Chapter 36:

36. The journey goes on

Waldina - Journey as a ninja in another world


The following days passed in a blur. The group rode and rested. Rode and rested. Kris kept asking about Diaz, teased Kiandra and pressured Waldina to talk about all sorts of things. Diaz stayed quiet most of the time, even when Kris talked to him. Kiandra desperately tried to tease Kris back but after she tired of not succeeding in it, she went to Diaz and rode with her the rest of the time. The duo chatted in a super quiet voice, so Kris wouldn’t hear them. Thus it was up to Waldina to keep Kris occupied and humor him.

These past days the mage had begun asking about the ninja’s plans for the future. She evaded the questions the best she could. Kris’ aim was to get her to spill the truth and on the other hand to get her to agree to joining Jaspis. Waldina didn’t approve of either one of his aims. And that was their dynamic most of the time.

If Kris wasn’t asking about their secrets nor her joining Jaspis all the time, she could’ve enjoyed his company. He was a trustworthy mage and a real help against the monsters. Thanks to Kris they didn’t have to stop to fight against varthunds (stronger arthunds), poisonous snakes nor yellow bears. That which her ninjaskills didn’t finish, ended up destroyed by Kris. They were an unstoppable team, although at the end of the day they were on different sides.

Kris was a reliable companion in many different matters. Waldina appreciated the safety that came with traveling with him. Yet she would’ve given up almost anything to get Kris to leave them alone. It didn’t help that she had a hunch that the rest of his team was closing in on them. She didn’t know how, yet her intuition was telling her something was about to happen.

Then one evening, only a day away from Jimdar, they were circled by a group of bloodlust filled monsters. Waldina was ready to turn her blade on Kris.

But then the mage grabbed his mage staff and aimed it at the monsters closing in on them. Waldina frowned, and kept her eye on the man whilst evaluating their situation.

After seconds passed she could feel it: A pack of varthunds were closing in on them. There were almost twenty of those wolf-like beings, all high leveled - compared to her, anyways. The purple-haired ninja frowned yet again in suspicion yet she reached for her thigh belt, hidden by the hem of her black skirt, and grabbed a couple of shurikens. Then she aimed those shurikens at the varthunds she deemed the strongest.

She didn’t stay around waiting for the shurikens to hit their marks before she grabbed her long sword. She leapt after the shurikens, and at the side of the varthunds. First one of them was already wincing by the pain the shuriken had caused it, leaving it unguarded for any attacks. The ninja saw her chance and with one sharp movement she slashed through its neck. Right after she turned to look at the next varthund pointing its claws at her.

After the varthund turned to manadust, the ninja turned her attention to Claudia and Kiandra. Just then Claudia managed to defeat one of the wolf-like monsters with the help of Kiandra. The scene got Waldina smiling. Claudia had improved a lot these past few days, or weeks (she wasn’t exactly sure at this point). Gone was the timid noble lady who’d been raised in luxury and comfort. Each day Claudia was more like a real countryboy travelling to the big city. Kiandra had given her countless opinions and tips. For a fairy trapped in grimoire she knew an amazing amount of the lives of both nobles and commoners. Although most of her opinions were a tad bit outdated, which Waldina deducted was due to the fairy’s different experiences with different masters.

At the other side of the camp, Kris, donned in his purple cape, kept destroying the varthunds closing in on him. He was overpowered, yet something in the way he fought bugged Waldina. It was as if he was hyper aware of his surroundings, Waldina and Diaz. As if he was surveying their actions. The whole ambush from the varthunds was unnatural yet the monsters were real. It was as if they were lured in here to attack them. But why?

Suddenly she felt a stinging gaze at the back of her neck. It didn’t belong to the varthunds, she was sure of it. Yet she couldn’t exactly turn around to look back at her stalker. Or else they’d know she’d seen them. Instead she charged towards the remaining varthunds and ended their days with a couple of thrown shurikens and sword slashes.

Finally she turned to look at the archer sitting in a faraway tree branch. The archer was far enough that the ninja could just barely see them. Yet her intuition and battle hardened senses confirmed her suspicions. Waldina smiled grimly for a hundredth of a second pointing her blade at the archer. Then her expression returned to neutral and she sheathed her sword back to its sheath without giving the archer more attention.

“Good work,” Waldina called out to her companions and stepped back to the campfire. Lately the evenings had been quite chilly so she’d made a campfire nearly every evening. It warmed them up and Waldina quite liked the atmosphere and sound of the campfire.

“You too,” Kris was talking first again, as the group had already gotten used to it. His face was adorned with a mysterious smile and Waldina couldn’t quite decipher the meanings behind it.

“Rubin,” she began with a sharp tone after everyone had gotten ready for sleep. Hearing the name, Kris flinched a bit. And then Waldina continued: “Do you miss her a lot?”

“Obviously,” he smiled with yearning in his voice, yet she could still notice the relief in his demeanor. Kiandra raised her eyebrow in a way that was only visible to Waldina, not Kris.

“Understandable. You’ve been with us for how many days now? A week?” Waldina continued her chattering and sat up. She combed her purple-hair, which she had washed earlier, without any hurry. Each one of her actions were meaningful and she kept her eye on Kris.

“Perhaps. But time flies by so fast with you. Actually, we could continue the journey with the rest of Jaspis, couldn’t we?” Even if Kris noticed Waldina’s curiosity and insinuation, he made a point not to show it at all. Instead he just focused on advertising his aims.

“I personally don’t think ‘the more the merrier’,” her statement was emphasized with her chuckle and the swing of her hair.

“Hmm, perhaps I could change your mind. Jaspis doesn’t have a ninja, you see. We’d surely have use for such a talented ninja,” Kris kept on pressuring her and his demeanor visibly became more agitated. The change was small yet told her everything she needed to know: Kris was about ready to end this friendly act and get on to his actual aim. A sense of melancholy overwhelmed Waldina's mind in an inexplicable way.

“We’ll reach Jimdar tomorrow. We’ll stay there for a couple of nights,” Waldina stated as she pondered her options. It would be for the best to stop by Jimdar with Kris as they wouldn’t get other chances to go there later on, with Claudia. From Jimdar to Xunte Sintra wasn’t a long way. A moment of truth was approaching them and it would change everything. Waldina could feel it closing in on them yet she wanted to dwell on this comfortable status quo for a moment longer. Even if their group dynamic hadn’t been perfect, it was all the same safe and peaceful. Yet they’d have to go their separate ways once either Kris or Waldina made their move.

The ninja closed her eyes and swore she wouldn’t let Kris surprise her. She’d wait for just a moment longer. It’s for the best, Waldina tried telling herself, yet she knew she couldn’t fool anyone. She wasn’t supposed to enjoy Kris’ company nor get attached to him. And still she couldn’t help but feel melancholic.

In reality she should have tried her best to defeat the ninja as soon as they left the village together. No amount of injuries nor low levels should have stopped her. Right now she regretted her earlier decision and the pain that came with them. She should’ve guessed she couldn’t be nonchalant towards someone traveling with them for days and spending almost each moment of the day with her.