- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
I see no way this will come back to screw them over. It's not like they're operating on the border of Vallerie territory or something.
The Steep Path Ahead [Familiar of Zero AU]
- Thread starter shadenight123
- Start date
I see no way this will come back to screw them over. It's not like they're operating on the border of Vallerie territory or something.
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
I was told by a friendly neighborhood spider-man (someone on FF.net sent me a pm) that this fic went on tvtropes.
Have a link:
The Steep Path Ahead (Fanfic) - TV Tropes
And once more, thanks to whoever took the time to fill it in!
Have a link:
The Steep Path Ahead (Fanfic) - TV Tropes
And once more, thanks to whoever took the time to fill it in!
Yes! Delfinger was not bought at the weapon store!
That sword tends to either be superflous to the story or needlessly overpower the protagonist.
That sword tends to either be superflous to the story or needlessly overpower the protagonist.
Nervos Belli
Don't think this means you've won!
- Location
- Murica
It wouldn't be unless it could somehow teleport across countries. The sword was in Tristain's capital, and Saito and Louise are currently on the Tristain Germania border.
Butterfly Effect. Plus, I seem to recall the sword is drawn to the void user? It could've easily ended up in that shop on the borderlands. I'm glad it didn't.
Chapter Eleven
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Eleven
Giant rats were soon replaced with giant spiders. Saito was running downhill, away from the forest that had said 'infestation problem' when Luise's shriek scream caught his attention. "Get them off! Get them off!" to his right, the girl that was both his partner and comrade-in-adventures was flinging tiny spiders out of her hair. Thick strands of web had been thrown by the larger-than-normal spider which was skittering out of the forest's edge to pursue them.
"Worry about the mommy spider!" Saito said shrilly, flexing his legs to grab on to Luise in a bridal carry, "Can you get a shot in!?" Saito exclaimed, hoisting the girl on his right shoulder as he kept running. Thankfully, Luise was pretty lithe and small for being sixteen or seventeen years old.
"Try to run straight!" Luise replied, using her left hand to grip tightly on Saito's neck, her right arm extended as she began to chant in that 'magic tongue' of hers. The spiders crawled down across Saito's spine, entering through the shirt's neck and sleeves, making his skin crawl in disgust.
A big sticky rope of white fluid that hardened upon contact with the air soon lashed out at his midriff, but as he was grabbed and roughly brought to a halt, so too did Luise finish her chant just in time for the spider's fangs to come down on them. The explosion tore off the upper fangs of the creature, which screamed as vile blood sprayed out in jets.
Luise groaned as she watched the twitching corpse of the spider spasm and turn on its back, its legs snapping shut one after the other. "There goes the money for another bath."
Saito nervously laughed as he gently let down from his shoulder Luise, who huffed as she drew near the spider's corpse. The web around his midriff had meanwhile strengthened enough that he had to use the dagger to cut it free.
"With this one done, we've got enough for the adventurer card, right?" Saito asked.
"Yes, of course," Luise said with a huff, passing her hands through her hair, shuddering at the slimy sensation that went across her fingers. "I really need a bath," she whined, grabbing a spider from one of her sleeves and throwing it on the ground. "Even if all creatures are the gods' creations, some really are creepy," she whimpered.
"Can't argue with that," Saito said. "You think there's anything of value on it? Like loot or something?"
Luise snorted. "Why would a giant spider have any 'loot'? You think he worked the weekends as a pianist in a pub?"
"Well-maybe he ate someone unlucky," Saito hazarded. "Shouldn't we-check?"
Luise stared at Saito, and then at the large spider. "You want to sink your arms in the guts of a giant spider."
"I know it's stup-"
"It's not a bad idea," Luise said, interrupting Saito who blinked in surprise. "You're getting the hang of this job. Maybe if we can't find your home, you can work as an adventurer. It's not the safest of jobs, but the familiar runes should give you an edge," she tapped her chin with a thoughtful look. "Come on, let's get to it. Where do you think the guts are?"
"Uhm...I dunno?" Saito hazarded, moving closer. "In the middle of his body?"
They were lucky, and unlucky at the same time. Saito's hands dug through the easily cut skin and flesh of the giant monster, more blood spewing out until it dried out, no heart beating meaning no more sprays. His arms went down deeply into the frame of the creature, and as he gripped on to something hard, he pulled it out with a bit of strength.
A skull came up, a definitely human skull. Saito gave out a startled yelp and dropped it.
"Yep, definitely ate someone already," Luise said. "Let's gather the remains and bury them properly. We're taking their gold, the least we can do is give them a proper burial for the service rendered."
The rest of the job was done, if not quickly, at least in a somber silence of sorts. "This guy wanted to be an adventurer too," Luise said. "See if his armor fits."
Saito shuddered, but bit back a reply. It wasn't as if the poor guy was going to need it any longer. It was sticky and dirty with blood, and reeked something fierce, most of it having been burned away by the spider's powerful acids. Yet what remained was still somewhat serviceable. "Better something melted than nothing at all," Luise said with a knowledgeable nod. "We should render our thanks to the Founder, and our prayers for the deceased now."
Killing the spider had taken relatively little time, but opening it up and looting it had taken far more, so by the time they received their payment from a butler of the lord that had 'thrown the waste of his failed alchemist experiments in the woods' the sun was high in the sky, and the lunch hour already long gone by.
"Should we have mentioned the fate of the previous adventurer?" Saito asked.
"He probably knew already," Luise replied. "And it wouldn't have changed anything. He knew the risks."
"It's irresponsible," Saito said. "The guy's dead because of the noble's-"
"Not really," Luise said with a shrug. "It would be irresponsible if he had not put up a notice for an adventurer to come clean the mess. He did though, so just because he didn't solve it himself doesn't mean he didn't take responsibility for it later."
Saito frowned. "But someone died because of him."
"People die all the time," Luise said. "I had a friend growing up in the church. She was a bit sick one autumn, and when winter rolled around she died. Dying eaten by a giant spider or because of a particularly cold month doesn't really matter. That is why you need to have faith. The gods will certainly look after you if you pray them, and if you suffer, then it is a test you must take. The true faithful prays even when it seems all is lost-for it's too trifle to thank the gods for having a blessed life, but thanking them for a life of pain? Only the really faithful do that, and in turn, paradise will be all the brightest for them."
Saito coughed, spatting out a bolus of spider-blood. "If you say so."
"The Founder's faith is not something 'I' say. It's something that is. Haven't you been hearing me pray during lunch time?"
Saito nervously chuckled and looked sideways. "You-" Luise grumbled. "You aren't a heathen are you? Surely-a minimum of faith-"
"Does believing in spirits existing faith-"
Luise kicked him in the leg hard, making him yelp in pain. "That's heresy! Heresy, you hear me!? You-seriously! Partner of mine or not, I won't have a heretic! Once we go back, I'll have you learn the true faith even if I have to force-feed you books!"
"But you don't have books-"
Luise smiled like a shark, "There is always a holy book in an inn. You just need to ask for it."
Saito swallowed nervously. "Shouldn't we acquire an adventuring licence first so that we can cross the border?"
"And what if they stop you at the border and ask you something about the faith? If they think you belong to the Reformed Sect, they might not even let you in, adventurer or not!" Luise's hair had begun to rise up in heckles, even though it was still sticky with spider-blood. "It is unacceptable! And we will correct this immediately! First psalm of the Founder's Holy Book, as recited by holy Founder Brimir in person: Thee magic is proof of thine nobility-"
Saito groaned loudly, his groan mixed with that of his stomach hungry for food, but Luise, apparently...
Did not know the definition of mercy.
Giant rats were soon replaced with giant spiders. Saito was running downhill, away from the forest that had said 'infestation problem' when Luise's shriek scream caught his attention. "Get them off! Get them off!" to his right, the girl that was both his partner and comrade-in-adventures was flinging tiny spiders out of her hair. Thick strands of web had been thrown by the larger-than-normal spider which was skittering out of the forest's edge to pursue them.
"Worry about the mommy spider!" Saito said shrilly, flexing his legs to grab on to Luise in a bridal carry, "Can you get a shot in!?" Saito exclaimed, hoisting the girl on his right shoulder as he kept running. Thankfully, Luise was pretty lithe and small for being sixteen or seventeen years old.
"Try to run straight!" Luise replied, using her left hand to grip tightly on Saito's neck, her right arm extended as she began to chant in that 'magic tongue' of hers. The spiders crawled down across Saito's spine, entering through the shirt's neck and sleeves, making his skin crawl in disgust.
A big sticky rope of white fluid that hardened upon contact with the air soon lashed out at his midriff, but as he was grabbed and roughly brought to a halt, so too did Luise finish her chant just in time for the spider's fangs to come down on them. The explosion tore off the upper fangs of the creature, which screamed as vile blood sprayed out in jets.
Luise groaned as she watched the twitching corpse of the spider spasm and turn on its back, its legs snapping shut one after the other. "There goes the money for another bath."
Saito nervously laughed as he gently let down from his shoulder Luise, who huffed as she drew near the spider's corpse. The web around his midriff had meanwhile strengthened enough that he had to use the dagger to cut it free.
"With this one done, we've got enough for the adventurer card, right?" Saito asked.
"Yes, of course," Luise said with a huff, passing her hands through her hair, shuddering at the slimy sensation that went across her fingers. "I really need a bath," she whined, grabbing a spider from one of her sleeves and throwing it on the ground. "Even if all creatures are the gods' creations, some really are creepy," she whimpered.
"Can't argue with that," Saito said. "You think there's anything of value on it? Like loot or something?"
Luise snorted. "Why would a giant spider have any 'loot'? You think he worked the weekends as a pianist in a pub?"
"Well-maybe he ate someone unlucky," Saito hazarded. "Shouldn't we-check?"
Luise stared at Saito, and then at the large spider. "You want to sink your arms in the guts of a giant spider."
"I know it's stup-"
"It's not a bad idea," Luise said, interrupting Saito who blinked in surprise. "You're getting the hang of this job. Maybe if we can't find your home, you can work as an adventurer. It's not the safest of jobs, but the familiar runes should give you an edge," she tapped her chin with a thoughtful look. "Come on, let's get to it. Where do you think the guts are?"
"Uhm...I dunno?" Saito hazarded, moving closer. "In the middle of his body?"
They were lucky, and unlucky at the same time. Saito's hands dug through the easily cut skin and flesh of the giant monster, more blood spewing out until it dried out, no heart beating meaning no more sprays. His arms went down deeply into the frame of the creature, and as he gripped on to something hard, he pulled it out with a bit of strength.
A skull came up, a definitely human skull. Saito gave out a startled yelp and dropped it.
"Yep, definitely ate someone already," Luise said. "Let's gather the remains and bury them properly. We're taking their gold, the least we can do is give them a proper burial for the service rendered."
The rest of the job was done, if not quickly, at least in a somber silence of sorts. "This guy wanted to be an adventurer too," Luise said. "See if his armor fits."
Saito shuddered, but bit back a reply. It wasn't as if the poor guy was going to need it any longer. It was sticky and dirty with blood, and reeked something fierce, most of it having been burned away by the spider's powerful acids. Yet what remained was still somewhat serviceable. "Better something melted than nothing at all," Luise said with a knowledgeable nod. "We should render our thanks to the Founder, and our prayers for the deceased now."
Killing the spider had taken relatively little time, but opening it up and looting it had taken far more, so by the time they received their payment from a butler of the lord that had 'thrown the waste of his failed alchemist experiments in the woods' the sun was high in the sky, and the lunch hour already long gone by.
"Should we have mentioned the fate of the previous adventurer?" Saito asked.
"He probably knew already," Luise replied. "And it wouldn't have changed anything. He knew the risks."
"It's irresponsible," Saito said. "The guy's dead because of the noble's-"
"Not really," Luise said with a shrug. "It would be irresponsible if he had not put up a notice for an adventurer to come clean the mess. He did though, so just because he didn't solve it himself doesn't mean he didn't take responsibility for it later."
Saito frowned. "But someone died because of him."
"People die all the time," Luise said. "I had a friend growing up in the church. She was a bit sick one autumn, and when winter rolled around she died. Dying eaten by a giant spider or because of a particularly cold month doesn't really matter. That is why you need to have faith. The gods will certainly look after you if you pray them, and if you suffer, then it is a test you must take. The true faithful prays even when it seems all is lost-for it's too trifle to thank the gods for having a blessed life, but thanking them for a life of pain? Only the really faithful do that, and in turn, paradise will be all the brightest for them."
Saito coughed, spatting out a bolus of spider-blood. "If you say so."
"The Founder's faith is not something 'I' say. It's something that is. Haven't you been hearing me pray during lunch time?"
Saito nervously chuckled and looked sideways. "You-" Luise grumbled. "You aren't a heathen are you? Surely-a minimum of faith-"
"Does believing in spirits existing faith-"
Luise kicked him in the leg hard, making him yelp in pain. "That's heresy! Heresy, you hear me!? You-seriously! Partner of mine or not, I won't have a heretic! Once we go back, I'll have you learn the true faith even if I have to force-feed you books!"
"But you don't have books-"
Luise smiled like a shark, "There is always a holy book in an inn. You just need to ask for it."
Saito swallowed nervously. "Shouldn't we acquire an adventuring licence first so that we can cross the border?"
"And what if they stop you at the border and ask you something about the faith? If they think you belong to the Reformed Sect, they might not even let you in, adventurer or not!" Luise's hair had begun to rise up in heckles, even though it was still sticky with spider-blood. "It is unacceptable! And we will correct this immediately! First psalm of the Founder's Holy Book, as recited by holy Founder Brimir in person: Thee magic is proof of thine nobility-"
Saito groaned loudly, his groan mixed with that of his stomach hungry for food, but Luise, apparently...
Did not know the definition of mercy.
According to google:
"As a first step in eating, the spider will literally vomit digestive fluid over the prey. Then the prey is chewed with the "jaws" (chelicerae), and the fluid is sucked back into the mouth together with some liquefied "meat" from the prey."
So since the spider sucks in fluids, there wouldn't be hard parts like bones in its stomach. They may however find someone in the spider's lair, hanging in a spiderweb cocoon.
Then again, it's a giant, presumably magical spider, so anything goes, I guess.
"As a first step in eating, the spider will literally vomit digestive fluid over the prey. Then the prey is chewed with the "jaws" (chelicerae), and the fluid is sucked back into the mouth together with some liquefied "meat" from the prey."
So since the spider sucks in fluids, there wouldn't be hard parts like bones in its stomach. They may however find someone in the spider's lair, hanging in a spiderweb cocoon.
Then again, it's a giant, presumably magical spider, so anything goes, I guess.
Last edited:
Frakir's brother
Goodbye.
- Location
- The Sea of Trees
Me, I would have started counter-preaching. "In all of creation, everything has a soul. Me, you, that rock, the spider we just killed. The smallest gods are gods of one existence, like that rock or the spider." Counter Not!Christianity with Shinto!
That's basically not that far from what the elves believe. Aka: heresy.
- Pronouns
- she/her
...But spirits are an observable and accepted phenomenon in this setting, there was even an entire plot dedicated around conversing with a Lake Spirit.
Stating that "spirits exist" should not be heresy, unless Germania has different rules.
Frakir's brother
Goodbye.
- Location
- The Sea of Trees
No no, that's being a heathen, not a heretic. Sides, I didn't even get into the greater earthly gods and the heavenly gods, let alone the gods of creation!
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Saito is asking 'I believe in spirits. Is that faith enough?' and the answer to that is Heresy.
Faith is believing in Founder Brimir's words and those of the 'gods'. The 'Spirits' are merely an acceptable entity that exist. It would be like saying that you pray the sun. It is an acceptable phenomenon and most definitely exists, but you can't worship the sun, because it's a pagan heresy.
Somehow this Louise is fucking funny 
.
.
- Pronouns
- she/her
Oh I see. You cut off the sentence at a weird spot so I didn't parse that he was saying he worshipped them.
Praising the Sun. Heresy. ERROR, DOES NOT COMPUTE.
Nervos Belli
Don't think this means you've won!
- Location
- Murica
I'm not sure which is more disturbing, that Saito is treating all this like a video game, or that it's working for him. I think he'll probably be missing that skip dialogue button soon though.
Dragonskyt
Ashen one, hearest thou my voice, still?
- Location
- Kiln of the First Flame
Its a coping mechanism. One that actually seems to work in his favor. I'd say he's doing a great job and should put some of his gained stats in CHA.
Madou Sutegobana
Autocorrupt has been disabled.
- Location
- Twin Realms Mandala
But that's a dump stat; especially when your a harem protagonist!
It doesn't matter how low his charisma is as long as he keeps Louise's affection for him high!
Chapter Twelve
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Twelve
Sleep was a blessing that Saito had come to love and cherish with a fierce passion. It was that and warm baths. He had begun to enjoy the concept of warm baths after it had become apparent just how much of a 'displeasing feeling' it was to walk around with dried monster blood on one's skin.
Waking up was a torture he had come to grumble about, but it was an ingrained behavior that came from his school days -something like, merely a couple of weeks, or months, before? He didn't know how much time had passed, since calendars weren't really considered a common accessory in households, or inns.
People had a different conception of the time too. One could rest reasonably assured that out of ten people asked for the day in the middle of the street, three would claim it was 'Frejya' -which meant first week, apparently- others would say it was already the start of Heimdallr -the second week. Why people couldn't just use numbers but had to use such a strange form of calendar was beyond him, but it made trying to find out the correct date outright impossible.
Plus, believing Luise, it was the year six thousand two hundred forty-two, and that meant that either he had jumped into the future -that would explain the strange stuff, like, a cataclysm involving Earth- or there was something fishy about it. Furthermore, there were thirty-two days in each month, for a total of twelve months.
Time really was strange.
Which was why all that Saito had begun to care about was where the sun was up in the sky. If it was anywhere but straight ahead of him, it was morning and thus too early to wake up and live the day. If it was anywhere past the lunch break, then it was already too late to do much more than go to sleep.
It was a simple view and one he didn't speak aloud of because otherwise Luise would just get pissed off, but inwardly it kept him sane to grumble a bit about the unfairness of the situation.
He didn't ask for much, but he would kill for fish and rice in the morning together with soy sauce.
And schoolgirls wearing high school skirts with their absolute territory-
"Are you thinking something lecherous?" Luise asked firmly, her lips thin as her eyes narrowed on Saito's face, which had the typical 'brain absent, leave message' glazed-over eyes, but the tiny twitching smile on the lips was unmistakable. "Did you learn nothing from Brimir's words of warning against impure thoughts?"
"That he liked to rant?" Saito hazarded, only to wince as Luise kicked him in the legs from across the table.
"Why you!" Luise growled with her eyes half narrowed. "Don't you dare compare the Founder to some ranting madman! His words are the foundation on which countries base themselves! Oh Holy Founder, forgive this heathen. He knows not what he speaks of," as she fervently murmured that, Saito's right eyebrow twitched.
They finished breakfast at the inn, and departed to acquire an 'adventurer license'. As it turned out, while there was indeed a guild of sorts somewhere in the capital, anyone could become an adventurer if they had the money to pay a blacksmith for a block of metal and the work to be done on it.
"It's pretty simple," Luise said as Saito frowned at the notion. He had thought they'd need papers, documents, registration or something like that. "First, it costs a pretty penny and normally, farmers have better things to buy than a piece of steel with their names on it. Secondly, since it's your name the one you're using, the Guild eventually picks it up and asks you for a yearly quest once they get hold of you. Or if they don't, then it means they didn't need you anyway." Luise shrugged a bit, "Adventurers are kind of like the wind. They come and go, and nobody cares much, just as long as they're there when a dragon comes down from the sky."
Saito chuckled nervously. "Dragons aren't common around here, are they?"
Luise raised an eyebrow, and then smiled a wry smile of hers that meant trouble. "They have nesting grounds up in the North. They're not the Wind Dragons of Albion, but the Fire Dragons of Germania are second to none when it comes to battle. Once the priests of the Church brought us to a parade of Germania's finest Dragon Knights, and they were absolutely beautiful. For a short while, I even thought about becoming a knight rather than a priest, but I never grew up enough to apply," she grumbled. "Too small and frail," she growled with her throat, clenching her right fist in the air. "But I was only seven, so there's that," she added.
"I see," Saito said with a half-kind and half-amused smile.
The Blacksmith didn't even break a sweat preparing the nice metal plate that signaled Saito and Luise Hiraga as an adventuring party of two. Luise gave one look at the plate and then blinked, "My surname isn't Hiraga," she said plainly.
The blacksmith shrugged. "You didn't give me a surname, miss. I can scrape it off."
Luise clicked her tongue against the back of the teeth. "Free of charge?"
"Course," the Blacksmith said. "My fault, my fix."
She nodded at that, actually quite happy about not having to pay any extra. It made Saito sigh in boredom though, because it meant a few more minutes waiting for the fire of the forge to heat the metal, and then the blacksmith to work on it, until in the end, the finished product landed neatly into Luise's hands after having cooled down.
"Well, Saito," Luise said, "We're officially adventurers right now."
"Try not to get yourselves killed," the blacksmith said from his spot in the forge. "Young couples in love think they can do anything with the power of love, but-"
"WE." Luise's hair rose in fury. "ARE NOT." She took a step forward, her fists trembling in absolute anger. "A COUPLE."
The Blacksmith swallowed nervously and gave a nod, a raucous and nervous laughter escaping his lips as Luise stomped out angrily. He gave a wink to Saito. "Feisty one you chose as a partner!"
Saito just scratched the back of his head and laughed in turn.
"SAITO. GET OUT OF THERE AND LET'S GO BEFORE I BLOW UP SOMETHING IMPORTANT AROUND ME."
"Better get going!" he said quickly, waving goodbye and rushing out.
The blacksmith simply watched them go, and then shook his head. Kids would be kids.
Hopefully, they wouldn't get eaten alive by the living dead, or squashed by wild dragons hungry for food.
Sleep was a blessing that Saito had come to love and cherish with a fierce passion. It was that and warm baths. He had begun to enjoy the concept of warm baths after it had become apparent just how much of a 'displeasing feeling' it was to walk around with dried monster blood on one's skin.
Waking up was a torture he had come to grumble about, but it was an ingrained behavior that came from his school days -something like, merely a couple of weeks, or months, before? He didn't know how much time had passed, since calendars weren't really considered a common accessory in households, or inns.
People had a different conception of the time too. One could rest reasonably assured that out of ten people asked for the day in the middle of the street, three would claim it was 'Frejya' -which meant first week, apparently- others would say it was already the start of Heimdallr -the second week. Why people couldn't just use numbers but had to use such a strange form of calendar was beyond him, but it made trying to find out the correct date outright impossible.
Plus, believing Luise, it was the year six thousand two hundred forty-two, and that meant that either he had jumped into the future -that would explain the strange stuff, like, a cataclysm involving Earth- or there was something fishy about it. Furthermore, there were thirty-two days in each month, for a total of twelve months.
Time really was strange.
Which was why all that Saito had begun to care about was where the sun was up in the sky. If it was anywhere but straight ahead of him, it was morning and thus too early to wake up and live the day. If it was anywhere past the lunch break, then it was already too late to do much more than go to sleep.
It was a simple view and one he didn't speak aloud of because otherwise Luise would just get pissed off, but inwardly it kept him sane to grumble a bit about the unfairness of the situation.
He didn't ask for much, but he would kill for fish and rice in the morning together with soy sauce.
And schoolgirls wearing high school skirts with their absolute territory-
"Are you thinking something lecherous?" Luise asked firmly, her lips thin as her eyes narrowed on Saito's face, which had the typical 'brain absent, leave message' glazed-over eyes, but the tiny twitching smile on the lips was unmistakable. "Did you learn nothing from Brimir's words of warning against impure thoughts?"
"That he liked to rant?" Saito hazarded, only to wince as Luise kicked him in the legs from across the table.
"Why you!" Luise growled with her eyes half narrowed. "Don't you dare compare the Founder to some ranting madman! His words are the foundation on which countries base themselves! Oh Holy Founder, forgive this heathen. He knows not what he speaks of," as she fervently murmured that, Saito's right eyebrow twitched.
They finished breakfast at the inn, and departed to acquire an 'adventurer license'. As it turned out, while there was indeed a guild of sorts somewhere in the capital, anyone could become an adventurer if they had the money to pay a blacksmith for a block of metal and the work to be done on it.
"It's pretty simple," Luise said as Saito frowned at the notion. He had thought they'd need papers, documents, registration or something like that. "First, it costs a pretty penny and normally, farmers have better things to buy than a piece of steel with their names on it. Secondly, since it's your name the one you're using, the Guild eventually picks it up and asks you for a yearly quest once they get hold of you. Or if they don't, then it means they didn't need you anyway." Luise shrugged a bit, "Adventurers are kind of like the wind. They come and go, and nobody cares much, just as long as they're there when a dragon comes down from the sky."
Saito chuckled nervously. "Dragons aren't common around here, are they?"
Luise raised an eyebrow, and then smiled a wry smile of hers that meant trouble. "They have nesting grounds up in the North. They're not the Wind Dragons of Albion, but the Fire Dragons of Germania are second to none when it comes to battle. Once the priests of the Church brought us to a parade of Germania's finest Dragon Knights, and they were absolutely beautiful. For a short while, I even thought about becoming a knight rather than a priest, but I never grew up enough to apply," she grumbled. "Too small and frail," she growled with her throat, clenching her right fist in the air. "But I was only seven, so there's that," she added.
"I see," Saito said with a half-kind and half-amused smile.
The Blacksmith didn't even break a sweat preparing the nice metal plate that signaled Saito and Luise Hiraga as an adventuring party of two. Luise gave one look at the plate and then blinked, "My surname isn't Hiraga," she said plainly.
The blacksmith shrugged. "You didn't give me a surname, miss. I can scrape it off."
Luise clicked her tongue against the back of the teeth. "Free of charge?"
"Course," the Blacksmith said. "My fault, my fix."
She nodded at that, actually quite happy about not having to pay any extra. It made Saito sigh in boredom though, because it meant a few more minutes waiting for the fire of the forge to heat the metal, and then the blacksmith to work on it, until in the end, the finished product landed neatly into Luise's hands after having cooled down.
"Well, Saito," Luise said, "We're officially adventurers right now."
"Try not to get yourselves killed," the blacksmith said from his spot in the forge. "Young couples in love think they can do anything with the power of love, but-"
"WE." Luise's hair rose in fury. "ARE NOT." She took a step forward, her fists trembling in absolute anger. "A COUPLE."
The Blacksmith swallowed nervously and gave a nod, a raucous and nervous laughter escaping his lips as Luise stomped out angrily. He gave a wink to Saito. "Feisty one you chose as a partner!"
Saito just scratched the back of his head and laughed in turn.
"SAITO. GET OUT OF THERE AND LET'S GO BEFORE I BLOW UP SOMETHING IMPORTANT AROUND ME."
"Better get going!" he said quickly, waving goodbye and rushing out.
The blacksmith simply watched them go, and then shook his head. Kids would be kids.
Hopefully, they wouldn't get eaten alive by the living dead, or squashed by wild dragons hungry for food.
Arafell
Verified Cephalon
- Location
- Oregon
Guess what their next quests are?
Can't wait till the inevitable. . . reunion with her family.
Mizu
Software Developer
- Location
- Victoria, Australia
name on the one you're using,
Adventuring registration is a lot simpler than one expects. A lot.
Well, what's the point of collecting paperwork from people who'll probably be dead soon? If they survive a while, then you can collect their paperwork.
Chapter Thirteen
- Location
- https://discord.gg/z9tBvbh
Chapter Thirteen
There wasn't a 'border'. Saito had thought it strange that they had been walking for days to no end, but it was apparently common for borders to simply 'shift' around a bit.
"Sure, there are maps," Luise said when asked, "But it's not like there's enough money or will to build a very big and long wall around the nation now, is there? A border ends where the patrols finish, and starts again where they begin anew. That's why people living along the borders have it difficult and normally, there aren't many villages. Sometimes, they even have to pay double taxes."
"That's...kind of stupid?" Saito hazarded.
"Some years, they don't pay any taxes at all," Luise retorted with a small shrug of her shoulders. "It's like...look, there's a lot of land, and not that many people willing to count the steps before the border ends and the next country over starts. And even if you put up a stone wall or something, the country's big and you can just, you know, take a detour through the woods. Now, if you're a merchant that's another deal because you've got to take the main road or good luck getting your horses with your carriage to cross over the muddy fields, but if you're traveling light and by foot? Just pick a direction and go with it."
"So...why the adventurer tag?" Saito asked.
"Because 'being an adventurer' is better than 'being a nobody'. It gives you a bit of leeway with the border patrols if they decide to be cranky."
The sun was definitely warmer -if such a thing was possible- and the ground had stopped being a dull brown blotch, with sparse green blades of grass and patches of flowers blooming all around the dirt trail they were following.
They hadn't seen a living soul throughout the entire day.
"I miss the city," Saito said suddenly, after two more hours of absolute 'nature silence'.
"Why would you miss that noisy place?" Luise replied. "This is much better," she said with a snort. "Fresh air, nice breeze, and the sun over our heads. Sure, maybe for someone who never stepped out of his house it might feel daunting, but the lands of Tristain are quite beautiful, or so I was told."
"It's just-this silence feels kind of off," Saito said.
"Then let's talk," Luise huffed. "We can start with some religious psalms to pass the time-"
"Maybe something else?" Saito asked with a nervous chuckle.
"Heathen," Luise rolled her eyes. "Positively heathen."
Saito turned a thoughtful glance at the clouds rolling lazily by, and then spoke, "Well, once in Tristain, do we have any destination in mind?"
Luise nearly choked on her spit and coughed loudly, looking sideways. "O-Of course I do! We'll just go...to the first church we find, and then go from there!"
"And where is the first church around these parts?" Saito asked.
Luise bristled. "We'll just ask at the first village."
"And where is the first village?" Saito asked once more, suddenly amused as his lips began to twitch upwards.
"Somewhere around these parts," Luise replied crossly.
"And where is 'around these'-"
"I have a wand and I am not afraid of using it," Luise said threateningly, wand raised. Saito chuckled lightly at that, and Luise joined in shortly after. "Fine, let's play a game," Luise mumbled. Her eyes flicked right and left for a brief moment. "I see with my eyes something...green."
"The grass?" Saito replied, eliciting a pout from Luise as the girl crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Well, I see...something blue."
"The sky," Luise said with a deadpan tone. "Are you even trying, Saito?"
"It's not like there's much to describe around these parts!" Saito retorted. "Sky's blue, grass' green, there's a strange creature in the tall grass-"
"Define 'strange'," Luise said, blinking and narrowing her eyes against the sun's glare, trying to peer in the direction that Saito had pointed at.
"It's over there," Saito said with a lazy shrug. "Looks like a wolf to me, but it's got wings."
"If a wolf has wings then it's not a wolf," Luise hissed, dropping down and pulling Saito along with her. She caught her breath quickly, holding a hand to silence her dumb partner. Her eyes widened as the creature's head came up to reveal a gryphon with its massive eagle-like wings and powerful body. The creature had apparently decided to enjoy some fresh spring sun, and was rustling about the tall grass without a care in the world.
"How can you even think it's a wolf?" Luise hissed out curtly. "That's a Gryphon! A gryphon! They're one of the Holy Church of Brimir's most sacred animals and you just up and go call it a wolf! Your heresy is showing!"
"Excuse me," Saito hotly grumbled back, or he would have if Luise's hand hadn't been holding his mouth shut. As it was, he decided that a drastic measure was needed.
Luise's hair rose up in a spiky-like manner as she let go of Saito's mouth, choking down the shrill shriek of disgust as she hastily wiped her hand not-so delicately at all against Saito's back, much to the boy's chagrin. "You beast!" she hissed out, "You pervert-to lick a lady's hand like that!"
"I needed to breathe," Saito grumbled back. "So-what do we do now?"
"It didn't see us, that's for sure," Luise growled, delivering a threatening glare to Saito. "They eat meat, and devour sinners. I wouldn't be afraid of going near it, but with you by my side I fear for my purity as well as my life," she hurriedly hugged herself and shuddered. "But their feathers fetch a nice price."
"Wait, what?" Saito whispered, his head snapping in the direction of Luise's. "You can't be serious."
"Well, this is part of the plan, all right?" Luise said. "We just need a handful of feathers, even its dung is pretty costly-"
"And why would anyone pay for that thing's dung?!" Saito nearly choked in disgust as he asked the question, already dreading the answer.
"Because it's a holy beast, and it's good fertilizer."
Saito took a small amount of breath to steady himself, and then carefully peeked out from the tall grass Luise and him had hidden into to give one last look at the beast.
The creature's beak was an inch away from them, its large, eagle-like eyes staring deeply into Saito's own soul.
Luise's next words were not those of a refined nun-to-be, but those of an orphanage girl grown up among orphans.
"Aw...crap."
Considering they were trying to steal the bird's shit...
It would have been ironic, if the creature's scream hadn't outright deafened Saito and took away his sense of humor together with his balance.
There wasn't a 'border'. Saito had thought it strange that they had been walking for days to no end, but it was apparently common for borders to simply 'shift' around a bit.
"Sure, there are maps," Luise said when asked, "But it's not like there's enough money or will to build a very big and long wall around the nation now, is there? A border ends where the patrols finish, and starts again where they begin anew. That's why people living along the borders have it difficult and normally, there aren't many villages. Sometimes, they even have to pay double taxes."
"That's...kind of stupid?" Saito hazarded.
"Some years, they don't pay any taxes at all," Luise retorted with a small shrug of her shoulders. "It's like...look, there's a lot of land, and not that many people willing to count the steps before the border ends and the next country over starts. And even if you put up a stone wall or something, the country's big and you can just, you know, take a detour through the woods. Now, if you're a merchant that's another deal because you've got to take the main road or good luck getting your horses with your carriage to cross over the muddy fields, but if you're traveling light and by foot? Just pick a direction and go with it."
"So...why the adventurer tag?" Saito asked.
"Because 'being an adventurer' is better than 'being a nobody'. It gives you a bit of leeway with the border patrols if they decide to be cranky."
The sun was definitely warmer -if such a thing was possible- and the ground had stopped being a dull brown blotch, with sparse green blades of grass and patches of flowers blooming all around the dirt trail they were following.
They hadn't seen a living soul throughout the entire day.
"I miss the city," Saito said suddenly, after two more hours of absolute 'nature silence'.
"Why would you miss that noisy place?" Luise replied. "This is much better," she said with a snort. "Fresh air, nice breeze, and the sun over our heads. Sure, maybe for someone who never stepped out of his house it might feel daunting, but the lands of Tristain are quite beautiful, or so I was told."
"It's just-this silence feels kind of off," Saito said.
"Then let's talk," Luise huffed. "We can start with some religious psalms to pass the time-"
"Maybe something else?" Saito asked with a nervous chuckle.
"Heathen," Luise rolled her eyes. "Positively heathen."
Saito turned a thoughtful glance at the clouds rolling lazily by, and then spoke, "Well, once in Tristain, do we have any destination in mind?"
Luise nearly choked on her spit and coughed loudly, looking sideways. "O-Of course I do! We'll just go...to the first church we find, and then go from there!"
"And where is the first church around these parts?" Saito asked.
Luise bristled. "We'll just ask at the first village."
"And where is the first village?" Saito asked once more, suddenly amused as his lips began to twitch upwards.
"Somewhere around these parts," Luise replied crossly.
"And where is 'around these'-"
"I have a wand and I am not afraid of using it," Luise said threateningly, wand raised. Saito chuckled lightly at that, and Luise joined in shortly after. "Fine, let's play a game," Luise mumbled. Her eyes flicked right and left for a brief moment. "I see with my eyes something...green."
"The grass?" Saito replied, eliciting a pout from Luise as the girl crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Well, I see...something blue."
"The sky," Luise said with a deadpan tone. "Are you even trying, Saito?"
"It's not like there's much to describe around these parts!" Saito retorted. "Sky's blue, grass' green, there's a strange creature in the tall grass-"
"Define 'strange'," Luise said, blinking and narrowing her eyes against the sun's glare, trying to peer in the direction that Saito had pointed at.
"It's over there," Saito said with a lazy shrug. "Looks like a wolf to me, but it's got wings."
"If a wolf has wings then it's not a wolf," Luise hissed, dropping down and pulling Saito along with her. She caught her breath quickly, holding a hand to silence her dumb partner. Her eyes widened as the creature's head came up to reveal a gryphon with its massive eagle-like wings and powerful body. The creature had apparently decided to enjoy some fresh spring sun, and was rustling about the tall grass without a care in the world.
"How can you even think it's a wolf?" Luise hissed out curtly. "That's a Gryphon! A gryphon! They're one of the Holy Church of Brimir's most sacred animals and you just up and go call it a wolf! Your heresy is showing!"
"Excuse me," Saito hotly grumbled back, or he would have if Luise's hand hadn't been holding his mouth shut. As it was, he decided that a drastic measure was needed.
Luise's hair rose up in a spiky-like manner as she let go of Saito's mouth, choking down the shrill shriek of disgust as she hastily wiped her hand not-so delicately at all against Saito's back, much to the boy's chagrin. "You beast!" she hissed out, "You pervert-to lick a lady's hand like that!"
"I needed to breathe," Saito grumbled back. "So-what do we do now?"
"It didn't see us, that's for sure," Luise growled, delivering a threatening glare to Saito. "They eat meat, and devour sinners. I wouldn't be afraid of going near it, but with you by my side I fear for my purity as well as my life," she hurriedly hugged herself and shuddered. "But their feathers fetch a nice price."
"Wait, what?" Saito whispered, his head snapping in the direction of Luise's. "You can't be serious."
"Well, this is part of the plan, all right?" Luise said. "We just need a handful of feathers, even its dung is pretty costly-"
"And why would anyone pay for that thing's dung?!" Saito nearly choked in disgust as he asked the question, already dreading the answer.
"Because it's a holy beast, and it's good fertilizer."
Saito took a small amount of breath to steady himself, and then carefully peeked out from the tall grass Luise and him had hidden into to give one last look at the beast.
The creature's beak was an inch away from them, its large, eagle-like eyes staring deeply into Saito's own soul.
Luise's next words were not those of a refined nun-to-be, but those of an orphanage girl grown up among orphans.
"Aw...crap."
Considering they were trying to steal the bird's shit...
It would have been ironic, if the creature's scream hadn't outright deafened Saito and took away his sense of humor together with his balance.
