“With you hurting like tha’?” Erin came forward a few quick steps and took his arm. “We need to go see an alchemist an’ see about gettin’ an antidote first.” She did her best to mask her worry for him.
Wilbur shook his head. “I will not show weakness.”
“Fool,” Alburet said without malice. Wilbur’s head snapped like he had been struck. “It isn’t weakness to address an issue, but it is pigheaded to try and ignore the distress you’re causing the lady.”
Wilbur looked back at Erin, who was obviously upset by his pain. Wilbur gritted his teeth, caught between what he considered family honor and the woman he loved being distressed by his refusal of help. “I..” Wilbur paused, more conflicted than he thought he should be.
“Ya take me sister an’ ya go see an alchemist,” Stacia put in quietly, but her tone held unbending iron. “After ya be well, ya be takin’ her to hunt goblins. Tonight, an hour after the sun goes down, ya will meet us here for dinner in celebration of her first hunt.”
Wilbur looked at Stacia, seeing only love for Erin in her eyes, the iron will their mother had instilled in them, and an unwillingness to back down. “I yield,” Wilbur finally said, turning to Erin. “Does that plan suit you, Erin?”
Erin nodded, her eyes shiny with unshed tears. She’d been so worried, but now she felt relief and giddy happiness. “Aye, I would do nothin’ less for the man me heart beats for.”
Wilbur sucked in a breath at her words, shock and realization flashing across his face. “You are too kind to me,” he said, his voice barely carrying. “I see that I didn’t speak forcefully enough to my brother this morning about the love between us. You give me no quarter in our battle of wills. I have much to consider, now that I see where my heart beats. Please, Erin, show me the way, for surely I am blind without you at my side.”
With a bright smile in place, she took his arm and led him outside. Draping his arm over her shoulder, she helped him along to the closest alchemist, who, luckily, had the antidote for the long acting poison making his muscles quiver involuntarily.
They sat at a fountain to wait for the antidote to take effect. “Wilbur… Iffin ya do nay wish to hunt today—”
“I do, Erin. Truly, I do. Our argument last night, as well as the one with my brother this morning has shown me what I need to do. I have been weak in my determination to follow my heart a second time, unlike you, and your sisters, who are unbending. Please, give me the chance to prove myself to you.” Looking up from the ground to her, he saw the tears trailing down her cheeks, then she grabbed him and kissed him.
The kiss lingered, even after the tears stopped. “Ya fool, I will give ya time. Ya have nay idea how much it means to me tha’ ya did show. I was thinkin’ tha’ I had been wrong all along.”
“Then let me do as I promised,” Wilbur said as he got to his feet, his muscles finally obeying him. “A hunt in the goblin lands, with you at my side. Shall we go and see if you enjoy the hunt?”
“Aye, tha’ sounds grand to me,” Erin said, offering him her hand.
~*~*~
They’d picked up the quests for the area, and Erin was getting bored. Wilbur had been leading the way, cutting down Goblins with ease, oblivious to Erin’s growing frustration. After a few minutes of Goblin slaughter, he turned to speak to her, and Erin darted past him.
“Erin?” Wilbur called out in surprise as she went around him.
“I be bored! I be wantin’ to hunt too,” Erin said as she closed with the nearest Goblin, both of her blades out and ready.
The Goblin Farmer snarled, swinging its staff at her in self-defense. Erin did her best to deflect the blow, but the staff caught her on the wrist, causing her to drop the blade in her left hand. She got her other blade up and slashed the Goblin across the chest.
Hissing in pain, the Goblin Farmer stumbled back. Wilbur rushed the injured Goblin, cutting a bloody gouge across its neck with his sword. “Are you okay?” he asked, worried, having seen her get hit and the blade fall.
“I be fine,” Erin said, trying to go around him to get to the Goblin again.
Frowning, Wilbur stepped aside and let her hit the heavily wounded Goblin, finally killing it. “I’m sorry, Erin,” he said as he finally started to understand her frustration. “I didn’t even consider that you would be upset with me taking the lead.”
“For the last hour you’ve done everything and I’ve done nothing,” Erin said, her lips trembling. “It felt like the classes at the temple all over again.”
“I’m sorry,” Wilbur said sincerely. “I’ll stay behind you, but if you get into trouble I’ll step in to help you. Will that be okay?”
“Okay. Just let me do things,” Erin said as she retrieved her second blade.
“As you wish it, m’lady,” Wilbur said softly as she started to walk off.
Erin caught the words, and a smile turned up the corners of her mouth. Walking at a steady pace, she approached the next goblin, ready to try her luck. It didn’t go well for her— the Goblin had four levels on her, as well as Abilities, which she didn’t have since she didn’t have a class.
Wilbur stepped in when her health dropped to half, his one stroke doing enough damage to kill it. “Wait for your life to regen,” Wilbur said unnecessarily.
Lips thinning, Erin stamped her foot. “I know.”
Lips twitching as he tried to hold back a smirk at her expense, Wilbur nodded. “Sorry. If we find a healer and a couple of others, we can do the dungeon in the previous zone.”
Eyes going wide, she looked at him, “You mean it?”
“For you, yes,” Wilbur replied. “But you should get to level ten first.”
“Do I have to? I thought you could go into the Goblin Fort at level seven?”
“You can but you can’t get the quests until eight,” Wilbur said automatically.
“I’m already level eight,” Erin said, looking hopefully at Wilbur with puppy dog eyes. “Can we do it now? Please?”
“How about we finish off the village first?” Wilbur said, hoping to buy a little time. “That should finish up the quests for this zone. We can turn them in, then head out to do the dungeon.”
“Fine,” Erin said as she began walking briskly toward the village.
“Wait—we should talk about what we’re going to do inside the village,” Wilbur said, hurrying after her.
Glancing back, Erin’s smile was bright, “What? I can’t hear you.” She began sprinting toward the wall.
“Erin, wait—” Wilbur called out as he took off after her.
Laughing, Erin managed to keep her lead on him as she closed on the village. A dozen feet from the first hut, a Goblin Villager came around a corner. Skidding to a stop, Erin was surprised when a blur went past her and slammed into the Goblin.
“This is why I told you to wait,” Wilbur said, his Charge having gotten him to the goblin before it could turn on Erin.
Erin felt a moment of shame for not listening to him when he was worried about her. As Wilbur chopped the Goblin down, Erin’s eyes caught a blue glow coming from next to the hut. She knelt next to the glow, her eyes going wide as her breath caught in her throat.
“Erin,” Wilbur said, surprised to see her staring at an empty spot on the ground with wonder. “Are you okay?”
As she reached out slowly, a pop-up appeared in front of her. Tears began to fall from her eyes as she accepted the message and reached out to pick up the trap. “I’ve found it… after all this time… Darkness, why did it take so long?”
“Erin?” Wilbur asked, concerned.
“Me class. I finally found me class!” Erin said, looking up at him with tears of joy streaming down her face. “I can do more than just stab at thin’s now.”
“Wait—you’re just now finding your class?” Wilbur asked, not really believing what he was hearing.
“None of me sisters have been able to find our class. It be what made our time in the trainin’ camp so hard, and why none of us have really hun
ted.” Wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand, still holding the trap, she continued, “With ya here, I found it finally. I be a Trapsmith.”
Wilbur blinked. He’d never heard of anyone not finding their class, much less an entire family. A single person finding their class toward the end of the training camps held by the temples was rare enough as it was, but to finish that and still not have one?
“That is…” Trailing off, he saw the happiness in her eyes and changed his next few words. “Amazing. I’m very happy for you, and glad I was able to be here to share your happiness.”
Springing to her feet, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. Not the soft tentative kisses she had given him over the last two weeks, but a passionate, crazed one that demanded he match her.
Surprised, Wilbur did just that, his tongue meeting hers in a duel. When the kiss finally broke, he was breathing harder than she was. “That wasn’t… I didn’t mean to… It’s not proper…” Wilbur started and stopped multiple times as his brain fizzled.
“Aye, it be proper for me to be givin’ the man me be carin’ for a thank ya for helpin’ me find somethin’ lost for so long,” Erin said, still pressed against him, the trap dangling in her hand behind him. “I will be thankin’ ya proper later, too, and this time ya are nay goin’ to be holdin’ me off.” Eyes smoldering, she met his gaze and could see his resolute will starting to crumble. “Good. Now we be finishin’ this village, and then ya said ya was goin’ to take me into a dungeon, aye?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Wilbur mumbled, still in a bit of a daze.
“Aye. Mayhap tha’ be the best way for us goin’ forward,” Erin murmured as she watched his eyes dilate. “Ma’ always said some men need a guidin’ hand.” Giving him a quick, soft kiss, she released him and stepped back. “I be in ya hands then, me handsome guard.”
Blinking as she stepped away, Wilbur shook his head to clear the cobwebs. “I will keep you safe. The village has multiple mobs running around, though, so maybe stay behind me until I have them? I’ll keep them alive so you can try out your new class features.”
“Ya be a wonderful man, Wilbur.” Erin smiled, swaying fetchingly in place, “I will be right behind ya.” As Wilbur turned to lead her into the village, she dropped her voice so he wouldn’t hear the next part, “And iffin I get me way, ya will be behind me later tonight.”
~*~*~
Erin hit level nine by the time they finished the Goblin Village area and turned in the quests. A few quick portal hops brought them to the Goblin Keep area so Erin could experience the dungeon there.
“How are we goin’ to find people to group with?” Erin asked as they walked away from the sergeant she’d gotten the quests from.
“From what I’ve heard, there are a number of Two-souled in this area, so finding others won’t be an issue. Finding a healer might be, though,” Wilbur said as they exited the keep and looked over the field before them.
A dozen people were engaged with the mobs, each of them staking out an area to kill the lone Goblins that came to them. Wilbur scanned the area slowly, seeing mostly damage dealers. There were no tanks, and only one healer in the assembled Two-souled.
“We’ll go speak with that Paladin,” Wilbur said, leading her over to where the man was killing a Goblin. “He’s not using Holy Smite, so he might have gone for the healer side of the class.”
Following him, Erin eyed the mobs around her in a more aloof manner, knowing that she was easily their equal, now that she had a class of her own. Stopping with Wilbur, they waited for the Paladin to finish off the mob he was fighting.
When the mob dropped, Wilbur spoke up, “Excuse me, sir. We were thinking of putting together a team to try the dungeon. Are you perhaps a healer?”
The Paladin turned to them, surprised to see Wilbur in chain and plate, with shield and sword, and Erin in leather, with blades. “How can you wear plate already?” he blurted.
“I’m a much higher level than the zone. I’m here escorting my lady, so she might conquer the dungeon. I could just walk her through it, but she would really like to experience it as it is supposed to be done.”
“If you’re higher level,” the Paladin asked, “wouldn’t that mean we don’t get any experience if we go with you?”
“No. The gods have decreed that one can reduce their potential to match a dungeon in strength,” Wilbur said simply, surprised that the Two-souled didn’t know this fact. “If I reduce my level down to the dungeon’s, you will both get the proper amount of experience and it will be a challenge, as it should be.”
“Your lady, you said?” the Paladin hedged, as Erin cut an amazing sight in the tight fitting leathers.
“Aye, he be me boyfriend,” Erin grinned. “Me dashing knight, through and through.”
“Lucky man,” the Paladin chuckled. “I think that Justice would shine his Light upon us to conquer the dungeon for the betterment of the Crown.”
“Good,” Wilbur smiled as he extended an invite. “We just need two more who can deal damage, and we can enter the dungeon. Thank you for joining us, Jorlack Two-souled.”
“I got this,” Jorlack chuckled. Turning, he raised his voice to a shout, “Healer and Tank need two more DPS for dungeon run.”
A moment later, they had five people around them all asking to go. “Take the Elementalist and the Trapsmith,” Jorlack advised Wilbur, “but don’t take the Summoner, their damage is pathetic.”
“Erin is a Trapsmith so, sadly, we do not need a second,” Wilbur said to the Trapsmith who was waiting.
“Fucking figures,” the Lunari said as he walked off.
“I guess I’ll bow out, too,” the Summoner said, pointing his Imp toward the nearest Goblin.
“Wait,” Erin said, then turned to Wilbur. “Take him. Summoners need help until they get their Destroyer. Me Da’ always told me tha’.”
“As you wish,” Wilbur said, inviting the Summoner.
“What? Really? You guys rock,” the Summoner said as he called his Imp back to his side. “I was worried I’d have to skip the dungeon.”
“Ya will find ya way,” Erin said. “Ya should ask for Stewart when ya train next at the Dead Man Inn. Tell him Erin sent ya.”
“Sure,” Hellfang said happily, as he accepted the invite.
“Fuck, if you’re taking that waste of space, I don’t want to go,” another of the damage dealers said as he walked off.
“I can help carry him,” the Elementalist, said with an affable smile.
“Then we have our group,” Wilbur said, inviting Windblow. “I’ll reduce once we’re inside, and we’ll kill the mobs on the way. Make sure to loot on the way, Erin still needs supplies for one quest.”
Exiting the dungeon after their run, the group was laughing. “That was amazing,” Jorlack said, slapping Wilbur on the back. “I’m going to pay this forward, once I level up some more. Even reduced in level, you tore through the trash, and I have a feeling it was still easier than normal with the bosses.”
“I did my best to make it feel like it should, but yes, some of my passive abilities made it easier,” Wilbur said as they walked back toward the Keep to turn in quests.
“Ya be me hero,” Erin said as she took his arm. “We be needin’ to head back so we can be getting’ ready for the dinner tonight.”
~*~*~
The next few days were a whirlwind of life changing events for Erin. She’d finally gotten Wilbur to fall for her charms, and had taken him to bed after her celebration dinner. That was a first for her, and close to his first, as well, but the couple found their own way. The dinner at Lady Theron’s house, the offer for Wilbur to break from his family, and his proposal to her in the carriage on the way back had been more than she had dreamed would happen for years.
A couple of days later, she was with Lady Theron, learning what she could of being the Lady of a House. It was difficult for her to master the rules of etiquette, as they seemed so petty and small. She did her best, though, to make her so
on-to-be husband proud.
“Erin,” Lady Theron sighed, “I know it is difficult, but focus. I had the same challenges with my husband, but I didn’t have someone to help guide me through it.”
“Aye,” Erin said. “Sorry, I got caught up, thinkin’ about what Wilbur will be facin’ today.”
Lady Theron smiled softly at Erin, “Oh, I see. You love him as deeply as I did my own dear husband. Wilbur will be having a very rough time of it today, when his change of House is announced before the King. His family will be most upset with him. Father and brother both, I’ll wager, will say many hurtful and unkind things to try to hurt him, many of which will be directed at you.”
“Aye,” Erin said, her eyes going distant again. “He be a good man, and does nay deserve tha’.”
Tales from the Dead Man Inn Page 15