The celebration of Cristy's return to Killic was as chaotic as expected once the dwarven brandy reached the tables. Zej had arrived with bottles, having permission from Kerys to drink them in the inn. By the time they had all eventually left the inn, it had been the early hours of the morning. All of Cristy's friends had been in attendance. If you could have imagined anyone of importance in Killic, then they were there. With the music playing and singing from Nexis and Ptolemy, the party had just kept going.
The staggering form of a gnoll came through into the front of the cottage in Killic. SJ had stayed the night in Killic with Cristy. SJ sat at the table nursing her own sore head, with a fresh coffee sitting in front of her. Kibble was curled up on one armchair, and SJ could have sworn that he also had a sore head this morning. After feeding him his breakfast, he had curled up again.
"Coffee?" Cristy asked.
"Coffee," SJ replied with surprise. "When did you start drinking coffee?"
"The conclave converted me."
SJ stood and grabbed a cup for Cristy, pouring one for her, and couldn't help but smile. "You still haven't told me much about what happened to you while you were there? I know we spoke, but you were always so vague. The only thing you confirmed with me fully was the boon you were granted."
"It's quite strange. When I was approved and granted the class, the oath I took was different. I think I may be able to talk to you about it. I remember the words from the oath, 'Under pain of death, I swear that I shall never speak of the secrets of the beast wardens to any Amatherean outside the conclave.' I asked the overseer to clarify, and she did, repeating that I couldn't speak to an Amatherean. I know you're not, so I think I can do it. I didn't wish to try while still at the conclave, though."
SJ had never spoken to Cristy about being from Earth or to anyone else apart from Dave and Darren. She wasn't even sure she could speak to her about Earth after what Dave had said.
"I am originally from Earth," SJ said.
"What?" Cristy had a strange look on her face.
"Did you not hear me?"
"I heard you speak, but that is no language I have ever heard before."
"Didn't think you could," Dave said.
'But I could speak to Darren about it. It must only allow Legionnaires to talk about Earth then.'
"Yep," Dave said.
"Sorry. I don't think I am allowed to tell you where I am originally from."
Cristy shrugged as if it was a daily thing not being able to understand someone. "The system, I guess. Anyway, I want to see if I can discuss the conclave and the beast warden class with you."
"Be careful. I have seen oath challenges and the pain people suffer." SJ remembered her discussion with Lythonian and how he had reacted when he had spoken about Bellaqui and Wystria for the first time.
"I am not sure I would notice anything at the moment with the pain already in my head from last night."
"Let's finish our coffee and head over to see Kerys. She may allow us a sip of her magic potion."
Thirty minutes later, they walked into the inn. Fhyliss and Kerys were still busy tidying up from the previous evening's party.
"Morning," SJ called. "Kerys, is there any chance of troubling you for some, you know what?"
Kerys turned and looked at the pair. They were both clean and washed, but neither appeared as spritely as she was used to seeing.
"Heads?"
Cristy just looked at Kerys, "Zej." Her single-word reply made Kerys smile.
"And you wonder why I rarely sell dwarven brandy."
"What time did you finish last night in the end?" SJ asked as Fhyliss nipped down into the cellar to grab the rejuvinatus.
"Gary and Setu left about twenty minutes ago. Ballentine and Zej only left about an hour before them. The four of them were playing cards all night once the main group had left."
"So you haven't slept?"
"Yeah. We slept. We left them to it and only came down a couple of hours ago for breakfast. They didn't need drinks with Zej's brandy supply."
"Have you seen Jay this morning?" SJ asked, checking her display. It was 0830 hrs, and she hoped he had made it to the training ground.
"Yes. He was up early, had breakfast, and left by 0700."
Fhyliss returned with the rejuvinatus and poured them both a small glass.
"Welcome to adulthood," Kerys said to Cristy, handing her the glass.
Cristy smiled and knocked it back. She had never had it before, and she soon smiled as the liquid took effect. SJ stood, cracking her neck from side to side now that her head had stopped throbbing. Kibble had jumped from her shoulder to the bar and was busy sticking his tongue into the remnants in the two glasses. SJ just shook her head at him but swore he smiled after having the dregs
"Thanks Kerys. I think I need more coffee and some breakfast now."
"Floretta is in the kitchen. Just let her know what you want."
SJ walked through to the kitchen where Floretta was skilfully chopping up some vegetables. The speed she could prepare food was a sight to behold.
"Morning, Floretta."
"Good morning. What can I get you this morning?"
"Could we have two of your special breakfasts, please?"
"Of course," Floretta smiled. "I will bring them out when they are ready. I don't expect to see many customers this morning, and I am surprised you are both up so early."
"I have things to do, unfortunately. Otherwise, I could have stayed in bed quite easily. I have to meet with the Asterfal trade representative. They are due via the afternoon coach."
Coaches from Asterfal with the movement of beings had increased over the last two months, and there was one nearly every day now. After taking over the responsibility of the trial basis for combining the trade of the fishing villages, SJ still had to work out the precise details. Alice was due to return to Asterfal for the quarterly meeting, and SJ hoped that by then, she might consider levelling to level 20. She had been having continuing discussions with Zigferd and Alice and, with consideration of the garrison approach, understood the necessity of the next expansion of boundaries. The security concerns were still paramount, though, but from SJ's selfish perspective, as soon as she could reach level 20, new doors would open for her.
The ability to join the assassin's guild was one thing, but the main perk would establish a further portal in Asterfal so she could travel directly. One of the critical considerations she checked with Fran on her return was whether Kibble could portal with her through the bond. Which he would be able to. This meant she didn't have to leave him behind, and he could also come to and from Farleck's cottage as she wished. Never mind a second profession would also open at Level 20. She had been giving it some thought but wasn't fully decided as yet to what she may choose.
The inn door opened, and a very dishevelled-looking Darren walked in. He looked white as a sheet, the after-effects of yesterday evening's party present.
"Morning Kerys. Any chance I can get two breakfasts to go, please?" Darren asked.
Kerys looked at Darren, sighed heavily, and poured a small glass of her rejuvinatus out. "Yes, Floretta. Two to go, please," she called. "Here, and don't think this will be a regular occurrence."
Darren greedily picked up the small glass and downed it. Moments later, the colour returned to his face.
"Thank you," Darren smiled.
"Hey, Darren."
Darren turned, seeing SJ and Cristy, and walked over to where they were sitting, waiting for their breakfast.
"Hey. I am happy Kerys likes me now. If I had walked into the inn in that state when I first arrived, I think she would have just hit me on the head to make my headache worse."
"You did blow her inn up," SJ smirked.
"Accidentally."
"I keep meaning to ask you which guild you are a member of?" SJ asked.
"Only a profession guild for Tanners in Asterfal. I was thinking of joining one of the main Legionnaires guilds there as well, but the money they wanted for membership was too much."
"I haven't really looked into them yet. I just heard there is a dungeon in Asterfal that can be accessed by the top guilds there."
"There is, but it's nearly impossible to get into any of the guilds or raid groups, even if you can afford to join one of those guilds."
"How much do they charge?"
"The joining fee for the one I looked into. Which didn't have dungeon access, had a fifty-gold joining fee, and then they took fifty per cent of all rewards. Everything goes to the guild bank and is distributed from there."
"Even loot from quests?"
"Yes. Everything. The rewards and loot associated with quests are available to the guild if the quest is accepted through them. They have visibility to see what was earned. I had heard rumours that several Legionnaires had previously tried to hide or keep items and suffered the consequences."
"Such as?"
"Death usually. Many guilds have no problems getting rid of problems through violence. District 7 in Asterfal was renowned for it."
"I did see one fight while I was there near the Black Griffin."
"Doesn't surprise me. Many of them happen behind closed doors. Legionnaires disappearing suddenly. It isn't a safe environment. Legionnaires join for the hope of one day reaping the benefits, but from what I have heard, several only ever allow their elite members to take part in dungeon events."
"I tried to talk to Cristy about Earth earlier."
"You just did it again," Cristy said, frowning at SJ.
Darren also frowned. "I have never tried, but I am guessing the system stops it."
"Yes. If I try and mention Earth."
"Stop it," Cristy huffed.
"So, if I try and talk about Earth, it does the same," Darren said.
"Now you're both doing it," Cristy said.
"SJ. I have a question for Darren," Dave said.
'Go on,' SJ thought.
"Can you ask him how he ended up with Alice? She is too good for him," Dave chuckled.
SJ rolled her eyes ignoring him.
Floretta came over with two enormous plates of food and placed them in front of Cristy and SJ.
"Thanks," SJ said.
Floretta smiled. "Yours will be five minutes," Floretta said to Darren.
"Thanks, Floretta."
They ate in relative silence, apart from the usual moans of pleasure from Floretta's cooking, and the low growling SJ was getting from Kibble sat on her shoulder. Having a master-level chef was a wonder that SJ would never give up. Before they had finished eating their breakfast, Floretta had returned with Darren's takeaway.
"Right. I better get back to Alice. She isn't going to be pleased I had rejuvinatus. She is suffering this morning."
"Kerys. Could Darren take some for Alice, please?" Cristy called.
Kerys looked at Cristy, shaking her head, and rolled her eyes as she poured a small amount into a little bottle.
"Thanks Kerys. You're the best," Darren said, collecting it before leaving the inn.
"I need to put a new batch on," Kerys said.
SJ lifted a piece of her hogling from her plate and held it to her shoulder, where Kibble had been sitting, waiting impatiently. He had nibbled on her ear to get her attention. Gulping it down, he then jumped shoulders to Cristy's just as she was about to place a piece in her mouth. His little mouth shot forward, grabbing it from her and took off immediately, flying across the inn.
"Hey," Cristy complained.
SJ couldn't help but laugh. "Get used to it with the little monster."
After they had finished eating, they grabbed more coffee and walked out to the inn's rear garden. Some other early morning risers had arrived at the inn. Kibbles immediately flew back to their table as they stood, and he was busy licking the plates clean.
"Tell me about this class, then. If you are able," SJ said.
The early morning sun felt amazing now that they had eaten and the effect the rejuvinatus had on them. Cristy looked around her, even though she knew they were the only two in the garden.
"Ask me a question and see if I can answer it," Cristy said.
"What skills do you have?"
"Taming, Camouflage, Healing stream, Attack and Defence, and you know about my boon," Cristy finished, exhaling sharply. "That seemed to work."
"That's a lot of skills already," SJ said.
"They are the main beast skills. From those, the affinities then expand to more specific skills."
"Affinities?"
"Air, sea and land. I am apparently a little strange. I have access to all three affinities, which is apparently very rare."
"What does that mean?"
"I can have more than one bonded beast. I can have a bonded beast of each affinity. Normal Beast Wardens can only ever have one bonded beast at a time."
"Wow. That sounds amazing."
"What is even more amazing is I was talking to Patch from the conclave. That is why he knew I had arrived back at Killic when I did and came to see me."
"What?" SJ said, shocked.
"I can communicate with him through thought. The overseer told me I have a legendary bond, which again is very unusual and hasn't been seen or known for centuries."
"I wonder if it is because she is naturally related to beasts," Dave said.
'What do you mean?'
"Gnoll's originate from beasts. Their racial basis is beast."
'But what about lycan's? They are beasts, aren't they?'
"No. The lycan race originated from a chaotic curse. If you trace the roots of lycanthropy back to their roots, they originated from one town on a distant continent. The history is vague, but it was a curse which caused the initial lycan, and over the millennia, the race progressed to what it is today. The curse used to be transmissible but no longer is. As the race developed, it became self-sustaining."
The comment made SJ think about several werewolf films from Earth, where the curse was indeed transmitted through injury.
"That's amazing. You could speak to him from the conclave. How far can you talk to him from?"
"I have no idea. The conclave was as amazed as you look when they discovered I could communicate so far."
"What do the skills do?"
"They are beast buffs. I can trigger them by using mana and giving Patch buffs. The only skill I can use directly is healing, but it apparently doesn't work as effectively. My fighting skills are trained separately. I have to continue levelling my bow skill or similar."
"So, you train your weapon proficiencies and can boost Patch in combat."
"Pretty much, yes. We work as one combat unit. I haven't been able to do so yet, but I want to take him hunting and see how things go. He mentioned there is a large bear on the far side of the lake which has been pushing around towards the mines, and he wants to chase it off before it becomes a problem for the miners."
It was difficult to comprehend that Cristy was only five in the way she was speaking.
"Being able to talk to him so easily must be amazing."
"It was strange at first, but I can turn it on and off as needed."
"You mentioned a bear and an eagle when we spoke on the stones, but I didn't get all the details, and you need to tell me about the fights with the giants. Your level increase has been tremendous."
Cristy explained everything that had happened since she had arrived at the conclave and started her training. When Cristy spoke about the giants and the deaths of members of the conclave, it brought tears to her eyes. She had only returned when she did because the initial dangers had been prevented with the support of the bracken. The bracken were forest sprites that lived in the forests that covered the foothills of Neturian.
"I better get to the barracks. The coach from Cuopi is due early today. I need to meet the trade delegate," SJ said.
"Okay. I am going to see Patch. I want to go chase this bear off."
SJ was concerned with Cristy going by herself and had to remind herself that she was now Level 16 and no longer a child.
"Be careful, and if there are any issues, return, and I will come and assist."
"I am sure we will be fine," Cristy smiled.
They left the inn and headed towards the barracks. Cristy continued past towards the border of the town, and SJ initially headed to the training grounds at the rear of the barracks to see Jay.
The training ground was busy this morning. With the increase in members of the town, the guards' training routine had intensified. After the demise of Bordon it had been a more relaxed approach to training, with guards only having to attend three sessions per week as a minimum. Since the changes, this had been increased back to five. A group of guards were busy using the range, and a couple were also sparring while SJ walked over to the sand circles where Jay was. There was a group of nine guards, and Lorna was with him.
Jay was barking orders, and as he did, the guards were being put through their paces. Lorna noticed SJ and walked over.
"Morning," SJ said as she approached.
"Councillor," Lorna said.
SJ knew that Lorna deliberately called her councillor to wind her up despite multiple occasions where SJ had told her not to call her it.
"How is Jay doing?"
"Very well. He is exceedingly skilled. A different style, being a brawler, but he can take some serious hits."
"How do you know?"
Lorna laughed. "I fought him. I needed to see how good he was supposed to be."
"Oh. I would have liked to have seen that."
"I didn't hold back, and he absorbed everything I threw at him."
"So who won?"
"No one. And I couldn't class it as a points fight because of the style difference. Amar Ti is one thing to judge with a base fight, but not brawling in comparison. It's a dirty style."
"Having watched Jay in the cages in Asterfal, I agree it is, but also very impressive."
Lorna nodded her head in agreement.
"Five laps," Jay called. The group groaned as they turned and made their way around the training ground.
"Hi, SJ," Jay beamed.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself?"
"I am. I haven't done a good training session in a long time."
"You are doing it yourself?"
"Yes. I can't expect others to do it if I don't."
"Fair point. I wanted to see that you were all good. I will see you later at the inn. I have meetings to attend this morning."
"The life of a councillor. Right, I better catch up." Jay said before he turned and shouted towards the guards. "Faster, or I will add more laps," he called as he ran to catch the guards up.
"I will see you later," SJ said to Lorna as she turned to leave again.
Jay was enjoying himself, which was a good sign, considering she would love him to stay in Killic. SJ walked to the barracks. She wanted to speak to Zigferd before the Asterfal representative arrived, anticipating the coach's arrival to be a while yet. The barracks were in their usual busy state, with townsfolk arriving and leaving to see various beings from the different departments that were housed there. After briefly speaking to the old orc at the front desk, she passed through and went upstairs to Zigferd's office.
