Pan stared up at the cloudless sky, trying to remain composed; a terrible day for rain indeed. As curious as I was for what their parting words to each other would be, I managed to restrain myself. There was a time when I thought the curse of knowledge didn’t apply to me, however it seemed my judgement took a turn for the worse after arriving in Derriad. Not wanting to accidentally reveal my eavesdropping had been a pragmatic enough reason to step away, although in the end I would just make assumptions with prior knowledge.
Well, I needed to try kicking those habits. Indiscretions and letting loose were good and all, but the journey proper was about to start. Tagalong Girl should have an admirable role model, and punch clock heroes weren’t exactly what I had in mind.
Sitting among my stones, I thought back over the many weeks I spent there. At least, I made an attempt to reflect. I had a great time in the starter village and would truly be sad to see it go. Yet for all my prior ditherings musing about the time I had, now that the time to depart arrived, I couldn’t properly concentrate on giving thanks.
The little place was the smallest of the small. An incomprehensibly large world waited out there. More than the need to reminisce about the past that made me happy, I looked forward to the infinite future. Dazedly, I stared out over the stream and those who walked along the long banks. Perhaps looking at me one might think I really was reminiscing, but my mind was elsewhere. Approximately one kilometer north, actually.
Desperately working to control my minnies to their fullest extent, even getting the vaguest gist of a task that far out was trying. While I could leave a standing order to remain a point relative to my position, that left no room for reactivity. What if the shadows ran into an opponent or rough terrain? I already couldn’t receive feedback, being able to deliver orders with finesse based on my own intuition was the only way to deal situations as they arose.That alone wouldn’t cover as much as I needed, but as it was all I had currently, it would be pushed to its limits.
The spiritual connection between myself and the undead diminished with distance, and mentally relaying commands—without even a facade of common sense—contained a directional component as well. Meaning I slowly turned while sitting atop the rocks to evenly develop the power. Oh, and the time it took to increase a certain ‘band’ of ability seemed to rise exponentially. Luckily, my ability to mentally cover an area increased at a slightly lower exponential curve, so it evened out, only confusing me as to why that happened.
Excitably preparing to set off, the villagers began reeling in their last few catches before shifting to their shady afternoon spots. Even if the weather had cooled down, it had yet to reach the point that would affect the daily routine. In my head I waved goodbye to Ralph, who was already a speck in the distance before moving further downstream.
The tales of OGP will be missed, and provide great reference to life as an adventurer.
Some still experiencing fatigue from the day before, the children were mostly found broken down into their various possies and playing near the brook. Keeping a few feet back from the actual ledge, I realized that they were taking proper precaution against the serpent eels.
Rion and Ronnie would probably still be in the village when we returned, so I looked forward to seeing those two grown up one day.
“*So long, farewell, auf wiedersehen at noon; I’m glad to go, but I will come back soon.*” Beginning to sing softly top myself, I skipped on over to the dilapidated house that I made mine. Making sure to clear out anything too dangerous, I felt a bit sad that not everything would fit in Inventory. The light malaise reminded me to pick up the winter gear that Pan arranged for us, so I quickly headed over to the storehouse.
After easily locating the two large bags designated for our use, I smacked my head with a thwack. Of course I needed to dump a few things out of Inventory now before being able to fit them in.
As a spontaneous traveler good at eking out what I needed after forgetting it, my meticulous packing usually felt much more difficult than it ought—probably creating a vicious cycle. I tried imagining it as Tagalong Girl and Ria’s character creation moment, which was when I happened to be most thorough with planning out supplies.
Trying to get a hold of all the things throughout my Inventory, there was an almost inconceivable amount of bone bloat, however removing any category would result in an inexplicable mountain. Technically it wouldn’t be inexplicable, but I sure didn’t want anybody explicitating it to the Church.
Instead, amongst various gewgaws, I simply removed and wore my haramaki. It made me feel quite hot, especially around the center, but it was an easily tolerated inconvenience.
Now having an open slot, I heaved one of the packs into my extradimensional storage.
Success! Inventory decided not to be a pain for once!
Even so, I had my suspicions that the exploit had limitations. Removing the sword that belonged to the Poran, after trying to stuff the second bag into my Inventory I had confirmation.
Despite being close in build, the two did not stack. I thought perhaps if their contents were more similar then they might only occupy a single slot, but I was already wasting too much time having forgotten them.
Doubling back to pick up Ria for real, I double checked our necessities list. For food we had fish and chikans. So many chikans. Chikans for days. Maybe even a few months. More variety would be good, but we were solid on that front. Water looked a bit more challenging, but the area wasn’t exactly arid. Streams cropped frequently, and magic could be used to purify it. There was also the chance precipitation would be sufficient, given it was the rainy season.
Bringing me to consider shelter. What I considered to be one of the least important needs, I doubted Tagalong Girl and Ria shared my opinion. There were plenty of clothes and blankets to keep warm in dry conditions. When it began to rain or snow, things would be different. The village lacked even a large piece of canvas to pilfer for use as a tarp. There wasn’t much reason for them to randomly have a large piece of canvas, so it didn’t frustrate me.
It seemed our first goal as a team would be acquiring a tent.
At least it wasn’t rat tails.
Ria and Tagalong Girl could probably hold out until then, especially with the assistance of magic. It also happened to be a good excuse to cut through the forest, so I didn’t have to worry about the road suddenly peeling away to reveal a spectral horde.
Hygenie could be taken care of by the Great and Powerful Lord
Unable to identify any more problems that could be solved with Salt Village’s available resources, it was finally time to head to the forest and wait for Tagalong Girl. Activating all my senses for a comprehensive analysis of the surroundings, I searched for those nearby. There was a slight problem being unable to figure out anything other than their position—I couldn’t tell what way they were looking or planned to go, it was radar, not mind reading. Since I wasn’t a suspicious character, I had some leeway in being seen, especially at a distance; I just needed to make sure I timed my exit right so that any villagers that spotted me wouldn’t be able to make out Ria.
Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.
Wanting to get to the position before Tagalong Girl, I should have considered we were using the same time frame as our opportunity to meet up. Perhaps if I hurried I would get there early, but if I didn’t, well, so it goes.
Rolling Ria into a burrito inside her cover to keep her limbs from dangling about,Waiting for the right moment, several villagers headed inside. Letting a second pass to see if they doubled back for something they forgot, I then rushed on out. Carried in front of me to block view of her with my back, Ria also felt quite light so I could make haste. However the occasional jostle seemed to begin stirring her from her slumber.
After being knocked out when the mana fed to her expired, there was a tendency to continue sleeping for some time. Sleeping for an hour or two since talking with Pan, she was on the verge of waking up naturally. It wouldn’t be as energetic as when powered by mana, but if Ria woke up, she would probably be able to make a scene. Picking up the pace as gently as I could, we smoothly sprinted into the forest.
Reaching the trees, slumber lass seemed content to remain unconscious for a short while longer—the broad trees making for a good place to prop her up. Stabilizing her with one of the packs, I then summoned
Her arrival came later than expected under the burden of an unwieldy roll of clothes. They weren’t so numerous as to be heavy, even relatively speaking, but her small arms were unable to easily encompass the mass of cloth. After she got a bit closer, two
“Good to see you here *Tagalong Girl*. Why don’t you go look over Ria while I repackage all of this? You brought quite a mess with you.” For some reason I thought Tagalong Girl would have had the presence of mind to properly bundle up her things. Well, it wouldn’t be too troublesome.
“What do you mean by look over her?” She hesitantly stepped forward after being relieved of the clothes.
“You know, make sure she doesn’t fall over and knock her noggin. If she wakes up, let her know she hasn’t been left in the wilderness. Nothing major, just keep her from panicking, that’s all.” Shrugging, I began packing Tagalong Girl’s clothes into the other backpack. I didn’t really know how I wanted her to interpret the last task either. Primarily, it would be good if she interacted with Ria more and got comfortable around her.
Not rushing with my task, I watched the two of them out of the corner of my eye. The younger girl cautiously stepped towards the older, pausing about a meter away. At a loss as to what to do, she looked towards me, but I already averted my gaze. Looking back up to Tagalong Girl after a moment, she currently sat, predicting my putzing about would take too long to warrant standing. In an askew, cross-legged position, she wore a complicated expression with her muscles taut, ready to spring up at any time.
Curious to see how long she would remain on guard, her attention focused solely on Ria. Instead of alerting her to the completion of my task, I simply moved on to further gauge the steed provided by mount. Lacking the proper material for a saddle, a chance to macgyver something up still remained. The most important point of order for the saddle was to keep Ria on without my presence.
After a bit of thinking, I came up with a few clever ideas, but lacked the necessary materials as predicted. So to burn time and get Tagalong Girl to sit by Ria a little longer I took out a length of cord and began measuring the horse’s flanks, hopping around its sides pretending to work.
Dithering about, Tagalong Girl shifted into a more relaxed position. Unable to remain physically ready for a long period, her eyes still locked on to Ria. Letting out a sigh, the fact only a meter separated them counted as kiddy steps of progress.
“Alright, that’s enough of that. We’ll actually head out now.” Though standing up energetically in response, Tagalong Girl did not say anything in response. “No ‘hip hip hooray’ or *the time is now*? Well, I suppose you never really knew what you were doing and don’t know what to anticipate.” Prodding her a bit, her lips twitched at the jibe. I wanted her to recognize she could express herself freely; for the moment being amused at childish pride was all I got.
Throwing the packs back into Inventory, Ria began to stir as I placed her atop the horse. Beckoning to Tagalong Girl, hesitancy appeared. Of course it wasn’t from suddenly deciding the village was her home, or she truly cared for Rion, or coming to terms with the fact adventuring life might not be for her.
“We’re both riding?” Tagalong Girl nervously looked towards Ria, but still came forward. I wondered whether it was obedience or trust that encouraged her.
“All three of us actually. This is a magical *equine*, made manifest from mana, not a mere mortal mare.” Taking another look at the slightly ethereal horse, as a magical construct I wasn’t sure if it actually had a gender, but I felt proud of myself anyway. Tagalong Girl didn’t understand my glee, considering the phrase wasn’t alliterative in Derrish, but I thought it was fun and that was enough of a reason to say such a silly sentence. “Remember, even if you are only traveling for the sake of it, there’s no point in being needlessly slow.”
Picking her up, I placed her near the rear of the horse between hopping in between the two. Hopefully Tagalong Girl would become more comfortable around Ria, and after learning to ride, I could just walk alongside them. The lone stranger coming into town atop a steed, shrouded by a fluttering cape presented a cool image—being in the middle seat was much less so.
“It can definitely carry three people, but as you and Ria aren’t familiar, let’s start off taking it easy. Work on balancing and following the rhythm.”
Trotting through the forest, I steered us close to the edges, but still well within the tree line. Moving in an erratic and wavy pattern, we brushed past trunks while adjusting how to handle the horse during turns. Naturally expectations had to be lowered, much like Tagalong Girl and her bundle of clothes, even if
Which may have been for the better—despite gently winding among the trunks at a calm pace, Tagalong Girl found herself slipping side to side frequently. She lacked balance...her inner muscles were weak.
I put undulation on our training regime.
I may have technically been a hobo, but I wasn’t about to kick her off the horse and force her to start training before we even left. Besides, it wasn’t like I had no emotions. No need to wholeheartedly devote ourselves to such mediocre roles.
“Hold on to me if you start to slip while turning. You can try to do things yourself, but it will be more of a pain if you fall off. I’ve got my own hands full keeping Ria on.” I could always cast
Without a saddle, keeping Ria balanced did occupy most of my body. Rolling with the horse was the easiest way to stay on without any aids, and she couldn’t exactly do that. Leaving her to just jostle about would leave sores over the course of the journey as well. Inspired by hiking backpacks, I used my arms as a hip and chest strap—basically just carrying her while on the horse.
Normally this shouldn’t have been the best solution to the problem, but given my ridiculous strength, endurance, and the discrepancy between our sizes, it managed to work. Even if something wouldn’t be successful in most cases, that’s no reason not to think of it when it will. Novel ideas may only have niche uses, but they fill them rather well. The task may have occupied me, but it resulted in the three of us traveled in comfort, much like how one traveled on an old airplane. Too close to others, but moderately at ease for the speed.
After a bit of calibration with our travel settings, we finally stopped meandering about and set our sights on leaving. Ceasing to dither, we headed northeast through the woods. Time to cross the stream.
Rushing water overcame the rustling of wind and faint bird calls. I could feel Tagalong Girl shifting behind me, looking around.
“We haven’t gone anywhere yet, have we?” A complaint accidentally escaped.
“The stream bends east upstream.” Mostly I wanted us to get used to riding the horse before actually setting off. No reason in particular why I wanted that, maybe because it was reminiscent of a tutorial before the actual game began.
As the stream was several meters wide, jumping over it with all three of us on
“I’ll get off first. Stay on and practice your balance a bit before dismounting.” Waiting for Tagalong Girl to prepare herself, I then hopped off. Even with Ria, doing so had all the difficulty of getting off a scooter. For Tagalong Girl’s short stature, it was more like leaping off a fleshy cliff. Gently setting Ria down, I waited.
Slightly biting her lip, She planned more than feared. Planning is good, even if it can take too long, so I didn’t rush her. Eventually, Tagalong Girl chose the safe route, lying down on her stomach before sliding off. A good show for someone who’d never ridden a horse before, if unexciting. Well, we could do that part in a moment.
“How are we crossing? It looks dangerous here.”
True, serpent eels aside, other than the ford in the village, the meander got quite deep in many places. Stepping stones were usually the result of human activity—only solitary mossy stone struggled to peek above the water’s flow.
“Oh, we’ll just step over.” Grinning, I whistled, signalling
“...” To my joy, Tagalong Girl seemed to manage to respond with complete silence.
“Well come on then. Would you like to be carried in my arms or on my back?” Stunned for a moment, she gave me a disbelieving look, which I could only return a smile to. Reluctantly, she moved behind me and I knelt down for her to climb on. Moving back a couple steps, I hiked her up a bit before starting. “Keep your teeth together, and have a tight grip on my neck. Just be sure to let go when we’ve landed.” Her arms tightened, but fatigue could take over breathing for a while. With a short running start, I sprinted forwards and leapt high over the rippling waters. Tagalong Girl tensed up from takeoff, but either had the presence of mind, or was too scared to open her mouth to shout.
Possibly due to
With a hop skip and jump, crossing, picking up, and hopping back over again, the weight hardly slowed me down at all. Though it may have been easy, despite my graceful leaps, it was not the gentlest way to travel.
“Wh-what?” Her words and actions dampened and slurred, Ria woke a few moments after landing, weakly starting to look around.
What timing.
“Alea iacta est.”