"Oh. I am so excited for today." Elaine exclaimed, bouncing slightly with excitement as she spoke with her family maid, Gertrude, who was helping to put on her armor.
Gertrude was an older woman in her late fifties, her skin weathered and freckled from years of serving the Autumnbow household. She had greying black hair that was always pulled up into a tight bun on top of her head. Her face was round and kind, with deep laugh lines around her mouth and eyes giving her a gentle and approachable presence. She was always dressed in a simple black dress with a white trim, topped off with a laced white apron to keep it clean and pristine.
"Calm yourself lady Elaine, you will wriggle out of your armor at this rate." Gertrude scolded while struggling to get the armor fitted right.
"Sorry, Gertrude." the young girl apologized, coming to a standstill so the maid could fit the armor properly.
With Gertrude's help, Elaine had finally managed to equip her gear, an Autumnbow family signature leather armor set with light metal plates protecting her vitals with a pair of daggers holstered at the back, behind the waist.
"My, my lady Elaine, you've grown so much." Gertrude reminisced as she looked proudly at the young girl putting the final adjustments to her armor and weaponry.
"And still growing Gertrude, don't forget" Elaine reminded the maid that she was still young with a cheeky grin.
"That too." Gertrude conceded to her young charge, a smile creeping on her lips as well.
Elaine smiled and bent down to hug the older maid. "You're the best Gertrude, I will really miss you when I set off."
"As will I young miss," Gertrude responded, returning the hug warmly.
Just at that moment Elaine’s father, Lord Edmund Autumnbow walked in, he was a tall well-built man in his late forties. He had deep red hair, the same shade as his daughter, pulled into a short braid that stopped just above his neck. His facial features were strong, with a sharp nose and jawline and a thin chiseled beard on his chin. He was dressed in an expensive-looking crimson suit with golden trims and accents. His eyes were a warm emerald green that despite his hard exterior, showed the warmth of his heart.
"Elaine, you look ready." he complimented his daughter as he stepped in, noticing the maid and his daughter hugging.
"Father!" Elaine smiled and pulled away from the maid, quickly making her way to the tall well-built nobleman who she jumped on in an excited embrace.
Lord Edmund caught his daughter and spun her around in his arms before setting her down and giving her a warm smile.
"You've certainly gotten heavier, Elaine," he joked.
"Father! You know you shouldn't joke about a woman's weight." Elaine pouted jokingly.
"Alright Alright, just joking darling." the nobleman apologized to his daughter, raising his hands in surrender.
"We must get going, the carriage will be taking off shortly." he continued, turning to look out the window, the carriage could already be seen pulling out through the estate gates.
"Yes of course Father, let's get going." Elaine smiled and made her way towards the door, stopping to give the maid one last hug, this time picking her up and spinning the poor maid around.
"Young miss!" The maid let out a surprised yelp of protest which was quickly followed by laughter as the young girl put her down.
"You've gotten too strong Elaine." Gertrude let out amusedly and patted the young girl down a bit.
"And you've gotten lighter Gertrude." Elaine playfully retorted.
"Off with you now missy," Gertrude responded, waving the young lady off.
Lord Edmund observed the exchange between the two and smiled warmly as Elaine made her way towards him. Elaine grasped her father’s hand as he led her down the stairs. As they made their way down they spotted a lovely tall woman with flowing auburn hair just like Elaine’s waiting by the door, dressed in a beautiful crimson dress with golden trims to match her husband.
"Mother!" Elaine rushed to hug her mother in a tight embrace, Edmund following close behind her.
"I'm going to miss you, Elaine." Evelyn returned the hug.
"Me too Mother," Elaine said as she tightened her embrace.
"Don't go breaking your mother's bones dear." Edmund joked as he watched the two most precious things in the world.
"Don't be silly dear." Evelyn smiled as she patted Elaines' back signaling the young girl to release her grip.
"I know. I'm sorry but I'm just so excited."
"I understand dear, just please be careful. Enrolling in the academy would have been so much safer, it pains me to let you leave on your own like this." Evelyn pleaded to her daughter worriedly.
"My dear wife, the Autumnbow family has never enrolled their children in Whaints Magical Academy, Elaine is no exception to this, besides, her combat skills are far beyond what those wimpy school kids can handle." Edmund stepped in calming his concerned wife.
"Yes, but you're putting so much on her shoulders." Evelyn sighed as she brushed a stray strand of her daughter's beautiful auburn hair from her face.
"Also you're talking to one of those wimpy school kids." Evelyn retorted back, giving Edmund a side glance.
Edmund laughed sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "Yes dear."
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"Mother, don't worry, I've been training my whole life for this." Elaine smiled trying to reassure her mother.
"Yes, that is true dear," Evelyn admitted, caressing her daughter's cheek softly.
"Father completed his journey without a scratch, and so will I, Mother." Elaine continued, looking over at her father with pride in her emerald green eyes.
"That I did my dear." Edmund agreed with his daughter, puffing out his chest proudly.
"That you did, Edmund. I know you're both right, but I just worry." Evelyn sighed, smiling as she looked at her husband and daughter.
"You have every right to, dear, but you can trust that Elaine is ready, we’ve made sure of it," Edmund reassured his wife, placing his hand on his daughter's shoulder proudly.
"Of course I trust her, of course I do." Evelyn conceded and hugged Elaine again tightly, feeling the warmth of her daughter.
"My darling, please be careful. Remember to eat enough and take care of yourself. Come back home safe." Evelyn pleaded.
"I will, Mother, don't worry so much." Elaine smiled warmly enjoying the warmth and softness of her mother's body as she returned the hug.
"I'm off Mother," Elaine said as she stepped into the carriage, bag in hand, waving at her parents as the carriage started moving off.
"Bye, dear." Evelyn and Edmund waved back, standing by the doorway until the carriage pulled out through the large Autumnbow family estate gates.
Behind Evelyn and Edmund were the family maids and servants bidding the young master farewell. Gertrude stood among them with tears in her eyes as she waved at Elaine, the young girl returning the kind gesture.
The Autumnbow family mansion grew smaller and smaller behind the carriage, while in front lay the great beyond, the start of her journey. Her only company now was the coachman, his horse, and the trees darting by the window. She gazed at the scenery, the horse-drawn carriage speeding past the trees and shrubbery that lined the dirt path, the lush greenery all around, the autumn breeze rustling the leaves. She looked over at the mountains in the distance and let her thoughts drift.
"I can't wait to see the world" Elaine muttered to herself excitedly, her eyes sparkling as she continued gazing outside.
The horse's neighing brought Elaine back from her daydream. The carriage slowly drew to a halt as the horse came to a stop.
What's going on? Elaine thought, confused.
She stuck her head out the window to find a pack of goblins gathered on the road ahead of them.
"Oh great, how typical," she rolled her eyes.
Stepping out of the carriage she watched as the coachman tried to calm the horse down.
"Let me handle this. A small pack of goblins is child's play really." She reassured the old coachman as she patted the horse in an attempt to calm the spooked animal.
Moving closer to the pack of goblins occupying the road she began to observe them: a dozen or so goblins, their small green humanoid bodies covered by long dirty brown clothing with dirt caking their small hairless faces. They laughed and danced at what looked like their latest victim: a poor horned rabbit that had its head smashed in, its normally brown fur now dyed a vibrant red from the pool of blood in which it lay. The goblins equipped with their wooden clubs continued to dance around the corpse singing a song in their goblin tongue completely oblivious of their surroundings.
11 goblins all huddled up in a circle, should be easy pickings, Elaine smiled as she crouched low in an attempt to minimize her form. A feat tough given her height.
‘Chameleon Cloak’, she said in her mind.
Mana started seeping out of every pore from Elaine's body, coating it. The energy then began to take a shade similar to her immediate surroundings. It mimicked the colors, textures, and patterns of her environment leaving her nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Elaine climbed up one of the many trees darting the side of the dirt road taking extra care not to make her presence known. She perched herself on one of its branches giving her a clear view of the goblins below. She extended her left hand, palm open before casting 'Conjure: Bow' shouting the words clearly in her head. Energy seeped out of her body again, this time only from her left palm, before slowly morphing and molding into a perfect bow, fitted just right to her liking and size. The bow blended in with its surroundings with a woodgrain pattern similar to the tree she perched on.
Elaine pulled back on the bowstring, her biceps, back, and shoulder muscles bulging under her leather armor working in tandem with one another. An arrow formed in front of her fingers, blending in with her surroundings as well, perfectly fitting the nock at the end of the bowstring. She took careful aim at the goblin pack, particularly the furthest one from her. The string was released, and the arrow soared through the air. The moment it left Elaine's immediate surroundings the arrow became visible, the effects of ‘Chameleon Cloak’ becoming undone, but this wasn't enough to compromise the attack. The arrow zipped past the goblin circle leaving them none the wiser as the arrow found its target sinking into the goblin's forehead.
Bullseye! she thought to herself, clenching her fist.
The goblin fell to the ground with a thud, the conjured arrow disappeared leaving a hole visible to all as a small trickle of blood poured down its face. The other goblins stopped their joyous celebration turning to face their fallen comrade. A look of perplexity and confusion was written on their small grotesque faces with some even cocking their head in an attempt to process what had just transpired. The closest goblin inched forward and poked the unmoving body with its club unsure about what happened to its friend.
Thud.
The goblins turned towards the source of the noise only to find another goblin on the floor, blood oozing out of a hole at the back of its head. With a panicked scream, a frenzy ensued. The remaining eleven goblins scrambled about as they began looking around trying to spot their enemies. For some, fear was painted over their faces, the rest with rage. Clubs at the ready, they twitched and trembled, their heads darting about scanning for anything suspicious in hopes of spotting their mysterious attackers.
Thud.
They turned around to find another one of their compatriots on the ground. With another panicked scream from one of them, the remaining goblins rushed off in different directions in a blind panic. Some were in a rage swinging their clubs in the air, others throwing caution and clubs to the wind, sprinting as quickly as their short little legs could take them, running like a headless chicken.
Thud. Thud. Thud.
More bodies hit the floor one after another, each one with a hole in their head. With each successive thud, the enraged goblins screeched louder while the frightened and scared ones screamed louder. More and more of them fell, as panic, fear, and chaos consumed the goblin pack. Then, silence.
The last remaining goblin stood rooted to the ground shaking in place and hugging its club. Tearful eyes darted around looking at the corpses of its kind, a soiled loincloth eliminated whatever pride it still had left. It whimpered and got on its knees as if begging to be spared before its head touched the floor. Not as a form of prostration, but simply because like the other goblins, its short meaningless life had been snuffed out.
Easy pickings, Elaine thought as she smugly grinned.
The bow in her hand vanished as she became visible again. She jumped down from the tree with a soft thud before stretching her muscles and making her way over to the goblins' corpses. She stooped over, hands on her knees as she checked their bodies for any valuables.
"Tch, nothing useful," She clicked her tongue, "I expected as much."
She walked back to the carriage, the coachman stood next to his horse mouth agape.
"Y-y-you took care of that goblin pack so easily," He stammered out, "I knew the children of the Autumnbow family were impressive but to witness this first hand. It's astounding."
"You mean those weak goblins? Please," She says shaking her head, "Piece of cake for the likes of me. Shall we get going, then?."
With that, the carriage picked up where it left off and Elaine Autumnbow resumed her journey. Her destination? The town of Wintrell, the closest town to the Autumnbow estate with an adventurer's guild. Her goal? Registration.