Chapter 8: Digging In Part 3

  The party watched Pellet depart with thoughtful looks. Cato, squirming uncomfortably in the silence finally asked,

  “Why do you keep saying some of us would be dead? Wouldn’t you be in as much danger? And why are you focusing on just the ten? Shouldn’t we try to take them all out?”

  Omara nodded her head in agreement,

  “He makes some good points.”

  Nixen gave a wave of acknowledgment and answered with a measured response as Winnie’s face turned stoic,

  “Alright, settle in and listen up. This is gonna take a minute to explain to you all.”

  “Not gonna lie to you, I wouldn’t be in as much danger as all of you. I’m better equipped and thoroughly trained and have been doing this for a long, long time. Lastly, I have a literal God on my side.

  “As your journeyman, my job is to train you all. Help you gain experience and keep everyone alive to do so. Eventually, you’ll reach apprentice rank and attend the academy. After that, you can start your own parties with other apprentices.”

  “One day, if you live that long, you might reach journeyman. At that point, you’ll gain more advanced training for your specialty before taking on a party of novices.”

  Cato predictably opened his mouth to protest. But, instead, Nixen cut him off with a pointed finger.

  “Yes, lots of what-ifs and where-for-tos mixed in there, but the point is. Until you do, you can’t keep up with me if I go all out. Me stomping all the mobs into the dirt for you doesn’t teach you anything.”

  Nixen shook their head.

  “If a real threat to our safety appears, I will step up and handle it. But until then, I will let you fail unless you make a mistake that jeopardizes your life or the life of one the others.”

  The dwarf paused and seemed to consider their next words,

  “I’ll heal the life-threatening injuries after a fight. I’ll offer advice and teach you how to represent the guild. I’ll continue to guide you in tactics and strategy. I’ll make sure you learn the basics you need to survive, and if you fuck up in a way that puts more than one of us in unnecessary danger, I…will…let…you…die.”

  Nixen stared hard at Cato and Omara. Winnie’s face had a sad tint to her expression as she listened.

  “The guild is more than a way to glory. We stand before danger so others don’t need to. If you can’t stand and support your team members because you are too cocky, greedy, or self-absorbed,”

  He said this piece of his lecture with pointed glances at Omara and Cato before continuing,

  “Then you won’t survive the learning experience. We rely on each other to be the best we can to complete the quest as requested. If you can’t handle that, I’ll help you complete your withdrawal paperwork from the guild when we finish this quest.”

  Cato and Omara were startled at this and glanced to each other as Nixen continued.

  “The guild masters will back me up on this. No one in the guild wants a party member incapable of dealing with the dangers we face daily. I’ll even pay for your withdrawal fee.”

  Omara looked angry but resigned to this long-winded explanation. She had received a much-abbreviated version from the recruiter when she first joined the guild, he had been enthusiasticly verbose about her magical talent. Her aunt had droned on about boring things she vaguely recalled as related to what Nixen had been talking about.

  Cato had paled significantly at the lecture. His recruiter hadn’t mentioned any of this. He had never put it together before that the swagger of those adventurers who strolled through his town had earned it through loss and failure. The recruiter certainly hadn’t explained that price. Uncle Darik had rambled about some of this, but Cato had been daydreaming about riches most of the time.

  In a hesitant voice, Cato spoke a question,

  “Why didn’t you want me to train with Master Clemency?”

  The dwarf gave a negative shake of the head,

  “I wanted you to train with Master Ian because he can teach you more about facing direct attacks while dealing with fear. He’s an eight-foot-tall bear that deals in the absolute destruction of his enemy.

  “Master Clemency is very good at what he does but still spars with Master Ian because he knows real danger improves his skills with an edge he wouldn’t get otherwise. Master Ian can teach you to stay alive against a much more powerful opponent. At your much lower level of power, he can help you attain something that will keep you alive for decades…Situational awareness…and we would all get a kick out of it.”

  Nixen stroked their beard thoughtfully,

  “Though I think Master Ian has enough self-control to not actually try to kill you.”

  Nixen grinned at Cato, who gave a weak smile in return before nodding in agreement,

  “I’m still unhappy about it, but if Master Ian is willing, I’ll do it when we all get back.”

  “Good. I’ll make the arrangements when we return. Omara? You still with us?”

  The red-haired mage was looking at the ground with one hand softly stroking the damage to her face. It was red and raw from her jawbone to her forehead where the caustic slime had been. She looked up at Nixen, and her eyes were still clouded with doubt as she responded,

  “I…may have gotten into this for the wrong reasons… But I’m not sure how I feel about withdrawing. I want to finish what I started and keep working on magic.

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  “I won’t go back home and only read about it in the rare books I can scrounge up. My aunt is generous with her small library, but access to the guilds is too good to pass up.”

  Nixen nodded,

  “Since you’ll put in the effort to continue, we can talk about a transfer when we get back. The guild has other research and development divisions that may better fit you.

  “The Knowets recruit directly from us. The Tinkers, too. They all handle research and development in different ways.

  “Combat isn’t the only way to advance after apprentice. If we can cap the mobs we need to advance you three, I can recommend more research-focused training for you.”

  Omara looked very relieved to hear this and smiled. Her reddened skin lent the sense of a happy multitoned tomato to her look of gratitude.

  Winnie, who had been watching for Pellet to return from her scouting mission, looked over her shoulder and spoke to the mage,

  “You’d be a good fit in any one of them. You have options…try not to become an arrogant snit if you choose the Knowets.”

  Omara smiled wider at the tall woman’s words and nodded her thanks before asking the Amazonian blond woman,

  “Why don’t you seem surprised by this?”

  Winnie, her eyes still searching the trees on the east side of the trail, responded,

  “You both know this isn’t my first party. I still want to do it for reasons I won’t go into right now. Won’t quit now.”

  Cato snorted,

  “Two months isn’t a lot longer.”

  Winnie stared at Cato before replying,

  “Master Ian can teach you how long a few minutes can be. So survive till then, and I won’t slap you too hard for saying that.”

  Cato edged farther away from the tall woman and looked at Nixen with a worried expression again.

  As Winnie finished her sentence, Pellet winged from the tree line and landed on the arm she outstretched for her to perch on. Then, Pellet started making chattering noises while moving her head in owlish ways.

  Winnie observed and listened to this odd communication, seeming to have no trouble understanding, before turning to Nixen.

  “She says you were right. Similar mobs to our east are headed away from us. She’s not good with numbers but says they are at least a small herd.”

  Nixen checked the armor protecting their stout frame, then said,

  “Guess that’s one choice made for us then. Cato, Omara, do you want healing now or later? I have a few favors from Jeph left for the day after healing that farmer, but it’s up to you.”

  Omara shook her head,

  “I’ll be fine for now.”

  Cato winced and bent over to rub his legs,

  “I can’t move as well as I should be able to with these stumps beat to hell. So give me a patch job for now.”

  Nixen nodded and moved to the rogue’s side. They touched Cato’s hip as a soft glow enveloped the dwarf’s hand and murmured a brief prayer. Cato thought he had heard something about sourdough having more flavor.

  The light spread to the rogue, and the man stood easier before a few moments passed. Then, after the glow had faded, the rogue cautiously bent his knees and performed a few basic stretches of his legs.

  “Much better, thank you.”

  The dwarf’s head moved in a negative,

  “Thank Jeph. He healed you. I am just a vessel for his might. It isn’t free, though.

  “A dozen cupcakes made by your own hand should suffice, with frosting. Bumps and bruises don’t take much divine power to smooth out. That wasp venom is a little extra, though.”

  The rogue looked perturbed by the statement,

  “I don’t know how to make cupcakes. And your god is weird. Why does he require baked goods anyway? I’ve seen you heal without asking anything.”

  “I ask mostly when there is only one person to heal so that that person can spread the word of his goods. Or, at great need, I can shoulder the cost and add it to what I usually bake. The monthly bake sale the church holds covers large-scale healing. I’ll give you a recipe for the cupcakes. No knead to be sour about it,”

  Nixen replied with a straight face as Cato looked at the dwarf suspiciously.

  “If that was a baking pun, I didn’t get it.”

  Ignoring this and turning to the east, Nixen hefted the large battle axe always at the dwarf’s side and stated,

  “Alright, let’s finish this. Winnie, have Pellet lead the way.”

  The adventurers started heading east through the underbrush toward the conclusion of their quest, hurrying to follow the small owl as they went.

  ***************

  Several minutes after the party departed, Choch’s head poked out from behind a tree on the opposite side of the path the party had been standing on. The three goom had doubled back after not hearing the party following them through the brush. Lester’s robed form and Mina’s diminutive one also appeared across from where the adventurers had been recuperating from the light ambush.

  Choch looked at her children with disgruntlement and stated quietly,

  “Well, shit. I thought they would follow us.”

  Lester was brushing some of the debris accumulated from the skirmish, and his following flight through the underbrush from his robes as he replied,

  “The dwarf knows our language or at least understands a little. He was suspicious.”

  Mina looked understandably worried at the adventurer’s departure to pursue and slaughter her fellow Goom. She was gripping her weapon tightly and shuffling impatiently in place as she chirped,

  “Ma, I know we shouldn’t kill them because more powerful ones will show up for revenge, but what if we just take out one or two? Wouldn’t they back off or retreat so we get more time to escape?

  “If we put them into our deep pockets, they won’t even leave bodies to show where they disappeared.”

  Choch looked thoughtful and hesitated before responding,

  “If it comes down to it, then we will, but killing humans should never be our answer. It’s too risky. Even if we hide the bodies in the deep pockets, that’s a different set of complications.”

  Choch dismissed the idea with a shake of her head.

  “So let’s follow at a distance and keep harassing them. Distanced spells should suffice to keep them cautious. The more we slow them down, the more time the others have to make a clean escape.”

  Lester nodded in agreement as Mina walked toward where the adventurers had disappeared into the brush. Choch concentrated for a few moments and used another large portion of her Mana to send a communication to Mearah with the fleeing group of Goom,

  Adventures in pursuit, we follow to slow them down. Speed is better than concealment. Get away.

  Her message was sent. She ate some more gold pieces to replenish her source and followed Lester and Mina.

  *********