《EARTH SAGE DOESN'T WANT TO BE BOTHERED》


 CHAPTER 1 EARTH SAGE ONLY WANTS EARTH MAGIC

    1


    Ashley¡­


    ¡°No¡­ It¡¯s Ash¡­ You ass hat¡­¡±


    Ashley Sage, wake up!


    With a jolt Ash opens his eyes to see the nothingness before him. Darkness so pitch black he couldn''t see his hands in front of him. His feet felt like they were on solid ground and when he reached down to feel the ground it was smooth and cold, something like marble maybe. Where am I and wasn¡¯t someone talking to me? These thoughts crossed his mind as he looked out into the void of nothingness.


    So you are finally awake Ashley Sage?


    A very ladylike voice echoes around him. It was soft and sweet but also carried a sense of authority. Ash decided it would be wise to try and be polite with this voiceuntil he could figure out just what kind of situation he was in. Unfortunately polite conversation was not his strongest skill.


    ¡°Where the heck am I? Why is it so dark? Did you forget to pay your electric bill or something?¡± Ash said while looking around trying to see if he could make out anything.


    You are in my realm, or I suppose I should say my home.


    ¡°You¡¯re not much for d¨¦cor are you? So where are you or are you just going to keep talking to me from the shadows? I can¡¯t help but feel a little concerned waking up in a strange place in a dark room.¡±


    If the darkness is bothering you then allow me to turn on the light.


    The room is suddenly filled with blinding light. Ash curses and shields his eyes from the blinding light. ¡°A little warning next time would be appreciated,¡± Ash grumbled while rubbing his eyes.


    My apologies¡­


    Ash slowly opened his eyes and instead of endless darkness all he could see was a vast emptiness of white that seemed to go on forever. At his feet was an equally white floor. At least now he could see his hands and feet. Weird to him, however, was that fact that he was still wearing his clothes from yesterday; a black long sleeve shirt, blue jeans, and his old white tennis shoes. He felt like he was forgetting something important, something that happened yesterday. The last thing he remembers is leaving a store and heading home.


    Now that I look at you, you are kind of average looking. You have an average build, matted brown hair, and a face perpetually making a frown. Not what I thought you would look like. How old are you anyway? Twenties, or late twenties, I can¡¯t really tell.


    ¡°So a lady with a pretty voice brings me to a secluded room just to make fun of me. It¡¯s like I¡¯m in high school again. So what is this all about?¡±


    You died Ashley Sage.


    ¡°Hold the peas. What?¡±


    You died.


    ¡°Ok¡­I don¡¯t feel dead.¡±


    Youdiddiethough.


    ¡°Is this heaven? Though that doesn¡¯t seem likely with the way I led my life. Is this Hell?¡±


    Neither.


    ¡°Let¡¯s take a step back. If I¡¯m dead, how did I die?¡±


    You don¡¯t remember? You were very heroic actually. Although you ultimately died, several people were saved thanks to your heroic action.


    Saving people? That doesn¡¯t sound like something I¡¯d do, Ash thought to himself. Just then he remembered something.


    You remember now? You arrived at your home and saw chaos and despair. Though instead of panicking you gallantly dug through the rubble and began rescuing your neighbors and friends. It was very brave.


    Ash sweats a little as he remembered the actual truth of those events. He was heading home from a quick walk to the nearby general store when a powerful earthquake hit. Small earthquakes had been frequent lately but this was something else. He fell to the ground as he heard buildings crumble and people scream. It was over in seconds but the damage was unbelievable. Many buildings were now nothing but piles of brick and wood, fires ran amok around him, and people were tearing through the rubble while desperately screaming for help.


    Much to his surprise, except for some minor bruising, he was mostly unharmed. Ash looked on with disgust as some people decided to use this moment of tragedy to loot the various wreckages. Then it occurred to him that in his apartment was his entire life savings. Over 100,000 dollars was in a small safe hidden in his room.


    He had been saving up for years so he could fulfill his dream. It was a simple dream of buying a small house away from people and living a life of ease. Ash disliked people and wanted nothing more than to live the life of a hermit and be left alone, but that costs money, a little over 400,000 to be exact. That was enough to live the way he wanted and it would only take him another ten years to save that much with his self-employed career. Ash sculpted custom made items out of wood, clay, and other materials and sold them online. He made figurines, cosplay items, and even fake weapons. He was somewhat famous for his quality work and because of that his prices were rather steep. He made enough cash to live by and to be able to put some money back.


    He rarely left the house so he wasn¡¯t too concerned with burglars and he didn¡¯t trust banks so he decided to keep all his money in a small metal safe, hidden in his room. Though it wasn¡¯t really hidden so much as tossed in a closet and buried under some blankets. Fear crept into his mind when he realized that his apartment could be in shambles like many of these buildings and there could be looters who would jump at the chance to steal a little safe regardless of the content. Ash rushed back home to see the sight he feared.


    The apartment complex he lived at was in complete ruin. He didn¡¯t know where to begin. The apartment complex was two stories and ten apartments to a floor and the entire complex had been reduced to rubble with only a few walls standing in place. His room was on the top farthest to the right so he rolled up his sleeves and decided to head that way. He heard kids crying and people screaming, he bumped into people as they hurried past him. He saw a woman on her phone, tears rolling down her face as she cried to the person on the phone.


    Ash steeled himself as he went to the rubble and made his way to where he thought his belongings might be. Just then something grabbed his leg. He looked down to see a young boy holding Ash¡¯s pants leg crying for help. The boy¡¯s legs were caught under some fallen wood. Ash sighed and with a grunt lifted the wood off of the boy who thanked him and ran to safety. Ash continued to head to where he hoped his stuff was when he heard a man call for his help. The man was trying to clear debris wear a lady was trapped. He helped them rescue her and tried to get back to what he was doing until, yet again, there was a plea for help from another trapped and injured person. This continued to happen a few more times until finally Ash saw a fire truck heading their way. Great, they can help everyone, ash thought to himself. Wait, ash realized, they¡¯re probably going to make me go to a safe location, those monsters. He decided he has to find his safe before that happens.


    He rushed over to where he assumed his stuff might be and at last he saw some various familiar junk, it was tossed and broken but it was all his belongings and it was from his bedroom. It must be here somewhere. Ash began clearing the rubble when he heard a sniffle. Ash sighed, and slowly turned around to see a small girl with her back against a still standing wall. She was shivering and whimpering with fear. Her body was bruised and her head was bleeding. She wasn¡¯t trapped so why hasn¡¯t she moved to safety? As Ash looked at her he realized that she couldn¡¯t be more than three or four, she must be so scared she can¡¯t move. What was she doing here though? Ash then realized that he¡¯s seen her before. She was the neighbor¡¯s daughter and must have wound up against that wall during the earthquake. Where were her parents? Ash decided it was best not to think about it.


    He walked over to the girl who looked up at him and, with fear in her eyes, started crying uncontrollably. Ash was about to say something when out of the corner of his eyes he saw it. Just a few feet away under some rubble were some blankets and a small metal object underneath them. It was his safe! He¡¯d have to deal with this girl first. He pointed in the direction of safety and told her to go that way. She shook her head refusing to move. Ash reached for her but she pulled back looking terrified. Ash grumbled a bit wondering what to do now.


    The ground began to shake and the girl screamed. Ash fell over and watched in horror as the wall behind the girl shook. The shaking stopped; it must have been a small aftershock. Ash stood up and looked to the girl trembling with fear. Annoyed he reached down and picked her up much to her protests. He ran as fast as he could to safety as she repeatedly hit him on his head. He passed her off to a nearby fireman who said something to him but he just ignored it as he ran back to where his safe was. He dug into the rubble and pulled out his safe. He held it up to the sky like he had found a mystical item.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Slowly he began to walk to safety holding his safe like a baby. He then realized just how tired he was. He wasn¡¯t used to so much physical labor. One of the still standing walls cast a long shadow over him as he heard screaming. He looked over at where the screams were coming from and saw some people pointing up and screaming at him. One fireman was running at him. Oh no, ash thought. He looked up just in time to see the wall fall on him.


    The last thing he remembers is a sharp pain on the back of his head and being put on a stretcher. He remembers seeing the girl he saved crying hugging a woman. That must be her mother, just where the hell was she at, he thought to himself. The girl noticed him looking and smiled and waved at him and said something to her mother. The mother turned around and yelled something with a smile. ¡°Thank you¡±, probably but he couldn¡¯t really tell. His eyes were heavy and he couldn¡¯t pay attention as some guy shook him telling him to stay awake. Well, that wasn¡¯t happening. He slowly closed his eyes as he noticed there were a lot of people looking at him, some smiling and some crying. His last thought as he closed his eyes and loosened his grip on his safe was two words. Darn it.


    It was very impressive.


    Ash snapped back to reality after being lost in thought for so long.


    Even after you helped that little girl you went back to find more survivors to help, which ultimately cost you your life.


    Ash decided it would be best to keep the wholetruth to himself.


    Your good deed did not go unnoticed. That¡¯s why I¡¯m going to give you a second chance. I¡¯ll give you a new life in a new world.


    ¡°You can bring me back to life?¡± Ash asked.


    Not quite. You will be reborn in a new body. You will grow up to look similar to how you are now, hopefully a little more fit and bit better groomed. Though this is a fresh chance at life I should warn you that my world is very different from yours. You see your world is a parallel world to mine and I watch it from time to time in fits of boredom. That¡¯s when I happened to see you and what you did and decided to bring you over to my world to reward your good deeds.


    ¡°Why not put me back in my own world?¡±


    I can¡¯t and also I don¡¯t want to.


    ¡°Ok, then let me ask you this. What or who are you?¡±


    I am a goddess.


    ¡°You sound like my sister.¡±


    No really I¡¯m a goddess with magical powers and everything.


    ¡°How can I believe you when I can¡¯t see you?¡±


    You dare to doubt my powers?


    Ash¡¯s mouth has gotten him in trouble in the past and he knows he should probably take her word for it seeing as how he¡¯s not dead but he also has a bad habit of not listening to his own advice.


    ¡°Prove it.¡± Ash says crossing his arms.


    Very well. You like lobster?


    ¡°I prefer shrimp and crab over lobster honestly.¡± As he says this he feels a weird sensation. He looks at his right arm and lets out a slight gasp of surprise. His right arm has been turned into a crabs claw. He opens and closes it a couple times. ¡°Ok. That¡¯s weird, I¡¯ll give you that but it doesn¡¯t prove a-, ¡°He stops in the middle of his words because he suddenly felt very sick. He gets down on his knees, closes his eyes and vomits. He hears something clank as it hits the floor. He opens his eyes and sees a white plate. He doesn¡¯t have time to think about it as he feels another surge of sickness. He wretches again and a dozen of fried shrimp fall on the plate. ¡°Ok. That¡¯s really gross.¡± Yet again he didn¡¯t have time to think about it as he continued to cough up a few more items.


    Believe me now?


    Ash wiped his mouth and stared in disbelief at the plate in front of him. A plate of shrimp, a 12oz cup of tea with straw, fries, marinara sauce, and lastly a lemon. It was the 4.99 shrimp combo from<u> Charlie¡¯s Shrimp and Fry Hut</u>.


    ¡°Yes, for crying out loud, I believe you. Also there was probably a less gross way to prove it.¡±


    Probably. Just consider retribution for calling a goddess an "ass hat".


    "Did I say that?"Ash stood up and wiped his forehead with his claw. ¡°Alright Mrs. Goddess. Do you have a name?¡±


    Oh. I don¡¯t really have a name. The people often refer to me as ¡°The Goddess¡± or ¡°The Great Deity¡±. Though I suppose if you need something to call me I¡¯ll go with Tammy.


    ¡°¡­Why Tammy?¡±


    I like it.


    ¡°I suppose that¡¯s a good enough reason as any.¡±


    So I should probably explain my world a little bit.


    ¡°Let me guess. It¡¯s a fantasy like world where magic and monsters exist?¡±


    Yes. How did you know?


    ¡°I just felt a clich¨¦ coming. So am I supposed to fight a demon lord or something?¡±


    No. you are free to do what you want.


    ¡°Do I have to start life over as a baby?¡±


    No. Not if you don¡¯t want to I suppose, though it will put you at a disadvantage. I¡¯ll also have to figure out a way to do it.


    ¡°Cool let¡¯s do that. Being a kid sucked enough the first time around.¡±


    I highly recommend starting from birth.


    ¡°No thanks. Now come on. What do I need to do to get this party started?¡±


    First I¡¯ll give you a bonus.


    A book appears in Ash¡¯s hand. Confused, Ash flips it open and see¡¯s countless skills listed out on the pages. Lists of farmer skills, magic skills, and attack skills. Each has the number zero next to them.


    These are skills you can acquire in my world. Right now all of your skills are zero. I will give you two hundred points that you can use towards skills.


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s cool, ¡°Ash says as he starts strumming through the book with his claw hand looking at the various skills.


    Yes, it¡¯s a pretty generous bonus you know. You could start off being a powerful warrior who can tear down trees with one hand or you can be a brilliant wizard who can turn the sky to fire. Take as long as you need to look through the skills and-


    ¡°Earth Magic¡±


    What?


    ¡°Drop all the points in Earth Magic.¡± Ash says as he closes the book and sets it on the floor.


    Earth magic, are you sure? There are better skills.


    ¡°Nope, Earth Magic.¡±


    Perhaps you shouldn¡¯t put all your skill points in it. You will literally have no other skills.


    ¡°Nope. All skill points. Earth Magic.¡±


    But why?


    ¡°I like it. It sounds neat.¡±


    Well, it does give you control of soil, rocks, and metals. It also gives you various resistances and immunities but are you sure you want to put all your points in it?


    ¡°Yep.¡±


    Very well. Don¡¯t say I didn¡¯t warn you. This will make you a sage in Earth Magic. Perhaps the most powerful Earth Sage that¡¯s ever lived.


    Ash hears a chuckle echo around the room.


    Ashley Sage the Earth Sage.


    ¡°Don¡¯t call me Ashley.¡±


    One last thing, this is for you.


    A silver ring appears on Ash¡¯s finger.


    ¡°I¡¯m not much for accessories.¡±


    You¡¯ll like this one. This ring is a god item. It contains a piece of my being. It won¡¯t be able to help you physically but it can give you advice and seeing how you refuse to start as an infant like you¡¯re supposed to you¡¯re going to need quite a bit of advice.


    ¡°Oh, well, thanks¡±


    So don¡¯t lose it. Now I think it¡¯s time for you to be on your way.


    Ash¡¯s stomach grumbles loudly. ¡°Um¡­ You think I can get something to eat before I leave?¡±


    I¡¯m sorry, you¡¯ll have to find food on your own but I can drop you near an inn that serves dinner.


    Ash looks over at the plate of shrimp.


    Don¡¯t eat that.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to!¡± Ash protests.


    Like I said it¡¯s time for you to go. It was nice meeting you Ashley.


    A doorway opens before Ash letting in a bright and blinding light.


    ¡°It¡¯s Ash¡­¡± He sighs and looks at the doorway, ¡°So I just walk through here?¡±


    When you are ready? Though I do want to ask. What will you do with your new life?


    ¡°Absolutely nothing.¡± Ash smiles and looks at the doorway. He decided whatever kind of world this new world is his goal remains the same. To save up enough so he can live a life of ease away from other people. A lazy life where no one bothers him. Ash puts on a determined face, clenches his fist, and clamps his claw. ¡°Oh, yeah, can you turn this back?¡± He says looking at his claw. With a flash the shell falls off revealing his hand. ¡°Welcome back fingers. All right, I¡¯m off.¡± With a nod to no one in particular he steps through the door and immediately begins to fall.


    Ash was falling through the air the wind rushing all around him, his clothes flapping violently. He looks around and sees nothing but clear blue sky around him and green grassy land far below him steadily approaching. He finally realized that he should be terrified as the ground gets rapidly closer. ¡°Tammy you bit-! ¡° He tries to say but is cut short as he hits the ground face first with a loud thud.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Up in the white room a soft chuckle echoes around the room as the doorway disappears and the light fades away returning the room to darkness.


    Ashley Sage the Earth Sage. I wonder how you¡¯ll change my world. I can¡¯t wait to find out.

 CHAPTER 2 EARTH SAGE HAS A LACK OF SKILLS

    2


    Ash could feel a soft wind brush his cheek and he could hear the gentle rustling of trees in the distance. With a grumble and a groan Ash opened his eyes to see a clear blue sky above him. With a bit of a struggle and some leg wobbling he rose to his feet. He looked around but there wasn¡¯t much to see. Woods, far in the distance, encompassed the area. Plush green grass covered the radius of the field with the exception of a large pond in the center. He wondered if it was a large clearing in a forest or something. He looked around some more and saw a few remnants of camping sites. Old fire pits and leftover trash abandoned here and there made Ash think that this place must be used like a rest area for weary travelers. He decided he probably shouldn¡¯t drink from the pond.


    He looked to the ground and noticed a large head sized crater in the ground. With a flash of anger he remembered falling through the sky and hitting the ground face first. ¡°Tammy!¡± He yelled angrily.


    Don¡¯t worry she knew you would be fine. After all one of your Earth Magic abilities is Earth¡¯s Might which gives a hefty amount of resistance against physical damage, so even a fall from that height wouldn¡¯t harm you.


    ¡°But I passed out.¡±


    From shock most likely.


    ¡°Wait, who¡¯s talking?¡± Ash looks around the field but doesn¡¯t see a single soul. The stranger¡¯s small sweet voice seemed to whisper directly in his ear.


    I am.


    ¡°And who are you exactly? Also where are you? I don¡¯t see anyone.¡±


    I¡¯m on your hand.


    With a sigh Ash looked at his hand at the small silver ring that Tammy gave him. ¡°So, I¡¯m guessing the ring can talk?¡± Ash asked to no one in particular.


    Only to you Ashley Sage, no one else can perceive my angelic voice, which is a shame really.


    ¡°Okay, but why do you talk? Also if you call me Ashley again I¡¯ll have you turned into a nose ring and attach you to a pig.¡±


    I am a god item gifted to you from The Great Deity herself. My job is to give you advice using my vast knowledge.


    ¡°God item?¡±


    Yes, a god item is an extremely rare item created from a god. I would have thought that you would have understood that from the name. I really am needed here I suppose. A god item is created by a god or goddess by imbedding a piece of their soul into an object.


    ¡°You¡¯re a piece of Tammy¡¯s soul?¡±


    Do not worry. I am a mere speck of sand from a vast dessert. She will not miss me.


    ¡°Are there other god items?¡±


    Yes. For example there is a sword which can harness lightning and a quiver that never runs out of arrows. There are also other god rings as well. There¡¯s one that can make any enemy cower in fear and there¡¯s another one that can give you the strength of a whole army in one hand.


    ¡°Yet I get the one that can only talk. Great, I¡¯m so lucky.¡±


    No need for sarcasm.


    ¡°How do you know it was sarcasm? I might have been truthcasm.¡±


    Seriously, Mr. Sage, I really am useful. You don¡¯t know anything about this world; it¡¯s my job to help you. I can give you advice on the right way to do things and can even help you with the right actions to take in many difficult situations. You don¡¯t know how lucky you actually are to have me.


    ¡°Fine, okay, I get it. However, my ultimate goal is to gain enough money so I can live a quiet life away from society. I don¡¯t want bothering me and that includes chatty inanimate objects.¡±


    And I can help you achieve that goal. Just listen to my advice and you¡¯ll have enough money in no time. Then you can just deactivate me or put me away. I don¡¯t mind. My purpose is to serve you.


    A small wave of guilt rushed over Ash as he looked at the ring. It was the first time he felt pity for a piece of jewelry. ¡°Fine, I¡¯m in your care.¡±


    Yes! You won¡¯t regret it.


    Out of the corner of his eye Ash could have sworn he saw something big and red looking at him in the woods. He turned to look but didn¡¯t see anything. He decided it was probably his imagination; after all he did take a pretty big blow to the head not too long ago. Ash decided to turn his attention back to the ring. ¡°So, do you have a name?¡±


    No. You can name me if you like.


    ¡°All right, what¡¯s your gender?¡±


    Ring.


    ¡°Fair enough. Then how about a gender neutral name like Sam?¡±


    I am fine with any name you give me no matter how uninspiring and off the top of your head it is.


    ¡°Sam it is then. Okay Sam, what do I need to do to achieve my goal?¡±


    Well, with your almost non-existing skill set I¡¯d recommend joining a guild and taking on high risk quests.


    ¡°A guild? Like with other people? That sounds like a pain¡±


    But first things first, you need to change your clothes, they stick out too much. There should be a change of clothes appropriate for a sage in that bag over there.


    Ash looks to the ground and sees a simple brown bag tied with a string. ¡°How did I miss that?¡± Ash says while picking it up. Inside it is a small knife with a belt, some brown leather shoes, and a long brown hooded robe. ¡°A dress?¡±


    It¡¯s a robe. It¡¯s unisex and well accepted in this world. Mages and the like often wear them. Magic users are somewhat feared in this world so hopefully this outfit will help you blend in and keep ne¡¯er-do-wells away.


    ¡°Keep people away? Sounds good to me.¡±


    You seem to not like people. Why is that?


    Ash looks up to the sky and takes in its beauty, ¡°The sky here is a little darker than the sky back home. Is it because of a lack of pollution in this world?¡±


    So you¡¯re just going to ignore me huh?


    Again, almost out of sight, Ash thought he saw something watching him from the shadows in the woods. He turned to look at it but yet again there was nothing. ¡°Odd.¡± Ash mumbled as he began to undress. After he put on the outfit he went to go see his reflection in the small pond¡¯s water. He looked just like a mage straight from an RPG. Something was different though. He seemed fitter and almost handsome. It looked like he was staring at a handsome twin brother. ¡°Why do I look different?¡±


    It¡¯s a long story but I can explain later but for now you need to get to a village. Even for you this area can be dangerous at night.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t feel like dealing with people but I am hungry. I bet they¡¯ll have some kind of restaurant.¡±


    Most inns serve food but you don¡¯t have any money and no one serves food for free.


    Ash thinks for a moment and looks at the pond.


    There isn¡¯t any fish in that pond and you wouldn¡¯t want to eat any that came from it. Besides how were you going to catch any?


    I could have made a fishing pole.


    Wouldn¡¯t have worked. You have no skills in crafting.


    Ash thinks again while walking around. He looks at a tree and as luck would have it he sees a ruby red apple. He smiles, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not big on apples but beggars can¡¯t be choosers.¡± The apple was just out of arms reach, Ash accepted that he¡¯d have to climb the tree to get it. Ash grabs onto a low branch and places a foot firmly on the tree. He tries to hoist himself up but, to his surprise, loses his grip and falls to the ground hard. With an angry groan he tries again but, yet again, loses his grip and falls with a thud. He sits back up and yells angrily, ¡°What in the name of holey cheese is going on?!¡±


    You have no skill points in climbing.


    ¡°Climbing is a skill? Is everything action a skill?¡±


    You¡¯d be surprised. Even advanced sleeping is a skill.


    ¡°Sleeping is a skill? Ha! Take that Dad!¡± Ash looks back at the apple. ¡°How am I going to get that stomach filler?¡±


    Try using a skill you do have. Like, I don¡¯t know¡­ Earth Magic?


    ¡°How do I do that?¡±


    The skills are inside you, all you have to do is feel for them. Just close your eyes and think about your skills. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Sounds a little corny but all right.¡± Ash closes his eyes and thinks about Earth Magic. As if he always knew about them all his skills flood his mind. Hundreds of Earth Magic abilities pop into his head. Some are passive like the ability Earth¡¯s Might which increases his physical resistance and an ability called unmovable Earth which gives him resistance to charm abilities. Other abilities were more aggressive giving him the ability to cause the ground to shake and rocks to jut from the Earth.


    Your Earth Magic is so high that your only limitation is your imagination. Now go get yourself an apple.


    Ash opens his eyes and looks at the tree. With a small movement from his hand a wide and sharp rock breaks from the ground and slams into the tree¡¯s base shattering it completely. The tree falls to the ground with a loud crash. Ash looks at the rock that he pulled from the ground. He couldn¡¯t help but feel surprised at the fact that he did that, with magic no less. For the first time he finally and truly understood that he was in a whole new world and that things were going to be different. You would probably think he would have realized this when a goddess made him vomit up a seafood platter but you would be wrong; this is the moment.


    You know you didn¡¯t have to kill the tree; you could have just shaken the Earth or just threw a rock at the apple. You didn¡¯t even have to use magic for that.


    ¡°Well, at least I have my apple,¡± Ash says while grabbing the apple off the fallen tree.


    You kind of disgust me a little Mr. Sage.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think you¡¯re special, I disgust me too. Also you¡¯re welcome to just call me Ash¡­ But never Ashley.¡± Ash pulls out his knife and happily begins to peel the apple.


    Ah, so you¡¯re making the recipe, ¡°Peeled Apple?¡±


    Ash looks at the silver ring on his hand, ¡°Recipe? It¡¯s just peeling an apple.¡± Ash turns his attention back to the apple but instead of seeing the delicious ruby apple he was peeling his hand was now full of a gross purple mush. ¡°Okay¡­What the hell is this?¡±


    That is a failed dish. After all you do not have any skill points in cooking.


    ¡°You got to be kidding me, right? How does that count as cooking? This doesn¡¯t even look like it was ever an apple and is that a chunk of potato in it?¡±


    All failed dishes contain potato.


    ¡°Why do I feel like you and the goddess are just messing with me?¡± Ash looks with disappointment at the putrid mush in his hand. He really is hungry. He looks closely at the mush while weighing his options.


    Don¡¯t eat it.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to!¡± Ash yells throwing the mush to the ground. ¡°Guess I could try to find another apple. Why did that tree have just one anyway?¡±


    Apple trees in this world bear little fruit and with all the adventures that pass through this area it¡¯s actually surprising that even one was left.


    Ash was about to respond with how ridiculous that sounded when he hears a loud splash. ¡°What was that?¡±


    It came from the lake.


    ¡°Told you there¡¯s fish in that lake.¡± Ash walks slowly towards the pond.


    You didn¡¯t. Also that¡¯s a pond at best and whatever made that splash was bigger than a fish. We should stay away from the pond.


    ¡°It¡¯s all right; it¡¯s probably just a really large fish. I¡¯ll use Earth Magic to catch it then I¡¯ll get a fire going and cook it.¡± Ash gets close to the pond and pears into the water.


    You don¡¯t have the skills to do any of that.


    Ash looks at the water hoping for any signs of movement. He sees something dark and shadowy in the water. It¡¯s long and huge and it¡¯s heading right towards him. ¡°That¡¯s probably not a fish¡­¡± Ash says realizing that this was a bad idea. The thing rises from the water confirming Ash¡¯s thought.


    It looked like a giant red snake. It was four feet wide at least and no telling how long as most of its body was still in the water. Its green and black eyes were wide with a hungry stare, two long and sharp fangs protruded from its maw, and its thick scales glimmered with a metallic red. Ash looks up at the giant creature as its tongue slipped back and forth in its mouth. Ash points up at it and yells, ¡°That¡¯s not a fish!¡±


    It¡¯s sizing you up! Move away, it¡¯s going to attack!


    Before Ash could respond the snake lunges at him. Mostly by accident, because he was startled, Ash barely manages to avoid the strike. The creature slams its head into the ground hissing with rage. Ash knew how that felt. He then realized that this must be the creature that was watching him from earlier. ¡°Hey! You¡¯ve been spying on me since I got here! Mind your own damn business snake!¡± Ash yells at the creature. The creature rises up again and angrily lunges at Ash once more. Ash backs away out of surprise causing the snake to miss and slam its head again into the dirt.


    Ash! That¡¯s a red basilisk! It¡¯s slow but extremely dangerous!


    ¡°Is it Poisonous?¡± Ash said as he watched the creature rise back up for another attack.


    Why? Are you planning to eat it? It is venomous, however, so don¡¯t let it bite you!


    ¡°Got it!¡± He says as the creature knocks him off balance and sinks its fangs into his legs releasing a copious amount of venom. With a yell Ash lays limp on the ground as the basilisk releases its grip. A small pool of excess venom spreads from under Ash. The great red snake rises up and watches Ash patiently.


    Oh no! Ash, are you okay?!


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t feel any pain. Is that because of the venom?¡± Ash responds while lying still on the ground.


    No. Red basilisk venom paralyzes you and dissolves you allowing the snake to easily swallow you whole. You shouldn¡¯t be able to talk.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s going on?¡±


    Your physical resistance must have prevented its fangs from piercing your skin.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t big red and scaly over there notice that?¡± The giant snake was still watching Ash quietly.


    Red Basilisks are slow in more ways than one.


    ¡°What¡¯s it doing now?¡±


    I don¡¯t know. I can only see through your eyes.


    ¡°That¡¯s going to make going to the bathroom weird¡­¡±


    If I had to guess it¡¯s probably waiting for you to start dissolving. As dumb as the creature might be it won¡¯t take it too much longer to figure out that its venom didn¡¯t work on you. Try using your Earth Magic. A creature like this shouldn¡¯t be a match for you.


    ¡°Okay.¡± Ash closes his eyes and thinks about his abilities. He decides to use a trapping ability where he summons two large walls of Earth and clasps a creature between them, restraining it. Ash readies himself and at the same time the Basilisk realizes that the human it bit should be dissolving by now. It decides to give the human another generous dose of its venom. It gets ready to lunge as Ash quickly rises up and holds his palm out at the monster. Before the basilisk could respond two large stone walls spring from the Earth on either side of it, the walls quickly slam together with the snake crushed in the middle. Its innards fly in all directions and Ash looks on in horror and a large amount of it covers him from head to toe with a sickening splash.


    That was kind of brutal Ash.


    Ash looks at the creature crushed between the two walls and sighs, ¡°I only meant to hold it there. Guess I need to work on that.¡±


    A red basilisk here is unusual but I wouldn¡¯t say rare. It normally sticks to caves. Well, at least you beat it. There was probably a less disgusting way to do it though.


    ¡°Probably,¡± The two walls crumble to the ground in a heap of rock, dirt, and snake parts. ¡°Huh, so they don¡¯t stay up very long?¡±


    You do have the ability to make longer lasting walls and even permanent ones but most offensive Earth Magic abilities are short lived.


    ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind. You know I was hoping monsters drop money after you kill them but I guess this world isn¡¯t completely like an RPG¡± Ash looks at the remains of the deceased creature as his stomach lets out a deep grumble.


    Don¡¯t eat it. It actually is poisonous as well.


    ¡°Yet again, I was not going to.¡±


    Well, make sure to get its fangs, we should be able to sell them for a little bit of profit. Also you might want to wash off in the pond.


    ¡°Right.¡±


    After Ash gives his robe a quick rinse in the pond he tries to remove the fangs from the basilisk. Due to a lack of skill it takes him several attempts to remove the two fangs and unfortunately one of them got cracked from being crushed by the walls of earth.


    If we go to a village you should be able to sell those for some quick cash, enough for a meal and a bed to sleep on.


    ¡°Great. Where¡¯s the nearest village?¡±


    Honestly I¡¯m not sure. There¡¯s a dirt road not far from here that leads to a village, but I don¡¯t exactly have my bearings just yet so I¡¯m not sure which direction to go. I¡¯m sorry to say navigation is not my strongest ability. I was hoping an adventurer would wonder into this clearing so we could ask them.


    ¡°So, what now? Do we wait?¡±


    I think you have an ability called Earth Sense. Using vibrations from the ground you should be able to sense if there¡¯s someone close. It has a short range but it might work.


    ¡°Or we could just go that way,¡± Ash points to a tree that someone carved an arrow pointing up into and left a red ribbon tied to one of its branches. ¡°I hope that means exit.¡±


    It seems likely. Worth a shot anyway.


    ¡°If it doesn¡¯t work I can always try the Earth Sense thing.¡± Ash drops the fangs into his bag and ties it to his belt. He turns to look at the clearing one last time and makes a vow to never return here. He covers his head with his hood and walks towards the assumed exit. ¡°I¡¯ve been meaning to ask, Sam, why is Earth Magic even called Earth Magic here? Is this still planet Earth?¡±


    I don¡¯t know anything about a planet but we refer to soil, rocks, and similar things as Earth.


    ¡°Huh¡­¡± Ash walks past the marked tree and sees another tree with an arrow carving and a red ribbon tied to it a little bit in the distance. Past that one was yet another one hopefully leading them to a way out of this wilderness. The woods thick canopy already blocked out most of the light that desperately trying to brighten the area but Ash was getting a little worried as the woods began to darken even more as the sun sank lower. Ash past the thirteenth marked tree and finally in the distance he could see some light from an opening in the trees.


    That looks like our exit Ash.


    A sense of relief washed over Ash as he ran and stumbled towards the exit. He emerged from the woods and was pleased to see a flat dirt road spread out before him but not so pleased to see a large group of intimidating people glaring at him. They stood in the middle of the road in two separate groups across from each other. One side consisted of mostly people in full body armor in various colorsand they all rode uponsturdy looking horses. One of their members was holding a pole with a dark purple flag that had some weird symbol in the middle that looked like a mutated bat.


    The other side looked more like a band of thieves with shifty and dangerous looking people making up their ranks. They had a little more diversity with their members it seemed. There was a few archers with their bows already strung and ready, a couple of mage looking people wearing robes similar to Ash¡¯s, one bald and extremely muscular manwearing red chestplate armorandwielding a mace, and a few other unsavory characters that Ash couldn¡¯t begin to guess what kind of skills they had. They didn¡¯t have a flag but Ash did notice that most of them wore red colored clothes and armor and most had what seemed to be a drawing of a flute embroidered into their clothes.


    Wow. Out of the frying pan and into the fire, am I right Ash?


    Ash wanted to tell Sam to shut up but was unable to speak or even move as the large muscular mace wielder of the red group glared and pointed at him.


    ¡°You there!¡± The man bellowed. ¡°The Red Pipers guild demands your assistance!¡± Before Ash could respond someone from the other group spoke first. It was a well armored and formidable looking woman wearing black armor astride an even blacker steed. Unlike the other members of her group she did not wear a helmet which revealed her rather young face, pretty dark skin, short black hair, and a deep longscar just below her right eye.Her voice carried an unmistakable sense of authority and superiority.


    ¡°Is that any way to ask for a favor? It seems the swine of The Red Pipers guild are as uneducated and barbaric as we¡¯ve heard.¡± The woman said with the smuggest of sneers.


    ¡°You know nothing of our guild trespasser, but I¡¯d be more than happy to show you how I crush skulls with my mace!¡± The large man yelled at her while hoisting up his mace.


    Ignoring him the woman continued talking to Ash. ¡°Are you a mage?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me you pompous-!¡± The man bellowed at the armored woman.


    The lady continued to ignore him while speaking over him. ¡°You are a mage I assume?¡± She said addressing Ash who, at a loss for words, only nodded. ¡°Excellent, we were hoping you would help us with an argument our two groups are having. We just need you to decide which of us are so obviously in the wrong. With you being a neutral party your opinion will carry a great deal of weight and hopefully end our little disagreement with as little bloodshed as possible.¡±


    Ash looked back and forth between the two groups. Their members looked at him with expectations. The armor clad lady looked at him with a wide confident smile while the muscular man glared at her with vein throbbing anger most likely because he was ignored a few moments ago. Ash realized that there was probably no way he was getting out of this mess easily and with a loud sigh he accepted his fate. ¡°Okay, let¡¯s hear it.¡±

 CHAPTER 3 EARTH SAGE TAKES AN ARROW TO THE CHEST

    3


    Ash looked back and forth between the two groups waiting for an explanation. As soon as it looked like the large muscular man was about to say something the lady clad in black armor spoke up.


    ¡°I suppose first we should introduce ourselves. I am Sheeve Altrea, knight commander of the fifth order of the Soland Empire. It¡¯s a pleasure.¡± She says this to Ash with a pleased look on her face. Ash could feel that her role was an important one and that she thought so too. Her soldiers just looked ahead stoically, unmoving and silent.


    The muscular man spoke up with anger clearly in his voice, ¡°The Soland Empire is hardly an empire anymore! Now you¡¯re just trespassers in kingdoms where you don¡¯t belong!¡±


    Sheeve responded quickly and even though she was still smiling, Ash could feel venom in her words. ¡°We have every right to be here. King Dowler, your king I might add, has given us permission to pass through. We are not trespassers we are visitors. Not that it¡¯s any of your business anyway. You are merely mercenaries of a small lowly guild. You¡¯d do well to know your place before you bring shame to your king, old man.¡±


    ¡°As if I care about that dying fool, and who are you calling old? I¡¯ve heard tales of you Sheeve of Soland and for those to be true you must be pushing at least three hundred!¡±


    ¡°Three hundred and twenty-six to be exact but that is still rather young for my race.¡± She replied sharply.


    Ash took another look at Sheeve and noticed that her ears were especially long and stuck out sideways probably explaining why she didn¡¯t wear a helmet. She must be an elf or something, he thought to himself. He wasn¡¯t sure how he missed that up till now.


    She¡¯s a drow. A dark elf, but I wouldn¡¯t call her that.


    ¡°A drow?¡± Ash says more or less to himself.


    Sheeve smiles at Ash pleased that he noticed. ¡°Yes I am. I am the only drow serving under Emperor Soland. I have served under five generations of emperors in fact.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what you call old.¡± The muscular man says while crossing his arms. ¡°Anyway mage, I¡¯ll introduce myself now. My name is Waldo.¡±


    ¡°Waldo?¡± Ash says while stifling a chuckle. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if people had trouble finding him.


    ¡°That¡¯s right. Waldo of the Red Piper¡¯s Guild!¡± Several of his men and women let out a cheer and hoist there weapons in the air as Sheeve rolls her eyes. ¡°But you can call me Titan. It¡¯s a nickname I have grown accustomed to.¡±


    ¡°Ok, then.¡±


    Careful. My knowledge of the Red Piper¡¯s Guild is limited but what I do know is that you don¡¯t want to make them your enemy.


    ¡°I¡¯ll try not to.¡± Ash replies to Sam.


    ¡°Try not to what?¡± Titan asks with confusion.


    Remember, only you can hear me.


    ¡°That¡¯s dumb.¡± Ash says with a sigh.


    ¡°Who¡¯s dumb?!¡± Titan asks angrily.


    ¡°That¡¯s easy answer.¡± Sheeve says with a smirk.


    ¡°You test me witch.¡± Waldo says with frown and a growl.


    ¡°You know it¡¯s easier to smile than it is to frown.¡±


    ¡°What can I say? I¡¯m an overachiever.¡±


    The argument seems to continue for a bit but Ash wasn¡¯t really paying attention. He was too busy watching a snake with a scorpion tail drag a small rabbit into the woods. He decided he didn¡¯t care too much for the snakes of this world.


    ¡°Mr. Mage?¡± Sheeve says politely then, when she realized he wasn¡¯t paying attention she spoke with a much sterner but still polite voice. ¡°Mr. Mage!¡±


    Startled, Ash looks towards her. ¡°It¡¯s Ash. My name is Ash Sage.¡±


    Titan chuckles, ¡°What kind of name is that? Is sage your last name or class?¡±


    Another member of Titan¡¯s group, a young man in red mage garb, shakes his head. ¡°Impossible, sage class hasn¡¯t been achieved by anyone younger than fifty-five. This guy looks like he¡¯s in his mid to late twenties.¡±


    ¡°How old are you boy?¡± Titan says with a smile, his anger replaced with amusement.


    Ash was starting to get just a little bit annoyed. ¡°Old enough to know when someone is talking sh-¡°


    Before he could finish Sheeve cut him off. ¡°Well, I think it¡¯s a very unique name. Now that we are all acquainted let¡¯s resolve our situation so we can be on our way.¡± A murmur of agreement echoes all around them.


    Ash nods in agreement. ¡°So what¡¯s all the hubbub?¡± He asks.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what a hubbub is but our problem is a simple matter of miscommunication. My group and I were traveling along this road when we encountered these hooligans and, much to my surprise they did not move.¡± Sheeve says while giving a cold stare directed at Titan. ¡°They just stood there. Refusing to let us by and even now they still stand in our way.¡± She says dramatically.


    ¡°You are a liar!¡± Titan says pointing an accusing finger at Sheeve. ¡°It is our way that she hinders! How dare you manipulate the truth you horseback riding wench!¡±


    ¡°Close your mouth. Your breath reeks of cheap mead.¡± Sheeve replies with disgust.


    Ash¡¯s annoyance level was rising. ¡°So, let me get this straight. Your problem is that neither of you will get out of the other¡¯s way? What¡¯s so hard about moving off to the side of the road?¡±


    Without a moment¡¯s thought Sheeve replies, ¡°It¡¯s a matter of principle.¡±


    ¡°Well, what if you both go in single files?¡± Ash asks with a smile thinking he had solved the problem. ¡°That way both groups can pass by each other while staying on the road. Everyone wins.¡±


    ¡°Roads too small.¡± Titan says with his arms crossed.


    ¡°The road isn¡¯t that small.¡± Ash counters.


    ¡°IT¡¯S TOO SMALL!¡± Titan roars.


    ¡°Yeah, okay, fine. It¡¯s too small.¡±


    Sheeve nods. ¡°For once I agree with him. I¡¯d sooner move aside than share a road with him.¡±


    ¡°Then move.¡± Titan says what Ash was thinking.


    ¡°No.¡± She replies definitely. ¡°We have a much higher status so you and your little group should move.¡±


    ¡°You have no status in this country.¡± Titan says coldly, ¡°You are outsiders and should move for us as a way to thank our king. Does that make sense dark elf?¡±


    For the first time Sheeve¡¯s smile faded away and was replaced by a menacing glare so intense Titan instinctively took a step back. Ash realized that things were going south so he cleared his throat and gathered their attention before speaking. ¡°I think I know exactly whose right I just need to step away for a moment and talk quietly to my ring.¡± Everyone looks at him with a bit of confusion. ¡°It¡¯s a special decision making ring.¡± Everyone looks at each other and nods as if it was obvious. Ash starts to walk a little bit away from the group as he hears Sheeve call out to him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll make a sound decision Mr. Mage,¡± She says with a smile


    ¡°You better,¡± Titan mumbles.


    Ash kneels down and lifts the ring close to his mouth and whispers, ¡°I have no idea what to do. This is a ridiculous argument.¡±


    Well first of all you don¡¯t need to bring the ring that close, as long as you can hear yourself talk so can I. Lastly just pick the lesser of two evils.


    ¡°Which is?¡±


    That¡¯s a good question. On one side you have the Red Piper¡¯s guild, which is an extremely violent guild that takes on any job no matter how vile. On the other side you have knights who serve the war hungry Soland Empire who are also known for violence and a love for torturing people in gruesome ways.


    ¡°Damned either way I go huh?¡±


    Pretty Much.


    Ash played enough games to know what was going on. He would have to make a choice that would decide his path, allies, and foes. A plot mechanic he kind of hated, especially at this moment. He really wished he didn¡¯t have to bother with being the judge of what was basically a traffic dispute. He also knew not helping them would antagonize both of them and make him two enemies instead of one. He nods to himself and looks back at the groups. ¡°I know what must be done.¡± With a new found resolve Ash stands back up and approaches the group.


    ¡°Well?¡± Says the muscle bound Titan.


    ¡°I have made a decision, but I need to ask a couple questions first.¡± Ash says as he looks at everyone. ¡°First where is the nearest village or town?¡±


    Titan points past his group down the dirt road. ¡°About twenty minutes that way you¡¯ll reach a village called Barrel. Why do you want to know?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± Ash replies. ¡°Second question, does everyone realize how petty this is?¡± Everyone nods. ¡°Good. Lastly, whomsoever I side with I want a promise from both groups that I won¡¯t be harmed.¡±


    ¡°We wouldn¡¯t taint our swords with your blood, so worry not Mage, your life is hardly worth taking.¡± Says Sheeve a little harshly.


    Titan nods in agreement, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t harm you over a little dispute like this.¡± He and his group start laughing and it lasts a little bit longer than Ash felt comfortable with.


    ¡°Wait,¡± says a fairly short, young, and blonde headed woman from the Red Pipers side.


    ¡°What is it Botan? It had better be important.¡± Says Titan obviously annoyed.


    ¡°He just walked out from the woods. How do we know he¡¯s not with them?¡±


    Titan thinks about what she said but then shakes his head. ¡°No, that way leads to Traveler¡¯s Rest. That¡¯s likely where he came from. He was probably just resting there.¡± Ash nods agreeing with him.


    ¡°That¡¯s just what they want us to think. We should just kill him and stop wasting our time.¡±


    Sheeve laughs, ¡°You thought he was with us? Just look at how he¡¯s dressed.¡± Ash, along with a few of the mages of the Red Piper¡¯s Guild, look at their robes with shame. ¡°He would never be accepted into my order. No offense mage.¡± She says to the very offended Ash.The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Ash then notices the blonde girl named Botan looking at him suspiciously. She seemed to be pretty young compared to her teammates, perhaps nineteen or maybe twenty. She was dressed in mostly red clothes but she wore a dark black hooded cloak and a leather chest guard, with a bow and a quiver full of arrows tied to a belt on her back. Her hood was down revealing her mid-length blonde hair, which she had tied into a ponytail, and dark piecing green eyes that she had fixated on Ash. She reminded Ash of a snooty rich girl he went to school with when he was younger.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you make a sculpture? It¡¯ll last longer.¡± She says sharply to Ash. She then turns her gaze away from him.


    Okay, so she was a lot like the snooty rich girl he went to school with when he was younger. Ash sighs, thinking that girls might be the same in every world. He decides to ignore her and get this over with. He raises his hand and extends a finger. Everyone looks at him expectantly. ¡°Okay,¡± Ash says as he points his finger at Sheeve and mumbles something than points it at Titan than back at Sheeve all while mumble something quietly. Everyone watches him with the utmost anticipation. ¡°Mo.¡± Ash says quietly while resting his finger pointing at Sheeve.


    ¡°As if there was any doubt.¡± Sheeve says with a not-so humble smile.


    The members of the Red piper¡¯s guild loudly and angrily voice their protests but are silenced by Titan when he holds up his hand. He turns an angry glare at Ash. ¡°Just what is your reasoning mage?!¡± Titan cries out in anger.


    Ash thinks for a moment before coming up with an excuse. ¡°Horses,¡± Ash says pointing at Sheeve¡¯s horse. ¡°Their group has horses. Horses shouldn¡¯t be expected to walk off road if they don¡¯t have to.¡±


    ¡°The horses, that¡¯s your only reason?!¡± Titan asks in disbelief.


    ¡°Yep, the horses.¡± Ash replies.


    ¡°It¡¯s an excellent reason. After all, even our horses are more important than some barbarians from a backwoods guild.¡± Sheeve says taking the utmost delight in Titan¡¯s upset expression.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that.¡± Ash says to Sheeve, and then turns to Titan. ¡°I did not say that.¡±


    The blonde archer, Botan, points an accusing finger at Ash. ¡°See? I told you he was with her. We should kill him. Dad, let me do it, just a quick arrow to the chest, thunk!¡± She says while mimicking shooting an arrow at Ash who just looks at her with a bored expression.


    Dad? So she is his daughter. Kind of explains a lot.


    ¡°No.¡± Titan says with a frown. ¡°If that is his decision we should honor it no matter how wrong it may be.¡± With a look of defeat he turns to his group. ¡°Everyone! Get off the road!¡± The group starts voicing their complaints loudly especially his daughter. ¡°This is an order! Do not shame us further.¡± With some grumbling the Red Piper¡¯s Guild members step off onto the side of the road except for Botan who just crosses her arms and glares at Sheeve. Ash lets out another long sigh wishing that this could just end.


    Sheeve looks at the defiant archer and laughs. She wouldn¡¯t voice it but she sort of liked the fire in her. Then again she also liked snuffing out those kinds of fires. Before the situation could escalate further Titan grabs Botan by the shoulder and pulls her off the road. She was about to say something to him but she noticed a stern look in his eyes and decided not to push her luck.


    ¡°At long last we can go depart. Was that so hard?¡± Sheeve says to Titan smugly. However, Titan doesn¡¯t so much as look at her and just stands on the side of the road waiting for her to depart. A little dejected Sheeve motions for her group to move. As she passes Ash she looks down at him from atop her horse. ¡°Come, Mage, you can walk with us for a bit. No telling what they might try to do to you after you shamed them like this.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t mean to shame anyone.¡± Ash says with a glance at the Red Piper¡¯s group.


    ¡°But you did and it was the highlight of my day. Come along now.¡±


    Ash decided to take up Sheeve¡¯s offer and follow her. As he begins to walk alongside Sheeve¡¯s slow trotting horse he hears Titan shout towards him, ¡°Goodbye mage. Pray we never meet again.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do that,¡± Ash says without looking back.


    Titan watches as Ash, Sheeve, and her soldiers disappear out of sight. ¡°Okay, so who volunteers to kill that mage?¡± Titan says enthusiastically to his group.


    ¡®¡®I thought we weren¡¯t going to harm him?¡± Asks one of the mages.


    Titan scoffs at him, ¡°I said I wouldn¡¯t harm him. I never said anything about the rest of you harming him.¡¯¡¯


    Botan approaches him with a determined look on her face. ¡°Then let me. I¡¯ll do it.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Titan replies without hesitation.


    ¡°What? C¡¯mon Dad! No one else is volunteering.¡±


    ¡°I said no. You¡¯re still too green. Your mother would kill me.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m already one of the best archers in the guild and every request I¡¯ve taken on has been completed without any mistakes.¡±


    ¡°Yes, all two of them.¡±


    ¡°Just let me do it. How can I get experience if you won¡¯t let me practice shooting arrows at actual people?¡±


    ¡°Well, he does look like a rather low level mage and he looks young so I doubt he has developed any kind of resistance skills and if he has they are probably low level.¡±


    ¡°Worst case scenario, Dad, if he does have a resistance or something I can just use the trump card Mom gave me.¡± Botan pulls an arrow covered in red cloth out of her quiver.


    ¡°Oh, yeah, that thing.¡± After he thinks for a moment he nods. ¡°All right. He¡¯s yours.¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± Botan says with excitement.


    ¡°But keep your distance and wait till he is separated from that witch¡¯s group.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Also be careful. If something happens to you your mother will kill me.¡±


    ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll be fine. I can pick him off while hiding in the woods¡±


    ¡°Botan. You don¡¯t understand. Your mother WILL kill me. So maybe another couple of archers should follow you.¡±


    ¡°No! We could risk being spotted! I have to do this alone.¡± She says defiantly and runs into the woods disappearing from sight.


    Titan shakes his head. ¡°She¡¯s so dramatic; she must get it from her mother.¡± He turns to motion to his group. ¡°All right everyone! Let¡¯s get the hell out of here.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Sheeve kept her steed¡¯s pace slow enough to match Ash¡¯s as he walked alongside her and her horse. Her face broke into a wide smile as she remembered the look on Titan¡¯s face. If she could she would put that moment into a bottle so she could open it and see it again when she was feeling down. Alas, she didn¡¯t have a bottle and she didn¡¯t know how to cast the memory capturing spell.


    Ash looked up at her as she rode and took notice of her pleased face. They hadn¡¯t talked since they departed from Titan about ten minutes ago. Ash was surrounded by intimidating men and women all clad in full body armor, and they all just rode on their horses without saying a word. Ash wasn¡¯t used to being around people this long and really wished they would just ride on without him.


    The silence was the most unbearable part; they weren¡¯t even talking to each other. He then realized that during the whole exchange with Titan, Sheeve was the only member of her group to talk; the rest of them stood by like emotionless statues. Ash decided against his better judgement to break the silence. ¡°Sheeve?¡± He says. A chill went down Ash¡¯s spine and he looked around to notice all of the members of Sheeve¡¯s group glaring at him.


    Whoa. What did you do Ash?


    Sheeve chuckles and holds up her hand, ¡°Stand down, everyone. Ignorance should be expected in this land.¡± Her companions turn their gaze from Ash and face ahead. Ash looks up at Sheeve curiously. ¡°Sorry mage, where we¡¯re from names are important and using someone¡¯s name improperly is considered a severe insult. You must refer to me as Knight Commander Sheeve if you must refer to me at all.¡±


    Ash, you better apologize.


    ¡°Whoops, my bad.¡± Ash says half heartily.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Just don¡¯t let it happen again. Now what did you want to ask me?¡±


    He honestly didn¡¯t have anything he wanted to ask her. ¡°Uh¡­ So what are you doing here? I mean in this particular area? I mean, are you here for business or pleasure?¡±


    ¡°A bit of both I¡¯m hoping. Unfortunately I can¡¯t really tell you anything.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± That was fine. Ash actually didn¡¯t really care to know.


    The group comes to a fork in the road and stops. Sheeve points down one of the roads. ¡°You¡¯ll want to head that way, it will lead you to the village. The rest of us will be going the other way so this is where we part.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Okay.¡± Ash says with a sense of relief.


    ¡°Goodbye mage and thank you.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s Ash.¡±


    Ignoring him Sheeve makes a motion to her team. Each of them, Including Sheeve, leans over and whispers something in their horse¡¯s ear. As if possessed the horses seem to lose their mind, stamping their feet and making sounds that Ash wasn¡¯t aware horses could make. The horses take off down the road at amazing speed, carrying their passengers and leaving a blinding dust trail behind them. They were out of sight long before the dust could settle.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Says Ash. ¡°Talk about horsepower. What did they whisper in their ears?¡±


    Not sure.


    ¡°Also, why didn¡¯t you warn me that they were so sensitive about names?¡±


    I wasn¡¯t aware of that myself. I don¡¯t know everything.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Sheeve¡¯s horse couldn¡¯t stop itself even if it wanted to as it sped down the road at an incredible speed, with the other horses not far behind. Sheeve had a tight grip on her horse¡¯s reins as the wind rushed by her face. She enjoyed that little encounter but she was glad to be back on track. She couldn¡¯t help but wonder what would become of the mage. She seriously doubted Titan would keep his word. He wouldn¡¯t be dumb enough to attack her but the mage was a different story.


    Earlier, when she was with the mage, she was well aware they were being followed. Someone was in the woods keeping pace with them, staying out of sight and hiding their presence. Sheeve wasn¡¯t fooled however; you can¡¯t hide from a hunter like herself. Whoever it was obviously wanted the mage to be left by himself so they could pick him off; it was most likely an archer because that¡¯s a very archery thing to do. Sheeve thought about warning the mage before she left but decided against it. Whatever happens to the mage is not her problem. Sheeve chuckled to herself admiring the chaos of this world. Her mood was great and her energy was high, today was a good day.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Finally, thought Botan, the witch has left. She had been in the woods following Ash and Sheeve for quite some time and the fools were none the wiser. Botan thought that Sheeve was going to escort him to the village and she would have to wait till Ash was alone before she could end him but now it seems like she¡¯ll be able to finish this much quicker. Slowly she closed the gap between herself and the mage known as Ash, all the while staying hidden. She was so close now she could hear him talking to himself.


    He was standing still looking down at a yellow and blue mushroom sticking out of the ground. He must be planning to use it to make a poison, thought Botan as she readied her bow. She could hear him yell that he had no intentions of eating that mushroom. She didn¡¯t know who he was talking to as he was obviously alone. He probably isn¡¯t right in the head she thought as she selected her arrow from her quiver. Ash gave up on the mushroom and continued to walk along the road while talking to himself. Ash¡¯s back was turned to her and she knew this was her chance.


    She knocked her arrow and aimed at the poor mages head. As she pulled the arrow back, she decided that she would at least bury him after she takes his stuff of course. Goodbye, she thought, as she released the arrow. The arrow flew through the air at blinding speed and struck Ash in the back of the head. Much to her surprise the arrow simply fell to the ground leaving not so much as a mark. She watched as the mage scratched at the back of his head still talking to himself.


    Furious and confused she quickly knocks another arrow and shoots it at Ash. To her chagrin it hits him and simply falls again and Ash continues walking as if nothing happened. Red with anger she moves closer and aims at the back of his head. She lets the arrow fly and has to resist screaming in anger as it clearly hits him and falls to the ground. She looked on with seething fury as Ash held his hand out looking at the sky thinking it might be raining. This wasn¡¯t right, she screamed internally, there was no way his magic was high enough to grant him any kind of resistance, especially against three arrows aimed at a critical spot!


    Luckily, she had the arrow her mother had given her. It¡¯s a magic arrow enchanted with a high level spell called ¡°smite¡±. Enchanted items are rare and hard to make so her mother had warned her to only use it in case of an emergency. So naturally she decided to use it against a stranger that embarrassed her father. She pulled the arrow out of the quiver. It was wrapped in a shiny red cloth that she eagerly ripped off of it. She basked in its beauty for a moment. It was thicker than most arrows and had a glowing blue arrowhead. She wondered if she should save it but decided against it. It was now a matter of pride, this mage had insulted her and had laughed at her feeble attempts to hurt him¡­Probably¡­He had to pay.


    Ash had started walking again while she was admiring the enchanted arrow, so she hurriedly closed this distance. She wanted to make sure she didn¡¯t miss so, with his back to her again, she decides to stealthily and quietly step out of the woods and onto the road without Ash noticing. She knocks the arrow and pulls it back. A blue light swirls around her and the arrow. She fills power that she has never experienced before radiating from the arrow. The air seemed to distort all around her and her bow seemed to struggle to hold the arrows power. This will hurt him, she thought to herself smiling.


    She saw Ash stop in the middle of the road as if he knew something was off, and as he turned around she could see his eyes light up in surprise. ¡°Sweet baby carrots!¡± He screamed. She wasn¡¯t sure what that meant but it was too late for him. She released the arrow and watched in glee as it hurdled towards him the ground cracking beneath it as it went. Ash had quickly summoned a wall made of earth to block it, but the arrow simply shattered through it and hit him square in the chest. Ash was knocked off his feet and sent flying, shredded pieces of his cloak falling everywhere. He landed on the ground and continued rolling several feet until coming to a stop in a twisted and crumpled state.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Botan screamed with joy. The arrow was even more powerful than she thought it would be. She looked with pride at the mage as he lay on the ground unmoving, steam coming off his chest where the arrow hit him. The arrow was nowhere to be seen, she had heard magic arrows disintegrate after use. Botan looked at her bow to discover that it was cracked all over and now unusable. She shrugged; she could always get another after she loots this guy.


    She approaches the mage and looks down at his torn body. Well, his cloak was torn anyway. Wait, she thought, he should be in a far worse state than this. As she looks him over she couldn¡¯t see any blood from him anywhere. Then, to her horror, she hears him groan. She backs away in fear and confusion as Ash rises up and shakes his head.


    ¡°Ugh, I know I should have moved out of its way. I didn¡¯t have a whole lot of time to think so quit nagging me.¡± Ash says, perhaps to himself, as he stands up. He looks at the giant hole in his cloak where the arrow hit him and sighs with disappointment as he tears off a small piece of hanging fabric. ¡°Well, that¡¯s ruined.¡±


    ¡°What are kind of monster are you?!¡± Botan says with a mixture of shock, confusion, and fear as she notices his chest is completely unscathed.


    Ash looks to her and recognizes her immediantly as Titans unfriendly daughter. He responds to her question with apparent disdain in his voice, ¡°Hey, Botan right? You owe me a dress.¡± She hears him sigh and look at his ring. ¡°I know it¡¯s a robe.¡± He seems to say to it.


    Botan was frozen with fear not knowing what she should do against such a powerful foe. She had no idea that the enemy in front of her was far hungrier than he was angry. Ash let out a long sigh knowing that this was woman was just another obstacle between him and dinner.

 CHAPTER 4 EARTH SAGE GETS EATEN WHOLE

    4


    Botan was frozen with fear as she locked eyes with the powerful mage. She was weighing her options. Fighting was out of the question, the mage took a direct hit from an arrow enchanted with smite and recovered almost immediately. Even if her bow wasn¡¯t cracked and useless she didn¡¯t own an arrow powerful enough to hurt him. She would have to use her most powerful skill, a skill not even her father could overcome. It was her ultimate trump card.


    Ash looked at the terrified girl and wondered what he should do. This whole situation was a pain. It might be best to just let her go, he thought to himself. It¡¯s not like she did any damage, except to his mage dress. Ash was just too hungry to really care. He decided it was best just to ignore her and keep walking towards the town. He was about to turn away from her when she suddenly bowed her head and started apologizing.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry!¡± She said with a trembling voice. She raised her head and Ash was taken aback when he saw tears cascading down her grief stricken face. ¡°My dad made me do it! He said I would have to kill you to prove myself to the guild. I didn¡¯t want to do it!¡± This was a special move she had been perfecting for years called ¡°Insincere Apology¡±. It worked on almost all of the guild members, except for her mother for some reason, but it should work on this fool. This skill was so effective it would make the other party feel as if they were in the wrong and ask her for forgiveness. Often she would be offered a gift or money to try and calm her down. Though, to her surprise, it seemed like the mage had already regained his composure.


    ¡°Ugh. Stop crying. It¡¯s not that big of a deal.¡± Ash said with a dismissive wave of his hand.


    It kind of is a big deal Ash; she did try to kill you.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡±


    Botan¡¯s tears stopped flowing as her face contorted in anger. He should be apologizing and ashamed, why is he just standing there?! She thought to herself. This was the first time a guy older than her had resisted her trump card. Her mother had always joked with her that this ability would become less effective the older she got but she chose not to believe her. Could her mother have been right? Was the skill already useless? These thoughts crossed her mind but she soon came up with an answer. No, my skills aren¡¯t useless, it¡¯s this guy! He¡¯s just weird! She told herself this as she pointed the all too familiar accusing finger at Ash. ¡°You¡¯re weird! What¡¯s wrong with you?!¡±


    ¡°Well, first of all, I was just hit by an arrow.¡± Ash says bitterly, narrowing his eyes at Botan. He decided that maybe he should try to be intimidating to get her to flee. ¡°You know lady, you talk a whole lot of potatoes, you better be careful or those potatoes will get mashed.¡± Ash isn¡¯t very good at being intimidating but surprisingly it works anyway.


    Botan¡¯s anger fades away and is replaced by fear as she remembers the predicament she is in. ¡°Insincere Apology¡± probably isn¡¯t going to work so it was time for her back up plan, bribery. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me. I¡¯ll do anything! Here you can have some of my stuff,¡± Botan says as she begins to dig through her pockets.


    You probably should just let her go Ash.


    ¡°Believe me, I want to. I just want to leave.¡± Ash says to Sam as Botan continues to rifle through her stuff, little shiny rocks dropping from her pockets as she empties them.


    ¡°Rock¡­rocks¡­another rock¡­¡± Botan says muttering to herself.


    ¡°You sure have a lot of rocks.¡± Ash notes.


    ¡°I like shiny rocks, ok!¡± Botan says furiously.


    ¡°What are you, a bird?¡±


    And she calls you weird.


    Ignoring Ash she empties her pockets and she realizes that she doesn¡¯t have anything this mage might want, just a bunch of shiny rocks and a rolled up piece of dried meat wrapped with paper. Maybe he¡¯ll accept her quiver or her cloak; it won¡¯t fit him but he could sell it in town for some quick cash. She was about to make the offer when the mage points at the rolled up meat in her hand.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Ash asks in-between heavy breathing.


    ¡°It¡¯s dried meat, beef I think.¡± Botan says taking note of how intensely the mage was looking at her snack. ¡°Do you want it?¡± The mage nods slowly. ¡°Ok, you can have it, but only if this makes us even and I can leave unharmed.¡±


    Ash, this feels wrong. Taking food from her like this feels like you¡¯re stealing.


    ¡°It¡¯s not stealing if she is offering. It¡¯s extortion at best, or would it be at worst? Whatever, I¡¯m too hungry to care about morals right now.¡± Ash says with a matter-of-fact tone.


    ¡°Talking to your decision making ring again?¡± Botan asks recalling the ring from earlier.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Ash responds. ¡°It says you have a deal.¡±


    Liar.


    ¡°Good decision, ring.¡± Botan says handing the heavily salted slab of beef to Ash.


    Ash brings the gift close to his face and unwraps it to partake in its edible beauty. It shines with meaty goodness and it smells¡­actually kind of sour like it might be bad but whatever, Ash was hungry. ¡°Yes, this pleases me.¡± Ash says to himself as he opens his mouth to devour the treasure.


    Botan looks at Ash feeling a little bit worried mostly because she has no idea where that meat came from or why it was in her pocket. She kept her fingers crossed that it was still good but considering it was in her rock filled pocket she wasn¡¯t too optimistic. She decides that when he gets violently ill from food poisoning she¡¯d make a run for it.


    Ash was about to eat the snack but stops short as he realizes that he can¡¯t move his arm. ¡°What¡¯s going on? I can¡¯t move my arm.¡± Ash says looking at Botan.


    Botan shrugs, ¡°I¡¯m not doing anything,¡± she says.


    Botan watches with confusion as Ash begins to float from the ground and finds himself hovering several feet in the air unable to move his limbs. ¡°Ok, this is weird.¡± Ash¡¯s hands open wide and he watches in horror as his recently obtained snack predictably falls to the ground. ¡°Oh, damn it all!¡±


    It¡¯s for the best Ash. I don¡¯t think you have any protection against poison. Eating that would have probably killed you.


    Ash¡¯s arms lift above him and his hands slap together. ¡°Sam what¡¯s going on? Did I accidently activate a levitating dance spell or something?¡±


    Earth Magic doesn¡¯t have an ability that makes you float. Wind Magic and Psy Magic do though.


    ¡°Psy Magic?¡± Asks the floating Ash.


    ¡°Yes, Psy Magic. I¡¯m not surprised you know about it.¡± Says a mysterious voice from the woods. Ash¡¯s floating body turns to face the woods as two strangers walk out of it. The first is a handsome man with short blonde hair and blue eyes. He looks to be in his late twenties or early thirties. He seems to be well equipped wearing leather armor and wielding a round metal shield and a short sword. He is also surprisingly tall and well built; Ash decides immediately that he doesn¡¯t like him.


    Walking in front of him with her hand outstretched towards Ash is a petite and short woman in a purple mage robe. She is an elf, Ash guessed, but probably not the same kind as Sheeve. Her skin is more of a light olive color and her ears point up instead of outwards. She has straight, mid-length black hair and auburn eyes that are fixated on the hapless Ash. Her outstretched hand has several rings on it that Ash could only assume had special powers. She also looked pretty young, than again most elves do.


    She¡¯s a Belign. A desert elf. I wouldn¡¯t call her that though.


    ¡°A Belign?¡± Ash asks.


    ¡°Who told you?!¡± Responds the elven woman. ¡°My race should be the least of your concerns right now. We were lost in the woods when we happened to come across you harassing that poor girl.¡± She says pointing to Botan.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t lost.¡± Says her companion. ¡°It was a shortcut.¡±


    ¡°We were definitely lost, Garret.¡± Replies the elven woman.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Cries Ash. ¡±You¡¯ve got it backwards. She tried to kill me with some kind of super arrow. Look at the hole in my robe. It¡¯s super arrow shaped.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t really buy that.¡± Replies the elf. ¡°What mage would walk around without using ¡°Detect Arrow¡±? It¡¯s basic magic.¡±


    I¡¯m afraid you don¡¯t have that Ash. Not that you really need it with your passive defense spells. It¡¯ll take more than an arrow to hurt you.


    ¡°Look, elf lady, just ask little miss victim player over there.¡± Replies the ever-floating Ash, ignoring Sam.


    The elf sighs and turns to Botan who was still trying to figure out what in the world was going on. ¡°Is this true? Did you attack this mage with the intent to kill?¡±


    Now Botan could have defended Ash and perhaps even have built a friendly relationship with him but unfortunately for Ash, Botan saw this situation as a chance for a little revenge. ¡°No, he¡¯s lying. He robbed me and was going to do horrible things to me.¡±


    ¡°Horrible things, huh? Yeah, I figured as much. Well don¡¯t worry; you¡¯re in good hands now. My name is Saline and this is Garret. We take pride in helping the weak.¡± The elven woman says while pointing at the tall blonde man.


    ¡°Thank you very much.¡± Botan replied sweetly trying to mask her seething fury at being called weak.


    ¡°Oh, come on. She¡¯s lying.¡± Cries the elevated Ash.


    ¡°Oh, really?¡± Replies Garret. ¡°Then how do you explain all these shiny rocks on the ground?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to respond to that.¡±


    ¡°I thought so.¡±


    ¡°Look. She¡¯s a member of the Red Piper¡¯s Guild. They were mad at me so they sent her to kill me. Now that I think about it, I¡¯m a little insulted.¡± Ash says trying to sound as convincing as possible. Saline and Garret turn to look at Botan who had quickly closed her black cloak to hide her red clothes and Red Piper emblem underneath.


    ¡°That¡¯s unlikely.¡± Says Saline. ¡°She¡¯s wearing all black and everyone knows that the members of that guild can¡¯t survive without wearing an obscene amount of red.¡±


    ¡°I thought they wear green?¡± Asks Garret.


    ¡°You¡¯re color blind Garret.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on. You¡¯re being obstinate!¡± Yells Ash as he frantically tries to cast a spell.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know the meaning of the word,¡± Replies Garret. ¡°What does it mean?¡±


    ¡°Look,¡± Says Ash angrily. ¡°Just take off her cloak.¡±


    Botan gasps and begins to cry with an extreme amount of overacting. ¡°See?¡± She cries. ¡°He¡¯s a monster.¡±


    This is going downhill fast.


    Garret gently grabs her shoulder and tries to calm her down. ¡°It¡¯s okay. He can¡¯t do anything now, literally.¡± He says soothingly. Botan stops crying and as soon as Garret turns away from her she looks up at Ash and grins at him mockingly. Ash has had his fill of this situation and thinks to himself trying to figure out an Earth Magic spell that might help him.


    You won¡¯t be able to cast most of your spells.


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I cast a spell?¡± Ash asks Sam.


    ¡°It¡¯s because I have your hands clasps so you can¡¯t direct your attacks.¡± Replies Saline. ¡°You should know that. You¡¯re a mage aren¡¯t you?¡±


    She¡¯s right unfortunately; most assault magic requires hand movement to direct the attack. Even area of effect magic needs an origin point directed by your hands. With your hands clasped like that you can only cast defensive magic on yourself.


    ¡°Then what would a mage do if they lost both their hands?¡± Asks Ash in a whisper.


    Most mages only use their hands for casting but skilled mages can cast spells using other parts of their body or by simply using objects like wands or staves. However, that takes practice, so right now it might be best if you just do what they say. Don¡¯t worry, you have a very high defense, I doubt they can do anything to really hurt you.


    ¡°Oh man, you¡¯re a cheater.¡± Ash sighs, ¡°That¡¯s a pretty cheap move.¡±


    ¡°No it¡¯s not!¡± Screams Saline. ¡°It¡¯s completely fair!¡±Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work!


    ¡°You guys are really baking my dough here,¡± Says Ash to the duo. ¡°What do you want from me?¡±


    ¡°To punish you.¡± Replies Saline simply. ¡°You need to understand what you did was wrong. Don¡¯t worry, we won¡¯t kill you, we¡¯re just going to bruise you a little then turn you over to the garrison in the next town over.¡±


    That won¡¯t work. The garrison likely has better things to do than to take in random criminals.


    ¡°That won¡¯t work.¡± Says Ash bluntly.


    ¡°He¡¯s on to us.¡± Whispers Garret to Saline.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Replies Saline coldly. ¡°How about this instead? I sentence you to the yo-yo of pain.¡¯¡¯


    ¡°Yo-yo of pain? Oh good. I thought you were going to make me do jumping jacks or something.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what that is.¡± Asks Saline.


    ¡°A world without jumping jacks? Bonus points for this world.¡± Says Ash as he finds himself being turned to face the woods. ¡°Well, this doesn¡¯t look promising.¡±


    ¡°Reflect on your actions.¡± Saline says to Ash while making a twisting motion with her hand. With a grunt she pushes her hand out in front of her and Ash goes darting into the woods.


    Rapidly, Ash flies through the darkening woods smashing into trees and branches before coming to a stop still hovering in the air. He was covered in twigs and his robe took a lot of damage but he was relatively fine other than still being extremely hungry and annoyed.


    Are you ok Ash?


    Ash spits out a squirrel. ¡°I¡¯m fine. You know normally I¡¯m against violence but I got to tell you I could really go for some violence right now. Violence directed at an elven girl. Is there really nothing I can do?¡±


    There are spells that can be cast above you like Meteor and Cataclysm, they¡¯re extremely high level Earth Magic spells you are capable of but I¡¯d like to ask that you don¡¯t use those as you could wind up killing everyone within a mile radius and that would be a problem.


    ¡°Yeah, a not my problem.¡± Ash says as his eyes adjusted to the woods darkness he looked down at the sticks and leaves that covered the woods floor and he could hear something very large moving closer to him. He could hear limbs or maybe even whole trees snap as whatever it was moved closer to him. In the corner of his eyes he could see something red moving towards him but before he could make out what it was he starts flying backwards in the direction he came.


    After smacking into several trees he emerges from the woods. He stops back above the dirt road and finds himself being turned to face Saline. Saline looks at him with her arm outstretched. ¡°Are you sorry now?¡±


    Okay Ash, maybe if you talk calmly to her you-


    ¡°I apologize for what I¡¯m going to do to you the moment you set me down.¡±


    Ash¡­


    ¡°Fine,¡± Says Saline irritably. ¡°I¡¯ll throw you into the woods and pull you back as many times as it takes.¡±


    ¡°I get it.¡± Says Garret with a sudden realization. ¡°Like a yo-yo.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Garret, thanks for joining us.¡± Says Saline as she gets ready to send Ash soaring back into the woods.


    ¡°Wait!¡± Cries Ash. ¡°There¡¯s something in the woods. Something big.¡±


    ¡°There¡¯s always something in the woods. Tell it I said hi.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you are just asking to get cataclysmed.¡± With that Ash is sent bolting into the woods smacking tree limbs and getting leaves in his mouth. When he finally comes to a complete stop he eats the leaves in his mouth and tries to gather his bearings.


    Don¡¯t worry Ash. Psy Magic consumes a lot of magic power. She¡¯s going to run out of energy soon. Wait¡­Did you just eat those leaves?


    Before Ash could answer he could feel something loom over him and could hear a loud hissing noise. He couldn¡¯t look directly at it but he had a feeling he knew what it was. ¡°You¡¯ve got to be kidding me. This world sucks.¡±


    Tell it Saline said hi.


    ¡°Bring me back!¡± Ash starts screaming.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.....


    Saline and Garret were looking at the woods where Saline had propelled Ash into, her arm was still outstretched to control him. Garret walks up to Saline and pears into the woods. ¡°Must have sent him in pretty deep, huh?¡± He asks Saline.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± She responds. ¡°But we may have a problem.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡±


    ¡°Well, now that I¡¯ve had a moment to think, he may have been telling the truth.¡± Saline says casting her eyes over to the ground.


    ¡°What makes you think that?¡±


    ¡°On the ground there are cracks and marks like a high level spell went over it, a spell like smite, which can be enchanted into an arrow. It looks like someone shot a couple of arrows and missed because I can see two on the ground. Also that girl was carrying a quiver and a bow so we know she is an archer, not only that her bow was cracked like it had been used to shoot a highly powerful enchanted arrow. Now that I think about it the mage had a large hole in his robe like he got struck by something, but if he got hit by an attack like that there¡¯s no way he could have survived.¡±


    ¡°All right, that is suspicious, maybe we should ask her about it?¡± Garret turns to where Botan was but is surprised to discover that she is long gone. ¡°Where did she go?¡±


    Saline nods, ¡°She left into the woods the moment we weren¡¯t paying attention. In other words she probably is a member of the Red Pipers guild who was tasked with killing the mage, failed, and saw a chance to escape. And now I¡¯m currently holding an innocent mage against his will, one that seems to have taken no damage after being hit with an arrow and being chucked into the woods. ¡±


    ¡°Shoot, I guess we better apologize and stop hitting him with trees.¡± Says Garret while scratching his head.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t want to.¡± Saline grumbles. ¡°Also I¡¯m not hitting him with trees I¡¯m hitting the trees with him. It¡¯s completely different. Lastly I have a feeling he¡¯s going to attack us when I set him down.¡± She was about to say something else when they suddenly could hear screaming in the woods.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Asks Garret.


    ¡°It¡¯s the mage. He¡¯s having a fit about something. Guess I better bring him back.¡± Saline says while making a pulling motion with her hands. They could hear a lot of snapping and breaking in the woods as Ash flew towards them. He stops in the middle of the road and Saline uses her magic to make straighten him upright. ¡°Look, mage, I think we owe you an apology. It seems like we wrong. I¡¯m really sorry. Please forgive us.¡±


    ¡°Forget that!¡± Ash says as various debris falls off of him. ¡°Put me down! Something is coming!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Asks Saline.


    ¡°Not a fish!¡± Screams Ash as a red basilisk, three times bigger than the one he dealt with earlier that day, bursts out of the forest breaking a tree in half and looks down at the floating Ash. ¡°Stop dangling me like a worm and set me down!¡±


    ¡°Right!" Saline yells as she lets go of Ash and he hits the ground with a thud. Ash barely rolls out of the basilisks way as it lunges at him fangs bared.


    ¡°He¡¯s right. That¡¯s definitely not a fish.¡± Cried Garret as he readies his shield and sword.


    ¡°It¡¯s a red basilisk! A huge one! That must be the monster that¡¯s been attacking travelers! That¡¯s the creature we have to kill for our quest Garret!¡± Saline explains.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I can take it.¡± Says Ash confidently. ¡°I can, right?¡±


    Yes. This one is a great deal bigger but if you use the same attack as last time you should be able to defeat it. Just keep in mind this one is big enough to swallow you whole.


    ¡°Got it!¡± Ash says as he slips on some shiny rocks and the basilisk uses the opportunity to bite down on him, lift him in the air, and swallow him whole.


    Saline and Garret look on in shock as they watch the monster eat the mage alive. Saline couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bit guilty and garret just shakes his head. ¡°Well, he¡¯s dead.¡± Says Garret a little darkly. ¡°Saline, why don¡¯t you use your Psy Magic and lift it in the air so I can stab its soft underbelly.¡±


    ¡°I can only lift things up to four times my own weight.¡± Saline responds a little frantically as the creature turns its gaze towards them.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s the problem?¡± Asks Garret as Saline shoots him an angry glare. ¡°Okay fine, old fashioned way it is.¡± Garret says as he runs towards the monster at full speed and dodges as it bites at him. It lunges at him again and he smacks its head with his shield. With the monster disoriented for the moment he takes his sword and slices at the creature¡¯s body, but his sword doesn¡¯t cut through its thick scales. The basilisk hisses at him and Garret just barely manages to dodge its attack. ¡°Its scales are too thick now what? Should we run?¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Responds Saline as she picks up a large rock using her magic. ¡°This thing might make it to the village and innocent people could get hurt. We have to stop it here.¡± She shoots the rock at the snake and it hits the monster¡¯s side with a loud thud. The basilisk looks at Saline, unharmed but enraged. ¡°Crap.¡± Says Saline as the creature gets ready to lunge at her. Unlike Garret, Saline is not very agile and as she tries to move out of the beast¡¯s way she trips and falls to the ground hard. She braces herself for its attack but nothing seems to happen.


    Saline looks over to the snake and sees it thrashing violently as several sharp rocks jut out from the ground underneath it stabbing, crushing, and piercing the unfortunate snake. A large sharp rock had stabbed it in the middle of its body and kept if from moving. Garret and Saline looked on in horror as it flailed about making terrifying sounds as the rocks continued to come from underneath it. Finally, one of the many rocks rising from the ground stabs through the center of the creature¡¯s head ending its torment.


    ¡°Wow, Saline, did you do that? Brutal.¡± Asks the surprised Garret.


    ¡°No.¡± Saline says looking at the dead creature.


    ¡°Well, we should probably take its fangs.¡± Garret says as he makes his way over to the dead snake but stops when he thinks he sees it move. He takes a closer look at it but almost screams when a slimy hand emerges from the basilisk¡¯s torn body. I¡¯ll leave out the details but it¡¯s not a pretty sight as Ash emerges from the snakes body covered in the worst kind of nasty. ¡°Hey, the mage guy¡¯s alive.¡±


    ¡°That is beyond gross.¡± Saline says trying not to vomit.


    Ash stands up on the solid ground and looks back at the snake. ¡°So that¡¯s area of effect magic?¡±


    Yes, it¡¯s very strong but you can¡¯t really control where it goes. I feel bad that the basilisk had to suffer like that though.


    ¡°It ate me. Speaking of which, does this technically make me snake vomit?¡±


    Snake bile maybe?


    ¡°Wait. Did you do this? An attack like that requires a lot of skill.¡± Asks Saline with amazement.


    ¡°Yeah, it was me. I guess I better take these fangs too.¡± Responds Ash as he gets ready to remove the fangs.


    ¡°Too? What do you mean too?¡±


    ¡°I killed another one of these earlier. This place seems to be littered with them. This must be snake woods or something. Fang forest. Snake silva. Basilisk bosk.¡±


    Actually, they are uncommon for this area.


    As Ash begins to remove the fangs Saline motions for Garret to come over. Garret walks over to her while keeping an eye on Ash. ¡°What are we going to do? He killed the thing we took the request for. How are we going to claim the reward if this guy killed it.¡± Asks Garret with a concerned expression on his face.


    ¡°I think I have an idea Garret, just let me do the talking. Switching to friendly Saline. Hey Mage!¡± Saline calls out to Ash as he pockets the fangs.


    ¡°It¡¯s Ash, you ass hats.¡± Replies Ash, not willing to forgive them just yet.


    ¡°What¡¯s an ass hat?¡± She asks Garret curiously.


    ¡°A poor fashion choice?¡± Garret replies.


    ¡°Anyway, Ash is it? Are you a member of a guild? Do you have a party you¡¯re a part of?¡± Saline asks Ash sweetly and innocently.


    ¡°No guild, no party.¡± Ash replies quickly.


    ¡°Well, I just want to say I¡¯m sorry about earlier, and as a way of apology let me clean you up.¡± Saline holds out her hand and a white light envelops Ash. All the slime, blood, and guts covering Ash disappears and as the light fades Ash feels very clean like he just got out of the shower. He takes a sniff of his tattered robe and it smells like it just got out of a dryer.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Says Ash amazed at how clean he feels and even smells.


    ¡°Clean spell.¡± Saline says with pride.


    ¡°She learned it so she would never have to take a bath.¡± Says Garret with a smile which quickly fades as Saline elbows his side. ¡°Oof!¡±


    ¡°Seems like a good spell to have.¡± Ash says running his hand through his clean hair.


    Saline looks at Ash¡¯s torn robe. ¡°So did the archer girl¡¯s arrow do that?¡± She asks.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Ash says looking sadly at his robe. ¡°Though hurdling me into the woods didn¡¯t help.¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, sorry about that. I can fix it though. This is called Repair Magic¡± Saline holds out her hand again towards Ash. Ash and Garret both watch as Ash¡¯s robe stitches itself together even forming new fabric where it had been disintegrated. In a matter of seconds Ash¡¯s robe was as good as new.


    Ash was impressed. ¡°Amazing.¡± He says.


    ¡°She learned that so she would never have to change her-¡°Garret stops short as Saline clasps his mouth short with her Psy Magic. She shoots him a dangerous look and releases his mouth. ¡°Point made.¡± He says while rubbing his mouth.


    It¡¯s not surprising she knows more than just Psy Magic. Most mages learn various basic magic like that before moving on to a combative magic.


    Ash chooses to ignore the obvious jab at him. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m curious, isn¡¯t Psy Magic just telekinesis?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s telekinesis?¡± Asks Saline.


    ¡°It¡¯s where you can move objects with your mind.¡±


    ¡°Like Psy Magic but with your mind not your hands?¡±


    ¡°Just forget I asked.¡± Ash looks at the setting sun and nods to the other two. ¡°Well, it¡¯s been really awful you two but I have to get going.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Saline cries, ¡°I have a proposition for you. Won¡¯t you hear me out?¡±


    ¡°No thanks. You tossed me through the woods and got me eaten by a snake.¡±


    ¡°Come on. I said I¡¯m sorry. Besides you were kind of asking for it with that attitude and smug face.¡±


    ¡°I have a smug face? Have you tried looking in a mirror?¡± Ash asks smugly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like looking in mirrors. Sometimes I see my mother staring back at me.¡±


    Garret nods, ¡°Yes, sometimes I even see myself turning into my father when I look in a mirror.¡± He says knowingly.


    ¡°Nah, I put her there.¡± Responds Saline. ¡°Anyway Ash, I said I¡¯m sorry, won¡¯t you just hear me out? Tell you what, how about I let you attack me? Hit me with your best shot! Then again I guess you look like the type who wouldn¡¯t hit a lady bu-¡± Her sentence was cut off as a rock shot from the ground hitting her in her stomach. ¡°Oof!¡± She bent over rubbing her stomach. ¡°See? Now we¡¯re even. Oh, wow, that hurt a little.¡±


    Ash shakes his head. ¡°As cardiactic as that was-¡°


    Cathartic.


    ¡°Whatever. It¡¯s still a no.¡±


    ¡°But.¡± Saline protested.


    ¡°All I want is to go to town and get something to eat, so quit bothering me!¡± Screams Ash finally losing his temper.


    ¡°Well, I have food if you¡¯re hungry.¡± Saline says as Ash stops in his tracks and turns back to look at her. ¡°Here.¡± She takes out from inside a pocket in her robe what looks like a six inch stick of beef jerky and holds it out to him.


    Just to be safe you probably shouldn¡¯t eat that.


    Garret shakes his head. ¡°Saline, he¡¯s not going to want your half eaten stick of-¡°Garret stops short as Ash puts the whole thing into his mouth.


    Saline and Garret watch as he finishes chewing. Saline holds out a leather waterskin which Ash declines, for some reason he stopped being thirsty after she used the cleaning spell, also he really didn¡¯t want to drink after someone. The two look at him expectantly and he lets out a long sigh. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll hear what you have to say.¡±


    ¡°I want you to join my party.¡± Saline says with a big smile.


    ¡°What?¡± Asks Garret. ¡°I¡¯m cool with it but don¡¯t we have to ask the rest of the group first?¡±


    Saline was pretty sure she could convince the other two members of their party. They were thinking of adding a new member to their team anyway, and this guy was obviously strong. He easily killed two basilisks, withstood her yo-yo of pain, and even took a direct hit from an enchanted arrow all without taking any noticeable damage. He¡¯s powerful and he doesn¡¯t even belong to a party. She had to get him to join them. ¡°So what do you say Ash? Won¡¯t you join us?¡± Saline says with a big hopeful smile.


    Without a moment of hesitation Ash replies, ¡°Nah.¡±

 CHAPTER 5 EARTH SAGE, A MINOTAUR, AND A SUCCUBUS WALK INTO A TAVERN

    5


    Jaxton could hear the screams from his teammates echoing around the dark empty town as he ran, his feet carrying him as fast as they could. He wanted to save them but he knew there wasn¡¯t a weapon he owned that could harm the creature. It was supposed to have been an undead mage, a lich they were often called. Fighting a lich is dangerous but he and his teammates all had weapons and skills perfect for slaying the undead. However, when they faced the monster, none of their anti-undead items worked on it and they watched in horror as it consumed their leader. Running was the only option they had and they took off in separate directions.


    This wasn¡¯t how it was supposed to go down; this should have been a fairly easy mission with a huge payout. He stopped in his track as he heard another scream, that of the female sorceress Sasha, the last of his teammates. Her screams were filled with despair as she cried for help. Jaxton continued running as he told himself, in between his own sobbing, that there was nothing he could do. Her screaming stopped abruptly and the town was quiet all around him. The only thing Jaxton could hear was the sound of his feet as they hit the ground.


    Jaxton stopped to catch his breath, he must have ran for ten minutes, surely that¡¯s enough to get away from that ¡°thing¡±. He looked around at his surroundings but all he could see was darkness. The thought crossed his mind that some red flags should have been raised when they discovered the entire town was empty. Did the people escape or did something worse happen? He decided not to think about it till he got away from this place. He¡¯d come back with the entire guild and avenge his comrades. He was about to start running again as he heard the sound of fabric flowing in the wind. He dared to look behind himself and there it was, the monster that killed his teammates.


    It wore a black cloak that covered its entire body. The cloaks hood covered its head and Jaxton could not make out the face inside of it. Fear reminded Jaxton to run as the creature began to glide effortlessly towards him. Jaxton turned away from it and summoned all the energy he had left to sprint from the thing. He heard something fly over his head and he stopped in his tracks as the monster landed in front of him. The creature could fly. ¡°So that¡¯s how you got to us so fast. What now, monster? You want me as well, do you?¡± Jaxton yelled at the creature trying to hide the fear in his voice.


    ¡°You¡¯re scared¡­¡± The creature replied, its voice deep and dark and yet calm and almost soothing. ¡°You don¡¯t have to be afraid. I¡¯m here to save you. I¡¯ve saved hundreds and they all are thankful.¡±


    ¡°I doubt my comrades are thankful that you killed them.¡±


    It continued to talk in a slow calm voice. ¡°Death is merely the next step in your existence. You should not fear it, you should embrace it. I am a simply here to guide you to that next stage. You do not understand the joy it will bring you yet but I will show you, I will make you understand.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so.¡± Jaxton said as he pulled out a small scroll. He couldn¡¯t use magic but anyone can use a magic enchanted scroll; though they are extremely expensive and only to be used in an emergency. This was definitely an emergency. Jaxton opened the scroll and chanted, ¡°Enchant my broadsword with Holy Weapon!¡± The scroll turned to dust and Jaxton pulled out his sword and admired the soft white glow coming off of it.


    ¡°Pretty.¡± The creature said tilting its head as it looked at it.


    ¡°You like that do you? Take a closer look!¡± With that said Jaxton ran towards the creature and as quick as he could manage thrust his sword into the cloaked creature¡¯s chest.


    ¡°If you do that, I can¡¯t see it.¡± Said the creature much too calmly for something that has a sword inside of it. Jaxton realized that his sword went in way too easily, it was like stabbing nothing. Jaxton pulled his sword out and tried to stab it again but his time the creature held up its right arm and shot out a bright white beam from it that struck the sword knocking it out of Jaxton¡¯s hand.


    Having a cleric on his team Jaxton had seen that spell before. ¡°That was a holy beam. What kind of monster uses holy magic?¡± Jaxton said as he slowly backed away.


    ¡°Holy weapons do not work on me because my very existence is due to holy magic.¡± Said the creature as it slowly glided closer to Jaxton. ¡°And I am no monster, I am a god. Now please accept my gift.¡± The cloak opened wide and Jaxton¡¯s mind reeled with fear and confusion as he discovered that there was nothing under the cloak.


    ¡°No!¡± Jaxton screamed as the cloak wrapped around him and a bright light enveloped him. His screams filled the empty town for no one to hear and after a few moments there was nothing but silence.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Azaerania had worked at the Hairy Bull Inn and Tavern for over a decade now. It was easy work and thinks to her natural charm, even if she gave poor service no one seemed to care; which was great because Azaerania had very little enthusiasm for doing a great job. She wasn¡¯t like her sister who was so ambitious she started up her own guild; Azaerania just wanted a small job so she could lazily live out her life. As she looked up at the bright moon in the sky she could see lightning in the distance as a storm headed closer to them. The thirty minutes she spent on her fifteen minute break was over so she decided it was about time to get back to work.


    She stood up from where she was sitting and stretched her wings one last time, and then she used a belt to gently clasp them to her back. It¡¯s not like she was ashamed of her wings they just would knock things and people over if she didn¡¯t strap them down. She touched her right horn to make sure the little blue ribbon was still tied there, it was. Her horns were nowhere near as big as her sisters but she was still proud of it. They were short, black, and shined beautifully even for a pure demon, and she took pride in her horns.


    As she was straightening herself up the door behind her opened up and a seven foot half man, half bull walked out. His top half was that of a mighty long horned bull and his bottom half was that of a mighty long legged human. Surprisingly he was very well dressed for a minotaur. He was wearing Brown wool pants and a nice red shirt covered by a white apron. She could hear his big old hooves clop as he walked towards her. ¡°Breaks going on a little long isn¡¯t it? I could use some help. Alex isn¡¯t coming in tonight so it¡¯s just me and you.¡± said the bull man in a shockingly kind voice.


    Aza looked up at him, her dark purple eyes trying to pierce his very soul, and then she remembered her charm ability didn¡¯t work on beast people. ¡°Yeah, all right.¡± She said standing up and walking towards the door. ¡°What are you serving tonight?¡±


    ¡°Stew, I did a little something different to it tonight.¡± The beast man replied proudly.


    ¡°You made it edible?¡± Aza asked coolly.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s just a bonus. At least I think it¡¯s edible. I wouldn¡¯t eat the stuff.¡± The large Minotaur walked back inside followed by Aza, they past the kitchen where several pots of stew were being warmed and ready to be served. They walked to the front of the inn where the bar was and was greeted by a large group of people sitting around the various tables lit with candles. They held up their glasses full of beer and mead and yelled various greetings mostly to Aza.


    One man happily shouted to the Minotaur, ¡°Hey Braxton, you didn¡¯t tell us Aza was working tonight.¡±


    ¡°She works almost every night. She was working thirty minutes ago. She served you a beer,¡± Replied Braxton the Minotaur.


    ¡°Oh, right.¡±


    ¡°Stews for dinner, it¡¯s two silver lumps per plate.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a little steep isn¡¯t it Braxton?¡± Cried out a drunken patron.


    ¡°Are you sure? After all the stew will be served to you by the lovely Azaerania.¡± Braxton said as Aza rolled her eyes. ¡°I guess you don¡¯t like Aza¡­¡±


    ¡°No! That¡¯s not true!¡± Replied the drunk frantically. ¡°I love Aza! I¡¯ll take a serving of stew!¡±


    Braxton smiled as much as a minotaur could. His food wasn¡¯t very good and neither was his prices but as long as Aza worked there it didn¡¯t matter. People flocked to his inn just so they could catch a glimpse of the young demon. Aza was a succubus, and as such she had a natural charm ability that made human and human-like creatures love everything about her. It was a bit of a gift/curse type thing.


    ¡°I worked hard to make sure there was enough for everyone, and that¡¯s no bull.¡± Laughed Braxton and everyone chuckled nervously. Minotaurs loved cow puns and play on words.


    ¡°I wouldn¡¯t recommend eating it, in fact I¡¯d steer clear of it,¡± said Aza as she lazily put on an apron. The entire tavern exploded with laughter from both men and women.


    ¡°You¡¯re too funny Aza!¡± One woman screamed.


    ¡°Steer?! Because he¡¯s half bull?! Aza you¡¯re too much!¡± Another man shouted through fits of laughter.


    ¡°I love you more than life itself Aza!¡± Said another man as he knocked everything off his table and slammed his fist through one of the taverns small glass windows.


    Braxton let out an angry snort. ¡°Dang it Gary, that¡¯s the third time this week, get out!¡± Braxton shouted as he pointed towards the door. Gary hung his head in shame and slowly walked out of the inn. ¡°That really was a good one though Aza.¡± Aza simply shrugged. Outside they could hear rain begin to come down and thunder rumble in the distance. Aza began making her rounds around the tavern bringing stew and drinks for anyone willing to pay while also collecting overly generous tips. Aside from some of the patrons being to clingy or sometimes perverse with her, working here wasn¡¯t bad. She wouldn¡¯t admit it but she liked most of the regulars the only thing she didn¡¯t like was when some weird traveler would show up and act¡­weird¡­


    As if on cue the door flung open and all heads turned to see a rain soaked man in a brown mage¡¯s cloak standing in the doorway. They all watched silently as the man made his way to the bar where Braxtel was standing. He looked up at Braxton and whispered where most couldn¡¯t hear him. ¡°A minotaur?...Neat.¡±


    ¡°Can I help you?¡± Braxton asked kindly.


    ¡°My energy is low and my hunger is great. I will literally eat whatever is in that pot,¡± said the mage as he pointed down to a pot on the floor.


    ¡°That¡¯s trash. It¡¯s a trash can.¡±


    The man stared at the pot for a moment and shouted to no one in particular, ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to!¡± He looked back towards Braxton. ¡°What do you have?¡±


    ¡°Stew, beer, mead and water.¡±


    ¡°What kind of meat is in the stew?¡±


    ¡°Beef.¡±


    The mage seemed like he was going to say something about that but decided not to. ¡°I¡¯ll have stew and water please.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s two silver lumps and a copper lump.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m assuming that¡¯s currency?¡± He pauses for a moment. ¡°Yes, my ring is telling me that is in fact currency. I don¡¯t have any of that.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t serve food for free stranger. You¡¯d better hoof it on out of here.¡±


    ¡°Wait, how about this?¡± The man reaches in a bag and pulls out a large fang and lays it on the counter. ¡°What if I give you this? I heard it was worth something.¡±


    Braxton almost chocked when he realized that it was a basilisk fang. Alchemists will pay some pretty lumps to get a hold of one of these. Braxtel quickly snatched up the fang before the man could change his mind. ¡°Yes, I guess this will do.¡± Braxtel couldn¡¯t believe his luck but as he looked over at Aza she shot him a look of disappointment and guilt got the better of the beast man. ¡°Hey, traveler, you have a place to stay tonight? How about I throw a room for the night into the trade?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d like that a lot.¡±


    ¡°All right then.¡± Braxton reached under the bar and produced a small book. ¡°Your room number is five; it¡¯s up the stairs and last door on the right.¡± He then precedes to hand the mage a small key. ¡°I hope you enjoy your stay.¡±


    ¡°All right, no sleeping on the ground for old Ash tonight,¡± said the man happily.


    ¡°Who¡¯s Ash?¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s me. I¡¯m Ash.¡±


    ¡°Well, Ash go ahead and take a seat anywhere that¡¯s open and the lovely Aza will bring your food to you.¡±


    Ash nodded and found himself a large empty table by a broken window. He wiped the glass off of it and sat down.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Ash looked around the tavern; it wasn¡¯t like how he thought a tavern in a fantasy world would be like. It was calm and cheerful. People were laughing and telling jokes to each other, some older men were playing some kind of card game, and a few people were talking to the minotaur at the counter as he let out a booming laugh. Ash thought it would be a bit wilder like with bar fights and a bard playing a song in the middle of the room. Though Ash did like the calm atmosphere especially after the day he had. He was a little disappointed though; he had thought he¡¯d see a few other races here. The minotaur was a surprise but other than that the place was filled with mostly humans and elves.


    He heard a cough and looked over to his side to see the waitress holding a bowl and a mug of water. She had short messy black hair, curled and shiny black horns, light blue skin, and what appeared to be black wings strapped to her back. She was definitely not a human or elf. The tall winged woman looked down at him piecing him with her sharp purple eyes.


    ¡°Here¡¯s your stew and water.¡± She said as she set them on the table.


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Replied Ash as he readied himself to devour the meal.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± She began to walk away but stopped in her tracks to look back at him. ¡°Wait, that¡¯s it?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ Yeah?¡± Ash said a little confused. ¡°I don¡¯t have money for a tip if that¡¯s what you¡¯re wanting, sorry.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine but you don¡¯t have anything else you¡¯d like to say to me?¡±


    ¡°Um¡­ Nope.¡±


    It was indeed weird for a stranger to not be all over her. She noticed the little ring on his finger and she guessed that the ring probably had some kind of charm resistance. ¡°Weird, well, enjoy your meal. Or try to keep it down at least.¡± Ash noticed as she walked away that almost everyone in the tavern was looking at her, some secretly while others didn¡¯t seem to care if she noticed.


    She¡¯s a demon.


    ¡°That¡¯s not nice, Sam,¡± said Ash to his ring.


    No, I mean she¡¯s an actual demon, a succubus to be more specific. Though I think they just prefer to be called demons nowadays. Succubus has a bit of negative stigma, though I think being called a demon would too.


    ¡°Wait, a succubus? You mean like a red light district type of demon?¡± Said Ash in a whisper.


    No¡­Well some I suppose. A succubus or incubus is just a demon that was born with a natural charm ability. Some use it for good, some use it for bad, and some apparently use it to get large tips.


    Ash nods as he sees the demon girl accept a small bag from a couple. She opens it and looks in. Ash notices her face look sad for a moment and she pulls out a single golden rock and hands the bag back to the couple as they try to refuse the return.


    Most of them see the charm ability as a burden and never leave their clan. Demons are immune to charm spells and abilities after all. By the way, how¡¯s the stew?


    ¡°Dry and bland, but I¡¯m hungry so whatever.¡±


    How can a stew be dry?


    Ash thinks about everything thing that has happened since he got to this world and lets out a sigh. ¡°Sam.¡±


    Yes?


    ¡°I think if I¡¯m going to be successful in this world I¡¯ll have to take things a bit more seriously. I feel like I could have handled things a bit better than I did. Like those two groups that were arguing, what if I used my Earth Magic to try and widen the road so both groups could have passed?¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    That¡¯s called Construction Earth Magic which you can use but it takes a lot of practice. If you had tried to use it then you probably would have split the ground apart making everyone fall into a deep chasm.


    ¡°That does sound like something I¡¯d do.¡±


    Not that it would have mattered. It was the principle at that point. I doubt either group would have given up until the other stepped aside.


    ¡°Good point¡­ you know maybe taking nothing but Earth Magic was a bad call. Having no other skills might be a disadvantage like you said.¡±


    Ash, I know I harped on about it a lot but that was only because you seemed to have no interest in learning to use your skills. You can develop new skills and work on mastering your Earth Magic. If you learn to control it Earth Magic will be extremely useful.


    ¡°That so? You know I¡¯ve been looking over my mental library of spells and I¡¯ve seen some pretty neat ones. Stone Hands, Earth Blender, and it looks like I can even make golems. ¡°


    Careful making golems they reflect your personality and current state of mind.


    ¡°I need to learn how to use these spells efficiently. Sam will you help me?¡±


    Th-That¡¯s what I was made for. Nothing would make me happier Ash.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    It¡¯s my job you don¡¯t need to thank me¡­ In fact I think I should apologize. I haven¡¯t been exactly honest about the way skills work¡­ I-


    The door to the tavern swings open and from it four people emerge. Ash looked towards them and recognizes two of them as Garret and Saline but the other two he hadn¡¯t seen before. Most likely their other party members, ash thought to himself as he tried to keep his almost inedible stew down. Beside Saline was another desert elf like her but even smaller. The elf had olive skinned, had extremely short brown hair had a bow and quiver strapped to their back, and was dressed similarly to Saline.


    Beside Garret was a mountain of a woman that Ash would bet was some kind of barbarian. She was clad in studded leather armor and carried a hammer at her side along with a massive circular metal shield. She had mid length blonde hair and blue eyes. She was almost as tall as the seven foot minotaur and she had to duck down to get in past the doorway. Saline walked in and made eye contact with Braxton.


    ¡°Ah Saline, good to see you, you want some stew for tonight. Not to horn it in but it¡¯s pretty good and there is plenty left.¡± Braxton said with a happy snort.


    Saline rolls her eyes and sighs, ¡°That pun was lazy Braxton, and also I¡¯ll pass on the stew today, I don¡¯t have a cure potion on me. Have you seen a confused man in a mage robe come in here?¡±


    Braxton points to a table where an old wizard keeps pouring water from a pitcher into a cup that has a crack on the bottom of it. The water keeps leaking from the crack in the cup as fast as the old wizard could pour it. ¡°Someone keeps drinking my water before I can even fell my cup!¡± The old wizard screams as water cascades over the table.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s not who I¡¯m looking for.¡± Saline says shaking her head.


    ¡°Oh.¡± Says Braxtel and he turns to call for Aza. ¡°Aza would you mind getting him a new cup, he¡¯s making a mess.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, okay.¡± Aza says then turns to Saline. ¡°I think your mage is over there.¡± She points over to Ash who coughs up a piece of potato that refuses to stay down.


    ¡°Snitch,¡± Says Ash looking at Aza.


    ¡°That¡¯s the guy. Thanks Aza! I knew I could count on you. You¡¯re so amazing!¡± Saline says trying to hug Aza.


    Aza dodges her hug assault. ¡°Don¡¯t you need to speak to him?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right Aza. You¡¯re always right.¡± Saline says as she motions for the rest of the party to follow her. They walk over to the table Ash is at and sit around him. Except the tall barbarian woman who chooses to stand. Saline glares at Ash. ¡°I thought I asked you to wait for us?¡±


    ¡°I thought I never agreed to that?¡± Replied Ash bluntly.


    ¡°Garret and I escorted you to the town and this is the thanks we get.¡±


    ¡°You guys followed me.¡±


    ¡°Then we get to the town you ask me where you can get something to eat. I tell you then, boom, you¡¯re gone.¡±


    ¡°And what a shock it must be to find me at the exact place you pointed me to.¡±


    ¡°Wow, you¡¯re extra snarky tonight, I like that. Anyway, let me introduce you to the party.¡±


    ¡°Not my party.¡±


    ¡°You know Garret and I, of course, but this shorter wimpier Belign Elf is Karse.¡± Said Saline pointing at the shorter elf beside her.


    ¡°Um¡­ Hello, it¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± Said Karse meekly.


    ¡°He also has a thing for me, he follows me around like a lost puppy, but don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m not taken.¡± Saline says with a smile.


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to say that to everyone we meet Saline!¡± Said Karse, less meekly.


    ¡°And the massive woman standing and making me uncomfortable because she always refuses to sit is Olanna the Rib Smasher.¡± Saline says pointing to the tall woman.¡±


    Ash looks up at the giant lady, ¡°So, you must be the tank of the group?¡± Ash asks with a mouth full of ¡°food¡±.


    Olanna shakes her head and replies, ¡°I specialize in healing magic.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Ash says a little surprised. ¡°If you¡¯re the group¡¯s healer why is your name Olanna the Rib Smasher?¡±


    ¡°Because I am also known for smashing ribs.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡±


    ¡°Well¡± Says Saline with a smile. ¡°I¡¯ve talked it over with them and everyone is cool with you joining our party.¡±


    ¡°More like no one cares,¡± says Karse as Olanna and Garret nod.


    ¡°I¡¯m not joining your team.¡± Ash says a little annoyed.


    ¡°You¡¯re just tired, sleep on it, I¡¯m sure you will come to your senses in the morning. Speaking of which do you have a room for tonight. You could stay in the same room as Karse. He¡¯s small so he doesn¡¯t take up much bed space.¡±


    ¡°What?! I don¡¯t want him sleeping in my room.¡± Karse objects.


    Saline sighs. ¡°I guess he¡¯ll just have to stay in my room then.¡±


    ¡°Wait, no! He can stay in my room, it¡¯s no problem!¡± Says Karse frantically.


    ¡°I have my own room.¡± Ash says dismissively.


    ¡°Thank the great deity.¡± Karse sighs.


    ¡°You know,¡± says Ash to Saline. ¡°You act completely different from when I first met you and you speared me into the woods.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that was serious Saline. Right now I¡¯m carefree Saline. You¡¯re going to have to get to know the various versions of me if you join this party.¡± Saline says with a smile as the rest of her party nods.


    ¡°I¡¯m not joining your party.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll tackle that conversation in the morning, right now let¡¯s just relax.¡± She turns and yells at Braxton. ¡°Hey, four of whatever you¡¯re trying to pass as food tonight.¡±


    ¡°Hey is for horses!¡± Braxton yells from across the room. ¡°And also for bulls, so it¡¯s fine. Aza, four stews coming up!¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Aza returns to Braxton after dropping off the stew for Saline and her party. She lets out a long sigh. It was packed tonight and the various flirtations were annoying her more than usual. ¡°Is it closing time yet?¡± She asks Braxton quietly.


    ¡°Not yet.¡± He laughed.


    Aza looks over at Ash who is choking on the stew as Garret slaps him on the back. ¡°That mage¡­¡±


    ¡°His name is Ash. Unusual name for a human.¡±


    Azanods, ¡°You know he hasn¡¯t so much as tried to talk with me the entire night. He is much more interested in that stew.¡±


    ¡°Can you blame him? It was made by yours truly after all. The taste is divine. Well, I assume anyway, I can¡¯t stomach the stuff but the humans and elves seem to like it.¡±


    Azashakes her head. ¡°What I mean is that he is immune to my charm ability. He is either an extremely high level mage or he has a magic item that prevents charm.¡±


    Braxton looks over at Ash who has finally stopped choking. ¡°I¡¯m going to say he has a magic item. Well, looks like everyone is content for the moment so I¡¯m going to take a quick break and sharpen my horns if you know what I mean.¡± He probably is just going to go sharpen his horns. ¡°Hold down the fort Aza, I¡¯ll be back in ten.¡±


    Aza nods and watches as Braxton walks out the back door. She turns to look at the patrons and happily notices that a few are starting to leave. All in all tonight had been fairly calm. At least she didn¡¯t get one of the more aggressive costumers. As if on cue one of the more aggressive customers burst through the door. His name was Kory Trennel. He was the son of some rich guy who owned some mine or something, honestly Aza couldn¡¯t remember. What she did know is that he was an entitled punk who always got what he wanted and would use money and his own well payed ¡°friends¡± to get it, and right now what he wants is her.


    Kory looks around the tavern and spots Aza with a look of disgust on her face. He also notices that Braxton isn¡¯t around, probably out sharpening his horns. Braxton would usually run him off but seeing how he isn¡¯t here¡­ well, when the rooster is gone the fox will play. Three well-armed men stand outside the Inn looking at Kory. Kory nods to them, ¡°I¡¯ll be back. Just wait here.¡± Kory leaves the three men to wait outside in the rain. They were paid well so they didn¡¯t mind it too much.


    Kory let a wide grin cover his face as he strut up to Aza. Kory was tall, handsome, well built, and had flowing blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He was dressed far too nice to be visiting a tavern and was even wearing white silk gloves. He was rich and powerful so he thought he could have any girl he wanted but Aza didn¡¯t like scumbags or relationships in general so he had always struck out. Today, however, he decided to be a little more aggressive.


    Kory walked up to Aza who felt trapped behind the bar counter. He gave her his most pleasant smile and said in a sweet voice. ¡°Aza, you¡¯re as beautiful as always. Please won¡¯t you reconsider going out with me or I¡¯ll kill everyone you have ever loved and burn the town to the ground.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Aza said without a moment of hesitation.


    ¡°Fine, you called my bluff. Aza, my darling, how long has this been going on. This back and forth between us needs to stop. I love you so much. Why won¡¯t you love me back?¡±


    ¡°Because you don¡¯t actually love me, you¡¯re just another victim of my over-active charm ability.¡±


    ¡°I know that, we all know that, but no one minds; we still will love you. Granted, I love you the most.¡±


    ¡°Kory, have a drink and get lost.¡± Aza says as she pours him a drink.


    ¡°Harsh. What is it you don¡¯t like about me? I¡¯m rich, fit, and handsome.¡±


    ¡°Your wealth comes from your father, handsome is a matter of opinion, and you probably hired a wizard to cast fitness on you.¡±


    ¡°Like I would do something like that?¡± It was exactly what he did. ¡°C¡¯mon Aza, give me one good reason why you can¡¯t go out with me?¡±


    Aza quickly looked around the tavern and spotted the Ash having a conversation with Saline. That¡¯s when an idea popped into her head. ¡°I can¡¯t go out with you Kory, because I am already in love.¡± She said in a whisper so only Kory could hear. As dramatic as possible Kory gasped and almost lost his balance.


    ¡°You in love, that¡¯s not possible!?¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, just because I¡¯m a demon doesn¡¯t mean I can¡¯t fall in love.¡±


    ¡°Who is it? Who is the unworthy bastard?!¡±


    Aza points at Ash from across the bar. Ash is too busy eating to notice the gesture. ¡°Him?!¡± Cries out Kory, ¡°What is so special about him?¡±


    Aza shrugs. ¡°His name is Ash, and boy do I love him, so¡­very much. If my love for him was an ant hill¡­ it would be a pretty big one¡­ like about two ant hills worth.¡± Aza would normally never try this tactic but pretending to be taken might be the only way to keep Kory away, and seeing as Ash is immune to her charms he likely wouldn¡¯t take it seriously.


    ¡°Fine, I get it, you are very much in love with him. That much is obvious.¡± Kory says his heart break apparent.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s just the way it is. I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll just have to give up on me and find a new girl to stalk.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± Kory says with his bravado building back up. ¡°You¡¯re the only girl I want to stalk. I refuse to give up. I¡¯ll have a word with this mage.¡±


    ¡°Wait no. He¡¯s really strong so you shouldn¡¯t bother him.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡± Kory says as he puffs out his chest and begins to walk over to Ash.


    Aza curses under her breath though she isn¡¯t too surprised, now that she thinks about it this was the most likely outcome. She decides that she better go and get Braxton before things get out of hand. She quickly walks out the back door.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.....


    Karse lets out a surprised whistle. ¡°Wow, so you were only minutes from the town and you were stopped by a dire bear, a group of bandits, and a riddle asking troll?¡±


    Saline nods. ¡°Yeah, seems Ash has bad luck with encounters. You should have seen him though. He crushed that dire bear between two stone walls like it was nothing.¡±


    Olanna shakes her head. ¡°Sounds like overkill.¡±


    Ash mumbles, ¡°I was only trying to capture it. I really need to work on that.¡±


    Garret chuckles, ¡°And who would have thought the troll would have asked such a clever riddle? What has the color orange, it asked? Who would have thought that the answer to the riddle was hidden in the riddle?¡±


    Saline laughs with Garret. ¡°And do you remember how when the bandits tried to stop us Ash just kept walking, hilarious.¡±


    Olanna coughs to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Who would like to hear how my tribe befriended the turkey people of Okalo Valley one day and had the greatest feast this land had ever seen the next day.¡±


    Ash let out a small grumble of discontent as the group laughed and talked to one another. Though, deep down, he was enjoying this exchange even if only a little. That would soon end as a muscular blonde stranger stood beside him and almost said his name.


    ¡°Ass!¡± The man shouted at him.


    Ash let out one of his extremely long sighs and looked up at the man. ¡°Depending on whether or not you have a lisp will determine whether or not I¡¯m insulted.¡±


    ¡°How dare you steal my beloved from me?!¡± The man said with spite in his voice.


    ¡°Your what?¡±


    ¡°Aza, the great deity¡¯s gift to us all, is in love with you!¡±


    Kory said it loud enough so everyone in the tavern heard. All was silent as they turned their gaze to Ash. ¡°Who?¡± Ash said causing uproar throughout the tavern and even the people at his table. One woman legitimately screamed.


    Saline slammed her fist on the table and yelled at Ash. ¡°How could you not know who Aza is?! She¡¯s the wonderful woman who has been serving you all night!¡± The rest of the group murmurs in agreement.


    ¡°Oh, right, her. I don¡¯t think she even likes me. We literally just met.¡± Ash says dismissively as he attempts to eat more stew.


    Kory snatches the bowl away from him and holds it above his head. ¡°Stop eating while I¡¯m antagonizing you!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Ash says angrily. ¡°I was trying my hardest to eat that! Give it back.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯re asking for it!¡±


    ¡°Yes, I am asking for my stew.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to get it!¡±


    ¡°I hope so.¡±


    In his anger Kory grabs a fork from the table and tries to stab it into the table to intimidate Ash. Unfortunately Kory was never good at aiming and slams the fork right into the back of Ash¡¯s hand. All went quiet again as Ash looked down at the fork protruding from his hand. ¡°Hold the lettuce; did you just fork my hand?¡± Ash removes the fork from his hand and notices all the points are bent and there isn¡¯t even a scratch on him. ¡°That¡¯s weird.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± agrees Garret. ¡°Why were you eating stew with a fork?¡±


    ¡°Cheap cutlery I guess,¡± says Kory. ¡°Look I¡¯ll give you your meal back if you break it off with Aza.¡± Lightning strikes outside and thunder shakes the tavern as all wait for his reply.


    ¡°Yeah, all right.¡± Ash says quickly prompting more gasping from everyone. ¡°What now?! Do you people have breathing problems?!¡¯


    ¡°How can you cast away Aza like that?!¡± Kory says with anger trembling in his voice.


    ¡°You asked me to.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d give up so easily! Does Aza mean nothing to you?!¡±


    ¡°I just met her. She just seems like a normal girl to me, you know, with wings and horns.¡±


    ¡°Normal?! How dare you!?¡± Tory cries.


    Saline stands up. ¡°Yeah, Ash, how can you not see how special she is?¡± She says passionately.


    ¡°She¡¯s so lovely¡± says another customer and a few more chip in with praises for Aza as Garret and the rest of the party nod.


    ¡°I¡¯d die for her!¡± Screams another patron as he flips over a table.


    ¡°Gary!¡± Screams Braxton as he walks inside the tavern followed by Aza. ¡°Who let you back in?!¡± Gary yelps and scuttles out of the tavern. Braxton turns his gaze to Kory. ¡°Kory, are you bothering one of my customers?!¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Answers Kory meekly as most would when an angry minotaur asks you a question.


    ¡°He stole my stew.¡± Says Ash snitchingly.


    ¡°Give it back to him.¡± Says the angry minotaur.


    ¡°N-no problem.¡± Kory says as he turns to give the stew back to Ash, but Kory looks down at Ash and he gives into darkness. ¡°Here you go.¡± He dumps the stew on Ash¡¯s head.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Yells the minotaur as Ash just looks straight ahead with a look of shock on his face and Saline and her party glare at Kory.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I lost my temper. Let me help you.¡± Kory produces a handkerchief from his pocket and wipes Ash¡¯s face with it. He had bought the handkerchief from a powerful warlock and it was laced with a fear inducing powder. Kory intended for this powder to make Ash cower in fear of him and show Aza how much of a coward this mage was. If you¡¯re thinking it was a very convoluted plan you are right, Kory wasn¡¯t often successful with his plans.


    ¡°There now, what do you have to say?¡± The powder should work immediately according to the warlock he bought it from. Kory looked down at Ash expecting him to start whimpering with fear so he was a little surprised when Ash grabbed hold of his arm. ¡°Hey, let go!¡± Ash takes the bowl of his head and sets it on the table as he stands up and glares at Kory. The Tavern shook a little even though there wasn¡¯t any thunder.


    ¡°A mage wants to fight? All right.¡± Kory slams his fist into Ash¡¯s face. Thanks to the fitness spell cast on him his strength was well above that of a normal person¡¯s but for some reason hitting Ash was like hitting a stone wall and Kory was pretty sure he just broke his own hand. He tried not to show his pain though as he looked at Ash expecting a bloody face but all he saw was Ash¡¯s blank stare and unharmed face.


    ¡°Hey, if you two are going to fight, take it outside!¡± Yelled Braxton knowing that a fight inside his tavern would result in a hefty amount of damaged property.


    Aza realized things were getting out of control and decided to put a stop to it. ¡°I lied, Kory! I barely know that guy! So stop this.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Kory said happily as he tried to turn and look at her. ¡°That¡¯s a re-¡°His sentence was cut off as Ash grabbed him by the throat and threw him at the taverns door knocking it off the hinges. Kory¡¯s three friends were shocked to see their leader smash through the door and roll on the muddy wet ground.


    ¡°Wow!¡± Cried Saline. ¡°You got some distance! Remind me not to tick you off.¡± She said to Ash but he ignored her and began to walk towards the door. He stepped outside and watched as Kory¡¯s friends lifted their leader off the ground.


    ¡°Did you do this?!¡± One of Kory¡¯s friends called out to Ash.


    Kory¡¯s comrades readied their weapons but Kory just whimpered. He wasn¡¯t much of a fighter and he knew when he was outmatched. His friends however were much more skilled. He called them friends but really they were just hired bodyguards. The three of them should be more than a match for this mage.


    Saline and her party along with Aza and Braxton looked from the doorway and windows as Ash walked slowly towards the group.


    ¡°Hey mage! I think that¡¯s enough! Everyone needs to calm down.¡± Said Aza, as she hoped that her charm power could calm everyone down. However the three men were too focused on Ash to notice her.


    ¡°Should we stop him?¡± Asked Karse.


    ¡°Nah, I want to see what he can do.¡± Said Saline looking at Ash with expectation. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to witness a clich¨¦d fight to the death in a storm outside a tavern.¡±


    Ash slowly walked towards the three men and Kory. Rain saturated his robe as lightning struck overhead and thunder roared.


    Ash, please calm down. I¡¯ve never seen you like this.


    ¡°You said you¡¯d teach me how to control my magic, right?¡± said Ash to Sam.


    Absolutely.


    ¡°We have some volunteers to test out some of my abilities.¡±


    You need to calm down first.


    ¡°Ever since I got here it¡¯s been one thing after the other. People and monsters won¡¯t leave me alone.¡± The men watched in confusion as the mage mumbled to himself. ¡°I¡¯ve been eaten, thrown like a spear, harassed and attacked, and then when I finally get to rest and eat this jackass dumps my meal on my head. This is all in the span of one several hours. I¡¯m tired of playing nice.¡±


    You¡¯re going to kill them?


    ¡°Wait¡­I know what ability I want to use.¡± Said Ash remembering something. He closes his eyes and puts his hands to the ground.


    Kory screams at his bodyguards, ¡°Attack! He¡¯s a mage! Why does everyone always wait for mages to finish their spells before they attack?!¡±


    The men nod and charge at Ash but they soon lose their balance and fall as the ground begins to shake. One of the men scream as a large hand, seemingly made of rocks emerges from the ground and grabs hold of him. Everyone looks on in awe and fear as another hand erupts from the ground. The veterans in the tavern back away from the window because they know exactly what it is.


    Kory tries to scramble away as the ground beneath him rises. He rolls of the mound and looks at it. He sees a giant head made of stone with holes for eyes that glow with a terrifying red that lights up the dark stormy night. The thing lets out a groan as one of the hands pushes down on the ground and the rest of the monsters body lifts out of the earth.


    Kory and his two men look in terror at the creature that just crawled out of the ground. Over twenty-five feet tall and made up of various stones. The creature was shaped like a wide man with an abnormally large head. In one of its hands it held the bodyguard who it had snatched up; the man was not moving. They hoped he was just unconscious.


    Olanna was surprised. ¡°A Golem.¡±


    ¡°Wow.¡± Said Saline. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen one up close.¡±


    ¡°This is not good.¡± Olanna responded.


    Ash! Don¡¯t summon a Golem when you are angry! Golems tend to reflect your mood!


    Ash ignored Sam and looked at the three men who were left. He very seldom got angry. He prided himself on his calm nature and could only remember one other time he was this angry. As he remembered his Father he only got angrier. Kory had no way of knowing that the powder he was sold had actually been a rage inducing powder and although Ash was immune to most mind altering effects, rage was not one of them. Rage for the most post is considered a bonus and a good thing, it increased attack and focus, there''s no immunity or resistance for it becuase it was something that could help you out in a pinch. For Ash, however, he had bottled up his emotions for years and that particularly volatile mix of rage powder had caused his anger to burst like a dam of fury. Ash was being consumed by the rage he hid for so long. It was hard to do but this world had actually caused Ash to break and they were about to find out that you don¡¯t want to anger a sage class Earth Mage.

 CHAPTER 6 EARTH SAGE NEEDS TO CALM DOWN

    6


    The child ran frantically through the hospital hallway, quickly trying to reach room 203 as tears rolled down his face. He had seen his relatives crying and heard his aunts cry out about how it wasn¡¯t fair a child as young as her to be taken. They had taken him from the room when things took a turn for the worst but he had finally broken free from his aally broken free from his uncleunt and was determined to get back to that room. There it was; room 203! The child rushed into the room to see his grandma and uncle comforting his father along with a doctor as a couple nurses stood by a bed. On the bed was something small covered with a white sheet.


    The father saw the small boy enter the room and stood up. The man looked down at the boy and with a trembling voice and just barely managed to get some words out. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡± The boy¡¯s face twisted with anger and he jumped at his father. The man seemed to simply allow the child to push him down to the ground. The boy hit the man¡¯s face over and over while yelling and screaming at him.


    ¡°I told you she was sick! I told you! If we had taken her sooner! I told you! I told you! It¡¯s your fault she¡¯s gone!¡± The boy stopped for a moment and looked down at his father who just looked at his son with a sorrowful expression.


    The father spoke to him in a voice full of sadness and guilt. ¡°Are you done Ashley?¡±


    The boy¡¯s anger flared back up and he balled his small hands into fists but before he could continue his uncle slapped him as hard as he could and the boy rolled to the other side of the room. The child raised his head, his face stinging and nose bleeding. His uncle glared down at him as his grandmother just looked at him with a disappointed face. The boy¡¯s father was being helped up by the doctor. The child looked at the bed that had the tiny body under the sheets and looked back at the people in the room that looked to him with a mixture or shame, sadness, and hate. The boy ran from the room even though he didn¡¯t have anywhere to go. As he fled he was almost sure he heard his uncle say, ¡°should have been him.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    The memory flooded Ash¡¯s mind and fueled his rage. He glared at the two men still standing and Kory who was starting to get up. Rain continued to pour as it cascaded off the giant golem. The golem looked at the limp man in its hand and simply let him fall to the ground with a loud thud; there the man lay, motionless. The golem then noticed the other two men and let out a deep foreboding growl that resonated within its massive chest. Shivers ran down almost everyone¡¯s spine after hearing that disturbing sound.


    Braxton let out a concerned snort, ¡°this is utter madness, those boys better mooove out of its way.¡±


    Aza glared at the minotaur, ¡°really Braxton?¡±


    Braxton looked down at Aza, and then looked at the golem, then back at Aza. ¡°Yes.¡±


    Kory¡¯s two henchmen, because honestly that¡¯s what they are, looked at the mighty golem and then at each other and nodded. They were veterans and knew what they should do. They had fought golems before, albeit none this big. Powder bombs are what they needed. Powder bombs are made up of highly volatile powder stuffed into a round leather bag. When hit with enough force it would explode and do a considerable amount of damage. One of the men pulled out a sling and readied a small bag. The other had a bag of the powder fixed to the end of an arrow and readied his bow.


    To take out a golem you should aim at its weak point which is the spot where its head connects to its body. They had to be careful; one hit from a golem was almost certain death. Fortunately golems are slow in more than one way. The men readied their assault as the golem let out a mighty roar and charged at the two of them. They dodged its assault with expert skill and sent the powder bombs hurling at the monster.


    There was a bright flash followed by two loud bangs as the powder bombs exploded, filling the air with smoke. The two men looked on hopefully but as the smoke cleared it revealed an unharmed and very angry golem. The golem reached into its own body and pulled out a rather large rock and chucked it at the two men who just barely avoided it.


    Saline and her party watched as the men fought the golem. Karse was starting to get a little concerned. ¡°It¡¯s a good thing the tavern¡¯s on the outskirts of town. Hey, shouldn¡¯t we get as far from here as possible?¡± He said cowardly.


    ¡°I will not leave. There may yet be a way to stop this.¡± Olanna said with determination.


    Garret nodded, ¡°if Olanna isn¡¯t leaving, neither am I.¡±


    ¡°Kiss up.¡± Karse said bitterly.


    Saline looked on like a child fixated on a fire, ¡°I want to see some carnage.¡± There was a short pause as the rest of the group looked at her. ¡°What? I¡¯m chaotic neutral.¡±


    Karse shook his head, ¡°You guys are nuts.¡±


    Aza turned to Braxton, ¡°The coward elf is right, Braxton you should probably bring the other customers through the side exit so they can escape.¡±


    Braxton looks down at her, ¡°and what about you? It would behoove you to come with us.¡±


    She shakes her head. ¡°No, I¡¯m staying.¡±


    Braxton nods, ¡°All right but if any of those guys die let me know, I have an idea for a new stew.¡± Aza shakes her head no as Braxton nods yes. The minotaur turns to his customers. ¡°Anyone who is a coward follow me to safety!¡±


    The people in the tavern begin shouting. One man raises his hand, ¡°I¡¯m a coward!¡±


    A woman pushes the man¡¯s hand down. ¡°I¡¯ve always been a coward!¡±


    Another man smashes his glass mug into a table and it shatters as he screams and punches a hole into the wall, ¡°I was born a coward! It took my mom six tries to give birth to me!¡±


    Braxton hollers at the man, ¡°Damn it Gary! It¡¯s not a competition! When did you get back in here?! Never mind, everyone follow me!¡± Braxton leads the group through the side exit but turns real quick and looks at Aza and nods yes as she shakes her head no. Braxton sighs and walks out the exit.


    As all this was going on Ash had his attention on Kory. Kory instinctively knew that he was no match for Ash and began making a mad dash for the town. Ash made a simple motion with his hand and the ground shifted underneath Kory making him fall to the ground. Kory tried to scramble back to his feet but his body was sinking into the ground. ¡°Quicksand?!¡± Kory yelled as he began to sink deeper into it.


    ¡°It¡¯s just mud,¡± said Ash as he walked closer to Kory. ¡°But it works about the same. Now how do you wish to die?¡±


    Wait Ash, you¡¯re not going to really kill him are you?


    Kory looks up at the angry Ash and begins to plead with him. ¡°Please, I¡¯m rich; I¡¯ll give you whatever you want.¡±


    ¡°I thought you wanted a fight?¡±


    ¡°I never actually said that. It was only implied.¡±


    Take the offer Ash. Isn¡¯t money what you¡¯re after anyway?


    ¡°What would be the best wait to kill this guy Sam?¡± Ash asks as Kory looks around to see who Ash is talking to.


    Ash is actually going to kill that guy. I need to stall him until he calms down.


    ¡°I can hear you Sam.¡±


    Oh no!


    Across the way the two henchmen frantically fought the golem but seemed to be inflicting little to no damage to it. The two men stopped and looked to each other and nodded. They were veterans and knew what they had to do. There were three ways to get rid of a golem. One was to have the caster dispel it and another was to simply destroy it. Neither of those options seemed likely so option three was the best; kill the caster.


    They turned their attention to Ash and charged at him. One shot an arrow that simply bounced off of Ash¡¯s chest. Ash looked at the two men and gave them an angry glare as he thrust his hand out. What look like a ten foot wave of earth and rocks rushed towards the men as they just barely moved out of its way. Ash stomped the ground with his feet causing the earth to shake and even the people in the inn had trouble standing.


    Ash stomped the ground again and this time several jagged rocks sprung out from the earth pointing at the two men. The men braced themselves because they knew what was coming. The rocks shot out at the men as they desperately guarded their vitals. When the rocks stopped the men had several nasty gashes and quite a few rock shards sticking out of their bodies.


    They had managed to protect their vitals but the damage they took was severe. They looked at each other and nodded. They were veterans and knew what they should do. With a quick turn they began to haul ass to the town. Kory saw this and made a futile cry for help. ¡°Help!¡± He cried futilely. Ash didn¡¯t really care about the two henchmen so he turned his attention back to Kory. The golem on the other hand did not like being ignored.


    The golem let out a mighty roar and charged after the two men, catching up to them easily and stomping one into the afterlife while grabbing the other one and crushing him in its palm. Ok, so that didn¡¯t actually happen, it¡¯s just what the golem really wanted to do but it stopped in its big golem tracks when it was struck in the back by something. It turned around to see the barbarian Olanna standing by herself in the open field. A glowing white light filled her hand and with a thrust of her arm a white bolt shot from her hand and struck the golem yet again. Unfortunately her futile attempts to damage the golem only served to piss it off.


    Karse frantically called out to Olanna, ¡°Olanna! What are you doing?! Golems have resistance to magic!¡±


    Olanna hollered back at Karse while dodging the golems swinging fist. ¡°We can¡¯t let it get to town! Innocent people will be hurt!¡±


    ¡°So?¡± Karse replied bluntly.


    Olanna quickly dodged a rock hurled by the beast and turned to her party. ¡°I need help!¡±


    Karse and Saline exchanged worried glances and Karse looked back at Olanna. ¡°I shoot arrows. That¡¯s not going to stop a golem¡±


    Saline nods, ¡°Yeah and I can¡¯t use Psy Magic to lift something that big, not that it would matter I¡¯ve pretty much spent my magic power for the day. Also I prefer watching from the sidelines. It¡¯s your fault for being lawful good. I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s dumb enough to help.¡±


    Olanna yells, ¡°Garret! Help me!¡±


    ¡°On it!¡± Garret screams as he runs at full speed at the golem and jumps on its back as it yells angrily while trying to unsuccessfully reach for him.


    Karse shakes his head, ¡°Ok, so no one but Garret will help.¡±


    Saline sighs, ¡°Karse¡­ go help them¡­¡±


    ¡°On it!¡± Karse screams as he runs up to the golem and pelts the beast with arrows.


    Saline watches as her friends fight with the golem but then she hears something move beside her and turns to see Aza with her eyes glued to Ash. A happy smile spreads across her face. ¡°Aza! I was so distracted I forgot you were here! Oh, and look, now it¡¯s just the two of us, all alone in this quiet tavern.¡±


    Aza ignores her for the most part and says, ¡°Something isn¡¯t right. I don¡¯t know him that well but that mage seemed to be the calm, lazy type; not the angry, killing type. That imbecile Kory must have done something.¡± She looked over at Kory and Ash who were several feet away. Ash seemed like he was in an argument with his hand and Kory was still stuck in the mud sinking deeper into it. She decided to call out to Kory. ¡°Hey, imbecile!¡±


    ¡°Yes?!¡± Said Kory without a moment of hesitation.


    ¡°What did you do to that mage?!¡±


    ¡°I covered him with fear powder! How was I supposed to know he was this terrifying when he¡¯s terrified?!¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°Any chance you were sold something that wasn¡¯t fear powder?!¡±


    Kory thought for a moment as he continued to sink. ¡°Nah! The people at the Thieves Market are trustworthy!¡±


    Aza slapped her hand to her forehead. ¡°Saline?¡±


    ¡°Yes, my goddess?¡± Said Saline happily.


    ¡°That mage-¡°


    ¡°Ash?¡±


    ¡°Is that his name, well anyway, that mage was probably covered with rage powder. It¡¯s cheap and easy to make and was probably sold to Kory as fear powder which is by far more expensive. We need to get it off of that mage to calm him down so he can dispel the golem. Don¡¯t you have some kind of washing magic?¡±


    ¡°Clean spell, I¡¯ve offered it to you a couple of times.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve offered it to me every time. I prefer actual baths. Anyway I need you to use that on the mage.¡±


    ¡°You want me to give him a bath? I don¡¯t know him that well.¡±


    Aza sighs, ¡°The clean spell Saline.¡±


    ¡°That sounds dangerous; I have to get really close to use it. If he is raging he might attack me and I don¡¯t think I can hold him with Psy Magic for more than a couple seconds. I¡¯m just about out of juice¡­Psy juice¡­¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­ Well since this is kind of my fault I guess I should help. Let¡¯s fly above him¡± Aza unstraps her wings and stretches them out, her black wings shine from the light of the inn. ¡°I haven¡¯t flown in a while but I should be able to carry you above him quickly so he doesn¡¯t notice. Just don¡¯t make it weird Sal-¡°


    Aza stops midsentence as she looks at Saline who has her arms outstretched towards her with a massive smile on her face as her eyes sparkle with joy and she whispers, ¡°Like a princess.¡±


    Aza grimaces, ¡°Yep, you¡¯ve made it weird.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    The golem continues to lash out at Garret, Karse, and Olanna as they dodge the slow moving golem knowing that one hit could mean instant death. While this was going on Ash was still arguing with his ring as Kory sunk deeper into the mud. Kory looked around for someone, anyone to help him but to no avail. The mud was already up to his neck, and Kory sobbed as he tried to figure out why bad things always seem to happen to him.


    Ash! You have to snap out of it. Killing this jerk won¡¯t do anything but make you a murderer!


    Ash responds angrily, ¡°I¡¯m fine with that, and if you won¡¯t help me¡­¡± Ash reaches for the ring on his finger.


    What are you doing?! Why did you stop midsentence?!


    Ash removes the ring from his finger and looks at it for a moment and tosses it behind him. ¡°I don¡¯t need it. I think I know the perfect spell for you. I saw it earlier in my mind library.¡±


    Kory whimpers, ¡°Mind library?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a library in your mind! Damn it Kory, pay attention!¡± Ash finds a nice spot on the ground and holds out his hand. A large hole opens in the ground where he points at. It was deep and wide and with another motion of Ash¡¯s hand rock spikes emerge from inside of the hole. They begin to spin around the hole at rapid speed. Ash sees a stick by his foot and picks it up. He tosses it into the hole and watches with amusement as it¡¯s shredded to nothing. ¡°Earth Blender¡­ I get it. Wait¡­ does that mean they have blenders here? Too pissed to think! Kory! I¡¯m going to throw you in this hole!¡±


    ¡°Or, and hear me out, you don¡¯t do that.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, all right.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    Kory frowns then looks at Ash and sees something odd. Above Ash he could see something with massive wings, and for some reason he felt a strong attraction to it as rain dripped from its wings and lightning struck behind it. ¡°A giant bat, an extremely attractive giant bat right above you!¡±


    ¡°Like I¡¯d fall for that!¡± Ash says as he immediately falls for it and looks up and sees Aza flying straight above him holding Saline by her ankles. Saline had her hands barely a foot away from Ash¡¯s face as she claps her hands together. Ash is enveloped in a white light and feels the stew and all the other dirt from his body disappear. Aza lets go of Saline and she hits the muddy ground face first as Aza lands gracefully behind her,


    Aza helps Saline up while apologizing, ¡°Sorry, my arms gave out.¡±


    Saline smiles at Aza as she casts clean on herself to get the mud off. ¡°It¡¯s fine, today was the greatest day ever! I¡¯m never washing my ankles again.¡±


    ¡°You just did.¡± Aza says and Saline screams out as she realizes Aza is right. Aza looks over at Ash who is looking around the area with a look of confusion on his face. ¡°Is he back to normal?¡±


    Saline nods, ¡°Should be. Hey, Ash! You had rage powder on you and I used a cleaning spell to get it off. Are you back to normal?!¡±


    Ash looks at Saline, ¡°Yeah, I think so. I was in a really dark place.¡± He looks down and sees Kory still chin deep in the mud. ¡°Hey¡­ guy¡­ sorry about trying to kill you.¡±


    Kory shakes his head, ¡°No worries, I kind of asked for it, but how about getting me out of here?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right, Sam how do I use dispel magic?¡± Ash then grows pale as he remembers that he threw the ring to the ground. He looks around the area but doesn¡¯t see it. Things could get a lot harder without Sam. There¡¯s no telling where the ring could be as the rain turned most of the area to mud. It could take forever to find it; he may never talk to Sam again. ¡°Oh, wait here it is.¡± Ash says as he finds the ring and puts it on his finger.


    How dare you throw me to the ground!


    ¡°I had rage powder on me or something.¡±


    Rage powder? Huh, that does make sense. I knew that.


    ¡°I guess I should clean up this mess. How do I undo spells?¡±


    You just point your hand at it and think about dispelling it. It should be easy.


    Aza and Saline watch as Ash finishes talking to his ring and walks up to the hole with the spinning rocks of death inside. Ash holds out his hands and thinks about the spell disappearing and to his surprise the hole closes shut. Ash nods and looks over at Kory who had a look of worry because the mud was past his mouth and almost up to his nose. Ash held out his hand and with a few loud cracks the mud turned back to solid ground encasing the unfortunate Kory. Kory looked at Ash trying to say something but his mouth was still under the ground leaving only his head from his nose up above ground.


    Ash shrugged, ¡°Well at least you¡¯re not sinking anymore.¡±


    ¡°Hey¡­¡± Aza says to Ash quietly and Ash turns to look at her. ¡°Sorry about all this. It¡¯s kind of my fault for involving you. I can¡­ give you a hug to apologize.¡± She says as Saline¡¯s jaw drops in surprise. Aza considered a hug from her to be a very high reward.


    Ash shakes his head. ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good.¡±


    Saline looks at Ash with the utmost surprise, disgust, and jealousy. ¡°You stupid son of a bitch¡­ Pearls before swine. You stupid, stupid, swine.¡±


    It took a moment for Aza to register the rejection because that was a very new feeling, but she decided there were more pressing things to attend to, like the golem who had somehow managed to grab hold of Garret and use him like a club to swing at Olanna. ¡°Maybe you should dispel the Golem?¡±


    Ash nods, ¡°Right.¡± Ash looks to the Golem and holds out his hand but nothing happens. ¡°Huh?¡±


    To dispel a Golem you have to touch it directly.


    ¡°Oh. I have to do some golem touching? All right.¡± Ash begins walking up to the golem.


    Aza calls out to him, ¡°you should probably be careful.¡±


    She¡¯s right Ash. If you summoned it while you were enraged it could also be enraged and not see you as its master.


    ¡°Nah, I doubt it will lay a hand on me.¡± Ash says as he walks up to the golem and it looks down at him while dropping garret. Karse and Olanna stop fighting it and watch as Ash extends his hand to the golem. They also watch as the golem stomps Ash into the ground while twisting its foot like it¡¯s putting out a cigarette. Karse and Olanna exchange a quick glance and decide to continue their onslaught on the golem. Garret gets up like nothing happened and joins them.


    Saline looks at Aza, ¡°Is he dead?¡±


    Aza shakes her head, ¡°Not likely. If the caster dies the Golem would have disappeared.¡±


    Aza and Saline both get startled as Ash rises from the ground beside them. ¡°Well, that didn¡¯t work.¡±


    Aza asks with surprise, ¡°How did you get over here?¡±


    Ash thinks about it for a moment while wiping the dirt off himself. ¡°I don¡¯t know. What I do know is that I need something to hold that Golem still while I dispel it.¡±


    ¡°Neither of us can really help you with that.¡±


    You could try to touch it while it¡¯s distracted fighting Saline¡¯s party or you could have Aza fly you over it and drop you on its back.


    Ash thinks for a moment then comes up with an idea, but not a very good one. ¡°Let¡¯s try this.¡± Aza and Saline feel the ground shake and see some very familiar rock hands come out of the ground.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t¡­¡± Says Aza in disbelief as yet another golem rises from the ground. Kory, still stuck in the ground, looks at it with terror in his eyes. ¡°Your solution to stop a golem is another golem?!¡±


    ¡°To defeat a Golem you need a Golem.¡± Ash says proudly.


    Ash, there are a few problems with your plan.


    ¡°Hey,¡± Saline says while looking at the golem, ¡°isn¡¯t this one a lot smaller?¡±


    Ash looked at his new Golem and realized she was right. It was barely eight feet tall and nowhere near as wide. The Golem also looked a great deal less intimidating as it hung its arms lazily to its sides and rolled its head looking around.


    Golems are based on your power and emotions at the time you created them. The first golem was made when you were enraged and because enrage increases your strength it increased your golems strength. But this was one was made while your emotions are normal and while you¡¯re still tired. So it¡¯s a reflection of you right now.


    Ash looks at the weak looking golem, ¡°I don¡¯t know how I feel about that, but he only needs to hold the other one for a moment. All right! Golem number two attack golem number one!¡± Ash says while pointing to the other golem. The golem lets out a loud sigh and slowly and lazily begins to walk towards the other golem. ¡°Could you go a little faster?¡± Ash says while following it.


    ¡°Gah!¡± The golem says as it throws its hands in the air and stops moving.


    ¡°Hey, I didn¡¯t say stop.¡± Ash says as he follows the golem. ¡°Get moving.¡±


    ¡°Ugh¡­¡± The golem exclaims as it sighs and rolls its head.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Yells Ash. ¡°I brought you into this world and I can take you out. Now march!¡± The golem lets out a large and dramatic sigh and continues to walk towards the other golem, kicking up the ground while sighing frequently. Ash follows it as they approach the bigger and more terrifying golem still fighting the other three, now very tired, members of Saline¡¯s party. ¡°Golems these days, I tell you.¡±


    Well, it is a reflection of-


    ¡°Shut up, Sam.¡± Ash and the smaller golem reach the giant golem as it turns to face them ignoring the ineffective attacks from Olanna and her teammates. The giant golem looks at the smaller one sizing it up. The smaller one looks at the bigger one with disinterest. ¡°All right attack it.¡± Ash says pointing at the giant golem.


    Ash readies himself for the moment the golems begin fighting, he¡¯ll use that opportunity to touch the golem and dispel it. The small golem shrugs and picks up a small rock and chucks it at the bigger one. The giant golem watches as the small rock bounces off its massive body. It balls up its hand into a fist and slams it on top of the small golem smashing it into pieces. Ash looks with surprise at the pile of rocks that was the smaller golem. ¡°Why did he throw a rock at a rock monster?! I wanted him to grapple it or something.¡±


    Well, a golem is a reflection of-


    ¡°Sam, shut-¡°Ash doesn¡¯t get to finish as the golem stomps him into the ground and yet again twists its foot like it¡¯s putting out a cigarette. The golem looks back at Olanna, Karse, and Garret as they consider retreat. It was about to begin its assault again but small cracks began to appear on it. It looked at its body with confusion as the cracks got bigger. It raised up the foot that it used to stomp out Ash and noticed that Ash¡¯s hand was sticking out of the ground. He had cast dispel on the golem as it stomped him into the dirt. It let out a loud dramatic sigh as it crumbled to pieces.


    Everyone let out a sigh of relief, except Ash and Kory who were both in the ground still. Karse and garret dropped to the ground exhausted as Olanna walked over to Ash¡¯s hand and grabbed it. With a mighty pull she rips Ash out of the Earth and glares at him. Ash looks at her nervously and says, ¡°Golems, am I right?¡±


    Olanna replies sternly, ¡°Don¡¯t do that again.¡±


    Ash nods, ¡°Yeah, alright.¡±


    She lets him go and walks back to Garret and helps him up. Saline runs over to Ash. ¡°Wow, Ash, I knew you were strong but to be able to summon two golems in one day that¡¯s sage level strong. Impressive.¡±


    Aza walks over to them as the rain finally dies down a little. ¡°Okay, is everything settled? Can I go home now?¡±


    Saline responds with sparkling eyes, ¡°If you are really tired-¡°


    ¡°No, whatever it is, no.¡±


    ¡°Aw.¡±


    Ash looks around the area and sees the one henchman lying on the ground unmoving and soaked with rain. ¡°Eh¡­.He¡¯s¡­Probably fine¡­¡± Ash claps his hands together. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know about the rest of you, but I¡¯m going to bed to get some much deserved rest.¡±


    Saline nods, ¡°Cool, cool. Just make sure you join us in the morning so we can talk about the quest and enlist you as a member of our team at the guild.¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­ I just attacked everyone. You sure you still want me on your team?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine, the golem did most of the attacking and you weren¡¯t exactly yourself. Also no one got seriously hurt.¡± Saline says ignoring the possibly deceased henchman.


    ¡°No. It¡¯s not a good idea.¡±


    Olanna, who had approached Ash from behind, lays a firm hand on Ash¡¯s shoulder. She says with an extremely stern voice. ¡°Regardless of whether you were in control or not you caused us a lot of trouble. You will meet us in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, alright.¡± Ash says quickly. He walks away from all them towards the inn. ¡°Well, good night.¡± As he tries to enter the inn he is blocked by the massive minotaur Braxton.


    Braxton lets out an angry snort, ¡°Wait a second there fella, I¡¯ve got a beef with you.¡± Ash looks up sleepily at the angry minotaur. ¡°I use to have a door here and look at all the damages to my store. Also who¡¯s going to clean up all these rocks? That¡¯s a lot of rocks.¡± Ash points at Kory whose eyes widen in surprise. ¡°Oh, good suggestion. Well you¡¯d better mooove it then.¡± Ash chuckles at the pun. ¡°No seriously, move, you¡¯re in my way.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Ash says as he steps aside.


    Ash watches as Braxton walks over to the hapless Kory and easily pulls him from the ground. Kory immediately begins to protest. ¡°Why should I pay? Ass did all the damage.¡±


    Braxton snorts happily, ¡°Let¡¯s you and I talk in the kitchen. Either you¡¯re going to pay for my damages or I¡¯ve got the meat for tomorrows stew.¡±


    ¡°Is that a threat?¡± Kory says whimpering.


    ¡°Yes.¡± Braxton says with a chuckle and with that Ash walks inside followed by Braxton carrying a screaming Kory over his shoulders. ¡°Oh, and Aza you can call it a night.¡±


    Aza nods and watches through the open doorway as Ash ascends the stairs. Once he is out of sight she stretches her wings one more time and lets out a tired sigh. ¡°I feel like I actually worked today because of Kory and that weird mage. I don¡¯t like it. I¡¯m going home.¡± Saline and her team wave goodbye and wish her a goodnight along with some exclamations of how they love her. Since her wings are already unstrapped she decides to fly home. She spreads her wings and takes to the sky.


    Saline watches her until she is out of sight. ¡°I miss her so much.¡±


    Olanna pats her on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll see her again. Now about this mage.¡±


    Saline smiles happily at Olanna. ¡°Strong right? I¡¯m almost certain he is an Envoy of the Gods.¡±


    ¡°He is dangerous.¡± Olanna says seriously while Karse and Garret nod. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how comfortable I am with him on our team.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t his fault. Trust me; he seems more like the type to avoid trouble than to cause it.¡±


    ¡°I am not convinced, but I suppose we could give him a shot.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Karse says a little annoyed. ¡°We had to fight a golem because of him. I¡¯m against him joining our party. I guess I¡¯ll just have to be that one party member who doesn¡¯t like the new guy and gives him a hard time until he saves my life and earns my respect by some chance of fate.¡±


    Saline sighs, ¡°This next quest could be a little tough, and we could use some extra help.¡±


    Garret looks at Saline curiously. ¡°What is the next quest? You haven¡¯t told us anything about it. I don¡¯t like mystery quests.¡±


    Saline looks at the curious faces of her party members and smiles. ¡°It¡¯s tough but the payout will be huge. We have to kill a lich.¡±


    ¡°A lich?¡± Olanna says being a little concerned. ¡°That could be dangerous all right.¡±


    ¡°Well, it might not be a lich. Let¡¯s go inside and I¡¯ll tell you the details.¡± Saline says as she walks inside.


    ¡°So, we¡¯re just going to ignore Kory¡¯s screams aren¡¯t we?¡± Karse says as they all go inside.


    Several minutes pass and the henchman on the ground opens his eyes. He was a veteran and he knew what to do when a golem attacks. A golem only attacks living enemies and will not go out of its way to attack something it believes is dead. The man stands up and makes a rude gesture at the inn. He then walks slowly towards the town also ignoring Kory¡¯s screams.

 CHAPTER 7 EARTH SAGE EATS BREAKFAST

    7


    Botan was still confused as she ran towards home while a storm raged above her. The rain was coming down hard as lightning struck above her but Botan was too lost in thought to care about the weather. How did that mage survive a direct hit from an arrow enchanted with smite? Is he actually really powerful or was he just lucky? Just who does that guy think he is? Smite arrows are expensive and for him to cause her to waste one was unforgivable, how dare he not die when she tried to kill him? Then a thought occurred to her, how was she going to explain this to her father?


    Botan tried to piece together all that happened today with an unnecessary recap. She, Waldo (her father) who also goes by the name of Titan, and a large group of Red Piper¡¯s Guild members were having a disagreement with some outsiders. Some haughty dark elf and her lackeys would not get out of their way. Then a mage lumbered out of the woods looking stupid and ugly. Her dad decided to let him decide who should get out of whose way. The mage chose the dark elf because he¡¯s so stupid and ugly. Her dad didn¡¯t appreciate the choice he made and gave her the noble task of following the mage and killing him.


    After much begging from her father she accepted the task and hunted down the mage. When she had him right where she wanted him she let loose her most powerful attack, the smite arrow! The mage took the hit and just got up like nothing happened. Botan shuddered as she remembered how the mage robbed her and was probably going to kill her when some strangers passing by somehow managed to capture the mage and rescue her. She thanked them graciously and made her way back home to the Red Piper¡¯s Guild. She wondered for a moment what became of the two strangers, probably got killed by the mage she thought, nodding to herself.


    No matter how strong an opponent the ugly mage was, it doesn¡¯t change the fact that she failed her mission and wasted an extremely expensive and rare enchanted arrow. How was she going to explain this to her father? Her face grew pale. How was she going to explain this to her mother?! Her mother was the strongest member of the guild and that¡¯s why she was the guild master with her dad as the second in command. She definitely didn¡¯t want to tell her mother that she lost the smite arrow she gave her. Fortunately her mother was away on a quest and wouldn¡¯t be back for a week or so.


    Botan finally reached the guild headquarters. The Red Pipers Guild was the biggest guild in the entire kingdom, made up of several buildings, living quarters, bars, taverns, forges, training field, and even a building for healers to help with injured guild members and also a cemetery for the same reason. It was a very popular guild and they would often receive high stake quests with massive payouts, and as such it made the memberships to the guild very exclusive, the trials to become a guild member were extremely difficult and the success rate was only about 5%. Also for one reason or another only humans, dwarves, and elves could join; and even then dark elves were not allowed.


    The main headquarters was where you could post/accept quests and make reports. That¡¯s not where her father would be now that she thought about it. She looked over to the building next to the main building; it was the Shallow Grave Tavern. Her father would likely be there getting dangerously drunk since they had just finished a quest. She made her way to the building and pushed open the door and was bathed in warm yellow light and scents of various foods and burning candles.


    The tavern was bustling as usual. There were people dressed in all kinds of armors and robes. A bard was singing a love song about poking a dead bird with a stick, a giant of a man was showing off by carrying two women on his shoulders, and a barmaid had cast multi-arm on herself and had a mug of beer in each of her eight hands passing them out. The bar was packed with weird people doing weird things and as she scanned around the room she just couldn¡¯t find Waldo, her father.


    She did notice a young dwarf with his hand spread out on the table stabbing each one of his fingers with a knife in sequence. She made her way through the crowd and approached him. ¡°You know you¡¯re supposed to stab in between your fingers, right?¡± She said to the dwarf.


    The dwarf looked to her and back to his bleeding hand then back to Botan again. ¡°You know,¡± he said while nodding, ¡°that makes a lot more sense.¡± He then noticed who he was talking to. Botan was well known for being the guild master¡¯s daughter, and most of the members liked her and treated her kindly. ¡°Oh, Botan, it¡¯s you. Good to see you are well.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, have you seen my dad?¡± Botan asked the man trying not to reveal that she didn¡¯t know the young dwarf¡¯s name.


    ¡°Titan?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± Botan hated her dad¡¯s nickname.


    ¡°He¡¯s with a new initiate in the knife throwing room.¡± The knife throwing room was a large room at the back of the tavern that was used as a game room to have knife throwing competitions and was also used as a meeting room and interrogation room. Botan turned from the dwarf and made her way towards the knife room. ¡°You¡¯re welcome.¡± Said the dwarf as he turned his attention back to his hand. Stabbing between the fingers just seemed too easy. He decided to ramp up the difficulty as he readied his great ax.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.....


    A frightened young man stood with his back straight against the wall, a single plum rested on his head. He watched with fear as the large muscular man known as Titan selected a knife. The young man asked with a shaky voice. ¡°Is this really part of the initiation?¡±


    Titan let out a deep laugh. ¡°Ha! Are you getting cold feet boy? You passed all the other tests. This is the last one, you should be happy.¡±


    ¡°I just don¡¯t know what we¡¯re testing.¡±


    ¡°I like throwing knives and I¡¯m getting much better at it. I can hit my target three out of four times. So we¡¯re testing my aim and your luck.¡±


    The young man gulped. ¡°Three out of four?¡± He noticed the wall had various spots that were covered in red blotches.


    ¡°Stop sweating so much, you¡¯re a healer aren¡¯t you? Besides, you¡¯ve got a ninety percent chance of success.¡± Titan was not very good at math. ¡°Now stand still, that plum is really small. It¡¯s plum tiny, ha!¡± Just as Titan was about to throw the knife a cloaked figure walked through the door. A smile spread over Titan¡¯s face as he recognized his daughter. ¡°Botan, you¡¯re back! How did it go?¡± Titan set the knife down on a nearby table and turned to his daughter. The young man against the wall let out a sigh of relief.


    ¡°Not too well¡­¡± Said his daughter surprisingly meekly.


    What Botan didn¡¯t know was that Titan was well aware that it didn¡¯t go well. He was not about to let his sixteen year old daughter fight a mage without backup so he had one of his best trackers secretly follow her. What Titan didn¡¯t know was that his best tracker had gotten herself lost in the woods trying to avoid a giant red basilisk and only found Botan again as she was running away from the mage. The tracker made it back to the guild well before Botan to make her report and, not wanting to reveal that she had gotten lost, told Titan a vague story of how Botan missed the mage with an arrow and ran away.


    Botan swallowed her pride and decided to manipulate her dad with her cute daughter routine. Botan looked down at her feet and said with a sad voice, ¡°I¡¯m sorry daddy; the stupid looking mage was too strong. I hit him with the smite arrow and it didn¡¯t faze him. I barely escaped with my life.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay dear.¡± Titan said calmly. ¡°It was your first solo mission.¡± Titan was a little upset that she wasted such a powerful arrow but it was made for her anyway so it wasn¡¯t too big of a deal. Besides, he thought it was cute how she didn¡¯t want to admit she missed the mage and instead made up a story of how the mage just shook off the attack, which was impossible. ¡°There¡¯s bound to be hiccups here and there.¡±


    ¡°But¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. When I thought about it, sending you to kill that mage after I asked for his help was pretty petty. We put the poor fellow on the spot over a childish argument then tried to kill him. Honestly I¡¯m glad you didn¡¯t succeed. So I¡¯ll Tell you what, I¡¯ll give you another quest, how about that?¡±


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you and a small group well be taking on a level A quest. It could prove to be a tough one.¡±


    ¡°Really?! Level A?! It¡¯s not too soon?¡±


    ¡°Ha! I think you¡¯ll be fine. Hacksar we¡¯ll be leading the quest so you can get the details from him. In fact I¡¯ll let you choose three enchanted arrows from the armory for this quest.¡±


    ¡°Really, three?! Thanks Daddy!¡± Botan said as she gave her father a big hug.


    The young man against the wall thought the whole scene was sweet. ¡°Aw, you¡¯re a good father.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yelled Titan at the young man. ¡°I¡¯m going to throw knives at you!¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­¡±


    Botan left the knife room and happily looked for Hacksar. Hacksar was an old dwarf that had been with the guild since its founding. He was one of the most powerful members of the guild rivaling even her mother. Botan was happy he was leading the quest as she liked the old dwarf a lot. He was like a grandpa to her and she enjoyed being around him. In fact her personality was probably thanks to the old grump. After she looked around for a while she found him harassing some of the newer guild members.


    He had long dark brownish red hair and an equally long beard to match. His big nose and small stature with his bulking body just screamed dwarf. He wore a red mage¡¯s robe that had golden patterns all over it, including the trademark Red Piper symbol in the middle of the cloak. He had a beer in each hand as he spoke to the group in a loud aggressive voice. ¡°I¡¯m telling you lot that we should just take over the bastards. Dissolve their guild and combine the territory with ours.¡±


    One of the young men at the table spoke up. ¡°But a guild war, really? There¡¯s almost no profit in that. Besides The Cloudy Sky Guild is tiny compared to this one. Why not let them be?¡±


    ¡°The hell you on about?!¡± Said the dwarf angrily. ¡°They¡¯re stealing our business and they are too close to our guild. Also they allow anyone to join. I heard goblins are even members of their guild. Goblins! The small handed green little shits.¡±


    One of the women at the table spoke up next. ¡°But it¡¯s not a live-in guild like ours. Most of the members are usually out on quests and are rarely even at the guild. It¡¯s also in the middle of a town. What if some innocent people get hurt because of the attack?¡±


    The dwarf shrugs. ¡°Fuck ¡®em¡± Hacksar never bothered to filter his foul mouth. ¡°This is the problem with the new generation. No bloodlust! No, wait, I meant to say no ambition!¡± Just then Hacksar heard someone scoff at the table behind him.


    ¡°You know what I heard?¡± Said a tall arrogant man standing up from the table behind theirs; he had been eavesdropping on their conversation.


    ¡°What? Your mother calling you?¡± Said the dwarf as he turned to look at the man. The people at the table were making frantic gestures to the tall arrogant man for him to shut up but he was too drunk to be concerned with things like not being killed. Also he was a bit upset because he and his comrades had just failed the test to join the guild.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    ¡°A long time ago your wife was killed by a member of their guild by accident. That¡¯s why you want to tear their guild down. You should get over it man. A guy your age shouldn¡¯t be acting like that. Grow up, grandpa.¡±


    The dwarf stood up and even though he was barely over four tall he gave off a threatening and intimidating aura as he spoke. ¡°Listen son, no one¡¯s gonna give a rat¡¯s ass if I kill a nobody like you. So sit down and wait your turn, I¡¯m talking to this lot here.¡± The group he mentioned was slowly making their way out of the tavern while the old dwarf was distracted.


    The tall man scoffed at the dwarf. ¡°Do you know who I am?¡±


    ¡°Listen here you little puckered asshole, I don¡¯t care who you are but I know where you¡¯ll be if you utter three more syllables, face first on the ground, unconscious or dead, depending on mine and the ground¡¯s mood.¡± The other men at the tall man¡¯s table got up and surrounded the old dwarf. They had heard about Hacksar the mage and how he was supposed to be unstoppable but they also heard he was getting senile and weak. They were bitter about being denied membership to the guild and were just drunk and stupid enough to challenge a high level opponent like Hacksar. Hacksar eyed the men; there were two humans, a dwarf, and two elves. He took note that the dwarf was in throat jabbing range. ¡°Don¡¯t cry when I kill at least two of you.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right, bulls-¡°The dwarf thrust out his hand hitting the tall man¡¯s kneecap hard and a loud sickening crack could be heard echoing throughout the tavern. The tall man screamed in pain and fell to the ground. The dwarf walked over to him as he laid on the ground screaming in agony. ¡°Wait no!¡± The tall man screamed as the old dwarf grabbed him by the head and slammed his face on the ground as hard as he could. Then he did it again, and then again, he thought about doing it one more time but lost interest.


    The tall man¡¯s comrades were caught off guard by the sudden act of violence but snapped out of it. One of the elves held out their hand and a bright ball of fire shot out of it hitting Hacksar in the face. Hacksar angrily shook the embers off his face and yelled at the elf, ¡°Dwarves are born from earth and fire you bleeding scab!¡± Hacksar rushed at the elf knocking him down and before the poor elf could do anything Hacksar grabbed him by the head and head-butted him so hard everyone in the tavern could hear sound of crushing bones. Hacksar was unharmed due to his naturally thick dwarven skull; the elf however lay on the ground motionless.


    At this point the other members had sobered up and realized the error of their ways. They looked around the tavern but noticed that no one was even paying attention to them; they were acting like nothing was even happening and were still drinking and talking happily. The remaining men decided it was best to leave but unfortunately Hacksar wasn¡¯t through with them. He turned to the dwarven member of the group and quickly hit the young dwarf¡¯s throat as hard as he could. The dwarf grabbed his throat and gasped for air as he fell to the ground. Hacksar turned to the last two who, when they couldn¡¯t find an escape route, had returned to their table and started to pretend to be really interested in the designs of their mugs. ¡°The craftsmanship of this drinking device is quite sublime¡± Said the elven teammate.


    The human teammate nodded in agreement, ¡°Yes, you are correct. Much drink can be had with such a product. I suspect many a man and woman have enjoyed the use of this fine item. Excellent indeed.¡±


    At seeing this Hacksar lost his will to fight and just sighed. ¡°For crying out loud you little bed wetters, don¡¯t start a fight you can¡¯t finish. This is why you didn¡¯t pass the test in the first place. Take your dead and dying comrades to the healers next door and never enter this guild again. If I see you lot again I¡¯ll chop off your toes, grill them, and force feed them to you¡­ without any sauce.¡± They could tell he was serious. Together they picked up their fallen party members and escaped as fast as they could. Fortunately their dwarven member had caught his breath and was able to help them out with the load.


    ¡°Little punks,¡± Hacksar shrugged and continued where he left off. ¡°Anyway it would take all of ten minutes for me to destroy their little guild headquarters, if you can call that shack a-¡°Hacksar turned around to see the table empty and only Botan sitting at the table. She smiled and waved at the old man. ¡°Princess?... When did you get here? Where did the rookies go?¡±


    ¡°They left when you started picking a fight.¡± Botan said smirking at the old dwarf. ¡°Was all that really necessary.¡±


    ¡°Bah, of course, violence is always the answer. Besides, the little turd sniffers were asking for it. They had been glaring at me all night just looking for a reason to cry at me. It¡¯s not my fault their mothers let them out this late.¡± Hacksar grumpily sat at the table and looked over at Botan who seemed unusually happy. ¡°Well, little princess, you sure seem in high spirits. I guess your father told you about the quest.¡±


    ¡°Yep, and don¡¯t call me princess.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll call you the cow queen if I want. Anyway, did he tell you about the quest.¡±


    ¡°No, he said you would.¡±


    ¡°Gah, that lazy good for nothing. To make a long story short we¡¯re going on a lich hunt.¡±


    ¡°A LICH!?¡± Botan shouted as she stood up from the table.


    ¡°Calm down and quiet down girl! This is a bounty quest so the less people who know about it the better.¡±


    ¡°Oh right, sorry.¡± Botan said as she sat down. ¡°But a lich, wow. Aren¡¯t they really dangerous?¡±


    ¡°Almost always. They are undead mages that continue to cling to this world after death, the stubborn fools. Their hatred and envy keep them tied to this world. Often they have a dangerous control of the undead and frighteningly powerful dark magic.¡± Hacksar could see Botan turn a little pale as she thought about the monster they could face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry princess, I¡¯ll be there and no lich is going to stop me. Besides I¡¯d never let anything happen to you¡­ your mother would kill me¡­literally¡­definitely kill me¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need your protection!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re damn right. You¡¯re no child anymore, but just to be safe grab a holy arrow or two when you go the armory.¡±


    Botan nodded, ¡°Good idea. When are we leaving?¡±


    ¡°Tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Already?¡±


    ¡°Aw, too soon for the Princess? But, yes, tomorrow. It¡¯s a pretty long march there. You¡¯re lucky it¡¯s stormy tonight or we¡¯d be leaving now. Also it won¡¯t be just us, two others are joining our group. Though they¡¯ll likely be killed. Seemed very killable, the two of them did.¡±


    ¡°All right.¡± Botan set quietly at the table for a bit and watched the old dwarf drink his beer heartily. She decided to try to make some small talk. ¡°I ran into a human earth mage today.¡±


    ¡°A human earth mage? That¡¯s rare.¡±


    ¡°He was really stupid looking and ugly.¡±


    ¡°Ugly, you say?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but also really powerful. He took a smite arrow head on and acted like it was nothing.¡±


    ¡°You sure you didn¡¯t miss? It seems more likely that you missed. I think you missed.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t miss! I¡¯m a great shot! He must have had really high defense or some kind of resistance. I think he might even be an earth sage.¡± At this point Hacksar started to burst with laughter. ¡°Stop laughing you senile old man!¡±


    ¡°A human earth sage is almost impossible. How old was he? Seventy? Only dwarves can master Earth Magic and even then that¡¯s only a handful. Earth mage maybe but a sage I doubt it.¡±


    ¡°He might even be stronger than you!¡± Even as she said that she knew it was unlikely, Hacksar was known as the strongest Earth Magic user in the kingdom and one of the few dwarves to ever reach sage class.


    ¡°Ha! You¡¯re talking to the most powerful earth sage in the world!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, and you¡¯re really modest about it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m the most modest dwarf you¡¯ll ever meet.¡± Their argument was cut short as a scream echoed from the direction of the knife throwing room. Everyone in the tavern had stopped for a moment when they heard the scream but then quickly resumed their merry making.


    ¡°What was that?¡± asked Botan.


    Hacksar shook his head solemnly. ¡°If I had to guess, it sounded like one out of four. Anyway that¡¯s enough out of you princess. Go get some rest. We leave early tomorrow and there won¡¯t be any napping on the way.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not a child but fine. Goodnight.¡± She agreed, realizing how tired she felt. Botan yawned and left the table and began to head towards the living quarters.


    ¡°Sleep well, princess.¡± Hacksar watched as she left the room and took another long drink from his mug. ¡°A human earth mage? Sounds like a fool. Wonder what he¡¯s like. I doubt we¡¯ll ever meet though.¡±


    ¡°Quit trying to foreshadow Hacksar.¡± Said the barmaid as she set another beer down for him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll foreshadow whatever the hell I want!¡± Yelled the dwarf as he slammed his fist on the table.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Ash came walking down the stairs from the room he had spent the night in. He was well rested and felt terrific. Yesterday had kind of sucked and seemed like it was dragging on forever, but now Ash felt like he could do anything he set his mind to. As he approached the tavern side of the inn he could smell the familiar scent of eggs wafting from the kitchen. He looked around and only saw Braxton and another smaller minotaur talking. Braxton noticed Ash and waved at him. ¡°Hey, it¡¯s the violent golem mage, slept well I hope.¡±


    Ash nodded, ¡°Yeah, surprisingly well uh...¡±


    ¡°Braxton is my name.¡±


    Ash, when you sleep a full eight hours your magic power and health are brought back to full.


    ¡°Oh, good to know.¡± Ash responded to his ring.


    Braxton smiled at Ash, ¡°Got a surprise for ya.¡± He then turned and shouted to the kitchen. ¡°Hey, Aza! He¡¯s up!¡± Braxton turned back to Ash and gestured to one of the tables. ¡°Have a seat. Plenty to choose from, we don¡¯t normally serve breakfast. Oh and this minotaur here is my other employee Alex.¡± The smaller minotaur nods at Ash and Ash nods back.


    From the kitchen area walks out Aza with a big plate of freshly made scrambled eggs. She walks over to Ash and lays the meal in front of him and clears her throat. ¡°Here, it¡¯s for the trouble I caused yesterday. Don¡¯t worry it¡¯s on the house.¡±


    ¡°Wow, thanks.¡± Ash looked at the surprisingly edible looking meal. He grabs a fork and takes a bite of it. It was a little bland but not bad. ¡°It¡¯s good thanks.¡±


    ¡°Really!¡± Aza said at a shocking volume. ¡°And you¡¯re not saying that just to be nice or to flirt right? And you¡¯re not under my charm right?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s good, seriously. If it wasn¡¯t I¡¯d tell you. Hey, Braxton.¡±


    The minotaur looked towards Ash, ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°That stew was awful and almost inedible.¡±


    The minotaur just shrugged, ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡±


    Ash turned back to Aza, ¡°See? Uh¡­Aza right?¡±


    The demon woman nodded. ¡°Yeah, and you¡¯re Ash right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Huh, we both have three letter names. Well, actually Aza is short for Azaerania. Is Ash short for something?¡±


    ¡°Nah... It¡¯s just Ash¡­¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re joining Saline¡¯s party?¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯ll follow them to the guild, but I have no intention of joining any group or party. I like being alone. Even the ring is pushing it.¡±


    Hey.


    ¡°Ha. Me too. People suck.¡± Aza said as a genuine smile appeared on her face.


    They both turned to face the minotaur because he had suddenly started laughing. He looked at the two of them with a big bovine smile and said, ¡°Aza rarely strikes up conversations with anyone. You¡¯re a lucky guy Ash. She also came in on her day off to cook for you. Are you moooved?¡± The smaller minotaur named Alex began to burst out in laughter hearing the cow pun. ¡°This guy gets it.¡±


    Aza gave a nasty glare at Braxton. ¡°Stop it. I¡¯m just apologizing.¡±


    ¡°It takes some love to cook a guy breakfast Aza, at least that¡¯s what I herd.¡± Braxton replied as Alex laughed even harder slamming his hooves on the ground and dragging his horns on the table.


    ¡°It¡¯s not like that.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. Maybe I don¡¯t know what¡¯s at steak.¡± Alex stopped laughing and looked at Braxton with a confused expression. Braxton let out a sigh. ¡°Instead of the proper use of the word stake spelled s-t-a-k-e I said steak, like the ones made from beef, you know like a ribeye steak.¡± After Braxton says this realization hit Alex and he falls to the ground laughing and begins convulsing, rolling on the ground, and foaming at the mouth.


    Ash looked at the minotaur on the ground with worry. ¡°Is he ok?¡±


    Aza sighed and shook her head. ¡°This actually happens a lot. He¡¯s fine.¡±


    Ash nodded, ¡°Cool. Seriously though, there¡¯s nothing to apologize for, I don¡¯t blame you for what you did so don¡¯t sweat it.¡± Ash finished the meal and patted his stomach; he forgot what it was like to have an actual meal. ¡°Thanks, Aza, that was good.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Aza said with a hint of relief in her voice. It was nice to hear an honest opinion instead of ones influenced by her charm ability.


    Braxton thought the whole scene was sweet. ¡°Aw¡­ You¡¯re a good pair.¡±


    ¡°Shut up!¡± Yelled Aza threateningly at the large minotaur. ¡°I¡¯m going to throw knives at you!¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­¡± Sighed Braxton. Aza was in fact known to carry knives and be true to her threats so Braxton decided to stop the teasing here.


    Ash talked to Braxton with a mouth full of food. ¡°So where¡¯s that guy?¡±


    ¡°Guy?¡± Responded Braxton.


    ¡°The, please don¡¯t kill me, guy.¡±


    ¡°Oh, Kory! He¡¯s¡­uh¡­ stewing over what he did.¡± Braxton let out an evil laugh as they all looked at him. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s out front clearing that mess of rocks you made everywhere. Part of the violent agreement we came to last night.¡±


    ¡°Ah, I guess I¡¯ll help him.¡±


    Aza shook her head. ¡°You don¡¯t have to help him.¡±


    ¡°Well, technically I¡¯m not.¡± Ash said as he got up from the table. ¡°That golem yesterday was neat; well except the whole stomping me into the ground thing. I¡¯m going to practice controlling them a little better. I think I¡¯ll summon a few to help clear the mess so I can get some practice in.¡± Ash began to walk out of the Inn towards where the battle took place the day before.


    Ash, that¡¯s a great idea! Golem control is extremely important for an earth mage.


    ¡°Ash! That¡¯s a terrible idea! Don¡¯t do that!¡± Pleaded Aza as she followed him out the inn¡¯s front entrance that was still missing its door. Almost as soon as they left Saline came running down the stairs. She looked around the tavern and spotted Braxton helping Alex to his feet.


    Saline ran up to Braxton. ¡°Where¡¯s Aza?! I could have sworn I heard her. Ash too, he said he¡¯d wait for us. He better have. Have you seen them?¡±


    Braxton looked at the short and young elven woman and remembered that Aza¡¯s charm effect was unusually effective on her. If she found out that Aza came in on her day off and cooked for Ash, Saline would likely lose it and would probably cause a lot of trouble for those two. ¡°Aza came in on her day off and cooked for Ash. Right now they¡¯re both outside alone together.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Screamed Saline as she quickly took off outside knocking over several chairs on her way.


    Braxton nodded to himself. ¡°You did good Braxton, you did good.¡±


    Alex looked at Braxton and asked, ¡°How did Aza know exactly when Ash was going to get up and come down stairs so she would have the breakfast hot and ready for him.¡±


    ¡°Just go clean the dishes, dish cleaner.¡±


    ¡°Aw¡­¡±

 CHAPTER 8 EARTH SAGE ALMOST KILLS EVERYONE WITHIN A MILE RADIUS

    8


    The small desert elf Karse ran down the stairs in a hurry because he could feel that something was wrong. When he made it to the tavern side of the inn he frantically looked around but all he could see was the minotaur Braxton quietly cleaning a mug. ¡°Braxton, have you seen Saline?¡± Karse asked the minotaur worriedly.


    The minotaur calmly pointed to the door leading outside and said, ¡°cow pun.¡±


    Karse nodded, ¡°Thanks Braxton.¡± Karse ran outside and came across a scene beyond his comprehension. Saline was standing out in the open with a smile spread across her face. Beside her stood Aza holding her hand and on her other side was that stupid and ugly mage he met yesterday holding her other hand. ¡°Saline, what are you doing?!¡±


    Saline¡¯s smile faded and she spoke with a calm voice. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Karse; I¡¯m in love with Aza.¡±


    ¡°I know that! Everyone is! Why did you turn into serious Saline?¡± Karse looked at Aza and for some reason he didn¡¯t feel the normal love he always felt for her, all he felt was disdain.


    Saline then pointed at the mage. ¡°I¡¯m also in love with him, whatever his name is.¡±


    ¡°What?! You can¡¯t go out with both of them!¡±


    ¡°Nah, they¡¯re cool with it.¡±


    Aza nods, ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡±


    The mage nods, ¡°I¡¯m really stupid and ugly.¡±


    Karse was beginning to get angry, ¡°It¡¯s not fine!¡±


    Saline shakes her head, ¡°You don¡¯t understand me Karse, and you never did. I¡¯m chaotic neutral. Also I¡¯m going out with Garret as well.¡±


    Garret¡¯s head pops out of the ground by Saline¡¯s feet and turns to look at Karse with a grin. ¡°Sup.¡±


    Karse was extremely confused by this. ¡°Garret, aren¡¯t you married to Olanna?!¡±


    Garret nods, ¡°Yeah but she¡¯s cool with it.¡± Olanna¡¯s arm springs from the ground making a thumbs up sign. ¡°See?¡±


    Karse sunk to the ground shaking his head, ¡°I don¡¯t understand.¡±


    Saline said in quiet voice, ¡°And you never did. I told you not to follow me, and that nothing but pain waits for you if you do. Still though you gave up everything for me. You¡¯re so stupid. Actually you¡¯re so dumb I need to think up a new word to describe it¡­ Karse is what I¡¯ll call it. You¡¯re so Karse.¡±


    Karse begins to shake his head, ¡°No, I¡¯m not Karse! This has to be some kind of bad dream!¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Karse rolls off his bed and hits the floor waking him from his bad dream. Karse quickly stood up from the floor and looked around. Everything seemed normal; judging from the light outside it must be late morning. Karse angrily thought to himself, what caused that weird dream? Saline isn¡¯t like that. Just then he heard a loud crash outside and what sounded like rocks falling. Saline! He shouted inside his head as he bolted down the stairs to the tavern and saw the minotaur Braxton standing at the bar cleaning a mug. ¡°Braxton!¡± Karse screamed at the minotaur.


    In his surprise Braxton dropped the mug and accidently ripped the cloth he was using in half. Braxton looked sadly at the cloth. ¡°Aw, I minotore it.¡±


    Karse decided to try to calm down and asked Braxton in a calmer voice. ¡°Have you seen Saline?¡± Braxton pointed to the door leading outside. Although the door was still very much missing. Karse gulped and asked Braxton, ¡°Did she seem normal to you?¡±


    Braxton thought for a moment. ¡°Only saw her for a second but she seemed a little frantic. Like she was utt-¡°


    Karse cut Braxton off. ¡°Yeah, yeah, cow pun.¡± There was another loud crash outside. ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Karse decided to investigate the sound and ran outside leaving Braxton by himself.


    Braxton sadly went to the kitchen to get a new towel and the younger minotaur named Alex, who was in the middle of washing dishes, turned to speak to him. ¡°You were going to say she was utterly mad, weren¡¯t you?¡±


    Braxton let out a cheerful snort, ¡°Aw, Alex, you¡¯re the only one that gets me.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Karse ran outside but the scene he discovered was nothing like the one in his dream but was actually weirder. There were various holes all around the area and quite a few small golems walking around. They were carrying rocks and tossing them in the holes. Surprisingly, Kory was doing the same thing but he was only grabbing one rock at a time and he seemed a little exhausted and worse for wear.


    Then he saw that stupid looking earth mage yelling at one of the golems as the golem seemed to roll its head lazily and groan. Karse looked around a little more and to his joy saw Saline and Aza sitting together on a couple of stumps. Aza was watching the Golems with a bored look as Saline just looked at the ground sadly. Karse happily walked over to them and Aza turned her gaze towards him as he approached. ¡°Hey, you two, good morning. Are these golems a good idea? Does he have control of them?¡±


    Aza lazily waved at him, ¡°Ah, it¡¯s male Saline, good morning. Yeah, the golems seem fine. Too stupid to be dangerous, they aren¡¯t like the giant one.¡±


    ¡°My name is Karse, Aza, but it¡¯s fine. You can call me what you want.¡± Karse remembered the anger he felt for her in his dream but now he couldn¡¯t understand it, Aza¡¯s amazing, how could he ever be mad at her? He then looked over at the downtrodden Saline. ¡°Are you okay Saline? Why have you turned into sad Saline?¡±


    Aza sighed and the annoyance was apparent in her voice. ¡°She¡¯s mad because I fixed breakfast for Ash.¡±


    ¡°You fixed breakfast for Ash?!¡± Karse screamed loudly. ¡°Wait, who is Ash again?¡± Aza pointed at the earth mage who was yelling at a golem. The mage was pointing at a hole and then pointing at the golem who was holding a rock. The golem groaned and dropped the rock and began to walk away as the mage continued to yell at it. ¡°You made breakfast for him?!¡± Karse screamed again. ¡°That ungrateful pile of manure!¡±


    Saline mumbled loudly to herself. ¡°Stupid egg devouring swine¡­¡±


    Karse agreed. ¡°Bet his teeth are filled with dung and insect carcasses.¡±


    Saline nods, ¡°Every breath he takes is spit in life¡¯s face.¡±


    ¡°Were he to drop dead right now I¡¯d dance on his corpse.¡±


    ¡°Every time he speaks it sounds like a cat throwing up.¡±


    ¡°I would sooner fight a monster made of lemons and razor blades in nothing but my underwear than talk with him again.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± Screamed Aza angrily as she stood up. ¡°I decided to do it as a way of apologizing. It had no hidden meaning. So, get over it, both of you.¡±


    Karse and Saline looked at each other and for some reason all their anger and jealousy went away. Karse spoke in a calm voice, ¡°suddenly I¡¯m not mad anymore.¡±


    Saline agreed with a smile, ¡°yeah me neither. In fact, happy Saline is back.¡±


    Aza let out a loud sigh. ¡°Whatever.¡±


    Saline looked towards Ash. ¡°I¡¯m, going to see what Ash is up to.¡± She immediately began to run towards Ash.


    ¡°Wait up!¡± Cried Karse as he followed the happy elf. Aza sighed with annoyance and followed as well.


    Saline ran up to Ash and asked gleefully, ¡°what are doing Ash?¡±


    Ash looked over at the three of them. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you three. You¡¯ve been watching the whole time why do you need me to explain it?¡±


    ¡°Karse just got here and I was too blinded by rage and sadness to really watch. Also I like things explained to me.¡±


    Ash shrugged. ¡°All right, fine. I¡¯m just trying to get a better handle on my powers. I¡¯ve wanted to try and control my golems a little better.¡±


    ¡°That would be nice.¡± Karse said bitterly remembering the night before.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it? So, I¡¯m having them do some minor tasks, though they still put up some resistance to my commands. Oh, but check this out.¡± Ash holds out his hands and from the ground a small Golem climbs out of it. It stands lazily looking at Ash. Ash makes some twisting movement with his hands and the Golem¡¯s body begins to reshape. The three watch as Ash transforms the Golem into a statue that looks just like Aza. ¡°Looks just like her right?¡± The golem Aza groans, slouches, and lazily rolls its head to the side.


    Aza looks at it judgingly. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look anything like me.¡± She says as she sighs, slouches, and rolls her head lazily to the side.


    Karse and Saline, however, look at it with starry eyes and say at the same time. ¡°It¡¯s beautiful.¡±


    Ash nods. ¡°Yes, it is.¡± Aza looks at Ash with a surprised and embarrassed look not realizing that Ash was just admiring his own handiwork much like when he used to make sculptures and figurines in his old life. ¡°This is apparently construction Earth Magic. I even made a house.¡± Ash points to a large pile of rocks nearby.


    ¡°That¡¯s just some rocks.¡± Karse says bluntly.


    ¡°Yeah, apparently making a stable house is harder than I thought. Oh but check this out.¡± Ash held his hand out to the Aza golem and concentrated. The Golem began to shrink and didn¡¯t stop until it was barely 3 inches tall. The three watching look at it with amazement. ¡°I¡¯ve been trying out all kind of spells all morning. This is pretty neat but for some reason I¡¯m having trouble increasing their size.¡±


    Saline was practically drooling. ¡°So cute¡­Want it¡­So bad¡­Must steal¡­Must stop saying crime I plan to commit out loud¡­¡±


    Ash ignored her. ¡°So that¡¯s something I can do. I thought about selling mini golems but apparently they shatter when their creator gets too far away. Which is fine, I don¡¯t want to deal with customers anyway. Oh but this is something else I discovered I can do.¡± Ash motions them to follow him. He wouldn¡¯t admit it but he was enjoying showing off.


    They followed him as he approached a rock pile. Ash turned back to them and chose to ignore the fact that Saline was stuffing the golem Aza in her pocket. He turned to the rock pile and held out his hands. A large hole opened beneath the rocks and they tumbled down into it.


    Karse then realized something. ¡°So it¡¯s you that made all the holes everywhere?¡± Ash nods and Karse then realizes something else. ¡°Then why haven¡¯t you just opened up holes under all the rocks and taken care of them quickly. Also why does there seem to be way more rocks and debris scattered around then there should be?¡±


    Ash shrugs, ¡°I¡¯m training myself. Doing things the easy way won¡¯t help me. Rings suggestion, actually. I need to be a little less lazy now so I can be far lazier in the future. I¡¯m kind of enjoying finding out all the stuff I can do. Like this.¡± Ash holds out his hand towards a single rock. It slowly hovers off the ground and floats towards Ash. Ash moves his hand and the rock follows suit. He guides it above the hole he made earlier and allows the rock to fall inside it. He then claps his hand and the hole closes up and turns back to solid ground. He turns back to the three onlookers and points to where the hole once was. ¡°Did you see that?¡±


    Karse nods. ¡°Yeah we saw it.¡±


    Saline¡¯s eyes light up. ¡°Wow! That was amazing Ash! You can do Psy Magic?¡±


    Ash shakes his head. ¡°No, I can only control rocks, and apparently it won¡¯t work on all kinds of rocks. Doesn¡¯t work on golems either for some reason. Maybe it¡¯s because they¡¯re alive or maybe it¡¯s just plot convenience.¡±


    Saline runs up to Ash. ¡°That looks like some pretty high level magic. You¡¯re going to make a great addition to the party.¡±


    Ash looks down at the small elven girl and frowns. ¡°No I won¡¯t. I already told you I¡¯m not joining a party.¡±


    ¡°But you said-¡°


    ¡°I said I¡¯d meet you in the morning. It¡¯s morning and we¡¯ve met.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so against joining a group? You seem kind of lost by yourself.¡±


    ¡°Listen, I walk this lonely road, the only one I¡¯ve ever known. I don¡¯t know where it goes, but it¡¯s home to me and I walk alone.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    Ash sighs sadly. ¡°Oh, right, no music fans here. I hate this world sometimes.¡±


    Aza looks at Ash curiously. ¡°I¡¯m curious.¡±


    Ash nods. ¡°I can tell by your curious look.¡±


    Aza continues, ¡°You talk about your magic like you¡¯ve never used it before.¡±


    Saline interrupts with excitement in her voice. ¡°Isn¡¯t it obvious?! He¡¯s got to be an envoy! Why else would he be so strong but so clueless. Like do you know what a bickeltar is?¡± Ash shakes his head. ¡°See what I mean? He doesn¡¯t know what a bickeltar is. He¡¯s so unbelievably stupid.¡±


    Ash says with some irritation, ¡°I¡¯m just a little ignorant, not stupid.¡±


    Karse looks at Ash judgingly, ¡°him, an envoy?¡±


    Ash looks at Saline curiously. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll bite, what¡¯s an envoy?¡±


    Saline smiles at Ash and explains, ¡°You¡¯re lucky that I also like explaining things. It¡¯s an Envoy of the Gods. Someone brought from another world and given great power to do the bidding of a god.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­Then I guess I am one. Though I¡¯m not really doing anyone¡¯s bidding.¡± Ash suddenly seems to grab his head and winces. ¡°Damn it Sam, stop yelling! What do you mean I shouldn¡¯t just tell people that?¡±


    Aza says a little shocked, ¡°are you serious?¡±


    ¡°What was the world like where you came from?! Which god summoned you?¡± Saline asks happily.


    Karse points at Ash. ¡°He¡¯s obviously lying!¡±


    Aza shakes her head. ¡°No, it kind of adds up.¡±


    Ash decides to change the subject. ¡°Never mind that for now I think it¡¯s time to check out that guild I was told about. Joining a guild is the first thing on my bucket list.¡±


    Saline shakes her head, ¡°but I have so many questions. Most of which are personal and invasive.¡±


    ¡°Too bad. Guild time.¡±


    ¡°Fine.¡± Saline says sadly. ¡°I¡¯ll take you there. It¡¯s on the other side of town on the outskirts. This town has a lot of things on the outskirts of it now that I think about it.¡±


    Ash looks around for a moment but all he sees are his golems and Kory who had been ignoring them up till now. ¡°Where are the rest of your teammates?¡±


    ¡°Oh, you mean Garret and Olanna? We can leave without them. They won¡¯t be up for a while. They¡¯re newlyweds and-¡°


    ¡°I¡¯m going to stop you right there, I don¡¯t want to know. Let¡¯s just go.¡± Ash begins to walk in the direction he assumes the guild is.


    Karse runs up to Saline and asks her, ¡°where they up all night playing cards again?¡±


    Saline nods. ¡°Yeah. You¡¯d think they¡¯d get sick of it.¡±


    Ash hollers at Kory. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m leaving the rest to you!¡±


    Kory looks at him with a worried expression and whines, ¡°what? But this is too much for me to do alone!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry my golems will help you.¡± Kory continued to complain but Ash decided to ignore him and just keep walking. Saline and Karse decided to follow Ash. Ash noticed that Aza was walking right behind them. ¡°You¡¯re coming?¡±


    Aza nods. ¡°It¡¯s my day off and trust me when I say there is literally nothing to do in this town. Besides my sister runs the guild so I might as well say hi.¡±


    ¡°Your sister?¡± Ash asks.


    Saline answers for Aza. ¡°Yeah, she¡¯s pretty too but not like Aza. The guilds this way by the way.¡± Saline runs in front of Ash and begins to lead the way.


    Aza continues to speak. ¡°My sister is also a succubus but she was able to acquire a rare ring that negates charm abilities including her own. That way she can run her guild honestly. She¡¯s trying to get one for me but it¡¯s a hard ring to find and even more expensive to make.¡±If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°Ah.¡± Says Ash half listening.


    Karse looks back at Kory and the golems as they shrink in the distance as they walk. ¡°Ash, won¡¯t the golems break if you go too far away from them?¡±


    ¡°Probably.¡± Ash says half listening.


    ¡°You seem to have already forgiven Kory for messing with you.


    ¡°Yeah, I guess. He gave me something as an apology as well. I can¡¯t tell you what it is though.¡±


    Karse shrugs. ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Too bad. I¡¯m not telling you.¡± Ash says and continues to march ahead as Karse rolls his eyes.


    .......................................................................................................................................................


    They finally arrived at the guild and Ash couldn¡¯t help but feel a little underwhelmed. The guild was a great deal smaller than what Ash expected. Outside it looked like a large wooded house. It was painted with a pale grey color and there was a sign out front that read Cloudy Sky Guild. ¡°Not exactly what I was expecting.¡± Ash said scratching his chin.


    Saline looked proudly at the guild she was a member of. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s great right? It¡¯s not a live in guild, But it¡¯s pretty cool. Let¡¯s go in.¡± With that Saline runs inside followed closely by Karse.


    Ash is about to go in when Aza taps him on the shoulder. He turns to look at her and she says with a serious face. ¡°Just to warn you the staff for this guild are all fairies and they are extremely obnoxious.¡±


    Ash nods. ¡°Uh¡­ noted¡­¡±


    Not sure what you should be afraid of. Fairies are harmless. They can wear you out though because their brain and body function so fast that they seem hyper all the time.


    Ash walks into the guild followed by Aza. If Ash had to describe the guild he would say it reminded him of a DMV. People were sitting in chairs waiting with numbered papers in there hand. There was a giant billboard with documents all over it; he assumed those are probably quests people can accept. Overhead small women with dragonfly like wings and bright dresses and clothes flew around everywhere carrying papers and little items. Those must be the fairies. At the front of the guild was a long counter where more fairies were talking to guild members and taking care of them.


    Saline ran up to Ash and handed him a piece of paper. It said party 93 on it. ¡°You¡¯ve never been to a guild right? All we have to do is wait until our numbers called. We¡¯ll all go together. I¡¯ve got a quest to turn in and a new one to accept.¡±


    Ash nods but soon frowns when he hears one of the fairies squeak with a high pitched voice, ¡°party number 10 to counter 6 please.¡± Ash sighs and decides to grab a seat and watches as the two elves do the same. He looks over at the person sitting next to him. An old man dressed all in black reading a book titled, 101 DAMNATIONS.


    Ash chuckles but gets surprised when Aza sits down next to him and whispers, ¡°Things are about to be a pain and I apologize for it.¡±


    Ash looks at her with a confused expression. ¡°What?¡± But Aza didn¡¯t need to answer as a fairy flying overhead noticed Aza¡¯s wings and horns.


    ¡°It¡¯s Aza!¡± The little fairy squeaked as loud as she could manage. Everyone in the guild turned their attention to Aza and it played out very similar to the scene at the tavern except for one thing, the fairies. Like a swarm of high pitched birds the fairies left their stations and descended upon the helpless Aza. They exclaimed how much they missed her and loved her while ruffling her hair and tugging at her wings. ¡°What are you doing here? Just to visit?¡± Squeaked one of the fairies.


    Aza shook her head. ¡°No, we¡¯re here to register this guy.¡± She said as she pointed to Ash. A chill ran down Ash¡¯s spine as the fairies turned their attention on him with mischievous eyes. They flew over to him and immediately began tugging at his hair and face, rummaging through his stuff, and asking too many questions to answer.


    ¡°What are you to Aza?¡±


    ¡°Are you a mage?¡±


    ¡°Why is your face so squishy?¡±


    ¡°Are mangos good for your skin?¡±


    ¡°Why can¡¯t I do a split anymore?!¡±


    ¡°What does your flesh taste like?!¡± One asks as it bites him and Ash immediately smacks her away.


    They¡¯re like a swarm of hyper active piranhas!


    Ash says to Aza as he continues to smack the tiny women away. ¡°They¡¯re so annoying!¡±


    ¡°I know right?!¡± Aza agrees.


    Their questions and harassment seemed to have no end and Ash turned to look at Aza as she gave him a look that seemed to say, ¡°see what I mean.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough!¡± A loud voice echoed around the room and the fairies scattered returning to their work. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Ash turned to look at who was talking and was surprised to see another demon woman standing in the doorway of the guild. She was wearing a very nice grey suit, had really short black hair, and like Aza had short and curly black horns and wings. Though for some reason Ash could sense she was much more dangerous than Aza. ¡°There¡¯s only one reason the fairies would freak out like this. Aza where are you?¡±


    Aza stood up. ¡°Right here, Johnna.¡± Everyone applauded and whistled for some reason.


    ¡°Baby sister!¡± Johnna, who is apparently Aza¡¯s sister, grabbed up Aza in a merciless bear hug. ¡°Why the surprise visit? Decided to join the guild finally?¡±


    Aza shakes her head, ¡°Not me, Ash.¡± Aza says as she points to Ash.


    Ash nods to her. ¡°Uh, hello, I wish to join your guild. Maybe.¡±


    Johnna¡¯s brain was trying to process this. Her sister, who hated being around people, especially men, had actually brought a man to her guild and even bothered to know his name. Her sisterly impulses were activating and her desire to meddle in her baby sister¡¯s love life was increasing. Almost as if she could sense it Aza flicked her sister on the forehead and shook her head. ¡°Aw, you¡¯re no fun. Well then come on Ash, I¡¯ll take care of you personally.¡± Surprised but relieved, Ash nods and gets up but a few of the other guild members started to complain about how unfair it was. Johnna looked at all of them and mockingly said, ¡°oh, boohoo life is unfair, get over it. Take it up with the HR department.¡±


    Johnna points to a corner of the room where her pet dire wolf was sitting on top of a mound of skulls and other bones. It was three times the size of a regular wolf and was overly muscular and had pultruding razor-sharp teeth. It had sleek black and white fur and horrifying red eyes. It looked at the guild members and said in a deep dramatic voice. ¡°Snarl.¡± The fact that it said it instead of doing it made it all the more terrifying. All the guild members nodded at it and decided that living was better so they patiently returned to waiting for their turn.


    Johnna smiled. ¡°Follow me Ash. Oh wait; do you have the membership fee?¡±


    Ash grimaced remembering that he was broke. ¡°Membership fee?¡±


    ¡°Of course. It¡¯s 100 gold lumps, but you¡¯ll receive a nice starter kit. You¡¯ll have to get the money somehow. Even if you are a friend of Aza¡¯s I can¡¯t let you join for free.¡±


    ¡°Wait!¡± Saline says hopping from her seat. ¡°We¡¯re going to cash in the Basilisk quest. Since Ash helped we were going to give him a cut. That should cover his membership fee.¡±


    They should considering you did all the work.


    Johnna smiles at Saline. ¡°Ah, Saline, good to see you. And if that¡¯s the case that¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll go ahead and get Ash started and you can cash in the quest.¡± Johnna snatches the piece of paper with a number from Ash¡¯s hand and passes it to Saline. ¡°Here¡¯s your number.¡± Johnna wasn¡¯t fond of Saline.


    Saline looks at the paper. ¡°Wait, but why do I have to wait? Can¡¯t we just do it now?¡±


    ¡°Take it up with HR.¡±


    ¡°Oh come on! I wanted to see what happens! Ash is weird so It¡¯s bound to be amusing. Don¡¯t leave me here with Karse! He¡¯s so¡­ Karse!¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Says Karse a little dejected.


    Johnna ignores her as Ash and Aza follow her behind the counter and walk into a room. Saline sits down next to Karse pouting a little and whispers to herself. ¡°Stupid plot convenience¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Ash and Aza walk into a large room filled with various armor and weapons and weird little trinkets. Oddly enough though they just keep walking. They go through a door at the back of the room and it leads outside to a large field. Ash sees a pond in the distance and sees what he can only guess is an archery range not too far from it. They continue walking on in silence and Ash decides to break it as he talks to Aza. ¡°Pretty popular here too, huh?¡±


    Aza nods. ¡°I¡¯d like to say it¡¯s the charm ability but fairies are immune to it. They just like me naturally, the little monsters.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awful.¡± Ash says sympathizing with her.


    Johnna stopped and turned to look at Ash. ¡°You know any other guy, or even woman for that matter, would be all over Aza right now. You must be immune yourself.¡±


    ¡°Looks like it.¡± Ash nods.


    ¡°You¡¯re opinion of her would be an honest one I imagine. What do you think of her?¡± Johnna had caved into her sisterly meddling ways.


    ¡°Johnna!¡± Aza said a little bit annoyed.


    ¡°She¡¯s fine, I can¡¯t complain about her.¡± Ash says, ¡°you¡¯re a little annoying though.¡±


    ¡°Right?!¡± Aza says agreeing with Ash.


    ¡°Johnna smiles. ¡°Oh, really? My charm ability is actually far more powerful than Aza¡¯s. I wonder if you¡¯d still be immune to it?¡± Ash glares at her for a moment.            ¡°Kidding, just kidding. On to the business at hand. As the guild master of The Cloudy Sky Guild I need to test your abilities and give you a rank. Higher ranks allow you to take higher ranked quests. This is to keep weaker people from getting killed by taking on a quest much too dangerous for them.¡±


    ¡°Tests?¡± Ash says feeling like this¡¯ll be a pain.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as long as you pay the fee you¡¯re automatically a member. I just need to see how skilled you are so we can assign you appropriate quests. Trust me it¡¯s worth it. My guild is the best guild there is. Staffed by adorable fairies and the fact any race can join makes my guild unique. Plus it¡¯s lead by the most beautiful succubus in the kingdom, no offense sis.¡± Aza shrugs. ¡°There¡¯s no time to waste so onto the first test.¡± They had reached the Archery range as they talked. Johnna points to a round wooden target painted with a bullseye staked far off in the distance. ¡°First test is easy; hit that target from where you¡¯re standing.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have arrows.¡± Ash says looking at the far off target.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Use anything, a rock, a spell; you can even throw a shoe at it for all I care.¡±


    ¡°A spell?¡±


    ¡°Yep, any spell.¡±


    Ash nods and aims his hands at the target. Right next to the target a large golem climbs out of the ground. Aza and Johnna exchange a confused glance. The Golem looks at Ash and Ash points at the target. The Golem groans and shrugs and with one finger pushes the target over. Ash turns towards Johnna and points triumphantly at the target. Aza tries her best to not to laugh.


    Johnna sighs, ¡°Yes, I see it. It feels like you cheated but whatever, I¡¯ll count it. I didn¡¯t expect you to be an earth mage though. Surprising to say the least. Let¡¯s move on. What was the next one? Oh yeah!¡± Johnna snaps her finger and disappears in a puff of black smoke.


    Aza explains to the confused Ash, ¡°Teleportation Magic. She must be grabbing something.¡±


    Ash nods. ¡°Your sister seems pretty different than you, not that I know you that well.¡±


    ¡°Not many people do.¡± Aza says a little distantly. Ash was about to say something but stopped as Johnna reappeared with more black smoke. ¡°I¡¯m back!¡± She said cheerfully. Ash was too distracted to pay attention to her though, because he was too focused on the giant man beside her. He was clad in worn out silver armor, wielded a massive mace stained with red splotches, and wore a giant horned helmet that hid his face. ¡°Next is a sparring match and this man here is your opponent.¡±


    The armor clad man pointed down at the tiny, in comparison, Ash. ¡°I will carve your blood and drink your flesh!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Ash responds.


    Johnna pulls Aza away from ash then with a snap of her finger a ring of purple fire forms around Ash and the giant putting them in the center of the fire circle. ¡°Ash, all you have to do is push him out of the circle and don¡¯t worry the fire won¡¯t hurt you. But you should beware your opponent is pretty strong. Also if he pushes you out of the circle you lose.¡±


    Aza gave Johnna an annoyed look. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s almost like you went out of your way to get a strong opponent.¡±


    Johnna nods. ¡°It should. Because I did. Well he¡¯s no bickeltar but he¡¯s pretty strong.¡±


    The giant points down to Ash. ¡°I will grind your bread to make my bones!¡±


    Ash sighs. ¡°Man, what a bother. So, big guy, she literally went up to you and asked you to fight some stranger and you agreed to do it on the spot?¡±


    ¡°My love for the guild master is an unhealthy addiction that you couldn¡¯t possibly understand! Also my name¡¯s KIWI!!!! Kiwi the crusher of unfortunate people!¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know how to respond to that.¡± Kiwi lets out a mighty roar and charges at Ash. Ash flicks his wrist and makes the ground shift under the giant causing him to slip and fall outside the flame circle. Ash turns to Johnna and points to Kiwi.


    ¡°Yes, I see it. You pass. Again it feels like you cheated a little.¡± Johnna says a little bit disappointed as Aza smirks at her.


    Kiwi on the other hand didn¡¯t accept the result and quickly sprung to his feet. ¡°You¡¯ll spend money for that!¡± Kiwi charged headfirst at Ash. Ash wasn¡¯t prepared for it, like usual, and was about to be maced in the face by the large man when much to his surprise Kiwi gets slammed into by the golem Ash summoned a moment ago. The golem wails on him for a solid minute then stands up and walks back to Ash calmly as Kiwi just lays on the ground unmoving.


    ¡°Nice counter.¡± Says Johnna approvingly as she walks over to kiwi and puts her finger on his armor. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯s got a pulse he¡¯s fine.¡±


    Ash looks at the unmoving Kiwi. ¡°You can tell from touching his armor?¡±


    ¡°Nah.¡± Johnna says shaking her head. ¡°Let¡¯s move on.¡±


    Ash you didn¡¯t order the Golem to attack, did you?


    ¡°No.¡± Ash says in a whisper.


    That¡¯s a good sign then. Golems should instinctively protect their casters.


    Ash, his golem, and Aza follow Johnna to a pond and Johnna looked at the pond trying to remember something. ¡°I can¡¯t remember what the next test is. Something to do with the pond maybe?¡± Johnna notices a fairy with green hair and a green dress frolicking and gliding on the surface of the pond. ¡°Shelly, what are you doing?!¡± You know you¡¯re not allowed near the pond.¡±


    Ash asks Aza, ¡°do all the fairies wear dresses that match their hair?¡±


    Aza nods, ¡°Yes, don¡¯t ask me why.¡±


    The fairy lets out a squeaky laugh as it seems to skate on the water. ¡°Aw, c¡¯mon, I¡¯m on my break. I just want to frolic and glide on the pond all fairy like. What could go wrong?¡± She says this as a huge crocodile erupts from the water and eats her whole. Aza and Johnna look at the rippling water in shock and Ash just chuckles. They look at him with surprise.


    ¡°Oh, no.¡± Ash says to them. ¡°I was just having d¨¦j¨¤ vu is all. Also who says what could go wrong and expects nothing to go wrong. That¡¯s things never to say 101.¡±


    Johnna seems to make up her mind. ¡°All right, next test is to save Shelly. She was eaten whole so she may still be alive.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Ash asks her and Johnna nods. Ash looks over at Aza and notices that she looks extremely worried. She may hate the fairies but she wouldn¡¯t wish harm to them, apparently. Ash lets out a long winded sigh and gets his golems attention. ¡°Go get that crocodile or alligator. I don¡¯t know the difference.¡± The golem surprisingly obeys and marches into the water. After a few moments it comes back out and shrugs at Ash.


    Johnna shakes her head angrily. ¡°It¡¯s not going to come out because it already has a meal. Hurry up and do something! Fairies can resist being digested but they can¡¯t hold their breath forever!¡±


    Ash sighs because he knows what he has to do. ¡°Ugh, what a pain.¡± Ash says as he approaches the water. He gets down on his knees and hangs his head over the water of the pond.


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± Aza asks.


    ¡°Careful Ash.¡± Says Johnna. ¡°That croc likes to bite down and do death rolls.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± Ash says and he grimaces as he continues. ¡°What could go wrong?¡± The massive crocodile springs from the water and bites down on Ash¡¯s head. It starts rolling on the ground dragging Ash with it as his body limply rolls along with the large reptile. The golem quickly grabs the crocodile and forces open its jaw. Ash falls to the ground and the golem throws the croc back into the pond.


    Aza runs over to Ash. ¡°Are you all right?¡±


    Johnna runs up beside her. ¡°What about Shelly?¡±


    Ash stands up and reveals that a tiny fairy is clasping on to his face hanging on for dear life. ¡°She must have grabbed on when the croc bit me.¡± Ash says as Johnna rips her off Ash¡¯s face much to his annoyance.


    ¡°See Shelly!?¡± Johnna yells angrily at the small girl. ¡°That¡¯s why you don¡¯t go near the pond! You guys are snack sized treats for many creatures.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± The fairy says sadly wiping spit from her clothes.


    Johnna smiles at her. ¡°As long as you understand.¡± The fairy is then engulfed in a black smoke and disappears. Ash and Aza looks at her a little shocked. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I just teleported her. At least I think I did¡­.Oh well, this next test is my favorite.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Ash, Aza, and the golem follow Johnna to the center of the field. Johnna motions at Ash. ¡°Stand here.¡± Ash obeys and unenthusiastically walks to the ground she pointed at. ¡°Aza you might want to back up.¡± Aza nods and backs up a little. Johnna stands directly in front of Ash. ¡°This test is perhaps the most important one.¡±


    ¡°I hope so.¡± Ash responds. ¡°I can¡¯t help but feel like those other tests were you just messing with me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re not entirely wrong, but this is the serious one. I want you to hit me with your most powerful attack.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bad idea sis.¡± Aza says to her sister.


    Johnna just shakes her head. ¡°I¡¯m the guild master here, that should tell you how strong I am. I should be able to handle anything he can dish out. By the way Ash.¡± Johnna makes a black ball of fire appear in her hand and quickly shoots it out of her hand at the golem. It hits the rock creature and within moments the golem is completely engulfed by the fire and hits the ground crumpling to dust.


    ¡°Billy the golem!¡± Ash yells then glares at Johnna. ¡°I named him Billy you monster.¡±


    ¡°As you can see you¡¯ll need something stronger than a golem to impress me. You can use any spell or attack, or you can just forfeit. Any questions?¡±


    ¡°Are all the fairies females?¡±


    ¡°No, the males just stay home and take care of housework and their children.¡±


    ¡°Neat.¡±


    ¡°Now, hit me with your best shot!¡±


    Hmm¡­If we knew how strong she was exactly we could figure out what kind of spell you need to cast.


    Ash thinks for a moment and seems to decide on something. ¡°Let¡¯s try this.¡± Ash raises his arm to the sky.


    Wait Ash, what are you casting. Please consult with me first.


    ¡°Oh, right, I guess I should have. It¡¯s too late now though, I already cast it.¡±


    Johnna looks over at Aza. ¡°Who¡¯s he talking to?¡±


    ¡°His ring I think.¡± Aza responds.


    Johnna looks back at Ash. ¡°That¡¯s weird. Hurry up Ash. I do have a guild to run after all.¡±


    Ash what did you cast?!Tell me it wasn¡¯t cataclysm!


    Ash chuckles. ¡°I¡¯m not stupid, it was a spell called meteor.¡±


    What?!


    The blood drains from Johnna¡¯s face. ¡°Did you say meteor? You¡¯re joking right? Meteor is a high level Earth Magic spell. Only a handful of dwarven earth sages can cast it. Y-you¡¯re bluffing.¡± Reality struck hard as the sky turned orange and the three looked up to see a massive rock in the sky covered with fire hurdling down towards them. Johnna looked over at Ash with a look of horror on her face and she noticed Ash was pointing up at the meteor. ¡°Yes! I see it!¡±


    Ash! Meteor is too strong of a spell! If it hits you¡¯ll kill everyone within a mile radius!


    ¡°Really?¡± Ash asks his ring.


    It¡¯s an estimate! It will definitely destroy the guild and kill those two women.


    Ash sighs. ¡°Well stuff my bell pepper, that¡¯s inconvenient. What a bother. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll dispel it.¡± Ash aims his hand at the approaching comet but nothing seems to happen. ¡°Huh?¡±


    You can¡¯t dispel an attack spell once cast. It¡¯s like trying to cancel an arrow after you shot it. It¡¯s going to hit in under a minute! Do something!


    Ash looks up at the meteor thinking to himself as Johnna begins to panic and mutter to herself. ¡°I can¡¯t stop something like that. Aza what do we do?¡± Johnna turns to see Aza spreading her wings about to fly off. ¡°Where are you going?!¡± Johnna yells at her sister as she grabs onto her wings.


    Aza begins to struggle with her and yells back at her. ¡°Hey, why should we all die?! I¡¯ll live so your legend can live on through my stories!¡±


    ¡°You won¡¯t be able to escape the blast! Everyone¡¯s in danger, Aza! The whole town will be wiped out! Dad¡¯s house, your inn, my guild, and all my precious fairies!¡±


    ¡°What about the guild members?¡± Asks Aza.


    ¡°What about them?¡±


    ¡°Just teleport!¡±


    ¡°It requires concentration which I really can¡¯t do right now!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s stupid!¡±


    ¡°I know!¡±


    Aza stopped trying to escape as she realized it was too late. The sphere of fire was upon them. It was as wide as a football field, too bad they didn¡¯t know anything about football or how big the fields were. They could feel the heat coming off of it as it approached. Johnna covered herself and her sister with her wings and they closed their eyes and waited for the impact. After a few moments passed, nothing seemed to have happened. Johnna and Aza open their eyes and are surprised to see a giant ball of rock floating above them with little patches of fire here and there on it. Surprised they look over at Ash who has his hands up aimed at the rock. His arms and legs where all shaking and his face seemed to be straining. ¡°N-now I know how Atlas felt.¡± Said Ash trying his best to hold the rock.


    Wow Ash! Amazing! But you can¡¯t hold it forever.


    Ash wasn¡¯t planning to. Aza and Johnna watched as Ash kept one hand aimed at the rock and aimed his other hand at a spot in the field. With a grunt a large hole opened in the ground and with as much strength as he could muster he guided the rock to the hole and tried to drop it in it. Though the hole wasn¡¯t wide enough and the rock just kind of set on top of it with a loud thud causing the ground to crack a little. Ash looked at it and thought about expanding the hole but his arms felt like noodles and he decided the rock wasn¡¯t hurting anything where it was. So with a loud sigh Ash fell back and just laid on the ground. ¡°That sucked.¡±


    Aza looks at Johnna as she breathes a sigh of relief. ¡°See?¡± Says Aza. ¡±I told you we¡¯d be fine.¡±


    ¡°No you didn¡¯t.¡± Johnna says and then looks at the boulder with amazement. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s huge. We dodged a meteor with that one.¡±


    Aza looks at the boulder with confusion. ¡°How did he summon it? Did it just appear in the sky? Or did he pull it from somewhere? I don¡¯t get it.¡±


    Ash speaks to Johnna in a tired voice. ¡°So did I pass? Are we done?¡±


    Johnna walks up to him and looks down at the tired mage. ¡°Well, you didn¡¯t actually hit me with anything.¡± Ash grabs a nearby rock and throws it at her leg. ¡°Ow. Okay fine I¡¯ll count the meteor. How where you able to use that spell though. You must have used a scroll, right? What¡¯s your class anyway?¡±


    ¡°Earth Sage I think.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± Johnna says with surprise. ¡°But you¡¯re a human, right?¡± She turns to Aza. ¡°He¡¯s a human, right?¡±


    Aza nods. ¡°He¡¯s also an envoy of the gods. I think so anyway.¡±


    ¡°An envoy!?¡± Johnna said, feeling like she was reaching her ¡®being surprised¡¯ limit. ¡°If that¡¯s true why didn¡¯t you tell me, earlier?! That¡¯s a pretty important piece of information.¡±


    Aza thinks for a moment and looks at her sister with a serious face. ¡°Plot convenience.¡±

 CHAPTER 9 EARTH SAGE PARTY OF ONE

    9


    Saline rolled her head and groaned loudly. ¡°How long do we have to wait?¡± She said tossing sharpened pencils into the ceiling.


    Karse shrugged and wondered where she got the pencils from. ¡°Until they call our number; shouldn¡¯t be too much longer.¡± Saline and Karse had been waiting patiently at the guild¡¯s waiting room for their number to be called. They have a quest to turn in and a new one to accept, but Saline was never a patient elf.


    Saline watched as the guild fairies flew above them happily tending to their tasks. She also saw a fairy appear from thin air surrounded by smoke. She then glanced at the door Aza, Ash, and Johnna went through. ¡°I wonder how he¡¯s doing.¡± She asked quietly.


    ¡°Who? The mage?¡± Asked Karse in an annoyed voice; he wasn¡¯t thrilled by her sudden interest in him.


    ¡°His name is Ash.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡±


    ¡°¡­and he¡¯s all alone with Aza¡­Our Aza¡­My Aza¡­¡± Saline said in a dark voice.


    ¡°Why are you so interested in him anyway? Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re in love with him.¡± Karse asked regretting the question immediately.


    ¡°Nah.¡± Saline said as Karse let out a sigh of relief. ¡°He¡¯s just interesting. Never met an actual Envoy of the Gods before.¡±


    ¡°A little disappointing if you ask me. A real milkshake duck.¡±


    ¡°Well no one asked you, Karse. Also what¡¯s a milkshake duck?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s-¡°Karse stopped midsentence as the light outside that was shining in through the windows suddenly turned reddish-orange. ¡°What¡¯s going on? Is the sun setting already? Doesn¡¯t feel that late.¡±


    Everyone waiting in the guild was muttering to each other as one of the guild fairies flew to the center of the room and spoke in a loud but high pitched voice. ¡°Attention everyone! Please, everyone be quiet!¡± All eyes turned to the small fairy. ¡°Yes, well, apparently a meteor is about to hit us, though honestly I think it¡¯s more of a comet. Anyway, when it hits the damage will be catastrophic and we¡¯ll all die. Thank you for listening. We have about a minute till impact. Please enjoy your last minute listening to me sing a sad song about death.¡± The fairy began to sing a dirge as everyone in the guild began screaming.


    ¡°I¡¯m too young to die!¡± Screamed an old man


    ¡°And I don¡¯t have the perfect body yet!¡± Screamed a female necromancer.


    ¡°And I¡¯m still a virgin!¡± Screamed her father.


    ¡°This is a bunch of crap!¡± Screamed another man as he picked up a chair and busted it over another man¡¯s head.


    The man turned around while rubbing his head and yelled at his assailant. ¡°Damn it Gary! You¡¯re not even a member of this guild!¡±


    Saline let out a sudden scream of terror and Karse looked to her in surprise. Tears ran down her face as she sobbed. Karse had never seen her so weak and vulnerable before. He was scared himself but he decided he should be strong for her. ¡°Saline¡­¡± He said gently as he put an arm over her. ¡°It¡¯ll be alright.¡±


    ¡±No it won¡¯t¡­¡± Saline said with a voice of great sadness. ¡°Golem Aza is dead.¡± Saline showed Karse a small pile of stones in her hand. ¡°Ash must have moved too far away and she fell apart.¡± She continued to cry as Karse removed his arm and looked to the ground with a feeling of defeat. ¡°My poor little rock baby¡­¡±


    Karse looked around the room and noticed everyone was bracing themselves and waiting for the impact. A few moments passed and nothing happened. Karse looked at the window and noticed that the light coming in was just normal sunlight. He was about to say something as the fairy from earlier stopped singing and spoke in a loud high pitched voice yet again. ¡°It looks like a False alarm everyone, This was just a test. If that had been an actual comet we¡¯d all be dead. So Please return to your seats and wait for your number to be called.¡± At this everyone began yelling and pointing at the fairy and blaming her for causing a panic. The fairy just smiled and said in a calm voice. ¡°All complaints need to be reported to HR.¡±


    Everyone looks over at the massive wolf sitting on a pile of bones in the corner of the room. It glares at everyone with its red piercing eyes and says in a deep growling voice. ¡°All forms must be filled out in triplicate.¡± Everyone looks at each other and sits down without making another complaint.


    Karse turned to speak to Saline. ¡°Hey, do you think Ash had something to do with the meteor?¡±


    Saline nods. ¡°I bet he did. See what I mean, Karse? He¡¯s interesting, right?¡±


    ¡°Almost getting killed by him on a daily basis is not interesting.¡±


    ¡°That aside, when are they going to call my number?¡±


    One of the fairies at the counter speaks up. ¡°Saline¡¯s number.¡±


    Saline stood up and said excitedly to Karse. ¡°That¡¯s our number!¡± Saline ran over to the fairy followed by a solemn Karse. ¡°I¡¯m Saline! That¡¯s me! Right here!¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Said the fairy with a smile. ¡°How can I help you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m here to turn in the basilisk quest and accept the lich quest.¡± Saline said as she put several documents on the table in front of the fairy.


    The fairy looked at the documents and nodded. ¡°As long as you submit to a truth spell the reward for the basilisk quest is yours, I¡¯m fairy certain. However, the lich quest has been bumped up to an A rank quest. Your party is D rank so I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t allow you to take the quest. I¡¯m so fairy sorry.¡±


    ¡°What? I thought it was a bounty and anyone can take a bounty quest.¡±


    ¡°It was, but due to suspicious circumstances it has been upgraded to a higher ranking quest. However, If you still want to pursue it I know a way to do it unofficially.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m listening.¡±


    ¡°We have a new quest we were about to put up. It¡¯s a guild issued quest so the pay isn¡¯t as high as most but it¡¯ll take you to the area where the lich is supposed to have been seen. We need a party to investigate the disappearance of Jaxton and his party. They went after the lich bounty a week ago and haven¡¯t been heard from since. So if you investigate Jaxton¡¯s disappearance and just happen to kill a lich¡­ well¡­ we¡¯d have no choice but to give you the reward for killing the monster.¡±


    ¡°Jaxton is missing?¡±


    ¡°Hey?¡± Karse says to Saline. ¡°Wasn¡¯t Jaxton the guy who flirted with Olanna and Olanna busted his nose?¡±


    Saline nods. ¡°Yeah, then after he recovered he came back and insulted Olanna and Garret busted his nose. Good old busted nose Jaxton.¡±


    A look of worry spreads over Karse¡¯s face. ¡°Saline this whole lich thing is starting to sound way too dangerous.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right Karse. Let¡¯s do it! I¡¯d hate for another party to get hurt trying to accomplish it.¡±


    ¡°You know that¡¯s not what I meant!¡±


    The fairy giggles in a very fairy like fashion. ¡°Fairy good. I¡¯ll just need you to sign the standard death waiver then.¡±


    ¡°Heh.¡± Chuckles Saline as Karse shakes his head. ¡°Ash will have to join us when he sees this quest with such a huge reward.¡±


    ¡°But we actually only have the investigation quest. I wonder what party will get the lich quest.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. We¡¯ll just have to kill the lich before they do.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Johnna walks into her office followed by Aza and a tired looking Ash. She sits at her desk and motions for the two of them to sit down on the two chairs conveniently in front of her desk. They sit and after a long pause Johnna finally speaks. ¡°So¡­an envoy? That would explain a few things but envoys usually have a mission they are on. What¡¯s your mission Ash?¡±


    Ash shrugs. ¡°I don¡¯t really have one. I just want to take on some quests with huge rewards, get enough money to live off of, and seclude myself away to never be heard from again.¡±


    Aza sighs enviously, ¡°That sounds nice.¡±


    Johnna frowns at her sister. ¡°You know Aza you don¡¯t have to be here.¡±


    Aza nods. ¡°You¡¯re right. I guess I should go do absolutely nothing somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°Never mind.¡± Johnna says as she turns her attention back to Ash. ¡°Let¡¯s put the envoy thing aside for now. There¡¯s still one more test I need you to take.¡±


    ¡°Another¡­¡± Says Ash wishing it was over already. ¡°What are you testing now?¡±


    ¡°Intelligence¡±


    ¡°Oh, do I have to solve a puzzle or something? A labyrinth complete with a minotaur? It better not tell puns.¡±


    ¡°No, nothing like that.¡± Johnna lays a stack of papers in front of Ash. ¡°It¡¯s a written test.¡±


    ¡°Damn¡­¡± says Ash as he grabs the papers. He looks at a few of the questions and much to his surprise all the questions seem to be middle school level or lower.


    This shouldn¡¯t be too hard for you Ash. Thanks to magic and other things that don¡¯t exist in your world, this world didn¡¯t have a need for such high education. Though that has also stunted the growth of this world as far as technological achievements go. It¡¯s taboo really, mostly thanks to an Envoy named Solem. Also, I can¡¯t help you answer these, as that would be cheating. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.


    ¡°I got this.¡± Ash said as he began to write down answers. After a very boring few minutes Ash hands the papers back to Johnna confident that he knew how he had scored.


    ¡°You barely passed.¡± Johnna said as she marked another red x on the paper.


    Ash nodded and replied. ¡°Yeah, that sounds about right.¡±


    ¡°Well a pass is a pass. With all your results added together I¡¯m going to give you a D rank.¡±


    ¡°You gave me a D? Why did you give me a D?¡±


    ¡°Getting a D is a good thing. I almost never give new people a D. Rookies normally start at R to let people know they are rookies. Then after a few quests they get an F rank. A new member getting a solid D is almost unheard of.¡±


    ¡°Oh well I¡¯m happy to get it then.¡±


    ¡°You should be.¡±


    Aza just looks at both of them with disgust. ¡°Really, you two?¡±


    Ash asks while ignoring her. ¡°So what now? I just accept a mission?¡±


    ¡°You can accept a quest. Normally you choose a quest from the quest board in the main lobby but today I¡¯ll let you choose one right now. That¡¯s how awesome I am. First, are you joining an existing party?¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯ll just be me.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, so a solo party.¡±


    Aza shakes her head. ¡°Saline won¡¯t like that.¡±


    Ash nods in agreement. ¡°She¡¯s not going to like it even more when I leave without telling her.¡±


    ¡°Hmmm¡­. There¡¯s a quest that might be up your ally given your power.¡± Johnna rummages through her desk and pulls out a piece of paper and hands it to Ash. Ash looks at the paper and takes notice of how it looks similar to an old western wanted poster.


    In the middle of the poster is a large question mark and under it reads, UNKOWN CREATURE SPOTTED NEAR THE TOWN OF KOTVOSELLE. LIKELY A LICH. VERY DANGEROUS. MANY TOWNSPEOPLE HAVE BEEN TAKEN BY THE MONSTER. NEED HELP NOW. SEE MAYOR CULLEN IN KOTVOSELLE FOR MORE DETAILS. HUGE REWARD FOR DEALING WITH THIS MONSTER!!! SAVE US PLEASE WE¡¯RE BEGGING IN ALL CAPS!!!


    How much is the reward?


    Ash looks down at the reward amount and it just reads A LOT. Ash lets out a whistle. ¡°That¡¯s a lot.¡±


    To Ash¡¯s surprise Aza had gotten up and had been reading over his shoulder. She looks to her sister skeptically. ¡°This sounds pretty important. Why hasn¡¯t the king stepped in?¡±


    ¡°Sis, you really need to listen to the daily gossip. The king is dying and everyone is vying for the throne. He didn¡¯t have any children after all. They don¡¯t have time to care about a small, poorly named town like Kotvoselle.¡±


    Ash, in case you¡¯re wondering, a lich is an undead creature. Often a mage but sometimes a person who had a powerful position like a king. They are extremely powerful and likely have lived for a very long time. They excel in dark magic and often command lesser undead monsters under them.


    Ash nods. ¡°I¡¯ll take it.¡±


    Aza shakes her head. ¡°Are you crazy? You can¡¯t fight a lich by yourself.¡±


    Ash sighs. ¡°You sound like my ring.¡±


    She is right.


    Ash sighs. ¡°You sound like Aza.¡±


    Aza turns to look at Johnna. ¡°Also this is marked as an A rank quest. He can¡¯t accept it.¡±


    Johnna smiles at her sister. ¡°It¡¯s fine. He is clearly strong and he is an envoy, so I¡¯ll give him special permission to take the quest. If he succeeds, I can increase his rank. Imagine me having an envoy in my guild.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re going to get him killed.¡±


    Johnna realizes something. ¡°Oh yeah, speaking of which, I need you to sign these Ash.¡± She slams a large stack of papers in front of Ash. ¡°These are the new member forms, some various things you must agree to, and a death waiver form for the lich quest. Please fill these out and turn it into the dire wolf in HR when you¡¯re done.¡±


    Ash looks at the stack with a bitter glare. ¡°Well, well, well. If it isn¡¯t my old arch nemesis, contractual agreement.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Saline happily stands up from her chair as Ash and Aza walk out of Johnna¡¯s office. Saline and Karse run over to them and Saline tries to hug Aza as the demon woman easily holds her back with one hand. ¡°I missed you so much.¡± Saline says while crying.


    Aza looks down at the small elf. ¡°We were only gone three hours.¡±


    ¡°That was two hours and fifty-nine minutes too long.¡±


    Ash moves past her and walks up to the large and terrifying wolf in the corner of the room. He then hands a large stack of papers to the wolf. The wolf snatches the papers from Ash with his mouth and quickly begins to shred them all while violently swinging his head back and forth. Ash watches as the wolf shreds his papers, he decides not to question it, and just silently turns towards the exit of the guild.


    Saline sees Ash leaving and calls out to him. ¡°Hey wait up! Don¡¯t leave without us.¡±


    Ash exits the building and stretches a bit as the warm sun shines down on him. Aza, Saline, and Karse exit the building as well and Karse walks up to Ash and points an accusing finger at him. ¡°Hey! Was that you that almost killed us earlier?¡±


    Ash nods. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking clearly when I summoned that golem.¡±


    ¡°Not that! The meteor!¡±


    Ash nods. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking clearly when I summoned that meteor. Or I guess that was more like a comet. Meteors are smaller I think.¡± They began to walk for a bit as the woods surrounded the road they were on. It wouldn¡¯t be long before they were back at the inn.


    Saline walks up to Ash with a sparkle in her eyes. ¡°So you did ask Johnna to make you a member of my team right?¡±


    Aza pats her on the shoulder. ¡°No. He chose to be alone.¡±


    The sparkle disappears from Saline¡¯s eye and is replaced by sadness. ¡°Why, Ash? I thought we agreed to be teammates? You¡¯re breaking my little elven heart.¡±


    ¡°Then let it shatter. I told you before I wanted to be alone.¡±


    Harsh.


    ¡°But why?¡±


    Ash clenches his fist and looks up to the sky as the wind causes his robe to flutter in the breeze. ¡°It¡¯s the way it has to be. I¡¯m a lone wolf and I have to do lone wolf things. Like be alone and howl at the moon and stuff.¡±


    ¡°Why howl at the moon?¡±


    ¡°How else will it ever know it¡¯s place? The point is my goal is to be alone in the end anyway so it¡¯s better if I go solo from here on out. I appreciate all your help till now, whatever it may have been, but this is goodbye.¡±


    ¡°Your goal is stupid.¡± Saline said while pouting.


    ¡°Your face is stupid!¡± Ash says pointing down to her.


    ¡°Do you even know how to get to anywhere?! Do you have a map?!¡±


    We can get directions at the inn I¡¯m sure. Even if you can¡¯t follow them I shouldn¡¯t have any trouble navigating for us.


    ¡°Yeah, what my ring said!¡± Ash says confidently


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Oh, right.¡±


    Aza holds up a hand. ¡°Calm down you two.¡±


    Karse was the only one who seemed pretty pleased with the news. ¡°Personally I think this is for the best. I have a feeling we¡¯d all die if we stayed with him.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re probably right.¡± Said a voice from the woods and Kory walks out of the woods with a huge grin on his face.


    Ash looks over at him. ¡°Oh it¡¯s just you. Thought it was another giant snake. Did you move those rocks, rock mover?¡±


    Kory losses his temper and points an accusing finger at Ash. ¡°When you left, all those golems turned to rocks. Rocks I was expected to move!¡±


    Ash nods. ¡°I wasn¡¯t thinking clearly when I left.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I did learn something good though. Your golems aren¡¯t that strong if you¡¯re not angry. I only had three men with me last time but this time I brought twenty!¡± Ash and company look at him as he just stands by himself alone. ¡°Oh come on! I said twenty! That was your cue. I thought you all were veterans!¡± Out from the woods appear twenty well-armed men brandishing their weapons laughing villainously.


    Ash sighs. ¡°Really, we¡¯re doing this? I swear if I go to the inn and those rocks aren¡¯t moved I¡¯m going to rub your nose in it and be like, bad Kory, bad! Look at the mess you left.¡±


    ¡°Screw you Ass! You embarrassed me in front of Aza!¡± Kory shouts.


    Ash scoffs at him. ¡°That¡¯s your story. You know the old saying there¡¯s three sides to every coin.¡± Ash thinks for a moment ¡°¡­.Wait¡­¡±


    Aza shakes her head. ¡°You do a pretty good job embarrassing yourself, Kory.¡±


    ¡°Screw you Aza! I love you! Also you can leave and so can the elves! Ass is all I¡¯m after.¡± Kory says as his men snicker.


    Saline laughs. ¡°Ha! Like we¡¯d run from a battle. Isn¡¯t that right you two?¡± Saline turns to see Aza flying away and Karse diving into the woods. ¡°Okay, I saw that coming. Ash maybe we should run.¡±


    Ash shakes his head. ¡°Nah. If I¡¯m going against a lich I¡¯m going to need some practice and these guys just volunteered.¡±


    ¡°Stop trying to sound like a badass! This isn¡¯t going to be like yesterday!¡± Kory screams angrily.


    ¡°You have no idea how bad my ass is.¡± Ash says trying to be intimidating.


    Kory shakes his head and rubs his temple. ¡°Just kill him.¡± He says and the men rush towards Ash as Ash gets ready to test out a new spell that piqued his curiosity.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    The soldiers marched through the town of Kotvoselle. The once populated town was now empty and quiet. Captain Thane was tasked by his king to check on the town after they received reports of a lich in the area. Thane thought it was a waste of time given the situation of the kingdom but he was loyal to his king and was determined to see his mission through. As he made his way through the town he discovered the king was right to be concerned. Something dark has happened in this town.


    Rotten food was left on dishes. Jobs and tasks were stopped halfway through and there were obvious signs of struggle but to his confusion almost no blood. It was not unheard of for a whole village to be ransacked and destroyed, especially with the slave trade so close. This was too clean though. With so little damage to be seen it was like they all disappeared.


    Thane came here with six men and thought that was too much at the time but now he wished he had brought more. Two of his soldiers walked with him as he explored the town. The rest were split into two parties and told to look for any survivors. Thane turned to see one of the parties heading towards him. The soldiers walked up to him and Thane said in a raspy voice. ¡°Report.¡±


    ¡°We haven¡¯t found any survivors or even any corpses.¡± Says the soldier. ¡°We did find something strange though.¡±


    ¡°Stranger than a towns worth of missing people?¡±


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s definitely strange. Someone has stacked up a large amount of weapons, armor, and various jewelry at the edge of town. Some are quite valuable.¡± The soldier produces a ring from his pocket. On the ring was a large ruby worth well over a hundred golden lumps.


    Thane looks at it appraisingly. ¡°This isn¡¯t something someone would just leave behind. Someone has to have made that pile. Take me there. The rest of you wait here for the other-¡°A terrible scream cut Thanes words short. He recognized the voice as one of his men¡¯s. His men looked at him frozen by the scream. Thane shouted to snap them out of it. ¡°Go!¡±


    Thane didn¡¯t wait for his men and decided to rush towards the area they heard the scream at. It sounded like it was just on the other side of this building, Thane thought as he quickly rushed around the building only to see an empty alley. Thane looked around for his soldiers as he caught his breath but like before couldn¡¯t see anything or even any signs that someone was here. Another screamed rang out and Thane ran after the sound again.


    This time as he ran he heard yet another scream from one of the men he had just talked to. He ran as fast as he could. Shouting and screaming seemed to echo all around him. He made it back to the center of the town where two of his men were still standing with their swords drawn. ¡°What¡¯s going on!?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s the lich sir! It appeared out of nowhere when we tried to follow you. We split up and it went after the other two.¡± One of the soldiers said.


    The other soldier hung his head with shame. ¡°We heard their screams. It¡¯ll be after us next, I¡¯m sure.¡±


    ¡°No lich is that fast.¡± Said Thane trying to wrap his mind around what was happening. ¡°What kind of monster is it?¡±


    ¡°They always call me a monster.¡± Said a deep and dark voice. ¡°I am simply trying to help. No one is ever willing though.¡± The men look around the empty town trying to find the owner of the chilling voice. ¡°I forgive you though. You are lost, so I must lead the way.¡±


    ¡°Show yourself!¡± Cried Thane and much to his surprise the creature did show itself. From one of the roofs it gently floated to the ground in front of them. It wore a dark black cloak and they couldn¡¯t make out a face but they could see bright yellow eyes in the hood of the cloak.


    ¡°It¡¯s the lich!¡± Cried one of the soldiers.


    ¡°That¡¯s not a lich.¡± Responded Thane. ¡°Is it you that¡¯s been taking people? What did you do to the people of this town?!¡±


    ¡°I saved them.¡±


    ¡°The women and children too?!¡±


    ¡°Of course. I wanted to save them all. They were all so pitiable. I also want to save you.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t need saving.¡±


    ¡°But you do. I can see it. Your dark deeds.¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡±


    There was a long pause before the creature continued. ¡°What you did to your father. How you abandoned him. You¡¯ve spent many sleepless nights thinking about it. I will cleanse you though so you can rest.¡±


    A look of surprise washed over Thane¡¯s face but was quickly replaced with anger. ¡°My father?! You don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about! I don¡¯t need to be saved! You¡¯re welcome to try though. Men get ready!¡± Thane and his two soldiers hardened their resolve for an assault on this monster.


    The creature slowly began to glide towards them. ¡°He told me that you don¡¯t know that you need to be saved. No one does, no one did. I will save you though. I will save everyone.¡± It said in a dark calm voice as the yellow in its eyes turned white and began to glow. The king would not get a report back from Captain Thane and his men.

 CHAPTER 10 EARTH SAGE MAKES A PERSUASION CHECK

    10


    The bandit watched in horror as his comrades were slaughtered mercilessly. Spikes shot out of the ground impaling one unfortunate man. Large golems moved around the area grabbing up men and crushing them in their large hands. He saw another man sink into a mud pit in the ground only to have it turn solid and crush him. He felt so powerless and he wanted to cover his ears to block out their screaming. Behind him their newest recruit, who was only a fifteen year old boy, was laying on the ground crying. Landslides, rock spikes, golems, these were all created by Earth Magic and the culprit was a powerful earth mage.


    This should have been a piece of cake. Many travelers took this path through the woods, and typically they were easy pickings. He and his men would ambush them and once the travelers saw their numbers they¡¯d usually surrender their money and that would be that. That¡¯s how it usually goes anyway but this mage when they ambushed him didn¡¯t surrender and just began killing them with powerful Earth Magic. The bandit looked over at the man who was calmly murdering his men, an old dwarven male wearing a red mage¡¯s robe and singing a song as he waved his hands around casting various spells.


    The old dwarf was singing an upbeat song extremely off key. ¡°The king, the king, the mighty dwarven king; with a wave of his hand he brought a fortune to the land. The king, the king, the mighty dwarven king; never could he read the mood so he showed up to his daughter¡¯s wedding in the nude. The king, the king, the mighty dwarven king: if you stop him from feasting you were in for a beating.¡± The dwarf stopped and looked around. ¡°Oh, is everyone already dead. That¡¯s disappointing. What a waste of time.¡±


    ¡°You monster!¡± Screamed the bandit at the old dwarf.


    The dwarf looked towards the young bandit. ¡°I missed one. Oh, wait, there¡¯s a crying balled up human behind him too, that makes two. I¡¯m getting sloppy.¡± The dwarf started making his way towards the last two survivors. ¡°By the way, the name¡¯s Hacksar. Just because you¡¯re a young little bastard doesn¡¯t mean you get to be rude.¡±


    ¡°You killed everyone? Why?!¡±


    ¡°First, if I killed everyone we wouldn¡¯t be having this conversation. Second, what do you think happens when you try to rob someone stronger then you? Lastly, if you¡¯re so upset, why didn¡¯t you try to stop me? I¡¯ll answer that one for you. You and you¡¯re dead friends rely on your numbers, without them you¡¯re all a bunch of pants wetting weaklings.¡±


    The bandit didn¡¯t bother denying it. ¡°But if you were this strong why didn¡¯t you just display your power or just injure a few of us. This amount of violence wasn¡¯t necessary! You¡¯re right, we are cowards! We would have run away if we knew you were this strong. So why?!¡±


    The dwarf stopped several feet away from the bandit. ¡°You, ever hear of alchemy, boy? It¡¯s when you create something new by giving up something of equal value. I like that. Eye for an eye. So consider this dwarven alchemy. You and all your companions wasted my time, which is very valuable so now you have to pay with your lives. It¡¯s a debt that hasn¡¯t been paid in full yet, and two more lives will just barely cover it.¡±


    The bandit knew that there was no way he could beat the dwarf so he made the only play he could think of. ¡°Coward! If you couldn¡¯t use magic I would beat you easily.¡±


    ¡°Oh ho!¡± Laughed the dwarf. Hacksar knew what the bandit was doing but decided to play along. ¡°You know, I only learned Earth Magic to help my brothers in the mines. To my surprise I was very adept at it. Though, like most dwarves, I prefer a bit of hand to hand combat. Come at me however you like boy, I promise I won¡¯t use any magic.¡±


    The bandit looked at the dwarf then down at the rookie bandit who was still on the ground sobbing. He took a deep breath and pulled out a sharp dagger. The bandit let out a war cry and charged at the old dwarf. He raised the dagger above his head and leaped at the dwarf aiming for his head. The dwarf effortlessly caught the bandit¡¯s hands and wrenched the dagger from it and tossed it behind him.


    The dwarf chuckled. ¡°What the hell was that? Well, you had your shot kid.¡± Fear filled the bandit¡¯s eyes as he felt the dwarf let go of his grip. I won¡¯t go into detail but the bandit wanted hand to hand combat and he got it, over and over again until he stopped breathing.


    The dwarf looked towards the last remaining bandit sobbing on the ground. The bandit looked up at him and began pleading. ¡°Please I just joined them today. I needed the money. I didn¡¯t have any other options. I promise if you let me go I¡¯ll never try to rob anyone again. I¡¯ll join the kingdom¡¯s army and I¡¯ll fight for peace the rest of my life.¡±


    Hacksar looked at the young bandit with a curious expression. ¡°Really? So, you¡¯re just a kid who made a bad choice of company then?¡±


    ¡°Yes!¡± The bandit begged with all his might. ¡°I promise just honest work for now on!¡±


    Hacksar nodded. ¡°Good. Try to remember that promise in your next life.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡± The young bandit didn¡¯t have time to think as a large hole opened from underneath him and as he fell deep into the hole it closed shut with a sickening crunch.


    Hacksar shook his head. ¡°Like the kingdom needs a crybaby who gives up when he¡¯s a little scared.¡± He had his golems toss the various remains into a large hole he opened in the ground and with a twist of his wrist he closed the hole. ¡°A better grave than you lot deserve.¡± With that his golems turned into rubble and Hacksar went on his way.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Ash, Saline, Kory, and Kory¡¯s men had all stopped in their tracks when Ash cast his spell. A large golem had appeared from the earth and, oddly enough, began belly dancing. Ash was curious about the spell Earth Dance but was expecting an attack not whatever this is.


    Saline looked at the Golem as is began to shake its rock booty. ¡°Ash, what am I looking at.¡±


    Ash nods. ¡°A golem twerking. I don¡¯t know what the benefit from this spell is.¡±


    Earth Dance causes a golem to appear and dance using dance moves from your memory. It¡¯s mostly a spell created for entertainment but can also be used to distract opponents.


    ¡°Oh, crap, my hip-hop faze. Wait. There¡¯s spells made for just entertainment?¡±


    Yes, and most of them are useless. I¡¯m not human or a mage so I can¡¯t tell you why mages felt the need to create them.


    Saline looks around and notices that Kory and his men have their eyes glued to the golem. ¡°It¡¯s a distraction spell. A very weird distraction spell. Ash, come on!¡± Saline grabs Ash¡¯s hand and they start running.


    Ash pulls away his hand but keeps following. ¡°I kind of need the practice though.¡±


    ¡°Knowing you, you¡¯ll probably put all our lives in danger.¡±


    ¡°That does sound like me.¡±


    Kory looks away from the Golem who was doing the worm on the ground to see Ash and Saline making a run for it. ¡°Hey! Not so fast!¡± He yells at them but they just keep running. ¡°Oh, come on, I said not so fast! Men! After them!¡± Secretly, he always wanted to say that line. The men turned away from the Golem and started chasing after Saline and Ash.


    Saline tried to pick up her pace while cursing her short legs. Unfortunately for her she trips on a small stick and falls on the ground hard. She looks back at the tiny stick that tripped her. ¡°Ugh. Well played tiny stick. Well played.¡±


    Ash begins to run past her and sees the tiny stick she slipped on. ¡°I really can¡¯t believe you tripped on that.¡± Unfortunately for him he trips on a tiny rock sticking out from the ground and also falls hard. He turns and sees the tiny rock that caused his fall. ¡°Oh, come on, I thought you were on my side. You rock traitor!¡±


    Kory and his men surround them again as they stand up. Kory sneers at Ash. ¡°See? We¡¯re enemies. Where did you think you could go? Cause everyone already knows. It¡¯s twenty to one, so yeah, you better not run.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°That¡¯s not how the song goes!¡± Yells Ash. ¡°Also why are you guys listening to him?¡± The men look at each other curiously.


    ¡°He¡¯s paying us.¡± Speaks up one of the men. ¡°Money is a huge motivator for people in our line of work.¡±


    Ash shakes his head. ¡°Then why don¡¯t you rob him? Or better yet hold him for ransom or something? His Dad is¡­uh¡­what does his dad do Saline?¡±


    ¡°Be rich.¡± Saline says as she dusts herself off.


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s it.¡± Ash says and points at Kory. ¡°His father is sure to pay a fortune for the safe return of his son.¡±


    Kory laughs. ¡°Ha! You¡¯ll have to do better than that Ash! These men have been working with me for almost an hour and the bond we share can¡¯t be broken that easily.¡± It was only a matter of minutes before the men tied up Kory and began to make their exit with the intent of holding Kory for ransom.


    One of the henchmen turned and nodded at Ash. ¡°Sorry for wasting your time. I hope you and your girlfriend have a pleasant rest of the day.¡± The man made his exit with the rest of Kory¡¯s former henchmen. Ash sighed and looked over at Saline who was giggling.


    Saline tried to stifle her laughter. ¡°He called you my girlfriend.¡±


    Ash shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think¡­You know what, whatever.¡±


    ¡°I kind of feel bad for Kory though.¡± Saline said sadly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t. Guy tried to kill me twice. Serves him right.¡±


    Saline was a little surprised by Ash¡¯s response. ¡°Wow, that¡¯s not something a good guy would say.¡±


    ¡°I never said I was good guy. I¡¯m neutral at best.¡±


    They heard some flapping of wings and they looked up to see Aza flying towards them. She lands and starts belting her wings to her back. Then in the same bored voice as always she asks, ¡°I saw Kory being carried away. What¡¯s up with that? Also there¡¯s a golem pelvic thrusting at a tree back there.¡±


    Saline responds to her eagerly. ¡°They¡¯re going to hold Kory for ransom.¡±


    Aza shrugs. ¡°Their funeral. Kory¡¯s father is a dangerous man.¡±


    Karse comes walking from out of the woods nearby and approaches the trio with an apologetic look on his face. ¡°Yeah, sorry for running. I thought you guys were going to run too.¡±


    Ash just shrugs and begins to walk towards the inn again. Saline however gives him an uncharacteristically look of disappointment and says quietly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m used to it.¡± Saline than starts to follow Ash.


    Karse just stood there for a moment, regretting that he was such a coward but was snapped out of it when Aza spoke. ¡°Wow, I feel like I need a jacket that was so cold. Must be some history there.¡±


    Karse nods. ¡°I let her down once before and-¡°


    ¡°Whoa.¡± Aza said stopping Karse midsentence. ¡°I never said I cared enough to know. That¡¯s between you two.¡± And with that Aza followed Saline and Ash. Karse looked at Saline slowly walking out of view and with a heavy heart he slowly started to follow them too.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Braxton was wiping the counter of his bar when Ash and company walked through the recently repaired front door. Braxton looked over to them and chuckled. ¡°What a cowincidence, I was just wandering when you lot would come back.¡±


    Ash looked around and noticed Garret and Olanna sitting at a table. Garret made eye contact with him and waved him over. ¡°Come on mage. Sit with us.¡±


    Ash shook his head. ¡°Nah. I¡¯m going to take a quick nap and head out this evening. The sooner I complete this quest the better.¡±


    Garret looks at him curiously. ¡°You have your own quest? I thought you were joining us?¡±


    Saline shakes her head. ¡°He wants to work alone, like a jerk, a lonely jerk.¡±


    Ash starts to get a little annoyed. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ve been saying it from the beginning. There¡¯s no point in me joining a team because I only care about one person and one person only.¡± Saline¡¯s eyes sparkle and a smile spreads across her face. ¡°It¡¯s not you.¡±


    Saline¡¯s smile fades. ¡°Aw.¡±


    Ash notices Olanna is in deep thought, and hasn¡¯t opened her eyes since he came in. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡±


    Olanna says in a quiet voice without opening her eyes. ¡°A storm is coming.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    Garret shrugs. ¡°She gets like this sometimes. She¡¯s fine.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡± Ash says as he makes his way to the stairs leading up to his room. ¡°I¡¯m going to sleep for a bit then.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Says Braxton with a smile. ¡°Is it pasture bedtime?¡¯¡±


    ¡°I refuse to acknowledge that.¡± Ash says as he heads up the stairs and loud laughter is heard from the kitchen.


    Saline and Karse sit at the table with Olanna and Garret. Garret notices that Karse seems down and makes a mental note to talk with him later. ¡°So Saline, it seems the mage doesn¡¯t want to join our party. I¡¯m neither for or against it myself but you seemed pretty gung-ho about it.¡±


    Saline nods. ¡°Yeah. At first I just wanted someone strong to join us to make quests easier but as I found out more about him it¡¯s become apparent that he was brought here to fulfill some kind of amazing destiny. Adventurers like us are often forgotten in time but if we join him and become a part of his destiny we won¡¯t be forgotten. People sing songs about our victories.¡±


    ¡°Or our deaths.¡± Karse says glumly. ¡°Envoys usually take on impossible quests. They come out fine but they lose companions like loose change.¡±


    ¡°See that¡¯s the difference Karse, and also shut up. Ash seems like the type to hang on to loose change with clenched fists. Besides the quest I took has us going the same direction he is. Plus I know a shortcut to get there in half the time. We¡¯ll cut through the Screaming Woods.¡±


    Garret raises an eyebrow. ¡°Never heard of that.¡±


    ¡°Well, it used to be called The Corpse Dumping Woods but that was too long. Anyway we can cut through there and be at the town of Kotvoselle in no time. Ash will join us if it means getting to his destination faster.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Says Karse with his fear rising. ¡°I have to be the voice of reason here. Isn¡¯t the screaming woods filled with feral goblins who attack travelers in the woods?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be fine, also shut up Karse.¡± Saline says with enthusiasm. ¡°They mostly stay at the west side of the forest and attack at night. So we¡¯ll leave in the morning and when night comes Ash can put walls of rocks, or something like that, around us to protect us while we sleep.¡±


    ¡°This plan of yours hinges on Ash then.¡± Karse replies. ¡°Ash is leaving after his nap. He also doesn¡¯t want to join us. He¡¯s said it several times. It¡¯s honestly getting annoying.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± Olanna says opening her eyes. ¡°I think the amount of time saved is worth the risk. Goblins always send a scout before they attack. I can cast the spell Alert which will let us know if someone approaches us including a scout. As for Ash I don¡¯t think he¡¯ll be leaving tonight. In fact we should move to a bigger table.¡±


    Karse still tried to object. ¡°But-¡°


    The only other person in the bar, a human male, stood up and screamed. ¡°Shut up Karse!¡± He said as he threw his mug against the wall and it shattered into several pieces.


    Braxton slammed his hand on the counter. ¡°Damn it Gary! When did you even get in here?! Where did you get that mug?! The tavern¡¯s not even opened yet!¡± Gary bolted for the exit.


    Saline looks over at Aza who had set at a large table by herself. Aza wasn¡¯t sure what she was doing or why she even followed them back to the tavern. Normally she would be relaxing somewhere but for some reason she just didn¡¯t feel like it. She noticed that Saline was staring at her pretty hard. ¡°What.¡±


    ¡°Sit with us Aza.¡± Saline said pulling a chair out.


    ¡°Nah.¡± Said Aza bluntly.


    ¡°Then we¡¯ll sit with you.¡± Saline said as she got up and started dragging Karse with her. Olanna and Garret shrugged and followed her over to Aza.


    They sat around her and Saline smiled at her with a twinkle in her eyes. ¡°Hello, friend.¡±


    Aza grimaced. ¡°I¡¯m not your¡­.Whatever¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Hacksar walked into the open clearing in the woods where his party had made camp. Botan was sharping one of her arrows. An old, short, black haired woman dressed similarly to Botan was sitting with her legs crossed and eyes closed but opened them when Hacksar came back from the woods. The last member of this Red Piper party was the new recruit that Titan was throwing knives at not too long ago. He was wearing red armor, though it was cheaply made and he carried a sword on his side and a shield on his back. He had short red hair and a fresh scar on the side of his face.


    ¡°You were right hag. They were lying in wait for us.¡± Hacksar said as he approached the older woman.


    ¡°Well of course I was right. I¡¯m not the best tracker in the guild for nothing.¡±


    Botan gets up and walks towards Hacksar. ¡°But why didn¡¯t you let us help? I could use the experience.¡±


    ¡°Ha! You get that fighting spirit from your dad no doubt.¡± Hacksar said with a laugh. ¡°But there was no need for any of you. All I had to do was show off my power and they fled like the weaklings they were. No need for senseless bloodshed.¡±


    The old woman shook her head. ¡°What I¡¯m smelling says otherwise.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. I couldn¡¯t hold it in.¡± Hacksar said with a laugh.


    The young man spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m with Botan on this one. I could have used the experience too.¡±


    Hacksar shakes his head. ¡°No point in you getting experience. You entire presence screams that you¡¯re going to die in this quest.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair. How do you know that? For all you know Botan and I could become romantically involved during this quest.¡±


    Botan responded without even trying to hide how repulsed she was. ¡°Ew. No. You know I¡¯m still a teenager right?¡±


    The young man shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t judge. Plus that was just an example. Also my name is Nathaniel. It wouldn¡¯t hurt you all to call me by my name.¡± The young man didn¡¯t seem too happy.


    Hacksar coughs to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°In five minutes we move out, so get ready.¡± Botan and the young man sigh and begin putting on and strapping their packs. Hacksar shakes his head as the old woman walks towards him. ¡°To who should I talk to about getting a new team?¡±


    ¡°Actually it¡¯s whom.¡± Replies the old woman with a smirk.


    ¡°The hell it is!¡± Yells Hacksar. ¡°You put that word back in your mouth where you found it Dawn.¡±


    Dawn, which is the old woman¡¯s name, just chuckles. She actually doesn¡¯t know if she is right half the time she corrects him but she does know it annoys him and that¡¯s enough for her. ¡°So you plan to have us cut through the Screaming Woods? It¡¯s dangerous, not that you wouldn¡¯t know. What if we encounter Goblins or more bandits?¡±


    A smirk spreads across his face. ¡°I hope we do. I feel sorry for whoever we encounter.¡±


    ¡°Whomever.¡±


    ¡°Eat shit Dawn!¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Ash stood at the front door of the inn watching as rain came down so hard that he couldn¡¯t see 3 feet in front of him.


    Ash I know you don¡¯t want to wait but you can¡¯t get much done in weather like this.


    Ash lets out a very Ash like sigh. ¡°It was so sunny earlier.¡± He turns around and looks around the tavern. It was empty except for Saline and her party at one of the large tables and to his surprise Aza was sitting there too. Saline looked at Ash with a twinkle in her eyes and pulled out the chair next to her and patted it. Ash, with a sense of defeat, walked over to the table and sat down.


    Saline looks at him with a huge smile on her face. ¡°Welcome back friend.¡±


    Ash rolls his eyes and Olanna chuckled. ¡°See?¡± Said the large barbarian woman. ¡°Told you a storm was coming.¡±

 CHAPTER 11 EARTH SAGE SMELLS SOMETHING... SMELLY...

    11


    ¡°Ha!¡± Titan laughed as he downed his forth mug of beer. ¡°So I threw the dagger and then he said why did you cut my face? So I said it¡¯s because I missed! I was aiming at your throat!¡± Titan and a group of his men laugh and it echoes all around the tavern. The office of The Red Piper¡¯s Guild had closed for the day and the tavern adjacent to it was in full swing and much merry making was being had. Titan was still chuckling as one of his men entered the tavern and approached him with a guilty look on his face. Titan looked at the man knowing he was bringing bad news and with a grumble he asked, ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Oh sir,¡± the man said with a shaky voice. ¡°I really screwed up this time. I mean I didn¡¯t just drop the ball; I kicked it and scored a point for the opposing team.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Titan asked with a confused expression.


    ¡°Sir, I went and picked a whole bouquet¡¯s worth of oopsie daisies.¡±


    ¡°Huh?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t just let you down sir; I dropped you into a six foot hole and buried you.¡±


    ¡°Out with it Titus!¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, your wife is back early and she may have overheard me talking about how you let your teenage daughter go on a quest with Hacksar.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± Titan said quietly as the blood drained from his face. ¡°She wasn¡¯t supposed to be back for a while. Well¡­It¡¯s fine, as long as she doesn¡¯t know how dangerous the quest is.¡±


    ¡°Oh geez¡­,¡± Said the whiny man with the shaky voice. ¡°I didn¡¯t just screw the pooch, I asked for its paw in marriage and the ceremony is next week.¡±


    ¡°What did you-¡°Titan stopped midsentence when he realized he couldn¡¯t move his hand. ¡°Oh, shit.¡± You see Titan¡¯s wife was one of the most powerful Psy Magic users in the world and not many could equal her strength. Titan was very familiar with how it feels to be bound by Psy Magic so he knew his wife had entered the room. The music and chatter of the tavern had stopped and all eyes were on Titan and the woman who stood behind him. ¡°Honey, is that you?¡±


    ¡°Dear.¡± He heard a sweet voice behind him say. ¡°Is it true you let our novice daughter go on a dangerous quest with a violent old dwarf and some new recruit we don¡¯t even know?¡±


    ¡°Well, when you say it like that it sounds like a bad idea. Dawn is also with her and you know she thinks of her as a granddaughter. I¡¯m sure Hacksar does too.¡±


    ¡°Sure, honey, but why don¡¯t we talk in the training room¡­ alone¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh ho!¡± Said Titan with a smile and as he began to float off the ground he remembered that his wife was in fact angry and it wasn¡¯t a good thing to be alone with her. ¡°Oh no!¡± Titan began to fly towards the exit of the tavern and as he and his wife left he screamed. ¡°Don¡¯t touch my beer! I¡¯m not done with it!¡±


    Once they were out of sight the merry making continued. The men at the table Titan was at turned to glare at the shaky man named Titus. ¡°Way to go Titus.¡± Says one of them.


    ¡°Yeah, nice going.¡± Says another.


    ¡°Yeah, Titus, you are such a minor character.¡± Said a third.


    ¡°Aw¡­¡± Said Titus as he hung his head.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Ash sat at the table and looked at the people who were sitting with him. Garret, the swordsman, was chatting cheerfully with Olanna. Olanna, the barbarian was simply smiling and nodding, enjoying the conversation. The two elves, Saline and Karse, were arguing about something or another. Then when he looked at Aza he noticed she was already looking at him and she immediately turned her head. Ash was about to let out a sigh when Garret spoke up to him. ¡°So, Ash, right; why don¡¯t you tell us a little about yourself?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you?¡± Said Ash quickly, not realizing what he was asking.


    ¡°That¡¯s fair.¡± Garret said nodding. ¡°How about we all take a turn and say a little something about ourselves?¡± Everyone seemed to agree except for Aza who seemed indifferent and Ash who immediately regretted his previous statement. ¡°I¡¯ll go first.¡±


    ¡°Wait.¡± Said Ash as he held up a hand. ¡°Let me order some food first. I¡¯m hungry and I have trouble pretending to care about things when I¡¯m hungry.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough.¡± Nodded Garret.


    ¡°Hey, Mr. Bull Person.¡± Ash calls out to Braxton as he appears from the kitchen.


    ¡°Please, call me Braxton. Mr. Bull Person is my father.¡± Says Braxton pointing a finger at Ash and winking.


    ¡°Not sure what you¡¯re doing but can I have a bowl of whatever you¡¯re serving tonight?¡±


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to serve anything. The rain is far too heavy and I doubt it¡¯ll let up anytime soon, so you lot will probably be my only patrons tonight. But, what the hay, I¡¯ll whip you up a bowl of gruel. You have money right?¡±


    ¡°Oh, crap, I keep forgetting I¡¯m broke.¡± Ash said with a frown.


    Saline stood up and said with a smile. ¡°I almost forgot. Ash, here you go.¡± She reaches into a small bag at her side and pulls out a few small rocks. Some silver, some copper, and a few golden ones. She lays them in front of Ash. ¡°I had to use some for your guild fees but there¡¯s still a decent amount left. It¡¯s your cut from the basilisk quest.¡±


    Ash looks at the various rocks with wonder as Karse speaks up angrily. ¡°What are you doing Saline? That way too big of a cut. He wasn¡¯t even a part of our party.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t actually do anything Karse.¡± Said Saline with equal anger. ¡°He¡¯s the one who actually killed them. Besides you gave up helping with the search and went back to the inn with Olanna, so really you shouldn¡¯t even get a cut.¡±


    ¡°Now, now.¡± Said Ash as he grabbed up the rocks. ¡°The point is I have some money now. Braxton, one bowl of your most edible gruel please.¡±


    ¡°Coming up, you can cownt on it.¡± Said Braxton and he made his way back into the kitchen.


    Aza let out a sigh. ¡°Great, now he¡¯s just sticking the word cow into other words.¡±


    ¡°All right. Now that Ash has food coming I¡¯ll begin with my introduction.¡± Said Garret and Ash grumbled a little but decided he would rather have the attention be on someone else anyway. Garret cleared his throat. ¡°Well, my name is Garret Whitaker, and I come from the kingdom of Five Walls. I was sent by King Andrew along with a few other men to try and reach a peaceful resolution with a barbarian clan that was trying to take land from the kingdom.¡±


    Olanna nods knowingly. ¡°We didn¡¯t know the land was a part of Five Walls at the time.¡±


    Garret chuckles. ¡°Yep. We were expecting a fight but Olanna¡¯s clan was actually very peaceful about the whole situation. After a month of talking the King gave them land in exchange for taxes and aid in times of war. The barbarians had one stipulation.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± Olanna nodded. ¡°A union of two clans requires a marriage of two individuals, one from each clan. So I, the clan¡¯s next chief, married a soldier from Five Walls.¡±


    ¡°This was me.¡± Garret says happily.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Says Ash. ¡°You two were forced to marry?¡±


    Olanna shakes her head. ¡°I chose Garret. We had gotten to know each other quite well during that month.¡± Olanna said with a smile. ¡°Quite well¡­Besides if you see what our men look like you¡¯d understand my attraction to Garret. He is so¡­ clean. Never before had a met a man so clean and well mannered.¡±


    ¡°I am pretty clean.¡± Said Garret with a chuckle. ¡°I was intimidated by Olanna and felt kind of insecure in my masculinity compared to her but now I don¡¯t think I can live without her.¡±


    ¡°The punishment for divorce is death after all.¡± Olanna said bluntly.


    ¡°Wait.¡± Said Aza curiously. ¡°Then why are you two so far away from home?¡±


    ¡°As the next chief,¡± Olanna explains, ¡°It is my duty to go out into the world and experience many things so that I may return wiser. Garret is here because he¡¯s on vacation.¡±


    Garret nods. ¡°I had a whole year¡¯s worth of vacation saved up so I figured I¡¯d accompany her.¡±


    ¡°So we joined a guild and that¡¯s when we met these two elves.¡± Olanna said pointing at Karse and Saline. ¡°So we combined our two teams into one party.¡±


    ¡°Us next.¡± Said Saline happily.


    Karse interrupted her. ¡°Long story short we left our home town in search of meaning and joined a guild.¡±


    ¡°Not exactly.¡± Said Saline feeling a little miffed. ¡°I left and Karse followed me. There¡¯s more to it than that though, and I wanted to go into an uncomfortable amount of detail about it. But whatever; next is Aza.¡± Saline turned to Aza with a huge grin and so did everyone else at the table, except for Ash who just had a bowl of gruel passed to him from Braxton. Ash takes a spoon and tries to scoop some of the gruel up but the gruel evades his attempts.


    Ash, I¡¯m pretty sure you shouldn¡¯t eat that. Typically gruel isn¡¯t able to avoid your spoon.


    Ash scoffs. ¡°I accept the challenge. It underestimates my hunger.¡±


    You¡¯re not picky when it comes to food are you?


    Aza sighs. ¡°All right, but don¡¯t expect much detail. After my mother passed my Father left our home town and built a house or I guess it¡¯s more of a mansion out here in the middle of nowhere. My sister decided, for some reason, that she wanted to run a guild. So when she got that going people started setting up shops and building homes near the guild. Where there¡¯re adventurers there¡¯s money after all.¡±


    ¡°Soon this place became a town and my father was appointed the mayor. He named the town Barrel, probably because it was the first thing he saw when they asked him for a town name. Braxton set up an Inn and tavern and I decided to work here to make a little money and have something to do. End of story.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°That was beautiful.¡± Saline says with tears in her eyes.


    Garret agrees. ¡°You have truly had a rough life.¡± Olanna and Karse clap.


    ¡°You know.¡± Aza says lazily. ¡°If it wasn¡¯t for the whole charm thing I¡¯d think you¡¯re all being sarcastic.¡±


    Garret turns to Ash. ¡°All right Ash, how about you?¡±


    Ash continues stabbing at his gruel with his spoon. ¡°It¡¯s putting up a fight but I think I¡¯m wearing it down.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Says Garret shaking his head. ¡°What¡¯s your story? It must be interesting with you being an envoy and all.¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± Says Saline getting excited. ¡°I want to know about the world you came from! What was it like?¡±


    ¡°I too am interested.¡± Said Olanna and Aza looked at Ash as well. Even Braxton wasn¡¯t hiding the fact he was eavesdropping at the bar.


    ¡°I¡¯m indifferent.¡± Says Karse bitterly.


    I wouldn¡¯t tell them too much, but some things wouldn¡¯t hurt.


    ¡°Fine.¡± Ash sighs. He recaps the moments that lead to his death. He tells them about how he just appeared in this world and how he was cast out by the Goddess and landed in a field. He told them about the battle with the first basilisk and the argument between Titan and Sheeve. Though he felt like he told them some of it before but they didn¡¯t seem to mind the retelling. ¡°And there you have it.¡± Ash says as he wraps up his story.


    ¡°So let me get this straight.¡± Aza says with a raised eyebrow. ¡°You died in an earthquake in your past life.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then you chose Earth Magic¡­Which has earthquake spells.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I guess you could say it made a lasting impression on me. It really shook me up. It rocked my world.¡± Ash looks at the people at the table but no one even chuckled. ¡°Screw you guys.¡± Ash returns to eating his food but finds his bowl empty. ¡°Where did my food go?¡± The group hears the tavern door open and close.


    Braxton lets out a sigh. ¡°Again? Darn¡­¡± He walks over to Ash and sets down a slice of bread and some cheese. ¡°Here, it¡¯s on the house.¡±


    Ash wolfs down the food and it¡¯s actually pretty tasty. ¡°If you had cheese and bread why didn¡¯t you say anything?¡± Ash says with a mouth full of food.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t ask.¡± Braxton says with a shrug and walks back to the bar.


    Olanna gets Ash¡¯s attention. ¡°You know, that¡¯s the first I heard of an envoy appearing in this world already at an adult age. Almost all the stories I¡¯ve heard they were born in our world.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m special.¡± Ash says with a shrug.


    Saline speaks up with enthusiasm. ¡°Did you have any siblings Ash?¡±


    Everyone notices a dark expression go over Ash¡¯s face then disappear. ¡°Yeah, a sister, but she died very young.¡± There was a long silence before Ash spoke up again. ¡°I¡¯m going back to bed.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just get up?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling sleepy again.¡±


    ¡°Oh. Ok.¡± Saline responded quietly.


    Garret calls out to him. ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to stick around? You¡¯ll find out what Olanna and I do every night.¡±


    Ash gives Garret a grossed out expression. ¡°I really don¡¯t want to know.¡± Garret frowns and slides the deck of cards back into his pocket. They all watched as Ash slowly went up the stairs. Once he was out of sight Saline looked at the rest of the group. ¡°I think I just stepped on a land mine.¡±


    Olanna nods. ¡°Best not to bring up that topic again.¡±


    Garret seems to be in deep thought. ¡°What¡¯s a landmine?¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Ash lay down on the bed and started to rub his forehead. He really wished they hadn¡¯t made him remember things he would rather forget about.


    Ash? Are you ok?


    ¡°Yeah, just a headache. I¡¯m going to sleep it off.¡± Ash said as he closed his eyes. The rain outside created a soothing lullaby and as the wind blew in from the open window he drifted off to sleep.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Ash looked around and instantly knew where he was. He was in room 203 and there a few feet away was a small body on a hospital bed covered with a sheet. ¡°No. Not this again.¡± Said Ash in a small voice and he realized he was a kid again. It was the same dream he had many times before but something felt different. He noticed his relatives were in the room with him. Most noticeably was his uncle who glared at him and his father who looked at him with sorrowful eyes and said. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry¡­¡±


    ¡°No. No! NO!¡± Ash screamed as his anger soared. ¡°You could have done something but you didn¡¯t! She didn¡¯t have to die! She died because she depended on you! She died because she depended on me¡­¡±


    ¡°Watch your mouth you little brat!¡± Ash¡¯s uncle said as he went to hit Ash like he always does in this nightmare. Though to his surprise Ash grabs his fist and holds it in place.


    ¡°And you!¡± Ash says, the hatred all too apparent in his voice. ¡°You worthless pile of hot garbage! I called you for help, but you didn¡¯t believe me. You didn¡¯t want to be bothered. Yet you had the nerve to shift blame to me! You¡¯re the reason I hate this family! You¡¯re the reason that the only person I ever cared about had to die!¡± To everyone¡¯s surprise Ash was no longer a child, he was a grown adult wearing his mage¡¯s robe. He pulled the uncle close to his face and whispered to him. ¡°It should have been you.¡± With that Ash grabbed the man by his throat and chucked him towards the window. Glass shattered as his Uncle burst through the window and Ash heard him scream as he fell to the ground six floors below.


    His relatives screamed and the doctor and nurses scrambled out of the room. Ash¡¯s father screamed and pointed at him. ¡°What did you do Ash?! This is not like you.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t know anything about me!¡± Screamed Ash. ¡°You never did!¡± The building began to shake and the room started to crack and shift.


    Ash!


    The room tilted and cracked and Ash watched his father fall to the ground and slide towards the wall. With a loud crack the floor gave way and Ash watched in horror as the bed holding the small body fell into the floor. Ash tried to reach out but something grabbed his shoulders holding him in place and began to shake him.


    Ash!


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Ash wakes up in his room at the inn as Saline is shaking him on the bed shouting. ¡°Ash! It¡¯s an earthquake wake up!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m awake! What about an earthquake?!¡± Ash shouts back at her. He was awake but he all was quiet and there was no earthquake or earthquake like activity he could notice.


    ¡°Uh¡­¡± Saline said looking around. ¡°I swear this place was shaking like it was going to come down a moment ago.¡±


    Although I can¡¯t see when your eyes are closed I did hear a lot of shaking so Saline is probably telling the truth.


    ¡°Did I do it?¡± Ash asks his ring but Saline answers.


    ¡°Yeah, that was my first thought, but you were asleep so it was probably a real one because no one can cast magic in their sleep.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡±


    Hmmm¡­.


    Saline chuckles. ¡°Hey, I just noticed, it¡¯s just the two of us alone in this room Ash. I wonder what Karse would say.¡±


    Ash takes a closer looked at her and notices that she is wearing a silky blue gown but it has a hood and at the top of the hood are two long ears that stand straight up. ¡°Are you wearing a bunny hood night gown?¡±


    Saline gets away from the bed and walks over to the door. ¡°Well, looks like it¡¯s a false alarm, you might as well get some more sleep. Still a few hours till sunrise.¡± With that she hastily exits the room.


    Are you okay Ash?


    ¡°Never better.¡± Ash looks up at the ceiling and murmurs to himself. ¡°How am I supposed to go back to sleep after a dream like that?¡± He says as he immediately goes back to sleep.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Ash looks downstairs towards the tavern. The tavern was silent as the morning light flooded the building. It didn¡¯t seem like anyone else was up, just what Ash had hoped for. He wanted to leave early in the morning and leave before anyone else got up. He made his way quietly through the tavern and approached the front door. Ever so gently he pushed the door open and stealthily exited the tavern. Ash wasn¡¯t even that surprised when he found literally everyone waiting outside for him. Saline¡¯s party, Braxton and the younger minotaur, even Aza and her sister Johnna was there. ¡°Okay, seriously how did you all know I was going to be out here at this time and as a follow up question why are you all here?¡±


    Braxton chuckles. ¡°I¡¯m just gathering up some wood. Figured I¡¯d send you lot off while I¡¯m at it. Hey how about that earthquake last night. Can you believe there was no damage at all? I thought for sure it would be cowtastrophic. ¡± The younger minotaur starts laughing his head off as the rest ignore Braxton.


    Johnna approaches Ash and hands him a bag filled with various items. ¡°I forgot to give this to you. It¡¯s a care package for all new members. A bed roll, some rations, a water pouch and other various goodies.¡±


    ¡°Oh.¡± Says Ash taking it. ¡°I completely forgot that I would need things like that. Thanks.¡±


    ¡°No problem.¡±


    Saline speaks up. ¡°You¡¯re not leaving without us Ash.¡±


    ¡°Reality begs to differ.¡± Says Ash bluntly.


    ¡°What if I told you that I know a shortcut that could save you two days¡¯ worth of travel?¡±


    ¡°Hmm. I¡¯m not sure how I¡¯d respond.¡±


    ¡°Ash, I know a shortcut that could save you two days¡¯ worth of travel.¡±


    ¡°What? Tell me!¡± Ash demands.


    ¡°No way.¡± Says Saline slyly. ¡°But, seeing as we are heading in the same direction, you¡¯re welcome to follow us.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you are ruffling my potato chips. Two days¡­That¡¯s a lot of time saved¡­ But I¡¯d rather be alone¡­ Not wanting to be bothered is kind of my motto.¡±


    Ash, if you tough out traveling with them you will be that much closer to your goal. Whatever it is. It might be worth it. Plus traveling in a group is much safer. Bandits are more likely to target you if you¡¯re alone.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll travel with you for a bit. But this does not mean I am joining your party.¡± Ash says bitterly.


    ¡°All right. I knew you¡¯d come around.¡± Saline says happily.


    ¡°Good to have you.¡± Garret says with a smile as Olanna nods.


    ¡°Darn.¡± Says Karse quietly.


    They all start to get ready to head off as Aza approaches Ash. ¡°Hey.¡± She says quietly.


    ¡°Hey.¡± Ash responds.


    ¡°You know, I don¡¯t find you as annoying as most guys I meet.¡± Aza says looking at the ground.


    ¡°Oh? Well, out of all the people I¡¯ve met in this world you bothered me the least. Actually I don¡¯t think I¡¯m bothered by you at all.¡± Ash responds. ¡°You feel like a kindred spirit.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so do you.¡±


    They look each other in the eyes and pause for a moment. ¡°Well, have a nice life.¡± Ash says with a nod.


    ¡°You too.¡± Aza says with a smile. ¡°I doubt I¡¯ll see you again.¡±


    Ash walks away from Aza and walks towards Saline and her party as Saline yells out to him. ¡°Come on! We¡¯re leaving!¡±


    ¡°Hold your horses!¡± Ash says and turns back one more time to see Braxton waving at him along with the other minotaur and the two demon women. Ash sighs and runs to catch up with Saline. Aza watches as they disappear down the road and lets out a long Aza like sigh.


    Johnna tilts her head curiously. ¡°Anyone want to take bets on how many of them die?¡±


    Braxton claps happily. ¡°Oh, count me in.¡±


    ¡°Johnna!¡± Aza says a little angrily.


    ¡°What? They¡¯re traveling with an envoy. Haven¡¯t you ever heard the old tales of envoys? It usually doesn¡¯t end well for their companions and it almost never has a happy ending for the envoy. Being an envoy is almost like a curse.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll be fine.¡± Aza says not too confidently as she looks at the road the party traveled down.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Ash and the party had cut through the woods at Saline¡¯s suggestion and had been walking for a couple hours when they came into a clearing and decided to take a break. Ash sits down and starts rummaging through his bag when he got a whiff of something rotten. ¡°Oh, wow.¡± He said. ¡°Which one of you released some crud vapor?¡±


    ¡°Not me.¡± Karse said. ¡°Ugh. But I smell it too. Garret did you pass some poo gas?¡±


    Garret shook his head. ¡°No. That smell is way beyond my capabilities.¡±


    Olanna nods. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me either. You are all still standing. Saline?¡±


    Saline giggles. ¡°Oh, come on you guys. It was just a cutie patootie.¡±


    ¡°No.¡± Says Ash pointing a finger at her. ¡°You should be ashamed of that sentence.¡±


    Olanna shakes her head. ¡°Not very ladylike.¡±


    Saline points at her. ¡°Hey, I¡¯m not going to take that from someone who eats soup from a skull.¡±


    ¡°That is how my tribe honors a worthy foe. We eat soup from their skulls. By the goddess I could go for some skull soup right now.¡± Olanna says hungrily then sniffs the air again. The smell hasn¡¯t gone away. ¡°This doesn¡¯t smell like rectum fumes at all. This smells like¡­ death¡­¡± Olanna gets up and the rest follows.


    They travel through the woods for a minute or so and come into an area where a battle obviously took place. Trees were broken; the ground was cracked in various places, and although they didn¡¯t see any bodies there was enough blood to tell them many lives were lost here. Olanna continues to sniff and walk. The smell was getting worse as Olanna approached a bush. There on the ground was the body of a man, he looked mangled and crushed, his organs¡­ Well, you get the picture.


    Saline shakes her head. ¡°That¡¯s awful. What happened to him?¡±


    Olanna sniffs again and almost gags. ¡°This is definitely where the smell is coming from. How curious. Perhaps a spell did him in. I¡¯ll cast Magic Sense.¡± She closes her eyes and a pink wave of energy shoots out from her and sweeps a large radius around her. She opens her eyes and looks at Ash. ¡°Earth Magic.¡±


    Oh my.


    ¡°Well it wasn¡¯t me.¡± Ash says holding up his hands.


    ¡°I know.¡± Olanna says as she walks to another area of the woods. It was a small clearing and the ground seemed like it had been dug up not too long ago. ¡°Ash, might I assume you have Earth Sense?¡±


    You do. It allows you to see in the ground. Simply place your hand on the ground where you want to see and cast it. You can see up to twenty feet down.


    ¡°Uh¡­ Yes¡­¡± Ash responds and Olanna motions to a point on the ground. ¡°All right.¡± Ash walks over to the area she pointed at and Ash puts his hand on the ground. He casts Earth Sense and gets a visual of the ground deep inside and lets out a sound of disgust. ¡°Bodies. Lots of them.¡±


    Garret gasps. ¡°Are they dead?¡±


    Olanna gives Garret a weary look and thinks for a moment and says knowingly. ¡°So a person or persons with powerful Earth Magic killed a large group of people and then buried them here. Must have missed that one over there.¡±


    ¡°Oh man. That¡¯s what we need, another Earth Mage.¡± Karse says worriedly.


    Saline looks down at the ground with pity. ¡°Even if they were bandits that¡¯s too brutal.¡±


    I agree with her. I find it hard to believe they needed to kill all of them.


    ¡°What¡¯s worse,¡± Olanna continues. ¡°They left in that direction.¡± She points towards a man-made path in the woods. ¡°There¡¯s really only one thing significant that way. The town of Kotvoselle, our destination.¡±


    Ash sighs much like he often does. ¡°Well that¡¯s foreboding as fuc-¡°

 ***Hiatus Explanation In Pre-chapter Author Note***

    12


    Sheeve looked over the map carefully; making sure the path that she and her men were on was indeed the fastest. One of her soldiers was on his hands and knees and she had the map spread over his back. Sheeve nodded to herself. ¡°As I thought, this is the best path.¡±


    ¡°Knight Commander Sheeve?¡± Asked the man in the humiliating position. ¡°Can I get up now?¡±


    Sheeve gave a gentle chuckle. ¡°Gregory, now what did I say earlier?¡±


    The man sighed. ¡°Tables don¡¯t talk¡­¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Sheeve said happily. ¡°Tables do not talk.¡±


    A short distance behind Sheeve a battle was raging on. Sheeve and her group had been traveling along a dirt road on horseback when they were ambushed by two ogres. Sheeve left it to her men to dispatch them because she wanted to look over the map. She could still hear the battle going on behind her but wasn¡¯t very interested in it. A female soldier broke away from the battle and ran quickly up to Sheeve.


    ¡°Knight Commander Sheeve!¡± The soldier said exhaustedly.


    ¡°Report.¡± Sheeve responded without looking away from the map.


    ¡°We have lost one man and a horse. One of the ogres has fallen but the other one is proving to be much harder to fail.¡±


    Sheeve shook her head in disappointment, it was so hard to find worthy soldiers these days. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll do it myself.¡± She said with a smirk as she put her gauntlet on. She turned and looked towards the creature. Its skin was green with various patches of lighter and darker greens. It was almost ten feet tall and its body was wide and misshapen. Its repulsive face twisted in anger as it swung a massive wooden club at the soldiers who were just barely able to dodge.


    The ogre and the men stopped fighting as they noticed Sheeve was heading their way. The ogre glared at Sheeve as she picked up a spear that was lying on the ground beside a soldier¡¯s corpse. Sheeve looked up at the ogre and spoke to it with an air of smug superiority. ¡°Ogre. Today is clearly not your day. This is the only chance I shall give. Run away with your tail between your legs and you might live to die another day.¡±


    The ogre didn¡¯t appreciate being talked down to by someone almost half his size and he screamed at Sheeve. ¡°I am so ogre this!¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Sheeve said grimacing. ¡°What¡¯s with monsters and puns these days?¡± The Ogre charged at Saline swinging its club in a violent circular motion. Saline ran at the ogre with the spear at her side. She slides to get as close as she could to the ogre and just barely dodged a deadly blow from the club. She quickly took the spear she was holding and jabbed it upwards as hard as she could. The spear pierced under the ogre¡¯s neck and with another strong push from Sheeve the tip burst through the ogre¡¯s skull.


    The ogre shook violently and let go of the club. Sheeve released her grip on the spear and the ogre fell on its side with the spear still pultruding out of its head. Sheeve stood back up and walked away from the monster¡¯s corpse. She called out to her men who were still in a state of surprise. ¡°Someone bury our fallen, once that¡¯s done we are heading out.¡±


    ¡°Yes Knight Commander Sheeve!¡± They all call out and begin doing as she asked.


    The female soldier from earlier walks up to her and looks at her with admiration. ¡°That was amazing! I had heard tails of your strength but to see it in person was absolutely mesmerizing.¡±


    Sheeve nodded with a smile. ¡°I¡¯m sure it was.¡±


    The soldier continued with her praise. ¡°You know the other female soldiers look up to you. You¡¯re like a role model for us. One day I hope to be half as amazing as you.¡±


    Saline chuckled softly and looked at the soldier. ¡°My dear that would be impossible.¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± The soldier responded sadly then quickly changed the subject. ¡°Knight Commander, if we are heading to Kotvoselle wouldn¡¯t it be easier to cut through the woods? I¡¯m pretty sure the goblins wouldn¡¯t attack such a large group as ours.¡±


    Saline frowned and responded quickly. ¡°Three reasons. The first is we would have to leave our horses and I refuse to do that. The second is, there is no rush. Third and most importantly are my ears.¡±


    ¡°Your ears?¡± The soldier looked at Sheeve¡¯s ears. Sheeve was a dark elf, also known as a drow. She had dark skin and, unlike other elves whose ears pointed straight up or at a slight angle, her ears stuck out sideways almost six or seven inches long.


    ¡°Do you know what it¡¯s like going through the woods with ears like these? They catch every spider web and rub against every tree limb and leaf. It¡¯s obnoxious and I won¡¯t have it. So the long way it is.¡±


    The soldier wanted to argue that they could save almost two days of travel by cutting through the woods but she knew better than to argue with someone with a higher status than her own. Instead she asked about something else that was bothering her. ¡°I heard that Kotvoselle is currently being terrorized by a monster. Are we heading there to assist them? We¡¯re not from this kingdom so why are we even interested in helping them?¡±


    Sheeve looked at the soldier curiously. Normally her men just did what she said; it had been a long time since someone had the guts to even question any of her intentions. Maybe there was hope for this soldier. ¡°Something was stolen from us and it is likely in that town.¡±


    ¡°What about that monster?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not a monster, It¡¯s treasure. Also you likely won¡¯t have to worry about rescuing anyone. It is very likely that there is only one soul left in that town; a dirty little thief that needs to be punished.¡± Sheeve smiles at the soldier than turns and walks away heading towards her horse.


    The soldier sighs. ¡°Why does everyone have to be so mysterious?¡± Now she had even more questions than she did when she first asked Sheeve. She looked over and noticed that a soldier was on his hands and knees with a map spread across his back. ¡°Uh¡­ What are you doing?¡±


    The man grumbled a response. ¡°Tables don¡¯t talk.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°Well that¡¯s foreboding as fuchsin.¡± Ash said after Olanna had explained that they were heading in the same direction as an Earth Mage that had killed a large group of people and buried them underground. The party looked at Ash curiously. ¡°Fuchsin is a dye substance used to color textiles and leather. It¡¯s a fairly foreboding color. Actually, you know what, never mind. Let¡¯s just get out of here.¡±


    ¡°I agree with Ash.¡± Karse says with a shaky voice. ¡°Being around so much death is very uncomfortable.¡±


    The party decides to leave the burial grounds and continue on with their journey. They walk in silence for several hours. The sun begins to set and the light in the woods begins to disappear. Their discovery had given them all some food for thought and Ash was surprised at how long everyone had remained silent, even Sam hadn¡¯t spoken since then. As if on cue Saline broke the silence. ¡°Hey, Ash?¡± She said in a quiet voice.


    As you can probably guess Ash sighed. He muttered to himself. ¡°By the prickling of my thumb something obnoxious this way comes.¡± He turned to look at Saline who was now walking beside him. ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°So, there¡¯s another powerful Earth Mage, and we might even cross paths with that person. We know they¡¯re violent and murderous and probably not alone.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡± Ash responded not knowing where she was heading with this.


    ¡°Well, you¡¯re strong but not used to your power just yet. That team could be deadly.¡± By now the rest of the party was listening to the conversation. ¡°So, I wanted to ask you¡­¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Are you in love with Aza?¡±


    Ash took a moment to register what she asked. ¡°What?...¡±


    ¡°I saw the way you two look at each other and I could feel the love radiating from you two.¡±


    ¡°No you couldn¡¯t, because there wasn¡¯t any.¡±


    Garret shakes his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Pretty sure I saw sparks.¡±


    Olanna nods as Karse speaks up. ¡°Aza is too good for you!¡±


    Ash¡¯s face flushes with anger. ¡°I¡¯m not in love. I hardly know her! There wasn¡¯t any sparks, radiation, or love fire of any kind.¡±


    Olanna walks up to Ash and pats him on the back. ¡°Love is impossible to understand Ash. I only knew Garret for a day before I abducted him and forced him on our first date.¡±


    Garret smiles as he remembers. ¡°That was the most romantic kidnapping I¡¯ve ever had.¡±


    Olanna smiles warmly at the grossed out Ash. ¡°The point I¡¯m trying to make is that you must take the initiative. Even if you have to force them to be with you against their will. Eventually love will form.¡±


    Ash shakes his head. ¡°That sounds like Stockholm syndrome. That¡¯s terrible advice. Olanna you are not a good role model.¡±


    ¡°No, I am not. This is a fact.¡±


    Saline sighs and also pats Ash on the back, as high as she could reach anyway. ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯ve decided to let you date Aza, though it pains me. I will just have to settle on being her mistress.¡±


    Good for you Ash.


    Ash quickens his pace while angrily yelling. ¡°I am not in love! Can we drop this?! Also who painted the trees red?!¡± Ash stopped walking when he came to several trees that had been marked with what he hoped was red paint. The marked trees seemed to stretch in a line going in opposite directions.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    Saline nods her head knowingly. ¡°These trees mark the true entrance to the Screaming Woods.¡±


    Ash notices that a couple trees have a wooden sign nailed on them. Ash looks at one of the signs and reads it aloud. ¡°Cation, Warning, Danger, Stop, Turn Around, Hit The Ground, Just Say No, Do Not Pass Go. Beyond This Point Is The Screaming Woods. Here There Be Feral Goblins. Your Lives Are Forfeit Should You Enter And Your Death Or Rescue Is Not The Kings Problem. So There.¡± Ash stands and looks back at a guilty looking Saline. ¡°This is the shortcut, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    Saline innocently twiddles her fingers while looking at the ground. ¡°Maybe.¡±


    ¡°You know. You kind of left off the fact that we¡¯d have to go through goblin territory in a place called The Screaming Woods!¡±


    Saline responds nervously. ¡°It¡¯s actually not that dangerous. The goblins mostly stay at the west end of the woods and attack at night. We¡¯ll be staying away from that side mostly and we¡¯ll just have people on guard at night. Besides this is the only way to shave off such a huge amount of time from our travels.¡± She notices that Ash seems to be considering it. ¡°And goblins are relatively weak so really they are only dangerous if they attack in a horde.¡±


    Ash was about to say something but Olanna interrupted him. ¡°Before we enter we should rest first. An ambush is unlikely but possible. Plus I am both thirsty and hungry and I must appease my thunger. ¡°


    Ash thinks and nods. ¡°Sounds good. I have to slay the brown dragon anyway.¡±


    Gross.


    ¡°This conversation is far from over though.¡± Ash says as he walks through some trees to see if he can find an isolated spot to take care of business.


    Saline sighs and flops down on the ground. ¡°Why¡¯s Ash gotta be so grumpy?¡±


    Karse agrees. ¡°Why does Ash even have to be here?¡±


    Garret looks towards the trees that Ash went through. ¡°Why does Ash want to fight a dragon alone? I could help him.¡± Everyone looks at Garret. ¡°What? Dragons are tough.¡±


    Time passes a little as everyone chows down on their rations and a thought occurs to Saline. ¡°You don¡¯t think Ash would just leave and not come back, do you?¡± Everyone thought for a moment and realized that it was a distinct possibility, though no one said anything.


    Olanna was shoving food in her mouth when suddenly she felt an odd sensation go over her body. ¡°Anyone else feel that?¡± Everyone looks at her and shakes their heads. She noticed that she was starting to feel very tired. ¡°Anyone else feeling tired?¡±


    Karse shakes his head. ¡°It¡¯s just your imagination.¡± He says as he falls to the ground asleep.


    Garret stood up and readied his sword. ¡°Somethings wrong. I shouldn¡¯t be this sleepy. It¡¯s not even close to my bedtime.¡±


    ¡°Someone cast a sleep spell on us, the jerks.¡± Saline said trying to stand but fell back down and was already snoring.


    Olanna shouted as loud as she could. ¡°Who¡¯s there?! What do you want?¡±


    A nasally voice echoes all around them. ¡°I¡¯ve always wanted to say this. Resistance is futile!¡±


    Olanna felt the familiar force again and saw Garret fall to the ground asleep. ¡°Garret!¡± Olanna called out as she tried her best to stay on her feet but she was slowly giving in to her sleep. She dropped to one knee and from the woods she saw several figures emerge. It was obvious to her what they were. ¡°Goblins? This close to the edge of the woods?¡±


    The goblins were short, green, and bald. They had pointed ears and long noses. A few had sharp teeth that protruded out of an under bite. They wore tattered clothes that almost looked like rags and their faces seemed to lack intelligence, like they were wild and animalistic.


    One stood out however. It wore silky purple robes, complete with a light purple hood. It also wore a white mask that covered its mouth leaving only its dark eyes and crooked nose exposed. On the robe and mask were various jewels embedded into the cloth. It held a magnificent staff that was topped with a large spherical and red colored jewel. It spoke it that familiar nasally voice. ¡°We¡¯ve been expanding thanks to the great serpent god Trotana. She guides us to our promised future.¡±


    ¡°Great.¡± Olanna says sleepily. ¡°That¡¯s just what we need, a goblin cult. I can hear Ash complaining now.¡±


    ¡°Hey large human!¡± The masked goblin screamed. ¡°I said resistance is futile! Stop your futile resisting!¡± Olanna looked at the goblin and closed her eyes as he body went limp and she fell to the ground. ¡°Huh? Well, that¡¯s better.¡± The masked goblin turns to the other goblins. ¡°Take them back to the base. The humans shall be sacrificed to Trotana and the elves shall fulfill our¡­ desires.¡± He says laughing menacingly.


    Unfortunately elves, especially small elves were often used like toys by the goblins. They were given to the female goblins who would then dress them up in pretty clothes and dresses that the lady goblins just didn¡¯t look as good in. They would then play various goblin games that had very poor rules and didn¡¯t make a whole lot of sense. It was torture for the poor elves. I mean later they would kill them of course but some of those dresses were just so gaudy and in poor taste that at that point they would welcome death.


    ¡°Yes.¡± The masked goblin smiled as he approached the large body of Olanna. ¡°Trotana will be pleased with such a large-¡° He was cut off mid-sentence as Olanna¡¯s arm reached out and firmly grasped his throat. Olanna got up and pushed the goblin to the ground and began to mercilessly wail on him. ¡°Ah! She was still awake! Do something! Ah! My arm! Sweet Trotana she is breaking my arm!¡± The other goblins just watch as the barbarian tears into their leader.


    The goblin manages to grasp his staff and cast sleep again. Olanna falls back to the ground asleep, a torn piece of the goblins robe still clasped in her hand. The masked goblin was bruised and bloodied but gets up and gives her a swift kick. ¡°You¡¯ll be the first sacrifice. Oh, my arm. I think she broke it.¡± He hangs his arm limply at his side and turns to look at the other goblins. ¡°Thanks for the help you morons!¡±


    One of the goblins sensing his anger brings him a stick and holds it out to him. ¡°Staa¡­¡± The goblin says with a stupid smile.


    The masked goblin smacks the stick out of the other goblins hand. ¡°I don¡¯t want a damn stick!¡± The goblin backs away terrified and confused. ¡°Everyone! Just do your jobs!¡± He watches as the goblins start picking up the elves. He then turns his attention on three of the goblins. ¡°You three will stay here. I believe they have another party member who went off somewhere. You will stay here and ambush him.¡± The goblins nod with big smiles on their faces.


    ¡°Use this.¡± The masked goblin hands one of the goblins a scroll. ¡°This is a sleep scroll. When the other one arrives, tear the scroll and you¡¯ll be able to cast sleep on the fool. Here, I¡¯ll even give you two just in case.¡± He hands the goblin a second scroll. ¡°Do you understand?¡± The goblin nods. ¡°You don¡¯t do you?¡± The goblin nods. ¡°Hide. Then when you see someone that isn¡¯t a goblin rip the scroll and put them to sleep. Then carry them to our base.¡± The goblin nods. ¡°All right so what do you do first?¡± The goblin thinks for a second then with a big smile he opens his mouth and starts to put the scroll in it. ¡°No.¡± Says the masked goblin bluntly.


    The goblin thinks some more then picks up a stick and offers it to the masked goblin. ¡°Staa¡­¡±


    ¡°No! What¡¯s with you all and sticks?!¡± The masked goblin yells and smacks the stick down. The other goblin backs away terrified and confused. ¡°Look, just rip the scroll and cast the spell on the first non-goblin you see.¡± The goblin thinks for a moment then with a smile points at the scroll then makes a motion like he¡¯s throwing something. ¡°Yes! Use the scroll and cast it on the enemy! Good!¡±


    ¡°Skaza!¡± The goblin cries out happily.


    ¡°Yes! Skaza! Whatever that means.¡± The Masked goblin shakes his head and looks at the other two goblins. ¡°You two will stay here if things go wrong.¡± They nod happily. ¡°Feral goblins¡­I swear¡­¡± He notices Olanna still on the ground. ¡°Don¡¯t forget this one!¡± He says as he kicks Olanna. As he does this her hand shoots out and clenches his throat. ¡°Uh, oh¡± The masked goblin whimpers. Olanna in a state similar to sleep walking, sleep beating if you will, starts to pummel the mask goblin again. ¡°Someone help! Skaza! Do something, someone! Ouch, my organs! My goblin organs! Not my arm! Ow! Sweet Trotana! If it wasn¡¯t broke before it is now! Ah!¡±


    The goblins backed away terrified and confused, but one of them didn¡¯t. This wasn¡¯t his first battle; he was a veteran and he knew what to do. So he picked up the nearest stick.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Ash closed the hole in the ground sealing away the unspeakable evil. He realized he was confused about something. There wasn¡¯t any running water. ¡°How do people wash their hands in the woods? Do they waste their own drinking water? Where¡¯s the soap?¡± He decides instead of talking to himself that he¡¯ll just ask Saline to cast the cleaning spell on him when he gets back. She owes him one anyway. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his ring and puts it on his finger.


    I hate it when you take me off. It¡¯s like being locked in a dark silent room.


    ¡°Believe me when I say you should be thanking me. Pretty sure I lost some HP during that ordeal.¡±


    You know, right when you took me off I could have sworn I heard some screaming.


    ¡°My stomach was pretty messed up so I was groaning pretty loudly but I wasn¡¯t screaming.¡±


    Not like that Ash. I think you should hurry back. I¡¯m worried.


    ¡°Fine¡± Ash says and looks around for a bit. ¡°Huh?¡±


    Go right.


    ¡°Ah.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    Ash steps out to where the party had been resting but is surprised to see that everyone is gone. Even their bags are gone. ¡°Did they leave without me?¡± Even though he didn¡¯t want anything to do with the group he felt a just a little hurt.


    No Ash, look closer.


    Now that Ash looked closer he could see pieces of fabric here and there and splatters of blood. He had no way of knowing it was all from the same goblin but he could tell there was a scuffle.


    They were ambushed by goblins.


    Ash was compelled to agree. Mostly because there was a four foot goblin hiding behind a small two foot bush. The goblin was smiling and looking at Ash thinking it was completely hidden. Ash calls out to it. ¡°What are you doing?¡± The goblin stands up surprised and confused. It decides this human is dangerous.


    It lets out a whistle and another goblin stands up from where it was sitting out in the open and removes a small rock from the top of its head. Then Ash notices yet another one is standing in front of a tree, not behind it of course. It removes its hands that it was using to hide its face and gives Ash a sinister smirk.


    Ash tilts his head looking at the goblins. ¡°Okay, how did I not see them? Sam, how dangerous are goblins?¡±


    Depends on the type of goblins. These are feral it looks like. They are physically weak and not very smart. They are typically only dangerous in large groups. Three shouldn¡¯t cause you any trouble.


    The goblin hiding behind the bush pulls out a scroll and chuckles.


    Ash, watch out, that¡¯s a magic scroll. It could have any spell on it. That could cause you trouble.


    Ash braces himself as the goblin laughs. The goblin gets ready and then just throws the scroll at Ash. It hits Ash¡¯s leg and falls down by his feet. Ash looks at the goblin feeling a little confused and picks up the scroll.


    You¡¯re supposed to tear it.


    The goblin is confused and terrified as Ash looks at the scroll. Then he remembers that he has a second one. He pulls it out and looks at it. He tries to remember what the bossy goblin told him. Then he remembers. He puts the scroll in his mouth and swallows it whole. Ash looks at him and the goblin begins to worry because nothing is happening.


    Ash tears the scroll and feels the spells power surge through him. ¡°This is cool, it¡¯s a sleep spell.¡± He says as he suddenly knows what spell it is, its effect and how to use it. He turns to the other two goblins and casts the spell. The two goblins fall to the ground asleep in an instant. Ash looks at the last goblin. Fear crosses its face as it turns and tries to make a run for it. It losses its balance and falls to the ground. It decides its best option is to play dead, because it¡¯s not very smart.


    Ash looks tiredly at the goblin on the ground pretending to be dead. ¡°Now what?¡±


    That Goblin could take us back to its base and we could rescue the Saline and the rest of the party.


    ¡°Rescue? Why would I want to do that? I¡¯m free. They got caught by weak goblins so it¡¯s their own fault. This Earth Sage does not want to be-¡±


    Ash, if we don¡¯t save them they could die.


    ¡°They may already be dead.¡±


    We need to try. Do you know what goblins do to elves Ash?


    Ash grimaces. ¡°I can imagine¡­¡± Ash didn¡¯t know Sam was referring to forced cosplay. ¡°But this is exactly what I wanted to avoid. I¡¯m going to waste so much time doing this. It¡¯s been non-stop, do this to do that, side quests since I arrived in this world.¡±


    Ash, I don¡¯t know where we are. If we try to go alone we could be lost for days. Also even with your power you aren¡¯t immune to starvation, so if we run out of food and water you could be in big trouble. Lastly the goblins might have some gold hoarded away so this could be beneficial.


    ¡°Gold, you say?¡± Ash responded while weighing his options. He didn¡¯t know that Sam was lying about not knowing where they are, so he reluctantly decided that he should save the party. ¡°Fine, we¡¯ll save them. I guess it would be good practice for me as well but, so that we¡¯re clear, all gold we find will be mine.¡±


    What would I do with it?


    Ash walks up to the goblin that is playing dead and rolls him over. The goblins eyes widen as Ash puts his hands on the goblins throat. ¡°Skaza!¡± The goblin starts screaming as Ash covers his mouth with his free hand. ¡°I¡¯m going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer them honestly, you understand?¡± The goblin nods. ¡°You don¡¯t understand, do you?¡± The goblin nods. ¡°Listen, if you don¡¯t tell me what I want to know I¡¯m going to use my hands to do awful things to you, and trust me when I say you don¡¯t want that. My hands right now are very¡­very¡­dirty¡­¡±


    Wait¡­What?


    The goblin tries to look down at Ash¡¯s hand that is covering his mouth and becomes both terrified and confused.