After Niko had finished ranting at the pair for their childish joke (and Lucy had finished congratulating them for it) they got down to telling the tale of their brief but eventful stay in the capitol.
“You guys actually managed to beat a dungeon?” Niko sounded impressed - albeit reluctantly.
“It was a pretty young one,” Jubel said modestly. The less he bragged now, the better the reaction would be. “We got a few nice trinkets out of it though. Check this out!” He focused on the palm of his hand, summoning the black hilt of his new weapon with a thought before projecting the magical blade. Niko whistled as Monika nodded approvingly. “A good weapon,” she said.
“Crazy amounts of magic in that thing, too,” the pyromancer added. “I wouldn’t exactly call that a trinket, though. That thing is worth thousands - probably tens of thousands - of gold. Don’t go trying to sell it, though. If you plan on sticking with the guild, you’re gonna need tools like that.”
“Couldn’t sell it if I wanted to,” Jubel muttered, shuddering as he imagined what a furious Nihlus might do to him if he tried to sell the artifact.
“I got a back of holding, too!” Damia said excitedly. “We got some other stuff, of course, but we sold most of it for stuff we could use, like Lucas’ new bracers!”
“They transform with me, and strengthen my hands and arms,” the mercenary said with a wide, genuine smile. “Tested them out on some trees on the way back. 200 gold says I can cut straight through iron with my claws now.”
Lucy nodded approvingly. “A good weapon should always be an adventurer’s first priority. What did you get, Vivi?”
“My swordsmanship doesn’t do much without magic to back it up,” she said with a small smile, “so I went for a different kind of weapon.” The elf pulled out a small wand with a crystalline tip. “It’s a bit more focused on control and accuracy than raw power, but the spell in this wand was always a favorite of mine.”
“Enough about treasure,” the dwarven cleric grumbled. “We do not need more reasons to be jealous! I want to know more about strange knight! He had wolf helmet?”
Lucas nodded somberly. “He threw me like I weighed nothing, and nearly crushed one of D’s gauntlets. If I hadn’t gone berserk when I did, I don’t know if we’d have made it back.” Being on the receiving end of the man’s monstrous strength should’ve been enough to give him nightmares, but if the lycanthrope was being honest, he was more envious than scared. How much could he accomplish with strength like that?
“Don’t worry about it,” Lucy said comfortingly, mistaking his carefully blank expression for one of concern. “What might’ve been doesn’t matter! Think of it like this - you managed to drive off someone that strong almost single handedly!”
“Three cheers for Lucas,” Jubel said by way of agreement as he raised his mug.
“Make it three drinks instead,” the shapeshifter shot back with a smirk as everyone lifted their own mugs to toast him. “We’re making enough noise as it is, and honest folks are trying to get work done outside.”
“About the ruins,” Niko said a few minutes later as he set down his now empty drink. “I think you guys should know… we’ve found something. Something big.”
Valorous all shared a nervous look.
“When you say big,” Vivi began nervously.
“Large, important, possibly valuable, probably dangerous.” Ferris interpreted dryly. “BIG!”
“It’s a door,” the pyromancer added with a wild grin. “Or at least, we think it’s a door. It’s made of stone, door shaped, and totally covered in runes. Turns out that’s what Zen was hoping to find, I guess, cuz he’s been pouring over the imprints we got of those runes nonstop for days now. I’ve been helping out too, and I think we’re getting close to deciphering it. When we do… you want in?”
Every member of Ignis turned to stare at the pyromancer in disbelief.
“Did you just offer to work with others willingly?” Lucy demanded, cocking her head to the side.
“Are you ill?” Monika asked nervously, placing one hand on the mage’s forehead to check for a fever.
“I will cast quick spell,” Ferris said sternly. “Make sure he is not imposter.”
“I CAN BE NICE WHEN I WANT TO!” The pyromancer snapped. “I just don’t usually want to while watching the traveling show that results from any conversation involving the both of you!” He gestured towards Ferris and Lucy with a scowl.
“We’d love to!” Lucas said after quickly glancing towards the others. For as bizarre as the other adventurers could be, he found himself enjoying their company, and while some of them - most notably Niko - would never admit it, he was sure the feeling was mutual. Besides, he was curious what sort of secrets the former temple might hold.
“As long as we get a couple days to rest properly first,” Vivi added. “We’ve been on the road or fighting for our lives for almost as long as we’ve known each other, and as much fun as fighting monsters with you has been, I think we could all use a chance to relax. Especially Damaia!”
The engineer nodded cheerfully. “I’m falling behind on my projects,” she admitted. “I wanted to get a practical prototype for an autoplanter finished by next spring, and that’s not really something I can do without a proper workshop.”
“Don’t worry,” Niko said. “Zen says it’ll be a few days before he’s done translating everything he’s found anyway. We’ll take care of it next week. For now, though…” the pyromancer shared a crooked grin with his usually grumpy dwarven friend.
“Let’s drink!” they shouted in unison.”
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
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Vivi slumped in a familiar chair, utterly exhausted. She glanced over as she heard a series of gasps from the bar.
“And then, he threw out a spell,” Lucas said loudly, spilling some of his ale as he gestured towards Jubel with the hand holding it. “It looked like nothing I’d ever seen before, and it blocked the magic blade just in time, probably saving Vivi’s life! And don’t even get me started on the stun he pulled a few hours later - damn near killed himself blasting a murderous bastard twice his size off Damaia!”
A redheaded young woman, one of several listening raptly to Lucas’ retelling of their fight against Deena, leaned into Jubel’s shoulder. “A real hero, huh?” she giggled, taking a sip of her own drink. “How amazing! Tell me, hero, did you get properly rewarded for your bravery?” The breathy way she spoke, combined with the low cut dress she was wearing, seemed to have Lucas’ full attention, but the half elf was more concerned with the drinks he’d ordered. That wasn’t to say that the woman wasn’t beautiful -she absolutely was, but something about the way she looked at Jubel made him feel like a rabbit being eyed by a hungry wolf.
“These are mine,” he said nervously as Andrew handed him a pair of mugs. “I gotta go, sorry, have fun Lucas!” Jubel deftly maneuvered through the crowd of people gathering to hear his friend’s tale, headed straight towards the surprised bard, who’d been sitting in a corner alone ever since Damaia had decided to go to bed early.
“I, uh, got you a drink,” he said lamely.
“I noticed,” Vivi replied dryly. “Paying for my drinks now? You trying to get me to do you a favor?”
“Nah, it just didn’t seem right to leave sitting alone over here while the rest of us were drinking. Besides, I have more money than I know what to do with! Figured spending some of it on the people I actually enjoyed being around was a good first step.”
“Oh,” The elf asked him, taking a swig of her drink before raising an eyebrow at him. “What’s step two then?”
“Still trying to figure that part out,” the half elf admitted somewhat nervously, though he was no longer referring to the ‘issue’ of his sudden wealth.
He’d been working up the courage to try flirting with the gorgeous elf sitting across from him for days, but now that he was actually here, what was he supposed to say? Desperate to fill the silence, he just blurted out the first thing that popped into his head. “So… uh, you think you could teach me a few things about music? I know how to play a guitar, but singing was too close to ‘drawing attention to myself’ for my family’s taste, so I never really got a chance to practice that.” Smooth, he sarcastically scolded himself. Next, maybe you’ll strike up a fascinating conversation about the weather!
“Sure!” she said cheerfully. “I’d be happy to teach you. Now it’s my turn to ask a question - why are you sitting in the corner with me instead of drinking over there with Lucas, soaking up the fame or trying your luck with that redhead?” The girl in question, noticing the pair looking her way, winked and blew him a kiss.
He turned back to Vivi. “If I was gonna spend my time with a girl tonight, I’d rather it be you.” His mind caught up with his mouth just a little too late, and his eyes went wide. “I-I mean-”
“Is this supposed to be you flirting?” the elf teased him, only furthering his embarrassment.
“That depends - is it working?”
She laughed, and his heart skipped a beat. “Not in the slightest,” she replied, “but full marks for effort.” Her smile slipped slightly, and something seemed distant in her gaze as she said, “It’s probably for the best, though. Flirt with your fan club, Jubel; I’m bad luck.”
He didn’t have time to object, as the redhead who’d been vying for his attention chose that moment to approach the table. “You heard her, hero,” she said with a slight slur to her voice. “Spend some time with me instead.” She leaned in, whispering just loud enough that Vivi could hear her as well. “I’m sure I can make it worth your while if we head up to my room…”
“Not interested,” Jubel said firmly.
The girl blinked. “But… look at me! I’m GORGEOUS!” She seemed too drunk to comprehend the idea that, as pretty as she was, she wasn’t irresistible.
“You sure are,” he said casually. “And I can see at least 6 guys from where I’m sitting that’d probably love to take you up on that offer, but I’m not one of them.”
Vivi saw the girl’s eyes flash with something unfamiliar as she leaned in to stare at Jubel. “You can’t be serious!” she sounded almost outraged at the idea.
“Afraid so. Sorry.”
Vivi moved just in time as she realized what was happening. The girl’s confusion - and her suddenly absent slur - it all abruptly made sense.
She grabbed the woman’s wrist just before the knife she held reached Jubel’s throat. “Tell me - are you an assassin, or just a jilted succubus?”
The woman scowled, pulling the elf over the table and slamming her to the ground as her eyes flashed crimson again, but before she could do anything more, a spear of the strange, starlit void that Jubel’s magic always seemed to produce slammed into her, sending her flying across the room and shattering the table she slammed into. “It looks like the answer is both,” Jubel observed casually, taking another sip of mead as the woman sprang to her feet, horns appearing on her brow in a burst of flame.
She prepared herself for a long, dangerous battle -
Only to watch in shock as a blade erupted from the demon’s stomach, and the flames that had heralded the emergence of her horns began to spread to the rest of her body. She whipped around, trying to catch Monika with one clawed hand, but the woman moved with almost supernatural speed, slipping away effortlessly. “Nice try,” Niko said dryly, channeling his magic into the flames wreathing the wounded monster without looking up from his drink, “but we’ve dealt with worse. Ferris?”
The dwarf calmly set down his ale and stomped over to the screaming, demonic bonfire, his hammer held tightly in one hand. “Do. Not. Interrupt! DRINKS! AND! STORIES!” The cleric punctuated each word with a surprisingly swift swing of his gleaming, silver weapon, crushing the demon’s skull as he finished screaming the final word.
“So,” Jubel quipped as he stared at the rapidly evaporating corpse of the would-be assassin, “do I get bonus points for turning down the literal sex demon to drink with you instead?”
“You know, you’re a lot better at not sounding like a fool when you aren’t trying to impress me,” the bard replied dryly.
Jubel sighed. “I noticed that. But I’ll never get any better at it without practice.”
“... I’m going to have to deal with all sorts of awful pickup lines now aren’t I?” the elf asked in a pained voice.
The half elf averted his gaze. “Sorry. I’ll stop. Didn’t mean to come off as a creep.”
She blinked at him in surprise. “Oh.” She paused for a moment before shaking her head. “I didn’t really mean - I was just - I don’t think you’re…” The elf shook her head to clear it. “I don’t really mind,” she managed. “It makes me think about… an old friend, but that’s not a bad thing.”
Thankfully, the awkward moment was interrupted by Damaia, who charged downstairs in a nightgown with one gauntlet on, scowling. “Where’s the - oh. It’s over already?” She looked sheepishly around at the adventurers who were already returning to their seats, and Lucas, who was paying Andrew for the cost of his destroyed table. Clearing her throat, she simply said, “Nevermind!” before promptly turning around and returning to her room.
“Well, I can’t let her out-awkward me,” Jubel declared bravely, “so why don’t I buy us another round?”
“Sounds good,” Vivi said with a chuckle. “I can’t wait to see how badly you flirt when you're properly drunk!”
The answer was, oddly enough, much better - though sadly, given how much he ended up drinking that night, he never managed to remember how or why.