[a little while later, Silverstone’s cottage]
Even though it is Fourthday, we are not required to attend our apprenticeship today due to the arrival of emissary throwing schedules off. But Arrjee has brand new skills he is anxious to try out, so we decided to head to campus and see if any manner of formal training was going on. We’d be a couple of hours late, but maybe someone would be there to help him rank them to E. And I needed to rank my Athletic Leap to E, also.
Just as we were heading to the door to leave, Carrie came in with Kossa’s younger siblings, Kenna and Mols. Kenna, at 11, wasn’t even a year younger than Carrie, while her brother Mols was 9. Mols still worked at Sterbian’s old grocery store several times a week. The new owner appreciated his skills, keeping him on when Ronkel turned the store over to our new grocer. We all greeted each other.
I had an idea. “Kenna and Mols, do you still think about Sterbian Morse?” They both did. “What do you think about emissary from the Priestess Cult coming here and possibly staying?”
Mols was the first to reply and said that he didn’t like her. Kenna was more nuanced, “I don’t like her being here either. But if the Mayor and everyone thinks it is a good idea that she stay, I think I will be alright with it.”
“Your family was the closest to Sterbian. I know Kossa was very sad about his death. What would you think about your whole family meeting with emissary sometime this evening and speaking with her? We could have one of the Skolturi Wraiths there too in case you don’t trust her.”
The siblings looked at each other, unsure. Carrie encouraged them. “Don’t you want to see what she is like? If she doesn’t stay, you might lose the chance to maybe understand better what happened.” Arrjee added that he thought it would be a good idea, too.
“I guess maybe we should,” Kenna assented. Mols nodded slightly, obviously not thrilled, but willing to go along with it. She wondered, “When would we do it?”
I replied, We could try to have a meeting on campus during the adult training session. Those are held between 15:25 and 18:25. Do you know if your parents will be going today?”
Mom and Dad go every other day, but attendance is voluntary. I didn’t really know who attended when. Corval goes a lot, and Grandma and Mowd are usually there three or four times a week. Kenna answered, “It has been a couple days since they went. Should we go ask them and let them know emissary might speak with us?”
“Yes, but if they weren’t planning on coming, let them know I’ll try to schedule a meeting sometime after 16. Arrjee and I are going to try to get some apprenticeship time in, and there is about a half hour of overlap.” They agreed on the tentative plan, and the three pups headed over to the Smithson’s shop.
Arrjee and I went to campus. We arrived at the designated apprenticeship area at 14:10. I was surprised to see almost all of the students there along with Norrus. The Masters were there, too – so much for people taking the day off. Arrjee was especially glad to see Runtel Trillet, and I was happy to see Lenyet Birch. As usual, Brune Thorm was there for students interested in music and/or self defense, Dorra Marson was supporting students interested in empathy or just general knowledge, and Kertos Zurz, the Blacksmith and Carpentry Master, was apprenticing teens interested in crafts. Orian had come with emissary to observe.
Arrjee reported directly to Master Trillet, excited to show off his new skills. Master Birch was with our new cat girl Felina Grace. I greeted them but said I would be back in a few moments. Orian and emissary were curious why I wanted to speak with them. “I wonder if you two would be able to meet with the Smithson family later? They are Humans and relatively new to town. Kossa is one of their three children. Their mother Kella is a florist and assisted the academy groundsman with a lot of the plants around here. She shares a shop with her husband Mista, a tinkerer and silversmith.”
“Anyway, I think it might be a good idea for them to meet you, emissary. Other than my grandmother, they were on the best terms with Sterbian Morse compared to anyone else in town. His curse caused so many people to turn from him, but the Smithson’s were new. I don’t think it had a chance to sour a relationship with them. They saw the old Sterbian. I told the two younger kids I would try to arrange a meeting on campus for sometime this evening. It might prove beneficial for you as a member of the Priestess Cult to face them.”
She responded, “It is easy to see your 57 years of life experience, Young Forrest. Not many your age would approach me so directly to suggest I do something. Others might have had a similar idea, but would have had their elders broach the subject with me. Yes, I would like to meet with them. And well done.”
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“Who’s got time for that?!” I slightly turned my head and winked at Orian with the eye she couldn’t see. He smiled back. ”Thank you. I’ll go tell Kossa now.”
Kossa was with Master Thorm. At an appropriate moment to interrupt, I told her about the meeting I was trying to set up. After taking a moment to respond, “She is not really someone I want to know, Forrest. The Cult killed Sterbian, and she is part of the Cult. I know he wasn’t supposed to be the target, but the fact is he is not here any more because of them. People are saying sometimes they aid others, but they did the opposite of that here.”
“Rhonda feels the same way. After speaking with emissary, she managed to accept her apology, even though not including anyone else in it but her. You might not reach that same conclusion, but think about it, okay? You might not ever get another chance to talk to any of them or ask them questions.”
“That has not been something I was worried about. But for you, I will think about attending. I can’t tell you I will do so, however.”
“Okay, thank you. I’ll let you know when it is about to start.”
I turned my attention back to training. I saw that Arrjee was sparring with one of the newer students, both using wooden swords. The other guy was age 14 and hadn’t leveled yet, but I could tell he knew Basic Swordsmanship pretty well. I turned my attention to Lenyet and Felina. They were about 30 yards away; I went to them using several Athletic Leaps. She was pretty good at martial arts and I could tell she had a lot more hours of training than I had.
Lenyet noticed the new skill and congratulated me. Felina asked me what my other choice had been, and I told her Athletic Kick. I learned her Martial Arts skills were the same as mine had been at Level 5 – Ki Punch, Dodge, Claw Strike, and Boost Armor. Her Mindsmith skills were Read Mind, Read Emotion, and the one Swagger has, Clear Mind. After we had discussed our backgrounds, Lenyet set us to sparring. It was a good pairing. She is better than me in overall skill, but my extra mass and higher, thresholded, attributes gave me a slight edge. I remembered Jacques’ kung-fu movies talking about using an opponent's size against them, which can be true enough. But if the opponent knows how to use their size in their favor, it is not so easy to do.
At the end of our session, our Claw Strikes and Ki Punches had left us bleeding and in pain. We weren’t out to really hurt each other, but dogs and cats can get a little competitive. Fortunately my Ki Healer skills could easily solve those issues. It is great to have someone about my level to spar with!
Ferret approached me while I was recovering. “Hi, Forrest, everyone. I am pretty sure I know what classes I will be taking! I’ll be announcing it to the gang this evening outside of our apartment. I’ll be inviting a couple others, as well, including you, Felina. Will 18:25 be okay?”
“I think I will have another get together before then, but it should easily be over with in time. So it is okay with me.” Felina agreed to come, too. Not wanting it to seem awkward, he specifically invited Lenyet also, but my Master declined and thanked him for the offer.
I thought I might make Rank C in Wrestling today, but it was not to be. For the most part I avoid asking Interface how close I am to ranking something. Just working hard at everything is proving to advance me at a comfortable pace, Our Running session was fruitful, not so much in running, though. I fell behind by spending a lot of time leaping instead of straight running. But Athletic Leaping reached E, so that was a win.
“Interface, how did it improve?”
Your maximum height and distance have doubled, to +2 and +4 feet. Ki cost increased by 1 to 8, SP usage is slightly more, and your recharge is down to 3.2 seconds.
That could start looking impressive.
I ran up to Arrjee and leapt ahead of him. “It ranked to E!”
“I can tell. Do that again, and I’ll give you a little telekinetic Push.” I let him get ahead again, then leapt. As soon as he saw me pass by his side, he moved directly behind me and pushed while I was just past maximum height.
My evaluation on landing was, “I was already coming down, but I think you added another yard to what I would have done on my own. I felt a ring of force just above my buttocks, but it didn’t hurt. Will that become possible to use as an attack that could hurt enemies?”
“Of course, dummy. It is still at Rank F, and I wasn’t using it at full force. I’m sure when it gets to C and I really want to push, they’ll know and remember they were pushed! The main thing I need to learn for the future is coordinating my sword skills with my telekinetic ones. Can you imagine when I am using both well at once?”
I thought for a second. “Well, no. If you push someone away, what good is the sword?”
“Minor gods, wake up brother. Push is just the first skill. I’ll be getting Pull next. My sword will be very good!”
That I could picture.
Ouch!
When we completed our run, the adult training had already begun. Mista and Kella had come, and they were in horseplay with their two youngest. They were playing keep-away with a ball named Mols, who was laughing his head off. Kenna wasn’t strong enough to try to steal the throw, so her goal was to get behind a parent while Mols was in the air and slap them on both buttocks while the parent held Mols. She needed to do this with both parents in two consecutive throws to get a point.
After a couple more rounds, they stopped. Mista told me they had decided to meet with emissary if she were willing, but they didn’t know when. I let them know she had agreed but no time had been set. “Let’s choose a time, and I’ll let her know.” Kella suggested an hour from now, at about 17:10. I said I’d talk to her. I also encouraged them to convince Kossa to come.
I really think that will be important.
Orian and emissary were discussing something in the shade of Skawa’s Adventure wall. They saw me coming and smiled. “17:10 would work well for the Smithsons. Does it fit your schedules?” They said it would. “Okay, great. Should we meet out here or in the admin building?” Orian suggested inside. “I’ll go tell everyone. Thank you!”