Into the Light (Axe Druid Book 1)

by Christopher Johns

  We waited another hour, drinking and eating a little. The drink Sir Dillon gave us was sweet with a fruit I hadn’t heard of with undertones of bitter hops. It was a little intense for my tastes—I usually preferred liquor at home—but it left me feeling pretty good. I knew it could really get me bad if I had too much, so I nursed one until our final companion joined us.

  Yohsuke strode through the door, his clothes a little torn up and disheveled, but it didn’t seem to bother him a bit.

  “What the hell happened to you, brostein?” I asked and strode over to him.

  “You know me, man,” he said with a smile. “We get all the loot. We get all the EXP.”

  I looked up and saw what he meant. Level 10. That’s Yoh for you. Leave it to him to never stop.

  “But how?” I asked at a bit of a loss.

  “I went and got every quest I could from this village,” he said as he walked to the table and grabbed some food. He explained that Elves entered a trance-like state that they used for four hours to rest. His trainer was also an Elf, and they only had to rest when they were tired. He spent all his time fighting, killing, and questing.

  “Sounds like you, bro,” I sighed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Show us what you’ve got?”

  “Yeah, man,” he said and pulled his stats up. He never stopped eating the whole time; it was impressive.

  Name: Yohsuke

  Race: Abomination

  Level: 10

  Strength: 11

  Dexterity: 32

  Constitution: 20

  Intelligence: 30

  Wisdom: 28

  Charisma: 9

  Unspent Attribute Points: 0

  Holy hell. Everyone had some awesome stats. Mine were well rounded, but I wondered what it would be like when we all fought together.

  “I’m glad you could all make it!” Sir Dillon came out from the back. He smiled at us all, and we each took turns shaking his hand.

  “A level 10 in one week’s time?” he said with raised eyebrows. “And a level 9? Very impressive. Seven would have been above average, but the rest of you are level 8 it seems? Well done, all of you.”

  He brought out a map and laid it out in front of us. On it was a path to the same castle ruins that I had been shown at the beginning of the week.

  “I know where this is,” I said quietly.

  “Good,” he said and proceeded to fill the rest of the group in. He had a more general knowledge, and I filled in everything I could from what I saw.

  “Well, if we’re going to be effective and rid this area of the darkies, we’ll need new gear,” I put in. We all couldn’t help but smile at the prospect of better gear. Every gamer lives for better gear, and we were no exception.

  We all promised to spend the rest of the day kitting ourselves out in preparation for tomorrow, then meet back here when we finished.

  As my friends left, I opened my menu and went to my Combat tab. I looked through and saw that there were all kinds of proficiencies: swords, shields, daggers, and bows. I scanned through until I saw my favorite weapons. I had been favoring the axe the last few games I had played through, and the one I had currently served me well. The bow, which was a personal favorite because when all else failed, kill it from afar. Daggers, I loved to dual wield when I could.

  We already had three of the harassment types, though: Bokaj, Balmur, and Yohsuke, so that defeated the purpose of me needing a bow or to dual wield. They all hit fast and harried our enemies. Jaken had the tank role covered easily. He would have plate armor and a shield to help him absorb damage while we took out the enemies.

  My role would normally be to heal or cast spells until my mana was spent, then fight on as an animal in a more traditional support role. Between the one healing spell I got from hitting level 6 and the several Jaken had at his disposal, we would be fine on healing for a while—I hoped.

  What I wanted to do is hit hard when I had to use my weapon and provide more solid damage than the dexterity based attackers we had.

  So, I threw a point into the Axe Proficiency skill.

  AXE PROFICIENCY – Unlock weapon skills and damage boosts with axes. Bonus damage with axes +1%.

  After unlocking that, I saw that there was another selection that became clear after that: Great Axe Proficiency.

  “Oh yeah, son,” I said out loud. This was me, right here. I had always played a strength build in a series of the harder games I played. It was my favorite weapon so far, and I could think of some situations it would help us.

  GREAT AXE PROFICIENCY – Unlock weapon skills and damage boosts with great axes. Bonus damage with axes +2%.

  It looked like you could put points into each one again to boost the damage they do, but each level took the level number as payment. Level two in either skill required two points, then three, and so on.

  I closed the screens and left to look for my own new gear. From what I read, I didn’t really have any kind of armor restrictions as a Druid, but I didn’t want to wear heavy armor and have it get in my way. I looked at my own gear again, and it was still lacking. No armor whatsoever, and it was looking rough after a week of wear in the wilds.

  I checked over my funds as well: five hundred gold, thirty-five silver, and fourteen copper.

  I was golden. I went to the blacksmith over near the square where I had heard him beating metal into submission. I walked into the squat, plain, wooden building’s front door. I couldn’t see too much of the back as it was fenced in with a high fence. When my eyes adjusted, I noted all the swords and weapons on the racks. They looked great, like they would serve well.

  I waited for the blacksmith to finish his current piece before he turned to me. He was somewhat tall for a Dwarf and built like a brick wall. Great slabs of muscle covered his body, and his calloused hands flexed on the tongs when he realized I was there. His black eyebrows raised and white teeth shined as he smiled. He set his tools down and walked over to me.

  “HAIL TRAVELER!!” he shouted as he realized who I was. He came out from behind his counter and pulled me into a great hug. I’m fairly certain I heard my back pop no less than twelve times.

  After, he put me down, and I caught my breath. With a small grunt, I stood upright and shook his meaty hand.

  “How do you know what I am?” I asked. I thought Radiance would want to keep us and our mission a secret.

  “Our village petitioned the Lady Radiance to allow her chosen few to come here,” he said with a smile. “The closed off nature of our village allows us some privacy, but it also means we are alone out here with War’s minions and their infection. We know who ye all are, and we appreciate what ye are willing to do for us. We will help ye how we can.”

  “Thank you, sir,” I said with a smile.

  “Oh no,” he admonished me with a gentle swipe to the air. “None of that now. I’m Rowland. This here is me shop, and I will not be called ‘sir,’ as I clearly work fer a livin’. Now, what can I do for ye, traveler? A fine weapon, mayhaps?”

  “A great axe, if you have one,”

  He closed his eyes and seemed to be going through his inventory mentally before opening them again. “Sorry, I don’t have one made.”

  My shoulders sunk a little, but he clapped me on the back in a brotherly way.

  “Ye’ll not be without a weapon, me friend,” he said. “I’m a damned good smith, and I’ll not be letting our world’s hope go into battle without some of me cold steel. Ye come back in about, oh, a few hours, an’ I’ll have something made just for ye. Now, hold still. I need to measure ye.”

  He did just that. He measured my height, the length of my arms, and my hands. He even asked what my current strength was and if I was planning on raising it, to which I replied yes. He grunted and took some notes down.

  “On your way to the armorer?” he asked. When I nodded, he smiled. “On your way, send that goofy-looking carpenter my way. We have work to do!”

  I smiled as I left. I really liked this guy, and I wondered
if everyone in the village was as cool as him.

  I saw the sign over the shop down the way with a hammer and some wood on it. The building was red oak and well made. I poked my head in and was assaulted by the scent of fresh-cut wood and the sound of cursing. Now, I’ve heard my fair share of cursing—this was impressive.

  “GODS-CURSED BASTARD OAK!” a voice shouted from the back. “YOUR MOTHER WAS A HAG OAK, SHE WAS, AND A TERMITE RIDDEN DRYAD WAS YOUR FATHER, YOU POXY FU–“

  “Hello?” I called out as I stepped all the way in.

  An instant later, a small, dusk-skinned woman poked her head out from behind the doorway. She was athletically built with a slim body but well-toned muscles. She stood about five-foot-six or so and had her short, brown hair swinging into her hazel eyes.

  What? Rowland said goofy-looking carpenter. She was gorgeous! She took off her apron as she stepped fully through, and I was lucky to keep my jaw attached.

  Oh, hello inner cartoon wolf.

  “Oh, hello, traveler,” she said with her cheeks flushed slightly. Whether in anger or embarrassment, I couldn’t tell, but wow, it did wonders for her regal cheekbones.

  She smiled awkwardly with full lips and looked away.

  I was staring, wasn’t I? No. SHIT. SAVE IT.

  “Uhm, S-sorry,” I stuttered. “I was just impressed by the creative cursing. Rowland asked me to swing by and ask you to go see him. I guess he needs help with a project—seemed pretty urgent.”

  She groaned and muttered about him being a goat-headed slave driver.

  “Can I do anything else for you?” she asked finally. “Maybe stand still for a portrait?”

  I blushed and couldn’t even say anything, so I just shook my head and hoped I stopped staring at her. Though, if I had said yes, I’d have probably been on the receiving end of a hammer—whether from her or from Rowland I couldn’t tell you.

  “Have a great day then. I’ll be on my way out.”

  I left and scurried away to the armorer. The armorer’s building was a good three-minute walk away, just outside the square according to the four citizens I had to stop and ask. It looked large enough to be someone’s business and home in one. That could be the case; it seemed the most economically sound. The base of the building was thickly cut brick and mortar, while the top was made up of wooden slats stuck together with mortar on the connectors.

  The door to the building was open to the street. I walked in and saw a very friendly looking Bear Beast-kin. She had light brown fur, and her honey-colored eyes with obvious mirth in them. She smiled at me. It was a warm smile filled with rows of fangs close to how Kyra’s looked.

  “Hello, friend!” she said as I approached. “I’m Kynin. How can I help you?”

  “I came to see about getting some armor,” I explained. “I also wondered if you could do anything with this?” I pulled out Marin’s Pelt.

  “I can’t, but wait here.” Her eyes widened at the sight of the material, and she shouted, “Farrin!”

  The bear disappeared, taking my pelt with her. A few minutes later, she came back downstairs with another Bear Beast-kin in tow. He was holding the pelt looking at it in both wonder and rage.

  “Where did you get this?!” he shot over the counter and had me in his hands, lifting me off the floor. “What did you do to my friend?!”

  “You knew her? Marin, I mean?” I wondered; worry gnawed at my gut.

  “She and I would play in the forest together when we were little,” he explained through the threatening tears and strangled pain in his voice.

  “My condolences for your loss.” Sincere regret tightened my voice. “If you’ll put me down, I will explain everything to you.”

  He grudgingly complied but stayed close. He might have thought I was going to bolt.

  I told him everything. Well, everything to do with Marin. I didn’t know how much the village knew about our mission, despite what Rowland had said, but it wasn’t going to help the story. Hell, if anything, it would hurt it—my leveling and training would seem more important to me than his friend’s life.

  I told him how she had been helping me learn as a new Druid with her queen when we were attacked by the Insane Wolves. How she and I had fought together to preserve the lives of her queen and the royal cub. How she had begun to feel the infection take hold of her mind after prolonged exposure to the ruins.

  As they both cried, I recounted the tale of our battle to give Marin an honorable death.

  “She fought with honor and strength,” I said quietly. “I’ve been surrounded by honorable men and women before, but her spirit was uncrushable. It was a privilege to help grant her last wish.”

  Farrin nodded and bowed his head into the fur in his hands. He sobbed quietly for a moment, and his sister joined him. They were quiet for a while, with tears and whimpers. I stood respectfully quiet. I knew what it was like to lose someone close to you. I had been through the same crushing guilt. What if I had done more? Could I have done something different? Why them, and not me?

  Over the years, I had learned that people would do what they would, and there wasn’t always a damned thing you could do about it but stand by and watch in either pride as they succeeded or horror as they went down in flames. It was these lessons that I had carried with me and helped forge me into the man I had become. Did it make it any easier to deal with loss? Fuck no, but I beat and punished myself a little less for someone else’s choices.

  After they had let it out, the Bears looked at me, and I shook the thoughts out of my head, the self-doubt falling away, if only a little.

  “Kynin, measure him and get me the notes. I’m closed for the rest of the day.” He came over to tower over me. I hadn’t noticed before just how big and strong he looked, even when he had lifted me like a bag of groceries. “You come here first thing tomorrow morning, and I will have your armor prepared, Druid Zekiel.”

  Farrin squared his shoulders and nodded my way before leaving. Kynin got out her measuring cord and started my measurements. Half an hour later, I had told her some of what I was looking for, and she said it would be done. She also apologized for her brother’s treatment. She finished it with a hug and a kiss on the forehead, saying that no one should have to take the life of a comrade.

  I stepped outside, the sun shining down on me from above, the noise of the people in the village, all carefree and happy, filling the air. I envied their ignorance a bit. They may be a little privy to what may be going on, but they hadn’t had to take the life of someone just doing their best to keep their loved ones and people safe. I had. That shit still tugged at my heart. I took a deep breath in, then released it, letting the angst and bitter feelings drain from me.

  “Don’t dwell. Marin wouldn’t want you to,” I growled at myself.

  I had plenty of time before I had to go back to see Rowland, so I wandered out into the square and let the hawkers show me their wares.

  They sold everything from food and delicious smelling sweet meats to jewelry and potions. I went to check out the jewelry first.

  “Ah, good sir!” A human man stood behind the counter and swept his arm over his pieces. “Come look over my wares, and I can guarantee you will find something you like.”

  I did just that. A lot of his jewelry was lovely—only a few pieces were enchanted but nothing that would really benefit me or anyone in the party outright. At least, not that I knew of.

  I guess the owner realized I wasn’t interested and I wouldn’t be talked into buying anything because he went back to hawking his wares and shooed me away. I went to the potions stand and wasn’t disappointed at all.

  The little girl behind the stand knew exactly what her prices were, and she sold her items to me straight. She even told me about her family a bit. Her mother made the potions as an alchemist and had a shop nearby, and her father gathered herbs in the surrounding forest. Though, she did say that he didn’t go out as far any more due to there being dangerous creatures out there. Her father was taking care of busin
ess nearby, while her older brother had gone to get them lunch. She was responsible for the stand while he was gone.

  Her little hands handled each item with care as she explained what the benefits of each potion were. Her blonde hair bobbed back and forth in little pigtails, and her freckles were adorable.

  “Health potions replenish your vita-veetal… your health by twenty-five points. The mana ones replenish your mana by the same, good sir,” she finished with a curt nod to herself.

  “Excellent sales work.” I clapped for her, and she smiled.

  I got ten Health and fifteen Mana potions at five silver apiece. She had given me a discount since I was buying in bulk like that. All in all, I spent a gold and twenty-five silver for the potions and twelve copper for a kabob of sweet meats each for myself, the little girl, and her older brother upon his return.

  The rest of the wares around the square were just things that I really had no interest in. After a bit, I remembered that my clothes were probably on their last legs and bought some more to change into right away. Then I bought some more to change into after a time. Three tunics and shirts, four breeches, and six pairs of underwear. Socks I bought in bulk. I spent another ten silver on all of it together, then changed into a green shirt and some brown breeches.

  I decided to take a walk around the village. It was nice out; the sun shone lazily behind a couple thin clouds, and the village seemed to be perpetually traveled by the villagers and residents. Everyone seemed to get along. There was music playing from a couple of spots around, some restaurants, and a few street performers, but something else caught my attention.

  I heard a muffled shout and a grunt of pain. One of the benefits of being a Kitsune was heightened, animal-like senses. I heard it again and decided that whatever it was, it was wrong. I shapeshifted into my fox form and bolted toward the noise as fast as my four legs would take me. I came upon an alley near the tree line and saw three figures. One was a young man who looked to have the same blond hair and freckles as the little girl at the potion stand.