28 - One Against Many (Patreon)

Paul sat in his father’s study which now belonged to him. He was going through a stack of tedious paperwork trying to sort out all the responsibilities and messes that his new inheritance had dropped on top of him. He was not particularly happy with his father naming him as heir, and that Patricia had actually agreed with the choice, despite his politically savvy sister being far more suitable for the role.

The Emerald Caster knew why his father had chosen him. It wasn’t because he was the first born, or the oldest son, or any of that nonsense that some noble houses adhered to. No, it was simply because of his strength. He was one of the few in the family that took the adventuring path, the pressure for excellence being extreme since any who did usually became well renowned and expected to represent their House. He was also on the cusp of Ruby Caste, which would officially make him the strongest Wayland in over three centuries.

His house was not a large one like it had once been but it was respected. He had almost destroyed that respect with his connection to the Purifier and fall from grace but the fact that he had broken his ties with the Fallen god before the entire clergy had been denounced went a long way in protecting his family’s reputation. Still, the looks and rumors that surrounded him personally were an annoyance.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts as he replied automatically, “Enter.”

His house steward entered and bowed respectfully, “My lord, I have gotten the information you sought about Wayfarers and came across some particularly interesting news from out of Blomstra.”

“Oh?” Paul prompted, leaning back in his chair to focus on the man who, like him, was one of the minority of humans in the city.

“Yes, my lord,” he handed over a folder of papers for Paul to look through as he summarized, “Apparently, there was a Wayfarer landing site discovered in the Blue Ridge Mountains about a month ago.”

“Two months,” the former paladin replied offhandedly as he skimmed through the information, now certain that this was where Phoenix had arrived. The location and timing were just too aligned to not be.

“I’m sorry, sir?” the steward asked with slight confusion.

“I’m sure the Order of Magic dragged their feet on reporting in. I’m confident that my little apprentice was the one who caused it,” he explained while continuing to read through the papers.

‘We should send an assassin to clean up that mess,’ the monotonous voice suggested in his mind, ‘We don’t want them trying to take the Little Miss again.’

He paused, reading over a particular section, and asked, “What unfortunate accident held them up?”

“Ah, yes, it appears that one of the Crystal Magi, the Noble Miles Milligan, had an unfortunate encounter with a porcutor. He didn’t survive.”

“Unfortunate,” Paul repeated dryly, not looking up from the folder or sounding at all sorry for the loss of the man. He mentally pointed out to his inner companion, ‘See, no assassin needed. Problem solved,’ and he could have sworn he felt her grumble in response.

The steward paused as the paladin continued reading the papers then inquired hesitantly, “Should I inform the OOM of the current state of their lone Wayfarer that is missing from the landing site?”

Paul looked up at the man, his gold eyes staring daggers as he said in a low warning, “You will not speak of my Protégé’s origins to anyone. She is under my protection now and has chosen to walk a path separate from the Magi. Any information regarding her should be held in the strictest of confidence. Do I make myself clear, Roger?”

The steward bowed in deference, “Of course, my lord.”

“You are dismissed,” Paul said with a wave and turned back to the papers.

After the door shut behind the man, he let out a heavy sigh. He wasn’t certain why he had reacted that way. Over the months he had spent with the young woman he realized that he had become attached and protective of her. Perhaps, it was because he felt compelled to heed Hero’s suggestion. Maybe it was just his innate sense of duty that had pushed him to becoming an Adventurer and then a Paladin in the first place returning to him and, since he found her, he felt responsible for her. Or maybe it was just that he enjoyed having a meaningful role in someone else’s life as a mentor and guardian.

It could have been all of these things or none of them, but what he did know was that, after many weeks of traveling and training together, he felt a connection to her and wanted to see her grow and succeed at the impossible task that had been laid out before her.

He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation. He was too old to feel confused by his own emotions like this. He could admit to himself that he felt a bit lost after turning from the Purifier when he refused to carry out the god’s demands. The strength and assurance he had gotten from walking the pure path of righteousness had been harshly ripped from him and he had felt like a drowning man grasping at any rope of redemption that was tossed towards him.

The Adventurer had been fighting off the Purifier’s Renseres ever since discovering their twisted designs and getting thrown out of the church. He even left his house after he and his father argued about his disgrace and going against the Delegation of Radiance. When it was his words against a god’s while standing before the delegation consisting of representatives for every church that worshiped one of the “good” gods, it wasn’t a surprise when he was branded Fallen.

When the plans became public, however, and the rituals completed, leading to the current fiasco with the impending blood moon and the arrival of the Soul Reapers in their reality, he had been vindicated. His words from years before proving the truthful herald of a deceitful god. Then the DOR suddenly changed their tune and it was the Purifier branded as Fallen but his disgrace remained in their devout eyes. Until he found another patron, he wouldn’t regain his title as a Paladin of Radiance.

Paul hadn’t cared, nor had the time, to bother with any of that, however. He had barely come up for air in the last year after the Soul Reapers arrived but the upcoming blood moon, his father’s death, and Phoenix’s sudden appearance had halted all that. He had planned to turn in his mission, hand over control of the family estate to his sister, and then leave again to wherever the war took him. Petition the crown to allow him to take missions where he would be of more use. Not this backwater city that wouldn’t see much of the invasion.

Even if the Soul Reapers’ forces did show up in one of their spaceships that the AOA had gotten reports of, they would most likely be Crystal or Sapphire Caste due to the low magical quality of the area being unable to support the magical vessels.

At the peak of Emerald, Paul felt wasted here. However, Phoenix was here now, and he had resources he could call upon from his house that he wouldn’t have elsewhere. So his plans adapted and he decided to stay, ride out the blood moon, and try to make sure his new Protégé lived through it.

“Is that an airship?” Phoenix asked the small group she had gotten pulled into, staring up at the sky to try and make out the distant figure that had caught her attention. It looked like an old wooden pirate ship sailing through the air far far away in the distance.

“You’ve never seen a flying vessel before?” one of the group members asked with a laugh, “Have you been living in a cave your whole life?”

Phoenix flushed in embarrassment and looked at the ground. She hadn’t been thrilled about Dazien insisting she walk with him and his friend, Uriel, and the rest of his entourage which turned out to be mostly fawning admirers. Apparently, Dazien had a way with others that drew them towards him like moths to a flame and his apparent favor with Warrior was well known. Perhaps he really was some kind of nobility?

She again felt the urge to ask him about his relationship with the god but held her tongue in case it caused the others to laugh at her ignorance again. Nobody was addressing him as lord, sire, or highness, though, so she doubted his claims of kingliness. Still, even without being a noble he had the grace and confidence she would have expected from one.

“Come now, Franz,” Dazien said to the boy that had scoffed at her, “You know that those ships can’t come to cities like ours. Without the magic to support it, it’s easy to never see one if you never travel to a place that can.”

Franz rolled his eyes, “Still, we can see them way out here on clear days like today. She’d have to be blind, had never left the city, or be one of the unluckiest people to walk the tundra.”

“Probably that last one,” Phoenix said softly, causing Dazien to laugh.

“Unlucky? You helped us best three Frost Wyrmlings.”

“I did almost get eaten,” she pointed out.

“Well, then you were lucky to have me there,” he grinned. Then he called out to the assessor leading the group, “Who’s turn is it next? There’s only a few of us left to solo something.”

Trayvious gestured to a large furry boulder ahead of them and yelled back, “Karislian, you’re up!”

Uriel stepped past them, making his way to the front of the group to challenge the creature in their path. At the sight of the monster, Phoenix flinched and subconsciously moved behind Dazien who gave her a questioning look over his shoulder, “What are you doing back there?”

Phoenix felt the fear and panic rising in her at the sight of the Tundra Yeti, “I, uh…” she swallowed as though it might help calm her anxiety, “I’ve fought one of those before… it, um… it did not go well.”

“Did you win?” he asked curiously. She shook her head in the negative, staring at the ground in silent terror, and he glanced back to his friend that was standing a few meters in front of the group now and removing the collar from around his neck. Then Dazien stepped to the side and put a hand around her shoulders saying reassuringly, “It was probably just a bad matchup for you then,” he gently lifted her chin up with his other hand, “Watch how Uriel handles it.”

The darker man seemed to whisper into his hands before pulling one back and tossing something at the still sitting creature that apparently hadn’t noticed them yet. She couldn’t tell what the tiny thing was but as soon as it landed on the monster it burst apart in a series of cacophonous explosions that alighted upon it. The yeti roared in pain and anger and stood to search for its attacker.

Uriel was already casting his next spell, though, and she wished she was close enough to hear whatever incantations he was chanting. The monster started to gain patches of ice across its body and suddenly seemed to notice the cinderen. It slowly stumbled towards their direction and Phoenix was about to call out for him to not let it get too close but Dazien’s arm around her shoulders pulled her back as he said, “Just watch.”

When the yeti was still a half dozen meters away from the mage, he finished chanting something that she still couldn’t make out across the distance and the monster seemed to halt its stumbling approach. There didn’t seem to be an immediate effect aside from the creature stopping but the monster roared again with a renewed sense of fury and she saw dark patches start to appear on its fur. The apparent disease slowly began growing and rotting away at its flesh as the confused creature tried to pull the patches hurting it away rather than attack the source of the malignant Bane.

Another few whispers and they could all feel the blast of air that shot down from the sky causing the monster to be slammed into the dirt. Uriel continued chain chanting and a dark void surrounded the yeti, hiding it from view. After about half a minute of agonizing howls, the sounds abruptly ended along with the void and the Tundra Yeti was gone, utterly annihilated.

Phoenix stared, slack jawed at the display of overwhelming power that just destroyed a monster that almost killed her a few weeks ago. She was amazed that there was someone so talented among her fellow Crystal Casters and then she felt very small and inadequate as the mage turned back, refastening his gold choker, and silently nodded to Trayvious before returning to his usual place behind Dazien.

“Good work, Uriel. That monster won’t be hurting anyone now,” the young warrior said to his companion as he patted the broad shoulder in congratulations.

Phoenix looked from the mage to the spot the yeti had been and back before barely saying in utter confusion at the difference in their power, “How?”

Dazien grinned, “Like I said, it’s all about the matchup. He’s good at fighting big slow monsters and you’re good at running awa-er… at being mobile,” he corrected, “And other things that you have yet to reveal to us, I’m sure.”

Phoenix rolled her eyes at him and turned to follow the rest of the group that trailed after their assessor.

After a bit more walking, they paused again and Phoenix’s heart jumped into her throat as Trayvious called her name, “Fraser, your turn.”

She walked forward to join the Sapphire Caster at the crest of a small hill and followed his gaze down to a pack of, what appeared to be, five monstrous variants of white wolves tearing into their latest kill that she couldn’t recognize as anything other than a bloody mess.

The Wayfarer glanced back at the instructor and asked with a bit of alarm, “All of them, sir?”

He nodded and said, “If you don’t believe you’re up to the challenge then you can, of course, decline and I will ask someone else.”

The rest of the group had joined them to look into the small valley and see the pack, murmuring to themselves. “Sir, you can’t seriously expect a single Crystal to take on five alone,” Dazien spoke up as he took in the threat.

“That is her choice to make, Smithson, not yours. Now wait quietly,” he ordered before turning back to Phoenix and asking, “Well, Miss Fraser?”

Her book suddenly appeared in front of her, causing her, Trayvious and Dazien to look down at the message.

New Quest: One Against Many

You have been tasked with defeating the monsters in the valley.

Objective: Defeat the five Snolves.

Reward: Rare Crystal Caste bracelet.

She waved away the book, ignoring the looks the two men gave her as she glanced down at the pack once more, considering. Paul had been diligent in putting her through her paces over the last month, having her take on a variety of monsters so she could determine which tactics worked best in different situations. He had made her fight groups before but they were either much smaller creatures or fewer than this. It would be a challenge, but one that she would face.

“I’ll try it, sir,” she said with the sound of resolve that she didn’t quite feel fit with the flips her stomach was doing.

He nodded and said, “If it gets too dicey just portal back up here, alright?”

She returned his nod and without another word, conjured Nyx in one hand and the golden dagger Paul had given her in the other, then made her way down the hilltop towards the unaware monsters. She kept her [Sun Shell] and [Starlight Companion] dismissed and tried to go for a stealthier approach. Her cloak, combined with her [Embrace of Shadows] Aura blurring her from the beasts’ notice, let her get fairly close before she lunged forward and triggered [Pull] on the closest snolf.

The snolves were about the same size as her and they moved towards each other at roughly the same speed as she plunged both of the daggers into the beast as they collided. She pushed off the creature as she flipped backwards to land on the packed snow, a move she had spent the last few days ingraining into her muscle memory, and aimed for the next beast charging towards her.

She triggered [Push] causing Nyx to fly from her hand and bury itself into the creature’s throat. Before that snolf fell to the ground, Phoenix reactivated her Sun and Star Auras, causing a bubble of light to surround her and the little fairy blob to reappear, as two more of the monsters lunged at her.

The shell shattered as the beasts collided with it and both were thrown back, howling at the blinding pain. She dashed at the opportunity, reconjuring Nyx and triggering [Pull] once more to rend one of the blinded beasts with her daggers and gaining back some of her mana from the affliction Nyx was causing.

She grunted in pain as the last snolf to engage managed to tackle her from behind, causing her to fall onto the ground. She felt claws tear into her back and she triggered [Push] to get the monster away from her, causing the snolf to fly straight up into the air while she felt crushed against the packed snow. She rolled to the side and stood once more, clutching her daggers and gritting the pain, then started to move again.

The Astromancer slid under the uncut but blinded snolf and used [Push] on her Dark stiletto to have it fly straight up through its neck and bury itself in the monster’s brain, killing it instantly. Then she used her ability to pull herself across the snow towards the trees, sliding near the other blinded snolf that was injured but still alive and tore her daggers across its underside as she passed.

The monster she had caught in the throat earlier had died from its wound but the first one she had stabbed wasn’t dead; though it was limping pretty badly. The last snolf made its death apparent when it finally crashed back into the rocky earth with a very wet crunch. With only one enemy left and feeling dangerously low on mana, she physically pushed herself up to stand once more and ran towards the limping snolf, not trusting her aim or mana supply at that distance. When the snolf angrily lunged at her, she shoved her dagger straight into its open maw.

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