~ Jasper ~
Upon the interim chief’s proclamation, noise began to erupt around Jasper, and he immediately turned around to make his escape.
Based on what he remembered from when he was brought in, the orc village had one gate that served as an entrance and exit, and a wooden wall surrounding the entire village. He hadn’t been brought super far in, they were probably walking for around two minutes, and Jasper figured the village wasn’t very big to begin with as the orcs’ wooden homes were packed very closely together, often sharing walls like in a larger city and being multiple stories tall.
Jasper had been running for only around thirty seconds when he noticed the gate, and a group of orcs standing in front of it. The group was made up of four orcs, all wielding spears and ready to fight. This was definitely troublesome, as taking on four armed orcs at the same time was not a particularly safe course of action even for Jasper, who could easily take any of them one-on-one.
How do I thin the herd? Jasper pondered, before getting an idea.
He immediately dispelled his sword and Formed his Crosshot, already loaded. Looking to his left, he saw a small gap of around a meter between two homes, and he decided to make use of it. He took cover behind the wall and shot his Crosshot at the approaching orcs. The arrow landed right on the upper chest of the closest one, downing him, while the others approached quicker. Jasper quickly dispelled his weapon and summoned his sword, backing further into the gap.
He knew it was risky to put his back to the wall, but he didn’t want to risk going out. So long as he was in this gap, he would be fighting one-on-one, and while he was still exhausted, he could still make do for a short time. As the first orc entered the miniature alleyway, Jasper held his sword out defensively. The orc amateurishly thrust his spear toward Jasper, who dodged by sidling against the wall before cutting the handle.
Jasper’s opponent quickly retreated after his spear was cut, leaving a window of time for Jasper to peek behind him, and what he saw was not pretty. Behind the fleeing orc was a group of about ten more, all in line to take him on. Jasper gulped, and reevaluated his plan. Originally, he was content to simply wait this out, but with this many he was going to tire far too quickly to be able to find an opening to escape.
He looked around, hoping to see a way to escape this problem, and he immediately noticed something. As the buildings were made largely of stacked logs, there were easy foot and hand rests every half meter or so going all the way up to the roof. It would be trivial to climb up and out, so long as he was quick enough to avoid any spears sent his way. He turned around, seeing another spear-wielder approaching him, and he backed up until he reached the wall. When the orc thrust his spear, Jasper sidestepped it, almost all the way up against the wall, and grabbed the spear. He pulled it toward him, bringing the orc with it, and he kicked his enemy in the stomach.
The orc grunted in pain, letting go of the spear. Jasper immediately tossed it as far as he could into the sea of orcs behind his enemy, and the orc turned around and ran after it, giving Jasper the opening he needed. He quickly scaled the logs, using his stump of a left arm to brace himself, and managed to get out of reach of any of the spears within ten seconds. Before he knew, it he was on the roof of the nearest house.
Now that he was out of danger, he took a moment to catch his breath and observe his surroundings. The building he was on was roughly two stories high, and about one story above the top of the wall. However, the top of the wall was not flat, so he wouldn’t be able to land on it. If he wanted to get to the ground, he would need to jump down or climb down, and given he was five meters high the former would be unsafe. However, with orcs quickly beginning to surround the building he was on the roof of, climbing down would also be spelling doom for him.
If I could land on a trampoline or a ball pit this would be so much easier, Jasper thought dryly.
The building he was on was long enough that it reached the wall with how many connected homes there were, but he was effectively stuck up here until he could find a way to get down without hurting himself.
A sharp sound whizzed right past his ear, and he looked down to see orc archers having started to fire on him. Jasper cursed under his breath, knowing that his time up here was limited, and he would need to keep moving. Out of options, he made a beeline toward where the wall was, arrows continuing to barely miss him until he reached the edge.
Jasper looked down, the ground looking a kilometer away despite not being anywhere near that high. If he was going to jump, he had to pad his landing somehow, and while a trampoline might have ideal, it was far too complex a structure to recreate in a second in the air. Between the elastic material making up the surface, the springs, and the frame, it was too much for him to think about in such a short period of time.
His eyes widened, and he realized what he could do, though it was still risky. Knowing he was short on time, Jasper Formed his shoes into solid snowshoes designed to distribute his body weight across a wider area, and as an arrow approached his position, he jumped.
In the second in midair, Jasper immediately modified his Formed shoes, adding giant springs underneath. It was still going to hurt, no doubt, but landing on the springs would hopefully soften his landing, and less than a second later he hit the ground.
The springs did their job, and a split second after landing he was back in the air, though only around a half a meter high this time. However, when he landed his balance was slightly too far forward and his body tumbled into the air. Jasper only had enough time to Form his old shoes before crashing into the ground on his stomach.
Jasper moved to roll over but was stopped by a point to his neck. He turned his head just far enough to see a sole orc with a spear to his neck.
“Wow there,” the orc gloated, “Looks like I caught one after all.”
Jasper clicked his tongue in defeat. While he had made it outside the walls, and somewhat far from the gate to boot, he had failed to anticipate any resistance beyond them, and he was clearly paying the price.
However, before the spear could pierce his neck, he heard a collision behind him, as if the orc was hit with something. Jasper turned around to see the orc falling to the ground unconscious, and a rather surprising face greeted him from behind the orc.
“Hazel?!” Jasper exclaimed.
“Who’s a liability now, Reishi?” she quipped, incredibly smug.
“No kidding,” another voice was heard from behind her, “You should have seen her during the rescue. It was as if she was possessed.”
To Jasper’s shock, Lamb walked out of the brush behind Hazel, smiling.
“So, you beat the chief, did you?” Lamb praised, “Congrats.”
Jasper stood up, his legs somewhat weak from the rough landing.
“We need to get out of here. It’s a mess inside, but they’ll realize where I’ve gone quickly enough. They’d overwhelm all of us if they attacked all at once.”
Lamb and Hazel both nodded, the former waving his hand to follow.
“This way,” he directed.
The two teenagers followed Lamb into the forest. The three could hear the cries of angry orcs behind them, and while Jasper was somewhat worried for the safety of Rosemary, he knew that with the way the duel had ended they would be too prideful to actually attack the village over a grudge against him.
Jasper turned to Hazel, a bit perturbed at her appearance.
“Why are you even here? You weren’t supposed to join the operation.”
“Give her some credit, Reishi,” Lamb piped up, “She apparently followed us without anyone noticing with that club. When we took on the guards, she saved more than one of us and fought very respectably.”
“How in the world did you get that good?” Jasper asked, astonished.
“I told you I could take care of myself,” Hazel huffed, “You don’t think I would say that if I couldn’t back it up?”
“You? I totally would,” Jasper deadpanned.
“Huh?” Hazel replied darkly, “Do you really think that lowly of me?”
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Jasper sighed, not in the mood for an argument.
“Well, I’m glad you made it out in one piece at least.”
Hazel shook her head and turned away. Lamb chuckled at their argument, but didn’t comment on it. Before long, they were at the base camp. Out of the corner of his eyes, Jasper could see about twenty-five people gathered that he assumed were the hostages they saved.
“Reishi!” the captain greeted, running over, “I can’t believe it! You actually pulled it off!”
Jasper nodded, breathing heavily.
“Man,” the captain gushed, “I can’t believe the stroke of luck we’ve had with your arrival.”
At this point, the captain broke down sobbing, and Lamb moved over to rub his back. Jasper looked at the display questioningly, wondering why the captain had gotten so emotional.
“His wife and son were among the hostages,” Hazel explained, clearly noticing his confusion, “And he’s the responsible type, so I’m not sure he would have been able to forgive himself if you had died to get them back.”
“Wouldn’t have been his fault,” Jasper explained, “I’m the one who did something so stupid in the first place.”
“Oh, so you’re allowed to do things you know are stupid, but I can’t?” Hazel turned on him.
“Are we really going to keep doing this?” Jasper complained, “There wasn’t any other way.”
Hazel’s eyes widened and her frown collapsed for a moment, before it was replaced by a pure smirk.
“Oh, I see,” she laughed, “You’re actually a nice guy.”
Jasper gave her a sideways look.
“What do you mean by that?” he asked, no annoyance present.
“You talked a lot about how you were only doing it for you, or whatever. ‘Information and goodwill’ you said. But now I know better.”
“I wasn’t lying or anything,” Jasper claimed, turning away.
“But you were doing it for us too, right?” Hazel asked honestly, her smirk lightening into a smile, “You saw you could help us and found a way to do it.”
Jasper refused to answer her question. While he did primarily help for his own sake, he wondered how much of what she was saying was accurate. Would he have been satisfied leaving if the politicians from yesterday had turned him away? Would it have been the right decision, if those were the circumstances?
“You know, Hazel,” Jasper asked, “I can say the same thing to you.”
Hazel’s eyes widened, and her face turned red.
“What do you mean?” she stuttered.
“You act the brash, self-righteous type that only really cares about yourself and what you’re doing, but I think you care about your home and about others as much as anyone else here. After all, whether or not you’re right about me, nobody who’s only interested in themselves would think that way about another person.
“Oh come on,” she quickly denied, “That has nothing to do with this.”
“Then why did you come today?” Jasper questioned, “There’s no way you came out here and put your life on the line to prove me wrong about you. That’s too petty for someone who doesn’t care about those around her. I think your grandmother would be proud, right after she finished punishing you for doing something so stupid.”
“Shut up!” Hazel shouted, “I get it, okay? So what if I like my hometown and the people around me? Is that so weird? Isn’t that what anyone would feel?”
Jasper simply chuckled and turned back to the group, which seemed nearly ready to pack up and leave.
“Hey, Reishi,” Hazel prodded, “What happened to your hand?”
Her eyes were wide, as if she had just noticed that his left hand was gone, with only a sleeve covering the anchors that he had created for his prosthetic. Lamb, who was also nearby, had his eyes wide at the sight as well.
“Oh, this?” Jasper asked, “Don’t worry. I lost it a month ago after a tree fell on it.”
“I’m pretty sure I would have noticed if you were missing a hand, Reishi,” Lamb objected.
Jasper laughed and Formed a new left hand, glove and all, in the original hand position he had been using. Hazel’s eyes widened while Lamb simply laughed.
“Formation, huh?” Lamb laughed, “You had us all tricked, I guess.”
“Come to think of it, I never saw you move your left hand at all. It was static all day yesterday,” Hazel commented.
“What happened to your last one?” Lamb inquired, curious.
“Saved my bacon in the duel with the chief,” Jasper explained, “Had to dispel it on the finishing blow.”
Lamb and Hazel nodded, before another voice cut over them.
“All right, everyone!” the captain shouted in triumph, “Today’s mission is an overwhelming success! Let’s return home and proclaim our victory!”
“Are drinks on you?” a random soldier shouted in earnest.
“You know it!”
Around four hours later, early in the afternoon, the team returned to the village, which immediately gathered around them.
“Ladies and gentlemen,” the captain announced, “I am pleased to say that our mission was successful! All twenty-three hostages were safely retrieved from the orcs, and zero casualties were incurred on our side!”
The captain motioned to Jasper, who reluctantly came forward.
“This plan only succeeded with the help of this traveler, Reishi, who managed to duel the orc chief for long enough that we could free the hostages on our end and escape. In addition, he managed to win the duel outright, slaying the leader of our greatest enemy!”
The crowd erupted in applause and cheers, causing Jasper to look down in embarrassment. After a few seconds in the spotlight, Jasper immediately fled to the back of the group, where Hazel was sitting. Upon seeing his face, she burst out laughing.
“Oh my gosh, Reishi,” she giggled, “You look like your pet bird just died,”
“Shut up,” Jasper complained, “You try being paraded in front of the entire city like a hero. It’s damn uncomfortable.”
“You are a hero, Reishi,” Hazel smiled, completely genuine, “Not one of those twenty-three hostages would be alive right now if you didn’t do what you did. That’s heroism, and no one in Rosemary is ever going to forget it.”
Jasper looked away, pensive.
“I don’t want to be a hero, though,” he murmured, “I just want revenge.”
“I guess that makes you an antihero, then,” Hazel teased mischievously.
Jasper shot her a glare, before hearing another familiar voice.
“Hazel!” Dioica’s voice could be heard over the crowd.
Hazel stiffened immediately upon hearing her name, and this time it was Jasper who was laughing.
“Looks like it’s time to face the music.”
Hazel’s shoulders slumped, and she turned toward her rapidly approaching grandmother.
Dioica stood in front of her granddaughter for a long moment, standing tall above her despite being shorter in absolute height. After a moment, she relaxed and sighed.
“I should have seen this coming,” she murmured, “Do you know how worried I was when you ran off?”
Hazel gave a halfhearted shrug.
“I know I’m hard on you, Hazel,” she admitted, “But I do love you, and I want you to be safe. When you pull stunts like this, it consumes me thinking of what possibly could happen to you.”
Hazel nodded, still not making eye contact.
“We’ll finish this later,” Dioica decided, before turning to Jasper.
“Reishi, I cannot possibly express the depth of my gratitude for what you did for us today. Please come with me. I’m sure you’re exhausted after everything that’s happened, and you’re welcome to stay with us for as long as you need.”
“Are you sure?” Jasper asked, to which Dioica smiled.
“I recall having a similar discussion before,” she raised an eyebrow, “And I think we both remember who came out on top.”
Jasper looked down and nodded.
“I’ll stay tonight,” he conceded, “But I really shouldn’t stay any longer.”
“Well whatever happens you’re always welcome to stay with us if you’re in the area,” Dioica offered.
The three of them walked back to Dioica’s home, where the lady in question began to cook. Jasper and Hazel both collapsed on the couch when they arrived, the former completely drained while the latter managed to stay somewhat upright.
“I don’t think I’ve been this tired since I fought my master’s murderer,” Jasper muttered, laying on his side.”
“You know, I wasn’t going to ask about your past, and I still probably won’t,” Hazel mentioned, “But I feel like I’ve learned more about you in the past twenty-four hours than I ever thought I would about someone my age. Does that make you my friend?”
“Who knows? I can’t remember the last time I had a friend either.”
Hazel looked down at him, her familiar wry grin plastered on her face.
“You know you look pathetic right now, right?” she commented.
“I’m sure I do. But you’re not the one who just won a one-on-one with the most feared warrior in the area.”
“I’m also not the one who jumped off a two-story building like an idiot,” she deadpanned, “Springs? Really?”
“What would you have done?” Jasper retorted.
Hazel had no answer for that. Instead, she sat in silence, until Dioica returned.
“Dinner is ready,” she announced, “And Hazel?”
The girl in question tilted her head.
“I’ve decided your punishment for today.”
Her eyes went wide, and she gulped.
“Please don’t kick me out again,” she pleaded.
Dioica simply smiled.
“Since you clearly want to spend your life running after trouble and adventure, I’ve decided for once to let you have what you want.”
She turned to Jasper, whose eyes widened at the implication.
“Reishi, when you leave, would you mind taking my granddaughter with you?”
“Grandma!” Hazel exclaimed, standing up.
“Sit down, and let me explain,” Dioica held up her hand.
Hazel sat back down reluctantly.
“The truth is, this isn’t really a punishment. You’ve spent your entire life here in Rosemary, and seen little of the rest of the world. You’ve grown complacent and gained delusions of invincibility ever since you became a teenager. You’re nineteen now, and have no idea what you’re going to do with the rest of your life. So what I want you to do is to go out, see the rest of the world. Learn how to defend yourself, learn how to interact with others civilly, learn about who you are.”
“Do I get a say in this?” Jasper objected, “I’m the one that has to babysit her if she comes along!”
“Babysit?” Hazel turned on him again, “Pretty sure I’m the one that saved your ass earlier when you were about to die.”
“Reishi, it would be a big favor,” Dioica pleaded, “She needs this experience. And I think you would be better off taking her along yourself. After all, she is quite the looker, isn’t she?”
“Grandma!” Hazel blushed, looking down.
Jasper looked at Hazel, and while he was loathe to admit it, he couldn’t deny what Dioica was saying. Despite her attitude, Hazel managed to retain the appearance of femininity that was popular among men, and there was no doubt why she was so desired among Rosemary’s young men, with Carpa in particular coming to mind. Still, he had no need for beauty where he was going, and opted not to dwell on it.
“I’m not going to comment on Hazel’s looks here,” Jasper declared, “But still, I’m worried she will slow me down if I take her along.”
This was clearly the wrong thing to say, as Hazel immediately stood back up, her face beginning to return to its original color.
“That’s it. Grandmother, I accept your punishment.”
She turned to Jasper.
“Reishi,” she started, “I’m not going to sit around and let you call me a liability, or tell me I’ll slow you down. I’m going to prove to you that I can be just as helpful and capable as anyone else. That’s a promise.”
Jasper looked up at her, exasperated, before giving up.
“Fine,” he forced out, “Guess I don’t have a choice now.”
Despite his tone, Dioica simply smiled.
“Thank you, Reishi,” she gratefully stated, “I think this will be good for both of you.”
Hazel smirked evilly, and Jasper felt a shudder go down his spine.
Oh boy, he thought, I’m going to have my hands full with this girl.