“Father?” Julia asked carefully as she accompanied him back towards the kitchens where dinner was being prepared. Elizebeth had separated off to change out of her half ruined dress and into her preferred nun’s habit, leaving Nathen to resume sparring with captain Tyran.

“Yes?” the older man replied, turning to look at her.

“You were taught to see people’s facets by Bishop Alexander, right?”

“Ah, yes,” he nodded, “its not an easy skill to learn, and few people are even offered the chance. Though, I must say, it’s not as helpful as it may seem. It only works on those with a set nature, meaning it only works on Ascenders.”

“Right, but,” she paused, “I’ve never known you to be wrong before.”

“There’s a first time for everything,” the older priest shrugged.

“If you say so,” she replied suspiciously.

Behind them, unaware of the conversation, Nathen was recovering from his latest bout with Captain Tyran. So far he’d been wholly unable to land so much as a single blow on the guard captain, each attack being lazily parried and countered. If they had been using real swords Nathen had no doubt he’d have been killed a dozen times over, but thankfully the wooden swords left only light bruises.

“That must be some martial arts you know,” he commented as he stood, “is it unique to the church or can anyone learn it?”

“A… martial art?” Tyran asked, seemingly confused.

“Ya, those fighting forms monks drill endlessly? Or is that too eastern for this setting?”

“Oh, no, we have those, but they aren’t for fighting.”

“I thought that was their entire purpose,” Nathen said, now it was his turn to be confused.

“It’s an exercise regimen the monks use to stay healthy, I suppose it can be applied to combat but I can’t imagine it would be too effective,” Tyran said.

“Then how are you so good with a sword?”

“Young Master Ascender,” Tyran said with a smirk, “I’ve wielded a blade for decades, sparring or fighting nearly every day during that period. My skill isn’t from anything so rigid as a sword style or martial art, its from years of practice.”

“But where did you start?”

“Just like this, with a more skilled guard beating lessons into me with a wooden sword. I can tell most of your experience is from fighting beasts,” Tyran continued, “you block attacks head on, your attacks are shallow and you don’t step in deep enough when doing so. That works when your enemy is wielding claws, has a tough hide and only has the reach of their arm but against other people it leaves you open. Now, you’ll be fine against unskilled fighters, but against anyone who knows how to fight you’ll end up like this.”

“What should I do?” Nathen asked.

“Accept that every fight is different, how you wield your weapon against a beast is different from another swordsman or an Ascender or a Vituss Wielder,” the guard captain explained, “as you fight more you’ll gain experience and learn how to counter various fighting styles.”

“So… what I’ve been doing?”

“I suppose.”

“Alright then!” Nathen grinned, taking a stance and charging at the guard captain once more. While he never managed to land a blow, Nathen eagerly threw himself into the sparring again and again for the next hour until dinner was called. The meal ended up being a rather simple affair, sausages with diced potatoes and hard rolls on the side, but it was more interesting than anything he’d eaten since arriving in this world.

“When are you planning to leave for Templeholm?” the elderly priest who seemed to run the temple asked as the meal was wrapping up.

“Sooner would be better,” Julia mentioned, “I wouldn’t be surprised if spies from one side or the other have already reported your arrival here.”

“Soonest we could leave would be early tomorrow, after buying supplies in town,” Elizebeth replied slowly, looking at the table in thought, “assuming we can get enough food as the stores open we should be able to leave shortly after the sun rises.”

Stolen novel; please report.

“I’d like to get a new blade,” Nathen added, “not sure how long my current one will hold up.”

“I’ll ask Tyran to loan you one,” the priest replied, “it can take days for the local blacksmiths to forge a new sword, longer if you want a decent one. I can also see if he has any spare armor, your current set seems rather… ragged.”

“Can you afford that Father?” Elizebeth asked, “giving away church goods?”

“We’ll be fine,” the priest soothed, “our job is to provide assistance to newly arrived Ascenders. Besides, I said loan, not gift, the church gets a good deal of donations from Ascenders. I’m sure Master Nathen will remember us as he grows more powerful.”

\*\*\*\*\*

“Are you sure you can ride on your own, Sir Gregory?” one of the Count’s knights asked for the third time as they traveled north.

“I can handle this much,” Gregory replied as he once more shifted in the saddle, “Don’t expect me to go into combat on horseback, but I can ride.”

After discussing the offer with Father Araman and Sister Penny he’d chosen to accept the deal. There were a few reasons for this, first off was that his protection period was ending and he’d be on his own after that. While he could have chosen to stay at the church he’d have to pay, and while interested parties may have been discouraged from pressing him while he was on church grounds there weren’t any rules against it at that point. Second was some assurance as to his own abilities, which, though he’d gotten into the occasional fight as a kid he wasn’t exactly trained. He hadn’t been allowed to own any weapons or take anything more than basic self-defense classes. Combined with a lazy lifestyle leaving him somewhat out of shape he wasn’t confident in his ability to fight should it come to that.

But apparently there were benefits to being an Ascender, specifically he was reborn at his physical peak, the healthiest his body could have possibly been in his past world. This already made him stronger than the average person, despite his stats claiming his physical ability was merely ‘slightly above average,’ and that was before the benefits from his facets were factored in. To demonstrate it Araman had called in a couple of the town guard and had them arm wrestle with Gregory. After defeating the larger men without much trouble he’d sparred a couple times, and found himself keeping up easily. Not only did he feel stronger than he ever had before he was faster, more agile and more perceptive. His newest ability, Tactile Aura, was also a surprising aid, making it easy to see through feints and blindsides.

But the biggest single factor was the appearance of a new Ascender in the Record of the Woods. Apparently someone named Nathen had emerged from the woods around the same time as him, matching the stories of a new Ascender interfering in the whole complex affair around the half-sister to the crown prince. Not to mention he had the same defining features as Gregory, brown hair and green eyes, which marked him as an Arblian as well. Knowing this Nathen was likely just as lost and confused as he was, combined with the shared cultural heritage, did a lot to ease his worries of having to get into a fight with a stronger, more skilled Ascender.

Even better, once he’d accepted the Count’s offer he’d been given a simple chain shirt as a show of good faith. Turns out little provided a feeling of safety like a couple pounds of metal chain covering your torso. They’d even provided him with a horse, since the half-princess had a decent head start. They suspected she was headed towards Templeholm, a holy city owned by no kingdom, protected by the gods, in which it would be nearly impossible to get to her.

Overall it seemed like a rather simple job, there largely to give the Count some assurance when facing an Ascender. While he didn’t like the Count very much, all his politeness seemed forced and insincere, but it wouldn’t hurt to be in good standing with the local kingdom. Assuming this whole thing with the prince’s half-sister was dealt with it seemed like a safe bet.

\*\*\*\*\*

“Report.”

“Looks like a small farming community,” a smaller, almost weedy man replied, “they’ve got a wall of tree trunks, a stone road leading in on a couple sides and miles of farmland to either side.”

“Palisade,” another of the military men replied, “it’s called a Palisade wall.”

“Noone asked you Steve.”

“And you saw people?” the commander interrupted.

“Yes sir,” the small man continued, “a couple guards were stationed at each gate, I saw one group leading a horse drawn cart into town and even saw a group of men on horseback depart to the north.”

“I thought we weren’t expecting there to be anyone else here,” the commander said, slowly turning to look at the only man not in fatigues, “doctor, care to explain?”

“Honestly we weren’t sure what to expect,” the doctor replied, “the Erlham field and its effects were poorly understood until recently. We determined it could be used as a one way mode of transport, and we caught glimpses of a habitable biosphere on the other side but, beyond that? I’m excited we got here and received new bodies!”

“Is that why you came?” another soldier asked.

“I suspected it,” he admitted, “and given my situation it was worth the risk.”

“If we knew so little then why send those Arblians through?”

“Because the Erlham field seems to interact with conscious minds, and not all of them either. We tried animals but they only ever burnt up, no one would miss a few Arblians so they were… recruited.”

“The point is,” the commander interrupted once more, “there is some form of native government, right?”

“A rather sophisticated one too,” the scout nodded, “those riders were in what looked like steel armor. Though the town guards were only in armor.”

“That makes things complex, but doesn’t change the mission,” the team leader continued, “you were all told the risks so lets focus.”

“Yes Sir,” the other soldiers chorused.

“Akleson,” the commander looked at the scout, “how well trained did the guards seem?”

“They were in decent shape, but not overly disciplined,” the smaller man replied, “I figure each of us could take them one on one easily. I don’t know how many guards there are total, however.”

“Well we have a week before the next teams arrive, lets see how common these villages are.”