the adventure even if it meant splitting the payment. Lamia were unique to Zlithia in that they were good at spellcasting and combat. They beat angels in physique and arcane as well as most races. Only something like a minotaur or an elf could threaten a lamia’s prowess in physique or arcane respectively. The boar brothers knew it as well as their needling of the sorceress had been gentle by gaborn standards.
“Shall we go get a meal or check on your friend?” the angel asked. Kseniya considered the question as they left the inn.
“Friend first. His name Amon Ruthers. I’m starting to get worried, you know? He’s a good friend. Very punctual. It’s not like him to stop sending letters. I think…” she began then trailed off. “I don’t know what I think. The timing matches the missing hunters or just before. It is an unpleasant coincidence.” That last bit of information was new to Brivaria but she agreed with the lamia’s conclusion.
The two needed directions and got lost a few times. Navigating streets of Pemburne wasn’t intuitive for the angel and neither girl was familiar with the town. Soon after the second stop to ask for directions, they arrived at Amon’s home. It had the same rustic cabin look that most homes in Pemburne had. A small path lead from the road to the front door of the home.
They strode up to the door and knocked. There was no answer. Neither were too surprised. Expecting Amon to be home when they came calling was probably optimistic. Kseniya wasn’t pleased that they missed him but they could come back.
“Shall we get a late lunch and come back? Maybe he’ll be home then?” the angel asked while teasing Trixie. The dog made this idle moments so much more enjoyable. The happy golden was always ready to play and very easy to get riled up. Kseniya looked over at the angel playing with the golden hound and assented.
“Yes, let’s do that. We can get something to eat and I’ll come back afterward. You don’t need to wait with me, you know?” Brivaria shrugged her shoulders. She didn’t mind waiting but did want to go shopping. She’d forgotten to ask Balthazar for a second circlet the last time they talked, Trixie needed better food, and the angel also needed a variety of other supplies she hadn’t realized she was missing until traveling with Kseniya informed her otherwise.
The group made their way to a tavern and found a selection of mostly sea food available. Brivaria ordered three plates of food for herself—one she intended to eat there at the restaurant and two where she paid for the dish in addition to the food. The latter went into her inventory for later. Kseniya saw the angel eat a premade meal once on the road and her reaction was simply a shrug. In a world with magic, pulling a fully cooked steak out of nowhere was fairly low on the list of magical wonders. This was doubly the case since she already knew Brivaria had the Inventory skill.
For Brivaria, the meal was wonderful. She’d never tasted fish. It was tender and flavorful. The angel made noises of sheer delight as she ate. Both the lamia and dog looked at their own plates and what the angel was eating, wondering if they should have had what she was having. Well, Kseniya wondered that. Trixie just barked her agreement that the food was good and went back to eating.
After the meal, they split up. Brivaria and Trixie went to one trading post then realized it was for fishing-related things and then went to another one which wasn’t far away. The angel did some of her shopping but frowned when she learned the town didn’t have a proper armorer on hand. They had a smith but he was a general purpose fellow who mostly made goods for boats, buildings, wagons, and the occasional set of horseshoes. They bought any guard or watch-related equipment from nearby towns. As a result, there were no helmets to buy or people to repair her own.
The pair returned to the inn they were staying at. Brivaria’s mana was over half empty by that point as she’d been very subtly practicing Sky Step. She walked a very tiny distance just above the ground while out shopping. Had anyone gotten down to eye level with her boots, they’d have seen she never touched the ground. If not for the mana cost, the angel would do it all the time. The tiny amount of magical wind somehow holding her up was at once more solid than stone yet far gentler. Even better, she could walk through the mud without getting dirty which was rather nice all things considered. She wished she’d had this skill after the big thunderstorm on the savanna but she had it now.
The angel was well into her nightly shapeshifting practice when a knock at the door got her attention. Trixie was dozing but stirred at the sound. Both got off the bed and walked over to the door. The warm glow of a magical lamp poured into the angel’s room as she opened the door to find Kseniya. The lamia woman looked distraught.
“He never came back,” she said quietly. Brivaria wasn’t certain what time it was but the sun had gone down hours ago. It was well after most should be home and in bed. “I’m going to enter his house and look around. I needed to come back here to get a few things to help with that. Would you come with me? If a ward goes off then I might need your healing.”
“Could be he staying with a friend?” The angel understood the timing of the man’s disappearance was worrisome but she didn’t understand where the urgency was coming from. The group wasn’t leaving town tomorrow.
“I don’t know. I’ll pay for anything we break or damage. Amon will understand.” Kseniya’s orange eyes were pleading. Brivaria made up her mind and nodded.
“Okay, I’ll come with you.” The relief on Kseniya’s face was immediate. Trixie barked her agreement as well and the winged girl shushed the dog. It was still late.
All three left the inn quietly and moved across town. They avoided people and main roads as best they could. The lamia didn’t want anyone to note the strangers skulking through the town late at night and draw any conclusions. Admittedly those conclusions would have been correct. Brivaria took the opportunity to shift her eyes to the slit pupils of the lamia for better vision in the near darkness. She was pleased that it worked. All of her practice was paying off.
The door to Mr. Ruthers’ home was warded but Kseniya had some tools to defeat common wards. Wards were seen in dungeons often enough that it wasn’t surprising for a mage-adventurer to have a wand or crystal with a ward-breaking spell. Proper dungeon delving teams usually had sweepers for both mundane traps and magical wards. Higher rank teams usually had someone who could do both since the deadliest obstacles melded the two. Still, it was odd that a copper rank adventurer who only had clearance for the easiest, most low risk dungeons to have what Kseniya had.
The lamia pulled out a rather expensive-looking implement that consisted of a glass ball mounted at the end of a short, gold-colored rod. Inside the glass ball was a trio of beautiful gems—magical catalysts. Magic catalysts could be imbued with a spell and then cast that spell upon command. Some were one-use. It took only the barest amount of mana to activate and then the catalyst did the rest. Some were multiple-use which usually required drawing on the caster’s mana as though they were casting the spell themselves.
What Kseniya had was something very special. It had multiple magical catalysts nestled together. Multi-catalyst implements were difficult to make and Brivaria, herself, only started seeing them in interventions after level 100. Charged, magical catalysts had a tendency to explode when you put too many close together. That was the reason that even experienced adventurers only carried a handful of such things if at all. Three catalysts together and fully stable was a rare thing to see up close and doubly so considering its owner. Brivaria wouldn’t have guessed Kseniya’s level to be over 50 so that made it even more surprising.
“Wards,” Kseniya said while aiming the rod at the door and running mana through it such that one catalyst glowed. She then caused another catalyst to glow and Brivaria felt something snap in the air like a taut string being cut. “No wards.” She tried the door and groaned when it didn’t turn. “Still locked though.”
“Maybe I can do something about that,” the winged girl spoke up quickly when it looked like the lamia was going to break down the door with her tail. Brivaria stepped forward and created light at the end of her finger. She used it to look through the gap between the door and the frame. She could see the bolt of metal holding the door shut. She pointed her finger at it and cast Withering Ray. The metal disintegrated and the door opened.
“Well done, perhaps we should break into a few more houses. Maybe we could get scoundrel classes at our next advancement?” Kseniya teased. Brivaria gave the gave the snake woman a look then noticed the surprise on Kseniya’s face as she no doubt noticed Brivaria’s pupils were now very similar to her own. “I will be asking about that later, you know? For now, we need to check the house. Keep the cute doggy back while I search for and deactivate wards.”
They stepped inside. Brivaria waited in the foyer with Trixie while the lamia moved around the house using her magical tool like a divining rod. Both girls were relieved to smell the stale air in the house. It was musty rather than tinged with the smell of decaying flesh. Amon passing away inside his home with no one noticing was a thing that could happen and both girls were relieved to know that wasn’t the case here. It was a small consolation to his apparent disappearance but one none-the-less.
“There are a few barrier spells on the windows to prevent people and bugs from coming inside. Everything else seems safe except for some items in the master bedroom. Look around but try not to break anything. I’m going to examine his study and work area.” Kseniya slithered further into the house while Brivaria simply walked around.
The angel fundamentally knew Arslans, Celians, and others lived in homes. The homes varied by race and location but what they all had in common was that the people had spaces dedicated to themselves. Angels had no such things and never once during her many interventions had the angel ever stepped foot in a mundane home. Being in one now was surreal.
Everywhere she looked, the angel saw signs of the man Kseniya was looking for. The furniture, the decorations, and the little items scattered around the living room of the house all silently told the angel about the missing man. She sat down in the cushioned chair next to the cold hearth. There was a small shelf with books nearby and she chose two of them.
One was a treatise on magic and the other was a history book. Brivaria opened the history book and used a light spell to read the first few pages. Zlithia was far from a tamed world or even a fully-explored one. It was enormous and while nations could make the voyage by ships to other continents it was both incredibly difficult and incredibly dangerous. A book like the one the angel held could only contain the barest fraction of the planet’s history despite the author’s best efforts. Still, it was a fascinating read for one whose experiences on Zlithia were so limited until now.
The angel was turning a page when she heard Kseniya coming down the hall. Quickly she stood up and held the two books against her chest. When the lamia found her, the angel and dog were just waiting in the mostly dark room.
“Well, find anything?” Brivaria asked. Kseniya nodded her head.
“Amon was doing experiments with the local flora and fauna. He…” Kseniya paused and looked down, “he was venturing east with the local hunters. They were helping him with his research. The last of his notes is dated months ago. He’s… probably not coming back.”
“I’m sorry,” the angel could see her friend’s pain but could do nothing about it.
“I’m going to stay here and go through his things. It’s only a matter of time before others realize this house is empty and come to loot it so I’m going to take what I can. Feel free to do the same. If we find him alive then we can always return what we borrowed. If not, better us than scavengers.” Brivaria nodded at her friend’s words. She didn’t know what to do in the situation but trusted the lamia’s judgment.
The pair looted the house for anything of value to them. Kseniya found a some things that might help her understand what Amon was looking for in the forest and a few other precious, magical items. Brivaria took the books she’d been looking at as well as a few more but little else. She’d read the adventurers handbook no fewer than twelve times. She longed for something else to read during the long nights while her Rest skill ticked away.
Brivaria thought about heading back to the inn with Trixie but decided to stay. Even if she said nothing, did nothing, the angel felt that her being in that house and there for her new friend was worthwhile. When Kseniya emerged from the missing man’s study, her friend would be waiting for her.