The heavy clunk of wood bashing against wood echoed through the practice hall’s largest chamber. Oliver’s carefully weighted practice sword, carved into the shape of a longsword and weighted with a lead rod in its center, flashed through a rapid combination of attacks, every one met smoothly by Beryl’s thick warstaff. Slowly, he started to move slightly to the left, forcing the warden recruit’s weapon farther and farther to the side, until he abruptly spun in a roundhouse kick, his boot flying straight for the muscular young woman’s side.
She was ready for him, as she always seemed to be. One of her hands slid to the center of her warstaff, keeping it balanced while the other caught his foot around the ankle. With a grunt of effort, she turned into a spin, hurling Oliver at one of the hard stone walls of the practice chamber.
Oliver summoned his Mantle of Wind as quickly as he could.
[Mantle of Wind] - Active, Utility - Conjure a small cloak of swirling wind around yourself. Reduces fall speed. One minute duration. Minor quintessence cost.
He had learned that the same ability of the mantle to slow his falls could also arrest his momentum when he was thrown, and he used the opportunity to turn in the air, bracing his feet again the wall and throwing his hand forward, palms out, to release a staccato rhythm of air bursts.
He felt his quintessence pool dropping from the effort, but it was worth it, as Beryl had already sent a trio of bricks hurtling towards him. The sudden gusts weren’t enough to stop the heavy projectiles, but it did deflect them to the sides. A final burst of wind was timed with him pushing off of the wall, sending him flying back at his opponent, practice sword extended, as he activated his Reckless Strike attack.
[Reckless Strike] - Active, Attack - Make a special attack with potency increased by two tiers. Major stamina cost.
Beryl’s lips turned up in a wild grin as she used her own special attack, settling both of her hands at the bottom of her warstaff, lifting it overhead and swinging it downward in a powerful blow. The attacks struck at the same time, sending both Novices flying backwards fast enough that they couldn’t bring their own powers into play to soften their impacts. Each slammed into opposite walls with a grunt of pain. Oliver felt something snap in his ribcage, while Beryl coughed out a mouthful of blood.
But neither had even fallen to the ground before Rose was at work, her healing magic settling into both of them like a cool breeze. Oliver well knew that it was best to hold still while the petite girl worked her magic, and was content to stay slouched against the wall while he waited for the pain to recede.
“You’re getting better,” Beryl acknowledged minutes later, after they were both healed.
Oliver grinned back at the brawny girl as they walked to the pitcher of water waiting on a small table to one side of the room. “Not good enough. The closest I’ve gotten to a win is a tie.”
She shrugged. “We’re learning each other’s strategies. No problem there.”
“No problem!?” Rose interjected as she stormed over. “You two are getting better and better at hurting each other, and you think that’s a good thing?”
Oliver exchanged a baffled look with Beryl. “I mean… it’s kind of the job, Rose,” he pointed out.
The small healer rolled her eyes. “Savages, the both of you.”
Since the night Farris and Adeline had met, two weeks before, group training had become the norm. The three Novices had quickly come to enjoy each other’s company, and the girls appreciated the chance to practice with someone closer to their own level as much as Oliver did. So, despite the fact that the two older gifted left the trio alone to practice together most afternoons, none of them had much reason to complain.
Beryl had the Warrior’s gift of the brawler and the Primal’s gift of earth, which made her even more of a dedicated frontliner than Oliver–hypothetically, at least. At Novice level, their ability sets had several marked similarities, which made them excellent sparring partners. Rose had the same gift of wind as Oliver, but paired it with the Mage’s gift of the animist. As coveted as it was rare, the gift allowed the easiest access to healing magic among the gifts available at Novice rank, and Rose was, fittingly, geared towards support.
The training the two girls had received was closer to Adeline’s ideal for battle-gifted. Having scarcely any combat experience prior to receiving their gifts, their fighting styles were built from the ground up around their newfound abilities. While they were, objectively, less skilled than Oliver after his years of tutelage growing up, they made the most of every gift ability they had, and both had quickly proven themselves more than his equal.
Every day, the trio would practice different skills. Some sessions, like today’s, Oliver and Beryl would spend sparring with Rose healing them, while for others, Rose and Oliver would practice with their wind abilities, trying to overwhelm each other or Beryl. And while their mentors felt less need to oversee them directly while they were working together, Farris and Adeline had no problem occasionally stepping up themselves, forcing the three to work on their teamwork and tactics while showing off the difference between an admittedly talented Novice and a skilled Adept.
“Do we want to go another round?” Oliver asked.
Rose groaned. “Please no. My mana is just about running dry with how badly you two keep beating each other.”
“That’ll be plenty for today,” Farris instructed from the door. None of them had noticed the warden arrive, and she was leaning casually against the entryway of their practice chamber.
Oliver turned to the experienced warden, and as usual, he couldn’t help himself from looking her over. Ever since the first night they met, he had found something intriguing about the woman. It wasn’t that he felt the same way about her that he did for Adeline, though she certainly was attractive. But there was something he couldn’t quite place in her features, something about the line of her jaw, the curves of her hips, the swaggering confidence of her stride. Something he couldn’t help but find striking.
With a sigh, he shook his head and looked away. No doubt Farris had noticed his stare, but she didn’t comment.
“Where’s Adeline?” He asked.
“The Grime and Glory.”
Oliver’s groan was nearly as loud as Beryl and Rose’s cheers. For some reason, his training companions thought a night at the bustling tavern was an ideal reward for a hard day’s work, and he had found that he was obligated to join them, much to his chagrin. He had picked up a few new books from an excellent binder in the market district just a couple days before he had met the wardens, but he had barely had time to touch them!
Farris indulged the girls for a moment before cutting off their cheers. “Unfortunately, we have business before we can get to pleasure.”
Oliver perked up at that, while the two girls traded a look.
“Business, ma’am?” Rose asked carefully. While Farris was close with her recruits, Oliver had noticed that she encouraged them to maintain a level of professionalism with her. It was a far cry from Adeline, who always treated Oliver with a casual friendliness, even when she felt he had earned a frustrated tongue-lashing.
“Indeed,” Farris told them. “It’s high time the three of you took on a mission.”
#
Farris guided the three Novices to their usual watering hole. As it was only mid-afternoon, the tavern was quiet, only hosting a few travelers, all of whom were just tucking in for lunch.
The walk there had been unexpectedly quiet. Farris was intense and focused in a way Oliver hadn’t seen from the warden before, and her demeanor seemed to pass itself to Beryl and Rose, both of whom were far more reserved than usual. He figured they were just as caught up in the anxiety of going out on a real job as he was.
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Of course, he had been out in the field since he left Elliven with Adeline, taking small jobs like the kobold tribe they had cleared out. But clearly, Farris had something else in mind. Were they really going to be going out by themselves?
The warden swept past the bar and dining room where the group had usually been spending their evenings unwinding, and led them to the staircase in the corner of the tavern, then down a hall and through a door.
Oliver had known there was a second floor to the building, and a third, but had assumed they were all sleeping rooms for travelers. He and Adeline had been staying in a similar, but noticeably cheaper, inn since they arrived in the trade city of Correntry. Apparently his assumption was incorrect, as Farris led them into what looked more like a comfortably appointed lounge.
A ring of cushioned chairs sat around a low table that had a large map spread out across it. Oliver recognized the general layout of the heartlands, but he had never seen such a detailed map of the settled southern half of the Realm before. In the middle of its western reaches sat Correntry, while Elliven and the Arboreal Wastes sat farther to the southeast, the current reaches of the Waste carefully marked out. The northern border of the map centered on the grand city of Arsilet, the Realm’s capital, with the perfectly circular Lunar Wastes cut in half by the map’s edge. Farther to the southeast, along the curve of the coastline, was Correnty’s sister city, Emeston.
Adeline was already sitting at the table, and she gestured for the three youths to take their own seats while Farris walked around the table to sit next to the knight. Rose and Beryl sat next to each other, while Oliver left a small gap between himself and the two girls.
Adeline gave Farris a sidelong look and asked, “How were they doing?”
“Good,” the warden reported warmly, giving the three a brief look before continuing. “Seems like Oliver can keep up with Beryl now pretty well–though we both know a training room is different from the real thing.”
“Still. They’re ready?”
“As much as they can be.”
“What is this about, Adel?” Oliver finally asked, interrupting the pair. Farris gave him a sour look, but Oliver continued, “Don’t act like you didn’t want us to hear all of that. You could’ve left us downstairs if you really needed to talk about us like that.”
Oliver could see both Beryl and Rose flash him a look of alarm from the corner of his vision, but he kept his eyes on the two older women, who traded a look at his question.
Finally, after a tense moment, Farris sighed. The warden reached into a pocket and pulled out a silver scepter, sliding the coin across the table to Adeline.
“Told you so,” Adeline commented as she snatched up the coin and offered Oliver a wink that made him practically glow.
“Okay, what was that?” Beryl asked with a scowl.
“A lesson,” Rose observed thoughtfully. “We might use our powers better than Oliver, but he’s still been dealing with politics since he was old enough to walk.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
Farris huffed a breath in exasperation. “Adeline wanted to prove a point. We’ve been focusing on your combat abilities, but being a warden or a knight means more than just being good at killing things.”
“It also means being able to pick up on the unfortunate political realities around you,” Adeline picked up the explanation. “That is one area where you’ll find Oliver has far more natural ability.”
Oliver blushed at the praise and lifted a hand to rub the back of his head. “I… I don’t know about that.”
Adeline rolled her eyes. “Stop being so humble,” she complained. Of course, to his chagrin, that only made Oliver blush harder.
“The point is,” Farris continued, “you all have skills you bring to the table. Which is why we’re putting the three of you together for a job.”
“As in, just the three of us? Without you?” Oliver asked.
Farris scowled at him. “Hypothetically. As long as you don’t interrupt me again and make me throw you through a wall.”
Oliver flashed Adleine a look of alarm, but the blonde knight just shrugged. “It’s listening time now, Oli.”
The boy couldn’t suppress a flare of embarrassment. As much as Adeline teased him about his rigidity, apparently he had loosened up more than he realized. He wasn’t used to stoic professionalism like Farris’s anymore.
With a lifetime’s experience of concealing his emotions, Oliver quickly schooled his face into a respectfully blank expression and bowed his head at the warden. “Apologies, ma’am.”
Farris nodded shallowly in acknowledgement and resumed her explanation. “Several merchants following the Flax Road have reported attacks recently.” The warden leaned forward and traced out one of the roads highlighted on the map. The trade route meandered out of Correntry and through the rolling fields of the eastern heartlands. In several places, it would suddenly turn sharply to one side of another, cutting from the dry fields where flax was grown to the riverside communities where mills would process it.
“Of course, wardens were quick to investigate,” Farris continued, “but none of them observed any notable monster, outlaw, or outsider activity, despite following normal protocols.” Farris noticed a look of confusion from Oliver and explained, “Wardens generally travel without any clear indicators of our station, so that our presence doesn’t ward off any possible attacks by itself.” She returned her attention to the full group as she continued, “Despite these precautions, two more caravans were attacked, even as wardens were on the road. Both were relatively small caravans, and both happened to be among those with no wardens attached to them.
“There are a few reasons why that could be the case–but none of them are good. I was tasked by my commander to pursue the most likely, namely, the presence of a magically sensitive monster. We believe that if a lesser monster spawned with sufficient senses to detect gifted, it’s possible that it would instinctively avoid caravans with full-fledged wardens, all of whom are Initiate level or higher. These sorts of monsters have been seen before, and are a significant problem–generally speaking, they avoid people with the raw power to kill them, and the Correntry wardens don’t have anyone with the right gifts to track and chase them down.”
Oliver drew in a sharp breath as the situation became clear. He looked at Adeline for confirmation of his thoughts, and she nodded gently. “That brings us to the three of you,” the knight told them. “To be perfectly honest, you’re all functioning at a level of skill beyond any of the more traditionally trained warden cadets. Enough so that we both think you could handle a lesser monster–together, at least.”
Oliver frowned thoughtfully. Something about the job didn’t quite seem right to him, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
As he considered the facts, he half-listened to Beryl and Rose ask for further details on what exactly they’d be doing. Farris explained that she had already contacted a trader who met their needs very well–Hugo himself was only Apprentice level, with no combat gifts, and none of his five employees were above Novice level. They’d add a third wagon to his little troupe, which Rose and Beryl apparently had enough expertise to drive without a problem, while Oliver took the role of an additional laborer.
“What do you think the monster is after?” Rose asked.
“That’s unclear,” Farris responded. “A stealthy monster like this wouldn’t be attacking just for the sake of destroying things, the way some rage-aspected beasts are known to, but the crops and supplies on the caravans have been ripped apart, not eaten.”
“Several bodies were reported missing, however,” Adeline added. “It’s likely that the monster is a maneater of some kind.”
Rose and Beryl both became more intent at that description–Oliver didn’t need a charm boon to notice the anger that idea seemed to stoke in both young women.
“I’m confused about something,” Oliver finally asked. “How do you know that this it’s just a lesser monster we’re dealing with?”
“We believe that if it was a moderate or something stronger,” Farris explained, “it would be attacking larger caravans than it is limiting itself to.”
“But what if it’s an outsider?” Oliver asked. The thought was obvious to him, and he expected it should be to his more experienced mentors as well. “Maybe some predatory monster might limit itself to prey it thinks it can handle, but a revenant or a hag with the right powers could definitely be intelligent enough to restrict itself to groups it knows it can defeat with limited fuss. I’m happy you think so highly of us, but there’s no way we could take a moderate ranked outsider.”
Farris frowned, and Adeline’s face showed her own concerns. “It’s not ideal,” Adeline admitted. “But simply put, we don’t have any better options.”
“No one ever said being a warden–or a knight–would be safe,” Farris added with a glower.
“We’re not going to force you–any of you–to take this mission,” Adeline told them, giving Beryl and Rose a pointed look as well. “We think it’s a lesser monster, but there’s every reason to believe it could be something more powerful as well. And given the nature of the attacks, we won’t be able to be on hand to assist you. You’ll be on your own.”
Oliver frowned again. His initial excitement had waned as he realized just how dangerous this undertaking had the potential to be. The Novice wardens seemed to be feeling similarly, their previous anger turning into something more uncertain.
“I won’t be the problem,” Oliver finally decided. “I have my concerns, but you’re both right. I knew trying to join the Argent Order would be dangerous. If Beryl and Rose are in favor, I’ll go along with it.”
“Well I’m not backing down either,” Beryl jumped in immediately. Oliver had to keep from cringing–he should’ve known that the brawny girl would see his phrasing as a challenge. “Defending the roads is what being a warden is all about. I’m ready!”
Rose sighed and shook her head. “Well, I suppose I can’t let the two of you run off and get yourselves killed because I wasn’t there to patch you up.” Something hard and dark, very different from the prim young woman’s normal demeanor, showed in her eyes. “No one deserves to die on the road like that.
Farris nodded her approval at her two wards, and Oliver met Adeline’s eyes. The senior knight clearly had her own concerns, but her silver eyes blazed with equally obvious pride.
“Well. I guess that’s that then,” Oliver said. “When do we leave?”
“Two days.”