Their walk on the first day of their trip was nice and the dinner Blake had made was according to them better than anything others would eat on their adventures, but Blake had to disagree as he wasn’t able to find all the ingredients, but the soup he had made was good. They had settled down for the night and they had all agreed on trusting in Blake's ability, While Blake had some reservations, their rest for the night was uninterrupted, and a fresh morning dawn woke Blake up along with a growling of Block’s stomach, not that it was back, so Blake got to work making them a good breakfast, along with some sweetened Ywwan beans juice, which Blake had accidentally called coffee, which he played off as slang from Greenwood.
Claira’s reaction to the sweetened version was as much as he expected, and Jessica pointed out that if they had milk then it would be better. Their morning chatter eventually devolved to each member requesting Blake cook something specific for that night, but Blake told them he will cook one request every night so that way they could try all of them. But as they came up to the forest, they spotted a group of six people rushing out of it and down the road.
“Claira, what are they doing?” Block asked.
“I don’t know but it can’t be good.” Claira said then stepped forward.
Blake took off his pack and set it down before walking a bit forward, “I think they are running away from something.” he said as he noticed the way they seem to turn their heads every now and then.
“What do they have to run away from?” Jessica asked, her fear clear in her voice.
Claira raised her staff, and willed power into it. “I don’t know but we can help them a bit first. lose the packs and be ready.”
Block followed and dropped his large backpack while getting his ax out and stepped up next to Blake.
“Ok…” Jessica said before the sound of a slap to both cheeks rang and she stepped up to Claira after she dropped her pack. “Magic Boost, Power Boost, Holy Guardian.” she cast.
“Holy Ward, Holy Shield, Holy Blessing” Blake added a second later, gripped his Halberd tight, and shifted to be ready to intercept a charging monster.
The group from the forest got to the halfway point between the forest edge and the party when a pack of seven humanoid-sized creatures ran out after the runaways. Each one looked like a human but had horns that pulled upwards, and their skins were a few different shades of red, with whipping tails and weapons of black metal in their hands.
“Guys, what are those?” Blake asked as his teammate shuffled back, then he looked over his shoulder to them and noticed the panic and dreaded look in their eyes. “Cure condition,” he said, and each one seemed to come back. “What are those, Claira?” he roared at the woman.
“Those are called Dreaded Hunters, they are a type of demon kin, no one but a hero could fight them without a priestess or priest, you need to use magic to not get affected by their fear aura.” Claira said then turned to Jessica, “Good job on the dispelling fear.”
Jessica shook her head, “It was Blake, he used a spell I don’t know.”
“Never mind that now, there are seven of them and they are closing the gap on their prey. Can you make an ice wall and buy those guys time” Blake said as he turned back to the chase scene.
“Yeah, but they are too far away still.” Claira said, with grit teeth.
“Jessica, can you reach those adventurers, and do you have a spell to boost their speed?” Blake asked as he pulled out his sword and planted his halberd against his back foot.
Jessica started to speak after a second. “I can reach, and power boost will help but it would allow them to match the speed of the hunters, however…”
“Do it, we need to save them, we can deal with the hunters.” Claira cuts her off. Before channeling more power into her staff.
“Right ok,” Jessica says before pointing her staff at the runaways. “Power Boost” she casts.
Blake watches the gap between the demon-kin and the running party stop shrinking, leaving a ten-foot gap. Blake felt a bit of pressure as the gap closed between his party and the ongoing chase [shit if we wait for them to reach us, they may slip past and attack Claira or Jessica.] he thought and sheath his sword, before bringing the Halberd into both hands. [I can’t use Heavy Guard as they might overwhelm it quickly.] He raised the Halberd up over his right shoulder and lowered his stance to dash forward. “Guys when they get close let me take the lead, and support me, we need the melee to happen away from you two.” He said and glanced over his shoulder getting a nod from the two women. Then he turned to Block, “ I need you to stay between me and the girls, I am trusting you to get any that get past me, yeah big buddy?” he asked with an encouraging smile.
“Yeah, little buddy!” Block said back with a smile then he focused forward and narrowed his gaze while tightening his grip on his ax.
“Ok, ICE FORMS!” Claira roared and a wall about ten feet tall appeared in the middle of the gap between the runaways and the demons.
But the demons jumped before getting to the wall and ran up using the claws on their feet that Blake hadn’t noticed. But he didn’t care much as he started moving forward, coming to a stop about ten feet ahead of Block seeing the runaways rush past him, he noticed a few carrying comrades on their backs, and gripped the halberd a bit harder, watching the demons scaling the wall, and coming to a stop at the top, looking down on him before jumping down and moving forward.
“Ok, Heavy Guard!” he roared as the first reach the ground, He hopped back from the first attack and then dodged right and around a follow-up from its ally, he had to duck under a third, but caught its foot on the halberd, slamming it into the fourth attacker, then kicking the fifth as he leaned back to avoid a horizontal slash from the sixth, and finally reared up with a thrust at the last one, landing the speared point into its chest, [smite] he thought and saw the magic activate, obliterating the demon with a cry of thanks on the wind, He turned around and got ready.
The six demons left held still but saw Blake move back before a flurry of icicle shards hit them in the back, and Block closed on the rightmost demon catching it in the abdomen, Blake took the momentary shift in attention and closed on the one to his left, swinging hard.
However, the demon moved to block the halberd just in time, not that Blake was aiming to kill it as he thought [Sunder] right when the weapons connected, shattering the black metal of the demon and allowing Blake to bury his ax blade into the demon's side, but not finishing the creature as it stumbled back.
There was a lull and Blake heard one demon order its allies, saying “Waiand ywamir aneo lwau lio” (kill him then the rest)
“Bring it on, I’ll free all of you!” He roared as he closed the gap on the injured one and cut down catching the demon in the shoulder, [smite] he willed, and the magic again destroyed the creature in a flash of light with the faint words of thanks.
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Blake didn’t have much time as two of them rushed him, one was using his spear to keep Blake from attacking while the other waited with a sword for an opening to punish. He had to keep his movements to a minimum as he blocked most of the blows and dodged the ones that got past his defense, then he saw a chance, and swung it an arch, the angle calculated to seem like he was striking at the spear wielder, but with a slight pull backward in the attack it knocked the sword away, which he followed with a thrust connecting deep into the demons core [smite] he thought before hopping back and out of the attack of his ally, the sword demon had just enough time to look confused before vanishing, a after image of a human showed and thanked Blake before ascending upwards.
The spear demon roared and closed the gap, but Blake was in no mood, catching the spear in the nook between the ax and shaft, he pull the spear down before thrusting at the creature's head [smite] he thought but kept moving at the next one closest to him, [we need to end this, my magic is low as it is] he swung at the next one, the blade meeting the block of a demon carrying two short swords, [sunder] he thought and saw as one blade broke. Before hopping back as the demon moved to capitalize on the failed attack but was stopped by a shower of icicles hitting the demons, and he could see they wanted to hunt Claira, but their attention was forced back on him.
Blake used the split second to swing again as the demon turned back to him, his blade catching the creature in the neck. [Smite] he thought and move past the demons before the spell took full effect, utilizing the bright flash to get next to one carrying a scythe, going for an overhead swing the demon had just a second before the blade reached its forehead, [smite] he willed and left just a crater where the demon stood. And looked about at the battlefield for a new target, only to see Block cutting the last one down.
Walking over to Block, Blake could see that his friend was ok. Patting him on the shoulder, before walking back to the ladies, Claira looked tired, but smiled, while Jessica was casting different healing magics in rapid succession, before looking at Blake with fear in her eyes.
“Blake, I can't help him, nothing is working, I don’t know what to do.” She said as she was kneeling next to an adventurer that was badly injured, her hands were shaking, and her voice sounded panicked and fearful.
Blake walked over and looked over the body, it was a bunch of minor cuts nothing to be scared of, until he noticed the skin around the cuts grow black and keep growing. Blake kneeled down and grabbed her hand, pressing it against the man, “Dispel Magic, Dispel Curses, Greater Heal, Cure Conditions.” he cast in rapid succession.
And a bright flash of power channeled into the man, as his wounds closed and the discoloration faded, while his breathing got steady, falling into sleep before Blake looked up to the group they had rescued, and saw three more in the same condition.
“Jessica, do you think you can do my magic like I just did?” he asked, looking at her, but she shook her head. “Ok, can you lend me your magic power so I can keep casting those, I can do without, but we will need to rest sooner that way.”
“Sorry, I felt your spell, but I didn’t understand them, and your magic power is too strong, if I tried it would be like putting one drop in a bucket…” Jessica said before turning and bowing low to Blake. “Please save them!”
Her action got the rest of the runaways still able to move to bow to him too and demand he help.
Blake sucked his teeth and looked over to Claira, and Block who were watching him. Block didn’t show much more than admiration, but Claira’s expression showed she was interested in seeing him use his magic again and maybe a bit more than that. Scratching the back of his head he walked over to the nearest one and cast the spells not waiting before moving on to the next one, and the next after that then went around and used the basic heal on the rest. And walking over to his pack pulled out a snack, and sat down to munch on it, a bit of a growl as he ate.
[Fucking fuck, I'll definitely stand out now] He could hear Claira use the chance to get them to report the battle to the guild and have their reward ready, along with spreading the name of The Raven’s Wing. [Well, let's hope most of those people are part of the guild,] But Blake waved off anyone that wanted to thank him personally. [I have to lay low for a bit, odds are the kingdom is out looking for me, especially after my disappearance from the Inn, if I am lucky, they will be looking around Greenwood, but a powerful adventurer out here that came out of nowhere will still draw some heads, also the fact that I announced in the hall that I have an issue with slavery. Come on Blake, get it together.]
Jessica sat next to him after the runaways left, she let out a soft sigh, “I am sorry for putting you on the spot, but I knew you could save them, Black metal weapons are cursed, and I can’t beat those.” she said as her hand started to draw on the ground, pushing bits of dirt around, “When we met I thought you would want to show off, but at the guild you only let your score be shown for a bit of time. So, I figured that you wanted not to be noticed, so I am sorry for making you use your power here, but those three would have died.”
[I know that I don't have to be a mage to tell those cuts were fucking them up, just wished you didn't do that, or maybe if I lent you my power, no that wouldn't have worked. And I get you are a priestess, and you want to help out, and I don't like to watch people die when I know how to save them.]
Blake let out a sigh before looking up at her, and smiled “It's ok, I understand.” Blake said after standing up and offering her a hand, “I just think that if it's the guild then it should be fine. I just don’t like the king or this kingdom.” he helped her get to her feet, then looked back to Claira, “I have my reasons and secrets and I’d like to keep myself away from his eyes. If that is ok Claira.”
Claira narrowed her eyes for a second but shook her head before smiling "we aren't friends yet so that is fine, when you do want to share, we will take it as a sign that you trust us as good friends." She said with a nod.
Blake smiled then turned and picked up his bag, "Great, now let's go!" He said as he hefted his halberd high.
Being joined by the others as they kept on their march, they reached deep into the forest, Block under the guidance of Jessica set up the tent for the women, while Claira went about gathering some more firewood, and Blake started to cook, not that there is much to be made with dried meats and vegetables aside from a soup or stew, however Claira did return with some rabbits that she said she would butcher for dinner adding a bit of variety to their meal, which he appreciated, however, was a bit uncomfortable as she started watching him.
“Hm, I just realized that you were the one cooking when we first met.” Blake said in an effort to break the tension he was feeling. “Did you ever do anything else in the party?”
“Not really, I am just passable at cooking, so I want to see what you do.” She said back, sitting down next to him and looking over the sticks he had debarked and sharpened. “Are you making steaks out of sticks?”
“Yeah, Block wanted the skewers that Jackie made, so I figured I would try to replicate the recipe.” Blake said back then paused and risked a glance at Claira, and saw she was curious.
“So, who is Jackie, a friend, is he single?” Claira asked with a sly smile. “Can I meet him, is he handsome?”
“Well, if you must know, Jackie is none of your business, and no, she is not single, her status is complicated.” Blake said back and focused his effort on cooking.
“So, she is someone you know, and she made your food for the road. She must care about you, and the food was fresh, so she lives in Yari’s Yard, I guess.” Claira started to think aloud, “And the way you say her name, it sounds like the way someone might talk about a loved one, but her status is complicated, so I guess she is a childhood friend or something, right?”
“Yeah, you got it, she is a good friend, and I would ask you not to pry anymore.” Blake said quickly then threw a stick her way “Here enchant this, you're a mage, right?”
Claira sucked her teeth and picked up the discarded stick. “Yeah, I am, and no, Mages can’t enchant, only Enchanters can, or Arch-wizards.” Claira said back and started flipping the stick in her hand.
“Why, that makes no sense, it's still magic.” Blake said as he placed his four makeshift skewers over the fire.
“Well, yeah it is, but the art of enchanting is usable by Enchanters and Arch-wizards, so yeah no go for an Ice Mage like me…” Claira said then glanced at Blake who had cocked his brow. “Well if you think that all you need is magic then why don’t you do it.” she snarked back while throwing the stick back.
Blake shrugged and took the stick, and thought up the heal spell, focusing the magic into the stick. His mind summoned the image of someone tapping someone with the stick and releasing the spell. And just as the mental image of the enchantment was done the stick glowed once, and Blake let out a smile then threw it back to a dumbfounded Claira.
“There you go, one time use Heal spell, have fun.” Blake said with a cheeky tone, and he cocked his brow at her, “If you don’t believe me then test it on Block.”
Claira glared at him, then pulled out her knife, making a small cut on her finger then taps the stick to her hand and gasps as the cut is healed. She gets up and breaks the stick in her hand. “What the fuck, why can you use enchantment magic?”
Blake shrugs then gets back to cooking, “I channeled my magic, then focused on how it would be used, and it worked, I figured it is like the way someone may make anything, by envisioning it.” he said and sprinkled some salt and pepper over the skewers. “I am sure you can do it too if you focus.”
Claira looked at a different stick and held it with both hands, focused on it. And growling a bit, and grinding her teeth, as she breaks the stick in her grip. She kept going even after Block and Jessica sat down next to him and watched her keep going.
“What is she trying to do?” Jessica asked.
“Oh, she is trying to enchant those sticks.” Blake said as he handed her a bowl and one skewer, then handed Block his dinner.
“Can she do that, I thought only enchanters can enchant things.” Jessica asked as she glanced at Claira.
Blake shrugged, “I did it and I am not a real magic user.” he said while he picked up a stick and repeated the process, to the death glare of Claira, but he handed it to Jessica, “There, one-time use of heal by me.”
“What the hell Blake, tell me how you are doing that.” Claira rushed over and stared at him, a clear bit of desperation in her eyes.
“Umm, well what magic are you trying to enchant?” Blake asked and held out a stick for her.
“Ice shard, my basic attack magic.” Claira said while holding the stick loosely. “The magic keeps making the stick brittle and break.”
“Ok, how about you funnel your magic without the spell, then imagine the spell being used when you point the stick at a target and wish to use the spell, it will happen.” Blake said and watched as Claira focused after thinking over his words.
Then after a few seconds, a small flash of blue light ran through the stick, making Claira's face light up with joyful pride, and she jumped to her feet then pointed the stick at a tree, making a magic circle at the end and a few ice shards fired out the end. She turned to the group with a wide grin, Getting a few approving nods from Blake, a sigh from Jessica, and a smile of admiration from Block.
They spent that night eating and hearing Claira’s plan to make money off of one-use enchantment items, to which Blake and Jessica spent a good amount of time explaining the cons of upsetting the exchange and the structure of the magic items market. To Claira’s dismay as she had to accept the idea of this being a party secret.