Dawn of Adventure

by Andrew Bardsley

  Chapter 2

  The day before the discussion in the workshop. The Legendary Alchemist Bennet was among the earliest of those who waited on Bingley. If his wife had been observant when she had opened the strongbox, she would have seen an empty space in the racks of potions. The shelves of bottles, in his collection, had one missing bottle of his most prized and lucrative creations. The legendary elixir he had spent half a lifetime developing the recipe could reverse all the detrimental effects of deaths and resurrection from the goddess blessing. Not only in the past but also in the future to the eventual end of a person's natural lifetime. This potion was valued throughout the kingdom as it took any risk from adventuring. Allowing an adventure to deal without any lingering mental pain from death and resurrection. This was, of course, except for the loss of your inventory if you didn’t retrieve it at your place of death.

  The loving father, who sometimes played the opposite role for his own amusement. Also, for the theatrical dramas, he played with his wife at the center of his world. He had always intended to visit Bingley. Though to the last, always assuring his wife that he should not go.

  To gain the most drama out of the situation, the Alchemist Bennet disclosed in the following manner his visit. They had just had a pleasant meal in the manor private family dining hall. This was a well-decorated room with favorite artwork on the wall giving an elegant ambiance to the hall. Now the family had retired to a comfortable living room, not to the dining hall. To entertain themselves or practice their skills.

  In magic light glowing from a chandelier, he observed his second oldest daughter employed in reading a magical spellbook. Every now and then she would write something down in her research book with keen interest.

  Before she got too involved in her study, he suddenly addressed her with:

  “I hope the legendary barbarian warrior Bingley will like your dedicated focus, Lizzy.”

  His daughter looked up with surprise as she had heard talk about the conquering of the dungeon. She wondered what this new warrior had to do with her. But before she could question her father, her mother flared up dramatically.

  “We are not in a way to know what Bingley likes,” said her mother resentfully as she looked up from a book of plays she was memorizing, “since we are not to visit.”

  The wizard Lizzy looked up from her study and tried to reassure her, often the overdramatic mother. Who sometimes took life's drama to the extremes in her opinion. The light of the large fire in the cavernous fireplace shone off her pleasant and even pretty face. She had long brown hair spilling down the back of her simple black wizard's cloak. Unlike some of her younger sisters, she didn’t go in for the multi-colored mantles, so many high-level wizards showed off. She typically braided her hair, but now it was loose as she was only with the family. The formality of the occasion was less with no guess in the manor and thankful this was one such time.

  “But you forget, mamma,” said the Master-Level-Wizard Elizabeth. “That we shall meet him at the assembly for the hunt, and that Mrs. Long promised to introduce him to our family.”

  With a rye laugh, the mother of the family looked at her husband with a flash of anger. She said in a pained voice, “I do not believe Mrs. Long will do any such thing. She has two nieces of her own. She is a selfish, hypocritical woman, and I have no opinion of her.”

  “No more have I,” said her husband; “and I am glad to find that you do not depend on her serving you.”

  The Lady Bennet designed not to make any reply. For a second, she paused dramatically than with annoyance; she looked at her youngest Lydia. Unable to contain herself, she began scolding the rogue for her, throwing daggers in the air, and catching them.

  “Don’t keep doing that, Lydia, for Heaven’s sake! Have a little compassion on my nerves. You tear them to pieces with you continuous practicing with those knives.”

  “Lydia has no discretion in her need to improve herself,” said her father.

  “I do not increase my skill for my own amusement,” replied Lydia fretfully. “It is for the good of the family.

  “When is the next assembly hunt to be, Lizzy?”

  “To-morrow fortnight.”

  “Aye, so it is,” cried her mother, “and Mrs. Long does not come back till the day before. So it will be impossible for her to introduce him, for she will not know this legendary Bingley herself.”

  “Then, my dear, you may have the advantage of your friend, and introduce Bingley to her,” replied her husband with a sly smile as he winked at his wife discreetly.

  “Impossible,” said Lady Bennet, “impossible, when I am not acquainted with him myself; how can you be so teasing?”

  The last may not have even acted as she showed her annoyment to her full extent. This gave another slight smile to Alchemist Bennet's face as the evening's entertainment was going so well. As he played with his wife’s emotions that were in full swing. He decided that it was time to switch tacks and collect his reward.

  “I honor your circumspection. A fortnight’s acquaintance is certainly very little. One cannot know what a man really is by the end of a fortnight. But if we do not venture, somebody else will; and after all, Mrs. Long and her nieces must stand their chance. Therefore, as she will think it an act of kindness, if you decline the office, I will take it on myself.”

  All his daughters were present in the comfortable living room. This smaller hall in the fortified manor was often where his family would gather to warm themself in the evening when they were at home. The walls were covered in tapestries depicting the family's history and honors. Along one side of the room was a set of shelves filled with a selection of books on a range of topics. Browsing through the library was the middle daughter of the Bennet family. Mary was a cleric class warrior. Like the other daughters, she placed down a book and stared at their father. Only Lizzy smiled, understanding her father's game tonight.

  Lady Bennet said only, “Nonsense, nonsense!”

  “What can be the meaning of that emphatic exclamation?” he cried. “Do you consider the forms of introduction and the stress that is laid on them, as nonsense? I cannot quite agree with you there. What say you, Mary? For you are a young lady of deep reflection, I know, you read great books and make extracts.”

  Frowning at her father as Mary wished to say something sensible, but knew not how. She had been just reading quietly and was not fully involved in the conversation. Mostly she tried to avoid the dramas of the household, preferring quiet contemplation. That was part of the nature of her Cleric class. She often found that when she attempted an answer in these family dramas, she fell foul of the others and their wit.

  “While Mary is adjusting her ideas and catching up with us,” he continued with a smile, “let us return to Bingley.”

  “I am sick of Bingley,” cried his wife with a wave of her hand to her brow. As if she had a fever.

  For Alchemist Bennet, this night was getting better and better as he and his wife were in rare form. He honestly couldn’t tell if she was acting or being serious.

  Trying to go for the last act, he said, “I am sorry to hear that; but why didn't you tell me that before? If I had known as much this yesterday, I certainly would not have called on him. It is very unlucky, but as I have actually paid the visit, we cannot escape the acquaintance now.”

  The astonishment of his daughters was just what he wished. Except for Lizzy, who had a knowing smile at her father’s ploy and the acting, or was it what she really felt from her mother.

  Lady Bennet perhaps surpassed the rest, though. She jumped up from her place on the well-worn sofa, and when the first tumult of joy was over, she began to declare that it was what she had expected this outcome all the while. She did such an excellent job of acting that her husband half-believed her. But his long experience with her told him otherwise.

  He thought, how much of this scene was as much of a game for her as for him. He knew that she loved the drama in her life ever so.

  “How good it was
in you, my dear husband! But I knew I should persuade you at last. I was sure you loved your girls too well to neglect such an acquaintance. Well, how pleased I am! and it is such a good joke, too, that you should have gone yesterday and never said a word about it till now.”

  “Now, Lydia, you may throw your daggers as much as you choose,” said Alchemist Bennet. As he spoke, he left the room, smiling at his dramatic wife as their game would continue to be played out.

  “What an excellent father you have, girls!” said she, when the sizable wooden-warded door was shut with a flash of magical power. She was now in her final act showing her full rapture in a dramatic ending of this evening’s game with her husband and family. Lizzy looked down and smiled at her mother, acting.

  Then Lady Bennet said, “I do not know how you will ever make amends for his kindness, or me, either, for that matter. At our time of life, it is not so pleasant, I can tell you, to be making new acquaintances every day; but for your sake, we would do anything. Lydia, my love, though you are the youngest, I dare say Bingley will team up with you at the next hunt.”

  “Oh!” said Lydia stoutly, “I am not afraid; for though I am the youngest, I’m the strongest in my field.”

  Lizzy returned to looking at her book, sighted at her sister's ego, of her abilities. She may have the most useful skills in monster hunting, but she was certainly not the most devoted to her class.

  The rest of the evening was spent in conjecturing how soon Bingley would return Alchemist Bennet’s visit, and determining when they should ask him for a family feast. This was all while the daughters of the family were practicing different skills to keep their development rates high. If they were to have any chance with courting a legendary-level man, they needed to be as high level as possible according to their mother, who encouraged them.

  Even the games that Lady Bennet played with her husband was a method of improving her skills. As it counted to her acting class skills. This was one of the reasons why they engaged in this game of wit as her husband was forever mindful of her progress in her levels.

  The blessing of the goddess showed her:

  XP 5 of 55 too level 46 Actress

  She gained a few experience points with the help of her husband today. She would have to thank him later tonight for being so considerate of her role in his little drama.

  Character Name:

  Lady Bennet

  1st Class

  Actress

  45

  45

  Major

  Strength

  Fortitude

  Agility

  Number

  60

  40

  120

  Major

  Intelligence

  Charisma

  Knowledge

  Number

  98

  300

  100

  Minor

  HP

  MP

  Stamina

  Carry Limit

  Number

  430

  1408

  610

  130

  Regen Sec

  12

  59.8

  13

  N/A

  --

  Later that night, as the moon was slowly rising past the equinox, the Alchemist Bennet had just finished preparing a potion. He smiled at the glistening sparkles that he had captured in the suspension. Opening his strongbox, he placed the glass vial in pride of place in the center. Just as he was locking the secured box, he heard the soft sound of the wooden door opening to his workshop. He glanced back and saw the quick movement of a grateful wife running toward him. Before he could turn around entirely, she had her slender arms wrapped around his waist.

  She whispered in his ear, “Many thanks for the game tonight, dear. Did you enjoy my performance?”

  He turned around and put his hand around her youthful face. Then gave her a light kiss he pulled back and said, “It was wonderfully entertaining dear. You were in the true form today. I’m sure the girls were most entertained with the added drama in their life.”

  As she basked with his praise, he frowned slightly. She looked at him with compassion and said, “You're still worried about my image, I see.”

  The older and more respected Legendary Alchemist nodded. He said, “I know that this is a conversation we’ve had many times over the years. But aren't you worried about what people think of you, my dear.”

  “And my answer is still the same, “ she said with a radiant smile full of confidence, “I’m playing a part for this world. So, what if people think that I’m an overdramatic nervous wreck. That’s the part in the play of life I’ve chosen. While they scoff, I only get more powerful as I act the part.”

  “But still dear, even your own daughters sometimes look down upon you. Is the power worth their pity,” he said?

  “One does what one must,” she said with a frown. “It's for their good in the long run. This world is not forgiving on the weak.”

  He stroked her thick blond hair and muttered, “I still have a long way to go. It is not over yet.”

  Chapter 3

  To keep up the spectacle of drama within his household, the father of the family worked the situation for all he could get. He was determined to withhold information that they so desired.

  Not all that Lady Bennet, however, with the assistance of her five daughters, could ask on the subject was sufficient to draw from her husband any satisfactory description of Bingley. Over the next few days, they attacked him in various ways. Often cornered alone in his workshop. Where they took turns to try and interrogate him. He, with his usual guile, enjoyed the games. Of using all his skills to elude their barefaced questions, ingenious suppositions, and distant surmises. But he escaped the skill of them all. Forever pushing his family and training them was one of his main considerations in life if he was to pass down a legacy to his daughters. Even the questioning by his youngest daughter, who was not worried about using outright underhand trickery, did not work as she thought it should.

  During a meal, Lydia managed to slip a truth potion in his glass of his wine. But much to her dismay when her father tasted his wine, he simply smiled. Then he took a sip from one of his many flasks in one of the numerous pockets in his jacket.

  He then winked at her as she was eating off her plate. He said as if he was a schoolmaster lecturing a student, “Your mistake was not matching the potion to the taste of the wine. Work on your potion's tastes. I’m sure you'll be able to do better next time. Come to my workroom, and I’ll set up some exercises for you. You may want to think of the second class in Alchemist if you're going to use the potion route for your subterfuge as a rogue.”

  Lydia half frowned with her failure to extract the required knowledge from him. But she nodded in acceptance with his proffered help.

  Finally, the women of the household were at last obliged to accept the second-hand intelligence of their neighbor, Lady Lucas. When they invited her over for an afternoon tea at the manor. Her report was highly favorable. Sir William had been delighted with Bingley. Lady Lucas even had cast a memory spell on Sir William. This was to get an image of the young warrior for the girls viewing. When the particles of multicolored lights of the magic coalesced in an image. They all saw that Bingley was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable.

  To crown the whole intelligence-gathering effort, they found out that he was meant to be at the next assembly hunt with a sizable noble party. Nothing could be more delightful! To be fond of the monster hunt was a certain step towards falling in love, and very lively hopes of Bingley’s heart were entertained.

  Later that night, after the afternoon tea with Lady Lucas. Lady Bennet was with her husband in their bed chambers. They were pleasantly chatting over the day's events as they so often did when just relaxing in each other's comfort. With a happy smile of a mother that was succeeding in pushing forward the long term welfare of her daughters. Even if they all didn’t appreciate her tireless work. She pla
ced down a small cup of strengthening elixir on the carved bone table from a monster she had hunted herself.

  With a satisfied smile. The Lady said, “If I can but see one of my daughters happily settled at Netherfield dungeon, and all the others equally well married. I shall have nothing more to wish for.”

  He kissed her on her head with a gentle smile and replied, “You are so considerate of your daughter’s woman.”

  She looked at him and said in a severe tone of voice, “I will not have them go through the struggle I had to gain my eventual happiness. It was a hard path to tread. I will not allow my children to fall from what we have achieved for them.”

  --

  To the surprise of the household. In several days from Alchemist Bennet's initial visit to introduce himself to Bingley. The man himself returned Alchemist Bennet’s visit, as was the expected custom. But to do it so soon delighted the women of the family.

  Unfortunately for Bingley, who was hoping to see one of the beauties. Which had been so talked about in the neighborhood! He was met by a servant and led into the Alchemist wonderous library. This room was full of shelves and many levels with ladders leading up to the higher shelves. In the center were some tables and a set of comfortable chairs. When he was introduced by the servant Bennet was reading from a rather large tome outlining ingredients in nature. Both the men bow formally and then shook hands in a present greeting. Then sitting on two of the comfortable chairs in the room, they started their business.