Reborn 1-5

by D. W. Jackson

  1-5

  The days until he left the small town passed quickly with Ash hunting each morning until night. He was able to rise three levels and gain a new ability. Wolf eyes (passive) Level Max- allows one to see as well at night as one does during the day. Fleet foot had also raised another two levels adding a +7 to agility.

  It wasn’t the best ability but Ash knew that it would have its uses. He had also found one other demon stone though it was only a level three stone. Throughout his time hunting he had saved a total of eleven silver, forty-three copper, and ten iron pennies. Looking at his current status Ash was pleased.

  Name: Ash

  Level: 7

  Experience needed for next level: 301

  Race: Human/Demon 70/30

  Occupation: none

  Title: None

  HP: 75/75

  MP 75/75

  SP 15/16

  Strength: 13

  Agility: 11 (+7)

  Vitality: 15

  Stamina: 16

  Spirit: 10

  Intelligence: 15

  Endurance: 13

  Luck: 11 (+55)

  After stopping by to have his sword and armor repaired Ash moved toward the east gate to meet up with Lucas the merchant. It was still early and Lucas hadn’t arrived yet so Ash took the chance to sit down and inspect his inventory. He didn’t know what might happen on the journey to the main city so he had bought twenty breads and five canteens of water. He had also bought a flint and a pot so that if he found some meat he could cook it. Other than that he had bought a used bed roll so that he wouldn’t have to sleep on the cold ground and a bag. Pulling them out, he put everything together so it wouldn’t look strange later when they appeared out of nowhere later.

  Half an hour later Lucas arrived along with two burly sword carrying men who followed along beside the merchant’s old wagon.

  “Ash it is good to see that you are already here. This is John and Rugar the two warriors from the adventurer’s guild who will be guarding the wagon.”

  Ash introduced himself but neither of the men seemed to care much about him. Lucas let Ash lace his bag in the back of the wagon as well as take a seat next to him so that he didn’t have to walk. Ash had met a few people in his short time in the new world but Lucas was one of the nicest. He didn’t ask unneeded question and always wore a warm smile on his face.

  Having never traveled by wagon before Ash was surprised to learn that it was actually slower than moving on foot since the wagon couldn’t speed across the dirt road without risking breaking an axel. At the speed they were moving it would take about eight days to reach the city but Ash was in no rush.

  Having spent most of his time in the new world doing nothing but fighting and resting had really worn him out so for most of the time the first day he spent sleeping even though the wagon was a bumpy ride.

  Lucas stopped for the day about an hour before nightfall. While Lucas was setting up his tent Ash laid out his mat and bedroll and then moved to go into the forest that sat about fifty yards away from the road when Rugar grabbed his arm and pulled him to a stop. “Boy there are kobolds in the woods I wouldn’t suggest heading that way.”

  Before leaving Ash had bought a piece of parchment and made a makeshift map of the rout they would travel to the city so that he knew when and where he could hunt. The kobolds were level 7-9 and well within his range as long as he didn’t engage a large group of them at one time. “I’ll be fine,” Ash said pulling out of the fighters grip.

  “Don’t come crying to me when you find yourself with a spear through your gut,” Rugar said while rolling his eyes.

  Though it was still a bit until nightfall the woods were already becoming dark but thanks to Ash’s wolf eyes ability he had no trouble seeing. In fact it was much easier to see now than it would be in daylight since the tree canopy always blocked a lot of the incoming light.

  Kobolds were one of the many humanoid monsters that lived in the world. They looked like small humans with a doglike face. They were semi intelligent and lived in small tribes. They breaded quickly but also killed each other in large numbers so they never became a real threat to the people living in the world.

  Ash found three groups of kobolds quickly but they were all in groups that would be too dangerous to attack alone. After the sun had completely set Ash returned to the camp. While he had been gone Lucas and the others had already cooked a small meal. Seeing him Lucas called out and offered him a bowl of pottage. It had a bland taste but it still filled his stomach so Ash had no complaints.

  The next two days passed by quickly without Ash being able to hunt tanks to the high level of the creatures that roamed the surrounding landscape. As Lucas started to look for a place to camp for the night the group noticed a small coach that was under attack by an ogre. Two men already lay on the ground unmoving while three well-armed men were fighting against it and losing badly.

  Seeing the coach under attack Lucas ordered the two guards to assist the other men in subduing the ogre. John and Rugar put on a stern face and drew their blades while advancing on the large beast. Ash started to stand to join the other two fighters but Lucas stopped him. “Boy that ogre is at least level twenty. One hit from that beast will send you to an early grave.”

  Ash sat down without another word and watched from the wagon as the five men fought the ogre. The men in heavy armor attacked head on while John and Rugar jumped in hitting any opening they could find. At first it looked like their plan was going to work until the Ogre grabbed one of the armored men and threw him into a tree with a loud snap. From there the fight went downhill. With only two people drawing the attention of the ogre, John and Rugar didn’t find many openings.

  “Even if I don’t want to, it doesn’t look like I have a choice but to try and help out,” Ash said looking to where Lucas sat. The merchant let out a heavy sigh and nodded his head.

  Pulling out his sword Ash moved around to the side of the coach and continued to watch the fight. When the ogre picked up John and readied to throw him Ash made his move. Jumping on top of the coach ash used it as a springboard to jump and latch his legs onto the ogre’s massive neck where he drove the top of his blade into ogre. Two purple and one black number floated into the air. -32,-35,-71. When the black number rose into the air the ogre dropped John and fell to one knee but it still had plenty of life left. Seeing their chance the other warriors attacked carving off large amounts of the creature’s health quickly.

  While the soldiers below fought Ash continued to hack away at the ogre’s neck. One out of every three strikes a purple number rose into the air. So absorbed into his attack Ash never noticed the meaty hand that reached for him until it was too late and he was being lifted into the air. Without any other choice Ash continued to attack the ogre’s fingers though the numbers were a lot lower than they had been previously. -9,-6,-12 then he found himself floating through the air until tendrils of pain flashed throughout his entire body. Inside his mind Ash watched as his HP was reduced to 6/75 from one attach. He tried to stand but his legs wouldn’t heed his attack, his legs didn’t seem to be working. Checking his status once again he found an abnormality. [Fracture: You have broken bones HP reduced by 60 until they are healed.]

  “No wonder it hurts so bad,” Ash said as he stared at the sky waiting for the ogre to finish him off as his eyes started to darken. He tried to fight against the nausea but he had no strength left in his body.

  Though he couldn’t see who it was Ash heard voices near him after a few moments. He once again tried to open his eyes but all he could see were blurred images. When he tried to talk his mouth tasted like copper. “Rib must have punctured a lung,” was Ash’s last thought before the darkness completely overtook him.

  Pain wracked Ash’s entire body as his consciousness came back. He tried to speak but only a low groan escaped his lips. “Don’t try to speak. You have three broken ribs and a broken leg. Once we reach the city we will have a healer look at you.”

&
nbsp; As Ash’s eyes focused he noticed that he was looking straight up at a young girl in her min-teens with large purple eyes. Not only were her eyes different her hair was a light blue-green. In short she was stunningly beautiful. It was at this moment that Ash noticed that he was using her lap as a pillow. His face blushing Ash tried to set up when a sharp pain shot though his body causing him to cry out. “Stop that,” the young lady said as she knitted her eyebrows. “I said that you were injured so behave and lie still.”

  Unable to argue Ash did as he was told and closed his eyes trying his best not to move too much. “Here,” the young lady said putting a glass jar filled with a green liquid up to his lips. “It will help with the pain.”

  Ash opened his mouth and did his best not to spit the bitter medicine up as she started pouring it into his mouth. After the bottle was half emptied she pulled it away and put it away. Using her soft finger she brushed the corners of his mouth making Ash blush again.

  “Milady that is hardly proper,” another voice said from the side. Ash tried to turn his head but the waves of pain quickly stopped him.

  “Hush Edger,” the young lady said with a stern look. I saw the young man fight and heard from the knights that had he not appeared when he had then we would all most likely be sitting in an ogre’s cauldron right now.”

  “That aside milady it is not proper for a young lady…”

  “Enough,” the lady said her eyes seeming as if they were on fire. “One more word and you will be walking the rest of the way.”

  The change was subtle but Ash didn’t miss it. The young lady had more than a little temper. Seeing the look in her eyes Ash made a mental note not to anger her unless it was a life or death situation. He didn’t get much more time to think about it as the medicine started to do its work. The last thing he saw was the young ladies smiling face as her hand brushed the stray strands of hair out of his face.

  The next time he woke he found that his head was still laying in the young ladies lap. He tried to talk again causing him to go into a coughing fit. The young ladies face instantly took on a worried look as she turned his head as a dark red glob of mucus and dried blood exited his mouth. “That hurt,” Ash gasped. “I can talk again,” He said though his voice was dry and raspy.

  “Are you hurting Sir Ash?” The young lady asked as she lifted his head back up and whipped the sweat off his brow with a light pink embroidered handkerchief.

  “Yes,” Ash gasped as pain surged through his body. Once again the bitter green liquid was poured down his throat and the pain slowly subsided.

  “Better?” She asked with a bright smile.

  “Yes, thank you…Miss,” Ash said trying to smile.

  “You can call me Emelia,” she said with a beaming smile as she once again wiped the remains of the potion from the corners of his mouth. “I haven’t had a chance to thank you yet for saving us. None of your companions seemed to know much about you besides your name. Do you mind telling me where you are from?”

  Ash thought for a moment but it was not like he could tell her that he had come from a different world. “I don’t know. I woke up in the woods outside of the town with nothing to my name.”

  “I see,” her eyes took on a fierce look as if she were probing him.

  “Do you mind if I ask about the wings on your back young sir?” The other voice asked in a harsh tone.

  “I have a small amount of demon blood. I am a sub-human,” Ash said bitterly expecting to be thrown to the side of the road.

  “I see. Milady we cannot have such a person traveling with us. I know he has done us a great service but would it not be better to have him placed in the back of the merchant’s wagon?”

  “Edger how would you like to ride in the wagon instead?” the young lady said the fire returning to her eyes.

  “No milady,” Edgar said his voice drifting off.

  “From you ID plate I know that you were a sub-human but I didn’t expect demon blood. No matter what you blood you have saved me and I will see that you are properly rewarded no matter what the small minded fools think.”

  “Please don’t trouble yourself,” ash said worriedly. It was not that he didn’t want a reward. In fact gold would be much appreciated but he didn’t want to draw attention to himself. He had quickly learned what people in this kingdom thought about sub-humans and they were not very good. Beast men or demi-humans were disliked but not disdained yet sub-humans a mix human blood and beast men, demon, or in some cases monsters such as ogres, goblins and the like were seen by most as tainted blood.

  “It is no trouble,” Emelia said with a tone of finality letting him know that she would broke no further arguments on the subject.

  There was so much more he wanted to ask about. What had happened after he was thrown? Was everyone else ok? Yet his mind couldn’t hold onto the questions for more than a breath. Ash yawned and tried to fight the haziness as the medicine started to work on him but it was useless and soon he was slipping off to sleep again.

  1-6

  Ash spent most of the journey to the city asleep or in a stupor. The only thing he saw over those days was Emelia’s smile. When they neared the city Ash could hear the sound of other people. Suddenly the door to the coach was thrown open and revealing an old man with a grey bread and white robe. “Duchess Hawkwing to what do we owe the honor of your visit to our shrine?” the man asked while bowing so low that his beard brushed the ground

  Seeing how the man acted a spike of fear went through Ash. He always paid close attention in school and had taken a liking to medieval times in Europe. What he had learned was that nobles tended to be very harsh to those that did not follow protocol when dealing with them and Ash had been using such a nobles lap as a pillow and calling her as if he had known her for years.

  “We have injured people foremost of those is this young man,” Emelia said indicating Ash with a wave of her hand.

  “Of course milady,” the elder healer said before calling over four young men who carefully carried Ash from the coach and into the large stone building. He was laid on a cold stone table and the healers began to chant as a warm white light enveloped their hands and passed over Ash alleviating the pain that had been plaguing him.

  Thanks to his dire wounds it took the healers more than two hours before he was completely well. As soon as they were done Ash carefully sat up and looked at the young lady in whole for the first time. She was much shorter than he thought, no more than 5’3. Her short stature didn’t seem to hinder her as she stood with an elegance that brought a blush to Ash’s cheeks. “My thanks Milady Duchess,” Ash said bowing at the waist hoping that he could use his illness for his lack of grace over the past few days.

  When Ash raised his head he noticed that Emelia did not look pleased. He tried to think of what might have happened to upset her but nothing came to mind. Smiling he gathered his courage. “Do you happen to know where my companions are?”

  “First I believe I gave you a name to call me and it wasn’t duchess or milady,” Emelia said angrily. The look on her puffed up cheeks reminded him that even if she acted older she was still a young lady. “Second you’re so called companions left over an hour ago.”

  “Is that so… Emelia,” Ash said adding the last when Emelia’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “Then I will need to find lodgings. Do you happen to know of a decent inn?”

  “I told you that I will see you properly repaid and yet you wish to leave already,” Emelia said clenching her small hands. “Is my company that bothersome?”

  “No nothing of the sort,” Ash answered quickly.

  “Good,” Emelia said flashing a dazzling smile. “Then you will join me at my manor within the city.”

  Unable to think of a good reason to decline Ash simply nodded his head. The ride to her manor was quiet as neither of the two could think of anything to say.

  When they arrived ash found what she called a manor was a three story building large enough to house a dozen families. “Let me sh
ow the guest to his room,” Edgar said picking up Ash’s pack.

  “Make sure he is in the garnet suite,” Emelia said in a stern voice.

  Ash could tell that Edger wasn’t happy about the choice of rooms but the older man chose not to say anything about it. Ash was taken to a large room on the third floor with a canopy bed that could sleep six people comfortably.

  Placing his bag in the oversized closet Ash laid down on the bed but having slept over the past few days he wasn’t really tired so when a knock came at his door he quickly jumped to his feet and ran to answer it. What he found on the other side was Emelia wearing a dark green dress with lightly damp hair. “She must have just taken a bath.”

  As soon as the door opened Emelia walked in and quickly closed it behind her. With a heavy sigh she sat on the edge of the bed and called for Ash to sit beside her. “Ash what are you planning to do now?” she asked her eyes dodging around nervously.

  “I came to the city so that I could go into the labyrinth. As soon as I can I plan to do just that,” Ash said as he ran his eyes over the floor. He had never spent a single moment alone with a female before, he hadn’t even talked to one before outside of a teacher.

  “Then you can stay here,” Emelia declared happily.

  “I don’t mean to be rude but why?”

  “Ugh…Honestly…I-I want someone to talk to,” Emelia said seemingly to fight with the words that came out of her mouth.

  “That seems odd,” Ash blurted out.

  “You are right there are plenty of other nobles I can talk to but it is not a pleasant process. I am the youngest landed noble since my father passed away last spring. The other nobles send their young sons here hoping to have them take over my property by the way of marriage. If I try to find someone of the lower class to talk to they are all so stiff that it feels as if I am torturing them. You even after you learned I was a duchess you didn’t really treat me different. It was refreshing…That is all I want.”

  “If that is all then I guess it is ok,” Ash said after giving it plenty of thought.