บท 16: Adventure

Will made the announcement that he had joined a party. He'd be leaving Leafburrow later in the day to go hunt the bandits with the rest of the mercenaries that had ventured this way. Rod nodded simply at that, not having had much to do with the man over the course of winter and the past couple of weeks.

"Jacob, I was thinking that we might have a final bout before I leave?" Will asked, nodding towards the backyard. Jacob grinned, hopping to his feet. Rod, for the first time, followed them outside.

Will retrieved their shaped sticks, each about the same dimensions as a standard longsword. Rod took a seat against the wall of the inn, occasionally calling to potential customers that he was preoccupied.

"I'll get you this time, Will."

"I'm sure you will," Will launched off from the back of his feet, his sword tracing a deadly downwards path. Jacob brought his own stick to parry the attack, the angle of his parry forcing Will's attack to slide right off. Jacob began his own offensive, capitalizing on Will's dropped defenses. He pushed forward, making one heavy attack after the other.

Will's timing suffered for the flurry of attacks, his parries growing more and more delayed. Eventually, Jacob decided to attempt an attack he had only seen Will do. It would not be something the older man would expect from his pupil. He redirected an attack from above, changing the attack target to the mercenary's side.

The wooden weapon connected with a meaty thwack, signaling the end of the spar. For the first time, Jacob managed to best his instructor. It was hard-earned; Jacob couldn't remember putting that much effort into mastering a skill except maybe his recent foray into the world of cooking.

"I know I said that I thought you would win, but I have to be honest. I wasn't expecting you to pull it off. The next time we meet, you'll be a great swordsman. I can't wait," Will beamed, clapping his student on the back. Jacob noticed the warrior massaging the bruise he had no doubt collected as he passed him. He shook Jacob's hand, a customary end to each of their training sessions, and retreated inside to pack his belongings. In two weeks, he had lost two of the closest friends he had ever made.

Turning to look at Rod, Jacob didn't expect to see the look of awe in the man's face. "You're really that good?" the old innkeeper wondered. Jacob grinned in response, pulling the man to his feet.

"Just a lot of practice. I've still got a long way to go before I'm anything like Will. I got lucky, this time," Jacob said truthfully. Were they facing each other with real swords, he had no illusions as to who would win that fight.

When he went looking for Will, Jacob's search turned up empty-handed. The warrior was gone, off to go slay some enemies. The thought of blade rending flesh still brought Jacob haunted visions, but he'd learned to suppress them in recent weeks. Instead, he focused on praying to whatever God people believed in here that Will would be safe in his mission.

Jacob resumed his duties at the cook of the inn, having absorbed almost all of the kitchen responsibilities from Rod. The innkeeper had declared his skills sufficient enough, giving the man the opportunity to go talk with his guests in the common room while bringing them ale and food. It was good to see the man smile, Jacob decided. He didn't begrudge an old man his whims, though some of the travelers were clearly too weary to put up with Rod's conversations.

Often, when even Rod sensed that his presence was no longer tolerated, the innkeeper would regale Jacob with tales the travelers had told him. One in particular grabbed his attention today.

"One of the warriors says that he heard that packs of wolves were terrorizing travelers on the road. They sounded vicious, he says," Rod explained, pausing before adding to his story. "Guess what? When I suggested that he go kill them, he said that he'd need a king's ransom and a knighthood before he did that. What a prick," Rod grumbled.

First and foremost, the tale brought Jacob worry for Angelica and the little boy's family. Logically, Angelica should have been fine beside a member of the Academic Order. The family on the other hand… they had no protection.

Secondly, it represented a way to prove the skills he had learned under Will. A couple months ago, he was proficient enough to take down three men. Given, they underestimated him, but he wondered if he was skilled enough to face off with wolves now. Not only that, he could let loose with his magic and discover his boundaries. The mage recruiter had said that he didn't possess any aptitude, but he refused to believe it.

He could make the wind move. If that wasn't magic, he didn't know what was. "Rod, do you think I could take a couple of vacation days?"

"Vacation days? Do you think I'm the King or something? I don't do vacation days," Rod looked at Jacob. "What for, anyways? It's not like you do all that much in town, anyways."

"I wanted to go take a look at those wolves. And before you say anything, you saw me fight Will. I heard Will talking about fighting a wyrm. If he could do that, I'm sure I could take a wolf or two," Jacob explained. He was lying about the wyrm; Will had never claimed to fight one of the lower offshoots of the dragon family. But then again, Jacob had magic that the innkeeper couldn't account for.

"You're stupid to want to do that. But I remember being your age. Every young man wants to go out and prove themselves. If I tell you not to, you'll just sneak out anyway. Go, if you feel the need to."

And with that, Jacob had permission. He'd leave on his own adventure.