Yohsuke laughed and pulled out his Lightning Astral Adaptor. It looked like the hilt of a katana with yellow leather wrapped around the grip. He activated it, and black mana with white dots that looked like stars in the night sky erupted from the hilt.
“This is my weapon, it’s called an Astral Blade.” Yohsuke held it up so Muu could look at it. “It deals un-aspected magical damage, but this adaptor lets me channel my mana and give it lightning elemental damage if I choose. It can also become a spear if I choose, but I usually prefer my normal sword. I also cast spells and recently made a pact with a demon to gain more spells and power. So I guess that makes me a warlock too.”
Muu looked to me next, and I shifted from my fox-man form to panther, then fox, to Ursolon, and back to full human. “My power lies with Mother Nature. I am her guardian. She allows me the forms of her children and elemental magic to deal damage. I was blessed by the Primordial Elementals of Earth, Fire, Water, and Air, so I can also assume elemental forms. They cost me mana and have a cooldown, though, so I’m not gonna do those right now. Also, I use a great axe as a weapon.”
I equipped Storm Caller from my inventory and threw it at a small tree. It sliced cleanly through it, and then I summoned it back to my hand. It turned into lightning and returned like I was struck on the hand by a bolt of electricity. Then it returned to its normal shape.
Had to admit, among my friends, who were all so amazing at the things they did—it was super nice having someone looking at me in wonder as I showed off some of my abilities and spells.
Like that kid on the block who has the nicest new toy but has no idea how to actually use it? Yeah, that was me.
“I just have my handy-dandy bow and my trusty sidekick Tmont, tail bane,” Bokaj said easily. He seemed to be cooling down from his worrying over his best friend. “Balmur, though, is a Rogue who can step through shadows and cast some spells. It’s pretty damned brutal, man.”
“Wooooah,” Muu said in absolute awe. “That’s so badass. I can’t wait to see what I can do eventually! So when do we start power leveling me up?”
“We will get you trained for a week before we go out and start killing shit, man.” Yohsuke held his hands out as if to slow the eager newbie down. “We need you to live through what is coming so you get the experience. Until then? We have you fight some basic shit and work with us.”
“Sounds fair,” Muu agreed. “So what’s the deal with the heavy ass armor you’re having made for me?”
“Stats can change from performing things like strength training and the like,” James explained. “So it’s possible to be much stronger than your level may allow.”
“Right on,” he said. “Let’s see about some food. I’m starving!”
We laughed and headed for the tavern for a good meal and some quality time with alcohol. We had a couple drinks and told Muu about some more of our adventures. Before long, we retired for some sleep.
* * *
The following morning, I had to kick the door to Muu’s room open to be sure he was awake. One thing to remember about him is that he’s like a cat. He can sleep for more than twelve hours and still wake up exhausted. Never enough sleep for him.
“Wake up, newb!” I ordered boisterously. He groaned and got up. He was still wearing his clothes from yesterday. “We need to get some chow, then head to the market. We’re going to get some stuff for you, then get your weapon. We’ll do some light training this afternoon before the feast tonight. Bokaj and T are already out there somewhere training somehow, so let’s go!”
“Free food?” Muu perked up at the prospect. “I like food. What kind of stuff do we need to get?”
“New clothes—you stank, bitch,” Jaken teased as he was walking by. “Potions and all kinds of goodies, man. Wash up and let's go eat.”
I showed him the wash basin. “Use this, and we’ll be out in the dining room waiting with the food.”
We finished our meal quickly and set out to see what we could find. It was just early enough in the morning that the vendors and hawkers were beginning to set up shop. Jaken decided to go check in with Rowland and see how the weapons and armor were coming—maybe give them a hand.
Muu once more looked at the world with wonder and awe. It was nice seeing someone so enthused by something that I seemed to be taking for granted lately.
I sighed at the thought, then remembered that I hadn’t introduced someone very precious to me to Muu yet. “Hey, man, come here for a second.”
“What’s up, bud?” Muu asked. He was starting to master facial expressions, but the look on his face was a mix of oh shit and curiosity.
“Let me introduce you to my familiar and companion, Kayda.” I touched the stone on the collar around my neck, and black smoke began to roil out of it.
Muu backed up a couple paces as Kayda in her full glory shrieked in joy at being released. She spread her wings wide and ruffled her feathers.
“WHAT IS THAT?!” Muu shrieked. He stood still for a moment in thought before hesitantly coming forward a single step, but I warded him off with a hand.
“Kayda, my love, this is a man who is very important to me, okay?” I pointed to him, and she regarded him with open curiosity. “He’s like Uncle Yohsuke. You can be cool with him. He’s going to be with us from now on.”
She sent me a mental image of him and Goblin?
I tried—and failed—to stifle the laughing fit that I fell into at her question and the implication. “No, dear, he’s not a Goblin. He’s part Dragon and green. He’s family.”
Family. He touch? She looked from me to him and quirked her head to the side quizzically. Pet?
“She wants you to pet her,” I translated, “but be careful, though. She’s a Storm Roc. She could shock you or be really cold.”
“Okay,” he drew out the word as he sidled closer to her. “Hey there, girl. Kayda? Why does your name sound familiar? Name her after..?”
“Yeah, I named her after my son,” I explained simply.
“Ah, that’s why.” He nodded and stuck his hand out toward her. Kayda, excited for a pat from people she could trust, threw her head against his hand. Muu flinched and yelped, “Ah! You tell me to be easy, and she’s just out here going for it. Pretty bird. Polly want a cracker?”
“She could kill you with a lightning bolt,” Yohsuke said mildly from behind him. “Hey, bird!”
I hadn’t seen him walk up, but Kayda had, and she was ecstatic to see him, especially because he smelled like fresh food. Supporting her running theory that when she saw him, she got to eat his food.
She hopped from where she was in front of Muu and almost knocked him down trying to get to her other uncle.
True to form, Yohsuke reached into his inventory and pulled out a leg of some kind of animal and put it in front of her. She pecked at it furiously, making cooing noises as she ate.
“Thanks for waiting for me while I finished up in the kitchen, fuckers.”
“That’s your familiar?” Muu whispered to me. “How the hell did you get her? And where do I find one?! Maybe not a bird, though.”
“She’s the only Storm Roc that I am aware of,” I explained sadly. “Yoh and I found her during a quest. Her mother was mortally wounded and the rest of the clutch shattered. It took us a while to get her to hatch—we had to feed her a constant stream of electricity to have it happen before the mom died. She’s been with me since. I told you that the other day, man. You forget it already?”
“Dude, new world? Magic, monsters? Magic! I could barely stop feeling myself up, let alone listen to every story. Give me some time to adjust, and I’ll pay more attention.” Muu eyed Kayda softly for a second, an odd look in his eyes. “Lost her mom? Well then, she’s gonna be spoiled as shit. Just let me know when she’s gonna be around, okay?” Muu spoke with a determined twinkle in his eye. I’d seen that look back home.
Now, I don’t know about you, but the prospect of watching this majestic creature of the skies turn into a bird ripe for t
he Thanksgiving table made me shiver, y’all! I didn’t even pay attention to that last bit.
And no—you sicko—not in anticipation. I would definitely be putting her ass on a diet. Gotta stay fit to fight. I was gonna get electrocuted. Damn it.
“Well, let’s get you geared up and some stuff you’ll need for our training and just general life here,” I advised him. I grabbed his shoulder, and we were off.
“What about Kayda?”
“She’s fine.” I looked back at her, and I could feel her contentment. “She knows where I am and how to find me. Besides, Yohsuke will keep people from touching her uninvited. Last poor bastard who did that can’t see her without twitching, she shocked him so bad.”
“Remind me not to piss her off.” Muu shivered.
“You won’t need me to. She will let you know.” I chuckled.
We came into the square, the morning light bouncing off trinkets and baubles. There was a small breeze, and people were still setting up. It took a moment, but we found a clothier, the one I had used before. Muu and I both bought clothes in our sizes. I bought enough to last two weeks. It wasn’t like I couldn’t put it all in my inventory. I kept it basic, though. Black or brown breeches and several colorful shirts. It wasn’t expensive at all. I paid two gold with a tip included. Muu did the same with the money he got from his chest with his clothes and other items.
“A gold gets you a lot here,” he said offhand when we were away from the happy vendor.
“Yeah, it does. My first weapon without the tip cost me about five gold, if I remember correctly.” I waved to some children who had stopped to stare at us. “The people here are honest folk who work hard—they volunteered to take us in. We pay them well. I believe the exchange rate for money is a ten to one. So ten copper to a silver, so on and so forth. The rest of us have plenty of money, though, so your money will be no good for a while for things other than the very basic necessities.”
“Thanks, man, I really appreciate it.”
I showed him to some of the other vendors. I went over to the jeweler and browsed his wares. The seedy human stared at me hopefully and answered my questions readily. He sold me several gold rings, a gold bracelet, and a couple gold earrings. It cost me fifteen gold altogether. I tested the quality of each item and found them sufficient for the experiments I had in mind.
I took Muu to the potion stand and found the whole family waiting there, setting up.
“We wondered when you would be back, Uncle Zeke!” little Daisy shouted as we approached. “Who’s your weird friend?”
“Daisy!” her mother and father reprimanded her hurriedly.
Muu, ever the character at home and in this life, stuck his tongue out at her, crossed his eyes, and made a funny noise while dancing. “I’m not weird, you are!” he teased.
The little blonde girl giggled in delight and rocketed out from behind the stand to play. While she chased Muu and grabbed at his tail, I went to speak to the rest of the family.
“Good morning,” I shook the father’s hand. “I’m sorry. In all the commotion last night, I learned the family’s names but not yours or your surname.”
He looked shocked for a moment, but it passed. “Forgive me, I’m Bryn Forrester. Can we interest you in any of our wares?”
“Why yes, yes you can.” I grinned at him. “Your potions did me exceedingly well in my time here, and I was wondering if you had anything more powerful at hand?”
“For you?” Nora said with a sweet smile. “We normally sell our stock of these potions with the seller who goes to the cities within a week’s journey, but we will happily sell you these ones. We could even take a commission for stronger ones if you would like to wait?”
She pulled a box of potions out from the bottom of the stall; there were thirty of them, small and in what looked like vials with wax sealed corks.
“Each one of these is a health potion of middling quality. The low-quality ones we sold you before heal twenty-five HP.” She held a smaller vial up with a reddish-pink liquid inside—the old product. “These ones will heal fifty. We have similar ones of the mana potions, though we only have twenty of them right now.”
The new potions looked to be more red and vibrant. The vial was slightly larger, now that I compared the two. The fifty would help, but it was kind of low. Then again, the potions were only to help in a time of actual great need. They were meant to augment healing from me, Jaken, and any ability the others had to replenish health.
“Okay, and what would you have the seller take for these?” I wondered. “After—I’m assuming—he takes his commission.”
“We typically get five silvers for every sale of the low quality,” she explained. “With the seller, he marks the price of the batch up so that we get close to the actual price of each potion.”
“So, if these are twice as good, it would make sense to charge twice as much. So a gold apiece?”
She bit her lip and nodded. Her husband put a hand out to get my attention. “We would never dream of charging you full price again after what you did for us and for this village. We would happily take eight silver.”
“No,” I said resolutely. They looked mildly distressed, so I continued before they could interject, “What we did was what we would do for anyone taking care of us the way you all do. I will pay full price, and I will buy the lot of both.”
Nora looked as if she was about to cry right then and there. She seemed like she was a crier. Bryn, though, seemed stunned.
“And I believe commissions were mentioned?” I asked hopefully. Nora nodded quietly, so I took the opportunity to press on, “What kind of potions could you make?”
“Ah, um. Well, it depends. I could make stronger versions of the health and mana potions given enough time to treat the ingredients and brew them correctly. I could make potions of strength, uh water breathing, resistance—though for a specific kind I need specific ingredients—and I could make other less… savory kinds of brews?”
“Like poisons?” My eyebrows shot up.
She panicked, and her arm began to flutter in my direction. “Don’t say it out loud!” She looked around to see if anyone heard. “Reputable alchemists don’t typically work with poisons and venoms. Bryn brings me things at times to strengthen my potions that, if used by a lesser alchemist, would kill someone. Over time, I worked out how to combine them in different ways to terrible effect, but I do not enjoy that work.”
“Oh, I see. Well, my friends and I might have use for some of your most powerful… detrimental works if you would be able to create them?” I thought a moment, then added, “As well as some of the more powerful potions, and if you experiment and make something interesting, I would love to hear about it.”
“Oh, Zekiel, you’ve made ours a very busy family.” Bryn smiled. “Thank you.”
I waved the thanks away. “It’s all gonna keep me alive a little longer. How much do I owe you? Thirty for the health potions, twenty for the mana potions, and how much for the um, unmentionables?”
“Well, for my strongest stuff, I’d say maybe three gold for three vials? It would take a day or two for us to get them together and in applicators that will keep you from getting hurt while using them.”
I dug into my coin pouch, dug out the fifty-three gold and handed it to Nora. Then I palmed another five gold to give them.
“Just in case money. If something gets made, three gold should cover it. The other two gold is a tip for you. This is a beneficial agreement, so please, keep this a secret, okay?”
Bryn shook my hand so hard, I thought he was going to pull my arm off. “Thank you, Zekiel. Thank you so much.”
“My friends and family call me Zeke,” I corrected him, “and unless I’m mistaken, I’m Uncle Zeke now. But the buying isn’t over. Muu! Quit letting that little girl beat the crap out of you and come buy some potions, man.”
I looked to find my friend laying on his back with the little girl trying to tickle him. He was squealing and yelling like h
e was terrified, “Help! She’s crazy!”
Kayda called from the sky, her shadow settling above the prone form of Muu. Wisely, Daisy backed off, but Muu wasn’t fast enough to escape the bird landing beside him. She pecked at him—gently—because she wanted to play too.
“Zeeeeeeke, the bird!” Muu shrieked. “Oh, god! Get the bird!”
“Get him birdy!” Daisy giggled in delight.
Kayda looked at her and sent me the image of her trying to tickle Muu. Play?
“Get him a little bit more, Daisy, don’t worry—Kayda will help!” I called to her.
“There goes your Christmas gift, Judas!” Muu shouted. Kayda plunked a clawed foot on to his chest and spread her wings wide in victory. Muu stiffened like a statue. The whole of the square was keen to see what was going on, what with all the noise.
Daisy chose that moment to spring on to him and tickle him with extreme prejudice. After a few minutes of his shrieking and trying to reason with the two, it finally ended when he raised his hands.
“I can’t! I give. I give up!” He gasped for air. “You win. I’ll never disrespect Daisy again, and I’ll feed the birds—BIRD—as often as she demands. Just get her off me!”
Kayda loosed a cry like thunder, and Daisy bolted behind her father. The Storm Roc gazed at the child in concern and hopped forward like a small bird on a branch.
Scared? She looked to me for help. I felt her remorse at scaring her little friend. I sent an image to her and suggested she give it a try. Kayda hopped forward one last time and held out her right clawed foot out closed.
I walked over to stand next to her and knelt down. I motioned for Daisy to come to me. It took some convincing from her father and mother. Finally, her brother Seth took her hand and walked her over.
“Kayda says that she’s sorry she scared you.” She gazed at the claw in worry. “Hold your hand out, and make a fist. There you go, like that. Now, bump your fist with her claw. See? Easy! That means that you guys are buddies now.”
Into the Dragon's Den (Axe Druid Book 2) Page 11