"Cough, Hmm, eh hem..." The rude sounds of someone clearing their throat woke Chess from a deep and blissful slumber.
She cracked her eyes a slit, wincing at the painful beam of light that fell across her face before lifting an arm to lay it over her eyes with a wince.
Cold sweat clung to her clammy body while her indistinct wisps of a dream faded under the gaze of reality.
She listened to the sounds of people going about the business of preparing for the day for a moment as the cobwebs left her mind. The sharp sounds of axes chopping wood, prominent over the din, rendered any fantasy of regaining sleep moot.
"Yes?" she finally asked through parched lips.
“Sergeant said you woke last night, milady. I’m to ask if you’d like breakfast brought,” the figure at the flap said obsequiously.
Chess sat up and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands before staring at the sun snaking a rainbow of colors through the cracked tent flap. The radiance reflecting off something metallic the man wore obscured him from view and forced her to blink to focus on him.
“Yeah, sure...thanks,” she mumbled through a yawn.
He left abruptly, dropping the tent into shadow without another word.
Chess fell back into the cot with a groan before putting her hands behind her head and craning it to the side, eliciting a few dull pops and a pleased sigh. This isn’t exactly how I imagined I'd come into this society. Sneaking in and pretending to be a peasant or a traveling bard would’ve been easier, she thought.
Although, I have to admit, them thinking I’m a lady could have its uses... she mused.
I’ll have to temper it somehow. Social trappings can be annoying and often tend to make people dislike you, or worse: make them deferential.
I'll need to come up with a plausible story that’s close to the truth. Something that will discourage people from forcing me into a marriage. She shuddered and she caressed her tender jaw unconsciously while thoughts of her recent helplessness flitted through her mind.
The soldier clearing his throat at the flap interrupted her drifting mind.
“Are you decent, milady?” he asked, tone bright and respectful.
She let out a sigh and peeked under the covers. Finding she still wore the dress from the night before, she felt a wash of relief.
“Yeah, it’s fine,” she said, climbing out of her bedroll and running her fingers through her knotted tresses.
The soldier came in and gave her a short bow before handing her the bowl of plain oatmeal and mug of weak tea he’d brought.
He kept his eyes on the ground, only taking a single furtive glance at her before returning his gaze to his toes while he handed her the items.
“Thanks,” she said.
He nodded once and beat a hasty retreat, tripping over his own feet in his haste to flee.
That was bloody strange, Chess thought, frowning at the retreating man’s back.
She distracted herself by eating for a while, tentatively singing a song to root her staff first so that she could use it as a backrest.
Just that small use of magic made her a little queasy. I guess I'm not completely recovered yet. I wonder how long it can go without planting, she mused.
Her bruised jaw ached as she chewed, but she enjoyed the quiet time, if not the food, and the opportunity to get herself centered.
She thought of and dismissed a few potential backstories before she finally settled on something simple. It’s basically not having a plan. Keep it simple, stupid.
Ok, enough lollygagging, she told herself standing and dusting herself off then turning to contemplate her staff for a moment before reluctantly deciding to leave it.
She bent to grab her dishes then, steeling her nerve, brushed aside the tent flap and stepped out into the bustling camp.
As she waited for her eyes to adjust to the dappled sunlight, Lord Caldur approached and stood waiting patiently for her to get her bearings. The sun glared off his polished armor, and she had to raise a hand to her forehead to deflect the light.
“Morning, Lord Caldur,” she said squinting at him before moving to limit the glare.
"Morning, Lady Chess," he matched her greeting.
Now that she could take the time to study the man, she found a steel-haired older man in his late forties or early fifties with hard but kind brown eyes. He stood only a few inches taller than Chess and had a strong neatly bearded jaw that was offset by the dark purple bags under his weary eyes and a slight grey pallor.
He looked like a man who stood through force of will alone.
Once she’d blinked him fully into focus he gave her a wan smile. “It's good to see you up and about, how are you feeling?” he asked with forced levity,
“Better, though the little magic I tried this morning made me queasy.”
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“I expect it will be another day or so before your mana levels are comfortable again. Over-mana is dangerous at the best of times, and I hear you've been through anything but.
"People can die if they push too far or often. Ashley told me you’d been using your abilities almost nonstop for at least five days. That and your clear exhaustion were a perfect storm. Frankly, I’m surprised you didn’t have negative effects before you did. You've both been through quite the struggle,” Caldur said, shaking his head sadly.
“More like seven or eight,” she muttered, trying to remember how long it’d been.
“That’s even more impressive. You must have a high constitution,” he observed.
Chess snorted. “Sergeant Kan said the same thing."
The conversation stalled, both unsure what to say next.
Running her fingers through her hair she got them caught in the tangle and pulled with more force than she intended making her scalp ache. Long hair sucks, how do people put up with this shit.
Caldur took a deep breath releasing it slowly before fixing her with a serious look when the silence threatened to become uncomfortable.
“If it wasn’t for your actions the other night, more of my men would have perished. We took a vote and agreed that you should get the first three picks from the Pyths we collected from the bandits,” he said.
“Do you have anything you’re collecting? We ended up with a few full measures and a few more that are close. Sadly, we don't have a high-ranked harvester with us, so their heads will have to be taken back to finish the job properly," he added when she didn’t answer immediately.
Chess frowned. Well, Ashley didn’t tell him I’m new to this world at least. She moved to run her hand through her hair again and stopped halfway, dropping her arm lamely.
“Okay…but I hardly did anything. I completely froze, and I was… captured for most of the fight,” she tempered. A cold bead of sweat rolled down her spine.
“Nonsense, your field aid alone is reason enough, and if you hadn’t tripped them when you did, more men would have died. It was well-timed,” he disagreed.
“I was lucky. If your men hadn't pushed them back...” She shrugged with a frown.
“Sometimes luck is all we get. You took the opening you were given.”
She sighed, dropping her shoulders forward. “Truth is I feel like I’m making everything up as I go right now. I just had my awakening, and my class choices were a huge surprise. I have little idea about what would complement what I’ve chosen. Hell, no one told me over-mana would be an issue,” she said.
“That’s surprising, a young woman like you would expect many manipulation classes. May I ask what you took? I may be able to offer some advice,” he asked gently.
“I didn’t always look like this. Freya made me an offer, and this was part of our deal. If not for her patronage, I'm not sure I would have survived, and I’m still undecided on whether it was worth it,” she explained, gesturing at her new self.
“I’ll be sure to make her an offering for putting you in our path,” he said seriously.
Huh, they must worship multiple deities here, to have that outlook. This may be easier than I thought if people worship lots of gods. She had drifted into thought and missed his next question.
“What was that? I zoned out,” she asked, embarrassed.
“I asked what Freya’s aspects were. I would like to give an appropriate offering, and I’m sure some of the men would too,” he said gravely.
“Fertility, war, beauty, and death as far as I remember. She didn’t exactly tell me herself, and she was losing popularity back home,” she explained, and he nodded thanks.
“Your class?” he prompted.
“I thought it was obvious. I was using it when helping your men,” she said.
“You’d be surprised the lengths people will go through to hide their information, but I take it, it’s something musical,” he reasoned.
“Minstrel,” she nodded. I’m pretty sure that won't tell him much.
He let out a relieved breath. “Well, thank your goddess and tutors for that much. It takes high skills to have classes offered outside the standard twenty. I’ve spent a fortune on tutors for my daughters so they will have options fit for their station,” he said thoughtfully drumming his fingers on the hilt of his sword.
“What Pyth did you get from your inheritance?” he asked next.
Chess stared at him for a few long seconds. How much do I tell him? He seems nice enough and has daughters that he obviously cares for, but he’s a complete stranger. Is it worth it? Mind, being a Knight, he would have access to more info than your average person. She rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands and shrugged. Fuck it, give something to get something.
“Summon instrument, Inventory, and wood,” she said, deciding to keep the gem part to herself.
“Just wood, or a variant? Summon instrument was likely a huge part of you being offered minstrel. It's a rare and specialized Pyth. I know of only two minstrels, both men, and they both serve the king directly,” he said.
“Wood, though I have a fertility blessing from Freya, so that might have some effect,” she hedged while giving him a wary look.
He sucked a breath in through his teeth and nodded. “That it would, that it would. Worry not, I’ll keep your confidences. No one will hear your details from me. It’s the least I can do,” he assured her with a quick glance about.
“So, thoughts? What are my options?” Chess asked.
“What rank is your Inventory Pyth? If it's less than a third I suggest you take the full measure of that we’ve put together; for the future upgrade,” he suggested.
Chess opened her mouth to ask about that but stopped herself. I’ll ask Ashley. “It’s first rank.”
He nodded and scratched his chin. “Most of the melee Pyth types would be a poor fit. We got a full Binding but I’m not sure how that would synergize and the basic ability is unsavory unless it's used on animals or items. With your upbringing, I’d rule out all the cleaning and cooking skills. Even as destitute as you are now, being a minstrel will see you quickly on your feet. Besides my wife would disapprove if I abandon you to the streets as you are. And she will hear about you. My sergeant is an old family retainer lent to her by her father,” he rambled.
Chess kept thinking he would topple at any moment as he was barely keeping his feet. His ability to continue the conversation was remarkable.
Chess thought about the Pyth she’d already acquired and asked a question of her own. “What about Harvest and Logistics? What do they do?”
He shook his head slowly. “Logistics is an army or merchant Pyth; I don’t think it will offer you much. Harvest is pretty common and it isn’t hard to find someone you can pay to use it for you. Three men in my squad alone, have it. Although, with your blessing and wood Pyth it might synergize well.” He swayed and clenched his jaw.
Chess shook her head at him and tsked. Ha, gran used to do that! She caught herself. There was a lot to unpack in all that.
“Thanks for the help but you look like you need to sleep. Have you slept more than a couple of hours since the fight? We can always talk later. I want to think about it anyway, and I can get the full list from sergeant Kan,” she said hoping she hadn’t misjudged the man.
The large man forced out a chuckle. “You sound like my daughters,” he admonished.
“Maybe they’re right?” Chess raised an eyebrow.
“Fair enough, I need to talk to Kan first,” he hedged.
“I can tell him. You should find a bed,” Chess said, shuffling from foot to foot then squaring her shoulders.
He nodded reluctant consent, turned, and walked away with short tired steps.
Chess sought out Sergeant Kan, finding him working with the men removing the bandit from her bush, then waited for him to notice her before approaching.
“Sergeant Kan,” she said giving him a large grin.
“Milady, how can I help you this fine morning?” he asked returning the smile.
Chess gave him an abbreviated version of her conversation with Lord Caldur.
“Thanks for that, none of us could get him to sleep more than a couple of hours last night,” he said gratefully when she finished, rubbing his stubble with a thumb.
Chess sighed. “That’s good, I worried I was stepping out of line. So, have time to trade a few songs?” she asked.
“Sure, why not?” he said, after checking the men didn’t need him to complete their work.