Mission — Ferris

Grant summoned us to his office so that we could be briefed on our upcoming mission. The plan was to meet in the guild hall before the appointment, but Ellie, our mysterious fifth member, still hasn’t shown up. We’ve already waited long enough to be late to the meeting.

“Let’s just go. I’ll tell that irresponsible twerp about the mission next time I see her,” Talia says, twitching with impatience.

“She said she would be here,” Norton says.

“I’m not showing up any later than this,” Talia insists.

Norton purses his lips. Talia stands up and heads upstairs, the rest of the group following her. When we open the door, we see Grant talking to a pretty young woman, a couple years older than me, with shoulder-length silver hair and blue eyes. I can’t sense her aura. Something is familiar about her, something that makes me hold my breath.

“Oh, you guys finally showed up,” the woman says.

Grant looks at Talia and grimaces.

“You’re late. I just finished briefing Ellie here on your mission and I don’t feel like doing it again. She’ll get you all caught up, I’m sure,” he says.

“But—” Talia starts.

“Bye bye. I’m a busy man,” he says, removing a book of crossword puzzles from his desk.

Talia stands in place for several seconds, opening and closing her mouth like a fish out of water. Zach starts snickering and Norton sighs.

“Come on, let’s go to the guild hall. I’ll get you tardy-tards all caught up,” Ellie says, skipping out the door of Grant’s office.

She does a double take when she notices me, her eyes going wide.

“Are you the new member?”

“Yeah.”

“Sorry, it’s just… You remind me of a friend, someone who died a long time ago,” she says.

That’s when I recognize her. Her name is Elise Lasova. Her father was a diplomat from Salsvale. She and I always played together when her father was visiting Elania. She was already a capable enchantress back then, and she declared herself my mentor. She would teach me all sorts of things about magic. Really though, it was just an excuse to hang out together without our parents making too many jokes about us getting engaged in the future. She was nice.

“I didn’t die, Elise,” I say.

Her jaw drops, and she practically tackles me with her hug.

“Holy fucking fuckedy fuck! How? It’s you! How?!”

“Um, I probably shouldn’t say.”

She holds her breath for a moment.

“Yes, you’re right. Of course,” she says.

She releases me from the hug and straightens out her clothes.

“You two know each other?” Zach asks.

Ellie clears her throat.

“Nope, not at all. Ferris and I have no relation whatsoever. Never seen him before in my life.”

“Right,” Zack says.

“Extremely intriguing past relations aside, we came here to hear about our mission,” Norton says.

“Also, you were supposed to meet us in the guild hall, Ellie. We were waiting for you there,” Talia says.

“No. We were definitely supposed to be meeting Grant,” Ellie says.

“Yes, but we said—”

“So yeah, our mission is to scout the ruins of Telluria,” Ellie continues.

“Telluria?” Zach asks.

“It’s an abandoned city that was overrun by a monster horde centuries ago. It’s just a big monster den now.”

“I know what it is. I was asking why we’re going there. Isn’t this an iron grade mission?”

“There are routine scouting missions to the ruins, and yeah, it’s usually an iron grade mission. One of the scouting teams didn’t come back, though. They sent out a bronze grade team and they didn’t come back either. Now it’s our turn.”

“I see. That’s concerning,” Norton says.

“The mission is to scout the area and find out what happened to the missing teams,” Ellie says.

“Do they have any idea what it might have been?” I ask.

“There have been increasing numbers of monsters coming out of that area recently, most of them demonic beasts. It’s possible that we’re dealing with a demon. If that turns out to be the case, Grant ordered us to retreat immediately to get backup.”

Demonism is a disease of the soul, a corrupting force that infects the spirit and warps the mind. Demons are humans that have been infected with this disease. They are incredibly dangerous and powerful, and have a transformative effect on their surrounding environment. They’re considered a gold grade threat, especially considering that there’s no real upper bound on their potential strength. Fortunately, they’re extremely rare.

“Of course, that’s most likely not the case. Hopefully there’s just a nest of hungry wyverns there or something,” Ellie says.

“Was there anything else?” Talia asks.

“Not that I can remember. If there is, it’s probably not important. Anyway, we leave the day after tomorrow. We’ll meet in the guild hall at eight-o-clock in the morning.”

“Very well,” Norton says.

“Anyway, Ferris, do you want to get lunch? We should catch up.”

“Never met him before, my ass,” Zack says.

“Oh shut up, mosshead,” Ellie snaps.

Zack self-consciously touches his hair. Ellie grabs me by the hand and pulls me out of the adventurers guild. Once we’re out of earshot of the rest of the team, she looks at me, continuing to pull me through the busy street.

“So how did you survive? Who else made it?”

“Just me. Mom burned her own spirit to cast some kind of defensive spell on me which protected me from the blast. I still don’t fully understand what she did.”

She stops, turning towards me and placing her hand on my shoulder.

“It must have been tough.”

“It was a long time ago, Ellie. It’s good to see you again, though.”

“You could have come to me after the disaster. Why didn’t you? Where did you go?”

“At first I did come to Salsvale, but I didn’t stay. When I found out about the laws that were put into place to appease Malazo, I ran. I wanted to be far away from civilization, so I went to a village in the southern mountains. An innkeeper there took me in.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

“Thank you.”

She hugs me.

“I’m happy you’re alive.”

It’s a little bit awkward. I wouldn’t have expected this reaction. I had no idea that I made such an impression on her. It was ten years ago.

“Should we get something to eat?” I ask.

She steps back and flashes me a big smile.

“Yes, I know just the place.”

She leads me towards the wealthy part of town where Maribelle is staying. Gorgeous mansions with extravagant gardens line the streets.

“So, what have you been doing over the last ten years?” I ask.

“Well, I went to Salsvale academy, became a famous enchantress, joined the adventures guild. Pretty much exactly what I expected to do. Things have been good.”

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I feel a twinge of jealousy. She’s had a comfortable life, the same kind of luxurious upbringing that I took for granted before it was taken away from me. Seeing her face reminds me of a time when I had it all.

“Here it is, the flailing fish. It’s a seafood restaurant, the best in Salsvale. They have fresh fish teleported in from Greenport every day.”

“This is out of my price range.”

“Don’t sweat it. I’ll pay, obviously.”

“Um, okay. Thank you.”

We step inside, and my eyes go wide when I notice a familiar face at one of the tables. Maribelle is eating lunch with a black haired girl who is wearing a glowing crystal on her neck.

“Oh, Cynthia! Who’s your friend? Mind if we share a table with you?” Ellie shouts across the restaurant.

The girl with Maribelle looks our way and winces when she sees Ellie. A forced smile forms on her face.

“Maybe not today. I would prefer to—”

“Ferry! Who’s that? Did you already get a girlfriend?” Maribelle shouts.

Cynthia looks at Maribelle with shock and horror.

“Come over and sit with us! You’ve got to try this fish! Have you ever eaten ocean fish before? It tastes amazing!” Maribelle says, waving us over.

“Your friend knows my friend. What a coincidence,” Ellie says.

Ellie and I walk to Maribelle’s table and sit down. Maribelle immediately scoops up a piece if fish with some sauce in her spoon and hands it to me.

“Try it.”

I eat the fish, and I’m hit by both bliss and nostalgia. It’s a level of culinary perfection that I haven’t experienced in many years, but which I had for almost every meal as a child.

“It’s fucking good, right?” Ellie asks.

I nod.

“I’ll order that, whatever it is,” I say.

Ellie laughs, patting me on the shoulder.

“It was the sea-bass, right?” Ellie asks.

“Yeah,” Maribelle says.

“Waiter! Two plates of the sea-bass!” Ellie shouts to no-one in particular.

Cynthia buries her face in her hands. Somehow I get the feeling that her supposed friendship with Ellie is a bit one-sided.

“So who are you, anyway?” Ellie asks Maribelle.

“Ferry, you haven’t told your girlfriend about me? How terrible.”

“Ellie, that’s my sister Maribelle, the daughter of the woman who adopted me.”

“Well aren’t you the cutest thing ever?” Ellie says, pinching Maribelle’s cheek.

“Ouch!” Ellie pulls her hand back, bruises on her fingertips from a pulse of entropomancy.

“Scratch that, you’re a fucking monster. How old are you?”

“Fourteen,” she says with a glare, as if she had been forced to answer the same exact question a million times in a row.

“Wow, how’d you get sand in your panties?” Ellie asks.

Maribelle raises her eyebrows.

“It’s the royal party. I’m not looking forward to it. I can already tell it’ll be another evening of a million people fawning over me. Just dinner with the Valbecks is bad enough,” Maribelle says.

“Oh, boo-hoo,” I say.

“Here, do you want this? It’s an aura suppressing bracelet. People won’t be able to sense how powerful you are if you wear it,” Ellie says, removing a simple beaded bracelet from her wrist.

Suddenly, I can feel an aura from her at around my level. Maribelle’s grimace instantly transforms into a huge grin.

“That’s a thing? Yes! I want it.”

Ellie tosses the bracelet to Maribelle.

“Thank you so much!” She exclaims, immediately putting it on her wrist.

“Don’t worry about it. They’re easy to make. Just don’t use powerful magic while wearing it or it will break.”

“Got it,” Maribelle says, happily drumming her hands on the table.

“What’s this party, exactly?” I ask.

“The Arvali are hosting a big party in a couple days. We’ll be leaving on our mission that morning though, so we can’t go,” Ellie says.

“You’re going?” I ask Maribelle.

“Yeah. Hopefully this bracelet thing will make it a better experience.”

Suddenly, Ellie snaps her head towards me, looking confused.

“Hold on Ferris, didn’t you say the woman who took you in was from a small village in the south? How come your sister is going to an event like this?”

Cynthia chuckles.

“Your brother is as bad at keeping your secrets as you are, Maribelle.”

“Hey, I’ll have you know that I officially became a member of house Silverleaf. I’m totally a legit noblewoman now.”

“How on earth did you manage that?” I ask.

Maribelle lowers the volume of her voice to a whisper as she explains the situation with a mischievous smirk.

“It’s easy. Remember that story you told me about a nation that was destroyed by a dragon? Well, I misled Joseph Valbeck into thinking I’m a survivor from there. Out of sympathy, he called in a favor with a friend, Samuel Silverleaf, who told everyone I’m his secret daughter.”

Ellie punches my shoulder.

“See, you could have been living the high life all along, Ferris.”

Crap. I don’t like this situation anymore.

“What does she mean by that?” Maribelle asks.

“You never told her? She’s your sister for fuck’s sake!” Ellie exclaims.

“Told me what?” Maribelle asks.

Ellie stares at me, crosses her arms, and raises her eyebrows. Fuck. Am I just supposed to say it? This is a secret I’ve kept close to my chest for my whole life! I didn’t even tell Natalia.

Also, who the fuck is this Cynthia girl and what is she doing with my sister?

“I’ll tell you later, Maribelle,” I say.

“Ah, don’t trust me? I take it back. You are a bit more reasonable than your sister. Unfortunately, it’s already obvious what your secret is. You should have changed your name,” Cynthia says.

I groan, rubbing my eyes. Why did she have to be so smart?

“Ugh. You want me to just tell her for you?” Ellie asks.

“Yes, tell me,” Maribelle says.

“Your brother is Ferris Vermillion. He was the crown prince of Elania before it was destroyed.”

She really said it. Damn. I’m not sure I like her so much anymore.

“What? No way!”

Maribelle stares at me wide-eyed.

“You were a prince? Of an actual country? That’s kind of hard to believe.”

“It’s true, Maribelle.”

She violently pouts at me.

“Why didn’t you ever tell me? Did you even tell Mom?”

“No. It’s dangerous information. It was for your own safety.”

“Bullshit. We would have been fine if you had told us. Mom would have kept your secret and you know it. This is about the dragon. You’re terrified of it, aren’t you? I saw how you reacted to Kalamath, and he isn’t even the same one!”

I don’t know what to say. Malazo was a living disaster beyond human comprehension. How can I not be terrified of him? He destroyed everything.

“Get over it, Ferry. Don’t let your fear control you.”

“You can’t possibly understand what it was like.”

“You’re right, I can’t. It doesn’t matter, though. You said you would always be by my side, and that means facing dragons someday.”

“I’m not sure I can do that, Maribelle.”

Maribelle slaps me across the face, her hand carrying a blast of entropomancy powerful enough to turn most heads to pulp. Her new bracelet nearly breaks, a crack forming in one of the beads. Cynthia sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose. Ellie gasps, covering her mouth with her palm as she looks at the hand-shaped bruise I can now distinctly feel on my cheek.

“Don’t make promises that you don’t intend to keep, Ferry.”

“Maybe I’ll do that when you stop slapping me in the face.”

Maribelle sits back down, crosses her arms, and glares at me with disappointment and anger in equal measure. Although her aura is suppressed, my spirit still feels the weight of her scowl.

The tense silence is eventually broken when Ellie pulls a small vial filled with a glowing liquid out of her pocket. She hands it to me.

“Healing potion for the bruise,” she says.

“Thanks,” I say.

I down the potion. The pain in my cheek quickly fades.

“Do you always carry these?” I ask, hoping to change the topic. Thankfully, Ellie catches on.

“Yeah, I always keep one or two on me, it’s good to be prepared. I’m not quite on Cynthia’s level, though.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Cynthia asks.

“I’ve never seen you without that life crystal.”

“My father gave it to me. It has sentimental value. I’m not planning to use it.”

“Such a waste. Break that thing and it’ll bring you back from the brink of death in an instant. I’ve heard that shit can even regrow a body from a severed head if you use it fast enough.”

“I certainly hope it will never come to that,” Cynthia says.

A waitress approaches, carrying two plates of fish.

“Here’s your sea bass.”

“Fabulous,” Ellie says.

We eat our food, enjoying the perfect meal. The tension between me and Maribelle doesn’t fade, and soon she leaves with Cynthia. Ellie and I finish our meals alone.

“So, how do you know Cynthia?”

“We met in Salsvale academy. Both of us are enchanters so we had a lot of classes together.”

“She’s a lot younger than you, though.”

“She enrolled early. She’s a bit of a prodigy.”

“What was it like at the academy?”

“Well, let’s see. There was this one time that I almost got expelled for enchanting the toilets…”

We spend the rest of the afternoon with Ellie telling me stories of her adventures at school. She was quite a troublemaker, it seems. With all the shit she pulled, I’m honestly shocked she managed to get away with merely being suspended a couple times. Most likely, her talent was what tipped the scales of justice in her favor.

I spend the next day training with the team at the adventurers guild. Ellie doesn’t show up, supposedly still busy with her duty of enchanting guild equipment. I have several more bouts with Talia. It’s a good learning experience. I’ve never really sparred people before. The closest thing would be fights to the death with drakelings, which isn’t really the same.

I return to Adriana’s place at night. It’s good Maribelle didn’t end up staying here. The sounds coming from the adjacent room aren’t something I would want her to hear.

There is a knock on the bedroom door.

“Who is it?”

“It’s me.”

“Maribelle?”

She opens the door, letting herself inside.

“You came to see me?” I ask.

“You’re leaving tomorrow on your first mission, right?”

“Yeah.”

She sits down on the bed, sweeping her hair over her shoulder.

“Don’t die.”

“You’re worried about me?”

“Well, yeah. A little. Last time, with the drakelings, if I hadn’t been there—”

“Don’t worry. I managed to survive all those years training by myself in the wilderness, didn’t I? Besides, I have my team with me this time. They’re competent people, and if we run into anything we can’t handle, we’ll just retreat. We’ll be fine.”

“I don’t know. I still have a bad feeling about it for some reason. Promise me you won’t die.”

“I promise.”

“Good.”

She looks towards the wall, frowning at the rhythmic thumping.

“I’m going to leave now,” she says.

“About earlier, I want to say something,” I say.

She turns towards me, raising her eyebrows.

“I won’t break any promises.”

She hugs me.

“Sorry about slapping you. I won’t do it again.”

She smiles at me, then walks away silently. I flop down on the bed, looking at the ceiling.

I don’t sleep easily that night, and it’s not just because of the sounds of the brothel. What Maribelle said left me feeling uneasy. It’s true that adventurers have a short life expectancy. The appealing name of the profession is nothing more than a marketing ploy to get people to volunteer their lives for the sake of humanity. In all likelihood, I’ll die on a mission some day. I can’t let that happen, though, not if I want to keep my promises.

The morning light illuminates the sky, but the sun cannot be seen above the high walls that encircle the city. My team has gathered in the adventurers guild. Each of them is wearing enchanted armor, and I have been supplied with a set as well. It’s my first time wearing something like this. It’s heavy metal plate, but with my ability to strengthen my body with magic, it doesn’t hinder my mobility much.

We make our way out of the city, the guards bowing to us respectfully as we leave through the gates. Talia leads us to the stables, a short distance from the road, where the adventurers guild keeps their beasts of burden.

“Hey newbie, do you know how to ride a griffin?” Talia asks.

“No.”

“Ride with me on mine, then. I’ll teach you for next time.”

We rent four griffins from the stables. Soon, we’re soaring through the skies above the countryside, swaths of farmland visible below.

We fly towards the rising sun.