----------------------------------------
Freddie
----------------------------------------
In the Adventurer’s Guild hall, a young orc and his goblin friend relax near the roaring fire. They’ve been friends for basically their entire lives, and that friendship has only grown stronger in the last year. They were two of the first to delve Thedeim, where Rhonda was able to gather some mushrooms and secure an apprenticeship with her new mentor, Old Staiven. Freddie was able to join the church and found a family that transcends mere blood.
And of course, the two gained their classes together, from another delve in Thedeim. What’s more, their classes are unique, or so rare that nobody around has ever heard of them. While Freddie might entertain the idea there are other Ice Sages out there, he doubts it. There’s no other Legionnaire Paladins out there, he’s sure of that… or at latest there weren’t. Torlon was pretty clear that the Shield itself wanted to have more paladins like Freddie, which was an intimidating thing to hear.
He’s been exploring his class and telling the Head Priest everything he can, and Torlon has mostly been encouraging him to take it slow, despite how important it seems. “Rushing will only encourage mistakes,” he’s said many times. It’s a bit frustrating to take it slow, but it’s difficult to argue the wisdom, especially with Rhonda doing exactly that.
Her Ice Sage class seems to be focused at least partially on learning, so if she can steel herself and not recklessly dive into her class, he can do the same. Besides, he’s supposed to be the front line. An impatient defender puts his charges at risk.
It’d be easier to be patient if he knew what Rhonda was actually doing, though. It’s not hard to understand why the two of them are here. They both have a day off, but are also both a bit too tired from their duties to want to go delve. The guild hall is not exactly quiet, but it is relaxing and friendly. Ever since joining, the two orphans have been welcomed into the ranks of the adventurers. Even their spiders, Fiona and Lucas, are liked by their guildmates.
Rhonda’s familiar, Lucas, is a jumping spider with gray and white coloring, short legs and large eyes. Around the guild and the town, he’s playful and curious, and Freddie is pretty sure he’s part of the reason his friend has started coming out of her shell these last few months. When on a delve, Lucas is excellent support for Rhonda, helping Rhonda weave her magic and he even keeps a small collection of magical bits to help channel the energies.
Freddie’s own spider, Fiona, is much more reserved and almost regal, despite her fearsome appearance. Her main eyes are even larger than Lucas’, and her large mandibles give her a long, severe face. Freddie can imagine her wielding a ruler and sharp tongue as she tries to teach a class of young spiders how to do something. But she’s also not above some fun, and she and Lucas often play when Freddie and Rhonda are just hanging out. On a delve, Fiona helps Freddie keep the front line, webbing foes and ensuring threats don’t get a drop on them. She’ll even step up and take one of Freddie’s shields when he manifests them, helping lend his phalanx a few extra sets of legs to push back against their foes.
He smiles as he glances up into the rafters and sees the two spiders chasing each other. Lucas likes to use his speed and maneuverability to his advantage, while Fiona plays the long game and leaves traps and snares in her wake. Still, spidery shenanigans can only keep Freddie’s attention for so long. His eyes wander to his favorite goblin in the entire world as he wonders what has her looking so pensive.
“Rhonda? You alright?” he asks, causing her to jerk to attention.
“Hmm? Oh, sorry Freddie. Just… thinking.”
“What about? I haven’t seen you this distracted in a while.”
“It’s… mostly class stuff. I’ve been thinking about how Rocky fought in the ring.”
Freddie nods at that, remembering their friendly fight with the undead scion. “He’s a lot stronger than any zombie should be, even a scion.”
“And his magic puts actual liches to shame!” exclaims Rhonda. “I know I’ve said it before, but-”
“His magic is at least as good as his footwork, I know. It feels weird to think of, but I can believe it. His punches look effortless, but hit like a landslide. He just flows from move to move. It almost makes me want to try learning how to punch, instead of using an axe.”
Rhonda nods. “That’s how his magic is, too. When I got my class, I only barely understood what he was doing. Now that I’m a little more advanced with my own magic, I still feel like I only barely understand.”
“Is that what has you staring a hole into the fireplace, then? Trying to figure out how he does it?”
Rhonda shakes her head. “No… well, not really. I mean, I am thinking about his magic, but I’ve been thinking about how he was moving it in the fight. I have the concept behind fire and ice, but I think he was trying to tell me about how they relate to kinetic.”
That earns her a raised eyebrow from her friend. “Kinetic? How is that related?”
Rhonda sighs. “I don’t know, but I feel like I should know. It’s like when Master Staiven asks me about something that I know I know, but I can’t figure out how to express it, you know?”
Freddie nods. “Like a verse I know I’ve memorized, but I just blank when quizzed on it.”
The young goblin points at him. “Yeah, that! It’s frustrating!”
He chuckles. “So, something about fire and ice makes you think about kinetic affinity? But you don’t know what?” She nods and thumps her forehead against the table. “Well, you said you understand fire and ice. What are they? I always thought they were opposites, but I see you using one to empower the other all the time.”
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
Rhonda shakes her head before picking herself back up, and Freddie doesn’t try to hide his smile as she goes into lecture mode.
“At their most basic, they’re just temperature. Fire is hot, and ice is cold.”
“So fire is just manifested heat, and ice is manifested cold?”
Rhonda shakes her head. “No, fire and ice themselves are… more side effects than the actual temperature. Make anything hot enough and it’ll burst into flames. Well, water will boil, but you get it.”
“So if you make something cold enough, it’ll burst into frost, too?”
Rhonda nods again and sighs. “There’s something else there, too, but I don’t know what.”
“Have you tried asking Old Staiven about it?” asks Freddie, thinking surely Rhonda’s master would know something. Her groan indicates otherwise.
“He says it’s something I have to figure out. I’m pretty sure he has a few ideas, but he doesn’t know how I do my magic.”
“Maybe ask one of the guild mages, then? Old Staiven is mostly meta, right? Maybe someone with fire or ice affinity can give you the hint you need?”
“But they don’t know how my magic works, either!”
“But they do know how theirs works. Maybe focusing on one will finally jog whatever’s been at the back of your mind,” he suggests, and Rhonda mulls it over.
“Maybe?” she admits. “It probably can’t hurt, at least.” She turns in her chair to look around the hall, and Freddie can see her unsteady resolve already starting to crumble as she idea of talking to a random guildmate starts to intimidate his friend.
He points at a table with a bearkin, changeling, and another goblin. “They might be good to try. I’m pretty sure they’ve been helping map out the labyrinth, and I think one of them is a fire mage.”
Rhonda still looks reluctant, so Freddie gets up, causing her to follow. He doesn’t mind starting engagements, be they social or martial. That’s his job, really. As they approach, they overhear the seated group talking.
“I’m not saying brownie isn’t good at spotting the traps. I’m saying we need someone who can actually disable them,” says the changeling, and the bearkin nods.
“He’s a fine tracker, but he can’t actually take down his prey.”
The goblin sighs. “I know, but he’s not skilled in disabling runework, at least at range. If he got close enough to disable the traps, he’d trigger them. I have a few that might be able to walk into the traps to set them off, but they’re all contracted for combat, not traps. Tripping over a couple in a battle is one thing, but they won’t stand being used just to trigger traps.”
The changeling starts to reply, but notices the two approaching. “Oh hey. Uh… Frankie, right?”
“Freddie,” he corrects politely. “If you could, sir, my friend Rhonda wanted to ask you about fire magic? She has the affinity, but is having some trouble with it.”
The changeling considers the two before shrugging. “Sure, I’ll try to help some. We’ve been mostly arguing in circles anyway. A break would be nice.”
The bearkin scoots down the bench a bit, giving the kids room to join them at the table, and introduces himself. “I’m Wold. He’s Vieds, and he’s Gerlfi.” The bearkin points out his friends as he names them.
Freddie nods in greeting to them, and Rhonda gives a little curtsy before sitting across from the changeling, and they start to chat, leaving Freddie with the other two.
“So… you guys are having some troubles with the labyrinth?”
The goblin sighs as the bearkin chuckles. “Yeah, we’re having problems dealing with the traps there. They’re not deadly, but clients really want to get deeper. The traps are keeping everyone out so far.”
Freddie glances over to his friend. “Well, Rhonda might be able to help with the magical ones, at least. Her master is Old Staiven, and he’s been sure to teach her some runework.”
“Yeah?” asks the goblin, looking interested. “We’re able to find the magical ones, but haven’t been able to disable them. There’s also mechanical ones, which we’ve been having some troubles finding and disabling.”
Freddie glances up at the spiders playing in the rafters. “Fiona and Lucas might be able to help with that, too. Fiona has great eyesight. I don’t know if she’ll be able to fully disable any mechanical traps, but she should be able to guide around them?”
Wold’s eyes follow Freddie's, and he rumbles in amusement. “A wizard needs a familiar, but I don’t think I’ve seen a paladin with one before.”
Freddie looks a bit bashful at that. “Yeah, it… was a bit of a thing, but we’re inseparable now. She’s a valuable companion to me, like Lucas is to Rhonda.” The bearkin nods in approval as Gerlfi speaks up.
“It sounds to me like your group might have just the skillset we need to get deeper. Hey Vieds. Making any progress?” The goblin pauses for a moment before raising his voice slightly. “Vieds?”
“Hmm? Oh, sorry. We were talking about her affinities, and it’s no wonder she’s having trouble with fire. Her innate was ice, and she got fire because of her class.”
Gerlfi just nods at that and returns his focus to Freddie. “Perhaps we can strike a deal, then? Vieds will help her with her fire affinity, and your group will help us with the traps in the labyrinth.”
Freddie considers that, noting that Rhonda looks receptive to it, so she must be already getting some understanding from the pyromancer. “Add a share of the rewards and loot, and it’s a deal.”
The goblin smiles wide at that. “Perfect! I take it you two won’t mind participating in the fights, then?”
Freddie nods. “We’re pretty good in a fight. Oh, there might be a third, too. Larrez delves with us when he has a chance to, between his duties as a guard.”
Gerlfi waves that off. “That’s no problem. He won't get any shares for the delves he doesn’t go on, but I don’t see any problem with sharing the spoils when he does.” He looks to his companions to see if they have any problems with the proposed bargain, and they both seem fine with it. “We’ll be heading out at dawn tomorrow for our next attempt. We’re also going to not be bringing any miners along. The place is tricky enough that I’d like to get a bit more familiar before trying to escort another batch deeper in.”
Rhonda nods at that. “I’ll let Master Staiven know. He’ll probably want me to gather as many herbs as I can in there. People have already been requesting fire resist potions, and he should have enough stock of everything else for me to take a trip into Thedeim.”
“I’ll make sure Torlon doesn’t have anything planned for my own training tomorrow, too. I’ll come back and let you know if I can’t make it. Otherwise… I’ll see you at dawn?”
The older adventurers nod and handshakes are exchanged before Freddie and Rhonda take their leave of the table, and once they gather their spiders, leave of the guild hall, too.
“Are you looking forward to tomorrow?” asks Freddie, and Rhonda nods.
“Definitely. It’s easy to see Vieds is very experienced with fire. Even if he can’t help me with my affinity breakthrough, he’ll help me with my fire. I really have been doing basic things with it so far. I’m a lot more used to ice.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to it, too. My training lately has been more mental, so it’ll be nice to get physical again. I’ll swing by the mayor’s manor on the way home and see if Larrez will be available tomorrow, too. See you in the morning?”
Rhonda nods and Lucas waves. “See you in the morning, Freddie!”