“Let’s go,” Zigferd called, knocking on the coach’s side.
SJ heard the whinny of horses and the jolt as the coach began to move. Her palms felt cold and sweaty. She had been panicking about this trip for over a month since the announcement.
“I am still not sure about this,” SJ said, shifting uncomfortably in her seat.
“It is the best way. Alice was right all along. When the council of Asterfal formally introduces you, you will immediately be subject to the jurisdiction of protection rules. It will make it much more difficult for another to attack you. It also is the perfect opportunity to meet with representatives from all the major towns in the southern region.”
“I am still worried about the reception I will get. Many will not know I am a Legionnaire, and that part doesn’t bother me, whether or not they do. It is my race that concerns me. I am still concerned about how I will be received, as Tirelle’s reaction and the comments I have heard about fae do not give me confidence in a positive reception.”
“Your position in the town council will take precedence over your race,” Zigferd smiled.
“I’m not so sure it will. Even our council members were concerned about a fae being a member.”
“And look at them now. Since you wheedled out Bellakiy’s underhand tricks, no one in the council will say a bad word against you.”
Three months had passed since Nexis’s revelation, during which a great deal had happened in Killic.
The revelation to those in attendance that Nexis was a god had caused absolute chaos. It had taken a long time for everyone to calm down after the initial accusations of him being a liar, which he proved by transforming into the old retired quarterling and Fizzlewick. SJ later verified with Nexis that some of his brethren were unhappy with his actions, but most of the ones he deemed important had no problem with it. SJ had tried to get him to expand on which gods were important, but he hadn’t divulged any more details. She wondered if they had their own hierarchy that they followed.
When Nexis performed the binding oath, he swore all those involved to absolute secrecy on pain of death if they attempted to divulge any information about SJ or her cottage in the valley, Nexis, his true identity, or anything else related to the safety and security of Killic. Before the oath, Zigferd brought Lorna and Ballentine to the chamber. As the town guards’ leaders, it made sense for them to be aware.
Nexis had also suggested amending the council’s standard oath to tighten it and improve its binding powers. This would never be as strong as an oath to a god, but it should at least challenge, if not able to entirely prevent, racial or family oaths. This suggestion had arisen after the conclusion of the problems with Bellakiy.
SJ had spent three weeks on the road with Darren, Gary, and Rach. The trips were eye-opening for SJ, as they were the first opportunity to visit another settlement. Many of the settlements were more hamlets than what she would determine as a village, and the populations were sparse. Once she noticed some differences were racial, she felt amazed by the diversity and distinctions among several of them. One of the most beautiful places she had visited was an Elven village in the forests to the west. The village had a picturesque setting, and the villagers had built homes in tree boughs interconnected by wooden walkways. The engineering involved was astounding, and nothing seemed out of place, naturally blending with the forest.
Through SJ’s investigation, she had concluded that Bellakiy had been building up a web of deceit. He shared convoluted information with the villages, concealing the true story of Killic’s stance or the belief it held with the villages it represented. Through rumour and passage of information from the merchants Bellakiy dealt with had poisoned the village’s expectations of Killic. SJ quickly unravelled the tales and made sure the truth was known. Rach was originally from one village and helped support and ease the rumours of inflated taxes and reduced prices of goods the town would pay.
When confronted, Bellakiy initially denied any wrongdoing but eventually confirmed his stance during the emergency council meeting that he was Killic’s rightful mayor and that Zigferd should stand down immediately. The comment initially caused shock, followed by fits of laughter by many. The council called for an immediate vote, which Zigferd won by a landslide. There were only two councillors that Bellakiy had received support from, and surprisingly, one of them wasn’t his fellow draconian. Bellakiy had immediately resigned from his position as the trade representative and moved from Killic to Asterfal.
Any trips to the west of the village had to be undertaken by foot, as there was no path that a wagon could pass down safely in that direction. Before the hobs and Bordon took the valley, people used to have wagons they could use that were made in the valley. This was being looked into for the future development of the valley outpost.
Over the past three months, the town had changed. As soon as profit from the mithril mine reached the town coffers via the auction house, the council’s attitude changed, as Alice had predicted. After heated negotiations, the council accepted the votes for expansion and improved defence. The council prioritised the crag entrance at the north end of the lake, heading down to SJ’s cottage and the main route towards Asterfal. This was because of the ease of access from the northern valley, the valley to the south being much more challenging and treacherous.
The southern valley wall was due to begin construction next week. Orik and his engineering team have identified the strongest points for building a wall. Most of the valley side was inaccessible because of the steepness and cliffs. Orik had predicted it would take three months to complete. The wall would stretch across a six-hundred-foot section of the valley floor, curving towards the cliff edges, and a proposed gatehouse was to be constructed next to the river that ran from the ridge to the valley floor. Guard towers were to be built along the wall, and a guard post and hunters’ lodge were to be constructed inside the wall’s boundary. This would provide security and utilise the valley’s resources rather than climbing the ridge to hunt.
The current town expansion pushed out directly north and south. They hadn’t as yet expanded to the east or west. An issue wouldn’t arise from the West. The area on the far side of the lake where SJ had originally landed was uninhabited. The stumbling block on the east of town was the Wandering Ogre, which still sat as a thorn in the town’s side. Zigferd and Alice attempted negotiations with Niweq, but they failed miserably. The kobold who worked there appeared to have significant control over any decisions. Killic’s sudden expansion hadn’t gone unnoticed by Asterfal, and there had been more frequent representatives of Asterfal arriving in Killic over the past few weeks.
The crag border point was virtually complete. With the help of Bert’s cousins, Fran and the mages, Husa had been directing its build. Husa had proven that his stonemason skills were superior too many, and the walls seemed to appear from the craggy rock walls, which stood over twenty feet high alongside a guard tower. With his superior stonemason skills, Husa constructed the last addition, a large wooden reinforced gate, alongside the portcullis. SJ had been out there several times to meet with Fran, which was an engineering feat. Once Husa completed the task, they were expected to move to the southern valley and supervise the construction.
Farleck Cottage was remote enough from any areas that, without someone stumbling upon them, they wouldn’t even realise they existed. After being stripped of valuable materials, the first cottage in the row had been left looking derelict deliberately. At first, they had thought about the skeletons making it their home, but they let nature take its course. So, it gave the impression that the area approaching the lake was deserted.
Zigferd had already decided that the town would never push its border to the north into the valley towards Asterfal, which meant that Farleck Cottage would always sit outside its border. It was too open an area to try to defend if they came under attack, with the valley opening into vast open plains at its mouth.
The most significant changes had been with herself. SJ had reached level 19 now. She had been completing quests alongside the extra duties she had taken on within the town. Her growth and development were flourishing under her new routines. Through daily visits to the training grounds, her kata had improved dramatically, and she had reached level 10. This had opened up a new skill path, and she was now focussing on specific martial arts techniques—the latest techniques involved unarmed combat with further sub-branches of incapacitation or elimination. A weapons branch was also available.
SJ had begun to cross-train in the various areas and was steadily progressing. She had to see Brother Wilbert for the new martial arts techniques. Brother Wilbert was a monk who lived outside the town in a small enclave in the forest. If you didn’t know it was there, you would never have found the small hut he had called his home. He was insanely skilled and reminded SJ of Mr Miyagi from the Karate Kid. The training he had made her do was mundane. Initially, she had believed it pointless. It was only as she had continued practising that all the training had fallen into place.
The weapons branch was for melee and throwing variants. Her claws were still her primary weapon, although as she continued to level up with her damage increases because of her dexterity, her claws started dropping down the weapon damage charts. She was looking forward to visiting the weapon smiths in Asterfal while she was there. Zej had given her the name of a smithy who was a distant relative and specialised in claws and darts. After previous fights and not having a ranged ability, she began to train in darts. Zej had been more than happy to forge her a starter set. They looked like small solid steel pencils in design, and she had got quite good at using them.
Every evening, without fail, she had returned to Farleck Cottage through her soul stone. On arrival, she would always work on her profession before turning in each night. This significantly boosted her profession. She was now at Skilled level 2. When she reached level 10 Apprentice, she received her first perk. After considerable deliberation, she had chosen Sure Stitch. It would ensure that anything she was sewing would at least be a common quality on completion. The material needed for tailoring had become increasingly expensive, and she had to use good-quality materials as a minimum for profession advances. This would continue to advance with elements of rare, epic, mythic and legendary materials being required as her levels increased.
Farleck Cottage could not be called a cottage anymore. With their completed work, the skeletons had turned the quaint, tiny single-room cottage into a substantial, luxurious one. The completed extension by Terence and the others was immaculate. The gardens were pristine, and the vegetable patch produced enough food to sustain her. She had dropped the excess vegetables at the inn for Floretta.
There was no way, even with those who had taken the oath, she would stay at the town cottage overnight on her own. Since their engagement, Darren had officially moved in with Alice, and Floretta was now back at the inn. Her paranoia had slowly faded, but even after the oath, there remained a continual possibility that someone may attempt something, and she could not dispel the underlying fear she still held onto.
Alice’s contacts in Asterfal had found no details about who may have triggered an attack on SJ. Every avenue they had tried had come up with led to dead ends. This made Alice conclude that it had to be someone with power and influence to keep things quiet. There were nearly always rumours or aspersions around the city.
The wyvern had only returned to the town twice more since. The first time, it had attempted to attack at the docks and had landed feasting on the day’s catch until the guard had chased it off. On the second occasion, it had fallen fowl to a fireball from a mage, making it flee as it had burned. Initially, they hoped that the attack would kill it, but it soon became apparent that it had survived when they could hear it screeching again by the mountains a couple of days later. The town had now got used to the fact it lived nearby, and its presence no longer carried the same fear. They were ready for its appearance and knew how to deal with it when it did. Recently, some suggested sending a hunting party to kill it.
Due to all the stories that SJ had been told about Asterfal, she was looking forward to visiting the city. It had everything and anything that you could think of. Several of her friends had asked if she could visit merchants in the city who specialised in various wares. She also had her own reasons to visit several of the merchants. Several items she had got as quest rewards or loot were to be sold, but she was looking forward to finding a pet trainer.
SJ removed the small chest from her inventory. She placed it on the coach seat beside her and opened the lid. Inside, where once three miniature wyvern eggs sat, there was now only one. Zej and Lythonian sold their eggs at the auction house through the town’s account. SJ was confused because they sold the eggs through the auction house, even though Nexis had stated that nothing living could be auctioned. It seems they considered the eggs as inert lifeforms until they hatched. The initial placement of auctions still required authorisation of a level above 20, which Alice oversaw. The loophole in the auction house system allowed members of the town with the respective permissions to manage auctions on behalf of the town if they were under level 20, and Alice oversaw the councils needs.
Nexis worked in the tailor’s shop daily and allowed one of the goblins to manage the running of the auction house. Based on the information Setu had given her, he was an old goblin, and he moved to Killic to retire and live with his family. He had got bored of his retired life and had experience working in auction houses, so he was the prime candidate for Nexis to hire. His valuations and predictions on auctions had been ridiculously accurate, and SJ wondered if it was another alter ego of Nexis.
“That is so pretty,” Cristy said.
Cristy was accompanying SJ. She had grown substantially in the past few months from the initial two-foot tall gnoll who had run into her leg in the town centre to the five-foot-tall gnoll she was now. The speed of her growth was ridiculous, but it was the norm for all gnolls once they reached the age of development. Madeline had predicted that Cristy might easily reach six feet tall before she finished growing. New clothing for Cristy had meant visiting Nexis at the tailor’s almost weekly.
It was still strange when SJ spoke to Cristy, who was no longer the tiny gnoll but a maturing young woman. The speed of maturity and growth had taken SJ by surprise, and it had taken her a while to come to terms with it.
“It is beautiful,” SJ replied. The egg was blue-green, and its knobbly surface felt warm. Stroking it gently with the end of her finger, she gazed at it for several moments before closing the lid again and placing the chest back in her inventory.
“I can’t wait to see what it will grow into,” Cristy said.
“Hopefully, not like the one in the forest,” Zigferd replied.
SJ opened her display to check on her progress. Her dress had levelled alongside her tailoring profession. Still, more importantly, she was now paranoid just in case she gained too much experience, which would trigger the subsequent growth of the territory levels.
Legionnaire 25007077
Name: SJ
Age: 27
Race: Fae
Class: Assassin
Alignment: Neutral Good
↻ Level: 19
Experience: 6745 of 9000
Hit Points: 124 of 124 (131)
Mana Points: 60
Armour Class: 37
Attributes:
Strength: 12
Dexterity: 31
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 12
Constitution: 21
Charisma: 17
Skills
Racial:
Night Vision – you have improved vision in poor light conditions.
Flight – when in miniature fae form, you can learn to fly. Flying is not available in humanoid form.
Shapeshift – the ability to switch between fae forms.
Class:
Martial Arts –
Kata Level 10
Unarmed combat - Incapacitation Level 2 / Elimination Level 1
Armed combat - Melee Claws Level 3 / Ranged Darts Level 2
Clawed Avenger Level 4
Subterfuge –
Identification Level 10
Advanced Identification Level 1
Shroud Level 5
Profession:
Tailor Skilled Level 2
Perks - Sure Stitch
Symbiosis:
Dragon Sense – your senses, touch, hearing, smell, and sight are heightened.
Precognition – foreknowledge due to increased perception will allow you to evade a killing blow. (24hr cooldown)
Divine lightning – your blood is combined with that of a blue dragon, increasing healing speed while out of combat.
Malware: Waiver (Sandboxed)
Inventory: 10 slots (10 special)
Followers: 3
Haber’s Dress of the Tailor – Level 12
Grade – Astral
Quality – Perfection
Durability - Infinite
Enchantment Slots – Two
Armour Class – 10
Attributes – +4 Charisma
The God Haber himself made this dress. It is unmatched by any other and provides the wearer with unique skills that are available as levels are gained.
Self-repair
Transmogrification – the dress appearance can be changed as your tailoring level increases – current available choices – colour, design
It would take them four days to arrive in Asterfal, and during the journey, Zigferd had promised that she would better understand the city’s political workings by then.
