Chapter 8
The reckless chosen ones
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* tring*
Name your companion
Grim thought about it for a second but quickly decided.
" Thalia. "
* tring*
The Fae Mothra has been named Thalia
" Come here Thalia. " Grim tried to cokse it into coming to his side.
Even though he didn't expect it to work the little Fae flew to him and landed on his shoulder. The attempt was really cute since the new born was still quite clumsy and almost fell down a few times but it landed securily.
Grim lifted his hand and petted Thalia on the head carefully watching to avoid the 8 black beads which represented her eyes.
" Thank you master , i really like my name. " The Fae said.
" Holy cow , it spoke! " Grim shouted in surprise.
Now something akin to a giggle was audiable from Grims shoulder but a no follow up came. The dwarf smith was eying all of this suspiciously and Grim knew exactly why. Dwarfs had a superstition against magic and would stear clear of the phenomenon if they could.
The smith scratched his beard unable to decide what to do so he resumed his work.
" Thalia , you mind if we stay here and do some work? " Grim asked cautiosly.
He suspected a insect and fire wouldn't match but the next words suprised him even more.
" Don't worry master i am a magical being after all , i can use fire magic myself and i really like the warmth here." Thalia eased his worrys.
Grim shrugged his shoulders and resumed his work. He sharpened the blades and put a few more ingots into the furnace. Bending them once more he prepared for a little project he wanted to do for himself tomorrow. The dwarf inspected the sharpend blades he finished and gave an okay before Grim had to attend another evening meal with his spouse and their foster parents.
As usual he washed himself , changed clothes and proceeded towards the dining hall. On the way he meat Celu and greeted her. She just nooded her head and both proceeded together down the long flight of stairs that lead towards the first floor where the dining hall was located.
Just before they stepped through the doors Grim grabbed her hand and placed it intop of his own arm the was holding upwards. Celu learned quickly that the player behind this elf was a opponent she will never want to face in a skirmish or even worse a war.
He delighted her foster parents with some more storys and even , what Celu had missed all this time , political talk of the houses. Who did the best commercially or which house was the most prominent after the chosen ones appeared.
" Wait , Grim. How do you know all of this? One could believe you have spys everywhere! " Celu said flabber gasted.
Grim smiled a little crocked and took a deep breath before he continued.
" Celu my love , you remember Minalla? Her obvious job as the head maid is not the only job she has. " Grim said with a crocked smile.
Celus eyes went wide at the thought she had exposed many secrets herself to the cool beauty of a maid that lived in the captiols castle.
" But are there spys neccessary in a mideval world ? " Celu added.
Grim looked very displeased at this obvious question.
" Celu , sweet heart. You do remember it is best not to speak about matters of the chosen ones with people that have occupied this world for so long. They would not understand. But since you broke the topic. It is quite simple , through all times Monarchs in general need to have a good grasp what is going on with their counts , dukes and other royalty. The best way to achieve this is espionage. " Grim said monotone.
" Yes dear , we do know that the king has his spies everywhere and even though we would like to have complete freedom we do know this is a neccessary evil we have to endure. The king protects us not only from outside but also from one another of sorts. He places his hands around us all to protect us like a fragile egg. " Her foster mother added.
A surprised expression escaped Grims lips but he caught himself quickly and spoke up.
" I have good news for the elfen people as well since we have been talking about eggs. I am very sorry to make the long introduction but i had a lot to think about in the last few days and deeply hope you can forgive me. " Grim said.
Celus foster parents just said there was nothing to forgive however big the good news could be so Grim picked up his speech once again.
" I am deeply indebeted towards you Sir and Lady Soc-relma , but now to the main topic. I would like for you all to meet someone very special to me and maybe for the future of the elfen Kingdome. Thalia you can come out now. " Grim said.
There was a little twang of jealousy displayed on Celus face and Grim saw it clearly. She hid it pretty well after the initial outburst but as soon as she saw the white creature coming out from behind Grims long hair she was delighted as well.
" I-Is that a FAE? " Her foster father said.
He was completly shacken and was about to bow down to the floor.
" Please Sir Soc-relma , i am nothing but a new born. Even if i was full grown i would not have someone bow to me like i am a God. " Thalia spoke up.
" Thalia do elfs bow down to Fae often? " Grim asked the butterfly looking creature.
" Hard to say i do share some cognitive memorys of my kind but everything is still a little hazy. For certain i know that we were once referred to like Palanthalos himself. My kind especially in this kind of body promises prosperity and fertility. " She stated matter of factly.
Grim took this in well but Celu and her foster parents were still unable to speak up properly. Especially Celu since Grim was having a serious talk with a Butterfly.
" I wanted to ask you a little while ago but what do you eat? " Grim said.
" Blood. Monster blood to be precise i can live on my masters blood for most of the time but monster blood will urge on my growth. "
" Hmm and how does your kind survive in the wilderness without a master? Will you suck on rabbits until you are strong enough to suck foxes dry? " Grim asked with a sarcastic tone.
Thalia flew from Grims shoulder and hovered in the middle of the table. She started to weirdly wiggle all of her 8 legs while flapping her wings and soon a magical circle appeared in front of her.
A beam of pure white color surged forward and as it flew by it burned of a few hair of Grim.
" That would have been really impressive if it wasn't as thick as my pinky , is that all you have Thalia? " Grim said teasingly.
Sure Grim was just teasing her as she was just born a few hours ago and he was honestly impressed already but after Thalia did the same motions , which took twice the time , another beam shot out.
Grim rolled to the side to evade it this time and as it passed where he just sat the Chair was bruned to a crisp. The stone wall behind it also had a circular shapped hole inside of it.
" Holy COW !" Grim said in suprise as he went and inspected the hole closer.
" You astound me Thalia , i was just teasing you a little before. But this is truly making me proud! Excuse me and my little companion I personally will pay for the damage. " Grim bowed towards Celus foster parents.
They waved it of as youthful vigour , since it will be paid for.
" Hmph. " Thalia said and turned her body 45* away from Grim.
" But Thalia you just tapped on my mana right? I only have 610 left. " Grim said perplexed.
" Yes Master through our soul bond we can share eachothers Mana. Since i am small it is hard for me to store sufficient Mana to create these effects by myself so i took it uncounciously since i was angered. " Thalia said this and there was a slight undertone that she was pouting.
Celu giggled at the Faes behaviour and the attention turned towards her. She blushed furiously but didn't comment on it. The rest of the dinner proceeded calmly.
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The next day Grim was forging things under the instruction of the smith and Thalia went out to feed herself after a heavy discussion between her and Grim. She insisted that she could hunt alone but Grim wouldn't let her. For some odd reason Thalia pressed out some tear drops , which looked really weird since it came from all 8 eyes , and while seeing that she had Grim hook , line and sinker.
Thalia returned in the afternoon as Grim gave the pieces he forged the last touches. She calmly landed on his shoulders and snuggled up behind his hair.
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* tring*
Iron Breastplate has been forged
* tring*
Iron Armguard has been forged
* tring*
Iron Legguards has been forged
" Whew with this i am done. " Grim stated while wipping his head off of sweat beads that had formed in the process.
The smith came over and examined them closely and even seemed to operate a window Grim couldn't see.
" Master smith , what were you doing just there? " Grim asked curiously.
" Oh this this skill is called identify. It tells you what the requirements are and such. If you make more armor or examine stuff very closely it will form naturally. " The smith said.
The smith told him what the requirements were for his armor but they were pretty weak. After all it was his first self forged piece of armor. The chest piece gave him + 15 defence and the leg and armguards each +10. Grim also learned that each point of defense would reduce the damage he received by the amount of defense he accumulated.
" But now listen boy , having heavy armor is good , but there is a problem. If you wear this armor ontop of your regular clothes it will cause you wounds and most likely destroy the cloth. You need something harder and more sturdy for underneath. A Gambeson or some leather clothes should do the trick. " The smith said.
" Thank you sir , but i think i will buy it instead of learning the trade. I want to be a good smith and not a jack of all trades. " Grim stated.
The Smith agreed and Grim thanked him for everything. He turned towards the master of sewing that was housed in the premises of Soc-relma estate and bought a cheap gambeson with fitting leather reinforced arm and legguards. ( AUTHORS NOTE: A Gambeson is a padded cloth armor filled with goats or sheep woll. It disperses the point of impact. Google it if you are interested. Takes forever to make yourself , tried it. 5 times.... )
He also bought a white cloth hood and some leather reinforced gloves.
Naturally this was his own money that he had saved since he came from the town of beginners and some random cash piles he found in the fissure dungeon. But from the 1 gold and 20 silver only 5 silver remained. Now Grim knew it was time to venture out for himself.
He ventured deeper into the estate and soon found the head of the Soc-relma house in his study ( the room) . Grim explained himself and Celus ' father' let him go. He quickly packed his things from the chambers they had asigned him and rushed down the steps that lead out of the huge house.
On the way , much to his dismay , he found Celu and she told him to stop.
" I'm sorry but i want to go adventure , im pretty sure i dropped out of the top 100 rankings again and i want to catch up. " Grim explained.
Celus jaws dropped and couldn't explain what she had just heard.
" What level are you? " Celu asked surprised.
She saw Grim operating the windows and after he was done he told her he was 50. Celu couldn't believe it. All elfs were stuck with their familys for a long time before they let them venture outside , as were the dwarves. But the Humans only had to take lodging for a week with their houses , but the orcs and draconians were instantly freed after this bond to do whatever they wanted.
She snuck away one night and killed some wolves and foxes that she found which got her a guard watching her 24/7 and she still wasn't allowed to leave. But this boy that she knew by now , started on the same day as her , was one of the leading players in this world.
Celu steeled her heart and as Grim left she instantly went towards her foster father to MAKE him allow her to venture out on her own.
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Thalia was flying excitedly around Grims head and was asking the same question again and again.
" We really are going hunting now? "
Grim just nodded after the 20 time she asked but he couldn't be mad at the little Fae but nevertheless Grim reminded himself that she was a new born and couldn't do anything for her excitment.
He had also acquired a map from Celus foster fathers study and had a course to the next village. There he expected to help out the people , get some money , earn experience and maybe train his blacksmithing if he had the chance.
Coincidentally he wanted to improve Thalias casting abilitys which perfectly fit well with his tanking style of fighting. Now with the cheap but sturdy new Platemail and the Gambeson he was wearing the adventure could begin.
A few guards were posted at the entrance of the city that came into sight and as they should they stopped him.
" State your name , stranger. " The guard said.
But Grim knew what he had to say if he wanted to avoid him getting holed up again in most likely the village mayors house for days without any means to escape.
" My names Grim , im a chosen one looking for work. " Grim said.
Thalia giggled a little and Grim was about to curse but luckily the guard missed her giggle.
" Alright , come in friend. And welcome to Rothrien. " The guard waved him past.
The houses here were actually built of stone , like the mansion of the Soc-relma instead of the Tree houses in the town of beginners , but that was just because this region was closer to the human border then the capitol or the town of beginners , Grim figured.
First Grim inspected the warse at the market , or at least he pretended to be while listening to the townsfolks talk. He acquired about a plague of Goblin hunting packs that straved through the woods close by. Another conversation told him , which he just eavesdropped on , that a group of chosen ones had ventured out to find the cause.
The more he listend in the more information he caught about the group , all elfs but they were lacking a certain member that was essentional for their success. A brave warrior that fights at the front lines.
" Thalia i do believe you are bringing me fortune. " He whispered to the Fae hiding underneath his hair.
A giggle came as Grim proceeded tom the mayors house. He firmly knocked on the door and a rather .... round elf ... opened the door. He had the appearance of a 50 year old man with wrinkles and all and so Grim thought this elf must be ancient. The mayor stared at him with a glare but soon this should change.
" What does a chosen one want with me? If you want work i just sent a group out look some where else. " He said annoyed and was about to slam the door shut but Grim put his foot between the door and the frame.
" First courtesy demands that i state my name , i am Grim of the house Gwachilmar. I heard rumours the group you sent out missed a strong and valiant fighter that honors the sacred ritual of combat? " Grim spoke up.
The old mans eyes went wide and he ran back into the house just to come back seconds later holding a piece of paper. He eyed the manuscript suspiciously and his eyes darted between it and Grim.
" Remove your hood so i may inspect you face. " The Mayor said.
Without a slight hesitation Grim pulled down his hood and revealed the Rubys that were embedded in his flesh. He even went as far as to take of his gloves and revealed the rubys in his hands. The mayors face became ashen and he stuttered so hard Grim couldn't understand.
" Sir i can't understand , but whatever you want to say i won't be invited to tea or a meal. The group of chosen one has no warrior i am one. Share the task with me and i will fly to their aid." Grim said.
Again unknowingly to him the aura of authority leaked from him and Thalia giggled slightly.
The mayor showed him the general direction they were headed and after the usual * tring* and Grim accepting the quest he headed of south towards the source of the Goblin infestation and hopefully the group of players the mayor had sent to their death Grim realized as he checked the Quest info again.
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Quest , secure Rothrien from the Goblin invasion
Find a way to block Golbin reinforcments off.
Difficulty Rank E
Rewards : Fame
Gold
Items
Failure may lead to the extinciton of Rothrien.
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