Chapter 10

10

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"Congratulations, Hero. In celebration of your hard work, I present to you this Lamia. She will do as you bid. You can conjure her at will." Casterline rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stood to get a better look at the massive winged creature staring her down with cold, animalistic eyes. She reached out to touch, but pulled her hand back once she noticed the Lamia's fangs. "Sit, we shall feast for now! Afterwards, you can practice conjuring your new Summon to see what she's capable of." Caste looked deep into the Lamia's eyes and asked, "Can I name it?"

"Yes, you may, Hero. The thing is female." Caste tenderly placed a hand on the Lamia's face and ever so softly declared, "Chise." In honor of the new friend she longed to see once more.

Many weeks of training and traveling had gone by when Casterline suddenly posed a question that had been heavily weighing on her mind for quite some time. "Chise is great at gathering food for us, and we sleep a lot to save energy...but what about potions? Wouldn't those be more beneficial to my training than constant resting?" Casterline had been grinding through forests and fields of monsters for days and days now. She'd become much more receptive to the idea of destroying the evils of the land in order to protect her Princess as of late. Fiaerna took it as a sign of acceptance. In her mind, Casterline was finally at peace with being here with her. But in truth, Caste's determination never strayed. Her eagerness to fight, she thought, would bring her ever closer to seeing her beloved family again. And with every swing of her broadsword, she felt a growing strength inside her she'd never felt before. "So tell me then, what exactly do these concoctions look like in your °video games°, My Hero?" Fi waved Chise away as the Lamia dropped fresh meat from it's mouth. "Well," Caste began as she invoked a fire spell for roasting. "They're like....I don't know, energy drinks? Here, look. I'll draw one for you." She grabbed a stick and drew a generic little bottle in the sand by the fire. "Ah, you mean medicinal herbs and tonics! We do indeed have such things in this world." "Where do you buy them? Who provides them to you when there's...no one around anymore?" Caste knew speaking of the Plague was a sensitive subject but she had a legitimate reason to mention it and a part of her had hoped Princess Fiaerna would open up about her past a bit more. "We shall come across them when the time is right. Until then, tell me more about your games. Caste described Non Player Characters, and Menu Screens, Character Customization and Weapon Shops for the duration of their meal. These were the aspects of gaming that she'd always found boring and mundane, Caste told Fiaerna. But Fi sat quietly and absorbed every detail of the conversation until their meal was finished and it was time to journey forth once more. Three days into their travels they'd reached a freezing tundra and just when Caste was sure she'd die of frostbite, a stall appeared up ahead to the left of the path Caste was currently sliding across. Fi, who'd warped ahead in an effort to find shelter came back in a breathless flurry. "There's a Waresman up ahead!" "A what?" "A man who peddles wares, you silly woman. He may have equipment to keep us warm! Tonics to raise our vitality! Grab my hand." Caste did as she was told and warped several miles forward within the blink of an eye. She suddenly found herself at the stall she'd seen in the distance, and standing in the center was the Waresman the Princess had so excitedly mentioned. But to Caste's horror, the old man's eyes and mouth were threaded through and sewn shut. Though the wind was fierce, the man's long white beard did not sway. "Is he OK, Princess Fiaerna?" It was as if he were made of stone, but as soon as Casterline spoke the man jerked his head toward the sound and desperately clawed at his mouth. He needed to speak with her. He needed help. He whimpered and wined and reached over the counter but Fiaerna smacked the old Sage's hand away. When she touched him, his religious cloak tore. His muscles swelled to an incredibly large size, and his face morphed into that of a demon's. His skin was bright red, and four horns protruded from his forehead. "He must be a Boss, huh?" "...Yes. Yes, of course. Destroy him, my brave Casterline!" And with that, Caste called forth Chise and recited a spell to bring forth pieces of frozen earth. They hit the demonic creature like bullets and so it went until he was so riddled with holes, he hit the earth with such force, the ground split beneath them and they were sent careening down into a chasm of darkness. Below were spikes of ice crystal and there was surely no way to survive. Chise was slumbering inside the broadsword where she had spent much of her time since Casterline had mastered the art of Summoming her. Fiaerna was too far from Caste to grab hold of her, and was depleted from warping with her earlier. She had just enough Magical resilience to cast a spell onto her shoes so that she could jump onto the ledge with ease. Meanwhile, miles and miles below, Caste's fall had been broken by the demon now turned human again. She used a shard of ice to cut his lips and eyes free. To her horror the old Sage started coughing up blood. But even so he looked at her with intensity, muttered "Save me." And grabbed her hand. In this trance, she could see the old Sage working in the castle. He blessed newborn infants with holy water, sang hymns, and obviously delighted in giving his life's purpose to please the gods of Odinsai. He had lived a happy life. Scene shift, he had been turned into an Ice Goblin and was now living his days in the tundra, safely enough and far from harm. Scene shift. A shadow loomed over him. A forceful, unexpected transformation back into his human form. His eyes and mouth were sewn through with enchanted thread, so tightly, so painfully, that he could not scream for salvation. When the trance was broken, Caste felt herself being lifted up. But she was screaming and crying and fighting too much to care who had hold of her. "Such belligerent behavior. Such intolerable insolence." Caste felt a blunt force hit the base of her skull and went out like a light. In her dreams she watched Harumi play in the front yard, but suddenly the little girl started getting farther and farther away. Casterline yelled after her, but each time the child turned, her face aged. By the time Casterline's throat had become so raw she couldn't scream anymore, the child turned to her with the face of an ancient old hag and asked over and over with a low and terrifying voice, "Why did you leave me, Mommy? Why did you leave me?" "I didn't leave...I didn't..." Caste jolted upright, gasping for breath. When she looked around she realized she was lying in a bed of yellow flowers near a lake. The sun was warm against her skin and she felt calm at the sight of Princess Fiaerna coming toward her.

The Princess stopped at Caste's feet and dropped two armfuls of red and blue potion bottles before her. "What are these, Princess?" "Potions, My Hero. You'll need them now that you've reached Level Twenty-five!" "Wait...I was Twenty-three before. When did I..." "You bested an Angelic Slime and ranked up twice in one go. But you were so tired you collapsed right where you are. Are you aware that you snore, My Lady?" Casterline sat up and examined the bottles carefully. She'd never thought to ask Fiaerna if such items existed in the world of Odinsai but she felt relieved to see them. Meanwhile, Princess Fiaerna hid a wicked grin knowing she'd reset Caste yet again.

Just like the video games the stupid woman went on and on about. And she would continue to do so, tormenting Casterline Akahoshi and wiping her memories over and over and over knowing full well Caste was her clueless little puppet. Knowing full well that Caste's mind would eventually break.