Chapter One Hundred and Ninety Seven - 197
After Thangle and Evie jury rigged the wheels together, and Atar helped Felix attached Pit to the wagon, they were off. Pulling the ten foot wagon filled with people wasn't much of a chore for the beefy chimera, and Pit took to it quickly. Felix ran ahead, acting as a potential vanguard for any incoming monsters, but also as a magnet to hopefully pull them away from the relatively vulnerable group. Yet they encountered no more Revenants, nor their unfortunate big brothers. A side effect of his Primordial magnetism, he supposed. They'd already attracted all that there was in the area.
Reaching the camp was a non issue. Within a half hour they were through the gate and offloading their newest residents.
"Vivianne, if you please, they all need to see Portia," Vess explained, nabbing the field medic from the crowd. "We did what we could with tonics, but--"
"Ach, of course. Come come, it's right over here." The Dwarven woman led the small procession, flanked by Merk, Stellis, and Heva to the Healer's Ward. Those three needed almost as much attention as the rescued Dusters, but it wasn't anything a good night's rest wouldn't fix. Cade had been dismissed by Evie at some point, too. As far as Felix was concerned, he could go back out there immediately. The only problem was his team wasn't quite as keen for it: Evie got hauled off by Cal for something or other, Atar was entirely too tired to "go traipsing about the Dust without sleep," which only left Vess.
"Well," Felix started, undoing the straps and buckles that had secured Pit to the wagon. "If you're up for it, Vess, we could go back out? I've got energy to burn and I don't want to let the redcloaks ahead of us, not to mention the Guild."
Vess smiled, flashing that dimple he'd come to enjoy. Purely platonically, he told himself. The Platonic Ideal of dimple. That was it. "Are you asking me to go fight monsters with you as the sun sets, Felix Nevarre?"
Felix glanced at the skyline, and indeed, it was beginning to turn a faint, but decidedly rosy hue. "I suppose I am. I could use the help out there. Those Ghouls are no joke, and, well," he hesitated. Somehow she had gotten closer to him again. Her footwork was incredibly deceptive. "I-uh, can't carry this sword and fight at the same time, right?" He hefted his Fang and let out a weak laugh.
Felix's forced mirth was broken apart by the frown that passed over Vess' face, and he knew he'd said something very dumb. He knew it the moment it left his mouth. He just didn't know how to walk it back. And before he could figure that out, the looming figure of Darius Reed, Hand of the Duke himself appeared out of the lengthening shadows. He was dressed in a fine suit of clothes, rich cloth woven with half a dozen protective enchantments. Felix's Manasight could practically smell him at this point.
"Lady Dayne. It is good that you are back. We must continue your training," his dark green eyes raked over Felix with distaste. "Away from any...corrupting influences."
Vess, for her part, gave the Hand a withering look, but still she nodded. "Perhaps later, Felix Nevarre."
And he was back to being alone.
"Good job, Felix. Great job." He'd never been this bad talking to people before coming to the Continent, let alone women. On the other hand, his last relationship hadn't ended on the best of terms. Felix shook his head, banishing the thought. These aren't productive thoughts.
He went to see Zara. Or tried to, at least.
After his weak attempts at utilizing his Intent in Skill manifestation, any success was great and he wanted to speak to her about his newest...achievement. Sure it was just an embarrassing fizzle of energy, but hey, he did it! Sorta! But Zara's quarters were locked and she was nowhere Felix could sense or spot.
He was able to find Keru, her bright kingfisher Companion, who was perching in the highest rafters. It took some doing, but Felix made it up there without too much fuss and asked the puzzling creature to let Zara know he'd been looking for her.
The bright avian gave him a tiny shrug when he asked when she'd be back. "The Mistress moves in mysterious ways."
Unable to study or train in his usual ways, Felix almost accosted Rory for more sparring, but knew he was busy with their volunteers. Training regular folk from zero to 'able to survive contact with giant mouth monsters' was a big task, even for him. He was too restless to sleep and with his Endurance he didn't have to, so he did what he'd been meaning to for days now.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñòv€l-B1n.
Felix went to go see the Alchemist.
Tired as she was from the day's hunting, Vess was in far better repair than the newer recruits. Watching them stagger away from the wagon had let her feel like the Bronze Rank combatant she had become. It was always a surprise, seeing where she had been only a few short months ago. Like nothing else, it illustrated the depths of the trials her life had undergone.
Trials that she would crush, utterly.
However, she was tired. Her Stamina regeneration was good, but it still took time to recovery completely. But when Felix asked in his adorably stilted way to go with him, she, well--she was a woman who knew her own mind. Of course she would go. Protecting the populace from the devastation of monsters was her calling after all, and she'd never turn down training. Going with Felix--alone--was just a...just an unexpected bonus.
And then he ruined it.
Even still, Vess might have still gone. The lure of training was strong, and that Ghoul had been powerful for its level. Much like Felix himself. Yet the Hand had revealed himself, as he was annoyingly wont to do. He actual training, which Darius was continuing, took precedence over a dangerous solo hunt. He was more than happy to remind her of that. Often.
"Your father would be appalled to see you risk yourself on a dangerous task. You are a lady of standing, Vessilia," Darius proclaimed. "It is not proper to be conversing with that creature."
Blood and ashes. Can you not leave it, for a single day? "What have you against my friends, Reed? What vexes you so much that the vaunted Hand cannot gather the fortitude needed to stand shoulder to shoulder with commoners?"
"Commoners are fine, they are people the same as us. These refugees are worthy of your efforts. He is not." The man didn't even stop walking toward the warehouse he had claimed as their own. If he had his way, the man would have had her sleep and take her meals there too, but Vess had put her foot down. "By focusing you upon his task, you have grown lax on your true training. You do not need foreign influences, not at this late stage. We will return to the circle, where you will practice your footwork and your kata. We have far to go until you are ready for the Ring Stage."
Vess swallowed the vitriol she wanted to spew. Arguments against the Hand were pointless at best, and dangerous at worst. He was in charge of her well-being since her father, the Duke of Pax'Vrell, had learned of the botched, not-so-secret rescue attempt in the Foglands. More than that, she'd known the man since they were both little more than children, and he'd always been like this. Dismissive to those of lower station. Holding those with less power in a certain amount of contempt.
This time, he was also wrong.
She felt at her core, her Elemental Eyes diving deep. Within her stood a mountain, covered in snow, bathed in light of everlasting day and caressed by the winds of a thousand distant places. She stepped within the temple built atop the peak, an edifice of diminutive towers and complex carvings that matched the etchings on her Spear of Tribulations. Lesser peaks surround her temple, those closest rising furthest above the carpet of clouds below. Each peak was a Skill, honed and built upon by blood, sweat, and tears. She'd only achieved Actualization recently, but the chill of the heights of her core space felt as real as anything she'd even experienced.
Alchemy is level 2!
"You've just gotten much more interesting, Fiend."
"Thank you?"
After that, he was put to work, mostly with the woman's Apprentices. Aenea was far too busy to actually teach him anything, but she had asked that he try and learn everything he can from her people. Felix went with the flow, and once Aenea left, learned that her Apprentice were all pretty cool. From a distance, he had assumed they were all Human and all female, but that clearly turned out to be wrong. He made a mental note to keep his Voracious Eye activated as often as possible.
Most of them were women and almost entirely Human, but there were two men in the group as well. Given how the Guild seemed to have a bit of a bias against non-Humans, Felix was even more surprised to see one of the men was an Elf. Said Apprentice approached him after his third hour. He was following another Apprentice around and watching her distill a Blindwart Salve, meant to cure basic aches and pains. It had become a favorite among the refugees, especially the older and infirm.
"You're different than I had assumed."
"Hm?" Felix had been copying the other Apprentice's preparations for the salve. He was grinding leaves in a mortar and pestle when he looked up. "Oh, hi. I'm Felix."
"I know. I am Vebranth," the Elf said. He had long blonde hair but it was tied back in a sensibly tight bun to keep it out of his face. Like the other Apprentices, he was wearing a set of well stained, sturdy clothes, covered by a thick apron.
"Nice to meet you, Vebranth," Felix smiled absently. He had to be careful to mash the leaves finely but not too finely, or else the consistency got messed up. He'd messed up the ratio's several times by that point. Ugh, the precision is pretty annoying. "What're you talking about?"
"You're not as arrogant as I would have expected."
"Arrogant?" Felix was nonplussed. "Why would I be arrogant?"
"You are a warrior, aren't they all filled with pride?" The Elf raised a finely shaped eyebrow.
Did people pluck their eyebrows here, or did they just rely on Tempering themselves for beauty treatments? The thought rattled through Felix's Mind for a moment before passing, and he focused on the Elf's point.
"Okay, sure I guess. I'm not--" anything special, was what he meant to say, but that wasn't true, was it? Felix frowned at himself. "I try not to be a jerk, is all."
"Hm," Vebranth hummed, and it was a layered sound. Felix focused on it with his Affinity. It was a chime in the air that sent some wind Mana stirring.
"You're an air mage?" he asked.
Vebranth looked at him, startled. "How did you know?"
"Lucky guess," Felix lied offhand. "Also you're brimming with air Mana."
Vebranth grimaced and turned aside. "Some might consider it rude to stare so at their cores."
Felix nearly kicked himself. "Oh uh, sorry. It's hard not to notice these things, I guess. I'll make sure not to do it again."
"Hm," Vebranth smiled softly, perhaps a little viciously. "Just make sure you don't do that to Master Ty'nel."
Felix laughed. "Yeah, trust me. I don't need more reasons for her to hate me."
Vebranth turned out to be relatively helpful. The Elf showed him how to really get the most out of a mortar and pestle by rolling the pestle around the edges, utilizing more surfaces area. He also pointed out several flaws in his distillation process, things Felix had seen the other Apprentices do but didn't know enough to expect. The complexity of alchemy was a nightmare Felix wasn't sure he would have bothered to attempt were it not for his Voracious Eye and Keen Mind Born Trait. As it was, he barely kept up with the other Apprentices.
By the time Felix left the Alchemist's, an entire eight hour shift had passed and he had made a smattering of Beginner Tier Tonics and Salves. He even got to keep a few that he didn't screw up, which he planned to hand out to his Tin Ranks. They didn't do him any good, at least.
Alchemy is level 19!
Herbalism is level 24!
Felix wasn't sure whether it was the guided learning from the Apprentices, or the specialized equipment he got to use, but he had absolutely blazed through the Beginner Tier of the Skill. Typically those leveled quickly anyway, but this felt very fast. That said, his Essence collection was bone dry, and the lack of it made his core ache fiercely.
Felix stepped out of the shop and stretched until his shoulders and spine popped. It was late, or perhaps too early, but he had to hunt something, and soon. Dawn was maybe two hours away, but aside from that ache he felt energized. He was buoyed by his successesfew though they were. It felt good to create something even if most of what he learned were salves for feet and joints. Something not...inherently violent. It was soothing.
He clapped his hands. Time to wake up the Tin Ranks and kill some monsters.
