All was silent, except the sound of cracking wood and shuffling hay from the training halls. Opening the door, Logan spied near a tall torch the scene of late-night training.
Jayd landed solid hit after solid hit into ten dummies he had set up in the field, hay flying away and his wooden weapons cracking under tension. As they broke, the Fighter shifted into unarmed punches and kicks. He had also jury-rigged rotating arms and flails that he was desperately dodging and blocking with a shield.
With a hurried spin into the air, Jayd landed three consecutive Power Strikes followed by two forms of Combo Slash. Landing solidly, he roared out, “Come Forth”, before picking up another shield to block his engineered attackers. Wood and metal battered his shield as he fell to a knee, breathing heavily and coughing up phlegm.
“Now”, Jayd spoke to himself through long stretches of breathing, “five laps”, he ended as he dropped his gear and began running around the training arena.
“He’s running himself ragged”, Logan thought to himself as he walked forward a bit.
Jayd eventually noticed Logan as the Fighter ran half the field and saw Logan just ahead of the entrance. Slowing to a walk, Jayd spoke, “Hey, Logan. Sorry, was I being too loud?”
Logan looked at the exit, “You’d have to be way louder to do that. You trying to train-in what I’ve taught today? I didn’t mean for you to go so hard on it.”
Jayd shook his head slowly, “No. Your training yard is just better than the old forests and roads I used to do this on.”
Logan sighed, pulled out a waterskin from his coat and threw it at Jayd. “Take five, let’s talk.”
Jayd caught the waterskin easily and followed Logan to the stands.
Sitting down, Logan asked, “What’s with this overexertion? You’re doing fine with your team. You don’t need to impress me either.”
Jayd drank from the waterskin and responded, “No, it’s not your fault, Logan. I just need to make sure I don’t drag the team down.”
Logan raised an eyebrow, “You’re not, Jayd. If anything you’re great for your rank, you even reached the quarter-finals of your tournament bracket.”
Jayd shook his head, “That’s because of the training I’m doing. I can’t fall behind. I didn’t even go all the way in the tournament.”
Logan noticed the sweat and blood drip from Jayd’s shaking head, “You can still rest a bit more than you are.”
Jayd shifted in his chair to face Logan, “I can’t. I’m not naturally gifted like Alice was. I need to put in the effort those kinds of people were gifted.”
“But you’ve won, what, 11 more times against Alice than she has against you.”
“That’s because she’s not as work-intensive. No, not intensive. She just does other things. She’s busy drawing up battle plans. I can’t let her down”, Jayd stumbled.
“Busy? Gifted?”
Jayd sighed, “I didn't mean it like that. Maybe I do. I don’t know.”
“Just explain it slowly.”
Jayd took a long breath. “Ok. Alice, you know she’s a Fighter like me. But she’s… she’s like a combo of Kruma and Castore.”
“How so?”
“She was born as a savant in Strength, Agility, and Constitution and was also born into a well-off family. She had it all. Me? I’m an orphan and lucky to be average in Strength. If I don’t put in the effort I’ll never hold a candle to the flame that is my team.”
“She doesn’t seem the type to lord that over you.”
“Well, she doesn’t have the family part anymore. That’s all us.”
“What happened?”
“Her family wanted to sell a contract of her to a wealthier family, set her up for life as a top-notch guard or something. When they didn’t listen to her, she disowned herself. It’s actually what started our rivalry. I heard about the whole debacle and confronted her about it. It didn’t seem fair that she was gifted that and she threw it away. She showed me with a fist to the face and dirt on the ground.”
“I take it she won that fight.”
“Too right she did. I’ve been training ever since. If someone with it all could throw it away, I would grasp at anything I could. And it worked. The hours of training I put in allowed me to beat Alice and almost anyone who challenged me. I was called ‘blessed’ at my reassessment when it was really just effort.”
“Effort versus talent”, Logan said under his breath. “He just trained his bonus attribute points into his stat array. He concentrated them, when others haphazardly had them distributed over time. There’s also the expertise and muscle memory”, he realised in his head.
“Right! So you see, I need to keep at it. I can’t lose the edge I’ve honed. If I do, I’ll ruin everything for the team.”
Logan looked at the young man’s face, it was normally hidden behind a helmet, but now the bags under his eyes were present, “Jayd. Have you told the others this?”
Jayd shook his head again, “I don’t want Alice to blame herself. Varuud has had it rough too as a Devout and a gashriek. Sooryah is also a hard worker as our scout, his upbringing wasn’t wealthy either, hence his illiteracy.”
“I understand. Everyone is doing what they can”, Logan looked down at Jayd’s bloodied and bruised hands, “But you still need to get some rest now and then.”
Jayd rubbed his face, “I get my six hours.”
Logan looked at the training field, the broken wood and hay strewn about, and then back to Jayd, “He gets up at four to get things ready, that’s not six hours”, he thought in his head. “Need a training partner?”
“Huh? Sure!” the teen yelled as he jumped up from the stands.
Logan followed slowly after the energetic man, eyeing back at the entrance with a knowing stare, before following to help Jayd train.
Around the side of the stands, however, was a hiding Alice, tears down her face as she hid out of sight.
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The day passed into the next, a bright sun beaming down onto the city and the guilds within. The same was said for VIP, Logan and Jayd having got their “six” hours of sleep, though with more pushing from Logan who thought the previous night’s estimate was a bit of a lie.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
Meeting Jayd downstairs for breakfast, the younger man looking dishevelled from last night’s antics, his arms fully wrapped in bandages and covered with long sleeves to hide them, Logan spoke with the Fighter.
“You can take Fahrenheit for training tonight if you want. He’s the stockiest of my summons for now”, Logan informed.
“If that would be ok. An ice elemental is much better than some straw dolls. He’ll be great for positioning and combat too, outside of just gaining skill mastery”, Jayd accepted energetically, though quietly as others came down the stairs.
“Not only is he a better opponent, Fahrenheit will make sure you get your sleep”, Logan thought to himself as he looked after Jayd walking to his team.
“Trying some new face paint, Alice?” Jayd asked teasingly as he gave a playful punch to his leader’s shoulder.
Alice, whose eyes were red from last night laughed boisterously, “No. Just some damn allergies. I think we hit some poisoned leaves the other day”, she said as she returned the punch, “Which reminds me, good work at holding back those monsters. I can always count on you to guard my back.”
Jayd smiled back, “Hey, you got your head on the team, mine is on your back!”
“Sir. Your messages”, Advelt announced, breaking Logan out of his trance.
“Thanks, Advelt. Just the three? No more people asking to sign up?”
Advelt shook his head slowly, “A few that scoffed at the rules, and some others that I had to inform we were full and that I’d mark them down for consideration.”
Logan nodded, “I’ll get—” he started as he looked back at the rest of the hall, “Marcus, over here”, he shouted as he saw his partner.
Marcus jogged over with a smile on his face, “Morning. What do you need?”
“Can you sort out our member permits? We need to increase the limit to 100. I’ll sort out the rooms at some point, when I get the spare time.”
“You can count on it. Are you going to be busy today?”
Logan looked over the three envelopes, spying the senders as O, P, and the Spell Daggers, his hired homeless and ex-homeless who undertook information gathering and minor quests on his behalf.
“I am most likely having a full day ahead.”
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With the morning routines completed, Logan visited the first letter on his list as Logan had previously requested a meeting with Orichalcum after encountering the fenwahlash. It didn’t take long for an audience to get assembled.
Climbing the spiral staircase of the tall tower within Gauntlet led Logan back to the same chamber that held an especially long table. As was usual, many of the members were robed with magics hiding their faces, sans Alvus, the millennium elder vampire, and Xican who was the mage assigned to Logan.
“Thank you for agreeing to meet me on such short notice. I have information regarding the demon realm.”
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An hour passed as Logan talked about all that transpired within the forest slate ruins he had located Drustan within.
“The heroes are alive. All four?” an elderly male member asked.
“From what the fenwahlash knew, yes. They are still creating havoc after 18 months of surviving within the demon realm”, Logan replied.
“We must inform the portal magi working on that mission”, a woman insisted as she looked to the members at her side.
“They were going to stop in a few months, we have time to extend that timeline. What of sending others in to retrieve them?” another asked.
“We can’t pull the heroes out, what makes you think anyone will accept a mission to go in after them? We’d need to send the magi who can make the portals”, a woman informed.
“The demon realm isn’t safe for that kind of casting. They’d need to some pricy ritual type cast”, the first man added.
Alvus raised his hand, the members turning to silence as he asked Logan, “How goes your teleportation research? Have you found a spell or item that could make the rescue of the heroes an easy task?”
The Orichalcum members turned their faces to Logan, expectantly.
“No. I have recently learnt Teleport and aim to master that first.”
Alvus snapped his fingers, two attendants walking to his side as he whispered to them. Quickly, they walked out of the room behind the elder vampire. “We will fund this path. Your expertise and genius, where Oracles are concerned, is a boon beyond that of which a Magi’s Tower regiment could provide. Until the time has come where you can warp to and fro realms with ease, I will demand that the portal rescues to the demon realm be continued.”
Logan nodded, “There was another point. If the talk of the heroes is complete?”
“Please.”
“The Oracle that was sent with the heroes is dead.”
The room was already quiet, but it felt like the silence had turned into a vacuum of sound. Not even a breath escaped the members’ mouths.
“Are you sure of this?” Alvus asked directly.
“The demon had no reason for telling me lies.”
Xican then spoke up, “I know of the fenwahlash species. Whilst most is folklore or myth, they are written as being amazing regenerators and revivifiers. They are not known as being in any sect or group that handles deceit or control. It is unlikely, unless they had some ulterior motive, they would lie in this manner”, Xican then turned to Logan, “The demon yet lives, correct?”
Logan nodded.
“You have given the creature home and luxury?”
Logan nodded again.
Xican turned to the table, “I offer up my opinion, the demon can be trusted in this manner.”
Alvus nodded, “We will accept this. Until we find evidence to discount the information offered by the fenwahlash we will assume the Oracle has been slain.”
“Was the Oracle versed in demons or portal magic?” a different member asked.
“Only a handful of us knew they were going. The Oracle was kept a secret from even half of the magi that sent the heroes as their presence was guarded. Their importance shall stay a secret.”
“Understood.”
“Before it is even put forward, or to stop your curiosity, Logan, no one shall ask you to go to the demon realm as you are now. The heroes were beyond the half-point of what is estimated for classed beings to reach. An achievement only achieved by a number you can count on your digits. When your rank has doubled, it might be considered.”
Logan nodded, “Thank you for considering my safety.”
“Alas, without the Oracle that was sent with them, I have concerns surrounding the heroes' survivability going forward. Their supplies have no doubt dwindled.”
“If I may, Zeronax was quite a summoner. At least their gear is sorted”, the first woman added.
Xican then spoke, “Many demon species are also edible by humanoids. Cla-ves-kos might have issues, being a saeber, but there are avenues to take for most of their needs.”
Alvus nodded, “These are facts. However, there are supplies beyond armament and nutriment.”
The door behind the vampire opened again, the two attendants walking to Logan’s side and laying several books on his side of the table.
“Teleport, Volumes 2 through 10”, one of them announced.
Logan picked the top three tomes off and handed them back, “Thank you.”
Alvus did that small exhale of air through the nose that imitated a laugh.
“These are the volumes for Summon Elemental 2nd, as well”, the other attendant announced.
Alvus then spoke up, “Your request to expand your guild has also been accepted. Will you require any more provisions?”
“These will be more than enough for a while, thank you.”
Xican continued the conversation, “In return. I have assembled a list of dungeons that we would request you to eradicate if you find they are amenable to your technique”, the man slid a small booklet to his side, as he was within arm’s reach of the Spellthief.
Logan flipped open the booklet, scanning the pages. There wasn’t an overwhelming number of dungeons, as each half-page was dedicated to a single dungeon with images and descriptions.
“I’ll investigate these for you all”, he answered as he looked over the pages, “I take it they are in crucial locations?”
“Mines, deposits of useful minerals, trade passages, and the like.”
“Have you found rhyme or reason for their ability to be eradicated?” the first man asked.
A few members looked at the elderly man, it was hard to tell their expression but it felt like they were worried about the prying question.
“The only one so far is a physical and obvious dungeon ‘core’. An obelisk, statue, or even a throne. Though, the techniques involved… I need to eradicate more to understand the optimal ways to find out.”
“Take your time, Sir Logan”, the elderly man spoke.
“Yes. No haste”, another added.
“We do have some other matters to discuss if you have the time”, Xican asked as he turned to Logan.
“I have some.”
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