An Adventurer's Heart

by Tao Wong

  As the Ogre steps forward, Asin’s bolo hits, wrapping around the creature’s legs. It jerks the Champion to a halt, forcing it to stumble as small lightning arcs jump between its legs. Asin immediately follows up with a Piercing Shot, the thrown knife plunging into the creature’s supporting limb and forcing the Ogre to the ground.

  Rolling quickly, Daniel just barely manages to avoid being crushed, the unwashed scent of the Champion crossing to his prone form. Kneeling, Daniel sees the elbow the Ogre is using to prop itself up, and he stands, triggering Perin’s Blow to smash the limb downwards into the ground. The blow cracks the elbow, forcing it to bend as it meets the ground and Daniel immediately attacks the arm again with another pair of Skill-aided strikes.

  Arm twitching, the Champion lashes out, catching Daniel in the side. The Adventurer twists his body, rolling with the blow as best he can. Woozy on his feet, Daniel is forced to cast a Minor Healing on himself as he patches himself up from the multiple heavy blows he has received.

  Rather than allowing the monster the chance to stand, Asin rushes forward while Daniel recovers and ducks in close to the Ogre, plunging knives into the back of the creature’s exposed thighs, attempting to hamstring the opponent. White sparks fly, and the Champion forcibly defecates itself as the electricity robs the Champion of its bodily functions. The unexpected attack forces Asin to flinch, assaulted as she is by the sudden noxious and unexpected onslaught. Distracted for a brief moment, she does not notice the leg barreling into her side until it is too late and she crashes into the ground, her arm breaking with the impact.

  The crippled Champion struggles to its knees, roaring in defiance as Daniel, fully recovered, rushes it. He ducks under the right jab that comes at him, jumping into the air and triggering a Shield Bash as he slams his shield right into the bridge of the Ogre’s nose. As the Ogre grips its shattered nose, Daniel throws his body into the next attack that lands against the monster’s temple to end the fight.

  Limping over, Asin lets out a low yowl of pain to attract Daniel’s attention. He then moves to set her arm before he heals her. She whimpers, feeling bone grate as he adjusts her injured limb before the cool wash of the spell rolls over her inflamed nerves. Still, through the pain, she watches the cave entrance and the mana stone in the chest in case of thieves in red cloaks. Having done what little he can for the moment, Daniel hurries over to pocket their loot before returning to help the Beastkin again.

  “Enough for today?” Daniel asks, his mana all used up.

  “Yes,” Asin nods, slowly limping forward. Her arm felt fragile as it always did after a healing and the bruise on her hip was not fully fixed as yet.

  “Here, let me fix that…” Daniel reaches out to extend his Gift, and Asin hisses at him, realizing what he is up to. While she doesn’t know what exactly the Gift costs him, she understands that all Gifts had a cost. “Asin…”

  “Small. I fine,” Asin insists, forcing herself to walk with less of a limp.

  “Asin…” Daniel prods her, and she grumbles, looking at him. “We’re partners.”

  “Mana. Later,” Asin insists and then pauses, adding. “Monster Gift.”

  “Umm…”

  “Fight monster. Use Gift,” Asin tries again.

  “Okay,” Daniel sighs, walking a few further steps and then stopping. His crossbow! Hurrying back, he gets it and checks it over for damage as he returns to his friend who is rubbing at her side. While he isn’t happy with her decision, at least she compromised. And he could too.

  As they walk back, they spot the group of Adventurers from before, though they are missing one of their numbers. As they near, they see that the group is tying together a series of ropes and are standing around the now-exposed pit trap.

  “Problem?” Daniel asks as he nears them, curious more than anything else.

  “Our friend fell down the pit trap, but he’s okay,” a hammer wielding Adventurer answers for the group. “He was hurrying to get to the Champion and well…”

  Asin’s ears twitch as she listens to the familiar voice of the half-dressed Adventurer shout at the party to hurry up. Obviously, the fall had done little harm to the hardy Adventurer. Prodding Daniel, she gestures for them to keep walking and Daniel nods, turning away.

  “Hey, did you two just come from the Champion?” a female Adventurer asks, her voice high and melodic as she hands her part of the rope over.

  “Yes,” Daniel answers.

  “Damn, just the two of you? And you’re barely hurt!” Admiration fills her voice as she eyes the pair. “You guys must be pretty high level.”

  Daniel shrugs and Asin says nothing, though her tail curls slightly in amusement.

  “Shit. Now we’ve got to tell Omrak that you guys killed the Champion,” groans another Adventurer. At this statement, all his friends look crestfallen. While the group contemplates this dire news, the pair head off.

  “We could leave him there…” Asin overhears one last suggestion as the pair limp off.

  That evening, Daniel and Asin are seated in the Spinning Top, sharing a meal after a hard day’s work. It was a good haul for their level, and the two were celebrating with a good meal and drink. Staring at their now empty plates, they were contemplating the apple pie on offer, wondering if they could fit another piece.

  A noise catches the attention of the pair, seated in the corner as they are. The large, half-dressed man in furs cries out in happiness, striding over and grinning widely. “I have found you!”

  Daniel frowns, shifting back in his chair and letting a hand drop to his lap. Asin makes no overt move either though her tail starts waving lazily. While it was unusual, it was not unheard of for Adventurers to seek retribution for kills stolen. As the Adventurer nears them, Daniel is surprised to see how young he his - barely more than sixteen at a guess, his face unlined and still growing, hair a pale yellow. The Adventurer moves fluidly, though his encounters earlier in the day show on his shirtless and muscular torso. Still, the bruising seems to be doing little to slow down the exuberant youngster.

  “Yes?” Daniel asks, realizing that the Adventurer tops him by nearly a foot. And he might not even be done growing yet!

  “I wanted to meet the two mighty Adventurers who beat the Champion by themselves. Such bravery must be toasted! I am Omrak, son of Losin,” the youngster speaks, his voice so loud it is almost a shout. He gestures over the nearest waitress. “Come, serve these heroes a drink. I shall take an ale.”

  “Noisy!” Asin scolds, rubbing at her ears.

  “It is very much so, is it not? This a good tavern!” replies Omrak, his volume not changing. “And who are you, heroes?”

  “I’m Daniel, and this is Asin,” Daniel answers, gesturing to his companion before continuing. “And she was speaking of you.”

  “Ah.” Pausing, Omrak lowers his voice to a stage whisper, “Is this better?”

  Asin rolls her eyes as the waitress comes over with three mugs, one filled with Sabu and the other two ale. Eyeing Asin’s drink, Omrak says, “What is that purple mixture?”

  “Sabu. It’s a traditional Beastkin drink,” Daniel replies and glances at the mug before he smiles, relaxing slightly. “Thank you for the drink.”

  “Not at all. Congratulations on killing the Champion. I see my companions were in error - you heroes are entirely uninjured. You must be truly mighty warriors,” Omrak says.

  “Uhh… no. We healed up,” Daniel replies while Asin returns to scraping her plate clean.

  “Yes. Of course, you heroes would be able to afford a great many healing potions. They are extremely expensive here, are they not?” Omrak says again, rubbing at his side. “I, myself, have had to purchase a few.”

  “We did notice your… particular fighting style,” Daniel replies, then seizing on the chance adds. “There was a red mist coming from you while you were fighting?”

  “The Battle Rage! It is a Skill for our warriors, but it is not as useful against a single opponent,” Omrak clarifies, grinni
ng. “You Southerners do not have its like. It gives one extra strength and deadens the pain of the fight.”

  “That’s pretty nice,” Daniel nods, realizing where Omrak must come from. Further to the North, past the Gray Mountains was a deep valley that bisected the land where numerous smaller city states existed. Further North of these city states, a small sea separated their lands from Squalak. The mountainous countries that made up that land were well known for calling those who lived further South of them in less harsh and cold climates Southerners.

  “Come, let us toast!” Omrak gestures to their drink and Asin sighs, picking up her drink as Daniel does too. “To Great Heroes. May our names be written in the stars!”

  Drinking from their cups, they look at Omrak who stands there grinning at them for long moments. As things grow uncomfortable, Daniel coughs and adds, “Would you care to join us?”

  “Yes!” Grabbing a nearby seat, Omrak sits down. “Come, heroes; let us speak of our adventures.”

  Asin rolls her eyes again but stops when Omrak drops coin on the table as he waves the waitress over. “I require dinner and more drinks for my friends!” Well, perhaps Asin could stay if he was paying. Free drinks were free drinks.

  A week later, the pair walk into Maxwell’s store. It had been a long week, working the seventh level again and again for mana stones but they had finally earned enough to cover the cost of the two B Grade stones they were missing as well as to pay for their living expenses for a few more weeks.

  “At last! I thought you two would never be done,” Maxwell grumbles, taking the pouch and staring at the stones within. He checks them over carefully, nodding in satisfaction. These stones would be more than enough to power the furnace while he was working on his Masterwork. “Are you getting my venom sacs then?”

  “Yes,” Daniel answers, smiling slightly. “We’re going out in two days.”

  “Two days!” Maxwell says, his voice rising. “Why are you taking so long?”

  “We need maps, equipment, provisions,” Daniel says. “We also have our lives to live you know. We’ve been down in the Dungeon every day since we got back from your trip.”

  “Still…”

  “Two days. If we are lucky, we’ll get the sacs easily and be back in a few days. Then it’ll finally be done,” Daniel says and then continues after a pause. “Can I see the pieces?”

  Maxwell shuts his mouth around further protests and sighs, waving Daniel over. Ever since Daniel had arrived back, he had been taking measurements and building out the pieces of armor for Daniel, laying each completed piece at the back. While the pieces were mostly finished, final adjustments would need to be made when Daniel put the pieces on to ensure the armor fit comfortably and allowed a full range of motion. As Daniel’s eyes fall on the helmet, he reaches out to gently stroke it before glancing at Max.

  “Could I maybe put a deposit on this? I don’t really have a helmet…” Daniel asks tentatively. It was outside of their contract after all. Maxwell frowns and then looks at the youngster once more before he shakes his head.

  “No.” Seeing Daniel’s crestfallen face, he holds it up to him. “You can keep it. I trust you. Now, put it on and let me adjust it.”

  Grinning, Daniel takes the arming cap from Maxwell first and then slides on the helmet. The conical helmet covers most of Daniel’s face, leaving only his eyes and his mouth exposed, the lower cheek guards flaring downwards a distance. Asin nods approvingly, lips twitching slightly as Daniel shifts around uncomfortably as Maxwell checks the chin straps and the fit. If Daniel was going to wear a helmet and cut down on his senses, he might as well go all the way.

  Pulling the helmet off Daniel’s face, Maxwell sets to fixing it immediately. Daniel walks over to his friend, murmuring, “You?”

  “No,” Asin shakes her head and then taps her ears. “No hear. No smell. No see. Bad. Very bad.”

  “Mmmm…” Daniel grunts and then shrugs after a moment. It was her choice, though as fighting got fiercer, her ability to dodge all blows would become more and more difficult.

  Seeing and smelling his concern, Asin chuckles and taps her temple again, “Enchantment. Protection. Buy soon. Daniel pay me.”

  Daniel frowns for a moment, piecing together finally that she would buy a protection enchantment instead from the money he owed her. Feeling somewhat more comforted, he absently pats at his wallet. Giving away three-quarters of his earnings constantly and having to earn the mana stones meant that he was living lean these days. Still, a custom suit of armor would be worth it, he could feel it in his bones. As Maxwell calls him over, Daniel hurries to him as Asin, bored, bids them farewell. They had set their meeting time in two days, and she had much to do before then.

  “So soon,” Khy’ra says dejectedly, slowly rotating her spoon around the bowl of soup in front of her. Seated in the Spinning Top that evening, the Elf digests the information that Daniel is about to leave again.

  “It’ll only be a short while this time!” Daniel answers her hurriedly, squeezing her hand. “And I’ve got tomorrow off if you can get it…”

  Khy’ra flashes Daniel a small smile, unwilling to explain that it was his leaving Karlak soon that brought down the Elf. The experienced Elf and former Adventurer knew that with his new armor, it would only be a few months after that before Daniel was done with the Dungeon and thus this town. “Tomorrow… I have meetings in the morning, but I can take the rest of the day off,” she says firmly. If she was to lose him, she might as well enjoy it while she could. It was after all her way.

  “That’s great! I have to do some shopping anyway for the trip,” Daniel says, reaching out to squeeze her hand and smiling. “I also have something I want to show you in my room.” Khy’ra laughs and, realizing what he said, Daniel begins to blush. “No, it’s a helmet!”

  This just makes Khy’ra giggle more, and Daniel just gives up, hanging his head. Elise, drawn over by the sight of a giggling Elf raises an eyebrow.

  “Daniel has a helmet he wants to show me. In his room,” giggles Khy’ra.

  Elise, obviously not finding the joke as funny as the Elf, sniffs and walks away. This does little to ease Khy’ra’s giggles, though she does reach out to grab Daniel’s hand again and give it a squeeze. Tomorrow would do and as many tomorrows as she could get.

  Chapter 15

  The Pearly Forest was situated southwest of Karlak and technically was still part of Brad. However, the presence of the Querk Spiders and other monsters made the ownership of the forest more theoretical than fact. Spread over hundreds of kilometers, it included lands in both Brad and the Borderlands where the Orc tribes roamed, unchecked.

  Still, as dangerous as living next to the forest was, the easy supply of lumber and monster parts for alchemical solutions drove the growth of small frontier villages and the farms required for sustenance. Eventually, the forest would be clear-cut to such a point that a new fort and village would spring up, and the old one would become just another border village.

  It was to one such village that Asin and Daniel had visited before they journeyed into the forest itself. Rather than trek through the wilderness on a wild search for the Querk Spiders and the venom sacs they required, the pair had decided to pay for the information from local hunters. Querk Spiders were dangerous, and while their venom sacs were prized, there was significantly easier game to be hunted. As such, it was easier for these hunters to avoid known lairs which gave Adventurers like Asin and Daniel a chance to purchase maps like the one they were even now perusing.

  Head bent over the document, Asin and Daniel murmur softly as they peruse the scratched together map. Unfortunately, none of the Hunters they had spoken to had a mapping proficiency, and the document they held could only be barely considered a map through a very broad definition of the term. Twice already the pair had gotten lost in the forest in their search for the first lair, though at least Daniel’s own Skill was allowing him to quickly develop an understanding of the layout of their surroundings in his min
d. In time, they would certainly be able to navigate the forest significantly easier.

  Ears twitching, Asin steps away from Daniel swiftly, drawing her knife. Turning slowly, her gaze locks to their left and Daniel quickly follows suit after stuffing the map away. Even as he reaches for his mace, a small gray creature bounds forwards on three legs in an attack only to be caught in mid-air by Asin’s blade. It drops bonelessly, but behind it come even more monsters.

  “Gray Mus,” Daniel mutters unconsciously as he squats to get a better angle to hit the small, fast moving rodent-like creatures. As their name implied, the rodents were gray in color, each about a handspan in size with a pair of extremely sharp front teeth. While not dangerous individually, the Gray Mus were aggressive pests that reproduced quickly and were willing to swarm larger prey. Still, attacking two full grown humanoids was unusual.

  As Daniel swings at the first Mus that nears him, he is distracted by the loud cracking of a branch further behind the tide of creatures. The targeted Mus does not even stop, fleeing past Daniel as their natural predator in the forest comes barreling after them.

  The Tento Gulo darts outwards, its long brown body hugging the ground as vine-like tentacles topped with stingers lash out, one after the other to carry the unlucky Mus to its long, snouted maw. The brown-black monster with its long-lean body and oversized head crunched down on each Mus that entered its mouth, needle-sharp teeth tearing apart its unlucky prey.

  Asin, having sent a last dagger into a Mus watches as the unlucky rodent is speared as well and brought to the Gulo’s mouth, her blade still lodged in its body.

  The Gulo pauses its pursuit, staring at the two Adventurers, tentacles whipping around itself. Daniel stays crouched down, watching the monster as Asin readies a pair of throwing knives. For a few tense moments, both parties stare at one another before the Gulo slowly backs away, drawing its captured prey to its mouth as it does so.