So we’re currently in the Student’s Alcove, sitting down for breakfast. Mr. Ciabatta put down a plate of eggs for each of us, except for the gnome across the table, and a basket of bread. Charlie is currently smiling while looking between me and her newest friend.
The gnome in question is very boyish looking, kinda like a younger kid but there’s an air of refiness to him. Silver hair that is cut short, a pair of wire glasses, slightly pointy ears with one having a bronze cuff on, maybe around four feet and, mmm, maybe ten inches? Hard to tell since we’re sitting down right now. Charlie was right, he does look very bookish.
I sigh and take a bite out of the bread before locking eyes with the person sitting across the table. “So your name is Runva?”
“Yes, Runva, Runva Chelshivene. I do not believe that I know your name, may I ask for it?” His voice is soft, but it seems like all of his words are very, ah what’s the word… deliberate, like he isn’t used to talking in Arcish.
“My name is Oliver. I– well I don’t really use a last name right now.” I look away for a moment before returning to meet his gaze.
“Ah, I am sorry. It appears I have done something incorrectly. I apologize.” He bows his head.
“No, no. It’s nothing really.”
Charlie huffs and grabs my face. “Ollie! I didn’t bring the two of you here to get all awkward, I brought you here because you guys should be friends!”
I pull myself free and give her a look. “I thought it was about the whole,” I lower my voice into a whisper, “War thing, with the Demon King.” Runva’s ears twitch but he remains quiet.
“Well that was something, but the two of you would make great friends!” She shoots Runva a quick smile, to which he gives his own. “But if you want to start this relationship with business then be my guest.”
I sigh and look back to the gnome, who is currently eating a piece of bread. “Sorry about my friend here, she dragged us here for a different reason than originally intended.”
“It is fine. I have noticed that Charlie is quite the odd character, if our last conversation was anything to go off of.” He chuckles a bit and I join him, Charlie just crosses her arms in mock annoyance. “But yes, I do want to speak about the topic we had originally decided to meet for. I will of course share my own information if you are willing to share yours, and I will keep it confidential.”
I reach out in my mind for some kind of guidance from The Dreamer, but again nothing comes to me. Maybe she’s busy? I haven’t seen her in a while…
Before I can get too caught up in my thoughts, I focus back into the conversation. “Right, I just want to ask something first. Why are you curious about what I have to say?”
He adjusts his glasses and smiles. “Because I am a historian, or at least I like to think of myself as one. Knowing things in advance would allow me to better record the events leading up to possible historic events, for future reference. And if you know something about this war, it might be useful for me. I have connections back home who are worried that this war might spread to our home nation, so it would be useful to know as much as we can.”
“Okay, um, I don’t really know how to do this kind of thing. Would you please start?” I try to sneakily play ignorant and hope that he will spill first, just to be safe of course. It’s not like I don’t trust him, it’s just… Well, I don’t trust him.
He shifts and stays silent for a moment. “While I am sure that you think yourself clever by asking me to give up my information first, I am no fool. But as an act of goodwill, I will share first.” Runva waves his hand and says something in a language I don’t understand and a small image of a mouth with an X over it appears on the table. “This should keep our conversation private, at least in close proximity.”
Charlie gives the two of us a judgemental look, still holding her arms crossed.
“There has been a small-scale war in the Demon Isles for about three or four years now. Something about the Netherfolk and Beastfolk getting into a territory dispute, or at least that is what has been said. However, in closed circles, it is said that some powerful figure has taken command of the various clans among the Netherfolk. Possibly starting the war as a power grab. The old gnomes back home are worried that it will spread, due to the close proximity to our own lands.”
“A power grab?”
“Yes, supposedly this new leader is trying to expand their influence over more land than they have now.”
“That lines up with what I know.” He looks at me, expectantly. “I believe that Charlie said she told you about what happened to our village, yes?”
“It was attacked by a group led by a Netherfolk man.”
“Yeah, well I happen to have… someone… who knows about the war and the new leader of the Netherfolk. Someone called the Demon King and they’re working on doing something that could lead to a, well, a not great time for everyone else.”
“Demon King you say… I have heard about Demon Kings before, but the last one known to exist was over five millennia ago. It was recorded that he chose no heirs before his death and wished for his people to divide into the clans that exist today. This new one must be carrying some empty title, no one can hold the claim to the throne as of this point.” Runva scratches behind his ear and stares at the table, lost in thought.
I clear my throat and get his attention back on me. “What do you know about the past Demon Kings?”
“Them? Well, a majority of them were quite pleasant as far as rulers go. Beloved by their people and held good relations with the neighboring powers. There were a few bad ones, but what country has not had a poor leader.”
“Oh, well, I meant more about the whole title thing.”
Runva’s face turns red for a moment before he calms down. “Right, sorry. The title of Demon King is– was something that was created by Phoblesia as a sort of claim to leadership over the Netherfolk in her stead. After her ascension to godhood, she needed someone to watch over and lead her people.”
I frown. “So the Broodmother is involved in this somehow.” So then the goddess of monsters has something to do with this Nightmare…
“Ah! No! It is not like that. How much do you know of Phoblesia?” Runva hastily sticks out his hands in protest to my displeasure.
Charlie steps in, as the more religious of the two of us, and speaks for me. “We understand that she is the goddess of monsters and that she is responsible for most of the evils of the world.”
“No, no, you have it all wrong. She is not as evil as most religions make her seem. Many are biased towards her as the goddess of monsters, but she is not an evil being.”
“But she is called the Mother of Monsters, she literally gives life to the creatures that kill people!” I argue. My temper rises and the tips of my hair turn red as I stand up to look down at the gnome.
Runva gives me his own upset look and then turns to face away from the table. “I– We should not have discussed theological viewpoints. Arguing over this will serve us no good in forming a relationship. I apologize for offending you in any way. I will take my leave before I make another mistake. Good day.” He says curtly, before getting out of his chair and walking out the door. The symbol on the table disappears as he leaves.
Charlie looks over to me and frowns. “Wow Ollie,” she shakes her head, “I know you don’t like monsters and stuff but still. You didn’t need to be that rude to Runva, he was only trying to share his own viewpoint. Even I’ve learned better from Sister Abigail that we aren’t supposed to take everything that religion teaches us at face value.” She gets up and walks out quickly after the gnome, calling his name.
…Gods above! Arrgh! I know she’s right but..! Gah! I hate how complicated all of this is! It’s so stupid, blaming my mistakes on a god who obviously didn’t target me. But… it’s hard not too. I mean if something happened and there’s a god who’s domain is over the things that were involved… It’s like blaming the goddess of death for people dying.
I sigh and sink into my chair. After a few minutes of stewing in my own frustration, I pull my coin purse out of my pocket and go over to the counter.
“How much do we owe you? For breakfast and the tea from earlier?” I ask Mr. Ciabatta as I open my coin purse.
He puts a hand out to stop me. “Nothing, it’s been paid for in advance.” He gives me a smile and a wink. “Just between you and me though, if you don’t mind hearing an old geezer’s advice, you might want to find the temple district further into the city. It might help you find something to think on. Now get on out of here, and go find your friends!” He claps and a strong gust of wind starts to push against me.
Before I can say anything, I’m pushed out the doors and into the streets, where I spot Charlie and Runva sitting down off on the steps of the Institute. Slowly approaching, I catch parts of what they’re saying.
“...and that’s why he doesn’t really have a high opinion of her.” I hear Charlie say.
“Jah… I should have known better than to bring up a controversial goddess. Dum Pojke! I still don’t know when to keep my trap shut.” Runva takes his hands and starts running them through his hair, almost tearing at it.
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Charlie’s eyes widen in surprise. “Runva! I’ve never heard you speak like that before, granted I’ve only known you for a day.”
He hangs his head sheepishly and clears his throat. “I apologize, I prefer to keep things formal with my speech. Sometimes I slip up on your language so it makes it easier to speak a little more slowly.”
They both look up as I approach. I awkwardly stand there in front of them and try to find the right words to say. We all stay there for a few minutes as I open and close my mouth, like a fish.
Finally Charlie breaks the silence by saying, “Alright. Enough, I know what’s on both of your minds. You both feel like the guilty party and want to apologize to the other, so get it over with already!” She pouts and crosses her arms as she looks between the two of us.
I take a deep breath before starting, “I’m sorry that I got worked up over that, I should have been more open minded about this. Blowing up at you wasn’t the right way for me to act.”
“I should apologize as well, I brought up a goddess that many see as the largest source of evil in our world and the way you reacted would be the standard way to react to someone challenging your belief.” Runva bows his head and I quickly follow his example.
Charlie claps and smiles at the two of us. “Now that that’s over with, was there anything else we had to do today?”
“Mom wanted to see us around noon, so we have a few hours to burn.” I shrug my shoulders and sit down next to her, opposite to Runva. “Is there something you want to check out?”
Runva speaks up, “If I may suggest something for the both of you, there is a small tourist stand a little ways up the street. You could take a quick tour of The Practicals and then do whatever you need to do.”
“That sounds great!” Charlie exclaims as she gets to her feet and pulls me up as well. “Do you want to join us?”
“Ah… no I should not do such. I will find my friend, she will need to eat by now.” Runva gazes over his shoulder back towards the Institute. “Will I be seeing the two of you again?”
“As much and as little as you’ll have us.” Charlie smirks and does a quick twirl before bowing to Runva. “If you’ll excuse us, we have a tour to take.”
Charlie waves goodbye as we walk down the street in the direction that Runva pointed us. Eventually we find the place he was talking about and take the tour of The Practicals. It’s pretty interesting really, the whole place is made as an area where everything is, well, practical. Different shops of all kinds are here, from blacksmiths to general goods, they also have the highest number of schools here as well. Apparently most people in the city get their education here.
Noon comes eventually and we say goodbye to our tour guide as we head over to the Institute to meet up with Mom. We find her by the wagon and our wolves, cleaning the inside out of random dust and such.
“Mom! We’re here, what did you need us for?” I call out as we approach.
She turns and climbs down out of the wagon, brushing her dress off as she makes her way over to us. “Kids! You’re going to be adventurers!” Mom smiles as she stands in front of us.
“Huh?”
“Well I mean, if that’s what you want that is. I’m just going to take you over to the local Adventurer’s Guild to get you both registered. Not to force you to take that kind of life, it’s mostly so that you can learn some stuff and maybe make some money or something to pass the time.” Mom puts a hand on our shoulders and starts to lead us away from the school.
“Wait, but why do we need to register? Can’t we just find other ways to do all that?” I ask.
“Sure, but you’ve got this whole fate of the world thing to figure out. So I thought it might do you some good to have a little combat training. You handled yourselves well back at home, but you need some real experience if you want to do something about all this.”
I guess Mom has a point, we are probably going to get into a lot of dangerous situations so it would probably be good for us to do some training. But I am a little worried, I mean I never really wanted to be much of an adventurer, I just wanted to live a quiet life and help Mom out. Contrast to me at the moment though, Charlie looks really excited by the news of being an adventurer. Can’t blame her though, she’s always been a bit of a free spirit ever since she broke out of her shell.
Before I realize, we’ve stopped in front of a large wooden building. With its unique design of a drooping green roof and semi curved shape, it looks like someone put a cloak around a lodge of some kind. Even before entering I can smell the place, not exactly unpleasant but it could be better without the smell of beer. Mom has a nostalgic smile on her face as she leads us inside.
As soon as we enter, I hear a loud thud as a body gets thrown into the wall next to us. The man who was thrown groans and looks our way before giving us a polite nod as he stands up and rushes headlong back towards the table he was removed from. Mom just shakes her head and continues to move us towards the front desk as if this wasn’t the first time she’s seen something like this. I notice that most people here aren’t really paying us much attention, most of them are either playing cards at that one table the man was thrown from or eating something. It is noon, so I guess the food is a given.
“Hello, I’ve got two greenies for registration. Plus I’d like to check my account if that’s alright.” Mom greets the lady dressed in a blue uniform sitting at the desk. “Venna Giterale, rank C, I’ve got my tag here as well.” She pulls out a small metal plate from her bag.
“Newbies? Do they have any experience at all or are they completely fresh?” The receptionist takes Mom’s tag and slots it into a small box with a flat crystal on top. The crystal flashes green and she pulls the tag back out to hand to Mom.
“Well I wouldn’t consider them completely fresh, but still in need of some practical experience and maybe some formal training.” Mom gives us a sidelong glance before turning back to the lady. “If it’s alright I’d like to take the required fee for tutoring out of my account, I have more if I need to pay for that.”
“Of course, just a moment please while I check your balance.” The lady bows and disappears into a room behind her. After a few minutes she returns. “Your account would only have enough to cover one person along with their entrance exam fee, will you be able to cover the rest?”
“Yes, will suns work?”
“Yes Ma’am, we do take suns here. That will be one golden sun and three silver moons for the other half.” Mom pulls out the coins and places them on the desk. “Will they be tutored now or will you be needing to get anything before they start?”
“Do you still provide loaner equipment for the tutoring?”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“Then we should be fine, I’ll be getting them some equipment by the time they’ll be ready for the entrance exam.”
“Very good, if you’ll all follow me please.” The lady then walks out from behind the desk and starts moving towards the right of the building, avoiding one person who is currently lying on the ground. “Watch your step and avoid bumping into anyone.”
We trail behind her as she leads us down a flight of stairs into a large open stone chamber. Against the wall are a few wooden racks of weaponry and a couple of worn sets of armor. On the far end of the room are a few training dummies that seem to have seen their fair share of battles. A single person stands in the center of the room with a large bow on their back and hood covering their head. By the looks of it, they just got here but I have no idea how they did. They still have leaves on them from somewhere outside.
“Sorry to call you on short notice Instructor Greenwood. I know that you are currently on vacation from teaching at the Pathfinder’s Institute, but you are the best instructor we can readily rely on.” The guild lady bows to the person.
“No worries, I was getting bored not doing anything this summer. Let’s see the fresh meat!” The person turns around and removes their hood, revealing an elf with dark brown skin and hair to match. “Hmm, they look a little young. Sprouts, when did you get your Inklings?”
I look at Charlie and then at Mom, who just nods. I face the elf and say, “Only a few weeks ago. We haven’t fully developed yet.”
“Ho ho, quite fresh then, alright I like a challenge. Got a reason why you want to be an adventurer?” The elf takes their bow off and gently tosses it over towards the wall, which slowly falls as a small breeze carries it down to land against the wall.
“Um…” I trail off.
“Our village was attacked and we wanted to learn to defend ourselves in case something happened to us again in the future. Plus I just think it would be kind of neat to go on adventures.” Charlie jumps in with a smile, saving me from trying to explain the situation we’ve gotten ourselves into.
The elf grins and claps their hands together. “Well it’s a shame to hear about your home, I hope no one was hurt. Hopefully you’ll be feeling much safer after this training.” They crack their knuckles and walk over to the weapon rack, picking up a wooden short staff and giving it a few swings.
Mom takes a step back and pushes us forwards. “Looks like you might want to put on some armor, either that or get ready to dodge.” I look at her with confusion but realize my mistake as the elf lets out a roar as they lunge towards us. I push Charlie out of the way and immediately dive towards the ground, feeling a sharp sting and hearing a crack as something hits my leg.
“Let’s see what the two of you got, grab a weapon or dawn some armor cuz I’m not stopping till the two of you are sweating and on the ground.” The elf turns towards Charlie who is currently scrambling towards the weapon rack. Although as soon as she reaches for one, her face scrunches up as she looks at the weapons.
I reach out and try sending a tentacle to grab the elf as they barrel towards Charlie, but they just smack it with their staff and continue on their way. I shift the tentacle to move my friend but as soon as it gets close to her she freezes up and avoids it, which while does get her out of the way of the elf does raise some concerns.
“Charlie, are you good?” I say as I try to remember that feeling when I was given my newest power.
“Y-yeah, I’m fine!” Charlie replies shakily before grabbing a random weapon off the rack, looking at it uncomfortably. She then makes a run for it, away from the elf, turning back only to chuck the, now glowing, weapon towards them. The elf dodges while smiling before they leap into the air, striking down towards Charlie.
I see the elf falling and try to force that blast to happen, a small ball of reddish energy forms and launches itself towards the elf. It hits and knocks her off course enough for Charlie to avoid getting smacked by the staff. The elf gets up and locks eyes with me. Gulp.
“Magic? Very fun, Sprout. But two can play at the long range game.” The elf pulls back and the spot where they are holding the staff starts to glow. They then release it and it flies towards me, to which I use my tentacle to try and deflect it to the side. It doesn’t work as my tentacle dissipates when the staff comes flying through it and hits me in the stomach.
I groan in pain and the elf takes that time that I spend in pain to appear in front of me. “You need to get some armor, and then you need to work on protection from projectiles. We can work on other things later.” And with that she grabs the staff and knocks me to the ground. “You’re out.”
Charlie then appears behind the elf with a small club held high, before bringing it down right into the elf’s shoulder. They wince but don’t move as they jab the staff back towards Charlie, catching her in her side. “And so are you, it seems. Looks like you need to find the right kind of weapon for yourself. You did seem to have something going for you when you threw that other one though.”
We both groan and the elf comes over and gives us a hand up. They smile and brush us off once we’re on our feet. “Well, I like the two of you well enough, plus I happen to know who you are. My other boss would have asked me to train you two anyways, I can just tell.”
I take a good look at the elf now that we’re no longer fighting. They look feminine at first glance, but their voice doesn’t quite match that. They have dark skin and hair to match, if I remember correctly they’d be a grove elf then. I also see a set of unusual horns on their head, just coming out the front of the head and curling back over the top. Oh and across their skin are tattoos or paint of some kind of something in another language.
“You know us already?” I ask as I walk over to the side where Mom has been watching us get smacked around.
“Naturally, you two are a couple of my students next year if I know my boss well enough. Her being your aunt, the headmaster of the Pathfinder’s Institute.”