Chapter Twenty-Four

The next morning, the three of them patiently waited for the boys outside the tavern. Moira could tell that Duke wasn’t too pleased to be around Cyrus again. For some reason, he rubbed Duke the wrong way. Duke had at least kept the growling to a minimum last night.

The three men arrived early, each carrying a dark leather bag secured to their backs. Cyrus had his sword strapped to his leg and walked toward them with ease. Moira’s pulse raced, betraying her sense of resolve.

“Are you both ready to go?” He asked. Looking them both up and down. “Is that still the training bow?” he asked, pointing to the bow strapped on Moira’s back.

“I’m still under Tier 1. I figured I didn’t need a new one for a while.”

“We’re going to be grinding. The entire goal is to level as quickly as possible—and we’re in Tersus, literally the best place to get a bow,” Myles interrupted, rubbing his face in frustration.

“Elven bows are the best bows you can get. You don’t want to get one at Mons Caput. The dwarves are great weaponsmiths, but they don’t really do bows.” Ethan clarified.

“Fine. I’ll get a new bow.”

Sloane smiled. “I know just the place.”

Sloane led the six of them back to Fendrik’s Emporium of Magical Items. Fendrik sighed heavily when he noticed Sloane entering the building again.

“Sloane! What did I just tell you? Get out! That was a onetime thing—” His lecture dropped off when he noticed the people behind her. He quickly smiled, “Welcome! Come in! Come in! I have a great supply of items to choose from.” Fendrick ushered them all into the store. “Is there something in particular that you’re looking for?” he asked.

Moira opened her mouth to ask about a bow when Cyrus interrupted, “Yes, we’re looking for an elven bow of good quality.”

“Yes, of course, sir! I have a great selection of bows.” He guided them toward the weapons section, pointing out various bows. Cyrus examined the bows, blocking Moira’s view. Moira scoffed and pushed her way in front of him.

She turned to Fendrick, “The bow is actually for me, Fendrick. Can you tell me about your selection?” She glared back at Cyrus.

Fendrick nodded his head at her, “Welcome back Miss Moira, yes, of course.” He gestured toward the wall, pointing to a bow with red-toned brown wood. “This is our least expensive Elven bow. It’s made from the wood of a Dearg tree and should last through Tier 1 and just past Tier 2. This bow is a simple, yet effective product.”

Fendrick then motioned to the next bow. It was made of silver wood and artfully shaped. “This one is built from Airgid wood and is much stronger than the Dearg. The bowstring can be tightened significantly more. This bow would last through Tier 2 and into Tier 3.”

He gestured to the last bow. At first, Moira thought it was made of some sort of black wood, but as the light shined on it, the bow shimmered dark purple. She drew closer, entranced by the colors. She could hear it vibrating softly against the wall in anticipation.

“Finally, we have our most expensive option. It’s made from a tree in the Silivea Forest. It’s rare to find a bow made from one of the sacred trees. This tree in particular gave its approval to the bow maker to create a bow from its wood upon it’s death. This bow is soulbound and can only have one owner.”

Moira reached out towards the last bow, running her fingers along the wood. It tremored under her touch, almost leaping toward her in excitement. Moira turned toward Fendrik. “How much does it cost?”

“I can’t part with it for less than one hundred gold. It’s a rare and magnificent piece and will continue to grow with the owner, not restricted by Tiers.”

Moira sighed, pulling her hand back from the bow. She couldn’t afford it right now. Maybe after she’d collected more cores, she’d come back for it, if she came back. The bow almost screamed at her as she moved away, vibrating frantically against the wall.

Cyrus stepped up to Fendrick, “Alright, deal. We’ll take the Silivea bow.”

Moira turned to Cyrus. “Cyrus, I can’t afford that.”

“It’s okay, it’s an investment. We can’t have a Ranger without a great bow.”

Fendrick pulled the bow from the wall and walked to his desk. Cyrus followed and placed a pouch on the counter. “One hundred gold. It should all be there.”

Fendrick carefully emptied the pouch and counted the gold. Once he was satisfied, he handed Cyrus the bow. “Pleasure doing business with you. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

“Do you have any quality monster cores?” Myles asked. Fendrick grinned and winked at Moira and Sloane before pulling out the Mosasaur monster core.

Cyrus carefully handed Moira the bow. “Thank you again. You really didn’t have to.”

“It’s my pleasure. You deserved a great bow.” He leaned closer, his lips brushing against her ear. “An Outworlder needs a weapon that’ll last.”

She shivered, very aware of how close he stood.

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“Thank you.”

He nodded.

Moira stroked the bow, it sang in her hands, vibrating happily. “How do I soul bond with it?” she asked.

“Just focus on the bow and the option to soul bond should appear.”

Moira stared down at the bow and focused intently.

Ding!

Would you like to Soul Bond with Tempest of Fate, Bow of the Silivea Forest

Yes/No

Warning! This cannot be undone.

She selected yes. The bow quivered in her hands. She felt a presence enter her mind and flow through her. It swept through every nook and cranny of her mind. Settling into her very soul. It vibrated happily in her hands.

“It’s like it’s alive.” She said, looking at Cyrus.

“Soulbound items have a mental awareness that other weapons don’t have. It happens during the crafting process. It’s like a seed of consciousness is transferred from the source of the material to the weapon. Over time, that seed grows, developing its own personality.” Cyrus watched her, his mouth twisted up into a half smile.

Moira slowly smiled back and admired her bow. She strung it across her back and turned her attention back to Myles. He was examining the monster core that she’d sold Fendrick just two days before. He was haggling down from fifteen gold, while Fendrick was hemming and hawing about the perfect condition of the core. Finally, Ethan stepped in, arguing that even if the condition was perfect, the core was still only from a Tier 2 monster and shouldn’t be over thirteen gold. They eventually settled on fourteen gold.

Fendrick glanced back at Sloane and Moira and winked again before collecting his gold and handing off the core to Myles. Myles quickly stashed it in his pack and turned towards the rest of the group.

“We ready to head out?”

“Let’s get going.” Cyrus headed towards the door, stopping to attempt to pet Duke on the head as he passed. Duke huffed and avoided his hand, jumping up to his feet.

The rest of the group shuffled out the door. They walked down the main street, heading out of town.

Sloane was at the back of the group. She admired each building as she passed, her fingers brushing up against the white stone buildings here and there. She seemed to say goodbye to the place where she’d been born. When they got to the gates, she turned and looked back at the city. Sloane kissed two fingers and raised them towards the city skyline, as a last farewell to her hometown.

Moira grabbed her hand and squeezed it as they passed out of the city. “Are you going to be okay?”

Sloane looked back at her and forced a smile. “Yeah, I just didn’t realize how hard it’d be to leave until just now.”

Moira nodded and patted Sloane on the back. Sloane turned away from Tersus and the six of them started off down the road.

#

Cyrus had acquired two additional mounts for her and Sloane. The creatures were about the size of horses, their coats were long and shaggy, hiding their powerful frame; with square paws that ended in powerful claws instead of hoofs.

Moira had named her mount, Kevin, because why not? It was a pale sandy color in contrast to Sloane’s which was a dark ebony. Sloane had named hers Midnight, which was arguably much less creative than Kevin.

The road was covered in red dirt, paw prints scattered across it. Duke scampered back and forth across the road, sniffing through the brush that lined it. Moira smiled as she watched him. His tail wagged excitedly with every unfamiliar smell. The five of them had been riding at a fast pace for several hours now. They’d all remained relatively quiet, except for Myles, who’d been bragging about his past accomplishments for the last two hours.

Cyrus looked over at Moira and rolled his eyes, glancing back at Myles who’d just delved into another story about how his magic had saved the day. Moira stifled a laugh, and Cyrus grinned back at her. He fell into step beside her. “How are you adjusting to all of this?”

Moira looked up at him. “It’s been very confusing, to be honest. I feel like I’m always one step behind. Just when I feel like I understand the rules of this world, the rug is pulled up again.”

Cyrus nodded. “That makes sense, and you’ve been figuring it all out on your own. That does not help.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“I haven’t told Myles or Ethan that you’re an Outworlder. I’ve hinted at it, but figured it’d be best if you told them. I think you should, soon. It’s becoming more and more obvious that something is off.”

“I will. Soon. When the time is right. Thank you for not sharing my secret.”

“Does Sloane know?”

“No, but she suspects something’s up. I think she’s just waiting for me to confide in her.”

“Hmm,”

“What?”

“Nothing, I just thought you would’ve told her. You pushed so hard to have her join us. Obviously, you trust her.”

Moira looked up at Cyrus thoughtfully before looking back at Sloane, who was currently badgering Ethan.

“I suppose I do. I haven’t known her for long, but Duke seems to trust her.”

“You trust her just because Duke does?” He swore. “I thought you were smarter than that.”

“Excuse me?”

“He’s a dog. Why would you just trust what he thinks about someone?”

“Because he’s a dog—they literally have great instincts about people. Plus, he’s different now. Smarter. The Dungeon changed him.”

“So, what, you don’t trust me then? He’s constantly growling at me.”

“Actually, no I don’t. It’s weird that he doesn’t like you.”

Cyrus stared back at her mouth agape, “You seriously don’t trust me because of the dog?”

Moira nodded back at him, her lips tightly pursed. Cyrus hmphed and rode away from her. Heading towards the front of the group. Myles slid up next to her and looked back and forth between her and Cyrus. “What’d you say to piss him off?”

Moira glanced up at him. He grinned widely, revealing the tips of his fangs. Moira rolled her eyes. “I just said I didn’t trust him because Duke doesn’t like him. He’s having a hissy fit.”

Myles laughed, the sound booming across the road. He clutched his stomach as he cackled. Cyrus turned back to look at them, glaring at Myles. Which only made him laugh harder. Once he’d finally calmed down, he lightly punched her arm. “I like you. You’ve got spunk.”

Moira gave him a half smile back and his grin broadened. He reached across the gap between their mounts and grabbed her shoulder. “I think we’re going to get along just fine.”