Chapter 42 How to Plan a Hunt.
Getting out of one’s comfort zone is the key to growth.
Without tasting conflict, nothing can be achieved.
And any achievement is false if it stays hidden.
Go out there! Explore the seas! Explore the lands! Explore the skies!
A mortal’s life is short, live it to your fullest.
Tonisha, the Lady of Ventures.
{27} Tiyadi (November) the 4th
I ride my way back on Loyal’s back, I am consumed in thoughts. I give up on my chance to befriend Ryon, the guy is unhinged and I regret getting close to him. “I’ll have to find another friend right Loyal?” I ask my horse, patting his neck.
Loyal neighs in response, it feels like he said he’s my friend.
“Yes I know you’ll always be my friend,” I chuckle. But you’re not human… I have to somehow drive away this insane feeling of loneliness. I need someone to talk to… someone who’ll talk back… someone that’ll hug me…
Thinking about it, Loyal had always been so intelligent, could he be a magical beast? How do magical beasts evolve? Is it possible to rear magical beasts? If so I can rear and kill them for food instead of going out hunting…
Patiently I wait for tomorrow so I can question the hag.
{27} Tiyadi (November) the 5th
“Iyak le korma’au yatsliar auzaton?”
I start with a question I’ve practiced during the night. I still need a dictionary, but I’m getting better with this language.
The hag smiles, I can tell she knows what I am thinking, but it doesn’t matter. “la’ash yatsliar bach mirs lura’am bach ibana diba, se tonikh tali-hakteon o leyl, hen?”
I open my heavy dictionary and translate the words I can’t understand on my own. The hardest one is ‘tali-hakteon’ which meant both a ‘year’ and ‘three hundred’.
“mia geol niai shafi? Ke him ibana?
I am not planning on eating Loyal, no way! But I need to know how I can replicate the process…
The hag nods in understanding. “Hen, le shafi lahi yas auzaton, fial se lu yatsliar ibana.”
“Can we switch to Toml’a for a moment? My head hurts… I’ve tried to command elementals, to ask things from them and give them flowers, but they won’t do it. How do I construct a spell by myself?”
“ha’aril ni”
I sigh and point at the nearby wooden cup holding some rose petals in my hand. I weave the simple 'Minor Telekinesis' pattern and chant: “Myrsha, ta’adii ni se.”
However, no elemental shows up.
“Kiki… ruashi myrsha, zuram mayt kalin. Him lah kent shil zuram ossi lahi sherill, lah tonikh le tsaf al zuram.”
I sigh, as I move pages in my thick dictionary. The headache pulses in my head as I look up each word.
“Myrsha, ta’adii ni se!”
“lu meshikat tif.” The hag claps her hands in an urging manner. “Tsaf al myrsha, al ruashi. Tsaf se gemoj’an myrshanik!”
I’m in control here! I got it. This is a feeling I have to solidify in my heart.
Treat the elementals like Ryon wanting to snake after his food… “Myrsha, nia tsaf la! Ta’adii ni se sifa!”
The rose petals disappear with purplish smoke. A small elemental floats the cup toward me. This one is even smaller than the other elementals I’ve encountered, smaller than the size of my nail. He takes a single rose petal from my hand and disappears in another plum of purple dust without saying a word. “Huh…” So that was the trick… good to know!
What am I going to do now? My plans for rearing magical animals for ectoplasm farming won’t work… I’m sure someone does it somewhere but it’s not something I can do or afford. Seems like I have to find a way to hunt them, I cannot eat human beings…
Why not? What’s stopping me? The gods? The Noxi church? The Brigit church? Who’s to say eating other human beings is wrong? Maybe the hag is right? Maybe… but I won’t be able to live with myself if I step down on that path, I’ll end up committing suicide one day if I do.
But hunting animals means risking my life… Yes, if I want power and to find my sister and mother, I have to risk my life for it. Why should other people suffer for my ambitions? And Kolag… Kolag wouldn’t want me to kill innocents just so I could find him… I’ll have to work hard then, and hunt magical bea…
“Ran out of questions young woman?” The hag surprises me with Toml’a. “Or are you only forming them in your mind?”
I shake my head “I’m thinking, is there truly no other way to obtain ectoplasm? Risking my life or feeding on human beings?”
“You can indirectly feed on humans, like mana potions. You’ll not be thinking about the human’s life if you don’t see it yes?”
I shake my head again, annoyed this time. Does she really expect me to lie to myself?!
“There are other ways, other… techniques.” She says with a sneer. “You could only drink a mortal’s blood with his soul. You’d need to drink a lot of blood, but it can be done. Some mages develop a taste for it, we call them vampires. They aren’t real vampires, yes? Real vampires are a type of fae that feeds on mortal blood.”
I shake my head. “No. That wouldn’t be different from eating another human. It doesn’t matter if I eat the meat or drink the blood, it's still cannibalism, it's still eating a sentient human being.”
“There’s an ancient technique that’ll allow you to drain a man of his soul through a sexual act. This technique is not well known and unique to women. It is quite enjoyable. I could teach…”
“Not what I meant. Direct or indirect doesn’t matter to me. I don’t want to feed on a human soul ok?!”
“There is no other way chicky. Do you want a shortcut? This is the shortcut. But it has a price yes? You will make your choice. No other way around it. And I know you’ll make the right one. kikikikiki…”
I sigh heavily. She had a point, everything has a price. I’ll have to fly and hunt, I don’t see another way… I am not feeding on human ectoplasm or meat, or, or… blood or semen or whatever! A magical animal’s meat and soul will have to do…
“This is my decision ma’am, I won’t be eating humans. If I do that, it’ll eventually lead to taking my own life, and that would defeat the purpose yes?” I copy her manner of speech wearing my best provoking smile on my face.
I want her to know how wrong she is about me. How I am nothing like her, how I am not a monster who treats other human beings as cattle. I am simply weak aren’t I? My resolve isn’t strong enough to cross this line, I just can’t do it.
This isn’t weakness! Not when the reward for doing this is so big… I could kill another human being if my life is in danger, in revenge, or even in an agreement that let me restore my hand. But not like this.
I can’t resolve to end human lives to fill up my belly with power, and if it means I am weak then so be it! If it means I have to work hard in order to get what I want then so be it. I already resolved into working hard to reach my goals, it just means that nothing has changed right?
“Kikikikikokokokukukakakaaahhh” her insane cackle turns into a scream of laughter at the end. When she finally calms down, she wipes tears of laughter from her eyes. “Is this a challenge chicky? Let’s make a gamble shall we? If you manage to fully connect all of your ten mana pools within a year, I’ll grant you a gift. If you don’t…”
Fully connecting all of my mana pools means being ready to ascend to a full mage. From what I’ve read connecting the pools took longer than opening them…You know what bitch?! You’re on! “If I don’t, then I’ll eat all the human ectoplasm you want me to!” I cut her off before she suggests something weird.
If I reach that point and I haven’t connected all of my pools yet. Then I should either give up on being a mage or give up my rights to have any morals.
I may have these morals but she’s right about one thing, the strong prey on the weak in this world. I refuse to be weak! I refuse to let my sister rot wherever she is! I refuse to leave Kolag and Lezere stuck in that tower! And with that… with that, even if I lose the bet the only thing I lose will be my morals, and a few days ago I almost gave them up for free… at least I’ll earn a year of living with my conscience free of guilt…
Her golden eyes widen up in surprise, turning into a pleasant look. “Confident are we? Very well! If you lose you’ll eat my true cooking again!” she put her hand forward for a shake.
Suppressing the chill down my spine I shake her hand. Now I have twice the motivation to make my plans work.
*
A question. How does one hunt magical beasts?
Over the month, I use most of my questions and time to learn about magical beasts. Where can I find them, how to hunt them, how much is each of them worth in ectoplasm, et cetera.
I also purchase a crossbow and train myself in both using it on the ground, and firing while airborne. Even if I managed to reach the number of ten patterns after I cast the first level spell, I still can't do a lot of magic with one single pattern to spare, and I have to use other means to kill the animals.
Hence, I work hard training myself with the weapon. I put in two to three hours a day for crossbow training. How to reload it while flying, how to aim and hit my target while I move in the air. How to hit moving targets which I throw into the air with a ‘Repulse’ cantrip, and so on and forth.
It isn't as easy as I thought it’d be. The aim is different while I move, and it's even harder when I attempt to hit a moving target. But I know it’ll have to do.
My method of flying indeed works. And due to my bound elemental, the mana cost dropped to fifteen gems worth of gravity mana for the initial cast. However, I have to feed the elemental loads of rose petals which consumes more money.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Rose petals are surprisingly expensive. These petals come in ten grams packages and each of these cost a whopping amount of a hundred gold coins. I figure that the main customers of these petals are mages, and it’s something they can afford. The merchant who sells it right outside the temple of Kilako even accepts my magical gems.
That being said, I am no longer pressed for money now that the hag is paying me for assassinations.
As for the elemental, that little thing is extremely stubborn and spoiled. She keeps insisting on the exact amount I gave her the first time for each cast, and nothing can move her.
Either way, I can sustain two to three minutes of flight at jogging speed, longer if I drain my magical gems from their mana.
According to my research, there are two nearby locations I could hunt magical beasts: “Sha’ashbash” A magical swamp fifty kilometers west of Axero city. And “The Shimmering Tops” a chain of snowy peak mountains to the north.
According to the hag: Both the swamp, and the mountain chain have plenty of magical beasts to spare, and I can find weaker ones if I don't stray too far from the road.
However, I have no plan of going in there alone.
*
{27} Mayan (December) the 3rd
I eye the temple of Tonisha. The tall stone building is the gathering place of mercenaries, explorers, and more ill reputed professions. I go over my equipment again in my habitual self-monitoring.
I touch my magical ingredients belt pouch, which only contains loads of rose leaves at the moment. I move my hand to the brown gambeson I wear, then to the magical bag that the hag gave me in order to bring back the animals’ carcasses. I fix the crossbow on my back and touch the hilts of my two bronze daggers. I make sure that everything is in place before I go in.
I enter the temple with a drumming heart; I’m finally setting my plan in motion.
I know a few people here. Mainly from selling them glitter potions every month. So it isn’t my first time here.
I enter the large main hall. Loud jovial sounds of chatter, boasting, and laughter welcome me in. Trophies are displayed on the walls. The large head of a mighty bear. A long and thin reptilian head. Even a gigantic humanoid gray skull has a place of honor. The walls are also covered by various pelts, feathers, and scaled skins. Tributes to the Lady of Ventures.
Behind, at the very edge of the hall stands a tall marble statue of the Goddess Tonisha, painted with colors. The goddess’ head takes the form of a black horned lizard. The torso is that of a humanoid female. Her ample breasts are bound by a piece of brown fur, exposing the muscular abdomen beneath.
Her front legs are a pair of eagle’s talons. A pair of white eagle wings sprout out from where her thighs would be were she a human, resting on the rest of her body. Which - like a centaur - continues to stretch from her lower back. It is the body of a lion and the rear legs of a lion. The tail ends up as a green snake’s head, jaws opened wide as purple venom drips down its fangs.
A pair of girls in revealing velvet dresses are singing and dancing on a stage underneath the statue. With a small male crowd gathered around them. A few barmaids move between the dining and drinking mercenaries. Most of them flirt openly with the men as they bring their drinks, one even let herself get pulled into a man’s lap with a loud excited squeal.
The smells consist of alcohol, sweat, and smoke. Although most of the mercenaries here are men, I spot a few women too.
I spot Salik at a table, holding a mug of ale. The dark-haired unshaved man with the bushy eyebrows, had never suggested I should have ‘fun’ with him every time I delivered his addictive glitter potion. Nor was he desperate for it like an addict. He always had the payment ready, and always accepted it in a cold and respectable manner, saying ‘thank you’ before he went back to his alcohol.
This is why I chose him, despite knowing six of the other mercenary captains in this very hall.
Salik furrows his thick brows when I approach, he apologizes to his friends and reaches me with a long step. “This isn’t the twenty third of the month, is something wrong? Am I being called by the Maven?”
Damn. I scared him…
I take a step back so I won’t strain my neck to look up. The muscular man is way too tall for me. “No. I am sorry to worry you. This is my personal business, but I could really use your help.”
The stress leaves his tense shoulders, he nods and sighs in relief. “I am listening.”
“I want to hunt magical beasts at the Shimmering Tops or the Sha’ashbash swamps. I think going out there alone would be a bad idea. Can you hook me up with a group that goes there anyway? I don’t expect you to do it for free of course…”
“Are you hiring? Or you want to join in on a job?” His thick black brows are furrowed as he observes me. Something about it makes me feel like this is his default facial expression.
With how much the hag paid me for the last assassination I nearly have a thousand gems, I’m not exactly pressed for money but… “Depends on the prices. I could hire if it’s not too expensive. But I can carry my own weight, and I would rather join in on a job. Is the pay good? How much money can I expect?”
I don’t want them to act all guarded around me… If I hire them they’ll treat me like an employer… I’d really rather have some friends right now… Not to mention I need to learn how to hunt. Not hire mercenaries to do it for me… I need to be there for the kill so I can drain the soul…
“The pay depends on luck. Sometimes you don’t earn much, but on a good job, we can make a few hundred golden peas for each member of the party. It rarely happens though, most jobs pay ten to a fifty golden peas per member.”
That’s between a couple of gems to a half of one… I guess if I want to hire them it’ll cost me about half a gem for each member? Mercenaries are expensive! And probably filthy rich too… Why are they still risking their lives? I wonder what they spend it all on… It’s not like they seem to be spending it on anything but booze and prostitutes… I’d quit and settle down after a few good jobs if I was one of them… not that I actually lack money… I have enough to hire them for multiple jobs… but if I can make money and potentially friends while hunting, what’s the harm? “What do you do with so much money anyway?” I ask not withholding my curiosity.
“Pay for glitter.” The response is dry, not even a hint of sarcasm.
“Fair point. How long does the average job takes?”
“It varies. Some can take a year or more, those usually pay better. Most jobs will take about a week or two, a month at most.”
I see… so they make a couple of hundreds gold a year… that makes more sense… “Sign me up then! If there’s a group who goes to the shimmering tops or the swamps for a short job that I can join? I know that you guys see me as a mage, but I don’t want any special treatment if possible.”
He narrows his eyes at me. “I mean no offense when I ask this… But how well can you handle yourself in a fight? No one will take a deadweight with them on a job.”
I cross my hands, his tone is hard to discern. I am not sure whether his ‘no offense’ is insulting or genuinely trying not to hurt my feelings. “I can handle myself just fine. I can also handle the hunting myself. I mainly need the experience of surviving on the mountain range and the directions.”
He gets up to his feet. “Mind if I test that?”
I shrug. After seeing that I don’t mind, he leads me to the backyard of the temple which is built for training. Despite the cold weather, the gray fenced yard is loud and lightly crowded by people who practice against each other or straw practice dolls, but it isn’t as lively as the tavern part inside the temple. A few mercenaries give me a puzzled or a lusty look, but most people here ignore our presence and focus on whatever training had busied them to begin with.
Salik picks a practice shield and axe from a weapons rack, and nods his head sharply at me. “Let’s spar. Pick a weapon of your choice, I need to see what you’re made of first…”
“I don’t think I can hold a candle to you when it comes to sparring,” I say. “I would love to be taught the basics and I'll even pay you for teaching me if you have the time to spare, but I won’t need to spar with you to prove I can handle myself in a fight. I can fly, you won’t be able to catch me and I can loose as many bolts as I want,” I tap on my crossbow. “But if you want to see what I am capable of up close, it’s better if we use the straw doll since you wouldn’t survive the experience…” Ignoring his posture, I go to the nearest doll and put my hand on it. “Myrsha ritsa.”
*THOOOMP* Straw, rope, and a few wooden shards scatter everywhere. As for the doll, aside from the base of the wooden pole that held it together, nothing is left of it.
“Humans or beasts will explode in the same manner, all I need to do is touch them. Is that capable enough for handling myself?” I ask the tall mercenary.
“Most adversaries won’t let you touch them…” he comments dryly.
I roll my eyes in annoyance, put my hand in my rose pouch, and form the mana patterns and gestures as I chant. “Myrsha, nia tsaf lah! Lu myrsha ni kull lah. Nia wuan nalahi myrsha.”
Purplish smoke comes out of my pouch, and the little gravity elemental buzzes around me. She moves fast and turns into a purple glowing dot. By now, I reached an agreement with her. She should only ask for more flowers once the spell - or the battle I participated in - is over.
With a drain of fifteen gravity gems, my body loses its weight. A kick to the ground and I float upward. “Felul!”
I exhale as I use my mana pattern to direct the nearest wind with my mind. I push myself upward at an angle. I then fly around the yard notching a bolt in each and every doll in the place. This time I attract everyone’s attention, it’s fun to show off my hard work to someone.
I land and cancel the spells with a handful of rose petals for my elemental. Salik nods in approval. “Ok, you’ve made your point, I can think of a few applications for a flying crossbowman. How fast can you fly?”
Really?! Flying crossbowman?! Is that all?! Praise me a little will you?! I worked hard to be able to fly and shoot like that! Compliments don’t cost money damn it!
“About the speed you can jog. I’m currently working on improving the speed.” It’s a good feeling to be recognized for what I can do instead of being treated as a burden, but would still be nicer if he complimented the ability I worked a month on creating. Even if I don’t reach one hundred percent accuracy, I am quite good.
“The Golden Thrill company is headed into the mountains in a little more than two weeks. It’s an escort job, and it should pay rather well. You’re welcome to tag along. Meet us nine days from now, Onyday (Thursday) at Mayan (December) the 12th near the gate of Kalkus at dawn. Don’t be late, or we’ll leave without you, you’ll…”
“How much is my share?”
“Two percent of the money they pay us. That’s half of what each member gets.” He cuts me off before I can talk or protest. “Don’t haggle with me! If you’re going on a hunt, you won’t be with us the whole time. You should be thankful you even get a share.”
“Ok, thanks…” Didn't expect to get a share at all. Won’t say no to some pocket money…
His dark brown eyes narrow. Did he expect me to argue with him about it?
“Bring some warm clothes, your gambeson alone won’t be enough. It’s winter, and it’s very cold up there in the mountain. Oh, and bring with you food to sustain yourself for a week. Just in case our foragers won’t get enough. I’ll see you then.” And with that, he goes back to the tavern and his drinking buddies. I can hear them discussing me, but I am not close enough to hear what they say. One of them even waves at me in a friendly manner.
For a moment I consider casting a spell to listen in on their conversation, then decide it’d be too rude and wrong. So I simply get out of there.
*~*~*
Interlude 42.1
Salik
Salik has a headache. Bringing that kid is going to be harsh on the company. He cannot afford to upset her. She is a client who doesn’t even pay for the job… and she wants to be treated just like everyone else.
Normally it’d be nice to meet an arcane wielder who treats themselves as a commoner or at least a minor noble. Most arcane wielders are far too proud for their own good.
But that’s not the case with this girl. With the master behind her, this just complicates things. And he knows all too well what will be the consequences of slightly upsetting this girl. He knows that the Maven of Mysteries is always watching, always knowing, and always exacting retribution for anyone who harms the child she takes in. Some of his men will most likely die, and there’s nothing he can do about it.
It would've been better if that girl expected to be treated like a rich client rather than another merc. But with the way she acted earlier, treating her like a rich client will displease the Maven. Salik cannot afford to displease the Maven. Salik had seen enough to know better.
“Ok Golden Thrill! Everyone for the Numila escort job, gather up!” Salik calls out and waits for his men to gather around.
“A young girl named Marisha will be joining us on this job.”
“What kind of girl?” Elitar asks with a frown. The blond bard never trusted anyone.
“Aw nice job boss! Is she good looking?” Chegway asks. The southren man with the painted face is one of Salik's best scouts, but Salik knows he can't trust the guy to watch anyone's back.
“She’s a red-head. I’ve met her once.” Berthold notes. Another scout. The kid is quite an impressive archer, Salik taught him personally, but these days Salik would bet on Berthold to win an archery contest.
Chegway nods with a grin. “There’s no such thing as an ugly red-head.”
“Ha! you dogs! Who cares about that? I hope she can pull her own weight. A good bitch who can fight, and not some fragile ankle biter!” Noro grins with a mouth full of sharp teeth. Salik doesn't know why the orc was exiled from his tribe, but the orc has no issue in terms of honor, and Salik won't pry.
Salik sighs. “That will not be a problem. She’s a talented arcane spellcaster.” The Maven of Mysteries wouldn’t take untalented people under her wing.
“Oh snakes that’s just great… some little girl who can order us around.” Chegway shakes his head. “I bet she has a temper, like all red-heads… you should pay us more, boss.”
“A shaman? Twisted shaman? Or good shaman?” Noro wants to know.
“Are you sure it’s a good idea, boss?” Sorer asks with a worried voice. Sorer can be a little unpredictable when he's drunk, but otherwise he's one of the most reliable men in Golden Thrill.
Salik can’t help but heave another sigh. “We don’t have a choice. We cannot afford to cross the powerful figure behind her. Now. I need you to treat her like any other young woman out there. Make her feel welcome. No special treatment, no bowing, and not a single sign of fear. She wants to fit in, and if we make her feel unwelcome there’ll be consequences.”
“That bad, uh?” Elitar’s frown doesn’t leave his face. “Don’t worry boss, I’ll keep her happy and distracted if it comes down to that.”
“I’ll help too.” Sorer joins. “The last thing we need is one of the young lads doing something rush, eh? No offense lads!”
“I’m very offended, big guy!” Berthold smirks at his older friend. “I know her, I’ll help too…”
Salik frowns, deep in thought. This is going to be bad. Someone is going to die on this run, he can feel it in his bones. “It’s that bad, yes. If any of you want to back out from this escort, now is the time. Otherwise, leave interacting with her to Sorer and Elitar unless you want to put your life on the line. And remember, kids. Be friendly!”
*~*~*
Power level: 2nd stage apprentice.
Mana pools status:
Crown-knot: Affinity 10: formed: 1 gem replenished per five minutes.
Neck-Bridge: Affinity 6: formed: max amount of gems drained per day: 66
Abdomen-storage: Affinity 5: formed: 6 gems. Conversion ratio: 6:1
Air: Affinity 4: formed: 18 gems
Fire: Affinity 2: formed: 9 gems
Light: Affinity 3: formed: 14 gems
Water: Affinity 6: formed: 27 gems
Earth: Affinity 1: opened: 3 gems
Wood: Affinity 2:
Gravity: Affinity 9: formed: 40/41 gems
Cantrip known:
Air: Shavi’s Breeze, Shavi’s Sword. Shavi’s Hair Dryer, Aria’s Enhanced Hearing.
Fire: Nuriss’ Flame. Effrat’s Firefly, Effrat’s Fire Breath. Sorladika's Lesser Heating.
Light: Noxi’s Light, Lako’s Blinding Light.
Water: Water Evocation, Water to Ice, Ice to Water, Water to Vapor, Vapor to Water, Mayan’s Icy Spike, Ayla’s Water Jet.
Earth:
Wood:
Gravity: Lumina’s Kinetic Burst. Tukado’s Repulse. Tukado’s lesser shield. Imari’s Minor Telekinesis. Imari’s Jump. Leo’s Pull. Leo’s Grounding. Alino’s Light Body. Alino’s Heavy Body.
Spells known:
Gravity: Alino’s weightless bodyb.
Focus capability: 10 patterns
Social status: apprentice to the maven of mysteries.
Wealth: 900 gems. 1843 gold coins, 12 silvers, 47 coppers.
Items:
Two simple healing potions.
Two potions with unknown effects.
An enchanted belt with eight pouches, the enchantment keep the pouches’ content fresh.
Fresh Rose petals, 14g
Companions: Alone.
Languages:
Toml’a
Sinteo
Myrsha
Injuries and scars: Back, lightning scar.