Chapter 7 - Sword and sorcery I

A group of militiamen walked away from three young ladies who sat together on a bench. Worried looks marred their faces, and the one with silver hair was especially distraught.

“Damnit all, the one time I go and make a big purchase. Stupid…”

The redheaded mage placed a concerned hand on the woman’s thigh, though it did little to ease her sense of turmoil.

The third young lady, a green haired monster girl who hid underneath a cloak, perked her head up. She felt a familiar presence, and moments later her partner stood before them. “Eran! Did you catch the–” The monster girl cut herself short once she looked up to see the young man’s defeated expression.

“I’m sorry, he was too fast. Were the guards any help?”

“Didn’t think anyone could outrun you, honor student. As for the guards, they said they’ll watch the perimeter and investigate everyone who leaves, but they won’t be able to do anything if he sneaks onto a boat,” the mage said.

Leafa could physically feel the gloomy atmosphere start to choke her. It was a feeling she severely disliked, so she made her best attempt at coming up with a solution. “Maybe we can wait by the boats, then? If he tries to leave through there, we can catch him.”

“Forget it. None of you saw his face, right? All he has to do is drop his cloak somewhere and blend in with the crowd. They’re as good as gone.” The silver haired woman held up her face with her hands and began to deflate.

“No, I can recognize him!” Leafa stood up and stomped her foot on the ground. She glared at the defeated woman with fierce confidence pooling in her eyes. “He had a really distinct emotion. I think it’s called… resentment. I don’t think an emotion like that is something that would just go away.”

The woman raised an eyebrow at Leafa before turning to look at Eran for clarification.

“My friend can see people’s emotions as colors, so if she spots someone with the same resentment, we’ll be able to stop them for some questioning.” Eran said.

“I’ve never heard of such a thing. How is that even possible?” The woman frowned, a pessimistic look of disbelief in her eyes.

Eran took a moment to glance around and make sure no one was too close to overhear them. “Keep it a secret, but Leafa is a monster girl and I’m a tamer. We can help you.”

The silver haired woman had an uncomfortable demeanor as her eyes darted between Eran and Leafa. She closed them and deeply furrowed her brow in thought. “Fine, but you better get that wand back.” She spat out the words with reluctance, resigning herself to trust a group of strangers. “I don’t have anything to pay you with either, so don’t expect a nice reward just because I was able to buy a wand.”

“We weren’t expecting anything. Leafa and I had time to kill, and we saw someone in need.” Eran held out his hand toward the woman to help her stand up from the bench. “I’m Eran, by the way.”

“... Aiko.” She ignored the young man’s offered hand, choosing to stand up on her own and make her way toward the harbor.

The rest of the group followed after her, with Wendy shouting out from behind. “For the record, my name is Wendy and I am expecting something!”

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Atop a balcony that overlooked the harbor, Leafa was able to keep a vigilant watch over the wharf below. The range of her ability was long enough for her to get a good overview of the people who walked to and fro. Eran sat beside her, cutting up tropical fruit within a bowl into bite-sized pieces. He took turns feeding them to Leafa and himself, allowing his treemate to diligently keep an eye out for their target.

Wendy and Aiko were resting at a table nearby, the both of them enjoying their own meal of grilled fish. Partway through, the mage woman decided to attempt to fill the silence with conversation. “Sooo, Aiko. Are you hoping to become a mage? I’m pretty good with magic, so I wouldn’t mind offering some pointers.”

“Thanks, but no. I bought that wand as a gift for my kid sister. She told me she wanted to become a mage, so I spent my life savings to support her. I don’t know a thing about magic, personally.” Aiko let out a frustrated sigh. The woman began to wonder how many years it would take to save up the money she had lost.

“That’s really sweet of you. You must love your sister a lot.” Wendy smiled, a new sense of determination welling up within her. “We are definitely going to get her wand back, don’t you worry.”

Aiko turned her head to face the ocean and rested her cheek on one hand. “Family is all we have. I’d give anything to make sure that girl lives a better life than I did.” She watched as the waves gently caressed the beach, locked in an endless cycle of moving forward and backward.

“I get what you mean. My family is pretty important to me, too.” Wendy said.

Once Eran and Leafa were done eating, the young man set the empty bowl aside and turned around to speak with the red headed mage. “Do you think we should go get Dimitri to help us out?”

“Nah, he’s just gonna say we’re wasting our time and drag me back to work. Besides, you have a bet to win, Eran.”

“A bet?” Eran asked.

“Mhm! The one Mark made with ‘Mitri on the way to Oakwood, ‘member? If you have an army of monster girls by the next time you and ‘Mitri meet, he’s bound by honor to treat you and your army to a fine meal.” Wendy devilishly rubbed her hands together and grew an evil grin. “Of course, if he does that means I get to tag along for a fancy meal too.”

Eran smiled awkwardly at the enthusiastic mage. “Do you think Dimitri will count it if I don’t actually tame any monster girls, though?”

Aiko joined in the conversation with a raised eyebrow. “What do you mean by that? You haven’t tamed Leafa?”

“Nope. I can’t say I ever intend to, either. I know it’s what a tamer does, but we already work together just fine. Besides, it makes me feel better knowing she has the option to go home whenever she wants. I’m not keeping her near me by force.” Eran patted Leafa on the head, making her leaves rustle underneath her hood.

The monster girl grumbled, swatting her treemate’s hand away. “Eran, I’m trying to concentrate…”

“Interesting…” Aiko crossed her arms and looked down in thought.

“You sure are an intriguing one, honor student. Are you just not going to use tamer spells at all, then?” Wendy asked.

Eran shook his head. “Not exactly. There’s a branch of tamer spells that doesn’t involve me forcibly binding a monster girl’s soul to my own. Actually, since we have time, can I ask you some questions I have about magic?”

“Yeah, of course. What’s on your mind?”

“I’ve been wondering about how you’re supposed to lower the cast time for spells. I’ve been studying the sigils, but I still can’t get anywhere near your speed.”

Wendy crossed her arms and exhaled through her nose. “Ahhh, that would be difficult for a latent spellcaster. Have you learned about the exact steps necessary for spellcasting?”

Eran nervously scratched the back of his head. “Uhm, not really. I kind of just focus until I see an invisible line, and then I mentally follow it.”

“That’s basically it, though I’m a bit peeved you’re able to do that on instinct. I’ve been studying latent spellcasting and it’s a struggle.” The mage puffed up her cheeks and flicked the red crystal of her staff. “Visualize, then trace. Do that, and you’ve latently cast a spell. It’s the opposite of innate spellcasting, which is gather, then form.”

“I’m getting decent at the visualizing part, but how do I make the tracing faster?” Eran asked.

Wendy smirked at his question and snapped her fingers together in response. “Money! You visualize until it becomes second nature, and when that isn’t fast enough you buy a bigger magic stone. That’s why innate spellcasting is considered the opposite. You buy a better focus to gather mana more quickly, and from there it’s all up to you to form it as fast as you can.”

“I see…” Eran hung his head in defeat.

“Don’t look so glum, honor student. Studying magic and keeping up a martial front is notoriously difficult. Tamers tend to be good at both, which is why they’re so popular.” Wendy closed her eyes and nodded as if she were agreeing with herself. She then gave Eran an encouraging smile. “You have a good head on your shoulders, so I’m not surprised you picked up magic so quickly. If you could just pick a weapon and stick with it, you’d be a pretty formidable spellsword.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” Eran turned to face the ocean. He felt a cold sweat run down his back as he thought about his plans to learn a new weapon, one that would expand his non-lethal options. “I don’t need to tell her that, though,” Eran thought to himself.

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The sun touched the horizon, slowly lowering itself into the ocean. The eastern sky was a deep orange that contrasted the purple waters it used to share a color with. Soon, the dusk hour where both the sun and the moon were present would end, and night would begin.

Aiko watched the time of day change with increasing pessimism, culminating in a heavy sigh that signaled her desire to give up. “Listen, I appreciate all of you trying to help me, but it’s late now. The thief is gone and I’m sure you have better things to be doing.”

“I’d like to argue against that, but I’m probably causing ‘Mitri to be worried sick about me…” Wendy stood up from her chair and dusted off her robes.

Eran kept quiet. He remained sitting next to Leafa, joining her in her search despite not having the same ability she had. The young man couldn’t fault the other two girls for wanting to leave, but he himself couldn’t give up.

Noticing his stubborn determination, Wendy walked up to Eran and tapped him on the head with the tip of her staff. “It’s okay now, we did our best.”

“This isn’t enough. I can keep going.” Eran spoke the words solemnly. He didn’t allow himself to look away from the wharf and the dozen or so people that walked through it at any given time.

“Ugh, you’re being like ‘Mitri. You’re allowed to fail sometimes, it’s–”

“There.” Leafa reached out and pointed at one of the people walking along the wooden dock. “I can’t see what they look like, Eran. their emotions are in the way.”

“I see him just fine, come on.” The adventurer helped his companion stand up and held her hand, the two briskly rushing down the stairs to intercept the man they saw.

He was a skinny man with messy, dark brown hair. His eyes were slightly sunken in, giving him the appearance of someone who hasn’t had a peaceful night of sleep in a few days. Eran and Leafa stepped in front of the man, blocking his path and making him click his tongue in annoyance.

“We think you stole something from a friend of ours, mind giving it back?” Eran said.

Aiko and Wendy caught up with everyone else, and they began to position themselves to box in the suspect.

“Tch.” He turned around and dashed off in the direction he came, running with the same speed that had bested Eran earlier.

“Don’t let him get away!” Not eager to repeat the same failure from earlier, Eran chased after the man once more. The wharf was empty by the time the chase started, and the straight shot across the wooden deck allowed Eran to run at his best. As the gap between them narrowed, the fleeing thief turned his head to the left. He studied the roads that led into the town, planning to make his escape down the one that would give him the highest chance of losing his pursuers.

“As if I’ll let you!” Wendy raised her staff in the air and swung the tip around in a circle. A ball of fire sprung into existence, rapidly expanding as the mage kept swinging her staff around. Once she was satisfied with its size, she flicked her staff forward and sent the fireball arcing through the air. It landed ahead of the man, dispersing into a curved wall of flames that cut off his escape route. With nowhere else to go, he made a sharp right and ran toward the lighthouse at the end of the peninsula.

The man stopped in his tracks, turning to face the group that chased after him with a scowl on his face. He started to run toward their flank to rush past them, but he was swiftly discouraged by a bolt of fire that shot out and grazed him. Backed into a dead end, he drew a rapier from his hip and assumed a defensive position. “So damn persistent. How did you even know it was me?”

Eran pulled out his shortsword, giving the thief an intense glare. “Doesn’t matter. Just hand over the wand before things get ugly for you.”

Just then, the rest of the group caught up with the two men. Leafa stood next to Eran, her hood pulled back to expose her leafy hair to the moonlight. The sun had fully submerged itself beneath the horizon, leaving only the full moon to illuminate the path to the lighthouse.

Wendy stood a bit further back, acting as a guardian for both Aiko and the thief’s escape routes. “Eran, you can leave the flanks to me,” she whispered. The mage held a hand over her staff, charging up a second bolt of fire in preparation.

The thief placed a hand on his forehead and gazed up at the moon rising in the western sky. There was an indignant frown on his face as he sighed. “That woman was able to buy a wand to begin with, just get another one. It would save us both a lot of trouble.”

“You…” Wendy gnashed her teeth together and clenched her fists.

Eran and Leafa walked forward, sword and claws at the ready. “Some people aren’t so fortunate,” he said.

With a sneer, the thief thrust his raper forward, pointing it at Aiko. “Hah! Don’t speak to me of fortunes. She’s probably some prissy noble’s daughter with hair like that. Why is someone like her more deserving of becoming a mage than those who are destitute?”

“Hey screw you! You don’t get to talk about the life I’ve had to live!” Aiko spat out her retort with a growl, her pretty face twisting with anger.

“If you honestly believe you deserve the wand, then take it from me.” The thief narrowed his eyes. He resumed his defensive stance after motioning for his opponents to come at him.

Eran gave his partner a quick nod. “We’ll do the usual!”

“Okay!” Leafa returned the nod, and the two rushed forward at the same time. The monster girl shot out her fingers, the vine-like claws extending to wrap around the thief’s sword arm. She pulled his hand high into the air, leaving him completely defenseless.

“Ngh!!”

A feminine moan echoed out. The thief had drawn a dagger from his cloak and slashed at Leafa’s fingers, causing her to let go immediately. With his hand freed, he swung his rapier down at Eran and forced him back with a follow-up thrust. Now armed with two weapons, the thief took on a more offensive stance.

“That stance… One of the Greenhorn Academy professors invented it. You’re a graduate, aren’t you!?” Eran shouted. The thief attacked Eran with a flurry of thrusts and swipes. Eran knew how much of a disadvantage he would be in if he tried to defend against them too heavily, so he took every opportunity to counter attack in their deadly game of tug of war.

After being pushed back, the thief took a moment to catch his breath and respond to the young adventurer. “You’re close. I was expelled when they caught me reading the spellbooks they kept for the mage initiates. I had the talent, but not the coin. Hardly fair, don’t you think?” The man resumed his assault with renewed vigor, each attack fueled by the resentment he carried within him.

“This non-stop assault makes it tough to fight against, but the dual-wielding style isn’t without flaws. I just need one heavy enough hit to throw off his weakened balance.” Eran formulated a plan and prepared to execute it. He gripped his shortsword with two hands and delivered a heavy swing toward the thief’s rapier.

“Agh, damnit!”

The thief used his superior speed to avoid the strike, retaliating with a jab to Eran’s torso. The thin blade pierced his body, making him grunt out in pain and frustration.

“Leafa, switch with me!”

Eran began to move back, but the monster girl was hesitant. She wiped the tears that formed in her eyes and moved forward, but by then the thief had plenty of time to make a run for it.

The man dashed toward the edge of the peninsula, but before he had the opportunity to make it past their frontline a firebolt smacked him in the face. “Didn’t forget I was here, did you!?” The mage who fired the spell spun her staff and generated a second ball of flames, ready to shoot it off should her target attempt to escape again.

Leafa came running forward and slashed at the man with her claws, but she only swiped with her left hand.

“What’s wrong, freak? Afraid of a little pain?” The thief purposefully left a gap in his defenses as he moved to approach Leafa.

The monster girl growled with anger, and noting the opening she reached out in an attempt to gouge his torso. Just as her claws were about to connect, he brandished his dagger; the metal blade glittering with the light of the moon. Leafa’s heart thumped wildly in her chest, and her survival instincts made her pull her hand away.

“Hahaha! You are, aren’t you? How pathetic.” The thief laughed aloud seeing the monster girl cower in fear. He turned his attention to Eran, who had been channeling the mana latent in the air. “So you are a tamer. Your kind are as privileged as they come.” With malice in eyes, the man raised his rapier and charged at Eran.

Sweat dripped down Eran’s face as he mentally traced the line that appeared in his vision. All he needed was just a few more seconds.

“Not fast enough!”

The thief thrust his weapon forward, aimed straight at the tamer’s neck. The blade’s tip stopped just short of piercing skin as Leafa wrapped an extended arm around the man and pulled him back.

“Slow!” With a fierce shout, Eran successfully casted his spell.

The man cut Leafa with a quick slash of his dagger, forcing her to let go of him. He backed off to create some distance, his movements noticeably slowed.

“Alright! His speed shouldn’t be a problem anymore, we can get him now!” Eran readjusted his sword grip with a smirk. Confidence filled his eyes as he envisioned their victory, but when he didn’t hear a response from his partner it concerned him. He turned his head to see his treemate kneeling on the floor. “Leafa?”

“I’m sorry, Eran…,” Leafa whispered with a choked up voice. Her face was twisted with pain as she carefully rubbed her hands. Along where she had been cut by the man’s blade, reddish scabs that had the appearance of being rusted over began to form. A pained squeak forced itself out of her throat as one of the scabs suddenly cracked and broke apart, revealing the raw flesh underneath. “It hurts… I don’t think I can keep fighting…”

Eran clenched his fists around his sword’s handle. For him, the fight had become personal. “One hit to knock him off balance, then he’ll be open for me to checkmate.” The young man sharply inhaled and narrowed his eyes on his target. Even while under the effect of his spell he didn’t seem keen on backing down, so Eran had no choice but to dash forward and strike.

A dance of blades ensued, the thief still quick enough with his movements to make it difficult for Eran to get the strike he wanted. Bathed in the light of the moon, the two swordsmen clashed their weapons together as they echoed out a song of metal striking against metal.

“Grah!”

With a fierce shout, Eran smashed his blade into the thief’s dagger, forcing it out of his hands and sending it flying into the dark night.

Armed with only one weapon, the thief placed his off-hand behind his back and adopted a standard fencing posture.

Eran approached the man with a heavy swing of his sword, the weighty hit against his rapier knocking him out of his defensive stance. With his blade pushed too far away from his body to be of any help offensively or defensively, Eran was free to turn his sword around and bring his weapon up to the thief’s neck.

“What is that?”

Right as the young adventurer shifted his weight, he noticed two thin white lines emanating from his opponent. They were similar to the lines he traced whenever he casted his Slow spell, and the moment he became conscious of them, the man swung his off-hand in an upward arc.

“Eran!” Leafa wrapped her hands around her treemate and pulled him backwards. The hidden blade’s tip was visible in the young man’s vision, meaning he had just barely been saved from having his face sliced open.

“That was close…” He let out the breath he had been holding that entire time. “This guy isn’t unnaturally quick anymore, but even with Slow he’s still just a touch faster than I am. If Leafa didn’t save me…” Eran placed a hand on his cheek, thankful that he had such a reliable teammate. He reached down to grip his shortsword with two hands again, but when he did he noticed his hand was smeared with blood. It was then that his senses caught up, and he felt a sharp pain on his cheek. “But how!?”

Looking up, Eran saw the thief wielding two weapons once more: his rapier, and the wand he had stolen. Affixed to the wand was a blade made entirely out of rushing water. His smile devolved into an evil grin, and he held out his arms to fully bask in the moon’s pale light. “I warned you to save yourself the trouble, tamer. You’re a decent fighter who knows what they’re doing, but your body can’t keep up, can it? I know the feeling.” He pointed the tip of his rapier at the moon above, his grin deepening even further. “I’m a latent spellcaster. Do you know what that means?”

Wendy gasped, tightening her grip on her staff. “Latent spellcasters are uniquely affected by the phases of the moon. The closer it is to a full moon, the stronger they become.” With fear in her eyes, the mage craned her neck to look up at the night sky.

The full moon gazed down on them from above, like a singular white eye that impartially watched the unfolding battle.

Eran’s gaze fell upon his partner, who had fallen to the ground. Her face was frozen in immense pain as she desperately fought back tears. She clutched her hands close to her chest, and Eran saw how all of the scabs on them had cracked apart, likely when she had pulled him back.

The thief lowered his sword, pointing the tip of his rapier directly at Eran. “I do hope that wasn’t everything you had, tamer. I don’t want my first fight against a fellow spellsword to be a boring one.”