“You see, this one’s technically a silver penny, but everyone calls it an ‘acorn’ because of, well, obvious reasons. You can buy yourself a meal or an ale with one of these at most taverns. Meal might cost a few if it’s a more well-to-do kind of place. Ten of these acorns are worth one of these, an ‘oak’. I can’t remember what those are supposed to be called, now that I think about it, but it doesn’t matter! Just call it an oak and everyone will know what you’re talking about.”
Jadis listened to Ludwas’ earnest explanation of money and coin with only one ear. Or rather, she did so with Jay’s ears, that third of her mind focusing on the man as he walked next to her, the two of them a few paces to the left of the slow-moving wagon. As he talked, he held up the two different silver coins, examples of the ones she’d looted from the dead village.
“You could buy a new set of clothes for a couple of these oaks,” Ludwas continued. “Or buy a chicken for one, maybe a smatterling for two oaks if you’re into that kind of egg. I think a cheese wheel would go for one oak if you wanted one of those—”
Ludwas continued listing out examples of what acorns and oaks could buy, not following any particular pattern and occasionally using words that Jadis had no familiarity with. But he was genuinely trying to inform her of what were reasonable prices for commodities she might want or need, so she appreciated the effort.
As Ludwas talked and Jay listened, Dys held her own conversation with Gerwas on the right side of the wagon.
“Maybe about two years? Close to that, I’d say,” the mercenary grumbled, scratching as his thick beard. “I’ve lost track of what moon it is but suffice to say it’s been well on two years since the demon lord struck Weigrun.”
“Just Weigrun? If he’s here, I’d think there’d be more, I don’t know, destruction?” Dys prompted.
Keeping two different conversations going at the same time was a little taxing for Jadis, but with her Refracted Mind skill it was manageable.
Gerwas shook his head, making a symbol with his fingers across his chest Jadis didn’t recognize but assumed was either superstitious or religious. Was superstition a thing in a world with magic and gods?
“This demon lord is a sly one, gods blast him. He didn’t rally one massive army and charge the eastern borders like they usually do in all the stories. We would have been ready for that. Instead, he sent smaller armies to different lands all around the edges of the empire, forcing us to spread our own forces thin to protect the people. Then, while the empire’s armies were busy dealing with the fodder, he sent a true invasion force to the Rubaline Dominion. Whole country’s overrun. Poor bastards…”
Gerwas trailed off at the end, a look of pained pity on his face. Jadis wondered if he had some direct experience with what had happened or knew people from the fallen country. She didn’t press those questions, though.
“Can’t the empire push them out of Rubeline? The demons, I mean?” Dys asked, trying to get as much information on the world situation as possible.
The man shrugged and shook his head. “Not yet, no. Like I said, this demon lord is a tricky bastard.” There was the little hand sign again. “He took the islands and the main landmass of the Dominion, then built walls. Walls! His force there mostly just stays holed up and protected, sending out random numbers of wild demons to chip away at our defenses while in the meantime, our armies can’t breach their defenses because of how spread thin we are.”
“That sounds pretty bad,” Dys nodded along.
“Well, it’s not the end of the world. We’ll root them out eventually,” Gerwas said, putting a bit more spirit in his gruff voice. “This invasion will be a long one, drawn out, but we’ll win again, always do. They say the hero’s up north dealing with the demons that invaded there. It’s only a matter of holding out long enough for him to get strong enough to slay the corrupting wretch. And we’ll be getting stronger, too! Dark times to live in, demon invasion and all, but with all the extra experience Valtar and his holy host grant us for slaying Samleos’ demon spawn, we’ll be far stronger than our parents before us.”
At the mention of parents, Gerwas quickly looked up at Dys, giving her an apologetic grimace. “Ah, sorry, didn’t mean to bring up any sore wounds.”
“No, it’s fine,” Dys assured him. Jadis didn’t have to try to fake a frown on her face. She didn’t actually know what had happened to her parents back on Earth now that she was dead and reborn. Were they alright? She had no idea how she had died, or for how long she’d been dead. She hoped they were doing okay.
Jadis put the thought of her parents aside, not willing to let her spirits be dampened. They’d have been just as excited as her at the thought of exploring a fantasy world with magic and adventure. Maybe not so much the sexually deviant stuff—
Ugh. She did not want to start thinking down that route.
As Dys continued her conversation with Gerwas about the state of the war with the demons, Syd was once again ranging ahead of the main group, ahead of the wagon by a hundred or so paces, only now she had company.
Aside from Gerwas and Ludwas, two other mercenaries had been sent along to guard Aila and the wagon, both of them scouting the cobblestone road ahead of the wagon for problems. One had introduced himself as Specht, who came across as taciturn and standoffish. He had a broken nose with a scar running across it, an injury Jadis was sure had to have an interesting story behind it. The other man had said his name was Volker. He was cleanshaven, unlike most of the rest of the men Jadis had met so far, and had bright green eyes. He was far more talkative and outgoing compared to Specht.
The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Jadis was also fairly certain the man was hitting on her.
“—And then, when the fire-crested reaver hound came charging towards us, slavering maw opened wide in a howl of rage, I aimed and shot my crossbow right down its burning gullet! Perfect shot! Didn’t even have a skill for it at the time. Just my naturally good aim.”
Jadis mostly ignored the stories Volker was telling Syd. Three conversations were a bit much to handle, even with her mind partitioning skill, and most of what he was saying just seemed to be the kind of bragging a guy would do to talk himself up to a girl he was interested in. Jadis didn’t dislike the man, he actually seemed like a mostly okay sort, but she had no interest in him in the way he was so obviously interested in her.
Instead, Syd focused on the road and landscape around her.
The strange, wave-like hills south of the pine forest were honestly beautiful. They looked almost as though some titan had come along, cutting off slices of the rolling hills and taking them elsewhere, leaving behind stark stone cliff-faces on different sides of the hills. Many of them actually had leaning peaks, like a water wave was actually about to crest and fall, just it was all dirt and stone.
The cobblestone road they were following meandered between the hills, sticking to the valleys between but always coursing southward. Jadis had learned from the mercenaries that the distant flash of shining water she’d seen from the edge of the forest was indeed the southern sea and Far Felsen was a port city that had been built into a natural bay there.
As Syd let Volker's idle prattle wash over her, observing the strange scenery, she spotted movement on one of the hills to the west.
“What are those?” Syd interrupted the green-eyed mercenary, pointing out the herd of brown-furred creatures grazing on the grass.
There were a dozen of the beasts, all vaguely deer-like except that they had long tails that swung behind them. Combined with their long necks, it almost made them look like fuzzy brown dinosaurs.
“Huh? What are—Oh, those are snow elk. It’s summer now, so they don’t look like much, but once the snows come, their fur turns white.” Volker squinted at the herd, filling Syd in. “Their snow-white fur is really quite beautiful, though if I may say, they pale in comparison to you.”
Syd’s head jerked down, eyeing the grinning mercenary with a raised eyebrow. Honestly, Jadis had figured the man would spend at least the rest of the day chatting her up before making his intentions known. His boldness surprised her, almost enough that Jadis’ other selves nowhere near the conversation nearly reacted.
She had to admire that kind of confidence.
“Thank you, that’s sweet. But I should let you know now; you aren’t my type.”
Jadis didn’t try to sugar coat her words. In her experience, if you were going to turn someone down, it was best to be clear so there were no misunderstandings.
Volker’s grin turned to a disappointed frown. “Ah, a shame. If I may ask, is there any chance one of your sisters might…?”
“No,” Syd shook her head. “We’re all pretty similar in what we’re attracted to, and I’m sorry, you don’t fit the mold.”
“Too short?” The merc asked, his grin returning. He seemed to be accepting the rejection well. “I can assure you, size doesn’t count for everything.”
Syd let out a bark of laughter at the innuendo. She was glad to know that old saying was shared between Earth and Oros.
“No, no, nothing to do with your height,” Syd grinned back at the man. “If you really want to know, I’ll say that she’s more our type, if you get my meaning.” Syd hooked a thumb over her shoulder, indicating Aila driving the wagon.
“Oh. Oh!” Volker exclaimed, the realization lighting up his eyes. “Well damn me then. That’s that then.”
Specht chose that moment to break into the conversation, adding his own commentary for the first time in over an hour.
“Better luck next time, boy. You’ll find a big’un who’ll fall for you eventually,” the now chuckling man teased, patting Volker on the shoulder. “Maybe you should head for the west, find yourself a nice orc lady. You might even live through the wedding night if you gain a few more levels!”
Volker brushed off Specht’s hand, ignoring the jibe. He looked up at Syd with a half-smile, shrugging his shoulders. “What can I say, I have a type, too.”
“What about her then?” Syd motioned behind her again. “She’s tall, for a human, right?”
Volker laughed, shaking his head. “I’ve been trying to entice Bean Pole since spring, but she’s as cold as the winter wind to me. Despite my best efforts, I haven’t even seen a hint of a smile from her sent my way.” Volker dramatically clutched at his heart with one hand. “Ah! To be tempted by such beauty on a daily basis yet turned away like a beggar at the tavern door. Torture! And now three more temptations suddenly appear, making their way into my broken heart, kindling hope, only to quash it just as quickly! I am truly the most piteous of Valtar’s children!”
Jadis found it hard not to crack up at Volker’s overly theatrical histrionics. Bursting out into laughter while Dys was learning about demon invasions from Gerwas and Jay was politely discussing armor and weapon prices with Ludwas would have been more than a little impolite, not to mention confusing. Syd still openly giggled at the performance the mercenary was putting on, happy he had a sense of humor about his failed advances at least.
Once she had her giggles under control, Syd asked the still bemoaning man, “You called Aila something just before. Bean Pole? What’s that about?”
“Hm? Oh, just a nickname. Apparently, it’s from her childhood. I know she might not seem like much compared to you and your kin, but she really is quite tall for a human woman,” Volker answered. “I think her uncles call her that, so we all started to.”
“Huh,” Syd mused. Bean Pole was appropriate for a person of great height, she supposed, but she wouldn’t want to have a nickname like that. It wasn’t exactly flattering.
“You know, you may have better luck with her than I have,” Volker broke into Jadis’ thoughts.
“What? Who, Aila?” Syd furrowed her brows down at the now slyly grinning man.
“Who knows? That might be why all my attempts have been met with failure. I’m not one to begrudge another their chance at glory. If you’re interested, I say make a move.”
Syd’s lips quirked at Volker’s advice. She hadn’t been too focused on the redhead, what with everything else vying for her attention, but the girl was in her strike zone. Those freckles splashed across her cheeks and nose were adorably cute.
Both Jay and Dys eyed Aila surreptitiously while they continued their own conversations. Jadis had noticed Aila was giving the two of her glances, always quickly looking away whenever their eyes met. Was there a chance?
Well, as Jadis had observed not all that long ago, bold actions usually worked out for her. Couldn’t hurt to test the waters, see how Aila responded.
Only, if she was going to flirt with the pretty redhead, she was damn well not going to do it with her two uncles walking right next to her.