Journal Entry #7
A witch has just come into the village. She was easy enough to spot, what with her wide brimmed hat and spear with a bunch of monster feathers tied to one end. One of those hideous orcs is even following her around, got arms so bloated with muscle that they look more like tumors underneath his skin.
Why the rot are they here? They’re more than a little late. Petter died nearly a week ago, and the guards already avenged his death.
Ugh, a town meeting’s been called now. This better not be another recruitment drive.
Rot! Rot, rot, rot, rot, rot!
The witch was there talking to the guard captain as I approached, scanning the crowd with her eyes, until they stopped on me. I didn’t even understand what was happening until the guards dragged me into their barracks and told me plainly why I was about to be exiled.
It… it’s all my fault… I… I killed Petter…
---
Arc
Woodsday, the 30th of Eighthmonth
I knew this day would come, Travis is a teenager after all, but for some reason, I’m still shocked that it’s actually happening.
Travis is going on a date.
Travis, the kid who’d find any excuse to flee from a pretty girl flirting with him, is going on a date.
I’m not even angry that he hid it from me. In fact, I’d say I’m proud of the sneaky little rascal.
My focus shifted away from his friends studying for their general education finals in Jethro’s living room, and swooped in as he finished changing into the borrowed outfit. Nothing complicated, just a long-sleeved shirt, a vest, and pair of knickers, but that didn’t stop Jethro from fussing over Travis.
“No, no, no, that’s not how you roll up your sleeves!” The tailor grabbed an arm to demonstrate, “You start by pulling the cuff up just past the inside of your elbow, then roll up the excess, leaving a strip of the cuff showing. That’s why the inside of your shirt cuff is a different color than the rest.”
Travis copied the process on the other arm once his hand was free, getting an approving nod from Jethro once he finished.
“There, now I just need to get Drozuk ready for his date, and my mind will finally be at peace enough to get back to studying.”
“It’s not a date!” The deep voice of Drozuk grumbled as he fumbled with the strips of cloth he was supposed to fold and tie together into a garment, “I’m just visiting Xruul’s family for supper.”
Jethro rolled his eyes, “Same thing.” Then let out a sigh upon seeing the orc, “Did you not even read the instruction guide I gave you?”
“I did,” Drozuk bit back defensively, “but it’s missing steps or something.”
Jethro shook his head, then started fixing Drozuk’s outfit, “How did two people who can’t even dress themselves ace the entrance exams?”
Travis grinned as he looked at himself in the mirror, “Not sure. Maybe you should send a complaint to the church of Ignitious and tell them that your commoner born friends are embarrassing you?”
The Lakelander noble finished crisscrossing the cloth over Drozuk’s torso and tightly wrapped the remainder around his waist a few times before tucking the end into a fold, “Ha, I might just do that.” He then checked the clock on the wall, “You better get moving Travis, I need to get back to studying, and Apheros will get angry with me if I delay you.”
Travis stiffened at the mention of Apheros, then turned to look at me leaning against the wall, “Jethro, could you do me a favor?”
“Sure, what do you need?”
“Can you keep an eye on my sword while I’m out? Make sure it doesn’t go wandering off. I… don’t want to get into trouble.”
“Oh, c’mon now! You’re acting like I’ll get into the trash if left unattended.”
Jethro cocked his head in clear confusion, “Uh… sure, I have my history exam at four, but if you’re worried about it getting stolen or something, I can carry around your sword instead.”
Travis relaxed his shoulders, then clapped Jethro on the back, “Thanks bud, I owe you one.”
---
Travis
I entered underneath the dome of a colonnade connected to a cluster of bakeries, restaurants, and art galleries, greatly relieved that 5751054 was able to help me find the place I was supposed to meet Caldia. The place was beautiful, with white marble columns creating an arc on the south side, dwarven made buildings completing the circle, various places to sit underneath the dome, and even a spot for my horse to grab some hay from a feeder.
Despite spending months in the capital now, I have barely gotten to see any of it, and today was one of my last chances to do so before leaving. One of my previous letters to Caldia were about how fascinated I was with the frescoes in Adamanrion’s church, and how dull my room was when compared to my friends. Since I now had the entire day free, she suggested a tour of amateur art galleries, even offering to purchase something I liked as a belated birthday gift.
My hand reached out to scratch 5751054 behind the ear, hoping to relieve the nervous knot forming in my gut, “This might be the last time we get to walk around the city together until I get back. I’m going to miss you bud.”
He nuzzled me after I dismounted, then pointed his nose at one of his satchels. Curious, I opened it up, finding not just his usual logbook of who’s been riding him, but a couple of pamphlets as well.
“Equine combat training?” I looked up at the blaze stripe on 5751054’s brown and white face in surprise, “Are you sure?” He nodded, prompting me to read through the brochure and ask more questions, “Okay, but I’m not sure if I can cover the cost listed in here. Your taxi service has been covering your stabling costs, plus some extra that I’ve been setting aside for any incidentals or equipment replacement that you might need.”
He huffed and pawed the ground with one hoof, before bumping his nose against my hands. I sat there puzzled, trying to interpret the gesture, until I finally remembered that there was more than one pamphlet. The second offered a solution for how to pay.
“You want to enlist in the Logistics Corps?” I tilted my head back up to assess my painted draft horse. Sure, he wasn’t a fast-charging destrier breed that Darius and other calvary knights preferred, but he was more than capable of carrying an armored knight or helping cart around supply wagons for long periods. (He was a farm horse after all.)
Likely sensing my hesitation, 5751054 stepped closer to wrap his head around me, and gently rubbed my back with the side of his head. My mind still kept conjuring images of monsters ripping apart my steed, but I eventually let out a reluctant sigh, and begrudgingly gave his shoulder a pat.
“Alright, when we get back to campus, I’ll talk to the stablemaster.”
A familiar voice from behind suddenly made my back stiffen, “And Lancel wonders why none of his horses like him.”
5751054 released me from his hug, allowing me to slowly turn and rally my confidence to greet Caldia.
It didn’t work.
Caldia’s golden-blonde hair and bronze skin reflected the sunlight, producing a halo that made my throat completely freeze up, and my mouth to grin like a blissful idiot. She smiled back at me, then dismounted her horse as I stood there too dumbfounded to provide aid. Luckily, she didn’t seem to take insult, and reached out to readjust my vest.
“There, looking like a proper noble. Ready for your art lesson?”
Dragonflies still buzzed around in my stomach, but I managed to find my voice, “Lead the way.”
---
Arc
Jethro, making good on his promise to Travis, clipped me to his belt before heading down with the others for lunch and meeting up with Jakob and Xruul. I unfortunately garnered him some unwanted teasing.
“Careful now,” Mattius warned, “Travis may have an iron will, but even he’s been showing a few signs of madness.”
Drozuk snorted, “More like madness is what infects the lake around him. I for one am looking forward to being far, far away from his nonsense for a couple of months, where I don’t have to worry about royals or their politics.”
Light chuckles spread throughout the table, although I noticed Jakob’s grin wasn’t as jovial. Thinking back, his experience has probably been the biggest whiplash of the group, at least the others heard rumors about Travis before randomly getting to meet Seleyna.
Bridget gave Adrian’s elbow a nudge, then tilted her head towards Jakob, encouraging the lad to speak, “Jakob, umm… about your offer… for the next two months I‘ll be receiving private tutoring in mana reinforcement to help catch up with my training battalion. But if your offer to visit before you leave still stands, my last exam is in a couple of hours.”
Ah, that’s good, I’m not sure if Adrian told Bridget he might be a political land mine, but they must have at least talked about some of what’s bothering him, and decided to have him visit the Brekke estate instead. I know Travis was comfortable to the point of feeling homesick yesterday, given how many times I got to see through his eyes and even feel a dose of his melancholy (talk about disorienting, I couldn’t even focus enough to talk to him, only whisper people’s names), so having the Northman kid visit a Northmen estate should be an easier first step.
Jakob’s grin changed to a genuine one, “It does. I’ll be returning to my home to pack after receiving my mission assignment, so if you’d be willing, we can leave after lunch tomorrow?”
Adrian nodded, looking relieved as he grasped Bridget’s hand underneath the table. A lull in conversation swept over the table, but Xruul seemed more than happy to break it.
“Speaking of estates,” he turned to give a toothy grin to Drozuk, “you’re looking quite spiffy. I noticed that half-orc chef was even checking out your arms, Travis better watch out.”
Drozuk, recoiling from the compliment, tried to hide his bashfulness by curling into a ball over his food. I assume the smug look of self-satisfaction from Jethro was too much to compete with.
Lunch continued, and the lack of pommel rubs or ability to quip was only slightly aggravating, but it was much, much better than sitting in Travis’ room completely bored out of my sword-brain all afternoon. I’ll have to ask him to make this a regular thing.
Something strange did happen part way through the hour though.
Sir Asher, Princess Seleyna’s bodyguard, approached the table with a worried expression, “Pardon my intrusion, but do you know the current whereabouts of Travis?” His hands clenched right before Jethro could reply, looking like he was expecting terrible news.
“Uh, not sure where exactly, but I know he was heading to the art district for his date.”
The Royal Knight relaxed in his armor, causing a few of the plates to shift, but a second later he suddenly perked up with a new worry, “Date? With who?”
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Jethro smirked at the sudden lack of decorum, but decided to humor the knight, “Caldia Hopkins.” He leaned in to speak conspiratorially, “Though, don’t tell Travis I called it a date, he’s been trying to downplay it all morning.”
Asher, suddenly remembering his position, stiffened back up and gave a curt nod to the group before striding off, “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
Huh, wonder what that was about?
---
Travis
I watched in fascination as the amused high elf barista used the large metal contraption to force steam through a strainer packed with stimleaf, then prepared a small pitcher of cream to add to the drinks, “This, here human, is what should be the symbol of the three kingdoms. Stimleaf imported straight from the Rayavarious Valley (not that ditch-weed I’ve seen some uncultured ducks drink), fresh cream from the local dairy, and a machine that only requires a single enchantment to run.”
She poured the now frothy cream into the porcelain cups, using a knife to separate the liquid from the foam, then dolloped the remainder of the pitcher into the cups and sprinkled cocoa powder overtop. I paid for the drinks, carefully picking them up by the paper sleeves with green logos on them, then slowly walked over to where Caldia was already sitting with a plate of freshly baked croissants.
“So, where to next?” I asked a minute later while spreading cream cheese on my pastry.
“I was thinking of going to the Monetrenoir gallery, one of my friends who’s actually majoring in art at the institute has some impressionist landscapes for sale there. Plus, I know there’s a large selection of prints they have for purchase also, so you should be able to find at least something you like.”
That reminded me of something I’d been meaning to ask.
“Umm, sorry if it’s a touchy subject, but is there a reason you didn’t become a full-time art student?”
She waved me off, “It’s not. I simply don’t have the time. Mom’s going to formally retire this solstice and name Marcia the clan’s Matriarch. Since I’ll become second-in-line according to our noble house’s charter, I need to be prepared to take over in case Marcia becomes indisposed or worse.”
“Ah, that explains why you went to secondary school for accounting and legal assistance.”
She let out a sigh, “The basic accounting degree turned out to be a waste of time though. Lucia’s way more competent than I am. Hardly a drain on her free time to double-check Marcia’s records.”
I shrugged my shoulders, “Who knows, maybe it’ll come in handy some day? I picked up the basics for a bunch of different trade and homemaker skills, not truly expecting them to come in handy, but my knowledge of cooking pot styles helped me answer a question my first day of Fire Spells 1.”
Caldia started giggling, “You’re probably right, things have gotten busy at home. Dad’s going to have the wards do some cross-training with the Quintillius clan next month, and then host one of his former squadmates along with their son the month after.” Her eyes suddenly lit up, clearly remembering something, “Oh, I almost forgot. Dad offered to help you pack before you leave. Will you be free on Snowsday?”
“Should be… I won’t know my ship-out date until tomorrow morning, but the earliest I could possibly leave would be Windsday.”
“Perfect, we’ll stop by shortly after noon. That should give us time to still make a last-minute errand if needed.”
I nodded along before finally picking up my croissant, greatly liking that idea. An embarrassing moan of ecstasy soon followed as I bit into my food, the flaky and buttery pastry was immediately mouthwatering, but what really set me off was the sweetened strawberry preserves hidden inside. My hands fumbled when I caught Caldia giving me the Hopkins’ signature grin, and I immediately swore when a glob of red hit the light-gray vest Jethro lent me.
Caldia tried to lean in with a napkin, but I held up my hand, “No, wait… rubbing it in will stain it.” I stood up from my seat, “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make a quick trip to the restroom.”
She leaned back in her chair, picking up her drink to help hide her amusement, and waved goodbye to me with her free hand.
A quick application of Water magic to wash out the jam, followed by a Fire Mana trick Jethro taught me to remove wrinkles from clothes, and I was walking back out only a few minutes later after checking myself in the mirror and re-calming my nerves. On the way out though, I saw a tall, broad-shouldered Packer Knight, wearing a black tabard embossed with the crest of a badger biting a snake over his brown arming jacket talking to Caldia, and given her friendly smile, must have known him.
“Oh, Travis,” Caldia spotted me approaching, “this is Sir Arturius Dominicus. He’s the twin brother of that friend I mentioned earlier.”
The guy extended his hand, and I shook it, despite my gut telling me not to trust his handsome smiling face, “Nice to meet you, I’m Travis of Aelder Creek, Initiate Elementalist Mage.”
His chest vibrated with a barely contained laugh, “What a treat! I thought bumping into Caldia was a predestined encounter, but now I get to meet the famous mage her brother brought home.” He swung his slightly thicker arm around my shoulders and gave my whole body a shake, “Come with, I was about to go surprise my sister after being gone for so many months at training, but with you two in tow, this will amplify our reunion up to thirteen!”
I grinned nervously, hoping that Caldia would think of an excuse to separate from him, but my stomach dropped into my feet upon seeing her grab his other arm, gesturing for him to lead the way.
---
Arc
Travis is back!
Not going to lie, it took every ounce of my willpower to not intervene when Jethro took his history final. Watching him quietly whisper the questions then relay misremembered facts to himself was soul-crushingly painful. Honestly, the only reason I didn’t help was because he managed to eke out the equivalent of a “C” from my old world.
The second I was safely clipped back onto Travis’ belt, and traveling back to his dorm room, I started Messaging him.
“So… how did your date go?”
Travis grunted, looking annoyed, “It… wasn’t a date.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, did something happen?”
He let out another huff, “Kind of, we ran into one of Caldia’s friends, and ended up spending the rest of the afternoon and supper with him and his sister.”
Oh boy, I think I know where this is going…
“Him huh? Let me guess, a handsome Packer boy… smooth talker… probably a knight…”
Travis stopped dead in his tracks just outside his door, surprise written all over his face, “Yeah, how did you know?”
“Well, given how jealous you obviously are, it was a safe assumption.”
“Jealous!?” Travis stammered, “What? No, I wasn’t jealous, just… umm, had a bad feeling about that guy. Seemed too nice… even bought supper for everyone.”
I mentally shook my head at the delusional teen, so happy that he was dealing with normal teenager drama for a change.
Not hearing a response from me, Travis entered his room while doing his best to ignore the elephant in the room, then stepped over to check his mailbox, pulling out a small notecard, “My arming jacket that Durinn covered with bioluminescent paint needed the stitching removed to fully clean it. I need to head down to confirm it still fits before they reissue it.”
“You should probably do that now before they close up shop for the night. I imagine there’ll be a run on them tomorrow once mission assignments are handed out.”
Travis nodded in agreement, then turned around to head down to the supply depot. It ended up being a smart call. While it was only a fifteen-minute wait, it was obvious that all hands were on deck inside the warehouse.
“Sorry again for creating extra work for you.” Travis apologized as he stood on the fitting column, doing his best to avoid the Quartermaster’s stinkeye as they fixed a dent in someone’s helmet.
The beardless overseeing his fitting started snickering to themselves, “Oh, you’re quite forgiven. We all got a good laugh when it showed up in our repair bin.” They looked up at Travis’s face, then rubbed their chin, “If you don’t mind me asking, why was some permutation of “bearded” written all over it in dwarvish?”
Travis sighed, then startled back into proper posture once he noticed his spine was slouching, and explained, “Well, one of my dwarven friends, Durinn, accidentally called me beardless when we were about to work on a project together, and although it’s technically true, the real reason I’m shaving my face is because my beard hasn’t fully grown in yet.” He let out another huff, “Oh, and because there’s a Lakelander noble tradition to not go unshaven until after you fight in the Spring Flood.”
The beardless grimaced as they confirmed everything was tailored properly, “Oof, that’s got to be stressful having to wait another seven or eight months.”
“Yeah, on the downstream though, I’ll get to practice blade enchantments next semester with the fancy shaving kit some unknown person gifted me.” He mumbled to himself, “Still haven’t figured out who it was that gave it to me… or why.”
The Quartermaster suddenly froze, grabbing my attention, and making me zoom in with my focus.
The beardless assisting Travis started to giggle, “You know, if you were a bearded dwarf, a shaving kit would be considered the height of rudeness, due to it being such an inappropriate gift.”
“See, I thought it was an insulting gift at first, but after asking around, no one who knows about my beard frustrations admitted to sending it, and everyone else I asked was just as clueless.” He blew a raspberry with his lips, “I’m starting to wonder if maybe it was supposed to get mailed to a different Travis.”
The beardless dwarf held up a finger, completely oblivious to their boss sweating bullets behind them, “There was another Travis enrolled here a few years ago… Woodburr? No… maybe Woodbrush? Ugh, I can’t remember, you humans come and go like hurricanes.”
The two continued to chat while the Quartermaster stepped into the back room to hide the fact they were hyperventilating.
Gee… I wonder if the Quartermaster might know something…
---
Rainsday, the 31st of Eigthmonth
Travis sat on a bench in the hallway just outside the room he would be receiving his assignment in. I didn’t serve in the military in my previous life, so I’m not an expert on the subject, but I’m pretty sure things are done quite differently in this world. A few of my old high school buddies enlisted, so I have a vague idea of how earning ranks worked there, but with magic throwing a wrench into this world's system, their military has had to make some adjustments.
For starters, this first meeting Travis is about to attend is a reporting for duty ceremony with a brigadier general (one-crownwork patch on their shoulder). Generals, as my translation suggests, are the senior officers that plan operations for the lower ranks. There are five ranks, denoted by the number of crownworks on their shoulders, and although the number of officers in the first three ranks doesn’t have a set amount, each division of the military only gets four baron generals (four-crownwork) and a single duke general (five-crownwork). They’re also almost always made up of people who’ve completed a thirty-year pledge to serve the kingdom, and instead of retiring, have decided to keep serving despite being restricted to desk jobs.
Travis, with his provisional rank of junior mage, is the lowest of the ranked field officers, but oddly that still places him above even the most senior of soldiers. All because he can use mana. Which, I guess, kinda makes sense… the average mana user could easily crush the skull of an irritating normal person like a grape, so their authority would be completely dependent on respect. Hmm… I wonder if that’s why only the Logistics Corps allows non-mana users to rise into the officer and general ranks?
My musings were cut short when Travis’ name was called, and he marched into the room.
Inside the small room was a single table. Seated behind it was Travis’ drill instructors, Hector Hopkins and Felicity Eastburn, and also an older gentleman who I’m guessing is the brigadier general. Travis robotically saluted the three, then stood at attention.
“Initiate Travis, reporting for duty.”
The general returned the salute, then held up a sheet of paper, “Initiate Travis, I am Brigadier General Jonas Stalsworth, and will be assigning you to your field battalion for this fall’s expedition purge. Your talents have earned you a spot in the Combined Arms Special Extermination Forces battalion that will be departing the capital on the gunboat UHKS Warden’s Hammer the first of Ninethmonth, destination for combat exercises being Coldspring Fortress. Are there any conflicts of interest I need to be aware of before continuing?”
Travis pursed his lips in thought, and absentmindedly tapped me with fingers.
“That’s the same division Reidar is in, and Coldspring Fortress is where Drozuk grew up. Oh, and also where Trent told you to go to join his witch coven.”
“Sir, my only concern would be the local witch coven.”
General Stalsworth nodded his head, “Ah, if your concern is about one of their witches being a former ally of Jarl Eisaiah, then you need not worry. The Vanishing Gully Coven never allowed Eisaiah membership, and in fact, were instrumental in eliminating his insurgent organization. They also have a vested interest in ensuring that this mission will be a success.”
Travis returned a quick nod, “No other conflicts come to mind sir.”
The general presented the sheet of paper to Travis to take, “This is the current roster as of this morning. Read through and inform me of any personnel conflicts I need to be aware of.”
Travis took the sheet and began to read the document, then visibly paused part way down. A sudden wave of color and emotion flooded my senses, allowing me to not just see through Travis’ eyes, but also feel his jumbled mess of confusion, bewilderment, and downright disbelief at who he’d be working with.
Squad 1 – Royal Knight Captain Adaline
· Initiate Fire Mage Princess Seleyna
· Novice Ice Mage Lord Vesril Quinsandoral
· Initiate Water Mage Drozuk
· Initiate Elementalist Mage Travis
· Junior Spartan Medic Reidar
· Junior Spartan Chef Varguk
· Junior Knight Lancel Hopkins
And four more names I didn’t recognize.
Squad 2 – Spartan Captain Aguk
· Initiate Dust Mage Mattius Tatian
· Initiate Steam Mage Thaddeus Creeksmith
· Initiate Steam Mage Zaccheus Creeksmith
· Initiate Earth Mage Treblana Sympronian
And another seven I didn’t recognize.
There was also a squad of Commandos and a squad of Logistics Corps members, but Travis and I were way too focused on the first two squads.
The sound of someone snorting with laughter made Travis (and me?) look up to see the almost painful looking smile creating new wrinkles on the general.
“Are there any conflicts I should be aware of?”
Travis and I just stood there, mouth practically drooling on the floor, unable to rub two brain cells together enough to say something.
“Good, between you and me, I had a stack of transfer requests for this battalion as thick as my arm and am not in the mood to change it further. Though, I will admit part of that is because Baron General Zadock sent his on a dwarven slate stone for some Torbolt-only-knows reason.” He saluted Travis, “Detailed mission briefing will be held at 11am in room ETH028. You’re dismissed.”
Travis, forgetting to salute back, listlessly walked out the door as his senses slowly disconnected from me.
“That does it! I’m calling shenanigans.”
Hearing my Message, Travis snapped out of his funk, and even started chuckling, “You know, in hindsight, it makes sense that at least one person would abuse their privileges to mess around with what squad I’d end up on.”
I joined in on his merriment as we turned a corner, almost plowing into a panicking Mattius.
“Travis!” The teenage Packer grabbed him by the shoulders with eyes as wide as saucers, “I need your help! She’s in my squad, what do I do?”
“Huh? I thought you weren’t in Seleyna’s squad?”
“No, I’m not talking about Seleyna, it’s Treblana!”
Travis tried to make sense of what Mattius was being hysterical over but had to tap me for help.
Oh, right, Travis wouldn’t know who that is, “Treblana is that girl Mattius has had a huge crush on since the beginning of the semester.”
Travis’ laughter returned as he patted Mattius on the shoulder to help calm him, “You’ll be fine, just be yourself.”
Mattius scowled at Travis, “That’s what Bridget told me. What else do you got?”
Travis let out a sigh, then pointed his head towards the building’s exit, “C’mon let’s go get a snack from the cafeteria before the detailed briefing. I don’t want to sit through a meeting with an empty stomach.”
Mattius groaned, but begrudgingly followed.