18. Rewards

As she went through the thieves belongings, Waldina found some rope. One by one she tied up the thieves hands and legs. Then she double-checked they didn’t hold any hidden weapons, before finally moving the thieves into the horse-drawn carriage. As each and every one of the thieves was captured, her bracelet vibrated, signalling the end of her stage-exam.

Then followed a large light pillar which came from her bracelet. It blinded every being close enough. As Waldina got her sight back, she noticed the horse-drawn carriage, with the thieves still inside and all the thieves' belongings had disappeared into thin air. It was as if the thieves had never existed. Like the bracelet had sucked them inside it. Then a purse made from leather, a couple of old swords and a mirror-like object - similar to what she got after defeating Vermell, appeared at her feet.

The rewards and the remnants of a campfire were the only visible signs of the thieves’ existence. Waldina frowned at the sight with suspicion yet she didn’t sense any enemies close-by. She had no choice but to believe in the fact the bracelet had simply erased the thieves from existence.

It got Waldina once again thinking of the link between this world and the game Adventurous Online. The world seemed to be mainly an authentic, unique place, which from the game was inspired. But perhaps the stage-exams were a sign of the link between these two or of a third-party involved in it. Waldina disliked the thought yet she couldn’t help but accept the current state of affairs. At the same time she was overcome with melancholy and determination. She’d reach the top of the world and be the change this world needed. At least she’d made sure these stage-exams would end as they caused harm to innocent bystanders, such as Blancob and its rodents.

“We did it,” Kiandra flew around Waldina with a voice full of excitement. Waldina smiled shortly as she shrugged. Then she headed towards the remnants of a campfire surrounded with long logs, meant for sitting. Without a word she lit the fire anew and sat down to a closeby log. Kiandra followed her a step behind.

Without checking the heavy leather purse - likely full of coins - Waldina put it in her inventory. Then she kept her gaze on the swords, determining their value. She sighed and put the weapons away to her inventory as well. The mirror…

Kiandra gave it to Waldina and kept quiet. Yet her expression was speaking loud enough. Waldina took the mirror reluctantly and held it in her hands. For a moment she wished to contact Slehtkubi but then she shook her head and broke the mirror in pieces.

From the broken mirror came a bright ray of light and to Waldina’s annoyance an old sage from Slehtkubi appeared. The hologram stayed at the other side of the campfire and Waldina held her gaze strictly at the campfire, refusing to look at the hologram. It was her way of defying these ‘higher beings’ which held power.

“Congratulations on completing the second stage-exam. You’ll face many different challenges in the future and I wish luck on your journey,” the knowing sage woman’s voice stated. She grabbed a couple of small jars from her large sleeves and dropped them into a portal. Within seconds the jars appeared in Waldina's lap.

“What are these?” Waldina managed to ask before the hologram shook violently and another appeared, with an angry expression on. The sage was overcome with sudden fright and Waldina realized she’d done this without permission. Then the holograms disappeared without a word.

“What did you get?” Kiandra asked curiously, though her face was clouded with worry. The ninja moved the jars around her lap, her head deep in her thoughts. One of the jars had the word Poison written on it while on the other there were the words Antidote. She moved the jars to her inventory. She couldn’t imagine why the sage had given those to her but she could already see them ending up useful. What would be better than a dagger coated with poison.

“Clearly something to help me with the upcoming battles,” Waldina replied to the blue fairy, “if only I knew why.”

“I know right! Why would those people suddenly be on your side? Or perhaps you impressed them already,” Kiandra suggested, tilting her head. Waldina couldn’t help but laugh. Just the mere thought was too hilariously ridiculous.

“I highly doubt that,” Waldina managed to voice between her laughter, “but perhaps they aren’t entirely of the same mind. Maybe some of them could be nice and not assholes.”

“Yeah… At least that sage seemed to be on your side,” Kiandra wondered and pointed at the fire excitedly. She had already learnt to recognize the best volumes of fire for cooking. And she was sure time was now. Waldina rolled her eyes at the sight yet she still took vegetables from her inventory. They’d already ran out of proper meat and she didn’t want to hunt yet. At least not on Blancob’s forest, that would be beyond rude. Like first she’d help the gigantic bunny and its rodents just to end up hunting those very same rodents.

“That’s what I’m thinking about,” Waldina stated while grilling their food. After such an achievement she felt they deserved proper food and proper break.

“Does this change your opinion of Slehtkubi and its leaders?” Kiandra asked, hesitantly.

“Would you forgive those who ravaged your village if you found out some of them had good motives for doing it?” Waldina directed her sharpened gaze at the small blue fairy.

“I don’t know. Maybe. It all happened so long ago so I don’t hold that deep feelings towards it any more,” Kiandra tried her best to sound like she really didn’t care, yet her wings fluttered in a vague, suspicious way.

“Hmmm. It’s possible I’ll end up feeling the same way. But for now I’ll just keep to my plan,” Waldina shrugged and didn’t want to push her friend reminiscing about the past for too long. Though she still had one question related to Kiandra’s past: “By the way how old are you? How long do fairies usually live?”

Kiandra blushed deeply and thoroughly as she heard the question. She turned to look at the ground before she whispered in a super quiet way: “According to my calculations, I turned 678 half a year ago.”

Waldina nearly choked hearing the words. She had expected the fairy to be slightly older than her but certainly not hundreds of years. Kiandra acted so… child-like (childish) from time to time. At the very least she didn’t seem like a wise old lady.

“To my defense I was trapped in the grimoire for most of that time so I know little of the world outside. And as a fairy I’m quite young,” Kiandra added, still blushing, “just give me the food already, it should be edible enough.”

“I… understand. Do eat if you’re hungry,” Waldina nodded without pressing the issue any further. They began eating in silence, chatting only from time to time.

After Waldina made sure the fire was extinguished properly, she stretched out her muscles for a bit. Then she and Kiandra head back to the forest, to Blancob.

Blancob sat deeper in the forest, at the foot of a small slope. There were bunnies and guinea pigs running around Blancob. From time to time the small beings turned to look at their leader expectantly. Blancob smiled at them without a word.

The gigantic bunny kept its ears pricked up towards the directions of Waldina and Kiandra. It was trying to figure out how everything was going. If the ninja hadn’t forbidden it from participating, it would have already leapt into action. The ninja seemed strong but the thieves had advantage via numbers.

One day all of a sudden the thieves had appeared on Blancob’s territory. They seemed to come out of thin air. Blancob had been making its rounds around the forest when it suddenly heard humans talking. Usually most humans rushed out of its forest but this time the humans were camping. The camping itself wasn’t wrong… But this group was so noisy and raunchy. Yet the final straw for Blancob had been the fact the small rodents were afraid of those people. Blancob wished the smaller ones could rest at peace in its territory and that was why it tried so earnestly to be rid of the humans. Without luck.

“Blancob,” Waldina called out as she leapt to the ground in front of the bunny. The small rodents turned their curious attention to the ninja and her fairy friend.

“So, how did it go?” Blancob asked and raised its ear in a questioning way. It tried its best to look like it was actually talking so that Waldina’s fairy friend could at the very least figure out they were engaged in a conversation.

“Great. If they were the group bothering you, there’s not a sign of them anywhere here no more,” Waldina explained with a smile, though slightly forced. She wanted to add literally to her words but managed to keep that part inside her mind.

“Hmm,” Blancob focused for a minute while listening to the sounds surrounding them. The human voices it heard before were gone, as well as the fear the small rodents felt. The forest was tranquil and Blancob was content. The piece had returned to his domain.

“It is time for the rewards I promised you,” Blancob smiled widely and took out a magical sack it was hiding beneath its fur. She took out a shining carrot and gave it to Waldina.

“When you bite that carrot you’ll receive the gift of understanding all the small rodents in this world. The rodents in turn will understand you and be kind towards you,” Blancob tried - but failed - to use ceremonial words so that the words through telepathy would seem more respectful and important. The bunny was grateful to Waldina and her fairy friend. And it by no means wanted to fight against the ninja again.

“Your fairy friend may take part in this gift as well,” Blancob added as Waldina thanked for the reward. Waldina signed for Kiandra to join her and imitate her actions. Kiandra looked at her with suspicion in her eyes but did as she was told.

“Now you should be able to hear me just like this,” Blancob smiled with a small, kind smile. Waldina nodded and looked around her with wonder in her eyes. The small rodents gathered around her and she couldn’t resist the urge to pet them. She crouched, then sat down in front of Blancob. Her lap was filled with small bunnies, guinea pigs, mice and squirrels.

“I understood the bunny,” Kiandra cried out with an excited voice. It forced Waldina to return back to reality from her petting paradise.

“Of course. It is a gift from esteemed Blancob,” Waldina smiled widely. The gift would perhaps not be that useful to them during their journey but at least it made her happy. Furry friends were one of the best ways to relieve stress. The mere thought warmed her heart so much she nearly cried from happiness.

“Wow, this is amazing,” Kiandra’s eyes were shining brightly as she, too, got on to the ground to mingle around with the bunnies and other rodents.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying the gift,” Blancob stated with contentment.