Chapter 53
The next day Jay awoke to thunder and lightning. The world outside his front door was a sheet of rain, almost impossible to see through. It was a real torrential downpour. Jay could make out the storm through his windows and the thunder felt like it shook the floorboards.
Jay got dressed quietly in the semi-darkness and pulled on his cargo pants and fitted linen shirt. It was at that point that Jay realized he did not own a raincoat. Or an umbrella. Even a waxed sheet of leather would have been better than nothing.
At least his backpack was waterproof. At least it felt like it should be waterproof. He'd find out shortly. Jay took the backpack in his hands and concentrated on it for a moment as he inspected it. Without meaning to he activated a dialog box by accident due to his concentration.
Caution: While this backpack supports the Traveler's Inventory system and can work with it to improve your storage ability you have been using the backpack in its standard non-Traveler configuration. You have been manually placing in and removing items from the bag. At any time you may change over to the Traveler's system. Would you like to do so now? Y/N popped up in a clear blue dialog box in front of him.
Jay remembered reading something along those lines when he had first picked up the bag. Afterwards he had forgotten about it and went back to treating the bag as just a bag. Mentally he selected Yes.
Initializing.. read another dialog box that replaced the first one before disappearing as well.
A new display opened up before Jay. It was like a dialog box only it was divided in to a grid of fifteen squares, five across and three down. Each square was either empty or held an item. His bag already held various items. His Figurine, his Toy Chest of Class Choices, his Streamer Ball, his writing kit, along with a few other things. Each item occupied a single slot. There were plenty of empty slots still.
Jay did some quick mental math and it became quickly obvious that the bag stored more things than there was actual room for inside of it. If he could stack items the bag could prove very useful. That was if he could remember to continue to use the Traveler's Inventory system instead of manually putting items in and out of the bag. He made a decision to be more aware of how he used it in the future.
Jay struggled with the straps but eventually managed to arrange the backpack and its various straps properly. The backpack actually had a flip out flap that covered the top of the backpack when it was worn in rain. It would redirect any rain away from the backpack's opening.
Jay worried about his Mighty Book getting wet. Would it damage it? It was a magical item, he didn't think that a little water would do it any harm, but there wasn't a little water outside at the moment – there was a LOT of water. Jay grabbed his only cloak and threw that on as well, forcing him to rearrange his backpack. He grabbed a few more things and hooked his staff to his backpack.
Finally satisfied Jay put up his hood and opened the front door. A violent crash sounded as thunder boomed and lightning lit up the darkened sky for but a moment before returning to its dark grey color.
Jay stepped out in to the rain and immediately turned on his Tropical Island Aura. It wouldn't keep him dry in rain like this but it would speed up his drying out time considerably when he reached the dining hall. The rain soaked through his clothing almost immediately and Jay grimaced at the feeling of soaked clothing sticking to his skin with freezing cold water.
Jay walked resolutely to the dining hall. He didn't run or jog, he just calmly walked. His secret was knowing that he would dry out completely fine once he got inside in thirty seconds. Jay plodded along the puddle strewn ground and nodded as he passed others. Most of them were much better dressed for the rain and had either an umbrella of some type or rain gear, whether it be a rain jacket or a waxed leather cloak.
Finally Jay made it in to the line for the dining hall. He was forced to stand in the rain for a few minutes before it was his turn to enter and he sighed in relief as the building's doors closed behind him and the sound of torrential rain receded in to the background.
The room was well heated and the warm dryness of the air was a welcome reprieve from the rainstorm raging just outside. Magic was obviously at work as well as Jay could tell that the room had almost no humidity to speak of even with an untold number of dripping wet diners. A hot breeze from the ceiling helped dry everyone off. As helpful as all of that was though people were still uncomfortably damp.
Jay's Aura had been active since he left his room. It was only now that he was indoors that it had a chance to truly work however.
Five seconds. He could feel himself tingling. He looked about for Aiden and M'redith. Ten seconds. He located Aiden and M'redith sitting at a table in the corner,both looking abjectly miserable. They were dripping wet creating a small puddle on the floor. Everyone was dripping water though, it wasn't just them.
Fifteen seconds. Jay reached the head of the line and got a tray and then filled it with crispy hot bacon, piping hot hashed brown potatoes, and a steaming three egg omelet with feta cheese. Twenty seconds. He picked out a glass of grapefruit juice from the medley of available flavors. He took four slices of buttered toast and placed them on his tray as well.
Twenty-five seconds. Jay walked over to his friends at their table and sat down. Thirty seconds. M'redith reached over to touch his arm and visibly startled, “What the hell?” she asked.
Jay looked confused. “What's wrong?” he asked.
“You're DRY you jerk!” she said accusingly and cuddled up next to him. “Do me!! I hate sitting in wet clothing!” she whispered aggressively.
Aiden laughed. “Fine. Do her first. But then me? Please?” he begged pathetically.
Jay grinned, “We're just going to get wet all over again when we leave you know.”
Jay hadn't turned off his Aura yet and so M'redith curled up beside him as she waited out the thirty seconds. Finally she let out a deep sigh. “You have no idea how wonderful that ability is Jay.” she said with a satisfied smile.
Jay laughed as she moved away from him and Aiden shifted his chair closer to him. “I mean, it's a great way to make friends.”
Aiden let out a bark of laughter. “Right. Hey stranger, give me a hug and I'll dry you off AND clean you! It's a hell of an offer as far as new friends go.”
Jay chuckled, “I mean we'd definitely have to work on the phrasing a bit.”
M'redith smiled, in good if not excellent spirits once she had dried off. “I'm not sure I'm entirely on board with you giving out free hugs to strangers,” she said playfully. She couldn't work up anything but a satisfied smile – she was very happy at that moment.
Aiden laughed, “Is it the free part that bothers you or the hug part?”
Jay laughed with wide eyes as M'redith reached over and playfully swatted Aiden on the shoulder.
Jay settled down a bit, “Don't worry. I've no intentions on hugging anyone but you M'redith.” Jay turned to look at Aiden critically. “And maybe you Aiden. Still making up my mind on that one.”
Aiden looked downcast as it was M'redith's turn to laugh. “Ha! You would be lost without me you know.” Aiden said confidently.
“You're not entirely wrong there. You've been a huge help. Ok fine, you get hugs too.” Jay said with a grin.
The group had all dried out by then and swapped from conversation to eating and instead focused on their meals rather than Jay's aura.
After they finished eating they sat in their seats silently for a few minutes. M'redith slid her chair up against Jay's and leaned on his shoulder while Aiden finished eating his hash browns. No one wanted to get up and go back out in to the storm.
A burst of brilliance lit up the world outside the building's doors as a resounding boom of thunder followed five seconds later.
“Do we have to go back out?” whined Aiden as Jay got up and took their trays up to the counter.
“Why not? Jay can just dry us off again as long as we're not late to class. We should actually get going soon now that I say that.” M'redith said as she stood up, Aiden following her example.
Jay returned to the table. “Ready?”
“No!” said Aiden as they walked back out in to the rain anyway. The urge to run was strong – the mind told the body that it was basic math – the longer you stayed out in the rain the wetter you became. If you ran you spent less time in the rain.
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The only problem with that was that the storm was so intense that as soon as you stepped outside you were almost instantly 100% wet. Once a person was that wet that was it. They couldn't get anymore wet. The rain became just a minor annoyance when a person realized that they were already as wet as they could get.
The small group didn't care about any of all that however and ran as fast as they could to the training hall. Jay was beyond disappointed with what he found once they arrived. M'redith let out an audible groan.
Class would be conducted outside that day it seemed. People were already organized in to weapon groups and the three friends bid each other goodbye for now as they each went to their respective groups. They stood in the rain like that until it was time for class to start.
Then they waited longer.
And longer.
Finally the students all groaned and grumbled as they saw T'lly exit the training building and approach the front of the waiting group.
“Good morning!” she called out. No one answered her. “GOOD MORNING, I said!” she yelled in a sing song voice. The students gamely responded this time, “Good morning,” they all muttered with various tones of displeasure.
T'lly had to yell to make herself heard over the storm. “I have some good news for you all! Instead of practicing in a stuffy training room we're going to do something a little different today and have class outside instead. Isn't that wonderful?” she said haltingly as the wind at times grew too loud to hear over.
Normally the students would reply with a Yes or No or some form of respectful communication. Not this time however, and more than one student let an expletive slip out. “Is she serious?” more than one student asked.
“I am serious!” T'lly yelled with a maniacal grin as she motioned to the class to pair up with a partner. “It's beautiful out! As you progress through your journey towards full membership in The Guild you will learn many things. How to behave in the face of adversity is perhaps one of the most important.”
The group had calmed down a bit but the general mood was unpleasant. They blinked the rain out of their eyes the best they could and tried to keep track of where T'lly was standing. The sheer amount of rain made that difficult at times.
“You will be sent to places no one else would enter. Fight beasts no one else would dare approach. Travel through weather no one else would brave. Through duty you will be required to set aside your comfort for the good of The Guild and those that require our services.” T'lly continued as she stood ram rod straight in the downpour, her arms clasped behind her back and her feet shoulder width apart.
The rain had no effect on T'lly. She stood as if the rain was not there. The rain poured off her head and shoulders and yet she remained standing there, her head held up, her intense gaze raking across the gathered class who all looked miserable in their soaking clothing and armor. She was unaffected by her surroundings.
“Know that this water will be the least of what you must face if you stay. If you can not bear even this small amount of rain then you do not belong here!” she yelled while progressing to almost a scream at the end in order to be heard over a sudden crash of impeccably timed thunder.
The class all stared at her as a flash of lightning lit up the world in a bright white brilliance before vanishing, leaving just rainy darkness in its absence. T'lly's staring form remained standing, looking out over the students.
The class stood silently in the rain as T'lly stared at them. They remained like that for what felt like minutes.
“Starting positions!” T'lly yelled in a commanding voice. The class responded instinctively and dropped in to their combat stances. “BEGIN!”
The class began their weapons drills and worked through the morning in the pouring rain. The movements were uncomfortable in the rain and plenty of students ended up with rashes or irritated skin rubbed raw from wet armor. Jay didn't care though.
Jay still was wet, just like everyone else. His aura wasn't nearly powerful enough to keep him dry in the furious storm the class worked in and so he kept it off. He fought poorly compared to his partner who beat Jay easily two times out of three. Jay was slowly learning though. At least he hadn't dropped his staff that day. Jay was focused on trying to get better with his staff.
“No, no, no!” yelled T'lly as Jay's partner tried an over hand strike with their staff. She took the staff from the man's hands. “Look!” she said as she held the staff in front of her. “As the tip of your staff descends your rear hand stays put on the staff while your forward hand,” her forward hand slid backwards to meet her rear hand grip on the staff, “slides back. This helps create an almost whip like motion, speeding the delivery and enhancing the strength of your strike. Try again!” she yelled as she handed the man back his staff.
The man made a few additional attempts at an overhead strike towards Jay before he finally found the correct positioning and the staff made a whistling noise as it whipped through the rain filled air.
“Better!” said T'lly encouragingly. The man smiled as T'lly walked over to a different student. “That's not how you hold a sword! Well if you know that then why were you holding it like that anyway? Do it over again! The right way!” she yelled as the man tried to just do the same strike the same way over again.
The rain did not let up. If anything it increased to a deluge. The students were finding it difficult to stand in the rain and wind and the actual exchange of blows between students had become quite challenging.
“Yes!” yelled T'lly, “It's hard! This is difficult! But you can quit! Right now! Think about sitting by the fire all comfy and warm, a nice hot chocolate in your hands. You, wearing your favorite comfy clothing. You could be so comfortable right now! Don't you want to be comfortable?” she asked the class as she walked from student to student.
One student in particular had been putting in just barely enough effort to get by. They weren't trying very hard and had been complaining non stop. T'lly stalked over to the student right as she dropped a sword. She leaned over the student invading their personal space.
“Are you ready to quit? What, you don't want that sword? Then why did you drop it! Just give up! You don't need this! You're better than this right? Just quit, I can have you inside and warm in seconds!” T'lly continued to yell at the student as she pointed towards the door to the training hall.
The student's face twisted in to a look of fury and the student bent down and quickly recovered their sword. She turned back to her partner and began fighting in earnest.
“Oh Gaia, don't tell me you've been dragging your feet this entire time!” T'lly said in disappointment. “People!” she yelled, “I'm not here for me. I already know how to fight! We are here, for YOU. So YOU can learn. If you won't even put in a decent effort then what am I supposed to do?”
She leaned in towards the woman that had dropped her sword, “Are you sure you want to be here? You've been taking it easy while the rest of the class gave their all. I'm not sure you really belong here,” she said as a sudden gust of wind whipped her words away, “I said: I'M NOT SURE YOU BELONG HERE!”
The woman did not respond but instead threw herself in to the fight with even more intensity, pushing their partner back with repeated blows of her sword.
“I don't like you.” she said as she continued to move with the student, “You only perform when someone is looking. You think I want that in my Guild?”
T'lly continued to harass the woman while the rest of the class breathed a sigh of relief that it wasn't them T'lly was yelling at. The woman continued to perform well and finally T'lly nodded, not pleased but at least satisfied the student wasn't giving just the minimum effort.
The class progressed in that same manner. T'lly encouraged the weak to quit and seek shelter in the warm training hall. T'lly walked from student to student while inspecting their movements. T'lly picking out students in need of guidance and providing that guidance at high volume and with feeling.
Jay felt like they had been there for hours. They had. It felt like lunch time was fast approaching though. Jay comforted himself with the future promise of lunch and tried to refocus on his fight. The fights were interrupted however by T'lly.
“Stop! Everyone stop!” she yelled as she walked over to a man who had stopped fighting and stood in the rain shaking. He muttered something over and over again. “What's that? No one can hear you! I can't hear you!”
“I don't want to do this anymore!” the man said louder.
“And?” T'lly asked with a stone faced expression. “AND?” she asked after the man remained silent.
“I...I..” said the man as he stared at the ground, “I quit!”
T'lly's behavior changed in an instant. “Class, continue!” she yelled but then approached the man and quietly spoke to him, taking his sword, as she kindly led him in to the training hall while speaking softly to him, or as softly as the rain and wind allowed. They disappeared inside for a moment before T'lly reappeared and rejoined the class.
“Congratulations! Between Trap Week failures and the voluntary drop we just witnessed your class is down to only ten members remaining. I encourage you however, if you do not feel this life is the life for you – quit now! Don't waste your time! Don't waste MY time!” she finished sweetly.
A peal of thunder crashed across the sky as the class all huddled down in their clothing and armor.
“No one will judge you for quitting. It's ok. You can stop if you have to. Just say you quit and you can go inside too! It's dry in there! And WARM!” she said almost soothingly to the class as she walked among them.
No one else quit that morning but it was not for a lack of T'lly trying.
“Enough!” she finally yelled, lightning briefly backlighting her standing form in a flash of white. The class all came to various positions of rest as everyone breathed heavily.
“You are here now only because you chose to be here. No one forced you to stay in class today – that was all you. You can leave at any time, no questions asked. Embrace your training, don't fight it. Use every minute of training to grow stronger.” she said as the class looked over at her.
“Or quit.” she finished softly.
The class stood around her taking in deep gulps of air. T'lly shook her head, she didn't feel like she had quite reached the class this time but she would continue trying that afternoon.
“Time for lunch. Everyone grab some food and I'll see you all at this afternoon's class. Be sure to bring your Figurines, we'll be running a whole lot of Dungeon Room this week. In fact, this week is Dungeon Room week! Now go! Get out of here!” she yelled.
Everyone trudged off in the rain towards the dining hall, no one made any attempts at staying dry as they were as wet as they could get already.