“Sensei,” I’m not calling him master after what Rya did… “Make you a deal.  If you tell me why being part Fairy will help training, I’ll let you in on a secret.”  Drake hoped this diversion will pay off without him being killed in game by Jack.  Jack nodded and made a shallow cut on Drake with a light swing of his sword causing him some pain.

“Sure, I’ll tell you.  But you must remember, every moment with me as your teacher can be your last. My sword is cursed by the way.  Anyone it touches with Fairy blood is automatically given the Royal Fairy Curse.  It does nothing if you are not the child or grandchild of a runaway Fairy noble.”  Drake’s face visibly paled at the information.  Jack sees this, “Oh, you have some in you perhaps?  If you can use mana wings, it will improve your sword skills magnificently.”

Drake nodded. “I have a Fairy grandmother.  She married a human hero.  I don’t know if she is a runaway noble though.”  Having no weapon in hand, he began to shuffle left and right as he’s seen boxers in old movies do using foot work, dexterity, and the all-important agility stat to remain on guard.  The lesser secret revealed, he continued asking questions while his eyes darted around looking for a spare weapon and resting on an ironwood longsword. “How would I know if she is a runaway noble?”

Jack was sensible in his answer, “Any noble that marries a human is a runaway.”  He feinted left and caused Drake to stumble in his attempt to get the training sword.  “So all you’d need to know is if she had a noble rank and I can tell you, there is only one noble currently listed as a runaway, my sister.” Drakes face further pales as Jack continues, “If she’s your grandmother then you’ll suffer the curse and it’s a beauty. When a member of the Fairy nobility, called the Sidhe Council, runs away and does not return to fulfill their duties then a first or second generation descendant that is infected will begin to express more and more fairy traits and power until they are fully able to fulfill their  ancestor’s duties. Half-Elves do not express as many physical changes as Elves are descended from cursed and powerless Fairies. The curse pulls all fairy power from that royal and its descendants placing it in the infected victim transforming the other family members into Elf and Half-Elves.”

Drake gulped.  ‘This is going to mess with my character again isn’t it?’ “And what are your sister’s duties?” Having finally gotten the weapon from its resting place, he tried to lift it into a defensive position he noticed Jack using between feints discovering he could barely manage it.  He noticed then runes on the weapon and tried analyzing it:

Heavy Training Sword

+10 Attack

Requires 20 strength for full damage; otherwise 5% damage and movement reduction per missing strength point.

Requires 15 strength to lift.

Requires 50 agility for no movement penalty, otherwise 2% per missing agility point.

“No way!  I cry foul! There’s no other swords for me to use and I can’t even use a quarter of my agility or damage?”

Jack continued on swinging test strikes and working the explanation as if Drake hadn’t said anything about the sword. “She’s engaged to Danann, a Duke of the Sidhe Council.  Since they both are ‘Water Spout’ mages, it will vastly improve the blood line when they start having children.”  Jack inwardly chuckled since he doesn’t know what his father had in store for his sister’s representative and all he himself ever could be is a knight since the curse can’t make him a full blood descendant of the current Titania and Oberon. Drake paled again as Jack continued, “Actually, I don’t know.  But since you can barely move, we’re going to change tactics.  You are worse than I had hoped so we need to build your strength up before we can work on your agility with this sword. Oh, and since you are so interested in my sister, I take it you’re her representative now, Nephew.”

Jack’s grin turned just as evil as Rya’s had been. He took both weapons and grabbed weighted robe. “There are weights in the full length of the robe and arms. Put it on, or I could always lock you in place with that sword again and just cut you to pieces.”  No wasted time in following instructions, Drake finished putting the robe on as a flash occurred. “By the way, until you have 50 strength, you can’t take the robe off.  Next, to learn the even the partial version of the Royal Fairy Sword Dance, we must dance! And since I don’t have a female Fairy to pair you with, you’ll just have to learn the female’s steps!” 

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Drake paled again, ‘This is even worse than that dream!’ Barely able to resist because of the weight of the robe, he is pulled into Jack’s grip and treated like a doll for eight hours until it was time to head to the guild for dinner.   He got some good news for a change however as Jerimiah indicated they finally had a decent supply of meat so the guild dinner was now a stew that tasted more like moldy beef than raw sewage.  ‘I better look up some recipes that they could use and drop them on the floor.’ Of course, dropping it on the floor was the first thing he thought of since he didn’t even want to know what that first dream he had was about.

After checking the time and laying in the guild bed, he logged out of the game to the virtual room to perform research.  Survival Instinct’s forums were locked down indicating that the beta was still in progress. ‘I thought the game was in release mode.  Oh well, it just means I have more to gain over those who login afterwards. I hate these stupid trap moments that are occurring though. At least I am not getting killed by Jack if what he said about the curse is true.’ “Set time dilation to match ‘Survival Instinct’ and wake me when it’s morning in game time.”

Spoiler :

NameDrakeTitleElan’s Chosen (Displayed)

Angharradh’s Child

Tayana's RepresentativeGenderMaleRaceHalflingFame0Adventurer RankFHealth191Mana87Strength18Agility26Stamina25Pool1Intellect11Dexterity20Luck0Charisma20Money20 CopperQuestIncrease agility by 20 through classes with JackBase Armor25Base Attack2NameJerimiahTitleGuild Master of CordGenderMaleRaceHumanFame0Adventurer RankBHealth1620Mana212Strength90Agility25Stamina90Pool0Intellect25Dexterity10Luck60Charisma5Money1 Pt, 6 Au, 8 Ag, 1 CuQuestNoneBase Armor630Base Attack9NameRyaTitleFleet FootGenderFemaleRaceElfFame0Adventurer RankCHealth220Mana1950Strength20Agility90Stamina50Pool125Intellect150Dexterity60Luck90Charisma45Money8 AuQuestNoneBase Armor0Base Attack1NameJackTitleDancing SwordGenderMaleRaceHalflingFame0Adventurer RankCHealth645Mana645Strength50Agility60Stamina130Pool50Intellect60Dexterity15Luck50Charisma20Money7 PtQuestNoneBase Armor390Base Attack2