A few minutes later Sanora is sitting at a table in the common hall, waiting for Corvina to return with the party that will take her along. Only a few esteemed parties get the privilege to take along rookies since it makes an escort job out of usually simple quests. It doesn’t take long until the crowgirl comes back with some people in tow.
The first one to catch her attention is a tall, broad man, a beastkin like the woman who sold Sanora the ring. One of the horns growing through his long, red hair is broken off in the middle, and numerous big earrings adorn his big, his fluffy ears. A towershield with a bright white metal coating as tall as Sanora is slung over his back. He is wearing barely more than day to day clothes, no armour and an iron shortsword on his belt.
The man walking in front with Corvina is wearing a kind smile and a three-day stubble. His hair seems a bit overgrown, like he has been putting off getting it cut for just a bit too long. His armor is a mix of leather and metal. He is a bit on the short and wider side, but Sanora can tell that it is mostly muscle. A sharpened kite shield and a sword are on his back, both made from a dark green metal.
Next to him is a woman about a head taller than him, same height as Sanora. Her golden hair reaches down to her hips even in a braid, showing off her long and pointy ears. Oddly her armour isn’t made of metal or leather, but of wood which is giving of a faint aura of magic. Her bow, slung around her chest is made of the very same wood. It looks like it grew into this shape.
The last one Sanora can’t see until she pokes her head out from behind the big man with the shield. The girl curiously musters Sanora who has to look twice. She seems even younger than Sanora. And she is, probably, barely twenty herself which is about half the age of most other adventurers around here. The girl’s black hair is tied into a bun behind her head, giving a great view of her young face. The moment she sees Sanora she steps out behind her cover fully, revealing the black robes she is clad in and the long wooden staff she is carrying. She is eyeing Sanora with a curious and excited look.
“Thank you for your patience.” Corvina says as they reach the table. “This is the party you’ll be joining today.” Corvina gestures at them and steps aside. The human man, apparently the leader, takes a step forward.
“Hello Sanora. I’m Balmir, the leader of Bullwind. It’s great to meet you.” He extends his hand, which Sanora takes after quickly getting up. His voice is smooth and a bit quiet, but still has an oddly commanding vibe to it.
“Likewise. I’m looking forward to joining you today.” She smiles at him and looks at the others.
“Serantis.” The towering beastkin says, his voice low and gravelly, and nods at her.
“Greetings. I am Menthria Henwa Naratani.” The elf woman nods at her politely. “Mehena for short.” And winks at her with a smirk. Her voice is very gentle, like a breeze of wind.
The young-looking girl steps forward with a big smile.
“I’m Mari!” She smiles. “I hope we’ll get along.” She adds with her cheerful voice, a bit reminiscent of chimes.
“So do I, Mari.” Sanora replies with a smile herself. “It’s nice to meet you all”
“Alright, I wish you good luck. Work is calling so I have to head back. I will be looking forward to your return.” Corvina excuses herself and heads back upstairs.
“Alright.” Balmir claps his hands. “Let’s head out, we can discuss formation and details on the way, we have quite some walking to do, but should be back before sundown.” He nods, an optimistic smile on his face.
A round of nods and ‘got it’ resound from the small party and they head out of the guild with Sanora in tow.
“So, how old are you?” Mari asks Sanora not ten seconds after they left.
“Twenty.” Sanora replies.
“So, three years older than me.” Mari nods thoughtfully, stealing a look at Sanora chest which is smaller despite her being older than the black-haired girl. Her thoughtful expression turns into a smile.
“How’d you end up with the adventurers?” she asks her.
“Oh, I was recruited today by a man named Brenn.”
“They came to you specifically? So, the rumours of you clearing a nest with a king alone are true?”
“Yep!” Sanora grins at her. “That was a few days ago.”
“That’s so impressive.” The girl smiles at Sanora. “Maybe you can teach me some things? When it comes to my fighting, I’m deadweight. It’s a bit hard to get on the same page with the others with me being so young. So teaching is always a bit… yeah.” She says with an awkward smile.
“I can imagine.” Sanora chuckles. “What brings you here anyways? Isn’t 17 a bit young to go around and fight with your life on the line?”
“I’m a mage!” She says with a proud smile, holding out her staff. “The youngest rank 7 mage in the whole valley. And since mages are rare among the adventurers, the demand is high.”
“I see. What magic do you use?” Sanora asks the young girl.
“Healing.” A golden lights pulses through her staff for a second as the girl answers with a proud smile.
“Maybe you could teach me some healing magic? I’d really like to know some, but my fiancée is always too busy to teach me lately.”
“It’s a deal then.” Mari smiles at her. “You try to teach me fighting and I try to teach you magic.”
“Deal!” Sanora grins at her and they shake hands.
“From what Corvina told me you are a mage yourself, aren’t you?” Balmir chimes in.
“You are?!” Mari asks with wide and sparkling eyes. “Why didn’t you tell me?” She pouts at the man who just laughs.
“Because you would have found out either way, no?” He laughs heartily.
“I guess...” Mari says quietly and scratches her head.
“Back to topic. Corvina told me your class is spellsword frontliner, correct?”
This causes the rest of the group to look at Sanora.
“Spellsword frontliner? At 20?” Serantis raises an eyebrow. “What your gear made of? Narcium alloy?” He asks her.
“Nope.”
“Dyed steel?” His eyebrow climbs even further.
“No, just Narcium.”
“Just narcium?” He asks her.
“Yep.” Sanora smiles at him as he looks at her in disbelief.
“That’s… pretty impressive.” The redhead grins at her after a moment. “Man, it’ll be great to have you take the front. I’m counting on you.” He gives her a thumbs up.
“I’ll do my best.” She nods, returning the thumbs up.
“Back to topic please?” Balmir says with a sigh. “I know we all have some questions for Sanora, but discussing the formation for today comes first.”
“No fair, I didn’t have my turn.” Mehena pouts, but Balmir just keeps talking.
“As said, Sanora is a frontliner using sword and magic. We will go in as usual, with Sanora taking the front along with Serantis. I’ll be in the middle with Mari, Mehena takes the rear and scouting. Any questions so far?” he turns to Sanora.
“I think I got the gist of it.” Sanora nods.
“Good. If anything gets past you and Serantis, either Mehena or me will take care of it. If things get hot, retreat behind Serantis, same if either of you gets injured badly. One takes the front with me while the other gets an emergency treatment from Mari. That’s the go to tactics for a group of enemies. When it comes to larger targets you and me will take the front to get the most damage in while the big man keeps our support safe.” By the time Balmir finishes they are already walking out of the gates onto the open plains.
“And lastly, should I call a retreat then we retreat.” He says with a firm voice. “If you have any questions feel free to ask at any time.” He goes back to his friendly demeanour.
“Will do, thanks.” Sanora nods. “So, what’s the target today?”
“Ah yes, we have an extermination quest for a group of trerchers. They have attacked travellers on the western road. We are going to take them out before they start nesting there. It’s annoying work, but if we don’t keep the numbers down during season, they will infect the plains like locusts.”
“Question.”
“Yes?”
“What are trerchers?”
The whole group looks at Sanora again.
“I am not from around here.” She says in defence.
“I see.” Balmir nods. “Well, trerchers are considered distant cousins of lurchers. They are small, green humanoid monsters that roam the plains in the high grasses. But don’t be fooled, while they aren’t stronger than lurchers they are more intelligent, and a lot nastier. They often kidnap humans, either for eating them or… more disgusting things.” Balmir pulls a face. “That is why we need to do these jobs, to keep the roads safe.”
“That sounds like they can get really troublesome.” Sanora nods. “If the groups get big enough, they can still get dangerous.”
“Exactly. That’s why we must take care of it before a group gets too large. That and these small groups of monsters are great to rank in rookies since they are not too dangerous, at least for experience parties.”
“So, you can also get a feeling for my skills.” Sanora nods. “Got it.”
“Alright, that settles the important stuff for today.” Balmir nods. “Go ahead.” He waves his hand dismissively. Sanora just tilts her head, but a moment later she is flooded by questions from the rest of the group.
A few hours of walking and questioning later the group takes the first break to gather their energy for the fight ahead of them.
“Man, I’d really love to meet this Bawarag fellow someday.” Serantis says.
“I can imagine you would get along.” Mehena laughs. “I for my part am much more intrigued by Amni. It’s not often you hear of a woman of her format. Someday you’ll have to introduce us to them.”
“I’d love that too.” Sanora smiles. “I quite miss them myself to be honest.” She adds with a downcast gaze.
“Can’t you go and visit them?” Mari asks with a tilted head.
“It’s a long journey there and due to my fiancée’s work, we can’t really leave town for too long.”
“What does he do? You mentioned him earlier, your fiancé.”
“What she does?” Sanora wonders how to best answers Mari’s question. She doesn’t really know what Vadia does exactly. “Rule, I guess? Something with politics probably.”
“Rule what? Wait, her?” Mari furrows her eyebrows.
“Deepvalley. I mean she doesn’t rule yet, her father does but she probably does her fair share.”
Mari seems a bit confused. The others meanwhile have all frozen and stare at Sanora.
“But that would mean…” Slowly the pieces seem to fall into place for Mari as well.
“Y- Your fiancée is Vadia!? No way! You’re joking!” She stares at Sanora with wide eyes, but she just chuckles.
“Nope, not joking. I’m dating the future ruler of Deepvalley.” Silence falls over the group as everyone stares at Sanora who just looks around. “What’s with you guys? You all seem kind of pale.”
Balmir pinches the back of his nose. “That Corvina.” He curses under his breath. “Well, it seems apologies are in order lady Sanora. We have not been told that we would be accompanied by a noble today.” He lowers his head. “I hope you can forgive our casual approach until now.” The others follow suit and lower their heads towards Sanora. But she just groans, causing them all to flinch.
“No, please, casual approach is fine, appreciated even! The casual approach is half the reason I’m here.” She says a bit desperate.
The group exchanges a few looks before Balmir speak up again.
“Are you sure?”
“100 percent. Please, just pretend I am the average run-off-the-mill adventurer. I have to deal with enough of the noble talk at the castle already.” She pleads. The group exchanges a few more looks but their expressions soften again.
“That sure is a bit unusual but I think we can handle it.” Balmir nods with a smile.
“Thanks.” Sanora breathes a sigh of relief.
“So, the reason why you can’t visit home,” Mari starts again after processing the shock for a bit. “-is because you are busy working for the city?”
“Well, it’s mostly Vadia doing the work while I lie around somewhere but yeah, that sums it up somewhat.”
“That means you’re a noble… so can you really fight?”
“Mari!” Balmir hisses at the girl, but she just raises her hands in defence.
“She told us to treat her like before!”
Balmir facepalms.
“It’s alright.” Sanora laughs. “You don’t have to worry about that, I am very much capable of holding my own in a fight.” A self-assured smile spreads on her face. If there is one thing she trusts in, it’s what she learned from Bawarag.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
“If I may ask a question, where are you from? I never heard about you before so you must be from outside of the valley, right?” Mehena chimes in again.
“Northwestern seas.” Sanora nods. “I arrived here about four saints ago, then I met Vadia and we got together. But we kept it a secret until last week.”
Mehena nods understandingly. “Yes, searching for a partner as a noble can be quite the task. Especially considering Vadia’s position since Deepvalley is such an important trade-“
“Balmir, she’s breaking the rule!” Serantis groans.
“Mehena, you know the rule, no politics or economy talks during quests.” Balmir sighs.
“Right right, sorry, I got a bit carried away.” Mehena chuckles.
“You know about that kind of stuff?” Sanora asks the elf, who nods.
“I come from a noble family myself, albeit an elven one.” She wiggles her pointy ears. “But I left for the same reasons you are here for. It wasn’t for me. Too dull and boring and stuck up. Thus, I came here, and I don’t regret a single minute of it.” She says with a warm smile which seems contagious as it spreads throughout the round.
“Our Mehena sure is a smooth talker isn’t she.” Serantis shakes his head. “But don’t let it fool you, she just wants to distract from her breaking the rule.” He snickers. Mehena just rolls her eyes.
“Well, we wouldn’t need that rule if your brain wasn’t made of muscles.”
“Gods, there we go.” Balmir sighs as Mehena and Serantis start to bicker with each other, throwing around stupid insults and snidey remarks.
“They really held back long this time.” Mari, still sitting next to Sanora says as she watches the elf and the beastkin argue.
“This is normal?” Sanora looks at Mari who just giggles.
“It would be weird if they didn’t argue at this point. The last time I remember them being polite with each other was on our very first quest together.” Mari looks at the two with a nostalgic gaze.
“Your very first quest huh?” Sanora chuckles. “What was that?”
“I think an extermination job like this, although back then it wasn’t trerchers-“
Sanora stops listening as all her hair suddenly stands on end. Something just entered the range of her flesh sense, and it was closing in fast. Without even thinking she reaches out to grab Mari by the collar and pulls her towards her. A creature bursts out of the high grass around them, just barely missing the young girl who is rolling over the ground with Sanora. The others jump up, but the large, doglike creature immediately retreats back into the cover of the high grass.
“Are you alright?” Sanora asks Mari, still lying over her protectively. The girl below her just blinks a few times, trying to process what just happened.
“Uh yes, I’m fine. W-what happened?” She looks around as Sanora pulls her onto her feet.
“Prowlers! Circle, now, girls in the middle, fronts outside.” Balmir gives the commands with a sharp voice that feels very unfitting of the usually calm and held back man as he draws his sword and shield. Sanora can see why he is the leader. When things get serious, he immediately seems like a different person.
The two men and Sanora form a circle with Mehena and Mari in the middle as they await the next attack. The first one came fast. The beast had directly aimed for Mari’s throat. Had Sanora not seen it coming with her sense of flesh magic it might have bitten right through the petite girl’s neck.
The tension is high, everyone on edge as they wait for the next charge of the hulking hound.
“What was that?” Sanora asks with a low voice, her eyes fixed to the grass surrounding them.
“Prowler. Big, muscular dog without fur. They hunt in packs in the high grasses of plains and the thicket of forests.” Serantis growls. “But it’s rare for them to be around during trercher season.” He says while looking over his shield into the plains.
“You saw the first one coming, how? And more importantly can you do it again?” Balmir asks with a stern tone.
“Magic sense, and yes I should see it coming just before it reaches us.” Sanora nods.
“All right. Next attack you shout the name of whoever it’s coming at.” Balmir says and everyone just gives him a short nod. The group’s nerves are on edge, all eyes scanning the high grasses around them, waiting for the next attack. Sanora’s flesh sense has gotten better, but it was still short ranged and while the other frontliners have shields, with only three of them the gaps are potentially large enough for the monsters to just directly get to the girls in the middle. As everyone is standing on edge, weapons gripped tightly and shields held up, Sanora is wrecking her brain for a way to expand the range of her spell. But her thoughts are cut short when she feels something dart closer to them.
“Ser-“She starts shouting but before she can finish the giant hound leaps from the grass at Serantis. But the towering man is no slouch. The first three letters of his name were enough to alert him, and he slams his giant shield right into the face of the monster. A sickening crack resounds as it’s skull is shattered and it drops to the floor.
“That’s it?” Serantis seems a bit disappointed.
“Focus big man.” Balmir chastises him. And he is right to do so as Sanora can feel the next one coming in. This time right at her.
“Here!” She manages before the creature leaps at her with its maw wide open. The sight immediately brings back bad memories, but she steels herself and holds up her sword to stab it mid-jump. The monster impales itself on it and falls to the ground dead. It is then when Sanora realizes that a stab was a very bad idea. Another prowler follows up while Sanora tries to pull out her sword. But the handguard gets caught in its teeth.
“Again!” she is desperate. Mari is right behind her and with no weapon Sanora is unable to defend the young girl. Neither Balmir nor Serantis have noticed her predicament, still holding their own positions and Mehena would likely be too slow with her bow. In a kneejerk reaction she lets go of her sword and meets the monster with her bare hands instead. It bites down on her wrist as she holds up her left arm. The large fangs bore into her tender flesh as she is pushed back with a pained scream. But she holds firm, her top priority being their healer’s safety. She can feel the pain shoot through her body, some of her fingers go limp as tendons are severed and her bones start to crack in between the muscular jaws. She pushes through the pain and with her free hand conjures a bone spear to jam it right into the open eye of the prowler. It sinks in with little resistance and pierces its brain, killing it on the spot. It falls down, but not without tearing a massive chunk of flesh out of Sanora’s arm.
“Sanora!” Mari screams horrified but Sanora stops her from rushing to her side.
“Stay back! There might be more!” She says through grit teeth. It takes her all she has to tell Mari to stay back. The pain is clouding her senses, as is the blood loss. But if they break formation now and another attack comes, they are even more fucked. She places a foot on the first one and pulls her sword out.
“Stupid four bladed guard.” She curses, looking at her blood-spitting wound.
‘If only I could just cast flesh magic to shut it…’
She wants to face palm as a realization hits her. All this this time she has been using her flesh sense passively, dragging it along as she went but she never poured any actual magic into it. With her last bit of focus she draws her power out, pouring it into her sensing spell. She can feel the range grow, feel how much more exact the image gets. Not only of her, but also of the other people around her and the last prowler circling around them about 10 meters away. A grin splits her face.
“Mehena.”
“Yes?” The elven woman looks at the grinning girl with a good amount of worry on her face.
“Right there.” Sanora points the tip of her sword at the prowler, following it as it circles around them. Mehena doesn’t hesitate and draws back the string of her bow. But she does not take out an arrow, she doesn’t even have a quiver on her. Instead from the bow itself an arrow grows, knocked right onto the string.
“Point at the head.” She says and Sanora adjusts her sword. Shortly after the arrow flies off with a whistle, its air blowing aside some strands of Sanora’s hair. The prowler drops dead. Sanora breaths out, leaning onto her sword for support. Her head is getting light as her arm is spitting out red liquid in a stream.
“Last one?” Balmir gives her a quick look.
“Last one.” Sanora affirms.
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, nothing in about 15 meters around us.”
Balmir nods. “Alright. Mari-” The young mage is already next to Sanora long before their leader can finish.
“By the gods half your wrist is gone!” She holds up her staff which glows golden and a wave of relief washes over Sanora as her hand starts to knit itself back together.
“You okay?” Sanora asks the girl.
“If I’m okay? Look at you!”
“What about me? You’re here after all.” Sanora chuckles weakly. Mari just looks at her with wide eyes and her mouth hanging open.
“That’s no excuse to be reckless!” She says, her eyes darting between the wound and Sanora face.
‘Huh, Mari is kind of adorable isn’t she… or it’s the blood loss.’ Sanora thinks while mustering the young mage and trying not to fall over. The others still stand guard around them until her hand is fully healed again. She stretches her fingers and moves them around. Her head is finally clear again as well.
“All done.” Mari wipes some sweat off her forehead. “Still feeling any pain?”
“Nothing.” Sanora smiles at her. “Thanks, you’re a lifesaver.”
“I guess we’re even then.” Her smile makes Sanora’s heart skip a beat.
‘What the fuck? Again? Why is happening so often lately…’
“I can’t believe we’d run into prowlers of all things.” Balmir interrupts them.
“Don’t they live in the plains?” Sanora turns to him.
“They do, but they are rare, so this was pretty bad luck.”
“But they make for a good extra pay!” Serantis grins, holding up two severed prowler paws with a grin.
“Right.” Balmir nods. “Let’s gather the paws and after that have a quick discussion.”
Everyone gets to it, cutting off both front paws of each corpse. Mehena made short work of the one in the grass. The arrow hit it right in the temple. Once finished, they move on to leave the place now smelling of food for any other predators around. After some walking they all sit down again to start their post battle talk.
“Alright, first of, Sanora. That was reckless. I’d ask that you refrain from such measures in future. But given the stuck sword it wasn’t such a bad call. But that brings me to the next thing. Your sword shouldn’t get stuck like that in the middle of battle in the first place. You need to have a better handle on your equipment. Just forcing your way through, while impressive, will sooner or later not work anymore. Four guardrails might seem like they will offer more protection, but you saw how they can get in the way.”
“I did.” Sanora nods. “I never really thought about that much, I’m sorry. I’ll take better care from now on.”
“That’s good then. If it wasn’t for Mari-“
“I’d be dead now.”
“You’d probably be.” Balmir says with a grim tone. But after a moment his expression softens again. “But that’s exactly why we don’t go out alone. It’s not like we all never slip here and there. If that was the case, we wouldn’t have a need for our Mari here.” He chuckles. “That’s not an invite to get injured by the way.” He adds and the rest of the group laughs.
“Thanks for the advice. I’ll watch out better from now on.” Sanora laughs along.
“It’s nothing. Well then, if you’re feeling ready, I propose we head on. It’s already getting a bit late.”
Sanora gives her arm a quick test roll before nodding at the man. “As ready as it gets.” She gives him a thumbs up.
They head on to their actual target, walking down the main road towards the west. It doesn’t take long until they see some partly destroyed planks of wood and an empty barrel lying on the roadside. A track, trampled into the grass, is leading away from the scene. Balmir gives a signal to quiet down as they are approaching the group of trerchers. Serantis takes the front with Sanora right behind him. Balmir and the girls are walking behind their frontliners, with the man taking the rear guard just in case. Soon they can hear sounds from ahead. Sanora pours some magic into flesh sense until she can feel the first creatures.