Trees wrapped around the dirt trail, cutting off much of the afternoon light. Birds sang, rodents scurried, and Bumble was being pestered by the local bees. It was amusing, right up until it wasn’t when one of them attacked their friend and she retaliated by killing the interloper. Bumble shot off after the retreating insects, following a tranquil stream deeper into the woods.
“Should we worry?” Bria asked.
Neth bit her lip. “I am uncertain.”
“It isn’t as though we could give chase,” Gil-hana said. “The best we can do is hope for their safe return.”
The road continued to wind west, and the cart moved slowly as day turned to night. It gave Bria time to refine her fighting techniques against weak monsters and spar with the others to ensure that she didn’t let her lesser level hold her back. There was a difference between having learned a skill and knowing how to use it effectively.
That passage of time also progressed Bria’s physical changes, her growing chest still aching something fierce. Thankfully the itching had stopped, but her hips were almost painfully sore to make up for it. Worse, she was having to learn how to walk and run all over again due to her stride shifting. Neth just gave her pats on the back and a commiserating smile.
On the third day of the journey, Bumble returned buzzing excitedly despite being injured. It wasn’t hard to see why, as the little one had gained a level. They took the opportunity to stop by a babbling brook to listen to the tale. Bumble animatedly danced around Neth as if telling the tale, and she laughed along and grew indignant when the bee buzzed angrily. It was frankly adorable and it made Bria wish all their days could be so carefree.
It was yet another day on the road before they finally caught sight of the sea, and Neth’s hometown. Already the the settlement loomed atop the cliff overlooking the ocean. Cliffside wasn’t much of a town, though it was larger than Bria’s own home. That was hardly a high bar to clear, but the familiarity of it was comforting in a way. That wasn’t the case for Neth-amii who had grown quite tense during the approach. Somewhere within those walls, her birth family was carrying out their day without a care.
Well, if Bria had any say in it, they would care soon enough. How could a family just give up on someone as amazing as Neth-amii? She’d been so kind and selfless when helping Bria through her own struggles, and now they were causing her discomfort just by existing.
The amulet that Neth-amii had procured weighed on her mind. Just the idea that such amulets were simply laying around an archive like that brought more than a little fear. Could Ri-durak simply cross over and slaughter everyone at a whim? If so, why hadn’t he? There was so much that kept floating through her head, and Bria simply couldn’t shake that subtle dread that lived rent free in the back of her mind.
Anxiety sucked.
With a sigh, Neth-amii sat up, removing herself from Bria’s side, and stretched. Thankfully the robes she wore were loose and billowy, cutting back on the desire to look. Despite that, Gil-hana was smirking at her. Bria stuck her tongue out at them, eliciting a sharp laugh in return.
“What was so funny?” Neth-amii asked.
Gil-hana gestured towards Bria. “Oh, just this one proving herself to be useless.”
“Am not,” Bria muttered. Her low level was already a source of turmoil, and why she had taken the risk with the zombies in the quarry. Two levels had done much to improve her abilities, but she was still below that class threshold. “I’ll hit level ten soon, and finally have a Class. You’ll see.”
Gil-hana blinked, then laughed even harder. “Oh, I’m sure you will. Doesn’t change what I said though.”
“Cease being mean to her,” Neth-amii said firmly. “She cannot help being new to all of this, and I would never presume to take advantage of that.”
“So, she’ll need to make the first move,” Gil-hana said, firmly losing Bria in the conversation.
They were still talking about her level and class… Right?
Pulling up to the gate, two guards in leather gear approached. Kro-ahnk greeted them cheerfully, and immediately began trying to sell them some of his wares, and grew pushier when they tried to ask about the three passengers. Bria could only watch as he skillfully wore the men down and was quickly waved through.
While also being three bronze richer for his efforts.
“How?” Bria asked, watching as he pocketed the cores. “I couldn’t even follow half of your sales pitch, let alone when you convinced them!”
“It is one of the many benefits of my Class,” Krow said cheerfully. “I am a merchant, and making things look more appealing to those already interested is one benefit. Knowing when someone is genuinely interested is another. Little tugs, nudging me along and showing me how best to complete the sale.”
That sounded a bit scary. How many other classes were giving people such advantages? Like, did she actually have a say in it if his skill was so good? Could she actually turn him down if he really turned on the pressure?
“No, his class does not influence your free will,” Gil-hana said, just as she made the connection in her own mind. “It simply allows him to read you much more easily, and apply what he sees in a way to manipulate you into wanting it. It is no worse than a child talking their parents into buying some candy or toy.”
“Which I am very good at helping along!” Krow said cheerfully. “Making people happy through material gain is my calling in life.”
“As is making a profit,” Gil said with a smirk.
“I shan’t deny!” Krow said with a guffawing laugh. “I do plan to retire by forty, and I am well on my way.”
“Congratulations,” Gil-hana said, and Bria could hear the coming mischief in their delivery. “It will be sad to lose a promising merchant so soon. Shall I be invited to the party next year?”
“Oh, good one,” Kro-ahnk exclaimed, practically cackling. “Yes, you shall be invited, dear librarian.”
As they continued their back and forth, Neth-amii leaned close. “Is it just me, or are those two flirting?”
“I honestly can’t tell,” Bria replied.
Her parents were always lovey with one another, and teased often enough, but Bria had no personal experience with it. The bickering continued right up until they pulled into a barn beside a large building. A hanging cup was the only sign designating what it might be. Kro-ahnk shouldered his largest pack, leaving the cart empty as he paid a stable hand to tend his horse.
Neth-amii hopped off, her eyes trailing over the sights with an expression that Bria couldn’t quite place. Her wandering gaze paused for a moment on a distant structure, then the woman sighed and began walking towards the cup building.
“I need a drink,” she said simply, passing through the open door.
Bria followed, leaving Gil and Krow to deal with whatever it was they had going on. Inside was a large communal space with two tables set in the middle. An open window led into a side room where mugs were being filled and set for a young woman to grab and carry to the tables. She moved quickly, and deftly dodged away from some of the drunken men reaching for her.
Bria wanted to step in, but Neth-amii was already marching up to the window and she hurried to follow her friend just as she slammed a bronze core on the counter.
“Two mugs and bowls of whatever is hot.”
“You can wait for Jil-nek to get to ya,” a voice shouted from further inside.
There was some muttering as Neth snatched up the bronze core and walked over to one of the tables and flopped down in the seat. Bria moved to join her, only for a man to stumble in front of her. He grinned, revealing yellowed teeth and more than a few missing. Worse, his breath reeked of alcohol.
“Hey pretty lady,” he slurred, then let out a hic that had something come back up and dribble down his chin. “Yer new here, come sit wit us.”
“No thanks,” Bria said, moving to step around him. His hand reached out, grasping for her arm, but missed. The man fell to the ground and Bria had to resist the urge to kick him. Taking her seat beside Neth-amii as the entire room laughed and jeered at the drunken man, Bria lowered her head to the table. “Is it always like that?”
“Sadly,” Neth-amii said, watching as a few of his buddies helped him back up and out the door. “Men can be quite boorish at times, especially with alcohol involved.”
The young woman from earlier came up to them, and Neth repeated her order, sending the girl running off where she grabbed everything and came back just a moment later. The bowl was some sort of stew, with chunks of root vegetables in a somewhat thickened broth. The scent of onions and garlic was strong, and Bria’s stomach chose that moment to rumble.
“Eat up, you probably need it,” Neth-amii said, taking a bite of her own bowl before downing half the mug. “The ale is as bad as I remember.”
Bria took a sip of the questionable brew, wincing at the sour flavor. It was definitely alcoholic, though certainly weak compared to some of the stuff her father let her sample growing up. She focused on her soup, not wanting to have alcohol influence her in the current company. Granted, [Cleanse] would probably sober her right up, but why risk it?
About halfway through the bowl Gil and Krow joined them, getting their own orders in. Neth-amii was on her third mug at that point and wasn’t getting a second bowl of the stew to offset it. She had [Cleanse] herself, so it wasn’t much of a risk, but Bria was still going to keep a close eye on her.
“This stew is appalling,” Kro-ahnk muttered. “No spices at all.”
“Spices are expensive,” Gil-hana said, taking a bite of her own. “Go gift the cook some if you’re truly so offended.”
Krow looked down at the stew with a far off expression, then took another bite, grumbling to himself as he chewed. Well, no free spices for the random tavern, or for her own stew. The second bowl arrived and Bria finished it in short order, then the rest of the ale. Looking around, she couldn’t really see any rooms attached like she thought an inn might.
“Where are we staying?”
“There’s a place that rents rooms near the cliffs,” Kro-ahnk said. “I usually stay there.”
Neth-amii wrinkled her nose. “They’re empty rooms. We’d be sleeping in our bed rolls.”
“Better that than the parasite infested bedding of Brookvale’s inns,” Gil-hana said. “Believe me, you would rather stay in your own roll.”
“I have [Cleanse] for that,” Neth-amii muttered.
“Rare ability for someone who isn’t a dedicated [Healer],” Gil-hana said.
Bria blinked. “It is? I have it too.”
“Without a class? How?” Gil-hana asked, their meal entirely forgotten. “What other skills do you possess? Be concise.” Wilting a bit under the scrutiny, Bria listed off her entire spell list, and the level she had gotten them at. “Impossible. Getting a spell at each level up is already unheard of, but [Heal] and [Enhance] are from completely unrelated branches of magic. There should be no way for you to possess both, and that isn’t even touching on [Flame].”
“I didn’t realize you had so many spells,” Neth-amii said, her own eyes wide, if a bit unfocused. “It almost reminds me of the old legends.”
“Oh gods, not that tale,” Gil-hana groaned, letting their head fall to the table with a soft thunk. “Scholars have conclusively proven that there was no singular hero who stood against the Endless Shadow, but a veritable army.”
“And they didn’t win,” Bria added. “Just passed the problem to a future generation.”
“Yes,” Gil-hana said with a sigh. “So no inflating Bria’s head just because she’s getting extra magic. For all we know, it is simply because she was born of that other world.”
Was there something special about Earth? Or was it her island that was special? She wasn’t a scholar, and couldn’t say for certain either way. Regardless, it didn’t change the fact that she was apparently gaining rare skills with each passing level. More than anyone without a class should have for that matter. No wonder none of the people she had fought could heal themselves. Well, Bria wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“I only got three skills before gaining my class,” Neth-amii said. “One was [Mend] at level three due to my work with leather, the other was [Bolt] at level six. The last was a year after I joined as an apprentice Priestess, earning [Pray] at level eight.”
This time it was Krow who let out a soft whistle. “[Pray] is powerful. You can ask for protection and it will last until sunrise!”
Neth-amii smiled, though it didn’t reach her eyes. “Yes, and it will help heal anyone injured gravely during that time. Unfortunately, it doesn’t include protections against death itself.”
Right, she’d mentioned her mentor passed a few years prior. Bria could see her friend doing whatever was necessary to protect someone so important to her. Prior to the whole mess with the other side, Ruiz was that person for Bria, and she would have done anything he asked and gone to great lengths to keep him safe.
With that heavy subject out in the open, the group fell into a contemplative silence. Food was finished, and drinks consumed. A tussle broke out between two men and Neth-amii seemed to take that as her cue to step out.
“I’ll be right behind you,” Bria said with a smile. “I just want to make sure neither gets too hurt.”
“Just [Cleanse] them after,” Neth-amii said. “It purges alcohol but not pain. Should teach them a lesson about brawling drunk.”
Ouch, that sounded positively spiteful. It also sounded like something she had done before, which might have been concerning back when they were just starting to get to know one another. Now, it was just an amusing thought and a different side of her friend.
The fight didn’t last long, and when it was done Bria figured they could just deal and didn’t get involved. She finished off what was left in front of her, then said her good nights to the others.
“Don’t wait up for me tomorrow,” Kro-ahnk said. “I’ll be visiting all my usual contacts to make some cores.”
Bria turned towards Gil-hana who just raised an eyebrow. “Don’t look at me. I’ll probably sleep until noon and then pay the lug to make something decent.”
“Fair enough,” Bria said, standing to stretch as a wide yawn pulled free.
While the food and drink hadn’t been the greatest, it was going to be nice not having to sit up for a few hours at night keeping watch. Unfortunately, she wouldn’t be enjoying Kro-ahnk’s cooking in the morning with the man spending most of his time in the city dealing with other merchants.
Still, the tavern wasn’t the worst place to eat, just a touch bland.
A commotion outside had Bria picking up her pace, then she sucked in a breath at the familiar voice shouting and hurried outside. Neth-amii was standing in the street, glaring at two individuals. A man and a woman glared right back at her, and while their hair and eyes looked nothing like her own, their other features painted a different picture. Especially the woman who could only be Neth-amii’s mother.
Bria pushed through the people already gathered for the spectacle and stepped up behind Neth-amii in a silent show of support. She gave the two the sternest look she could muster and crossed her arms. The pair gave her a short glance, then turned back towards their daughter, affixing stern and disapproving looks upon their faces.
“You have some nerve returning,” the man said, attempting to sound imposing.
[Human Lv. 2]
Riiight.
“Especially without that husband we worked so hard to find for you,” the woman huffed. “The least you could have been is grateful that we cared enough about you after you went and let magic twist you into something unnatural.”
Bria winced. The jab hadn’t even been aimed at her but it still hit hard. She couldn’t help but imagine her own parents saying it. Neth-amii on the other hand stood firm against the verbal abuse despite the growing crowds.
“Yeah, screw you too,” Neth said, spitting off to the side. “I should have known you’d both still be the hateful sacks of venom you were when I left all those years back.”
The man’s expression grew thunderous. “You ungrateful harlot. It was bad enough you rejected being our son, but now you spit upon our generosity too!”
“What generosity? You sold me like a lamb at market!”
The man scoffed. “That is a very crass way to describe arranging a husband for you.”
“Ri-durak was the very picture of a gentleman!” the woman said, shaking her head. “Even when you ran away and we offered him your sister instead, he declined.”
“You what.” Neth-amii said, her voice frosting over. The hairs on the back of Bria’s neck stood on end, sending chills down her spine at the raw venom that had crept into her friend’s tone. “That’s all we are to you, isn’t it? Do you even love any of your children, or are we just goods to be bartered and sold?”
“You’ve yet to prove otherwise,” the man said.
Standing there stoically was growing harder by the minute, but this wasn’t Bria’s moment. Neth-amii could handle herself against such weak people, in both body and mind. Being there to support her would be enough. Bria just had to keep telling herself that.
“You both are disgusting and vile,” Neth-amii spat. “Do you feel no shame?”
“Do you?” the woman asked. “You sought power to spite magic and nature. You abandoned your family and duty. Only the dark awaits you in death.”
Neth-amii’s hand blurred, striking the woman with a resounding smack that echoed through the street. The crowd winced as she fell back on her rear, leaving the man staring at his fallen wife. Neth-amii gave the pair one last glare, and turned away, walking briskly.
“That’s right, show everyone what you are!” the man yelled. “Prove us right!”
Having heard enough, Bria uncrossed her arms and took two brisk steps forward and punched the man square in the gut. He doubled over, emptying his stomach even as his wife shrieked. Bria glared down at the pair dispassionately, and the woman recoiled away.
“Don’t ever say such filth about my friend again,” Bria said coldly. “Next time, I won’t be so forgiving.”
She then cast [Cleanse] upon the man as she walked away.