“Really?” I asked with a smile, “And what do you suppose is going to happen with our relationship?”
“That we’re going to get married and you’ll poison me two weeks afterwards.”
“Ha! You think we’re gonna get married.”
Gerald and I shared a chuckle while Ronald and Bri gave us concerned looks.
“But you’re not gonna poison him, right bruv?”
I looked between Bri and Gerald a few times then smiled slyly and shrugged, “Might do, depends if he stays this cute. And doesn’t annoy me. Ever.”
“Welp,” Gerald said with a smile, “I’m screwed.”
The rest of our time indoors was uneventful, talked about work, where we lived, that kind of thing, and before long Ronald had made the call that he and Bri needed to return to their posts, leaving Gerald and I to smile at the fire for a while.
“Reckon you’re up for another spot of Tarthirious?” Gerald asked as a chunk of wood collapsed in on itself, sending a splash of embers across the rest of fire, “I’m starting to get a bit antsy.”
I nodded without really meaning to, the fire having hypnotised me with its warm glow, “Yeah, sure thing.”
“Cool, I’ll go boot up. See you in a tick, yeah?” he said as he gave me a peck on the cheek that I didn’t notice until a few seconds after he’d walked over to the rigs.
“Mmhm.”
Something about that fire was so soothing. I don’t know whether it was having some kind of food in me that covered at least part of my nutritional recommendations for the week, or if it was that I’d finally had some company that didn’t seem to have a secret agenda.
And yes, I know I had Gerald, and sure there was Will and Griegs, but Gerald was my boyfriend, and Will and Griegs had been assigned to me from the beginning, which wasn’t bad except for the fact that one had interrogated me and the other had a habit of only being there when I was under some kind of threat.
Anyway, as I said I didn’t know what was giving me the relaxed fuzzy feeling that only seemed to be building in intensity, I just knew that I liked it and never wanted it to stop.
Armelia: Chapter 8
Gerry and I had started a calm ride when we got back to Shadow-Stal, the beautiful rolling hills soaking up the sunlight as we trotted down a road that led to a small village.
“You want to stop off there?” I asked as I took note of my building gold reserves, “Might be an idea to supply up before we hit Aldok, I could use some spells that don’t require sigil work.”
“I always preferred sigils.” Gerry replied, skipping over most of what I’d said, “It’s so easy to just throw crap around, sigils mean you actually have to do some work, you know?”
I gave a long sigh, then smiled and rolled my eyes, “Very good Gerry, now, do you reckon we should stop off at the village?”
“Eh, sure, why not?”
I love it when people are ambivalent when I’m trying to decide what to do with them, it’s great.
God, it’s just so annoying, you know? Especially when it’s food or something because you just know that the other person’s gonna get all weird with whatever choice you make.
“Sorry I seem off.” Gerry said, “Just having a bit of trouble focusing.”
‘Oh good,’ I thought to myself, ‘now I’m a bitch.’
“You don’t seem off.” I lied, pretending that I hadn’t just been complaining about him in my head, “You alright?”
“Yeah, it’s just that… I don’t know, I feel unfulfilled, like I should be doing something else with my life other than enjoying a trip through Tarthirious.”
It took me a moment of mental backtracking to realise what would’ve set off that particular thought, “Bri and Ronald got to you, huh?”
It’s weird, we’d been riding for a solid ten minutes and I hadn’t for a moment stopped to think about that, but when the thought had actually occurred to me I realised that it was actually affecting me as well.
“I don’t know, maybe? Do you really think we’re ‘immune’ from the whole deportation thing?”
“I’m with what you said before, it’s for the best if we just assume the worst and keep doing as we have bee…” I trailed off as I noticed something odd, “Did you see that?”
“See wha-oh Gods, it’s not another bloody tower is it?”
“No, just look… there!”
“I don’t see it.”
“My bag,” I said as I jerked on Shadow-Stal’s reins and climbed down, “look at my bag.”
As if to mock me, everything stayed normal for a few seconds, but then it finally happened again, a weird ripple running across the side of my bag like a breaching whale in a leather ocean.
“Probably just a texture error.” Gerry rationalised, before quickly changing his tune, “I mean… temporal distortion?”
“I don’t think so,” I said as it happened again, “it keeps doing it no matter what I do. Riding, standing still, it doesn’t seem to matter.”
A little cracking sound going off stopped both Gerry and I as the writhing inside the bag became more violent and the cover popped open seemingly of its own accord.
12 Frozen Strange Eggs removed.
Armelia Fireheart’s cluster of Titanoboa eggs have hatched.
12x Level 1 Titanoboas, HP: 250/250.
“What do I do?” I hissed as I stood frozen in place.
“Just… stay… still…” Gerry said as little heads started to poke out of my bag, “Whatever you do… don’t… move.”
It was easy for him to say that, he didn’t have a dozen big bloody snakes slithering down his bloody leg.
“Maybe they’ll just go away?” I said hopefully as I tried my best not to scratch my nose.
“And what? Let them go into the town and start eating people?” Gerry asked in a tone that was supposed to sound heroic but just came off as pompous and annoying, “No, we’ve gotta take these things out.”
“Well I’m open to suggestions!” I snarled back as the last of the snakes coiled around my leg and slipped off into the grass by the road.
Combat seemed inevitable on account of the fact that they made a circle around us with their bodies and had started moving like sharks.
“Do we want to kill them?” Gerry asked as he got into a fighting stance, his fists suddenly glowing with green magic.
“No, I thought we’d jus-”
Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to finish my snide comment as one of the large snakes decided to take a lunge right for me, a shower of splinters ripping through its weak body as it got to mere inches from my face.
“Kill ‘em!” I barked as I dropped to a knee and started casting bolts of lightning into the grass blindly, “Kill ‘em all!”
I wish I could say it was an arduous battle, a long and difficult slog and that there were lots of instances of coiling and death, but the battle was actually quite short, in fact Gerry managed to take six of them out with a single barrage of splinters.
But then something interesting happened, something that I hadn’t had happen in ages, I was put on rails.
“What’s going on?” Gerry asked as we both wandered into the grass.
“I’m… not sure.” I said as I dropped down to my knees and ran my hands over the ground for a moment before finding one of the snakes and picking it up.
It was wounded, spikes jutting out of its sides and blood gushing out of its mouth as it gasped for air.
End of Conflict Report:
Grand Gerry the Good: 9x Level 1 Titanoboas.
Armelia Fireheart: 2x Level 1 Titanoboas.
Total experience awarded:
Grand Gerry the Good: Max Level Reached.
No Experience Points awarded.
Armelia Fireheart: +200 XP.
Progress: 5895/6000.
Loot awarded:
Grand Gerry the Good:
Titanoboa Hatchling.
Armelia Fireheart:
Titanoboa Hatchling.
&nbs
p; Mission Started: Pet Owner.
Objective added: Take the Wounded Animal to the Glenburrow Healer.
“Well…” Gerry said as he turned to me, a snake draped across his hands, “That’s new.”
Armelia: Chapter 9
“When the bloody Hel did Tarthirious get pets!?” Gerry yelled over the sound of wind rushing past as I rode hard toward the nearby village.
“I’ve absolutely no idea,” I replied, frantically looking between the road and little timer in the top left corner of my vision that read ‘00:24’, “must’ve updated last night.”
Glenburrow discovered.
Journal entry made.
Something about a ticking clock made my heart race at a million miles an hour, regardless of how close I was to my destination, and every time Shadow-Stal got stuck on a gate or inexplicably slowed down I’d panic even more.
“There!” Gerry shouted, pointing toward a white brick building with a red vial painted on the front.
‘00:19’
I practically rode Shadow-Stal through the healer’s door as we ground to halt, his heavy hooves just barely touching the heavy wood as Gerry and I jumped off and started off on a mad scramble to get inside.
With just twelve seconds left on the clock we found the healer, a dwarf small even by his race’s standards wrapped in white and grey covers from the neck down.
“Welcome to Bruthben’s Apothecary!” he exclaimed as Gerry and I nearly collected him, “How can I help you today?”
“These snakes, they’re injured.” I pleaded as we handed them off to him.
Bruthben’s happy demeanour fell away, replaced instead with one of genuine worry as he took the snakes over to a potion table by his counter.
Progress made in mission: Pet Owner.
Objective completed: Take the Wounded Animal to the Glenburrow Healer.
Objective added: Listen to Bruthben.
After what seemed like an eternity of worrying that I’d failed the mission the dwarf breathed a sigh of relief, “Looks like you arrived just in time,” he said with a small smile, “what happened to them?”
It was in that moment that I had a choice, tell the truth and maintain the aura of the druid that I strived to be, or lie and perh-
“There were some bandits.” Gerry blurted out, “We fought them off as best as we could.”
Bruthben gave a knowing look and a nod, “Ah, aye, we have a problem with highwaymen in this area, clever men who know how to hide from almost anyone. They like to catch people in the forests just down the road and either hold them for ransom, or worse. Is that where you’ve come from?”
Gerry shook his head, “We came from the other end of town.” he said, following the liar’s handbook of interweaving small truths in with your lies.
Bruthben then went on to give Gerry a serious look, his eyes burrowing into the battlemage’s like a mole into dirt, before giving a slow nod and a small smile, “Good, I thought it’d be best to check if you two were telling the truth. I saw you riding through town.”
‘Great,’ I thought to myself, ‘now I feel even guiltier.’
“Ah,” Gerry let out, “is there a problem with animal abuse in this town?”
Bruthben let out a little laugh, “Not unless you count what the simpleton does to the livestock.” he said with a wink that was uncomfortable for everyone, at least it should’ve been.
It felt wrong, but I laughed along for safety’s sake, “Yes… well, glad that the snakes are safe now. I guess we’ll be of-”
“So, you plan on taking these little gals in?” Bruthben interjected, “They haven’t a mother anymore is all, and I can’t take care of ‘em here, not with the populace of Glenburrow right outside my doors.”
Gerry tilted his head confusedly and furrowed his brow, “I thought you said that animal abuse wasn’t a problem.”
“Well it isn’t,” the dwarf quickly replied before any more doubt could seep into our minds, “I just can’t have a couple of monstrous creatures inside my business, and I’m afraid my days of adventuring are long gone.”
I’m not sure why, but I was actually having a really hard time with the decision on whether or not to keep a giant pet snake around. Sure she’d be useful in combat, at least I hoped she would be, but what if she died? Would I ever find another pet again? And what if the mechanics were really bad and she constantly trapped me outside?
Those were the questions that were absolutely bombarding me as I wondered if I’d be willing to test the waters of the unknown with something so foreign. Hel, there was a chance the bloody thing would just turn on me if I didn’t feed it enough or let it sleep.
“I think…” I finally said, not quite ready to give an answer, “I think we should do it, yeah.”
“You’re sure?” Gerry asked, “It’s a big responsibility.”
“It’s not a rabbit Gerry,” I replied with a chuckle, “it’s a 3D model wrapped around an AI. I reckon we can handle it.”
Gerry smiled and shrugged at that before turning back to Bruthben, “As long as you’re sure.”
“Excellent.” Bruthben said enthusiastically then started over toward his counter and started rummaging under it, “Now, I have a spell that you can use that puts your pets into a dormant state in another realm.”
“Why would we want to do that?” I asked concernedly, the idea of putting Miss Fluffy-Scaleskin in another dimension seeming like a bad idea.
“Just for if you’re in the presence of someone who’d rather not have a large snake in their presence, Lords, Ladies, that sort of thing. You’d be surprised how many people are uncomfortable with monsters in their village… Aha! Found it.” Bruthben said as he popped up with a scroll in his hand.
“Will it hurt them?” I asked as he came over and read the scroll over Gerry and me, “The spell, I mean.”
Learned Summon Pet.
“Oh, not at all!” Bruthben said once he’d finished teaching us the spell, “They won’t even know that they were ever in there, though I would suggest you let them follow you on your adventures every so often, it’ll allow them to grow a bond with you as well as hone their abilities.”
And that’s all I needed to hear in order to be excited about having my own little monster. Having a thing that was basically a mount slithering around you at all times was pretty cool, but something that would level up with me? That was awesome.
“Alright then, I’m in. Do we need to feed them?”
Bruthben shook his head and smiled, “They will feed off the energy of the realm they’re in during dormancy. However there are treats you can feed them that can have… interesting effects.”
I both did and didn’t like the sound of that, but decided not to voice my uncertainty, “Alright then, I’ll have the black and red one.” I declared as I walked over to the counter.
“Awesome,” Gerry replied, “I wanted the blue and green one anyway.”
Acquired Level 1 Rare Titanoboa Hatchling.
Renamed Rare Titanoboa Hatchling to Miss Fluffy-Scaleskin.
‘You have taken on your first pet and all the responsibilities that come with bringing another life into your own. Will you raise a ruthless killer that will respond to your barked commands? Or will you create a loving being that brings people health and happiness? The choice is yours.’
Mission Completed: Pet Owner.
+100 XP.
Progress: 5995/6000.
Miss Fluffy-Scaleskin took an immediate liking to me, coiling around my arm and moving up my body to my neck where she came to rest with her head on my shoulder and nuzzled.
“This is bloody brilliant!” Gerry laughed as Bruthben wandered off to do his regular daily routine, leaving us to marvel at just how amazing our new friends were, “How’re you gonna raise yours?”
“I’m not sure yet…” I said with a little smile, taking note of Gerry’s Snake’s, Forest Leviathan, more playful behaviour as compared to my snake’s tranquil resting, “Maybe the healer, how about y
ou?”
“Oh mine’s going to be a full-on beast! You reckon there’ll be wolf pets? I reckon it’d be great to have a wolf pet.”
“Maybe let’s focus on these guys for the time being, eh?” I replied, still utterly hypnotised by Fluffy-Scaleskin’s calming presence.
“Guess you’re right… Still though, I’m gonna be keeping my eye out for one. You ready to up and move?”
I nodded and turned to the door without looking away from my snake, “You ready to go on an adventure?”
For some reason I started thinking about having kids right about then, that whole caregiver thing going off inside me I suppose.
Having a pet is pretty much the same thing as having a kid, right?
Right?
Armelia: Chapter 10
Gerry and I had decided not to hang around Glenburrow for fear that the simpleton Bruthben had referred to would get his or her hands on Shadow-Stal, and instead opted to push through the town toward the forest on the other side.
The forest road was actually fairly well kept, the dirt and plant debris having been trodden down regularly by merchants and adventurers such as Gerry and I for over a hundred years, but as the auburn leaves waved at us with the soft afternoon breeze I couldn’t help but feel like we were being followed.
“You seeing anything?” I asked.
Gerry failed to respond, his attention completely locked on Forest Leviathan who was slithering all over Shadow-Stal in a mildly gravity-defying set of coils and leaps.
“Gerry?”
“Yeah?” he replied without looking at me, “What’s up?”
“The trees, you see anything moving around out there?”
Gerry shook his head and laughed as his snake made a face at him, “I’ve been pulsing a detection spell since we hit the forest. If there was anything out there I’d have picked it up by now.”
I wanted to trust in Gerry, I really did, but in the nicest way possible he seemed pretty damned distracted. I was sure that he’d done it when we got into the forest, he’d made quite the show of letting me know, but after that he’d been obsessed with playing with his pet and not much else.
Legends of Tarthirious: The Complete Collection Page 45