Chapter 6 - Old friend in a new place

“One slipped through!”

A young adventurer held his ground against a pack of wolves, slashing at any bold enough to come near his sword. One particularly agile wolf managed to avoid being hit, but it did not fight back. It instead dashed around the adventurer and leapt into the air, its predatory gaze fixated on the plump horse that would nourish its thin body.

Just before the beast sunk its fangs into the horse’s neck, it was plucked out of the air and tossed aside like a ragdoll.

“Catch!”

A plant-like monster girl had wrapped her extended fingers around the wolf, throwing it toward her adventurer friend. The wolf let out a high-pitched whine as it slammed against the ground; and a shrill cry as a sword was stabbed into its body.

“Nice one, Leafa!”

Rather than cowering in fear at the sight of their slain brethren, the three remaining wolves viciously snarled. There was a reddish hue that permeated their yellow eyes: a sign that they were driven toward an aggressive madness.

“Damnit! It’s gonna be a full moon tonight, so they won’t back down. Leafa, switch!”

“Sure, leave it to me!”

The duo swapped their positions with practiced ease. One of the wolves capitalized on the temporary break in formation, charging forward with reckless abandon. The monster girl swung her arm and extended her claws, slashing the wolf across its face to make sure it thought twice about approaching.

After taking in a deep breath, the young man raised his sword at the wolves in the distance. If he focused hard enough, he could picture a collection of arcane sigils in his mind. He imagined invisible mana gathering near the gem inlaid on his shortsword’s guard, and once he was satisfied with the amount, he thrust his sword forward, shouting at the top of his lungs.

“Slow!”

An incredibly faint white line appeared in the young man’s vision, like a wispy trail of smoke. So long as he mentally traced the line while keeping the sigil in his head, the spell would connect. It felt like he was trying to write with both hands at the same time, but that was the challenge that came with latent spellcasting.

“It hit! The one on the right is taken care of!”

The wolf struck by the spell growled as it attempted to rush forward, but its movements were lethargic and sluggish. Taking advantage of the reduced number of effective enemies, the monster girl reached out to grab the wolf on the left. Just as she attempted to toss it back to her partner, the other wolf leapt in and sank its fangs into the girl’s fingers. She let out a frustrated grunt, swatting the beast away before pulling her arm back to nurse her bleeding hand. The wolves did not approach, but neither did the monster girl. They glared at each other, both sides waiting for an opportunity to present itself.

“Slow!”

With another shout, the adventurer successfully cast his spell again. The monster girl grabbed the unaffected wolf and slammed it against the ground, allowing her partner to rush ahead and drive his sword into the beast. He pinned it to the floor until it no longer lashed out during its death throes. From there, it was a simple matter for the young man and the monster girl to swiftly cull the magically slowed wolves that remained.

“You’re getting a little faster, Eran.” Holding up her bleeding fingers, the monster girl named Leafa approached her partner with a smile.

“This magic stuff isn’t easy, but it’s useful. I just wish I knew how mages get their cast times to be so low.” The young adventurer, Eran, pulled out a roll of bandages and a cloth from his bag. He wiped away the brownish red liquid that dripped down Leafa’s hand before wrapping her injuries with some of the bandages.

Leafa winced as the salve that was spread thinly on the bandages made contact with her wounds. “Agh! How can something feel cold and hot at the same time?”

“That means it’s working, which is good. I wasn’t sure if our medicine would affect you or not.” Once Eran finished dressing his partner’s bite wounds, he unwrapped some food rations and held them out toward her. “Here, it’s pemmican. Those bandages will help you heal faster, but they also make you sleepy if you don’t eat something.”

“Do I have to? Meat tastes so bitter and acidic.” The monster girl gave the brick of meat a sour look.

“I know, but we can’t really afford dried fruit. I promise I’ll buy you some candied ones when we get back to Oakwood,” Eran said.

Leafa tepidly bit down on the pemmican, her entire body shivering the moment it made contact with her mouth.

Just then, a pudgy man called out from the horse-drawn wagon. “That was an impressive show! I was right to spend a little extra coin to hire a tamer, but if you’re all done we’d best be on our way! Time is money!”

Eran helped his treemate climb onto the back of the wagon before hopping in himself. The pudgy man flicked the reins, signaling for his horse to continue trotting down the forest road. They were on their way to the port town of Barnesville, and currently in the middle of Trent Forest.

It had been a couple weeks since Eran and Leafa met, and they were starting to become comfortable fighting together. The two had lots of practice, both at the guild house’s sparring grounds and on various jobs they accepted. Whenever they had time to spare they looked into the quest Lady Elizabeth gave them, but none of the leads they discovered led anywhere concrete. They settled on living life as normal adventurers, and kept an eye out for any information regarding the stolen gemstone. That was why the pair were acting as bodyguards for a merchant that brought fresh fish to the citizens of Oakwood.

“Wow…”

Leafa ran up to the front of the wagon, gazing past the pudgy merchant. They broke through the treeline and rode along a cliff that overlooked the port town, which offered a perfect view of the glittering expanse that lay beyond it. A vast ocean with no end in sight, and there was no horizon either. The blue of the sky and the blue of the sea melded together into a singular gradient, making it impossible to tell where one ended and the other began.

“Yep, it never does get old; even after all these years. Welcome to Barnesville.”

Eran stepped forward to take in the vista as well. He had never imagined the ocean would be such a beautiful sight to behold, and it left him speechless.

As they rode on a path that snaked down the cliffside, Leafa took in a deep breath and giggled. “It’s salty!” She reached out her hand to embrace the misty sea breeze, and the sensation made her smile with an amused hum. “There’s so much water in the air too, it feels great on my skin!”

With a smile, Eran patted Leafa on the head and rustled her leaves. Part of him wished they weren’t there for a job so that they could take their time to fully explore the oceanside settlement. He made a silent promise to himself that he would definitely return one day.

<><><><><><><><>

The port town of Barnesville was a vibrant place, with most of the buildings being constructed out of wooden planks that had been painted with bright colors. The town did not stray too far from the coastline, but in exchange for its width the perimeter of Barnesville was almost as long as the sandy beaches it ran up against. At the center of the town was a large block dedicated to warehouses, which acted as an area of operations for both the fishing and shipping industries. It was in that warehouse row where a certain pudgy merchant could be heard shouting at the owner of one of the warehouses.

“What in blazes do you mean you don’t have a single fish to sell to me!?”

“I’m terribly sorry, but the Ardorlain military showed up and completely cleaned me out for the day. If you could just wait until tomorrow, I’ll have your usual delivery ready.” The warehouse owner nervously wiped sweat from his brow as he attempted to diffuse the situation, but the merchant was not having any of it.

“I don’t care about Ardorlain, we had a deal! Do you have any idea how much it is going to cost me to stay here and return tomorrow? A full day’s worth of business and extra expenses are coming out of my pocket because of your sorry mistake!” As the pudgy man continued to chastise his supplier, his face turned a bright shade of red.

The supplier held his hands together in penitence. “I assure you this won’t happen again. I cannot begin to express how sorry I am!”

“You’re absolutely right, it won’t happen again! I have every right to find someone else worth my time to buy fish from, especially if this is how you’re going to treat a loyal customer of nearly eight years!”

Just as the pudgy merchant turned his back, the warehouse owner dropped to his knees. “Oh please! Tomorrow I will give you the finest selection from the fish we catch in the morning, and in light of our longstanding friendship, I’ll even give you a twenty percent discount!”

The merchant stopped in his tracks, rubbing his beard as he pondered his supplier’s offer. “Hmm… Perhaps I let myself get too emotional. It would be a waste to throw away a friendship that has lasted for so long.” He turned to face his supplier, looking down at him with a lordly attitude. “I think I could see myself forgiving your mistake with a generous twenty-five percent discount. That should be about enough to cover my losses”

“Of course! Come back tomorrow morning and I will have everything packed up and ready!”

Outside the warehouse, Eran and Leafa awkwardly listened in on the entire conversation. They both internally promised themselves that they would avoid doing anything that might incur their employer’s wrath.

The pudgy merchant came out wiping his face with a handkerchief. He let out an exaggerated sigh, and as he exhaled the air from his lungs the redness in his face left with it. “Well mister tamer, it looks like I’ll be keeping you around for a bit longer than anticipated. Rest assured, your pay will be doubled for the inconvenience. I’ll even cover your lodgings, but you’re on your own for everything else.” He handed Eran four silver coins, an amount that was just enough to purchase two inn rooms for the night.

“Thank you, sir. I guess that means we’re free to roam until tomorrow?” Eran asked.

“Mh? Ah, that’s right. Barnesville is a nice place, so enjoy yourself. As long as you show up at this exact spot tomorrow morning, let’s say by the end of the twilight hour, I won’t complain.” The merchant gave Eran a shooing motion. He hopped on his wagon and made his way toward the shopping district, likely in search of potential business ventures.

Leafa wrapped her fingers around Eran’s hand, swinging it back and forth like a pendulum. She looked up at him with a bright smile and a gaze that thirsted for adventure. “Which way should we go first? The buildings down there look really colorful, but that big building over there is also really cool!”

“Oh, I think that’s called a lighthouse.” Eran said.

Straight ahead of Eran and Leafa was a peninsula that stretched out past the harbor. The land reached out toward the open ocean, and at the end of it was a tall tower made of stone bricks. Even while surrounded by large warehouses, the building could be seen standing proudly above them.

“Let’s go then! I bet the ocean looks incredible from up there!” The monster girl marched off, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she dragged her treemate along

“Leafa, hold on! I don’t think they’ll let us climb their lighthouse!” Eran shouted. He was surprised at how strong the woman was, especially considering her size. If he put his all into resisting, he could likely drag her away with some difficulty, but that would change if the monster girl decided to go all out herself.

As the two walked through the warehouse district, they came across a large group of people loading barrels onto a long line of covered wagons. Most of them were knights bearing the crest of Ardorlain, but there were also several adventurers helping out. Among them was a lone mage leaning against the wall. She had fiery red curls, and a gnarled wooden staff that had a shining red gem dangling from its point. The mage idly waved the gem around with a bored expression on her face, but when she noticed Eran walk by she jumped up to attention.

“Hey! What are you doing here?”

“Sorry, we were just walking by!” Leafa sheepishly clung to Eran’s arm. She pulled her hood down over her eyes, embarrassed after being chastised; or so she thought.

“Didn’t think I’d see you again so soon, Wendy.” Eran gave the mage a friendly smile as he patted Leafa on the head. “We’re here as bodyguards for a fish delivery. I’m guessing you’re doing the same thing?”

Wendy let out a deep sigh. “Yessir, but now they’re making a frail maiden like me load barrels. These arms were not made for lifting anything heavier than a big magic stick, you know?” The young woman pulled back the sleeve of her robe and flexed her bicep, showing off a surprising amount of muscle for a mage. “That’s enough of me though. Who’s your girlfriend?”

“Not my girlfriend, but this is Leafa. She’s actually a monster girl I met in Trent Forest, we’re partners.” Eran looked down at Leafa and gestured to Wendy with his thumb. “This is another former classmate of mine, Wendy. Out of all the mage initiates, she was the best.”

“Aww, that’s sweet~” Wendy made a self-satisfied smile, basking in the recognition of her hard work.

“A girl, huh?” Leafa side-eyed her treemate with a suspicious look. She shrugged off her unamused frown and replaced it with the friendliest smile she could manage. “I’m Eran’s treemate, it’s nice to meet you.”

Wendy chuckled softly. “Treemate? That sounds romantic~! It’s nice to meet you too, though.” The mage woman turned to Eran and gave him a thumbs up paired with a bright smile. “More importantly, congratulations on taming your first monster girl. I knew you could do it, honor student!”

Eran nervously scratched at his cheek. “About that. Leafa and I are partners, but I haven’t used a tamer spell on her. She’s adventuring with me because she wants to.”

“Ohhh, that’s not bad either. I never took you as someone who was good with women, but I guess in hindsight you might be better than ‘Mitri.” The mage woman crossed her arms and hummed in thought, as if she was seriously considering which of her two friends were more likely to be a lady killer.

“I think Dimitri would be upset if he heard you say that…” Eran said. The young man awkwardly smiled as he thought about the blonde-haired duelist fuming in response to Wendy’s statement.

“Oh yeah! Speaking of, ‘Mitri is covering for my break. I thought about running off to go explore the town, but I know that’d make him really really angry. That’s why you’re gonna take me with you instead!” Wendy hopped forward and latched herself around Eran’s free arm. “If I say I was hanging out with a friend from the academy, he’d only get really angry!”

Leafa’s jaw dropped, and she found herself subconsciously tightening her grip around her treemate’s arm.

The young man blushed, not expecting to be suddenly sandwiched between two girls. He was hit by the scent of Wendy’s hair, which smelled strongly of cinnamon. “I’d prefer it if you didn’t make Dimitri angry at all, especially if you’re involving me.”

“Aww come on! Every man dreams about wandering around town with a pretty girl on either side.” Wendy said.

“That’s not a dream I’ve ever had, though...”

“Guess you’re not a man?” Wendy playfully stuck out her tongue before she began to tug Eran in the direction of the shopping district. “Let’s just go, I heard they sell magic stones from the north here!”

Leafa clung onto Eran’s arm, her face twisting with panic as she reached out toward the peninsula. “Wait, the lighthouse!”

Ignoring the monster girl’s plea and the tamer’s discomfort, Wendy dragged them both toward the brightly painted buildings in the distance.

<><><><><><><><>

Barnesville’s shopping district was bustling with activity. Waves of people were constantly moving through the myriad stores, each one painted a different color. Eran imagined that being in the port town was what standing in the middle of a mosaic probably felt like.

“...”

The young man grimaced as he felt dozens of judgemental eyes on him. He had hoped to never become the center of attention after the incident with Leafa, but the level of stress he felt was even greater than back then. “Hey, Wendy… Do you think you could let go of me now?”

“Not happening. I need to make sure you don’t run away in case ‘Mitri comes looking for me.”

The young man wanted to say that Dimitri seeing his friend draped around someone he likely hated would just make things worse, but he recognized the unwavering stubbornness in Wendy’s voice. Everyone from the academy knew that once the mage made up her mind, there was no changing it. “Then, Leafa. Can you walk on your own for a bit?”

“If I look up for even a second I will puke.” The monster girl hugged Eran’s arm as tightly as she could. She made sure to look down to avoid seeing the garbled mess of colors that surrounded her. The unique design of the port town’s buildings was something she admired from a distance, but having to deal with the swirling clouds of visible emotions amidst a rainbow backdrop was too much for her senses to handle.

Not winning either way, Eran grit his teeth and did his best to ignore some of the glares he received from passing townsfolk.

Wendy asked for directions from a few random people, and before long the group found themselves in front of a bright blue shop. Several shining gemstones were put on display, attracting two kinds of crowds. One was the average person who found the magic stones pretty to look at, while the other were mages who were hoping to upgrade their equipment. Despite their different reasons for entering, both crowds were turned away after seeing the extravagant prices that matched the stones’ beauty.

“Hmm, the quality is definitely better but the prices are higher too… Ten gold for a beginner’s wand is a big ask.” Wendy said.

“How much did your staff cost?” Eran looked at the dazzling red crystal hanging from the mage woman’s staff. It wasn’t as finely crafted and elegant as the staves found within the store, but the red crystal didn’t look cheap either.

The redhead flicked the gemstone, humming as she sifted through her memories. “Twenty-two gold, I think. It was the first and only gift my dad ever got me.”

Eran’s eyes widened in shock. “That’s basically half of the tuition for the academy!”

“Magic is a rich discipline for rich people. Knowledge on the subject is controlled and casting without a focus isn’t something most people can do.” Wendy watched her reflection in the red crystal. Her lips became taut as her expression grew somber.

Leafa wandered around the store on her own. So long as she avoided looking outside the window, the amount of people within the shop was small enough for her to handle. She glanced around and noted the emotions of everyone in the room. Eran seemed about as happy as usual, while Wendy was determined. A lot of the patrons had positive moods, which put Leafa in one too.

As the monster girl continued to look around, she noticed one woman in particular who was especially joyful. Short silver hair framed her sharp face, and she held up a small mage wand that had a crystal affixed to its tip. The magic gem was a dazzling blue that matched her eyes, and as she stepped up to the front counter, Leafa felt her happiness as if it were her own. Even as the woman left the store, there was a gentle warmth that persisted within Leafa’s heart.

“Are you done looking, Leafa? Wendy said there were some other stores along the way that she wanted to look at.” Eran gave his treemate a gentle tap on the shoulder to break her out of her reverie.

“Oh, yeah. Just walk slowly for me, okay?” The monster girl preemptively latched herself onto Eran’s arm. With a deep breath, she mentally steeled herself to walk through the dizzying crowds.

The afternoon sun illuminated the port town of Barnesville, piercing through the misty air to bask it in its golden glow. Walking through the busy crowds was the woman Leafa noticed earlier. Rays of light from the sun made her silver hair shine, drawing in several eyes to her radiant beauty.

“Wow, her hair is so pretty.” Wendy said.

“I saw her in the store. She bought a wand and seemed really happy about it.” Leafa lifted her head for just a moment. Even through the amorphous blob of colors, the silver-haired woman’s joy could be seen clearly.

“She actually bought something from there? I wonder if she’s some noble’s daughter.” Eran looked over at the woman and mused to himself. He watched her make her way through the crowd, and was able to witness someone knock her over.

“Hey! What the hell!” The woman snapped back at her assailant: a man dressed in a black cloak. They wrestled over the wand she held firmly in her hand, but a swift punch to the face made her drop it.

Despair and anger mixed together within the woman to create a dark color that threatened to engulf the previous joy. Seeing it happen made Leafa’s chest tighten. “Eran, we have to help her!”

“Wendy, take care of Leafa and the woman!” The young adventurer chased after the fleeing thief. Eran was confident in his running speed, as he was the single fastest runner during his time at the academy. He was certain he could catch the man in the black cloak, but the young adventurer struggled to match his pace. “How is he so fast!?” He thought to himself.

Eran chased the man through multiple winding alleyways. His breathing became ragged the longer he went on, and sprinting at full speed was just barely enough to keep up with the thief. Before long, the space between the young adventurer and the man in the black cloak became too great, and when Eran had to start guessing which direction he went, he quickly found himself stumbling into a dead end. Eran turned around to face the opposite alley, but by then it was too late. He had lost him.