Blake's Guild House: Lobby
"And just like that..." Blake was at the front desk, currently tying a bit of silver string around Lu's new bow after taking a few days to get it ready. "...we're done!" He cheered after giving it a few good pulls. "Here, check it out." He handed it off to Lu standing in front of him. "Oh?" And watched the bow come alive in the Elf's hands seemingly growing at his touch.
"Seems good to me..." Lu did his bit of testing. "...let's try this?" He muttered as he thought about a small bow. "It works!" And within moments the bow turned into a miniature version of itself, big enough to be held on one finger with its string shrinking as well. "Heh! It even made the string smaller!" He giggled a little as it turned back to its standard size.
"That's cause it and by proxy myself! Are amazing!" Rena cheered from Lu's shoulder.
"So amazing that it needed some string, eh?" Blake muttered, knocking Rena off her high horse or in this case her high shoulder. "Oh? Here, got this done too." He dropped a pair of white gloves in front of Lu. "The bowstring out of hair was one thing, but gloves? Really? That's just weird, man."
"Then why'd you make it?" Vasha asked while doing some paperwork. "More importantly, since when did you know how to knit?"
"1: Lu asked me to And 2: I only know how to make string, the gloves were Mari," Blake explained, taking the bow back from Lu to give it one more good look over. "Alright, all it needs is a name now. Got any ideas?" He asked after giving it back to Lu.
"Hmm? Maybe, Hor?" Lu answered, unsure of himself as he looked at Rena on his shoulder.
"Huh? What are you looking at me for? It's yours, so I'm fine with anything you want!" Rena cheered, hopping up to Lu's head then posed with her hands on her hips and her chest pushed out. "And look! It's happy!" She pointed at the bow in Lu's hands as it was growing green and white vines along Lu's arms, almost like it was giving him armor.
"Okay! Then I guess it's..." Lu held up the bow with his left hand, letting its vines go down to his shoulder. "...Spriggan Bow, Hor!" Then pulled on the silver string made from his brother's hair with his right hand.
"Hell yeah!" Rena boomed over the magical moment from her spot on Lu's head.
"Well, you two look good. I'll be leaving now..." Blake, on the other hand, was quick to get out of there. "Ugh!" But he stopped in his tracks when a puff of smoke came in front of his face.
"No. They can leave, but your ass is staying here." Vasha looked right at her boss/owner with a dull pair of eyes.
"Alright, Rena, let's go try a few new arrows, huh?" Lu offered, leaving Blake behind even as he looked at the Elf for help. "You're on your own, Blake. I don't want extra work dropped on me either..."
"Wait! No! I want to laugh at his suffering!" The Fairy whined as she was being dragged off by Lu. "Noooo!" and disappeared up the stairs with him.
"So, what's on the worksheet today?" Blake groaned as he came back to the desk and picked up a random pile of papers.
"Nothing." The Goblin answered and stretched out a bit, jigging her chest up and down in Blake's currently stupefied face. "Which is it? No work or my chest?" She asked after leaning up and over a bit, trying to take the papers out of Blake's hands. "Do you mind giving me those?"
"A bit of both, and here..." Blake muttered in answer and gave the papers to her. "...so what is it?"
"Hold on..." Vasha answered, marking a few things down on the papers she took from Blake. "...sign and stamp these." She held up a pen and a wax stamp.
"That's it?" Blake asked after doing his best fancy signature and pressed a red seal that was B.B.S short of Blake's Blazing Smithy inside a fiery hammer on the papers. "By the way, when did we get this?" He added, holding up the stamper.
"That big Orc guy said; you needed one after you got bigger since you don't brand anything you make. So I asked him to get that done for you." Vasha checked the papers over and then got them all in a neat stack. "That should do for today..." She got off her high stool and tapped the rune that controlled the desk's side counters.
"Ah!" With Blake jumping back when it was about to smack him. "Not this time!" He smirked at the piece of wood as Vasha came out. "A brand, huh? I feel like I used to have one of those but..." The smith tried thinking back to when he was still in Fairmaw, but nothing came to mind. "...What?" He looked at his Goblin who was staring blankly up at him.
"I want to go shopping." Was Vasha's answer as she moved her pipe from side to side.
"And you're looking at me for what? You got paid this month so if you're looking for extra, I ain't giving," Blake pulled at his pockets showing he didn't have a dim on him.
"No, I've got all the money I need, right here..." Vasha sunk a hand deep into her cleavage and moved it around a bit to pull out a sizeable coin pouch that she built up after working at the Heated Scale. "...I need someone to carry my stuff."
"And when did I become your shopping cart...?" Blake loomed over Vasha, trying to make her take it back without actually ordering her to do it. "...and didn't you say that you're not interested in me walking you around like a pet?" He added, remembering when he offered to take Vasha to the Silver Grand that one time.
"1) You're supposed to support your slaves with their basic needs in this case 'shopping' and 2) instead of you walking me around you'll be my personal bag carrier..." Vasha countered then made her way to the door with her hips and rear shaking behind her. "...and if you don't? I'll just take an extra-long day off like you keep telling me to..." She wheeled around, finding Blake following her with a cheery smile. "...Seriously?"
"Hey, if you're gonna show it off I'm gonna look at it." Blake teased and reached for one of the doors, trying to act the part of a gentleman for his Goblin secretary. "GUAH!" And was sent flying back into the lobby when the doors got kicked open by a large black boot.
"YO! BLAKE! I've got shit for you to fix!" Which belonged Gwyn, The Black Knight Of the Rainbow Knights, over her shoulder was her flamberge wrapped in some brown cloth since she didn't have a scabbard big enough for the thing. "Yo, Potato, where's your boss?" She asked after spotting Vasha.
"He's over there I think?" Vasha pointed with her pipe at where Blake had his crash-landing.
"Thanks! Oh! And here!" Gwyn flicked a silver coin right into the Goblin's cleavage and made her way over to Blake.
"The fuck was that...?" Blake groaned, slowly picking himself off the floor. "...hey, Gwyn." In answer he found Gwyn coming up to him. "What is it, Orge-girl?"
"This, Pepper-boy." Without many words, Gwyn shoved her sword into Blake's chest.
"Need some maintenance?" Blake asked, holding the broad blade with some effort even with all his muscle. "Still can't believe you can use this thing..." He muttered while unwrapping the sword and took a look at it. "...Hmm? You never took this in for anyone to fix up did you?" He added after noting all the chips and nicks running along its blade.
"Nope! Why would I? You're the only smith good enough to work on this bad boy!" Gwyn smirked, slamming a firm hand down on one of Blake's shoulders nearly throwing him off balance. "And it's your damn fault it's so heavy! You made it!"
"Yeah! Yeah! But you're the one who wanted a big knightly sword, right!?" Blake yelled back at her after fixing his posture. "But I can't get to this thing right now...I'm...busy today?" He looked over at Vasha currently tapping a tiny foot.
"Huh?" Gwyn turned to the Goblin looking their way then back at Blake. "Oh? Got another date ladies man?" She winked at her longtime friend. "Better hope Mari doesn't find out or you're screwed." She rubbed an elbow on Blake's chest and acted like she was looking around for Mari. "Where is he?"
"Ha. Ha. You've screwed me over as much as she and my old man have..." Blake gave Gwyn a blank stare and took her flamberge over to the front desk. "Bread! Get your little ass out here!" He yelled, and after some quick footsteps, his young student appeared out of the door leading to their smithy. "Ask Saffire to put this in the smithy and don't touch it," Blake ordered, bearing down on Bread like he was ready to take the kid's head off.
"Yeah! Sure! I will!" Bread quickly nodded, but then the thought of asking Saffire to do something came to his mind, and his face went blue. "Ugh? Instead of asking Saffire to carry it, maybe I should do it? You know for training!" He reached for Gwyn's flamberge and slowly slid it off the front desk. "WHA! Get it off! Get it off!" The moment he tried taking its weight he was put to the floor.
"See." Both Blake and Gwyn told the boy as they reached down; Blake grabbed Bread by his hat while Gwyn took her sword's handle. "Up you go!" And with little effort, they got the two of them up and into the air.
"Listen when I tell you something," Blake gave Bread an almost fatherly stare and sat him down. "Just tell Saffire I owe her one and that should be fine." He waved the boy off after that, watching him run back to get the help of Dragon. "So?" Then turned to Gwyn setting her sword back on the front desk. "Since you're out of a sword for a while what are you going to be doing?"
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"Hmm...?" Which left Gwyn with a rare thoughtful look on her face. "...I was planning on watching you work like old times, but since you're off, I'll hang around here until you get back, that okay?"
"Yeah, sure! Better than getting that little Ovis girl ordering you around, right?" Blake gave her the okay and even got a light chuckle out of her. "But you might have to wait a bit, more than just a day. This bad boy is in need of some good loving from his father." Blake brushed a hand over the blade of the flamberge. "Huh?" And in doing so, he felt something like an engraving near the black leather wrappings around its guard.
"Sweet! More time away from work sounds good to me!" Gwyn cracked a broad smile at the thought of being away from her guild, sure those guys were her allies, but Blake was here. "And someone else." Again she looked around a bit for someone.
"Well? I'm off, don't break anything or your boss is paying for it!" Blake didn't ask what she was looking for since he had a good idea of 'who' it was and went over to Vasha. "He's in the training room down that way!" He pointed down the side where the training room was and slammed the door shut with a cheeky smile on his face.
"HEY! I WASN-!" Gwyn was about to yell at the Smith-Knight, but his smiling face was nothing but an image in her head now. "GRR! That guy! Like I'm gonna go anywhere!? I'll just wait here until he comes back! Yeah!? That'll show him!" She crossed her arms and stood steadfast like any knight on duty would. "Uhmm? But maybe I could go for an extra workout?" The woman asked herself, flexing one of her arms. "Hmm?" Then looked right and left to make sure no one was watching her. "Yeah! That's all I'm doing!" Gwyn assured herself and made her way to the training room.
"Nnngh! Graah! Oooh!" And on her way there, escaping from the slightly open door of the training room were the pained gasps and groans of Nathan.
"What's up with him?" Gwyn asked as she got to the door and opened it fully. "Huh?" Then tilted her head at the sight of Nathan in his pants and dress shirt while his robe and leather vest were cast aside on a table along with his spellbooks and chain. "What's he doing?" It looked like the mage was trying to lift a bag of sand.
"NNGGH! Come on! Come on!" And he was failing badly at it even though he was putting as much strength as his wimpy body could put out. "AHH!" Which all resulted in him throwing himself on his back. "Ugh! Dammit!" He cussed up at Gwyn who had walked over to him after he fell. "YOU!?" He sat up straight on seeing her.
"Sup, Useless Mage?" Gwyn gave him a simple wave then picked the sandbag up with one hand and tossed it over her shoulder. "Need some help?" She teased, holding a hand out to the mage.
"No." Nathan spat out as he got up without any help despite the tired look on his face and the sweat raining down to the floor. "Now then could I have that bag?" He pointed at the sandbag on Gwyn's shoulder with his arms held out.
"Sure thing! But care-" The moment Gwyn handed the bag off to Nathan, he hit the floor with a loud thump followed by the sound of air leaving his lungs. "-ful..." She finished before pulling the bag off Nathan and helped him up this time. "Alright! What gives?! Why is your bookworm ass doing strength training all of a sudden?"
"That is none of your business, Knight!" Nathan's lips were sealed shut, no way in hell would he waste his time telling this woman anything about his failed attempt at gaining some muscle. "Now then instead of handing it to me when I wasn't ready...I believe it would be better if you lay it down on the floor and let me take it from there." He explained while pointing at the floor between the two of them.
"Fine..." Gwyn shrugged and dropped the bag then walked over to a set of training weapons. "Hmm?" And while picking one out, she took a few glances at Nathan still failing at getting the sandbag off the floor. "Aaahhh..." Leaving her to sigh at the poor sap. "...You're doing it wrong! Jackass!"
"Wha!" Nathan snapped up straight when he heard the yell of a hardened drillmaster come out of Gwyn. "I told you; I do not ne-!"
"Shut it!" Gwyn shut him up with those words and a point of a wooden sword. "Now! Feet at shoulder's width!" She tapped the training sword at Nathan' feet until he got them the way she wanted. "Squat down!" After that, she pushed him down low. "Bend your back a little and grip both sides firmly with your hands while your arms are like trees!"
"Uh? Okay? What now?" Nathan was taken for a loop after going along with everything Gwyn was telling him to do. "This feels oddly comfortable?" He thought after Gwyn poked him in a few spots to get it right.
"Now lift with your knees while straightening your back and pull your arms in as you get the bag off the floor up to your shoulder..." Gwyn ordered, using the wooden sword's tip as a mark to help Nathan along the way.
"Ah!" And to the mage's surprise, he did it! With a bit of effort, mind you but far less than what he was putting himself through a while ago. "Uh, thank y-OW! What are you doing!" He cried when Gwyn whacked him in the back of his head with the training sword she was holding.
"49 more!" Gwyn screamed in Nathan's face, holding the training sword up high, ready to bring it down on Nathan's head.
"Yes! Ma'am!" And so Nathan got down to it and quick since every time he tried to take a break, Gwyn would loom over him like an executioner...one that would yell out helpful pointers at times.
Five Minutes Later
"DONE!" Nathan screamed in sweet victory and relief as he tossed the sandbag as hard as he could, which wasn't much at the moment since it flopped to the floor a few inches away from him. "Curse you! To the end of the world!" But that didn't stop him from stepping on it like the bag was some powerful monster defeated after a hard drawn-out battle. "What!?" He snapped at Gwyn currently chuckling to herself.
"No! No! You did go-hehehe!" The tall woman giggled to herself as she waved a hand at him. "But are you going to tell me why you're trying to get some meat on those bones?" She asked, flexing one of her arms a bit to show off.
Nathan sighed at the question but seeing as Gwyn helped him with his workout without even knowing why he was doing it meant she was only looking out for him. "Do you know of the Sigil Sect?" He asked, wiping his face with his shirt sleeves. "Oh? Thank you." And was handed a towel by Gwyn.
"No problem," Gwyn waved it off as nothing. "But you're talking about that group of strong mages, right?" She took her best guess at what the Sigil Sect was.
"On a base level, yes..." Nathan muttered after padding out his face then made his Advance Mana Control book float over to his side. "...look here." He popped the book open, and out of it came a magical mist with some words spelled out in white light.
To all Spellcasters! Who are in their last years at Le Fay School of Magic or those who have long since left the school and any user of magic who has served the kingdom of Laudonia with life and limb.
We of the Sigil Sect, ask you to come to Le Fay School Of Magic's main school within Gorz in nine days, fourteen hours, fifty-six minutes, and ten seconds.
The reason for this summons is that we wish to add a new member to our ranks! As all may know, being a member of our group grants you access to a nearly unlimited amount of knowledge on any and all magical concepts found in Laudonia along with the fame of being seen as a master of our ways.
All shall be tested in a number of ways that can not be discussed at this time, and we warn all those who think too highly of themselves or those too weak of heart to ask themselves if they are truly worthy of the trials that await.
After that last bit, the mist died down, and Nathan returned his book to the table. "That should explain things to you I believe."
"Hmm? I think I got it but do you need to train for a chance to join those guys? Aren't all of the magic people? You know? Not into the whole physical thing?" Gwyn was still a little curious as to what Nathan was training his body for and was not in some dark room with his face in a book.
"Hardly, there are quite a few spellcasters that deal with magic that aids their body or benefit more from having a powerful one..." Nathan corrected Gwyn's outlook on most magic users and then made his Sparkling Stikes of Boa come to his side. "I am building my body up to use one such spell that requires a good physique..." He trailed off from there as he was going through the book until he came to the right page. "...Clad my body in an armor of blinding furry, give me speed to match the very sparks of a storm, and allow my foe to know the feeling of swift destruction, Lightning Cloth!" With a flash of lightning, Nathan was covered in a light veil of electricity that danced and jumped around his body as his hair and parts of his clothing spiked up.
"Neat! What's it do-OW!" Gwyn tried poking the pure lightning coming off Nathan and got zapped by it. "Is that it?" She added while sucking her finger.
"No...just watch..." Nathan answered as he zoomed across the room as if he was five times as fast and left behind a dazzling trail of yellow sparks behind him. "...and there's more!" He smirked at Gwyn who had a fittingly shocked expression on her face. "Hmm! Hmm! Hmm!" Nathan quickly zipped over to a set of training dummies. "Hah!" And threw a poor excuse for a punch at one of them. "AAAHH!" The result of which was the entire thing blowing up in his face.
"Hah! You're almost cool with that thing on!" Gwyn kept a wide grin on her face after watching Nathan's display and was about to ask for a quick spar with the walking lightning bolt. "Hmm?" But her grinning face faded into a look of worry as Nathan dropped to his knees, panting heavily. "Hey! What happened!?" With her knightly instinct kicking in, she ran up to him with an arm held out.
"Ah, thank you again...this becoming routine is it not? He-" Nathan tried making light of his dizzy spell. "Ugh?" But the worrisome look on Gwyn's usual stone-cold or grinning face broke him open as he sighed deeply. "You see this spell takes a toll on one's body if not probably trained for it. The spell in question shoots lightning into every part of your body in exchange for copying its power..." He held up his hands which were slightly burnt or bleeding from using his Lightning Cloth. "Now, I know what you are thinking, but this is the spell I wish to learn and as One Loved By Mana! I must master it, hmm, hmm, hmm!" He forced out a laugh despite the look of pain on his face.
"Alright, then I'll help you!" Gwyn declared, after listening to Nathan and although he wasn't much to work with the sight of him trying his hardest was stuck in her mind. "Just like him and me..." An image of a younger her and Blake training poorly appeared in her head.
"Wh-what? N-no! I could not ask you to! I-I am sure you have your duties! Yes!?" Nathan looked at Gwyn's now grinning face all too set on the undertaking of whipping him into shape. "Oh, dear Goddess on high please protect my body and mind!" He sent a prayer up to the heavens hoping for salvation. "Ugh!" But it did not come as his face was rammed into Gwyn's big, beefy, and oddly enough soothing chest.
"Don't worry about it! I took some time off from the knights to get Blake to look at my sword!" Gwyn cheered with Nathan uselessly trying to get out of her hold. "Now let me think? We've got about ten days to get you all good and fit...hmm? Gonna have to use the old knightly workout for you, maybe a few added stuff?" She thought out loud, trying to think up a good plan for Nathan. "Have anything you want to hit first...?" She looked at Nathan for any of his ideas.
"~Ah~" Who had given up on getting out and was having a wonderful time resting his head on Gwyn's chest. "Uh!" That is until he turned his eyes upwards to meet Gwyn's. "I-I-I-I!" Then turned into a stuttering idiot after he was found out.
"Hahaha! Yeah, you need some rest, right!?" Gwyn tried to laugh it off as she pushed Nathan away and turned around with a beet-red face. "Heh! He likes them!" She cheered herself on while pressing a hand to her not-so-girly chest.
"Why did she turn away!? Does she hate me now!? What about my training!? What about our relationship!? Wait!? Since when was there a relationship!?" Nathan on the other was giving himself a self-made headache.
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Outside The Guild House
"Told you it was worth it to come back," Blake whispered to Vasha in his arms as the two were peeping on Nathan and Gwyn from a window. They came back to the Guild House after Blake said he wanted to buy some stuff for himself, but Vasha refused to loan him anything.
"Please, I only came here to shut you up..." Vasha muttered after being forced to watch some sad young love. "...now let's go." She ordered with a puff of smoke going up to Blake's face.
"Okay, okay, you're the boss for today." Blake followed the order while thinking up some ways to mess with the mage and knight. "Payback time Gwyndolin! And don't worry I'll make sure you get your guy, hehe!"
Chapter End