Chapter Fifty-Five


    Elayne caught them just outside the tavern.


    “Hey, wait up a sec, will ya?”


    Ambrose turned, eyebrow raised.


    She stopped, shifting her feet. The tips of her pointed ears turned red,


    “Umm…Listen…what do you think about teaming up for the trial?”


    Ambrose wasn’t sure how to react to the request. He used [Retributions Gaze] on the elven woman.


    [Elayne Mccoy-Level 198 Beast Druid]: She carries some guilt over he brothers death, believing it to be her fault. She has a love for animals, and her choice led her down a druidic path.


    No crimes there that stood out. The story behind her brother wasn’t his business, so he wasn’t going to ask. Her level, however, indicated that she wasn’t entirely useless. However, levels were not always the best indicator of strength.


    He looked around at everyone going about their evening. Elayne waited on his answer, while Noelle looked thoughtful.


    Two roars are louder than one, hatchling.


    Akaroth added her voice to his considerations.


    In all honesty, he liked being alone. When he was alone, the only one who was in danger of dying was himself. Noelle had been with him from close to the beginning, but he could unmanifest her if things got to be too dangerous.


    Darren’s face flashed through his mind, followed by Jenny’s dead eyes.


    His fist clenched slightly. He was on the verge of opening his mouth to tell Elayne no thanks, but Noelle flashed him an intense glare, giving him pause.


    How long was he going to allow fear of loss to control him? He had tried to make a commitment, more than once, not to do that with Noelle. But it couldn’t stop there. It meant nothing if he only dealt with Noelle that way.


    He sighed, running fingers through his beard.


    “Noelle and I were about to get a room for the night. How about you join us so we can talk about your capabilities?”


    Elayne beamed, nodding,


    “You betcha! You won’t regret this!”


    I hope not, Ambrose thought grimly.


    _________


    Their room was spacious, but not too large. Two soft beds, a dresser and smooth hardwood floors the color of rich dark chocolate. The bathrooms were surprisingly modern, and Ambrose gratefully took a shower, peeling off his armor.


    The hot water soothed his muscles, washing away the tension and stress that had built up.


    He was beginning to find his armor useless. Before, it gave him some ability to teleport, and lent him an air of fantasy badassary he supposed, but beyond its appearance, it was functionally useless. He could portal wherever he needed to go now, and he was so attuned with the island, he didn’t really need the key.


    He felt like he would be better served with lighter armor, maybe half-plate, or even leather.


    It was a problem for another day, however. After putting it all back on, he went out to find Noelle bouncing on the bed, ears swiveling, hair bouncing up and down in a wild tangle as her she grinned from ear to ear. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.


    Elayne was laughing.


    Ambrose allowed himself a small smile at the sight.


    But that was all.


    “We should talk about your capabilities, now.”


    Elayne nodded, looking suddenly attentive.


    “Of course! I could just share my status page if ya like.”


    Ambrose shook his head,


    “I don’t want to read off a bunch of numbers and skills. Those won’t tell me anything, anyway. We need to talk about the things that actually matter.”


    “Like?”


    Noelle settled on the bed, running her hands over the soft material.


    “Like spiritual skills. Do you have one?”


    Elayne smiled, her ears twitched,


    “I do, yep! That’s fairly common knowledge in Midgard. It’s only newly integrated worlds like yours that don’t know stuff like that.”


    Ambrose was learning more and more that the System did not hold your hand. On Avalon, they had a school for the kids, but perhaps he would talk to Andrea about having a library or some such that contained public information packets so people didn’t start with the same disadvantages he and others had.


    He put the matter behind him for now, bringing himself back to the situation at hand.


    “What about an Icon? You’re very nearly at the level the System recognizes as C-Grade, Icons are important.”


    At that, Elayne’s ears went reddish pink again.


    “I’ve been tryin’ but it’s hard, ya know?”


    Ambrose crossed his arms,


    “I understand, trust me, but you’re going to cripple your advancement if you don’t have one.”


    Elayne looked sheepish,


    “If I win the trial, there’s an amulet their offerin’ and it would supply an Icon.”


    It was Ambrose’s turn to look uncertain,


    “I know some items have a spirit you can use, but I didn’t know they could have Icons, too.”


    Elayne nodded excitedly,


    “They sure can! There’s a legend that Loki’s armor gives access to an Icon.”


    “Loki’s armor?”


    “Yep! It is apparently in a forest beyond the western gate, past some plains. No one’s ever gone after it though, on account of it bein’ certain death.”


    “How so?”


    Elayne was happy to explain,


    “Because it’s guarded by Fenrir!”


    He blinked,


    “Like that large wolf, you mean?”


    Elayne laughed,


    “Large? More like gigantic! I’ve never seen him, of course, but he’s supposedly this nightmare wolf with fur like the void itself, and eyes like the lakes of hell itself. It’s a legendary top tier C-Grade monster.”


    Elayne was animated now, hands moving, and her eyes sparkled as she talked about the legendary wolf.


    Ambrose, for his part, was thinking about hunting the wolf down. Yes, it sounded dangerous, but he had never been afraid of a little danger. Besides, that was the nature of this new world.


    You needed to find ever increasing danger to advance. He also found himself wondering if he could have multiple Icons. He doubted it, items like that tended to be meant for those that hadn’t been able to unlock the powers for themselves.


    In other words, they were crutches. When you took away a persons crutches, they fell. It was a weakness.


    He told Elayne such, and the elf crossed her arms,


    “What else am I supposed to do, eh? I can’t spend my whole life here.”


    Ambrose borrowed a line from his father, a piece of advice he had often ignored, even recently.


    “Patience cost you nothing, boy, but it can gain you everything.”


    Elayne growled in her throat,


    “I’m not a boy, ya know? What do ya even mean by that?”


    He shrugged,


    “Something my Dad used to tell me. It means a lot of things, but mostly it means that being patient can save your life. Rushing is dangerous, it leads to mistakes, it takes away control.”


    Elayne clutched her ears, puffing in frustration,


    “I’ve been waiting my whole life! If I had prioritized growin’ stronger earlier, then maybe he wouldn’t have-” she cut off, looking away.


    Ambrose knew the pain in that voice. He had felt it, continued to feel it in fact. When he spoke, it was like unlocking a piece of himself he hadn’t dare share with anyone before. Maybe he saw a kindred soul in the elf, maybe he had to respond to that kind of pain. Either way, he felt himself talking as if he didn’t have a choice.


    “You’re running from it. You feel it every day, and as fast as you run, you can’t get away. Part of you doesn’t want to. You think that if you can just grow stronger, if you could just reach the next threshold, you might feel better. If only you could reach that goal-” He wasn’t looking at her as he spoke, but Elayne stared at him, eyes filling with tears, mouth open.


    Noelle watched him, sympathy and love burning in her eyes.


    “Then maybe, just maybe, you might feel some relief. Maybe you could finally move on. You tell yourself that’s what she would want, for you to be happy again. Except there’s no feeling happy, because her presence isn’t there. You reach for it, desperate to feel it, but you can’t. So you search, you rush, for that goal, because maybe, just maybe, you’ll feel her again if you achieve it.”


    Elayne was sobbing now, and almost as if coming out of a trance, Ambrose looked at her.


    “Yes, Elayne, I’ll team up with you. I’ll help you, at least a little bit, to reach that goal.”


    He held out a hand.


    She took it.