章 2: Chapter 2
After eating a quick meal at the Inn the next day, I headed towards Jack and Jill's shop for a weapon.
I entered the shop to find a two-headed being sharing one body. The left head was a boy, and the right head was a girl. They both had long blonde hair twisted into braids, brown eyes, and muscular bodies, half male, half female...
With a shrug, I sucked in a deep breath, then stepped towards the counter.
"Hello, welcome to Jack and Jill's; what can I help you with today?" asked Jack.
"Umm, I'm looking to buy a weapon... What do you recommend?"
"Look at the weapons on the walls; the weapon will choose you, dearie." Said Jill with a wink.
With a shrug, I scoured through the walls, looking for a weapon that called to me. I froze in my tracks when I spotted a wicked-looking whip. It was a serrated whip with a grip that looked a lot like the body of a scorpion, with the whip as its tail and a nasty-looking curved blade on the end that looked like a stinger.
"Ah, looks like Scorpius chose you as her wielder."
I turned to find Jack and Jill standing behind me, wearing a smile on their faces.
"Her?"
"Aye, Scorpius is female; once you bond with the whip, you will become soul connected," said Jill
"She hasn't chosen a wielder in a long time. She is a great weapon to have at your side." Said Jack
After spending 500 Laminae on the whip, 20 on a new belt with a whip holder, and 100 more on an extra dagger, I was ready to leave the shop.
Jack and Jill told me that I would need to bond with my weapon before heading on my journey; I planned to do that tonight before I got some sleep.
Now that I had a weapon, I looked around the shops until I found the Odds and Ins.
The bell jingled as I stepped through the door, then I looked at the list of things I should buy for my journey that Damien was friendly enough to give me last night.
I walked around the shop, grabbing the things listed on the paper. Once I was finished, I had procured a bed roll, a small pot for cooking, a slab of dried meat, a loaf of bread, a bag to hold my stuff, and a canteen.
After ringing up the order, I was now down to 200 Laminae... I will need to figure out how to get more.
I heard a commotion in the alley next to the shop as I stepped outside.
Feeling curious, I entered the alley to find a group of alley cats chasing a ferret with white fur and blood-red eyes.
I couldn't leave the poor guy to his demise, so I ran into the alley. Thankfully the cats scattered as I hurried toward the ferret. I leaned down and scooped it up, cradling him in my arms, "Oh, you poor baby."
The poor critter was terrified as I carried it out of the alley.
"Falcore!"
The ferret perked up at the name, then wiggled free from my grasp.
Damn it!...
I hurried after the bastard as he ran through the crowd of people.
"Falcore!"
The ferret turned quickly, running towards a tall, skinny young man wearing a blue wizard cloak. The man had short untamed red hair, freckle-covered pale skin, and big green eyes framed in wire-rimmed glasses.
The wizard's green eyes widened at the sight of the ferret. "There ya are, you rascal!"
The ferret scurried up the man's leg and over his body until he reached his shoulder. The ferret tittered away, nuzzling the man with sweet affection.
I went to turn away, but the wizard stopped me.
"Hey, wait!"
I froze in my tracks, then turned back to the copper-haired man.
"Falcore here tells me that you are the one who saved him; thank you so much! Is there anything I could do to repay the favor?"
Hmm..., "Well... I will be heading out on my journey tomorrow. Even though I have a map, I don't know how to get to Akamu..."
"Ah, I see ... I would happily help you get to Akamu. I'm heading there to see if I can find my twin brother Princely."
"Wow, that would be great; oh, and do you know how I could get more Laminae?"
"Yes, of course, you can get Laminae by posting jobs on the quest board. I will show it to you once we reach the first town of Akamu."
"Okay, awesome. Do you have a place to stay?"
"No, I was passing through. I'm on my way to Akamu myself.
"Oh okay, well I have a room at an Inn nearby, but there is only one bed...Oh, and by the way, my name is Harlow."
The wizard smiled brightly, "My name is Kingston, and I don't mind sleeping on the floor." He said with a smile.
With a shrug, I motion for him to follow me.
The sun was rising as I woke up. I just remembered having to bond with the whip I bought yesterday... Now was better than never.
I slid from the bed, tiptoeing past a sleeping Kingston to grab my whip on the table. After returning to bed, I did as Jack and Jill instructed on bonding with the whip.
I used the blade of the whip to prick my finger, then touched the eye of the scorpion on the handle. The eye opened, startling me so bad I dropped the whip.
Something smokey came out of the eye, then transformed into a black scorpion the size of my hand. I gasped in shock, jumping back in fright.
Smaug growled at the scorpion that skittered around the bed.
"Ah, how nice it is to be free," said an unfamiliar female voice.
"Who's there?" I looked around the room, looking for the source of the voice.
"Please don't be frightened, my wielder; I shall not harm you."
I looked around until I realized that it was the scorpion talking... I looked down to find her beady red eyes looking up at me. "Are you the one speaking? How is this possible?"
"A long time ago, I was a magical creature captured by sorcerers and was magically bound to this whip. I may no longer have a body, but my spirit still lives on. Think of it like a genie with a lamp. The whip is my lamp. Whoever wields the whip can see me and even speak to me."
Ah, I see... "Well, I'm glad to wield such an awesome whip and to make a new friend."
Kingston sat up with a groan, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. "Who are you talking to?" he mumbled.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. I bought a weapon yesterday and was told to create a bond with it before I headed out on my journey. I forgot to do it yesterday, so I decided to do it this morning. I didn't expect a soul to live inside of it."
"Oh, I see... Not all weapons are like that, but I learned at my school that mighty sorcerers can turn magical creatures into weapons."
I nodded, "That's what Scorpius is. Can you see her spirit?"
Kingston shook his head, "No, only the wielder can see them."
He stood, snap crackle and popping as he stretched. Then began cleaning up his bed roll.
Kingston looked to be in his late 20s and had been away at a particular school for wizards when he received a letter from home that his twin brother Princely was missing. Kingston said he left school immediately after hearing this and had been looking for his brother for a few weeks.
He was built like a walking stick bug and wore a white short-sleeved tunic that was tucked into blue breeches and wore brown leather boots. He was pretty cute but was way too skinny...
For some reason, Lyall Wolfe crossed my mind... Now that was one hunk of a man...
With a shrug, I gathered up my things, twisted my hair into a braid, then headed downstairs to check out of the Inn.
The first thing I did before we left was return to the square to thank Damien, but sadly he had already left. Damn, I was hoping to say goodbye...
Kingston elbowed me playfully, "Hey, cheer up! I'm sure you will see him again; he does own a wandering tavern."
That's true... "You think I will see him again?"
Kingston nodded. "Yes"
Feeling more confident, I looked up at Kingston, "Well then, are we ready to head for Akamu?"
Kingston nodded, "I'm ready."
After stepping through the gate, Kingston led me down a long path until we reached a spot where the road split into six different directions; each way had wooden signs explaining where each road led.
I looked at each sign until I spotted Akamu.
"So I assume we are taking this road, right?" I asked, turning toward Kingston
With a nod, he said, "Yep, this is our path. Once we step onto the path, the terrain will change, and we must be careful of beasts."
"Beasts? No one said anything about beasts!" I scowled, crossing my arms in frustration.
"Well, there are beasts everywhere in the wilderness. With my magic and your nasty-looking whip, we should be safe enough to pass through."
"Oh, I see; well, just so you know, I was just 'born' two days ago, and I know nothing about this world, so I hope that doesn't bother you; I might be more of a hindrance during this journey."
"Oh wow? Well, it's not too much of a problem as long as we stay on the main path; the deeper you go into the wilderness, the stronger the beasts are."
"Oh, I see… Damien told me that to get stronger, I need to level up… How do I level up?"
"The easiest way to level up is to kill beasts. Each type of beast has a different level, and you should always seek beasts that match your level. You will most likely be killed if you go after a beast with a level higher than yours."
"Oh, wow...Really? Good to know, so what level are you?"
Kingston reached up and tapped the center of his forehead, and his info screen popped up. It revealed that Kingston is currently a level 30 wizard with 5,752 Laminae.
"Huh, your level is a lot higher than mine… So, are we okay to head towards Akamu?"
Kingston nodded, "Yep, we are good to go. If we cross paths with any level 1 or 2 beasts, I will let you kill them; that way, you can work on leveling up on the way."
"Okay, awesome, now let's go!"
With a nod, we stepped onto the path.
I gasped as our surroundings changed, the crossroads had disappeared, and now we were standing on a path that led into a dense forest.
"Welcome to Akamu; this path will take us to the first town called Eira."
"Thank you for helping me," I said as we headed down the path, "I really appreciate it."
"It's not a problem at all; it's the least I can do for you saving Falcore," Kingston replied with a smile.
We followed the path through the vast forest until the sun fell below the tree line.
"It's going to be dark soon, and we better find a place to camp for the night. Night travel isn't very safe when our vision is impaired, and all the nocturnal beasts come out to hunt." Kingston warns.
I answered with a nod, cause at this point, and I was already exhausted. So I followed Kingston off the path until we found a small lake that would make a perfect place to camp.
"Would you mind grabbing some of those stones?" He asked, pointing towards a pile of rocks close to the lake's edge. "I'm going to get some kindle for the fire."
I did as he asked and went to bend down to grab some of the stones when I noticed something in the water. I was stupid and decided to lean in closer to the water when a scaly hand reached out of the water, and I jumped back with a scream.
The thing that tried to grab me leaped out of the water, knocking me onto my back. The creature looked like a small human-sized snapping turtle with a large beak, bulging eyes, and a concave skull.
Thankfully Smaug came to my help with a cute little growl, and he blew a stream of blue fire at the ugly beast. With a shriek, the beast leaped back into the water.
I scooped Smaug up and hugged him close. "Thanks, buddy, that was a close one. What the hell was that thing?"
"That was a Kappa"
I screamed like a banshee at the sudden sound of Kingston's voice behind me. I whirled around to find him behind me and nearly ran into him.
"Holy crap Kingston, you nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Smaug growled at him, blowing a plume of smoke toward him in a warning.
Kingston held his hands up in surrender, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. When I heard you scream, I ran to see what was wrong, and that's when I recognized the beast that attacked you. I should have warned you about them…Sorry"
"Hey, there is no need to beat yourself up over this. Like I told you this morning, I know absolutely nothing about this world, so I don't blame you; they need to give out pamphlets or something that warn newbies like me about these creatures."
Kingston's baby face lit up with a smile, "Thanks, oh, and if you ever see a horse that looks like it's drowning, do not go near it."
"What? Why?"
"Because Kelpies have hair covered in barbs, you will get stuck to it if you touch it. Once you are stuck, it will pull you underwater, then eat you… Same for that Kappa, it was trying to drag you under the water to eat you."
"Ok, got it… Stay away from drowning horses and creepy turtles…."
"Oh, those creatures are nothing compared to some of the beasts that live in this forest. We will encounter many of them as we head deeper into it. Just make sure to keep Scorpius and Smaug with you at all times; some of these creatures will do a hell of a lot worse than just eat you…. "
I nodded in understanding, "Thanks for the warning. I totally feel safer now!" I said sarcastically.
After that, Kingston got the fire going, and I watched with fascination as he walked out of the camp, chanting a spell that created a thin barrier that would keep the beasts at a safe distance if they tried to attack.
Once we knew we were safe for the night, we both ate, then curled up in our bedrolls, hoping to get some sleep.
I don't know how long I was asleep before I woke up, but It felt like I had only been asleep for a few minutes. I wasn't sure what woke me up, but I had a bad feeling that we weren't alone.
Little Smaug was growling at the trees, making fear rise up inside me. Kingston must have felt it too because he rose from his bedroll, then reached for his glasses as Falcore curled up close to him in fear. If the animals were scared, I was even more frightened about what could lurk beyond the thin shield keeping them away.
"Do you have any clue as to what is out there?" I whispered to Kingston
"I don't know, and there are many possibilities…Let's just hope it's wolves. They won't mess with us and tend to be more curious than anything."
There was a rustling noise as the creature or creatures moved about, then somewhere, too close for comfort, came a haunting laughing noise that raised the hair on my arms from the rush of fear that flooded through my body.
"Oh shit!" Kingston cursed as he grabbed his bag and pulled out a wand and an ancient, worn-out book. What was it that he called it again? A grimoire? It's passed down through his family along with the wand.
My brain returned to reality as Kingston hurried over to me worriedly.
More eerie-sounding laughs echoed around us as the creatures closed in on us.
"What's wrong? Do you know what is out there?" I asked, grabbing for Scorpius
As soon as I touched the hilt of the whip, she materialized before me, scurrying up my arm to perch on my shoulder.
"The beasts that surround you are deadly creatures called armored hyenas." Explained Scorpious, "They are hyenas with thick armored skin covered in spikes dripping with a deadly poison. The only cure for the poison is the beast's blood, which is nearly impossible. They are also completely blind, but don't let that fool you. They also use echolocation and have excellent hearing like a bat."
"They are called Armored Hyenas," Says Kingston
"That's what Scorpius just said. Will the shield be able to keep these beasts away?"
"The shield should hold as long as they don't try to attack. Armored hyenas are level-five beasts, so they can cause some damage to my shield if they try to attack. They are now trying to size us to determine whether we are worthy prey. If you hurt or kill one of their pack, they will hunt you down until you die."
"Oh crap, so how do you fight against them then?"
"Either kill the whole pack or scare them off, they don't care for fire, so you should make the fire bigger, and hopefully, they will go away." Says Scorpius
"Scorpius says that these creatures are afraid of fire, so we should try to make the fire bigger," I explained.
Kingston walked over to the fire with his wand and grimoire after chanting a spell in an ancient language he said was called Drayken (An ancient dragon language), and the fire flared to life with a woosh.
All around us, the eerie laughs of the hyenas turned into whimpers as they finally slipped away into the night.
The rest of the night stayed quiet, but Kingston and I were way too jacked up on adrenaline to get any sleep, so we stayed up until the sun rose in the sky, listening to Kingston talk about his family and life on the family farm growing up. I already knew that his twin brother's name was Princely, but he also has a little sister named Queenie, who will turn fifteen this year.
He went on and on about his family, making me wonder if I possibly had a family out there or if I was all alone… And why can't I remember anything? It's so frustrating!!
When it was time to go, we picked up our camp, then continued along the path towards our destination…
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